The envoy went back and told Meng Xinghe what Li Chengqian said word for word. Listening to the envoy describing the tone and demeanor of Li Chengqian's words at that time, the corners of Meng Xinghe's mouth slightly raised. The fish was finally about to take the bait. On the other hand, in order to deal with He Taiping a few days later During the military decisive battle, Li Chengqian allowed soldiers to rob food in Taihu County, which was seen by Du Junshi who was patrolling the city. She never thought that such a bad thing as sending troops to rob food would be an order issued by Li Chengqian. If this continues, let alone defeat. The Taiping Army could even get the people in Hukou to rebel.
Master Du hurriedly returned to the military camp. He happened to encounter Hou Junji leading a group of soldiers to escort an empty grain truck out. Could it be that he was also going to grab grain.
"Stop." Military Master Du stood in front of Hou Junji, blocking his way and saying, "No one is allowed to step out of the military camp without my order."
Hou Junji used to be the pursuer of Military Master Du. After being treated inhumanely by Meng Xinghe, his hatred for Meng Xinghe gradually transferred to Miss Du. He even thought in his heart that one day the prince would become the emperor. He would ask the prince to order Du Xuan to marry him, in order to make her a widow.
Hou Junji did not regard the military advisor's words as a military order at all. He was riding on the horse and clamped the horse's belly. He said in a voice of executing the order: "I am also acting under orders. Please give way to the military advisor. If it delays the important matter, "I'm afraid that neither the military advisor nor I can shoulder the responsibility." Hou Junji lifted his mount forward and walked a few steps, approaching the military advisor step by step. In fact, he wanted to tease her in a high-profile manner. In the past, he had always treated her He acted submissively to please, but was treated coldly in return. Now Hou Junji is no longer so pretentious. He only thinks about revenge and vows to make sure that all women who like Meng Xinghe will not be happy.
"You." Du Xuan took a few steps back: "Be bold."
"Who is the bold one? This general is acting under orders. If the military advisor dares to stop him again, don't blame me for not remembering our old friendship." Hou Junji's face turned evil. He shouted to the soldiers behind him to ignore the military advisor and just leave.
Du Xuan knew that she couldn't stop Hou Junji, so she made way for him. Seeing him strutting out, she sighed. She was not as anxious as before. She walked slowly to Li Chengqian's tent and saw Li Chengqian looking at his head. Map. She was just fulfilling the duties of a military advisor. She suggested, "Isn't it inappropriate for the marshal to send troops to grab food?" The military advisor's tone no longer had the same strong tone as before. Perhaps it could be said that there was a hint of compromise in it.
Li Chengqian carefully observed the battle map. He did not think that the military advisor's suggestion was a big deal. "The military advisor is overthinking it. The food collection is only to deal with the Taiping Army. I have already made a plan. Once the food and grass from the court arrive, it will be returned to Taihu County immediately." the people.”
"But."
The military advisor wanted to say that the people's support must not be lost, but was interrupted by Li Chengqian, who said: "Nothing but. I have decided to fight to the death with the Taiping Army outside Taihu County in three days."
"Yes." Miss Du resigned to her fate and had given up on the entire southbound army. "In that case, I won't disturb the marshal. However, I still want to remind the marshal to be careful of the Taiping Cult's plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain." She turned around and left. .With a hint of compassion, he warned Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian's mind was filled with revenge. He couldn't bear to listen to what the general said. He only knew that Du Xuan was thinking about the army on the left. It couldn't be used by her. What she said might mean that he and the people who were brought to Jiangdu were brought to Jiangdu. All his confidants wanted to kill him. So although Li Chengqian still followed the military advisor's arrangements on the surface, in fact, he had long ignored her and would not adopt any of her suggestions at all.
"The generals are at odds with each other. Such an army will eventually be defeated."
