Outside the Kip Shek Fort, the Zhongshun Army fought a bit clumsily.
Fortunately, this fortress was in disrepair and was in dilapidated state. Although it was not as bad as the Yuzhou City that was crushed by the Khitans, it still had flaws everywhere. After the Zhongshun Army collapsed in two waves, the third wave finally attacked.
Shao Shude didn't care about the outcome of this battle at all. He summoned the generals of Tielin, Tianzhu, Tianxiong, and Shunyi armies in the big tent to discuss the next action.
Wang Bian of Huazhou also came, although his troops basically would not participate in the war.
"First of all, let's clarify what the goal is." Shao Shude asked: "Can it capture Henan Prefecture or Luoyang?"
The generals were stunned.
"Lingzhou is our important town for money and food, more than a thousand miles away from Luoyang. Bian Song is an important town for the Xuanwu Army, four hundred miles away from Luoyang, and there is a big river for convenient water transportation." Shao Shude said: "The two towns in Weibei and Huazhou can support 60,000 people.
The army can support an expedition of 30,000 people. Even if it is divided east of Jingzhao Prefecture, it can only support an expedition of 50,000 or 60,000 people. If there are more horses, the number will drop. With tens of thousands of troops and horses, Zhu Quanzhong can be destroyed.
?”
The answer is obvious.
"Then the goal of our army is not to destroy Zhu Quanzhong, but to weaken Zhu Quanzhong as much as possible." Shao Shude said: "Since the defeat of Qin Zongquan, Henan Prefecture and the Huaixi Prefectures have become Zhu Quanzhong's rear area. Taking Henan Prefecture as an example, Zhang Quanyi
Recruit refugees, cultivate wasteland, and don't have to worry about military chaos. They can focus on developing production and providing money and food to Zhu Quanzhong. Although the household registration is not yet abundant, it is far inferior to the two towns of Xuanwu and Xuanyi controlled by Zhu Quanzhong, but if they can be
By destroying it and turning it into a front line, Zhu Quanzhong will lose a source of money and food. This is a plan to tire out the enemy."
"Commander, the plan to weaken the enemy may not stop there." Chen Cheng said from the side, looking like a stooge.
"Oh? Deputy Ambassador Chen might as well speak up."
"The commander-in-chief, Zhu Xuan, Zhu Jin, and Shi Pu were beaten to a state of disgrace by Quan Zhong and were in danger. They saw three ripe fruits. Quan Zhong could eat them safely with just a little more effort. Now
We have to make sure that he cannot eat these fruits. At least, he cannot eat them all." Chen Cheng's beard has grown longer, he is wearing a green robe, and he looks like a Taoist alchemist.
"What Vice Envoy Chen said is absolutely true. These three towns have been threatened by Quanzhong for a long time, and there are many people who want to surrender. Now that our army has moved eastward and restrained Quanzhong's troops, these three towns should not be destroyed quickly." Wang Bian
He doesn't participate in the war, but he speaks very actively.
"Does your Majesty know how many soldiers and horses Quanzhong will need to capture the three towns? Now that Sun Ru has gone to the south of the Yangtze River, the decline has become more and more obvious. The top and bottom are separated, and many people have defected to Yang Xingmi or Qian Liu. In the land of Huainan, Quanzhong no longer has any threat.
It only takes a moment to prepare for Sun Ru's army to be transferred north. This year, Zhu Jin's 30,000 infantry and cavalry were defeated by Quanzhong's 10,000 cavalry, which shows that Er Zhu's strength is worrying. In the past two years, Quanzhong has defeated Er Zhu, and his troops have only been three or four.
Ten thousand people were killed until they abandoned their armor. How many soldiers do you think it will take to destroy these three towns?" Ye Li Yulue sneered from the side.
"Wei Boluo Hongxin had 70,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry last year. He was defeated by more than 50,000 Quanzhong people. He was defeated in five battles and had to pay a lot of money to seek peace. This way, he did not need many soldiers.
