Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 231 The Real Thief
"Kill—! Kill—! Kill Zhang Gouguan—!"

More than [-] people, that is boundless and boundless. When the main force of the rebels with more than [-] people lit torches and shouted to attack Shenmu City, the grandeur of the scene cannot be described by words.In short, standing on the top of Shenmu City and looking down, the west and south sides where the thieves attacked were densely packed with burning torches, which reflected half of the sky red, and in the reddish light, one could not see the edge at a glance The rebels and soldiers covered the wasteland, hills and roads tightly, lined up in a messy formation, shouting and rushing towards the small Shenmu City like a tide, the sound was like thunder, deafening, like a torrent, dizzying, Spectacular.

"Boom, boom, boom!" On Shenmu City, the drums of the defenders who never stopped beating more densely and louder, as if the drummer's mind was also frightened by the momentum of the rebels. The sound of the drums was dense and chaotic, only the towering The Xuanda soldiers beside the arrow stacks on the city wall stood still in the light, showing good military qualities, and also made the 29th Route thieves who commanded the siege from a distance tremble-the famous cunning Zhang Gou Guan didn't leave the city to fight, nor did he abandon the city to flee, he just sent the army to the city wall to meet the enemy. It seems that Zhang Gouguan is determined to defend Shenmu City, and next, there will be an earth-shattering vicious and bloody battle.As for how many defenders are in Shenmu City, what kind of troops are stationed, and how many reinforcements will arrive outside the city, the bandits of Route 29 have no idea. The only thing the bandits can do is to try to storm the city wall.

"Kill--! Kill--! Kill Zhang Gouguan--!" The first to charge the city wall was the army of the bandit leader Xing Honglang and Chongtianzhu-these two unlucky people were drawn by lottery to serve as the pathfinder Xing Honglang is in charge of the west gate, and Chongtianzhu is in charge of the south gate. In order to boost morale, these two unlucky bastards declared like their own army: The main force of Zhang Gouguan's army in Shenmu City has withdrawn from the Yellow River, and now the city is empty. There are only three to five hundred old and weak officers and troops left behind the palace, and the city walls and gates will collapse at the touch of a button, so as long as they charge, they will definitely take Shenmu City, and they will be the first to rush into the city to grab money, food, and women—— It was still a lottery to get this cheap job!
"Raise the shield!" Seeing that they were about to rush within 29 steps of the city wall, the leaders of the rebels yelled at the same time. They had long heard that the muskets of Zhang Gouguan's army could hit [-] steps away. Neglected, he scrambled to lift the broken iron pot used as a shield, the thick wooden cutting board, the dustpan and dustpan brushed with thick wet mud, to protect his head and face, shouting louder, and charging faster under his feet more fierce.But the officers and soldiers defending the Shenmu City remained motionless, neither firing guns nor drawing bows and arrows, only the beating of war drums became denser and faster.In this way, not to mention the thieves of the [-]th Route, who only bully the widows and beat the local garrison officers and soldiers, even Fan Wencheng, the old opponent of Young Master Zhang who has been on the battlefield for a long time, felt a little guilty, and couldn't help muttering in his heart: "Damn Zhang Haogu, little mad dog, why hasn't he shot and fired arrows yet? Could it be that he has set up a trap under the city wall, deliberately letting the thieves go to step on the trap to save gunpowder?"

"Ah——!" There is indeed a trap under the city wall, but this trap is a waterless trench dug by the rogues themselves before. Several rogue soldiers who were too nervous and charged too fast couldn't hold back their feet, and were squeezed in by their companions behind. They fell into the ditch and fell half to death. More rogue soldiers put the ladder on the ditch, stepped on the ladder and rushed to the bottom of the city wall.But until this critical moment, the officers and soldiers on the city wall remained almost motionless, turning a blind eye to the siege thieves who were already close at hand, each and every one of them seemed like old monks in meditation, only the never-ending sound of war drums was still beating. The sound announced that the Xuanda army was still actively preparing for battle!

