Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 995 Pincer Offensive
"That's enough! Clean it up and seize it." After dawn, when the rain turned light, Liang Hanyong ordered after breakfast.

Qin Ke, Marquis Yu of the Flying Dragon Army, responded and went to deliver the order.

This person was born in Shao Shude's personal army, and later went to the Iron Forest Army, where he stayed for five years.

Five years later, Ji Gong was promoted to lieutenant general, and then transferred to the commander of the Songzhou Army.After serving for a short period of one year, he was promoted to Marquis Yu of the Flying Dragon Army, assisting Marquis Xue Li of Duyu in handling military affairs, and splitting up the job of sending orders.

He is also a Kansai samurai with Zhengmiaohong roots, and was born in the Qin family of Lanzhou.

It has been more than ten years since the Qin family became the tribal envoy of the capital, and they are like a big clan in Lanzhou.This is the benefit of following people. Their interests have been tied to Shao Shude, assisting the Lanzhou government to organize households for the people, and slowly assimilating the local tribes such as Tubo, Gamo, and Qiang. The future is promising.

Liang Hanyong looked at the map carefully again.

After they set off from Daning, they basically traveled eastward along the northern foot of Yanshan Mountain.The Anle County that was just occupied last night was not originally the land of Khitan, but the stronghold behind the mountain of Youzhou Town that they gradually encroached on.

Of course, it is not entirely accurate to say that it is behind the mountain, because it is still in a hilly area.The tribes graze on gentle slopes, river valleys, and basins, and most of the post roads are in the valleys between mountains.If the Yan people want to cheer up, they must set up a fort in this area to garrison troops, but it's a pity that they don't have the energy now.

There is a reason for the Flying Dragon Army to take this route. It is conducive to infantry combat and is not afraid of cavalry group charges.As long as you don't give the enemy a chance and expose yourself in the wide river valley, it is also very difficult to gather a large cavalry to encircle and wipe them out.

The only problem is probably finding supplies.

The strongholds outside the customs encroached by the Khitan people, regardless of the Han people, were all forced to move away, replaced by the newly arrived Khitan and its vassal tribes, who herded horses and sheep here, as a forward base, and further advanced to Youzhou.

"Right uppercut..." This is what King Xia said, but Liang Hanyong thought it was very appropriate.

The brigade of cavalry assembled in the direction of Tanshan made a left uppercut, walked on the flat grassland, and went straight to the important nomadic lands of Khitan and Xiren.

The two roads went hand in hand, but there was no strategic goal, and they didn't say where the fight would stop, which made Liang Hanyong a little strange.

However, he also knew a little about Yang Yue, and felt that this was in line with the old man's usual attitude.To put it bluntly, this war was a punitive war against Khitan, a war for hegemony to establish who would rule the "barbarians of the Southwest".

If you fight well and go far enough, it can even shake Khitan's prestige among the vassal tribes and weaken their influence-influence often means the ability to collect supplies and soldiers, and often means how many servants you can mobilize .

"Food, now we have to solve the food problem." Liang Hanyong put down the map and pushed open the wooden door.

It was still raining outside.

The bloodstains on the streets have been cleaned up.

Some people went out of the house, with panic and fear still on their faces, silently carried the corpse, put it on the cart, and then dragged it to the field and buried it.

The origin of the body is complicated.The Xi people accounted for more than half, followed by the Khitan. There were also some Han people and miscellaneous Hus.Anyway, on the grassland, all adult men are considered soldiers by default—to some extent, this is pretty much the same.

Some people in the city were slaughtering livestock, lighting a fire to cook the meat, which would be made into dry food later to supplement the daily consumption of the soldiers of the Flying Dragon Army.But what is most lacking is grain, which is hard to get on the grasslands, so I am really anxious.

Grain is like a cheating device on the grassland.It takes half a day to graze horses, but I can feed them with grain in just half an hour.

"Who are the people in Anle County, have you figured it out?" Liang Hanyong asked quickly when he saw Xue Li approaching.

Xue Li held a blood-stained horsewhip in his hand, and a lot of blood was splashed on his body. It seemed that he had just finished torturing the prisoner. He immediately saluted after hearing this; Come, there are herdsmen and slaves. They graze nearby for a living."

