The ice and snow have stopped, and the sky is clear. On an official road from Sichuan to Hubei, a cavalry galloped forward like a strong wind. They were not many, but there were also many, with a total of five hundred horses. The horses under the knights were all good Outer Mongolian horses. They were not big, but they had excellent endurance and were suitable for long-distance raids.

At this moment, I don’t know how long they had been running. The white air exhaled from the horse’s mouth rose in the air, gradually solidifying into rain and mist on the people and the horse’s body. The road was muddy, and every step of the horse’s hooves would splash a ball of mud. All the knights’ armor was covered with stains, and they looked very embarrassed.

Suddenly, a cavalry rushed back from the front and rushed into the fast horse team. In the middle of the team, a red sun and moon flag stood. The knight held the horse under the Zhan flag and shouted loudly: "Zhou Guerrilla, the villain came back. Five miles ahead is Dangyang. According to local people, the bandit army left five days ago, as if they were heading east to attack Jingzhou."

Dangyang is located in the east of Yichang, adjacent to Sanxia, ​​connected to Jingzhou in the east, and connected to Longzhong in Xiangyang in the north. There is an ancient battlefield here called Changbanpo. In the past, Liu Bei was defeated and was chased by Cao Cao's tiger and leopard cavalry. Zhao Zilong had entered and exited here seven times, and the fierce general Zhang Fei even roared here, scaring away tens of thousands of Cao's troops. It has always been a place that must be fought for by military strategists.

Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong were originally stationed in Dangyang City to prevent Zhang Xianzhong from leaving Sichuan. But later, Zhang Xianzhong disrupted Sichuan and they were all transferred to Sichuan. Dangyang only left more than 3,000 county soldiers, and their combat effectiveness was extremely low.

Just ten days ago, the army led by Zhang Xianzhong suddenly appeared near Dangyang City. At that time, the official army in the city was still asleep. The peasant army took advantage of the night to attack, and overnight, Dangyang City was defeated. Zhang Xianzhong successfully entered the hinterland of Hubei, and Yang Sichang's attempt to block the peasant army in the Sichuan-Hubei border area completely failed.

What's even more serious at this time was that most of the imperial army was still in Sichuan, and there were only county soldiers who could protect themselves in Hubei. After receiving the news, Yang Sichang was extremely shocked. On the one hand, he ordered his generals to leave Sichuan urgently and pursue the peasant army; on the other hand, he ordered all parts of Hubei to guard against the death to avoid being taken advantage of by Zhang Xianzhong.

Zhou Xian did not expect that Zhang Xianzhong would be able to successfully leave Sichuan under such circumstances, and he began to feel nervous. He suggested to Yang Sichang that Zhang Xianzhong would likely lead his troops to raid Xiangyang, but Yang Sichang was completely unbelievable after hearing this. After Zhou Xian's many requests, he finally agreed to transfer 500 cavalry from all over the place and let Zhou Xian lead them out of Sichuan first.

First, explore the way for the entire army, explore where Zhang Xianzhong is in the shortest time, and guide the direction for the subsequent army. Second, urge the defenders in Hubei to jointly defend Zhang Xianzhong.

Zhou Xian had an obsession in his heart, and always felt that Zhang Xianzhong would go around and eventually raid Xiangyang. Therefore, as soon as he left Sichuan, he sent several scouts to Xiangyang and whip them to Xiangyang, and in the name of Yang Sichang, he asked them to strengthen their defense. He himself led 800 cavalry to gallop north, intending to arrive in Xiangyang in the shortest time.

After hearing the scout's reward, Zhou Xian nodded slightly. "Let the brothers rest on the spot, eat and feed the horses, and then go on a rush after one hour."

Li Kai next to Zhou Xian looked surprised and asked, "Second Young Master, are we not going to Dangyang City?"

Zhou Xian nodded and said, "Ten thousand thieves have robbed Dangyang City for several days, and the city has been left without any chickens and dogs. At this time, we can't get any supplies when we enter the city, so it's better not to go in. Fortunately, we took a lot of food with us when we go out of Sichuan this time. Let the brothers endure it for a while, and then wait until we arrive in Xiangyang before resting."

Li Kai nodded and asked the left and right to pass the order. He hesitated for a moment, looked up at Zhou Xian and said, "Second Master, do you think the thief army will definitely attack Xiangyang? The news we received a few days ago was that the thief army appeared near Jingzhou!"

Zhou Xian shook his head and smiled bitterly, "How could I know? Hubei is different from Sichuan. It is flat and vast, and there are many cavalrymen in the bandits. It is easy to travel like the wind, and traveling 300 miles a day. Relying on this little force in Hubei, self-protection is not enough. Where can I find the extra force to explore the movements of the bandits? The supervisor has hoarded countless arms and food in Xiangyang, which is the top priority of the entire Hubei defense. I can only bet on Zhang Xianzhong to attack there now."

Zhou Xian jumped off the horse and looked at Li Kai and said, "You should also have a good rest, and you will continue to rush forward later."

Bai Wenxuan walked to Li Dingguo with a knife and handed him a bloody letter in his hand and said, "The two generals, none of the ten official scouts left, have been cleaned up. The letter was found from them. It was sent by a guerrilla general named Zhou Xian to the Xiangyang garrison in the name of Yang Sichang."

Li Dingguo opened his eyes and his face changed suddenly, but he returned to calm after a moment. "I have seen Zhou Xian once. At that time, he was still one of the generals of Zhang Lingjun. But unexpectedly, he was promoted to a guerrilla general in just a few months. It's really not easy!"

Bai Wenxuan laughed and said, "It's not that there is no guerrilla warfare. General Gan died in my hands. It may not be certain, this is another one who sent death."

Li Dingguo shook his head and said, "Xiaobai, don't underestimate this person. I have heard from Zhang Lingjun that Zhou Xian followed his father out of the frontier when he was twelve years old, and killed the Tartar Bele Sahalian with a musket in front of the formation. He was named Zhaoxin Captain. He was less than sixteen years old and passed the imperial examination. If he hadn't offended the powerful and nobles of the court, he could at least be released as a prefect. Now you look at it again, even if he later became a general in the army, he would become a guerrilla general in such a short time. It can be said that this person is a civil and military genius. If you despise him, you will definitely suffer a great loss in the future."

After listening to it, Bai Wenxuan couldn't help but exclaim: "It's so awesome!"

Li Dingguo raised the letter in his hand and continued, "You read this letter again. Before he arrived in Hubei, he speculated that our army would likely attack Xiangyang. If we had not intercepted these scouts, the defenders of Xiangyang would have known our army's intentions at this time. Once that happens, it would be difficult for us to enter Xiangyang City again."

Bai Wenxuan pondered for a moment, and finally nodded and said, "Second General, what should we do now?"

Li Dingguo pondered for a moment and said, "We immediately rushed to meet with the father and commander, inform him about this matter, and raid Xiangyang in advance. In addition, you send more scouts to the north and explore the whole way. If you find an official army coming out of Sichuan, report it to the father and commander as soon as possible."
Chapter completed!