The Grandmaster Strategist

After a while, my mood finally calmed down, and I carefully considered how to deal with the current situation. Four hundred versus three thousand, both sides were elites, but with me as a burden on our side, I'm afraid I couldn't escape even if I wanted to. , It’s not too late to think about Lu Can’s matter later, escape is the top priority now. I forced myself to forget the fact that I was on a bumpy and dark car, and thought carefully about how I could save myself and others. After a while, my heart suddenly brightened. The Flying Tiger General sent an order to capture me alive and kill King Qi. It seems that to him, I and King Qi are of different importance. Judging from the bounty, it seems that I It is more important to them, but in my opinion, it is not so. For the generals leading the troops, the life and death of King Qi is naturally more important to them, and I am afraid these generals may not be able to understand my importance. To them, maybe I am just a task they need to complete. Maybe it is because of this For this reason, my bounty should be higher. This is to prevent those soldiers from just chasing King Qi. Even if I was wrong in my estimation and they regarded me more seriously than King Qi, it wouldn't be a big deal to my plan.

I was thinking this when suddenly the car door was forcefully opened, and I saw King Qi, whose clothes were covered in blood, shouting to me: "Suiyun, we must divide our troops."

I thought to myself that the hero really saw the same thing, so I quickly said: "Zhe Ye has exactly what he meant." When I poked my head out, I saw that we had arrived at a narrow intersection with mountains and rocks on both sides. The King of Qi ordered people to stop us. He stopped at the intersection and temporarily contained the pursuers. I quickly took the special blue cloak from the car, tied it on my body, and then told Xiao Shunzi: "Hurry up and change your coat, and then take me on a horse. We will go separate ways from His Majesty the King of Qi. Please Your Highness will allocate fifty more men to me, thinking that this will disperse the enemy's strength."

A look of relief flashed in King Qi's eyes, and he said: "That's right, but Suiyun, you have to be careful. If they target you, I'm worried that you won't be able to escape."

I smiled and said: "Maybe, but for the soldiers of the Northern Han Dynasty, I am afraid that you are the primary target in their minds, so the one who is under the greatest pressure this time may be His Highness." Then King Qi and I hurriedly studied some battles After a while, the cavalry guarding the intersection was a little exhausted. At this time, Xiao Shunzi had prepared everything. He first untied the two horses pulling the carriage. The two white horses were selected in advance and were fully qualified for the job of war horses. Xiao Shunzi handed one of the horses to other cavalry to hold, and then replaced it with a white horse. He took out two spears from under the carriage seat, connected them, and turned them into two-foot-long spears. Xiao Shunzi came over and helped me onto the horse. Then he jumped on and asked me to sit behind him. He carefully tied me to him with a belt. At this time, a hundred tiger guards and five King Qi's guards had also formed a team. I glanced at King Qi on the horse and said calmly: "Your Highness, I have to take a step forward."

After that, Xiao Shunzi gave an order, and our cavalry, which included a hundred tiger guards and fifty King Qi's personal guards, took the lead and rushed towards the wilderness. After rushing for several miles, I turned around and saw that King Qi had already led another group of soldiers. A group of cavalry fled in another direction, but my specially made carriage was overturned at the intersection, blocking the pursuers. My carriage was quite heavy, and it seemed that they would not be able to get through for a while.

I have carefully considered this division of troops, but I am even more impressed by King Qi's ability to figure it out so quickly. He has been fighting all the time. The enemy has two goals. Even if we are together, we will not be able to defeat him. How much bigger, but the enemy can go all out. Although our troops are weak now, the enemy will still hesitate about how to arrange the division of troops. In the end, we will not suffer any loss. Moreover, if you just run for your life and are unable to fight back, it is a inevitable defeat. Now that King Qi can be said to have nothing to worry about, he can think of ways to fight back.

At this time, Xiao Shunzi in front said: "Master, there are about a thousand soldiers chasing behind us. What should we do?"

I was overjoyed, as expected, for those arrogant and brave generals,

King Qi, the commander-in-chief of Dayong, is the most important, but a thousand cavalry is not a small number. If we cannot wipe them out in one fell swoop, we cannot escape to help King Qi. Looking at the surrounding terrain, I said: "Let Hu Yanshou go into the wilderness. I have twenty flying divine fires with me."

