Delong

Chapter 310 Tiger Row (11)

"This should be Xu Shiren, right?"

Still in the middle of the earth mountain, behind the newly erected wall, Xue Changxiong looked at the tooth-piercing scene on the battlefield ahead, and turned his head to consult.

It turned out that although one corner of the Dragon Thieves Chessboard Battalion ahead was broken, the other four battalions still relied on the brick houses built up to maintain the front line, and maintained a basic fighting posture with the officers and troops who had erected board houses on the earth hills.Only the commander in charge of the crossbowmen on the front line had obviously changed. He also had the true Qi of Duanjiang, and the same amazing archery skills, but even more powerful.

Not to mention the perfunctory soldiers throwing torches between the front lines, even the slight outcropping of the officers on the dirt hill is the result of the immediate death of those in charge.

This, of course, immediately reminds people of the expected Danlong Gang Chengdan master who was exposed yesterday because he threatened Pingchang City, that is, Xu Shiren, the hero of Lu County.

"It's him." Murong Zhengyan blurted out the answer. "He was a little older than me, but he entered the customs in the same year, and worked together in Daxing for several years. Later, I was sent to the governor of the state first, and went to Longxi, and we never met again... But the trick is still recognized. "

Xue Changxiong narrowed his eyes slightly, his thoughts wandered inexplicably.

Speaking of it, although Murong Zhengyan is well-known in the world, and the Murong family was exiled in all directions when the Murong family was prominent, the root of the main line and experience is all in Hebei. When the Eastern Qi collapsed, Murong Zhengyan was brought to Kansai, where he lived with other tycoons and cultivation bases. The advanced person essentially means one thing, that is, leveling the place and bringing the capable people of the Eastern Qi Dynasty to centralize management and restraint.

It's just that everything in the Great Wei Dynasty was divided into three, six, and nine classes, not to mention the older Jin family, even in the old land of the Eastern Qi Dynasty, the Murong family received a little more preferential treatment than people like Xu Shiren because of their family background ...The reformation period is also short, and the promotion is also fast. After finding that the official career is difficult to progress, he can return to his hometown in Hebei early to settle down.

Even thinking about it again, Murong Zhengyan clearly entered Chengdan only last year, so the gap becomes even more obvious.

It's a standard old [-].

However, now that the Great Wei is going downhill, this place is in the mainland of Hebei after all, whether it is Xue Changxiong or Li Cheng from Youzhou next door, as the famous families of Guanlong, they all have to face the problem that the local forces in Hebei are about to move. [-] should also be paid attention to.

Otherwise, the one who is not careful will take the lead and steal the guest.

Of course, this kind of low-level stakes, for General Xue, who was born in the core family of Guanlong, would never even think about it, but yesterday he fought with Zhang San here yesterday, it was considered Regardless of the opponent, he also became a little entangled in the opponent's words... He didn't believe it himself. The battle window period has only passed one-third of the time. He still has sufficient means, but he is only worried about the other people in the formation. The will is not firm.

"What is that?" Just as Xue Changxiong was thinking wildly, Chen Bin, the marching commander, suddenly pointed to the westernmost camp and asked. "Is it smoking? Has our fire attack worked?"

Everyone turned their heads in amazement, and sure enough, they saw that the first row of the bandit army's chessboard camp was in the west, that is, the camp closest to the county town of Ban County in a straight line, and the smoke was already shrouded in smoke, far exceeding the small puffs of fireworks after throwing torches in the other places. .Moreover, when everyone was watching, the smoke became more and more visible to the naked eye. After a while, an open flame appeared in the field of vision, which seemed to be rolled into some wooden materials and board houses in the camp.

The thieves and soldiers in the camp also panicked... The thieves in the front room even started to evacuate on their own initiative.

On the dirt hill, all the generals looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a while.

It stands to reason that after a few days of fighting, it was finally a good thing that two corners were gnawed, but the sudden effect of the fire attack seems to be a bit unprepared, especially after yesterday's battle. On the surface, many senior military officers here seem to be a little sleepy.

"General." At this moment, Zhong Lang was the first to respond to Wang Yu and opened his mouth. "This village is filled with smoke and fire, and the bandit army has actually given up. After a while, the fire will be cleared. It is natural to send troops forward to occupy it. Compared with it... there are only three camps left in the first row of the bandit army. It is difficult to link them together. Why not concentrate? If we break through the center and take down the village in the middle, and isolate the other two battalions, then the first row of camps will be wiped out.”

Xue Changxiong was a little strange, but he immediately asked: "Is General Wang going?"

"Please ask one of the three generals Murong, Gao, and Dou to take the lead in the attack, and then send the two armies to attack from left to right without hesitation in the chessboard formation... The last general is willing to be one of them." Wang Yu formally invited without hesitation. war.

"Okay!" Xue Changxiong cheered up and turned around to order. "Old Six, you and General Wang will send troops together to assist General Murong to take down this stronghold!"

The sixth Xue Wancheng immediately bowed his head to give orders, Murong Zhengyan was caught off guard, but he had no choice but to agree quickly... After all, it was indeed a war opportunity, so we must not relax.

Moreover, who would let himself be cheap, admit that he has an old relationship with Xu Shiren who is opposite, and know the other party's tricks?
Just like yesterday afternoon, the battle suddenly became tense, and a large-scale offensive that was hastily organized due to the fire in the Zhulong army camp quickly took shape.

