The expedition is imminent, the sky is pouring rain outside the window, Hou Dagui sits alone in the side room, and his mood rises and falls. He didn't close his eyes all night, sometimes thinking of the worries of Min Yiqi and others, nervous and even retreating; Sometimes I think of a series of proud achievements in Henan and Shanxi that I led my troops before, but I have the courage to regain it.

Heaven and man are at war, and they are endless.

Until the knock on the door suddenly came, Hou Dagui came back to his senses and took a deep breath, picked up the waist knife on the table, and stood up without hesitation. Even if you hesitate for a few hours, when reality comes, your mind is instantly clear, what to do or what to do.

"Chief Hou, the officers and men of Jinghe Middle School and the First Chong Battalion are ready to go, and they are all waiting in the school grounds."

The door opened, the gray light entered the room, and Zheng Shixin, who was covered with water, stepped inside and bowed slightly.

"What's going on in Xuanfu Town?" Hou Dagui asked.

Following the dawn envoy, the envoy returned half an hour ago, saying that Wu Sangui's army had taken control of Xuanfu Town, and the soldiers and horses were also mobilized. In the afternoon of the meeting with our army, we will meet in the mountains north of Chaigou Fort. ”

Hou Dagui didn't say much, nodded with a smile, pulled his legs and left.

Walking to the atrium, he bumped into Hao Mingluan, who came in a hurry, and Hou Dagui said: "You also got up, why don't you rest in the room?" "Hao Mingluan, who had many wounds and died for a day and a night, was covered with blood and saliva all over the ground yesterday, and the whole house was shocked, Hou Dagui originally intended to leave him in Huai'anwei to recuperate, but he also wore armor, "What did the doctor say?" ”

Hao Mingluan tightened his armor and said casually: "The doctor didn't say anything, only said that I was alive and well." ”

"Have you medicated?" Hou Dagui's face was full of disbelief.

"No, if the wound is scabbed after the medicine, it will be in severe pain when it is pulled, so it is better to wrap it simply for the time being. After waiting for a while, it's not too late to slowly recuperate. ”

"Why are you doing this?"

"I know the situation of the road and the Tartar formation in the north, and I am indispensable to go to Chaigou Fort." Hao Mingluan raised his head and said, "And I promised Sun Chuanting that I would live and die with the soldiers of Chaigou Fort." The eldest husband has a promise and cannot break his promise. ”

Hou Dagui saw that Hao Mingluan's eyes were full of fiery battle intent, and he knew that he couldn't persuade him, so he nodded and said, "Okay, you follow me, take the lead, and then you can rush to the front to bring the news of reinforcements to Sun Chuanting." ”

Hao Mingluan smiled, clapped his hands and said, "That's what I mean." ”

The three of them came to the school field side by side, and at a glance, there were many soldiers and armor on the school field, which looked particularly solemn in the rain.

Min Yiqi stepped forward quickly and said in a low voice: "The commander of the Han Dynasty is here soon, and his army has left the west city of Shunshengchuan and is going north with all his might. ”

Hou Dagui nodded and said, "Okay, pay close attention to the news in the direction of Xuanfu Town, and don't slack off." ”

Min Yiqi still had doubts and said, "Why don't you wait for half a day?" ”

Hou Dagui said: "The arrow has to be sent on the string, our army does not come out, Wu Sangui will be suspicious, the war has not started, there is already suspicion of each other, how can we defeat the enemy?" He added, "When you get to the mountains south of Chaigou Fort, you don't have to rush in, it is not far from Chaigou Fort, and it can directly threaten the back of the Tartars, and our army will garrison the mountains, and then wait for Wu Sangui and Han Gun's soldiers to arrive." ”

Min Yiqi nodded and said, "That's safe." ”

At present, there was no objection from top to bottom of the whole army, the drums sounded three times, and the whole army competed.

Because the Qing army in the territory of the Xuanfu was more than 10,000 people, Hou Dagui did not rashly stretch the army to cover his head and hurry, and the 5,000 people in his department preferred to crowd and delay the speed a little, and they have been closely following, and no half person and half horse are outdated and out of touch. And every ten miles, they will stay for a quarter of an hour to rectify the queue, and they will be very vigilant on all sides.

