Chapter 4 National Memorial (Part 8) In order to ensure that the military rations can be delivered in time, the messenger sent by Yu Wenshu, the general of Zuo Yiwei, was an able man who had followed him for many years. This man was named Zhong, and he was highly skilled in martial arts.
His ability to recognize directions is also very good. Despite this, the food delivery team only drove more than a hundred miles on the first night.
It's not that Liu Hongji and others didn't work hard on their way, but there is no broad and straight road in Goguryeo that was common in the Sui Dynasty. All the roads in Liaodong are made by people. In some places, there are no roads at all, and they are all driven by
The direction of the mountains and rivers and the direction of the water flow are naturally formed. Some places looked as flat as a mirror, but the food protection team had to make a big circle. Otherwise, according to the leader Yu Wenzhong, it was a swamp that no one had ever walked through, and only wild beasts were seen entering it.
I've never seen any living thing come out
When daybreak was about to break, everyone set up camp on the sunny side of an unknown hillside. Liu Hongji didn't even give orders to be careful about the fireworks. No one had the thought to make a hot meal. Almost at the same time as they heard the call to rest, the soldiers immediately felt like they were dead.
They fell apart like crabs. After a while, thunderous snoring sounded everywhere.
"Each of our horses only carried five stones of grain. The soldiers were all lightly armed and so exhausted. Most of the Eastern Expeditionary Army were infantry, but each of us had to carry three stones of grain..." Looking around, he was lying around.
Qian Jiulong couldn't help but shake his head.
After traveling hundreds of miles "in a hurry", he and Fan Xing, another general of the Li family, who were famous for their physical strength, were so exhausted that their muscles and bones were weak. Because of their appearance in front of the juniors, the two of them did not fall down immediately after dismounting while packing their luggage.
While waiting for Li Jiancheng to stretch his muscles, Li Jiancheng, who was leaning on them, was so tired that he couldn't even walk. His legs were spread out, and every step was a straight and straight figure.
"This, this is not possible if we continue like this. During the day's march, we may encounter Goguryeo cavalry! No, no need to fight, we, we will be defeated!" Li Jiancheng staggered around a few times, panting.
said
"Let everyone be refreshed and rested before marching during the day. Try to control the speed. Don't rush on the road. Keep an eye on the surroundings while walking. If you encounter a small group of Goguryeo people, disperse them. If a large group of Goguryeo people block the way, just rush directly.
Go over there!" Liu Hongji suggested with a frown.
This is a common tactic used by horse thieves on the grassland to deal with the encirclement and suppression of government troops and the interception and interception of horse thieves by caravans. Although there will be some losses during the charge, with the speed of the war horses, most of the people, horses and baggage can be preserved.
Going into an unpredictable place alone is the best option for survival.
After listening to Liu Hongji's words, the excitement in the hearts of Wang Yuantong, Qi Poning and others was wiped out. Everyone was not qualified to participate in the discussions between Li Yuan and his confidants. They all thought that delivering food this time was as simple as going out to relax, so during the day Liu Hongji
When the troops were ordered, they followed them in vain. They never expected that the way to go out to relax would be so difficult, and if they wandered, they would lose their lives.
"Liu, General Liu, Brother Liu, I, brothers, have never fought in a war!" Qi Po Ning was the thickest skinned. He stumbled forward and gently pulled Liu Hongji's clothes to remind him.
"Tomorrow morning, I will take a hundred veterans in front. After Zhongjian's regiment is broken off, people from the Li Mansion will protect you people on both sides of the cavalry. You will hide in the middle of the cavalry and tie your legs to the horses' bellies. As long as you don't
If you fall off your mount or get hit by arrows, nothing will happen!" Liu Hongji shook off Qi Po Ning's hand, took a branch, and lightly drew a force distribution diagram on the ground.
At this moment, it is no longer possible for those who are unwilling to participate in the war to return to Liaodong. The only way is to avoid losses on the road as much as possible. Among the cavalry regiment under Li Xu, there are a hundred newly added soldiers, whose combat effectiveness is slightly stronger than that of the food protection army.
, so Liu Hongji arranged them at the front of the team. The twenty-odd guards sent by the Li Mansion were all very skilled, but the number was too small, so Qian Jiulong and Fan Xing could only take half of them each.
Among the people on the flanks, Li Xu has the best riding skills and the most accurate arrow shooting. If he leads the rear, the rear guard has the greatest chance of escaping safely...
Liu Hongji, who had been a horse thief for several months, was very experienced and quickly came up with a marching plan based on the characteristics of his troops. Qian Jiulong and others were originally worried that the newly appointed generals on horseback and cavalry were inexperienced and would not be able to command such a large group of recruits.
After listening to Liu Hongji's suggestion, all worries immediately disappeared, and I secretly admired Tang Gong Li Yuan's ability to employ people. At the right moment, he actually sent an expert who knew the tactics of horse thieves.
"Brother Hongji, I will be the pioneer with you!" After listening to Liu Hongji's proposal, Li Jiancheng volunteered.
"Zi Gu is the commander-in-chief of the first army. Whether the military morale is safe and whether we can successfully walk back to Huaiyuan Town depends on you. Therefore, you cannot take risks yourself. The more relaxed you act, the more helpful you will be to everyone."
Big!" Liu Hongji shook his head and rejected Li Jiancheng's request.
Li Jiancheng wanted to take the lead, but he didn't expect Liu Hongji to think so long-term. Looking around, seeing that Qian Jiulong, Fan Xing and others had no objections, he had no choice but to nod and accept Liu Hongji's arrangement.
