Liu Xiang didn't say anything about the black powder, and Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai naturally wouldn't ask foolishly. They were just curious about the method he said could defeat any enemy, and they made various guesses.
It's just a guess, no one said anything.
Continue to discuss the arrangements for the raid on Yuan Shao.
"Where are Liu Chong's troops?" Liu Xiang asked, looking at the map.
Xi Zhicai replied: "The last time we communicated, we have passed through the Duxiang County of the King of Pei. According to the time, we should have arrived at Zhuyi. In a few days, it will not be difficult to completely occupy the Pei Kingdom."
Yuan Shao didn't have many troops left behind. It was only a matter of time before Liu Chong captured Pei, enough to cut off the enemy's return eastward.
But Liu Xiang was not optimistic about killing Yuan Shao in a surprise attack. He could have gone south along the Ying River to Jiujiang County and hid in Shouchun on the south bank of the Huai River.
Liu Xiang did not dare to lead his cavalry and pursue Yangzhou alone.
Let's fight first and then talk about it. It's best if you can kill Yuan Shao on the battlefield. It doesn't matter if you can't. Just defeat him next time.
The cavalry was assembled, equipped with pack horses and ten days' worth of food, ready to set out at any time.
There are a few things to take care of before setting off.
Yingchuan was occupied not long ago. Although there were many people who were sympathetic to him, it was not very peaceful. Just relying on the army to intimidate would hinder the strength of the troops, so a local was needed to appease him.
"I accept my fate that Xun Yu will temporarily take over as the prefect of Yingchuan."
This appointment actually violated the Three Mutual Laws of the Han Dynasty. The governors of prefectures and counties could not be appointed by local people. Since no one wanted to go to the border counties, they had a special purpose and could be appointed by local talents.
When Emperor Ling issued this edict, it was actually to facilitate the sale of officials. No one wanted to go to the border counties. Official positions could not be sold at a high price. This was not a problem for Liu Hong, who was a business wizard. If outsiders were unwilling to go, then
Sell it to a big local company.
Anyway, I made a lot of money, and I made some contribution to the defense of the border counties against the barbarians.
Liu Xiang supported the Three Mutual Laws. There were too many disadvantages for local people to serve as local officials, so appointing Xun Yu was only a temporary measure.
Also, Man Chong and Gao Shun both accepted his recruitment. Because they were out in the field, they were taken directly to his shogunate.
When mentioning the shogunate, many people's first thought is the shogunate during Japan's Warring States Period, a central governing body above the emperor. However, the shogunate appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period in my country, and is different from the Japanese shogunate.
The shogunate refers to the office set up in the tent when the ancient generals went out to fight. It is also called Mofu. Mo means "tongzhao" or "tongmu".
It was first seen in "Historical Records·Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru": "Officials were hired at cheap prices, and all the market rent was imported into Mofu."
"Historical Records" records:
"When a general goes on an expedition, he travels to an unpredictable place, and the place he is in is governed, so he calls it 'Mofu'."
"In ancient times, the generals went out to fight as generals, and then stopped when the army returned. There was no permanent place for management, and the curtains were used as the palace offices, so it was called 'Mofu'."
The term shogunate initially referred to the general's military tent and was not a permanent institution.
In the Han Dynasty, most of the relatives assisted the government with the positions of generals and generals of chariots and cavalry. They all set up a shogunate and summoned celebrities and bachelors to participate in political affairs. This trend spread, and it became that anyone with the power to open a government could
Establish a shogunate.
Later, the three princes, powerful ministers, feudal officials, and local warlords also established shogunates and recruited cronies.
It was passed down to the Tang Dynasty that even powerful princesses could open mansions. First, Li Yuan's daughter Princess Pingyang opened a mansion because she was in charge of the army. Later, Princess Taiping, Princess Anle, etc. all have records of opening mansions.
Liu Xiang's shogunate is his central army tent. Seriously speaking, the palace city in Ye County, all the soldiers and generals of the central army and the fourth army, as well as the workshops, mining areas, and mountains and forests under the general supervision, including those he appointed
His long history, chief records, officers, and officials are all subordinate to his shogunate.
Man Chong was appointed as Jun Zhengcheng by him, assisting Xia Houlan, the Jun Zhengcheng, in managing the military laws.
Gao Shun brought thirty families of this branch to join him. According to Shi A's report, he and Gao Gan's branch had been in five servers and separated a few lifetimes ago.
