Chapter 427 Difficult March Road, Mantis Man in Charge of Chariot
The wind howled and the yellow sand filled the sky.
Li Zhigao led his three horses and walked on the desert in the strong wind.
He patted his BMW, the Mongolian horse that had been following him for the longest time.
As his main battle horse, he did not carry anything on him.
This horse was followed by two horses carrying weapons and baggage, and they moved more slowly.
He led the horse away, except that the wind was howling, the sandstorm had not stopped, and the horse could not go fast.
His horse is now extremely dehydrated and will soon die of dehydration as it runs wild in the desert.
Once the horse died in the desert, they could only abandon their baggage and move forward with light equipment, and would never be able to participate in the subsequent war.
The 4th Cavalry Division, as the vanguard, set off from Yumen Pass, preparing to attack the eastern Chagatai Mongolian city Hami, the closest city to them.
Li Zhigao was complacent at first, thinking that this attack would be easy.
The Eastern Chagatai Mongols are a weak force among the entire Mongolian forces.
Their Royal Army of Great China can easily destroy the strongest Monan Mongolia and conquer Mobei Mongolia.
It is very easy to deal with the Eastern Chagatai Mongols.
As soon as Li Zhigao set foot in the northwest region, the harsh natural environment gave him a blow.
The sandstorm blew up and it was impossible to see the scene ahead.
They were on the flank of the team, only ten meters away from the troops in front.
This short distance of ten meters is sometimes the distance between life and death.
In the sandstorm with visibility less than two meters, they lost track of the large army.
Li Zhigao turned around and shouted: "Everyone follow me, everyone is pulling the horse's tail, and you must not let go.
Everyone, you must believe me, I will definitely lead you out of the sandstorm and find the main force."
Li Zhigao just turned around and spoke, and his mouth was filled with yellow sand, and a large amount of yellow sand was also poured into his clothes.
The fine gravel scratched his neck, leaving bloody traces.
He could only turn around, with his back to the yellow sand, and glanced at the compass in his hand.
Based on the march map he memorized and his own location, Li Zhigao rushed towards the village closest to him.
He estimated the marching speed of his troops and found that they were not far from the marching route of the larger army.
Li Zhigao remembered clearly that division commander Huang Wenyu made special instructions before setting off.
If a team gets lost, head to the nearest village.
It is the best choice to go to the tribe on the marching route of the large army and quickly join the large army.
You can also get food and water by going to other tribes, and you can continue to survive.
As the sun gradually set, Li Zhigao led the team out of the sandstorm, but the temperature in the desert dropped sharply.
Li Zhigao ordered: "Set up camp and rest where you are, and try to maintain your strength."
They took out the tents from the horses and quickly set up a camp.
In the center of the camp, a small bonfire was lit with collected horse dung and grass.
Li Zhigao was wearing a thick cotton coat. He and the soldiers gathered around the campfire, eating toasted steamed buns with water.
He looked at the water he was carrying and saw that there was only half a jug left.
"Squad leader, we can still find some grass to feed the horses, and we are not short of food.
The biggest shortage now is water. We are running out of water.
The person with the most water only has one pot of water left.
If we can't find water tomorrow, we will have to drink horse urine, and there will be little hope of getting out of the desert."
Li Zhigao looked at the half-pot of water he had left and said in a relaxed tone: "Don't worry, everyone, we will find a village tomorrow. Where there is a village, there will be water."
He prayed in his heart that he had not judged the wrong direction.
The direction was correct. They were not far from the nearest village. The consequences of misjudgment were dire.
Li Zhigao arranged for the soldiers to stay vigil in shifts, and most of them went into tents to sleep.
In the middle of the night, I heard the howling of wolves and the neighing of horses.
Several gunshots woke everyone up.
Li Zhigao rushed out of the tent with a pistol in hand.
He saw the bodies of two wolves left outside the tent.
"Squad leader, there are wolves here.
I killed two wolves, and we will have meat to eat tomorrow morning."
Li Zhigao realized that the danger had passed, so he asked the soldiers to rest as soon as possible to conserve their strength.
Where there are wolves, there must be water nearby.
Li Zhigao was not familiar with the desert and did not dare to send people to search for water sources around it.
They had just entered the edge of the desert, and the environment in the northwest region was already so bad. He didn't even know what would be waiting for them when they entered the hinterland of the desert.
He was wrapped in cotton clothes and soon fell asleep in the tent.
Li Zhigao woke up early in the morning and took the soldiers to a meal of roasted wolf meat.
This is the best cooking method when water is scarce.
After replenishing his physical strength, Li Zhigao found a direction and they set off immediately.
The shoes stepped on the yellow sand, which had gone from being cold in the morning to boiling hot at noon.
