Chapter 2 The Strong Man (Part 2) Looking at the hillside stained red with the blood of his brothers, Pei Changcai couldn't help but murmur in his heart, "Will this old stone trick me? He originally said that Zhang Xutuo was hit by Guo Fangyu.
The plan was to lure the tiger away from the mountain and go to the edge of the Zi River! Why did Zhang Xutuo come back at this moment, with four murderous demons under his command!"
Pei Changcai had personally experienced the power of Zhang Xutuo. At that time, he was still working as a brigade commander under Zhishi Lang Wang Bo, and his life was very happy. Wang Bo was known as the direct disciple of Nanhua Laoxian, and he knew what had happened a thousand years ago.
He could calculate all the things that were going to happen in the next five hundred years and how much wealth he would get in this life and how much wealth he could seek. He calculated that the Sui army would be defeated in Liaodong, so he led a group of brothers to rebel. He figured out everyone's thoughts, so he compiled
He wrote a song, telling everyone that if you follow him, you will be rich and prosperous. He has calculated almost everything accurately, but he just failed to calculate that Zhang Xutuo of Qijun is his nemesis. Hearing that Qijun is a prosperous place, he brought his brothers
They came to get a vote, but Zhang Xutuo drove them from Huashan to Daishan, and from Daishan to Linyi on the north bank of the Yellow River. Even one of the fast boots that was tangled with three leather ropes was lost. Thanks to the nearby Linyi
The reeds were so dense that I picked up a life under the wild duck's nest.
That time, Pei Changcai squatted in the mud for three days and three nights. He was so hungry that his chest pressed against his backbone, and then he had the courage to climb onto the shore. After landing, he heard that Wang Bo was summoning his old troops again, and he deduced that everyone was following him.
He will definitely be able to become a marquis and a general in the future. Pei Changcai was smart this time and did not listen to Wang's deception. He collected the remaining soldiers No. 100 and formed a team at the edge of Juye Ze in Dongping County.
Being a bandit is similar to gang fighting on the street. Whoever is cruel and courageous, and whoever has more brothers under his command, will be able to take advantage of him. Pei Changcai used the truths he learned under Wang Bo and his own experience as a gangster on the street to make a name for himself.
In just over half a year, the team around us has grown from more than a hundred people to tens of thousands.
He is a smart person who likes to wander around the villages, pick a target, and then go away. If the other person is wise and willing to spend money to avoid disaster, he will not force the person to sell the iron. Because he upholds the principle of peace and wealth.
Therefore, his team has never suffered any setbacks and has a very good reputation on the green forest road. It deserves the reputation of rebels.
Originally, Pei Changcai was unwilling to chew on the bones of Qi County, but he couldn't bear Shi Zihe's teasing. Shi Zihe was a man with great ambitions. He thought that looking at the counties in Henan, there were more than a hundred small and large villages.
, if we continue to fight on our own as we are now, no one will be able to achieve anything. In the past two years, the imperial court has been busy attacking the Goguryeo people, and has never had time to clean up the place. Everyone can still live freely. If the imperial court stops attacking Goguryeo one day, what will happen?
If the main goal is to target heroes from all walks of life, then everyone will become a grasshopper after the fall, and no one will be able to survive for too long.
If they don't want to be wiped out one by one by the imperial court, everyone can only unite to seek wealth and wealth. But there is a key problem that is difficult to solve when joining forces, that is, who will be the big leader. I originally knew that Shilang and Wang Bo were a good candidate, but as he
After the battles were defeated, the fortune-telling rhetoric could no longer be tolerated. Therefore, Shi Zihe thought that before the imperial court began to turn its attention away from Liaodong, whoever broke out with the greatest reputation could replace Wang Bo and become the leader of the green forests in the counties of Henan.
The most convenient way to increase your reputation is to find someone who is more famous than anyone else to deal with. Once you successfully take advantage of this person, even a trivial victory will be enough to defeat other heroes.
They are convinced
After searching all the counties in Henan, the most famous person was Zhang Xutuo. Over the past year or so, dozens of well-known heroes and villains had defeated Zhang Xutuo head-on at the hands of this man. None of them had that ability, but they took advantage of him when he was unprepared.
Stab him in the back, but it's not a problem
Therefore, Shi Zihe went all the way to Juye Ze to join forces with Pei Changcai to conspire for a great cause. His plan was to lead his troops in circles at the junction of Qi County, Lu County and Jibei County. Once he got the news that Zhang Xutuo had left Licheng
, all the heroes immediately sent troops to raid his lair. Zhang Xutuo paid his respects to Qijun Cheng. If he lost Licheng, the seat of Qijun, even the civil and military officials of the Sui Dynasty would not be able to spare him without the help of the heroes.
