Yu Guo, one of the subordinate countries of Jiangxia County, is at the same level as the county. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoJingzhou has seven counties and one hundred and seventeen counties. Of course, this county also includes county-level candidate countries such as Yuguo. However, Jingzhou does not contain a kingdom equivalent to the county. It is located dozens of miles north of Xiyang and is the closest neighboring county to Xiyang. The first target chosen by Li Sheng and others was here.

The country of Yu is regarded as a fief of Liu Geng, but since Liu Ji killed Liu Geng four years ago, the country has become the territory of Liu Ji and Zhou Yan, another big man in the city, the two are bounded by the north and south streets of the city of Yuguo, the east is owned by Liu Ji, and the west is owned by Zhou Yan, and the ownership of the villages under the state is planned. Immediately afterwards, Liu Ji proclaimed himself the Hou Hou, while Zhou Yan appointed himself the county lieutenant of the Yu State, each living on one side. While no one acknowledges the validity of the two of them as self-proclaimed officials, no one really opposes them. In short, they are kings in a small country.

Perhaps because Liu Ji and Zhou Yan had agreed in advance, these two forces in the country did not have to fight to the death like the forces in other counties. The contradictions between the two major forces in China are not absent, but most of them are resolved through mutual consultation. Neither Liu Ji nor Zhou Yan is the kind of martial artist who is three big or five coarse, they have read some books to some extent, and their vision is farther than that of other powerful people. They understood that they could not develop by fighting all the time, so they chose to alleviate and choose to unite. If there is no such thing as Li Sheng going to enter Xiyang, I am afraid that they should hold a wedding right now - Liu Ji will marry Zhou Yan's sister Zhou Wei and officially conclude a joint covenant between the two families.

"It seems that these two are still at some level." Li Sheng sat in the big tent of the Chinese army, looking at the information sorted out by Luo Zhao, and kept tapping his fingers on the case in front of him. The dark red case is delicate, and its face is flat, but the heart of the person sitting in front of the case is uneven. He anxiously awaited the return of the spies he had sent.

Luo Zhao is indeed a good intelligence analyst. Not to mention anything else, just looking at him sorting out such an organized report from those many original materials, Li Sheng was already very satisfied. It's good for him to know the situation in the country as a whole. Although this does not involve the specific layout of the mansions of Liu and Zhou, as well as some other details on the surface, understanding the history of the formation of the forces on both sides and the relationship between them can confirm what kind of method should be used to deal with things.

"It looks like we can only attack two at the same time." Li Sheng thought about the situation he had inquired about yesterday.

Like Liu Zhou's family, who are rooted in the local area, most of their family businesses will not be located in the city. Even though they had their own mansions in the city, they only used them for their occasional entry into the city. And the estates on the outskirts of the city are their real home. Due to the close relationship between Liu Zhou's two families, if Li Sheng attacked one of the two first, the other family would soon get the news and prepare in advance. Liu Ji and Zhou Yan are both people with some brains, they didn't take many troops with them when they went to Xiyang, and they still have at least about three hundred men and horses in their respective manors. Although there are not many of these horses, they can still withstand the attack of about a thousand people by relying on the manor's defense system.

This really gave Li Sheng a headache.

As a result, attacking the two at the same time became Li Sheng's only choice. Although this choice is also very difficult, Li Sheng believes that he can succeed. Because at the moment, I have a mental calculation or an unintentional intention. Under the command of Huang Zhongde, the actions of the army were always kept secret. Judging from the situation that the spies he sent yesterday came back from reconnaissance, the city of Yuguo is still as usual, and there is not the slightest tension before the so-called big war. Most of the people talked about Xiyang, but they didn't pay much attention to the surrounding areas of the country, obviously they didn't know that their army had come here.

"Surprise and attack overnight, so that we may have a better chance of success." Li Sheng pondered and muttered, "However, the walls of the enemy's manor are indeed a troublesome matter. Judging from the information obtained yesterday, their walls are almost as large as the city walls of the county seat. One zhang wide and two zhang high, this can't be dealt with by ordinary means. Well, it seems like I'm thinking of something else. When Li Sheng thought of this, he felt a little headache. He always thought it would be nice if there were cannons.

