After Tian Xiong led people to replace the front team, his subordinates dispersed into groups of five cavalry, replacing each other in turn, and the furthest sentry was two hundred and fifty miles away.
The knights on sentry duty were hard at work, and Tian Xiong was not idle either. He led his subordinates forward slowly, using smoke and thunder to indicate his position. At the same time, he continued to receive the returning sentry knights and summarized the news reported by them. Every other hour, he used words to indicate his position.
Compile the information with pictures and send it to the team.
The distance between the Zhou army's sentinels and scouts was much further than when they were fighting in the Central Plains. The cavalry of various grassland ministries were running around, often driving hundreds of miles or hundreds of miles. If our own sentries were not harder, it was really difficult to guarantee the grasp of the surrounding situation.
The ordinary Central Plains Han army, lacking specially trained officers, could not achieve this level at all. The Zhou army always regarded the northern grasslands as its main combat direction, so it formulated targeted drills and attached great importance to the collection and collection of battlefield intelligence.
transfer.
Because he was riding on the road, sending and receiving orders, and leading his subordinates to record and summarize, Tian Xiong's robes quickly became soaked, and his lips were in a state of dryness and cracking, even if he kept drinking water.
Outside the queue, several guides were discussing the team's next direction of travel.
In fact, the Zhou army itself had a detailed map. In the past few years, merchants had traveled to various places behind the Monan Mountains, covertly and covertly, and had discovered a lot of information.
But the map is dead and may not necessarily be accurate. The path Tian Xiong and others traveled must be used by the main army in the rear, and there are requirements for terrain, water sources, etc. Only by combining the guide's suggestions with the map can we ensure that there will be no accidents.
Choose the wrong way.
They discussed for a while and came up with something in mind, so they rejoined the advancing cavalry. Their ears were immediately filled with the sound of hoofbeats, the clang of weapons and the clang of light armor leaves shaking.
The scout cavalry stood out far from the main unit, and everyone had to maintain the highest level of combat readiness, so everyone had two horses, bows, swords, and armor. Because they had been traveling for a long time, almost all the soldiers were sweating, and the sweat was blown up by the wind.
The dust and grit mixed together and formed a thick layer on the face and neck.
But no one left the team to drink water, no one complained.
Experienced knights all know that the more you talk, the more saliva you consume. When fighting, maybe the extra water consumed will make people less energetic, so no one talks too much.
The ordering of the team's advance, the control of the horses, or other trivial matters only require eye contact. Some soldiers have made reservations to go out at night to reach the outermost area covered by the scouts. They spread the carpets
Walk on the horse's neck, hug the horse's neck while marching, and build up your energy at the same time.
Even if the guides are not familiar with military matters, they can still feel how well-trained the army is from these details.
They are all experienced people who often travel to Northern Xinjiang. When they passed through Yehuling, they had many interactions with Tian Xiong's troops. Usually, when meeting these soldiers, it is inevitable that they will be a little loose because the sky is high and the emperor is far away. But once the war is about to start,
After they cheered up, their postures were completely different. It was like a dog that was an ordinary housekeeper suddenly turned into a ferocious beast, which made people feel a little scared.
The guides exchanged glances with each other and asked the eldest among them to report Tian Xiong.
"General, we are here now..."
The guide pointed at the map with a rough finger, and then drew a line to the north: "We have just passed Huanggainao, and to the north is Baita Nao. After passing here, speed up and go north. One hundred and fifty miles away is the Gouluo Qingchang. Our people
There you will meet your comrades coming from the Jinlian River direction."
The guide turned to point to the west, and then gestured to the northeast: "This is the boundary trench built by Dajin. General Zhao Xuan's troops fought and retreated along this route. They should reach Wushabao today.
The Mongolian brigade is in hot pursuit."
Tian Xiong looked at the map: "The key is here. We have to keep an eye on the Mongols' movements on this front line, how their troops are distributed, where each thousand households are, and what the available strength of each thousand households is, especially the Golden Family
We need to find out how the main force will act."
"Then you might as well go to Hopol, which is near Jiannao. The water here is rich and the terrain is complex, which is perfect for covering the entry and exit of our sentry cavalry. In addition, in case of a fight, the small group of Mongolian cavalry can be
Lead it to the surrounding area of Shuize, and then..."
The guide made a stranglehold.
Using Han cavalry to monitor the movements of Mongolian cavalry, or even ambush small groups of Mongolian cavalry, was completely unimaginable a few years ago. The Mongols came and went like the wind, making it difficult to track, and different tribes did not use flags to identify themselves outside.
People seem to be unable to tell the difference; their cleverness and cunning are enough to avoid all crude plans.
Therefore, the Jin Kingdom has been blind to the Mongolian grassland for a long time. It can only mobilize its huge civilian power to build long boundary trenches, countless forts and passes to wrap itself up. The two dynasties of Shizong and Zhangzong alone have successively launched campaigns
The common people built boundary trenches as many as fifteen times.
