Su Mung held the saber at his waist and stood on the city tower of Guantao County, Weizhou Daming Prefecture. He looked into the city with a solemn expression. The fire rose from the direction of the county government office and spread in all directions.
Su Mou led the front troops to bypass Daming City where elite enemy soldiers were guarding, and stormed Guantao City on the northeast side of Daming Mansion. The more than a thousand defenders were not able to hold on for long before they were defeated one after another, or jumped off the city wall.
They fled in panic, or threw down their weapons and surrendered on the spot. However, there were still more than a hundred elite Red Husbands in Guantao City, but they were extremely stubborn. Even after being chased and intercepted in the county government office, they did not give up resistance. In the end, seeing that there was no hope of breaking through, Yongxian County
The kerosene and firewood stored in the government office were set ablaze and the entire county government office was set on fire.
The weather was dry after winter, and Guantao City had been devastated by wars several times. At this time, most of the newly built houses in the city were thatched shacks. The fire had spread and it was impossible to extinguish it in a short time. The soldiers and horses who invaded the city could only
Was forced to withdraw first.
There were tens of thousands of civilians in Guantao City. Seeing the fire dragon spreading in the city, they all fled out of the city in panic.
However, the retreat of the civilians was far less orderly than that of the siege troops. They not only wanted to escape for their lives, but also were reluctant to lose their meager property in the sea of fire. When fleeing, they also wanted to take everything they could with them.
Thin clothes, pots and pans, bags of grain, raised poultry, small pieces of furniture and other items are not only the next best thing, but there are also large livestock such as cattle and horses in the city, as well as hundreds of carriages, all vying to get through the narrow city gate.
After escaping, the scene became extremely chaotic.
In order to prevent the city gate from being blocked, Su Miao once had to order to forcibly disperse the people who crowded at the city gate, temporarily blocking the people's escape routes out of the city, and first ensuring the safe withdrawal of the soldiers and horses who had entered the city.
This also caused some people to die in the flames.
Xu Zang took advantage of the ladder and climbed up the tower from the outside.
Guantao City is a small city. Standing on the city tower in this cold winter, I suddenly felt a scorching heat rushing towards my face. Xu Zang spat and cursed, "You bastard today, he is about to die. Don't forget to delay."
A few backers,” .??.??
Seeing Su Mung staring at the dozens of corpses of civilians lying on the long street inside the city gate, looking uncomfortable, he grinned and said,
"Most of the people in this city are from Han army families. They died as soon as they died, and they didn't mean to massacre them. Are you still afraid that the Sikong Mansion will hold them accountable? Well, you have deceived me.
Let's talk about how to fight next. Tangpan has to keep an eye on the enemy forces in Meng, Wei and other places to the west. If Yang Qiye ignores us, our two troops combined will only have 20,000 infantry and cavalry. Let's talk about 20,000 horses.
People eat what horses chew, and there are too few supplies in the area, so we don’t have the ability to play too big! Besides, I think Yang Qiye is unlikely to pay attention to us. The Sikong Mansion has already made a strategy to capture the Cao and Yun states first.
, to ensure that the Jingdong East Road can be recovered step by step after next spring - the Jingnan Expedition Camp has been deploying troops according to this plan these days. In addition to the Liang Shanshui Camp, the Jingnan Expedition Camp also has many troops and horses interspersed with Cao Yunzhou.
The hinterland of the country. Now it is suddenly proposed that the main force of the Jingnan camp should give up attacking Cao Yunzhou and cross the river from the north of Yunzhou to join us in Puwei. The risk is too great."
When Su Mou led his troops from Puzhou to Daming Mansion in Weizhou, he sent people to Anyang County to contact Xu Tan, who had led his troops to move and fight along the Zhangshui River after the winter. After all, Xu Tan controlled Sikong Mansion on the Yellow River.
There are only a few elite cavalry units along the midstream coast. Large units are interspersed in combat, and the coordination of highly mobile elite cavalry is indispensable.
In the early stage, Prince Ping Yanzong planned to concentrate his elite troops on the southern front and engage in a decisive battle with the main troops camped in Xuzhou. Knowing that he was unable to conduct a large-scale battle along the middle reaches of the Yellow River at the same time, he also ordered Puwei, Yunji and other places
The defenders chose to fortify their walls and clear the country.
Therefore, no enemy army dared to go out of the city to intercept Su Mung. Xu Pang led his troops to make circuitous routes on the north bank of the middle reaches of the Yellow River.
Although in the past ten days, Su Miao and Xu Pang have led their troops to the north of the Yellow River as if they were in uninhabited territory, and they have broken through seven or eight fortresses that were not so resolutely defended. However, such results are limited to guerrilla attacks and harassment.
