Faced with the urgent call, Zhu Li did not dare to delay. He immediately called his master Wu Dao and led the 1,200 Yue cavalry under his personal command, together with Zhang Guiba's 1,000 archers, to rush to Fan Yang.
In Beikou Town, he let Guo Qizuo take charge, and Pang Honggu, Gao Yuan and Lu Yong assisted Guo Qizuo to stay behind to prevent harassment from the Khitan and Xi people, and at the same time to prevent any small moves by Li Quanzhong's mighty army.
The meeting hall of the Fanyang Jiedushi's residence.
All the important officials under Li Keju gathered together. Zhu Li was a garrison commander, and his position was neither high nor low. The most important thing was that he held real power, so he could directly bring people into the meeting hall and participate in the meeting.
Everyone looked calm, including Li Keju and Li Quanzhong, who also looked very serious.
After everyone arrived, Li Keju coughed lightly and said, "In September of the fourth year of Qianfu, the Shatuo people Li Guochang and Li Keyong, father and son, rebelled, attacked Yunzhong, and plundered Shuofang. In October, the emperor ordered Li Jun, the governor of Zhaoyi Army, the Tuyuhun Helianduo and Baiyicheng tribes, the Shatuo Anqing and Xuege tribes, and Li to send troops to suppress the rebellion."
"However, Li Guochang and his son were extremely fierce, and they had countless strong soldiers and generals under their command. It lasted for three years, and we are very ashamed that we have not been able to quell this matter so far. In this Shatuo Rebellion, there were many high-ranking officials who died one after another, such as Cao Xiang, the former governor of Zhaoyi Army, Cui Jikang, the recruiting envoy of Daibei Camp, Li Jun, the former governor of Zhaoyi Army, and Li Wei, the governor of Hedong."
"At the beginning of February this year, the Shatuo army marched into Taiyuan. Kang Chuangui, the new recruiting envoy of the Daibei camp, was defeated and died in a mutiny. The saint was furious and appointed Li Tao as the recruiting envoy of the Daibei camp to monitor us. Now it seems that we have to fight this battle even if we don't want to. After all, if the Shatuo people continue to attack, it will be the turn of my Fanyang territory. So I decided to lead the army to encircle and suppress them myself. I hope you can lend me a hand."
"I am willing to die for you." After hearing Li Keju's explanation, everyone in the conference hall, both civil and military, responded loudly.
Now it is indeed as Li Keju said, it is not a question of whether they want to fight or not, but they have to fight. As ministers under Fan Yang, they know clearly in their minds that if they allow the Shatuo army to capture Taiyuan, then the territory controlled by the Lulong Jiedushi will be in danger. Adjacent to Taiyuan is Hengzhou, which is Li Keju's territory.
"Okay, but you don't have to worry. There are several Jiedushi and local garrisons who are fighting against the Shatuo people this time. We are not fighting alone, so you can rest assured."
"Liu Rengong, Zhu Li..." Li Keju comforted everyone and immediately named his generals.
"Here." Zhu Li and a burly man in his thirties hurriedly stepped out and bowed in response.
"Liu Rengong leads 10,000 Zhenyuan troops as the vanguard, Zhu Li as the vanguard, and they will rush to Daizhou to lay a good foundation for us."
"Yes." After Zhu Li and Liu Rengong agreed, they looked at each other and hurried away.
"Li Quanzhong"
"exist"
"You will lead 30,000 Weiwu troops and 10,000 Zhenyuan troops, and follow me as the rear army. We will set off today."
"Yes." Upon hearing this, Li Quanzhong narrowed his eyes slightly, but responded in a deep voice.
... ...
The army set out, with Zhu Li and Liu Rengong leading the way.
Liu Rengong was not famous at this time. His famous battle would be five years later. Now he was just an ordinary general. There was no gap between him and Zhu Li, the powerful captain. After all, both of them were close to Li Keju's faction, so there was no grudge in their cooperation.
