After waiting for an afternoon on the embankment, Jingzhou did not come out of the city again to attack the embankment, Lu Fatzi confessed that no one was allowed to move a brick or stone of the embankment without his own order, and then set off quietly to return to the main camp of the Wu army in Duijintai. Before leaving, Wang Jun, the general of Wu Jun Xinwu who was sent by Wu Lao Han to assist Lu Fatzi in charge of blowing up the embankment, was a little uneasy, and pulled Lu Fatzi's sleeve and asked worriedly: "Lord Lu, it's okay for you to go back to the camp, but what if the dog attacks the embankment at night?" Otherwise, our explosives are stacked in the open air, in case a torch full of dogs is thrown on ....... ”

"Why did the full dog come to attack the embankment? Why burn our explosives? Lu Fatzi laughed, "Mangou came to attack the embankment, not only to risk being annihilated by our army in the field, but also to have no impact on our army's bombing of the embankment and flooding the city, even if Mangou can burn all the explosives here, we can still re-transport explosives from the camp to blow up the embankment, such a deal that outweighs the loss, Mangou who is more cunning than a fox will do?" ”

"The last general is confused, but the adult is still smart." Wang Junji suddenly realized, and said with a smile: "In this way, the brothers can have a good night's rest tonight. ”

"Have a good rest, but the sentry must be sent more, be careful to sail the ship of ten thousand years." Lu Fatzi waved his hand and explained a few more words not to damage the embankment at will, and then led a team of personal soldiers to get on the horse and return to the camp of Duijintai overnight to meet Wu Laohan.

Entering the heavily guarded main camp of the Wu army, and then coming to the brightly lit Chinese army tent, Wu Lao Han Jian really did not go back to the tent to rest, but was studying the military situation with Wang Shirong, Wu Guogui and Xia Guoxiang, and Han Daren, who was recently favored by Wu Lao Han and Xia Guoxiang, was also in the tent. Seeing Lu Fatzi enter the tent and salute, Wu Laohan first waved his hand to let Lu Fatzi get up, and then turned to Wu Guogui and said with a smile: "Guogui, you are not wrong to be a father, right?" Your son-in-law always puts business first, no matter how late or busy he is, he has to go back to the camp to learn about the military situation, you still don't believe it, but now it's really here, isn't it? ”

"It's still the father's eyes like lightning, and he knows people well, this kid is indeed so good." Wu Guogui was a little embarrassed, smiled very reluctantly, glared at his son-in-law who saluted him and had been looking unpleasantly, and shouted angrily: "Get up, how is the situation in the Ten Thousand Causeway?" ”

"Back to my father-in-law, everything is normal, and the mission assigned by my grandfather has also gone well." Lu Fatzi didn't know if Wu Lao Hanjian had told Wu Guogui the truth, so he answered very vaguely, his attitude was very respectful, and he even looked a little trembling.

"Okay, Guogui, your son-in-law is good, you don't have to be bad at him all the time." Wu Lao Hanjian saw Lu Fatzi's restraint, so he smiled and said: "Don't treat him all day long without a good face, so that he sees you like a mouse sees a cat, Yifeng is the son-in-law chosen for you by his father, are you disgusted that your father didn't pick you well?" ”

"The child doesn't dare." Wu Guogui hurriedly got up and pleaded guilty. Wu Lao Han laughed, beckoned Wu Guogui to sit down, and beckoned to Lu Fatzi to let Lu Fatzi sit in the first position on his right side, Lu Fatzi thanked him first, and then got up and sat next to Wu Laohan, when he sat down, Lu Fatzi inadvertently saw Han Daren sitting next to Xia Guoxiang, seeing his eyes flickering, his expression seemed to be disdainful, Lu Fatzi knew that he was jealous of his deep trust in Wu Laohan, but he didn't pay attention to it - since ancient times, if you don't attract people's jealousy, it is called mediocrity.