"It was mentioned in the past that Khitan people plundered many women, children, cattle and sheep, and property eastward. Where did they go?" Liang Hanyong asked again.

"They don't know either. There are too many mountains, rivers, valleys, and forests here. If you don't take the initiative to contact them, you can only search the valleys one by one. Military envoys, it's useless to ask. They really don't know, or we have to send people to find them. Find a batch If you really can’t find a batch, you might as well go east and grab the Khitan people directly.” Xue Li said.

Going east is risky, everyone knows that.

More than [-] li to the east of Anle County, you can reach the White Wolf Garrison, one of the former eight garrisons outside the pass.Because it was not long after the fall, there are still cities in the area, but I don't know if the Khitan people have used them.

In addition, there must be many tribes grazing in the local area.Where they live, how many people there are, whether they can fight, whether there is a Khitan brigade nearby, I don't know at all, it is not an exaggeration to say that their eyes are smeared.

Most importantly, can we get something to eat?

This is not the same as in the Central Plains.Randomly robbing any village in Henan can get a lot of food. Most of the areas outside the customs are inaccessible, and it is not easy to meet people. If you don't know the Khitan people's pastures and the local inside information, it is actually very dangerous.

The simplest thing is, people fortify the walls and clear the fields, then harass you, delay you, let you spend a few more days in any ravine, and then run out of food, what should I do?Annihilation is inevitable.

"Did anyone run away last night?" Liang Hanyong asked suddenly.

"Probably not." Xue Li was not very sure.

This dilapidated city has been abandoned for many years, and only the Khitan people are its treasures.With the wind leaking everywhere, and it was raining heavily, it was as dark as ink. Who knows if anyone ran away?
"Wait until the Fan soldiers from Zhuanglang's Department come up. Everyone is tired after marching and fighting continuously. Let's graze and rest near Anle City first." Liang Hanyong made a decision.

The Fan soldiers are herdsmen from the Lang clan of Jiyuquanzhuang, and there are thousands of them.

The combat mode of the Xia army's cavalry infantry was already very clear.With infantry as the main force, the Fan Qingqi is responsible for reconnaissance, vigilance, cover and pursuit when winning.

This high-speed mobile infantry is different from traditional infantry.Because they don't have a carriage, all their luggage is on the back of the pack horse, so the materials can be saved as much as possible, and they are generally used to support field battles.It is not impossible to siege the city, but if it is not necessary, it will not be forced.

The simplest, ordinary infantry can carry a lot of supplies, tools, and craftsmen, and build siege vehicles when going to war, but it is very difficult for the flying dragon army. It would be nice to have a simple wooden ladder.Sometimes tools are lost, and even making ladders is difficult because they don't purposely carry a lot of backup tools.

There is not much food and medicine to carry with them, and there are few consumables such as spare weapons and arrows, so they do not have the ability to fight long-term tug-of-war.

To put it simply and crudely, the difference between them and ordinary infantry is just like the elite airborne division and the heavy infantry division. The latter has tanks, armored vehicles, heavy artillery, anti-aircraft missiles and extremely abundant supplies. Not particularly sufficient, only a surprise attack.

Sometimes they shoot too many arrows, and they have to find a way to retrieve them and reuse them after the war.Therefore, the officers and men of the entire army are under tremendous pressure all the time, try to avoid being dragged down by others, insist on mobile operations, and sometimes relax in military discipline, which is also acquiesced by senior officers.

"Of order." After Xue Li heard this, he immediately prepared to organize the manpower to grazing the horses.

"Count up the supplies. Gather up the birch bows, arrows, and bones of the Khitan people, and they might save lives." Liang Hanyong ordered: "On the other hand, let's send people to search eastward first. There should not be too many people. , Try to avoid being discovered. According to the previous news, the main force of Khitan has returned to the army, but there are still troops left behind if the local security is not complete, try not to alarm them."

After all, Liang Hanyong waved his hand and asked Xue Li to do it as soon as possible.And he himself went down to the barracks to work with the soldiers, lighting a fire to make bacon, and stockpiling supplies.

******
The right hook had already hit the opponent's soft belly, and the left hook was also rushing forward.

On August [-]th, on the grassland near Ruyuan, with the iron cavalry as the main force, supplemented by tens of thousands of Tibetan cavalry, they defeated another group of Khitan cavalry in a field battle, and then marched eastward.