"Cannon?" A flash of inspiration flashed in Li Sheng's mind, and something suddenly came to mind: "It's obviously impossible to build a cannon right now. However, it was easier to build something to attack the walls of the manor. For example, if you use a catapult or something, you will definitely be able to deal with the enemy in front of you. Well, with catapults and temporary vehicles, there may not be a way to eliminate the other party quickly, but it is only a few days at night, and it does not have much impact on the plan. ”

Li Sheng thought this idea was very good, so he found Huang Zhong. "What do you think of this?" He told Huang Zhong about this and asked.

"It's too cumbersome, and it's not practical." Huang Zhong replied without thinking.

"How so?" Li Sheng asked rhetorically with a frown. It's always frustrating to have someone veto a solution that you can easily come up with, even if it's your own master.

"Actually, to break the enemy's manor, you only need to use a lot of rockets. Whether it's oil or arrows, we brought a lot of them this time. And now it's autumn, it's the time when the climate is dry and the north wind is rising, as long as we set fire with rockets upwind, it is easy to burn the gate of the other party's manor, causing the other party's manor to burn, thus causing them to mess up. In this chaos, we may not be able to kill many of them, but we can still get rid of their roots here. Huang Zhong explained with a smile: "Using this method not only requires no additional preparation, but also can destroy their stronghold in the shortest possible time. It's so much easier than you think. ”

"Oh, in that case, do as you say." After listening to Huang Zhong's explanation, Li Sheng nodded clearly, and quickly thought about the arrangement of the team in the evening: "Divide the team into two." Each team consists of two hundred and fifty archers and two hundred and fifty light infantry, which should be fine, right? ”

"No problem." Huang Zhong nodded approvingly and said, "The two teams that attacked at night, I took Zhou Liwei all the way to attack Zhou Yan's manor in the west of the city, and you were directly responsible for attacking Liu Ji's manor. This is you leading the army to fight regularly, which is different from what you used to do in Xuzhou, so please be careful. I asked Master Peng Ling to stay and help you. With his bravery, coupled with a wise Shi Tao, I think it's no problem to attack a manor. ”

"Good!" Li Sheng smiled and agreed. Although Huang Zhong's words were a little wordy, it was out of concern for Li Sheng. This made Li Sheng very moved, and there was no trace of boredom in his heart.

Since Zhou Yan's manor is located in the west of the county seat of Yuguo, there is still a short distance from where Li Shengjun is currently stationed. Therefore, Huang Zhong's rushing detachment sometimes set off from the woods where Li Shengjun was stationed at night. The huge camp was only carried by Li Sheng, Peng Ling, Shi Tao and the remaining 500 soldiers. These were very strong and capable soldiers, and their strength could be seen from the upright posture in which they stood in front of the tent door after a quiet dinner. Obviously, Huang Zhong kept the most elite part of the thousand soldiers for his apprentices.

“…… It's been so good for me. Li Sheng muttered softly. He looked at the soldiers standing neatly outside the tent, and with a flash of emotion in his eyes, he turned back to the tent.

"Don't you attack?" Peng Ling and Shi Tao, who were left by Huang Zhong as Li Sheng's deputy, quickly greeted them and asked with concern.

"No, I need to wait!" Li Sheng shook his head and said.

"Wait?" Peng Ling and Shi Tao were both a little surprised.

Huang Zhong's team has been attacking for nearly half an hour. It is very likely that they are already about to enter the position of attacking the Zhou family's manor. If you're going to attack both sides at the same time, it's the best time to strike. Because Li Sheng's side is close to the Liu family's manor, he rushes to it now, and as soon as he enters the attack position, it is the time when the Zhou family is in a sea of fire.

"This is something that has been said beforehand! How can it ......? The two looked at Li Sheng, their faces full of undisguised doubt.

"Brother Guangyuan and Master Ziyue, let me ask you a question. Do you say that the enemies in this manor are they easy to fight when they leave the manor, or are they easy to fight when they are allowed to retreat in the manor? Facing their inquiring eyes, Li Sheng asked rhetorically.

"Of course, it's good to go out of the village, so are there any questions? Out of the village, on the flat ground in the four miles, there are no defenses. These rabbles are nothing more than a rabble for us to slaughter at will. Shi Tao said as a matter of course. He answered quickly, and almost as soon as Li Sheng's question fell, he had already answered it. However, he didn't seem to have thought about the inner meaning of this.

