The huge team of mules and horses buried pots and cooked food on the south bank of the Gupo River. After resting for more than an hour, the people and horses had rested their strength and were about to assemble again to embark on the last section of the road to Qinzhou City, but they heard a faint whistle.
Xu Guanshan, Zhang Xiongshan and others all stood up in alarm and looked towards the north bank of the Gupo River. Soon they saw several cavalry sentries they had placed on the north bank of the Gupo River in advance rushing back.
Although he was just a sentry scout, the horse was galloping, and its iron hoofs raised a large cloud of dust and smoke on the dirt road between the hillsides.
The sharp whistles pierced the sky one after another, which were so shocking and harsh, indicating that there was endless murderous intent hidden behind the rolling hills on the north bank.
"Cut the rope and abandon the goods!"
Although there were six to seven hundred people on this trip, Zhang Xiongshan, who served as the left-hand member of the Military Intelligence Department, had the highest rank, but Xu Guanshan was the head of Zhufeng Hall.
He confirmed that it was indeed the sentry sent by them to warn, and he was so urgent that he immediately ordered everyone to cut the ropes binding the goods, and throw all the salt bags, tea bags, and fine iron bags weighing hundreds of thousands of kilograms on the side of the road.
The iron rule of Zhufengtang is that people are always more precious and important than goods. When encountering gangs of bandits, you should fight bravely and actively to defeat them. If you encounter unstoppable enemy forces on the way, you should decisively abandon the goods and evacuate without hesitation.
Now, whether it is to facilitate combat, or the enemy is too strong and needs to be evacuated quickly, the cargo needs to be unpacked first.
What's more, during this trip, dozens of cadets and generals from the Warrior House were training together, so Xu Guanshan did not dare to have the slightest carelessness or hesitation.
In addition to the accompanying armed guards, the more than 400 horsemen and mule teams of 600 people are actually transport troops who have gone through many rounds of training and have even been on the battlefield - and they have been trekking between dangerous mountains and rivers all year round, and their temperaments are very good.
He is perseverant and is used to killing mountain bandits and route bandits.
After unloading the goods, they turned out the two leather armors in the package and put them on themselves, took out their swords, shields, guns and spears, led the mules and horses to assemble on the gentle slope to the east; the armed guards were all cavalry, and after the assembly was completed in front of the ferry
Quickly divide into two teams and be prepared to meet the enemy or cover the evacuation of the main force of the mule and horse teams.
Xu Fang, Su Mi, Han Qihu and others had already been exhausted by the lonely journey. When they heard about the enemy police, they all got on their horses as if taking medicine and were ready to find a ferry to cross the river.
"Su Mung, Han Qihu is the deputy general of the cadet army. Anyone who disobeys his military orders will be arrested and punished on the spot!" Zhang Xiongshan saw that the cadet army generals had also assembled. He got on his horse and warned sternly, "Xu Tan, you stay to protect me and
Xu Guanshan!"
When encountering enemy forces, the student team will of course participate in the battle, but it will not be allowed to fight hard or fierce battles unless it is absolutely necessary.
They are all the future seedlings of the Chushan Army, especially these student generals, who are even more precious.
Xu Tan Wuyong is already the number one among the younger generation in Chushan. He is good at swordsmanship, spear, riding and shooting, but he is brave and warlike by nature.
If it was a key battlefield that required a tough battle, Xu Tan could of course be allowed to lead his elite troops into battle, but at this time Zhang Xiongshan could only issue military orders and order Xu Tan to stay with him and Xu Guanshan.
"Xu Zang, obey orders." Seeing Xu Zang lower his head and remain silent, Xu Guanshan scolded him sternly.
Xu Guanshan was the elder of the Xu clan, and Xu Zang was somewhat afraid of him, so he murmured in a low voice:
"What a damn bad luck!"
Although Xu Tan was dissatisfied, he still came to Zhang Xiongshan and Xu Guanshan in despair.
Seeing Su Mung turn around and laugh at him, Xu Zang waved his fist angrily and shouted: "Leave some soldiers for me!"
They set out from Wuyang and arrived at Fancheng, Xiangyang Prefecture. They took a boat up the Han River and landed in Hanzhong. They then took the overland road and traveled westward through mountains and rivers to Wuzhou, and then turned north. When they set out, they already knew that the two armies of Chi and Hu were going to kill each other.
They entered the hinterland of Dangxiang and captured the city at an extremely fast speed. When they arrived in Wuzhou, an army of 200,000 red soldiers had already completed the encirclement of Xingqing Mansion, the capital of Dangxiang.
Although Xingqing Mansion (today's Yinchuan) is located 900 miles northwest of Qinzhou, the Chihu cavalry has no enemies to resist in Dangxiang territory. Even though the Chihu people have not actually captured Xingqing Mansion at this time, they divided their troops to the southern border of Dangxiang State.
