On the eve of Li Min, the sky woke up slightly, and the eastern sky had not yet revealed the white of the fish's belly.

Outside Xuanwu County, the Hundred Battles Army is in full swing attacking the city, countless torches and burning fires illuminate the city, and also illuminate the soldiers of the Hundred Battles Army who flock to the city like ants, as well as the Dongchuan generals who are fighting to the death at the head of the city and are unwilling to retreat.

The voices of the people were loud, the killing shook the sky, and there seemed to be a violent beast in the night, constantly punching and kicking here, trying to crush and remove the eternal mountains and rivers.

Regardless of the fall and death of their comrades around them, and the hedgehog-like blades in front of them, they tried to use their flesh and blood to cut a gap between the iron armor wall and the jungle, breaking through the opponent's large and small formations, and tearing the opponent's seamless defense line.

Blood hit the city wall, and peonies bloomed, so dazzling and cruel that it was impossible to look at directly. The fierce faces of the soldiers, the fearless and determined eyes, were set off by the flames of war at this moment, and they were like wild cattle galloping in the wasteland, and they only remembered to use all their strength to bury their heads in the rush forward.

Only by embracing death and overcoming death can they find a narrow path to survival in the abyss of death.

In front of the camp of the Hundred Battles Army outside the city, Meng Ping lived in the watchtower, his face was calm like a deep pool, and he couldn't see half of the waves inside, in his sunny-like eyes on weekdays, there was a boundless war beating at the moment, and the figures of countless soldiers were galloping back and forth in it, as well as the city that seemed to stand like a coiling dragon, as if it would never fall.

He meditated with a knife, as if he were facing an abyss, and like a spring breeze.

For the generals, where the battle is directed, Rao is shoulder the responsibility as heavy as Mount Tai, but also like the autumn leaves against the wind, this is said to be light.

The Hundred Battles Army attacked Xuanwu County, and it has been a day and a night, and the city has not yet been captured.

And judging from the current situation, it may take some time to conquer the city.

The battle was so fierce and stalemate, it was beyond Meng Ping's expectations when he set out on the expedition.

You must know that after capturing Xuanwu County, it is necessary to defend against Xichuan reinforcements according to the city, and it is also necessary to urgently repair the city defense, which will also take a long time.

When the Hundred Battles Army and the Gentlemen all rushed to Xuanwu County, the battle in Zizhou had been going on for a day or two.

Although Meng Ping did not see the intensity of the war in Zizhou, it was not difficult to imagine at all. Because from the time they set off from Zizhou to the time they arrived in Xuanwu County, the sound of the war in Zizhou along the way has never stopped, let alone disappeared!

Tens of thousands of people fought, and the sound of the battle spread for nearly 100 miles, and there was no need to think about how tragic the war was.

The attack on Xuanwu County by the Hundred Battles Army began with the sound of the Zizhou War.

"General Meng." Lin Xiong walked up to the watchtower and greeted Meng Ping.

"General Lin." Meng Ping stood up.

"Xuanwu County is more difficult to fight than expected." The two looked at Xuanwu City side by side, and Meng Ping said loudly, "Presumably General Lin also saw it." ”

"Xichuan reinforcements are the lifeblood of Li Shaobin's success in defending Zizhou, and Xuanwu County is the lifeblood of Xichuan reinforcements, so it is reasonable that it is difficult to fight such a key town, no wonder General Meng." Lin Xiong comforted Meng Ping, the two of them had known each other early, one was Li Congjing's most trusted general in the army, and the other was Li Congjing's closest general of the Guards, and the relationship had always been good.

"But I'm running out of time." The content of these words is quite heavy, but Meng Ping's tone has nothing to do with heaviness, "For Li Shaobin, Xuanwu County is the lifeblood, and for Dashuai, Xuanwu County is also the key to determining the outcome of the victory, and there is no room for loss." ”

"What are General Meng's plans?" Lin Xiong asked.

"There are only two ways to solve a problem where time is running out." Meng Ping said.

"I want to hear about it." Lin Xiong said.

"Or speed up the course of the war and complete the siege before the time limit expires; Or buy more time and extend the time limit. Meng Ping said.

"Although the Hundred Battles Army has tried its best, it is still difficult for some strongmen to capture Xuanwu County in one day." Lin Xiong said.

"So I have to choose the second option." Meng Ping said.

"The specific measure to implement the second method is to delay the pace of the Xichuan Army's arrival in Xuanwu County." Lin Xiong said.

"But the Xichuan Army will not slow down for no reason." Meng Ping said.

