Zhu Yuanzhang stood on the Baogong River, which was already in Dingyuan. In front of him were thousands of people from Lupai Village. And fifty miles to the west was Hengjian Mountain.
Because the terrain of Dingyuan is flat and accessible from all directions, it is not conducive to defense.
Therefore, the Yuan army placed its main force in Hengjian Mountain, with Lao Zhang of the Zhiyuan in charge. Yes, this man was called Lao Zhang, and he was a semu man. He had tens of thousands of Yuan soldiers in his hands, and had sufficient food and grass, so he was eyeing the enemy.
The situation in Lupaizhai is quite difficult, with few people and soldiers, and not enough food. If they want to survive, they must either go north to seek refuge with Haozhou Red Scarf, or go south and seek refuge with Lao Zhang in Hengjian Mountain.
"My commander-in-chief would like to ask Guo Shua'en to reward him with military rations to survive... As long as the food arrives, tens of thousands of people in Lvpai Village are willing to surrender!" After the envoy finished speaking, he glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang and found that Zhu Yuanzhang was just smiling faintly.
Linhuai Town had a standard population of more than 10,000 people. Zhu Yuanzhang knew exactly how big the town was. It was ridiculous to brag about even half of Lvpai Village.
"We have already said that Marshal Guo has sufficient food and salary, and you can get as much as you want, but it is absolutely impossible to just give it to you for free! You cross the river immediately, and we will arrange manpower, check the amount, and distribute food and salary according to the number of people. Is it possible?
Don’t you believe us?” Lao Zhu is tall and powerful, with a loud voice and a strong sense of oppression.
The messenger hesitated again and again, and finally stopped talking and turned to leave.
When Lao Zhu saw him leaving, he sneered and said to Fei Ju and Hua Yun: "This Lvpai Village is not a sincere supporter. We should think of a way."
Fei Ju thought to himself: "Your Majesty, there are thousands of men and horses in Lupai Village. Do you need to go back and mobilize troops?"
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "We are fully equipped with armor and horses. Thirty people are enough to serve as three hundred soldiers, but Lupai Village is just a few thousand people. The army is short of food and the people are scattered. Why bother to get it on horseback?"
Fei Ju was not Zhang Ximeng, and he didn't dare to talk nonsense with Lao Zhu... He just hesitated in his heart. After all, it was thirty to three thousand, a hundred times the gap. He was a little frightened and shuddered no matter what.
Lao Zhu didn't say much to him, but asked everyone, "Who is willing to go to Donkey Village for us now? Let me make it clear that it is very dangerous to go this time, so you must be bold and careful."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hua Yun couldn't wait, "Sir, this kind of thing suits me best, let me do it!"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Hua Yun and found that no one was more suitable than him.
It's just that Lao Zhu is still worried and needs to be warned.
"When you go to Lupai Village now, you say you are leading the way for them. When they come out, you raise your flag and let the soldiers and horses pass by... You have to remember that we are going to check the numbers, not to take action... We must
After asking for it three times, you raise the flag and shake it vigorously, and all our troops will come out to capture the thief and the king! Do you understand?"
Hua Yun's mind wasn't very bright, so he thought for a long time before slapping his forehead, his eyes shining, and he said happily: "Isn't this just to trick them into letting their guard down and then make a sneak attack? I understand!"
After the guy finished speaking, he jumped on his horse and grabbed a small flag. The horse flew across the Baogong River and headed straight for Lvpai Village.
He left in a hurry and did not have time to give instructions one more time. Fei Ju was still a little worried, fearing that Hua Yun would mess up the matter.
However, Lao Zhu was calm, with a smile on his face. He jumped off the horse and let the war horse eat some water and grass and take a rest. The others also followed Zhu Yuanzhang's example and relaxed the war horse.
Lao Zhu said to the group: "There are thousands of them. It will not be easy to gather them together. They cannot cross the river in two or three hours. Let's take advantage of this time to have a good rest and refresh ourselves, and then we can kill them all at once."
Once the main ones are solved, this Lvpai Village belongs to us, there is no need to go to war, do you understand?"
Everyone nodded together, they also felt that Lao Zhu's idea was reasonable, and couldn't help but remember it in their hearts.
No one is born a warrior. There are no hard-and-fast routines on how to lead troops and how to fight. Some are just knowing yourself and the enemy and adapting to circumstances.
Zhu Yuanzhang is not only learning himself, but also teaching these subordinates. One day, they will be able to stand alone, and they will not be far away from sweeping the world.
Sure enough, as Lao Zhu expected, he waited for three hours, and there was a commotion in the direction of Lupai Village before soldiers and horses came out. However, they moved too slowly and dragged their feet. When crossing the river, they were afraid of the cold water, so they struggled a lot.
After a while, they slowly crossed the river.
At this moment, Lao Zhu and his men were ready.
There were not many people coming out of Lupai Village this time, maybe 1,500 at most. Lao Zhu didn't know why, but he didn't want to change the plan because Hua Yun had already raised the little red flag in his hand.
At this time, Fei Ju immediately led his troops over.
"I was ordered to check the number of people and serve as your guide!"
