I became a saint by picking up corpses in Water Margin

Chapter 384 A clumsy trick

Salihe sat up straight, nodded slightly to Wuyan Huligai, and murmured:

"You are right. After defeating Song Jiang, Yang Chang sent troops to take Huaizhou and Weizhou. Even if he wanted to take the initiative, he should attack Xiangzhou first. Between Zhending and Xiangzhou, there are Zhao, Xing, Ci, and Mingzhou. Normally, he should proceed step by step."

"General Xiao!"

"The end will be here."

Xiao Gong stood up straight in response, and immediately had a bad feeling in his heart.

Salihe looked him up and down and said sternly, "Jingzhi (Xiao Gong's courtesy name) is the descendant of King Liexi. He once fought in Han territory under the three marshals Wulibu, Erliduo and Talan. He has always been the bravest of the three armies. Don't scare yourself when you hear the name of Yang Chang. I don't blame you for abandoning Huolu, but you must not relax in the subsequent fight against the enemy!"

"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief. I understand."

"If Yang Chang comes to Zhending in person, it will be difficult to defend it. If someone takes advantage of the power of others, we must strike back. I guess the soldiers in Huolu should be the vanguard of the Pingding Army. You can lead your troops out of the city, send more scouts to Huolu, and set up an ambush on the road they must pass through."

"The Jin army dared to march out of Jingxing, which means they were ready. Do you want me to take the initiative to seek a fight?"

Xiao Gong didn't want to be cannon fodder, so he raised questions in front of all the generals.

Salihe frowned, and asked in a sullen voice, "What? Are you questioning this governor, or are you planning to disobey my orders?"

"The general will not dare."

"You have participated in the two campaigns to pacify the enemy, so you should be familiar with the strength of the defenders. Are you afraid to fight even without Commander Yang? If you don't dare, just follow orders!"

"Yes!"

Although Xiao Gong was a noble of the Liao Kingdom, he did not dare to act rashly in front of Salihe. He took the order and walked out.

As soon as he left the tent, his deputy general, Xiao Wang's servant, came forward to receive him and asked anxiously, "General, you look unwell, what's going on?"

"I'm fine, let's talk when we get back!"

Salihe had just gotten angry, so how could Xiao Gong dare to complain in front of his tent? So he left hand in hand with the servants of King Xiao.

After walking a little further, Xiao Gong murmured, "Salihe is afraid of Yang Chang, but he asked us to leave the city and ambush us. Isn't this asking us to die?"

"Shouldn't it?"

Upon hearing this, the servant of Prince Xiao froze in his place and asked curiously, "The commander-in-chief is a veteran of the Jin army and has been with Aguda for many years. Since he knew that Yang Chang was coming, shouldn't he leave us to defend the city together and ask for help from Guo Yaoshi and Wushu? Why?"

"It was Wu Yanhuligai who reminded us that the team we met in Huolu was using Captain Yang's name to scare us."

After listening to Xiao Gong's statement, the servant of King Xiao immediately clenched his fist and cursed: "Wu Yanhuligai, this little beast, if he has the ability, why doesn't he leave the city to ambush? I can't stand people like him the most. He is nothing but a big mouth."

"You can't say that. Wuyan Huligai attacked Song before and made military achievements under several marshals. He is very capable."

"Can anyone be stronger than Lou Shi?"

The servant of King Xiao smiled contemptuously and said, "If he was not from the Jurchen tribe, our military exploits would not necessarily be less than his. The fact that Salihe Dutong did not allow him to fight shows that the Jurchens are fighting among themselves and treating us Liao people as non-human beings."

"Stop."

Xiao Gong looked around and said in a deep voice, "Don't say such disunity in the future. Since Sali has drunk the military order, we will execute it as required. You go to the front to be responsible for the scout mission. If you see Yang Chang, you must retreat!"

"I saved myself from that. Who dares to risk their lives with Yang Chang? General, you should be careful too. The ambush is just for show."

"I know what's going on. Take your men to scout quickly. It will be too late if you're late."

