At the end of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 145 Take the initiative
It has to be said that Liu Chengwu is a man of ruthlessness and tenacity, even though he was once played by Gao Bufan's "empty car plan" and was furious, but after calming down, he immediately led the people on the same road without stopping Returning, carefully looking for and analyzing all the traces left on the ground, he didn't give up until the night fell, and he was a difficult character.

The night is as dark as ink, the moon is dark and the stars are sparse, and the light of the torches illuminates the surroundings of the stream as bright as day.Liu Chengwu's eyes moved slowly along the gurgling water, winding to the darkness in the distance, his face was cloudy and uncertain.

It is said that Liu Chengwu and others spent half a day searching from the original road all the way back to Xiaoji Town, but they did not find anything, because the hoof tracks and ruts on this road were continuous, and there was no branch. As if it disappeared out of thin air.

But Liu Chengwu didn't believe in evil, how could a team of more than 100 people disappear without leaving any traces, unless these Sui dogs had grown wings, so he immediately started from the small town again regardless of the lack of people under his command Search again.

Finally, Liu Chengwu cast his suspicious eyes on a stream about ten miles away from the small town.The stream flows from west to east, winding across the plain, extending to the end of the horizon, while the hoof tracks and ruts left on the ground extend from south to north, just forming a " Ten" crossing, the ruts on both sides of the stream also match the number, it seems to be no problem.

However, Liu Chengwu found a problem after careful consideration. Obviously, there were human footprints on the ground on the south bank of the stream, but there were no human footprints on the north bank of the stream, only the hoofprints and ruts of animals.Because the hoofprints and ruts of animals are relatively deep and very obvious, Liu Chengwu and others only focused on the ruts and hoofprints, but ignored the human footprints, and were deceived as a result.

After trying to figure out the tricks, Liu Chengwu was [-] to [-] percent sure that this cunning Sui army marched directly in the stream with the help of the cover of the stream, and either went eastward with the current or went westward against the current, but the Sui army It is impossible to walk in the stream all the time, and always have to go ashore, so somewhere in the downstream or upstream of the stream, it is very likely to find the footprints left by the Sui army.

Immediately, Liu Chengwu immediately sent two cavalry to check upstream and downstream respectively, while the others stayed in place and waited, taking the opportunity to rest for a while to recover their strength.

About half an hour later, the two scouts sent to the lower reaches of the stream came back first. Sure enough, they found a large number of footprints and relatively fresh horse manure about five miles downstream.

As expected!
Liu Chengwu gritted his teeth, both surprised and happy. Of course, he was happy because he finally found the right leader. What surprised him was that this Sui army was so cunning. It can be seen that the leader is a very smart guy. No wonder he was wiped out with only a hundred people. My brother's centurion may have used some kind of trick.

It is undoubtedly very dangerous to have such an enemy army capable of fighting and brains operating in the territory of Goguryeo. If left unchecked, this Sui army will inevitably continue to recruit those Sui army's defeated troops. As it continues to grow and develop, the harm must be increasing, and it may even endanger the military defenses on the front line of the Liaohe River.

Although the main army of the Sui Kingdom has been defeated, and the Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Kingdom fled back to the territory of the Sui Kingdom, there are still many Sui troops stationed on the west bank of the Liaohe River. Huaiyuan Town on the other side of Liaodong City, if something happened to the rear, it would inevitably endanger the safety of the frontline army, or the situation would reverse again.

Thinking of this, Liu Chengwu couldn't help becoming even more anxious. He felt that this Sui army must be wiped out as soon as possible before it became big, so as to avoid future troubles.

Now it is no longer a matter of revenge or not, it is related to the overall situation of the battlefield, and even the safety of the country. Liu Chengwu dared to neglect, so he immediately ordered everyone to mount their horses and chase them all night. People were tired and horses were exhausted, and they could barely open their eyes. Forced by military orders, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue on their way.

However, people can be restrained by military discipline, but livestock can't. When a horse is hungry, it needs to eat, when it is anxious, it needs to pull, and when it is tired, it needs to rest.

Sure enough, Liu Chengwu and others only ran for a distance, and more than a dozen horses stumbled one after another, two of them foamed at the mouth, and they seemed to be useless.

Liu Chengwu was anxious and helpless, and he obviously understood that if he continued to force his way, even if they caught up with the Sui army in the end, all of them would most likely change from cavalry to infantry, and then become dead soldiers.