"I see." At this time, Peng Ling suddenly let out a high voice, he tugged at Li Sheng's sleeve, and said excitedly: "Actually, Zixu's idea is to use the movement caused by General Huang's attack on the Zhou family manor first, and attract the people of the Liu family manor to come to the rescue." Because of the close relationship between the Liu family and the Zhou family, their judgment did not allow them to sit idly by and watch the other family fall into danger. They will inevitably send troops, and this one will naturally leave the manor defenses. As long as we choose a good place to ambush, no matter how many troops they send, we will win. It would be best if they could send out all the defensive forces, even if only some of them were sent, we could defeat them first, and then 'cheat the city' on their manor so that we could win the final victory with less loss." ”

"Hehe, Master deserves to be Master. So much thought of it at once. However, I didn't expect to take advantage of the opponent's defeat to deceive the city, in fact, what I just thought of was just to encircle the enemy and send reinforcements. Li Sheng said with a smile.

"Reinforcements? That's a fitting statement. However, even if Zixu really wants to use this trick, you have to prepare quickly. The most important thing for us is to set off as soon as possible, enter the position as soon as possible, set up the formation as soon as possible, and prepare for the attack. Fighting is a major event, and all preparations need to be completed as soon as possible. It's better to wait a little longer than to be in a hurry. Peng Ling earnestly advised Li Sheng. He knew that his apprentice had a lazy side of his personality, and if it was absolutely necessary, he always liked to prepare when the time came. This may not be a big disadvantage for ordinary people, but it is fatal for those who want to become a prince. After all, the road to world domination was originally busy and full of dangers.

Peng Ling would rather keep reminding him before the worst happens, rather than make an "afterthought" warning after things have reached a point of crisis. Although the "afterthought" is easier to remember, the price for the monarch is the lives of the soldiers. This is really too much price in the world, and in Peng Ling's eyes, Li Sheng's life is not much more noble than the soldiers under him.

"Thank you Master for your advice. Zixu knew that he was wrong. Li Sheng bowed his head respectfully.

There are not many people in the account at the moment, and Shi Tao also knows the relationship between Li Sheng and Peng Ling, Xu Ding, Huang Zhong, and Wei Yan, and he is Li Sheng's friend, so Li Sheng's respectful treatment of Peng Ling did not cause him much emotion. Although in the hearts of those scholars, there are no martial artists who have any family background, especially a martial artist like Peng Ling, who was born in the rivers and lakes, and does not have much status at all, but under the care of Li Sheng's relationship, under the reason of respecting the teacher, Shi Tao is also a disciple of Peng Ling and others. Moreover, Shi Tao also believes that Peng Ling's admonition to Li Sheng is not wrong. As a friend of Li Sheng, he also found a trace of Li Sheng's lazy behavior from time to time in his ordinary behavior.

"Zixu is a person who knows how to regulate himself." That's what Shi Tao thinks. However, he also knows that these laziness are nothing in peacetime, but they need to be restrained in the current wartime.

"Then please give the order to attack." Shi Tao said, looking at Li Sheng with straight eyes.

I saw a whole look on Li Sheng's face, and a kind of martial artist's might emanated from his suddenly erected body. He strode out of the tent of the Chinese army and stood in front of five hundred sergeants under the starry night and firelight. Facing this group of soldiers who had been ready to fight for a long time, he took a sharp breath and let out his own loud shout: "The whole army, prepare to go!" ”

********

The moon was full of stars, and silver moonlight and starlight were scattered all over the land. This was obviously not a good day to attack the camp, and the troops stealing the camp in such a light were easily detected by the enemy. However, it is also easy to be reassuring. At least, that's what Liu Ke, who led the soldiers and horses to reinforce the Zhou family, thinks. Although the silver moonlight seemed a little quiet under the night, it made everything above the flat ground clear at a glance. He believed that no one would send troops to ambush him in such a situation, because that would be absolutely foolish.

The fire in the west has already reflected half the sky. Under the red canopy is the manor of the Zhou family. God knows why the Zhou family provoked such a terrible enemy and attracted such a terrifying attack. Although the relationship between the Zhou family and the Liu family is good, no matter what Liu Ke has in his heart, he still has some hope that the loss of the Zhou family will be greater. After all, they are a combination of interests on both sides. Even if they say that righteousness comes first, in the hearts of any of them, they want to weaken the other as much as possible. On the surface, Liu Ke wanted to use his own soldiers and horses to rescue the Zhou family so that the Zhou family would not perish, but he was not in a hurry to rescue the Zhou family, but just leisurely led his team forward, letting the fire become bigger.

