It was getting dark, and after carefully logging to strengthen the camp defense, under the order of Sheng Account Jiaojiao, the civil and military generals of the rebel army who got on the stage immediately gathered in the big tent of the Chinese army, and accepted the arrangement and dispatch of the rebel commander Yang Xuangan .
In view of the fact that there is not much time for preparation, as soon as all the civil and military personnel arrived, Yang Xuangan directly issued an order: "Wang Zhongbo and Yang Gongdao listen to the order, and you two will each lead two thousand troops to lie in ambush on the two wings of the camp tonight. Yang Jishan and Laiyuan, each of you will lead two thousand elite soldiers to take turns to rest tonight, and be ready to face the night attacking army at any time. The rest of the generals, lead their respective teams to rest in peace, but the soldiers must not disarm and their weapons must not leave their hands. , Once the war requires it, it must be put into battle immediately."
All the rebel generals who were ordered to rest sang promises in unison, but the several rebel generals who were named by Yang Xuangan were embarrassed, especially the veteran Wang Zhongbo, who Yang Su left for Yang Xuangan, looked extremely troubled, and after hesitating for a while He also cupped his hands to Yang Xuangan and said: "Duke Chu, the last general and the rear army under General Yang escorted the food, grass and supplies. They marched for more than 190 miles in more than three days. The whole team is already very tired. If you don't Let them rest well, if there is a war tomorrow, I'm afraid..."
"I know that your army is tired, but there is nothing you can do." Yang Xuangan said helplessly: "Some of our main soldiers were left on the Luoyang battlefield, and some were taken to the west of Hongnong by Yang Xuanting. There are not many soldiers who can fight. , I can’t let the auxiliary soldiers and civilian husbands take up the ambush mission, right? So I have no choice but to make your soldiers in the rear army work hard for another night.”
Wang Zhongbo was in great difficulty, he didn't dare to disobey the order, and he didn't know how to go down to explain to the soldiers, but old general Li Zixiong stood up and said with relief: "Old general Wang, as long as you work hard for another night, tomorrow your troops can rest in peace. Yes. If the officers and soldiers come to attack at night tonight, you can rest after defeating the officers and soldiers. If the officers and soldiers do not come to attack at night tonight, tomorrow we will defeat the Hongnong army head-on, or directly cross Hongnong and go west to join General Yang Xuanting. You can rest at ease. For the sake of Duke Chu’s great cause, I hope you will constrain your team with all your heart and work hard for the last night tonight.”
Li Zixiong had already spoken to this point, what else could Wang Zhongbo say, couldn't he just accept the order helplessly? Although the three generals Yang Gongdao, Yang Jishan and Laiyuan complained equally in their hearts, they had no choice but to accept the order honestly. At the same time, Yang Xuangan arranged a reliable team to closely guard the food and supplies.
After the tent was disbanded, the rebels, civil and military, bid farewell and left the tent of the Chinese army. Li Mi deliberately waited until Li Zixiong went out of the tent together, and said to Li Zixiong alone on the road: "Old general, you suggest that Duke Chu arrange an ambush to guard against night raids by officers and soldiers. For the sake of caution, is it too cautious? So far, we have not found any signs of night raids by Hongnong officers and soldiers. Making the soldiers work so hard at night will not only be detrimental to the morale of the army, but will also seriously affect the combat effectiveness of our army what."
"Master, don't take it lightly." Li Zixiong said in a teaching tone: "Since ancient times, the weak have always defeated the strong by surprise. Now we are strong and the enemy is weak, and our army has successfully crossed the narrow mountain roads that are easy to be ambushed. If the enemy wants to die, he has no choice but to attack by surprise. If our army does not plan ahead and prepare in advance, and the officers and soldiers suddenly come to kill in the middle of the night, how can we resist?"
"That being said." Li Mi said hesitantly: "However, the officers and soldiers did not show any signs of a night attack. If they really don't come to attack tonight, wouldn't it be a waste of hard work for the few combat teams we have left?" ?”
"The last time in Mianchi, when Wei Xuan attacked us at night, did we find any signs of night attack by the officers and soldiers?" Li Zixiong asked with a smile, and then patted Li Mi on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Don't worry, our soldiers will not be in vain. Hard work, 90% of the officers and soldiers will come tonight. Even if they don't come, can our team still rest at the ambush site? Well, the old man is also very tired. The old man should go to rest first, and you should go to rest too. "
After all, he urged Yang Xuangan to leave Li Zixiong who had set up an ambush tonight. Li Mi bowed his hands and sent Li Zixiong away respectfully. Li Mi knew that Li Zixiong's arrangement was also for the safety and security of the rebel army, and he also knew that since ancient times, the weakest side had to launch a surprise attack if they wanted to win. Tonight, the possibility of officers and soldiers robbing the camp cannot be ruled out. However, Li Mi also knows one thing, there is a bad species who has always used the weak to attack the strong all his life. He has gone through dozens of battles and has not once surpassed one-tenth of the enemy's strength. In the decisive battle, I have never lost a battle in my life. This bad breed is also surnamed Chen, named Chen Qingzhi.
