Chapter 5: Wu Jia (Wu Shang) gathers the remnant soldiers, the most critical step is to gather their hearts.
Their performance was no longer as chaotic as when they first escaped from Shengtian. The orders issued by the general were basically executed smoothly, and the order when the army was marching was much better than at night.
Although he was deep in enemy territory and the Goguryeo people could catch up at any time, Xue Shixiong refused to let the soldiers seize every opportunity to escape. On the first day, he walked twenty miles each in the morning and afternoon, and chose an area with dangers to defend and water sources.
Available hilly areas to set up camp for everyone to rest
On the second day, the army did not break camp until it was already resting. They walked thirty miles each in the morning and afternoon. At 3:30 in the afternoon, they set up camp early.
The taxi soldiers followed Wang Yuantong to hunt around the camp. They also selected more than 300 veterans who were stronger and had done farm work at home to go to the valley to look for wild vegetables, mushrooms, yellow flowers and other things to improve the food for everyone.
After three days of walking like this, the soldiers' stomachs gradually became full, the panic in their hearts gradually disappeared, and their physical fatigue gradually began to recover. Seeing this, Xue Shixiong appropriately sent three regiments of infantry to attack a remote place.
The nomadic tribes were unprepared, and the Sui army naturally won a great victory. They robbed no less than a hundred cattle, sheep, and horses. They followed the defeated troops and chased them for fifteen miles before they were victorious and returned to Xue Shixiong. He was overjoyed and gave
The soldiers who went out to battle each recorded their great achievements once, rewarded them with two cups of rice, and ordered at the same time to kill all the plundered livestock and roast them into pieces for everyone to nourish themselves for a while. There was thunderous joy in the army, and almost everyone firmly believed that this was the case.
Under the leadership of a wise general, everyone can safely retreat to western Liaoning
Seeing that Xue Shixiong was so good at winning people's hearts, some people in the food protection army were secretly dissatisfied. The soldiers and horses were rescued by everyone, and the food used was transported from western Liaoning by everyone at the expense of their lives. Even the current march map is for the protection of the army.
It was drawn by Lieutenant Li Xu of the Grain Army when he was in Huaiyuan Town, rather than the topographic map of Liaodong issued by the Sui Army! But all the praise was taken by Xue Shixiong alone. What kind of truth is this?
Looking for an opportunity to wash the wound, the warrior Yu came to Liu Hongji and expressed his indignation in a low voice. However, Liu Hongji was not angry. He smiled and comforted in a low voice: "General Xue is experienced and experienced in using troops. Regardless of his reputation,
His ability is far superior to mine, so it is understandable that the troops and horses are under his command. Everyone is still in danger at the moment, so what's the use of fighting for a little fame! Besides, we didn't save people in order to make people appreciate it. It's a trivial thing, Shifu, don't be too
I can’t look away!”
"Three hundred thousand troops have been built up a wall, why are you boasting about your skill in using soldiers!" The warrior Yu curled his lips in disdain and muttered in a low voice.
"The defeat of Liaodong was not the fault of the soldiers! What if..." Liu Hongji looked around cautiously and swallowed the second half of the sentence.
It can be inferred from the panic of the enemy troops when setting up camp that night that the Goguryeo soldiers are far from brave and good at fighting. If both sides let go of their hands and feet, one hundred thousand Sui troops could wipe out half of the Liaodong Expeditionary Force. It took less than a month to march from Liaodong.
Shuidong'an fought straight to the gates of Pyongyang City. General Yuwenshu's response strategy when the food was exhausted can be regarded as satisfactory. Such a winnable battle has such an outcome. I am afraid that the blame should not be placed on the soldiers.
But who should be responsible is not something Liu Hongji, a little cavalry general, can comment on randomly.
"Scoff!" Warrior Xun snorted a foul breath from his nostrils and ignored Liu Hongji. He turned to Li Xu to complain, only to see Li Xu lying on the stone floor like a duck, clumsily wiping his back with a cloth dipped in salt water.
When he set out to camp at night, he received two stray arrows on his back, and the injured area was right between the two shoulder blades, so it was extremely laborious to inflict it on his own.
"Let me wipe it for you!" The warrior Yun staggered forward and took the wet cloth from Li Xu's hand.
The armors worn by the Sui army were all made under the supervision of the late emperor when he was in power. They were well-made and solid in texture, so the stray arrows did not penetrate too deeply into Li Xu's body. However, due to the hot weather, the army had been walking through dense woods for the past few days.
, a hilly area with heavy humidity, so the wound on Li Xu’s back was somewhat infected and looked red, making him very scary.
Looking at Li Xu's embarrassed appearance, the warrior couldn't help but shake his head. He went to the stream and washed the wet cloth again, then dipped it in concentrated salt water, and wiped away the pus and blood around the wound bit by bit, muttering softly while wiping it.
