Li Chongbao put his hand on the pergola and looked at it from afar, and then ordered: "Get closer and see the details of the enemy village clearly." ”

The soldiers followed his gesture, and as soon as they took two steps, one of them fell to the ground with an arrow in the neck. The soldiers around him hurriedly looked around, and one of them raised his hand and pointed to the mountains on both sides and shouted, "On top! ”

Arrows shot down from the gaps in the bushes and foliage on the hill, striking the soldiers at a tricky angle, the jumpers hurriedly raising their shields above their heads, and the crossbowmen raising their bows. But the shrubs and greenery could not be found, and they became eye-catching targets among the mountain paths.

Li Chongbao clearly saw the soldiers of the Zhaoyi army wearing light leather armor hanging on the hillside, with a straw rope coiled around their waists, holding a bow and crossbow in their hands to shoot arrows downward.

"Quick, retreat, retreat from Meilianggou!"

The rear team of the Hexi Army was changed to the front team, and withdrew out of the valley with their heads down, but because the armor of the Hexi Army was still quite fine, they were only shot by the enemy with bows and crossbows, and more than 300 people were killed.

Li Chongbao had no choice but to set up camp in front of the valley, and fell into a state of sorrow in the camp alone, and now he was blocked in Wenxi County, so that he had no way to start. If Wenxi is not taken, even if you find a path to cross the Naruto Gang, you will not be able to carry out logistical supply, so this line must be opened.

This is a serious challenge for him, and if he is tripped up by a small miragou, it is a total denial of his own military capabilities. Although victory and defeat are common in soldiers, it is a crucial first in his life.

The camp built by the Tang army in Meilianggou was at least five or six miles away from the ditch, and if it was attacked, the force would not be able to exert its strength, but instead let the enemy flexibly move the lightly armored soldiers to climb between the two mountains and strike at them from a high position.

It's summer and autumn now, and the ravine is full of vegetation, right! Lush vegetation.

Li Chongbao excitedly slammed his fist into his right hand, and immediately went to his father's military advisor and chief secretary Xu Bin to ask him about the materials in the army.

"Mr. Xu, did we carry gunpowder when we entered the party?"

Xu Bin's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile: "The amount of gunpowder in our Hexi army is scarce, but when your father led his troops into the party, he specially ordered me to carry some grease and gunpowder in case of emergency, you see that it is needed now." ”

Li Chongbao was overjoyed: "It's really good, I'll send someone to pick it up with you immediately." ”

……

To carry out a fire attack, it was necessary to wait until night, and the Tang army set up a guard post on the periphery of the camp, and if it approached rashly, it would be discovered, and it was impossible to approach the enemy camp. Therefore, it is necessary to find an opportunity to climb the mountains on the left and right sides of Meilianggou in order to avoid the secret sentry and condescendingly carry out a fire attack.

He immediately sent scouts to look for mountain trails near Narujo Hill and Nakatiao Mountain that could climb the top of Meilianggou Mountain, and after five or six days of exploration, he found a steep sheep intestine trail on Narutiao Gang.

It is said that it is a sheep intestine path, but in fact, only animals can walk, and people cannot pass at all. Just because there is lush vegetation to cover it, you need to cut a path with a wood knife.

Li Chongbao selected 300 soldiers, took off his armor and carried dry firewood, pine light, grease and gunpowder, and personally led the team to climb the Mingtiao Gang. He also arranged for the adjutant general to lead his troops into Meilianggou tomorrow night to approach the periphery of the Tang army's guard post, and only waited for the open fire to be dropped on the north mountain, and then he attacked and used the prepared rocket arrows to throw rockets at the enemy camp.

The main peak of Mingtiaogang is still thirteen miles away from the north mountain of Meilianggou, Li Chongbao and they set off that morning, all the way through the thorns and thorns to climb the mountain, encounter dangerous places need rope assistance, and stubbornly open a road on the top of the thorny mountain.

At noon on the second day, they finally came to the top of the Meiliang ditch, and immediately ordered everyone to rest and eat on the spot, and then make dry wood weaving cages for fire.

