Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 552
On the open field, more than a thousand cavalry are fighting fiercely.

Holding an iron spear, Shi Yanwei stabbed down two Xia thief cavalry in succession, breaking through the encirclement.

This thief ride is too difficult to deal with.Like the Central Plains cavalry, they are good at fighting, but short at riding and shooting. The two have the same characteristics, and it is very laborious to kill, and the casualties are also heavy.

"Withdraw!" He yelled, and his soldiers waved the banner, signaling his own cavalry to follow up, circled around and returned to the main formation.

The thief Xia on the opposite side didn't bother much, and broke away from each other tacitly, and went back to lick their wounds.

After Shi Yanwei dismounted, panting heavily, he nodded his head and almost fell to the ground.

Nearly two hundred rides were missing!
Most of their cavalry had the surnames of Shi, Kang, An, Cao, etc., and they were all old people from Liangzhou. It really hurts to lose so many at once.

Yes, they are all Sogdians with tall noses and deep eyes, but they have lived in Bianzhou for many years.

Shi Yanci, the elder brother of Shi Yanwei clan, is now an official in the Bianzhou shogunate.The family sister, Shi Shi, is the concubine of the king of Dongping County, and she has a son Zhu Youzhang, who is very doted on.

The Sogdian group in Bianzhou started out as a soldier. Like He Delun and the Hexi Hu people, they belonged to the cavalry unit of the old Xuanwu Army.But after living for two generations, it has gradually expanded to various industries, and many people even started businesses.

But in any case, those who started their careers with military merits, in today's world, especially understand the importance of military power.

It was really heartbreaking to lose two hundred riders in the first battle.

Zhu Youwen rode over and saw Shi Yanwei standing there with a dark face, he knew it.

Ankangba is dead, if something happens to Shi Yanwei, the power of the Sogdian general who was once powerful will collapse.

That guy He Delun was not the same as them, on the contrary, there was a little fight, and he should be very happy to see them suffer.

Alas, the factionalism of shit!
"General Shi, Pang Shuai has an order to send five hundred cavalry to Heyang to escort a batch of food, grass and equipment to the camp." Zhu Youwen said.

Xiao Fu was the envoy of grain and supplies this time, and Zhu Youwen also followed him for the camp in Heyang.

"But the distance is only a few tens of miles, and I have to wait to dispatch? Isn't there an infantry escort?" Shi Yanwei asked after breathing heavily.

It is not far from Mengzhou to Heqing, only seventy or eighty miles away, and it takes only three days for a normal march.What can happen at this distance?Is it a big deal?
"There is an infantry escort, but the cavalry still needs to be on guard from a distance. The bandit cavalry has been moving around in the past few days, and may rob our army of food and grass." Zhu Youwen replied.

Shi Yanwei was a little helpless, after checking the military orders of Pang Shigu and Li Si'an, he surrendered his orders.

This was not Pang Shigu's idea.Mostly it was Zhang Quanyi's idea, Xiao Fu had nothing to do, and Pang Shigu didn't want to embarrass the two of them in such a trivial matter, so he agreed with the situation.

After thinking it over, Shi Yanwei had no choice but to order five hundred horses honestly, and followed Zhu Youwen himself.

In the past few days, he has been fighting against Xia Zei's cavalry on the front line, and he probably has figured out the situation.

There are actually not many thieves, at least not as many as Bianjun.

The three cavalry troops who followed Pang Shigu to the north totaled more than 1000 cavalry, Zhang Shensi had more than [-] cavalry, Zhang Quanyi had [-] cavalry, a total of [-] to [-] regular cavalry, Xia Bandit should not have so many.

However, they should have a lot of fan cavalry, but they didn't dispatch much.But Shi Yanwei didn't pay much attention to those people. Their equipment is too poor, their military discipline is not very strict, and most importantly, they only know how to ride and shoot. .

