The battlefield under the twilight has long been calm, several fires are burning, the fallen soldiers lie quietly and neatly on the ground, and the living comrades accompany them, sobbing and whispering prayers for them, sending them on their last journey - according to the custom of the steppe, the remains of the war dead will be cremated, and their ashes will be brought back by their comrades and buried on the land of their homeland. During the day's battle, the young Fengzhou Iron Cavalry defeated the formidable enemy, leaving more than 460 corpses and fleeing in a hurry, but 355 of his comrades were never able to return to their hometowns, the largest loss since the formation of the Fengzhou army, exceeding the number of 312 killed in the last ambush on the Karaqin grassland.

Li Yu sat on the ground weakly, those fires were so dazzling, his heart was as uncomfortable as being pierced by a knife, since the end of last year to the present, three months of fighting, more than 700 soldiers died, Fengzhou lost so many young people at once, how uncomfortable the villagers would be! There was the mournful sound of Namu'er in the distance, and Li Yu couldn't help but cover his face with his hands, hung his head between his legs, and his shoulders couldn't stop shaking.

Someone quietly came to his side, a handkerchief was handed to him, Liu Xingzuo and Bai Xianzhi had already sat beside him, Liu Xingzuo said in a low voice: "Actually, I was the same as you when I was young, and I got used to it after I experienced more, but fortunately, we won, and the ashes of the brothers can be taken back." ”

"To be a soldier is to endure hardships and work hard, and when I was in Liaodong, there were many more people who died than this, and no one will remember them." Bai Xianzhi said bitterly, his descendant Zhang Chuanjiebu was hit hard again this time, and he was killed in battle, and there were not many soldiers left from Datong.

Li Yu raised his head, shook his head and said: "I don't want to fight anymore, I want to talk to Sakhalian, we won't fight with them, let the soldiers on both sides go home and reunite with their relatives, Sakhalian definitely doesn't want to fight either." ”

"No, you call it fornicating with the enemy, there may not be many people who do the right thing in the Ming Dynasty, but there are guys who like to make people around, and they are happy when someone is unlucky, and they don't care what you think." Bai Xianzhi hurriedly dissuaded.

Liu Xingzuo said in a low voice: "Just now I saw those big men running violently, it must be Sakhalian who beat them badly, and planned to find us to be angry, but our side fought very badly, they turned around and walked away, Yuzi, the Ming people in the Guanguan are not like the people outside our Guan, they have too many eyes and like to calculate, they can take advantage but are not willing to suffer, you have to guard against them." ”

In the camp of the Ming army, a few torches illuminated the big tent of the Chinese army, and the tired Liu Zhilun and the marshals looked at each other without saying a word, and the atmosphere of the tent seemed a little tense. After a long time, Liu Zhilun said in a low voice: "Today's battle our army defeated Jianyi and drove the enemy east of the Luan River, which is a rare victory for me in the Ming Dynasty. ”

You Shiwei shook his head and replied: "Today is just a fluke victory, and our army has suffered heavy casualties, it is unbearable to fight again, the family of each family is 1,500 people after this battle, there are less than 1,000 people left, and more than half of the 3,500 elite infantry soldiers have been lost, and I have also gone to see the Fengzhou Yi soldiers, except for the dead and wounded, there are only 1,000 people who can fight, and our army's food and grass and ordnance have not been replenished, how to fight again with such a weak and damaged division, we have already discussed, our army immediately retreated to the west to Santun Camp, and then waited for the opportunity to seize Zunhua, this is a safe policy. ”

"This is the best, not only to keep the Santun camp from losing, but also to threaten Zunhua at any time, this town has been in the army for most of its life, and a fierce enemy like Jianyi is also the first time to encounter it, so I have to make a long-term plan." Yang Zhaoji said weakly, his body was wrapped in a cloth slanted shoulder, this arrow shot really hard, penetrated the shoulder armor and shot into the body, almost hurting the bones, and the wound hurt when he spoke.

"The imperial court has issued an order to agree with us to attack Zunhua and Qian'an, the current situation is favorable to our army, we have suffered heavy casualties, and Jianyi has suffered more than 1,000 casualties, they must be in a dilemma at this time, you will not retreat, not only will you lose your previous efforts, but also give Jianyi a chance, if Jianyi pursues and kills, how do you deal with it?" Liu Zhilun asked with a sneer.

