"General, the village in front of you is empty, except for the houses, and even the wells have been filled to death. There is no trace of the people's grain and livestock. When there were still two days away from Suizhou, Zhang Shihua and the others finally met the village.

However, the speed of the Yuanmeng officers and soldiers on the Suizhou side was even faster than they imagined. Under the tactics of fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness, not only were all the people in the nearby villages evacuated, but even the food and livestock were not left.

Fortunately, the black-clothed army was different from other rebels from the beginning in this regard, and the food for the war and the people accompanying the army have always been prepared in advance. Otherwise, the hands of the officers and soldiers would be enough for the black-clothed soldiers who came from afar to drink a pot.

But it's not all without effects. Because Zhang Shihui was not familiar with the topography of Suizhou, he originally planned to find two more guides in the local area. But now I can only cross the river by feeling the stones, taking one step at a time.

"Alright, I got it. No one is no one, we still have a map in our hands, and the impact is not great. Well, it's not too early, find a place to camp as soon as possible, and that's it for today. Zhang Shihui commanded so indifferently. I have seen a lot of the world, and the kung fu of nourishing qi is also much better.

And when the scout saw this, he was also relieved a lot because of Zhang Shihui's indifference.

……

Half an hour later, the army of black-clad troops, who had found a suitable place, began to camp and rest.

It's just a night in the wilderness, and it's almost June, and it's hot weather, so you won't have any problem sleeping in the wilderness without a tent.

Therefore, after the order to camp was handed down, the more than 14,000 black-clothed soldiers and soldiers hastily built a simple camp in less than three quarters of an hour.

And when they had a place to rest, the first thing these black-clad soldiers did after a day's work was to take the kettle and take the livestock to the river to fetch water.

You know, Zhang Shihui's subordinates can command this heavy infantry regiment. Moreover, the heavy infantry regiment he now commands is fully manned, with a full strength of 8,000 men.

Of course, with the passage of time, Zhang Shihua already has more than 8,000 pairs of full-body heavy armor in his hands.

However, the thousands of pairs of full-body heavy armor produced in these days were sent by Zhang Shihua to Bianliang Road guarded by Zhao Jiu and Zhongxing Road guarded by Guo Yu respectively.

But even so, Zhang Shihui and Zhang Mingtong led this army of soldiers and horses can still be described as terrifying. So at the beginning, Zhang Shihui was very confident. Because with the continuous production of the forge, among the 14,000 people, plate armor has really become a standard equipment.

But it is precisely because of this that their marching speed has not been able to be improved.

After all, a pair of full-body heavy armor can weigh thirty or forty pounds. With such heavy armor, even if there were a large number of mules and horses in the army to assist. But in the hot weather of the sixth lunar month, the march speed is not too fast.

In their way, they can maintain a march speed of fifty miles a day, and that is the limit. Otherwise, don't say it's human, even the mules and horses who assist the soldiers are estimated to die of heat stroke.

But fortunately, because Suizhou is located at the southern foot of Tongbai Mountain, you can often encounter rivers flowing down from Tongbai Mountain along the way, so you don't have to worry about drinking water.

But no matter what, it is not easy to march troops to fight in such weather.

So after the camp was built, after finishing the meal in a hurry, Zhang Shihui took off the extremely light chain mail he was wearing, and was ready to go to bed.

But what he didn't expect was that it was at this time that Zhang Mingtong, as the deputy general of the army, couldn't help but look for him.

"Mingtong is so late, why don't you rest yet." Seeing Zhang Mingtong sleepily, Zhang Shihui couldn't help but say such things when he opened his mouth. Obviously, he was already a little impatient with Zhang Mingtong disturbing him at this time.

However, after Zhang Mingtong frowned slightly, he couldn't help but say: "General, you saw it today, and the Tartars really used the strategy of clearing the wilderness. So next, I expect that the Tartars will also send heavy troops to guard the checkpoints on our way.

The mountains in Suizhou, more than 30 miles northwest of Suixian, are small. But it is built on the mountain, easy to defend and difficult to attack. So I think at this time, we might as well slow down the march to ensure a safe distance from the grain delivery team behind us.

