Chapter 5 Homelessness (Part 1) Although Liu Hongji and others deliberately did not alarm everyone, some soldiers secretly got the news that the Sui soldiers who were originally stationed in the camp were massacred. As the news spread, more and more food protection troops
The brothers came to see off their robes, first in twos and threes, then in groups, and finally, nearly 800 food guards surrounded the pagoda.
Seeing those pairs of unblinking eyes, almost everyone's first reaction was to vomit wildly while cursing and wailing in a southern-northern accent. After that, there was a deathly silence, and the sad and angry soldiers held torches high.
, standing motionless next to the pagoda like a rock, using his silence to protect the departed heroic soul.
The guys hiding in the food protection army are most likely not optimistic about this war against Goguryeo. They are not willing to die fighting in Liaodong for His Majesty the Emperor's incomprehensible sense of honor, and they are not willing to let their bones pave the way to a certain place.
The road to becoming a prince is an ambitious guy. They rarely have the ambition to gain fame immediately. Their highest ideal is usually to gain some military glory in order to gain a better inheritance position in their own family. Like all ordinary people of this era, they have great ambitions.
Some people are greedy for life and afraid of death, most people are greedy for money and lustful, most people bully the weak and fear the strong, want to take advantage of the advantages, and want to hide far away when there are difficulties. But at this moment, most of them don't
Hope watched helplessly as the heads of the 300,000 paozhe trapped in Liaodong were cut off by the Goguryeo people and built into pagodas
Liu Hongji ordered people to remove dry wood from the fence of the camp, pile it around the pagoda, pour vegetable oil on it, and then Li Jiancheng personally lit the pagoda where five hundred lives were buried. The moment the flames jumped, Liu Hongji shouted loudly
Order the entire army to return to camp to rest. As for how to choose tomorrow, it is no longer up to these generals to decide this moment. Anyone who dares to give up will be regarded as a mortal enemy by the entire Sui Dynasty.
At this moment, his mind was not completely swayed by grief and indignation. Liu Hongji even clearly knew that since the Goguryeo people had launched a counterattack, it meant that they would no longer abide by the peace treaty of ceding territory and surrendering. It also meant that the 300,000 expeditionary troops were in
Without help and food, and under siege from all directions, there was little hope that the expeditionary force could safely withdraw across the Mazhai River to the agreed location to receive supplies. And with a little carelessness, he and the eight hundred food guards under his command
Brothers will become another pile of heads and pagodas. However, everyone has no choice. Even if there is a mountain of swords and a sea of fire waiting ahead, he and the 800 men under his command can only pounce on it like moths without hesitation.
"Maybe we can save some!" Almost everyone thought expectantly that early the next morning, without being urged by the generals, everyone neatly packed their bags, ate some dry food with cold water, and immediately mounted their horses.
The daily cries of distress and tiredness that were heard before driving the animals to continue eastward were gone, and the noise that once made people irritated during the march was also gone. Everyone remained silent, burying their heads in silence and marching at such a speed.
So fast that by the time it was just past noon, the planned day's itinerary had been completed. By the afternoon, Liu Hongji had to repeatedly order everyone to slow down to avoid excessive physical exhaustion and being unable to organize effective resistance when attacked by the enemy.
In the evening, on another hill, everyone discovered the second camp left by the Eastern Expeditionary Army. At the same time, they also discovered the second human-headed pagoda. With the fading daylight, the veterans even found the remains of a pagoda in the valley.
The corpses of the soldiers were built like a city wall. Most of them had their hands tied behind them. The only wound on their bodies was on their necks. They were driven into the valley by the Goguryeo people after they surrendered and massacred. To the Goguryeo people, the Sui army was an intruder.
, no mercy
Liu Hongji led his brothers to gather the bodies and heads of the robes together, and then set fire to them. The thick smoke rising from the entire valley covered the sky and could be seen dozens of miles away. This approach was very detrimental.
