Zhang Mengjin and his subordinates also rested in Heshui County to wait for further orders. The officers and soldiers in other areas were closely watching the defeated and fleeing thieves in Heshui County.

On the seventh day of the first month, the reconnaissance cavalry spy under Yang Jiamo, the chief soldier of Gansu, reported that the thieves who had fled in Heshui County were divided into two parts in the north. If the thieves do not invade Zhenyuan, they will definitely invade the post horse pass.

Yang Jiamo quickly passed the information to Cao Wenzhao, and after Cao Wenzhao had slightly reorganized his troops, he led his subordinates Feng Ju and guerrilla Cao Bianjiao to intercept him.

And Zhang Mengjin's troops were highly motivated, and they were naturally ready to join the troops in Gansu Town with Cao Wenzhao.

However, Dai Junen's order arrived at this time, and Zhang Mengjin's department was transferred back to the West Road in the name of Fang Qiu. Although some officials tried to dissuade him, Dai Junen forcefully carried out his will.

For Dai Junen, his own friend Zhang Fuzhen is about to leave his job, and he has lost a lot of help at present. If Zhang Mengjin continues to pursue, it is inevitable that there will be a situation like last time, but the rescue of other places will be farther and farther away after that, and finally he will be almost taken away by others.

Zhang Mengjin couldn't disobey the order, so he could only organize his men and horses and embark on the road back.

However, the pursuit of the official army did not end, and the two main towns of Cao Wenzhao and Yang Jiamo, who then converged, found that the real target of the thieves was Yima Pass.

The general soldiers of the two towns led their officers and soldiers to chase after the thieves, and came to Guanquan Town on the 10th day of the first month. The Rogue Cavalry came to the battle again, while thousands of Rogue Foot Soldiers hid in the ditches on the east and west sides.

When the officers and soldiers entered the Tongchuan Bridge, Cao Wenzhao, who had suffered a loss in Heshui County, personally led his subordinates to launch a surprise attack on the backbone of the thieves.

Although the thieves' ambush was killed again, under the close response of Yang Jiamo and his generals Fang Maogong, Dusi Li Zhao and Yang Sancai, they did not cause any great damage to the officers and soldiers.

After the hard work of the officials and soldiers, the plan of the thieves to invade the post horse pass could only achieve a failed result. After that, the thieves changed their plans and prepared to attack Zhenyuan County, and then break into the hinterland of Pinggu.

After Cao Wenzhao and Yang Jiamo joined up with He Huchen, the general soldier of Ningxia, they set out from Yima Pass on the 13th and rushed to Zhenyuan County on the 14th.

And Yang Qi, the general soldier of Guyuan (also known as the general soldier of Shaanxi), was one step ahead of them and rushed to Zhenyuan County on the 13th. That is to say, except for Wang Chengen, the chief soldier of Yansui Town, who did not come, the general soldiers of the four major towns of Shaanxi gathered here to carry out a joint attack.

The thieves who kept fleeing were naturally no opponents, and under the pursuit of a number of elite soldiers and strong generals of the official army, the thieves successively inflicted heavy losses on the 17th, 24th, 29th, and 3rd day of August.

However, none of this has anything to do with the people of Jinding Mountain, who are carrying out a memorial ceremony.

Zhang Mengjin stopped on the way back to Jingbian Camp with his troops, and he led his men and horses to garrison at Jinding Mountain for a day to pay tribute to the previously dead leader Che Jibao and many fallen soldiers in the cottage.

……

Zhang Mengcheng, supported by his wife, watched his eldest brother serve wine in front of Che Jibao's grave. The other leaders who came back stood straight behind Zhang Mengjin with a bowl.

After the eldest brother poured a bowl of wine, he got up and took a few steps back and said: "We are all back from the old car, and this time we failed to cut off the head of the lone wolf, this time we can't help you, this bowl of wine is our reparation to you." ”

After Zhang Mengjin finished speaking, he immediately drank the wine in his bowl in one gulp. And Guan Zhiqing, Zhao Wankui, Zhang Mengguang, Fan Shunjiang and Ma Xiangzhong and other leaders who came back also drank the wine in their bowls together.

