The clouds of war soon spread over the small city of Lingju. Li Yanzhi sent Xu Jian, the commander of the 100 cavalry of the old battalion, to lead the 100 cavalry out and escort them to avoid trouble. More than 100 horsemen were quickly assembled, and on the more than ten carts accompanying them, the families of many craftsmen were carried, and the luggage of each family was carried. Many of the craftsmen were able to ride horses, so a number of military horses were transferred from the stables for these craftsmen to ride.

Lu Yi couldn't ride a horse, so he half-lay and half-sat on one of the cars without any image. His wife and mother sat at the other end. They were flanked by more than a hundred horsemen who had been sent to protect them.

The soldiers were very considerate to place a lot of soft objects such as cotton pads on the cars, making these cars extremely comfortable to ride. Originally, Lu Yi thought that it would be a difficult trip, but seeing this situation, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. The car was nearly ten miles out of the county seat, and he didn't feel tired. Gradually, Lu Yi, who was lying on a comfortable cushion, had begun to like this trip called avoiding disasters.

It is different from the leisure of Lu Yi and others. At this time, Tao Heng was taking the remaining cavalry in the battalion out to survey the terrain and reconnoiter the movements of the enemy army. The reconnaissance results at the time of Longxi showed that the army led by Liu Yin was likely to be no less than 20,000 people. However, the results of the reconnaissance of the sentinels outside the camp showed that the enemy troops stationed on the shore of the backwater were only about 12,000 people.

The movement of the remaining more than 8,000 people has become a piece of Li Yanzhi's heart. Although the fewer troops the enemy threw into the siege, the more advantageous it was for him and the Lingju soldiers under his command, but the remaining 8,000 men, wherever they appeared, were a force capable of changing the tide of battle.

He returned to the house, unfolding the map and taking a closer look. In addition to Lingju, there are only two offensive routes that the thieves can choose, one is to attack Guangwu with those 8,000 people. Taking Guangwu County in one fell swoop would open up their road to the north almost completely. If Guangwu fell, the thief army could have left superior forces to besiege Lingju, and then drove northward again, continuing to attack the surrounding counties of Guzang, and even shaking the foundation of Zhang Zhijun's rule over Liangzhou.

In addition to Guangwu, the most likely place for the thieves to attack is Yongdeng County, which is about a day's journey from Lingju. According to Li Yanzhi's own estimate, Yongdeng's defense force can only be said to be weak now. Ling Juyin occupied a favorable location, and still recruited displaced people, and trained 2,000 auxiliary soldiers. And Yongdeng, except for about 1,000 county soldiers, there is almost no rest of the troops used to defend the city.

Although Su Xuan, the county commander, is also a scholar, and has a vast land and a large number of shady households. However, most of the hundreds of elite soldiers in the Su family accompanied Su Fu when he took office. The battleable soldiers of Yongdeng County are only 1,2300 at best. Li Yanzhi believes that the combat effectiveness of the county soldiers in Lingju is now the best in the whole state among the county soldiers. Even so, in the face of the powerful offensive of the captives, they had to train a large number of auxiliaries into regular soldiers to prepare for war. Yongdeng County has so many county soldiers, what can it do!

However, the capture of Yongdeng County is really not too strategic for the thieves. Liangzhou is mountainous, the place where Yongdeng is located, is a long and narrow valley, Yongdeng is established as a county here, and it is because of the reverse water flowing through here when a river bay is turned. Form a small fertile impact plain. But from Yongdeng to the north, although it is possible to reach Guzang, but the mountain road is quite rugged and difficult, and there are many dangerous places, since then the strategy of Guzang is far less convenient than from Guangwu to the north.

Li Yanzhi didn't want to think about the thieves attacking Yongdeng, and he was worried about the safety of the little lady in Yongdeng County. Now that he is duty-bound, even if he learns that Yongdeng has been attacked, he will not be able to lead his troops to the rescue. If you forcibly go to the rescue without looking at the facts, the result will not only be that Lingju will not be able to defend it, but Yongdeng will probably not be able to save it. The county soldiers led by himself are likely to be wiped out under the joint strangulation of the two parts of the Zhao army......

He got up and went outside the house, and ordered one of the guards who was on duty outside the house to summon the commanders of the battalions to come to the military meeting. After a short time, hundreds of generals from each battalion, captains and other generals arrived one after another.

Li Yanzhi put a city defense map that he had just drawn on the table, stood on top of his head and lowered his body, and then looked directly at these subordinates.

