Volume 1, Wars and Chaos, Section 27, Before the Great War
On May 13th, at dawn, Yang Lin had given up. Hundreds of thousands of troops were moving like zombies. Yang Guang had already dismissed all the civilians. He was afraid that these civilians would attack his imperial tent, and even many soldiers
They began to abandon their weapons and flee. They were government soldiers from all over Hebei Province, crying and shouting that they wanted to go home, and they were no longer afraid of military law.
The Sui Empire was over, and Yang Guang hid in the carriage all the way, never coming out or seeing anyone. If he couldn't finish every meal, everyone might think he had died.
It was different from the tension and anxiety when retreating from the Liaodong front line. After walking for two days and seeing that the Goguryeo soldiers and horses did not pursue them, the entire remnant army began to be in chaos. They killed a few who were leading the trouble and several others popped up. It was impossible to kill them all.
, but the team moved slower and slower, and it took two full days to walk from Tangshan to Fujin. Later, the soldiers from Hebei Province began to flee, and military discipline no longer worked.
The boundary of Cangzhou is right in front of us. There are rebels and Mongolian cavalry here, so more people are fleeing for their lives. The Qin soldiers have endured hard battles since ancient times, and now only the soldiers from the Eight Prefectures in Guanzhong can still be driven.
Yang Lin had already sent scouts to Cangzhou to inquire about the news. At this time, Liu Heitai and Song Jingang's rebels were no longer in Cangzhou. Instead, they went west to capture Hengshui and were confronting Dou Jiande's rebels who had just arrived in southern Hebei.
There is still no news from the scouts who went south to Texas.
Yang Lin didn't want to wait any longer, and immediately ordered the entire army to go south to Cangzhou, trying to camp in Dezhou today. The journey was almost two hundred miles, so the cavalry would be fine, but the infantry might not be able to reach it if they broke their legs, but Yang Lin really had no choice.
, Cangzhou can't wait, the Mongolian cavalry will appear at any time to deliver a fatal blow.
The major military leaders, generals and even sergeants all understood the situation at this time. Most of the civilians had been demobilized, and all the grain and grass had been loaded on ships and placed on the Grand Canal. They were just about to pass through Dezhou, but the journey was too far and they had no intention of doing so.
Under Yang Lin's tough order, the entire army slowly set off southward, with the cavalry leading the way. The Chinese army consisted of more than 20,000 elite Guanzhongfu soldiers, selected from the rear army of Wu Tianxi Palace. They replaced the inactive imperial guards.
, the rear team are those soldiers from various places who did not obey orders but have not fled.
Yang Lin rowed the horse in his hand back and forth three times, then galloped forward. Yang Guang's imperial tent guarding the front of the Chinese army followed closely. After galloping forward for two or three miles, the rear team suddenly heard a message.
There were loud shouts of killing, then the ground vibrated, and the sound of horse hooves echoed through the sky...
At noon on May 16th, Li Xiuning and Luo Yu led several large military leaders to Zezhou County, east of Jincheng. This was already the forward position of Zhu Yuanzhang's Red Scarf Army. If they could quickly break through Zezhou, they could go five miles to the west.
Then you can march to the east gate of Jincheng.
There is no plan to besiege the city, nor to destroy the Red Turban Army. The current strategy is to capture Jincheng, use the city as a starting point, cross the Yellow River to the south, control the official roads of Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Xuchang in the south, and Zhang Xutuo's tens of thousands of troops.
You can go north to help.
If Zhu Yuanzhang could lead his army to withdraw from Jincheng, Luo Yu would not pursue them, because the battle report of the special forces team had been sent yesterday, confirming that Yang Guangdong's expedition would leave Feng, Zhengzhou, and return to Chang'an from Luoyang.
The current situation is a bit chaotic. Dou Jiande's troops are showing signs of crossing the Yellow River south to attack Zhengzhou. Intelligence reports that Dou's army has 37,000 troops except for the 10,000 troops left at the Hengshui front line to confront Liu Heita and Song Jingang.
Yuan Wu, who had gathered on the north bank of the Yellow River, was logging wood, building ships, collecting civilian ships, and preparing to cross south.
To the west, outside Luoyang City, the defeated troops of Wang Bodang of Nanyang were gathering, and they were quite large in number. If Dou Jiande, in his usual state of heading south, suddenly waved his troops to the west and pressed on the Youwu Army, these three places would become a triangle.
, surrounded the Youwu Army.
Therefore, either we must defeat Jinyang and break up the encirclement, or we must go south to meet Dou Jiande and defeat him along the way, and then cross the Yellow River south to join the Zhengzhou defenders.
