The camp that was hastily established in three days was still very crude. Along a low ridge forty to fifty meters high, wood was cut and buried to build a wooden wall. However, the middle of the two rows of high and low wooden walls was filled with sand and gravel, and a layer was laid on top. The generals can stand on the miscellaneous trees and shoot the approaching rebels.
Cen Yunfei, Chen Qing and others also felt that Chen Hai's determination was too hasty. If the Taiwei Mansion had dispatched troops quickly, the first batch of reinforcements would have arrived within half a month, and thousands of horses would have been slaughtered. Not to mention that the generals couldn't bear it, considering how terrible the losses were.
Only then did Cao Feng realize that the dispute in the big tent turned out to be over the ownership of the more than 25,000 remaining soldiers.
Over the years, he has led the refugees to various places to survive, and he has also cultivated wasteland in the northern part of Taohuawu. An ordinary mule and horse that can hitch a plow and pull goods is regarded as a treasure, and a war horse that can be used on the battlefield is worth ten ordinary horses. mules and horses.
Although Wei Yuqi is a cavalry general and Yao Qitai is Zuo Sicheng of the Taiwei Mansion, a phoenix that has lost its feathers is not as good as a chicken. If they are still dissatisfied at this time, they can invite them out to set up another camp.
"This is a war horse!" Cao Feng said angrily. He immediately grabbed the reins and protected the war horse behind him. He glared angrily and refused to let the veterans of the transport camp take away his mount.
"Chen Hai will never give such an order, just wait for me!" Cao Feng said angrily, asking his two guards to stare at his black-maned horse and rush towards the tent. Find Chen Hai's theory.
Although Cao Feng and his three thousand soldiers rushed slowly to enter Tongbei Prefecture before closing the valley, battle reports were delivered to him in time along the way for him to judge the advance, retreat and advancement speed of the three thousand soldiers. Because he has no foundation in cultivation, he will be ignored.
Cao Feng saw that his whole body was cold, angry and angry, trembling all over, and fell to the ground, muttering over and over again: "These are all war horses, why is Chen Hai so cruel?!"
Cao Feng couldn't understand it, but he still had to implement it even if he didn't understand it. He followed Wu Meng, Ge Tong, Qian Wenyi, Cen Yunfei, Chen Qing and others on horseback to the camp five or six miles away in the south.
Entering the camp, Cao Feng dismounted from his horse. He, Wu Meng and Ge Tong were going to meet Chen Hai. Just as he was about to hand over the horses to the guards around him to feed, a dozen veterans from the supply camp ran away holding bone-chopping knives. Come here and take away the horses of Cao Feng and others.
In Cao Feng's view, more than 25,000 disabled soldiers were rescued by Chen Hai. Even the lives of Wei Yuqi and Yao Qitai were saved by Chen Hai. Chen Hai could not agree to hand over 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers to Yao Qitai and other defeated troops. The general is already quite generous.
At this time, Cen Yunfei, Chen Qing and others took action together. Swords and halberds criss-crossed, cutting rocks like mud, and two earth-shaking talismans shook the rock formations at the base of the mountain. At this time, everyone took action together, and it was completely completed without even using half a stick of incense. The thousand-meter-high stone cliffs on both sides were destroyed and collapsed, and they were buried in the canyon in the middle.
"But what's the point of mixing eight thousand remnant soldiers with Min Yong? Does Min Yong's military attache system need to be more complete?" Yao Qitai asked.
The area of the camp was not large, and the area of the supply camp was in a shallow valley with low terrain. When Wu Meng and Cao Feng walked to a higher place, they could see the situation over there, and saw the strong and strong war horses being neatly tied up. They were led to the stakes and blindfolded with cloths, but one by one they were slaughtered and bled - and the generals who depended on the horses for life and death, and many others stood outside the baggage camp and shouted unwillingly, but the big camp was against the baggage camp. Extra security was strengthened, and Zhou Jun personally led people to guard outside the supply camp to prevent anyone from causing trouble.
"This is the captain's military order. We are just following orders. If you have any questions, go and complain to the captain." The old soldier said expressionlessly with a face as skinny as old tree bark.
Cao Feng knew that Wei Yuqi, Yao Qitai and others and the remaining troops had also retreated to Zuojin Valley. Logically speaking, the Xiyuan Army gathered in Zuojin Valley at this time was still under the control of the main general Wei Yuqi and Yao Qitai, but he did not know that they were with What was Chen Hai arguing about in the big tent.
However, Chen Haijun's order has been issued, and they have begun to slaughter the war horses on a large scale. Cao Feng is no longer the only one who can disobey the military order.
Cen Yunfei and others felt that the ground beneath their feet was shaking violently. In the blink of an eye, they saw that the stone walls on both sides were covered with spider web-like traces. A large number of falling rocks rolled down, stirring up smoke and dust all over the sky.
"Master Yao may have personal objections to me, but Chen Hai has to act arbitrarily. The situation is so critical that Chen Hai has to make a decision. And Master Wei and Master Yao cannot interfere at will when they are recuperating their injuries. Chen Hai Hai can only discuss many things with General Tu, Zhao Rong and other generals first. If Mr. Yao feels that Chen Hai's decision is wrong at this time, please point out that Chen Hai can correct it in time... "
Two Xuan-level top-grade earth-shaking talismans released a terrifying impact force like a landslide and tsunami, swirling the wind and clouds, tearing open two hideous cracks in the earth, extending towards the roots of the cliffs on both sides at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Wu Meng and Ge Tong comforted Cao Feng and said, "We still have to go to the big account to pay the order!"
