Chapter 1 Autumnal Equinox

"Woo-woo-woo-woo!" The low sound of horns pierced through the night and echoed on both sides of the Zhangshui River. The two barracks facing each other across the river were lifeless, and they were not caused by the sound of horns. Since more than half a month ago, both sides have become accustomed to this boring silence. No one doubted that the enemy would step on the frozen river and take advantage of the darkness to kill, and no one had the idea of a night attack.

Not only are the soldiers accustomed to this kind of boring confrontation, but even the small animals on both sides of the Zhangshui River are also accustomed to the long and low sound of horns. They go out at night to forage for food, and they should dig snow and burrow, as if the behemoth stationed nearby is not a military camp at all. Only the crow, dizzy from hunger, occasionally stretched its frozen neck in protest, "Wow! "Wow!" , urging the battle to start as soon as possible.

As soon as the battle begins, it means that flesh and blood fly, and it means countless delicacies. It's a pity that they didn't expect the battle they should have before they froze to death. As if there was a tacit understanding, no one would step across the Zhangshui River, which had become very narrow. Neither of them would be the first to shoot the first arrow at the other.

"Sigh shh The old man of the stable also hissed unwillingly. They are in their twilight years, and perhaps this battle will be the last of their lives. But the masters did not understand their impatience in the slightest, and only added a little night grass to the lanterns, and then yawned and went back to the tent to rest.

"Let's go to sleep! Safe! Cheng Wei Deshen of Guixiang County covered his mouth with his hand and sighed tiredly. The long confrontation made his whole body full of sourness. If he can really be the master of this team, he would rather rush across the river and fight the enemy happily, whether he wins or loses, at least he is worthy of the official robe on his body. But he is only the county governor of Guixiang County, Wuyang County, and there are still a lot of this master book and that master book on top of him, and he has the ambition to serve the country but he is powerless to use.

Chu Wanjun, the chief bookkeeper in charge of grain, grass and military quartermasters, glanced at him coldly, and began to clean up the mess on the table. Most of the so-called maps and rice chips are put on display. Wuyang County Taishou Yuan Treasure has long ordered that as long as the thieves and soldiers are not in Zhangshui, the soldiers of Wuyang County must not take the initiative to come forward, so as not to set themselves on fire. The reason is: If Youwuhou can defeat Zhang Jincheng, he can't go to Wuyang County to cause chaos. On the contrary, if even the right Wuhou is defeated, the soldiers of Wuyang County will be given in vain. It's better to guard your own one-third of an acre, so as not to steal chickens instead of eating rice!

Seeing Chu Wanjun take the lead in cleaning up the table, the other chief bookkeepers and warehouses also stretched their waists and stood up. After a peaceful day, although everyone was tired, they were still in a very happy mood. After all, there was no real fight, and although there were not many thieves on the other side of the river, they were all cavalry! Wuyang County soldiers rely on two legs to fight four legs, even if they are lucky enough to win a half, how much bargain can they get? It's better to be like now, with static braking, to respond to all changes. Only crazy people like Wei Deshen and Wei Zheng always think of sacrificing their lives for righteousness.

Shi Weizheng, the magistrate of Wuyang County, was the only one who didn't follow everyone to clean up, and he had a huge map in front of him, almost covering most of the Hebei Province south of Zhuo County and north of the Yellow River. Major roads, mountains, and rivers are clearly marked, and some strategic locations can be painted red with cinnabar to show the difference from ordinary locations.

Staring at the two Zhangshui and Yongji canals that run through Hebei Province, Wei Zheng's brows were tightly locked. In his eyes, no incident was ever isolated. Everything has an effect, but there must be a cause. A series of seemingly unrelated events linked together may constitute a shocking conspiracy. As long as we grasp the key points, it is possible to anticipate the enemy's opportunity first, or even to preempt the enemy, and turn the tide at a critical juncture.

Wang Ermao has been stationed in Qingzhang County for more than 20 days, and Yang Shanhui led the county soldiers through Ping'en, and it has been ten days since they arrived in Handan. Ten days ago, Wang Ermao's thief army and Yang Shanhui's army were only more than 20 miles apart from each other at the nearest time. Based on Wei Zheng's understanding of the Qinghe County Chengyang Benevolence Association, this duke is by no means an open-minded master who has suffered losses but never wants to get back to the field. And the performance of the king thief Ermao in the past six months is like a mad dog, as long as he sees the banner of the Great Sui, he will definitely pounce on it and bite twice.