"The Zhou family has one more death and one less death, what impact does it have on us? Let them go, and we'll just have to walk this way in an hour and a half. Liu Ke thought so, and let his team slow down the pace of progress even further.

A dense forest that is not too big or small, but it is the only way to the county seat. It is through this that the official road with thick loess passes through the dense forest and reaches the county seat. Liu Ji's team was walking on the dirt road in the forest, surrounded by pitch black and darkness. After all, the silver moonlight is soft, and it is not as soft as the daytime sun, which can penetrate the layers of branches and leaves in this forest.

Autumn nights are a bit cool. A group of people walked on this road full of dead leaves, and from time to time made a "crunch, crunch" sound. Suddenly, a cool night breeze blew, which unnaturally made Liu Ke shiver.

"What's going on? Now ......," Liu Ke thought as he craned his neck. He was very relieved all the way, but as soon as he entered the dark woods, he always felt that something was wrong. I always felt that something seemed to exist in this dim forest, and I felt as if I had become a prey and was being watched closely.

It was a strange and mysterious feeling, as if it could foresee danger. At the beginning, when Liu Ke and his brother Liu Ji were subordinates in the Hou family of Yuguo, they were often bullied. Brother Liu Ji doesn't seem to be always tricked like this, but he himself relies on this feeling from time to time to remind him to avoid being framed by others again and again.

It's his luck to have such a feeling, Liu Ke has always thought so, so he always believes in his own feelings. With the help of this feeling, he looked around and saw that the surrounding woods were still silent, and he still found nothing.

"Could it be that I was wrong?" The thought flashed through him, and he shook his head very quickly. Long-standing habits have made him trust in his own judgment. Even though he didn't notice any movement at the moment, he still sent an order to the whole army: "Be careful, be careful." ”

"Be careful, be careful?" This is really a wacky order. Although he thought it strange and a little puzzled, his men still resigned themselves to it. After all, all they eat is the food of the Liu family at the moment, and they should do something for the Liu family. Anyway, it's not time to fight hard at the end.

So, the team that went to rescue Zhou's family continued to move forward in fear. As they walked, they cautiously surveyed the surroundings. For the darkness that is full of darkness, people always regard it as an unpredictable unknown. Fear of the unknown is one of human instincts. It would be good if Liu Ke didn't give that order, but giving that order raised the fear in everyone's hearts. Although they are indeed careful now, and they are indeed constantly scouting the situation around them through their eyes, the fear in their hearts is indeed increasing. Almost as long as you gently give them some movement, I'm afraid that they will also collapse in embarrassment.

*****

Ye Gou carried a spear twice as long as himself, and followed the team listlessly. As a member of the Liu family's escort team that had just joined him, he and his colleagues around him were mostly here to survive. Eating well and sleeping well is their greatest pursuit. They probably didn't have any interest in how the Liu family was or how the Zhou family was. Therefore, at the moment, he really has too many complaints about the task of sending troops this night. Just complaining is complaining, he still has to go. As a member of the avant-garde, he really didn't have much choice.

The Liu family's armed forces were called the Escort Corps, and their organizational composition was roughly based on the regular Han army, but in terms of title, it was several levels larger than the regular Han army. For example, the Han army had 100 people as the Qu and 500 people as the department, but in the Liu family's escort team, it was with 100 people as the department and 500 people. Although it is a bit nondescript, it also reflects the idea that reckless people like to be officials.

Ye Gou is currently one of the guards forward Qu Deng's attack on Tunzhong, and the people who are with him are the dozen or so people who are by his side. Although it is a tun, they can't even guarantee the number required in the establishment of the escort team. Because this tun is a recruit tun, and it is also a tun for death. Every time they go out on an expedition, they let the people of this tun rush to the forefront, and let them let a group of people who have no ability at all go to be the ghosts of the dead. And those who survived after being sent to death three times were selected to be trained in the Chinese army of the forward song. At this point, you can be considered a member of the escort team.

Ye Gou has already participated in the second battle, as long as he can survive tonight's battle, he will become an official member of the Liu family's escort team, and he can be treated like a low-level diner. Although there is not much enjoyment to speak of, at least it can ensure that he and his parents and his family have enough to live. This was a huge attraction for the leaf dog, so he didn't want to die.

