Since we want to launch a counter-ambush against the Tai bandits, we must first find the right target. After weighing the trade-offs, Zhang Jing decided to take the lead in attacking the Tai bandits in the east, namely the two branches of the Eastern King Zhu Wu and the Lu King Lu Liao.

The reason is very simple, because Zhu Wu and Lu Liao, the two thief kings, are better at leading troops among the Taishan bandits and the thief camps are not far apart, so they can fight together like the county army that planned Zhuxu County last time. Compared with the other thief kings of Taishan bandits, the most threatening is the army of the Northern King Wang Peng.

Therefore, if we could design a thief army that severely damaged Zhu Wu and Lu Liao, we would definitely be able to severely attack the arrogance of the bandits of Mount Tai.

On this point, Xue Ao and Wang Su also hold the same view.

In order to ambush Zhu Wu and Lu Liao's army, Zhang Jing made some arrangements.

He divided the 20,000 Taishi Army under his command and Wang Su's 30,000 Hebei Army in Tuancheng, Dongguan, Langya County into several stocks, stationed in each county, and put on the stance of preparing to expel small groups of Taishan bandits in the territory instead of the county army, just like spreading a bag of holes.

At the same time, he asked Xue Ao to secretly transfer five thousand Taiyuan cavalry under his command to Linzi area. Once Zhu Wu and Lu Liao's army were transferred into the bag opening spread by the Taishi Army and the Hedong Army, the Taiyuan cavalry immediately dispatched to seal the bag opening, thus surrounding the Taishan bandits who fell into the trap and wiped out one fell swoop.

The problem is...

"Did the Taishan bandits fall into the trap?" Wang Su asked hesitantly.

"Not necessarily won't."

Zhang Jing explained with a serious expression: "In my opinion, the recent behavior of the Taishan bandits has only two purposes: First, plunder food as much as possible, and second, weaken the county troops as much as possible to delay our joint encirclement and suppression. I decided to send the Taishi Army and the Hebei Army under your command to escort the caravans between the counties to prevent them from being plundered by the Taishan bandits again... Zhu Wu and Lu Liao saw that they could not find the opportunity to plunder, so they could only try to ambush our soldiers. They could not sit and wait for death, right?"

From the side, Xue Ao frowned and said, "If the elites are concentrated in the Qi County area, the defensive power of the other counties will be weakened..."

He mainly refers to Jibei County in the western part of Mount Tai and Jinan County in the northern part of Mount Tai.

"It's okay."

Zhang Jing said seriously: "There is only one Dingman in the western part of Mount Tai. This person is timid and cowardly. So far, your second brother is stationed in Lucheng. He dare not step out of Mount Tai. The second brother only needs to leave a small number of cavalry to use suspicious plans, so he naturally does not dare to act rashly. As for Wang Peng in the north... In the meantime, I sent Xiahou Lu to lead 10,000 Taishi Army to garrison in the Dongpingling area, and then ask him to lead his army into the mountains to explore the way, and make a stance to advance. It should be enough to fool him.

Wang Peng. As long as the west and north are blocked, the Taishan bandits can only find a way from the east and south... If it is to be cautious, Shaoyan said that the other 20,000 Hebei troops left in Langya County can be transferred slightly north, one branch is deployed in Dong'an and the other branch is stationed on the border between Lu County and Langya County. The so-called Southern Heavenly King Tao Xiu, the Taishan bandits, are also timid and suspicious by nature. As long as the Hebei army takes the stance of attacking the mountain, he may not dare to act rashly."

“Um…”

Xue Ao closed his arms and thought for a while, then nodded: "You can give it a try."

A few days later, Zhang Jing and Wang Su made some arrangements for their troops, and Xue Ao also arranged suspicious soldiers in Lucheng, deliberately asking the Taishan bandits on Mount Tai to see his cavalry back and forth between Lucheng and neighboring counties.

Although the ambush plan of the three five tigers had not yet been launched, the Taishan Yishi Division had obviously noticed the changes in the officers and soldiers. For example, the 10,000 Taishi Army was suddenly transferred from Linzi to Jibei, blocking the way out of the North Heavenly King Wang Peng; and to the south, another 20,000 Hebei troops, which were originally deployed between Donghai County and Langya County, were also transferred to the east of Dong'an and Lu County, and both controlled the way out of the South Heavenly King Tao Xiu.