Those who should be looking for a field are not looking for a field, and those who should be crazy are not crazy, could it be that they all have more important things in their hearts? Yang Shanhui has important things in his heart, Wei Zheng can guess how much. This duke stationed the county soldiers in Handan, just to wait for the critical moment to come forward to "pick the fruit"! Zhang Jin said that in case of defeat, he would definitely retreat to Juluze. At that time, Yang Shanhui only needs to advance his troops and horses for twenty miles, and he can firmly block Zhang Jincheng's retreat.

But what does Wang Ermao want to do? Wei Zheng couldn't guess. If it is said that this person is stationed in Qingzhang to intercept the soldiers of Wuyang County from crossing the river, he will bring a little less people. If it weren't for the three orders of the county shou yuan treasure and the five shen not to take the initiative to make trouble, Wei Zheng dared to guarantee that as long as the county soldiers under his command came to a flat push, they could easily break through Wang Ermao's defense line! There may be losses, but the losses can definitely be controlled within the tolerance range of Wuyang County!

If Wang Ermao hangs his master Qingzhang, it is intended to deter, right? It doesn't seem quite right. It is true that thieves can adopt the rogue strategy of "you hit yours, I hit mine". As long as the soldiers of Wuyang County crossed the Zhangshui, they immediately gave up Qingzhang, crossed the river in reverse, and took advantage of the weakness to enter Wuyang County to make trouble. But in that case, Wuyang County would lose a few fortresses at most, but the major counties in the county would not be breached by such a small number of thieves. On the other side of Zhangshui, Zhang Jin said that the headquarters may be attacked by the officers and troops of the two routes, and the situation will be very serious.

Studied but cannot comprehend! Wei Zheng had discussed the intentions of the thief army with many colleagues, but everyone either laughed at him for being unfounded, or thought very contemptuously that the thief soldiers were indiscriminate and should not be treated reasonably. If someone else arranged his troops like this, Wei Zheng could still accept the answers given by his colleagues. The person who can use soldiers is Cheng Mingzhen! For this newly rising opponent, Wei Zheng definitely didn't dare to take it lightly! This person can even be easily deceived by Yang Shanhui, how can he be a person who makes random moves? He must be playing some kind of conspiracy, but this conspiracy is too deep to be noticed for a while.

"Brother Xuancheng, it's okay! If you look at it again, you can't see the flowers from the map! Seeing that Wei Zheng was slow to move, all the civil and military officials laughed and joked. If Wei Zheng refuses to go back to the tent to rest, everyone will be embarrassed to go first. Although Wei Zheng's official position is not high, he is the most trusted confidant of Taishou Yuan Treasure. In case he said a few words in front of Yuan Baobao, everyone didn't want to have a chance to come out again in three years and five years.

"Oh! Look at my memory. Wei Zheng saw that all his colleagues were looking at him with shame, and he patted his head in shame, "What time is it?" You should rest but go back and rest, I'll use the rice chip to calculate again, and I'll sleep! ”

Seeing Wei Zheng's unfinished appearance, Chu Wanjun patted him on the shoulder, and asked with a smile, "What do you calculate?" Haven't we calculated it several times? Wang Ermao didn't have the courage to take the initiative to attack! As long as we don't cross the river, we can ensure the safety of Wuyang County! ”

"I want to calculate that in addition to Wuyang, where else can Wang Ermao deter?" Wei Zheng yawned, his face full of exhaustion. "Don't wait for me, everyone, I'm a night owl, and I'm more energetic at night than during the day!"

Well said! Several low-level staff members rolled their eyes in anger. You old man doesn't sleep, who dares not to serve with all his heart! The stomach was scolding and scolding, but everyone didn't dare to show the slightest slowness on their faces. As he got up, he responded with a smile, "Then I won't sleep until I wait, let's see what is new in Brother Xuancheng?" In case we are blinded by us, maybe we can wipe out Zhang Jincheng in one fell swoop! ”

The second half of the sentence is purely a pretext. Wei Zheng knew that he had provoked some people, so he shrugged his shoulders and replied very recklessly, "Although Wei is stupid, he also knows that since he has taken the imperial court's salary, he has to be worthy of this salary." Otherwise, in the future, others will talk about it, saying that Wei has a certain corpse vegetarian meal. Even if Wei can't hear himself, he can't sleep well at night. ”

