The forest is dark and the grass is frightened, and the sparks in front of him are scattered for several miles in the vast darkness, Yang Zhaofeng separates the dense grass, and the lights suddenly brighten up, only to raise his head, but when he hears a "boom", an arrow shoots from the air into the land two steps in front of his feet. The arrows came from a sentry tower about three feet high not far away, and under the sentry tower was the gate of the heavily guarded military camp.

"Whoever comes, give the name quickly. Take a step and the arrows are waiting! ”

Yang Zhaofeng heard this familiar drinking and questioning technique, and he was very kind. Without waiting for him to speak, the corners of his eyes flashed, and more than a dozen soldiers wearing bright armor that reflected the light of the fire rushed out of the deep forest on the oblique side, and when a tall officer saw him, he took a few steps forward, held his hand, and grinned: "Fengzi, you are here, I really want to trouble my brother!" ”

Yang Zhaofeng also smiled: "The younger brother also misses the elder brother." "The officer on the opposite side is Mao Andong, the left sentry officer of the Xiaojie Battalion, in the past, in Sichuan, the two fought side by side to fight a way out, and there was a lifelong friendship.

Mao Andong greeted the soldiers guarding the gate of Yuanmen, and the gate opened immediately, and Yang Zhaofeng followed him into the barracks, and asked on the way: "Brother came back late at night, could it be that he went to the sentry?" ”

"Exactly." Mao Andong nodded and said, "Yesterday, there was news from the scouts on the periphery that a group of soldiers and horses came from the north, and Chief Xu attached great importance to this. I went to Taibai Mountain tonight to inquire about the matter. ”

Two days ago, Xu Huijun, who set out from Yunyang Prefecture, passed through Pingli County, Xing'ansuo, Hanyin County, and Shiquan County, and arrived at Raofengpu in the northern part of Shiquan County, which is in Hanzhong Prefecture. After Yang Zhaofeng learned about it, he came to meet.

"What's the matter, is it Sun abiding by the law?" Yang Zhaofeng asked. After the fall of Xi'an, Sun Shoufa, the former governor of the standard camp, transferred to Zhongnan Mountain with the remnants of the defeated army. Taibai Mountain and Zhongnan Mountain both belong to the Qinling Mountains, which are connected to each other, and they are all within the scope of Sun Shoufa's wandering.

"It's not." Mao Andong shook his head, "It's the army." He added, "I'm going to meet with Manager Xu to explain the situation." ”

When Yang Zhaofeng heard this, his heart tightened.

It was late at night, and Xu Hui's Chinese army tent was still brightly lit. Xu Hui is meticulous in his work, and everyone in Zhao Yingzhong knows it, especially in the old line of leading troops to fight. Yang Zhaofeng has seen more than once that Xu Hui led the troops to fight all night and sleepless for several days, and he has always admired Xu Hui's serious attitude and vigorous energy.

Xu Hui is very optimistic about Yang Zhaofeng, every time he sees Yang Zhaofeng, his serious face can always show some rare smiles, and this time is no exception. Yang Zhaofeng greeted him, exchanged a few words, stepped aside first, and Mao Andong stated the military situation.

"You said it was the soldiers and horses of the intruding army?"

"There is no mistake, they should go to the valley."

Xu Hui thought for a while and said: "When passing through Xing'an, there was a rumor that the army would attack from Xi'an in three ways, and this may be one of them. ”

Yang Zhaofeng said at this time: "The army has three routes of soldiers and horses, divided into three directions of Shaanxi's west, north and south, and the south is Hanzhong Mansion. He followed Sun Chuanting from Tongguanwei to Hanzhong Mansion, paid close attention to the movements of the army, and kept inquiring along the way, knowing that there were naturally a lot of situations.

Mao Andong continued: "There are a large number of incoming troops, and the self-praise valley is constantly pouring out, gathering in the area south of Taibai Mountain. There were many scouts scattered outside, and the brothers did not dare to get too close, only based on a rough estimate, the number should be around 10,000 people. ”

Xu Hui said: "Hanzhong Mansion is an important place in southern Shaanxi, and it is the throat of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and it is impossible for the army to send only 10,000 people south. I think all I can see so far is the front of the army. ”

Yang Zhaofeng echoed: "What Manager Xu said is true. As far as I know, the army that came to attack Hanzhong Mansion was led by Tian Mixiu. Tian Jianxiu, as the commander of the army, is second only to Li Zicheng in status, and his command of troops must be huge. Now what has surfaced is only its striker Wu Ruyi. ”

Mao Andong went down and said: "There is no movement in the city of Hanzhong Mansion Gao Ruli and Wu Dading for the time being. ”

"The combined strength of these two people is less than 3,000, and it is okay to defend the city, and they have no courage to fight." Yang Zhaofeng had only been to Hanzhong Mansion not long ago, and he had a general understanding of the strength of the Gao and Wu Divisions, "The Bao Slope Road is long and narrow and difficult to walk, but it can drive directly to the hinterland of Hanzhong Mansion, it seems that the army is very conceited, and it is the idea of taking southern Shaanxi in one fell swoop." ”

Xu Hui pursed his lips and was silent.

