"My lord! There is news from the front that Liu Zeqing and others have completed the assembly in Laiyang, and now they are coming in the direction of Lingshanwei, and their intention is to break Lingshan, which is surrounded by Mo'er Shihe! What should we do now, adults? In the big tent of the Chinese army, Wang Yong stood behind Liu Fan and reported

"Laiyang? Lingshanwei? So fast? What about the map? Show me! Liu Fan turned around and asked

Immediately, an officer put the map on the table and unfolded it, and explained to Liu Fan: "My lord, please look! The straight-line distance from Laiyang to Lingshanwei is nearly 100 miles, and Liu Zeqing's army can reach it in about seven days according to its marching speed. The terrain between these two places is flat, there are almost no high mountains, only a few small rivers, because it is now the dry season, the water level is not high, except for a few larger rivers, most of the rest of the small rivers are cut off! There is basically no danger to keep! And Lingshanwei and Jimo are both important military towns, and the defense facilities are relatively perfect! It is recommended to defend the city! ”

Liu Fan nodded approvingly and said, "Not bad!" Fan Liang! It seems that you didn't study in vain in the military school, and you didn't disappoint Ben Shuai! This time, I asked you military academy students to participate in staff officers and operations just to train you! Although you are quite right! But you must know that the enemy we will face in the future is a rogue with hundreds of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, and a sharp Houjin cavalry in the field! Now there are more than 10,000 rabble, is it worth it for me to break the captives and defend the city? In that case, how can we fight in the face of a strong enemy? Now I want to defeat or even annihilate Liu Zeqing in the field battle, show the majesty and confidence of our captive army, and achieve the effect of training and strengthening the army! Now I command! Assemble the whole army! Go north to Lingshanwei! Take the initiative! Look for fighters! Annihilate Liu Zeqing's troops! ”

"Yes! My lord! The officers in the tent replied in unison

After receiving Liu Fan's order, the Breaker Army quickly marched forward, and three days later, arrived at the Lingshan Guard. This time, Liu Fan led a total of more than 4,000 people, and after the arsenal expanded production, the output increased greatly, and now the army is equipped with three-pounder guns, more than 150 six-pounder guns, more than 300 tiger squat guns, and a battalion of three-eyed guns with a total of more than 1,000 guns! To date, the number of firearms units is more than a third of the entire army!

On February 25, the sixth year of Chongzhen, the wind and the sun were beautiful, the weather was clear, the early spring sun sprinkled on the earth, driving away the chill of the night, Liu Fan led the whole army to the twenty miles of the Lingshan Wei in the starry night, and set up an ambush here. This is the place where Liu Fan carefully chose Liu Zeqing's bones to bury, which was originally a small river, but due to the recent drought and lack of rain, the river has basically stopped flowing, leaving only a riverbed with a width of nearly five meters. Liu Fan and others lay on the east side of the river embankment, waiting for the arrival of the enemy army.

"My lord! The spies ahead are coming! Liu Zeqing's department is now less than five miles away from here! The herald ran to Liu Fan's side in small steps and reported

Hearing this, Liu Fan asked Fan Liang beside him, "Is the artillery in place?" Did the cavalry team reach the predetermined position? ”

Fan Liang replied, "My lord! According to your order, the artillery is already in position, and the field artillery has set up a position two miles behind us, but the range of the Tiger Squat cannon is too close, only 400 paces, and it can only shoot at close range. Not ready yet! In addition, the cavalry had already set off an hour earlier! It is now expected to have arrived at the predetermined location! ”

Liu Fan muttered, "Order the artillerymen to move the tiger squat cannon forward, aim the muzzle of the cannon at the riverbed, and wait for the order!" ”

On the other side, Liu Zeqing's army didn't know that Liu Fan had already spread his net in front of him, and was still slowly marching forward. Looking at the somewhat chaotic team behind him, Liu Zeqing couldn't help sighing, and asked the deputy general, "Have the spies been sent out?" But what happened? Now it's close to the Lingshan Guard! I always feel a sense of foreboding! ”

The adjutant general smiled and said, "Don't worry, my lord, the sentry has been released, and the spies came to report just now, and there is no abnormality within a radius of five miles!" And we didn't even see the shadow of the enemy along the way! There is no dangerous terrain near Jiaozhou, and as far as I can see, Liu Fan's broken army must be cowering in the city and preparing to defend the city! Adults should still think about how to take down the difficult bone of the Lingshan Guard! I don't expect this battle to be easy! ”

Liu Zeqing thought about it and felt that it made some sense, but he still said cautiously: "It's better to be careful!" I always feel that Liu Fan will not be so simple! Send me orders to send more men! Tell the outpost to report once every half an hour! Before you arrive at the Lingshan Guard, don't slack off! ”

The adjutant general was a little disdainful of his general's caution, but the military commander still said respectfully, "Yes!" Commander-in-Chief! I'll arrange it right away! ”

"My lord! There are enemy spies on the other side of the river! Do you want to send someone to deal with them! Fan Liang saw the figure in front of him from a distance, and asked Liu Fan with some concern

"Don't startle a snake! Let them come over and solve it! It is a little to be able to delay a little time! Try to put the enemy in the encirclement! Liu Fan saw that the local outpost came so soon, and said with a little headache.

Just when Liu Fan had a headache, the leader of the horse exploration on the opposite side hesitated when he saw the steep embankment more than three meters deep, and was about to abandon the horse to go over, but his subordinates said, "Big brother!" Let's see that there is a small bridge in the distance to the north! Let's go over there! There's no need to go straight down to the river! That's too much trouble! And we've been out there for five or six days, and we haven't seen any enemy ambushes or anything! There's no need to let yourself be sinned! Do you say yes or no? Hearing this, the leader of the horses hesitated for a moment, wandered on the other side of the river, but still followed the advice of his brothers, and rode his horse along the riverbank.

Seeing this, Liu Fan immediately said, "Send someone to intercept them!" Don't let them leak the news! ”

Fan Liang said, "My lord, they are riding horses!" Our cavalry has been sent out! It's all infantry, and I can't keep up! ”

Liu Fan said categorically: "Ride my horse!" Bring all the officers' horses and hand them over to the spies! Be sure to fix them for me! Don't let them go back and report it! Our success or failure is all in one fell swoop! There is no room for error! Just go! ”

"It's my lord! Go in person! Fan Liang didn't hesitate, and immediately took the order

Without the spies' return, Liu Zeqing and his army, without knowing it, slowly advanced towards the river valley, and an hour later, Liu Fan saw from a distance that the army that had been invisible in the distance was slowly advancing towards them! From far to near, in a short time, this army has clearly appeared in Liu Fan's field of vision!

Although the soldiers of the Broken Army are not recruits, it is the first time to face such a large-scale operation, looking at the somewhat nervous soldiers Liu Fan is actually very nervous in his heart, but as the commander of the first army, Liu Fan still ordered, "Tell the soldiers!" I can't hold back! Wait for the order! ”