Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 127: Night Attack on Yunhuimeng Mountain

Xin Qiji suddenly opened the tent curtain, his armor clattering and shouting, "Why did you startle the army?"

Before he could finish his words, he saw a scene of flames pouring down like waterfalls on the hillsides on both sides a few miles to the south.

Liu Huai walked out of the tent. He first called the old woman who had been taking care of San Ya, handed the burning San Ya to her, and asked Luo Huaiyan to follow her to the safest place in the camp. Then he and Guan Chongyan put on their armor together.

At this time, Liu Huai calmed down instead.

It's like always worrying about something happening, but when it really happens, you're not as panicked as before, you just feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders.

"Xin Wulang, stop looking. Judging by the distance, the ones attacking the east bank of the Anzi River are Jia Rui, the second group on the east bank, and the ones attacking the west bank are Pingshan Hu, the first group on the west bank. These two can't withstand it. Why don't you quickly light up everything that has light to fight back and support the defeated army?"

Xin Qiji also reacted, looked back at Liu Huai, with an expression on his face that was not sure whether it was shame or admiration, and gave orders loudly.

No one cares about him.

The camp was in darkness and chaos. Xin Qiji shouted at the top of his lungs, but only a few people around him could hear him. For a moment, he couldn't even find his trusted subordinates. How could he command the army?

Liu Huai put on his helmet, asked Guan Chongyan to lead the horse, then kicked over the brazier and set the tent behind him on fire.

Xin Qiji turned around in surprise: "You..."

Liu Huai remained silent and pulled Xin Qiji to the side of the tent that had turned into a huge torch. The figures of the two became very conspicuous in the firelight.

Seeing that someone finally noticed him, Xin Qiji hurriedly gave orders and felt even more ashamed.

He almost instantly understood why many armies in history books were so powerless against night attacks, because the chaos brought about by the darkness of the night was not so easy to eliminate.

At the very least, the commander must first find someone who can command.

At this moment, this young man with little combat experience but a strong learning ability finally understood why Liu Huai had always emphasized organizational construction, and had been talking about establishing officers at all levels, strictly defining the duties of officers, and establishing a hierarchy in the military.

If the officer group in the Xin Army was similar to that of the Zhongyi Army, in the event of a night attack, could officers at all levels gather their troops and respond on their own without Xin Qiji's own authority?
Those famous generals in history books who responded correctly to night attacks often just sat in a brightly lit tent to stabilize the morale of the army and let their generals destroy the invading enemies. How could they be as embarrassed as Xin Qiji, who had to burn down the tent before he could barely command the army?
With such complicated feelings, Xin Qiji finally found his trusted general, lit a brazier and a fire, made the entire camp brightly lit, and roughly organized 2,500 soldiers.

It was not until this time that Xin Qiji suddenly realized something.

Because Liu Huai was in his camp and had been sharing with him the precautions of marching and fighting, the wooden fences of the Xinzi Army camp were the best built and the trenches were the best dug.

Even if the other troops of the Tianping Army set up camps, the regulations would not be so strict.

Of course, a camp with lax regulations is still a camp and can withstand a sudden attack for a while.

But what was even worse was that several armies did not even set up camps.

Just like Pingshan Hu, he never takes human life seriously. Why would he be willing to take the trouble to dig trenches and build wooden fences?
In fact, Pingshan Hu just found a village to live in. Not only did he not familiarize himself with the terrain or arrange for sentries, he even ignored his subordinates. He just let them follow the former bandit leader to camp in the open air in groups.

Pingshan Hu found two eggs and cooked a bowl of noodles. Just as he picked it up and hadn't eaten it yet, he was frightened by the shouting and screaming in the air.

When Pingshan Hu kicked open the door of the thatched hut, he saw flames spreading across the hillside and the mountains, and was immediately shocked.

At this time, a confidant rushed out and asked repeatedly: "Boss, what should we do?"

Pingshan Hu threw the bowl in his hand aside without panicking.

What a joke! He had seen this kind of scene many times when he was a thief in Mount Tai. The chiefs, yamen runners, archers, and local soldiers from the surrounding counties, the regular army of the Jin Kingdom, the farmers gathered by the big estate owners, and even the pillars of his own family, would take advantage of Pingshan Hu's eating, sleeping, drinking, and defecating to kill him.

The reason why Pingshan Hu was still alive at this time was nothing more than two things.

First, judge the situation. When you meet a weak person, attack him harder than anyone else. When you meet a strong person, run away faster than anyone else.

The second is the unfathomable lower limit.

At this moment, Pingshan Hu decided to show his characteristics again.

"What are you panicking about?" Pingshan Hu tightened his belt and pointed to the southwest mountains where the fire was most intense, then pointed to a position close to his own side and asked, "Who is stationed there?"

The confidant who knew the situation hurried forward: "It's the Second in Command."

Pingshan Hu pointed to the hillside to the west and asked, "Where is it?"

"It's the Fourth Master."

"Alright!" Pingshan Hu clapped his hands and pointed at a stranger. "You, that guy, go to the Second In Command and tell him I'm organizing my army for battle. Tell him to hold out for two quarters of an hour, and I'll send reinforcements after that."

The stranger hesitated for a moment, but Pingshan Hu waved his hand and said, "It's pitch dark here. I don't believe that if we can get into such a mess, the bandits won't be in chaos. We can fight chaos with chaos. The second in command can hold out for two quarters of an hour without any problem. My family's wealth and foundation are all here. I won't abandon him!"

After these words, the man seemed to be relieved. He agreed, brought a donkey, and rode the donkey forward to deliver the message.

Pingshan Hu pointed out another person: "Go to the Fourth Master and tell him that he has to hold out for half an hour because I have to deal with the most important southwest area first. Do you understand?"

The man also nodded, led out a mule, and went to deliver the message.

Pingshan Hu nodded at this time, holding his belt, and swaggered towards the stable.

Several of his personal guards followed suit.

It was not until he was riding on the horse that Pingshan Hu finally breathed a sigh of relief. The calmness he had pretended to calm people's hearts disappeared. He whipped his warhorse hard and galloped towards the north before anyone around him could react.

His core confidants knew their boss's character well, and seeing this, they rode away without hesitation, leaving the soldiers who had reacted and gathered around them bewildered.

Of course, these soldiers were not confused for long, and fell into great fear and chaos.

In fact, there is a reason for Pingshan Hu.

The enemy force had at least three thousand men, who were able to get close to him without leaving any trace, and who could gather at night and launch such a swift attack. It was simply not something that a single Taishan bandit could resist.

Even if he was able to defeat the enemy in such a chaotic situation, even if he was able to pacify the Shanhu and display his divine power, and was possessed by a famous general from ancient times, why would he do this?

Was he going to risk his life for the people behind him? Was he going to die for Geng Jing?

Stop kidding me!
Whose life can be as precious as your own?
If you lose your soldiers, you can recruit new ones; if you lose your money, you can rob it again; if you lose your leader, you can find another one; but if you lose your life, it’s really gone!

But no matter how many reasons there are, they cannot cover up the fact that Pingshan Hu abandoned his troops and fled when the first line of Pingshan troops on the west coast needed command the most.

(End of this chapter)