To be honest, the so-called "blocking" and "crushing" here are to put it bluntly that heavy troops were placed at the doorstep of several Tianwang Army in Mount Tai. If you insist on saying that there is any effect, in fact, it is only a shock in the end.

Just like after Zhang Jing returned to Linzi a while ago, he still ordered Chen Jie to lead 10,000 Grand Tutor Army to station in Linqu County and block the door of the Dongwang Zhu Wu's house. What's the use? The eastern mountainous area of ​​Taishan is so big that the thieves under Zhu Wu can still go down the mountain to rob the road. Even if Chen Jie's army learned about the whereabouts of the Taishan bandits in time, most of them would return in vain.

But this layout reveals a message that the Shandong Jin army is planning a general attack on Mount Tai.

If the Taishan Yishi Division had sufficient food to store, they would not have to worry about the actions of the Jin army. At most, they would have to hide in the mountains for a few months. Could it be that the Jin army could still find them in the vast mountains and seas? Besides, when fighting in the mountains and forests, the Taishan Yishi Division had the advantage of geographical advantages, and it might not be impossible to defeat the Jin army. After all, the Jin State that besieged them at that time would be of different quality. Even if they could not withstand the Taishi Army and the Hebei Army, wouldn’t there be any soft persimmons like the county army?

As long as the soft persimmon is pinched flat, the Taishi Army and the Hebei Army alone will not be enough to surround the entire Mount Tai.

Therefore, the biggest purpose of Zhang Jing's layout is to panic the bandits, and it is actually not very useful.

Around the fifth day of the April 19th, the various Heavenly King armies of the Taishan Yishi Division also learned about the changes in the garrison of Shandong officers and soldiers.

The great king Zhou Dai urgently called Zhang Zhai to the front and said in panic: "I have received the news that Zhang Jing and others are about to fully encircle and suppress our Taishan Yishi. I wonder if the military advisors have a solution?"

Zhang Zhai smiled and comforted, "Don't worry, the Great King, I think the officers and soldiers should not launch a siege at this time. First, we have not received the news that Grandmaster Chen has returned to Linzi. Second, it is almost April, and the counties in Shandong are about to start spring farming. How could Zhang Jing give up the spring farming affairs of the counties and counties around Mount Tai to deal with us? Even if he wants to besiege my Mount Tai Yishi, he will definitely be after the spring farming affairs, probably at the end of April."

Seeing Zhang Zhai calm, Zhou Dai was also calmed down for a long time and asked again: "If the officers and soldiers of Jieshi really came to attack, would the military advisor have a solution? If my charity army had enough food, it would be fine, but now the charity army is urgent, I am afraid that I will be unable to face the encirclement of the officers and soldiers..."

"Please rest assured that the Great King of Heaven is here to have a solution." Zhang Zhai replied without changing his face.

After hearing this, Zhou Dai gradually felt relieved.

He didn't know that Zhang Zhai was also uneasy at this moment.

Although he had a Zhou Duwei's plan for thousands of miles, Xue Ao, Zhang Jing and Wang Su he faced were not good at it.

For example, Zhang Jing, this person quickly responded to his Taishan Yishi Division's "breaking" and "breaking attack" tactics. On the one hand, he ordered the county and county troops to stop attacking and expel them and train soldiers with peace of mind. On the other hand, he divided his troops to send the Taishi Army. The Hedong Army escorted the convoys between the counties along the way, and made a strict layout so that the small forces of the Taishan Yishi Division could not find the target of the robbery.

As the military advisor of Taishan Yishi, Zhang Zhai was actually very nervous at the moment, but he didn't dare to show it in front of Zhou Dai, so as not to cause trouble.

After appeased Zhou Dai here, Zhang Zhai immediately went to the eastern part of Taishan to the main village of the Eastern Heavenly King Zhu Wu.

When Zhu Wu learned of Zhang Zhai's arrival, he hosted a banquet in the mountain village to entertain the former, but the food and drink were obviously much simpler than last year.

Even if Zhu Wu did not mention the reason, Zhang Zhai knew it very well.

