It was night, and the sky suddenly became overcast. Not a single star could be seen in the night sky, as if the sky was covered with black cloth.
The surrounding fields are dark, cold and gloomy, like a monster with a black hole wide open.
Turn off the lights, it's very dense. But it always feels like all the light has been swallowed up by the night, and you can't feel much light at all.
There was a felt blanket spread on the stone platform under the door. Dou Ling just sat in the open air, staring at the east with cold eyes.
A battalion of wolf guards and a battalion of fine cavalry, just to return home in vain?
Not only was the true strength of the Han army undetected, but in just a short while, more than 600 of the 1,000 fine cavalry were lost?
But who would have expected that a brigade of tiger cavalry would suddenly appear?
Haha... Could it be that it fell from the sky?
If you were more cautious, you should retreat at this time, and at most you would be returning without success. But Dou Ling always felt that he couldn't swallow this breath.
You didn't take advantage of it at all, but suffered a small loss?
Furthermore, he had already concluded in his heart that the Han army must not have many troops. Otherwise, he would have taken advantage of the victory and pursued it, instead of being as strange as it is today:
It is clear that we have won a great victory, and we only need to let the front army take advantage of the situation to cover up and kill, and we can force Yuchi's front line back. If we are lucky, it is not impossible to defeat them.
But the Han general was indifferent and let himself go, watching helplessly as Yuchi's cavalry fled back?
Then why did the front line of the Han army have to fight so hard when they first started fighting?
There is only one possible explanation: the Han army is strong on the outside and weak on the inside, so it can only suppress it first and make itself use the enemy. The Han generals do not dare to reveal their strength too early, so they can only deliberately delay and wait for subsequent reinforcements...
There was a sound of footsteps inside the door, and a Hu general walked over quickly and whispered in Dou Ling's ear:
"Lu Shiyu said: Yuan Yi did bring hundreds of armored guards when he went north, but he didn't know whether he was a tiger cavalry, and Lu Yan did not mention it in the letter. But he also said: even if it was a tiger cavalry,
He also wears iron armor on weekdays. If he had not reported his family name, Lu Yan would not have been able to recognize him..."
"So, even if there is a real Tiger Cavalry, there is only one brigade?"
General Hu nodded and said, "Lu Shiqian thinks so too!"
This is also consistent with Dou Ling's inference: the tiger cavalry is far away in Luoyang, which is two thousand miles away from here. Even with fast horses and light cavalry, traveling day and night, it should take at least ten days to reach the foot of Langshan Mountain.
Ten days ago, Lu Yan had just launched his attack and captured Yuan Yi with lightning speed. May I ask where the tiger cavalry was at that time?
Even if Lu Yan’s secret plan leaks the news, it’s impossible for the news to grow wings and fly to Luoyang overnight, right?
Therefore, the tiger cavalry Wu Yin encountered today must be the bodyguards who protected Yuanyi to Beizhen, only five hundred at most!
Dou Ling felt a little relieved, then turned his head and reached out to pick up something.
It was a burnt-out rocket, and the barrel was empty, exuding only a faint smell of gunfire.
Dou Ling put it under his nose and smelled it, his eyes moved: "The stone is yellow?"
There is this thing on the north slope of Langshan Mountain. Although it is rare, it is not a rare thing. If the Hu people encounter it by chance while grazing, they will scrape it off the stone with a knife to stop bleeding and relieve pain. p>
Of course, anyone with a little knowledge knows that this substance is flammable, but because the Hu people are extremely short of medicine, naturally no one has the luxury to use stone flow yellow to start a fire.
But something as inconspicuous as this frightened the left wing into fleeing without a fight?
"Hehehe..."
Dou Ling smiled, but his voice was as cold as ice: "Is this thing enough to scare you to the point of being defeated and without any fighting spirit?"
The brigade commander was suddenly shocked and knocked his head heavily on the stone ground. When he raised his head, his face was covered with blood:
"Sir... Your Majesty, it's not that I'm timid, but... it's that the horses were frightened when they saw this thing, and were completely out of control of the knight... I was afraid that the whole brigade would be wiped out, so I ordered the troops to withdraw..." p>
What a sharp mouth, how can you make such a high-sounding statement about escaping without a fight?
