The cold wind in the north is still biting, and the thick clouds cover the starry sky. The torches of the Yangjiazhuang official army camp are clear, and the haze of war has suppressed the official army. Although the official army has won a series of victories, the commander-in-chief of the return army, Ma Tengyao, set off a surprise soldier and stood firm in the northwest corner of the official army camp. This small hill that can overlook the entire official army camp gave a bad premonition above and below the official army with rich combat experience.

The next day was ugly (below three in the morning of Beijing time), the sky was still dark, and people were at the most tired moment of the day, and they were in a deep sleep.

Perhaps because of the tense war during the day, the officers and soldiers were extremely tired, and the soldiers who were on guard did not find the enemy troops secretly approaching the camp. Seeing the good opportunity, Ma Deyong whispered to the soldiers to hold cloth strips on his mouth and gently fill the trench in front of the official army camp, remove deer antlers and wooden sign obstacles. All of this was done so carefully and smoothly.

Ma Deyong used the method of passing the soldiers hand in hand, and piled flammable dry firewood in front of the 100-meter-long wooden fence of the Guanjun camp, and poured tinder oil on it. When everything was ready to stop, Ma Deyong gave the order, the soldiers of the Returning Army quickly lit the dry firewood, and the fire rose with the wind.

In just two moments, the walls and fences on the west side of the official army camp burned violently under the guidance of the strong wind. The violent flames burned the cold wind, aggravated the wind's anger. The strong wind mixed with flames devoured the tents one by one, burning the official army in the tents so that it could not gain a foothold.

Ma Tengyao saw the fires soaring into the sky on the command tower of the return camp, and excitedly issued orders. The official camp was in constant crisis at this time, and the flames dozens of feet high ignited the * stored in the camp. The huge explosion made the camp that was in chaos even more chaotic.

The officers and soldiers trampled on each other in panic, trying to find a way to escape. The war horses broke free from the reins and dragged their burning ponytails to ignite more tents. Many sleeping officers rolled on the ground with flames on their bodies, begging their brothers to give him a knife to end the painful torture. Half an hour later, the entire Yangjiazhuang official army camp sank into the sea of ​​fire.

All the firearms brought by the government army were lost, and "flocks" were exploding in the fire, and the rockets flying around killed many officials. The sub-guns of the Folang machine cannon also exploded, making the official army camp like a festive fireworks, illuminating the five miles of Yangjiazhuang as if it were daytime.

About 3,000 official troops died in this fire, and more officers who lost their weapons ran towards Hujialing in an incompetent manner. Fortunately, Fengxiang officers and soldiers under the jurisdiction of Zhukeqi had not rested because of the surveillance and return to the army, which gave the retreating officers and soldiers a chance to survive.

Another unit in the official army that was not lost in the fire was the Qingyang army led by Lu Anguo. After the artillery was lost, he destroyed the artillery cover gate and met with Zhu Keqi. The two of them did not go to Hujialing with General Mao Wuchen. After losing the Yangjiazhuang camp, the water-deficient Hujialing camp was a dead place. What's more, Mao Wuchen would take responsibility for this defeat, who would be willing to die with a general who was about to turn around.

They met and discussed that Pingliang City could not go, and it was very likely that the army would return to the army to set up heavy troops there. The two experienced war experience finally decided to use a strange move, abandon all the wounded soldiers of the two troops, integrate the two troops, and attack the northwest camp where the army was heavily guarded by the back army.

So, Lu Anguo took the lead in Zhu Keqi's rear and attacked the northwest of the army in the gathering place. The unexpected attack of the government army disrupted Ma Tengyao's arrangement. After the official army's Yangjiazhuang camp caught fire, the focus of the return army was on the Hujialing official army camp.

The troops of the rebel army need to go back to the camp to rest and rest. The troops surrounding Hujialing must set out toward the designated positions. The rebel army is mobilized back and forth, so that the officials who break through the night will approach the northwest camp without revealing their whereabouts. The main reason is that these experienced officials and veterans took off their helmets and tied thick cloth on the hooves of the war horses, and they will pick dark places.

Because the fire in the Yangjiazhuang camp was extremely large, the returning troops who were mobilized back and forth did not need to illuminate the turret. The most important thing is that Ma Tengyao did not expect that the official army would dare to abandon the commander and break through independently. They captured many prisoners of the official army. These prisoners were all saying that the general Mao Wuchen had gone to the Hujialing camp. The chaotic news also gave the official army a chance to break through.

Therefore, Lu Anguo led his troops to the front of the camp of the army smoothly. Seeing that the defense of the camp of the army was lax, Lu Anguo took the lead in leading a thousand cavalry into the camp of the army. Due to the fire of the return army and the camp, the other soldiers returning to the camp were busy transporting military funds to the front line. They did not expect the government army to attack at this time. They were optimistic that the government army was kicking the air and healing their wounds.