The commander of Lvpai Village was stunned for a moment. Seeing that Fei Ju and others were harmonious and there was nothing unusual, he agreed.
Fei Ju passed by the crowd and took a look at the overall situation... He couldn't help but nodded secretly. The superior was really right. How could these be soldiers? They were clearly a group of beggars.
There were more than a thousand people, and the number of armors could be counted on one hand. Many of them were in rags, and they didn't even have weapons, just holding a wooden stick.
There is indeed no need to mobilize troops.
Feeling confident, Fei Ju turned his horse around and went to report to Lao Zhu.
The soldiers and horses moved forward again, and after walking for a while, Hua Yun once again raised the small flag high, and Zhu Yuanzhang, who was far away, came in person, this time asking whether there were any sick soldiers in the army and what medicinal materials needed to be prepared.
The commander of Lupai Village answered them one by one, and Zhu Yuanzhang left calmly.
This time Lao Zhu was relieved.
Time passed little by little, and seeing that it was getting closer to dusk, Hua Yun raised the red flag for the third time, Zhu Yuanzhang came on horseback, and all the soldiers followed him at full speed. Everyone had shown their weapons and was ready for battle.
.
"It's getting late, so you can cook some food and set up camp. Guo Shuai's welcoming team will arrive tomorrow."
The commander of Lupaizhai seemed dissatisfied and couldn't help but said: "We have already run out of food. If we don't deliver it, are we going to starve to death? If we don't have enough food tomorrow, we will go to Lao Zhang!"
With a smile on his face, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "It will take time to allocate and transport food. Please be patient, it will arrive tomorrow."
The commander of Lupaizhai thought for a while, and finally nodded, letting the men and horses disperse and each of them burying the pot to make rice. He also wanted to get off the horse and rest for a while.
It's just that he didn't notice that Lao Zhu didn't go far. He just walked out for a few dozen steps and turned the horse's head again... At this moment, Hua Yun suddenly waved the red flag. Seeing the opportunity, Lao Zhu immediately jumped on the horse.
Stand out and rush over.
Although the number of people was small, the division of labor was clear. Fei Ju led 20 people, like a machete, cutting off the connection between the commander of Lupaizhai and other subordinates. Lao Zhu led the remaining people and only arrested people.
They rushed over like lightning. The commander of Donkey Village saw that something was wrong and wanted to climb on his horse again. At this moment, Hua Yun was closest to him, jumped up suddenly, and rolled to the ground with him in his arms.
Relying on his physical strength, Hua Yun pinned down the commander of Lupai Village under him.
"Help! Help!"
The donkey brand commander shouted at the top of his lungs, and his guards were about to rush up. But at this moment, Lao Zhu had already arrived, charging hard with his saber raised high, scaring the group of people to retreat and not dare to come over.
Lao Zhu made a circle and drove away all the guards. Then he called two people to dismount and assisted Hua Yun in capturing the commander of Donkey Paizhai.
Looking at the other side, the more than a thousand subordinates were still stupid. Not only did they not want to come to rescue, they didn't even know what was happening.
"Don't be afraid, everyone. We are the Red Turban Rebels and we will not kill people casually. You all squat down and don't run around. We will have military rations delivered soon."
Lao Zhu yelled loudly, and Fei Ju also led the cavalry and ran around the outer circle to stop those who tried to escape. Soon, these people became honest.
Lao Zhu easily took control of the situation without spending a single soldier or shedding a drop of blood.
Even if the fighting power of Lupai Village is too weak and it is a mess, it is still enough to be proud of.
At this moment, Hua Yun arrived in front of Lao Zhu and said angrily to him: "Sir, I will let them all come out and cross the river together... But this thing insists on taking half of the people across the river first. See what Marshal Guo is like, if he is willing
Donate generously and bring everyone here. This bastard is really cunning!"
Zhu Yuanzhang also expected it and was not surprised.
"Fei Ju, you take ten brothers to watch, while Hua Yun and I go to Lupai Village to have a look."
This Lao Zhu is really brave. There are only thirty people, and he dares to play the game of dividing the troops... But Lao Zhu just did it, and he took it for granted.
He asked Hua Yun to go in front, and everyone came to Baogong River. When they arrived at Lupai Village, the people inside were completely unprepared. The generals had left, so they would not waste their efforts.
Hua Yun just said that he was ordered by the commander to let them cross the river together and enjoy the happiness.
This group of people had been left behind, and when they heard that they could leave this poor place, they were naturally happy. Taking advantage of the darkness, they lit up torches and prepared to set off.
But at this moment, someone suddenly came to deliver a message. Lao Zhang from Hengjian Mountain sent a batch of grain, worth a thousand dan, hoping that the heroes of Lupai Village could join the imperial court!
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he almost laughed out loud, "That's great, I'll accept it." Turning around, Lao Zhu said to half of the troops in Lvpai Village: "We will give you food, are you willing to serve us?
?”
What else can these people say? Whoever gives you food will work hard for you. There is nothing wrong with that!
In the blink of an eye, Lao Zhu had almost 2,000 more people, and there was still 1,000 shi of grain waiting for him outside. However, there were 200 Yuan troops escorting the grain...