stubborn thief

Zhang Yong suddenly heard Liu Chengzong's question and was stunned for a moment.

The reason for his stupor was not fear, but that he never expected that such a powerful job would fall on his shoulders.

Although he was recruited into the Yulin Camp because of his proficiency in archery and horse riding, this expedition was his first time on the battlefield.

Moreover, the entire battle was fought in addition to the march, and he was doing odd jobs like holding horses and setting stirrups for the commander-in-chief in the central army. Not to mention that he had never been on a battlefield, even the first time he killed someone was by hanging the assassin who tried to kill Liu Chengzong.

But in fact, Zhang Yong himself couldn't say for sure whether he was the one who hanged the assassin named Deng De.

After all, after being hit by Liu Chengzong, the man was already dead. When he ordered Deng De to be dragged out, he might have been dead when the bowstring was tied around his neck.

Zhang Yong didn't know either. He was very panicked at the time and could not recall any details later. He only knew that his bones were being twisted with a squeaking sound. It was not until Li Qiluan, who was also a Yulin Lang, stopped him and told him that the man was already dead and that his head would fall off if he twisted it again, so he should not cause trouble for the Marshal.

As to whether he killed the person, Zhang Yong did not ask and Li Qiluan did not say.

They all thought that he had killed him.

Seeing Zhang Yong in a trance, Liu Chengzong couldn't help but laugh and consoled him, "It's okay. Everyone is afraid of going into battle for the first time. Go and call Liu Tichun over."

He didn't necessarily want Zhang Yong to charge into the battle line, but when he saw the tent, he couldn't help but feel itchy - he wanted to charge into the battle line himself.

However, it was impossible for him to charge into the battle line himself now, so he asked the question casually on a whim.

At this time, Zhang Yong finally realized that he had missed the opportunity he had been pursuing for a long time due to his hesitation. His face flushed, he stood up straight, held his head high and said, "Marshal, I dare!"

"It's good to dare, but this matter cannot be accomplished by courage alone. Go."

Liu Chengzong nodded and continued, "Call Liu Tichun over, and call all your friends in the army."

Zhang Yong's reaction made Liu Shizi realize that although his Yulin Lang were all masters of martial arts, many of them were like Zhang Yong, who had trained hard for ten years but had never been in a battle.

They should be sent to the battlefield to gain experience.

Zhang Yong missed the opportunity and felt extremely regretful, but Liu Chengzong had already made up his mind and would not change his mind, so he had no choice but to obey the order and go out to call for help.

Not long after, Liu Tichun entered the inner courtyard of the embroidery building, raised his head, clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "General, I am here."

Liu Chengzong beckoned him to the room, handed him a telescope, pointed at the camp in the distance and said, "I heard that you are known as the Flying Tiger in the army. There is a great general in the camp. Can you see it clearly?"

Liu Tichun was previously a general under Zhang Xianzhong. Although he was given the rank of General Zhaoyi after surrendering, he never did any serious work.

In the process of the Marshal's Office annexing the West Camp, Liu Tichun was the scapegoat.

People knew that when the Grand Marshal conferred official titles on the officers of the Western Camp, he had no idea about them, and the titles were entirely determined by Liu Tichun's introduction.

Those who do not hold official positions will naturally blame and resent him.

The truth of the matter was naturally not so. His words on the enthronement of the Western Camp did not count at all. It was all up to Liu Chengzong to check the list of generals one by one and specifically skip the people recommended by Liu Tichun.

For example, Wang Ziqi, who used to be a key figure beside Zhang Xianzhong, was deliberately skipped by Liu Chengzong.

Liu Tichun was very loyal and honest, and he did not argue with other people's misunderstandings, so his life was not very smooth.

After hearing what Liu Chengzong said, Liu Tichun looked at the enemy camp through a telescope. It was easy for him to understand Liu Chengzong's thoughts. He said with great caution: "General, if you want to attack the camp..."

He first looked at the environment near the camp, then looked up at the sky, and then said, "Half an hour later, when it will be dark, we can send three or five groups of cavalry to approach the enemy camp two or three miles along the Bitter River. To prevent enemy artillery fire, I will also need five, no, three hundred war horses. Three hundred will be enough to create chaos."

