Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 951
Han Tao led 1000 elite troops to attack the Tubo Kingdom in the Hehuang area by means of secret passages, while the remaining [-] cavalry returned to aid the country, but they did not go to support Lanzhou. Instead, Yang Jiye led [-] cavalry to the Huangwan Pass area to guard against In the Song Dynasty, another [-] cavalry went to Fuzhou and handed over to Li Guangshun, the black wolf army, to guard against the Liao Kingdom.However, the [-] troops set out from Liangzhou and had to march for more than [-] miles. It would take at least half a month to reach their respective scheduled locations after a long journey.

At that time, Yang Jiye comprehensively discussed the results of the combat meeting. The reason for doing so was to consider three reasons.

First, during the battle between the White Wolf Army and the Song Army at Huangwanguan, Dangjin even dispatched [-] fine cavalry from the Northwest Frontier Army of the Song Dynasty to ambush the White Wolf Army led by Tuoba Gelu.No matter how you think about this matter, it will make people feel that Song State is likely to start a full-scale war against Xiangfu State.No matter how many times the Song State was defeated by the Xiangfu State, Yang Jiye knew that it was really possible for the Xiangfu State to perish, and only the Song State was most eager to bring the Xiangfu State to its doom.Therefore, even if the possibility of Song's all-out war this time is unlikely, it has to be guarded against.

Second, His Majesty the Emperor was seriously injured this time, and the process of being seriously injured was a bit weird and strange. Yang Jiye believed that he had to sit in the hinterland of the country, and he would be at ease in commanding the national army nearby.

Thirdly, going to Hehuang for a sneak attack through the secret passage is a wonderful move, but because it is a secret passage, the supply of food and grass is too difficult, and there are too many troops going, and the supply of food and grass cannot be satisfied at all.Even Han Tao's 1 people, in addition to the five-day rations they carried with them, had to imitate the Khitan cavalry's style of fighting, and after they arrived in Hehuang, they had to raise food and grass by digging grass and valleys.

Because of the limited roads, the [-]-strong army led by Han Tao dragged on for a long time.Walking at the forefront of this cavalry were fifty scouts from the reconnaissance company of the Special Operations Battalion. They were more than ten miles beyond the main force, and they searched and advanced cautiously. If there was any trouble, they would stop immediately and hide themselves in the Behind the trees and rocks beside the road, hold on to the longbow and crossbow in your hand.

Occasionally, on this road, there will also be some hunting Tubo woodcutters. The orders received by these special warfare battalion scouts are to shoot and kill without mercy.Although it is almost impossible for these unlucky hunters to be the secret agents of the enemy, these hunters are likely to reveal the whereabouts of Han Tao's 1 people, so that the Hehuang Tubo people can prepare in advance.

Therefore, the fifty scouts appeared to be very careful.You must know that walking on this road, the mountains on both sides of the road stand gloomy. If the enemy army knows their whereabouts in advance and sets up an ambush on the mountains beside the road, the consequences will be unimaginable.After all, even a simple search for the hills on both sides of the road is impossible.If that was the case, the speed of the forward small group of troops would probably be slower than that of the rearmost army, and the 180-mile mountain road might not be able to be completed in five days.

The fifty reconnaissance cavalry were led by the special warfare battalion who made special military exploits twice. Xue Mijian, the former squad leader of the reconnaissance squad, had not been trained by Xiangfu Military Academy.He has now been promoted directly from a senior non-commissioned officer to the captain of the captain's reconnaissance platoon.

And about ten miles behind the fifty scouts, there were five hundred engineers who also rode horses, but held axes, long saws and other tools in their hands. They wore military uniforms with the unique emblem of engineers.Under the command of Bai Xingqiang, the battalion commander of the engineer battalion, he skillfully felled and moved the trees on the road, and even had time to lay planks on some potholes and muddy places.This is the so-called paving the way.

A few miles behind them, there is a large cavalry force of nearly 200 cavalry.And the oxcart at the back of the team dragging trebuchets and giant crossbow gun accessories. In addition to the [-] people from the trebuchet company, there were another [-] engineers from the engineer battalion responsible for escorting them.

"Company commander, with this method, can you walk out of Qilian Mountains and reach Huangyuan City in Hehuang before dark?"

A lieutenant platoon leader of a trebuchet company in his thirties looked up at the sky. It was raining lightly in the sky, and the sky was overcast. He could not tell what time it was coming. He poohed in a low voice and said, "This road The people from the Ministry of Security walked back and forth twice and counted the time with an hourglass. The road is a bit difficult to walk, but it is not impossible. We have been walking for two days. Before dark, we will definitely reach Huangyuan City of the Tibetans. .”

After finishing speaking, the company commander of the catapult company wiped the chilly rain on his face again, and said to the captain who asked the question: "Wu Jin, keep an eye on the back, two bullock carts have already overturned into the ditch. We went inside, and our two trebuchets were lost before they reached Hehuang. Look at those guys from the engineering camp, they were responsible for pulling and transporting gunpowder. Brigadier Han said that this time he went to Hehuang to attack the city mainly relying on our catapult company, and I reported the loss of two catapults during the meeting last night. Before he could finish his sentence, a junior non-commissioned officer trotted over, saluted the military, and said, "Company Commander Su, Deputy Battalion Commander Chen, please go over and talk."

