Emperor Sui Yang

Chapter 488
Chidao is not just a simple road. From the beginning of its construction, this road was planned to be used as a marching army.

Therefore, hundreds of post stations were set up along the road to supply the army with food, grass, drinking water, and temporary rest.

The post stations are also set up in places where there is water in the lee. The big ones can accommodate tens of thousands of people, and the small ones can accommodate thousands of people.

Therefore, Li Jing's army is destined to advance in batches, because there are too many people, it is impossible to get together in one place to rest.

The resting place of each legion is planned in advance, and the post station officials will prepare everything to welcome the army. After all, it is November now, and they are marching from the northern border of the Sui Dynasty. There must be a place to rest at night. You can't make it through the countryside.

Marching can be divided into normal marching and rush marching. The army marching from Guanzhong has plenty of time, and they will never march at night.

However, Li Jing set an example by taking his six thousand cavalry troops, all of them wearing armor, and marching at night, so that the army can adapt to the dangerous environment in advance. A night march requires two or three days of rest. After all, marching with armor is very difficult. Tired, although the armor made of refined steel is not only several times stronger than before, but also lighter, which greatly reduces the burden on the soldiers.

Every soldier with refined weapons regards his armor and weapons as treasures and wipes them every now and then.

"A good horse, a good saddle, a good armor, a good knife," Yang Yuanqing took off his armor, and wiped it carefully in the barracks, as if he was stroking his beloved woman.

Pei Xingyan smiled and said, "Didn't Dalang be good at using two spears? Why did he switch to a horse this time?"

"Spears, spears, lances, as far as I am concerned, all kinds of skills and methods have already been mastered," Yang Yuanqing said rather arrogantly: "As long as it is a long weapon, I am good at it."

After finishing speaking, Yang Yuanqing raised his head and said, "Please claim your position in the army."

Pei Xingyan laughed: "Okay, General Yang."

The two of them are in charge of the two thousand heavy cavalry under Li Jing's command, and they each receive one thousand. Why are they the two?Because heavy cavalry has a special style of play, and both of them have studied military books and know how to use them, because they have such books at home.

Pei Xingyan is the original form of Pei Yuanqing, the author of "Shuo Tang" and "Xing Tang Biography", the reason why Pei Yuanqing writes so well is because Pei Xingyan himself is very good.

This kid is also a big thorn in the capital, quite capable of fighting, not as famous as Yu Wenhuaji and Yang Xuanting, but he is also a leader of this generation under the two.

The weapon he is good at is not a bright silver hammer with eight-edged plum blossoms, and his mount is not a Zhaoye Jade Lion. The outfit he wears is no different from other armored cavalry.

The main weapon is a horse lance, with a horizontal knife, short crossbow, quiver, whetstone (whetstone), big scorpion (knot untying cone), lasso, and round shield hanging on the saddle. There are felt hats, felt clothes, and leg wraps on the saddle. , In addition, bring twenty sheets of mustard cakes and two buckets of rice (about 7 catties).

As for Pei Xingyan's horse, it is naturally the Gaochang Dragon Colt, which is hard to buy, which is the standard equipment of the family.

This 2000-man heavy cavalry is the Mazhao team, and its ability to charge the battle is quite terrifying.

According to Li Jing, an infantry regiment of 3 people can charge into battle.

The bonfire in the barracks was constantly being filled with firewood. Li Jing did not chat with other people, but opened the map to study, holding a branch in his hand, and drew on the ground.

Xiao Shilian walked in from the outside, holding a letter in his hand, and handed it to Li Jing,
"Letter from the Chief Steward."

At present, there is only one chief executive, and that is Yu Wenshu.

After Li Jing opened the letter and read it, he immediately smiled, put the letter aside, and said:
"The general manager doesn't want me to lead the cavalry to support his east wing, but His Majesty has already agreed, so I don't have to listen to his general's order."

Yuwen Jingli had already arranged Li Jing's arrangement and sent someone to submit it to the emperor who was still in Luoyang. This matter was brought to the court meeting for discussion. Few people opposed it, but most agreed, so Yang Guang agreed. up.

But Yu Wenshu was not happy, so he wrote to Li Jing privately, hoping that Li Jing would stay on West Road honestly according to the old plan.

Yuwen Jingli frowned and said: "The manager made this arrangement, and there are some complaints from the East Army. After all, what you did is obviously distrusting the East Army. Manager Jing (Jing Yuanheng) made the most trouble, but Manager Wei ( Wei Xuan) didn’t say anything.”

Li Jing smiled and said: "General Manager Wei knows the soldiers. The west road and the east road are two completely different geographical situations. My west road is relatively safe, but the east road is criss-crossed by mountains and the terrain is steep, which will cause the army to be extremely scattered. They There are not many cavalry, less than [-], and there are not many people close to the main force to take care of them. With my help, the guard should be happy to see it."

During the expedition of the Sui Dynasty, the total number of cavalry troops was 20, but only 3000 were handed over to the 3th Route Pioneer Army. Li Jing took [-], Wei Xuan took [-], and Duan Wenzhen in the north took another [-]. [-] people, and the rest are in the hands of Yu Wenshu and Yu Zhongwen, which is just over [-].

War horses eat fine materials, which are a mixture of forage, beans, millet, sorghum, and wheat bran. They eat better than humans, and war horses have to be fed when they are almost idle, so fine materials are definitely not enough Food should be given priority to the vanguard.