All the water in the team has been drunk.
Some soldiers were collecting horse urine in water bottles.
Li Zhigao did not show a depressed expression, but was very happy.
"Everyone, please work harder. If we walk another ten miles, we will encounter a village."
They had seen a patch of low shrubs, which indicated that there was water nearby.
He remembered clearly that in front of the bushes was their target village.
When Li Zhigao saw his BMW, he was so thirsty that he foamed at the mouth.
He patted the horse's back and comforted him: "Xiao Hei, if you hold on for a while, you will have water soon."
They walked out of the bushes with smiles on all their faces.
He had already seen smoke rising from the sky ahead.
From time to time, you can still hear the neighing of horses.
Li Zhigao saw the dust flying ahead and a group of cavalry running towards them.
When he saw the flag of the Royal Army of China on the head of the cavalry horse, he felt relieved and turned off the safety of his pistol.
The cavalry on the opposite side reined in their horses not far from them and shouted loudly: "Which regiment are you from?"
"Li Zhigao, Second Brigade, Third Regiment, Fourth Cavalry Division."
"We are from the second brigade, we are from the third brigade. Judging from your appearance, you must have become separated from the main force."
The Royal Army of China is easy to identify, not to mention its unique uniforms and weapons.
The Han people and the people here in Dongchagatai are very different in appearance, their language is even more difficult to fake, and the enemy cannot perfectly disguise them.
Li Zhigao shouted: "Brothers in front, do you have any water? Give us some water."
The patrolling cavalry threw several water bags to them.
Li Zhigao and his men unscrewed the water bottles and drank heavily.
After quenching their thirst, they fed the horses with water in their hands.
The horses drank water anxiously, and their physical strength gradually recovered.
Li Zhigao breathed a sigh of relief and led his team to join the main force.
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Huang Wenyu, commander of the Fourth Cavalry Division, looked at the situation reported by Chief of Staff Wen Sheng.
"Our Fourth Cavalry Division walks from Yumenguan to Hami. This is the section.
Five hundred and seventy-eight people were lost, and there was no reinforced battalion.
This does not include the number of people who returned halfway.
If we fight a tough battle, we may not suffer this number of casualties."
Huang Wenyu looked at this number, and he was basically certain that this number was close to the number of non-combat attrition.
In the vast desert, these lost people can only survive unless they find an oasis and obtain food and water.
If they fail to find a water source, wait until they run out of food and drinking water, and are not familiar with the desert, the result that awaits them is death.
Chief of Staff Wen Sheng said in a solemn tone: "We still don't have enough understanding of the harsh situation in the northwest region.
Especially the great desert in the northwest is far more dangerous than the desert in the southern Monan region.
There is a common mentality in the military of underestimating the enemy's carelessness.
In addition to strengthening the teaching in the army, I think each company should be equipped with local guides.
In this way, if the company is really lost, the guide can lead them to survive in the desert."
Huang Wenyu frowned and said: "As for the guides, we have to wait until the government establishes effective rule before a large number of trustworthy guides will join us.
These Mongolian nobles exploited the lower class herdsmen very seriously.
They also control the herdsmen through sects such as Lamaism.
Now recruit a large number of guides, and it is very likely that some guides will lead the army to a dead end.
Only when the government allows the herdsmen to get real benefits and they start to support us can the guides be trusted."
When Chief of Staff Wen Sheng heard this, he continued to suggest: "Step back and seek advice, report to Governor Wu, and remove some Mongolian tribesmen who have surrendered to us as guides.
Their familiarity with the desert is better than ours.
At least it can avoid some disasters such as sandstorms."
Huang Wenyu nodded and said: "When we meet the main force, I will make a request to Governor Wu.
Our main goal now is to capture the city of Hami ahead.
It serves as the first line of defense for Eastern Chagatai Mongolia to resist our army.
As long as Hami City is captured, we can directly attack Turpan.
Abrun Mohammad Azi Khan is in Turpan, where the most powerful Mongolian army in Eastern Chagatai is located."
Chief of Staff Wen Sheng said in a relaxed tone: "We cavalry are not good at attacking cities, but for the small city built by the Mongols in Eastern Chagatai.
It can't stop us from moving forward.
The cannons carried by the army can easily defeat the walls of Hami City."
Huang Wenyu and Wen Sheng discussed how to fight.
They immediately held a battle meeting to discuss the battle plan for attacking Hami City.
The generals of the 4th Cavalry Division unanimously believed that they could capture Hami City relying solely on their own strength.
Huang Wenyu ordered the 4th Cavalry Division to attack Hami. Battelle, commander of the 3rd Brigade, acted as the vanguard to attack the city of Hami.