Ma be on guard. Quanzhong can lead a large army and station it in Zheng, Meng, Luo and other places, waiting for my more than 30,000 people to attack. Ding Hui, Pang Shigu and other generals will lead tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to attack the three towns eastward, unless Wei Bo
Use the road to let the soldiers and horses from Hedong pass through, otherwise it won't last a few years, at most two years."
Wang Bian was a little annoyed by Ye Li Yu Lu's sarcasm.
Why are the generals of the Shuofang Army so unruly? I didn’t see the cavalry army Oritsugu Yu today. I already filed a complaint last time. When I saw the Huazhou Army being counterattacked by the rebels, they didn’t come to the rescue. Instead, they went out to call for help.
The scattered cavalry nearby gathered to attack the Bian Army cavalry.
However, Yu Oritsugu is a handsome wife, so this punishment is also symbolic and makes people sigh.
Today's unlucky hunter doesn't look like a good bird.
"Okay. Erzhu, Shi Pu is incapable of bringing the war to Xuanwu Town and destroying Quanzhong's important town of money and food. Let's first clean up Henan Mansion for Quanzhong and move out as many people as possible. Let's see if Quanzhong sinks.
Stay angry."
"Speaking of whether Quanzhong can keep his composure, it is said that he can also spare some of his troops. It is impossible for him to just sit back and watch us gallop around Henan Prefecture, as if we are in a deserted land."
"Quanzhong will definitely send troops."
"But where are you now? Which road will you take? The river or the land?"
"It's time to bring back all the silver guns. Is it necessary to guard against Ruzhou?"
Everyone started discussing it, and Shao Shude looked at a certain point on the map: Luoyang.
Zhu Quanzhong still has enough troops. He should have sent people over by now, right?
…
The cavalry army brought along the auxiliaries this time. After all, they had to maintain sufficient physical strength. Things like setting up camp, collecting firewood, cooking, repairing equipment, and taking care of the horses were too time-consuming. It would be difficult without the help of the auxiliaries.
After they left the camp, they kept rushing in front of the army. The rangers spread out widely and even bumped into two messengers from the Bian army on the way.
After bypassing Xiashi Fort, we passed through Quemen and Baichao Base, and stopped and camped near Xin'an County.
Xin'an County was at the entrance of Luoyang's west exit, and the Northern Zhou Dynasty built a city to force the Northern Qi Dynasty. In the northeast of the county is the former site of Hanhan Valley Pass, which is directly on the post road.
In other words, Xin'an County is actually the Hangu Pass of the imperial dynasty. Such an important place must be guarded by experienced and prudent generals with elite troops.
But when the cavalry troops passed by, there was no response from Xin'an County. I don't know whether it was because of the lack of troops or some other reason.
After passing Xin'an, go over the Hangu Pass East Ban. This is one of the dangerous passes of Hangu Pass. If you have a strong army, it should be of great use.
Then it turned southeast, passed Cijiandian, crossed Xiaoshui River, and finally arrived near Luoyang.
Generally speaking, to the west of Xin'an, mountains are crisscrossed and rugged. After passing Xin'an, the scenery suddenly opens up.
If Luoyang faced enemies coming from the west, Xin'an County would be the last barrier, equivalent to Hangu Pass in the Han Dynasty.
Of course, this is only a road due to the west. In fact, there is another road to the southwest, which also has Xiongguan and dangerous passes. It is a pity that Zhang Quanyi did not repair it well.
If he stationed heavy troops in these places, who would be able to come?
Near Luoyang, there are many rivers and ferries, as well as many fields and ridges, and many forts. It seems that the population is very concentrated.
The cavalry army will not stop near Luoyang.
They camped more than ten miles south of the city, rested for only one day, and then headed east again until the cavalry came to report and ran into a large army coming from the direction of Zhengzhou.
"Immediately report to the commander-in-chief that Bianjun troops are heading to Luoyang." Zhe Siyu summoned Li Renfu, the Marquis of Duyu, and ordered.
"As you command!"
