It was confirmed that the army that came from Xingshi was not the descendant of the camp, but the Cao camp that was attached to the camp.

Luo Rucai and Zhao Dangshi had old grievances, but unexpectedly, the cronies Zhu Yangmin and Wang Kehuai were both folded in Zhao Ying's hands. Listening to the generals of the Chuang Army secretly ridiculing his embarrassment of "stealing chickens and rice", he only felt that if he didn't ask Zhao Dangshi for an explanation this time, whether internally or externally, his name of "Cao Cao" would be completely smashed from now on.

So after finding out that the soldiers and horses of the Zhao battalion in Xinye County were less than 5,000, Luo Ru made up his mind and mobilized all the soldiers and horses in his department to ask Li Zicheng for battle. Unexpectedly, Li Zicheng readily agreed.

"This is a sentinel battle before my army advances into Huguang, and my brother is doing his best!" Li Zicheng said with a smile, "The elder brother has nearly 10,000 troops, forgive the Zhao thief with thousands of soldiers, even if there are more defeated soldiers in the rout of Nanyang Mansion City, they will not be the opponent of the elder brother." "What's more, "The elder brother just goes forward, and there is the younger brother behind him, so there is no need to worry." ”

Luo Rucai was secretly surprised when he heard this. He originally thought that Li Zicheng would go north again to attack eastern Henan after he conquered Nanyang, but who knew that Li Zicheng also intended to expand his sphere of influence to Huguang. To be honest, he was very opposed to Li Zicheng's blind smashing of Kaifeng Mansion, which was extremely strong, and the officers and soldiers defending the city were all playing with their lives, which was really a thankless place.

In comparison, Huguang is different, just talking about Xiangyang Mansion, the wind and rain have been smooth for several years, the people are rich, and the warehouses are full, which is really a rare anointed ground. And now that the fierce tiger is dead, Song Yihe is still in the southeast mountainous area, and the prefectures and counties on both sides of the river are empty, as long as they can defeat Zhao Ying, they can drive straight into the realm of no one, and as a pioneer, they will inevitably get the most benefits. He even fantasized that Li Zicheng was undecided, and he would eventually leave himself to run Huguang on his behalf.

"Brother Xian really has the intention of taking Huguang?" Even if he already knew the answer, he could still feel infinitely happy when he asked Luo Rucai again.

Li Zicheng said with a smile: "You and my brother have to take it all over the world, but a small lake?" ”

The other party did not answer directly, but in Luo Rucai's heart, it was already the most perfect answer. He forcibly suppressed his joy and continued: "Then please send a group of soldiers and horses to support you at that time, and enter Chu, we have to enter together!" ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said, "Don't worry, brother, you can save it here." ”

Luo Rucai was overjoyed, returned to his camp tent and immediately exhausted his troops and horses, and turned to the south. After attaching himself to Li Zicheng, his army expanded rapidly, and with his old prestige, there are now more than 8,000 people. Li Rugui, who escaped death from the hands of Zhao Ying, was ashamed and brave, so he was the front and led 2,000 soldiers first, while he and his cronies Zhao Yingyuan and his uncle Luo Dain led the main army to follow, and the Chinese army was actually commanded by Fan Dingge.

Soon after the march, it was rumored that there was a group of horse troops from a distance several miles away, and Luo Ru realized that it was Li Zicheng who fulfilled his promise, and turned his head to see the two sides of the erection with the words "revenge" and "kill Zhao Pingchu", and his confidence was even greater.

Li Rugui's troops were the first to encounter the enemy at Cuiying, fifty miles away from the city of Nanyang, and when Luo Rucai received the message, Li Rugui mentioned that the official troops were deployed in Kuiying, ten miles south of Cuiying, and that he would wait for Luo Rucai's main force to arrive there.

Cui Ying and Kui Ying are both ancient military camp camps, and after being abandoned, they gradually became the gathering points of the people. In particular, Kuiying is located at the intersection of the Bai River and the runoff Yan River in the shape of "Ya", and the waterway is convenient and can directly lead to the main vein of the Han River, so the nearby densely populated and settled Wadian Town is one of the largest towns in the near and far.

After analysis, Luo Rucai believed that there was no danger to defend in the north of Xinye County, and the purpose of the official army's deployment in Kui Camp was only to prevent the town from looting for its own troops.