Xiao Shunzi understood everything at once and nodded immediately: "I understand, fire and water are ruthless, it is indeed a good idea." After that, he started to study with Hu Yanshou, who was in charge of the cavalry. Hu Yanshou was originally with me when I was in Prince Yong's Mansion. Guard, the emperor specially sent him here this time for this reason. Otherwise, how could a dignified deputy commander of the Tiger Guards condescend to do this. I heard him and Xiao Shunzi talking about how to lure the enemy into taking the bait. He was indeed a general who was good at using troops. I silently prayed in my heart that I could succeed in one fell swoop, otherwise my life would have been lost here.

At this time, the pursuers behind him were gradually getting closer. There was no way. Although Xiao Shunzi's riding skills were also very good, they were still far from those of the cavalry who lived almost all day on horses. Fortunately, Hu Yanshou's command was good. He turned around and was finally not surrounded by the enemy troops behind him. After a while, the enemy had lured us into a wilderness with scattered weeds. In late autumn, the withered and yellow weeds were dry and flammable. When Xiao Shunzi saw that the wind was blowing in the right direction, he shouted loudly, and everyone speeded up. As expected, the Northern Han cavalry behind them still controlled their horse speed to pursue. This is what we had expected. When the cavalry is chasing the enemy, the most taboo thing is to ride the horse with all its strength. In this way, due to excessive consumption of horsepower, it is easy to Being left behind, generally speaking, unless they are encircled or the enemy has no way forward, they will generally not ride their horses with all their strength. They will basically control the horse's speed and follow the enemy unhurriedly until they are exhausted. When the time comes, only by launching a fierce attack can you win in one fell swoop. Of course, this is the rule when the cavalry quality of the enemy and ours is about the same. If the enemy is too weak, this method will naturally not be used. Therefore, Xiao Shunzi and the others sped up their horses, and the pursuers behind them fell behind a bit, but they did not speed up their horses at the same time, lest they be dragged down by us.

Unfortunately, what they did this time was wrong. Just when the two sides were more than two miles apart, Hu Yanshou roared, and our army was divided into more than a dozen small groups and spread out. I could hear the Beihan people behind me. The enemy troops laughed loudly. They must have thought that our troops were going to scatter and escape. In this way, they would win without a doubt. I could even hear the joy of hunting prey in their laughter. At this moment, Xiao Shunzi suddenly turned around on horseback, and then he had a small silver tube in his hand. He pressed the mechanism on it continuously, and flames flew out from it, quickly igniting the yellow and dry grassland. If it were a normal method of setting fire, I am afraid that before the fire ignited, the enemy forces of the Northern Han Dynasty had already broken through the flame defense line. However, the flying divine fire used by Xiao Shunzi this time was extraordinary. In just an instant, the fire had spread. At this time, the scattered Yong army also lit the same fire from several other positions. The fire quickly connected into one, and the crescent-shaped fire ring rushed towards the Northern Han cavalry. There were weeds and vines everywhere. Man, the Northern Han cavalry wanted to go around the ring of fire to pursue, but it was already too late. They had to retreat, but their direction was downwind, and the flames chased them with black smoke. They had just ran seven or eight miles, but they desperately found that the same fire blocked their return.

I could hear the miserable screams in the sea of ​​fire, and I felt awe-inspiring, but I couldn't help but feel a little proud. Fortunately, because this flying divine fire was small in shape and extremely powerful, I brought twenty of them on the carriage, and now I have almost used them all. , but it defeated a thousand cavalry pursuers, which was worth the money. Although I also know that it is impossible to annihilate all the enemy troops, at least I can kill most of their troops.

But what makes me a little regretful is that I am afraid that the four people sent to set the fire behind may have narrowly escaped death. In order to achieve the purpose of annihilating the enemy army, I asked Hu Yanshou to send four people to leave on the way and go back to both sides. When they saw the fire in front, when the Northern Han army fled back, they added two more fires, so that the fire could reach Join forces to block the enemy's path of survival. But the flying divine fire is so powerful, and the wind is so strong now, they may not be able to come back. However, I admired their courage in my heart. Although they knew it was dangerous to stay and set fire, they all fought to be the first, which made me feel a little ashamed.