At the same time, the Xilong army seemed to be aware of the problem, and their reaction was extremely fierce. Not only did one battalion rush to the open space directly behind the middle camp for preparatory support, but the camps on both sides and the rear camps also shifted their forces to the flanks, preparing for a pincer attack. What's more terrible is that the red-bottomed "Depose" flag moved forward on its own initiative, and came to the inside of a camp in the second row, staring at Xue Wancheng's troops.

Obviously, Xue Ziqi attracted Xi Longjun.

Xue Changxiong was a little uneasy, and turned around to order Chen Bin: "Chen Sima, go and prepare, dispatch all the ministries to the back of Tushan, and be ready to support at any time... Don't forget, let the officers with outstanding cultivation bases gather forward."

Chen Bin nodded, but after taking a look at the burning camp in the west, he hesitated to speak, but finally left in a hurry.

The battle below began to become fierce. The density of crossbow arrows and the volume of shouts of killing all increased significantly, but on the dirt hill, the officers and generals were a little distracted.

After a while, inexplicably, many people became anxious.

"General."

At this moment, Cao Shancheng, the governor of Qinghe County, suddenly stood up and reminded him seriously. "Is there too much smoke in the burning camp?"

Xue Changxiong closed his eyes from the sixth son of his family in front, turned his head to look to the west, and observed carefully. Sure enough, as Cao Shancheng reminded, the fire was real fire, but the smoke was too thick, and the biggest puff of smoke did not come from The surrounding area of ​​the burnt multi-storey continuous board house in the front is more like coming out continuously from the back of a collapsed board house in the center of the camp.

"Are there any backup boards and supplies piled up there?" Zhonglang General Feng Duan asked in surprise.

"It's not like." Qian Tang, governor of Pingyuan County, squinted his eyes and replied. "No matter how much they pile up, there should be more open flames than green smoke...there is too much smoke over there."

"What do you mean?" Xue Wanbi couldn't help asking after listening for a while. "Is this fireworks weird? They deliberately set fire to lure us? Want to eat Lao Liu?"

"Not so..." Feng Duan shook his head in denial. "How do they know that we will definitely send troops? Their camp must be destroyed..."

"But this smoke..."

"So, unless they are sure that there will be some results, the fireworks are just abnormal, and there is no other explanation?"

There was a lot of discussion among the people, and they couldn't understand it for a while.

But in any case, the sense of uneasiness is even higher.

"Will there be fraud?" At this moment, Chen Bin, who had dispatched troops from the rear, spoke from a distance. "General, I asked a few prisoners yesterday... Some of them said that there seemed to be something unusual in the middle room of the front camps. Leaders often came in and out, and it took a long time to go in... Isn't the place where the smoke is the most smoked today? Is the west village the most central?"

Xue Changxiong was startled, he was already very vigilant, he almost stood on his head, and scolded on the spot: "Why are you talking about what happened yesterday?! How did you become the supervisor of the army?!"

Chen Bin lost his voice on the spot.

"Go over quickly!" Xue Changxiong immediately pointed at the opponent with a whip. "Withdraw the troops on the westernmost hill! The thieves are probably digging tunnels!"

Chen Bin was stunned for a moment, but immediately turned around and mounted his horse.

Unexpectedly, Xue Changxiong reprimanded on the spot again: "What kind of manners do you need at this time? You have been congealing pills for many years! Will you jump over?"

Chen Bin didn't dare to say much, and hurriedly rolled up a stream of water-blue true energy, jumped up, and soon came to the westernmost dirt mountain.

At this time, it was Cao Shancheng who came to persuade him: "General, I waited for 10 people to build such a few earth hills. The other side only took a few days. How did they dig so fast? It's really smoke from the passage, maybe it's just their own anxiety , mistakenly burned the support inside..."

"You know what a fart!" Xue Changxiong was furious. "Our earth mountain was built hastily. When the soil was rammed, it was only slightly compacted from the gentle slope from the back. It was steep at the front and slow at the back, so it was easy to collapse... Is it possible to take a chance in this situation?"

Only then did everyone fall silent, and looked west one after another.

At this time, Xue Wanbi couldn't help but become anxious: "Chen Sima really made a mistake...the commander-in-chief trusts him so much!"

"It's not...although it's a mistake, but he himself is loyal, reliable and capable..." Xue Changxiong hurriedly waved his hand, and at this point, he couldn't help turning his head to look at the battle ahead. At this time, the general Already regretted launching the attack hastily.

On the other side, Chen Bin came to the westernmost dirt hill and didn't say much. He just ordered the generals stationed here and their subordinates to retreat in an orderly manner. Then he couldn't help but look down at the steep slope in front of the dirt hill, and then he was on the spot. Horrified.

It turned out that on the steep slope on the south side of the earth mountain, there was already some disintegration, and there was even a trace of blue smoke looming on a certain crack.

So far, how could the military supervising Sima not know that Xue Changxiong was right, the other side had indeed dug a tunnel, and at this time they were already burning the wood supported below.

Thinking of this, Chen Bin's face turned livid, because this seemed to confirm his crime of negligence and dereliction of duty last night.But after everyone went back last night, Xue Changxiong didn't even open the military meeting, and all the senior generals were almost exhausted, so why should they blame themselves in public?
Moreover, just now you humiliated yourself by scolding and humiliating yourself in public?

