Outside Jiayuguan, a team of three thousand people was trekking through the vast snowfield.【】
These are Xia Xun's men and horses.
The tribes outside the Jiayuguan Pass just instinctively attached themselves to the Ming Dynasty, the closest and most powerful empire to them. This political position was inherently unstable. The decision-making power lay in the deterrence of the Ming Dynasty to the Western Regions. Now Tamerlane has set foot on it.
During the journey, news had spread in the Western Regions, and the positions of the various tribes in the Western Regions were very ambiguous. At this time, it was risky for a court official of Xia Xun's level to go to the fortress to propagate the war, so Song Sheng, the Marquis of Xining, was firmly opposed to it.
However, Xia Xun also insisted on his own opinions. When he came, just because the positions of the ministries outside the pass were wavering, we needed to communicate more with them at this time and do more work. If Timur's army has not arrived, tomorrow
If the army has closed the door tightly and shut them out, then they will have a feeling: "We have been abandoned by the Ming Dynasty! The Ming Dynasty is afraid of Timur!"
If so, when Tamerlane's army arrives, these tribal forces that have little loyalty to the Ming Dynasty will inevitably turn to Tamerlane. Xia Xun does not expect them to resist Tamerlane resolutely, but once
Timur occupied these areas and attacked the Jiayuguan Pass. Whether these local snakes had a perfunctory attitude toward Timur or actively cooperated with him largely determined whether Tamerlane could regard Mongolia, Besel Bali, and Hami as his three
level springboard, which is of great military significance.
Song Sheng is the commander-in-chief who is popular among the military and the people in the Western Regions. He needs to be here to play his best role. Furthermore, his physical condition makes it impossible for him to leave the border. He is the commander-in-chief, while Xia Xun is equivalent to the "political commissar".
"If Xia Xun doesn't do this thing of uniting all the forces that can be united for my use, who will he ask to do it?
The argument between the two ended in Xia Xun's victory. Song Sheng had no choice but to allocate his own personal guard to Xia Xun to protect his safety. Song Sheng's personal army consisted of 1,500 people.
They are brave warriors selected from the Jingliang Iron Cavalry. Their organizational structure has half more men and horses than the ordinary Qianhu Station. The commander is a Qianhu, named Feng Huiyan.
Feng Suiyan is originally from Hexi and is familiar with the customs and customs of the Western Regions. Moreover, this army is also the best-equipped and most powerful unit of the Xiliang Army. In order to cope with possible dangers and ensure Xia Xun's safety, Song Sheng has
No effort was spared. Xia Xun himself also brought 1,500 people, led by Sai Hazhi. The two groups combined only had 3,000 people.
This number is the best choice for winter snowfield marches, which not only ensures a strong guard force, but also has considerable mobility and flexibility. Going further west, you enter a sparsely populated area, and the distance between each city
They are all quite far away, and there are deserted Yibi and sandbanks in between. If there is danger, such a team can support the commander, leave as quickly as possible, and easily get rid of the pursuers. If the team is larger, it will be bloated.
, difficult to dispatch, although there are many people, it is easier to become the fish on other people's chopping board. First word
Xia Xun brought Liu Yujue, Chen Dong, Ye An, Xilin, Jeanna and Saier. Xilin and Jeanna had to be brought with him. This was the reason why Xia Xun brought them to the Western Regions. They were
People from the ancient Kucha Kingdom. The ancient Kucha Kingdom was centered on the Kuqa Oasis. At its peak, its jurisdiction included Luntai, Kuqa, Shaya, Baicheng, Aksu, Xinhe and other places. Its place was originally in Hami. Don’t miss it.
Bali and Mongostan area.
They are very familiar with the chiefs, the wealthy gentry, Siren and Jeanne in this area, and they know more about these forces and big families than the officials and secret agents can know. Through these two "staff officers" "Personnel", he can quickly understand the details of the wealthy families in the Western Regions and local chiefs he wants to contact, which is very powerful for him to carry out the work of fighting for them.
As for Tang Sai'er, according to Xia Xun's wishes, he originally wanted to keep the little girl in Gansu Town, but the little girl didn't want to. The little girl who never knew the taste of father's love knows the taste, and now she is closer to her godfather than anyone else. , reluctant to leave, and besides, once Xia Xun and Xilin Jeanna left, she would have no one she knew in Gansu Town, and she was unwilling to stay here.
Xia Xun thought for a while, and now Tamerlane's army is still far away. The wealthy people from the Western Regions who are here to visit, and the local chiefs will never dare to do anything disadvantageous to him. Otherwise, before Timur's army arrives, the Ming army will be able to We have gone out to exterminate them, so there should be no problem with safety. Anyway, we have already brought two women, Siren and Jeanne, so there is nothing wrong with asking Saier to go with them.
So, Tang Saier happily joined the team.
The winter scenery in the Western Regions is beautiful.
The birch forest covered with rime, the cabins piled into mushrooms by the snow, the snow chickens pacing on the snow, the foxes poking their heads in the forest, the people outside the Great Wall wearing big fur coats and driving sleds on the vast snow fields... , everything seems to be quiet, and the movement of silence gives people the feeling of tranquility. When you are in it, your heart will calm down, as if all the troubles of the world can be forgotten.
When leaving the village and entering Yibi, the snow-covered peaks in the distance were frozen into ice mass and covered with white snow. The same color as the snowfield but vaguely shaped like a river, and the fluffy reeds covered with snowflakes, like bunches rising into the sky. The burning torch-like Populus euphratica and the shallow ripples carved by the wind on the sand dunes in the distance really give people a feeling of not knowing what night it is!