Because he lost a lot of horse troops when he was ambushed by Zhao Ying in the previous pursuit of Zhou Yuji, Li Rugui's front and Luo Rucai's main force were mainly infantry, and their movement speed decreased a lot. When Luo Rucai arrived at Cui Ying, Li Rugui had not yet repelled the official army, Luo Rucai was very dissatisfied with Li Rugui's progress, and asked Fan Dingge to send someone to reprimand, and the content of the report was that the troops of Zhou Jin, the capital of the town, who were fighting with Li Rugui, were brave and endured, but they failed to repel in a hurry.

"Hmph, the remnants of Nanyang City are defeated, what kind of majesty do you dare to play here!" Luo Rucai ordered Zhao Yingyuan and Fan Dingge with a dark face, "You two, immediately divide two thousand people and cooperate with the front." His grandmother's, with three enemies and one, if you don't force the town soldiers back within a quarter of an hour, don't come to see Lao Tzu! ”

Zhao and Fan led the troops away, Luo Rucai was not at ease, rode his horse to the front line to observe, only to see that his soldiers did not rush up indiscriminately, but used the flat terrain to spread out to the two wings, and slowly expanded the width of the front, which is a typical tactic of fighting more and less, and the side with fewer people generally has only two options for this situation, either concentrate the troops to break through from one point, or retreat in time to find another terrain to fight again, if you are desperate to open the front line and resist, you will eventually fall into a dangerous situation of instability on the whole line due to the disadvantage of many local forces.

After so many years of fighting, Luo Rucai has full confidence in himself and the front-line generals of Cao Ying. War depends on strength and luck, but relying on luck alone can only be a flash in the pan. Since the first year of Chongzhen, the giants who have persevered through the wind and rain to the present can certainly be described as auspicious, but if they do not have the consciousness of learning from each battle and learning from each battle, they will never be able to survive to this point.

The Zhenxiao soldiers sensed the sudden increase in the strength of the opposing side, and as the horn sounded in the formation, they began to take the initiative to retreat, just to complete the transfer before the reinforcements of the Cao battalion were arranged.

"If you escape for a while, you can't escape for a lifetime." Luo Rucai secretly gritted his teeth, then shook the banner of the Chinese army, assigned Tang Ma to various subordinates and ordered not to be greedy for love battles, and prepared the queue and slowly moved forward.

On the other hand, the Zhenxiao soldiers who had left the frontline of the battlefield retreated for several miles until the Kui camp joined up with the Zhao battalion soldiers and horses who had been deployed here early. Zhou Jin panted and found Zhao Dangshi and said: "The Cao thief is behind, and less than a stick of incense will arrive." ”

Zhao Dangshi nodded and said, "I know, I bother Zhou Dusi to lead the troops to reserve an open space for deployment." At the same time, he instructed Guo Ruke, who was sitting next to him, to command Guo Ruke, "You can let Peng Zhongjun prepare." ”

The west side of the Kui camp is facing the turbulent Baihe River, and the east is its tributary Yan River, at the moment Zhao Dangshi put the 2,000 people of the Qihun camp in the front to meet the enemy, and the returning Zhenxiao soldiers are located behind the Qihun camp, and the 500 people of Min Yiqi and Lang Qigui are arranged in the riverside area on the west side of the Qihun camp, and the 2,000 horses of the Feijie left battalion and the Feijie right battalion are pressed. In addition, on the east bank of the Yan River, there are two armies of more than 1,000 horses of Zhou Yuji and Liu Guangzuo.

"Report-" Tang Bing replied later, "Peng Zhongjun asked the villain to pass the word, the front line is proper, just wait for the enemy to arrive!" ”

"Okay." Zhao Dangshi touched his beard and said, "Go and remind Min and Lang again, let them take care of the pontoon." ”

After Tang Bing went down, Guo Ruke said a little depressed: "It's a pity that this time it's not King Chuang, but it's a 'Cao Cao'." Alas, it's a pity that our opener cannon is overkill. ”

Zhao Dangshi said: "Luo Rucai is also a hero, accustomed to fighting, not to be underestimated. Said and smiled, "Why Lao Guo, it's not what it used to be, the famous 'Cao Cao' sent it to the door, and I don't think it's qualified?" ”

Guo Ruke said with a smile: "That's not it, being able to fight 'Cao Cao' is also a good deal, but it's just ...... It's just that the thought of having a master behind him makes my heart tickle......"

