It was still dusk, and the setting sun was slanting, casting its last rays of light on everyone in the valley.
Everyone who took the initiative to sit in a circle listened attentively and unconsciously moved closer to Li Shan.
Li Shan, who forcibly suppressed the excitement deep in his heart, lowered his voice, "In today's battle, more than ten cavalry have escaped. The rebels must be alert and will investigate tomorrow. Therefore, if they want to attack, they can only do it tonight."
"It's winter now and the mountains are cold. Even if the rebels can't find them, one day later they won't be able to carry the knife."
"It's naturally difficult to fight against an enemy five times stronger, but what if it's a night attack?"
Before Ling Bo frowned and asked, Li Shan continued: "The rebel camp is located on the north side of Qinghe River. There are many grains in the camp for transportation. What if they attack at night and set fire to it?"
"Judging from the prisoners' confessions, Liu Shishan divided his troops into two thousand and marched eastward to raise food and grass."
"In fact, Liu Heitao had two uprisings last year and this year. Last year, King Xia led his army to go south. At the beginning of the year, King Qin led a heavy army to conquer Shandong. In the past two years, there have been continuous wars in Hebei and Shandong. The fields in various continents have become desolate, and there are many grains in Hebei Province.
Shaanxi Province has always been responsible for making up for the shortcomings."
"And Liu Heitai is nothing more than a dog raised by the Turks... The food and grass must be provided to the Turks soldiers first, and then it is the turn of Liu Heitai's troops."
"So, food and grass are Liu Heitai's top priority. As long as he can break into the camp and light a fire..."
Li Shan's voice gradually became lower. Ling Bo nodded and said: "As long as the fire breaks out, the rebels will inevitably be in chaos. There is indeed an opportunity to take advantage of it."
Zhou Zhao added: "And the rebels will definitely not pursue them, they will only put out the fire first."
Li Shan stared at Su Dingfang seemingly calmly. Whether this plan was possible or not would need to be judged by this famous general whose name has been recorded in history.
Su Dingfang thought for a moment and said softly: "If we can use prisoners to lure the camp gate open, we should give it a try."
Li Shan breathed a long sigh of relief, "Liu Hujun, how many more troops can you send?"
"About two hundred." Liu Jun said hesitantly: "But the man and the horse are exhausted..."
Ling Bo interrupted and said, "Da Lang, have someone bring out all the dry food and bedding, have someone light a fire to keep them warm, and let them rest first."
Soon, after eating and drinking, more than two hundred Tang soldiers lay down on bedding directly on the ground and fell asleep. There was a fire at regular intervals to keep warm.
After checking the wounded soldier's injuries, Li Shan sat silently beside a fire on the outermost side. He stretched his hands forward and felt a slight burning sensation on his index finger.
A figure slowly walked over and sat down next to Li Shan, "With this plan, if the King of Huaiyang listens to his advice, he may not be completely defeated."
"Everyone has his own destiny...it's just a matter of survival." Li Shan turned his head and glanced at Uncle Ling, "Last year, Uncle Ling offered advice, didn't King Xia also abandon it?"
Ling Bo sighed slightly, "With such high righteousness, I think it will be difficult to escape."
"Does Uncle Ling want to abandon me?" Li Shan seemed to be smiling but not smiling, "It's natural to see that for a person like Uncle Ling... If everyone follows a certain person back to Chang'an, they may not be able to escape."
People like Ling Jing have sharp eyes and deep thoughts. They have already seen some clues. The young man next to him is on good terms with the King of Huaiyang and is not under the command of the King of Qin. However, he is protected by the generals of the Danyang House of the Li family in Longxi. However,
He came with the King of Qi again.
What makes him most suspicious is that Li Shan has not explained his origin yet.
Judging from his words and deeds and listening to his analysis of the current situation, such a young talent is considered top-notch among aristocratic families. However, he did not explain his origins and did not mention his father and ancestors. In this era... there is too much mystery in this approach.
.
Li Shanshi's few words also showed that he obviously had ulterior motives in recruiting Su Dingfang and those from Dou Jiande's old group.
Ling Jing knew Su Dingfang's temperament very well, and he would definitely follow Li Shan after receiving such a great favor from him, but what about himself?
And what about the families of those colleagues?
After the defeat at Hulao Pass last year, the lofty ambitions he once had have long since faded into the wind. Ling Jing didn't care about himself, but he had to consider the families of his colleagues...even his two sons, three grandchildren, and granddaughters were among them.
Ling Bo said calmly: "I am not a member of a poor family. King Xia has passed away and I don't get along with Liu Heitai. Is there still room for him to be useful?"
Li Shan put away his smile and said, "Uncle Ling's quick mind is beyond the reach of ordinary people. If Uncle Ling wants to leave, I won't stop him."
Li Shan responded with a moment of silence.
After a while, Li Shan asked softly: "From Ling Bo's perspective, can King Qin be able to help you?"
There was another moment of silence.
After waiting for a while, Li Shancai said softly: "There are many hardships along the way south. Although we belong to two parties, we have the love of honor, and let Ling Bo choose him."
