Under the afternoon sun, Shan Tonghai, dressed in casual clothes, held a riding whip in both hands, stepped on the ice on the river, and stepped forward step by step. When he had walked twenty or thirty steps, he suddenly staggered, and the ice collapsed under his feet.
However, a white gold-rimmed zhenqi immediately appeared under Shan Dalang's feet, which was the authentic Duanjiang zhenqi.
Only Duanjiang Zhenqi is named after Duanjiang, and it is extremely sharp. Now the Zhenqi is pressing down, directly cutting the ice surface below, and cutting into the water again and again. Fortunately, Shantonghai can use Zhenqi freely and make changes in time.
He changed the shape of the infuriating energy and erased the sharp edges, allowing him to successfully use the force to jump back and leave the collapse area.
Such an action caused a new collapse when it fell on the ice behind him. The majestic leader Dan had to jump back several times before landing on the river bank.
Needless to say, this kind of movement showed no signs of losing vigor. On the shore, Cheng Dalang knew that the opponent's cultivation level had reached a certain level, even as good as his own, so he couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly.
But an accident still occurred. When they arrived at the south bank of Wenshui River, Leader Shan took back his energy, looked back at Cheng Dalang, and walked up with a smile on his face. Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened his mouth, no sound came out, but there was something under his feet.
I was slicked by the mud under the floating snow on the dark side of the river. I was caught off guard and propped myself up with my hands, leaving a sleeve of mud stuck to me.
Cheng Dalang laughed loudly when he saw this, immediately got off his horse, and went to help him. At the same time, he did not forget to joke: "Big boss Shan really missed the mark."
Shan Tonghai lost his embarrassment and laughed directly, then he used his strength to walk up to the opponent's arm, but he did not forget to throw out Duanjiang's true energy from under his feet, and took advantage of the situation to completely remove the mark.
The two returned to the shore, got on their horses, and then talked about business.
"The snow has melted and the ice has become thinner. It seems that we can relax a little here in Wenshui." Dan Tonghai pointed to the ice on the river that he stepped on and said.
"That's the truth." Cheng Dalang nodded. "But we should be cautious. That Qijun Lao Ge is not a fool. He fights in a virtual and real way. He has the essence of the art of war. I have seen it before."
"I don't mean to look down on him." Shan Tonghai also became serious. "Actually, I have a plan that is both fictitious and real, and I am about to make a charter with you, Brother Cheng."
"Commander Shan, please give me your orders." Cheng Dalang immediately became solemn and raised his hands on his horse, regardless of the fact that he was also a leader and much older.
"How dare you order Brother Cheng?" Shan Tonghai also laughed, but spoke seriously. "But I don't want to hide it from Brother Cheng. I was thinking that since I have survived the New Year's Day, the weather has become warmer these days, and spring plowing is around the corner.
Even Wenshui is about to be opened. Normal people would probably think that we should wait until the spring plowing before fighting... But I always like to fight quickly, so I thought, why not take the opportunity to do the opposite and take the initiative?
How about ending the war in Lu County?"
Cheng Dalang pondered for a while, but did not directly agree.
But Shan Dalang just continued to laugh: "If we can defeat Qi County Lao Ge, not only Lu County can get it quickly, but Qi County will also be at your fingertips... By then, Zhang Longtou will be in Jiyin, Li Longtou will be in Dongping, and Xiao Xu will be in Dongping.
County, I am in Lu County, Wang Wu is in Jibei County, and Qi County, Brother Cheng can also take it for himself. We can connect the six counties of the Qilong Gang and go further east to subdue the two Hebei tycoons in Dengzhou.
Langya can also be distributed to Chi Shilang, so that the land of eight counties can be taken along the Jishui River to run through the entire eastern border..."
Cheng Zhili was stunned and didn't dare to speak.
But Shan Tonghai became more and more interested as he talked: "If that's the case, the so-called overall situation has been settled... Then we can do whatever we want. To the south, we can sweep Xuzhou and attack Jiangdu; to the north, we can sweep the whole of Hebei,
Going west, we can invade the Central Plains and seize the Eastern Capital... The world may really fall into our hands!"
Cheng Dalang finally felt ridiculous.
It’s not that you are ridiculous in the back, you come out to rebel, point at the distant view and say a few words of joy, and who doesn’t allow others? This kind of thinking is more reliable than the old man who wants to settle down the world in anger, right?
The key is that Cheng Dalang finally realized that Shan Tonghai might not really be there and wanted to use this idea of one person and one county to win over him.
