Han Xuan nodded.
More than two hundred people can lurk here, which is about it. The nearest Mongolian camp was only seventy or eighty steps away. This distance is barely enough to launch a surprise attack.
Several soldiers looked at him with nervous and expectant eyes, and he was silent for a long time.
In front of the soldiers, Han Xuan tried his best to remain calm, but in fact, he knew better than everyone else that there was no way around this raid. If the Mongols were allowed to sweep across the wilderness and defend the city, they would definitely lose. But at this moment, if the army launches a night attack, if they are not careful, the whole army will be wiped out.
Han Xuan has faced such danger many times, but he has never had to shoulder such a responsibility before.
In the night, the wind direction suddenly changed. The wind blowing from the southeast sea shook the Mongolian tents violently, and the torches erected at random in the camps also swayed violently.
When the wind direction changed, the noisy shouts of the Mongols seemed to suddenly become louder, and it was certain that the footsteps of the naval officers marching could not be heard in the direction of the Mongols. Han Xuan turned over, leaned his back against the slope, slid down, and said to the soldiers on his left and right: "You're lucky... Come with me, let's get closer."
Surprise killing with a small number of soldiers and horses has been the most common battle mode between the Jin army and the Mongolian army along the northern border trench in the past ten years.
The Mongols had a vast territory and scattered tribes. They could not gather a large army to fight at any time. Those who had been entangled with the Jin army for a long time were always a few tribes on the border.
On the Jin Army's side, as the Jiehao garrison gradually declined, there were more and more empty-paid officers and old and weak soldiers who could not fight. Therefore, there were a few brave generals who were happy to use this kind of small-scale battle to gain military exploits. Although they are no match for the main force of the Mongolian army, it is still good to kill a group of old, weak, women and children on the grassland to take credit.
Han Xuan is a descendant of the troops of the Wuyue Camp in Changzhou, who was a slave of the Liao people. According to convention, the troops must be driven as the vanguard in any battle. Therefore, he has participated in many such raids. In terms of experience in this area alone, he is comparable to Monk Luo.
Generally speaking, night attacks are not a good way to deal with the Mongols.
Perhaps because of the soil and water of the grasslands or other reasons, Mongolians generally have better vision at night than people from the Central Plains. There are many flat terrains in the area behind Monan Mountain. If the soldiers approach on horseback, they will be easily discovered by the Mongols in advance. If the soldiers approach on foot, they will not be able to match the speed of the Mongols on horseback.
However, for a key military fortress like Wuyue Camp, there are many soldiers who have guarded the area for generations. They are familiar with the surrounding terrain, so they can find flaws and opportunities to sneak in and ambush. Han Xuan was an expert in this way in Changzhou, and he was still the same in Gaizhou.
Before Han Xuan was promoted by Guo Ning, he had been a top soldier for twenty years and spent half his life in the military camp. Only this year was he suddenly promoted to Liaohai Defense Envoy, in charge of military affairs. In Guo Ning's position, he naturally weighed many aspects and felt that Han Xuan's ability and loyalty were reassuring.
But in Han Xuan's own view, he was still the pawn of Northern Xinjiang back then, and he really didn't think he had the ability to take charge of a side. Therefore, since he was stationed in Gaizhou, he has been diligent at all times. Not to mention other official duties, he also followed his own habit of being a pawn and made a solid exploration of the terrain near Gaizhou.
This matter is not easy. In the past few months, he ran around whenever he had free time, got lost in the mountains several times, and fell into swamps several times, causing him to be embarrassed. By the time it finally came to an end, he had lost weight.
Up to now, when it comes to understanding every hilltop and every ravine, even people who have lived here for a long time cannot surpass him. Just around the Jian'an County in Gaizhou, there are twenty-four large and small settlements from A to D. Even with his eyes closed, he can walk around safely for several times.
Such hard work pays off.
When he became familiar with the terrain, he would have a clear understanding of how his troops would move, and even how the Mongolian army would set up their camps when they came from afar.
Two hundred warriors, each holding a bow and carrying a sword. In order to make it easier to lurk, no one wore armor, and their weapons were wrapped in coarse cloth to avoid making noise or reflecting light to attract attention. Half-bent, they followed Han Xuan one after another, like a giant snake with its armor stretched out, winding its way through the grass.
On both sides of the ravine, there were occasional sparse forests and shrubs, but most of them were open. As the people moved forward, rustling sounds could be heard from time to time, indicating that the little nocturnal beasts were disturbed.
