It seems that Yuan Jian was on guard and guarded to the death, but finally some fish slipped through the net and escaped back to Jinhaoguan.
But it was already very good. Li Chengzhi was overjoyed to be able to delay Du Lun's troops by two days.
He never expected to be able to block nearly ten thousand Rouran cavalry in the Jinhao Valley.
Because Gaoque and Jinhao were all in the hands of the enemy and thieves, his troops were even more stretched and could not stop them even if they wanted to.
Besides, it has always taken a thousand days to commit a thief, but there is no way to guard against a thief for a thousand days.
The only way is to scare the thief out of fear, or preferably to cripple him.
Of course, the premise is that the thief must cooperate...
"Commander, please ask Jinyang Man (Yuan Zhi) for your orders. Can you take the initiative to attack while the creeping thieves are not yet stable?"
Take the initiative?
Since the battle in Zhencheng, has this Yuanzhi become addicted to taking risks?
You can do it occasionally when you have to. Since you have a pretty good chance of winning, why gamble with your life?
"No!"
Li Chengzhi said coldly, "But you can send a brigade to explore the enemy ten miles away from Guanxia. Remember, prepare more lights, half light cavalry and armor cavalry... If the enemy is too scared to come out, it is not too late to return to the city to camp..."<
/p>
The generals immediately understood Li Chengzhi’s intention.
This is clearly to scare the enemy with falsehood and reality: I know you are hiding in the valley, and I also know that you have come out at night, but you don’t know how many soldiers I have?
If you know the truth, just be honest and wait until dawn before fighting again!
And there are too many uncertainties at night. God knows which ravine is hiding an ambush?
Therefore, the enemy knows that there is a deception, but 99% of the time he does not dare to block it, let alone rashly sends troops to attack.
At most, it’s just a small-scale harassment.
But I have a city to defend, am I afraid of a bird feather?
When the soldiers took the order and left, Li Chengzhi waved his hand: "Enter the city and set up camp!"
……
In the early morning, the first glimmer of light appeared on the horizon. The sea of clouds was vast, and a golden sun rose slowly like a huge fireball.
The sun penetrates the morning glow and disperses the mist, revealing golden light and all the peaks are dyed. The reflected silver light of Langshan Mountain is brilliant, like a white dragon stretching across the sky.
Among the mountains and the sea of fog, Jinhaoguan is as small as a sesame seed on a piece of sesame seed cake, while the river valley is like a small fold, inconspicuous.
Hundreds of Huqi galloped in the hay beach, like a swarm of ants.
Behind him, like an ant nest filled with water, nearly ten thousand Huqi stood in front of the pass, so densely packed that it made people's scalp numb.
Hundreds of horsemen rode all the way eastward, running farther and farther. When they reached Jinhaoguan, about ten miles to the east, when the road hoofprints on the grass and sand became more and more dense, they heard a "woo" and the cavalry formation scattered.
Run away and divide into several teams. Two teams are facing east, and the remaining teams are divided into two, each heading southeast and northeast.
The further forward, the denser the horse hoof prints became, and halfway through, I saw several dead horses. Looking at the saddles and bridle styles, they were clearly the mounts of the Rouran Cavalry.
This is where Rouran encountered the Han army last night.
Since the number of combatants on both sides is small, they are just scouts in their respective vanguards, so it is not possible to start a war.
But the superiors made a judgment: most of the fallen horses were Hu horses. Among the more than ten dead horses, two of the Han army's mounts were seen. Their armor and felt had all been taken away. It can be seen that the Han army's scouts not only repulsed Rou
Ranren also cleaned up the battlefield.
The same goes for corpses. Along the way, there were five or six dead bodies of Hu people collected, but not a single Han person was seen?
Dou Ling's heart sank until he went about ten miles further and saw nearly twenty corpses of men and horses lying around a sand dune, all of them dressed in beards. He finally lost his temper. "Stop!"