"Yes!"

The servant of King Xiao bid farewell to Xiao Gong and led 500 cavalrymen to leave Zhending first.

After crossing the stone bridge over the Hutuo River in the southwest, he stopped and looked for a long time.

This stone bridge is a shortcut to Zhending. If it is demolished, we will have to build a new bridge across the river, or find a bridge upstream and downstream. Should I remind the general to demolish the bridge?
No.

If I remind him, how can I get back?

About half an hour after King Xiao's servant left, Xiao Gong brought his men to the bridge. He also thought of demolishing the bridge to block the enemy's passage, but how would his own people get back?
It would be better to ambush in the reeds on the Zhending side, wait for the slaves of King Xiao to lure the enemy across the stone bridge, and then lead the troops to cut off the enemy and defend the bridge. If Yang Chang really leads his troops in person, the stone bridge will be closer to Zhending City.

This is what is called being able to advance and retreat freely.

Yang Changfang.

While the vanguard Li Yanxian stayed in Huolu, he also sent people to follow Xiao Gong's escape to Zhending, and at the same time surveyed the bridges upstream and downstream of the Hutuo River.

Several scouts hid in the reeds on the west bank and saw with their own eyes the servants of King Xiao leading the cavalry away. They also saw Xiao Gong lying in ambush in the reeds on the opposite bank.

He then left cautiously and took a detour back to Huolu to report the news.

Li Yanxian's troops in Huolu only took a brief rest before continuing their journey towards Zhending, intending to continue intimidating with Yang Chang's reputation, hoping to capture Zhending without bloodshed.

Just as Li Yanxian was thirty miles away from Huolu, his vanguard troops encountered the servants of King Xiao.

Since the 500 Jin soldiers were all cavalry, they put pressure on the outpost troops of Deputy General Ma Lin, so Li Yanxian had to lead the cavalry forward himself.

Before the main force of the vanguard arrived, the shouts of fighting in the front stopped, and the Jin army was seen retreating from afar.

what happened?

Li Yanxian rode away alone.

Ma Lin saw that the Jin army was composed of cavalry and that he would easily fall into an ambush if he pursued them, so he stopped his horse and waited.

With a long neigh, Li Yanxian tightened the reins, bowed in return and asked, "General Ma, what happened just now?"

"He is a servant of King Xiao, a fierce general under the command of Liao General Xiao Gong. I have fought him before in the Pingding Army. He is quite powerful."

"Since Xiao Gong had abandoned the city and left, why did he suddenly come back now?"

"I don't know."

Ma Lin shook his head and replied, "But when the servants of Prince Xiao were fighting with me, they kept trying to find out if Prince Jin was coming with them. They must have come back to find out the truth."

"He's trying to find out the truth? If it's just Xiao Gong and his men, our army can destroy them. Why do we have to wait for the Prince of Jin to arrive?"

While Li Yanxian stroked his beard and pondered, Ma Lin pointed ahead and shouted, "Boss, look! The servant of Prince Xiao hasn't left yet!"

"So arrogant? Go back quickly and lead the main force forward. I will follow with the cavalry to test him and see how strong he is!"

"General Manager, you are the vanguard commander, I'm afraid it's not appropriate."

Ma Lin had just started cooperating with Li Yanxian this year. He only knew that the other party was good at training soldiers and defending cities, but he had never seen him fight in the battlefield himself, so he had some doubts about his strength.

Although Li Yanxian's personal bravery was not as good as Lin Chong, Sun An and others, he was also at the level of the Eight Horsemen like Zhu Tong and Suo Chao.

The core of the Jin army came from Liangshan, and from top to bottom, they were filled with admiration for personal bravery. If Li Yanxian didn't have some real skills, Yang Chang wouldn't have promoted him so quickly, otherwise he wouldn't be able to suppress the heroes of Liangshan.

So after Ma Lin gave the reminder, Li Yanxian suddenly laughed out loud: "What's inappropriate about this? With a noble status like the King of Jin, hasn't he been at the forefront for a long time? Don't worry!"

