On the seventh day of the eighth month, the sky was gloomy.

It was as if a heavy rain was about to fall, but there was no movement, and the dark clouds in the sky were like heavy felt pressing on everyone's heads.

The more than 20,000 Yan troops were divided into five routes, and entered the Baotai Mountain in turn, and the distance between them was kept at about ten miles, which could not only expand the control area as much as possible, but also provide timely support to each other. Even if one of the Seven Star Army is attacked, friendly forces can come to the aid in a very short time.

After the army entered the mountain, Xu Cun immediately sent a large number of ranger scouts out to spy on the intelligence with the previously recruited guides, on the one hand, to clear the hidden dangers for the advance of his own army, to avoid being ambushed in some narrow terrain, and on the other hand, to form a deterrent to the recklessness in the mountains, and destroy the morale of the other party with this high-intensity suppression.

However, the mountains were extremely quiet, except for the sound of birds, beasts, and insects, and the sound of the wind whistling through the forest.

This quiet atmosphere was too eerie, as if the hunter in front had already dug a trap and waited with bated breath for Yan Jun to step in.

From the time the Yan army entered the range of Baotai Mountain to the day when they moved forward for more than 30 miles, for a whole day, the ranger scouts sent out by Xu Cun did not find any clues of the Seven Star Gang.

At dusk, the Yan army camped in an open place in the mountains to rest.

In the big tent of the Chinese army, Xu Cun sat on the handsome seat, his brows furrowed slightly, and he looked at the generals under his command and said, "What do you think those reckless people are doing?" ”

Du Min, the former military supervisor, said with a smile: "Chief, there is just a group of rabble in this mountain, when have you ever seen a real battlefield attack?" Now that my army is coming, and the army is strong and strong, those people may have been frightened a long time ago, and they are now trembling in their lair. ”

The crowd burst into laughter.

Xu Cun smiled reluctantly.

In fact, from the moment he received the military order from the Privy Council, he had a peculiar feeling in his heart that this crackdown on bandits was definitely not as simple as he imagined.

The reason for this is probably due to the fact that the attitude of the Seven Star Gang has been very tough from beginning to end.

In the face of the Yan court's recruitment, the Seven Star Gang refused without hesitation, and killed all the traitors and maniacs inside with thunderous means, and had no intention of negotiating with the Yan Dynasty at all. This kind of unsparing approach will either the other party be extremely stupid, or they will have the confidence to deal with the Yan army's pressure.

Based on Xu Cun's understanding of Lin Jie, this leader of the green forest is by no means a reckless man, and he must rely on him if he dares to do this.

At this moment, seeing that the generals under his command did not take the Seven Star Gang in their eyes, Xu Cun did not take their self-confidence too seriously, so he reminded them euphemistically: "Everyone, the Seven Star Gang is the number one gang in the Northland Green Forest, and the gang leader Lin Jie is the first person on the Jianghu martial arts list, and there are a large number of strange people under his command, and there are not a few martial arts masters. ”

Wen Xiguang, the capital supervisor of the left army, coughed lightly and said respectfully: "Don't worry, the chief manager, we will not be careless to underestimate the enemy, but although these Jianghu people are brave, they have never experienced a battle formation after all." On the battlefield, martial arts and blood and courage alone cannot achieve great things. ”

Xu Cun bowed his head slightly and said: "This is natural, I just want you to understand that even if this group of green forests and grasses are reckless, they will definitely not be timid and cowering." At least, they certainly have the courage to fight with our army. ”

Du Min was a little embarrassed, of course he could hear that the coach was mentioning himself.

This person is brave and brave, and he is known for leading troops in battle and not fearing death, so he can serve as a pioneer general.

He really looks down on the Seven Stars Gang in his heart, what kind of martial arts list is just a joke made up by idle men in the rivers and lakes, so no matter how high Lin Jie's martial arts are, he can still come and go freely in the millions of troops?

