Led by the brother-in-law of Tao Guang, the county magistrate of Teng County, Lu Mingyue's team really came to Teng County. The future supreme emperor Lu Mingyue also has some organizational skills. Strict and well-organized, with clear banners, the soldiers are divided into multiple routes and headed southward. The black bandit soldiers are like one after another black rivers, flowing slowly along the official roads, flooding the fields, grasslands, forests and villages.
By the way, Lu Mingyue, who was the most powerful team leader in the late Sui Dynasty, is just at the beginning. Historically, his team size reached an astonishing 400,000 people at its peak!
Lu Mingyue is also a very careful person. Although she knew that there was no suitable section for an ambush on the road south to Teng County, for the sake of caution, Lu Mingyue sent a large number of scouts to open the way to scout the movement ahead, and even scattered the scouts directly to Teng County. Under the county seat, Lu Mingyue was very proud of the scout's return. When he learned the news of his army going south, all the township troops along the way escaped. Not to mention, Teng County closed the city gate early and the whole city was under martial law At the same time, many refugees from Pengcheng actively went north to beg to join Lu Mingyue's team, and provided Lu Mingyue with a lot of valuable military intelligence.
According to the information collected through various channels, the number of defenders in Teng County has not changed at all. It is still a regular army in the early 1000s guarding the city, supplemented by some local townspeople to help defend the city. At the same time, Chen Yingliang has not yet been detected. The situation of Pengcheng's main force going north. Seeing that the opportunity was rare, Lu Mingyue ordered the army to move southward at a faster speed. It only took more than three days to rush from Rencheng to the foot of Tengxian County, and set up a camp to encircle the city. The defenders of Teng County did not dare to go out of the city, but just guarded behind closed doors, relying on a strong city to compete with Lu Mingyue's bandit army.
On the night of arriving in Teng County, Lu Mingyue was looking forward to the contact signal that promised to open the gate of Xiancheng. However, after one night, the four gates of Teng County were only illuminated by torches, and there were no three red lanterns as agreed, which made Lu Mingyue very upset. It was the anxious Bai who waited all night. When he asked Tao Guang's brother-in-law to ask the reason, the brother-in-law replied that the Teng County garrison was controlled by Qiu Sheng, the deputy captain of Pengcheng. Have to wait until the opportunity presents itself. Lu Mingyue felt that it was reasonable, and heard from the guarding soldiers that her brother-in-law had never tried to escape, Lu Mingyue was even more relieved, so she ordered the whole army to build a fence to encircle the city while patiently waiting for Tao Guang to surrender.
Waiting patiently is easy to say, but really waiting is no joke. If Lu Mingyue's 120,000 troops follow the food standard of the regular army, they will spend 240,000 catties of food a day. There is a huge difference in grades. Most of the auxiliary soldiers can only drink wild vegetable porridge with a little grain to satisfy their hunger every day. They still have to eat at least 60,000 to 70,000 catties of grain a day, so after waiting for another night and still not seeing the contact signal, Lu Mingyue gradually became restless, so she had to call Tao Guang's brother-in-law to ask about it.
Tao Guang's brother-in-law used the previous reason to prevaricate, and Lu Mingyue waited patiently for two days and twice, but the three red lanterns not only did not appear at the head of Teng County, but instead received Chen Yingliang who personally led 10,000 officers and troops to come north. The news of saving Teng County—fortunately, it didn't come quickly. As a result, this time, Lu Mingyue didn't believe brother-in-law Tao Guang's nonsense anymore, and slapped the table and shouted: "Today! If you don't see your brother-in-law's signal again tonight, then tomorrow you will die!"
Tao Guang's brother-in-law was not flustered, but just cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, how about you send an envoy to the city with your letter to surrender, take the opportunity to see my brother-in-law, and remind him to act quickly?"
