Yingshan is in the east of Zaoyang County, it is the gateway to Hubei since ancient times, there is a Wuyang Pass here, it is a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Hu Zaixing is eyeing Wuyang Pass this time, planning to lead the troops to recapture Wuyang Pass, but there are some insufficient troops, so it will put forward the requirements of important people to Meng Zongzheng.

Meng Zongzheng did not have enough troops at hand, although he wanted to help Hu Zaixing, but he was suffering from insufficient manpower, and finally thought of Gao Huaiyuan's troops.

Although the baggage battalion is only a township army composed of township warriors, but under the leadership of Gao Huaiyuan, the combat effectiveness of this township soldier is not weak, and the level of equipment is also good, and it is completely with the strength of the regular army, so it is not a good way to send Gao Huaiyuan to Hu Zaixing.

Gao Huaiyuan had no choice, so he could only nod and agree, but he was not very optimistic about Hu Zaixing's capture of Wuyang Pass, after all, this is an important pass for Jin soldiers to go south, with the IQ of the Jin army coach Wan Yan Sai, he will never fail to see the importance of this place, and will definitely send a strong general to guard it, although Hu Zaixing is brave, but he only has more than 3,000 soldiers and horses at hand, even if he adds his own baggage battalion, it is only more than 4,000 people, and if he wants to capture Wuyang Pass, I am afraid that he will not be able to do it.

However, Gao Huaiyuan didn't say what he thought, at this time, the Song army won a big victory not long ago, and the morale was high, even if he said it, he might not be able to stop Hu Zaixing from attacking Wuyang Pass, with his identity, he can only look at the situation for the time being.

During this time, Gao Huaiyuan did not know much about the situation in the Jiangbei area, in his opinion, the Jin army this time again waved the army south, attacking Zaoyang, with the strength of Meng Zongzheng and Hu Zaixing, it was not enough to fully resist the Jin soldiers, their strategy of dividing troops to attack it was good, but it was obviously unwise to storm Wuyang Pass, and it was best to adopt guerrilla warfare methods at present, and use Hu Zaixing and Chen Xiang to contain the Jin army, and retreat to advance, avoid its edge, and wait until the Jin army could not attack for a long time, and then counterattack the Jin army The chance of victory may be greater.

This point coincides with Jia Qi and his thoughts, since the baggage battalion came out of Zaoyang, Gao Huaiyuan has been discussing this matter with Jia Qi and others on the road, and the final opinion is not optimistic about Hu Zaixing's operation.

From Zaoyang to Yingshan, the distance is more than 100 miles, but it is not close to walking, after all, now the Jin army forward has passed Yingshan, is moving in the direction of Zaoyang, if you take the road past, you will inevitably encounter the main force of the Jin army, Gao Huaiyuan is not arrogant enough to use his own township army to touch the Jin army, so they chose a northerly road to Yingshan and Hu Zaixing army to meet and talk, after getting there, look at the situation, after all, the specific situation of the two armies is not very clear to them.

This time, they carried a few bed crossbows used to attack the fortifications, and also loaded two carts of pedal arrows, and the rest were the grain and straw needed by the Hu Zaixing army, but the number of vehicles was much less than when they came from Xiangyang, after all, this time they went to Yingshan to fight, not only to carry out the task of transportation, so the seven hundred township soldiers only escorted more than 30 carts, but it was also a light advance.

In order not to run into the Jin army, they walked very carefully along the way, Gao Huaiyuan still sent Huang Yan as a scout, and went out of the team for about five miles to check the situation, and Zhou Hao as the rear of the palace, Gao Huaiyuan personally dispatched in the center, two days later, he entered the territory of Yingshan County, and found Hu Zaixing's soldiers and horses in a small town called Yanzidu, and it can be said that he arrived at the destination without danger.

Hu Zaixing was very happy about Gao Huaiyuan's coming to help, and immediately went out of the town to greet Gao Huaiyuan and his party after hearing the news, which made Gao Huaiyuan quite moved.

Speaking of which, the first general of the Song Army he knew was Hu Zaixing, but because he didn't want to be in the army at the moment, he never agreed to serve under Hu Zaixing, and Hu Zaixing was upright and could be regarded as a friendly person, and Hu Zaixing was really good to him, Gao Huaiyuan was still very grateful to him.