To make this kind of thing, you only need to take local materials, and the thick willow branches cut down with a firewood knife on the mountain are dried by fire, and then woven into a round sphere, and the pine and oil-soaked dry firewood are filled with it, and then pushed down the mountain after being lit. The advantage of weaving a fire cage is that it is easy to roll off and is not easy to get caught by branches.

The soldiers worked in groups of three and soon made nearly 100 fire cages more than one person high, waiting only to be set on fire at night.

The next step is to find a place to attack, the Tang army's camp is in a long and narrow shape, with a total length of more than six miles, and there are also the ruins of the pass built by Liu Wuzhou in the late Sui Dynasty. He asked the soldiers to find a place to set fire, with little vegetation on the mountainside, more shrubs and fewer large trees, so that the fireball would not be stopped when it rolled down.

They began to lie on the ground, watching the scorching sun in the sky gradually set in the west, and the moon and stars hung all over the sky.

Li Chongbao leaned against the trunk of the tree without the slightest sleep, and silently thought about the passage of time in his heart. At the third watch, he stood up from the edge of the valley, looked down and looked down at the torches of the Tang military camp faintly visible below.

"Pass the order, get ready to light the fire!"

The soldiers lit the prepared torches, and the sparks on the top of the mountain appeared like strips, and some of the soldiers patrolling the Tang army camp raised their heads, pointed to the torches arranged on the mountain overhead, and asked in surprise: "Look, what is that?" ”

Li Chongbao amplified his voice and shouted, "Let's start!" ”

One of the three soldiers put a torch into the fire cage and lit it, and the two pushed the fire cage that rose from the top of the mountain, and for a time it was like dozens of bright fire lamps, rolling up the trajectory of flames on the hillside and falling into the Tang army camp at the bottom of the valley.

The patrolling soldiers shouted: "Go out of the water!" Let's go to the water! ”

Wang Sili was lying asleep in the tent, and when he heard the shouting, he immediately jumped up from the bunk and went directly to get the horizontal knife hanging on the post of the military tent. One of his generals ran into the tent and said excitedly: "Doctor, the Hexi army is setting fire to the mountain!" The camp has been burned, hurry up and leave! ”

"What! How did they get up! ”

He rushed out of the tent with his horizontal sword, only to see the flames rising in all directions, and the fireballs rolling down, the soldiers running back and forth to dodge, and the trees and wooden walls on both sides of the camp were all set on fire, and the heat wave of the flames made his face ache.

Meilianggou towards the side of the Hexi Army, deep into the valley of the Hexi Army saw the fire in the Tang army camp, for the leader of the general hurriedly pulled out the horizontal knife in the waist, raised it in his hand and shouted: "General Li's strategy has succeeded, brothers!" Fight the enemy camp with me! ”

They quickly approached the Tang army camp, and continuously threw rockets into the camp with longbows and crossbows, and for a time the Tang army camp was full of flames, black smoke, and the tongue of fire climbed up the hillside, and the fire waves were as high as several zhang. The Tang army was scorched by the flames on both sides, like ants on a hot pan.

Meteor-like bolts of fire flew over their heads, and many were killed by arrows before they could put on their armor.

In the starry night, most of the people did not know the direction, but they ran wildly towards the north, and as soon as they ran out of the camp gate, they were shot head-on by the Hexi army.

Wang Sili held the knife and shouted anxiously: "Run south!" In the direction of my finger! Hurry! ”

His hair had been burned by the flames, and his throat was dry and aching, but he still commanded loudly: "All battalion officers, all regimental captains, quickly withdraw with your men!" ”

The soldiers brought horses for him, and urged almost pleadingly: "Doctor, get on your horse and escape, the fire is too big, and if you don't leave, you will be scorched!" ”

He sighed in frustration, poked the knife in his hand on the ground, turned over and led the pro-army team towards the direction of the South Zhai Gate, along the way the wall burned and collapsed, the military tent was in flames, he rode a horse and jumped left and right, and finally rushed out of the Zhai Gate.

By daybreak, Wang Sili fled to Puzhou with only more than 200 soldiers, and more than 15,000 Tang troops were buried in the fire of Meilianggou.