(We are about to enter the Year of the Tiger. Happy New Year, brothers...)
From Hengcheng Ridge Qinjingyi to the east to the Qinshui River that meanders from north to south. Although it is also undulating hills, the terrain is better than Wuling to the east with deep ravines and cliffs. Hengcheng Ridge is much gentler, and there are many large and small hills.
Small villages are located among them, with farming day and night, and fields crisscrossing the area.
If it hadn't been for the bloody and cruel war, this place would have been like a paradise where "cocks and dogs hear each other and come and go to plant crops." However, the crowing of cocks and the barking of dogs at this time are caused by the cavalry marching in the valleys of Pogang.
Xu Huai drove his horse up a hillock and could see a village on a long slope not far to the north. Many villagers were sticking their heads out from behind the village wall in horror, looking at the bloody battlefield that was about to unfold here.
It has been more than ten days since the enemy troops entered the Qinshui River Valley. However, they set out from Zezhou, went up the Qinshui River, crossed the Qinshui River from the ancient ferry east of Qinshui City, and surrounded Qinshui City. The looting along the way was mainly concentrated in the east of Qinshui River.
At this time, they had not yet spared their hands to plunder the villages in Wuzhai in the west bank valley.
This may give people the illusion that as long as the Qinshui garrison surrenders quickly and the king's flag is changed at the top of the city, peace will soon return to the Taiyue Mountains. It will just be a change of government to pay grain and taxes.
Therefore, for more than ten days, the villages on the west bank of the Qinshui River Valley have only thought about forming a stronghold to protect themselves. No one has thought about uniting, let alone taking the initiative to contain the enemy and reinforce the besieged Qin with 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and civilians.
Shuixian County is here.
After Zhou Jing and Wang Zhang blocked Qinjing Post, they also sent people to the two nearest villages, hoping to recruit more than a hundred village warriors as auxiliary soldiers to help build equipment and attack the post, but they were rejected.
Even if King Jing's flag was raised, the troops sent could not even enter these villages and were driven back.
Wang Zhang and others felt indignant about this, but Zhou Jing and others regarded it indifferently.
Xu Huai's state of mind was also calm and he looked at everything calmly.
Since ancient times, protesters have always been in the minority.
Even the Gong Gong princes above the court have groveled to this extent and only want to beg for surrender. Most of these villagers have never even entered the county town. How much awareness can they expect before they are actually being bullied?
?
These villagers need leaders.
Xu Huai quickly looked away from the village to the north and turned to look south.
Between Hengcheng Ridge and Qinshui River, if the soldiers on foot deviate from the official road and want to climb over the hills to get to Qinshui City, it will be very difficult for Qinshui City. Climbing uphill is very physically demanding, but
The cavalry can move in and out relatively freely.
Several small teams of cavalry from the Yiqi Battalion, led by Wu Chihai, Shi Hu and others, have occupied the hillocks on both sides of the post road. However, each small team of cavalry only has ten or twenty people. It looks more like a bluff and an empty city strategy.
.
In the direction of Qinjingyi, the sound of fighting could be heard faintly, with gongs and drums sounding and people screaming. Although the situation there could not be seen clearly from across a hillock, one could imagine the fierce battle surrounding the siege of the Yiyuan.
The Eight Hundred Riders sounded small in number, but with their horses and men, they occupied the post road and the shallow slopes about twenty feet wide on both sides. They were divided into three teams at the front and back, like a black torrent that stretched for about two miles, heading towards Qinjing Post.
Pounce.
Seeing that there was no obvious hesitation or hesitation on the part of the Fanqi advancing to the west, Wang Zhang smacked his lips and said: "Brother Wang Xian performed so hard in front of Qinjingyi. It seems unnecessary. These idiots didn't expect that we were digging in Qinjingyi."
There’s a big hole waiting for them to jump into!”
The hillock that Wang Zhang climbed with Xu Huai was the highest point to the west of Hengcheng Ridge, and they could have a panoramic view of Qinjingyi. Standing at their position and looking west, they could completely see the sound of fighting coming from the direction of Qinjingyi.