At this time, the officers and soldiers stationed nearby also sensed that something was wrong, but they sensed it from Chen Sima's military orders and his face, and then they all looked forward.Among them, of course, there are many smart people who woke up instantly, and then fled desperately, and some even yelled out.

Riots immediately formed.

At this time, Chen Bin just came back to his senses, and he couldn't help but panic.He could even imagine how Xue Changxiong, who was on a dirt hill, would blame himself for this incident.

But there was no time to think about other things. At this moment, it was not known whether it was caused by the desperate fleeing of many people in the riot, or the wooden support in the tunnel below was burned to the end. Suddenly, the whole mountain shook on the spot.

Chen Bin was also frightened enough, so he wanted to jump up.

However, he and the surrounding soldiers soon realized that the earth mountain was just shaking, and nothing collapsed as imagined.

Only the fortifications on the top of the mountain were a little crooked.

Chen Bin laughed when he saw this, and temporarily suppressed his previous emotions to appease the soldiers: "Why are you panicking? I won't hide it from you. The thieves dug tunnels, but they obviously never worked as miners. Solid as gold..."

Unexpectedly, before the words finished, he felt dizzy again, and then found himself leaning over to one side.

Panicked, Chen Sima didn't dare to hesitate any longer, jumped up on the spot, and walked slowly towards the rear. At this moment, he turned his head in the air and saw clearly that half of the mountain top was split from the middle like a knife. Then the whole thing slid down towards the steep south side, and some buildings on the top of the hill were torn and turned over in the process. Many soldiers were like ants on the soil being let go, but without the grip of the ants, they just fell into it on the spot. At the same time, it was inevitable to scream in horror.

Chen Bin landed on the gentle slope, staring at the collapsed earth mountain that had almost collapsed to the fire camp on the opposite side, and was about to say something to the stunned soldiers around him, but unexpectedly, the front slipped again, and another small section of soil was overturned Go down and bury many soldiers who are crying below.

Seeing this situation, the Sima of the Nanchen royal family and the Hejian camp supervisor of the Great Wei was completely heartbroken.

But it's not over yet.

The collapse of this earth mountain was like a signal. Suddenly, the flags were waved on the stage of the dragon-thieves chessboard battalion in front of them. The drums and horns blared loudly. The officers and soldiers who were rushing into the front line of the stupefied counterattacked.

The main banner that dismissed the Dragon Bandit even formed an army of true energy on the spot, and then rushed out from the camp to Xue Wancheng's troops together with the surrounding soldiers regardless.

It seems that they want to take this opportunity and try to cause damage.

In stark contrast, the three armies on the front line were shocked by the collapse of the earth mountain behind them, and they almost froze in place. You have to lose your footing.

Seeing this scene, Chen Bin instinctively turned his head to look at the direction of the most middle earth mountain, which is where Xue Changxiong and the generals used to watch the battle, but at this time the earth mountain he was on had collapsed, and he himself was on a low ground, so he couldn't see the situation clearly , I can only see the earth hill between the two, the soldiers and officers are all panicked, abandoning the hill and fleeing.

Following the figures of these fugitives, Chen Sima simply turned to the east and looked hard. Sure enough, he saw soldiers fleeing down the gentle slopes from the other hills, and the central hill where Xue Changxiong was located had fewer people fleeing. , and still formed a scale.What's more terrible is that the fleeing troops almost pushed and shoved with the reinforcements assembled at the foot of the mountain behind them, and the reinforcements were also timid for a while, and some smart ones even retreated slowly before the military order was delivered.

Obviously, in a short period of time, for officers and soldiers, these earth hills have quickly changed from a condescending and relatively safe strike area to a taboo place representing death.

Chen Bin stood there in a daze, feeling intense fear and shame.

There was no need to talk about fear, he could fully imagine the anger of General Xue at this time.

After all, this person is the head of the Guanlong army. Because of getting along with him for a long time, he gradually became rude and only regarded himself as a vassal. Now he is angry and attributes the inevitable loss at this time to his own family. Know what humiliation there will be.

As for the shame... It's ridiculous to say that it comes from this fear. It's not just playing with words, but it means that when the matter came to an end, this Southern Chen royal family's remnant was clearly aware of his fear of getting angry with Xue Changxiong... And He always thought that he was born in the royal family of the Southern Dynasty, that he could see things more clearly than anyone else, and that he had a higher posture than anyone else, and he just went with the flow and played in troubled times calmly.

However, when he faced Xue Changxiong's possible anger and humiliation, he was surprised to find that his first instinct was fear, which just made him feel ashamed later.

Of course, Xue Changxiong didn't know how his confidant committed the disease of the Nanchen aristocrats there. He was standing on the middle of the dirt hill, and he was already out of breath by the situation.

You know, the collapse of the earth mountain is definitely not the kind of direct killing... He can imagine that those casualties are estimated to be less than the one offensive yesterday evening, at most a few hundred people, how many people can stand on the top of the mountain?
But at this moment, under the landslide, the impact of the casualties was seized by the thieves on the opposite side and magnified to the extreme, so that the whole army felt timid, and then fell into a crisis.

I killed dozens of people hastily on the top of the mountain where my family stood, but it couldn't stop the rest of the people from evacuating the mountain, let alone other places?Not to mention the reinforcements blocked in the rear?
That's what really kills.

