On March 12 of the fifth year of Chongzhen, Cao Wenzhao led the official army to defeat the thieves again in Songshuliang, and then attacked the thieves who were holding on to the top of the mountain again. Regarding the battle to attack the thieves who held on to the top of the mountain, Cao Wenzhao wrote in the Tang Bao later.

“…… Li Menghui (yi, fourth tone), Cao Bianjiao, Feng Ju and others advanced from the northeast, and Yang Guozhen, Li Zhao, and Yang Guanglie advanced from the northwest. The thieves divided the enemy and fought to the death, and our soldiers rushed around the mountain. Yanzhen garrison Zhang Mengjin took advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and shouted from behind the old camp to cut into the old camp. The thieves were defeated, crying and abandoning the armor, and those who lost their horses and fell into the stream were invincible. (Note 1)

The content of the account is relatively simple, some things are not very clear, and some things seem to be deliberately skipped. If Zhao Ran, who experienced this battle, looks from the point of view, it may be able to make people have a clearer understanding. In the battle of the official army attacking the mountain on the 12th, Zhao Ran was following the big boss Du San and making every effort to intercept the attacking Cao Bianjiao and others.

……

The earth-shattering shouts echoed throughout the mountain stream, and the officers and thieves began to fight again. Only this time neither side used artillery, only some easy-to-carry tiger squats and individual guns were constantly firing.

The thieves who clung to the top of the mountain, their cannons had all been discarded in yesterday's battle. And the officers and soldiers attacking the mountain, because of the continuous pursuit, did not carry large artillery with limited mobility. At this time, what tests both sides is their courage to face challenges head-on, and their excellent ability to cross the battlefield.

"The big boss, the officer at the head, seems to be the one who led the officers and troops to attack the mountain yesterday, and he led people to occupy our camp gate yesterday." Zhao Ran held a crossbow in his hand and did not fire blindly. After seeing Cao Bianjiao who was the head of Lintao Town, he hurriedly stretched out his hand and pointed at the other party and reported to Du San, the big boss next to him.

Du San looked at the target Zhao Ran was pointing at, and an officer of the army was holding a sword and shield, leading the soldiers around him to climb the mountain on foot. His mouth kept rolling, as if he was cheering on the soldiers around him. "Everybody listened to me, and they all pointed their hands at the fool who was on the head. It is not allowed to attack without authorization, and they all honestly wait for Lao Tzu's signal, and wait for the officials and troops to approach before fighting. ”

The many thieves around Du San hurriedly reloaded their bows and crossbows and firearms, and then aimed at Cao Bianjiao in the distance. A rogue, overly nervous, accidentally fires the firearm he controls. This sound seemed to cause an avalanche, and many thieves also shot projectiles one after another out of nervousness.

Du San, who felt that his majesty was challenged, first scolded for a while. Then severe punishment was given to the thieves who did not obey the order and shot first. He drew his knife and quickly walked over and slashed the bad man to death. He then cut off the man's head to show the others around him what would happen to those who didn't obey orders.

Taking advantage of the chaos of the thieves during this time, Cao Bianjiao on the opposite side led his officers and troops to the top of the mountain a lot. Zhao Ran looked at the officers and soldiers approaching step by step on the opposite side, and felt a little anxious. So he also stepped into the team he was in charge of, kicked his men a few times, and made them quickly start regrouping.

"Zhao Er (Zhao Ran), Zhao Er, where the hell did you go?" Du San, who returned to the command position, couldn't find his right-hand man, so he began to shout loudly.

"What, here, I just went to tidy up the team, what do you want from the big boss?" As soon as Zhao Ran heard the call of the big boss, he immediately ran back to Du San's side and respectfully asked the big boss what orders he had.

"What about the others? Not only him, but even the twenty or so mouths under his command are all gone. Du San, who had just reorganized his team, finally found that he was missing a team of soldiers in his team.

Hearing the question of the big boss, Zhao Ran also found that there was no one missing. It's just that he didn't know where the people went, so he had to say his guess. "I was just looking there, and I don't know where they went in a blink of an eye. Could it be that Yang Da's side was tight and was summoned to garrison there? ”

"Damn, Yang Laochai, this bastard, still dares to claim to be a general soldier. When they met the real official army, they immediately withered, and they took away Lao Tzu's support without even saying hello. You go to Lao Yang's and ask them to transfer people back immediately. Du San was quite dissatisfied with the behavior of his soldiers who did not listen to his own transfer and left their posts without permission. casually pointed to a minion and instructed him to rush to General Yang to convey his request.

"Big boss, the officers and troops are approaching, let's prepare for battle." Turning around and seeing that the official army was approaching, Zhao Ran hurriedly interrupted Du San, the big boss who was still giving orders, and asked him to give a combat order.