Liu Chengzong was surprised when he heard this: "Can you get closer than three miles?"

"Well, walk a few more steps."

Liu Tichun responded, his eyes still looking at the target environment in the northeast, nodding his head and saying: "The river bank is low-lying, and there are willow embankments to stabilize the soil. Each rider should carry a bag of soil, walk slowly and charge quickly, which can prevent the government...ha, prevent the government troops from hearing the hoofbeats."

Liu Chengzong's eyes were full of admiration.

Liu Tichun's entire plan of attacking the camp was not based on the assumption that the enemy could not discover it, but was planned with the goal of the enemy discovering it, and even if the enemy discovered it, it would be impossible to defend against it.

Three hundred war horses were used for a simple feint to the east and attack in the west, using horse hooves to create noise in other directions, trying to deceive the enemy general into shifting the direction or even the position of the artillery. Sandbags were used to fill a path in the trenches, giving a high chance of successfully attacking the enemy camp.

Obviously, Liu Tichun had been in Xiying in the past and must have done the work of attacking camps and must have rich experience.

"Since you can reach two or three miles, it will save you trouble."

Liu Shizi said: "I will select 300 vanguards and 600 war horses from the First Brigade, and let Ma Xiang's cavalry bring 12 rocket carts to cover the battlefield and disrupt the enemy. In addition, I will bring dozens of Yulin cavalry to let them see the world."

After that, Liu Shizi looked at the sky and said, "How about you have a moment to prepare?"

Knowing that he would receive support from the selected vanguards, Tangqi, war horses and rocket carts, Liu Tichun's confidence in the success of this attack was greatly increased.

However, when Liu Tichun heard that he was going to lead the well-equipped and powerful Yulin Cavalry into the battle, he felt troubled.

"General, the Yulin cavalry were killed in the raid. I am afraid that this will have a bad impact on the army."

But Liu Chengzong just smiled and nodded, saying, "I know what I'm doing. Go down and prepare."

He knew what Liu Tichun meant, which mainly referred to the personnel composition of the Yulin Camp.

The main source of soldiers for the Yulin Camp came from the Children's Camp. Just like its name, the original intention of Liu Shizi was to be similar to the Yulin Orphans of the Han Dynasty, taking in orphans left behind by war.

Their basic education was completed in the Children's Camp. With a good cultural level and martial arts skills, they entered the Yulin Camp to learn the daily affairs of the Marshal's Office. After a period of time, they entered the Huben Camp to learn military affairs.

This is actually a wartime talent reserve and training system established by Liu Chengzong.

However, during the establishment of the Marshal's Office, the replenishment of troops for the Yulin Camp was gradually disrupted and became polarized.

Some of them are still orphans of war, while the other part is composed of the descendants of nobles such as Weiwuer, Mo Nan, and Southwestern Tusi, as well as the descendants of surrendered generals.

The sons of several brigade deputy generals were in the Yulin Camp.

The addition of these personnel changed the nature of the Yulin Camp, turning it into a proton group to some extent, with a strong influence on the entire Marshal's Army.

It can even be said that the Yulin Camp and the Huben Camp were like Liu Chengzong's battlefield palace.

In this situation, if someone came to attack Liu Chengzong's central army, and some young man died protecting the commander-in-chief, the subsequent compensation would surely satisfy his subordinates.

But it is very unwise to send them out to fight, especially to do dangerous tasks such as charging into battle and killing generals.

If it were Liu Tichun, he would be even more unwilling to accept it.

The old fathers of these Yu Lin Lang were either lords of foreign vassal states or powerful generals who established their own government. Their sons died in a battle while following them. This kind of blame is enough to scare people to death.

Liu Chengzong would not let him carry it on his back either.

That's why Zhang Yong was asked to find his friends.

Zhang Yong had been in the Yulin Camp for a short time, and most of his friends in the camp were from poor families.

These people are not from common people, otherwise it would be difficult for them to master archery and horse riding at the age of eighteen or nineteen.