Mo said that tens of thousands of elite troops, just relying on the three hundred heavily armored infantry soldiers under his command, Du Min was confident that he would cut off Lin Jie's head.

However, when Xu Cun said this, Du Min didn't dare to continue arguing, so he said with a smile: "Chief, the last general is not a light enemy, but he doesn't want to increase the prestige of others and destroy his morale. ”

Xu Cun stopped at the point, and then changed his words and said, "Do you have a feeling that this mountain is a little too quiet?" ”

Wen Xiguang took over and said, "What the chief manager said is extremely true. Our army has an obvious advantage, and it is common sense that the Seven Star Gang does not dare to face each other head-on, but the other party actually did not send scouts to inquire about intelligence, which is indeed unreasonable. ”

Shang Zhirong, the capital of the right army, said tentatively: "Could it be that those bandits don't have this awareness at all?" ”

Leading troops to fight a war is a profound knowledge, not to mention commanding the enemy on the battlefield, just marching and camping, looking after each other, and scouts and inserting things, requires a wealth of experience. In any era, being able to drive tens of thousands of people from one place to another, without being separated and lost in the process, is a difficult task that the vast majority of ordinary people cannot complete.

Shang Zhirong's words naturally made some sense, but Xu Cun shook his head and said, "Don't forget, the reason why the Seven Star Gang dares to confront the imperial court is because they have a relationship with the Southern Qi border army. According to what we know, Lu Shen, the commander of the Ruishi Battalion in Huaizhou of Southern Qi, had already led people into the mountains, and the purpose of his trip was to help the Seven Star Gang train the army. Those Jianghu people don't understand the tricks of war, and it is impossible for Lu Shen not to understand it, he will not watch us enter the mountains without any reaction. ”

Wen Xiguang had a flash of inspiration in his mind, and muttered: "The intention of the commander, is the other party trying to deliberately paralyze our army, and then attack the camp at night?" ”

Xu Cun said lightly: "I have studied the life of Lu Shen. Although he rose to prominence in the Southern Qi border army for a short time, only emerging last year, in just half a year, he participated in the entire battle from beginning to end. In the original battle of Guangling, this person's first appearance was to lead hundreds of horsemen out of the city to attack the camp in the middle of the night. ”

When everyone heard this, they were all solemn.

Xu Cun continued: "In the battle of the night, Lu Shen led his troops to break through the flank of the Jing army, killed hundreds of people by capturing the flag, and then calmly returned to Guangling City. ”

Wen Xiguang frowned slightly, and said slowly: "It seems that he wants to repeat his old tricks." ”

Xu Cun bowed his head and said: "The Seven Star Gang is reckless and ignorant of battlefield killing, but they are good at killing people and overselling goods in the dark moon and high wind, so they have to guard against it. After returning to the camp, you must make arrangements for preparing for an attack on the camp, and at the same time arrange light and dark sentry posts on various roads. ”

"Obey!"

The congregation will rise and fall.

After Du Min, the former military supervisor, returned to the camp, he summoned a group of confidants and generals, and then made detailed arrangements.

Although he is accustomed to appearing in front of outsiders as a reckless man, he is actually very delicate and agrees with Xu Cun's judgment.

As night fell, the large camps of the Yan army gradually calmed down.

Du Min was in armor and sat upright in the big tent.

Waiting until the light of day, Du Min opened his eyes from half-asleep, and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "What time is it?" ”

The soldier hurriedly replied: "General Hui, it's already past the hour." ”

"It's dawn?"

"Yes."

"There was no movement outside the camp last night?"

"Yes, the troops followed the general's orders, but the enemy never appeared."

Du Min couldn't help frowning deeply when he heard this, and when he arrived at the big tent of the Chinese army, he found that almost everyone else had a worried look on their faces that they hadn't slept well.

Xu Cun's face was a little ugly, at this moment he couldn't help but have some doubts in his heart about his previous opinion, could it be that it was really as Du Min said, the Seven Star Gang and that Lu Shen had already been frightened, and they couldn't have the courage to resist at all?

