Chapter 140: Fighting for Hetao (Five)

The "Dangxiang people" came suddenly and went even more neatly. The imperial envoy Ling Shi did not react for a long time as if he was in a dream, until Chen Huaijing said in his ear: "Dangxiang people were defeated." Then he woke up the person in the dream. A gust of wind came, and Ling Shi shook his neck and said to Chen Huaijing with lingering fear: "These Dangxiang people's riding and shooting are really harmful. Fortunately, there are few people, otherwise they will be dangerous."

Chen Huaijing followed the Black Eagle Army and had seen fierce battles that were ten times more violent and ten times more bloody than this. He said calmly: "The Hu tribes in the Northwest have all grown up on horseback. They have been skillful in bowing and horses since childhood and are extremely fierce. They have always been a major border trouble. The Tang Dynasty is so powerful that it has never been able to relieve the threats of these Hu tribes in the end."

Ling Shi asked with a worried look: "I wonder if the governor will send troops to pick us up?" Chen Huaijing looked at the gloomy sky and said: "As soon as I arrived in Huan County, I will send people back to Tongxin City. If nothing unexpected happens, the team to welcome the imperial envoy is on the road and you can't walk far away." Ling Shi's nervous mood was a little relaxed when he heard this.

Zhang Luojie was relieved when he watched the "Dangxiangren" retreat. He was an old soldier with rich combat experience. When he saw the "Dangxiangren" having bows and arrows, the soldiers of the Guard Division could only passively be beaten. Relying on the large number of people, he was about to order the Guard Division to rush up and fight with the "Dangxiangren". Unexpectedly, the "Dangxiangren" suddenly withdrew.

In just one round of shooting, 37 soldiers in the Guards Division were shot and eleven were killed, but the opponent escaped. Seeing this result, Zhang Luoye took a breath. Most of the soldiers in the Guards Division he led had participated in the battle to conquer Huainan, and were considered veterans of a hundred battles. He did not take any advantage in front of this group of "Dangxiang people" with only a hundred people.

Zhang Luojie was a veteran who crawled out of the dead. Like most military officers during the Five Dynasties, he had a deep contempt for civil servants. Although Ling Shi was an imperial envoy, Zhang Luojie did not take it seriously. However, along the way, he had gained the honor of the imperial envoy. He didn't count the delicious food and drink, but he actually lost some money in his pocket. Therefore, he was quite polite to Ling Shi.

Zhang Luojie's mission was to protect the safety of the imperial envoy. Although he looked down on Ling Shi in his heart, he had to protect him with all his strength. Therefore, Zhang Luojieti, who was a little scared, came to Ling Shi and bowed, saying, "Envoy Ling, let's continue to rush. If these Dangxiang people come back, they will be in trouble."

When Ling Shi saw the Dangxiang people retreating, he said excitedly: "Commander Zhang is brave and good at fighting. He defeated these barbarians. After returning to Daliang, I will definitely go to the Privy Council to ask for merit for you."

Ling Shi's words are naturally beautiful. The Guards were controlled by the royal relative Li Chongjin. Not to mention civil officials, even the Privy Council could not control the Guards and ask for merits. It was just an empty talk. The situation in the Palace Front Office was the same as that of the Guards. The Supreme Commander of the Imperial Guards was Chai Rong's brother-in-law Zhang Yongde. However, in the first year of Xiande, the Imperial Guards and the Imperial Guards fought too hard with the Imperial Guards, so Chai Rong authorized Zhao Kuangyin to rectify the Imperial Guards. Zhao Kuangyin, a newcomer in the Palace Front Office who once wandered around the world and was well versed in the art of making friends, had a good vision among the Imperial Guards. He made many capable friends from other surnames and became brothers. The most famous place is the "Ten Brothers of Yishe". These ten brothers are Zhao Kuangyin, Shi Shouxin, Wang Shenqi, Yang Guangyi, Li Jixun, Wang Zhengzhong, Liu Qingyi, Liu Shouzhong, Liu Yanrang, and Han Chongyun. In addition, Zhao Kuangyin also took the opportunity to take his original personnel, such as Luo Yanhuan, Tian Chongjin, Pan Mei, Mi Xin, Zhang Qiong, Wang Yansheng, etc., and also joined the military. In this way, Zhao Kuangyin's forces in the imperial guards in the front hall were mixed, and he faintly undermined the inspectors of the front hall.

