After the soldiers and horses of the Camp Breaking Brigade left Longju Village, Li Laiheng and Gao Yigong each led a team of nearly a hundred troops. They first crossed the Danshui Ferry, and then slowly went south to Shanyang County to collect grain and fodder.
It won't be long before Yang Sichang learns that the army was almost completely wiped out in Junlingchuan. At that time, Governor Yang will definitely dispatch heavy troops to go north to encircle and suppress the Chuang camp. Therefore, it will leave time for the Chuang camp to collect food.
He was very nervous. Li Laiheng also knew that Shangluo Mountain was originally a sparsely populated place with barren land and poor people. Coupled with the years of major disasters and wars, the people fled and died, while those who stayed were sparse and had no food or clothing.
Just delay.
Although the Shanyang County area has suffered less wars and famines, after the disastrous defeat of the Junlingchuan army, local bandits also swarmed up, separatist villages, and defended each side. Many people in the county who did not have relatives living in the county seat,
They can only choose to defect to the owners of these cottages and become villagers.
These local bandits adopted a neutral attitude towards camp intruders and did not attack them, but they were also very vigilant and defended themselves. Li Laiheng originally planned to directly send troops to search and suppress these mountain villages, but Gao Yigong believed that the local bandits were familiar with the local geography and customs, and
They also occupy dangerous points in the mountains. With the strength of the Little Tigers and Gao Yigong, it is not difficult to destroy these strongholds, but it is a waste of time.
Gao Yigong taught Li Laiheng a method, which was a method of "borrowing food" that was commonly used when the camp was operating in Shaanxi in the past. This method was to directly send people to various villages to deliver messages, or to fire a few firecrackers outside the village.
Scream for a while, or light a pile of firewood, and post the letter nearby before leaving.
There is a traditional cliché in these letters, which reads: The owner of a certain village knows that our army is passing through the border and has no enmity with you, and will not invade your village. However, our army needs to help the people, so we need a certain amount of silver, a certain amount of rice and wheat,
If your village is friendly to our army, you should collect all the money and food and deliver it to our army. If you insist on resisting and want to become an enemy of our army, you should burn your houses and kill your people, leaving no chickens or dogs behind!
Most of these local bandits were not strong, and they did not have the determination to fight against the camp to the end. After reading the letter posted by Gao Yigong, most of them sent people to contact the envoys of the camp to intercede, hoping to negotiate a reduction in the amount of money and food.
, there are not many people who want to be in trouble with the camp.
This method greatly praised Li Laiheng. For this reason, he repeatedly praised Gao Yigong for his rich experience and being much more sophisticated than himself. Li Laiheng asked Uncle Qing to follow Gao Yigong's subordinates to handle the delivery of money and food. After counting the numbers, he found that he had just entered the mountain.
After spending more than a day in Yang County, I gained a lot by breaking into the camp.
"Brother Gao really has a way. We don't waste a single soldier, and with a little intimidation, we can let these bandits take the initiative to send money and food." Li Laiheng admired the rich experience of Gao Yigong, Li Zicheng's brother-in-law.
, does not rely on relatives to maintain his status, but relies on ten years of military experience to ensure his place in the camp.
Gao Yigong handed over his hand. After looking at the money and food figures compiled by Uncle Qing, he was not reassured and said: "We don't have much time left, and the money and food we received are still far behind the requirements of the palm. I
Look, we still can’t put all our hope in these copycat villages and proactively hand over money and food.”
Li Laiheng also looked at the amount of money and food delivered by Uncle Qing. He also understood that the "protection fees" offered by these local bandits in order to avoid Chuangying's attacks would not be particularly large. Chuangying was about to leave Shangzhou.
It would be difficult to sustain the war for the next period just by relying on these "protection fees". They still had to capture the county seat and obtain more supplies.
But the county town was protected by a city wall. Li Laiheng estimated that in addition to the officers and soldiers in the city, the gentry could also organize some militiamen to participate in the battle. These militiamen were definitely no match for the camp in the field, but it was still very troublesome for them to throw bricks and wood on the city wall.
He pondered for a while and thought of some nearby fields and manors that had been abandoned because the squires fled to the county town for refuge, and then he came up with an idea.