Ling Bo gritted his teeth and asked in a low voice: "The King of Qin wants to seize the legitimate son, but his father will not allow the King of Qin to attack Hebei again."
Obviously, Ling Jing saw through Li Shan's mind, which was actually not difficult to guess.
"Since the founding of the Li Tang Dynasty, we have attacked everywhere with few defeats. Only in Hebei... in the East Palace, the king of Qi and even the saints treated him harshly, but the king of Qin wanted to be gentle." Li Shan quickly replied: "Listen to Brother Su, Ling
My uncle is also from Hebei, so why don't you want to offer advice to your hometown?"
"Give me advice?" Ling Bo sneered, "Give me advice to the King of Qin? Whose advice?"
"So what if it's just someone?" Li Shan turned to stare at the fire, threw two pieces of wood into it, and said in a low voice: "But do good deeds and don't ask about the future..."
The wood thrown into the fire was licked by the flames, making a slight crackling sound. Li Shan listened intently, and Ling Bo on the side stared at the fire thoughtfully, as if he was also listening intently.
Not far from the fire, Zhou Zhao rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked, "Isn't twenty acres of fertile land enough?"
"Okay, let's add another twenty guan to each person."
The seven or eight prisoners sitting or lying on the ground looked at each other. Some seemed to be moving, while others had fierce eyes, but in the end no one spoke.
Guo Pu impatiently drew out his knife and said, "We don't need so many people to trick the camp gate into opening. Just leave two or three behind and kill the rest."
Zhou Zhao squatted down regretfully, "Isn't it good to be alive?"
"Twenty acres of fertile land in Guanzhong is enough to live on, and twenty dollars is enough to marry a wife."
Guo Pu sneered and said: "Liu Heita's troops swept through Hebei last year, and this year they brought in Turks. How can they see twenty guan of money?!"
Zhou Zhao shook his head and said: "Not necessarily, not necessarily... You don't know yet. Although Liu Heitai defeated King Huaiyang, King Qi led 30,000 elite troops to Weizhou, and Shaanxi Province also deployed tens of thousands of troops to the south bank of the Yellow River."
"How does King Han Dong's current situation compare with last year?"
"If nothing else works, the sage will have no choice but to order King Qin to attack Hebei again."
After several words, the two prisoners' lips were slightly parted.
After all, just last year, the once-prominent Xia Kingdom was destroyed by Li Shimin's three thousand cavalry. Liu Heitai, who swept Hebei, defeated almost all the Tang army commanders. Even Li Shiji only escaped with his life, but in the end he was defeated by Li Shimin without any suspense.
Defeated in the Battle of Luoshui.
For these prisoners, King Qin Li Shimin was the source of fear in their hearts.
At this time, Su Dingfang, who had gone out to investigate in person, had returned.
"Captain Su?!"
"Su Lie!?"
"It's Su Dingfang!"
A low noise came, causing Li Shan to turn his head and look over.
In the afternoon, Su Dingfang went out to attack, wearing Mingguang armor, an iron hat, and even a mask covering his face. It was only then that the prisoner realized that it was Su Dingfang.
Su Dingfang was not an outstanding figure in the Xia army at that time. He was just a captain, but he was outstanding in military force and was good at horse riding. Many people in the middle and lower ranks knew him.
A thin prisoner asked cautiously: "Lieutenant Su, did you join the Tang army?"
Su Dingfang was speechless for a moment. He really didn't vote for the Tang Army... Then how to explain his previous rescue of the Tang Army?
A quiet voice suddenly sounded.
"Brother Su has never been sorry to King Xia, but Liu Heitai has been sorry to Brother Su." Li Shan chuckled and said, "Brother Su, do you have any old acquaintances?"
Su Dingfang nodded slightly, his eyes falling on the prisoner who just spoke.
Li Shan raised his head and looked at the bright moon in the sky, walked slowly over, knelt down and said gently: "What kind of person is Su Dingfang? If someone hadn't rescued his mother, he wouldn't have followed me south."
Uncle Ling followed him at some point and stood beside Su Dingfang, silently watching Li Shan recount the events of that day.
When everyone was wondering, Li Shan turned around and said with a smile: "Brother Su, from your perspective, how do you think my medical skills are?"
Su Dingfang immediately replied: "It's rare in the world."
Zhou Zhao smiled and said: "That day in Zaocheng, didn't the famous doctor still want to worship you as his teacher?"
"No one can learn by himself without a teacher." Li Shan smiled and said, "I learned from the King of Medicine."
Seeing the bewildered expressions of these prisoners, Li Shan could only explain: "My master's surname is Sun, which is taboo."
"Sun Simiao?" Ling Bo blurted out, "No wonder he has such medical skills!"
The name Sun Simiao... may not be considered highly by wealthy aristocratic families, but among the people, especially in the north, it is quite famous.
Uh, but the nickname King of Medicine... was given by future generations.
