stubborn thief

North bank of Weihe River.

Just as Yang Guodong's cavalry defeated the Yunnan soldiers with knock-down troops, groups of elite Ningxia border troops also crossed the Wei River at the same time.

The leader is Cao Wenyao.

Just an hour ago, Cao Dingjiao who was patrolling the camp was shot dead by Li Rugui. Cao Wenzhao was furious after hearing the news and immediately ordered the four armies to break camp and attack Baoji City at night.

Cao Wenyao cried and remonstrated, but failed to dissuade the furious Cao Wenzhao. Fortunately, a letter came from Zuo Liangyu, suggesting that Cao Wenzhao attack the marshal's army on the north bank, and Cao Wenzhao's anger was released. direction.

In fact, everyone knows that once the anger over the death of a relative is burned up, no one or anything can extinguish it.

After all, no matter what the price is paid, Cao Dingjiao's life cannot be saved from the attack, so all anger is impotent rage.

The injustice has the head and the debt has the owner.

Cao Wenzhao did not necessarily attack Baoji City.

Because regarding the death of his nephew Cao Dingjiao, he only knew that the murderer was named Li Rugui.

He knew nothing except a ringing arrow engraved with Li Rugui of Yan'an.

Cao Dingjiao's personal entourage said that Li Rugui was affiliated with Luo Dai, the general of Zuo Liangyu's aid and suppression army.

Cao Wenzhao once thought that Li Rugui was Luo Dai's general, but he just made up the story about the traitor-suppressing officer's defection in battle.

It is not outrageous for Cao Wenzhao to think so. What is really outrageous is that "officers defecting and rebelling before battle" is very common in this era. It is so common that he thinks it is normal for such things to happen.

But Zuo Liangyu's letter clearly cleared Luo Dai's suspicion - Luo Dai was also shot and killed by Li Rugui using insidious means.

All Cao Wenzhao needed was a direction to vent his anger.

As for whether this direction is east or north, it doesn't matter.

The most important thing is that for Cao Wenzhao, this battle is completely a passive battle to catch a duck, and any time is not a good time.

On the basis of all bad opportunities, every moment is the best opportunity. It is better to launch a war at this moment than to launch a war at the next moment.

It is better to attack tonight than to attack tomorrow.

Because his army had already been burned down by Yang Chengzu and attacked at night by Li Rugui, it was miserable and exhausted, and its condition could only get worse after dawn.

Cao Wenyao commanded more than [-] elite soldiers and cavalry. These people were selected from the Ningxia Fourth Battalion to form [-] brigades, all of which were selected as vanguards.

Choosing a vanguard is an old tradition in the army. It first appeared in the Han Dynasty and has continued ever since. Later it was called a sharp knife.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were five or six divisions in a battalion, and the first division was the forward selection division; there were four or five general bureaus under each division, and the first division was the forward selection bureau; the next two teams in the bureau were the forward selection team.

At the same time, there are also some generals who select elites to be servants, which is also called selecting forwards.

Cao Wenzhao's plan was to use the vanguard cavalry as the vanguard to cross the Wei River to search for Liu Chengzong's military camp; at the same time, he would lead the remaining troops to prepare on the south bank of the Wei River. Once the vanguard found the camp on the north bank, they would pounce on it and open a gap, and the brigade would then cross the river to follow him. Enter.

But Cao Wenyao... took the wrong path.

He was walking to the west bank of the Qianhe River on the north bank of the Weihe River, which was the plateau outside the mountains and forests where they camped during the day. Liu Chengzong was on the east bank.

Cao Wenyao thought so. The camp in the west was burned, and there must be traces of the Marshal's army here. Maybe Liu Chengzong was here.

The result was of course in vain.

Just as he was leading his elite troops to collect traces of Liu Chengzong on the plateau, Zhang Xianzhong and Shi Xiang led their troops on the southeastern battlefield and had already achieved great results.

First, Yang Guodong defeated two battalions of Yunnan soldiers with knock-down troops. The flag army led by Zhang Yunqi and Li Zude did not cause a big mess. On the contrary, the Yunnan soldiers who faced them were defeated behind them, and the morale of the army was unstable, and they immediately fled.

Under this ebb and flow, thousands of Yunnan soldiers were defeated and fled westward under the cover of night.