"Yifeng, the situation is the same as your analysis, Mangou did rush the 10,000-person embankment at any cost today, and sent a large number of scouts to the surrounding area to investigate the situation." Wu Lao Han Jian seemed to have informed Lu Fatzi of his plan to deceive the enemy to a few cronies, and directly asked Lu Fatzi straight to the point: "In your opinion, is Mangou already convinced that our army is about to blow up the embankment and flood the city?" ”

"Back to grandfather, there is at least an eighty percent chance that Mangou is already convinced that our army has blown up the embankment!" Lu Fatzi replied categorically: "Mangou is now powerless to stop our army from blowing up the embankment, and the only hope is that I hope that grandfather, you will be merciful and take care of the people and refuse to blow up the embankment." But Mangou himself is not right, his conscience is wrong, and he spends the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, how can he understand and understand his grandfather's hard work? Therefore, the grandson-in-law dared to conclude that tomorrow night or the night after tomorrow, Mangou would definitely give up Jingzhou and break through with the whole army! ”

Wu Lao Hanjian smiled and nodded, extremely satisfied with the answer given by Fat Lu. Wu Guogui was accustomed to his surname and scolded: "Don't talk big, whether your bad idea will work or not will be confirmed until the moment when Mangou really abandons the city and breaks through!" Now it doesn't matter if you brag here, misleading your grandfather's judgment of the enemy, and your sin will be great. ”

Fat Lu nodded submissively, but he wondered in his heart - how could two of his three fathers-in-law look at him unpleasantly? But at this moment, Xia Guoxiang suddenly spoke: "Brother Guogui, this time your son-in-law and my niece-in-law are really not bragging, Xiao Huaiyin (Han Daren's nickname) also thinks so, just now before entering the account, Daren has also analyzed it for me, thinking that Mangou will inevitably abandon the city and break through within two days." ”

Wu Guogui didn't speak, and muttered in his heart that Lao Tzu scolded his son-in-law, and asked you, an outsider, to interfere with his fart? Wu Lao Han Jian, Wang Shirong and Lu Fatzi all glanced at Han Daren in surprise, Han Daren understood everyone's thoughts, and hurriedly explained: "Don't blame the prince, in fact, before this, the last general is not sure whether the prince will really blow up the embankment, but the only thing that the last general dares to believe is that the full dog in Jingzhou City will never dare to gamble with his surname and the 60,000 army, and bet that the prince will not dare to blow up the embankment, so since the moment the prince spread the rumor of blowing up the embankment, the last general has already concluded that the full dog will abandon the city and break through before the eighth day of the lunar month!" ”

"Then when do you think Mangou will break through? Break out in that direction? Wu Lao Hanjian also wanted to discover a few more talents for himself, so he deliberately asked.

"Back to the prince, the last general thinks that the full dog will break through on the night of the seventh day of the lunar month!" Han Daren also knew that the opportunity was coming, so he quickly cheered up and said loudly: "Although it is possible to break through tomorrow on the sixth night of the lunar month, it is difficult for anyone to make up this determination to give up the important town of Jingzhou, which is rich in grain and grass and has a strong city. Therefore, the last general felt that Mangou was likely to die and struggle until the last moment, and it was not possible to make up his mind to break through until the night of the seventh day of the lunar month, during which Mangou would inevitably do everything possible to spy on the movements of our army and judge whether our army really planned to make up its mind to blow up the embankment, so the scene of our army blowing up the embankment and flooding the city must be continued, and it must continue to be played! ”

"As for the direction of the breakout of the full dog." Han Daren paused, and said categorically: "The last general thinks that Mangou must break through to Anlu!" Because of the three breakthrough directions of Mangou, Jingmen Prefecture in the north is already under the control of our army, and there is a dangerous road in Huya Pass, if you want to bypass this natural danger, you have to walk at least 100 miles, which is very unfavorable to Mangou, so Mangou is the most unlikely to take this road to break through. Due west of Yiling, the main force of our army is stationed in the west of Jingzhou, and it is easy to be blocked when the dog breaks through on this road, and the possibility of the dog breaking through on this road is very small. Only Anlu, most likely! ”

