In the vanguard camp, in the main camp where Tang Zhan was located, Tang Zhan, Lu Jing, Lao Jiu and others were sitting at the wooden table discussing the war. Everyone had serious expressions on their faces, as if they were waiting for something, but they could guess that it would definitely not be a good thing......

The fire in the camp kept beating, making a "crackling" spark sound, and Lu Jing's eyes stared at the flickering flames, his eyes hesitating. In fact, she knew very well in her heart that the final answer they were waiting for was ......

The curtain of the tent was not closed, and a thick fog could be seen outside. A swiftly galloping figure gradually emerged from the mist, and everything was a sign that the outcome was near......

"Brother Zichuan is here......" Tang Zhan sat at the table, looked at the misty figure opposite, and muttered softly.

It was really Zhao Zichuan who rushed to the tent, only to see Zhao Zichuan hurrying to the tent, stepping directly on the wooden ladder and walking into the tent. Zhao Zichuan's eyes were very determined, and the result of everything was as he expected - he came in a hurry, and he came to report the answer that everyone had been waiting for......

"General Xu Da has already given the order-" Zhao Zichuan walked to Tang Zhan and said in the tone of a soldier.

"As a result?" Tang Zhan also asked expressionlessly.

Zhao Zichuan paused for a moment, and then said word by word: "The military order of the left three vanguard troops of the Spring Department has been resolved, and the main force of our army has been ordered to go out to Qiling Pass, guard the pass, and transfer troops to approach Xuzhou Pass;

After Zhao Zichuan finished speaking, Tang Zhan didn't accept a word for a long time. However, Tang Zhan's expression did not change, and everyone guessed this result from the beginning. Everyone was also mentally prepared......

"Zhu Yuanzhang still made a move......" Lu Jing said on the side, "General Chang Yuchun will retreat." The next one to face the Yanjitai army is us......"

Zhao Zichuan's mood was relatively high, and he didn't seem to care about the hardships of going out to Qiling Pass. Resolutely said: "What are you afraid of, haven't we waited for this day for a long time? Before, because of the military order, we couldn't go on the expedition; now is the opportunity, Yan Jitai has calculated General Rongwu and General Chang Yuchun one after another, and he has to make him suffer——"

However, Lu Jing, who had always been cautious, shook her head lightly on the side and said hesitantly: "That being said, Xuzhou Chengguan is also guarded by 70,000 soldiers and horses, and Huaibei and other places can still send reinforcements. With only 20,000 men and horses, it is not easy for us to hold the Qiling Pass, let alone force the enemy's main force to retreat to Xuzhou City; moreover, although the number of our army is 20,000, most of them are newly incorporated troops, and they are not fully adapted to our army's formation, in case the main army really fights head-on in the open land of the plains, our army will never have an advantage, so this expedition will definitely be more auspicious ......and less auspicious."

"What's there to be afraid of, isn't there more people? It's not that there are no examples of winning more and less...... "Zhao Zichuan is full of courage, and he is belligerent, and he is not afraid of the deterrence of the enemy army at all.

"But this time the opponent is different, Yan Jitai Bazado is not only scheming. Moreover, he had fought with Zhu Yuanzhang, and he knew more or less about Zhu Yuanzhang's marching troops; in addition, he had won successive victories in the battle of our army's glory and often in the spring, and the enemy army must be in full swing at this time. And the morale of our army is low, and we will not be able to win if we fight hard head-on......" Lu Jing was still extremely worried.

Lao Jiu didn't speak. He kept thinking about it on the side, and suddenly said: "With 20,000 new troops with low morale. Storming the enemy's 70,000 elite soldiers is really unrealistic...... In the past, General Rongwu brought 20,000 soldiers and horses with him on his first expedition, which was only for the purpose of detecting the enemy's army, but this time our army undoubtedly had to fight with bayonets. Even General Chang Yuchun's 100,000 army could not win, knowing that the disparity was huge, but why did the marshal still want us to forcibly attack......"

