Xu Ping stood on a hill on the south bank of the Yellow River and watched as the army under the mountain stepped onto the newly built pontoon bridge, like a line, stretching north along the Karogawa River valley.

An army of 50,000 would stretch for one or twenty miles if they were all squeezed into one road. Even if two columns marched side by side, it would be a queue nearly ten miles long. With such a long formation, once discovered by the enemy, it is easy to break up. And if you want to ensure that you can face the enemy at any time, the speed of the march will inevitably slow down. From the north bank of the Yellow River to Zhuoluo and Nancheng for more than 60 miles, the normal march took two or three days, and Xu Ping had to strike a thunderous blow at Yuan Hao, and the normal marching speed lost its suddenness.

In this river-crossing sortie, Sang Yi and Liu Jianji's army set out from Yuzhong City, crossed the river at Gudu near Lanzhou City, and then went north along the ancient road. After going north for dozens of miles, it goes around to the north of Zhuoluo and Nan along the passes of the mountains on the west bank of the Kara River. Gao Daquan and Cao Keming's army entered the vicinity of Lanzhou from the Agan River Valley, crossed the river at the mouth of the Kaluo River where it joins the Yellow River, and then moved north along the Kaluo River Valley, where they attacked Zhuoluo and Nan with the armies of Sang Yi and Liu Jianji. Most of the cavalry and mule and horse carts in the army were allocated to Sang Yi and Liu Jianji's army, allowing them to move quickly and achieve the suddenness of the attack. After Xu Ping followed Zhang Kangjun all the way with Gao Daquan, he served as a reserve for the whole army.

This was the first time that the Qinzhou army attacked on all fronts, and although it was well organized and orderly, there were still various situations on the road, and from time to time there were soldiers who fell behind. It is impossible to make an army of tens of thousands of people act exactly according to his expectations, and Xu Ping does not repay this extravagant hope, what is really useful is to be able to tolerate these mistakes. Tian Guo led a team of men and horses, took in the stragglers along the way, and dealt with all kinds of mistakes, so that accidents would not affect the actions of the whole army.

Shi Quanbin watched the army go north beside Xu Ping, and said: "Jingluo, you have been in Qinzhou for a year, and it is really not easy to bring the army to this state. Looking at this march, although it is not as strict as the elite array of the forbidden army, it is also very good. ”

Xu Ping said: "The key to this army is fast, the array is neat, it is useless, as long as you go to the city of Zhuoluo and Nan before dawn tomorrow and organize the team, it will be enough." Scouts have been widely distributed in front of the army, and whether they go well or not is a matter of great importance. ”

In the past, whether it was fighting with the Khitan or fighting with the party, the scout team of the Song army was crushed by the other party, and often could not hear the news of the enemy, but their every move fell in the eyes of the enemy. The Qinzhou army has put great effort into this, and the scouts in the army are all half of the local soldiers who are strictly selected, and half of the forbidden army is elite, with a large number, hard training, and excellent armor. Each person has two horses, a team of five, and a team of five, with strict hierarchies, and truly comes and goes like the wind.

The elite of the forbidden army can deal with the enemy forces that often appear suddenly, and they can change into battle formations at any time, and they do not hesitate to sacrifice the speed of marching for this. Yuan Hao repeatedly surrounded the Song army, but there was no way to swallow it in one bite, which is the reason. Of course, Xu Ping's Qinzhou army could march like that, but in most cases, it required a quick forced march of one to three days, followed by rest in the established stronghold, which was a kind of leapfrog march. This mode of marching is to be able to seize the main force of the party's army, prevent them from fighting if they want to fight, run if they want, and drag their army to death.

The rapid forced march of one to three days is about two or three hundred miles away, and this range is the attack surface of the Qinzhou army. As long as the enemy army enters this range, it will enter the strike range of the Qinzhou army, and this attack on Zhuoluo and the south is less than 100 miles, and the distance is just right. This is the first time that the party has faced this mode of war, and Yuan Hao broke in, just for Xu Ping to test it.

