Chapter 213: The scorching autumn sun solemnizes the military might
Chapter 213 The scorching autumn sun solemns the military power
It was already mid-August. Once we left the border of Xizhou, the weather quickly became cooler. But walking on the unobstructed gravel Gobi, the scorching sun at noon still seemed unbearably hot. The queue of hundreds of carts was like a long dragon, meandering slowly and dullly through the desert.
At the front of the team, Qu Chongyu sat listlessly on his jade lion. The beige forehead under his hat was half soaked with sweat. The silk robe on his back was also soft and stuck to his skin. He wiped away the sweat. , couldn't help but cursed in a low voice, "Damn it!"
This **** hot and cold weather! This **** slow grain truck! He would rather cross the sea channel ten times in the cold wind than sit like a raisin in the hot sun for ten days, smelling disgusting every day!
As if to add another fire to his anxious heart, with the sound of horse hooves, a calm and clear voice came from behind Qu Chongyu, "Your Majesty, there is a mountain road ahead, let the grain truck rest first. A break?”
Qu Chongyu turned his head and glanced at Pei Xingjian coldly, "Didn't I say that if we walk more than ten miles, we will reach the military warehouse? Why bother?"
Pei Xingjian was wearing a thin white pleated round-neck robe dyed bamboo green. His skin was obviously tanned, and there was a thin layer of dust on his face and body. However, he looked refreshed. He just smiled when he heard this, "Your Majesty, why should you be anxious?" , Haste makes waste." He raised his whip and shouted, "Have a rest for a quarter of an hour!"
“The long history has a destiny, rest for a quarter of an hour!”
Pei Xingjian’s orders were passed down one after another. The soldiers and coachmen, who were a little tired from the sun, got off their horses and hid in the shadow of the carriage to drink water and bicker, or to stretch their legs. The entire convoy suddenly had a more leisurely and joyful atmosphere. Only the fast horses patrolling around the convoy were still reminding everyone that a fierce battle between 30,000 Tang troops and 20,000 elite Turkic soldiers was going on in Yingsao River, a hundred miles away.
Qu Chongyu jumped off the horse with a sullen face, took off the water bag from the saddle and took a few sips. The water, which was somewhat heated by the sun, seemed to be unable to relieve the dryness in his throat. He hung up the water bag again.
A fast horse came galloping from the mountain road in front. About seven or eight steps away from Qu Chongyu, it suddenly stopped. The rider dismounted and walked over quickly, "Qi Changshi, twelve miles ahead is the army." Cang, General Su is already waiting for Chang Shi... and the Crown Prince."
Two sharp knives flew out of Qu Chongyu's eyes and poked the Xizhou soldier until he lowered his head. Pei Xingjian's voice was still soothing, "I know, let's check again. If the general asks, he said the grain truck will arrive in two hours."
Twelve miles, two hours to walk? Did Pei Xingjian want to walk two miles and rest? Qu Chongyu frowned, and just as he was about to speak, Pei Xingjian said leisurely, "I'm afraid it will be difficult for grain trucks to travel on this twelve-mile mountain road."
Qu Chongyu glanced forward and remained silent. No matter how dissatisfied he felt in his heart, he had to admit that Pei Xingjian was indeed thoughtful and well-organized. It was more than 600 miles from Xizhou to here, but in the past ten days, such a large convoy moved smoothly under his command. There is a degree of control and the arrangements are thorough and precise, as if he has been on this road countless times. The more than 300 soldiers who followed the convoy became accustomed to following his orders within a few days... just like the one just now!
A quarter of an hour later, the convoy set off again and entered the hills. As expected, the road became rugged and the speed of the cart significantly slowed down. When fences and war horses finally appeared on the mountain road in front of them, the sun had indeed begun. West slope.
Several tall horses stood by the mountain road. When Pei Xingjian was far away, he dismounted and hurried to meet them. Qu Chongyu also cheered up, dismounted and walked over.
