I

  Chapter 255 253【Fireball】

   It is still forty miles away from Heyuan County.

  The search team in charge of exploring the road suddenly came back with two wooden signs: "Master, I found this by the river ahead."

  Shen Youlong glanced at it, and quickly scolded: "This is a treacherous trick by thieves, take it away and burn it, don't ruin our army's morale!"

   "What is this?" Deputy Commander Shi Wangzheng walked over curiously.

   "False words, don't pay attention."

   Shen Youlong didn't want others to see it, so he directly blocked the writing on the wooden board with his sleeve.

  The two wooden signs are indeed full of false news.

  A wooden sign reads: Lu Qian, the General Soldier of Guangdong, was wiped out in Yingde County.

  A wooden sign reads: Counselor Lin Junen surrendered in Xiancheng, Heyuan County.

  At this time, Fei Ruhe sent many small boats cruising on the Dongjiang River, but no news could come through.

   What could be passed on was all released by Fei Ruhe on purpose, and Shen Youlong could only choose to believe it or not.

  These Soushan team members are all the governor's pacesetters. They left holding the wooden sign, and the commander-in-chief Shi Wangzheng became more and more curious, guessing that it must be some very bad news.

  Shi Wangzheng returned to his team and warned his confidant servants to flee immediately if the situation was wrong.

  In troubled times, everything is imaginary, and only the army can rely on it.

  A general without an army is worse than a wild dog!

  But said that those search team members, after re-entering the mountain, did not immediately chop and burn the wooden sign, but gathered together to start a discussion.

   "Why don't we run away, the Heyuan County in front is definitely gone, and going there is also a dead end."

   "Yes, the governor was kind to us, but we took the risk to explore the road for several days, and more than 20 people died one after another. We are already worthy of the governor."

   "Go, go, go home."

   "..."

  The search team responsible for exploring the road all ran away without Shen Youlong knowing about it.

  The whole army continued to advance, and after losing the search team, they came to the ambush point without knowing it.

   "Fourth brother, the officers and soldiers are here."

   "Let the ones in front go, and kill them in the middle!"

  The person in charge of these five hundred people is called Xiao Shan, who was born as a slave of the Xiao family in Yongyang Town.

  Xiao Shan was quickly promoted when he was suppressing bandits in Southern Jiangxi. There were bandits everywhere in the mountains.

  The five hundred soldiers under his command are also proficient in mountain warfare, and they climb mountains and ridges like walking on flat ground.

  The marching speed of the officers and soldiers was very slow, dragging a long snake along the river bank.

"kill!"

   "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo ~~~~~~"

  Five hundred Datong troops rushed out from the mountain, and the resounding charge horn pierced the sky, rushing towards the long snake's waist.

  Deputy Commander Shi Wangzheng originally wanted to lead his troops to escape, but his troops were relatively forward. If he escaped, he could only run forward, and he might run into Fei Ruhe's main force.

   This guy was forced to fight to the death, and shouted: "Formation, formation!"

   Shi Wangzheng's hundreds of confidantes formed an formation very quickly, not losing to the ordinary Datong army.

  However, except for the governor's pacesetter and the general's servant, the rest of the soldiers and civilian husbands were all scared out of their wits. Seeing the thieves rushing closer and closer, the soldiers and civilian husbands collapsed instantly, and many simply jumped into the river and swam to the other side.

  In a blink of an eye, there were only more than 3,000 pacesetters and servants left, still trying to form a defensive formation by the river.

   But along with the soldiers and civilian husbands scattered and fled, the servants who were at the back were also rushed to pieces. Seeing that the situation was not good, the generals simply started to flee with the servants.

  Shen Youlong's pacesetter, Shi Wangzheng's servant, usually has enough food and wages, and is willing to sacrifice his life in battle.

   Under the impact of the rout, these people were able to maintain their formation.

  They approached each other and gradually formed a large formation of more than 2,000 people by the river, just waiting for Xiao Shan's 500 soldiers to come and die.

  Then, there are so many broken soldiers who can be chased and killed, why did Xiao Shan go to attack the big formation?

  Which side has the most rout soldiers, Xiao Shan will chase that side, and just chase these rout soldiers completely. After the collapse is complete, don't even think about getting together again. At that time, the officers and soldiers will not have enough manpower to transport food.

   "There are only a few hundred thieves, kill them!" Shi Wangzheng gritted his teeth.

"kill!"

  Shen Youlong also went all out.

   These two thousand people are indeed elite soldiers, and under the interference of the broken soldiers, they formed an formation and chased in the direction of Xiao Shan.

  It is not difficult to train this kind of elite soldiers. Usually rewards and punishments are clear, and the food and salary are sufficient. Shen Youlong even has five hundred firearms.

