Chapter 14 first quarter

Gently stroking the helmet that had followed him for eighteen years, Peng Shilong was full of emotion.He suddenly understood Lu Yingfeng's mood back then. The shape of the battle helmet is like the head of some kind of deep-sea ancient fish, covered with inverse horns that look half like scales, half like sharp edges. The whole body is made of thin iron, and the surface is inlaid with copper pieces that are polished like gold. Peng Shilong doesn't know how old this helmet is.It was taken from the head of the enemy general when his father expelled the Northwest barbarians.Despite such an inauspicious origin, his father regarded it as a treasure and passed it on to him, the eldest son who inherited his father's business.

it's time.Two squires straightened his helmet and fastened the leather strap around his chin.Peng Shilong lifted his saber, stepped out of the marshal's tent, and mounted a tall horse. Surrounded by staff officers, messengers and a hundred guards and heavy cavalry, Peng Shilong, the "Marshal of Suppression of Chaos" in bright golden armor, stepped out boldly, rode his horse out of the shed of the Chinese army camp, and entered the main force. The center of the field army. Looking around, beyond the defense line of the forward army, the Fujizhou Luyeyuan is full of verdant green, full of vitality at the turn of spring and summer.But he knew that before long, this beautiful plain would turn into a bloody place.

The front of the battle formation is in the southwest direction, and the horizon at the end of the grassland can be clearly seen.The enemy army has not yet entered the field of vision, but the soldiers of the imperial army have already completed their preparations for battle. The huge army of 200,000 soldiers and horses was fully deployed in the northeast of Luyeyuan, and the front, center, left, right, and guerrilla armies formed a fortified counterattack formation.Thousands of flags of different colors waved lazily in the warm breeze.Spear soldiers of various shapes are held vertically high, densely arranged and connected to a length of one mile, looking from a distance like a huge long snake reflecting the mid-day sun.

Just behind the striker's shield formation, puffs of black smoke rose from among the infantry.It was the archers who built the furnaces with which to light the rockets in preparation for battle. The battle drummers of each army formed a harmonious rhythm, and the soul-stirring drums reverberated on the plain, arousing the emotions of all the soldiers. At the outermost periphery of the army formation, the rangers rode their horses to patrol back and forth, rolling up waves of dust and mist. Peng Shilong and his personal soldiers came out with a huge Chu Hongshuai flag, which immediately caused a commotion in the army.He raised his left hand holding the sword high, responding to the cheers of the soldiers.

After settling in the formation, he looked at the formation of all the troops, and after making sure that everything was arranged according to his instructions, he nodded in satisfaction. "Marshal, it seems that the morale is very good." Yang Xun, the confidant of another rider next to him, said excitedly. Peng Shilong did not agree, but continued to look around.Of course he understands: in such a huge army, the soldiers are infected with each other, and their emotions will inevitably be high; but when it comes to the real confrontation with the enemy, it may become another matter.

——What's more, the problem of the imperial court's arrears of military pay has not been resolved until today... It's not that Peng Shilong has never led such a large army.After the "Guanzhong Great Battle" that year, he was the one who took over Lu Yingfeng's command according to the imperial decree (of course he knew that it was actually Eunuch Lun's idea).Although the war was coming to an end at that time, he had also led the army to wipe out the remnants of the enemy three times, so at least he had actual combat experience. Of course, he knew very well: he was able to become a commander, not because of his outstanding military exploits, but because of his promotion by Eunuch Lun; in addition to his young age at that time, he knew that he was not very popular in the army.After the war, he served as the governor of the town and guarded the northern border. For many years, he has been carefully managing the defense, so that the Yi people dare not invade, and gradually accumulated achievements and reputation.This time the war resumed, the imperial court immediately regarded him as the best choice for the marshal, not only because he was politically reliable, but also because he did have the ability to lead the army.

While listening to the scout's report, Peng Shilong continued to look at the unseen enemy ahead.He is not nervous: intelligence from different sources has confirmed that the army of the Nanfan this time is claimed to be 200,000, but the actual number is only about 100,000; excluding the support needed for the long-distance march, there may not be real combat soldiers. Eighty thousand. This is not far from Peng Shilong's estimate before receiving the information.It has only been ten years since the Nanfan's last disastrous defeat in the "War against Chaos", and it is probably only like this that they can raise troops again.Since the strength of one's own side is more than doubled, and the battlefield is set in Luyeyuan, which is so suitable for the army to fight head-on, the imperial army has the upper hand no matter how you look at it.

