Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 206 Outpost Battle

"Well! The Japanese are actually the same as us. They came across the sea. If they lose, there is no retreat! Do you remember the two confrontations with them? Although we won both times, those Japanese soldiers Even if the situation is not good for him, he still fights hard, and he will not surrender until the end of the fight!"

"That's true!" He Bayong agreed after a short recollection: "I remember the battle at sea, several Japanese soldiers flooded the deck, and they were still shooting arrows at us. They were really stubborn! Then why? What about Baekje people?"

"He Ba, since Fuyu Fengzhang killed Onimuro Fukunobu, the hearts of the rebels have been shaken. The reason why there are not many people who surrender is nothing more than two things are not clear: the Japanese have already used all their troops to support Fuyufeng. Zhang, who is the winner between the Tang Dynasty and the Wa Kingdom; second, if they surrender, how will the Tang Dynasty deal with them. And as long as I can defeat the Wa people, the first answer will naturally be clear."

"Joining the army said, as for the second matter, why not tell the Baekje people, Datang will pardon their previous crimes and dispel their doubts!"

"It's still too early!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head: "Only if we defeat the Japanese first, the pardon of previous crimes will be effective. The outcome is unknown, and the people of Baekje will only laugh at our kindness!"

"That's right!" He Bayong thought it was right, and he was gearing up: "Then let's talk about it after we win the battle!"

The Baekje people’s first attack took place at dawn the next day. Wang Wenzuo, who was awakened from his sleep, climbed up the watchtower and saw the white flag inlaid with red edges commonly used by the Baekje people emerging from the horizon.

"It should be just an advance team, so there's no need to worry too much." Liu An said, "If I were the head coach of the thief, I definitely wouldn't give my best from the beginning!"

Wang Wenzuo nodded silently. In the wilderness outside the camp, the plain stretches infinitely until the mountains in the distance. A river meanders through the plain. There are some undulating low hills on both sides of the river. On a low hill, the Baekje army chose to cross the river from a shoal about three miles away from the Tang army camp. The cavalry were the first to cross the river. Wang Wenzuo saw the enemy cavalry hovering hesitantly on the river bank. Flying in the wind.

"Only about fifty riders!" He Bayong said.

Wang Wenzuo saw these cavalry scattered into a loose line, apparently these cavalry intended to test the situation on the other side for the infantry behind.The sound of the horn sounded, and the horses stepped into the torrent with iron hooves, splashing water, bright armor, flying flags, and shining spear points, just like an oil painting.

"Cui Hongdu's crossbowmen are in the grass behind the river bank!" Liu An whispered.

"Oh? There are a lot of mosquitoes on the river bank, it's hard for them!" Wang Wenzuo laughed.

"Yes, they have been sucked a lot of blood by mosquitoes!" Liu An responded with a smile on his face.

"It's all in the middle of the river, it's time!" Yuan Aolie shouted, it seemed that he was the one hiding in the grass.

It's hard to tell what's going on. In an instant, only the long hiss of the war horse can be clearly discerned, and there's a faint sound of steel colliding amidst the screams.The battle flag suddenly disappeared, and was swept away by the river along with the flag bearer.A moment later, the first victim of the battle floated past the Tang camp and followed the river south.At this time, the Baekje cavalry had recovered from the confusion, turned their horses and retreated to the right bank of the river.The crossbowmen of the Tang army waved their fists at him from the upper hill, probably shouting and cursing, but Wang Wenzuo definitely couldn't hear the content clearly at this distance.

"Cui Hongdu has made great military exploits again, but it's a pity that he doesn't have a head!" Shen Faseng shook his head regretfully.

"It's not a military exploit, is it?" He Bayong sneered, "The cavalry is a living target in the river. A woman can do such a thing as hiding in the grass and shooting arrows. It's not a military exploit!"

"You can't say that!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head uninterestedly after confirming that the Baekje people had given up crossing the river from the shoal: "But this should be just the beginning, and the Baekje people should not just give up like this. Keep trying!"

Wang Wenzuo's judgment was correct. That afternoon, the Baekje people tried again at a shoal further upstream. This time they succeeded. The Baekje cavalry dispersed the Tang army's sentry and began to cross the river.Wang Wenzuo thought about it for a while, and decided to give up the attempt to prevent the enemy from crossing the river. The soldiers were still building camps in turn and did not get enough rest. It is not wise to fight the enemy at this time.

Spending the next ten days in scattered outposts, Wang Wenzuo spent most of his time on strengthening the camp: outer ditches, horse refusal, barriers, watchtowers, traps, internal roads, camps, warehouses , toilets, cisterns, etc., he firmly believes in a principle, before the field battle must build a strong camp, used to store the soldiers' luggage and luggage, at most two-thirds of the troops can be dispatched when going out to battle, leaving three One of the soldiers guards the camp, so that even if the field battle fails, since the soldiers' belongings are all in the camp, as long as the soldiers who are not dead will flee back to the camp, there will be another chance.

It should be known that field warfare in the cold weapon era is a highly accidental event. A cold arrow, a frightened war elephant, a sudden change in wind direction, superstition of soldiers, etc., will affect the trend of the balance of victory and defeat, even the most capable general , and it is impossible to control the factors is also very limited.Therefore, Wang Wenzuo felt that rashly placing the survival of the entire army on the outcome of a field battle was no different from a gambler. Although building a fortress could not improve the winning rate of each field battle, it could give him more chances.

As the barriers kept getting higher and the fortifications became stronger, Wang Wenzuo gradually let more soldiers take turns to rest and drill, and at the same time sent more sentries to record the surrounding terrain on the map to prepare for the next action.

"Sanlang, look, the wheat is already ripe!" In Liu An's hands were two plump ears of wheat, shining golden yellow in the sunlight.

"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo took a wheat ear and rubbed it in his hands. Regardless of the sharp awn, he picked up a few grains and chewed them in his mouth: "Well, it's really fragrant, this wheat is really full!"

"It's almost time to go out to harvest the wheat?"

"Yeah!" Wang Wenzuo rubbed his hands and looked at the sky outside: "It's a pity that Yuan Fei and Sanqiu haven't arrived yet, forget it, don't wait for them, I hope they can catch up with the second wave!"

"Then they have to hurry up, otherwise all I will leave them is straw!" Liu An laughed.

Wang Wenzuo was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed too. He grabbed Liu An's forearm and said, "Wulang, if it wasn't for your care when we sent troops, how would I be where I am today?"

"It's from the same township, and it's from Paoze, if you say these words, you will be separated!" Liu An said with a smile: "My two families are from neighboring counties, after this battle is over, we will go back to our hometown and buy more farms and houses. Wouldn't it be nice if you take a few slaves up the mountain to shoot and hunt when you have nothing to do on weekdays, and then go home and drink some local wine?"

(End of this chapter)