Li Yanzhi walked out of the newly purchased printing workshop, and only two quarters of an hour after returning to the camp, the guards outside the gate had already pushed the door and entered, informing him that a messenger from the army outside the city had arrived. Li Yanzhi met the messenger in his room, the messenger was dressed in leather armor, and immediately bowed down when he entered the house: "Changshi, Master Xie said that there was an urgent military situation, and he was specially ordered to come down and ask Changshi to go out of the city to discuss the military." ”

"Do you know anything about being so anxious?" Li Yanzhi was puzzled, so he asked the messenger. However, the messenger was at a loss and shook his head: "I don't know why, I still ask Changshi to go to ......."

Li Yanzhi summoned Qin Dayong to lead a group of guards to accompany him, and then followed the messenger out of the camp and went out of the city. After Qianghu moved away, the city returned to its former lively appearance.

When they went out of the city gate, they had traveled more than two miles to the north, and they saw the outer wall of the great camp. Although Xie Ai was born in Confucianism, he led the troops to build a fortress, and obviously won the true legend of the military book. The place where the camp was built was slightly higher than the side. And under the camp wall, there are things such as thistles and terrestris.

The camp wall is about a foot high, and on the camp wall, there are also state guards patrolling with bows and crossbows. The messenger led the people to the camp gate, showed the messenger to the camp guards, and then the guards at the camp gate moved away and let the men into the camp. After the people entered the camp, on the watchtower behind the camp wall, the guards continued to watch closely the movements of the people entering the camp until they were farther and farther away, until they gradually lost sight.

Xu is because he wants to stay for a long time, and Xie Ai really put a lot of thought into arranging the camp. In order to facilitate the walking of people and horses, lime, grass and wood ash are taken and applied to the cracks of the stones, poured with thick rice soup, and then a layer of floating soil is applied to become a stable road.

Around the main road, more than a dozen paths were paved leading to the camps. The soldiers walked back and forth in the camp, and although it seemed to be lively, there was no noise. The Messenger led the men along the main road to the Chinese army. Li Yanzhi looked around the camp with both eyes, but saw that the felt tents around him were all of average height. I don't know where the big tent of the Chinese army is.

The messenger led everyone all the way to an inconspicuous military tent, and Li Yanzhi asked with a surprised face: "This is the big tent of the Chinese army?" After receiving the messenger's affirmative reply, Li Yanzhi said in disbelief: "Master Xie commands seven thousand state soldiers, and he is stationed here, which cannot be said to be a high authority. However, the big account of the Chinese army set up is so simple, and the main book is really a model for the generals and commanders of the army, which is in stark contrast to Wang Yifu and others......"

Li Yanzhi spoke of Wang Yan and Wang Yifu with disdain, and this person was one of the sinners who led to the demise of the Western Jin Dynasty. In the fifth year of Yongjia, the last king of the Eight Kings Rebellion, Sima Yue, the king of the East China Sea, died. Although Sima Yue was alive, it was the source of chaos and the bane. However, he led his army to resist the siege of Luoyang by the Xiongnu Liu Yuan and the thief Wang Mi several times, and had excellent military talents.

After Sima Yue's death, everyone elected Wang Yan as marshal. coincided with Liu Cong and Shi Le's attack, Wang Yan insisted on resigning, saying that his talent was limited and not enough to shoulder the heavy responsibility. However, after resigning this position, Wang Yan returned to the East China Sea with the most elite army of 100,000 troops of the Jin Dynasty and Sima Yue's coffin, trying to escape the chaotic war in the Central Plains. However, unfortunately, the 100,000 soldiers and horses led by Wang Yan were chased and attacked by thousands of horsemen. In the end, they were annihilated in the city of Ningping.

Although the 100,000 soldiers led by him were all gone, Wang Yan walked into Hu Shuaishile's camp in a good manner. At first, Shile treated him politely, hoping that he would surrender, so that Shile could borrow the gold-lettered signboard of his clan status to recruit disciples and advisers for himself. However, on the one hand, Wang Yan deduced that he was not responsible for the defeat of the army, and on the other hand, he persuaded Shi Le to become emperor. This attitude completely angered Shi Le, and Shi Le ordered the soldiers to "line up the wall to kill him" at night, and executed this unsuccessful and undignified Wang Yan.

It is rumored that when he was besieged in Ningping County, when the day was precarious, and most of the soldiers were difficult to find a place to live, this Wang Yan actually set up a big tent in the county, lit butter candles, and made the singer dance to cheer up. When death is imminent, he still does not forget to put on this ridiculous pomp.

