Chapter 65 Merit
As dusk approached, the team stopped at a river beach again.

In order to avoid being attacked again, Yang Zhengshan directly ordered people to place the car frames on the periphery to form a temporary camp.

Yang Zhengshan didn't know that the Hu cavalry were attacking the grain routes everywhere at this time, but they had already been attacked once, so they naturally had to prevent being attacked again.

After nightfall, Yang Zhengshan did not allow the soldiers and civilians to make a fire. Everyone drank the boiled water prepared during the day and ate hard dry food.

Fortunately, it is now late June and the temperature at night is relatively high, so everyone can endure sleeping outdoors.

Nothing happened that night, and at dawn the next day, the team set off again.

If they hadn't been attacked yesterday, they would have been able to reach Fushan City today. But now they still had to take care of the seriously injured, so they definitely wouldn't be able to reach Fushan City today.

The uneasiness in Yang Zhengshan's heart did not fade away, but became even stronger.

He originally thought that his uneasiness came from the group of Hu cavalry, but now that they have eliminated those Hu cavalry, he still has a strong sense of uneasiness in his heart.

So Yang Zhengshan walked very cautiously along the way.

Yang Chengze and others who served as scouts spread out for more than ten miles.

It was almost noon again, and Yang Zhengshan was just about to ask everyone to stop and rest for a while when Yang Chengze came galloping over on horseback.

"Sir, there are a large number of cavalry ahead!"

Yang Zhengshan's whole body trembled, and his eyes suddenly became sharp.

"how many?"

"The distance is too far to see clearly, but it doesn't look like they are Hu cavalry!" Yang Chengze said in a deep voice.

Yang Zhengshan did not hesitate and quickly ordered: "Stop and prepare for battle!"

Regardless of whether they are Hu cavalry or not, it is definitely right to prepare for battle first.

After the order was given, the soldiers and laborers began to arrange a circular formation in an orderly manner.

The laborers already had experience and did not need Yang Mingwu and Yang Mingzhi's command. They parked the grain carts outside.

Yang Zhengshan drove his horse forward. He had only run two miles when he saw a cloud of dust flying on a small hill in the distance.

"It's not the Hu cavalry, it's the Zhenbiao Zuoying!"

He looked at the flying flags and felt relieved.

The cavalry came galloping, and Yang Zhengshan saw Zhou Lan in the front at a glance.

At this time, Zhou Lan was wearing a shiny gold-painted armor with mountain patterns, a red helmet with a spear on his head, a fiery red cloak on his back, and he was riding a horse and galloping. His slightly thin figure showed his bravery.

"Captain Yang!"

Zhou Lan tightened the reins and stopped abruptly in front of Yang Zhengshan. Hundreds of cavalrymen behind him also stopped. Although it looked a bit messy, it could be seen that their riding skills were very good.

"Your humble servant greets General Zhou!" Yang Zhengshan quickly dismounted and saluted.

Zhou Lan also jumped off his horse, held out his hand to support him, and asked, "The grain route was attacked by the Hu cavalry. Did you encounter any of them?"

"We did encounter them, but fortunately there were not many attacking enemies, and we managed to block them!" said Yang Zhengshan.

When Zhou Lan heard this, a look of surprise appeared on her face.

It was no wonder that she was surprised. In fact, the news she had received in the past few days was all about the baggage train being attacked and destroyed, and she had not received any news that could stop the Hu cavalry.

Not only the baggage train, but even the town's rear camp responsible for guarding the grain route suffered heavy casualties due to the harassment of the Hu cavalry.

When she suddenly heard that Yang Zhengshan and his men had blocked the attack of the Hu cavalry, she couldn't help but be surprised.

"Where is the food team?" Zhou Lan asked.

"Over there!" Yang Zhengshan pointed to the river beach in the distance.

"Let's go and take a look first!" Zhou Lan mounted his horse and galloped towards the river beach.

When they arrived at the riverbank, the surprise on Zhou Lan's face became even more intense.

She looked at the groups of war horses and the heads hanging on their backs, and her surprise turned into shock.

"How many levels did you decapitate?"

"Level 283!" "You killed them all?" Zhou Lan looked at the soldiers and civilians in the circle, somewhat unbelieving.

It’s not that she looks down on Yang Zhengshan, but such a record is too rare.

All the Hu people in the East China Sea are soldiers, and every member of the tribe is a powerful hunter in the mountains. They have been hunting in the mountains since they were young and are accustomed to blood, life and death.

Facing such an enemy, even the soldiers of the fifth battalion of Zhenbiao did not dare to claim that they could defeat the larger force with a smaller one.

Zhou Lan knew exactly how many people were under Yang Zhengshan's command and how many soldiers were in the baggage train.

With less than 200 soldiers, he was able to behead 283 people. This is how he defeated the enemy with a smaller force.

She simply ignored those civilian laborers. It was not that she didn't see them, but according to her past experience, the combat effectiveness of the civilian laborers was almost negligible.

Not to mention combat effectiveness, it's already good enough not to cause trouble for the soldiers.

But there is a saying that goes, a group of sheep led by a wolf can defeat a group of wolves led by a sheep.

If the soldiers in the front cannot withstand the attacks of the Hu cavalry, the civilians behind will naturally become a group of lambs.

But if the soldiers in front can hold on and show the courage to fight to the death, then these civilians will also have blood and will become a group of fierce thugs.

In the previous battle, although the civilians did not achieve much, they still helped Yang Zhengshan and his men a lot.

Zhou Lan ignored the civilians, but when she observed the temporary circular formation, she immediately understood why Yang Zhengshan and his men were able to block the attack of the Hu cavalry.

Using the grain carts as an obstacle to block the first wave of Hu cavalry's charge, the rest of the battle became relatively simple.

It is indeed a very good strategy to make the Hu cavalry lose their speed advantage and dismount and fight them on foot.

But don’t the other baggage trains know this?

Do not!
they know.

But they can't.

Because they could no longer set up a circular formation in a short period of time.

This is thanks to the well-trained soldiers of Linguan Fort. Once an order is given, they will carry out it without hesitation.

This is the key.

Otherwise, once chaos breaks out, the Hu cavalry will scatter the troops with a charge, and the rest will be slaughtered.

Zhou Lan looked at the spirited soldiers, with a glimmer of admiration in his eyes.

"These soldiers of yours can be called elite soldiers!"

Yang Zhengshan shook his head slightly, "They are still some distance away from being elite soldiers!"

They had never seen blood before, so they were naturally not considered elite soldiers. Now that they have seen blood, they are still a long way from being the elite soldiers in Yang Zhengshan’s mind.

The ambition to be trapped will lead to death but not life!
They are still far from it.

"Come here, record the merit!"

Zhou Lan did not argue with Yang Zhengshan, but directly called the clerks in the army to commend Yang Zhengshan and others.

Beheading nearly three hundred people can be considered a great achievement.

Guarding the food and grass can also be considered a merit.

These two achievements alone are enough for Yang Zhengshan to be promoted.

Zhou Lan has decided to end the battle and immediately promote Yang Zhengshan.

As for promoting Yang Zhengshan to what position, she still needs to think carefully about it.

She wanted to find an opportunity to mention Yang Zhengshan's abilities to Zhang Shouwang so that Zhang Shouwang would value Yang Zhengshan more.

Hearing that Zhou Lan was going to commend him, Yang Zhengshan smiled faintly while stroking his inch-long beard.

Yang Mingwu and others around him were even more delighted, and they all wanted to jump up and cheer.

Fortunately, they knew that now was not the time to celebrate, so they suppressed their joy and excitement in their hearts.

(End of this chapter)