Eight and a half points of mountain and one point of water, half of the cultivated fields and manors, this is said to be Huizhou, everywhere you can see the peaks towering to the sky, the hills are lined up, the clear springs are draining, and you can see the water and mountain spirits of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River everywhere.

The prosperous Huizhou has always been the leading commercial town in the south of the Yangtze River, with rich people's livelihood and a thriving market.

It was noon and the sun was shining.

The former prosperous Huizhou government and six counties have long been lifeless under the iron hooves of the Western Army, and the tall and somewhat dilapidated archways on the banks of the Xin'an River stand silently, and the surrounding farmland is already full of weeds, and there are no people working at all.

In the distance, there are many mountain peaks, lush mountains like swimming dragons, and a flock of birds fly in the sky from time to time, whistling into the dense forest in the distance.

A group of people and horses from the archway in sequence under the fish through, the flag in the army is the Ming Dragon Flag, the flag is written in a big 'square' word.

With the sound of Tata's marching footsteps, two fast horses rushed in the opposite direction of the team, and stopped at the middle of the team where a general who was surrounded by layers of heavily armored cavalry, did not dismount, but bowed to the general and said, "General Bing, the front is the first dangerous pass in the south of the Yangtze River, Xiaoyao Valley, according to the detailed report, the pass in the valley has not been found to be guarded by enemy troops, the front army is on standby for five miles outside the valley, please show the general."

The leading general of this team is a member of Wang Lanping's command, Huaiyuan Battalion commander Fang Guoan, with 12,000 men and horses, well-equipped, is one of Wang Lanping's three main field forces, but for some reason suddenly appeared in Huizhou Mansion.

The Xiaoyao Valley is located in the east of Huizhou Prefecture, backed by the Xin'an River, west of the Huangshan Mountains, is an important passage from Huizhou to Zhejiang, and is a dangerous pass that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, when Hu Zongxian, the governor of Zhejiang, passed through here, he saw the mountain gate when the pass was standing, the mountain wind hunted, it was like a volley driving the void, in the mountain gate, the stone path extends in all directions, hovering above the mountain, straight to the main peak Qingliang Peak, there are the remains of the ancient battlefield thousands of years ago at the gate, but there is no war in Huizhou in the last few hundred years, and the military facilities are also barren, Hu Zongxian, who was emotional, knew the danger here, so he named it 'the first pass in the south of the Yangtze River', and engraved these five characters on the stone wall on the west side of the mountain gate.

Fang Guoan looked at the strange peaks and beautiful mountains around him, snorted, waved the horse whip in his hand and said, "Don't be careful, little mouse, how can you have the courage to set up an ambush here, order the front army to pass the pass, tell the whole army, speed up the march, and rush to Huizhou City before nightfall."

"Yes!" Someone rode away, and the road was dusty.

Fang Guoan said to the entourage again, "What does Counselor Zhang think?" ”

Counselor Zhang is a martial artist selected by Hongguang Enke before, and was appointed to the position of counselor in the Huaiyuan Battalion, also known as joining the army, which is both civil and military, but he has no actual combat experience, and he does not have the real power to command the army, Fang Guoan did not take this kind of person who is not civil, military and military at all, but because of the face of the prime minister, and the two are of the same grade, he can also tolerate him.

Counselor Zhang is now 28 years old, Chongzhen ten years of Nanyang Prefecture Wuju people, after the city of Beijing was broken, Li Zicheng went to the south, he then fell to the Yingtianfu area, at the beginning of this year as a martial arts person to participate in the martial arts examination, for the second class tenth.

Counselor Zhang is also accustomed to Fang Guoan's words in the army, no way, General Fang has been in charge of the army for 20 years, and the arrogance and reputation of that kind of soldier are beyond his reach in a short period of time, as long as Fang Guoan's military orders do not involve logistics and do not violate the orders of the Military Administration Department on the surface, he does not ask, and he has no right to interfere in specific military actions, this is the difference between a military counselor and a general in command.

Counselor Zhang smiled, "General, you have already given orders, so why bother asking me?"

Fang Guoan laughed, pointed to the surrounding peaks and said, "What I asked is how the scenery is around, haha" Fang Guoan was very satisfied with Counselor Zhang's self-knowledge, how can one mountain accommodate two tigers, and he didn't know what the prime minister meant, so he had to put such a figure next to the generals, it was not clear that he was here to monitor them, so he didn't have a good impression of this Counselor Zhang.

Counselor Zhang said, "Although the scenery is good, there is also a hidden crisis, the Xiaoyao Valley ahead is the first dangerous pass in the south of the Yangtze River, and the general should be more vigilant."

Fang Guoan said indifferently, "The western thief is already a frightened bird, Huizhou is also a lonely city, how can the thief have such a strategy, Zhang joined the army too much, and see how I take Huizhou City and add a congratulatory gift to the prime minister's wedding, haha"

Zhang Senjun is not good at speaking bluntly about military strategy, so he can only say from the side, "Although the power of thieves in Huizhou is already at the end of the crossbow, there are still 60,000 enemy defenders in Huizhou City, and we are more than 10,000, don't be careless, if there is an ambush in the valley, it will not be good."

