Delong

Chapter 359 River Walk (16)

In the early hours of the morning, the two moons are one white and big, one red and small, and they are still facing each other, which makes it still quite visible under the night. , although the soldiers have already rested, but the huge military camp and night duty activities, coupled with the scorching weather, filled the entire camp with an atmosphere of restlessness or vitality.

This shows that the nighttime silence order was not strictly enforced.

At this time, several leather armor sentinels with bells hanging from their waists galloped towards the side gate of the camp, and then called out the password for tonight.

The visitors are Bai Peixiong and Xiaohong. Although they are not acclimatized to the environment, even though they are the captains and team leaders of the Jiayue camp, the special qualities of cold ice, weak water, true energy and excellent equestrian skills make these three from the north The samurai took on the tasks of scouts and messengers in the Jiayue camp... and these few masters of strange scriptures came to the barracks and dismounted, but they had no time to check their identities and report the military situation. Instead, they each received a large bowl of iced herbal tea and The salt water was poured down, and then he came back to life, but people rushed to take care of the horses.

At this time, just went through the procedure, showed the military badge, verified his identity, and entered the camp.

As soon as he entered the camp, someone came to pick him up, and then found Jia Runshi, who led him to the camp of the Chinese army.

It is said to be a large tent of the Chinese army, but it has not been entered... In fact, along the way, all the soldiers and officers of the battalion only put up large tents and slept with them open. ...After arriving at the tent, the three of them followed Jia Runshi around, only to see Chief Zhang and Chief Bai, one in gray and one in white, standing on the side of the tent looking at the moon in amazement, chatting about something, and The last time a cold air surged out for no reason, I was also amazed in my heart, and the anxiety all the way before was suppressed inexplicably.

"So, it was just a chaotic battle? There was no victory or defeat between the two sides?" Zhang Xing asked back after listening carefully. "Not much loss?"

"It's like this." Bai Peixiong's tone was also a little helpless. "I met yesterday evening. There is a bend in the west of Xiao County. Chief Shan led them to cross the river through the bend. There is a forest in the south of the bend. The view is blocked. I don't even know that the officers and soldiers are coming from the east. Of course The officers and soldiers didn't know that we were crossing the river in the west. It was evening and the heat was still there. People on both sides had traveled long distances. When they saw the woods at the bend of the river, they all went into the woods, and they bumped into each other in the woods. There was a hasty battle, and then Shan Datou and Liang Touling adjusted a few hundred horses and charged from the outside of the forest with armor on, and three Ningdan also jumped up on the opposite side... Each tried a few moves and couldn't get it, so they took advantage of the darkness Everyone retreated, and the camps were all set up in the middle of the night."

"No intention to fight." Zhang Xing nodded.

"That's what you mean..." Bai Peixiong nodded, and then continued to speak, but he was a little cautious in his words. "Boss Shan also asked me to tell the chief one thing, that crossing the river may be useless."

"how to say?"

"Since the first ten days, the water flow has become smaller and smaller, and there are more and more shoals. Even a big river like Bianshui is full of shoals that can be waded directly." Bai Peixiong explained. "This time they crossed the river and they just found out four places. When I came back, I picked a special place to verify that it was true... So, it doesn't make much sense if you can't cross the river, because the Bian River is unobstructed everywhere."

After Zhang Xing listened, he was stunned for a while, and could only wave his hands: "It's hard work for Bai Xiong and Da Hong and Xiao Hong, let's go and rest first."

Bai Peixiong and Xiaohong had no choice but to surrender.

But as soon as the person left, Chief Zhang Mochizuki lost his mind, and Bai Yousi didn't know what to say, so the previous chat was interrupted.

In other words, it is of course difficult to judge the strategic and tactical intentions of a top intelligent opponent in a war, but if you encounter a bad and stupid opponent, then... it is even more difficult to judge.

Zhang Xing was considered a smart person, and Sima Zheng was certainly not stupid.

However, the first confrontation between these two heroes of the young generation as commander-in-chief was full of powerlessness, loss of control and clumsiness from the very beginning.

