In the next two days, Zhao Liang and his party walked along the foot of Taihang Mountain, all the way to the south. Because Yang Ru is delicate and not good at high-intensity marching, everyone has to rely on her physical strength, trust the horse, stop and go, and have another rare leisure.

At this time, Zhao Liang gradually became familiar with Yang Ru and Apple, and in order to alleviate the boredom on the journey, he opened the chatterbox, picked up some anecdotes and allusions that were not related to history, and told them to relieve their boredom.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Liang's story couldn't help but attract the two girls deeply, and even the soldiers of the scout team listened to it with relish, and praised Brother Zhao for being knowledgeable, knowing a lot, and speaking funny and good. In this way, the usual chores of setting up camp and moving east and west are not allowed to be done, and everyone holds Zhao Liang as a gentleman, of course, this gentleman refers to the storyteller in the teahouse.

On this day, everyone settled down in the suburbs not far from Xingtang County, Zhending Prefecture, and had lunch, Apple was about to beckon the brothers to put away the pot and bury the fire, and set off for a journey, when suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves faintly came from the northeast.

Before she could speak, even a veteran heard the wind and leaned down on the ground to listen quietly. After a few moments, the veteran raised his hand and pointed to the northeast and shouted, "Cavalry brigade!" Less than three miles away, more than two hundred people! ”

"Who could it be?" Yang Ru was slightly nervous and asked subconsciously.

Apple Xiumei frowned slightly, and snorted coldly: "It's mostly Liao dogs, get on the horse!" ”

Everyone shouted in unison and climbed onto their horses. Just as he was about to stop, he saw a large cloud of smoke and dust rising from the wilderness not far away, and hundreds of fierce cavalry suddenly appeared in sight.

Zhao Liang looked at it fixedly, and immediately shouted that it was not good. Apple guessed correctly, it was the Khitan soldiers and horses.

"Damn, are you here for us?" He was surprised: "This nose is too smart." ”

Apple said in a deep voice: "These Liao troops should be attacking nearby towns, it may be that the enemy scouts climbed high and looked far away, and accidentally discovered our traces, so they attracted a large army to encircle and suppress them." The enemy is outnumbered, and we must retreat quickly! ”

Zhao Liang stopped Apple and asked, "Do you think we can outrun them?" ”

Apple was slightly stunned when he heard this, and before he could answer, Zhao Liang said again: "At this time, you must not mess up with proportions and fool around in a panic." Think about it first, should you run away with your life, or should you find a place with cover for the time being and wait for help? Once you choose the wrong one, it's too late to regret it! ”

After his reminder, Apple immediately reacted and nodded: "You are right, just by virtue of riding skills, if the time is long, I am afraid that we will not be able to outrun these wolf cubs." A dozen miles to the west can enter the Taihang Mountain, where I know that there is an abandoned military fort to temporarily avoid the enemy's edge. Yao Chongshan, Zhang Yi! ”

The two Song soldiers replied in unison on their horses, and Apple instructed the two: "You two hurry to the nearest city, and quickly move troops to the rescue." Others protect Miss, follow me! ”

With that, she whipped her horse whip hard, jumped out first, and rushed towards the west, Zhao Liang, Yang Ru and the remaining scouts did not dare to delay, they all rode their horses and whips, and fled towards Taihang Mountain after the apple.

The journey of more than ten miles is only half an hour's work for a high-speed galloping war horse. As the scout leader of the Yongbyon Army, Apple was very familiar with the northern Xinjiang area, and under her guidance, after everyone entered the Taihang Mountains, they didn't go far to see the abandoned military fort.

The Liao cavalry of nearly 500 people behind him was approaching a lot at this time, and Apple knew that the situation was urgent, so he hurriedly led everyone to rush into the fort and began to prepare for defense.

Zhao Liang dismounted in the military fort and first looked around carefully. I saw that the scale of this fortress is not large, the main fort is just a beacon tower more than 20 steps square, two floors above and below, surrounded by a courtyard the size of half a football field, with more than a dozen houses, it is estimated that they were originally used to garrison and store supplies.

