Zhao Dangshi was a little anxious. Since the division of troops in Qiyao Mountain, the military rations carried by himself and Xu Hui are only for half a month. Deng Zong broke the kettle and sank the boat, burned the official grain and left, and now the storage in the Shizhou Health Center can last for ten days at most.

Why don't you abandon the Shizhou Guard and join forces with Xu Hui?

The idea was quickly vetoed by himself. The amount of grain is a secret in the army, except for Zhao Dangshi and a few others, the soldiers in the battalion do not know the details. Although Hou Dagui fought in vain, he was not defeated in the end, and his morale still existed. If you take the initiative to abandon the city and leave, won't it clearly show the plight of your army? The morale of the army will be chaotic. Moreover, Xu Hui's side, deep into the enemy's territory, but did not occupy a favorable area, loyalty, filial piety, Jin Tong and other pacification divisions are still in the hands of Shizhou soldiers, if it were not for the poor troops and poor organization in various places, I am afraid that Xu Hui, who was full of enemies, would have been surrounded and annihilated. If you drag your family and your mouth to the past, you will be imprisoned, which is harmful and useless.

For two days in a row, there was no progress, and Rao was so calm that Zhao Dangshi couldn't help fidgeting. If this continues, when the vitality of the Shizhou soldiers gradually recovers, the situation is bound to be difficult to control.

On the third day, Zhou Wenhe secretly reported that Qin Qice came to meet.

Qin Qixun's two younger brothers, the third brother Qin Qigong lurked beside Deng Zongzhen, and the second brother Qin Qice was specifically responsible for communicating with Zhao Ying. Zhao Dangshi invited him in, and when he saw that he was wearing a black robe and his face was covered very tightly, he couldn't help but smile dumbly.

Qin Qice took off his cover, caught a glimpse of his demeanor, and explained: "Shizhou is too small, and there are many acquaintances among people, so it is a last resort. ”

Be careful to sail the ship of ten thousand years, and he has nothing to blame for doing so. Zhao Dangshi apologized, exchanged a few words with him, and then got to the point.

It turned out that Qin Qice came here, and one of the most important purposes was to ask Zhao Ying why he stopped moving. Zhao Dangshi told him truthfully, and asked: "My army is in a hurry for food, can your company have any supplements?" ”

Qin Qice's face was embarrassed, and he politely refused: "It's not that our company is unwilling to support, but the loyal road is barren, and it is not easy to support more than 1,000 soldiers and horses in the headquarters, and it is really difficult to allocate the remaining items." This is also true. In recent years, Zhonglu has improved by virtue of plundering and robbery, and in terms of family background, it cannot be compared with Shi Nan and other old strong companies. If it weren't for the good combat strength of the loyal road soldiers, facing the strong opponents who were mostly thousands of men and horses around them, I am afraid that they would have been destroyed long ago.

Refusal is refusal, but he brings a plan.

After listening to him, Zhao Dangshi was a little worried, and said: "Although this method is good, I am afraid that Deng Zongzhen and Qin Fu will be bitten by snakes once and dare not come again." ”

"Not really." Qin Qice stroked his long beard, "It's true that your camp is in trouble, but I don't know that Shi Nan is also in front of him, so it's not much better." Deng Zongzhen abandoned the city and lost his land, if he did not recapture the guard as soon as possible, sooner or later he would be condemned by the imperial court; Qin Fu was defeated repeatedly, his subordinates were killed and wounded, and some of his subordinates were already dissatisfied, and even his son was trapped in your camp. In public and private, they can no longer be shrunken kings. At this point, I added, "Anyway, your camp has no way out, it's better to give it a try, Shi Nan's side, he has his own brother to contribute." ”

The matter has come to this, Zhao Dangshi can only frown and nod.

As Qin Qice said, Deng Zongzhen and Qin Fu are also under great pressure.

