At the end of the billowing smoke and dust, several stubborn armor soldiers surrounded an ironclad general and walked slowly.

Gao Yigong, who was waiting for the horse, turned his head and smiled at Yang Yanchang: "I can't see it, the soldiers and horses in the imperial village are now extraordinary." Just looking at those few pieces of fine armor, they are not inferior to you and me. ”

Yang Yanchang's face was gloomy, and he said lightly: "With my Dashun cover, this group of guys have made a lot of money in recent years, and of course their appearance is glamorous, but in terms of means, I'm afraid it's not worth it." "He's depressed and clearly hasn't recovered from the fiasco he had two days ago.

The ironclad general approached, bowed and saluted, and Gao Yigong saw that his face was wrapped in a white cloth, so he said: "If you guess correctly, Your Excellency is Xue Ling's post in the imperial village." ”

"If you don't change your name, you don't change your surname, it's under Xue Copy."

Yuzhai borrowed the momentum of the army, has already unified the surrounding hilltop forts, the big palm plate Li Jiyu below, divided into three sentinels to govern the soldiers and horses, the most famous of which is Xue copy. This is not only because he is recognized as the most capable general in the imperial village, but also because of his appearance that will be unforgettable at a glance. Gao Yigong has been stationed in Ruzhou for a long time, adjacent to Dengfeng County, and has been dealing with the soldiers and horses of the Imperial Village who are responsible for maintaining local law and order for the Shun army.

Gao Yigong looked at the edge where the plains and the sky intersected in the distance, and countless black spots were faintly visible, so he asked, "How many soldiers and horses did Guizhai send this time?" ”

Xue copied back: "Xue brought four thousand, all of them are the elite in my village. In addition, Zhou Ruli and Ji Zhiying, two leading posts, led 3,000 people, interspersed in front and back of Ruzhou City, maintained order, and served as a backup. Counting up, in order to resist the attack of the Zhao thief this time, Li Dazhang went all out and mobilized more than 10,000 soldiers and horses. ”

"Four thousand people ......" Gao Yigong groaned slightly. After the defeat in the field battle of Yexian, he and Yang Yanchang retreated to Ruzhou, and then stationed in Jiaxian and Baofeng County, which were close to Nanyang Prefecture, Gao Yigong had 7,000 troops in Jiaxian, and Yang Yanchang had 5,000 remnants in Baofeng County. Jiaxian, Baofeng County and Lushan County in Ruzhou constitute a straight line, such as the wall barrier between Nanyang Mansion and Ruzhou, now Lushan County lacks troops to guard, Xue Copying this army came just right.

The three of them got on the horse, drove side by side, and chatted as they walked.

"Li Dazhang heard that the Zhao thief was rampant, and he specially ordered us to help in the battle." Xue Xuan said, "I don't know how many Zhao thieves there are in Ye County?" ”

"Six or seven thousand." Gao Yigong coughed lightly.

"Huh? Only ......" Xue was stunned for a moment, and swallowed back the words that came to his mouth.

Yang Yanchang said with a calm face: "Yesterday, I heard a report from Runing Mansion that Huang Degong, the lackey of the Zhao thief, also began to lead the army to attack our army's prefecture and county, which shows that the Zhao thief has been plotting against our army for a long time. The Zhao thief was despicable and shameless, brazenly attacked our army, robbed Yuzhou and Yexian, but it was just a momentary gain, and now we have gathered 20,000 troops and horses in Ruzhou, and we can counterattack and take revenge. ”

Xue Xuan nodded and said, "That's exactly what I mean." I am the main one in the imperial village, and I share honor and disgrace. At the critical moment when the Holy Lord swept through the north and attacked Beijing, how could he tolerate the Zhao thief jumping up and down in the rear? ”

Yang Yanchang said: "The Zhao thief is unusually slippery, and he is afraid of my main force in the Dashun field, so he only dares to do something shameless by stabbing him in the back." Since the Holy Lord raised his army, the will of heaven has been obedient to the will of the people, and he has conquered everything and won invincible. If you can't expel the Zhao thief in time, it will damage my reputation as Dashun! "The voice is strict and the attitude is resolute.

In fact, before going out of the city to pick up Xue Copy, Yang Yanchang and Gao Yigong had a dispute.

Yuzhou and Ye counties were lost, Nanzhao County and Wuyang County had no soldiers to defend them, and Zhao Ying was also at their fingertips, so it can be said that the Shun army had no place to stand in Nanyang Mansion. As the commander of Nanyang Mansion, only by recovering the lost territory as soon as possible can he be exempted from the crime of major dereliction of duty. Yang Yanchang, who finally got the opportunity to get ahead, was counting on establishing prestige through the Henan War, but it backfired, and naturally the boss was unwilling. After the reorganization of the Shun army in Jiaxian, Baofeng County and other places, there were still 12,000 people available, and Yang Yanchang immediately proposed to attack Ye County, but was rejected by Gao Yigong.