The food protection army concealed their troops, but Liu Hongji believed that by now, everyone no longer needed to hide their troops. The food protection team had been walking along the route of the Eastern Expedition for two days and two nights. It was impossible that the nearby Goguryeo people could not detect this army.
The reason why the opponent did not send troops to intercept and kill the horses was most likely because they could not tell the true strength of this team. After all, the smoke and dust kicked up by more than 3,000 war horses when they marched looked very spectacular in the distance. The Goguryeo people who were sure of victory
There is no need to prevent a team of unknown numbers and combat effectiveness from rushing east to die.
On the morning after setting fire to the nameless valley, everyone finally walked out of the rolling mountains and encountered a group of Goguryeo people who were resting near a large river. Suddenly they saw the enemy troops appear, and soldiers from both sides blew whistles almost at the same time.
Immediately after blowing the horn, Liu Hongji danced his long spear and rode his horse into the midst of the Goguryeo soldiers.
One hundred veterans who were selected as vanguards quickly attacked and followed Liu Hongji. The Goguryeo cavalry who did not have time to jump on their horses rushed in. Immediately, the servants of the Li family who served as the guards of the grain team were killed by Qian Jiulong and Fan.
Then, under the leadership of Xing, the recruits who were protected in the center of the grain transport team, such as Qi Ziying and Wang Yuantong, shouted to let the Goguryeo people experience their anger. When Li Xu, who was in the rear team, was thrown into the battlefield by Li Jiancheng as a new force,
The battle was coming to an end. The Goguryeo people who were resting by the river did not expect that the "main force" of the Sui Dynasty would suddenly come from the mountains at this moment. With an absolute advantage in strength, they were killed in a hurry. When they saw more and more people, they were killed.
After the cavalry rushed out of the valley, they did not dare to fight and fled in all directions.
The food protection team annihilated more than 200 enemies at a slight cost of five deaths and twenty injuries, and achieved a glorious victory in this encounter. They did not pursue the enemy troops, but buried their fallen brothers and gave care to the wounded Goguryeo soldiers lying on the ground.
After each man made up for his sword, he continued to move along the river. At noon, Liu Hongji ordered the army to rest by the river, and gave all the horses water and feed. At the same time, he carefully sent out several teams of veterans to inquire about the surrounding situation and wait for everything to be resolved.
After settling in, Liu Hongji called Yu Wenzhong, who was responsible for guiding everyone, and asked in a low voice: "If we keep walking along the river beach, at the current speed, how many days will it take to reach Bopikou?"
"If we keep walking along the river beach, we will definitely be able to reach Bopikou in more than a day, but we have to take a detour in the middle..." Yu Wenzhong pointed lightly at the Wugu City stuck on the south bank of the river on the map, and whispered.
Suggestion: "Based on the current situation, there must be defenders in the city. If we keep walking along the river, the other side will definitely send troops to intercept and kill us!"
"You once said that the defenders of Wugu City were defeated by Master Yu Zhongwen, and the defenders were killed by our formation! Is this true?" Liu Hongji frowned and asked in a low voice.
"That's true, but that was nearly a month ago..." Yu Wenzhong blushed, with a bit of guilt in his voice. He saw the "Pagoda" the night before and last night. He also knew that the hope of the Eastern Expeditionary Army's survival was already very low.
Miao Mian, a food protection officer, was willing to risk his life and death to come to the rescue. This kindness moved him very much. Therefore, he hoped to do his best to avoid the loss of the food protection team as much as possible.
"Go and call the main generals in the army, and tell them that I have something important to discuss with them!" Liu Hongji ignored Yu Wenzhong's guilt and whispered an order. This tone of voice where a boss spoke to his subordinates made Yu Wenzhong sound like
It turned out to be very useful. He agreed and quickly ran towards the brigade. After a while, Li Jiancheng, Li Xu, Qian Jiulong, Samurai Xun and others hurriedly gathered over.
