Chapter 113: The decisive battle at Hulao Pass (1)
November twenty-eight.
Early in the morning, the Tang army drove more than 4,000 war horses, transported them on warships, and went to the sandbanks in the river and Guangwu on the north bank to graze.
When the sun was three shots high, Xia Jun suddenly moved.
Guo Shiheng, the naval force of the Zheng Army stationed on the river bank, dispatched all his troops, divided into two groups with great fanfare, and rushed to Shazhou and Guangwu.
At the same time, the Xia army mobilized its main force, and nearly 100,000 people on foot and horse came out in full force. Soon, they formed a formation near the Sishui River in the west and the Yellow River in the north.
Due to the large number of troops and the narrow terrain, the Xia army's formation stretched for several miles from west to east, which was very spectacular.
Dou Jiande also personally sat in the middle of the formation, eagerly waiting for Li Shimin to come out of Hulao Pass and have a showdown with him.
…
at the same time.
The mountain forest in the southeast corner of Hulao Pass is the remnant of Songshan Mountain. With undulating mountains and dense jungle, it is an excellent place to hide traces.
As Dou Jiande wished, Li Shimin came out.
But the difference is that Li Shimin came out secretly in the middle of the night, bringing with him four thousand elite black armor soldiers and winged cavalry.
Moreover, as soon as Li Shimin came out of seclusion, he hid in the mountains and forests near Sishui, and Xia Jun had no idea about it.
In the dense forest on the top of the mountain, under the cover of the lush trees, Li Shimin and Xia Yu carefully looked at the situation of Xia Jun down the mountain.
Li Daoxuan, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, and Zhai Changsun, the five most powerful generals of the world, all stood behind him.
At the foot of the mountain, there is an army of four thousand tigers and wolves, ready to attack.
Li Shimin looked excited: "The military advisor really had a good plan, and Xia's army really came out in full force."
"Haha!" Xia Yu was proud and showed a hint of disdain: "This Dou Jiande is nothing. It seems that there are many people, but it is difficult to look at the beginning and end of such a long snake."
"As long as we hit him within seven inches, we can defeat the enemy in one fell swoop."
Li Shimin smiled: "Actually, it cannot be said that Dou Jiande miscalculated. He just didn't expect that he would defeat him with only four thousand people."
"Of course, the only people in the world who can do this are the Xuanjia soldiers."
"But the Xia army has never fought against the Xuanjia soldiers and has no personal experience of their terror, so they arrayed themselves in such a fearless manner."
"Your Highness is wise." Xia Yu said with a smile: "Dou Jiande knows he doesn't know the enemy, so he won't lose unjustly."
"Second brother," Li Daoxuan said unconvincedly, "What the black armored soldiers can do, I can do the same with the winged cavalry."
Li Shimin laughed: "Although the winged cavalry are strong, their number is still too small and it is difficult to use them effectively."
Li Daoxuan was waiting for this, and he said with a smile: "Second brother, after you defeat Dou Jiande, can you expand it for me?"
Li Shimin was stunned and said speechlessly: "So you are waiting for me here."
All the generals suddenly burst into laughter.
"Your Highness, Military Advisor," Cheng Yaojin was anxious and couldn't help but said: "Since Xia Jun has taken the bait, when will we attack?"
Qin Qiong and others are also gearing up and preparing for a big battle.
"What's the rush!?"
Xia Yu smiled faintly, with murderous intent flashing in his eyes: "Xia's army has just formed its formation, and its morale is at its peak. We need to polish off its sharpness first."
"As the saying goes: If you attack someone, you will be lazy! Don't worry, you will fight the battle."
"That's right. Tell the soldiers to hide in the forest, eat and drink well, and when the time comes, I will lead them into the battle, and they will be successful in a battle."
"promise."
All the generals eagerly accepted the order.
But Dou Jiande was said to be wearing a helmet and armor, sitting on an imperial chariot, with a gorgeous and huge yellow umbrella above his head.
The Emperor of Daxia was already a little anxious at this time.
Nearly 100,000 Xia troops have been in formation for more than half an hour. As the time approaches noon, there is no movement at Hulao Pass.
Not to mention Li Shimin, there was not even a shadow of Tang Jun.
Dou Jiande looked around.
He found that the Xia troops nearby were already a little tired, some were quietly moving their legs, some were whispering, and the formation was a bit chaotic.
Don't forget, Xia Jun is fully armed.
Even for lightly armored soldiers, the weight of their armor and weapons is still twenty or thirty kilograms. If they are heavily armored, their weight is no less than forty kilograms.
With such a heavy load, it would be strange to not feel tired after standing for an hour or two.
What's more, Dou Jiande's command was relaxed, and the Xia army's military discipline was not very strict. If the Tang army did not arrive for a long time, it would inevitably be restless.
