stubborn thief

Chapter 118 Vision
Luo Rucai stood in front of the formation with a pale complexion.

His head was tied with green jade hairpins and plain bandages, his upper body was covered with bright red silk with dark flowers, and his lower body was wearing black satin thick cotton trousers, which were fastened with a jade leather belt in the middle. He wore a soap-faced official shoe on his left foot and a chamois on his right Leather boots.

At this time, the jade pendant on his body was trembling, trembling from the jaws to the soles of the feet, his left hand kept clutching the right arm and the right arm wearing the three rings of gold, silver and copper in front of him, staring nervously. Big eyes, staring straight ahead.

In the distance, across the golden millet field, the officers and soldiers are silently shuttling back and forth to line up.

Luo Rucai robbed countless wealthy landlords and attacked several earth-enclosed compounds, but he never fought with the frontier army.

Although he frantically collected information about all the officers and soldiers, the officers and soldiers he imagined were still different from what he saw with his own eyes.

He knew everyone behind him was terrified.

No matter those big-bellied ghosts who are destined to die within a few days, or the desperadoes who looted everywhere with him, they must be as afraid as he is.

A heart trembled in an empty chest, and no one could control this fear.

People haven't run, it's all because he's all alone at the head of the line.

Looking at the left and right, the left side is the Chuangta Tianbu, and the right side is the Sheta Tianbu.

The two bandits were not far away from him, forming a square formation, and the leaders were in the middle of the team surrounded by healthy soldiers with bows and knives.

In front of them are small flag officers and less powerful firecrackers, holding Yishui Yan'an Wei made single-eyed and three-eyed firecrackers in their hands.

It's not that the firecrackers are weak, but under the order of Liu Ying's instructor, they use the firecrackers because of their weak strength.

At this time, the two teams had already started to mobilize before the battle, and the soldiers shouted in unison after a while, which made Luo Rucai confused and felt that he should also say something to his subordinates.

The allies on the side were extremely weak, but they could still calm down Luo Rucai's nervousness a little.

He turned around, cocked his thumb and smiled, "Those two bastards are about to run up the city wall and turn a corner, and they are actually hiding behind the soldiers."

Looking past the heavy spears of the hungry people, Luo Rucai looked at the cavalry wandering behind, gritted his teeth, suddenly pulled the jade pendant from his waist and threw it on the ground, and smiled at the people: "Are you all scared? It's okay, let me listen to you." , Death is fate, damn it, I can’t hide, I’m standing at the front, when the cannons from the government and army come, I’ll die first.”

"In this world, what's wrong with dying? Look at your virtues. You don't even have armor. If you don't die today, you will die tomorrow."

"Let's stand here for a while. The officers and soldiers will not go forward. When we return to camp tonight, Erye Liu will give you fifty collars in cloth masks and iron armor. If the officers and soldiers go forward, my uncle will lead you when I die. My uncle is also dead. , Yang Chengzu will lead you, eat a cannonball, and Liu Erye will give you a hundred collars for the cloth mask."

"Your parents, wives and children are all sent away. Today I will take you to stand here. I will take a look at the crossbow in a while. Don't shoot at me. If God wants to take it, let it take me away. God Before accepting me, start with yourself, and kill whoever runs away! Well, sit down."

In fact, Luo Rucai's order of who runs and kills is basically useless to his subordinates.

Those starving people in his formation could hardly stand still with their big guns, and they couldn't run even if they wanted to.

Not to mention that there are a considerable number of people among them, all with bulging belly and the appearance of eating a lot of Avalokitesvara soil, they may die standing up.

It's easier for them to sit still than to run away.

With a sound of 'all sit down', a large group of people sat down with a clatter.

At this moment, with a bang, the opposite cannon rang.

Three heavy artillery bombardment.

A solid iron bullet whizzed past Luo Rucai with a whistling sound, swept away three long spears, knocked the hungry people with guns who had just sat down and rolled over, and then fell to the back of the formation, kicked up a piece of soil, and bounced up again After sweeping back more than ten steps, he sank into the yellow earth.

Liu Chengzong could see clearly with his binoculars on the mountain ridge. He praised Cao Yao: "The officers and soldiers fired artillery, and there was chaos on the left and right. The officers were maintaining their formation, and only the Chinese army was not in chaos... Then Cao Cao didn't even turn his head. man!"

After finishing speaking, he handed the binoculars to Cao Yao, and Cao Yao admired it again and again after looking at it.

It was because of the low magnification of the binoculars these days that he couldn't see the soldiers in the Chinese army trembling with their heads curled up, and he couldn't see the expression on Luo Rucai's face.

It is one thing to know and prepare for death sooner or later, but another to be afraid when it comes.

It's not that Luo Ru didn't even turn his head, he wanted to look back.

But his legs were weak, and when he turned half his body, his legs were so weak that he just wanted to kneel down, and he couldn't turn his head.

I have heard of artillery countless times before, but it was really scary to be hit by artillery for the first time.

The fist-sized iron ball passed by with a whoosh sound, and the loess was compacted when it hit the ground. Is it okay to hit someone?
But Luo Rucai was still standing.

