Houjin's brigade has not yet arrived, but from time to time it is found that there are traces of Houjin's detectives. Li Qiang and others from Liujiabao outside the Xikou Pass had already received an order to drive the personnel and livestock near Liujiabao into the pass, and some people were unwilling to follow, so Li Qiang had to do it for themselves and not force it.

Most of the Great Wall near Xikou are in steep mountains and are easy to defend, only the section of Xikou Pass in Xikou Fort is the Great Wall built on the plain, which is the main target of the enemy's attack and the top priority of Li Guo's defense.

Li Guo asked Gu Ying to hold the left section, and Niu Decao was responsible for coordination. Li Twelve guards the right, and the assistant is Li Qiang.

Qi Laohan volunteered to guard the middle paragraph, although Li Guo believed in Qi Laohan's ability, but thinking of Qi Laohan's old age, he was not ready to agree.

But Qi Laohan was full of arrogance, and said loudly, "In the face of the strong captives, how can you not fight!" ”

Li Guo thought about it, and handed over the heavy responsibility to Qi Laohan. Princess Wulan, who was bent on participating in the battle, and Chen Ping, the general who originally guarded Xikou Pass, were both arranged for Qi Laohan.

Li Guo led a part of the elite soldiers to patrol around with Siketeng and Balhu, and rushed forward when they saw any danger. The once cowardly Zhao Dagou was now not only loyal, but also brave in battle, and Li Guo promoted him to the captain of his own army. Tao Shicheng, the former captain of the pro-soldiers, has been promoted to the general of the army, and the pro-soldiers have been arranged by Li Guo to be the leader.

Zhao Dagou saw that Li Guo's trust was indescribable, and his joy and gratitude in his heart could not be expressed, he followed Li Guo all the time, looked at Li Guo's figure, and thought, Tiger Ye is so good to himself, even if he dies once, he will do it!

Originally, the old battalion had trained 1,000 child soldiers, and Li Guo also planned to transfer them, but Li Guo thought about it and let these people continue to be managed by Huang Xiu to protect the old battalion.

This made Wang Si of the Fire Gun Team, Zhu Huan of the Tengpai Team, and Tie Dan of the Pikemen very dissatisfied. They went to find Ma Shiyao of the older cavalry team, and wanted Ma Shiyao to discuss with Li Guo so that they could go to the battlefield.

Ma Shiyao stared, looked at Wang Si and the others chattering to him, and said with a smile, "You little monkey cubs, let me go and tell Master Hu, why don't you go?" Are you afraid of being scolded by the tiger master? ”

Wang Si and the others blushed when they saw that their thoughts were exposed.

Wang Si said with a shy face, "Brother Ma, to tell you the truth, we don't dare to go, for fear that Daddy Li will say that we don't obey the order and kick us!" Your brother Ma has always been praised by Daddy Li, and you couldn't be better at this. ”

Ma Shiyao snorted coldly, "Hmph, how many of you don't dare to come forward and let me out?" No, I don't! But to be honest, I want to go too! Since this is the case, then none of us should retreat, and we will all go and beg the tiger master! ”

Wang Si thought about it for a while, and said in a loud voice, "Okay, let's go and beg Daddy Li together!" ”

Ma Shiyao shook his head, "But a few of us can't, we are now under the command of Mrs., if Mrs. Huang Xiu supports us, I think Master Tiger will agree to our request." ”

So, Ma Shiyao took Wang Si and a few people to find Huang Xiu again.

Huang Xiu has always been a husband and wife, and Li Guo's orders will never be disobeyed.

But Huang Xiu is actually a person with a cheerful personality, and he has always followed Li Guo to fight and kill, and now that he has a child and is tied to the old camp, he is actually unwilling in his heart. Therefore, although Huang Xiu is in the old camp, his son Li Taiping has always been led by Jiang Yingrong. Huang Xiu rode on a horse every day, leading these 1,000 people to practice. According to Qi Laohan's art of war, Huang Xiu's training is impressive and very good-looking.

And Ma Shiyao and others came to her and asked Huang Xiu to take them to Li Guo to ask for battle, Huang Xiu hesitated, but decided to follow Li Guo's orders.