This kind of conscription was actually a waste of the accumulation of the Jin Kingdom over the past dynasties. No matter how perfect the defense system was, it would only be a matter of time before the enemy was blinded, deafened, passively beaten, and breached sooner or later.
But the Great Zhou Dynasty was different from the Great Jin Dynasty. The Great Zhou Dynasty had a large cavalry team and sufficient supplies to support these cavalrymen. The cavalrymen also received sufficient training and generally possessed superb tactical qualities.
"Hopper?" Tian Xiong hesitated a little.
Zhang Peng rode over, holding a detailed map he had drawn urgently an hour ago: "The terrain of Hopol is roughly the same. There are many exits on all sides, which is suitable for cavalry to run around. The grass and reeds inside are lush, which is also suitable for us to hide."
"Okay, that's settled."
Tian Xiong carefully collected the map in his arms, thought about it, and said to Zhang Peng: "Take Hopper's detailed map and go there first to arrange the camp. I will personally be responsible for the exploration along the boundary trench!"
"yes!"
Tian Xiong said to the guide again: "You guys don't hesitate to take the risk and follow me. After the war, I will commend you for your contribution and I will never let you suffer any loss!"
Following Tian Xiong, we have to get closer to detect the Mongols' movements. Needless to say, there are dangers.
The guide grinned: "We have done a lot of things for the imperial court in the past few years, and we have never suffered a loss... We have all seen the world, General Tian, let's see how generous you are!"
"My hands can scare you to death!" Tian Xiong laughed.
Everyone laughed.
"Haha, hahaha!"
late at night.
In Usha Castle.
Ado saw his favorite hot air balloon in his dream. He couldn't help laughing and jumped on it, holding the balloon and flying into the sky. Just as he was laughing happily, someone tapped his shoulder hard to wake him up.
Ado glared angrily, his eyes gleaming with coldness, startling the boy who woke him up.
He usually followed Lu Shu and seemed a bit slow. But in the past few days, he had guarded the Yehuling Pass and led people to fight in several battles. He was filled with self-inflicted violence. Even if the Han slaves around him had developed courage,
Extremely in awe of him.
Ado woke up quickly. He rubbed his eyes, his expression no longer so fierce, and yawned again: "What should I say? Is it my turn so soon?"
"Brother Lu said that he went to bed first. Nothing happened in the first half of the night, but in the southeast direction of Haizi, a flock of crows screamed for a while. If there was any movement, it was probably there." The young man said cautiously.
A Duo pondered for a moment and suddenly trembled violently.
This action made the young man even more nervous, and his face instantly turned pale: "What...what's wrong? Is something wrong?"
"Um……"
Ado didn't pay attention to the young man's face at all. He was just in a hurry to urinate.
Wusha Fort is located deep in the grassland, surrounded by the remaining veins of the Yin Mountains. Although the steep cliffs formed by millions of years of weathering are not high, they are difficult to climb. The undulating terrain naturally encloses a valley, and the ruins of Tun Fort are blocked in the valley.
's export.
Due to the influence of the highlands on both sides, the wind in Tunbao is very strong at night. There are no decent buildings in the ruins to shelter from the wind, which makes people feel very cold.
A Duo was so cold that he almost peed his pants and shivered uncontrollably.
He leaned the straight knife in his hand against the city battlement, then walked to the edge of the city wall, lifted up the corner of his robe, and peed.
After urinating, he slowly looked around the outside of the camp, paying particular attention to the direction Lu Wusi reminded him.
As morning approaches, the wilderness is dark everywhere. The crescent moon and stars in the sky seem to be swallowed up by the wilderness. Only the flames in the southeast are dotted, as if they are still moving back and forth.
It was the Mongols who were adjusting their camps again.
If one group of people could not attack, another group of people would be replaced. Each time a group of people was changed, the starting position had to be adjusted, new positions were rearranged, and there was a lot of bickering. This performance was really inconsistent with the prestige of the Mongolian army.
A few days ago, Lu Shu and his party looted the old land of the Wuxian Ulugu Group Herding Station and made a huge fortune. Not only did they get countless cattle and sheep, they also replenished a lot of supplies.
This move made them famous among the thousands of tribes in the eastern grasslands. In just a few days, hundreds or more slaves defected from all over the country every day.
Naturally, it was impossible to go south quickly with these slaves. Lu Shu was also a little stubborn and did not want to repeat the embarrassing escape scene from Wusha Castle. So they gathered people at Wusha Castle, repaired the city defenses, and waited for rescue.
Naturally, the surrounding Mongolian tribes were unwilling to suffer losses, and successively dispatched manpower in an attempt to capture Usha Castle and recapture their livestock and slaves.
Wusha Fort has long been in ruins, and the temporarily repaired city defense cannot be regarded as a golden city. However, when the main force of the Mongolian army marched westward, they took away a large number of soldiers with fighting experience and knowledge of siege. The Mongolian tribes who stayed on the grassland discussed
The level of siege was simply too poor to be improved upon.
A few days passed, and the two sides fought several battles in a messy manner. There were not many casualties, and neither side could do anything against the other.