"The Fifth Reun and the Wei cavalry should be on the north slope of Changban and the south slope camped in the south slope, and were still stationed by Yin Shi, the governor of the pseudo Wei Jingzhou, and others."

"The general of the Western Expedition led 20,000 troops to attack the southern slope of Jingzhou, causing the Wei army to stir up the northern slope, making its northern slope empty."

"The General of the Supplementary Han (Liu Long) took 10,000 troops in Huainan to the north slope to attack the fifth reunion. Even if he could not defeat the army and capture the king, if he could break into the camp and sever his war horses, it would be enough to establish the victory."

Liu Xiu's plan was quite risky, and he bet that the fifth republic forces had not arrived yet. That night, he and Wang Chang's troops and Jia Fu's troops continued to besiege Cen Peng, while Feng Yi and Liu Long followed the plan.

Huainan troops followed Liu Long to operate. This was not the first time that Liu Long commanded this army. Not only did there be Shanyue in Kuaiji, Danyang, but there were also many mountainous areas in Huainan. Pang Meng was responsible for the prevention of the east mountain and the east mountain of Jiang, but Liu Long wiped out the Shanyue in Huainan, but the results were not as good as those in the south. Because of this relationship, several generals from Huainan were familiar with Liu Long, but Liu Long always felt that their smiles and Ying Nori had a rift.

Perhaps it was the story that happened in the big tent in the evening: the fifth Rent asked the messenger to say hello to Liu Long.

"Those who are probably afraid of me, have they become Pang Meng's second?"

Liu Long felt bitter, but he said nothing, and he only worked diligently to move the soldiers north for more than ten miles, lying dormant in the uncultivated fields and abandoned villages. There were many cavalry in the Wei army. During the day, the scouts were fifty miles away, and there was no gap to take advantage of... Only at night, the horse's eyes were worse than those of people, and the scouts that were cruising had to ignite the torch, and the search range was greatly reduced, so there was a chance of a night attack.

Liu Long had to wait for Feng Yi to take action first. Time became particularly long. The mosquitoes and flies in the south made people irritable, and no one came to talk to him. Liu Long thought about a lot of past events for a while.

The civil officials and generals of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the civil servants and generals did not trust Liu Long. They believed that Liu Long, as the fifth old friend and the eighth good friend, could choose to join Wei and enjoy wealth. But only Liu Long knew that as early as he was born, he was firmly tied to the Han country.

Liu Long's family was the former Han Dynasty's marquis states. When Wang Mang planned to usurp the Han Dynasty, An Zhonghou raised his troops first, but unfortunately he was wiped out by a county magistrate. After the failure of the operation, the Liu family of An Zhong was killed. Liu Long was spared from his death because he was under seven years old. Later, he was taken in by his distant relatives and changed his name to the Imperial Academy. Liu Long never forgot the pain of the family's family's destruction. He hated Xinmang and was also tireless in restoring the cause of restoring the Han Dynasty.

So when he was able to join the fifth reunion, Liu Long hesitated for a moment and helped Wei Xiang support Ruziying.

But he did not regret giving Hexi to No. 8. The rise and fall of a family is private, and the difference between China and Rong is public, so he can distinguish it clearly.

He even had no regrets of joining Liu Xiu for thousands of miles. Although the generals and ministers in the Southeast regard him as an alien, as long as the emperor still treats him as a minister of the country, let Liu Long fight under the Yanyan Han Dynasty and let him face his ancestors and fathers after his death. That's enough!

At this moment, the firelight on the southern slope of Changban suddenly brightened, and then there was a deafening shout of killing. Feng Yi had already taken action!

As a long-time general, Liu Long was not in a hurry. After hiding for a moment, he ordered the troops to get up and slowly touch the north slope of Changban without tinting.

Although the moon is shining, soldiers are still tripped by tree stumps and ridges of fields from time to time. Fortunately, the endless cry of insects in summer evenings can cover up their pace, coughing and chrysank.

Seeing that the camp in the north slope of Changban was in front of him, there were too many torches on it, and you could vaguely see the patrolling Wei soldiers. Liu Long signaled everyone to stop and waited for the subsequent troops to arrive. Only then did the carefully selected suicides carry the wooden ladder and touch it!

However, before they could touch the trench, someone blew out of the pain because he stepped on the wooden trefoil, which aroused the alertness of Wei Ying.

He didn't bother to hide, and with Liu Long's order, the soldiers behind him carried wooden ladders to charge. Just as hundreds of Han soldiers jumped over the trench and rushed to the front of the camp wall, something unexpected happened to everyone.

With a whoosh, a bright spot flew out from the Wei camp and shot to the heads of the Han soldiers, accompanied by a harsh explosion and exploded suddenly!

It is like a ball of brocade blooming in the night sky, brightening above the head, sparks splashing for a moment, and stars are like waterfalls...

Liu Long was stunned. How should he describe it? By the way, it was like the ironworks ritual before the iron workshop opened the furnace! The difference is that the blacksmiths were throwing red iron, but the object flew out of thin air and exploded on its own, and smelled a faint burnt smell.

