Four hours ago, on the border of Mongolia and Song, the Huangzhou garrison camp.

In addition to leaving 5,000 people to guard the city, the remaining 15,000 people were divided into three large battalions to guard the three hills on the official road leading to Huangzhou, and in the middle of the three hills, the elite Huaishang army of 6,000 people was stationed here, guarding the narrowest part of the entire official road.

The Anji Army was a brave and good fighting team trained by Su Liuyi when he served as the governor of Jizhou on Jiangnan West Road, relying on the local Xiang army and township soldiers, and later followed Su Liuyi to the north and was incorporated into Huaishang Li Tingzhi.

This army, which sounds weak, has fully exerted the brave spiritual tradition of the sons and daughters of the West Road in the south of the Yangtze River in the front-line operations in Huaishang, and has been brave and good at fighting, fighting hard, and repeatedly releasing brilliance, so after supplementing many Huaishang soldiers, the name of "Anji Army" was given to show the praise of the Jizhou soldiers who died on the battlefield and the tradition of the entire army and the good expectations for its ability to "stabilize the world".

As an outstanding commander, when Li Tingzhi selected the army to march westward, he took into account the glorious tradition of the Anji army's courage and good fighting, and secondly, considering that Huangzhou and Qizhou were lost, and the Mongolian iron cavalry could go south to smash the Jiangnan West Road. Because of this, Su Liuyi and Anji's army, who were staring at the front line and the Mongolian army in the north, were thrown back in ashes and thrown directly to the bank of the river.

With the imminent movement of the Mongolian commander Ashu and the repeated temptations of the Mongolian iron cavalry, Su Liuyi had to lead his headquarters and the troops of the two states and the township soldiers to the north, in order to deter Ashu and make him no longer covet the few remaining pieces of fat on the north bank of the river.

As a battle-hardened general, Su Liuyi considered that the Xiang army and the local township soldiers to which Huangzhou and Qizhou belonged were barely able to suppress bandits, and the fact that the combat effectiveness of the overwhelming Mongolian iron cavalry was almost negligible, he had to put the only elite soldiers in his hands at the throat, even if it was flat here, the slightest negligence would wipe out the entire army under the impact of the Mongolian iron cavalry. It's a pity that Su Liu Yi has no choice.

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The night was deep, the stars were dim, and the clouds obscured the clear light of the moon.

A young soldier of the Anji Army standing on the watchtower of the camp in the middle of the official road couldn't help but yawn in the night, and his eyelids were already uncompromisingly wanted to droop down. The old soldier walking back and forth next to him smiled and patted the young soldier's shoulder:

"What, sleepy? I didn't expect that at this moment when the moon is dark and the wind is high, and someone may attack the camp at any time, you still have the heart to sleep? ”

Although the young soldier's face was not clear in the dark, he must have turned red with shame, and he subconsciously shook his spirit and straightened his waist at the moment. The old pawn smiled slightly, didn't say anything more, just subconsciously clenched the divine arm crossbow in his hand. After being in the blood and fire on the front line of Huaishang for so long, there is always an intuition in my heart that tells me that tonight will not be as stable as usual.

The old man couldn't help but lean on the railing of the watchtower and look into the distance, on the two small hills in front of him, the lights of the two camps composed of the local army were bright, and he obviously maintained a certain vigilance, the official road between the two hills was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything clearly, only occasionally he could detect that there were wild grasses swaying in the wind.

Due to the cancellation of unilateral trade and the forced blockade of Mongolian trade, this official road has lost its prosperity and is naturally covered with extremely vigorous weeds. Even if some smuggling traders will pass by, they will choose to drill into the mountains and forests, rather than thinking that they have a long life and walk on the official road so openly.

Behind him, on the two hills where the local villagers were stationed, there were only sparse lights, and the old man really didn't think that there would be soldiers waking up on the humble watchtower. As for the camp of the Anji army, it is another scene, although it is approaching, the whole camp is still brightly lit, as the mainstay of the force, the Anji army has its own unique and strict regulations, 6,000 people will be in a state of combat readiness at any time.