Zhang Luojie had no smile on his face and said, "There is no need to ask for merit. In this battle, eleven brothers were killed and thirty-seven people were injured. The imperial envoy tried to get some maintenance fees for these dead and injured brothers, and the officials were very grateful."

Speaking of money, Ling Shi looked at Chen Huaijing. From Jingzhao Prefecture to Huan County, Chen Huaijing was generous and spent a lot of money. Ling Shi had already made the idea of ​​letting Chen Huaijing pay for money, so he said: "Of course, I will arrange this when I arrive in Tongxin City."

Zhang Luojie bowed his hand again and said, "thank you, thank you." Then he shouted to the team, "Keep the formation and set off."

Because of the surprise attack by the "Dangxiang people", the imperial envoy Ling Shi and his party significantly accelerated the speed. On the road, the soldiers of the Guards found three corpses of the Dangxiang people, with feather arrows shot out by the Guards. Seeing the corpses and arrows, the commander Zhang Luoge had a serious cold face with a little smile. Although the proportion of casualties in the eleven to three places was a bit large, the casualties suddenly changed from eleven to eleven to eleven to three, which also gave Zhang Luoge, the commander of the Guards, some psychological comfort, and also made him more handsome in front of Ling Shi.

The heavy snow fell for one night. At this time, the earth was white and covered with white colors. However, because of the white snow, although the horse's hooves were covered with cloth strips, the march was still much more difficult than usual, which made the soldiers who suffered a lot hate these beautiful snow.

Chen Meng ignored a problem. After he led 200 cavalry to harass the imperial envoy, he directly retreated to the Black Eagle Army camp outside Tongxin City, leaving horse hoof marks leading to Tongxin City in the snow. These footprints were noticed by Zhang Luoge, and he was very puzzled. Why were these "Dangxiang people" running towards Tongxin City? Zhang Luoge saw three corpses of Dangxiang people inserted into the guards' arrows. He did not suspect that these "Dangxiang people" were fake, but after seeing these horse hoof marks, he was worried about the safety of the road to Tongxin City.

Chen Huaijing also noticed these horse hoof prints. When the Guards and the "Dangxiang people" fought, he felt that the fighting style of these "Dangxiang people" was a bit strange. The tactics of archery surrounding the Guards and soldiers were quite similar to those of the Black Eagle Army. Now when he saw these horse hoof prints, he felt a little clear in his heart. Since Hou Dayong could send him to delay the pace of the imperial envoy, he could of course use other strategies.

Ling Shi had no experience in the army. When he first saw such a snow scene, he also wrote the poem "Suddenly it was like a spring breeze coming, and thousands of pear blossoms bloomed." However, after walking for about three hours, he felt that his thighs and saddle were so painful. He twice proposed resting to the commander Zhang Luojie on the grounds that "soldiers need rest", but Zhang Luojie, who was responsible for safety, refused without hesitation. The third time, Ling Shi directly proposed to rest himself. Zhang Luojie saw that he had obtained a lot of money along the way and was about to get money, so he ordered the imperial guards to stop.

Ling Shi's Zhang Luoge didn't expect that a battle that was much bloodier than before was about to begin.

In the valley, when the people of Dangxiangfang were caught off guard by Chen Meng's Black Eagle Army. After they got rid of the pursuers, the group wandered around the mountains. Their winter food was hidden in the valley that was attacked. They had to return to the valley to replenish their food in order to survive this cold winter.

The small team Ning Cong led was all herders from Hu Xiaojian, most of whom were related to their relationship. They lost three people and injured eight. The team was sad and angry with revenge. Ning Cong was extremely rational in his mind. He repeatedly dissuaded the Xiang men of the party like fire, "Did you notice that the Zhou army used all the bamboo ox bows. The bamboo ox bows are the best bows and arrows in our house. If it weren't for the elite Zhou army, they would never be equipped with so many bamboo ox bows. Moreover, these riders were superb riding skills. They were not inferior to us. We ran for several miles and still couldn't get rid of them. We had few people and we would never be able to fight head-on with such a strong enemy."

Although the Dangxiang men were fierce, they were not wise people. They followed Ning Cong's advice and hid in the mountains. They decided to wait for a day or two. Then they turned back to the valley to get food and grass. When Ning walked north from the group and climbed up a hillside, another group of Dangxiang people appeared in front of them. Since Ning had just been fooled by them once, this time they learned to be good, and they took out bows and arrows and pointed at the people who came.

