It was getting dark, and Li Yan was lying on a chair under the eaves of the corridor in the Yamen of Puzhou City with his eyes closed and meditating. To be precise, he was waiting for news, not for a certain news, but for many news.
Waiting for the news from Tongguan, has the war begun?
Waiting for news from the capital, did Chang Yu have any instructions? How was the peace talks? Has Li Zicheng been caught?
He was waiting for news from Dali. He knew that the attack would begin in the afternoon. Has the city been broken now? How was the damage?
Waiting for the news from Gao Qi, has the ambush started? Is it as expected?
In the afternoon, Li Yan received a message from Gao Qi, saying that he could not find the ambush point and could not do anything. This made him dumbfounded. Gao Qi was too cautious. There was never a fixed formula for ambush battles. They were all adaptable.
If you can do it, do it; if you can't, do it.
But it's better to be cautious, especially in the current chaotic situation. The worst thing to do is to sail the Wannian Ship carefully to save your life. At this time, he already had detailed information about the bandit army coming from Hejin, and its strength was nearly 10,000.
More than five thousand, and many of them were elite soldiers, which made Li Yan feel alert. Although he didn't know who Luo Hu and Ma Bao were, he felt that those who dared to go deep behind enemy lines so blatantly must have two skills.
, and their military strength was not good, and the Gao Qi troops who ambushed them only had more than 3,000 troops, which was relatively weak.
Fortunately, there are only a thousand or so cavalry in the bandit army, and the rest are infantry. The latest news is that the opponent's cavalry is advancing first. This is a good opportunity for an ambush, which must be grasped.
Li Yan was good at strategizing and outsmarting Gao Qi. After hearing the latest information, he thought about it and figured out the most important key. It should be dark when the rebel cavalry arrived near the ambush point. Although the location was not favorable at this time, the timing was right!
He ambushed more than a thousand people with 3,000 men and captured Hehe.
So he immediately sent an order to Gao Qi to ambush him on the spot at night, and retreat with one attack to prevent any unexpected events.
The messengers quickly reported to Gao Qi, who was dozens of miles away. The two reports coincided with each other. Gao Qi began to make preparations. While sending spies to keep an eye on him, he also arranged an ambush. He ordered his soldiers and horses to ambush in the wilderness on both sides of the road.
Several hundred more riders were left behind in the woods a few miles to the northwest to cut off the opponent's retreat at the critical moment.
Everything was ready, and it was already dark. After repeated monitoring exercises, Gao Qi finally felt at ease and retreated to a wilderness a few miles away from the main road to wait quietly for the arrival of the rebels.
Luo Hu did not keep Gao Qi waiting for too long.
It is said that a skilled man is brave. Luo Hu led more than a thousand cavalry and Ma Bao and then galloped southward without any concealment. First of all, it was broad daylight and it was clear to everyone that the officers and soldiers could not ambush him.
There is also a high-altitude reconnaissance falcon, which can control an area of dozens of miles.
And he didn't care about the ambush of officers and soldiers at all. He had strong self-confidence. At this time, there were three times or even ten times the number of officers and soldiers coming, and he couldn't withstand his own attack!
His confidence comes from the extremely powerful Zhenshan Battalion under his command!
At this time, Luo Hu was excited and bloodthirsty. He had been holding back his anger since the Eastern Expedition. He wished he could fly to Puzhou City and kill Li Yan immediately. He even wished that no officers and soldiers would come to intercept or ambush him at this time.
Something like that just makes him feel better!
Running and stopping all the way, the villages along the way were empty of ten houses, but Luo Hu and his men did not harass them. This was the iron discipline of the Zhenshan Camp. Unfortunately, he did not encounter any officers or soldiers on the way, but he knew that there must be officers and soldiers.
The spies found them and were even staring at them from a distance, but he was not afraid or worried. He also asked the spies to report to Li Yan quickly, and then Li Yan sent troops over.
do not have!
Until dark, no officers or soldiers were encountered.
It seems that Li Yan is either sitting back and waiting for him, or he is busy with other things. For example, the fighting in Chaoyi is in full swing. Luo Hu doesn't know that the officers and soldiers are attacking Dali now. He thought he went deep behind enemy lines to
Cooperating with Li Guo to regain the imperial capital, he thought that Li Guo must be conquering the imperial capital at this time, so that Li Yan had no time to take care of himself.
