Although ancient wars are not actually like those in most strategy games, where the entire army is annihilated after being singled out by a single cavalry, the impact of losing the general on the morale of the entire army is obvious.
If Ximen Qing and Chuixue's troops had not appeared in time, the Chenzhou soldiers would have collapsed due to Wu Bingyi's death; the same was true for Dong Cheng's troops who originally occupied Lingchuan County, otherwise Ximen Qing would have had to conquer Lingchuan County.
Take some effort.
Of course, not all generals are willing to challenge war, and not all generals will respond to challenge. It is futile to win a war just by relying on a few highly skilled generals without a sufficient number of elite soldiers.
Ximen Qing's idea of sticking to Lingchuan County was not a sudden thought, but because Lingchuan County is actually a very important strategic location; it is connected to Zhaode Prefecture in the north, and past Baodu Mountain is Huguan, the gateway of Zhaode Prefecture;
It borders Weizhou to the east, and only a few dozen miles to the west from Lingchuan County is the Weizhou area. It is also an important town in Gaizhou and a battleground for military strategists.
Now that the decision has been made, what needs to be done is to repair the dilapidated city walls, train soldiers, and the most important thing is food and grass.
The food and grass brought by Chenzhou soldiers can last for about five days. With the 5,000 surrendered troops, it is not enough. Fortunately, Dong Cheng is also prepared to hold on to Lingchuan County. The food and grass collected from all over are prepared for 20,000 people.
, plus the original food and fodder in Lingchuan County, it can probably feed the current 15,000 people for 20 days to a month.
Although it was enough for now, Ximen Qing was not satisfied yet.
Although the expedition against Tian Hu was led by Gao Qiu, Ximen Qing was sent as the vanguard. To be honest, no one knew when Gao Qiu would send out his army or whether he would send troops to Lingchuan County to replace Ximen Qing.
We must be prepared to hold on and obtain more military rations.
Ximen Qing set his sights on Baodu Mountain in the north on the map.
Niu Wenzhong sent 100,000 elite troops to attack Gaizhou. Although 20,000 of them had been defeated by Ximen Qing, the issue of food and grass was even more critical.
After interrogating some of the surrendered troops, Ximen Qing determined that Niu Wenzhong came from Huguan, and then divided his troops to attack the counties in Gaizhou.
Zhaode Mansion must have been continuously transporting grain and grass for use by Niu Wenzhong's army; Gaoping County, dozens of miles away to the west, has fallen into Niu Wenzhong's hands, so the road from Baodu Mountain to Gaoping County is Niu Wenzhong's grain transport
line.
Why not take it?
After hearing Ximen Qing's idea of robbing the thieves' soldiers for his own use, everyone greatly agreed.
The next thing to decide is who will go.
"The troops and horses have not moved, but the food and grass go first." Ximen Qing said slowly: "Food and grass are very important to the army. The food transport team in Zhaode Mansion must be escorted by a general. I wonder which brother is willing to go?"
"Leave this job to the Sa family."
Hua Monk Lu Zhishen was the first to jump out without blinking: "The Sa family was born in the military. They also fought with the Xixia people in the west, and they often did things like robbing food and grass."
"Lin Chong and senior brother are going together."
Lin Chong, the leopard head, also said: "This kind of thing cannot be done by one person."
Ximen Qing was overjoyed and ordered the young Wei Chi Sun Xin and the desperate San Lang Shi Xiu, and asked them to go with Lu Zhishen and Lin Chong.
The four ordered two thousand Chenzhou soldiers and horses, took three days' rations with them, quietly opened the north gate of Lingchuan County, and headed towards Baodu Mountain.
Hua Monk Lu Zhishen had read the map carefully and knew that there was a three-way road thirty miles north of Lingchuan County, with the east and west roads leading to Lingchuan and Gaoping counties, which was the only way for the grain transport team to pass.
...
...
Twenty miles west of Lingchuan County, the powerful general Fang Qiong called four generals Yang Duan, Guo Xin, Su Ji, and Zhang Xiang to the big tent to discuss matters and prepare to attack Lingchuan County tomorrow.