In this way, in the already very exhausted situation, the rebel army escorting food and grass did not even have a chance to rest for a night, so they were forced to drag their tired bodies out of the camp again, and went out in the open air on the left and right sides of the rebel camp. ambush. In this regard, the exhausted rebel soldiers are of course full of resentment and complaints, while the rebel generals such as Wang Zhongbo and Yang Gongdao have no choice but to appease the soldiers as much as possible, and repeatedly preach that as long as they work hard for one night, they will die the next day. You can rest well, and it took a lot of effort to get the army deployed.
Li Mi soon found out that his worries were in vain, because...
"Woo! Boom, boom, boom!"
Just after halfway through the first watch, the sky had just completely darkened, and the rebel army had just fallen asleep after marching hard for a whole day. Among the mountains and mountains to the south of the rebel camp, suddenly there was a drum horn shaking the sky, making an extremely loud and loud noise. The sound of horns and war drums resounded through the heaven and earth, and the sound spread for ten miles under the night sky where everything was still. It shook the mountains and reverberated, and the rebel camp was in chaos. , hurriedly went out of the tent to check the situation, and Yang Xuangan, who was still depressed by the ants during the day, rushed out of the tent with bare feet and looked around, "The army is here? Is the army here? Where is it? There ?”
Because the damned opponent was too despicable, of course Yang Xuangan didn't see half of the enemy, but when Li Mi, Li Zixiong and other important rebel officials rushed to Yang Xuangan to wait for orders, the drums and horns stopped suddenly. The mountains to the south were suddenly quiet as if nothing had happened. Seeing this scene, Li Mi's face turned ashen, knowing that even without Li Zixiong's advice tonight, the rebel army would never have a good rest for the night.
"Oops!" Li Zixiong also came to his senses, and screamed: "I never thought that the little thief Chen Yingliang would be so treacherous, and he would come up with such a plan to exhaust the army. Tonight, we will be offended!"
Because Li Mi used this method to deal with the defenders of the Eastern Capital before, Yang Xuangan knew the tactics and purpose of the Sui army without any explanation from Li Mi and Li Zixiong, and immediately shouted: "Send a thousand troops immediately!" Go search to see if there are any officers and soldiers ambushing, if not, kill all those officers, soldiers, drummers and trumpeters who pretend to be ghosts!"
"Chu Gong, don't!" Li Mi hurriedly dissuaded: "The south is full of lofty mountains, high mountains and dense forests, and the terrain is complicated. Sending our army in is like throwing a handful of salt into the sea. Let the soldiers work harder, if the officers and soldiers really have an ambush, they will definitely be severely injured by the officers and soldiers."
"Then what should we do?" Yang Xuangan roared angrily.
"The only way is to let the soldiers take turns to rest." Li Mi replied with a sad face: "No one can guarantee whether the officers and soldiers will suddenly come to the real one out of ten holidays. The only way is to let our troops take turns to rest and take turns to guard .”
Yang Xuangan gritted his teeth and hesitated for a long time, finally gave the order to let the army take turns to rest and guard. Li Mi just breathed a sigh of relief, but Yang Xuangan took him as a punching bag and roared, "It's all because of you! If you didn't use this trick to deal with the old man Fan Zigai, how could Hongnong's officers and soldiers use it so despicably?" Trick?"
Li Mi smiled wryly, and Li Zixiong suggested: "Duke Chu, why don't we also send some drum squads to harass Hongnong officers and soldiers, making them restless all night."
"Old General Li, what are you kidding?" Li Mi couldn't bear it anymore, "The officers and soldiers have a city to defend, and we don't have any siege weapons, so fools don't have to worry about us being able to attack the city wall! Besides, the officers and soldiers have Hong Should the peasant guard guarding the city be afraid of our drums and horns?"
Li Zixiong closed his mouth in embarrassment, and roared like thunder in his heart, "Little man! If you give you three points of color, you will open a dyeing workshop for this old man! If you dare to scold this old man like this, let's see how I will deal with you when I get rid of Chen Yingliang's little thief. !"
