The journey to Silla was far from being as simple as Zheng Yanqing imagined.

Although most of the attention of the Goguryeo people was focused on the area around Liaodong and Pyongyang, it did not mean that they were not at all guarded against Silla.

On the contrary, when the Sui army crossed the sea, the Goguryeo people committed ten military towns on the way to Silla and Baekje.

The military town of the Goguryeo people was similar in structure to the government soldiers.

A military town, equivalent to the strength of a military government, has an establishment of 800 to 1,000 people. In the whole of Goguryeo, there are almost 200 military towns and nearly 200,000 horses. On the Liaodong side, more than 100 military towns were occupied. In the Pyongyang area, more than 100 military towns are also stationed. Therefore, betting on ten military towns on the road to Silla and Baekje was beyond the reach of the Goguryeo people.

However, on the other hand, it also proves that the Goguryeo people despised Silla Baekje.

In the eyes of the Goguryeo people, 10,000 soldiers and horses, although they may not be able to set foot on Silla and Baekje, but they are more than enough to block. In any case, there were still forty or fifty military towns in Nanshui, and as soon as Silla and Baekje moved, Goguryeo could quickly mobilize troops and horses to counterattack...... Therefore, on the way to Silla, although there are not many soldiers and horses, there are many checkpoints.

Along the way, every four or five hours, a patrol of Goguryeo people would gallop along the official road. As soon as the enemy is found, it will immediately pass it with a beacon fire, and the surrounding military towns will immediately come to the rescue. So much so that Zheng Yanqing and others had to go out day and night after leaving Dacheng Mountain to avoid the Goguryeo patrol. But in this way, the speed of travel is also reduced.

It's summer, and the days are long.

The marching time was not too much, and Zheng Yanqing and his party, the number of infantry far exceeded the number of cavalry, and the marching speed was slow. In order to avoid the patrol, the speed of Zheng Yanqing and the others was even slower, and in three or four days, the march did not exceed 100 miles.

Zheng Yanqing was a little irritable!

Misfortune is not a one-way street, when his speed cannot be improved, there is also a shortage of food and grass.

Originally, it was a group of routs, and they didn't carry much food and grass with them. Now the march is slow, and there is a lot of fear, and morale is getting more and more low.

One hundred and fifty-eight people, and in less than three days out of Dacheng Mountain, twenty-three people slipped away.

Fortunately, the condition of the cavalry was not too good, and there were not too many fluctuations. But Zheng Yanqing also had to stop for a while and discuss with everyone.

"If we continue like this, I'm afraid that before we arrive in Silla, the people will run out!"

Not only Zheng Yanqing was uneasy, but Xie Ke, Zheng Hongyi, and Dou Xiaowen also sensed that the situation was a little bad.

Dou Xiaowen said ashamedly: "Sixteen people escaped under my command, all of them were sailors from Huainan. ”

Xie Ke also said: "I went with seven men, three crossbowmen and four platoon hammermen...... Yanqing, if we don't think of a way, this problem will become more and more serious. ”

"yes, we're running out of food."

Due to his injuries, Zheng Hongyi temporarily assumed the responsibility of taking care of the heavy grain and grass. He and Shen Guang were in the same position, and there were ten crossbowmen under him.

Zheng Yanqing also felt a headache, such a problem really needs to be solved as soon as possible.

"Why don't we fight?"

Yan Qing said that he had been thinking about ways to improve morale. It's just that as soon as his idea came out, it immediately caused panic among the three of Xie Ke.

"In this case, how can we fight?"

"Beat their army!"

Zheng Yanqing spread out the map, "From here all the way to Silla, there are six military towns, a total of one hundred and sixteen military villages. According to the military system of the Goguryeo people, there were 30 to 50 people in a village. These military villages are widely distributed. Some are connected to the military town, while others are far away from the military town. In the military village, there is plenty of grain and grass, and maybe there will be a reserve of military horses. Let's gather the existing forces, as long as we eliminate two or three military villages, morale will naturally increase. At the same time, we can also get grain and grass and all kinds of baggage. ”

As he spoke, he glanced into the distance, all of them dejected, like soldiers who had lost their souls.

"All the brothers need now is a couple of wins. Even the slightest victory is a great encouragement to morale.

If we can get enough military horses, our marching speed will also be accelerated. This is called fighting to feed war, what do you think? ”

Feeding war with war?

Xie Ke and the others suddenly came to their senses.

Zheng Hongyi thought for a while, "There are two questions, how to know the situation of these military villages? If we continue to attack, it will inevitably provoke the Goguryeo people to retaliate. When the time comes, we will face a lot of siege, but I am afraid that it will also be difficult to reach Silla safely. ”

"What's so hard about that?"

Yan Qing said with a smile: "The situation in the military village, we can solve it by capturing the Goguryeo people, with Shen Guang here, this is definitely not a difficult matter." ”

Shen Guang nodded with a smile and continued to bow his head and wipe the long knife.

"As for the second question......

Yan Qing pondered for a moment, "I have a sixteen-character battle method, but I don't know if it's feasible. ”

Xie Ke said: "What are the sixteen words that I wish to hear?" ”

"The enemy advances and I retreat, the enemy is stationed and I disturb, the enemy is tired and I fight, and the enemy retreats and I chase."