Within the scope, there is nothing conspicuous.
Su Mung's main intention was to cut off the occupied area of Ping Yanzong's palace from the north bank of the Yellow River, forcing the main force of the Eastern Route Cavalry, which had suffered heavy losses in the Yizhou Battle, to either abandon all Han troops and their families south of the Yellow River.
Small, before the end of winter, from the ice-covered area east of Weizhou Either flee northward in a hurry, or stay south of the Yellow River and wait for death.
Since the founding of the Dai Viet Dynasty one hundred and sixty-seven years ago, the dams on the lower reaches of the Yellow River have been deliberately not built to prevent the Khitan cavalry from going south. The Yellow River flows eastward from Puyang, Daming and other places, and the rivers are divided. In addition, the large and small creeks originating from the Taihang Mountains are
It crisscrosses the Hebei Plain from west to east, forming a swamp area similar to a flood plain in the eastern part of Hebei.
This kind of terrain becomes more serious the closer it is to the Bohai Sea, and it covers a very wide area, extending north to the southern part of Jizhou.
Not to mention infantry, it is extremely difficult for cavalry units to pass through these areas during non-ice periods.
The current north-south passage across the Hebei Plain is mainly concentrated in Puwei Xiongding and other prefectures near the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains.
Theoretically, as long as the two states of Puwei and Puwei on the north bank of the middle reaches of the Yellow River can be blocked, except for the cavalry troops on the east route, they can withdraw northward from the eastern coastal areas during the ice period, while other troops will be unable to fly.
However, to realize this intention, Su Mung alone and the troops currently led by Xu Pang are somewhat insufficient.
Although the main force of the Donglu Cavalry suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Yizhou, they were not without the strength to fight.
Even in terms of the size of the cavalry that Prince Ping Yanzong could assemble on the East Road at this time, it was still far ahead of the cavalry and horse infantry that could be assembled by the camps in the west and south of Beijing.
Theoretically, it was necessary for Yang Qiye to abandon his planned battle plan to recapture Yuncao and other prefectures, and lead the main force of the Jingnan marching camp across the river from the east of Bianzhou, interspersed with Puwei and other places, and joined forces with Su Mi and Xu Peng to have enough troops.
The strength of the troops made it difficult for the main force of the East Route Cavalry to attack Puzhou and Weizhou easily. At most, they dared to retreat north along the eastern coast while the ice period was not over.
However, in addition to the fact that the existing battle plan of the Jingnan Expedition was being implemented and that Yang Qiye, as the capital of the Jingnan Expedition, had control over Su Mi and Xu Zhen on the battlefield, he was not subject to the control of Su Mi and Xu Zhen.
The main force of the Jingnan camp, which is dominated by the Jingnan camp, hastily tried to completely adjust the direction of the battle. Not only would supply be a big problem, but it would also be difficult to say that big loopholes would not be exposed for the high-mobility main force of the captive cavalry to capture.
"Why don't we go south and attack Caozhou?" Liu Huting came over and suggested.
The Yellow River has been frozen, so it is very convenient for them to move on both sides of the Yellow River.
"Why do we need our efforts to attack Caozhou?" Xu Zan curled his lips and said.
At this time, Xu Fang did not pay attention to the goal of Caozhou. If he really wanted to fight step by step, Caozhou was already in the possession of the Jingnan camp, so why did they need to join in the fun?
"It is unrealistic to think that the main force from the south of Beijing will come north to join us now," Su Miao said. "However, we will continue to move east of Weizhou, and we can even arrange for a group of troops to go to the north of Zizhou to reduce our momentum.
If we make it bigger, the soldiers on the East Route will not be able to see through our reality, so we may not be able to keep them here..."
War is never about a sword-and-gun fight between you and me, with clear routines. Most of the time, you are constantly pondering and analyzing the opponent's intentions and main movements hidden in the fog.
Su Mung was not so arrogant as to think that the main force of the Jingnan and Jingxi expedition battalions headed by Yang Qiye and Tang Pan would immediately abandon the drafted battle plan and all come to cooperate with his adventurous action; even though he spent a lot of effort this time,
Only then did he persuade Tang Pan to allow him to lead his troops independently from Bianzhou to conduct independent operations.
And he suddenly led his troops to the area east of Puwei, and invited Xu Zang and his troops to join him. The main reason was to confuse the soldiers as much as possible.
Just suffered heavy losses in Yizhou and were forced to abandon Jiqiu, Tancheng and other cities, and the main force of the east-route rebel troops withdrew from the north of Yizhou. I really dare to conclude that their troops interspersed between Puwei and Wei at this time were not from the west of Beijing or south of Beijing.
