When the first fire broke out in the bandit camp, not many people paid much attention.
After all, the weather is dry and the wind is not low. With so many people camping, they have to light countless bonfires to heat up their meals to prevent them from catching cold after falling asleep, so some small fires are completely expected. Even in the evening,
When we started lighting bonfires, there had already been a few cases of accidentally igniting nearby crops. However, the crops were only a shallow layer, and there were many irrigation ditches and water networks in the area, so they did not spread. A few of them did not spread.
The few people who were caught by fire were nothing compared to the casualties suffered during the Hundred Days Cavalry's tail-cut assault.
It can only be said that if there is a fire, we should avoid it. At most, we can dig a trench, shovel a piece of crops and cut it off, and it will be over... Moreover, we have been continuously attacked by cavalry with cut tails, and their morale is low. The leaders have their own thoughts. The following is
The so-called bandits and soldiers are also homesick, who cares about this?
But, turn back to the present.
When some of the strong men of the rebel army were awakened from their sleep, they easily extinguished a fire in the crop field, then cursed the careless daredevil for not watching the fire, and prepared to go back to rest, but they didn't even have time to return.
The second and third fires appeared in the camp.
One is also in a crop field, and the other is in an independent small camp.
The rebels who had already been awakened by the first fire quickly put out the two fires, but were already breaking out in a cold sweat... Because at this time, most of the people who had been awakened were already suspicious, and some words began to be whispered.
It was passed on among the township party members.
Could it be someone's intention?
Did a spy get in?
Otherwise, how to connect the fire?
In this case, the people involved in putting out the fire remained calm and took the initiative to comfort others, because from their point of view, the two fires were accidents and there were no traces of human ignition.
But these are meaningless anymore.
Before the discussion had subsided, the fire suddenly exploded... In the temporary camp, which was so huge that it was difficult to calculate the specific area, there were fire heads everywhere. There were also many fire heads outside the camp, most of them in the sorghum fields that were about to mature. Only a few officers could
Fires broke out inexplicably in the tents where we stayed.
Even a few scattered trees were on fire, like torches, illuminating the road like daylight under the twin moons.
This doesn't count, because the number of fire heads is still growing rapidly at a scalp-numbing speed.
This scene was enough to send the already frustrated rebels into panic.
However, someone soon saw the truth with their own eyes.
In a small camp to the east of the camp, a group of thieves from Boping County, Qinghe County were awakened by the surrounding noise and were gathering around the campfire according to the order of their leader Han Erlang. This former camp commander
, the little leader of the bandit army who participated in three marches to the military city of Dongyi, and then escaped halfway, has sufficient military experience... When the first one got angry, he didn't react much, but the second one
After the third fire started, he immediately realized that something was wrong.
This is not a question of whether it is reasonable or not. There is a powerful enemy army hiding in Douzigang, and they have attacked many times in two days and defeated our own side. It is wrong to have a fire at this time, okay?
Therefore, after the second and third fires were extinguished, Han Erlang had successfully gathered dozens of his fellow villagers together, and began to prepare armor and distribute weapons.
"Don't panic, take your time, wear whatever you have, grab your sword and gun, carry food on your back, and don't alert the second leader Wang over there, he is the big leader's confidant..."
Han Erlang yelled loudly, but at this time, the flames behind him had begun to appear again, and more and more of them were coming. Although it was somewhat expected, he couldn't help but panic, and quickly called someone's name. "Where's Lao Wu? Lao Wu
!Zhang Laowu!”
"Here you are, Brother Han!"
A middle-aged man hurriedly came out of the queue. He was slightly hunched due to too much weight, and his pair of spears were shaking all the time. Under the double moon, his originally dark face was also reflected by the bonfire and the fire in the distance.
The redness, only the wrinkles are clearly visible... This person is obviously older than Han Erlang, but he still calls the other person second brother. "Why do you call me second brother?"
"Why are you carrying so many ears of wheat? If you are trying to escape... throw them down!" Han Erlang took a closer look and immediately got angry. It turned out that the reason why the other party was slightly hunched over was actually carrying a large bundle of wheat ears.
.
"They were all cut off when we set up camp, and they all turned into ears..."
Zhang Laowu was quite reluctant to leave after hearing this, but under the opponent's angry eyes, he carefully placed a large bundle of wheat ears on his back on the ground in front of him seven or eight steps away from the bonfire, and then came back immediately according to the opponent's training rules.
