The struggle of the reborn prince

Chapter 387 Cannon Fodder Army

In the early morning of the next day, the little lords of Grand Duke Fikia's territory led troops to help, but the majestic castle that was once a symbol of power and wealth in their minds had been turned into ruins, and the stench of dead bodies was everywhere. There was a huge stove, billowing thick smoke and flames came out from the roof, and the countless holes in the building spewed out tongues of fire, and the billowing heat waves emitted made people afraid to approach.

Through the costumes on their bodies, the little lords found the grand duke and his wife who had turned into a pile of meat paste and the headless loyal captain of the guard Chiton Knight, which made them shed a few tears of sorrow.But after wiping away their tears and turning around, these little lords fought together. They all realized that the death of the Grand Duke was a good time to re-divide power and land, and everyone wanted to get the most benefit from it.But in the dark night, the main building of Grand Duke Fikia's Castle, which was burning like a torch, reminded the people around them not to provoke the Orientals, otherwise it would be the end.

News of Grand Duke Fikia's martyrdom quickly spread on the Somenian Plain, saying that a group of demons from the east destroyed the castle with artifacts, killed all the people in the castle, and took away the family's century-old savings, and Set fire to the castle.Now it is coming along the Tigris River, claiming to wash the entire plain with blood, and take away all the wealth and women. For a time, the whole plain was full of panic, and the lords, big and small, hid in the castle and stayed behind closed doors.Officials and nobles packed up their belongings and went to the imperial capital for refuge.

The expeditionary army didn't know that they had become the "demon" in the Seljuk population, but felt that the "flies" in the past were gone.But the closer they were to the imperial capital, the more Mawei and others felt the pressure. They tried a new method of warfare by attacking the castle of Grand Duke Fikia.Gained some experience, but also realized that his troops were weak.It was difficult to complete the siege of a big city, so they began to deliberately slow down the marching speed.Expand the scope of raids.

After the death of the two powerful leaders of the Seljuk Empire, Malik Shah and Nizam, the empire has begun to split. Build fortresses, attack the dynasty's army, and the empire begins to disintegrate.decades later.The empire was split into small Seljuk sultans centered on major cities, and the various dynasties fought with each other, weakening their ability to resist foreign enemies.

Sanjar, who is now known as the Great Seljuk Sultan, has also greatly reduced the actual control area, so that sending troops to Xiliao depends on mobilizing various forces to participate in the name of jihad.This allowed Ma Wei and others to take advantage of the fact that they were fighting on their own and were not under each other's control, and they were able to defeat each other.He lured them to give up resistance by respecting their religious beliefs, not interfering in their territorial affairs, and not looting their property.Of course, if something happens, it is necessary to directly siege the city and make an forced landing.When those little lords thought about the fate of Grand Duke Fikia, they would often hand over their private army to save their lives, land and property.

Along the way, the expeditionary force swept across the banks of the Tigris River, extorting and surrendering many local forces.Anyway, there are dozens of them, not too few.Thousands of 800 people are not too many, as long as they are not disabled, they will be accepted. Some of them want to use the strength of the Song Army to take the opportunity to expand their territory.There are also uninvited bandits who want to make a fortune with them, of course, including the private army 'Gulam' donated by the lords under the gun.With the expansion of the sweeping area.They piled up sand and formed a tower to cobble together a cannon fodder army with thousands of people.

And those 'Gulams' who were snatched by tricks were very obedient to their new masters.This may be the trend of their interests and want to get rid of their current status; maybe they are from nomadic peoples who believe in the principle that the strong are respected; maybe it is because they were born as slaves and the cruel training in childhood has already established the "obedience to the master" in their hearts. brand.Surrendering to the Song army was nothing more than being sold by the old master to the new master.

Ma Wei and others created such a team at first because they wanted to strengthen their momentum and thank them for leading the way, raising food, and running errands.But the cannon fodder is too capable. The cannon fodder army composed of professional soldiers is not weak in combat effectiveness, and they are merciless against their own people when they go to the battlefield, and they are even more brutal than ordinary troops. For example, when locusts cross the border, not to mention gold, silver and food, even the population will not be spared, and the last fire will "destroy the corpses and wipe out the traces".

In this way, not only did Song Jun no longer need to come forward and rush around for many things, but the team also snowballed rapidly as they attacked everywhere, and now the number has reached more than 2.And they also discovered that what the cannon fodder army did won the Song army the reputation of 'brutal', but it also made no one dare to openly confront it again.Seeing the continuous expansion of the team, Ma Wei and others felt that it would be impossible to go on like this, and they had to be reorganized to change their chaotic state of a group of three or a group of two.

