Delong

Chapter 392: The Country’s Destruction (10)

On the morning of the [-]nd day of the twelfth lunar month, a group of Tuntian soldiers from Gaojibo came to the outside of Jiangling City with their carts. The carts were full of various objects woven from reeds—mostly mats, baskets, and straw sandals. There were four or five carts in total. Compiled goods.

In fact, there was only one family in this military station who knew this craft, but since Han Erlang arrived, many things have changed. Han Erlang and a few brothers who believed in him pooled money together and gave it to that person, asking him to teach him , so the craftsmanship spread immediately, and during the slack season, relying on the inexhaustible reed stalks behind him, he quickly formed a small industry.

These kinds of things are considered necessities of life in a certain sense. In addition, the business here in Jiangling is well developed, so they are almost sold out in a short time, and because the market here is prosperous, they are often bartered. , and directly exchanged the Chinese New Year items that they originally wanted to buy, and the soldiers in the field were naturally excited.

So, after discussing with each other, everyone went to drink together, and Tunchang Huang, who took the lead, went to see Han Erlang.

Unexpectedly, Han Erlang, who was in a trance today, suddenly said: "Let's go back quickly, something might happen!"

Everyone was surprised, and immediately put them away, but Tun Zhang was a little puzzled, and asked with a frown, "What can happen in this situation? Could it be that Han Erlang was thinking wrong?"

"I'm afraid that troops will be sent out in a few days." Han Erlang spoke earnestly. "There are too many officers in the livestock camp to inspect and inspect. We went to the big iron house just now. We can only exchange stocks, and all of them are repairing weapons... We walked three of the four avenues. As the new year is approaching, there are many officers with whale notes on the road. , but it is rare to see them entering the store to drink and party, but they all look serious and walk in a hurry, let alone leave the barracks and go home... I asked just now, and the store owner said that in fact, there were many such parties yesterday, and today they all suddenly not enough."

Huang Tunchang was convinced halfway through hearing it, and immediately took the initiative to gather it up.

A group of people hurriedly loaded the new year's goods they had exchanged for, and pushed the car away together. When they got to the road, they also realized that the road patrols were too dense. Changhe arrived at the residence late at night.

After a short rest, the next morning, Tun Chief Huang received an order from his superiors to check the number of posts, and he was not allowed to go out without reason, but there was no doubt about it. He asked his companions and subordinates to check the number of posts, and at the same time, he came to look for talents in the village. Han Erlang made consultations and inquiries.

"The purpose of dispatching troops at the end of the year is to make a surprise attack." Han Erlang analyzed carefully. "A surprise attack requires the troops to be quick. It may not be necessary for our field soldiers to go to the front line immediately. It may be support, logistics...that is, the work of civilian husbands, but if the battle is delayed, it is uncertain."

Huang Tun breathed a long sigh of relief, but he sighed with emotion: "Han Erlang, don't laugh at me. Although I have experienced the chaos of the previous two years, this is the first time I have fought such a big war... I always feel that the future war will be the same as It was different in the past, ordinary people like us are no different from grains of wheat in a stone mill, so I am very scared... When the war really starts, I will ask you to help me be the backbone."

"They are all from the same village. I will definitely do my best." Han Erlang nodded with a natural expression, but shook his head. "However, like you, I don't want to fight a war...The year is not good, and there is still a war, and the current situation, once there is a war, it will be a big war, and the food shortage will be even greater...Why can't we wait a little longer? What about the year? As far as the help is concerned, there is no comparison in other places. If the situation changes in a year or two, it will be swallowed up directly."

"That's not necessarily the case." Chief Huang had a different opinion. "The food is like this. We can barely survive here, but it is definitely not possible in other places. In Hebei, the Zhangshui, Hutuoshui and so on can't stop people at all. In addition, the counties in the northwest have been In chaos, so, it must be that other places in Hebei are short of food first, and then people from other places must escape, and it becomes a shortage of food for us together... So, it is better to fight down first to see if there is a way to rectify and manage it .”

Han Erlang thought for a while, then nodded: "It's the head of the village who thinks deeper."

The two were talking in the house of the Tun Gongfang, when suddenly, someone broke in from outside, but it was the serious Wang Lao Wu, who reported the situation as soon as he entered the house: "Second Brother Han, Chief Huang, there are really few people ... the eldest son of Mr. Wang's family is missing."

Huang Tunchang has rich experience, Han Erlang has a good vision, and the two of them just looked at each other and knew it. This must have been made yesterday by Han Erlang.