"Take the ladder! Take the ladder quickly—!" They had already rushed to the bottom of the city, and even if Xing Honglang and Chongtianzhu's army wanted to stop, all the rogue soldiers knew who would be the first to rush to the city wall. It is definitely the first person to be greeted by the officers and soldiers, but he still bites the bullet and puts a rough ladder on the city wall. A few particularly fierce soldiers bite their weapons and climb the ladder to rush towards the city. city ​​walls.Finally, the first rebel soldier climbed to the top of the ladder, grabbed the arrow butt with both hands, jumped up, and stepped on the top of the Shenmu city wall with both feet...

"Great! It's straw people! The walls are full of straw people—! Brothers, come up!" The ecstatic shouts of the rebel soldiers on the city wall, the rebel soldiers under the city wall could hardly believe it When I climbed up the city wall with excitement and nervousness, I saw that the officers and soldiers standing beside the arrow stacks on the city wall were all straw figures tied to the arrow stacks with straw ropes, and the real ones with swords The officers and soldiers with guns can't even see a ghost!Seeing all this, almost every rogue soldier cheered crazily, "Officer Zhang has run away, and the city walls are full of straw people, full of straw people! This is an empty city! Oh——!"

"The city walls are full of grass people?" Twenty-seven of the thieves on Route 29 were stunned—of course Xing Honglang and Chongtianzhu couldn't even close their mouths from laughter.Wang Jiayin was tongue-tied for a long time, and then yelled crazily: "How is that possible? Since Zhang Gouguan's army has all run away, why is the sound of war drums in the city not stopping? Listen, the sound of war drums is still ringing!"

The reason for the mysterious sound of the drums was quickly found - the shameless young master Zhang tied up hundreds of lovely old lambs, tied their front hooves and hung them above the drums. The old lambs were frightened, and their free hind legs had to face each other. The drums were stomped and kicked randomly, even if the sound of the drums was not dense or loud, it would not work.Having figured this out, Fan Wencheng and Luo Rucai, who had worked out dozens of contingency strategies for Wang Jiayin before, were of course furious. The one who took the lead in the charge was signed, and now he is fine, and he can only watch helplessly as Xing Honglang and Chong Tianzhu ate meat, and we drank the soup.

Xing Honglang and Chong Tianzhu were not happy for long, because after their troops first entered the city, they soon discovered that there were still some warm white flour steamed buns in the officers' and soldiers' kitchens, and dozens of pots of delicious oily beef and mutton Tang, seeing these things, of course the hungry rebel soldiers would pounce on them like hungry wolves. You scrambled to sweep up the remnants of officers and soldiers. There were too many monks and too little porridge. The rebel soldiers who fought for a steamed bun or a bowl of broth were simply Countless.However, the rebel soldiers who grabbed the food were not happy for long. Not long after they ate and drank the white flour steamed buns and beef and mutton soup, every soldier who ate the steamed buns and drank the broth covered his stomach and groaned, and the pain was all over the floor. After rolling, his face turned black, his seven orifices bleed, and he died. The scene was exactly the same as when he died of arsenic poisoning by accident. ——Actually, the poison that Young Master Zhang put on these foods is arsenic trioxide, which is cheap, high-quality, amazingly effective, necessary for home travel and murder and arson.

No one was killed during the siege, but hundreds of elite soldiers were poisoned to death when they rushed into the city. Xing Honglang and Chongtianzhu inevitably turned pale with anger, and couldn't help cursing in unison: "Damn it! Who the hell? Is it a thief? We use knives to kill people and set fires. It is aboveboard. Zhang Gouguan poisoned the food. He is despicable and shameless. I think he is more like a thief!"

Although I was frightened by Young Master Zhang and put on another one, but in any case, it is always good news for the thieves on the 29th Road that the Xuanda army fled without a fight and let the thieves take the Shenmu without bloodshed. Another good news is After the Shenmu garrison crossed the Yellow River, they set fire to the pontoon bridge leading to Kelan Prefecture, and fled to Kelan City overnight to garrison. In Shaanxi, there was no trace of Xuanda's officers and soldiers.The combination of these two pieces of good news shows that Xuanda's army's strategy of turning offense into defense has been clearly revealed. Now the only thing that worries and headaches the thieves of Route 29 is whether or not that scheming little plague god, Young Master Zhang, has brought him with him. The Tunu army left Shanxi and went north to Xuanfu?
Sun Chengzong and Hong Chengchou, who were as excited as the thieves on the 29th Route, led the Shaanxi-Gansu army and the Xuanda army's full retreat. Sun Chengzong and Hong Chengchou, who had been battered for a long time, finally saw a glimmer of hope to bring disaster to the east. Driven out of Shaanxi, Sun Chengzong and Hong Chengchou unanimously accelerated the speed of going north, and adjusted their previous strategic goals at the same time. Drive the flocks and drive the victims from Shaanxi and Gansu who are unable to feed and flee to Shenmu, and join forces with the main army of the rebels; Sun Chengzong's main force goes straight to Mizhi, driving the rebels northward to Yulin or eastward to Jiazhou , The ultimate goal is to drive the main force of the rebels to the east of the Yellow River, let them go to spread the disaster, and stop tossing the already pitiful Shaanxi prefecture.