But when I think of Zhu Yuanzhang's military ability, if he goes south to tangle with Dou's army, he will not be able to win quickly. There is no danger to defend in the south, and the vanguard team does not know whether they have built a bridge to cross the south. If Jincheng sends troops to attack again, it will be equally dangerous.
With this triangular encirclement, the only way left is to capture Jincheng.
The Youwu Army sent out Changzhi's 50,000 cavalry from the east of Linfen, and collected Qin Qiong's thousands of infantry outside Changzhi City, plus the original Changzhi Li Mi's 8,000 troops, and then left Xue Li with 10,000, which means there is now one more
Qin Qiong still has 50,000 cavalry.
The situation became a bit fast. Luo Yu sent out all the special forces members he could send out, especially Dou Jiande. It was necessary to find out whether he was really going south or west to encircle him. In any case, the battle of Jincheng was imminent.
I had to send it.
Zhao Kuangyin led 3,000 cavalrymen and mounted Mongolian cavalry behind the half-dead soldiers of the government. They rushed over without hesitation, screaming one after another. After killing many people who had no time to escape, Zhao Kuangyin could not see anyone in front of him.
.
He was originally opposed to Yang Lin's move, but if he didn't do this, more people would die. He looked back at the broken limbs and broken arms on the ground, with blood and flesh flying everywhere, and his heart was infinitely desolate. This was all Pao Ze, they didn't
They died in Liaodong, but were cruelly treated as victims on the way home to force the remnant army to advance quickly. They really died with their eyes open.
There was no need for the Mongolian cavalry to pretend. When they heard the movement here, they were already on their way over and could feel the ground shaking faintly. Their three thousand cavalry also became victims of blocking the pursuers.
Can such a court still follow? I, Zhao Kuangyin, am also a good man. Now I am living under someone else's roof and have to obey orders. The three thousand brothers behind me should also be feeling sad. That's all. I'll just send him here. So he turned around and raised his voice.
He said to the three thousand riders behind him: "Brothers, what I, Zhao Kuangyin, did today was really helpless. The people we trampled under our horses were our life and death comrades. Why did this happen? Why did they kill each other? Looking at them in despair, I couldn't understand.
"Now it's our turn to be the victims. I've had enough. I have decided to stay in Cangzhou and create my own world. If you want to leave, please stay here!"
Most of these three thousand cavalry are soldiers from Henan and Shandong, otherwise they would not be arranged to come to the rear. The front army led by Wu Tianxi should have arrived in Dezhou by now. The infantry formation was so rushed by them that it has woken up from half-death.
Come here and run around. You should be able to reach the outskirts of Texas today and be away from danger. But now their three thousand cavalry are being targeted by the Mongolian cavalry. There is no point in retreating south. It will only lead the Mongolian cavalry southward, and they will be trampled to death.
Thousands of brothers died in vain.
Cangzhou City is ten miles ahead. It won't take long to reach it at full speed. Although there are defenders, they are not many. Three thousand cavalry can attack them quickly. Even if they cannot attack them in a short time, they can retreat westward to the river. In short
He could not go south, this was the last thing he could do for the Sui Dynasty.
Three thousand horses have not left. It is better to follow Zhao Kuangyin than to follow Yang Lin who fled south. This place is also close to Shouxiang. After stabilizing, we can still find time to go home and watch. What's wrong? Zhao Kuangyin is a generous person, and he usually treats
They also take good care of me, and it's good to follow him. As for the future, let's pass this test first.
Seeing that no one was leaving, Zhao Kuangyin handed over to them, turned his horse's head, and shouted: "The whole army is advancing at full speed to attack Cangzhou!" After saying this, he took the lead and galloped away.
Luo Yu felt that he could no longer wait for information, so he quickly came to Li Xiuning's handsome tent, told Li Xiuning the latest information and his own plan, and waited for her to make the final decision.
After listening to Luo Yu's words, Li Xiuning looked at the map and said: "Dou Jiande is playing this encirclement trick again. Will he fail again when our army captures Jincheng? I always feel that something is wrong, a link is missing...
"
After hearing this, Luo Yu frowned and said: "The ambush has not been found in the north. I think the missing link should be there. Both of them feel that it will take some time for us to attack Jincheng, and our army has just come from the north.
There should no longer be any doubt that there is an ambush in the north of Jincheng. When our army attacks the city, the ambush in the north of the city and the Jincheng defenders will attack from inside and outside. At that time, we will be in a dilemma."
Li Xiuning smiled and said: "It seems that these two old foxes are really good at playing with people's hearts. Didn't you arrange special forces members in the Jincheng Army? At this time, why don't you use them?"
Luo Yu also smiled and said: "It's not yet time. I don't know whether he is in the city or in an ambush. This kid is very clever. Don't worry, he will show up when he is supposed to show up."
Zhang Yang came with the second batch of 30 special operations team members. This batch seemed to have not completed all the training, so they were brought to fight Yang. Like Zhang Yang and others, the victory was because the instructors had practical combat experience and used practical combat skills during training.
They were the main force, so they had to adapt to the battlefield faster than the first batch. They had learned how to operate gunpowder, so the task of blowing up the city gate was given to them.
They had seen the powerful power of explosive packs, and the instructor had asked them to prepare before the training. Unexpectedly, they were still blown up and scattered rocks were so shocked that they were speechless. After calming down, they took out the cloth from their ears.
When I saw the rubble that was stuck straight into the ground in a radius of two hundred feet, I imagined that there might not even be a scrap of human body to be found in front of this thing, and I couldn't help but shudder, with a look of fear flashing in my eyes.
The instructor's words made them excited: "This is our stuff, what are you afraid of? Aren't the more scary your stuff is, the better?"
Yes, this is our thing, what are we afraid of? If we are afraid, it should be the enemy. Learn how to use this thing as soon as possible so that you can kill the enemy! So they carefully studied and mastered the use of explosive packs and grenades, looking forward to one day going into battle.
Kill the enemy.
Luo Yu looked at their fiery and admiring eyes and shouted loudly: "Are you confident to complete the mission?" The thirty new special forces members shouted in unison: "Yes!"
Luo Yu nodded and said with a smile: "Having confidence is a good thing, but you have to pay attention to the method. Listen, I don't need a fool who doesn't care about his own life in order to complete the task. What I need is someone who can complete the task according to the actual situation and still stay alive.
Brothers who are back, your master is just like you. He went to the battlefield before the training was completed. After more than ten battles, only two people were missing. I am very proud of this achievement. You have an advantage over them. The losses they suffered will tell you.
, let you avoid wrestling less, remember, it is a lesson of blood and tears, don’t forget it!”
Thirty people said in unison: "Remember!"
Luo Yu continued: "Ahead is Zezhou, which is the only way for our army to attack Jincheng. Taking Zezhou quickly is the first task I give you. You have the most powerful weapon in the world so far.
Now, you are the vanguard and attack!"
The team members shouted, turned around, picked up the explosive packs, and were about to rush forward, but were stopped by Li Xiuning: "Wait, don't forget what the instructor said, we don't need idiots who can sacrifice, but we need people who can think
Brothers who have returned alive after completing the mission! Go to the four city gates, and send two people to each city gate, and the rest stay here to observe and study!" After that, he ordered Yue Yun who had just arrived: "Yue Juntou, send five to each city gate.
Each of the hundred riders carried an arrow tube and shot arrows to cover their passage."
Yue Yun bowed his promise and turned around to make arrangements. In fact, it would be okay if he didn't need cover. Every special operations team member wore soft armor with two layers of silk fabric underneath and a thickened helmet on his head. As long as the city was not
When rolling logs and rocks, ordinary feather arrows can't hurt them at all. I don't know if they have eight oxen crossbows, but Li Xiuning is still more thoughtful than Luo Yu.
Each of the five hundred horsemen set off, surrounded by two team members holding explosive packs. They stopped three hundred steps away from the city gate without answering. They nocked their bows and arrows, pointed them diagonally towards the sky, then loosened their bowstrings together, and fired the long arrows in a parabola.
It fell, but the archer didn't even look at it, and then fired the second round, and the third round... It wasn't until all ten arrows were shot that he hung up his longbow and waited for the charge.
Five hundred in each round, ten rounds, five thousand arrows have already filled the city head and the Tibetan Army Building. Under this kind of arrow rain, no one can survive, and the Red Scarf Army in Zezhou City has no chance at all.
I have seen such an army attacking the city with a rain of arrows. Even if there are so many arrows, the archery master's arms can't stand it! What they don't know is that after Luo Yu modified the bow and arrow, it no longer requires so much strength to pull the bow.
The power is even stronger.
Before the hundreds of red scarf troops on the walled city had time to recover, they were swallowed up by the rain of arrows and shot into sieves. Two special forces members had already rushed forward. Three hundred steps away, the fifth round of arrow rain
Before it even fell, he had already arrived at the city gate.
