Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2732 Shi Le's Scheme Against the Jin Army, Black Spear Dragon Cavalry Launches Night Raid on Camp

During their advance towards Zhangye, Wei Qing and Meng Tian had already received several groups of people.

Moreover, they already knew roughly what had happened from the people.

Although they knew that Kublai Khan wanted to use these people to strengthen their logistical burden, they had not yet reached the point where they would disregard the lives of these people.

Instead, these people were incorporated into the local labor force, and the army needed to conscript a large number of farmers to go on expeditions.

Wei Qing and Meng Tian directly used local resources to replace some of the farmers, thus indirectly alleviating their logistical burden.

However, Qu Chu, who was born on the grasslands, quickly discovered a problem: among these people, he found a large number of grassland herders.

Although there was a large Qiang and Hu population in the Liangzhou region, they were scattered to various parts of Liangzhou after Su Dingfang's campaign against the Qiang.

However, it should be noted that due to the fickle nature of the Qiang people, Li Xiang repeatedly used money to lure them into recruiting a large number of Qiang mercenaries during his campaigns in the south and north.

The original intention of hiring these people was to use them as cannon fodder. After spending money, they were used even more relentlessly.

One consequence was that Li Xiang spent a lot of money sending Qiang men to the battlefield, while making the Qiang women in the rear extremely wealthy.

Therefore, although there was indeed a large Qiang and Hu population in the Liangzhou region, there were not that many men.

The Qiang women who had lost their husbands were mostly reassigned to Han men of marriageable age. Thus, the money spent on increasing or decreasing the number of Qiang mercenaries largely flowed back into the pockets of the Han people.

Even though some of the Qiang people's customs and habits were retained by their descendants, they were still mainly Han Chinese.

After all, both the Central Plains and the grasslands were male-dominated clans, not female-dominated ones.

Therefore, it is not a big deal for a small number of grassland herders to appear among the people; this is a normal thing.

However, if most of these grassland herders are in their twenties or thirties, and there are so many of them, then this situation is not normal.

The people who understand the grassland people best are the grassland people themselves, and it is precisely because of this that Qu Chu, a Jin general born on the grasslands, was the first to notice something was wrong.

Upon realizing this, Qu Chu immediately reported it to Wei Qing and Meng Tian.

However, after receiving the news, Wei Qing and Meng Tian did not act rashly. Instead, they had people keep a close eye on their every move, preparing to turn the tables on them.

Half a month later, after Wei Qing and Meng Tian had captured various counties along the way, they finally pushed the battle line to the location of Zhangye County, the seat of Zhangye Prefecture.

That night, Shi Le led 800 cavalry to raid the camp, but due to the Jin army's tight defenses, most of the 800 men were shot dead before they even got close to the camp.

"Brother Zhongqing!"

"It seems that Shi Le will make his move tonight!"

This small raid on the camp did not alert Wei Qing and Meng Tian. However, after receiving the news, the two of them got up and gathered together without prior arrangement.

The failed raid was merely a ploy to lower their guard.

Both Wei Qing and Meng Tian believed that the opponent's killer move was yet to come.

Sure enough, in the latter half of the night, the grassland herders in the labor camp who had been under their watch finally began to make a move.

With the Jin army's deliberate indulgence, and given that they were scattered throughout various camps, these people easily set fire to a large number of camps.

This caused widespread chaos in the labor camp. Meanwhile, as the fires broke out in the labor camp, Shi Hu, who had been hiding in the shadows, grinned a sinister smile.

Behind him, three thousand armored soldiers stood silently.

These armored warriors were all clad in black iron armor that covered their entire bodies. Each of them carried a long spear, had a saber hanging at their waist, and carried a longbow specially made for the grasslands on their horses.

This longbow is the best bow on the grasslands, capable of penetrating iron armor while maintaining its range.

Of course, this kind of bow also requires a high level of skill from the knight. Even among the grassland people who have been riding horses and shooting arrows since childhood, only one or two out of dozens of people can draw this longbow.

Even their warhorses were clad in black iron armor.

Undoubtedly, this was a very standard heavy cavalry force!

The strongest warriors, equipped with the most robust warhorses and the best gear, are undoubtedly among the most elite forces in the world!
This is the foundation upon which Shi Le has been able to live and thrive over the years: the Black Spear Dragon Cavalry, a private elite force he spent more than a decade building.

Back when he was still in the Tuoba Wei regime, this army was the guarantee that he was able to occupy a high position.

To build such an elite force, he did a lot of business with Li Tang!
After all, Li Tang was the largest supplier of pig iron to their grasslands.

Even after the Yuan Dynasty came to power, it was precisely because he held such an elite force in his hands, and because he had voluntarily surrendered to the Yuan, that he was able to achieve his current status.

Shi Le's idea was to instigate internal strife in the labor camp, and then take this opportunity to launch a major attack on the labor camp, driving the laborers towards the main camp of the Jin army.

Using laborers to disperse the enemy's formation, especially now that it's nighttime, makes it even easier.

This provided an opportunity for his heavy cavalry to engage in battle.

Of course, Shi Le did not expect to defeat Wei Qing and Meng Tian with such a simple method. He only wanted to fire a shot and run away, inflict some damage on the enemy, and thus weaken their morale.

In this way, they will have a chance to fight the subsequent battle to defend the city.

"charge!"

The moment the flames ignited, Shi Hu gave the order without hesitation.

Although Shi Hu doesn't have a good reputation in historical records, that doesn't mean he lacked ability.

The fact that Shi Le entrusted him with such an important task and gave him his most valuable assets suggests that his military capabilities were at least up to par.

"Rumble..."

The momentum of a heavy cavalry charge is like an earthquake.

It emitted a deep and terrifying roar, like rolling thunder crushing across the night sky!
The black iron torrent no longer concealed its movements, its speed increasing continuously as it charged forward, crushing everything in its path with a ferocious momentum!

Three hundred steps! Two hundred steps! One hundred and fifty steps!

Shi Hu silently calculated the distance; victory seemed to be within his grasp.

Looking at the camp gate so close at hand, Shi Hu's smile grew even brighter.

"Boom!!!"

A deep, chilling hum, like the simultaneous tightening of countless enormous bows, suddenly erupted from behind the camp gate, from the seemingly empty darkness!