At the foot of Xingping County, the Fengxiang Army went out to fight the Guiyi Army, but to be honest, they were not as good as the Hechuan rebels.
At least these rebels still have the temptation of looting Chang'an. Everyone is thinking about the gold and silver mountains and beautiful girls in Chang'an City, so they are still motivated to fight.
But the Fengxiang Army had no intention of doing so. They had no enmity with the Hexi Army and would not get much benefit from fighting with all their might, so they would not fight to the death at all.
More than 4,000 people came out of the city to form an array. They saw that the Guiyi army could step in order to the drum beat, and that they had more than 4,000 sets of armor in front of them.
Immediately these Fengxiang troops stopped working, and everyone made noises outside the city.
They estimated the battle of the Hexi Guiyi Army and then asked Li Congzhao to reward them.
Big reward!
At least to the point where they feel that it is worthwhile to fight with such a powerful army.
Li Congzhao's teeth ached when he heard this. These bitches really dare to speak! It costs a full 30,000 yuan!
Of course I can't give it. The reward alone for one battle is 30,000 guan. Then the Li family shouldn't be a Qi king or a Jiedu envoy. After two battles, they will go bankrupt. It is better to go to Kaifeng or Luoyang and become a rich man.
Afterwards, the Guiyi army was fully organized and even the camel cyclone cannon was ready. Only then did the two sides complete the discussion, and Li Congzhao gave him five thousand guans.
That’s okay too!
The Ya Bing Ya General below thought for a while, and if he was given five thousand guan, he would fight for 5,000 guan! How much is too much? Mosquitoes are also meat!
Fortunately, we are not in the Song Dynasty now. If it were the Song Dynasty, just verbal rewards would not be enough. The soldiers would not go to war until they saw cash.
However, when these soldiers came forward ready to fight a five thousand battle, the situation suddenly changed.
Before the crossbow shooting began, the Guiyi Army on the opposite side pulled out dozens of cyclone cannons.
A single stone attack and a cup of tea killed hundreds of Fengxiang troops.
Immediately afterwards, the cavalry penetrated the two wings, and after harassing them, they dismounted and fired their heavy armor on foot, specifically targeting areas where Fengxiang's army could not switch effectively.
Fengxiang's army, which was only prepared to fight five thousand battles, suddenly lost its spirit.
Fortunately, they were arrayed under the city, so they could turn around and run away in time.
As a result, this chaotic battle lasted only a quarter of an hour. The more than 4,000 Fengxiang troops left behind more than a hundred corpses and returned to the city in ashen condition.
....
Zhang Zhao is riding his golden second-generation sweat horse, wearing a golden helmet and golden armor that he has not used for a long time, and combined with the diamond mask on his face, it is quite mighty.
I, Zhang Sikong, immediately rode outside the moat to pinch the weak persimmon. The halberd in his hand pointed at Li Congzhao at the top of the city.
"Li Congzhao, our two armies have never had any grudges. We are fighting today because your two brothers are unkind.
Come down here and fight with me for twenty rounds. If you can win against someone, I will retreat immediately, so you don’t need to injure your lives!"
It has to be said that Zhang Zhaoye's move is very suitable for the temperament of warriors in this era.
These crazy warriors sometimes pay attention to some basic laws when fighting. This kind of dispute with little interest is purely a grudge between two generals, and fighting is their favorite solution.
Therefore, as soon as Zhang Zhao finished speaking, whether it was the Guiyi Army outside the city or the Fengxiang Army inside the city, there were cheers everywhere. As long as he did not go up and die himself, such excitement would be in vain.
However, Li Congzhao on the top of the city was embarrassed!
His father, Li Maozhen, was very powerful, but when it comes to their generation, although they have learned some martial arts, they are the second generation of Quan! They don't have much perseverance to practice martial arts at all.
Practicing martial arts is a hard job. You practice in the summer and in the winter. How can you practice at home? Pretending to study, it is actually a game of cockfighting and dogfighting. It is fun to find a few beautiful maids to drink wine.
Therefore, Li Congzhao and his brothers are all said to be progressive, elegant, good drinkers, good wine drinkers, and good at fun.
It can be said that this is a standard son of a powerful family. When practicing martial arts, he just follows the crowd and shows his bravery. He just brags on weekdays. If he really wants to challenge a man like Zhang Zhao in a duel, haha!
Li Congzhao's cheek twitched. He only looked at Zhang Zhao's size and equipment, and coupled with his fake appearance, he was an enemy of ten thousand people. He was not an easy opponent no matter how he looked at it.
The confidants around him quickly said: "In the past, the overlord of Western Chu invited Han Emperor Gaozu to fight, and Emperor Gaozu sent someone who was good at shooting at Loufan to fight. It's okay now!"
Li Congzhao was immediately overjoyed, but unfortunately he looked around and waited for a long time, but no one volunteered.
Do you think everyone is stupid? Even if you are given five thousand guan, do you still want Bing Ye to go down and challenge a powerful man like Zhang Sikong in a duel?
Li Congzhao had no choice but to hide his face and retreat from the city wall. Seeing Li Congzhao like this, the surrounding Fengxiang troops all withered. Seven thousand people guarded the city, allowing Zhang Zhao to shout and curse outside.
What Zhang Zhao wanted was this effect, that is, to prevent them from leaving the city.
Since it was already the end of the afternoon (four o'clock in the afternoon) when we besieged the city, after cursing for a while, it was almost dark.
Both sides stopped fighting and did not take this too seriously, because there were 7,000 people guarding the city, and there was no shortage of food or water. The rebel army only had 10,000 people, and they would not be stupid enough to attack the city.
However, on the second day, Zhang Zhao still wore a golden helmet and a mask to challenge, which made Feng Xiang's army on the top of the city uncomfortable.