Following Dou Ling's loud shout and the sound of horses neighing, fifty or sixty horsemen stopped their horses one after another, stopped around the sand dunes, and looked at the tribal leader solemnly.
"This is where the battle took place yesterday?"
"Lord Bing, this is the place!"
"How did you encounter it? Let the general tell you in detail!"
"Sir, we are the scouts who took a step forward to explore outside the pass... When we went five miles east, we suddenly noticed the traces of a small group of Han cavalry. We thought they were county soldiers from Dacheng County, so Brigadier General Wuluohou led us.
Chase.
However, the Han army relied on their many horses and sharp arrows and could not catch up for a long time. Therefore, when we chased here, there was no hope. Commander Zhuang was about to give the order to turn back, but suddenly he saw dozens of lights rushing from the east, and there were no
The meaning of stopping..."
"So, Wuluohou ordered you to put out the lights, intending to ambush?"
Dou Ling's face was cold and solemn, and General Zhuang couldn't help but trembled: "Exactly...exactly...at that time, the mane rings on the bridles of our horses were illuminated by the starlight, and the Han army discovered their whereabouts. However, the Han army did not avoid advancing and rushed straight towards us. Seeing that it only had more than a hundred riders, less than 30% of our strength, Commander Zhuang ordered us to attack suddenly...
Then... then the Han army only fired one round of arrows, and dozens of our horses fell to the ground. But when our arrows hit the armor of the Han soldiers, we only heard a "chichi" sound, but no horses or horses neighed. At that time, it was inevitable to avoid it. Commander Zhuang must have thought too much, so he led us to attack. But the sword and spear stabbed the enemy's body, but it was like hitting a stone? So in a short time, we... we were defeated...<
/p>
It was later discovered that the Han army’s scouts were actually men and horses in armor. Only because they wore robes and felt outside their armor, the commander of the army thought that the Han army was just like us, wearing only leather armor..."
Leather armor...haha?
Dou Ling recalled the two Han horses he had just seen and couldn't help but snorted.
If it was leather armor, why did the Han army need to take it away overnight?
It seems that the group of Han troops that Wuluohou suddenly encountered last night should be the elite of the Six Towns. Just like the more than two hundred personal guards around Lu Shiyi.
Suspicious in his heart, Dou Ling asked again in a cold voice: "Have the Han army ever shown a flag battle?"
"Ah...what flag tent!"
Dou Ling sighed secretly.
I am really blind when it comes to asking questions.
He is just a handsome man, but he doesn't know a few Chinese characters. Even if he sees Han people's lamps and flags, he will definitely not recognize them.
With secret hatred in his heart, he saw Yuchi running down the slope and handed him an arrow: "Sir, wait and see!"
Dou Ling received it in his hand and his eyes narrowed: It was actually an armor-piercing three-shuttle heavy arrow?
No wonder the Han army only fired one round and more than ten of the scouts fell to the ground?
Although the scouts under his command are all elite cavalry and wear armor, the horses have no armor and are only covered with a layer of felt. Under such heavy arrows, there is naturally no defense at all.
Um...wrong?
Why is the tail feather of this arrow so thin, and the arrow shaft seems to be shorter than the ordinary Han army's cavalry bow?
This is...a crossbow arrow?
And it’s a powerful crossbow?
Otherwise, the arrow shaft would have to be shorter...
Where did the Woye Town Army get such a thing? Even if it existed, it was extremely rare. Only the soldiers of Yuan Huan, Luo Jian and others had the equipment.
Dou Ling frowned fiercely: Could it be that Luo Jian or Yuan Huan came in person?
It was really too hasty, and before all the troops had entered the pass, traces of enemy cavalry suddenly appeared outside the pass. Moreover, Wuluo Hou was defeated inexplicably, and he was afraid of being ambushed in the dark night, so he did not send any more scouts to explore.<
/p>
So at this point, I don’t even know where the Han army that they encountered last night came from?
But at least it is certain that the incoming enemy is in Dacheng County, less than twenty miles away, and only forty miles away from Jinhaoguan. Even a quick horse attack will arrive in half an hour at most.
