Chapter 124: There is no turning back (Additional update for the alliance leader, Young Master Qingshan)
Among the magnificent mountains, rivers and valleys, galloping horses are as picturesque as a poem.
A horse waded across the shallows, making a big splash.
One after another, the knights are dusty, but their eyes are still firm.
After defeating the enemy, people reward five pieces of silk. If there are any gains, additional rewards will be given.
Such an extraordinary and generous reward is very rare. It is said that under a heavy reward, there must be a brave man. If you don't fight now, when will you fight?
"Dismount and rest for an hour." Shao Xun ordered on the grassland beside the river.
After giving the order, everyone took action. They did not rest immediately. Instead, they first assigned personnel to keep a distance, then loosened the bellybands of the horses, collected the sweat, and then fed them some beans, grains, brine.
After doing this, he sat on the ground, took out the dry food and water, and ate it with big mouthfuls.
Shao Xun sat cross-legged on the ground, holding a silk map and looking at it carefully.
Tang Jian handed over a dry and hard biscuit, and Shao Xun didn't even raise his head, just grabbed it and gnawed on it.
They are now in the countryside of Liang County, on the bank of Ru River, about a hundred miles away from Luoyang.
The horse has been changed once.
To be precise, the people riding now are not all horses, but also a large number of mules.
The replaced horses were handed over to the more than two hundred people behind.
They have more than two thousand horses, mules and donkeys at hand, half of which carry luggage-mainly armors and spears, as well as some repair tools, wound medicine, whetstones, spare bow strings and other scattered gadgets .
It is not easy to carry luggage on the road. The physical exertion of horses and mules is not small, so every half day, the luggage needs to be transferred to another horse and mule to restore physical strength.
Roughly speaking, they are currently in a wave-forward approach.
Three thousand horses and mules were divided into three parts.
In the first part, the soldiers rode on horseback. When the horses couldn't run anymore, they rested on the spot and fed them horse feed and salt water. They also took the time to eat some water or take a nap.
After the second batch of unladen horses caught up, the rest was over, and the soldiers changed horses and continued on their way. The first batch of horses, which are exhausted, rest on the spot or graze to save horse feed.
After the third batch of horses and mules carrying luggage arrived, they changed the luggage onto the backs of the first batch of horses, and then a small number of people chased the soldiers with the empty horses.
The core idea is to change horses but not people, and move forward in waves.
There are only a few thousand soldiers now, but when tens of thousands of cavalry attack over a long distance, the scene will be lively.
On the entire assault route, some people were fighting, some were sleeping, some were advancing, some were feeding horses, and some were packing luggage. The whole thing was actually advancing in waves.
A long-distance attack and a short-distance explosive assault are not the same thing.
After Shao Xun studied the map, he waited for a while, but the subsequent horses still did not come, which made him a little anxious.
It is indeed easy to stumble when leading a large group of mounted infantry on a long-distance attack for the first time.
Everyone has never experienced that problems may occur in every small link, and the price of problems is time delay and long wait.
If there is a chance in the future, we must form a special flying dragon army like the Tang army - flying dragons, and royal horses.
Heavy armored infantry who are proficient in various martial arts, carry armor, weapons, bows and crossbows, ride on horseback, and dismount to fight on foot when they reach their destination.
It has the mobility of cavalry, a combat power that far exceeds that of cavalry, and the ability to attack difficult areas. It is a very balanced unit.
But it’s just a thought.
The cost of a mounted infantryman is even more than that of a cavalryman. This is really a toy for the rich.
When the clouds filled the western sky, the following horses finally arrived.
Shao Xun did not blame the sweating sergeant. He said nothing and directly ordered the horses to be changed and drove through the night.
The soldiers silently took out simple torches and placed them in the saddlebags under the saddle, two for each person.
After a little while to organize the team, they roared away.
******
In Xuchang City, people are panicking and running around.
Most of the world's soldiers have been taken to Hebei by King Fan Yang and handed over to the command of Gou Xi to attack Gongshi Fan, Hao Chang and others.
From the battle reports that came back, it seems that the fight was good. In a few months, these rebellious officials and traitors will be completely wiped out.
This is how it goes, everything is under control, which is great.
But now something unexpected happened.
The King of Donghai led an army of 30,000 troops to Xitun Xiao County. He was defeated by Liu Qiao in a battle and rushed back to Xuzhou in embarrassment.
This is not just a matter of failure on the battlefield. What's more serious is that Liu Qiao, the governor of Yuzhou, rebelled! Forced to rebel by Sima Yue.
What should I do?
Xuchang was empty, with only two to three thousand defenders, all of them old and weak soldiers left over from the expedition, and morale was extremely low.
Do you expect those soldiers with white beards or childish faces to guard Xuchang?
No one dares to think so.
Some people have even fled, preferring to hide in manors outside the city rather than stay in Xuchang City and wait to die.
And their departure greatly shook morale, making more people want to flee.
In desperation, Tian Hui, the governor who stayed behind in Xuchang, could only order the city gates to be closed and guard against death.
But what’s the use?
A group of old, weak and remnant soldiers, who dare not kill the enemy, still have the courage to break out of the city at night, and they are not small.
Ever since, every midnight, the four walls of Xuchang became a "highway", and people kept descending down the city and disappearing into the vast night.
