Delong

Chapter 180 The Knight's Walk (10)

When the first fire broke out in the thief camp, not many people cared.

After all, the sky is dry and the wind is not small. With so many people camping, they have to light countless bonfires to heat their meals to prevent them from catching cold after falling asleep, so some small fires are completely expected.Even in the evening, when the bonfire was started, there were already a few cases of accidentally igniting nearby crops, but the crops were only a shallow layer, and there were many irrigation ditches and water networks in this area, so they did not expand. After all, the few who were burned by the fire were nothing compared to the casualties in the daytime cavalry's tail-cutting assault.

It can only be said that if there is a fire, dodge it, at most dig a ditch, shovel a piece of crops and cut it off, and then it will pass... Besides, the cavalry has been attacked by tail-cutting one after another, and morale is low. The leaders have their own ideas. The so-called robbers and soldiers are also homesick, who cares about this?
But, back to the present.

When some of the bandit soldiers who were awakened from sleep easily extinguished a fire in the crop field, and then cursed which careless daredevil missed the fire, they were about to go back to rest, and they didn't even have time to return to their seats. There were second and third fires in the camp.

One is also in a crop field, and the other is inside a small independent camp.

The thieves who had already been awakened by the first fire quickly put out the two fires, but they were already in a cold sweat... because at this time, most of the people who were awakened were already suspicious, and some words began to whisper passed among the township party.

Could it be that someone did it on purpose?
A spy got in?
Otherwise how to connect to fire?

In this case, the people involved in putting out the fire kept a little calm and took the initiative to comfort others, because from their point of view, the two fires were accidents no matter how they looked—there was no trace of artificial ignition at all.

But these are meaningless.

The discussion hadn't died down yet, and the fire suddenly exploded... In the temporary camp, which was so huge that it was difficult to calculate the exact area, there were fires everywhere, and there were many fires outside the camp, and the sorghum field that was about to mature was the most, and a few officers could There was also an inexplicable fire in the tents where they lived.

Even a few scattered trees were on fire, like torches illuminating the road like daylight under the double moon.

This is not counted, because the number of fire heads is still growing rapidly at a speed that makes one's scalp tingle.

This scene is enough to make the bandits who have been depressed for a long time panic.

However, soon someone witnessed the truth.

In a small camp to the east of the camp, a group of bandits from Boping County, Qinghe County were awakened by the surrounding movements, and they were gathering around the campfire according to the order of their leader Han Erlang.This small leader of the bandit army who was a village chief, participated in the three expeditions to Dongyi, and then escaped halfway has sufficient military experience... When the first fire broke out, he didn't have much experience. However, after the second and third flames followed, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.

This is not a question of whether it is reasonable or not. There is a powerful enemy army hiding in Douzigang, and they attacked and defeated their own side many times in two consecutive days. At this time, it is wrong to catch fire, okay?
Therefore, after the second and third fires were extinguished, this Han Erlang had successfully gathered dozens of his township party members together, and began to put on armor and distribute weapons.

"Don't panic, take your time, wear what you have, take your sword and gun, carry your food, don't disturb the leader Wang Er over there, he is the leader's confidant..."

Han Erlang yelled loudly, but at this time, the flames behind him had begun to appear again, and there were more and more. Although he had expected it, he still couldn't help being a little flustered, and quickly called one person's name. "Where's the fifth? The fifth! Zhang the fifth!"

"Here, Second Brother Han!"

A middle-aged man hurriedly came out of the queue. He was slightly hunched because of the heavy load, and his pair of spearmen were shaking all the time. Under the double moon, his originally dark face was also reflected by the bonfire and the distant fire. The redness, only the wrinkles are clearly visible... This person is obviously older than Han Erlang, but he still calls him the second brother. "Why did the second brother call me?"

"Why are you carrying so many ears of wheat? If you want to escape...throw them down!" Han Erlang took a closer look, and immediately became angry. It turned out that the reason why the other party was slightly hunched was because he carried a large bundle of ears of wheat. .

"They were all cut off when the camp was set up, and they all became fringes..."

Zhang Laowu was quite reluctant to hear the words, but under the glaring eyes of the other party, he carefully placed a large bundle of wheat ears on his back on the ground in front of him seven or eight steps away from the campfire, and then returned immediately according to the training rules of the other party Stand still and continue to look nervously at your leader.