Even Long Zaitian could not stabilize the army and hurriedly led two thousand Yunnan Army cavalry to protect the four war elephants and retreat westward.

Long Zaitian didn't want to retreat, and he wasn't convinced at all, but the situation forced him not to retreat. After all, the Four Elephants were here.

When one's own army forms a formation to face the enemy, the four war elephants are the protectors of one's own soldiers and a magical weapon to crush the enemy's army.

But our own side was defeated at night when we couldn't see the people clearly. The four war elephants were like invincible meat grinders, and they could crush our own people without hesitation.

This cannot be blamed on the elephant. After all, in this situation, people cannot control themselves. Instead, they ask the elephant to control themselves, which is obviously difficult for the elephant.

Fortunately, Ai Wannian's Yansui Army arrived on the battlefield in time.

The infantry camp in Yansui Town stabilized the momentum of the defeat, and the cavalry came out of the camp to further prevent Yang Guodong's attack. Like a rock in the stormy sea, Long Zaitian had the opportunity to reorganize his army.

Faced with the elite Yansui Town soldiers, Yang Guodong tried to charge into the two camps. When he failed to rush them, he ordered the cavalry to gradually retreat. While reorganizing the army at the back, he sent two teams of cavalry. Support Zhang Yunqi and Li Zude who are fighting behind them.

In fact, he was very angry. If the flag troops of the Second Battalion of Zhang and Li could take advantage of the defeat of the Yunnan troops just now, they could defeat the enemy in front of them in one fell swoop. If the three battalions worked together, even if the [-] Yansui soldiers arrived on the battlefield, they would only be able to defeat them immediately. The camp was overwhelmed before it was stabilized.

But it's a pity that those two guys... Yang Guodong didn't know what to say, whether it was because of slow reaction or poor ability. In short, he almost penetrated the enemy army, and the two battalions were still facing their original opponents. Woolen cloth.

As Long Zaitian and Ai Wannian stabilized the front, and re-adjusted the direction of the entire army's defense through the retreat, both armies gradually withdrew, gathered the wounded and defeated soldiers, and formed distant formations to confront each other east and west.

Seeing that the situation was stable, Yang Guodong galloped towards the center of the army, clasped his fists at Shi Xiang and said: "Commander of the brigade, fight for a while, we have disabled at least one of their battalions just now. Even if they have reinforcements, our army still has the advantage."

Shi Xiang's eyes widened and he said in surprise: "General Yang, can you beat me again?"

Yang Guodong was originally very unhappy, but after hearing what Shi Xiang said, it seemed as if defeating the enemy was a very extraordinary talent. He felt much more at ease. He raised his face and said, "Commander of the brigade, don't talk about beating him again, even if he does it again." Even my athletes can beat it ten times!"

What he said is really not bragging.

Yang Guodong's subordinates have many retired border soldiers, who have relatively strong individual quality and organizational discipline, but when they first fell into the grass, they were chased and beaten everywhere by the officers and soldiers.

Because on the one hand there is no heavy firepower, and on the other hand, with the movement of fighting, the existing weapons are worn out, the horses are killed, and the combat effectiveness slowly declines.

In order to avoid being defeated, he made the same choice as Li Zicheng during the mobile battle, only practicing defeating.

This practice is not to defeat the enemy, but to avoid being defeated.

In fact, after a long period of training in the army to defeat the enemy, a consensus was reached: this is not a retreat, but preparation for defeating the enemy.

This tactic was actually a very common way to fake defeat in ancient times. However, in the Ming Dynasty, due to changes in battlefield weapons, this tactic became more maneuverable.

Because the age of firearms has arrived, artillery that moves slowly and takes a long time to deploy has made it possible for the enemy to dodge the artillery and pull the enemy's infantry out of touch.

Knocking down fans is a specialty for Yang Guodong.

"Very good. When the battle is won, I will personally go to the commander-in-chief to express my merits to General Yang. However, don't rush for the second attack."

Shi Xiang comforted Yang Guodong, who was eager to fight, and said confidently: "The enemy is more urgent now. Shi thinks that there will be another battle tonight. General, let's teach the athletes under his command to rest for a while. The injured should retreat and be bandaged first, and wait for the enemy to come. Just attack."