However, the timing of the Nanfan’s dispatch of troops made Peng Shilong a little puzzled. Unlike the past three wars, this time the rebel army chose to dispatch troops in spring instead of after the autumn harvest. Obviously, they had learned the lessons of the past: Southern soldiers could not adapt to the cold autumn and winter in the north. One of the major factors in the defeat of the war. However, in this way, the food and grass of the rebellious army were not as abundant as after the autumn harvest. Although they won a longer "war season", they could not fight for a long time.The rebel army did not take the Guanzhong route this time, but instead took the smoother and faster Guandong Road, and the whole army walked together, and did not march and reunite, obviously eager for a quick victory.

Therefore, our side does not need to achieve a decisive victory in this battle, as long as we firmly restrain the rebellious army, the opponent will be defeated without a fight after a long period of time. Peng Shilong knew that he was not another "invincible tiger general". In this battle, he only wanted to suppress the enemy head-on, not to wipe out the main force of the enemy army in one fell swoop.As long as the opponent's advance is blocked for a period of time, his fighting spirit will automatically collapse as the food and grass run out. He had already discussed this strategy with his generals many times, and they all agreed with it.Of course, he knew that more than half of this group of generals were sycophants inserted by Lun Xiao and He Taiji, so he would not say any objection at all.Therefore, he deliberated for a long time with the staff who had followed him for many years, and finally concluded that this was the most secure strategy.

Of course, Peng Shilong is not selfless, he has not forgotten the living example of Lu Yingfeng: If you win too beautifully, the guys in the capital will start to fear you... Everything has been calculated, and there is only one thing that makes Peng Shilong feel uneasy: the secret agents and spies have not been able to investigate until today, and who is in command of the chaos in the Southern Fan. Of course, there are still several uncertain theories: one is that the most powerful "Prince Jing'an" in the fourteen feudal lords in the south personally conquered the army; He was very skeptical about several statements, except for "Prince Ning" - he had heard that this person was very cunning...

