Cheng Yue hurriedly returned to the room, and Yu Jingyang was still half-lying on the kang drinking. Seeing Cheng Yue coming back, he said, "Why, you finished things so quickly?" It must be clean, and don't leave the handle. ”

Cheng Yue said: "No, I haven't had time to do that yet." Metropolitan Prison, reinforcements came from outside, I don't know who it is. ”

Yu Jingyang was taken aback, got up suddenly, and asked, "Can you see clearly?" Are reinforcements really coming? ”

Cheng Yue nodded: "It should be right." What a big Song flag, standing on the mountain in the distance. It's just that I can't see where the soldiers are. ”

Yu Jingyang got down from the kang and paced back and forth. After thinking for a while, he said, "Without further ado, you go and do what we discussed just now." Now that reinforcements have arrived, Yelu Chongyuan may retreat soon. If we don't get rid of people, reinforcements into the city are our handles! ”

Cheng Yue crossed his hands and promised, turned around sharply and walked out of the door.

In the Volcano Military City, Thirteen Lang asked Du Zhongxiao: "To be made, you really want to go to Tanglong Town tomorrow?" You are the boss, how can you be on the battlefield in person! ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "With the men and horses made up by Kaifeng Mansion, you rely on cavalry and more than 1,000 iron armor." Even though the Khitan is powerful, you can't keep me safe? The stakes are high for the first battle, and I should be there myself. Here, there is Liu Junzhu in charge of the Volcano Army, and the follow-up troops are arranged. Wait until all our people are here, and go to Tanglong Town to compete with Ye Jue Chongyuan! ”

Thirteen Lang said: "This battle will destroy the morale of the Khitan people!" I've been practicing in Suizhou for several years, and let's see if my iron armor can crush the Khitan ride! ”

Liu Ji on the side said: "To be made, do you want me to go to Tanglong Town?" Are you sitting here, taking on the artillery and infantry that follow? ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "I'm handsome, and I'm here to command the battle." You are the commander of the army, and you are the one who manages your soldiers. We all have our own responsibilities and do our own thing. If it was just to relieve the siege of Tanglong Town, 8,000 cavalry would actually be enough, but I was afraid that the Khitan would not retreat, so I had to go together with the whole army and fight with the Khitans. If the Khitans want to fight, we will fight a good battle. Whether our army can do it or not depends on this battle! ”

After speaking, Du Zhongxiao said to Li Fugui: "You are the quartermaster in the army, and before leaving, I have asked you to be appointed as the transfer envoy with the army, and the manpower and material resources in the army and the six states are all under your command." We must ensure that the soldiers fighting in the front are well fed, well-fed, well-fed, and well-supplied, and that the supply of military supplies is sufficient! If this is not done well, I will punish it severely! ”

Li Fugui said yes, thought for a while, and said: "We came in a hurry, and we have brought the necessary materials, but the carts and horses that transport the baggage are very scarce. Tanglong Town is more than 100 miles away from here, and it is more than 100 miles away from the Baode Army, so it is not easy to transport it to the front line. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Inform the six states to know the pass, and levy the civilian carts, horses, and mules for military use." In addition, the six states carried out the general method of transportation, and requisitioned manpower to transport materials. It is important to remember that they should remember clearly who and what they were recruited. After the war, the imperial court had to use this as a voucher to issue compensation, and the use of people's power could not become remnants. There are those who resolutely refuse to lend to the military, and the state military law engages in it! ”

Li Fugui nodded and said no more. The train transports troops, the time is too urgent, and many supplies are too late. The preparation made by the battalion and the army was to go south, but as a result, they went north, and the geography was different, and of course the materials prepared were also different. In particular, heavy artillery, carts, etc., were not prepared to be brought with them at that time. When they came, they could only bring more artillery, and there was a shortage of chariots and horses in the army.

The Volcano Army is the place where Du Zhongxiao has governed for several years, and it is also a trade route for foreign trade, with a lot of civilian carts and livestock, which is enough to supply the army. Du Zhongxiao's title of deputy envoy and commander of the soldiers and horses of the six states was brought for this reason.