  As for the other soldiers, they are all consumables, and they need to be re-recruited after fighting.

  Xiao Shan led his troops to chase and kill two miles away. Seeing that a large number of rout troops were scattered, he immediately ordered to enter the mountain, completely ignoring the more than 2,000 elite officers and soldiers who were chasing them.

  Shen Youlong and Shi Wangzheng chased for a long time, but they didn't dare to follow into the mountains, so they could only guard and rest where they were, and at the same time sent people to gather up the rout soldiers nearby.

  After working hard for a long time, he finally gathered more than a thousand defeated soldiers, and Shen Youlong's total strength was only four thousand.

  The overall combat effectiveness has not dropped too much.

  However, all the civilians ran away, and several grain ships also ran away!

Shi Wangzheng's face was ugly, and he said to Shen Youlong: "Supervisor, you can't go any further. There must be the main force of the bandit army. You can't retreat. Our march is too slow. The bandit soldiers from Longchuan County have already occupied the county and chased them over. We can only abandon our luggage, choose a place to go into the mountains, climb over the mountains and go straight to Yong'an County (Zijin County). In the southwest of Yong'an County, there is a small road that can go through the mountains to the southwest of Heyuan County, and then we can safely retreat to Huizhou Prefecture. "

   "Retreat now!"

  Shen Youlong was very decisive this time. He took the initiative to abandon a large amount of luggage and left with only a small amount of food and ammunition.

   A few miles away, Fei Ruhe got the news and said with a sneer, "You run really fast!"

  Xiao Shan's five hundred soldiers tossed in the mountains for several days. Not only were the soldiers exhausted, but they also ran out of dry food. They returned to the ambush point just now, picked up some food, and chased into the mountains with great energy.

  Fei Ruhe only brought 1,500 elite soldiers and no logistics supplies, and he also accelerated to chase from several miles away.

  At the beginning, the mountain was not steep.

   But the officers and soldiers carry a small amount of food and ammunition, so the speed must be relatively slow.

  Shi Wangzheng suggested: "Supervisor, give up all the food. It is enough for each person to carry a few catties of food. As long as you cross this mountain, you will have food in Yong'an County."

  Behind him, Zuo Shan's five hundred chasing soldiers could be seen far away. Shen Youlong said: "Why don't we fight a battle first and wipe out these hundreds of bandits."

   "You can set up an ambush." ​​Shi Wangzheng nodded.

   Immediately, the officers and soldiers each carried a few catties of grain, and the firecrackers carried a small amount of ammunition, so they immediately marched forward lightly. The discarded supplies were thrown on the hillside to slow down Xiao Shan's pursuit.

  The officers and soldiers turned over a mountain depression and immediately hid and set up an ambush.

  In order to bite the officers and soldiers, Xiao Shan could not search along the way. After he boarded the col, his brows were frowned immediately, and he lost track of the officers and soldiers.

  Under the mountain col, there are dense forests everywhere, and the ghost knows where the officers and soldiers have gone.

   To chase or not to chase?

   At this moment, there was a sudden noise in the woods ahead.

   "Bastard!"

  Shen Youlong cursed angrily.

  It was the defeated soldiers who had been gathered, and they had been frightened for a long time. After entering the mountain, they were still in charge of transporting grain and grass, and being watched by elites, they were too tired and afraid to escape.

   Now, Shen Youlong plans to ambush the Datong Army, and the elites have hidden themselves, and the ordinary officers and soldiers finally have a chance to escape.

  The food transporters are consumables, and these ordinary officers and soldiers are not much better.

  In such a predicament, how could they be willing to fight?

  More than a thousand rout soldiers gathered back, taking advantage of Shen Youlong and Shi Wangzheng setting up an ambush, immediately ran away, and exposed the ambush points of the officers and soldiers by the way.

"hey-hey!"

  Xiao Shan grinned, he stopped chasing, and just guarded on the col.

   "Fire!"

   Seeing that it was impossible to ambush, Shen Youlong simply ordered a strong attack. They have more than 2,000 elite soldiers, and it must be no problem to fight 500 bandit soldiers.

   The hundreds of gunfire soldiers under his command first hid and lit the matchlock.

  The matchlock of the matchlock gun can burn for half an hour to an hour according to the specific situation.

  The melee infantry under Shi Wangzheng took the lead, covering the archers and musketeers in the rear, and planned to storm the col after a simple formation.

  Xiao Shan saw the firecracker from a long distance, and he was not a fool, so he immediately ordered to retreat.

  Even if the officers and soldiers did not have firecrackers, Zuo Shan would not be able to fight recklessly. More than 2,000 elite officers and soldiers ran all the way into the mountain without being defeated, obviously they were strong soldiers raised by spending money.