It must be known that although Lord Wangxian is well-cultivated, so is his eldest son, which makes their family's farm work very easy, but it still cannot prevent Lord Wangxian and his eldest son from becoming more and more depressed, because they are under the rule of the Great Wei. The king of a county, where does he need to plan carefully for a year like now?
Therefore, resentment is indispensable, and there are sufficient motives to flee or tip off.

"The Wang Family Dalang has probably been away for half a day, and he has two cultivation bases... If he just took the opportunity to escape, that's fine. He's probably going to report the news." Tun Zhang immediately became depressed and uneasy. . "Will this be chased after us?"

"It's nothing." Han Erlang remained calm. "Even what I can see, other people can also see. The news has already been passed on... The head of the village just reports it up according to the rules and asks Mr. Wang's house at the same time. If you go to search, you will search, if you are not allowed, you will not search.”

"Can……"

"There are those who escaped, how can you easily see the manager? How can the manager believe that what you are telling is the truth when you see the manager? How is it not a spy but a real escape? How is it true that the news is not deliberately released by the other party?" Yours?" Han Erlang explained briefly. "It's not very useful... I guess I just couldn't bear the hardship, so I took the opportunity to escape."

Only then did Tun Zhang feel relieved.

Just as Han Erlang, who has rich military experience, expected, the self-righteous secrecy work of the Dragon Gang is like a sieve. Even the shops on the roadside can detect that something is going to happen.

However, just as Han Erlang said, most of the information stopped at the rural market, up to the grassroots officials, and did not reach the level of entry into the house at all.

At least Hejian and Xindu, which are generally considered to be the destinations of the operation, really didn't exist in a short time, and Xue Changxiong didn't know anything about it.

"Where did Qin Erlang get the news?" On the evening of the [-]rd, in the camp of Bowang Mountain on the southeast side of Neihuang City, Qu Tuda looked at the people in front of him who rushed from Linhe and asked earnestly.

"Several businessmen." Qin Bao answered seriously. "Those who come to sell straw mats in Ji County hope to collect some old rice from the barracks here."

"The straw mat dealer came to report on the military situation..." Qu Tuda was a little confused.

"They didn't sue, but I inquired about it... The Dragon Clan has suddenly tightened the control of the barracks in the past few days, and the troops are strictly restrained. There is no way to run away after counting the logistics ordnance." Qin Bao calmly explained. "I'm just saying there's a possibility of an attack."

Qu Tuda was silent for a while, then nodded: "It is reasonable to say that if Delong Jun takes action, there will be more Xianghejian, especially Luo Shu from Youzhou... Luo Shu seems to have flirted with Delongjun, and it would be okay to attack Hejian together." It's normal..."

Qin Bao's complexion did not change, and he did not shy away from his relationship with Luo Shu.

"However, Zhongcheng went to Kansai, and he should have arrived at Tongguan by now. It is not uncommon for Jiangling to come and surprise us after he got the news." Qu Tuda continued. "You really need to be on guard."

"How to prepare?" Qin Bao asked.

"Send more scouts, check the number of personnel, gather troops in the four cities, one mountain and one warehouse (Neihuang, Chanyuan, Linhe, Liyang, Bowangshan, Liyang warehouse), and do not make redundant dispatches." Qu Tuda said seriously.

"Zhongcheng went to Tongguan, where are our reinforcements?" Qin Bao continued to ask.

Qu Tuda was silent.

Qin Bao was helpless, and seriously stated: "General, we have only 2 people, and there are five or six thousand soldiers from Jijun under my name. They are equivalent to recruits. They are distributed in four cities and one warehouse. If there are no reinforcements, wouldn't we To be defeated one by one? It's the design we did before, isn't it also expected to have a layered defense and be able to sustain reinforcements?"

"If that generation really comes, Yecheng may be able to call for support, and the soldiers of Wei County can also come, and there are four or five thousand soldiers in the vicinity of Ji County." Qu Tuda said seriously. "I'm sending a letter now to get them ready."

Qin Bao felt a little helpless, took a few steps forward with his sword in hand, and asked in a low voice: "General Qu Tu, at this time and at that time, the strength of the Dragon Clan is at stake now. The two masters don't know if they are true or not. Not to mention the strength of the army, if the Dragon Army came now, there could be a dozen or twenty battalions casually, and it would not be an exaggeration to mobilize Jiyin Xingtai by taking advantage of the freezing of the big river... ...Without a great master to deter, what is the use of the two reinforcements you mentioned? The county soldiers...Ji Jun, Wei Junjun? At this time of panic, are they the opponents of the Tuntian soldiers who dethrone the Dragon Army? They were defeated under the city, It will only shake the morale of the army."