The Shaanxi-Gansu army suddenly exerted its strength, and the main force of the rebels had no interest in a decisive battle with the Shaanxi-Gansu army. To a certain extent, the Shaanxi-Gansu army, which lacked food and wages, was poorer than the rebel army. Not much benefit.In addition, Fugu City has been burned down to ruins by Young Master Zhang. In this way, there are only three options left in front of the main force of the thieves. One is to go north to Fugu and cross the Yellow River, and go directly to Grab Shanxi Town, an important place in Xuanda, and then look for opportunities to enter Datong and Xuanfu; the second is to cross the Yellow River directly from Shenmu to fight Kelanzhou, and then cross Fenshui to grab Ninghua and Yizhou and other places; the third is to cross the river directly in Shenmu , but crossed the river and turned south, went to Xing County to join forces with Gao Yingxiang, Shen Yikui, Buzhanni and other thieves, and then went east to rob Taiyuan, the big fat sheep.

"Absolutely don't go north!" The experienced Fan Wencheng put on the airs of the chief military officer of the thieves, and told the thieves on the 29th Road: "Shanxi Town is where the governor's office of Zhang Haogu's little mad dog is located. No matter how Zhang Haogu's little mad dog is transferred The army reinforces the Xuanfu, and the defenders of Shanxi Town will never be transferred. If you go to fight Shanxi Town, you will only suffer heavy losses and gain nothing! Moreover, Shanxi Town is backed by Datong, and Datong’s barbarian army is much stronger than you. Once Shanxi Town Urgently, the Datong army will surely go south for reinforcements, and by then, it will be even more impossible for you to take down Shanxi Town."

"That's right, I'm also opposed to going north to attack Shanxi Town and Datong." Luo Rucai, the real commander-in-chief of the rebels, agreed with Fan Wencheng, and said, "Before Zhang Gouguan came to declare Datong, our army We can't beat Datong's army. Now that Datong's army has been rectified by Zhang Gouguan, its combat effectiveness must be stronger. If we go to fight Shanxi Town, we will only hit a stone with an egg. Therefore, we must not go north. We can only cross the Yellow River at Shenmu. As for what to do after crossing the Yellow River Let’s go, we have to wait until we find out about Officer Zhang Gou’s deployment in Xuanda before we make a decision.”

Wang Jiayin didn't speak. After thinking about it for a while, Wang Jiayin raised his head and asked the other bandits: "What's your opinion? Do you agree to cross the Yellow River at Shenmu?" Guan Qu Jiazhen was a character not to be trifled with, and they all nodded in favor of giving up going north and heading east immediately.Seeing that everyone had no objections, Wang Jiayin made a final decision: "Well, go east immediately and build a pontoon bridge across the Yellow River!"

After confirming the plan of crossing the Yellow River from Shenmu to the east, all the 29 roads got busy and started to prepare for the eastward movement, and the location of the pontoon bridge was very easy to handle. The Xuanda army had previously built the pontoon bridge five miles north of the mouth of the Lanyi River. Slow is the best choice for building a pontoon bridge, but the biggest danger in this location is the neighboring Kelan City. If Young Master Zhang arranges an ambush in this city, waiting for the thieves to attack halfway through, it will be very bad and also.Therefore, Fan Wencheng made two good suggestions to the rebels. First, send an elite army across the river to closely monitor every move of Kelan City. Weak women and children cross the river.Wang Jiayin and other thieves were well aware of Fan Wencheng's rich experience, so they immediately adopted him.