If you let him go, how can you comfort Yahiki who fought to the last moment?
Dou Ling waved his hand coldly: "Pull it down and chop it, mince the flesh and blood into paste, pound the bones, mix them with fodder and feed them to the horses... All members of the clan are worthy of being slaves in the house..." p>
"Sir... spare..."
Without even shouting for mercy, Dou Ling rushed out of several wolf guards like a crosswind, kicked the brigade commander to the ground with a headshot.
After a few more strokes, he tied it up like a rice dumpling, and several people worked together to lift it down.
"For all the soldiers who died in the battle with Wuyin, they were given two dead horses, two cows, and twenty sheep... The two sons of Wuyin were ordered to join the wolf guard, and the remaining survivors were all admitted to the upper camp..."
"Yes!"
A Han official from the tribe beside him responded and quickly wrote it down on the paper.
Those who deserved to be killed have been killed, and those who deserved to be rewarded have been rewarded. Dou Ling was speechless, grabbed a sheep, and roasted it on the fire.
Not long after, the lamb legs were roasted until they were sizzling with oil, and a fragrant aroma filled the air, making the guards behind them swallow their saliva one by one.
The wind gradually picked up at the foot of the mountain, and it became increasingly cold outside the pass. However, Dou Ling still sat as steady as a bell, carving the mutton slowly and methodically.
He is waiting for news, waiting for news about the strength of the Han army, whether it is true or not.
From the beginning to the end, Dou Ling believed that no matter how capable the Han generals were, and no matter how fast the Han army's scouts were, it was absolutely impossible to seal off the entire Wolf Mountain, which was about a thousand miles long.
Unless there are hundreds of thousands of Han troops, and they are all placed on Langshan.
Therefore, when he saw the Han army suddenly approaching Dacheng County last night, Dou Ling knew that the enemy was ahead of him and sent out several scouting horses to bypass Langshan.
I didn’t think about it, but it really came in handy?
Is it also strange that the commander-in-chief lost a whole brigade of fine cavalry and still didn’t find out the true strength of the Han army?
Until one sheep retreated and was eaten by Dou Ling, the news finally came.
A group of fast horses came from the south. As soon as Fang approached Guanxia, he was led to Dou Ling by the surrounding guards.
Judging from his travels, he obviously had to travel a lot.
"Where did you find it?"
"Lord Bing, my subordinates are already about thirty miles west of Wuyuan County..."
Wuyuan County is three hundred miles away from here, but it has traveled so far?
No wonder no news has been sent for two full days?
It seems that he must have checked the traces of the Han army along the way, and can roughly calculate the geometry of its troops and horses.
"Is there any gain?"
"Yes!"
General Hu nodded vigorously, "My subordinates have already confirmed that the Han army has a maximum strength of six thousand. Because they came from the fertile wilderness in a hurry, most of them have two horses, and some even ride three horses. Therefore, the formation is extremely huge..." This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Dou Ling's pupils shrank slightly: "How come it's so clear?"
Don’t blame him for being suspicious.
There are tens of thousands of soldiers, boundless. Even if you count them one by one in front of the formation, it is impossible to count them so clearly.
Just because you can only see the outer edge of the formation, but you can't see whether the formation is empty or solid.
Unless you go deep into the enemy's formation and investigate camp by camp...
General Hu grinned and bared his teeth: "As we approached Wuyuan, my subordinates encountered a small group of Shule herdsmen who had fled to the county town. They forced them to reveal their origins and killed them all. Then they ordered a dozen of their subordinates to pretend to be half-way.
After being robbed, he mixed into another group and entered Wuyuan County...
Then several parties made inquiries, and captured a county official for questioning, saying that the county magistrate ordered the county officials to collect grain, which was to prepare six thousand soldiers for three days..."
Dou Ling was so happy that he stood up and patted General Hu's shoulder hard twice: "God is really helping me...well, well..."
With Lu Yan as the traitor, Dou Ling knew the military affairs of the three towns of Woye, Huaishuo and Wuchuan very well.
