Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 347 Duan is not talented

The Fen River flows slowly and the current is not fast. Occasionally, you can see fish swimming back and forth in it.

Li Mu stood on the shore, staring at the other side, his expression becoming increasingly impatient.

The deputy general was even more anxious.

"That's not right. Didn't the original carrier pigeon say it would arrive early this morning?"

He raised his head and looked up into the air again, "Why is there still no news?"

"General, why are there no carrier pigeons?"

Li Mu explained helplessly: "Carrier pigeons cannot be used casually. They need to be trained between two places, which takes several months or even a year. We are here for the first time, where can there be carrier pigeons flying here?"

"I see."

The deputy general suddenly realized and looked at the calm opposite side again.

"General, did Duan Shao lie to us?"

"What are you lying to us about?"

"Lure us here and annihilate us here!"

"Just to annihilate a thousand of us?"

Li Mu's lips trembled. He really didn't want to explain anything anymore. If the Qi State Sima had gone to such great lengths just to wipe out their small team of a thousand men, then he would accept it.
However, Li Mu did not completely ignore what the deputy general said.

Duan Shao didn't trust Wei Xiaokuan, and Wei Xiaokuan didn't trust Duan Shao either.

Before coming, Wei Xiaokuan had repeatedly warned him in letters not to trust Duan Shao easily and to prioritize preserving his strength in everything. Duan Shao seemed to be a calm gentleman, but in fact he was cunning and changeable, and it was difficult to see through his true colors. He could apply any tactics and strategy freely, and was different from those generals who had a fixed style. He was a man who could use anything and was proficient in many military tactics.

The strategy of dividing the troops this time was exactly what Wei Xiaokuan requested, in order to minimize the risk. He didn't even want Li Mu to go to greet them in person.

But Li Mu had to come.

Everything has risks. As a general, he had long been prepared to die, either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

Everyone will die one day, so it’s better to die for a great cause.

The deputy general was extremely frightened and thought about escaping several times, but Li Mu didn't care at all. He sent scouts to find out Yao Xiong's marching position, while he continued to wait and see.

They waited like this until it was almost dark, and the scouts went out more and more frequently.

This also indicates that Yao Xiong is getting closer.

The deputy general sat aside in despair, no longer holding out for any hope.

Suddenly, a soldier issued a warning.

The deputy general suddenly raised his head and saw the flag gradually appearing in the distance.

Finally someone appeared in the distance.

He quickly jumped up, "General! General!!"

Li Mu hurriedly walked out from the side and looked into the distance.

A cavalry appeared on the other side of the river. They surrounded a carriage and were moving towards this place.

As the distance between them continued to decrease, Li Mu finally saw the opponent's flag clearly, "Duan"

A hint of joy flashed across Li Mu's face.

"General!!"

A knight came galloping hurriedly, rushed to the edge of the tent, and fell heavily from his horse, but he seemed not to feel the pain. He gritted his teeth, climbed up, and rushed to Li Mu's side.

"Yao Xiong's front scouts are less than ten miles away from here!"

"I saw their flags and a lot of cavalry, about 800 people."

Li Mu frowned and looked at the group of people in the distance.

He quickly drew his sword and said, "Go tell the troops on the other side not to rest and cross the river now!"

"Cheng Buji, you lead the others to meet them!"

"The rest of you, follow me!!"

Li Mu quickly gave orders and began to organize people to fight against Yao Xiong and meet the people on the opposite bank.

He had to give these people time. After the other party crossed the river, the two sides would join forces with elite cavalry and still have hope of breaking through Yao Xiong's formation and leaving. Before coming, he had already arranged several retreat routes. It all depended on the situation on Yao Xiong's side!

When things reached the most critical moment, Li Mu did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.

The army was quickly divided into two, with Li Mu leading the cavalry to fight the enemy scouts, while the rest came to support those who crossed the river.

The soldiers had prepared the boats in advance and were now hurriedly gliding to the other side.

After the two sides met, there was not even any extra conversation. The general left behind by Li Mu only told them to cross the river quickly and said nothing else. The people of Qi also cooperated very well and followed them to cross the river without asking anything.

Li Mu was leading the cavalry at this moment, building up his momentum, with smoke and dust billowing, creating the illusion of a large army charging.

The enemy's scouts soon sensed the movement here. Some went back to report, while others began to make a detour.

