In three days, Liu Chengzong fought more defeats than in the past three years, and the same was true for the number of defeats he himself suffered.
This group of Khalkha people are too bully and afraid of the strong. When they see the cavalry of the Western Fan nobles chasing after them, they will turn around to pursue and fight fiercely even in the rout. When they see Ah Liu's army, they will harass them hard. When they see Gao Yingdeng and Zhang Tianlin's The cavalry then ran away.
The tactics were very effective. Ah Liu and Gas's 1,400 heavy infantrymen were always in pursuit. On the first day they were fully armed, on the second day they took off their shoulder armor and rolled up their armor skirts, and on the third day they simply took off their armor skirts.
It was only on the third day that Liu Chengzong realized that his heavy infantry had turned into light infantry with only chest and back armor. He called the two leaders to ask, but the soldiers could no longer bear it.
Gas's Changhexi infantry had never been trained for long-distance armed attacks. They had already lost half their life while marching, and they were chasing in the river valley wearing armor. They had to guard against sneak attacks by Mongolian soldiers even at night, and they had no chance to rest at all.
Ah Liu's Yongning soldiers did have some training in running attacks, but the soldiers were getting older after all. The youngest soldier in the team was already twenty-eight years old, and the oldest veteran was even over fifty and couldn't keep up with this kind of training. High-intensity battles involving nearly ten times a day.
However, not many of their elite soldiers were killed in battle. Only about 40 soldiers were injured by stray arrows. They were all sent to the mountains behind and well bandaged, so it did not affect their morale. After all, the Mongols died more than them. .
On the other hand, the Xifan nobles began to doubt life.
They are obviously much stronger than the Mongols and have so much better equipment, but they are surrounded as soon as they are beaten. Now they have suffered more than 600 casualties and more than 200 people were captured. The fear of war spread in the camp. .
Because the Mongols stripped all the more than 200 prisoners clean and tied their clothes to their spears as road signs, the arrows that killed them might have been shot with their bows.
The Mongols are competing with them for patience and who can endure hardship more.
However, when Liu Chengzong analyzed this and told it to Basang through Awang, Basang looked confused.
That's it?
It’s a matter of competition, who can endure hardship more?
While the morale of the elite soldiers was greatly reduced by the continuous fighting, Basang's people became more comfortable after several days of fighting.
The slave boys may not perform as well as other soldiers, but they do not think that they are suffering. On the contrary, the vast majority of soldiers think that they are living a good life.
Advancing steadily in the river valley every day, forming formations to fight several battles with the Mongolian soldiers, and guarding against their sneak attacks, were no more tiring than the never-ending work done under the hands of the nobles in the past.
In addition to the acceptable physical fatigue, fighting also brings endless spiritual satisfaction.
They had endless meat tsampa and horse meat burned on fire, wore armor removed from the heavy soldiers, used Mongolian weapons, and had their own war horses. Some of them could follow the artillery and injure the enemy in close combat... …It makes them feel powerful, the slave boys have never been stronger.
For the people of Basang, their biggest opponent is not the Mongols, but the diarrhea caused by eating meat.
This situation happened completely. Liu Chengzong believed that it was entirely his own work error. He thought that the problem of Basang's camp soldiers eating grass had been solved.
There is no special treatment in the military rations issued to various ministries. They are all rationed with three taels of dried meat, five taels of pasta, and one tael of pickles every day.
But when it comes to the soldiers in the Basang camp, they don’t eat like this. Everyone agrees that meat is very precious and can be stored well. The soldiers in the Basang camp will save the daily dried meat and almost eat the tsampa during the march. It's over.
During the war, they had only meat left to eat, not only for their own baggage, but also for the yaks and horses that had been killed and disabled on the battlefield, and they couldn't even finish it.
Therefore, many soldiers' stomachs are not used to eating meat. They will suffer from diarrhea after eating three meals a day. They will have diarrhea six times a day, and they will collapse and lose their combat effectiveness.
Liu Chengzong asked Huang Shengxiao from the rear to make statistics. Basang's soldiers lost nearly 30% of their strength during the battle, and three-fifths of them lost their combat effectiveness due to diarrhea, which was more than those injured by arrows.
It was because of this that their morale was very good. They were not afraid of fighting at all, but a little afraid of eating.
On the fourth day of the battle, the Mongols were a little frustrated. The continuous fighting in recent days had caused heavy casualties to their troops. Thousands of wounded soldiers were retreating from the mountain pass in the northeast of the river valley. It should be a very dangerous and safe area.
However, their wounded soldiers were ambushed by a group of soldiers who appeared out of nowhere at the mountain pass. They came and went in a hurry, roaring from the mountain, and attacked the wounded soldiers in three teams from the mountain until there were thousands of them. The wounded soldiers were defeated and killed.
The two sides met head-to-head. When Lao Qijia led his team over the mountain, he witnessed the first defeat of the Mongolian soldiers. At that time, he believed that the Mongols would not be able to sustain the commander's attack for too long, so he gritted his teeth and advanced in the rain to complete the mission. However, Due to the rainy weather, his 1,200 soldiers fell behind and suffered many casualties. In the end, only about 400 of them reached the mountain pass at the expected time.
When they arrived at the east side of the mountain pass, the wounded Mongolian soldiers were retreating eastward from the west side of the mountain pass, and there was this ambush that shocked the Mongolian army.
This was even greater than the shock caused by successive frontal defeats by Liu Chengzong.
There were strong enemies in front of us, the way back was blocked, and the most important thing was that the rain had stopped.