Xie Ai's big tent of the Chinese army in front of him is just the opposite, and it is extremely simple. Li Yanzhi raised his eyes and observed, and saw that it was no different from the camp tents of ordinary soldiers around him. It's just a little bigger. I lifted the curtain and walked into it, but I saw that the furnishings were simpler. Except for a few cases, a screen, and a few futon beds, there is nothing else.

Xie Ai was sitting behind a few cases reviewing military affairs. Seeing Li Yanzhi enter the account, he got up to greet him. The two of them simply gave a salute, but Xie Ai didn't say any extra nonsense, and immediately returned to the side of a few cases, took a military newspaper, and handed it to Li Yanjiong.

Li Yanzhi stretched out his hand to take the military report, but saw that it was Zhang Lang, the Taishou of Jincheng, who had spread military reports from all over the country, saying that recently, in Jincheng County, there were often hundreds of thieves and rangers gangs harassing them. Burning people's homes, farmland, killing residents, and so on. He also said that the sentinels had found signs of these rangers crossing the river into the state at several ferries, and asked the counties to take precautions.

Li Yanzhi put down the military newspaper in his hand and fell into deep thought. And Xie Ai has been standing aside and waiting. After pondering for a long time, Li Yanzhi looked up and saw Xie Ai staring at him, and couldn't help but smile bitterly, and said, "Penetrate into my territory with a small group of rangers, kill the inhabitants, make them panic, and then abandon the land and flee. The burning of farmland undermines the self-sufficiency of counties and counties, thereby increasing the burden on the state to maintain the counties and their soldiers...... This thief is really a good idea......"

General Xie Ai folded it from the report, and then tapped the back of his other hand: "How to deal with it at the moment, I don't know if Li Changshi has a magic method?" ”

When Li Yanzhi heard this, he smiled bitterly again: "There are only more than 300 cavalry in our department. Even if the infantry were to be expanded now, it would only be five hundred. This time, the enemy army entered the state territory in the size of a hundred people, and if it was not expected, the total number would be no less than a thousand. In this case, how can we and other horsemen be able to defeat them? ”

After sighing, Li Yanzhi turned his gaze to Xie Ai again: "I don't know how many cavalry there are in Master Xie's army?" If there are enough of them, we can join forces and disperse the patrols. to crush the plans of the thieves ......"

Xie Ai turned around and returned to the side of the case, and took a book: "There are 7,000 people in our department, of which there are only 500 horsemen. There are also two thousand five hundred foot soldiers, one thousand five hundred crossbowmen, and two thousand five hundred garrison soldiers, who can escort the baggage ...... in time of war."

The situation reported by Xie Ai was somewhat unexpected, but looking at the book in his hand that registered the names of the generals of each battalion, he had to believe it. At the moment, even if the forces of the Wuwei army and Xie Ai's cavalry are combined, they may not have enough ability to stop these hidden attacks.

After Li Yanzhi walked to Xie Ai's case, on the huge map hanging in front of the screen, he looked carefully, Xie Ai also walked behind him, looking at the mountains and rivers displayed on the map, I don't know what Li Yanzhi was thinking.

"If the situation is really as Zhang Fujun said, and there are already thieves who have crossed the river and entered the state, then the food and ordnance they need will inevitably be continuously consumed. If they want to get supplies, all they can do seems to be plunder......"

Li Yanzhi stood next to the map for a long time before he spoke slowly. Xie Ai was suddenly a little depressed when he heard this, thinking that this matter was not obvious, and now he was powerless to prevent it, so he had to find a way to deal with it.

"In that case, we might as well concentrate on the limited number of horsemen. Later, sentinels were widely deployed to find out where the enemy was infested and the rules of the army. The enemy cavalry moves quickly and infests very irregularly. If we wait for the return of the sentry cavalry, and then send the cavalry to encircle and suppress it, it will obviously be too late. ”

"What Changshi said is extremely true. However, how we should deal with this matter is still to be said by Changshi. ”

Li Yanzhi pointed to two points on the map with one hand: "The big river is near the left side of the state border, and there are only two or three ferries. One of them is Jinchengdu under the rule of Zhang Fujun. The second is to go to the Huangshui Basin, near the Jishidu of Caohan. The other place is the Yin Kou where the thieves used to go back to the teacher to smuggle when the thieves invaded. ”

Xie Ai heard what Li Yanzhi said, and couldn't help but light up his eyes: "What the long history said, but our army should send foot soldiers to set up a base at the ferry, making it difficult for the enemy cavalry to return through the left near the ferry, and we will gather the cavalry again to track the traces of the enemy cavalry and exterminate them?" ”

When Li Yanzhi heard this, he bowed his head slightly: "Master Xie's book is thorough, and he is really smart." If we hold the ferry, we will not be able to return south. We can send foot soldiers to the villages to train the villagers to defend against the raids of the captives. If there is an attack anywhere, you can also send a message back to the camp by the sentry horseman, and we will send cavalry to destroy it according to the enemy's situation......"