Zezhou is a small city. Except for the high points of the city wall, there is no moat. There are only a dozen Juma placed together about a foot away from the door. A team member easily crossed the Juma and came to the bottom of the tall city gate, looking for
One person left behind to install an explosive package at the enemy's place. The other person stayed behind to install another explosive package, clearing the enemy horse and allowing the cavalry from behind to enter the city.
The surroundings were bare, and there was a gap of about an inch below the city gate. There was no place to install explosives. Suddenly, I felt that the city door knocker was a good thing. It could also be hung on the door knocker. Exploding this place shouldn't blow down the entire door, but it could.
Blow the door bolt. If the door bolt is broken, the door will be useless.
Just do it when you think about it. The instructor said, if you have to think of a way, don't hesitate anymore. Take off your backpack, tie the explosive bag, pull out the fuse, and rush out of the city gate. Place the first bomb at Juma.
The two members of the explosive pack pulled the fuse of the second explosive pack at the same time when they saw their teammates coming out.
The two of them did not dare to neglect and ran back quickly. The further away from this thing, the safer it would be.
This fuse was also made by Luo Yu after many experiments. Saltpeter was mixed into a long fuse that was hammered thousands of times and exposed to the sun. The burning speed was controlled by the amount of saltpeter, and it could not be extinguished by the wind.
, now it cannot be indestructible when exposed to water, then apply white phosphorus on the top end of the lead, seal the outside with wax, use cooked cowhide to make a lid of the same size and cover it. When using it, just pull off the lid and the wax seal will
It was brought out by the cover, causing the white phosphorus to spontaneously ignite when exposed to air, igniting the fuse.
This is the best material now, and it needs to be improved in the future. White phosphorus has a low ignition point and is very dangerous when installed. I originally wanted to use fire to ignite it directly, but considering the variability on the battlefield, it is better to install white phosphorus and ignite it.
It's a bit dangerous. If you are caught by the enemy's sharp archer, you will die without a chance of survival.
The four gates launched an attack almost at the same time. When the cavalry saw the special forces coming out, they quickly pressed the horses' ears hard. They knew that the horses were afraid of such loud noises, and if they did not do anything right, they would be frightened and run away out of control.
The fire flashed, and there was a loud noise followed by another loud noise. The explosive pack exploded. The chain of resistance horses quickly disintegrated in the light of the fire. The fragments were blown into the air and rolled down. It seemed that it was no longer safe to take three hundred steps.
His face was a little painful from being hit by rocks.
There was smoke rising from the city gate, and there was no scene of flying sand and rocks. But after a while, the ironwood gate fell to the ground with a loud "snap". It was not until this moment that the other three city gates opened one after another.
There was an explosion sound, which was intertwined with the echo generated by the first explosion, spread out in all directions, and then bounced back again. This happened three or four times before it slowly returned to normal.
When the sound stopped, the knight let go of the restless war horse's ears, knocked the horse's belly with both feet, and rushed towards the city gate, reaching the 300-step distance in the blink of an eye.
A shallow pit about three feet in size was created where the horses were placed. When they got closer, the horses jumped over on their own, extremely smooth. Half of the city gates had been blown to the ground, and the other half was half open. The team leader pulled
Tightening the reins, the horse stood upright and kicked the half-open city gate with its front hooves. The city gate opened back with a "dong" sound, accompanied by a "squeaking" sound, as if it was also affected by the "thump" sound.
I can't hold it anymore and I'm about to fall down.
Cries of killing came from all directions. Before the team leader could see clearly what was in front of him, he was shot in the right chest by an arrow. He leaned up and almost fell off his horse. The arrow passed through the armor, but was shot inside.
Obstructed by the silk and half an inch into his flesh, he pulled it out and threw it aside. Looking up, he saw a tall red scarf army general in his thirties, with a full face and beard, standing thirty or forty steps ahead.
Clip an arrow into your bow on a ring and aim the second arrow at him.
The squad leader was not in a good state of mind, and he quickly raised his machete to block. The arrow passed through the blade, deflected, and shot towards the teammates behind him.
A muffled groan came from behind, but it should be nothing serious. Most of the force was blocked by the blade. The arrow could at most penetrate the armor and be blocked in front of the silk thread without hurting the flesh.
The silk arrow-blocking method of joining the army is really useful, but it is too hot to wear in summer...
Forty steps later, the angry horse ran wildly. When the bearded man was about to take the third arrow, he came to him. With a swing of his sword, the bow had already been broken. The man abandoned the broken bow and picked up a horse spear from the side to greet him.
Blocking with his sword, he couldn't bear the power of the horse, so he took three or four steps back, and the horse fell to the ground. The team leader jumped off the horse while he was still standing, hugged the big man, and struggled together.