Two days later, the four Yellow River pontoon bridges were built, and the total number of nearly 30 rogues began to cross the river one after another. To the surprise of all the thieves, during the five days and five nights of crossing the river, Master Zhang, who always liked to cheat, did not He commanded Xuanda's army to take the opportunity to attack, and the Xuanda garrison in Kelan City, which is the closest to the ferry, closed its four gates tightly, watching the unorganized thieves cross the Yellow River smoothly and invade Xuanda's territory in an all-round way.In this way, the thieves on the 29th Route breathed a sigh of relief, but they couldn't help being even more curious-how did Officer Zhang Gou deploy his troops in Shanxi?How many troops did Zhang Gouguan bring north to the Xuanfu for reinforcements?
More than 20 rogues invaded the territory of Xuanda in an all-round way. Naturally, the people in the neighboring Xuanda had already run away completely. The gates of the city were closed tightly, and the guards were in full swing, so there was no chance for the spies of the thieves to sneak into the city to obtain information.Just when Wang Jiayin and other bandit leaders felt their eyes were darkened, the good news came that Gao Yingxiang, a rebel entrenched in Xing County in the south, took the initiative to divide his troops. Gao Yingxiang personally led an army to join forces with Wang Jiayin and other bandit leaders, and brought He obtained the information on the Shanxi garrison urgently needed by Wang Jiayin and other thieves.

Gao Yingxiang was one of the leaders of the rebel army who responded to Wang Jiayin's uprising first. During the years of traveling and fighting in Shaanxi, he met most of the leaders of the 29th Route rebels. This time they reunited in Xuanda, and they were naturally very affectionate.However, the current situation is critical, and the rebels on the 29th Route, who have already run out of food, urgently need to plunder food supplies, so after exchanging a few words of farewell, Wang Jiayin couldn't wait to ask Gao Yingxiang: "King Chuang, what is your army's army during this time?" You have been in Xuanda, you must be very clear about the situation of officers and soldiers in Xuanda, can you give us some pointers?"

"Heh, Shaanxi King, you have been sticking to the border of Xuanda, so I knew you were heading east, so I have already prepared for you what you need." Gao Yingxiang smiled, and waved his hand to ask Li Zicheng to bring him a hand. Zhang Map, spread out in front of all the thieves, explained: "Since I failed to attack Taiyuan alone last time, the dog official Zhang of Xuanda has never had a chance to trouble me. I also took the opportunity to send some secret agents to Xuanda. In various big cities, I have more or less touched on the situation of some Xuanda officers and soldiers, and now I finally have the opportunity to use it."

"My lords, please take a look." Gao Yingxiang pointed to the map and said, "Xuanda's officers and soldiers are mainly stationed along the Fen River. They are stationed in Jingle, Loufan, Liangling and Taiyuan, especially in Taiyuan and Shanxi. The governor Geng Ruqi and the general officer of Xuanda Mangui Tatars are all stationed here, so neither my army nor Shen Yikui and Buzhanni dare to take a step towards Taiyuan. You may also know the situation in the north of Shanxi. Zhang Gouguan's Shanxi main force is stationed in Shanxi Town, and Datong's main force is stationed in Laoyingbao. These two armies are extremely powerful, and we must not provoke them."

"What about Kelan City? How many garrisons are there?" Fan Wencheng asked with his triangular eyes blinking, "And Ninghua behind Kelan City. It's a big city in Shanxi. What's the situation there?"

"Are you...?" Gao Yingxiang looked Fan Wencheng up and down.Luo Rucai who was next to him was afraid of causing trouble, so he rushed to say: "Mr. Chuang, I will introduce you to you later. How much do you know about the situation of Kelan City and Ninghua Institute? Our army is all starving, so hurry up Build a city to supply food and grass."

"The officers and soldiers in Kelan City, they say there are not many, and they say that there are not many." Gao Yingxiang did not ask Fan Wencheng's identity any more, and continued to introduce: "My scouts sneaked into the city before and discovered that the general who is in charge of Kelan City is He Renlong, the deputy general of Shanxi, has about 3 troops, all of which are local troops in Shanxi. At the beginning, the army here has not changed. Later, when Zhang Gouguan entered Xuanda and withdrew from Shenmu Yellow River to Shanxi, the army crossed the river After that, they assembled in Kelan City. It seemed that more than [-] troops had been withdrawn back and forth. Later, they went northward in batches to Xuanda, but every time Zhang Gouguan withdrew his troops from Kelan City at night. Marching, so how many troops Zhang Gouguan took from Kelan City, my scouts and secret agents can't find out."

