Xuzi did not have the habit of hiding his secrets. During the military training, he passed the wolf cavalry tactics he summarized to the generals of the county soldiers without reservation. Qin Shubao and others also learned his tactics in vain, summarizing the tactics of fighting against rogue bandits on weekdays. Combat experience and tactical insights were also shared one by one. The four of them learned from each other's strengths and made adjustments while training. In less than half a month, the combat skills of the light armored cavalry under their command improved greatly.
Seeing that the heat was almost over, Zhang Xutuo ordered the 200 armored cavalry under Qin Shubao to join the training ranks. After the light cavalry and heavy cavalry were mixed into a whole, the cooperation between them was very unfamiliar at first. But under Zhang Xutuo, a veteran Under the guidance, everyone gradually found out the flaws and made up for the shortcomings. Slowly, the cooperation of various tactics became more and more proficient.
The Records of Yang Gong's War that Xuzi memorized at that time contained many discussions about the use of troops, training, and formation battles to capture fighters. During his more than three years of military service, he compared the discussions in the book with actual combat situations and gained a lot. But because of this, He had never had a good teacher to guide him, and he was left with a lot of confusion in his heart. During a break in military training, he asked Zhang Xutuo for advice on these confusions. Zhang Xutuo was not stingy and gave him the best answer after thinking through them one by one. The old general once Serving under the famous generals Shi Wansui and Chu Gong Yang Su, he has a very deep understanding of tactics and military strategies. He can often solve a huge mystery in Xu Zi's mind by just talking a few words. Not only did Li Xu feel greatly benefited from hearing this, he also Even Qin Shubao, Luo Shixin and others who were joining in the fun felt deeply.
After gaining a deeper understanding of military strategy and tactics, Li Xu, Qin Shubao and others were eager to gather all the county soldiers and practice conventional tactics such as camp selection, formation, and coordination of infantry and cavalry. Zhang Xutuo did not support it. "The purpose of a warrior is to quell the war, not to disturb the people. Now that the spring seedlings have just sprouted, the fields are busy weeding!" Facing the eager eyes of everyone, the old general said solemnly.
After hearing this, the generals felt more regretful and admired Zhang Tongshou in their hearts. In these troubled times, there is always no shortage of opportunities for actual combat training. In March, the weather is getting warmer and warmer. Banditry activities are becoming more and more rampant. Whenever a small group of bandits invades the territory, Zhang Xutuo orders Li Xu, Qin Shubao and others to quickly drive them away with cavalry. He does not want to assemble heavy troops, as spring is the busiest time , the quality of the autumn harvest most likely depends on the hard work put into the fields in the spring. But things did not go as planned, and finally one day, the tranquility of Qi County was completely broken by a sudden wisp of smoke.
It was March 26, the 10th year of Daye. Li Xu and Luo Shixin were competing with Qin Shubao in martial arts. Qin Shubao was extremely powerful and had rich combat experience. Luo and Li could not take advantage of him even if they used wheel tactics. Cheap. All the soldiers looked on in excitement and slapped their hands loudly. At this moment, a horse of smoke and dust came straight towards the school grounds.
"Master Zhang, help me—" the messenger rolled off his horse and lay prone on the ground.
"Where are you from? What's going on?" Zhang Xutuo was stunned by this senseless plea. The other party was wearing neither a county soldier's uniform nor a government soldier's uniform. He was wearing light armor. There was nothing but blood and mud, as if he had just escaped from an army of thousands of horses.
"Sir, Beihai City, Beihai City has 100,000 men, women, old and young. Please send troops to save Beihai quickly!" The visitor gasped and added, then his body went limp and he fainted. All the county soldiers rushed to get it. I drank rice soup for him, pinched people, beat my chest, beat my chest, and spent about half a stick of incense before snatching this man's life back from the hands of the King of Hell.
