On the afternoon of August 12, the northwest wind was still blowing in the mountains of Binh Lok Province, and the sun appeared and disappeared in the clouds.

A large area of Wu Gao's army in the hilly area to the west was slowly retreating. The two armies have been in a state of confrontation since yesterday, but only on the side of the vanguard of the Han army, there was a small fierce battle; And now the main forces of the enemy are beginning to retreat again.

Several generals around Zhu Gaoxu immediately rushed to pursue the enemy army!

But Zhu Gaoxu shook his head without hesitation and said, "The situation this time is completely different from the situation of pursuing Xue Lujun before. The terrain here is undulating, which is not conducive to the rapid advance of the army; Wu Gao also did not gather the main force of the army together. Moreover, the enemy army has not been defeated, and the morale and combat strength have not been damaged, if we are in a hurry to pursue, we will definitely be counterattacked by the enemy's main force. ”

Wu Gaojun's strength far exceeded Zhu Gaoxu's men; The Han army will lose its geographical advantage when it goes down the mountain, and the chances of winning the war are not great.

As for the orderly and slow retreat of the enemy, Zhu Gaoxu's pursuit with part of his forces would have been ineffective.

When Wu Gao counterattacked, it was very likely that he would outflank him by virtue of his superior forces; At that time, the Han army had no choice but to rescue the vanguard, and the scale of the battle would continue to expand, and finally turn into a decisive battle!

Zhu Gaoxu could not control everything in the army of nearly 60,000 people, he could only observe the general situation. So far, however, he has not seen anything to take advantage of; The whole campaign also lacked an incentive for him to gain confidence.

Just like the capture of Chengdu City, Wan Quan, the guard general of the Shu Palace, was the inducement for Zhu Gaoxu's confidence; He at least saw the possibility of winning......

A large area of the enemy army in the line of sight was slowly moving away, and the various units of the Han Wang's army were still holding their troops, and everyone gradually relaxed a little. The surrounding generals were talking, and the "buzzing" sound of talking around became more and more obvious.

The brim of Zhu Gaoxu's iron hat was pressed down to block out the glare of sunlight coming out of the clouds. He sat on the back of the horse and said nothing, looking thoughtful.

The first thing he thought of was the pontoon bridge being erected on the Lechuan water.

To persuade Governor Chen to refuse to build a bridge within half a day, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't find an effective way for a while. Because the prefect sent someone to apologize, it was obviously not to the extent of surrender, otherwise why didn't there even be a letter? Governor Chen was just worried that the official army would withdraw, so he temporarily wanted to leave a way back.

Even if the prefect Chen Yongsheng surrendered to the Han army, Wu Gao still had a way to cross the Lechuan River west. The river was too narrow, and the water on which the crossing was located was even narrower, and it was really not a barrier that could hold back the army, and it was only a matter of time before the river was crossed......

The Lechuan Water Ferry in the north of Pingle Fu City is composed of several very narrow sections of water. As long as there are enough boats and planks, the bridge is built quickly.

Zhu Gaoxu estimated that if Chen Yongsheng did not dare to disobey the military order under the supervision of the official army, then the pontoon bridge would be erected within today. Wu Gaojun is likely to cross the Lechuan River west overnight.

If you want to take the opportunity to attack Wu Gao, the Han army can only attack at night. A large-scale night attack is undoubtedly quite risky, let alone dealing with people like Wu Gao.

Based on Zhu Gaoxu's experience of fighting Wu Gao many times, he felt that this person sometimes neglected the fighter, but there was never any major negligence or mistake. Now that the two armies are close at hand, Wu Gao will definitely try his best to guard against it.

For a while, Zhu Gaoxu had a feeling that he couldn't eat, like gnawing on a walnut. However, it was because his troops were too small, otherwise he would have taken advantage of the situation to pursue and decide the victory in the hilly land to the west.

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly said: "You have to soak it in water before you can eat it." ”

The generals stopped talking and looked at him in confusion.

Zhu Gaoxu looked back and said: "We must find a way to weaken Wu Gaojun first, and then we can break it." He paused slightly, and finally made up his mind, "Order all the troops to camp on the hill on the spot." Today, everyone is resting, so as to recharge their energy! ”

Because Zhu Gaoxu personally led his troops to fight and was almost never defeated, his military orders were rarely questioned. The generals agreed.

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes fell on Zhao Ping and said, "The men and horses under the command of Vice General Zhao are on the northern slope; After that, the army will march north, and your men will be the vanguard. You take the striker and the baggage team from the hill down to the north, and then to the west, where there is a narrow part of the water of the Lechuan River; You build a boat bridge in that place, and before the fifth watch tomorrow morning, you must build it! ”

Zhao Ping hugged his fists and said: "The last general will be ordered!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while, then looked back left and right and said: "The official governments in Guangxi have all been ordered by the puppet emperor before; The military supplies of Wu Gao must mainly rely on the counties and towns of each prefecture. In the morning, the Chen Governor of Pingle City sent someone to reveal the news of preparing military rations for Wu Gao, so I guessed that the enemy army might be a little short of food.

To the north is the county seat of Yangshuo, and Wu Gao should want to go to the county seat of Yangshuo first, not only to get some military supplies, but also to rely on the pass to counterattack the pursuers.

So let's make a move to arrive in Yangshuo County first! Wu Gao knew in his heart that as long as we occupied the county seat first, we would be able to cut off the enemy's midway supply, and occupy a favorable terrain and attack the flank of Wu Gao's army with the help of the city.

