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"Ma Yongzhen! I think you are a man, so I came to meet you today! If you have the guts, come out and fight a few rounds with my men. If you want to be a coward, then go back to your turtle cave on the mountain and be the king of turtles that you are."
Qin Mu led a hundred men and horses and stopped outside Ma Yongzhen's camp within an arrow's reach and shouted loudly. Generally speaking, when the army chooses a site to set up camp, the terrain in front of the camp is relatively open and flat to prevent the enemy from sneaking up and attacking.
Of the 100 men of Qin Mu, only 30 or 40 could be considered cavalry, and the rest were just infantry on horseback. This open terrain was very advantageous to him, and even if he couldn't win, he could always outrun them.
Qin Mu immediately asked Ma Yongzhen to fight him in a duel. This was a very profitable thing. If Ma Yongzhen did not fight, it would be a huge blow to his prestige.
If he went out to fight and won, Qin Mu would just turn around and leave. Anyway, the fact that he had a hundred men and horses dared to come to the front of the village to challenge him was already enough to give him face.
If Ma Yongzhen was defeated, or even killed by Meng Ke... ... no, it's General Meng Tian. If Ma Yongzhen was killed by our General Meng Tian with one blow, the rebels would collapse without even a fight.
No matter how you look at it, Qin Mu didn't lose out.
Ma Yongzhen naturally understood this truth, but the choices left to him were nothing more than two, to fight or not to fight. In his opinion, the general beside Qin Mu was not an easy person to deal with. He naturally exuded a murderous aura while sitting quietly on his horse. It was difficult for someone who had survived hundreds of battles to develop such a strong aura.
Ma Yongzhen knew that he had no chance of winning. As his mind raced, his leader Huang Zhixiang sneered at Qin Mu and replied, "Who are you? Are you worthy enough to challenge my general? Get out of here if you know what's best for you!"
"I am the new Huichang County Magistrate Qin Mu! General, stop flattering yourself, you are just children playing house. I am a seventh-rank county magistrate, and I am your parent. As children, you should come out and greet your parents when you see them."
The two sides were shouting at each other within an arrow's distance. Although Qin Mu's words were unpleasant to hear, they made sense when you think about it carefully. But it was a pity that the other party had even taken off his pants, so how could he still reason with you
"Bow down to your mother. If you have the guts, come and fight me. Whoever dares not to fight me is a grandson."
"You are a rebel, you are a rebel. How dare you talk to me like this..."
"I am a rebel, what can you do?"
Of course not, they had rebelled a long time ago. Qin Mu laughed at himself and said, "Ma Yongzhen, I misjudged you. I can understand that you were forced to become a bandit. I thought you were a real man, so I came to meet you. It's ok that you don't dare to fight, but you don't even dare to say a word. That's just your temperament. If I can defeat Gu Xiancheng, I can defeat you too. Let's wait and see!"
After Qin Mu finished shouting, Liu Meng and the others immediately cooperated tacitly. Without any nonsense, a contemptuous look and a proud attitude were enough to make the rebels in the camp uncomfortable.
Of course, there were also people in Qin Mu's army who made "peeing" gestures towards the camp. They were just a bunch of soldiers, and you couldn't expect all of them to be as noble, pure, and graceful as County Magistrate Qin, right
In short, Qin Mu achieved his goal of undermining the enemy's morale. When he was about to lead his troops to leave, the enemy's camp gate suddenly opened, and the rebels in the camp poured out like a tide. There were several riders in front, and one of them was the bandit leader Ma Yongzhen.
While the other party was still unstable, Qin Mu did not hesitate at all and immediately brandished his sword and shouted, "Brothers, come on!"
Clang! Meng Ke's long sword was unsheathed in an instant, with a cold light flashing. He clamped the horse's belly, and the warhorse rushed out like a dragon out of the sea. Behind him, more than 40 riders followed closely and killed, and the smoke and dust flew everywhere. The momentum was unstoppable.