After taking a deep breath, General Xue suppressed all kinds of emotions, and once again bloomed the "big day", then waved the straight knife in his hand, and ordered the surrounding high-ranking officers:
"Come down with me, and meet that puppy in power!"

The surrounding officers naturally know the pros and cons...who doesn't know the matter now?In fact, this general cherishes his life just like everyone else, and he is unwilling to fight this. He went down yesterday to provide cover for the Youzhou Army, but today, he went down to save the situation on the front line, and on the other hand, to save his own son's life... The reinforcements are temporarily It's hard to stop, you can't sit back and watch the opponent behead your own son and swallow these three soldiers and horses, right?

In terms of emotion and reason, we have to fight again.

Ever since, all the generals did not dare to neglect, and all of them forced themselves to accompany them.

When they came to the foot of the mountain, Murong Zhengyan, Wang Yu and other generals took the initiative to gather together.

This time, there was one less Chen Sima in the army and two more generals from the Youzhou camp. However, after the two sides collided face to face without any scruples again, the officers and generals felt more shocked than yesterday.

Thinking about it, I have one more Ningdan in my family, and one more Chengdan on the opposite side. Although the comparison in strength is not earth-shaking, the changes are obvious... And if this is the case, wait for the rumored Wu Brothers and the stronger When Bai Sanniang arrives together, they don't know what will happen again?

At this moment, everyone seemed to be able to feel some kind of helplessness in General Xue's heart, and also understood why this general was reluctant to give full play to his own cultivation advantages and put out all his strength early to face tough... If both sides tried their best Master, whoever loses may be the loser!
But if this is the case, wouldn't what Zhang San said on the opposite side yesterday be very true?

However, Zhang Dalongtou was obviously not in the mood to give a speech this time, and the opportunity to fight was really rare. He never thought that the officers and soldiers would take the initiative to attack after seeing the fire, so at this time, he only wanted to kill as much as possible, causing a double blow to the opponent's morale and downsizing. .

And Xue Changxiong is just trying to save the front line as much as possible and facilitate the withdrawal of troops.

Therefore, it took more than half an hour for the battle to stop, Xue Wancheng was indeed rescued, and neither side had the momentum to fight to the end.

But the casualties and chaos caused were unprecedented... After the war, the officers and soldiers rectified their troops, strictly enforced military discipline, and regained control of the hills.

"The officers and soldiers have re-occupied the earth mountain. Do you want to attack them at night?" After returning to the barracks to discuss with the army, the chief leader Shan Tonghai was very excited.

"I think it's okay." Zhang Xing's hands were all bandaged, and many other leaders who listened under the lamp were also injured. "What do you think?"

However, it is obvious that the number of leaders with a calm posture in the military discussion has increased significantly, and the frequency of everyone's speeches has also increased significantly.Therefore, when Zhang Xing asked back, many people responded.

"I think I can fight!"

"Why can't you fight? Now the officers and soldiers are in a panic, give him another shot!"

"However, the officers and soldiers also specially rectified their military discipline, and boldly sent troops back to the past. They only stationed on the gentle slope of the earth mountain. The defense may be tighter instead."

"That can also be fought... They have long been frightened."

"Tell me, we have more than a dozen people less than yesterday, why do we feel more powerful? Is Chief Xu so powerful alone?"

"Of course Chief Xu is powerful. The hero of Lu County is not a fake, but if you ask me, the officers and soldiers are still timid and only want to get people back. Compared with yesterday's prestige, today they dare not fight us desperately, so I'm at a disadvantage... what Da Longtou said yesterday is true."

"I see."

"Something makes sense."

"If that's the case, then why are we still afraid of him? Give him another shot."

"Could you give him a shot without hitting the mountain?" At this moment, Dou Lide suddenly asked. "If they want to take precautions, they will probably take precautions on the side of the earth mountain. Didn't the west passage be broken by them? Let's go from there and follow the example of the first day when the king led their hundred horsemen to rob the camp."

Everyone was taken aback for a moment, and the discussion became more intense, but in the end they mostly looked at Zhang Xing.

"To rob the camp, to rob the mountain, to rob all!" Zhang Xing thought for a while and came to a conclusion. "Spread out the troops, while going to rob the camp, and at the same time dispatch to attack the gentle slope behind the earth mountain... In fact, let the earth mountain be used as a cover for the robbery camp! The earth mountain is here to send troops first!"

All the leaders cheered up and discussed again. This time, there were so many people asking for battle... In the end, Zhang Xing had no choice but to draw lots again, but he drew four battalions of Shan Tonghai, Cheng Zhili, Tang Bairen, and Fan Bao to attack the four earth mountains in front of him. The four battalions of Fu Boshi, Wang Shuyong, Zhuge Dewei, and Xiahou Ningyuan went around and flanked the enemy's camp; Xiong Bonan and Xu Shiren led the two battalions of Cheng Mingqi and Shang Huaien to respond in the middle.

When the arrangements are properly made, the generals will implement them individually.

Zhang Xing also went back to the base camp for dinner.

However, just as he returned to the base camp to finish his meal and the night raiders were ready to leave, Yan Qing and Wang Xiongdan suddenly came to look for him.

Zhang Xing originally thought that Yan Qing wanted to discuss who Sun Xuanzhi belonged to, so he didn't care, but he was frightened as soon as he opened his mouth, so that the leader of the left wing of the Dragon Clan and the commander-in-chief of the Hebei front line stood up in shock. :
"Niu Da lost Chanyuan City?!"

