Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 56 Coupling
Zhao Yong and the others had also spotted the horse team in the distance, and overjoyed, they rode their horses forward desperately, but the bandits behind them gradually approached, and the distance between the two sides was less than fifty steps.

There were about a hundred cavalry who came to meet Lu Xiang and the others. The leader of the team had already spotted Lu Xiangtong and the three cavalry in the front, so he raised his hand, and the army cavalry began to accelerate forward. The two sides were facing each other , The distance of a few miles is short, and there are large farmlands on both sides of the official road. The officers and soldiers waved their hands again and again. Lu Xiangtong and the three of them understood that they rode their horses into the farmland when they were a few hundred steps away from the rescue horse team. To give way to the horse team to charge, Zhao Yong and others who were dozens of steps behind also urged the horses to run down the official road and rushed directly into the field. At this time, they didn't care about trampling the earing wheat.

The thieves who were chasing after them did not notice the arrival of the other side's reinforcements because the dust was flying up and blocked their sight. It was not until the fleeing enemies in front rode their horses into the farmland that their sight was no longer blocked. Two or three miles away, a group of cavalry was rushing towards them, and the red cotton armor was particularly eye-catching.

The thieves who ran ahead were so frightened that their souls froze, and they all shouted: "The officers! The officers are here!"

In a panic, some people wanted to rein in their horses and turn back, while some reacted quickly and drove their horses off the farmland, and then turned the horses around and ran back.

Fortunately, after chasing for a distance of more than ten miles, the horsepower has weakened and the speed has slowed down. Otherwise, if you want to stop the galloping horse directly, the result will be to turn your back on your back.

The horse thief's mount stopped after charging forward for a while. The thief behind heard the warning and reacted. It took a process. A thief in the front row couldn't dodge. The thieves collided with each other, and the huge impact knocked the opponent's mount to the ground. Under the pain of his war horse, his front legs rolled over and he was thrown from the horse.

The thieves behind also spotted the official cavalry, and when they saw this, they hurriedly pulled the reins aside and rushed into the field one after another.

When they turned their horses back to the official road from the field, the officer cavalry had already rushed two hundred paces away. The thieves beat their mounts desperately and fled back. The army cavalry did not start to accelerate until four or five miles away. When the horsepower was strong, the distance of two hundred steps was quickly shortened.

The general of the Ming army caught up with the thief in only ten steps or so, and shouted: "Spear!" Then he held the rein in his left hand, and pulled out a short spear from the check bag on the horse with his right hand, and the riders behind him also drew short spears. Spear, the general yelled again: "Throw!", raised his arms, leaned back slightly and then suddenly bent, the short spear flew out like lightning with the speed of the horse and the strength of the waist, and hit the last one in the blink of an eye. On the back of the thief, the thief's body was hit forward by the huge inertia, and with a scream, the sharp spear point directly penetrated him and nailed him to the mount.

In addition, some of the short spears hit the bandit, and some stuck on the bandit's mount. For a while, people turned their backs on their backs. The officers and soldiers were skilled in equestrianism, and they either rode their horses over, or controlled their horses to bypass them. The speed of the horses did not decrease, and they quickly approached the bandits. .

Seeing that the battle was imminent, the Ming army took their weapons in their hands one after another. The general held a ten-jin iron mace in one hand, and his legs clamped the horse's belly, and the horse rushed forward, chasing a thief. On the side of the person, the iron mace in his hand hit the thief's head heavily, his brain burst suddenly, and the thief's body fell off the horse.

When his speed slowed down, an officer galloped past it, and a long-handled brow-pointed knife stabbed out in his hand. The sharp point of the knife pierced a thief's neck, and his body fell off the horse.

Immediately, a unilateral massacre unfolded, within a short time, there was no thief on the horse, some of the unowned horses stopped, some ran to the wheat fields on both sides, and there was not even a single injured man on the side of the officers and soldiers. , if you still get injured after cutting the enemy from behind, tell it to make people laugh out loud.The officers and soldiers got off their horses one after another to search the corpses of the culprits. Some found a few pieces of silver, some found a few pieces of gold ornaments, and some had nothing on them. .

The leader of the team ordered the horses to be collected, the corpse of the thief was thrown to the side of the road, and then the team turned around.

Lu Xiang and the others narrowly escaped death and laughed together. Even the injured Li Shitou and Zhao Goudan cheered up.

After the horse team chasing the enemy turned around, the two sides joined together. Many officers and soldiers had the habit of carrying wound medicine with them due to years of fighting.

Before he had gone far, Lu Xiangsheng came up with the infantry and cavalry who had caught up.

Lu Xiangsheng ordered the cavalry to send out scouting horses, and the brigade of horse infantry continued to move forward. He and Li Chongjin got off their horses and came to the side of the road. The Liaodong cavalry led by the team briefly described the overall battle process. , and returned to the team with a happy grin.

