Cao Renshi, Zhang Xuanyu and Ma Renjie were urging the main army to speed up their journey when suddenly Wu Chengzhao's battle report arrived from the front. As soon as Cao Renshi saw the report, he could not help but be startled: "I have underestimated this Wu Chengzhao; I did not expect him to capture the mouth of the Yellow Deer Valley with only one troop."
Zhang Xuanyu took the report and read it carefully. "Good!" he said excitedly. We should quickly advance and directly attack Li Jinzhong's path of retreat, catching him unprepared. If we can coordinate with the Lulong garrison, we won't have to wait for the troops from Danzhou, Guishun Prefecture, and the other provinces to arrive, and we can completely wipe out the rebel army! "
Ma Renjie stood next to him and also read the report. "Could it be a trap?" he asked doubtfully. "That is a gorge. Your servant does not understand the art of war, but I do know that this kind of place is the easiest place to set up an ambush. "
Cao Renshi shook his head and said, "Ma Shaoqing, you think too highly of the Khitans. How can they understand the art of war? You see, according to the Khitans' confession, they have failed to attack Pingzhou and are now attacking Lulong. This is the same as the intelligence we received earlier. Moreover, the garrison at the mouth of the Yellow Deer Valley only has five arrows per person, each one of them looks malnourished; they have been out of food for many days. This is also confirmed by the vanguard. "
"Also," Zhang Xuanyu said, "I have studied the terrain of the Yellow Deer Valley. That gorge is shaped like a gourd, it is only suitable to defend the mouth of the valley. The middle section is quite wide, it is not suitable for an ambush. But the length of the gorge is more than twenty li. With such a long battle line, the Khitans only have less than seventy thousand men. If they want to ambush the main army, first of all, they do not have enough men; second, with so many people lying in ambush on both sides, they will definitely be discovered! But if they are too scattered, they will not be able to be used as an ambush. "
Ma Renjie did not understand the art of war; hearing the two great generals say so, he did not say anything more.
Cao Renjie immediately gave the order for the three armies to rush to the Yellow Deer Valley at full speed.
Cao Renshi led the army to the Yellow Deer Valley and personally interrogated the surrendered soldiers. He had been in the army for many years and had fought several dangerous battles; whether they were really hungry or not, they could not hide from his eyes. Cao Renshi saw that the Khitan soldiers were emaciated, their faces were emaciated, their calves were swollen; their hunger was definitely not an act.
Zhang Xuanyu also inspected the Khitan people on the other side of the cliff who had surrendered. The Khitan people on this side had surrendered without fighting, so they did not have many arrows in their quiver. Because the side of the mountain they were guarding was dangerous, each person only had three arrows, which was even less than the arrows carried by the Khitan people on the other side of the mountain whose formation had been broken.
He sent people up the mountain to take a look. There were indeed many large rocks piled up on the edge of the cliff. Cao Renshi considered all these facts and no longer had any doubts. He hurriedly discussed with Zhang Xuanyu. By the time their vanguard arrived, the Khitan spies had already rushed back to report the news. However, there were less than four hours left. If the main army advanced immediately, they could suddenly appear behind the Khitans when they received the news.
Even if it was slightly later, the Khitan people were not as well-trained as the Zhou army. If they wanted to gather the troops attacking the four cities and retreat, it would take far more than four hours. As long as they left the Yellow Deer Valley immediately, it would be enough to catch up with them before they escaped. Moreover, if the Khitan people had already started to escape, the main force of the Zhou army would easily launch a one-sided massacre.
The opportunity to fight was fleeting. Without further ado, they should set off immediately.
Cao Renshi decisively gave the order to gather all the cavalry and pass through the Yellow Deer Valley as fast as they could. They would closely follow the main force of the Khitan rebel army and not let them escape. The infantry would hold the rear and arrive at the critical moment when the vanguard cavalry and the Khitan people were fighting until both sides were exhausted. They would then deal the final blow.
According to Cao Renshi's order, sixty thousand cavalry of the one hundred thousand strong army charged into the valley first. Wu Chengzhao's troops were still the vanguard, three li away from the main cavalry as scouts. Wu Chengzhao was also not careless. He still ordered Maqiao to be the vanguard, three li away from him, and charged into the Yellow Deer Valley.
From the bottom of their hearts, Cao Renshi, Zhang Xuanyu and the others did not see the Khitan people as a great enemy. They did not want to give up on this great achievement in the first battle. Therefore, they all went ahead with the elite cavalry. The forty thousand infantry were led by a general. At the same time, they also detained the hundreds of Khitan people who had surrendered.
If there was really an ambush, these Khitan surrendered soldiers would undoubtedly be the first to die. The angry Zhou soldiers would chop them into meat paste. However, from their expressions, there was nothing unusual.
These people were true death warriors. Their entire families had either died at the hands of the Zhou army or they were fighting for a way out for their parents or their wives and children. That was why they were willing to serve as bait.
These people's physiques were weak to begin with. Whether it was running around on the prairie or fighting with thousands of soldiers and horses, they were the group of people who were most likely to lose their lives. Therefore, they would rather use their own lives to fight for their clansmen's survival. Even their hunger wasn't disguised at all.
When they decided to play the part of a group of poor and weak soldiers, they did not bring a grain of food. They had been guarding this place for more than ten days. In these ten days, they had been eating wild vegetables and small animals that they had caught. Before the Zhou army arrived, two of them had even starved to death.