It can be seen that this Zhang Lao Wu obeys this Han Erlang very much.

"You said before that your uncle's house is in Dongguang County, Pingyuan County, right?" Han Erlang lost his strength halfway through the scolding, and just asked. "How many times have you been here?"

"Yes, I come to Dongguang every year, mostly along the Zhanghe River, but I also pass by Douzigang... mainly to buy private salt from here before going home, it's cheaper here." Maisui, Zhang Laowu's back straightened slightly, and his tone became much smoother.

"Who cares if you buy private salt... Do you know the way back to our hometown from here?"

"Recognize."

"You also know the way to Dongguang from here?"

"I also recognize it."

"That's good." The surrounding area was getting more and more chaotic, Han Erlang heaved a sigh of relief, glanced at the others, and then looked at Zhang Laowu, really too lazy to hide anything. "Let's not move now, it will be a little more chaotic later, and leave immediately. Your fifth brother will be your guide, go to Dongguang County first, bypass there, and then go home... Do you understand?"

"I know." Zhang Laowu swallowed. "Let's go to my uncle's house in Dongguang first."

"That's right, that's what it means." Han Erlang sighed, looked at the different faces around him again, but they were all full of fear, and urged him earnestly. "If everyone can trust me, Han Erlang, sit down now, hold your breath, wait for me to observe the situation, and when I say go, let's get up and follow Lao Wu! Just follow what I usually teach you, one by one, not to cross over Just keep up with the people in front! There is no way, if you walk late, you will be caught up by the officers and soldiers, and you will be squeezed by other people. The beheader, I just said that Wang Er is the confidant of Chief Zhang... all sit down first!"

It may be that Han Erlang's calmness infected these people, or it may be that Han Erlang has always been honest and prestigious, and the dozens of township parties around him kept quiet, and then sat down together amidst the chaos, their eyes just staring at each other. Han Erlang standing by the campfire.

Han Erlang still wanted to talk, but suddenly, he realized that the people in front of him were not looking at him, but were staring at something moving, so he followed the gaze of these people, but was surprised to find Knowing when, a crow fluttered its wings and appeared at his side only a dozen steps away, jumping around strangely there.

Han Erlang was speechless for a while, so he wanted to drive the crow away.

But before he lifted his feet, he was dumbfounded, because the little leader with rich military experience and dozens of his subordinates clearly saw that the crow was blown by a gust of smoky wind without getting close to the campfire. , It actually started to smoke under the double moon by itself.

Moreover, as the fellow rolled over and got into the sheaf of wheat ears, sparks began to flash immediately, and an open flame also appeared out of thin air in front of dozens of people.

That's not to mention, the crow that got into the wheat ears and started the fire didn't seem to be dead. Instead, it struggled and screamed. It rolled violently with the wheat ears and the open flame, and threw it directly under the axle of the cart beside it, causing the fire. diffusion.

The axle is made of solid wood, which is not easy to ignite. At this time, as long as one person goes up, kicks the ears of wheat into the campfire, and stamps out the crows under the cart, everything will return to normal.

However, none of the dozens of people who discovered the truth took any action. Instead, they were all silent for a moment.

Then Zhang Laowu stood up suddenly, pointed at the fire under the car with wide eyes and shivered: "Second brother, let's, let's go! This is the official army who invited Master Heidi, and Master Heidi wants to help The officers and soldiers burned us! Let's go!"

After saying this, Zhang Laowu seemed to want to do something, but he was sweating profusely, at a loss, and even a little uncoordinated in his movements.

Han Erlang, who seemed to have caught something in his heart, vaguely guessed that it had nothing to do with Hei Di, it was probably something that could be broken with a single poke, and even if it really had something to do with it, the one who ignited the fire should be Lady Chi Di. I didn't want to understand the Taoism inside...so I wanted to scold.

But for some reason, Han Erlang opened his mouth, but he still couldn't speak out.

On the contrary, when the words came to his lips, Han Erlang, who also began to tremble all over, actually shouted a word of relief: "Go! The fifth lead the way! Go!"