In this way, the whole army was about to reach the mountain area south of Chaigou Fort just after noon. Hou Dagui ordered the whole army to take shelter from the rain in the forest, and at the same time hurry to replenish supplies, while waiting for the sentinels who went to investigate the military situation in the mountains to return.

Soon, the sentinels returned one after another, and only some remnants of flags and broken armor were left in the mountains in front of the road, and the Qing army was nowhere to be seen. Hou Dagui's mind calmed down a little, and asked Wu Sangui's whereabouts again. Not long after, dozens of horsemen suddenly came from the east, and the leader was Wu Sangui's henchman Wu Guogui, who had been in front several times before.

"Where is your army?" Hou Dagui stared at Wu Guogui and asked.

Wu Guogui replied: "It's already on the south bank of the Yanghe River." Tang Tong resisted stubbornly, and it took some more time for our army to calm down the bullet pressure. After speaking, he took a large bucket of packages hanging from the side of the saddle and threw it away. The package fell out in the muddy water, and inside it was a bloody human head.

"What is this?" Hou Dagui sent someone to pick up his head, quite surprised.

Wu Guogui exhaled and said, "Tang Tong's head." Tang Tong was obsessed and wanted to raise troops to block the king's division, and the king of Pingxi took the overall situation as the priority, and immediately made a decision to kill his people and collect his army, which is the evidence. ”

Hou Dagui knew Tang Tong left and right, and approached to identify it: "It's Tang Tong." ”

Wu Guogui didn't get down on the horse, and continued: "Our army is still in the process of regrouping, and then we will go to Chaigou Fort. Today, the rain gradually stopped, and the Qing army began to attack the fort in turn from early in the morning, and the front line was tight, and there was no delay at all. Please also ask General Manager Hou to go to the northern part of the mountain as soon as possible and fight side by side with our army! He also said, "With Tang Tong's head as a vote, Manager Hou can know that the king of Pingxi is brave and sincere!" After saying that, he took care of himself and went away.

Hou Dagui lifted the head, and the adviser left and right the officers and said, "Recognized, is it really Tang Tong?" ”

The officers on the left and right nodded in response: "It's not wrong, it's him, and there is no possibility of impostor."

"Okay." Hou Dagui ordered the soldiers to collect Tang Tong's first-class good students, and rubbed his hands, "Order the whole army, be sure to line up the whole team within two quarters of an hour, and the whole army will go over the mountain in three quarters of an hour, and those who violate the time will not be forgiven!" ”

Up to now, Zheng Shixin, Min Yiqi and other generals have nothing to say, and they all go as ordered.

Hou Dagui turned to find Hao Mingluan and said to him: "You can go to Chaigou Fort first and inform Sun Chuanting to let him hold on." ”

Hao Mingluan said solemnly: "I know, Hao is waiting for Manager Hou in Chaigou Fort. With that, he put on his horse in armor and led more than a dozen horsemen to gallop, and soon disappeared into the dense mountains and forests.

As reported by the sentry cavalry, the Qing army that had been in the mountains to defend the formation, Aliha Chaoha, had long since disappeared, and Hao Mingluan and other cavalry were progressing smoothly all the way, and soon arrived at the periphery of Chaigou Fort.

Looking into the distance, the flags of the Qing army's battalions and formations were flipping, and the men and horses were shuttling, gradually advancing towards the direction of the fort. The main gate of Chaigou Fort, which was hit hard, was similar to the situation a few days ago, and the Ming and Qing armies attacked and killed and entangled, and it was difficult to separate. The corpses on both sides are piled up, like a small Beijing view.

The survival of Chaigou Fort is indeed only between the lines.

"Brothers, go!" Hao Mingluan swung his head and was ready to break through desperately. When he left the fort, he still had 300 horses, but now when he returned to the fort, there were only more than ten horses left, and in the face of the turbulent Qing army, the danger increased sharply.

However, I didn't expect that this time, the Qing army's interception and encirclement were very careless.

Hao Mingluan looked around the battlefield and saw that the Qing army was gathering troops in the direction of the main gate of Chaigou Fort, and there were many fewer stragglers scattered in the four fields.

"It seems that the Tartars want to go all out, and they will take the fort in one fell swoop today."