When Meng Xinghe stood in the Taiping Sect's tent and listened to the report of the spies stationed in Taihu County, although he could not hide the joy on his face, he still felt sorry for Du Xuan who worked hard for the Tang army but in vain.
"Everyone, be prepared. In three days, we will defeat the Tang army. Now, let Xue Rengui arrange for everyone how to attack Hutaihu County."
After listening to Meng Xinghe's words, Xue Rengui walked up and hung up the marching battle map that had been arranged long ago. Pointing to Taihu County, which was clearly marked on it, he said: "For this battle, the Tang army will definitely choose the battlefield fifty miles away from Taihu County. Outside the area, this place is surrounded by mountains on two sides, with only one official road passing through it. It is the most suitable place for an ambush. If our army wants to attack Taihu County, they will definitely take this official road. Li Chengqian will definitely set up an ambush here to attack. General Zhang Tao, you will lead 30,000 troops. You must make the momentum as big as possible so that the Tang army will mistakenly think that we are going to fight to the death. General Zhang, please remember that you are just pretending to attack. You must not fight against the Tang army. Wait for Taihu Lake Beacon fires were lit over the county town and they immediately retreated to Taihu Lake. The Tang army had no ships and could not reach Taihu Lake."
"I have an order." Zhang Tao, who used to guard the mouth of the pot, received the military order and went down.
Xue Rengui said again: "When General Zhang went to hold down the Tang army, my brother-in-law and I led 10,000 elite soldiers to Taihu County on a small road. According to the report from the spies, Li Chengqian left less than 5,000 soldiers in Taihu. Most of them were old, weak and remnants. Wait for me. When Taihu County is captured, beacon smoke will be lit immediately. When there is a fire in Li Chengqian's backyard, he will definitely come back to rescue. General Zhang will take advantage of the situation to pursue him. He has no way out and no place to retreat. In a hurry, he will definitely flee westward into Jiangdu. At that time, Brother Chai will lead another 5,000 soldiers to ambush the roadside. When Li Chengqian arrives, he will immediately rush out from the road. Li Chengqian, who is surrounded by grass and trees, will definitely abandon his helmet and armor and return to Chang'an."
Xue Rengui laid out the entire battle plan very carefully. It was nothing more than a simple strategy to divert the tiger away from the mountain and start a fire in the backyard. Although this seems simple, the authorities are blind to the beholder. If you are in the middle of the game, you cannot see everything thoroughly. If Li Chengqian really wants to If the entire army is mobilized, then his 100,000-strong army will definitely be defeated.
In fact, Li Chengqian was accurately predicted by Xue Rengui and was ready to go out in full force to fight the Taiping Army to the death. He asked Zhang Shigui to lead 30,000 soldiers to ambush the surrounding area. He went out with several times the number of soldiers to fight and stayed in Taihu County to defend the city. The number was less than 8,000. They were all old, weak, sick and disabled, and could not go to the battlefield at all. Although there was some discrepancy with Xue Rengui's calculation, it did not affect the overall situation.
Three days later, both sides ordered their troops to go out. In fact, as early as half a day ago, Meng Xinghe and Xue Rengui had led 10,000 elite soldiers out of Taihu Lake at night. Now they are hiding in the mountains and dense forests near Taihu County. Their target is Taihu Lake. County. Naturally, the whereabouts cannot be exposed to make Li Chengqian suspicious.
Zhang Tao led an army of 30,000 people. It can be said that they sailed out from Taihu Lake with great momentum. The people around Taihu Lake rushed to spread rumors that it seemed that the Taiping Army was going to fight to the death with the Tang Army. Otherwise, there would not be such a huge battle. In fact, Li Chengqian also He was not stupid. He had thought that his opponent would use a trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain. But the spies from the front came many times to report that the Taiping Army had already moved out in full force. It seemed that he really wanted to fight the Tang Army. Li Chengqian then relaxed and waited to catch the turtle in the urn.
Meng Xinghe and Xue Rengui were also heading towards Taihu County quickly.