The main reason is of course the ghostly weather. This is the hottest time of the year, and this year, the north of the Huaihe River is generally dry and lacks rain. Being tortured, the scouts could only go out in the morning and evening. A master of the Ice True Qi Sutra who had opened up the Ren Meridian tried his best not to let himself sleep comfortably, but the biggest effect was to cool down everyone's herbal tea and sour plum soup.

In a word, the constraints on troop capabilities and military activities are enormous.

Secondly, the start of the war was quite unexpected. Everyone knew that the Dragon Gang's rule over Langya was unstable from the very beginning, but this kind of thing broke out suddenly, forcing both sides to rush to the shelves, and it is true that they acted hastily.

But at the same time, more and more soldiers and horses from both sides gathered more and more, and the battle capital inevitably appeared with the deployment and movement of troops on both sides.

After all, no matter how clumsy and hasty the actions of the two sides are, this is the friction between the biggest rebels in the world and one of the most powerful and last heavy-armed groups in the imperial court. Just friction may cause landslides. cracked, so no one dares to neglect.

Then in this case, the development of the battle situation will often have a result that makes people laugh and cry but feels powerless.

Just like what Bai Peixiong reported.

On June [-]th, that is, yesterday morning, as Xiong Bonan led a large number of stragglers and reinforcements to the front line, and slightly enriched the troops, the Liuxian camp quickly passed the discussion and ordered Shan Tonghai to lead [-] troops. Leaving the triangular area formed by the confluence of the Bian River and the He River, cross the Bian River and camp on the south bank to open up a new front and increase the threat to Pengcheng (which is the base of Xuzhou).

After all, although Pengcheng is at the intersection of Bianshui and Heshui, the city itself is on the south bank of Bianshui.

From the perspective of military planning, this matter is undoubtedly full of decisiveness and courage. In the past, it was the winner of the battle.

And Xuzhou's adjustment of subordinates was also very appropriate. As soon as the follow-up reinforcements arrived, they immediately dispatched a sufficient number of reinforcements, including three alchemy masters, along the Bianshui to the west, preparing to fill the defensive space on the south bank of the upper Bianshui. .

At this time, the two sides suddenly met on the South Bank in the evening. In theory, it should be a scene where the brave wins when they meet on a narrow road.

But the fact is that neither of the two families has any determination to die, and neither of them wants their outstanding son-in-law to die easily in this state.

What's even more ridiculous is that just after crossing the river, it was discovered that the significance of crossing the river has been greatly weakened-if the Bian River and the He River can calmly allow large troops to pass through any battlefield section, then open up a ghostly new front?
"Shan Tonghai can be withdrawn."

Early in the morning, under the cool breeze in the early morning, before the crowd had finished their "eating before the tent", Xu Shiying, who had read the military report, gave advice in front of the long table that was put together. "Let's see if the opponent will take advantage of the situation and come to the west from the south bank of Bianshui to take this gap. If they come, it means that the opponent is not very clear about the situation of Bianshui. At that time, we will gather our troops and horses to cross Bianshui and eat this force."

"It's possible." Zhou Xingfan immediately agreed.

"Just do it like this!" Wu Jingfeng couldn't wait to approve the plan.

"We have to fight no matter what!" Liu Heimu couldn't wait.

"I don't think it's necessary." Zhai Qian hesitated for a moment, and it was rare for him to take the initiative to express a different objection from everyone else. "It's too hot, and the soldiers are too tired, so there's no need to make trouble."

"Boss Zhai." Wu Jingfeng patiently explained. "This is not tossing, Xu Da... What Xu Dalang means is that we have grasped the fact that the Bian River can pass through on a large scale now, but the officers and soldiers may not have grasped it, so we used Dan Dalang's retreat as a bait...he It’s good to be caught in the trick, and we don’t lose if we don’t fall into the trick.”

