At this time, Yuan Chonghuan had already come out and shouted: "What are you doing! If you don't go against me, let me know if there is anything that happens."
Only then did everyone put away their weapons and fierce faces. Wang Fuchen said: "Supervisor Yuan Mingjian, the camp arranged by the Chinese army is really uninhabitable. Please ask the Supervisor to order a different place."
Yuan Chonghuan said dissatisfied: "The army pays attention to order and uniformity. It is impossible to take care of everyone. There is only such a small area in the camp. If everyone has to occupy a good position and camp, it will not cause chaos. If anything happens in the future, don't report it to someone else.
In front of the enemy, I and General Liu don't have time to care about your trivial matters. Since you are new here and don't know the rules, let's forget it this time. Next time if you make a fuss about Commander-in-Chief's account, you will not be spared and you will be dismissed."
Yuan Chonghuan seemed to be angry. He ignored Liu Ziguang and walked into the commander's account. Wang Fuchen snorted angrily: "If you are not allowed to report beyond the level, then who should we contact to handle the affairs of our forward battalion?"
A flag officer of the Western Army said proudly: "The forward battalion has been assigned to our commander, General Liu."
Liu Zongmin said to Wang Fuchen: "Commander Yuan has ordered that the vanguard camp be returned to the Tongguan camp for dispatch. Why don't you enter the camp quickly before making trouble and engage in military law?" After saying this, he handed over to Liu Ziguang, as if to express his disapproval of the conflict just now.
He apologized but seemed to be provoking.
Liu Ziguang said: "Since General Wang Shen said that the camp cannot be occupied, he must not have fabricated it out of thin air. General Liu is in charge of the camp. Why not go and check it out? If they deliberately cause trouble, it will not be too late to deal with it under military law."
Liu Zongmin wanted to refute, but held back and said, "Well, I will accompany the general to have a look."
Wang Fuchen led everyone to a pond in the west of the camp and said: "This is the camp arranged for us by the Chinese army!"
Everyone looked over and saw that the pond was low-lying, with rotten grass leaves floating on it. The roofs of several tents could be vaguely seen, and there was a smell that filled the air. It was clearly where the entire camp was used to drain sewage and floods. It must have originally been there.
It's not a pond, it was flooded by a heavy rain last night.
Wang Fuchen angrily said to Liu Ziguang: "Commander, look at this, this is the camp they prepared for the forward camp! It is simply not a place for people to live."
Liu Zongmin said angrily: "That's how it is when marching and fighting. If you don't feel comfortable, go home and get into the crotch of this old woman. As long as you are still a soldier of the Western Army, you have to live here! What's wrong with the pond? If you drain it, you won't live in the same place. I
We didn't complain a single word when we were sleeping in the snow as soldiers."
Wang Fuchen wanted to say something else, but Liu Ziguang stopped him. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "Tell the brothers to drain the water, raise the soil to raise the ground, and set up camp."
After a long period of experience in the court, Liu Ziguang has become quite familiar with the ways of power. Although he carries the banner of General Zhengxi, he is unfamiliar with this place for the first time and is protected by an old superior who wants to seize power.
It's impossible. It's even more unwise to be aggressive and provoke a fight with the Western Army. They are obviously trying to deal with you. If you continue to play tricks, aren't you going to give them the leverage? All you can do now is patience! Wait for yourself
A large number of troops arrived and made a show to show these Western troops what the Red Shirt Army was.
The commander-in-chief had already spoken, and Wang Fuchen didn't have much to say. He could only hold back his anger and call the soldiers to come and work. Poor brothers in the forward battalion had been soaked in the rain all night, and they didn't even have hot soup, so they had to work hungry.
Life was like a mountain of military orders. No matter how hard or tiring they were, they had no choice but to endure it.
Liu Ziguang called Zhou Peigong again to explain a few words, which was nothing more than maintaining unity and putting patience first. Zhou Peigong nodded in agreement, but Wang Fuchen, who had a hot temper, couldn't help it and said: "Commander, what should I do if I can't bear it anymore?"
"
Liu Ziguang paused, stared into Wang Fuchen's eyes and said: "What you are experiencing now is insignificant treatment. I think it is completely bearable. Don't think of yourself as a red shirt soldier now, just think of yourself as a member of the Western Army."
New recruits, of course, if you really can't bear it anymore, you don't need to bear it anymore. Fight when you need to fight, make trouble when you need to, and if anything goes wrong, I will be responsible for it, but there is one thing, you are not allowed to lose! Have you written it down?"
Wang Fuchen's chest rose and fell. Liu Ziguang's words obviously gave him great confidence, "Remember!"
After solving the problem of setting up camp, Liu Ziguang followed Yuan Chonghuan into the city with three hundred soldiers. Ten miles to the west is Tongguan City, a fortified city lying between the Qinling Mountains and the Yellow River, controlling the exit of the Guanzhong Plain. This city and
Shanhaiguan has similar features. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the terrain is dangerous. After Liu Ziguang entered the city, Governor Yuan had already prepared an official residence for him. Even the three hundred guards had arranged clean and comfortable barracks, as well as warm rooms.