However, we can't take care of these things. Hu Yanshou gathered his troops and we have to leave quickly. We are too close to the fire scene now. If the wind direction changes, I'm afraid we will also be buried with him.

Abandoning our pursuers who knew whether they were alive or dead, we rushed to the predetermined rendezvous point. Dayong had many strongholds on the border. The King of Qi and I agreed on the rendezvous point. At that time, the King of Qi could rely on the fortress to hold on, and we could Then he attacked the Northern Han army. There is no other way. Twenty flying divine fires are not enough to deal with three thousand cavalry, so I can only induce them to divide their forces first, and then annihilate one of them. Fortunately, there are fewer cavalry chasing me, otherwise I'm afraid it will still be a hard fight. While listening to the whispers in my ears, I prayed that His Highness King Qi could arrive at the rendezvous safely, otherwise I would have nothing to do.

Of course I didn't know it at this time. About half an hour later, when there was only a piece of black ashes left in the field that first caught fire, the bodies of several charred horses were pushed away and emerged from under the horses. A man covered in black and gray stood up and shouted sternly: "Jiang Zhe, Wei Mou and you are not in conflict with each other!"

This man was none other than Wei Ying. On that day, he followed Lu Can's order and brought Lin Bi's token to the Northern Han army. After receiving Lin Bi's military order, Shi Ying, the flying tiger general who was ordered to meet Lin Bi, took three thousand cavalry with him. , lurking in an ambush on King Qi's return journey. Wei Ying, who hated Dayong deeply, also volunteered to participate in this operation. What cheered him up was that Jiang Zhe also accompanied King Qi. Later, when Quartz divided his forces to pursue him, Wei Ying also chose to pursue Jiang Zhe, but was trapped in a sea of ​​fire. Wei Ying was very clever. He knew that his riding skills were mediocre and he could not escape from the fire, so he took advantage of the chaos and killed several lagging Northern Han cavalry, killed their horses, and then hid under the horses' bellies. In the blood and water, he barely escaped the fate of being buried in a sea of ​​fire. He cursed angrily, and then embarked on the journey back to Nanchu. He would not be stupid enough to chase Jiang Zhe again, and deal with more than a hundred cavalry alone. He did not have the courage.

When we finally arrived at Gushanzhai, although I was led by Xiao Shunzi, I was still exhausted, and the insides of both legs were worn out by the saddle. I have been standing for a long time this year, but I have never suffered like this. , when I was awakened by the deafening shouts of killing, I realized that our cavalry was parked under the hillside, not far above the hilltop, and I could hear the fighting on the other side of the hilltop.

Xiao Shunzi helped me down and said: "Sir, the Gushan stronghold is ahead. His Royal Highness King Qi is surrounded outside the stronghold. The defenders in the stronghold tried to come out to rescue him several times but failed." I felt tight in my heart. Gritting his teeth, he stood up and said, "Help me go and take a look."

Xiao Shunzi put his arm around my waist, and without even seeing what he did, he took me to the top of the mountain and hid behind a rock. Then I saw the battlefield.

Gushan Village got its name because it was built on the top of a hill, which is more like a rocky hill than a hill. Moreover, there is a huge spring in the village that flows down the mountain. When building the house, a ditch two to three feet deep was dug around the stockade, and then water from the spring was poured into it. Gushanzhai had both the advantage of terrain and a "moat" to resist enemies. It was a very important stronghold. Unfortunately, because the stronghold was too strong, most of the troops stationed inside were infantry, with only three hundred cavalry. I looked down and saw that just a thousand steps away from the stockade, His Highness the King of Qi was charging with more than a hundred scarred cavalry, and was trapped in the formation by more than a thousand cavalry. Another seven to eight hundred Northern Han cavalry were cruising outside Gushan stronghold, blocking reinforcements from Gushan stronghold. I could clearly see a large number of corpses and some ownerless horses wandering by the moat. At the highest point of the stockade, straight black smoke was billowing upwards.

At this time, Hu Yanshou also followed up and said worriedly: "Sir, the sergeants in the stronghold just wanted to go to the stronghold to meet up, but they were blocked back. Although the stronghold now uses beacons to notify the neighboring strongholds, there is no hour when they are afraid that they will We can't reach him. Sir, we must rescue His Highness King Qi."