Deng Zongzhen didn't mention it, it was already a good idea to take the initiative to abandon the city and burn the warehouse, and he couldn't take it back, and he would definitely be unable to escape the end of dereliction of duty; Qin Fu's group of small toasts also began to surge secretly. The Shi Nan Qin clan has been able to dominate the local area for more than ten generations, relying on strong military strength. Qin Maoqi almost wiped out Shi Nan's Qin family's family in the battle of Qiyao Mountain, and Qin Fu's foundation in Shi Nan has begun to waver. Not to mention, life is the most mournful, and old age has lost a child. No matter how ruthless Qin Fu is, he is also a mother's fetus, he can't eat or sleep these days, his spirit is sluggish, and he is in his twenties.

Fortunately, Zhao Ying's previous attacks were repulsed, but Deng and Qin were not happy at all. In their opinion, although the guards were burned, there was still a lot of surplus grain in the big families in the city, and the thieves in the Zhao camp must be plundered, and it was rare to fight a protracted war with the thieves with enough food and soldiers.

Deng and Qin discussed several times, but they couldn't make up their minds, and on this day, Qin Qigong suddenly asked to see Deng Zongzhen, and by the way, Qin Fu was also called.

As soon as Qiyao Mountain was defeated, the toasts everywhere were scattered like birds and beasts, and in addition to a few cronies of Deng Zongzhen and Qin Fu, there was only one Qin Qigong among outsiders. Deng Zongzhen was grateful, and Qin Fu was also surprised that Zhonglu was a bare-bones commander with Qin Qigong, and he was also valued by the two.

The three of them gathered, Qin Qigong's face couldn't hide the joy, and he said excitedly: "Two, happy event!" ”

Qin Fu's face was like ashes: "The situation is so withered, how can I be happy?" ”

Qin Qigong took out a letter from his bosom and said: "Brother Shi only has a letter, saying that Jin Xiao took advantage of the emptiness of the rear garrison of the thief camp to restore the Jiannan Division, and the thieves left behind in the division and most of the baggage of the thief camp have all been obtained by me!" "The current Zhonglu consolation envoy is actually Qin Jinxiao, but everyone knows that Qin Qixun is still in charge, so in the conversation, Qin Qixun is still regarded as the head of Zhonglu.

Deng Zongzhen was overjoyed, the haze on his face was swept away, he took the letter, and while reading, he couldn't help but say: "Good, good, well done......"

"The back road of the Zhao thief has been lost, and it will be chaotic in the near future, and I heard that there are only two thousand people left behind in the Shizhou guard, and the two of them will attack it from the south, and my loyal road will be broken from the north. Once the Zhao thief is defeated, his remnants in the Tang Cliff area will also melt like ice in spring, and they will be defeated! ”

Deng Zong couldn't help nodding, his hands holding the letter trembled, and he asked Qin Fu: "What is the public opinion?" This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that must not be missed. ”

Qin Fu took the letter first, read it carefully, and then had some doubts: "I heard that the pioneer of the front of the Zhao thief was the back, and he had already entered the city a few days ago, how could there be any surplus food left in the Jiannan Division?" ”

Qin Qigong replied: "Duke Qin doesn't know, Zhao thief mules and horses are limited, and he is afraid that I will be attacked and robbed by Zhonglu, so this time I only temporarily transported some grain and grass into the city. Said with a sneer, "He dared to underestimate the bloody nature of my Zhonglu man, thinking that he could keep his weight safe by shrinking in the small village of Jiannan Division, but he gave it to Jin Xiaoli and Yingwai in a pot!" There is endless pride in the words, and the chest is also very tall.

Qin Fu was still suspicious: "Since it is a big victory, why don't you see my Tang soldiers come to report?" ”

Deng Zongzhen was also a little alert when he heard this, and looked at Qin Qigong. Qin Qigong was not stunned at all, but said: "After I succeeded in Zhonglu, I quickly handed over the news at the first moment, and the two Tang soldiers who wanted to come were still on the way. ”

Zhonglu and Shinan have been enemies for generations, and they are bent on currying favor with Qin Fu, which inevitably makes them suspicious. Qin Qigong can be ordered to be around the potential two, and he is not idle, and he is advancing with retreat at the moment, with a bit of ridicule in his words.

