"The Motes and the Quirs in the northwestern Tengger steppes have sent envoys to consult on further strengthening the cooperation between the two sides, and according to our intelligence, their internal calls for closer relations with us, and even an alliance to suppress the Huns, now prevails, so it is quite beneficial to us."

"The five countries of the Western Regions have also sent envoys to congratulate you on your appointment as the military and political envoy of the northwest of the empire, and also hope that we can put further pressure on the Huns, who unanimously proposed that we can now discuss the establishment of an alliance that we originally proposed."

Yuzhu flipped through the information in her hand that only she could understand in order to report in an orderly manner, but Qin Du didn't feel that these news were very inspiring and good.

"In addition, according to the information sent back by the secret agents, this time the rebels of Meishan County and Longdong County are united, and there are shadows of the Maqi Khan and the Sanjiang Lin family."

"Oh?" Qin Dui's body couldn't help but straighten up, "What about this source?" Is it reliable? ”

Yuzhu shook her head and said regretfully: "This piece of information cannot be verified, because the person who provided us with the information mysteriously disappeared that night, he is a copywriter in the Lishan County Guard, and it took us a lot of effort to develop it." The precautionary measures of the Lishan County Guard are quite strict, and our people have not been able to achieve satisfactory results there, so it seems that this Lishan County Guard Ma Yu is not a simple character. ”

"When the rebellion in Meishan County and Longdong County is put down, I will clean him up and let him understand who is their master now."

Qin Duan said viciously, in fact, before Qin Duan came to the northwest, he had already studied this Lishan County Guard Ma Yu, which was a character with multiple and complex identities.

"Your Excellency. What do we do next? Yuzhu asked.

"Send more personnel to Lishan County and Jinshan County, and when Meishan County and Longdong County are recovered, we will take action against these two counties, I want them to understand who is the boss in this northwest in the future." Qin Duan said domineeringly.

"Yes." Liang Qiming and Yuzhu responded.

……

The darkness could not stop the marching troops like a fast-moving oolong, and the whole team was like a clockwork machine. In the silent tension of running, there is no disconnect in between. Except for the sound of footsteps on the march, almost no other sound could be heard, and everything was carried out in secret in the dark.

The hard training was evident at this time, and although it had been nearly eight hours of rapid marching in the night, the soldiers were still in good spirits, especially the soldiers of the light infantry wing, who were leading the march, and there was no sign of fatigue.

Chen Deming stood on the side of the road and looked at the fast-moving team with satisfaction. It seems even more proud, after all, the strength of the army he led is enough to make anyone jaw-dropping, much stronger than other divisions, and he has not embarrassed the first division of the first army, and is worthy of the title of No. 1......

"Division commander, at this pace, we will reach Xifengkou before noon tomorrow. I guess there should be no problem, right? ”

Yu Fei, the deputy commander of the division, looked at Lihua, who had been checking the progress of the team, although his face had already shown a look of relief, there was still a trace of worry between his eyebrows. I couldn't help but ask.

"There should be no problem, but we are not only in a race against time, but also against the enemy, and the goal is to be Xifengkou. If my prediction is correct, the rebels must also be aware of the danger of the Shentu Chemical Department stagnating near Xiangshanji, and they will definitely want to take over the Shentu Chemical Department at any cost. The speed of the march will not be slow, not to mention that they set out before us, they have an advantage in time, and the enemy's strength is far stronger than ours, and this area is all flat. Only the terrain of Xifengkou is slightly more complicated, which can be used as a position to intercept the enemy, so we must occupy Xifengkou before the chaotic army, and also build some simple fortifications as much as possible to prepare for a protracted war. Chen Deming expressed his worries.

"What then? It's better for me to lead the light infantry wing to speed up the march, regardless of the behind, first occupy the Xifeng Pass, and then say, the division commander, you will lead the main force to follow. As soon as Yu Fei thought about it, he took the initiative to ask for battle.

"Okay, that's it, you go first, and I'll follow. Remember, once the Xifeng Pass is occupied, immediately organize people to build fortifications, and you can properly arrange people to take turns to rest, and be sure to pay attention to vigilance. Chen Deming patted Yu Fei's shoulder and sternly told his deputy.

"Rest assured, division commander, I will never let an enemy pass from my position, unless he crosses over me." Yu Fei replied half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"I don't want you to die, this time we all have to go back alive, go back and let our festival envoys celebrate us." Chen Deming said solemnly.

The light infantry, who were originally in the forefront, gradually quickened their pace, and gradually distanced themselves from the hoplites, looking at the soldiers who slowly disappeared in their eyes, I don't know why Chen Deming felt heavy in his heart.

……

"Report to the deputy division commander, the col about five miles ahead is Xifengkou, and the reconnaissance personnel have sent back the news, and nothing abnormal has been found."

