9. The best defense is offense

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Li Zixiao touched the beard that had just grown on his chin, groaned slightly, and then glanced at his generals and smiled at them: "It seems that in order to exterminate the two rebel armies of Li and Zhang in Shaanxi and Hubei, the imperial court has drawn a lot of troops from all over the country.

The imperial court can't spare too many troops to deal with us for the time being, which is also a good thing for you. ”

Originally, when the generals heard that after the officers and soldiers launched the second encirclement and suppression against them, they were somewhat nervous, for fear that the government would send too many officers and soldiers, and they would be unable to cope with them.

After listening to Han Tong and Li Zixiao's words, they all relaxed suddenly.

It sounds like there are 5,000 officials and soldiers in Kaifeng, such a big imaginary number, but judging from these people's understanding of those government masters.

Among the 5,000 people who came from Kaifeng, the number of real officers and soldiers was about 2,000 at most.

Some of them belong to the Weisuo Army, and the rest are a rabble composed of some village warriors, and their combat effectiveness is definitely not much better.

Don't look at the White Dragon Army's current strength is not as large as theirs, but if it is assembled, it can at least gather 3,800 combat power.

And these 3,800 people can be said to basically belong to the soldiers, but except for the 800 people led by Liu Chongsan's team deployed by Li Zixiao in Zhouzhuang, plus the 1,000 men and horses who need to stay in the White Snake Village and the White Tiger Village.

Therefore, as long as Li Zixiao gathers his troops at the moment, except for the three town defenders, the mobile troops he can call on hand are actually only 2,000 troops.

But don't look at five thousand versus two thousand, the government has an advantage in numbers, but in fact, the White Dragon Army will not scare them at all.

Because they are confident that after such a long period of rigorous training, the combat effectiveness of the White Dragon Army's side will definitely be much stronger than that of the official army.

This is also the reason why the generals immediately relaxed after hearing Han Tong's news.

"Report! The scouts returning from the south had information returned. At this time, a White Dragon Army soldier shouted loudly outside.

Then, I saw a white dragon army scout dressed in military uniform, running in from outside, kneeling on one knee and saluting Li Zixiao, and then shouted loudly: "Qi Yu is in charge, his subordinates have just rushed back from the north of Fengyang Mansion, and there is important information to report." ”

"Say."

"Yes, today our team found a large number of officers and soldiers coming on the official road north of Fengyang Mansion to our place, with at least 10,000 people, and it should be the officers and soldiers sent by Fengyang to encircle and suppress us.

Although these officers and soldiers are still dressed in tatters, they are all real officers and soldiers, and there are no villagers mixed in with them, and they are going north at this time.

Along the way, we have fought several waves with the sentinels sent by the imperial army, and the other party's riding skills are average, but the number is large.

In a few encounters, our team did not lose the wind, successfully found out the information, and then immediately returned to the cottage to report, and the rest of the brothers were still staring at it in the south.

At present, this imperial army is stationed in Suzhou, and it is estimated that it will arrive in Yongcheng County within a day, and the big boss is also requested to make arrangements as soon as possible. ”

After Li Zixiao and the generals next to him listened to the scout's report, they were also blindsided, although they also thought that Fengyang Mansion would send troops to echo the encirclement and suppression of Kaifeng Mansion.

However, they always thought that the encirclement and suppression of the officers and soldiers of the imperial court this time should be based on Kaifeng Mansion, and Fengyang Mansion should at most shoot a small number of soldiers and horses to assist.

However, this important information sent back by this scout peaked their previous thoughts, 10,000 court officers and soldiers, this is a very powerful force.

"Very good, you are doing well, go down and have a good rest, I will immediately send someone to support the southern scout brothers." Li Zixiao tried his best to keep himself calm and said to the scout who had returned to him.

"Xie Da is in charge, and his subordinates retire."

"Han Tong, send another team of scouts to the south, I want to know every move of this imperial army from Fengyang.

In addition, immediately send a message to the secret outpost we sent to Fengyang to lurk before, so that they can find out the details of this army, who is in command and other information to Lao Tzu.

And then send it back overnight, even if it is to make up for it, if this happens next time, then they don't have to come back.

Lao Tzu arranged for them not to eat rice, the officers and soldiers of Fengyang Mansion have gone to Suzhou, and they haven't even sent back the news, what does a group of waste Lao Tzu want them to do. ”

Li Zixiao angrily patted the armrest of the seat and said angrily.

"Yes, my subordinates will do it." Han Tong was really angry when he saw Li Zixiao, and he didn't dare to delay, so he immediately went down to deploy in person.

