As the altitude increases, the climate becomes more and more severe. At the beginning of the second day of the march, it was extremely cold at night, and the sergeants on duty had to wear leather hats and leather gloves, and their skin would stick to each other in a moment, and when they were torn off, they would be a piece of frostbitten flesh. Be careful every time you camp. The hills are covered with hard snow and ice, and the flats are paved with gravel and no grass. The mountains and valleys look like there are Turkic ambushes. The army marched along the river, knocking on the ice every day to get water.

On the third day of the march, after passing a rocky mountain formed by a volcanic eruption, the locals actually dug a huge cave under the rock. After camping at night, Huang Zongdao and several other officers asked Zhao Xingde to watch it with great interest, there are domes, murals, columns, halls, etc. in the caves, and some of the caves are actually seven or eight layers deep, which can accommodate 10,000 people. These ant-nest-like caves, which were said to have been built to hide from the Turks, are now empty, and the inhabitants of the caves have either died or migrated.

On the fourth day of the march, I sometimes saw dilapidated inns on the way. Yesterday, the underground halls and houses were decorated in the style of reeds, and today we see that the decoration of these inns is already Turkic, and some of the courtyards have mosques. Although the Turkic Sultan valued the wealth that caravans brought to his country, he could not stop the tribes below from plundering the inns and caravanserais. Now the merchants of Xia Kingdom and Dashi have changed to the Black Sea sea route, and the inns in this area are becoming more and more decayed.

A shepherd lay on his stomach in a pool of blood, looking with hatred at the passing army of Lumei. The Antioch army unceremoniously plundered his flock, slashed him twice on his back, stripped him of his leather jacket, and for some reason did not kill him on the spot, and the passing Lumei army did not bother to make up for this sword, and in the middle of the night, the bitter cold weather could kill him. One of the vendors grinned and ran to the infidel and poured a soak of urine on his head. Because of the narrowness of the roads, the camps of the hawkers who accompanied the army were getting closer and closer to the army, and sometimes the camps were not separated from each other. Whenever Zhao Xingde saw this situation, he would complain to the marching Sima that if he was in charge of military law, he would definitely drive all these traders away.

"Then the generals are going to be angry." Kim Chang-tae said with a smile. The attendants are always careless, and the spices, fats, powders, delicacies, etc., that the generals and nobles need are always insufficient. The loot seized along the way was also sold to these vendors in time for easy-to-carry gold and silver coins.

On the fifth day of the march from the coast, the wind howled incessantly all day long, like rolling thunder, and like the hooves of the Turks' chaotic horses, which annoyed the people. While nailing the stakes of the camping tent into the ground, Kim Chang-tae complained: "The old emperor is not deaf, but he wants to go out in this season of freezing to death." Huang Zongdao also shook his head and sighed: "Cold Layue, it's nothing to want. Sima Junfang said with a smile: "Brother Zhao has the most experience with the Lumei military system, do you know why?" ”

Zhao Xingde said with a smile while nailing the stake with a hammer: "The Lumei people feel that the cold world will make the Turks and the great cannibals depressed. Therefore it is easy to conquer them in winter. In the past two days, every time he passed through those barren mountains and valleys, he felt that there were Turkic cavalry hiding inside, peeping with wolf-like eyes.

"Won't this ghost weather affect your military morale?" Kim Chang-tae sighed.

Zhao Xingde smiled faintly, perhaps the general who formulated this principle felt that the will of his army was superior to that of the barbarians, and it was enough to overcome the effects of the cold climate. But I didn't expect that in a hundred or hundreds of years, what would happen to the morale of the military. The dying shepherd always came to Zhao Xingde's mind. Zhao Xingde somehow remembered his appearance very clearly. The face is covered with rough wrinkles like bark, a messy beard, a hooked nose, deep-set cheeks and eye sockets, and a cloudy and hateful look. After he had finished inspecting the Pontus sergeant and set up camp, he came to march to Sima, and he always refused to let his mind and hands and feet be idle, as if this was a little more reassuring.

Captain Duan Huaixian is also as worried as Zhao Xingde, in the past few days, the Xia State Praetorian Guard has quietly replaced the cumbersome baggage grain and grass with light and easy to carry, and when he can walk, he will never ride a horse, when camping, he will feed the horses first, and he will get up in the middle of the night to feed the horses again, and the skin bags containing water and blankets will be placed on the side of the pack horses, the armor and horse lance and quiver will be placed on the side of the war horse, and the short soldiers and bows and arrows will be placed on the side of the pillows, and they will be double posts every night. When choosing a camp, try to avoid being surrounded by other camps in the middle, so as not to get out of the inconvenience.

At the beginning of the departure, the morale of the Lumei army was still high, but as the march became more and more difficult, the mood of the soldiers also diverged. The Antioch army of the avant-garde column became more and more impatient, and every time the Turks provoked, they had to send knights to expel them. The distance between the avant-garde and the workhorses is growing. And among the main force of the Lumei army led by the emperor and the rearguard column led by the crown prince, anxiety is gradually rising. "Isn't it going to be another battle of Manzikert?" The whispers of the march grew more and more pessimistic.

"The real problem is not in the avant-garde columns, but in the rearguard columns." Zhao Xingde pointed to the march map marked by Sima Junfang every day. The Lumei army was now divided into three parts: the avant-garde column, the main column, and the rearguard column, with more than a dozen battalions, forming a long snake formation on the narrow road. The Praetorian Guard of the Xia Kingdom had to discuss and deduce every night, and how the Lumei army would react if it was attacked by the Turks.

