As the sky was getting dark, the three thousand Sui troops led by Mulan and Fan Hu left the camp at Chugeng according to the order, and under the cover of twilight they sneaked into the northeast and northwest corners of Menghai City to ambush. Zhang Xutuo's main camp, which was once strong and powerful, was only left. Tang Wanche, Zhang Zhizhi and other second-rate generals were dispatched, as well as a large number of wounded soldiers and auxiliary troops guarding food and supplies.
It's not that Zhang Xutuo is unaware of the danger that his central army camp is too empty, but it doesn't matter, the bandit army has already blocked the narrow and long south gate corridor, not to mention that the Sui army's scouts have not discovered the enemy's move to clear the corridor. , even if the bandits rush to dredge the corridor temporarily, it will not be possible in a short time. With this time, the two elites, Mulan and Fan Hu, have already withdrawn to the south gate to fight, not to mention the nearby Qiaojun and Liang. The two friendly armies of the county can send troops to make up for the leak at any time, so under normal circumstances, even if Zhang Xutuo's camp is a little empty, it can be said to be as stable as Mount Tai.
In view of this situation, Zhang Xutuo's only concern now is whether he can kill Meng Haigong and his wife and other generals of the bandit army on the North Gate battlefield. But fortunately, everything is quite normal at present. The scouts reported that the south gate of Meng Hai City seemed to be brightly lit, but in fact there was not much movement; the north gate seemed to be calm, but experienced Qi County scouts passed Using the bamboo tube to listen to the sound, I discovered that a large number of troops are gathering in the North Gate City. The only thing Zhang Xutuo has to do now is to wait patiently for the bandits to open the city gate and break through to the north, and then wait for Qin Qiong and Luo Shixin Waiting for the good news of the powerful general breaking the thief army.
Zhang Xutuo waited peacefully in the Sui army camp, but Meng Haigong and his wife were restless in Menghai City, because they were about to make a life-and-death gamble with their lifeblood army, and if they won the bet, they could keep the city. If they lose, even if they can escape alive, their army, city, territory, and the money and food they have finally accumulated will all be lost. Therefore, although the tactical plan of the bandit army went smoothly and they just waited to act according to the plan, Meng Haigong and his wife were still so nervous that their palms sweated and they were uneasy.
The order to break out of the encirclement had already been issued, and everyone in the bandit army in Menghai City was equally nervous, filled with both fear and anticipation, and the whole city was also caught in a tense atmosphere, only Li Mi was alone. Still keeping calm and composed, he climbed up the city wall at the last moment and looked at the Qiaojun camp of his old rival Chen Yingliang to the west. Because Li Mi is absolutely confident that he can hide from Zhang Xutuo's eyes and win the final victory, and the only variable to worry about is Chen Yingliang, his fateful opponent.
From a distance, there are not many lights in the Qiaojun camp, and it seems to be as calm as usual, but whether it is really as peaceful as it appears on the surface, or is there still a murderous intent brewing behind the calmness, Li Mi can't guess, the only thing Li Mi can do , That is to pray that the old opponent does not guess his true purpose. At the same time, Li Mi still had a tinge of regret in his heart, and secretly said: "Little thief Chen, why do we fight each time when we are strong and weak, and the disparity is huge? Why doesn't God give us a chance to fight squarely? If there is such an opportunity, I can guarantee that the battle will be earth-shattering, too wonderful to describe, and I very much hope to have such an opportunity."
At this time, the messenger came to Li Mi and said that Meng Haigong and his wife had invited him. Li Mi nodded and agreed, and then took a look at the Qiaojun camp from a distance, and then went down to the southeast corner of Menghai City. And here, the original solid rammed earth city wall has been dug out a wall hole one foot high and two feet wide! Seeing Li Mi's arrival, Ma Saifei, who had already put on his armor, said immediately: "Master, there is only half a foot away from the outer wall. If necessary, within a stick of incense, we can open this new city gate!"
Instead of dredging the city gate corridors with obvious targets, a new city gate was opened in the southwest corner far away from the Qiaojun camp. Of course, this clever plan came from Li Mi's arrangement. After digging with the shovel for almost a day and a night, now that the success is about to be completed, Li Mi is unavoidably proud of himself, and secretly said: "Zhang Xutuo, little thief Chen, you would never have dreamed of this, right? Open another city gate to launch a surprise attack! Such a clever plan to deceive the sky and cross the sea, I am afraid that Sun Bin and Wu Qi are nothing more than this."
"Nephew and son-in-law, the second watch is coming soon." Meng Haigong's voice was obviously a little nervous, and he asked, "Are you proceeding according to the original plan?"
