Kuang Cao got angry, and Wang Jiang and Chen Renyi knew that this was jealous, so they stopped talking. Zhao Wu saw that his goal was achieved, so he did not talk about it. The atmosphere of the banquet became awkward, and everyone no longer had the interest in drinking and left the banquet.

The army was about to set off and there were still many things to deal with. Therefore, Hou Dayong and Xiang Xun ordered the banquet to end soon.

When Xiang Xun and Hou Dayong walked out of the restaurant, Xiang Xun was shocked. There were many people in front of the restaurant.

The two old men walked out of the crowd, came to Hou Dayong, and knelt down together. Seeing the two old men kneeling on the ground, Hou Dayong hurried forward and helped them up and said, "Two old men, I can't afford it. What's the matter?"

An old man said, "We are refugees who have been wandering to Zhengzhou. We are so kind to the defensive envoy who cannot repay us. I heard that the defensive envoy would take the Black Eagle army to fight against the Liao people. Today, we will see you off for the defensive envoy."

In order to prevent the news of being leaked during the expedition to Western Shu, Hou Dayong had been probing the soldiers before setting out that they were going to conquer the Liao people. Only officers above the lieutenant knew that they were going to conquer the Western Shu. The common people saw that the Black Eagle Army was frequently mobilized and guessed that there might be another war. When they learned from the soldiers that they were going to fight the Liao people, they spontaneously organized the army to work, especially the refugees who were stranded to Zhengzhou. After hearing the news, two old men took the lead to see the army off.

Another old man said, "We have been wandering here, and now we have land, seeds and tools. When there is a harvest tomorrow, our lives will be better. These are all given by the defensive envoys. Everyone gathered a jar of water and wine to see off the army. I wish the defensive envoys a victory in their flag and returned to Zhengzhou as soon as possible."

The old man waved, and the two young men carried a jar of wine and came to Hou Dayong. Two more two came over. The old man opened the wine jar, poured out a bowl of wine, held it in both hands and handed it to Hou Dayong. Hou Dayong took the wine bowl and drank it all in one go.

The old man poured a few more bowls of wine and gave it to other generals one by one.

After the generals returned to the camp, gentry kept sending good wine and meat to see the army off.

The next morning, the army set out to fight westward.

Hou Dayong led the Black Eagle Army as the vanguard and pioneered the way in front. According to Hou Dayong's request, the Black Eagle Army gathered all the war horses of the Zhengzhou Army together, with a total of 1,700 war horses. The central army led by Guo Jiong was all cavalry. The Right Army led by Kuang Cao had a cavalry team of 600 people. The left army led by He Wulang had horses. The Left Army was a complete infantry team, but it had powerful long-range attack weapons. Each soldier was equipped with a crossbow, one bow, one square shield, one long sword, and one waist knife, and one bed crossbow in each team.

Xiang Xun lived in the central army and commanded the army westward. Xiang Xun originally thought that the equipment of the Guards was the best, but the Black Eagle Army had excellent weapons, which actually exceeded the ratio of the Guards, especially the war horses and crossbows, which was far higher than that of the Guards. The long swords and casting craftsmanship used were higher than that of the ordinary long swords. Xiang Xun asked for a Black Eagle Army long sword, and the hilt of the long sword was engraved on the hilt of the Zhengzhou Craftsman Camp. In fact, most of the long swords of the Black Eagle Army came from the rich iron shop, but they were afraid of causing unnecessary trouble, so they borrowed the logo of the Zhengzhou official Craftsman Camp.

Xiang Xun said to Hu Li: "The Zhengzhou Army is well-equipped, and it seems that the defensive envoy has invested a lot."

Hu Li said: "The Black Eagle Army is well-trained and is actually a powerful force in the Great Zhou."

Xiang Xun said: "Have you noticed that the Black Eagle Army has a good relationship with the local people. Wherever the army arrives, the people carry tea and water. They are very attentive. The defense officer is really a talent."

The soldiers of the Guards have always been very arrogant, but when they saw that the Black Eagle Army was very well-equipped, well-trained, they all put aside their contempt.

The army marched very fast. In mid-April, the vanguard of the Black Eagle Army had arrived at Fengxiang Mansion. In late April, the three armies met in Fengxiang Mansion, and the total strength of the Zhou army was about 25,000.

When the Shu lord Meng Chang heard that the Great Zhou army was approaching, he ordered Zhao Jizha, the envoy of the Guest Province, to be the envoy of the Xiongwu Army Supervisor, and led his elite troops to Qinzhou. He ordered the Privy Guard Zhaoyuan to inspect the northern border city gates and armored troops to strengthen the garrisons of the surrounding areas.

Both sides were ready for war, and the war was about to break out.

On the first day of the fifth month, Wang Jing led a large army from Dasan Pass and entered Qinzhou.