Excluding the various gates and garrisons, most of the garrison troops in the three towns only have a few thousand, ranging from four to five thousand to seven to eight thousand.
Among them, more than 70% are infantry, and at most only 30% are cavalry.
Therefore, these 6,000 cavalrymen have done everything Luo Jian can do, and all the cavalrymen in Xisan Town have been mobilized.
The rest are only infantry. It will take five or six days at the earliest for Luo Jian to summon all the soldiers, collect enough food and grass, and stop under Langshan Mountain.
For five or six days, as long as these six thousand men are brought to the pass, how many things cannot be accomplished?
The more Dou Ling thought about it, the more excited he became, and he laughed loudly and said: "Remember your great contribution, I will definitely reward you generously...
General Hu responded repeatedly and was led by his bodyguard to the pass to rest.
After he left, Dou Ling circled around the felt blanket, seeming very excited.
The Han army only has 6,000 soldiers, so what if they are all elite cavalry?
I'm sorry that you know what I want to do, but you never dare to divide your troops...
"Sir, since we know that Wuyuan will definitely transport grain to Dacheng, why not cut off its grain route?"
"What's the use? Even if Wuyuan is captured, there will still be a large amount of food. And the Han army has at least two horses. Killing one will be enough to feed five ten days. And the Han army has six thousand horses.
I can’t finish it in two months!”
Dou Ling sneered, "Besides, are we here to fight the Han army?"
The generals were suddenly startled as if they were enlightened.
Yes, why do we need to confront the Han army head-on?
Seeing Dou Ling's brows beaming with joy, Wu Luohou, the leader of the attached army, immediately knew that Dou Ling had been moved by Lu Shiqian's words in the morning.
He cautiously probed: "Sir, why don't you follow Lu Shiyu's words and divide your troops to protect him as he goes south overnight..."
Sure enough!
Hearing this sentence, Dou Ling's eyes suddenly flashed with light: "Don't be anxious, wait a little longer..."
The wind became stronger and stronger, and the weather became colder and colder. Even relying on the fire could no longer withstand the cold wind. Dou Ling ordered his guards to set up tents on the spot.
This wait lasted almost an hour.
Another group of exploring horses returned to camp, but this time they came from the north and should have climbed over from Wolf Mountain.
"Sir, when it was almost night, all the Han troops withdrew to the city. By nightfall, all the troops and horses had entered the city, and the city gates were closed. There were many lights on the city, so extra guards should have been posted!" p>
Haha... The Han army really didn't have many troops, and it was sent out in a hurry?
If there are no tents for soldiers, fences for camping, and sufficient chariots and chariots, why enter the city?
Because there was no cover, the Han general was afraid that he would steal the camp in the middle of the night, so he did not dare to let the army camp outside the city...
Dou Ling started to circle around the felt blanket again, clenching his fists as he walked.
After turning around for more than ten times, he slammed his left fist into his right palm, making a crisp sound.
"Call Lu Shiqi to come..."
……
Li Chengzhi sat on the couch with a golden knife, holding a bowl of mutton noodles, which was slurping and delicious.
Magistrate Dacheng looked at him blankly as if he was stupid.
A high-ranking county official and governor of the four states eats this?
It’s not that there is no meat: there are pork legs, lamb chops, and fat chickens on the table. The Dacheng County magistrate even killed a cow, but for some reason, Li Chengzhi didn’t move a single chopstick.
Looking at Yang Jun, Yuan Zhi, and all the military leaders, they seemed to have become accustomed to the strange things. They just gnawed the bones in their hands and let the coach Li Chengzhi eat the noodles.
"Commander, urgent report from Wuyuan!"
Just as I was wondering, I suddenly heard a loud roar outside the hall.
Hearing Li Liang's response, Yuan Chen rushed into the county government office like a storm.
Li Chengzhi raised his head in surprise and looked at the two soldiers behind Yuan Chen.
What urgent news can Wuyuan have?
Is it possible that Dou Ling secretly divided his troops and captured Wuyuan County?
Impossible!
Du Lun's troops were all cavalry, and they didn't even have a log or a ladder. Could it be that the city wall was broken open by riding a horse?
