Horse on the World

Chapter 684 Xiaoaihe Attack and Defense
Xiaoaihe, at night, the moonlight is excellent.

Zhou Zuxun stood at the top of the dilapidated city, looking at his generals who were busy filling bags with soil and filling the gaps between some simple wooden piles that had just been laid down. Although the top of the city was busy, it was quiet and peaceful. There was a kind of depression, a kind of indescribable heaviness, Zhou Zuxun understood that all the soldiers under his command knew that tomorrow, no matter what, the city could not be defended.

During the daytime battle today, Zhou Zuxun really learned for the first time why the world said that Dingzhou's soldiers are unparalleled in the world.Qinzhou soldiers can be regarded as mourning soldiers. They were driven out of Qinzhou by Dingzhou people. They saw their hometown in front of them, but they couldn't set foot on it. They saw their relatives on the other side of the river, but they couldn't visit them.It is said that the mourning army must win, but today Zhou Zuxun understood that the so-called mourning army must win, it is the same as the victory of the brave who meets on a narrow road, and the strength of the two needs to be basically equal, otherwise it is empty talk.

Thinking of the general Dingzhou who was full of feathered arrows, but still rushed up like a tiger descending from the mountain, Zhou Zuxun's tiger's mouth hurt, and fighting against him during the day was extremely dangerous. Then he will definitely fall under the opponent's stick.The bandaged hand was slightly swollen, which was caused by the opponent's huge force breaking his own tiger's mouth during the contest.As for that general, he didn't even know his name, but Guan Xinglong, who is famous for his bravery, can imagine his subordinates.

The wind was blowing slowly, and although it was July, the wind should be very refreshing on the body, but Zhou Zuxun felt chills all over his body.

"General Zhou, what should we do?" Yao Chang walked up to Zhou Zuxun and asked in a low voice.During the day, Yao Chang went out to fight against his cavalry, but was defeated by the opponent, and his men suffered heavy losses. Only three or four out of ten were able to escape back to the city defense with him. Later, when the opponent attacked the city most dangerously, Yao Chang and other cavalry could not Going into battle without a knife, pretending to be a pawn, Yao Chang's head is wrapped like a rice dumpling, with blood stains all over it.

"These simple walls can't stand the opponent's catapult at all, and they will be broken in just two or three rounds," Yao Chang murmured.

"I know!" Zhou Zuxun stared at the brightly lit camp under the city, "Soldiers can't be idle. It doesn't work much at all, and it is also a kind of comfort to the soldiers' psychology."

Yao Chang sighed and nodded.

"What's more, we're leaving tonight. We're desperately repairing the city wall right now, not only to give the soldiers something to do, but also to confuse them." Zhou Zuxun said plainly.

"Retreat?" Yao Chang was startled, but immediately overjoyed, indeed, there was no point in continuing this battle: "General, we retreated to Yaque Ridge, where the terrain is dangerous, and we are more confident in defending it. "

"At the fourth watch, we retreated." Zhou Zuxun said: "It's hard for the other party to expect that we resisted so fiercely during the day and rushed to repair the city wall at night, and we left today. Get out of the fight!"

"The general is brilliant!" Yao Chang said with a smile.

Zhou Zuxun smiled, "If you are really smart, you won't be in this situation. When the Dingzhou army comes, I should send troops to garrison Wutou. There are only a few fingers who can easily build a dam on the Xiaoai River." Countless places, one careless move, the whole game is lost! By the way, your injury doesn't matter, right?"

"It's nothing, it's just that one ear was cut off by the other party!" Yao Changman said indifferently, "None of the other parts are injured, except that there are many small injuries on the body, but they are not in the way."

"That's good!" Zhou Zuxun patted him on the shoulder, "Go down and make some straw men, put on armor, and erect them on the city to confuse opponents."

"It's a ghost! I want to coax me every day, but there is no way!" Guan Xinglong, who was sitting in the big tent, was listening to the report, while smiling at Wang Peng and Li Feng on the left and right, and said: "Lighting up the lamp to fight at night, repairing the city wall, who will show it? He Zhou Zuxun can be regarded as a well-known general in Qinzhou, but he actually wants to use these little tricks to deceive me, he must have underestimated me!"

Li Feng was a little puzzled: "General Guan, are you sure that the other party is going to run away tonight?"