It was night, just like when Li Mi harassed the Dongdu defenders at Anximen, every half an hour, the Hongnong Drum Team ambushing in the mountains would harass them with trumpets and drums, although the rebel team took turns to rest Taking turns to be on guard, but still being harassed and disturbed every time, even if he rests, he dare not sleep peacefully. And in the second half of the night, when the physical condition of normal people is the most exhausted, the drum team commanded by Yang Zhiji's staff intensified, blowing trumpets and beating drums every second to disturb the rebel team until they were harassed and exhausted. As a result, the morale of the army has also become more depressed.
Fortunately, the nights in summer are relatively short, and the sky has gradually brightened before the hour of Mao. The Hongnong drum team ambushing in the mountains finally stopped their harassment. Relying on their familiarity with the terrain and roads, they quickly took the trail back to Hongnong. In the agricultural city, although the angry rebel team also went into the mountains to search and kill for revenge, but because of the unfamiliar terrain, they couldn't find and catch up with the Hongnong locals, and they could only return in vain.
At the right time, when the rebel army that had not had a good rest all night was still taking a nap, nearly 5,000 Sui soldiers who had rested peacefully all night had already woken up to the sound of morning drums, washed, and feasted on the food prepared for them by Hongnong soldiers and civilians. Serve a good meal.
Just after the first hour of the hour, all the preparations for the battle were made, and after carefully checking that the weapons and equipment were correct, the battle team composed of the left and right military guards and the soldiers of the Baoguo Army gathered at the south gate of Hongnong, ready to go out to fight. Wei Xuan insisted on following along. Chen Yingliang went to battle together, and Chen Yingliang didn't force it. With Wei Xuan's guarantee that he would not interfere with his command, he agreed to Wei Xuan's request to go to battle together. At the same time, Wei Xuan was very puzzled by some wine jugs wrapped in straw carried by the soldiers of the Baoguo Army. When asked the reason, Chen Yingliang flatly refused to answer.
Yang Zhiji personally led Hongnong's civil and military personnel to see Chen Yingliang off in front of the city gate. When parting, Yang Zhiji took Chen Yingliang's hand and whispered: "Don't blame this king for speaking unluckily. After all, the disparity in military strength is too huge. How is your opponent going?" It's Yang Xuangan, who is the champion of the three armies, and Li Zixiong, an old thief who has experienced many battles. If the battle goes wrong, you don't have to be too reluctant. If the strength is compared here, no one will blame you."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Chen Yingliang thanked you in a low voice, and then said in a low voice: "Please rest assured, Your Highness, villains never do things that are not sure, and leading the army this time will definitely not disappoint the Emperor and His Highness. Your Highness, please stay in the city quietly." Hou Jiayin."
"It's up to you, take care." Yang Zhiji shook Chen Yingliang's hand a few times, and then said hastily: "By the way, I almost forgot a big event. After you leave the city, if you encounter any local parents who betray Yang Xuan The thief sends wine and meat as a reward, you must not stop and ignore it—it is a small gift from the king. Although it may not be guaranteed to be delivered to you, if it is delivered, it will definitely play a big role for you .”
"Your Highness is brilliant." Chen Yingliang's eyes lit up, and he said pleasantly, "Why didn't the villain think of this? Yang Rebel is good at deceiving people's hearts. Foolish people took the initiative to send him wine, meat, cattle and sheep as a reward for his rebel team, and if he is rewarded with wine and meat at this time, he will definitely accept it immediately without any doubt."
"An ignorant fool who doesn't know the truth?" Yang Zhiji laughed, and said with a low laugh: "Chen Jishi is really good at talking. Now, Xiao Wang finally has a way to explain it in his memorial to Brother Huang."
Chen Yingliang smiled wryly, he really didn't dare to continue with Yang Zhiji on this topic - after all, Yang Zhiji was the direct cousin of Emperor Sui Yang, and despite being suspicious by Emperor Sui Yang in every possible way, he still stepped forward at the critical moment, as a royal relative The responsibility of the relatives of the state, Chen Yingliang discussed this topic with him, and if he was a little careless, he would be killed.
After a wry smile, Chen Yingliang suddenly remembered an important matter, and hurriedly said in a low voice: "Your Highness, what seasoning did you add to the wine and meat? If it is arsenic, it will be discovered immediately."
"What nonsense?" Yang Zhiji scolded Chen Yingliang, and said in a low voice: "Is this king the kind of villain who poisons? The condiments added by this king are just to make the rebels unable to fight with peace of mind, and will not be fatal."