This time, the person who came here took the initiative to shout: "We are from Yantou Ridge. Who is the person who came here? Is Ning Cong from Hu Xiaojian? I am Tuoba Guangyuan." Ning Cong and Tuoba Guangyuan were very familiar friends. After Zhou army entered the Qingshui River, the two had never met. When they heard Tuoba Guangyuan's voice, Ning Cong said excitedly: "I am Ning Cong."

Tuoba Guangyuan brought more than 80 riders, a small part of these people were elite soldiers under Fang Dangming. After being dispersed at Xiaoniu Pass, they fled into the mountains on both sides of the Qingshui River and slowly gathered in Tuoba Guangyuan's team. The team has been moving between Guyuan and Tongxin City. After Guyuan City was broken, they were under increasing pressure. Therefore, Tuoba Guangyuan took the remaining more than 80 people and prepared to retreat to Xihuizhou. Unexpectedly, he unexpectedly met Ning Cong on the way to retreat north.

The war horse under Tuoba Guangyuan looked very strong. When Tuoba Guangyuan and Ning Cong were talking, they kept sniffing and digging hard on the ground. Tuoba Guangyuan's big beard fluttered in the wind. After listening to Ning Cong's attack in the valley patiently, he snorted hard and patted the war horse under his foot, saying, "This month, he fought more than a dozen battles with the Zhou army, which can be seen. The strongest man in the Zhou army used a black eagle as a military flag. The Eagle Division was defeated by this man at the Niu Pass. Their most harmful weapon was crossbow, and the other troops were mediocre in combat." Ning Cong recalled the situation in the morning and said, "This Zhou army did not use crossbows, they used bamboo ox bows." Tuoba Guangyuan smiled and said, "The Zhou army without crossbows are all good."

While the two were talking, a fast horse ran over under the hillside.

After listening to the scout's report, Tuoba Guangyuan asked, "What pattern is this Zhou army flag?" The scout said, "There is a white tiger on the military flag. We have never seen such a military flag." Tuoba Guangyuan asked Ning Cong: "Ning Cong, you have fifty or sixty people." Ning Cong nodded and said, "There were sixty-two people, but three of them were damaged in the morning, and there are fifty-nine people." Tuoba Guangyuan pondered, "I have eighty-seven people, plus your fifty-nine people, and there are also hundreds of numbers.

People, these Zhou soldiers are clearly clad and armored, probably the newly arrived people by Qingshui River. We followed the habits of the people in the Central Plains and went to give a meeting gift while they were not prepared." Ning Cong hesitated and said, "I don't know where the Zhou soldiers pretending to be Dangxiang people have gone. If they come to pick up these Zhou soldiers, it would be better not to touch them." Tuoba Guangyuan thought for a while and felt it was reasonable, so he said to the scout: "The snow on the ground is thick, go check it and see where the horse hoof prints from the valley lead to."

About an hour later, the scout returned to Xiaoshan City with heat on his head. He didn't care about the cold weather, so he raised his skin, "Gudu, Gudu" took a big sip, and said, "The horse hoof prints in the valley are heading towards Tongxin City. The footprints are very uniform, and it seems that the formation has not changed. Also, the Zhou army holding the white tiger flag left the horse hoof prints walking along the front."

Tuoba Guangyuan and Ning looked at each other, and both of them showed murderous aura.

At the rest of the guards department, the commander Zhang Luojie was alone chewing some dried meat pieces and drinking some water in the skin from time to time. People often deceived their brains intentionally or unintentionally. Zhang Luojie drank clearly cold water. His lips were like flames burning. Zhang Luojie was a rough man, and he could eat dried meat and drink ice water. However, Ling Shi was different from Zhang Luojie. Ling Shi was a good official of the court. He lived a well-off life in Daliang City. How could he eat ice water soaked meat pieces? After getting off the horse, he asked his followers to make some dry horse grass. He heated him up. After the water was heated, Ling Shi took some soft and sweet pastries brought from Jingzhao Mansion and chewed them slowly.

When Zhang Luojie was angry, the war horses around him suddenly became annoyed. They made continuous noises. Zhang Luojie was very familiar with his own war horses. Continuous noises mean that an enemy was approaching. Zhang Luojie fully believed in his war horses. He did not look up at all, and he issued a decisive and loud command: "If there is an enemy, be ready for battle." When the imperial guards heard the commander's order, they jumped on the war horses, took the bows and arrows, and followed the slightly higher terrain to war.

