Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1352 Failure in one fell swoop

If we talk about the biggest difference between the grassland military culture and the Central Plains, it is probably the attitude towards the land.

In the traditional cognition of the Central Plains, "lost teacher" and "lost land" are often linked together.Land is the means of production, on which people, technology and wealth are attached. If you lose the land, it means you lose these things.

But the prairie people do not seem to value the land so much.Although there are simple distinctions such as your pasture and my pasture, the difference in degree is too great.Do not believe?The westward migration of the Tatars, which has lasted for more than a hundred years, is ongoing and has not been interrupted until now. When they faced security threats, they decisively abandoned the old pastures and looked westward for new pastures.

The reason is probably because there is too much land on the grassland and too few people, the grassland resources are not that valuable, the attachments on it are of little value, and the psychological pressure is not great when abandoning them.

And this kind of attitude of moving at any time and often abandoning it can easily cause the accumulation of grassland tribes to be emptied in stages. After all, it is easier to give birth to civilization when they settle down.

Reflected on the battlefield, there is a huge difference in military technology.

The Khitan infantry are really not very good at attacking the city. This is the first impression of Shi Junli, the envoy of Wansheng Huangtou Army.

Amidst the sound of war drums, they rushed up in a swarm, seemingly aggressive, but that was all there was.

"Shoot!" The camp is not high, the walls are not thick, and there are not even many people standing on the top of the wall, but the continuous bow volleys still caused huge casualties.

"Where are the people from the Black Army? Why don't they come to guard the camp?" Li Congke asked angrily.

With a rifle in his hand, he called names one by one, and he specifically selected the armored Khitan Military Academy for the roll call.

With a strong bow and big arrow, he shot fast and anxiously, chasing directly at the door, causing considerable damage in a short while.

Perhaps, this is also the source of his arrogance.He is only 23 years old, but his archery skills are better than that of a 33-year-old veteran. On the battlefield, he can speak according to his ability.

Li Congke is very good.He raised his hand and shot an arrow, and a Khitan military academy who was organizing people to fill the trench screamed and fell into the ditch. The corpse was mixed with sandbags and became the material for filling the trench.

Of course, he was not the only one who fell into the ditch.

Under the attack of dense arrows from the defenders, the Khitans who rushed to the trench carrying sandbags fell down in large numbers.Some fell directly into the trench, while others fell outside.

After throwing the sandbags, the Khitan soldiers who came rushing in later, under the threat of Chief Hao, threw those who fell to the ground with the arrows and sandbags into the trench together.

Someone was only injured, not dead, and fell into the trench crying and begging, but only sandbags fell like raindrops to greet him.

People, soon buried at the bottom, became part of the consumables.

After the trenches were filled, the Khitan people's morale was greatly boosted.They endured the casualties and rushed to the front of the moat wall.

Some held up large shields for protection, while others began to destroy the trench walls.

The defenders on the wall almost laughed out loud.

City defense and siege warfare, this is the first time they have encountered such a stupid enemy in so many years.There are no tools at hand, no equipment or vehicles.This is still attacking the camp. If they attack the city pool, what will they do?
Without the slightest hesitation, the morale of the defenders was greatly boosted, and they desperately drew their bows, taking the opportunity to massacre the enemy.

The Khitan side also organized a group of shooters to approach under the cover of a large shield and shoot at the people on the wall.

There were constant casualties on both sides, and they kept screaming and falling to the ground, but if you calculate the casualty ratio carefully, the Khitan people should have a shocking feeling.

A Baoji also frowned and watched from behind.

Although the military mobilization before the war was very successful, it was easy to build up momentum and fade quickly.Everything on the battlefield depends on results after all.

"There have been more than a thousand casualties." Haili exclaimed from the side.

Casualties of 1000 people are hard to see for horse archers on the prairie, unless it is a life-and-death battle between tribes.But when the Han people's battle mode was really launched, the casualties rose at an unbearable speed.

If such battles were fought more times, would the Khitan Eight Divisions still exist?Fortunately, this will consume most of Xi Ren.

Several big openings were destroyed in the moat wall, and Xi Ren rushed up carrying the wooden ladder, climbing up like ants.

