Soldiers of the Sui Army far away on the prairie in the northwest are about to spend the first Spring Festival in their lives that they do not spend at home. Tomorrow is the New Year's Eve, except for the soldiers on duty, everyone else will find acquaintances to chat with. The difference between the Han people in the Central Plains and the Mengyuan people in the Eastern Chu is not only the difference in appearance, but also the difference in personality. The saying that the Han people love their families and their parents do not travel far has been passed down to this day.
The Eastern Chu people are used to traveling north and south, and they regard traveling and doing business as their life. In their concept, home is just a vocabulary. However, the Mongolian people lived on the grass, and they were used to driving cattle and sheep to live a nomadic life. Even if they couldn't get out of the tribal fiefdom, the grasslands of a few thousand miles at least were enough for them to go back and forth.
The topics that the soldiers gathered to discuss were what the people who couldn't leave their hometown were doing at this time. Someone licked his lips and said that he really wanted to eat a dumpling. This sentence resonated with many people. The soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River did not have a particularly strong affection for pasta, but the soldiers in the north loved dumplings more than food. In their view, dumplings represent more than just a simple food.
There were people coming and going in the camp with a radius of more than twenty miles. In order to let the soldiers feel a little bit of the new year, the generals even managed to find some red cloths and carefully decorated them in the barracks. I don't know where the quartermaster found some bright red lanterns, and hung them outside the large tents of the Chinese army, looking very friendly.
The soldiers kept talking until it was almost dark when dinner was served, and then they were pleasantly surprised to find that everyone could get half a catty of cooked meat for today's dinner. For an army that went on an expedition and did not capture any cattle, sheep or horses, it was something to cheer for each person to get half a catty of cooked meat. You must know that these pork were transported thousands of miles from the customs. In order to supply the 700,000 troops, the manpower and material resources consumed by this meal are astronomical.
General Li Yuanshan patrolled his camp at night. As the most northwest commander of the imperial garrison, he played a pivotal role in this war. And... The biggest advantage of You Xiaowei compared with other guards is that Li Yuanshan has been a general for these years, and he has tried his best to form a heavy armored cavalry of 2,000 people.
You Xiaowei's heavy cavalry is the first heavy cavalry since the founding of the Sui Dynasty.
Equipped with armored horses, swords, spears, feathers and arrows cannot invade. When charging into the battle, it can easily crush the enemy into powder like a heavy tank. In this 2,000-man heavy cavalry, the treatment enjoyed by each cavalry is unmatched by other soldiers. Each of them has two retinues who belong only to them. In addition to a tall and majestic war horse, there is also a nanny horse carrying personal belongings. After all, they can't wear at least forty catties of heavy armor all day long, and their horses are much larger and heavier than ordinary soldiers.
And the Jingbu Battalion is the standard equipment of every guard soldier, which is nothing special.
But precisely because You Xiaowei is the most northwest of the garrison, the number of soldiers is also greater than the number of soldiers in the hinterland of the empire. According to the military system of the Sui Dynasty, each guard had 36,000 soldiers and 8,000 auxiliary soldiers, and counting other military personnel, the total number was less than 50,000. The right guard has the emperor's special purpose, and can recruit 12,000 more soldiers and 2,000 auxiliary soldiers. In terms of overall size, a right guard has about one-third more troops than the other guards.
For the entire Sui Dynasty, the only soldier team that could be compared to the Right Xiaowei and was larger was the Left Front Guard stationed in the southwest. So someone in the court made an analogy, Li Yuanshan in the northwest and Luo Yao in the southwest are the two Optimus Primes in the west of the empire.
Li Yuanshan was ordered to be the vanguard of the Western Expedition, and his army has always been at the forefront. But after several successive fights, You Xiaowei's losses were not too great. The soldiers and horses recruited by the emperor from all over the empire were controlled by several generals. When it came to the battlefield, these soldiers and horses dispatched from all over the country were the real vanguards. of the soldiers.
