"What's going on?" Wang Yu grabbed an officer's neck angrily and asked angrily.
"Returning to the army, the cavalry army was defeated and more than 300 cavalry were lost. General Zhang gathered the scattered soldiers and confronted the rebel army."
"Defeated by whom?"
"Ma Zhi, the son of the bandit army."
"Get out!" Wang Yu kicked him angrily.
Ma Zhi, from the hall, heard that more than a thousand Xia troops were killed and wounded behind Taigu Pass. He was so arrogant!
This time it was probably Liang General Zhang Guihou who personally led his troops to cut off the rear.
There are more than two thousand people in the hall, including more than a thousand heavy cavalry on horseback in the hall, plus more than a thousand elite infantry warriors. These are the only ones Zhang Guihou sees who can fight.
Some units of the Poxia Army may still be able to fight, but overall they are not good and they still need time to hone.
From this point of view, Zhang Guihou should have asked Po Xia's army to withdraw first with two thousand native soldiers, while everyone in the hall stayed behind to fight and retreat, and was responsible for breaking up the rear.
"The infantry press forward and repel the thieves and cavalry." Wang Yu ordered: "I will go up personally."
The main force of the army left Shenyuan Pass and was still marching on the winding mountain road. It was raining lightly and was extremely slippery. From time to time, vehicles would roll down the valley. The overall speed was appallingly slow. However, the rebel army could move from the opposite direction.
He fled on the easy road. If the cavalry hadn't walked quickly, the thieves would have escaped first.
Dingyuan, there were 1,500 cavalry in the second army, 500 took another route, and 1,000 marched with the main force. They were defeated by the rebels in the first confrontation. The morale of the cavalry had dropped, and they could only rely on
Infantry.
"Wait a minute." Guan Kairun, the envoy of the Economic Strategy Army, came over and advised: "Commander, it is better to act cautiously. It is to select soldiers, abandon their baggage, and move quickly with light troops. By the time they arrive in Dengfeng, they are already strong.
He is too weak to fight any more. Even if he is in good condition, can two or three thousand soldiers be able to defeat the whole hall?"
Wang Yu coughed and wanted to say that he would definitely kill the traitors, but he thought it was pointless to brag. He still had to fight with real swords and guns in the battle formation. There were more than 2,000 people in the hall, and Xia Jun had the same force here.
An absolute fiasco, no doubt about it.
We can only rely on the large number of people to crush them to death!
If the side with more people is not a peasant army or a peasant army with little military skills and experience, and is defeated by a single attack, the side with more people but more elite troops will often be killed in the end.
The destruction of the right wing of the Changzhi Army in Luoyang has proved this. The Tiande Army can only be beaten in front of others, and the Tianxiong Army of the Martial Arts Department can fight against them. But the Tianxiong Army's soldiers are better than Changzhi.
The military difference was due to the fact that the officers were brave and not afraid of death. At the same time, the total strength of our own troops far exceeded that of the Changzhi Army, and the continuous harassment weakened their morale and combat effectiveness. This was the success in one fell swoop.
They have 12,000 infantry, 1,000 cavalry, plus 10,000 local peasants. If they act calmly, they can crush the whole hall no matter what, but be careful not to go up in waves and kill people.
"Forget it, proceed with caution. Let's get out of this mountain road first." Wang Yu sighed: "It would be nice if there were some Fan cavalry."
In the past, I always thought that the Fan cavalry was too weak in combat and would be beaten violently by the cavalry of various armies in a head-on battle. However, now that the army cavalry is being beaten by other people's heavy cavalry, it would be very suitable if there are light cavalry cavalry adopting wandering tactics.
Unarmored light cavalry, light armored medium cavalry, heavy armored heavy cavalry, armored cavalry, it's really one thing that brings down the other.
After the order was given, the armies continued to move forward unhurriedly, heading towards Dengfeng.
On the narrow and winding mountain road, a team of more than 20,000 people stretched for several miles, which looked quite spectacular.
And with their dispatch, Xia Jun's strategic intentions should be obvious.
…
Wei Boqiu and his group set out for a while first. After several days of marching, they finally saw the city wall of Gaocheng County from a distance.
At this time, Wei Boqiu got good news and bad news.
The good news is that Gaocheng County is almost an empty city. The vanguard troops sent by Wei Boqiu occupied the entire city with almost no effort.
The bad news is that there is almost nothing in the city, and nearly half of the food and grass they brought with the army has been consumed. If they can't replenish food, they can only kill mules and horses to satisfy their hunger. On the one hand, they will reduce the consumption of beans and grains, and on the other hand, they will increase some meat supplies.
.
But no matter what, the exhausted sergeants finally got a chance to breathe. The road was too difficult to walk, everyone turned into a mud monkey, and fighting in the rainy season was simply a torture.
In the afternoon, the auxiliary soldiers tore down the doors of some uninhabited houses and chopped firewood to boil water for cooking.
The soldiers silently maintained their equipment to ensure that it would not be out of service when the war came.
"Military envoy, there is a bandit army coming from the north, there is still ten miles to go." The strong scout hurried into the city and reported to Wei Boqiu and Yang Yi.
"How many people are there?" Yang Yi asked first.
"No less than seven thousand, maybe ten thousand. The post road is winding and difficult to see from a distance. The thieves have no cavalry, only a few dozen ranger scouts."
"Have you been discovered by them?" Wei Boqiu asked.
"The brothers who went out together are all back." The scout answered honestly.
It means that none of us were caught, but we can’t guarantee whether the thief knew it. The terrain is so complicated, who knows if they sent scouts to lurk here.
"Who will be the thief?"
"The bandit army has not raised its flag, I don't know. You Paoze is trying to capture the bandit army's lone wandering horse. If successful, he should be able to torture him out."
Wei Boqiu and Yang Yi looked at each other.
There are so many people, they must be the rebel army who returned from Dengfeng. I don't know what their composition is, and they are not strong enough to fight.
"Military envoy, do you want to attack?" Yang Yi has five hundred cavalry under his command and is eager to try.
"Five hundred cavalry may be insufficient. Where are the thousands of people in the rebel army hall? Are they still at Taigu Pass? Or maybe they are in Dengfeng?" Wei Boqiu wished he could fly to the sky and take a closer look at Liang Jun on the ground.
every arrangement.
"If I encounter thieves and cavalry, I won't fight." Yang Yi is still fighting: "If it rains for a few more days, the cavalry will be completely unable to dispatch. Everyone will be rolling in the mud. Don't take advantage of this moment."
"You won't be willing to go out and fight while you can still move around, right?" Wei Boqiu smiled.
"Military envoy, there are so many rebel soldiers that we can't say whether we can fight. Our army only has 2,000 infantry and 500 cavalry. If we are determined to intercept the traitor army, are we sure that we can stop it?" Yang Yi was a little confused.
Worried, he asked again.
"What you said makes sense." Wei Boqiu called for soldiers and asked the sergeants to put out the fire. He only had milk powder and water for lunch.
Yang Yi watched silently from the side, her face gradually became happy, and she seemed to understand something.
"General Yang!" Wei Boqiu turned his head again, looked at Yang Yi, and said: "This trip out of Luokou was originally an adventure. Fortunately, thanks to King Hongfu, I walked here without making any mistakes. If I encounter a thief now, do I dare to do it again?
Take a risk?"
"Why don't you dare?" Yang Yi smiled.
"Okay!" Wei Boqiu also made up his mind and said: "After resting, your troops will detour a little, go to the enemy's flank, and harass them repeatedly. If you encounter a group of bandit cavalry, do not engage them, but just harass them. Do you understand?
?”
"As ordered." Yang Yi said excitedly.
Wei Boqiu smiled. There was still time. There was no need to hurry up in Gaocheng County to clean up the situation now. Let the sergeants rest enough so that they would have the strength to fight.
…
The continuous drizzle finally stopped. Zhao Lin touched the rain on his face and cursed in a low voice.
The brigade was still marching. They abandoned some unnecessary baggage in order to speed up the march. Seeing Gaocheng County in the distance, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and finally had a place to stay.
"Work harder! Go to Gaocheng County and take a good rest." Zhao Lin asked someone to pass on the order, and the morale of the troops was slightly boosted.
"Military envoy, you cannot spend the night in Gaocheng County tonight." Liu Qi came up and reminded him.
Zhao Lin glanced at him with some dissatisfaction and said: "Thieves are rampant, do I look like the kind of person who doesn't know what's important?"
Liu Qin Nuonuo was speechless, with a smile on her face, but she had scolded Zhao Lin bloody in her heart.
It's just a matter of relying on human power. King Liang is really blind when he uses you as the envoy to break the Xia army!
The army moved forward for several miles when suddenly someone came over to report: "Military envoy, we were just scouting in the mountains to pass the flag message, and there are bandits arriving!"