And the other generals saw Li Zixiao's face full of anger at this time, and they were also silent one by one, and did not dare to take the initiative to speak.

"Big boss, I didn't expect Fengyang to send tens of thousands of officers and soldiers to encircle and suppress us this time, so the situation is different from what we thought before, and it has become grim.

Then the anti-encirclement and suppression plan we formulated before is estimated to be no longer usable, and a new response plan needs to be formulated. ”

"Well, what do you think, hurry up and tell me, there is not much time left for us to deploy." Li Zixiao said with a gloomy face.

He never thought that this time, in order to exterminate him, the imperial court would send two armies totaling more than 15,000 people at one time, and he really could afford him.

"The soldiers will block the water and cover the earth, afraid of a bird, but this time the court officers and soldiers are a little too much.

I think we still rely on our cottage, and the solid wall that has just been built is slowly depleting with these officers and soldiers.

Even if there are more than 10,000 of them, I believe that with the strength of our White Dragon Army, we will definitely be able to hold the cottage, and when the time comes, if we can't attack it for a long time, the officers and soldiers will naturally retreat. ”

Zhou Dazhu said indignantly.

"No." Zhou Dazhu just finished speaking, and Luo Chao also spoke.

"At present, in Yongcheng County, which we control, spring sowing has just ended, and Mr. Qian is still busy organizing the people to repair canals.

If we keep sticking to the cottage, it is estimated that with the virtue of those officers and soldiers, we will go to the surrounding people for trouble.

This battle should not be delayed for a long time, otherwise, it will cause great damage to our place, and the common people will not be able to withstand the toss of their officials and soldiers.

In my opinion, the best defense is to attack, and I don't think we can defend the village this time, and we shouldn't wait for them to come to our land to fight again.

Let's just strike first, take the initiative to meet Fengyang in the direction of Fengyang, quickly and suitable places, give them an ambush first, hit their morale, and then fight a decisive battle with them.

We must not allow this imperial army to enter Yongcheng County, and the province has made Mr. Qian busy so that he has organized the people, and all the food planted has been wasted, what do you think? ”

As soon as the generals heard Luo Chao's words, they all nodded again and again, they finally won this territory, and they had just started to run it, so they didn't want the officials and soldiers to come here to cause trouble.

"I agree with what Brother Luo Chao said, it is a good idea to defend against the enemy, but in this way, it will be difficult to win a decisive battle with this tens of thousands of imperial army in the direction of Fengyang."

After listening to Luo Chao's speech, Qi Wei also agreed, but also expressed his worries.

"Big boss, you still give orders, we all listen to you, we will definitely win this battle." An officer of the White Dragon Army said.

After Li Zixiao listened to the discussion of his subordinates, he also made a decision in his heart, to be honest, he was more inclined to what Luo Chao said.

So he nodded and said, "Since this is the case, then I will give an order, and Old Master Wei will obey the order." ”

Old Master Wei didn't expect that the first person Li Zixiao called turned out to be him, so he immediately stood up and said loudly: "The big boss listens to orders." ”

"This time, I will personally lead the army to fight, and you will temporarily be responsible for the defense of the cottage, and I will leave three hundred soldiers for you, and you must defend the cottage tightly, and there must be no accidents."

Li Zixiao faced Old Master Wei and commanded.

"The old man will not disappoint the big boss."

"Liu Zhong listens to orders."

"The subordinates are here!"

"Order you to return to Zhouzhuang immediately, be sure to defend Zhouzhuang, the officers and soldiers from Kaifeng, if they want to attack our White Snake Village, they will definitely take you first.

The order I gave you is to firmly anchor Lao Tzu in Zhouzhuang like a nail, and not to let the officers and soldiers of Kaifeng Road take a step forward, drag them down, and buy time for the decisive battle between us and the officers and soldiers in the direction of Fengyang.

Liu Chong, you only have those 800 people in your hands, I won't send you another soldier or soldier, do you have the confidence to hold Zhouzhuang? ”

Li Zixiao walked up to Liu Chong, looked at him with a solemn face, and asked in a deep voice.

"Don't worry, as long as I Liu Chong still has a breath of air, I will never let the officers and soldiers pass through Zhouzhuang." Liu Chong raised his chest and raised his head and shouted loudly.

"Okay, I trust you."

"Zhou Dazhu, Luo Chao, Qi Wei, Li Tianba, Dong Zhuang, listen to orders."

"The subordinates are here!"

"I order you to gather your men and horses as soon as you go back, prepare for battle, and after an hour, all assemble in the school field."

"Command."

The generals immediately responded with a bang, and then turned around and walked out of the council chamber, each returning to his camp, and began to greet his men, busy preparing for battle.

