Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 154 Arriving in Youzhou in October (5)

In order to alleviate the difficulty of supply and avoid chaos caused by an overly large marching column, Emperor Alexei divided the army into more than a dozen columns.Every hour, there is a column heading east.Each column is accompanied by a convoy of supplies, which are fully loaded with supplies and other military supplies needed for dozens of days of combat.Most of the siege equipment was carried by the baggage convoys of several left-wing columns commanded by Crown Prince John.

Each column is composed of a mixed infantry battalion of archers, swords, shields and handmen to open the way in front, followed by a convoy of baggage. On both sides of the convoy of baggage, there are a small number of archers and heavy cavalry wing guards. The rear, in order to deal with the Turkic cavalry that may suddenly appear at any time.The Imperial Guard heavy cavalry column led by the emperor was behind all the marching columns.What surprised Zhao Xingde the most was that there were still a large number of peddlers driving carriages and marching in the column, but the Lumei army took it for granted, not only did not drive them away, but instead allowed these peddlers to do small business.At night, the merchants set up a tent outside the army camp, and sometimes they could still hear the noise of people.

This time the Lumei army came fiercely, and the Roma Sultanate adopted the strategy of fortifying the walls and clearing the country, sweeping away all the food and fodder on the possible marching route of the Lumei army in advance, and poisoning the well water, which happened several times After the poisoning incident, the front column was not allowed to dig the ground to get water, and the troops were carefully divided to protect the water source.The Lumei army can only march along the coast. Not only can they get food supplies from the sea, but they can also rely on many forts belonging to Lumei along the way.Abandoned farmland and cultivated land were constantly seen along the way, and as long as the marching route left the coast a little, it entered rugged mountains and plateaus.Almost all the fortresses of the Sultanate of Roma that were originally planned to be attacked were abandoned voluntarily, all surrounding villages were burned, and water wells were poisoned.

The Chengying Battalion where Zhao Xingde was located had been following the emperor's imperial guards, and the imperial guards were divided into several detachments, each of which spoke a different language.Sometimes Zhao Xingde was very skeptical that Lu Mei's officers spent more energy coordinating the army of so many races than considering the enemy's situation.

In addition to weapons, all soldiers, including mercenaries, carried axes, shovels, stakes, etc. used for camping. Whenever they arrived at the camp position selected by the advance detachment, part of the army was responsible for guarding, while the rest of the army The tools and materials used for camping were unloaded from the convoy, and trenches were quickly dug and fences erected.There are hope towers and beacons built in each camp, once attacked by the Turks, the news can be quickly spread to other camps.The camps of more than a dozen marching columns were connected in a string, separated by several miles, which could not only provide timely support, but also prevent partial defeat from shaking the entire army.

Looking at the army soldiers who looked like ants digging trenches and building walls, Sima Junfang sighed: "Although Lumei's marching and fighting is rigid, it is really not easy to make mistakes in this habit of fortifying a stronghold and fighting a dull battle."

But Jin Changtai said: "It depends on the situation. The king of Roma Sultan has no fixed place to stay. With this way of fighting, they will eat up the food and retire sooner or later." Zhao Xingde nodded, if Roma Sultan If the country has been holding back not to fight, maybe Jin Changtai can really tell. "Where is the main force of the Roma Turks now?" he thought to himself.

The greatest enemy of the meticulous Lumei army is the uncertainty of the enemy's situation.Every day, I only listened to the reports from the front columns of the Turkic cavalry, and there was no large-scale battle.Although the Sultanate of Roma is known as a country, it has a very nomadic habit and does not even have a capital. King Mesud led the main cavalry to wander around the Haixi area.If the crops planted by the original residents of Haixi land were mature, they would plunder most of them without mercy, and 'force' these residents to leave their homes, and the remaining land became the pastures of the Turks.

After marching slowly and boringly for two months, they finally came to the easternmost Lumei Fortress.However, the situation here made Emperor Alexei heartbroken.After a bloody looting, the corpses of border guards can be seen everywhere, and the destroyed fortress is empty.This is also the place where Emperor Lumei agreed to join forces with the Northern Legion. Right in the middle of the entrance of the city gate without a gate, a long spear was inserted. On the tip of the spear was hung General Andro, who was supposed to lead the Northern Legion to come to join forces. the first level.

Although he is no longer a rookie on the battlefield, Zhao Xingde still felt a little shocked by such a tragic situation: "It seems that the Northern Army is completely gone." There was a wry smile on the corner of his mouth, "I have been looking for the missing Rom for two months. The movement of the main army of the Sultanate is finally understood." Duan Huaixian had a gloomy face, as if he had a premonition that something bad was going to happen. "Add double posts at night." He ordered in a deep voice.Zhao Xingde nodded, it happened that Minghong was on duty tonight.