Feeling that Tao Guang's brother-in-law's suggestion was good, Lu Mingyue did not hesitate, and immediately sent an envoy into the city with his letter of surrender, using the excuse to persuade the defenders in the city to surrender, and took the opportunity to warn Tao Guang to act quickly, otherwise his brother-in-law would surely die. As a result, after the envoy entered the city, Tao Guang, who had made an agreement with his brother-in-law, also understood that Lu Mingyue was impatient to wait any longer, so he immediately asked the guard Qiu Sheng to act according to his plan, beheading the envoy Lu Mingyue, and killing another prisoner on death row. Take off his head and hang it on the city wall together with Lu Mingyue's envoy's head, so that the defenders can claim that it is their own head.
Tao Guang's little trick was very effective. His dummy head was hung on the city wall, and the defenders claimed that Lu Mingyue's envoy accidentally leaked the news that Tao Guang was a traitor, so they decisively cut off Tao Guang's head just in case. At the same time, she yelled at Lu Mingyue's eighteenth generation of ancestors. Although Lu Mingyue was furious, she did not kill Tao Guang's brother-in-law with a thousand swords and slashes. Ti's brother-in-law avenged Tao Guang, and then angrily ordered to attack the city, determined to take advantage of Chen Yingliang's slow northward march to capture the Sui army's northern grain storage area in Pengcheng by force.
Backed by a fortified city, the city has sufficient food, grass and defense supplies. Of course, Tao Guang and Qiu Sheng don't need to be afraid of Lu Mingyue's army of 120,000. The large-scale attack on the city was easily repelled by the Teng County defenders—the Pengcheng Sui Army left by Dong Chun to Chen Yingliang was exhausted, but it was not impossible to fight. It is naturally very easy to fight a defensive battle with all the advantages.
After three large-scale sieges, not only did the bandit army with heavy casualties not take advantage of it, but the main force of the Sui army, who only walked forty miles a day to preserve their strength, was only one day away from Teng County. Lu Mingyue was forced to help Therefore, the army had to be divided into two teams, leaving one army to continue to encircle Teng County and counterattack the defenders, while the main force turned around to deal with the reinforcements of Teng County, and fought a decisive battle with the main force of the Sui Army led by Chen Yingliang in the southern suburbs of Teng County.
One day later, the main force of the Sui army led by Chen Yingliang arrived at the battlefield. He set off to the camp ten miles away from the camp of the bandit army. He quickly built a fence with the timber brought by the army, and immediately started digging trenches. . Lu Mingyue, on the other hand, followed the suggestion of the thief general Su Chang, and bullied Chen Yingliang that the camp was not stable. He immediately dispatched Su Chang to lead an army to attack the Sui army's camp, delaying the progress of the Sui army's camp establishment, so as to create a favorable opportunity.
Lu Mingyue's punch hit the iron plate. This time, Chen Yingliang brought not only the elites of Qiao County who came out, but also five thousand Dong Chun's hundred-fighters. The army did not even touch the edge of the Sui camp, and was immediately attacked by the general of the Sui army, Kan Leng, and was killed by the Modao team under Kan Leng's command. Then Cheng Yaojin led the cavalry to attack the Su Chang thief On the flank of the army, Su Chang's bandit army quickly collapsed completely, leaving more than 400 corpses in embarrassment and fled back to the camp to report to Lu Mingyue. this opponent.
The first battle was won, and the morale of the Sui army was greatly boosted. After returning to the camp, Kan Leng, Cheng Yaojin and the generals celebrated their victory in the large tent of the Chinese army that had just been set up, and asked Chen Yingliang impatiently. : "Deputy envoy, can we arrange a clever plan to defeat the enemy now? Our army has just won a battle and its morale is booming. This is a good opportunity to defeat the enemy."
"A clever plan to defeat the enemy? What do you mean?" Chen Yingliang was a little confused by the question, and asked back: "Who said I want to use a plan to defeat the enemy?"
