The south wind gusted on the river, the sails swayed and undulated, and the county seat of Chongyang finally appeared in Wang Kefan's sight.

Chongyang is only a small county guard, and the city walls are not tall, but they still look majestic and solemn in the surrounding fields. Just when you get closer, you will find that there are several dilapidated and damaged places on the city wall, and a group of young men are moving bricks and stones to repair the damage, and the scene is busy and tense, and there is already a bit of the atmosphere before the war.

The Gongyi battalion suddenly landed at the pier, although it was under the banner of the Ming army, it still frightened the people in the city, and the young men fled into the city in a blink of an eye, and hurriedly closed the city gate.

In this year, the soldiers are not as good as the bandits, and the officers and soldiers are more terrible than the water bandits, no wonder the city has this reaction. Fortunately, the Gongyi camp is a local local, and when they came to the city to negotiate in their hometown, they took out the official document issued by the governor's yamen, and quickly resolved the misunderstanding.

After waiting for a while, the city gate creaked open again, and the county commander Xu Bingzhong came out with a few subordinate officials and greeted him with a smile on his face.

"Forgive me, nephew, the grass and trees in the city are now full of soldiers, and it is really a snub to the soldiers......"

Xu Bingzhong's expression was quite haggard, his half-worn official uniform was covered with mud and dirt, and he looked like he had just come from the construction site. After the water bandits occupied Linxiang, he was under great pressure, and he had been busy reinforcing the defense of Chongyang City, when he suddenly heard that the reinforcements had arrived, and he was overjoyed to meet him, and he rushed to greet him before he had time to change his clothes.

There was also the county Cheng Lu Chuanying, the middle-aged Fa Fu with a kind face, is the number two person in Chongyang County, Wang Sheng, Tan Xiao and Zhou Guodong of the Gongyi Battalion also stepped forward to salute, introduced each other, and greeted each other politely.

"Mr. Wang Qian, how many people did you bring this time?" Lu Chuanying glanced behind Wang Kefan, and a look of doubt flashed on his face.

"Eight hundred." Wang Kefan replied.

"Eight hundred? It doesn't seem like that much, right? The team formed by the Gongyi battalion was neat and compact, and it didn't seem that there were many people, Lu Chuanying and Xu Bingzhong glanced at each other, and they were a little disapproving.

"Isn't the virtuous nephew the vanguard, and the army is still behind?" Xu Bingzhong Yin asked.

Wang Kefan shook his head: "There are only 800 people in total, Bai Wang has invaded the border, and Niu Xietai has stayed in Wuchang Mansion......"

The smile on Xu Bingzhong's face froze, like a scoop of cold water poured on his head, and his joy turned into disappointment. What are you kidding, Song Jiang claims to be 100,000 horses, but he only sent 800 people to reinforce him, and they are all recruits who have just been in the army for less than a month!

It was not too rude to be too rude in front of the generals of the Gongyi camp, Xu Bingzhong forcibly suppressed his disappointment: "Well, eight hundred people don't need to camp outside the city, follow me into the city to rest." ”

"It's all up to the teacher." Wang Kefan was respectful and did not look displeased.

The atmosphere of war in the county town is even stronger, there are young soldiers with knives and guns in their hands passing by on the streets from time to time, but few shops and storefronts are open, and the pedestrians and people are all in a hurry, carrying packages and luggage in the dress of fleeing, and after seeing the team of the Gongyi battalion, they hurriedly avoided the side of the street, and their expressions were uncertain.

found an abandoned temple in the county town and set up a military camp, Wang Kefan and several other generals followed Xu Bingzhong to the west gate of Chongyang. Linxiang is located on the bank of the Yangtze River, 70 kilometers west of Chongyang, and if the Song River comes to attack, the west gate of Chongyang will bear the brunt.

Compared with the east gate on the dock side, the repair progress of the west gate is much faster, and the defense system has begun to take shape.

