The Northern Han Elementary School actually only took three or four days of galloping from Taiyuan to the south. However, marching in large groups was much slower than riding alone. Especially the 30,000-strong army led by Liu Ling had too few cavalry.
If it were replaced by 30,000 elite cavalry, the speed would be much faster.
The men and horses in the Gyeonggi camp were better. After all, they were all elites selected from the battalions of the Fuyuan Army and the Jianxiong Army. The Forbidden Army could still endure the march on the first day, but on the second day, stragglers began to appear.
As for the garrison, it was even more unbearable. The so-called garrison was almost all people from Taiyuan City. Among them, there were many whose families were slightly richer or even rich, accounting for a large part. These people joined the army because they were unable to study.
If you can't gain fame, you will find another way to eat official meals.
There is no serious training at all on weekdays, and their physical strength is not even as good as that of the Forbidden Army. These people usually just change shifts and stand guard on the tower. When they are off duty, they either drink and punch, or cover their heads and sleep. The Forbidden Army has to do it every day anyway.
The garrison is simply here to enjoy the blessings of training guns and clubs. Although the military pay is the lowest, it is the most leisurely.
After being transferred to the camp in Gyeonggi Province, they became motherless children that no one cared about. They were also happy and comfortable, just playing, sleeping and drinking in the camp all day long, and they lost the spirit that a group of men should have.
It’s all been consumed. That’s how this person is, whatever his faults are. If this laziness catches up with him, it will be very difficult to let go.
On the third day of the march, the men of the garrison were dragging their feet and could no longer move. Even the men and horses of the Gyeonggi Camp could barely withstand such an intense march. How could they persist? Not to mention the infantry.
The cavalry couldn't stand it any longer. Apart from setting up camp and sleeping at night, they even ate while walking. Before setting off, Liu Ling asked everyone to bring enough dry food for four days. Now everyone understands why. It turns out that there is no
You won’t have to bury the pot and cook halfway.
Eat some hard, dry and cold food when you are hungry every day, and drink a sip of cold water when you are thirsty. The soldiers of the Forbidden Army and the garrison have long complained. If it weren't for Liu Ling's brutal killing methods when he ordered generals in the Gyeonggi camp, the garrison
Some of the soldiers in the army deserted a long time ago.
Originally, even they themselves felt that they would not be able to hold on any longer, but on the night of the third day, an imperial envoy came from Taiyuan City. Liu Ling specially assembled the garrison and read out the imperial envoy in front of more than 10,000 people.
The general idea of the imperial edict is this. Those who were deserters in the garrison three days ago were arrested one by one by people from the Eight Inspection Department and the Ministry of War as soon as they returned to their homes in Taiyuan City. Three hundred were arrested in one day.
There were many people, and with His Majesty the Emperor's order, more than 300 headless ghosts appeared outside the gate of Taiyuan City.
As soon as the news spread, all the people who had planned to sneak away halfway stopped their thoughts. Most of them were locals in Taiyuan. If they had become deserters, what else could they do if they didn't go home? Even if they didn't go home, they could go somewhere else.
If the place is gone, what should I do if my family members are implicated?
In troubled times, Emperor Xiao used heavy codes, and Emperor Xiao's move indeed suppressed all the soldiers in the garrison, including the Forbidden Army. Everyone gave up their thoughts of escaping and gritted their teeth and persisted.
On the fourth day, the army was already far away from Yingzhou. At this time, the scouts who had been sent straight to Yuzhou hurriedly came to report.
Liu Ling was eating, which was the same as ordinary soldiers. It was coarse and hard dry food. If he couldn't swallow it, he would drink water to wash it down. He was in excellent physical condition. Although he felt tired, he was not unable to hold on. After so many years of marching,
I have gained a lot of perseverance through the experience of fighting, so this little hardship is nothing.
Hearing that the expedition to Yuzhou had returned, Liu Ling asked people to come over quickly.
This time, a total of ten scouts went to Yuzhou, and when they came back, only four were left. The leading scout arrived in front of Liu Ling, covered in dust, and was supported by someone and reluctantly saluted. The ones who followed behind him
The same goes for several scouts, who had long since taken off their humanoid forms due to fatigue. Their clothes were disheveled, and all of them were injured.
The scout's left shoulder was simply wrapped, and blood still seeped out from the wound. His face was pale, without a trace of blood. His lips were chapped, and he was extremely weak.
"Report...report! Your Majesty, Yuzhou...is still here!"
When Liu Ling heard this, he stood up suddenly, stepped over to support the scout and asked, "What did you say? Say it again!"
The scout was extremely weak and said with difficulty: "Your Majesty, Yuzhou is still in our hands!"
"The ten of us walked non-stop all the way to the outside of Yingzhou. We saw that the 80,000-strong army of the Later Zhou Dynasty Marshal Sun Xuandao had surrounded Yuzhou City like a steel barricade. We climbed up a high slope to check, and there was a stone on the wall of Yuzhou City.
It’s still the flag of our big men!”
"We quietly captured a soldier from the Later Zhou Dynasty and learned from him that Yuzhou had been besieged for ten days. Although there were only less than 5,000 defenders in the city, the people in the city under the leadership of General Du Yi
They all climbed up the city wall. There were no more bows and arrows, so the people tore down the houses and smashed them down with bricks and stones."
"It's just that Yuzhou has been guarding these ten days. Although we have killed more than 6,000 enemies, our number is less than 2,000, and all of them are injured."
The scout said so much in one breath, and his body swayed. Liu Ling took off the water bag and fed him water himself. The scout seemed to have not eaten or drank water for a long time. As soon as the water came into his mouth, he became greedy.