The cavalry of both sides met on the path, their horses neighing and arrows flying.

The scouts quickly evacuated, and some were shot dead on the spot.

Li Mu ordered the destruction of roads along the way to slow down the enemy's advance. They cut down trees to block the cavalry and set fire to several places.

After Li Mu repelled all the enemy scouts and left some people here to cause sabotage, he quickly led dozens of cavalry back.

In the next battle, he needs Duan Shao's help.

When Li Mu returned again, most of the Qi people had already landed, and only a small number of people were left, and they were also ready.

The Zhou people stood vigilantly on the high towers, watching the enemies crossing the river.

The atmosphere was quite depressing.

They had been fighting for many years and never dreamed that one day they would help the Qi people cross the river.

After landing, the Qi people quickly formed their battle line, fully demonstrating their distrust of the enemy.

Neither side spoke, and the looks they gave each other were full of hostility.

This was what Li Mu saw when he rode forward.

He looked at the Qi people's formation and frowned slightly.

He immediately realized something was wrong.

It wasn't that the other party's battle array made him alert, but that the other party's formation was a bit too casual, ordinary, and there was nothing surprising about it.

Duan Shao? Ordinary?
Li Mu asked loudly: "Excuse me, where is General Duan? Where is the Emperor of Qi?!"

"The enemy is approaching, please come out and meet me!"

Hearing Li Mu's shout, the Qi people standing in front of him slowly made way, and saw a tall general wearing armor, striding out.

Li Mu looked at the person in front of him.

Before setting off, he had seen Duan Shao's portrait, and the man in front of him looked exactly like the portrait.

However, this person's eyes were frivolous. He was always looking around and never looked at himself, which made him feel awkward no matter how he looked at him.

Duan Shao of Qi
Li Mu suddenly became alert.

"Someone is coming!!"

"Whoosh!!"

Before Li Mu could open his mouth, the enemy shot an arrow. Li Mu rolled off his horse and barely avoided the arrow.

The next moment, the Qi people roared and launched an attack on the surrounding Zhou people. The general who looked like Duan Shao hid back again. The Zhou people took advantage of the favorable terrain and arrow towers to counterattack. However, there were as many as two or three thousand Qi people, while there were only five or six hundred Zhou people left here.

Li Mu got up, picked up his weapon, and started fighting with the Qi people who were charging over.

Li Muhu's eyes were wide open and bloodshot!
General Wei is right, Duan Shao really has bad intentions!

But he didn't understand why Duan Shao spent such a huge price just to kill more than a thousand of his men. Could it be that he had other ideas?

Li Mu killed three Jinyang soldiers who rushed towards him in succession, and his body was covered in blood.

The Zhou people on both sides kept shooting and killing, and the Qi people fell one after another.

But Li Mu knew in his heart that he was finished.

Originally, if the two of them joined forces, they could still deal with Yao Xiong, but now this ally suddenly turned against him, and he was attacked from both sides, unable to escape even if he wanted to.

Although Li Mu was brave, he could not withstand the numerical advantage of the Jinyang soldiers and the sudden attack. The Zhou people finally couldn't hold on. More and more people were killed, and arrow towers were captured one after another, and the camp was also burned down.

Li Mu led only a few dozen people, fighting and retreating all the way to the bank of the Fen River, where he was surrounded.

At this moment, shouts of killing were heard again in the distance, and thousands of cavalrymen, holding the Yao flag high, rushed out.

The three parties gathered here at the same time.

Yao Xiong, wearing heavy armor and holding a lance, looked at the strange battle situation in front of him with a look of confusion.

Yao Xiong received news from Shuozhou.

They said that Duan Shao wanted to surrender to Wei Xiaokuan and escape from Hebei with Wei Xiaokuan and return to the south.

Yao Xiong was extremely surprised by the news and couldn't believe it.

Afterwards, Duan Shao acted as if he was going to launch a large-scale attack, which made Yao Xiong extremely anxious. As expected, the Zhou people also sent troops and quickly approached Pingyang. Yao Xiong had to be responsible for too many defense areas alone, and the new army failed to complete the task, which caused him great pressure.

But just when he was about to capture Duan Shao alive to eliminate future trouble, he suddenly discovered that Duan Shao, who had crossed the river, was beating the Zhou people who came to escort them.

