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After the Tang Dynasty, the natural ecology of Longyou suffered great damage. All the way from Gongchang Prefecture to Anding in the north, large areas of bare yellow soil could often be seen. Long-term erosion by rain had formed a series of criss-crossing gullies, which were shocking to the sight.
Fortunately, at that time, water resources were not as scarce as in later generations. As the source of the Wei River, this area was dotted with large and small rivers, barely nourishing this loess plateau.
The vegetation has not suffered devastating damage, and large clumps of trees towering into the sky can be seen everywhere in the mountains.
But if it is not protected and continues to be cut down indiscriminately, it will sooner or later become the bare land like in later generations.
However, protecting the source of the Yellow River is a matter for the future.
What Qin Mu needs to do now is to stabilize the crisis in Longyou first and avoid the collapse of the war situation in the entire northwest.
In order to save time, the 6,000-man army only brought five days' worth of dry food. From Gongchang Prefecture to Anding County, they barely rested except for the time to eat dry food and drink water.
The iron hooves rumbled, the flags fluttered, and the six thousand soldiers were not discouraged by the loss of Lanzhou, because they were following the emperor to fight. Every heroic performance could be seen directly by the emperor. For the soldiers, this was a rare opportunity.
Moreover, their worship of the emperor had reached a blind point. With his glorious military achievements in the past, the soldiers had no doubt that they would surely win by following the emperor, and all their military exploits would receive the most generous rewards.
Qin Mu ordered Han Gang to send out a large number of scouts, and the front kept reporting back that under the city of Anding, two thousand soldiers of the Khoshut tribe were under the command of their general Dahan and were attacking Anding fiercely.
Anding is also a very important strategic node, which can be called the eastern gateway of Lanzhou. To its south is Gongchang Prefecture, and to the east there are small roads leading to Huining County and Pingliang Prefecture, and then into the Guanzhong Plain from the southern foot of Liupan Mountain.
On the galloping horse, Hong Niangzi approached and said loudly: "Your Majesty. I think it is enough to defend Tianding first. Your Majesty does not have many soldiers and horses. After defending Anding, wait for Gao Yigong and Na Risong in Lintao to decide the winner, and then Your Majesty will advance to Lanzhou to ensure safety."
The so-called small number of troops and horses is only relative to the enemy's large army. In fact, no matter when, 6,000 cavalry can be called a large army.
Especially since these 6,000 troops were the elite of the Qin army and were well-equipped. They had 1,500 Type 68 rifles alone. If a head-on battle broke out, these 1,500 spearmen would be enough to defeat Bailutuhu's 20,000 cavalry.
Qin Mu replied: "Ying'er, do you remember how many soldiers I had when we first met?"
Qin Wu and Hong Niangzi first met outside Yuanzhou City in Jiangxi Province. At that time, Qin Mu had only two thousand soldiers around him.
Lady Hong said, "Your Majesty, the Mongolian army we are facing this time is not a mob that Zhang Xianzhong has just assembled. We must take a long-term view."
"Don't worry, Ying'er. I know what to do."
Qin Mu knew very well that although his personal participation in the battle could boost the morale of the Qin army, it was far from enough. The most important thing now was to win a victory as soon as possible, not just a small victory of annihilating one or two hundred enemies. As long as it was amplified a little and publicized, it would be of great help.
On the contrary, he must not fail. Any small setback at this sensitive moment would be infinitely magnified, which would in turn undermine the confidence of the Qin army soldiers in him. The negative effects of the fall of Lanzhou would also be multiplied, and the situation would be really out of control by then.
"Zhu Yijin!"
"I am here."
"I order you to lead a thousand soldiers as the vanguard and rush to the city of Anding as quickly as possible to protect Anding and hold back Dahan. If he retreats, chase him down immediately. Remember, you must act cautiously, but once you see the opportunity, strike hard!"
"Your Majesty, I obey your order."
For Qin Mu, this was a war he could not afford to lose, but he had to fight hard to show his power.
Zhu Yijin led a thousand soldiers and horses and galloped away. In fact, although they were the vanguard, they were just a little faster. The following troops were all riding their horses and galloping, not much slower than Zhu Yijin.
The entire journey from Gongchang Prefecture to Anding County was about 150 miles. It took Zhu Yijin only two hours to reach the city of Tianding (in fact, his average speed was only 20 kilometers per hour).
There were 500 defenders in Tianding City, resisting the attack of 2,000 Hoshuote troops. The shouts and cries of killing could be heard from ten miles away.
Seeing yellow dust rolling in from the south from afar, the enemy general Dahan immediately withdrew his troops and temporarily retreated to Shilipu, north of the city. Zhu Yijin did not enter the city but chased after them, with the sound of hoofbeats like thunder and billowing dust.
Dahan saw that he had only a thousand men, but he kept chasing him relentlessly. The Khoshut army, which had just won a great victory in Lanzhou, was in high spirits and could not tolerate such "insult". Dahan immediately led his troops back to fight back.