It makes sense for the Guards to stay where they are waiting for the enemy. If the cavalry is Dangxiang cavalry. With the cavalry of the Dangxiang cavalry, it is difficult for the soldiers of the Guards to get rid of the pursuit. Once the formation of the guards' cavalry is in chaos, on the banks of the snowy Qingshui River, the guards will only die. If the guards gather together to resist the enemy, there may be a glimmer of hope, just like before.

Ling Shi was drinking hot water. He heard Zhang Luo's orders and choked out a mouthful of hot water. He coughed violently while climbing up the war horse in a hurry. There was a round shield used by cavalry on the left side of the war horse. This was a defensive weapon prepared for him when Ling Shi saw the Dangxiang people's bow and arrows. After he got on the horse, the first thing he did was to take off the shield and cover most of his body.

Zhang Luojie's close comrades rescued the Guards. When the Guards set up their formation, they could vaguely hear the sound of horse hooves. Soon, the sound of horse hooves turned into a rumbling sound, and a team of Dangxiang cavalry rushed over from behind.

Zhang Luojie had an experience of fighting with Dangxiang people. Seeing that Dangxiang people were doing the same trick, he ordered: "Plant a round formation and prepare for bows and arrows." However, the Dangxiang people charged this time differently from the last time. They did not go around in circles or raise bows and arrows, but held messy weapons such as waist knives, maces, iron spears, etc., and lie on the horse's back and rushed straight towards the guards.

The soldiers of the Guards all showed nervous expressions on their faces. Seeing the Dangxiang people rush into the range, Zhang Luojie shouted: "Shoot the arrow." The guards' ground arrows shot at the Dangxiang people like locusts.

These Dangxiang people lie on the horse's back, reducing the chance of being shot. They wore old leather mattresses, reducing the momentum of the arrows. There were not many riders who were shot and fell off the horse in the charge. The Dangxiang riders rushed into the team of the Guards Division like a roaring wind. The guards no longer had the chance to shoot a second arrow.

No one expected that the bloody hand-to-hand combat would begin without any warning. Even Chen Huaijing, who had seen the Dangxiang people fighting, did not expect that the impact of these Dangxiang people was so sharp. Before the outermost guards could draw out their long sword, they were hit by various weapons. The formation of the guards was like being penetrated by a huge arrow, and a big hole was immediately revealed.

The soldiers of the Guards quickly lost dozens of people, but they also won time for the counterattack of the rest of the soldiers. These soldiers of the Guards who had been tested by the war knew that if the team was broken up, they would have the fate of being slaughtered. With the constant shouting of the ground, the guards and the Dangxiang people fought to the death with a slightly superior number.

Ling Shi originally thought that this was another arrow battle, but he knew that the two sides had just fought so terrifyingly. When a broken hand flew to Ling Shi, Ling Shi's lower body was already smelly of urine. Chen Huaijing's task was to delay the pace of the imperial envoy. He knew that if the imperial envoy was killed by the Dangxiang people, the camp in the northwest would be dull, so he shouted to the four Black Eagle Army guards following him: "Protect the imperial envoy quickly." The two guards rushed towards Ling Shi when they heard this, while the other two protected Chen Huaijing tightly.

Chen Huaijing was also a literati. In order to survive, he pulled out his waist knife and slashed at the Dangxiang people who were approaching him. Before his waist knife could cut a Dangxiang person holding a hunting fork, the Dangxiang person's hunting fork had already stabbed heavily into Chen Huaijing's chest. Chen Huaijing was so scared that he put away the knife to the grid and the hunting fork was shaken. He was so shocked that he could not help but feel the hunting fork. Seeing that Chen Huaijing was about to be stabbed to the heart, the Black Eagle Army guard on the left grabbed the hunting fork, and at the same time, the Dangxiang person's glaring head flew into the air. However, the hunting fork still stabbed Chen Huaijing with inertia, but was slightly tilted by the Black Eagle Army guard's left hand, and stabbed Chen Huaijing's left arm.

Zhang Luojie was cut off his back. This knife cut his armor. Although it was not fatal, it made Zhang Luojie's skin full of flesh. At this time of battle, the Guards and Dangxiang people all mixed together. He didn't know whether the imperial envoy Ling was dead or alive. He led a dozen sergeants with a heart-warming sergeant and rushed left and right in the position like a mad dog. He kept shouting loudly and slowly gathered his troops.
Chapter completed!