While the two were drinking, Zhu Wu frowned and said, "The response of the officers and soldiers was faster than we expected. At present, the convoys that were traveling between the counties of Qi County were escorted along the way, ranging from nearly a thousand to two or three thousand. According to my brothers, they had not succeeded for several days. If this continues..."

At the end of the day, he shook his head.

"I came for this." Zhang Zhai said seriously.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wu looked at Zhang Zhai curiously and asked in surprise: "The military advisor has a countermeasure?"

Zhang Zhai thought for a while and said in a deep voice: "I have been thinking about it over the past few days that the 20,000 Grand Tutors and 50,000 Hebei troops under Zhang Jing and Wang Su are like shackles that bind my righteous army. If they cannot be broken, my righteous army will eventually be controlled by him..."

Zhu Wu was slightly shocked when he heard this and sat up straight.

He looked surprised and asked in a low voice: "Do you want to... deal with these two Jin troops?"

As if he had guessed Zhu Wu's idea, Zhang Zhai said seriously: "It may not be that there is no chance... As far as I know, half of the troops under Zhang Jing's army were led by Chen Jie, and they are currently stationed in Jinan. Wang Su's 50,000 Hebei troops were also deployed in the areas of Dong'an and Lu County. In other words, between Qi County and Langya County, the elite Jin army only had 10,000 Taishi Army and 30,000 Hebei Army, totaling 40,000 troops..."

"That is far more than the troops under Zhu's command." Zhu Wu frowned and reminded.

"This is naturally understood." Zhang Zhai nodded and explained: "But Zhang Jing wants to divide his troops into the counties in the two counties. The troops cannot be concentrated. If it were not for special circumstances, he would not have been dispatched. And if the Heavenly King joins forces with King Lu, he may not be able to find a chance to defeat the Jin army..."

Zhu Wu looked up and down in surprise and said suspiciously: "It seems that the military advisor has a clever plan?"

Zhang Zhai smiled slightly and said, "The trick is not enough, so I have an immature idea... The spring farming in Shandong is a little later than that in Jiangnan, and it probably starts from mid-April to late April. It happens to be right now... Actually, I suspect that Zhang Jing mobilized troops to siege my Taishan Yishi, but in fact, it is to shock my Yishi and prevent my Yishi from going down the mountain to harass the spring farming in various counties..."

"He doesn't have to." Zhu Wu sneered when he heard this.

Zhang Zhai also smiled when he heard this.

Indeed, how could he, Taishan Yishi, really destroy the spring plowing of various counties in Shandong? You should know that they survived by looting the grain of various counties in Shandong. If the counties in Shandong cannot collect grain this year, their situation will definitely not be much better.

One of the five tigers of Chenmen, can’t you even see through this?

In response, Zhang Zhai guessed: "I don't think he can't see through it, but he can't believe me... What's more, in his opinion, after this spring plowing incident, he would gather Shandong's officers and soldiers to join forces to encircle us. He was also afraid that we would give up and drag Shandong to perish..."

"Well." Zhu Wu nodded slightly, probably because he thought Zhang Zhai's explanation was reasonable.

Indeed, if the Taishan Yishi decided to take Shandong to death and try to destroy the farmlands in Shandong counties, even if the Jin army wiped them out this year, Shandong would definitely not be able to make a good fortune.

As generals of Jin State, Xue Ao, Zhang Jing and Wang Su are not surprising to be on guard against this matter in advance.

After thinking about it, Zhu Wu said to Zhang Zhai: "I will send someone to invite King Lu Tian to come first. When he arrives, I will talk about it carefully later."

"Okay." Zhang Zhai nodded.

On that day, Zhu Wu sent someone to Jiwu Mountain.

Jiwu Mountain is not far from Zhu Wu's main camp. Just one day later, Lu Liao brought a number of soldiers to the appointment. Zhu Wu invited him and Zhang Zhai to his house. The three of them drank and discussed countermeasures.

During this period, when Zhu Wu saw Lu Liao's face rosy and as if he had encountered some good news, he asked in surprise: "King Lu Tian was in a good mood today. Could it be that he had encountered some good things recently?"

"Ha ha."

Lu Liao laughed and explained: "I don't hide it from you. The brothers I sent to Jiangdong a few years ago came back and brought back the news about Mr. Bohu..."