Wu Lao Hanjian nodded slightly, and appreciated Han Daren's judgment, and Wu Guogui also agreed: "Father, the child also thinks that it is the most likely to break through in the direction of Anlu on the seventh night of the seventh month of the first lunar month, Anlu is located in the northwest of Jingzhou, our army is weak in this direction, and it is far away from our army's camp. What's more critical is that the whole territory of Anlu Mansion is still under the control of Mangou, although the Mangou Green Camp there is vulnerable, but it can provide Mangou with a place to settle down and food and grass supplies, so that Mangou can give up his baggage and quickly break through, which is very beneficial to Mangou. ”

"Reasonable, reasonable, Brother Guogui and Xiao Huaiyin are reasonable." Xia Guolian, who was not much stronger than Wu Yingqi in terms of courage and strategy, nodded again and again, and suggested: "Old Taishan, my son-in-law thinks that our army should send an elite army to Hougang, the only way for Mangou to break through, to ambush it, and when Mangou escapes there, the ambush is exhausted, and the pursuers are flanked before and after, and they will definitely win a big victory!" ”

Wu Lao Hanjian nodded slightly, but did not speak and ordered, just turned his head to look at Wang Shirong and Lu Fatzi on both sides, Wang Shirong understood, and muttered: "General Han's analysis is indeed very reasonable, according to common sense, the situation should be like this, but ......." ”

"But what?" Wu Lao Hanjian asked.

"But what we can think of, Mangou must also be able to think of." Fat Lu finally spoke, and said solemnly: "So my son-in-law thinks that Mangou will inevitably not play his cards according to common sense, and will inevitably do the opposite, kill our army by surprise, and break out of the encirclement at a small price." ”

"How can the dog do the opposite?" Wu Laohan glanced at Fat Lu and asked.

"Break through one day in advance, and break through on the night of the sixth day of the lunar month, so that our army cannot arrange and prepare ambushes." As if he was deliberately raising the bar with Han Daren, Lu Fatzi said categorically: "Don't go to the northeast to break through to the most ideal and safest, break through to Yiling in the west!" ”

"Breakthrough on the sixth day of the lunar month? Break through to Yiling? Wu Guogui paused for a moment, and then said angrily: "What nonsense are you talking about? It may be possible for Mangou to break through a day early, but how can Mangou break through to Yiling? Over there, Xia Guoxiang and Han Daren also looked at each other, and they couldn't figure out how Fat Lu could come to such a ridiculous conclusion.

"Don't blame your father-in-law, please listen to your son-in-law." Lu Fatzi was not in a hurry, and said unhurriedly: "Please father-in-law think about it carefully, we are here to analyze the breakthrough time of Mangou, can Mangou analyze and judge our blocking time in Jingzhou City?" As General Han said, Mangou is most likely to break through on the seventh day of the lunar month, and we should make every effort to block the attack on the night of the seventh day of the lunar month. Since Mangou can think of this, then why don't they do the opposite, break through a day early, and kill us by surprise? ”

Wu Guogui was speechless, and Han Daren said unconvinced: "Jingzhou is so important, how can it be easy to make up your mind to give up until the last moment?" ”

"Jingzhou is indeed equally important to us and to Mangou." Fat Lu said slowly: "But why does Mangou want to break through?" It was because we were going to blow up the embankment and flood the city, and Mangou could not continue to hold on, so he had to give up, since Mangou had to give up Jingzhou, so in order to save troops and reduce losses when breaking through, why couldn't Mangou break through a day in advance? Kill us by surprise? ”

Han Daren is indeed a rare talent with both civil and military skills, but in terms of debate, he is not even worthy of lifting shoes for Lu Fatzi. Lu Fatzi added: "I'm even sure that if it weren't for the dry food for the breakout and the destruction of the grain and grass in Jingzhou City, they would definitely break through tonight!" Because of this, Mangou didn't want to leave us with the grain and grass, so he had to choose to break through on the night of the sixth day of the lunar month. ”