"Therefore, there needs to be soldiers and horses to harass and intercept halfway." Lin Xiong said.

"The soldiers and horses that harass and intercept must not only be elite and extraordinary, but also have high mobility, according to the commander, so as to effectively hit the Xichuan army." Meng Ping said.

"So this army of horses and horses should be all horses. Gentlemen are the right choice. Lin Xiong said.

"Although this is the case, after all, the Xichuan army has 20,000 or 30,000 people, and it is still a crisis to stop its troops and delay their pace." Meng Ping said.

"I don't know how much time General Meng needs gentlemen to buy for the army?" Lin Xiong asked.

"Twelve hours." Meng Ping said.

"The last general will do his best." Lin Xiong said.

"No, the general is wrong." Meng Ping said.

"Wrong?" Lin Xiong was puzzled.

"It's not about doing your best, it's about having to do it!" Meng Ping's eyes suddenly burst out with a murderous aura, turned to look directly at Lin Xiong, and said in an unquestionable tone: "Even if the gentlemen are all wiped out, and there is not a single soldier left, they must block the Xichuan reinforcements for twelve hours, and they can't miss half a moment!" ”

Military orders have never been ambiguous, and there has never been room for bargaining. The battlefield is a land of iron and blood, and military orders are the laws that create this kind of iron and blood, so it must be more iron and bloody than iron and blood, and iron and blood are ruthless.

The muscles on Lin Xiong's face moved slightly, but he did not hesitate, and said resolutely with his fists: "The last general, take the order!" ”

After Lin Xiong received the order to leave, Yang Chongba walked to Meng Ping, who was looking at the battlefield again, and said in a somewhat strange tone: "General, General Lin is the commander of His Royal Highness's pro-army after all, and the general has issued such a ruthless military order to him, so he is not afraid that General Lin will be resentful, and he will have unfavorable words against the general in front of His Highness in the future?" ”

Meng Ping glanced at Yang Chongba and said lightly: "General Lin is not such a person. Moreover, the dangerous tasks that all gentlemen have carried out are far more serious than those of the present. ”

"However, after all, the gentleman is His Highness's pro-army, and it is understandable for His Highness to issue such a military order, but after all, you only have the right to temporary moderation, general, so you really don't worry that Your Highness will be upset?" Yang Chongba was puzzled.

Meng Ping smiled faintly, more suitable than Fang Cai, and the words he said were more confident and confident, "Your Highness is not such a person. His Royal Highness's mind and vision, not to mention unprecedented, at least are rare. ”

"The general is so sure?" Yang Chongba was surprised.

"Of course. No matter what, Ben Jiang has also followed His Highness since he was a child, and this is still certain. When Meng Ping said this, there was a glorious look on his face, he seemed to recall something, and then said: "Leave these aside, once Your Highness goes to the battlefield, you only know the victory or defeat of the war, as for the rest, Your Highness will not care at all, Ci is not in charge of the army, Your Highness understands this truth better than anyone else." ”

Speaking of this, Meng Ping's face calmed down, "Therefore, the battle of Xuanwu County must not be lost." Even if the Hundred Battles Army is completely wiped out, and there is not a single soldier left, the military orders given by His Highness must be completed. Do you understand? ”

Yang Chongba's expression was awe-inspiring, "The last general understands!" ”

The sky was already bright, and the red sun erupted from the eastern sky, shining on Meng Ping's body, illuminating his armor brightly and dazzlingly.

Meng Ping stood with his knife in his hand, and the battlefield in his eyes was burning like a fire.

He silently said in his heart: Meng Ping, Meng Ping, when Gongzi gave you this name, do you understand Gongzi's intentions?

Meng Ping, Meng Ping, let me be my son, and wipe out the injustice of the world!

He suddenly turned around, walked down the watchtower, walked firmly, and went to the forefront of the battlefield in person.

Today, it is necessary to capture Xuanwu County!

After Lin Xiong received Meng Ping's military order, he immediately went to gather the three thousand elite horsemen of the gentleman.

After hearing the content of the military order issued by Meng Ping, especially the sentence "Fight to the point of one soldier and one soldier, and also block the Xichuan reinforcements for twelve hours", the soldiers of the Junzi army were all awe-inspiring, but it is impossible to say that no one has complained about this harsh military order.

Lin Xiong had long understood this, and he clearly told the three thousand soldiers that it was okay to complain, but they all had to be buried in my heart, and if anyone affected the completion of the task because of this, all military law would not be tolerated.