"Didn't you use tricks to defeat the enemy?" Yuan Lizhen, the general of Pengcheng left behind by Dong Chun, was the most surprised, and hurriedly said: "Deputy envoy, although the last general has been waiting with you for a short time, I have also heard that you must first use the enemy in every battle." He is a well-known wise general in the court of the Sui Dynasty, why this time...?"
"Using tricks before, it was because our strength was too weak that we were forced to win by surprise." Chen Yingliang smiled and said, "But this time is different. Although our strength is less than one-tenth of the bandit army's, our combat effectiveness But it is far superior to the opponent, even if it is a decisive battle head-on, it will not lose the wind, so I don't plan to defeat the enemy by tricks in this battle, I only plan to fight to the death with Lu Mingyue's thieves in an upright manner."
"An upright fight to the death?" Ma Sanbao, Kan Leng and other old lackeys looked at each other, and Yuan Tiangang and Wei Zheng, who knew Chen Yingliang's temperament well, also looked at each other with big eyes, and they all said that this is still a heartless Chen Sangliang? When the two armies are confronting each other, they don't want to use tricks to deceive and deceive, but just want to fight to the death in an upright manner? Surprised, Yuan Tiangang simply asked: "Deputy envoy, are you joking? This is not like your usual behavior?"
Chen Yingliang laughed loudly, and said: "Of course I'm not joking, I can also tell everyone clearly that I have an ambush in this war. I arranged for a thousand troops to disguise themselves as refugees, and advanced into Teng The county seat helps to defend the city, and stabs the army of thieves in the back when there is a chance. But that army is basically used as a precautionary measure, and it cannot receive a surprise victory effect. If we want to win, the only way to win is to defeat the enemy head-on. One way."
After talking with a smile, Chen Yingliang glanced at the confused lackeys in the tent again. Chen Yingliang put away his smile and said seriously: "Everyone, I know you are very puzzled. I have considered defeating the enemy by tricks before, but I After thinking about it carefully, I still gave up this plan. Because since ancient times, the right way of military strategists is to win head-on, and winning by surprise is just a forced strategy when the strength is not enough or when the conditions are not allowed. Forming inertia, once the strategy fails, it will be faced with immediate disaster, so we have to make some changes this time."
"This is also a rare opportunity to train troops." Chen Yingliang said calmly again: "This time, we brought a month's supply of food and grass, which is enough to confront the enemy head-on. We don't have to rush to end the battle in terms of time. In the area of Teng County The terrain is open, there are no mountains, rivers, natural dangers to hide our soldiers, we can't surprise, and the enemy can't use tricks, we can only fight head-on and win head-on!"
After talking eloquently, Chen Yingliang looked around at the generals under the tent who had already listened attentively, and smiled, and asked, "What? Don't you have the confidence to defeat the enemy from the front? Although there are many enemies on the opposite side, but They are all mobs, are you so afraid of even a mob?"
"Of course I'm not afraid. We just feel that this time is too unexpected." Ma Sanbao and other smart people quickly replied, and then the other generals of the Sui Army answered the same way. ——I don't want to be deceived anymore.
"Then, do you have the confidence to defeat the enemy head-on?" Chen Yingliang asked again.
"Yes!" All the generals of the Sui Army replied in unison.
"Very good." Chen Yingliang nodded in satisfaction, and then said again: "Kan Leng, Cheng Yaojin, today's first battle victory is due to the contribution of the teams under your two command. Last year, we defeated the coalition forces of rebels on the Huaishui battlefield, and later suppressed the thieves." Killing the thieves in Pengcheng, Xiapi, and Donghai is also the team of the two of you who made the most contributions. I think you are qualified to add a piece of equipment. I will send someone to send it to you in a while. pieces."
"What?" Cheng Yaojin asked with great joy, "Is it a gunpowder bottle?"
"No!" Chen Yingliang shook his head, and said firmly, "It's the white robe! I think your team is qualified to be equipped with the white robe cloak that I am famous for!"