On the war horse, the first person in front was Su Dingfang, whom Qu Chongyu had met outside Xizhou City. Compared with the tall and imposing Su Haizheng, General Su looked silent and restrained, and was not eye-catching. However, thinking that he was Pei Xingjian's teacher, most of Qu Chongyu's attention was still focused on him at that time. , but in the end I didn’t see anything special about him. At this moment, Su Dingfang, who received a courtesy from Pei Xingjian before dismounting with a smile, looked almost benevolent. Qu Chongyu murmured in his heart, folded his hands and saluted, "General Su!"
Su Dingfang smiled and nodded, "Prince Qu, it's been a hard journey. Please get on your horse and follow me."
The narrowest point of the mountain road was a heavy fence gate, with sharp and sharp horses piled on both sides. When the sergeant at the gate opened the fence, a large area of gentle slopes sandwiched between mountains appeared in front of him. Simple buildings were built on all sides based on the mountains. The fortifications in the camp were simply arranged with only empty grain carts and wooden fences. From the fence gate to the camp, not a single soldier could be seen. In the middle of the empty camp, the granaries looked like a large plate of hot jade noodles, almost within easy reach.
Qu Chongyu looked around several times in surprise. He really couldn't believe that what he saw was the land of granary. He couldn't help but turned around and asked, "General Su, how many guards are there in this granary?"
Su Dingfang smiled a little carelessly, "One thousand."
Qu Chongyu took another look and shook his head, "I can't tell."
Su Dingfang said calmly, "There are still five hundred elite soldiers stationed in another place."
Qu Chongyu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, "Why did General Su arrange it like this? If the enemy attacks, how can these men defend the granary?"
Su Dingfang chuckled, "Why hold on? Although there are not many people here, even if thousands of troops attack, it will be enough to burn down the granary."
Qu Chongyu was speechless. It turned out that the general's arrangement for guarding the granary was to put his elite soldiers aside so that they could escape at any time. If there was an enemy situation, the few hundred people left behind would set fire to the granary first. Okay, this kind of behavior...it's true, like a teacher, there must be a disciple!
Not long after, the group of people arrived at the gate of the camp on the slope. When the gate opened, the guards who looked a little dull bowed silently and left. Qu Chongyu almost didn't bother to take another look. He just arrived in front of the Chinese army's tent and saw those guards. The soldiers also looked lazy. When he saw Su Ding just straightened his back, he couldn't help but frowned: If he hadn't seen Su Haizheng's neat and tidy camp with his own eyes, he would really be a little agitated. I doubt that the Gaochang Kingdom was destroyed by such an army!
Su Dingfang obviously didn't care. He brought Qu Chongyu into the tent, served some wine, cheese, and milk. He casually gave instructions to the soldiers around him. Not long after, a big man wearing ordinary Hu clothes walked in quickly. Qu Chongyu hugged his hands with a smile and said, "I would like to say hello to the prince. I haven't seen you for many days, and the prince has become more and more charming." He bowed to Su Dingfang respectfully and said, "I have met General Su."
Qu Chongyu looked at the smiling face full of flesh in front of him in astonishment, paused for a moment and then said, "Mi Da?"
Mi Dalang smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed, "Your Majesty, do you still remember me? I wonder if I am satisfied with the items I gave to you last time. When someone finds something better, I will send it to him first!"
For a moment, Qu Chongyu almost didn't know how to speak. He nodded casually, lowered his head and took a sip of buttermilk before he suppressed a cold snort that almost blurted out: Is this Su Dingfang a soldier, or is he a businessman looking for beauties? He actually brought such a notorious female slave trader with him!
After being called by Qu Chongyu's name, Mi Dalang was obviously a little too excited. He stood next to Qu Chongyu and praised Qu Chongyu's prosperous workshop with a glowing face, and his eyes on selecting handsome young people. Accurate, he was about to praise him for his unique taste in choosing a maid. Qu Chongyu finally couldn't bear it anymore and interrupted him coldly, "Mi Da, when did you arrive at General Su's camp?"
