Although he likes this sporting activity very much, Li Keshi is not in the mood to go hunting with Wang Bodang.
Damn it! Suppose you are a small rich peasant and small landlord who is idle at home, a small squire with little hope of official career and titles and honors except for a little security in food, clothing, housing and transportation, and you fall from the sky for no reason. Than Wang Mang Dong Zhuo’s nephew, this nephew who has never met before not only regards you as a real elder, respects and filial piety, but also spares no effort to promote and appoint you, let you be a high-ranking official and enjoy a generous salary for no reason. Army, and when he puts you on errands, do you still have the mind to leave military duties behind and go hunting, skiing, golfing? This is not a joke what is it
Of course there are exceptions, Master Li met such an accident this time. On the night when troops were dispatched eastward from Xin'an, when they set up camp ten miles southwest of Luoyang to rest, there was a sudden report from the front, saying that Li Mi's army had crossed Luoshui overnight twenty miles east of Luoyang. Although he is not afraid, he is secretly happy to achieve the goal of forcing Li Mi to divide his troops to go south, but he also understands that his first test after becoming an official has come, and if he is a little careless, his bright future may be ruined.
Relying on the efforts of the few veteran scouts in the army, the number of Li Mi's side divisions was found out in the early morning. The number is about 10,000. The commander is Li Mi's most trusted student Wang Bodang. Between 4,000 and 5,000 troops moved to Nancheng, and the main general was Wang Junkuo, another capable nephew of Wang Shichong. (With the same name and surname, there were two Wang Junkuo at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. One was Wang Junkuo who joined the Li Yuan army after the uprising, and the other was Wang Shichong's nephew.)
The front has become a natural trap. If Li Keshi continues to lead the army forward, he will meet Wang Bodang head-on. Wang Junkuo behind him may send troops to intercept Li Keshi's return at any time. Luoshui is to the north. To the south is the deep mountains and old forests of the Funiu Mountains. Once there is a change, Li Ke's army will not only immediately face the enemy, but also have no way to run. However, Li Ke, who was ordered to contain part of Li Mi and Wang Shichong's troops, had no choice but to continue to lead the army. The army marched forward and strode into the natural trap jointly constructed by Li Mi and Wang Shichong.
At the same time, considering that Wang Shichong and Li Mi's current joint strength still exceeds that of Hua Jixiong, in order to ensure that these three potential enemies will lose all three sides, Li Keshi also has a rather crazy idea, that is, to lure Make part of the Wang Li coalition army go south to share the pressure as much as possible for the main force of Hua and brothers who are about to take the initiative to fight.
After finally clearing up for a day, the weather in Luoyang on the eighth day of the first lunar month turned cloudy again. With the wind blowing in front of us, most of the soldiers who had never been on the battlefield, Li Keshi’s army sang Qin Yun Wuyi, and followed Li Keshi. Shuai Qi crossed the southern city of Luoyang with great strides, and walked towards Wang Bodang's army who had already set up camp twenty miles ahead without fear. Li Keshi kept his word and didn't allow his soldiers to come within three miles of the south city of Luoyang. Wang Junkuo obeyed his uncle's order and stood still, watching Li Keshi's army pass by around the city. Said: "I don't know how to live or die, if uncle gives an order, you just wait for the whole army to be wiped out."
When it was only seven or eight miles away from Wang Bodang's camp, Wang Bodang sent his brother-in-law Pei Shufang as an envoy to block Master Li Keshi's way, and politely asked to meet Li Keshi with a gift in his hand. After the meeting, Pei Shufang gave a gift On behalf of Wang Bodang, he inquired about the purpose of Li Keshi's army, but Li Keshi told him very clearly, "Of course it is to conquer Yu Wenhua and the rebels. Although the Yuwen rebels are now stationed in Jinyong City, our army must beware of him passing through Yanshi. In order to ensure the annihilation of this regicide within the territory of Henan County, Yun Shilang dispatched his own army to advance eastward and stationed on the south bank of Yanshi to cut off this traitor's escape route to the south."
Li Keshi's excuse was of course that he wanted to talk too much nonsense, but Pei Shufang didn't care about it. He just pretended to be surprised and said: "So General Li is planning to enter Yanshi? That's too unfortunate. My brother-in-law also obeyed the order of Duke Wei to go south." Crossing Luoshui is also to prevent Yu Wenhua and the traitors from fleeing south, Wei Gong also ordered that no troops should pass through brother-in-law's defense area, even friendly troops, what should we do?"