: "That General Xue is very good at using people. Even though he knew you were injured, he still asked you to take care of the front and back of the cavalry every day..."
"Skin injury, it doesn't matter." Li Xu gritted his teeth and tried to appear relaxed. After the salt water soaked into the wound, the annoying itching feeling became lighter, but the burning pain made people shiver.
"It doesn't matter. If it weren't for the strong captain's armor on your body, these two arrows would have killed you long ago!" Warrior Xun scolded Li Xu with great dissatisfaction. Although he was his immediate superior, he was older than Li Xu.
Xu fights a lot, and the relationship between the two parties is very close, so there is not so much distinction between superiority and inferiority when talking to each other.
"Colonel's armor? Hiss——" Li Xu took a breath of air in pain and asked
"Of course, do you think this armor just looks good? We have rules in the Sui Dynasty. The higher the level, the stronger the armor. Above the school captain, Lao Qi and others who have iron rulers added to the lining of the armor are good friends with you, so you are like this
The armor is thicker than what ordinary captains use..." The warrior Yu saw Qi Po Ning washing his wounds not far away, and deliberately raised his voice.
He was talking happily to himself, but he didn't realize that his man's back suddenly stiffened. He accidentally wiped the wet cloth directly into the wound, causing Li Xu's body to tremble in pain, and his whole body froze like a dead fish.
"Uh-" Li Xu couldn't help but let out a low groan.
"It'll be fine soon, it'll be fine soon!" Warrior Xun quickly expressed his comfort to Li Xu. His hand was too heavy just now, and new blood was already flowing out of the wound. That's Li Xu. If it were another boss, he would definitely reward him with his hand.
a big slap
"No, it's okay!" Li Xu groaned feebly. Ever since he joined the food protection army, his armors were all provided by Lao Qi on his own initiative. From the team commander, brigade commander to school lieutenant, Qi Po Ning sent someone to deliver them to him every time he was promoted.
The new armor, by the way, took back the original one that was not suitable for his status. Li Xu was used to this kind of care. He only thought that different ranks of generals wore different armors for the purpose of serious military appearance, but he did not expect that there was such a big difference in their protective performance.
Looking secretly at his companions who were scrubbing the wounds, he suddenly discovered that among the sixty-three people who came back from the camp that day, the team leader, team leader, and brigade rate actually accounted for a large part of the brigade rate. Only Li Liang was killed in the battle.
Only one of the six teams that went to camp was killed. Twenty-two of the thirty team captains are still alive. However, ordinary soldiers are far less "lucky" when hit by the enemy's stray arrows!
He secretly glanced at Liu Hongji and saw that his elder brother, who usually took good care of him, was lying on a stone slab with his wounds basking in the sun. Two soldiers were squatting beside him and scrubbing his wounds with a clean white cloth.
Not far away is Yuwen Shiji. This guy who finally calmed down is sitting on a stone drinking tea. The two generals of the Yuwen family, whether it is the extremely brave Yuwen Ji or the loyal Yuwen Zhong, are all looking down.
They started to make a fire, one used a stolen iron pot to make date leaf tea for Yu Wenshi and the other was carefully roasting a freshly caught wild rabbit.
"It turns out that being a school captain has this benefit!" Li Xu sighed in a low voice, with an indescribable sense of fatigue in his voice. That day, when three hundred warriors set out to camp, he thought that they were all facing the same danger. Only now did he realize that it turned out that
In the face of death, human life is also so different
"Of course, otherwise who would bother to climb up!" Warrior Yu replied disdainfully, carrying the dirty cloth strips, he went to the stream to clean them.
Beside the stream, there are piles of ordinary soldiers. They are not so particular about their food. Occasionally someone puts down a piece of meat or a few mushrooms on the makeshift stove made of stone chips, which can inspire small cheers.
At that moment, Li Xu didn't know whether he should be happy or sad. He suddenly felt very impulsive and wanted to find someone to fight. He clenched his fists, but he couldn't muster any strength.
At this moment, Li Xu was not the only one looking for a fight. Hundreds of miles away by the Mazhai Waterfront, Goguryeo Prime Minister Eulji Mundeok was also particularly depressed. A group of cooked ducks all fluttered their wings and flew into the sky. In the blink of an eye,
Even though Eulji Mundeok was not present on the day when the enemy broke out, he allowed such a large group of people to escape. The almost perfect Liaodong annihilation campaign had flaws. If you look at it from an overall perspective,
This flaw is not just a small one!
Taking advantage of the weakness of the enemy monarch's preference for false fame, the Goguryeo monarchs and ministers repeatedly used the two clever strategies of surrender and betrayal, and played a wonderful game. The more than 300,000 Sui troops armed to the teeth were dragged to death in this victory in Liaodong.
