Dongyi!
A group of black cavalry were galloping crazily on the ground. Iron hooves stepped on them, and the yellow sand in the sky also rose!
When he actually set foot on this road, Xue Rengui truly discovered the difficulty of this road.
At the beginning, in order to seek stability, Sun Chengen only kept Xue Rengui from a distance and did not easily launch a general attack.
But as the Dongyi armies arrived one after another, Sun Chengen began to really let go of his hands and feet. The infantry surrounded the front, blocking every possible way for Xue Rengui to break out.
The cavalry is responsible for chasing, constantly consuming Xue Rengui's vitality.
The biggest threat to Xue Rengui is still the issue of food and grass. Naturally, it is impossible for them to obtain food and grass supplies in Dongyi. Moreover, since it had already deviated from the planned route and had secretly set up supply points, Xue Rengui would definitely not be able to enjoy it.
At the beginning, Xue Rengui could also obtain supplies by plundering Dongyi villages and towns. However, with the arrival of Dongyi troops one after another, Sun Chengen would not be able to give Xue Rengui such a chance again.
Although there are still a lot of soybeans and black beans in the army, they are not prepared for people, but for war horses.
This of course does not mean that people cannot use those soybeans and black beans. In fact, once the ancient army was deprived of food, it was often the case that soldiers would snatch the soybeans or black beans that were fed to the horses.
However, on this kind of escape, feeding the horses is even more important than feeding the soldiers.
With the arrival of spring, the grass on the ground has begun to sprout, which can solve some of the needs of the war horses. Moreover, the seedlings in Dongyi's farmland have begun to sprout. After all, they are not from his own family. Xue Rengui has no psychological burden on this.
However, just feeding horses with grass cannot satisfy their basic nutritional structure. It is difficult for such horses to have the strength to perform heavy physical labor.
In order for horses to have strength and endurance, they must be given fodder, concentrate feed, and even salt on a regular basis.
This method of enhancing nutrition for horses and improving their overall combat effectiveness is actually the same whether raising war horses on grasslands or in plain farming areas in the interior. War horses must be fed with fodder, concentrated feed, and salt to gain weight and adapt to fierce battles. However, the concentrated feed is mainly wheat bran and beans.
Many nomadic peoples feed their war horses only concentrated feed without letting them eat grass for several months before launching a war. The horses were not allowed to eat a small amount of grass until a few days before the war began, because they were worried that the horses would deprive themselves of feed for a long time and become too fat to run. Therefore, the idea that grassland horses only need to be free-range to graze, and then gathered together to fight is unrealistic.
It is precisely because of this that Xue Rengui's hands are not without food, but the food is prepared for war horses, not for people.
In desperation, Xue Rengui could only choose to kill the horse and eat it. One horse can feed 50 people for a day, and the black cavalry only has one person and three riders. Coupled with the attrition caused by constant fighting, it can barely support it.
Moreover, killing horses for food can also relieve the food pressure on war horses, which can be regarded as killing multiple birds with one stone.
However, it is a pity that the black cavalry war horses are the most elite war horses selected in the army. The strongest horses and the most elite soldiers and armors were allocated to the most elite troops, and this formed the final black cavalry. But now, these war horses are really wasted.
However, at this critical moment of life and death, it is not the time to care so much! If the war horses are gone, they can still raise them again, or even rob them again, but if the lives of these soldiers are gone, then they are really gone!
"Quick! Rest the entire army!" Xue Rengui ordered loudly.
Although Xue Rengui had issued an order for the entire army to rest, no one dismounted, but silently took out the horse meat that had been prepared from his backpack. In the constant pursuit, they often came here on horseback, not to mention eating and sleeping.
Xue Rengui and Hu Luguang looked back silently, clenching their fists unwillingly, not even feeling their nails pricking their palms, their eyes full of anger and sadness. At the same time, there was a hint of hope deep in his eyes, hoping that those figures would appear again.
"If you can come back, General Guan and the others can definitely come back!" Xue Rengui murmured softly.
"Yes! If you can come back, they can definitely come back!" Hu Luguang didn't know whether he was talking to Xue Rengui or to himself.
Sun Chengen continuously sent out large groups of cavalry to pursue him, while Xue Rengui hid whenever he could. If he really couldn't, he would fight and retreat with the opponent.
However, it didn't take long for Xue Rengui to realize that he could not continue like this, even though he avoided fighting with the opponent as much as possible and avoided casualties as much as possible.
However, Xue Rengui also found that he seemed to have fallen into Sun Chengen's plan and was forced to escape along the route Sun Chengen had set for them.
Escape according to the route set by the enemy. There seems to be no harm in a short period of time, and it can even reduce casualties. However, if this continues, the final result will definitely be death without a burial place.
If Xue Rengui continues to escape along this route, what he will face in front will definitely be the Dongyi infantry troops that have been blocked there for a long time. At that time, they are likely to plunge into the pocket formation that the enemy has designed for them.
At that time, Dongyi will launch a general attack with an absolute advantage in strength. The final end of their thousands of troops will definitely be death, and there will be no luck.
After realizing the last problem, Xue Rengui was already faced with a difficult choice. If you continue to move forward, you will fall into the enemy's pocket.
But if they change direction, they may have to take a lot of unnecessary steps if they want to reach Yunhai Port. They will have to travel at least seven days.
In such a life-or-death escape journey, no one knows how many variables will be caused and how many more difficulties will be encountered if one extra day, or even one more hour's journey is taken, let alone seven days' journey. If they had to travel another seven days, their future would be equally uncertain.
Moreover, if they change direction at this time, in addition to having to go through so many unnecessary journeys, it will also be inevitable to have a head-on confrontation with the Dongyi cavalry who have been chasing them. They wanted to change direction, but the first obstacle was the Dongyi cavalry chasing behind them.
It's just that it's impossible not to change the direction. If you don't change the direction, there will only be a dead end.
