Chapter 187: The Night March
Wang Yufei had originally said that he would kidnap these dozens of Gongyi fathers and elders who were unwilling to leave, but at this time, Zhou Bian said it coldly, but he muttered in his heart, whether to kidnap him, or let him stay in Gongyi and fight the Han army with his life. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info Indeed, this is a good strategy, after welcoming the Korean army into the city, and then burning the whole city, even if it can't burn many people, the smoke can smoke down many people, and it is another blow to the Korean army. As for the lives of these dozens of Gongyi people, indeed, how can there be a war without dying? If he dies well, Zhou Bian won't care too much, otherwise he will make the courtiers laugh at the kindness of women.
Therefore, although Zhou Bian said resolutely, he was actually shaken in his heart.
However, the old man of Gongyi was extremely determined, and after being stunned for a moment, he immediately knelt on the ground, "Please also ask the king not to cut off the road of loyalty to his people!" ”
Zhou Bian still smiled bitterly, "There are thousands of ways to be loyal, so why not use this one?" ”
The old man's head hit the ground and still did not lift it, "If there is a better strategy, why use it?" I hope for the king's favor! ”
"Alas!" couldn't help but sigh again, Zhou Bian reached out and helped him up. "The strategy is indeed a good strategy, but it's just a pity for Gongyi's father. In this way, if you still have any relatives, this king will let the clerks of the army take note of it, and they will be compensated handsomely in the future. Also, if Gongyi is destroyed, this king will rebuild a new Gongyi, and he will not lose the children of Gongyi. ”
The old man seemed to be startled, but then his face became agitated again, so he stood up by himself according to the king's hands, and arched his hand, "Thank you, my king!" ”
"That's it, since it's decided, then Gongyi City will inevitably have to be arranged, and the king of Ming Japan will personally lead the troops to check it. In addition, there is no need for you to deliberately lead the Korean army into the city, if this king expects it to be correct, the Korean army itself will enter the city and live. It's not too early, so you might as well go back first. ”
The old man thanked him again and again and left.
Since the old man left, Zhou Bian's heart was like overturning a pot of soup, slaughtering more dogs, it seems that among the people of Wangji, there must be many people who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the royal family, and the royal family has never been abandoned, so how should the royal family treat this people who are dedicated to the royal family?
I slept all night, and woke up in the morning, but the sky was clear, and it was another round of high sun, lazily sprinkled with light and heat.
There was already a trumpet in my ears, and it was the early sergeants in the formation.
After a while, the four generals came together, "King, it's a good weather today, can you send troops to harass you?" ”
Suddenly remembering what the elder Gongyi said last night, Zhou Bian smiled at the corner of his mouth, "Don't worry, this king has a better idea." Let's wait for the spies to report back, we have more important things to do today. ”
The four of them were all stunned, "What's the matter?" ”
"Yesterday, there was an old man of Gongyi who offered advice, when the Korean army came, after entering Gongyi City, he would find an opportunity to set fire to the city, the Korean army was trapped in the city, and under the fire, the casualties were bound to be not small."
"Wonderful, what a plan! Most of the wooden houses in this Gongyi city are suitable for fire. All four praised.
"However, I have two questions." After a moment, Zhou Zhan asked hesitantly.
"Speak!" Everyone turned their heads to look at Zhou Zhan.
"O king, fire is a good plan, but who will carry it out? As soon as the fire burned, it was inevitable that he would not be burned to death, but he would also be killed by the Korean army. Second, the Korean army came with 100,000 people, and Gongyi City was small, only allowing 350,000 people, even if it burned the whole city, it could not hurt the entire Han army. ”
Everyone thought about it for a while, and it was really two difficulties, so they turned their eyes to the king again.
Zhou Bian smiled, "If you can hurt the Han army, why do you care if it's the whole army!" As for who will carry it out, have you forgotten that there are still dozens of fathers and elders in Gongyi who refuse to leave? It was they who voluntarily stayed in Gongyi and set fire to the royal family. After speaking, Zhou Bian's face also became serious.
"Great! Gongyi father! The four of them were all in awe when they heard this, and couldn't help but shout.
"Truly magnificent. The king has ordered the clerk to die several times, and in the future the king will erect a monument here, so that future generations will not dare to forget. Zhou Bian sighed.
"That's exactly how it should be. But I don't know what is the more important thing that the king said? Liu Yun asked.