Hearing the news of the reporting personnel, Yu Fei couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, after five hours of continuous and uninterrupted rapid marching, even the elites who were far more physically than ordinary soldiers began to feel tired, not to mention that they might face a fierce battle soon.

"Okay, pass the order, immediately occupy Xifengkou, and immediately prepare for battle, Desha, after occupying Xifengkou, you arrange a brigade to be on guard, one brigade will immediately start building fortifications, and the remaining three brigades will seize the time to rest on the spot." Desha was a big man with a tiger's back, and he was the wing commander of this light infantry wing.

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

Five miles away, under the great strides of the troops, they soon arrived.

Standing in front of the tent, Yu Fei gasped, "This is Xifengkou, is there a mistake?" After receiving an affirmative reply from the guide next to him, Yu Fei felt that the situation was a little strict.

This Xifeng Pass is not a mountain pass with a difficult terrain at all, to be precise, it can only be regarded as two small hills with a slight gentle slope in the middle, but the terrain on both sides is much higher, and quite steep and steep. An avenue just crossed the slightly concave place, where Yu Fei's army was ready to stand.

Fortunately, except for the gap of several hundred meters in this notch, the rest of the radius of hundreds of miles is a lush primeval forest, which is also the only reliance on Liu Xiaoshan's interception here, otherwise this plan would not have succeeded at all.

Although he was disappointed, Yu Fei still issued the order, ordered the troops to prepare for the fortifications in advance, and the reconnaissance troops had already been scattered, and after the arrangement was made, before he could catch his breath, a soldier rushed into the camp tent with a rolling belt, Yu Fei didn't have time to attack, and the soldier's words had already made him give up his anger: "My lord, two miles ahead, we found a large number of enemy troops moving rapidly in our direction!" ”

Under Yu Fei's order, the soldiers who had just laid down to rest were forced to get up and enter the battle position, ready for the upcoming bloody battle.

Looking at the small hill not far ahead, Zhang Deye, who was riding on a horse, took a sip of strong wine to relieve the cold, and complained to the deputy general Chen Zhenming next to him: "I don't know what medicine my eldest brother took, it's freezing this day, so let's come all the way here to save the life of the rabbit cub in Shentuhua, why?" He Shen Tuhua is not a fairy beauty, and he has no relatives with the uncles, and he has repeatedly troubled us, but now he wants us to sell our lives. ”

Chen Zhenming next to him was much calmer, "The marshal probably listened to the advice of the mysterious person who came from nowhere, his lips are cold, and there is some truth in what he said, but I can't figure out why the marshal listened to him?" ”

"Hmph, I heard that that person represents a considerable amount of power behind him, and the eldest brother is also quite scruples, but no matter how I ask, the eldest brother refuses to reveal which side that person represents, and only says that he will know when the time comes." Zhang Deye replied with a big grin.

"Fuck it, since the eldest brother has given the order, let's just follow the order, not far in front of Xifengkou, after Xifengkou, it will not be far from the station of Shentuhua. Order the troops to quickly pass through the guò Xi Feng Pass! Chen Zhenming said

……

Yu Fei stood coldly at the throat of the road in the middle of the position, staring ahead with a pair of eyes without any emotion, but he knew that this was really a battle with a huge disparity in strength, and his only advantageous condition was to occupy the advantageous position of the peak mouth first, and the enemy had not yet noticed the hostile situation here.

All the troops have been deployed in place, and the main force in the center to resist the enemy's attack is, of course, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Light Infantry Wings, which are silently ambushed in the mountains, and there are many exposed rocks in this area, the color of which is similar to the color of the soldiers' clothing, and the sky has darkened, so it is difficult for the enemy to detect this problem until it is near.

The 4th and 5th Light Infantry Battalions were deployed in the bushes on both sides of the peak, and they were to meet the approaching rebels with bows and arrows.

Since he fought two battles with the Huns, Qin Duan found that the Huns' light cavalry and light infantry had their own bows and arrows, which could be used to attack in distant battles and conventional weapons in close combat, unlike the imperial army with special bow and arrow units, which of course had something to do with the nomadic soldiers, who practiced mounted archery all year round, and archery became an indispensable activity in their daily lives.

After referring to this characteristic of the Huns, Qin also improved the troops, added archery training to the light infantry and light cavalry, and hired high-level instructors from the Motts and Tubu to train his soldiers with high salaries.

Fortunately, the common people in the northwest region, due to the complex ethnic composition and the influence of the neighboring nomads, are also relatively large, and the young and middle-aged men can more or less do some horseback archery work, so the reform I carried out in my subordinate troops did not encounter much difficulty, and the combat effectiveness of the light cavalry and light infantry was further improved. (To be continued......)