Shanghai, fifteen miles southeast of the city.

In the mountains and forests, dense soldiers are half-squatting on the ground, gnawing on dry food. Yang Banhou, Lu Shaochuan, and Smith sat on the ground, the expressions on the faces of the three of them were a little nervous, and they had no appetite at all, and Lu Shaochuan even looked at the entrance of the mountain forest from time to time. Yang Banhou comforted: "Battalion Commander Lu, Zhu Wu has the opportunity to adapt, and he has martial arts, there will be no problem." ”

Lu Shaochuan rolled his eyes and said, "It's not your brother, you naturally don't have to worry." ”

Yang Banhou stood up and shouted: "Zhu Wu is from the Sharp Knife Battalion, why is he not my brother." ”

"Hmph, I won't quarrel with you." Lu Shaochuan snorted and waited quietly.

"Deputy Battalion Commander Zhu is back!"

Suddenly, the soldiers who were guarding shouted, but it was Zhu Wu who came back in a hurry. Lu Shaochuan stood up suddenly, and after Zhu Wu came over, he patted Zhu Wu's shoulder fiercely and said, "Your kid is finally back, which makes Lao Tzu scared." Next time, when you receive the money, you must take me to Yicuilou to have fun. ”

Zhu Wu laughed twice and said, "Battalion commander, don't be so high-profile. ”

Seeing this, Yang Banhou also breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Deputy Battalion Commander Zhu, how is the situation?" ”

Zhu Wu said: "It's a little weird, I can't figure out Li Xiucheng." ”

"Oh, what's going on?"

As soon as Yang Banhou heard Zhu Wu's evaluation, the vigilance in his heart rose.

When Zhu Wu heard this, he told him everything about meeting Li Xiucheng, and said: "Deputy regiment commander, I went to the military camp of the Taiping Army, and the other party's army was neat, the morale was high, and it was clear that it was an elite division. From this point of view, Li Xiucheng is not an ordinary person. If such a person wants to attack the foreigners with us, I always feel that something is wrong. ”

Lu Shaochuan interjected and said: "Li Xiucheng temporarily abandons grievances and is unanimous with the outside world, he is a man. ”

"Enough fart!"

Yang Banhou said unceremoniously: "Do you think Li Xiucheng has any good intentions? Have you ever thought about what the scene would be if foreigners, bandits, and our army all killed Sanlihuai? Even if Li Xiucheng asked the soldiers to attack the foreigners in Sanlihuai, even if he attacked the foreigners with us, there was still a problem. Who's at the front? Who's going to charge? Li Xiu came to Shanghai and was resentful of foreigners, and he definitely wanted to wipe out us and foreigners. ”

Smith nodded, and said thoughtfully: "Deputy Head Yang has a point, a bandit is a bandit, and the enemy is the enemy." Even if you make a short deal with the bandits for the time being, you will have to fight each other after all. Li Xiucheng can't think about the overall situation with enthusiasm, and he will definitely set a trap for us to drill into it. ”

"What trap?"

Lu Shaochuan was arrogant, not afraid at all.

Zhao Fa said: "Battalion commander, this is difficult to say, it's hard to guess." ”

Lu Shaochuan's eyes rolled, and he suddenly said: "Since things are difficult to do, why don't you take advantage of the time you still have to send people to Sanlihuai to carry out activities, creating the illusion that the army is in Sanlihuai." At the same time, he sent someone to report the news to the marshal, and asked the marshal to decide. As the saying goes, the three stinkers beat Zhuge Liang, and with Huang Shihai, Qi Zhenhai and others pondering together, it is easier to get along. ”

Yang Banhou said: "Yes, this matter will be left to Zhu Wu to do." Zhu Wu is familiar with the situation and cannot make mistakes. ”

"Yes!"

Zhu Wu agreed and said, "Deputy head of the regiment, time is urgent, I will return to the city immediately." ”

Yang Banhou nodded and said, "Pay attention to safety!" ”

Zhu Wu came back in a hurry, and left in a hurry, and soon disappeared into the mountains and forests, running towards the county seat.