"The young general Gao Huaiyuan is late, I hope General Hu will forgive me!" Gao Huaiyuan immediately turned over and dismounted, walked a few steps to Hu Zaixing, and bowed his head.

"Haha! No Delay, No Delay! Just in time! You guy finally came to me today, this time to see if you can run away! Hu Zaixing was straight, and when he opened his mouth, he laughed and mentioned the matter of recruiting Gao Huaiyuan, and stepped forward to pick Gao Huaiyuan up.

"General Hu misunderstood, it's not that the little one doesn't want to do things under the general, it's just that for special reasons, the little one can't join the army now, but as long as the young general is in the army for one day, the general has an order, and the young general will not obey it, and the general will look at it!" Gao Huaiyuan hurriedly made his attitude clear again, so that Hu Zaixing could stop.

Hu Zaixing saw that Gao Huaiyuan's attitude remained unchanged, so he didn't say anything more, this time he didn't expect Meng Zongzheng to send him reinforcements, Gao Huaiyuan's baggage battalion could come over, which already made him very happy, not to mention that he also sent him a batch of supplies, which could support him to fight with the Jin army in this area!

After entering the big tent, Hu Zaixing introduced the situation to Gao Huaiyuan, it turned out that when Gao Huaiyuan set off from Zaoyang, the Jin army had crossed the Wuyang Pass, the forward had arrived in Suizhou, and there was a fierce battle with Chen Xiangjun, Chen Xiang led the army to drag the Jin army in Suizhou, Hu Zaixing saw this opportunity, and wanted to take the opportunity to capture Wuyang Pass and cut off the Jin army's contact with Xinyang.

This plan is very bold, but the risk is also very huge, although Gao Huaiyuan is the commander of a baggage battalion, but at this time in the Hu Zaixing army is also a talker, after all, the number of rural soldiers under his command accounts for almost one-fifth of the Hu Zaixing army, so when Gao Huaiyuan arrived here, Hu Zaixing wanted to listen to Gao Huaiyuan's opinion.

Gao Huaiyuan listened carefully to the news from the scouts, and couldn't help but ask: "But I don't know if the main force of the Jin Army has already passed Wuyang Pass at this time?" ”

"It's already over, now Wanyan Saibu has led the main force into Yingshan, and will soon arrive in Suizhou, so I want to attack Wuyang Pass, Huaiyuan, you might as well tell me what you think?" Hu Zaixing said.

Gao Huaiyuan carefully looked at the map in Hu Zaixing's tent, the ancient map only marked some villages and towns, and the performance of the terrain was not very clear, so he didn't see the reason for looking at it for a long time, so he asked some questions about Wuyang Pass, in his memory, the Beijing-Guangzhou Line Railway, the north-south transportation artery, seemed to have passed through Wusheng Pass, where the terrain was very dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, with their 4,000 people wanting to beat Wuyang Pass, it seemed a little suspenseful!

Hu Zaixing was a little unhappy about Gao Huaiyuan's question, so he smiled: "As far as I know, although Huaiyuan is young, he is full of courage, is it possible that you are afraid of attacking Wuyang Pass?" ”

"The difference between the general's words, since the general wants to listen to the general's opinion, then the general wants to understand as clearly as possible before speaking, otherwise, if he rashly expresses his position, wouldn't it seem that the general is not cautious enough? Although Wuyang Pass is a key pass, it is not easy for our army to attack Wuyang Pass for this battle! Gao Huaiyuan still insisted on his opinion on this matter.

"Oh? Why? Hu Zaixing asked with a frown.

"The young general thinks that the general's idea is good, as long as we take Wuyang Pass, we can block the retreat of the Jin army, but at the moment it is actually not mature, because although the Jin army was defeated a year ago, it did not hurt its vitality, this time it has just regrouped, and the morale is in full swing, this is one of them;

Moreover, the terrain of Wuyang Pass is dangerous, the commander of the Jin Army will not fail to see its importance, and Chen Bu will definitely guard it here, and it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, we only have a force of 4,000 people, and it is obviously impossible to take Wuyang Pass in a short time.

