A large number of rebel cavalry slowly walked out of the central army, divided into phalanxes and advanced forward. Each phalanx had about two thousand people. Looking at the past, it was densely packed, covering a large grassland. Behind the cavalry were archers, the same five phalanxes.
, thousands of people in each square.
"Woo——"
A low horn sound suddenly sounded, and the rebels stopped and waited solemnly.
Countless flags were flying in the wind, making crackling sounds. The neat military formations, ghost armors, and low-pitched roaring horses all invisibly merged into a fierce murderous intent and rushed forward.
In the distance, Qin Huaidao felt the murderous intent and his eyes narrowed - was this Li Jiancheng's trump card? Sure enough, he had some skills and a lot of people.
"What is he going to do? Is he trying his best?" Fang Yiai's doubtful voice sounded next to him.
Su Dingfang glanced at Qin Huaidao and explained in a low voice: "They must be trying to scare us away. It's not that easy to swallow up the imperial court's 100,000 rebel troops. There are too many unstable factors, even if there are two people, the Zheng family and the Cui family."
The clan should cooperate with outsiders, and it will take time to digest."
"Are I afraid of being frightened by them?" Fang Yiai said, looking at Qin Huaidao, raising his voice and saying, "General, I will lead the men to charge for a while, and maybe we can pick up a group of them."
"There's no rush, I won't do a loss-making business." Qin Huaidao refused.
Fang Yiai wanted to say more, but saw the dissuading look from Su Dingfang and held back.
The two sides faced off, and the war horses looked a little strange.
Seeing that the rebels did not attack, Qin Huaidao was eager to delay the attack and did not order an attack. Time passed slowly in the strange confrontation until a fast horse came over.
"Report——General Niu asked the subordinate to come over and report that the government troops have withdrawn from a safe distance. Please make a decision, the general."
Qin Huaidao looked back and saw that the soldiers had indeed gone far and went up a hillside. The hillside was about 20 to 30 meters above the ground. There was some slope. It was not a big problem for people to get up. It was not easy for the war horses to charge up. The terrain was not conducive to the cavalry charge.
, I was overjoyed, as expected, this General Niu has matured with age and knows how to fight.
With no worries, Qin Huaidao sent people up to transport back the bodies of the soldiers who died in the battle, and led his army to retreat slowly. Seeing that the rebels did not pursue them, it was really a deterrent. He had no intention of a decisive battle, so he was determined, and led his army to retreat quickly, and with General Niu.
After reuniting, the army headed straight for Yinshan Mountain.
Half an hour later, the team arrived at the foot of Yin Mountain, but no pursuers were seen. As for the scouts, they ignored them and the team continued to trot forward. The soldiers didn't know why, but no one complained. It was lucky to be alive and clear of suspicion.
After running for an hour, the soldiers were very tired. Fortunately, Ghost Crying Valley was not far ahead. This was the route everyone took last time. The terrain was quite familiar. Qin Huaidao chose a relatively gentle hillside and shouted
With the order, the soldiers began to climb the slope.
The army dismounted one after another, handed the horses and bodies to the wounded, and continued to move along the road towards the Ghostly Crying Valley. Others started to climb the slope with their weapons.
The slope was gentle, but a bit high. It took the army a full half an hour to climb up. They continued walking along the ridge for about half an hour. A narrow valley appeared in front of them. The cliff was steep, about thirty meters high, and it was full of mountains.
Loess and dead grass, not even a decent tree, are not conducive to climbing.
The widest part of the canyon is only twenty meters, and the narrowest part is only seven or eight meters, which is not conducive to the expansion of the army. However, it is five or six miles long, like a long giant python lying horizontally. Legend has it that a long time ago, someone saw a giant python going through a tribulation.
After flying up and being struck by lightning, a canyon was formed here, which was called the Python Valley. But once the wind blew up, ghost cries would come from the Python Valley. It was eerie and strange. No one called the name Python Valley, so it was changed to
The Valley of Ghost Crying.
Qin Huaidao was not interested in the legend, but his eyes lit up when he saw the terrain. This was an excellent place for an ambush, and he quickly ordered his troops to deploy and ambush.
The leaders of various tribes came over and surrounded Qin Huaidao. Qin Huaidao sat on the ground, drew a dog-leg knife and drew a line on the ground, and explained: "Suppose this is the Ghost Crying Valley. The chasing troops will come over in a while. Let them go. Anyway, our people are here."
Wait in front and take action when you see the pursuing troops behind them."
"How to fight specifically?" Fang Yiai asked curiously.
