Although Gongsun Kang and the others did not know that the reinforcements from Jinxi were only a stone's throw away, all three of them realized that the Qi army had little time left for them. If it is fast, it will take three or four days, and if it is slow, it will take seven or eight days, and the two armies of the east and west will form a joint encirclement in the White Wolf River. At that time, if Gongsun Kang and Badun Ren can't conquer the Qi camp, then they will be replaced by the turtles in the urn.

In a trance, Guo Tu seemed to have returned to Guandu three years ago, when Yuan Shao also besieged Cao Cao's thousands of remnants with tens of thousands of people, but Cai Ji, who arrived later, burned the granary and cut off the back road. Could it be that this time he Guo Tu is going to repeat the mistakes of three years ago?

Compared with Guo Tu, who was secretly embarrassed, Badun, who wanted to make another plan a moment ago, decisively gave up the idea of retreating, and instead decided to make a desperate bet and join forces with Gongsun Kang to take down Cai Ji on the opposite side in order to coerce the Qi army that came to help. I saw him clenching his hands into fists and said with murderous aura on his face, "For today's plan, only by letting go can we have a chance to turn around." ”

Gongsun Kang also wiped away the previous unhappiness, gritted his teeth and nodded, "Even if you lose both this time, Lone will capture Cai's alive!" ”

Seeing that Bun Dun and Gongsun Kang had reached a consensus to capture Cai Ji at any cost, Guo Tu pushed the boat to the two and said, "The two generals are slow! Days of onslaught have exhausted the soldiers. According to the old man, the two of them will temporarily suspend the army for half a day, and after the general school has a full meal, they will go straight to Cai Ying! ”

Gongsun Kang nodded deeply after hearing what Guo Tu said, and on the one hand ordered Ming Jin to withdraw the troops, and on the other hand, he ordered people to use the remaining grain and grass and game to boil meat soup to reward the three armies. As a result, the White Wolf River, which was full of corpses, finally ushered in a rare truce at noon on this day.

"Oh? Gongsun Kang's truce? In the Qi camp commander's tent, Cai Ji, who heard that Gongsun Kang had collected his troops, subconsciously frowned. In her opinion, the attack of the Gongsun army in the past half a month has been fierce day by day, and it is really not like Gongsun Kang's usual style to suddenly truce in the middle of the battle like this.

Tian Chou on the side saw that Cai Ji had doubts, so he added to him, "After Gongsun Kang Mingjin collected his troops, he ordered someone to start a fire. Boiling meat soup has a lot of momentum and is ready to go. ”

After listening to Tian Chou's analysis, Cai Ji's expression became a little more solemn. Don't look at the White Wolf River camp in the past three months, it has thwarted the strong attacks of the Gongsun army and the Wuhuan people again and again, but Cai Ji, who is the commander-in-chief, knows very well that the soldiers under his command have long been physically and mentally exhausted, and the food, grass, arrows, and medicines in the camp are even more consumed. Among them, grain, grass and medicine may be able to be eaten and used sparingly, but arrows cannot be saved at all. After all, it was with the advantage of the bow and crossbow that the Qi army was able to resist the tens of thousands of troops of Gongsun Kang and Badun with a mere few thousands. If the arrows run out and the reinforcements do not arrive in time, the consequences will undoubtedly be unimaginable. But now Cai Ji doesn't have the energy to think about what to do after he runs out of ammunition. How to survive the next fierce battle is her priority.

"Order the whole army to rest for half a day to strictly prevent the enemy from attacking at night." After being silent for a long time, Cai Ji finally decided.

"Whoa." Tian Chou surrendered his order and withdrew from the tent.

For a while, Cai Ji was the only one left in the huge camp, and when I saw her, she took a deep breath slowly, got up and walked to the map, and muttered to herself. "This is a matter of life and death."

Under the gloomy canopy, a cavalry marched methodically over the inaccessible mountain road, with steep rock walls on one side and bottomless cliffs on the other, and the mountain path itself was narrow and steep. If you are not careful, you will fall into the abyss and be shattered. Duan Emei carefully controlled the war horse under her crotch, allowing the mountain wind to lift the veil to reveal her mutilated one-eye. Because he was previously sent by Cai Ji to investigate the gunpowder leakage case. Duan Emei did not accompany Cai Ji to the north as usual. As a result, such an exception plunged Cai Ji into an unprecedented crisis. Especially when he thought that the female assassin who assassinated Gongsun Du was Jun Yali, Duan Emei was both self-reproachful and annoyed. In her opinion, if she was by the Lord's side at the time, she would at least be able to detect Guo Tu's conspiracy, and she would not let the Lord go into danger alone. So after learning that Guo Jia wanted to transport reinforcements with a sailor, Duan Emei volunteered to board the warship heading north. At this moment, she and Tang Ying led a thousand elite fast horsemen as a pioneer to take the trail to help the White Wolf River.

Finally crossing the most precipitous section of the mountain road, Duan Emei immediately stepped forward and asked Tang Ying, who had just finished counting the number of people. "General Tang, how long will it take to get to the White Wolf River?"

