In fact, Liu Ziguang did not intend to snatch Meng Dan's sweetheart, but this was just a part of his plan. The Hetao area was fertile and rich in minerals. It was an area that must be occupied, and through the Hetao area, he could penetrate deep into the rear of the Xixia people.
, catching them off guard.
Because of this, Liu Ziguang "reluctantly" agreed to Huo Lingyao's request and agreed to admit his return to the tribe at the cost of marrying her. Because he knew that there were few Han people in the Hetao area and it was impossible to move a large number of Han people there in a short time, so he had to rely on
Of course, for the local tribesmen, this was just an excess. How could Liu Ziguang, a Han nationalist, allow an alien regime to exist in the upper reaches of the Yellow River?
Marrying Princess Xiangxiang is the first step towards assimilation. With intermarriage between the Hui and Han Dynasties and religious freedom, sooner or later the Hui tribe will blend into the embrace of the Han people.
For these reasons, Liu Ziguang took advantage of the situation and robbed him once. Of course, even without the above-mentioned high-sounding reasons, he was still very happy to enrich his harem with an exotic beauty. As for the resentment of the young Meng Dan who returned to the army, it was not at all
Within the scope of his consideration.
The Hui tribes needed armor, bows and arrows, silver and taels of military rations, and even advanced rifles, and he gave them all. As long as they could win over the remnants of the Hui Xinjiang tribe, any conditions could be considered. With them as the vanguard, the expedition to Ningxia would be more effective with half the effort.
, As for the risk of advanced weapons falling into the hands of the enemy, Liu Ziguang doesn't care. A fire gun without ammunition is worse than a fire stick. Besides, the metal craftsmanship of the current repeating fire gun is quite complicated. Even if you give them the blueprint, they can't imitate it.
.
After what happened that day, Liu Zongmin was filled with shame and anger. It is said that he sent people out of the city overnight to mobilize troops. Liu Ziguang was not idle here either. The cannons on the top of the city were all loaded. However, after waiting for a long time, Liu Zongmin was still weak and did not dare to enter the city to seek death.
The next day Yuan Chonghuan went to comfort him again, and Liu Zongmin finally swallowed his bad temper and rushed to the Tianshui front line with his brothers.
Now both the Western Army and the Red Shirt Army are secretly trying to see who can take Jiayuguan first. Liu Zongmin's cavalry has more than a dozen battalions, and many of them are locals, so they have a relative advantage. So Liu Ziguang plans to find another shortcut and take Ningxia first.
, then attack Lanzhou, and then advance all the way to capture Jiayuguan, leaving Liu Zongmin far behind.
After half a year of preparations, mountains of strategic materials have been piled up near Chang'an City, enough to cope with a big war. New soldiers training from various places have also arrived. Liu Ziguang saw that he had almost the strength in his hands, so he decided to launch the Northern Expedition.
In the name of Princess Xiangxiang's restoration of the country, she conquered the Hetao area.
This battle was different from the past. It was the first appearance of the mechanized troops of the Red Shirt Army. Although the combat troops were only 3,000 people, the logistics troops were 30,000 strong. The northwest was no better than the Central Plains, with poorly developed transportation and extremely uneven roads.
, if it doesn’t rain, the dust will fly, but if it rains, it will be a swamp. The vanguard of the Red Shirt Army is a powerful mechanized army. The crawler bulldozer clears the roadblocks while moving. This bulldozer is scaled down and modified from a steam locomotive.
It uses a steam engine with reliable technology and easy maintenance. It burns a mixture of coke from Shanxi and fierce oil from Shengli Oilfield in Shandong. It has strong horsepower and can both open and compress roads. The two pioneers are spraying black.
After the smoke cleared, a road to build an army emerged.
There is also an engineer battalion in the vanguard. Their ability to build roads and bridges across mountains and rivers stunned the guides who accompanied the expedition. When they encountered strange rock peaks blocking the road, the engineers buried their bomb bags, and with a loud bang, the original engineer battalion was destroyed.
The roadblock, which took thousands of people to work for more than ten days to remove, was blown to pieces. The steam-tracked bulldozer roared over and pushed the scattered earth and rocks aside, and subsequent vehicles quickly followed.