Mi Dalang was stunned for a moment, and then smiled, "Thanks to Pei Changshi's introduction, when General Su sent troops to Chang'an in the first month of the year, the young boy followed the general."
Has he followed Su Dingfang since Chang'an? Qu Chongyu unexpectedly turned his head and glanced at Su Dingfang. Su Dingfang smiled and said, "Duyunxi Prefecture has many strong men, and Mi Dalang is quite talented. If he can make contributions in front of the army, he can have a bright future."
Mi Dalang puffed up his chest proudly, "Thanks to the general's teaching, Mi Dalang knows that a good man should serve in the army and find a wife to protect him!"
Helping a wife and a shadow child? Just this guy? Qu Chongyu looked at Mi Dalang's chest, which was still much lower than his belly despite his efforts, with an expressionless face, and silently put down the cup of buttermilk in his hand.
While Mi Dalang was talking nonsense, the door curtain was raised again, and Pei Xingjian strode in. Su Dingfang smiled and said, "Have the grain trucks been arranged?"
Pei Xingjian nodded and smiled, "Since we are leaving tomorrow, we don't have to unload the car today, so it won't be a big hassle."
Mi Dalang hurriedly stepped forward to greet Pei Xingjian again, while Su Dingfang smiled and glanced at Qu Chongyu, "Your Majesty, tomorrow..."
Qu Chongyu's voice was slightly cold, "I will **** the grain and grass to Yingsuo River together with Pei Changshi!"
Su Dingfang and Mi Dalang both looked at Qu Chongyu in surprise. Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "Shou has a bottle of Xinfeng Peach Blossom Wine. It is mellow and refreshing. It must be accompanied by the smoke of battlefield beacons. As a noble nobleman, I am willing to drink with Shou."
Su Dingfang burst out laughing, "It turns out that the prince also has such pride!"
Qu Chongyu reluctantly twitched his lips, pride? The grievances are still there! He had known for a long time that the drink he lost to Pei Xingjian was not good, but he did not expect that he would be so cunning and insist on dragging him to eat the wind and sand along the way - maybe Pei Xingjian was afraid that he would leave Xizhou. Will he join forces with He Lu to rebel? Thinking that it was still nearly a hundred miles from here to Yingsuo River, and that he would have to follow hundreds of grain trucks for at least two days under the scorching sun, Qu Chongyu felt that the smile on his face became more and more serious.
Mi Dalang looked at Pei Xingjian, who was smiling calmly, and then at Qu Chongyu, who had an awkward look on his face. His eyes were shining brightly, and the corners of his mouth barely reached his ears. "The Crown Prince and Chang Shi really hit it off!" Pei Changshi is a true god!
Qu Chongyu's cold, razor-sharp gaze immediately fell on his face. Mi Dalang barely took a step back, and his slightly obscene smile slowly became stiff. Pei Xingjian lowered his head and coughed, "Mi Dalang, you have to accompany the army tomorrow, so you might as well go and pack up first."
Mi Dalang nodded hastily in response, lowered his head and retreated out of the tent. The sweat on his back was blown by the cool breeze at dusk, and he couldn't help but shiver. He patted his chest with lingering fear, looked back, sighed, shook his head and walked back to his tent.
Qu Chongyu felt as if there was a big white lump in his chest, and stood up after a moment of silence, "General Su, Pei Changshi, I have some trivial matters, please leave first."
Su Dingfang looked at his back in confusion, and waited for a long time after the curtain fell before looking at Pei Xingjian, "Keep your promise, Mi Dalang Zeng Yun himself has served Prince Qu several times. Now it seems that the Prince doesn't like to see him very much. You Do you know what’s going on?”
Pei Xingjian put his fist against his lips, coughed twice more, raised his head and said calmly, "The autumn sun is very strong today, Prince Qu must be suffering from the heat."
…………
In the early morning of autumn, the wind was already quite chilly. When Qu Chongyu walked out of the tent, the large open space between the camp and the tent was already crowded with two to three hundred grain trucks.
