When Qi Liu and Han Benshan were still waiting for Song Jiang and the others to make their final decision in the Liangshanbo village, when the heroes of Liangshanbo began to discuss how to send troops to maximize their own interests, when all of them thought that there was still time, it was impossible for the Qingzhou Army to attack in the short term. When he conquered Erlong Mountain again, Sun Tu once again led more than a thousand Qingzhou troops to the foot of Erlong Mountain.
Deng Long and others on the mountain saw the powerful army starting to set up camp at the foot of the mountain in an orderly manner, arranging the preliminary work for attacking the mountain. Many flags were flapping in the autumn wind, and everyone's faces showed disbelief and joy. With uneasy expressions, many people were also deeply angry: "This Sun Tu and his soldiers are really arrogant. Do you really think that the one or two thousand brothers in Erlong Mountain are all clay and wood carvings?"
Before Deng Long could say anything, the strong-tempered leader called for battle: "Captain, we can't let them gain a foothold at the foot of the mountain so unscrupulously. Why don't we let my younger brother go down the mountain to kill him first?" There aren’t many people, but we have to dampen their arrogance.”
Deng Long frowned slightly. The previous battle in Dongshixiao had made him deeply wary of the Qingzhou Army. If he sent people down the mountain and suffered another disastrous defeat this time, it would definitely be extremely detrimental to the subsequent plan to defend the mountain. But he couldn't refuse the proposal directly, otherwise it would dampen everyone's spirit. In a dilemma, he could only turn his inquiring gaze to the military advisor Lu Yuan on the side.
Lu Yuan nodded after thinking for a while and said: "It's a good thing that you guys have such fighting spirit. However, I have also heard about the battle in Dongshikia before. This army is indeed much stronger than us when fighting on the plains. If we rush down the mountain to attack, I'm afraid it will play into their hands. Instead of leading the army to fight head-on to reduce their fighting spirit, we can also let the brothers fight with them, so that the strengths of the officers and soldiers will not be shown."
Deng Long was immediately overjoyed when he heard this: "How could I have forgotten this... Sun Lian, Zhao Sheng, you two will go to the Qingzhou Army at the foot of the mountain to invite a battle in the name of Erlongshan. If you can defeat him in a few games, you will win." It is a great achievement, but it can also dampen the morale of the officers and soldiers."
The two leaders whose names were called were both good players in the village. They all clasped their fists and agreed, and then rushed down immediately. When they reached the lowest level, Jintang City, they shouted loudly to the officers and soldiers below: "Listen to the people at the bottom of the mountain, you dare to attack Erlong Mountain. You really don't want to live or die. Today my family The two leaders want a fair fight with you, but does anyone dare to fight?"
The words quickly spread down below, and the soldiers guarding the gate of the military camp heard it and reported inside. At this time, Sun Tu was discussing with several people from the former Erlong Mountain who had surrendered to his family before, discussing how to attack the mountain.
"Jintang City, Yixiantian, and Pingtian Pass are the three natural passes on Erlong Mountain. If it is a frontal attack, as long as the people guarding the mountain do not make mistakes, I am afraid that not even ten thousand people can't defeat these three passes. . Especially Xiantian, because the terrain there is high, steep and narrow, and the troops and horses cannot deploy at all. It is really true that one man can block the barrier and no one can open it." These people did not mean to hide it, so they told them what they knew about the situation at Erlong Mountain. They all told him, and many generals in the tent frowned. This mountain is indeed difficult to attack.
"What if we sneak up from the left and right sides or the back mountain?" Sun Tu put forward his own idea.
"It won't work either.
The Army Division was always careful, and these three sides were guarded day and night. Moreover, the terrain there is more dangerous than the previous mountain. Once anything is noticed, as long as arrows and stones fall, no matter how many people there are, they will definitely die. "
Sun Tu sighed: "It seems that we can only attack from the front. This Erlong Mountain is indeed the first of the three bandit mountains in Qingzhou. It is indeed a tough nut to crack."
The others were silent. They all felt that the governor's forceful dispatch of troops this time was indeed a bit messy. Even though they had obtained a lot of money and food by confiscating the properties of a large number of officials in the city, this was far from enough for more than a thousand soldiers. Horses are consumed here. After all, this Erlong Mountain is different from the Baihu Mountain that was captured before. It cannot be conquered in just three to five days. And once the time prolongs, the situation will be quite bad for the family.
Just when Yang Zhi was hesitant to say something, a soldier opened the curtain and reported: "Du Jian, there are bandits from Erlong Mountain calling for a fight outside, and they want to fight us to determine the outcome."
Sun Tu was stunned after hearing this: "Are there really such rules on the battlefield today?"
Many novels written after the Ming and Qing Dynasties, as long as they write about the confrontation between the two armies, many of them will spend a lot of space describing the two sides setting up their battle formations and sending their respective generals to catch and fight in front of the two armies. There are often dozens or hundreds of people fighting in one battle. There is no winner or loser in each round, or the whole army is defeated after one general is killed... It seems that this kind of fighting between soldiers and generals has become a regular pattern of ancient army operations.