  In the whole of Guangdong, there are more than 2,000 elites here, and Lu Qian, the general soldier, has another 1,000. There are only about 3,500 people, and the rest are all mobs. Even veterans who have suppressed bandits for three years are also mobs.

  Seeing Xiao Shan fleeing with his troops, Shen Youlong and Shi Wangzheng were all lost in temper.

  They can only continue to climb the mountains and ridges, while evacuating on the road, while choosing a more suitable ambush point.

   After walking like this for another day, Fei Ruhe led 1,500 people and finally came along the mark left by Zuo Shan.

   "Where's the enemy army?" Fei Ruhe asked.

   "It's on the hill ahead, I've been following." Xiao Shan said with a smile.

   It is impossible to lose track of them. More than 2,000 officers and soldiers marched, leaving traces along the way. Xiao Shan sent 20 men to pursue in front, and the rest of the soldiers chased after half a mile away. Even if they were ambushed, they would only lose 20 men.

   Seeing Fei Ruhe chasing with more than a thousand people, Shen Youlong began to line up on the col.

  He was about to be driven crazy. At this moment, he just wanted to have a good fight.

  Fei Ruhe was not in a hurry, he was exhausted after chasing him all the way, so he recovered his strength first.

  The two parties just waited for each other as if they had made an agreement, waiting for Fei Ruhe's soldiers to recover their strength. Shen Youlong occupies a favorable terrain, and it is impossible to take the initiative to go down the mountain.

   Until an hour later, the battle was about to break out.

   Very fair, both sides have 500 gunfire soldiers, this is a contest of hot weapons.

  After they light their matchlocks, the rest of the troops move out of the way, and let the firecrackers decide the winner first.

  The Datong firecrackers were at a disadvantage. They were feinting to attack the mountain.

   "Shoot the arrow!"

  Shi Wangzheng didn't talk about martial arts, but even ordered the archers to stand on the mountain and shoot down.

   Swipe, Swipe, Swipe!

  Many arrows were blocked by the canopy, and a few arrows fell down. A total of four Datong firecrackers were hit by arrows. However, they wear bamboo hats and cotton armor, and are not afraid of bows and arrows.

  Shen Youlong shouted: "Don't let go of the gun at will, listen to my order, and hit it when you get closer!"

  The Datong firecrackers continued to walk up the mountain, and the official army firecrackers began to get nervous.

  Shen Youlong's firecrackers were all trained three years ago, and they are invincible every time they fight. Ordinary thieves, as long as they were shot by them, they would immediately collapse and flee in fright.

  But also because of this, they are well aware of the power of firecrackers, and are very afraid of shooting at the enemy's firecrackers.

"boom!"

  The Datong firecrackers got closer and closer, and finally some of the firecrackers on the official side couldn't help but shoot.

   "Bang bang bang!"

  When one person shoots, the whole army immediately drives to shoot.

  They still fired in three rounds. Except for the third row, the first two rows fired all the ammunition.

   It barely entered the range, and the accuracy and power were greatly reduced.

  A Datong firearms soldier was shot and fell down suddenly. Unfortunately, he was hit in the face. There were still a few firecrackers who were shot, but they were blocked by the cotton armor. If they advanced ten steps further, the cotton armor would definitely be pierced.

   "Quickly fill the medicine!"

  Shen Youlong didn't bother to reprimand the shooter in advance, and urged the soldiers to reload quickly.

  The officers and soldiers suddenly panicked, most of them started to scratch, and some even forgot the correct steps to reload.

   Swipe, Swipe, Swipe!

  Shi Wangzheng's archers fired another volley.

  The Datong firecrackers are still advancing.

   "Fire the gun!"

  Shen Youlong gave an order, and the gunfire soldiers in the third row of officers and soldiers immediately fired a decent volley.

  In an instant, six Datong soldiers fell to the ground, and the cotton armor couldn't stop them at such a short distance.

  However, the remaining Datong firecrackers continued to advance.

   "Mom!"

  The officer firecrackers in the first two rows, after failing to reload their own ammunition, and seeing the enemy approaching, finally couldn't bear the psychological pressure, dropped the firecrackers, turned around and ran away.

   "Raise the gun!"

   "First row, shoot!"

   "Boom!"

  More than a hundred guns fired at close range, instantly blasting the formation of officers and soldiers.

   Without even needing the second row to fire in bursts, all the officers and soldiers fled.

   "Blow the horn!"

   Fei Ruhe shouted.

   "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo~~~~~~"

  The charge horn sounded, the whole army rushed out, and the elite of more than 2,000 officers and soldiers finally broke up.

  (end of this chapter)