And the big tent of the Chinese army, where Su Liuyi, the commander of the Anji Army, is located, has not been extinguished since night since he came to this isolated and helpless throat place. Regarding the future of the entire Anji Army and the future of the entire Great Song Dynasty, Su Liuyi can be said to be confused and hesitant.

"Heaven willing, peace tonight." The old man looked up at the sky, the sky was like ink, and the stars were dim, as if he could no longer hear the muttered prayers.

The sound of lonely horses' hooves, sounding in the silent night, was extremely abrupt.

The old pawn, who seemed to be intoxicated in the boundless darkness just now, almost subconsciously jumped up: "Someone, pay attention!" ”

The rest of the soldiers on the watchtower came back to their senses at the same time, the division of labor was clear, and they were not confused because of several of the new soldiers who had not experienced the battle formation, and the demeanor of an elite force was undoubtedly revealed in the slightest movement.

The bed crossbow quickly "crunched" and pulled the bowstring, and the veterans either held the crossbow or raised the assault gun, skillfully aiming at the vast night. The pawns were slightly flustered and lit the torches for the signal to inform the camp and other watchtowers.

Out of the darkness was a horse, a vague figure lying on its back, a few arrows sinking into his back, blood flowing down the horse's galloping footsteps, leaving a line of very different colors in front of the still open camp.

Although the sentry had rushed out of the trench, he did not straighten up again, and even the blood that flowed all the way became drops and dripped down.

The people on the watchtowers of several camps couldn't help but take a breath of cool air.

The whole earth trembled slightly in the night, and a low roar could be faintly heard in the distance, and the whole night seemed to be torn open.

Almost subconsciously, all the veterans shouted loudly: "100,000 urgent, ring bells, sound drums, enemy situation!" ”

The alarm bell on the watchtower on the left was the first to ring, and the dull bell echoed throughout the darkness. Immediately afterwards, the war drums on the watchtower on the right side "dong dong" rang non-stop, and the drum beat conveyed a high-spirited fighting spirit and a cold murderous atmosphere.

The soldiers closest to the wall of the camp had climbed up the wall along the ladder, a firearm with a bow and crossbow was raised at the same time, the rainproof cloth on the chariot equipped with a bed crossbow was also skillfully lifted, and the huge three-edged crossbow arrows were "crunched" and wound, and then aimed at the opening in the wall, from which the boundless darkness could be seen in the distance, as if a huge beast of the desolation was taking heavy steps, flowing out a long saliva, ready to swallow this far less elite in one gulp.

The Xiangjun camps on the hills on both sides of the front reacted, the torches had been lit in turn, illuminating the mountains up and down a miserable white, and the slightly poignant bells and drums and hurried shouts echoed in the night sky for a long time.

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The bells and drums rang in unison, and Su Liuyi, the commander of the Anji Army, who had been sitting quietly in the big tent of the Chinese army, and was in a daze at the not very accurate map, stood up, his brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes exuded a strange brilliance. Lu Xiufu, who was sitting next to him, also got up, looked at Su Liuyi in surprise, his face was not fearful, but excited, and he couldn't help nodding in his heart.

As the elite of Huaishang, the Anji army has its own pride, this time it was aggrieved to the middle line where the army gathered, and has been used as a backup force, if it weren't for the sudden posture of Ashu going south to Huangzhou, I'm afraid that the Anji army would have been silently catten from here for several years. Now that the Mongol cavalry has crashed into the door, how can they retreat in fear?

Lu Xiufu was silent for a moment, and said softly: "General, it's still ・・・・・・."

After all, he is a general who has been fighting for many years, although Su Liuyi is a little short-tempered and likes to rush to the front, but he doesn't want to pounce directly like a young general, and he always has to figure out what happened: "Come on, what's going on outside?" ”

A pro-soldier hurriedly broke in, his face was already covered with beads of sweat: "General Qiyu, Sima, the sentry in front was killed by an arrow, and there seems to be a large number of cavalry attacking in the distance!" ”

Even in the big tent of the Chinese army, which is dozens of feet away from the camp gate, he can already faintly feel the trembling of the earth, Su Liuyi's face tightened, this time I am afraid that it will have to be above a team of 10,000 people, and Ah Shu really looks up to our old Su.