Take a look at the terrain here, from here to Wuyang Pass, there are about 20 miles all the way, all of them are mountain roads, the young general heard that this place can only accommodate a big car to move forward, even the war horse can not be ridden together, even if we have the advantage of troops, we can not be carried out in front of the pass, once we are dragged under the pass, there is only such a road in and out of Wuyang Pass, if the main force of the Jin army gets the news, as long as a soldier and horse are sent to block our retreat, we will be stuck in the mountain road, we can not advance or retreat, and if we don't do well, the whole army will be annihilated!

Therefore, the young general thinks that it is really unwise for us to rashly send troops to attack Wuyang Pass! Unless the general makes up his mind, if he does not succeed, he will become benevolent, otherwise, attacking Wuyang Pass will be the next policy! I hope General Hu thinks twice! Gao Huaiyuan was unhappy to see Hu Zaixing, but he still insisted on stating his opinion, after all, if Hu Zaixing went to attack Wuyang Pass this time, he Gao Huaiyuan would not be able to run and go with him, once something went wrong, then he would also be finished, so he didn't want so many people to take risks.

After listening to Gao Huaiyuan's words, Hu Zaixing's brows were twisted together, he had also thought about these things, but he only wanted to take it by surprise, conquer Wuyang Pass in one fell swoop, and he could cut off the retreat of the Jin army, but he did not think about the problem so deeply like Gao Huaiyuan, if they really encountered the situation that Gao Huaiyuan said, they could not make a surprise attack, once they could not take Wuyang Pass in a short time, then it was likely to be blocked in the mountains by the Jin army by turning around, and they could not advance or retreat.

Not only was Hu Zaixing frightened, but several of his lieutenants were also taken aback, Gao Huaiyuan's words were like a basin of cold water, and their enthusiasm was extinguished at once, because Gao Huaiyuan made it very clear that this battle was actually a battle to the death, if you don't succeed, you will become benevolent, if you win, you will be successful, and if you lose, you will die!

That's the lives of more than 4,000 people! Hu Zaixing thought about it and was a little afraid, he was not greedy for life and afraid of death, now the Song army did not have a numerical advantage in the Xiangyang area, and the four thousand soldiers on his hand at hand could be said to be a new force, once the whole army was annihilated, it would affect the entire battle situation, so he told him intellectually that such a risky plan could not be implemented, otherwise, the defeat may be great.

Hu Zaixing frowned and thought for a long time, then said to Gao Huaiyuan: "I'm afraid Huaiyuan has already thought about it on the way to come!" You're right, it's really too risky for us to attack Wuyang Pass now, but this official wants to hear if you have any good methods, we thousands of people can't hide here all the time! ”

After hearing that Hu Zaixing had dispelled the bad idea of sending troops to attack Wuyang Pass, Gao Huaiyuan was also relieved, he was still young now, but he didn't want to throw his life under Wuyang Pass because Hu Zaixing had a brain fever, and he still needed to do more things in the future!

"This young general hasn't thought about it carefully, but from the perspective of the young general, this time the Jin army is strong, General Hu might as well use last year's method, take advantage of our army's familiarity with this area, raid the Jin army from the flank, and then drag it into the mountains with retreat, and then break through each one, so as to consume the strength of the Jin army, even if the Jin army hits Zaoyang County, we can also attack behind it, so that it can not concentrate its forces to attack Zaoyang County, as long as it drags on for a while, the Jin soldiers will naturally retreat exhausted! General Hu is the main general in the army, or the general decides! Gao Huaiyuan said his thoughts as he kicked the ball back to Hu Zaixing.

After thinking about it for a long time, Hu Zaixing nodded and said, "Although Huaiyuan is young, he is very discerning!" That's right, now it's better for us to follow the old method, contain the Jin army from the flank, and drag them for some time! Since this is the case, then let's revise our thinking and consider what Jin Army to fight first! ”

After that, the generals began to discuss where to start the first battle.

Although the Jin army took Xinyang and attacked Zaoyang, it was not able to completely control Suizhou and Yingshan, which was still the jurisdiction of the Song people, but the number of soldiers and horses in Suizhou was not enough to fight against the Jin army, and the Jin army did not intend to be in Suizhou and Zaoyang, etc., the purpose was to attack Xiangyang, so the Jin army was essentially equivalent to acting on the territory of the Song army, which provided great convenience for Hu Zaixing's action and allowed the Song army to grasp a certain initiative.