"Nine times out of ten!" Guan Xinglong clasped his palms together: "Brother Li, tell me, according to today's style of play, can we break the city tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Li Feng nodded, and said with some regret: "It's a pity that our riding camp can only be spectators!"

Guan Xinglong laughed: "You can't be a spectator! There will be room for your cavalry battalion soon. If my judgment is correct, Zhou Zuxun will definitely abandon the city. They left the city defense. Hehe, your cavalry can Great show."

Li Feng was gearing up, "Don't worry, General Guan, the general will not lose his reputation as a Hengdao master!"

"Wang Peng, can we still fight?" Guan Xinglong looked at his confidant, his eyes were full of jokes.During the battle during the day, after Wang Peng was forced to retreat by Guan Xinglong, he was very unhappy. In his words, he would break the city with more effort, but ordered to retreat at the most critical moment. Is there no joy?When he said this, his personal soldiers were pulling feather arrows from his body for him. The feather arrows were taken down one by one. Counting them was shocking. There were more than twenty of them. Thanks to Dingzhou The armors of the generals are all specially made, and the quality is not generally good. Even so, Wang Peng was also injured by the feather arrows in several places. Fortunately, the arrows pierced into the flesh three-pointed, and only bleed some blood, but did not hurt the root.

Hearing Guan Xinglong's question and seeing Guan Xinglong's eyes, Wang Peng jumped up as if stung by a poisonous bee, and said loudly: "Of course we can fight, and if we can win the battle, I am afraid that the general will call for gold again at a critical moment." The troops are withdrawn!"

Guan Xinglong laughed loudly, "Are you still angry about what happened during the day? Wang Peng, you sit down."

Wang Peng sat down angrily.

"You said, are Qinzhou soldiers soft-hearted?" Guan Xinglong asked solemnly.

Wang Peng was stunned, thought for a while, and finally shook his head, "No, they are another powerful enemy I have encountered after the barbarians, and they are bloody."

Guan Xinglong nodded, "Yes, Qinzhou soldiers were driven away by us. The land under our feet originally belonged to them. Their hometown and relatives are all here, so they have the courage and purpose to fight for their lives. The battle yesterday was tragic, to be honest , It was also beyond my expectations, I have no doubt that we can achieve the final victory, but if the price paid exceeds our bottom line, then I don't want such a tragic victory, because this is not the final decision When it comes to victory or defeat, the commander-in-chief's purpose in launching this war is only to teach Luoyang a lesson."

Wang Peng remained silent.

"The commander-in-chief once said that we must win the greatest victory at the smallest cost. With the intensity of yesterday's battle, even if we break the city, the opponent will definitely resist desperately, and we will die more people. Obviously there is a way The casualties won the victory, why let the brothers die?" Guan Xinglong said.

"The Commander wants the other party to take the initiative to give up the city wall and fight with them?" Li Feng asked.

Guan Xinglong nodded slightly, "That's right, once the soldiers of Qinzhou abandon the city, their morale will definitely not be as strong as it is now, and once they know that Zhou Bin's first retreating army will never reach Yaqueling, there will be a lot of trouble on their way. When there is a Dingzhou army attacking them, will they still have the energy they have now?"

"Using a victorious army to chase down a defeated enemy, is there any more comfortable war in the world?" Guan Xinglong said: "Wang Peng, now at the second watch, all of you should go to bed right away, and at the fourth watch, the Hengdao Battalion will attack the city again. "

"Yes!" Wang Peng stood up and took orders loudly.

"General Guan, do you think the opponent will abandon the city at the fourth watch?" Li Feng asked.

"I don't know, guess, at that time, it should be the time when a person is the most tired. If it were me, I would choose to leave at this time." Guan Xinglong shrugged, "It depends on luck. Please, General Li!"

Yaqueling Army Fortress, this is a small stockade, but there are more than [-] Qinzhou Army guards stationed here. After the Qinling Defense Line is completed, this place becomes even more deserted, and it becomes the place for the rear to transport military supplies to Xiaoai River. At a transfer station, the garrison soldiers were old, weak, sick and disabled, and basically had no combat effectiveness. This allowed a small vanguard team sent by Li Guo to sneak attack without any effort. When the soldiers of the Dingzhou Army appeared in the stockade, When the sharp steel knife approached, those Qinzhou soldiers still didn't understand where these Dingzhou troops came from.