Without the high-speed maneuvering mount, Liu Chengwu was not sure that he would be able to defeat the cunning Sui army, not to mention that the number of them was half as large as his own, so Liu Chengwu had to order to stop and rest, and all the cavalry under his command suddenly became ashamed. Whenever there was an amnesty, he got off his horse and sat on the ground, unwilling to move any more.

This break lasted for almost two and a half hours. At this moment, the sky was already pale, and it seemed that it would be dawn soon.Liu Chengwu couldn't hold back his anxious mood any longer, he jumped on his horse and ordered to set off. If the prediction is correct, that Ming army must have stayed overnight at Xiaoxing, and they would set up their camp at dawn, every time it was delayed for a quarter of an hour It is possible to let them get away.

rumbling, rumbling...

The rush of horseshoes broke the tranquility of dawn, and the flying horseshoes crushed the dewdrops on the weeds.The sky is getting brighter, and the footprints left on the ground are becoming more and more visible, but Liu Chengwu's face is not happy, and his mentality is obviously more cautious than yesterday. That Sui army is so cunning, God knows if these footprints will be left by them again. Come down to spread doubts.

In addition, Liu Chengwu led all the cavalry under his command to drive for more than half an hour. At this time, the sun had risen very high and it was bright. A place to camp.

When Liu Chengwu saw the small river in front of him, he slowed down, ordered the horses to drink and rest, and also let everyone eat some dry food to fill their stomachs, otherwise even if they catch up with the Sui army later, they would not have the strength to fight.

"General, here, drink some water first!" A soldier handed over the water bag in a fawning manner. Liu Chengwu took a sip of the water bag, but suddenly jumped on the back of the horse as if he was on fire, and set up an awning with his hands to go northeast look away.

Seeing this, all the soldiers followed the direction subconsciously, and their expressions changed slightly. They saw thick smoke billowing from the northeast, and could vaguely see flames rising into the sky. There were even faint cries accompanied by the morning wind. Float over.

"That's a village!" A soldier blurted out.

"No, it must be that Sui dog who is ransacking villages and towns."

"Fuck, Sui dog will die!"

"Kill them all!"

A group of Goguryeo cavalry yelled loudly at the same enemy. They didn't even eat dry food, and they got on their horses and drew their knives.

"Okay, if there is a way to heaven, you don't go, and there is no way to hell. Brothers, go kill Sui dog with me!" Liu Chengwu flushed with excitement, flew on his horse and galloped towards the direction of rising smoke.

"Kill!" A hundred Goguryeo cavalry roared sharply, galloping their horses with murderous aura, and the deafening sound of hooves could be heard far away.

At this time, Gao Bufan and others were about to set up camp on the reed beach a few miles upstream of the river. A guard in charge of guarding the periphery rushed over and reported with a pale face, "Mr. A Goguryeo cavalry appeared here, please ask Mr. Gao to decide."

Gao Bufan, Han Laoshi and the others all changed their faces when they heard the words. This is a plain area, and cavalry is simply a nightmare for them.

"How many troops does the opponent have, and how far is it?" Gao Bufan asked hastily.

After all, the guard was a professional mansion soldier, and his military accomplishment was still qualified. He immediately replied, "There are about a hundred riders. There is a village in the northeast that is on fire. They went there."

Gao Bufan looked up and saw thick smoke rising into the sky from the northeast, he couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief, it seemed that the Goguryeo cavalry hadn't found himself and others, and he still had a chance to make deployments.

Ever since, Gao Bufan immediately sent an order to stop pulling out camps and setting up camps. Everyone stayed in hiding and made preparations for battle. The atmosphere became extremely tense in vain.All the people present are people who have been baptized on the battlefield, and they all understand what a hundred cavalry means. With their numbers, if they are exposed to the front of a hundred cavalry on the plain, they may not be able to withstand a collective attack from others. charge.

Fortunately, there are dense reeds all around here, which temporarily covered everyone's tracks, so the opponent's cavalry didn't notice it at the first time, otherwise it would be a tragedy.

At this time, everyone couldn't help casting admiring glances at Gao Bufan. Yesterday, Gao Bufan used the "empty car plan" to waste three donkeys and five mules. Even Yang Ying was quite suspicious of this move. After all, eight animals Even if it is not used to pull a cart, killing and eating meat is enough for everyone to have a full meal. There is no oily stomach for several months, and everyone is so greedy.

However, at this time, no one dared to question Gao Bufan's decision anymore. It was Gao Bufan's prudence and foresight that saved everyone from being destroyed at this time.

