It was nearly June, and wormwood was everywhere in the farmland that had been abandoned for a long time.
Among the dense reeds on the river bank, wild ducks soared into the sky.
The plateau is covered with graves. The Qingming Festival has passed, but no one is sweeping the new or old graves.
This seems to be a forgotten land.
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves came from far away, occasionally mixed with the sound of swords clashing.
At the forefront were more than a hundred riders, all galloping as if they were trying to escape.
The people running in front were lucky, and the dozen or so riders who fell behind had more or less a few arrows stuck in their bodies.
And dozens of steps behind them, the cavalry, whose number was almost three times theirs, shouted loudly and roared again and again.
Some held spears, some held halberds, and some held horned bows, sneaking up to shoot an arrow.
Both sides chased each other and fled, running for several miles in the blink of an eye.
At this time, more than two hundred cavalry came rushing from the southeast side of the fleeing party. Judging from their attire, they did not look like the people of the Central Plains, but more like Wuhuan and Xiongnu. But their target was precisely the miscellaneous cavalry running in front.
His movements were swift and violent, and he showed no mercy. It looked like he had been lying in wait here for a long time.
Yes, the place they started from was a forest.
After leaving the woods, he submerged himself in the wormwood that was almost as tall as a person. He accelerated slowly. After hearing the continuous sound of horse hooves, he suddenly rushed out and cut into the enemy jungle from the flank. With swords and guns, horns and bows, he instantly defeated the enemy.
The army killed a man and fell on his back.
The pursuers rushed in, surrounded the enemy from the rear, and slaughtered them wantonly.
A successful ambush!
There is no doubt that this is the cooperation between the two groups of people, consciously driving the enemy into the preset battlefield, and then gathering together to encircle and annihilate them.
There was a slight error during the execution, allowing the Huns to escape the first ambush area. Fortunately, the plan itself was redundant, and more troops were mobilized. If one failed, there was still a second one.
This battle has entered its final stage.
The Hun cavalry knew that they could not escape. Some desperately fought to the death, some begged for surrender in unfamiliar Mandarin, and some were so heartbroken that they faced the other side's cavalry and charged forward regardless, trying to break through a gap and escape.
.
But everything is in vain.
The Wuhuan Qingqi of the Beggar Army were cruising in the periphery.
The assault cavalry of the Yi Congjun were armed with large halberds. After getting close, they charged and struck fiercely, and soon knocked off their horses the last group of enemy cavalry who dared to resist.
Occasionally, when the Huns broke through the blockade and tried to escape, the beggar army's rangers immediately surrounded them and shot the thieves and their horses into hedgehogs.
The battle ended quickly.
The cavalrymen of the Yi Congjun dismounted and first rescued their own wounded soldiers, then refreshed the Huns and cleaned up the battlefield.
The beggar army can also pick up some benefits. The meat of injured and dead horses can be taken away, and the leather can be handed over, especially the highest quality horse crotch leather.
The enemy's damaged ordnance is allowed to be taken away, and it can be repaired and used again.
These are things that the sons of Yi Congjun still look down upon.
These Xiongnu light cavalry are slippery and extremely fast. Most of them are wearing furs, but only a few of them have leather armor for protection.
It's not that I don't have any melee weapons, but my skills are rudimentary and I'm not very good at them.
Their greatest characteristics are their flexibility, fast speed, and accurate riding and shooting, which makes them a headache to harass.
To deal with them, we can only mobilize several times the number of troops as much as possible, use ambush, lure the enemy and other means to surround and annihilate one of them with superior force, so as to make them fearful, increase their costs, and curb the enemy's rampant arrogance.
"It's really not easy to catch such a group of thieves." Manyu, the governor of Yi Cong, climbed up a small slope and looked at the corpses of men and horses scattered on the ground, sighing.
Behind him were three cavalry generals, the deputy governor Qiao Hong, the general Duan Xiong, and the general Yin Qi.
Qiao Hong was a Huns and a former general. He brought most of the more than 300 cavalrymen in the early days of the Yi Congjun.
Duan Xiong was from the Forbidden Army and once ambushed the Huns at Qili Pass. At that time, he was still leading armored cavalry. After being transferred out of the town by Sima Yue, he went to Yanzhou, where he went round and round and returned to Chen Gong's tent.
Yinqi is a newcomer from Liangzhou. After recruiting a thousand Liangzhou cavalry, their faction occupies a huge share in the Yi Cong army.
To be honest, Manyu was under tremendous pressure.
As the commander-in-chief of the Yi Cong Army when it was founded, Chen Gong has never moved his position, perhaps out of love or for other reasons. But in any case, when the size of the army is expanding day by day and the factions are becoming more and more complex, it is very important to
Test his ability.
He spent almost all his time with this unit.
I often feel inadequate and incompetent, and then I force myself to start painful learning. Just after I have improved, I find that someone with more ability has arrived, so I try my best to learn and ask for advice - I can't be looked down upon by others, otherwise there is no point in being dignified.
Control the whole army?
This ambush of the Xiongnu was a decision he made after overcoming all objections. He mobilized nearly a thousand cavalry in order to surround and annihilate two to three hundred enemy cavalry. However, he initially alerted the enemy and caused more than a hundred cavalry to escape.
Fortunately, the final result was not bad. More than 170 enemy cavalry were captured and killed, which greatly dampened their arrogance.
"Warlord, if you fight like this, you will inevitably be attacked and harassed." Yinqi said unceremoniously: "Thousands of cavalry were mobilized, but less than two hundred of them were surrounded and killed. In Chenliu, Puyang, Dongping, Jibei and other places, the Huns
They are still looting, destroying crops and houses, and the people are displaced and lying in the wild. If this continues, it will do great damage to Duke Chen's reputation."