Yang Zhaofeng probably guessed Xu Hui's thoughts, and knew that he was still hesitating in his heart, so he took the initiative to say: "Manager Xu, this battle must be fought." ”

As soon as the words came out, Mao Andong was startled and said, "Do you want to fight with the Chuang army?" ”

"I had to fight." Yang Zhaofeng had a resolute attitude, "The Chuang army thinks that the defenders of Hanzhong Fucheng are powerless to block the field battle, so they intend to rush to the core of southern Shaanxi and fight quickly, so they chose the praise slope." However, due to the terrain of the slope, the army could only pass in sections. It was fine, but they didn't expect our army to come, and that's where the flaw lies. Wu Ruyi was the front, the purpose was to open the passage to southern Shaanxi in advance, so that the follow-up main army could advance, if he was allowed to complete the mission, and the tens of thousands of troops who received Tian Jianxiu all arrived in Hanzhong Mansion, things would be tricky. Therefore, our army must preemptively defeat Wu Ruyi's troops and control the Baoxidao mountain pass. ”

Xu Hui's face was dark, and he didn't refute it, which means that he generally agreed with Yang Zhaofeng's idea. Because the task given to him by Zhao Dangshi was to maintain the situation that Hanzhong Mansion was not lost in the hands of the army as much as possible before the end of the Sichuan Affair.

To do this, the first thing is that the city of Hanzhong cannot be lost. As the pivotal place in southern Shaanxi, the key to the Hanzhong Fucheng, which not only controls the transportation but also accumulates a large amount of money and grain, is self-evident. If this place is lost, it will be meaningless to talk about running Hanzhong Mansion again.

Zhao Dangshi previously made it clear that the only support that Xu Huijun could expect could only come from Sichuan. In other words, Zhao Dangshi did not completely pacify Sichuan one day, and Xu Hui could not count on his own soldiers and horses to help. This is not Zhao Dangshi's desperation, but the fact that the army that Zhao Ying can mobilize at the moment is currently very limited, and every soldier must be carefully considered.

Sending Xu Hui's army into Hanzhong is an enterprising move, but the military in Huguang, Henan and other places is also very important and urgent, if too many troops are involved in the operation of Hanzhong, resulting in the loosening and weakness of the entire front, Zhao Dangshi would rather give up Hanzhong, retreat to the second, and use a more conservative and prudent approach, that is, to protect Sichuan and Huguang, and Xu Tu will do the future.

Although there is a way out, but from Xu Hui's perspective, even if he only brings 6,000 soldiers and horses this time, he will still not be willing to change his grand strategy because of his ineffective work. Before leaving, Zhao Dangshi did not warn him to avoid fighting with the Chuang army. On the contrary, Zhao Dangshi hinted that he could do it if necessary. The idea is to take the benefits first, and then talk about it, and the rest of the aftermath can be slowly mediated through various methods such as negotiations.

In order to consolidate the defense, it is imperative to accumulate strength. Zhao Dangshi assigned Yang Zhaofeng and Hao Mingluan to do everything possible to rescue Sun Chuanting, precisely to provide conditions for Xu Hui to accumulate strength. Xu Hui's strategy is therefore very clear, in the early stage, he must ensure Sun Chuanting's safety through his own strength and completely control his own people, and in the middle stage, he will use Sun Chuanting's prestige to recruit the Ming troops scattered in Shaanxi to strengthen their self-protection capabilities, and persist until the later stage when Zhao Dangshi comes out of Sichuan to Hanzhong to meet, which is a new stage.

The army marches quickly, and if it can't strike first, the early strategy will be hit hard.

"Sun Chuanting is in Yangxian County, if the army drives straight in, it will inevitably suffer." Yang Zhaofeng said solemnly, "Even if our army can protect Sun Chuanting's life, and retreat far away, Sun Chuanting is already beyond the reach of Shaanxi at that time, and it is difficult to gather Shaanxi's strength under his banner, which is really useless." ”

Xu Hui was silent for a while, and said, "The soldiers of Hanzhong Mansion, are they reliable?" ”

Yang Zhaofeng replied: "It's all grass on the wall, we can rely on it if we win, but we can't rely on it if we lose." "Gao Ruli and Wu Dading are not loyal people, even if Zhao Ying's soldiers and horses take the lead, at this turbulent moment, nine times out of ten they will still uphold a wait-and-see attitude, and it is unrealistic to ask them to help in the war.

