Nine thousand years old [rebirth]

When the shouts of killing in Wuchang Prefecture were loud, He Shan and Ying Hongxue had already led troops into Wangtuo Ridge and arrived at the foot of Phoenix Mountain.

Fenghuang Mountain is the main peak of Wangtuoling Mountain. It is high and steep, facing water in the east and north, and cliffs in the west. Only the road up the mountain is in the south.

At this time, the accompanying Dongchang spies came in handy. When the spies were investigating the movement of Phoenix Mountain, they found an abandoned plank road in the back mountain. The plank road was built on a steep mountain wall, only three people wide, but the end point was straight The back mountain of Phoenix Mountain.And there is only one tower in the back mountain, and only one bandit guards it. Because no one walks along the plank road in the back mountain for a long time, the bandit guarding the plank road is not interested.

Ying Hongxue divided the 3000 people into six teams, and first sent an elite team of about ten to scout the way.

The elite quietly went up the plank road, and saw a vague figure on the tower, which was obviously a watch guard.Not far away, there are several rows of large iron pots supported by logs. The iron pots are full of logs and are burning blazingly.A dozen or so bandits sat around the iron pot, guessing fist and drinking. Although their posture was casual, their weapons were all within easy reach.A little farther away, a large gong for warning and many bamboo rafts with sharpened heads were placed, obviously taking complete precautions.

The situation was quite different from what the pathfinding spies described.

This small group of people did not startle the enemy, but quietly turned back the same way, and reported the situation in the back mountain in detail: "There are people watching on the tower, and they will be discovered as soon as they appear. There are more guards than expected."

Ying Hongxue frowned, and confirmed with Dongchang's spies again: "Are you sure there was only one guard in the back mountain?"

The spies didn't understand the changes, but they still said firmly: "The guards at the back mountain were never so tight before!"

Ying Hongxue thought for a moment, then winked at He Shan.He Shan had a tacit understanding with her for a long time, and ordered the others to wait on the spot, and he followed up.

After making sure that no one else could hear the conversation, Ying Hongxue said in a low voice: "The situation is not right. I suspect that there are internal agents in the prefecture. Our plan to attack Phoenix Mountain at night has leaked."

The people under Xue Shu are trustworthy, and it is impossible to provide wrong information.Then the defense of the back mountain suddenly became tighter, obviously the bandits got the news in advance.

He Shan subconsciously glanced at the people behind him, wondering: "Then what should we do? Neiying doesn't know whether he is in Fucheng or in the army, and he can't find it for a while."

Ying Hongxue thought for a moment and said, "Just in case, let's take our own people up first, and let the rest stay behind and obey orders."

If there is an internal response, it is likely to be among the officers and soldiers in Fucheng, and the troops they brought from Beijing are reliable.

"Later, I'll deal with the 'eyes' secretly. If you lead people to dive up, there will only be a dozen or so guards. As long as you move fast enough, you won't be noticed." Ying Hongxue touched the light crossbow on his back.

She is very accurate in archery, but because she is not strong enough to pull a heavy bow, she seldom uses bows and arrows on weekdays.Later, when Xue Shu found out about it, he bought a batch of lightweight crossbows for her from the Military Bureau.These crossbows are light and easy to carry, with a long range and a high head, she uses them very handily.

This time she went south with her, so she specially brought this crossbow.

After the two discussed it, they returned to the team and ordered 100 people to go up the mountain first, and the rest stood by.

At this time, when the night was deepest, He Shan was in the vanguard, followed by Ying Hongxue.Everyone lined up in a long line, leaning sideways against the mountain wall and going up.

When they reached the last section of the plank road, He Shan made a gesture, and everyone stopped.

Ying Hongxue and He Shan quickly exchanged positions, and when they reached the front, they squinted slightly to look at the guards on the tower.

There were no lights on the tower, but the blazing flames below were enough to illuminate it.Holding a crossbow, Ying Hongxue lay in ambush in the darkness, patiently looking for an opportunity.

It must be killed with one blow, and there must be no too much movement.

The flashing arrow slowly aimed at the back of the guard's neck, and the moment the guard turned around, Ying Hongxue pulled the trigger!

The arrow broke through the air and shot out quickly, and passed through the guard's neck in the next moment.

The vague figure in the darkness fell softly, and the slight movement was covered by the noisy fist punching below, and no one noticed that the guard of the tower was dead.

Ying Hongxue quickly exchanged places with He Shan again, He Shan made a gesture, and then quietly climbed up under the cover of the shadow.

Behind him, one by one, soldiers climbed the hill, hiding in bushes or shadows.

Ying Hongxue's legs and feet are inconvenient, and she is not good at close combat, so she still hides in a blind corner of the plank road, waiting for an opportunity to shoot cold arrows.

