Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 789
At midnight, the earth was silent, only the insects were singing happily.

Suddenly, the sound of horseshoes and panting gradually sounded.Under the hazy moonlight, gray streams of people rushed south along the official road.Worm closed his mouth.

Today is April [-]th, which happens to be the third day after Zhu Quanzhong left Yingzhou.Shao Shude left Bianzhou and personally led the cavalry army to the south.The whole army of nearly [-] people, with [-] horses and five days of food and water, went straight to Xuzhou.

The distance between Xu and Bian is about 230 miles. Normally speaking, it takes two days for one person and three horses.If you don't spare any horsepower, you can certainly go faster. Considering the battle that may break out at any time, it is irrational to do so.

The countryside in Henan is quiet and peaceful, with villages dotted all over, and streams and ditches criss-crossing.

The village was so dark that the dogs didn't even bark a few times, as if everyone was fast asleep.There are scattered riders cruising at the entrance of the village, holding riding bows, as a symbolic deterrent.

The first wave of cavalry passed.The yellow dog with its tail between its legs got out of the grass and looked around.

The second wave came again.The yellow dog whimpered and got back into the grass.

The whole night was spent in the army, so noisy that I couldn't sleep.But the people in the village didn't feel sleepy at all. The whole family gathered together, holding hunting bows, spears, dung forks, and wooden sticks, and nervously watched the outside through the cracks in the wall.

Until the dawn of the sky, the rooster did not usher in the dawn.

The sound of horseshoes has disappeared, and the casual riders at the entrance of the village have also withdrawn.The villagers opened the door tremblingly and walked into the yard.

The official road is full of criss-crossing horseshoe prints.The grass on the side of the road was severely trampled, and even the wheat in the field was overwhelmed.

"There are a lot of horseshoe marks and no ruts. This is a horse team. After a whole night, the mule army was not so rich back then." An elderly man sighed.

"There must be several thousand riders?" Someone asked.

"Yes. I'm afraid it will take more than one road, and there may be tens of thousands of riders. The people in Weishi County are suffering. My younger brother moved there a few years ago, and I don't know what will happen."

"Tens of thousands of riders, the horse is so big, how much grain does it have to chew? I am afraid that this kind of horse that is going to be killed cannot be fed grass."

"You can feed a little hay, but I'm afraid there won't be so much hay. Alas, the people are suffering." The old man looked up to the south, where there were no traces of cavalry, but he seemed to see the scene of tens of thousands of horses galloping endlessly. .

Indeed, as the old man said, a large group of cavalry going south has a huge appetite, and the consumption of food is not a small amount.

In the early morning of the 21st, there were already soldiers grazing horses in the sandy sea southwest of Bianzhou.

Fifty miles to the south of Bianzhou, there is the ancient city of Daliang, and twelve miles to the northwest of the old city, there is a sea of ​​sand.It was originally a swamp with rich water and grass, but it dried up later. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty injected water from Bian to train the navy to prepare for the attack on Chen.Guochao dried up again, and now there is almost only a shallow puddle of water left at the bottom of the lake, and grass grows in the surrounding area ranging from several to ten miles.These grass war horses don't like to eat, but pack horses, riding horses, donkeys, and mules are not picky eaters and eat happily. Therefore, auxiliary soldiers graze here to save food consumption.

"Your Majesty, this is the messenger." Shao Shude, who had been riding a horse in the middle of the night, was drinking tea and resting by the bank of Muze, Li Zhong brought an envoy over.

The envoy came from the Flying Dragon Army, sent by Qi Bizhang. He looked very young, not as young as a weak crown.

"Chu Shenping, the Marquis of Yu in the front battalion on the left side of the Flying Dragon Army, is paying his respects to the King." The envoy saluted.

"Where is Qi Bizhang?" Shao Shude asked directly without any nonsense.

The envoy looked familiar, so he asked carefully. It turns out that he was born in the Chu family of Henan Province.

"According to Your Majesty's order, the whole army marched north, and when the last general left the camp, he was almost at Shenqiu." Chu Shenping replied.

"Wu Ke, the army of Liang, will be purged?"