I looked at the two sides fighting below in amazement. This was the first time I saw the elite cavalry fighting so close. Although the strength was quite different, King Qi did not show any cowardice at all. Every sprint was towards the enemy. The army was weak and left. Although Shi Ying, the Feihu General who commanded the Northern Han Army, responded quickly and always trapped King Qi and others in the formation, he was still unable to suppress King Qi. I asked a little strangely: "Hu Yanshou, although it may be because of His Highness King Qi's superb fighting skills, why do I feel that Quartz is not worthy of its name?"

Hu Yanshou said: "Your Excellency, you don't know. The generals of the Northern Han Dynasty have different strengths. Shi Ying is good at running thousands of miles. This time, the elite guards around His Highness are only superior to Shi Ying's troops. Therefore, Shi Ying cannot succeed with a sudden attack. This The Northern Han army was led by the ghost-faced general Tan Ji in terms of marching formation skills, but among our Dayong army, few could surpass His Royal Highness the King of Qi in commanding cavalry on the battlefield, so there was such a situation.

I thought to myself that I was lucky. If it was the ghost-faced general Tan Ji who was chasing and ambushing us this time, I might be able to collect the body for King Qi. Of course, this is if I could possibly escape. The arrangement of the Northern Han Dynasty this time was not unreasonable, but they did not expect that I would bring the flying divine fire originally prepared for the East China Sea meeting. In addition, I forgot that autumn is tall and the grass is long, which is the season when it is easiest to use fire attacks. . However, it was helpless for Shi Ying's tactics to be restrained by King Qi. I think the Northern Han Dynasty could not have thought in advance that King Qi would go to the East China Sea. He must have got Lin Bi's information before hurriedly sending him in front of nearby Shi Ying. If these If the conditions were a little worse, it would not be the situation today. After carefully observing the battle situation for a long time, I said sternly: "Xiao Shunzi, you will follow General Huyan and attack the Northern Han army in a while. Although your riding skills are poor, you should be barely comparable to an ordinary cavalry. In the past few years, you have After practicing the Jiang family's marksmanship, you should put it to use. It would be best if you can take Quartz's life. If not, you must make Quartz no longer able to command the enemy. What do you think of this arrangement?"

Xiao Shunzi and Hu Yanshou both frowned slightly. Hu Yanshou said first: "Sir, Mr. Li's martial arts are very powerful. The last general also saw it with his own eyes back then. But your safety is important, sir. If Mr. Li also goes into battle to kill the enemy, if he is killed by The rebel army has injured your Excellency, but we cannot afford it."

I smiled bitterly and said: "General Huyan, this is a last resort. You have to command the army. I'm afraid you won't be able to take action to kill the general and capture the flag. And if we can't win, it will be useless even if you are all here to protect Jiang. Let's do this, you leave a few tiger eggs to protect me, and as long as you fight quickly, I shouldn't be in too much danger." I'm embarrassed to say that Hu Yanshou is not absolutely sure to suppress Quartz.

Xiao Shunzi didn't say anything. He understood the current situation and knew that Jiang Zhe's orders were out like mountains. He thought in his heart that the best solution would be to kill Quartz quickly and then come back to protect the young master immediately. He couldn't help but feel a little regretful in his heart. Jiang Zhe was not asked to bring a few more confidants to guard him. At this time, the formation of King Qi below was already somewhat scattered, and it seemed that he was at the end of his battle. I quickly ordered: "General Huyan, please act quickly. If His Highness is injured, we may not be able to bear the burden."

Hu Yanshou promised in a low voice and arranged for several tiger guards with high martial arts skills to protect me. Then he turned around and mounted his horse. Xiao Shunzi glanced at me and also mounted his horse. At this time, I remembered something and quickly approached and shouted: "Xiao Shunzi, there is one more thing?" Xiao Shunzi had a questioning look on his face, and he leaned down. I hurriedly said a few words in his ear, and then quickly stepped aside.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Hu Yanshou raised his horse's horse, silently pointed it to the sky, and then suddenly waved it down. Nearly two hundred cavalrymen rushed to the top of the mountain, and then roared down like lightning. Standing on the side, I just felt... The ground shook, the rocks rolled, and I almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, a few tiger guards around me who stayed to protect me helped me.

