Although he had long expected the complex situation in Ningqiang Prefecture in which various forces were intertwined, Lian Buxin still underestimated the density of the official army. Sometimes, a little negligence can cause serious mistakes, tonight, Lian Buxin thought that the dawn was not far away and he really needed to rest because of fatigue, so he did not strictly set up a post according to the standard, resulting in the stationing of the troops for several officers and soldiers scouts to investigate and still be at a loss, and even at this moment hundreds of officers and soldiers took advantage of the night to besiege Zhao's courtyard.

Even if Lian Buxin reacted quickly, the prepared officials and soldiers still quickly controlled the overall situation of the Zhao family. Lian Buxin gathered the troops to resist for a long time, and he hoped that Yang San on the mountain not far away would see the firelight and come to support, but it was wishful thinking after all. After finally determining that there was no hope of reversing the situation, Lian Buxin ruthlessly left behind some of the soldiers who were still trapped in the siege, and walked away with the rest of the people in embarrassment, until the time when the eastern sky was white, gathered men and horses, and lost sixty or seventy of the two hundred horsemen.

Lian didn't believe that he knew that he was responsible for this defeat, but he didn't continue to indulge in self-blame, victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers, the purpose of his coming here is to assist Qin Jinxiao to control Hannan, without affecting the overall situation, like such a local disadvantage, he won't care too much - defeat is defeat, make greater merit to make up for it?

The victorious officers and troops in Zhaojiayuan did not continue to pursue Lian Buxin, and it was obvious that their purpose was still Yang Sanbu, who was huddled in the cottage. On the one hand, Lian Buxin sent an envoy to Qin Jinxiao to report the situation of the war, and on the other hand, he rectified on the east bank of Lianshui, and sent scouts to investigate the wind and grass on the ground in Ningqiang Prefecture.

Qin Jinxiao first received the news of Lian Buxin's defeat, and his original plan was to relieve the siege of Yang San first, and then meet with Yang San and Liang Shizheng, and then move later, but according to the current situation, it seems that he underestimated the ability of the Sichuan army and the sinister situation of the actual situation.

Qin Qigong was invited on the back foot, but he did not immediately express his opinion. In his opinion, those who use troops need to know the situation before moving, but at the moment, when Zhao Yingbing first came, he didn't know anything about the situation in Ningqiang Prefecture, and it was okay to use troops to save the emergency, but if it involved the deployment of the overall strategy, it was definitely not the time.

But Qin Jinxiao is an anxious son, he knows the defeat of Lian Buxin, and naturally thinks that Yang San must be in a dangerous situation now, so he speculates whether the initiative in Ningqiang Prefecture has been surrendered to the Sichuan army, and even his own mission of sticking to Hannan will be affected. The more he thought about it, the more restless he became, if it weren't for Qin Qigong's strong appeasement, he was afraid that Qin Jinxiao would be impulsive, and the whole army would go to find the Sichuan army for a decisive battle.

Fortunately, the next day, Lian Buxin came with more news, and in one morning, there were as many as seven or eight messengers who sent the message, and through the accounts of these messengers, Qin Jinxiao and Qin Qigong straightened out all kinds of information, and only then did they have a general understanding of the current war situation.

After Zhao Jiayuan attacked Lian Buxin's Sichuan army, he resumed besieging Yang San, who had been trapped and had sent a request for support to Liang Shizheng, who was entrenched nearby. Liang Shizheng would not watch from the wall, so he divided his troops from Baishiya to rescue.

The Sichuan army had already discovered that Shen Yinglong's subordinates had been in ambush for a long time on the road to Huaishuyin Cottage before Baishiya, and under the half-volley, they defeated Liang Shizheng's reinforcements and beheaded more than 300 people. Ren Kexian did not go to Yang San again, but turned to attack Baishiya, at the same time, Shen Yinglong also sent a main force of nearly 2,000 people to attack, forcing each other on both sides, Liang Shizheng was defeated, and more than 500 elite were killed and wounded. Fortunately, thanks to the desperate protection of his henchmen, Liang Shizheng was able to break through and escape to the only remaining key pass, Hengliangzi. At this point, he figured it out, it turned out that the drunkard of the Sichuan army did not mean to drink, attacking Yang San was false, and seizing Baishiya was the real purpose.

