Jingming

Chapter 262 Surprise from Jin Yiwei
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

In the barracks inside the village, Pu Zitong was furious: "Sentry cavalry are everywhere, and there is no trace of the army crossing the border within [-] miles south of Hengyang City. How can there be tens of thousands of people besieging Changning County?"

After tossing around for so long, how could Pu Zitong not get up and stare at the movement of the Fifth Army Battalion?

The return from Guiyang Prefecture has not yet come, but Pu Zitong is sure that there is no large army between Changning and Leiyang.

But Zhaonian was disheartened, and after glancing at Zhan Huabi, he gritted his teeth and said: "Every sentence of the general is true, and everyone under the general's command can testify. The general does not know where they came from, and none of the sentries outside the city sent back According to the news, the army suddenly approached from the Xiangshui River in the north to the north and west of Changning City. In the south, there were more than a thousand Jinyiwei encircled. overwhelmed."

Pu Zitong's expression was extremely ugly, could Xi Zuo blow up the West City Gate so easily?
He glanced at Zhan Huabi, this Dan Zhaonian was Zhan Huabi's old department after all.

"There are [-] defenders in Changning County, and you just fled like this, and only brought back more than [-] people?" Zhan Huabi also felt incredible, "You ran away from the east gate within half an hour of the battle? "

But Zhao Nian looked very embarrassed and ashamed, but he said: "The west gate has been broken, and the enemy troops poured into the city like a tide. Everyone in Jinyiwei is riding hard, and the last general is really..."

Pu Zitong really wanted to kill him just like that.

Not only was he defeated, but he also dragged the remnant army back to exaggerate the enemy's elusiveness and strength, disturbing his army's morale.

But he had to worry about Zhan Huabi's feelings.

Zhan Huabi could read the killing intent in Pu Zitong's eyes, this was his request, he was asking Zhan Huabi's opinion.

Losing Changning County and Hengyang City lost its southwest barrier, Pu Zitong had a reason to kill Dan Zhaonian.

However, the situation changed suddenly, and there was no longer any conflict between Pu Zitong and Zhan Huabi.

Pu Zitong had already expressed some doubts before, Zhan Huabi should give him an explanation now.

"The enemy army from Xiangshui is probably the Baoqing Guard after rest, or the Yongding Guard and Chenzhou Guard who rushed to Hengzhou." Zhan Huabi first gave Dan Zhaonian a step, and then said to Pu Zitong, " Gu Shilong has been waiting for nearly a month, just waiting for them. The counties in the south are probably in danger at this moment. We have two guards and two institutions. After all, it is still difficult to secure the entire territory of Hengzhou and Chenzhou. The governor, Chenzhou, Yongxing, Leiyang I have to keep it!"

It sounded like he was just analyzing the situation, but Pu Zitong understood that Zhan Huabi wanted to protect Dan Zhaonian.

Now that the army from the south has arrived, Hengyang City must make a decision.Shrink the defense and survive this winter, as long as Hengyang City and Leishui are not lost, there is still a turning point.

But at this time, it is absolutely impossible to kill the defeated general in front of the battle, nor to divide the troops to rescue.Otherwise, the morale of the army will be uncertain and the army will be defeated like a mountain.

More than [-] remnants, being able to come back is also to strengthen the guarding strength of Hengyang City.Besides, he, Zhan Huabi, had already lost more than a thousand officers and soldiers in World War I.

Pu Zitong stared at Zhan Huabi for a while, and then said: "Commander Zhan, if the enemy troops easily gather in the south of Hengyang City and occupy the upper reaches of the Xiangshui and Leishui, it will be really difficult to hold Hengyang! At least, the Shuikou Shanzhai Fort cannot be lost. You Don't worry, Gu Shilong dare not rush to attack, and the west gate of Hengyang City is not so easy to break!"

After finishing speaking, he turned and walked into the city: "Order the Guang'an Office and the defenders of Guiyang Prefecture to return to defend Chenzhou, and order the Ningxi Office to increase troops to Leiyang via Linwu Chenzhou!"

Looking at Pu Zitong's back, Zhan Huabi turned around and looked at Dan Zhaonian with a serious face after a while.

At any rate, he didn't surrender, at least he escaped back with more than [-] people.

Shuikou Mountain is the confluence of Chunling River and Xiang River, only [-] miles away from Hengyang City.

The army is so fast, the imperial army that took down Changning County will probably set off tomorrow to attack the Shuikou Shanzhai Fort, and look back at the Yanfeng Peak and the Leishui camp on the southeast of the city by Yanhu Lake.

The meaning of Puzi's phone call was to ask him, Zhan Huabi, to come to the front line in person to resist the army that took Changning County, at least contain them, and prevent the most critical Leishui River south of Hengzhou Prefecture from being cut off.

