However, when he saw the mercenary regiment's artillery shells hitting Li Shouxin's troops like a meteor shower from a distance, Liu Guitang immediately gave up.
This is the first time in his life that he has seen artillery used in this way. Doesn't the cannonball cost money?
A full ten minutes of shelling completely defeated the combat-effective army that had lost its armor and fled in embarrassment in an instant.
He didn't even need to get closer to observe. He could just look at the fireballs all over the sky and the gunpowder smoke that almost completely obscured the grassland, and he could imagine the tragic situation inside. This kind of large-scale lethality was beyond his knowledge.
While my little heart was beating loudly, I began to retreat.
This kind of powerful army, whether it is the national army or not, cannot be offended by oneself, let alone try to take advantage of others.
However, even though he did not dare to offend others, he still decided to wait and see, still retaining a glimmer of hope in his heart.
If they are national troops passing by, they will naturally attack the puppet troops when they see them.
But after the enemy is defeated, they may not necessarily stay in Duolun permanently. Once this army leaves, doesn't the city of Duolun still belong to us?
So, after the battle was over and the mercenary group entered the city, Liu Guitang led his men to stop at a place a few miles away from Duolun, and then sent a shrewd subordinate disguised as an ordinary herdsman to sneak into the city to inquire for information.
Liu Guitang had been stationed in Duolun for several months, so he naturally had his own spies. It didn't take long for him to learn that the national army was just passing by, and he quickly left Duolun.
After hearing the news, Liu Guitang breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had made the right bet again this time.
But people's desires are endless. If he takes his men and hides far away, Zhou Wen will leave with the mercenary group in a few days at most. Then it is hard to say that he can escape a catastrophe.
However, Liu Guitang now not only wants to take back Duolun City, but also becomes greedy for the two thousand puppet soldiers captured by the mercenary group.
You know, these two thousand puppet prisoners who Zhou Wen would not even take a look at are the best sources of soldiers in Liu Guitang's eyes. They are more than a little stronger than his original bandit men. If he can get them from the national army,
If he accepts it, he will soon be able to regain his former power.
How can we openly take these prisoners from the national army? Then we need to name ourselves.
The so-called loss of consciousness was caused by the sudden loss of power. At this time, Liu Guitang thought that he was still a member of the national army anyway, not to mention that the previous battle with the puppet army was a real one. Although he was defeated, he always tried his best, right? Presumably the commanders of the friendly forces would not follow him just like that.
Fall out on your own.
At this time, he forgot about the evil he had done in Dolon and the crimes he had committed.
But maybe in his mind, it was just a small mistake. In these turbulent years, who had such a clean butt?
However, he still followed the cautious attitude of Wannian Ship. He only sent two of his officers to lead people to contact the city first, while he led a large group of people to watch a few miles away, in case the situation went bad and someone could escape.
Opportunity.
But he didn't expect that these guilty subordinates would be warmly received by Zhou Wen in person. Not only did he take them to eat and drink, but he also praised the newly appointed Commander Liu of the Fourth Division.
He boasted that if Commander Liu had not led all the officers and soldiers of the division to fight the enemy bravely, he would not have won his subsequent victory.
With sincere and enthusiastic praise and several cups of yellow soup, even the bandits who had personally experienced the defeat believed that it was indeed their own troops that had exhausted Li Shouxin's puppet army, and this was why the 29th Army
The friendly forces of the Independent Regiment took advantage.
Therefore, the few cowards and idiots who were originally so guilty that they had their backs straightened up a lot after listening to Zhou Wen's praise. When they heard that Zhou Wen was going to visit Master Liu in person at night, they all clapped their hands.
I agreed with a single breath in my chest.
Seeing that Zhou Wen only brought a dozen followers to follow them out of the city, these bandits were completely relieved. They all had their chests out and their bellies burping, and they took Zhou Wen and the others to the camp a few miles away.
go.
Little did they know that as soon as they left, hundreds of black shadows on horseback followed them quietly a few hundred meters behind.
With Zhou Wen's night vision ability, he spotted several flames flickering in front of him from a distance of more than a mile. He knew at a glance that it was a bonfire lit by the remnants of Liu Guitang.
You must know that there is a huge temperature difference between morning and evening on the prairie. Although it is already May, the temperature is still very low at night. How can Liu Guitang's bandits hold on? It is appropriate to light a few bonfires to keep warm.
When he got here, Zhou Wen no longer needed these bandits to lead the way. He waved his hand and the team members around him understood. They rode forward and rode side by side with the bandits. They smiled and said compliments, but the daggers in their hands secretly stabbed them.
Just poke it.
In order not to make any noise, those who did it were all veterans. The few well-fed and drunk bandits died quickly and peacefully, at least they became dead ghosts.
Liu Guitang, on the grassland, had no food or wine to eat. At this moment, he was sitting next to a campfire, chewing a piece of dry steamed bun in his mouth tastelessly, but his eyes kept looking in the direction of Duolun.
In his heart, he was scolding several of his subordinates who went to contact him.
"Why did those gangsters go away for such a long time and never come back? Leave me hanging here to blow the cold wind, and wait until you come back to see if I beat the butts of these gangsters to bits."
As for the city's response, Liu Guitang analyzed various situations in his mind. The worst result was that they would beat up a few of his men and then drive away.
He never imagined that others were directly aiming for his life.
It’s exactly this: there is a road to heaven but you don’t take it, and there is no door to hell but you come here instead.
At this time, his bandits were all resting in groups here and there around the campfire. Liu Guitang looked around and suddenly felt his heart beating a little too hard for no reason, and a bad intuition came to his heart.
He immediately stood up and said loudly: "Get up, everyone, let's leave here right away."
"Boss, apart from the national army in the city, there are no enemies anywhere. Let the brothers take a rest. Not only are we tired, our horses are also tired after a long day..."
Just when one of his men was chirping and not wanting to move, he suddenly heard a heart-stopping whistling sound in the air.
"It's...it's a cannonball..." an experienced bandit officer suddenly changed his face and shouted.
But it's too late.
"Boom...boom...boom..."
A dozen shining fires that could blind the eyes in the dark night, accompanied by deafening explosions, rose up among the bandits.