It is not an inconceivable thing to carry out a mopping up, or even to attack Qinzhou directly.
Gupodu is only more than a hundred miles away from Qinzhou City. It can be said to be the core area controlled by the remnants of the Khitan. There must be a considerable number of Khitan cavalry in the northwest and north to defend and warn.
At this time, a large group of enemy troops was discovered north of the Gupo River. Except for the red cavalry, Xu Zang could not imagine which group of enemies could tear apart Qinzhou with lightning speed before it could react.
Its northern defense line covered it.
Zhang Xiongshan does not feel safe just because they are on the south bank of the Gupo River.
You must know that to the north of the Gupo River, the Yu River (the main source of the Wei River), which is broader and more powerful, flows on the Longxi Plateau. It is only twenty miles away from here. The two rivers flow eastward almost in parallel, and then west of Qinzhou City
Side merging.
The sentry sent such an urgent warning, indicating that the enemy troops they encountered had crossed the Yu River and appeared between the Yu River and the Gupo River, which made people so alarmed - and the Red Hussars have always been accustomed to using the whole sheepskin.
The floating bag floats across the stream.
Now their view is blocked by the mountains between the Yu River and the Gupo River. They don't know how large the attack on the enemy is, but they dare to directly enter the core area controlled by the remaining Khitan troops. Even if this army is not large, it must be extremely elite.
of.
The Khitan also had dozens of troops stationed at the Gupo River ferry. They were a little panicked at this time and hurriedly ordered the boats at the north and south ferry to gather to the south bank to prevent the enemy from riding and grabbing the boats.
However, the soldiers stationed at the ferry knew the identities of Xu Guanshan and the others, and had already received orders to facilitate the Chushan caravan.
Xu Guanshan sent someone to negotiate. The garrison hesitated for a while, but finally arranged a ferry to take the six sentries back to the south bank.
"To the east of Datan City, at the foot of Xingguo Mountain, thousands of captives rode near Huangyang Fort and killed them. They came from nowhere to cover up the killing. The defenders were trapped in Huangyang Fort. They were divided into several groups and headed south and east along the canyon mountain path.
To cover up the kill, our whereabouts were exposed and we did not dare to conduct in-depth reconnaissance, so we had to flee back hastily. There were more than two hundred cavalry behind us in pursuit. Perhaps we could kill them to the north bank of the Gupo River without even using a stick of incense. The direction of the other enemy cavalry was unknown, and it was unknown.
I wonder if they have any means to cross the river!"
The sentinel reported that they encountered a large group of red cavalry in Datan County.
Because they are not specialized military and horse scouts, their main responsibility is only to explore the path for the mules and horses to detect unnecessary risks. The terrain between the Yu River and the Gupo River is extremely complicated, and they have no way to explore in a hurry.
Be aware of all enemy situations; this is not a responsibility they can bear.
Xu Guanshan had visited Qinzhou three times before to make contacts, and was familiar with Datan, Fuqiang Village and other places in the west of Qinzhou.
Although Zhang Xiongshan was an old Khitan general, he decided to join Chushan and serve with Chen Zixiao and others before he arrived in Qinzhou with Xiao Linshi and his remnants when they were in Puzhou. Therefore, he did not have the opportunity to visit Qinzhou in person.
.
Xu Guanshan took out a topographic map, spread it out on his saddle, pointed out the specific locations of Datan City, Xingguo Mountain and Huangyang Fort, and briefly introduced the terrain conditions on both sides of the Yu River near Huangyang Fort.
As the main source of the Wei River, the Yu River mainly flows on the Longxi Plateau. Although the terrain is not as good as the Longshan Mountain in the east, the West Qinling Mountains in the southeast are majestic and majestic, but they also have continuous mountains and intermittent twists and turns in the canyons...
"King Xiao deployed his troops mainly in Tongwei, Longcheng, Jichuan and other villages to prepare for the Red Husbands. The Red Husbands' cavalry should have crossed south from the farther west, probably through Dangxiang and Nanjian Army Division.
After the Yu River, sneak along the south bank canyon to the territory of Datan..."
Although Zhang Xiongshan did not come to Qinzhou in person, as a member of the Military Intelligence Department Zuo Junjun, he was still familiar with Dayue and Dangxiang's forts in various counties and counties in the Longxi region, and his military quality was far beyond what Xu Guanshan could achieve.
Even if we analyze several possible routes for the Red Guards Cavalry to attack.
Qinzhou and Xizhou are mainly bordered by the jurisdiction of the Dangxiang people and the Nanjian Military Division (equivalent to the road in Dai Viet, where military and political integration governs local military and political power).
Xingqing Mansion, the capital of Dangxiang State, has been tightly besieged by the Red Guards. It is conceivable that even if the area under the jurisdiction of the Henan Supervisory Army has not fallen, it must be in chaos. Maybe they have surrendered to the Red Guards...