He quickly rejected the idea.

"Continue to march and arrive at the first branch of the Seven Star Gang by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. After setting up camp tonight, the armies still have to be vigilant, and the soldiers can take turns to be on duty for the night. ”

"Obey!"

……

About 60 miles north of the main force of the Yan army, in the first camp of the Seven Star Gang between the two mountains, a group of people sat around the table.

“…… The Yan army was divided into five divisions, with about 4,000 men in the front army as the vanguard, 3,000 men in each of the left and right armies, the number of the middle army was uncertain, the rear army was about 4,000 men, and further south were thousands of auxiliaries to transport and protect the baggage. The distance between the various units of the Yan army is not far, no more than fifteen miles at most, and the method of fighting steadily and steadily for the battalion is adopted step by step, and gradually presses here. ”

Yin Hall Master Qi Lianfu's expression was calm, and he introduced unhurriedly: "According to Brother Lu's arrangement, we didn't dispatch too many people this time, and only let a few masters go to investigate. Generally speaking, the Yan army marched neatly and well, and there were also very tight guards at night. In order to avoid startling the snakes, our people did not get too close. ”

"There's Big Brother Lauz."

Lu Shen smiled and asked, "Where are the three thousand Jing soldiers now?" ”

Qi Lianfu shook his head and said, "I haven't found it yet." ”

The others frowned.

Tao Baochun asked: "It is said that this Xia Mountain Army is very good at crossing mountains and mountains, will they get into the mountains from somewhere else?" ”

Qi Lianfu said: "Even if they really have such courage, it is impossible to be quiet. You can rest assured that the Yin Cousins have hidden stakes in every critical place in the south, and they will never give each other a chance to sneak in. ”

Tao Baochun didn't ask any more.

Everyone couldn't help but look up at Lu Shen.

Lin Xi said cautiously: "Senior brother, you said earlier that we were going to use guerrilla tactics this time, can you let me lead people to raid their baggage next?" ”

Lu Shen looked at her slightly apprehensive gaze, and said calmly: "Senior sister, if I am not mistaken, the auxiliary soldiers who protect the Yan army's baggage as mentioned by Brother Fang Cai Qi are the old pawns of the Jing Dynasty. ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

Lu Shen explained: "The Yan army has marched in a big way this time, although the Fengqiu City in the south has a large amount of grain and grass reserves, but it is more than two hundred miles away, and as the Yan army gradually goes deeper into the mountains, this distance will continue to lengthen, and it is impossible to rely on Fengqiu City to transport supplies, so they must carry enough grain and grass with the army." ”

"Since ancient times, grain and grass have been the lifeblood of an army, and if we burn it, tens of thousands of Yan troops can only retreat in disgrace. We can think of this, and the enemy naturally understands it, so in the course of the war, planning for the grain and grass is the most important thing. It is impossible for the Yan army to be unguarded, and until this moment, the three thousand people of the Jing Dynasty have not appeared, so there is only one possibility, the other party is guarding near the baggage, waiting for us to go and sneak attack, and then wipe us out. ”

"I see, it's so dangerous that I fell for the enemy."

Everyone sighed repeatedly, and Lin Xi couldn't help but smile apologetically.

Lu Shen signaled that it was okay, and then said calmly: "The Yan army has just entered the mountain, these days are the most heavily guarded times, we don't have to be in a hurry." ”

"Then according to Brother Lu, what should we do next?" Qi Lianfu asked curiously.

Lu pondered for a moment and said indifferently: "Judging from the speed of the Yan army's march, they can launch an attack on this branch village the day after tomorrow at the latest. Remember, this battle can only be lost, not won! ”

Although everyone didn't understand the intention of such an arrangement, after all kinds of indoctrination before Lu Shen, they had already formed a habitual obedience, and immediately said in unison: "Yes!" ”

(End of chapter)