At this time, Han Tong came back and said to Li Zixiao: "Big boss, I have already sent a small team of scouts to the south. ”

Li Zixiao said to Han Tong: "Well, you have to work hard for your scout team in the past two days, and send people to keep an eye on the movements of the officers and troops in Fengyang."

As soon as they start to send troops, we will report back the news, and we will choose the right time to attack before they arrive, too early or too late. ”

Han Tong said seriously: "Don't worry, the big boss has sent a team of more than 30 people in the direction of Fengyang, and they have been equipped with two horses, and they will be rewarded with Pegasus as soon as there is news."

I'll be there myself later to make sure you get the most accurate enemy dynamics for the army. ”

Li Zixiao patted Han Tong's shoulder with a smile and said, "Well, be careful, your scout team is the eyes of our White Dragon Army, and without you, we will be blind." ”

Han Tong also smiled after hearing this, and said, "It will definitely be, big boss, then I will go." ”

With the news of the second encirclement and suppression of the official army spreading, all the officers and soldiers of the White Dragon Army in the entire White Snake Village were eager to get busy.

……………………………………………………………………………………

At this time, the news that tens of thousands of officers and soldiers were sent by the official army to come to suppress the White Dragon Army again also spread.

Soon, this news spread among the people of Yongcheng County and spread throughout the boundaries of Yongcheng County, and the people everywhere in Yongcheng County were in an uproar.

Some people are happy and some are worried, and most of the happy people are the officials in Yongcheng County, and those rich families, they have gone out to congratulate each other.

These people all thought that this time the White Dragon Army had decided to finish, and they didn't have to live in fear all day long.

As long as the officers and soldiers arrive, those White Dragon Troops will not be happy in the area of Yongcheng County, but in the face of the encirclement and suppression of a large number of officers and troops, they will definitely be wiped out.

At the worst, it will at least be like those poles in the past, being pushed into the mountains by the officials and soldiers to hide, and become a lost dog.

When the time comes, the tiger with its teeth and claws pulled out will have nothing to fear.

After all, this time, the encirclement and suppression army sent by the imperial court reached more than 15,000 people, which was not comparable to the 800 officers and soldiers of the Suiyang Guard Station last time.

The big families in Yongcheng County were all happy, they always felt that the White Dragon Army was active here.

To them, it is like a vicious tiger lying on the side of the couch, which will tear them up and swallow them at any time.

In the past few months, they have had enough of these days of daily fear.

Even if the White Dragon Army didn't know what to think, it never came to attack them.

But they still think that the government had better quickly exterminate this gang of thieves and make it safer.

Therefore, these people representing the landlords and wealthy families were very excited after hearing that the Kaifeng and Fengyang governments had sent troops to suppress the White Dragon Army.

Many landlords in the county town even rushed to the county government to donate money and materials, those who had money and some people were very positive, and I didn't see them so generous on weekdays.

Of course, the happiest ones are the largest landlords and wealthy families in Yongcheng County, the Cai family and the Liu family.

It is necessary to help the government to exterminate the White Dragon Army as soon as possible, and at the worst of all, to drive them away from the boundary of Yongcheng County.

And the mood of these landlords and wealthy households in the county is completely different from that of more than 100,000 ordinary people outside Yongcheng County who have just completed spring ploughing.

Because of the appearance of the White Dragon Army, they had their own fields for the first time, which allowed them to cultivate.

The people were thinking that this day was finally a little hopeful in the future, so news came that the government had sent a large army to suppress the White Dragon Army.

So, for a while, the people here began to be a little panicked.

Because these ordinary people also understand that the government will never recognize the legitimacy of the land they have now received from the White Dragon Army.

Once the White Dragon Army is exterminated by the government, even if it is driven away, their land that has just been planted with grain will be immediately confiscated by the government.

It should belong to the rich family or the rich man, even if it is a borderless land, it is impossible to leave it to them, and the government must be included in the government according to the rules and become official land.

Ordinary people who understand a little bit of things can easily understand this simple truth.

In fact, all their interests are now tied to the White Dragon Army, and they are both prosperous and lossless.

If the White Dragon Army is finished, they will still have to live their poor life as before.

At that time, those who should wander continue to wander, and if they should starve to death, even if their lives are good, they will survive for a while.

If you don't know it, they will be liquidated by the government and those rich people, and they will either be killed by the officials and soldiers, or they will be arrested and put in prison and sentenced to be convicted of gangsters.

Therefore, as soon as the news spread, these ordinary people in Zhuangbao all over Yongcheng County panicked as if the camp had been bombed, and they ran to find the temporary fort commander who managed them to inquire about the news.