There were many informants of the Horse Gang in Xia Zhou City, and it was even possible that many local officials had colluded with the Horse Gang. Therefore, in order to prevent the Horse Gang from knowing their plan in advance, Lao Guo and his generals chose to sneak out of the city from different gates in batches. Then, they mobilized a small number of elite troops outside the city to reinforce the Old White Town in a detour, so as to avoid the Horse Gang's informants as much as possible.
Though it would waste a lot of time, Lao Guo trusted Ang Lee's judgment, as well as his own. He believed that since the soldiers and soldiers were resting in the abandoned city, the Horse Gang would definitely choose the best time to launch a surprise attack. Midnight was indeed the best time to launch a surprise attack, or even later. Early in the morning was also a good time to launch a surprise attack.
In short, the Horse Gang was unlikely to launch a surprise attack before midnight, because the soldiers and soldiers had not yet entered the deep sleep period, or even had not rested yet. Therefore, the Horse Gang would suffer a great loss. Once most of the soldiers and soldiers were asleep, the Horse Gang could annihilate all of them without any loss. Though the Horse Gang was not afraid of death, they would not choose to die for no reason. As long as they could survive, they would not choose to die. Since they could launch a surprise attack when the soldiers and soldiers were asleep, why would they launch a surprise attack when the soldiers and soldiers were still awake?
The Horse Gang would never do a business at a loss. What they liked most was to make a profit without any loss. If they could annihilate all the soldiers and soldiers without losing any of them, they would be very excited. That was their favorite way of doing business.
Therefore, as long as the Horse Gang was not stupid, they would not launch an attack in advance. There was still a lot of time before midnight, enough for Lao Guo to arrive at the Old White Town with his elite troops. He was betting on the Horse Gang's shrewdness. If the Horse Gang was a group of fools, the situation would be worse. However, judging from the long fight, the Horse Gang was definitely not a group of fools. They were a group of very shrewd people, who would not do anything stupid.
Lao Guo and his three generals sneaked out of the city from different gates at different times, and their troops and horses set out at different times. What's more, they took detours in batches. Therefore, they were not a big target at all. It was difficult for the Horse Gang's informants outside the city to discover them.
Because of the long journey, all the soldiers were equipped with two horses. This way, they could take turns to ensure that these soldiers and horses could arrive at the ruins of Old White Town in time. Then, they could cooperate with the troops inside to attack the Horse Gang from both sides and eliminate the main force of the Horse Gang in one fell swoop.
In the ruins of Old White City, all the guards knew that the bandits would ambush them at night, so they were actively preparing. Everyone was working hard because if they didn't work hard enough, they would lose their lives.
Digging horse traps, setting up a large number of horse-tripping ropes, and laying flammable vegetation were all necessary preparations to deal with the Horse Gang. After these preparations, it was time to allocate the troops. Apart from the dozen guards who were used to confuse the Horse Gang, the rest of the guards were also assigned to different positions. Some were responsible for pulling the horse-tripping ropes, some were responsible for fire prevention, and some were patrolling near the main traps to prevent the Horse Gang scouts from entering and accidentally triggering these traps. If these traps were exposed, the Horse Gang would not be fooled.
The environment inside the city was very bad. There were broken walls everywhere, and many of the plants were taller than the broken walls. It was a place where fire could easily break out.
It was very risky to deploy a large army inside the city. However, it would take time for the fire to spread. As long as the deployment was reasonable, the hundreds of soldiers could easily withdraw from the ruins of Old White Town.
Apart from a certain number of soldiers and horses in the ruins of the city, many soldiers and horses were deployed on top of the city gate tower. Covered by the remaining parapet wall, no one could see that there were soldiers and horses lying in ambush here. The purpose of these soldiers and horses was to block the Horse Gang's way out of Old White Town.
This deployment was also a gamble. It would be very troublesome if the Horse Gang left half of their men and horses to enter the city when they raided the city gate. However, Ang Lee believed that when the Horse Gang raided the city gate, they would not leave a large number of men and horses to guard the city gate. It would be good enough if they could leave ten men and horses behind. The rest of the Horse Gang would definitely rush into the city to wipe out the main force of the soldiers and soldiers.
