As the absolute main force of Cao Ying's northern defense line, Wang Guangen, who was stationed in the army, and other troops from the small rush to the front line of Xiaoluozhuang monitored Zhao Ying's every move. The situation of Zhao Ying's army from Dahegang to Qianzhuang Village was also detected by Cao Ying's scouts, and it was quickly reported to the main general Wang Guangen.

Wang Guangen nicknamed "Little Qin Wang", the actual qualifications are not shallow, this year has not yet been established in the first year of his Chongzhen in Yan'an Mansion, Shaanxi, in the Liukou is famous for "good fighting", only because of the young age, the early days are not valued by the old Kou. It wasn't until Gao Yingxiang was captured that the power of the group of gangsters declined, and he was able to stand out and become one of the strongest. Unlike most of the miscellaneous gangsters who attached themselves to Cao Ying in order to survive, Wang Guangen was originally recruited by Luo Rucai before agreeing to join the camp. Even Luo Rucai values his courage and ability to fight, and with this face to support him, the status of Wang Guangen's faction in the entire Cao camp is second only to the existence of the old lineage. This time, the northern anti-Zhao camp also deservedly became the main force.

"Huaguansuo" Wang Guangtai is Wang Guangen's younger brother and has always been his brother's right and left hand. In March of the sixth year of Chongzhen, when Wang Guangen fought in Wu'an, Henan, he was captured by Zuo Liangyu. Wang Guangen therefore trusts this younger brother very much and has a very deep affection. In addition to Wang Guangtai, Wang Guangen also has a cousin Wang Chang, who is "fierce and fights to the death", and is also regarded as a malleable talent among the Wang brothers, but he is relatively young, and everything in the current camp is Wang Guangen and Wang Guangtai.

Wang Guangen and Wang Guangtai were stationed in Shijia Xiaochong with 2,500 men and 500 people, and in the northeast, there were "King An Shi" Hu Keshou and "King of Reincarnation" who allowed two battalions of 2,200 people to defend Xiaoluozhuang. Hu and Xu are both old Kou, and in the early days of the uprising, they could even be compared with a strong Kou at the level of "Shooting the Sky" Li Wanqing, but in the future, they became worse and worse, so that now they are unknown. They are weak and weak, but fortunately, they are self-aware, never strong and majestic, and adapt to changes in order to survive. They know that Wang Guangen's brothers are powerful, willing to be small, and can be called obedient to Wang Guangen. After all, it is difficult to mix up the days of the small camp at this time, the Wang Guangen brothers are recognized as rising stars, and the main stream is in this business, and its rise and death are also sudden, Cao Ying is strong, but the gun shoots the first bird, which is too concerned by the officials and soldiers, just like Gao Yingxiang, maybe one day it will be gone, and there are many back roads to have a good relationship with the potential Wang brothers in advance.

Bai Jiali, the defeated "Bai Yunsheng" from Qianzhuang Village, recently retreated to Shijia Xiaochong, Wang Guangen was ruthless, whipped him, and used the words of "the general of the defeated army can no longer be a general", and directly annexed the hundreds of defeated soldiers he brought back, "acting as a commander". Forcibly co-opting is the norm among the rogues, but at the moment of the great enemy, Wang Guangen is still calmly "fighting in the same room", and there is naturally no shortage of people who are annoyed by his faction in the various battalions of the auxiliary defense, but because the Wang brothers are hot and control the most important part of the northern front, no matter how dissatisfied they are, they can only swallow their anger.

Before the enemy arrived, he strengthened first, and Wang Guangen was proud. He analyzed the march route of Zhao Ying, and determined that Zhao Ying would go south from Qianzhuang Village along the official road to the north end of Xiaoluozhuang, so he sent a message to Hu and Xu in advance, asking them to set up a formation in advance as a vanguard to meet the battle, and prepare with Wang Guangtai behind. I waited for two days, but I didn't see the enemy coming from the north. Wang Guangtai sent out scouts and learned that the soldiers and horses of the Zhao battalion did not take the official road as expected, but went into the dense forests in the west.