This is good news. His family moved to nearby Ye County to divide their fields. Gao Shun was appointed as Sima of the other tribes. He only has a few brothers from the clan for the time being. As for whether to form a trap camp or whether it should be included in the Chinese army, Liu Xiang
Still have to think about it.
Now let’s defeat Yuan Shao first.
On the seventh day of July, the temperature dropped, and there was no need for a bunch of rough guys in the army to celebrate the Qiqiao Festival. Seven thousand cavalry of the Chinese army marched eastward, passed Zhaoling, conquered the Qiang, and resupplied rations in Ruyang, which is the modern Zhoukou City.
Then they entered the Yingshui River Basin, turned south, passed the city without stopping, accelerated and drove straight towards Yuan Shao's army.
At this time, Yuan Shao's troops who were entangled with Zhang Xun had left Yingshui and camped in the countryside between Ruyin and Gushi.
Zhang Xun wanted to retreat, but Yuan Shao refused to let go. The two armies were divided into six camps. The camps faced each other, and the soldiers could clearly see the faces of the soldiers on the opposite side. Their teeth were intertwined and they were involved in each other. It was not easy for anyone to escape.
On July 15th, the gate of hell opened, and Liu Xiang led his army to hide ten miles northeast of the enemy camp, waiting for Zhang Xun to lure the enemy out.
He arrived yesterday and saw that Yuan Shao had divided into four camps, almost half surrounding Zhang Xun's front and rear camps. No, it should be said that Zhang Xun's front camp had been surrounded. There were two enemy camps confronting him in the front, and there were still two enemy camps on the side and behind.
There were two enemy camps flanking each other, each of which was only three to four hundred paces away from his front camp.
His rear camp was more than two hundred steps away from the front camp, which was the only gap.
It seemed that he was retreating one battalion at a time. He had only retreated less than fifty miles in more than half a month. If Yuan Shao had more troops, he would be completely surrounded.
The difference in military strength is only five thousand, but the gap in combat power is not small.
Liu Xiang didn't think about a night attack. At this time, the guards were heavily guarded, and a night attack would have little effect.
The cavalry repaired for half a day and one night, marching more than 400 miles in seven days. For a cavalry unit with one man and three horses, this was just a normal marching speed. A short rest was enough to restore its combat strength.
I have communicated with Zhang Xun and asked him to retreat normally. As long as Yuan Shao shows up, the cavalry will rush into the formation from the side.
This reflects the advantage of the telescope. Liu Xiang could clearly see the enemy's movements, but Yuan Shao could not see the cavalry hidden in the grass.
This place was originally a field, but had not been taken care of for two years. The wild grass had grown to the height of half a man, and in some places it was already higher than the head. The war horses were hidden in the grass ten miles away, and the sentries on the watchtower could not see clearly.
There were just too many mosquitoes, and Liu Xiang was bitten with red packets on his face. All the soldiers were having a hard time. They didn't dare to light mugwort to smoke out mosquitoes and flies, and they didn't dare to start a fire to cook. All they ate were the wheat cakes and rice they had brought with them before.
Bread, dried meat, salted fish, and water all had to be sent ten miles away to boil and be delivered.
The temperature was not bad. They came here to lurk when it was dark, and the sun in the morning was not very bright.
As soon as Chen hour passed, Zhang Xun's rear battalion sent out troops and formed a formation between the two battalions. They demolished the simple village wall and the front troops who formed the car camp retreated.
Yuan Shao's four military camps also took action and began to send troops to harass, but they did not rush into the formation desperately. They mostly fired with bows and crossbows, and the casualties on both sides were not large.
The front camp retreated with difficulty, but did not stop when entering the rear camp. It continued to march out of the camp and prepared to set up a stronghold outside the rear camp. In this way, a rotation of the front and rear camps was completed.
Then it was the turn of the former rear battalion soldiers who became the front battalion to break camp and retreat.
Also breaking out of camp with them were four enemy battalions.
Can the war still be fought like this?
Liu Xiang felt that he was really knowledgeable. If Wang Xing saw this, he would definitely be very happy. The chain oar car he invented was so suitable for this kind of play.
He turned around and ordered: "Put on your armor and prepare to charge into battle!"
Yuan Shao's army came out of the camp, and there were flags and flags bearing the words "General Chariot" and "Yuan".