Anding City is located in the valley of Guanchuan River, a tributary of Zuli River. Except for the relatively flat north-south valley formed by the alluvial deposits of Guanchuan River, the other two sides are all loess plateaus. The terrain of this loess plateau is very complex, and there are also bushes and shrubs growing on it, making it difficult for large groups of cavalry to move forward.
The narrowest part of the valley was less than a mile wide. After quickly taking a look at the surrounding terrain, Zhu Yijin made a prompt decision and decided to take a big gamble and give a big gift to the emperor behind him.
Dahan's two thousand troops charged back with great momentum and galloped like thunder. A long cloud of yellow dust rose up. From a distance, only part of the troops in the front could be seen, and all those behind were hidden in the yellow dust.
After Zhu Yijin hurriedly issued a few combat orders, he squeezed his legs together, and the warhorse neighed loudly, then raised its hooves and rushed out wildly. A thousand soldiers and horses followed closely behind him, rushing away like a torrent.
Looking from the top of the city wall, one could see two yellow dragons rolling and approaching rapidly three or four miles north of the city. When the two armies were about to collide, Zhu Yijin and his men suddenly drew an arc, avoiding Dahan's front and flying to the flank.
It was said to be late, but it was fast. When the arc was drawn, the troops in front were no longer an obstacle, and the enemy was completely exposed to the muzzle of the Type 568 rifle behind. Amid the thundering sound of iron hooves, a burst of gunfire rang out...
The Qin army opened fire one after another on horseback. The whistling bullets whizzed into the enemy's bodies. The hit horses fell to the ground with a bang and rolled violently. Nearly a hundred people fell off their horses. The tragic howls were soon drowned out by the yellow dust sweeping in from behind.
In just one encounter, Dahan suffered nearly a hundred casualties, which was extremely tragic.
But if he was determined enough and immediately turned around and gave chase despite the risk of casualties, it would be hard to say who would win in the end because the Qin army could not reload on horseback.
But at this moment, Handa looked at the horses that were knocked down one after another, and he hesitated for a moment. In this way, the first charge of the two sides staggered each other, and it became Zhu Yijin in the north and Dahan's army in the south.
Handa didn't know that his momentary hesitation would change the entire battle situation in Longyou, and even change history.
When a large group of cavalry is charging, they cannot stop whenever they want. However, Zhu Yijin had given orders in advance, so after the spearmen and enemies in the rear had passed by, they began to slow down in an orderly manner, thus being one step ahead.
When Han Khan turned around, the yellow dust gradually dispersed with the wind, and he could vaguely see that the Qin army in the north had dismounted. The five hundred spearmen were divided into two and stood in three rows, front and back, like two gates, blocking the river valley which was several miles wide. All the soldiers were biting open the cardboard and quickly loading ammunition into their rifles.
Dahan finally came to his senses and realized that something was wrong. Although it was the first time he had seen the Qin army's rifles, judging from their range and lethality, they were simply a nightmare for the cavalry.
In the narrow river valley, Dahan suddenly felt the atmosphere was extremely tense. The warhorse under him was snorting anxiously. At this time, he could not help but look at both sides of the river valley, but he saw undulating mountains, dense thorns and bushes.
There were some deserted paths between the ravines, but most of them were too small for two horses to ride side by side. Unless they were defeated and had to flee for their lives, if two thousand soldiers squeezed in together under the watchful eyes of the Qin army, they would probably trample on each other and suffer a catastrophic disaster.
"Bluff, bluff, bluff!"
"Bluff, bluff, bluff!"
"Bluff, bluff, bluff!"
After the Qin army finished loading their ammunition, they began to emit bursts of low growls, and lined up in neat rows, advancing step by step. The low growls like the king of beasts made people feel a dull pain in their hearts. Dahan felt that the warhorse under him was becoming more and more uneasy.
At this moment, the dull sound of horse hooves was heard again from the south of Anding City, and the dense yellow dust rose into the air. Just by looking at the smoke and dust, one could tell that there were quite a few soldiers and horses rushing over.
Dahan was greatly shocked. He immediately waved his saber and shouted, "Charge forward, break through the Qin army's blockade, ah!"
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
Nearly two thousand Khoshut cavalrymen roared hysterically, urged their horses to move, gripped their longbows tightly, and rushed towards Zhu Yijin's defense line. Their iron hooves shook the mountains and rivers, and their momentum was like a rainbow.
The Qin army in the north, with their rifles leveled, aimed at the enemy cavalry rushing towards them, silently calculating the distance: five hundred steps, four hundred steps, three hundred steps... ... ... .
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ps: I continue to beg for votes for the annual work! By the way, I'll give you a preview, just like last night, there will be another update tonight. I've really tried my best, so if you have votes for the annual work, please vote for me.
.(To be continued..)
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