It was a very quiet night, Zhao Xingde kept his golden armor on all night, leaning against the low wall of the camp, except for the howling wind outside, the only thing he could hear was the loud quarrel between Lumei generals in the emperor's camp.Just about ten days east of this fort, there is a large lake which is said to be the wintering place for the herds of the Sultanate of Roma.However, if you go further east, you must leave the coast. The Lumei army has not entered that area for decades.The emperor and the generals were arguing endlessly whether they should go back home or continue to look east for the main force of the Roma Sultanate to invite them to fight.The complete annihilation of the Northern Legion dealt a considerable blow to Lu Mei's army.

In the early morning of the next day, Turkic cavalry appeared outside almost all camps.

The first thing Zhao Xingde saw was the lit beacon smoke from the camp in front of the column, indicating that he was attacked by the enemy. Immediately afterwards, dozens of messengers in the emperor's camp rushed out to learn about the enemy's situation. These messengers had just left the camp. Behind the mound, Zhao Xingde vaguely saw small black dots, which were more and more Turkic cavalry, rapidly approaching the camp.

"Get on your horse!" "Get ready for battle!" "Form up!" The command of the Imperial Guard officer resounded in the camp of Emperor Lumei, and was immediately translated into various languages. Mercenaries of different races put on full armor and marched Under the leadership of the officers, they assembled according to the battalion in an overcrowded manner.Most of the archers stayed in the camp to guard the baggage.Another part of archers and heavy infantry holding heavy axes and round shields lined up outside the camp.The heavy cavalry of the Imperial Guard mounted their horses and 'inserted' their spears into the soil. Once the enemy was too close to the camp, they would rush into the middle of the Turkic cavalry in a wedge formation, and use their spears and sharp swords to deal with these cavalry shooters.

However, the Turkic cavalry just galloped along the Lumei army's camp while bending their bows and shooting arrows, and even the speed of the horses did not slow down.The sound of humming sounded from time to time, arrows flying in the sky pierced the sky, and the Lumei soldiers who were constantly being shot in the head, face, hands and feet and other places where the armor was not enough to protect them screamed loudly, making Zhao Xingde return to the Hejian Army in a trance, and was besieged by Liao cavalry when.The Turks are very cunning. They keep a certain distance from each other, so that as many people as possible can have the opportunity to shoot arrows, and they don't form a group worthy of the attack of the reed-browed heavy cavalry.Whenever the Lumei heavy cavalry charged out, they immediately retreated, and kept turning their heads and bowing their bows to shoot arrows.Although the power of the riding bow was not great, it shot and injured many horses, forcing the Lumei heavy cavalry, who loved horses like their lives, to return to the camp and stay within the range of the infantry archers.

This tortured battle lasted for nearly two hours.The shooting range and accuracy of the riding bows used by the sergeants of the Chengying Camp surpassed the enemy's. Apart from sitting on horseback and firing arrows at the Turkic cavalry, the Chengying Camp did not launch an assault.This is a war between the Lumei people and the Turkic people, and Chengyingying can't afford to fight desperately.Just now a group of Lumei heavy cavalry chased a little farther, but they were surrounded by Turkic cavalry instead, and only a few cavalry escaped back.The Turkic cavalry couldn't take advantage of it, so they simply avoided their defense and only provoked from a distance.And General Lumei also transferred the archers who were supposed to cover them to another direction.

As the battle continued, Jian Cheng and many other sergeants began to curse at the candy-like Turkic cavalry. "Be safe and don't be impatient," Zhao Xingde said in a deep voice, stroking the Dawan horse's neck, "The Turkic people are so galloping and galloping, it will be interesting later."

At this moment, the ground began to tremble slightly, and just behind the hill where the Turkic cavalry appeared, a line of black spots appeared again, but this time it was the Antioch cavalry that appeared.The Antioch cavalry are all in full armor, they can only charge forward but not ride and shoot. If they are elite, they are not as good as the Lumei heavy cavalry, but at this moment they suddenly appeared behind the Turkic cavalry and cut off their way back. Its strength hits the enemy's weakness.

"Attack!" "Charge!" Without waiting for the Emperor Lumei's order, the officers of the Lumei heavy cavalry pulled out their spears stuck in the soil, and battalion after battalion of heavy cavalry galloped out through the gate of the camp.Caught between the Lumei heavy cavalry and the Antioch cavalry, the Turkic cavalry suddenly panicked, turned their horses' heads in confusion, and fled desperately into the distance.