This arrangement, of course, sounds very tempting to him, Cheng Zhili, but the problem is that for farmers, it is also very tempting to lie down and sleep at home, but why go out to farm regardless of the cold and heat?
Is rebellion something that can be done as you please?
If we really knock down six counties, if we really arrange it like this, we will first destroy the top-down system of the Dragon Gang and lose an effective decision-making layer. When the time comes, if you say go south, I want to go north, who will
Has the final say?
And are the two leaders incompetent? If you want to pull them down, just rely on empty words and White Teeth to conquer the county?
Now that you have established your own territory, you can be a monster if you want, but don't come looking for him, Cheng Dalang? He, Cheng Dalang, has a weak foundation and does not dare to get involved in such head-turning things.
As soon as he thought about this, the older Cheng Zhili pondered for a moment, nodded, and went directly past these words: "If this is the case, what on earth are we going to do in Lu County?"
"I would like to ask Brother Cheng to sweep eastward in Gongqiu these days and try his best to suppress Fan Hu, Father Liang, and also to attract his attention." Shan Dalang raised his hand to signal the others to stop, and he continued to fight with his family.
Cheng Zhili rode forward, and then whispered his plan. "Then I personally led the main force of 20,000 people across the Wenshui River, made a surprise attack from the side and rear, and attacked Bo City... The spies came to report before, and Qijun Lao
Ge is having a great feast with the soldiers there to rest and recuperate. I am afraid that after successive victories, he is also arrogant and lazy."
Cheng Zhili was stunned for a while and then realized that this was a good idea. No matter whether Shan Tonghai was impetuous or impetuous about some things, it did not mean that he was a decisive, capable and thoughtful general.
If you don't care about anything else, if you dare to fight, if you dare to make a surprise attack based on the timing of the situation and people's hearts, you are already better than many rebel leaders who can only fight passively.
No wonder they were able to wipe out most of Lu County easily.
"It's a really good idea." Cheng Dalang replied without hesitation. "But there is still a problem. It means that Xiaqiu, where your main force is located, is about 130 miles away from Bo City, where his main force is located. Gongqiu, where I just settled, is about 130 miles away from Bo City.
The city is also ninety miles away. Even if you cross the river from Gongqiu, you have to think about whether you are going to attack all night or take a rest in the middle. If you take a rest, how can you ensure that you are not discovered? And if you attack all night, will everything be safe when you reach the city?
Is the army exhausted and self-defeating?"
"This is the key to this attack." Shan Tonghai immediately responded. "I am not going to cross the river from Xiaqiu's side, nor am I going to cross the river from Gongqiu's side, but from here, between Gongqiu and Liang's father.
Crossing the river... In this way, you can rest properly before crossing the river, and after crossing the river, you only need to rush for fifty or sixty miles... Fifty or sixty miles, it is enough to rush and attack."
Cheng Dalang immediately realized: "So you want me to press forward and lock Fan Hu? Make sure that the crossing of the river is not discovered?"
"yes."
"But with the conditions on the river like this, how could 20,000 people cross over suddenly without delaying their journey?"
"The ice is thin during the day, but slightly thicker at night. It spreads out. You can easily cross the river by dragging your armor and weapons lightly. The same is true on the road. It is muddy during the day and hard at night... I have been here day and night." Dan Tonghai said this.
He was extremely serious. "Brother Cheng, this opportunity must not come back again. We just want to use the icy road conditions these days as a cover. When they thought we wouldn't go, we went!"
Cheng Dalang was completely convinced and nodded repeatedly: "That's it, that's it. Just like the night attack before dawn and setting fire at dusk, it's all about catching people by surprise... Even a master like you could slip on the shore just now, let alone the military... If
Leader Shan, you have made up your mind, I will return to Gongqiu City now, lead the cavalry out with dry food and push forward, and I must seal off the situation on the south bank of Wenshui River for you!"
Shan Tonghai was overjoyed and patted the other party's shoulder immediately: "If it happens, it will be Brother Cheng who is the first to do it."
He had promised a county just now, but in the blink of an eye he was regarded as his subordinate.
Of course Cheng Dalang felt a little uncomfortable, but he immediately nodded in response and couldn't help but ask: "Did you condense the pill after successfully attacking Xiaqiu that night? I saw that you did those few times on the ice just now,
He is already a bit prancing, but he is deliberately concealing his clumsiness."
"Yes." Shan Tonghai made no attempt to hide anything. "This is another chance of winning!"