His legs are weak because he is afraid, he is indeed afraid, but kneeling down is an admission of cowardice.

Fear is an uncontrollable nature, cowardice is a personal choice.

So he drew out the knife, pressed the handle with both hands to support it, and the words that came out of his neck were trembling: "Look up for me, I'm still standing!"

There was another bang behind the ground, which made him shrug his shoulders in fright. The shell ran over the formation, smashed his shoulder and bounced to the other head, smashing the head like a walnut and splashing blood, and finally pierced into the human body. He beat the last desperado in the procession so that his chest was dented.

The hungry people whose shoulders were smashed fell to the ground and screamed incessantly. The hungry people around them squeezed away with their hands and feet like avoiding the plague. Finally, some people couldn't stand the pressure and ran back from the crowd screaming.

Luo Rucai didn't know where the strength came from, suddenly there was strength in his legs, and he shouted: "Come back, come back!"

Seeing his subordinates stand up one by one and run back, he opened his bow and arrow and made a gesture to shoot, only then did he stop the formation from collapsing.

The three people who fled did not go far, only ran more than ten steps, and then slowly retreated.

The widest part of the river valley was only [-] paces, Yang Yao was carrying Marshal Ma's flag, and the frontier army under his command rode their horses and stretched out a horizontal formation, which stretched out to a width of [-] paces, they had nowhere to run.

However, even though Luo Rucai's troops had the worst combat effectiveness and the weakest fighting will, they were the best-performing team no matter in the eyes of Liu Chengzong or Li Bei on the other side.

In Liu Guoneng's battle, there were people running from the sound of the cannon, and not a single shell fell on his team, but more than 30 people ran away in the team.

Li Wanqing was hit by a cannonball, but he didn't escape on a large scale, but there was confusion for a while, as if the soldiers were trying to persuade Li Wanqing to retreat.

Only Luo Ru was like this. Those who really wanted to run had no energy to run, so they ran three times in the end.

On the hillside, Liu Chengzong scanned the three formations with his binoculars. The situation was much better than he imagined, and then he looked at the enemy formation.

The phalanx of the officers and soldiers is in front, and the cavalry, vehicles, and officers are lined up in the formation, and the infantry guards the four sides and digs trenches on the spot, and four small cannons are placed on each side.

Afterwards, the large formation of the Chinese army was moving the wooden fence ropes, and also dug trenches outside the formation. Four jacked Francophones were placed on all sides of the Chinese army, and the three heavy artillery mounted on the two-wheeled artillery carts in front of them had been loaded with gunpowder.

It seemed that Li Bei was not in a hurry to fight.

Liu Chengzong put down the binoculars and asked his elder brother, "Brother, how many people are there in Li Bei?"

"Three generals, the casualties in the battle are limited, one thousand two three."

"I remember that King Chuang said that there were civilian men recruited from Yanchuan, dragging the artillery team to transport the luggage. There should be at least 800 people, and now there are only [-] people there."

Liu Chengzu frowned when he heard the words, then raised his arm and pointed to the mountain in the southeast direction: "Could it be that the civilian husband is on the other side of the mountain, and the army on the opposite side is full of sergeants?"

Liu Chengzong shook his head, handed the binoculars over and said: "You can understand after looking at it, there are unarmored civilian husbands in there, Li Bei has divided his troops."

Liu Chengzu took the telescope and couldn't help being shocked.

It is difficult to see the clues when watching the battle normally, but with the help of equipment, it is easy to see the situation of the soldiers in Li Bei's formation.

This kind of thing is clear to Liu Chengzu at a glance: "Three generals of cavalry, less than two generals of infantry, lions, let someone send a message to Panlongchuan, and one of Li Bei's generals chased Gao Chuang to the king's department." The infantry went."

The terrain here is very simple. The official road goes from south to north along the river valley, goes up through the meander of the river, and goes west to Panlongchuan at Gangu Station.

There is also a road in the mountains. It is difficult to walk over the mountains and ridges. Only infantry can pass through, and there are many long detours. Finally, the exit will be seen in the southern mountains where the Panlong River flows into the Yanhe River.

Gao Yingxiang's infantry walked that way, abandoning their mules and horses to carry food, and took a difficult road, trying to avoid Li Bei's troops.

At this moment, Li Bei's three divisions are always short of individuals, so there is only one possibility, Li Bei's team has people who are familiar with the terrain, and the large troops are here to delay time, while the small troops enter the mountain.

"Wei Qian'er, send someone along the official road to send a message to Panlongchuan. The Monkey King is resting there. Tell him to take precautions on the mountain road in the south to meet the Chuangwang. The enemy may have five hundred infantry. "

But this is just a guess. Wei Qian'er was ordered to leave when he was stopped by Liu Chengzong and said: "Tang Qi went to explore the Hexi Mountains."

One of Li Bei's troops jumped to the outside and disappeared in their field of vision, which undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on Liu Chengzong.

No one can guarantee what the task of that force is.