"The current news is this...it was just delivered." Wang Xiongdan had a serious face. "Among the defeated soldiers, there were a few well-cultivated riders who had just arrived. According to them, the leader Niu Datou waited for Qu Tuda to pass by according to the military order, and then raised his flag to fight. Qu Tuda went back and forth to Jijun several times, but I don’t know if he was prepared in advance, or if he was truly amazing in combat power, anyway, he turned around and fought hard, directly defeated Niu Datou’s entire army, and counterattacked Chanyuan City.”

"So..." Zhang Xing hesitated for a moment before continuing to ask. "Chanyuan City is lost, what about Niu Da himself? Any news?"

"These people only know that the big boss Niu failed to enter the city and fled westward at that time." Wang Xiongdan was obviously powerless.

Zhang Xing slowly sat back at the table, and for a moment didn't know how to respond, and he didn't know what to say... Niu Da was defeated and lost Chanyuan. It was his responsibility, but it was also his responsibility as the leader. .

Because if you think about it carefully, you will know that with Niu Da's strength, no one expects him to defeat Qu Tuda, but just hopes that he will delay for a while. Now that he has lost the city completely, it seems that it should have been expected In the end, he opened his head but wishful thinking that he could exchange the money perfectly.

It seems that I pursued rigor, completeness, and prudence too much at the beginning.

But now does not seem to be the time to reflect on this, because the original plan has been carried out anyway.

Moreover, the battle situation has clearly entered a critical period at this time-Xue Changxiong and his Hejian Camp have revealed their background. They are afraid of casualties, and they are all afraid of death. They should have taken the opportunity to intimidate them. Scared the other party away, but what if Qu Tuda's Dongdu elite led a group of soldiers from several counties on the west side of Hebei to arrive in time from the flank?

An important question here is, is Qu Tuda, the general directly under Dongdu, a military leader?As the troops directly under the Eastern Capital, the elite of the Eastern Capital he leads, dare to fight for their lives?

If the answer is that Qu Tuda is willing to lead the [-] elites to undertake the main attack task with the most casualties, it will probably trigger a chain effect, making the Hejian camp willing to join the decisive battle, and even drive those county soldiers to fight .

Cao Shancheng must be gearing up for it.

It is natural for Xue Changxiong to have thoughts about the military leaders inside the Hejian Camp, and Hebei garrison guards, but what worries does he have about the reinforcements from the Eastern Capital?As long as the opponent is willing to fight, he will only do his best to promote this matter.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xing only felt his scalp go numb.

If this is the case, he will barely hold on in the end, and the loss will be enough to drink a pot. The 25th Battalion here in Hebei will not be able to stand in front of the east border, and there will be countless troubles at that time.

"Should we... cover up this matter?" Yan Qing asked with difficulty.

"Is it possible to cover up? Here, the opposite side can't cover up." Zhang Xing breathed a sigh of relief, even in his military tent, he could vaguely feel the chill of early spring. "But we still have to gather the escaped soldiers as much as possible... First verify the accuracy of the news. Is the city lost? Has Niu Da escaped? How much is the loss? If the information is correct, tell all the big bosses tomorrow morning Let's see the results of my discussion with the big bosses."

"There are a total of six big bosses, plus chief Wei, seven people... just in case..." Yan Qing tried his best to remind. "What if there are one or two who are not firm?"

"I can't help it. If they don't even have this burden, what kind of bosses are they?" Zhang Xing blurted out, but after a short pause, he lowered his voice. "But I also understand what you mean. There are tens of thousands of lives here. We really can't gamble... This is all right, Wang Xiongdan, you can make arrangements. After today's night attack, the camp leaders of Gao Shitong and Zhai Qian will be taken away." Move to the middle of the back two rows."

Wang Xiongsheng nodded immediately.

"That's the only way to go." Yan Qing just sighed.

Zhang Xingfu thought about it again, he was really powerless and his whole body was sore, so he lay down directly and didn't speak anymore.

Just when Zhang Dalongtou was frightened into a cold sweat by the latest battle report, the atmosphere in the army camp was also not good.

After the war, the morale of the officers and soldiers suffered a huge blow.

If we really want to talk about casualties, it is not necessarily who is better than whom, but the collapse of the earth mountain and the direct burial and killing of hundreds of soldiers made this battle a clear sign of victory or defeat. The soldiers all believed that this battle was a disastrous defeat.The senior officers were certainly not so confused, but the severe morale blow to the whole army seemed to be a self-evident failure in itself.

What's more terrible is that today's war and yesterday's war, from the cause to the process to the result, seem to echo Zhang San's assertive words yesterday-everyone seems to be tyrannical, but at the critical moment, from Xue Changxiong and below, all The military leaders are not willing to work hard.

If the capital is exhausted, stand aside, who is willing to move?
In this case, speculation and capital preservation have become some basic ideas, and all losses must be carefully calculated.

Looking back, after everyone withdrew, they finally stopped complaining and complaining, especially the losses of various ministries. Then they discussed military affairs at the request of Xue Changxiong, but there was a natural debate on whether to continue to control the earth mountain.

Headed by Wang Yu, a considerable number of generals believed that the earth mountain had been verified to have an extremely steep south slope, and it was very easy to be dug and collapsed. Rest... So, it is better to give up for the time being.