"Our troops followed from afar. There were more than [-] Liang troops, and they advanced by land and water. They were quite organized. The military envoys sent people off their horses to fight against the bandits, but they didn't find any advantage."

"The Art of War says 'Don't stop when you return to your teacher', Liang Jun is in a hurry to return to Bianzhou, and Qi Bizhang's people really can't be stopped." Shao Shude said: "Let Qi Bizhang speed up and come to Xuzhou." Shao Shude ordered.

"As ordered." Chu Shenping replied.

Shao Shude waved his hand to make him retreat, and then found a map to study and judge the situation carefully.

Xie Tong was on the sidelines, as if he wanted to see the map clearly.

The soldiers took the horses to graze.Muze, also known as Puguanze, is located a few miles southeast of the old city of Daliang, with a radius of fifteen miles in its heyday. In the east is the blowing platform of King Liang Xiao, the youngest son of the former Han Emperor Wendi.Like the sand sea, the lake surface was greatly reduced at this time, and many places were silted up, but it was covered with grass and very lush.

"Xie Suishi might as well sit up and take a closer look." Shao Shude said suddenly.

Xie Tong smiled awkwardly, but he was blunt and sat down directly.

"Your Majesty doesn't want to attack Zhu Quanzhong?" Xie Tong asked.

"I guess the main force of Quanzhong is not easy to fight, but we still have to go there." Shao Shude said: "Quanzhong now has 2 infantry of Changzhi, Feisheng, and Xiongwei, and more than [-] soldiers from the Tianwu Fourth Army. There are also some Bo and Ying Xiangyongs. When he attacked the city, he recruited a lot. All his luggage was placed on the boat, and there were Huai boatmen to help him. You know that Liu Yu once fought with his back on the river, and defeated the [-] soldiers of the latter Wei with [-] soldiers. cavalry?"

How could Xie Tong not know about the famous Que Yue Zhen?The ships were loaded with supplies, transported the wounded, and delivered food and arrows. When the sergeants were tired, they could board the ships to rest in batches. The Northern Wei Dynasty came to the fore, with [-] cavalry in hand, thinking that it would be a sure win, they sent [-] cavalry to charge against the area guarded by [-] infantry. The chariot formation ended in a disastrous defeat.

This is the reason why the cavalry's frontal combat effectiveness is too weak, with inherent defects and no solution.

"Refused to ride with steps, the waterway is the lifeline. Zhu Quanzhong walked Yingshui and Caishui, so it can be seen that he knows the soldiers." Shao Shude said.

The later Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition was dominated by infantry, and he also relied on the Grand Canal to advance all the way north.If there is no Grand Canal, if the transportation is all by land horse-drawn carriage, the cost is too high and I may not be able to afford it. Second, a large number of sergeants must be dispatched to maintain the logistics transportation channel. There are not many soldiers who can use the front line. The possibility of a successful Northern Expedition will be greatly reduced.

"But it's okay to try." Shao Shude said with a smile: "Anyway, I won't attack by force, delay and harass me. If I really don't have a chance, I will leave. Liang Jun will not be able to catch up with me."

This is the advantage of the cavalry, they can fight when they want, they can leave when they want, and they have the initiative on the battlefield.

If the opponent is that kind of infantry with poor quality, it doesn't matter to charge.But since the hardships, there are ruthless people all over the place. There are dozens of feudal towns in the country, and the infantry who are defeated by the cavalry when they are fighting head-on is really rare.What do you do with the hooked sickle and long-handled ax that are standard equipment in the army?Hooking the horse's leg downwards and slashing the rider upwards, there is really no need to die in vain.

"Your Majesty's target is Wang Jingluo?" Xie Tong asked after thinking about it.

"It's him!" Shao Shude slapped his thigh, stood up, looked at the rising sun in the east, and said, "Fu Yanchao came to report that on the [-]th, he found a thief and horse army in Yanling, and he sent more than two thousand cavalry to harass him." , Lag, the thief just arrived at Fugou yesterday. Watching his movement, from Xu to Chen, to meet Zhu Quanzhong and go north, to protect his flanks. Quanzhong is too careful, maybe he feels that there are enemies everywhere, and he needs to be brave."