The marching route was not straight, but a diagonal curve. When everyone stopped again, Han Xuan smelled the stench of a large number of livestock gathering in the air, as well as the rhythmic sound of horses chewing fodder.
Under the iron-gray sky, snow particles were still falling, and it was unclear what was on the flat ground. However, Han Xuan nodded to the left and right with satisfaction.
This is it, yes.
This was a meadow set aside for raising horses during the construction of the fifth village of Bingzi. At this moment, the meadow was naturally surrounded by wooden poles and ropes, and a fence for the horses was set up by a Mongolian household.
According to the system of the Mongolian army, each cavalryman has his own horse, but when the army is in action, every thousand households have a so-called "Wulachi", that is, a herdsman, who is responsible for taking care of the horses. Whenever they were stationed in the camp, the horses of each thousand households were divided into teams of four to five hundred and were put under the care of two Wu Lachi and their subordinates.
Most of Wu Lachi held iron laos with chicken hearts, which they used as whips and hammers, while the herdsmen under them all held leather whips, and the horses looked at them in fear.
Every night when he was stationed in the camp, Wu Lachi collected the horses from the centurions and tenth commanders, and stood in front of the centurions' tents to count them. After the counting was correct, they would be introduced to the special livestock pens.
At this moment, everyone was behind the livestock pen, far away from the camp where the Mongols gathered and laughed. But this happened to be true. The Mongols were more terrifying because of their horses. Starting with horses was the key to victory.
Han Xuan tied an iron shield firmly to his left arm, held the long knife from left to right and shook it, swinging away the loosely wrapped cloth. Immediately, several trusted generals held swords around him:
"Xiao Zhuangwei, you lead twenty people into the forest on the left slope and spread out as much as possible. When I enter the camp, you light all the prepared torches, and then throw them and set them on fire to increase your momentum."
"As commanded."
"Wang Qingshan, you also take twenty people, take advantage of the disturbance here, sneak to the south of the stronghold, and spread out the queue as much as possible. The people in the stronghold are the troops of the Mongolian army general Zhebie. They don't move, and neither do you. If they move, you should immediately light a pine torch and throw arson to your heart's content to contain the enemy."
"yes."
"The rest of the people will follow me to camp. In addition to fighting, they will also urge their horses to charge and light fires to burn them. I have learned the two Khitan phrases in advance and memorized them firmly. When the time comes, everyone will shout and don't stop."
"As you command!"
"In this killing, we only need to disturb the Mongolian army and let the Khitan people they are holding disperse in one fell swoop without any entanglement. After the fighting starts, everyone will retreat immediately. Wang Bao'er, take ten people and go to the periphery first to take charge. Gather the horses to respond, and within two watch points, regardless of whether all the troops have gathered together, they will return to Gaizhou to resume their orders."
"As you command!"
Several generals were ordered to go their separate ways.
As they were expected to take their respective positions, the rest of the soldiers gathered in the shelter, lit torches, and distributed them one by one.
When he was ready, Han Xuan shouted: "Come with me."
He turned over and exerted his strength, stepping on the uneven earth and rocks on the edge of the ravine, and rushed upward.
Since they were about to fight, the soldiers were all in high spirits. The final voice of the promise became louder and louder, and the light of the distributed torches flashed, making it impossible to conceal it.
When Han Xuan was about to land on the ground, a Mongolian Wu Lachi noticed something strange. He was holding Tielao in one hand and pressing the fence of the horse pen with the other, standing by the gully to look around.
The moment the two people's eyes met, Han Xuan let out a breath, swung the iron shield in his left hand, and smashed it into the ragged face.
There was a muffled sound, and the Mongolian's teeth flew wildly, and half of his face was sunken.
The Mongolian was suddenly in severe pain, and he opened his mouth to shout, but because the bones of his jaw were broken, he could only make a roaring sound. Han Xuan stepped up to the ground, swung his sword across his face, and cut off his neck.
More soldiers rushed out from behind Han Xuan. Some people worked together to push down the fence; some people took a felt blanket that had been soaked in kerosene and threw it on the horses, and immediately lit it on fire; more people followed Han Xuan, striding forward, and hurriedly attacked everyone they saw. kill.
More than a hundred people slashed and killed wildly, and broke into the military camp in a blink of an eye. Blood rain splattered everywhere they went.
During the break in the fighting, everyone shouted in half-baked Khitan: "The Khitans will not kill the Khitans! Only the black Tatars will be killed, not the Khitans!"