"Everyone is well aware of Dong Cheng's martial arts skills. Although he is not considered to be a highly skilled martial artist, he is not an ordinary person either." Yang Duan cupped his hands and said, "In addition, Shen Ji and Geng Gong were actually beheaded by the other party alone. This leopard-headed Lin Chong is extremely skilled in martial arts and must be dealt with carefully."
Zhang Xiang smiled and said: "You are too careful. How can you tell the true level of Lin Chong by just listening to the exaggerated words of the deserters? Besides, we are not vegetarians. A certain family's bows and arrows can pierce the Yangtze at a hundred steps, and they found opportunities to shoot him to death with hidden arrows in the formation. Lin Chong, the leopard leader, wants to avenge Dong Cheng and the other three generals."
At present, the four generals are divided into two opinions. Yang Duan and Su Ji believe that it should be treated with caution, while Guo Xin and Zhang Xiang disagree.
Fang Qiong listened for a long time and slapped the table: "What's the fuss! We haven't attacked Lingchuan County yet, so you're doing it on your own... According to me, no matter how powerful the leopard-headed Lin Chong is, he's just a human being, just like you and me. , it’s not like you have three heads and six arms, why do you say it’s so scary? You’re in a mess!”
When the four generals heard what Fang Qiong said, they immediately stopped quarreling and bowed together: "I am willing to listen to the general's orders!"
"Okay!" Fang Qiong glanced at him: "I have already signed a military order with the Privy Councilor. If we don't capture Lingchuan County, we don't need to see the Privy Councilor. The same goes for you! When the two armies are fighting, morale will come first! Tomorrow Then he went to the city to start a fight, and called the leopard-headed Lin to come out and see what kind of person he was!"
"This person has recently killed three of our generals. He must be the one who wants the army. Tomorrow he will kill the gods in their hearts in front of the Song soldiers! In this way, Lingchuan County will definitely defeat itself!"
"As soon as Lin Chong comes out, I will personally take action! You guys can hold the line for me!" Fang Qiong shouted: "General Zhang! You are skilled in bow and horse, you can secretly help me tomorrow!"
Zhang Xiang was overjoyed: "The general will obey the order!"
Fang Qiong then ordered people to bury pots and cook at five o'clock. After a good meal, the soldiers of the three armies sent troops to Lingchuan County!
...
...
The next day, early morning.
"The thieves have broken out of camp a moment ago." Scarface Tiger Liu Renzhong's report cheered everyone up.
Is it finally here?
Fang Qiong used 2,000 cavalry as the front army, 10,000 infantry in the center, and 8,000 infantry in the rear. The 2,000 cavalry in the front moved quickly and appeared on the western horizon in less than an hour.
"The thieves are coming!" The lookout pointed out the direction with his mouth wide open.
Everyone had been fully dressed and was watching from the city wall. Although the bandits were powerful, none of them looked panicked. On the contrary, they were confident.
Most of the dilapidated city walls have been repaired in the past few days. Although the time is tight and the quality is not ideal, it is much better than the shoddy project.
According to the intelligence, Fang Qiong's army had two rams and chariots. In addition, there were also ladders and other siege equipment, and there were also a lot of rolling stones and wood prepared by Ximen Qing.
In addition, Ximen Qing also ordered several large pots to be set up at the top of the city, filled with boiling oil. In an emergency, not only could the boiling oil be poured down to repel the enemy, but torches could also be dropped to turn the thieves into human-shaped candles.
Now, it's time to put all this to the test.
Fang Qiong's front army of two thousand cavalry stopped at a stone's throw to the west of the city. Behind them, the middle army and the rear infantry continued to pour in, gradually forming several square formations.
Ximen Qing leaned on the wall and looked at it, and couldn't help but laugh and said: "Although the bandit soldiers are powerful, they have no way to advance or retreat, and their formation is messy. Are these Niu Wenzhong's elite soldiers here?"
