Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 535
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When He Bayong received the letter from the messenger, He Bayong was struggling to wipe off the mud on his boots. A sudden heavy rain turned the road into a swamp, forcing the Tang army to stop advancing.

"Hei Chi Changzhi won a big victory, let me retreat?" He Bayong put down the letter he had finished reading, with obvious disappointment on his face.

"Yes!" The messenger smiled happily: "He encountered Tubo people in the valley. The two armies clashed. Our army won a complete victory. We won more than [-] first ranks and captured more than [-] people. We won a complete victory." !"

"This black-toothed guy—!" He Bayong's exclamation had complex meanings, including disappointment, envy, and jealousy, but in the end he nodded: "Okay, I'll retreat, anyway, there is no such thing as this way." The law is gone!"

Compared with marching, retreating was more difficult. The sky was as black as the pine forest on the hillside in the distance, and the rain in late autumn kept falling, which was so cold that it drowned out the sound of horseshoes and blurred everyone's faces.

Tang Jun retreated to the southwest, away from the grassy swamp, and walked along the road on the barren field. Due to the trampling of people and horses and the irrigation of rain, the road had completely turned into a mudflat, and people slipped and fell from time to time. What was worse was the horses and pack animals. These poor beasts almost slipped at every step. Heba Yong had to order everyone to dismount, and cut down the weeds on the roadside to spread on the road to prevent the carriages and horses from slipping.

That afternoon, Tang Jun finally entered the forest full of streams.It didn't take long for dense trees to surround them, the rain became lighter, the horses became lighter, and the infantry struggled to keep up with the horses and chariots.The howling of wild beasts continued to be heard in the distance, which was chilling.No one in the ranks spoke.He Bayong turned his head from time to time to make sure that no one was left behind and no one was chasing after the luggage that fell at the rear.

"The Tubo people probably won't catch up with this horrible weather, right?" He Bayong whispered to himself. He was not confident about it. Indeed, the rain made the road slippery and the cold weather on the plateau exacerbated the situation. point.But this is a war, and the rain also greatly reduced the power of most of the Tang army's bows and crossbows. This is good news for the Tubo people. More importantly, the Tubo people have just lost a battle. If you are the general of the Tubo people, Will definitely seize every opportunity to win the round.

General Tubo probably wouldn’t invest all his troops. If it was him, he would gather all the horses, one person with two horses or three horses, and detour to the front of the Tang army, choose a dangerous location, wait for the Tang army to be exhausted, and then launch a surprise attack , to solve the battle in one fell swoop.He heard from the Songzhou guards how the Tubo people would treat their captives. It is common to whip and cut off their ears. There are also more cruel things, such as cutting off a foot and making him a slave for pounding rice. Or gouging out eyes, locked in the cellar for a lifetime of milling, and so on.He Bayong secretly made up his mind that if he really got to that point, he would never fall into the hands of the Tubo people and be at the mercy of cruel fate.

Every time he passed by a place where an ambush might be hidden, He Bayong carefully dispatched scouts to look for it, but in the end nothing happened, there was nothing in the dark or behind the bushes.

When they passed through the woods and arrived at the river, Heba Yong ordered the soldiers to camp to rest. The rain had gradually subsided, but the weather became colder. He Bayong suspected that the ground would freeze that night.The soldiers built piles of bonfires and dried their clothes and crossbows on them. Heba Yong walked through the bonfires and tried his best to encourage his soldiers. There are still two days away from Songzhou, as long as they return there, everything will get better.

He Bayong didn't rest all night. He was wrapped in a cloak, leaning on his horse, with the weapon within reach. He didn't take a nap until dawn.When he was awakened by the hissing sound, he found that it was a morning without dawn. The sky was slowly brightening, but the sun could not be seen.The blackness turned to gray, and the colors hesitantly returned to the world, the fir trees took on a dark green tint, the alder trees were almost brown in tawny and red gold broad leaves.The soldiers fed the horses and watered them, and at the same time ate a cold breakfast of unleavened hard bread and bacon.

"We may have gone astray, General!" Chen Guoce said. He is the Zhechong Captain of Zhechong Mansion in Fengzhou, Guannei Road. He has been stationed in Songzhou for almost two years and is quite familiar with the local terrain. Lieutenant General and Guide.

