Chapter 146: Upside Down

No one expected that after the First World War, the Dongping and Yunzhou coalition forces, which originally only wanted to win a meaningful victory over Jiang Xujing, suddenly saw the opportunity to conduct a decisive battle and solve the problem on the Western Front in one fell swoop.

After a day of battle, the victory that Ye Tao needed was already in hand, and while sending the battle report to Ye Tao and Xu Jingtian, the Blood Qi Army continued to advance step by step by measuring its strength and losses. On the first day, in the face of the joint attack of Zhao Li and Ni Sigui's troops, the Blood Qi Army itself was incredibly only 274 people killed and 755 injured, which was simply negligible compared to the fiasco of the Xiling army. And the reason for such an astonishing loss of friends and foes is the super powerful equipment of the Blood Qiqi Army and their extremely extravagant fighting style.

The thoroughness of the armor protection of the heavy infantrymen who always stood at the forefront and withstood the impact of the Xiling army was once again verified. For the hoplites, their biggest headache is not the ones with swords in their hands, but the powerful mace, hammer generals, catapults, god arms and bows, and the like. When there was a battalion of heavy weapons to cooperate with the battle, they didn't even have to worry about the divine arm bow and catapults, Zhao Li's troops set up twenty catapults, and they were destroyed by name almost immediately. The various heavy weapons equipped in the Blood Qi Army usually have a range advantage of one hundred to one hundred and fifty paces, even compared with the things equipped in the Dongping Army, not to mention that they are facing the Xiling Army, which is not very good in terms of weapon technology, and has been mainly stealing and imitating Dongping over the years. The longbowmen and light ballista detachments behind the heavy infantry line always pay close attention to the enemy in front of the heavy infantry line, even if they see a slightly more dazzling enemy general, they will not hesitate to "cover with fire", and they can rush to the front of the heavy infantry array with all their beards and tails, which already requires burning high incense. And that is, rushed to the front. Facing the tower shield wall that is almost the same height as a person, facing the long-handed broadsword that is lined up with spears and the gap between the shield wall, most of the sergeants have the feeling that they have no way to start.

On the first day of the battle, the Blood Qi Army consumed about 3,500 rounds of fire oil bombs and Mars bombs, and the ordinary arrows and special arrows consumed were too lazy to calculate. With only 3,500 rounds of fire oil bombs and Mars bombs, the cost is about 15,000 taels of silver. This kind of consumption of theirs stunned the Yunzhou side, which had always fought more restrained and frugal in wars. But for the Blood Qi Army, it was possible to resist the onslaught with heavy infantry in the field. Annihilating the enemy with archers and heavy weapons is the core tactic of the Blood Qi Army. Although the Blood Qi Army has recognized the great weakness of its own equipment, and is planning to build two battalions of 6,000 lightly armored combat infantry, it will be after the end of the Yunzhou Battle anyway. And their current tactics are almost inexplicable in the field.

On the first day of the battle, the greater damage was not even the heavy infantry, which had been dealing with the onslaught, but the cavalry. In order to give the heavy infantry a chance to take a breath and rest, Qiu Haohui let the cavalry appear when the offensive on the Xiling side was weak. While breaking through the line of Xiling, which was already showing some signs of collapse, a small part of the cavalry inevitably lost speed in the flow of people in the center of the battlefield. And since the protection of cavalry armor is far less perverted than the armor of heavy infantry, it is impossible for the longbowmen to take care of them to the same extent as heavy infantry. Anyway, though. In the first day of fighting, the damage paid was not at all painful.

After the First World War, Jiang Xujing already understood that the Mengnan Banner camp was bound to be lost. And if you want to annihilate the Blood Qi Army, it seems unlikely from now on. But the army had moved, and it was impossible to withdraw to the Bauhinia Valley camp, so he moved his mind to start from Suiyuan City. Unexpectedly, he retreated dozens of miles to regroup the army. When morale was boosted, the Blood Qi Army continued to advance in sync and set up camp in front of them. And this time, the location of the camp of the Blood Qi Army made Jiang Xujing even more uncomfortable. Jiang Xujing, Suiyuan and the Blood Qi Army formed an unequal triangle, and the Blood Qi Army declared in this way: As long as you dare to bypass and fight Suiyuan, you don't want to flank and back roads. Jiang Xujing could only raise his troops and horses and fight a decisive battle with the Blood Qi Army for the second time.