"It doesn't matter." Li Keshi said with a smile: "I would like to ask your envoy to report back to General Wang Bodang, and ask him to report this matter to Mr. Fazhu as soon as possible, and ask Mr. Fazhu to allow him to let him go. Before that, our army is nearby for the time being." Stay here and wait for the reply from Mr. Fazhu and General Bodang."
After all, Master Li didn't continue to talk nonsense, and directly ordered to set up camp on the flat ground in front of him. Pei Shufang understood that Master Li didn't want to leave. It was exactly in the arms of Wang Bodang's army, so Pei Shufang didn't say much, and immediately said goodbye, Pegasus returned to Wang Bodang's camp, which was also setting up camp, and reported to Wang Bodang the negotiation with Li Keshi .
Mr. Li Keshi's nonsensical excuse made Wang Bodang a little relieved, knowing that Li Keshi also wanted to make false claims with him, and didn't want to turn his back on him directly—although Wang Bodang was really not afraid of turning his face against Li Keshi. At this time, Zhang Changhui, the deputy, happened to come to report that the camp had basically been set up, and only needed to dig trenches and build fortifications. Wang Bodang made some calculations and ordered Zhang Changhui to temporarily lead the army to build the fortifications. I personally went to Li Keshi's camp to observe the enemy's situation, see how good Li Keshi is in terms of running the army and setting up the camp, and also waited for the opportunity to negotiate with Li Keshi in person, showing strength and intimidation appropriately.
As soon as the experts make a move, they will know if there is any. Looking down from the south of the earth hill, Wang Bodang was a little surprised by the situation of Li Ke's army's camp. The crescent moon camp inwards, this kind of camp has a strong defense force, and at the same time, it also takes into account various tasks such as water intake, army mobilization, soldier training, and protection of food, grass and supplies. It is also quite convenient to attack and train. The latest camp layout created by summarizing and learning from actual combat is usually only arranged by experienced battlefield veterans. Wang Bodang was naturally a little surprised that Li Keshi, who was leading the army for the first time, also understood this camp layout.
—Of course, if Wang Bodang could be more knowledgeable and know that this kind of camp arrangement was first created by Li Keshi’s brother Li Jing, he would not be so surprised.
Like Old General Yun, although Li Keshi is not as good as his elder brother who is a genius in terms of running the army, nor is he like his nephew who can use political commissars to buy the hearts of soldiers, and is good at capturing the enemy's psychology to win by surprise, but he is definitely worthy of it. The above is quite satisfactory, there are no flaws in the places that should be strict, and all kinds of fortifications in the camp should be complete. Even if you know that the stationing time will not be too long, you still have to cut down wood for the camp, and build antlers to prevent the enemy from raiding. It is completely broken. Wang Bodang decided to fight against Li Ke's army.
The scouts of the Sui Army in Guanzhong discovered the existence of Wang Bodang and others long ago. After reporting to Li Keshi, Li Keshi ignored them and let the potential enemy Wang Bodang peek at the camp of his own army, wanting to know more about the Sui army. Wang Bodang was not in a hurry to meet Li Keshi, but at this moment, fifty or sixty Qingqi came rushing over from Luoyang, and the leader was Wang Junkuo, the guard of Luoyang Nancheng. He directly led the cavalry to the short hill where Wang Bodang was, and laughed from a distance: "Bodang, I guess it's you, why, come to investigate the enemy's situation?"
"Come to appreciate the military appearance of the friendly army." Wang Bodang corrected with a smile, and greeted each other with his old acquaintance Wang Junkuo, and asked with a smile: "General Junkuo is here to appreciate the lineup of the friendly army, right?"
"Almost, let's see how good this man is." Wang Junkuo nodded casually, then carefully looked at Master Li Ke's camp, and then sneered: "It's really good to learn, if you don't know that this man has never I’ve been on the battlefield, I’m afraid I really have to be bluffed by his camp.”
Wang Bodang was very satisfied with Wang Junkuo's contemptuous tone, knowing that just like the inside information, the old Wang family really did not like to see Chen Sangliang and his accomplices and lackeys, and then Wang Bodang took the opportunity to propose: "General Junkuo, anyway, we will Nothing to do, and they are all carrying light cavalry, how about sending someone in together, and inviting General Hakka out to shoot and hunt, and also meet with him by the way, how about it?"
