stubborn thief

Chapter 175 Meeting in a narrow road

Yang Yao, like Liu Chengzong, is very resistant to entering the mountain in the depths of his heart.

Lion camp is used to shuttle between mountains and beams, but not used to take the mountain roads of such big mountains as Meridian Ridge and Huanglong Mountain.

Those small hills and valleys are barren mountains, and this kind of big mountains are barren mountains, with undeveloped jungles that are inaccessible on both sides, and there is no place to run.

What he was most worried about was not the Ningxia soldiers led by He Huchen, but Du Wenhuan's Yulin Army.

At that time, there will be Ningxia soldiers in the west and Yulin soldiers in the east. They will be blocked in the mountain road of Huanglong Mountain, and both ends will be dead.

Facing Li Laozheng daring to wait for him in Yanzhou, He Huchen felt very surprised, he had never seen such a thing.

More than 2000 people dare to line up against him?
The result is self-evident, after a little fighting, Li Laozhen and Ma Maoguan were hit head-on by He Huchen again.

On the other hand, Zhang Tianlin in the north and Yang Yao in the south, although they had few troops, each fought back and forth with three hundred Ningxia soldiers. They didn't leave the battlefield until Li Laozhen of the Chinese army retreated to the mountains.

After the battle was over, He Huchen was not very happy to see the thieves running and retreating.

What about luggage?
What about Li Lao Jackal's food?

No more!

Li Laozheng ran away into the deep mountains, leaving two soldiers and horses on Hexi Road, one south and one north, looking at him from a distance, he looked different from a thief, they all had order flags, obviously a team composed of deserters.

He Huchen divided the troops into three groups, one to pursue Li Laozhen, one to station at Xishan Pass, and one to drive Zhang Tianlin northward.

Among them, the team driving Zhang Tianlin was the most important. They also had a mission to send a message to Du Wenhuan that the bandits had entered Huanglong Mountain and asked him to go to Yichuan to stop the bandits.

There were fewer pursuers, but Li Laozhen, who was running ahead, did not feel at ease.

Without the burden of baggage, Li Laozheng began to try to seize the initiative.

Every night, headed eastward along the mountain road, looking for a place to sleep at dawn, defending on the spot when I woke up, fighting the officers and soldiers when I saw them, and continuing to run if I couldn't beat them.

The front of the Ningxia soldiers chased twice, they were waiting for the troops behind, and they didn't want to go deep alone, which also gave Li Laozhen an opportunity to take advantage of.

In the habit of reversing day and night, Li Laozhen became more and more proficient in marching at night, and the distance he walked became longer and longer.

Zhang Tianlin is also guiding the fighting form to what he is best at. He took his friends from Ningxia through Yanzhou, passing through Ganquan, and walked 150 miles in a day and a half.

Ningxia's friends stopped playing with him and thought he was a fool.

Going north, isn't Yan'an Fucheng to the north?Didn't Du Wenhuan's Yulin Army just arrive today?
Zhang Tianlin was scared to death.

In the past, when he marched like this, he would always do a good job in sentry work, but this time, thinking that he came from Yan'an Fucheng, he just ran forward.

When I got back to Yan'an Fucheng, just in time for Du Wenhuan to enter the city, I hurriedly let go of my girl and ran westward.

Fortunately, Du Wenhuan's troops did not expect that the bandit soldiers would dare to be so blatant.

They thought Zhang Tianlin was a friendly army, and they didn't realize something was wrong until Zhang Tianlin started running.

Zhang Tianlin ran a marathon, and the Ningxia Army and Yulin Army competed with him in a relay race.

On the third day of the first battle in Kunzhou, Zhang Tianlin ran into Ansai;

He Huchen's 300 men and Du Wenhuan's 600 men, the frontier troops from the two towns were all asking about him, and they had to kill him if they caught him.

