The great hero of the Silk Road, starting from a farm farmer

Chapter 228 Let’s explain the truth clearly on the battlefield first and then talk about negotiations!
"Report! The good commander's troops have entered Haixi Fort and are now pursuing and annihilating the remaining enemies. Please ask the commander to decide how our army will act next."

Not long ago, I told my third uncle to let him decide the direction of the war on his own, but as soon as he entered Xihai Fort City, he sent scouts to ask for instructions on the next battle arrangement. It was really speechless.

"Let the enemy's command headquarters make their own decision. I am in the rear and will not deal with the enemy's affairs." Since he wanted to train his team, he had to be decisive. Song Yingkui had decided not to interfere in the command matters of this battle anyway.Third uncle sent someone to ask, but it was in vain.

It only took four days from the time the army crossed the river to the capture of Haixi Castle. In terms of progress, it was in line with the pre-war assumptions.However, this is just the beginning. Whether the strategic intention can be realized next depends on subsequent progress.

"Chief of Staff Yang, what is your staff's war plan after taking Haixi Fort?" Before the war, Song Yingkui had arranged for Yang Shunan to lead the staff to make a rough plan for the direction of the entire war, and had already issued it to him. Former enemy headquarters.Just to test the capabilities of several major generals, Song Yingkui did not look at their battle plans.So it's not that Uncle San doesn't know how to fight next, but he doesn't know what to do and doesn't dare to make a decision.

"The plan of the commander and staff is to take a break after taking Haishi Fort. After the logistics materials are in place, use Haishi Fort as a fulcrum to gather troops to attack Ningxi Acropolis." Yang Shunan introduced the staff's battle plan, While handing the detailed plan to Song Yingkui.To be honest, he was a little uneasy at this time.This was the first combat plan completed independently by the Yungu Army Staff without Song Yingkui's intervention. It was also the only combat guide that Song Xueliang could refer to on the front line. If something went wrong, the staff would bear most of the responsibility.

"How to deal with the Xifan soldiers at the mouth of Dachuan River?" Picking up the detailed battle plan, Song Yingkui did not flip through it in a hurry, but asked the question he was more concerned about.

Ningxi Acropolis, Haixi Fort, and the mouth of the Dachuan River are connected by the Huangshui River. Now that the Yungu Army has inserted into the Haixi Fort, it is equivalent to cutting the Western Fan's troops in the Huangshui Valley into two sections.The battle plan formulated by Yang Shunan and others was to attack the Ningxi Acropolis first, so the logistics fulcrum of Haixi Fort was in danger of being cut off by the Western Fan troops returning from the mouth of the Dachuan River.

"The enemy at the mouth of the Dachuan River will be blocked by the vassal soldiers from various tribes in Sunan and a battalion of our army. As far as we know, there are only more than 1000 Western vassal soldiers at the mouth of the Dachuan River. Our arrangement should be enough to deal with it. We will capture it as soon as possible. Behind the Ningxi Guards, the soldiers at the mouth of the Dachuan River are like turtles in a urn, with no way to escape."

After listening to Yang Shunan's report, Song Yingkui knew what the people in the staff were thinking. They wanted to seize land and annihilate the enemy.Thinking of annihilating more of Xi Fan's effective forces in the Huangshui Valley, this will pave the way for the Yungu Army to completely establish a foothold in the Huangshui Valley.

From an overall strategic perspective, this combat plan is no problem.The Western Fan soldiers were beaten painfully in the first battle. In the next few years, the Yungu Army could use a small number of soldiers and horses to suppress the Western Fan. This was a way to reduce combat costs.

However, the key to this plan is that the Yungu Army must win quickly in the battle of Ningxi Acropolis. If the Ningxi Acropolis falls into a hard fight, the front line of Haixi Fort will be attacked from both sides.

"How to win quickly in the battle of Ningxi Acropolis? Generally speaking, it will take our army at least ten days to complete the logistical preparations to capture Ningxi Acropolis. With so much time spent fighting on two fronts, the military morale may not be able to stable."