"Sir, please, save Beihai City!" After the messenger woke up, he fell to the ground and cried loudly. After Zhang Xutuo asked carefully, he found out that the rogue Guo Fangyu came down the mountain again at the end of February and swept across Beihai. In the spring of previous years,
, this thief also had to go through a lot of trouble, but he never could enter the city. But this time he got the cooperation of many "rebellious ministers and traitors". Those "rebellious ministers and traitors" were originally local big families, with many members of the Ding clan. Many county soldiers in the city were also
Their sons and nephews colluded with each other and quickly captured Linzi City. Xian Yule, the governor of Beihai County, led his troops to attack. Unexpectedly, as soon as he left the capital of Zhizhiyi, Zhang Heng, the left-behind captain, rebelled in the city.
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Captain Zhang Heng opened the city gate and recruited all the refugees from the slum areas into the city as soldiers. Xian Yule returned to attack the city. The refugees took the gentry in the city as hostages and ordered the county soldiers to throw rat weapons. The two sides were in a stalemate, and Guo Fang took the lead.
The soldiers arrived. Xian Yule was attacked from both sides and was defeated. He led the remaining troops and wanted to go to Duchang City to rest and then reorganize the army to fight again. Unexpectedly, he was blocked by Qin Junhong, the leader of another group of rogue bandits, leading his troops on the bank of Juyang River. The two groups of rogue bandits attacked one after another.
, all 30,000 Beihai County soldiers were wiped out. Immediately afterwards, Duchang City also fell into the hands of rogue bandits. Guo Fangyu and Qin Junhong opened the treasury, opened warehouses to stockpile grain, and gathered more than 100,000 people in one day. Now.
, these 100,000 bandits are besieging Beihai City by the White Wolf River. If no one is rescued within half a day, Beihai City will also suffer from the rogue bandits.
"This Xian Yule, didn't I remind him to use grain from the warehouse to help the refugees?" Zhang Xutuo was so angry that he stamped his feet and asked.
"Xianyu, Mr. Xianyu said, that is the country's food and should not be touched lightly!" the messenger replied with a sob.
"The country's food must not be touched lightly. Now, the refugees have divided all the food, and the country has nothing left!" The surrounding county soldiers retorted in a variety of ways.
"Please Zhang Tongshou save Beihai. Once the rogues enter the city, every family will suffer!" The messenger did not dare to argue and paused. This is a true statement. Except for the Wagang Army entrenched in Dongjun, everyone else is acting as a substitute.
None of the gangsters who carried the banner of the Taoist Party paid close attention to military discipline. Wherever they went, they robbed everything they could, and burned whatever they couldn't take away. Only by joining the gangsters could the common people keep part of their family wealth. This
It also depends on whether the team of the children in the family and the passing team are the same. If not, the remaining life-saving property will be robbed completely.
The county soldiers fell silent and looked at Zhang Xutuo and shook their heads repeatedly. They were unwilling to bleed for people who had no relatives or relatives hundreds of miles away. Moreover, in their eyes, the current tragedy in Beihai County was caused by local officials.
Ingredients. To say that refugees are prone to change is nonsense. There are more refugees gathered near the county town of Qi County than in any other county, but the security of Qi County has not been greatly affected. These poor people only need one mouthful
If you have enough food, you will not rebel. The "lazy government" of the old governor Pei Caozhi is the greatest good government in this extraordinary period.
"Hey! You should get up first. I need to discuss the reinforcements with the prefect!" Zhang Xutuo sighed and gave an ambiguous answer.
"Sir, we can't delay any longer. If you delay for just one day, thousands more people will die in Beihai County!" The messenger begged and kowtowed. His forehead was soon bruised, and blood mixed with sweat dripped down.
"Get up, get up and talk. It's not that I'm perfunctory with you. You should also know that I have to make a lot of preparations before sending out troops!" Zhang Xutuo couldn't bear it anymore. He bent down and held the messenger's shoulders firmly.
"Sir, with your reputation, as long as the flag passes Zishui, the thieves' courage will be half gone, and the confidence of the children of Beihai City will be three points higher. Please show mercy, I, Beihai City, are willing to bear all the costs of this dispatch.