Li Bei was more cautious, chasing the infantry of the intruders, looting the luggage, and surrounding the two parts of the river, forming a siege, pinching them in the river valley, it is possible.

Li Bei was careful, gave up chasing the Chuangbu, and directly lurked in the mountains west of Hequ, waiting for an opportunity to cooperate with the main force to attack them, it is also very possible.

This is not the first big battle that Liu Chengzong and others have participated in. In the past, they had various missions, some were grassroots captains, and some were the most dangerous draft strikers.

But that was all local, and this was the first battle where they really stood in the overall situation and personally commanded it.

"If I can survive this battle, I will get a team of messengers when I go back."

Liu Chengzong shook his head and said to the left and right: "We are the same as the armor of the officers and soldiers, and the banners are very simple. There are only a few thousand people in the front and back. All the orders in each formation run on two legs. If Li Bei's men are hiding in the mountains, they will ride alone. Get in and run to the front line, believe it or not, you can lose us with just one word."

It's very simple, only one cavalry is needed, and when Liu Guoneng, Li Wanqing, and Luo Rucai ran to Liu Guoneng, Li Wanqing, and Luo Rucai for a while, they shouted, "General, order to retreat." '

They don't have to play.

Liu Chengzong sighed, this battle has just begun, and his biggest feeling is that his own soft power is insufficient, and all tactics and strategies are based on strength.

Li Bei's three heavy artillery fired two more rounds. After the initial fear, the soldiers on the left and right had adapted to this less intensive shelling.

The two sides had a little misunderstanding for Li Bei because of the different information they knew.

The Luo Rucai Department of the Central Army was very in line with Li Bei's impression of the elite bandits.

Dressed in colorful clothes in front of the formation, sitting on the ground at the place, the whole formation is very strict, the leader stands upright in front, the whole arena is reckless.

Isn't this the elite thieves?
On the other hand, the two formations on the left and right, wearing the nail armor of the Weisuo Banner Army, appeared to be in chaos after a little bombardment, and the formation could only be stabilized by the Chinese army staying still.

Therefore, two rounds of bombardment of six shells, the first time the rain and dew were evenly applied, and the second time the three heavy artillery focused on Luo Rucai's department.

The two hit shells once again plowed the bleeding path in the formation, and the four shells alone directly caused 16 casualties to Luo Rucai's troops.

Even Luo Rucai, who had the largest bombardment area in front of the battle, peed out of his pants.

I peed a little and held back.

He was still standing with his back to the enemy, and the waist knife stuck on the ground could no longer support him, so he replaced it with a spear.

On the other side of Mizidi, on the mound piled up by excavating trenches, Li Bei looked at the figure standing in front of the battle with a spear from a distance, and sighed: "Stop the artillery, there is not much gunpowder, and three cannons alone are very powerful." It’s hard to impress them.”

In his consciousness, if the central army is not defeated, it is difficult for the two wings to retreat directly.

But if he advances further, to the position where the four Franco cannons can also focus fire, his troops will be bombarded by the enemy's position on the hill.

This is really a beautiful misunderstanding.

In fact, Liu Guoneng and Li Wanqing's troops on the left and right are the manifestations of high morale and courage.

"Why did the gun stop?"

Luo Rucai breathed a sigh of relief when the officers and soldiers stopped shelling, but at the same time began to fear.

He was worried about the army entering the army.

During the four rounds of bombardment, a dozen or so of his subordinates, who were hungry and hungry, had already lost their breath.

Those who were strangled to death were almost more dead than those who were shot to death by cannons.

Now he is not afraid of the officers and soldiers bombarding him from afar, he is afraid, but what he is really afraid of is the officers and soldiers entering close combat.

Once the army enters and the three battles start, half of his men may not be able to stand up.

Fortunately, the official army has no plans to enter the army.

Luo Rucai was drenched in sweat so many times today, he breathed a sigh of relief, and raised his eyes to look at Jiapao Mountain, feeling dizzy and extremely dizzy.

Soon, news came from Wei Qian'er's subordinates that they had ridden along the mountain road for ten miles from the northwest mountain pass and found no trace of the enemy. However, when they climbed the mountain, some people waved the flag of the enemy.

Immediately afterwards, another rider came to report that on the other side of the mountain, there was indeed an army of officials walking northwest. When they found out that they were passing through the mountain road, they only saw more than a hundred people.

Liu Chengzong clapped his hands hard in front of him: "That's right! Li Bei wants to encircle us!"

Gao Yingxiang showed worry, and sighed, "I don't know if the Dirty Monkeys can stop them."

"I can't stop it. There are only a thousand monkeys in the sky. The cavalry of King Chuang have been fighting for several days. I am afraid that they have no strength without the horses. King Chuang has 500 cavalry, three teams outside, and my brother's more than [-] people. Even if Li Bei enters the army It can also block him."

Liu Chengzong weighed the power he had in his heart, and took a deep breath: "I'll go, I'll take the cavalry over, abandon the horses and hang them over the mountains, and eat them up. In the future, Li Bei's 800 men are not easy to deal with. Is it?"

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)