"Commander, we plan to launch an attack on Ningxi Acropolis within five days! In terms of logistics, after the army entered Haixi Fort, they only replenished emergency rations and then went straight to Ningxi City! Other supplements, You can solve it by lucking out while fighting.”

Only rely on the emergency rations carried by the soldiers to supply the war in Ningxi Acropolis?It's a bit risky.

The Yungu Army's emergency rations were provided by Song Yingkui based on his memories of later generations' portable combat ration bags.A barrel-shaped cloth bag was wrapped around the body, which contained fried noodles, luncheon meat wrapped in oil paper, sugar packets, and butter packets, enough for the soldiers to eat for about seven days.

However, Song Yingkui treats this stuff as emergency food. Unless it is absolutely necessary, it is best not to use the food in it as rations.But Yang Shunan and the others use it as the main front-line logistics support method.

After pondering for a long time, Song Yingkui stopped talking and chose to let them carry out the battle plan.After spending a night at Imjin Ferry, early the next morning, another military message came from the front line.The Xifan people sent envoys to Haixi Fort to negotiate, hoping to settle the dispute between the two sides through negotiations.

"Let the good commander send a message to the Xifan messenger, saying that I am going to explain the truth clearly on the battlefield, and then talk to them about war and peace. The war has just begun, and they still can't figure out the truth. It's time to talk. There will be no results." The stick was struck out, and without swinging it a few times, the Xifan people could not feel the pain of Yun Gujun's big stick.This time, I have to reason well with the people of Xifan before stopping.

……

On the official road leading from Haixi Fort to Ningxi Acropolis, Yun Gu's soldiers were marching.The weather is not too cold at this time of year, so you don’t need to set up a tent at night, and you can spend the night just relying on the military blanket you carry with you.

The cook squad gathered firewood and set up a stove on the bank of Huangshui River to boil water. The soldiers lined up with wooden bowls to get hot water.After taking the hot water, pour in the fried noodles and stir them together with chopsticks. This is the food for the march.

"You guys, put less meat and sugar into the bowls when you bring them. Eat them when the battle is serious. If you eat them all so early, where will you have the strength during the battle?" A grassroots team leader saw a soldier unpacking his lunch. The meat is wrapped in oil paper, and you have to put it into the bowl with the lunch meat, and just kick it up.Cursing stopped the soldier's stupid behavior.

Song Xueliang was also in the team at this time, also eating with a wooden bowl, but he had a felt tent and was not exposed to the wilderness like ordinary soldiers.

After peeling a preserved egg and eating it, he picked up the wooden bowl and drank the fried batter. Song Xueliang thought that if the bowls carried by the soldiers were made of iron, there would be no need for a special pot to boil water.Soldiers can set up their own stoves and boil water directly in iron bowls, and the emergency rations they carry with them can also be cooked in a variety of ways.

If there were more convenient marching kettles to carry water, the marching efficiency might reach eighty miles a day. Unlike now, the infantry can only cover more than 60 miles a day.

After marching sixty miles in one day, it took four days for the main force of the brigade to press under the Ningxi Acropolis.I wonder if Ningxi Acropolis is as easy to fight as Haixi Fort?

Without Song Yingkui by his side, Song Xueliang, who was leading the troops independently, felt under great pressure. As expected, the commander-in-chief was not that easy to do.

"Have Camp Commander Wei sent back any news about where they set up camp today and whether they encountered a large group of Xifan cavalry?" After dinner, Song Xueliang returned to the Chinese military tent and asked about today's military situation.

"Captain Wei's camp is a hundred miles away from us. The military information that came out at noon is that they have fought a battle with the feudal soldiers and defeated more than a thousand enemies!" After hearing this, the small staff officer from the former enemy's headquarters gave a brief briefing on the military information. .

"The enemy was defeated by more than a thousand people? How could Battalion Commander Wei's battle report be so careless? He sent an order to the forward team, asking them to provide details when sending battle reports later. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the headquarters to judge the military situation."

(End of this chapter)