Therefore, Lu Anguo successfully controlled the camp gate and happily killed the return army. The Zhukeqi's troops followed suit also took advantage of the chaos to invade the northwest camp of the army, causing the return camp to pieces. Ma Tengyao was shocked after receiving the urgent report. Because it was dark, he did not dare to send a large army to fight the official army, because this would give the main force of the government army in Hujialing a good opportunity to counterattack.

In this era, night wars are not common tactics, and only when they have to be forced to do so can the weak side use the worst. After learning that there were 10,000 people in the breakout official army, Ma Tengyao gritted his teeth and gave up interception of the breakout official army. Ma Tengyao knew very well that the peasant militia under his command were not the enemy of the official army in the night wars, and might even be retaliated by the desperate official army.

The chaotic battle was not gradually subsided until the sky was bright. Zhu Keqi and Lu Anguo led the remaining 6,800 people to successfully break through. The slow-responsive Shaanxi general Mao Wuchen was surrounded by 17,000 troops and horses, led by Ma Tengyao, and were surrounded by Hujialing and Maocao Mountain.

Seeing that the main force of the government army was surrounded, Ma Tengyao immediately ordered the separation of the two mountains and digging trenches at the foot of the mountain to prevent the government army from breaking through. Because Ma Tengyao knew that there was no water on these two mountains, the government army could not last for a few days. Moreover, the main firearms of the government army were burned in the fire. The longer the government army stayed on the mountain, the more beneficial it would be to return to the army.

What Ma Tengyao did not expect was that under the leadership of Mao Wuchen, the official army began to break through the siege that afternoon. The veterans all understood that if they were in a difficult situation, they would die of thirst within three days. Therefore, when General Mao Wuchen ordered a breakthrough, they received unanimous support from the officers and soldiers from all over the country.

The Shaanxi general Mao Wuchen chose the direction of breaking out to return to Pingliang, so he collected the remaining artillery directly to the east of the army. The remaining 2,000 cavalry were the main force of the official army's breakthrough and arranged on the right wing of the army. After receiving the order to Xiang Xiwei, the Xi'an guerrilla He Hongzan led 5,000 troops to burn the camp, lined up on the south side of Maocao Mountain, and met the army that was facing Xiang Xiwei.

The head coach of the returning army, Ma Tengyao, knew the power of the official army's artillery well. He did not blindly pursue the desperate attempt to intercept the official army, but instead hung the official army's team from afar, and surrounded the official army from a distance with his advantage in military strength. Ma Tengyao had already chosen the decisive battle location, and he wanted to wipe out the official army at the preset location.

The 19,000 defeated soldiers led by Mao Wuchen carefully marched towards Pingliang City. Ma Tengyao led the Hui army while monitoring the advance of the official army, while tightening the encirclement. With four miles away from Pingliang, the Hui army took the lead in launching the general attack.

Ma Tengyao was well aware of the key points of military tactics. He let the government army see the hope of escaping to Pingliang City, so he was lazy and panic. Sure enough, when the 100,000 main infantry of the Return Army pressed towards the government army from both sides of the north and south at the same time, the entire official army's thick military formation began to shake. Because, on the road to Pingliang City, the Hui army only laid a thin military formation of two or three thousand people.

The old army, Mao Wuchen, was immediately at the bottom of the sea. He didn't have to think too much about the Hui army. However, about 70,000 Hui troops behind the official army also pressed forward and forced Mao Wuchen to make a choice as soon as possible. In desperation, Mao Wuchen asked Xi'an guerrilla He Hongzan to lead 5,000 infantry to attack the thin military formation east of the Hui army.

After receiving the order, He Hongzan led his troops to form a whole team a hundred feet away from the return army, with one thousand swords and shields as the leading guide, one thousand three-eyed gunmen lined up to follow up, one thousand archers covered the back formation, and one thousand two hundred spearmen protected both wings. When the official army was still fifty feet away from the return position, the archers rushed out from behind and shot five arrows in succession at the return army formation.

The Hui army faced the rain of locust arrows, and raised its shield to protect itself. However, the Hui army had very few armor, and more than 200 Hui army fell in a pool of blood like hedgehogs. When the official army was about to rush to the position of the Hui army, the Hui army lit a hundred tiger cannons. The deafening sound of cannons passed by, and the sword and shield hand rushed to the position of the Hui army immediately fell down. The shield penetrated under the push of the explosion made the official army's pace of rushing to the formation.

But the official army did not stop for long. The three-eyed gunman lit the fuse and launched a counterattack at the Hui army. The sound of a bean-like musket sounded, and the Hui army was killed and injured. Taking this opportunity, the official army did not have formations anymore and all rushed towards the Hui army. The official army had the advantage in this battlefield, and the combat skills of the official army were higher than that of the Hui army. In less than three minutes, the 2,500 anti-army formation of the Hui army was submerged by the official army.

The officials saw that He Hongzan, a guerrilla in Xi'an, led his troops to open the road to Pingliang City. The entire military formation was loose. They ignored the officer's orders and rushed to Pingliang. Seeing this situation, the Shaanxi general Mao Wuchen was paralyzed on the spot. Fortunately, the official cavalry did not escape with the infantry, and he might still have a trace of vitality.
Chapter completed!