Stand still and continue to look at your leader nervously.
It can be seen that this Zhang Laowu is very obedient to this Han Erlang.
"You said before that your uncle's home is in Dongguang County, Pingyuan County, right?" Han Erlang lost strength in the middle of his scolding and just asked, "Have you been here several times?"
"Yes, I come here every year from Dongguang. I usually walk along the Zhang River, but I also pass by Douzigang... Mainly to buy private salt here before going home. It's cheaper here."
Maisui, Zhang Laowu's back straightened up slightly, and his tone became much smoother.
"Who cares if you buy private salt...you know the way back to our hometown from here, right?"
"I recognize it."
"You also know the way to Dongguang from here, right?"
"I recognize it too."
"That's good." The surrounding area became more and more chaotic. Han Erlang breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the others, and then looked at Zhang Laowu. He was really too lazy to cover up anything. "Let's not move now. It will be a little more chaotic when we wait, so we should just keep our heads down."
Let’s go, you, the fifth one, will be the guide, go to Dongguang County first, go around there, and then go home... Do you understand?”
"I know." Zhang Laowu swallowed. "Let's go to my uncle's house in Dongguang first."
"Yes, that's what I mean." Han Erlang sighed, looked at the various faces around him again, but they were all full of fear, and seriously warned. "If you can trust me, Han Erlang, please sit down now.
Calm down, wait for me to observe the situation, and say let's go, let's get up and follow Lao Wu! Just follow what I usually teach you, one by one, don't cross over, just keep up with the person in front quickly! There is no other way, let's go
It would definitely not work if we were caught up by the officers and soldiers and squeezed in by other people if we were too late; but if we left early, we met the big leader’s trusted soldiers, and I was afraid they would also be beheaded. As I said just now, Wang Er is the leader of Zhang Da.
All your confidants...sit down first!"
It may be that Han Erlang's calmness infected these people, or it may be that Han Erlang has always been honest and prestigious, but the dozens of villagers around him actually kept quiet, and then sat down together in the chaos, staring at each other.
Han Erlang standing by the campfire.
Han Erlang was still going to speak. Suddenly, he realized that the people in front of him were not continuing to look at him, but looking at something moving. He followed the gaze of these people, but was surprised to find that...
At some point, a crow appeared with flapping wings only about ten steps away from him, jumping around strangely.
Han Erlang was speechless for a moment and wanted to drive the crow away.
But before he even lifted his feet, he was stunned, because this experienced military leader and dozens of his subordinates clearly saw that the crow was blowing with a gust of wind without even getting close to the campfire.
, actually started to smoke under the double moon.
Moreover, as the man rolled and got into the sheaf of wheat, sparks began to flash, and an open flame appeared out of thin air in front of dozens of people.
Not to mention, the crow that got into the wheat ears and caused the open flames did not seem to be dead. Instead, it struggled and screamed, rolled violently with the wheat ears and the open flames, and directly threw it under the axle of the cart beside it, causing the fire.
the spread of.
The axle is made of solid wood, which is not easy to ignite. At this time, as long as one person goes up, kicks the wheat ears into the bonfire, and stamps out the crow balls under the cart, everything will return to normal.
However, none of the dozens of people who discovered the truth took action. Instead, they all stood in strange silence for a moment.
Then Zhang Laowu suddenly stood up, pointed at the fire under the car with his eyes wide open, and started to tremble: "Second brother, let's, let's go! This is the official army who has invited Master Heidi, and Master Heidi wants to help.
The officers and soldiers burned us! Let’s leave quickly!”
After saying this, Zhang Laowu seemed to want to do something, but he was sweating profusely, at a loss, and even had a slight lack of coordination in his movements.
Han Erlang, who seemed to have caught something in his heart, vaguely guessed that this had nothing to do with the Black Emperor. I'm afraid it was just a thing that could be broken with one poke. And even if it was really related, the one who started the fire should be the Red Emperor. It was just that he was honest.
I didn't understand what was going on... so I scolded him.
But for some reason, Han Erlang opened his mouth, but still couldn't scold him.
On the contrary, when the words came to his lips, Han Erlang, who also started to tremble all over, actually shouted out a sentence of relief to himself: "Let's go! Lao Wu leads the way! Let's go!"