Looking at the obviously longer grain truck team, Qu Chongyu frowned, and then he saw the Mi Dalang who was running forward and back next to Pei Xingjian who was commanding the grain truck, his eyes couldn't help but Narrowing his eyes, he then let go of the hand that was subconsciously pressing on the waist knife, and tightened the silver cloak around him.
The coachman and the soldiers were already familiar with their work. As soon as the gate of the camp was opened, they followed the horses of Su Dingfang, Qu Chongyu and others out of the camp in an orderly manner. The fence door in the mountain opened again. Qu Chongyu looked up and couldn't help being slightly surprised: on both sides of the mountain road, hundreds of tall horses appeared in line at some point. The cavalry standing beside the horses were as silent as A piece of black stone pillars, until they saw Su Dingfang, they bowed neatly.
Su Dingfang waved his hand lightly, "Mount!"
Hundreds of people got on their horses without saying a word and quickly formed a formation beside the grain cart. Qu Chongyu suddenly understood that these were the 500 elite soldiers Su Dingfang had placed outside the camp. After looking at them for a long time, he felt that the movements of these cavalry were still weak. The calculation is sharp, but a little dull. In terms of momentum, it is probably worse than the elite soldiers in Xizhou. He couldn't tell whether he was relieved or disappointed. He looked up at the sky covered with thin clouds and let out a long breath.
On this day, shortly after noon, the large group of grain trucks stopped after traveling only more than twenty miles. The grain trucks were outside and the barracks were inside. Riders were sent out in all directions, as if they were about to set up camp. Qu Chongyu couldn't help being surprised and hurriedly found Su Dingfang, "It's still early today, why do we have to set up camp?"
Su Dingfang smiled and said, "Tomorrow we have to walk a mountain road of more than thirty miles. The terrain is uneven. We will rest early today and get up early tomorrow so that we can leave the mountain before sunset."
Qu Chongyu was startled. Although he had never led an army into battle, he was familiar with the art of war. It was indeed better to delay a day than to camp on a mountain road when the army was marching. He had no choice but to walk back with a dull head and looked at the five hundred soldiers coldly. The movements of the famous Tang army showed that they were setting up camp, setting up their chariots, and burying pots to make rice. Their movements were regular and extremely fast. I couldn't help but sneer in my heart. The five hundred elite soldiers turned out to be here!
After a night of silence, the team set off again at dawn the next day. As expected, not long after, there were more and more hills on both sides of the road. Eventually, the team was almost traveling through valleys one after another. On both sides of the mountain road, although It is not a dangerous place with steep cliffs, but there are many dense forests and dangerous rocks.
The Tang army sent twice as many scouts as yesterday, and they were even more cautious every time they entered the valley. Qu Chongyu nodded secretly in his heart, but when he glanced at the hundreds of Tang soldiers marching in front of and behind the grain truck, he still couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Su Dingfang said, "If we really encounter a Turkic ambush, I wonder how the general will deal with it?"
Su Dingfang looked around and said calmly, "It depends on the situation, adapt to the situation, and always teach them how to come back!"
Qu Chongyu nodded with a wooden face and thought to himself, I would like to meet them once and see how these elite soldiers, who are well-trained in Zhaozhou, can make the Turks who come and go like the wind never come back!
However, less than a quarter of an hour later, when a fast horse galloped over, and after hearing those words from the scout's mouth, Qu Chongyu stayed there completely, feeling that nothing in his life could come true more than this.
“General Qi, about twenty miles northeast, a large group of Turks has appeared!”
Su Dingfang sat on the horse, his face unchanged at all, but his whole person suddenly gained a calm demeanor like Yuan Ting Yue Zhi, "Report in detail!"
The scout's voice also calmed down, "The number of people should be more than 10,000, no infantry, at least hundreds of vehicles and baggage, and the marching direction is from northeast to southwest."
Pei Xingjian had already urged his horse over from the convoy. After listening to the scout's report quietly, he said softly, "It's He Lu's reinforcements."