After a few days of getting along with each other, Liu Hongji had completely won everyone's trust. However, in order to show respect for others, he still brought the protagonist general to discuss the next action plan. Referring to the map obtained by Li Xu, Liu Hongji used
The tree branch drew the approximate current location of the food protection team and the direction of the final target on the river beach, then used the branch to poke a hole in the path everyone must pass, and whispered: "This is Wugu City. According to the current marching speed,
Tomorrow at noon we will pass by the opposite side of the city. We are on the north bank of the river, and the Goguryeo garrison is on the south bank of the river. But the river is not wide and shallow places can be crossed on horseback! If we go around, we will have to drive north for a day. If we go directly
If you pass by the other side of the city, you may have to fight with the defenders!"
"I think we should go around. Although we just won a battle, it was a mistake. If Goguryeo sends five thousand soldiers to fight, our entire army will definitely be wiped out!" Before anyone else could express their opinions, Qian Jiulong said
He was the first to say that among everyone, he was the oldest, so he acted the most cautiously. From his point of view, the current combat effectiveness of the food protection army was entirely supported by the hatred in his heart, and with hatred alone, an army without sufficient training would definitely not be able to sustain a long-term fight against the wind.
It's no problem during the battle. Once you encounter a tough opponent, everyone will be beaten back to their original shape very quickly.
Li Liang, Samurai Xun, and Wang Yuantong all agreed with Qian Jiulong's point of view. Everyone spent the whole day hanging out in the food protection army. No one knew better than them how much the brothers weighed. However, Qi Po Ning and Qin Ziying put forward a completely different point.
On the contrary, they believed that even if everyone takes a detour, they may not encounter the enemy. It is better to take advantage of the current high morale and rush through Wugu City. If the expeditionary force has withdrawn to Boruikou and hears the cry of killing,
Someone will definitely be sent to meet them. The distance between the two sides is only forty miles, and there are no mountains to block it. The cavalry can kill them within an hour.
"What if the Eastern Expedition Army hasn't arrived at Bobokou yet?" Yu Wenzhong interjected at an inappropriate time.
"If the Eastern Expedition Army hasn't arrived at Bopikou yet, Lord Yuwen, do you think the Goguryeo people will let us go back the way we came?" Qin Ziying shook his head and asked with a sneer.
Yu Wenzhong tilted his head guiltily and avoided Qin Ziying's aggressive gaze. He didn't need to answer this question. Everyone knew the answer to this question. They just tried not to think about it and chose to continue eastward after seeing the Human Head Pagoda.
At that moment, everyone had left their fate in the hands of God
The atmosphere was a little heavy for a moment. Will this adventure lead to death, or can it save hundreds of thousands of lives in time? The answer is right in front of them. Everyone wants to uncover the mystery as soon as possible, and everyone is more afraid of seeing the truth that they try their best to avoid.
"You and Zhong Jian have experience fighting outside the Great Wall, so it's up to you two to make the decision!" After a moment of silence, Li Jiancheng sighed and suggested
Liu Hongji turned his attention to Li Xu. In the other person's eyes, he saw the same trust as when they first met. It was this trust that moved him and made him want to give the other person a fortune but he didn't expect it. In the end, he gave the other person the gift of wealth.
But it is an unavoidable risk. Thinking of this, Liu Hongji sighed softly and asked in a low voice: "Zhongjian, what do you think? You might as well tell us and let everyone listen!"
"This area is vast and sparsely populated. We don't know what's going on with the enemy, and the enemy certainly doesn't know what's going on with us." Li Xu nodded and said with a smile that he understood what kind of support Liu Hongji needed at this moment. This moment has come.
He naturally wants to provide the other party with all the help he can
"If we are bluffing, get more flags and put them around the cavalry, spread out the soldiers, and make it look like a large group of people are marching eastward..." Li Xu looked at Liu Hongji, his eyes were like those who had just met each other on the grassland.
as clear as day
"So, we might as well change the queue and put all the elites at the front of the team to demonstrate!" Liu Hongji nodded with a smile and said a bold plan, "We won't hide or hide. We will rest by the river tonight and feint attack early tomorrow morning.