"Concentrate our forces to kill the tail first. Don't let any of them escape. The canyon is steep and they can't get up. They can only run forward. Our people are waiting in front of them. The terrain is so wide that the advantage of many people cannot be used. Even if
Even fifty thousand can be eaten." Qin Huaidao said confidently.
"General, I am worried that Jieli will not come back." Su Dingfang reminded.
Qin Huaidao thought for a while and smiled: "No, they will definitely come back."
"Why take the risk when you know you're going to die?" Fang Yiai asked curiously.
"There was a monk from Qibi who deliberately leaked the information about his attack on the Jieli tribe. In addition, we disclosed our whereabouts and marched all the way here in a hurry. We couldn't wait for revenge. Even if we thought about the possibility of being ambushed, we had to come because the Jieli tribe was afraid that their home would be taken away and lose their lives.
Fundamentally." Qin Huaidao solemnly explained that the war is imminent and everyone must unify their thoughts.
"But what if they don't take this road?" Li Yixie asked doubts.
"They can only go here, and they must go here, because this is the fastest way. If they take a detour, it will take more than three days. Three days is enough for us to massacre the Jieli tribe. They can't afford to wait, so they can only fight for their lives.
Let's catch up." Qin Huaidao said confidently.
"But what if they also go up the mountain?" Fang Yiai asked.
"Yes, we can go up the mountain, and so can they." Li Yixie agreed.
"You two are really..." Qin Huaidao wanted to curse the word "stupid", but considering the two of them's face, he held back and looked at Su Dingfang.
Su Dingfang explained knowingly: "The following is the only way for riding horses. If you abandon the horse and take a detour through the mountain road, it will take longer. If you chase them here and climb the mountain, we only need to hold the position where they climbed, and they will die faster.
The only thing to do is to send more scouts, keep a close eye on their every move, and fight wherever they are sent."
"That's right. Send out your troops and keep an eye on various places along the way. Try not to expose your whereabouts, so as to alert the enemy and let the pursuers come here to fight." Qin Huaidao looked at Su Dingfang with satisfaction and said.
"Follow the order." Su Dingfang left in a hurry with others.
Niu Jinda watched Su Dingfang leave and praised: "This guy is a talent. He will be able to achieve great things in time. You two have to learn from it and don't ask stupid questions." He glared at Fang Yiai and Li Yixie.
The two of them lowered their heads depressedly. After all, they were elders and could not refute. They felt very dissatisfied.
Qin Huaidao smiled and said: "General Niu, they each have their own strengths. When it comes to fighting in battle, beheading generals and capturing flags, Fang Yiai and Li Yixie are rare strong generals, and Su Dingfang is not as good as them."
"It is said that the general of the Hussars knows people well and uses his troops like a god. I was originally dissatisfied, but I have gained experience in the past few days. Compared with the general, I am not as good as me. There are not many archers in the army, so I will not be able to help in a fight.
Don't know what to do?" General Niu said politely.
"If the pursuers climb up the mountain from other places, General Niu will need to lead his troops to block them. There are many soldiers who have defected this time. They are all under the command of General Niu. They must be organized into an army as soon as possible to form combat effectiveness. The Jieli Department may soon
arrive."
"Thank you so much, General." Niu Jinda was overjoyed and solemnly saluted with clasped fists. Mastering the imperial army meant that he could make meritorious deeds and atone for his crimes, and hurriedly left with a group of his men.
"General, is it okay?" Fang Yiai looked worriedly at Niu Jinda's back as he left.
"It doesn't matter. General Niu is loyal to the Holy One. This time he was killed. He needs to perform meritorious service to prove his innocence. He also has the ability. I can rest assured if I leave the soldiers to him. Moreover, if I take so many soldiers with me, it will be easy for gossip to arouse suspicion."
." Qin Huaidao explained in a low voice, "The prince has already rebelled. With Li Er's character, how can he still not doubt others? He left his soldiers to Niu Jinda, and he was relieved."
Fang Yiai and Li Yixie nodded in agreement and said no more.
Waiting is boring, everyone is sitting on the ground chatting away.
"Gah——"
Suddenly, a sharp shout came from above to deliver an order.
Qin Huaidao saw an eagle circling, flying back and forth without leaving. He suddenly thought of something and said, "No, it's the flying eagle of the Jieli Department. Our whereabouts have been exposed."
People on the grassland are good at raising eagles and like to use them to convey messages, hunt, and even conduct reconnaissance.
The eagle cannot speak, but it can warn.
"Is this big fish from Jielibu here?" Fang Yiai was overjoyed and jumped up.
"Where is it?" Li Yixie also stood up, picked up the horse, and looked around.