Chapter 334: Night Attack on the Company Camp

Chapter 334: Night Attack on the Company Camp

Chapter 334: Night Attack on the Company Camp
But what Baohui did not know was that their every move was being reported to Chenliu County by scouts on the north bank of the Yellow River.

Xiao Xia led an army of 50,000 to station in Chenliu County, patiently waiting for an opportunity.

In the commander's tent, Xiao Xia pointed at the map and said to Zhou Fashang, "I will give General Zhou 10,000 troops. You will cross the Yellow River from Suanzao County. On the one hand, you will seize Liyang Warehouse. On the other hand, you will protect the floating bridge on the other side of Baima County from being burned by the enemy. But the key is to protect Liyang Warehouse. What do you think, General?"

Zhou Fashang pondered for a moment and said, "Is Chief Xiao planning to wait until all the enemy troops have crossed the river before taking action?"

Xiao Xia nodded, "Exactly!"

Zhou Fashang said: "Why don't I make a suggestion? I will first protect the bridge, and after the general's army crosses the river, I will seize Liyang Warehouse. I think we can get things done by concentrating our forces!"

Xiao Xia thought about it and said, "This is also possible!"

Xiao Xia immediately divided his troops into two groups. Zhou Fashang led 10,000 infantrymen north to the Yellow River wharf in Suanzao County. Five hundred large ships of the Liangzhou General Administration Office had already entered the Yellow River from Biankou in Xingze County and turned east to Suanzao County.

Xiao Xia himself led an army of 40,000 into Dongjun and attacked Baima County directly.

At this time, Gao Zhu was leading an army of 150,000 across the Yellow River in a mighty procession, with flags flying, spears shining, and the troops were overwhelming and boundless.

Among them, only 20,000 troops had been trained for just two months, and the rest were new recruits who had not received any training. They were just slightly reorganized and then began to cross the river and head south.

Gao Zhu did not intend to fight with the Sui army. He was just putting on an act for the King of Han, Yang Liang. As long as he crossed the Yellow River, he would turn east and head towards Shandong area, which was the base of Northern Qi. They were planning to establish a new dynasty in Qi County.

The National Protection Association was of course also keeping an eye on Xiao Xia's whereabouts. The latest news they received was that Xiao Xia was leading his troops at Hulao Pass to meet the troops withdrawing from Luoyang and was temporarily too busy to take care of them.

Gao Zhu must seize this opportunity.

In addition to the army of more than 100,000, there were also tens of thousands of carts carrying food following behind. There was too much food in the Liyang Warehouse, so they could only take a very small part of it. They could not do something as outrageous as burning down the Liyang Warehouse.

The army had been marching for three days and three nights and was gradually coming to an end. In the wilderness east of Baima County, large white tents stretched for more than twenty miles, with more than ten thousand of them. With the last twenty thousand people left, the army would be gone. What remained were tens of thousands of carts, which would take at least two days of march.

At night, Shan Xiongxin walked into the central army tent, bowed and said to Gao Zhu: "Master, we have stayed in Baima County for too long. I am afraid that danger is coming. I suggest that the main force leave immediately and leave a part of the army to meet the grain convoy."

"Danger?"

Gao Zhu snorted, "You'd better think it over before you speak. Who is in danger? Is it the hundreds of thousands of troops or the tens of thousands of soldiers?"

"Master, our army is untrained and is almost a pile of loose sand. Once an army attacks, they will not be able to resist at all and will surely be defeated in one battle. I am very worried and suggest that you lead the army to Qi County immediately."

"General Shan, please don't exaggerate. No army dares to attack an army of more than 100,000. It's like a hyena. No matter how fierce it is, it won't provoke an elephant. Do you know what an elephant looks like?"

"I know!"

"Since you know what's going on, what are you still worried about? How many troops does Xiao Xia have? Liangzhou has 20,000 soldiers! Even if he receives 10,000 troops from Luoyang, he only has 30,000 troops. How dare he challenge an army of 150,000? Besides, how does he know that our army is undertrained? If we don't tell him, who will know?"

No matter how Shan Xiongxin persuaded him, Gao Zhu refused to listen. He insisted on waiting until all the troops arrived before retreating together.

Helplessly, Shan Xiongxin had to take his leave and leave the tent. When he walked outside the tent, he happened to meet another general, Zhai Rang, who was a native of Dongjun and had been recruited by Baoguo Association last year.

"I heard that the general persuaded the leader to lead the army to evacuate Bai Ma. What was the result?"

