"General, the spies ahead report back!" Cao Zhan said loudly.

Several horsemen rushed from afar, and the knight quickly turned over and fell off his horse, and reported loudly, "General, the military situation ahead is urgent!" ”

The spy presented the paperwork, but Dou Jiande stretched out his hand to take it, but found that the spy had his head down and was always dodging himself. He looked down and saw that the spy looked very thin, and he was wearing a large black iron helmet that he had gotten out of nowhere, and most of his face was covered in the helmet.

The exposed half of his face was gray on the left and mud on the right. But that dodging gaze and that familiar face made Dou Jiande's face gloomy all of a sudden.

Snorted coldly and took over the military situation, pretending to turn around. As soon as he took a step forward, he suddenly turned around and tore off the iron helmet on the spy's head, and immediately the spy exclaimed, but the voice was a female voice like a silver bell.

Looking at the spy holding his head in both hands, Dou Jiande said angrily, "Line Niang, how many times have I told you?" This war is a man's business, why don't you always listen? is still dressed like this, secretly following to the front line to inquire about the military situation? Do you fear death for your father? ”

Dou Xianniang was dressed in light leather armor, a pair of cowhide boots on her feet, and her hair was tied up like a man. There were still streaks of dust on his face, but his big eyes were shining mischievously at this time. As soon as he saw his father see through his identity, he hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his father's arm, "Dad, who said that fighting a war is a man's business?" In ancient times, Hua Mulan joined the army on behalf of her father, and even now, her daughter also heard that there were female soldiers in the Liaodong Army. I heard that the princess of Silla also personally went into battle, and I heard that there were more than 5,000 women in the Liaodong Army. Last time, I heard from the horse who came back from Zhuojun that when the soldiers and horses marched in formation, the momentum was no worse than that of the man. ”

Looking at the spoiled daughter. Dou Jiande has the heart to teach his daughter a good lesson. But when it comes to words, he is always ruthless. The informant is twenty years old this year, and she was not born to his current wife Cao, but to his yuan.

In the seventh year of the great cause, he was suspected of fornication and banditry by the government, and sent people to arrest him. As a result, his family was ruined, and a large family, except for him, ran out. Only this daughter remained. His wife, sons, parents, and brothers all died at the hands of the officers and soldiers. The daughter was fourteen at that time, and she had already promised the family, but in the end, the future son-in-law's entire family was also killed by the imperial court.

With this daughter, he voted for Gao Shida, and later remarried Cao's wife, but he always felt very guilty about his daughter. He found a lot of suitable young people for his daughter to go on blind dates, but his daughter couldn't look at any of them. He knew that his daughter was actually very much like her mother, and when she was married, she regarded herself as that family. But who would have thought that he had become a widow before he got married.

At this time, widowed women are usually considered to be "hard-hitting" and "kefu", so that it is difficult to remarry. Under this theory, the fiancé dies first. It often leaves a deep psychological shadow on unfortunate women, who think that they are "unlucky" and are mostly lonely for life.

Although Dou Xianniang is not a lady, she has always been bound by this in her heart. In the past six years, I have never been able to pass the hurdle in my heart, no matter how my father introduces him. She couldn't say yes either. Ordinary girls are married at the age of thirteen or fourteen, but year after year, Dou Xianniang has not married when she is twenty years old.

In this era, she is already an old girl, and the older she gets, the more Dou Xianniang becomes less and less hearted. Growing up in a small peasant family, she didn't learn as many rules as those young ladies. In addition, he fled for his life with his father and slept in the open air. Later, he joined the rebel army, and he often fled everywhere. For the safety of his daughter, Dou Jiande also taught his daughter some martial arts, which can be regarded as self-defense. But I didn't think about it, but Dou Xianniang liked to learn martial arts, but over the years, she has also made a lot of progress, and ordinary men are not opponents.

With skills, I can no longer sit at home with peace of mind and follow my stepmother Cao to be a female celebrity. She always begged those uncles to take her to ride horses and shoot arrows, and everyone liked the general's baby daughter very much, and after a long time, Dou Xianniang almost became a member of the army, and she followed her in training and in battle.

At first, Dou Jiande didn't know it, but after finding out later, although he was furious, he didn't change his teachings repeatedly. In the face of this daughter who has always been indebted in his heart, he can only let it go.

sighed again, Dou Jiande also knew that he couldn't stop his daughter. had to reprimand her with a dark face, and strictly ordered her not to be a scout like this in the future, otherwise she would not be allowed to be in the army again. After getting the assurances of the informant, Dou Jiande reluctantly opened the military situation. …,

After Dou Jiande finished reading it, his brows furrowed even deeper.

"General, what's wrong?" Fan Yuan asked hurriedly.