Dou Jiande frowned, turned around and said, "Let the soldiers hold on a little longer."
"promise."
Beside him, Yin Qiu nodded and passed the order.
This imperial general was shot with an arrow by Li Shimin a few days ago. Fortunately, his armor was thick and the injury was not too serious. He has been recuperating recently.
Therefore, when he heard that there was going to be a decisive battle with the Tang army, he took the initiative to ask Dou Jiande for permission to fight despite his injuries.
Dou Jiande felt his loyalty and bravery and readily agreed.
At this moment, there were messengers flying through the battalions, forming serious formations. Only then did the somewhat tired Sergeant Xia cheer up and continue to stand by.
After waiting for another half an hour, there was still no movement at Hulao Pass.
When Dou Jiande looked up, he found that the sun was already high in the sky, and it was really noon. Now, he couldn't help it anymore.
"Ling Aiqing."
"His Majesty."
Next to the royal chariot, Ling Jing quickly turned out.
Dou Jiande said anxiously: "It's already noon, and the naval forces of the two armies have already been engaged in battle on the river. Why is there no movement from Li Shimin?"
He could see clearly that Xia Jun couldn't stand it anymore if Li Shimin didn't come out.
The soldiers had been standing all morning, and they were all exhausted. One of them staggered around, but the brave one even sat down on the ground.
The low voices of complaint are endless.
When the generals of the Xia army at all levels saw that their soldiers were anxious and tired, they did not dare to demand too much. They just pretended not to see that they themselves were anxious and tired.
Ling Jing was also puzzled.
The Yellow River is not very wide. Li Shimin should have received the letter as soon as the water war started, but now it is calm. What does it mean?
He hesitated and said: "Your Majesty, maybe Li Shimin is really scared when he sees the strength of our army!"
Dou Jiande's eyes widened and he said in disbelief: "These are four thousand war horses! It's hard to say whether there were 40,000 horses in the entire Tang Dynasty, but they were thrown away so easily?"
You must know that Li Tang professed his vassalship to the Turks, knelt down, spoke kindly and gave generous gifts, and only received a supplement of 3,000 war horses from the Turks in one year.
Therefore, Li Shimin was so generous, which made Dou Jiande very shocked: Is this a betrayal of his father? Doesn't Tian feel bad?
"I really misjudged this Li Shimin! He is so cowardly that he was praised as the God of War by ignorant people. It's really funny."
Dou Jiande was very disappointed. Such Li Shimin was not worthy of being his opponent at all.
If there was no natural danger in Hulao Pass, he was confident that he could beat the shit out of the opponent.
At this time, Qi Shanxing jumped out. After waiting for a long time, he finally got the chance to give Ling Jing eye drops.
"Your Majesty, I said yesterday that our troops are strong and our horses are strong. Then Li Shimin is not a fool. How can he throw an egg against a stone!?"
"After all, no matter how important four thousand horses are, they are not as important as one's own life."
"Then just like what I said yesterday, grab these four thousand horses first, and then continue to grab them when the Tang army comes out to graze again." Ling Jing did not show weakness, and immediately retorted: "Our army will not suffer any loss anyway."
"We have 200,000 horses in Daxia, but only about 30,000 war horses, and nearly half of them are inferior. If we can rob the Tang army of more than 10,000 good Turkic horses, we will make a lot of money!"
When Dou Jiande heard this, he nodded repeatedly: "My enemy, if we have more than 10,000 good horses, our Daxia cavalry will be able to dominate the world and be invincible."
"General Yin, you immediately send someone to give an order to General Guo. Since Li Shimin can't retreat, don't hold back and must seize the horse."
"I want to see how long this Li Shimin can endure it."
"promise."
After receiving the order, Yin Qiu immediately arranged for men and ships to go to Guo Shiheng to convey the new order.
"Your Majesty," at this moment, Zhang Qingte galloped over and dismounted to report: "The soldiers have been standing all morning and are thirsty and tired. Can you please let everyone rest for a while?"
Dou Jiande thought for a while, he always treated his soldiers generously, and since Li Shimin did not dare to come out, there was no need to act like a formidable enemy. He immediately said: "Okay. But you can only rest where you are, and you are not allowed to move around at will, which will disrupt the formation."
,in case."
"Also, tell the soldiers to be patient for a while longer. After General Guo takes over the Tang army's war horses, the army can turn around."
"promise."
Zhang Qingte relaxed his horse and left,
After a while, the Xia troops in each battalion were relieved after receiving the news. They sat down to rest one after another, and some even lay down and staggered.
The officers were treated better, and the soldiers fetched water, so at least their thirst was quenched.
Fortunately, it is late autumn and early winter, so the weather is quite mild. If it were midsummer or midwinter, it would be a disaster.