The Khitans didn't want to fight at all.When they received reinforcements from the Xia people, they immediately retreated in multiple groups.

The retreat is a prairie retreat.

There are people running in all directions, try to disperse the troops, and don't gather them.Someone is responsible for luring and misleading the pursuers, someone is responsible for using the terrain to ambush, and someone is responsible for turning around and breaking the rear.

Sure enough, it has been 1000 years since the Huns, and the grassland people still play the same routine.

Zhe Siyu, the envoy of the cavalry army, was also facing a problem at this time: According to the system, the cavalry army had one man and two horses, how could they chase the Khitans who had one man and three horses?

The towns of Ruyuan and Yuyi were nearly robbed, and it was impossible to replenish the horses, and even the replenishment of food was enough, so they had to force it out.The fresh water carried by the whole army was about the same as that of the Feilong army, only enough to consume for more than ten days.It is impossible to get any results by following the Khitans, but it is not appropriate to watch them run away.

After much deliberation, there is only one trick: you hit yours, and I hit mine, and see who can consume the other.

On August [-]th, the whole army, with [-] riders and more than [-] horses, divided into multiple roads and marched northward.

They marched along the Rushui River Valley, where there are rivers that can provide drinking water for people and livestock, which is very important on the grassland.

In addition, river valleys are generally rich in water and grass, and if you are lucky, you can also harvest a lot of supplies.

At noon on the [-]th, to Shaye.

A group of more than [-] Khitan cavalry was still working hard to "lead the way" in front, and it was not known where they wanted to lead them.

They even slowed down the horses.Xia Jun stopped to graze the horses, and they also stopped to graze the horses. Xia Jun chased them, and they fled immediately.At night, they deliberately hid in the mountains and sent people out to harass them, but they were attacked severely, and after losing more than [-] horses, they disappeared.

Nuo Zhenshui inspection envoy Ge Shuque reminded Zhe Siyu that this is the old wisdom of the grassland.The Khitans wanted to keep exhausting them, exhausting them, and then lure them into the ambush circle of the Khitan's main force, gather and annihilate them.

Zhe Siyu didn't care about it, he just chose a good marching route. At night, he cut trees and set up camp, put the horses in the fence, and sent soldiers to guard in turn.Continue to drive during the day and move forward along the established goal.

On the afternoon of the [-]th, to the confluence of Lvquanshui and Sanquanshui into Rushui (near Zhaosu Naimu today).Here is a small tribe attached to Khitan, which has moved away at this time, and its whereabouts are unknown.

The Khitan people finally realized that something was wrong.

This marching direction is obviously heading for the flat pine forest!

Co-authored and seduced for a long time, and actually lured Xia Ren to his own territory, right?

Without any hesitation, the two sides immediately launched a fierce battle.

This is an evening filled with red clouds all over the sky.

The high hills stand opposite each other in the distance, and each side has more than [-] horses standing on horseback.

On the plain at the foot of the mountain, there are already rangers fighting each other.

The scale of the fight gradually increased, with light armored or no armored soldiers constantly joining in.

Zhe Siyu stood on the mountainside, and he could see the starting position of the Khitan people from a distance.

Their cavalry was crowded together, there were thousands of them, and it seemed that they had joined many soldiers from vassal tribes.

The cavalry at the front had spread out and began to sprint vigorously, while the middle part was still slowly picking up speed, while the cavalrymen crowded together at the end were clamoring loudly, constantly urging the people in front to make room.

"Boom——" the drum beat.

Zhe Siyu descended to a gentle place on the hill.

Teams of iron cavalry soldiers have already begun to line up.

The horse snorted incessantly, and the knight took the reins and carefully controlled it.

"The Khitans were nothing more than that in the battle of Yuyi Town. Today, the bandits even invited to fight, so I will teach them a lesson." Zhe Siyu said to the generals who came to listen to the order: "Your Highness, a big event is imminent. If you fight to the death, If you make great achievements, it will be easier to win the old man's favor than in the past. On the other hand, if the fight is a mess, it may be difficult to turn around."

The generals asked to fight one after another: "Military envoy, give the order."

"Okay, in today's battle, you can win and you can't lose. Those who dare to look back will die! Go back to each battalion and follow orders." Zhe Siyu said loudly.