Dou Jiande handed the letter to Fan Yuan and sighed, "Originally, it was just Zhang Jin who led 100,000 people to come first, and we attacked 100,000 with 50,000, which happened to have the strength to defeat in one fell swoop." Unexpectedly, it rained a few days ago, and the water of the canal rose sharply, and Zhu Gui was unable to cross the river for a while. Now that the water has receded, he is building a pontoon bridge, but Zhang Jin said that the dog thief has arrived with 150,000 people. Now Zhang Jin said that he had a combined army, 250,000 men and horses, and the south bank of the canal was overwhelming, and his men and horses were everywhere. It's going to be hard for us to defeat them as we originally planned. ”

Fan Yuan and other generals also frowned, although they were all rabble, but their Hejian Righteous Army was not the elite soldiers of the imperial court. The current 50,000 soldiers and horses, although they are the most elite in the Hejian Righteous Army, are only relative to Zhang Jin's soldiers and horses. The rebels were all about the same, with many people but poor equipment.

His 50,000 men were only divided into spear battalions, horizontal knife battalions, and cavalry battalions according to equipment, not only did they not have crossbow beds, catapults and other equipment in the imperial army, but even bows were rare. Among the 50,000 people, Dou Jiande could only gather an archer battalion of 5,000 people. And their armor is very small, mostly leather.

In the past, they were able to calmly face the soldiers and horses of the imperial court, first, there were not many officers and soldiers recruited by the imperial court, and they fought if they fought, and fled if they couldn't. But right now there are 250,000 people, which is five times as many as them.

The only advantage of their Hejian rebels is that the soldiers have strong military discipline, high morale, and unity. There are 10,000 people, boundless. 250,000 people swung there, and it was really all over the mountains. None of them could guarantee that when the two armies would fight, they would only defeat the Hejian rebels, who were also mostly peasants. I'm afraid of being timid before fighting.

Seeing Dou Jiande, he was worried. Fan Yuan also comforted, "The general doesn't have to worry, Zhang Jin said that although there are many people, they are all annexed." Now that he has just become popular, he has not been on fire for a long time, and the soldiers have not returned to their hearts, and at this time, I am afraid that his men and horses will not have much combat power. Besides, General Sun Anzu is your brother, and he has many subordinates in his army. Also a friend of the general. Perhaps, when the time comes, they will turn against Zhang Gou and fight back. ”

The speaker has no intention, but the listener has the intention.

Dou Jiande's eyes lit up, Sun Anzu was saved by him back then. Later, he also planned to go to Gaojibo, and later after Sun Anzu gathered soldiers and horses, he never forgot his kindness. It was later that he voted for Gao Shida, but the relationship between the two was not estranged. It can be said that Sun Anzu's generals are basically very familiar with him. There are even a lot of friendships.

Although he also knew in his heart that after Zhang Jin said that after killing Sun Anzu and swallowing his power, he would definitely kill many of Sun's old subordinates. But he also knew that Zhang Jin said that as long as he wanted to swallow Sun Anzu's people. It is impossible to kill them all. If you can send someone to the south bank of the canal at this time, secretly contact those people. As long as Zhang Gou crosses the river at that time, he will attack him halfway, and Sun's old subordinates will come to the battlefield again, and things will be promising.

The generals looked at Dou Jiande and was still pondering, and they all persuaded. "General. This time the bandits were in great shape. It also occupies the Bohai Sea and the plains, and the grain and grass are worry-free. We are not to be underestimated. It is better to retreat and capture Gonggao City, attack according to the old routine, and Zhang Gou can retreat. ”

Even Dou Xianniang on the side nodded, "The dog soldiers are numerous, but the troops are not strong, as long as you grab the bow high city." He was also not allowed to go north for a while, and I also felt that it was best to win while maintaining stability. ”

Dou Jiande nodded, "Fan Yuan, Cao Zhan, what you said coincides with what I thought." It's just that now the thieves are numerous, and the front is sharp, and they can't be measured by common sense, although the regular soldiers are good, but the losses are ......"

"What does the general think?" Everyone asked in unison.

Dou Jiande thought about it again, asked the guards to be on guard thirty steps away, and whispered, "I have thought about it, if we retreat to the bow high, although we can keep the river worry-free for a while, it is to drink doves to quench thirst, not a long-term plan." Even if we stay in the river for a while, what can we do? There is Chen Pojun in the north, and now he is deploying troops, and when his soldiers and horses are deployed, when the time comes, how can we stop the Liaodong Iron Cavalry? ”

"Even if Chen Pojun doesn't go south for the time being, Zhang Jin said that although the dog thief is powerful at the moment, he has just annexed the soldiers and horses of Sun and Liu's two families, and it is when the power is not stable. If we can't defeat him now, then Zhang Gou can go south or west at any time, and then the more cities he captures, the wider the territory, the greater his power will be, and the stronger his strength will be, what will we do to fight with him at that time? ”…,

"In troubled times, it is like sailing against the current, and if you don't advance, you will retreat. If we can't defeat others, others will swallow us, and this is not the slightest warmth. In this battle, we defeat Zhang Gou, then the land on both sides of the Yellow River will be our territory, and when the time comes, we will not have the strength to compete with the Liaodong Army. And if we lose, the world is so big, where can we go? ”

Dou Jiande sighed, and his heart became more and more determined to create his own foundation in this troubled world.

