Guo Dajing looked from a distance and could not see the situation in the village, but he might have guessed that Jianlu was trapped and angry.
Tens of thousands of kilograms of food were missing, and it was difficult to see clearly in the dark. If it was not noticed at dawn, could it be that all Jianlu were blind?
Sarna stood in the grain-drying field with a pale face, watching the soldiers lift the straw mats covering the grain. Except for the grain carts on the outside, the grain carts inside were either empty or had only one or two bags of grain left.
The shaved man officer was trembling with fear. Seeing that Sarna's face was getting worse and worse, and he was on the verge of an explosion, he quickly explained: "Sir, it was still fine when we pushed in last night. I checked it with Mr. Wencha."
Sarna's eyes turned to Wencha. As a Jurchen officer who supervised and controlled the shaved men, Wencha bowed and said, "Sir, it is indeed true."
"Could it be that the food can fly?" Tuerle didn't believe it at all. He glared and reprimanded: "I have asked the guards last night and I have never seen anyone leave the village with a bag of food. The vehicles have not moved. You said the food is
How was it lost?"
Sarna also didn't believe that food would be stolen out of the village at night, not one or two bags, but tens of thousands of kilograms, even if it was pulled by dozens of trucks. For such a big movement, the guards in the village would be blind and deaf.
.
Realizing that the suspicious eyes were on him, Wen Cha was also depressed and helpless. Although the test last night was not detailed, if there were tens of thousands of pounds missing, it was impossible for him not to notice it.
"Sir, there are still people present during the inspection of the humble position." Wen Cha called two of Jianlu's men and said: "If there is a shortage of tens of thousands of kilograms, it will be discovered no matter what."
Weird!
Sarna lowered his eyes. He didn't believe that Wen Cha would guard against theft. Why would he steal food? It would not be good for him!
But this guy spoke with certainty and cleared away the suspicion of having his head shaved. They had experienced it together. Sarna secretly cursed this idiot in his heart.
In his analysis and judgment, since the food could not fly away from the village for nothing, the most likely possibility was that it was stolen on the road. Then, most of the food that was driven into the village were empty carts covered with mats, just like now.
Apart from this explanation, Sarna could find no other possibility. Under what circumstances tens of thousands of kilograms of grain could be moved away at night, it is simply unimaginable.
Sarna had made up his mind, turned around and walked away. He called Turle aside and whispered his guess.
"Although it sounds hard to believe, I can't think of any other possibility." Sarna caressed his forehead and said, "It's also possible that the food was scattered and hidden along the way. What do you think?"
Turle also deeply agreed with this and asked: "What should we do now? Find food first, attack the mountain first, or both at the same time?"
Sarna also hesitated and asked: "What do you mean?"
Turle pondered and said: "If we look for food first, the enemy will have more time to set up in Longwang Tuozi. If the entire slope is poured with water and ice, the equipment we build will not be enough."
After a pause, Tuerle added: "If we find it difficult to break through the grain, won't it mean that we can't transport it to Longchuan?"
But if we break through Dragon King Tuozi and cannot find food, wouldn’t all our efforts be in vain?
Although Sarna complained, he had no better way and said: "If we divide our troops, we may not have enough power to attack the mountain."
Turle said: "Without dividing the troops, the whole army will march out, camp on the spot after conquering the mountain, and then look for food. Let the barbers be the vanguard, and we will send people to look after the minions and the remaining food."
Sarna thought for a moment and nodded vigorously. This was an all-or-nothing approach. Anyway, if you can't take care of both ends, just complete one goal first.
As for the barbers and civil servants, they should be used as cannon fodder and consumed on the battlefield. Let the enemy waste some stones, arrows, gunpowder and lead bullets.
After the plan was decided, Sarna and Turle returned to issue orders, and sent five hundred Jurchen soldiers to monitor the barbers and escort the remaining grain.
After breakfast, Jianlu set out to camp. The order of forward, brigade, grain escort, and rear guard remained unchanged.
"The enemy mobilized all their troops and abandoned the village."
Guo Dajing soon received the report from the sentinel, which was a little surprising.
They actually chose to move the entire army without encountering any harassment, obviously taking the occupation of Dragon King Tuozi as their primary goal.
Guo Dajing did not tell others about the stolen food. When he thought about it, it was almost certain that the food would be lost after dawn, and he used empathy to speculate on Jianlu's actions.
Jianlu may stop attacking the mountains and find food first. This is ideal. Reinforcements can arrive, greatly increasing the number of troops.