Seeing that Su Liuyi was silent, the pro-soldier Dutou and Lu Xiufu secretly held their breath, let alone interjected.

"Send someone to quickly order the camp in all directions, do not open the door and delay the enemy, be sure to defend the camp!" Su Liu Yi said loudly, "At the same time, the Anji army went to the wall in turn according to the original order, and passed on my password, success or failure lies in tonight, all departments must fight to the death!" ”

The pro-soldier nodded solemnly, and just as he wanted to turn around, Su Liuyi suddenly remembered something: "Wait, send a ten general to lead his men and horses to escort Lu Sima to Huangzhou overnight, and there is no room for loss during the period!" ”

Lu Xiufu was taken aback: "No, since he was appointed as the Sima in the army, he should advance and retreat with the Anji army, how can he break away first?" ”

Su Liuyi glanced at Lu Xiufu, and an awe-inspiring murderous aura shocked Lu Xiufu subconsciously shrinking his body. Su Liuyi reluctantly squeezed out a smile: "Lu Sima, you and I have been talking with candles and nights for the past few days, and I can't be a confidant. Tonight's incident is critical, unexpectedly, Lu Sima is afraid that something will happen in the army, if he can't escort you out, he will be ashamed. Hurry up! ”

"Yes!" The soldier did not dare to hesitate, and while turning and walking out of the tent, he quickly ordered the ten generals standing outside the door, and soon two soldiers rushed in. Lu Xiufu just wanted to insist, but when he saw the posture of these two soldiers, he couldn't help but sigh, Su Liuyi's kindness made him unable to refuse, it was indeed better to go to the rear by himself than to take it with him in front, who made himself a powerless scholar?

At that moment, Lu Xiufu bowed deeply to Su Liuyi: "General Su, you and I will meet again." I went to Huangzhou here, summoned Qingzhuang, and sent a message to General Zhang and Xing** Ye Envoy Jun of the two Huaishui Divisions, urging the two to raise troops to the north, saying that they would also reject the enemy outside the country! ”

"Let's go!"

Su Liuyi forcibly pressed the sadness in his heart, he had already received the news that Fan Wenhu, the deputy envoy of the Yangtze River system, had gone to the two Huaishui divisions in a high-profile manner, and there was a great posture of competing with Zhang Shijie for the subordinates of the army, once the power of the two Huaishui divisions fell into his hands, not to mention that he would not be saved if he saw death, even if he cut off the grain route of the Anji army Su Liuyi also believed it. As for the Tianwu Army, which has just been formed for a few days by Xing** Ye Yingwu, the name does sound extremely domineering, but how much combat power Su Liuyi really doesn't dare to overestimate it, after all, it is just trained by some Yanei, except for people like Lu Xiufu who have been carried away by blood, who dares to have expectations?

"Mongolian iron horseman, let me see, can you bear with me!" Su Liuyi sneered, his hand had already tightened the handle of the knife, and he strode out of the big tent of the Chinese army.

The ground shook even more, and a strange, singular roar could be faintly heard in the distance. Unlike the bright lights of the three camps in front, the two camps composed of village soldiers in the back were originally sparsely lit and sparse, but now they have even fallen into complete darkness, and how many people are still holding on inside, even Su Liuyi, who commands them, is too lazy to care.

From beginning to end, Su Liu Yi did not intend to rely on these township soldiers who were destined to collapse at the touch of a button.

"General, the Tartars are here!" A ten-year general stood under the camp, seeing Su Liuyi who was striding over, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in his heart, this brave and invincible general will always give every soldier of the Anji Army a sense of support and security, and it seems to follow him to move forward bravely, even if he dies in battle, he has no regrets, this may be the charm of a famous general.

Su Liuyi nodded, at such a critical moment, what is needed is for him to be calm.

"Tartar light cavalry, three hundred zhang!" A shout came from the watchtower.

In the midst of this urgent voice, the last bed ballista was also in place.