"Of the 25,000 remnant soldiers, the Seventh Capital has collected more than half of them, that's all. But why do we have to mix 8,000 people with the civilian warriors, and in the end, less than 5,000 remnant soldiers are left to us? What does it mean? Yao Qitai asked in a gloomy voice, not minding that the many camp generals outside the tent could hear their argument.
"The main force of the Xiyuan Army was defeated, and all the small baggage and food supplies were thrown to the rebels. We tried our best to bring enough food and grass, but with more than 20,000 defeated soldiers, evenly divided, we could only last for seven days. And you see, the autumn grass on the left and right sides of the valley has been set on fire by the rebels. There is no way to collect fodder for so many war horses! At this time, slaughtering and storing them as meat can still be enough for us to support the arrival of reinforcements! The captain made this determination, and also It’s not easy.” Wu Meng said.
Although the black-maned war horse behind him has been with him for less than a month, he still treats it as his own son. How can he not be angry when an old soldier from the transport camp comes over and wants to take it away and slaughter it.
Although it is easy for warriors with martial arts background to climb out from the ruins of rubble, the retreat route for ordinary soldiers and soldiers is completely blocked. They will either die in battle or stick to the Taiwei Mansion. Reinforcements arrive and there is no second chance. There are three ways to go.
Cao Feng's cultivation was not high, but together with Ge Tong and his son Cao Shan, they were the generals of the eight thousand brave men who had gathered in Zuojin Valley at this time. They had a place in the big tent for discussion.
"But these are all war horses! Why not start with the mules and horses that pull the camels and carts, maybe reinforcements will arrive in ten days and a half month!" Cao Feng said, "More than a thousand mules and horses, It is enough to support the army for ten more days. The war horses are hungry first. If there are no reinforcements after ten days, they are destined to die. We cannot kill them cruelly at this time!"
"The people are brave and the military attache system is incomplete. However, Tu Chongjin and others were demoted from their general positions due to the fall of Qin Tongguan. Chen Hai and Lord Yao have no right to re-appoint Tu Chongjin and others as generals here. Chen Hai can only Congquan mobilized more than 500 experienced soldiers among them to join the Mingyong, so that they could accommodate the 8,000 remaining soldiers and quickly reorganize their combat strength to withstand the upcoming siege of the rebels," Chen Hai said in a calm tone. , "But all this is a temporary measure. If Commander Wei feels there is anything inappropriate, Chen Hai and the generals will correct it immediately."
As soon as Cao Feng followed Wu Meng and Ge Tong outside the tent, he heard Chen Hai's neither arrogant nor humble voice coming from inside. A group of generals had gathered in front of the tent, but none of them were in a hurry to go in. They all seemed to be patient. Let’s wait until the argument inside is over.
After Ge Tong and Cao Feng led the last batch of civilian warriors through Zuojin Valley, Wu Meng took out the two earth-shaking talismans that he had held in his hand for a long time.
"Except for specific exotic riding animals, all horses must be taken to the supply camp and slaughtered!" The leader of the old pawn said with an extremely complicated expression.
…
Cao Feng stared at the scene in front of him dumbfounded. He still didn't understand why Chen Hai had made such a determination. The refugee rebels did not come to attack them in large numbers, but they actually wanted to personally block the only escape route. , leaving no room for anything.
When the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, the narrow gorge that was more than a hundred steps wide was already filled with huge rocks that had collapsed and rolled down. The piled ruins were two to three hundred meters high. Although they were not as huge as the Qintongguan ruins, they were not. It will take three to five days to clear the passage.
Cao Feng shouted and asked: "What do you want to do?"
Perhaps many people thought that Chen Hai would divide his troops to defend the dangerous area of Zuojin Valley, but cover the main force's retreat south. Who would have thought that he would decide to block all the troops north of Zuojin Valley
Cao Feng followed Wu Meng silently and walked towards the main tent; Cen Yunfei, Chen Qing and other disciples of Hexi Taiwei Sect gathered in designated tents.
A watchtower was built in front of the gate of the camp, raised high, as if reaching into the sky; the camp was on a higher ground, and countless generals standing in the camp saw that the passage to Zuojin Valley had been completely blocked, with solemn and complicated expressions on their faces, Cao Cao Feng couldn't guess what they were thinking.
"The rebels are about to gather for siege, and they want the remaining soldiers to be able to exert their fighting power. A complete military attache system is the first condition. I believe that Mr. Yao, who has served in the Taiwei Mansion for many years, will also agree with this," Chen Hai said slowly , "The 50,000 soldiers and horses of the Xiyuan Army were defeated miserably in Leiyang Valley. This was certainly not the fault of the Commander-in-Chief. It was because the rebels were too ruthless and set up a poisonous plan that went against Tianhe to harm the Commander-in-Chief. However, the 50,000-strong Xiyuan Army was defeated. The capital's chariot and cavalry captains, cavalry captains and most of the camp generals either died in battle or fled to no one knows where. In the end, only about fifty military attachés above the rank of Hu Ben's attendants loyally followed Commander Wei and Master Yao to fight out. A tight siege. In such a short period of time, only five battle camps can be reorganized. Unless Chen Hai must hold back the excess troops and not assign them to Lord Yao's command."
Wu Meng grabbed Cao Feng.
The rebels are still gathering dozens of miles away, and they are also seizing the time to dig more and deeper trenches outside the village wall, and insert a large number of wooden nails into the trenches or sandy soil. These measures may seem useless, but as long as they can To create an obstacle for the attacking rebels, everyone in the camp did their best.