Although the place is not large, the location of this fortress is extremely dangerous, the three outer sides of the city wall are cliffs, only the passage of the military fort gate is connected to the outside world, and it is also a very steep hillside, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The entire fort is made of stone, which is extremely strong, and the only fly in the ointment is that half of the two wooden gates are missing, and the other half is also quite damaged, and there is no longer any defensive function.

The most eye-catching place of the military fort has a stone plaque that reads "The Beacon Tower of the Three Peerless Mountains of the Northern Han Dynasty". Obviously, it was once a military facility of the Northern Han regime, but after it was pacified by the Great Song Dynasty, it gradually fell into disuse.

At this time, Apple was busy beckoning his subordinates to move things to block the gate, and seeing that Zhao Liang was still wandering around, he couldn't help but get angry and shouted, "Hey! What are you doing? Why don't you come over and help? ”

Zhao Liang was the only person who was still idle at this time except for Yang Ru, and he couldn't help but blush, walked up to Apple and asked, "What are you going to do next?" ”

"What else can I do?" The apple carried a large stone and piled it up at the door, and replied angrily, "Of course it's a dead guard." ”

Zhao Liang shook his head: "Defending the city is the most taboo, which will put everyone in a desperate situation." ”

Apple raised her eyebrows and asked, "Then what do you say you should do?" ”

At this time, Yang Ru also approached and looked at Zhao Liang curiously. Zhao Liang thought for a moment and said, "Let's divide the troops into two places." ”

Apple was surprised, "What? Do you still have to divide the troops at this time? You're crazy, aren't you? There are ten times as many enemy troops outside, and even our people may not be able to last long. ”

Yang Ru persuaded: "Apple, don't worry, listen to Brother Zhao's words." ”

Zhao Liang continued: "It is precisely because of this that it is even more necessary to divide the troops. I suggest that this place be guarded by Miss Yang and me, leaving only half of the men, and the remaining half of you can take out to attack and attack the enemy on the periphery, so that they will never be able to concentrate on storming the fort. Only then will we have a chance to delay until reinforcements arrive. ”

Apple was about to refute, but Zhao Liang said: "The most difficult task is still up to you." Anyway, there is also a fortress to rely on here, such a dangerous terrain, the Liao soldiers will never be able to attack the fort without paying huge casualties, so we should be safe and sound in a short time. However, a covert attack on the periphery is dangerous, and if you are not careful, you will be firmly bitten by the enemy, and it will be difficult to get out easily. I thought you were skilled in martial arts and familiar with field warfare, so I made this suggestion. ”

Yang Ru agreed on the side: "Father Shuai often said that the key to defending the city lies in echoing inside and outside. If there are strong soldiers inside and help outside, it will be difficult for the enemy to specialize. If all of us are piled together and there is no echo from outside, then the enemy can easily trap us as long as they hold their ground, and the morale of the brothers will become more and more depressed. ”

Apple is also a veteran of the battlefield, although the command experience is still insufficient, but after thinking about it carefully, he immediately understood what Zhao Liang meant. She groaned slightly, nodded and said, "Okay, just do as you say, but ...... Are you sure to hold on? The second lady can't afford to be missed. Otherwise, let's change, I'll defend the fort and attract the enemy here, and you will flee quickly with the young lady. ”

Without waiting for Zhao Liang to answer, Yang Ru preemptively said: "Absolutely not!" I said that I would not be a deserter. Either everyone leaves safely together, or they die here together! And I believe that Brother Zhao, with your cooperation on the periphery, we will be able to hold on to this place until reinforcements arrive! ”

Zhao Liangxin said: Believe me? I don't know who gave this Miss Yang Er's confidence. If you bring me a heavy machine gun now, it would be about the same, otherwise Lao Tzu wouldn't even be sure.

