In the Southern Han Kingdom, the Zhou army had already approached Shaozhou.
Cao Bin mobilized the vanguard of the Jiangnan camp and took the road closest to Xingwangfu Panyu to test the border of Southern Han. Unexpectedly, after several rounds of bombardment, he easily captured Xiongzhou on the border between Southern Tang and Southern Han.
So Prime Minister Li Gu came to Jiangnan and controlled the transportation of food and grass resources to Xiongzhou. Cao Bin managed the defense of Xiongzhou and used it as his base camp, concentrating more than 90,000 troops and a large amount of military supplies there, preparing to attack Shaozhou head-on.
Shaozhou was the gateway to the Southern Han Kingdom. As long as they occupied this place, they could march straight along the rivers and directly approach the capital of the Southern Han Kingdom.
The accompanying Qianniu Beishen Lu Duan suggested that Cao Bin divide his troops into two routes to contain and divide the reinforcements of the Southern Han Kingdom from the west. Cao Bin thought that this person was ignorant of military affairs and had a low rank, so he did not accept the suggestion and insisted on concentrating the troops to attack from the front.
However, Cao Bin shared the hardships with his soldiers and paid great attention to every detail, from the front scouts to the rear army supplies, all were carefully and properly deployed. He also strictly prohibited the generals from allowing the soldiers to plunder, and there were no mistakes after the expedition.
The area south of the Nanling Mountains was not well developed, with dense jungles and natives with hair combed like awls. The generals strictly ordered their soldiers to stop provoking those people. However, the natives did not dare to provoke the armed troops. Instead, a large number of enemy troops gathered in Shaozhou and were moving northward.
The central army had to cross a mountain range in front and build a vanguard camp and fortress in the south. The Kaifeng commander where Yu Liang was located was one of the first troops ordered to cross the mountain.
Everyone went south along the Zhenshui River. The previous scouts did not find any large number of enemy soldiers; while the Zhou army advanced in groups from both sides of the river. With numbers, they were bolder and people were not afraid at all.
But the crowd was still a bit dull. The troops commanded by Kaifeng on the east coast were all from the Central Plains and were not very adapted to the climate. It was early autumn, but the weather was still unbearably hot.
Yu Liang's face was pale, and his forehead was covered with sweat, which dripped down from the brim of his helmet. He was not feeling well. The food was not that good. He had walked thousands of miles in the past few months, suffered a lot, and was tanned. He felt unwell these days, always felt weak, and his head was a little hot, but he just endured it without saying anything.
He looked at the Zhang brothers from the same hometown, and saw that they were talking and laughing and looked very happy. Those poor farmers, although they were very thin when they first joined the army, were very hardworking and obedient. As long as they had enough food, walking every day was not a problem.
Yu Liang couldn't stand the heat any more. His feet felt like they were filled with lead. The river water sparkled in the sun. Yu Liang cursed inwardly: What kind of wild place is this
Finally, he could not resist any longer and left the queue. He ran to the river, scooped up a handful of water and poured it on his face. He immediately felt a pleasant coolness and quickly scooped up another handful of water and drank it. He looked up and sighed. He simply lowered his head and soaked his entire face in the cool river water, then wiped his face with his hands.
At this moment, Yu Liang found blood on his palm and was stunned.
After a while, he felt a slight itch in the numbness on his face. He reached out and touched something soft and slippery. He hurriedly pinched it and tried to pull it out, but it was too slippery and he couldn't pull it out.
What the hell! Yu Liang shouted in horror.
Upon hearing the news, his subordinates gathered around him, all staring at his face. Yu Liang said: What
More than 30 people suddenly started talking in a noisy manner, and even other teams looked at them sideways. Someone said, "General Yu, don't worry, it's just a leech, it's nothing serious."
Damn, this thing is drilling into the flesh. Why is Yu Liang's voice different? This thing doesn't hurt when it drills into people, but it's scary to think about it drilling into the flesh on my face.
The man just now said: You need to use wine, it will come out once you marinate it.
At this time, the man who asked where the wine came from shouted again: Urine will work too.
He untied his belt and took out the ugly thing. Although Yu Liang was frightened, he didn't want to be peed on. Everyone rushed to take out the iron bowl he used to eat and peed on it.
Then, without saying anything, he splashed it on Yu Liang's face.
Damn it, Yu Liang almost cried, and he didn't see who splashed it. Some water seeped into the corner of his mouth, and the taste was really hard to describe. It was already like this, so he could only ask: Did you get it out
Everyone stared and shook their heads. The man just now said: "Slap, slap with your palm and you'll get it."
Yu Liang finally saw the guy clearly, it was Zhang Sanlang, and he immediately cursed: Zhang San, you son of a bitch, you pissed on my face and I brought you out of the poor mountain village in vain!
Zhang San said with an innocent look: I am also worried about General Yu.
Get that thing out quickly, lives are at stake. Someone said.
A fireman nearby slapped Yu Liang's face, as if he was slapping him in the face. Half of Yu Liang's face was swollen.
Yu Liang: Fuck your mother
It’s out, it’s out, everyone said happily.