Shan Xiongxin shook his head. "You are stubborn and don't listen to the general's advice at all! You also asked how the other party knew that hundreds of thousands of troops were not trained. You just recruited hundreds of thousands of troops, how could others not know? I have nothing to say."

Zhai Rang thought for a moment and said, "If the leader really doesn't want to listen, there is nothing we can do. Our own army should be careful. It is best to wear armor and shoes to sleep at night. In case of a night attack, we can escape in time."

Shan Xiongxin nodded, "That's what I was thinking. I can't control the leader, but I can control myself!"

...........
Night gradually fell, and at the first watch, ten cavalry units appeared two miles away from the army, within an area of ​​more than ten miles wide. Each unit had 500 people, and each person carried ten small torches.

Behind the cavalry was a main force of 35,000 troops, led by Xiao Xia himself.

Xiao Xia didn't expect that the other side actually built a camp of more than ten miles, and it was a summer tent, which was the easiest to burn. This shows that the decision-makers of the other side had no combat experience at all, and they didn't even have the slightest awareness of fire prevention. It's no wonder. It's been nearly forty years since the fall of Northern Qi. The former generals have long died, and the current high-level members of the National Protection Association are all new generations.

Even if Shan Xiongxin, Zhai Rang and others were just local tyrants, at most they were slightly better than the Baohui Association, but not much better?

Xiao Xia estimated that the National Security Council troops were already fast asleep, so he immediately ordered, "Fire the rockets!"

The soldiers lit the rockets and shot them into the sky together.

Dozens of rockets flew into the sky. This was the signal. Ten cavalry units started at the same time and rushed towards the camp together.

The Baoguo army also deployed two layers of scouts one mile away and three hundred steps away, but the Sui army was a fast cavalry, and when the camp bell rang, the cavalry would also arrive.

The cavalry galloped at lightning speed, broke through two checkpoints, and were getting closer and closer to the camp. At this time, an urgent alarm bell rang in the camp.

"Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!"

More than a dozen alarm bells rang one after another, and the Sui cavalry rushed out of the camp at the same time, throwing lit torches into the enemy camp.

The big tent was immediately set on fire, and fires started everywhere. The night wind was strong on the banks of the Yellow River. Once a fire started, it would spread rapidly with the help of the wind.

The sleeping soldiers were awakened one after another, and felt a raging fire and thick smoke in the tent. They were so scared that they got up and ran out of the tent without even having time to put on their shoes. Countless soldiers ran out of the tent barefoot, wearing only underwear.

The military camp, which was nearly 20 miles long, was filled with raging fire and billowing smoke. The soldiers were crying and shouting, and were scrambling to escape from the camp.

At this time, Xiao Xia led the main force to attack. The soldiers were in chaos. Most of them had almost no weapons. Even if they had weapons, they were so scared that they knelt down and surrendered.

Xiao Xia was patrolling the battle situation outside the camp with more than a thousand soldiers when he suddenly saw a barefoot young general surrounded by hundreds of Sui soldiers. The general grabbed a spear and waved it in the wind and rain, and hundreds of people could not get close to him.

"What a martial art!"

Xiao Xia secretly praised in his heart, urged his horse forward, and shouted: "Stop!"

Hundreds of soldiers stopped attacking. Xiao Xia shouted to the young general, "Do you think our soldiers can't deal with you? I just ordered them not to use bows and crossbows!"

"Archers, get ready!" Xiao Xia shouted.

Hundreds of crossbows were raised and aimed at the young general.

The young general's face turned pale and he shouted, "Just shoot me!"

Xiao Xia asked: "Have you committed any unforgivable crime?"

The young general shook his head and said, "I have never killed any civilians, nor have I ever bullied any women!"

"Then why don't you surrender?" Xiao Xia was puzzled.

The young general glanced at Xiao Xia, lowered his head and said, "I don't want to be pinned to the ground and tied up. I would rather die than be humiliated!"

This was a tough young man. Xiao Xia saw that he was tall, with handsome and heroic features, and was at most seventeen or eighteen years old. Judging from the fact that he could fight against hundreds of people, he must have at least an eighth-grade internal skill.

Xiao Xia felt pity for the talent and nodded, "I am Xiao Xia, the governor of Liangzhou. I am recruiting you as a general of the imperial army. I am not asking you to surrender, but recruiting you. Are you willing?"

The young general is just tough but not a fool. He doesn't want to die. The opponent's commander has given him a way out. How can he not seize this opportunity?

He quickly knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and said, "General Luo Shixin is willing to be loyal to General Manager Xiao!"

(End of this chapter)