Although Zheng Yanqing has learned the art of war, he is not pure. However, in today's situation, the guerrilla tactics of the later Taizu Gong are extremely suitable. Although there is no mass base, the Goguryeo people are far less powerful than the devils of later generations. So when you think about it, this guerrilla tactic seems to be the most suitable tactic at present. Xie Ke muttered softly, and after a moment, a big smile appeared.

"First of all, we need to get enough military horses and distribute them to everyone.

In this way, we can rely on the mobility and agility of light horses to carry out a wide range of intersperses and detours, tearing through the defense line laid by the Goguryeo. And through repeated sneak attacks and ambushes, the Goguryeo people were eliminated to boost everyone's morale, and at the same time, they could get enough food, grass and armaments. It's just that in this way, we need to be more cautious and the time will be extended accordingly.

In other words: we need to feed the war with war, and exchange time for space, to tear open the defense line of the Goguryeo subordinates and make them desperate.

It's just that we need more detailed planning, more detailed planning, and a harsher environment. ”

Zheng Yanqing danced with his hands, and explained some of the fur he learned from Mao Xuan in his previous life as much as possible.

Although this is a tactical idea that has been ahead of the curve for more than a thousand years, it is not difficult to understand for Xie Ke and Zheng Hongyi, who are familiar with the art of war.

Even, even Dou Xiaowen understood what Zheng Yanqing meant.

After several people discussed, they quickly decided to do what Yan Qing said.

***

After nightfall, a patrol of Goguryeo people crossed the official road.

The bright moon is like a hook, hanging in the night.

The stars make the crescent moon shine brighter...... The moonlight sprinkled on the official road, as if on the ground, covered with a layer of silver frost.

The patrol galloped on horseback with a leisurely look.

The war in Pyongyang was coming to an end, and although the Sui army was fleeing, most of them were driven to the north. So, on the road to Silla, it was much calmer in the same way. Occasionally, a few Sui troops would flow here, and they were all hungry, tired, and vulnerable.

Therefore, the patrol team did not take the Sui army to heart, and it was more like enjoying the scenery all the way.

Approaching a sparse forest, the patrol began to pick up speed. In the past, this sparse forest, in a walk of incense, you can reach the military village. After patrolling all day, the Goguryeo people also felt a little tired. They wanted to go back early and get a good night's sleep.

But at this moment, a military horse walking in the front suddenly neighed for a while.

A simple tripwire twisted from a worn livery sprouted from the ground. The military horse did not have time to stop, and fell to the ground with a thud.

The rest of the patrol soldiers hurriedly reined in their horses.

But before they could detect the enemy's trace, they saw arrows whistling from the treetops on both sides.

Six Goguryeo people were shot to the ground on the spot, Zheng Yanqing straddled a tree, plucked the bowstring with his bow ring, and six arrows flew out in a row, shooting three Goguryeo soldiers. And on the other side of him, Xie Yingdeng is also like an arrow, and there is no false example. Both of them shot their soldiers with a series of arrows, and the remaining patrolmen saw that the situation was not good, and turned their horses to leave. But I heard a dragon-like neighing of a horse, echoing through the forest.

The legs of the military horse under the crotch were weak, and they jumped and jumped, and they kept scratching.

Six or seven figures rushed down from the treetops, and the patrol soldiers were thrown from their horses to the ground, and then a series of screams rang out, and a thick smell of blood filled the forest.

The Goguryeo patrol, who was the first to be thrown off the horse by the tripping horse, subconsciously pulled out the Ming Di.

A cold light appeared in front of him, and only a small axe was slashed at his face, and the patrol immediately fell to the ground and died.

From the military horse being tripped to the end of the battle.

It's just a flash of lightning. Zheng Yanqing and Xie Ke jumped down from the tree, waved their hands, and learned from the forest, and more than 100 people came out.

"Check it out, don't let a person go."

Zheng Hongyi even instructed: "Strip off the clothes and armor of these Goguryeo barbarians, put away all their weapons, and don't drop an arrow." ”

There were fifteen patrols in total, but for the soldiers under Zheng Yanqing's command, it was tantamount to a huge victory.

Even later, they were so frightened that they didn't dare to confront the Goguryeo people head-on. Even if it is a huge advantage in numbers, psychologically, there is always a bit of fear. Unexpectedly, the fifteen patrols were neatly dealt with, and they also got a bunch of armor and fifteen war horses for nothing. There are many people under Yan Qing's command who are not skilled in riding. But it doesn't matter, most of the military horses of the Goguryeo people are geldings, and their surnames are very docile. In addition, there is the dragon horse leader of Jade Hoof, and there is also a master like Shen Guang who is good at taming horses, so the fifteen military horses were quickly tamed. Fifteen crossbowmen, as a result, gained leg power.

"Is it all clear?"

"None of them lived."

Zheng Yanqing nodded, "Everyone obeys the order, evacuate immediately!" ”

When the people heard this, they got on their horses.

Those who did not yet have mounts rode with others. More than 100 horsemen took advantage of the bright moonlight and quickly left the sparse forest, leaving only defenseless corpses everywhere and a place of red blood...... Morale, inadvertently, has begun to quietly recover.

But Zheng Yanqing knew that this was just the beginning, and the road they had to go next was long, long!

(To be continued)