Cheng Zhili nodded, no longer hesitated, immediately turned around and rode back to Gongqiu.
On that day, they mobilized five hundred cavalry from their headquarters and sent them to Liang's father.
Cheng Dalang got serious, and coupled with the natural advantage of the cavalry in controlling the wild areas, it had an immediate effect. It was only the second day, and he successively removed multiple small strongholds between the two cities and cleared out multiple patrol teams.
After killing and intercepting many rounds of scouts, Fan Hu's subordinates were cleared away, leaving Shan Tonghai thirty miles of space to advance.
Don't forget that Shan Tonghai is indeed a "flying general". Cheng Dalang managed to control the situation a little, and he immediately sent out troops. He prepared dry food for five days from Xiaqiu, the commandery of Lu County, which was further away, and immediately sent out troops.
Lead the main force to stay in the dark during the day and go to Gongqiu where Cheng Dalang was stationed before.
Departing that night, we arrived at Gongqiu early the next morning, closed the four gates, slept until noon, and then continued to move forward. In the afternoon, we arrived at the river crossing point thirty miles away from the city. Then we stopped, recharged our batteries, and waited.
The evening came... Of course, Dalang also became ruthless in these two days. He personally led the cavalry and continued to advance at a high speed. He recklessly moved his troops to a distance of several miles outside Liangfu City where Fan Hu was located, trying to make room for Shan Dalang.
Create more operating space.
But that’s where it ends.
Facing Cheng Dalang's mopping up and advancing operations, Fan Hu, a fellow villager and a local tycoon, did not hesitate and led 1,500 infantry out of the city to confront him across a frozen Wenshui tributary in the west of the city.
The other side confronts.
The two sides showed off their power and refused to give in to each other. Knowing that a large army was resting and preparing to cross the river at night dozens of miles behind them, Cheng Dalang, who was determined to hold the opponent back, even took the initiative to challenge and launched a typical team challenge.
This was a common method used by powerful people in the eastern countryside to compete for fields, property, business, and population. Instead of family members going into battle in person, they chose to support bankers and high-rollers to fight in continuous one-on-one battles... There was no way.
, the entire Eastern Territory is anti-imperial from top to bottom, or at least against the imperial court. People at the bottom can find powerful people to deal with problems, and people at the top can also find powerful people to deal with problems.
So what can the powerful do if their own families are in conflict?
You can't seek help from the government and throw yourself into a trap, and you can't make big noises to attract the attention of the court. However, the interest disputes in this era cannot but be resorted to force, and there is such a thing as true energy cultivation, so this kind of classical and bloody struggle is naturally needed.
way.
However, unlike the past three to five or seven or eight people, this time, the Cheng and Fan families engaged in a bloody battle that lasted for a whole day, fifteen versus fifteen, with a total of thirty riders.
challenge.
The knights from both sides exchanged registration numbers and birthplaces, then beat drums to cheer, and immediately engaged in a confrontation, with swords, guns, swords, halberds, bows, crossbows, hammers, and nets. All weapons and tactics could be used, but one must die and the other win.
that is it.
"I actually always hate this kind of one-on-one challenge."
Cheng Dalang looked at the setting sun behind him and felt the slight coolness in the air. Then he turned around and sighed to Jia Runshi who was standing beside him.
"Why?" Jia Runshi was extremely surprised. "They all said that Boss Cheng, you had won twenty-eight games in a row in the local area. Even Fan Hu was defeated by you and was forced to give up the business of Xiaohe River.
your home."
"Because people are going to die." Cheng Dalang looked at the fierce battle ahead and responded with a sigh. "They are all heroes from the East. They could have reasoned. But if they couldn't reason, they could have gone to court. All they had to do was give the government a little money. But in the end, people had to die.
You are a good man, but you are not good if you don't die. If you go to court, you will only get into the tiger's mouth, and it will probably cost more lives... Moreover, have you ever thought about how difficult it is for a father to ask his son to play with knives? Be a
Aren't you good at literary studies? What's the difference between this and your father's intention in sending you to me?"
"They were all forced." Jia Runshi came to his senses. "It's the same today. This method is the one that kills the fewest people."
"Yes." Cheng Dalang nodded. "They were all forced... Your father should have something to say to you, right?"
"There...he is dedicated to being a rebel, just like he is dedicated to being an officer." Jia Runshi became more and more anxious. "One has to die, right? And life and death are not something we can decide ourselves?"