"Okay, there's no need to argue about the time for the full dog to break out." Wu Laohan waved his hand and said with a smile: "Yifeng thinks that Mangou will break through on the night of the sixth night of the lunar month, and Daren thinks that Mangou will break through on the night of the seventh night of the lunar month, this difference is not very big, we only need to prepare for two nights in a row, our army has not attacked the city for three consecutive days, the physical strength of the soldiers is quite sufficient, it is definitely not a problem to prepare for two nights in a row, and you can take turns to rest during the day." ”

"Still." Speaking of this, Wu Lao Hanjian turned his ugly face to Lu Fatzi again, and asked seriously: "Yifeng, why do you judge that Mangou will break through to Yiling?" Compared with the breakthrough of Xiang'anlu, it is not only difficult for the dog to break through to Yiling, but also dangerous on the road? ”

"Because Mangou, like us, knows that it is relatively safe to break through to Anlu, so Mangou must believe that our army will arrange ambushes on the road where they flee to Anlu." Lu Fatzi said in a deep voice: "Please think about my grandfather, father-in-law and second uncle, if you are to command Jingzhou Mangou to break through, when it is clear that our army is likely to set up an ambush in the northeast, do you choose to go to Anlu to throw yourself into the net, or kill us by surprise and go the opposite way to break through to Yiling?" ”

Wu Lao Hanjian, Wu Guogui, Xia Guoxiang and others were all silent, not only thinking that Lu Fatzi was reasonable, but also feeling that things were too risky, which was tantamount to gambling on whether it would be easy to give up. Han Daren was furious in his heart, and secretly scolded Lu Fatzi for killing Zhongliang when he got his will, deliberately reversing black and white, and blocking the road to future generations. In the end, it was Xia Guoxiang who proposed: "Father-in-law, the son-in-law thinks that Yifeng and Daren are reasonable, so let's just make preparations in this regard, and send two ambushes at the same time, one to ambush Hougang, the only way for Mangou to flee to Anlu, and the other to ambush Dongshi, the only way for Mangou to flee to Yiling, so that no matter which direction Mangou breaks through, we can ensure that it happens." ”

"Lao Tzu has so many troops?" Wu Laohan glared at his straw bag son-in-law viciously.

"Grandfather has a point." Lu Fatzi also made a big fuss, "Our army has fewer soldiers and more dog soldiers, although our army is stronger than full dogs in the field, but after too much division of troops, this advantage will be gone." Moreover, when the dog breaks through, it will inevitably burn down the granary arsenal of Jingzhou, our army's logistics are thin, and it is a pity that these grains and grass are burned again, and an army must be immediately sent into the city to take over the rescue, and in terms of the deployment and distribution of troops, it is indeed very stretched. ”

Wu Laohan nodded silently, agreeing with Lu Fatzi's judgment, and Wu Guogui muttered: "In this way, our army must face an either/or choice, either to judge the right direction of Mangou's breakthrough and concentrate on Mangou, or to make a mistake in judgment, and can only get an empty city in Jingzhou, and cannot severely damage Mangou's last main force in Huguang." ”

"That's right, that's the truth." Wu Lao Han nodded, sat up straight again, and said solemnly: "Then you say, should we choose the northeast or the west?" Do you choose to place an ambush in Hougang, or do you choose to place an ambush in Dong City? ”

"Lord Wang, the last general insists that Mangou will break through to the northeast." Han Daren couldn't wait to be the first to say: "The last general is willing to lead an army to Hougang to ambush, if the dog does not go this way, the last general is willing to lead the army." ”

Wu Laohan didn't speak, his eyes turned to Xia Guoxiang, Xia Guoxiang hesitated for a moment, and replied: "Father-in-law, although the son-in-law thinks that what Yifeng said is very reasonable, but Mangou may not be like Yifeng's analysis, he will let go of the relatively safe An Lu and retreat to Yiling." Therefore, the son-in-law still thinks that Mangou is the most likely to break through to Anlu. ”