The most difficult thing to deal with is actually Xia Zei's own regular cavalry, they should call them "military cavalry", they don't ride and shoot, they only fight, they are difficult to deal with.

After Shi Yanwei and Zhu Youwen left, the cavalrymen of the Bian Army did not continue to provoke, and most of them returned to the camp.

Pang Shigu was discussing matters with the generals in the camp.

Kou Yanqing of the Changzhi Army, Huo Cun of the Baosheng Army, Dai Siyuan of the Flying Dragon Army, Xu Huaiyu of the Xiongwei Army, Zhang Cunjing of the Pro-Cavalry Army, Wang Tan of the Tabai Capital, Li Si'an of the Capturing Army, Li Hui of the Marine Division, Kang Yanxiao of the Camping Capital, and Xiao Xiao, the Food Envoy Fu and other major generals came, as did Guo Shaobin and Zhang Yun of the Jianrui Army.

Guo Shaobin is Guo Zhu, the former general of Caozhou of the Tianping Army, who killed the governor Guo Ci and surrendered the city.

Zhang Yun was a Suzhou general in Xuzhen. After expelling Shangguan, he proclaimed himself the governor, and then returned to the Bian army.

The [-] strong army is also dominated by descendants, and the two are in charge of the left and right sides.

The two of them had done well after changing jobs and bosses, and Zhu Quanzhong trusted them very much.

After Pang Shigu called everyone together, he first discussed the situation in the army, and then the topic naturally turned to the current battle situation.

What is Shao's countermeasure?This is something that needs to be clarified urgently.

"A few days ago when they attacked Liaowu, Xia's thieves were well guarded and quick to respond. There should be a lot of soldiers on the pier." Li Hui said: "The soldiers are also very skilled, and my son-in-law was finally defeated. From this point of view, Liaowu It should be the key point of defense. But on the big river, the bandit army's food ships are afraid to disembark, so what's the use of Liaowu? The only explanation is that the bandit army is afraid that our army will attack and occupy the pier and threaten its rear. Xia Thieves should focus on defense."

Pang Shigu nodded slightly, but did not express his opinion.

"Aren't those the Xia bandits' tricks?" Huo Cun sneered, and said, "When the Baosheng army crossed the north, the bandit cavalry were very rampant. Using the advantage of the cavalry, harass the rear of our army and cut off our food supply. "

"General Huo's words are wrong." Zhang Cunjing said in a leisurely manner: "Our army's food road is only more than [-] miles away. How can we stop the bandits? If it is really impossible, we can choose a place near the camp, cut wood and build a bridge to the river. Here, I use boats to transport grain and grass. Below the river is clear, the water flow suddenly slows down. Although this is not easy, it is not impossible. How will the Xia thief cut off my grain road?"

Huo Cun stared, just about to complain about their cavalry's ineffectiveness in fighting, but after thinking about it, he restrained himself.

Zhang Cunjing is the old man of Yuancong, the king of Dongping County, with a detached status.He is just a surrendered general from the Chao army who came to vote halfway, although he is also very trustworthy, but after all he is no match for Zhang Cunjing.

"In my opinion, there are not many Xia bandits!" Kou Yanqing, the envoy of the Changzhi Army, said bluntly: "Shao Shude is conservative in using troops, but he still likes to defeat the enemy in field battles. Back then, he fought Huangchao in Guanzhong, Lingzhou, and defeated Li. Changfu fought in an array, destroying the enemy in one fell swoop. He dare not fight now, it can only be said that he has few troops and is not sure of defeating our army."

There is some truth to this statement, Pang Shigu glanced at Kou Yanqing with approval on his face.

It is indeed one of the two generals admired by the King of Dongping County, but it is a pity that Liu Han is gone!

"Zhiguan came to report that the Xia bandits dug trenches, broke the road, and retreated to Qiziling. This is showing cowardice, and obviously there are not many soldiers." After thinking for a long time, Xu Huaiyu also expressed his opinion: "Shao bandits have few soldiers, and they are worried about losing in battle. , so stand firm and defend yourself until our soldiers are exhausted."