Standing on the fortress, Li Guo looked at the terrain here, shook his head and said, "The general has a good plan, if the opponent retreats here smoothly, this battle will really have to be fought. Hey, what are you doing? Li Guo looked at a soldier who was planting the Dingzhou military flag on the top of the village.

"General, this stockade belongs to us, of course we have to plant our military flag!" The soldier looked at Li Guo inexplicably.

"You bastard head!" Li Guo stretched out a finger, pointing at him from afar, "What are we doing here? Isn't it just to play tricks on the other party? Otherwise, we would send thousands of people to clean up these hundreds of people. Are there many old, weak, sick and disabled? I am sick! You put our flag high on it and blatantly flaunt it. You are not telling the other party that the Dingzhou army is coming, and the Dingzhou army has occupied Yaqueling. Everyone, run away! !"

The soldier's face was a little pale, and when he let go, the Dingzhou military flag fell down with a bang, "You son of a bitch!" Li Guo was furious, "Can our military flag be thrown on the ground casually? Is it itchy? !"

The soldier bent down hurriedly, picked up the general's flag, looked at Li Guo blankly, Li Guo said angrily: "It's really good to say that you are an elm but not lumpy, now, let's plant the flag of their Qinzhou soldiers. When they arrived in front of the stockade, wow, the Dingzhou military flag swung into place, booming, a rain of arrows, and a blast of ballistas, beat the turtles all over the ground looking for their teeth. It's a pity, we can't bring trebuchets, this There isn't even one in Guizhaizi, otherwise it would be more enjoyable." Li Guo said proudly.

A Zhenwu school lieutenant rushed over, Li Guo asked, "Are the ambushes set up in the valleys on both sides?"

The school lieutenant nodded, "Put 2000 people in the valleys on both sides, just wait for the general to start working here, and the troops and horses on both sides will come out together to surround each other!"

"Very good!" Li Guo nodded, "General Guan thinks it is impossible for us to eat everyone on the other side, so we have to win and eat all the 5000 people on the other side in one go, so as not to cause trouble for General Wang Li! "

The captain laughed, "That's natural."

"Tell me Li Xiao and Li Yong, stay in the valley these two days, don't make any fires, don't make any noise, if the other party becomes vigilant, I'll peel their skins later!"

"Don't worry, general. The brothers have brought enough dry food and water. There will be absolutely no problem for two days."

"Well, let's go!"

Li Guo looked at the road extending to the distance outside the stockade and the dense forests on both sides, turned around, hummed a little tune, turned around and left. He brought a total of 5000 people over, 2000 people were ambushed in the valleys on both sides, and 1000 people were hidden in the stockade. People, everything is ready, only the east wind is owed.

Zhou Bin did not expect that Yaque Ridge had fallen, Guan Xinglong had so many people, one battalion was in Wutou, the other was a cavalry battalion, and an infantry battalion was in Xiaoaihe. At that time, Li Guo's infantry battalion had already run away, and now Wutou is singing the story of the empty city. Li Guo's battalion of more than 5000 people left more than [-] people.

Unexpectedly, it meant that the danger was approaching them step by step. Zhou Bin, who was unrestrained, saw the military stronghold standing on the top of the mountain in the distance, and looked at the Qinzhou military flag flying high above the military stronghold, but he relaxed.

"Brothers, when we arrive at Yaqueling, let's have a full meal first, and then we're going to work. Time is precious, and every second counts. Now our time is earned by General Zhou and his brothers with their blood. Everyone Don't waste it!"

The Qinzhou soldiers around him agreed loudly, quickened their pace, and ran towards Yaqueling.

"Quickly open the door to meet General Zhou Bin!" A Qinzhou soldier rode his horse and rushed to the Yaqueling army camp first, and shouted loudly.

The army camp was silent, "These bastards are in broad daylight, they are probably still sleeping!" The soldier cursed, raised his voice and shouted again.

With his shout, the Qinzhou military flag suddenly fell down on the military stronghold, and with a loud cry, dozens of Dingzhou military flags were erected loudly and fluttered in the wind.

Li Guo appeared on the wall of the stronghold, with one foot on the wall of the military stronghold, with a bow and arrow in his hand, "Damn it, I'm here to welcome General Zhou Bin!" The arrow shot across the sky like lightning, and shot the dumbfounded Qinzhou soldier who was looking up at the army camp from his horse.