When the words fell, many people immediately changed their faces. wanted to grab a handle and ridicule each other, but Wei Zhengping was very upright and self-disciplined, so it was really difficult for them to find any burrs. When he was holding back uncomfortable, Chu Wanjun, the chief bookkeeper of the march, stepped forward to do peace again, "Laugh, laugh." Brother Xuancheng said seriously. Everyone is an official of the imperial court, and the responsibility of guarding the land is how dare you easily forget! Come on, anyway, this night is long, and it's too late for everyone to listen to Xuancheng's analysis and then go to rest! ”

Hearing the words of the highest-ranking reserve bookkeeper, the others had no choice but to accompany them, whether they were happy or not. Seeing this, Wei Deshen, the county Cheng who had already walked to the door, also walked back with a smile, and slowly approached Yutu, laughing and laughing, "I said Brother Xuancheng, if you can't push a meridian today, you have to invite us all to have supper." On this cold day, it is a waste of physical strength to say a word more! ”

"Definitely, definitely!" Wei Zheng smiled and arched his hand. For Wei Deshen, the county Cheng who was also unruly, he had a little respect. Unlike other officials, although the county Cheng Wei Deshen always wanted to slip away early, he was not unintentional. On the contrary, it was precisely because his ambitions could not be displayed and he was always suppressed by the treasure of the county shou yuan, that Wei Deshen was very inactive about everything. If he was placed in front of the two armies, Wei Deshen always took the lead, and no matter how many enemy troops he faced, he didn't have any fear on his face.

"Then I'll bother Xuancheng later!" Hearing that Wei Zheng was willing to break the cost, everyone's spirits were lifted again. There is not much oil and water among the county soldiers, and there are only a few people who have the power to speak in terms of money and food. And Wei Zheng is just one of these few people, sometimes he says a word, which is more effective than Chu Wanjun, who is in charge of grain and grass.

"If I can deal a heavy blow to the enemy, I will hold a banquet in the Drunken Wind Building to celebrate everyone's success when I go back!" Taking over everyone's words, Wei Zheng struck while the iron was hot. "I always felt the need to explore the depths across the river. Otherwise, everyone will not be able to sleep every day! ”

"It's long overdue!" Wei Deshen slapped the table hard and responded first. "It's real or false, let's talk about it after the fight! Always waiting for some bird to plan, we are officials, they are thieves. Since ancient times, only officers and soldiers have caught thieves, who has ever heard of thieves catching officers and soldiers? ”

All the officials looked sideways, and they were deeply disdainful of Wei De in their hearts. There is nothing in the world, just this kind of mediocre person likes to light fires everywhere. Doesn't war kill people? With such a small amount of money, is it worth everyone's life?

"It's not a simple battle to cross the river, but to block the enemy army and make sure that he can't play more tricks!" Before everyone could speak out and squeeze Wei Deshen, Wei Zheng had already slammed his knuckles on the map, "I took a closer look, the thief army Chen Shi Qingzhang, there are three places that are most likely to be deterred. One is the neighboring Qinghe County, where the canal and Zhangshui are now frozen, and the thieves can drive straight into it without looking for a ferry. They are all cavalry, and they can kill under the county town of Qinghe in one day and night. At that time, Yang Shanhui may only be able to return to the army to save his lair first! ”

The officials of Wuyang County did not have much of a good impression of Yang Shanhui, and when they heard Wei Zheng's analysis, instead of being anxious, they gloated, "It's useless to go back to the teacher." The king thief can run very well. Last time, he brought all the soldiers, and Yang Shancheng couldn't catch up with him even though he tried his best to chase him, and in the end, he was lured into the fox depression instead......"

Wei Zheng raised his head and glanced sideways to speak, glaring at the other party's "amazing words" in the second half of his stomach. They are all officials of the Great Sui, but some people like to draw the ground as a prison. Qinghe County was robbed by thieves, can Wuyang County get a bargain? At that time, the people who have no food to eat will flock to the south, and Wuyang County will not be the brunt of it?