But in fact, Sun Tu knew very well that although the fighting methods of such generals existed, they were not common, because many times an army general relied not on martial arts at all, but on the use of military tactics and the ability to judge the situation. Moreover, if the two armies really fight each other in front of the formation, there is a high probability that the enemy archers will find an opportunity to deal a vicious blow to you. When the general dies, the battle will be immediately lost.
It can be said that the tactics of these generals are more like legends or idealized descriptions of the battlefield by ancient literati. However, it is difficult for such scenes to appear on the cruel real battlefield.
But today, the people from Erlong Mountain actually challenged him. This really made Sun Tu feel a little funny. Today he led his troops to destroy them. It was not about fighting for territory on the green forest road, but also a fair duel or something. .
But other people in the tent didn't think so, and soon some people shouted loudly: "These bandits are really loud, they dare to provoke our Qingzhou Army. Governor, let the general go out and meet them for a while, It’s also a good way to let them know how powerful our Qingzhou Army is.”
Sun Tu was stunned again. These people were really interested in fighting. Could it be that the fighting methods of these generals were really popular in today's world? But he soon changed his mind and had an idea, so he nodded and said: "It would be good to send people to fight to boost the power of our Qingzhou Army. In this way, Cao Zheng, Yang Zhi, and Zhou Xing, you three will go out of the camp first to greet us. The enemy. We must show our prestige!"
The three people immediately clasped their fists to accept the order and quickly left the tent to prepare. After some discussion, the others followed Sun Tu out of the tent and went to the camp to watch this rare battle between generals.
At this time, because there was no response from the Qingzhou military camp, the people on the mountain shouted even louder: "I thought there were a few heroes in the army, but now it seems that we have overestimated you. It turns out that you only use your power to bully others." , but my ability to talk about truth is far inferior to mine
We are brothers in Erlongshan. "
Sounds of ridicule and ridicule drifted to the military camp below in the wind, making many Qingzhou Army officers and soldiers angry. If it weren't for Sun Tu's strict military discipline, I'm afraid some people would have rushed out to fight on their own initiative.
Just when everyone was angry and some were planning to go to the governor to ask for a fight, Yang Zhi and the other two men strode out in front of the village gate, armed with soldiers. Yang Zhi immediately ordered: "Send a message to those thieves on the mountain and tell them that we Accept their challenge and let their men wash their necks quickly and come down to die!"
The words quickly spread to the top. Sun and Zhao, who were still a little worried that the officers and soldiers would not be provoked, were overjoyed. Without any further delay, they immediately led a hundred and ten men to rush down the mountain. Zhao Sheng then rushed to the officers and soldiers. In front of the village, he shouted loudly: "I am Zhao Sheng, the leader of Erlong Mountain. Does anyone dare to fight with me?"
Seeing his arrogance, Cao Zheng shouted: "Then let Cao Zheng, the deputy general of the scout camp, come and take your life!" While shouting, he rushed out of the village gate and came to the opponent, raised his sword and struck him head-on. go.
Zhao Sheng's reaction was quite fast, and he quickly waved his gun to block. Although he took two steps back because he lost the opportunity, he quickly shouted and swung his gun straight, his momentum was extraordinary.
Cao Zheng and Zhao Sheng were both fighting on foot, so fighting like this was much faster than fighting at once. After several of them faced each other, they had already exchanged more than ten offensive and defensive moves. Although both of them were injured as a result, neither of them had any intention of retreating. Instead, they fought more and more fiercely, making the soldiers on the mountain and down the mountain nervous.
However, Sun Tu in the village was somewhat disapproving of this: "What's the use of fighting like this? Don't let Cao Zheng be seriously injured. Zhou Xing, go out and replace him."
Zhou Xing agreed, then raised his sword and went out to kill him. Then Sun Lian over there saw this and hurriedly came to kill him, replacing Zhao Sheng who was already exhausted. The two sides fought hard until the sky was almost dark. After coming down, we still couldn’t tell the winner.
Seeing this, Yang Zhi finally couldn't hold himself back: "Captain, why don't you let me go out and kill two or three of them?"
"That's fine, but you have to remember not to get too close to Erlong Mountain, otherwise I'm worried they will kill you."
Seeing that Sun Tu had agreed, Yang Zhi immediately clapped his horse to greet him. As soon as he rushed out of the village gate, he shouted loudly: "You are a bold thief, and you won't be decapitated yet!" Then he slashed at Sun Lian with his sword.
Sun Lian was already exhausted from the battle. When he saw Yang Zhi charging towards him, he hurriedly stepped back. But how could his speed be faster than the horse charging at full strength? In just a moment, Yang Zhi had already reached him. With a flash of his sword, he struck straight at him. Its neck.
This startled him, and he quickly raised his gun to block it, but he only heard a click, and the gun shaft was cut off with a knife. Then, without even the slightest pause, the blade slashed into his shoulder in the blink of an eye, and was removed alive. He took off one of his arms.
While Sun Lian was screaming, Zhao Sheng rushed forward again and shouted: "Despicable!" The gun in his hand was pointed directly at the face of the horse under Yang Zhi's crotch, but he wanted to force him back. At the same time, those men rushed over quickly and rescued Sun Lian who was injured and fell to the ground.
At the same time, two more roars came from the mountain, and two figures rushed down like a whirlwind. It was Lu Da and Wu Song who came down from the mountain...