Chapter 604: Dawn Before the War
After summer, on the Central Asian Plateau, Harabitos, the central city of the northern city-state, ushered in a heavy rain. Big raindrops fell rapidly, crackling. Satsuma Castle in the steam.
In the red-carpeted study, gold-edged mahogany bookcases display books written in the Satsuma language against the wall. On the other side, swords, guns, swords and halberds from Daxia are also decorated here.
Water vapor ran into the half-open five-color window lattice. Su Chen sat on a cushioned chair with the back of his head resting on the back of the chair. He closed his eyes and listened to the clerk's story in Satsuma, which was not very fluent. There are some written records about the Samo people and the Sakprut Empire in the books.
Su Chen was immersed in the slow narration.
The literary official over there was thirsty after reading. He glanced at the Emperor from the corner of his eye from time to time, then moved away and continued talking dryly. Su Chen suddenly raised his hand, grinned, and started speaking.
"Okay, that's it for now, you go down first."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The clerk closed the book, put it on the corner of the table, bowed and exited door.
After a while, Wu Zixun brought a bunch of scouts to the army, and then sent messages here one after another from the army.
“Is this all news from Sakprut?”
Su Chen took the first message. The time mark on it was already eight days ago. It was sent from the Analia province of the Sakprut Empire. Naturally, there were military scouts there to inquire about the news, and the language was blocked. Under this situation, one can only pay close attention to various roads or whether there is any movement of civilians in nearby western villages and towns, so as to observe the movements of Sakprut's army.
The Emperor of Great Xia stared at a map on the table bordering Central Asia, West Asia, and Europe and Africa.
Su Chen leaned on the armrest and gently rubbed his thick short beard under his chin, then picked up other military information and checked them one by one. The smile he had just smiled gradually faded and his brows furrowed.
"Your Majesty, what do you mean, they look calm on the surface, but in fact they are already mobilizing troops secretly?"
"If they think so, then let them do whatever they want...concentrate, Isn’t it better to eliminate?”
"There is still no movement in the opponent's formation. This is a bit strange. Could it be that the Western Emperor is also imitating me? Haha..."
"But isn't this exactly what we need? My purpose here is to Let them push the main force over.
“Isn’t that good? "Su Chen's eyes followed Harabitos all the way south, landing on Satila and Hasai City as well as Tianfengling further west.
Hearing Wu Zixun's answer, Su Chen Nodding, he was not in a hurry to look at the back first, but read from the front.
"There are also Zheng Dugong and Zhou Dudu's fleet. ”
"Once the Prut Empire sends a large army here, the rear will definitely be empty, but... their main force should not be weak, and they are also armies that have conquered many countries. Will they come in formation and surround us on all sides? After all, after so many days, the enemy should also know where our supply lines are."
"There is often peace and quiet before the storm."
"He. Ready to take action.”
“Yes, and Zheng Zhangyin, once the treasure ship fleet lands on the west coast of Europe and Africa in Sakprut, these Western barbarians will understand what China’s strategizing means. "
Wu Zixun also looked at the half-drawn map over there, with some excitement in his eyes.
"...How can a conspirator only plot one game?" Su Chen stood up, holding a few pieces of military information, and walked to the bed. I looked at the rain falling outside the window, and the distant streetscape was shrouded in water vapor.
Judging from the messages, except for the important town where the army gathers, Sakprut is like a pool of stagnant water with no ripples in other directions. The more it is like this, the more weird it looks.
At this point, Su Chen smiled, turned around and raised the military status in his hand.
Wu Zixun followed him across the sea, and of course he understood the content of this sentence.
Padinia, Analia, especially Mirantre, their northern city, there may be Wu Anjun and Li Jing's army waiting behind them, as long as I bite Sakpu here. Root's main force, Wu Anjun and Li Jing will be like a sharp sword stuck in their backs and in the heart. ”
After a while, his eyes narrowed, as if he was speaking to Wu Zixun in front of the desk, or he seemed to be speaking alone.
"Back to Your Majesty, not all, but also that Adar, and the news about going to find Mr. Wu An and General Li."
The corner of Su Chen's mouth curled up.
"In fact, these things are just for you and me to talk about. The prime minister in the rear and the generals in the army may have already had suspicions in their hearts."
He paused for a moment. "However, the most critical part is where Wu Anjun and Li Jing's troops are now."
