Guo Weiquan, the chief military officer of Yulin Town, was really ruthless this time, according to the agreement between Qian Zanhua and him, Chongzhen fired artillery on November 18 of the first year of Chongzhen, and sent troops this time to gain fame and fortune, otherwise this year will really be over

Fortunately, this time, the prefectures and counties along the way of Yansui are also thinking about it, in order to keep the official hat, there is no difficulty for the army to go out this time, and the supply along the way is no longer deducted, and under this big environment and crisis, it is rare for the Ming Dynasty to cooperate with the civil and military, and everything is smooth

Before the army could get Mizhi, Qian Zanhua, who was in charge of Mizhi, reported urgently overnight that the Woniu Mountain Thieves had already moved to the village, and it was extremely bad at this moment, how could the chief military officer Guo Weiquan watch the New Year's goods and his big benefactor escape, in his opinion, it was a boiled duck, how could he let him fly

So people don't take off their armor and horses, they don't take off their saddles, they ask for grain and grass and baggage, and they go directly through the city to kill and run to Woniu Mountain

When I arrived in front of Woniu Mountain, I only saw a big flag flying high above the high walled tower, with a white circle on a red background, and a big black character broke through in the cold north wind, fluttering, flying, stretching, and there was half a figure there

Can't stay and hurry up and continue the pursuit

But after chasing again for a few days, there were some accidents when pursuing, that is, although the eleven officers and soldiers were the elite of their own careful selection, but after all, after a few months of dealing with the Tartars, there was no military salary, and even the rations were all with the last meal, and the next meal was hungry, and the physical strength was not enough to make up for these few full meals, so the pursuing team was getting longer and longer, and the marching speed was getting slower and slower, although you emphasized that catching up with the thief had a reward for nothing, and a car of white rice and white noodles, but the mind and legs and feet really no longer cooperated

At this time, the deputy chief soldier Gong Weixian beat his horse and ran forward, chased after him in front of the chief soldier, turned over and dismounted, knelt down on one knee and saluted: "My lord, this is not good, so everyone can only chase all the way down and eat dirt behind those thieves, where can they still catch up, even if they catch up, everyone is too tired to fight."

Guo Weiquan looked at the gloomy mountains in the distance, and then looked at the soldiers behind him who were panting with knives and guns, and shook his head helplessly: "It can only be like this, no matter how fast it is, everyone will be really exhausted without waiting for the battle to start, and now I can only hope that the Xiangyong in front can block this group of thieves for the country for a day or two, and buy us some time."

Gong Weixian expressed his disdain for Dashuai's proposal, Xiang Yong is from a peasant background, where can these poles that have seen blood be compared, and they must not play any role in the number of people and horses, and it is better to expect the Xiang Yong who fights alone to succeed, it is better to expect the emperor to pay a salary

After all, in the eyes of these officials and soldiers, these thieves are extremely strong in the eyes of Xiang Yong

The most important thing is that those thieves are dazzling in vain, if they really pass through the hands of Xiang Yong, how many 30,000 brothers can they get, and they are still counting on him for the New Year

So he cautiously reminded: "It is still impossible for the marshal to count on Xiang Yong, the most important thing is that if Xiang Yong really stops the thieves, then those thieves should not be divided by those Xiang Yong."

As soon as these words came out, Guo Weiquan suddenly felt pain when he thought about it

"Then what do you see to do"

"Come to think of it, those rabble thieves are also the same as us, this escape must be exhausted, especially if they drag their families and mouths, they will be unbearable, please hand over the cavalry to the last general, I will pursue in the starry night, as long as you catch up with a burst of slashing, you can beat the thieves to the ground, and the most unfortunate thing can also drag the thieves, and wait for the team to arrive at the end of the battle."

Guo Weiquan couldn't help nodding his head, and even praised the good plan, just thinking about it, Man said: "This method is feasible, but it is a thief, after all, tens of thousands of your cavalry before are still thin, and at the same time, if you fight the thieves in a rout, you will lose our income, after all, the imperial court stipulates that the head of a thief is one or two silver, and the governor is even more so that what is the star of the sky, and the head of the military advisor Lu Shi is a reward of five thousand taels, don't startle them."

Nazanhua also stepped forward and lay on his horse, panting and proposing: "What the marshal said is that there are more than 10,000 thieves after all, and at the same time in the battle of Mizhi, those poles also see that this thief is strong and careless, so his subordinates suggest that 600 cavalry be dispatched, and 3,000 warriors with full physical strength should be selected among the foot soldiers, so as to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"What Mr. said is reasonable, this is the perfect solution," Guo Weiquan nodded in agreement

Therefore, according to this plan, the officers and soldiers dispatched 600 elite horsemen, selected 3,000 strong and able-bodied men, equipped with complete armor, swords, and guns, and set out for the pursuit overnight after resting for an hour

Before the army set off, Guo Weiquan repeatedly told Gong Weixian: "Brother Xian, if you catch up with the thieves, you must not Meng Lang, as long as you hold them back, and wait until the army arrives, it will be victory."

