Li Jing thought thoughtfully and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, do you mean to attack them unprepared?"
Liu Ziqiu nodded: "Brother is right, we must take advantage of the unpreparedness. Luoyang is a prosperous city, merchants come from all over the world, and there are many Korean merchants. Moreover, many aristocratic families like Korean maids, I guess there are many in your family.
I'm not saying that these people will definitely tip off the news, but there must be spies sent by Goryeo among them. Otherwise, how could they withdraw so fast before the imperial army arrived last time? By now, the Goryeo people should have known that I would be there
Let's use troops against them after the spring begins. If my army suddenly appears in Liaodong at this time, what do you think will happen?"
Yuchi clapped his hands respectfully and laughed: "Yes, yes, yes, catch him off guard!"
Zhao Ling frowned: "The troops and horses have not moved yet, food and grass go first. Although Jixian County and Liucheng County have accumulated some supplies, they may still be unable to support a big war. I hope your Majesty will think twice!"
Liu Ziqiu smiled and said: "Before the Spring Festival, I ordered a large amount of supplies to be transported to Jixian, just to cover up others' eyes. This time we use troops against Goryeo, and those supplies are not needed." After saying this, Liu Ziqiu's face suddenly straightened: "Wen Hao, Jiao Li
Wait for the order!"
Wen Hao and Jiao Liyan stood up from their seats and said loudly: "I'm here!"
Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said: "It takes a thousand days to raise an army, and it takes a while to deploy it. Since the formation of the nomadic cavalry, there has not been a big battle. This time, you two will lead 50,000 nomadic cavalry as the vanguard, and you will be given fifteen days to recapture Huaiyuan City."
,"
In the battle to pacify the Central Plains, Liu Ziqiu never used the powerful weapons in his hands, because many of the nomadic cavalry were foreigners, and he did not want to use the foreigners to kill the Han people. But Goryeo was different. In Liu Ziqiu's eyes, the same
Foreigners don't have much psychological burden when using nomadic cavalry to fight. At the same time, nomadic cavalry not only has the mobility of ordinary cavalry, but also has strong adaptability and endurance, and is best at fighting in extremely harsh environments. Of course,
These nomadic cavalry under Liu Ziqiu are much stronger than those composed of herdsmen on the grasslands. This strength is not only reflected in equipment and supplies, but also in training and combat literacy. The dispatch of such a powerful armed force is
Pioneer, which shows that Liu Ziqiu attaches great importance to Korea.
After receiving the order, Wen Hao's face was relatively calm, but Jiao Liyan couldn't restrain his excitement and said loudly: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely offer the head of the King of Korea to the palace!"
"Soldiers are valuable and quick. You should go home and pack up now and set off immediately!" Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said to everyone, "In three days, I will personally lead an army of 100,000 people to conquer. The content of today's meeting will not be discussed in any way.
No one is allowed to leak it, otherwise he will be punished as a collaborator with the enemy!"
…
The climate in Liaodong is indeed harsh, with strong winds blowing snowflakes all over the sky, and almost no one is seen on the other side. However, the nomadic cavalry of the Han Dynasty also often trained in the ice and snow of Mobei, and were not afraid of this environment. On the contrary, in this environment
, they still feel like they are at home.
At the front of the team, Wen Hao spread out a map in one hand and held a compass in the other. He checked the direction repeatedly, pointed towards the east, and said: "Over this mountain range, we will arrive at the junction of the territories of the Xi and Khitan tribes.
Come on. Everyone, work harder and make sure to climb over this mountain before dark!"
The three armies shouted in unison and rode their horses forward. The fierce wind and snow soon covered up the shouts of the soldiers, and even the sound of horse hooves could not be heard clearly.
This time, the marching route that Liu Ziqiu drew for Wenhao and the others was to leave Yanmen Pass and enter Mobei. The assembly point was Qikou, which was originally chosen by Du Jishi when he invaded the Central Plains. After arriving at Qikou, the army marched along the route of the former Sui Dynasty and Qikou.
The border of Jue went all the way east, and finally came to this no matter what area. The reason why we did not take the normal route was, on the one hand, to keep it more confidential, and on the other hand, the grassland was more suitable for the nomadic cavalry, but the most important reason was,
Liu Ziqiu will give the Koreans a severe blow this time and annihilate all the Korean troops who invaded Huaiyuan!
The Koreans are very cunning. When faced with powerful Han reinforcements, they will choose to retreat. After the Han reinforcements withdraw, they will come back again and again, which is extremely disturbing. If they want to completely wipe out this invading Huaiyuan army,
The Koryo troops in the city must try to go around to the east of Huaiyuan City to block their retreat.