The Jianlu might also divide their forces and attack the mountains while continuing to occupy the villages and try their best to find food, although it was in vain.
In this case, there will be only a thousand captives at most to attack the mountain, and the troops are insufficient to succeed. Food cannot be found, which means that there is no harvest at both ends.
In Guo Dajing's view, it is a wise move to launch an operation with the entire army and ensure that a goal is achieved first.
"When General Li sent the messenger, it was at Haishi, about forty or fifty miles away." Guo Dajing estimated the time, "The messenger rode on horseback and arrived in the morning. The reinforcements were on foot. If they marched in a hurry, they would have to arrive at noon."
Cui Xiaoyi said: "Stand and wait for help, there should be no problem in a whole morning."
Guo Dajing pondered for a moment and said: "To be on the safe side, we should go back to Longwang Tuozi and jointly resist the Jianlu attack on the mountain. Since the enemy is desperate, we can't have much effect outside."
Cui Xiao nodded and said, "That's fine. Anyway, Vice Marshal Chen and his troops are blocking the Jianlu's retreat. As long as we thwart the enemy's attack on the mountain, they will have no way forward or retreat, and they will be dead."
Guo Dajing smiled and chinned his head, and said: "I have become a rat in the bellows, but the enemy still doesn't know it. Let's go, leaving a few sentries to monitor the enemy and contact reinforcements. Let's go back to the mountain."
It should be certain that Jianlu was poisoned, but Guo Dajing could not determine the time of the attack or the depth of the poisoning.
After all, the poison is in the well water, not directly in the grain, and the concentration will be weakened.
But even mild poisoning, such as headache, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, numbness of the lips, and a feeling of drunkenness, will have a great impact on Jianlu's combat effectiveness.
Guo Dajing and others rushed along the mountain trail towards Longwang Tuozi. The roar of explosions was heard in the distance. It must be that Jianlu was hit by a landmine.
Should it deter Jianlu from marching boldly? Guo Dajing stopped, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked into the distance.
……………………
What is this? What a despicable and shameless method.
Sarna and Turle looked at the messy attack scene, their expressions were ugly, and their heads began to hurt.
The mines were disguised as small snowpacks on the roadside, with gravel hidden among them. They were triggered by stepping on them in the middle of the road, but the damage came from the side.
There were not many casualties. Only three cavalrymen and horses were injured, which caused a short period of chaos.
But who knows how many such agencies and attacks are ahead?
"Let the man with the shaved head go ahead." Tuerle rubbed his temples, feeling headaches coming from mild to severe, which made him very uncomfortable.
Sarna shook his head vigorously to slightly relieve his dizziness, and followed Turle's method to move the head-shaving man to the front of the team.
These Koreans who relied on the Jianlu were not valued by the Jianlu at all. Whether it was their combat power or their loyalty, they really couldn't be complimented. They only had a low life, so it was appropriate to be cannon fodder.
The journey to Longwang Tuozi was not long. Except for another mine attack, Jianlu arrived at the foot of the mountain without any further casualties.
It can be said that it went smoothly, but more and more patients suffered from headaches, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and even vomiting.
"What's going on?" Tuerle didn't expect it to be poisoning, but it would be too coincidental for the epidemic to spread.
A terrible thought flashed through Sarna's mind, but he quickly dismissed it rudely. Smallpox, impossible, how could he be so unlucky.
Without answering Turle's question, Sarna endured the discomfort, dispatched troops, and prepared to attack the mountain.
"Cars and ladders, that's all?" Shang Kexi, who was watching Jianlu's actions from a distance, shook his head slightly, revealing a slight sneer.
Attacking a mountain and attacking a city are both formidable attacks, but they are different. Which one is more difficult cannot be generalized.
Since Longwang Tuozi is said to be dangerous, the slope is a bit steep, otherwise there would be no cliffs blocking the road.
The method Jianlu came up with was to put more protection on the carriage and use a ladder to prevent slippage. These are common methods and cannot be said to be the key to victory.
The troops are of equal strength, but in the end they have better morale, better weapons, and better geographical location.
"This guy is finally back." Fujino Hide rolled his eyes and looked at Guo Dajing and others who were rushing to the position. He didn't say anything nice, but there was a smile on his face.
Fujino just glanced at it, then looked at the foot of the mountain again, stroking the beard on his chin with some confusion.
Why does Jianlu's state look a little strange? It's different from the fierce momentum yesterday. With the equipment, he's here to avenge yesterday's revenge. It shouldn't be like this!