Zhu Wu hurried back to the city, and after entering the city, he ran straight towards Daotaifu. After a night of cleaning, the blood inside and outside the gate of Daotai Mansion has been washed away, and the corpses have been cleaned up, and it is impossible to see that there was a big battle last night. However, the blood-stained walls and devastated gates indicate that there was a great war here.

In the study, Li Zhen sat on the main seat.

Below, Liu Taiping, Zhou Xiuying, Huang Shihai and Qi Zhenhai gathered, all of whom were temporarily summoned to discuss the matter.

Zhu Wu said the intercession of meeting Li Xiucheng, and then said Yang Banhou's decision, and then said: "Dashuai, Li Xiucheng threw out the intention of cooperation, how should we deal with it?" Especially whether Li Xiucheng has a conspiracy or not, it is even more difficult to say. ”

Li Zhen waved his hand and said, "Sit down first, and discuss this matter slowly." ”

Zhu Wu sat down as he said, but Qi Zhenhai said: "My lord, since Li Xiucheng has chosen the location, let's take a look at the location of Sanlihuai on the map first." As long as everything is in the chest, there is no need to worry. ”

Li Zhen nodded and ordered, "Come here, bring the map." ”

After a few moments, the attendant took a detailed map and spread it on the table, and then withdrew.

Li Zhen called several people to the desk and consulted the map together. Li Zhen pointed to the location of Sanlihuai on the map and said, "Judging from the map, Sanlihuai is clearly marked. This Sanlihuai is a pass, easy to defend and difficult to attack, easy to lay an ambush. This place is suitable as an ambush point, as long as the foreigners go, it must be a dead end. ”

Huang Shihai said: "Dashuai, the things that the last general thinks are not simple. ”

Liu Taiping stood next to the desk, staring at the map, but the expression on his face became more and more solemn.

"Whew!!"

Liu Taiping breathed a long sigh of relief and praised him: "Handsome, Li Xiucheng is really a wise general, and he has played a big game of chess. Li Xiu divided the troops, obviously trying to break them all, and he was full of courage! Hehe, hehe, he is not afraid to lift a stone and shoot himself in the foot. ”

Li Zhen asked: "Sir, I didn't understand what trick Li Xiucheng used, what's going on?" ”

Liu Taiping pointed to the map and said, "It's actually very simple to say, we can look at the location of foreigners." The place where the foreigners camped was eight miles east of Shanghai, and Li Xiucheng's military camp was ten miles to the southeast. Looking at Sanlihuai again, although it is ten miles south of Li Xiucheng's camp, this is the crux of the problem. ”

"From the place where the foreigners camped to Sanlihuai, the road was not straight, it was to the southeast first, avoiding Li Xiucheng's military camp, and then gradually approaching Sanlihuai. Looking at the journey from Li Xiucheng's barracks to Sanlihuai, it is not a straight line, it is a detour to the southwest first, and then turning to Sanlihuai to the south of the bandit barracks, all of which have made a big circle. ”

Li Zhen pondered carefully, and his eyes were fixed on the map on the desk again.

Suddenly, Li Zhen's eyes lit up.

"Sir, you mean that Li Xiucheng's drunkard doesn't mean to drink, and the ultimate goal is not Sanlihuai, he wants to ambush us halfway." Li Zhen stared at the important passes on the map and found that whether it was from the foreigner barracks to Sanlihuai, or from the bandit barracks to Sanlihuai, there were important ambush locations on the way.

Liu Taiping said: "Handsome and wise! ”

"Shhh Hiss! ”

Huang Shihai gasped a few breaths of cold air, his eyes widened, his eyeballs were about to protrude, and he said loudly: "This Li Xiucheng, who is as cunning as an old fox, has laid out such a powerful formation, obviously waiting for us to drill inside." ”

The corners of Liu Taiping's mouth were hooked, and he smiled faintly.

ps: One of the three watches, Monday, ask for flowers.