"Rebuild Gongyi to make it easier to burn the Han army. First of all, pile up more wood at the city gate, pretend to be at the door, this king will let the Gongyi people burn the city gate first, once the fire starts, the Korean soldiers in the city will have nowhere to escape. Secondly, it is necessary to loosen the wooden house a little more, so that after the fire has passed, it will easily collapse to crush the Korean soldiers, and put more firewood on the market at will to help the fire. Finally, dig a few holes in the ground in several inconspicuous houses in the city, so that the Gongyi people can hide after arson, and they can escape one by one. Today, you're going to get busy with that. ”
"No!" After the four of them received the order, they did not delay, and immediately got busy.
Immediately afterwards, Wang Yufei also came to say goodbye, and he would withdraw to Luoyang with the Gongyi soldiers and the remaining Gongyi people. There were only 3,000 troops and dozens of Gongyi fathers and elders left in the city of Gongyi.
Wang Yu left behind dozens of pigs and sheep when he flew away, and at noon, Zhou Bian had half of them slaughtered and given to the dozens of Gongyi people, and they were personally delivered to them one by one. Although there is an element of acting, Zhou Bian thinks that there are still many factors that are moving.
Gongyi City is not big, at lunchtime, Zhou Bian's several arrangements were completed, and after taking the veteran of Gongyi to look at the whole city, everyone was very satisfied, and waited for Han Jun to get in.
It was still a little hot at noon, and after lunch, Zhou Bian gave an order, and all three armies rested.
Zhou Bian naturally took a nap, but this nap was woken up by spies. The spies brought the latest news of the Han army, and sure enough, it rained heavily overnight in the city yesterday, and the mud on the road was difficult to walk, and the Han army rested for a day today.
After inquiring about the arrangement of the Korean army again, Zhou Bian immediately summoned the four generals.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have received the latest news, the Han army will rest for a day in Shiqiu, let the soldiers rest for an afternoon, and in the evening, the four of you will each take 500 people to set off overnight and rush to Chenggao." Zhou Bian said straight to the point.
"Why wait for the evening, you can leave now." Liu Yun shouted.
Zhou Bian gave him a blank look, "The Han army must also have spies near Gongyi, if they don't set off at night, what is it called a sneak attack?" ”
"Then a few of us are gone, what should the king do?" Wang Sunjian asked.
"Isn't there still a thousand people, and this king himself will bring them, so you don't need to worry. In addition, this is going to Chenggao, headed by Wang Sunjian, remember not to be greedy for war, and to return immediately if you can't do anything. In addition, this king has come up with two strategies for you, first, hurry tonight, ambush between the Chenggao mountain road, occupy a dangerous place, and harass the Korean army while it passes by. Or, if the Han army rested for more than one day, they would rest for a hundred days in the mountains and forests of Chenggao, and then rush to the city at night, find the heavy camp in the south of the city, and set fire to burn all their grain and grass. This is another good idea that the king said in the morning. Of course, as for how to act, you will make your own arrangements according to the situation of the battle. But you must remember, you can't fight hard, don't call the South Korean army to encircle and suppress, when you retreat, you must retreat immediately, are you all quite clear? ”
"The king has a good plan, I'll remember it." The four of them were busy.
After a few more discussions, the four generals also went back to rest, after all, it was still very tiring to travel all night.
Time flies quickly, it's hot and it's easy to sleep, and in a blink of an eye, the sun is already setting.
After dinner, he brought four days' dry rations with him, and two thousand strong men, led by four commanders, said goodbye to the queen and went out of the north gate. And Zhou Bian was not idle, after sending away the 2,000 people, he also took the remaining 1,000 soldiers and went out of the south gate.
After walking out of the south gate, it was already dark, and a thousand troops touched the north bank of Luoshui, and then turned north along Luoshui, and after going around, they returned from the north gate. Zhou Bian's purpose in doing this was naturally to confuse the Han army spies and make them unable to figure out where the two thousand people went, after all, it was difficult to see the specific number of people in the night. After returning to the city, Zhou Bian washed and slept, and he didn't know if it was useful for him to go out of the city with good intentions and go around, although Zhou Bian also asked people to explore the surroundings of Gongyi during the day, but Zhou Bian did not believe that the Han army did not arrange spies here.
The night was exceptionally clear after the heavy rain, and after the sun's rays completely disappeared under the western mountains, the moonlight crept up. To the north of Gongyi is a small hill, and to the east of this hill is Luoshui. At the junction of Luoshui and the big river, Ning Yue was here to see off Gongzi's class, but at this time, a black figure stood on the west bank of Luoshui.