With the approval and authorization of the expeditionary army commander Cheng Xishou, Ma Wei organized the cannon fodder army into three teams of [-] people according to the local customary practices and different sects he belonged to:

The 1th team is composed of [-] purchased 'Ghulam'. They are all well-trained and well-equipped heavy cavalry, with the Turkic knight Bakr who abides by the 'Ghulam' mercenary code as the captain.Because of its bravery and good fighting skills, it was called 'Attar' by the people in the plain, which is the name of the god of war in the Arab world, so this army was called 'Attar' army.

The [-]th Squad consisted of [-] bandits and some rebels led by religious figures who were attacked because of their different sects.Because they do not have a stable base, they are always under siege and pursuit. They are best at mobile combat, and of course they are also very skilled in looting, murder and arson.The post of Lord Wan was held by Mulek, a rogue Persian who once roamed the Zagros Mountains area and was now forced to "wander". People call him "Braq", which is a half-human, half-beast monster in mythology. It is also appropriate for them to have both good and bad reputation.

The 3th team has a large number of more than [-] people, including civilian soldiers captured by various armies, slaves, civilians who lost their land, bankrupt businessmen, etc., and their combat effectiveness can be imagined. You know, so you can only do some rough work such as moving materials, building fortifications, and raising food and grass. The commander of this miscellaneous brand is a dilapidated little lord named Sirode.

In his early years, Sirode owned two merchant ships specializing in the silk business between the Song Dynasty and the Seljuks. Because he could speak Chinese and understand the rules, he was deeply "trusted" by several generals of the Song Dynasty.And he also tried his best to be malicious and flattering, just like the "third grandson", coaxing the masters to be happy.But to his colleagues and subordinates, he considers himself an aristocrat, behaves arrogantly, and is famous for extorting and blackmailing the lords of the occupied areas. People jokingly call him the evil dragon 'Dahak', which symbolizes hypocrisy and evil in mythology. Poor people He was also unlucky with Mr. Wan and became the evil 'Dahak' army.

Ma Wei knew that although the team of [-] people was not satisfied with the number, but if it continues to develop at this speed, it will have to be overnumbered if it does not reach Baghdad.With the joining of the Concorde Army, the team of the Western Expeditionary Army has also doubled in size. Their mighty marching team stretches for several miles, and their power has greatly increased, which makes them look a lot better.However, in response to the old saying that a big tree attracts the wind, the rapid expansion of the expeditionary force finally attracted the attack of the army of the Seljuk Empire...

On this day, the expeditionary force dispatched a coalition of dragon cavalry brigade, Atar army and Brak army to attack the city of Jijiya, which is less than a hundred miles away from Baghdad.Now due to the large number of people, the consumption has also doubled, and this city is a larger city leading to the imperial capital. After it is captured, it can solve the problem of food and grass for the entire army for a month.Moreover, Ma Wei is very clear that in order to make these "cannon fodder troops" sincerely follow the Song army, deterrence alone is not enough, and there is no quick and effective method more effective than generous rewards, and the money needed is Can only rely on local money.

According to the experience of attacking the city these days, as long as they surround the city and show their flags, and then fire a few shots, the people in the city will ask to surrender and offer their property in exchange for not being washed by blood, but this time they kicked on the iron plate.When the allied forces approached the city, they were intercepted by a large army. Facing the attack of the allied forces, they took a defensive position with their cavalry in a neat formation, and fired waves of salvos with strong bows.

Wang Gang, the leader of the army, soon discovered that these knights were different from 'Gulam'. Their archery skills were superb, and they could accurately hit the enemy at a considerable distance. Our army knights caused a lot of casualties.He immediately realized that wasn't this their usual defensive counterattack tactic?It was just changed to a cold weapon version, all of which used long-range weapons to cause a large number of casualties to the enemy and consume their vitality. When the formation became scattered and morale was low due to excessive casualties, the cavalry charged again.

Wang Gang, who has seen through the enemy's attempt, can order to stop the attack, adjust his tactics and fight again.At this moment, Bakr, the captain of the Atal army, also discovered that they were not facing the army of the Seljuk Empire, but the cavalry of the Roma Sultanate from Asia Minor.It is a branch belonging to the Seljuks, which has always been attached to the Great Seljuk Empire and is in a semi-independent state.Decades ago, the Roma Sultanate stubbornly resisted the aggression of the Crusaders and kept the central region of Asia Minor, and their army became famous for this.

The main body of the Roma Sultanate's army is similar to that of Gulam, all of which come from slaves, and they must receive strict military training since childhood.But unlike Gulam, while learning various martial arts, they focused more on scimitars, spears, especially riding and archery.In the coordinated cavalry training, each soldier needs to pay attention to how to coordinate with the overall tactical unit. The most notable point is that 'they pay more attention to launching an attack in a tight and orderly formation'... (To be continued. .)

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