"Good idea, just let that man see the general's arrow skills! Let him know what the end will be if he leads the army here." Wang Junkuo applauded, and couldn't wait to mention Chen Sangliang's hunting in Surabaya He felt that Chen Sangliang's cousin must be the same as him. Wang Bodang was amused to hear that, and immediately sent people to the Sui army camp to invite Li Keshi to go out to shoot and hunt.
It was our cousin Li's turn to be embarrassed, and he scratched his head in pain and did not dare to agree immediately. Next to him, the soldiers brought by Master Li Ke from Sanyuan's hometown couldn't help laughing, but he didn't dare to laugh. After thinking about it, Li Keshi still took the case and said: "Go! Although I have made an oath before that I will not shoot or hunt during the command of the army, but Wang Bodang and Wang Junkuo are clearly provoking me. Not to go is to show weakness, and they will bully people even more in the future! Go! Whether to shoot or not can be discussed later, but you must go! Changsun Cheng, Wei Ting, you stay in the camp, hurry up and set up camp."
The two deputies Sun Cheng and Wei Ting agreed together, but they also told Li Keshi to be careful and safe. Li Keshi hurriedly packed his bow and arrow and agreed casually. Over there, Li Keshi brought his old family member and soldier captain Li Keshi from his hometown in Sanyuan. But Rui couldn't help laughing and said: "Two generals, you should worry about the birds and beasts around you, they are about to suffer..." Before he could finish speaking, Li Rui was stared at fiercely by Li Keshi Gotta shut up.
Ever since, Master Li Ke also led more than fifty cavalry out of the camp, and the three army chiefs who had their own ulterior motives soon met on the dirt hill southwest of the Sui army camp. Wang Bodang and Wang Junkuo despised Li Keshi, who had lost his parents' handsome appearance. In addition, Li Keshi deliberately restrained himself for some reason, and his behavior was too polite and refined. I left such an impression with Wang Junkuo—a rookie who is as powerless as Chen Sangliang. Chen Sangliang relied on his ruthlessness and scheming to get to the top, while Li Keshi was even worse. Shit luck is high.
None of the three chief generals mentioned the topic of war, and Wang Bodang didn't ask how long Li Keshi led the army to stay here. General, it’s rare that the three of us can get together today, and there are no military affairs on the left and right, so how about we just shoot and have fun? Shoot some rabbit golden pheasants, and it’s just right for drinking tonight.”
"Good idea." Wang Junkuo immediately agreed, and suggested: "By the way, let's also compare arrow techniques. Whoever shoots the least prey will lose to the two families with three jars of wine each!"
When they said this, Wang Junkuo and Wang Bodang had been observing Li Keshi's reaction, and the result was as they expected. The elegant and handsome Li Keshi really didn't dare to say anything, and his hands were still trembling slightly. The guest teacher also said with a painful expression: "You two generals, forget it, I am not good at riding and archery, so I am better than you? If you want to drink, I will give you three jars of good wine each. Stop competing."
No matter how you look at it, Li Keshi doesn't seem to be deliberately modest. Wang Bodang and Wang Junkuo have a solid understanding in their hearts, and they all say how can this be done? Among the famous generals throughout the ages, except for a very few trash snacks who can't shoot through the sword, how many of them can't use a strong bow and a hard crossbow? Do you regard hunting as a common practice? Then Wang Junkuo didn't care whether his words had satirized a relative of Mr. Li Ke, and immediately ordered half of the cavalry under his command to dispatch half of them to drive out the prey in the grass in the forest. Wang Bodang also gave the order with a smile, and then Mr. Li Ke said goodbye. There is no choice but to send out the cavalry under his command to search and find the prey.
Wang Junkuo and Wang Bodang were obviously hunters all year round, and the cavalry they brought with them knew how to hunt. Even though there were not many prey in winter, they quickly drove out some hares, pheasants, and birds from the grass in the forest. , On the contrary, the cavalry under Li Keshi's command was not good at this aspect. After tossing for a long time, a few house thieves were startled in the grass, and one of the soldiers was so stupid that he threw himself into the grass when he used his gun to disturb the grass. After taking off the horse, he fell into the snow in embarrassment, making Wang Bodang and the cavalry brought by Wang Junkuo burst into laughter, and also made Li Keshi's face very ugly-then Li Keshi immediately stopped his family member Li who was eager to try. Rui.