Although it was dazzling, the fireworks were fleeting, leaving only the dark night. The Han soldiers who were shocked by the explosion and fireworks only thought it was dazzled by their eyes...

Immediately, two more "fireworks" flew out and exploded above their heads again. Although the light was weak, it was enough for the Wei soldiers on the camp wall to see the dark Han soldiers under the wall, and the distribution was clear at a glance. Wei Lei's drums rumbled, and what flew out next was not the fireworks that were not only dazzling but also the sharp crossbows and arrows!

"Quick, climb first!"

Liu Long commanded the soldiers to rush up, but just as the Han soldiers were crawling up with a knife in their mouths, they saw the Central Army of Wei who had just followed the fifth reunion from Guanzhong. They set up some barrels on the wall of the camp, held a torch in hand to ignite the leads, and then aimed the wide black pipe mouth at the dense Han soldiers below...

What happened next will be unforgettable for Liu Long in his life.

Suddenly, bursts of violent firelight burst out from the camp, far beyond the small fireworks just now. Lights flew out from the tubes, making a rustling sound like a beep, venting the heads of the Han army squeezing under the wall, and the ground was filled with wailing screams.

Not only were people near the people suffering, but the soldiers from afar did not avoid it. The "rockets" crossed more than a hundred steps and shot directly to Liu Long's feet. Some even exploded violently after landing! Although the lethality was not strong, it scared the Han army so much that they were overturned. Huainan soldiers who had never seen such a scene ran away and their morale suddenly collapsed...

Liu Long looked at the Wei army's new weapons in amazement. The rockets flying all over the sky were so dense that every time the smoke rose and the fire broke out, and the flames almost reflected the offensive and defensive battlefield red, as if in the next game...

"Meteor shower!"

...

The attack camp, which was highly anticipated by Liu Xiu, was ultimately defeated. After Liu Long retreated hastily, the situation he and the general reported to Liu Xiu was unbelievable.

In order to cover up his failure in the offensive, the general tried his best to exaggerate the weapon: "The Wei army used rockets to shoot back my wooden ladder. When hundreds of arrows were fired, all the ladders were burned, and everyone on the ladders were burned to death. They shot Han soldiers under the wall, and the troops would rot when they encountered them."

Liu Long's remarks were a little closer to the facts, and he only said: "This thing may be fired, and it can be used to take two hundred steps, and all the people and horses will fall."

But after thinking about it, none of the people who were really hit by this thing were scared away by fire, smell, and explosions.

After Feng Yi, who was attacking the southern slope of Changban, the report was much more detailed. Feng Yi was still stationed on the right and only sent people to see Liu Xiu anxiously: "The enemy placed a barrel on the wall of the camp, and dozens of rockets were installed in the belly of the barrel. When the bus was ignited, the public was fired, and the momentum was like a thunder attack. No soldier in our army dared to take the lead, so they all retreated and defeated."

Not only that, Feng Yi also presented the collected "rocket", but saw an ordinary arrow with a tube tied to the front. He touched it. It was probably wrapped in paper. This was already a common thing in the north. There were leads at the tail and traces of burning, but it did not explode like others. It was a blind cannon...

After cutting the object with a knife, black and gray powder is poured out inside. The color is like charcoal and the taste is pungent, like nitro or sulfonium.

The Han monarchs and ministers looked at each other and couldn't figure out what this was. Liu Xiu was brave and tried to use fire to lead them to it and found that they would burn violently. Did Liu Long see the "iron flowers" that he had seen before, and those "rockets" that could fly two hundred steps with fire, all rely on this thing?

After a while, Liu Long guessed: "I heard that after defeating the Xiongnu and pacifying the Western Qiang, I recruited many Yanqi alchemists in the north and refined elixirs in Zhongnan Mountain. There were often rumbling sounds in the mountains. Now it seems that the one I made must be this thing..."

Now Liu Xiu was even more defensive. He also liked to recruit alchemists and gather them together for a conference, but they were all engaged in activities such as prophecy and divination, which proved that Liu Han’s revival of destiny was not the result of similar military and national weapons?

Before Liu Xiu's depression ended, the Left Army sent someone to report: "Your Majesty, Cen Peng's army saw that fireworks suddenly exploded in Changban, so they reorganized the army and broke through to the north! General Hengye was unable to stop him, so I beg His Majesty to rush for help!"

After pondering for a while, Liu Xiu said, "It's time for this, Cen Peng is hard to annihilate. If we insist on besieging us, our army's strength will be only 70,000, which will easily be easily joined by him and the fifth family. There is no need to stop him. Let Wang Chang and Jia Fu's troops fight and retreat, and Feng Yi's right troops cover him."

The failure of the camp tonight means that Liu Xiu lost the opportunity to defeat the fifth reunion in Changban and Cen Peng, and the opportunity will no longer come.

He glanced at the "rocket" again. Liu Xiu was not frightened by these fancy things, but the soldiers who fought continuously needed to rest and have a full meal to prepare for the most cruel decisive battle.

"The three armies crossed the Dangyang River and retreated to Dangyang County to reorganize the army!"