"Thank you, Deputy Envoy!" Kan Leng and Cheng Yaojin were overjoyed together, and hurriedly clasped their fists together to express their thanks, while the other generals of the Sui Army were extremely envious. After such a request, asking his team to wear the white cloak that Chen Yingliang is famous for, Chen Yingliang, who made his first pot of gold by relying on these white cloaks, refused every time with a smile, and refused to explain the reason. Now Chen Yingliang took the initiative The proposal to put white robes on Cheng Yaojin and Kan Leng's team is of great significance, and the generals of the Sui Army certainly know it well.
Taking another look at the envious generals of the Sui Army, Chen Yingliang said lightly: "Everyone, are you envious? If you are envious, work hard. Is your team worthy to wear white robes to fight under my little Chen Qingzhi? This battle is your best chance, don't let me down."
"Never let the deputy envoy down!" All the generals of the Sui army answered neatly with their hands clasped together.
"Very good." Chen Yingliang nodded again, stood up again, and said loudly, "I have passed an order to inform the whole army. From today, from now on, the soldiers in white robes in our army will eat every meal." One more liter will be issued, and the monthly military salary will be doubled! Prepare a memorial plaque for the fallen soldiers of the national army for me, and I will personally burn incense and pray in front of the plaque, and invite their spirits in heaven to see our soldiers in white robes with their own eyes!"
The shameless performance of buying people's hearts and encouraging morale began again. Under the sunset, the soldiers of the Sui Army lined up to watch the big show. Chen Yingliang personally burned incense and prayed before reporting to the soldiers of the national army. He said that after nearly two years, he finally had an organized team under his command. If you are qualified to wear the white robe that is the symbol of the national army's reputation, please pray to the spirits of the soldiers of the national army, and bless these younger generations to be invincible and invincible. Then, amidst the neat and clear military song "Serving the Country with Allegiance", Cheng Yaojin's four regiments of cavalry and Kan Ling's five regiments of heavy infantry solemnly took over the white cloaks, and many of them were so excited that they burst into tears .
Chen Yingliang put on white robes for Cheng Yaojin and Kan Leng with his own hands, and solemnly shook their hands. Both Cheng Yaojin and Kan Leng had tears in their eyes, and begged to be the vanguard on the battlefield of the decisive battle, and take the lead in attacking the enemy. Chen Yingliang Smiling and agreeing, the soldiers of the Sui Army who had already put on the white robes cheered like thunder, and their morale was high. treatment.
The next day, the rebel army came to fight outside the camp again. Chen Yingliang, who had not established a stable camp, didn't bother to pay attention, and ordered the soldiers to entertain them with random arrows. Lu Mingyue's rebel army was weak and did not dare to attack by force. They clamored for challenges outside the camp, cursed wantonly, and tried to provoke Chen Yingliang to a decisive battle in the field, but unfortunately they met the thick-skinned Chen Yingliang.
In the past three days, when Lu Mingyue, who was spending a lot of food and grass, was considering whether to storm Chen Yingliang's camp, Chen Yingliang, who had established a stable camp, sent a letter of engagement from the captives, inviting Lu Mingyue to a decisive battle in front of the bandit camp the next day. He was very arrogant and underestimated Lu Mingyue. Of course Lu Mingyue read the book and was furious. She immediately wrote the book and agreed to the battle, and sent someone back to Chen Yingliang's camp. After the envoy left, Lu Mingxing hurriedly said to Lu Mingyue: "Brother, the little thief Chen Yingliang is notoriously treacherous and cunning. His army strength is less than 10% of ours, but he still dares to send a letter to fight. We have to be on guard." He highlighted the surprise soldiers and attacked us."
"The protruding landforms here and there? Why are you afraid of him?" Lu Mingyue asked contemptuously.