Qin Fu snorted coldly, ignored him, and said to Deng Zongzhen: "Commander, if this news is conclusive, it is not too late to discuss the march of the army." ”

Deng Zongzhen nodded yes.

When Qin Qigong heard him say this, he was immediately relieved. The three of them talked for a moment, and then dispersed. In the evening, the Tang soldiers came by trekking and presented an urgent military situation: the Jiannan Division had been recovered by the Zhonglu soldiers.

Deng Zongzhen no longer had any doubts, got up from bed in the middle of the night, and gathered all the toasts. Qin Fu was still suspicious, but he couldn't stand Qin Qigong fanning the flames on the side, and seeing that the dispatch of troops was a foregone conclusion, he could only be silent. After some mobilization, they were busy until the early morning, Deng Zongzhen's men and horses, Shi Nanbing, and the rest of the small toasts, formed about 2,500 people, and went to the Shizhou Guard.

Deng Zongzhen was anxious to restore the city, and despite Qin Fu's dissuasion, he personally led the troops. When the troops arrived at the north end of the Dongxiang Fifth Road Pacification Division, they listened to the Tang soldiers return to the city and said that the Zhao camp in the city abandoned the city and retreated north in the morning, and is now fighting with the soldiers and horses of the loyal road who came to invite the attack ten miles west of the city. And seeing that it is very urgent, regardless of the rear, I am afraid that I don't know the news that his troops are coming.

Although the loyal soldiers were brave, after all, they were inferior in numbers, and Deng Zongzhen was worried that his people would be unable to support them for a long time, so he stepped up to urge his troops to hurry.

The Shizhou soldiers rushed all the way to five or six miles west of the city of the Deshi Zhou Guard, and then began to form a team.

Deng Zongzhen was riding on a short Dian horse, sweating profusely, and was being helped down by his attendants to rest. The feet just touched the ground, the cymbals in his ears sounded sharply, and a vote of people and horses were killed from the left and right, and he was shocked to see the big Xu, and there was a red "Zhao" word embroidered.

Under the two big flags, there are two small flags on each side, the left side is embroidered with the word "white", and the right side is embroidered with the word "Wu". Deng Zongzhen didn't know that these two enemy soldiers were the two divisions of Bai Jiaolong, the left division of the middle battalion of Zhao Ying, and Wu Mingfeng, the right division.

"Don't panic, the armor is outside, the archers are inside!" Deng Zongzhen was in a trance and couldn't speak. Or a few astute subordinates to help pass the order.

Shouts of killing erupted, filling the entire sky. Although Shi Zhoubing was caught off guard, when it came to life and death, he still burst out with strong combat effectiveness. At that moment, it was too late to put everything in order, so they formed large or small circles according to the head of the camp, and fought separately. After the first killing, the offensive gradually slowed down.

Bai Jiaolong's training level is not as good as Xu Hui, Hou Dagui, etc., even compared to Wu Mingfeng. Wu Mingfeng's troops were still able to press the Shizhou soldiers over there to slowly move forward, and the soldiers of the White Department here began to be a little anti-guest-oriented.

After the battle, there was a rapid suona sound, and Wang Laixing's reinforcements came up and made a detour to the side. The Shizhou soldiers also saw the move, and then changed their formation, and divided a lot of troops to contain Wang Laixing's troops. In this way, even though it was impossible to complete the siege of the Shi Zhou soldiers, the thickness of the Shi Zhou soldiers in front of the Bai Jiaolong Department decreased instantly, and the pressure dropped sharply.

Deng Zongzhen was furious and asked left and right: "Where did the loyal soldiers go?" "The last time the Tang soldiers came to report, Zhao Ying was clearly still stuck in the melee, why did they all come here at this moment?

