When Li Zhong chased after him with his troops, Luo Rucai's troops had already left, and they were divided into six groups and went in different directions.

Li Zhong had no choice but to send several more groups of scouts to track the enemy's tracks. He had only 4,000 men, and he did not dare to divide too much, so he could only pursue in three directions with battalions (1,000 men) as units, equipped with artillery and baggage troops. For the remaining three roads, he could only give Qian Er an order to send three people to pursue the other three.

Although he has 10,000 men under his command, although he does not need him to guard the county seat, he still has to leave some people to guard several larger villages. There was a lot of their supplies there, and there was no room for error.

Li Zhong asked the troops to rest for a while, and then divided his troops and began to pursue. They carried enough baggage ammunition to withstand even when surrounded by enemies. To be on the safe side, Li Zhong had already informed the recruit training camp in Qixian County that he was ready to come out to reinforce them at any time.

He didn't dare to use Feng Cheng's troops, although Feng Cheng's troops were stronger than the recruit team, but it was Li Yan's designation to defend the county seat of Qixian County, and he could only use the recruit team to save the emergency. Fortunately, the recruits have been training for two months, which can be regarded as almost training. When three thousand people come out, there is always some deterrent.

Li Zhong pursued Luo Rucai's team, because it was the largest one. And he was also the largest group after the division of troops, so the commanders of the two armies met together.

Li Zhong chased all the way, always staying within five miles of Luo Rucai's team. As long as Luo Rucai stopped and wanted to besiege the fortress, he would be able to arrive in time with his troops.

This made Luo Rucai very depressed, he turned around and fought Li Zhong once, but Li Zhong immediately formed a phalanx, and he had no way to attack for a while. So he didn't waste any more time and the lives of his men, and continued along the road with his troops to the east.

After nightfall, Li Zhong camped outside a small village. They camped with their backs to the villages, not only could they get supplies and drinking water, but they also didn't have to worry too much about the night attacks of the thieves, so that the troops could rest.

In the second half of the night, Luo Rucai led the troops to the place where Li Zhong was camped. He was in the distance, and said with a smile: "Hmph, he thinks that by camping on the edge of this small village, he can keep him safe?" Get ready, don't make a sound, and lean over quietly. As long as they get closer, their artillery is useless. ”

The subordinate arched his hand and said, "My subordinates understand." ”

They did not let the cavalry approach, but only let the infantry quietly touch Li Zhong's camp. They were all very careful, each with a branch in their mouths to prevent the team from making noise.

However, Li Zhong lit a lot of bonfires at a distance of one hundred and fifty paces from the team, and arranged for a few soldiers to guard the bonfires there.

The soldiers were tired, and it was easier to get sleepy by the fire in winter, so the soldiers were dozing. By the time the soldiers guarding the fire noticed that the thieves had appeared closer, they were only a dozen paces away. Although they were surprised, they reminded their companions loudly. In their panic, they did not run away, but picked up the gong and began to bang it as fast as they could.

The sound of gongs "bang", "bang", "bang" is very harsh in the quiet night. Li Zhong's vigilant troops immediately prepared for defense, especially the artillery units, and they were immediately ready to fire. The soldiers who were resting in the tents quickly came out of the tents and came to their combat positions. They didn't take off their armor at all, so they could be ready for battle in half an hour.

"Boom", "boom" cannon fire, and "boom", "boom" bomb explosions sounded.

"Bad luck!" The subordinates beside Luo Rucai said angrily: "It's just a little bit!" ”

Luo Rucai also said angrily: "Drumming! Let them rush for me! If they can't rush up, I won't let them live when they come back! ”

The drums of "Knock" and "Knock" sounded, and after hesitating for a moment, the thieves still rushed towards Li Zhong's army with a shout. Although they couldn't see anything clearly in front of them because they had been blown up by the artillery shells of the officers and soldiers, and the people around them would scream or be knocked down without a sound from time to time, they still rushed forward. Although Luo Rucai generally does not make ruthless moves, but in the end, it is the boss of the rebel army that makes them fearful.

Li Zhong also came out of the tent, looked at the thieves who rushed out of the smoke like a tide, and said with a smile: "Finally let go and attack, this is the best way." ”

Judging from today's one-day contact, he found that this gang of thieves is relatively slippery, and generally does not let go to attack them. It's just a tentative hit, and then it's going to run away. Although there were a few battles today, the total number of enemies destroyed was only a few hundred. He was a little like he was going to send a letter to Li Yan asking for help, and he couldn't wipe out such a thief with 10,000 troops. But seeing that the thieves had finally launched a strong attack, he was also relieved.

"Crossbow arrows, aim, release!" The captains slashed their swords off their heads and commanded loudly.

The crossbowman fires his bolts at the rogue who rushes towards them. Then came the second row, the third row. The bolts were fired like locusts, knocking down batch after batch of thieves who had managed to burst out of the explosion and buckshot.

At this time, the artillery fire still did not stop. Their firing did not make the number of rogues who rushed close not very large, so the crossbow arrows could block the rogues from twenty or thirty paces away.

Just as Li Zhong and the officers were watching the soldiers' performance relaxedly, the sword and shield men and pikemen in the front row of the east suddenly shouted, followed by the sound of weapons clashing. Suddenly an enemy appeared in front of them, and they had to stand up and fight the enemy, blocking the crossbowmen behind them and keeping the enemy in the east approaching.

"What's going on?!" Li Zhong asked nervously.

But no one could answer his question, and no one knew how the enemy had suddenly appeared in front of the sword and shield man.

Li Zhong didn't care about asking for answers at this time, the most important thing now was to repel these enemies. He ordered: "Grenadiers ready, go up immediately!" ”

The shouts of killing continued in the east, especially "Kill!" "Kill! The stabbing sound was still loud. It means that their pikemen are still holding out, or the crossbowmen behind them are also on top.

Half an hour later, the stabbing sound on the east side was much quieter, but there were already several rows of thieves in front of them. At this point, the grenadiers finally rushed forward, lit the fuse, grabbed the rope twice, and threw it at the thieves outside the line. They had to throw their bombs farther away so as not to hurt their comrades.

"Boom", "boom" explosions sounded, knocking down a large area of the thieves who had gathered in front of the front.

The explosion panicked the thieves, but it relieved the pressure on the pikemen and shield bearers, restoring their confidence and strength. "Kill!" "Kill!" The stabbing sound became louder again.

...