However, this point of view was quickly suppressed, because it is easy to abandon the earth mountain, but the problem is that even if the political significance and morale impact of this move are not considered, it is also necessary to consider that the dragon thief can occupy the earth mountain in turn, and then consolidate and repair it by itself. , to build a stronger line of defense by borrowing the manpower and material resources spent by the officers and soldiers before.

Giving up is giving up, but letting go to the enemy is another matter, so how can a large row of mountains be let out?
This is why Xue Changxiong insisted on leaving heavy guards on the gentle slope of the earth mountain before withdrawing.

And Wang Yu and others were gradually persuaded.

Then, the next question becomes how to strengthen the earth mountain so that the earth mountain can be tamped properly so that ditches can be dug on the south slope to prevent tunnel attacks.

"It's very simple, why can the thieves stand in their houses?" There are still some experienced soldiers in the army, Zhonglang General Feng Duan immediately spread his hands and said. "It's because there is earth on the outside of the board house, with bones and flesh... On the other hand, if you want the hill to be stable, the easiest way is to give it a board on the south slope!"

"Why didn't you go up before?" Xue Changxiong's face was livid.

"I didn't expect that." Feng Duan continued to spread his hands. "I really didn't expect that before today, who would have thought that the thieves would dig the tunnel so quickly? Normally, from the front camp to the bottom of the mountain, there will be several separate paths, and finally they will be burned together... at least ten days ...After the collapse there today, the general has been thinking, could it be that the big bosses went down to dig the culprits? Didn’t Chen Sima also say that there are bosses going in and out of those central board houses. But this is too unbelievable.”

"Chen Sima missed a big deal!" Xue Wanbi suddenly shouted. "My sixth brother was almost killed by him!"

Chen Bin remained expressionless and his body was motionless, only waiting for Xue Changxiong to speak.

Unexpectedly, Murong Zhengyan flashed out at this time, and took the initiative to explain to Chen Bin before Xue Changxiong could speak: "General, let's speak with conscience, the matter is really not to blame Chen Sima... Who would have thought that it would be a thief?" The big leaders of the army, the leaders are going to dig the tunnels themselves at the level of Ningdan?"

"Yes." Xue Changxiong also took a long breath. "If we can also be united like this and work hard from top to bottom, what are the mere thieves? Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you, the war is only five or six days old, the war is too early, and the reinforcements have not arrived... Why don't you stop the war for a day or two? If you can It only takes a moment to clear up people's hearts, clear up the situation, regroup, and win the battle."

After Murong Zheng said, everyone nodded in agreement.

However, after nodding his head, Wang Yu asked again: "So, just add a board on the south slope?"

"No." Feng Duan vetoed it on the spot.

"What do you mean?" Xue Wanbi's expression changed again on the spot. "Didn't you just say you were on the board yourself?"

"It's the upper block, but the southern slope is too steep and the earth hill is too high, so we need to use a large wooden block." Feng Duan explained.

The crowd was relieved.

"Then go to the big woodblock." Xue Changxiong was also a little speechless.

"The key to a large woodblock is the quality of the wood." Feng Duan explained helplessly, spreading his hands three times. "Large logs! Long logs! Large logs that can be used as pillars! Not counting the small one on the easternmost side, the remaining four earth mountains that were raised later require hundreds of such logs!"

Xue Changxiong was stunned for a moment, and then realized: "You mean it's too late to cut wood?"

"It's not just a matter of being too late." Feng Duan said helplessly. "As I have inquired before, it was good... When it snowed last winter, the bandit army specially felled the surrounding big trees to keep warm when chopping firewood."

"Why do they want to cut down big trees?" Someone was puzzled.

"Since ancient times, when defending the city, it is necessary to clean up the surrounding trees as much as possible to prevent them from being used as siege fortifications." Feng Duan continued to explain.

"If you say that..." Wang Yu was a little frustrated. "Don't the thieves still have the intention to retreat into the county town and continue to stick to it if necessary? Then what if we capture this chessboard stronghold? This battle..."

"Don't say unnecessary words, just talk about Damu." Xue Changxiong interrupted the other party impatiently. "If there are not so many big trees in the surrounding forests, will we have time? Will the big trees be brought here, and Dahe Bing will bloom early."

"It's really possible." Feng Duan became more and more helpless. "First of all, you have to find it. It's a matter of luck... After you find it, you can find someone else. If the road is not good, if you don't face the road, you will be exhausted. How can you fix it within a few days?"

The field fell silent for a moment.

And just when Wang Yu was about to speak at the right time and say something else.

Suddenly, the general Xue Changxiong who sat at the top smiled instead: "We are confused... Isn't the big tree that can be the pillar of the pillar behind you? Send an urgent letter at this time, and it may be possible to start tomorrow. Work harder. Tomorrow It might be possible to arrive at night.”

Everyone was surprised.

Only Qian Tang's complexion changed suddenly, and he stood up on the spot and raised his voice to defend: "General Xue's move is digging his own grave! Even if we win this way, the south of Qingzhang River will be all dragon thieves!"

The people present were still surprised, but soon someone followed Qian Tang to react.

Wouldn’t it be enough for a big tree that can be used as a pillar to go directly to Ande City, Pingyuan City, and Jiangling City to dismantle the pillars? !Three big cities, famous cities, what is the lack of these timber?