How about sending another ranger to explore it?
As I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard several horns sounding in the distance.
Did they discover enemy scouts, and there were a lot of them?
Yuchi slammed his horse and crossed it in front of Dou's horse: "Sir, we don't know the enemy's situation, so we should retreat to the pass and then make plans."
That's right, at least we need to find out the origin of this group of Han troops, and then we can decide whether to fight or retreat!
Dou Ling nodded slightly: "Back off!"
Yuchi shouted several times, and dozens of horsemen quickly turned their horses and ran towards Jinhaoguan.
……
The sun has risen through the morning glow, and the cold fog has long since dissipated, forming a thin layer of white frost that condenses on the felt robes and armor.
Li Chengzhi rubbed his round belly and took a breath of comfort.
The generals, soldiers, and even the horses under him were all full-bellied and full of joy.
This is the benefit of fighting at home: tens of thousands of people in Dacheng County stayed awake almost all night when they heard that the army had arrived.
It's not that I'm afraid, but I'm so excited that I can't sleep. At least I don't have to worry about Dacheng city being destroyed, cattle, sheep, women and children being kidnapped by the Rouran people, and all the men being killed.
At the fifth watch, county officials led the people to feed the horses and cook. Even the weapons and armor were polished until they shone brightly.
The soldiers slept until half an hour before sunrise before getting up, and ate corn cakes with boiling broth. The exhaustion from the day's journey was swept away.
Presumably Rouran didn’t sleep much the whole night, right?
After all, Jinhao Pass is only a few dozen feet wide, and can accommodate at most one or two thousand soldiers and horses. At most, Hu Qi can only camp under the pass. The two armies are so close, and Rouran will naturally have to fight for twelve points.
Spirit, prepare for the Han army’s night attack...
Li Chengzhi was gloating about his misfortune, and accidentally caught a glimpse of Yuan Zhi beside him with a dead face hanging in his face, full of sorrow.
Catching Li Chengzhi's gaze, Yuan Zhi quickly straightened his face and asked worriedly: "Commander, when it comes to the strength of the armor and the power of the soldiers and arrows, the town army is definitely not as good as us. And Yang Sima will lead it.
, it shouldn’t be very submissive. So why not let the last general lead the tiger cavalry and replace Yang Sima, so as to win the first battle?"
Not only was she worried, but Yuan Zhi also had some complaints in her heart.
Along the way, he had been leading two battalions of tiger cavalry and one battalion of town troops as the front army. But after sleeping for a night in Dacheng County, he suddenly ordered the rear army led by Yang Jun to serve as the forward army?
Although the four battalions are elite cavalry, they are only compared to the six towns. When placed in front of the tiger cavalry, they are not enough to see.
Therefore, Yuan Zhi is a little confused. He can obviously win the first battle, so why must he show weakness to the enemy?
Li Chengzhi was helpless.
Being aroused by him that day on top of the city, Yuan Zhi went crazy thinking about fighting? Or was it because he wanted to make meritorious service so much that he didn’t even want to share any profit with the town army?
"May I ask the man from Yuan County, have you ever fought with a creeping knight?"
Yuan Zhi was stunned for a moment, and replied honestly: "Commander Bing: I really have never fought against the creeping cavalry. But a certain late emperor fought in the Southern Dynasties many times, and the title of a certain county man came from this..." "It's not that men from Yuan County are famous for being promiscuous, but the Creep Riders are completely different from the southerners... The Creep Riders are like wolves in the wilderness. They are forbearing and cruel. They don't know themselves and their enemies. They don't have complete assurance and they won't dare to make a sudden move. p>
Instead, they will test, test, and test again. Therefore, it is necessary to break it off. Unless our troops come to Jinhao Pass and make them unable to retreat, we will definitely not be able to fight today... Therefore, there is no need for tiger cavalry to be dispatched to suppress the enemy.
The army is enough!"
