He asked softly: "Does Jiedushi Master Xie know about this?"
Lu Tao shook his head: "The military situation is urgent. He is far away in Lingnan. I haven't had time to notify him yet."
Su Changning said lightly: "Do you want to inform Xie Fu? After all, it is all the wealth that Xie Fu has worked hard for."
Lu Tao laughed: "Mr. Su, you are underestimating Xie Fu's pattern. If he was a man who respected his troops, he would not let the two soldiers disarm and return to the field. He is raising troops for the country and worrying about the people. He has already done so
Order, in case of emergency, the two troops and horses are at my disposal."
As he spoke, he took out something, which was the banner and letter of the Huainan Jiedu Envoy. With this banner, it represented the Jiedushi Envoy, who could dispatch troops, generals, and appoint rewards and kills.
After all, only if you trust someone can you hand the banner into the hands of others. Su Changning said loudly: "Master Xie is so righteous and upright, which makes people awe-inspiring and respectful."
Lu Tao smiled and said: "How about repaying him with a victory? What is the purpose of my visit this time?"
Su Changning said loudly: "Master Lu, if you have anything to say, please speak directly."
"After all, we are sending troops. If there is no legitimate name, it is tantamount to rebellion. Please give Master Su an order from the emperor."
"Okay, I will go and discuss with Mr. Xiao now, and in the name of the Emperor, Mr. Lu will be allowed to send troops to Hedong."
In early winter, Lu Tao was appointed General of Hussars and led 60,000 troops from southern Huaihe into the Hedong region from the north.
At the same time, Cui Sanfei, Minister of the Ministry of War, was appointed as the general of the auxiliary state. He led several guards from the capital and half of the elite of 30,000 people to march from the west to Hedong.
The capital's military strength has become very weak. This battle can only be won but not defeated. If defeated, the capital's important territory will be in danger.
Two armies attacked from the west and north. One was the Huainan Army, which was well equipped, heavily armored, and well-equipped. The other was an elite division that originally guarded the capital, and was equally well-equipped.
The two armies won successive victories, marching in parallel from two directions, and recovered most of the city gates on Hedong Road in just one month.
This Beidi army captured the entire Hedong Road. After occupying Hedong Road, the main force moved westward and stationed at Fengyi Plateau, east of Guannai Road and at the intersection with Hedong Road.
To the west of Fengyi Plateau is Tongguan, which is still in the hands of Shuofang's army.
To the south of Tongguan is the Yellow River and to the east is Jingou.
After the Han Dynasty, there was a saying about Tongguan - Anyone who guards the pass but does not guard the ditch is still not a good guard. Anyone who guards the ditch but does not guard the ditch and does not build twelve consecutive cities is still not a good guard.
Therefore, Shuofang's army set up twelve consecutive cities in the deep ditch and corridor of Jingou.
Because Tongguan was easy to defend but difficult to attack, the Beidi army was stationed at Fengyi Plateau to the east of Tongguan, besieging it but not attacking.
Its purpose was also to block the Shuofang Army's eastward retreat route, and at the same time cut off the Shuofang Army's logistical supplies, turning the Allied Forces within the Pass into a trapped army.
However, as the Huainan and Jingshi armies recovered most of the lost ground on Hedong Road and the two armies converged on Fengyi Plain, the situation of the Beidi army became unfavorable.
Fengyi Plateau is surrounded by high mountains to the north, the Yellow River to the south, Tongguan to the west, Huainan to the east, and the allied forces of the capital.
This is a war that cannot be avoided even if you want to. The main forces of the enemy and ourselves are facing each other in Fengyi Plain, and the war is about to break out.
Fengyi plateau geography is a loess plateau landform in the northwest. It has a flat and open top and is surrounded by steep slopes. This landform is also called a loess platform.
The Huainan army has a cavalry of 8,000 people. The horses they ride on are all good horses that came to Wenren Ranch. They are equipped with horse armor. The armor worn by the soldiers is mostly the top-notch armor, Mingguang armor and Red Lian armor.
