Xie Ming

Chapter 385: Eliminating hidden dangers
On July 17, after the Leopard Meeting, Generals Hu Chen and Yuan Ping quickly assembled their troops, set out at night, and headed straight for Dezhou with more than a thousand elite cavalry!
Before dawn of the following night, Xiao Jingchuan also prepared his troops and personally led a large force to advance towards Pingyuan County!
Originally, there were only five hundred soldiers left in Yucheng!
And! Send out a small team on each side, and send a message to Linyi Hu Maozhen and Gaotang Gao Jinku to attack Pingyuan County from both wings!

At this point, everything is ready, all we have to do is wait for the enemy to fall into our trap!

At dawn on the 18th, after a night of rapid march, Hu Chen and Yuan Ping, leading more than a thousand light cavalry, had arrived near a stone hill more than 20 miles south of Dezhou City!
This stone hill is located on the side of an ancient river channel. Looking from a distance, it looks like a natural high slope formed by piles of earth and rocks!

Looking closely, you can see a cluster of rocks, facing south, with large rocks stacked on both sides and a natural depression in the center!
Hu Chen sent his troops in, and drove the horses roaming among the trees, while many of the soldiers hid among the rocks.

In an instant, thousands of people disappeared without a trace, which was very suitable for hiding.

After that, there was no conversation for the whole day!
Until the day and night are reached, it comes to around the hour of Hai (around 9pm).

On the city wall of Beiguan, Dezhou, Sun Peizhong, who had just finished fighting after enduring several attacks during the day, squatted among the rubble!

Standing sideways, Deputy General Duan Hongcai was personally changing the dressing on his shoulder injury!

"hiss--"

As Hongcai moved, his hands and feet were stiff and he didn't know how to control the strength. When he pulled, Sun Peizhong suddenly felt the pain of his flesh being pulled, and he couldn't help but grit his teeth and gasp.

"Uh, this."

"General, my hands are rough and my fingers are too numb!"

"Haha, it seems I was just showing off!"

"Please wait a moment. I'd better go call the doctor!"

“It hurts just looking at this!”

Duan Hongcai felt that this job was full of confusion, and he lost control of the situation. A stream of blood immediately oozed out from Peizhong's shoulder!

This time, Hongcai became even more flustered.

On the contrary, Sun Peizhong, with sweat on his forehead, smiled bitterly and shook his head to reject it.

"Haha, it's okay, it's okay!"

"I haven't said anything yet, why are you wasting time?!"

"Keep going!" Peizhong gave the order, and Hongcai had no choice but to continue.

"we"

"This is our fourth full day of defending Texas!"

"I have to say, the Jiannu Tartars are indeed quite powerful!"

"Even if it's a thankless fighting style of one-sided attack!"

"It's hard enough for us to hold up the four great powers!" Peizhong sighed.

"The soldiers are fighting hard, and the medical supplies in this city are not enough!"

"The military doctor doesn't even know where to give emergency treatment to the wounded right now!"

"I just need to bandage the skin wound on my shoulder myself, and it will be fine!"

Sun Peizhong was concerned about his soldiers and could not bear to make a fuss over a minor injury on his own body, thus taking up the medical officers' time to treat the wounded.

Seeing the situation, Hongcai didn't want to persuade him any further, so he just changed the subject and walked away.

"Ah, yes!"

"Then it's up to you!"

"General!"

"You say, according to reason, there are quite a few Shandong troops who crossed the Yellow River on their way north!"

"Ten thousand and eighty thousand people, there must be some!"

"General Xiao is leading a large army, and he is only a hundred miles south of Dezhou!"

"Can"

"We are going to have to endure this hardship with Texas!"

"I've been holding on for almost four days and nights!"

"The team is on the way. I'll go calculate the total losses."

"As of now, if we take all four levels together, there are less than 1,500 people who can still fight!"

"The number of casualties: eight hundred and sixty-two!"

