Among the magnificent mountains, rivers and valleys, horses galloping, it is as picturesque as a poem.
A horse waded across the shallows, making a huge splash.
One by one, the knights are dusty, but their eyes are still firm.
After defeating the enemy, he will be rewarded with five pieces of silk. If there are any gains, additional rewards will be given.
This kind of extraordinary and generous reward is very rare. It is said that under a heavy reward, there must be a brave man. If you don't go all out now, when will you go all out?
"Dismount and rest for an hour." Shao Xun ordered on the grassland beside the river.
After giving the order, everyone took action. They did not rest immediately. Instead, they first assigned personnel to keep a distance, then loosened the bellybands of the horses to collect the sweat, and then fed them some beans, grains, and salt water.
After doing this, he sat down on the ground, took out some dry food and water, and ate it with big mouthfuls.
Shao Xun sat cross-legged on the ground, holding a silk map and looking at it carefully.
Tang Jian handed over a piece of dry and hard Hu cake, Shao Xun didn't even raise his head, grabbed it and gnawed it.
They are now in the countryside of Liang County, on the bank of Ru River, about a hundred miles away from Luoyang.
The horses have been changed once.
To be precise, the people riding now are not all horses, but also a large number of mules.
The replaced horses were handed over to the more than 200 people behind.
They have more than two thousand horses, mules and donkeys at hand, half of which carry luggage-mainly armor, spears, and some repair tools, wound medicine, whetstones, spare bow strings and other scattered gadgets.
It is not easy to carry luggage on the road, and the physical exertion of the horse and mule is not small. Therefore, every half day, the luggage needs to be transferred to another horse and mule to restore physical strength.
Generally speaking, they are currently in a wave-forward manner.
Three thousand horses and mules were divided into three parts.
In the first part, the soldiers rode on horseback. When the horses couldn't run any further, they rested on the spot and fed the horses feed and salt water. They also took the time to eat some water or take a nap.
After the second batch of unladen horses catch up, the rest is over, and the soldiers change horses and continue on their way. The first batch of horses, which are exhausted, rest on the spot or graze to save horse materials.
After the third batch of horses and mules carrying luggage arrived, the luggage was transferred to the first batch of horses, and then a small number of men took the empty horses to chase the soldiers.
The core idea is to change horses but not people, and move forward in waves.
There are only a few thousand soldiers now, but when tens of thousands of cavalry attack on a long distance, the scene will be lively.
Along the entire assault route, some people were fighting, some were sleeping, some were advancing, some were feeding horses, and some were packing luggage. The whole thing was actually advancing in waves.
A long-distance attack and a short-distance explosive assault are not the same thing.
After Shao Xun studied the map, he waited for a while, but the subsequent horses still didn't come, which made him a little anxious.
It is indeed easy to stumble when leading a large group of mounted infantry on a long-distance attack for the first time.
Everyone has never experienced that problems may occur in every small link, and the price of problems is time delay and long wait.
If there is a chance in the future, we must form a special flying dragon army like the Tang army - flying dragons, also known as Yuma.
Heavy infantry who are proficient in various martial arts, carry armor, weapons, bows and crossbows, ride on horseback, and dismount to fight on foot when they reach their destination.
It has the mobility of cavalry, a combat capability that far exceeds that of cavalry, and the ability to attack difficult areas. It is a very balanced unit.
But it’s just a thought.
The cost of a mounted infantryman is even more than that of a cavalryman. This is really a toy for the rich.
When the clouds filled the western sky, the following horses finally arrived.
Shao Xun did not blame the sweating sergeant. He said nothing and directly ordered the horses to be changed and drove on through the night.
The soldiers silently took out simple torches and placed them in the saddlebags under the saddle, two for each person.
After reorganizing the team for a while, they roared away.
****
In the city of Xuchang, people were panicking and running around endlessly.
Most of the soldiers have been taken to Hebei by King Fan Yang and put under the command of Gou Xi to attack Gongshi Fan, Hao Chang and others.
From the battle reports that came back, it seems that the fighting was good. In a few months, these rebellious officials and traitors will be completely wiped out.
This is how it goes, everything is under control, which is great.
But now something unexpected happened.
The king of Donghai led an army of 30,000 men and stationed in Xiao County in the west. He was defeated by Liu Qiao in a battle and rushed back to Xuzhou in embarrassment.
This is not just a matter of defeat on the battlefield. What is more serious is that Liu Qiao, the governor of Yuzhou, rebelled! He was forced to rebel by Sima Yue.
What should I do?
Xuchang was empty, with only two to three thousand defenders, all of them old and weak soldiers left over from the expedition, and morale was extremely low.
Do you expect those soldiers with white beards or childish faces to guard Xuchang?
No one dares to think so.
Some people have even fled, preferring to hide in manors outside the city rather than stay in Xuchang City and wait to die.
And their departure greatly shook morale and made more people want to flee.
In desperation, Tian Hui, the governor who stayed behind in Xuchang, could only order the city gates to be closed to prevent the city from dying.
But what's the use?
A group of old, weak and remnant soldiers, who dare not kill the enemy, still have the courage to break out of the city at night, and they are not small.
As a result, every midnight, the four walls of Xuchang became a "highway", and people kept descending from the city walls and disappearing into the vast night.