"What's going on?" Duan Huaixian's eyes lit up. Sima Junfang was puzzled: "It should be the Antioch people who are desperately advancing and bringing the whole army into danger, right?" The rearguard column was still very cautious. The guards and main force are all regular troops of Lumei, and there is no problem with coordination. Wang Tongdeng and several other centurions also looked at Zhao Xingde.

Zhao Xingde smiled bitterly, he had read the book of sages for twenty years, but he didn't know when he would subconsciously imagine people's hearts as extremely sinister. This is the same as the more intense the battlefield, the less he feels excited and excited, but as calm as if frozen. It was something he couldn't understand himself.

"It is the crown prince who commands the guard column," Zhao Xingde said lightly, "If the emperor dies or is trapped in the battle, he will benefit the most." If he hadn't experienced the battle for the East Palace of the Song Kingdom, he would not have walked on this road all at once.

The centurions looked at each other, and no one thought of this possibility.

Sima Jun said: "Having said that, the crown prince John is a good and weak person, and the thing that traps the monarch's father to death may not be done. ”

Zhao Xingde sighed slightly, and said in a deep voice: "What if the Roma Turks bluff to induce it? Even if he doesn't want to, he can't resist the persuasion of his generals and followers. He walked to the front of the map and pointed to the scope of the Sultanate of Rûm, saying, "The Sultan of Rûm occupies the land of the western part of the Sea, and although his wings are gradually full, he may not be able to defeat the entire army of 100,000 people in one fell swoop." ”

Sima Junfang nodded and added: "There are about 50,000 elite cavalry troops in the Sultanate of Rome, if you gather the Turkic and Great Food princes and tribes to help, you can levy about 100,000 cavalry, but it will cost a great price, and it is not something that can be done in a short period of time, and there must be great movements in advance." ”

Zhao Xingde nodded in thanks and continued: "The Romani Turks tried their best to lure the Lumei army into the depths alone, and they must want to stay as much as possible. He pointed to the camp of more than ten marching columns divided into three major parts, and said slowly, "The art of war says, ten will surround it, and if it is doubled, it can be reduced." If I am the Sultan of Roma and I have insufficient troops, I must first cut the army into three sections, so that it cannot be taken care of from end to end," he made two false strokes with his finger in the camp of the Urmei, drew a circle on the army of the avant-garde Antioch, and continued, "first concentrate the forces and eat the front army." ”

"When eating the avant-garde column, try to hold back the main force of the Lumei army, so that it cannot make up its mind to retreat immediately." He paused and explained to Duan Huaixian and the other officers, "Because the main force of the Turks is concentrated on attacking the avant-garde column, if Emperor Lumei wants to break through at this time, he should still be able to break through, and if he wants to rescue the avant-garde column, he will be stubbornly blocked by the Turks." He pondered for a moment, then added, "The Turks may also slowly resist and retreat, giving Emperor Lumei the impression that with a little more effort, he can save the front army column." If Emperor Lumei hesitates to rescue the front army and break through the siege, he will be in the hands of the Turks," Zhao Xingde moved his finger to the main column where Emperor Lumei was seated, and drew a circle again.

"After the Turks ate the avant-garde column, they besieged the main force of the Lumei army, and at this time, even if the Lumei Emperor had the intention to break through, it would be difficult." He paused, lit the rear column again, and said in a deep voice, "The Turks will definitely bluff to deter the rearguard column, making them think that the front is a trap for the Turks to ambush, and they will not dare to move forward to approach the main column." If they hesitate again, then deal with the main column where Emperor Lumei is located, and then besiege the rearguard column. ”

Including Captain Duan Huaixian, the officers were preoccupied, although the outcome of this war could not be changed by five hundred sergeants, but if the Xia State Praetorian Guard wanted to retreat, they had to consider the worst possibility clearly. Although the enemy's strategy proposed by Zhao Xingde carries a lot of speculation, it is extremely possible when carefully considered.

"The soldiers are not tired of deceit, and in the case of insufficient troops, it is safest for the Turks to ensure that they eat the front army, stick to the middle army, and frighten the rear army. Whether the rear army commanded by the crown prince approached the main column commanded by Emperor Lumei in time was the key to victory or defeat, and the Roman-Turkic Sultan would definitely try to create reasons and troubles for him. ”

Zhao Xingde sighed and said in a low voice: "Crown Prince John may not have the viciousness to trap his father to death, but if he has a glimmer of selfishness, he may hesitate and incur the catastrophe of losing his master's achievements." And if such a sinister situation appears, the livelihood of our army will be to either follow Emperor Lumei to move closer to the rear army column or break through alone when the Turks have not been able to eat the front army and the main column of Lumei has not yet been besieged with all its might. Otherwise, it's over. ”

"Isn't it possible to pick up the front army column?" Wang Tongdeng looked at Zhao Xingde with incredulous eyes.

Zhao Xingde smiled bitterly and replied: "The time and place of the decisive battle were chosen by the Roma Turks, if you were the Sultan, would it be possible for the Lumei people to rescue the former army?" He made several reprints with his hand between the main column of Lumei and the camp of the front army, as if he had seen with his own eyes that it was full of ambushes and traps.