Company Commander Su returned the military salute, nodded, and urged the lieutenant platoon leader named Wu Jin to go. He just turned around and got on his horse, and galloped towards the center of the engineering battalion convoy.

Not long after running, Company Commander Su saw Deputy Battalion Commander Chen of the Engineering Battalion. He was riding a black horse, leaning slightly, and several staff officers sent by Han Tao to urge the Engineering Battalion to pay attention to safety when delivering gunpowder. He said something in a low voice, and when he saw Company Commander Su coming over, Deputy Battalion Commander Chen said without waiting for him to salute, "Commander Su, your trebuchet company has a total of twenty trebuchets, but they were damaged before the battle started. I mentioned two, it’s not that I’m talking about you, Brigadier Han is in charge of this delivery, but it’s the people from your catapult company who transported your trebuchet parts, but in the end, I’m the official You have to be trained in front of the brigade commander of Korea."

"Yes. The officer..."

Deputy Battalion Commander Chen didn't have the patience to listen to his explanation, and continued: "There is more! The ox carts that transported your catapult parts belonged to our engineering battalion. Two of them were also destroyed this time. Brigadier Han doesn't feel bad about it." , I gave an order, threw it away and continued on my way. But our engineering battalion only has these belongings. When the Military Law Department calculates military merits after returning home, these lost and damaged ox carts will be converted into it. Don’t come down this trip, some of my military merits are worthless. It's in the hands of your trebuchet company."

Company Commander Su's face turned red and white after being scolded by Deputy Battalion Commander Chen, but he didn't know how to explain.This time they were ordered to listen to orders under Han Tao's account. Han Tao is one of the best brigade commanders among the 36 brigade commanders in Xiangfu Kingdom. He has made countless military achievements, as long as he does not make mistakes, it will not be difficult to be promoted to deputy army commander or even army commander sooner or later.Although they were not originally subordinate to Han Tao, they were all obedient and obedient. Whatever Han Tao said they would do, they did.Even if Han Tao's plan was to capture Qingtang, the captive capital of Hehuang Tubo, and capture Zanpu alive, although they felt that the possibility was too small, no one dared to have the slightest objection.

In the past three days, although there were one or twenty places on this road that were tricky, after the repairs by the previous five hundred engineers, the ox carts were barely passable.

However, today's rain was something no one expected.What's more, Company Commander Su didn't expect that Han Tao didn't plan to let them build roads in the back while rushing.Han Tao's order was very rude, but there was no doubt that all the soldiers and vehicles that fell behind were ignored.The road was only roughly repaired by 500 people from the engineering battalion in front, so that cars and horses could pass.The whole army must ensure the speed of marching at all costs. When encountering some troubles, [-] engineers can't solve them. Han Tao will even take people off his horse to cut down trees and pave roads.

Company Commander Su clearly understood what "at all costs" meant. One of Han Tao's staff officers accidentally fell off his horse and broke his leg. Han Tao ruthlessly threw him on the road, and only sent a A soldier escorted him back to Liangzhou by himself.But whether he can survive this night is hard to say, because there will still be wild beasts in this mountain, especially wolves. The wild beasts that pass by the army will evade early, but the two people and two horses will become the targets of wild beasts.

But Han Tao's heart seemed to be made of iron.Since he can even abandon his staff, what are a few bullock carts and catapults?Deputy Battalion Commander Chen was so anxious that he jumped, but he only dared to ask Company Commander Su to attack him.He didn't even dare to leave some soldiers behind to try to fix the car.Han Tao's order cannot be discounted at all.

Everything that could not keep up with Han Tao's marching rhythm, whether it was people or objects, would be discarded.

This is fate.Company Commander Su had no doubt that if the trebuchet company became a burden, then Han Tao would immediately abandon the whole trebuchet company.He participated in several extremely confidential military meetings. Although he didn't say it explicitly, he was a student of Xiangfu Military Academy after all, and he also participated in the whole process of the Western Expedition to the Hexi Corridor.He could feel that Han Tao must have formulated several battle plans, and more than one of them did not include their trebuchet company.

However, no matter what, Company Commander Su wanted to participate in this battle, because their company did not make any great achievements in this western expedition to the Hexi Corridor.In the previous combat intelligence briefing, Company Commander Su knew that after leaving this secret road, ten miles to the south was Huangyuan City, one of the only four cities in Hehuang Tubo Kingdom besides Qingtang City.

Huangyuan City is not a majestic big city, even similar to some ordinary small county towns in Xiangfu Kingdom, but it is also very strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack.Because Ying Cheng and Lin Buchi led the main force to Lanzhou, the defense of the remaining Tubo people can be regarded as cautious. Outside Huangyuan City, there are scattered Tubo tribes.

(End of this chapter)