The generals immediately galloped back to their respective battalions.

"Boom..." The second drum sounded.

As if understanding the military order, the horse gently pawed the ground with its hooves.Some impatient war horses even wanted to jump forward, but were held back by the knight.

The war horses sometimes take two steps forward and sometimes back two steps, but they generally maintain their formation - they are trained war horses, not the kind of savage horses who don't understand anything, nor can any horse be a war horse.

The third drum beat.

"Advance slowly!" With the military order, the cavalry jogged downhill one by one.

At the foot of the mountain is a large piece of barren meadow, the grass is withered and yellow, and it has grown tall.After the cavalry from both sides poured in, almost only the parts above the shoulders could be seen.

"Whoever dares to look back will die!" The officer leading the charge roared.

"He who dares to look back dies!" Everyone responded in unison.

And this was also a signal that the horse speed began to increase slowly, and the sergeants took out their long and short weapons and were ready for battle.

Yelu Laogu ordered to speed up almost at the same time.

He was defeated from Ruyuan, and today he dared not retreat any more, he could only fight hard and try to survive.

The tall withered grass fell under the powerful impact of the horses.

Within a hundred steps, dense arrows flew to both sides at the same time.

With just this one move, the Khitan people suffered a great loss, because they had too little iron armor.

"Boom!" The two torrents collided.

Zhe Siyu looked from the high slope and could clearly see the entire battlefield situation.

The passing cavalry fell in large areas.

At this moment, no matter you are brave or cowardly, whether you are a novice or a veteran, under the hedging of dense war horses, you can only hand over your fate to God, you can't even hide, you can only use your physical body to bear the opposite side to greet you weapons.

The auxiliary soldiers gathered at the foot of the mountain.

A group of people held long guns and rifles on guard, and a group of people stepped forward and waited quietly.

After a while, a large group of galloping horses emerged from the decayed grass.

The sergeants swarmed forward, blocked his way, and gathered the horses.

Needless to say, every empty horse means a lost life.

"Boom..." Another battle drum sounded.

The auxiliary soldiers who were gathering their horses had different expressions.

The newcomers don't know why, so they don't know what happened.

After staying for two years, Zhizhi sent a large group of cavalry.

Only the experienced old man comforted everyone: "There are fewer empty horses running over, which means that the Khitans have turned around and returned in defeat. The military envoy sent someone to pursue them."

The battlefield results are as the veterans say.

After only one charge, the Khitan cavalry suffered a great loss.Except for the first wave of high-speed hedging, there is not much difference between armor and armor, but when entering the low-speed melee combat stage where people and horses are mixed, the huge gap in equipment and martial arts is reflected.

The Khitan people chose the wrong tactics and had to bear the consequences.

Thousands of riders were rolled back and pushed back.

The iron cavalry soldiers shouted loudly, brandishing their swords, they chased after and hacked wantonly.

Seeing the enemy running farther and farther, some people simply put their weapons back into their sheaths, took out their bows and shot.

The galloping waves of war horses gradually spread to the opposite hill.

With a wave of the banner on the hill, he rushed backwards first, and he didn't even care about fighting.

The shepherds of the vassal tribe who were fighting on the flanks lost their fighting spirit when they saw their own banner receding, and broke away.

The hunt continued until nightfall.

The results of the battle were mainly obtained by the Fan Qingqi.

They talked and laughed and rode back, many of them had heads hanging from their saddles.

In contrast, the iron cavalry soldiers who returned to the camp did not gain much, because they could not catch up with the enemy.However, when the Fans saw it, they all stood aside, respectful.

Zhe Siyu was still standing on the hillside with a smile on his face.

If you don't want to fight, I will force you to fight.

Going to plunder in the wild tomorrow, there must be a tribe nearby who is on the way to escape, just in time to obtain key supplies.

I will drive into the flat pine forest later, will you come?

There is no doubt that he is very courageous.I didn't think that if I encountered the main force of the Khitan and attacked the siege with several times the number of light cavalry, I would not be able to retreat completely.

Maybe he thought about it, but it didn't matter, he felt that he could continue to tease him until the main force of the Khitan brigade arrived, and it would not be too late to retreat.

How can one not take risks in war?Sometimes God favors brave warriors who dare to take risks, and maybe they can make a big fortune.

(End of this chapter)