"Mr. Qianfu." Unexpectedly, Xue Changxiong didn't get angry at all, but just looked at him coldly. "When the saint was defending the city at Yanmen, he demolished the entire city... You can say that the saint should not go north to Yanmen, but can you say that the house should not be demolished after being besieged by the Wu Clan coalition forces?"

Qian Tang remained silent.

"I am the chief of the army in Hebei, and Anjing in Hebei is my job." Seeing this, General Xue continued to speak. "Defeat the dragon thieves today, and strive for victory as a broken house... This is what I said, even in front of a saint! Even Cao Zhongcheng is here, I am confident, and he will agree! Believe it or not ?”

When Qian Tang heard the last sentence, he looked up to the sky and sighed, feeling a little relieved: "So that's how it is! That's how it is!"

At this point, without waiting for others to respond, Qian Tangfu solemnly bowed his hands: "General Xue, you can demolish the government office first."

Xue Changxiong nodded slightly: "Okay."

"Thank you, General Xue." Qian Tang nodded, then looked around at the crowd again, still cupping his hands. "Everyone, I am tired today, so I will take my leave first."

After he finished speaking, he went out.

"Mr. Qianfu!" At this moment, Xue Changxiong suddenly stopped the other party from behind and made a solemn reminder. "Unless you are ordered by the military, you are not allowed to leave the camp!"

Qian Tang turned back and cupped his hands, and continued to turn and leave. When passing by Cao Shancheng, the latter grabbed him, but did not hold him back.

The matter is settled here, and next, I should talk about Chen Bin's mistakes, the gains and losses of this battle, but the sudden report from outside interrupted everything - the dragon thief began to attack the people on the gentle slope behind the dirt hill in front of him at night. The officers and soldiers stayed behind.

"The one who takes advantage is here." Xue Changxiong didn't panic at all. "General Dou Pi took two Zhonglang generals Xue Wanbi and Xue Wanping to Tushan for support, and General Gao Zhan took Wang Changhe and Wang Changxie two Zhonglang generals to prepare. Take the initiative to fight, General Murong Zhengyan will patrol the camp to ensure that the camp is safe, and the rest of the generals will return to their camps, and they are not allowed to move lightly."

Naturally, everyone had nothing to say, and they left one after another.

"The rest of them also go down, Chen Sima and Lao Qi, let's stay." At this moment, Xue Changxiong suddenly remembered something, and suddenly called to stop the two of them.

The rest of the generals had different reactions in their hearts, but most of them left in a hurry with the guards.

After everyone left, General Xue looked at his confidant and young son, and remained silent for a long time.

Chen Bin wanted to plead guilty, but he was still somewhat frustrated, resentful, fearful and ashamed, and the scene froze for a moment.

After a while, Xue Wanquan carefully cupped his hands: "Father, do you have an explanation?"

"It's none of your business. It's for you to listen to what I said to Chen Sima and learn something." Xue Changxiong said coldly. "Chen Sima, did you see those people clearly?"

Chen Bin paused before responding: "I don't know who the general is talking about?"

"What and who? All of them!" Xue Changxiong sneered, full of anger. "The silent Luo Shu is the biggest cunning one. I treat him with all my heart and regard him as a deputy in the Youzhou camp, but he obviously eats a lot. What about Li Cheng when I was with me? How, how about our Youzhou camp when we were with Li Cheng, how about our Hebei when we were with Murong Zhengyan and the others... Let him fight, but he can use the rice grains to cook, and take a dragon thief. Jiang Ren is unwilling to move when he is talking... The soldiers and horses do not move, and the individual does not move in battle. Today, he did not contribute at all in the Zhenqi formation! Is it a fake for me to be a master? Can't you detect it?!"

"It's not just those two from Youzhou." Chen Bin sighed upon hearing this. "Although I am not in the Zhenqi army today, I can also know that there must not be many people who really sacrifice their lives and exert their strength... They can also use the internal injury suffered yesterday as an excuse, so it is not good to be harsh."

"It's not just about the military formation, it's mainly about the military discussion just now." Having said this, Xue Changxiong stood up directly, pacing with his hands behind his back in the large tent. "Tell me, why did Wang Yu and Feng Duan hook up? I have always regarded Wang Yu as my confidant, but in the end they joined hands to force me to withdraw, right? If Wang Yu was afraid before the battle today, then Feng Duan Even more so... He is a famous siegeman, why didn't he say that the earth mountain was not compacted enough? Why didn't he say that there was a big wooden board? Why didn't he say that there was a lack of big wood? Even today on the earth mountain, he is really Didn’t you see that it was burning a hole? So much so that I was forced to temporarily demolish the city, completely hating Qian Tang!”

"Among these people, Mr. Qianfu is the clearest." Chen Bin couldn't help feeling emotional.

"Who says it's not?" Xue Changxiong was also powerless. "In fact, I really like Qian Tang. I knew before that he is capable of doing things. The key point is that he is still young, and he is still a master of alchemy. Dongdu and Taiyuan are also related, but later he complained about Mr. Zhang. Neither do I. But even so, I don't want to really offend him to death. I also thought that since Mr. Zhang said that this person is trustworthy, then I am old and can't use him. In the future, Lao Qi might be able to use him. He. But he just took the last words of the Zhang family who hung him before his death as an explanation, and really ignored everything and just cared about the safety of the county... It is true that it is clear, and so is pedantry!"