Expenses!" The messenger was very eloquent. Although he was exhausted, every sentence he said was on point.
"I don't need any money or food from Beihai City!" Zhang Xutuo smiled bitterly and replied. "To be honest, I only have more than a thousand people at hand now. With this few people, do you think I can scare away a hundred thousand bandits?"
?”
"Sir?" The messenger looked around with disbelieving eyes. As expected, he didn't find any movement except the onlookers. The entire military camp was empty. In front of some adobe barracks, half-foot-high miscellaneous objects could be seen.
Grass. This is not a sign that anyone has lived there. Zhang Xutuo is known for his strict military management, and weeds will not grow wildly where his subordinates live.
The mere presence of more than a thousand people in front of them scared the surrounding bandits away from attacking. This was a blessing for the people of Qi County, but it was a great misfortune for the Beihai elders who were eagerly waiting for reinforcements at this time. All the county soldiers were
If the children from their hometown had not gathered at this time, they would definitely be scattered around their homes busy with farm work. When they put down their hoes and hurriedly gathered here, ten Beihai cities were also captured by the rogue bandits.
The blood color instantly faded from the messenger's face. After complete despair, he could no longer hold on and collapsed directly in front of Zhang Xutuo. "What kind of face does Wu have to go see the elders of Beihai!" He lay on the ground and lamented.
He cried, his voice was hoarse and painful. After crying a few times, he slowly stood up, pulled out the horizontal knife from his waist, and wiped it straight towards his neck.
"Wait a minute!" Li Xu, with quick hands and quick eyes, used the scabbard to knock down the messenger's horizontal sword to the ground.
"Let me die, my lord. When he left the city, Wu promised the elders of Beihai City that he would never live alone if he couldn't get reinforcements!" The messenger wiped the snot and tears from his face and walked towards the weapons on the ground, trembling.
"Maybe you don't have to die!" Li Xu held the other person's shoulders and said word by word.
"Yes, but Qi County has no troops to send out, and the surrounding counties dare not send out troops to rescue him!" The messenger surnamed Wu burst into tears and cried so sadly.
"Did you encounter any obstacles on the way here?" Li Xu ignored his nonsense and asked in a low voice.
"No, they broke through the company camp outside Beihai City, and the road was unobstructed. The thieves robbed all the places between Linzi and Beihai. The people fled in all directions. There are very few people in that area now." The messenger surnamed Wu heard this.
Li Xu asked carefully, some hope ignited in his heart, and he answered with tears.
"They don't have a ranger guard, and there are no bandit flags at the junction of Beihai County and Qi County?" Li Xu was slightly stunned, and asked with a frown.
"No, they are busy robbing the city. The junction of our two counties is full of poor villages, and the thieves are not interested!" The messenger gave a clear answer.
The situation is a bit strange! Zhang Xutuo, Li Xu, Qin Shubao and others communicated with each other with their eyes, and they all felt that the situation was strange. According to common sense, the bandits should be very afraid of the Qijun soldiers. Every time they robbed, they must put them down behind them.
A certain number of sentinels were stationed to prevent being attacked from behind by the county soldiers. This time, they swaggered down the mountain without considering the threat from the direction of Qijun.
Maybe they knew that the troops in Qi County had not yet been assembled, and a thousand cavalry could only protect themselves and were unable to support other counties! But how did they know this secret? Could it be that there were their spies around Qi County?
Thinking of this, everyone's eyes flashed. Guo Fang knew the actual situation in Qi County in advance, so he dared to plunder unscrupulously three hundred miles away. If Qi County issued an order to summon county soldiers, he would get the news
They will definitely intensify their attack on Beihai City!
Even if the county soldiers were quickly recruited and rushed to Beihai, the city would not be saved. Similarly, Guo Fangyu and Qin Junhong would not sit in the city waiting to die. They had made enough money and would definitely fly away. The county soldiers would chase them if they wanted.
Not on!
"The general will have a plan in the end, maybe he can save Beihai!" Li Xu cupped his hands to Zhang Xutuo and said. (To be continued)