Although Cen Peng received the order from Zhen Fu, he still strictly guarded the city and stayed behind closed doors.
Two days later, seeing that there was still no movement from Cen Peng in Xinye, Zhen Fu sent Cen Peng a third letter. This time, the words were much harsher. He ordered Cen Peng to lead his army out of the city and fight with the Chung Ling Army.
Fight to the death.
However, when the letter was sent to Xinye, it was as if it had disappeared into the sea. Cen Peng remained the same, did not accept Zhen Fu's general order, and still stood still.
At this time, Zhen Fu was also anxious and sent a fourth letter to Cen Peng. In this letter, Zhen Fu showed his trump card and ordered Cen Peng to go to war. Otherwise, he would be punished for premeditated rebellion.
The crime Zhen Fu charged Cen Peng with was not disobedience, but premeditated rebellion. There is a big difference between the two.
If it's the former, at best it's one person's fault and one person will die, but if it's the latter, it's not just one person who dies, but a whole family of people who will be executed and beheaded.
You must know that Cen Peng’s family members are all in the county and in the hands of Zhen Fu. His letter is tantamount to telling Cen Peng bluntly that if you don’t go to war, your whole family will be killed!
After reading this letter from Zhen Fu, Cen Peng couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh. He couldn't just watch his family suffer because of his relationship. In this battle, he had no choice but to follow Zhen Fu's order and leave the city.
One battle.
Before leaving the city to fight, Cen Peng specially sent a group of elite soldiers under his command to break out and rush to Huoyang, find the captain Liang Qiuci, and ask the county army to come to aid in the battle of Xinye.
Currently, the strength of the Chongling Army outside Xinye City is close to ten thousand, but an army of tens of thousands is not enough to completely surround the huge Xinye City.
This group of dead soldiers sent by Cen Peng attacked at the weak points of the Chung Ling Army. In the end, they really fought a bloody path and successfully broke through the encirclement of the Chung Ling Army.
This group of dead soldiers traveled day and night to arrive at Juiyang, successfully met Liang Qiuci, and then submitted the letter written by Cen Peng himself.
Liang Qiuci read the letter from beginning to end, then rolled it up, put it aside, and asked the dead soldiers: "How many soldiers and horses are there currently outside Xinye City?"
The leader of the dead soldiers replied: "Reporting to the captain, there are more than ten thousand people in total."
Liang Qiuci narrowed his eyes and said suspiciously: "More than ten thousand people? Some time ago, I heard that the rebels were only about eight thousand."
The leader of the dead soldiers lowered his head and said: "The rebel forces are expanding very fast, and new people are constantly joining. If the stalemate continues, the rebel forces will only become larger and larger, making it increasingly difficult to deal with it. General Cen has now made up his mind.
If we want to fight the rebels to the death, we hope that the captain can lead his army to Xinye, so that the two armies can join forces to attack the rebels!"
Liang Qiuci nodded calmly and said, "Well, I understand, you can go down and rest first!"
"Lord Captain, the military situation is urgent and there is no room for delay..."
Before he could finish his words, Liang Qiuci said impatiently: "I said I already know, you can go down and rest. Didn't you hear me clearly?"
The leader of the dead soldiers did not dare to stay any longer. He bowed to Liang Qiuci and bowed before retreating with several other dead soldiers.
After they all left, Liang Qiuci picked up the letter again, read it again, chuckled, and said: "Cen Peng is not a fool. He naturally knows that with the strength of the Xinye County soldiers, leaving the city to fight is asking for death.
His current determination to actively seek a war was probably forced out by Zhen Fu!"
A school captain took a step forward and asked: "Sir Captain, do we want our army to cross the river by force and rush to Xinye to help General Cen?"
Liang Qiuci said slowly: "Do you think all the anti-thief cavalry on the opposite side have been withdrawn?"
"This... although there is currently no trace of the rebels, according to my subordinates, the rebels should still be hiding near the east bank!"