After looking at each other with evil smiles, Yang Zhiji gave an order, and the closed gate of Hongnong City slowly opened, and then Chen Yingliang gave an order, and less than 5,000 Sui soldiers marched out of the city, striding towards the rebels in Zhengdong, Hongnong The camp, when the strength of the troops is less than one-tenth of the enemy's, take the initiative to attack the rebel camp.
…
When the rebel scouts reported the Sui army's movements to Yang Xuangan, Yang Xuangan, who still had dark circles on his face, was yawning and eating breakfast. When he learned that the Sui army actually came out of the city for a decisive battle, Yang Xuangan was startled, what did he say? No one thought that Chen Yingliang would really fulfill his promise and come to the decisive battle, and then he was overjoyed, and immediately shouted orders to blow the trumpet to raise his account, and summoned the rebel army civil and military to prepare to lead the army out of the camp for a decisive battle.
Not a moment later, the yawning rebel generals, civil and military, rushed to the big tent to wait for orders. When they learned the reason for Yang Xuangan's promotion, the rebel generals, who almost had dark circles on their faces, cheered loudly, cheering for Yang Xuanzong and Yang Wanshuo. Having avenged his own sleep, Li Zixiong even hurriedly said: "Duke Chu, this opportunity is rare. After annihilating the officers and soldiers of Hongnong, we will have no obstacles on the way west to Tongguan, and we don't have to worry about coming from the rear when attacking Tongguan. This old man, please order 10,000 troops out of the camp to wipe out the incoming enemy!"
"No!" Yang Xuangan flatly refused, and said through gritted teeth: "This time, the Zhu Kingdom will personally lead an army of 20,000 to fight, and personally avenge the second and fifth brothers!"
Li Zixiong also knew that the vengeful Yang Xuangan couldn't miss this opportunity, so he could only nod in agreement with Yang Xuangan's decision. Immediately, Yang Xuangan arranged for a team to fight, and took all the remaining main soldiers out of the camp. Arranging more than 10,000 auxiliary troops to go out to help the battle, the rebel generals agreed with a loud bang, and couldn't wait to go out of the tent to gather the troops, but at this moment, there was a loud voice in the big tent of the Chinese army...
"Wait a minute! Gentlemen, wait a moment and assemble the team!"
"Who's stopping it?" Yang Xuangan followed the sound in surprise, and immediately found out extremely angrily that the person who stopped him was actually Li Mi, whom he increasingly disliked. In a fit of rage, Yang Xuangan roared angrily: "Li Mi, what do you want to do?"
Of course, Li Mi wanted to persuade Yang Xuangan to give up the battle and not to take the risk of a decisive battle with Chen Yingliang, who was uncharacteristically seeking a direct decisive battle. After seeing Yang Xuangan's angry expression, Li Mi changed his mind and said in a low voice: "Chu Gong, our team didn't have enough rest last night. Stick to the camp for the time being, let the soldiers rest for a while, and it is not too late to fight again at noon or afternoon?"
"No need!" Yang Xuangan said viciously: "The soldiers did not have a good rest last night, and they are all angry. This Zhu Kingdom just takes advantage of their anger!"
Li Mi was speechless, knowing how to persuade him was useless, maybe Yang Xuangan left himself in the camp in a fit of anger, in order to help Yang Xuangan correct his mistakes at any time and discourage Yang Xuangan from acting impulsively, Li Mi could only choose wisely back down. At the same time, Li Mi's powerful sixth sense also told himself that this decisive battle might not be as simple as he imagined.
Without the obstruction of Li Mi, who hates people and dogs, the rebel team quickly assembled, and under the personal leadership of Yang Xuangan, they went out of the camp and marched westward, and went to an open area to fight the Sui army team to the death. And when Yang Xuangan led the army out of the camp, another trivial incident happened—some local people who could not bear the cruel oppression of Emperor Sui Yang brought twenty altars of fine wine, ten baskets of steamed buns and two baskets of cooked bread. They bought the braised pork to reward Yang Xuangan's volunteer teacher, and happened to meet Yang Xuangan's expedition team.
In this regard, Yang Xuangan, who has long been accustomed to being warmly supported and supported by the common people, was not surprised at all. After personally thanking these enthusiastic Hongnong folks, Yang Xuangan ordered loudly: "Bring these wine and meat, In a while, after Benzhu Kingdom personally beheaded the old man Wei Xuan and the little thief Chen Yingliang, they will use these wine and meat on the battlefield to celebrate the victory and pay homage to the souls of the two dead brothers of Benzhu Kingdom!"
"Strange, it seems that something is wrong?" Li Mi who followed Yang Xuangan was a little puzzled, but Li Mi couldn't remember what was wrong for a while.