Ants indeed, humble ants—

Xia Bing stood on the wall of the village, poking around with a long spear in his hand, and the Xi people who climbed the ladder fell to the ground one by one.

There are also people holding knives and axes, slashing again and again, and the screams of Xi Ren, who is holding on to the wall, are earth-shattering.The broken finger fell down the wall with him, and was punctured to death by iron picks and caltrops.

Siege warfare is so cruel and bloody!
Infuriated, Xi Ren fired arrows around the perimeter, and Xia Bing's body rolled down.But soon another group of people went up to the wall of the stronghold. The warriors of the Wansheng Yellow-headed Army had such iron heads—desperate, warriors in troubled times, who didn't fight all the way?
The first wave of offensive soon exhausted, and the Khitan retreated like a tide.But at this moment, the gate of the camp was opened with a bang, and the warriors of the Black Army rushed out, some of them dismounted to be on guard, and some of them armed with weapons, chasing and slashing at the buttocks of the defeated Khitan soldiers, wantonly causing casualties.

The Khitan cavalry also dispatched.Angrily, they rushed straight out of the city's black army, trying to cover the retreat of their own troops.

A Baoji sighed secretly, and didn't want to watch it any longer.

Shi Lu had no expression on his face, as if he had expected it long ago—indeed, he had already tried to attack the clams before, and his head was broken.

But he didn't say anything, because there was no better way right now.My nephew wants to capture Jingfan Village, let him try it, and after trying it, he knows that he is incapable of defeating him, so he gives up.

******
During the day on the 24th, the Khitans attacked three times, without any success.

After nightfall, they attacked from the west and east, which they had not tried during the day.To make matters worse, they were attacked at night by the defenders of two other camps, and suffered heavy casualties.

Of course, Xia Bing didn't do well either.It is brave to go out of the camp, but the risk is also huge. Li Congzhang was surrounded by Khitan people.

Throughout the night, the Khitans launched four offensives, all of which ended in failure. When the dawn of the 25th dawned in the east, Abaoji had to seriously consider whether it would be useful to continue fighting?

Shi Lu looked at his extremely emaciated nephew, and secretly sighed that a person's image changes so much at different stages.

The former A Baoji, young and promising, led the army to conquer the Quartet.

Hitting the Shiwei people and expanding the land for hundreds of miles forced the Shiwei tribe to either surrender or leave their hometowns for pastures.

Beating the Tatars forced them to speed up their pace of westward migration, away from the threat of the eight Khitan tribes.

Beating the Wugu people forced them to split internally, and at least half of the clan surrendered—the pasture of the Wugu tribe is in the area of ​​Hulun Lake today.

Maoren, Liubuxi and some other scattered tribes even became slaves of Khitan.

Even the Bohai Sea, the prosperous country in Haidong, has been bitten off a large part, and it is in danger.A Baoji once said with a smile that within a few years he would swallow Xijing on the Bohai Sea and go fishing on the Yalu River.

At that time, the nephew was majestic and dazzling, and everyone wanted to worship him when they saw him.

But it has only been a few years, and A Baoji has such an anxious, depressed, and haggard appearance, his confidence is not very high, and his rules are also a little messed up. It seems that he will never get back the old feeling.

Is it because of the growing strength of the Khitan Babu that Abaoji caught up and made him, or did Abaoji make the Khitan Babu?Maybe both.

"A Baoji, in the southwest village, the guard Li Congzhang was wounded, the number of soldiers is less than two thousand, maybe you can give it a try." Shi Lu said suddenly.

A Baoji's heart moved when he heard this, but finally he shook his head and said, "No need."

Shi Lu couldn't bear it, the blow to his nephew seemed to be quite serious.

However, A Baoji forced a smile, and said, "I've figured it out, Khitan really doesn't have the strength to confront Xia Guo head-on. Now there is only one way——"

"What way?" Shi Lu seemed to know A Baoji's choice, and asked with a sigh.

"Run! Run to the north! Run as far as you can!" A Baoji said in pain, "I ran so far that the Xia people's supply line was more than two thousand miles away. Yes. At that time, I will send envoys to the court and serve as ministers. If the Xia people don’t want to pursue, they may agree, just like the story in the early Tang Dynasty.”

