Chapter six hundred and forty fifth head-on attack
Not long after, Pei Chen and his party arrived at Zhengping County. They entered the county through the south gate. The county was bustling as usual, and there was no sign that a war had occurred here last night. They stopped in front of the state government office, and Zhao Wen greeted them.
"Why did the head of the family come in person?" Zhao Wencai asked in surprise.
"I came to see Mr. Guo, where is he?"
"He is outside the North City and is about to lead his army south, but he should be able to make arrangements in time. I will make arrangements for the head of the family."
Zhao Wencai and Pei Chen hurried outside the north city. They saw that 20,000 cavalry had been assembled and were about to set off. Zhao Wencai found Guo Song and said to him: "The head of the Pei family has just come from Wenxi County and wants to meet His Highness."
Guo Song was startled, immediately got off his horse, pointed to a large tent not far away and said: "Please go to the tent to talk, Master Pei!"
Not long after, Zhao Wen brought Pei Chen to the big tent. Guo Song had been waiting at the entrance of the tent for a long time. Guo Song clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Servant Pei, I haven't seen you for many years!"
When Guo Song was in Fengzhou, Pei Chen was the Minister of War, and they often interacted with each other.
Pei Chen raised his hands and said with a smile: "I haven't seen you for many years, but Guo Shijun's demeanor remains the same, and his achievements are even better than before. I'm very happy to congratulate him!"
The two of them walked into the tent and sat down. The soldiers served them tea. Pei Chen smiled and asked, "If Hedong Road is captured, have you considered moving Tiance Mansion to Hedong?"
Guo Song thought for a while and said frankly: "I have indeed considered that if the time comes, our military headquarters will move from Hexi to Taiyuan."
"Thank you Guo Shijun for your candor. This time I went to Huoyi County to have a good chat with Guo Shijun. Since Guo Shijun is eager to send troops, I will make a long story short and ask you to reuse the Wang family and the Xue family in Taiyuan.
It can be seen that Shijun attaches great importance to the family, and I wonder if there will be a place for the Pei family in the Tiance Mansion in the future?"
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "As long as the Pei family is interested, of course I will warmly welcome you!"
........
Guo Song led 20,000 cavalrymen from Zhengping County and rushed southward. The 20,000 cavalrymen on the official road were like a long dragon, so powerful that the dust covered the sky and the sun.
At dusk, the army arrived at a small town called Baibi Town. There were large woods and grasslands in the south of the town, and a small river flowed through the outside. It was a good place to camp.
The army had just rested for less than an hour when a scout came to report that traces of 5,000 enemy troops were found fifty miles away to the south.
By this time, it was already dark. Guo Song immediately ordered his troops to rise up. Twenty thousand cavalrymen mounted their horses and slowed down and ran towards the south...
Five thousand soldiers were also resting on a grassland. To the east was a large forest and surrounded by rivers. There was a river with the resting place of the Hexi Army.
The five thousand troops were all infantry. The general was named Zhang Wanjin, who was Shi Quan's deputy general. He received a flying pigeon order from the general Shi Quan, ordering him to immediately lead his troops north to join forces.
At this time, Zhengping County blocked the news. Zhang Wanjin did not know that the five thousand troops he was going to join had been destroyed, let alone that Shi Quan was dead. He planned to rest for a night, march for another day tomorrow, and arrive at Zhengping County at night.
It was already April, the fields were full of spring, the temperature was comfortable at night, the soldiers were sleeping soundly, and the commander Zhang Wanjin was also sleeping soundly.
There were many patrol posts on the outside, and they were watching the surrounding fields with vigilance. In the fields, the dusk was dim, and the outline of the village was faintly visible in the distance.
At this time, a large number of birds suddenly flew up in the woods. Several patrol guards noticed this abnormality and immediately ran to report it to the captain on duty.
The captain on duty also looked towards the woods and saw a large number of birds flying in the woods again, several miles long. He was shocked and turned pale, and immediately ordered: "Call the police!"
'call out--'
Several thunderbolts were shot into the sky, and those who were sleeping were awakened one after another. However, they were not awakened by the thunderbolts, but the earth trembled, waking them up from their sleep.
At this time, countless cavalry emerged from the woods and attacked the Jin army's camp.
The horses of the Hexi Army came with great speed. Many soldiers near the woods just stood up and before they had time to stand still, the horses swept past them and heads flew up one after another.
The soldiers sleeping far away got up in a panic. They didn't even have time to put on their shoes, and ran around naked. As they ran, they tore off their heavy armor. There was a small river in front of them, but the river was very shallow. The water in the river is only up to one's knees.
The soldiers rushed across the water and ran wildly in the dark wilderness, but after less than a hundred steps, countless cavalry came from the opposite side and they were surrounded.
The cavalry shouted, "Those who surrender will not be killed! Those who surrender will not be killed!"
The soldiers finally woke up from a dream and knelt down one after another begging for mercy.
