"No!" To He Huchen's surprise, Li Guo categorically rejected his request: "The leader of my family has already told you to strictly guard the gate." ”

"You-" He Huchen was furious when he heard this, his right hand was already pressed on the hilt of the knife, and he stepped forward and shouted: "If you don't obey the military order, do you want to die?" ”

In the face of He Huchen's coercion, Li Guo took a step back and hid into the shield array, and sneered: "If we don't obey the military order, the gods are a leader, and the bones are not cold, we don't dare to learn from it!" ”

Hearing Li Guo's sharp rebuttal, He Huchen couldn't help but stagnate, as a senior general of the Ming army, he naturally knew the inside story of the killing of Shen Yikui and Bu Mu, this beggar Cao Cao had a defensive heart and had no choice but to see the other party's actions, if he forced himself, he was afraid that it would intensify the contradiction and ruin the governor's major affairs.

"In that case, then the door will be handed over to you!" He Huchen said in a deep voice.

Outside the valley, Hong Chengchou watched the movement of the valley intently, and when he saw the gate being opened and the Ming army led by He Huchen rushing in, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and the heart that had been hanging in his throat finally fell into his stomach. Hong Chengchou walked down the mound quickly, and ordered loudly: "The second formation will set off, seize the valley mouth, and receive Lord He!" ”

Almost at the same time as Hong Chengchou gave the order, the gate made of thick logs at the mouth of the valley slowly and unstoppably closed again, and the Ming troops who remained outside the valley let out a cry of surprise. A hint of bad omen flashed in Hong Chengchou's heart, this was different from what had been agreed in advance, it could only mean one thing - he had fallen into a trap. But now is not the time for chagrin and regret, he pretended that everything was expected, and shouted: "The thief is killing himself, hurry forward and take the valley!" ”

Near Taniguchi, fierce battles have already begun. The thieves who had already been ambushed launched a fierce attack on the Ming army in the trap from several directions at the same time, and the formation of these front border troops, bandits, and horse thieves was not strictly organized. But in terms of morale, it was no less than anyone else, and the rain of stones, arrows, and spears flew towards the ranks of the Ming army, almost drowning it.

But He Huchen did not become the deputy commander-in-chief in vain, he pulled out his waist knife and slashed down two enemies who pretended to lead the way for him, and almost at the same time, his own soldiers put him under the protection of the long card. Immediately, He Huchen shouted in a thick voice: "Put the three-eyed gun first." Then put the tiger squat cannon, the long card hand stepped forward, lined up in a circle, it's not a big deal, as long as you hold up half a cup of tea here, it's the turn of these puppies to look good! ”

He Huchen's rich experience gave the thieves a head-on blow, compared to the number of thieves in the first wave, there were not many people who were knocked down by firearms, but almost all of them were the bravest and the ones who rushed to the front. This may not be much for a well-trained regular army, but it is a very fatal blow to the thieves who already belong to three or four leaders. Hesitation and cowardice on the battlefield are almost synonymous, in the face of the threat of death, as long as it is a person, it will be afraid, but in the group, individuals often forget the fear temporarily, and make amazing moves, and this volley of the Ming army is like a basin of cold water, splashing the thieves awake.

On the hillside. Cao Cao watched anxiously at the ongoing battle below, taking advantage of the short gap when the thieves were repelled by firearms. The Ming army had completed the transformation from a column to a circular formation, and the soldiers in the outermost circle of the circle raised long cards to block the throwing stones, arrows, and spears, while those on the inner side of the circle began to nervously reload their firearms. The leader of the thieves, who was known for his cunning, waved the whip in his hand angrily and scolded: "Damn, everyone is usually a good man. It's all a rabbit now? Lao Tzu introduced the wild boar into the pit, and you can't take it? Give Lao Tzu some strength, otherwise let the officials and soldiers come in, and none of them will be better! ”

Cao Cao's threat played a role, and the rest of the bandit leaders who still had some strength and thought about it ran away in embarrassment. After cutting down a few cowering rogues, another wave of attacks began. Barely any arrows were fired at each other, and brutal hand-to-hand combat began. Shields against shields, swords spraying swords, flesh against flesh, the clashing of weapons mixed with screams and the groans of the dying, blood seeping into the dirt and making it slippery, trampling on it with pairs of straw sandals, leather boots, and even bare feet. People trampled on the bodies of the dead and the living, impacted, defended, slashed, and finally fell, born in dust and returned to dust.