Things were different from Du Wenhuan's imagination. He asked someone to send a letter to the magistrate's yamen, saying that [-] officers and troops had entered Yan'an Fucheng, but Liu Chengzong did not show up this time.

We can only read the imperial decree first, take Zhang Nian down, escort him to Yulin, and then send him to the capital via the Great Wall.

On the day Zhang Nian left, the whole city of Yan'an was hungry.

After finishing this matter, Du Wenhuan received the news from He Huchen, and hurriedly mobilized his troops and rushed to Yanchang County.

Yang Yao on the other side was much more relaxed than Zhang Tianlin. He realized on the first day that he was no match for the Ningxia soldiers stationed at Xishankou.

He Huchen stayed there with a total of 1000 people, and even occupied the camp he had repaired. As for Yang Yao's [-] or so people, it was very difficult to harass, let alone fight.

So Yang Yao didn't fight to the death with this group of people, and led his troops to make a detour to the south, and returned to the north to station on the mountain at the junction of Kunzhou City and Ganquan County.

He was running out of rations, and he heard from Li Laojie that he had thrown the rations into the valley on the other side of Zhiluo, and sent someone to look for them, but they couldn't find them.

Just when Yang Yao didn't know what to do, the troops He Huchen sent to the north came back.

The two generals each lead about [-] soldiers, one in front of the other, half a day's walk apart.

The leader in front was in a good state of mind, Yang Yao didn't dare to provoke him, so he hid in the ravine.

The one behind was always tossed miserably by Zhang Tianlin, sleepy, tired and hungry, the whole team was listless, and they still passed through a relatively safe area, and their spirits were also very relaxed.

Originally, when Yang Yao saw their appearance, he was still in doubt about whether to fight or not.

After all, the mental state of the outpost cavalry was not very good. The officers and soldiers ran around everywhere. They lost contact with the battalion headquarters across a mountain, and their attack on the officers and soldiers was frustrated.

Unfortunately, this officer army led a few sheep from nowhere.

Seeing the sheep, Yang Yao made a decision in his heart, he must destroy this group of officers and soldiers.

On the one hand, the soldiers of the Lion Battalion had a lot of meat supplies, but on the other hand they were very short of meat.

Eating tendon meat from horses and donkeys all day long made me a little tired. Everyone missed the fatty mutton and pork very much.

Mutton was too tempting for them.

Especially for Yang Yao, who robbed the official bank some time ago, the general gave them the money and asked them to go to the village to spend it. Yang Yao led his troops to several villages looking for sheep.

Only four were found, and they were all lambs, and the people expected them to produce lambs.

To be honest, the imposing chief of the lion camp in northern Shaanxi, swallowing his saliva in front of the sheep pen, made the people of Yanchuan laugh for half a year.

The news of the sheep was conveyed to the outpost horsemen, and everyone's morale was suddenly boosted.

After ambushing for a while, the officers and soldiers didn't even have time to wear their armor. Before the formation shifted from the long snake, they were intercepted by Yang Yao's cavalry in three directions.

Both the front and back lanes were galloping horses shooting, shooting a few arrows for close combat, only the middle lane was the worst, the cavalry soldiers charged at the waist of the team with several loaded cannons loaded with ammunition.

When he came over, he got off his horse, pressed the small cannon to the ground, and ignited it to blast out the sky.

Create the first victory since the start of the battle.

That night, the cave at the eastern foot of Ziwu Ridge was shining brightly, and the outpost horsemen set up a fire in the cave and ate roast lamb.

"This smell is simply a gift from God!"

Yang Yao held a bunch of skewers in his hand and distributed them to the soldiers, saying: "Hurry up, hurry up, send them to the brothers on guard while they are hot, and there will be more when you come back!"

"Damn it, it's a pity that there are no steamed buns. If I knew I could eat mutton today, I should have steamed some steamed buns a few days ago."

Steamed buns are steamed buns. Lion Camp has noodles, but the steamed buns are fluffy and bulky, and hard to carry and eat when dried.