Peng Shilong sneered.It is not easy to unify the command of the Southern Fan coalition forces; now even the commander-in-chief has not been determined, which is a weakness of self-control, and the side has an additional capital to win. The horn of the imperial army's vanguard sounded suddenly. Appeared. On the horizon at the end of Luyeyuan, there seems to be a towering giant insect floating, which is the vanguard of the Southern Domain. Peng Shilong clearly smelled the smell of all the 200,000 soldiers around him sweating together. The bow team had already started to set up their arrows, and the melee soldiers who had taken off their helmets and panted for breath were all ready again.The drummer stopped.The chaos army appeared, but the imperial army's camp fell silent. The scout's fast horse approached Peng Shilong. "how?" The scout was extremely agile, and before he could completely rein in his horse, he jumped off the saddle and ran to the Marshal. "The main force of the chaos army reached nine miles away, and then stopped. There was no movement on the flanks on both sides." Peng Shilong raised his eyebrows.Why did you stop?He quickly thought of two possibilities: one is fraud; the other is that he is tired from marching and needs to rest... "What do you think?" Peng Shilong asked the staff officers around him. "The thieves have come all the way, and they may have to regroup." Deputy General Staff Luo Dazu said eagerly. "We just happened to give him a head-on blow!" "I object." The young Yang Xun spoke very directly, and Luo Dazu showed an unhappy reaction. "Stopping may be a strategy to lure us to go deeper." "But the spies reported that there is nothing wrong with the two wings!" Luo Dazu protested. "I didn't see it, not not." Yang Xun's reply was sharp but hit the point. This remark is exactly what Peng Shilong wanted.It is better to let the enemy breathe for a while than to risk falling into a trap.Anyway, staying here is invincible no matter how you look at it. "Pass down the order: All armies stick to their positions and watch the enemy's movements before responding." Peng Shilong knew that waiting would make the sergeant uneasy and nervous.He instructed the drummers of the Chinese army commander to sound three orders, and the army responded immediately, raised their weapons and shouted three times, and the shouts resounded throughout the valley, boosting morale again. However, the enemy formation in the distance still did not move. "What is that?" Luo Dazu pointed forward with his whip. In the center of the chaos in the distance, a puff of smoke rose, and the surrounding flags were shaking, as if some ceremony was being held. But the opponent's vanguard has never been close. Peng Shilong was wondering.The scouts did not find any sign of the other party forming a camp, so today's confrontation is imperative.Although the delay of the war makes us uneasy, it will have a greater impact on the chaotic army who took the initiative... ——What tricks are you playing? ... There was the faint sound of gongs and drums in the wind, followed by a chorus of thousands of people.Of course, it is impossible to hear the libretto, but the round and subtle southern rhythm can still be discerned. It seems that some important ceremony is being held in the chaos. "Haha, are you praying for the protection of gods and ghosts before the battle?" Luo Dazu laughed. "It's too late!" The messenger of the forward army suddenly arrived to command the formation. "Marshal! We saw three envoys from the rebel army coming this way!" the orderly gasped. "I'm afraid there will be fraud!" Luo Dazu shouted. "It's just three cavalry, what can we do?" Peng Shilong said calmly.Our majestic army has twice as many troops as the enemy, if we dare not receive the envoys from the three cavalry, it will only boost the morale of the opponent. Despite what he said, Peng Shilong was still very cautious. He ordered thirty guards to build a moving wall in front and left and right with large shields. stop.Another group of crossbowmen with loaded arrows stood in front of the shield formation, ready to shoot at the incoming messengers. The envoys on the three horses did not dismount, but stopped only ten steps away from the forward line of the imperial army, and were only four or fifty steps away from Peng Shilong - of course, there were many tense men and horses in the middle. The one riding in the middle is a middle-aged officer wearing light armor. Judging from the material and accessories of the armor, the rank of the army is obviously not low, so he must be the leader of the envoy.The two riders on the left and right were tall and broad-shouldered strong men, none of the three had weapons, and only the rider on the right was holding a black banner with the family crests of the Fourteen Southern Domains woven all over it. For some reason, Peng Shilong felt that the officer looked familiar, but he couldn't recognize him because he was too far away. "All the vassals of our side are worried about state affairs all day long. Seeing the decline of the government, they know that it is caused by traitors; in order to clean up the king's side, they have no choice but to raise troops to serve the king..." The officer repeated the Nanfan's call for appeal as usual. "...Today we will be hunting in Luyeyuan with your teacher. The commander-in-chief of our army ordered the last general to come and greet Marshal Peng, in order to conform to the ancient practice of 'before the soldiers'." ——The so-called "hunting" is of course a euphemism for a battle. "The last general sent a message for our Marshal: I hope that Marshal Peng will withdraw his troops and give way to our army with the sake of the common people in mind; if he can repent and join us as the king of Qin, it will be even more fortunate." The voice of Peng Shilong can be clearly heard. This set of words was already expected.Peng Shilong didn't bother to respond in person, he just waved to Luo Dazu, who had the loudest voice. "You gathered troops to make chaos without authorization, how can you be kingly in your heart? How dare you beg to make way when you meet my majestic master? If you return your hometown as soon as possible, disarm and return to the land, the court can still punish you lightly! Go back!" Luo Dazu shouted triumphantly.The last abrupt sentence was of course added by himself.Peng Shilong couldn't help laughing when he heard this, but the other staff officers couldn't help laughing. This is of course the expected answer.The officer just smiled and shouted: "The last general has been away for a while, I can't imagine that there are only such vulgar people left among the soldiers of Beilu today!" Peng Shilong and Yang Xun both heard that there seemed to be a mystery in the words. Yang Xun immediately interjected: "What is the name of the commander-in-chief of your division? Our army has not heard of it yet!" The officer grinned. "Our army has been stationed for a long time just now, and it is the ceremony of taking the stage to pay homage to the commander. Please forgive me for the long delay!" Peng Shilong was stunned.It is a miracle that has never been heard in the ages to actually call on the commander-in-chief at the front of the battle. ——It must be strange to act so boldly just to keep the identity of the marshal a secret... He looked at the officer again through the gap in the shield formation.I did see him somewhere... Memories flashed through Peng Shilong's mind.suddenly stopped one day... ——It was the day... the day I was ordered by Eunuch Lun to receive the commander seal... Beneath Peng Shilong's battle armor, he was suddenly dripping with cold sweat. ——He is... Guantao! "My marshal's name is taboo, everyone has already heard it!" Guan Chang deliberately raised the volume so that the entire vanguard of the imperial army could hear: "Marshal Lu Yingfeng of 'Invincible Tiger General' is also!"