"I know what Xu Dalang means." Zhai Qian answered in a low voice. "Isn't it just a gamble? A bet on whether the officers and soldiers know the water conditions... But what I mean is, not to mention that the officers and soldiers are fighting in the local area, they probably knew it a long time ago. Even if they don't know, there is no need to make such a fuss!"

"How do you say that?" Just opposite, Wu Changzai, who was like a hill, suddenly put down his bowl and raised his eyebrows to ask.

"How can I say it?" Zhai Qian was not afraid at all. "Everyone who condenses his alchemy upwards, once the qi is released, he is not afraid of anything, but he may not know what the soldiers below are like. Now I don't dare to let the soldiers keep their mouth shut at night, for fear that they will be uncomfortable from the heat. Ying Xiao ran away directly... So, chief, what I mean is, it's so hot now, if you can save one thing, you can save one thing, don't bother, just stand here and wait for Langya's partial master to succeed!"

"Speak carefully!" Xiong Bonan said seriously before Wu Changzai could speak again.

Zhai Qian was taken aback for a moment, but after looking at Xiong Bonan and Wu Changzai, he immediately nodded and closed his mouth, and lost the initial irritability.

"I actually think so too." After a pause, Xiong Bonan glanced at Zhang Xing who was silently eating with his head down, and then continued to speak. "I followed from behind and was responsible for picking up the brothers who fell behind. I really think it's too difficult for the brothers...Let's not talk about the ordinary sergeants. You see, the horses are in charge of the horses. Although they are weak, they are not that weak, and I still have a little bit of cultivation, what happened? Didn’t I just carry him back to the city the next day after I left Fangyucheng? I rushed over from behind, but he still wanted to follow, but he collapsed after walking for half a day, and sent him back... ..."

"It's because of his alcoholism that he is afraid of the heat and the cold." Liu Heimi leaned on the table with his body crooked, and couldn't help complaining about his new fellow villager. "I also drank alcohol back then, and I stopped touching it after I realized it was bad for my health."

Regardless of Liu Heimei's interruption, Xiong Bonan and Zhai Qian's objections are obvious, these are two big leaders, especially Xiong Bonan's prestige is here, and it is not unreasonable to say that for a while Wu Both Jingfeng and Wu Changzai also lost a lot of momentum, and they didn't know where to argue.

Immediately afterwards, the other leaders expressed their opinions one by one. There were about twenty people, but seven or eight people opposed it, and seven or eight people agreed.

At this time, everyone looked at Chief Zhang as a matter of course.

Chief Zhang Da, who had just finished breakfast, didn't respond, but looked back at Xu Shiying like a puppet with no opinion.

Xu Dalang was silent for a moment, and answered seriously: "We still have to fight."

The two sides with clear opinions cheered up, and the other frowned, but their postures were different, and they all listened with bated breath.

"Let me talk about the premise that has been repeated for many times. My Lord Sanhui, if you are hot, you will be hot together, and if you are tired, you will be tired together. Our difficulties must also be on the opposite side. Is this okay?" Xu Shiying asked the leaders at the table seriously. .

There were a few echoes from around.

"Then there are three reasons. First, their difficulties are more difficult than ours, and their difficulties are greater than ours; second, their ability to withstand difficulties is less than ours." Xu Shiying continued. "In other words, if you really have to worry about the collapse of the morale of the army, they will collapse more and collapse faster... Finally, if Xuzhou doesn't come here to be cruel, let them turn their attention and transfer their troops. , it is very difficult to get a partial teacher."

"I didn't understand the first two of the three." Zhai Qian said one thing at a time. "Didn't it be better to have military equipment and military sources on the opposite side? We are still worried about food?"

"What is being compared now is the morale of the sergeants below." Xu Shiying looked at the other party and explained seriously. "It is said that they have more difficulties than us, and the difficulties are greater because they are passive. This has been verified. As long as they are prepared, they will not even abandon three major counties..."

"This is..."