But at this time, Wang Si said, "Madam, you also know that our men and horses are trained very strongly, so why don't you let us go to war?" You must know that not only Balhu, who had just defected, also went to Xikou Pass with my father Li, but even the woman of the grassland, Wulan, also went, and I heard that she was still an important leader who assisted Qi Laohan! This makes us angry! ”

After listening to Wang Si's words, Huang Xiu immediately stood up and said to them, "Go, I'll take you to find your tiger master!" "What Wang Si said is very effective, in fact, it is not that Huang Xiu is jealous, but a woman from a foreign domain is actually in this big position, what is wrong with me Huang Xiu?

Li Guo looked at Huang Xiu and Ma Shiyao, and then saw the ghostly appearance of Wang Si and the others, and understood in his heart.

Li Guo smiled and asked Huang Xiu and Ma Shiyao, "Huang Xiu, Shiyao, do you know why I want to keep you in the old camp?" ”

Huang Xiu glanced at Ma Shiyao, and Li Guo saw it in his heart.

Ma Shiyao replied, "Master Tiger, you are asking us to protect the old camp, because most of the generals' families are there, and there are many craftsmen there, who are making arrowheads, guns, arrow feathers, and thunderbolts and other weapons!" ”

"Hmm!" Li Guo nodded, "It seems that you know the importance of the old camp, so why are you still here to ask for war?" ”

"Master Tiger, after all, the old battalion is in the rear, and you can't see the enemy. We all want to serve you and kill your enemies! Ma Shiyao spoke sincerely.

Li Guo thought about it for a while, and said to Ma Shiyao in a serious tone, "Shiyao, in fact, I really wanted to transfer you here at the beginning, but I suddenly thought that Houjin might sneak attack!" ”

"Sneak attack?" Ma Shiyao was a little puzzled.

"Yes!" Li Guo explained to these people, "Now as long as we hold the West Pass now, it will be difficult for the Houjin soldiers to enter." But they are likely to take a detour and attack us from the rear or from the flanks. The last time the Jin soldiers ravaged the Gyeonggi region, they bypassed the fortified Shanhaiguan Pass and attacked Beijing from the flank. ”

Ma Shiyao nodded.

"So will Hou Jin Bing do the same in the river meander? Quite possibly. Li Guo began to analyze the situation.

First of all, the Houjin soldiers would not attack by detouring to Fugu in the west, because Fugu was separated from the river by a Yellow River. At this time, the weather is getting colder, and the surface of the Yellow River begins to freeze, but at this time the ice surface is thin, and people and horses cannot directly cross the river from the ice surface, and the ice surface cannot bear it. Even rowing is not possible, and with the resistance of the ice, it is difficult to form an offensive form.

So, will the Houjin soldiers come from the side pass next to the river meander? This is highly likely. In recent years, the horse market has opened to each other, and the Ming army guarding the border has relaxed its armament. Although the pass is steep, the generals who guard the pass are also very good at fighting. However, the soldiers' salaries were always insufficient, and their morale was not high. If Houjin Hua vigorously attacks, it is difficult to guarantee that the partial pass can be held. Once the pass is lost, the Houjin soldiers will kill the river meander.

But fortunately, the old camp is the main road to guard the partial pass and the river meander, here is the remaining vein of the Luliang Mountains, the terrain is dangerous, the Houjin soldiers want to attack the river meander, can only pass the mountain pass behind the old camp. The mountain pass was very narrow, easy to defend and difficult to attack, so Li Guocai did not let Ma Shiyao and Wang Si's thousand people go to Xikou Pass. Of course, this is just an idea of Li Guo, and it is not certain whether Houjin will attack from the flank, and these thousand people are just in case of emergency.

"A thousand are not many, but you will drive them there like nails. We will also keep an eye on the movements of the Houjin, and if the Houjin soldiers attack you, we will support you. Huang Xiu, Shiyao, do you understand now? Li Guo asked.

"Master, it's me who can't understand what you mean." Huang Xiu bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

"Master Tiger, the last general knows!" Ma Shiyao also lowered his head.

"But I know that you have never dared to disobey my orders, is there someone who tricked you into coming to me?" Li asked.

Everyone looked at Wang Si in unison.

Li Guo was about to make a move, but when Wang Si saw the opportunity, he ran away, and said as he ran, "Daddy Li, don't worry, we will definitely complete the task you taught us!" ”

Everyone laughed.