Qin Mu looked at their rushing figures and reluctantly retracted his sword. In fact, he really wanted to shout "Brothers, follow me". God is my God, he really wanted to!
But all the heroic deeds in this world must be based on corresponding strength, otherwise you will be like looking for shit with a lantern in the toilet.
Qin Mu believed that sooner or later there would be a day when he would shout “Brothers, follow me”, but not now.
Fortunately, he was a civil servant, and he could understand that he stayed behind to "guard the formation" with dozens of cavalry and infantry. To be honest, there were not many civil servants who dared to guard the enemy camp like him! In comparison, County Magistrate Qin had already guarded the formation very bravely.
There was a dull sound of bowstrings, and a rain of arrows rose into the air from the enemy's formation. Meng Ke leaned forward, dancing with his long sword with a cold glow, like a wrench, choking off all the oncoming arrows. The galloping warhorse had its four hooves flying, its mane curling, its tail straight, and it rushed towards the enemy formation without hesitation, leaving a trail of yellow dust.
Ma Yongzhen suddenly let out a long roar towards the sky and rushed out on his horse. In a flash, he met Meng Ke. Meng Ke put all his strength into his arms and chopped out with a sword as powerful as thunder. The majestic momentum seemed to be able to cut Mount Tai in two.
"Dang!" Ma Yongzhen's sword was chopped off and flew up, his palms were numb and cracked. His body fell backwards suddenly under the overwhelming force, and Meng Ke's blade chopped past his forehead, chopping off a strand of his hair and making it fly in the wind.
Qin Mu truly witnessed Meng Ke's mighty power. In the previous night attack, Meng Ke had never met an opponent. He looked very powerful while chasing and chopping people, but even Qin Mu could do it in that situation. It was simply incomparable to today's life-and-death battle.
Seeing that Ma Yongzhen was about to be killed by the sword, the rebels cried out in surprise and shot arrows to save Ma Yongzhen. Meng Ke had no choice but to swing his sword to cut off the arrows, then quickly turned his horse's head and approached Ma Yongzhen again.
Huang Zhi flew over to block the attack. Meng Ke's hair and beard flew, and he was filled with murderous intent. He stood up and slashed down with his long sword like a bolt from the blue. Huang Zhi raised his sword with all his strength, but still couldn't block it. "Ah!" He let out a shrill scream. Meng Ke not only chopped Huang Zhi's sword away, but also split his shoulder in half with the long sword. Huang Zhi fell off his horse with blood and flesh dripping, almost unrecognizable.
At this time, a large group of rebels also surrounded them, and more than ten long spears stabbed at Meng Ke at the same time. Qin Mu saw that Meng Ke and his men were stuck in a fight with a large group of rebels and had no chance to chase and kill Ma Yongzhen, so he immediately ordered the troops to retreat. He only had such a small number of men and did not want to waste them in vain.
Meng Ke and his men quickly left the battle, and Ma Yongzhen did not chase them, because they were basically infantry and could not be caught up. When Qin Mu led his troops back to the city, the city walls were full of jubilation, and the people crowded both sides of the street to welcome them like heroes. The extraordinary enthusiasm of the people of Ganzhou surprised Qin Mu, but after thinking about it, he could understand it;
Previously, the city of Ganzhou had no generals capable of fighting and no reinforcements from outside, just like a child without a mother. The attack by the rebels made the whole city panic. Qin Mu had just defeated Gu Xiancheng's army of tens of thousands. The people didn't care whether you defeated a mob of tens of thousands or an elite army of tens of thousands. They only looked at the numbers.
Qin Mu defeated tens of thousands of rebels, so how could he not deal with Ma Yongzhen's hundreds of troops? This was the most direct thought of the people. They regarded Qin Mu as their only savior.
In addition, as soon as he came back to help, he immediately rushed to Ma Yongzhen's camp and defeated the enemy's prestige. This feat won him even more admiration from the people. Even Yang Tinglin's eyes were hot when he saw Qin Mu.