"As for their inability to endure difficulties, it is not only calculated from the military equipment and the quality of the soldiers, but also other things... What is it? Let me ask you, what should I do if I want to be a soldier with all my heart and soul?" Xu Shiying talked eloquently, and gave the answer without waiting for everyone to speak. "In my opinion, at this time, don't talk about righteousness, but ask these sergeants to ask themselves whether there is a future for soldiers here, whether there is fair reward and punishment, and whether there is anything that can be left to future generations. Is it the so-called stuff passed down from generation to generation? And these, there is no one in the world better than our Dragon Clan!"

Zhang Xing's eyelids twitched, and then he became genuinely at a loss.

"Big Wei is about to perish. I couldn't tell it was normal three years ago. I couldn't tell it was not smart enough or courageous enough two years ago. I can't tell it since last year. It's probably because I'm in this mountain and I've stumbled. ...In other words, the soldiers in Xuzhou and Jiangdu are all able to live a day-to-day life without knowing where their future lies, while our soldiers have hope."

"As for the fairness of rewards and punishments, it's really hard to say, because Sima Zheng has a very good reputation. Not only is he fair in rewards and punishments to sergeants, but he is also rare in taxation and corvee justice for ordinary people. We are in the same boat on this point... But be careful, this is the Xuzhou Camp This may not be the case for the Jiangdu reinforcements that are about to arrive."

"There is also the thing of inheritance. For the lowest sergeant and the head of the group, there is nothing else to worry about for the time being. The fairness of granting land is the biggest inheritance. It is reasonable to say that Sima Zheng should be the same as us, but Mo Forgot, the main force of their sergeants is Dongdu warriors, they are soldiers from Kansai, he wants to pass it on, but he can't pass it on in Xuzhou... In this point, we completely beat them."

"All in all, our sergeants are definitely more patient than theirs! If the weather really crushes this battle, they must be the first to collapse."

"Finally, let's talk about food. We are short of food, but what we are short of is the overall food. Is it for these few days? Is it for this battle?"

It feels like ten wins and ten losses.

Zhang Xingyan watched Xu Shiying's words come down, the opponents gradually died down, and the supporters gradually became eager to try, somewhat moved.

As for Chief Zhang's personal attitude, it was self-evident since he asked Xu Shiying to speak.

However, he agrees to take the initiative to fight, not because he thinks that his side has so many advantages, but as the chief, he has unavoidable difficulties-drought and food. The more the weather is like this, the more food he needs to save. A good way is to end this battle as soon as possible, and to end this battle, we never expect to make a big breakthrough here, but to keep creating pressure according to the original plan, creating more and better things for the partial division. Opportunity.

Therefore, Zhang Xing thought for a while and gave a reply: "What Xu Dalang said makes sense. Since there is a chance to fight, we still have to overcome difficulties to fight."

Xiong Bonan, Zhai Qian and the others stopped talking, and the military plan was carried out.

However, the controversy over the "eat before the account" also fully explained the problem, because this simple military plan itself has no obvious loopholes, it is just to seize new information and try to lure the enemy, or in other words, the main reason for the formation of opposition The reason has little to do with military success or failure itself.

Opponents are generally worried that grassroots soldiers will not be able to maintain combat effectiveness in this kind of weather.

Therefore, although Zhang Xing insisted on the battle plan, he couldn't help feeling a strong sense of uneasiness—for a moment, he felt that he was playing Yuan Shao at Guandu, Cao Cao at Chibi, and Fu at the Battle of Feishui. firm.

He insisted on going his own way, and the result was a complete failure.

But like many times before, Zhang Sanlang was apprehensive, but he was extremely resolute in his actions. After eating, the military order had already been issued.

Shan Tonghai may be chatty about other matters, but he has always been decisive and brave in the military, and has never been a mother-in-law. Therefore, on the [-]th, he received a military order at noon. In the afternoon, he had just crossed the river for a whole day. He led his troops to abandon the camp and turned back to the south bank of Bianshui.

At night, Liu County received a message from Shan Tonghai that the official army had already seized the abandoned camp of the Chulong Army on the south bank of the Bian River!