These Zhou people brought a lot of supplies, means of transportation, etc. to the Qi people, but the result was this.

Yao Xiong was a little confused about the situation.

He had no choice but to order the army to stop and wait for the two sides to decide the outcome.

After seeing Yao Xiong appear, Li Mu no longer had any hope of survival in his heart, and he looked around.

The deputy general's body was not far away, with his head missing. The soldiers who had followed him to support him also fell somewhere. There were only a few dozen people left around him, and the number was still decreasing.

Li Mu gritted his teeth.

He had been prepared to die for a long time. He had thought of many ways to die, but he never expected it to be this way.

Duan Shao.

"Duan Shao!!!"

Li Mu roared angrily, turned around and jumped into the Fen River.

With a splash, waves splashed on the water.

The rest of the soldiers jumped into the water without any hesitation.

The people of Qi shot arrows and threw stones into the Fen River again.

At this moment, Yao Xiong's army was gradually surrounding them from behind.

Just when Yao Xiong ordered his men to raise their bows, the Qi people suddenly changed their formation, and a man quickly walked out from the army.

The man was not afraid. He walked quickly to Yao Xiong, raised his head and looked at him.

Yao Xiong frowned, "Who are you?"

"I am Duan Xiaoyan, following the order of the Grand Marshal, and I have come to attack the Zhou people who have invaded the border."

"Duan Xiaoyan?? Da Sima is yours"

"He is my brother."

Yao Xiong was silent for a moment, then looked at the other soldiers and said, "Let them lay down their weapons."

Duan Xiaoyan nodded and looked at the army behind him, "Put down your weapons!!"

The Jinyang soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment. Duan Xiaoyan shouted again, and then these people hesitantly put down their weapons.

Yao Xiong looked incredulous. "Not long ago, the Grand Marshal forged an imperial edict to insult my brother, and even I was dismissed. What's going on now?"

Duan Xiaoyan shook his head, "I don't know, I'm just following orders. By the way, I'm a good friend of your ancestor, and I've helped him many times in the past."

Yao Xiong listened to his words and suddenly reacted.

He suddenly looked towards Linfen.

"not good!!"

He looked at the people around him anxiously, "First, appease these Jinyang soldiers, take away their weapons and armor, take them to the nearest training ground, and keep them under guard!!"

"Don't be rude to General Duan!!"

"The rest of you! Follow me!!"

Linfen.

"kill!!"

The Zhou people surrounded the battering ram and were attacking the city.

Dugu Jie stood on the top of the city wall, holding a bow and crossbow, and continued to shoot at the soldiers. The defenders in the city were in high spirits and were not afraid of the densely packed enemies outside the city. Although their numbers were small, they still fought back bravely.

General Zhou outside the city was very angry.

Yao Xiong only left a few people to guard the city and left himself. This was undoubtedly a sign of contempt for the generals at the front, as he felt that they could not take the city in a short time.

He insisted on letting Yao Xiong see that the Zhou people's fighting power was not as weak as he thought!
Damn it, a city only released a few hundred people and they thought they could stop an army of nearly 10,000 people? !

How much you look down on yourself!

General Zhou adopted the classic tactic of surrounding three sides and leaving one side, bombarding the city wall with walking catapults, and then started to use battering rams to directly destroy the city gate.

The counterattack on the city wall was extremely fierce, which did not seem like what a few hundred people could cause. A large number of Zhou people were shot and killed by them. The corpses were increasing in number, blocking the road. The guards of the battering rams were replaced one after another, but they could not reach the city gate for a long time.

General Zhou gave orders again and sent more troops to launch a fierce attack.

The Zhou people were also aroused and climbed the city wall with roars.

When the three large ladders came into contact with the city wall, the enemy began to attack the wall continuously.

Dugu Jie dropped his bow and crossbow, took up his long weapon, and took the lead in launching a counterattack against these people.

The two sides fought together, Dugu Jie shouted and killed one enemy after another. They also burned the enemy's ladder trucks, and corpses fell from the ladders like raindrops.

General Zhou was furious when he saw this, so he put on heavy armor and led his most elite troops to attack the city.

Just when the two sides were fighting fiercely, the sound of rapid war drums suddenly rang out from a distance.

The sound of the war drums immediately weakened the sound of fighting on the battlefield.

Dugu Jie, who was on the city wall, was stunned when he heard the familiar war drum.

