More than one-third of the Seven Kingdoms Alliance's troops are refugees who have just joined the army for a few months, and the rest have not experienced much combat experience.
Although the weapons are relatively complete, the discipline, training, and physical fitness are not very good.
During the march, people were loose, dilly-dally, and randomly separated from the team. Many times, just for a wild vegetable that had just sprouted on the roadside, several people would rush out of the team, and even fight for it.
Fighting for this wild vegetable, fighting with fists and kicks.
This is because I am afraid of hunger.
The survival instinct prompts them to desperately collect food.
Liu Xiang sympathized with them, but this was in the army, where he had to be punished and beaten when he deserved it. If the army had no discipline, it would be a piece of loose sand and could only be slaughtered by others.
I want to take them to fight, not for an outing.
The only thing that caught my eye were the two thousand crossbowmen.
Breaking out of camp at Chenshi, we walked until dusk when we were still seven or eight miles away from Gongqiu. In a whole day, we walked nearly thirty miles, which was barely enough to reach the same place. This marching speed was not enough for the selection standards of the local legion of the Anping Army.
The Anping Army recruits soldiers from the militia. They need to be more than six feet seven inches tall, carrying a spear, a light shield, a sword, a bow, thirty arrows, a water bag, three kilograms of grain, and a total load of twenty
Five kilograms and a march of forty miles in one day are considered qualified.
The requirements for the regular soldiers of the Central Army and the Fourth Army are even higher.
Facing the troops of the Seven Kingdoms Alliance, it reminded him of the days when he led the newly formed Chinese army infantry out of Yuyang County to fight fox slaves during the rebellion.
No, this army is not as good as when the Chinese Army was first formed. At least at that time, the Chinese Army had a large number of veterans and newly rescued mining slaves. They were still very energetic and had a lot of ruthlessness.
But the situation was really similar, with poor discipline, a sloppy march, and having to walk forty miles to conquer a county with a lot of fertile farmland.
I was also scratching my head sadly.
This moment is like that time.
If it weren't for Qingqi rushing back and forth between the front and back of the team, Liu Xiang would have thought that time had gone back.
"Stay alert and set up camp."
After giving the order, two thousand crossbowmen lined up on guard, and eight thousand infantrymen and five thousand civilians, under the scolding of the military officials, began to dig trenches and cut down trees to build strongholds.
Five thousand civilians will deliver the next batch of supplies and arrive later.
In fact, it was the cavalry of the Anping Army who were mainly responsible for guarding. This was the case all along the way.
"Let's go, come with me to view the city." Liu Xiang called Cui Yi, who looked disgusted, to investigate Gongqiu.
"Lord, with such a team, we are going to take them to fight Yuan Shao? How about transferring the former army? Yunchang's headquarters is only more than two hundred miles away from us." Cui Yi was a little worried.
"Are you here to fight Yuan Shao? All of our cavalry can fight when we want and leave when we want. Bringing infantry will affect our speed." Liu Xiang shook his head and raised his finger to the crossbowmen who were arrayed on guard:
"These two thousand men are pretty good, but Yuan Shao's soldiers may not be better than them."
Cui Yi turned around and glanced: "It looks good, but who knows how it will perform after going into battle? I can't trust them. Lord, why do you want to leave the Shesheng Camp, Qingche Camp and Hujun Camp in Kaiyang? Instead, you want the Front Army and the Zuo Army
Take the Qingzhou garrison and go to the East China Sea to attract enemy troops."
"Who knows whether Yuan Benchu will go all out to march north and leave them behind to be prepared."
Liu Xiang left 15,000 Chinese infantry in Kaiyang and invested 30,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry in the East China Sea. He was afraid that after Yuan Shao found out that he appeared in Peixian County, he would attack the front line of the East China Sea with all his strength.
Army and Zuojun.
If he dares to send troops, the Chinese army will go south and kill him.
This can be regarded as digging a hole. Zhao Yun didn't take it with him this time, but was waiting in Kaiyang.
The two chatted for a while, and Gongqiu was watching. This time the reconnaissance did not go close to the city because he had a telescope.
Cui Yi also had it. Although the novelty had long passed, he still couldn't help but admire it: "It's really a good thing. The defenders at the top of the city can see it clearly. The defense is not tight. The refugees around the city did not gather in.
Really? It looks like there must be 30,000 to 40,000 people."