As long as the number of Horse Gang members was small, they would not pose a threat to the hidden soldiers and soldiers. When a large number of Horse Gang members entered the city, the small number of Horse Gang members left behind would be wiped out by the hidden soldiers and soldiers. At the same time, the Horse Gang members who entered the city would fall into all kinds of traps, and it would be impossible for them to leave Old White Town quickly. All the city gates would be blocked by fire, and the Horse Gang members would not be able to escape. If they gave up their horses, they might be able to escape from the dilapidated city wall. But without horses, the Horse Gang members would be slowed down. At this time, as long as Lao Guo's soldiers arrived in time, none of the fleeing Horse Gang members would be able to escape.
In order to make sure nothing would go wrong and to minimize the loss of the soldiers and soldiers, Ang Lee went to all the city gates in person to check the preparation of the soldiers and deal with many details.
More than 20 guards were lying in ambush at the east gate. Together with the six soldiers near the city gate, there were nearly 30 soldiers in total, which was a very powerful force.
Most of the soldiers were in hiding, while the soldiers in charge of guarding the city gate were patrolling seriously. There was a soldier patrolling on the left and right sides of the city gate tower to prevent the horse bandit scouts from approaching and discovering the hidden soldiers.
The two soldiers downstairs and the two soldiers upstairs were also on duty at the city gate to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the city.
Standing on the city gate tower, Ang Lee looked at the two soldiers on duty and said, "Find a small wooden shield and put it on them. When the Horse Gang launched a surprise attack at night, they would definitely shoot a rain of arrows, and the soldiers on duty at the city gate would definitely be attacked by the rain of arrows. Armor is not enough to protect them. Put a small wooden shield inside the armor to increase their defense and ensure the safety of the soldiers and soldiers."
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li."
The subordinate behind him said.
Obviously, in order to prevent the Horse Gang from discovering their intentions, Ang Lee could not withdraw these few guards. He had to use them as bait, and there was a great risk in using them as bait. For example, when the Horse Gang suddenly attacked, they would definitely not let the soldiers and soldiers at the city gate go. They had a large number of people and would definitely shoot a large number of arrows to annihilate the soldiers and soldiers at the city gate. Then, with lightning speed, they would launch a surprise attack on the main force of the soldiers and soldiers in the city and annihilate all of them.
If that was the case, there would be a risk of all the soldiers being sacrificed. Naturally, Li An was unwilling to let his subordinates die in battle. Even if it was just sacrificing a single soldier, Li An would be very unwilling to do so.
For this reason, Ang Lee came up with this idea to equip the soldiers and soldiers who were acting as bait with wooden planks. This way, they could better withstand the damage from the arrows and avoid death.
Of course, just having wooden planks was not enough. They also had to prepare some horse blood and place it on their chest. When the chest was hit by an arrow, the horse blood would flow out and the soldier would fall to the ground. The Horse Gang would then think that the soldier had been killed.
Li An had also specially instructed that the main task of the soldiers in charge of baiting was to pretend to be dead. The more realistic they were, the more the Horse Gang would let down their guard and fall into the trap that had been set long ago.
"There is not enough grass and wood. We need to prepare more. If we cannot block the Horse Gang, our plan will be a complete failure."
Ang Lee looked at the firewood and hay prepared on the city gate tower and said.
These things were reserved to block the Horse Gang from escaping Old White City. As long as they threw these things into the city gate and ignited a big fire, the Horse Gang would not be able to escape the ruins of Old White City through the city gate. However, the prerequisite was that the fire had to be big enough. If the fire was not big enough, it would not be able to stop the Horse Gang who were eager to escape.
The size of the fire was naturally related to the amount of firewood and hay. Only when there was enough firewood and grass could the fire be big enough to truly trap the Horse Gang in the ruins of Old White City.
Ang Lee felt that the firewood and hay that the soldiers prepared on the city gate tower was not enough. If this small amount of firewood burned out, the Horse Gang would be able to escape through the city gate. Therefore, they had to prepare more firewood. The more the better. It was not impossible to prepare more firewood.
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li."
A few soldiers heard the order and hurriedly went to prepare more firewood and hay quietly.
