The most critical step in gathering the remnant soldiers is to gather their hearts. Xue Shixiong is worthy of being a veteran general who has served for many years. A simple sentence of "go home" aroused everyone's desire to survive. After having a goal in their hearts again, the soldiers' performance was no longer the same.
It was as chaotic as when they first escaped from Shengtian. The orders issued by the general were basically carried out smoothly, and the order when the army was marching was much better than at night.
Although they were now deep in enemy territory, 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, they walked twenty miles each in the morning and afternoon, and chose a dangerous area that could be defended.
In the hilly areas where water is available, a camp is set up 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 three quarters in the afternoon, they set up camp early. Xue Shixiong sent out scouts to inquire about the enemy's movements, and at the same time sent out archery comparisons.
The outstanding soldiers followed Wang Yuantong to hunt around the camp. At the same time, more than 300 veterans who were stronger and had done farm work at home were selected 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 slowly began to recover. Seeing this, Xue Shixiong appropriately sent three regiments of infantry to attack a place.
The remote nomadic tribe was unprepared by the opponent. The Sui army naturally won a great victory. They snatched no less than a hundred cattle, sheep, and horses. They followed the defeated troops and chased them for fifteen miles before returning in victory. Xue Shixiong was very happy.
, each of the soldiers was given a record of their great achievements and rewarded with two measures of rice. At the same time, he ordered that all the plundered livestock be killed and roasted into pieces of meat for everyone to nourish. For a time, there was thunderous joy in the army, and almost everyone
They all firmly believed that under the leadership of such a wise general, everyone could safely withdraw 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 current troops and horses were rescued by everyone, and the food they used was brought from western Liaoning at the risk of their lives. Even the current march map is
The map of Liaodong was drawn by Lieutenant Li Xu when he was in Huaiyuan Town, not 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. Liu Hongji was not angry, but smiled and comforted him in a low voice: "General Xue is experienced and experienced in using troops. Regardless of his reputation,
, his abilities are far superior to mine, so it is understandable that the troops and horses should be under his command. Everyone is still in danger, so what’s the use of gaining a little fame?! Besides, we didn’t save people in the first place just to make people grateful. It’s a trivial thing, soldiers.
Don’t look too hard on Xun!”
"When an army of three hundred thousand has been built up against a wall, why are you boasting about your skill in using soldiers?" The warrior Xun 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 his sentence.
Judging from the panic of the enemy troops when setting up camp that night, it can be inferred 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 sweep half of Liaodong. The expedition took less than a month.
To fight directly from the east bank of the Liao River to the gates of Pyongyang is a feat of bravery. General Yuwenshu’s response strategy when supplies ran out can be considered quite satisfactory. I’m afraid that such a must-win battle has such an outcome, and I’m afraid he shouldn’t be held responsible
Blame it on the soldiers. But who should be responsible is not something Liu Hongji, a little cavalry general, can comment on casually.
"Scoff!" Warrior Xun snorted a foul breath from his nostrils, ignored Liu Hongji, and turned to Li Xu to complain. However, he saw Li Xu lying on the stone floor like a duck, clumsily wiping his back with a cloth dipped in salt water.
Wounds on his back. When he was camping 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 stumbled 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 during his reign. 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 woods for the past few days.
The hilly area is dense and humid, 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 first 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, while wiping, he whispered
He muttered: "That General Xue is also 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..."
"It's a skin injury, it doesn't matter." Li Xu gritted his teeth and tried to appear as relaxed as possible. 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 Yu scolded with great dissatisfaction. Although Li Xu was his immediate superior, he was older than
Li Xu is much older, and the relationship between the two parties is very close, so there is not so much distinction between superiority and inferiority when speaking 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, the armor has an iron ruler added to the lining. Lao Qi and the others are good friends with you, so you
This armor is thicker than what ordinary captains use..." The warrior Xun saw Qi Pening 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 groan.
"It'll be fine soon, it'll be fine soon!" Warrior Yu quickly expressed comfort to Li Xu. His hand was too heavy just now, and new blood was already flowing out of the wound. That is to say, Li Xu, if he had been replaced by another boss, he would have raised his hand and
Give him a big slap in the face.
"No, it's okay!" Li Xu said feebly. Since he joined the food protection army, his armor has been provided by Lao Qi on his own initiative. From team leader, brigade commander to school captain, Qi Po Ning sent people every time he was promoted.
He gave him a new armor and 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 generals of different ranks wore different armors for their serious military appearance, but he did not expect that there was such a big difference in their protective performance.
.
Looking furtively 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, team leaders, team leaders, and brigade leaders actually accounted for a large part. Only Li Liang was killed in the battle above the brigade rate.