He drank heavily. But he was too weak, so he choked on a mouthful of water and then coughed violently.
When he calmed down, he continued: "General Du Yi was shot out of one eye by the Zhou army, but he was still wounded and commanding on the city wall and would not leave the city wall until he died! Your Majesty, send troops quickly. The food and grass in Yuzhou City have been used up.
They are hungry and fighting against Zhou Jun!"
When the scout finished speaking, he couldn't help but burst into tears.
Liu Ling asked someone to help him down to rest, and punched the tree hard.
"Where are the people from Anheng?"
A scout came to report: "Your Majesty, Anheng left 20,000 people to guard Yingzhou. He took 40,000 troops and stationed them 30 miles away from Yuzhou. However, he did not send troops to rescue the siege of Yuzhou, and then Zhou
The army did not attack them!"
Liu Ling's eyes turned cold, and he immediately ordered: "The loyal and righteous Hou Wang Banjin, General Zhaoxian who assists the country, and General Sun Sheng who defends the country, call up all the cavalry and follow me straight to Yuzhou!"
He turned to Sanjiang Waiter Cheng Yihou and said: "Old Cheng, take the infantry to Yingzhou first. Once you enter the city, do you know what to do?"
Of course Cheng Yihou understood what Liu Ling meant. He nodded vigorously and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. After Old Cheng arrives in Yingzhou, he will immediately lead his troops to Yuzhou after seizing the military power! But, Your Majesty, can you listen to me?"
Liu Ling said: "Just tell me."
Cheng Yihou said: "Your Majesty, there are more than 70,000 troops from the Later Zhou Dynasty outside Yuzhou City. Guo Wei's hundreds of thousands of horses will arrive soon. We only have 9,000 cavalry in total. Even if we rush to the distant water, we will not be able to quench our thirst.
Ah. Your Majesty, please reconsider such a dangerous matter. If your Majesty insists on doing this, then let me, Old Cheng, lead the cavalry to relieve the siege of Yuzhou! Your Majesty, don’t worry, as long as I, Old Cheng, still have breath, I will try my best to save him.
Go to Yuzhou City!"
Liu Ling waved his hand and said: "Old Cheng, there is no need to say any more. There are 20,000 elite Fuyuan troops in Yingzhou. As long as you can take over these 20,000 people, it will be a great achievement! I have my own way to deal with Yuzhou, so I will take care of it.
Do what I say!”
Cheng Yihou and other generals wanted to persuade him again, but Liu Ling said coldly: "This is a military order, and anyone who violates it will be killed!"
Cheng Yihou had no choice but to agree.
Liu Ling gathered nine thousand cavalry including the former Black Qilin Army, took Wang Banjin, Zhaoxian, Sun Sheng and others, broke away from the army and roared straight towards Yuzhou.
At this time, on a high slope two or three miles away from the army, Lu Yuzhu and Xun'er were resting under a tree like monkeys. At this time, they were not as free and unrestrained as when they first left Taiyuan City.
Everyone was on the verge of death. Lu Yuzhu could still barely ride a horse, but Xun'er could no longer hold on.
"Miss... let's, let's take a rest before leaving. Xun'er... I really can't hold on any longer."
Xun'er said weakly.
Both of them are delicate girls. They have been riding horses for days, and the skin on the inner thighs has been scratched and the pain is burning. Living in the open air is really not something that pampered girls like them can bear. At first, Lu Yuzhu wanted to go to the hospital first.
Zhou Zhou's idea had to be shelved. Now that it was difficult for them to even keep up with the army, why should they try to surpass it?
The originally delicate faces of the two people were now sallow, and sweat and dust were mixed on their faces, making them extremely uncomfortable. The skin between their legs and buttocks was so worn that they didn't dare to touch them, so how could they rush on their way?
?
Lu Yuzhu sighed and said: "Xun'er, let's do this. You rest here now, and I will follow you alone. You can meet me again when we get to Yingzhou."
Although she is slightly better than Xun'er, she has a lot of injuries on Xun'er's body. It's just that she has a tough temper and doesn't want to give up.
Hearing that the young lady was still on her way, Xun'er pulled her and said: "No! I can't chase her any more. Young lady is so beautiful, even if I want to go to Yingzhou, I'm not in a hurry. Let's rest and wait until we regain our strength."
It’s not too late to go to Yingzhou to find him. He leads the army, so he won’t be lost after all. Even if we arrive a day or two late, it won’t matter!”
Lu Yuzhu shook his head firmly and said: "He must go to Yingzhou, but who knows where he will go next? Regardless of whether Yuzhou is lost or not, this battle must be fought. To recapture Yuzhou
, the morale of our Han Dynasty has been greatly boosted, and it is not impossible to defeat the Zhou army in one fell swoop. If Yuzhou is not recaptured, and we cannot fight a morale-boosting battle, and the morale of the army is messed up, we will definitely lose this war."
"So, I have to follow him. If I get to Yuzhou, I'm afraid I won't have a chance to enter the military camp to see him."
Lu Yuzhu's analysis makes sense. It is rare for a girl who barely leaves home to have such insights.
The two of them were talking when suddenly Lu Yuzhu pointed downward and said, "Xun'er, look, what's going on?"
Xun'er looked along her finger and saw countless cavalry separated from the Han army and quickly leaving in the other direction. Looking from a distance, she could see that all the cavalry of the Han army had separated from the team.
In the smoke and dust, I couldn't see clearly what was going on.
Lu Yuzhu stood up eagerly and said: "Oh no! The prince must have thought that the march was too slow and was afraid of delaying the fighting opportunity. He wanted to take the cavalry one step ahead!" (To be continued)