"Uh"

Hearing him use Yang Chang as an example, although Ma Lin felt that no one could compare to Yang Chang, since Li Yanxian was valued so much by him, he must have given special guidance to his martial arts, so there was no need for him to worry at all.

When the servant of King Xiao saw two hundred Jin cavalrymen charging towards him, he hesitated whether to leave immediately.

After all, Ma Lin couldn't defeat him, and just now a reinforcement came from behind him. Could it be that Yang Chang really arrived?

go?
don't go?

The two voices were entangled in his mind. When the cavalry was getting closer, someone suddenly pointed to the front and reminded loudly, "General, look, the people coming are flying the flag with the word Li!" "The flag with the word Li?"

The servant of King Xiao was stunned when he heard this, and said to himself: "Then the person who came is not Yang Chang. With Yang Chang's terrifying strength, there is no need for him to pretend to be someone else."

"General, when we were on the expedition to Pingding Army, the general guarding Leping County was named Li."

"It's Li Yanxian!"

"Quickly form a battle array and face the enemy. I want to take his head!"

The servant of King Xiao gave a loud shout, then took a few steps forward, drew his sword and mounted his horse.

Li Yanxian was the deputy chief steward of Pingding. This name was familiar to the servants of King Xiao, but the Jin army had always been the attacking side before, and Li Yanxian had no record of participating in battles, so his combat effectiveness was unknown.

In the eyes of King Xiao's servants, Li Yanxian was afraid to fight because he was weak in martial arts. They were lucky to meet him today, and maybe they could take advantage of the opportunity to kill the deputy general manager.

This way they can return with dignity. Even if they are really driven out of Zhending Prefecture by Yang Chang, Xiao Gong's Xi army will not be disgraced.

With this in mind, when the servant of King Xiao saw Li Yanxian approaching, he pointed a knife at him and shouted, "Li Yanxian, right? Do you dare to fight me for three hundred rounds?"

"Golden Dog with Curly Beard, I'm about to kill you, go!"

Li Yanxian rode his horse forward and pointed his spear, heading straight for the servant of King Xiao.

The servants of King Xiao were not to be outdone. They rode their horses and brandished their swords to stop the fighting, shouting: "You Han Chinese, you were so cunning in Huolu. You even used Yang Chang's name to scare us. You are not a hero! Call him out if you have the guts!"

"Whether I am a hero or not, I don't need a golden dog to confirm it. Are you worthy enough to see the King of Jin? Take my blow first, wow."

While responding, Li Yanxian thrust his silver spear into the enemy's chest, his momentum as strong as a herd of running beasts.

“That’s your level.”

The servant of King Xiao did not take it seriously at first. He used his knife to block three or five moves, but then he realized something was wrong. He thought that Li Yanxian's spear skills were too fast and he did not give him any chance to attack. If he stabbed him, he would be injured.

This Han Chinese is despicable and shameless.

When two armies fight on the battlefield, shouldn't they have one round each, with offense and defense alternating? Why do you keep attacking?
"Aba, Aba, why don't you say something now?"

“I don’t care.”

Li Yanxian's spears rained down like raindrops, forcing Xiao Wang's servants to keep parrying and almost get shot if they were distracted for a moment.

You can’t fight anymore, if you fight again you will have to stay!

"drive!"

The servant of King Xiao struggled to break free, urged his horse to gallop away at lightning speed, and shouted to the cavalry behind him: "Retreat, retreat quickly!"

"That's it."

Li Yanxian won the fight, but did not take the initiative to continue the pursuit.

As the vanguard commander of the Jin army, he was not afraid of fighting and knew how to retreat after building up his position.

The scouts ahead have not returned yet, and we don't know whether the enemy has an ambush. If we rashly pursue them and put ourselves in danger, it will bring trouble to Commander Yang and betray his trust.

The servant of King Xiao was relieved to find that Li Yanxian did not pursue, so he maintained speed to "lead the way" while sending a fast horse to report to Xiao Gong.

The scouts who discovered the ambush at the bridge took a detour and returned shortly after the two men fought.