Some of them were similar to Liu Chengzong, born into small bureaucratic or large landowner families, and some, such as Li Qifeng and Li Qiluan, whose father was Li Weixin, a Gansu native who suppressed the She'an Rebellion and served as the general of Sichuan and Guizhou. However, when Gansu surrendered, Li Weixin had died of illness, and his eight sons, except Li Qifeng, were all low-ranking officers.

The children of the common people who were of lower birth than them were orphans left on the battlefield who grew up in the Children's Camp and eating the Liu family's food. After they came out of the Huben Camp, they were sent to serve under the generals in various places.

The children of noble families with higher birth than them, such as Chechen, the son of Junggar Hun Taiji, will have their own titles to inherit in the future.

People like Zhang Yong are just right for fighting in wars and seeing the world.

Soon the army sent orders back and forth, and Gao Yingdeng in the rear sent out 300 elite cavalry, 600 war horses, and 12 rocket carts.

Liu Tichun also summoned Zhang Yong, Zhao Deshou, Wang Youjin, Wang Shouzheng, Wang Shangli, Feng Chaoyu, Yang Shichang, Chen Guoren, Wen Rugui, Guo Jiawu, Peng Xinjian, Nan Yikui, Nan Yicai, Li Qifeng, Li Qihuang, Li Qiluan and other Yulin Lang.

Some of these people came from the Xi'an Prefecture's military recruitment and examination, some were brave warriors from the West Camp, and some were from generals' families in Yan'an Prefecture and Gansu, forming a cavalry of more than 60 riders.

Rather than saying that they were more than sixty cavalrymen, it would be more accurate to say that they were more than sixty officers who were good at fighting with force.

They prepared their armor and weapons in the village, and after receiving the replacement horses, they wiped the sweat off and hung the saddles. The whole process was orderly, quiet and solemn.

Liu Chengzong continued to observe the situation on the battlefield before nightfall.

At this time, he had already guessed that Zhang Xianzhong was among the troops on the battlefield.

Because this is easy to guess, he had communicated with Ren Quaner earlier, and Ren Quaner would not move faster than him, and the other troops were on the flanks, so this must be a detachment of the Second Brigade.

As for the detachment, Zhang Xianzhong would most likely be among them, and the others would not have such a poor sense of the overall situation.

In Liu Shizi's opinion, this battalion did not seize the timing very well by fighting against the Ming army at this time and place.

But it's not bad.

During this northern expedition, the Marshal's army was unstoppable. The central guard on the western front was completely broken. Wherever the Marshal's army went, the local garrisons would surrender. Ding Guodong on the eastern front also stopped the rear guard troops according to plan, thus protecting the flanks of the troops very well.

Ren Quaner's Second Brigade in the center line defeated five enemy battalions one after another. It was normal for the officers to be eager to win.

Fortunately, their performance on the battlefield was not bad.

The cavalry of the Ming army and the cavalry of the marshal's army tested each other on the battlefield. I retreated and you advanced, you advanced and I retreated, and after a brief confrontation, they immediately withdrew.

The Ming troops scattered on the periphery gradually surrounded the position formed by the two battalions in the middle, but the formation was a little confusing for Liu Chengzong... The Ming troops around the battlefield did not form a formation, but were all dispersed in small teams.

He realized later that the Ming army was afraid of the rockets and was forced to disperse, and he couldn't help laughing out loud.

However, the situation did not give Liu Chengzong the opportunity to sit back and watch.

Soon, just as Liu Shizi sent out Liu Tichun's troops, the Ming army's cavalry scattered around the battlefield discovered him, and engaged in a firefight with his Tang cavalry, and at one point broke through to the outskirts of the fort.

It was actually quite dangerous at this moment, because all the Tangqi had gone to cooperate with Liu Tichun, and there were only more than 200 soldiers and horses left with Liu Chengzong.

But Liu Chengzong did not leave, he just went down from the roof.

Because he had already seen the situation on the battlefield clearly, he knew that the surrounding Ming army cavalry were scattered scouts and did not have the ability to quickly gather a large group of troops in this direction.

At this time, the Ming army did not know he was here, so there was no reason to deploy a large number of troops. On the contrary, if he moved in the direction of Gao Yingdeng's First Brigade, it would arouse the suspicion of the enemy troops who did not take him seriously, and they would detect the direction of the army's attack.