"I see in this area that many squires abandoned their properties and cottages because they were afraid of us and fled back to the county town." Li Laiheng pointed to some nearby houses and estates abandoned by the squires and analyzed, "These houses and properties are all
They are the pet peeves of the wealthy officials and gentry. If we do something big, we will burn and dismantle a batch of them every once in a while. I don’t believe that city people can remain calm and give up all their property.”
Gao Yigong felt a little doubtful. He didn't think that the squires could calm down, but he felt that the city magistrates and the like might not have the courage to go out to fight. "We are in a hurry. The city magistrates and garrison people are more likely to choose
Just wait until we can retreat on our own, right?"
Li Laiheng smiled at this and said: "How do the officials and gentry in the city know whether our time is urgent? Even if they know that Yang Sichang will return to Shangzhou sooner or later, can they be sure when it will be?"
"We don't have to burn down all the rich manor houses in one go. Instead, we should try to select some houses that are far away from the county seat, burn them slowly, and demolish them slowly."
"In addition," Li Laiheng pointed in the direction of the county seat in the distance, and added, "if the officials and gentry in the county do not dare to go out to fight in the city, we will show weakness and lure the enemy. I think those cottages are all connected with the officials and gentry in the city.
We can gather half of our troops and only use about a hundred troops to go out and collect food."
"Among the officials and gentry, there may be two or three people who can keep their composure and not seek temporary gain. But the vast majority of people will definitely not let people break into the camp and destroy their property. As long as the majority of people are unanimous, a few will remain calm.
People who can tolerate anger can only be coerced by their opinions."
Gao Yigong thought about it for a while and felt that Li Laiheng's idea was not unreasonable. But what he was worried about was the issue of time. According to Li Laiheng's words, slowly demolishing the houses and cottages of the gentry, destroying their fields, and luring them to take the initiative to go out of the city to fight, this would definitely
It takes a lot of time.
But what is needed most now to break into the camp is time. Yang Sichang is about to encircle and suppress the army with heavy troops, and the window time left for breaking into the camp is only a few days at most.
"If you have enough time, this method is indeed suitable. But our time is really urgent. If the officials and gentry do not take the initiative to go out to search and suppress the city, wouldn't we just sit back and watch the passage of time?"
When Gao Yigong was very young, he followed Li Zicheng to join the army. He understood all aspects of the rebellion, camp logistics, and even the hidden rules of the green forest, but he did not know enough about the gentry class. Although Li Laiheng had less military experience, when he was in his hometown of Mizhi, he
He managed rural affairs and water conservancy projects, and also experienced battles with officials and gentry figures such as Edus.
Although Li Laiheng's understanding of the gentry group is not very profound, it is undoubtedly much deeper than Gao Yigong. Based on his understanding of the gentry and the people, he believes that this group of people will definitely fall for his bait and destroy themselves.
He stretched out a finger and assured Gao Yigong, "One day, as long as you give me one day, these squires will definitely fall into the trap."
Gao Yigong was hesitant about this, but he had no right to direct and order Li Laiheng. In addition, Li Laiheng's confident appearance really moved him. Gao Yigong's character was not the firm and decisive type.
He had a kinder temperament and rarely argued with others. After some tangle, he decided to listen to Li Laiheng's idea.
"Then... let's do it like this first. In one day, it shouldn't affect the entire transfer plan of Chuangying." Gao Yigong hesitated for a while, but finally agreed to Li Laiheng's plan, "It's just the officials and gentry of Shanyang County.
You’re not necessarily that stupid, are you?”
Li Laiheng laughed twice and said: "Fools will not put out fires with salary. Only smart people who care about their own interests will take the bait."
Li Laiheng also worked hard to lure the officers and soldiers out of the city. He asked Gao Yigong to take more than fifty people to first collect the "protection fees" from various cottages, while he and Hao Yaoqi took three or four others with them.
Ten people demolished four or five manor houses in the outermost circle of Shanyang County. The remaining main force was led by Uncle Qing and hid in the dense forest in the Baitugou area of the county.