『Zhao Bohu?』

Zhang Zhai and Zhu Wu looked at each other, and their expressions became a little subtle.

Of course they knew that Zhao Bohu, the new leader of the Jiangdong Yishi Division, did not look at their Taishan Yishi Division being in the limelight last year, but in the second half of the year, Zhao Bohu completely overwhelmed the sharpness of their Taishan Yishi Division. The reason was that Zhao Bohu defeated Han Xu, one of the five tigers of the Chenmen, in the Zhenze area of ​​Jiangdong last year, and became famous all over the world.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Zhai said with a smile: "Congratulations to King Lu Tian for getting in touch with Zhao Qushuai... I wonder what Zhao Qushuai's current situation is?"

His tone is not very enthusiastic.

After all, there are factions in the righteous army, and now he is loyal to a certain Zhou Duwei. He also expects that Zhou Duwei will become the co-leader of the world's righteous army in the future. Unexpectedly, a Zhao Bohu who is very popular suddenly emerged. I have to say that he also does not know the relationship between a certain Zhou leader and Zhao Bohu and Zhao Qushuai, otherwise he would not feel inexplicably vigilant at this moment.

I don’t know if Lu Liao noticed Zhang Zhai’s inexplicable tone, and said with a smile: “According to the brothers sent, at least half of the three counties in Jiangdong, namely Danyang, Wujun and Kuaiji have surrendered to Mr. Bohu. Although Mr. Bohu has not crossed the river, his charity army has quickly expanded to tens of thousands of people… When I sent people to contact him, Mr. Bohu was trying to help Changsha…”

"Changsha?" Zhang Zhai was slightly stunned.

"Ah." Lu Liao nodded and said, "Maybe the military advisor doesn't know that there is still a charity army in Changsha County. The current commander Qu is Xiang Xuan..."

"Xiang Xuan..." A few memories appeared in Zhang Zhai's eyes.

He had a good relationship with Guan Shuo, Chen Xu and others back then, so he naturally recognized Xiang Xuan, a general under Guan Shuo.

After a few years, Xiang Xuanyi, after Guan Shuo, became the commander of the Changsha charity army.

As he recalled, Lu Liao continued: "The Changsha charity army was attacked by Jin general Wang Shangde a few years ago. The situation was very difficult. After defeating Han Xu, Mr. Bo Hu learned about the difficult situation of the Changsha charity army, so he sent an envoy to meet Xiang Xuan, hoping that the two sides would join forces. Unexpectedly, the Xiang Xuan was stubborn and mistakenly thought that the Jiangdong charity army was going to take the opportunity to annex Changsha. He ignored the kindness of Mr. Bo Hu, and said that his charity army was enough to resist.

Wang Shangde... At that time, Jiangdong Yishi was very angry, but Young Master Bo Hu pointed out that Jiangdong can now get a short peace, all because of the Taishan Yishi in the north that blocked Taishi Chen and Wuhu, and Xiang Xuan on the west that blocked Wang Shangde's Jin army. Now Changsha Yishi in a difficult situation, even if Xiang Xuan was not grateful, Jiangdong must repay this kindness. In short, Young Master Bo Hu went against the opposition and finally led his army to Changsha to aid Xiang Xuan..."

Zhang Zhai said nothing, and after a while, he sighed secretly: Xiang Xuan is gone.

He knew Xiang Xuan very well. This man was rebellious but also valued love and friendship. When Zhao Bohu was rejected, he still led his army to provide assistance. Apart from joining Zhao Bohu's command, what did Xiang Xuan use to repay this friendship?

What a pity...

He originally planned to pull Xiang Xuan to his "Yingchuan Yishi".

"This Zhao Bohu... seems to be very good at winning over people."

Zhang Zhai thought to himself.

At this time, when Zhu Wu saw that Zhang Zhai did not say a word, he deliberately asked Lu Liao: "I don't know what Zhao Qushuai thinks about me, Taishan Yishi? What do you think of Zhao Qushuai? Do you ask the Heavenly King to tell me?"

He had already received a promise from Zhang Zhai, and the two were also people on the same boat. Now, seeing Lu Liao praise Zhao Qushuai, Zhu Wu naturally had some opinions in his heart.
To be continued...