Xu Hui didn't speak, and Yang Zhaofeng said: "There are still five hundred horses available in the Hao Zhongjun army in Yangxian County. "Again," according to the terrain of the Baochuan Road and the reconnaissance and judgment of the Mao Sentinel Officer, Wu Ruyi's department is at most 10,000 people. Our army is nearly 7,000, and this battle can be fought. ”

It can be said that the three battalions of the Xiaojie Battalion, the Changhong Left Battalion, and the Changhong Right Battalion brought by Xu Hui to Hanzhong are all the elite of the Zhao Battalion, and their combat effectiveness is good. Taking 10,000 steps back, even if the army invades Hanzhong Mansion in a big way, Zhao Dangshi and Xu Hui have full confidence that these three battalions alone are enough to hold the city of Hanzhong Mansion for at least half a year, which is also the confidence of Zhao Ying's intervention in Hanzhong.

After Yang Zhaofeng finished speaking, he and Mao Andong looked at Xu Hui and waited for him to react. Xu Hui thought for a moment, and first said to Yang Zhaofeng: "Yang joins the army, and then bothers you to work hard, go back tonight and bring Sun Junmen to the army as soon as possible." He said to Mao'an Dong, "Immediately pass on Qin and Li to my account, and if you can't see anyone within a quarter of an hour, you will be dealt with by military law!" ”

Soon after, Qin Jinxiao and Li Yanlang arrived successively. The two of them were respectively the commander-in-chief of the left deputy army and the commander-in-chief of the right deputy army, and they were the actual leaders of the left and right battalions of Changhong, and they formed the highest decision-making level of the army with Xu Hui. Xu Hui, Qin Jinxiao, and Li Yanlang were all considered to be the most warlike generals in the Zhao camp, so the army commanded by them was a veritable "strong soldier and brave general". It is not without reason that Zhao Dangshi dared to enter Hanzhong with only 6,000 people.

The three of them discussed all night until dawn. After that, the whole army had to eat in advance, and even the camp was temporarily abandoned and not demolished, and quickly moved to the northwest.

Hao Mingluan's army of 500 horses joined Xu Hui's army in Ziwu Town, and brought Sun Chuanting and others with him. When Xu Hui saw Sun Chuanting, he had a cold face the whole time and didn't say a few words. This is his usual temper, Yang Zhaofeng wanted to say a few words to relieve the embarrassing atmosphere, but fortunately, Sun Chuanting didn't care, but said a lot of soothing and encouraging words. After Xu Hui finished his perfunctory work, he took Sun Chuanting to the rear of the team to protect him, and took Hao Mingluan's department as the vanguard and continued to move forward.

At noon, Hao Mingluan's troops found the intruding army near the Wangxian Bridge on the south bank of the river in the north of Chenggu County, and immediately stopped marching. At the same time, the army of the invading army also discovered the soldiers and horses of the Zhao battalion, and by the time Xu Hui received the news, the invading army had begun to assemble on the south bank of the river, and successively unfolded, making a battle situation.

After discussing with Qin Jinxiao and Li Yanlang, Xu Hui decided to place the decisive battle on the south bank of Yanshui. After speeding up the march, the Changhong Zuo Battalion first arrived at Majiazhuang, and Hao Mingluan's troops came to the meeting, and the news broke through the army from the north bank of the river to continuously cross the river, and the back of the west of the river was distributed from the Wangxian Bridge to the east of the four-mile front. Wu Ruyi, the general of the Zhongying Battalion, sat in charge of the Chinese army, and Xin Sizhong, the left mighty general of the Zhongying, and Li You, the right mighty general of the Zhongying, were in charge of its left and right flanks respectively.

Before the army was deployed, Xu Hui waited for the three battalions to meet in Majiazhuang in order to grab time, and also launched a battle front. An hour in the afternoon, the soldiers and horses of the Zhao battalion first adjusted the order of the march. According to the scouts' report, the Chuang army deployed 1,000 men on its left flank, 3,000 on its right flank, and 6,000 on the Chinese army and its follow-up troops.

The main general of the left flank of the army was Xin Sizhong, and the reason why there were only 1,000 people was mainly because his troops extended to a place called Lujia Village, and they were confined to the houses and fields of Lujia Village, so they could not put more troops. Qin Jinxiao thought that he could cut into the left flank of the breaking army, so he took the initiative to ask Ying to lead 3,000 people from the right battalion of Changhong to attack Lujia Village first.

Xu Hui felt that it was feasible, and as soon as the war drums sounded, the war broke out suddenly.