The winter days in Shu are often hazy days, and the mountains are foggy and humid, and the days of clear skies are extremely precious. When the sunlight slanted into the open space in front of Wanjiabao, he couldn't resist repeated requests, and Shi Zhongzhu, the platoon leader in charge of guarding Wanjiabao, finally agreed to let the soldiers take turns to bask in the rare warm winter sun, while he and another veteran stayed on duty on the cold watchtower. This Shi Zhongzhu and his cousin Shi Zhongshu were the first batch of soldiers recruited by Ouyang Xuan in Liuliba, and now Shi Zhongshu is the company commander of the second company of the field battalion of the Perak Army, and Shi Zhongzhu has also become a platoon commander of the third company of the Perak Army garrison battalion.

This Wanjiabao was originally guarded by the second company of Shi Zhongshu, but yesterday it was said that it was not known where to be transferred due to an urgent military mission, and the defense of Wanjiabao was managed by the garrison battalion. It's just that the garrison three companies did not all go, but sent Shi Zhongzhu to lead a squad to Wanjiabao to guard, which made Shi Zhongzhu, who had always been loyal and honest, suspicious. First, there is a huge Wanjiabao, can only ten people in one class hold it? Second, although the soldiers of the garrison battalion have received firearms training, they have not been trained in live ammunition, and they are not at all sure whether they will be able to hit the incoming enemy with artillery strikes. Regarding Shi Zhongzhu's question, the commander of the third garrison company who gave the order rebuked him and said that he had no right to change it because it was an order from his superior, and he was impatient and angrily reprimanded, "If you can't hold it, you should quickly flee back and report the news", and at the end he added a sentence "This is also the military order of the boss."

Due to the obstruction of the mountain, most of the buildings in Wanjiabao do not enjoy the sunlight in winter, and only a small open space in front of the fort can be sunburned. Due to the wind outlet in the river valley, it is not warm even if you stay in the fortress, and the watchtower facing the wind is even colder. Although there was a brazier in the watchtower, the cold wind from the lookout kept blowing in, which made Shi Zhongzhu, who was standing at the window and monitoring the mountain road, feel a chill, and after a while, the whole body was cold. The situation was stronger than people, and he couldn't stand it, so he also accepted the persuasion of the soldiers to bask in the sun. The soldiers took turns basking in the sun, and the time soon came to sunset. At this time, the soldiers standing on guard in the watchtower suddenly sounded the alarm gong, and the sudden explosion of the gong startled the sleepy stone pillar a spirit, he quickly got up and shouted at the soldiers to return to the fortress, and then worked together to close the heavy gate, and then ran up to the watchtower to check the situation.

On the mountain road ahead, a large group of people walked towards Wanjiabao, and the people walking in front were dressed as merchants, and the people behind were homeless people. Soon the crowd approached the fort and sent people to the door to shout, claiming that they were merchants from Yongkang Village and people fleeing from the mountains. Standing on the high stone pillar and looking carefully, there were about ten people in the group of people under the city who looked like merchants, and they also carried more than 20 mules and horses. Among these merchants, Shi Zhongzhu was familiar with several faces, and he had met once or twice when he accompanied the merchant team to Yongkang City and Fucheng City as a guard. There were nearly 100 people who fled behind, including more than 20 elderly women, more than 20 women, and more than 60 young and strong men. Merchants and sturdy men often carried clubs, but also a small number of spears and knives, but this did not mean that there was a problem with the visitors. Because it is easier to survive in these troubled times, and it is common for pedestrians to carry weapons to defend themselves.

The merchant under the wall affirmed to Shi Zhongzhu that he and the others were invited by Li San'er, the manager of the trading company, to go into the mountain to do business, and the people behind him met on the road and entered the mountain together, and threw the invitation written by Li San'er on the wall for inspection. Although Shi Zhongzhu, who had gone through night school literacy, was illiterate, he could clearly recognize the three words Ouyang Xuan on the seal of the Yongkang County Lieutenant. The merchants opened the pockets on the horses and mules, revealing the salt, medicinal herbs, cloth and other goods they contained, so that everyone on the wall could see the real thing. This stone pillar has always been cautious, and the documents and goods have not dispel his vigilance, and his heart has been entangled and hesitant. Seeing that the city gate was not opened, the old people, women and children under the wall began to cry and plead, which made the hearts of the Perak soldiers soften, and they persuaded Shi Zhongzhu one after another. Shi Zhongzhu is a typical mountain man, and he has suffered hardships himself, so he really can't see the elderly, women and children suffering. At this moment, his loyal and kind nature overwhelmed the caution in his heart, and he vaguely remembered that his superiors had told him to make it as convenient as possible for merchants and homeless people to come to the mountains, so he gritted his teeth and ordered someone to open the gate of the fortress.

There are two gates in Wanjiabao, the front door is to enter the fortress, and the back door is to exit the fortress. Out of the back gate of the fortress, go straight to Liuliba and other deep mountains, to the right up the mountain is to Wanjiazhai. After opening the front door of the fortress, Shi Zhongzhu led people to open the back door, but as soon as he pushed the back door halfway open, there were screams and noisy footsteps behind him. Shi Zhongzhu was about to shout a scold, but he saw more than a dozen young and strong homeless people rushing towards him with knives and spears murderously. This sudden change made Shi Zhongzhu chuckle in his heart, and he was so frightened that he was at a loss in his hurry. Just when the sword and spear were about to greet him, the company commander's words "If you can't hold it, you should quickly flee back and report the news" suddenly flashed in his mind. He subconsciously shouted "Run", turned around and ran towards Wanjiazhai, and several soldiers who pushed the back door together saw this and also ran out of the back door and fled.

These soldiers of the garrison camp are all natives of the mountains, and they have been accustomed to walking rugged and steep mountain roads since they were children, and now they are even more invisible when they flee for their lives. Seeing this, the merchants and homeless people did not chase after them, but closed the back door of the fort and lit a thick smoke to send a signal. As for the few Perak soldiers who were knocked down at the front door, they were firmly tied hand and foot and kept under strict guard.

Not long after, a large number of men and horses with the banner of the Mongolian army appeared on the mountain road, and it turned out that Zhao Shicai, who was newly attached to the army, arrived with the men and horses.

Looking at the tall watchtower and solid gate in front of him, Zhao Shicai's contempt for the Thunderbolt Army was slightly restrained. He was secretly glad in his heart that he had used a trick to sneak attack Wanjiabao. Although he was confident that he could defeat the Thunderbolts, if the other party held the fort, he would definitely suffer heavy casualties if he gnawed this hard bone. And if the people and horses lose too much, they will have less bargaining chips with the Mongols, after all, no one wants to do a loss-making business. Thinking of this, he had another understanding of Xiong Ben, who offered a sneak attack, "This bandit leader seems to be stupid, but he is also a little clever."

In this attack on the Thunderbolt Army, although Zhao Shicai nominally got the right to command, in fact, he could only command his new attached army in Dayi, and he could not command Xiong Ben and the men and horses who came to Qingcheng County at all. For the purpose of checking and balancing the new annexed armies, Yelumai also acquiesced in or even connived at the discord between the three. After Xiong Ben found some businessmen, old people, women and children and handed them over to Zhao Shicai, he said that he would sneak attack Wanjiaping from the small road, so he returned to Yongkang City regardless of it. This Qingcheng County is close to Yongkang County, and there has always been communication between the new annexed armies of the two counties. Although Zhao Shicai hated itchy, he was helpless, he simply singled out, and without waiting for the new annex army of Qingcheng County to arrive, he led the headquarters to take action against Wanjiabao.