Several core people discussed it again, added some details, and then sent personal soldiers to call in the officers above the team leader, quietly assigned the task, and shot three shots the next day. After everyone had regained their energy and had breakfast,
The food protection team broke out of camp again and moved forward. The main officers dispersed and tightly protected the food team. Seeing the changes in the formation, everyone understood that this trip was not a sightseeing tour, and all of them turned pale.
Even the arms holding the reins became stiff.
Fortunately, this place is still close to Liaodong City. The nearby Goguryeo people were frightened by the Sui army and did not dare to go forward to cause trouble. Occasionally, small groups of horsemen appeared on the left and right of the team. Seeing the smoke and dust brought up by the war horses, they judged
Regardless of the reality of the grain transport team, they all stayed away from it.
After walking for two hours, everyone's nervousness gradually calmed down. It was said that the Goguryeo people were timid and would not dare to stroke the beards of the tigers in the army. The faces of Wang Yuantong, Qin Ziying and other young birds who had never been on the battlefield gradually became rosy, and they were caught in the middle of the army.
Walking forward, they joked with each other.
"Lao Qi, they all say that Goguryeo women are very sexy, why didn't they come out to welcome Master Wang all the way?"
"Three hundred thousand bachelors have gone over, and so many women have been divided. How can there be any soup left for us?" Qi Po replied with a scowl on his face.
The men roared with laughter, their shock was beginning to subside, and their lust was rising. They talked about the benefits of Goguryeo women in several private houses near Huaiyuan Town, and they all said that they must follow the army to Pyongyang and kill them.
The women of the Goguryeo royal family took out a few and tasted what they tasted like
The newcomers were talking proudly, but Liu Hongji, Qian Jiulong and others became more and more frightened as they went further. According to common sense, the army would go around the enemy's rear for thousands of miles, so it would be understandable not to attack the cities along the way. It was still necessary to put some manpower in key areas to prevent them from attacking.
To prepare for emergencies or to ensure logistics supplies, the food protection team walked all night and half a day, and there was not a single temporary stronghold established by the Sui army along the way. This was a bit strange. Logically speaking, Yu Wenshu, the general of Zuo Yiwei,
After decades of service, it is impossible to make such a mistake
In the afternoon, the food protection team was burying pots and making rice in a valley. When no one was paying attention, Liu Hongji secretly called Yu Wenzhong, who was responsible for leading the way, to his side and asked in a low voice about the arrangements of the Eastern Expedition army along the way. After listening to Liu Hongji's questioning, Yu Wenzhong also frowned, looked around, and replied in a very low voice: "Near where we camped last night, there was a temporary camp with more than 500 soldiers stationed there. When I came back to deliver the message, I also changed there. Marco passed by there this morning. It was actually a flat river, and even the wooden fence could not be seen. After climbing over the beam in front, there was another fort on the upper reaches of Wugu River. At the current speed, we can reach it in the evening. arrive……"
"Why didn't you tell me earlier!" Before Yu Wenzhong could finish speaking, Liu Hongji scolded him with a frown.
"I, I'm afraid that speaking out will affect the morale of the army!" Yu Wenzhong also knew that the situation was not good, so he whispered to Liu Hongji
The other party was a member of the Yuwen family. Even if Liu Hongji was angry, there was nothing he could do to him. He looked at the nearby forests that had grown for tens of thousands of years and the mountains that seemed to have never been inhabited. He sighed and continued to ask: "Overturned How far is the mountain ridge in front from the camp next to Mazhai Water? I'm asking how long it will take to walk there, don't tell me the shortest distance!"
"Climb the previous beam, then turn south along the valley, and arrive at the Wugu River. Walk along the east bank of the river. At the current speed, you can reach Hutou Mountain next to the Mazhai River in two days, or at most three days. There is a stockade nearby, the locals call it Bobi, which is the starting point of the Great Wall of Qin. We still have 1,500 soldiers stationed there! It should not change hands in a short time!" Yu Wenzhong hesitated and answered cautiously.
"Fifteen hundred people?" Liu Hongji couldn't laugh or cry. On the map given by the Sui Dynasty military, there was no location of Bosu at all. But through the map that Li Xu privately asked a Khitan hunter, he knew the general location of Bosu. It is forty miles downstream of Wugu City. If the Goguryeo people send troops from Wugu City, they can reach Boli Village in half a day.
"Didn't we completely wipe out the defenders of Wugu City at the beginning? Why didn't we take advantage of the situation and take down Wugu City?"
"At the beginning, Mr. Liu Shilong advocated the importance of troops and speed. He believed that there might be enemy troops in Wugu City, which might not be easily captured by us. If it cannot be captured for a long time like Liaodong City, it would ruin His Majesty's arrangement. So, we only captured Bo In order to support the army's triumphant return!"
Hearing this, Liu Hongji's face became even worse. All the nine army commanders were veteran generals who had fought for many years. They actually listened to the command of a civilian official and did not leave any escape route for themselves. They really destroyed the entire Goguryeo army. If he were a Goguryeo general, there would be no need to engage in battle. He sent people to seize Bobi, then demolished the pontoon bridge at Mazhai Water, and then blocked the west bank of the river to prevent the Sui army from turning back. In less than half a month , three hundred thousand soldiers and horses will definitely be wiped out!
While he was anxious, he heard another noise coming from the vicinity of the Chinese Army. Liu Hongji was worried about Li Jiancheng's safety, so he quickly turned around and asked what happened over there. After a while, Wang Yuantong came over holding a handful of green things. As he walked, While offering the treasure with a smile: "Gu Yazi, we dug up Gu Yazi, you can find it over there, underground, everywhere!"
After that, he placed a handful of moldy grains in front of Liu Hongji's eyes. They were wet and exuded a sour smell. Some of the grains that had not taken off their shells had already sprouted new shoots more than three inches long. They were full of business.
"It's the Sui army rations!" someone whispered, his words full of surprise.