Among the birds and beasts, Wang Junkuo proudly showed his love bow, a beautifully decorated horse bow with horns and horses, showing off his love bow: "Two stone bows, within a hundred steps, can break armor! Back then I When I followed my uncle to conquer Liu Yuanjin, what I got in Danyang was worth fifty gold!"
Unable to understand Wang Junkuo's arrogance, Wang Bodang showed a more exquisitely carved horse bow and said with a smile: "His Royal Highness Qing gave it to me. It is said that it was once used by the overlord Xiang Yu. Three stones, one hundred Within twenty steps, you can get through a good iron armor, worth a hundred gold!"
"Really?" Wang Junkuo opened his mouth wide, staring at the obviously better horse bow in Wang Bodang's hand with greed and envy, and asked, "Is this horse bow really used by Xiang Yu?"
When Uncle Wang smiled and nodded, Master Li Ke suddenly spoke, saying: "Fake, there were no stirrups in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and of course there was no horse bow. If it was a step bow, it might have been used by Xiang Yu. This bow is absolutely impossible. It was left behind by the Overlord of Chu."
After all, Master Li Ke quickly closed his mouth, but Wang Junkuo was overjoyed when he heard it, and hurriedly said that was exactly the case. At that time, there was no horse bow from the stirrup, and Wang Bodang was embarrassed, and said a little embarrassedly. : "So that's the case. It seems that I was deceived by someone, but this bow can indeed break through armor within 120 steps. It is a rare good bow."
Wang Junkuo's continued sniggering made Wang Bodang even more embarrassed. Wang Bodang could only quickly change the subject and asked Li Keshi: "General Li, what kind of bow do you use? How many stones? How far can you shoot?"
The muscles on Master Li's face twitched for no reason, and then he silently showed his love bow—it was also a horse bow, but it looked very inconspicuous and old. When Wang Bodang and Wang Junkuo saw each other and smiled secretly, they never thought that a hare would suddenly rush within a hundred steps of them. Wang Junkuo drew his bow and arrow without hesitation, and shot the arrow through the wind, killing the poor rabbit. The hare was nailed alive seventy paces away, and the Dongdu cavalry brought by Wang Junkuo burst into cheers.
Uncle Wang smiled, then raised his bow and set an arrow, and shot the same arrow, and then a fleeing pheasant a hundred steps away fell to the ground, and the cavalry he brought burst into cheers even more violently.
Probably because he sensed that Wang Bodang also wanted to demonstrate to him, Wang Junkuo, who changed his face, immediately rode his horse and galloped. Bian Wang Bodang galloped on a faster flying horse, and shot seven birds and rabbits in a row with seven arrows. In exchange, Wang Junkuo's face became even uglier, and Li Mijun's cavalry cheered and roared even more excitedly.
Only Li Keshi didn't move, his hands and feet were trembling. Li Keshi raised his head and looked up at the sky. In the gloomy sky, there happened to be a goshawk circling, and there was a sudden hawk cry.
The sound of the eagle was heard by Wang Bodang and Wang Junkuo at the same time. When the two houses looked up together, Wang Junkuo immediately realized that the eagle was flying too high, and his arrow could not be shot at all. He could only hold the bow and wait. Dang Ze didn't hesitate much, reckoning that the distance should be enough, he raised his head and shot an arrow.
Wang Bodang was very unlucky, there happened to be a gust of wind blowing, which blew his arrow a little bit in the wrong direction, brushing against the eagle and flying away, which also surprised the eagle to fly higher and quickly surpassed Wang Bodang's shooting range. While Wang Junkuo was gleefully sniggering, Wang Bodang could only put down his bow and arrow in embarrassment, and then brought the topic to Li Keshi, and asked with a smile: "Old General Li, why are you doing it? Is there no suitable prey?"
"No." Master Li replied with a painful expression, "I made an oath not to shoot or hunt during the period of commanding the army."
"It's a good excuse." Wang Junkuo sneered in his heart, with a friendly smile on his face, and said, "General Li, since you don't shoot, how about a different target? See if there is an old tree a hundred steps away, let us shoot it." Have you seen your arrow skills?"