Soon, a soldier came up from the city gate with a few bags of horse blood and distributed them to the soldiers in charge of luring the Horse Gang. Not long after, another soldier came up and prepared a piece of wood that was not too thick for each soldier in charge of luring the Horse Gang.
These soldiers in charge of luring the Horse Gang followed Ang Lee's instructions and put the wood and horse blood on their chests at the same time. Then, they wrapped the outside of their armor to prevent them from being exposed.
"Remember, your task is to lure the Horse Gang. After being shot by an arrow, you must fall down immediately. Do not take any action. Also, you must stand to the side and not too close to the city gate. If you do, the Horse Gang's horses will trample you into meat paste."
Ang Lee personally requested.
"Assistant Minister Li, we understand."
The soldiers in charge of luring the Horse Gang were still a little nervous. However, seeing that Ang Lee was so considerate of them, they were very touched.
They were very ordinary soldiers. In this era, their status was very low. Even if the general ordered them to die, they had to obey unconditionally. However, there were very few generals who could care about them in every possible way. Therefore, when they heard that Ang Lee was so concerned about them, they were naturally very moved.
Even though Ang Lee was very considerate, he still could not avoid the casualties of these luring soldiers. After all, the Horse Gang had a large number of people. They would shoot more than a hundred arrows in one volley. These arrows might not necessarily hit the soldiers' chests. If they hit their heads or necks, then the wooden shields and horse blood that Ang Lee prepared for them would be wasted.
Therefore, in the final analysis, whether they could survive or not depended on luck. If they were lucky, they could survive. However, if they were unlucky, they were likely to be killed. They could not be sure whether their luck was good or bad. They could only pray in their hearts that they were not unlucky and would not be hit by arrows other than their chests.
"Assistant Minister Li, it's too dangerous here. You and Madam should leave here and go to a safe place. This way, we can fight the Horse Gang without restraint."
One of the guards said.
Ang Lee had not fought in a battle for a long time. He missed the thrill of close combat. Naturally, he was not willing to give up such a good opportunity. He said, "There's no need for that. You just need to fight well. Don't worry about my safety. General Guo's main force is already on the way. They will arrive at the battlefield after the Horse Gang attacks. I will be fine.
Don't worry. "Ang Lee kept adjusting the details of the bandit suppression plan in order to make it as perfect as possible so as to increase the chances of fooling the Horse Gang and achieve his goal.
The Horse Gang were not fools. Since they had set the attack at midnight, they would not be idle before that. Naturally, they would continue to investigate and find out the situation in the ruins of Old White City. In this way, they would have a greater chance of winning.
After nightfall, the patrolling soldiers on the city wall stopped patrolling and returned to the tents outside the city to rest. However, the soldiers on the city gate did not leave. They were still standing upright.
A mounted bandit scout with a large scar on his face cautiously approached a section of the city wall that was severely damaged. Then, he quietly climbed up. Because he was afraid of being discovered, this mounted bandit scout was very careful with every step he took. After climbing up the wall, he quietly looked into the city.
A large number of tents and lanterns in the middle of the city immediately came into the eyes of the Horse Gang. He guessed that it was the place where the officers and soldiers of the Tang dynasty rested.
A small number of officers and soldiers were walking back and forth in the city. The Horse Gang spy with the scar did not dare to enter the city rashly. Once he was caught, he would not be able to survive.
The Horse Gang spy quietly left the city wall and returned to the place where the Horse Gang was resting. He was ready to report the situation to the Horse Gang Leader.
"The officers and soldiers are in the middle of the city. Most of them should be asleep!"
The Horse Gang Leader asked excitedly.
"Leader, I saw it clearly. There are more than a dozen tents in the middle of the city. There are 30 to 50 lanterns hanging around. Several officers and soldiers are walking back and forth around them. There are also officers and soldiers patrolling on the main road in the city. I only saw two soldiers patrolling together. There should be officers and soldiers on other roads!"
The spy answered.
Before the leader of the Horse Gang could say anything, several small gang leaders around him could no longer hold back. They were all rubbing their fists and waiting for the right time to kill the soldiers and soldiers. They even began to arrange how to clean up the battlefield and how to transport all the corpses of the soldiers and bury them in places where no soldiers could find them.
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