"The thieves will attack me. If the generals have any suggestions and suggestions, you might as well tell me. ”

Li Yanzhi's voice fell, but the room fell into a long silence. After a long while, Zhou Xingfang clasped his fists and said, "I'll wait to follow Sima's orders." ”

Li Yanzhi pondered for a moment, then looked at the rest of the generals and continued to ask, "What do you mean by all the dukes?" ”

The generals who were watching him lowered their heads one after another. After a long silence, everyone said, "We have no objection." ”

"Since this is the case, I will make a decision" Li Yanzhi looked at the city defense map, and his right hand was already on the south side ......of the county town on the city defense map: "If the thieves attack, the south side will be the main attack." Here you can send an old man to the heavy general. Who wants to go? ”

The generals looked at the somewhat crooked map of the city's defenses, and remained silent. Zhou Xing turned his head to look around, couldn't help frowning, and then said: "Sima, it's better to send the last general here to ......"

"Good. Zhou Bairen will bravely shoulder the heavy responsibility, and a certain feeling is very exciting. Later, 400 auxiliaries, 100 crossbowmen, and 100 ironclad infantry soldiers were transferred to the command of Zhou Bairen. ”

When the generals heard this, they all had shocked expressions. Now among the soldiers of Lingju County, the rarest are crossbowmen and ironclad foot soldiers. In the previous encounter in Longxi, these two armies also showed their incomparable combat effectiveness in front of everyone. However, after that battle, there were only about 200 crossbowmen left. After the ironclad infantry returned, although some of the old battalion infantry soldiers were selected to fill in, there are now only more than 200 and less than 300 people.

With such a configuration, it can be seen that in Li Yanzhi's expectation, Nancheng will withstand the rapid offensive of the enemy.

Li Yanzhi's finger pointed to the city wall on the east side: "The east side is facing the backwater, although the terrain outside the city is uneven, but the thieves set up camp against the water, and it is very likely that they will go up the river from the tide and divide their troops to attack from the east side." In addition to the south city, the east city should be the most difficult place to defend, who is willing to go? ”

The generals hesitated for a moment, and a voice in the crowd said categorically: "The last general is willing to live and die with Dongcheng!" ”

Li Yanzhi raised his eyes and looked, and it was Cao Jian, who had just been reprimanded by himself. It was unexpected, but it made sense. Cao Jian has always been arrogant. Now he has just suffered a reprimand. At this time, he must be in a hurry to prove himself and make meritorious contributions. Therefore, after secretly praising it in his heart, Li Yanzhi has also finalized the defenders of Xia Dongcheng.

"Cao Sima garrisoned the eastern city. There are 400 auxiliary soldiers, 100 ironclad soldiers, and 100 infantry soldiers of the old battalion. Another hundred crossbowmen held the northeast corner of the city and watched the enemy's movements. If the enemy forces set up a position to storm the eastern city, the crossbowmen will immediately go to the rescue. ”

"The east and south walls, which are the most difficult to defend, have been assigned to defend them. The western side is surrounded by mountains, which is not conducive to large-scale enemy sieges. And if the enemy advances from the south to the west, the route is within the range of the bow and crossbow. The enemy will never choose this as the main direction of attack. Here, let the old battalion step Du Ma Qi, and lead three hundred troops to guard. ”

"Although the north wall faces the middle of our state, reinforcements may come from here. However, the thief army may still attack with this. and he garrisoned the place with 800 auxiliaries. The rest were in the camps. As a reserve, it is always ready to support each gate. ”

"The cavalry did not stay in the city, led by the commander of Tao Bairen, and at the same time went out to reconnoiter the cavalry, looking for an opportunity to invite the thieves to attack the sentry cavalry, destroy the road, and attack the thieves' grain and baggage teams...... I wonder if you have any objections? ”

The generals in the house glanced at each other, but they only saw a trace of admiration in each other's eyes. After a few breaths of silence, all the generals clasped their fists and said, "We have no objection." ”

"Since there is no objection, they will each go and divide their subordinates, and prepare to ascend the city and defend it." Li Yanzhi looked at everyone with a solemn expression: "If the thieves attack the city, I will attack it in the main place." Join you in slaying the thieves! ”

"Sima, rest assured, we will coexist with the city!" Zhou Xing looked at Li Yanzhi, and for some reason, his eyes were filled with tears. Perhaps it was such a grim situation that made him talk about coexistence on his lips, but in his heart he had already regarded death as if he were home.

"Looking forward to the future, after the enemy retreats, I can still sit here with all the kings, drink for a while, and get drunk together!" Li Yanzhi walked a few steps closely, walked to the middle of the house, knelt down with his right knee, and his hands had slammed into one place, but it was a standard fist clenching and knocking on the ground.