The current position of our army is slightly closer to Yangshuo County; If Wu Gaoruo found out about our marching target, he could only speed up the march. In addition, it is very likely that they will cross the river at night tonight, and the enemy soldiers will be tired and tired all night, and if they force the march again, their physical strength and morale will be greatly weakened. ”

When everyone heard this, they all bowed down.

Originally, Zhu Gaoxu judged that Wu Gao wanted to go to He County first, take advantage of the time difference between Sheng Yong's troops and get rid of the dilemma of being attacked. Based on this, Zhu Gaoxu developed a set of coping strategies.

However, the battlefield is constantly changing. Today, Wu Gao decisively and quickly gave up the first battle, and temporarily changed his route and wanted to turn back to Guilin. Zhu Gaoxu could not have predicted these circumstances in advance, or at least it was difficult to determine.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu could only change his plan.

His new approach was a bit hasty. Throughout the afternoon, when the officers and men of the battalions began to repair, he was still refining the deployment one after another.

Zhu Gaoxu first wrote two letters and sent them to Chen Zhenbu's camp west of Pingle Mansion. One is a military newspaper forwarded to Sheng Yong, informing the specific military situation ahead. One was an order to Chen Zhen, telling Chen Zhen's more than 10,000 people to arrive in Pingle Mansion and immediately enter the city of Qiangfu and force down the prefect Chen Yongsheng and others, who had been shaken in their will.

Then he ordered the right Changshi of the Changshi Mansion and the Hou Hai who was also the leader of the Imperial Mansion to select a messenger who was not afraid of death from among the soldiers of the Northern Division and go to Pingle Mansion City again. The envoy will put forward the request of the Han army: order Chen Yongsheng to delay the delivery of 3,000 stone meters to the enemy.

Zhu Gaoxu originally wanted to ask for the 3,000 stone military rations, but considering the difficulty of implementation, he temporarily decided to make a compromise.

After all, if Chen Yongsheng only delayed time, it was much simpler, he could find a hundred reasons why he could not transport on time; But if Chen Yongsheng gave the military rations to the Han army, it would be equivalent to surrendering immediately.

…… The sky was getting darker, and in addition to the soldiers who took turns on duty, many of the soldiers went to bed early. Most of the people were very tired from marching for many days, and they fetched water and cooked in a few small ponds on the mountain, and after eating, they lay down in straw huts or tents to sleep.

Zhu Gaoxu's Chinese army was located on the northern slope. There is a small mountain village here, consisting of only a few courtyards, all of which are members of one clan; The strong man, the young lady and the daughter-in-law all ran away, leaving only the old and weak women and children. Most of the houses were requisitioned, leaving a courtyard for all the remaining civilians to live in.

Zhu Gaoxu sat in a tiled house, busy until now. From time to time, scouts came in to talk, and when there were no soldiers, he looked at the map and pondered things.

As a prince, Zhu Gaoxu's physical fatigue was less than that of a sergeant; He marched on horseback and spent most of his nights in private houses. Most of the houses on the way are more dilapidated, but they are also more comfortable than living in tents. But he must be the one who bothered the most.

At this moment, a voice outside the door said, "Lord Wang, Vice General Zhao asks to see you." ”

"Come in and talk." Zhu Gaoxu said.

Zhao Ping, who was lean and tall, walked in, saluted, and said: "According to the order of the prince, the last general's forward army has arrived at the Lechuan waterfront in the afternoon, and when the ships transferred to the upstream arrive tonight, the boat bridge can be built; Before the fifth watch tomorrow, it will be repaired. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, "Where we crossed the river yesterday, Wu Gao also managed to repair the bridge, and it is estimated that the enemy army will really cross the river tonight." I was about to send someone to deliver a message to General Zhao, and since you are here, I have one more thing to tell. ”

He waved his hand, and Zhao Ping walked to the table.

Zhu Gaoxu pointed to a map and said: "Judging from the location of the river crossing, Wu Gaojun will not take the same road as our army."

Look here, Yangshuo County is on the west bank of the Li River, and both the enemy and our armies are located on the east bank of the Li River; Therefore, I judged that after Wu Gaojun crossed the Lechuan River, he would cross the Li River, and then go straight to Yangshuo County along the official road.

Our army took the road to the north, which was closer. There is a ferry more than ten miles east of Yangshuo County, and General Zhao went first and sent people to build a boat bridge here; So that Wu Gao can decide that we want to cross the Li River and take Yangshuo County. This can give Wu Gao a sense of oppression and force him to speed up the march! ”

Zhao Ping hugged his fists and said: "The last general will be ordered!" ”

At this moment, there was a sudden "pop" sound, and Zhu Gaoxu looked up to see that the wooden door at the door was blown by a gust of wind and hit the wall. A strong cool breeze hit, and he faintly felt a little cold on his body.

"There is a report from the local people this morning that the weather has changed in the past two days, and it may rain to cool down, and General Zhao's men and horses must also prepare for the cold." Zhu Gaoxu said casually.

Zhao Ping responded, hugged his fists and said: "The last general will leave, and then rush back to the camp." ”

Zhu Gaoxu thought that Zhao Ping had become a striker this time, and he hadn't seen each other for at least a few days. He got up from his chair, personally sent Zhao Ping out, and ordered the guards to send a few hats.

Sure enough, cold raindrops gradually drifted in the sky, and the water droplets flickered faintly in the night in the lights, and the sound of "rust......ling" sounded between the sky and the earth.

Zhu Gaoxu watched Zhao Ping's figure disappear from the raindrops, and stood there thinking for a while.

Browse and read the address: