'Why haven't you come back yet?' ’

Li Xian paced back and forth in the tent, and his steps fell heavy and fast, full of impetuousness.

Since the dispatch of troops, the Hedong Army has not fought a single battle, and the Left Wing Shenyong Army Division, which was blocked as a nail in the middle of the two roads of Hedong and Yanyan, has also been uprooted by the seeds.

More than two years ago, in the battle of Jialuchuan, Chong Ge and Wang Sunchen had already greatly damaged the vitality of the Zuo Xiang Shenyong Army, and this time, the culprit who had defeated the Hedong Army and made Chong Ge enter the battle of Zhuluowu no longer exists.

The setting sun was still blazing, and although there were tents to block the sunlight, the tents were as hot as steamers.

Li Xian and the Hedong army came all the way, and the biggest enemy was the scorching sun on their heads, and the only wounded were basically accidents caused by snakes and insects.

But now it is difficult for Li Xian to move on. After leaving the starting point for 300 miles, the supply of grain and grass in the rear was only one-third of what it had been at the beginning.

Fortunately, in order to guard against the Liao people before the war, more than 10,000 horses were brought out. Otherwise, whether you can get out of 300 miles is two words.

Li Xian's only record at the moment is that he participated in the battle of Jiaozhi to destroy the country, and Zhang Dian entered the two mansions; Yan Da was promoted to the Sanya Management Army; If it weren't for Han Gang's age, Zai Fu would be indispensable, but the current Longtu Pavilion bachelor is not bad; Li Xin was under the jurisdiction of Dingzhou Road in Hebei, and the leaders who participated in this war all soared. But that credit has been eaten up to now, and it is almost all gone.

Li Xian originally had the idea of receiving rewards for meritorious service. But the lack of food and grass made him completely give up his plan to make a contribution, and only wanted to be able to catch up with the Yan Yanjun who planted the seed in peace.

Yesterday, I received the news that the cultivators had captured Xiazhou, even if the western thieves were strong and clear, there should be some grain and grass in Xiazhou City. Li Xian had already sent someone to contact the planters, and the Yanyan Road was the main force, and the situation should be a little better than that of the Hedong side—the grain and straw transfer route did not need to cross the Yellow River.

Soldiers can't do without food. Lacking food and grass in hand, once it encounters the harrier harrier harassment of the western thief, it is possible for the whole army to collapse in the wilderness without any danger.

Li Xian sighed.

Back then, Li Xian was in Hehuang and Guangxi, watching Han Gang lift his weight when he was transporting in the army. Far beyond the lofty mountains and mountains, surrounded by enemy troops, tens of thousands of people eat horses and chew a little, but it is not a good thing. It's only been so far now that I'm going hungry.

If the grain and grass in the rear could not be delivered, he planned to drive his generals to march forcibly for a hundred miles a day and two days to reach Xiazhou.

Geographically speaking, if the soldiers and horses of Hedong Road want to fight Lingzhou City, the easiest way is to cross the desert to the west, and walk past Xingling. But if you have to walk 600 miles in the desert, you will die of thirst, if you don't starve to death. The sun overhead, in particular, not only makes the helmet hot enough to fry an egg, but also allows the soles of the feet to bake in the hot sand.

"Observe, it's back! It's back! ”

A junior colonel of Li Xian's cronies suddenly ran over and shouted outside the tent.

"Zihu is back?!"

Li Xian stopped when he heard the sound, and hurriedly recruited people into the account. Surprise and lightness, he had it in his heart. Naturally, it is impossible for the general sent to supervise the grain and grass to come back empty-handed, but there are also ten thousand stones of grain and straw, and it should be no problem to rush to Xiazhou.

Xiao Xiaoxiao's voice was a little quieter: "...... Observe, it's the fold that is back. ”

Li Xian's face stiffened, sat down on the maza, and said in a deep voice: "Order him to come in." ”

The little colonel's face was even more bitter when he came in to report, and his voice lowered by two points, "Back to observe, Zhe Keshi was injured in the attack and was carried back." ”

"Injured in an attack?" Li Xian's eyebrows were raised, and the hairs on his body stood up at once.

Zhe Keshi was sent by him to block the retreat of the party members, this is just an incidental order, just in case.

The land is so big, it can hide more than 100 remnants under the command of the thief, but it can't hide tens of thousands of troops, and the cavalry under the command of the two commanders is enough to prevent any accidents, which is an errand errand.

Li Xian thought that he had thought it through, where did he think of such a simple task, Zhi Keshi was injured and returned.

"What about those who are suitable for the fold? What the hell is going on in the earth? Li Xian slowed down his voice as much as possible, at this time, he must not mess up.

"Observe. I heard that something happened to Zhe Keshi? ”

"Observe, did the thieves send someone to attack?"

Several generals who had received the news hurried over.

"Panic what!" Li Xian scolded, "Wait until you ask the ins and outs!" ”

Li Xian has also used various means to gain some prestige in the army these days, and the generals and colonels of the Hedong Army did not dare to say more, and quieted down and waited for further news. A moment later, Li Xian's lieutenant Gao Yongneng led Zhi Keshi's deputy to the tent together.

Zhi Keshi's deputy is also surnamed Zhe, and he is the son of the Zhe family, the two cavalry commanders brought by Zhe Keshi, one of which is the elite of the Zhe family.

"Man is sober. It was that he was scratched twice on his arms and thighs, but it was only a flesh wound, but it did not hurt his internal organs. "Gao Yongneng has already gone to the army sanatorium for a turn, and has seen the injuries of Zhi Keshi and the cavalry under his command," his shoulder armor, with the mark of an iron shovel, was knocked backwards. There is also a cuirass and a back armor, all of which have several arrow marks. Fortunately, I had time to get on the armor, otherwise I would definitely not have come back. ”

"What about the casualties of the whole army?" Li Xian asked next.

Gao Yongneng bowed his head and replied: "More than 70 people were broken, and half of those who came back were slightly injured. ”

Li Xian's brows furrowed even more. One percent was killed in battle, and many were seriously wounded, and the two cavalry commanders lost their combat effectiveness for a while. And if the eight hundred cavalry can suffer such a big loss, the scale of the opponent will not be small - of course, it will not be too big, otherwise Zhi Keshi will not be able to come back.

"Where did you meet the enemy? How many thieves are there? What is the flag? Quickly give Ben Shuai a detailed explanation. ”

"On the third day of his departure, he was almost forty miles from the ground. At that time, because it was almost to the ground, and it was getting late, they all wanted to rush to the ground as soon as possible. But I didn't expect to suddenly encounter a thief army. Fortunately, it was the scout horse that was placed outside and collided with it in advance, so I had time to change my horse's armor, otherwise the situation would not be the way it is now. However, the thief army has 2,000 horsemen, and the thief is recuperated and recharged, which is conducive to a long-term battle. He took the lead and led us to counterattack the enemy position, and under a fierce battle, the thief army fled far away, and the officers and soldiers also suffered a lot of losses, and the folding system was injured, so they could only retreat. ”

The officer of the Zhe family said it in a clear and coherent manner, but obviously some people didn't believe it, "This is impossible, how big is the land, and there are no less than a thousand soldiers and horses hoarded!" ”

"If it is only a thousand iron harriers, and the officers and soldiers are eight hundred armored horsemen, even the main general will never be injured." The officer retorted.

"Isn't it negligent to be a seed...... someone scoffed.

"You!" was once praised by Guo Kui as a kind of Zhe Keshi, and he was obviously very valued in the Zhe family. The officer of the Folding Family was filled with righteous indignation, his eyes glared twice, but then turned into a sneer, "No matter how negligent my family is in the system, I can still earn the time to change my horse armor, but I won't even lose my helmet in Jialuchuan!" ”

In the fourth year of Xining, the Yanyan Road entered the city of Luowucheng, and the Hedong Road sent Lu to cooperate with the fort, hoping to advance the defense line to the north for a hundred miles, and connect the two roads of Hedong and Yanyan, but the Hedong Army was ambushed in Jialuchuan and declared broken.

More than half of the generals and colonels in the tent today have experienced the fiasco of that year. The experience of throwing away the armor is still engraved in my heart. Listening to the sarcasm of the folded family, it is difficult to look at each other's faces.

"The place where the party members hide their troops is not just Dijinze." Gao Yongneng said softly, "There are three or five oases near the left of the earth, and there are more grasslands and shrubs in the sand that are not oases. He paused, "If you squeeze it, two thousand people will be fine." ”

Gao Yongneng spoke, and all the generals and colonels in the tent did not dare to discuss it anymore, so they could only wait for the instructions of the coach Li Xian.

"It doesn't matter how many soldiers there are, the point is that there are indeed bandit armies in the desert." Li Xian smiled, "I don't think anyone thinks that this thief army learned from Li Jiqian to hide from the official army in the desert and wait for the revival of Western Xia in the future, right?" ”

Several generals laughed a few times, and then heard Gao Yongneng say: "This should be a strange soldier used by the western thieves to mess up my grain road." ”

Li Xian nodded: "When it doesn't have any other effect." ”

No general would wait for the enemy to come over the city for a decisive battle. Even if the Empress Dowager, Prime Minister and Yiying Ministers of Western Xia all put the hope of turning defeat into victory in Lingzhou, there will be no shortage of strange soldiers used to threaten the back of the Song army. Winning with the right and winning with the odd is the right way of the art of war.

With the number of aquatic plants in the desert, the number of soldiers and horses that the party members can hide in them is very limited. But as Gao Yongneng said before, a few greens

Combined, there are almost 2,000 horsemen. If used in the right place, it is enough to turn the tide of the battle on the battlefield of thousands of troops, and it can also harass the grain route in the rear, and it can also make it difficult for the commander of the 100,000 army to sleep.

"The cavalry comes and goes like the wind, and it is not easy to stop them." A middle-aged general reminded.

"So let's go to Anqingze [now Wushen Banner]!"

Anqingze is located in the south of the desert, the north of Xiazhou, from the name of the road is known to be a place with abundant water and grass.

There is no need for Li Xian to explain more, and all the generals can understand the reason for going to An Qingze.

Long-distance running and long-term harassment consume a lot of horses' foot strength, and they all need to settle in a place with good water and grass, otherwise they will fight once or twice, and then it will be useless. On the desert, there are only a few suitable places for cavalry to stay, and An Qingze is the largest of them. Defend An Qingze, and then try to destroy a few other places with feces, urine or poison, and this iron harrier will not last long.

Li Xian looked around at the generals, "If the western thief in the desert goes south and harasses the grain road of our officers and soldiers, I will block him in Anqingze!" ”