Everyone said what they said, judging from the clues they observed, they are all people who have fought for half a lifetime and have rich experience, but they have made a lot of analysis.

The summary is one point: there are not many Xia Zei soldiers, not even half of them, and there is no certainty of victory in field battles.But once the field battle is defeated, not only Heqing will not be preserved, but most of Wangwu and Yuanxian counties will also be lost.In this way, the situation that Shao thief has been in business for more than a year will quickly collapse, and Wang Yao in Hezhong may also change, and he will be devastated.

Those who dared to take this risk and go out to fight in the city must be very gambled. Shao thief doesn't seem to like gambling, so it is normal for Yingcheng to defend itself.

"I've studied Shao's strategy of using troops." Pang Shigu held up his hands empty-handedly, stopped everyone's words, and said, "He likes to lead the main force of the central army by himself, and sends out strange soldiers to avoid the battlefield. It's just a coincidence. This is the art of war. The Huanghuang Avenue, Li Weigong likes to do this very much. Now that the Shao bandits are in Heqing, it should be true, but where are the strange soldiers?"

"Or in Zezhou?" Dai Siyuan said in a questioning tone: "Yesterday there was a military report that the bandit general Qi Bizhang led troops to raid Wuzhi, Wude and other places, killing hundreds of Huaizhou soldiers, and Huaizhou Sima Zhang Jifeng died in battle. Is this a strange soldier?"

Dai Siyuan is the envoy of the Flying Dragon Army, and Qi Bizhang is also the envoy of the Flying Dragon Army. He has always been very concerned about this cavalry infantry of the Xia Army, after all, they are "true colleagues".

"This is a route of surprise soldiers." Pang Shigu nodded and said: "But it is not enough, there may be a second route."

"Could it be Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin?" Kang Yanxiao, who had always kept a low profile, said, "The Xia bandits sent a lot of cavalry to Yunzhou. Are these surprise soldiers?"

"Thousands of horses, what can you do? The left and right Desheng army, the left and right generals, the left and right long sword army, and the left and right cavalry army are all there. I'm afraid they will die if they come?" Huo Cun glanced at Kang Yanxiao.

This man from the east of the river actually has a prosperous military fortune, and he has become the marquis of the camp capital, which is really annoying.

The Desheng army is a cavalry army, and the army envoy He Delun.

The Long Sword Army is a hand-to-hand melee force, led by Wang Zhongshi, one of the elite main forces of the Bian Army.

General Tu, you can tell by the name, Death Squad.It was composed of brave men from Qin Zongquan's old department. It has been used to break the front and kill the enemy in the field.

The Jiama army is equipped with long spears, epees and various types of crossbows, and specializes in dealing with cavalry.

"Although it's not a big deal, but if the situation is critical, the Shao bandits send the human road to Yunzhou and strictly order the cavalry to fight. It's a surprise soldier along the way." Kang Yanxiao looked at Huo Cun dissatisfied, and said.

I am from Hedong, and you are from Shangrang. We are both afraid of you?

"Two generals." Xiao Fu stood up with a smile on his face, walked past Guo Shaobin and Zhang Yun, two little transparent, and said with a smile: "Be safe and don't be impatient. I see Pang Shuai smiling without saying a word. It must have been settled. We are all from our own family, so why hurt our friendship?"

Pang Shigu put a smile on his face, and said: "Today's discussion, the plan is clear. Shao thief is so unhappy, he doesn't have any heroic spirit, so he just sticks to it. The matter has come to this point, there is nothing to talk about, just let him go. , I’ll just go all the way and attack Heqing first.”

Everyone also looked solemn and listened carefully.

"Guo Shaobin, Zhang Yun!" Pang Shigu shouted.

"The end is here!" The two responded in unison.

"The equipment is almost finished, and it's time for the sharp army to go out."

"As ordered!"

(End of this chapter)