In order to achieve this goal, Shi Zihe invited Guo Fangyu, a hero from Beihai County, to lure Zhang Xutuo away from Licheng at the price of ten cows, thirty beautiful young women and fifty copper coins.
Two heroes, Shi and Pei, took advantage of Zhang Xutuo's absence and rushed to Licheng. Halfway there, they also made a deal and looted Changqing County at the junction of Jibei County and Qi County.
, raised sufficient military rations for the two teams
Unexpectedly, it took one day longer than the original plan, and was actually driven back by Zhang Xutuo. Now, this man was blocked in the Fanghe Pavilion on Fanghe Ridge, less than five miles to the west of Licheng, and wanted to talk about Fanghe.
The ridge was not that big, so the brothers walked around the ridge, wasting an hour at most. But who was Zhang Xutuo? He dared to fight against an army of 20,000 men with four men without any ambush or follow-up moves?
From the beginning of the battle, Pei Changcai felt that there was something fishy here. He was extra cautious and sent his eldest son Pei Guang with scouts to search for the rear. The result was as expected. Not long after the scouts were sent out,
A tougher general than Zhang Xutuo came from behind and killed everyone. Fortunately, this man did not bring any troops, otherwise the 20,000 brothers under Fanghe Ridge would have had to have dumplings made.
From the moment the strong man riding a black horse and carrying a black knife passed through the formation, Pei Changcai wanted to withdraw his troops and avoid fighting an uncertain battle. Who can guarantee that the big black man was not a messenger and followed him?
Behind the war horses, there were still a large number of officers and soldiers who would attack at any time, but his idea was suppressed by Shi Zihe. Shi Zihe thought that Zhang Xutuo might be bluffing. If the two of them came with great fanfare this time, they would not test each other.
If you leave with your strength, once the news gets out, you will definitely be laughed at by heroes from all over the world.
"Bah! You can't bear to part with those 30 women and 50 bucks!" Pei Changcai rolled his eyes and shouted to get angry. He couldn't defeat Shi Zihe, so he had to make an agreement with the other party. Both sides would send people in shifts to test the number of people in each wave, not exceeding 300.
, once it is discovered that the enemy has an ambush, withdraw the troops immediately
This strategy was very fair. Not only did Shi Zihe have no objection, he also took the initiative to send his gray shirt army to lead the attack. Pei Changcai saw that the other party was acting justly and temporarily gave up the idea of ​​retreating. But after three rounds of testing, he found that he had suffered a big loss again. Zhang Xu
Tuo and his generals bullied others. When the gray-shirted troops from Shizihe came forward, they usually dispersed the trouble. But when it was his turn for the white-belted troops to come forward, they would kill without mercy.
In the first three rounds of trials, Shi Zihe's subordinates lost a total of less than forty brothers, but his white-led soldiers were stabbed to death by the damned Luo Shixin and Dugu Lin with long spears, and more than seventy ordinary soldiers were injured.
None of the people who escaped under Luo Shixin's hand were willing to charge forward. The emotions of the others were also affected by those who returned from defeat. Ren Pei Changcai raised the reward for one charge from six white coins to ten meat coins, but he couldn't mobilize the brothers.
Our morale comes
Shi Zihe believed that even if the five opponents were iron-clad, there would be times when they were tired of killing. If the ambush did not appear by then, it meant that there was no ambush ahead at all. Therefore, despite Pei Changcai's objections, he quickly organized a fourth group.
hit
"They like you, Lao Shi!" Pei Changcai hummed in a low voice. At this time, he very much suspected that Shi Zihe had colluded with the government. Otherwise, why did Zhang Xutuo rush back to Licheng from Zishui so quickly?
Give him a tip? Then Guo Fangyu is also a powerful man, with at least more than 7,000 brothers under his command. If he seriously entangles with Zhang Xutuo, will he be defeated so quickly? Also, Shizihe's people attack every time
It was like acting, almost walking the same path. First, I climbed up the dirt slope, climbing and holding the flag, and then I was shot down. Then the Sui general who used the long sword hit him on the left, and the Sui general who used the black sword
Fighting on the right side, it was as if the two sides had agreed, and the battle ended easily without much fighting.
The more he looked, the more reasonable Pei Changcai realized that his suspicions were justified. As he watched, Shizihe's people were defeated again. This time they lost fewer people. Except for the pawn holding the flag and the leader, the others were almost unscathed.
The two Sui generals, one with a yellow face and a black beard, and the other with a black face and a beard, followed the defeated troops for a few steps without seriously pursuing them, and then walked back to the pavilion in a swagger.
"Dad, something is wrong. Look at those officers and soldiers. Why are they only killing our people?" Pei Zicai's second son, Pei Gan, stepped forward and whispered, reminding him that his views were very similar to those of his father. If the White Belt Army's attack fails,
, the other side was not that kind-hearted. Luo Shixin almost chased the defeated troops, and it was not until they were almost rushing into the army's main formation that he reluctantly took the horse back.