...

Liu Xiu left more than one way out for himself.

The Zhoushi in Jingling is the back road on the water, while Dangyang County is on land. One hundred and fifty miles south, you will reach Jiangling.

The person who guarded Dangyang County was Ma Cheng, the "General Yangwu" who was the first to come from Yingchuan. Ma Cheng was not in the limelight in his early years. A few years ago, as a deputy general, he followed Deng Yu to fight for the peace of Jiaozhou and even went south to Jiaozhi County.

It was also in that hot realm that Ma Cheng had become a habit of chewing betel nuts by the locals. Now he was ordered to take thousands of Jiaozhou soldiers north to help. Ma Cheng's mouth was still bulging at any time. When he smiled at people, his red teeth would appear. This was caused by betel nut juice and clam ash.

"There is juice inside, as clear as water and as delicious as honey. The Luo people in Jiaozhou call it the 'misculpting pill' to prevent miasma." Ma Cheng once described the deliciousness of betel nut to Liu Xiu, but Liu Xiu and his ministers only tasted the bitterness and couldn't love it.

In addition to betel nut, Ma Cheng also introduced a brand new military service to the Han army when he was recruiting Luoren: Xiang Soldier.

There are fifteen elephants in Dangyang County. These giants and dozens of riders are from Jiaozhou. Although there are many elephants in Jiangdong and Jingnan, only the people in Jiaozhou who have the ability to domesticate elephants and use them to humans. Ma Cheng hopes that these elephant soldiers can create miraculous effects on the battlefield of Jianghan.

However, the elephant soldiers were bulky after all, and the barefoot Jiaozhou Luo soldiers were helpless in the face of the whistling cavalry. After Jingling was burned, Geng Bozhao's cavalry attacked Huarong and turned westward, appearing between Dangyang and Jiangling, and Ma Cheng could not stop him.

"I am guilty!" For this reason, when Liu Xiu retreated to Dangyang County, Ma Cheng stopped chewing betel nuts and apologized to the emperor in shame, but he still asked: "I am willing to go south to clear the way and let Your Majesty retreat to Jiangling safely."

"Don't think about retreating without fighting." Liu Xiu shook his head. The troops on the march were the most vulnerable. If they were attacked by Xiao Geng when they went south and caught up by the fifth reunion in the rear, the consequences would be disastrous.

So Liu Xiu did not intend to escape directly, but chose to prepare for war in Dangyang County: he would rather aim his chest at the enemy than be attacked by the sword from behind.

As Cen Peng escaped from the trap, he joined forces with the Fifth Reunion, and troops from Lankou arrived one after another. On the third day after Liu Xiunan retreated, even Wan Xiu brought 30,000 troops to Changban and presented Fu Jun's head...

The fifth reunion did not continue to wait for the other troops in Nanyang, Xiangyang and other places to arrive. Instead, he took the initiative to invade the south for twenty miles, occupy the old Han army base, and confronted Liu Xiu along the Dangyang River.

That night, Di Wulun sent Dou Gu to meet Liu Xiu again through the shallow river, reiterated the war letter of that day, and even blamed Liu Xiu for "not being virtuous and attacking in a sneak attack."

"The day before yesterday, a decisive battle was made, but at night, a general attacked the camp, which was defeated by Hu Ben. However, I knew that Wen Shu was a man, so this must be done rashly by his generals and had nothing to do with you. I have a trust in my words. After the war letter was sent, it would be as heavy as the Nine Cauldrons! I still hope to fight soon."

This surprised Liu Xiu, unlike the fifth reunion he knew.

Liu Xiu made up the score, and Cen Peng's troops suffered too much loss and needed rest and could not participate in the battle for the time being. The fifth reincarnation had a maximum of 100,000 people, and compared with the Han army, there was no absolute advantage.

"In the past, the fifth republic will definitely try to hold me back, but will not fight. When the '800,000 army' he has arrived, he will calmly encircle it."

What makes the Fifth Reunification abandon the method of winning and make arbitrary advancement?

Even Feng Yi felt that there was something wrong and said: "The fifth man Yu either holds the will of victory or is too arrogant."

"I would rather have the advantage of armor and soldiers in the fifth relationship, the skills of rockets, and the good cavalry, so I underestimate the Han army."

It's right, no matter how they look at it, Liu Xiu suddenly laughed. He suddenly remembered his brother Liu Bosheng. When he was in Weibei, he was like today. He knew his disadvantages, but he had no way out. He could only fight, right?

In the past, Liu Xiu actually secretly blamed his brother: Why do you have to be so stubborn and fight against the fifth reunion in Guanzhong? Whether it is retreating to Hanzhong to use Tubashu or advancing east to seek Heluo, it is better than hitting one head-on to death!

But today, Liu Xiu understood.

Because, when facing an enemy like the fifth reunion, you will only lose again and again when you retreat!

It's time to finish it.

Soon, the fifth reunion, who set up camp in the north of Dangyang Bridge, received a reply from Liu Xiu. It was very simple, with only five words:

"If you want to fight, then fight!"

...
Chapter completed!