The bandits calmly retreated eastward, until their figures were almost out of sight, and several reinforcements of officers and soldiers rushed in front of Su Hao and the others. Su Hao stood on the dirt slope and clearly saw that the leaders of these officers and soldiers were two officers riding tall horses.

The two thousand households looked up and saw a cadre of officials on the dirt slope, and they all grabbed the reins. They first waved their whips and gave orders to their officers and soldiers: "Follow the traces on the ground, continue the pursuit, and do not let a thief escape!" Then he grabbed the horse's belly, drove the horse into the position of the survey camp, and walked radially up the dirt slope. Deng Kui and the others saw that the other party's grade was not low, so it was naturally not convenient to stop them.

Su Hao and the others stepped forward, and the two officers jumped off the horse, and at the same time greeted Su Hao and the others with fists.

"Hu Kaixiang, the head of the river army, has seen ...... This is Su in charge, right? An officer scanned the crowd and found Su Hao with unmistakable accuracy.

"Su Hao, the director of the Ministry of Works, has seen Hu Qianhu." Su Hao cupped his fists and saluted.

"Huai'an Wei Qianhu Zhong Daren, I have seen Master Su, I have seen Tian Tongju, and I have seen Uncle Xu." Another officer greeted several people on Su Hao's side separately. As a thousand households of Huai'anwei, he has met Tian Younian, and he also knows Xu Guangzu, because Xu Guangzu and Huai'anwei's commander Li Shida are old acquaintances, and even Li Shida is known to Xu Guangzu as "Uncle Xu".

Everyone greeted each other with officialdom etiquette, and on this dirt slope, everyone couldn't find a stool to sit on, so they could only stand in a circle, among which Su Hao faintly became the protagonist in this circle.

Purely in terms of grade, these people really can't tell the difference. Tian Younian is a sixth-rank civil official, Hu Kaixiang and Zhong Daren are both fifth-rank military attachés, and in terms of status, the sixth-rank civil officials are higher than the fifth-rank military attachés. Su Hao has two positions, the grade of the civil official is the same as Tian Younian, and the grade of the military attache is the same as that of Hu and Zhong.

"Master Su, I'm ordered to come to reinforcements, it's not too late to arrive, right?" Hu Kaixiang asked, in fact, anyone with a discerning eye could see that they were stumbling late, but he had to use this tone to ask Su Hao.

At this point, Su Hao had nothing to say, he smiled and said: "It's not too late, it's not too late, Hu Qianhu and Zhong Qianhu are both fast, and Su feels inexhaustible." ”

"A few days ago, I received a confidential letter from the head of Su, in which he instructed our brothers to deal with the situation of the bandits. However, Zhong discussed it with Hu Qianhu, worried that if it was a detour from behind enemy lines, the trip would be too far, and he was afraid that Director Su would not be able to withstand it here, so he did not follow the arrangement of Director Su, and asked Director Su for forgiveness. Zhong Daren said humbly.

For a colleague like Su Hao, Hu Kaixiang and Zhong Daren are very disapproving. The boss asked them to come and cooperate with Su Hao, and they had to come, but in their hearts, they were not willing to fight with the bandits. Because fighting means casualties, and casualties mean pensions, these money can be spent without spending it, so why should they waste their money for Su Hao's whim?

Su Hao wrote to them a few days ago, asking them to send troops to make a detour behind enemy lines after the battle broke out and make a dumpling for the bandits. Hu Kaixiang and Zhong Daren both understood that this was a very good strategy, even if they could not wipe out the bandits, at least they could make the bandits suffer heavy losses. But they didn't want to accept this arrangement, because the trapped beasts were still fighting, and once the bandits were surrounded, they would have to fight hard, and their sergeants would have a lot of casualties. In their opinion, it is enough to be able to drive the bandits away, so why do they have to fight hard?

Su Hao is just a thousand households, and this thousand households were directly appointed by Jingli, and they have nothing to do with the River General Military Mansion and Huai'anwei. No matter what Su Hao's background is, or what great future he has in the future, Hu Kaixiang and Zhong Daren don't need to care, as long as everyone can get by on face.

Guided by this ideology, they adopted a strategy of attacking on one side, and the army seemed to be very powerful, but it was only limited to scaring the bandits away, and did not intend to really engage the bandits. Of course, this kind of thought can only be hidden in their hearts, and in front of Su Hao, they must say something beautiful.

"I said Zhong Daren, like you, can you catch up with the bandits? Your soldiers didn't even eat breakfast, did they? Xu Guangzu couldn't help it, pointed to the Huai'an soldiers who were chasing the bandits, and said to Zhong Daren.

Zhong Daren didn't care about Su Hao, but he was a little afraid of this Xu Guangzu. Because Xu Guangzu and Li Shida often drink together, and they have no mouth to hide, if they say some bad things about themselves in front of Li Shida in the future, they will be in trouble.

"Well, what Uncle Xu said is very true, these rabbit cubs, Lao Tzu...... Oh no, I mean if I don't do it myself, they won't help. Chief Su, Tian Tongju, Uncle Xu, you talk slowly, Zhong personally led the soldiers to pursue the bandits. ”

Zhong Daren said, led his horse back a few steps, turned over on the horse, and really ran to the team to lead people to pursue. Hu Kaixiang said a few polite words to Su Hao and the others, and also got up and went back to his team. The soldiers and horses of the two thousand battalions, like locusts, marched towards the east, stepping out of the dusty sky.