"Are you sure?" He Bayong's face became more and more ugly.

"I'm sure!" Chen Guoce had a scar on his left forehead, half of his eyebrows were missing, and he looked a little funny: "Look at the mountain to the west, if we walked right, that mountain should be on our east side! "

"Damn it!" He Bayong looked at the mountain that Chen Guoce was pointing to for a while, and he seemed to have the impression that it was exactly as he said. There was a mountain on the east side of him when he set off, and he spit in frustration: "Then what now?" manage?"

"It's definitely impossible to turn back now. Firstly, they might run into the Tubo soldiers chasing them. Secondly, the soldiers thought they would be able to return to Songzhou after walking for two more days, but now they realize that they have gone the wrong way. Another day or two to go, morale must be terrible!"

"You're right! So what should we do now?" He Bayong nodded. Ordering the troops to retreat is already very bad. What's worse is that they encountered heavy rain on the way to retreat and went the wrong way. After all this trouble, how can these soldiers fight?

"We can continue to go south until we reach the Dalu River, then turn west along the river, cross the river and go south again. Although it takes an extra thirty or forty miles, we can still reach Songzhou! Good thing, our flank is next to the Dalu River, and the terrain is flat, so there is no need to worry about the Tibetans ambush us dangerously!"

He Bayong watched Chen Guoce describe the new marching route on a rough map, but he was calculating the feasibility of the other party's strategy in his mind. After a few minutes, he nodded: "Alright, just do as you said! I hope Everything went well!"

After Tang Jun had breakfast, he started marching again, and the rain resumed.All along, except for occasional intervals, the sun has never been seen.The temperature is getting colder and colder, and the pale mist flows through the pine forests and surges over the barren fields.In the afternoon, they finally walked out of the forest. There was a river in front of them. The soldiers of the Tang army cheered. They had had enough of the forest and the uneven hills. The river and plain in front of them gave them a fresh experience. Songzhou City It's not far away.

"This is the Great Deer River?" He Bayong asked.

"Yes, that's what the local Qianghu people call this river. In summer, there are many deer in the swamp forest on both sides of this river!" Chen Guoce said.

"That's good, let the soldiers stop and rest for a while, and eat something!" He Bayong said: "There is Dasode!" Take dozens of cavalry to investigate around, keep your eyes open, and don't miss the Tubo people!"

"Obey!" Dasode responded, whistled, and rushed out with dozens of cavalrymen like a gust of wind. Chen Guosui looked at these knights and praised: "A good man, no less than me A man from Kansai of the Tang Dynasty! Where is this Dasode from? Chen is an ignorant man, how come he has never heard of this surname?"

"Let Captain Chen laugh at you!" He Bayong said with a smile: "This Da Sude was originally from the Baekje family. After Wang Dudu defeated the Baekje rebels, they fled to Japan with Fuyu Fengzhang, and later Wang Dudu fought back. In Japan, they had no way out, so they bowed their knees and surrendered. This time when the governor of the king came to Songzhou, they followed suit and became pawns!"

"The Baekje family, no wonder they are so tough!" Chen Guoce said in amazement. Baekje, Goguryeo and other countries fought fiercely with the Tang Dynasty for decades. Although the Tang Dynasty finally conquered them, they still valued the military aristocrats in the country. Moved them into the country, incorporated them into their own army and waited for them to be used. Gao Xianzhi, Hei Chi Changzhi and others were the best among them, and the Tang people did not think it wrong.

He Bayong chatted with Chen Guoce for a few words, and suddenly heard a sharp sound from a distance, it was the sound of Mingdi, and this sound could only mean one thing at this time—that is, the enemy appeared.

"Hurry up, put on your armor and get on your horse!" He Bayong jumped up from the ground and shouted loudly: "Blow the trumpet and order all teams to put on their armor and prepare for battle!"

No matter how stunned the Tang army was, Hebayong's order was passed on. The soldiers took off their armor from the donkey cart and put it on. , In the blink of an eye, they were already lined up in two rows at the front of the formation. The horseshoes trampled on the river bank, and the mud splashed, attracting a burst of cursing.

"Captain Heba, Captain Heba!" Dasode swept over like the wind, his face was full of surprises: "It's from Tubo, from Tubo!"

