Just when Tao Shang and his subordinates were planning how to deal with Jiang Qi's 10,000 troops, the scouts reported that Jiang Qi's vanguard soldiers had come to kill them again.
The general leading the army was none other than Jiang Qi's vanguard officer, the Jizhou general Cheng Ping who was praised by Ling Cao for his extraordinary bravery.
Tao Shang raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Lieutenant Ling, you can bring your own troops to fight. You don't need to guard in the city. You can go directly to meet the enemy head-on. I will make my own arrangements!"
Ling Cao felt very bitter when he heard this.
The two thousand men under his command were outnumbered and outnumbered in morale. Moreover, they were exhausted from successive battles. They would go out of the city to directly fight against Yuan's army... How could they be a match for the enemy's army?
But he did not dare to say these depressing words to Tao Shang directly. He just explained euphemistically: "Master, the soldiers under my command have been fighting fiercely for days, and their morale is too low. To put it bluntly, even with the number of people under my command,
If there are more people than Cheng Ping, I'm afraid we can't win, not to mention there are only two thousand men and horses now. It's better to let the general build up his morale and kill Cheng Ping for the Taifu when he leaves the city..."
The potter chuckled lightly and said, "Don't worry, as you continue to fight, your morale will naturally improve!"
"..." Ling Cao was speechless when he heard this.
This is what Tao Shang dares to say. If it had been anyone else, Ling Cao would have dealt with him on the spot.
But no matter what, this was an order issued by the Taifu, and Ling Cao did not dare to neglect it. Even if the pottery merchant asked him to die, he had to go.
Therefore, Ling Cao could only lead his troops out of the city to fight.
The two sides had experienced three major battles before, and they knew each other well. When the two armies met, they barely even set up their positions. The generals of both sides directly led their troops to charge forward, and started a desperate bloody battle below the city.
The Jinling Army, led by Ling Cao, was determined to die, but it was a pity that they had too few people, especially in some square formations composed of a small number of troops. Once someone fell, a vacancy would immediately appear, which would be difficult to fill from the rear.
There are a lot of Jizhou soldiers under Cheng Ping's command. If one person falls on the front line, two or even three people may come up to take over. In this way, one will decrease and the other will increase. As time goes by, the combat power of both sides becomes higher and higher.
Judgment.
Seeing that the Jinling Army had only these fighting soldiers left, Cheng Ping was overjoyed. He roared from behind, rode his horse and charged forward with his sword in hand.
However, Cheng Ping planned to come and fight in person to boost his own morale and allow Yuan Jun to completely eliminate the two thousand Jinling soldiers in one go and win the victory on this route.
Cheng Ping was indeed as Ling Cao described, a fierce general from the Jizhou tribe, not only good at commanding soldiers, but also extremely brave. After Ling Cao fought with him for several rounds, he couldn't resist him and led his troops in a hurry.
Withdrawing backwards, their entire formation collapsed and they retreated towards the city gate.
Cheng Ping and his soldiers saw the situation and followed closely behind.
Not long after the two armies were entangled under the city gate, suddenly, the sounds of killing and charging were heard from the other two directions on both sides of the city gate.
Then, they saw four military lords from the Shanman camp, each leading a thousand soldiers and horses, forming two teams in one direction, outflanking them from two directions, and fiercely attacked Cheng Ping's left and right wings.
Tao Shang calculated that the Hebei army had attacked Licheng three times in a row and had the upper hand every time. He had already guessed that Ling Cao and his troops were at the end of their strength, and they must have come to attack this time with the idea of deciding the outcome in one battle.
They will definitely charge unscrupulously, regardless of everything.
Tao Shang himself secretly led the Shanman camp to lurk here. It seems that Jiang Qi and Cheng Ping haven't got any definite information yet. Therefore, as long as Ling Cao goes into battle and shows enough weakness, Cheng Ping can be desperate.
Advance troops.
The mountain barbarian camp, led by four military princes, lurked out from the other two city gates, surrounded them from left to right, waiting for work, and it was impossible to win.
Prince Taiping has been on the war for seven years. Not only has he obtained Huangfu Song's true biography, but he has also experienced hundreds of battles. He is basically confident in dealing with a brave and foolhardy Jizhou general like Cheng Ping, not to mention that he can capture him easily.