Where did the left and right answer, knowing that the commander had already lost his proportions, he suggested: "The situation is not good, don't fall in love with war." When retreat to the city for battle! ”

Deng Zongzhen seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, and said without a word: "Exactly, exactly, the family in the city also said that the thieves retreated, and they just entered it." With the city, it is still possible to maneuver! With that, he immediately mounted his horse and ordered the whole army to retreat in the direction of the city.

At that time, the Shizhou army system was in chaos, and most of them just obeyed the command of the officers around them, and fought with their own fierceness. Deng Zongzhen's military order was only transmitted to a small group of soldiers around him. But the situation is pressing, his life is at stake, his heart is clear, this place can fight for a while, and it will never be able to support it for a long time, so he can only go first.

The 2,500 Shi Zhou soldiers were now divided into two units. One group did not hear the military order, but still tried its best to fight to the death, and the other group was less than a thousand, and followed Deng Zongzhen to retreat to the city without stopping.

The five or six miles of road was quickly completed, Deng Zongzhen was still breathing, and before anyone could call the door, he heard the sound of the city's number one cannon with his own ears, and many enemy troops like ants and leeches suddenly poured out of the hole in the city gate.

Deng Zongzhen's face was like earth, and he looked at it and said: "Liu, Yan and others have reported that there are no thieves in the city, where do these thieves come from?" "The soldiers of Shizhou are still on the march, and there are already a few servants in the city of the guard, saying that the soldiers and horses of the Zhao camp have gone north. He didn't know that these families had long been subject to Zhao Dangshi, so he had no choice but to fake the military report. At that time, he was bent on attacking Zhao Ying with Zhonglu, and he forgot to screen one or two when he was in a mood, and he did not send people into the city to investigate. A small negligence can lead to a big disaster.

Several subordinates gritted their teeth and said: "It must be the old dog of Liu and Yan who collaborated with the enemy, and I will come here." ”

As soon as they fell together, like ice and fire, Deng Zongzhen smiled bitterly, and his eyes were red. I thought that one blow would determine the situation and expel Zhao Ying, but I didn't know that my fate would be difficult, and I was afraid that I would really lose today.

"Command, the thieves are not stable, it is better to kill them in a melee!" The Shizhou soldiers came quickly, and there were almost no ranks, but the Zhao battalion in the city had only come out of the ambush, and they had not had time to set up the formation, and the commander thought that he could win the melee with the individual courage of the Shizhou soldiers.

Deng Zongzhen shook his head, even if he could escape back to Shinan this time, it would be useless for him to be in Shizhou, but looking at the number of thieves in the city, there are not many of them, and he may not lose if he fights against the water. As long as you re-enter the city and collect the remnants of the army, everything is easy to say.

"Sons, raise the prestige of our army!" Deng Zong shook his arms and shouted, and the mount under his crotch also raised a pair of front hooves.

These were perhaps the most fleshy words ever spoken from his lips in all this time.

Zhao Dangshi received the news that the Shizhou soldiers were stubbornly resisting in two places, and he was not worried. The most difficult step of luring the enemy has passed, and the rest has already been arranged.

The performance of Shi Zhoubing in Qiyao Mountain greatly surprised him, and he understood that with his own strength of more than 2,000 people, it was not realistic to completely defeat the Shi Zhou soldiers who fought to the death. It has only been more than half a year since the establishment of the Zhao Battalion, and it is impossible to complete thorough military training with only such a little time, not to mention the recent involvement of Bai and Liu, two club thieves with low combat power. Therefore, his definition of Zhao Ying is now very clear, that is, the defense is acceptable, and the field battle is still lacking.

With such a self-positioning, Zhao Ying will not be defeated due to negligence. The evolution direction of the battle situation is also in line with his expectations: Bai Jiaolong, Wu Mingfeng, Wang Laixing and Hou Dagui outside the city five or six miles west of the city are firmly in the lead, but they still can't gnaw the hard bone of Shizhou soldiers.

At this stage, if the Zhao battalion wants to win, it has to use the old method - strange soldiers.