It is more suitable than fried noodles.

Yang Yao poured a small mouthful of fried noodles into his mouth, took a bite of the mutton skewers, and reminded his subordinates: "Don't just eat meat, the general said, people can't just eat fried noodles, it's not good for your health, come and order."

As he spoke, he reached out and handed a few cloves of peeled garlic to his subordinates.

The night when Yang Yao squatted and ate in the cave was probably his happiest day since the Guyuan Mutiny a year ago.

After eating and drinking enough, Yang Yao couldn't help thinking about how to fight this battle.

Although a handful of headquarters were defeated, not many officers were directly killed by them. The outposts did not have the ability to annihilate or even surrender. They could only capture most of the soldiers and horses, and let the defeated officers flee south.

The army was strong, and He Huchen's Ningxia soldiers retreated, but Zhang Tianlin did not return, indicating that either he was driven too far away, or there was a problem in the north.

This made him very worried about the situation of the battle, and he wanted to send people into the mountain through the mountain trails to deliver news to Lion Bay, but he was afraid of exposing the situation in Lion Bay.

Before leaving, Liu Chengzong told him that in case of an accident, he could retreat from Lion Bay to the east. Going a little further north, there is a small mountain road that cannot be crossed to communicate with the east.

But that road cannot be taken unless it is absolutely necessary, otherwise it will expose people in Lion's Bay who are not good at fighting.

So Yang Yao did not inform his subordinates of this news.

Early the next morning, the guard post at the foot of the mountain came up to report that most of the officers and soldiers had already entered Huanglong Mountain, and the camp at Xishankou was still there, with more than [-] people staying behind.

There are guns on the stockade, and it is difficult for them to fight against them.

At this moment, he saw Zhang Tianlin's Tang Bing.

Zhang Tianlin was even more anxious than him. Although she was hiding in the Saimen Thousand Households, Ren Quan'er sent people to investigate the situation in Fucheng during the two days.

The situation that Ren Quan'er detected was much more complicated than he imagined.

The commander-in-chief of Yansui Town ran to Yan'an Fucheng to turn the prefect out of the city.

It is very strange that the last loyal minister of Yan'an Mansion was taken by the army.

Ren Quan'er sent people to inquire in many ways, but he did not find out how many officers and troops Du Wenhuan sent south, nor did he know their specific tasks.

The reason seems to be that Du Wenhuan suspected that there was still Zhang Nian's remaining party in Fucheng, and he was very careful about his own information. He only knew that Du Wenhuan had at least 500 people marched to Fucheng, and there were more people stationed in the east.

Now the troops from the east have left, and the 500 people are still in Yan'an Fucheng.

Zhang Tianlin's subordinates said: "The five hundred Yulin troops are expected to leave too. They asked Saimen and Nanbeiguan for food twice. If they don't leave, General Ren and Deputy Qianhu Shi and Chen will kill them." .”

Are all the thousands of households in Yan'an Mansion so inflated now?
To keep five hundred officers and troops, Yang Yao estimated that Du Wenhuan's troops would not be less than two thousand and five.

Yang Yao couldn't sit still anymore, at least [-] officers and troops were heading east, this news must be let to Liu Chengzong in the east as soon as possible.

He made up his mind to go north, and immediately said to Zhang Tianlin's subordinates: "Go back and tell Chief Zhang to stabilize General Ren, and then investigate the intelligence. I will lead the troops north and join forces with him to destroy the five hundred officers over there." .”

On the same day, Yang Yao led his troops to set off and sent Tang soldiers to walk through the mountain and enter Lion Bay from a small path, asking Liu Chengzu to find a way to send the news to Liu Chengzong as soon as possible.

On the other side of Huanglong Mountain, Li Laozhen, who had been fleeing for days, finally saw the dawn of survival.

Seeing the wooden fortifications built in the mountains from a distance, he was so happy that he was relieved as if seeing the backer.