Qianzhuang Village, Shijia Xiaochong and Xiaoluozhuang, Fangyuan, Maozichong, these four sections of the position are all east of the Shahe River, and can be roughly strung into a line from north to south. Take this line, the avenue is thoroughfare, the foot is faster, and you can reach Zaoyang County in one day. To the west, although the terrain is still gentle and undulating, it is full of wild forests and swamps, and it is extremely difficult for people and horses to pass. If you want to take a detour, start from Qianzhuang Village, don't grope for three days, don't even want to see the shadow of Shijia Xiaochong.

"Brother, Zhao Thief estimates that he wants to go west and bypass my battalion's front." Wang Guangtai, who had a short beard under his chin and black hair on his cheeks, held a sharp knife in his hand, made a mark on the sand, and clicked twice, "The crowd set off a day ago, and in just two days, they will definitely get out of the forest, so we have to take precautions as soon as possible." ”

Wang Guangen said: "It doesn't matter when the thief will come out, but I wonder, what is the reason for drilling in the forest?" ”

Wang Guangtai was stunned and said: "Obviously, our battalion and Hu and Xu are waiting for a battle here, and the Zhao thief is afraid of hitting the stone with an egg, and wants to avoid it without fighting." ”

"Avoid without fighting...... Wang Guangen pondered for a long time and then changed, "That's strange......"

"What is my brother's concern?"

Wang Guangen said while thinking: "Although the dense forest in the west is vast, it generally extends to the west, if you measure its north and south, from the Qianzhuang village into the forest, the south to the square must come out, otherwise there are still tributaries in the north of the county to flow into the Shahe River to the east, cut off the front road, and it is difficult for Zhao thieves to cross." There is a river in front and a dense forest in the back, and the thief will either force himself across the rapids and fall into danger, or return the same way in vain...... Zhao Thief has been stationed in Zaoyang for a long time, and he is more familiar with geography than you and me, how could he make such a mistake and throw himself into the net? ”

"Cross the river or ......return," Wang Guangtai muttered, "If you don't advance or retreat, you will go out of the forest ......."

Wang Guangen smiled, he was not very old, but the deep nasolabial folds on his lips made him look very profound: "That's better, Zhao thief out of the forest, just in front of Fang Yuanzhibei Chang Guoan and Liu Xiyao, my battalion will meet its two divisions just north and south attack, Zhao thief has no way to go to the sky and no door to the ground, and he will definitely be defeated." ”

"This is clearly a death-begging act!" Wang Guangtai threw the knife on the ground and clapped his hands, "Crossing the river, returning to the army, and going out of the forest, it's useless, is the Zhao thief dizzy?" ”

When Wang Guangen heard this, his face changed suddenly, and he shook his head and said, "Even if Zhao Thief faints, he won't all faint under his hands." After all, Zhao Thief has been fighting for so many years, how can he be compared to a fledgling? If he will enter the forest, he will have a hand. ”

"Backhand?" Wang Guangtai was suspicious, "Is it ......?"

Wang Guangen said solemnly: "Zhao thieves have three ways to go, one of them is to go out of the forest, the second is to return to the army, and the third is to cross the river. On the bright side, the suspicion of Izulin is particularly great, but when I think about it, this item is the most unlikely. He further explained, "If you want to fight hard, start fighting from the north, but you can't face our battalion, and if you go out of the forest and fight again, you will have our battalion in the north and Chang Guoan and Liu Xiyao in the south. How to choose to fight, this scale Zhao thief still has it in his heart. ”

Wang Guangtai nodded frequently and said: "It makes sense, unless the thief Zhao is really crazy, he will not kill himself." ”

Wang Guangen continued: "Return to the army...... Foolish move, Zhao Thief has a lot of scouts, and the marching route is bound to be discovered long ago. ”

"Yes......" Wang Guangtai smiled, "Then all that remains is to cross the river." ”

"Yes, cross the river." Wang Guangen nodded lightly, "I have seen the river in the north of the county, the river is not very wide, but there are many bays, and the water flow is quite rapid. In addition, the south side of the river is very close to the county seat, as long as the Zhao thief shows up, he will be immediately detected by the lookout, and the city will send troops to intercept the crossing, which is only a matter of a flick of a finger. ”

"In that case, it may not be wise to cross the river?" Wang Guangtai asked, "Then Zhao Thief really made a stupid move?" ”

Wang Guangen shook his head again and again and said, "Definitely." I thought about it before, Zhao thief could have waited for our army to withdraw from the county to pick up a ready-made fruit, but now he is doing the opposite, taking the initiative to attack and go upstream, why? It can be seen that he is scheming to break our army and then regain lost territory. ”

"Break our army?"