"Yes, the anti-thief cavalry has not withdrawn at all. If our army crosses the river forcefully now, it will be attacked by the anti-thief cavalry. Even if our army has the upper hand and wins in the end, I am afraid it will be a tragic victory, minus the casualties.
Of the soldiers, how many are left to rush to the new field to fight?"
Everyone looked at each other, but no one said anything.
Liang Qiuci continued: "The rebels have 10,000 troops in Xinye. Even if the remnant of our army arrives in Xinye in time and joins Cen Peng's county soldiers, how much effect can it have?
"The final result is either a defeat, or a disastrous victory in which most of the soldiers are wiped out. The county army has lost its fight, so it will naturally have to be reorganized. Zhen Fu is so cunning, how could he miss this opportunity? When the time comes, he will not know where to put him.
No matter how many cronies come in, I, the captain, will be ignored by him, the prefect."
For the sake of Cen Peng and the Battle of Xinye, he was not that stupid to ask him to put all his family wealth into bet. The Battle of Xinye could be defeated, and Cen Peng could die in the battle, but his family fortune in the county army must not be thrown away.
Another captain said worriedly: "Your Majesty, Captain, if Cen Peng is defeated, Governor Zhen will definitely put the responsibility on the adults and say that the adults are just sitting on the sidelines and refusing to help Cen Peng's troops!"
Liang Qiuci smiled, raised his hand and nodded at the captain, and said: "So, we still have to cross the river, but because the enemy troops on the other side have too many troops and the attack is too fierce, our army cannot cross the river smoothly. So,
, the responsibility for the failure of the Battle of Xinye does not lie with us."
The captain rolled his eyes, an idea flashed in his mind, and he said with a smile: "The responsibility still lies with Cen Peng. It was because of his previous inactivity and inaction that a large number of enemy troops passed through Xinye and penetrated into Juiyang, giving our army
Crossing the river created huge resistance."
"Haha!" Liang Qiuci looked up and laughed. It was obvious that the captain's words had penetrated into his heart.
Seeing Liang Qiuci chatting and laughing with his lieutenants, Lu Zhi couldn't help but sigh in his heart, this battle could no longer be fought.
The prefect and the captain don't get along. You plot against me, and I plot against you. They are scheming with each other, and they barely break up openly. How can we fight this battle?
Under such internal fighting, it would be a miracle if our own side could still defeat the Chung Ling Army.
It's a pity that Lu Zhi can't say anything now. He is in the muddy water. He can't change anything except going with the flow. If he talks too much, he will become a thorn in the eyes of the people around him. He will be regarded as an alien, ostracized and eradicated.
.
According to the time agreed by Cen Peng in the letter, Liang Qiu sent some troops to go out. Nearly six thousand county troops sailed toward the other side in large and small boats.
As soon as the ship crossed the center of the river, the cavalry led by Liu Xiu rushed out from the woods on the other side. The cavalry formed a formation on the bank and were ready.
When the ship was still fifty meters away from the shore, the cavalry on the shore began to pick up their crossbows and tentatively fired arrows. As soon as the cavalry fired arrows, Liang Qiuci immediately ordered the ship to be stopped and asked the county army officers and men to stand on the deck.
Shoot arrows upward to counterattack.
The two sides were on the shore and on the boat, fifty meters apart, shooting arrows at each other.
The fight was a lively one, with arrows from both sides constantly flying back and forth in the air. You and I were shooting at each other, but there were only a few arrows that could actually kill or injure the opponent.
This is how the county army led by Liang Qiuci fought across the river.
The arrow array confrontation between the two sides lasted from morning to noon, and then from noon to evening.
When it got dark, Liang Qiuci immediately ordered the rear team to become the front team, and the entire army retreated to Juiyang. The day's battle was over. The total casualties of both sides did not exceed fifty people. Everyone was happy. .