Zhang Wanjin led a dozen soldiers to flee to the southwest, which was where he came from, but he met Pei Xin, the general of the army, Zhang Wanjin was shocked and turned his face, and hurriedly urged his horse to gallop towards the diagonal.
Pei Xin, however, was not in a hurry. He raised his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot out an arrow. The arrow was like lightning, hitting the hind leg of Zhang Wanjin's horse, breaking the tendon of the horse. Zhang Wanjin's horse neighed and fell to the ground, and Zhang Wanjin was also overturned. Landing ten steps away.
His soldiers rushed forward to rescue him, but it was too late. Hundreds of soldiers from the Hexi Army swarmed forward and stabbed him with spears. More than a dozen of his soldiers were killed, and Zhang Wanjin was also stabbed to death by spears.
The 30,000 Hexi Army cavalry surrounded the 5,000 Jin Army from all directions. In fact, they could not escape from the Hexi Army's encirclement. Under the powerful offensive of the Hexi Army, the Jin Army quickly collapsed, kneeling all over the field, and the soldiers were frightened. He was so timid that he didn't dare to move, for fear that if he stood up, he would be killed by the opponent's cavalry.
The cavalry of the Hexi Army lit hundreds of large torches and formed a large circle. All the surrendered soldiers were driven into the circle and sat down. Thousands of cavalry were guarding the outside. The cavalry of the Hexi Army were sweeping the battlefield around, and more than 500 soldiers were killed. The corpses of the enemy soldiers were buried, and various armors, weapons and other trophies were piled up.
Four thousand five hundred soldiers sat on the ground uneasy, not knowing what fate they would face.
At this time, the soldiers built a high platform, and a tall general stood on the high platform. All the soldiers looked at him.
"I am Guo Song, the governor of Hexi Province!"
The soldiers immediately exclaimed, this is the world-famous Guo Song.
Guo Song paused for a moment, then continued: "I led troops to conquer the north and south, and I know very well the sufferings of soldiers. Their military salaries are low and their treatment is poor. Everyone has parents, wives and children at home, and you still have to support your family. Even though we are enemies, I try not to kill anyone and save everyone’s lives..."
Guo Song's words resonated with the soldiers, and many soldiers cried softly.
"I treat all surrendered troops equally. If they are willing to go home, we will give them three buckets of rice and send them back to their hometowns to work in agriculture. If they are willing to join the Hexi Army, they need to undergo two months of training and then be classified as third-class soldiers. The military salary for other soldiers is two dollars per month. According to regulations, half is given in cash and the other half is given to land. The land is accumulated and given when they retire. All Hexi Army soldiers welcome this plan, and so do you, everyone. Consider for yourself whether you want to return home or stay and join the Hexi Army, and wait for everyone's decision after dawn."
Guo Song's words aroused a strong reaction from the surrendering soldiers. His sincerity and understanding of the soldiers deeply touched the hearts of every soldier, and actually made every surrendering soldier feel a desire from the bottom of his heart.
A strong desire to serve him.
After dawn, the surrendering soldiers began to register. All 4,500 surrendering soldiers were willing to continue to join the army and serve Guo Song, and no one left.
Guo Song immediately ordered a Zhonglang general to lead a thousand cavalry and 4,500 surrender troops to Zhengping County to join them.
Guo Song then led his army to march eastward towards Luzhou. At the same time, Yao Jin also led 15,000 soldiers from Huoyi County to Linfen County. Linfen County was also the only way for Guo Song's army to go to Shangdang County.
Road, where 5,000 soldiers of the Hexi Army have already been stationed. The three armies will converge in Linfen County, and a total of 40,000 troops will launch the final offensive against Luzhou.
.........
Training was also going on in the big camp outside Shangdang County. Under Li Huaiguang's forced order, 8,000 militia soldiers from Luzhou and Zezhou rushed to Shangdang County. Li Huaiguang directly organized these 8,000 people into the Eagle Army.
Yang Jun, plus his 8,000 Longxiang Army and 7,000 Huben Army in Shangdang, the total strength reached 23,000, which made Li Huaiguang breathe a little sigh of relief.
In the big tent, Li Huaiguang was pacing with his hands behind his hands, looking a little restless. The 10,000 troops he deployed in Jiangzhou had lost contact. Now he no longer counted on the 7,000 civilian regiments in Jiangzhou, but only hoped for one of Jiangzhou's troops.
Wan's army was able to return to Luzhou safely, but now it seems that the situation may be even worse.
"Mr. Han, what do you think is the possibility that the 10,000 troops can return?" Li Huaiguang couldn't help but asked his staff Han Yu.
A wry smile appeared at the corner of Han Yu's mouth, and he hesitated for a while and said: "I know General Shi very well. He is cautious and will inform the prince in advance of any actions. Moreover, he has homing pigeons and homing eagles. For such a big thing as withdrawing from Luzhou, he is sure
Will report in time."
"You mean something has happened to him?"
Han Yu nodded, "I heard that the Hexi Army has entered Linfen County, so I felt bad."
"Damn Guo Song, you're going too far!"
Li Huaiguang was so angry that he punched the table hard.