Because the battle in the Mongnam Banner has ended. The main force of the Tieyun Cavalry, which had been freed up, had already moved south. The comparison of forces and combat power on the battlefield is now in favor of Yunzhou and Dongping. Although Yunzhou still faces the threat of more than 100,000 tribal iron cavalry, at least on the western front, the situation has been faintly reversed. In order to completely solve Jiang Xujing's department, 20,000 Tieyun rode straight down to Bauhinia Valley.

In this situation, Jiang Xujing had to think about how to get out of this unfavorable situation. It's one thing to get out of the situation of having to fight a decisive battle, but it's another thing to fight with all your might. And anyway. Jiang Xu Kyoto didn't want to use up his 20,000 cavalry. In Xiling. These 20,000 cavalry are the foundation of his life, and he can lead as many as 100,000 troops to attack Yunzhou with a cavalry that is not very popular. It's because he has 20,000 elite horsemen under his command. He can say nothing about the Zhenbei Military Division, also because of the 20,000 cavalry. However, the problem he has to face now is that if he doesn't take out his belongings to fight, he probably won't be able to go back to Xiling.

"General, Zhu Ye, the commander of the Guardian Army, asks to see you." Just when Jiang Xujing was eating the barbecue and drinking tastelessly, the guard said. From the time Zhu Ye returned to Jiang Xujing's ministry with the Apologetics to the present, although he will inevitably appear at all military meetings as a high-ranking general, Zhu Ye has almost never expressed any opinions. Any order of Jiang Xujingdi, he will obey it awe-inspiring and execute it flawlessly. Under the leadership of Zhu Yi, although the combat effectiveness of the Guardian Army still did not give Jiang Xujing any confidence, at least in terms of obedience, performance in a series of daily military affairs such as marching and camping, there is nothing to find fault with. If his subordinates could obey any order like the Guardian Army, maybe Jiang Xujing wouldn't have to have a headache at all.

"Let him in." Although I don't know what this taciturn guy wants to say at this moment, Jiang Xujing really has no reason not to see Zhu Yi.

After saluting Jiang Xujing, Zhu Ye asked bluntly: "General, is the situation not very good?" ”

Jiang Xujing has always been straightforward, although he was not satisfied with Zhu Yi's way of asking questions, Jiang Xujing still nodded and said, "I already said it during the military discussion just now. Right now...... There is no room for a half-point difference pool. Speaking of which, there are still more than 80,000 soldiers to fight with, but can they defeat the Blood Qi Army, Tieyun Cavalry, and Yunzhou's infantry army...... About 50,000 people, it's still hard to say. Moreover, after all, there are still those 20,000 Tieyun Riders eyeing the tiger, although it seems that they are heading towards the Bauhinia Valley, but if they suddenly appear on the battlefield while our side is fighting, it is not impossible. After all...... Although the Yunzhou Dai family is inherited from the barbarians in the transmission of eagles. But it has a lot of green flavor, and the speed of delivering news is really something we can't expect. ”

Zhu Yi's expression did not change at all. He continued, "So what is the general going to do now?" ”

Jiang Xujing stared at Zhu Ye for a long time, and said in a tone mixed with mockery: "Zhao Li's department is crippled, Ni Sigui and Jia Qingyun are good at fighting against the wind, but if you want to fight to the death, you can't count on it." I would like to count on your 20,000-strong and 30,000-strong cathars, can I count on it? ”

A crazy glint flashed in Zhu Ye's eyes. He said slowly: "General, the last general is here today for this matter. Zhu Ye suddenly knelt on the ground and said loudly: "Please take the overall situation as the priority and let my subordinates be cut off." ”