After that, several soldiers from Jinding Mountain who kept the wine jar immediately stepped forward to fill their bowls again.

"Your wife is young, and your brothers will definitely take care of it. When your son grows up, I will marry my maid to him. And your lost family members, we will continue to help you find them. ”

After Zhang Mengjin finished speaking, he led the leaders behind him to drink a bowl of wine, and then walked to the side to comfort Che Jibao's crying wife and children.

Then Guan Zhiqing, Zhao Wankui and others walked to Che Jibao's grave one after another and said a word, then turned around and comforted Che Jibao's widow.

Originally, according to the plan of Zhang Mengjin and others, they wanted to personally carry the coffin for Che Jibao and bury him. However, the military situation has been urgent, and now the weather is relatively hot, Zhang Mengcheng and others in Jindingshan have no choice but to let Che Jibao be buried in the coffin first.

Che Jibao's wife, who is still very young, is a little desperate for her future life, so she can only hold her son and cry constantly.

The eldest brother Zhang Mengjin knew that the young widow was not easy, so he could only try his best to comfort him: "Brother and sister, you can rest assured, if you have any difficulties in the future, you can come and tell us." If there is any blind fellow in the stockade who dares to offend you, I will personally drive him back from the fort and kill him. ”

saw that Che Jibao's wife just kept crying, and there was no response to the brothers' relief. Guan Zhiqing thought that she was overly sad, and was afraid that she would cry badly.

So the second master hurriedly opened his mouth to persuade: "Brother and sister, you can't cry and break your body, you still have such a young son here, he still needs your care." ”

"Yes, sister-in-law, don't cry, the old car can't leave with peace of mind when he sees you like this."

"Is there anyone bullying my sister-in-law, just say it, and my old fan will help you take his head over." ……

Che Jibao's widow did not react to the relief of the leaders. She was originally a woman snatched by Che Jibao, and she didn't have much affection for Che Jibao.

The only bond between their husband and wife was the young boy in her arms. In fact, she wants to remarry someone else while she is young, and she doesn't want to endure the days when she can't see hope in the future. It's just that she is surrounded by former robbers who have a deep relationship with her deceased husband, so she naturally doesn't dare to say what she thinks.

Seeing that they couldn't comfort each other, many leaders felt very sorry in their hearts.

Only Zhang Mengcheng, who was friends with Che Jibao, vaguely guessed the young sister-in-law's thoughts, but he was not good at saying it at this time. So Zhang Mengcheng took advantage of the excuse and asked his wife Cai Qixian to help the crying woman away. Xiucai himself explained to the other leaders that the other party was a little unwell and could not continue to stay.

The other leaders, who didn't know what was going on, thought that was the case, and didn't think about it any longer.

Zhang Mengcheng saw the eldest brother and several of their leaders, agreed with his statement, and turned around and nodded to Xigui.

After receiving the order, Xi Gui led three rows of bird guns and fired fire guns into the sky one after another.

After the three bangs, Zhang Mengcheng walked up to his eldest brother Zhang Mengjin and said, "Big brother, it's time." ”

Zhang Mengjin looked back at Che Jibao's grave, and after sighing, he led the other leaders to ride on their war horses and ran towards the Jinding Mountain soldiers who had already lined up in the distance.

Zhang Mengcheng also put on his armor and rode on a war horse with the help of others, and slowly followed.

After a while, the sound of military trumpets and bull horns sounded one after another. The soldiers of Jinding Mountain lined up in a neat formation, and under the leadership of many leaders, one team after another walked in front of the Chejibao Tomb.

At the front was a team of sentinels led by Zhou Shaoteng and Fan Shunjiang, who were uniformly armed with bows and arrows and sabers, and a white strip of cloth was tied to their helmets, and everyone walked neatly and at a uniform speed.

This cavalry team of less than sixty people is the strongest hussar force in the cottage. In terms of the level of cavalry and archery, it will not be inferior to the Mongolian cavalry outside the side wall. And their individual combat skills are even more than other cavalry units, and they are the strength that Jindingshan relies on.

