These people are the ears and eyes left by the rebels to prepare for internal response. Liu Chong has already used this trick once, and now Liu Chen is guarding Xiong County. He also followed suit and imitated his brother's use of this trick.
.
This move was actually very sinister. Naturally, the officers and soldiers couldn't tell which were common people and which were traitors, because they were common people. No one noticed them even if they were wandering around in the city. But when Zhang Yanling entered the city, he noticed the common people in Xiongxian County.
It seemed too much, and it was obviously illogical to have so many young and strong people here. Therefore, Lei Lei took action, sealed the city gate and captured them all.
The rebels were still waiting to deny it and refused to admit it. Zhang Yanling immediately ordered several people to be killed in public. At this time, everyone was scared to death, shouted for mercy, and took the initiative to confess.
He interrogated more than a dozen bandits individually and identified two leaders who had stayed in the city. Zhang Yanling ordered his men to tie the two men to the Yamen.
"What's your name? Where do you live? When did you become a thief?" Zhang Yanling asked.
The two leaders of the rebel army did not dare to hide anything. They knew that the officials of the imperial court were ruthless and might lose their lives, so they answered truthfully.
"The villain Li Xiaoer is from Wen'an County. He rebelled with the Sixth Master and the Seventh Master during the first month of the year."
"The villain is also from Wen'an County. My name is Zhao Dabao."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "It seems that they are the first batch of rebel elders in Wen'an County. No wonder they all became officials. Sixth Master and Seventh Master? Isn't it Liu Liu and Liu Qi? Who else is the leader?"
"This..." Zhao Dabao hesitated for a moment.
"Push Zhao Dabao out and chop him down," Zhang Yanling said.
Two guards grabbed Zhao Dabao and dragged him outside. Zhao Dabao shouted for help. The guards dragged him to the yamen door and killed him with a knife. They cut off his bloody head and brought him in and threw it on the ground. Li Xiaoer was so frightened that he almost wet his pants. This
When a high official says to kill someone, he kills someone, and there is no hesitation in doing so.
"Spare, spare your life. There are also Zheng Hu, Zheng Fushuai, Zhao Madman... His name is Zhao Sui, and he is also the deputy commander. A few days ago, a bandit leader named Qi Yanming also joined the gang and was made deputy commander."
"Qi Yanming? Haha, this guy is actually still alive? He didn't die last time." Zhang Yanling sneered and said, "This is great, all the monsters and monsters are here."
Zhang Yin said: "Who is Qi Yanming? Does the Marquis know him?"
Zhang Yanling teased: "You are really a noble person who forgets things. Last year in Zhaozhou County, a group of thieves attacked the county town and robbed the prison. Isn't the person you want to save Qi Yanming? At least the names are the same. I think they are the same.
personal."
"Yes, yes, yes, they came from the Xiping Mountain Village of Zhending Prefecture and brought more than 2,000 horses to join the gang." Li Xiaoer confirmed knowingly.
Zhang Yin smacked his lips and said: "This guy is not dead? After interrogating him, the Marquis ordered people to escort him to Zhending Mansion. Logically speaking, if a thief is caught, he will die. How can he still be alive? He really has some ability."
Zhang Yanling chuckled and said: "There are many strange things in Hebei. We can't figure it out. Could it be that they also dare to rob the Zhen Ding Mansion Prison?"
Zhang Yanling turned to Li Xiaoer and said: "Li Xiaoer, who is stationed here in Xiong County?"
Li Xiaoer said: "It's Master Qi... No, no, it's Liu Qi."
"How many troops and horses?"
"More than 8,000 people were transferred from Yizhou." Li Xiaoer said hurriedly.
"What about the person? Why don't we see him?" Zhang Yanling asked.
"Withdrawal, news came that you were sending troops from Bazhou. Master Qi said we couldn't defend here, so he led his troops away." Li Xiaoer said.
"Nonsense! Now that we're gone, why are you leaving thousands of people behind? Don't you want to catch us off guard?" Zhang Yanling shouted sternly.