Not to mention magnificent, in Goguryeo, the reputations of King Gowon and Prime Minister Eulji Mundeok suddenly rose to unprecedented heights! Although their means of victory seemed a bit disgraceful, as long as the results are beautiful, who cares about the process and means?
?Besides, playing rogue is the prerogative of small countries. If any small country plays fair and upright with a big country, this country will definitely seek death on its own.
This is a good opportunity given by God to Goguryeo to rise. At present, the remaining nearly 700,000 soldiers and horses of the Sui Dynasty outside Liaodong City have already lost their military morale. If the news that Goguryeo sent people to annihilate the expeditionary force in the Mazhai River is revealed and promoted,
The seemingly powerful Sui army will definitely retreat without a fight. The Goguryeo soldiers used the power of victory to kill the Liao River, and they may not be able to capture the land in western Liaoning that their ancestors have dreamed of for generations.
However, the prerequisite for a large-scale counterattack is that there are no more remnants of enemies in Goguryeo. There are many small tribes in Liaodong, Qin, Mu, and Chu. They are accustomed to following the strong. Today, Goguryeo has a great victory. They can follow Goguryeo to fight against the autumn wind. If the retreat of Goguryeo's soldiers and horses is blocked.
If they copy it, they will definitely make atonement for His Majesty the Sui Emperor without hesitation. Therefore, the remnants of the escaped soldiers must be found as soon as possible. As long as they still exist, the Goguryeo army will not be able to cross the Liaohe River without any worries.
But this remnant army disappeared in the night. Eulji Wende had been to the camp abandoned by his opponent and saw thousands of extinguished fires. Judging from the number of footprints and horse dung around the fires, he knew that that night
The number of enemy troops who came to rob the camp would never exceed a thousand. This was just a thousand dead soldiers, but it not only caused almost three times more casualties to the Goguryeo army, but also rescued the remaining soldiers who had been hungry for several days. If the leader was allowed to
With these generals of a thousand dead soldiers hiding behind the Goguryeo army, Eulji Mundeok will always feel like a thorn in his back.
He sent five thousand cavalry to pursue them along the Wugu River for two days, but found no trace of the enemy. According to the report from the defender of Wugu City, there was indeed a cavalry force of nearly 10,000 people trying to attack Wugu City that day, but the defenders failed.
The enemy troops were attacked head-on, leaving hundreds of corpses behind. The enemy troops retreated in panic to this day. The heads of those corpses are still piled up by the Wugu River.
"Ten thousand cavalry. If the enemy had ten thousand cavalry, you fools would have lost the Black Bone City long ago!" Eulji Mundeok scolded the messenger of the Black Bone City. He would never believe that ten thousand cavalry had ever been in the Black Bone City.
The only possibility that appeared near Bone City is that this army used its rapid movement to deceive the guards of Wu Bone City, and on the same night, it launched a surprise attack on the joint camp outside Bobi Village.
The cavalry was used to attack repeatedly, giving the enemy the illusion that the army was pressing forward and then retreating. In the middle of the night, they quickly attacked again, rushed into the company camp, and then slipped away like the wind! If this is true, this cavalry can be said to be an iron army. They
He ran at least more than 200 miles non-stop day and night, and still had the energy to launch a desperate attack on the Goguryeo camp.
"But if that's the case, where did the infantry who rushed out from the Bobi stronghold go? There is no way the Sui army who came to rob the camp also brought thousands of war horses!" Eulji Wende was puzzled and couldn't understand the captured Sui army.
In the military supplies, he got a map of Liaodong issued to the generals by the Sui Dynasty. On it, the only road controlled by the Sui army was from Daliang River to Wugushui. On the Sui military map, except for Guiguo and Fuyu 2
Outside the city, the rest of the area was blank (Note 1) "Here comes! Send a message to the three villages of Gebu, Mudi and Cangam!" Suddenly, Eulji Wende shouted. It was not blank, as the prime minister of Goguryeo.
He knew that there were several fortresses on the edge of those barren mountains and ridges that had just surrendered to Goguryeo. The private soldiers of each village were now gathered under his command. If the Sui army had a map at this time, several fortresses would be women who had taken off their clothes.
"Send a message to the guards in Sanzhai, telling them not to pay attention to what is going on nearby. The truth is that we will send a large army to arrive immediately. Even if they dig the ground three feet, they will dig out the Sui people!"
"Send a message to Sanzhai, it's urgent!" In the open fields, the messenger's horse beat the sound of golden drums.
Note 1: Fuyu, which is now Siping, is now Gewu Village under Ji'an, which is now Tonghua. There was no city here on the map of the Sui Dynasty, and Gewu Prefecture was established here in the Tang Dynasty.
