On the northern slope of Huyang Town, Song Houzhen was supported by soldiers and walked to a pine tree to rest. Siye was boiling from the city to the outskirts of the city, and the deafening sound of shouting and killing and fierce fighting throughout the entire city continued to pour into his ears, but he lost the high emotions of the past and showed a sad look unusually.

There were more than ten arrows inserted around the body, but because of the armor body, most of the arrows were only stuck between the armor pieces, and only two of them were extremely strong and saved into the flesh of the back. But the stinging pain of the two wounds had already made it impossible for Song Hou Zhen to continue fighting, and the soldiers helped him remove his armor and check and bandage his wounds.

Half an hour ago, the second post in front of the camp and the second post on the left arrived at the southern suburbs of Huyang Town. There are city walls in the small city of Huyang Town, and there are officers and soldiers stationed on weekdays, but when it comes to the east gate of the east city where Song Hou Zhenyin is near the cave, there are no officials or generals in the town who come out to check the documents and sigils of the Hun camp. Song Hou really felt that something was wrong, and ordered the left post to quickly turn into a battle sequence on the spot, but it was too late. On the north slope, countless plain trees suddenly appeared, standing upright and shaking, and then, the iron cavalry from the east city gate was as fast as thunder, and in the blink of an eye, it had crashed into the left sentinel.

The scout in front of the head replied, saying that the official army on the city wall of Huyang Town was guarding the head of the city, and the banner of the Ming Dynasty was the same, and now it seems that it is all a strategy of the enemy to cover people's eyes and ears. The left outpost, which was completely unprepared for battle, met the enemy with a marching army, and almost half of it had already collapsed, and the newly trained bird-stalkers were trampled down by the oncoming iron horsemen without even smoothing the arquebus.

Song Houzhen confirmed in the chaos that the enemy army was the most elite horse army under the command of Ma Guangchun, who returned to the camp and "flew in the grass". In the seventh year of Chongzhen, he returned to the camp in the south of the mountain, Hong Chengchou supervised thousands of troops to Tongguan Dayukou to block the return to the camp and out of the pass, Ma Guangchun was ordered to lead 2,000 cavalry to raid the official army You Shiwei Department who was plagued by the epidemic, and defeated it in one fell swoop, thus opening a gap in the iron barrel of the official army to help the camp and other departments escape. Ma Guangchun himself became famous because of this.

was first disrupted by a blow to the head, and then learned that the opposite side was a famous general returning to the camp, and Song Houzhen's fighting spirit plummeted. He ordered the soldiers to gather on the left and right and retreat to the northern slope not far away, where there were also returning battalions to garrison, but the threat was relatively low because they could not gallop between the mountain passes.

Ma Guangchun, who suddenly attacked, had extremely rich combat experience, and he divided half of the horse army into several units, slashing and clashing back and forth, while the other half of the horse army stood on three sides, motionless like a mountain. The panicked soldiers of the Zhao battalion were already unable to support the cavalry in turn under the clashes of the cavalry returning to the camp, and when they saw that the other party still had countless vitality in reserve, they were shocked at the same time.

Some of the soldiers on the left post retreated to the north slope with Song Hou Zhen, and most of them stayed at the bottom of the slope, trapped by the mobile returning horse army to the camp, or died or surrendered. After the soldiers had briefly treated Song Houzhen's wounds and re-draped him, the counting work had been completed. There were originally 500 soldiers on the left outpost, and there were less than 100 left on the northern slope at this time.

"Sentry, how are we doing?" The generals on the left and right looked at their comrades who were wantonly slashed and killed at the bottom of the slope, and asked with red eyes.

At that time, the left sentry corps retreating to the northern slope were almost completely disorganized, and only a few relatively intact squads fired arrows down the slope under the orders of the officer, blocking some of the returning cavalry who intended to abandon their horses and climb the mountain. It is very unlikely that we can organize a counteroffensive and regain the initiative by relying on the scattered status quo of the left outpost.

Song Houzhen stabilized his mind and said, "Now the heart of the army is the best. The order went down, and all the soldiers on the slope no longer cared about the original ranks, and showed the types of blades they were fighting and reorganized into a team. Advance and retreat must be coordinated, and those who scatter the queue or run recklessly and talk nonsense will not be forgiven! And he said, "Give another order." The outpost in the camp is not far away, and Guo Tong and the outpost are also about to arrive, and if they hold on for a while, the thief army will inevitably leave! ”

The herald went as promised, and Song Houzhen looked at the chaotic situation down the slope with concern and sighed. In other words, less than 100 people on the slope are all the combat power that the left sentry can use next, although there are still left sentry soldiers who are indomitable to resist the enemy soldiers, but there is no chance to meet uphill, and they will inevitably be killed one by one.