Wen Sheng watched Battelle lead his troops away.
He looked at Huang Wenyu and said: "The division commander's combat plan also uses the strategy of attacking the heart.
Let Battelle lead the Mongolian-dominated third brigade to attack the Mongolian-defended Hami City in eastern Chagatai.
These Mongols were accustomed to attacks between Mongolian tribes.
Except for the Mongolian noble tribes with ruling rights.
When other Mongolian tribes were inferior to others, they had no pressure to surrender to powerful tribes.
Many tribes are just losers. Whichever tribe is powerful, they will immediately sell their masters and join the powerful tribe.
This is also the reason why the tribes on the grassland can develop rapidly."
Huang Wenyu agreed: "According to our analysis of the situation of the Han people, the tribes on the grassland are in a very primitive feudal system.
The nobles of the large tribes control many small tribes that depend on them.
Their power structure is loose. As long as the core tribe is broken up, other small tribes will have no strength to resist us.
I hope Battle can succeed this time and capture Hami City before the main force arrives."
Wen Sheng smiled and said: "Division commander, our cavalry division does not need to be in a hurry to make meritorious deeds.
The northwest is so large that most areas are deserts and grasslands, which are suitable for cavalry operations.
According to the battle plan formulated by His Majesty, the infantry was stationed in the heavy city.
This is where our cavalry shines."
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Battle, commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Cavalry Division, led his men to Hami City.
He did not set up camp and prepared to attack Hami City immediately.
Battle looked ahead at the small earth city of Hami.
This low earthen city is inferior to the ordinary capital cities in the Central Plains, let alone a major military town.
"Send me people to the city and persuade the defenders in the city to surrender."
The soldiers received orders from Battelle, and they drove a middle-aged man with a beard to Hami City.
Holding the scripture in his hand and wearing special clothes, he walked safely to the gate of Hami City.
None of the defenders on the city dared to attack this man, so they used a hanging basket to carry him to the city.
Battle looked at this man. He was He Zhuo from the Baishan Sect.
The beliefs here in Eastern Chagatai are different from those of other Mongolian forces.
The neighboring Mongolian tribes all believe in Lamaism, but the Eastern Chagatai believe in the Fan religion introduced from the Arabian region.
The Black Mountain Sect and the White Mountain Sect are two sects that split into two sects due to power struggles.
In the eastern part of Eastern Chagatai, the forces ruled by Abrun Muhammad Azi Khan were dominated by the White Mountain Sect.
To the west of Eastern Chagatai, the forces ruled by Sutan Mahemu were dominated by the Black Mountain Sect.
This Hezhuo is the sect leader of a small tribe in eastern Hami.
All rivers and oases along the route of the Royal Army of China are controlled by the military.
This man did not understand current affairs and led the tribe to resist the army.
Battle showed no mercy and captured all of his tribe.
He could sense that this person had a very high status in the tribe and was suitable for delivering some news.
Battle did not wait until the city of Hami opened and surrendered.
Instead, he saw more than 3,000 Mongolian cavalry rushing out of Hami City.
Battle said in shock: "They didn't want to surrender, and they dared to rush out of the city.
Brothers, destroy these people for me."
Battelle led the Fourth Cavalry Division and charged towards these Mongolian cavalry.
He held a somewhat strange-looking pistol in both hands.
It's like installing a gun barrel on a flat box.
This is the arsenal that produces the Type 38 pistol, which contains thirty rounds of bullets and has an effective shooting range of up to 200 meters.
The new pistol is far more powerful than the previous revolver.
When Battle saw the Mongolian cavalry rushing forward, he held the gun with both hands and pulled the trigger.
"Hit me, hit me hard."
The gunfire sounded like fried beans, and the Mongolian cavalry in front fell one after another.
The Mongolian cavalry commanded by Baishan Cult and Zhuo are preparing to avenge the clan elders.
These hateful Han troops dare to let the clan elders eat vegetables fried in lard. This is the greatest blasphemy against them.
He was confident at first, as he had the most elite Mongolian cavalry in his hands.
He saw how powerful the Dahua cavalry on the opposite side was.
Hundreds of people were killed or injured in a short period of time. He immediately turned his horse around and ran back to Hami City.
The cavalry gave up the entanglement with the 4th Cavalry Division, closed the city gates, and prepared to defend the city.
Battle shouted loudly: "Pull the infantry cannon over to me and blast open the gate of Hami City."
The city gate of Hami City could not withstand the bombardment of infantry artillery, and the city gate was directly blown open.
Battelle led the cavalry and rushed directly into Hami City.
"How dare you not surrender? Those who act like chariots will never end well.
Brothers, clear out the resisters and completely occupy the city of Hami."