As soon as Lao Jiu mentioned this, Lu Jing's nerves suddenly tightened, a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he secretly said in his heart: "General Chang Yuchun's 100,000 troops do not advance, and our army is in danger with 20,000 people...... Zhu Yuanzhang is testing us and testing our ability, so ...... he is?"

"The military order cannot be violated, since our army is ordered, we must go to Qiling Pass, even if it is nine deaths and one life-" Tang Zhan didn't think too much about it, and said righteously, "Before, General Rongwu and Chang Yuchun failed one after another, this battle will be a vicious battle, our army must act cautiously when breaking in, and if you make a mistake, you will lose everything!"

Lu Jing slowly stood up from the side, closed her eyes and said, "There is no way, since it is an order issued by the marshal, our army can't help but obey the ......."

When Zhao Zichuan heard this, he said excitedly on the side: "What about the disparity in numbers? On this expedition, I have to let Yan Jitai Bazar know how powerful we are-Sister Jing, you are resourceful, let go and do it, I, Zhao Zichuan, will always be at the forefront of the march and be the first to charge and kill the formation! Besides, in these two battles, Sister Jing, you have also seen Yan Jitai's ability, and with your wisdom, you will definitely be able to think of a strategy to break the enemy!"

Lu Jing listened to Zhao Zichuan's encouraging words, and said with a slight smile: "Yan Jitai Bazado is indeed a tricky person, and he must not be sloppy in dealing with him...... Although there is a huge disparity in troops, it seems that in the past ten days of exploration in the vicinity of Qiling Pass, there is no chance of defeating them; as long as our army forces the enemy to retreat for several miles, buy time for the reinforcement army to assemble food and grass, and the main force enters Qiling Pass, we will be able to return to the main army and take Xuzhou together."

"Hmm-" Tang Zhan saw that Lu Jing already had confidence in his heart, and he nodded with satisfaction.

Lu Jing left her seat again, took a few steps forward, looked at the fog outside the curtain, and then said, "The fog that has lasted for several days should also dissipate...... Fool, the next orders of the army will be at your disposal-"

Tang Zhan's eyes were certain, and he also stood up and said: "Okay, I have an order to gather all the soldiers and horses in the army and set out to attack Qiling Pass early tomorrow morning!"

"Deling-" Zhao Zichuan also responded with a confident smile, he has not fought for a long time, this time he can do a big job......

Although there was still a fog outside the tent, it was much lighter than the first two or three days. Lu Jing was still inspecting the training situation in the army as usual. Since the second day of the expedition to the Qiling Pass, today's training in the army is not very pompous, and the new army's "five unique formations" are also almost trained, and most of the troops in the army are mainly resting and recuperating. Even the cavalry battle formations that practice a lot on weekdays are not much......

Lu Jing looked around, and suddenly found that Xiao Tian and Su Jia's infantry camp seemed to be moving. General Li Xian and Li Gong, who accompanied Zhao Zichuan to set up the cavalry in the vanguard, were well trained with the vanguard cavalry in the infantry battalion. Lu Jing was a little curious in nothing. So he also walked towards the infantry formation......

In the cavalry formation, the vanguard cavalry seemed to be scattered, and with the whipping orders of the two generals Li Xian and Li Gong, the charging cavalry opened the formation.

With the thundering and drumming hooves of the horses, they galloped out of the killing formation, and suddenly attacked thousands of flying arrows in a flat riding formation, like a storm towards the haystack in front. It was just a gust of wind, and the storm calmed down, and the haystacks on the opposite side had been shot into thousands of holes by arrows. However, the charging cavalry was always armed with swords and spears, and the arrows did not detach from the water at all after they were fired. Followed by the cavalry melee fighting after going deep into the haystacks, the cavalry marching formation is almost a set, and the charge and killing formation is completed.

In fact, all of this was in the training of the "anklet repeating crossbow" invented by Xiao Tian in actual combat -- a special-shaped bow and crossbow with a wooden mechanism was set up at the legs and feet of the cavalry, and arrows were fired with the strength of the feet, highlighting their surprise; And after the hair, kill the victory of the brave......

"Good-good-good......" The infantry battalion applauded, and the whole army was greatly admired by the bravery of the vanguard cavalry, and Xiao Tian in front of the formation nodded with satisfaction.