"There are more than 700 injured!"

"I'm worried that if we continue like this, more than half of the team will be killed or wounded soon. What will happen to the team?" Hongcai said worriedly.

After hearing this, Peizhong paused and quickly responded.

"You mean to say that with so many casualties, you're afraid that the soldiers will be afraid to fight!"

"Even worse, mutiny and rebellion are not impossible! Right?!"

When Hongcai heard that Peizhong had exposed the vital point, he was stunned and stood still.

"Uh"

"That's what it means!"

"General, you must be careful!" This is a sincere and honest advice.

"Hehehe!"

"Hongcai, you are also an old man who has been following me and the commander-in-chief since the Shenjiying in Beijing!" "No matter what else, just focus on this team under our command!"

"Most of those who have an official rank or military post are those who followed General Xiao's cavalry to break out of the capital!"

"We still have to trust these old brothers!"

"Not to mention that nearly half of them were killed or wounded, even if the whole force was in Texas City!"

"According to my prediction, there won't be any trouble!"

Peizhong's arrival also helped Hongcai to reassure himself.

But it was obvious that Hongcai was still holding his breath.

"But... this..."

"Ugh!"

"I didn't say that, General!"

"It's not a good idea to ask us to just carry it all on our own!"

"It's not like I don't trust those old brothers!"

"The main thing is that the enemy is fierce. In the past few days, the intensity of the siege has become increasingly greater!"

"If we keep going like this, all our men will be killed. How are we going to sustain this?"

"Humph!"

"It's obvious that General Xiao is leading his army right behind us."

"Why don't you save him?!"

"It's been four days, and until now, there's still no sign of help!"

"Just look at us foolishly carrying it"

Hongcai was secretly dissatisfied, and he seemed to have some complaints to his superiors!
This is a result that Peizhong does not want to see, and it is also a taboo in the military!
When Peizhong heard about it, he was immediately displeased and tried to persuade him.

"Oh, it's done now!"

"You're acting like a woman!"

"Where do all these complaints come from?!"

"Duan Hongcai, you'll remember this!"

"Criticizing your superiors without reason is a big taboo in the army!"

"I don't know how you guys spread this!"

"As a deputy general, you could have just ignored it, but why are you complaining to me?!" Peizhong scolded.

After hearing the general's instructions, Duan Hongcai realized that his words had been inappropriate, so he nodded and dared not speak lightly again.

"Ugh!"

"Hongcai, if we weren't in the middle of a war!"

"Just based on what you just said, I will punish you severely!"

"I know your personality. You're probably just talking about this to vent your boredom and to vent your anger!"

"But you are the commander-in-chief in our army, second only to me!"

"You don't have the heart to complain, but who knows what the people below are thinking?!"

"do you know?!"

"We are soldiers!"

"If you are a soldier, you must follow the rules of a soldier!"

"The first thing is to obey orders and absolutely obey the orders of your superiors!"

"If you can't do this, what kind of soldier are you?!" Peizhong looked at him and seemed to be really angry!
Yes, Duan Hongcai finally admitted his mistake.

"Yes! General!"

"Don't say anything, it's my fault! Just remember this mistake!"

"After this battle, I will come to you to receive the punishment!" Hongcai admitted.

"Well!" Upon hearing this, Peizhong let out a long sigh.

"You, put the punishment aside for now!"

"When you go on night patrol later, keep a close eye on the people below!"

"I didn't take it seriously just now!"

"When you showed up like this, I felt something was wrong!"

"At this critical moment, with so many people dead, it's understandable that everyone is feeling emotional!"

"But I must nip in the bud any signs of slandering my superiors!"

"Soldiers must not be allowed to commit crimes again!"

"Hear that?!"

Peizhong suddenly realized what was going on and felt worried and sad, so he quickly ordered people to seal the hole!
To avoid greater hidden dangers!
(End of this chapter)