Shi Lu was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "A Baoji, do you know why the Xia people are using the infantry as their main force?"

"Their cavalry is not suitable for grassland warfare, so they mainly use infantry." A Baoji replied without thinking, but just after finishing speaking, he frowned subconsciously, as if aware of it.

Shi Lu shook his head, and said: "I'm afraid it's not that simple. I only figured this out recently, especially after Xia Mage sent back the news from the Hujie Mansion, I suddenly realized it."

A Baoji thought of it almost at the same time, and said with a sad smile: "Shao Shude has a good appetite! What a boldness!"

Even before the troops were dispatched, they were eating the food in the bowl and looking at the food in the pot. It is ridiculous that Bohai sent troops to help the evildoers, and you will be the ones who will be in trouble next.

"So——" Shi Lu sighed, stepped forward and put his arms around his nephew's shoulders, and said, "Let's go. It's only three generations since Yun Deshi and Tie La brothers started building cities, farming millet, and smelting iron. , then there is a huge situation today. Now it is important to preserve strength, as long as the Khitan Babu is still there, at worst it will take three generations to become stronger. Moreover, after the Xia people leave, we can come back, the pasture has no long legs, it can’t run Even, if the Xia people attack Bohai next time, we still have a chance to turn defeat into victory."

"Uncle, you mean..." A Baoji's heart skipped a beat.

Shi Lu nodded lightly, and said: "It's the end of June, and in two months, the weather will turn cold, the Xia people hastily retreated, and there is chaos. Isn't this a god-sent opportunity?"

There is a poem in the Tang Dynasty that "Hu Tian is snowing in August". Although it does not snow every August, it is certain that the weather will become bad after entering late autumn.The Xia people may not be able to adapt to the bitter cold climate of the grassland. When there is frost, snow, and cold wind, 10,000+ soldiers and horses leave in a hurry, which is suitable for Khitan light cavalry to pursue.

"Uncle is mature and prudent, and his talent is far superior to mine." A Baoji said sincerely.

If it weren't for being old, uncle might have made greater achievements than me, right?Born at the wrong time, I'm talking about people like my uncle.

"Khan, Yu Yue." Haili and Yuwen walked in suddenly, Yuwen looked anxious, opened his mouth wide, and was about to say something.

Haili took his hand calmly and said: "Khan, there is news from Helu from Yaonian City that he has fought against the Xia people for several times, and all of them are unfavorable. Please Khan quickly withdraw his troops to help. I am afraid that Xilou, The city of the king of Yue was conquered by bandits."

Before A Baoji had time to say anything, Shi Lu's face changed suddenly. He looked at Haili with inquiring eyes, and Haili nodded imperceptibly.

"Helu is not such a person, and this is not something he can say." A Baoji noticed Haili's small movements, and his face became very pale in an instant. He asked, "But the whole army of Helu has been wiped out." ? Or, the Xia people didn’t go to Yaoqian Khan City at all?”

Yu Jian looked at Abaoji, then at Haili, not knowing what to say.

The sea is silent.

"Is the North Tower safe?" A Baoji asked, suppressing the anxiety in his heart.

Yu shook off Haili's hand firmly, and said, "When are you still hiding it? What's there to hide?"

After finishing speaking, he looked at A Baoji and said, "Khan, a few days ago, the Xia people raided the pasture near the Hun River. The ministries were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses. I don't know what the North Tower looks like, or they are not very optimistic."

Abaoji's figure was shaky.

He cared about his tribe, cattle and sheep, and he also cared about Yueli Duo.As Khitan's most dazzling genius, Babu Khan, at the age of 36, he has no concubine, only Yue Liduo is a woman, which is enough to explain many things.

"Retreat!" He didn't want to stay any longer, and ordered.

Wanting to be steady, he turned and left.

A Baoji took a step forward, grabbed his arm, and said, "I'll arrange the order of retreat, don't mess around."

Haili and Shilu let out a sigh of relief almost at the same time.

As a master, you must not mess up your position at any time, and you must not be impulsive or emotional.The people below put your fate in your hands, so that you can make a decision before acting, instead of using emotions to entrap everyone.

A Baoji, finally he hasn't lost his head yet.

(End of this chapter)