"Recorder, we have no turning back." Li Mi replied calmly: "The drinking water has been divided, and the city wall has been hollowed out. Turning back now will only lead to a dead end. If you want to survive and keep your Menghai City, We can only keep going, there is no turning back."
The fat on Meng Haigong's face twitched a few times, then he gritted his teeth and said, "Order Meng Yigui and Jiang Shanhe to act according to plan!"
Meng Haigong's order was quickly sent to the generals Meng Yigui and Jiang Shanhe of the bandit army who were waiting for orders in Beicheng. The nervous Meng Yigui and Jiang Shanhe just nodded and did not speak. Meng Yigui and Jiang Shanhe glanced at each other, and each said that they cherished each other. Then Meng Yigui, who was in charge of the vanguard, waved his hand and gave the order. The city gate that had been closed for a long time was opened slowly, and the towering suspension bridge was slowly lowered. Silently leaned against the other side of the moat.
The breakout operation officially started, and a large number of old and weak women and children walked in the forefront. Under the intimidation of the bandit soldiers, the women, children, old and weak who were only given a spoonful of drinking water in the evening went out of the city by moonlight and stars, and crossed the trench. Then spread out to the left and right, waiting for the order to scatter and escape. Followed by the bandit army led by Meng Yigui, Meng Yigui's team also led a hundred selected strong oxen, with sharp knives tied to the horns and bundles of reeds filled with oil tied to the oxtails. The cow is also covered with rawhide—this is also Li Mi's arrangement.
A large number of people flowed out of the city, which of course could not be concealed from the eyes of the Sui army scouts who were closely monitoring the movement of the city gate. However, what Li Mi knew was that in order to ensure the end of the battle of Menghai City in one fell swoop, the Sui army team that had been prepared for a long time did not rush. In order to launch an attack, he chose to continue to silence, pretending not to investigate. As a result, the Sui army not only gave the enemy time to go out of the city to assemble, but also gave the enemy time to arrange the fire bull formation smoothly.
Meng Yigui's team left the city smoothly, and the rear army led by Jiang Shanhe gradually left the city and gathered in the wilderness outside the north gate. It was also at this time that the Sui army's camp in the north, which was originally dark, suddenly burst into flames. In the chaos, the war drums were beating together, and there was a loud noise of killing. Thousands of elite Sui soldiers came to kill with torches and shouts.
Seeing this scene, the old and weak family members of the bandit army, who had already been flustered, ran for their lives in all directions, but the front army led by Meng Yigui stood still, and the army kept whispering orders to boost morale, "Hold on! Don't be afraid! We won! deal!"
It wasn't until the Sui army crossed the fence of the trench that he had set up and dug that Meng Yigui ordered to light the ox's tail, and at the same time whipped the ox's buttocks to urge the ox to move forward. Become a charge. It was also at this time that the drums were beating in the ranks of the bandit army, and the bandit soldiers who had nowhere to retreat shouted loudly and charged forward with swords and guns in hand, while Meng Yigui kept shouting in the army, "Brothers! Kill! Kill a bloody path, kill a bloody path to find water to drink!"
The fire ox formation suddenly used by the thief army caught the Sui army by surprise. No matter how elite the Sui army in Qi County was, they suddenly saw a large number of cattle rushing towards them. During the dodge, not only the morale was frustrated, but also the formation was in chaos. Qin Qiong and Luo Shixin were shocked. Although they also ordered to shoot arrows, the vitality of the cow is stronger than that of a human. The bows and arrows shot by the soldiers of the Sui army were almost useless. On the contrary, many cattle hit by the arrows became more mad and rampaged more violently. Many unlucky soldiers of the Sui army were directly knocked down by the cattle and trampled to death alive.
Taking advantage of the opportunity when the Sui army was disrupted by the fire ox formation, the bandit army also rushed to the front and started a close bloody battle with the Sui army. Although the soldiers of the Sui army were elite, their formation was disordered and their morale was also affected. The team's morale was greatly boosted by the success of the Fire Bull Formation, and they were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. Therefore, within a certain period of time, the bandit army, which was not the opponent of the Qi County Sui Army in the field battle, unexpectedly gained the upper hand for the first time, taking the unprepared Qin Qiong Luo Shixin's team retreated steadily, and once saw the hope of successfully breaking through.