"Father, it's not that the child is dissatisfied with his son-in-law, it's just that he said it too mysteriously." Wu Guogui also stood on the opposite side of his son-in-law mercilessly, and said solemnly: "He believes that Mangou will break through to Yiling, which is based on the basis of believing that Mangou will do the opposite. Therefore, the child supported General Han Daren this time and was willing to lead an army to Hougang to ambush. ”

"Yifeng, your son-in-law is very unpopular with my father-in-law." Wu Lao Han laughed and smiled at Fat Lu: "Even your father-in-law doesn't support your judgment, what else do you have to say?" ”

"Son-in-law still thinks that Mangou will break through to Yiling." Fat Lu didn't pay attention to Wu Guogui's ugly face, but said seriously: "Because there is another reason, it's not that Mangou can't defend the city, but the special terrain of Jingzhou determines that Mangou can't hold on." If Mangou succeeds in breaking through to Yiling, although the grain and grass are not enough to hold on for a long time, the terrain of Yiling is more precipitous than Jingzhou, more easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there is no such fatal point as the 10,000-person embankment, and it can also play a role in continuing to contain the main force of our army - grandfather, you must also know that now for us and the Mangou Emperor, the most precious thing is not the strength and grain and grass, but time! ”

"This time, I agree with the judgment of this student of Mr. Maoyao." Wang Shirong finally opened his mouth and said solemnly: "The main force of our army cannot annihilate the main force of Jingzhou for a day, it cannot open up contact with Sichuan for a day, and it cannot launch a full-scale counteroffensive for a day. If the main force of Mangou retreats to Anlu, then even if our army cannot annihilate them, it can still achieve the strategic goal of opening up the Yangtze River waterway, which is very unfavorable to Mangou. ”

"But if the main force of Mangou succeeds in breaking through to Yiling, Yiling can replace Jingzhou as a new nail in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and continue to play a role in containing and restraining our army. So this time, I agree with the judgment of Mr. Mao Yao, a student, that the possibility of breaking through to Yiling is the greatest! ”

"Then let's set up an ambush in Dong City." Wu Laohan smiled, pointed at Wu Guogui with his hand, and said with a smile: "Guogui, the plan was proposed by your son-in-law, and the errand of leading troops to Dong City to arrange an ambush will be handed over to you." ”

Hearing Wu Laohan's words, Han Daren, who finally had a chance to emerge, was inevitably disappointed, and Wu Guogui was also very anxious, and hurriedly opened his mouth to fight: "Father, you ......." ”

"Don't say it, it's decided." Wu Laohan interrupted with a wave of his hand, and said coldly: "Your son-in-law is the most thoughtful, the most important thing for a father now is time, if your son-in-law is wrong, the father can only let the full dog in Jingzhou City live for a few more days, and still achieve the purpose of opening up contact with Sichuan." But if your son-in-law judged correctly, but the father did not follow his advice and let the man go to Yiling to break through successfully, then the father had regret medicine, and it was too late to take it. ”

Wu Guogui was stunned for a while, and only after a while did he say weakly: "The child obeys the order." After that, Wu Guogui turned to Lu Fatzi again, also glared at him viciously, and threatened in a low voice: "If you let Lao Tzu run to Dong Shibai, then you will wait for Lao Tzu to clean up!" ”

Lu Fatzi's head shrank and he didn't dare to say anything, and Wu Lao Hanjian laughed and said: "Okay, if Yifeng's judgment is wrong, the old man won't punish you, just let your father-in-law clean you up." ”