The defenders in Hengyang City must also have a completely unified command, and Pu Zitong cannot always worry about the existence of Zhan Huabi.

They were all grasshoppers on the same rope, and Zhan Huabi made a quick decision.

"You take a short rest and follow me overnight." Zhan Huabi told Dan Zhaonian, and then went to chase Pu Zitong.

Outside Huiyan Gate, Zhan Huabi bowed on one knee: "The last general asks for orders to lead five hundred soldiers and Dan Zhaonian's troops to reinforce Shuikou Mountain, so that nothing will be lost!"

Pu Zitong stood with his back to him for a while, then turned around to support him with both hands, and said solemnly: "Brother Zhan, South of Hengyang, please!"

After Zhan Huabi stood up, he said another sentence frankly: "But under Zhao Nian's command, Brother Zhan still needs to investigate, beware of fraud!"

"I will understand at the end."

Pu Zitong didn't say it well before, so he couldn't doubt it in front of so many people, but Zhao Nian surrendered first, and then led his troops to flee.

Just one reason: How could Changning County be lost so quickly?

……

But the "remnant soldiers and defeated generals" brought back by Zhaonian can only temporarily stay outside the gate of the village on Huiyan Peak.

The torches flickered, although they were comrades who were defeated in the war, they were comrades after all. Some hot porridge was prepared for them in Hengyang City.

Zhan Huabi waited for his five hundred soldiers to gather, he glanced at Dan Zhaonian, and then asked him to form a team.

Ben was an officer and soldier of Chang Dewei. Although he couldn't recognize all of them, he still had the roster in hand.

But when Zhaonian saw that Zhan Huabi had led several people out and followed him to identify the people he had brought back, he already understood what was going on.

He was a little ashamed and angry, but he didn't dare to say anything.

Zhan Huabi recognized some deputy Qianhu, Baihu, and Banner officials under Dan Zhaonian's command. Most of the people brought back by these people were people who were usually very trustworthy around them.

In addition to the other twenty people who got together.

"Is he Jin Yihua?"

When Zhao Nian heard the question, he quickly answered the question: "After the general arrived in Changning, Jin Yihua was the leader of the recruited brave men. Thanks to the governor and the governor's grace, he is Jin Yihua who was awarded the position of a hundred households."

Zhan Huabi looked at Jin Yihua, who was a bit restrained and nervous, and then at the twenty or so people who were also cowering behind him: "Tell me about the battle of Changning."

"...The little one is not very good at speaking, it's just..."

It seemed that Jin Yihua hadn't left the mentality of being a commoner in the past, or he was too frightened in front of Zhan Huabi at the moment, so he said "little".

But what he said about the course of the battle was no different from what Dan Zhaonian reported, except that there were some more details after escaping from the east gate.

Only the [-] people in the east of the city and the [-] people brought by Dan Zhaonian were the only ones who managed to escape in time.

After that, Captain Jinyi's team of three hundred cavalry chased him down.For this reason, another deputy Qianhu died in battle.

"...the little ones have been chased for more than ten miles all the way. If they continue to chase and kill them, the little ones may not survive Hengyang City."

Running with human legs, how can you escape the cavalry chasing all the way?

Zhan Huabi squinted his eyes and looked at Dan Zhaonian: "Since there are more than 300 troops as you said, even if you want to appease Changning City, why would you care about the lack of [-] people? Why didn't they chase you all the way?"

"At the end of the day, Jiang et al. had already arrived near Shuikou Shanzhai Fort." But Zhao Nian could only say so.

Zhan Huabi didn't ask any more questions. He knew most of the people, and this was one of them.

Second, when Hengyang City is extremely vigilant, since these people will not be arranged to enter the city, they will not harm Hengyang City.

Third, the more than [-] remnants who had discarded their helmets and armors could not make any waves in front of his [-] personal soldiers.

"set off!"

Seeing that all the people he wanted had already been ordered, Zhan Huabi acted swiftly and resolutely.

All the way south, we can naturally see if what the remnant army said is true.When he arrives at Shuikou Mountain, the return of going to Changning County to check the battlefield will also come.

In the night, more than a thousand people left Huiyan Peak and walked south along the Xiangshui River.

The torches clustered into a long dragon, and the Tangqi on the front, rear and two wings spread out for about three miles, as a marching guard.

What Zhan Huabi needs now is a quick march to get to the Shuikou Shanzhai Fort as soon as possible.

For more than [-] miles, if you march normally, it will take a day to ensure that everyone must keep up with the team.

Zhan Huabi is going to the front line to supervise the battle. Apart from the [-] soldiers and the [-] remnants of Dan Zhaonian, there are also civilian men who transport luggage in the team.

Now that the enemy army has appeared in Changning, they must always be on guard against sneak attacks.