"Brother Gao, what should we do now?" Dou Xianniang tightly clenched the dagger in her hand.

Liu Gou'er interjected, "What else can I do? Naturally, I slipped in the opposite direction before the other party found out."

As soon as this remark came out, even Han Laoshi looked at Liu Gou'er with an idiot's eyes, and the latter coughed lightly in embarrassment, and was a little bit unconvinced: "I'm not right? Master Bufan, don't you think so? "

Gao Bufan is very familiar with the villagers in Liu'anli. Liu Gou'er and Gao Shou Gaoren are very good at chatting, so he imitated the two and called Gao Bufan the young master to show his favor. It turned out that Gao Bufan also used to watch Looking at him with idiot eyes, he scratched his head embarrassingly.

Liu Ying reprimanded: "Shut up, you know what a fart, this is a plain, leaving this reed beach, there is no shelter and no shelter, so many of us will be exposed as soon as we go out, then look at you two How can one leg run faster than four legs, if you listen to your boy, everyone will die without a place to die."

Liu Gou'er frowned, and retorted with a bit of pain: "Don't tell me we're going to stay here forever and be shy turtles."

"It's better to be a turtle than to be a dead man, Mr. Gao, we're not going anywhere, we'll just hide here, and we'll leave when that Goguryeo stick cavalry goes far away, at worst until night." Liu Qijin said nonchalantly, This kid was fined with ten army sticks last night, but Liu Gou'er, who was in charge of the execution, obviously let the water go, so this kid is still alive and kicking now.

Gao Bufan shook his head and said: "It's not okay to hide all the time. I suspect that this Gaoju cavalry is following the footprints, and the target is us. Although they are temporarily attracted by the fireworks over there, they will turn back sooner or later. , there are traces left by us outside the reed bank, and we will definitely not be able to hide from them.”

Everyone couldn't help but tremble when they heard the words, Liu Gou'er lost his voice and said: "It's neither running nor hiding, so what should I do? Do you stretch your neck to let the stick soldiers chop?"

Gao Bufan sweated secretly, could it be that the word "bangzi" has existed since ancient times, and wasn't it derived from later generations?This thought just passed by in a flash, and at this moment, he had no time to ask "Bangzi" why he said it, and said calmly: "Since you don't want to stretch your neck and be chopped off, then cut them first instead."

Everyone couldn't help cheering up, Liu Ying hurriedly asked: "Master Gao has a clever plan?"

Dou Xianniang and the others immediately looked at Gao Bufan expectantly, who smiled slightly and said, "This is about to land on that swamp."

Liu Gou'er's eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "Brother Qijin almost drowned in the swamp last night. If the stick soldier's horse entered the swamp, he would definitely die. But how do we get the stick soldier into the swamp?" After speaking, he frowned a pair of moth silkworm eyebrows, and put on an expression of deep thought, but in everyone's eyes, it looked more like constipation.

Gao Bufan didn't bother to pay attention to the pretending Liu Gou'er, and said honestly to Liu Ying and Han: "Uncle Han, Uncle Ying, you are in charge here, and I will go and bring the Goguryeo cavalry here so that everyone can get ready."

Han Lao didn't tell the truth, he just nodded, Liu Ying opened his mouth, but didn't say anything, he also knew that Gao Bufan was very skilled, so self-protection would definitely be fine, but Dou Xianniang was very worried, and said anxiously: " Brother Gao, I will go with you."

Gao Bufan smiled and said: "It's more convenient for me to be alone. Is Xian Niang not trusting Brother Gao or Qing Yun?"

Dou Xianniang's pretty face flushed, she lowered her head and said, "Naturally, Xianniang trusts brother Gao and Qingyun too."

"Then obediently wait here, Brother Gao will pick a good horse for you later." Gao Bufan said confidently.

Seeing that Gao Bufan seemed to have a plan in mind, Dou Xianniang finally felt a little relieved, and the others were also refreshed, gearing up for a big fight.

Gao Bufan whistled, and the big green horse, which was leisurely nibbling the fat spring grass by the river, rushed over immediately.

Gao Bufan waved his hand, led the big green horse and left the reed beach, walked a hundred meters away, then got on the horse and rode in the direction where the smoke rose.

Gao Bufan felt that the Goguryeo cavalry came after him and others in all likelihood, and it was very dangerous to be targeted by a cavalry on the plain. Instead of sitting and waiting for death, it is better to strike first, and this reed beach is rare Setting up an ambush is not in vain if there is an advantage, so he immediately decided to take the initiative.

(End of this chapter)