Wang Guangen said solemnly: "Zhao thief will be revenged, my battalion in the south of Zaoyang broke his troops and beheaded his generals, which severely frustrated his sharpness, he will not be able to swallow this breath, and he wants to win back a game day and night." What's more, once our army withdraws from Zaoyang County and breaks out of the shackles, it will be broken into pieces and scattered, and it will be even more difficult to gather and annihilate again. Zhao Thief is based in Zaoyang, and he will not want to see this scene, so he will do everything possible to prevent it from happening and seize the opportunity to wipe out our army. ”

"Those who offend my Zhao Ying, although they are far away, will be punished." Wang Guangtai recited this widely circulated Zhao Ying slogan in a low voice, and sneered, "Hearing my brother say this, this Zhao thief is really a little bold." ”

Wang Guangen said coldly: "It's not just a little bold, it's just bold." Before the old king died, what was the reputation of Zhao Thief? If you can do today's weather, how can you only do it once or twice? This time to fight our army again, we must also have the ambition to break the cauldron and sink the boat, if we despise half a point, the defeat of returning to the camp is a precedent. ”

Wang Guangtai responded: "Little brother understands. Then he said, "According to my brother's words, Zhao Thief still wants to cross the river?" ”

"I don't think eight or nine is far from ten." Wang Guangen exhaled and said, "Risking one's life is either stupid or deceitful." The Zhao thief is cunning, and since he can get into the dense forest so fearlessly, it can be seen that he is not afraid to cross the river. Mountains and rivers are natural dangers, no matter how powerful the thief is, he can't make the water stop the wind and calm, so he can ......"

"Zhao thief has an internal response!" Wang Guangtai almost shouted, but his voice fell with Wang Guangen's eyes.

"It's just speculation." Wang Guangen looked at his younger brother and shook his head.

Wang Guangtai was shocked and said, "Who would collude with Zhao Thief." ”

"Hmph, our army is mixed, and it's not unusual for anything to happen." Wang Guangen laughed dryly, "He Jin, Lin Yangsheng, Li Wanqing, and Liu Xiyao have been friends for many years, don't they just sell it." He added, "What kind of righteous brother, righteous brother, called kindly, but there is no same blood, and in the end it is still unreliable." ”

Wang Guangtai was immersed in thought, and muttered: "It will have something to do with Zhao Thief crossing the river...... Thinking of it, his eyes flashed, "Isn't that ......"

Wang Guangen coughed twice, signaled him to silence, and then said: "No matter who it is, you and I know it." ”

"Brother, it's a matter of success or failure in this battle, and we can't sit idly by." Wang Guangtai said a little anxiously, "Why don't you send someone Pegasus to Zaoyang and tell Luo Dazhang what you and I want to do, it's better than rushing into battle." ”

Wang Guangen shook his head and said, "No." And said, "We just annexed the surname Bai, which is a delicate moment." At this time, before the war started, they were in a hurry to report and expose it, and it would become the target of public criticism in the future, which was not conducive to development. Luo Dazhang is suspicious by nature, and if he doesn't say it, he may have some whispers in secret. ”

With the gradual expansion of the army and dissatisfaction with Luo Rucai's cronyism, the Wang brothers agreed early on, and when Cao Ying survived this difficulty, they had to part ways with Luo Rucai and seek their own development. At the current critical moment, it should not have been "cannibalism", but Wang Guangen did not resist the temptation and forcibly annexed the Bai Jiali Ministry that he sent to his mouth. The timing was not good, which aroused the disgust of many camp leaders, and the wind comments took a sharp turn, and Wang Guangen regretted it and had to think more about it later. Since he has decided to break away from Luo Rucai, if he is opposed and resisted by other battalion leaders, it will be difficult to grow, and if he further provokes Luo Rucai's displeasure, then his situation in northern Chu can be imagined.

"What should I do with my brother's intentions?" Wang Guangtai does not have his brother's long-term vision, and at present, he is focused on the measures to deal with Zhao Ying, "We have to do something." ”

Wang Guangen thought about it silently and had a plan.