This is obviously not the time to know what is righteous. If it is said that the neighbor is beggar, no one has done more than the treasure of the county guard. Wei Zheng understood the truth in his heart, so he didn't delve into it, "Yang Shanhui has already passed Zhangshui, but Wang Ermao didn't take the opportunity to kill Xiang Qinghe, which shows that his main purpose is not to deter Yang Shanhui!" And I waited here for a long time, but the king thief did not move, and it is estimated that he is not very interested in Wuyang County! ”

"If he dares to cross the river, let's let him have no return!" The officials pouted, seven disobeyed and eight should not. I thought that Wei Zheng could still plan some amazing and brilliant tune, but it was still the same as a few days ago. Do you still need you Wei Zheng to say this? As early as a month ago, the county keeper had sat down and prepared accordingly.

"Don't forget, everyone, that all his troops are cavalry. Yang Shan will not be able to catch up with him, and we will not be able to catch up either! Glancing at everyone, Wei Zheng shook his head and bit the word cavalry very hard.

The officials did not understand the meaning of his words, and muttered disdainfully: "So what, they can't attack the city on horseback." As long as the local officials stop the thieves for a few days, we can flank them back and forth! ”

"He can dismount and attack the city. Even if the cavalry dismounts to fight, it is still cavalry. The range of infantry's deterrence is only one or twenty miles. The cavalry was able to make a long-distance attack on the target from a distance of 200 miles. And the opponent, who was two hundred miles away, would not have thought that a cavalry would attack him. When he shows up with the enemy and prepares, it's too late! ”

Although this sentence is winding, the truth is very clear. The officials have been accompanied by the golden drum every day these days, and they have some understanding of the war. They all nodded and responded in a low voice, "Xuancheng has a point. Now that the river is frozen, we should indeed remind the counties in the county to take strict precautions. Don't wait for us to chase after us, they have already lost the county! ”

Wei Zheng sighed and nodded slightly. Although everyone's attention is still limited to their own one-third of an acre of land, at least the attitude is not as careless as before. This made him feel a little more hopeful for the future in his heart, paused, and reminded in a very low voice, "We and Yang Shanhui are not a big threat to Zhang Jin. Therefore, even if this cavalry wants to implement the strategy of encircling Wei and saving Zhao, it should not hit the attention of our Qinghe and Wuyang counties, I just calculated carefully, if we take Qingzhang as the center of the circle and draw a circle with two hundred miles as the path......"

"Shhh Before Wei Zheng finished speaking, everyone gasped. Although their vision is a little short-sighted, after all, they are all local elites, and their thinking is far more agile than ordinary people. As soon as he was reminded at this moment, his eyes immediately began to drift outside Qingzhang City, and the farther he drifted, the more ugly his face became.

At the end of last summer, everyone had seen the advance of the cavalry. At that time, the treasure of the county shou yuan was still repeatedly deduced with everyone, how much time and how much price the official army had to go through before they could attack Liyang City step by step. Unexpectedly, Xiongwulang took Li Xu with only a few thousand cavalry to make a big detour, and killed the unprepared anti-thieves with lightning speed.

On that day, Liyang Shou General Yuan Wuben had tens of thousands of people, but he couldn't hold on for half a day. At this moment, the subordinates of Zhang Wenqi, the Taishou of Jijun, followed Feng Xiaoci to Fushan, in case Wang Ermao followed Li Xu's example and rushed for hundreds of miles, Liyang Cang, which was undefended, was simply a hard-boiled egg that had been stripped of its shell.

At this moment, even Chu Wanjun, the most stable marching master, changed his face, glared at Wei Zheng, and asked in a trembling voice, "Xuan Cheng, when did you think of it, why didn't you tell everyone earlier?" ”

"I just thought of it!" Wei Zheng smiled bitterly, "If it weren't for everyone saying that the cavalry was running fast, Yang Shan wouldn't be able to catch up, and I really wouldn't have been able to imagine it." After all, the county soldiers under our command are mainly foot soldiers, who has nothing to do with thinking about how the cavalry fights every day? ”

"This, this, what can I do?" Chu Wanjun rubbed his hands in a hurry, "You don't know the law of the imperial court. In case of the defeat of Old General Feng, he will definitely be held accountable. At that time, although we are innocent, I am afraid that we will inevitably suffer from the fish in the pond! ”

"In case the thief army takes Liyang Cang, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses can be gathered in an instant. Without the court's investigation, we don't have long to live! Cheng Wei Deshen of Guixiang County stretched out his hand and pulled Chu Wanjun to the side and emphasized loudly. At the moment, there are homeless people everywhere, and whoever gives them food will go with them. The grain in Liyang's warehouse is enough to feed an army of 200,000, Zhang Jin said that he has an army of 200,000, plus that Cheng Mingzhen, do we still have a way to live? Xuancheng, I will go to rob the camp overnight, and I will not give you the order. If Yuan Jun guards the post-mortem and investigates it, Wei would rather use his head to atone for the crime! ”