Mr. Li Keshi squinted and saw a lonely old tree a hundred steps away. He felt a little shaken, but he still didn't move. Wang Junkuo smiled coldly, raised his hand and shot an arrow, which happened to hit the old tree. The Dongdu cavalry was also very funny, rushed up to have a look and shouted: "The general is good at arrows, half a foot into the wood!"
With a whoosh, the arrow in Wang Bodang's hand shot out suddenly, and it also hit the old tree. The Dongdu cavalry who inspected the depth of the arrow took a look and were speechless. A Li Mijun cavalry rushed up to have a look, and then cheered Shouted: "General Bodang's magic arrow penetrates seven inches into the wood!"
Wang Junkuo's face turned livid all of a sudden, and he re-drawn his bow without saying a word. The same was true for Wang Bodang over there. He struggled to draw the hard bow, and shot an arrow almost at the same time as Wang Junkuo. .
"call out!"
There was an even more violent sound of feathered arrows piercing the air, and a feathered arrow was shot out suddenly. It went extremely fast, and its aim was even more outrageous. It actually chopped off the two arrows of Wang Bodang and Wang Junkuo in the air, and then hit the tree. The old tree passed directly through the tree, and even the arrow tails went straight into the tree!
No one dared to shout anymore, all the cavalrymen on the scene opened their mouths wide open, Wang Junkuo and Wang Bodang turned their heads with difficulty, but saw Li Keshi holding the old horse bow in his hand, the muscles on his face were twitching constantly, Suddenly shouted: "I can't help it!"
Amidst the roar, Li Keshi quickly drew an arrow on the string, raised his head and shot it into the sky, an arrow hit the eagle hovering at a higher place, and the eagle fell to the ground with a scream. Shooting arrows, the arrows were not in vain. They either shot the birds alive or stuck the hares on the ground. Master Li Ke continued to yell, "What's the matter with hunting? What's the matter with hunting? Shooting and hunting will not delay the command of the army. I will bear with him." do what?"
"Quick!" Li Rui, the captain of Li Keshi's personal army, also shouted, "Hurry up and pick up our general's arrows, the rhubarb arrows used by Li Guang, nine arrows are worth an acre of land! Don't waste it!"
When the cavalrymen of the Sui Army promised, Wang Junkuo and Wang Bodang were even more dumbfounded, and exclaimed in unison: "The rhubarb arrows used by Li Guang?! Nine arrows can be exchanged for one mu of land?!"
Li Rui nodded, and explained: "General Li loves riding and shooting. We spent a lot of money to buy the big yellow arrows left by the parachutist Li Guang, and asked skilled craftsmen to imitate them. The cost is very expensive. The cost of nine arrows can For an acre of land."
"What about his bow?" Wang Bodang asked quickly.
"General Wang, have you heard of Yang Kan's name?" Li Rui asked with a wry smile.
Wang Junkuo shook his head, but Wang Bodang, who had been educated by Li Mi, turned pale and blurted out, "Yang Kan? Could this be the legendary Yang Kan horse bow? Six stones! It can be worn within 180 steps. First?!"
While Wang Junkuo was completely dumbfounded, Li Rui smiled wryly and nodded again, and said, "For this sheep bow, our general confiscated his entire house in Daxing, and we had many quarrels with his wife about it."
Looking at Wang Bodang and Wang Junkuo who had fallen into a state of insanity, Li Rui lowered his voice and said, "You two generals, don't compete with our generals in riding and shooting. You must not know that the birds and beasts in Sanyuan area He already knew our general, and ran away when he heard his voice, and our people there even gave our general a nickname for this.”
"What nickname?" Wang Bodang hurriedly asked again.
Li Rui opened his mouth, shook his head and refused to answer, and replied in his heart: "Bird thief!"
At this time, Li Keshi rushed back to Wang Bodang and Wang Junkuo, raised his bow and said, "You two generals, don't you want to compare arrow skills? How do you compare? How do you gamble? You can bet on your head! I will accompany you in the end!"
Wang Bodang and Wang Junkuo finally didn't dare to say anything this time, and they said together in their hearts: "Oops, we still underestimated this relative of Chen Yingliang's traitor too much. We didn't expect that his arrow skills are so outstanding, and he can also open a six-stone strong bow. Skills and martial arts are above me!"