"What Fan Yuan said just now is right, although Zhang Gou's power is big now, we are not without opportunities. I thought about it, we immediately sent some henchmen to sneak across the canal, find Sun Anzu and Liu Badao's old subordinates to send me and Liu Badao's letters, telling them that it would be good to follow Zhang Gou sooner or later. As long as they are willing to join forces with them, when Zhang Gou crosses the river in the future, we will attack him halfway, and they will fight back again. Although Zhang Gou is numerous, he will collapse. When Zhang Gou is defeated, Hebei is still the world of our Hebei people, and then these Hebei brothers will eat and drink spicy food and share wealth together. ”

After a little thought, everyone also felt that this plan was stronger than simply retreating to the bow. After all, even if you step back and grab the bow high, you may not be able to win it for a while. Even if they captured, with a small county town, against 250,000 soldiers and horses, they may not have the confidence to defend it. If you can really say that Sun Anzu and Liu Badao's old department will fight back before the battle, and Zhang Jin will have a good chance of winning before and after.

"The general is really strategic, this plan is too good. Sun Anzu's generals can have a letter from the general. However, Liu Badao is still in Hejian County, and he is afraid that he will have to invite him to make Liu Badao's subordinates believe it. Fan Yuan said.

Dou Jiande was also very excited, "This matter is easy, just send someone to invite Liu Badao immediately." He was claimed by Zhang Jin to take away the family business, and Zhang Gou, who he had hated for a long time, would definitely come immediately if he had a chance to defeat Zhang Gou. After thinking about it, Dou Jiande also suppressed the excitement in his heart, constantly perfected the plan in his heart, and calculated every step in the future.

Everyone also knows that this is the habit of the general, and he has to calculate very clearly every time, and there is no loophole in arranging things.

"When the Zhanggou pontoon bridge was built and the army crossed the river, we hit it halfway, and then Sun Anzu and Liu Badao's subordinates fought back. This is a good plan, but in order to be sure, it is best to have a light cavalry bypass Gonggao City and cross the canal in the north into Bohai County. Then turn southwest from Nanpi in Bohai County, detour to Husu City, and go straight to Dongguang behind Zhang Gou. At the time of the big battle, at the most critical time, the cavalry did its best, completely broke its formation, defeated Zhang Gou, captured Zhang Gou, and prevented future troubles. ”

All the generals nodded, but they were all silent.

Dou Jiande's face was also a little bad, "You only need one general, and you can ride three thousand horses, who is worthy of this great task?" ”

All the generals were silent, and for a while, Dou Jiande's face was even worse, and he couldn't help but be silent.

The mission may seem like a no-brainer, but everyone understands the dangers.

In order to be able to rush behind Zhang Jincheng before he crossed the river. Then cavalry is inevitably needed, although it seems that it is only separated by a river from Zhang Jincheng now, but if you want to be secret, you must gallop all the way north to cross the river to Bohai County, and then go around in a circle and finally reach the back of Dongguang Zhang Jincheng.

The time was short, the distance was long, and there were very few soldiers and horses with them.

Zhang Jin said that 250,000 people had gathered to the south of the canal, and 3,000 cavalry could only be regarded as a small number of soldiers and horses. If the Hejian Rebels in Hebei and Sun Anzu and Liu Badao's subordinates really defected before the battle, it would be fine. If there is a slight accident, then these 3,000 people will be blocked to the south of the canal. With 3,000 to 250,000, no matter how good a character is, there is no guarantee that he will survive.

If they stay on the north bank, even if they are defeated, they can escape back to the river, but if they go to the south bank, if the war is unfavorable, they will definitely die.

The mountain breeze blows, quite cool, the marching banner is waved in the wind, and there is a Dou character on it, but it looks infinite lonely.

"I'm willing to take on this heavy responsibility with a light horse!"

After a long silence, suddenly a determined voice spoke loudly.

PS: Dou is one of the Hebei heroes in the late Sui Dynasty, although he is not the protagonist in this book, nor is he a big supporting role, but Muzi will also try his best to depict this Xiaoxiong who was born in the end of the world, but can divide the world into three parts. Reading history, I always feel that Dou is actually a good person, at least in the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Hebei under Dou's rule was still very good. Although it started as a peasant army, it was not comparable to the leaders of the rebel army who became bandits. This is a person with political ideas and pursuits, and he deserves respect.

Finally, by the way, I asked for a reward for 、、、 (to be continued.) )