The county army was dragged back to Huoyang by Liu Xiu. On the other side, Cen Peng, according to the plan agreed upon by him and Liang Qiuci, led more than 4,000 county troops to rush out of Xinye and march towards the north of the city. The Ling army launched a fierce attack.
The main force of the Chung Ling Army was stationed outside the south city of Xinye. The Chung Ling Army outside the north city had a small number of troops. It was led by a school captain named Liu Yue, who was Liu Yan, a descendant of Liu Xiu.
When he learned that Cen Peng was leading thousands of county soldiers to suddenly leave the city and attack him, Liu Yue was not afraid. Instead, he was overjoyed, thinking that he had an opportunity to make a contribution.
He led more than a thousand of his troops to march out of camp to fight. In front of the two armies, Liu Yue rushed out of his own formation and asked Cen Peng by name to come out and fight him.
Cen Peng also gave him face, and he went out of the formation single-handedly, and started a fight with Liu Yue in front of the two armies.
Although Liu Yue's military force is not as good as Liu Ji's, he still has some abilities and can be compared with extraordinary generals.
Cen Peng and Liu Yue fought for five or six rounds and suddenly felt impatient. When the two horses stepped on each other, Cen Peng fiercely pulled out the iron whip from behind and hit Liu Yue on the back of the head.
Hearing that there was an evil wind behind him, Liu Yue hurriedly crouched forward and heard a buzzing sound. The iron whip whizzed past his head. Before he could straighten up, Cen Peng followed up with a saber strike. Stab him in the side.
The knife was so strong that the tip of the three-pointed and two-edged knife did not penetrate into Liu Yue's body. When Cen Peng pulled out the three-pointed and two-edged knife, the side tips of the knife's head stuck to Liu Yue's intestines. came out.
Liu Yue only staggered a few times on his horse, and then he fell headfirst and fell headfirst from the horse, killing him on the spot.
Cen Peng stabbed Liu Yue to death with a knife, which greatly boosted the morale of the county soldiers. As Cen Peng waved the three-pointed two-edged sword forward, the county soldiers shouted and swarmed forward, running straight towards the Chung Ling Army on the opposite side. go.
The Chung Ling army only had about a thousand people, and they faced more than four thousand county soldiers. Moreover, the general Liu Yue was killed by Cen Peng. People's morale was low. At first, only a few people ran back. Later, these thousand people They turned into a swarm and fled backwards.
Just when Cen Peng led the county soldiers to pursue the Chung Ling army, two Chung Ling armies headed by Liu Ji and Deng Feng rushed over in time.
As the saying goes, when enemies meet, they are extremely jealous. Liu Ji and Deng Feng fought against Xinye for more than a month, but failed to break through Xinye's city defense. Liu Ji hated Cen Peng so much that his teeth itched, not to mention that Cen Peng had just killed his own clan. His brothers Liu Yue and Liu Ji wanted to drink his blood and eat his flesh.
Liu Ji held the Chunqiu sword in his hand and roared angrily: "Cen Peng, please give me your life!" As he spoke, he urged his horse to go straight to Cen Peng.
There were many county soldiers around Cen Peng. When they saw an enemy general rushing towards him, people raised their spears and rushed towards him.
As soon as the two sides came into contact, Liu Ji's Spring and Autumn Broadsword swept over.
The county soldiers were still holding shields to block, but the wooden shields in their hands were like paper under the blade of the Chunqiu sword. With one sweep of the sword, the shields were cracked, the shields were split in half, and the people were blocked.
Cut off.
Liu Ji's Spring and Autumn sword, not only the blade is made of fine iron, but also the blade is made of fine iron. When weighed on a scale, it weighs up to a hundred kilograms. Ordinary people can't even swing this sword.
Even if I try to lift the big knife, I can't even lift it.
But Liu Ji held the Spring and Autumn Sword, which weighed hundreds of kilograms, with one hand, as if for fun, and waved it around as if it were nothing.