After running all the way, it was getting dark and the black horse was getting a little tired. Luo Hu ordered to slow down. The spies made inquiries in nearby villages and reported back. This place is only less than fifty miles away from Puzhou. It can be said that it is right under Puzhou's nose.
The subordinates suggested to camp on the spot and wait until daybreak before leaving. After all, at this time, everything was dark and there was nothing to do even when they arrived at the gate of Puzhou City. On the contrary, Li Yan was not a good person. He knew that he would definitely set up an ambush when he came, so he was not afraid in the daytime.
But it's hard to tell at night. After all, they are far less familiar with the surrounding terrain than Li Yan.
Luo Hu thought about it but shook his head and rejected it. He was not afraid!
He knew that Li Yan must have known that he was coming and would take certain precautions, but he felt that Li Yan was also worried about Chaoyi at this time. The only way to deal with him was to stay behind closed doors and ambush him.
It is unlikely, and an ambush requires a large force. How many troops did Li Yan have left in Puzhou at this time?
And the most important reason is his strong self-confidence!
Even if he is ambushed in the dark, he is still not afraid!
After more than ten years of fighting, he knows the characteristics of officers and soldiers. Each one is better than the last. He has encountered all kinds of opponents. Hong Chengchou, Xiong Wencan, and Sun Chuanting, who are the most capable, have all resisted. Today's officers and soldiers are all
What is there to be afraid of as a little scumbag? This is evident from the overwhelming momentum during the Eastern Expedition. It can even be said that they were invincible before the Eastern Expedition.
The setback of the Eastern Expedition was all due to the little eunuch who appeared out of nowhere. He used all possible methods to fight, was cunning and vicious, but so what, although he repelled the Dashun army, he also suffered 800 losses.
, and therefore, although many generals in the Dashun Army were afraid of it, they were also extremely dissatisfied. They felt that winning or losing once or twice meant nothing, and they were still determined to fight again.
Therefore, the only people who can make Luo Hu fearful are Chang Yu, Li Yan, and even Wu Sangui and others. He is at best cautious but definitely not fearful or fearful.
Therefore, Luo Hu ignored the suggestion of his men to camp on the spot, and ordered him to dismount and rest for half an hour before marching slowly, hoping to arrive in Puzhou in the middle of the night to stir up trouble for Li Yan, regardless of whether he was in Puzhou or in the capital again.
It would make him uneasy and worry about the future.
To put it bluntly, Luo Hu just wanted to rush to Puzhou to make things happen so that he could cooperate with Li Guo's actions on the other side.
Young people, have nothing to fear!
But he didn't know that everything was planned by Li Yan.
However, Li Yan was frowning at the moment. News of the rudeness from Dali had been sent. The messenger sent by Ma Huabao was detailing the battle in the afternoon. Li Yan asked carefully and he answered very carefully.
After listening to the detailed description of the messenger, Li Yan didn't say anything for a long time. He stood in the yard with his hands behind his back and looked at the sky. He didn't know enough about the enemy!
This reinforcement came in large numbers, on time, and unexpectedly.
It is definitely not the bandit army from Pucheng or Crouching Tiger Mountain. Their bandits have been captured in the capital, so it is impossible for them to organize so many troops to come so quickly.
There must be someone else!
From Huazhou or Tongguan?
Impossible. Tongguan itself is in danger. It is impossible to send troops over at this time. The rebel army on the northern front? It is also impossible. There are only two or three thousand at most. They should be intercepted by Zhang Guozhu... Li Yan thought of this.
The head was tight and the cooperation was so tacit. This was definitely not a temporary rush to help from the Northern Front. This was an organized and disciplined, strictly targeted action.
Here comes the master!
Who is it? He couldn't guess at the moment, but he guessed where the support soldiers came from, Miyuan!
And I’m afraid there’s more than one expert! Why do you say that?
Because Li Yan had carefully calculated all the factors before the war started. For example, it was impossible for too many foreign aid to arrive within three days, and the city defense of Dali City could not withstand two strong attacks.
Therefore, the probability of breaking the city within three days is extremely high!
But what was unexpected was that in addition to the foreign aid from Crouching Tiger Mountain, the bandit army also sent in another reinforcement in time, and Dali City actually withstood two fierce attacks.
Not to mention external factors, the city guard Gao Yigong, based on Li Yan's understanding of him, does not have such great abilities!
The so-called surprise is that he didn't anticipate the enemy enough! Li Yan couldn't help but blame himself, it seemed that he had underestimated his former colleagues.