Because the soldiers wore shining golden armor, this cavalry was named the Golden Armored Cavalry.
Among them, the heavy cavalry looked like a golden dragon circling the earth when charging into battle, so it was named the Golden Dragon, with a total of 6,000 people.
The light cavalry is equipped with a waist knife and an armor-breaking bow on its back. When fighting with the heavy cavalry, it is flexible and changeable. It contracts like an arrow and expands like a phoenix wing, so it is also named Silver Phoenix.
The main force of Jinlong is the Changzhou Zhechong Prefecture Army, and elites are selected from each Zhechong Prefecture to expand the number of troops.
The Changzhou Zhechong Prefecture Army was originally affiliated with the Leopard Cavalry Guard, and most of them were cavalry. Since the military competition and being equipped with top-notch equipment, these soldiers have long since transformed into dragons.
As for Yinfeng's main force, it is the Suzhou Zhechong Prefecture. The Suzhou Zhechong Prefecture Army is affiliated with the Shesheng Guards and is mostly staffed with archers. The Suzhou Zhechong Prefecture Army is also a well-trained elite who has experienced military competitions.
The reason why most of the lost territory in Hedong was recovered in just one month was that the golden armored cavalry played an invincible and invincible role, which made Beidi soldiers frightened.
The golden-armored cavalry never failed, and in just one month they were crowned the best cavalry in the world.
Zhang Shiyi, the commander of the Golden Armored Cavalry, was fully confident about the decisive battle with the main force of the Beidi army at Fengyi Plain.
Until they met another cavalry group in Fengyiyuan, looking at the Western Region, they had not lost in twenty years, and no cavalry could compete head-on with Beidi's ace cavalry.
Ten years ago, it was this ace cavalry that severely damaged the Hexi Army's good horse and heavy armor, making the Hexi Army, which was so powerful in the Western Regions, unable to recover since then, and its reputation was in vain.
Seeing the darkness in front of him and the murderous aura shaking the mountains, Zhang Shiyi's confidence was finally shaken. He did not expect that among the main force of the Beidi army was Beidi's ace cavalry.
On such an open battlefield, the cavalry that can charge into battle determines the outcome of the entire battle.
Looking at the Beidi Ace Cavalry, whose number was twice that of the Golden Armored Cavalry, Zhang Shiyi felt a heavy burden on his shoulders. He had to withstand the charge of the Beidi Ace Cavalry to win this main battle.
The horses' hooves were like thunder, the vast loess land was shaking, the sound of charging was deafening, Beidi's ace cavalry came like dark clouds, and the loess land was painted black wherever they passed.
The Golden Dragon Tribe ran like a golden dragon, followed closely by the Silver Phoenix, spreading its wings like a phoenix. Before the enemy and I could even come into contact with each other, the armor-piercing arrows had already rained down on the dark clouds.
Since he is Beidi's ace cavalry, he naturally wears heavy armor and is not afraid of swords and guns. He is not afraid of bows and arrows. When faced with the rain of arrows, he does not dodge and turns a blind eye.
But the arrowheads used by the Yinfeng Tribe are armor-piercing arrows made by the Su family in Jiancheng. Whether they can penetrate armor or not, the answer will be revealed soon.
Many cavalrymen in the front row of Beidi's ace cavalry were hit by arrows and fell from their horses. Obviously armor-piercing arrows can penetrate armor, but they can only penetrate thin armor parts. It is still difficult to penetrate the breastplate. Perhaps this ace cavalry is wearing armor.
It's also top-notch armor.
The Silver Phoenix Tribe could kill the ace cavalry, but not much. Although many enemies were hit by arrows, they did not lose their combat effectiveness.
The two sides fought hand to hand and reached a stalemate, with the golden light and dark clouds clearly distinguishable. This also proved that there was finally a cavalry in the world that could compete head-on with Beidi's ace horseman.