In the blink of an eye, looking in the direction of Huyang Town, under the city, the rear of the Ma army standing on the back wall of the camp is densely layered, and the number is incalculable. Under the banner of several poles and more troops, a silver armor general surrounded the audience army, straddled the horse to observe the situation on the north slope. That person must be Ma Guangchun, the commander of the horse army that returned to the camp. He was very calm, and did not rush to order the soldiers and horses to attack the northern slope, but chose to slowly eat away the soldiers of the Zhao battalion under the slope first. Ma Guangchun's caution gave Song Houzhen an opportunity, because a rough estimate showed that it would take at least a quarter of an hour for the battle to be completely over, which was enough time for Jing Keqin's outpost in the rear to come to support. As long as Jing Keqin's troops are engaged in the battle and hold on until Guo Ruke and Wei Shanhong arrive again, the situation will take a turn for the better.

Therefore, Song Houzhen's eyes inevitably turned to the direction of Jing Keqin on the other side. It's a pity that due to the terrain on the north slope, even if he is in a high position, he can't see the movement of the outpost led by Jing Keqin. Even so, he still held on to the belief that reinforcements were coming.

"Is there any movement from the outpost?" Every once in a while, Song Houzhen would ask left and right, but the news he waited for disappointed him. Down the slope, the desire to return to the camp and climb the mountain is still not high, but for Song Houzhen, he can really feel the torment of the passage of time.

Finally, after a row of crisp bangs, Song Houzhen, who was in a mood like a chaotic drum beating, got the news that he had returned to the camp and had a tendency to climb the mountain on a large scale. However, immediately afterwards, another soldier used his hands and siblings to say: "Sentinel! The enemy army retreated slightly, as if reinforcements had arrived! ”

When Song Hou Zhen heard this, regardless of the pain in his back, he staggered to the front of the north slope with a knife and looked down. Along the slope, out of nowhere, a group of soldiers and horses suddenly appeared, this army of soldiers and horses were all infantry, and several flying tiger black flags fluttered in the queue, which was particularly eye-catching. The Ma army returning to the camp was pressed by its momentum, and moved backwards in an uproar, and the battle line moved back, making a gap between Huyang Town and the northern slope.

The flying tiger with a black background and yellow edge is the military flag of the outpost of the Hun camp!

"It's coming!" Song Hou Zhen suddenly felt that his whole body was refreshed, and it seemed that the wound on his back was no longer painful. Looking closely, most of the soldiers of the outpost maintained a firm line at the bottom of the slope, and a small number of them hurried up the slope along the mountain path.

"Summons up and down, cover the outpost brothers to ascend the slope!" Song Hou Zhen said happily, and the several defenses temporarily formed by the left post on the slope were no longer attacking at this time, and even retreated slightly to leave a passage for the newly uphill robes.

"It seems that Lao Jing also feels that the slope is unfavorable, and he has the intention of occupying the slope and pulling a tug of war with the enemy." Song Hou really thought about it and nodded secretly. Outside the east gate of Huyang Town is an open flat land, where field battles, even if the front and left two outposts start the battle sequence with a complete formation, it is difficult to bargain. However, if the terrain on the northern slope is placed on the right side, then the mobility and impact of the Ma army returning to the camp will be greatly reduced, and it will not be a problem to insist on Guo Ruke and other troops to come to help.

In anticipation, Song Houzhen's eyes swept back and forth, and he looked at Ma Guangchun in the direction of the city several times, worried that the Ma army returning to the camp would change his tactics again and hinder the outpost's uphill plan. However, fortunately, Ma Guangchun did not give further instructions, and the outpost stationed at the bottom of the slope, the Ma army returned to the camp like the wind, lingering. Perhaps he was afraid of the firearms of the second outpost, but in short, he didn't make any moves, but just sat back and watched the outpost gradually merge with the left outpost.

"I don't know what this horse has in mind." Song Hou was really puzzled, "I have heard that he is brave, and he didn't want to be cautious." ”

Just as he was thinking about it, a soldier on the left and right reminded: "Sentinel, the brothers at the outpost under the slope are lined up in the back half moon formation behind the mountain, as if they have the intention of attacking, do I want to help them?" ”

"The second half of the moon array?" Song Hou really listened, looked down the slope anxiously, and couldn't help but be shocked. The half-moon formation is one of the most practiced basic formations in the battalion, and it is divided into the front half-moon formation with the moon arc convex forward and the rear half-moon formation with the moon arc concave backwards. In the second half of the month, the formation faces the enemy on the inside of the arc, which can effectively expand the striking surface of the long-range troops, and can be regarded as an offensive formation; In the first half of the moon formation, the outside of the arc is used to face the enemy, which reduces the blind spot of your own formation when facing the enemy, and belongs to the defensive formation.

At present, outside the east gate of Huyang Town, the Ma army of the Huiying has the advantage, and the discerning people know that it is difficult to compete with them on the flat ground. Jing Keqin is not a fledgling newcomer, since he has the intention of sticking uphill, he shouldn't set up an offensive second half moon formation under the slope, it is hard to imagine that he would make such a low-level command mistake.