Only one of the six teams that went to the camp was killed. Twenty-two of the thirty team leaders 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 had always taken good care of him, was lying on his back on a stone slab to bask in the sun. Two soldiers squatted beside him and wiped his wound with a clean white cloth.
Not far away from Liu Hongji was Yuwen Shiji. This guy who finally calmed down was sitting on a stone drinking tea. The two generals of the Yuwen family, whether it was the extremely brave Yuwen Ji or the loyal Yuwen Zhong,
They all lowered their heads 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 indescribable 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 know
, it turns out that human life is also so different in the face of death.
"Of course, otherwise who would bother to climb up!" Warrior Yu replied disdainfully, carrying the dirty cloth to the stream to wash it.
Beside the stream, there were piles of ordinary soldiers. They were not so particular about their food. Occasionally, someone would put down a piece of meat or a few mushrooms on the makeshift stove ground out of stone chips, which would 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 who wanted to 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.
, disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye. Although Eulji Mundeok was not present on the day when the enemy broke out, but allowing such a large group of people to escape, there were flaws in the almost jade-like perfect Liaodong annihilation battle. If
From an overall perspective, this flaw is more than just a small one!
Taking advantage of the weakness of the enemy monarch's fondness for false reputation, the Goguryeo monarchs and ministers repeatedly used the two clever strategies of surrender and betrayal, and played a wonderful game. More than 300,000 Sui troops armed to the teeth were dragged to death in Liaodong. This
This victory is not nothing short of magnificent. In Goguryeo, the reputations of King Gowon and Prime Minister Eulji Mundeok suddenly rose to unprecedented heights! Although their means of victory may seem a bit disgraceful, as long as the result is beautiful, who cares about the process and the
What about the means? Besides, playing rogue is the prerogative of small countries. If a small country plays fair and square with a big country, that country will definitely be seeking death.
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 morale. If Goguryeo sends people to leak the news that the expeditionary army was wiped out in the Mazhai River, it will be promoted.
, the seemingly powerful Sui army will definitely retreat without a fight. With the power of victory, the Goguryeo soldiers crossed the Liao River and 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 from Qin Dynasty and Chu Dynasty, and they are used to following the strong. Today, Goguryeo has a great victory, and they can follow Goguryeo to fight the autumn wind. If Goguryeo's soldiers and horses are behind
If the road was copied, they would definitely make atonement for His Majesty the Sui Emperor without hesitation. Therefore, the remnant soldiers who escaped must be found as soon as possible. As long as they still exist, the Goguryeo army will not be able to worry about it.
Killed across the Liao River without fear.
But this remnant army disappeared in the night. Eulji Mundeok 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
It was known that the number of enemy troops who came to rob the camp that night would never exceed a thousand. Even this mere thousand dead men caused almost three times more casualties to the Goguryeo army and rescued the remaining soldiers who had been hungry for several days.
If the general who led the thousands of dead men was allowed to hide behind the Goguryeo army, Ulji Mundeok would always feel like a thorn in his back.
He sent five thousand cavalry to pursue the enemy along the Wugu River for two days, but found no trace of the enemy. According to the report of the defender of Wugu City, there was indeed a cavalry force of nearly 10,000 people trying to attack Wugu City that day, but after
The enemy troops retreated in panic after being attacked head-on by the defenders, leaving hundreds of corpses behind. To this day, the heads of those corpses are still piled beside the Wugu River.
"Ten thousand cavalry. If the enemy had ten thousand cavalry, you idiots would have lost the Black Bone City long ago!" Eulji Mundeok cursed at the messenger of the Black Bone City. He never believed that ten thousand cavalry had ever been in the city.
The only possibility for what appeared near Wugu City is that this group of troops used a trick of suspicion to deceive the garrison of Wugu City, and on the same night, they launched a sneak 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? The Sui army that came to rob the camp must not have brought thousands of war horses with them!" Eulji Wende was puzzled. From the captured
In the Sui army's baggage, 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, in addition to domestic and
Outside of Buyeo Second City, the rest of the area is completely blank. (Note 2)
"Come here! Send a message to the three villages of Gebu, Mudi and Cangyan!" Suddenly, Eulji Wende shouted. It was not a blank. As the prime minister of Goguryeo, he knew that there were several villages on the edge of those barren mountains.
In the fortresses that had just surrendered to Goguryeo not long ago, the private soldiers of each village gathered under their command. If the Sui army had a map in their hands 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 nearby activities. The prime minister 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 fast horse beat the sound of golden drums. (To be continued)
