The two armies confronted the West Wall, and only survived the damn rainy season. The muddy ground gradually hardened. An imperial decree from Tai'an City was somehow made public and spread widely. Like a Xia Lei, it suddenly exploded on the ground, shaking people's hearts. .
Before Liyang, Xu Xiao managed to win the battle of Jinghe with most of the Xu family's elite cavalry, fighting off all the euphorbia warriors who are known as invincible in Dachu. The final word was finalized, and then the imperial decree was issued, and the success fell short. The encirclement circle formed by Da Chu had not been completely completed, and now it became more and more loose.
A balance of power that was exchanged for the lives of tens of thousands of Xu family soldiers turned into a precarious situation in an instant.
The northeast line of defense is still good. After all, Gu Jiantang has wiped out Dongyue without any effort. Most of Gu's elites are still there. Even if they didn't go south to support Xu Xiao's army as agreed, after all, they are still a knife hanging above their heads for Da Chu. . However, the general Zhao Bodang, who had been avoiding the frontal battlefield from the beginning to the end during the Southern Expedition, even if he was only in charge of such an easy task as building the Northwest Defense Line, as one of the few high-ranking officials and generals with a royal family background, unexpectedly put down his pick at a critical moment. He withdrew for a full six hundred miles, as if he had made up his mind to watch the fire from the other side. This was undoubtedly giving away the huge victory of the Battle of Jinghe. He came into contact with the imperial decree, so when his army quickly retreated to Qianshan Pass, which was 600 miles away from the concubine's tomb overnight, anyone with a discerning eye knew that the real battle between the two countries had already surfaced ahead of time!
At that time, Da Chu, who was still superior in military strength, could gain greater strategic depth with a force that did not affect the battle situation at Xileibi as long as he recaptured the line along the Concubine Tomb. He could take the lead in blowing the horn on the West Base Wall battlefield. How could Ye Baikui, who has never been defeated, turn a blind eye to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? The reason why Da Chu fell into the current predicament is that Xu Xiao fought a series of quick battles that were almost desperate. It was in these battles that the infamous adoptive son Chu Lushan stood out. Fatty Chu, who was eight hundred, stunned the Great Chu Northern Army with an outrageous and unreasonable venomous means. Only then did he help Chen Zhibao sort out the entire periphery of the northern line, and finally created the great victory of Jinghe, forcing Great Chu to retreat and garrison troops The wall is built in the west, so that there are no people and people, but they have lost their place. Ye Baikui, as the God of Dinghai of the Great Chu, is known as a master of military art who can be a country by one person. At this time, he made a decision that will be debated by later historiography. He gave up Cao Changqing, who showed amazing military talents when he was just a fledgling, and It is to choose Meng Hu, a confidant general with rich experience, outstanding military achievements and steady personality, and send him to lead an elite army to the concubine's grave.
On the contrary, before the Xu family army had to send troops, there was a fierce dispute limited to a small area. The two military divisions, Zhao Changling and Li Yishan, who had always cooperated tacitly, finally had their first sharp disagreement. The pattern of going all out has been lost, and the emperor of the Zhao family has ordered to retreat if there is no fight, so the 300,000 troops under the command of the general should retreat to Li Yang for a look. Go to Zhao Bodang's camp, take advantage of the situation and "eat" the soldier horse, and then let Gu Jiantang bow his head and obey orders, and solve the "Gu" worries in the future, and then come to fight Da Chu and Ye Baikui to the death. But Li Yishan believed that this retreat was to let Da Chu, who was only half breathed, breathe back. Therefore, Li Yishan suggested to divide the troops decisively, but at the same time absolutely not to divide more, 20,000 is the limit number. Zhao Changling, who has always been gentle and elegant, was furious, and directly denounced Li Yishan as a child's play. Ye Baikui obviously learned of the imperial decree and Zhao Bodang's withdrawal earlier than the general. It hurts the muscles and bones, but the 20,000 people on the general's side will not only damage the general's chances of winning in the confrontation between the two armies, but also a foolish move that is useless, and it is tantamount to going to the concubine's grave to die in vain.
In the solemn atmosphere of the military tent, there is a map of the situation of the Great Chu, with lines of red and black symbolizing offense and defense circled by vermilion brush and charcoal. On the table, the marching arrows used for precise timing are slowly dripping.
In the tent, stood Xu Xiao, who was already in his thirties, who could already be related to the ownership of the world, Zhao Changling and Li Yishan, who had been strategizing in the big tent, urgently summoned the three foster sons, Chen Zhibao, Yuan Zuozong and Chu Lushan, and a group of footsteps. The meritorious commanders of the two cavalry armies include Wu Qi, a swordsman who came from the Wu Family Sword Tomb with his sister. He is half of Chen Zhibao's military master, and Xu Pu, whose reputation in the cavalry army is not inferior to that of the general's brother-in-law Wu Qi. Among the rare Confucian generals are General Zhong Hongwu, Yan Wenluan, a new infantry soldier nicknamed "Every Step into a Battalion", and Liu Yuanji, Tieshan and other generals. It can be said that if the dozens of people in the tent are successfully assassinated, only half of them will die, and the whole world will be in the pocket of Da Chu.