The second group of troops stepped forward, led by Zhao Wankui and Zhang Mengcheng. The horses were all on horseback, armed with bird guns and sabers, and with a strip of white cloth on their helmets.

The march of these bird-gun cavalry was not so neat. Some of them were even a little rusty about riding, but nothing was wrong with them. Although they were all on horseback, these people were not full-time cavalrymen, they were actually foot soldiers with horses.

The third group of soldiers and horses who walked through the formation were the cavalry team under Zhang Mengguang and Ma Xiangzhong. The soldiers who followed them were all real cavalrymen, and the ranks were quite neat. Instead of a white cloth tied to their helmets, they were tied under the tips of the line guns in their hands.

The cavalrymen were not armed with bows or arrows or muskets, all armed only with rifles and sabers, and they also had a regimental plaque in their hands. Although the quality of individual soldiers is not as good as that of the elite of the Sentinel Cavalry, when these people charge in formation, the destructive power is superior to all the troops in the cottage and even the entire western road.

The men and horses that followed were the cavalry of the personal guard battalion led by Zhang Mengjin and Zhang Zhaoen, and the strips of white cloth were tied to their helmets again. These men were armed with guns and knives, while others were armed with weapons such as bones or hand axes. Although the weapons were not uniform, the march of the entire army was also kept very neat.

The armor on these people is very new, and it can be seen that it must have been a new costume for a long time. Li Dan in the team was more conspicuous, because he not only carried a bird gun on his back, but also had a saber on his waist that he did not draw out, but he was holding a military horn in his hand.

When the march of the cavalry was over, the next step was the infantry team, and the second master, Guan Zhiqing, led everyone to walk in front on foot. Ma Xiangbo, Yu Baocheng, Wei Heyong, Li Yang, He Zongwei and other leaders led the soldiers behind them one after another.

These people also wore armor, but in different types, chain mail, cloth armor, and cotton armor. And the weapons they hold in their hands are not as uniform as the cavalry before.

Some carried swords and shields, some spears, and some with birds and crossbows. However, it was not scattered in a haphazard manner, but every five people with the same weapon formed a team. After that, the different types of troops march separately according to the full-time hand-to-hand combat and projection power.

The military parade in the memorial ceremony was a joke made by Che Jibao before.

Not long after Zhang Mengjin and his gang accepted Yang He's recruitment, the leaders of Jindingshan gathered together to fantasize about a bright future.

At that time, Che Jibao said with a smile that he would become a world-famous general in the future, and after his death, he would also have a mighty army to conduct a big parade ceremony in front of his grave.

Zhang Mengcheng, who is a friend of Che Jibao, suddenly remembered this a while ago. After some consideration, he told the other leaders of Jinding Mountain.

Although Che Jibao died very sadly before he became a world-famous general. But the brothers who were born and died with him still want to fulfill his wishes. It happened that Zhang Mengjin, the big boss, also rushed back with his troops, and after some planning by everyone, there was finally this military parade.

Although the soldiers who participated in the parade were only about 600 in total. But these soldiers of Jinding Mountain have been rigorously trained and tested in many battle formations.

Just standing still can make the audience feel their compelling momentum. Coupled with better weapons than the average Ming army, this army can definitely be regarded as a mighty and powerful army.

When all the troops walked in front of Che Jibao's grave, this military parade to commemorate the dead came to an end.

As the commander, Zhang Mengjin led his men and horses to pay tribute to the other fallen soldiers, and then returned to the camp under Jinding Mountain with his troops.

And Zhang Mengcheng quickly took off his armor with the help of others. With the worried support of his wife, he slowly returned to the cottage to rest.

However, soon after the meal, the eldest brother sent someone to deliver the news, interrupting Xiucai's rest arrangement. According to the rumors, it seems that the big boss has something to discuss with the leaders.

So regardless of his wife's complaints, Zhang Mengcheng chose to get up again and slowly walked to the cottage meeting hall.