The 2,000-strong army did not take the good road east of Gongyi, but passed through the hills in the north, apparently to avoid the spies of the Korean army and hide their whereabouts. Zhou Bian's purpose in leading the troops was that he was not afraid of hardship, but he was afraid of losing his life.
The army stood on the bank, looked up, the moon and stars were scarce, and then looked down, a big river flowed quietly in front of them in the night, and the sound of the bubbling river came, which was particularly beautiful in this quiet night. A deep voice also sounded, "Liu Yun, Zhou Zhan, Tu Meng, are your soldiers resting?" ”
"You can cross the river, no problem."
After receiving an affirmative reply, Wang Sunjian nodded, but no one could see it clearly in this night. "Then roll up your clothes and cross the river. The king has already let the soldiers practice swimming, so they will not be left behind. ”
"Yes." "No." A positive answer rang out.
Thousands of figures slowly moved towards the water, and the front army quickly went into the water, and the rear team was not far behind. Soon, in the night, you can clearly see that a pile of black pressed human heads floated on the water, slowly paddling towards the east.
Luoshui was a hundred feet here, and it took a long time for the army to land on the east bank. Although the shadows could be seen clearly in the night, it was not convenient to count, so several commanders looked back, and after seeing that there was no one in Luoshui, they ordered the army to go on the road.
The weather was really good, the stars in the sky, and the bright moon, sprinkled the soft white light on the earth, so that people who walked at night could also see the road a few meters in front of them.
The army went on the road quietly, and although the soldiers could not find their own commander, they followed one after the other, and no one dared to take it lightly. From time to time, the sound of birdsong sounded in the army, which was a pre-arranged code to help the soldiers who accidentally fell behind to find the direction of the team.
Although the night was cool, after marching for several miles, the clothes that had been wet when the army crossed the river were dried by the heat on their bodies.
Raising troops for 100 days and using them for a while, this well-trained and well-disciplined army is obviously the most capable force in the royal family. Although it can maintain a very high speed in the night, Liu Yun opened the way in front, Wang Sunjian and Tu Meng were in the center, Zhou Zhan was in the rear escort team, the whole army was up and down, the pace was fast, and it was only after running out for an hour that it stopped to rest.
In this era, those who dare to march at night are afraid that the only army trained by Zhou Bian, a modern person, is the only one. In fact, the army took the road that already existed in the mountains, and although it was tortuous, it would not get lost under the guidance of a familiar guide. If they really go into the woods, I am afraid that they will not be able to go far, and the whole army will be lost.
After resting for half an hour, the army ate something and went on the road again. The cool night breeze blew, which made every soldier feel refreshed and the fatigue under his feet was much less. The stars in the sky were also twinkling incessantly, as if they were about to speak to people, and there were some insects in the jungle by the roadside that were crying happily, not tirelessly. If you don't walk at night, you really don't know that summer nights are so charming.
The army had traveled for two more hours, and when it rested, the sky began to light.
After walking for another half an hour, the sky was blue, and the morning sun had already earned its way up the east mountain, revealing an arc. I really didn't dare to hurry anymore, according to the footsteps of the army, I was afraid that I had arrived near Chenggao, and it was not far from the Han army in Shiqiu.
After Wang Sunjian ordered the whole army to go into a mountain forest, the sky was completely bright, and the troops ate some dry food with them, and then rested on the spot under the order of the commander. Fortunately, although it rained the night before, the scorching sun was scorching yesterday, and although the forest was still wet, it was not unacceptable, not to mention that the sun had begun to sprinkle lazily.
The scouts in the army soon hit the road again and went east, for the army, the first thing to find out where they are now, and the second thing to find out the movement of the Korean army. The spies arranged by the royal family in Shiqiu obviously couldn't find these two thousand troops, so if they wanted to get news of the Korean army, they could only rely on the scouts in their own army.
Soon, the first scout came back, it turned out that this place was not far from Chenggao, only one or two miles away, and it should be next to the road that the Korean army must pass through to Gongyi in the west. This Chenggao is a small town, with only a population of the upper front, but the famous Tiger Prison Pass is located here, which is the strategic place where Zheng Guo used to travel from east to west in today's South Korea.
Wang Sunjian and the others did not dare to be careless, and after retreating another mile into the mountains and forests, the whole army fell asleep. Of course, it is indispensable to count the number of people, but fortunately, only eighteen people were lost in a night of rapid marching, and I don't know if they were lost in the mountains and forests or in Luoshui, but this achievement is enough to make several generals proud.
As the sun came up, the weather began to heat up again, and the whole army snorted one after another, but the generals did not sleep, they were waiting for the scouts who went to the city to return.