Tang Ying raised his whip and pointed straight in the direction of the westward slope of the sun, "Over this mountain, it is the camp of Gongsun and the two thieves." From now on, we need people to be crowned, and horses to be bound to their hooves. to avoid people's eyes. ”

Duan Emei listened to what Tang Ying said, and without saying a word, she took out a silk handkerchief from her arms and tied it to her mouth, then turned over and dismounted and wrapped the hay and coarse cloth prepared in advance around the horse's hooves. Behind her, the rest of the riders did the same. Obviously, after the lesson of the last Shizipo fiasco, the current Qi army no longer dares to be the slightest careless.

In this way, Duan Emei and the others wrapped their horses all the way, and sneaked for more than ten miles, and when they arrived at the White Wolf River, it was already midnight that day. However, although it was midnight, the banks of the White Wolf River were brightly lit at this time. As far as the eye can see, there are bonfires, scattered with large and small felt tents, stretching for more than ten miles along the White Wolf River, like the reflection of the Milky Way in the world. However, Duan Emei and the others didn't have the slightest intention of appreciating such a spectacle, because there were bursts of terrifying shouts of killing in the whistling night wind.

"General Yu, Gongsun and the two thieves are besieging the main camp!"

The scouts sent out quickly brought back the battle situation on the banks of the White Wolf River for everyone. Knowing that Cai Ji was being besieged by tens of thousands of troops, Duan Emei, who was anxious, was about to ride a horse to attack, but Tang Ying on the side stopped him.

"Wait!" Tang Ying grabbed Duan Emei's reins and persuaded, "The thief army is powerful, and there are only a thousand of us, so I am afraid it will be difficult to attack." For today's plan, the only way to win is in chaos. ”

Although Duan Emei has unique skills, in the final analysis, she is just a ranger in the rivers and lakes, and she doesn't know anything about the art of war. At this moment, after listening to what Tang Ying said, she couldn't help biting her lips and sneering, "How to win in chaos!" ”

Tang Ying lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then decisively turned his head and ordered, "Quickly go and cut down some branches." ”

Under the cover of night, Gongsun Kang stood in front of the formation with his sword in both hands, watching his footmen advance step by step under the cover of the Wuhuan people's cavalry, while feeling the ground trembling under his feet due to the galloping of war horses. A sickly crimson rose on his originally dark cheeks. There is no doubt that this was the most concerted and smoothest offensive of the coalition forces in three months. Both Gongsun Kang and Badun did their best. On the other hand, the Qi camp on the opposite side is gradually showing fatigue, and it has completely lost its former sharpness.

However, just when Gongsun Kang thought that he had the chance to win, there was a sudden commotion behind him. Gongsun Kang, who was deeply unhappy, turned his head and was about to scold, when he saw a junior colonel stumbling over and wailing, "Report! The Lord Qi Army... The Qi army is coming! ”

Gongsun Kang's expression changed, and he hurriedly looked for prestige, and saw that the fire was rising to the sky in the southwest direction, and the smoke and dust were billowing into the sky, as if there were countless brigades of men and horses rushing towards this side. Could it be that Zhang Wenyuan has already arrived at the White Wolf River! Thinking of Zhang Liao's prestige in the two states, Gongsun Kang only felt a tremble. But the battle situation behind him, which had already gained the upper hand, made him reluctant to give up easily.

"Hugh is talking nonsense. Confuse the hearts of the army! Gongsun Kang kicked the little colonel to the ground, and immediately pulled out his sword with a bang, piercing the opponent's chest fiercely.

It's a pity that even if Gongsun Kang killed the little colonel who came to report the news, he couldn't stop the commotion from spreading in the battalions. In fact, not only the Gongsun army and the Wuhuan people spread the rumors that Qi reinforcements had arrived, but even the Qi army camp on the opposite side also noticed the abnormality in the southwest direction.

At this time, Cai Ji was wearing leather armor to supervise the battle in front of the battle, and the city under her feet was built by the soldiers in the camp in the past two months. Today, the rammed walls are covered with a dense network of arrows. From afar, it looks like a huge hedgehog crouching on the ground. I saw the castle Ueda Chou pointing to the fire in the southwest and shouted excitedly, "Lord." There seems to be an anomaly in the southwest. Reinforcements have arrived! ”

Cai Ji was unconsciously refreshed when he heard this, and hurriedly took out the crystal telescope to see the flag of the reinforcements clearly. But after looking at it for a long time, except for the burning woods and the soldiers of the Gongsun army running around, I didn't see half of the Qi army flag at all. Seeing this situation, Cai Ji couldn't help frowning and muttered, "Xu is Guo Gong's fraud." ”

Tian Chou looked at the already panicked battle formation on the opposite side again, and then shook his head again and again. "The battle formation of Gongsun and Badun has been chaotic, and this matter cannot be faked."

"It's better for Yun Ling and a team of elite horsemen to go out of the camp to cover up and kill. If a friendly army comes to help, there is a response, and if it is not a friendly army to help, it is good to kill the thief army. Zhao Yun stepped forward and took the initiative to ask.