Fang Guoan understood what he meant, if there were really defenders in the valley, it would not be too troublesome, the Ming army came this time with a total of two battalions, Huaiyuan Battalion took the lead, Anyuan Battalion was the back, the two armies were twenty miles apart, it was not difficult to pass a small Xiaoyao Valley, I was afraid that the news would leak so that Huizhou would be prepared, more than 20,000 people were easy to break through the Xiaoyao Valley, but it would be tricky to attack the guarded Huizhou City.

Before leaving, Wang Lanping repeatedly instructed Fang Guoan and Chen Wanliang that the good fighter is not to attack the city and pull out the village, but to be good at hiding the soldiers, often famous generals can hide tens of thousands of troops in an instant, and can recruit the army at a critical juncture, pointing to the east and west, and dispatching freely, this is a qualified general's talent, only with courage is the courage of a horseman.

Fang Guoan was originally a small guerrilla general in the guards around Nanjing, a hereditary fourth-grade military attache and a minister, since Wang Lanping became the prime minister, he became a second-rank military attache in one fell swoop, and he was in power in the army, and he has always been grateful for Wang Lanping's support, but his personality is too domineering, arbitrary, and he says nothing in his Huaiyuan camp, as if in this Ming Dynasty except Wang Lanping, he is not convinced.

Fang Guoan said disdainfully, "Today is the third day of the fifth month, and there are two days to be the prime minister's big day, if I don't march quickly, how can I send the good news to the prime minister on that day, come, send the general order, and march quickly."

Repeated orders were given, and the speed of the march of the troops also increased, and all the foot soldiers trotted all the way.

Looking at the soldiers passing by, Counselor Zhang was still very worried, it was impossible for such a dangerous place to have no defenders, otherwise the guards in Huizhou City would be fools.

Fang Guoan saw his uneasy look and said, "Don't worry, it's okay, General Ben has followed Prime Minister Wang Cheng and fought more than ten of these surprise raids, and he has never made a mistake, let's go, at night, General Ben invites you to eat in the best restaurant in Huizhou City."

Although Counselor Zhang had never fought a battle, and he did not have the battle-hardened composure of Fang Guoan, the closer he got to the pass, the more uneasy he became.

Suddenly, the front army had a flying horse rushing over, stopped at Fang Guoan's side, and immediately arched his hand and said, "General Bing, the front army has passed through the valley safely, will the army pass immediately?"

Fang Guoan laughed and said to Zhang Jianjun, "Look at you, give the order, the whole army will pass through Xiaoyao Valley quickly, and you must not stay after crossing the valley."

"Order!"

Then Fang Guoan summoned the sentry cavalry and asked, "How far is the Anyuan camp from here?" ”

The sentinel replied, "Twenty miles."

Fang Guoan was proud, "Go, tell General Chen (commander of Anyuan Battalion) that he will invite him to drink in Huizhou City at night, and tell him that I don't need his help to fight Huizhou, he can just watch the battle."

"Order!"

In the face of Fang Guoan's light enemy, Zhang Zanshen on the side couldn't interject, so he could only be anxious, taking advantage of Fang Guoan's inattention, he summoned a few personal soldiers and asked them to take people to the surrounding mountains to investigate, hoping that there was no ambush.

After doing all this, General Zhang Guoan said, "General Fang, the water here is beautiful, why don't you rest for a while, I have a good wine with me, how about a few drinks?" ”

Fang Guoan spurred his horse, "Drinking, join the army, you won't know that alcohol is forbidden in this army, not to mention that on this march, you are not afraid of military law?" ”

Zhang Senjun laughed, took off the skin on his waist and said, "This wine is not the other wine, the entrance is tasteless, the stomach is not hot, and drinking more is not drunk, it can not only relieve drinking, but also moisten the throat, and the general will not come to the mouth?" After that, he took a few sips at the mouth of the pot, and smacked his lips, as if he was drinking the best wine, and strangled the horse, pointing to a piece of bluestone on the side of the road, meaning to get off the horse?

Fang Guoan raised the corners of his mouth and said, "Isn't that water, wait for me to beat Huizhou, and then drink with you" As he spoke, he grabbed the horse's belly and walked forward.

Seeing this, Zhang Senjun could only shake his head and sigh, he was not sure if there was an ambush here, and looked at the endless rear team, and the front team that gradually got into the dense forest, he shook his head and followed.

**

Like the Huaiyuan battalion, the more than 10,000 people in the Dingyuan battalion were also divided into the front, middle and rear armies in turn, along the bank of the Xin'an River like a long snake slowly, Chen Wanliang was in the mood, enjoying the scenery of Huizhou water towns all the way, and from time to time with his army to the scenic spots passing by, very calmly, not at all suppressed before the war.

Chen Wanliang is also a hereditary military general of the Ming Dynasty, and before he did not follow Wang Lanping, he was the commander of the guard of the Jiangshui Wei of Suzhou Prefecture, and at this time he was also a senior military general of the Ming Dynasty, and the official rank of the second-rank Dragon and Tiger General.