Finding that the situation was not good, Mulan and Fan Hu, who were ambushing on the north flanks of the city, had to act in advance, and hurriedly urged the troops to attack the two flanks of the bandit army. Unfortunately, this was not only expected by Li Mi, but also the situation that Li Mi was most looking forward to. Jiang Shanhe, who was at the back of the bandit army, immediately split up to meet Mulan and Fan Hu's team.
In terms of military strength, the bandit army with a large number of people still has the upper hand. The bandit army with a number of more than 15,000 temporarily defeated the Qi County Sui Army with a number of only more than 8,000. He was at a disadvantage and was caught off guard by the Fire Bull Formation, but his elite level was far superior to that of the enemy, so even if he was temporarily at a disadvantage, the generals of the Sui Army, such as Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin and He Yanyu, were still full of absolute confidence. After a little time, they will surely be able to stabilize their position, launch a counterattack again, and easily eliminate the mob on the opposite side!
Unfortunately, what Li Mi needs is exactly this period of time!
When they heard the shouts of killing coming from outside the North Gate, the anxious Meng Haigong and his wife once asked Li Mi if he could do it, but Li Mi remained calm and asked the Meng Haigong and his wife to stay calm and continue to wait patiently. It wasn't until the watchman on the city reported that the Sui army was ambushed at the left and right corners of the north gate of Menghai City that Li Mi nodded, smiled and said to Meng Haigong and his wife: "Recorder, auntie, you can do it now."
The bandit soldiers who had been guarding the hole in the wall immediately dug with hoes, and the layer of rammed earth that was only half a foot thick was also broken immediately, and the first small hole connecting the inside and outside of the city appeared, and Meng Haigong turned to line up behind him. The team of thieves waiting - this is also Li Mi's real trump card. Although the number is not large, only a thousand people, but they are all elite dead soldiers carefully selected by Meng Haigong and his wife from more than 10,000 thieves. They are strong and strong, and everyone has their lives on their hands!
"Brothers, I won't talk nonsense! The main force of the officers and soldiers has already concentrated in Beicheng, and our chance has come!" Meng Haigong said viciously: "After leaving the city, go straight to Zhang Xutuo's camp! Target, Zhang Xutuo The head of the old dog Tuo! Who can cut off the head of the old dog Zhang Xutuo, he will take 30% of the gold and jewelry in Lao Tzu's treasure house! The others will share half of the treasure house equally! And each will reward a girl! Do you understand?"
"clear!"
The bandit soldiers answered in unison, although their voices were not loud, they were extremely firm and deep. Just at this time, good news came from the city again, saying that the Sui army from Liang County in the east had sent troops to the north gate of Menghai City. Soldiers hastened to dig out the passage. Li Mi's expression was calm, and he kept saying in his heart: "Little thief Chen, go to Beicheng quickly, go to Beicheng quickly! Be like the old dog Yang Wang, and go to the north gate to fight for merit!"
There was no report on the movement of the Sui army in Qiaojun. On the contrary, there was a fire at the north gate. A small number of rear troops in the city were ordered by Li Mi to set fire to the north gate corridor and cut off the escape route of the bandits leaving the city, forcing the bandits out of the city. The army can only move forward, not retreat. At the same time, the bandit soldiers finally completely dug through the thin layer of rammed earth. After ordering the engineers to temporarily block the gap with plug-in knife carts, Meng Haigong waved his hand, and a thousand bandit troops immediately lined up out of the city and went to the ditch. Gathered outside the city that had been completely filled by the Sui army.
Li Mi and Meng Haigong led the horses side by side out of the hole in the wall, followed by Yang Jishan and his son Ma Saifei on their backs. Seeing that a thousand bandit soldiers had been lined up, Meng Haigong and Li Mi each got on their horses. He ran wildly with his feet, and rushed to Zhang Xutuo's camp five miles away with all his strength. It was also at this time that the Sui army scouts who had been closely monitoring the corridor at the south gate finally found out that the bandits had left the city and were heading south. They were stunned, and the scouts immediately rushed back to the camp and reported to Zhang Xutuo that the bandits were in a hurry. However, these scouts were ignored at all, and what was racing against time was just rushing forward.
Relying on galloping without hesitation, the scouts of the Sui Army finally sent the news back to Zhang Xutuo's camp first. Zhang Xutuo, who was waiting for the battle report in the camp, was also shocked to the ground with a brush in his hand. He has always been calm and calm. For the first time, there was a look of panic on the old man's face, and he thought to himself: "It's a trick! It's not that the south strikes the north, but the south strikes the south! Tune the tiger away from the mountain! This time, old man, I'm in big trouble!"
"Marshal, our Chinese army is too empty, please ask Qin Qiong and the others for help!" Tang Wanche also panicked, and quickly made a suggestion to Zhang Xutuo.