Then, using these abandoned villages and towns along the way, we will divide more soldiers and horses to guard our grain routes. In this way, even if the Tartar level is difficult to beat, we are invincible from the start. General, what do you think? ”

"Mingtong, what do you think this is?" Regarding Zhang Mingtong's proposal, Zhang Shihui, who was quite impatient, pointed to the full-body heavy armor on the shelf next to him and asked him rhetorically.

And the meaning of this is obviously already understood.

"Mingtong, I know you're cautious. But you must know that it is not easy for soldiers to march and fight in such weather with such heavy armor on their backs. Moreover, if the Yuanmeng Imperial Court solves the Tianwan Imperial Court first, it will never give us time to take our time.

Therefore, in this battle, for us, a quick battle and a quick solution are the best policy. ”

Zhang Shihui said so, then got up and looked at Zhang Mingtong, waved his hand and couldn't help but make a gesture of sending off guests.

Seeing this, Zhang Mingtong knew that no matter how much persuasion he had, it would be useless, and after a long sigh, he couldn't help but retreat with a fist.

……

The next day, more than 14,000 troops set out under the command of Zhang Shihui and continued to march forward at the usual pace. So then, in less than two days, the more than 14,000 black-clothed soldiers couldn't help but kill outside the checkpoint in the northwest of Suixian County.

Suixian, although it is a small county seat. But this place is also an important town in northern Hubei that chokes the throat of Hanxiang.

It is precisely because of this that in the northwest of Suixian County, a checkpoint will also be built. Before the Red Turban Army uprising, after all, this place was considered to have been peaceful for a long time, so the checkpoint was naturally in disrepair. However, since the outbreak of the Red Turban Rebellion and the military disasters on Hanxiang's side, this level has been built in the first place.

So now, although this level is not as tall as the walls of a big city like Xiangyang. But the whole body is made of stone, and the Suixian checkpoint, which is tall and full of two feet, is also very solid.

Therefore, after coming outside this level, even if Zhang Shihui disdains the Yuanmeng officers and soldiers in his heart, he will not let his tired soldiers attack the checkpoint at this time.

Therefore, under Zhang Shihui's order, these more than 14,000 black-clothed soldiers couldn't help but set up camp under the watchful eyes of the checkpoint defenders.

"Oh my God, this black-clothed thief has such a large number of troops!" At the checkpoint, Fang Tianhua, the governor of Suizhou, looked at the camp of the black-clothed army from afar. He had never experienced battlefield killing, and he couldn't help but be shocked by the mighty military might of the black-clothed army.

But compared to him, the Han army Wanhu Li Bo, who rushed from the Fucheng side to support at this time, had a very indifferent expression.

"Fortunately, it seems that this time the black-clothed thieves have more than 15,000 horses. The disparity in forces is not so great. As a qualified general who is still above the passing line, standing on the wall of the checkpoint, Li Bo swept his eyes and roughly estimated the number of soldiers and horses of Zhang Shihui.

So he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he came to support with 7,000 soldiers and horses.

After all, they are playing a defensive war. The garrisoned checkpoint is made of stone, and it is still built against the mountain, which is definitely easy to defend and difficult to attack. Under such circumstances, there was still a great chance of victory against 15,000 men with 9,000 soldiers and horses.

After all, the level is so wide, and the number of troops invested by both sides at one time is limited. Therefore, even if the black-clothed army has a few thousand more people, as long as the checkpoint is still in their hands, even if the black-clothed army has an advantage in strength, it will not be able to show anything.

But having said that, for the black-clothed army, Wanhu Libo still has a spirit of 120,000 points.

The shadow of the famous tree of people, before the great prestige of the black-clothed army, even if he was given ten dares, he would never dare to have any thoughts of underestimating the enemy.

Therefore, in order to prevent the black-clothed army from attacking at night, he also lived on the city gate tower tonight, and did not dare to rest elsewhere, for fear that it would give the black-clothed army a chance to take advantage of it.

However, Zhang Shihui didn't have any idea of a night attack. Because of such a thing as a night attack, the fight is actually a surprise. But now, more than two years of war have passed, and methods such as night attacks have long been played by both sides.