The grass on the roadside has turned green, the water in the river is clear, and even the mountains have become wet. The little animals endured the bitter cold of winter, and happily ran out under the bath of the spring breeze and frolicked in the mountains.

A fast horse swept over the hill, startling the antelopes strolling on the hillside.

"Where did the thief come from to be so presumptuous!" When the two party soldiers saw the horse team, they shouted loudly and turned over on their horses.

When they were one or two hundred paces away, the horse team on the opposite side suddenly dispersed, divided into two wings and outflanked the party soldiers. The two party soldiers were startled, and said: "Straight thief, is it that the Song army crossed the river?" With that, he turned his horse's head and ran away.

In a few breaths, the opposing team of horses reached a distance of twenty or thirty paces, and surrounded them in a semicircle.

Seeing clearly the costumes of the Song army on the opposite horse, the two party soldiers were frightened. They scattered out to investigate the surrounding situation, mainly looking for the nomadic Tibetan tribes, asking them to pay cattle and sheep grain to Zhuoluo and Nan, but they were not prepared at all for the Song army to cross the river. According to the usual experience, the Song army was on the south bank of the Yellow River, and it would take a month to prepare for the attack if it wanted to cross the river. Suddenly, the Song army appeared dozens of miles away from Zhuoluo City, completely breaking the convention.

As soon as they turned their horses' heads, the two party soldiers heard the sound of the bowstring behind them, and before they could react, each of them was hit by two or three sharp arrows, and they fell off the horse. Almost at the same time as the party soldiers landed, a group of Song troops rushed to the front, and someone turned over and dismounted, leading the two war horses that were in a circle in place.

Stretched out his foot and kicked the party soldiers on the ground, Song Bing pulled out his waist knife and stabbed the two of them in the heart, before turning his head and saying loudly: "Captain, these two thieves are dead, what should we do with the corpses?" ”

Several Song soldiers surrounded him, and the captain Chen Tianming dismounted, carefully carried the crossbow in his hand behind him, and said, "Peel off their military uniforms and throw them into the grass over there." The tigers and wolves in the mountains have been hungry for a winter, and they will not be left to eat in a few hours. ”

Several soldiers agreed, dismounted, put away their bows and crossbows, and stripped the party soldiers of their clothes.

Chen Tianming ran quickly to the top of the mountain, holding a pergola and looking around. At this time, the grass on the ground had just emerged, and it was not yet time to graze, and as far as the eye could see, it was desolate, and there was not a single figure in sight.

Coming down from the mountain, Chen Tianming said to his hand: "Dutou has already seen it with a telescope, and there are only these two people within five miles of the mountain where we just came." After we had taken care of them, we went up to the higher mountains over there, and waited for them to come. ”

A few soldiers agreed, carried two party soldiers, and threw them into the withered yellow grass next to them.

Before the army crossed the river, hundreds of scouts searched north. As long as you see someone with knives and guns along the road, you will be killed to prevent the rumors from being exposed. The head of the capital is equipped with a telescope, commanding the hunt and killing of the party members within a few dozen miles south of Zhuoluo City. The scout captain brought a crossbow at the first level, and the others carried a bow, and each person brought a gun and a knife, gathering or scattering, to clean up the party's eyeline.

With such a large-scale cleanup of the battlefield, it is natural that the party members will notice that the Song army has crossed the river, but they don't know how many people there are. In the past, when the scouts were training, they would also cross the river and practice as they do now. This action is not abrupt.

After cleaning up the corpse, Chen Tianming said: "Take those two horses, wait until you see the head, and then hand them over." This time, there were many more thieves than before, and sure enough, there was an army of thieves in the north. ”

The scouts did not advance with the capture, and at intervals there were small bases for horses and other belongings, and when the army arrived, they would be disposed of. The calculation of military merits in Xu Ping's army does not require soldiers to be handed over and captured, and there is a special person to count them.

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