100 people went up the mountain silently, He Shan made a gesture, and everyone began to surround the bandits who knew nothing about it.

Although these bandits are defensive, they are not vigilant enough.

By the time he realized it, He Shan had led people to harvest half the lives of the people.Those who reacted wanted to ring the gong as a warning, but before they got close, they were killed by Ying Hongxue who was lying in ambush.

But in an instant, more than a dozen bandits were all eliminated.

He Shan walked to the edge of the cliff, leaned over and pulled Ying Hongxue up, and whistled again, ordering the people on standby to immediately climb up.

After the men and horses were assembled, He Shan sent people to explore the way in the direction of the main village.

The situation of the main village is similar to that of the back mountain, and the defenses are very tight, but there is one difference, that is, there seem to be not many people on the mountain.

At least compared to the manpower they brought, it is much less.

With many versus few, there is nothing to hesitate.After confirming that it was not an empty city plan by the other party, He Shan led people to attack.As expected, the bandits had taken precautions, but He Shan was brave, and the people in the village had gone somewhere, and the manpower was less than five hundred. He Shan captured Hualin Village with a crushing advantage.

He ordered people to go to the mountainside to check the looted food, and He Shan personally interrogated the captured small leaders and asked the whereabouts of the other people in Hualin Village.

It's just that the little leader who stayed behind couldn't explain the situation clearly. After all, the village owner took people down the mountain and said he wanted to do something big.

He Shan spat: "Where are these bums going to harm?"

Ying Hongxue thought a little more than he did, a horrifying guess emerged and was pushed down again.She summoned the accompanying Dongchang spies: "Rush back to Fucheng immediately to check the situation, be careful, and turn back immediately if you find something wrong."

The spy heard what she meant, and his face was horrified.

He Shan frowned and said, "Could it be that these bandits still dare to attack Fucheng?"

Ying Hongxue shook her head: "I hope it's me who is paranoid."

Yin Chengyu pretended to be Zhou Zhiling's long-term follower, sitting on the shaft of the car and driving, his cotton-padded collar turned up to block most of his face.Xue Shu and the other five people pretended to be family guards and accompanied them on horseback, all the way to the east gate.

When the bandits guarding the city saw the carriage approaching, they immediately drew their swords and stopped.

Zhou Zhiling lifted the curtain of the car, showed his face, took out Fan Hu's token as a signal, and said to the burly man blocking the way: "Little brother Jiang, the owner of Fanzhai asked me to go out of the city for some urgent matters, please open the door." .”

The "little brother Jiang" he called was Fan Hu's adoptive son, he was trusted by Fan Hu very much, and he was also familiar with Zhou Zhiling.

The other party was not aware of the conspiracy between Fan Hu and Zhou Zhiling, but he often saw Zhou Zhiling and Fan Hu discussing matters in the village, so he didn't become suspicious, he only set off the carriage to check the inside, and ordered someone to open the city gate. Through the small door on the side, let the carriage pass.

A group of people left Fucheng smoothly, and the sky outside had already turned pale.

After ten miles away from Fucheng, everyone abandoned the carriage, unloaded the horses pulling the cart, and one person, one horse, hurried to Phoenix Mountain.

Coincidentally, halfway through the trip, the group collided with the Dongchang spies who were rushing to Fucheng.

The other party was stunned when they saw Yin Chengyu and his party, and immediately dismounted to salute, then remembered Ying Hongxue's reminder, and said, "Did something happen to Fucheng? After we captured Phoenix Mountain, we found that there were only four to five hundred people left in the village, and the rest disappeared. "

Xue Shu nodded, but didn't say much, just said: "Lead the way ahead, go to Phoenix Mountain first and then discuss."

When a few people arrived at Phoenix Mountain, the sky was already bright.

Ying Hongxue was counting the food hidden in the grotto, and when he heard the news, he came out and saw the dusty people, and his expression sank: "It really is a plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain?"

Yin Chengyu nodded slightly, then looked at Zhou Zhiling and said, "Where do the private soldiers usually stay? Is there any way to contact each other urgently?"

Zhou Zhiling pointed to the grotto where the grain was stored and said: "It's inside this grotto. This grotto was formed naturally and was expanded later. It doesn't look deep from the outside, but in fact there are many caves and exits winding around inside. Those private Soldiers hide in it."

"As for the method of communication... there was an emergency communication method in the past. If the people in the village go out to 'catch sheep' and something happens on the mountain, three red fireworks will be displayed as a warning, and the people in the village who are going out will hurry up. Come back." He hesitated for a while before saying, "But Caomin has never seen it used, and I'm not sure if it will be useful."

Yin Chengyu said: "It's okay to give it a try, but we have to wait for news from Yuezhou."