As the two sides penetrate each other, it is like the golden river water and the black river water turbid together, there is gold in the black, and black in the gold.
The main infantry forces of both the enemy and ours were also engaged in a full-scale fight.
This is a head-to-head decisive battle, with no skills, only strength and weakness.
The blood dyed the loess of Fengyi Plateau red.
One life is exchanged for another, and a victory for either side can only be a miserable victory.
As the golden-armored cavalry perished with the enemy one by one, the odds of victory slowly tilted toward Beidi. The golden-armored cavalry was no less powerful than the Beidi ace cavalry, and even had an advantage in armor, but the Beidi ace cavalry was twice as powerful as the golden-armored cavalry.
knight.
One golden-armored cavalry has to fight two Beidi ace cavalry. Even if they exchange one for one, or even one for two, they still can't replace each other.
The outcome of the battle has been decided, and Cui Sanfei made a decisive decision. There is no point in fighting anymore, leaving Qingshan without worry about having no firewood. If all the golden armored cavalry are killed in the battle, there will no longer be an army capable of resisting Beidi's ace cavalry.
Let Lu Tao lead the retreat from Huainan, and let him lead the remaining troops of the capital to cut off the rear.
Zhang Shiyi was furious when he heard the golden sound of retreat and the military orders were overwhelming, so he had no choice but to lead his troops out of the encirclement.
Under the cover of Cui Sanfei's remaining troops, Huainan was able to retreat part of the troops.
The capital headquarters led by Cui Sanfei was almost completely wiped out, and the rest were captured.
Although this Beidi army, which had Beidi's ace cavalry, won the victory, it also paid a heavy price.
Strictly speaking, they only repelled the two armies of Huainan and the Capital Division and defended the Fengyi Plain.
For the Beidi army, which had no rivals and swept across the Western Regions, this was not a victory at all, but a shame.
The retreating Huainan soldiers were scattered and completely defeated.
Heavy snow fell from the sky, and the yellow land was slowly covered with white snow, turning into a vast expanse of white.
Lu Tao looked at the less than 200 soldiers around him and felt extremely sad. He had squandered all the elite troops that Fu Xie had worked so hard to build, but still could not win the decisive battle. How could he go back?
After a cold night of falling snowflakes, the next day soldiers found their commander, Lu Tao, having committed suicide in the snow.
The troops in Huainan were scattered in all directions, so the scattered soldiers had no choice but to march toward the southeast, looking for the large army to join together.
It was freezing cold and there was a lack of supplies. Many soldiers froze to death on the road due to their injuries.
When I stepped into the Guanzhong Plain, I originally thought I could find food. However, after months of war, the Guanzhong Plain was already devastated and desolate.
As dusk approaches, the sky slowly turns dark, and it will soon be night. However, after a hungry snowy night, many people will freeze to death.
Seeing the comrades around them whose injuries were worsening and unable to receive treatment, everyone's heart sank to the bottom.
They may not be able to find the main force, they may not be able to return to Jiangnan, and each of them will freeze to death on this icy and snowy road.
If I had known such a useless way to die, it would be better to die in battle.
Thinking of this, I feel sad in my heart. This is the life of a soldier, fighting for the country and dying for the family. When the blood of a soldier fills the body, death is their return, either on the battlefield or on the road...
Someone sang a song from his hometown:
Where is the bright moon? The bright moon is in my hometown. On a snowy night, there is no trace of dew. It shines on the river bank and on the bridge, making thousands of homes warm.
I heard my mother say that in the songs of men, there is still red light in the snow...
Listening to the joyful singing, many men shed tears.
At this time of great sadness, someone pointed to the distance and said excitedly: "Look!"
When everyone looked around, they saw a wisp of smoke rising from the devastated land. The smoke was like a smoke of hope, igniting a blazing fire of life in the hearts of the soldiers who were despairing of death.
They were overjoyed and excited. They followed the smoke and finally arrived at the house before nightfall. They excitedly opened the door of the house.