The city walls and towers have been reinforced, and a moat is being excavated, and nearly 1,000 young people are carrying earth and stones, sweating like rain. In front and behind the moat is a large area of pointed wooden stakes more than two feet high above the ground, which are used to block the enemy's siege equipment, and under the castle tower, there are several large bluestones, ready to block the city gate at any time.

When he arrived at the hot construction site, Xu Bingzhong's mood improved slightly, and he ordered someone to call Meng Baihu in the county to discuss the military situation, and everyone climbed the city tower together, pointed out the surrounding terrain, and checked the city defense.

Standing on the city tower and looking west, you can see the undulating mountains in the distance, near is Yantou Mountain, far away is Longjiao Mountain, lying between Chongyang and Linxiang. A large road winds out from the mountain pass, and when it reaches the city of Chongyang, there are flat fields, where the autumn rice has been harvested, and there is a thick layer of mud in the field, which is not conducive to the army to walk through.

There were also wooded clearings outside the city, and two or three small villages, all of which were full of smoke and fire. These woods and villages were too close to the county seat to be used to build siege equipment or bunkers, and in order to prevent them from being used by water bandits, they were sent to burn them clean.

There was a faint cry of the people in the village, everyone was silent, Xu Bingzhong sighed, turned around and said: "Wang Qian led eight hundred soldiers to rescue Chongyang, and the elders of the city are grateful. The Gongyi battalion and the guards are side by side against the enemy, they are the barrier of my Chongyang, the robe of life and death. Grain, grass and military supplies must be treated equally in this county, and they will not owe the Gongyi battalion ......"

After the initial psychological gap passed, Xu Bingzhong still pinned his hopes on Wang Kefan.

This is a choice in desperation, there are only 100 guards and village warriors in Chongyang County, and nearly 1,000 young men have just been recruited, but these 1,000 people are negligent in training, and they don't even have weapons, which is much worse than the well-equipped Gongyi battalion.

Wang Kefan, Wang Sheng and the others saluted and thanked each other, and Xu Bingzhong continued: "The Song Jiang thieves may invade Chongyang at any time, let's take a closer look here, how to resist if the thieves come." ”

The name of the hundred households in that county is Meng Bao, who is a loud and quick temper, and hurriedly said: "Song Jiang is a water coward after all, and the land siege may not be good, as long as we rely on the city to hold on, even if there are 10,000 people, we are not afraid!" ”

This idea is still the same old tune, Xu Bingzhong only nodded, and then turned to Wang Kefan and asked, "How is Meng Baihu's strategy to break the enemy?" ”

"The students thought that what Meng Baihu said was very right."

This is very much like an irresponsible kind word, but Wang Kefan's expression was very solemn, Xu Bingzhong frowned, and had to ask from a different angle.

"Judging from the virtuous nephew, are there any loopholes in the city defense?"

"I don't understand this, I can't see it." Wang Kefan replied very sincerely, he had never seen a siege battle in the era of cold weapons, and he was a layman at all.

Xu Bingzhong's face turned cloudy, and he hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Do you think that Song Jiang will come to attack Chongyang?" ”

There are still several prefectures and counties around Linxiang, Chongyang may not be the only target, if Song Jiang goes to attack Yuezhou Mansion, Tongcheng and other places, Chongyang will be safe for the time being.

"The enemy situation is unknown, it is difficult to judge ......" Wang Kefan shook his head again.

Xu Bingzhong's face couldn't help but sink, and Meng Bao couldn't help but shout loudly: "Hey, the hall asked, but you don't know what you're here for?" (As mentioned earlier, the hall is the county order, and it is the honorific title of the subordinate officials to the magistrate.) ）

"Defend Chongyang and conquer Song Jiang." Wang Kefan's answer is still so simple.