Zhang Laowu, who was originally stiff, felt as if he had been granted amnesty when he heard these words, but he did not hesitate. He held a spear, raised his head, and puffed out his chest, and walked quickly to the northwest according to Han Erlang's usual teachings.
Walking towards that place, it was in the direction of his uncle's hometown, Dongguang County. Han Erlang led a group of villagers who stood up and followed silently, not caring that the wheel axle of the cart beside him had been set on fire.
.
This was not over yet. Just after walking out of this small camp, suddenly, there seemed to be a faint sound of drums accompanied by the trembling of the earth from the direction of Douzigang in the north. Han Erlang, who was completely panicked, could no longer control himself and immediately shouted loudly:
"The officers and soldiers are here! Cheng Dalang is here again! Lao Wu! Walk faster, don't run! If you run, you will step on your own people!"
As soon as he said these words, Wang Laowu in front immediately put a spear on his shoulder and started walking quickly towards the northwest with his head held high. Behind him, Han Erlang and other companions also followed suit, carrying weapons and flying
Run and follow.
At this time, as if in response to the sound of drums and horse hooves, the entire camp, in all directions, inside and outside, all the crop fields seemed to be on fire. The fire was not big, but once it was involved in the crop fields, it could immediately cause a fire. The wall of fire, which is not high, sweeps across wantonly.
When the wall of fire swept away and cut off the line of sight, the shouts of killing were heard again, as if an unknown number of officers and soldiers from Douzigang had rushed towards them.
The whole process sounds quite complicated, but in fact it was just a quarter of an hour when the crows couldn't bear the pain in their feet and the fire started.
"Master Zhang!" Looking at the thief camp that was obviously in chaos, Cheng Dalang took a deep breath and immediately came with the dragon horse under his crotch. "Although the thief army is large, the matter has been decided! I, General A, The cavalry will stay with Third Master as escort, please continue to lead the infantry to continue the sweep, and then I, Leader Guo, and Leader Niu will each lead their light cavalry and pass by from both sides!"
"Okay!" Zhang Xing responded immediately in the light of the fire, but then turned back to look at each other. "Cheng Mingqi, Zhou Xingfan, you two start from the two ends, I will be in the middle, and we will press forward together! If you see any tents that are not on fire along the way, throw down the torches! When you meet the rebels, tell them to surrender without killing them! But they ignore them and sift them through first!"
The leaders received the words and saw that the fire attack was so effective. They did not hesitate and immediately acted on the words, and all the ministries immediately advanced.
Among them, hundreds of armored cavalry left by Cheng Dalang surrounded Zhang Xing and kept moving forward like an arrow in the middle. Although there were only three thousand infantry behind him, they advanced like a forest; there were hundreds of light cavalry, including some of the cavalry that had just surrendered, including donkeys and horses. Under the leadership of Cheng Zhili, Niu Da and Guo Jingke, they surrounded them from both sides like the wind.
For a time, no one in the rebel army dared to challenge them. Instead, they fled directly to the north, trampling on each other and killing more than the casualties in the battle formation.
Because of the crowding and frustration, a small number of people chose to trust the officers and soldiers, abandoned their weapons and surrendered, but no one paid attention to them, and instead took the opportunity to escape.
And just when Douzigang's army began to charge, Han Erlang, Zhang Wulang and others fled wildly. When the troops in the outer camp were on the verge of collapse, in the center of the camp, the big leader Zhang Jinscale also fell into a daze with the support of a group of cronies. Horse... He looked around and saw that the campfire was full of fires, and the top and bottom were red. Even the two moons above his head, the white moon also turned red, and the red moon became even darker.
What's even worse is that with the fireworks all around and the chaos, he didn't even know where to go when he summoned his close followers.
In fact, before the fire broke out, the big leader woke up from his sleep and witnessed with his own eyes how a jumping crow ignited himself, but he easily doused it with weak water energy and took away the crow. Looking at the corpse, he suddenly woke up.
But then, it is the classic life of two, two begets three, three begets all things...
As soon as the crow died and he realized the problem, a fire broke out outside. He immediately ordered to save it, but as soon as the order was passed down, he put it out himself. Then two other fires broke out. He ordered to save it again and put it out himself. , and then the sky was full of fire, and with the help of wind and temperature, it swept across the surrounding fields and the camp, and the enemy troops in the direction of Douzigang came to attack at night with great fanfare.