Zhang Laowu, who was originally stiff, heard this sentence, as if he had received some kind of amnesty, but without hesitation, holding a spear, raising his head and chest, he walked quickly to the northwest according to Han Erlang's usual teachings. Walking, the place is in the direction of Dongguang County, my uncle's hometown.On the other hand, Han Erlang led a group of township party members who got up with a clatter, and swarmed to follow in silence, not caring that the axles of the cart beside him had been set on fire.

This is not over yet, just after walking out of this small camp, suddenly, there seemed to be a faint sound of drums accompanied by the tremor of the earth coming from the direction of Douzigang in the north, and Han Erlang, who was completely panicked, could no longer hold himself back, and immediately shouted:

"It's the officers and soldiers! Cheng Dalang is here again! Fifth! Go faster, don't run! If you run, you will step on your own people!"

As soon as he said this, Wang Laowu in front of him immediately put his spear on his shoulders and strode towards the northwest with his head held high. Behind him, Han Erlang and other partners also ignored everything, imitating the example, carrying weapons and flying. run to keep up.

At this time, as if echoing the sound of drums and horseshoes, the entire camp, in all directions, inside and outside, all the crop fields seemed to be on fire. The low firewall, wantonly swept.

When the fire wall was swept away, the line of sight was cut off, but the sound of shouting and killing resounded completely, as if there were an unknown number of officers and soldiers from Douzigang, and they had already rushed forward.

The whole process sounds complicated, but it was just a quarter of an hour when the crows couldn't bear the pain in their feet, so that the fire broke out.

"Master Zhang!" Cheng Dalang gasped as he looked at the bandit camp that was obviously in chaos, and immediately came with his own dragon horse under his crotch. "Although there are many thieves, the matter has been decided! I will leave the armored cavalry to be the guards of the third master. Please continue to lead the infantry to continue to advance and sweep, and then I, Guo Touling and Niutouling will each take a light cavalry and go around from both sides. !"

"Okay!" In the light of the fire, Zhang Xing immediately responded, but turned his head to look at each other. "Cheng Mingqi, Zhou Xingfan, you two start from the two ends, I'm in the middle, and press them together! When you see a camp that is not on fire along the way, you throw down the torch! When you meet a bandit army, tell them that they will surrender without killing them! But they ignore them. Sieve it first and then talk!"

The leaders got the words, and saw that the fire attack was so effective, they did not hesitate, and immediately followed the words, and all the ministries advanced immediately.

Among them, the hundreds of armored cavalry left by Cheng Dalang surrounded Zhang Xing like arrows and kept moving forward in the center. Although there were only three thousand infantry behind them, they advanced like a forest; Under the leadership of Cheng Zhili, Niu Da, and Guo Jingke, they outflanked from the two wings like the wind.

For a while, none of the bandit army dared to fight, instead they fled in a panic to the north, trampling each other and killing each other far exceeded the casualties in the battle.

Because of the crowding and frustration, a small number of people chose to trust the officers and soldiers, abandon their weapons and surrender, but no one paid any attention to them, and instead took the opportunity to escape.

And that is when the Douzigang army began to charge, Han Erlang, Zhang Wulang and others fled recklessly, and when the troops in the outer camps were about to collapse, Zhang Jincheng, the leader in the center of the camp, also went to the camp in a daze with the support of a group of cronies. Horse... He looked around, only to see that the whole camp was on fire, and the top and bottom were red, even the two moons above his head, the white moon also turned red, and the red moon was even darker.

What's more terrible is that, covered by fireworks all around, he was in a mess, and he didn't even know where he was going to gather his trusted followers.

In fact, before the fire broke out, the big leader woke up from his sleep, and then witnessed how a jumping crow ignited himself, but he easily extinguished it with weak water and true energy, and took the crow Looking at the corpse, he also woke up instantly.

But then, it is the classic one life two, two beget three, three beget all things...

As soon as the crow died, when he realized the problem, a fire broke out outside, and he immediately ordered to rescue it, but as soon as the order was passed down, he put it out there by himself, and then the other two fires broke out, he ordered to rescue it again, and put it out by himself , and then there was fire all over the sky, taking advantage of the wind and temperature, sweeping across the surrounding fields and camps, as well as the enemy army in the direction of Douzigang with great fanfare, and attacked by night.