"Teacher is like a divine farmer. He knows all kinds of herbs and uses medicine to save people. I followed him to learn medicine. He also uses medicine to save people, but he also uses medicine to kill people." Li Shan took out a few pills.
Zhou Zhao was confused when he heard this... Didn't you study medicine in Lingnan?
Sun Simiao had been practicing medicine and cultivating Taoism in Hebei, Hedong, and Guanzhong. When did he move to Lingnan?
Ling Bo looked down at the ground expressionlessly... Just now he saw Li Shan digging a piece of mud and slowly rolling it into a ball.
"Untie it." Li Shan ordered without turning around.
After Zhu Ba untied the thin prisoner, Li Shan touched his waist and pressed it, "Does it hurt?"
"It hurts, it hurts!"
"Press it yourself, yes, here."
"pain……"
Li Shan nodded with satisfaction, "Within ten days, if there is no antidote, he will bleed from his seven orifices and die."
In future generations, this rhetoric will not be deceived by ghosts. Even in this era, most people with a little knowledge will not believe it.
But the prisoner was so frightened that he was shaking like chaff, and suddenly rushed towards Su Dingfang, "Lieutenant Su, there is no camp gate, there is no camp gate at all!"
"Speak clearly."
"This trip to the east is just to transport grain and grass. It is on the Qinghe River. It will be shipped to Luozhou in the next few days." The prisoner shouted loudly: "The large group of troops is stationed outside Liting City. There is no camp gate.
, when you enter the camp, you will find the granary to the south."
"Xingzhou has been lost?" Zhou Zhao was shocked.
A tall prisoner over there rushed to the front and shouted: "I heard that all Xingzhou soldiers and horses have withdrawn!"
Next, the prisoners took the "poison" one by one and vomited it all out.
Su Dingfang listened calmly and asked a few questions from time to time. Li Shan put his hands in his sleeves and turned to tell Zhu Ba to pick a docile horse.
"Riding at night... with your riding skills... it's best not to cause trouble."
Li Shan glanced at Ling Bo and said, "I am planning a night attack. Although I am unable to lead the army into battle myself, it is beyond my power to huddle in the valley and wait."
Zhu Ba over there brought a white horse over. Li Shan cursed a few times with a dark face and asked you to change horses because the white horse attracted too much attention at night.
Ling Bo said quietly: "Since we are not going into battle in person, we are just trying to boost the morale of the people, so it is appropriate to show the white horse."
Li Shan was also speechless. This old man was really not a good guy. He would not suffer any loss... He was the kind of person who would come back even if someone criticized him.
Su Dingfang over there had already finished asking, and said in a loud voice: "It's almost time. We will set off immediately with our titles in our hands and horses in our mouths."
With an order, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty who had been sleeping for more than four hours were awakened. After a group of people shouted and neighed, about three hundred cavalry detoured out of the valley and quietly walked to the east side.
In the thick darkness, Li Shan led the horse and walked at the front of the team. Surprisingly, he was more suitable for the night than most of the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty.
This is not surprising. The so-called blindness is due to the lack of vitamin A in the human body, which can be greatly relieved by eating animal offal. Li Shan often ate pig feces in Zhujiagou just for today... It is definitely not because he likes to eat pig liver.
Qinghe is on the left. Li Shan estimated in his mind that it is now about three or four o'clock in the morning. He has been riding or walking for nearly an hour and should be there soon.
Su Dingfang, who was on the side, was holding a tall brown-black horse. He turned his head and glanced at Li Shan's white horse, "We're almost there... I'll leave five people for you later to stay away."
"Um."
Li Shan raised his head and saw a dark shadow moving quickly in front of him. It was Guo Pu who had stepped forward to explore the way and returned.
"It is true that there is no camp gate, and there is almost no defense." Guo Pu's voice was full of excitement. "I took a closer look. There are no hidden sentries outside the camp, and the soldiers patrolling at night are all dozing off."
There was heavy breathing behind him. Li Shan turned around and saw Liu Jun with a ferocious expression. He frowned and said softly: "Brother Liu?"
Liu Jun managed to control his emotions and said, "I know the importance of everything and will obey Brother Su's instructions."
Li Shan was familiar with Liu Jun as early as when he was a doctor. He had participated in the Battle of Luoyang and the Battle of Hulao Pass with Li Shimin. He also accompanied Li Shimin in the expedition to Hebei at the beginning of the year, and later stayed to assist Li Daoxuan.
After many years of fighting, Liu Jun had never seen such a bizarre defeat as the first battle in Xiabo, and it was even more difficult for him to accept the possible death of Li Daoxuan.
Today is the time to wash away the shame on your body.
Li Shan led Zhu Ba to the right and took a closer look on a small hill. Su Dingfang led the army and continued forward until he could vaguely see the military camp. He got on his horse and raised the horse's pole high above his head. Three hundred cavalry were behind him.
Holding a torch in hand.
There was not much noise at first, but after a while, Li Shancai heard the sound of horse hoofs, which gradually became louder than inaudible, and finally broke the silence of the night like a heavy drum.