However, thinking about it, he can't say that, on the contrary, he has to pretend to be confident and cheer up the two girls: "Don't worry, such a small scene is guaranteed to be foolproof." ”

Apple obviously didn't accept Zhao Liang's nonsense, and said: "Only half of the people are still too weak, I'll take seven people away, and leave the rest for you." ”

"Brother Zhao, what should we do next?" Yang Ru asked worriedly. After Fang Cai led the people out to ambush outside, Zhao Liang commanded the soldiers who stayed behind to redeploy the defense of the military fort, at this time the fortifications were nearing the end, seeing that he was a little idle, Yang Ru dared to come forward to disturb.

Zhao Liang heard her worries and said with a smile: "Miss Yang, don't worry, as long as I am here, I will definitely protect you." ”

This was actually purely a comforting word, but when Yang Ru heard it, it seemed to have a little other meaning, and her cheeks suddenly flushed slightly, and she didn't know how to answer for a while.

Zhao Liang looked at her shyness, and his heart couldn't help but flutter, and he almost couldn't hold it. Damn, this girl can't be interesting to me, right? Thinking of this, Zhao Liang's eyes rolled, and he planned to launch a unique stunt to explore the girl's heart.

But at this moment, the sentry standing on the top floor of the second floor suddenly shouted: "The Khitans are here!" ”

This voice immediately made everyone in the military fort nervous. Zhao Liang couldn't care about flirting with girls anymore, so he hurriedly rushed to the second floor, put his hands on the curtain shed, and looked into the distance. I saw that behind the mountain bend hundreds of meters away, a large number of Liao cavalry were turning out, following the tracks of the horse's hooves they left behind, quickly approaching in the direction of the military fort.

Zhao Liang said secretly: God forbid, fortunately, Apple is familiar with the terrain and brought everyone into the Taihang Mountains, which slowed down the speed of the chasing soldiers and left enough time for himself to arrange fortifications, otherwise, today's battle would be difficult to fight.

But even so, the Liao army was really chasing very tightly, and they didn't even give a little chance to take a breath, and they had already appeared in front of them.

Zhao Liang turned his heart sideways and ordered his opponent: "Blow the trumpet and meet the enemy!" ”

When the trumpeter heard the order, he hurriedly raised the horn and blew the horn with a whin, and the melodious sound reverberated in the mountains and forests, and spread far away.

This horn is not only a reminder to the soldiers in the fort to prepare for battle, but also a signal to Apple: Our side is about to start!

The Liao cavalry in the distance was galloping wildly, and suddenly heard the sound of the Song army's horn, and was also stunned, but in a blink of an eye, they slowed down their advance and became cautious. It's no wonder that this is not an unobstructed wilderness plain, but a mountainous area full of dense forests.

The commander of the Liao army observed suspiciously for a long time, and found that the sound came from the fortress not far away, and there was no other abnormality, so he gradually relaxed his mind again, and asked the subordinates next to him: "Hey, have you seen clearly?" Is that the banner of the flaming Pegasus? ”

"That's right, General, it's that ghost flag," a Liao soldier replied, "It was this group of barbarians who killed the little wolf master, Lord Xiao Hengyi!" At that time, it was fortunate that the little cleverness would have died under their swords. ”

The general of Liao snorted coldly when he heard this: "Okay, there is a debtor who is wronged, and this time I must not let them run away." Sons, surround the fortress for me! ”

With an order, all the cavalry shouted in unison, and then they dispersed the queue and fanned down the steep slope outside the gate of the military fort, and everyone was sitting on horseback with bows and arrows, aiming far above.

A small soldier with a messenger sword flag on his back galloped up the hillside, stopped halfway through the run, and shouted at the top of his voice: "Hear clearly, the Wunahan barbarians, you have fallen into a desperate situation, there is no way to escape, quickly put down your weapons and come out to surrender, my general is magnanimous, but Rao Er will not die, otherwise it will ......"

Before the soldier finished speaking, he heard a whoosh, and a feathered arrow suddenly shot from the top floor of the second floor of the fort, impartially, hitting the pheasant feather on his hat and helmet, and at the same time shouted from above: "Get out!" ”

The little soldier who passed the word said "Mom", hurriedly shrank his head and reined in his horse, and rushed down the hill with a stream of urine, and in the military fort behind him, there was a burst of laughter.