So far, Zhang Jincheng, who knew the whole story, had already given up fighting the fire, so he could only hastily gather the soldiers and horses of the battalion first, and then make further calculations.

However, after hastily gathering some soldiers and horses, he didn't know what to do?

"Big Chief, do you want to go to some other camps and call out some old brothers from Qi County?" The soldier leader who had just helped the big chief to mount his horse turned pale and was flushed by the reflection, and just hugged the horse's neck beside him. ask. "Second brother Wang's camp is on the south side, if you don't go to rescue him, you may fall into it immediately."

"No help! Go away!" After hesitating for a moment, he shook his head. After all, the big leader kept his last trace of calm, gritted his teeth and gave the order immediately. "This chaos is impossible to fight at all. If you delay, you will only be crushed by the chaotic army. Go, if you don't go, it will be too late! The army on the opposite side has cavalry!"

"Where can we go?" The leader of the guards tried his best to ask, pulling the other party's rein, and didn't bother about saving Wang Er. "The enemy is coming from Douzigang in the south, are we heading west, east, or north?"

Zhang Jincheng froze on the spot...he wanted to grit his teeth and say a direction, but he thought that the other party had cavalry, thought that Cao Shancheng might be waiting for him somewhere, and thought that in any direction there would be a county controlled by the army, but Under Cao Shancheng's arrangement, the officers and soldiers would probably go out of the city to stop the attack and make trouble, and they were completely flustered... Or, to put it another way, he didn't know who he was fighting with until now, and he thought it was his old opponent, Cao County magistrate Cao What about the game Shancheng set up for him?
if not?
The imperial army did not come, and in the whole of Hebei, besides Cao Shancheng, how could there be a real hero who could play with himself so easily?
"Go... to the northwest." After a long while, Zhang Jincheng spoke immediately. "If you can survive, try to escape back to Gaotang to see if you can make a comeback; if you can't survive, go to the northwest, and you are more likely to meet Cao Shancheng... If you die in his hands, you won't humiliate me! Do you think it's okay?"

The leader of the personal army listened in a daze, unable to understand the other party's thinking at all, but seeing the other party's appearance at this time, it seemed that he had nothing to say except to say yes.

So, he got on his horse directly, took him away as a vanguard, and led the crowd to the northwest.

But after taking two steps, he was surprised to find that his chief hadn't moved at all.

Zhang Jincheng held the rein, sweating profusely on his face: "I forgot how to ride a horse."

The leader of the personal army swayed on the horse first, and then he turned back and led Zhang Jincheng's horse to go northwest. The trusted soldiers around him did not hesitate anymore, surrounded by leader Zhang and went northwest.

So far, most of the bandit camp has not yet been engaged in battle, but the inside has exploded like fire. Many bandit chieftains are like Zhang Jincheng, who lead the headquarters like headless chickens. Flee wantonly.

This battle started with the fire and the Putai soldiers seized the opportunity without any delay, and the defeat of the bandit army was unstoppable.

However, it is impossible to complete this battle so quickly.

In fact, regardless of Zhang Xing's awe-inspiring attitude before the battle, the command at the beginning of the battle was determined, but the infantry brigade he controlled lost the connection between the left and right wings when he entered the enemy camp Sany... Death chased north, but it was also in chaos.

Of course, there is also good news. About halfway through the advance, Zhang Xing encountered a relatively large camp. Then, there should be one of Zhang Jincheng's confidant generals in the camp, called Wang Er. Cheng gave up the rescue as an excuse and voluntarily chose to surrender.

Zhang Xing chose to promise.

Facts have proved that his promise is very timely, because the cropland has only a thin layer of combustible material, which is different from the woods. It is often burned once, and it cannot be fired again. If the delay continues, these bandits will react. It might cause some unexpected results... Wang Er's surrender and Zhang Jincheng's escape simply and quickly led to the complete surrender of the entire camp.

And this also means that half of the strategic goal of Zhang Xing and others has been achieved. After all, Zhang Jincheng himself doesn't know where he is yet.

"Where is Zhang Jincheng?"

Niu Da, who led hundreds of cavalry into battle, killed a small leader of the bandit army who was obviously cultivated, but then scolded the other bandit army who tried to escape in this small camp on the spot. "Where is Zhang Jincheng?"