"There's something wrong. I think Mr. Shi is trying to drive away the tiger and devour the wolf!" Pei Jing, the third son of Pei Changcai, has read the book for several days and has the most thorough understanding.
"Stop talking and tell our brothers to take it easy. If we can't attack, don't stop fighting!" Pei Changcai looked around and ordered in a very low voice.
With the words "Big Boss", how can the minions really be willing to risk their lives? Luo Shixin's mount had just rushed down the hillside, and the brothers of the White Belt Army had already turned around collectively under the leadership of the little leader. Only two of them fled in a panic.
The one who fell was chased and stabbed to death by Luo Shixin, while the others successfully completed their mission.
"You little bastards of thieves, is this all you have?" Luo Shixin couldn't get enough of killing. He picked up his head with a long stick and shouted challenges halfway up the mountain. Dugu Lin held his riding bow flat, with a wolf-toothed arrow on the bow.
On his arm, he aimed at the crowd at the foot of the mountain. Today's battle was a blast. It was more enjoyable than any previous battle. The only thing that made him feel unsatisfied was that there was someone whose shooting skills were better than mine.
"Li Lang almost doesn't need to aim when he takes action!" Dugu Lin mentally calculated the gap between him and Li Xu in shooting skills. From now on, he would have to work harder. People from the Dugu family cannot be compared by an unknown boy.
He casually shot down an unlucky guy at the foot of the mountain, and then looked back at the pavilion. The next fierce fight was between Qin Shubao and Li Zhongjian. With the two of them here, he could rest assured and take a breather in the pavilion.
"Why haven't the county soldiers arrived yet? If this goes on for a long time, I'm afraid the bandits will jump over the wall in a hurry!" In the Fanghe Pavilion, Qin Shubao was arranging the saddles of his horses while whispering to the general to remind everyone that they had been out of the city for more than an hour. During this time,
Inside, the county soldiers living in and around the city should have received the news. After the assembly, the prefect Pei Caozhi was a shrewd man. He should have known that the strength of four people could not stop the 20,000 enemy troops.
"Lao Pei, how can your people escape without fighting?" Under the mound, Shi Zihe also looked suspicious. "If you retreat before fighting, isn't this a disgrace to us Henan heroes?"
"I think there must be a scam here!" Pei Changcai felt guilty and did not dare to answer Shi Zihe's question directly. He looked around and said, "Let's retreat. Zhang Xutuo is a subtle person. How could he take such a risk!"
In order to make his conclusion more convincing, Pei Changcai pointed to a few people in the pavilion, "Look, Zhang Xutuo has been talking to the black-faced man about how the big man riding the yellow fat horse will turn around."
He got up and led his horse down the mountain!"
Pei Changcai was referring to Qin Shubao, who was leading his mount to the other side of the mound. He looked unhurried, as if he was traveling alone, which strengthened his judgment that the situation in front of him was a trap. "Let's do business," he said.
The only thing is to accept it as soon as it is ready, since Changqing County has been conquered anyway, our vote is enough!"
Shi Zihe ignored Pei Changcai's words and turned his attention to what Qin Shubao was going to do? Is there really an ambush near the pavilion? He overturned his judgment over and over again and succumbed to the temptation from deep inside his heart again and again: "What if I
Are you going to kill him at all costs?" Suddenly, a crazy and bold idea came to Shi Zihe's heart: "Kill Zhang Xutuo to avenge his brothers, and use the old thief's head to command the world..."
As if he felt the crazy gaze at the foot of the mountain, Zhang Xutuo suddenly moved. Then, he took two quick steps to catch up with Qin Shubao.
"Tell the Grand Administrator that Li Xu and Li Zhongjian, nephews of Tang Gong Li Yuan and His Majesty's most favored generals, have arrived. Right next to me, there is also Dugu Lin, the clan brother of General Dugu Kai of Shangzhu Kingdom, who refuses to retreat to the city alone!
"Zhang Xutuo looked down the mountain and warned in a voice that only two people could hear.
Note 1: Huashan in the article refers to Huashan in Shandong, not Shaanxi Huashan on the edge of Licheng
Note 2: According to historical records, at the beginning of the battle, Zhang Xutuo had no time to gather troops and horses, so he only led four men out. After the war, the county soldiers arrived and defeated the enemy. It is not a drunken fabrication. In addition, some readers believe that there were no stirrups in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. According to relevant historical materials
, China's stirrups appeared no later than the Eastern Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties. There are already side images of cavalry and stirrups in the murals of the Eastern Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Note 3: Friendly recommendations: "Blue Sky" 26542, "Agents of Great Powers" ISBN 26684, "Shanghai Jing" 26662
