Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 156: Ge Yu Ruo Luo Xing (2)

As the altitude gradually increases, the climate becomes more and more severe.The march began on the second day, and it was extremely cold at night. The sergeants on duty had to wear leather hats and gloves. The skin would stick to the armor in no time, and when it was torn off, it would be a piece of frostbitten flesh.Be careful every time you camp.The hills are covered with hard snow and ice, and the flat land is covered with gravel, and no grass grows.No matter how you look at the high mountains and valleys, it seems that there are Turkic ambushes.The army marched along the river, breaking the ice every day to get water.

On the third day of the march, after passing through a rocky mountain formed by a volcanic eruption, the locals actually dug a huge cave under the rock.After camping at night, Huang Zongdao and several other officers enthusiastically asked Zhao Xingde to go and watch together. There were domes, murals, corridor columns, halls, etc. in the caves, and some caves were seven or eight stories deep and could hold ten thousand people.These caves, which look like ant nests, are said to have been built to avoid the Turks, but now they are all empty, and the residents who built the caves either died or migrated.

On the fourth day of the march, we sometimes saw dilapidated inns on the road.The decorations of the underground halls and houses yesterday were all in the Lumei style. Today, the decorations of these inns are already Turkic. Some courtyards even have mosques.Although the Turkic Sultan attached great importance to the wealth that business travel brought to the country, he could not prevent the tribes below from continuously looting inns and business travel.Now merchants from Xiaguo, Dashi and other places have switched to the Black Sea Sea Road, and the inns in this area have become more and more decayed.

A single shepherd lay in a pool of blood, lingering on his last breath, looking at the Lumei army passing by with hatred.The Antioch army plundered his flock without any politeness, cut his back twice with a sword, and stripped his leather jacket. For some reason, they didn't kill him on the spot, and the Lumei army who passed by didn't bother to make up for it. With this sword strike, the severe cold weather could kill him before midnight.A grinning peddler ran up to the heretic and sprinkled 'piss' on the pagan's head.Because of the narrow roads, the camps of the hawkers who accompanied the army were getting closer and closer to the army. Sometimes the camps were close together without distinguishing each other.Every time Zhao Xingde saw this situation, he would complain to Sima Xingjun that if he was in charge of the military law, he would drive all these traders away.

"Then the generals will be angry." Jin Changtai laughed.The attendants are always careless, and the spices, powders, food, etc. that the generals and nobles need are always not enough.The booty captured along the way should also be sold to these peddlers in time, and exchanged for easy-to-carry gold and silver coins.

On the fifth day after leaving the coast and marching, the wind howled continuously all day, like rolling thunder, and like the roar of Turkic horseshoes, which was annoying.While nailing the tent stakes into the ground, Jin Changtai complained: "Could it be that the old emperor is in a daze, and he wants to go out at this time when people are freezing to death." It's nothing." Sima Junfang smiled and said, "Brother Zhao has the most experience with the Lumei military system, do you know why?"

Zhao Xingde nailed the stake with a hammer, and said with a smile: "The Lumei people think that the severe cold will make the Turkic people and the big cannibals depressed. Therefore, it is easy to win by attacking them in winter." In the high mountains and valleys, he felt that there were Turkic cavalry hiding in them, peeping with wolf-like eyes.

"Wouldn't this horrible weather affect the morale of our army?" Jin Changtai sighed.

Zhao Xingde smiled lightly, perhaps the general who formulated this principle felt that the will of the Japanese army was stronger than that of the barbarians, which was enough to overcome the influence of the cold climate.But it is also unexpected, 100 years, hundreds of years later, what will happen to the morale of the army.The dying shepherd always comes to Zhao Xingde's mind.Zhao Xingde somehow remembered his appearance very clearly.On the face, there are rough wrinkles like bark, a messy beard, an aquiline nose, sunken cheeks and eye sockets, and cloudy and hateful eyes.After he inspected the sergeant's camp in Bendu, he came to Marching Sima, and he refused to let his mind and hands and feet idle, as if he could feel a little more at ease in this way.

Captain Duan Huaixian was just as worried as Zhao Xingde. In the past few days, the Imperial Guards of the Xia Kingdom have quietly replaced the cumbersome supplies of food and grass with light and easy-to-carry ones. They never ride horses when they can walk. When camping, they feed the horses first. In the middle of the night, I have to get up to feed the horses again. The skin bags containing water and blankets are placed next to the pack horses, the quiver of armored horses is placed next to the war horses, and the short soldiers, bows and arrows are placed next to the pillows. It is Shuanggang.When choosing a camp, try to avoid being surrounded by other camps, so as not to be inconvenient to get out.

When they first set off, the morale of the Lumei army was still high. As the march became more and more difficult, the emotions of the soldiers also became divided.The Antioch army in the avant-garde column became more and more impatient. Every time the Turks provoked, they would send knights to drive them away.The distance between the avant-garde and the main force is getting bigger and bigger.But among the main force of the Lumei army led by the emperor and the guard column led by the crown prince, anxiety is gradually rising. "Could it be another battle of Manzikert?" The whispers in the march became more and more pessimistic.

"The real problem is not the vanguard column, but the rear column." Zhao Xingde pointed to the marching map marked by Sima Junfang every day.The Lumei army is now divided into three parts: the avant-garde column, the main column, and the rear column. There are more than a dozen camps, forming a long snake formation on the narrow road.The Imperial Guards of the Xia Kingdom hold a military exercise every night to see how the Lumei army will react once they are attacked by the Turks.