Lu Xiangtong asked Zhao Yong and others to take the two wounded to go to treat them, and then came to Lu Xiangsheng. After saluting, he told the whole process. He was also very pleased, but still severely reprimanded him for his reckless advancement. Lu Xiangtong knew that his elder brother had a personality of being cold on the outside and hot on the inside, so he smiled and promised not to be like this next time, and Lu Xiangsheng just gave up.

Li Chongjin said with a smile: "Commander, although Mr. Lu Qian was a bit reckless this time, he also made a remarkable achievement. Although he doesn't know who he killed, he should be a thief with a long history. I guess Mr. Lu Qian made a big fuss Bandit camp, the bandits attacking Chuzhou should be aware of our army's arrival, and they will gather heavy troops to turn to our army at this time, Chuzhou has been preserved for the time being, what is the next step, please give the order of the commander-in-chief!"

Lu Xiangsheng pondered for a while, and said: "It seems that the raid is not going to work, then use a dignified formation to defeat the bandits, and after breaking the siege of Chuzhou, quickly go north, join with General Zu, defeat another line of bandits, and try to kill the main force of the bandits. Try to severely damage the old camp of thieves in the Fengyang area!"

A horse galloped from Yebucha, reined in the horse more than ten steps before Lu Xiang ascended, got off the horse and walked a few steps to salute, and said: "Report to the commander! The bandits have assembled ten miles away, our army's forward Five miles away from the enemy, there are tens of thousands of bandits and more than a thousand cavalry!"

Lu Xiangsheng said in a deep voice: "The infantry formed a square formation, and the heavy battalion placed horses to protect the two wings, so as not to attack the bandit cavalry. The cavalry hides behind the infantry formation and listens to the orders to attack! Prepare to meet the enemy!" Ye Bu received salutes Then get on the horse and gallop away.

Sanli Bridge is a small bridge located on the Chu River. It got its name because it is a few miles to the west of Chuzhou City. Under the years of drought, the Chu River, which used to flow very fast, was almost dry, and the Chuzhou moat had no water source. a shallow ditch.

On the west side of the Sanli Bridge, all kinds of tents and sundries in the bandit camp have been cleaned up. Tens of thousands of bandits are preparing to face the incoming army under the command of various leaders.

After none of the team chasing and beheading Ma Shizhong turned around, the bandits' leaders knew that it was a disaster. They sent scouts and found out that the army brigade was not far away.

After Shaking the Sky and Ma Shizhong was beheaded, He Shixian and Gao Shentong, who each had more than ten thousand followers, became the most powerful among the thieves. The leaders were divided, and at this time the big tree fell, and the hozens on the tree had their own thoughts, and several of them quickly turned to He Shixian and Gao Shentong. It is an elite group, but the number is less than [-]. In desperation, the two can only bear with it for the time being, expressing their obedience to the orders of He Shixian and Gao Shentong.

He Shixian said: "Gundilong, is the body of the leader of the horse properly placed?"

Gundilong replied with red eyes: "There is no good wood in the camp. I ordered the carpenter to temporarily make a coffin to put the leader. It's hot today, and it won't last for a few days!"

Gao Shentong said with a smile: "Lao Ma has enjoyed it for so many years. He has played with all kinds of women, and eaten all kinds of good wine and food. It is worth dying!"

Gun Dilong and Pi Lizhen were very angry when they saw him arrange Ma Shizhong in this way, but the situation was stronger than others. The battle was over immediately, and Beishang joined Gao Yingxiang, looking for an opportunity to take revenge on this high supernatural power.

He Shixian saw that the atmosphere was not right, and if internal strife broke out before the war, he would really need an order, so he quickly smoothed things over: "Lao Gao is too straightforward, and the leader of the horse was killed. We are all sad, and everyone must kill more officers and soldiers later , to avenge the leader of the horse!"

Gun Dilong clasped his fists at him and thanked him: "My brother thanked Chief He. When the fight starts, we are willing to take the lead. Today we will fight with the officers and soldiers!"

A spy horse galloped over, and the spy shouted loudly on the horse: "Boss! The officers and soldiers stopped five miles away from us! There are more than 1 men and horses!"

He Shixian asked anxiously: "How much can the cavalry see clearly?"

The spy reported: "The officers and soldiers are very good at scouting horses. We can't get close to them, we can only watch from a distance. The horse team can't see clearly!"

He Shixian ordered: "Go and investigate again! Be sure to see how many cavalry teams!" Tanma led the order and beat the horses away.

Gao Shentong said nonchalantly: "Lao He, there are only 1 officers and soldiers, and we have more than 5 horses. He has a cavalry team and we also have it. Why can't his cavalry team rush into my formation? Our cavalry team As long as you protect both sides, you guys will fight head-on!"

He Shixian pondered for a while and said: "That's right, I don't believe that five of them can't beat one! Later, the dragon will take the lead! As long as you break the formation of the officers and soldiers, let's all charge together!"

(End of this chapter)