Sure enough, the enemy was just trying to attack without any danger. After failing to break through the outer perimeter of the fortress twice, they retreated outside the fortress, leaving only a small group of cavalry to watch from afar. It seemed that someone had gone back to the army to report the news.

Only then did Liu Chengzong order the fort to prepare for retreat, and issued a mobilization order to the entire village, wanting to take them away together.

After that, he waited for a while, and when he estimated that the enemy cavalry had arrived at the camp, he suddenly ordered a movement, and more than 200 cavalrymen and hundreds of villagers retreated westward.

For a moment, the Ming army scouts who were watching them not far away were greatly surprised. Some of them hurriedly ran to the northeast, trying to report their movements to the camp again.

But by this time it was too late.

It's getting dark.

Under the protection of Tangqi, twelve rocket vehicles were transferred to the area between Zuo Liangyu and Ouyang Gun's camps. At the appropriate position, they were aimed at the northwest direction of Zuo Liangyu's camp and ignited at once.

Twelve rockets throbbed and screamed on their launch pads until they were powerful enough to break free of the vehicle and soar into the air.

The horses near the vehicle repeatedly loaded the frame, and before the first batch of rockets landed, the second batch of rockets had already taken off.

Afterwards, rockets fell near Zuo Liangyu's camp, and explosions continued to sound one after another.

Zuo Liangyu rushed out of the tent shouting, looked up at the rockets streaking across the sky in the night, and was stunned with shock. However, his servants had already made a plan for this.

More than a dozen flag officers carrying command flags picked up shields from outside the curtain and protected Zuo Liangyu in a dense formation to minimize the risk of him being injured by bullets from the rockets.

Unexpectedly, Zuo Liangyu, who had reacted, pushed several people aside, snatched a long board, and cursed: "Why the hell are you protecting me? Give me the shield, and go and pass the order to defend against the enemy cavalry's charge!"

Just then, a rocket exploded a few dozen steps away, startling everyone.

In the smoke, a soldier was shot several times and ran out. He stumbled and fell to his knees, holding his knife on the ground. He raised his head and pointed to the north in great pain: "General, to the north, the sound of horse hooves is dense."

Zuo Liangyu hurriedly pushed out a flag officer and ordered, "Hurry to the north of the formation and pass the message. Be careful to guard against the enemy cavalry!"

"You, gather the cavalry and seize the enemy's rocket vehicle!"

The servant who was called over could not help but complain: "All the horses have been given to General Xu, Marshal, where are the cavalry?"

At that moment, Zuo Liangyu did not care about anything else. He cursed and had to lead his servants to the north with shields to provide support.

The further I go, the scarier I become.

For a moment, the military camp was in chaos. The previous wave of rockets had just exploded everywhere, and the next wave of rockets had already rushed into the camp, causing roars and smoke everywhere.

In order to avoid the explosion, the soldiers ran around and scrambled for shields. Flags, drums, and gongs were all useless.

Suddenly, someone ran past the curtain, chasing Zuo Liangyu, shouting as he ran: "General, the enemy cavalry is charging into the camp from the south!"

"South?"

Zuo Liangyu looked at the army in the north that was hurriedly and chaotically forming its battle array, as well as the sound of mighty horse hooves coming from the north, then turned to look at the soldier who brought the news in confusion.

Just then, he heard shouts and screams from the south, and the sound of horses' hooves became clearer and clearer.

Zuo Liangyu saw arrows flying in the formation and a fire basin being overturned in the air. In the firelight, cavalrymen wearing helmets and red armor, wielding goose-feather swords and drawing strong bows, rushed in one after another, charging left and right as if they were in an empty space.

Tear!

The blade pierced through the curtain, and then a huge horse head rushed out from the cracked curtain, bringing down the entire curtain.

Liu Tichun rushed out of the empty central military tent holding a long sword, knocked down two soldiers blocking his way, reined in his horse, held his sword across his chest, looked around, and met Zuo Liangyu's eyes.

The moment Liu Tichun saw him, he was puzzled at first, then burst into laughter, pointed his knife at him, and shouted, "Hahaha, Zuo Liangyu is here!" (End of this chapter)