The knights following behind quickly dismounted to help, and it took three or four people to subdue the big man and tie him up with a cowhide rope. While the two men watched, the others got on their horses and continued to charge forward.
When Li Xiuning and Luo Yu arrived in the city, most of the Red Scarf Army had been killed. In addition to the big man, more than twenty people were captured alive. All of them were tied behind their backs and kneeling in the square in front of the government office.
This battle lasted for half an hour. The Youwu army only slightly injured more than 20 people, most of them were arrow wounds. They killed more than 1,300 enemies. It was considered a great victory.
There is no need to go out to appease the people, because there is no common people in the whole city, and they must have been moved to Jincheng. It seems that Zhu Yuanzhang has made preparations to strengthen the walls and clear the country. The food and grass are only enough for the more than a thousand horses for two days. Other than that,
, there are no other supplies and property in the city.
Luo Yu came to the big man with beards and saw that his face was full of dissatisfaction. He made a buzzing sound because his mouth was blocked. He must have something to say.
Li Xiuning pulled Luo Yu forward a few steps and said softly: "The top priority is to march into Jinyang. Just leave a small team here to block the east gate, south gate, and north gate to prevent Dou Jun and Zhu Yuanzhang from ambushing."
Luo Yu replied: "No rush, let them rush to Jincheng first and guard the four gates. I have to find out the identity of this person first. Maybe he can help."
Li Xiuning smiled and said, "Okay, it's up to you. I'll go over and make arrangements for the military affairs first." After saying that, he jumped on his horse and rode away to the Ximen assembly area.
Luo Yu turned around and said to the big man: "Don't make any noise, come in with me!" After saying that, he pulled the big man and walked towards the government office.
When we arrived at the backyard of the government office, there was a courtyard, simple and elegant, surrounded by flowers and plants. It might have been neglected for a long time, and it was already a little dilapidated. He said to the two team members who followed him: "Go and bring two chairs over, and then make a pot."
Tea, let me have a chat with this big brother."
Luo Yu walked over, stretched out his hand and pulled off a large piece of white cloth from the big man's mouth. He saw clear bite marks on it, which must have been caused by anger. Sure enough, as soon as the white cloth was taken off, the big man cursed: "You villain, you can win with dignity."
I have nothing to say, but you are relying on trickery to break through my city gate. I don’t accept it, I don’t accept it!”
After saying that, he took a big step forward and bumped into Luo Yu with his body. Luo Yu seemed to have expected this move and ducked out of the way. He couldn't stand still and fell to the ground, falling like a dog.
Then he struggled to turn over and pressed his hands tied behind his back under his body.
Luo Yu said: "What does it mean to be upright? On the battlefield, if you plan before taking action, who can argue with you about being upright? Stop struggling and cooperate with me honestly. Maybe I can teach you how to use troops."
The big man said angrily: "I, the great general of the Red Scarf Army, Luo Shixin, want you to teach me? You don't have even hair, and you want to teach me?"
Luo Yu guessed correctly. This was really Luo Shixin. He was from the same family. He could be accepted as his younger brother.
So Luo Yu smiled and said: "My name is Luo Yu, and you and my family are the same. However, our Luo family does not have people like you who are unfaithful and unfilial, do not know right from wrong, and do not know loyalty and treachery. You are not worthy of the surname Luo!"
After hearing this, Luo Shixin was so angry that he shouted: "Why am I unfaithful and unfilial? How come I don't know right from wrong? I don't know what loyalty and adultery mean?"
At this time, the team members had brought two chairs and a small table, and the tea was brewed. Luo Yu pulled up Luo Shixin and asked him to sit on the chair, but did not untie him. He poured a cup of tea and fed him to drink.
Then he said: "As a citizen of the Sui Dynasty, you don't want to serve the country, you rely on your own military bravery, but you are willing to associate with the rebels, which is disloyal; the elders in your family follow the Han family style, and support you with porridge and rice.
You did not listen to the advice and turned against your family, which is unfilial. Your master asked you to choose a wise master, but you were used by a traitor without knowing it. You killed your junior brother and angered your master to death. You did not know what was right and wrong. Do you still want me to go on?
?”
Luo Shixin looked at Luo Yu as if he were a ghost, and shouted: "How do you know these things? I have never told anyone, who are you?"
Luo Yu said: "Don't be excited, I know much more than you think. Sanniang seems to be still waiting for you..."
As soon as Luo Yu finished speaking, Luo Shixin fell down on the low table, and the coffee table split open in an instant. Fortunately, the team member next to him was quick and grabbed half a pot of hot tea, otherwise this stupid guy would be in trouble.