After that, Wu Lao Han and Xia Guoxiang laughed together, Lu Fatzi and Wu Guogui laughed awkwardly together, and Han Daren lowered his head and became jealous and hateful to Lu Fatzi - but what Han Daren didn't expect was that in fact, Wu Lao Hanjan had been paying attention to him secretly, and seeing that he was dissatisfied and secretly glared at Lu Fatzi, Wu Lao Hanjan was not only not angry, but secretly happy, and said in his heart: "Okay, Yifeng's little slippery head can even coax Lao Tzu's straw bale son to turn around, and the person sent to monitor him is even sent to be surrounded by him, Within a few days, I wore a pair of pants with him - if I didn't hurry up and train him an enemy, Lao Tzu really didn't feel at ease to reuse him further. ”

………………

The end of the pre-war enemy situation analysis meeting, the night passed quickly, to the next morning, but also the morning of the sixth day of the twelfth year of Kang Mazi, the main force of the Wu army began to prepare for the resistance war, Wu army fierce general Wu Guogui led 10,000 elite soldiers out of the camp, with the cover of morning fog and snowflakes, quietly rushed to the east town of Jingzhou west to ambush, the main force of the Wu army while preparing dry food weapons, while seizing the time to rest and recuperate, only sent a small number of troops to monitor the movements of the Qing army in Jingzhou, Patiently waited for the Qing army to break through and flee for their lives.

In winter, the days are short, and another day passes quickly, just to the first shift, the sky is already dark, the wind and snow in the sky are greater, not only the cold wind is biting, but the vision is greatly blocked. Seeing this scene, although Wu Laohan ordered the whole army to continue to loosen and tighten in the dark, the horses did not unload the saddles, and the dry food and weapons were always with him, ready to attack at any time, but he was quite worried in his heart - if the Mangou did not break through tonight, then after tossing and turning all night in this bad climate, the physical exertion of the soldiers would definitely not be small. And if Lu Fatzi really misjudged the direction of the Qing army's assault, then the Wu army, which was basically unprepared in the northeast direction, not only could not stop the Qing army, but wanted to pursue it overnight, and it was much more difficult than usual.

When it was nearly two watches, the Qing army in Jingzhou still did not move, and the generals of the Wu army who gathered in the big tent of the Chinese army to wait for the military order were already frozen and rubbed their hands and stomped their feet, sneezing constantly, although Wu Laohan who was sitting next to the brazier was temporarily fine, but he also felt very tired, and his eyelids kept fighting up and down. And Xia Guoxiang and Han Daren and the others rubbed their hands and shrunk their necks, they inevitably glared at Lu Fatzi angrily, muttered and complained in a low voice, Lu Fatzi understood that the explanation was useless, but he just closed his fat eyes slightly and pretended not to see it, and waited patiently for the urgent report of Tanma.

More than half of the second watch, there was still no movement in Jingzhou City, although the generals of the Wu army did not dare to complain publicly, but they inevitably muttered quietly, Xia Guoxiang couldn't hold his breath, walked to Wu Lao Han's side and whispered: "Father-in-law, the weather is too cold, it's just dripping into ice, the soldiers are gathering in the open air, it's really uncomfortable, you see if it's ......." ”

"No hurry, wait." Wu Laohan replied without opening his eyes.

"Wait any longer, if Mangou doesn't break through tonight, then the soldiers will be miserable." Xia Guoxiang cried and mourned, "This kind of ghost weather, waiting in the open air all night, by tomorrow morning, I'm afraid that at least half of the people will get frostbite." ”

Wu Lao Hanjian still closed his eyes and refused to open them, but he was quite hesitant in his heart, but at this moment, a noisy voice suddenly sounded outside the tent, and a herald rushed in, and shouted loudly before he could salute: "Lord Qiqi, in Jingzhou City, for some reason, there is a sudden fire!" The fire is so strong that you can see it clearly here! ”

"It's finally here." Wu Lao Han finally opened his cloudy old eyes, and some relaxed and satisfied smiles appeared on his ugly old face.

"In what direction is Mangou breaking through?" Xia Guoxiang couldn't wait to ask.

"In what direction is the dog breaking through?" The herald was stunned, and replied with a sad face: "General Hui Xia, the villain can't see it from such a distance." ”

(To be continued)