"May you cherish, cherish! On the day of the safe return, the triumphant victory is announced. Yan Bing is here, first wish you a triumphant return. When you enter this door again, you will sweep the couch to greet you......"

The generals also knelt down one after another, and when Cao Jian saw this scene, he couldn't help but feel a sour feeling in his heart. I thought of a few years ago, when they were just pawns feeding the horses in the stable. Years have passed, and the relationship between the people has long since ceased to be as simple and straightforward as it once was. It's just fate, and now, in this small Lingju city, everyone has to work side by side, preparing to resist the imminent stormy attack of the captives......

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

Lu Yi slept beautifully in the car, and when he woke up, the sun was almost dusk, he opened his eyes, and saw that the team was still moving in an orderly manner, and the old lady and mother-in-law, old and young, also leaned on each other and fell asleep.

Lu Yi didn't want to be the wicked person who disturbed people's dreams, not to mention that it was his wife and wife who were sleeping. He watched with interest as the two of them slept soundly, and his wife was still muttering in her dreams. Lu Yi lightly put his ear close to her mouth, but heard the lady whispering: "Da Lang, you ...... lightly"

A satisfied smile appeared on the corner of Lu Yi's mouth. He sat back down in his place, then looked boredly at the slowly receding woods and hills on either side of the road, and leaned back on the cushions, and looked up at the sky. At this time, Lingju County, where his family lives, doesn't know what happened. He thought of Sima Li Yanzhi of the county government. To this day, Lu Yi still remembers his first encounter with this Li Sima when he was an apprentice in the county government, and that embarrassing experience almost changed his life.

Lu Yi occasionally recalled that when he thought of that general, he often thought that if he had listened to the general's advice and joined the army, he would not know what his current plan would be like. Is there still an old mother and wife by his side? But what he can be sure of is that if that is the case, then this time, he will definitely stay in the county town and fight for his life against the thieves.

Lu Yi didn't want to fight for his life. He hadn't even killed chickens, let alone killed them. Although countless murder weapons had been created under his hands, Lu Yi would feel a shudder dominate his whole body at the thought of using his own hands to pick up those knives and guns and stab them into the enemy's body.

In the midst of his thoughts, Lu Yi felt a strong sleepiness hit him again. He gently straightened his body on the cushion, and was about to enter the second sleep of the day, when he heard the soldier next to him shouting an order: "There is an order for a hundred people, all of them camp and rest on the spot!" ”

The soldiers passed the order over and over again. After a short while, the car Lu Yi was riding in also stopped. Lu Yi was up, but he saw that his mother and wife also woke up one after another. He got up and grabbed the two of them, carefully helping them out of the car one by one.

The horsemen who escorted them were setting up tents on both sides of the road. The leader of the hundred, who had just taken the lead, also sat upright on his horse at this time, watched his men busy back and forth, took down the tent and other things from the car, and set up camp in the open space in front of the mountain forest beside the road. Lu Yi stepped forward to help, but was rejected by the terrified soldiers. The soldier trembled and told Lu Yi: "Sima Li has already instructed that the craftsmen should not be allowed to suffer on the journey, and if there is a bad greeting, we will all engage in military law......

Sighing that this Sima advised him to take good care of him, Lu Yi also felt a deep boredom coming. He walked to the craftsmen on the side, and the craftsmen who got along day and night were also staying in one place now. Children are chasing and playing. The women gathered around a few large rocks beside the road and pulled their home.

While the children were chasing and fighting, a child ran in a hurry and accidentally tripped over a rock hidden in the road. The child fell on the soft weeds, most of the time. The child did not cry. Just struggling to get up. However, the children who waited for him noticed that the little boy did not try to get up again, but lay on his stomach on the ground, his ears on the ground, and listened intently.

"Ermao, what are you doing?" A little boy wondered why the little boy didn't get up, and he didn't know what to hear on the ground, so he jumped up and asked.

The boy called Ermao put his finger to his mouth and whispered, "Shhhh

A group of children gathered around laughed and said, "Is Ermao stupid?" How can there be a sound in this land? Let's go, let's go, let Ermao listen here, let's continue to play......"

The captain of the hundred, who was on the horse, looked at the group of children and did not care. However, hearing the children's voices in the ground made his expression change drastically!

A hundred men dismounted from the saddle, and immediately fell to the ground, with their heads pressed against the ground with their right ears. After listening attentively for a moment, when the rumbling sound became clearer and clearer in his ears, the hundred people jumped up in horror, picked up the bamboo whistle hanging on his chest, and blew it desperately!