"Brother Deshen Gaoyi!" Wei Zheng smiled bitterly and nodded. "I heard the horns of the enemy just now, and they should be waiting for the best chance to make a move. Brother Deshen, you led your troops and horses across the river first, and made a detour from the south side, and then I and the other soldiers attacked from the front. Let's fight on both sides, desperately kill and wound some soldiers, and we can't let the thief army go south! ”

At this time, no one dared to say that Wei Deshen was belligerent. All the officials turned around and trotted to make preparations for the battle. Chu Wanjun was righteous, and before he went out, he turned around again and promised loudly, "Xuancheng, I will sign the book with you to repair the book to the county guard, and you don't want to carry the responsibility alone!" ”

"Yuan Junshou understands the righteousness, and may not hold us accountable! Brother Chu, I'll ask you to take care of it for me later! Wei Zheng shook his head and said very simply.

Chu Wanjun knew that Wei Zheng was a character who would rather be a broken jade, so he didn't fight with him about who would lead the charge. Nodding silently, he turned around and walked out of the account. The officials woke up the county soldiers who had already gone to bed in a panic and lined up in the biting cold wind. Then he hurriedly mobilized a few words, and then under the cover of night, he quickly touched the other side of the river.

Strange to say, they tossed such a big movement, but the thieves on the other side were unaware. Seeing that he was about to approach the gate of the enemy camp, Changshi Wei Zheng waved the command flag vigorously, "Sound the arrow, attack!" With that, he picked up a long lance, stepped on a string of white marks on the ice, and rushed straight to the black-pressed gate.

"Boom-" "Boom-" More than two dozen ringing arrows rose into the air alternately. Immediately, a low horn came from the south side of the enemy camp, "Woo, woo, woo......." In the roar of the tiger and the roar of the dragon, Cheng Wei Deshen of Guixiang County led more than 2,000 soldiers over the wall of the village and entered the sleeping camp.

"Set fire, set fire! Push straight in, don't fight! While rushing, Wei Deshen emphasized. He is the only general in this army who is both civil and military, and he knows the most critical means of night attack. In an instant, countless fires broke out in the camp of the thief army, red stars flew wildly, and black smoke billowed out.

Disaster is coming, and the enemy army has no time to make any resistance. A dozen minions escaped from their tents, jumped on their mounts, and fled for their lives. Wei Deshen shot one with a bow and arrow, and organized people to catch the other, but the rest couldn't catch up, so they had to watch them beat their horses away.

In the blink of an eye, the main force of soldiers and horses led by Wei Zheng also reached the core of the enemy camp. More than 7,000 county soldiers met victoriously, but there was no half of the joy of victory on their faces, and they scolded and cursed at the camp tent that was burned into a fire. "He's ***, an empty camp!"

"He's ***, he's been fooled!"

All the Wuyang officials looked at each other, and a sense of foreboding surged in their hearts. "You say, where did the thief go?" Wei Zheng recovered quickly, stepped forward and kicked the only captive, and shouted loudly.

"If you want to live, just be honest!" Wei Deshen grabbed a horizontal knife and slammed it on the captive's neck. "Tell me the whereabouts of the thief, and Lao Tzu will let you go. If you dare to talk nonsense, come and see ......"

With that, he swung his knife and slashed a wooden spear in unison. Then he came over quickly and set himself up in the same position as before.

The sleepy-eyed minion grinned, his face full of bad luck, "Of course I'm going to raid the old nest where you're waiting, do you need to ask?" Master Jun, you're too late. I have been waiting for you in the empty camp for days, why did you come! After that, he shrugged with a smile, "I'll go first, and the military masters will hurry up next time!" ”

"Don't!" Wei Zheng heard that the tone of this person's voice was wrong, and hurriedly reached out to pull it. Before his hand could reach the place, the captive turned his neck and listened to "Poof! With a bang, Wei Deshen's blade, which he didn't have time to retreat, cut deeply, and the splattered blood sprayed all over his body, dyeing Wei Zheng's hands red.

The blood-stained palms were so dazzling in the light of the torches.