When encountering a river blocking the road, the engineers would throw the iron pontoon boxes mounted on the crawler vehicles into the water and tie them together with steel buckles to form a ready-made pontoon bridge. The whole process only took an hour, and the pontoon bridge was built better than the locals.
The wooden bridge that took half a year to build is much stronger and more durable. The guides who witnessed all this were dumbfounded and shocked.
People, Huo Lingyao and others who followed the Chinese army were also shocked. When had the athletes who bowed and shot eagles on the grassland and desert seen such coal-burning and fire-breathing machine monsters? Although they did not understand the mystery, these huge machines
The miraculous performance of the cavalry actually taught them a lesson. In future wars, the cavalry may no longer be the domain of the cavalry.
Since ancient times, the cavalry of the nomadic people has been the natural nemesis of the farming people in the Central Plains. The Han people had no other choice but to develop corresponding cavalry troops. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, they devoted all their efforts to raising horses and trained a cavalry force to defeat the Huns.
Although the war was victorious, the national finances were on the verge of bankruptcy.
By the time of the Song Dynasty, the Han people had successively lost the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures and the Hexi region, and had lost the area to raise horses. The horses needed for the cavalry had to be obtained from Yunnan and Guizhou. Even so, they could not afford to arm enough cavalry troops to face the Xixia.
In the Liao and Jin Dynasties, Mongolia's powerful cavalry, the Song Dynasty could only be passively beaten and tightened everywhere.
During the Ming Dynasty, the situation was especially worse than that of the previous dynasty. The areas north of the Yellow River were all under the control of the enemy. In the horse-producing areas of the Ming Dynasty, they could only buy war horses from the Hetao area at high prices. The Hui tribe became rich by smuggling horses to the Central Plains. They
They also deeply understood the importance of cavalry in war. Because of this, Huo Lingyao and her tribe stubbornly believed that the reason why the Han people wanted the Hetao area was to obtain sufficient and reliable sources of horses.
But in fact it does not seem to be the case. Except for the rangers on both wings of the Ming army, all the Chinese army groups fought in vehicles. This is a special military vehicle designed by the Academy of Sciences. The engine is still a technologically mature steam engine and the wheels are huge.
The double-layer hollow inflatable rubber wheels are covered with uneven patterns. Although the speed is not fast, the torque is very high. Each steam locomotive can tow ten trailers filled with personnel and supplies behind it. This original version of the tractor,
It was affectionately called the mechanical mule by the soldiers.
The three hundred cavalrymen who returned to their headquarters followed closely behind the central army of the Red Shirt Army. Everyone else was riding in cars, but they were the only small group on horseback, which seemed a bit out of place. The black smoke from the mechanical mules and the dust on the loess road obscured the sky.
, most of the athletes used scarves to cover half of their bodies
As she marched hard, Huo Lingyao's yellow silk shirt was already covered with a thick layer of dust, and her hair was gray, but she did not complain, just silently thinking that the Han people's weapons were so powerful, if that
What should people do when they change their mind?
The person in Huo Lingyao's heart was naturally Liu Ziguang. At this time, the general who conquered the west was sitting in his command vehicle and measuring the map with a group of staff officers. The command vehicle was an improved mechanical mule, and the carriage was made of aluminum alloy.
, light and strong, with tall antennas on it for communicating with sounding airships in the sky, and the tables and chairs in the carriage are also
It is made of aluminum alloy and fixed to the floor with bolts. Spread out on the table is the terrain sand table of the northwest region. The mountains, plains and deserts are all marked with different colors. The three-dimensional map makes it clear at a glance. This is obtained from the Song Dynasty.
A sand table made from map data. Akito himself did not have the technical power and patience to survey and map such a remote area.
Liu Ziguang, who was measuring the map with a ruler, did not think about Huo Lingyao, who was marching hard outside. During the march, he had no intention of pitying her. Before the expedition, his goddaughter cried like a child. Fortunately, Dong Xiaowan appeared in time to calm the child.
However, the consolation group was already preparing to return to the capital. Dong Xiaowan immediately made an unexpected decision. She wanted to give up her fame and fortune in the capital and stay in Chang'an to look after the house and take care of the children of Marquis Zhenwu. Liu Ziguang saw that she was showing off her desperate attitude.
