In the early hours of the next morning, an hour before dawn, fires began to be lit in the two camps facing each other in the north and south. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info Groups of soldiers and horses marched out of their respective camps and headed for their intended destinations.

The light signal of the position of the military headquarters in Huguang Town waved, and after a drum sounded, a loud wake-up call resounded throughout the camp. The originally silent camp was like boiling water, and the noise gradually increased, and the commanders and commanders of the army gave orders one after another. The sleeping army awoke from its dream, and the day of the decisive battle had officially arrived.

......

Before the meal, Blind Chen personally checked all the equipment on the people of Quanshi. From armor to weapons, they were randomly checked, and each person was slapped on the shoulder. From the head of the team to the end of the team, no problems were found, which made Chen Blind very satisfied. Soon, the Huotou Army brought the food, and the blind man Chen waved his hand: "Open the meal!"

The soldiers sat in a circle and began to feast. Steaming white rice, fragrant pieces of meat...... It stimulates everyone's appetite, even in the moments leading up to the decisive battle. Including Ding Liehu, everyone was hurrying to eat. Past battlefield experience has also taught them that only when they are well fed can they have the strength to kill the enemy. At this time, no one spoke casually anymore. Blind Chen looked at Ding Liehu, who was immersed in eating as if he was fighting, and didn't say anything, just smiled.

The entire army in the camp silently finished breakfast and began to line up and assemble according to the formation. From the flag, from the flag to the bureau...... After the assembly, the supervisors of the various bureaus made a short final pre-war mobilization. Immediately afterwards, the sound of slogans like a sea tide rose and fell in the camp, shaking the earth.

......

In the Chinese military department, Pang Yue put on armor with the help of Wei Yuan. Although he fell asleep late last night, he was still in good spirits and in a state of extreme euphoria.

After draped neatly, he looked at his appearance in the bronze mirror, the past few years flashed quickly in his mind like a marquee, a familiar figure seemed to be close in front of him, a period of heroic oath seemed to still be in his ears, everything, made his heart surging.

"Marshal, the Central Military Department and all battalions have been prepared, are you out of the camp? Please show me! Zhang Yunli's figure appeared at the door.

Huang Shuai, just watch it from the sky! Pang Yue took a deep breath, turned around and said, "Out of the camp." ”

......

Amid the sound of drums and trumpets one after another, tens of thousands of troops rolled out of the camp like iron streams rushing forward. The flags were unfurled, the guns were like a forest, and the earth was trembling slightly.

Each formed unit will form a dense marching formation according to its own commander's flag and battalion flag, and will go directly to the preset position after leaving the camp. The advance troops, who had departed in advance, had already marked the march routes of the battalions in advance in the field and planted flags to distinguish them. The mighty army marched forward in an orderly manner.

Among the advance troops that set out early was part of the 1st Cavalry Battalion, which was responsible for covering the main force of the following army and preventing the Qing cavalry from attacking and disturbing the marching army. When the main force of the army was all out of the camp, they were already two or three miles away, and sure enough, they encountered some Qing rangers on the way. However, the task of these Qing cavalry seems to be only to monitor, and the number of people is far less than that of the cavalry in Huguang Town, so they do not take the initiative to provoke, and after watching from a distance for a while, they all beat their horses and returned.

In the marching column of the Gangfeng Battalion, Deng Siniu followed the pace and rhythm of the entire queue and marched forward, the thick formation of his own army and the high fighting spirit on the faces of his comrades around him made him feel extraordinarily down-to-earth, and also inspired the pride and ambition in his heart little by little. Rather be a centurion than a scholar, although the battlefield is dangerous and unpredictable, the unique atmosphere on the battlefield is enough to make every real man crazy. This is what the supervisor often says, and Deng Siniu will have a deeper understanding of this every time he goes to the battlefield.

During the march, the shouts of killing accompanied by the neighing of war horses were gradually heard in the distance ahead, apparently the cavalry acting as the vanguard encountered the Qing cavalry on the opposite side, who also served as the vanguard, and the two sides had already begun a skirmish.

At the same time, there was a sharp whistling from the right front. Deng Siniu followed the sound and saw that on the top of Liufang Mountain in the northeast, dazzling pillars of light dragged brilliant tail flames into the air. He knew that this firearm, called rockets, was often used to harass enemy troops before the actual engagement.

The battlefield was getting closer and closer, and Deng Siniu felt that his heartbeat was gradually accelerating, and his breathing was getting heavier and heavier.

Under the organization of officers at all levels, the passionate and majestic singing began to float over the marching columns:

"Go forward, Chinese man,

The glorious hour has come!

Hulu Yidi is violating us,

The earth of God groans in pain,

The land of Shenzhou is moaning in pain!

You can see the fierce captives,

Everywhere they are killing people,

They are from your bosom,

Take the lives of your wife and children!

Man! Arm yourself!

Man! Fight to the death!

Advance! Advance!

All in one!

Wipe out the Tartars! ”

......

At dawn, the Red Flag Mongolian Mel Zhangjing Engetu rode a horse opposite Hutou Mountain in the northwest direction of Liulin Village, looking at Hutou Village at the foot of the mountain in front of him, which was filled with white smoke and continuous explosions, frowning and sinking his face like water.

Although the main forces of the two armies have not yet officially faced off, the preliminary foreshadowing battle has already begun.