He saw that the officers and soldiers seemed unmoved, and as time passed by bit by bit, he couldn't help but become a little anxious. After all, Li Laiheng's plan was all based on the short-sightedness of the officials and gentry, but there might be one or two gentry and civilians in the city.
An intelligent person can see the purpose of breaking into the camp.
"Waving the flag, do you think the officers and soldiers will take the bait?" For such a long time, the officials and gentry in Shanyang County did not seem to make any move. Li Laiheng felt more and more unsure, "We will ambush the main force in the dense forest.
In the midst of this, all flags and drums were silent, and no smoke was exposed, but it seemed that the officials and gentry in the county were still not completely sure of victory."
Hao Yaoqi led a group of soldiers who broke into the camp and was setting fire to several courtyards built in the fields and woods. He ignored Li Laiheng's worries, "No, I said you were in charge of the team. I think it's you."
You must have overestimated the officials and gentry in the city!"
He threw a piece of firewood into the burning courtyard, waved his hand to wave away the thick smoke in front of him, and said: "Managing the team, even if we break into the camp and send out troops to fight, from agreeing on matters to preparing troops and horses,
It will take nearly a day to collect food and fodder, and then to officially break camp and set off."
"What's more, if the officers and soldiers of Shanyang County are, as you expected, they are joining forces with the squires. It will take more time for the squires to recruit servants and warriors. Even if they decide at the first time
, I don’t think we have even one day to send troops to retake the land and manor, and we won’t be able to prepare well.”
After hearing Hao Yaoqi's explanation, Li Laiheng realized that he was indeed a little under the lamp, thinking too one-sidedly. In contrast, although Hao Yaoqi often showed a rough appearance, after all, he had been fighting for ten years.
With his military experience and deep understanding of the speed of the army, he naturally saw the key points at once.
Indeed, as Hao Yaoqi said, like in the previous Battle of Junlingchuan, all the officers and soldiers were frontier Qin soldiers. However, the entire march speed was still very slow. In comparison, the officers and soldiers in Shanyang County were
The elite level is definitely not as good as the main force led by Zheng Guodong and Ai Guobin personally, and they have to recruit many rural warriors with more fragile combat effectiveness to participate in the battle, so the entire troop dispatch speed must be very slow.
At this time, there was some commotion among the people in front, and Li Laiheng's heart tightened, knowing that a fighter plane was probably about to appear. He hurried forward to meet him, and saw Gao Yigong riding back with a few people.
He was also carrying a man who was very unfamiliar to Li Laiheng.
Gao Yigong reined in the horse, jumped off neatly, and helped the man on the horse down. The man on the horse was dressed in simple clothes, carrying a bow and arrow on his back, and looked like a hunter in the mountains. Look at his appearance.
, you knew he was not a soldier breaking into the camp. Why did Gao Yigong bring him here?
Li Laiheng glanced at Gao Yigong in confusion. Gao Yigong pushed the hunter forward and said, "This is Hunter Liu, a villager from a village here. They were attacked by the army. There is something important."
You want to tell us the military situation."
Liu Orion knelt forward. He prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed to Li Laiheng repeatedly with great force. The sound of "dong dong dong" made Li Laiheng's scalp numb.
"Please let the rebel master know! My brother Liu Sanhu has a grudge against Ye Xiucai, an evil gentry in this county. This time, Ye Xiucai took advantage of the rebel army's entry and asked the county magistrate to send troops to search and kill him. He took the opportunity to say that my brother had contact with the rebel army and had him arrested.
He was captured and sacrificed to the flag. We brothers in the village couldn't bear it. Seeing that the soldiers were weak, we had no choice but to ask the rebel master to destroy Ye Xiucai!"
It turned out that Liu Lihu's brother often scolded Ye Xiucai as a local bully, and said that he would be captured and chopped off by the rebels sooner or later. Li Laiheng quickly understood that Ye Xiucai was probably a representative figure of the Shanyang County gentry. He
After inciting the Yamen to send troops to search and kill the camp, he took the opportunity to kill several of his enemies under the banner of suppressing thieves.
"Little tiger, everything is in your plan! The government troops have indeed sent out, and just as you thought, the local squire did not give up his land, recruited many village warriors, and followed him to send out troops."