It’s not that Tian Hui didn’t think of ways, such as killing people to establish his authority, but he could only stop it for a while, and he would return to his old ways the next day, so there was nothing he could do.
If we wait another ten days, everyone will probably run away. The further back Gein goes, the more powerful he will be. "Supervisor, have all the families in Xingwen County ordered them to send their troops to the city to help in the battle?" A petty official ran over and asked.
Tian Hui kicked him and cursed: "Shu Zi, are you trying to harm me? People's hearts are unpredictable. Who knows if those who entered the city are Liu Qiao's people?"
The clerk said with a sad face, "There is no way to continue like this. There are less than two thousand soldiers in the city, many of them are newly recruited servants. How can we fight?"
"We must defend even if we can't defend." Tian Hui glanced at him bitterly.
Of course, that's what he said, but if he really can't hold on, Tian Hui will never stay and die.
Based on his many years of service by King Fan Yang's side, even if he lost Xuchang, he would not necessarily be punished. He could even continue to lead the army, accumulate merit, and then rise again.
Money, women, and mansions are all empty, but your own life is the most important.
"Stop lying on the ground, what are you pretending to be?" Tian Hui kicked him again and scolded: "Send someone quickly to find out the news. I'm afraid Liu Qiao has already learned from Peiguo. Let's take a look. Are they going back to Liang or coming directly to Xuchang?"
"No," the clerk groaned with difficulty as he lay on the ground.
It was true that I was just pretending, but this time I was really kicked. I struggled for a while before I got up, then lowered my head and left.
Tian Hui snorted coldly, took the guards and began to patrol the city.
Yuzhou is quite special, being one of the eight old governor districts. Among them, the governor was stationed in Xiang County, Liang State, and the governor's office was in Xuchang, Yingchuan County.
Since the Cao Wei Dynasty, Xuchang has been an important town. It not only has a large number of soldiers stationed there, but also has piles of money, silk, grain, and armor, so that it can go south to deal with Soochow at any time. The Wancheng governor on the front line does not have many soldiers. They can only stand firm and have little ability to fight back.
Such an important town could never be lost, but Tian Hui had no intention of dying with it.
The horses are all ready, and there are more than one.
If Liu Qiao comes, he will flee directly with his eldest son and Princess Fan Yang. Xuchang will be given to you.
As for my wife and daughter, I don’t care about it.
It is common for men to go to war and abandon their wives and daughters. No need to make a fuss. No matter what they think, it is important for me to protect my own life.
After inspecting the entire city, Tian Hui went back to his home to rest.
The number of soldiers is getting scarce day by day, and it’s annoying to watch, so it’s better to go home and play with women.
******
"唏伦LU!" The walking horse suddenly weakened its front hooves and fell to its knees.
Shao Xun was startled, but did not panic.
Amidst the exclamations of others, he suddenly stretched out his left foot and kicked the ground, barely able to stabilize his body and not fall out.
Then he kicked the horse's belly with his right foot, pulled the reins hard with both hands, and lifted it hard, and the horse suddenly stood up.
After riding his horse slowly in a circle, he looked at the wilderness three poles above the sun and ordered: "Arrange the security and rest the whole army. Call the guide."
" "No." Tang Jian came to his senses and left as ordered.
The generals watched from a distance and were all impressed.
After driving for several hours last night, many people fell off their horses.
Some people do it because of poor riding skills, some people do it because they are too tired, and some people have their horses stumble.
General Shao’s riding skills are also top-notch.
The guide rushed over quickly and bowed.
"Where is this?" Shao Xun asked.
“This place is called Guan Township.” The guide replied: “We have entered Xiangcheng County in Yuzhou. If we continue our journey during the day, we should be able to enter the city in time before the gate closes.”
“I Why are you going to the county town?" Shao Xun smiled, took the biscuits and water bag, and started chewing them.
We marched for most of the day yesterday, and for more than half the night at night. Now that we are tired and exhausted, we have to extend our rest time.
Pan Tao, the Huangmen servant, only gave him two tricks.
The first plan was for him to gather refugees around Luoyang and choose a location to build a fort.
This suggestion is crucial to Shao Xun.
Other people's soldiers, even if they are deeply influenced by one's own, will still be unstable unless that person dies.
The only thing that is relatively reliable is the private army that I have created by myself.
Pan Tao's second suggestion is - Xuchang has few soldiers and many old and weak soldiers!
Regarding this, Shao Xun was hesitant at first and thought about it for a long time in Jinyong City.
Later, we all found out that he was a pervert. After the blood rushed to his head, he simply stopped doing nothing, improved on Pan Tao's strategy, promised a generous reward, boosted morale, and went on a sprint of hundreds of miles.
Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to Xuchang, Shao Xun relaxed.
Some things, there is no turning back.
If the windfall does not come out in vain, who do you think you are, King Fan Yang? Even your cousin's princess and the Sheep Queen, I want them to give me children.
After eating the Hu cake, Shao Xun took the heavy sword and wiped it silently.
This was until the afternoon, when a new batch of horses and mules arrived. He jumped up and got on his horse.
More than a thousand knights followed quickly, like a raging torrent, crossing the farmland after the autumn harvest and heading east.
On the seventh night of September, a large group of cavalry appeared in the west of Xuchang City and stood still.
Finally arrived.
(End of this chapter)