"Report, the enemy is more than thirty miles away from me and is marching southwest.⊙"
It was afternoon, and Li Po listened calmly to the spies that came one after another.
More than thirty miles, this is a very dangerous distance for the cavalry army. If they march and fight normally, they should be at the edge of the scout's detection range.
If you have noticed that the enemy is nearby, then there is no way to escape the sight of the enemy scouts at a distance of thirty miles.
Li Po was a little nervous. This almost happened by him. It was really amazing to think about this kind of situation happening on the vast grassland.
An even more amazing thing happened behind them, as the Turkic knights rolled by and headed toward the southwest of Dali City without slowing down at all.
Listening to the incoming intelligence reports, the distance between the enemy army and the Daizhou Army became wider and wider.
Li Po immediately felt at ease. This was an unsuspecting cavalry army. Perhaps Ashina Erivo, who was about to ascend to the throne of the Turkic Khan, had strictly ordered them to go to Dali City quickly. Perhaps he was fainted by the good news.
mind.
Who knows, anyway, these Turkic elite cavalry lurking in the Yellow Flag Sea are swarming towards Dali City, and they are very fast. In fact, with such a rapid march, carelessness is inevitable.
"Send the order, all the troops mount their horses and set off."
As soon as the military order was given, the quiet army immediately became commotion. The vigorous warriors put on their armor, checked their steel knives and saddles, jumped on their horses, and quickly formed a neat queue.
Then, the army began to surge forward, first to the northwest, then to the southwest, almost following the path where the Turkic Jingqi had passed.
The army and the Turks have always maintained a distance of forty or fifty miles. There is almost no need to detect the enemy's traces. Their riding speed is very even and they will not stop for no reason.
And marching along their footsteps is the safest. If this enemy army may send scouts forward to explore something, then behind them is the direction they think they have least to worry about.
At this time, Li Po once again proved his ability to find fighters.
The military book left by Li Jing also made it very clear that in the grassland war, finding traces of the enemy without being noticed by the enemy is the most difficult part. As long as you do it, the chance of winning is 80%. If you are leading a group of
A large army.
That was it now. He easily found the traces of the Cru Guards. The enemy didn't know it yet, but they were followed by a thick, long and strong tail.
The most important point is that the tribes scattered on the grassland have disappeared. They either felt the tense atmosphere on the grassland and chose to leave the grassland for grazing, or they avoided this army.
This also allowed the Daizhou Army to avoid the Turkic eyes and ears scattered on the grassland.
Of course, finding fighter planes often depends on luck.
In fact, Li Po carefully and diligently avoided the possibility of a head-on confrontation with this Turkic cavalry, but if the battle was inevitable, Li Po could only wave his army to meet it.
Then, in a head-on battle with 20,000 Turkic elite cavalry, it is difficult to estimate the victory or defeat. But no matter what, in this case, regardless of victory or defeat, the Daizhou Army will suffer unprecedented heavy losses.
Li Po would not doubt this. He would neither overestimate the combat power of the Daizhou Army, nor underestimate the Turks' strong ability in cavalry battles just because of their repeated victories.
Undoubtedly, like this trip north to the grassland, it is an exciting gamble.
This is almost an indispensable link in war. Every decision made by a general who leads an army will actually be more or less of this nature, and this is also the most direct way to test a general's ability to lead troops.
Those who are too courageous, those who are too courageous, or those who are really unlucky will lose all their chips in these gambles. For generals, this is a process more cruel than the war itself.
Therefore, there is a saying that victory or defeat is a common thing for military strategists. It is actually full of the helplessness and self-mockery of the leader, or even self-comfort.
It was obvious that Li Po won the first game in his bet, so during the march he began to silently estimate where the Turks would settle tonight, and at the same time he was confident of winning in a single battle.
There are so many tactical options to choose from, and to obtain the expected results, the use of tactics is determined.
In the evening, the Turks finally stopped. This was already at the edge of Dingxiang County.
If no attack is launched, the 20,000 Turkic knights will arrive at Dali City tomorrow. It goes without saying what their arrival will bring to Ashina Erivo.
He will quickly stabilize the situation in the royal court and begin to exercise the power of the Turkic Khan step by step.
The autumn wind on the grassland whizzes past the grassland with a bone-deep coolness. This is the prelude to the arrival of winter. It also means that the harvest season on the grassland has arrived.
This year, the Turkic tribes in Yunzhong Grassland are not doing well.
At the beginning of the year, many tribal nobles took the strongest adult warriors in the tribe and followed the Khan south to attack the Sui people.