"You ......" Meng Bao felt that he was about to go crazy, and when the sentence "you guy" came to his mouth, he couldn't help it, and changed his words angrily: "How can you guard Chongyang like this?" I don't understand anything, I don't know anything, just let me do it for Mr. Qian, who is in the Gongyi camp! ”

Although he did not directly scold, such a fierce accusation was also very excessive, Tan Xiao and Zhou Guodong both showed anger, but Wang Kefan was calm.

"The war is coming, I'm afraid it's not convenient for Meng Baihu to join the Gongyi Battalion, but I can help a little...... Well, how is Meng Baihu's archery? I urgently need a bow and arrow leader in my camp, can you give me some advice? ”

This guy is so thick-skinned!

Meng Baoleng was there, speechless for a while.

Xu Bingzhong's face was also faintly darkened, coughed twice, and asked, "What's the matter?" Are the soldiers of the Gongyi battalion not good at archery? ”

"It's not that it's not refined, it's not at all." Wang Kefan's tone was very calm, as if he was saying something that was taken for granted.

"That's it, that's it, Meng Baihu will take a time to teach everyone, sharpen the gun in battle, and ...... if you are not happy" Xu Bingzhong remembered that the Gongyi battalion was all new soldiers, and it was normal for them not to shoot arrows: "Alas, the Gongyi battalion has worked hard from afar, so let's rest early today, and I'll talk about it when I have something." ”

He waved his hand helplessly and ended the military discussion hastily.

……

Wang Kefan and the others disappeared, Meng Bao and Lu Chuanying were still indignant, and they complained one by one - those old men in the provincial capital must have entered the water in their brains, and they actually sent a group of talented soldiers to deal with Song Jiang.

This complaint was in Xu Bingzhong's heart, although it was inconvenient for him to echo it, but he did not stop it, until Meng Lu and the others couldn't say anything new after turning it over and over again, and then they let out a long sigh.

"The Gongyi camp is overwhelmed, Chongyang is afraid that it will not be able to hold it......" Xu Bingzhong looked out of the city in a daze, those villages had become ruins, and several gray-black pillars of smoke floated on the ruins.

"Tangzun, Chongyang is in danger, it's better to arrange it, and remove the family members of your mansion first." Lu Chuan should be careful to make suggestions.

This is the worst plan, the county officials are responsible for guarding the land, abandoning the city and fleeing will be held accountable by the imperial court, if Chongyang is broken by Song Jiang, Xu Bingzhong and others will not be able to escape death, and sending their families out of danger is also a matter of concern.

Xu Bingzhong hesitated for a moment, nodded and agreed: "Okay, just ask Meng Baihu to arrange it, and send Jiaci out of Chongyang tomorrow, alas, I really don't want to disturb her old man......"

The war is imminent, and the official is busy sending his family members away, which must have an impact on the morale of the army, and he moved his old mother out as a cover, which can be regarded as a reason for filial piety and respect for relatives.

Meng Bao and Lu Chuanying hurriedly responded, since Xu Bingzhong had started, it was better for them to send their wives and children away, it was safer than staying in Chongyang.

Xu Bingzhong hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Since you want to leave, let's take Wang Kefan's family with me." His old mother and wife had just arrived in Chongyang County, so why should they be sent to death with them. ”

When Wang Kefan was still in Wuchang Mansion, Liu moved to Chongyang County with his family, and the fields in Hengshi had been taken off, and only an old mansion was left for two family members to guard.

"That guy doesn't have any skills, what does he do?" When it comes to Wang Kefan, Meng Bao is still angry.

"Even if Wang Qian will not lead troops to fight, but dare to come to the rescue of Chongyang at this time, at least there is still a little bit of bloody loyalty, why should Meng Baihu be angry? His family will be sent back to Hengshi to be settled. ”

Xu Bingzhong was also full of powerlessness towards Wang Kefan, but as the highest governor in Chongyang County, he had to persuade Meng Bao with good words to appease the contradictions between his subordinates when the enemy was at present.

……

After Wang Kefan returned to the barracks, he made some arrangements, and was about to go home to have a look, when a guard soldier sent a notice to evacuate his family.