Su Chen sat back in his seat and flipped through the contents about the two armies. As he expected, he continued to explore.
After all, the Central Asian Plateau is very large. I sent scouts in Satila to investigate, but they were blocked by the Samoan city-states. Now I have opened up the northern cities of the Samoan people, as well as the northern province of the Sakprut Empire. Mirantel lay there.
Each time a scout is sent out, they can only travel two to three hundred miles. After searching and inquiring, they will record it, and then return the same way. When another scout takes the order, they will follow the previous record. , and continue to explore further north.
Over and over again, the Central Asian Plateau has been penetrated, and it has only touched the northern province of Sakprut. Therefore, Su Chen estimates that this is the final barrier.
He also exchanged letters with Zhuge Liang. They discussed the matter in the letters and determined that behind the province named Miranter is the far north. Wu Anjun and Li Jing are likely to arrive from the North Road of the Western Regions. Coming here, in order not to alarm the Sakprut Empire, they chose to bypass the normal trade routes and march along the mountain path.
"The most critical and troublesome part!"
The study room was quiet. Su Chen walked to the window again. The sound of rain falling clearly reached his ears, and the cold wet vapor hit his face.
Next, there will be a competition with the will of the Sakprut army and fighting on the battlefield. It is not clear how many soldiers and horses the opponent will dispatch, but one thing is that the northern province of the Sakprut Empire The army must be mobilized.
No matter how the opponent plays the game or how powerful the army is, they must be nailed here!
"Wu Anjun...you must seize the opportunity..."
Raindrops splashed against the window lattice, and a bit of coolness fell on Su Chen's face. Looking at the hazy rain scene, he slowly raised his hand. The transparent wine glass of the Satsuma people was rippling with red wine, then tilted down and sprinkled on the ground.
"This glass of wine... I want to first pay tribute to the soldiers who may be buried in the battlefield... and for the people of Great Xia, drink it!"
The robes are caressed in the blowing wind and rain. Moving, Su Chen watched the wine stains on the ground slowly dispersing in the water on the windowsill, then turned around and walked back to the desk to sit down. He put his hands on the armrests on both sides and fell into silence. The rain pattered outside, and Wu Zixun, Dian Wei and Xu Chu stood for a while and did not come forward to disturb him. They knew that His Majesty's silence would inevitably mean that the subsequent war would be much more difficult than imagined.
……
At the same moment, thousands of miles away from the Central Asian Plateau, northeast of Milantel, on a barren mountain covered with snow all year round, a team of more than ten people shuttled through the muddy barren mountains.
Their pace was fast. Even though they were only wearing grass clippings and their feet were red and swollen from the cold, it did not hinder their agility in the mountains.
The group passed through a coniferous forest, turned around the hills in front, and soon entered a valley.
The narrow gap allows only two people to walk side by side. The cliffs on both sides are steep and dead trees are covered with moss, and mountain spring water is constantly dripping.
After a group of people walked through this narrow mountain crevice, the front gradually became spacious and could accommodate five people side by side. More than ten feet further forward, the field of vision suddenly widened. In the valley, there was a flag standing in the valley. On the ground, or against the mountain wall.
The bottle-shaped valley is densely packed with tents, and there is a waterfall in the distance leading the 'silver belt' water flowing down.
The group of people who came in were wearing fur coats, dressed like hunters in the mountains, and had military-style weapons around their waists. They were agile and chatted with the soldiers who came to investigate. Strong Yuezhou accent.
After a while, the group dispersed, leaving only the leader who was led by soldiers into the camp gate and then to the largest tent in the camp.
As soon as he entered, he saw a man in the middle, wearing a leather bean on his head and an iron armor made of metal leaves.
The scout was led in, took out the information from his arms, and handed it to the general's bodyguard. Over there, Wu'an Jun Bai Qi, who was looking at the map, took the information and looked through it, then raised his eyes to look at it. He frowned at the scout.
"Is there any sign of mobilization of troops and horses in the western barbarian territory?"
"Yes, General. But it is not obvious. Only a small number of soldiers and horses left the nearest barbarian city and headed south."
The candlelight on the long desk illuminated Bai Qi's thin face. After coming out of the Western Region North Road, he changed his route here. The journey was not smooth. First, he encountered heavy snow that closed the mountains, and then there was the spring rain. The mudslides and the weather in the mountains caused many of his soldiers to become cold.