If you can set off fireworks to lure people back, it will save a lot of effort.Even if it doesn't work, there will always be a battle to be fought when Yuezhou Guard's reinforcements arrive and they want to take it back to Fucheng.

The troops of Yuezhou Wei arrived at dusk.

After seeing the prince's seal letter, the commander of Yuezhou Guard personally ordered five thousand soldiers to come to help.

After Yin Chengyu got the news, he ordered three red fireworks to be set off.

It was late at this time, and the twilight was low, and three red fireworks exploded over the Phoenix Mountain at the same time, eye-catching.

The bandits on Fucheng's side saw the red dot, and immediately lost ground.

They have been searching house to house for a day and a night, not only did not find the person the village chief was looking for, but even lost a lot of manpower—after the officers and soldiers of the government office realized it, they began to resist.

In the melee, both sides suffered injuries.

Although these soldiers named bandits are actually private soldiers, although they have an advantage in numbers and are more brave in combat than the scattered bandits, they are still a group of mobs who have not experienced real swords and guns.

In the beginning, there were small bosses directing them, and they could still obey orders.But after Fan Hu suddenly lost contact, the little boss also lost his position, anxious to find Fan Hu's whereabouts everywhere, and didn't care about the people under his command.These soldiers lost their morale and began to retreat.

Now that the fireworks for the retreat were lit, morale plummeted.

Fan Hu's adopted son, Jiang Kang, and several other leaders gathered to discuss matters and discuss whether to retreat or stay.

Jiang Kang didn't want to go against Fan Hu's wishes, and still wanted to continue looking for someone.Moreover, he has never found the whereabouts of his adoptive father, so he is also a little worried about what happened.

But the rest of the people were more worried about the situation in the village.Phoenix Mountain is their old nest, if something happens to the stockade, wouldn't the food they plundered so hard and years of business be in vain?

The final result was that the minority obeyed the majority and withdrew their troops back to Phoenix Mountain.

Thousands of bandits came and went like locusts in a hurry, leaving only a mess in the city.

"Report! The bandits have already withdrawn from Fucheng, and are about to reach the foot of Phoenix Mountain." The scouts who went to investigate the enemy's situation rushed to report.

"Has the commander laid an ambush over there?" Yin Chengyu asked.

"The ambush is all set, and when these bandits go up the mountain, they are ready to make dumplings."

The soldiers and horses of Yuezhou Guard did not go up the mountain, but ambushed at the foot of the mountain and halfway up the mountain.The men and horses on the mountain have to cooperate to sing an empty city plan, and wait for the bandits to go up the mountain, attacking them back and forth and annihilating them.

This battle He Shan and Xue Shu lead the army.

Yin Chengyu and Ying Hongxue sat in the middle hall waiting for the news.

It took two hours from the start to the end of the fight.

Except for Fan Hu Yizi who fought bravely and refused to surrender, the rest of the defeated generals gave up their swords and surrendered after seeing that the situation was over.

When all the dust settled, it was already midnight.

The village is brightly lit, and many things need people to do, such as arranging prisoners, escorting food, and even killing other bandits in Wangtuoling in one go.

He Shan led the troops to other hills to suppress the bandits, the commander of the Yuezhou Guard led the troops to escort the food back to Fucheng, and Ying Hongxue led the people to count the belongings and the number of prisoners in the village.

By the time Yin Chengyu settled down one by one, it was already dawn again.

There was a heavy exhaustion on his face, even though cups of strong tea were poured into his throat, he was still very tired.When Xue Shu came to report after interrogating several bosses, he saw the thick black and blue under his eyes.He frowned, and changed his words when he got to his lips: "When Caichen was inspecting the village, he found a hot spring in the back mountain. Your Highness is just recovering from a serious illness. It's not advisable to work too hard. Why don't you go to the hot spring to relieve fatigue?"

Yin Chengyu is not a person who values ​​enjoyment, but he is indeed very tired right now, and coupled with the severe cold weather, his body is also chilling intermittently.He hesitated for a moment, thinking that everything was almost arranged, he nodded.

Xue Shu immediately ordered people to prepare a screen to block the wind and a set of clothes and utensils, and went to the hot spring in the back mountain.

The hot spring in the back mountain is a wild mountain spring, which has not been excavated, and the pool formed by the natural washing of the spring water is only four or five feet wide, which is not spacious, but in this severe winter, there are unmelted snow everywhere. It is also great to have such a steaming hot spring to warm up and relieve fatigue.

Xue Shu asked people to place screens around the hot spring to block the cold wind, and put tea and food on trays to warm them in the pool water.After that, he retreated from the servants who were waiting on him, and then said slowly: "Your Majesty is waiting for you to take a bath."