Qu Tuda sighed on the spot: "The current situation is like this, what can you and I do? It's all about being loyal to your duty."

Qin Bao was silent for a long time: "If you talk about devotion to duty, do you still remember what I told the general last time?"

"I remember, but it's a bit difficult... The Ministry of War has called back." Qu Tuda said seriously. "It's the court's rule, since you have entered the court, it's not easy to give this treatment..."

"But I'm a captain, a magistrate." Qin Bao sneered.

"I know..." Qu Tuda was slightly embarrassed. "But you're actually serving in the military."

"Speaking of this." Qin Bao continued with a smile. "I don't quite understand. Since I was transferred to Hebei, I have been fighting under the general's command. The general has been promoted from a general to a general of the guard. Can I not even be transferred to a general? If my meritorious service is insufficient, Li Twelve Lang will be transferred to the palace of Yecheng." Ambassador, what's the point of losing all of you with Lu Daobin? Everyone is getting promoted, but I'm the only one who can't do it? If it's for a general, I have nothing to say, right?"

Qu Tuda stood up, walked forward, and put his hand on the opponent's shoulder: "Qin Erlang, you are brave, and you have always been ambitious. In the future, you will have your own future, so I will never use authority to oppress you easily. But this matter obviously involves the habit of employing people in the imperial court, and it also involves the dispute between Zhongcheng and Duan Shangshu..."

"Doesn't it mean that I'm not from Guanlong, and I have nothing to do with Duan Shangshu, so I deliberately blocked me?" Qin Bao suddenly laughed. "It is clearly stated in "On the Passing of Wei"...that is why Great Wei died."

Qu Tuda's complexion changed slightly, but he sighed immediately, but still pressed his shoulders tightly: "Qin Erlang, then I will not hide it from you, the reply given by Duan Shangshu is that if you are not a mother and a wife in Dongdu , I’m afraid that he had voted for Zhang Xing long ago, so it’s impossible to send your family to Li Yang.”

Qin Bao still laughed: "Everyone in the world thinks that I want to vote for Brother Zhang, as if I owe him something, but I'm used to being arrogant, and I always feel that as long as I do my duty, I can't do anything wrong to anyone. I can shelter anywhere, so why bother? What's more, there are my mother and wife? However, if there is no doubt that Cao Zhongcheng used people before, now that Zhongcheng has left Dongdu, I don't know if he can come back. Dongdu treats me like this. What should I do? General Qu Tu, if I really voted for the Dragon Gang this time, was it Duan Shangshu who knew people first, or was I forced to turn against me by him? , Are they aware of the current situation, or am I not safe at the end of the day?"

Qu Tuda's hand was on the opponent's shoulder. Hearing this, his heart was extremely complicated. He was well aware of the opponent's grievances, but he was speechless; He had already reached the bottom line, but he didn't dare to make any extra moves.

Without him, he can't do both things.

The former is because he can't reach it, and the latter is because he knows very well that if they really turned their faces and fought hand-to-hand, with Qin Bao's strength, even if one of them made a pill and the other condensed it, he might not know who would die.

Of course, there is one more thing he can't do, and it has already been discussed, that is the possible military situation under Qin Bao's warning.

I don't know if it's easy to look away when everyone is helpless, anyway, General Qu Tu is suddenly relieved, he retracts the hand on the opponent's shoulder, walks back with his hands behind his back, sits down again, and speaks:

"Things are up to now, everyone lives in peace...Qin Erlang, I still say that, with your martial arts and integrity, you will make a future for yourself sooner or later, so I won't talk ridiculous things to you here...I only hope that this time If you can keep yourself safe and fulfill your duties, even if you really want to vote, don't vote in front of the battle. If the Dragon Clan really comes, just ask you to fight seriously on the army formation; if you really lose, with your ability and the dragon horse, Going back single-handedly, picking up the family members, and calmly turning around to seek refuge, wouldn’t it look clean? Whoever you want to vote for at that time, whether you vote for Zhang Xing or Li Ding, it doesn’t matter.”

Qin Bao nodded and wanted to leave.

At this time, Qu Tuda couldn't bear it any longer, and continued to ask: "Since the last chat in the city, hasn't Zhang Xing sent someone to recruit you again? Is there no letter or message?"

Qin Bao shook his head seriously, then turned around with his head down and went out.

Facts have proved that the covert-raid plan of the Dragon Army still played an excellent role, because even if many people were aware of the situation, they could not be effectively passed on to the corresponding high-level hands. It wasn't until the battalions of the Chulong Army suddenly activated that they didn't realize it; even though Qin Bao in the west was aware of the situation early, even if Qu Tuda hastily ordered to strengthen the deployment and request reinforcements, he still couldn't make it across Wuyang. Under the circumstances of the county, they can make an effective judgment on the relevant situation... They all feel that even if the Dragon Army is coming, it is very likely that they will send troops at the end of the year. send troops!