"Dajing, you came back at the right time." Shang Ke came up to greet me happily and said with a smile: "Now I feel relaxed, I will leave everything to your command."
Guo Dajing hurriedly waved his hand and said: "No, you can't take your time and continue to command the battle. Let me rest and take a breath!"
Shang Ke laughed happily and said: "Look at the Jianlu at the foot of the mountain. They don't seem to have any confidence in victory. It's almost as if they are willing to die."
Guo Dajing raised his eyes and looked around, pursed his lips slightly, showed a bad smile, and said: "Sure enough, I feel a little lethargic. I think it's because I didn't sleep well, or I had a bad stomach!"
Shang Kexi patted Guo Dajing's back meaningfully, having some guesses in his mind.
This is not the first time. Shuo Tuo's headquarters in Longgu Mountain City has taken advantage of Guo Dajing. The situation is similar to the current situation.
The trumpet sounded with a whimper, and the Jianlu troops were organized. They urged the barbers to push the carts and carry the ladders, and began the attack.
………………
The sun's rays gradually became warmer and brighter, and the same offensive operation also began in Xiaotieshan.
Carts, ladders, and the Jianlu led by Azig also prepared equipment for attacking the mountain. They were not idle during the past few days in Longchuan.
Similarly, the defenders of Xiaotieshan have been busy and preparing. The fortifications are strong, there are more trebuchets, large and small stones are fully prepared, and the icy slope also extends to the bottom of the mountain.
"The enemy's defensive position has been advanced to the mountainside in order to block the road." Tekuyin pointed and introduced Azig, "Master Beile, look, those things made of wood should be weapons that can throw rocks and explode thunder."
Azig squinted his eyes and observed carefully, but he could not see everything completely. The trebuchet was behind the fortifications, and only part of it was exposed.
Even the fortifications were different from the last time Tekuyin came to attack. For Azig, this was the first time he saw them.
The trees were piled up, watered and frozen, covering most of the defenders' bodies, and there were wooden rafts similar to awnings on the top, which could effectively protect against thrown arrows.
The slope in front of the fortification was not only covered with ice and snow, but also covered with ice, two feet long wooden sticks with a sharpened end pointing diagonally toward the sky, resembling an array of wooden stakes.
In the middle of the wooden pile array is a skating surface, which is about ten meters wide and has a narrow attack surface. If you are crowded here, you will inevitably suffer heavy damage from firepower.
Azige took a breath of air. It was not easy to attack such a tight defense, even with equipment.
"Master Beile, this mountain is difficult to attack." Tekuyin smiled bitterly and bowed to report: "The fortifications are complete and strange. Please lead your troops to attack it on a trial basis."
Azig shook his head slightly and said: "Send Hongke to lead the attack. He is also experienced."
These men and horses are all subordinates of Azig. If it were not necessary to open up the connection with Xuanchuan and pick up the grain transport troops, Azig would really not want to attack such a heavily defended hilltop.
He calculated that the time was about the same, but he did not expect that not only the troops here were blocked by Xiaotieshan, but also the grain transport troops of Xuanchuan were blocked by Longwang Tuozi and were in danger of being destroyed.
The road was severely blocked, with downed trees, tangled branches, and scary boulders. Azig led his army all the way here, and his heart became more and more depressed and heavy.
The enemy is familiar with the terrain and can hide in the mountains and forests and come out to cause damage from time to time. It is almost impossible to guard against it. But when it comes to search and suppression, it is impossible to do it without sufficient troops.
Even if there were no ambushes, Azig would still find it extremely annoying to block the road. From Longchuan to Xiaotieshan, the speed of travel was unacceptable to him.
On the mountain, Liu Xingzuo, Zheng Fengshou and others were also looking at the enemy. Compared to Azige's mood, they seemed relatively relaxed.
In terms of military strength, they are equivalent, or even more numerous than Jianlu. Especially the complete fortifications are enough to make up for the gap in combat power.
No matter how brave Jianlu is, he is not invincible. Especially after experiencing the last defensive victory, both officers and soldiers have confidence and confidence.
Morale is something invisible and intangible, but it often becomes the decisive factor in victory. If you are not afraid in your heart, you will not panic when fighting. Building captives is just that. With this kind of mentality, you can better display your combat effectiveness.
Jianlu also knew this very well, so he wanted to create the invincible myth of being "invincible".
The reason is very simple, it is to make the Ming army timid before fighting. It sounds unbelievable that tens of thousands of troops were defeated by a few hundred captives, but it is indeed psychological warfare that played a role.