Gao Yigong's thoughts are different, he does not have Yang Yanchang's selfishness, and the starting point is all in the overall situation. Zhao Ying's actions in Henan clearly adopted a two-pronged strategy, attacking Nanyang Mansion on the west route and Runing Mansion on the east route. If the situation in Runing Mansion is unfavorable, Ruzhou's troops will be dragged in Yexian County and will not move an inch, which will directly affect the offensive and defensive posture of the Shun army in Henan Province. In addition, Ruzhou controls the passage to northern Henan and Shaanxi, and once it is lost, the consequences are unimaginable.

Therefore, although the Shun army still had 12,000 soldiers and horses available in Ruzhou, it was actually overstretched and unable to cope with multiple duties at the same time. Although Yang Yanchang is the highest among the generals in Henan, Ye County's strength has been greatly damaged after a defeat, and his speaking confidence has been much weaker, and he is also Li Zicheng's brother-in-law, with a deep background, and he can't say a few words, so he has to hold back his unhappiness and make concessions. It's just that at the moment of reinforcements from the imperial village, Xue Zhao's 4,000 people arrived at the front line, and Zhou Ruli, Ji Zhiying and other troops guarded the passage behind them, Gao Yigong's worries seemed to no longer exist, and he started thinking again. Of course, it is not good for him to advocate an attack on the grounds of atoning for his sins, so he can only use "damage my reputation as a great shun" to imply a high achievement.

Gao Yigong knew what he meant, and pursed his lips and was silent.

Yang Yanchang continued to pry Xue and said: "Xue Lingsen, I heard that in addition to Huang Degong's attack on the north of Runing Mansion, Hou Dagui led the army to the north in a hurry, intending to reinforce Guo Ruke, and has now arrived in Nanyang Mansion, thinking that he will be able to meet Guo Ruke in Ye County in two days at most." Hou Dagui is the number one general under Zhao Thief, and he is the elite soldiers of Huguang Hundred Battles, if he is put into the front line, I am afraid that the enemy facing our army will be difficult to contain. ”

Xue Copying said peacefully: "General Yang is reasonable, you can't let Zhao Thief's ten fingers be pinched into a fist, it's best to break them separately." ”

Gao Yigong listened to the two of you, and I was so lively, I couldn't help but say: "The war in Henan is difficult to resolve quickly, and the most appropriate thing at present is to wait for Shaanxi Zehou to lead troops out of the customs to support." Yang Yanchang's proposal was rejected by him at that time, and he asked him what he planned to do with a displeased face, and he said that he would send someone to Shaanxi to ask Tian Jianxiu to divide troops to support, and his thoughts at this time still remained unchanged.

Yang Yanchang thought of the reason for the rebuttal, and immediately scolded him: "There is still a thief in Hanzhong in Shaanxi who is Zhao Dangshi in charge, and he is ready to move, whether Zehou really has the spare strength to take care of Henan is still a matter of two words." Moreover, the war in Runing Mansion has begun, and it will be disadvantageous if the Zhao thief occupies Yexian County for a long time and threatens the henchmen of our army in the north of Runing Mansion. ”

Xue Zhaoxian muttered: "Yes, Zhao thief is fierce, General Ren of Runing Mansion, Liu Zhangpan, and Shen Zhangpan are scattered far away, fighting separately, and may not be able to gain the upper hand." In case there are three long and two short, so that Zhao Thief and several soldiers and horses will gather all their strength to attack, then our army will want to hold Ruzhou again, I am afraid that it will be ...... I'm afraid it's ......" Speaking of this, he pretended to be surprised, "Is General Gao unwilling to go to Ye County?" ”

Gao Yigong shook his head and said, "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that the fighter hasn't arrived yet." He added, "Zhao thief has sharp firearms and is good at attacking fortifications, but our army is shorter than attacking fortifications. ”

"Before that, the field ......," Xue Xuan said deliberately, and glanced at Yang Yanchang at the same time.

Yang Yanchang's old face suddenly turned red, and Gao Yigong sighed: "In the previous field battle in Yexian, our army had a chance to win, but Zhao Thief cunningly took advantage of the loophole, and our army retreated in order to avoid too many casualties. If you really go down, it's hard to say who wins and who loses. Between the lines, in the end, he still saved face for Yang Yanchang.

