On the night of the second day of June, Liu Chengzong did something big.
He called up Song Shouzhen from Black Dragon Mountain, Li Wanqing from the tiger's waist, Guo Zashi, and six other senior officers who had never served as soldiers.
Ten people ran to the barren hills on the south bank of the Yanhe River and dug a foxhole overlooking the Yanhe River.
The pit was neither big nor small, just enough to fit all ten of them into it, and the outside was covered with dead branches and grass.
In the second half of the night, a group of people huddled up in the pit to catch up on their sleep.
Until the early morning of the third day of June, when it was just dawn, the sound of trumpets from the west woke everyone up.
Liu Chengzong looked at the sky hazily, and after waking everyone up, he said: "Don't say anything now. I will tell you what I see later."
The sky is getting brighter, and the sun has not yet come out, but drums are already booming in the distance.
He didn't bring people here just to watch the sunrise.
Rather, I want my subordinates who have never experienced war or military experience to gain experience and watch the imperial court dispatch troops.
It also helps them know what level their opponents will be in the future if they take this path.
Do a good job in psychological construction, so that when you advance, you won't see the enemy looking down upon you, and when you retreat, you won't be beaten until you cry for your father and mother.
The sky was getting brighter, and horse hooves could be heard from the riverside at the foot of the mountain. There were faintly scattered horse teams. Some people continued to move forward, while others stopped.
"The first pond cavalry to go out, five cavalry and one pond, the standard is twenty-four ponds per road, covering the army for twenty miles."
Liu Chengzong served as the commander of Tangqi and was very familiar with Tangqi's business: "They are all light cavalry and are difficult to catch. Each of them is equipped with five-color flag spears, waist knives, bows and arrows. They are one mile apart and advance forward and backward."
His voice was very soft, and the people in the pit were breathing heavily.
Just at the foot of the mountain not far away, there are Tangbao cavalry stationed by the river. They can even hear the snorting of the horses.
Soon the sky became brighter, and half a red sun shed a red line in the rolling sea of clouds over the undulating mountains, separating the sky and the earth.
The Tangbao cavalrymen at the foot of the mountain straightened their backs on horseback, holding flags and spears in their hands and looking into the distance.
Tangbao cavalry is a dangerous profession, and they are on the front line of war.
They are the first to discover the enemy, and the enemy is the first to discover them.
But the benefits are also considerable. As long as you discover the enemy's situation and communicate it effectively, you can get a head skill after the war.
No one would have thought that on the mountain five or six miles away from Yan'an Prefecture, someone would dig a pit overnight and send troops to keep a close eye on them.
Liu Chengzong didn't know the government's specific arrangements for this battle, but he knew the time and purpose of sending troops.
The government is to wipe out the thieves in the Yanqing area, and their battlefield will be from Qingyang Prefecture to Yan'an Prefecture.
At present, there are fewer thieves in the west and more thieves in the east.
But Liu Chengzong was not sure whether the officers and soldiers would take this path.
It wasn't until he saw Tangqi riding towards the west carrying flags and spears that the stone in his heart fell to the ground.
He preached to his subordinates: "Tangqi covered the area for twenty miles, preventing the enemy from knowing the troop deployment, but the movement of the army could still be seen from Tangqi's advance.
Wherever the officers and soldiers go, Tangqi will advance in succession. From behind, Tangqi will come to him, and he will go to the front. The officers and soldiers are advancing eastward."
Liu Chengzong lowered his eyes and looked at the crystal hourglass in his arms. Less than a moment had passed since the trumpet was blown from the Yan'an Guard Camp.
The crystal hourglass is the trophy of Wangzhuang Castle. It originally had a self-sounding mechanism. When the quicksand falls to a certain level, the little man will sound the drum.
But now the little man and the drum have been dismantled by Liu Chengzong and kept with him as timekeeping tools.
He really wanted to get a watch, but it was difficult for watches of this era to meet his needs.
Since missionaries and overseas trade became increasingly prosperous in the mid-Ming Dynasty, Western clocks first entered China as gifts.
Up to now, China has been able to make Western clocks very well, and the cost is cheaper than Europeans. For the same price, Ming Dynasty craftsmen could make the smallest clocks.
But it is still very big, and the so-called small is only to the extent that it can be placed on the table.
The most advanced mechanism uses an iron spring, which is not portable and has no sound.
So relatively speaking, this hourglass, which is not too big, is more in line with Liu Chengzong's needs.
"The cavalry troops were the first to leave the camp, and then the infantry. I guess they all left the camp together and will arrive in a moment..."
When Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he grabbed the edge of the pit with both hands and looked westward, frowning tightly.
One after another, Tangqi ran towards the east.
Then everyone heard the sound in their ears, the rhythmic tapping of shoes on the ground, and the sound of people running by in armor.
"The horse army is coming."
The first thing that caught my eye was the formation of a phalanx of more than 30 servants and guards wearing Mingzha armor. They held up various flags and walked proudly into the rising sun.
The Qingdao flag, the golden drum flag, the five-color flying tiger gate flag, the leopard-tailed long banner that sealed the gate, the five marshal's sacred flags...the various satin flags almost covered the infantry square formation.
Only there is no official title.
Following closely behind, there are running footsteps, the clash of weapons and the sound of hoofs.
There are two inconspicuous plain-colored long flags. The left side is written to punish the thieves, and the right side is written to the Shanhaiguan guerrilla general Li.
Under the flag, four elite cavalry defended an armored general.
Behind him, two hundred horsemen formed four columns, leading their horses to the side, following each step.
The war horses are all fat and strong, with iron coverings and armor on their chests, all of which are half-dressed.
On the two outer routes, the horsemen wore crotch armor and armor and marched forward with weapons on their waists and hips.
On the two inner sides, everyone is lightly armed, with weapons and armor hanging on the backs of horses.
Behind the cavalry were twenty unarmored light soldiers, each leading four or five war horses and carrying pots of rice and grain on their backs, and five three-wheeled artillery carts.
The entire team ran forward silently, and soon passed the sight of Liu Chengzong and others, heading towards the east.
Broken.
Liu Chengzong said: "This is a well-fed army."
Only then did he suddenly remember the process by which the Ganquan Tiger was wiped out.
That battle lasted only two days. The guerrilla general Li Bei attacked three formations in a row and pursued for 160 miles.
First of all, Li Bei was not a guerrilla general. He was a retired military general who was eager to regain his official position by robbing thieves.
Secondly, if we include the march to Ganquan, Li Bei probably walked 260 miles in two days to beg for the tiger general's head.
The marching speed was terrifying, enough to eclipse Zhang Tianlin's proud record of 300 miles in three days.
The commanders who have never participated in the war can't see anything. They only think that this unit has manners and discipline.
Guo Zashi saw his ugly face and asked in a low voice: "My boss?"
Only then did Liu Chengzong come back to his senses, suppressed his worries about Zhang Tianlin, and said to everyone: "The four columns led their horses on foot, wearing armor on both sides of the mountains and rivers. They can prevent attacks on the road, and there is no time for armor.
They have more than 200 soldiers and more than 200 horses. Although the horses are very fat, their fighting method is roughly cavalry on foot, and they mount their horses to attack when encountering the enemy.
This march did not follow the normal rules of waiting for infantry. Li Bei should have planned to attack with cavalry. When the enemy and we are of equal strength, whoever uses this tactic will die."
After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he paused for a while.
Just when several chiefs showed sarcastic smiles, he interrupted: "But the rebel army and the official army are not the same in strength. Li Bei's tactics will work, like us? Ha."
"Ten thousand people are not enough for him to kill 200 people."