Fortunately, the scale of this army is not large, and it is close enough to Hengyang City at the moment. There are also many forts along the Xiangshui River, and Zhan Huabi can speed up appropriately.

When we arrived at Shuikou Shanzhai Fort, the sky was already slightly bright.

In advance, some soldiers came to Shuikou Shanzhai Fort with Zhan Huabi's military order and amulets. Now seeing Zhan Huabi personally leading troops to help, the guards in Shuikou Shanzhai Fort are very happy.

Seeing him open the gate of the village, Zhan Huabi's face darkened: "The enemy army is nearby, why are you so slack?"

Although he is his old subordinate, even if he wants to welcome him, how can he not bring some soldiers out to guard around?

"Don't worry, the governor. After receiving the military order from Hengyang City, Tang Qi dispersed for fifteen miles, and there was no trace of the enemy all night."

Zhan Huabi could only remind him to be careful, and then entered the Shuikou Shanzhai Fort.

He was also very tired from the rapid march all night.

However, at this moment, it is still necessary to first supervise the troops, horses, food and supplies to enter the camp.

Then there is the tricky question: in terms of official position, Zhao Nian is a garrison and guerrilla general in Changning, and he is already higher than the Shuikou Shanzhai Fort general who was promoted to Zhengqianhu.

Now that I am sitting here, the command is naturally no problem.But what about the soldiers below, especially Dan Zhaonian?

Fleeing to Hengyang within one day and then marching here overnight, looking at the exhausted Dan Zhaonian, Zhan Huabi decided to let them rest for three hours first, and then redo the defense matters and personnel arrangements of Shuikou Shanzhai Fort layout.

He himself only took a nap for more than an hour, and then got up to inspect the various places in the stronghold.

Not far away is the confluence of Xiangshui and Chunlingshui.The Zhaibao is located on a small hillside on the north bank of the river. Whether the enemy troops come from the south or the west, they need to cross the Xiangshui River to reach the north bank.

If you can win, you will die. If you can't win, then the transportation of grain and grass will always be very troublesome.

If you want to encircle the south of Hengyang City, you can't go around the Xiangshui River, and you can't go around the several forts along the Xiangshui River in the south of Hengyang City.

Originally only [-] officers and soldiers plus [-] civilian husbands were stationed in this Shuikou Shanzhai Fort, the staff size has rapidly expanded to nearly three times, and they began to work around after dawn.

The simple barracks and the need to build another wall around the perimeter are all things that must be completed before the enemy attacks.

Fortunately, backed by the Xiangshui River, many materials have not stopped being delivered in the past few months.Pu Zitong was not stingy for this "life passage" in the south. The direction of Hengyang City and Chenzhou Prefecture in the south were continuously transporting wood, food, and military supplies here.

Zhan Huabi's attention was always on the west and south, and he was also waiting for the return of the investigation.

After a while, he couldn't help calling the original guard of Shuikou Shanzhai Fort.

"Is this what you said last night and you didn't see any trace of the enemy after traveling fifteen miles?" Zhan Huabi's face sank like water, "The rangers sent out by the governor to investigate on the road last night have not come here until now!"

"... The general was wronged. If the governor doesn't believe it, the general will let the person who went out to investigate last night come and report it!"

Zhan Huabi was too lazy to listen.

Did they really go to investigate far away, or did they hear that Changning County has been beaten down, and it is not certain to find a closer place to nest and come back.

In the dark night, who knows if they have seriously investigated?
On the contrary, Zhan Huabi can trust the people among his own soldiers.

Now, none of the 25 people in the five groups came back. This fact made Zhan Huabi feel terrified.

But I'm afraid Zhao Nian really didn't fear crime and talk nonsense. To catch every ranger looking for information in a wide area, how many people would Chang Ning have to send out?

It is a very passive situation to find out the direction of their next attack.

At [-] o'clock, Zhan Huabi finally waited for someone to come, but it was not the sentry sent by him.

On both sides of the Xiangshui River, more than a mile away from Shuikou Shanzhai Fort, more than a hundred riders appeared on each side.

On the wall of the stronghold, Zhan Huabi heard the heavy and depressed breathing of the subordinates around him.

In the distance, the two hundred or so riders did not move.

Some are sitting firmly on the horses, looking at this side; some are leading the horses, drinking water by the river.

But their leisurely posture created a heavy sense of oppression.

Because they were all wearing flying fish suits.

It's so far away that I can't see the details, only blurry dots.

But the uniform attire, which was very different from the color of ordinary officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, could still be recognized by Zhan Huabi, the original high-ranking generals of the Ming Dynasty at a glance.

"...Captain, maybe Luo An is among them."

Hearing one person speak cautiously, Zhan Huabi heard his fear.