Hao Mingluan saw the situation and judged, and led more than ten horsemen to rush through the gap, and rushed to the side gate of Chaigou Fort in a short time. The guards of the side gate let him into the fort, and as soon as he entered the fort, he went to see Sun Chuanting, but he bumped into Sun Chuanting who was in a hurry to meet him in the middle of the road.

"Have the reinforcements arrived?" Sun Chuanting held Hao Mingluan's arms and asked anxiously.

"Coming, on the way." Hao Mingluan replied, "Hou Dagui is in the south, and Wu Sangui is in the east." ”

"Wu Sangui? He ......, "Sun Chuanting is very confused.

"This person has a heart anyway, he just killed Tang Tong Mingzhi in the morning, and now he is working hand in hand with Manager Hou to save Baozi."

Sun Chuanting slackened his shoulders when he heard this, stroked his palm and said: "That's good, ......" sighed twice but didn't say it again. Because when he first led the army into Xuanfu, he was under the banner of destroying Beijing, expelling the Tartars, and correcting the traitors, including Wu Sangui and Gao Di, to be powerful tomorrow, but he didn't expect that now that the strength and weakness are changing, Hou Dagui and Wu Sangui, who he didn't look down on, will become life-saving benefactors who lend a helping hand, and he is ashamed.

Hao Mingluan heard the commotion at the front gate, so he asked, "Can the front gate still stand up?" To wait for Hou Dagui and them to arrive, it will take at least half a day. ”

Sun Chuanting said: "It can withstand it, although the main gate collapses, but the gap is narrow, it is inconvenient for the Tartars to deploy troops, and it will not be a problem to fight for half a day." I'm going to send someone to send a message of encouragement, and the morale of the army will be uplifted!" And praised, "General Hao has worked hard and made great contributions, and he is worthy of being a pillar of talent." ”

Hao Mingluan shook his head and said: "Be loyal to the country, although you will not regret it, let alone running around." Speaking of this, he sighed and said, "I only want to survive this catastrophe, and we can wait for the armies of all departments to work together, and there will be no more suspicions." ”

Sun Chuanting heard that he seemed to blame himself for insisting on going his own way, so that he was surrounded and involved in the deployment of many parties, and his heart was suddenly unhappy, he reluctantly smiled and encouraged a few words, turned his head and went away with a discouraged expression.

At this moment, more than ten miles away, under Hou Dagui's strict orders, the army has been mobilized.

Climbing the mountains that had been repeatedly attacked, Hou Dagui looked down at the mountains and forests behind him, and sighed: "But more than ten zhang of the road, you can walk it in the blink of an eye, who would have thought that we would not be able to climb it that day." ”

Zheng Shixin and Min Yiqi listened to it, and their faces were red.

Hou Dagui said again: "The Tartars have strong combat power, and their real name is worthy of it. In the early years, I thought that the crowd was just comparable to the slaves, and whoever wanted to fight bravely did not say that the slaves were not even comparable to the thieves, so it can be regarded as understanding the hardships of the Liaodong war in previous years. ”

Zheng Shixin said: "If there is no tartar, how can we wait for today." ”

Hou Dagui smiled and said, "What you said is true. Then he shook his head and said, "In the past, it was against the Ming Dynasty, but now it is against the Ming Dynasty." Hehe, in life, how can there be less ups and downs. ”

Zheng Shixin echoed two sentences, stared at the distant end of the steaming mist, and said: "After this mountain, it is Chaigou Fort." On that day, our army could not fight more than a thousand Tartars here, and the next thing to face was tens of thousands of Tartars. Even if he fights with Sun Chuanting and Wu Sangui, I am afraid that in the end, it will inevitably be a tragic battle. ”

Hou Dagui intervened and said: "It's okay, today is the best time to fight the Xuanfu Tartars." The Tartars were tired from the siege and were attacked on three sides, and our army was later accompanied by reinforcements on the way. In terms of the chance of victory, our army occupies the majority. After looking around for a while, "Hao Mingluan has not heard from him for a long time, and nine times out of ten he has passed through the formation, but it can be seen that the Tartar is bent on attacking the fortifications, and his abdomen and back are weak, and he is just aggressive!" ”

The three of them talked, and the surrounding soldiers and horses successively crossed the mountains and went to the north of the mountain to meet the whole team.