The soldiers on the periphery of the Ming army have been replaced, even the strongest men can't hold out for a few minutes in this tense hand-to-hand combat, every chop, every block, every assassination must use all the strength to eat, any idea of wanting to save strength with some reservations is ridiculous, it will only cost you your life, the only way to survive is to defeat the enemy in front of you, even if the next moment you will be killed by the next enemy. Compared to the Ming army, the thieves died more because their armor and weapons were much worse, and the tactics of cooperating with each other were much worse. But Cao Cao was a seasoned commander, and his tactics were simple: as long as the advance retreated slightly, he would throw in new reserves, and not give the officers and troops in the encirclement a chance to breathe. This tactic has no technical content, but it is very effective, and the thief side has an absolute advantage in numbers, and as long as they are willing to pay a sufficient price, they will always exhaust the last drop of blood of the officers and soldiers in the encirclement.

"Hurry up, it's all loaded!" At the core of the circle, He Huchen loudly urged his subordinates who were loading firearms, and at this time the thieves had almost killed him, and he could even clearly see the enemy's yellowed teeth and bloodshot eyes. He Huchen knows very well that if there is a glimmer of hope for survival, it is firearms, unlike swords, bows and crossbows, firing firearms does not require strength, does not require martial arts, even if a Confucian who has no power to restrain the chicken, as long as he can light the fire rope, he can easily shoot a warrior wearing iron armor, and the firearms can also make a loud sound and spray flames, which can hit the morale of the thieves and strive for the opportunity to break through. Probably due to nervousness, the hands and feet of the Ming army loaded with the tiger squat cannon trembled, and the horns filled with gunpowder spilled a lot. shouted: "Get out of the way!" He lit the fuse.

Rumble!

Surprisingly, it was not only the thieves who made the screams, but also the Ming army, it may be that He Huchen loaded too much gunpowder, or it may be that the tiger squat cannon fired too quickly, and it exploded. The splash of shrenchnel would knock down many people, including He Huchen himself, and it became the last straw that broke the camel of the Ming army. The Ming soldiers in the siege threw down their weapons and fled or knelt down to beg to surrender, but the thieves who had already killed the red-eyed did not spare a single person. By the time Cao Cao finally stopped drinking, there were only more than fifty of the five hundred Ming troops lured into the valley left.

"What a pity! If you catch a live one, maybe it will be even more useful! Cao Cao licked his tongue regretfully, looking at the corpse of He Huchen covered in bruises on the ground, and the other leader on the side asked with an almost flattering attitude: "Then Brother Cao, what should we do?" “

"I cut off my head and picked it up with a bamboo pole. Throw it outside, let Hong Chengchou see that we are not easy to mess with! “

On the mound, Hong Chengchou looked at the head of He Huchen in front of him, his face was pale, and the generals and staff on both sides did not dare to speak out, for fear of causing trouble to himself. After about half a ring, the people on both sides heard Hong Chengchou's depressed voice: "Withdraw the troops!" “

"Your Excellency!" A staff member who was most favored by Hong Chengchou on weekdays stepped forward and said: "General He sacrificed his life for the country, in my opinion. The body of the thief should be demanded and buried! “

"Hmm!" Hong Chengchou nodded. However, anyone could see that he was no longer in his mind at this time, and the two subordinates glanced at each other and decided not to say more.

Back at his residence, Hong Chengchou almost fell on the couch, exhaustion and frustration completely knocked him down, and the loss of five hundred soldiers was not a big deal. But the loss of a high-ranking military general like He Huchen could not be hidden. Of course, the Son of Heaven will not remove himself from his official position just for this, but the problem is that this will hit the morale of the Ming army that has been accumulated with great difficulty, and drag the war on, and what Hong Chengchou lacks most is time.

In this way, Hong Chengchou fell asleep on the couch in a daze. In his sleep, he dreamed of Yang He for a while, and then he dreamed of He Huchen, followed by He Renlong, Shen Yikui, and Bu Mu, these people either roared, or accused, and pleaded, but Hong Chengchou didn't care, for him, the dead were not terrible, and the trouble was the living. Suddenly, he felt a chill on his forehead, and suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.