It was a unilateral performance performed by more than a hundred people from the Yiqi Battalion.
However, seeing the Eight Hundred Cavalry pounce forward unconsciously and believing that Qinjingyi was being attacked by a small group of enemy troops, Wang Zhang felt that their deployment was somewhat redundant.
"Strategically, we must despise all enemies. No enemy is invincible, even the red cavalry that dominates the world. In the long run, we can accumulate strength and defeat them. However, in terms of tactics, we are formulating and executing
When making a specific battle plan, we pay attention to all enemies, including the Yunzhou vassal troops in front of us - therefore, all tactical actions that can be prepared in advance, including scouting, deception, misdirection, and avoiding the enemy's edge before we are weak,
They are all necessary." Xu Huai kept Wang Zhang, Wang Hua, Shi Hu, Shi Xiong, Zhou Yong, Zhou Quan and others around him as bodyguards, not to enjoy their personal protection and attendants. Before the military academy was formally established,
Xu Huai could only help them make up for their deficiencies in basic military theory through words and deeds.
Xu Huai's reputation has nothing to do with his age or his origin. It is established by his nearly miraculous victories one after another, and by his demonic knowledge and insight that are like a gift from heaven.
In addition to Wang Ju, Xu Wuqi, Xu Wukun, Zhou Jing, Guo Junpan, Fan Yong, Pan Chenghu, Zhu Chengjun and other experienced generals, Xu Xin'an, Tang Pan, Yin Peng, Han Qi, Tang Qing, Shen Zhene,
A group of rising talents such as Yan Xiaoyi, Yuan Lei, and Wu Qihai all made Wang Zhang ashamed - these people had unreserved trust and respect for Xu Huai, and Wang Zhang's guidance to Xu Huai also
Don't dare to be lazy.
At this time, behind the first hillock on the east side of Qinjingyi, Han Qi personally led more than a hundred cavalry to gallop out and lined up on the post road passing through the top of the hillock and on the slopes on both sides. It seemed that he was trying to block the car with his arms, and sent more than 800 reinforcements
The incoming cavalry blocked them and bought more time for them to attack Qinjing Yiyuan.
Han Qi's move was actually to lure the Yunzhou cavalry who had already arrived at the foot of the slope to charge.
The enemy cavalry also resolutely lived up to their expectations. The horns were blown, and the snare drum placed in front of the saddle was beating rapidly. After hearing the charge order, more than 200 riders in the front formation quickly increased their speed.
, sprinted towards the hillock, and the cavalry behind them also shouted and drove forward.
Except for the post roads that have been repaired in the past dynasties, the slopes on both sides are not very steep. Hundreds of riders spread out, like a torrent going upstream.
Even though the number of attacking troops who appeared on the east side of Qinjingyi at this time was several times greater than what was reported previously, the general who commanded the army still did not become suspicious, or he believed that the troops who attacked Qinjingyi had arrived in batches and the number exceeded
The previous news reports were very normal and far from enough to contain their charge.
He had such a mentality mainly because the news reports coming from the Fenshui River had misled him, making him think that the small group of people who entered Fenshui during this period were the Western Army from Qinfeng Road or Xihe Road.
In fact, even the commander of the Chihu West Route Army had always thought that after their East Route Army withdrew from the Hehuai River, if the Yueting had a little guts, they would mobilize the Western Army to cross the Yellow River in large numbers at any time and move north along the Fen River to relieve the enemy.
Siege of Taiyuan——
At this time, an outpost horse crossed Taiyue Mountain and headed for Qinshui County. The commander concluded that it was a certain forward unit of the Western Army. Doesn't it correspond to the previous prediction and the news reports that came during this period?
In the northern part of Gong County, those who faced off against the Western Army reinforcements led by Miao Yanxiong and Zheng Huaizhong were mainly the Yunzhou Fan soldiers led by Xiao Qian.
Although the Western Army was well-equipped and its generals were skillfully trained, after entering the Gongxian battlefield, the Western Army's generals were slack and timid in fighting. Xiao Qian's generals felt this deeply over the past two or three months; and the two elite Western armies were fighting in Chi
The warrior's iron cavalry was so vulnerable before.