"Night attack, we need to beware of his sneak attack at night." Lu Mingxing replied: "I heard that when he fought Du Fuwei for the first time, he won by sneak attack at night, and the Tian family brothers and Zhang Qian from Qiao County, It was also broken by him in the night battle, which shows that the traitor Chen Yingliang is very good at night battles, we must be careful."
Lu Mingyue nodded, approving Lu Mingxing's judgment, and immediately ordered the army to strengthen its guard at night, and arranged for an elite soldier to stand guard in front of the camp at night to guard against Chen Yingliang's sneak attack at night.
It wasn't until the next morning that the Lu brothers realized that they were worrying for nothing. They made the whole army be vigilant all night, but they didn't see a Sui army soldier coming from the barracks to make trouble all night. It is strange why Chen Yingliang, who is notoriously fond of cheating and deceitful, is so honest and honest. Suddenly, even more shocking news came—the scouts reported that Chen Yingliang really led 8,000 troops out of the camp to the north, heading towards the camp of the bandits. .
With an army of 120,000 in hand, Lu Mingyue certainly didn't have to be afraid of Chen Yingliang's mere 8,000 troops. After hearing the news, she was a little surprised and even more overjoyed. The big and small bandits under Lu Mingyue's command were all overjoyed, and quickly organized troops to attack, preparing to take advantage of the large number of soldiers to kill the famous executioner Chen Yingliang whose hands were stained with the blood of the rebel soldiers in one fell swoop in the field.
In no time, 50,000 rebel troops led out of the camp led by the well-organized Lu Mingyue, and quickly set up a huge square formation in front of the camp. In the field of vision of the army, a crane wing formation was set up for maneuvering, and as the formation of the Sui army slowly unfolded, Huo Xiaohan, the little thief who was quite trusted by the Lu family brothers, suddenly widened his eyes and his expression changed drastically. Shouted: "White-robed soldiers! White-robed soldiers from Dongdu! Why are white-robed soldiers from Dongdu here?!"
"Huo Xiaohan, what is a white-robed soldier? Scared you like this?" Asked a few uneducated and uneducated thieves next to him.
"It's the white-robed soldiers of Dongdu that Chen Sangliang formed when he started his family! Haven't you heard of it?" Huo Xiaohan asked back in surprise.
A few thieves who had no culture or experience shook their heads, and Huo Xiaohan said: "These white-robed soldiers are all lunatics, and they are notoriously reckless on the battlefield! They are best at winning more with less. Back then, King Lu and I We fought against them once next to Tongji Canal, and there are only four hundred of these lunatics, and they killed and wounded more than half of our army of more than three thousand!"
"Are you bragging? How can it be so powerful?" A thief was dubious.
"Believe it or not, it's up to you." Huo Xiaohan replied angrily, and quickly turned to the Lu family brothers, reminding: "Lord Lu, Second King, be careful, these white-robed soldiers are not easy to deal with."
Hearing Huo Xiaohan's words that could definitely shake the morale of the army, the Lu family brothers not only did not get angry and cursed, but on the contrary, their faces were extremely serious, and then Lu Mingyue also took the initiative to say: "Pass down the order, be careful to fight, concentrate your bows and crossbows, and specially entertain these people." White-robed soldiers."
"King Lu, have you encountered these white-robed soldiers?" Huo Xiaohan asked in surprise.
Lu Mingyue nodded with a gloomy face, and said in a cold voice: "When the tyrant conquered Goguryeo for the third time last year, we once encountered two regiments of these white-robed soldiers in Zhuo County. They were very well equipped and there were no other soldiers around. The officers and soldiers fought against them once because of the large number of people, trying to snatch their equipment and horses over."
"What's the result?" Huo Xiaohan hurriedly asked again.
"They killed almost a thousand people." Recalling the scene at that time, Lu Mingyue's voice trembled, and replied: "These bastards are indeed a bunch of lunatics. They go crazy when they see blood. I will take them to besiege them." More than 4,000 troops were overwhelmed by them, so they had no choice but to flee, and they chased and chopped down more than 20 miles."