***
The dusk of the evening came over us, and except for the blood-red sky in the west, most of the sky turned into ochre blue.
The west wind blew across the undulating loess plateau, making it majestic and wild, and the fields were vast and boundless. The sound of the horn echoed in the desolate wilderness, like the mountains and rivers weeping.
On Baideng Ridge, the setting sun illuminates the big banner, and the horses neigh in the wind. The flat sand is lined with thousands of curtains, and the cold frost dyes the grass... ... .
At the foot of Baideng Ridge, Gushri Khan, accompanied by his fierce general Surilehek, his trusted adviser Sude and others, stationed their horses in the west wind, gazing at the Jingguan (a mountain pagoda built with nearly two thousand human heads) at the foot of the ridge.
A faint sound of Hujia came from the sky, the sky was like a curtain, and the wind was blowing hard.
The tall pile of Jingguan had hideous human heads stained with black blood, some with terrified eyes staring out, which made people feel frightened.
In front of the Jingguan, there was a white flag. In the west wind, the flag fluttered like a soul-calling banner. On it were nine big characters written in blood: Whoever offends the Great Qin will be punished, no matter how far away they are!
Surileheke could not help cursing, and then said to Gushi Khan: "Great Khan, give me 5,000 soldiers and horses, I will immediately flatten the Baideng Ridge and capture Qin Mu alive!"
Su De on the side hurriedly advised: "Great Khan, Qin Mu is probably doing this to provoke the Great Khan. Great Khan, please don't be fooled. The terrain here is between two mountains and the road is narrow, which is not conducive to our army's maneuvering. Please stop your wrath for the time being and make long-term plans."
Another general, Wu Rigen, drew his sword and said murderously, "Khan, Qin Mu is the emperor of Qin, and now he only has 6,000 soldiers. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. No matter how much it costs, it is worth it as long as we can capture Qin Mu alive, Khan. I also think that we should attack Baideng Ridge immediately to prevent Qin from sending more troops to help."
The warhorse under Gushi Khan was a little agitated, neighing from time to time. He pulled the reins and said, "Let's go back to Jin County first."
Although Qin Mu only had 6,000 soldiers, it was obvious that these 6,000 soldiers must be the elite of Qin's elite. Dahan's 2,000 troops were destroyed in an instant. He had no time to send reinforcements, and Qin Mu had already reached Jin County. This was the best proof.
Moreover, the terrain of Baideng Ridge was too narrow, which was not conducive to the deployment of troops. Although he had more than 20,000 troops, he could only add fuel to the fire and add them little by little when a real battle came.
After returning to Jin County, Gushih Khan immediately summoned all the generals to discuss the attack on Baideng Mountain. Outside the county government office, people and horses were shouting, and messengers were coming and going. The blazing torches illuminated the inside and outside.
As soon as Gushri Khan sat down in the hall, Sude said, "Great Khan, Dahan was defeated so badly and so quickly, and the soldiers who managed to escape did not seem to be lying. The Qin army's muskets are indeed extremely powerful, and we must be prepared."
Su De and his friends had heard that the Qin army had developed a powerful firearm, but no one had ever seen it.
The previous Type 68 rifles were all handmade, with a high scrap rate, time-consuming and labor-intensive, and expensive. Among the hundreds of thousands of Qin troops, the Marine Corps was given priority in equipment, and the Army lagged behind;
Commanders like Ma Yongzhen, Meng Ke, and Li Dingguo were equipped with as many as one thousand Type 68 rifles, or as few as five hundred. However, Ma Wannian in Lanzhou did not have a single rifle.
Qin Mu did send Qin Zuoming's 1,000 troops to help, but due to strategic considerations, Qin Zuoming's 1,000 spearmen did not reach Lanzhou, and Gushri Khan and his men had no way of knowing the power of the Type 68 rifle.
Judging from the description of the soldiers who escaped from Dahan's army, the power of the Qin army's muskets was simply terrifying. This was also an important reason why Gushi Khan hesitated and did not immediately attack Baideng Ridge.
Gushih Khan asked directly: "How do you think we can deal with the Qin army's muskets?"
This question caused silence in the hall.
***
On the Baideng Ridge, Qin Mu was a little disappointed when he saw the enemy retreating like water.
Afterwards, he immediately summoned Zhao Jian, Han Gang, Zhu Yijin, and Yu Shangyou who were accompanying him to discuss countermeasures.
Han Gang spoke first: "Your Majesty, after Bailutuhu captured Lanzhou, he had ten cannons in his hands. This is certain. In addition, their crossbows can move flexibly and throw powerful fire caltrops. Therefore, if we attack Jin County by force, we will not have an advantage in weapons."