However, Yang Yanchang was at a sensitive moment, hearing him say this, not only did he not feel better, but he felt ridiculed, and he was angry, shouting: "If you hold on at that time, it will not be today's scene!" Fall and remember for a long time, now is the time to be ashamed, don't go to Ye County to try, no matter how much you say, it's just empty talk! ”

Gao Yigong didn't expect Yang Yanchang to repay virtue with resentment, and actually went down the slope to bite back, but he had the intention of putting the responsibility for the failure of the field battle on his head, he was young and vigorous, and he was not a submissive master, so he choked back and said: "Oh? It's not General Yang who said it, but I haven't figured out the reason why the victory turned into defeat that day. Isn't it just to fight Ye County, since General Yang insists on it, he will fight! As long as General Yang takes the lead, I will follow! After speaking, he pulled the reins and glared at Yang Yanchang.

Although Yang Yanchang's heart to attack Ye County was urgent, he was not in a dizzy state. He has only 5,000 people in his hands, and he is not as good as Guo Ruke on the opposite side. That's why after listening to Gao Yigong's words, he bowed his head and was silent.

Xue Xuan looked at the two of them, laughed secretly, and hurriedly said with mud on his face: "What are you two doing, let's work together to kill the enemy for Dashun, advance and retreat together, don't be rash." ”

Gao Yigong said coldly: "I don't know who is acting willingly." ”

Xue Zhao appeased Yang Yanchang a few more words, and then said: "What General Gao said makes sense, and what General Yang said also makes sense. The situation is changing rapidly, and our army must not sit idly by. ”

"It seems that Xue Lingshao also wants to go to the county seat." Gao Yigong looked into the distance, "I won't stop it." ”

Xue Qian smiled and said: "General Gao misunderstood, who in this world will jump into the fire pit by himself?" He continued, "As General Gao said, attacking the city is the next step. But General Yang said that our army has a good chance of winning in the field. Therefore, in my opinion, instead of waiting for Guo and Hou to become one, it is better for our army to strike first, annihilate Guo Ruke's army in the wilderness, and then calmly deal with Hou Dagui's army. ”

Gao Yigong frowned and said, "Annihilate Guo Ruke's army in the wilderness?" Too wishful thinking. We know the length of Zhao Thief's soldiers and horses, how can Zhao Thief himself not know? How could they abandon the walls and obediently go out to the field? ”

Xue copied: "Guo Ruke won three battles in a row in one day, and he was extremely arrogant. The ancients said that 'arrogant soldiers will be defeated', and a little trickery may not be able to catch him.

Yang Yanchang hummed and interjected: "The surname Guo is very rampant, I heard that he also made up some bullshit words like 'there is a tiger in northern Chu, break the enemy and pull out the city three drums' to sing praises to himself, and he doesn't take our army in his eyes at all." ”

Gao Yigong asked Xue Copy: "You said that you will use a little trick, how to do it?" ”

Xue copied and said: "Guo Rukezhi is full of pride, and he is eager to try at a certain time, and the reason why he is stranded in Ye County is nothing more than to see the two retired cities, and it is difficult to get down, so he is waiting for the follow-up soldiers and horses to meet according to patience. But if our army abandons Jiaxian, Baofeng County, Lushan County and other places and continues to retreat, what will Guo Ruke do? ”

Yang Yanchang clapped his hands and said: "Wonderful, if I were Guo Ruke, the fat was close at hand, and I could reach it as soon as I stretched out my hand, how could I sit idly by?" Otherwise, all those words that praise merit will become a joke! ”

"Not bad." The corners of the white cloth wrapped around Xue Zhao's face swayed lightly in the breeze, and his eyes peeked through the cracks, as if they contained an elusive glow.

Gao Yigong exhaled and said: "The line from Jiaxian County to Lushan County is the gateway to Ruzhou, without them, Ruzhou is like losing half of its wall." Three counties, don't want to say no? ”

Xue Xuan smiled and said: "Of course not, I just said that if you want to catch Guo Ruke, who is about to move, you must need a bait that is fat enough." This bait is Jiaxian and other places. ”

Yang Yanchang took his words and said: "Our army retreats, Guo Ruke can't bear it, and nine times out of ten he will lead his troops to collect the three counties." Our army can take advantage of this time to set up a formation to meet it and fight it in the field. As he spoke, his voice was mentioned, and his eyes were blazing towards Gao Yigong, "I don't have to say anything about this battle, I, Yang Yanchang, am willing to be the forerunner!" ”

Xue Zhao said: "If Guo Ruke is really cautious and cautious and does not take the bait, our army will have no losses, and Xu Tu will be able to plan later." ”

Yang Yanchang saw that Gao Yigong was still hesitating, his face turned red, and he said loudly: "Our army's 16,000 is more than twice as many as Guo Ruke's 6,700 people, and we have the big losses we suffered last time, so we can't lose this battle!" ”

Gao Yigong pondered for a long time, looked at the eager gazes of Yang and Xue, and sighed lightly: "Okay, just fight again." ”