Speaking of this, Gao Yingxiang patted Li Zicheng next to him, and said with a smile: "However, as a general, my analysis is more reasonable. He thinks that Kelan City hangs alone outside the line of defense of the officers and soldiers. It plays the role of transferring supplies. Now that Zhang Gouguan's army is fully retreating, Kelan City is of little significance to Zhang Gouguan. Moreover, Kelan City was snatched back from you by Zhang Gouguan after he took office. There are no common people, and it is not worth defending at all, so he thinks that the guards of officers and soldiers in Kelan City may not have been strengthened, and some may even be transferred by Officer Zhang Gou."

"It makes sense. When we crossed the river, the officers and soldiers in Kelan City kept their troops on hold. This proves that the guards in the city are insufficient." Luo Rucai nodded in agreement, "Otherwise, Officer Zhang Gou would never let us pass smoothly. Therefore, there will definitely not be many officers and soldiers defending Kelan City, so it can be considered as our first target after our eastward advance."

"To be honest, if it wasn't for my lack of strength, I would have attacked Kelan City a long time ago." Gao Yingxiang finally revealed his intention of coming, and said with a sly smile: "Besides, we still have two days left to defeat Kelan City." Great benefit."

"What's the benefit?" The thieves couldn't wait to ask.Gao Yingxiang smiled darker, "Just now you seem to have forgotten to ask an important matter. Officer Zhang Gou brought the food, grass and supplies you used to hunt in Shaanxi. Where is it now?"

"Officer Zhang Gou is in a hurry to save the Xuan Mansion. It must be too late to move all the food, grass and supplies back. Could it be put in Kelan City?" Luo Rucai was the first to wake up.Gao Yingxiang nodded with a smirk, and replied: "That's right, my detailed work and scouts clearly saw that when Officer Zhang Gou withdrew his troops from Shaanxi, all his supplies and supplies were transported back to Kelan City for storage. It’s too late to take away these supplies! This is the first benefit of our attack on Kelan City!”

"What about the second benefit?" Wang Jiayin asked in surprise.Gao Yingxiang replied with a smile: "The second advantage is of course Ninghua. Previously, Officer Zhang Gou relied on the buffer protection of Kelan City and Shanxi Town in Ninghua. There are not many troops stationed in Ninghua, and they are not the main force. If a pair One day, my army alone is sure to take this city. Several state capitals around Ninghua have not been affected by the flames of war. This year, I heard that there is a bumper harvest of dog potatoes there. One mu of land has harvested 1000 If we take Kelan City, we will not only have enough rations and supplies, but we can also go straight to Ninghua from the southern end of the Kelan Mountains, and enter this place where Xuanda's officers and soldiers are weakly defended. The place!"

"Okay, attack Kelan City!" All the thieves cheered together, unanimously agreed to continue eastward to attack Kelan City.Over there, Fan Wencheng frowned, thinking that with the treachery of Young Master Zhang, it should be impossible to reveal such a big flaw, but Fan Wencheng also considered the vast land of Shanxi, and it is not impossible for the Xuanda army to lose sight of one another. The young master has already missed the best time to stop the thieves from invading Shanxi, and the terrain of Kelan Prefecture is wide open. With the stretched troops in the hands of Young Master Zhang, it is absolutely impossible to fight a war of encirclement and annihilation. It is unlikely that Kelan City is a trap , so Fan Wencheng didn't speak out against it, but settled down to consider how to help this gang of thieves take Kelan City, and create more and bigger troubles for Young Master Zhang.

………………

As Fan Wencheng expected, the terrain near Kelan City was indeed not a very good place for Xuanda's army.As early as a few days ago, when the main force of the rebels crossed the river one after another, even Shi Kefa, the new young master Zhang, who was completely proficient in military affairs, came to look for Zhang Da after patrolling around Kelan City. The young master warned: "Zhang Xiantai, please forgive Brother Yu for speaking without words. Although Brother Yu doesn't know the art of war very well, this time Brother Yu still thinks that you chose the place to ambush the main force of the rebels under the city of Kelan. It seems that the vicinity of Kelan City is not suitable for ambushes and encirclement. According to Brother Yu, we should adopt the method of attacking halfway, which is more reliable."