"Therefore, we are discussing leaving a group of men and horses to interfere with Jianyi, after all, Jianyi has just been frustrated, and he will not dare to go deeper, so the situation in Zunhua is still under the control of our army, how can it be said that the previous achievements have been wasted?" Yang Zhaoji suffered the heaviest losses in this battle, and there were only about 100 people left in the 300 families, and he was most anxious to withdraw his troops now, and he continued, "At present, only Vice General Li's men and horses can still fight, and the credit for hindering Jianyi will be left to him." ”

"This time the battle is undertaken by Vice General Li, but the credit is shared by you, and now you have handed over the matter of blocking the enemy to him, which of you has the face to tell him," Liu Zhilun was a little annoyed, and asked Yang Zhaoji again, "Liu Zeqing, the Shandong staff general under your command, is extremely shameless, and he has not been held accountable for escaping from the battle, and after he ran away from Jianyi, he sneaked back to grab the head, Yang Shuai, how do you plan to deal with this shameless man." ”

Yang Zhaoji bowed his head and was silent, this Liu Zeqing is also a strange thing in the Shandong army, he went to Liaodong to fight Jiannu, and he also went to Guizhou to beg for water thieves, and he was promoted unscathed soon after he went, this person can also go through the ** Baidao, it is said that he is also related to the White Lotus Cult, but he can reach the sky with his hands, and he is very comfortable in the officialdom of Shandong, and even some people in the court actually say that such an unknown petty official is a general, and the ghost knows what the background of this guy is, Even a high-ranking and powerful military leader like Yang Zhaoji didn't dare to touch him easily, but this time Liu Zeqing stole the head and suffered a big loss, the people of the Northwest didn't care how he ate on the ground in Shandong, and caught this thief who stole things and beat him up, if it weren't for the gang of Caozhou villagers who snatched him back, they would definitely beat him down.

"I told him to return the head." Yang Zhaoji finally spoke, and the Northwest Marshals immediately burst into laughter, their family beat Liu Zeqing badly, and the head was going to come back, even if this matter was settled, after all, it was impossible for a group of small soldiers to beat the general.

You Shiwei coughed and pulled the topic back again: "We did take advantage of the Fengzhou Iron Cavalry when we came out this time, but at present, all the departments of our army have been damaged, and only Vice General Li has the ability to block Jianyi, please Lord Liu and Vice General Li have a good talk, this time we will not share his credit, Lord Liu can take the credit of Vice General Li to the court." ”

"I can also submit a document to the Ministry of War to promote Deputy General Li, this kid is a general, and the court should be reused." Yang Zhaoji said.

Liu Zhilun felt disgusted for a while, that is, these people still regarded you as their own yesterday, and they could turn their faces and deny people when they turned their faces, are these people worthy of your trust? Liu Zhilun sneered and walked out of the tent, and when he walked to the door, he didn't look back and said, "If you want to go, just go, this official will stay and block the enemy with Vice General Li." ”

As soon as Liu Zhilun left, the commanders immediately decided to retreat overnight, and You Shilu said a little worriedly: "Yuzi is a member of the Du family, if something happens to him, will the Du family blame us?" ”

"It's better to take care of yourself now, it's really risky to block Jianyi, but with Yuzi's ability, you should be able to come back safe and sound, those Yi soldiers will die if they die, and it's a disaster to keep them." You Shiwei replied nonchalantly.

At dawn, Liu Zhilun arrived at Li Yu's military camp, and said with a little guilt Li Yu said: "The marshals have already withdrawn from the army, and we have discussed leaving your Fengzhou Iron Cavalry to obstruct Jianyi, and now only you can take on this important task." ”

"My scouts discovered that the situation was abnormal last night, and I already guessed that they were going to withdraw from the army," Li Yu said to Liu Zhilun with a wry smile, "Your Excellency doesn't need to come in person, just ask someone to report it." ”

"This official has decided to stay with you," Liu Zhilun said pretending to be relaxed, and then asked, "Hermes-Epitek, tell me how we should fight?" ”

Li Yu was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a smile and said: "The Ming army is still too timid, in fact, the Jin army is more afraid than us in his heart, their troops in the pass are too small, even if they are ten percent sure of winning the battle, they have to count the strength of the army with their fingers, I want to talk to them, since no one can eat anyone, then they will collect their troops, and the adults will not object, right?" ”

"Hermes-Epitek's spirit is not very good, you should pay attention to rest, the official is also unwell these days, and his ears are a little difficult to hear others, you send someone to the surrounding market towns to find a Langzhong to see, you can be busy with your go, if there is anything that the official is blocking for you." After Liu Zhilun finished speaking, he took out his ears and went out.