As a result, they all returned disappointed, and some tribes suffered heavy losses. In order to support the army, they also suffered heavy losses in cattle and sheep.
Not to mention, the benevolent Khan passed away, the grassland began to become turbulent, and the tribes moved northward one after another.
As time goes by, it is conceivable that some tribes will disappear in the cold winter. This is an unchangeable and cruel law on the grassland.
Kruhu and Ashinakofen were talking in the tent about what kind of decree the Khan would issue to appease the tribes on the Yunzhong Grassland.
This is not a trivial matter, it is related to the stability of the main Turkic tribe and even the Turkic royal court.
They were drunk and complained about some of Shibi Khan's actions, which made the Turkic royal court weak. Of course, Shibi Khan's poor ability to lead troops in battle was the focus of their attack.
The Sui people led their armies southward twice, causing the Turks to shed too much blood. The Sui people, who fell into civil strife, left the powerful Turkic Khanate with nothing to do. This should be a shame to all Turkic people.
Kruhu laughed and said that if the Khan wanted to lead his troops south to attack the Sui people, he would definitely be able to chop off the head of the Sui general whose hands were stained with the blood of the Turkic warriors and offer it to the Khan as a wine cup.
Ashina Kefeng was also very interested in this topic. The name of the Sui general named Li Po had already spread on the grasslands.
Turks worship the strong, and powerful enemies attract their attention.
The two of them talked about this topic for a long time before falling asleep under the influence of milk wine.
After such a fast march, Dingxiang County was already in sight. Needless to say, the Turkic warriors made a choice. They habitually used milk wine as a good medicine to relieve fatigue.
At the height of the moon, the grassland finally became quiet. In the darkness, the embers of the campfire were still shining brightly.
Men were snoring one after another, and tired war horses stood on the grassland like sculptures, also falling into a deep sleep.
But dozens of miles away behind them, the Daizhou Army only slept for half a restful night, and then they woke up one after another under the kicks of the officers.
Although the voice of the messenger has been lowered, it is still clearly conveyed in the autumn wind of the grassland.
"Wrap the horse's hoof with cloth, hurry up."
"Damn it, if anyone scares the horse then, I'll kill him..."
"Leave the horses where they are."
"Food? Damn it, you know how to eat. Leave it all here for me. Just bring the rations for tomorrow morning."
After the brief chaos, when all the ministries were ready, Li Po immediately sent the order without further delay.
Marching in the dark night on the grassland was not too easy. He walked slowly for more than twenty miles and estimated the distance. Then Li Po ordered the entire army to dismount and walk.
This process was also a bit difficult and caused some confusion.
Night battles on the grasslands are extremely rare. The fundamental reason is not due to night blindness, but because military orders are not smooth at night and marching is difficult. It is very easy to fall into a situation of confusing and killing each other before facing the enemy.
Some people will definitely say that the grassland is so flat that all you need to do is ride a horse and kill it. How can it not be easy?
Well, to tell you the truth, the flatness on the grassland is relative. Most of its terrain also has ups and downs, and there are always a lot of ditches and bumps. You can naturally fly by during the day without worrying too much, but at night, there are only two
Having said that...
Night battles have never been a regular choice for grassland battles. Even when the grassland tribes conquered, the leading generals would automatically skip this option.
Li Po, who had spent several years on the grasslands and once led his cavalry to march at night, understood the factors that restricted cavalry operations, so there would be no fighting this night.
He was just leading the army and approaching the enemy step by step.
It's like hunting. You approach the prey quietly, and the moment the prey notices it, the arrow is already at your neck. This is a good hunter.
Rolling on the ground with the prey, fighting to the death, okay, who is the hunter and who is the prey?
Li Po carefully determined the direction. Under the starlight, his flag fluttered in the wind, guiding the army forward.
I don't know how long it took, but the scouts in front returned one by one, making Li Po's sense of direction clearer.
Finally, a little light appeared in the front, which was the unextinguished bonfire in the Turkic camp.
The distance is not far, but it is definitely not close either. Li Po is well aware of the visual illusion.
Closer, closer.
Li Po finally stopped and immediately issued an order, "The whole army will rest on the spot."
Even so, during the process of passing the order, the army still moved forward a certain distance according to inertia, and there was no need to mention the formation.
The army finally stopped amidst the chaotic sounds. Li Po breathed in the cold air of the grassland, stared at the dots of fire in the distance, and waited quietly for a long moment before letting out a long breath.
At this time, he was finally sure that the sword was at his neck, the enemy had not noticed anything yet, and victory was close at hand.
Waiting, tracking, covering up, only the last step is left to defeat them.