It’s not that Tian Hui hasn’t thought of ways, such as killing people to establish authority, but they can only stop him for a while, and he will return to his old ways the next day, and there is nothing he can do.
If we wait another ten days, I'm afraid everyone will be gone. The further back Gein goes, the more powerful he will be.
"Supervisor, are you asking each family in Xingwen County to send their troops to the city to help in the battle?" A petty official ran over and asked.
Tian Hui kicked him and cursed: "Shu Zi, are you trying to harm me? People's hearts are unpredictable. Who knows if the people entering the city are Liu Qiao's people?"
The clerk looked sad and said: "There is no way to continue like this. There are less than two thousand soldiers in the city, and many of them are young servants newly recruited. How can we fight?"
"You have to keep it even if you can't." Tian Hui glanced at him bitterly.
Of course, that's what he said, but if he really couldn't hold on, Tian Hui would never stay and die.
Based on his many years of service by King Fan Yang's side, even if he lost Xuchang, he would not necessarily be punished. He could even continue to lead the army, accumulate merit, and then recover.
Money, women, and mansions are all vain, but your own life is the most important.
"Stop lying on the ground, what are you pretending to be?" Tian Hui kicked him again and scolded: "Send someone quickly to find out the news. Liu Qiao is afraid that he has returned to Pei State. Let's see if they return to Liang State or
Come to Xuchang."
"No." The clerk lay on the ground and groaned with difficulty.
It was true that I was just pretending, but this time I was really kicked. I struggled for a while before I got up, then lowered my head and left.
Tian Hui snorted coldly, took the guards and began to patrol the city.
Yuzhou is quite special, as it is one of the eight old governor-general districts. Among them, the governor is stationed in Xiang County, Liang State, and the governor-general is in Xuchang, Yingchuan County.
Since the Cao Wei Dynasty, Xuchang has been an important town. It not only has a large number of soldiers stationed there, but also has piles of money, silk, grain, and armor, so that it can go south to deal with Soochow at any time.
You can only stand firm and don't have much ability to fight back.
It can be said that such an important town cannot be lost, but Tian Hui has no idea of ​​dying with it.
The horses are all ready, and there are more than one.
If Liu Qiao comes, just run away with his eldest son and Princess Fan Yang, and Xuchang will be given to you.
As for his wife and daughter, he can't care about it.
It is common for men to go to war and abandon their wives and daughters. There is no need to make a fuss. I don’t care what they think. My own life is important.
After inspecting the entire city, Tian Hui went back to his home to rest.
The number of soldiers is getting scarce day by day, and it makes me look upset, so I might as well go home and play with women.
****
"Xilulu!" The walking horse suddenly lost its front hooves and fell to its knees.
Shao Xun was startled, but did not panic.
Amidst the exclamations of others, his left foot suddenly stretched out and hit the ground. He managed to stabilize his body and did not fall out.
Then he kicked the horse's belly with his right foot, pulled the reins hard with both hands, and lifted it hard, and the horse suddenly stood up.
After riding his horse slowly in a circle, he looked at the wilderness three poles above the sun and ordered: "Arrange the security and rest the entire army. Call the guide."
"No." Tang Jian finally came to his senses and obeyed the order.
The generals watched from a distance and were all impressed.
After driving for several hours last night, many people fell off their horses.
Some people do it because their riding skills are not good, some people do it because they are too tired, and some people have their horses stumble.
General Shao's riding skills are also top-notch.
The guide quickly rushed over and bowed.
"Where is this?" Shao Xun asked.
"This place is called Guan Township." The guide replied: "We have entered Xiangcheng County in Yuzhou. If we continue our journey during the day, we should be able to enter the city before the gate closes."
"Why should I go to the county town?" Shao Xun smiled, took the biscuits and water bag, and started chewing them.
Yesterday, we marched for most of the day during the day, and for more than half of the night at night. Now that we are tired and our horses are exhausted, we have to extend our rest time.
Pan Tao, the assistant minister of Huangmen, only gave him two plans.
The first plan was for him to gather refugees around Luoyang and choose a location to build a fort.
This advice is crucial to Shao Xun.
Even if someone else's soldiers are deeply influenced by your own, they will still be unstable unless that person dies.
The only thing that is relatively reliable is the private army that I have created by myself.
Pan Tao's second suggestion is - Xuchang has few soldiers and many old and weak soldiers!
Regarding this, Shao Xun was hesitant at first and thought about it for a long time in Jinyong City.
Later, it turned out that he was a pervert. After the blood rushed to his head, he simply stopped doing nothing, improved on Pan Tao's strategy, promised generous rewards, boosted morale, and went on a large-scale attack of hundreds of miles. .
Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to Xuchang, Shao Xun actually relaxed.
Some things, there is no turning back.
If the windfall does not turn gray, who do you think you are, King Fan Yang? Even your cousin's princess and the Sheep Queen, I want them to give me children.
After eating the Hu cake, Shao Xun took the heavy sword and wiped it silently.
This continued until the afternoon, when a new batch of horses and mules arrived. He jumped up and got on his horse.
More than a thousand knights followed quickly, like a raging torrent, crossing the farmland after the autumn harvest and heading east.
On the seventh night of September, a large group of cavalry appeared in the west of Xuchang City and stood still.
Finally arrived.
Chapter completed!