Chapter 209 His family stocked up on food and I stocked up on guns.
Now that we have made plans to go to the grasslands to rob the population, the next step is to prepare for this and discuss a feasible combat plan.
Going to the grasslands in May and June is much better than winter. At least you don’t have to worry about being frozen into popsicles when you go to the grasslands at this time.
But there is currently an insurmountable difficulty facing them, that is, Xia Jing's troops do not have enough horses.
The grassland is vast and boundless. If we rely on infantry to enter the grassland and sweep Beidi, it would be a fantasy and too unrealistic.
In preparation for this battle, Xia Jing specially summoned all the major generals to discuss the matter together.
Xia Jing frowned and asked: "How many horses can we fight now?"
Long Yutian and Ma Qilin are now in charge of the logistics of the military camp. The person in charge is Ma Qilin. The former second in command of Luofu Mountain has now become Xia Jing's logistics director.
This time Ma Qilin did not attend the meeting, so Long Yutian answered on his behalf: "Excluding the horses that pull the carriages, there are only about 500 war horses that can actually go on the battlefield."
Xia Jing rubbed her eyebrows and sighed inwardly: "If it's less, five hundred cavalrymen sailing into the grassland would be like a handful of sand entering the sea, and there won't be many waves."
Long Yutian looked around at everyone: "As the princess said, five hundred riders riding into the grassland can't even make a surprise attack, they can only make a sneak attack!"
Surprise attacks also have the opportunity to fight with the enemy, but sneak attacks can only kill them when they are not prepared and run away without giving the enemy a chance to react!
Xia Jing: "The Long Supervisor is right, we can only attack with 500 cavalry. The army's dispatch of 500 cavalry will not affect the overall situation, and there is no need to wait for the plowing. In the next few days, the 500 soldiers who will go out will be selected and prepared.
OK, let’s go.”
After listening to their words, Li Chengmu stood up and solemnly promised: "Now that I have decided, I will go and make preparations. Don't worry, everyone will not be disappointed since I have led you into the grassland!"
Xia Jing glanced at everyone present, raised her hand and motioned for Li Chengmu to sit down: "Sit down first."
Li Chengli and Li Chengyi, who were sitting aside, were shocked. Could it be that the princess was reluctant to let Xiao Wu go to the grassland to die in the war, and wanted their brothers to go?
Needless to say, their brothers followed them to Gyeonggi just to make up for the mistake they made last time when they refused to go to war with their father. They hoped that by following them to Gyeonggi this time, they would make some achievements in front of their father and try to regain their previous face.
Although they came to Gyeonggi, they never thought of risking their lives to perform meritorious service. To put it bluntly, they just followed to fish in troubled waters.
Xia Jing didn't know what the brothers were thinking at this moment. She saw Xiao Wu sitting down and said, "I have never planned to let you go when we go deep into the grassland this time. Just stay in the capital with peace of mind."
After hearing this, Li Chengli and Li Chengyi thought that it was indeed the case. At the same time, they were nervous, fearing that Xia Jing would choose them to lead the team to the grassland.
They felt that the five hundred horses riding into the grassland were not there for a sneak attack, but directly to die.
Beidi's cavalry are easy to bully!
Long Yutian naturally noticed the expressions of these gentlemen, and he asked with great interest: "Has the princess already chosen someone to join the grassland?"
Xia Jing had never entered the grassland in her two lifetimes. When she was leading five hundred cavalry, she was worried about who would lead the group in.
Instead of being on tenterhooks, it would be better for her to enter the grassland by herself.
"I'm going to personally lead the team into the grassland. If nothing happens, I'll be back in about a month."
The words were so shocking that everyone present was startled.
"Princess, you must not do it. A gentleman would not stand under a dangerous wall. Going deep into the grassland is not only extremely dangerous, but at least danger is everywhere. You are our backbone. If something happens to you in the grassland, wouldn't our team be successful?"
A plateful of loose sand!”
The first one to react was Long Yutian. He came to his senses and immediately objected.
How can a team of generals go out to conduct a sneak attack and let their generals sit at home and enjoy the pleasure?
Throughout hundreds of years of history, the world has never heard of such a weird thing.
Then Li Chengmu also raised objections, "Mother, you are trying to trap your son into being unfilial. How can a mother go out to fight, while the son is greedy for life and fears death and hides behind to enjoy happiness? It is the son who should enter the grassland this time!"
Li Chengyi and Li Chengli were relieved after hearing Xia Jing's words. No matter who went, as long as it was not them, he was quite self-aware of his abilities and knew that he was not the material to lead troops in war.
But after listening to Li Chengmu's words, they couldn't hide and pretend to be dead.
As the third oldest person present, Li Chengli could only bite the bullet and persuade him: "Xiaowu is right, concubine, you can just wait for the good news in the capital. The matter of fighting the enemy on the grassland should be left to the generals who are good at fighting."
Bar."