From Hannan into Sichuan, if you want to take the Golden Bull Road, you must pass through Qipanguan and Huangba, and these two places will finally meet in Guangyuan, which is the gateway to Sichuan. At the northern end of them, it is divided into three most important passes, Baishiya, Hengliangzi and Persimmon Ya, and in just one day, the Sichuan army has occupied two places. Liang Shizheng was lonely in the beam, quite powerless, heard that Qin Jinxiao had arrived at Qingshi Pass, and immediately came to the news, his messenger arrived at Qingshi Pass in the afternoon of the same day.

Shen Yinglong is the vanguard of Hou Liangzhu's exit from Sichuan, and his strategic intentions are actually somewhat similar to Qin Jinxiao's, which is also to control the exit of the Sichuan Pass, establish a stable stronghold, front and even various grain barn stations, and use these to provide the most effective support for Hou Liangzhu's main force out of Sichuan. Therefore, it is appropriate to list him as Qin Jinxiao's most direct opponent at present.

According to the information gathered by the scouts from various channels, it can be roughly determined that Shen Yinglong now has about 2,500 troops under his command. Just looking at this number, with Qin Jinxiao and Lian Buxin, a total of two thousand and a half steps, there is a feeling of meeting an opponent in chess.

After receiving the envoy of Liang Shizheng, he summoned Qin Qigong and the middle and high-level generals of the battalion to discuss the battle plan.

This discussion was divided into different opinions, each holding their own opinion, starting after dinner, and continuing until the third watch, and in the end, the final word was still Qin Qigong.

"Everyone, wait a minute, listen to me first." Qin Qigong faced the noisy generals, and in a slow voice, his voice was not loud, but as soon as he spoke, the generals in the audience were silent almost instantly, "The way of war, what is the highest realm?" ”

Many of the generals present had also read the book of soldiers, and replied: "A soldier who surrenders without a fight." ”

"Second?"

"Make good use of the strategy, accumulate advantages, and suppress them."

"Again?"

"Wounded a thousand, wounded eight hundred."

Qin Qigong looked solemn and said in a deep voice: "The Sichuan army is on a par with our army, and it will succumb without a fight, but what? ”

"It's impossible." A general said.

"So how about injuring a thousand enemies and losing 800 yourself?"

"No." It was the same general who answered, only this time with a firmer attitude.

Qin Qigong turned to Qin Jin at this time and said: "Mr. Qian, our army has no advantage in strength, and geography is also at a disadvantage. If you want to achieve your intention at a small cost, you can only use schemes. ”

Qin Qigong has never had an uncle's frame in front of Qin Jinxiao, and his tone at this time is completely like a subordinate, Qin Jinxiao occasionally even forgets that he still has a blood relationship with him, and "official business" can not be more thoroughly fulfilled here by Qin Qigong, so that in life, he deliberately keeps a distance from Qin Jinxiao or Qin Shilu.

"How?" Qin Jinxiao himself has fought many battles, and he knows very well that the "strategy" that Qin Qigong is talking about here is by no means a sentence or a bag written in the book, but should be combined with the actual deployment of troops, in other words, this strategy is not a "strategy" such as a discordant plan, but a "clever use of troops".

The use of pawns is like a game of chess, at the beginning the two sides have the same chess pieces, but as the decision-maker continues to give instructions, the same foundation will soon evolve in two different directions. Qin Qigong firmly believes that "planning" should be used in soldiers, that is, only by using soldiers can we really solve problems, which is very different from Mu Gongchun, who is purely happy with tricks.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you have a stick, one of which is thin and the other is thick, how do you want to break it?" Qin Qigong turned his toes and asked the generals again.

"Naturally, it is to take the details and fold them." The generals had no objection to this.

Qin Jinxiao realized something, and said: "What does joining the army mean is that to deal with Shen Yinglong, you need to find another way?" ”

"Exactly. Now that the enemy and we are evenly matched, even with the addition of Liang Shizheng and Yang San, our army also does not have an obvious advantage, if we blindly hope to solve the urgent need of Ningqiang Prefecture head-on, the best result is only to repel Shen Yinglong and our army's vitality is greatly damaged. At that time, the Sichuan army only needs to send another army out of the mountain pass, and how can we have the spare strength to hold on to the results we have won? ”

Qin Jinxiao was silent, he knew that his subordinates were only 2,000 people, and although Hu Jiusi and other friendly troops numbered 10,000 people, how could they really get on the stage? Hou Liangzhu is strong and has a stable rear, even if he loses, he will continue to send troops to attack, but once he is injured, he will have no chance to turn over, and it is impossible to expect Zhao Dangshi to divide troops to help, because now facing Hong Chengchou's army, the pressure on his shoulders is not less than his own.