"I know they are from Tubo!" He Bayong asked anxiously, "How many people do they have?"

"I don't know yet, but when we found the Tibetans, they were drinking horses. There were at least a thousand horses everywhere on the riverbank!"

"Drinking horses?" He Bayong was taken aback when he heard the words, and immediately understood Dasode's meaning: "You mean that the Tubo people didn't take precautions at all?"

"Yes, the riverside is lush with water and grass, and it is a good place to put horses!" Dasode said: "My subordinates suspect that those Tubo people did not expect us to take this road. Feed the horses here, and then intercept our army halfway!"

Hearing this, He Bayong and Chen Guoshou exchanged glances, and they both saw ecstasy in each other's eyes.As Dasode said, the only possibility that can explain the strange behavior of the Tubo people at the moment is that both sides have changed their paths at the same time. Fortunately, Tang Jun found his opponent before the Tubo people, and the Tubo people were herding horses on the river beach, unsuspecting.

"Lieutenant Chen, all the infantry here will be handed over to you! Think of them as successors!" He Bayong got on his horse and said with a smile, "Soldiers are precious and fast, Dasede, you are the vanguard!"

"Obey!" Dasode said loudly.

The cavalry of the Tang people advanced along the river bank, the desire for victory burned Heba Yong's chest like a raging fire, and swept away the exhaustion.He himself was at the head of the spear, and the rest lined up on the wings, with the best horses, the best armor, and the best martial arts in the first rank, then the second rank, the third rank, and the third rank. Four columns, with a distance of about ten steps between two columns.The big flag with white background and red border fluttered above He Bayong's head, and the red bird on the flag was flying in the air.The horses ran faster and faster, weeds and shrubs fell under the hoofs of the horses, and on the river beach ahead, you could clearly see tens of hundreds of horses. The frightened Tibetans were panicking and picking up weapons and saddling their mounts. The impatient simply climbed on the bareback horse, beat the horse and fled to the distance, and some Tibetans simply took up weapons and formed an formation to fight against the sudden enemy.

"Don't be in a hurry to chase the fleeing people, don't be in a hurry to get the spoils!" He Bayong said loudly: "Beat the Tubo people first, and those who don't listen to the military order to grab the horse first will be beheaded!"

The ground was wet and slippery, half mud, half rain.He Bayong's horse's hoof slipped and stirred up the mud, almost causing him to fall off the saddle before he rushed to the enemy team. Fortunately, his riding skills were good, and he twisted his body to maintain his balance.The Tibetans tried their best to get closer to each other, and used a dense formation to resist the sudden impact.He Bayong bent his bow and shot two arrows, then raised his knife and shouted: "Wan Sheng!" Everyone echoed loudly.The sharp arrows flew out from the formation, emitting a long steel scream, and the rolling horseshoes and sharp sword blades merged into one, rushing towards the enemy formation.

Dasode put down the long spear, the tip of the spear pierced the shield and armor, the huge momentum took it off the ground, and the barrel of the spear broke immediately.He dropped the gun barrel, grabbed the bone on his wrist, and slammed it hard on the head of the next opponent. His brain and blood were flying, and the impact of the collision paralyzed his shoulder, but he didn't care, and rode forward.

He Bayong's steel knife cut most of the resister's neck off. He turned sideways to avoid a thrown spear, and he vaguely heard the cheers coming from behind him.The Tubo banner had been forgotten on the muddy ground, and those who surrounded it either fled or fell to the ground.He Baron rode his horse over a slinger, chopped off a spearman's arm from shoulder to armpit, and then hit an iron helmet so hard that it gave him at least a concussion.When he rushed to the river, his horseman stood up, and Dasode followed closely behind. His body was covered with blood, and he didn't know whether it was the enemy's or his own.

"We won the battle, Captain Heba!" Dasode said loudly.

He Bayong took off his helmet, and his field of vision suddenly expanded. The river beach was full of fleeing Tibetans and frightened horses. The Tang Army knights had already dispersed, intercepting and capturing prisoners and horses everywhere. Indeed, victory There is no doubt that it is your own!
"Yes, we won!" He Bayong replied solemnly, and then laughed loudly: "This time it is our turn to win, and winning is even more enjoyable!"

(End of this chapter)