"Look, everyone doesn't agree with you taking risks. Princess, you have to consider everyone's opinions!" Long Yutian persuaded again.
Xia Jing smiled and waved her hand, "This matter has been decided, no more words, everyone. You are given three days to select the personnel, two days to prepare dry food, and we will set off in five days!"
Xia Jing made a decision, leaving those who still wanted to persuade her to have their words stuck in their throats.
Among all the Lingnan soldiers and horses, Sha Yuliang was the most familiar with the Beidi soldiers and horses.
Because the people he had fought against the most on the border were Beidi soldiers and horses. So this time when he went deep into the grassland, it was no surprise that he was chosen first.
Feng Tu heard the news and came to sign up, but Xia Jing refused.
Feng Tu is Xiaowu's close confidant. This time she goes deep into the grassland and there are dangers everywhere. She doesn't want to waste too much of her son's cronies. To be on the safe side, she goes with the soldiers and horses she is most familiar with.
Xia Jing left full responsibility to Sha Yuliang to select the vanguard for this sneak attack, and one of her personal guard captains, Cheng Gu, assisted him.
Since Cheng Gu was assisting, he followed Sha Yuliang all day long to select soldiers with good skills and good riding skills from the team.
It's just that this team was formed not long ago, and the soldiers are not veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles. Sha Yuliang was not very satisfied after the first round of selection.
When they were having dinner that night, Cheng Gu couldn't help but ask: "Let me tell you, Captain Sha, are you tired of choosing the taller one among the short ones?"
Sha Yuliang put the food brought from the kitchen on the table, sat down and asked, "What do you mean?"
Cheng Gu smiled and said, "I just want to ask you, are you satisfied with the person you selected today?"
Of course he was dissatisfied. For a veteran like him, the team brought by Lingnan was too immature.
Sha Yuliang didn't speak, and Cheng Gu understood what he meant from his expression.
"Judging from your expression, you probably aren't very satisfied. In that case, why are you still bothering to choose something in the team? Why not choose directly in our guard camp!"
When they followed the princess, they were high-quality guards selected by her!
Not to mention his martial arts, at least he is much better than the ordinary soldiers in the team today.
Their height alone is not comparable to that of ordinary soldiers. Not to mention that they have been training intensively for so long, and their basic skills are definitely many times better than ordinary soldiers!
Sha Yuliang's eyes lit up after hearing his words. Cheng Gu didn't remind him, he really didn't think of the princess's personal guard camp.
He asked excitedly: "How many guards are there in the capital now?"
Cheng Gu stretched out a palm, clasped his fingers and said: "Fang Ji and Hong Fuzhong have been in charge of the salt fields in Lingnan. Wei Dong is now transferred by the princess to handle government affairs, and Ding Dazhuang is now in charge of farming. Apart from these people, there are six others left.
Captain, there are about 600 personal guards, you can choose from them."
Their duty is to protect the safety of the princess. The princess has to go deep into the grassland. As a personal guard, she must go with her. Instead of making things difficult for the princess, it is better to choose from among them from the beginning. In this way, their job is done well.
You can also help the princess kill enemies and perform meritorious service. How great, killing two birds with one stone!
Sha Yuliang rubbed his hands, picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of pork belly and put it in Cheng Gu's bowl, "Thank you brother for your advice. I was worried about this matter. I didn't expect you to help me solve this problem. I sincerely
Thank you! Thank you!”
——
Soon the day of departure came.
The five hundred cavalrymen were considered the best among the best in Xia Jing's team.
The equipment is all armor, waist knives and flintlock guns made of the latest fine steel from the Lingnan Iron Works.
As for the small steel cannon of the Folan machine, it was not suitable to be carried for long-distance raids. Apart from weapons, the remaining supplies were dry food and water.
The dry food is one piece of dry biscuit per person per day, and each person carries thirty pieces, which is a month's worth of dry food, two water bags, and a small iron square box.
This small square iron box is somewhat similar to the lunch boxes of later generations. It was a military lunch box specially made by Xia Jing in the iron workshop. It can be used as a rice bowl for eating, and as a kettle for boiling water in the wild.
Convenient and practical, it also prevents soldiers from drinking unclean water when marching in the field.
This kind of equipment is considered advanced equipment in this era, but Li Chengmu is still worried about Xia Jing going to the grassland.
In the past few days, he had tried his best to persuade her many times, but Xia Jing just refused to listen. She had made up her mind and vowed not to repent!
He rode forward and said, "Concubine, why don't your son come with you? You won't worry if I'm not with you!"
Xia Jing laughed and scolded: "Why are you worried about me taking action? Don't worry. I won't do anything I'm not sure about."
"Mother Concubine." Li Chengmu is almost dying of worry. What is it like to have a mother with a right idea?
It was probably because of him that he was anxious day and night and couldn't even get a good night's sleep.
