The night sky was thick with clouds and haze, without a trace of skylight leaking out. The shoal wind blew the campfires endlessly, and fluffy sparks scattered into the night. It hadn't stopped for a day after the continuous rain. The soil had absorbed enough rainwater, and the grass and bushes were all wet.
It was rolling, and occasionally sparks blew over, but they were extinguished immediately.
The rosin torches were lit one after another, and the resolute, wind-stained faces were more clearly illuminated. The war horses snorted, and occasionally the war horses neighed loudly in the camp.
"The strategy of flooding has been completed, and all 100,000 enemy troops are frightened. However, if we want to reap the full results, it is not an easy task. We need all the soldiers in the army to work together without fear of sacrifice,"
Xu Huai stood on the general's platform made of piles of earth. Hundreds of torches illuminated the left and right sides as brightly as daylight. He looked at the shadowy military formation and said in a loud voice,
"The enemy has only one pontoon bridge south of Xuchang, which is laid over the Ying River. Not only is the passage narrow, but it is also vulnerable to attack by our navy's warships. The troops on the western front are in a hurry and they dare not go straight to Xuchang.
Escape in the same direction. Linying City is where the enemy troops on the Western Front retreated and gathered. In order to encircle and annihilate the enemy troops on the Western Front to the maximum extent, we must use a fearless spirit, abandon all baggage, and travel through the night to Linying as quickly as possible.
On the east and north sides of Yingcheng, intercept the enemy troops fleeing to the west!"
Linying City is not far away, just thirty miles southwest of the mouth of Xiliu River. But right now, except for the clouds covering the sky, there is almost no natural light. There is still great inconvenience in torch lighting. What is more critical is that
There are seven to eight thousand red cavalry stationed near Linying City.
At present, only more than a thousand war horses have been transported to the south bank. The infantry is marching in a hurry in the dark night. It is impossible to maintain the combat formation. If they collide with the main force of the enemy cavalry before approaching Linying City, they can only
Teams of ten to twenty people form a unit, and they fight independently when encountering enemies.
Of course, in a melee in the dark night, the infantry may not necessarily suffer.
The most dangerous moment is when the sky is about to get dark. At that time, thousands of infantry may not have completed their formation, but the enemy cavalry is already ready to charge and kill on the outside.
In order to deal with this situation, 5,000 elite infantry will be divided into five teams, with Xu Xin'an, Wang Xian and other generals taking the lead, and Xu Huai and Wang Ju personally leading more than 1,000 bodyguard cavalry behind.
The reality is that the infantry should be used as cover, and the guard cavalry should do everything possible to avoid encountering chaos with the enemy cavalry in the dark night, and do everything possible to maintain a complete formation when the sky is about to dawn.
The illumination of the torch is limited, and it may be extinguished at any time if chaos occurs when encountering the enemy. In the dark, the identities of each other can only be confirmed by passwords - in the marching army, the generals and team leaders repeatedly confirm with their subordinates that the passwords are remembered correctly:
"Drive out the Huru!"
"Give me back my mountains and rivers!"
"Hungry for Hulu meat!"
"Drink the blood of the Huns!"
"Let's go!" Xu Huai waved his hand and ordered Xu Xin'an, Wang Xian and others.
Surrounded by the guards carrying the command flags, the generals returned to the queues they led, left the camp one by one, and headed west along the south bank of Yingshui River.
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After Yuehai Tower and Yin Chao each led hundreds of cavalry and surrounded Mu Chi towards Linying City, Zhong Changqing came to the north of the camp to set up a formation, and piles of bonfires were lit on both sides of the long trench - however
Soldier's face
They were all in a hurry, not knowing what fate was waiting for them.
Wuchi's forward soldiers and horses noticed that the road was blocked by flooding during their march. Then Molihu set up his camp in the north of Miaowang Valley and hastily mobilized a large number of scouts and horses to detect the flooding situation near Miaowang Valley. At the same time, he also wanted to
The 20,000 to 30,000 garrison troops north of Miaowanggou were ordered to assemble overnight to avoid flooding on both wings. News of the impending flood had already spread to the camps on the west bank of Xiliu River.
How can we expect the general to remain calm at this time?
Seeing that Chushan had gathered troops and horses overnight and did not attack here, but headed west along the south bank of Yingshui River, most of the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief.
However, seeing countless torches pulling out fire dragons several miles long under the cloudy sky, Zhong Changqing quickly guessed that the Chushan elite were looking for an opening between their camps to the west and headed directly to Linying.
The city passes through.
However, there was nothing he could do about it.
Their soldiers and horses on the west bank of Xiliu River are still barely able to stabilize their position, and there is no moral chaos among the troops. However, the generals and military officials are more anxiously waiting or confirming further news and situations.
If there are not enough torches prepared at this time, and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses are directly pulled through the camp overnight, let alone arriving outside Linying City in time to join the battle, Zhong Changqing doubts that the army will collapse halfway.
Everyone ran for their lives.
Now he could only summon the generals together again and ask them to go back and mobilize the troops and horses. After daybreak, he would further confirm the flooding situation and then set off to Linying City, where they might still be able to exert their combat effectiveness.
Zhong Changqing also did not send anyone to chase Yue Hailou, Muchi, Yin Chao and others.