Xue Wanquan was overwhelmed, this was the first time his father said clearly that Hejian Daying might belong to him in the future, so could Hebei, and even the whole world might belong to him.

At the same time, Chen Bin also really wanted to talk. He wanted to tell General Xue, don't care whether it's clear or pedantic. Now that you have punctured people's last thoughts, you are not afraid of what people will do if they are cruel.
Of course, in the end, Chen Sima, like Xue Wanquan next to him, didn't say anything, just nodded.

"And Murong Zhengyan." Xue Changxiong suddenly stopped in front of the seat. "What is this guy? At first I thought he was loyal and commendable, but now I realize that he is the one who harbors evil intentions!"

Chen Bin was surprised for a moment, because he really didn't feel that Murong Zhengyan was making trouble.Although it is said to harbor evil intentions, but the deeds don't matter, who hasn't thought of bad thoughts?I have moved myself, the key is to see what people have done and whether they have held back.

"Murong Zhengyan sees you getting into trouble today, but actually defends you repeatedly in order to win you over? Isn't it ridiculous?" Seeing this, Xue Changxiong couldn't help shaking his head, as if he was a little dissatisfied with Chen Bin's pretending to be crazy. "What does he want to do?"

Chen Bin didn't say a word, but felt cold in his heart, and Xue Wanquan looked at it in astonishment.

"Ask you something!" Xue Changxiong became more and more frustrated. "You are my own person, why are you flirting with Murong Zhengyan? And why didn't you come and see me soon after you went to deal with Tushan today?"

"Yes." Chen Bin said suddenly, but he was a little stiff. "What Xue Gong teaches is that subordinates make mistakes, and take chances in their fears. This is absolutely wrong."

After all, the two had been getting along for a while. Seeing each other like this, Xue Changxiong knew that the other party was perfunctory and avoiding the important, so he became even more angry: "What do you look like? I entrust the secrets of the camp to you." , you can’t deal with any of them well, and let them form a party in private, if this is the case, will the Hejian camp still look like it?”

After finally suppressing his dissatisfaction, Chen Bin felt angry again, and he felt a certain amount of shame today, and finally couldn't bear it anymore: "General, I am naturally incompetent, but how can Hejian Daying look like this?" Just me?"

"So it's me?!" General Xue understood instantly.

"Father." Xue Wanquan hurried to persuade. "Chen Sima didn't mean that."

Chen Bin replied to Qingming, and quickly calmed down his anger, bowing his head with a certain fear: "The last general lost his composure..."

Xue Changxiong sighed, suppressed his anger, but asked another office: "What happened to the prefect of Bohai Zhou? Let you deal with it."

"It's like this. Mr. Zhou replied, saying that there was a banditry along the coast, and he suspected that it was the dethroned dragon bandit Dengzhou reinforcements..." Chen Bin also suppressed all kinds of emotions and hurriedly reported.

"Why did you tell me now?" Xue Changxiong's expression changed drastically.

"The main reason is that the general feels that he is making excuses." Panicked, Chen Bin immediately explained. "I didn't mention it a few times before, but now I suddenly mentioned this matter... Besides, there should be ice on the Bohai Sea!"

"You know what!" Xue Changxiong was completely furious. "There is only a lot of ice on the Bohai Sea in the north, and there is very little in the south of Dengzhou Bay and the direction of Dongyi. The deep-water ports will not be frozen at all... If you start from the Jishuikou of Dengzhou, bypass the big river mouth and land. It's so easy...how did I forget this?!"

Chen Bin's face turned pale.

It was still the same as this afternoon, with fear and shame—however, he dared to assure himself that he had indeed noticed the evasiveness and shrinking psychology of the prefect Zhou of Bohai County, and that guy basically had new reasons for refusing to move.

So, at the same time, he didn't feel that things would really be like that.

At this time, Xue Changxiong didn't bother to pay attention to any superfluous incidents, and no longer shy away from anything, but continued to ask: "Leling has our army?"

"Yes."

"Immediately support the past... No, let Leling stand still, and then send another army... We must find one that can fight, let Wang Fubei go, go to Yangxin, and get stuck at the east end of Douzigang .” Xue Changxiong immediately gave the answer. "Hurry up!"

"Yes." Chen Bin responded briefly again, and couldn't help reminding again. "Actually, why do you need Wang Fubei, who is just defending the city, why not send the two support soldiers from Youzhou who are unwilling to contribute any more?"

"Alright." Xue Changxiong nodded immediately, but couldn't bear it anymore. "Aren't you smart? Why didn't you report it earlier and generate this countermeasure?"

Chen Bin suppressed all kinds of things, but nodded indiscriminately, ready to leave quickly.

"And..." Seeing that the other party was about to leave the camp, Xue Changxiong suddenly called out to him again, this time, his eyes widened and his words were harsh. "Tell Taishou Zhou, if he finally finds out that it was he who lied to us again and again in order to avoid military affairs, I will kill him with my own hands!"

Chen Bin was taken aback, and quickly pulled himself together to respond.

Turning around and leaving the tent, Chief Chen took a few breaths before relaxing. At the same time, as Xue Changxiong expected, the bandits came to rob the camp again, and the two sides fought again at night. But it didn't make Chen Bin panic at all.

what is this?
Compared with the unbearable Xue Changxiong's tent, what is this?
The so-called no war tonight.

(End of this chapter)