After hearing this, Yang Guodong was a little confused: "Commander of the brigade, are you so sure?" Zhang Xianzhong, on the other hand, dug his ears with his little finger with a look of disgust. Finally, he flicked the earwax away, pulled off his green hair scarf and scratched his head. His nose was not the nose or the eyes. , I thought to myself that Shi Xiang is such a bird!
The enemy will definitely attack again tonight, it's my judgment, just take it and use it, pretending to be a big dick.

Shi Xiang has a mysterious calmness.

Although Zhang Xianzhong did not tell him the reason why he judged that the Ming army would attack again at night, he did not panic. He just looked at Yang Guodong firmly and said: "Zhang Butang's judgment is also the same."

What a shameless person!
Zhang Xianzhong glanced at Shi Xiang, but saw that Shi Xiang's expression changed instantly, and his enigmatic expression turned into a flattering smile. He blew out a helpless breath, shook his head and said to Yang Guodong: "We are in the open, the general is in the dark, and the Ming army is not Dare to drag."

Shi Xiang then added: "What Bu Tang said is absolutely true!"

Yang Guodong seemed to have taken a reassurance, and said to the two of them: "After receiving the lesson, the humble man will go back to lead the army, rest for a while, and later reveal a flaw to attract the enemy to attack."

In fact, the most anxious person at this meeting was Luo Rucai from Baoji City.

Luo Rucai was also very busy. He went out of the north gate to help Li Rugui pack up Luo Dai's troops and returned to the city. He was also busy arranging the more than 200 Ming army confused eggs who had followed Li Rugui and assigned them to various brigades for custody and custody.

Then the fighting on the east side of the city was fierce again. He once again ordered his troops and horses to gather at the city gate. He stood at the top of the city and waited for the right time to blast out with a cannon.

As a result, Yang Guodong defeated the enemy army in front of him. He held the torch at the east city gate tower and almost reached the gun door, and the two armies stopped fighting.

"Keep on beating, don't stop!"

What can I say, Luo Rucai was very busy mobilizing people in the city.

From the beginning, he had no intention of leaving the city from the east to attack Zuo Liangyu. He still wanted to attack the Ningxia army in the west.

On the one hand, it was because the Ningxia Army was also mobilizing. The four battalions there were spread out like a line towards the south bank of the Wei River, and Luo Rucai planned to attack them again at night.

Once the east side is defeated, we will blend in with the defeated army and rush to the west side, ensuring that they will be fooled again!

Who says you can't be fooled twice by the same trick?

It's the exact same trick that makes people fall for it twice.

Because liars cannot be so stupid, only friendly forces can be so stupid, so it is [-]% true.

On the other hand, Zuo Liangyu's defense was always tight and the attack was not easy to succeed.

That's why Luo Rucai didn't plan to do anything else tonight. He first scared the Ningxia Army into psychosis.

As a result, when the offensive from the east stopped, he was almost pissed off.

However, because both sides stopped fighting, there was a rare moment of peace on the Baoji Plain tonight.

Under this quiet night sky, Cao Wenyao led two thousand elite cavalry to patrol the west bank of the Qianhe River, but found no trace of Liu Chengzong. Then he made up his mind to cross the Qianhe River and search for Liu Chengzong's main force on the east bank.

Cao Wenyao worked tirelessly to ensure that he would win.

He judged that if Liu Chengzong's army was really on the east bank of Qianhe River, then his march route would just be able to avoid the tightly defended front of Liu Chengzong's camp, making it easier to launch an attack from the side or even the back.

With this idea in mind, Cao Wenyao tried his best to walk from the north and search southeast, and soon found the road where Liu Chengzong led his army south.

There are several roads that are half a mile wide from north to south. Along the way, the grass has been flattened and the loess has been trampled. You don't need to use your eyes to see it. Soldiers marching in the wilderness can notice something wrong with their feet as soon as they step on it. .

They followed this road south and saw Liu Chengzong's camp not far away.

It was too conspicuous. One mile away from the camp, soldiers set up bonfires every fifty steps. The dotted bonfire array covered a radius of seven or eight miles. The swaying firelight not only illuminated the wilderness brightly, but it was enough. Make it impossible for soldiers and horses to sneak through.

This magnificent scene made Cao Wenyao stunned. He took a breath and murmured: "How big a camp is this?"

The selection officers beside him could not give an answer. No one had ever seen such a large camp.