The ones brought out by the commander of the Jinyiwei are naturally the best of the best in the Jinyiwei.

It sounded like he was urging Zhan Huabi to send someone to hunt him down, but he was actually afraid.

The commander of Jin Yiwei has arrived, where is the army in the direction of Chang Ning now?
"... Speed ​​up the construction of the wall, distribute dry food, let everyone eat first!"

On the one hand, he was urging the peasants to work, and on the other hand, he was filling his subordinates' stomachs. Zhan Huabi didn't know when the fierce battle would start.

But Zhao Nian and the people under him were also shouted, and they started cooking with their eyes bloodshot from not sleeping well.

Not far away, Luo An was indeed there.

Unlike Zhan Huabi, Luo An has a telescope.

Although the effect was poor, he could vaguely see the situation on the wall of the Shuikou cottage.

"Look, is that Zhan Huabi?"

Luo An handed the binoculars to one of his subordinates.

He has never seen Zhan Huabi, but someone has.

The one holding the binoculars was He Quan'an, whom Yan Chunsheng called his second brother.

But now, Jin Yiwei, Huguang, Huang Yanzhong, and Si Cong all appeared here.

"It's him."

He Quan'an nodded affirmatively.

"I didn't see Dan Zhaonian." Luo An ordered him after finishing speaking lightly, "Keep staring, and speak again when you see Dan Zhaonian."

"Commander, don't worry, but Zhao Nian will not be able to enter the city if he goes to Hengyang. Since Zhan Huabi is here, he wants to protect Dan Zhao Nian and personally guard the south."

He Quan'an's tone was very confident, and Si Cong looked at the boss of the new special service station in Jinyiwei with some awe.

Really a scary character.

Among the many leaders of Jin Yiwei, Wang Zuo is probably the most terrifying, followed by He Quan'an.

In terms of talent, Luo An is far inferior to these two, perhaps even inferior to Liu Zhenyuan and others.

After leaving Changsha with He Quanan, Si Cong felt every operation of He Quanan up close.

It is certain that Pu Zitong will not let them enter the city to confuse others, it is certain that Pu Zitong will only kill them in the north of the city or by the banks of the Xiangshui in the east of the city to establish their prestige, and it is certain that if Yan Chunsheng succeeds, he will definitely do it.

If he is so courageous, even if it is not on the Green Leaf Bridge, and Yan Chunsheng does not act, he still has the confidence to escape.

That was surrounded by rebels!

Si Cong spent every day following him, risking his life.

But He Quan'an has been playing successfully. After landing at Leijiabu, they also escaped into Hengshan City under the cover of the fleeing people formed by Gu Shilong's attack on Hengshan City, and then went to Tang Peiyu's camp.

Later, when Tang Peiyu heard that the "Commander of Jinyiwei" had come to recruit the surrender himself, he couldn't help but meet He Quan'an.

During this meeting, Tang Peiyu was fully armed, leaving behind ten soldiers, and He Quanan was unarmed, but He Quanan made Tang Peiyu desperate with just one mouth, three addresses and two special names.

Those three addresses were the places where Tang Peiyu had arranged for his family to avoid misfortune and seclusion when the King of Chu passed away at the beginning of the year.

Two names, one is Yan Chunsheng and the other is Dan Zhaonian.

Now, He Quan'an came to Changning with Tang Peiyu's handwritten letter, and Luo An personally read the emperor's will in handwritten letter to Dan Zhaonian, who was actually Tang Peiyu's illegitimate son, and finally dared to open the city and surrender.

This ring after ring arrangement, now it's time to reap the big fruits.

The three hundred lieutenants of Jinyiwei are here, Luo An and He Quanan are on the front line in person, can this Shuikou Village give Pu Zitong a big surprise from the south?

"Commander, Dan Zhaonian has also come out, he is indeed here!"

Luo An cheered up and took a telescope to look over.

"There's no need to wait! Let the brothers on the other side cross the river!"

In Zhan Huabi's line of sight, he only saw the hundreds of brocade guards on the south bank of the Xiangshui going along the Xiangshui in the direction of Ningcheng, but the hundreds of brocade guards on the north bank of the Xiangshui still stayed where they were.

"We have one day!" Zhan Huabi said resolutely, "Send a message to Hengyang City that the enemy army from Changning should come over today, and will start pulling out my Shuikou village tonight. I am the bait, and the governor can divide at least [-] troops." Come and destroy the enemy army in Changning! The defenders of the fort along the coast can be dispatched to encircle. Tell the governor, even if there is an army of more than ten thousand, I can hold it for at least seven days!"

Baiyu Jinyiwei in the distance looked like a pack of wolves staring at their prey, waiting for more people to come.

But Zhaonian stood behind Zhan Huabi without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)