The main force of the cavalry in the camp?
The bleeding has not stopped at the wound, and they are even worried that the main force of the Xuzhou camp will continue to march north from Yizhou. The main force of the east route captive soldiers really dares to assemble the main force of 70,000 to 80,000 infantry and cavalry to attack directly when the situation is unclear?
Mushrooms fungus
Thought this possibility was extremely low.
Su Ming speculated that in the early stage, the East Route Lu soldiers would probably send a cavalry force of one to two thousand or more to attack them, cooperating with the defenders in Puwei and other places to test their strength.
In this case, as long as they carry out more determined interspersed operations in Puwei and other places, or even expand eastward and southward to the northern area of Zizhou, it is possible to mobilize troops and horses on a larger scale for the southern and western camps of Beijing and win the victory.
Enough time.
Only in this way can it be possible to keep the main force of the East Route soldiers south of the Yellow River before this year's ice period ends...
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On November 25th, Biyang City was still filled with the festive atmosphere of wedding lights and colorful decorations. In the early morning, mist enveloped the sky and earth, and the sky was not bright yet. Most of the people had not even stepped out of their homes.
The sound of horse hooves galloping through the long street.
Soon someone noticed that the sound of horse hooves today was unusual, too dense, and lasted too long.
Although the wars in Siyi, Yuncao and other places are in full swing, and the main forces of the Heluo camp and the Jingxi camp will cross the river and enter Hedong at any time, Biyang, as the location of the Sikong Mansion and the foundation of the Sikong Mansion, has always remained.
There are enough garrison troops and horses.
However, the garrison troops and horses are mainly stationed in several military camps outside the city. The scale of the city guards and county guards in Biyang City is limited, and generally they will not be dispatched on a large scale.
Even if the Duke of Pingliang travels on a daily basis, he will only have at most ten elite cavalry guards around him, and will not casually mobilize troops.
But this time, the number of cavalrymen passing through the North-South Long Street and heading towards the North City Gate sounded far more than ten.
The streets and alleys that the cavalry passed through had been closed by city guards in advance to prohibit intruders. However, careful people finally estimated that the number of cavalry out of the city must be at least more than 3,000.
Many people have doubts in their hearts: when did so many cavalry troops stationed in Biyang City, and where did so many cavalry troops go when they gathered out of the North City Gate early in the morning?
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In front of the military camp in the north of Biyang City, Xu Huai sat on the saddle, looking through the mist at the soldiers and horses assembled on the school field.
Including the two thousand military officers from the Biyang Military Command School, the cavalry units of the Selected Front Army guarding Biyang were mobilized, as well as the Biyang Prefecture Guards and all the horse infantry troops stationed in Yunyang, Tanghe, Wancheng and other places.
All gathered together, a total of 6,000 troops can be said to be the last horse infantry and cavalry troops that Sikong Mansion can muster.
"Don't look reluctant to leave. I will personally send these soldiers and horses to Bianzhou. Now in Tangpan, how can Yang Qiye and others let me directly lead the troops to the battlefield? In the end, I stayed in Bianzhou to dictate.
I may not be as good at this as Zixiao and the others,"
Xu Huai saw newlywed Yingyun pulling Wang Xuan and Liu Qiong'er over to practice for him. They both looked reluctant to leave and said with a smile,
"Besides, Zixiao, Uncle Qi and the others are still staring at me!"
Su Mi led his troops to leave Bianzhou in early November and crossed the river directly to enter Puzhou and Weizhou. After joining Xu Pang's troops, they moved on a large scale to the area east of Weizhou to contain and confuse the soldiers on the east route.
Main force.
Although the main force of the Red Hussars on the East Route retreated to Zizhou in early November and rested in Qizhou, they did not see through the reality of Su Mung and Xu Teng's troops. In the early stage, they only sent a small number of cavalry units back to the north bank of the Yellow River.
, cooperated with the defenders in Pu, Wei and other places to conduct a series of reconnaissance campaigns, but they were all defeated by the troops led by Su Mou and Xu Zhen.
Tang Pan and General Yang Qiye quickly noticed the hesitation and lack of progress of the main force of the East Route rebels who had retreated to Qizhou, Zizhou and other places, and realized that it was possible to severely damage or even encircle and annihilate the main cavalry force of the Red Guards on the East Road.
In addition to gathering a small number of cavalry from the west and south of Beijing, they quickly sent them to the area east of Weizhou to join Su Mung and Xu Pang's troops. They also tried their best to fight on the move and have the ability to fight in the ice.