Li Xiaoer hurriedly shouted: "Liu Qi told me and Zhao Dabao to stay and bring thousands of brothers to pretend to be common people, in order to wait for an opportunity to burn your food and supplies."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Doesn't that mean you are going to die? If I burn my army's food and fodder, you will all die here."
"The villain knows. Neither the villain nor Zhao Dabao want to do it, but it's impossible if we don't do it." Li Xiaoer said with a sad face.
Zhang Yanling thought for a while and asked: "Where did Liu Qi withdraw with his troops?"
"They said they were withdrawing to Baoding Prefecture and going back to Crazy Zhao and the others. Crazy Zhao is in charge of Baoding Prefecture, with more than 30,000 troops." Li Xiaoer said hurriedly.
"Did Liu Qi say it himself?"
"No, you are not allowed to ask about such things. I just said to evacuate. I heard what the people below said. I don't know the details." Li Xiaoer said.
"When did you leave?" Zhang Yanling asked.
"Yesterday afternoon, when you were on the road, you left." Li Xiaoer said.
Zhang Yanling nodded slightly and said to Li Xiaoer: "Think carefully whether you have concealed something or lied deliberately. I will ask someone again later. If there is any discrepancy with what you said, you and your good brother Zhao Dabao will be responsible for it." He's just a headless ghost. Now, think about it carefully."
Li Xiaoer kowtowed repeatedly and said, "The villain has told me everything you asked me. As long as I know everything I know, I will tell you. The villain will never dare to deceive me in the slightest."
Zhang Yanling said coldly: "It's best this way."
…
On the Nancheng tower, Zhang Yanling used a telescope to look to the southeast. The sun was shining slantingly.
On the horizon in the distance, there is a green carpet-like scenery, with misty water and sparkling water. That is Baiyangdian. It is only more than ten miles away from Xiongxian County.
Zhang Yin quickly climbed up the stone steps to the tower, raised his hands to Zhang Yanling and said, "Master Marquis, the scout is back."
Zhang Yanling put down his telescope, turned around and said, "Did you see the enemy's retreating troops?"
Zhang Yin said solemnly: "No. The scout cavalry chased in three directions to the southwest, south and west. The horse chased eighty miles away without any trace. Not to mention the enemy soldiers and horses, there were no traces of retreat. Didn’t see it.”
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "That's it. It's basically certain that they didn't leave. With the enemy's foot power, they left Xiongxian County yesterday afternoon and are at most seventy or eighty miles away at this moment. It is impossible for them to march for a long time without leaving any trace. Leave traces. That’s seven to eight thousand soldiers and horses. There will always be some human and horse excrement left behind.”
Zhang Yin said: "Master Hou means that they have not left Xiong County? Then why are there no traces around them?"
Zhang Yanling said: "I'm hiding, what else can I do?"
Zhang Yin said: "I will send people to search all the surrounding villages, woods and towns."
Zhang Yanling waved her hand and said: "No need, they will be there."
Zhang Yanling pointed to the misty green and yellow place in the distance.
"Baiyangdian? Sir, you said they are hiding in Baiyangdian?" Zhang Yin asked: "What do they want to do?"
"What to do? It's very simple. After we leave, they will retake Xiong County and cut off our retreat. They know that we are going to attack Baoding Prefecture, so they retreated to Baiyangdian to hide before we arrived. Reeds are now growing there. It should be like a green gauze tent. Not to mention seven or eight thousand people, even tens of thousands of people can be hidden. As long as we march into Baoding Prefecture, they will come out to seize the city. The more than a thousand people in the city happen to be internal agents, and we will not There are probably too many soldiers and horses left here. In this way, our retreat will be cut off, our supplies and food will be blocked, and we will have to give up attacking Baoding Prefecture." Zhang Yanling said solemnly.
Zhang Yin scolded: "The sons of bitches are so scheming and difficult to deal with. They actually had such an idea. I almost fell into their trap."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "You asked why on the way, and now I can explain it to you. I expected them to do this, so I marched deliberately slowly and gave them time to hide in the reeds. If they were ordinary thieves
, that’s all. But they tried all their tricks, so I had no choice but to resort to them."