The path through the woods gradually deepened into the woods, and in the darkness and darkness, they were all very aware that they were getting closer and closer to the county seat, and they would soon be able to complete this terrifying journey and enter a place full of moonlight. Tonight's road is too difficult to walk, and even though the people who walk on this road are big men, fear still holds their minds tightly. The "Be careful, be careful" order issued by Chief Liu Ke only amplified their fears. They always wonder if there is something deadly in this darkness.

"Smack!" Ye Gou, who was walking in the team, tripped over something under his feet, and fell forward heavily, and an authentic dog mud came. A mouth full of dirt and pieces of rotten leaves stuck to his face, mixed with the laughter of his comrades around him, abused Ye Gou's already somewhat angry heart. As soon as he wiped the shame off his face, he was about to jump up and settle accounts with someone who dared to laugh at him, but a jerky sensation from his lips made him suddenly wake up. He sniffed the smell of his body carefully, and found that in addition to the rotting smell from dirt and dead leaves, there was an inexplicably familiar smell on his clothes.

"Yes, tung oil!" Ye Gou was suddenly shocked. Having already made out what the smell was, he cried out desperately. There is no doubt what will happen to the combination of the shady woods, the paths full of dead branches and leaves, and the tung oil that has been poured to the ground. When the prospect of fear came to him, he only thought about how to escape. After all, he could already guess what was going to happen next.

Fire, red flames gushed out from both sides of the woods. Intertwined in the sky, forming more than a dozen dazzling fire dragons. Falling to the earth, igniting the tung oil hidden in the ground, a tongue of jubilant fire jumped. The change from darkness to light was so sudden that everyone felt so nervous that they had a dazzling feeling in an instant. Instinctively, they stretched out their hands to block the rising brightness. This caused them to miss the last chance to retreat, and when they realized it later, they had already found that there was already a sea of fire in all directions. The Nuo Teng Dance was so hard that Zhu Rong Mo Yan had already cut off their back path.

"How so?" Panic and panic spread like a spreading plague to everyone in the ranks. In such a crisis, even the regular officers and soldiers cannot guarantee morale, let alone such a rabble for money. Panic is like a headless fly, hectic and chaotic like an ownerless animal, in this scorching circle of flames, order no longer exists, orders are no longer obeyed, everyone does it on their own instincts, panicked and always wants to find a way out of here at once.

However, it could not be so easy. When it was dark all around, the crowd surrounded by the ring of flames was undoubtedly the best target for the bow and arrow of the ambusher hiding in the forest. Arrows wrapped in passionate red flames shot out from the dark shadows, pinpointing their prey and bringing horrific death to the unfortunate people one by one. Although the arrows did not carry any poison that sealed the throat with blood, in the current environment, these rockets were even more terrifying than the poisoned arrows. For under the feet of all the people on the earth are dead leaves mixed with tung oil.

In the red purgatory, the screams resounded incessantly in the woods, and then gradually went from high to low, and finally dissipated without a trace.

Human life is fragile, and Li Sheng knew this as early as when he fought Cao Bing in Xuzhou. However, when he extinguished the fire in the forest and brought his soldiers to inspect the battlefield where all the enemy was annihilated, he still saw palpitations in this charred battlefield.

Three hundred lives. It was gone in less than two quarters of an hour. Although I had already thought that the current terrain was very suitable for fire attack, it was still shocking that the effect of fire attack would be so great.

Smelling the aroma of barbecue in their noses, and thinking that it was the smell of human flesh, Li Sheng and Shi Tao felt the urge to vomit. Not only the two of them, but even Peng Ling, who had already seen many turbulent waves, was pale at the moment.

"It's an absolute hellish sight." Li Sheng thought so, but looked at this scene in a daze and bowed his head and said nothing. After a long time, he said as if laughing at himself: "Is the so-called war of annihilation the end of such a terrifying scene?" "He seems to be a bit of a bull.

"This is the battlefield. You can use any means, but no one scolds you for being mean. As two opposing parties, either you die or I live. When you use your strategy to destroy so many enemies, it means that you also save your comrades. Do you want your enemies to die more than your enemies, or do you want your own people to die more? Seeing Li Sheng's painful look, Peng Ling understood how he felt now, so he hurriedly relieved.

"This ...... Naturally, I hope that the enemy will die more. Li Sheng was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then replied. As this answer came out, he couldn't help but feel a little relieved on his face.

"Tonight's killing doesn't look like it's over yet. It seems like we're going to be planning the next step. After being relieved, Li Sheng put his energy on the plan he had formulated.