After Gao Huaiyuan arrived in Hu Zaixing's army, he left Yanzidu with the army in the early morning of the next day and headed for Suizhou, the purpose of their trip was to support Chen Xiang's Song army from the flank and beat the Jin army hard.

A day later, they traveled to Xinglong Township, southeast of Suizhou, where they settled down and sent scouts to Suizhou to inquire about the news.

Before dawn, Gao Huaiyuan heard the sound of drums in the army and raised the tent, and immediately dressed up neatly and rushed to the big tent of Hu Zaixing.

At this time, the generals of all battalions also rushed to Hu Zaixing's big tent and stood in two columns, waiting for Hu Zaixing to give orders.

"Last night, the scout came to report, saying that a Jin army was stationed in Wandian Town, about fifteen miles west of us, this Jin army obviously did not find our existence, and their strength is limited, just so that we can beat them hard, you will immediately order your subordinates to eat a full meal, and after half an hour, they will set up camp and immediately accompany me to Wandian Town, and those who dare not use their lives will blame me for their ruthless art of war!" After Hu Zaixing briefly informed the generals of the news, he instructed them to prepare for the expedition immediately.

Gao Huaiyuan's baggage battalion was once again arranged to be used as a reserve in the rear army, so he immediately returned to the camp and began to get busy.

More than 4,000 Song troops under the leadership of Hu Zaixing suddenly appeared in Wandian Town in half a day, and before the more than 2,000 Jin troops here reacted, they formed a phalanx and the whole army pounced on the Jin army.

This Jin army was defenseless, immediately shocked, just put out the formation, not waiting to send arrows, Hu Zaixing led the troops into the Jin army formation, in this case, to be prepared to fight unprepared, the battle immediately appeared one-sided, the Jin army could not resist the Song army's crazy attack at all, only supported a short incense time, and then began to collapse.

Such a raid battle can be said to have no suspense, the Song army easily defeated this Jin army, and won a lot, killing more than 300 Jin soldiers in one fell swoop, and the remaining Jin soldiers immediately scattered as birds and beasts, and fled all over the mountains and fields.

Hu Zaixing was worried that the main force of the Jin army would arrive at any time, so he ordered to stop the pursuit of the Jin army, immediately gathered the troops and horses, and withdrew towards the northern mountains, while Gao Huaiyuan's baggage battalion did not catch the battle this time, and ran with the main force in vain, and after hearing Hu Zaixing's order, he had to immediately withdraw to the mountains with the army.

This area was originally mountainous, which was very conducive to the Song army to adopt such a style of play, fighting quickly and collecting quickly, coming and going without a trace, and the Jin army was not familiar with the local terrain, so even if it suffered a big loss.

After the victory in the first battle, Hu Zaixing's army immediately boosted morale, rejoicing at such a small victory, Hu Zaixing was even more happy, and praised Gao Huaiyuan for his thoughtful thinking, otherwise, if they ventured to attack Wuyang Pass, they might really encounter something!

Afterwards, they learned that the Jin army, which was about to collapse in this battle, was originally sent by Wanyan Saibu to loot grain and straw in this area to fill the army.

After tasting the sweetness, Hu Zaixing, so he no longer wanted to do anything to capture Wuyang Pass, and began to lead the army around in the mountains in this area, attacking again and again, constantly attacking some of the Jin army's stragglers, and in just a few days, they ate several Jin army's stragglers, which greatly shook the Jin army.

Moreover, Gao Huaiyuan once again offered a plan to re-xing, telling him that it was very inconvenient for so many people to act together at the same time, so it was better to disperse them into several waves and attack separately, so that the action could be more rapid, and it would be more difficult for the Jin army to detect, even if something happened individually along the way, it would not lead to the annihilation of the whole army, and it would be more conducive to guerrilla warfare such as fighting in this area.

Hu Zaixing listened to his reasonableness, so he immediately followed the good flow, according to Gao Huaiyuan's suggestion, divided his soldiers and horses into four, three of which were handed over to the three subordinate deputy generals to command, he himself led a group of soldiers and horses, scattered to the mountains around Suizhou, and began a guerrilla war.