From the date of its establishment to today, there are three brave generals, and the gentleman is invincible in every battle, which has a lot to do with the fact that these three people are always charging forward and are brave. These three people are Guo Wei and Lin Ying, who were the commanders of the former gentlemen, and Lin Xiong, who are all commanded by the current gentlemen.

Guo Wei has already released the army of the domain, not to mention, but to say that Lin Ying and Lin Xiong are brothers. The two have followed Li Congjing since the battle of Changhe County, and it can be said that the history of their development is the history of Li Congjing's development. Now Lin Xiong leads the gentlemen, although there are not many leaders, but Rao is Gao Xingzhou and Huang Fulin, and they dare not underestimate it at all.

The gentleman was the commander of Lin Ying, because he lost the battle in Jingnan two years ago, and was demoted to an ordinary cavalry after being held accountable.

The morning sun in autumn is warm, and few people do not look forward to it, the morning light is sprinkled on the stable, and it is also sprinkled on Lin Ying, who is scrubbing the war horse, his armor is just an ordinary willow leaf armor, no different from ordinary soldiers. The set of Mingguang armor he was given to Li Congjing back then has never been worn since he was dismissed from the post of commander of the Junzi Dudu.

Lin Ying is not very old, as young as most of the generals who grew up in the Hundred Battles Army, and now he is not yet the age of standing, but his face has been engraved with wind and frost and vicissitudes, only those sharp eyes are still as firm and spirited as they were at the beginning.

His actions of brushing the war horse could not find a second mold in a standardized manner, and his eyes were soft at this time, as if he was wearing a wide coat for his lover. The horse seemed to enjoy it too, grinning and baring its teeth as if it were laughing.

Seeing his beloved war horse so comfortable, Lin Ying's eyes also showed a smile that has become more and more rare in recent years, like the other cavalry in the horse shed who were scrubbing the war horses, after brushing, he held the horse's head, and wiped his two faces together, this gesture is really closer than the closest lover.

The stables were very noisy, the horses neighed comfortably, the cavalrymen patted their beloved horses and talked to them, as if they were talking to their own brothers, from time to time someone joked about the horses of their comrades, or compared with each other, or let out bursts of heroic laughter, a lively and harmonious scene.

Put on the bridles for the war horse, Lin Ying was about to empty the bucket with a bucket, a herald ran to the stable, looked around a few times, found Lin Ying, ran to him, and said to him: "Lin Ying, the general summoned you to see him immediately." ”

Lin Ying paused and frowned slightly. Since he was demoted to an ordinary soldier, he has always adhered to military regulations, and even strictly adhered to them, almost never met Lin Xiong in the army, and also warned Lin Xiong not to take any care of him.

With such a clear "summons", I can't remember when it was last time.

When Lin Ying entered the tent, Lin Xiong was discussing the battle plan with several commanders, so he stood aside and waited in an orderly manner, and even Lin Xiong's own soldiers beckoned him to sit down, but he shook his head and refused.

Lin Xiong and the commanders were gathered in front of the detailed map drawn up by the Military Intelligence Department to discuss how to take concrete actions next.

After the training of the Yanwu Academy and the education of Li Congjing's military thoughts, the way and content of the people's conversations are inevitably a little different from those of the current generals of other countries.

"Hanzhou and Yizhou are both in the Chengdu Plain, although Jianzhou is not in the Chengdu Plain, its reinforcements will enter Zizhou, but they will also have to take the route. Between the Chengdu Plain and Xuanwu County, there is a northeast-southwest Longmen Mountain Range, and the Xichuan reinforcements must cross the Longmen Mountains if they want to enter the boundary of Xuanwu County. ”

Lin Xiong pointed to the map and said to everyone: "Everyone, please see, the county seat of Xuanwu County is here, almost next to the Longmen Mountain Range, my gentleman wants to intercept the Xichuan reinforcements from entering the territory of Xuanwu County, the best choice is to enter the Longmen Mountain, guard the mountain pass, and prevent the other party from going out of the mountain." ”

"However, there are as many as three routes for the army to enter Xuanwu County from the Chengdu Plain, and my gentleman only has 3,000 horsemen, and it is overstretched to block nearly 30,000 Xichuan thieves on the three routes." There is a commanding messenger.