Zhang Yin suddenly realized that the Marquis had already predicted the opponent's prediction and knew that the other party would do this. No wonder the Marquis was not afraid of an ambush when he entered the city, because he was sure that the enemy was not in the city. These thieves were playing tricks with the Marquis.
That was really a game to the point of playing.
"As soon as we entered the city, I ordered my scouts to chase and search for clues. There was no trace of the enemy. They must be hiding in the reeds. These idiots didn't take people seriously. They had to use the same trick twice. This Liu Qi is too stupid.
.In this case, retreating to Baoding Prefecture and joining forces is the best choice. It seems that the previous victory has made them dizzy." Zhang Yanling said solemnly.
Zhang Yin said solemnly: "Then how do we drive them out? The reed swamp stretches for more than ten miles and is about several miles wide. You can't find it if you dig in it."
Zhang Yanling said: "There's no need to rush. They love to stay there, and we won't force them. Let them stay there for the rest of their lives. That's a reed swamp, and it wasn't harvested last year. It was sunny in March, and the ice and snow melted.
The reeds are also dried..."
Zhang Yin was stunned for a moment, but he soon understood, and said in a deep voice: "I know, I know, should I use this?"
Zhang Yin reached out and wrote a word on the railing of the tower.
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "That's exactly it. Just doing this seems to harm God's good virtues."
Zhang Yin chuckled: "That's to save them, they should be grateful to us."
Zhang Yanling looked at Zhang Yin, and the two looked at each other and laughed.
…
In the evening, the soldiers and horses of the Beijing camp began to march out of the city. The soldiers and horses were divided into three teams. Zhang Yin and Meng Liang each led 4,000 soldiers and horses, and Zhang Yanling himself led 1,000 cavalry. The rest stayed in the city and were on standby.
In the afterglow of twilight, the army headed straight for Baiyangdian in the southeast. In less than half an hour, Zhang Yanling led his cavalry to the entrance of the passage between Baiyangdian and Wugongdian.
In the twilight, I can see the endless reeds in front of me, and I can't see the end at a glance. In the spring of March, the reeds have sprouted young shoots that are about a foot long. They are intertwined with last year's withered reeds, making them appear more dense. Green and yellow are intertwined.
, entangled.
The night wind blew through the reed swamps, and there was a rustling sound of leaves in my ears.
"Master Marquis, West Wind." The guard whispered.
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Put the fire starter upwind and be ready. Listen to my fireworks command."
The soldiers took action immediately, and two hundred cavalry rode away from the north and south. Each horse carried two huge bundles of hay and firewood on its back. They set up positions at the upwind points to the west of Baiyangdian and Wugongdian.
There are more than a hundred ignition points. Zhang Yanling will set fire to this reed swamp tonight. If there are people hiding in it, they will have nowhere to hide.
Time passed slowly. Meng Liang and his troops had arrived, but Zhang Yanling did not take action, but continued to wait. It was not until the second watch that Zhang Yanling stood up from his resting place and got on his horse.
"That's it. Send the signal and light the fire." Zhang Yanling shouted.
A red firework shot straight into the dark sky, dazzling and visible. It could be seen clearly from more than ten miles away.
As the fireworks were extinguished in the sky, more than a hundred fires broke out at the upper air vents on the west side of Baiyangdian and Wugongdian. Some grease was poured on dry firewood and hay, and they burned very fiercely. The fires would soon be warmed by March.
The sun was so hot that it almost dried out and the reeds ignited. For a moment, the fire was blazing and soaring into the sky.
More than a hundred fire heads spit out flames, and under the blow of the west wind, they quickly burned one piece after another, forming a wall of fire that was as wide as a mile and about ten feet high. The wall of fire swallowed the reeds at an extremely fast speed, and rolled up.
The air and the air made a terrible roaring sound.
The fire rose into the sky, turning the lake and sky into blood red.