At the beginning of April, the climate on the grassland is so good that people want to shout at the blue sky. The fresh green has covered the grassland, and the wind that gallops on the grassland seems to be able to cleanse people's soul. It is extraordinarily thorough. refreshing. Standing on the high slope and looking far away, the green grass and the blue sky in the distance meet in one place, which is refreshing.
The white lion walked lazily on the grass, completely ignoring the fearful expressions of the war horses behind it. Fang Jie found that the biggest advantage of this mount is not only that it can run faster than the best war horses, but also feels very comfortable because of its thick fur. Naturally, riding a lion cannot be fitted with a saddle, which would make the proud beast look nondescript even if it wanted to.
Chen Qianshan, Lu Fenghou, Xiahou Baichuan, Chen Dingnan, Liu Xuri, and Zhuge Wuyin, the six generals that Fang Xie relied on, set off early in the morning with 5,000 cavalry divided into six groups. Marching to the north in a mighty way, about 30,000 people remained in the camp, almost all of whom were newly recruited in the past few months and needed training. Sun Kaidao and several generals stayed behind, and now the total strength of the Black Banner Army is about 70,000, an increase of nearly 20,000 from the beginning.
The breeze was blowing from the opposite side, and it felt very comfortable on the person's cheek. This is a good time to send troops. On the prairie, even if there is no war, the Mengyuan Royal Court will hold a large-scale hunting in April and May every year. Hunting in one place.
This is a tradition of the Mongolian people, in order to keep the wolf cavalry in combat.
It took Fang Jie's Black Banner Army more than half a year to transform from infantry to cavalry. In the past six months, the soldiers have trained extremely hard. Even if they are not as proficient in bow and horse as wolf riders, at least they are familiar with how to use a knife and how to draw a bow on horseback. Fang Jie never thought that the soldiers of the Black Banner Army could become elite light cavalry in just half a year, which is a completely unrealistic luxury.
The team marched all the way north, and the nearest target was also 1,200 miles away.
The northern barbarians came out in full force, entered the grassland from the northernmost face of Langru Mountain, and invaded the Sele Banner of Mengyuan.
The scale of Sele Banner is much larger than that of Mandu Banner. Not long after the war between Wang Ting and Daxue Mountain started, Sele Tiedu, the owner of Sele Banner, rushed to Daxue Mountain with 80,000 cavalry, and stayed in Sele Banner. The number of cavalry is no less than 30,000. So when the northern barbarians first invaded, the people of Sele Banner did not feel afraid.
Thirty thousand wolf riders are still on the grassland, even if they face 100,000 northern barbarians, they will not be defeated. In the initial war, the Mongols had always had the upper hand, and the wolf cavalry of Sele Banner even regarded the war against the northern barbarians as hunting. Those northern barbarians wearing leather robes and holding stone and wooden sticks were no different from beasts in the eyes of the wolf cavalry.
When hundreds of thousands of northern barbarians arrived at Sele Banner, they were killed by wolf cavalry in the first battle, and their corpses were scattered all over the field. These northern barbarians were not accustomed to the fighting methods of the large corps, and there was almost no tacit understanding among the various tribes of the northern barbarians, so they were defeated by the frontier army of the Sui Dynasty.
The northern barbarians didn't know much about Meng Yuan, and they thought the elite frontier army of the Sui Dynasty was the evil star. As the saying goes, the ignorant are fearless, and it is precisely because of their ignorance that these people break into the prairie brazenly. They thought it would be smooth sailing, but they lost more than 30,000 people in the first battle, and the rear team was smashed into chaos before the battle started.
But later, more and more northern barbarians entered the grassland, and the wolf cavalry of Sele Banner felt a headache. Because although these northern barbarians don't know the art of war and tactics, their combat awareness is entirely based on the experience accumulated from hunting. But the biggest advantage of these people is that they are all fighters. The northern barbarians who lived in the harsh environment, boys over ten years old would pick up stone axes and go hunting with their parents, fighting with ferocious beasts.
Even the women of the northern barbarians were so brave that it made one's heart palpitate. They rushed over overwhelmingly. Although there was no formation to speak of, their brutal killing intent was the greatest weapon.
Although the wolf cavalry has never suffered a loss, the speed at which their troops are depleted is also worrying.
Later, after hundreds of thousands of northern barbarians poured into Sele Banner, it was like a plague of locusts on the grassland. Where the northern barbarians have passed, it can be described as not a single blade of grass grows. They don't know how to maintain grasslands at all, and they only engage in destructive snatching. When a small tribe is broken, the shepherds will be killed, both male and female. The northern barbarians will distribute the cattle, sheep and horses equally under the auspices of the leader. This kind of living habit is simply a symbol of uncivilization.
They don't think war horses are inedible.
As long as it is meat, it is a kind of food in their eyes.
And the most important point, the status of women among the northern barbarians is much higher than that of men. All the drudgery in the tribe is done by the men, and the decisions are made by the most respected women in the tribe. Unless there are very special circumstances, the leaders of all tribes in the northern barbarians are women.
Men don't feel ashamed to be dominated by women.
Most of Fang Jie's understanding of the northern barbarians came from Zhang Kuang. Zhang Kuang was a frontier army in the northern frontier at the beginning. He lived among the northern barbarian tribes for several years. After finding out the composition of the northern barbarians, he led the Sui frontier army to slaughter more than a dozen small tribes in the northern border and killed at least five people. Thousands of barbarians.
Later, after getting to know Wanyan Chongde, Fang Jie knew more about the northern barbarians.
The northern barbarians are indeed backward, as can be seen from the fact that their main weapons are still stone tools. But it was such a group of backward people who forced the herdsmen of Sele Banner away from their homes. Of course, if Sele Tiedu hadn't left with 80,000 elite cavalry, the hundreds of thousands of northern barbarians would not be a concern at all.