"I only know that his camp is in the front where the fire is the biggest!" Someone begged and cried. "Excuse me, my lord!"

"We are not officers and soldiers!" Niu Da shouted loudly, declaring presumptuously. "We are the Putai Army of the Dragon Clan! We are also rebels! Put down your weapons and wait in the camp for the army to come!"

After speaking, he ignored the other party's reaction and went directly to the point pointed by the other party.

However, when he rushed in, he found that although the regulations there were far higher than those of other small camps, and there was a huge burning couch in the middle of the site, it was already an empty camp, as if Zhang Jincheng had already left early, while Niu Da I can only get frustrated and continue to chase... But I can't find Zhang Jincheng in the camp, I'm afraid I can only gamble on luck.

Of course, just because Niu Da is unlucky, it doesn't mean that some people are unlucky.

Just when Niu Da was desperate and dared to break through the camp with a few hundred cavalry and entered the core area of ​​the camp, Guo Jingke led two hundred horse dealer cavalry of his own family and was diligently sweeping the outer camp. There is no deliberate pursuit of outflanking.

Then, Chief Guo met Zhang Jincheng behind a "fire wall" that swept across the crop fields.

The two sides met hastily in the wilderness.

Frankly speaking, at this moment, Guo Jingke wanted to escape when he saw that the other party was still surrounded by hundreds of soldiers.But he quickly realized that even if he couldn't take down the opponent quickly, he could calmly follow him and wait until the opponent was completely exhausted before launching a surprise attack.

However, Zhang Jincheng reacted one step earlier than Guo Jingke.

"Xiao Guo!"

Chief Zhang said loudly. "I didn't feel sorry for you, how did I lower Cao Shancheng?"

Guo Jingke was taken aback for a moment, and immediately told him seriously: "It is Zhang Dalong, the head of our dethroning gang who dislikes you and slaughtering the city, and is preparing to clean up the rebel army. What does it have to do with Cao Shancheng?"

Zhang Jincheng was at a loss for a while, then fell silent, and finally said: "I don't believe it... But no matter what, in view of the past, how about letting me live?"

Guo Jingke fell silent... This time, it wasn't that he was shaken again, but that he had two hundred riders, and he didn't dare to fight the opponent forcefully, and he had the intention of avoiding and following.

So, just wait for the opponent to leave first, stop directly, and then call for reinforcements.

"Come on!"

Seeing the other party's hesitation, Zhang Jincheng thought he had a plan, and immediately signaled to the leader of the soldiers.

The latter did not hesitate, and immediately led his leader's war horse, dodged for a while, then bypassed the opponent's cavalry in the flat crop field that had been burned by the fire, and continued to move forward.

And Guo Jingke did not hesitate to lead the crowd to follow up.

However, at this moment, suddenly, a group of bandits came out of nowhere, hula la a long group, coming from the side and rear, it seemed to be following Zhang Jincheng, but no matter in terms of speed or progress, The direction was different from that of Zhang Jincheng's troops. They brushed against the tails of the opponent's soldiers and horses, and then stepped on the black ash all over the ground, heading towards the northwest in another direction.

This group of soldiers and horses, headed by no more than a dozen people, all carried spears on their shoulders, but they did not run in disorder, they just moved forward at a fast pace, and it was precisely because of the stability of their heads that the rout soldiers followed one after another. And there is no collapse.

Guo Jingke was dumbfounded, intending to scatter this army, but felt guilty for a moment... To put it bluntly, this battle was fought between Putai soldiers and Cheng Dalang's cavalry, and his two hundred horse dealers and cavalry, how could he dare to fight head-to-head? Woolen cloth?
"Xiao Guo is still loyal."

Walking through a small river ditch, Zhang Jincheng stopped for a while, looked back, and gave a fair evaluation after seeing no pursuers. "I was too arrogant those days, so I lost his trust..."

The leader of the personal army just nodded, and then led the horse forward without stopping.

And the next moment, the ground trembled suddenly, as if another cavalry raided from the northeast.

Calculating carefully, it can only be that Cheng Zhili suddenly appeared on the way.

PS: Good night everyone.

(End of this chapter)