Later, he called for his deputy Liu Zijing and ordered: "This is only one hundred and seventy miles away from Xia Shi Fort. The infantry group is six or seven days away. There may be a large army coming from behind. You can take five hundred people there."
Go east and search forward to see if there is an invincible army group."
"As commanded."
"If you encounter enemy cavalry, you can lead it to an open area and use flanking fire tactics. Don't charge foolishly." Oretsugu warned again patiently.
He had a hunch that Zhu Quanzhong would definitely send more than one army, which would not have any effect. There would probably be people on the way behind, or they might have already settled in the forts along the way.
After issuing these two orders, Oritsugu Yu decided to test the enemy's quality.
In the open fields, bows and strings sounded continuously, and drums and horns vibrated.
With the influx of large groups of cavalry, the scope of activity of the Bian army's scouts was compressed to the extreme. In the end, they even completely retreated to the infantry and did not dare to wander outside.
There is no other way. There are more than 4,000 cavalrymen in the cavalry army moving around, so it is normal for the scouts to be unable to go out.
The Bian army had stopped on the post road.
They were well-trained and arranged their vehicles in rows on the left and right, equipped with anti-horsepower guns and pointed outwards.
The whole army was divided into eight small formations, arranged front and back, with hundreds of people in each formation.
Oritsugu Yu waved his hand, and the soldiers quickly waved flags and conveyed orders.
Suddenly, a deputy general from Beiweidu led four to five hundred horsemen. They randomly picked for a while and rushed over with a roar.
"Woo!" A horn sounded in the car formation, and the crossbowmen and infantry archers fired almost at the same time.
The arrows shot through the air, driving away the rangers who had rushed halfway. A few unlucky ones were even hit by arrows and fell off their horses.
Oritsugu Yu picked another general and asked him to lead people to test another car formation.
This time, only a few dozen riders stepped forward, but they were also forced back by arrows halfway.
No need to continue testing!
This Bian army is not a weak force, it is not panicking at all, it should be a serious government army.
He now has five thousand horses. If he forcibly attacks the Bian Army's baggage vehicles on both sides, he will be shot by crossbows and rifles from a long distance. If he gets close, he will be blocked by horse guns and the vehicles themselves.
Infantry with shields, spears, swords and axes.
It’s not that you won’t be able to get through it, it’s just that it’s such a loss!
For a small formation of several hundred people, it is not worth it if only a few dozen cavalry are killed. If more than a hundred people are killed, it is a huge loss.
How to deal with this Bian soldiers?
Oritsugu observed carefully.
Fire attack is not easy to use, and digging trenches is probably useless, because the Bian army infantry can dig earth and fill the trenches within the protection range of the strong crossbows.
It's not possible to attack those who go out to collect firewood, because there is a fortress more than 20 miles to the west. They only need to eat cold food for a day or two, and they can completely hold on.
What method should be used?
While he was thinking, a drumbeat sounded from the Bian Army convoy, and the army continued to move forward.
The crossbowmen, archers, shieldmen, and spearmen follow on foot, and when they get tired, they will be replaced. In fact, if it is a professional sidecar, these people can even sit in the car to further save physical energy.
Many of the cavalrymen had already left, and there were more than two thousand cavalrymen following Oritsugu.
They led the horses and stared at the convoy from a distance, just like wolves staring at prey, constantly looking for possible flaws in the convoy.
It's a pity that this group of people is very stable. The infantry should be veterans who have participated in many wars, so they don't panic at all.
There is nowhere to start, and you have to watch them live in the fort?
Oritsugu Yu was a little reluctant. This was just an ordinary baggage vehicle, with only a few modifications. If it was a sidecar, wouldn't it be even more like a rat trying to pull a turtle, with nowhere to start?
"Military envoy, someone has a plan. It may be useless in normal times, but today is just the right time. If the Bian people are unprepared, they may suffer a small loss." A soldier suddenly said.
"Speak!" Oretsugu stared at him with stern eyes and said, "If it works, there will be many rewards."