"Lao An can't hold it anymore." Cheng Dalang ignored the quick-responsive junior and pointed forward with his hand. "Seven wins and three losses will immediately become seven wins and four losses... It's almost time. The last game of the day.
If you go ahead and win this battle, three heroes will die less; if you can't win, I won't collect the bodies for you, let Fan Hu collect them and send them to your father, I guess your father is in Bo City."
Jia Runshi was startled, and turned to look at the battlefield by the river. Sure enough, after a few breaths, the knight of his own side was caught with an injured left arm and a weakness in lifting the shield. He suffered continuous blows and was forcefully killed by the knight on the opposite side.
He was knocked off his horse with a hammer wrapped in khaki infuriating energy. But the enemy knight was sure of victory and did not relax. He actually did not dismount. Instead, he lifted the horse's hoof and fell heavily.
This bloody scene triggered a weird uproar... The victorious knight rode his horse to show off his power in the riverside field, while Fan Hu's subordinates shouted and cheered.
It was in sharp contrast to the silence on Cheng Dalang's side.
After a while, the knight jumped on the stone bridge and returned to the other side. He received a glass of wine that only the winner could enjoy. As soon as the man drank the glass of wine, Jia Runshi did not hesitate, got on his horse, held a spear, and galloped
Cross the stone bridge, come to the opposite field, and then shout for battle.
Under the setting sun, Cheng Dalang, who was sitting firmly on the horse, squinted his eyes and leaned forward to take a closer look. And sure enough, Jia Runshi's appearance caused a slight commotion on the opposite side... A moment later, an enemy knight appeared, but ignored Jia Runshi.
Runshi came across the bridge with a white flag instead.
"What?"
Cheng Dalang asked him coldly.
"My captain said that it is too late, so I will send Mr. Jia on his way tomorrow." The knight glanced at Jia Runshi, who was still showing off his power in the field on the other side of the river, and told him calmly, "I, Zhangqiu Guo San, will send him off in person."
"good."
Cheng Dalang nodded, and actually stood up immediately, put away his horse, then got on his horse, led his subordinates, plus four corpses, and retreated to the west.
When Jia Runshi saw this scene, he was surprised for a moment, but soon realized what was going on. His face turned red, but he had no choice but to catch up in a hurry.
But after only a few miles, when the last ray of sunshine in the west disappeared, Cheng Dalang suddenly slowed down his horse and spoke to Jia Runshi who was following closely behind him: "Xiao Jia, you don't have to wonder, I did take the horse just now."
You do the testing... As I said before, I don't like this kind of thing, but it is actually the best way to delay the death of the least people nowadays. I have reason to do it, and Fan Hu has no reason to agree. We are at war.
, tens of thousands of people will die unless he..."
"It's also stalling for time." The young and powerful son of Qijun immediately put the previous events behind him. "Boss Cheng, what are you and Boss Shan's idea about?"
"We may have the same idea as our opponent. As for what the idea is, you will see it with your own eyes later." Cheng Zhili told him seriously. "However, no matter what, we can't lose anymore. If we lose again, or Zhang Xuguo
If you win again, you will have to cultivate the luck of the army! You go over immediately and inform Shan Dalang of what is going on here and let him know that the officers and soldiers on the opposite side may have the same strategy as ours. I will be there soon."
"Yes!" Jia Runshi responded sternly, patting his horse and leaving first.
Cheng Dalang immediately maintained the cavalry formation at the rear and continued to go west.
However, Jia Runshi was still a little late, or in other words, not early enough, because when he found Dantonghai, the main force of 20,000 rebels had already crossed over at dusk with the help of some wooden planks.
Nearly half of Wenshui River.
The temperature seems to be a little lower tonight, and the ice is thickening very quickly.
Correspondingly, after listening to Jia Runshi's report, Chief Shan did not have any superfluous reaction. He just asked his deputy Xia Houning to go away to greet the coming Cheng Dalang, and then asked people to light a fire, raise a flag, and wait for the next step.
arrival and rendezvous.
This seemed to hint at his thoughts.
"Single leader!"
Cheng Zhili's action of sending Jia Runshi in advance had an effect. In the dusk, he almost successfully led the crowd to Shan Tonghai, and made valuable exchanges and decisions immediately.
"Brother Cheng." Shan Tonghai looked at him with half-open eyes. "I listened to what your subordinates said, and I think what you think makes sense... At least 60% of the time, that Zhang Xuguo is planning to carry out a similar plan.
…There’s no reason why an old man can’t think of things that I can think of.”