The area chosen by the two sides as the decisive battle site is located in the relatively gentle area of northern Jiangxi Province, which stretches from Nanchang in the south, to De'an in the north, from Jianchang in the west, to the west bank of Poyang Lake in the east. The gentle terrain is convenient for the deployment of large armies, but the battle must always seek a geographical advantage, and whoever grasps the geographical advantage is equivalent to grasping the initiative on the battlefield. As a result, a series of key points around the battlefield that can be used as support points have become the focus of contention between the two sides before the official engagement.

From Liulin Village, where the Central Military Headquarters was previously stationed in Huguang Town, to the north is Liufang Mountain, and from Liufang Mountain to the east, there are Nanshan Village, Xugang Village, Hutou Mountain, and Zhoujialong. This series of key points occupies a crucial place in the battle plans of both sides.

Among them, Hutou Village at the foot of Hutou Mountain to the north and Zhoujialong to the west are important links in Tan Tai's offensive strategy. Because the capture of Hutou Village could compress the front of Huguang Town to the south, forcing the front of Huguang Town to retreat over Hutou Mountain. In this way, the defensive area of the left flank of Huguang Town will be increased, and the right flank of the Qing army will be given a wider offensive front, which can use the superior cavalry to carry out a surprise attack, so as to quickly open up the situation. And all this can only be achieved under the premise of seizing Zhoujialong and mastering the cavalry passage on the west side of Hutou Mountain.

Before dawn, Zhenghongqi Manchurian Mele Zhangjing Jueshan, Mongolian Mel Zhangjing Engetu, Zhenghuang Banner Manchurian Mel Zhangjing Yild, and Zhenglan Banner Han Army Gushan Ezhen Bayan were respectively assigned by Tan Tai to seize Zhoujialong, Hutou Village, Xugang Village on the Middle Road, and Nanshan Village on the East Road.

According to Tan Tai's plan, the timing of the capture of these four locations must be just right. Of course, it can't be late, and if it is too early to be discovered by Huguang Town, then Huguang Town will probably not fight, and the two sides will return to the previous state of see-saw confrontation, so that the war will continue to stalemate, and the 50,000 army will continue to be stuck in the quagmire of the battlefield in Jiangxi and cannot extricate itself, which is obviously what Tan Tai does not want to see.

Therefore, Tan Tai chose the departure time of the vanguard of the four roads shortly after the end of the night rocket attack in Huguang Town. In this way, by the time the battle for these four important places is clear, the main force of Huguang Town should have been put into the battlefield, and it is up to them whether to fight or not.

When Engetu led the troops to Hutou Village, unexpectedly, the vanguard of Huguang Town had already arrived first, and the two sides fought in the darkness before dawn, and their casualties were not small. In view of the sharpness of the Ming army's firearms and the unfamiliarity of the terrain, Engetu was worried about the ambush and did not dare to send too many people into the village at one time. In the vast darkness of the night, I didn't know where the main force of Huguang Town was there, and it was not good to go around the back of Hutou Village with limited troops to outflank it. We can only adopt the most prudent method, test and advance little by little from the front, hoping that the vanguard of the Ming army in the village is not much, and it can take the initiative to retreat after encountering a blow.

Who knows, the subsequent situation did not develop according to Engetu's expectations. Until dawn, Hutou Village was still firmly in the hands of the vanguard of the Ming army.

At this time, Engetu also saw the banner of the Ming army in the village, embroidered with the Big Dipper on a red background. The banner of Huguang Town has long been no secret to the Qing army, so Engetu knows that it is the soldiers and horses of the broken military camp in Huguang Town, and he also knows that this battalion is not the most elite among the major war barracks in Huguang Town. But these hundreds of Huguang Town soldiers and horses who were not the most elite couldn't stop him from advancing half a step out of the village. And the follow-up main forces of the Ming army have not yet arrived.

Engetu was a little remorseful, he felt that if he had done his best at the beginning, he might have taken Hutou Village by this time. But there is nowhere to buy regret medicine, and if you want to blame it, you can only blame yourself for your gains and losses.

"My lord, the general has ordered that we must take Hutou Village before the arrival of the army. At this time, seeing that the army is about to arrive, Hutou Village is still in the hands of the Ming army, and it is not easy to do it in case the general blames him. Why don't we concentrate all our forces and charge again? A Jia Lazhangjing next to him said with some concern.

Another Niu Lu Zhangjing also said: "Yes, my lord, Jueshan Melle has already taken down Zhoujialong, and the soldiers and horses of the Zhenglan Banner in the east seem to have also taken Nanshan Village." There is no progress on our side, and it doesn't look good to report to the general. ”

Engetu was still a little hesitant, he had already personally felt the combat effectiveness and will to fight of the Ming Army in the village, if he really put all his strength into fighting to the death, not to mention whether he succeeded or not, he would also suffer heavy losses for sure.

Just as Engetu was hesitating whether to attack with all his might immediately, or send someone to ask Jueshan to divide his troops to come and support him, there was a rumbling sound from the south, like a muffled thunder rolling over the earth, and even the ground trembled slightly. He followed the sound and saw thousands of cavalry rushing towards this side, and farther behind the cavalry, the black and suppressed Ming army infantry was also advancing towards this side, and the red military flag and the red tassels on the Ming helmet seemed to converge into a sea of red.

Engetu was stunned for a moment, and spit out a few words weakly: "It's too late, let's withdraw first." ”