Fortunately, we found a place where we could garrison our troops, and then while letting the soldiers recuperate here, we sent out scouts who had adapted to the environment to inquire about the situation to the west.
Bai Qi held the letter in his hand, looked at the scout, his eyes were quiet, and asked softly: "Is there any news from His Majesty?"
The scout shook his head.
"Not yet, but will a copy of the news discovered today be sent to General Li?"
The General Li mentioned by the scout is Li Jing, although both sides are leaving the Western Regions. After the North Road separated, the news was still kept flowing.
Li Jing's side at this moment is more than two hundred miles away from here. It is a little north of Mirantel, which is a little further than Bai Qi's side.
Bai Didian nodded and asked the scout to go down to rest. The curtain that had just been lowered was then opened, and a tall figure walked in with moisture all over his body. Also coming in was a boy with a face that looked like a boy. general.
"Wu Anjun, is there any news?"
Bai Qi looked at the two people with a slight smile on his face, and handed the information in his hands to the two people opposite him. These two people were the deputy general Hou Junji, and Huo Qubing of Yulin Cavalry.
Hou Junji spread the information in his hands and looked at it with Huo Qubing. He didn't see the news he wanted to know, and there was a look of disappointment on his face.
Even Huo Qubing was a little out of sorts.
After all, they have been here for a long time, and the army is running out of food and fodder.
If there is no action, the whole army will not starve to death in this valley. Hou Junji invited Huo Qubing to sit down on one side. While pouring two bowls of warm water and passing them over, he took a sip of warm water and said, "Jun Wu An, barbarian Since the city has taken action, it’s hard to say that His Majesty has already taken action, so let’s just take action.”
Bai Qi shook his head: “Wait a minute, the troops and horses mobilized by the barbarians are not yet clear. The purpose is not yet known. "
"The soldiers have eaten all the wild beasts in the mountains. If we continue to hold on, there will be no food in the army, but it will hurt the morale of the army." Huo Qubing put down the pottery bowl filled with water. His experience in leading an army. Not as rich as Bai Qi or even Hou Junji, but he still knows how to march and fight.
"Just let me lead the Yulin Cavalry to pretend to be bandits in the mountains and plunder the barbarian lands. If the soldiers can survive for a day, it will be a day."
< br>Wu Anjun Bai Qi frowned slightly, but still did not answer, his eyes looked sinister.
"I know that you two are anxious, and I don't want to think about the soldiers. But as a commander, you have to consider the overall situation first. The army's food and fodder can still last for ten days, so you and I will wait for another seven or eight days."
He first pressed their request, and then spoke about his analysis of the intelligence, which gave them some comfort.
“Judging from the mobilization of soldiers and horses in the barbarian city, His Majesty must have made a big noise in the south, which forced the barbarian emperor to deal with it. However, judging from the traces of the troops and horses mobilized by the other party here, the other party It seems that they are still wary of the north, worried that there is an army here and they will be hit hard from behind."
The candlelight shone on his face, Bai Qi pressed his hands on the desk and stood up slowly: "So it must be. We have to wait, we want to do our best to win the battle, and we can’t expose our whereabouts until the critical moment, so as to alert the snake.”
“So...just wait like this?” Hou Junji smacked his thigh, "It's better to let Huo Qiaoqi lead the cavalry to plunder first. If that doesn't work, call Jia Xu over and ask him..."
As soon as he finished speaking, there were hurried footsteps outside, stepping on the water on the ground. Outside the big tent, he said urgently: "Jun Wu'an, there is another movement from the barbarians!"
Milantel mobilized Soldiers and horses became more frequent.
Almost at the same moment, thousands of miles away to the south and southwest, orders from the Emperor Sakprut were issued.
The provinces of Padinya, Analia, and the province of Mirantel below the army led by Wu Anjun have begun large-scale operations. Marching troops can be seen everywhere on various roads, wilderness, and deserts. A small army gathered towards the south and southwest.
At the same time, the Mediterranean Sea in the far south was renamed Egypt, and Macedonia to the east appeared on the Central Asian Plateau in mid-June.
These two famous armies rushed from south to north towards Satila and Hasai where Zhuge Liang was.
(End of this chapter)