In the early morning of the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month, no fewer than seventeen or eighteen battalions of the Delong Army rushed into Wuyang County along the official road.

Some cities hastily closed their doors, and some cities simply had their chief officials bound out of the city. Of course, there were also cities that calmly changed into banners that had been prepared long ago, and took the initiative to greet them.

But it was meaningless at all, these dethroning dragon troops didn't care about them at all, they just passed quickly, and handed over the cities along the way to the rear army, and soon, the order from Guixiang City, the prefecture of Wuyang County, arrived - all cities, open City gate, organize logistics, and provide supplies for the Dragon Army along the way.

Obviously, whether it is the choice of the highest level of Wuyang County's own bureaucratic system, the number of the Dragon Army that poured into Wuyang County, or the speed of the Dragon Army's advance, this large county in Hebei, which is originally a buffer place, quickly Completed the reverse.

Wuyang County is a large county. From Liaocheng on the easternmost border to Neihuang, a neighboring county on the western border, there is a distance of 160 miles. This distance, calculated according to the normal marching speed, is not unusual for five or six days, but that It is necessary to consider the baggage.

With Wuyang County's complete change of flags and defection, the supply of the Dragon Army along the way was as usual, and its forward battalions, namely the fifth battalion of Xu Shiren, Xu Shiying, Niu Da, Xiahou Ningyuan, and Zhang Shanxiang, under the order of the former enemy commander Xu Shiying, all Abandoning the luggage and confiscating mules and horses from various cities along the way, they actually crossed Wuyang on the afternoon of the [-]th, arrived at Jijun, and came to Neihuang County, a famous county in Hebei.

This speed is basically only slightly weaker than the sentry cavalry, which is really amazing.

"Is it too fast?" Just on the side of the boundary between the two counties, Xiahou Ningyuan, who was more prudent, was obviously a little panicked. "Leader Guo's scout battalion has dispersed. We can only count as five battalions. After the military parade, each battalion has a few hundred people on their annual leave. Thousands of people were left behind on the road. Now there are only five to six thousand people, all of whom are extremely exhausted... In the face of the enemy, there are 6000 people in Huangcheng in the west, and 3000 people in the Bowang camp on the southwest side. The surrounding Linhe and Chanyuan can come to help at any time. At that time, it will be 5000... plus Qu Tuda and Qin Bao We practitioners may not be able to defeat these masters. Isn't it ridiculous that we lose for a while in a game that must be won?"

"I know." Xu Shiying listened carefully to the other party's words before calmly announcing her plan. "So we're just going to fight against Inner Yellow City now... If it succeeds, we'll move on to the next step, and if it doesn't, we'll go back and camp here in Jiegou to wait for backup... Not only that, but the big leader Niu has to go south quickly , crossing Bowang Mountain to Chanyuan, on the one hand, to confuse the Bowang camp, and on the other hand, hope that this speed can cause terror and shock the enemy troops in the city. Chanyuan has been your residence for many years... You know how to do this, right? Dongjun There will also be soldiers and horses who will come to your aid while the river is frozen."

Niu Da just nodded... He had been thinking about it for a long time, just wanting to take back Chanyuan, not to mention that this time had already been arranged.Xu Shiren didn't say a word, as if as the big boss, he knew some arrangements.

Since the big bosses agreed and explained, Xiahou couldn't say more, and the vanguard naturally acted quickly.

Of course, at this time, Qu Tuda of the Bowang camp already knew the situation, but fell into a daze - there was no way, the opponent was advancing too fast, and he was not sure of the vanguard of the Dragon Army in person.

After regaining his composure a little, he could only order the cities to guard, and at the same time immediately sent a request for help to Yecheng, Dongdu, and Jijun County, and sent additional sentry cavalry.

But soon, as the sentinels reported back, he realized that the bandit army had split up and continued to move forward. One part was going to Neihuang, the northernmost stronghold of the Bowang camp, and the other seemed to be going to Bowang Mountain. After coming here, he was even more at a loss, and after thinking about it for a while, he added another letter, one to Yecheng, telling Li Qingchen to be careful not to be ambushed, because the Long army dared to fight Neihuang, which meant that there was likely to be support from the northern line The other is for Qin Bao of Linhe, so that this man who is probably the strongest martial artist in Jijun's army should come to Bowang Camp first, just in case, because he is not sure which team will come to Bowang Mountain. Dethrone the strength of the dragon army.