Xu Fengnian turned around and looked at these familiar and unfamiliar faces. They were the ones who made the world for Xu Xiao.
None of them saw a young man standing under the map, his fingers gently brushing along the red and black marching routes. On the top of the Lotus Peak in Wudang, dreaming of Spring and Autumn with one heart and one mind, three "persons" each enter Spring and Autumn to see Spring and Autumn. Among them, this "he" appeared in the tragic battle of Jinghe, and then followed all the way to Xileibi. It's just that in his eyes, the people and things in the Spring and Autumn Period are only divided into black and white, and his emotions will not affect the people in the Spring and Autumn Period in the slightest. At this time, Zhong Hongwu had not single-handedly controlled the Northern Liang Cavalry Army. Before him, there were still two big mountains, Wu Qi and Xu Pu. Yan Wenluan was already blind, but he was the most newcomer and new face in the big tent. Compared with the future Lu Qiu'er, Chu Lushan seems to be several tens of catties thinner, full of hostility, and does not always wear a flattering smile like he did ten years later. Yuan Zuozong, the white bear who has been famous for a long time, probably didn't care about taking care of his beard. His beard was thick and dense, and he became more and more heroic.
Veteran Hong Ze hadn't died of illness outside Xiangfan City, and General Su Hengqu hadn't died in battle in Xishu either.
Xu Fengnian looked at Zhao Changling, who was standing beside Xu Xiao, and looked at the side face of this counselor who was born in the Luting Zhao family in Guangling, Great Chu. He was elegant and resolute. Zhao Changling was the kind of scholar who could make kings and princes fall in love with him at the first sight. The plan to attack the Great Chu where the family and country is located, Zhao Changling not only did not show any mercy, on the contrary, most of the strategy of the Xu family cavalry in the Great Chu came from his handwriting and planning, with Zhao Changling as the leader and Li Yishan as the assistant, the two counselors always complement each other.
Xu Fengnian shifted his gaze a little. The humble counselor who had been willing to be concealed by Zhao Changling had a calm expression under Zhao Changling's aggressive questioning.
At this time, Master's complexion was still very good.
Li Yishan, who seldom argues with others, still did not refute Zhao Changling face to face, but walked under the map, pointed at the concubine's grave, looked at the people in the tent, and said: "Ye Baikui has already sent troops to this place, it is obvious, if you put yourself in the position From his point of view, I will send two soldiers and horses one after another, one light cavalry to deal with our rushing reinforcements, and one heavy cavalry that marches relatively slowly as a back-up. There is too much silver in the treasury of Western Chu Everyone knows the number, otherwise our general wouldn’t be talking all day long that after winning the war, he must go to the mountains of gold and silver to lie down and sleep beautifully..."
When Li Yishan said this, even Zhao Changling's face softened a little, Xu Xiao grinned embarrassingly, and the rest of the generals all smiled knowingly.
Li Yishan continued: "Great Chu has two lumps of gold, and the hundreds of thousands of euphorbia soldiers have been proved by us to be outdated, but whether the 60,000 heavy cavalry under Ye Baikui's command is a burden is still open to discussion. Heavy cavalry naturally costs money. An ordinary cavalry is at least equal to the price of fattening three to four elite light cavalry. The pros and cons are obvious. The disadvantages are heavy horses and heavy armor. It can be said that everything is slow except for the charge on horseback after everything is in order, and the turn is even slower. After a successful charge to kill through the enemy formation, it still cannot stop. A charge. On a suitable battlefield, the heavy cavalry ridiculed by many light cavalry generals as only a one-shot deal is actually the king of the battlefield, and the concubine's grave, which is wide and easy to charge, is easy for the big Chu heavy cavalry to play Appropriate for the battlefield, Changling said that we will divide our troops and go, as long as there are no more than 50,000 troops, we will all die."
Li Yishan spoke in a hurry, obviously not wanting to waste an inch of time, but he subconsciously paused here before saying: "Of course I'm going to die."
Li Yishan quickly made a gesture of overturning his palms, and continued: "As long as you take down Dachu, then Shu, Tang, and Nanzhao, it's a trivial matter, and it's easy! We don't doubt it, and it's us Xu The family’s iron cavalry took the lead and rushed forward, and then they hit the west wall in one go. But if we choose to retreat at this point and avoid the edge, we will not say whether we can win the big Chu, whether the general can continue to hold military power , It’s hard to say. We have died a lot of people, and we will still die in the future, but at this time, 20,000 people will die in the concubine’s grave, and all the Xu family’s robes that we died before will die in vain!”
Li Yishan didn't look at Zhao Changling, but just stared at Xu Xiao, and said in a deep voice: "I implore the general, let one person lead 20,000 Qingqi to die!"
Chen Zhibao, who came to the big tent from all over the battlefield, said calmly: "Father, don't need 20,000 people, give me 15,000 horses, but I want the best horses and the best spears bow and crossbow, I will guard the concubine’s tomb.”