It was just before dawn when Li Laozhen came, he didn't expect Liu Chengzong to go to meet him, and he also built a simple camp in the mountains.

"General Liu, I..."

Li Laozhen shook his head, unable to speak, for fear that if he said one more sentence, his nose would become sore and tears would flow out.

Three thousand brothers, dead and running, and those who sneaked into the mountains at night, he counted in front of the lion camp, and there were still 96 people following him.

This was the first time Liu Chengzong saw Li Laozheng. The man in front of him was tall and thin. Under the firelight, he had the aura of a gangster, but now he looked embarrassed, his hair was messy and his clothes were shabby, and he was very haggard.

Although he didn't say anything, Liu Chengzong knew what he wanted to say, so he just patted him and said: "The ones who stay are good guys."

This group of people experienced such a difficult escape, hiding day and night, and fighting several times.

Those who can’t walk, are unlucky, and have weak will, most of them are no longer in this team.

Liu Chengzong is not easy to estimate the talents of the remaining people, but these people have escaped, and the situation will be much better in the future.

At least given the opportunity to practice, they will have stronger willpower than others.

Li Laozhen nodded heavily, then looked around, and said: "General Liu, retreat to a place that can be opened, I can still fight."

Liu Chengzong didn't respond for the time being, turned around and ordered his subordinates to prepare some meals for Li Laojie and his group, and then asked, "He Huchen is still chasing you?"

"He's still chasing him during the day, if he doesn't kill me, he probably won't stop."

Liu Chengzong said in his heart that he might kill you, and he would not give up.

This is no longer a bandit suppression. He Huchen is the commander-in-chief of Ningxia. When Heshui County was attacked, he must have received a military order from Guyuan.

Drive Li Laozhen from Qingyang Mansion back to Yan'an, defeat once and the mission has been completed.

But He Huchen did not give up, defeated several times along the way, and set off from Ningxia to attack thousands of miles.

Even if it was for the sake of meritorious service, it would not be enough to fight to the point where this man is now exhausted.

Gu Yuan's order is probably not to annihilate Li Laojie.

"You take a good rest first, we have to drive He Huchen back to the west, this village is for the people behind to build."

Li Laozheng asked: "Is it repaired for the people behind?"

Liu Chengzong nodded slowly and said: "My people who stayed in Yanchuan said two days ago that Du Wenhuan had more than [-] soldiers and went to Yan'an Mansion. Just now, a letter was sent that Du Wenhuan camped in Yanchang County in the south, so...you have to run, you have to Run west."

Liu Chengzong couldn't relax about this situation either. His original idea was to pull He Huchen into Yichuan and use his strength and terrain advantages to defeat him.

More than 2000 officers and troops have never fought.

But when he learned of Du Wenhuan's army advance in the north, the pressure suddenly rose a lot.

The coordinated march of the two commanders was much more powerful than Liu Chengzong imagined.

He said: "It is 160 miles away, and Du Wenhuan will be stationed in Yichuan by the afternoon of the next day at the latest."

Li Laojie said anxiously: "Then get out quickly, go to Hukou, go to Shanxi."

"It's too late for you to run east now. You can still walk ten miles before dawn. You will leave Yichuan at midnight tomorrow, and Du Wenhuan caught you sleeping during the day."

Liu Chengzong looked calmer, shook his head and said: "Unless I don't care about you and go to Shanxi by myself, I just have to wait for you here, and I won't be able to go to the east."

"Even if you escape by chance and are chased away by seven or eight thousand officers and soldiers, it will be a dead end."

"What should I do?"

"There is only one way, fight the front and drag the back, first push He Huchen back to Huanglong Mountain."

His voice made Li Laozhen shudder, and said: "The mountain road is too narrow, you want to confront the officers and soldiers head-on?"

Liu Chengzong did not speak, raised his chin slightly, and clenched his teeth.

We met on a narrow road.

　Ah, it's past twelve o'clock, this is yesterday's chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)