Shao Shude made a joke, and Xie Tong laughed dryly.

"If Zhu Quanzhong dares to call Ma Jun out, I dare to eat him." Shao Shude said: "Pang Shigu's tens of thousands of people, how can it be so easy to escape?"

"Your Majesty is mighty. If you can wipe out all of Pang Shigu's tribe, then the situation will be settled." Xie Tong congratulated.

******
On the bank of Fuyuan Pool, the auxiliary soldiers brought the horses over, handed them over to the soldiers, and prepared to set off.

Fuyuan Pond, formerly known as Fengze, is [-] miles south of the old city of Daliang, and extends southward to the northern suburbs of Weishi County, with a length of [-] to [-] miles.

Guochao changed its name to Pengchi, and Tianbaozhong changed its name to Fuyuanchi. Fishing and harvesting is prohibited, so it is a place with rich water and grass and lush vegetation.

The 3000 men led by Zhe Siyu herded horses to rest here. After receiving Shao Shude's order, they immediately cleaned up, got on their horses, and went between Xu and Chen.

They galloped all the way, marched a hundred miles on the 21st, and traveled more than 22 miles on the [-]nd, and camped on the west bank of Caishui to rest.

The flying dragon army is also speeding up.

On the 120th, he traveled 21 miles, on the 22st, [-] miles, and on the [-]nd, another [-] miles. He almost killed his mules and horses, and finally arrived in the southeast of Fugou County. After traveling for more than ten miles, I finally saw the battlefield from a distance.

It was a village with small bridges and flowing water, surrounded by woods, it was as beautiful as a paradise.But at this moment, people were neighing, drums and horns were contending, the sound of arrows piercing the air never stopped, and the screams never stopped.

The [-] cavalry of the Dingnan Army were fighting in the same way as the Tibetans, roaming, riding and shooting.They had great courage, risking being shot off their horses by step bows and crossbows, and paid heavy casualties. They tried their best to enter the range of riding bows and threw their arrows at the enemy.

The enemy is the Jiama Army, with nearly 1 people, who are good at using long spears, hooked sickle spears, and long Ke axes. They deal with cavalry professionally and have excellent psychological quality.When they saw the cavalry pawns of the Dingnan Army rushing over, they cooperated tacitly and were skilled in killing people.

After resting for a day and two nights in Fugou County, they seem to have fully recovered.Commander Wang Jingluo led more than a hundred cavalry, and even charged back to kill them. An iron spear led the charge. He was really brave, chasing after the rout of Dingnan's cavalry, killing more than ten people and returning.

"Okay! What a brave man! That iron spear probably weighs thirty catties. He is wearing heavy armor and galloping left and right, unstoppable. Even in the grasslands, it is hard to find such a brave man." Qi Bi Zhang looked at it from a distance and was amazed.

The sergeants prepared silently. The sound of knives being drawn into their sheaths and bowstrings being ejected followed one after another in the queue, and everything was in order.

"Beat the drums! Enter the army!" Qi Bizhang ordered.

Nine thousand strong men struck the ground with long spears and shouted: "Kill!"

The big formation began to advance, moving forward indomitable.

The Jiama army also found this horse-mounted infantry coming from the west. They had already started to prepare. One battalion after another battalion of sergeants stood up from the rest area surrounded by carts, put on armor and held spears, and confronted each other.

It's almost evening, the sun is not dazzling, and no one will suffer or not, just kill.

The cavalry soldiers of the Dingnan Army had lost a lot of people, so they retreated to the side to lick their wounds, which made Liang Ren a little relieved.

But their expressions changed quickly, because a series of hoofbeats sounded from the east and north, and they became more and more dense.

At this time, it was too late to disband the large formation and return to the cart for defense. No matter what, we had to bite the bullet and fight on.

Big up!Wang Jingluo's face darkened, and his chest was troubled.If the whole army had stayed within the chariot formation at the beginning, defending with long spears and crossbows, even if the enemy had infantry rushing to kill them, they would not have to be afraid, but now...

There were enthusiastic cheers from the north, and Wang Jingluo took a closer look and hit the big banner.

Thief Shao is here!

(End of this chapter)