At this time, there was a fast horse from the east of the ridge, and when he saw Hou Dagui, he said: "Wu Sangui's army is rushing to the north of the mountain. ”

Hou Dagui nodded with satisfaction, and said to Zheng Shixin and Min Yiqi: "Wu Sangui is still a believer. Then he waved the horsewhip in his hand and beckoned, "Let's go, let's go down the mountain and pick up, don't look at your face and compare with Wu Sangui's gang." ”

When he arrived at the foot of the north ridge of the mountain, he rode a flying horse behind him, and Hou Dagui expected to report the military situation of Han Gon's department, and without waiting for the comer to speak, he asked first: "Where is the horse army?" He muttered a few times, "No matter how slow it is, it should be Huai'anwei, right?" ”

Unexpectedly, the pond soldier rolled down from his horse, and everyone looked at him urgently, and he had three feathered arrows stuck in his back.

The Tang soldiers prostrate on the ground, coughing up blood and trying their best to say: "The Han unified army was intercepted by the enemy south of the Huai'an Acropolis, and it was difficult to advance an inch!" After that, the blood that had endured all the way spurted from his throat all over the ground, and he was immediately out of breath.

When Hou Dagui heard this, he first stood sluggish, then screamed and fell on his back.

"The enemy soldiers on the other side, on the other side, what is the way to come?"

Hundreds of miles away, Han Gon forcibly grabbed the reins in the chaos and questioned him.

Just half an hour ago, the forward of the rapid advance He Ren was extremely anxious, and suddenly encountered an enemy army of unknown origin in the south of the Huai'an Acropolis, and most of the troops and horses were caught off guard and most of them escaped. When Han Gon got the news, he quickly ordered all the horse troops who were still on the way to concentrate and unite to wait for the enemy.

"Is it Ye Chen, Wu Sangui or Tang Tong?"

The Huai'an Acropolis was imminent, and Han Gon was shocked and angry, he really didn't expect a sudden change. According to the follow-up news from He Renji, the enemy army came from the northeast, and from here all the way to the northeast, the source of the enemy army was only Xuanfu Town.

"Pick up the Heren pole first, and at the same time line up to meet the enemy!" Ma Guangchun rushed to Han Gon and proposed, "The Xuanfu Tartars are not more than 10,000 in the sky, and with the addition of Wu Sangui and Tang Tong's two armies, it will be less than 30,000." We have to besiege Chaigou Fort and deal with General Hou, so it is conceivable that there will not be too many soldiers and horses to intercept us. Our army has four or five thousand cavalry, and the battalion is about to arrive in the rear, stabilize your mind, gather the morale of the army, and you should be able to shoot the enemy away! ”

Han Gon accepted his words and was about to send Ma Guangchun, Zhou Yuji, Lu Yue and other battalions to lead the headquarters to form a formation on the plain, but only a moment later, at the horizon, under the overwhelming heavy rain, countless small black spots suddenly appeared. Those black spots are more and more one by one, and finally countless are long and vast, and they will become like ants and locusts, and the momentum is monstrous.

Han Gon was suspicious, He Renji led his soldiers and horses to retreat from the front, and shouted loudly: "Go, go, there are many Tartars, not in a hurry!" "With that, the horse retreated.

"This ......" With many years of experience in warfare, Han Gon roughly estimated that the enemy troops who appeared in unison several miles away were no less than 20,000 people, and looked at Ma Guangchun sideways, and his expression had also froze at this time.

The rain poured down, like a sky collapse.

Han Gon gasped, judged the situation, completely cut off the idea of trying to advance again, turned around with Ma Guangchun and the others, and retreated south while the enemy army was still a few miles away.

"Where do these Tartars come from?" Han Gon galloped in the rain and caught up with He Renji, who was neck and neck with him.

He Renji's face was full of crackling and fierce raindrops, and he was unaware, but said: "Listen to the sentry and ride the horse, it's the Tartar King who has arrived!" ”

"Tartar? What Tartar king? ”

When the Qing army saw the flag, he had been in Liaodong and knew the state affairs of the Qing Dynasty, so he gritted his teeth and said: "Azig, the king of Tartar." ”