Li Yan really did a good job, and at night, he took the troops out of the city with torches. By this time the people were asleep, and even if they heard any movement, by the time they got up to look, the soldiers were almost gone.

It's just that this is not Qixian County, which he controls tightly, but Guide City, which he has just received in his hand, so at noon the next day, the news that Li Yan led his troops to Luyi County overnight spread. On the third day, the camp of thieves, more than eighty miles away, received the same news.

"Tian Da is in charge," said a leader earnestly, "let's go to Fucheng for a while." ”

Tian Yong frowned, and said majestically: "Don't worry, I don't know if the news is true or not." ”

"It must be true," said the other leader, "the big families in the city are in a hurry, and some of them are packing up their things and preparing to go to the west to hide." ”

"Let's wait and see." Tian Yong still didn't let go.

The leaders below continued to persuade: "Leader, you have to make a quick decision, otherwise there will be no chance."

"Yes, Master Tian, if you don't go, our brother will have to go."

……

After several successful extortions of food, the leaders became very confident. They felt that the officials and soldiers were all soft eggs, as long as they surrounded the city, and the guarding officers and soldiers did not dare to come out to fight, the rich families in the city would naturally send them food.

Although they got a few thousand stones of grain, they also had a lot of people. There are many people who join the ranks of thieves with their families, and these grains can be eaten for a month or two at most, and if they don't go out to find some new channels, they will sit and eat empty.

Seeing the one-sided requests of the leaders below to go to Guide City to grab food, Tian Yong was also a little difficult to ride a tiger. He was just an alliance leader, and if he insisted on disagreeing, these people would have taken their people with them in a blink of an eye, and he only had five or six thousand people in his own team. This kind of strength is not enough to compete with Li Yan.

So he pressed his hand and quieted everyone down, and then said: "Since all the brothers want to go to Fucheng to get a handful, then everyone should prepare now, let's fight quickly Today, we will set off overnight and surround Fucheng tomorrow morning." Even if Li Yan comes back with his troops, we will already succeed. ”

"It's still the courage of Tian Da to be in charge"

"Tian Dangjia is wise"

……

The leaders shouted compliments happily.

Tian Yong waved his hand and ordered, "Okay, everyone hurry back and prepare." This time the old camp did not move, leaving some guards. Set off in two hours, and if you are not ready, you don't have to go. ”

Everyone agreed in a hurry, and then immediately went back to prepare. This "Second Brother Tian" is a man of his word, if they are not ready by then, then they really won't let them go, and the food they get naturally has nothing to do with them.

After the leaders left, Tian Yong instructed his henchmen: "Send someone to the city to investigate quickly, and report every ten miles." ”

"Obey" the subordinate agreed, and immediately went to do it.

Then he instructed, "Check the trebuchet to make sure it works." Fucheng is no better than those county towns, and if they don't fire a few shells, they won't pay grain obediently. ”

"Order"

Tian Yong calculated the time in his heart, now Li Yan should have arrived in Luyi County, and when Li Yan gets the news and rushes back with the troops, he should have left with food, and it depends on whether Li Yan dares to pursue. However, as far as he knew, Li Yan did not have many cavalry, and if the infantry came to chase him, he was not afraid.

At this time, Li Yan did not go to Luyi County, but hid in Hekou Village, twenty miles south of Fucheng. This is a large stockade, with more than 100 households, and there is no problem at all to hide the strength of their two wings.

And in Luyi County, he did send a team of 100 troops over, but not from him, but let Li Zhong send troops from Qi County. Tuocheng County and Luyi County had only sent one hundred-man team each to control the county seat, and had not yet begun to distribute fields. This time, people were sent over to make some preparations for the resettlement of the displaced people. After he defeats this big group of thieves here, he will have the spare strength to start controlling these two counties.

Li Yan stood on the wall of Hekou Village, and could clearly see the tall walls of Fucheng.

"They've all been sent out, right?" He asked.

Sun Sifu nodded and said: "It will be sent out at dawn, and there will be a person almost ten miles along the way, if there is a situation, I will be able to report back soon." ”

Li Yan asked again: "When will the tiger squat cannon arrive?" When he decided to go out of the city to lure the enemy, he sent someone to inform Qixian and send the tiger squat cannon over.

"I'll be here tomorrow morning at the latest." Sun Sifu replied.

"Is there any news from Li Mu?" Li Yan asked again. This time, he planned to fight hard, and strive to eliminate a large number of thieves before the official army entered Henan. So he asked Li Mu of Suizhou to also draw the strength of two wings to hide in Li Zhuang in the northeast of Fucheng, and when the thieves came, they would attack with him and defeat the thieves.

Sun Sifu immediately replied: "There is no news yet, and it may not have arrived at the place yet." ”

Li Yan nodded and didn't say anything. He figured that the thieves wouldn't be coming soon, they still had time.

After waiting for a while, he ordered: "Send someone to Ningling to wait, let the tiger squat cannon be divided into two parts, one part will go to Li Zhuang to join Li Mu, and the other part will come here." ”

"Obey" Sun Sifu hugged his fists and agreed, and immediately went to arrange manpower.

Li Yan was still standing on the wall, he was worried about whether the Tiger Squat Cannon would have enough ammunition. Before, he asked Wang Renhui to adjust the lead, so the production of ammunition stopped. I don't know if Wang Renhui has adjusted it now, and whether the bomb has started production according to the new lead specifications.

He still has two cannons, Li Mu doesn't even have one, and the remaining two are left to Li Zhong in Qixian. He had sent people to inspect the artillery in other counties, and there was no gun of the same model as the one he used. They are basically medium-sized Frankie or iron cannons, with a short range, small power, and large weight, which are of little use in field combat, and also occupy the position of the crossbowman, affecting the firepower output.

And the quality of these cannons is not very good, with their new gunpowder recipe test, with eighty percent of the charge can be blown up. There was also a shortage of shells, and they had to be molded and cast. So he didn't use these cannons as field guns, but left them on the city walls so that they could exert some power when defending the city.

In fact, what he is worried about now is what he will do if the thieves do not come to Fucheng. If it was just to expel the thieves, it would not be the result he wanted. He also wants to let the thief be a vicious dog for him after severely invading the thief, otherwise those officials and gentry will be as unlucky as the iron rooster, and he will not have a good time this year.

...