Xia Jing looked at the team in front who were getting ready to set off, and her attitude softened a little: "Okay, during my absence, you have to take care of the Gyeonggi area and follow up on all matters. If you don't understand anything,
Just ask Mr. Long."
Li Chengmu wanted to say something more, but Xia Jing didn't wait for him to speak, and said seriously: "Okay, don't say anything else. If you continue, I will deal with you as if you were shaking the morale of the army before the battle!"
Li Chengmu: "."
The others came forward to say goodbye. Xia Jing clasped her fists and said a few polite words to everyone before riding her horse and leading the troops to set off!
If we don't set off, we will waste the whole morning here.
The dust raised by the horse's hooves slowly ran into the distance. Long Yutian watched the cavalry go away and turned around and said to everyone: "Everyone, please go back and perform your duties. Before the princess comes back, we must guard the Gyeonggi area and don't let the enemy
There is an opportunity to take advantage of!"
On the grassland, it is the season when the grass is the tenderest. The various tribes in Beidi are busy grazing. They wander in every corner of the grassland. They graze cattle, horses and sheep and live everywhere, with no fixed place.
Under normal circumstances, herdsmen organize themselves into soldiers in their free time, and are basically busy grazing and collecting forage in the spring, summer and autumn seasons.
At this time, the Beidi people were the most relaxed. They never expected that the Dayu people would take the initiative and come to the grassland to destroy their lair.
"I heard that in the summer, the Beidi people would drive their cattle, horses and sheep deep into the grassland, and even the royal tents would move to the river areas with abundant water and grass. When the autumn is high and the horses are fat, they would organize troops and horses to come to the border of Dayu again.
Grab a wave and collect more supplies to lead the clansmen through the winter safely!"
Sha Yuliang walked aimlessly while introducing the customs of Beidi people to Xia Jing.
Xia Jing held the map she found from the palace library. Because the drawings were not standardized enough, she could only roughly guess their specific locations.
"The closest to us is the Chahar tribe. The ordinary herdsmen of their tribe will move with the water and grass, but the royal tent will not move anywhere at will. Our first stop is Chahar!"
Speaking of the Chahar tribe, Sha Yuliang briefly told everyone what he knew about the situation in Chahar.
The Chahar tribe has about 20,000 to 30,000 people. During the grazing season in spring, summer and autumn, their herdsmen will disperse in all directions with their cattle, horses and sheep, each looking for their own secret base, which is the area rich in water and grass they have discovered.
.
If it is true as Sha Yuliang said, then there is really nothing to fear if 500 of them are to deal with the Chahar tribe that has dispersed its herdsmen.
Xia Jing put away the map, took out a compass from her pocket, and combined it with her spiritual power, even God would not allow her to get lost on the grassland!
Five days later, Xia Jing looked at the tent that looked like a small white dot in the distance, "Sha Yuliang, that should be where the royal tent of the Chahar tribe is, right?"
Sha Yuliang's eyesight was not as good as Xia Jing's. He squinted his eyes hard, compared the white tent with the tents next to him, and said: "The king's tent is two or three times larger than ordinary tents. I looked at the tents scattered on the grassland.
, after comparison, it should be where Chahar’s royal tent is.”
Xia Jing glanced at the sun in the sky and said, "In half an hour, the sun will set. Let's find a slightly lower place to hide and wait until the situation is known at night before taking action!"
Bringing five hundred cavalry, Xia Jing really didn't dare to make a surprise attack in broad daylight, so she decided to wait until night to figure out the situation before formulating a battle plan.
As the Golden Crow falls in the west, the grassland is dyed with a layer of gold. As time goes by, the gold slowly disappears and the sky becomes darker and darker.
While eating dry food, Sha Yuliang told Xia Jing the results of his analysis: "The soldiers and horses in Beidi are all herdsmen organized by various tribes. The real soldiers and horses are probably warriors from each tribe, but the number of real warriors is very small.
, Therefore, I estimate that there are not many troops and horses left in the Chahar tribe."
Xia Jing felt that his analysis was very reasonable. She went out to find out in the evening. She found that there were about 3,000 people left behind in the Chahar tribe. Most of them were women and children, and some were people captured from Dayu. They were doing
He does the dirtiest work and eats the worst, so his already skinny body becomes even thinner.
There are about 700 combat-effective soldiers, 200 more than them, and this does not include the ordinary women and children of Beidi.
"This tribe is quite wealthy. There are nearly 2,000 horses alone, not counting the cattle, horses and sheep that are driven by herdsmen to graze and the cattle and sheep in the pen."
Sha Yuliang said with envy: "I'm a little greedy, so many horses can arm two thousand cavalry."
"He hoards grain and I hoard guns. In the end, his house is my granary. In the same way, he hoards horses and I hoard guns, and his house is our horse farm! So brothers, don't be greedy. If you have the time, you might as well just grab it!"
Jing patted Sha Yuliang on the shoulder and spoke with domineering words.
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