Sakhalian and Abatai withdrew to the east of the Luanhe River, and met Bai Ge who came to meet him with more than 200 people by the river, this guy never dared to cross the Luanhe River except for waving his flag and shouting by the river, but the hot soup and hot rice for the army were ready, Sakhalian and Abatai did not blame him, his little strength was not enough for Li Yu to plug his teeth.

Sakhalian and Abatai set up a large camp and recounted the number of people, 470 of Abatai's elite cavalry did not come back, and Sakhalian was not much better, 415 died, and nearly 900 people were lost in the first battle, if you add the wounded and could not fight, the attrition was more than 1,000 people, and the two estimated that the losses of the Ming army were greater, and Li Yu's casualties would never be less than 400 people, and the Ming army must have lost more than half, but what is the use of this, the Ming army has people who can be replenished, and the Jin army stayed in Yongping with 5,000 people, and one less died.

Abatai blamed himself for being too big, and a thousand people went to challenge 1,500 people, and Sakhalian also complained that the Ming army was unruly and unwilling to be willing to suffer defeat, this time he actually dared to play really, both of them thought that another battle would definitely annihilate the Ming army, and Li Yu would also pull his legs and run away, but they really can't afford to consume this little force, and losing another three or five hundred people is basically a catastrophe, Ning Wan I also think there is no need to save Zunhua, Lao Fan is well guarded, and I didn't see him crying for help, Then let him and the Ming army continue to consume.

Sakhalian and Abatai suddenly fell into a dilemma, retreating to Qian'an, Jianchang camp is difficult to protect, advance and worry about the loss of people, had to choose to take a step to see a step, but the next day at noon good news came, the Ming army fled, only Fengzhou Iron Cavalry army was left in Hexi, Sakhalian, Abatai high-fived, Qian'an, Jianchang camp worry-free! Now it's time to think about how to clean up this bad boy Erlu. If the Ming army does not escape, Erlu will not dare to escape, so we can only fight with us, then we are easy to deal with him, but now he has no baggage, he can fight as much as he wants, his iron cavalry is one person and two horses, and the speed of action is extremely fast, and our cavalry is too few, and the speed of heavy armor is too slow, and we can't catch up with him, and we can't catch up with him, if he beats around us with a hammer in the east and a stick in the west, we will definitely suffer a big loss, Ning Wan My opinion is that Zunhua will not care about it first, Anyway, Lao Fan is not in danger, let them dig if the people besieging the city want to dig a ditch, the Dajin army still has to pick up soft persimmons and pinch them first, and the Ming army who are afraid of death is not soft. Ning Wan I am reasonable, that guy Erlu is too slippery to fight, and Sakhalian and Abatai are a little hesitant again.

At this time, Bai Ge accompanied Bao Cheng first, Bao Cheng first ate Bai Ge a beating, ran to Yongping to tell Jierharang about the black, Jierharang chased Li Yu from the Jianchang camp to no avail, and he was holding back a belly of fire in his heart, and he had no interest in Bao Chengxian's, but this guy's market has risen recently, and the Great Khan has already determined him to go to the Wenguan on an errand, and Jierharang doesn't want to offend this kind of person, so he has to persuade patiently: Bai Ge is definitely not right to beat people, but he is an old Zhushen, and he is a rough man who doesn't know a few big words, and your old Bao has read books and is reasonable, As for the fact that he used the public money to redeem himself, although he was more reckless, it was not a big mistake, two thousand taels of silver in exchange for more than 100 Zhu Shen Qingzhuang, and he came back with a horse, and we took advantage of it, even the Great Khan would agree.