It's just that this kind of scenery is very stunning when you first go there, but if you have to go to the same scenery for two or three days in a row, during which you have to trek through the snowy fields, it's not a pleasure, it's a journey. Such unspeakable suffering.
Celine and Jeanne, who were very excited to have just returned to their hometown, and Sai'er, who had never seen such a beautiful winter snow scene and had been sitting on the shaft of the car to admire it, had returned to the warm car tent to sleep in, but others had not. Such good luck, they are still trudging in the snow, not only their bodies and faces are covered tightly, but also their eyes are covered with a layer of gauze, otherwise it is easy to develop snow blindness if they continue like this.
Ye An sat on the horse, with his hands in his sleeves and covered himself tightly. His sword hung on the side of the saddle, clanking, and there was a layer of white frost on the scabbard. He came from Jiangnan and was not familiar with the situation here. Familiar. I didn't pay attention yesterday. I put my hand out of my sleeve and went straight to get my knife. As a result, I just touched it lightly and my hand stuck to the mouth of the knife. I put the knife and the knife together in my arms to warm it up. He just took it away. If he pulled hard, a piece of skin would inevitably be ripped off. Now he really knew what it felt like to be in the cold outside the customs.
Xia Xun sat on the horse with his back straight. He didn't even cover his head with a scarf. He looked around and was very calm. In fact, this has nothing to do with his martial arts level. Ye An and Chen Dong are both good at martial arts, and their bodies are well tempered. Strong, but in such severe cold weather, he also wrapped himself up like a baby who had not been born for three dynasties. Xia Xun mainly stayed in Liaodong for a long time and was used to this kind of weather. Although the Western Region is cold, But when the wind calms down in most areas, it is warmer than in Liaodong.
"My godfather is so awesome. Sister Xilin, have you seen it? In such a cold weather, he still sits upright on his horse without any fear!"
Xilin rolled her eyes and contradicted her: "What's this? Those of you who are dressed in three layers and three layers are all soldiers brought from Jiangnan. Aren't all the troops under Commander Feng like this?"
Xilin was full of resentment and was ready to sacrifice herself more than once, but the prince seemed to turn a blind eye to a little girl whose hair was still intact, leaving two lively beauties beside him.
They are all kissing each other. How they want to hug Xia Xun's neck and sit on his lap and act coquettishly is them. Now she and Jeanne have completely given up. When they heard Sai'er, she would praise her even for such a small thing.
He is a good godfather, but he is angry, so he naturally wants to sing the opposite tune.
Sai'er wrinkled her little nose and said unconvinced: "My godfather is also from Jiangnan, but he is not afraid of the cold!"
Siren and Jeanne raised their heads together, rolled their eyes, and snorted coldly.
Sai'er tilted her chin up, snorted again, turned her head and ignored them: "These two idiot sisters are so ignorant, I won't tell them anymore!"
The pines are dark green, the white birches are golden, and the thin snow gently covers the forest, which is quiet and beautiful.
Xia Xun reined in his horse, looked around, and ordered: "It's getting late, so let's set up camp. The troops will be divided into two groups. They will be stationed on both slopes of the valley entrance. Fixed and floating sentries will be stationed on the hillside and on the other side of the valley entrance!"
Along the way, he basically followed Feng Suiyan's advice on camp deployment. However, he carefully considered Feng Suiyan and Sai Hazhi's various arrangements for the camp. This general who had never read a military book since he was a child
, Ye Yue understood some of the key points of choosing a place to camp, and then began to try to manage some specific matters of marching and camping. His selection rules at the moment were not defective. Feng Liyan and Sehazhi agreed and immediately ordered them to go down.
We are about to enter the valley mouth and set up camp in the leeward and sunny place.
The outpost went first and went to the valley to survey the terrain and check whether there was any ambush. More than a hundred horses entered the valley. Some were chasing their horses, and some were abandoning their horses to go up the mountain to search the forest. The horses that were going forward had disappeared in the valley, and they came to continue exploring.
The soldiers searching both sides of the valley towards the end of the valley were very careful. Some high places were difficult to climb with bare hands, so they threw out flying grabs and used the trees at higher places to climb up. The posture also required checking all the way to the top of the valley.
Let's give up.
Suddenly, the "Woo" horn sounded, echoing in the valley, shrill and desolate. On the high places on both sides of the valley, countless figures suddenly jumped out of the snow. Following their movements, huge rocks covered with snow appeared.
The block also rolled down the hillside with a rumble, wrapped in a cloud of flying snow, and hit the valley heavily with a terrifying sound!
Feng Suiyan's expression changed, and he immediately shouted loudly: "Form up a formation and meet the enemy!"
Saiha Zhi shouted loudly: "Put up a circular formation, Lord Protector!"
One elite force from the Beijing camp, one force from Xiliang cavalry, and two Ming armies immediately took action in an orderly manner.
"There's going to be a war!" Jinyi Night Walk skit
Tang Sai'er poked her head out of the car window and said excitedly, her little face flushed: "Sister Xilin, sister Jeanna, there's going to be a war!"
Jeanne was afraid that she would be injured by random arrows if she poked her head out, so she quickly pulled her back and threatened her: "Well, just stay safe and be careful not to let the King of the Mountain see you and snatch you to be the wife of Ozhai!"
"can you?"
Tang Sai'er was a little worried, but she turned around and saw the enchanting figures and beautiful faces of Siren and Jeanne, as well as her own chest, which was flatter than the mirror. She immediately felt relieved and made a face at them and said, "It's your turn to be careful.