"It's not difficult, you see." Lin Xiong didn't care, and continued: "The Xichuan thief army entered Xuanwu County from the Chengdu Plain, the northernmost is Deyang County through Hanzhou, the middle is through Hanzhou City, and the southernmost is Jintang County through Hanzhou. ”

Speaking of this, Lin Xiong raised his head and looked at the commanders: "Seventy or eighty miles, with my fine riding footsteps, and without carrying baggage, I can arrive in half a day at most." ”

This is really a conservative estimate, there are countless examples of the horse army galloping 300 miles in one day and one night in history, and Li Cunqiao has done this kind of thing, and Li Shimin has also done it in the past.

"In this way, the general's intention is that my gentleman will divide his troops into three roads and guard the three mountain passes respectively?" A commander asked.

Lin Xiong nodded, "Exactly." He continued: "My gentlemen are divided into three routes, each with a thousand horsemen, and each of them guards an exit from the mountain. If the distribution of the thief army's strength is focused, then our army will support nearby, and it will not take much time and will not affect the battle situation. And if the thief army is in three ways at the same time, and the strength of each road is comparable"

After a pause in his words, Lin Xiong stared at everyone and said, "This requires you to fight to the death." ”

The commanders looked awe-inspiring.

Lin Xiong said solemnly and solemnly: "You must remember that the key to the war in Liangchuan is in Zizhou, the key to the war in Zizhou is in Xuanwu County, and the key to the war in Xuanwu County is in us. Hold on to the mountain pass for twelve hours, even if there is only one soldier left, never take half a step back! ”

"The last general commands!" The commanders clenched their fists resolutely.

Lin Xiong nodded, "Everyone go and prepare, and after half an hour, the army will start!" ”

After the commanders left, Lin Ying came forward to greet him with a military salute.

"Brother sit." Lin Xiong was a little tired, he followed Li Congjing's appearance and rubbed his eyebrows.

Lin Ying didn't sit down, he couldn't help but say: "The Xichuan thief army has three routes to choose from, it is indeed true, but this time it entered Xuanwu County to fight, and the army sent many scouts through the Longmen Mountain Range to the west to inquire about the movement of the thief army, is there no news back?" ”

"How come there is no news coming back?" Lin Xiong smiled bitterly, looking very helpless, "It's just that my brother also knows that the scouts are not immortals, and once the Xichuan thief army controls the exit of Longmen Mountain, our army scouts will not be able to go out." ”

"What about the MI eyeliner? No news either? Lin Ying asked.

Lin Xiong shook his head, "Meng Zhixiang is obviously prepared this time, the thief army is ambushing day and night, and all of them are fanfare, each army seems to have 30,000 people, the military intelligence department can't find out detailed information, and it's useless to have flying pigeons to pass on the book." ”

Lin Ying understood, "In this way, until the last moment, it is indeed impossible to know the truth of the thief army, and this battle is indeed difficult to fight." ”

"That's why I came to my brother." Lin Xiong nodded.

"What the hell are you looking for me?" Lin Ying asked.

"I want to ask my brother to lead the way and be responsible for guarding a mountain pass." Lin Xiong said seriously.

Lin Ying shook his head bitterly, "There is no shortage of wise and brave generals in gentlemen, especially in recent years, there are many seedlings who have come in from the Yanwu Academy, and they are all very good." ”

"It seems that my brother has indeed not neglected the overall situation of Junzidu." Lin Xiong was very pleased, and then said solemnly: "But my brother should also know that I did this time not to give my brother a chance to make meritorious contributions, but this battle is really extraordinary." With 3,000 against 30,000 and holding on for 12 hours, this is nothing, the key is that what we are facing is not a Khitan barbarian, nor a Dongchuan general, but 30,000 elites from the six armies and guards before the imperial court, and they are the tiger and wolf division who have been trained and favored by Meng Zhixiang for many years! ”

"In the face of such an arduous and unmissable task, at least for the moment, there will be no one more gentleman, who is more sure to deal with it than his brother, at least I am not as good as my brother!" Lin Xiong said, "Brother, to this day, it is not the glory and disgrace of you alone, but the rise and fall of the prince, the success or failure of the great cause of the handsome Shu, I can do it inwardly and not avoid relatives, is it that at this time, my brother still has to abide by the common etiquette, afraid of others to discuss, and refuse to go all out?" ”

"Fart you!" Lin Ying took the case, "As long as I can complete the task, contribute to the victory of this battle, and add even a trace of strength to the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, how can I, Lin Ying, care about personal honor and disgrace, how can I cringe and worry about others talking?!" ”

"So, thank you, brother." Lin Xiong clenched his fists.

Lin Ying sighed and stepped forward to hold Lin Xiong's fist.

The brothers' eyes were firm and full of sacredness.