Song Hou was really in a hurry, and was about to send someone to find Jing Keqin to talk about the benefits, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the steady and stable banner of returning to the camp under the wall of Huyang Town at the far end. At that moment, it was as if an electric current pierced his whole body, and he couldn't help but take two steps back.

"Sentinel!" The soldiers on the left and right hurriedly held him up.

"I ......" Song Houzhen's lips and teeth trembled, his eyes suddenly lost their former brilliance, and he was lonely, "Help me go under the tree." ”

The soldiers on the left and right looked at each other in amazement, not knowing what was going on, but seeing Song Houzhen's dejected appearance, they didn't dare to say more.

Song Houzhen staggered back to the tree, and the sunlight shone through the tree, reflecting the mottled shade of the tree. He threw away the hands of the soldiers, sat down, and leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree.

"Loosen the nail for me, hehe, it's tighter, and I can't breathe." Song Houzhen commanded.

The soldiers were puzzled and had to do as they were told. The clasp cable of the armor was forcibly opened, and Song Hou really let out a long sigh of relief.

"Sentinel, Sentinel Scene Sentinel wants to be there soon...... Are we going to answer ......?" said a soldier who couldn't help it.

Song Houzhen closed his eyes slightly, was silent for a long time, and said softly: "No need." ”

Now, the doubts of not long ago are connected into a vein, and it is extremely clear. Jing Keqin did not make a mistake, and the Ma Army, who hesitated to return to the camp at the bottom of the slope, did not delay the fighters. The only one who is wrong is Song Houzhen.

"Mr. Chang, Lao Xiong ......" Thinking about the past in Hanzhong, Song Hou really saw one face after another in front of his eyes, "Lord, Guo ...... the system" Somehow, every time he thinks of someone, his heart will be tightly grasped, or reluctant or guilty, "Lao Liu, Miss Rao......" Thinking later, his brain was groggy as if he was drunk, he simply didn't want to, and reached out to touch the dagger on his waist.

"I've lived for thirty years......" The last thought flashed, and Song Hou really remembered his father and mother who had passed away for more than ten years. Even though the faces of his parents were blurred in his memory, he still couldn't help but burst into tears, "Hou Zhen is not filial!" ”

"Sentinel!"

The exclamations of the soldiers in his ears were like spring thunder, but Song Hou Zhen only felt a weight in his throat. Then the right hand that was waved limply fell from his chest to the ground. For him, this is the end of a decades-long career as a horseman.

The leather boots stepped on the sand between the slopes, Jing Keqin frowned, and looked at the corpse of Song Houzhen with a dagger in his throat.

"Old Song, the situation is pressing, if you don't die, I won't be able to live. If you kill yourself, you and I will not be shameless when we see each other. In the future, every seven and nine, yellow paper wine will be indispensable to you. Jing Keqin sighed and muttered to himself.

The thunderous blow of returning to the camp first defeated the left outpost, although Jing Keqin wanted to rescue, but it was too late. If he wanted to retreat again, Ma Guangchun's subordinate Ma army was like a ghost, unpredictable, he didn't dare to advance or retreat, and he fell into a dilemma. Ma Guangchun saw Jing Keqin's vacillation and threw an olive branch to him. The choice is often only in a moment, and Ma Guangchun only gave Jing Keqin half a pillar of incense time to think about it. In the end, Jing Keqin lowered his head and agreed to Ma Guangchun's surrender conditions for returning to the camp to attack the slope.

"This is the head of the canal?" A majestic voice sounded behind him, and Jing Keqin, who had come back to his senses, obviously felt that compared to when Song Hou Zhen had just died, the shouts and killings up and down the north slope had subsided a lot, and it seemed that the main force of the horse army returning to the camp had also gone uphill to clean up the mess.

Turning around, there was an extremely tall and majestic figure. The owner of the figure has a slender face, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, high protruding eyebrow bones and deep eye sockets that do not look like the Central Plains people. This person is Ma Guangchun, the chief general of the horse army that returned to the camp, and the extremely strong momentum accumulated over the years of killing and killing is so strong that Jing Keqin does not dare to look at him.

"Yes...... This person is the outpost officer Song Houzhen. ”

Ma Guangchun glanced at Song Houzhen, who was sitting under the dead tree, and ordered the accompanying soldiers lightly: "Cut off his head." ”

The soldiers stepped forward and snorted and moved, Jing Keqin was a little unbearable, and turned his back and didn't look at it. However, he suddenly felt a large hand on his shoulder.

"It's a small supper, but it's just a side of the drink. Zhao Ying's general Guo Ruke and commander Zhao Dangshi are on time. Thou hast brought me to take their heads, and thou hast a place to stand when thou hast returned to the camp. Ma Guangchun's rich voice was full of shock, and Jing Keqin unconsciously stiffened up and nodded like pounding garlic.