"What's going on?" Duan Huaixian's eyes froze.Sima Junfang was puzzled and said: "It should be the Antiochians who rushed forward desperately and brought the whole army into danger, right? The rear guard column is still very cautious. The rear guard and the main force are both Lumei's regular army, so there is no problem in cooperating. .” Wang Tongdeng and several other centurions also looked at Zhao Xingde.

Zhao Xingde gave a wry smile. After reading sage books for 20 years, he didn't know when he started to subconsciously imagine people's hearts as extremely sinister.This is the same as the more intense the battlefield, the less excited and excited he feels, but calm as if frozen in ice.It was something he couldn't understand himself.

"The crown prince is in command of the guard column," Zhao Xingde said indifferently, "if the emperor dies or is trapped in the formation, he will benefit the most." He wouldn't go on this road all at once.

All the centurions looked at each other, and no one thought of this possibility.

Sima Junfang said: "Although this is the case, the crown prince John is a kind and weak person, and it may not be possible to do something that will kill the emperor's father."

Zhao Xingde sighed slightly, and said in a deep voice: "What if the Roma Turks bluffed to lure them? Even if he doesn't want to, he still has to resist the persuasion of his generals." He walked to the front of the map and pointed to the area of ​​the Roma Sultanate Said, "Sultan Roma occupies the land of Haixi, and although his wings are gradually full, he may still be unable to wipe out Lumei's entire army of [-] in one fell swoop."

Sima Junfang nodded, and added: "The Roma Sultanate has about [-] elite cavalry troops. If the Turkic and Dashi princes and tribal troops are called to help, they can conscript about [-] cavalry, but it will take a lot of money." A big price cannot be achieved in a short period of time, there must be a huge movement in advance."

Zhao Xingde nodded in thanks, and continued: "The Roma Turks have tried their best to lure the Lumei army to go deep alone. They must want to keep as many as possible." He pointed to the more than ten soldiers divided into three parts. The camp of the marching column said slowly, "The law of war says that if you are ten times, you will surround them, and if you are twice as many, you will attack them. If the location is favorable, you can reduce them accordingly. If I am the Sultan of Roma and I am short of troops, I will first intercept the Lumei army." For three sections, so that the head and the tail cannot look at each other," he swipe twice on the Lumei camp with his finger, and drew a circle on the Antioch army in the vanguard, and continued, "First concentrate our forces and eat the front army. "

"When the avant-garde column was eaten, try to hold back the main force of the Lumei army, so that it cannot make up its mind to retreat immediately." He paused, and explained to Duan Huaixian and other officers, "Because the main force of the Turks concentrated on attacking. For the avant-garde column, if Emperor Lumei wants to break through at this time, he should still be able to break out. If he wants to rescue the avant-garde column, he will be stubbornly blocked by the Turks." After thinking for a moment, he added, "The Turks may also Slowly retreating while resisting, gave Emperor Lumei the impression that with a little more effort, the former army column could be rescued. If Emperor Lumei hesitated in choosing to rescue the former army and break out of the siege, it would hit the Turkic people Feel free," Zhao Xingde moved his finger to the main column where Emperor Lumei was sitting, and drew a circle again.

"After the Turkic people ate the vanguard column, they besieged the main force of Lumei's army. At this time, even if Emperor Lumei wanted to break through, he would face many difficulties." He paused for a moment, then lit the rear column again, and said in a deep voice, "The Turks will definitely frighten the rear column with bluff, making them think that the front is a trap for the Turks to ambush, and they dare not approach the main column. If they hesitate again, they should eliminate the main column where Emperor Lumei is located, and then Siege the rear guard column."

Lieutenant Lieutenant Duan Huaixian and other officers were all engrossed. Although the outcome of this war could not be changed by five hundred soldiers, if the Imperial Guards of the Xia Kingdom wanted to escape, they had to consider the worst possibility. clear.Although the enemy's strategy proposed by Zhao Xingde contained a lot of speculation, but after careful consideration, there was a great possibility.

"Soldiers never tire of cheating. In the case of insufficient troops, it is safest for the Turks to ensure that they eat the front army, stick to the middle army, and scare the rear army. Will the rear army commanded by the crown prince approach the main column commanded by Emperor Lumei in time? It is the key to victory or defeat, and the Roma Turkic Sultan will definitely try to create reasons and troubles for him."

Zhao Xingde sighed, and said in a low voice: "Crown Prince John may not have the viciousness to put his father to death, but if there is a sliver of selfishness, he may be hesitant, leading to the catastrophe of loss of teacher and failure. And if such a dangerous situation occurs, The livelihood of our army depends on whether the Turkic people have been able to eat the front army and the main column of Lumei has not yet been fully besieged. Either follow the Emperor Lumei to move closer to the rear army column, or break through alone. Otherwise, it will be over."

"Could it be impossible to bring out the former army column?" Wang Tongdeng looked at Zhao Xingde with disbelieving eyes.

Zhao Xingde smiled wryly, and replied: "The time and place of the decisive battle are all chosen by the Roma Turks. If you were the Sudan, would it be possible for the Lumei people to rescue the former army?" Several lines were drawn between the camps of the former army, as if they saw with their own eyes that they were full of ambushes and traps.