Looking at the officers and soldiers rushing towards him, Du San no longer delayed. After the order was given, a large number of projectiles and arrows were shot at the officers and soldiers, and more than a dozen officers and soldiers who were killed in front of them fell in an instant.

Cao Bianjiao, who was taken care of, had several feather arrows inserted in his shield and armor, as well as an unknown number of projectiles and flying stones that also injured the guerrilla general. Beside him lay the corpses of several officers and soldiers, as well as soldiers who were constantly wailing.

It's just that these didn't destroy Cao Bianjiao's fighting spirit, and he threw away the shield in his hand. Not caring about his injuries at all, he raised his waist knife and killed the thief, and the other officers and soldiers also quickly pounced on the thief in front of him under his guidance. The thieves armed with bows, crossbows, guns and other weapons quickly retreated, while the thieves armed with knives, guns and clubs met the swift killing of the officers and soldiers.

Zhao Ran looked at his companions who were fighting with the officers and soldiers in front of him, and did not blindly step forward to attack. After reloading his crossbow, he aimed at an officer and soldier. The flying bolt pierced the officer's eye socket, and the officer was killed. Du San, the big boss, led his personal soldiers to open and expand a gap in the official army, and the formation of the official army was unstable.

Looking at the big boss who was rapidly expanding the results of the battle, Zhao Ran calmly took the arrow again. This time, he finally found the officers and soldiers who had entered the crowd before, and Zhao Ran planned to use this opportunity to kill the other party in one fell swoop.

As long as the vanguard officers of the officers and troops are killed, they can completely take the opportunity to defeat the officers and troops in front of them in one fell swoop. And the second wave of officers and troops who were climbing the mountain would be crushed by the rout before they could reach the predetermined position.

Just before Zhao Ran was about to shoot the crossbow bolt again, there was a sudden shouting of killing in the direction of the old camp behind him. Zhao Ran, who found that the situation was wrong, looked back, and didn't know where a group of officers and soldiers appeared behind him. They were in the unguarded old camp, shouting and rushing everywhere.

Zhao Ran, who has good eyesight, faintly saw the drill sentry and his subordinates who had not been seen before, with a red scarf wrapped around their necks, and they were leading the officers and soldiers around to kill the brothers who stayed in the old camp.

Zhao Ran, who noticed that the battle situation had changed, quickly turned around and shot an arrow at the officers and officers in the distance. Now it is necessary to repel the officers and troops in front of you as soon as possible in order to have a chance of survival, and shooting the commander of the opposing side is the best choice. The crossbow arrows that flew out carrying Zhao Ran's hope finally brushed the other party's helmet.

The officer was still very brave, and did not waver in the slightest because of the crossbow arrow that almost killed him. Instead, the other party shouted the thief's scheme, and at the same time led the family around him to rush to Du San, the big boss not far away. At this time, the other officers and soldiers also noticed that friendly troops appeared behind the thieves, and everyone knew that victory was in sight.

And the thieves who also learned about the mutation behind them were like mourners. The rout started from the reserve at the rear, and these people did not obey Zhao Ran's command to kill the officers and soldiers at the most critical time, but scattered and fled crying. Their cowardly stance caused a chain reaction, and the crossbowmen in front and the elite soldiers in the front who were engaged with the officers and troops at the front fled like an avalanche.

Zhao Ran, who had nothing to do, glanced at Du San, the big boss who was still in the battle formation. Most of the guards around Du San were killed and scattered, and several loyal guards were desperately intercepting the pursuit of officers and officers. And Du San himself had a feather arrow stuck in his shoulder, and the injured boss was now retreating backwards in embarrassment. And the second wave of officers and troops in the distance had already abandoned the formation and killed directly towards their own side.

Zhao Ran stomped his feet angrily, and led a few subordinates who were still following closely to quickly save the big boss. After that, he turned around and fled in the direction of General Yang's soldiers, and the chaotic thieves slowed down the pursuit of the official army to a certain extent.

Both Du San and Zhao Ran managed to get rid of each other's pursuit, and on the way to retreat in the direction of General Yang's troops. Zhao Ran encountered the rout of General Yang's soldiers, and it turned out that General Yang was also defeated by the official army.

Zhao Ran, who realized that the battle situation was already desperate, heard the sound of horses' hooves. Turning his head to look at Zhao Ran, he saw the Sky Drilling Sentry that was riding a horse and galloping. He was followed by several of his subordinates, as well as several officers and cavalry. The horses they were riding were obviously snatched from the old camp, and Zhao Ran even saw his own mount.

PS: Note 1: The content here is still taken from, Wu Fu's "Chai An Shuji" volume 10, "The border bandits conspire to be solidified, and the officers and soldiers are meritorious". The author has only added some words appropriately and made some minor modifications.