One of the commanders shouted angrily, "Shoot the arrow!" ”

The sound of breaking the wind is so poignant, but in the ears of every soldier, it is incomparably wonderful and moving, countless arrows represent the Song Dynasty and even the whole of China for five thousand years of bow and crossbow development pinnacle, the divine arm crossbow almost runs through all the wars of the two Song Dynasty, becoming the slightly thin Chinese farming national warriors in the overwhelming cavalry before the biggest reliance.

There were already even more terrible screams in the wind in the distance, and everyone was still confident in the effectiveness of the Divine Arm Crossbow and the Large Bed Crossbow.

"Wind!" It was another loud voice in the darkness.

Anjijun seems to be a never-ending machine, skillful in winding, and skillful in pulling the trigger of a god arm crossbow or a bed crossbow. The screams in the distance are like an excellent lubricant, constantly ensuring that the machine runs wildly.

On the hills on both sides of the front, through the bright firelight, you can already see the dense reunion of cavalry, although they fell in rows, but more were still behind, like a climbing dark cloud, quickly and coldly advancing forward.

Su Liu Yi stood in the light, like a statue, quietly listening to the sound of the bow and crossbow shooting, as if it was the most pleasant fairy music in the world.

"Bang!" With a chorus, the flames of the assault rifle illuminated the hideous face of the sergeant on the watchtower. Presumably, the light cavalry had already hit a very close distance, and the Mongols' best cavalry archery had finally begun to exert its power, and there were soldiers on the watchtower and the walled wall who were constantly hit by arrows, screaming and falling down, but there were more soldiers who did not hesitate to go up the ladder.

They are the Anji Army, the iron bones of the Great Song Dynasty, how can they be defeated so easily?

Su Liuyi didn't care about the imminent losses, but set his eyes on the mountains on both sides where the battle was also raging, although those van troops occupied a favorable position, Su Liuyi still didn't know how long they could hold out. Fortunately, when the camp was being built at that time, Su Liuyi strictly forbade the soldiers to cut down the trees under the mountain, otherwise the Mongolian cavalry would rush down from the mountain after breaking those box troops, and the Anji army would really suffer from the enemy and collapse on the whole line.

And Lu Xiufu, who had already run out of the camp for several miles, stretched out his hand to straighten his hat that was crooked in the bumps, and listened attentively, the sound of killing was in full swing behind him, and the people who wanted to turn the horse's head and throw themselves into the bloody battlefield.

"Sima, on the left side of the front is the official road to Huangzhou." The ten generals who were in charge of escorting Lu Xiufu had good eyesight, and he could clearly see the two diametrically opposed forks in the darkness from a distance, and immediately pointed to the fork in the road that continued south. The other fork in the road is far wider than the official road leading to Huangzhou.

Lu Xiufu nodded slightly, although he knew that he should not stay at this juncture, but he still asked: "Where does the right side lead?" ”

The ten generals did not hesitate, and immediately replied: "Go north to Fancheng." ”

The word "Fancheng" is like a hammer, hitting Lu Xiufu's heart, which has already lost some square inches, Fancheng, Xiangyang, this time the Tartar cavalry came at night, I am afraid that it is to sweep away the Anji army, which is stationed in the rear of the flank, and may endanger the thorn in the grain route of the Xiangyang army at any time.

The direction of the Mongol offensive in the north has been very clear, not the Diaoyu City of Sichuan and Shu that has returned again and again without success, nor the Huaishang where famous generals have gathered and are heavily garrisoned, but Xiangfan, which has not even built perfect peripheral fortifications.

Subconsciously looking at the fork in the road, Lu Xiufu sighed softly. I hope that the brothers Lu Wende and Lu Wenhuan can rely on it, and Xiangfan will hold it, so that the Great Song Dynasty Guozuo can continue to extend for decades.

The sound of killing behind him came wave after wave, Lu Xiufu gritted his teeth fiercely, and the first horse galloped towards the official road leading to Huangzhou.

Born in such an era and such an era, a good man should work hard, how can he be missing Lu Xiufu!