I saw a horse flying in front of the army, and said to the side of Chen Wanliang, "General Chen, under the order of General Fang, tell General Chen that our troops have arrived in Xiaoyao Valley, and the road is peaceful, please follow up with the general, please watch the battle after nightfall, and see that our Huaiyuan camp has made great achievements tonight, General Fang said, please eat and drink in Huizhou City at night."

Chen Wanliang and his army members glanced at each other and said with a smile, "Oh? Runaway Valley is unguarded? This is strange, the western thief doesn't even defend such an important pass, so he's dizzy."

The army on the side smiled and said, "The thief is gone, the soldiers have no fighting spirit, how can there be a good strategy to resist the enemy, general, seeing that Huizhou can go down at any time, it is better for us to go up too, always follow behind General Fang, there is no place for it."

Chen Wanliang was cautious, waved his hand and said, "No, no, the prime minister only let me be the follow-up, if there are no special circumstances, I didn't let me attack, or rely on the prime minister."

The army nodded and said, "It's okay, the prime minister must have a reason for doing this."

So, Chen Wanliang said to the people who came to report the news, "Go back and tell your general Fang, saying that Lao Tzu knows, and when he is attacking the city, Lao Tzu will be carried on the stage in front of him, and wait for his good news while watching the play."

"Yes! In the next word, it will be conveyed to General Fang"

Immediately, Chen Wanliang ordered, "Send an order to the three armies, slow down the march, and keep a distance of twenty miles from the Huaiyuan battalion"

**

The Huaiyuan battalion marched all the way, and the Chinese army soon passed through the valley, and there was really not a single enemy soldier in the place where it passed, and not even a single ordinary person could be seen.

At this moment, several soldiers sent by Zhang Senjun came out of the forest to keep up with the team, covered in sweat, and even more nervous and uneasy.

came to General Zhang's side and whispered, "My lord, there is a situation, there is a stream on the right side of the valley mouth, and the stream is more shady, and the thieves are enjoying the cool by the stream, as if they didn't notice us."

Zhang Senjun was shocked and hurriedly whispered, "How many people?" ”

"I don't know, it's mostly hidden under the shade of the trees, it's everywhere, it should be the defenders in the valley, maybe it's because the valley is too hot, so they all ran to the stream, and they are sleeping dizzily one by one, according to the small look, it's better not to alarm them, it's better to go over quickly"

Zhang Senjun was anxious in his heart, although he could judge whether it was suitable for ambush from the terrain, but he had no experience in issuing military action orders, and all his talents were obtained on paper.

At this moment, a burst of laughter came, Zhang Shenjun was busy hearing the sound to see, only to see that Fang Guoan was on the high-headed horse, holding a canopy to look out of the valley, and pointed to the surrounding mountains and said, "Zhang joined the army, ridiculous thieves have no plan, if two thousand people are united to guard this valley, how can my generation be so calm, Huizhou will be obtained for me"

Zhang Senjun hurriedly urged the horse over, and said in a low voice, "General, don't be loud, there are ambushes at the mouth of the valley."

Fang Guoan's face immediately changed when he heard this, and he swept around vigilantly, "Ambush? How do you know and where? ”

The army has already gone out of the valley, at this time, even if there are ambushes, there is no way to take him, but in this way, it will be a surprise, as long as an enemy soldier brings the news into Huizhou City, the surprise attack will become a siege war.

Zhang Senjun pointed to the dense forest on the right, "One mile away, the strength is ominous, it seems that we have not been discovered, general, how can we be like this, do we want to fight?" ”

Fang Guoan saw how sure he said, and he felt that his face was gloomy for a while, thanks to the fact that the enemy did not set up an ambush at the mouth of the valley, otherwise he would be embarrassed.

"Let's take a look first, we're not familiar with the terrain, there are many mountains and dense forests here, and it takes a lot of time to fight, and the sentry rider"

"General, what do you command?"

"Order the whole army to stop immediately, hide on the spot, send out sentry cavalry, monitor the right side, and wait for the military order"

"Order!"

Fang Guoan rode to another sentry, "You, immediately tell Dingyuan Camp about the situation here, and let General Chen be careful."

"Order!"

Subsequently, Fang Guoan took Zhang Shenjun and a few personal soldiers, dismounted and touched the right side from the weeds more than one person high, as fast as a mile, and sure enough, he heard a voice coming from the front, and everyone separated from the grass path to see, it was really a thief here, lying on the grass under the shade of the trees, and many people were bathing in the stream naked, and they didn't seem to be aware of the movement of the Ming army a mile away.

Seeing this, Fang Guoan couldn't help but chuckle in his heart, and said secretly, it's really damn dangerous, if they find out, all the work will be wasted.

Thinking of this, he handed out a sincere smile to Zhang Shenjun, who was nervous beside him, and said in a suppressed voice, "Don't be afraid, there are not many people in that banner, no more than a thousand, go, go back" (to be continued.) )