Zhao Dangshi was silent suddenly, and after a moment he muttered, "That day will not be too far away." ”

Guo Ruke was still pondering what the lord's words meant, when two cannons rolled in the air in the distance, and he suddenly got up and said: "Lao Peng has released the cannon, and the 'Cao Cao' who has suffered a thousand knives is here!" ”

To the north of Kuiying, the soldiers and horses of Cao Ying, who were constantly advancing, were also ordered to stop when the horn sounded and stood by in place.

Luo Dain took Luo Rucai's horse and said: "My lord, there are nearly 1,000 army of officers and troops on the other side of the Yan River in the east, and it is bound to want to take advantage of the fierce battle of our army to copy the belly and back, if our army spreads the front too long, it is very easy to be confused." ”

"Not bad." Luo Rucai nodded and said, "I am familiar with the Baihe River and the Yan River, the Baihe River is deep and urgent, and it is difficult to cross without a ferry or pontoon. The Yan River has been silted up all the year round, and the traffic is smooth. The officers and troops placed the horse army on the east bank of the Yan River to take advantage of it, and our army, in turn, could take advantage of the obstruction of the Bai River to concentrate the troops and horses on its east bank. On the way here, the scouts reconnoitred and found that there was not a single ferry or any bridge along the upper reaches of the White River, and if the officers and soldiers wanted to detour our army from the west bank of the White River, they would have to walk more than 20 miles to the north and then south. ”

Luo Dain agreed: "What the lord said is very true, it should be so, the position of the officers and troops on the front is also slightly west, and against it, our army can still divide the army from the east side." ”

The discussion was decided, the flags were swaggered, and the drums and trumpets sounded in unison. After a short time, Zhao Yingyuan, Fan Dingge, and Li Rugui, who received the order, lined up in a straight line, of which Zhao and Fan were gathered to the west, and Li Rugui's department was slightly easterly, advancing together.

Peng Guang, an officer in the Qihun battalion who was at the forefront of the camp, saw the movement of the Cao battalion's soldiers and horses, and called the outpost officer Ha Mingyuan and said: "Keep an eye on those people, but if there is a hint of escape, they will be killed immediately!" ”

In this battle, the five No. 2 Hongyi cannons and seven big Buddha Lang machine guns of the newly built Fu Army were all placed in the Qihun camp, and Guo Ruke assigned them all to Ha Mingyuan's outpost. Because it was too late to train new tactics, in response to the enemy, it was better to first adopt the habitual style of playing with a concentrated front. It's just that considering that the soldiers have not yet been completely familiar with the new artillery, it is the group of Franc machine men hired from Ho Jing Ao to operate the cannon with the army. Peng Guang had never commanded the Francophiles, and was extremely wary of their temperament, so he kept more than one mind.

The barrels of the No. 2 Hongyi Cannon and the Big Buddha Lang Cannon are equipped with cannon lugs, which not only help to stabilize the gun carriage, but also adjust the angle up and down, left and right when firing, which is very flexible. Compared with the two, the No. 2 Hongyi Cannon has a longer range due to its long barrel, thick pipe wall, and more medicine. According to the standard of "not a drop of mercury on the gun's body", the firing range of the No. 2 Hongyi cannon was 260 paces. However, when it is placed flat, every time it is one point high, the firing range is longer, and after testing, when it is six minutes high, the firing range can reach more than 1,000 steps, so in fact, when Cao Ying was still in the whole team, they were already covered by the firepower of Zhao Ying's No. 2 Hongyi cannon.

However, Peng Guang did not rush to give the order to fire the artillery, having heard the results of the shooting range and knew the concept of the maximum range of the artillery. A thousand steps away, Rao is artillery can shoot, but shooting accurately is another matter entirely, he doesn't do the matter of looking for a needle in a haystack. He learned that the Franc fighters were less than 60 percent away from the 800 paces when they tested the guns at the shooting range, so he decided that they would not fire their guns until they entered the 500 paces. After all, without 200 steps, it is impossible for Cao Yingbing to fight back, rather than wasting artillery shells aimlessly from a thousand steps away, it is better to sacrifice some opportunities for accuracy, and strive to land the artillery and artillery.

Therefore, before the Cao Ying's soldiers and horses advanced to less than five hundred steps away from the Qihun camp line, they did not know that there were several swarthy holes aimed at their side for a long time.