"Sir!" Standing next to the couch was Yumo, holding a wet towel in his hand: "You have sweat on your forehead, I am the one who wipes it for you!" “

"I'm fine!" Hong Chengchou sighed, stretched out his hand and said, "Give me the towel!" “

"Yes, sir!" Yumo sat down close to Hong Chengchou and said softly: "Master, you didn't sleep very peacefully, or I'll press your forehead, Ning Ningshen." “

"That's it!" Hong Chengchou sighed: "The war is not going well, where can I sleep peacefully!" “

"Sir!" Yumo looked at Hong Chengchou's face, and said boldly: "The slave has a sentence that I don't know whether to say or not!" “

Hong Chengchou smiled, he still liked this scholar very much: "In the secret room, between relatives, what should be said and not said!" “

"Master, why don't you transfer that Liu Shen General to try?" Speaking of this, Yumo looked at Hong Chengchou's face before continuing: "I heard that this Liu Cheng's firearms are very powerful, and it was because of him that Lord Lu, who had just been promoted to the rank of soldier, won the thief!" “

"Liu Cheng?" Hong Chengchou was stunned when he heard this, he thought for a while: "Okay, let him try it!" “

Chaoyi.

Lama Chesang woke up very early, this is not because the accommodation conditions are too poor, as the fourth **** Lobsan? Chokyi Gyaltsen's personal disciple was responsible for uniting the Mongol tribes of the Gelug sect on the steppe, and Chesang could only sleep three or four hours a day for several years. In the first half of the seventeenth century, while the Ming Empire and the Later Jin regime were vying for control of the Northeast Asian continent, a small-scale "religious war" was also being waged between the Tibetans and the Mongol tribes who believed in Tibetan Buddhism. On the other side was an anti-Gelug alliance formed by Zangba Khan, who believed in the Karma Kagyu sect, Choktu Taiji (Chotu Khan) of Khalkha, and Baili Tusi Yuetun Dorjee and Lin Dan Khan of Kham. Compared to the war between the Ming and the Later Jin, this war was more brutal because the former was for conquest and the latter for the eradication of heresy, and Lama Chesang knew very well that if they failed, they would lose not only their own lives, but also temples, sects, and even believers.

After reciting the Morning Prayer Sutra, Lama Chesang came downstairs for breakfast, where the Mongolian nobles and young men were already waiting. After he asked to visit the workshop that day, Liu Cheng did not express his position, neither agreed nor refused, this noncommittal attitude made Gesang have no appetite, only ate a piece of bread, drank a few sips of milk tea and put down the dishes and chopsticks.

"Master, that messenger from Lord Liu is here!" A young Mongolian nobleman said respectfully.

"Invite him to the reception room!" Chesan stood up: "I'll go later!" ”

"Yes!"

Chessan returned to his bedroom, changed into a formal monk's robe, and put on a monk's hat in the shape of a cockscomb, and went to the reception room. Du Gu bowed to him and saluted: "Master, the master will send a villain to visit the workshop." “

"Oh, that's great!" Chesan laughed, turned around and ordered the noble attendants on the side, "You guys go clean up now!" “

"Master, Master is inviting 'you' to visit the workshop!" Du Gu repeated it again, emphasizing the word "you".

"You mean, Lord Liu only allowed me to go alone?" Chesan's brow furrowed.

"Yes, the master also said, I hope that the adults will dress up as monks in the Central Plains, and they won't be too conspicuous."

"I see!" Chesang nodded, he had already roughly guessed Liu Cheng's intentions: this shrewd general didn't want his special status to cause trouble. He stretched out his hand to stop the annoyed aristocratic attendants on the side, and said with a smile: "The monks of the Central Plains don't need to, I can change into ordinary clothes and dress up as a shepherd, right?" “

"Thank you for your understanding!"

"Is that okay?" Chesan smiled and said to Dugu that at this time he had changed into a Mongolian herdsman's usual saddle, and wore a fur hat on his head, which looked no different from ordinary herdsmen. Chesang rolled up his sleeves and bowed to Du Gu like an ordinary herdsman, Du Gu turned his body a little embarrassed: "Why should the master be like this, the villain can't afford it!" The master and Min Min Beji are already on the other side of the dock, please come with me! (To be continued.) )