These tiger guards were also the guards who protected me in Hanyuan. They have been promoted in recent years, and are at least sixth-grade military attachés. However, when they met me a few days ago, they complained to me. It is said that after I ran away, they were severely reprimanded by the then King Yong and the current emperor for their "inadequate protection". Finally, King Yong knew that they were wronged and did not punish them. Instead, they stayed with me for several years. , were all given great importance, but they still could not raise their heads for a long time. Fortunately, they will not laugh at me. When I was in Hanyuan, they were responsible for keeping an eye on my physical condition at all times. Once they saw that I looked bad, they had to ask the imperial doctor from Prince Yong's Mansion who was responsible for my diagnosis and treatment at any time. Medical. Although I have basically recovered to health now, in their minds I am probably still the medicine jar that may die at any time.

When I stood up, I happened to see Xiao Shunzi rushing into the Northern Han army's cavalry formation behind Hu Yanshou. The white horse, silver spear, and snow uniform were majestic, which made me a little jealous. It's a pity, I am It is impossible to go into battle and kill the enemy. The black and red iron flow was unstoppable. The Northern Han army did not expect an ambush. The battle was in chaos for a while. King Qi's troops were shocked and fought hard. At this time, the village was also alarmed and the gate of the village was opened wide. , there were only more than a hundred cavalry left in the stronghold and they were killed. Although the strength of the Dayong Army was still not as good as that of the Northern Han Army, they were attacked from both inside and outside and attacked from three sides. The Northern Han Army was in chaos.

Shi Ying never expected that enemy troops would appear behind him at this time. They had already eliminated many of Dayong's scouts beforehand, and the Yong troops within the stronghold followed King Qi's strict orders and would not leave the stronghold easily, so He could have safely surrounded and killed King Qi, and Jiang Zhe, who "escaped" with his guards, was not taken seriously by him. A counselor with outstanding resourcefulness may not necessarily be a general who can lead an army in battle. If Lin Bi's order had not specifically asked Shi Ying to capture Jiang Zhe, and the Nanchu envoy was so insistent, he would not have sent a thousand people to chase Jiang Zhe. As for Jiang Zhe's ability to escape, Shi Ying But it was absolutely unexpected, so he and Ben would not have thought that there would be reinforcements nearby. When she saw the black and red armor, Shi Ying's first thought was to think about the safety of the cavalry chasing Jiang Zhe. While her heart was freezing, the order to stop the enemy was unavoidably a moment too late. It was only for a moment. In the meantime, defeat has been achieved.

Shi Ying was very decisive and immediately ordered the withdrawal. Taking advantage of the large number of people, the Northern Han cavalry fled in all directions. Just as Shi Ying knocked down a Yong soldier who was blocking the way, a white shadow flashed in front of him, and a man wearing a The knight in white clothes and armor blocked his way. The mask covered the man's face, so he couldn't see his appearance, but he was not tall. Quartz smiled coldly, relying on his own strength and courage, and lifted it away. The knight did not dodge, and a silver spear slanted out from between the rims. The spears collided together. Quartz felt as if he had hit a ball of cotton. The place where the force was applied seemed to be solid but weak. He couldn't help but staggered. At this moment, that The knight's silver spear suddenly cracked and scattered into shadows all over the sky. Countless small and cold air currents stirred up by the tip of the spear rushed towards the quartz. Quartz shouted, Ma Shan swung in the air, the blazing strong wind blocked the attack of the silver gun, "ding ding ding" a series of sharp sounds of weapons clashing and the sudden wind and waves caused the two people to be within a few feet of each other. No one can gain a foothold anymore.

Shi Ying is a famous general in the Northern Han Dynasty. Although he has encountered opponents on the battlefield, it has never been as difficult as today. If he hadn't noticed that the man's marksmanship and riding skills were very different, he would have taken advantage of his own riding skills. , I'm afraid I can't even compete with that person. The two sides fought for more than ten rounds, and the man gradually gained the upper hand. Suddenly, the silver gun turned into a meteor and pierced Quartz's defense. Quartz tried his best to dodge, but was still pierced by the man's right rib. Quartz screamed. With a sound, regardless of life and death, he tried his best to take action with the horse in his hand. The man spurred his horse and took a step back. Quartz turned around and ran away. The dozen or so guards around him blocked the enemy general's offensive in unison, and the silver spear turned into a shower of stars. , brilliant bright reds flashed in the sky, and when the dozen guards were killed by the silver spear, Quartz had already rushed far away under the protection of other guards. The snow-robed general saw that he was behind him and shouted loudly: "Shi Ying, please tell Her Royal Highness Princess Jiaping that Nan Chu has no good intentions. They are just spreading news, but you are losing troops and generals. This snipe Can't you see through the strategy of clams fighting and the fisherman profiting?"