If we were to ask who was under the greatest pressure in Ganzhou City, it would be Yang Tinglin. Unfortunately, he was not good at military affairs. Facing the unstoppable Ma Yongcheng, Yang Tinglin sent people to persuade him but to no avail. He felt like a huge rock was pressing on his heart. When he saw Qin Mu, who had just won a great victory, coming back to help, Yang Tinglin finally felt relieved.
Compared with the jubilation in Ganzhou City, the morale in Ma Yongzhen's camp was much lower. As soon as he withdrew his troops and returned to the camp, he summoned all the generals in the army to discuss matters.
Ma Yongzhen's face had regained its composure. He glanced at the generals and said, "Come here, pass on my order to slaughter fifty cattle and sheep immediately and give the brothers a snack at noon. In addition, the prohibition on alcohol at noon will be lifted. Everyone in the army is allowed to drink one glass of wine. Tell the brothers that after we capture Ganzhou City, I will drink with everyone until we are drunk."
Soon after the messenger at the gate responded and went out, cheers were heard from the camp, and the morale that had just suffered a small setback was immediately restored. After hearing the cheers outside, the eyes of the generals in the tent looked at Ma Yongzhen with determination.
Don't underestimate these small actions of Ma Yongzhen. As a person who can control morale at any time, he is not far from becoming a famous general.
"General, 4,000 auxiliary troops have arrived at Nanshe Mountain and will arrive tomorrow evening." Captain Han Xiu came out and reported.
Ma Yongzhen nodded slightly and asked, "How much do you know about Qin Mu?"
Qin Mu, everyone present had heard of him. It was said that he had come all the way south from Nanchang not long ago and wiped out many small gangs of bandits along the way. Some bandits simply fled far away upon hearing the news. This made Qin Mu's name spread throughout Jiangxi.
But before, including Ma Yongzhen, no one really took Qin Mu seriously. Those so-called bandits were mostly villagers who had no food or clothing and gathered together to rob people. Qin Mu's elimination of them did not mean anything.
Another centurion, Hong Dazhuang, said, "General, Qin Mu led 300 men and defeated the Second Commander's army of tens of thousands in one fell swoop. Although the victory was a bit lucky, the fact that Qin Mu, a civilian official, dared to lead a night attack is worthy of respect."
"Stop flattering him. He just talked loudly just now, but in the end he just hid back like a turtle. If he dares to come up, I can blow him in two with one sword." Another centurion, Ma Liuliang, snorted in dissatisfaction.
Ma Yongzhen said calmly: "Famous generals in ancient times were not known for their personal bravery, but for their strategy, courage, and ability to respond to emergencies. Han Xin and Wei Qing are the best examples. Qin Mu did not personally charge into battle, so if you look down on him for this, you are making a big mistake."
"General, is Qin Mu really that powerful?"
Ma Yongzhen said: "After defeating Nanshe Mountain, our 800 troops came here in triumph. I had expected that there were no good generals in Ganzhou City, and there were tens of thousands of hungry refugees. As long as we attacked the city, tens of thousands of refugees in the city would surely cause chaos. But now, these tens of thousands of refugees not only failed to play the role of internal and external cooperation with us, but instead became the main force to resist us.
This change is unexpected. If I am right, it must be related to the sudden arrival of Qin Mu. He can turn harm into benefit and waste into treasure in a blink of an eye. This person is not simple. We must deal with him seriously!"
"General, please give the order."
"Hong Dazhuang, listen to my order. You take 300 men tonight, hide your tracks, and rush to Xinfeng overnight. If the surprise attack fails, you try to gather the scattered troops of the second in command near Xinfeng, and then counterattack Xinfeng. Qin Mu has limited troops, and even fewer are left to guard Xinfeng. Once you surround the city, he will have to rescue it, so that he can run back and forth."
"I obey your orders!"
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ps: Yesterday’s “state visit” did not go smoothly. I’m still adjusting my mood... ... ... ... ... ... ...
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