Moreover, Shan Tonghai has also obtained information on the three masters of condensing alchemy on the other side at this time. They are the first Ying Yanglang general of the left wing of Zuo Tunwei, Yuan Lizheng, and Zhang Qianda, the second eagle Yang Lang general of the right wing. It was Zhao Xingmi, the number one eagle on the left wing of the right guard, Yang Lang.

In addition, there should be a general Ying Yanglang who is not Ningdan, and a supervising army, called Sima Shida and Niu Fangsheng respectively.

"That's right!"

Under the attention of everyone, Xu Shiying quickly got feedback from the staff, and then reported to the leaders. "The staff and clerks have checked the information... Among them are soldiers and horses belonging to Fangzhen, Xuzhou, and soldiers and horses directly under Jiangdu, but they are all stationed near the entrance of Sishui in Huaiyang... They went north along Sishui and arrived in Xuzhou , and was sent to the west side without any problems."

"Zhao Xingmi is actually a master of alchemy, from Hebei. He was moved to live in Guanzhong after condensing alchemy in his early years. He mainly attached himself to the Sima family." Bai Yousi suddenly said. "Zhang Qianda was born in the Zhang family in Hedong, and he was the guard of the sage Qian's mansion in Jiangdu; Yuan Li was the nephew of Yuan Baocun, the royal family of the previous dynasty; Sima Shida needless to say, is the third uncle of Sima Zheng, the sage son-in-law; Niu Fangsheng is the eldest son of Mr. Niu Xianggong in Nanya, Eastern Capital."

Everyone was stunned for a long time.

It was Zhang Xing who sighed and looked around: "Everyone, this is the strength of Guan Long, and it is also the reason why I am cautious in fighting... Zhao Xingmi is the leader Xu Shiren who has not returned, and Zhang Qianda is the untalented Zhang Changgong. It looks like Yuan Lizheng is the immature Murong Zhengyan... and there are no fewer than fifty or sixty people like him in Jiangdu! Great Wei has only been around for more than [-] years since the founding of the country, even if he forcibly ruined the world Yes, there are still some weather and skeleton! The so-called collapse of the sky and the collapse of the tower can also kill people!

"This battle must be fought quickly, and it must not be dragged on here, otherwise, even if we win in the end, we will be consumed by the essence accumulated in the early days of the Great Wei Dynasty!"

At this point, the generals are already awe-inspiring.

But Zhang Xing paused for a moment, but his tone softened inexplicably: "Let's start the war... just follow the original plan, send troops on the moon tonight, and I will go there in person. King Xiongtian will stay behind, and you must be very careful if you stay here, because the opposite side is staying in the county. It's Sima Zheng!"

Xiong Bonan stood up and cupped his hands first: "I respect the chief military order."

Zhai Qian, Xu Kaitong, Ding Shengying and other left-behind generals hurriedly got up to accompany them.

On the other side, the generals in battle were obviously stunned for a moment, and they were at a loss for a moment, but Bai Yousi smiled, then flashed out, took the lead and cupped his sword and said: "I will obey the chief military order."

Generals Wu Jingfeng, Wu Changzai, Jia Yue, and Xu Shiying also bowed their hands.

Zhang Xing sat there motionless, glanced at the generals on both sides, hesitated for a while, and then asked Xiong Bonan: "King Xiong Tian, ​​do you want to keep another Ning Dan? How about Jia Yue and his battalion?"

"It's not bad, just leave your dismissal flag." Xiong Bonan answered frankly. "That's what I visualized."

Zhang Xing nodded: "The Heavenly King should hold the flag."

With that said, he stood up and went out. The leaders selected behind him included Bai Yousi, Wu Jingfeng, Jia Yue, Wu Changzai, Xu Shiying, Wang Xiongdan, Jia Runshi, Fan Bao , Liu Heimei, and Tang Bairen followed suit one after another.

The soldiers of the [-]th Battalion here sent the [-]th Battalion to the side division, and the strange situation was reversed in an instant.

PS: Thanks to the old book friend Xiaofei Carpet for the reward

(End of this chapter)