Lin Jue thought for a while and said: "We must rush on the road immediately. There is no delay at this time. The troops and horses cannot rest, and we have to rush all night tonight. The front is Xiangcheng. There are not many defenders in Xiangcheng, so they may not dare to stop us, but They will tell the other soldiers and horses that are chasing us about the direction we are heading, so we have to play a trick tonight. Brother Sun will prepare torches for a while, and in the evening he will take two hundred brothers holding torches and circle north with great fanfare. They must pretend to be surrounded by a large army of soldiers and horses. It seems to be working. The rest of the people go straight from the official road on the south side of Xiangcheng. This just disturbs their sight. It may not necessarily work, but we must try it eventually."
"Even if we pass Xiangcheng safely, or even cross the border of Ruzhou, other soldiers and horses are gathering in front waiting for us, can the county horses deal with it? That is what makes people worry. They are waiting in front, as long as they If you block the road and the pursuers come from behind, you are making dumplings." Shen Tan said with a frown.
Lin Jue smiled and said: "What Brother Shen said is true. This is the problem. But if you think I am not prepared, you are wrong. Haven't you noticed that I am missing a capable helper?"
Everyone was puzzled, and Ma Bin shouted: "Yes, where is Miss Bai? She disappeared in Akacang Town. Did Brother Lin arrange for her to leave with the prince's carriage and horse overnight? Then why didn't she see her here? This Where did it go?"
Lin Jue smiled and said: "It is true that I left overnight last night, but I didn't follow the prince and the others, but had another purpose. I don't need to waste time telling you the specific situation. In short, you guys are waiting to see the good show. What we have to do now is to rush on our way without wasting any time. The more we take one step away from Funiu Mountain, the more vitality we have. Don’t think too much about the rest. Even the 200,000 forbidden troops in the capital failed to trap us, so what are we afraid of?"
Everyone nodded. Although Ma Bin rolled his eyes at Lin Jue's showy behavior, he also knew that this was not the time to talk. Everyone immediately prepared for their journey in the evening.
After it got dark, Sun Dayong led 200 men and horses ahead, arrived near Xiangcheng, lit torches and walked north. Sun Dayong asked everyone to hold two torches each, which stretched the team very long. It lasted a long time. The fire dragon roamed the land, and the horses and people screamed so loudly. Xiangcheng was originally a small city, with only more than 500 defenders, and only more than a thousand people including the government officials. Lin Jue and others were in the small city. When they were in the town, they got the news and knew that the opponent was a large force of nearly 2,000 people. The magistrate of Xiangcheng did not dare to go out of the city to intercept him, so he closed the city gate tightly and sent the news to everyone throughout the night, informing Lin Jue. Waiting for others’ movements.
Lin Jue and others brought a large number of carriages and horse baggage and passed through the southern official road of Xiangcheng. They drove carefully all night under the faint starlight and arrived in Ye County at noon.
When we arrived at Ye County, we were only seventy or eighty miles away from Funiu Mountain. Although we were tired and exhausted, no one dared to carry anything with them. They simply rested for a while and continued heading east. An hour later, there were rolling hills ahead. , that is the remaining range of Chengshan Mountain in the south of Ye County. Strictly speaking, Fangcheng Mountain is also a line of Funiu Mountain, but the peaks are cut off between Ye County and Fangcheng County, and there is a Pingchou Passage six or seven miles wide, so Name it separately after the location of the county.
Shortly after arriving at the hilly area, the manpower sent from the front and rear sounded the alarm almost simultaneously. A large number of soldiers and horses were gathering at the entrance of the valley in front.
Wait. Thirty miles behind, the pursuing Imperial Army has also caught up.
Everyone was in a mess. They had long been worried about being intercepted by the front and rear. Now the wolf has finally arrived. The road ahead is blocked, and the pursuers are coming from behind. There are only some hills and hills here. There is no danger at all, but the opponent has occupied it.
The main pass of the mountain pass can be blocked, occupying an absolutely favorable terrain.
Lin Jue was very calm. This moment was coming after all. He counted the time and found that more than ten hours had passed from last night to now. It would be really strange if the pursuing troops failed to arrive and the intercepting troops came.
.Especially when people like me are walking through the territory of Ruzhou, and the defenders of Ruzhou are silent, this is absolutely impossible. The four state capitals of Tangzhou, Dengzhou, Caizhou and Ruzhou are distributed in a semicircle in the southeast of Funiu Mountain
Direction, the key positions of the troops and horses are all around Funiu Mountain. It is very convenient to assemble, and it only takes half a day to assemble in place. It would be strange if they did not appear in front.
At that moment, they stopped their carriages and horses on the side of a hill and ordered people to settle down the people. Lin Jueze, Ma Bin, Sun Dayong and others rode forward and climbed a small hill in front to check the enemy's situation. However, they saw that they were several miles ahead.
Outside, at the far end of the mountain pass in a flat land among the hills, a large group of dark soldiers and horses had already assembled. They backed the road leading to Funiu Mountain and used the slightly higher terrain to block the road. They were densely packed with flags fluttering.
, it looks like there are quite a lot of people.
"The defenders from the four states have gathered, and their number should be 20,000. It may be a bit tricky to occupy the slopes and mountain passes." Ma Bin smacked his lips at the side.