"What good advice do you have?" Manyu asked.
"No." Yin Qi said, "I just told the governor that this is not the way to go."
Damn it! Man Yu was filled with resentment in his heart. He just knew how to ask questions, right?
"You are the military governor, I am not." Yin Qi smiled and went to gather the troops.
Qiao Hong laughed sarcastically and said: "Warlord, this guy has a stinky face all the time and doesn't like anyone. Next time, send him across the river to harass Shi Le."
When Duan Xiong heard this, he looked at Qiao Hong in surprise.
Why is this so much among colleagues? How many people can Yinqi take to Hebei? Even if he brings a thousand Liangzhou cavalry, if you are surrounded by people, find a wilderness and shoot from all sides, so that you can't use your melee skills.
Advantage, doesn't it mean that the entire army will be annihilated?
What's more, he didn't believe that the Huns didn't have any cavalry capable of charging and fighting. Xianbei had a lot of heavy cavalry who were good at charging, and Liu Han had forbidden troops, heavy armored infantry, and heavy cavalry. This was a serious threat to people.
Damn, the Huns are unreliable!
"Don't talk behind people's backs." Man Yu glared at Qiao Hong, then pointed to the distance and said, "Send someone away from the begging army for me."
"Overseer, you are such a beggar. If you call me to fight, you think highly of them. Why bother?" Qiao Hong said disapprovingly.
Man Yu looked around and said: "The beggar army came to help fight on the orders of the Dowager Princess of the East China Sea."
"By order of the concubine?" Qiao Hong was a little confused: "Where is the heir?"
"The heir is studying behind closed doors, and all affairs in the palace are decided by the concubine. I estimate that the concubine will not be relieved of this burden until the heir gets married. Go quickly, and don't ask questions.
"
Qiao Hong left with question marks on his face.
Manyu got on his horse and descended the high slope.
The cavalry gradually gathered together and walked on the bank of the canal.
Ahead is Putian Ze, one of the famous marshes in ancient times, located three miles east of Guancheng.
The Great Wall in the west (Zhenghan Great Wall), Guandu in the east, and Peiqushui in the north. The longest point from east to west is about fifty miles, and the north to south is twenty-six miles. The water area is very vast.
Putian Ze connects to the Yellow River in the north, Jishui River in the east, Langdang Canal, Bian Canal and Honggou Water System.
It also has the function of regulating flood peaks and water volume. "If the water is strong, it will flow to the north (Yellow River), and if the canal overflows, it will spread to the south (Bian Canal)."
There were only a few sandbanks in the Putianze in this era. Perhaps because it was connected to the Yellow River and had been war-torn for many years, it was unable to maintain water conservancy facilities. By the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Putianze gradually silted up and sandbars increased, and the entire Daze was divided into 24 parts.
Lakes, connected by waterways.
In the Tang Dynasty, a lot of area around Putianze was developed, so the Zhengzhou administrative office was moved there.
During the Qing Dynasty, the lake gradually disappeared due to the construction of farmland around the lake.
There are a large number of ships moored in this garden.
Several sand hills in the middle of the river were transformed into docks, and they were crowded and noisy.
Manyu and his men stopped at the temporary base south of Putian Ze.
In the wetlands, the aquatic plants are extremely abundant.
Especially after the flood receded, the muddy ground was covered with lush pasture.
The horses roamed around, chewing happily.
Li Ju, the commander of Wubao, was appointed as the order of Xingyang. He brought a group of people from his Wubao to graze cattle, sheep and horses outside Putianze, and cut the grass to dry and crush it as reserve fodder.
This is also an advantage for inside operations.
Wubao and military cities are everywhere and can be supplied at any time. If the number of horses increases in the future, they can even be replaced. In this way, the combat efficiency will be greatly increased.
When the Huns came south, they would face such a disadvantage.
When the Jin people went north, they would also encounter the problem of insufficient supplies.
Attacking deep into enemy territory is always more difficult than defending.
"Dangdang..." A clear bell rang from a sand hill in the middle of the lake.
After a while, a ship left the dock and slowly headed north.
Then came the second ship, then the third ship...
This is the fleet of Yang Bao, the captain of the Du branch, loaded with grain and silk sent from Guangling, and transported to Beijing.
The troop carriers sat nervously on the front and rear decks, carrying bow tips, arrow kettles, and crossbows in their hands.
The fleet may encounter an enemy surprise attack, so they cannot ignore it.
I heard that Jin Zheng, the deputy governor of the Silver Spear Army, brought more than 8,000 chariots, horses and auxiliary troops to Aocang. He should be escorting these canal boats to Luoyang.
From Aocang to Luoyang, trackers are needed to pull the fibers along the way. The Huns may not be able to attack the boats on the river, but they can still attack the trackers, so they must send troops to escort them.
"Jin Zheng..." Manyu muttered silently.
It seems that Mr. Chen is going to focus on cultivating their ability to be independent.
Jin Zheng, Wang Queer, Hou Feihu and others have great prestige in the Silver Spear Army, are very familiar with them, and are easy to command. They should be the first batch of people to take on important tasks.
Manyu felt a little bit of a crisis.
This life of a person is like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat.
Thinking of the many people in the Yi Cong Army who were dissatisfied with him, Man Yu had a headache. He had no choice but to improve himself.
Martial arts and military strategy cannot be left behind.
He's still young - or too young - and has plenty of opportunities.
Chapter completed!