After the founding of the Khitan nation, the Khitan tribe who moved to Yunshuo was mainly under the jurisdiction of the Qunmu Division. The few elite soldiers and horses that Xiao Linshi finally had were partly drawn from the Yunshuo tribe, and part of them were vassal Fanmin Jianrui.
During the first northern expedition against Yan, among the defenders of Datong (Yunzhou), the Han army was the first to collapse without a fight, and the remnants were not trusted by Xiao Qian, Li Chulin and others. Finally, Xiao Qian and Li Chulin relied on Zhong to defend the interior.
The soldiers in the city were Datong soldiers and Bohai soldiers.
During the first and second Northern Expeditions against Yan, the Yunzhou (Datong) troops were extremely weak in combat effectiveness, and they were no match for the Dayue Tianxiong Army or the Xuanwu Army.
However, when it comes to morale, confidence and combat effectiveness, there is not so much mystery. Winning more battles will definitely make great progress.
Since the Yunzhou Fan soldiers surrendered to the Chihu people, they have marched south to attack cities and fortresses without any defeat. They also raped and plundered wantonly, completely revealing the violent side of human nature. It can be said that their morale and combat effectiveness have been greatly improved.
In Gongxian County, the Yunzhou troops were able to compete with the Western Army's reinforcements that were several times larger, and they were able to gain sufficient confidence in the Western Army.
Now the forward troops of the "Western Army", which may number between a few hundred to more than a thousand (any more, the valley road before and after Qinjing Station cannot be opened), is launching a fierce attack on Qinjing Station, and the commander-in-chief is coming with 800 elite cavalry.
Why not defeat them in one fell swoop and gain yourself the reward of marching thousands of households?
The general personally raised the flag and waved it, and ordered the left and right to charge forward vigorously. The 800 cavalry were divided into three sections and quickly occupied the east slope of the hillock like a torrent. However, the cavalry charging at the forefront passed by in sight.
The slope was obstructed, and when I saw the other side, I immediately realized that something was wrong.
Not only was Qinjingyi not attacked by force, the cavalry who had previously occupied the formation on the top of the slope dispersed to the two wings earlier, and just a dozen steps in front of them, three teams of armored soldiers were waiting in full formation with spears, large shields and crossbows. At this time, suddenly "
"Woooo" sounded the horn, and the shield soldiers raised their heavy shields and smashed them with each step. They would rather reduce their speed and maintain the stability of the formation. They held sharp spears in their spear hands and thrust them out from between the shield formations to prevent the cavalry from directly attacking them.
After the attack, the crossbowmen pulled the triggers one after another, fully loaded their bows and arrows, and shot a bunch of arrows towards the enemy formation.
The Yunzhou soldiers who had already built up their confidence saw a huge improvement in their combat effectiveness. The former soldiers who charged were all greedy and cruel soldiers. Although they were panicked when they saw this situation, they gritted their teeth, raised their swords and spears, and drove their horses towards the enemy.
Slashing and stabbing forward, the two streams of people quickly collided.
The guards around Xu Huaichao shouted: "Raise the flag and order the left and right Poling cavalry to immediately launch a charge to encircle and annihilate the Yunzhou cavalry..."
As long as the two hundred armored soldiers who dismounted and fought at the top of the slope could hold the front line, the eight hundred cavalrymen would be suppressed in the narrow and shallow depressions along the east slope along the post road.
At this time, they launched a charge from both wings. Even if there were only two or three hundred elite cavalry, they could directly smash the Yunzhou cavalry array to pieces, creating a better killing environment for the main force of four hundred cavalry on the west slope to enter the battlefield.
, it is possible to annihilate all the Yunzhou cavalry before dark and start the first battle of the tomb-defending army's eastward march.
Xu Huai also checked the leather straps of the armor between his neck and armpits again. After confirming that they were correct, he took the long-edged and sharp horse-drawn horse from the cow's hands and led the group of cavalry behind him towards the shallow slope down the slope in front.