Yesterday you challenged me, but Li Congzhao didn't dare to accept the challenge. That means he gave up and gave up. Today you still come, which is a bit unethical.
Moreover, the Guiyi Army actually started to build forts outside the city and build siege equipment. This was a serious fight!
As a result, on the third day, Zhang Zhao still challenged the enemy outside the city, but the Guiyi Army's camp was built very slowly. Although people could be seen moving around, the progress was not much.
The Fengxiang troops in the city were all numb. While they despised Zhang Zhao for his lack of martial ethics, they discussed which general would be able to secure victory if they came back tomorrow.
However, on the fourth day, the people in golden armor who came to challenge from outside the city were gone, and the Guiyi Army's slow-moving camp was also gone. Li Congzhao was shocked and hurriedly asked his confidants.
"Has the messenger who sent military reports to the martial arts team returned?"
The confidant was also stunned for a moment, and his face suddenly turned pale, "There has been no news for three whole days."
"Quickly send someone to check outside the city. These Hexi people are playing tricks on us. They must have gone to attack my brother. Maybe the messenger has been intercepted and killed. My brother is unprepared. I'm afraid he will suffer!"
After a while, the cavalry who went out to explore came back, and a battalion commander personally held a set of gold armor.
Li Congzhao went over and saw that it was not a gold armor at all, but a piece of leather armor painted with gold paint. There was no one left in the camp outside the city.
Li Congzhao shouted, "Sure enough, the Jinjia people are fake. The Hexi Army has been gone for three days. No defeated troops have returned in three days. There is no news from Wugong County. They must be in danger. We must rush back!"
The surrounding officers of the Fengxiang Army, the more they thought about it, the more likely it was, and they all asked to be rushed back.
Although their battle with the Guiyi Army four days ago was somewhat perfunctory, it was because they felt that this battle should not be fought.
But now it's different. Wugong County is their base camp. Fifty miles to the west is the jurisdiction of Fengxiang Jiedushi, and one hundred and fifty miles away is Fengxiang Mansion.
If the Hexi people raided the Wugong County army, and then rushed into Fengxiang to burn, kill, and loot, they would suffer a big loss. The generals were all Fengxiang people, so they couldn't just sit idly by.
So without Li Congzhao's urging, the 7,000 people in Xingping County quickly mobilized 5,000 people, and hundreds of cavalry were used to clear the way. The 5,000 people rushed to Wugong County anxiously.
....
Huangshan Palace is located on a plateau about twenty miles away from Xingping County. It is a Taoist holy land built during the period of Emperor Hui of the Western Han Dynasty. The terrain belongs to the relatively high area after the creation of Xingping County.
Zhang Zhao observed Xingping's every move from here, and waited until a plume of smoke and dust billowed westward from Xingping County before he ordered the soldiers of the Returning Army to get ready.
He went to attack Wugong County when he had time. Li Congyu stationed 13,000 troops in Wugong, while Zhang Zhao had less than 10,000 including captured cannon fodder. There was a certain possibility of success in a sudden attack, but the probability of failure was greater.
Isn't it better for him to sit back and wait here to attack Li Congzhao than to attack Wugong County?
"Sir, Li Congzhao's cavalry is quite good. There are only a few hundred men, and the search range can be two or three miles."
Murong Nobunaga arrived, his face full of excitement, but he actually quite recognized the Fengxiang Army's cavalry.
"It's just that these guys are a little slippery and generally don't want to fight to the death. Your plan of surrounding three and one missing is right. Give them a way to survive, and these guys won't engage in a fight between trapped beasts."
"Haha! Of course, no one understands these guys better than me!"
Zhang Zhao made a few gestures that Murong Nobunaga could not understand and said with a smile, these virtues of the five generations of warriors were inherited and carried forward in the Song and Ming dynasties, so he naturally understood.
"These people thought that searching for two or three miles would be safe, but they never thought that there are more than two horses per person, and the horses have horseshoes to protect their hooves.
There are also a large number of sweaty horses and broken-eared horses. Not to mention two or three miles, even five or six miles is not safe."
Zhebu Jiashi also smiled beside Zhang Zhao and admired Zhang Zhao very much.
The biggest wear and tear of a military horse is its hooves. At this time, a qualified military horse can no longer be used as a war horse in only two or three years, because the hooves are too worn and cannot continue to run at high speeds and carry heavy loads.
But the horseshoe invented by Zhang Zhao perfectly solved this problem, greatly extending the service life of the war horse, and allowing the horse's speed to be maximized when sprinting.
"Zhe Bu Jia Shi, you lead 600 cavalry around the back and cut off their escape route. Remember not to block them and create a gap.
The rest of the people will follow me and charge directly at the enemy's vanguard, making sure to knock them out with a blow to the head and force them to flee back in embarrassment along the gap we left."
....
Li Congzhao was riding on a green horse. Not far ahead was Mawei Slope, which was guarded by more than a hundred Fengxiang troops.
On normal days, Li Congzhao would definitely go there to pay his respects, but now, he can no longer arouse this interest.
Before leaving the city, he was worried that his brother Li Congyao would be attacked by a sneak attack. But after leaving the city, he was worried about whether he had fallen into a trap? Could someone have beaten him?
However, looking at the cavalry going back and forth around him, he felt reassured. If there was danger, these cavalry would definitely be able to issue an alarm in advance.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Just now he was thinking that the cavalry would sound a warning, but Li Congzhao immediately heard the sound of the alarm. This was the alarm sounded by the cavalry in charge of the investigation with a portable gong.
Soon! After only a few dozen breaths, the sound of the gong stopped, and the screams began to sound. Li Congzhao, who felt dizzy, was quickly helped off his horse by his guards.