"It's too late, even if it's too late, I can't ask them for help!" Zhang Xutuo said with a serious expression: "They are fighting with the main force of the enemy. When they learn that the bandits have raided the old man's camp, they must be panicked and defeated, and our losses must be even greater. !"
"Then what should we do?" Tang Wanche hurriedly asked again.
"Send someone to ask Chen Yingliang for help." Zhang Xutuo stood up and quickly ordered: "Zhang Zhizhi, you go organize the transfer of the wounded soldiers to the south, go to a hidden place to hide temporarily, and let the auxiliary soldiers strictly guard the food and supplies. Tang Wanche, you Go to the front camp with the old man, guard the camp gate, and wait for Chen Yingliang to come to help!"
When Zhang Xutuo and Tang Wanche rushed to the front camp, the bandit army had already rushed to the gate of the Sui army camp, and they were assembling outside the range. All of a sudden, they stared round—three or four horses with their tails on fire rushed out of the bandit army at the same time. The horses galloped wildly, the ground rumbled, and most of them rushed straight towards the gate of the Sui army camp! Zhang Xutuo was shocked immediately, and blurted out: "Fire Horse Formation! Meng Haigong, you are really willing to spend your money!"
Meng Haigong, whose life and death had already been done, was of course willing to pay the capital. The horse ran wildly, not only overturning the horse-rejecting antlers in front of the Sui army's gate, but most of them directly hit the Sui army's camp gate, making the camp gate crumbling. The elite thieves behind raised their hammers and axes and shouted, shouting slogans to capture Zhang Xutuo alive and slashed at the gate of the Sui army barracks. The elite bandit army with iron armor and no retreat, the wooden camp gate was smashed to pieces in an instant, and the elite bandit army began to rush into the camp.
Seeing this, Tang Wanche, of course, hurriedly raised his knife and shouted, calling for the soldiers to fight, and then said to Zhang Xutuo: "Commander, you go first, the general will stand here!"
"When did this old man have the habit of leaving the soldiers behind and fleeing alone?" Zhang Xutuo drew out his horizontal knife and swung his gray beard all over his chest, shouting: "Soldiers! Hold on, our reinforcements will come soon !Protect our wounded brethren!"
"Marshal, it's too dangerous." Tang Wanche was anxious.
"Boom!"
At the critical moment, a loud noise like thunder came suddenly. When Zhang Xutuo, Tang Wanche and Meng Haigong and his wife on the opposite side followed the sound in shock, they were all dumbfounded to see that the left side of the Sui army camp, which was originally pitch black, was at this moment. The torches were already everywhere, and countless soldiers of the Sui Army lined up to kill them. They rode a white horse and a silver robe first, pretending to be very aggressive, and shouted: "Don't panic, old general, Chen Yingliang is here!"
"This kid, when did you ambush outside my camp?" Zhang Xutuo was completely dumbfounded.
"Little thief Chen? How did he come so fast?!" Meng Haigong and his wife were all dumbfounded.
"Sure enough." Sighing, Li Mi turned to Yang Jishan next to him, and said with a wry smile: "The Seventh General, as expected, was spotted by that little thief in advance. Let's use a backup plan."
After the shock, Zhang Xutuo quickly calmed down, pointed at Meng Haigong's handsome flag with a knife, and shouted: "Soldiers, reinforcements have arrived! Follow me, capture Meng Haigong alive, and don't let Chen Yingliang snatch our flag again." Credit! Kill!"
Roaring, Zhang Xutuo, who was extremely brave, charged forward on his horse and personally killed the enemy with a knife. Tang Wanche and other Sui army soldiers shouted to keep up, and fought bloody side by side with Zhang Xutuo.
At the same time, Chen Yingliang pointed his horizontal knife at Commander Meng Hai's flag with great pretense, and shouted: "Brothers, Meng Haigong's traitor is right there! Come on, catch Meng Haigong alive!"
Roaring, Chen Yingliang, who has low martial arts skills, had already rode his horse back, and Kan Leng, his lackey, stepped forward, leading the Modao team to charge forward, shouting to kill Meng Haigong's bandit army, and flanking the enemy with Zhang Xutuo's team. After shamelessly hiding in the safety zone in the center of the team, Chen Yingliang murmured even more shamelessly, "Old General Zhang, that's all I can help you with. It's not that I don't want to commit suicide to save you from danger. It's that Meng Haigong's team will definitely help you." They are the most elite warriors who have never killed a single enemy before, so fighting with them is courting death!"