......After General Li Xian and Li Gong respectively withdrew their cavalry units, they rode back to the infantry camp.

Xiao Tian smiled and said to the two generals: "This time, the 'Anklet Repeater' has been improved. It is more suitable for cavalry to quickly release and retract in the charge, and rush away from the enemy's cavalry formation at the fastest speed. The effect is perfect—"

Li Xian and Li Gong immediately dismounted, and Li Xian walked up to Xiao Tian. admired and said: "General Xiao is really a genius of the mechanism, this crossbow is exquisitely designed, and he is good at charging and killing the formation by surprise. If there is a big victory in this battle, General Xiao will also make a great contribution!"

"General Li Xian said with a smile, in Xiaping Japan is happy to research new things, if this thing can really help our army win a great victory in the war, I dare not say the credit, I am happy that things are useful, it is already satisfying......," Xiao Tian still responded modestly.

"But isn't it?If Brother Xiao can really use it, it means that you also have military talents, why not?" Lu Jing suddenly appeared from the crowd at this time, walked behind Xiao Tian and said with a smile.

"It's Sister Jing...... Oh no, the army division ......" Xiao Tian heard Lu Jing's voice and turned around in response.

"It's okay, just call me 'Sister Jing', although the military orders in the camp are like mountains, but such titles are okay......" Lu Jing still said to Xiao Tian in a friendly tone like when she was in Bianliang.

"Oh, Sister Jing......" Xiao Tian was also very friendly in front of Lu Jing, after all, when he was in Bianliang, Lu Jing also helped himself and Su Jia, "You and Brother Tang Zhan are also very busy these days, and we rarely meet, and Jia'er is ......the same."

"But tomorrow will be different-" Lu Jing said with a serious smile, "Early tomorrow morning, our army will set out to fight at Qiling Pass, and then we will really fight side by side...... We used to have fun when we were together, but this time it's really life and death on the battlefield, so you have to be mentally prepared, after all, you and Sister Su haven't really experienced the battlefield......"

"It's okay, after Jia'er and I left Bianliang, there were many twists and turns...... Xiao Tian threw a confident smile at Lu Jing.

Lu Jing saw the "majesty" in Li Xian's Li Gong cavalry formation just now, and then said with a smile: "Brother Xiao, your invention is indeed good, if you meet the army of Yan Jitai tomorrow, the Five Absolute Formation will definitely be useful...... Rest well today, tomorrow is the real battlefield......"

Lu Jing finally said this, leaving an intriguing expression, and then turned around and left.

Xiao Tian stayed where he was for a long time, looking at the back of Lu Jing leaving, thinking about the unknown and difficult adventures of tomorrow's expedition, and his heart could not be calm for a long time......

The next morning......

The vanguard army was in strict formation, just like before the 100,000 troops set out in the spring, and the whole army waited for the order to be dispatched. The purpose of this expedition was to force the enemy's main force to Xuzhou City, and to recollect grain and grass for the reinforcement army to enter the Qiling Pass. With 20,000 soldiers and horses retreating from the enemy's army of 70,000, this grim situation can be imagined; coupled with the defeat of the first two battles of Rongwu and Chang Chun, the morale of the whole army of the Northern Expedition was low, and it was difficult to force back the victorious division of Meng Yuan.

But all the officers and men in the vanguard army gathered as one and were not afraid. In the face of danger, not only did not flinch and retreat, but had the heart of rushing forward. Accompanied by the war drums in unison. The 20,000-strong army marched forward with the flag, both land and water, and a mighty army marched towards the Qiling Pass.

As a result of learning the lessons of the defeated armies of the first two wars. Although the number of troops on this expedition was only 20,000, it had both land and water armies. The navy marched north along the canals of the ancient dynasties, with Lu Zhao and Lu Meng leading a hundred warships marching in strict order, which was mighty and overwhelming; the army still maintained the "five unique formations" in parallel, the vanguard Zhao Zichuan accompanied Li Xian and Li Gong to charge the battle, the left and right wings Nangong Murong led the brave cavalry, the middle formation Tang Zhan, Lu Jing, and Lao Jiu sat in command, the infantry walked together as a surprise soldier, and the rear camp Xiao Tian, Su Jia, Murong Ying, and other troops followed closely -- the situation was thousands of troops. It is like annexing mountains and rivers, the mighty banner of the sky, the neighing hooves of war horses, and marching in unison under the pass of Qiling Mountain......

