After a fierce attack, the bandits retreated. From the ignited fire, it was clear that they began to build camps three hundred steps away.

"The bandit army does not know the facts of our army. The first round of attack is just a test. At this moment, we are frustrated and retreated. We already know that our army is not just a small group of official troops as they imagined. Zhou Guerrilla, I think they should not attack again before dawn."

Zhou Xian nodded and said, "It seems that this is the case. General Cao, our army occupied the pass in this battle and used firearms to shoot, killing hundreds of thieves. But once dawn comes, all the situations of our army will be known to the thieves. They have the advantage of the number of people, and I am afraid that this battle will not be easy to fight tomorrow."

Cao Zhiyao frowned and then smiled and said, "Don't worry, Zhou Juezha, as long as there is one night, our army can strengthen this simple defense line. In addition, although we came in a hurry and gave up most of the baggage, we carried a lot of bows and arrows. There shouldn't be too big problems for the top of the house for a day."

"General Cao Shen, I still have to trouble you to send your soldiers to find the location of the water source as soon as possible."

Cao Zhiyao said in confusion: "Zhou Juez, why have you asked me to send my soldiers to find the water source? There is snow everywhere now. Even if you can't find the water source, your brothers will not be thirsty!"

Zhou Xian smiled and said, "General Cao Shen, this water is not something that soldiers can drink. At this moment, the temperature is so low, and it can turn into ice by splashing water. In this case, why don't we take advantage of this weather? Splash water on the ground in front of the defense line. As long as the road surface freezes, the advance speed of the thieves' army will definitely be delayed. If they delay a minute in front, we can kill and injure some more thieves."

Cao Zhiyao was stunned after hearing this, and then laughed and said, "Zhou Juez, I really admire you. You can think of such a vicious tactic. At that time, I'm afraid these turtle sons will find it difficult to stand on top, so how can they attack!"

At this time, Wang Shi came over from the front line of defense. Zhou Xian knew that he was good at fighting, so he transferred him to the front line and handed him all the 100 musketeers in his personal barracks. He did not ask him to kill many thieves, but to attack with muskets to completely shock the thieves. He walked forward and bowed to the two and said, "General Cao Shen, Zhou Guerrilla, caught a living person. After interrogating, he confessed that it was not Zhang Xianzhong who was blocked by us, but Cao Cao Luo Rucai."

Zhou Xian was stunned for a moment and said dryly: "The supervisor may be disappointed again now. He hated Zhang Xianzhong to the core and always wanted to completely annihilate him, but he didn't expect that the person he surrounded this time was Luo Rucai."

Cao Zhiyao said in a deep voice: "Who is he? As long as it is a thief army, it's fine. Zhou Guerrilla, I'll stare here, tell the supervisor about this matter! In addition, remove the musketeers too! The first line of defense is flat, and their weapons are not as long as the bow and arrow. Once the sky is bright, they are the living targets of the archers. The third line of defense is slightly higher, which can make up for the shortcomings of the near range and retreat them there!"

On the south side, there are three lines of defense set up in total within five miles according to the terrain.

The reason why the first line of defense was set on the flat ground was that it happened to be the narrowest part of the entire valley entrance, which could be completely blocked with a small number of people, which was very convenient for defense, and was also the key to completely blocking the thief army. However, due to the terrain here, there should not be too much force invested each time, and five hundred official troops were placed there.

The second line of defense is one mile behind it, where the terrain is slightly higher, but the width is too large. It is difficult to build a camp, but one night is enough. But the width is too large, which leads to an increase in the number of positions that the enemy can break through. Once the thief attacks fiercely, it will only play a role in temporarily delaying their attack and cannot be completely expected. There are 1,500 people stationed.

The third line of defense is the top priority of the three lines of defense. He gathered the advantages of the two lines of defense, the characteristics of high terrain and not too large, and did not have the disadvantages they had. It was the top priority of the three lines of defense and the last hope of the official army. It could not stop them, and it all depends on here. Therefore, the two thousand elite troops of the entire army are concentrated here, which is the focus of all defense and guard.

When Zhou Xian heard Cao Zhiyao say this, he didn't insist much and nodded. "Then I'll ask everything in front of him to General Cao Shen."

"Everything is easy to say."

The next day, the snow, which was not heavy, stopped completely. The morning sun emitted a bleak light, making people unable to feel any warmth. The strong wind from afar blows against the ground, rolling up countless flying snowflakes, shaking across people's faces like a cold sword.

Last night, Zhou Xian told Yang Sichang that it was Luo Rucai who surrounded him. After hearing this, he looked a little disappointed, but in just a moment, he completely returned to his usual calmness. He only told Zhou Xian to care carefully, so he let him go out.

Also, Zhao Feng sent someone to report that last night, a bandit attempted to escape from the valley from the small road. They discovered it in time and blocked it back and told Zhou Xian to rest assured.

When Yang Chengzu came to tell Luo Rucai that the government army had blocked the middle and middle roads of the valley, he realized that the matter was far more serious than he thought at first. Before the sky could be clear, he stood up to observe the movements of the government army. At this moment, he had almost completely figured out the situation of the government army.

There were about 5,000 soldiers on both sides, on the north side were the white-rod soldiers led by Ma Xianglin, and on the south side were led by Yang Sichang himself. Although the last defeat had been several months, the shadow in his heart had not dissipated. If it were not for the love, he would not want to provoke Ma Xianglin again. Therefore, the direction he chose to break through this time was Yang Sichang on the south side. Although the latter was commanding, it was obviously better to clean up than Ma Xianglin.

Yuangui took a step forward from the back and said, "Master, brothers are all ready, start the attack!"

Luo Rucai's face was calm and he had no expression. After a while, he said, "Yuan Hing, do you think we can escape this time?"

Yuan Gui smiled and said, "Master, it's better not to predict such things in advance. Besides, even if we can't escape, we may not have no way out. Didn't Yang Sichang still be willing to accept the surrender of the Master before? As long as we make him realize that annihilation is much more expensive than capturing me, he may not agree. Moreover, in this situation, we are at least 50% sure of escaping. The key now is that we must concentrate our efforts to launch an attack. As for the others, it is not something we need to consider at the moment."
Chapter completed!