If they had not been so cruel to themselves, even if they could hide it from Maqiao and Wu Chengzhao, how could they hide it from Cao Renshi and Zhang Xuanyu, who had spent their entire lives on the battlefield?
… …
Maqiao rode his horse at the very front. As he used his sharp eyes to scan the mountains and dense forests that passed by on both sides, he welcomed the mountain wind that blew through the valley and took an intoxicated breath. His years of hard work in the army had not been in vain. Today, all his hard work was finally put to use.
He did not have the opportunities of his good brother, Yang Fan, nor did he have Yang Fan's ability to be both civil and military, but he also had his own dreams. He had originally been a ruffian who lived his days in the streets, but he had been woken up by Yang Fan's scolding. From that day onwards, he wanted to live a good life, to be worthy of his brother's trust, to be worthy of his mother's nurturing.
Later on, he married a wife, and now he had his own precious son. The responsibility in his heart was even heavier. For his wife, for his child, he also had to make great contributions, establish a great cause, and earn a great fortune for his family.
In addition, there was also honor!
Every time he returned to the square in his military uniform, every time he was promoted to an officer, those childhood friends would surround him and look at him with envy, flattery, and even awe. He would feel a sincere sense of pride. His good brother, Yang Fan, had helped him point out a path, but he had to rely on himself to continue down this path!
The cavalry quickly passed through the twenty li distance. Once they left the valley, it suddenly became wide and open.
On the right was a large river flowing east, surging along the foot of the mountain. On the right was an undulating hill with clumps of shrubs. In front of him was a flat road. Maqiao had already seen the map and knew that if he followed this road straight ahead, he would reach Lulong. His spirits lifted, he forcefully kicked his horse's abdomen and accelerated forward.
Wu Chengzhao led his troops and followed far behind Maqiao. Only when he rushed out of the valley did he let out a sigh of relief. As soon as he saw Maqiao in the distance, holding a large banner of the Zhou army in his hand, flapping in the wind as he galloped away, Wu Chengzhao's heart was filled with anger.
He wanted to call out to Maqiao and charge ahead himself, but on second thought, although this place was still far from Lulong, there was no guarantee that the Khitans would not set up sentries along the way. As soon as he thought that he might have to engage in close combat, Wu Chengzhao dispelled the idea of personally going to the frontline. He continued to bitterly follow behind Maqiao, eating dirt.
He forcefully whipped his horse's buttocks, venting all his anger on the warhorse. The warhorse galloped forward. He had just leaped more than ten zhang when suddenly a desolate bugle call was heard from the hilly area on the left.
Wu Chengzhao looked over in astonishment. He saw large banners suddenly emerge from behind the hills. On the banners, vivid and lifelike gray wolves were waving in the wind, followed by a wave of wolf-like howls. The densely packed Khitan cavalry brandished their sabers and spears, letting out strange and terrifying howls as they pounced on them.
Before the troops and horses arrived, the strange howls converged into a gust of wind that assaulted their faces.
"There's … there's an ambush!"
Wu Chengzhao reined in his horse's reins, his legs trembling. Just as he was wondering if he should escape back to the valley to 'find his mother', or chase after Ma Qiao and escape, a dark rain of arrows came crashing down. In an instant, Wu Chengzhao was shot into a hedgehog, and he no longer had to worry about his difficult choice.
The main force of the Zhou army formed a small square formation and galloped out of the valley. The horses galloped lightly, neither too fast nor too slow. They were not scouts and did not need to be too fast. This way, they could leave the valley at a relatively fast speed. At the same time, they could allow the horses to maintain their strength so that they could quickly join the battle.
However, the lightly galloping warhorses quickly came to a halt. To their horror, they discovered that the mountain pass in front of them was already filled with endless Khitan cavalry.
The reason why the Khitans had used their fastest speed to greet them with bows and arrows to avoid coming into contact with Wu Chengzhao's troops was that they did not want a single person to escape back to deliver a message. They had ten to a hundred times the strength of Wu Chengzhao's troops and shot tens of thousands of arrows to quickly finish off this small group of Zhou soldiers. Then, they entered the valley and set up their formation.
The Zhou army looked in shock at the Khitans opposite them. These Khitans had some hesitation and fear on their faces. That was because the powerful impression that the dynasty of the Central Plains had given them had given them gave them psychological pressure. Although they had attacked more than one city, they had never fought so many of the main forces of the Zhou army.
But at the same time, there was a hint of fierceness and cruelty in their eyes. It was the hatred that had accumulated from being bullied and humiliated by the Zhou people for a long time. It was also the innate wild bestiality in their blood as nomads of the grasslands. The wind, snow, and sandstorms of the desert grasslands had tempered them into rough and unyielding iron-blooded men.
"Yaoroar …"
When the Khitans hunted, they used their unique shouts to scare away wild beasts. When they gathered together, they formed a soul-stirring sound wave. This sound wave was amplified by the valley by several times. Following the surging sound wave, the Khitans, who were already prepared and armed with bows and arrows, took the lead to attack.
The arrows covered the sky and pounced towards the Zhou army, as if they were shooting at a herd of gazelles that had been blocked by them. Then, they raised their sabers, spears, swords, and halberds. With an almost crazy speed, they roared, roared, and shouted as they pounced towards the flock of sheep like fierce tigers. There was only prey in their eyes, and they completely ignored death.
At the same time, billowing smoke rose from the exit of the valley.
When the smoke rose, the long sabers pointed!
…
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