She acted like she would never give up until she became her true concubine, and she acquiesced as soon as her heart softened.
After studying the map with his staff, Liu Ziguang climbed to the observation deck at the top of the carriage and looked down at his army. At a glance, he saw a long motorcade and thick black smoke pillars in the dust. There were no flags waving, no bright armor, only
The reciprocating roar of the steam engine and the black muzzle of the gun. This is a mechanized army that has evolved to the extreme, armed with the most advanced technology in the world. What they are about to face is the king of the cold weapon age, Dongfang.
The most powerful cavalry regiment, the Xixia Qiexue Army, Liu Ziguang has already made up his mind about the outcome. No matter how powerful the cold weapon army is, it will only fail in front of this army. This attack on Hetao is nothing more than a defeat.
It is just a preview of the future conquest of the Xixia mainland. Through this battle, the Red Shirt Army will further improve their weapons and tactics, as well as various technical equipment. To put it bluntly, they will practice with the Xue Army entrenched in Ningxia.
The traffic was rolling and the sky was full of smoke and dust. Liu Ziguang couldn't help but pull up the red scarf around his neck. Looking around, he suddenly found a small cavalry team. The leader was looking over with a pair of big almond-shaped eyes. It was Xiang.
Princess Xiang, I wonder if she, with her natural body odor, would be covered in stinky sweat after such a long march? Liu Ziguang speculated maliciously.
Seeing Liu Ziguang's gaze coming towards him, Huo Lingyao glanced at him coldly and shouted: "Drive!" He quickly clamped his horse's belly and ran out, followed closely by the returning athletes, and quickly passed the horse with the handsome flag.
The mechanical mule cart, running towards the distance, seems to be showing the final glory of the cavalry in this silent language.
Just at this moment, the steam car in front blew its whistle, and then all the vehicles whistled together, and the soldiers cheered. Liu Ziguang looked over with his hands on the awning, and it turned out that the army had arrived at the Great Wall.
This section of the Great Wall was built during the Wanli period and belongs to Yulin Town, Shaanxi Province. It starts from Huangfuchuan Fort in the east and ends at Huamachi in the west. It is more than a thousand miles long and is commonly known as "Dabian". It is divided into east, middle, west and Gushan Fort.
, Qingping Fort, and Yulin Baoning Fort were guarded by six generals. Originally, the Great Wall was made of rammed earth and covered with brick walls. However, the imperial court has retreated to the Great Wall for many years. Many of the Great Wall were buried by sand, and some wall bricks have disappeared.
Only the rammed earth piers remain, but a majestic momentum still exists. The ancient city walls stand silently in the dusk, and the wind moans, seeming to echo the cheers of these latecomers.
Liu Ziguang ordered the entire army to stop advancing and set up an altar on the Great Wall to offer sacrifices to the senior guards on the border. Things were in a hurry, so his subordinates could only open a few cans of fruit and beef, serve them on plates, and build an incense burner with three sticks of incense stuck in them.
, a whole jar of wine, to let Marshal Liu improvise.
Liu Ziguang climbed onto the mound of the Great Wall, and the wind outside the Great Wall blew his clothes. Looking up, he saw an endless expanse of yellow sand. Once upon a time, the border guards abandoned their families and children to guard this vast desert to protect the homes of the Han people.
Not being invaded by nomads, the bones of our ancestors have turned into a cup of loess at the foot of the Great Wall, but their contributions should not be forgotten.
Liu Ziguang didn't want to talk nonsense. The army had arranged for instructors to teach the soldiers all day long about the important principles of the country and the nation. He just silently raised the wine bowl, poured it on the spot, and said: "Rest in peace, ancestors."
The duty officer of the Chinese army behind him shouted at the top of his lungs: "The whole army is here, salute!"
The officers and soldiers in red shirts who had already got out of the car and stood in awe all raised their hands and saluted in a uniform manner for three minutes. During this period, nothing could be heard except the whimpering of the wind. The solemn atmosphere and the strict appearance of the army
The soldiers who returned to their headquarters were also infected, and they all dismounted and stood in awe.
After a salute, all the soldiers boarded the carriage again, and Liu Ziguang turned and left. The moment he stepped off the mound, he looked back and saw that north of the Great Wall, the desert was still as sandy as snow.