Upon learning the intelligence at the bridge, Li Yanxian immediately divided the 8,000 vanguards into two, and ordered Ma Lin to lead half of the troops and scouts to take a detour and cross the river via the bridge downstream of the Hutuo River, and agreed that the two armies would jointly attack the ambush troops east of the bridge.

Li Yanxian himself led his troops slowly, deliberately delaying Ma Lin who took a detour.

The servant of King Xiao was unaware that he had fallen into a trap and continued to keep a distance from Li Yanxian. He also determined the total number of troops of the enemy through this long period of guidance.

He has less than 4,000 infantry and cavalry. If I lead him into the ambush point, won’t he be chewed to pieces?

Although you, Li Yanxian, are good at martial arts, you cannot achieve the absolute suppression that Yang Chang has. You will be killed by me soon.

I am not marching fast in front, deliberately leading you into a trap.

Why are you following like a dog but keeping your distance? Do you think you can eat meat by following?
I won’t give you any shit!
Xiao Wang's servant led the way for half a day, and they finally arrived at the Morning Stone Bridge before dusk. Xiao Gong saw that he really led a group of people, so he rode alone to the west side of the stone bridge and stopped them.

"Is it really Deputy Chief Manager Li Yanxian?"

"It's absolutely true. This guy is a great spearman. I fought him for ten rounds, but I never took the initiative. Now I have led him here. General, you must capture and kill him. This way, no one will blame us for abandoning Huolu. Even if we lose Zhending in the end, the responsibility will not be on us."

"Having said that, I'm afraid Li Yanxian won't be fooled. During the two previous expeditions to pacify the army, he defended Leping County very well, and Wushu didn't get any advantage."

Seeing Xiao Gong's worried look, the servant of King Xiao immediately encouraged him, "Don't worry, General. This fellow just won the duel. I will use myself as bait and will surely lure him across the bridge."

"Well, thank you for your help. Be careful!"

"I know it well."

Li Yanxian led his troops to the stone bridge and immediately ordered people to light torches.

This move of his not only attracted the attention of the ambush troops, but also gave a signal to Ma Lin who had circled to the other side, so that he could approach forward under the cover of night.

When the servant of Prince Xiao saw Li Yanxian's army approaching, he was afraid that he would not want to continue moving forward, so he turned his horse around and raised his sword to provoke, "Li Yanxian, Zhending is not far across the bridge. How dare you chase us here? Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"

"If you're not afraid, don't run away, and stop talking nonsense!"

"Well, come on, come on, watch my swordsmanship!"

"What swordsmanship can a mere barbarian have? Ridiculous."

Li Yanxian turned around and gave orders to the rear troops, then charged forward with guns raised.

King Xiao's servant did not dare to underestimate the enemy, and immediately fought with all his might. Although he took the initiative with his sword this time, due to the difference in strength, he was at a disadvantage after two or three moves.

In less than five or six rounds, he became so nervous that his sword skills became chaotic and he was nearly stabbed by Li Yanxian. He had to lead his horse to escape to the other side, but he was still acting as he fled.

"It's getting late today. I'll fight you tomorrow. If you're a hero, don't chase me. Oh no, what's wrong with this horse? You better hurry up."

"Bad golden dog, bad trick."

Li Yanxian waved his hand and shouted loudly: "All troops, attack. Zhending is not far across the bridge. We must capture the city tonight!"

"Yes!"

"Kill!"

"A bunch of reckless men, they didn't even know they were tricked!"

"General Xiao, there are soldiers coming from the direction of Zhending, less than half a mile away from us."

"Ok?"

Xiao Gong was stunned when he heard this, and thought that maybe it was dark and the scouts in the rear didn't notice it.

Salihe was quite considerate. Although he spoke harshly, he actually sent reinforcements to support us. I was wrong about blaming you.

"Let the servants of King Xiao hold out a bit, and wait for all of Li Yanxian's troops to arrive. With the help of General Salihe, we will cut off the stone bridge and wipe out the enemy completely!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)