"Dingzhou Army!" Shouts rang out. Zhou Bin looked at the Dingzhou Army flag suddenly raised above the army village, and at the countless heads appearing on the wall. In an instant, his blood almost froze. What should I do?
Immediately, he made a wrong decision.

attack!

If he turned around and left immediately, and the ambushes in the valleys on both sides had no time to close up, he could at least rush out a considerable part of the troops, but subconsciously, Zhou Bin wanted to take back the army stronghold, because of General Zhou Zuxun's order, they were going to Here is the second line of defense.

Following Zhou Bin's order, Qinzhou soldiers rushed forward immediately.Looking at the attacking Qinzhou soldiers, Li Guo was very excited, "Brothers, let's work!" With his bow left and right, Li Guo's arrows were extremely accurate, almost one arrow at a time, and the arrows ran for their lives.On the wall of the village, arrows were like flying locusts, and stones were falling like rain. Although Li Guo didn't bring large-scale ordnance, he did bring a lot of guys like crossbows, which could be carried by two or three soldiers on their backs. Show off your prestige.

He only played less than one stick of incense, and when he heard the deafening shouts of killing in the valleys on both sides, Zhou Bin knew he was wrong, "Retreat, retreat!" He yelled frantically and turned his horse's head , turned around and fled back.

The retreat gong sounded, and the Qinzhou soldiers who were attacking the stronghold immediately retreated like a tide, Li Guo looked up to the sky and laughed, "I want to leave, but it's already too late now, brothers, get out of the stronghold and kill the enemy! "

The gate of the village was wide open, and more than a thousand Dingzhou troops rushed out. Up and down the mountain, in the forest on the road, there were deafening shouts of Wan Sheng from the Dingzhou army everywhere.

At four o'clock, the Xiaoaihe city defense was still quiet. On the top of the city, there were many figures standing vaguely. If you don't look carefully, they are indeed decent. In fact, at this time, Zhou Zuxun has gathered all the horses together. It was opened, and people with grass and horses with titles were leaving the city one after another.

At this moment, the battle drums rumbled in the Hengdao Division barracks below the city. With the sound of the drums, thousands of soldiers from the Hengdao Battalion rushed out of the camp with a torch in their hands, heading towards the city.

Hearing the army drums under the city, and feeling the slight tremor of the ground as thousands of people were running, Zhou Zuxun's face turned pale. How could this happen, how could it be such a coincidence?Precisely at this time, the enemy chose to attack the city. At this time, the army that retreated earlier had already walked out of Lixu, but the people behind were still in the city. It was time to ignore the head and tail.

Zhou Zuxun rushed to the top of the city, looked at the approaching Dingzhou army, closed his eyes, "It's over, it's over! Everything is over."

"General Zhou, retreat first! I'll stop the rear!" Yao Chang grabbed Zhou Zuxun, "I'll defend the city!"

"Yao Chang, I can't keep it anymore!" Zhou Zuxun lamented, "My every move is in the calculation of the other party."

"General Zhou, you go first, I'll defend the city, if I can block it for a while," Yao Chang said loudly. "Let's go, general, if you don't go, it will be too late."

"Yao Chang!" Zhou Zuxun grabbed Yao Chang.

"General, if we win the battle in the future, go back to Qinzhou to visit my old parents for me!" Yao Chang gritted his teeth and said something, then turned to the army below the city and said, "All the soldiers of the cavalry battalion stay here. Those who are injured and those who can’t run fast will stay, we will do our best to find a way out for the rest of the brothers.”

"Kill!" Wang Peng ran to the base of the city with a cooked copper stick in his hand. The ladder that had been set up in front of him was already full of soldiers from the Hengdao Battalion. "Let me come first!" The soldier who was about to climb the ladder snatched it up in one step.

There was a cry of killing from above the top of the city, and some soldiers fell heavily, but more soldiers climbed up.

When Wang Peng leaped to the top of the city, there were no enemies on the top of the city at all, but some grass men in armor and armor stood there, "Bastard, you really ran away!"

On the other side of the gate, the shouts of killing became more and more intense. Wang Peng dragged the cooked copper stick backwards and ran all the way, "Kill slowly, kill slowly, leave some for me."

But when he ran to the other end, he happened to see the last enemy general leaning against the closed gate, slowly slipping down, his body was bloody and bloody, and he was stabbed by his subordinates many times. The corpses were piled on top of each other, layer after layer.

(End of this chapter)