Zhu Ye analyzed the situation on the battlefield in a calm voice. Their 100,000 army is the main force of the Northern Military Division of Xiling Town, if the whole army is really wiped out here. The Zhenbei Military Division will not say that it will attack in the next ten years, even if it is not enough to suppress the people and tribes under the rule of the Zhenbei Military Division, plus Dongping will be able to use Yunzhou's various deployments in Xiling from now on, Dongping's own strength cannot be underestimated. It may be that the entire Xiling and Northern Xinjiang will be restless from now on. And for the sake of Xiling, Jiang Xujing had to take his 20,000 essence horses back. Only when Jiang Xujing is here can Xiling and Northern Xinjiang be stable. As for the so-called agreement between Xiling and the tribe, since there is no possibility of success in Yunzhou now, the agreement with the tribe is a piece of waste paper. Once Xiling's northern military strength is empty, it is inevitable that the tribal army will not point the arrow at Xiling. And the entire Xiling and Northern Xinjiang, Jiang Xujing is indeed needed.

Zhu Ye also knew that the task after the break was basically no different from sending him to death. His apologists numbered more than 20,000. There were less than two thousand cavalry. And the Iron Cloud Cavalry and the Blood Qi Army are both troops with outstanding mobility. Moreover, the equipment of the Guardian Army cannot be compared with the elite troops of the Tieyun Cavalry Blood Qi Army. Even Zhao Li's department, which is not bad in equipment and training, and Ni Sigui's department have planted a big heel in front of the Blood Qi Army, so you can imagine what kind of situation the Guardian Army will encounter. If Zhu Ye really wanted to stop the enemy army for the main force of Xiling, so that Jiang Xujing could return to Xiling safely, then Zhu Yi's troops could only take the lives of more than 20,000 soldiers in the whole army.

Jiang Xujing has been crisscrossing the western and northern frontiers for many years, and he has indeed seen many generals who are not afraid of death. But. He didn't see any of the qualities of a brave general from Zhu Yi. Jiang Xujing has also seen all kinds of troops that will exert super combat effectiveness in desperate situations. But those troops, without exception, have a complex composition, and there are countless thorns that cause all kinds of troubles in peacetime, and Jiang Xujing doesn't know much about the Guardian Army. He really couldn't imagine that such a peaceful army as a sheep could withstand such a battle to the death until he died in battle.

"You know...... Does this mean anything? Jiang Xujing asked in a deep voice.

Zhu Yi's face actually showed a smile as if everything was as it should be, and he said calmly: "The Guardian Army is carefully selected by the elders of the Holy Sect among the millions of Holy Sect members in Xiling, and the most basic criterion is loyalty to the Holy Sect and loyalty to Xiling. As long as it is for the sake of the Holy Religion and for the sake of Xiling, we are willing to die, and there is no other word. General, please leave the mission to me, and I promise that the cathars will not let you down. ”

Jiang Xujing pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, since you say so." This burden is left to you. You...... Are there any requirements? ”

Zhu Yidi's expression was gentle and gratifying, he bowed deeply towards Jiang Xujing, and said, "General, the last general has nothing else to ask for. To be able to die on the battlefield under the command of the general is already a great honor for the last general as a holy cultist. Although there were national teachers and several adults in the court who defended the Holy Sect, the civil and military forces of the Xiling Manchu Dynasty had many misunderstandings about our Holy Sect. And in the army, they regard my Daoming Sect as a tiger and wolf. …… I hope that when there is a chance in the future, the general will be able to distinguish one or two for my holy religion. ”

After Zhu Ye left, several expressions on Jiang Xujing's face were intertwined, overlapping, and gradually stacked into a touch of self-deprecation. What kind of world is this? The 20,000-strong Blood Qi Army made his 100,000-strong army helpless and retreated in a hurry, the cavalry could not defeat the infantry, the main force risked his life while the miscellaneous troops dared to take the initiative to fight to the death...... The most ironic thing is that the situation that originally seemed extremely good was just cut in by the Blood Qi Army, and it was turned around in an instant with a beautiful battle......

Later, the camp of the cathar army heard the song of "The sky is firm, the earth walks through the eight wildernesses, the heart of the Tao is immortal, and the brightness is king". The song was full of joy. This singing voice sounded especially harsh to the sneering Jiang Xujing.