Including the first battle, the 5,000 troops led by Li Xiaozong, although they were under the banner of You Xiaowei, but the soldiers of You Xiaowei were really counted as a Zhechong battalion.
"General, let us fight the first battle after the Chinese New Year... This is a bit unfair. We will work hard in the front, and they will pick up the cheap ones in the back!"
Yin Poshan, one of Li Yuanshan's seven tiger generals, said with some dissatisfaction.
Li Yuanshan waved his hand and said: "Your Majesty regards You Xiaowei as the vanguard, we will naturally rush to the front, don't just look at the losses, if this war is won, the vanguard will get far more than other troops. Have you forgotten Luo Yao? In the battle of the empire to destroy the merchants, Luo Yao's left front guard was always at the forefront. When more than 40,000 horsemen conquered Yongzhou, there were less than 15,000 left. It was indeed a heavy loss. But now What? Both the late Emperor and His Majesty felt that they owed Luo Yao, and indulged him in every possible way, who knows how many people Luo Yao has now?"
"Our right guard has won this battle, the casualties and losses will not be small, but the glory of those who survived will also be not small, even greater than Luo Yao's left guard!"
Li Yuanshan said indifferently: "I've always told you to keep your eyes open. Even if you can't see ten years from now, try to see three years from now, or five years from now. The longer you look, the better your vision will be. The bigger the future."
"The subordinate understands."
Yin Poshan bowed his head and said.
Li Yuanshan shook his head: "You don't understand, I understand your temperament best. Asking you to think about these things is not much easier than asking you to have a child. Among the seven of you, the calmest one is Xu Xiao. Looking at it now, Li Xiaozong and Xu Xiao are almost the same. That's why I will hand over the vanguard of the vanguard army to him, not you."
"The general praises me, my subordinates are waiting for crimes..."
Li Xiaozong, who was following behind, bowed his head and said.
"What is your crime?"
Li Yuanshan smiled: "The first battle was fought like this according to my wishes. If you are guilty, then I am also guilty?"
"but… "
He paused and said: "The first battle after the year, we have to fight more beautifully. Prince Flying Pigeon passed the letter, let us act more realistically, first fight a few victories to cheer up your majesty, please be happy first and then be disappointed, Your Majesty's anger will be even greater. So you have to remember that in the next battle, you can fight as you like, if you lose someone again, I will pick your food first."
"Here!"
Several generals bowed their heads in response.
Li Xiaozong hesitated for a while and asked in a low voice: "General, please allocate another 5,000 troops to your subordinates. This time, your subordinates will definitely fight well."
"you are tired."
Li Yuanshan waved his hand: "Let Xu Xiao fight the next battle, you can rest for a few more days."
Li Xiaozong's face changed suddenly, and there was a flash of resentment in his eyes. This hatred is so strong that it seems like the night that cannot be melted away. Although it is fleeting, it is exceptionally clear. Li Xiaozong concealed his dissatisfaction by bowing his head in agreement, but there was a fire burning in his heart.
…
…
A dozen people in black night clothes stepped on the moonlight cut by the clouds, lowered their bodies and walked swiftly like beasts in the grass. Not only did they cover their faces with black cloths, they even covered their heads very tightly, revealing only a pair of bright eyes. These dozen or so people are like fish swimming in the sea, and the vast grassland as wide as the sea is their home, so even though the night is getting darker and darker, their forward speed has not slowed down at all.
The leading man in black stopped suddenly while running, and then gestured. A dozen men in black immediately fell to the ground, lying motionless in the grass. Not long after, more than 20 war horses passed not far from where they were hiding, and the black armor of the knights on the horses announced their identities.
It is the ranger of the Sui Dynasty.
This place is less than three miles away from the Sui army's camp, and the Sui army's ranger patrols passed by more and more intensively. These dozen or so men in black moved forward cautiously along the way, and their forward speed slowed down a lot after avoiding this group of rangers.
The leading man climbed up a high slope, crouched in the grass and looked at the brightly lit Sui army camp not far away. On such a deep night, the twenty miles of lights are like a shining lake wave. The ups and downs of the camp are the waves of this great lake.