Cai Ji hesitated slightly, then nodded and instructed. "Zilong be careful, beware of fraud."

"Whoa." After Zhao Yun bowed to Cai Ji with a fist, he turned around and walked down the city in great strides.

A moment later, the gate of the Qi army's camp slammed open, and a black-clothed and black-armored warrior jumped out of the gate under the leadership of Zhao Yun, and killed the enemy troops who rushed to the vicinity. Gongsun Jun, who was already panicked, saw that the Qi army in the camp dared to take the initiative, and felt that the previous rumors about the arrival of Qi army reinforcements were more confirmed. However, it was the Wuhuan people who fled first, and the Gongsun army, which did not have Wuhuan cavalry as a cover, did not hold out for long. Under Zhao Yun's continuous rush, the battle formation of the Gongsun army quickly collapsed. In the darkness of the night, countless pawns began to throw away their armor and flee in all directions.

And just when Zhao Yun was about to kill, a group of fire dragons suddenly appeared from the southeast direction, breaking through the layers of encirclement and heading straight for the Qi army camp like sharp arrows from the string. During the fierce battle, I saw a shadow holding a double blade rushing back and forth in the battle array, and where the sword flashed, blood splashed and the head rolled, harvesting countless dead souls.

It turned out that Tang Ying ordered someone to cut down a tree branch and tie it to the horse's tail, and set fire to it in the southwest direction to form the illusion of thousands of troops and horses, and on the other hand, he asked Duan Emei to lead the main force to break into the encirclement from the southeast and join the Qi army in the camp. It's just that he never thought that his little trick would directly defuse the strong attack of Gongsun Kang and Badun, and even made Zhao Yun launch a powerful counterattack.

At this time, Zhao Yun and Duan Emei had already discovered each other's storage. The two votes of men and horses committed suicide in each other's direction and opened a bloody path, and after a short time, they converged into a mighty torrent and swept away the remnants of the defeated soldiers in front of the camp. Although Zhao Yun knew that Duan Emei's martial arts were extraordinary early on, at this moment, seeing her reaping the enemies with two blades between the horses, he couldn't help but praise him, "Lord Duan Qi is really a heroine among women. ”

Duan E smiled at Zhao Yunyan with silky eyes, "It is the honor of a concubine to be able to fight side by side with General Zilong. ”

Facing the flattering eyes thrown by Duan E's eyebrows, Zhao Yun couldn't help but blush, and quickly opened the topic, "Now that the thieves in front of the camp have been cleared, we will take advantage of the victory to pursue and join forces with the friendly forces in the southwest." ”

"Don't hide it from the general, those who come to help tonight will be concubines and a thousand soldiers under General Tang." Duan Emei replied truthfully.

Hearing that there were only 1,000 reinforcements, Zhao Yun immediately pulled the reins and said with a straight eyebrow, "Then the rest of the soldiers and horses ......"

Duan Emei, who heard Zhao Yun's unkind tone, hurriedly explained, "The remaining 40,000 soldiers and horses are still sixty miles away, so the lord is worried, and the concubine and General Tang have taken a trail to report here. ”

Knowing that there would be 40,000 reinforcements coming in the future, Zhao Yun finally fell to the ground with the big stone hanging in his chest. But as soon as he thought that the enemy army might counterattack at any time, Zhao Yun immediately gave up the idea of continuing the pursuit, and turned his horse around and said, "Don't hesitate, and ask Lord Duan Qi to return to the camp with Yun to resume his life." ”

Duan E's eyebrows also restrained her smile, and nodded solemnly, "Please lead the way, general." ”

On this side, Zhao Yun led Duan Emei to collect his troops and return to the camp, and Gongsun Kang finally figured out that the so-called thousands of troops and horses in the southwest direction were just a Qi army scout and a bunch of branches. However, it was such a group of scouts of only two or three hundred men that sabotaged the closest possible attack of the coalition army, causing Gongsun Kang and Badun to pay thousands of casualties overnight. This is not counting the Wuhuan and Gongsun soldiers who fled out of fear. In short, this general attack, which Gongsun Kang had high hopes for, turned into a ridiculous fiasco.

"Bastard! This is the so-called army of you! Gongsun Kang slammed a half-burned branch to the ground.

The generals on the side shrank their heads one by one, for fear that a young colonel who accidentally annoyed his own master would give his own life in vain like the little colonel who had given the order before. However, before Gongsun Kang could scold, another fast horse galloped from the southwest. I heard the rider on horseback cry out hoarsely, "Zhang...... Zhang Wenyuan is also here! ”

Just after being tricked once, Gongsun Kanghuo drew his sword and was about to cut people. But this time, the rider who didn't wait for Gongsun Kang to make a move to report the news had already fallen to the ground with a convulsion, revealing the three white feather arrows stuck in his back. Seeing this, everyone's hearts trembled. After a while, someone finally mustered up the courage to pull out one of the feather arrows and present it to Gongsun Kang. I saw that the blood-stained white feather arrow was impressively engraved with a small "Zhang" character. (To be continued......)