Cheng Ping's two wings of troops were attacked by the mountain barbarian camp, and were attacked on three sides. They were unable to change their formations at the base of the city, and soon reached a stalemate.
No matter how hard Cheng Ping tried to stop him, he could not stop Yuan Jun's chaos.
At this moment, a loud shout was heard, and a figure suddenly rushed over from the crowd on the side of the Xuzhou Army. Like a bolt of lightning, it jumped up and roared towards Cheng Ping and slashed at him.
Cheng Ping was caught off guard and was knocked off his horse by the black shadow, rolling twice on the ground in a panic.
The two guards behind Cheng Ping stood in front of him, trying to protect him, but the black shadow's movements did not stop at all. After taking action, Pu Dao directly chopped the two guards to the ground with great ferocity.
Cheng Ping stood up in disgrace, wiped his mouth, and looked at the black figure sinisterly, only to see that the figure was just a strong, half-grown child.
Cheng Ping's face suddenly turned green and angry.
"Where did this little brat come from!"
The young man didn't answer, but rushed over like a whirlwind, picked up a simple knife and struck it on the head.
Cheng Ping didn't expect this kid to be so ferocious and his men were not soft at all, so he hurriedly raised his sword in his hand to parry.
But the little monkey seemed to have expected that Cheng Ping would do this. He grabbed the sword that the opponent had set up, jumped up and hit Cheng Ping hard on the chin with his knee, kicking him all over.
Cheng Ping stepped back in pain, but the opponent did not give him a chance. The blade passed by and cut his throat, and blood flowed out brightly.
The eleven-year-old boy Ding Feng participated in a fierce battle for the first time and killed the pioneer officer under Jizhou General Jiang Qi!
Without the vanguard general, the remaining soldiers were quickly dispersed by the Jinling soldiers and the Nanman camp.
Ling Cao was covered in blood and looked sleepy and tired, but he was happy from ear to ear.
He came to the pottery merchant who had just left the city and asked him: "The master's calculations will kill Cheng Ping in one battle! Our morale has really improved! What should we do next?"
The potter pointed at Guo Jia behind him and said, "Ask him."
Guo Jia said with a smile: "Captain Ling, please be patient. Jiang Qi only sent Cheng Ping to lead his troops this time. He must have thought that Cheng Ping would definitely break through Licheng. His camp was currently undefended.
The defeated soldiers should go back and report now. Jiang Qi will not be able to react for a while, and he is probably still hesitating. At this time, when the morale is high and the enemy does not know what we are doing, it is best to forcefully attack the stronghold and attack Jiang Qi!"
Tao Shang turned to look at Ling Cao with a smile and said: "Do you understand? If you want to win, then you only have this chance! Quickly organize all the troops and horses that can go into battle, and the Mountain Barbarian Camp will also cooperate with you. Take advantage of
When Jiang Qi didn't react, attack with force!"
Ling Cao suddenly became energetic and said: "No!"
The Shanman camp cooperated with Ling Cao's soldiers and began to quickly advance towards the location of Jiang Qi's camp.
The potter was supervising from behind.
At this time, Ding Feng was seen carrying Cheng Ping's head and came to the pottery merchant.
The potter glanced at the head in Ding Feng's hand and said, "Ding Feng, you have made great achievements, what reward do you want?"
Ding Feng's request was very direct and realistic.
"I want some meat."
The potter laughed loudly and teased him: "Okay! We will attack Jiang Qi's camp later. If you can also take his head, I will not only give you a meal of meat, but also find you a beautiful woman. How about that?"
?”
Ding Feng shook his head heavily.
"I'm only eleven. Looking for beautiful women is not good for my health and won't make me grow taller."
Beads of sweat rolled down the potter's head.
It's hard to tell that Ding Feng's elders did a pretty good job of educating him on his physical development.
As for not growing taller, if you are already this big at the age of eleven, even if you don't grow much in the future, you won't be at a disadvantage.
"Then what do you want?" the potter asked.
Ding Feng thought seriously for a moment and said: "Two meals of meat, keep the beauty for me! Give it to me when I'm fifteen!"
The potter chuckled and said, "You kid, you are a natural born prostitute. But I like your directness, so go ahead! Let me see if you can kill Jiang Qi."