By now, Zhang Jinsheng, who knew the whole story, had already given up on putting out the fire, and could only hastily gather the troops of his camp before making any calculations.
However, after hastily gathering some troops, he didn't know what to do?
"Big leader, do you want to go to other camps and call up some old brothers from Fuxian County?" The soldier leader who had just helped the big leader mount his horse turned pale and turned red from the reflection. He just hugged the horse's neck next to him.
Question: "Second Brother Wang's camp is located in the south. If we don't rescue him, we might fall into it immediately."
"No help! Leave quickly!" He hesitated and shook his head. The big leader maintained his last trace of calmness and gritted his teeth and ordered immediately. "There is no way to fight this chaos. If we delay it, we will only be defeated by the insurrectionary army."
Roll it into pieces and leave quickly. If you don’t leave, it will be too late! There are cavalry on the opposite side of the army!"
"Where can we go?" The leader of the soldiers tried hard to ask the other party's horse by the reins. He did not bother about rescuing Wang Er. "The enemy came from Douzigang in the south. Are we going west, east or north?"
Zhang Jinzheng was stunned on the spot... He wanted to grit his teeth and tell a direction, but he thought about the cavalry on the other side, thought that Cao Shancheng might be waiting for him somewhere, and thought that there was a county town controlled by the army at any direction, and
It is very likely that the officers and soldiers will go out of the city to block the attack under Cao Shancheng's arrangement. To add insult to injury, he is also completely panicked... In other words, until now, he doesn't know who he is fighting, and thinks it is his old rival, Cao Xian, the magistrate of Qixian County.
What about Shancheng's plan for him?
if not?
The imperial army has not come. In the whole of Hebei, apart from Cao Shancheng, is there any true hero who can play with himself so easily?
"Go...to the northwest." After a long while, Zhang Jinsheng said on the horse. "If you can survive, try to escape back to Gaotang and see if you can make a comeback; if you can't survive, go northwest and meet Cao Shancheng."
Maybe it's bigger... If I die in his hands, I won't be humiliated! Do you think that's okay?"
The leader of the soldiers listened blankly, unable to understand the other party's thinking at all, but looking at the other party's appearance at this time, he seemed to have nothing to say except to say yes.
So he immediately got on his horse, took him as an advance guard, and led the people to the northwest.
But after taking two steps, he found that his leader didn't move at all, and he was also shocked.
Zhang Jinscale held the reins, sweating profusely on his face: "I forgot how to ride a horse."
The leader of the personal soldiers swayed on his horse for a moment, then turned back, took Zhang Jinscale's horse and headed northwest. The trusted soldiers around him no longer hesitated and surrounded leader Zhang Da and headed northwest.
So far, most of the areas in the bandit camp have not actually been engaged in battle, but the inside has exploded like fire. Many bandit chiefs, like Zhang Jinscale, are leading their headquarters like headless flies.
Ran away wantonly.
This battle, as the fire raged and Po Tai's soldiers and horses seized the opportunity to start without any delay, the defeat of the rebel army became unstoppable.
However, it is impossible to end this battle completely so quickly.
In fact, despite Zhang Xing's arrogance before the battle and his decisive command at the beginning of the battle, when entering the enemy's camp, the infantry brigade under his control lost contact with the left and right wings... Although the Pu Tai Army was obviously pursuing
They fled to the north, but they were also in chaos.
Of course, there is good news. About when he advanced to a normal depth, Zhang Xing encountered a larger camp. Then, there should be a person in the camp who was one of Zhang Jinsheng’s confidants, named Wang Er, named Zhang Jin.
He gave up the rescue as an excuse and took the initiative to surrender.
Zhang Xing chose Promise.
Facts have proved that his promise was very timely, because there is only a thin layer of combustible material in the crop fields, which is different from the woods. Often, after one fire, it cannot be rekindled. If it is delayed any longer, these bandits will react and quickly
It may have some unexpected consequences... Wang Er's surrender and Zhang Jinscale's escape simply and quickly contributed to the complete surrender of the entire camp.
And this also means that Zhang Xing and others have achieved half of their strategic goals. After all, Zhang Jinscale himself doesn't know where he is yet.
"Where is Zhang Jinzheng?"