Fragrant mutton steamed buns are waiting for them.
After the banquet, Yuan Chonghuan led Liu Ziguang to the city to have a look. To the west of Tongguan is a long low valley area. At first glance, there is no trace of people there. There are only a group of crows hovering in the sky. Yuan Chonghuan pointed to the west and said: "That's where the Xixia people belong."
Camp, since the last time the governor severely damaged their vitality in the battle to defend the city, they have not dared to invade the territory for a month."
The city wall was rebuilt during the Hongwu period and was reinforced several times later. Although it cannot be compared with Beijing and Nanjing, it is still tall and majestic and can be called a majestic pass. Liu Ziguang noticed that the color of the bricks in the crenellations of the city wall was different in many places. It was obviously from later times.
It was repaired. It seems that it must have experienced many fierce battles.
Liu Ziguang picked up the telescope and looked at it. He saw nothing except the skeletons lying dead on the roadside in the distance. It was early spring, but there was not even a trace of green in the valley, and everything he saw was desolate khaki.
"What are the characteristics of Xixia people in fighting?" Liu Ziguang asked.
"The Xixia army is similar to that of the Yuan Dynasty in the past. It is divided into several levels of troops. There are the Qixue troops of the emperor's guards, well-equipped chainmail and good horses from the Western Regions, as well as ordinary light cavalry, Mongolian horses and curved horses of the same color.
The combat power of swords, bows and arrows is only slightly inferior to that of Qie Xue's army, but it has reached the level of the powerful Eight Banners of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. There are also artillery and infantry. These troops are numerous in number and complex in composition. They are composed of surrendered troops from various ethnic groups in the Western Regions.
There are also many Turks and Arabs, and of course there are also some Han people. Whether it is fighting in the wild or attacking and defending the city, the Xixia people are very good at returning artillery, building carts, ram carts, and kerosene tanks.
Skilled, it is indeed a difficult enemy to deal with."
Liu Ziguang sneered and said: "It sounds very powerful, but times have changed now. In front of the artillery of my Chinese army, all this is scum."
Yuan Chonghuan hesitated to speak. After thinking about it, he patted Liu Ziguang on the shoulder and said in the tone of an elder: "Ziguang, don't underestimate the enemy."
Liu Ziguang shrugged his shoulders and continued to look westward with the telescope. Suddenly a human head appeared in the telescope, and then the head slowly rose up and turned into a person and a horse, with an exotic pointed helmet and a lock woven with iron mesh.
Liu Ziguang was startled by Zijia, with his dusty cloak and tall horse. He turned and looked over again. After the horse passed by, cavalrymen dressed in the same uniform appeared on the entire horizon, a dense mass of darkness.
At this time, the lookout post on the nearby archery tower also discovered the enemy troops. He banged his clapper and shouted: "The Xixia people are coming." A long horn sounded on the city wall. Without Yuan Chonghuan's order, the whole city took urgent action, and a large number of soldiers
They ran up the city wall and took up their positions, the cannons adjusted their angles, the crossbows stirred the bowstrings, and the gun soldiers lined up in a row, charging the powder and bullets collectively under the orders of the small flags. They were very skillful in their movements. It seemed that they had fought many battles with the Xixia people.
This is the first time we’ve met.
There are more and more cavalry on the horizon, arranged in three horizontal lines, about ten thousand people, and then there are large groups of infantry, with various flags flying in the air. From a distance, it is chaotic but full of murderous intent. Tens of thousands of cavalry are coming from behind.
The momentum coming from the wilderness was frightening. Liu Ziguang looked back at his men. Each of the senior students in the martial arts hall looked nervous, their lips were dry, and their fingers were trembling slightly, but their eyes were still shining.
"Are you afraid? It's normal to be afraid. I was also afraid when I faced the Qing army's serial horses for the first time, but I'm still afraid. I killed them all in the same way, with two arms fighting against one head.
Even if you put a knife in it, you will die. Who is afraid of whom? Even if you run into it today, Governor Yuan has said that the Xixia people have not come to cause trouble for more than a month. Today, the first day you arrive, they come to join in the fun. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
This is a great opportunity for you to experience real city defense warfare."
What did Liu Ziguang think of these floating chainmails and pointed iron helmets with nose guards, equipped with small bucklers and scimitar bows and arrows? Some of the infantrymen wore iron helmets, and some had cloth wrapped around their heads. They had colorful clothes and weapons.
It is relatively monotonous, with spears and scimitar shields without tassels, and a large number of bows and arrows slung across the body. This bow is not a Central Plains style recurve bow, but a single bow up to five feet long.
The Xixia Army came to a stop just a stone's throw away from Tongguan City. One man came out and chatted for a while in an unknown language. Then someone translated in Chinese with a clear accent: "Marshal Yuan, we are here as agreed.
Those who take the money, hope they won’t disappoint us this time.”