Seeing that Xie Ai was fascinated by what he heard, Li Yanzhi continued: "In Lingju County, there are more than ten townships. Later, when I returned to the camp, I sent a sentry to inform the village officials and elders. Then organize the foot soldiers to go to various places in batches. According to the county seat and the townships near the main camp, we could not have sent foot soldiers to station, but used cavalry to patrol repeatedly. In the far away township, we sent about 200 foot soldiers to guard it. ”

"So, when the enemy finds that the plundering has not been successful, and that it is impossible to return to the ferry, how will the chief decide?"

Xie Ai came back to his senses, pondered for a while, and said, "Now that they are in such a situation, the enemy army will either turn to plunder the rest of the counties, or hide in the mountains and forests, waiting for the opportunity to come out again. ”

"That's true." Li Yanzhi nodded: "The affairs of the rest of the counties, although there are their respective county guards, etc., but now that Jun Ming has ordered the Qiang Captain's Mansion to be stationed here, this matter is inseparable from you and me." Later, I would like to ask the master to write down the details of the law that we have just discussed, and send the sentry cavalry to pass it on to the county and county to observe the county order. If we have already proposed a solution, it is not up to us to do it or not......"

************

Far away from a township in Lingju County, the fields are full of villagers working. An old man leaned over the field and moved step by step, and whenever he saw weeds and wildflowers growing near the crop seedlings, he squatted down, pinched them, and then pulled them out with all his might. Even so, he was not reassured, and he had to pull out the sickle stuck in his waist, turn up the soil where the weeds had grown, and then carefully hoe until it was difficult to see the whole grass roots in the broken soil.

At the edge of the fields, women and children were playing with their children, and some of the women whose men had already joined the army carried their young children on their backs, bending over to work in the fields like the villagers around them. Older children, on the other hand, chased and frolicked on the ridges, or in pairs of twos, holding weeds and wildflowers that had been uprooted by the adults and simmering straw garlands. There are also those who sit facing each other and fight the grass on the side, the winner holds the grass roots and laughs loudly, and the loser takes another grass from the side unconvinced, shouting to come again. The countryside is full of this vibrant, childlike scene.

A young man weeding in the outermost field heard the sound of horses' hooves hitting the ground. He looked up, and the green mountains in front of him were still as usual, and the backwater river that flowed quietly not far away did not have the slightest abnormality. Thinking he was hallucinating, he shook his head and leaned down to continue his work. However, the sound of the horse's hooves still lingered in his ears.

The youth began to feel a growing sense of unease. He straightened up and quietly watched the place where the sound came from, and not long after, outside the dense forest in front of him, a captive cavalry of about 100 people appeared. The captives held their swords aloft, and the swords reflected a terrifying glow in the sunlight.

"Enemy riders! Enemy Riders! The young man who had been the first to spot the captives hurriedly raised the alarm, and almost at the same time he pinned his scythe to his waist, then turned and ran madly towards the village. The rest of the villagers who were working in the fields also dropped their farm tools one after another, hurriedly beckoned their relatives to the fields, and ran towards the village together.

The children who were playing by the ridge did not know what had happened, some of them looked around blankly, some of them were still screaming after being picked up by adults, and some of them wept uncontrollably when they saw the murderous captive horsemen.

The galloping horses' hooves came in an instant, and the young man who was still galloping towards the village suddenly heard a sound from his back. Before he could turn back, he felt a cold arrow piercing through his heart. He still tried his best to run towards the village, but after running a dozen or so steps, he was gradually exhausted. With the horse's hooves and the blades that broke through the air, he finally fell to the ground. The hooves of the horses behind him trampled mercilessly over his body, and then continued to chase after the rest of the scattered villagers.

An old man wielded his hoe in vain, trying to resist these murderous demons for a moment, so that the relatives behind him could escape the clutches. However, before he could slash the hoe in his hand, a spear had pierced his chest. But the captives who pierced him did not slow down, and carried him away. The old man flew straight back a dozen steps, and then smashed into the soft soil, and there was no more sound.

The arrival of this wave of captives turned the previously peaceful and peaceful countryside into a hell on earth in a blink of an eye. The scattered villagers soon perished at the hands of the thieves' bows, arrows, chops, and spears. Most of the children, who were still howling, had fallen to the ground and were silent.

Just over a quarter of an hour outside the village, it became a Shura slaughterhouse. The villagers were killed and wounded, and the captives and horsemen laughed and dismounted and scattered after the fleeing women. In a matter of moments, a dozen women were dragged by the captives, grabbed by the hair, or carried on their shoulders, and walked towards the village......