Zhu Li led cavalrymen, marching at a very fast speed. As a vanguard, it was his duty to clear the way through mountains and build bridges over rivers.
The Beikou Army naturally rushed to the front.
The army started to move out, and scouts were deployed first. There were nearly a hundred scouts, and they were all spread out by Zhu Li like casting a net.
The Shatuo people may still be in Taiyuan now. Who knows where they will attack next? Therefore, in addition to exploring the terrain and finding water sources, the most important thing for scouts is to find out the movements of the Shatuo army.
After three days of marching, Zhu Li had already arrived in Shanxi, crossed Weizhou, and approached Daizhou. A scout came to report: "Report to the commander, the Shatuo people not only broke through Taiyuan, but just yesterday, they also took Daizhou. Now the vanguard army is approaching Weizhou."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Li immediately waved his hand, signaling the galloping Beikou Army to stop. On horseback, he turned to look at Wu Dao and asked, "Master, should we return to support Weizhou next?"
He is fourteen years old now and looks like a young general of sixteen or seventeen years old. However, sometimes when making decisions, he is still a little unconfident and will not feel at ease until he consults Wu Dao.
Wu Dao heard this, and instead of looking at Zhu Li, he looked at the scout and asked, "Do you know who is leading the army?"
Zhu Li's subordinates all knew that this was Zhu Li's master, so the scout did not dare to neglect him and hurriedly said, "Reporting to the Sima, the one who conquered Daizhou was Li Guochang's son Li Keyong. He is now in charge of Daizhou and ordered his generals Gao Wenji to attack Shuozhou and Fu Wenda to attack Weizhou."
"How many troops does Fu Wenda have and what type of troops do they have?" Wu Dao continued to ask.
The scout thought for a moment and immediately replied, "About 50,000 people, including cavalry and infantry."
After hearing the news, Wu Diao looked around. They were now located between Wei and Dai states. If Fu Wenda wanted to attack Wei state, he would have to pass through here.
The terrain around was a bit low-lying. Wudao carefully took out the military map, looked at it and determined the location of this place. This was Zhainangou, which belonged to Weizhou. The surrounding area was barren and the terrain was low-lying.
It was February, a time when new grass had not yet grown and dead grass was still there. Not far behind them, where they had just passed, there was a field of lush dead grass. Seeing all this, Wu Dao seemed to have made up his mind.
He turned to look at Zhu Li and said, "We will lead the Yue cavalry to guard there." Wu Diao pointed to the area with lush dry grass, then turned to look at Zhang Guiba and said, "Da Lang."
"Here." Zhang Guiba hurriedly stepped forward and responded.
"Zhu Li and I will stay there and intercept Fu Wenda head-on. You lead the archers and hide. When you see us fleeing backwards, set fire immediately and let your archers shoot freely. After shooting, turn around and run away immediately. Catch up with us as soon as possible. Don't hesitate and don't be greedy for merit," Wu Dao instructed cautiously. After all, the other side has 50,000 troops and he only has more than 2,000 people. If he is not careful, the whole army will be wiped out. He has to be cautious.
"Yes," Zhang Guiba responded immediately after hearing the words.
"Master, do you mean that we should ambush them?" Zhu Li thought for a moment.
"It's not an ambush, just harassment. Even if it doesn't necessarily injure them, it can at least dampen their fighting spirit." Wu Diao said confidently.
The plan was quickly finalized. Zhang Guiba also hid in a deep ditch with his archers. Zhu Li commanded more than a thousand Yue cavalry to come to the designated location and line up. He himself stood on his horse with his spear across his chest, standing at the front. Wu Dao stopped his horse and stood beside him, slightly behind him, whispering something to him, as if he was planning something.
About two hours later, countless troops surged in front of them. At first glance, it looked like a mountain torrent. The crowds were raging and everywhere, shocking Zhu Li.