Reinforcements? ?
Where will the reinforcements come from?

As for the Zhou general, he was also panicked at this moment, because this was the war drum of the Qi people.

The next moment, a cavalry was seen emerging from the east.

These knights were not numerous, but they were arranged in a long snake formation. They were charging continuously, but the formation was always maintained, and everyone was charging at the same speed.

A wave of bad memories suddenly emerged in General Zhou's mind.

"Mandrill Camp?!"

Not only him, but also the rest of the Zhou people, seeing such elite cavalry charging towards them, the first thing that came to their mind was the most famous "Mandrill Camp".

General Zhou's legs began to tremble.

Liu Taozi? ?

Didn't he say he was in the south?

Can he still fly?

The next moment, the opponent shortened the distance greatly, and General Zhou could see more clearly.

These knights were all wearing armor and fully armed, and they even wore masks and waved flags, which were not Liu's.

good news.

The opponent is not the Mandrill Camp, and the enemy general is not Liu Taozi.

Good news, the opponent is the fucking Baibao Xianbei!! The commander is the fucking Duan Shao!!
The knights charged and hit the Zhou people's flank heavily. The Zhou people who were attacking the city wall were defeated in an instant, and their formation was torn apart. This cavalry was like stepping through a field of crops, directly sweeping out a large area of ​​​​blank. The Zhou people had not experienced the baptism of Baibao for many years.

The officers shouted loudly, but the soldiers were frightened and some began to flee, which caused a chain reaction and more and more soldiers began to flee.

The Qi cavalry rushed forward, easily broke through the enemy's formation, and then turned around and broke through it again.

In the back and forth crushing, the Zhou people were defeated and fled everywhere.

These knights chased around and then began to confiscate supplies.

Dugu Jie stood on the city wall, staring at the war happening below, stunned.

If I am not mistaken, this seems to be Baibaoying? ?
There has been no news about Baibao for a long time. Why does he appear here?

Is the person coming an enemy or a friend?
At this moment, countless thoughts flashed through Dugu Jie's mind. He quickly woke up, ordered his men to destroy the ladders, and entered a state of readiness again.

After this group of Qi people arrived, they defeated the Zhou army with just three rounds of charges, and then began to reap the harvest unscrupulously.

The speed of the progress was something Dugu Jie had never seen in his life.

Even if our general led the mandrill camp here, he probably wouldn't be able to achieve this in such a short time, right?

If they come to attack the city.
Dugu Jie's forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, and he felt a little desperate.

This is going to be a big deal.

Outside the city wall, a general came leisurely and looked up at the city in front of him.

He was holding a child in his arms, who was blindfolded and tied to the general's chest.

The general was Duan Shao.

Duan Shao turned around and saw several knights pushing several people in front of him.

The men were tied up and gagged.

The knights pulled the cloth out of their mouths, and the leader was Zhang Siyan.

Zhang Siyan stared at Duan Shao angrily, her eyes full of disbelief.

"Duan Shao! What on earth do you want to do?! We clearly agreed on this! Why are you breaking your promise?!"

Duan Shao looked calm.

"When two countries are at war, there is no such thing as betrayal. If there is betrayal, then Emperor Xiao Zhao sent Yuwen Hu's mother back to the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty and asked them to stop the war, but Yuwen Hu then sent troops to invade. This is betrayal."

"What exactly do you want to do?!"

Duan Shao's expression suddenly became solemn.

"I, Duan, am not a gentleman, but I am not a shameless thief who would join forces with the enemy to deal with my own people!!"

"Liu Taozi, I will take care of this!"

"As for your general, go back and tell him to clean his neck and wait! After I defeat Liu Taozi and recapture Hebei, the next thing I will do is chop off his head and sacrifice it to my old brothers!"

"Without the terrain of Yubi City, let's see how he can stop me!!"

Duan Shao pointed at the bandits in front of him.

"Leave this one to report back! Cut down the rest!"

"only!!"

ps: My old friend Yu Yan's new book "I Am Not Yuan Shu" is online. His old books "The Heroes of the Late Eastern Han Dynasty" and "Xuan De" are both types I like very much. I heard that this time he is trying a new style, making Yuan Shu the 'Confucius' of the Eastern Han Dynasty, leading three thousand disciples throughout his life. Friends who like the Three Kingdoms should not miss it.

(End of this chapter)