This is the reality, so if he wants to hold the mountain pass before the battle in the north fails, Qin Jinxiao can only try to pursue low battle losses, in other words, he can't afford to exchange battle losses with Shen Yinglong. Qin Qigong saw this, so he took the "folding stick" as a guide.

"However, at present, there are three dangers in the south of Ningqiang, Shen Yinglong has accounted for the second, and Liang Shizheng is difficult to support alone, if he does not rescue as soon as possible, once Hengliangzi falls into his hands again, then the whole situation will be extremely unfavorable to our army." Some generals couldn't help but say.

"Then let me ask first, what is the strength of this Sichuan army?"

"Okay." The general who was questioned thought about it and held back a sentence. But everyone knows that this is just a statement he made in order to give his soldiers and horses a long face in front of President Qian, and he can beat the three robbers in northern Sichuan to the point that they have no power to fight back and have been defeated in a row.

Qin Qigong took over and said: "Hou Liangzhu, the general in Sichuan, since the rebellion of Lu'an, has made great contributions, and his troops are not only the athletes in Sichuan, but also mixed with the local soldiers of various divisions, Yunguang wolf soldiers and Mao Hulu soldiers, etc., and their combat power is extraordinary. Even if our army fights head-on with it, it may not have the upper hand. Now, even if you win with one blow and can save Hengliangzi, how can you capture Baishiya and Persimmon Ya, which are known as natural dangers? Speaking of this, he raised his voice, "Liang Shizheng was saved, but Baishiya and Persimmon Ya are still in the hands of the Sichuan army, and the situation has not changed substantially. ”

"If you can't save it, if you don't save it, it's even more difficult, so what's the point?" Qin Jinxiao sighed and lowered his gaze. When he asked Zhao Dangshi for his life, he didn't think much about it, and it wasn't until he was really in the game that he realized that reality could not be faced simply by relying on his enthusiasm. After listening to Qin Qigong's analysis, he suddenly felt a little discouraged and had mixed emotions, but this time, what he was worried about was not failure, but worried that he would not be able to complete Zhao Dangshi's entrustment and affect the situation of the whole army.

Many generals were also thoughtful at this time, and the environment that was still a little noisy gradually became quiet at this time. Qin Qigong looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, although the matter is urgent, it has not reached a helpless situation. As long as it is properly arranged, there is still a chance to win. ”

Qin Jinxiao knew that Qin Qigong had said so much foreshadowing, and he must have an idea, so he said: "Please talk about joining the army." ”

Qin Qigong walked to the map of southern Shaanxi hanging on the side, nodded a little with a pointed bamboo stick, and said: "Fight snakes and fight seven inches, and the same is true for dealing with the enemy army, everyone, now, the Sichuan army has an advantage in Ningqiang Prefecture, but it cannot be said that there are no flaws!" ”

Qin Jin Xiaoxiao looked at the place pointed by his bamboo stick, and couldn't help but read out the name of the place in passing: "Huangba? ”

Qin Qigong nodded and said: "Huangba and Qipanguan are both important places in the throat of Sichuan, Huangba Road is small, Qipan Road is large, and from then on, the two places are all attributed to Guangyuan." At present, there are 1,500 people from Luo Wenyuan stationed in Qipanguan, but the defenders of Huangba, Zhang Sheng and Yuan Hua, have been killed by General Lian a few days ago, and their troops are empty. ”

A military general frowned and said: "Although the Yellow Dam is empty, the beam is urgent, and there is an urgency. ”

Qin Qigong shook his head lightly and said: "This is a bad statement, only by attacking the Yellow Dam can we solve the siege of Hengliangzi." ”

At this time, there were already some far-sighted generals who saw the clues, Qin Jinxiao was experienced, clear at a glance, and his spirit was sharply lifted, and said: "What does it mean to join the army, encircling Wei to save Zhao?" ”

Qin Qigong smiled and replied: "Qian is always wise." If this plan is successful, the land of Hannan will be under my control! ”