Gongqiu County is close to a river and a lake, with fertile fields all over the territory. The war in Yuzhou has not affected this place. It originally had a population of hundreds of thousands. Now there seems to be a lot of people fleeing. There are only three or four people gathered around the moat.
Thousands of people, there must be a large number of refugees in the villages and pavilions outside the city.
"I'm afraid we don't dare to let the refugees into the city. It's just a small town four miles away, and the population in the city is not much more than the refugees."
There were many refugees outside the city. On the way back to the military camp, Liu Xiang kept thinking about the strange things about these refugees.
The defenders must have noticed the arrival of the large group of troops. Why were there so many refugees gathering outside the city?
It neither gathers nor disperses, which is contrary to common sense.
I thought about it all the way but still couldn't figure it out.
There was no trouble in setting up the camp. The garrison of Gongqiu County was always huddled in the city, with thousands of cavalry on the side. They did not dare to go out of the city to harass.
The next day, the infantry were arranged to continue to strengthen the camp and build siege equipment. Liu Xiang led the cavalry directly to the city to see if he could persuade him to surrender.
The defenders on the city were relatively safe, but the refugees below the city were like a colony of ants that had exploded and fled in all directions. They didn't even know the enemy was coming. The officials in the city seemed unwilling to pay attention to these refugees.
Or is it possible that he is unable to control it and can only abandon it?
Yan Gang was ordered to lead Yueqi to gather the refugees. Sure enough, most of them were old, weak, women and children, and the young and strong had been selected and must have been used as soldiers.
Nearly 30,000 people gathered. These people were so hungry that they were naked, covered with skin and bones, and had no strength to run. Most of them were women and half-grown children. If they were not rescued as soon as possible, they would be dead.
The officials in the city were more cruel than Liu Xiang, so he shouldered this burden.
That was the original idea.
He is so fucking inhuman!
"Yan Gang, take them back to the camp first and order Luo Jun to organize relief and build a refugee camp three miles behind the military camp. Send an order to Chen Yi to deliver food as soon as possible."
Even if he knew that this was the enemy's plan, he could not bear to watch these refugees starve to death in front of his eyes.
The worst case scenario is to grab food. There must be many manors and forts in the countryside of Gongqiu. He is not afraid of offending those powerful families. Anyway, this is not the first time he has done such a thing.
"Follow orders."
Yan Gang took the order and left. The three thousand cavalry retreated, leaving only 3,700 cavalry under the east city gate. The defenders on the city became more stable.
"The county magistrate came out to answer."
The Anping army stayed under the city for a long time, but Liu Xiang did not see the leader on the city wall. He could only ride a few steps closer to the city and shouted to the city to see what the Gongqiu County Magistrate was.
"The county magistrate is not here, what can General Hussar say? Just tell me."
A young man in his mid-twenties appeared on the city. He hid behind the battlements, only showing a playful face, a mustache, and a goatee. He looked disgusting.
"Who are you?"
"I, Yingchuan, play Zhicai, live in Gongqiu, thanks to the hospitality of the good people here, so I want to help him protect his home. Liu Qiaoqi really loves the people, but he is carrying so many refugees and may not have enough food and grass. Why not retreat early to avoid losing face?
damage."
The Xi Zhicai in the city winked. Although his tone was respectful, his strong sense of ridicule was clearly revealed.
Do you want to use those women and children to tie down your own logistics supplies? Or do you want to sow discord between yourself and King Lu? Or do you want to arouse your own anger and wait for an opportunity to defeat our army?
This strategy is really cheap. You will do anything to plan for others' kindness.
If you meet someone who is cruel, it will be of no use at all. Is it specially tailored for you?
Yingchuan Opera Zhicai was indeed as recorded in the history books, but his conduct was not very good, he was ridiculed for being unfaithful to the customs, and the scholars looked down upon him.
After thinking about it, Liu Xiang's anger was suppressed and he confessed frankly: "Xi Zhicai, I did fall into the trap. Even if I could see through it, I would still fall into the trap. But, you think you fell into it?"
With this strategy, will our army be defeated?"
He looked back at the capable Anping soldiers beside him, and shouted loudly: "The food is not exhausted, the city has been destroyed, what can I do with just a small plan? Playing with Zhicai, the plan will eventually fall on the battlefield, a group of rabble, even if it is used
How can these devious tricks defeat me? It’s just wishful thinking!”