Zhao Changling stared at this extremely important young general with a complicated expression.
Yuan Zuozong stretched out his palm and touched the dregs of his chin, and said with a smile: "Zhibao still needs to find out the military skills and habits of the school lieutenants of the various armies in order to be able to use their arms and fingers in the final battle. After all, there are so many people with different surnames." Soldiers and horses and many surrendered generals, there is no delay. It's better for me, an idler, to go to the concubine's grave."
Chu Lushan suddenly laughed and said, "I am familiar with this kind of battle where everyone dies together, Yuan Baixiong? Are you not ashamed to fight me?"
Li Yishan said plainly: "In the battle of the concubine's tomb, Ye Baikui had the first and second opponents, and we also divided into two rounds, which can be regarded as going to death one after another. The former should die slowly, the slower the better, and it is best to use up all the Qingqi in Dachu. , and it is even necessary to let the heavy cavalry of Chu make a charge, Zuo Zong is good at cavalry battles to preserve strength."
Yuan Zuozong nodded.
Chu Lushan stared and said, "The soldiers and horses behind must belong to me, right?"
Li Yishan shook his head and said: "If you want a lose-lose situation, you can go, but in that case, the Great Chu will still win in the end, and Ye Baikui can send troops to the concubine's tomb continuously, and there will be a war of attrition that is very unfavorable to us. , in addition to consuming the strength of the general, it also consumes the patience of Tai'an City, unfortunately, we can't afford to lose at any point."
Chen Zhibao smiled and said: "I'll go. Give Zuo Zong 15,000 horses, and I only need 5,000 horses to follow. As long as Zuo Zong drags the heavy cavalry of Dachu to the battlefield, I can guarantee to eat them all and let Ye Bai Kui no longer dares to use a single soldier to touch the concubine's grave."
Zhao Changling worried: "What if Ye Baikui suddenly launched a decisive battle at this time?"
The coach Xu Xiao patted the shoulder of this counselor who has the reputation of "no water leaks, it is considered an exhaustive strategy", and said with a hearty smile: "Didn't the espionage say that the big trouble Cao Changqing is still staying in the south? Since Ye Baikui is useless People, it means that most people dare not fight prematurely, not to mention that he still has the upper hand at this moment, he is a big man who is the backbone of Chu, there is no need to gamble with us barefoot poor."
The romantic and suave Zhao Changling smiled wryly, but he finally stopped insisting on his own opinion.
It is said that soldiers and horses go first without moving food and grass, but this time the 20,000 light cavalry rushed quietly for a long distance, except for carrying a small amount of food and grass, there was no extra movement.
In order to deceive others, Chen Zhibao even rode his horse to the frontier battlefield of Xilei Wall, riding alone with a white horse and spear.
The former army of Great Chu can clearly see the demeanor of this person.
Yuan Zuozong led 15,000 riders to rush to the concubine's tomb first, and the route was first north and then east.
Before getting on the horse, Li Yishan stepped forward, his lips trembling slightly, but he didn't speak.
Yuan Zuozong clasped his fists suddenly, his eyes were clear and his expression was firm, but he did not speak.
Xu Xiao stepped forward and said softly: "Zuo Zong, the adoptive father doesn't say anything good, just say one thing. Even if he dies, at least try to keep a whole body, so that when he goes into the coffin later, the adoptive father can help you wear it." Put on a pair of cloth shoes that I sewed by myself."
Yuan Zuozong listened to the dejected words, but he didn't feel any resentment. He smiled casually: "No, just save it for Xiaonian to wear. Just treat it as a gift from Zuozong. I haven't given him anything for so many years. I always feel sorry for him." .”
Xu Xiao waved his hand and said, "Go."
Fifteen thousand Qingqi quietly left the west wall in the middle of the night.
Xu Xiao stood in the same place, Zhao Changling was on the left, and Li Yishan was behind him, just like the right arm of the great general Xu Xiao.
Chu Lushan squatted in front of his adoptive father and sulked. He pulled up a weed that was lucky enough not to be trampled by the horse's hoof, and chewed the grass and mud.
Xu Xiao squatted down next to the adoptive father, raised his hand and patted Chu Lushan's head, and said with a smile: "As long as you can eat Da Chu this time, you will be the pioneer of Shu. The foster father had promised Zuo Zong that he would If he dies, you just come to count his share."
For the first time in the Xu family army, the fat man who turned his face and refused to recognize others for his military merits was not at all happy, with his fat head and big ears drooping.
The Xu family's iron cavalry, a group of old people and newcomers came, but ever since they followed Xu Xiao out of the Liao Dynasty and hit the west wall, there was no separation between life and death, only death!
"Xu Fengnian" squatted beside Xu Xiao, wanting to tell Chu Lushan and Xu Xiao, whose back was still not stooped, that Yuan Zuozong would not die, and he would not lose in the battle of Xileibi.
But after that, when King Feng broke the soil and attacked Beimang in Beiliang, there were more and more births and fewer deaths.
Until he, Xu Fengnian, took up the Xu Family King Banner and once again faced the millions of string-controlling people in Beimang.