"The banner owner said that Sui people's New Year's Eve is as important as our Lent. As expected...you see..."
The leader of the man in black pointed to the Sui army camp and said: "Although it seems that the defenses are still tight, the moving torches in the camp are patrolling soldiers, which seem to be much less than before."
The man in black beside him sneered lowly and said: "My lord, the Sui people still have the face to claim to be the nation that knows war best. Look, there are red lanterns hanging outside the big tents of the Chinese army." , This is the extreme idiocy. It's like telling us that those tents are the residence of the Sui Army's coach."
The leading commander is called Agudamu, and he is a powerful general under the command of Mandu Lang in Nirvana City. Although he is not very old, he has a profound cultivation base and a cold and ruthless temper, killing people without blinking an eye.
"It's a habit that's hard to break."
Agudamu said in a low voice: "Master General once sneaked into Fangu City pretending to be a herdsman, and he knows the habits of the Sui people. Every New Year's Eve, the Han people will hang red lanterns in front of their houses. They also have to eat a meal." There is a kind of food called dumplings, and firecrackers are set off. Just like we celebrate Lent, the Sui people are almost defenseless on New Year’s Eve. Their soldiers also have to drink and eat meat, even if they are locked in prison The criminals here will also get wine and cooked meat. Especially on New Year's Eve, their vigilance is the lowest."
"This time, even if we can't win a complete victory, if the Sui people are caught off guard, they won't run away."
Another man in black said.
Agudam shook his head and said: "You can't be careless. Even though the Sui people have many habits that are difficult to change, what you see in front of you are real soldiers, and there are too many of them."
"Ten thousand sheep can't stop the attack of a wolf."
A man in black smiled and said: "Just wait, let's let those Sui people taste the scimitar tomorrow night."
Agudam hummed, pointed to the front and said in a low voice: "Go one hundred steps forward, and see if you can no longer see clearly. Spread out, everyone chooses a good place to hide, when you When the hourglass runs out, return here to gather immediately, and we have to rush back to report to the young banner master and the general before dawn."
"Huha."
The men in black responded in a low voice, and then each chose a direction and dispersed.
Agudamu didn't move, and stayed on the high slope.
On another high slope less than 150 steps away from him, there were a few people who were covered with dead grass crouching in the grass. The hats and clothes on their heads were all camouflaged, and they couldn't easily find their existence even if they walked up to them in such a dark night.
One of them put down his clairvoyant, lowered his voice and asked a petite person beside him: "Lord Qianhu, do you want to capture one and bring him back for torture?"
The person known as Qianhu shook his head slightly, and habitually took off a piece of fluffy grass and put it in his mouth: "Let them watch as much as possible, and notify the ranger to catch a few before leaving. If you let them go so easily, Instead, they will be a little suspicious. Let's just keep an eye on whether anyone is approaching the camp, arresting people on the battlefield is not under the control of the Ouchi guards."
Listening to her talk, it turned out to be a woman.
"Here."
The person who asked the question responded, and raised his clairvoyance again to look at the opposite Gao Po.
Lying on the grass, Nu Qianhu looked up at the moon half covered by clouds, and squirmed her lips gently to chew on the fluffy grass. The grass has withered and yellowed, so there is no bitter taste.
She thought of the boy who was far away in Chang'an City, and her heart felt sweet. That guy, from a very young age, knew how to use weeds to camouflage, wear different colors of clothes in different environments, paint some ugly colors on his face, and even stay motionless in one place for a whole day, peeing Even if you sprinkle it in your pants, it won't move. He said it was a means of survival. She looked down on him at the time, but gradually realized that these means were really useful.
Putting on hay-yellow clothes, they would not be noticed even if they hid in the grass during the day. Relying on this color camouflage, the people from Ouchi's guards' office approached Mandu Banner's camp many times.
What is he doing
she was thinking.
There is no shadow of him in the moon, but she is so engrossed in seeing it.