At this time, as long as the generals who lead the troops in battle are not fools, they must know to guard against the enemy's sneak attack. Therefore, in such a situation, the chances of winning a night attack are really slim.

Moreover, Zhang Shihui is also very confident. The strength and equipment of his men far outnumbered the enemy, and he felt that he could win in an upright way. And there is no need to do any Rausch night raids.

Therefore, there was no word all night, and in the blink of an eye, it couldn't help but arrive the next morning.

Early in the morning, even now it's almost June. But the vast majority of the soldiers of the two families still got up early.

After all, at such a time, even a person with a great spirit will never be able to do nothing. In the words of later generations, this is that a great war is imminent, and even the air is filled with the smell of gunpowder.

In such a situation, unless the brain circuit is different from ordinary people, who will still be in the mood to sleep lazy.

Early in the morning, after eating breakfast unpleasantly, the armored officers and soldiers couldn't help but come to the city wall with a few personal guards, and looked at the black-clothed army not far away.

"Hey, I've heard for a long time that the black-clothed thief is unmatched. When I saw it today, I realized that it was worthy of its name! After looking at the black-clothed army's barracks from afar on the city wall, and seeing that the black-clothed sergeants in the barracks were wearing plate armor that was extremely strong at first glance, Li Bo couldn't help but let out such a sigh.

To tell the truth, like the Black Army, all the troops are wearing heavy armor from top to bottom. There were also many in the Yuan and Mongolian courts.

These units also have a special title, which is called the Ironclad Army. However, what is embarrassing is that the main force of a force similar to the Ironclad Army is mostly composed of Yuanmeng people and Semu people. The ironclad army with the Han army, especially the southerners, as the main body, is very few.

Therefore, this has led to one, that is, in the Yuan and Mongolian courts, those who are equipped to fight and can fight are not equipped.

Yes, that's embarrassing.

Of course, at the beginning of the founding of the Yuan and Mongolian courts, the troops composed of the Yuan and Mongolian people and the Semu people were all elite troops of the first class of the Great Yuan Dynasty. If the Yuanmeng people and the Semu people at that time were brought down now, it is estimated that even the black-clothed army under Zhang Shihua would inevitably be pressed and beaten by them.

After all, the Yuanmeng people at that time were all elite soldiers and fierce generals who followed their Khan King from the icy Mongolian steppe and the sea of corpse mountains and blood. This group of elite soldiers even conquered most of the civilized world in their time, beating the armies of all races in the world one by one.

But sometimes it is also the answer to the saying, 'how powerful the ancestors are, how much waste the descendants are'. At that time, the Asu army was not powerful, the Son of Heaven guard, and the cowardly Xue army were equally famous. Back then, fighting the soldiers and horses of the Jin Kingdom and the Southern Song Dynasty was like chasing ducks.

But now, this group of Heavenly Son Guards are wearing armor left by their ancestors. But when they get to the battlefield, they will do nothing other than shout "Abu".

This situation is the same as that of the Italians, who went to open up the colonies with artillery fire, and the weapons and equipment were better than those of the people for an era, but they were still defeated by the local natives with bows and arrows.

Therefore, in a war with people as the main body, if the soldier is instigated, it is really to give him the best equipment, and he will still be thin.

However, what made Li Bo feel powerless was that the black-clothed soldiers he was facing were obviously not a group of cowards, but a group of tiger wolves who chose people to devour. So in the face of such a group of enemies who are well-equipped and not afraid of death in battle, Li Bo is really worried in his heart now.

But after all, Li Bo is also a Wanhu official who was promoted because of his military exploits. Although uneasy, it is not alarming. At least on the surface, he still looked indifferent. Although he is a military general, in terms of bearing, he is much better than Fang Tianhua, the Lord of Zhizhou, who was quickly promoted.

"It's all ready, the black-clad thieves are about to attack. Wait a minute, if the black-clothed army comes, take care of them fiercely. We occupy a favorable position, hold on to the city, and with the soldiers and horses of the black-clothed thief, we will never be able to get in. Patrolling the city walls, Li Bo couldn't help but talk about boosting the morale of his soldiers as he walked.