Both sides are scrambling for time. A seemingly brutal battle is about to begin.
At this moment, Commander Du, who had not yet left for the expedition, frowned and looked into the distance. For her today, what she was worried about was not Li Chengqian in the distance, but the Taihu County city wall, which was very fragile at the moment.
"It's really ridiculous to leave eight thousand old and weak soldiers to defend the city." Military Master Du wore a silver-white female armor on his body, which looked quite heroic like a man's. Fortunately, there were two capable young generals, Qin Huaiyu and Li Chuang, by his side. Otherwise, otherwise If someone comes to attack Taihu County, even if she is resourceful, it will not help. The reason is very simple. It is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice.
"Hiss." Qin Huaiyu, who was standing next to the military advisor, took a breath of air. He had good eyesight and had already seen the front of Taihu County. A group of dark people rushed towards it very quickly. He immediately had a premonition that someone was attacking the city, and he immediately cheered up. . said: "Sister Xuan, look ahead."
It was as expected. The Taiping Army's decisive battle was a fake siege but it was a real one. Poor Li Chengqian did not listen to the advice of his military advisor and was arrogant. Now he has suffered the consequences of his carelessness.
"Light the smoke quickly and tell Taihu County that there is trouble." Du Junshi immediately ordered down. A thick plume of smoke had already shot straight into the sky.
"Brother-in-law, look, Tang Jun is conveying military information." Xue Rengui raised a sneer and said: "With General Zhang here, Li Chengqian may not be able to get away at the moment. Besides, even if he knew that Taihu was in trouble, I'm afraid he wouldn't come to rescue you. Who would think that he would be trapped in a pincer attack for an empty city? He would definitely flee to Jiangdu in a hurry. It's a pity that Brother Chai is still waiting for him there."
Meng Xinghe did not show a smile of victory, because he had already seen the woman wearing white armor on the wall opposite. He originally thought that this woman would follow Li Chengqian to the front. But he knew that it was her who stayed in Taihu County to guard Meng Xinghe. Xinghe didn't think much about it. His face sank. It seemed that he had already decided the life and death of everyone on the wall of Taihu City.
"Brother-in-law, you stay here. I will fight this battle." Xue Rengui took the lead and ran out. He obviously saw Meng Xinghe's difficulties. Meeting old friends, he couldn't bear it.
"Yeah." Meng Xinghe reined in the horse and finally said, "Don't hurt her. Don't let her die either."
Knowing Miss Du's character, Meng Xinghe gave her many advices.
Xue Rengui took note of what Meng Xinghe said and led the 10,000 elite soldiers to the foot of Taihu City. From the rear, Meng Xinghe dismounted and watched from a distance.
"Old Xue." Qin Huaiyu and Li Chuang on the city wall immediately recognized who was coming. The expressions on their faces were a little uncertain. They never expected that the person who came to attack the city was actually Xue Rengui. Could it be to avenge Meng Xinghe.
"Haha. My name is Xue Rengui. I am a young general in the Taiping Army. I came to attack the city today. I would like to think of the soldiers and civilians in the city. Open the city gate and surrender." Boundary. He is no longer called Lao Xue. The people on the opposite wall are no longer his brothers. This is the battlefield.
"You... we have misjudged you." Qin Huaiyu on the city wall said with a broken voice: "Even if we fight to the last soldier, I, Qin Huaiyu, will not open the city to surrender and embarrass my Qin family. If you have the ability, just Come and get it.”
"Forget it. He also has his own reasons." The military advisor looked into the distance. There seemed to be a cyan shadow there. It was hazy and unreal. "Huaiyu, go down and open the city gate. The eight thousand soldiers in the city are My parents, wife and children are still waiting for them to return to Chang'an." After saying that, Miss Du had never felt as happy as she was today. She looked at the distant sky, but she no longer knew whether she could return to Chang'an in this life.