"Why?" Eldest Young Master Zhang also deliberately wanted to help Shi Kefa quickly familiarize himself with military affairs, so he deliberately asked knowingly, "Brother Xian, do you see that there is a problem?"

"Kelan City is surrounded by plains and low hills. There are no forests to hide in. The nearest mountain range, Kelan Mountains, is too far away, and there are few trees, so it is difficult to ambush a large number of troops." Shi Kefa tried his best to analyze for Young Master Zhang: "Originally, there was a Lanyi River in the south of Kelan City that could be used. However, due to the severe drought in the north, the river is too shallow and too narrow, so it can't play a role in stopping the movement of the thieves. In this way, we have no way to ambush the army. , even if there is a way to ambush the army, there is not enough troops to surround and wipe out more than 20 rebels!"

"That's right, Brother Xian really has made great progress, and he's right on point." Young Master Zhang laughed loudly, raised another finger, and said with a smile, "It's a pity that Brother Xian, you underestimated—more than 20 thieves, Not all of them are the army, the main force that can really fight is actually only 3 to [-] people, plus the young and strong who can barely go to the battlefield, they can make up [-] to [-], and the rest are all the family members and old men of the thieves. Weak women and children. In this way, what kind of problems will arise when the thieves march, brother Xian, can you think of it?"

Just like in history, Shi Kefa's greatest weakness is loyalty and bravery but not knowing how to fight. After considering half a stick of incense, Shi Kefa suddenly came to his senses and exclaimed: "Could it be a speed problem? The old and weak, women and children walk slowly, and they must Falling behind, the main force of the rebels is strong and walking fast, and walking down the 100-mile road from the Yellow River Ferry to Kelan City, it is very likely that they will lose touch with the rear team!"

"That's right, it's the problem of different mobility." Young Master Zhang nodded, and smiled again: "And this time the thieves are not likely to lose touch with the rear team this time, but they will definitely lose touch with the rear team! These days, I deliberately indulged Gao Yingxiang's thieves' spying on some of our movements, just to let Gao Yingxiang pass the news that Kelan City is our eastward granary to Wang Jiayin's gang of thieves, who have been out of food for a long time in order to entangle us This time, I heard that there is a lot of food and supplies in Kelan City, and I am afraid that we will reinforce Kelan City to strengthen the defense. I will definitely leave the family members, the old and the weak, women and children, and push forward to the city of Kelan City with all my strength. So this time, we are in Kelan City. The only thing we have to deal with in the Lancheng area is the main battle army of the rebels."

"It makes sense." Shi Kefa suddenly realized, and asked again: "How can we solve the problem of ambush deployment and insufficient troops? Especially Zhang Xiantai's slave slaughter army, if the thieves find out, the gang will The thief must have turned around and fled for his life."

"Don't worry, I've prepared all of these." Young Master Zhang waved his hand and said with a sneer, "There are so many terrains in the world that are easy to engage in ambushes and annihilation warfare? Among the dozens of thieves, many of them are very military-minded." Mind, if you want to lead them into dead places like canyons and narrow roads, they won't be so easily fooled, and only Kelan City, which is open on all sides and conducive to army maneuvering, can fool these old loaches."

"Then I'm relieved." Shi Kefa breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "This time, I have to take a good look at Zhang Xiantai, how cleverly you designed an ambush in this kind of place where it is impossible to ambush, and in this kind of place where it is impossible to fight a war of encirclement and annihilation." hit the thieves hard on the terrain."

"A group of mobs, if you win them, you won't get much credit." Young Master Zhang snorted coldly, and then said in a deep voice, "Actually, what I'm most worried about now is not the rebels, but the Shaanxi army led by Mr. Sun Ge and Hong Chengchou." , if they advance slowly and cannot reach the Shenmu area to deploy defenses before I launch a counterattack, then even if my plan succeeds, the price I will pay will not be too small."

(End of this chapter)