The Mengyuan army of Qiling Mountain is in the formation......

Yanzhi Jitai Bazado's troops were still stationed on the side of the shore of the cage lake, first, to resist the rapid attack of Zhu Yuanzhang's troops with the naval army, and secondly, to watch the movements of his army closely. In recent days, there has been a lot of fog in the mountains, and it is difficult to observe the momentum of the naval army on the cage lake, and the whole army of Mengyuan is holding on day and night.

Again. When the 100,000 troops of the spring were pressed, Xuzhou asked for reinforcements from Huaibei, and the army retreated immediately, and the Huaibei reinforcements also turned back. Yan Jitai naturally didn't dare to take it lightly. In addition, Yan Jitai had already guessed that Chang Yuchun had retreated, and the division he entered was the vanguard of the Tang War. Yan Jitai is even more afraid of intentions, even if there is no day of war. It also regularly regulates the army......

On this day, Yan Jitai was in the camp and the soldiers deployed the army. The spies sent back the news that the vanguard army of the Tang War had entered the Zhaqiling Pass......

"See clearly, right?" asked Tsubaji, looking at the map on the table, as he whispered to the spies who had come back to report.

"I can see my lord clearly, at the Qiling Pass on the other side of the cage lake, the word 'Tang' is written on the military flag-" The spy 1510 said.

"They're finally here......" Yan Ji Ji Tai closed his eyes slightly, facing the "opponent" who finally arrived, Yan Ji Ji Tai didn't know whether to worry or be excited.

"My lord, you care so much about Tang Zhan and Lu Jing?" Li Chengsheng couldn't help but mention on the side, "Isn't it just that you calculated us, my lord, you have experienced a hundred battles and have experienced countless battles, how can you be worried about the two of them?"

"I'm not worried, I'm happy......" Yan Jijitai suddenly said with a hideous smile, "I can finally fight them openly...... I have been happy to kill the people who have calculated against me...... I originally only thought that killing Zhu Yuanzhang would make me happy, but now it seems that before Zhu Yuanzhang, there are still people who can make me excited, which is really good...... Tang Zhan, Lu Jing, no matter who it is, I will let them die a hundred times more painful one by one-"

As he was talking, one of Yan Jitai's subordinate generals suddenly came over and said, "My lord, in addition to these two people in the vanguard army, there are still people to watch out for......

"Who is it?" Yan Jitai asked coldly.

The general continued: "Zhao Zichuan, the flying cavalry general in the vanguard army, as well as the left and right winged cavalry generals Nangong Jun and Murong Fei, I heard that these three people are the 'three tigers' in the army......

Yan Jitai listened, smiled coldly, and responded: "No matter who it is, just come...... In the past, I defeated Rong Wu and forced Chang Yuchun to retreat with stratagems, but I didn't take the head of his generals; this time, Tang Zhan and Lu Jing's heads, I, Yan Jitai, will be decided-" Yan Jitai's words were like poisonous blades, which made people extremely afraid.

"It's not easy to deal with them? This Qiling Pass terrain is a hundred times more familiar to our army than them, if you want to calculate, they are definitely not our army's opponents......" Li Chengsheng spoke on the side again, "Please rest assured, as long as your subordinates make a little move, they can defeat the enemy army in Qiling Pass."

However, Yan Jitai remained calm in his hideousness, only to see him turn his head and sneer at Li Chengsheng: "The military advisor should not underestimate the enemy too much, since they can calculate us in the pursuit of Rongwu, it will not be easy. If they were to deal with it in the previous way, they would not be like Rong Wu and Chang Yuchun...... Easy to be fooled—"

Li Chengsheng listened to Yan Jitai's words, and the urge to fight with him earlier also swelled in his heart...... (To be continued......)