"Alas, my Ming officers and soldiers are all like this. If Qi Junmen was alive, he would have beheaded these guys a long time ago. Xu Guangzu said with a sigh. Actually, he is very aware of this situation in the army, he just thinks that Su Hao has seen the joke, and his face is a little unbearable. When he said Qi Junmen, he naturally referred to the late famous general Qi Jiguang, who was known for his strict leadership of troops.

Su Hao also shook his head and said, "It's understandable, the army has no soul, what kind of combat effectiveness do you talk about." ”

There were two thousand households to pursue the bandits, so there was nothing to do with the public opinion camp. Deng Kui came over to report to Su Hao that in the battle just now, 6 people were killed in the Kanyu Battalion, more than a dozen people were seriously injured, and dozens of people were slightly injured. Su Hao nodded and accepted the result. Just as Deng Kui said, in order for the troops to form combat effectiveness, it must be through actual combat, and actual combat will inevitably have casualties. Comparing the casualties on the bandits' side, the battle of the survey camp can be regarded as a good fight.

"Let the military doctors hurry up to treat the wounded soldiers, and the rest of the people bury the pot to cook." Su Hao commanded.

"Also, don't be careless, and prevent the bandits from coming back." Xu Guangzu added.

In fact, the battle just now was not a vicious battle. There were only seven or eight groups at a time, and about a quarter of the troops were fighting on the periphery, while the rest were only stationed in the rear. The men and horses in the front and rear were constantly rotated, and each soldier was only facing the enemy for half an hour.

Rao is so, after the battle, everyone still has a feeling of escaping death, isn't it, in fact, 6 soldiers were killed in the battle. When the veterans saw this scene, they could be more calm, and the recruits looked at the robe that was still fighting with them just now, and they were separated from their yin and yang in a blink of an eye, and they were all a little sad and afraid.

During the meal, Su Hao and Xu Guangzu walked back and forth between the groups with bowls, occasionally complimenting the heroic performance of a soldier or comforting those who had been wounded. The mood of the group gradually stabilized, and some people began to tell jokes about the battle, and laughter spread through the camp.

"These bunnies are good." Xu Guangzu said to Su Hao with satisfaction, "If you fight a few more battles, you will all become veterans." ”

"What about veterans, Hu Kaixiang and Zhong Daren are also veterans, and there are all older than you, I think they are just a bunch of waste." Su Hao said unceremoniously.

Xu Guangzu said: "These are all guards and soldiers, if you have seen the border army, you will know, especially the subordinates of Qi Junmen, as well as the subordinates of Liaodong General Li, that spirit is far from being comparable to the guards soldiers." ”

"Can I compare with them in my battalion?" Su Hao asked.

Xu Guangzu looked at everyone and said: "It looks a bit like it, and this is thanks to you, who can be invincible only if you change it, support righteousness and kill evil in the team, and the officers and soldiers have the same desire." However, this momentum is still a little worse, mainly because there are few battles and the shortcomings are murderous. ”

"In this peaceful and prosperous world, where do you let me go to find a battle for them?" Su Hao retorted indignantly.

As soon as he said this, in the distance to the east, there was a sudden commotion, like a tide coming. Su Hao and Xu Guangzu were originally sitting on the ground, but when they heard this voice, both of them subconsciously stood up. A scout rushed to them and reported loudly: "Oh no, no, Su Qianhu, the officers and soldiers who were chasing the bandits just now have all been defeated and retreated!" ”

"What!" Su Hao and Xu Guangzu were stunned. Two thousand battalions, more than 2,000 horses, chasing 800 bandits, will be defeated and retreat, could it be that the bandits have set up an ambush in front? Logically speaking, bandits are not afraid of officers and soldiers, but they will not fight to the death with officers and soldiers, ambushing 2,000 officers and soldiers, what kind of scale of bandits must be this, do they want to rebel?

"All of them, array! No matter what happens, you must not take half a step back without an order! Xu Guangzu yelled at the Kanyu camp.

The soldiers of the Kanyu Battalion did not know what was going on, but months of training had developed a habit of obeying orders. They threw away their rice bowls, grabbed their blades, and quickly entered a defensive position. This time, instead of forming a group, they formed a horizontal line, facing the direction of the defeated retreat of the officers and soldiers in front.

The officers and soldiers ran closer and closer, and this time they did not take square steps like when they were chasing bandits, but ran faster than rabbits one by one, and only hated that their father and mother had lost a few legs. From the telescope, Su Hao and Xu Guangzu could see that the more than 2,000 officers and soldiers had opened a distance of one mile before and after. They were followed by a group of men armed with long knives, these people were extremely fierce, and the officers and soldiers they caught up with were almost unable to fight back, and often lost their heads within a single sword.

"Where did this bandit come from, so ferocious!" Su Hao exclaimed.

Xu Guangzu changed greatly, and two words came out of his mouth: "Wakou!" (To be continued)