Yu Liang was stunned there, his face was covered with urine and swollen. Then he looked at Zhang San angrily, and Zhang San said: I was anxious, I didn't mean it.
Yu Liang looked down and saw a black, soft thing. He raised his foot and stomped on it. Zhang San said: If you can't kill it by stepping on it, you have to use urine to pickle it.
I’m going to pickle your mother Yu Liang and pointed at Zhang San’s nose and cursed.
At this moment, there was a loud shout from the front: Get ready for battle, followed by the sound of gongs and drums.
Yu Liang was also surprised and quickly looked up. Someone said: "The flag is over there." Yu Liang waved his hand and led a group of people to quickly move towards a flag.
Yu Liang's men were in the last row. More than a hundred of them quickly formed three long rows according to their usual training. At this time, a horse-riding messenger came over and pointed to the front and said: "Everyone, move over there!"
Everyone followed the captain on horseback and ran forward in a line.
Soon, another messenger arrived and shouted: Command the first to third divisions to deploy on the spot; the first division leader leads the three divisions, and if he dies in battle, he will take over as leader in order.
Under the command of the captain, everyone formed a square formation with their backs to the Zhenshui River.
A long roar came from the forest, like the cry of an elephant. Mixed in with the strange cry of a human being, the enemy is very close. No wonder the commander asked everyone to deploy their troops on the spot.
Yu Liang wiped his face with a handkerchief and quickly pulled out his sword from his waist. Those holding crossbows had already strung their bows, while those holding firearms were still busy loading their weapons.
Everyone followed the sound and looked ahead. Yu Liang also looked over there, but could see nothing but trees. The trees were not only tall but also very lush. There were only sparse, mottled spots of light on the ground where the sunlight filtered through the leaves.
The captain shouted: "Military law, anyone who retreats in battle will be beheaded!" Keep your formation steady, don't panic, you will die faster if you run away from the battlefield.
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a loud noise, and a dark figure on horseback appeared in the forest, the horse's hooves stepped on the weeds and leaves without making any sound. Yu Liang's eyes widened, and even his breathing almost stopped. Everyone was also very nervous.
The Jiangnan camp's vanguard did fight a battle in Xiongzhou. During that battle, Yu Liang and his men heard the sound of artillery fire from afar, and then heard that Xiongzhou had been captured.
In fact, except for the generals above the rank of captain, the soldiers present had basically never fought in a battle.
The shadows of the horse and the man were getting closer and closer, shuttling quickly between the trees. The Southern Han also had horses, which were particularly adapted to the mountains and forests.
The captain shouted: Stay calm and obey orders.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of strings snapping, and the crossbowmen in the front row released their arrows one after another. Arrows flew straight in the forest, and many crossbow arrows were stuck on the tree trunks.
There was a burst of cursing coming from the front of my mother.
Then there were noises and shouts coming from the forest, and the infantry and cavalry rushed over. No one could understand the dialect of the Southern Han Kingdom. The accent here was particularly difficult to understand, and the pronunciation was different.
A drum sounded, the flags in front waved, and the generals shouted: Change!
The crossbowmen in the first row of Bendu moved to the third row, and then they hurriedly drew the arrows and strung the crossbows. Yu Liang saw the man next to him sitting on the ground, staring at the crossbow with his feet, and pulled the string hard several times but failed to pull it open. The guy's hands were shaking.
The ferocious cavalry had already rushed right under their noses. The row that had just been transferred to the front fired their crossbows without waiting for orders. In a moment, people and horses fell to the ground, and the screams and neighs of horses were deafening in the forest.
The remaining cavalry came galloping. Yu Liang heard the captain shouting: Draw your swords, kill
A moment later, there were loud clanging noises and screams. There was a fight in front, and the Zhou army's ranks were immediately in disarray. There was another group of soldiers in the back who immediately picked up their spears and formed a battle array.
Yu Liang was holding a single sword in his hand and was squeezed in the middle by the chaotic soldiers. The surroundings were in chaos and he didn't know what to do.
At this time, a large number of infantrymen were seen running towards this side, shouting, holding swords, guns, sticks and clubs in their hands. Some of them even had their hair disheveled and rushed over like wild men without caring about their lives.
The Zhou army's chaotic soldiers were very stupid. They fought with their armor for a while, but were killed and scattered. Then the hundred-man spear formation behind them also became chaotic, and everyone scattered. Some people even shouted: Run, run!
Yu Liang didn't understand what was going on, so he followed the others and ran away. He saw Zhou's comrades on the other side of the river, and was about to run to the river. Unexpectedly, he saw a soldier being chased into the river. His head hit the water twice and then sank like a big stone. Most of these northern soldiers couldn't swim, and even if they could, it wouldn't work. No one could swim with a four-piece set of armor weighing at least more than 30 kilograms on their back.
Seeing this, he hurriedly ran north and rushed into the woods. As he ran, he heard someone say, "Third brother, throw away your weapons and run away." He looked back and saw that the two brothers of the Zhang family were also running away with him.
Yu Liang was breathing heavily, his mind going blank.