People looked into the darkness surrounded by the campfire, like a frightened rabbit looking into the bloody mouth of a giant beast, but the difference was that in addition to fear, there was more excitement and strong fighting spirit in their eyes.

This time, he killed the generals, captured the flag, and overturned such a huge camp... No, this is not a camp, this is the Khan's Court, and Liu Chengzong must be here.

Kill the Khan King in formation and eliminate a serious problem for the Celestial Empire, tonight!
Cao Wenyao turned his head, appointed two general managers, and said: "Report to Commander Cao that we found Liu Chengzong!"

The two generals clasped their fists and accepted the order, led their horses and galloped around, making a large circle to return the same way, and reported the news of finding Liu Chengzong's main force to Cao Wenzhao on the south bank of the Wei River.

Taking advantage of this time, Cao Wenyao summoned seventeen of his subordinates, the Selected Front Hundreds, to wander three or four miles outside the camp, exploring the terrain, looking for ditches and low mountains, and then formulated a sound strategy.

"Three directions, the troops are divided into six groups, and two groups press forward."

It was dark in the camp, and Cao Wenyao judged that all the marshal's troops were sleeping. It seemed that Liu Chengzong's plan was to recuperate his strength and attack the Ming army who was tired after a night's sleep in the morning.

If there had not been a night attack tonight, their army deployed on the south bank of the Wei River would have been in trouble tomorrow morning.

But now that they are here, the situation is very different, and the chance of success in a night attack is very high.

Even so, Cao Wenyao was worried that the camp was well-defended and the concentrated attack would be in vain if it hit the earth wall.

Therefore, he decided to divide his soldiers into two groups and six groups, and put them into three directions respectively: "Two assault teams, two support teams, and two reserve teams. If the offensive is unfavorable, whichever side of the three will gain, support and prepare will attack together." noodle."

"The fire and flying artillery are ready. Spread out on three sides. Listen to the sound of the artillery and attack together. Set off the fire to point out the direction for the army in the south."

Everything was ready. Cao Wenyao's cavalrymen were divided into three groups. They led the horses and ran quickly from the outside to three sides of the marshal's army camp to prepare for the general attack.

A moment later, the flying cannon used as a trumpet exploded in the north of the camp, and then several fire cannons burst into flames from the north, east, and west sides of the camp, screaming into the night sky. Thousands of elite horse soldiers simultaneously fired from the outside of the camp. Launch an assault.

The pounding horses' hooves rushed across hundreds of steps in a blink of an eye. The marshal's troops on night duty in the camp blew their horns, and the camp was in chaos for a while.

The panicked shouts of officers at all levels merged into a din. Only a small number of soldiers on night duty went into battle wearing armor. Many more people did not have time to wake up and went into defensive battles with swords, palms and spears.

But this defense was only a drop in the bucket. They didn't even have enough cavalry to rush into the camp with their horses and swords raised. However, after a moment of support, they could only rely on the scattered chariots in the camp as bunkers and retreat into them to avoid the galloping horses' hooves. People circled around and fired arrows.

Cao Wenyao on horseback was going crazy with joy. He never expected that Liu Chengzong's headquarters camp did not even build trenches. There were only a few tanks as temporary fortifications. He quickly ordered his servants to pass on the order and said: "Tell the things quickly. With reinforcements and reserves on both sides, the enemy troops on our side are empty and easy to defeat!"

But before his servant could get far, the messenger cavalry from both sides came running over.

"General, the defense on the west side is empty, and the enemy troops have been pressed into the car barriers by us!"

"General, the defense in the east is empty, and the enemy has fled to the west. It can be decided in a battle!"

Cao Wenyao is confused and has an advantage on all three sides?

Did Liu Chengzong set up an empty camp?

At this moment, a cavalryman rushing to the south ran towards him as if he had seen a ghost. He was still dozens of steps away from Cao Wenyao, and shouted: "General, there is a big camp inside, and the cavalry troops are in formation." Fight out, armored ones!"

Cao Wenyao was immediately frightened so much that his hair and beard stood out. He looked towards the south with wide eyes. He only heard the sound of horse hooves getting closer and closer in the darkness. He couldn't help but order his servants to blow the trumpet to signal for retreat.

"Damn, the small camp covers the big camp, this is Li Jing's Liuhua Formation, retreat, retreat quickly!" (End of Chapter)