The 6,000 soldiers and horses brought by the Qin army this time were equipped with more than 1,000 Type 68 rifles, 30 rocket launchers, and 300 rockets. If they were used to attack the city, the enemy would be in trouble as they had artillery and caltrops which were equivalent to grenades.
Yu Shangyou said worriedly: "Your Majesty, I expect the enemy to launch a surprise attack tonight. The situation at Baideng Ridge is not that dangerous. If the enemy brings in artillery, I'm afraid it will be difficult to defend..."
"Defense?" Qin Mu took the hot tea brought by Hong Niangzi, drank it with his eyelids drooping, then suddenly opened his eyes and said with a blazing light, "I came here, do you think I am here to defend?"
"Your Majesty!" Yu Shangyou felt a little dry in the mouth. Under Qin Mu's intimidating gaze, he didn't know what to say.
Zhu Yijin said, "Minister Yu, don't forget, when it comes to night battles, our army is second to none. I'm afraid no one dares to claim first place, so why should we be afraid of him?"
It's no wonder that Zhu Yijin is so arrogant. Since southern Jiangxi, Qin Mu has attached great importance to night combat training. In order to overcome the common night blindness of that era, soldiers often have to drink bitter pine needle water.
Now that I have come to the northwest, I have added one more thing: drinking water soaked with Rhodiola rosea. According to the military doctor, this is to prevent altitude sickness.
Zhu Yijin still didn’t know whether Rhodiola rosea was effective, but pine needle water was indeed very effective for night blindness, which had been verified in previous night battles;
In addition to long-term training in night combat, even the lowest-level sergeants and corps leaders now have a complete set of plans for commanding their soldiers at night. They are equipped with all kinds of night-time means of sending orders, and the soldiers cooperate quickly and tacitly, which is something that other armies that have not undergone long-term training cannot do.
Han Gang also said: "Six thousand versus more than twenty thousand, a one to four ratio is not too big of a disparity. If it is a night battle, the more troops there are, the harder it is to coordinate. On the contrary, once a certain part is breached, it is easy to cause the entire group to collapse in the unknown situation. Therefore, objectively speaking, a night battle is also in our favor."
"I still say the same thing. Strategically, you can despise the enemy, but tactically, you must take the enemy seriously. Now, let's assume that the enemy is coming for a night attack and immediately draw up one or two detailed combat plans."
Yu Shangyou analyzed: "On the west side of Baideng Ridge, there is a road between two mountains. If the enemy brings in artillery, they can only set up artillery on the west side. The slope on the west side is not high, and the elevation angle of the artillery can reach the top of the slope..."
"Minister Yu." Zhao Jian interrupted him and said, "We have already dug trenches at the top of the slope, so the enemy's artillery is not a big threat."
"The hillside on the west side is not very big. General Zhao, don't forget that the enemy can also use crossbows to throw caltrops. If they throw a large number of them, the fierce explosion sound alone may injure the soldiers in the trenches.
Besides, the loess slopes of Baideng Ridge cannot be called mountains. Although the enemy cavalry cannot charge directly, they can attack from all sides if they dismount and fight on foot. The enemy's crossbows are not heavy and can be carried over. This four-sided encirclement plus a frontal attack is enough to overwhelm our army."
Qin Mu said, "Generals, please don't be careless. Minister Yu's words are very insightful. Bailutu Hu is very likely to use this night attack method. If so, how should we respond?"
Hong Niangzi, who was also wearing armor, couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, if that's the case, our army can immediately break out to the east and retreat ten or twenty miles. Our rifles, rocket launchers and other weapons will not affect our movement, but if the enemy catches up, their artillery and crossbows are heavy and will definitely not be able to keep up with the light cavalry. At that time, our army can suddenly turn around and concentrate firepower to quickly defeat the enemy's light cavalry. In the dark, once the vanguard is defeated, it can easily cause great panic in the enemy, and then a complete collapse."
Hong Niangzi's plan, which was to retreat in order to advance, not only had the potential to defeat the enemy, but was also very safe. Yu Shangyou immediately said, "Your Majesty, this is the best plan. I beg Your Majesty to adopt it."
Yu Shangyou said this and winked at Han Gang, Zhu Yijin and others.
In fact, before setting out from Gongchang, Sima An, Li Yuan and others had already found several generals accompanying Han Gang and warned them that victory or not was not important, and ensuring the safety of the emperor was the most important thing.
Han Gang, Zhu Yijin and others were all close ministers to the emperor, and they naturally cared the most about Qin Mu's safety, so they all stood up and said, "Your Majesty, we also agree with your plan, and we sincerely ask Your Majesty to adopt it."
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ps: A fierce battle for double monthly tickets has begun. Overnight, I was surpassed by others. It is the last moment of 2014. I can't be so miserable. I beg for double monthly tickets at the end of the month! (To be continued...)
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