"Don't worry, the marshal will live up to the trust of the marshal," he suddenly got up, flew on his horse, and shouted to the subordinates who followed, Gong Weixian, and shouted with high spirits: "Sons, the Mongolian Tartars have been driven away by us, are these rabbles still under our words, catch up, bite them, destroy them, kill cattle for the New Year?"

Three thousand well-fed and well-fed foot soldiers were like rainbows for a while, and the killing intent was boundless, and the palace shouted with Gong Weixian: "Kill the cow for the New Year, kill the cow for the New Year"

"Departure" Gong Weixian took the lead and rushed into the boundless darkness

Looking at Guo Weiquan, who was gradually moving away, he couldn't bear to turn around for a long time, these are all brothers who have followed him for many years, although he is completely sure to exterminate those rabble, but he is faintly uneasy in his heart

Zanhua, who was standing behind him, coughed a few times, and saw that Da Shuai was still standing there silently, looking at his subordinates who had disappeared in the distance, and whispered: "Da Shuai, the weather is late, let's go back to the tent to rest."

"Hmm," Guo Weiquan agreed, but still didn't turn back, and said with a light smile: "Lord Gong Weixian is also a cautious person, and there are three thousand elites, the worst of which is to be stuck with thieves, as long as tomorrow the army will press 10,000 and 10,000 soldiers, and the army will deal with 10,000 old and weak women and children, then what suspense is there?"

Guo Weiquan nodded quietly, of course he knew this, but there was an inexplicable uneasiness lingering in his heart, and he couldn't see that the people and horses had gone far, and it was too late to do anything, so he had to silently turn around and walk into the barracks, waiting for tomorrow to urge the army to advance again

Gong Weixian took the 3,600 elites who were full of food and drink overnight, and continued to chase the thieves in Woniu Mountain, and for a while, the torches were lit in the sky, like a winding dragon, rolling along the endless Wuding River Valley, shouting, shouting, complaining, and talking loudly about the rewards and military exploits after the thieves, disturbing the beasts in the mountains and forests on both sides of the valley, and the birds flew away

On the top of a cliff, a few hutches of thatch under a few large trees were in the midst of this shouting and noise, and there was no wind for a few moments, and then it was calm again

As the long fiery dragon faded away, the thatch slowly parted to reveal three tired and nervous faces

A young face looked at the valley floor again, listened attentively, and then retracted and whispered to another man: "Uncle Zhang, the official army has passed, should we go back and report to Captain Geng Kui?"

That Uncle Zhang continued to listen intently to the sound of marching along the north wind, and then he whispered: "It seems that after the end of the puppy, you night owl can see clearly."

"Put it down, Uncle Zhang, I definitely didn't eat all kinds of livers for a month and a half, plus my natural good eyesight, I will definitely not be wrong," the little dog said in a low voice without showing off

"Don't brag about how many officers and soldiers there are in the past," Lao Zhang asked with a frown in the dark

Needing to feel the displeasure of the team leader, the little dog hurriedly replied solemnly: "There are about three thousand foot soldiers, no less than five hundred, and less than three thousand in total, less than four thousand."

"To be specific, young man, don't do anything, it's probably possible, if you let King Chuang know, you will definitely be sent to the baggage team," the young man is so impetuous Mao Chao

"Three thousand five hundred," the little dog replied affirmatively, after thinking for a moment

"Lao Li, have you counted, in general," he turned around and whispered to another prison sergeant brother, confirming that this is the rule of the prison sergeant's patrol, a matter must be determined by two people before it can be reported to one person, and the report is not counted unless there are special circumstances

Another head nodded quietly and affirmed: "The number of the puppy is about the same as my counting, it should be this number."

"That's fine, now I order the little dog to go down the mountain immediately, take a shortcut behind the mountain and rush to the front, be sure to report this number to Captain Geng Kui before the official army, there must be no mistake"

"Yes," the little dog nodded, quietly stepped back, and then stood up in a place where he couldn't see on the river valley, tightened his leggings and belt, straightened his waist knife, and gave the knife to Lao Zhang, and then disappeared quickly and flexibly like a lynx, in the reckless jungle, it seemed that a month and a half of good food and hard training were not in vain

Lao Zhang watched the puppy disappear and turned his head to Lao Li and said: "Lao Li, you squat here, don't move, take care of the river valley, once you find that there are still officials and soldiers passing through, immediately report the news to Captain Geng Kui."

"Yes", and then carefully covered the thatch on his head and body, and in a blink of an eye, it turned into a rock, and merged with the heavens, the earth, and the mountains

Lao Zhang also retreated to the back, carefully sorted out the leggings and belts, and the waist knife looked at the sparse stars in the sky, discerned the next direction, and slowly sneaked in the direction where the Mizhi officers and soldiers came, he had to find out where the remaining brigade of the officers and soldiers was, what they were doing, and then pass the specific news to the brothers along the way one by one, and pass it to the ears of Captain Geng Kui, so that he could be considered to have completed the task