"Then what do you want to do?"
Cheng Zhili glanced at the large army that continued to "cross" the river.
"I will continue to cross the river according to the original plan." Beside the fire, Dan Tonghai responded calmly and gave a brief explanation. "No matter what the opponent's strategy is, the army has already crossed half. If we call back at night, it will be
To separate the troops, it is better to continue to attack along the river at night as planned... If the opponent does not have this intention, our attack will still be successful. If the opponent has a similar plan, we will fight head on!"
Cheng Dalang was silent for a moment, and then nodded slowly: "If the leader has made up his mind, I will cross the river together. We can't spread our troops."
"Your troops have been very tired during the day, so you only follow the rear army. We will see the situation at the end of the battle before jumping into the battle." Shan Tonghai also nodded, and then gave instructions to dismount and walk up the ice. "I will only let the front troops go up.
The army puts on armor first."
"But...the two big leaders." At this moment, young Jia Runshi couldn't help but interrupt. "Could they have also guessed our actions...because of the previous advance of Chief Cheng?"
Shan Tonghai looked back at the young man, said nothing, and continued to dismount and head toward the river.
Cheng Dalang also continued to dismount calmly and followed closely behind, without any intention of explaining.
"You young man, are you confused?" Xia Houning, Shan Dalang's lieutenant, stretched out his riding whip and hit the other party on the back. "Even if the other party notices it, so what? They have no time to change it in such a short time.
Are you planning to set up an ambush late at night? It’s just a head-on battle. Moreover, what is your identity, are you asking randomly here? If it weren’t for Cheng Dalang’s face, I would cut off your sacrificial flag first!”
Jia Runshi woke up instantly, but without hesitation, he got off his horse and followed closely.
Facts have proved that Fan Hu is far less sophisticated than Cheng Dalang. It was almost an hour later that he finally got a taste of it because Cheng Dalang retreated too quickly and too hard. Moreover, he did not make a correct judgment directly, but crossed the river to the north in person.
We arrived at the official road north of Wenshui River and just waited here.
Then, around the second watch, I met my boss Zhang Xuguo who started the night raid.
"I underestimate Shan Tonghai."
After listening to Fan Hu's report, Zhang Xuguo, who was sitting on a pony by the river, asked about the details carefully. After thinking for a while, he came to a conclusion. "This person is not only decisive in his actions, but also has the third taste of strategy... so-called
The art of war is nothing more than falsehood and truth... Now as I expected, he should have used the same strategy as us. The so-called six-point victory through the art of war and clever conspiracies seems a bit deceptive."
Zhang Xuguo had already accumulated great power at this time. Although the generals gathered around him, no one spoke, because they knew that this old Ge would never delay the war.
"However, I have been in the army for many years, but I know that victory or defeat is not that simple." Zhang Xuguo paused for a moment, and suddenly sneered. "The right time, the right place, the people's luck, the logistics and the morale of the army, what is not the decisive factor in winning or losing? And this
In a battle, since our apparent chess moves are almost the same, there is only one thing that can determine the outcome..."
Having said this, Zhang Xuguo looked around and coldly shouted one word: "Courage!"
No one responded.
"When we meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins!" Zhang Xuguo stood up suddenly and pointed at someone. "Zhang Zhushou."
The masked Zhu Shou, who was Zhang Changgong, immediately bowed down.
"I know you are a guest general, but since you are in the army, you must obey military orders." Zhang Xuguo said sharply. "Tonight you are not allowed to fly freely, and you are not allowed to dismount. You must immediately put on a full suit of armor, hold a long soldier, and move at a slow speed.
, be the vanguard of my entire army! Later, I will assign two thousand troops to you!"
Zhang Changgong hesitated for a moment and then said, "Yes."
"Yu Baimei." Zhang Xuguo pointed to another person. "You lead the two thousand men in this unit and serve as the second vanguard!"
"Here!"
"Fan Bao, you are the third striker."
"Jia Wugen, you are the fourth forward."
"Fan Hu, you lead your troops out of the city immediately. We will also approach you diagonally. When we come back when the weather is cold, we will press behind the entire army and become the fifth frontline of our army."
"yes."
Finally, Zhang Xuguo looked around, looked around, stopped in front of Zhang Changgong, and pointed his finger at himself: "Tonight, all the generals will be the vanguard, and I, Lao Ge, shall be the first vanguard and lead the central army."
Two thousand, take the lead with armor, and serve as Zhang Zhushou's horse and the rest!"