By spring, more than one million northern barbarians had settled in Sele Banner, and then continued to invade the south on a large scale.
Quoketai Mengge probably never thought that the powerful empire he ruled would one day be occupied by such a group of uncivilized barbarians to occupy such a large territory. Khan Wanyanyong, who is close to the Northern Liao land, will naturally not care about the disaster that Mengyuan is suffering now. He is happy to see such a situation.
And these northern barbarians definitely did not expect that the Black Banner Army would regard them as the first target for training.
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The northern barbarians, who had just captured a small tribe, were still extremely excited. They found that the grassland was simply a paradise. Because they live in a very tired and remote place, they don't know much about the outside world. And because of their barbarism and backwardness, even the Eastern Chu businessmen who claim to be able to do business in any corner of the world are unwilling to deal with them. Therefore, the most intuitive impression of the northern barbarians on the outside world is that the empire called the Great Sui has a group of terrifying soldiers.
The frontier soldiers of the Sui Dynasty wore thick leather armor, held sharp long lances and horizontal knives, had continuous crossbow arrows, and dazzling formations. Every time they confronted the Sui people, the northern barbarians never tasted victory.
Later, a man who claimed to be the messenger of the gods came to Beiman. With his strong cultivation base, the king of Beiman respected him and obeyed him. This man showed amazing spells in front of the northern barbarian king, which made everyone who saw him fear and respect him.
The northern barbarian king called this man the envoy of God.
The oracle brought good news to the northern barbarians. He said that in the west there is a grassland like a paradise. The people there are very rich, but the most important thing is that the people there are very weak. He told the Northern Man King that it is too difficult for you to survive next to such a powerful empire as the Sui Dynasty, and you must live in another place. If you can climb over the mountains, then the rich grasslands will be your new home.
The northern barbarian king ordered all the tribes to march without hesitation, no, to move.
After they arrived on the grassland, they realized that what the envoy said was indeed true. There are cattle and sheep everywhere, so fat. And unlike the ferocious prey that the northern barbarians had to face every day, those cattle and sheep were so docile as if they were waiting for them to be slaughtered. Moreover, the beef and mutton are extra sweet and plump, much more delicious than the wild animals they usually hunt.
This backward nation has never eaten beef and mutton!
The grasslands full of cattle and sheep are really a paradise for them.
In order to stay in heaven, they confessed by shedding blood and dying. In fact, when the war was not going well at the beginning, the 30,000 wolf cavalry in the Sele Banner made the northern barbarians fearful. After seeing the ferocious combat power of the wolf cavalry, the northern barbarian king once had the heart to retreat. They had never seen an army fighting on horseback, and the wind-like speed made it impossible for them to deal with it.
But the envoy told them that there were only so many cavalrymen, and as long as those cavalrymen were killed, no one would be able to stop the northern barbarians from becoming the masters of the grassland. He said to the king of the northern barbarians, you are the king who rules millions of people, don't you want to be a prairie man who rules ten times and a hundred times more than your people
Although the northern barbarians were backward, their desire for power was not small at all.
With the help of the envoys, the northern barbarians finally forced the herdsmen of Sele Banner to migrate after dozens of fights, and those weak herdsmen tribes were simply unable to resist the invasion of millions of northern barbarians.
Another small tribe with a population of over a thousand was slaughtered by the northern barbarians, and the leader of the northern barbarians, Liguda, howled happily. He led 30,000 northern barbarians southward, and successfully occupied at least 500 miles of pastures without encountering any resistance along the way. Those herdsmen abandoned their cattle and sheep and fled. This was like a dream.
"An envoy is a person sent by the gods to guide us to the light."
Liguda exclaimed: "If there is no angel, how can we know that there is such a paradise."
The barbarians under him immediately cheered, and it seemed that they had stronger respect for the envoy than for the northern barbarian king. Just as the soldiers were cheering, a group of people came in a mighty way from a distance, and the leader was the mysterious man who was turned into an envoy by the northern barbarians. Looking at the attire on his body, it is a typical Central Plains Confucian shirt. It looked like he was about forty years old, with a bookish look in his words and deeds.
If there are Han people here, they will definitely see that this person must have some background. Ordinary Han families cannot cultivate such a demeanor of everyone with gestures and gestures.
"Kowtow to the God Envoy!"
Under the leadership of Liguda, all the northern barbarians knelt down and saluted the Han man.
"Get up, everyone."
The Han man tidied up his clothes, as if he didn't like dust falling on his clothes after galloping his horse. It seems that although he is no longer young, he is still a very handsome man. Unlike the others, he did not bring any weapons or luggage, but only a book and a jug of wine. Hangs right on the side of the saddle, within easy reach.
Behind him are about 300 cavalrymen, wearing black iron armor, the face mask is pulled down to reveal only the eyes, and they look extremely fierce. These people were called the servants of the envoys by the northern barbarians, and they followed the envoys to the northern barbarians. The cold aura emanating from these people made the northern barbarians dare not provoke them.
"You have done a good job, and the barbarian king is very satisfied with your performance."
The envoy waved his hand to signal them to get up, and then said calmly, "Keep half of the spoils for yourselves, and give the other half to the barbarian king."
"yes!"
Liguda bowed respectfully.
"You can set up camp here tonight, and I have to go to Helimu's team. There are some troubles over there, and the resistance of the herdsmen is a bit strong."
The envoy glanced at Liguda and said, "Remember, according to what I taught you before, people should be kept on guard outside at night, do you understand?"
"understandable!"
Liguda nodded vigorously: "I will do as you ordered!"
In his opinion, everything the envoy said was the will of the gods, there was no doubt about it.