Lin Jue knew Ma Bin's worries. He had more than a thousand men in his army. Although they were all elite, they were still short of men and horses. The continuous fighting had reached the limit. And the most terrible thing was that the current situation was that the combat supplies were insufficient. The crossbows and arrows had already been
There are not many left. Although the repeating crossbow arrows are convenient to use, they are very expensive. They have been almost exhausted in one night in the capital and in several battles on the road. In addition, the firearm capsules that are the most frightening to the opponent are also almost exhausted. That kind of ammunition is also almost exhausted.
Medicine pouches take time to make. Although Lin Jue carries a large amount of raw materials, it is impossible to prepare sufficient ammunition in a short time. Without the power of repeating crossbows and firearms, the palace guards and Lin family guards
The hospital lacks the biggest weight to win. If they really have to fight the enemy with their flesh and blood, although these people have outstanding martial arts skills, they may not be able to defeat the four-handed opponent with two fists.
"They have no signs of attacking. They are just waiting for us to attack. These soldiers are much smarter than the Forbidden Army. They are waiting for the arrival of the Forbidden Army's pursuers. This is the safest idea." Lin Jue pondered.
.
Sun Dayong nodded and said: "Your Excellency is absolutely right. There are not many cavalry in the carriage, so their best way is to stay there and guard the mountain pass. Unfortunately, it is a sloping uphill. Even though we have hundreds of cavalry, we can't charge.
.If they were in Pingchou, five hundred cavalry would be enough to disperse them."
Lin Jue nodded and said: "That's true. This is their cleverness. It seems that they have arrived not long ago, and their formation is still very scattered. They are building fortifications. Once the fortifications are formed, it will be more difficult."
Ma Bin frowned and said, "What should we do? Brother Lin."
Lin Jue muttered: "The pursuers are thirty miles away and will arrive in an hour at most. It is impossible to wait until dark. Besides, even if you wait, it is not an option. Once the mountain pass fortifications are completed,
If it takes shape, it will be a dead end, so..."
Ma Bin said: "Didn't Brother Lin say he has his own means? Why don't you show it now?"
Lin Jue frowned, raised his eyes, looked at the mountains in the distance, and asked softly: "How many days did it take us to get here from Akacang Town?"
"A full fight counts as two days and two nights." Sun Dayong said.
Lin Jue frowned and thought for a while, then muttered: "Two days and two nights, with Bing'er's pace, it should take one day and one night to get here, but... can they get here in one day and one night? I'm afraid they have to do it."
Ma Bin frowned and said, "Who are they? Brother Lin, why are you still playing riddles? This is the time, just tell me directly."
Lin Jue said with a smile: "That night in Chicang Town, I asked Bing'er to rush to Funiu Mountain in advance. The purpose was to move reinforcements. Just now I was counting the time. The soldiers and horses in Luoyan Valley were not cavalry. They came out from the mountain road to rush We may not have enough time to get here, and that’s what I’m worried about.”
Ma Bin suddenly said: "It turns out that Miss Bai has gone to bring in reinforcements. How many people can Luoyan Valley have? I'm afraid it will be useless if they come."
Lin Jue smiled slightly and said: "Not many, just seven thousand soldiers and horses."
Ma Bin was shocked and said: "Seven thousand? So much? When did you raise so many soldiers and horses?"
Lin Jue smiled bitterly and said: "Don't you know that Luoyan Valley has pacified Funiu Mountain and swept away all the villages? All the troops have returned to Luoyan Valley's tent. Many green forest heroes from all over the country have defected. The people outside the mountain cannot survive. A lot of people also escaped in. Six thousand is still a small number of people. They are all young and brave soldiers. If they can arrive, these Xiang troops are no match. Unfortunately, they may not be able to make it in time. No matter, Brother Sun, Brother Ma, we have to cross this mountain pass today if we can't. We can't be blocked here, it's a dead end. So, what I mean is, no matter life or death, let's fight."
Everyone frowned and thought, but couldn't think of a better way. Instead of wasting time waiting to die, it's better to have a fight. Although attacking the opponent's formation with such a small number of troops is tantamount to dying. But it seems that there is no other way. There is no other option left.
Ma Bin, Shen Tan and others gritted their teeth and said: "We will go back immediately to gather our troops and prepare to attack."
…
Under the setting sun, there are continuous green hills.
On the slope of the mountain pass, nearly 20,000 Xiang soldiers from four states gathered here. After receiving the order from Prime Minister Lu, they gathered here immediately and chose the only way to Funiu Mountain to block Xiang here. Although the soldiers were poorly equipped, this time they had the advantage in numbers. After discovering the opponent's traces, the four leading commanders discussed and decided to wait for work and block the mountain pass to wait for the arrival of the Forbidden Army. They did not know when the Forbidden Army would arrive. But they knew that blocking this place was the most correct choice.
When Lin Jue and others rode their horses to stand on the top of the hill, several commanders also saw their traces. The four of them were not nervous and even made bets with each other. Feng Zai'an, the commander of Dengzhou Ningxiang Army, gave the lottery. , he bet that the opponent would launch an attack at all costs. The other three commanders laughed at him and were willing to bet with him with a huge amount of ten taels of silver. They all believed that the opponent could not attack. Either go around or go around. If they stay there and don't move, they will risk their lives if they dare to attack. Feng Zai'an is so convinced that he actually high-fives them and makes a bet.