The more than a thousand Yue cavalrymen behind were trembling in fear and almost turned around to flee. Fortunately, they saw the rock-hard figures of Zhu Li and Wu Dao, and they barely mustered up the courage to stay where they were.
There were big flags waving on the opposite side, and in the middle, a huge flag with the word "Fu" on it was fluttering in the wind. It must be Fu Wenda's army.
When the two sides were about a mile apart, Fu Wenda noticed Zhu Li and others, as well as the countless dead grasses around them. His expression became a little gloomy, and after a moment of hesitation, he reined in his horse and ordered his troops to stop.
After the army came to a sudden halt, he ordered a Shatuo general with dark eyes and a long beard to ride out on horseback, and shouted to Zhu Li and others from a distance, "Who are you? Tell me your name immediately."
"I am Zhu Li from Xuzhou, the vanguard of Lord Li's army in Fanyang. I am waiting for you here." Zhu Li rode out and shouted, then suddenly asked, "Barbarians, do you dare to fight?"
Upon hearing this, the Shatuo general was stunned, then his face turned serious and he shouted angrily: "You are so arrogant, young man. Since you are looking for death, take a stick from your brother Zhuxie Shengzan." (Repeat: the brother in the Tang Dynasty refers to the father)
This Shatuo man was obviously of a manic nature and could not withstand Zhu Li's provocation. While shouting, he swung the big iron stick in his hand and rode his horse towards Zhu Li.
A few miles away, a fast horse arrived in an instant. The opponent's attack hit Zhu Li's target. He knocked his feet on the horse's belly and swung his double-edged spear to meet the opponent. With a "bang", the two men started fighting in an instant.
After one strike, Zhu Li already knew what was going on. Although this Shatuo general was very strong, his martial arts skills were mediocre. When he turned his horse back to fight again, Zhu Li held the spear in his right hand and stretched his left hand to his waist, loosely grasping the hilt of the knife, ready to kill.
The two horses were close to each other, and as expected, Zhu Xie Shengzan struck again with great force. Zhu Li raised his spear, but this time he did not take it head-on. Instead, he thrust the spear as fast as lightning, lightly hitting the side of the large iron stick and instantly deflecting it.
Zhu Xie Shengzan struck the air with a look of slight surprise, but he could only feel disappointed and helplessly continued to accumulate strength to prepare for the next round; but although he thought so, Zhu Li did not think so. At the moment when they passed by, a silver light suddenly appeared, and the killing was as fast as a sword. Zhu Li drew the long sword from his waist, and with a "puff" sound, a good head was thrown into the air.
"Mighty, mighty, mighty..."
The captain won the first battle and completely stabilized the trembling Beikou Army. The more than a thousand Yue cavalry behind Zhu Li immediately burst into fierce shouts, and morale instantly boosted.
Turning around, facing the tens of thousands of Shatuo troops, Zhu Li rode his horse calmly to the side of Zhuxie Shengzan's head. He lifted up Zhuxie Shengzan's head with his spear and shouted to the other side: "Hahaha, everyone says that the Shatuo people are fierce and brave, but after seeing them today, they are just so-so, like chickens and dogs, unable to withstand a single blow."
His expression was extremely arrogant and domineering, and his voice was full of sarcasm, ridicule, and even disdain. Even people who were not familiar with the ways of the world could hear it.
In addition, he used his internal energy to urge the words, and his voice was heard from far away. The contempt in his words was obvious, causing several Shatuo generals in the opposing army to turn red in the face and become extremely furious.
Before Fu Wenda could speak, another general from the Shatuo army rushed out in anger. This man also had dark eyes and a thick beard. Judging from his age, he was a little older than Zhuxie Shengzan, but still a big man in his twenties or thirties. He galloped on his horse and shouted angrily, "Don't be so arrogant, young man. Look at me, Helu, I'll kill you."
Seeing this man, Zhu Li snorted coldly and threw Zhu Xie Shengzan's head backwards. Immediately, a guard rushed out from the Yue cavalry and picked up the head. This was a military achievement.