It was getting dark, and all the Tang army units stopped one after another.
On this day, the Tang army's vanguard had only traveled more than twenty miles, and the long tail of the Tang army had just left Jiexiu. This kind of army that stretched for more than ten miles was rare in Jin.
Even when Li Yuan raised his army, there were not so many troops. Now, even though Li Tang is surrounded by enemies on all sides, he has to admit that Li Tang's strength has indeed expanded very quickly in the past two years.
On the shore of Fen River, the figures of Tang soldiers fetching water were all dark.
On other sides, the Tang army set up camps under the command of generals.
Of course, with an army of more than 100,000 standing in the wilderness, there was no way to build a proper stronghold in a hurry. The Tang troops on the periphery were digging soil, intending to replace the stronghold wall with trenches and piled-up earth fortresses.
As night fell, bonfires were lit, and the smoke shrouded the area of more than ten miles in hazy.
Most literati always imagine the scene of a powerful army that can swallow thousands of miles like a tiger. In fact, the most important thing about a large army's battle is often the details, and the fierce battle that ultimately determines the winner often does not last too long.
At the top of the moon, the noisy voices in the Tang Army camp finally subsided. The hungry Tang soldiers sat on the ground and started to wolf down their dinner, which consisted of corn, rice and pickled vegetables. Only those with military rank could take it out of their arms.
Some dried meat to chew on.
Only the more senior officers had their own tents, and the food was not very good. Most of them could only eat a piece of barbecued greasy bone stick and stuff themselves with corn rice that they were not very hungry for.
Li Shentong was in the Central Army and would not be idle at the end of the day. He immediately summoned the generals to the Central Army to discuss matters, and the food they ate was the food exclusive to the nobles.
Roast golden wild animals, eat beef and mutton, and drink dairy products.
This is a highly hierarchical group, and there is no need to question it. The same is almost true in Li Po's army. An army where the generals and soldiers share the joys and sorrows must be unique these days. The generals who lead such an army are not necessarily good.
of generals.
If it really gets to that point, it can actually only mean one problem: food and grass are scarce to the extreme, and the morale of the military is no longer stable.
In the darkness around the Tang army, there were still many eyes watching. They were assessing the strength of the Tang army's camp at night. Night battles were mostly the product of necessity, but they were indeed a very common method in large-scale military campaigns.
That night, the scouts of the two armies competed in the darkness, and the brief fighting and collision did not stop for a moment.
More than ten miles behind the Tang army, almost ten miles northeast of Jiexiu, along the northern foothills of Jieshan Mountain, five thousand Bingdai cavalry troops were quietly stationed here. Except for the occasional dull neighing of horses, the rest
Everything is covered in darkness.
The horsemen, who had become accustomed to this kind of life, drank cold water silently in the dark, gnawed hard dried meat, and when they were full, they huddled under the horse's belly and fell asleep.
They slept soundly and soundly.
Among them were Turks, Mayi people, Yanmen people, and Loufan people, but there were no new recruits.
After several years of fighting, Li Po had thoroughly tapped into the war potential of the border areas. Most of the cavalry that joined now were Turkic soldiers.
Almost all the people on the border of Daizhou, including adult men who could ride a horse and draw a bow, were under his command. If they wanted to expand the cavalry, they could only choose from Turkic prisoners, or wait for the new Daizhou men to grow up.
Nowadays, Li Po can no longer have too many scruples about the cavalry that appears in the Turkic surrender.
Because the Turks are indeed a good source of soldiers, they can quickly adapt to this military career that is different from the Turkic army. The only obstacle is that these guys have to learn Chinese.
Of course, with the increase in the number of Turks in the army, the previously strict military discipline of the Heng'an Town Army has gradually become more violent, so strict military discipline has become Li Po's mantra.
He wants to integrate the Turks into the army, rather than being assimilated by the Turks...
But no matter what, it is an irrefutable fact that the combat power of this cavalry army, mainly composed of Daizhou and Turkic people, is increasing day by day.
Li Po's initial concern that Turks entering the cavalry in large numbers would affect the cavalry's combat effectiveness did not become a reality. The Turkic prisoners were willing to break away from their status as slaves and join a powerful army, and for
Fight with a master who has proven himself to be wise and strong.
During the war, the strength of this cavalry army was more and more fully confirmed.
Snoring was everywhere in the darkness, and almost no one was tossing and turning in anticipation of the upcoming life-and-death fight, staying up all night. Most of them had already regarded this as a normal matter of eating and drinking.
Some guys even laughed in their sleep. They dreamed that they cut off the head of a high-ranking official and exchanged it for a beautiful house and, of course, a few strong and fertile wives.
Well, as the saying goes, what you think about every day and what you dream about every night, the desperadoes really didn’t call them out.
At this time, Xue Wanche was lying on a hill, with only his beloved horse accompanying him for more than a year. No one fell asleep, he just opened his eyes and looked a little tired, but under the influence of the war atmosphere, he became more and more fierce.