Even for nomadic cavalry who live and train on the grassland all year round, this road is not easy to walk. After all, this road used to be the border, is inaccessible, and has many unknown variables, especially in this cold winter. However,
In order to cope with the severe cold that they may encounter, the nomadic cavalry of the Han army have been armed to the teeth. They all wear silk underwear and thick cotton socks. The three layers of leather armor are lined with down liner, and the outermost layer is also covered with a layer of warmth that is most effective.
Although they had made adequate preparations, frostbite and attrition occurred along the way. When they reached the foot of the mountain, more than a thousand soldiers had been forced to leave the team and went into nearby tribes to recuperate. And the losses of horses were even greater.
Big, originally three riders per person, now it has become two riders per person.
However, Wen Hao was still full of confidence, because after climbing over this mountain, they would enter the territory of the Khitan people. Braving the heavy snow, the soldiers chewed pieces of dried meat and tried their best to replenish their energy. Because everyone knew that,
The mountains will be colder than those below them, and their test has just begun. Along the way, there are soldiers who want to stop and hug each other for warmth, but they are all driven away by the officers leading the team with whips. In this case,
As long as it stops, it often means death. This is a test of will and physical strength. Long-term and arduous training allowed most of the soldiers to persevere. But after crossing the mountains, the 50,000-strong army once again lost more than 2,000 people.
But these two thousand people were not as lucky as their colleagues. They were left on the snow-covered mountain forever.
After crossing the mountains, the wind and snow gradually stopped, and a sunset hung on the top of the mountain. Wen Hao gave the order again: "Set up camp and set off early tomorrow morning!"
This was the first time that the Han army's nomadic cavalry had officially set up camp since their departure. Along the way, they just dug out a snow nest and spent the night huddled together. And Wen Hao also knew that climbing over this mountain would allow everyone to
The consumption was huge, so they decided to officially set up camp in order to allow everyone to recover quickly. Going further down, they will enter the territory controlled by the Khitans. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, they will not set up camp again.
, this is their only chance to get a full rest.
The soldiers cherished this opportunity very much. Especially the war horses, which they regarded as their partners, needed such an opportunity even more. Along the way, the damage rate of the war horses was much higher than that of the soldiers because the covering layer of ice and snow was too thick.
, it was difficult for the war horses to find pasture under the snow. The hungry war horses' ability to withstand the severe cold was reduced, which caused such huge losses. Now, most of the remaining 100,000 war horses are very thin, and next, they
It is about to step out of the control of the big man and face more severe challenges. At this time, the war horse must recover its strength as soon as possible to adapt to the upcoming cruel battle.
That night, the soldiers contributed their most precious fried noodles to make their horses full. This is the nomadic cavalry. If it were another army, they would definitely give up the dried meat instead of wasting the fried noodles. This is
This is the difference caused by the long-term differences in dietary structure between nomadic people and agricultural people.
Inside the Chinese army's tent, the lights were brightly lit. Wen Hao and Jiao Liyan were wearing helmets and armor, staring solemnly at the huge map in front of them. This map had been improved by the scouts based on the newly acquired information.
It was much more detailed in the past, and even the campsites of some nomadic tribes were clearly marked. These campsites are very important. When necessary, they can rush into these campsites to obtain supplies. To put it more bluntly, that is
Go grab it! They are originally nomadic cavalry, and local supply is originally an important feature of nomadic cavalry operations.
Of course, Wen Hao's eyes did not stay on the campsites represented by the small black dots. His fingers fell on a winding blue line: "After daybreak, follow this river to the east.
!" As he spoke, Wen Hao's fingers followed the blue curve, then suddenly turned and said: "From here, turn south and reach the east of Huaiyuan City!"
The river represented by the east-west blue line is called Ruoluoshui, which is a large river that runs through the entire Khitan territory. In this season, the river water must have been covered with thick ice. March along the frozen river
, although the horse's hoofs slip and the speed is limited, it is not easy to deviate in the direction. More importantly, in winter, the river freezes, and few people come, so the march can be kept secret without being discovered. In the same way, Wen Hao
The march route to the south was also chosen by a river, which the locals called Liao River.
Jiao Liyan frowned and said: "Your Majesty has only five days left for us. If we take this route, we may not be able to make it in time."
Within these five days, they not only have to rush to Huaiyuan City, but also must capture it. Although Huaiyuan is just a small border town, they are nomadic cavalry and are good at field battles rather than attacking fortresses. In order to deal with special situations that may arise,
You must leave yourself some preparation in terms of time, at least one day, this is the bottom line.
The reason for the current situation is that they underestimated the difficulties of marching in the snow and wasted too much time at the Mobei border.
Wen Hao slapped the table hard: "We can't wait any longer! If we take other routes, we are likely to get lost, and in that case the gain will be more than the loss. Tell the soldiers to have the courage to fight against the sky, and start marching day and night starting tomorrow!"