During the period, the main force of the captive cavalry was pursued and intercepted. The horse and infantry troops gathered together and went to Puzhou, Weizhou, Yunzhou and other places.
The Sikong Mansion also carried out comprehensive mobilization at almost the same time, and even ordered the Heluo camp to temporarily suspend operations in Pinglu, Yuanqu, Tongguan and other places, and ordered the Xuzhou camp to rest and recuperate on the spot in Jiqiu, Tancheng and other places, suspending operations from
Yishan marched north in order to mobilize more cavalry and horse infantry to assemble on both sides of the middle reaches of the Yellow River.
Over the years, from the early military camps to the middle and later stages of the Zhisi and Sikong Mansion, Xu Huaidu insisted that middle- and high-level military officers gather together for training at regular intervals, which helped to eliminate the barriers between military factions.
To ensure the full assistance of all troops and horses. However, this battle was crucial, so Xu Huai decided to bring the main generals of the Military Intelligence Staff Department, headed by Chen Zixiao, to personally rush to the front line to supervise the battle and ensure the encirclement and annihilation of the main force of the East Route rebels.
The operation can be carried out smoothly.
In the past ten years since the Chihu people invaded the south, all the soldiers and horses have resisted and fought in these years. The total number of enemy troops annihilated was not one million but 800,000. However, the real heavy losses to the Chihu people's troops and horses were achieved with the victory of Yingzhou.
The most dazzling thing was that they left the bodies of 20,000 red soldiers in the north of Yingshui at one time.
Annihilating 20,000 elite members of the Red Husbands at once seems a bit insignificant against the background of the majestic war sweeping the world.
However, if one considers the size of the elite of the Red Hu clan, one would not think so.
In order to overcome the defects of thousands of years of bloody fighting, tribal changes, and lack of national awareness in the grassland, the Chihu people shattered the traditional tribal governance structure on the grasslands in the past when they unified the southern and northern deserts, enfeoffed 95,000 households, and re-established the system.
A new governing order for the grassland was established.
This also constitutes the most direct strength of the Chihu people.
After the Chihu people conquered Khitan, Dangxiang, Hedong, Guanshan and other places, they formed a force of millions of soldiers and horses sweeping the world. They were mainly composed of the elite lineage and various color-eyed cavalry to suppress the garrison. The scale of driving and supervision was even larger.
Surrender troops and horses.
However, what really formed the core of Chihu people's rule was the ninety-five thousand households established by Chihu when he founded the country.
After the new Khan of Chihu came to the throne, the princes were divided. As the second son of Zhennan Zong Wang Ulullie, he inherited 22,000 households, and on the basis of the elite soldiers recruited by the 22,000 households, he absorbed their early
The elites of the conquered tribes formed a garrison cavalry totaling as many as 60,000.
The great victory of Yingzhou, which may seem like the annihilation of 20,000 captives, was not too dazzling, but it was the first real blow to the core ruling power of the Chihu people.
The Prince of Pingyanzong inherited 24,000 households. After absorbing the elites of the conquered Zhusemu tribe, the size of the cavalry of its East Road Town garrison had returned to 70,000 before this winter.
However, in addition to the heavy casualties in the Yizhou battle in early November, nearly 90% of the cavalry of the Pingyanzong Palace are currently concentrated in Qizhou and Zizhou, south of the Yellow River and north of the Taiyi Mountains.
Once there is an opportunity to inflict a devastating blow on it, the significance will be greater than the annihilation of ten thousand surrendered Han troops, and it is even more significant than directly recovering Jingdong East Road and even Hebei Road.
At the beginning of planning the winter battle, Xu Huai did not even expect to severely damage the main force of the Red Husband cavalry this time. He mainly thought that the Zhuxingying would rely on the absolute advantage of the main force of infantry to advance step by step, forcing the Red Husbands to face huge military pressure.
They had to retreat step by step, and eventually had to be expelled from the Central Plains.
When Xu Huai was formulating many combat plans and arrangements, he mainly thought about "driving" rather than "destroying".
The Red Husband Cavalry is highly mobile, large in scale, firm in combat will, and rich in combat experience.
Even if Sikong Mansion could repel the Red Husband Cavalry time and time again, and even had a chance to defeat them, it would be too difficult to deal a devastating blow to the Red Husband Cavalry without enough cavalry to participate in the subsequent pursuit and defeat.
Now that he had the opportunity to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Donglu Cavalry, and to fundamentally damage the ruling power of the Chihu people, how could Xu Huai let it go so easily?
Otherwise, how much will it cost to put these 50,000 to 60,000 cavalrymen back into the grasslands in order to annihilate them and completely eliminate the threat of the Red Husbands to the Central Plains?