Zhao Lin was very surprised and immediately sent two groups of rangers to investigate the situation. At the same time, he ordered to stop advancing and all battalions to form teams.
The auxiliary soldiers pulled up the carriage, and distributed armor and spears to the sergeants one by one. Then they placed the empty carriages on both sides of the brigade, with crossbowmen and spearmen lying on the carriages.
After everything was sorted out, the sound of horse hooves could be heard faintly in the distance.
"What a thief! It's never over, right?" Zhao Lin was furious: "Why won't this rain last for a few more days? It would be better to destroy the Xia thief's cavalry."
Wang Yanzhang, who was dressed in military uniform, led his horse by. When he heard Zhao Lin's words, he secretly spat. Such a person can also be a commander. Is there no one left for the King of Liang? Is the Zhao family in Xuzhou so worth winning over?
The car array began to move forward.
The Xia Army cavalry also came from a distance and rushed very close, still showing no intention of slowing down.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Liang Jun's formation fired a large number of arrows, and a Xia Jun cavalryman fell to the ground with a groan after being hit by an arrow.
More than a hundred riders galloped to the rear of the formation and stopped. They first halted their horses in the soft soil, then drew their riding bows and fired continuously.
Scattered arrows fell in Liang Jun's formation, causing minor casualties. Liang Jun mobilized a group of infantry archers, and under the heavy fire, the Xia Jun cavalry screamed and had to flee far away.
Zhao Lin's tense face finally relaxed a little, and then he laughed nervously: "How can a riding bow compare to a walking bow? Haha! That's ridiculous! That's ridiculous! There are still four or five miles left, let's go
But when we go to the city to rest, I want to see if the Xia thieves dare to attack the city."
Xia Thief ignored him.
More than two hundred cavalry came around to the front and fired arrows with the momentum of galloping horses. This time the range was a little farther, causing some casualties to Liang Jun. Unfortunately, no matter how hard the cavalry bows tried, they were still inferior in accuracy, range, and power.
, the rate of fire was still at a disadvantage, and they were completely defeated by the infantry archers. The military system of the Liang people was no different from that of the Xia army. Everyone was also required to be able to shoot arrows, so after the large group of infantry archers fought back, these cavalrymen had to leave more than twenty weapons.
Corpse, step back far away.
"The Xia thieves must have the main force behind us!" Zhao Lin suddenly realized and said: "The cavalry attack will slow down my marching speed. When the main force of their rear army catches up, they will attack from both sides. This must be true!"
Wang Yanzhang, who had just rode out on horseback and knocked down several Xia army cavalry with iron spears, came back and did not refute what he heard.
Liu Qi subconsciously looked to the north.
Du Yanqiu was still drawing his bow and arrow, and after shooting a Xia Army cavalryman who did not control the distance well and came too close, he turned around and said: "If the bandit army is chasing lightly, we will bring the baggage with us."
, we can't run far. It's better to turn back and fight. If the man dies, he will die. Besides, we don't even know where General Zhang's hall is, so it's not good to just leave."
Zhao Lin hesitated.
"Military envoy, it's already time to apply. It's better to go to Gaocheng County. First have a place to stay, and then worry about it." Liu Qi also suggested.
The Xia army's cavalry was still pestering them.
Liang Jun's cavalry scouts have been compressed to both sides of the car formation, relying entirely on infantry protection. In the outer fields, Xia Jun's cavalry drove left and right. There were only a few hundred cavalry, but the momentum was so great that they almost overwhelmed them.
The large infantry was completely isolated.
"Let's go to Chengcheng!" Zhao Lin finally made up his mind, slapped the saddle, and said: "Let's go to the city first, stabilize our position, and inquire about the news in the hall. There is still some distance from Chengcheng to Yangdi, let's rest well
Only the strength of your legs can keep you going."
Wang Yanzhang had no objection. In fact, everything is so confusing now that it is difficult to make a correct judgment.
Du Yanqiu is indispensable. He only cares about the remaining halls behind him. He feels that it would be unfair to leave and that he would be sorry for them. They have been together for many years. At worst, they can fight to death together. What a big deal can be done.
?
Liu Qi volunteered and said: "I would like to lead my troops as the vanguard, take control first and coordinate with the Chinese army."
"Okay!" Zhao Lin waved his riding whip and said: "General Liu Shi will lead thousands of elite soldiers in this capital to clear the way first, and there must be no mistakes!"