Shi Ying heard it clearly in her ears. Although she knew it was to sow discord, she still felt angry in her heart. She couldn't help but doubt Nan Chu's intentions. According to the messenger, the person who instigated him was Nan Chu Lu Can. It was said that Lu Can was Jiang Zhe's disciple, don't disciples know the master's ability? Did Lu Can pass the message to us just because he knew that we couldn't succeed easily?

I heard Xiao Shunzi's cry from high up, and a smile appeared on my face. Lu Can and Lin Bi teamed up to harm me. This revenge must be avenged. The military leader of the Northern Han Dynasty was Long Tingfei. If Long Tingfei could be killed, If I am wary of Lu Can, I can avoid Northern Han and Southern Chu from colluding too deeply, and I will have less trouble.

After a while, the battlefield had calmed down, and only Sergeant Dayong was left to clean up the aftermath. Then I walked up the mountain under the protection of several tiger guards. It's only a short distance, and it would be there in a blink of an eye if I rode a horse, but the insides of my legs were already bloody, and I really didn't want to ride a horse. Although walking was very painful, I had to accept it. When we walked down the mountain, King Qi came up with his guards. He was covered in scars and blood, and he was very embarrassed. However, he didn't take it to heart. When he saw me, he laughed and said, "Suiyun, you are so capable. From now on, I might as well give orders to kill the enemy."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him and said, "Your Highness, this is making things difficult for me. If I can go into battle and kill the enemy, then everyone in Nanchu can join the army and fight.

At this time, the garrison generals in the stronghold also came to respectfully invite us to enter the stronghold. I saw Xiao Shunzi and Hu Yanshou and others were cleaning up the aftermath. I felt that there would be no danger now, so I walked side by side with King Qi to the suspension bridge at the entrance of the stronghold. , there were a lot of corpses there, and they had not been cleaned up yet, but everyone here except me was battle-hardened, so no one cared about them. I could only turn a blind eye and walk towards the village, thinking that the most important thing was to quickly bathe, change clothes and get some sleep.

Dimly, Li Hu opened his eyes. He was a small cavalry commander under General Feihu Quartz. He was accidentally stabbed off his horse while intercepting reinforcements from Gu Shanzhai, and his head happened to hit a rock. Hence the coma. In the rush of the war, no one noticed that he was still alive. He was unconscious for a long time, until Quartz was defeated and left. For such a long time, no one thought that there would be any living person here. The Yong army who was busy cleaning up the battlefield did not have time to take care of this place. They simply dragged away some corpses blocking the suspension bridge, and then went to clean the battlefield, rescue their comrades, and patch up the seriously injured Northern Han army or push them aside. . So Li Hu just lay there without anyone noticing. When he opened his eyes, he happened to see a general wearing a royal golden armor and a red robe walking side by side towards the suspension bridge with a scribe in blue. Li Hu's heart was like a burning fire, knowing that the Northern Han army must have been defeated. As his eyes passed by, Li Hu saw a gun beside him that he didn't know who had dropped it. He couldn't think much about it. Li Hu used his last strength and reached out to grab the gun. Then he suddenly sat up and threw the only weapon in his hand. Got out. He saw that almost everyone was wearing armor, and he was worried that he was too weak to succeed in one fell swoop, but he threw the spear at the scribe in blue.

Li Hu, who had exhausted all his strength, felt that his vision went black. After seeing the Tsing Yi scribe being stabbed in the heart by Bu Shu, his body was crumbling. After everyone around him was stunned and fell under the bridge, Li Hu had no strength to resist the impact. Yong Jun came over to hold him down and let them tie him up and beat him. He was filled with joy and laughed loudly.