"It is our old rule to ransom people with property, and people look at the face of the old relationship, and make a big discount, and put the people back first, are we embarrassed not to give money? You Han people can not be trustworthy, but we Zhushen can't afford to lose this person," Jierharang glanced at Bao Chengxian, and continued, "You don't understand the customs of our Zhushen, and you can't blame you, it's not easy for Bai Ge to come back alive as a prisoner, you have to be more considerate of him, I think so, you still go back, I will also fine Bai Ge some property, and then let him apologize to you, this matter will pass." ”

Bao Chengxian is a smart person, and he immediately understood what to do, and suddenly said: "As soon as Lord Belle said this, the last general fully understood, and the last general should apologize to General Bai Ge, and the matter of punishing General Bai Ge and his property will be exempted, after all, it is the last general who is at fault first." ”

So, Bao Cheng, who had been beaten, returned to Qian'an first and came to the door to apologize to Bai Ge.

Bao Chengxian returned to Qian'an and brought a secret letter from Zilharang, and Sakhalian and Abatai's faces changed greatly after reading it, and they waved away Ning Wanme, Bao Chengxian, Bai Ge and others. As soon as I went out, I complained to Bao Chengxian and Bai Ge: "Lao Fan, this guy has no, he hid in the city to enjoy Qingfu, but he asked us to save him, causing us to lose our troops and generals, and General Bai Ge almost lost his life for him, we may be punished by the Great Khan in the future, but he is considered to have made military merits, what do you say is this!" ”

"I heard that there is a large group of ordinary people with hoes plowing the land in Zunhua, and Lao Fan always boasts of his all-round talent in civil and military affairs in front of the Great Khan, why can't he even drive away a group of ordinary people? He thought he would go to war after reading a few military books, me! Bao Chengxian couldn't help but scold.

Bai Ge was also a little angry when he heard it: "Fan Wencheng is a minion, he shouts and screams when he has no ability, but he makes us eat and hang, if he takes military merits, I Bai Ge will not be convinced." ”

Fan Wencheng has been red and purple in front of the Great Khan in the past two years, and he has turned his face a little bit and doesn't recognize people, Ning Wan I used to have a good relationship with him, but since this villain made a career, I have talked coldly to old friends, and often said that I am easy to make mistakes when I gamble after Ning Wan, and I am angry when I think of Fan Wencheng's face, and I also say a few bad things about Lao Fan from time to time. And Bao Chengxian was even more dissatisfied with Fan Wencheng, the Great Khan valued Lao Bao and intended to reuse him, Lao Fan not only did not help to say good things, but also hinted to the Great Khan that Lao Bao was a martial artist, and it was not appropriate to enter the Wenguan, isn't this deliberately blocking people's official road.

The three of them muttered for a while, they all felt that Lao Fan had been too much of the limelight recently, and when he entered the customs, Lao Fan made military achievements in Ma Lanyu and Daankou to recruit the Ming army, and if it goes on like this, it won't take long for this guy to ride on someone else's head to and pee, this time since everyone has suffered a loss, then this guy must also be pulled off the horse, and everyone must not be punished, and let him enjoy the military merits of Zunhua alone.

Inside the house, Sakhalian shook his head and whispered: "The Great Khan is finally going to make a move, why is Erbeile so stupid, he jumped into the fire pit willingly, Yongping is just a move to coerce the Ming State to agree to the peace agreement, and the Ming Kingdom refuses to play the game, that's it, how can the four cities of Yongping be thousands of miles away from Liaodong to be defended, is Erbeile looking for death?" ”

"Erbeile is not the opponent of the Great Khan, he is probably still fighting his little abacus, forget it, we don't care about him, what should we do, do we continue to fight?" Abatai replied with a wry smile.

"Of course we can't fight, since the Great Khan has other plans, we just need to hand over a lot of the four cities of Yongping to Erbeile, and we can no longer lose the people and horses, we must bring as much back to China as possible, and this is what Ji'er Harang tells us to return to Yongping quickly to assemble."

"What about Erlu? If this kid is not sensible and stalks us, he will be in trouble. Abatai touched his head and said a little worriedly.

"So I'm going to talk to him, so that he doesn't get in the way of our business, I'm sure Erlu is also trying to talk to us, his life is definitely not easy, in the eyes of the Ming court, he is a barbarian like us, so everyone else ran away, but he left him here."

Abatai smiled: "This kid Erlu also has bad luck, okay, you go to see him, I don't have to go, you teach him a good lesson for me, this kid shoots that arrow is really ruthless." ”