His eyes were staring at the clear sky in ecstasy.
He couldn't sleep, not because of anything else. He was already accustomed to military life, and war matters couldn't trouble him.
The reason why he is a little uneasy right now is because tomorrow's battle will be the first time that Xue Wanche will be on his own since he surrendered.
He has already felt that since returning from the battle on the grassland, Li Po has trusted him more and more, and today he has given an important task, and he seems to have the tendency to stand out among the generals.
This battle is very important to him.
The children of the Xue family have always made achievements with swords and guns. Now that Yu Chigong, Bu Qun and others are in front of them, what is the difference between him and Xue Wanche? It's just a chance meeting...
Xue Wanche fell asleep with his lips pursed. He didn't have a single dream that night. In the early morning, he jumped up on the hill, summoned the guards to help him arrange his clothes and armor, and sent an order to several leading military captains to come to him.
Come here to discuss matters.
At the same time, reports from the scouts also came to him one after another.
After the leading captains dispersed, Xue Wanche gave a loud order, and the entire army immediately broke out of camp and marched northeast.
……………………
The rear army of the Tang Army moved very slowly after leaving Jiexiu. Pei Ji, the deputy general manager of the Jinzhou Road March, was in charge of the army. In addition to the civilian men of the brigade, he also had part of the army's baggage.
Originally, Li Shentong wanted Pei Ji to stay in Jiexiu, but Pei Ji didn't want to. He came here for military glory, and always shrinking back was inconsistent with his original intention. If he stayed in Jiexiu, what would he have accomplished in the first battle?
Can it be said?
When I go back to the capital and meet that thief Liu Wenjing, I will definitely be laughed at again...
So the Tang Army's rear army was put under his control. Li Shentong did not push too hard on this. In addition to giving Pei Ji 60,000 soldiers to stay in the rear army to guard the food, grass and baggage, he also gritted his teeth and gave him 3,000 cavalry.
It's worthy of Pei Ji.
Of course, the rear army was actually integrated with the main army. In fact, the Tang army had no food supply at this time. All the baggage was carried in the main army, which was enough to last the army for two months.
In Li Shentong's opinion, if the enemy army cannot be defeated near Pingyao in two months, then it will be almost winter, and the army's return south is inevitable, so it does not matter whether there is a food road or not.
It can be said that with Jiexiu and Queshu Valley as his backing, Li Shentong, who believed that the army could advance, attack, retreat or defend, was already planning to fight the enemy with all his strength.
For example, Pei Ji's rear army was a bit more bloated than Li Shentong's central army. The addition of civilians' mules and horses did slow down the army's progress, but it could be considered that the whole army advanced, and it responded from head to tail.
This seems to be the most conservative way to deal with possible incoming harassment.
And with Pei Ji in charge of the rear army, this place would also be the domain of the Pei family, and the leading generals would be either descendants of the Pei family from Hedong, or under the sect of the Pei family.
In this battle, although the Pei family did not make any big bets, with Pei Ji around, Hedong Pei family had to spend many years of savings to support Pei Ji.
Originally, Pei Ji planned to take Xu Shiji and others under his command, but he was not stupid. He knew that the reason why these people were in the rear army was not as good as the generals under Li Shentong's command in leading troops.
If there is any advantage, they are much more precise in managing food, grass and baggage. They only have two or three generals who are accustomed to fighting. They are all members of the Kansai clan, and they have some problems with Pei Ji.
.
In comparison, the surrendered generals from Henan are a good choice, which can make Pei Ji feel more at ease.
Of course, Li Shentong would not agree. Such an elite force should be used in the right place. Moreover, he did not think that Pei Ji could suppress Xu Shiji and others...
Not long after leaving Jiexiu, he camped and rested for the night. When he was on the road again, Pei Ji, who was sitting high on his horse, looked at the mighty and advancing army, full of pride. Once upon a time, he, Pei Ji, could lead such a large army and fight on the battlefield.
Feeling proud, Pei Ji smiled and said to the left and right: "Who can stop such military power? If we and Li Po'er change places, haha, why not surrender as early as possible, and still be able to save my wife?"
After listening to it, everyone naturally agreed one after another.
This is obviously a joke. Pei Ji is not Li Ding'an, and Li Po is definitely not willing to compare with him, a lucky minister who is good at writing and writing.
By noon, the Tang army had marched more than ten miles, which was faster than yesterday. This was the inevitable result of the Tang army's self-adjustment. According to Li Shentong's estimation, Pingyao City should be visible in three days.
After lunch, the army continued to move forward. At this time, the Tang army's rear army had left Jiexiu for about twenty miles.
The rear army was in a bit of chaos and had no choice. There were many civilians, and the food and grass baggage was quite heavy. It was inevitable that they would become scattered during the march.
And Pei Ji did not have the ability to govern the army, to make the generals obey and enforce orders and prohibitions, so after only two and a half days and one night, the Tang army's rear army showed some signs of slacking off.