Fengzhou is the throat of Shu and is a strategic location in the overall situation. The Shu army set up eight military camps, including Huangniuzhai, Maling Village, Mumen Village, Xianhe Village, Baijian Village, Zijin Village, Tiexhao Village, and Donghe Village in the northeast of Fengzhou. These military camps were built on the dangerous side, blocking the route of the Great Zhou army's attack. After repeated discussions, the Great Zhou army planned to wipe out the eight military camps, and then launch a decisive battle with the Shu army in Fengzhou to conquer Fengzhou. The other three states would surrender without fighting.

The task of attacking Huangniu Bazhai fell on the Black Eagle Army. Hou Dayong sent soldiers from the Lion Camp to inquire about the terrain of Huangniu Bazhai and his troops to investigate the detailed and meticulous reconnaissance. The reconnaissance cavalry of the Lion Camp came out in four times and soon discovered the basic situation of Huangniu Bazhai.

The Bazhai of Huangniu are all set up according to danger, while the three villages of Huangniu, Wooden Gate, and Baijian are in the shape of a font, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. They are located at the forefront of the Bazhai and are the first bone that the Black Eagle Army wants to gnaw.

In order to find out the truth, Hou Dayong sent He Wulang to Huangniu Village with a thousand left army infantry and prepared to conduct a tentative attack. He led the central army to escort the formation behind him, and the Right Army ambushed the Mumen and Baijian Villages on the necessary path to block the enemy's rescue.

He Wulang came to the village with a thousand people and stood outside the arrow. The central army soldiers took out the Huanghua crossbow, put on the crossbow arrows, and suppressed the situation behind them.

Huangniuzhai was lined with flags and flags and swords and halberds, and the guard general Zhang Cun saw that the Great Zhou army was in a clean and tidy manner. There was a black carving embroidered on the military flag, but the number was not large, so he took two thousand soldiers to open the gate and rushed out, and asked five hundred archers to guard the gate to prevent accidents. Huangniuzhai’s eight villages were all prominent in the terrain and the cavalry could not be carried out. Therefore, except for the guard generals and their personal guards, the Shu army in Huangniuzhai was also full of infantry.

When He Wulang saw the gate of the village opened, he ordered: "Tiger Wing Formation." The messenger waved the flag and the drum beat sounded. After the left army heard the order, two hundred soldiers holding large shields came to the front, and the rest took out the yellow birch crossbow behind the shields and prepared for combat.

Seeing that the Zhou army was in line, Shu general Zhang Cun walked out of the village gate and lined up outside the arrow route, and did not dare to attack easily.

He Wulang ordered: "Beat the drum and advance." The Black Eagle Left Army advanced little by little, approaching the Shu army.

Seeing that the Zhou army was approaching, Shu general Zhang Cun held a long sword and issued an order: "Archer is ready."

Seeing that the Shu army was already in the course of crossbow arrows, He Wulang ordered: "Shoot the arrow."

The eight hundred black eagle soldiers were divided into three teams and took turns to shoot at the Shu army. The Huanghua crossbow was an arm-opening crossbow with a range of 300 steps away, which was much longer than the range of bows and arrows. The Shu army was shot dead and injured by crossbow arrows, and Zhang Cun also got a crossbow on his big feet. The Shu army fought back with bows and arrows, because it had not reached the range of bows and arrows, and the Shu army had no effect. The arrows fell to the ground before the Zhou army formation. Seeing that the Zhou army's crossbow arrows were damaged, the Shu general Zhang Cun turned his horse's head and fled back to the camp. The Black Eagle Army rushed up and just arrived at the gate of the camp, shooting a wave of bows and arrows from inside, injured many black eagle soldiers.

He Wulang ordered his retreat, but the Shu army did not dare to come out to pursue him.

This was the first time that the Great Zhou army and the Shu army were in contact. The Shu army was shot dead by crossbows and arrows, and more than 20 people were injured and injured after the Black Eagle Army rushed to the gate of the village.

Hou Dayong, who was watching the battle, turned his head and asked Shi Hu: "If you attack this village forcibly, you will have a chance of winning."

Shi Hu said: "With the strength of the Black Eagle Army, we will concentrate our troops to attack Huangniu Village. There should be no problem in the battle, but the mountain is dangerous and there will definitely be a lot of casualties."

"The Bazhai of Huangniu is just an attack on the outer battles of Fengzhou. The Black Diao Army cannot consume its elite troops here, and it must fight skillful battles. It is best to attract the Shu army outside the gate of the village, so that the Black Diao Army's advantage in field battles can be used."

Shi Hu said: "Can you bypass the front and attack from behind?"

"There is a cliff behind Huangniu Village, which is difficult to climb up. I will think of a solution after returning to the camp."

Shu general Zhang Cun was injured by a crossbow. He did not expect that the Zhou army, which was a few thousand people, would be equipped with so many crossbows. Therefore, he made up his mind to never go out to fight again and lead his army to defend Huangniu Village to the death.
Chapter completed!