weaving

Chapter 1617 Sandstorm

March 6th.

The early spring gale was like a wild horse, ravaging the land. It was difficult for people and horses to stand still, and they were all swaying with the wind. It was even more difficult to move forward in such a gale.

Smoke and dust rose up, like a thick fog that covered the sky and blocked out the sun. It was difficult to see anything more than ten steps away. In such weather, let alone marching, even just going out on patrol at the camp line was extremely difficult.

In just a short while, you'll be covered in sand and dust from head to toe. Even if you don't open your mouth, your nostrils will be blocked by the sand and dust. How can you bear not breathing?

When these soldiers who were on guard duty returned to their tents, the first thing they did was to find water to rinse their mouths, otherwise, the sand in their mouths would make it very difficult for them to breathe.

However, such severe weather also has one advantage—both sides can confidently cease hostilities!

Even in such severe weather, the Yongyi Army maintained its defensive posture, sending out a fixed number of soldiers to stand guard in the trenches as always—only the number of soldiers on patrol was reduced by half compared to usual.

As for the scouts of the Yongyi Army, the worse the weather, the less they dared to rest, since the Jurchens could also take advantage of the sandstorm to quickly adjust their strategic deployment.

This battle is of paramount importance and cannot be taken lightly!
They did not wear helmets, but instead wore large silk scarves that completely covered their heads and faces. Because the silk scarves were soft and delicate, even though their heads and faces were completely covered, they could still roughly distinguish distant objects, and the impact on their eyesight was limited.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, one would discover a rather peculiar small square mirror hidden inside the silk scarf, covering the eyes of the night watchmen—much like the goggles of later generations.

However, the goggles of this era were much less effective than those of later generations, and their lenses were not very clear. They were wrapped in cowhide, horsehide, or sheepskin and tied at the back of the head with straps for secure fastening.

Although it cannot compare to the goggles of later generations, it is better than nothing. At least it is invincible in this era. If it really encounters Jurchen scouts, it will definitely have the upper hand.

It was precisely because of this "goggles" equipment, personally designed and finalized under the guidance of the Earl of Yongning, that the night watchmen could no longer wear helmets. Instead, they wrapped nets around their heads to secure their hair buns so as not to obstruct their vision, and then wrapped gauze scarves on the outside to enhance their protection against sand and dust.

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Such sandstorms do not occur in all places.

After all, it is located along the Shu River and is nourished by the river. Both sides of the riverbank are covered with the same weeds, which play a good role in fixing sand and preventing dust.

The dust that fills the sky is swept over by the raging winds from abandoned fields and ruined villages in the distance, so not everywhere is a scene of dust filling the sky.

This provided the Jurchens with immense convenience...

When the wind was howling and dust was billowing, they would gather together to resist the onslaught of the gale and sandstorm; and when the wind was weak and the sandstorm was sparse, they would immediately spur their horses and gallop quickly toward their destination.

The Jurchens' intentions were clear: to use the sandstorm as cover to secretly move their troops, launching a surprise attack while Zhang Cheng was unprepared, hoping to defeat the Yongyi Army. The Jurchens mobilized almost entirely elite cavalry from each banner, with some surplus soldiers mixed in, but even bondservant slaves were rarely seen, indicating that they had deployed their best forces…

It is evident how strong their desire was to defeat, or even annihilate, Zhang Cheng's Yongyi Army!
But today they have indeed met a real opponent—the Earl of Yongning, Zhang Cheng, is no different from other Ming generals, and the Yongyi Army is no match for other Ming troops.

Knowing that it was impossible to predict all of the Jurchen's military actions, Zhang Cheng, the Marquis of Yongning, did not place his hopes on divine intervention. Instead, he dispatched all the scouts in his camp to conduct comprehensive and rigorous battlefield reconnaissance to grasp all of the Jurchen's movements and make decisions about his tactics accordingly.

In Zhang Cheng's view, although he had already set up his formation, he could not just sit and wait for the Jurchens to come and crash into him!

At the very least, they need to know which Tatar forces are numerous and powerful, and which are few and weak, so that they can adjust their troop deployment in a timely manner to avoid a situation where the weak fight against the strong.

Zhang Cheng knew that although his defenses were strong, if one route was breached by the Tartars, the other routes would inevitably face greater difficulties. Only by fully understanding the Tartars' troop deployment could he make timely adjustments to ensure his invincibility.

It can be stated with absolute certainty that the initiative on the battlefield in Yanzhou has always been in the hands of Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning!
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As the saying goes, "Ten miles can have different weather, and a hundred miles can have different customs!"
On the west bank of the Shu River in Yanzhou, a sandstorm raged with strong winds, while on the east bank, a gentle breeze occasionally blew up a strong gust of wind. Although some dust was blown up by the wind, it was far from the scene of a sandstorm.

Although Li Jiyu was aware of the Jurchens' troop movements, he did not act rashly.

Because he had just made contact with Yuan Shizhong of Xiao Yuan Camp, and the troops of both sides were not yet at a distance where they could cooperate in battle. It would take at least another day for the Yongyi Army on the east bank to complete its full deployment.

Moreover, according to the battle strategy devised for him by Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng, the main task in the early stages was to contain the Jurchen forces. Only when the main Jurchen force went to reinforce the west bank could they gather their troops together, take advantage of the Jurchen forces being weak, and then destroy their main camps one by one to rescue the captured people of Qi and Lu.

Not only are Yuan Shizhong's troops quietly heading north to join Li Jiyu, but even Pi Zhongyao in the north has abandoned the Mongol Plain Red Banner of Gadahun and is leading his troops south to find Yang Mingqi's Cao camp troops.

On the west bank of the Shu River, Luo Rucai, who was originally stationed in the south, was now leading his standard battalion and right battalion northward along the road on the west bank of the Shu River to join forces with Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng so that they could fight together against the Jurchens of Turge.

In this battle, Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng's strategy was to first lure the Jurchens into sending troops to rescue Buyandai, so that he could ambush and annihilate a portion of their forces, thereby triggering the Jurchen army to come to their aid. He used himself as bait to lure the Jurchens into crashing into the pre-set strong defenses.

When the Jurchens are exhausted from their prolonged siege and are running out of strength, we will gather all the brave and resolute troops on the west bank and fight a decisive battle against them!

Meanwhile, on the east bank, Li Jiyu, Yuan Shizhong, and other troops seized the opportunity to annihilate the Jurchen Tartars and rescue more than 100,000 captive people from Shandong.

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However, just as the Jianzhou Jurchens were about to crash into the stronghold of the Yongyi Army, the situation in Qingzhou took a dramatic turn...