Gao Yigong punched Li Laiheng in the chest and admired his accurate prediction. Just as Li Laiheng imagined, under the threat of breaking into the camp, burning and demolishing the squire's property, these short-sighted people who only care about their own immediate interests could not sit still.
Living.
"Okay, okay..." Li Laiheng clenched his fists, his confidence greatly increased. He walked back and forth twice. After suppressing the excitement in his heart, he helped Liu Orion up with his hands, "Brother, let's break into the camp and come to Shanyang County.
This is for these common people. We are here to kill some evil gentry and bullies, and to kill the majesty of the gentry. Regarding your brother's matter, I, 'Ruhu', have promised you now, and I will definitely deal with it.
I’ll bring you that Ye Xiucai’s head!”
The original purpose of Chuangying entering Shanyang County was to collect grain and fodder. However, Li Laiheng knew that in order to develop Chuangying in the future, it must rely on a wide and good reputation among the people, so he deliberately created a look of shame in front of Liu Orion.
Of course, the appearance of a people's crusade against crime is a matter of course. Whether this can improve the image of Chuangying among the people is another matter.
In short, Li Laiheng was very excited. He finally got the exact news that the officers and soldiers were leaving the city, which proved that his plan of holding on for a day was indeed feasible.
"Bury the pot and make rice, prepare for the battle!"
In order to prevent the fire and smoke from being seen from a distance when breaking into the camp, the places where the pots were buried and cooked were always behind big rocks, deep in dense forests, or in relatively hidden ravines. Everyone in the little tiger team cheered up and took a break, Hao Yao
Qi Ze personally took a few Ye Bu Sheng and followed Liu Orion to explore the terrain.
Li Laiheng was sitting on a rock and was eating. He ate some dry food and drank some water. He still couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart. This was the first time that the Little Tigers sent troops to fight, and it was also the first time that Li Laiheng personally presided over it.
The meaning of this war is naturally different from the previous battles he fought under the command of Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, Liu Fangliang and others.
After a while, Hao Yaoqi came back first on Gao Yigong's horse. He reported to Li Laiheng that the army was still about seven or eight miles away from here. There were many people and horses, and the force looked very strong.
Li Laiheng hurriedly finished all the dry food in two or three mouthfuls. He asked Uncle Qing to go down quickly and ordered people to put out all the earthen stoves and fires. Then he followed Hao Yaoqi and went up to the high slope of a hill to observe the enemy's situation.
Yi Gong was also there looking into the distance.
"The army's troops are messy and moving very slowly. It seems that most of them are infantry, and they are very tired and disorganized. The mountains and dense forests here are not suitable for mounted warfare. Leghorn, I think we should leave the horses behind first.
.”
Gao Yigong looked at the army's troops in the distance from a high place. Although the distance was still far away, Gao Yigong, who had rich military experience, could judge the general strength and formation of the army's troops at a glance and made targeted suggestions.
Li Laiheng glanced at Hao Yaoqi first, and when he saw Hao Yaoqi nodded, he recognized Gao Yigong's judgment, then he pulled out a long knife from his waist and began to deploy his troops, "Brother Gao is right, then that's it, I
He and Brother Gao led a hundred brothers to ambush near here, and all the bows, arrows, and firecrackers were also left here."
"Then," Li Laiheng drew a rough distribution map of troops on the ground with a long knife, then pointed at Hao Yaoqi and said, "Wave the flag, you take the remaining brothers and walk one mile east.
It's good to have an ambush in the woods."
"After the officers and soldiers are blocked from the front by Brother Gao and I, they will definitely stop. At that time, when you wave the flag, you will lead the sword team to attack from the side and rear, slash and kill, and cut off the tails of the officers and soldiers. This way, you can win with a small number.
, kill the bastard to the point of defeat."
After Gao Yigong listened to Li Laiheng's troop arrangement, he was relatively satisfied and had no objections. He just added one more sentence and said: "After we kill the scattered army, we should immediately chase the brigade. Don't be too eager to fight or pick up the army's baggage."
.We must not let the large army of officers and soldiers escape back to the county seat."