Yuan Zhi responded resolutely: "Then you can ask the commander-in-chief to agree to it and order his subordinates to lead the tiger cavalry to the pass to fight the worms for victory!"
If he hadn't been wearing an iron helmet, Li Chengzhi would have wanted to scratch his head. After pondering for a while, he simply said what was in his heart:
"General Yuan, your merits are endless. In the Southern Dynasties, the creeping thieves will not be wiped out for a day, so we can show our talents to the fullest. But the tiger cavalry and the hard-earned tigers are hard-won. It is not an exaggeration to call them 'built on gold mountains'.
Therefore, if you can save, save..."
Just like last night, Yuan Zhi ordered a hundred tiger cavalry to attack a brigade of crawling cavalry. Although the victory was very majestic, it was not desirable.
Any male of the Hu tribe who mounts a horse is a cavalry, but the tiger cavalry is different. The Wei Dynasty had more than 30 million people in the country, but the tiger cavalry only numbered tens of thousands, which shows how valuable they are in gold.
Li Chengzhi felt that exchanging one for a hundred was not worth it.
Just like nuclear bombs, strategic weapons should have the correct method of using strategic weapons...
When Li Chengzhi revealed his thoughts with one word, Yuan Zhi was stunned.
He is a tiger cavalry general, so he naturally has this awareness.
But both his subordinates and himself were really stimulated by Li Chengzhi's heroic act of killing all around the city that day, one against a thousand, so they all tried their best to show off...
"My subordinate is being reckless!"
"The general is eager to fight. It can be seen that the military spirit is available. How can he be said to be reckless?"
Li Chengzhi said with a smile, "I'm just used to being cautious, so I thought if I can delay it, it would be best to delay it for another day or two. If I wait for the army of Hou Xu to arrive gradually, but the creeping knight has not retreated, Li will never do it again."
Stop the general..."
Are you cautious?
Yuan Zhi seemed to have heard a big joke.
If Li Chengzhi was a cautious person, how could he risk his life by going to the city to fight with the dignity of a prince?
Just when I didn't know how to hide the strange look on my face, I heard a whistle in the distance, and a horse came rushing from the west with a bright red horse on its back.
This is Tangqi and the sentry order were both created by Li Chengzhi. Although it has not been popularized by the entire army, Huben has learned it from camp to camp. Therefore, when he sent out troops in the morning, Li Chengzhi sent two teams to act as Yang Jun's personal guards.
With the soldiers.
At least it's faster and simpler than Zhenjun...
"Commander, the former army discovered the enemy's traces about twenty miles away after exploring the horse. There is nearly a brigade, which should be the enemy's scouts. When they saw my cavalry, they all fled westward..."
Look, it’s really a test.
Li Chengzhi said in a deep voice: "Where is Sima Qianfeng going?"
"We have arrived about ten miles northwest of the county seat!"
"Continue to march until the garrison is twenty miles away. Then order the Kuitang Cavalry to explore ten miles ahead. If you encounter a small group of Rouran Cavalry, you can shoot them, but you can't go deep..."
Tang Qi took the order and left, and Li Chengzhi raised his hand behind him: "Magistrate Tang, the county seat will be handed over to you. I will go first!"
The Dacheng County magistrate responded hurriedly: "Don't worry, Commander!"
There are more than 2,000 households in the county, and there are many herdsmen who fled from the foot of Yin Mountain. Every family is equipped with bows and arrows, and the opponent is only Rouran cavalry, which is enough to defend the city.
Moreover, the county seat is only forty miles away from Jinhaoguan, so Li Chengzhi did not deploy a rear army. Even the fine materials for the war horses, fried rice for human consumption, and dried meat were only needed for three days. And this was still worried about having
Under the premise of changing, you may suddenly chase the enemy. Otherwise, you only need to bring what you need for one day.
"Well, thank you!" Li Chengzhi nodded slightly, "Raise the troops!"
Following the sound of several drums, the two battalions of cavalry slowly moved forward, advancing like a huge iron wall.