Niuda, who led hundreds of surrendered cavalry to forcefully leave the station, killed a small bandit leader who was obviously cultivated with one shot. However, he scolded other bandits trying to escape in the small camp on the spot. "Where is Zhang Jinscale?"
?”
"I only know that his camp is in the front where the fire is the biggest!" Someone begged and cried. "My lord, please spare my life!"
"We are not the official army!" Niu Da shouted loudly and declared boldly. "We are the Putai Army of the Deposed Dragon Gang! We are also rebels! Put down your weapons and wait in the camp for the army to come and collect!"
After saying that, he ignored the other party's reaction and went directly to where the other party pointed.
However, when he rushed in, he found that although the regulations there were far better than other small camps, and there was a huge burning square couch in the middle of the site, it was already an empty camp. It was as if Zhang Jinscale had left early, but Niu Da had
I can only get angry and continue to chase...but I can't find Zhang Jinscale in the camp, so I'm afraid I can only gamble my luck.
Of course, just because Niuda is unlucky does not mean that someone else is unlucky.
Just when Niuda was desperate and dared to break through the camp with hundreds of cavalry and enter the core area of the camp, Guo Jingke led his two hundred horse dealer cavalry from the outer direction and was working hard to sweep the outer camps. He was neither lazy nor lazy.
There was no deliberate pursuit of outflanking.
Then, Leader Guo met Zhang Jinsheng behind a "wall of fire" sweeping across the crop fields.
The two sides met hastily in the wilderness.
Frankly speaking, at this moment, Guo Jingke saw that there were hundreds of soldiers following the opponent under the smoke and fire, and wanted to escape. But he quickly realized that even if he could not capture it quickly
The other party can also follow it calmly and wait until the other party is completely exhausted before launching a surprise attack.
However, Zhang Jinheng reacted one step earlier than Guo Jingke.
"Xiao Guo!"
Leader Zhang shouted loudly and said, "I have nothing to do with you. How can I surrender Cao Shancheng?"
Guo Jingke was stunned for a moment, and immediately told him seriously: "It is Zhang Dalongtou of our Deposed Dragon Gang who dislikes you and massacres the city, and is preparing to clean up the rebel army. What does it have to do with Cao Shancheng?"
Zhang Jinsheng was at a loss for a moment, then silent, and finally spoke: "I don't believe it... but no matter what, for the sake of past kindness, how about letting me live?"
Guo Jingke fell silent... This time it was not that he was shaken again, but that he had two hundred horses of his own and did not dare to fight forcefully with the opponent. He had the intention of avoiding and following him.
So, just wait for the opponent to leave first, drop out, and then call for reinforcements.
"Let's go!"
Seeing the other party's hesitation, Zhang Jinscale thought he had a trick and immediately signaled to the leader of the soldiers.
The latter did not hesitate, and immediately took his leader's war horse, and after a slight evasion, he bypassed the opponent's cavalry in the flat crop field that had been burned by the fire, and continued to move forward.
And Guo Jingke did not hesitate to lead the crowd and prepare to follow.
However, at this moment, suddenly, an army of thieves came out of nowhere, shouting in large numbers, coming from the side and behind. It seemed like they were following Zhang Jinscale, but no matter in terms of speed or march,
The direction was different from that of Zhang Jinsheng's troops. Instead, they passed by the tail of the opponent's soldiers and horses, then stepped on the black dust on the ground, heading to another slightly northwest direction.
This group of soldiers and horses was led by only a few dozen people, but they all carried long spears on their shoulders. They did not run around, but moved forward quickly. It was precisely because of the stability of this head that the broken troops from behind followed.
And there is no collapse.
Guo Jingke was stunned. He wanted to disperse the troops, but he felt guilty for a moment... To put it bluntly, this battle was fought between the Po Tai soldiers and Cheng Dalang's cavalry. How could his two hundred horse dealers and cavalry dare to fight head-on?
Woolen cloth?
"Xiao Guo is still loyal."
After walking through a small ravine, Zhang Jinscale stopped for a moment, looked back, and gave a fair evaluation after seeing no pursuers. "I was too arrogant those days, so I lost his trust..."
The leader of the soldiers just nodded, and then led the horse forward without stopping.
The next moment, the ground suddenly trembled, as if another wave of cavalry was coming from the northeast.
After careful calculation, it can only be that Cheng Zhili suddenly appeared halfway.