Ximen Qing seemed to remember watching Zhiduoxing Wu Yong practice the "Nine Palaces and Bagua Formation", and he seemed to have the same feeling.
No matter how many tricks there are, it is useless. The most practical thing is to have good command and good training. For example, Fang Qiong's phalanx of 20,000 people stood crookedly. If 2,000 cavalry rushed over, it would be chaos.
Thunderbolt Fire Qin Ming and Sick Wei Chi Sun Li looked at each other and smiled. Compared with such "elite soldiers", the blood-blowing soldiers who have been carefully trained by the two are confident that one can be as good as ten!
The two believe that after the tempering of the war, the Blood Blowing Guards Corps can reach a higher level!
In the distance, a military flag with the words "General Wei Might" appeared among the two thousand cavalrymen. The four generals under it were surrounding the general like stars holding the moon in their arms.
This man wears a cirrus crown on his head, dragon scale armor, a green brocade robe, a lion belt around his waist, and green boots on his feet. He hangs a bow on his left and an arrow on his right. He sits astride a yellow horse and twists a muddy iron spear.
.
When everyone on the city wall saw him, they knew that this person was the powerful general Fang Qiong.
Fang Qiong picked up the iron gun and shouted loudly: "The army is here and you still don't surrender the city? Ask Lin Chong, who picked my three generals that day, to come out and see the iron gun in Fang's hand!"
Seeing Fang Qiong galloping back and forth in the front army, and everyone on the city wall looking at each other and laughing, Ximen Qing said: "Brothers, how about going down to meet this powerful general?"
Everyone responded with a roar and came down the city wall. Ximen Qing ordered two thousand Chenzhou soldiers and one hundred blood-blowing soldiers to escort them, lit the trumpets and rushed out of the west gate.
Fang Qiong cursed for a long time and felt a little dry in the mouth. He was about to get some water to drink when he saw a group of people and horses rushing out of the west gate. They were all infantry. There were only about a hundred horsemen among them, so he couldn't help but look down upon them.
"Why don't Lin Chong, the leopard head, come and die?"
Fang Qiong shouted loudly and saw that the formation on the opposite side was well organized, and he was slightly surprised.
"Is it because the intelligence is wrong and there are forbidden troops here?"
Just as he was thinking about it, he saw more than a hundred knights in the middle unfurling their weapons. The hooks and sickles of Yishui sparkled in the sun. Together with the golden armor with wild goose feathers on their bodies, and the horses under their crotches, although there were not many people,
But there is also a mighty and majestic momentum.
A military flag was displayed, and the words "Blood Blowing Guards" were so bloody that Fang Qiong felt her eyes sting.
"this..."
Fang Qiong was shocked!
This blood-promoting army of more than a hundred people was obviously beyond the scope of his cognition. Even the Japanese-praising troops in the Song Dynasty's Forbidden Army may not have such grace.
For the first time, the powerful general Fang Qiong had a bad feeling.
The four generals under his command also looked confused when they saw the Blood Blowing Guards, and whispered among themselves.
On the opposite side, a white horse was brought out from the Chuxue soldiers, and Ximen Qing was sitting on it. His hands were empty, and he said with a smile: "What are you doing with the powerful force coming here?"
The powerful general Fang Qiong was speechless for a moment, and then they all got into position, and both sides were ready to fight. Is there something wrong with this guy's brain?
"Are you Lin Chong, the leopard head?" Fang Qiong raised his gun and asked.
Ximen Qing laughed and shook his head: "A certain person is a supervisor of the crusade against bandits. His surname is Ximen, but his last name is Qing."
"Fang thinks you are a weak scholar, so I won't embarrass you." Fang Qiong frowned and said, "You go back and let the leopard-headed Lin rush forward. Fang wants to avenge Dong Cheng and the other three generals!"
Before Fang Qiong finished speaking, a horse flew out from the opposite formation. The person who came with a spear also shouted: "Fang Qiong, let a certain family come to meet you!"