Qu Chongyu's hand holding the horse's rein couldn't help but slipping. There were more than 10,000 Turkic cavalry, the 500 "elite soldiers" in his convoy plus the 300 ordinary soldiers were not enough to fill their teeth! The grain carts moved slowly, and once discovered, it was impossible to escape the pursuit of the cavalry. Fortunately, the reinforcements headed straight for the Takasa River and did not find the grain team. If they were careful to hide themselves, they would probably be able to escape.
Su Dingfang said in a deep voice, "Bring enough people and explore again! Be careful!"
The scout got the order and mounted his horse to leave. Su Dingfang and Pei Xingjian got off their horses and unfolded the map on a big stone on the roadside. Soon after, the fast horses continued to pass back the enemy's news and the terrain ahead one by one: Turkic Army The flag is the Shunishi tribe, which is a group of people following Ashina Horu. The number is about 20,000. Although there is a lot of baggage, the marching speed is not slow. Both teams are heading towards the Eagle Sa River. And if the food team continues to move forward, it is likely that they will meet the Turks on a narrow road in the mountain road more than an hour later.
The team of grain trucks had already stopped at this time. Although the rear team did not know the news ahead, there was a faint atmosphere of uneasiness permeating the air. The Xizhou soldiers gradually moved closer subconsciously, but the five hundred cavalry seemed to be ignorant. Wujue still maintained the original formation.
In the slightly depressing silence, the voice of Mi Dalang, who was flying towards him, was particularly harsh, "Shu Nishi tribe? These are a bunch of wolf cubs! There are no more than 10,000 elite soldiers in the tribe. Since they are here to aid He Lu, there is a high probability that they will." When Jiudu came out, these people were the most greedy and ruthless. They fought like wolves, and when they grabbed food and grass, men and women were even more like hungry wolves. It would be harder to get women from them than to reach the sky. I think of a certain flower in those days. How much strength...uh, um..."
"I have walked this mountain road several times! There are several valleys ahead, and the terrain is similar to this one. After going out, there is a flat plain... General, let's retreat quickly. The hillside we just passed has a small area. The good forest can cover these carriages and horses, but if the pack of hungry wolves from the Shu Nishi tribe were to keep an eye on them, not even a single grain cart could be saved."
Finally, Mi Dalang's spittle stopped flying around and he retreated obediently. Qu Chongyu slowly approached the map and wanted to ask. After Su Dingfang and Pei Xingjian whispered a few words, they both He stared at the map without saying a word. After a long time, Su Dingfang suddenly tapped the map with his fingers, "Mi Dalang said it well, this forest is very good!"
Pei Xingjian nodded, "These three hundred soldiers have listened to my disciple's orders. I am willing to stay and lead the convoy to continue moving forward. I also leave the scouts to my disposal."
Su Dingfang pondered for a moment, "You must be careful and time it well, so that you can get twice the result with half the effort." He turned around and smiled at Qu Chongyu, "Your Majesty, please follow me later."
Qu Chongyu couldn't help but be stunned, "Where is the general going?"
Su Dingfang said lightly, "I will take five hundred cavalry and leave first, and I will keep the promise and lead the convoy to move forward slowly."
Qu Chongyu’s eyes widened, “There are Turks ahead!”
Pei Xingjian raised his head and smiled faintly, "Prince Qu, just because there are 20,000 Turkic cavalry in front of us, we cannot safely deliver these hundreds of grain trucks to the army no matter what. The only way to do it now is to send them to the Turks first." people!"
Su Dingfang’s legendary career as an aging military **** is about to officially begin... For a hard-working and hard-working researcher like me, having recommendations is both painful and joyful! Today is still the last day for pink double. If you still have pink votes, please vote for me. (Well, there are many reasons. For example, support the tragic Emperor Koji Peacock, support the brain-boosting Emperor Mi Dalang? ), I will continue to code diligently tomorrow.
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(End of this chapter)