After arranging a number of affairs, Du Zhongxiao went out, looked at the sky, and said to Thirteen Lang: "It's still early, let's cross the river." My tent is set up at the junction of the road to the east bank of the Yellow River, where the army will camp tonight! ”

Thirteen Lang sang a promise with his hands and walked quickly to gather the soldiers and horses.

In order to reach the city of Tanglong Town as quickly as possible, the cavalry was the first, and the men and horses were all there. The cavalry of the original battalion Tianxiang Army lacked a large number of horses due to the rarity of good horses. During training, it is common for several people to share a mount. This time, the three yas came forward, and all of them were completed, which was considered to be full.

The speed of the army could not be fast, and it was not until late at night that the whole army arrived at the place where Du Zhongxiao had set up the marshal tent. This is a crossing to the west bank of the Yellow River, because Tanglong Town is prosperous and has developed into a small town, and there are many families. Yelu Chongyuan's troops came to Tanglong Town, and the rangers used to plunder here, and many people fled. Especially for the wealthy, most of them go to empty houses.

A small courtyard on the edge of the town was selected as Du Zhongxiao's handsome tent. The master had long since fled, leaving only two servants to guard him.

Sitting down at the table, Du Zhongxiao drank a cup of tea and said to Thirteen Lang: "Is there any news about the rangers you sent to Tanglong Town during the day?" ”

Thirteen Lang said: "They have already sent people back, Yan Ranger has arrived not far from the Khitan army, and the Song Banner is planted on the mountain, and the city should have seen it." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Call them, I have something to ask." ”

After a while, two young soldiers came in and saluted Du Zhongxiao.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Today you arrived near Tanglong Town, what is the situation there?" Is the Khitan siege tight? Is it hard to defend the city? ”

The soldier crossed his hands and said: "Back to the big handsome, as the little ones can see, the Khitan siege is very tight, and they keep organizing people to attack the city." It's just that their cannons are not good, and they can't hit the city walls with the cannons on it. The city is very strong, the Khitans are only attached to ants, and the city is not too difficult to defend. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, and had a rough judgment of the situation in Tanglong Town. The siege of the city was very difficult without heavy weapons. At the time of the Beizhou Rebellion, the siege of the city was all the elite of the forbidden army, and the number was many times more than that of the rebel army in the city, but it could not be attacked for a long time. It wasn't until he carried the artillery that the city was broken in a few days. The Khitans were not good at attacking cities than the forbidden army, and it was not easy to break through Tanglong Town with only manpower.

asked about the arrangement of the Khitan people in Tanglong Town, whether he had encountered the Khitan rangers, and Du Zhongxiao had a rough idea in his heart.

The terrain of Tanglong Town is dangerous, and the city is built on high ground, which is condescending and difficult to attack. The surrounding flat land is very small, and tens of thousands of troops cannot be fully deployed at all, and the Khitan military camp occupies almost all the flat land, stretching for miles in the valley.

After listening to the soldiers' words, Du Zhongxiao said to Shisanlang: "The Khitans are so arranged, if we have artillery to occupy the mountain beams and hold the back road of the valley, we can't annihilate them completely." Now the artillery has not arrived, so they have to use cavalry to confront them head-on. Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses cannot be expected to defeat the enemy army in a battle, and should be carefully prepared in case of accidents. Tomorrow, you will dispatch elite men and horses, lead the army with strong generals, and kill Tanglong Town first. With my handwritten military letters, I went in to take over the defense of Tanglong Town and appease the people. ”

Shisanro said, "Why do you want to do this? We only need to defeat the Khitans outside, and the siege of the city will be freed. Now it seems that although the Khitans are attacking tightly, the city is not urgent, and the defenders should still have spare strength. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The command of the enemy must be unified, and the military orders are strictly prevented from accidents!" Until now, when reinforcements arrive, it is a great achievement to defend the generals. The reason why I let the newcomer replace him is not that I think he is not good enough, but that I am not familiar with him. Pai, this must be made clear - forget my own orders. ”