The marching track of Chushan elites was so clear in the night that they could be clearly seen even ten miles away. Zhong Changqing believed that Yue Hailou, Mu Chi, Yin Chao and others should also have seen at this time that thousands of Chushan elites were marching westward overnight.
He could only stand anxiously in the cold dark night, waiting for the scouts to continuously pass on the latest information.
Unfortunately, there was no news that made him optimistic or promising. After the Chushan Army lit the beacon fire at the former army camp south of Miaowanggou, in the direction of Xiaoquegang and the mouth of the Mahuang River, the Chushan Army and the Xuanwu Army on the left and right also moved overnight.
When they set out, their routes were all pointing in the direction of Linying City.
However, the former military camp of the Chushan Army in the south of Miaowanggou was silent except for lighting the beacon fire to send messages, but Zhong Changqing did not have any luck.
He didn't know when the Chushan Army started planning all this. He didn't know how thoroughly the Chushan Army had surveyed the terrain between Ruying, and he didn't know where there would be life and where the Chushan Army would attack fiercely.
He was so beaten that he didn't even know if the flood would flood the banks of Xiliu Creek!
Zhong Changqing suddenly found that he could do nothing but wait for dawn to further confirm the situation, while the Chushan Army was like a ferocious beast, already enjoying the pleasure of hunting under the cover of night...
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"Whizzing……"
It had been raining for days and the soil was full of rainwater. Except for the occasional snoring of the war horses, which was particularly clear in the quiet night, there was almost no movement of the approaching enemy cavalry. This group of enemy cavalry approached very slowly, using a special thin skin.
The wind lamp was hung under the horse's belly for illumination. The light was blocked by the weeds and shrubs that grew wildly in the abandoned field. It was almost unnoticeable to go two or three hundred paces away.
Dozens of Chushan scouts held torches and almost fought with them.
This group of enemy cavalry were shocked when they collided with each other. Before they had time to extinguish the torches in their hands, they saw a rain of locust arrows coming through the air.
In order to facilitate maneuver, the scouts all wore light armor. At that moment, three or four people were hit by feather arrows. Fortunately, the armor was not penetrated deeply, so everyone did not care about anything else. They divided into two teams and rushed towards the flanks to beat the horses and pull them.
Keep the distance between you and the enemy cavalry; at the same time, blow the iron whistle in your mouth sharply.
The enemy cavalry lurking in the darkness suddenly launched an attack at an extremely fast speed. The sound of the horses' hooves trampling on the muddy water and passing through the weeds and shrubs was like the cold wind blowing suddenly and sharply.
The buffer time provided by the scouts' warning was very limited. The two thousand infantrymen on the left wing were divided into two teams and marched in parallel, one foot deeper and one foot shallower, stretching two or three miles in depth into the wilderness.
This was the darkest moment before dawn, and no one had the ability to quickly shrink the two thousand infantry into a defensive array before engaging in battle.
The guards immediately extinguished the torches and surrounded Xu Xin'an as they retreated into the darkness behind.
In a chaotic night battle, no matter how powerful Xu Xin'an was, he could not effectively command two thousand soldiers and horses; the main responsibility of the guards was to prevent Xu Xin'an, as the leader of the left wing, from being exposed to the enemy's crossbows and attacks.
If you have to give in, you have to give in. Without the protection of layers of infantry formations, once Xu Xin'an is exposed to a strong attack by elite enemy cavalry, it is almost impossible to escape with only the protection of dozens of guards.
The other troops gathered in three to five combat groups to defend on the spot. At the same time, they quickly extinguished the torches in their hands and hid in the darkness to meet the impact of the enemy cavalry.
The wilderness was plunged into darkness, and no matter how good the Red Husbands were in riding and shooting, they could not take advantage of anything. Even the noise caused by galloping horses in the dark exposed themselves, and the people who greeted them were waiting for them.
One sharp spear after another stabbed hard at him.
The red warriors on horseback were also brave. At this moment, they could clearly see the exact position of the mountain generals. The horses roared and stood up. The red warriors were still sitting firmly on the saddle, waving the long sword in their hands.
He slashed hard, hitting the shoulder of a Chushan Jianrui hard and accurately. The broken armor brought up a pool of wet and hot blood. Two spears stabbed at each other from an angle. The sword and shield hand's shoulder supported the heavy shield in his hand.
, slammed into the horse's belly, preventing it from continuing to move forward.
The dispersed array could not completely block the captives from the outside. More and more captives rushed towards them on horseback, waving their sharp knives in the darkness and thrusting out spears one after another.
However, darkness is a natural disadvantage for the attacker.
The ground is still rugged and uneven. If they don't light the torch, they won't be able to increase their riding speed in the dark. If they light the torch, in addition to the more accurate shooting of the crossbow, Chushan Jianrui will also be more accurate.
Quickly, more sharp spears were assembled on the front of their attack route to meet them.
Even if both sides extinguish their torches, the movement caused by the attacker's advance will greatly expose their position.
The Luqi quickly discovered that even if they could easily drag the long array of Chushan soldiers through repeatedly, they could not cause much damage. Not only were the Chushan elites not scattered by them and fled in panic, they instead
The team formed a unit, further shrinking and gathering, and the resistance became more determined, causing their charge to cause greater casualties.
Lu Qi soon gave up trying in the darkness and could only distance himself and wait for the dawn...