The main force is to attack Pyongyang, and the siege must be infantry, but the problem is that those guarding Pyongyang must be the most elite armored cavalry in Goguryeo, and the heavy cavalry is used for charging.

Therefore, the main force of Yu Wenshu and Yu Zhongwen included nearly 4 elite siege infantry regiments, 2 light cavalry regiments, and 1 heavy cavalry regiments.

The [-] heavy cavalry corps are for charging, while the light cavalry corps are for harassment, cover, sneak attack, reconnaissance, outflanking, side attack, and detour, mainly to use their mobility.

The heavy infantry regiment of more than 4 people is the elite of the elite, basically from the left and right guards, equipped with the best large shields, strong bows, crossbows, armor-piercing arrows, and catapults, ballistas and other siege vehicles instrument.

Among them is a Modao team of 1 people, and a bow and arrow team of 1 people. These two corps are combined to specialize in heavy cavalry.

This is why the 20-odd armies on the east and west routes are only to cover their 7 troops, because the combination of these 7 troops is suitable for any large army battle under any circumstances, and they are all strong and strong guards.

Such a large army is extremely difficult to break through when it is in a formation. The only shortcoming is that during the march, because it is a heavy infantry, all the ordnance, armor, food, grass and supplies on the march are transported on military vehicles. , marching without armor.

So Li Jing saw the problem, and he would rather offend people than ensure that the army can reach Pyongyang smoothly.

"Director Wei, should we write a letter and ask him which generals he will send to cover the main force, then we can cooperate well," Han Xiaoji said.

Li Jing smiled and said: "Xin, I sent someone to send it out when I was in the capital, and I should be able to wait for a reply at the next station."

Earlier, Yang Ming had arranged for five people, Su Lie, Pei Xingyan, Liang Shidu, Luo Yi, and Qin Shubao.

Among them, Su Lie and Pei Xingyan were originally the long history of the left and right Yiwei's cavalry. changed.

Xiaoqi (belongs to the left and right Yiwei), leopard rider (belongs to the left and right Xiaowei), Xiongqu (belongs to the left and right Wuwei), Yulin (belongs to the left and right Tunwei), Shesheng (belongs to the left and right Yuwei), and Yi (ci) Fei ( It belongs to the left and right guards), these are the six main army horns.

Yu Wenshu definitely didn't want Su Lie to be under his tent, so he kicked Su Lie to Xue Shixiong's place. Right now he belongs to Xue Shixiong's Department of the Eastern Route Army. He kicked Pei Xingyan to Li Jing's department.

It means that Yu Wenshu didn't change your position, but changed your place of work. After all, their military positions are requested by the prince and approved by the emperor. You can't change them, but he doesn't want to use them, so I will change them for you. place.

Yu Wenshu is the general manager of the marching army, and he has the right to control the army.

Both Luo Yi and Liang Shidu also changed. Luo Yi would follow Duan Wenzhen to attack Fuyu City, while Liang Shidu became a general under Zhongwen's command and was responsible for commanding [-] platoons of soldiers, that is, at the forefront. The shield spear infantry, the probability of death is extremely high.

As for Qin Shubao, he had the backing of Lai Huer, Yu Wenshu didn't want to offend Lai Huer at this time, so he was still in Zuo Yiwei, but the six most fierce Lai Huer, Lai Huer, were now under Wei Xuan's tent, leading the five Qian Qingqi.

Lai Hu'er didn't want to bring all his sons with him, otherwise, if something happened, it would be a big deal to cut off the incense.

Three days later, at Yinmayi, Li Jing received Wei Xuan's reply letter. After reading the letter, Li Jing was overjoyed.

Wei Xuan is a formidable person, and he also takes the overall situation into consideration. He knows that the one who can work together with Li Jing should be the prince's person, so he put Su Lie's three thousand Qingqi and Lai Zheng's five thousand Qingqi into a row. It is classified as the main flank cover, and is responsible for cooperating with Li Jing.

And the [-] troops led by Wei Xuan himself will try to stay as close as possible to the main marching route for ready support at any time.

On December [-]th, Wei Yunqi, who was in Zhuojun County, received a military report. Two armies from Goguryeo crossed the Liao River, one went to Xi, and the other marched in the Liaoxi Corridor, approaching Linyu Pass.

These two roads are the marching roads that the Sui Dynasty will enter Goguryeo in the future. They have already taken precautions and plan to fight with you first during your march.

"How about soldiers and horses?" Wei Yunqi asked the ranger scouts.

The scout said: "It is difficult to investigate deeply. There are at least [-] cavalry on the Xiyi Road, and at most how many. I don't know. The Banghai Road is even more difficult to investigate. Our army's scouts suffered heavy losses, and no detailed military reports have been brought back."

"Send another thousand scouts to investigate in two ways. We must investigate clearly the deployment of the enemy's troops. It is best to see the designation number," Wei Yunqi said.

The scout said "yes" and took the order to leave.

Wei Baoluan on the side frowned and said: "I will immediately report to Your Majesty to report the military situation."

Wei Yun nodded his head, and said in a deep voice to a general beside him:
"Immediately summon the generals of all ministries to discuss matters in the barracks, and those who fail to arrive without reason will be executed!"

(End of this chapter)