The person who opened the door was an old woman who was bent over. Looking at the embarrassed soldiers with snowflakes on their heads in front of her, the old woman was obviously frightened and started to tremble all over.
One of the leading soldiers said weakly: "Auntie, is there anything to eat?"
The old woman trembled and said, "No, no, there's nothing to eat. I'll boil some hot water to keep warm."
All the soldiers looked disappointed. These places were devastated and desolate after the war, and any food they had had been plundered by the Beidi Army.
At this moment, a child's cry was heard in the house, which frightened the old woman and hurried back to the house.
While coaxing the child, the old woman looked anxiously at the dense crowd of heads outside by the red light of the fire.
Suddenly the smell of food wafted up, and a soldier immediately said excitedly: "There is something to eat!"
The old woman obviously heard what the soldiers said and became extremely nervous. However, these soldiers did not enter the house to search as before, but stood outside the door, not even daring to step through the threshold.
These soldiers are from the Huainan Army. They come from the land of law and order in the south of the Yangtze River. They are soldiers led by Xie Fu and Lu Tao. The soldiers under your command are what a wise general is like.
They are not bandits disguised as soldiers.
The old woman asked weakly: "Where are you soldiers from?"
A soldier said softly: "We are the army fighting against Beidi." He laughed at himself: "Look at us, we just lost the battle." But he was afraid of losing the face of the Huainan Army and refused to tell his story.
serial number.
The old woman had seen many soldiers who had lost battles these days, but she had never seen them like this. She reiterated and asked: "Of course I know you lost the battle, but I'm asking where did your army come from?"
All the soldiers looked embarrassed, but no one wanted to speak.
This appearance fell into the eyes of the old woman, who felt like a shy child. She couldn't help but said softly: "I still have some food, but you must first tell me where your army comes from."
The leading soldier had no choice but to bite the bullet and said hesitantly: "We are soldiers of Lord Xie Fuxie of the Huainan Army."
The old woman said excitedly: "Is it Mr. Xie Fuxie, the Jiedushi of Huainan Road?"
All the soldiers nodded awkwardly: "Yes."
"Children, come in quickly!"
As the old woman spoke, she hurriedly carried her several-year-old child on her back, got up, walked to the stove, and opened the lid.
A group of soldiers were flattered and entered the house. Because there were so many people, the house was full at once. The commander arranged for some people to leave and brought the wounded inside to avoid the cold first. The scene suddenly became noisy but orderly and not chaotic.
.
The old woman took out the food from the stove, but there were only a few pieces of potatoes, which were not enough to feed so many soldiers. The commander gave these pieces of potatoes to the wounded to satisfy their hunger and replenish their physical strength to resist the pain.
This scene of mutual love fell in the eyes of the old woman, and she became even more convinced that their identities were true.
It turns out that three years ago, Xie Fu implemented the policy of disarming soldiers and returning to the fields in Jiangnan East Road and Huainan Road, reclaiming wasteland and making it private, and exempting them from taxes for three years.
Some farmers who were oppressed by heavy taxes and were unable to survive went to the south of the Yangtze River as refugees. When Lu Tao saw a large number of refugees pouring into the south of the Yangtze River, he took the measure that as long as he was willing to reclaim wasteland and bear military service, he would re-register.
.
How could such a good thing exist in the world? The people who went out at first just wanted to give it a try, and they would not be able to survive if they did not find a way out.
It wasn't until someone brought the news back to Guanzhong that the poor people in the Guanzhong area knew that such good things really existed in the world.
The old woman's two sons went to the south of the Yangtze River to register as soldiers. They said they were soldiers but they did not have to go to the battlefield. They only had to clear wasteland and farm every day.
The country of Daguan has been heavily taxed year after year, and the people in other places are poor and hard-pressed. They are not as wealthy and comfortable as Jiangnan. Not every official is as concerned about the people as Lu Tao.