In the afternoon, maybe even the letter from Linhe hadn’t been delivered yet, Qu Tuda fell into a daze again, because he, who had cultivated himself as a Dan, saw it with his naked eyes on the mountain on a sunny winter day, and the place about a few miles away On the east side of Bowang Mountain, there were more than a thousand rebels carrying the Niu flag, apparently just a battalion, crossing the Bowang camp from north to south.

It seems that Niu Da, the leader of the bandit army, is going to go to Chanyuan, where he once stationed and controlled for a long time.

This is likely to go wrong, because there is a high possibility of Niu Da's internal response in Chanyuan City.

But he didn't dare to move, because this army was too much like a bait... The bandit army was advancing too fast, and now he knew nothing about the situation in Wuyang County, and he didn't know anything about the strength of the bandit army ahead, so he didn't dare Go to reconnaissance in person, who knows if there is a grandmaster ambushing inside?
He just let the other party walk by swaggeringly.

About two quarters of an hour after Niu Da crossed the camp on Bowang Mountain, which was almost evening, Xu Shiying attacked Neihuang City.

Three thousand so-called elites from the Eastern Capital (actually two thousand are from the Eastern Capital, and one thousand are soldiers from Jijun County), a general who is a master of alchemy. The famous city of Dacheng is three feet high and has a moat (although it is frozen). A large iron gate weighing several thousand kilograms was specially installed at the gate of the city.

But it was still broken within a stick of incense.

Because Xu Shiying arranged for internal response—some people with eastern accents seized a city gate and a turret. They are said to be Zhongliang of Langya County who was persecuted by the Dragon Gang.

God knows how Xu Dalang persuaded these people?Maybe his sister married Langya before?Or did Langya come from a rebel army to fish in troubled waters?Or are these people really influenced?
But no matter what, the city was broken.

A streak of light flew past, as if the general in the city had fled.

"What are we doing now?" Entering the city, standing on the top of the city gate, Xu Shiren watched the man go away, and then looked down at Xiahou and Zhang Shanxiang who were hurriedly organizing troops to enter the city. Plan, but still a little dazed.

"Guard the four gates, recruit surrender, check the residents, have a full meal, contact Niu Da, rest for a while, and then send troops at night." Xu Shiying answered seriously.

"Where do you send troops at night?" Xu Shiren became more and more puzzled.

"Naturally, we will go to Bowang Mountain, which is only a few miles away from this city." Xu Shiying had no reservations. "Qu Tuda's evidence."

"You also arranged an internal response there?" Xu Shiren couldn't ask. "Why didn't you say it before?"

"No." Xu Shiying said without reservation. "How could that kind of place be easily infiltrated? But Chanyuan, Linhe, and Liyang have all arranged internal responses, not just this kind of Langya tyrant, for example, Chanyuan is a local hero that Niu Da is familiar with, Linhe is a local businessman who travels to Jiangling, Liyang It's the cronies sent by Dongjun... Yecheng also has them, but it's an accident."

"I know this..." Xu Shiren was both horrified and confused. "But even so, how can we capture the Bowang Mountain camp?"

"Boss Xu." Xu Dalang felt helpless and could only explain to the end. "Since the beginning of this year, these so-called elites of the Eastern Capital have been stationed in Jijun. Those high-ranking officers are nothing more than that. How dare you ask if the families of ordinary sergeants should have attached themselves? This is next to Liyang Warehouse. Worrying about food and clothing is better than staying in the Eastern Capital and being bullied by others, right? And if you come here, do you want to live in the military camp? Naturally, you live in the surrounding city..."

Xu Shiren shuddered violently, and then looked at the young general with the same surname. He finally understood why everyone said that this person was the real leader of all the outstanding leaders of the Eastern Realm, and finally understood why Zhang Xing was not willing to give this person to him. dealt with directly.

"Since we have taken down the surrounding cities, we don't even need to take all of them. As long as we take down two of the four cities, will there be thousands of family members of Bowang Daying sergeants, county soldiers, and civilian husbands?" Xu Shiying continued calmly. Let's talk. "We don't attack by force tonight, but we just take advantage of the dark night to ask these family members to go down the mountain to call their husbands and sons, and persuade them to surrender... It's a success, why don't you return it? I don't believe that Qu Tuda dared to face the soldiers' family members in the middle of the night. Let the arrows go... If Chief Xu has anything else he wants to ask, I have absolutely no intention of hiding it."

Xu Shiren shook his head.

But Xu Shiying nodded, and reiterated: "In my opinion, just talking about war, this battle is as easy as pie."

Xu Shiren could only nod along.

(End of this chapter)