Unless Li Yanqing, the magistrate of Wuyuan County, has surrendered and opened the city gate to let Hu Bing in...
He put down his bowl and chopsticks and whispered back: "Speak!"
"Around noon, a herdsman who had escaped suddenly came to report that he had seen dozens of corpses in a mountain cliff thirty miles west of the city... Li Changshi (Li Shenjun) and County Magistrate Li personally inspected it, and guessed that it was
He was killed by a creeping knight yesterday...
Li Changshi immediately concluded that an enemy thief must have sneaked into the city disguised as his identity... County Magistrate Li conducted a thorough investigation throughout the city. Although he did not capture the thief's details, he found that a county official died at home. Looking at the traces, he should have
He was tortured..."
The generals' hearts trembled: Has their strength been exposed?
Before sending out troops, Luo Jian sent urgent orders to the counties north of the town, ordering them to prepare urgent supplies of food and grass for Li Chengzhi.
Counties are bound to be moved by the city, and Wuyuan is no exception.
Although it is unlikely that Li Yanqing would disclose to the public the size of the army and the origins of each one, county officials can guess the size of the army based on the amount of food prepared...
From Yang Jun on down, the faces of all the generals are not very good-looking.
After all, you didn't expect that Dou Ling's craftsman would go so far to Wuyuan, which is more than 200 miles away from Jinhaoguan Pass?
Li Chengzhi was not panicked at all.
"The Fertile Wilderness is nearly a thousand miles in circumference. How vast is it? Naturally, it is impossible to completely seal off every place. If Dou leader is determined to explore, his troops will be exposed sooner or later!"
Yang Jun was very surprised: "Aren't you worried?"
Li Chengzhi asked: "What is there to worry about?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
"If you change location, I will be the leader of Dou, and I will divide my troops: either to intercept your food route, or to attack your retreat..."
"Haha?"
Li Chengzhi laughed out loud, "Do you think Dou Ling is here to fight with you and me?"
Yang Jun was stunned for a moment, and his face couldn't help but blush.
Yuan Zhi and others immediately realized: The Du Lun tribe was invited by Lu Yan to rob, and they were so mad that they fought with the Han army?
"Now that we know the reality of our army, how will Dou Ling respond?"
Li Chengzhi pondered for a moment: "If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to divide our troops!"
Yang Jun's eyes nearly popped out: "What's the difference between your division of troops and mine?"
"Don't rush!"
Li Chengzhi took the noodle bowl and asked Li Liang to bring a map and spread it on the table, pointing to the open space south of Jinhaoguan: "What is this place?"
Gaoqueshu, isn’t it written?
Um...wrong?
The commander of the Gaoque garrison is Lu Yan's younger brother, and he has already been in cahoots with the Du Lun tribe...
"He wants to rob Linhe?"
"Not only Linhe, but also Sanfeng, or Gaoque garrison city Linrong!"
Yang Jun sighed sadly: "But even if we guess Dou Ling's intention, what can we do?"
The incident happened in such a hurry that Luo Jian had no time to mobilize his troops to take precautions. Moreover, most of the remaining town troops were infantry. Without three or even four times the number of troops, they would not be able to stop Dou Ling's light cavalry.
"It's not all useless..."
Li Chengzhi pondered for a moment, then shouted in a deep voice, "Li Da, send your horse quickly to summon Governor Luo and ask him to send more troops to Jilukuan Pass as soon as possible... Even if you take human lives, Jilukuan Pass will be defended to death..."
”
"Why bother?"
Yang Jun wondered, "Gaoque and Jinhao are all in the hands of Dou Ling. How many soldiers can't escape in the nearly half-mile-wide river valley?"
Li Chengzhi didn't defend himself, he just smiled.
Who said it was unnecessary?
More than forty days ago, before the army set off from Luoyang, he ordered Li Song to march eastward with his entire army. Ten days ago, he had arrived at Bigan City (Langshan Pass).
Dou Ling was not very good at pinching and calculating, so how could he have expected that the way back was cut off?
I will let you be proud for two days first. When Luo Jian blocks Jilu and Li Song seizes Gaoque, I will make you cry without knowing how to cry...