In the end, the Mongolian army failed to win the battle of patience and began an unprecedented rout. When the troops from the rear joined the frontline battle again, all the tribes they encountered collapsed at the first touch, and even Liu Chengzong was unable to fight on the infantry line with them.
Two luxury RVs belonging to the Mongolian nobles joined Liu Chengzong's offensive sequence.
On two carts dragged by twenty yaks, all the heavy noble felt tents and sundries were unloaded and placed on the two wings. Each carried twenty gun bearers and ten gun bearers. Under the protection of the horse team, they headed towards the river valley. Frontal assault on the grassland.
The assault speed of this thing is slightly faster than that of infantry, but it is more reliable. As long as it does not turn around or encounter ditches, the gunmen can easily fire volleys and load ammunition on it.
To the south of the mountain pass, the two carts were like terrifying behemoths crisscrossing the battlefield. Bursts of gunpowder smoke followed the solid footsteps of the yaks, sweeping forward the lion troops and attacking the enemy's flanks.
Liu Chengzong, who was escorting the Chinese army in pursuit, could see clearly with a telescope. Since the enemy troops were not in formation at all, it was difficult to achieve any results by raising their guns. However, the momentum was astonishing. He directly drove the Mongolians who had gathered at the mountain pass to break through the barrier to the snowy mountains in the northwest. Go up and chase him away.
Many people gave up their horses and risked their lives to escape towards the snow-capped mountains. The tribesmen surrounded by the cavalry surrendered in droves. There were even more people who fled northwest along the Qinggen River, discarding their helmets and armor along the way. Drop the Lele cars and various supplies that can be seen everywhere in the river valley.
When it was time to pursue, the Xifan nobles, who were psychologically traumatized by the false defeat, learned the lesson. Gao Yingdeng had already chased him out. Instead, they chased him a few hundred steps and then returned obediently. Liu Chengzong was so angry that he shouted to the guards. Urging them to pursue, they all galloped out.
The Chinese army stopped at the mountain pass, and the pursuing cavalry pursued them from evening to the next afternoon. Gao Yingdeng's men returned one after another with loot and prisoners.
"Commander, there are more than five hundred prisoners."
Gao Yingdeng was in high spirits: "We surrendered one after another this time and captured two to three thousand prisoners... I even killed a big one."
As he spoke, several horsemen brought a well-equipped corpse. Gao Yingdeng said: "The prisoner said that this man's name is Gu Yang, one of the two leaders in this battle, Chuo Ke Rabbit's right-hand man, and The bald guy ran towards the snowy mountains and couldn't catch up."
Liu Chengzong glanced at the corpse, nodded in approval, and then waved the guards to go check out the spoils. He praised: "Well done, how many people did the remaining bald man take away?"
"A hundred or ten people?" Gao Yingden was not sure and explained: "They divided into more than ten groups and ran up the mountain. There may be two or three thousand people running."
As he spoke, Gao Yingdeng added: "But the people who ran away didn't have many weapons and armor left, and the horses were all abandoned on this side of the mountain. I saw two people holding the little lamb. As long as the people on this side were surrounded at the foot of the mountain, the two behind them There will definitely be people who surrender in three days, and many people will die just by crossing the snow-capped mountains."
Liu Chengzong sighed with satisfaction: "Okay, you look down the mountain from the north. I will have someone send you a tent later. Be careful of them coming down the mountain to attack at night."
Gao Yingden clasped his fists in response, turned around and left, then stepped back and stepped back, asking with embarrassment: "Commander, when we return to Juerwan, can you ask the craftsmen to make this for my horse team? Bang bang bang, awesome.”
He was talking about the Mongolian tent ox cart, but it was obviously not just an ox cart, but a chariot carrying a gun.
Liu Chengzong was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Huang Shengxiao and smiled.
It was a complete coincidence that these two large vehicles participated in the battle. After the rain stopped, Huang Shengxiao rushed to the front line with his gun and artillery troops. He saw two large vehicles on the road and felt that this flat plate structure was both high and stable, so he unloaded the supplies and carried the gunners. Arrangements were made to go all the way to the front line.
But generally speaking, the shortcomings of this thing are very obvious. Firstly, it is bulky. Secondly, it can only be used on flat ground and cannot cross ravines. It is also extremely slow to adjust the direction.
However, on the flat grassland, it has some uses in conjunction with the gun. However, compared with the wood and livestock used, this structure is actually not economical. It is more useful as a mobile tent for the leader.
Having just won a big victory, Liu Chengzong was in a good mood and immediately responded: "I'll make a note of it. I'll make two smaller ones for you when I go back. This one is too big and it's troublesome to walk."
After saying that, he turned around and said: "Huang Xiao, think about it, a chariot suitable for carrying a gun would be best if it could be pulled by a camel in the Gobi."
Gobi?
camel?
Huang Shengxiao's head was buzzing. What did the commander mean? He was planning to start a war with Turpan?
Liu Chengzong just casually said that as long as he can walk in the Gobi, walking on the flat grasslands is not a problem. This condition is mainly to reduce the size of the vehicle. In fact, he thinks that a vehicle can carry two guns and no more than three guns. Just the best.
A large vehicle like this is equipped with ten guns and is very powerful to fight, but except when fighting, it is very uncomfortable at any time.
Liu Chengzong stood on the cart and lightly stamped his feet. He turned around and looked at the mountains of captured soldiers and armor. He said to Huang Shengxiao: "The chariot must be eight feet long and five feet wide. It is best to hit people with the buttocks and sides. "
While they were talking, the guards who were counting the war profits reported the news one by one.
Fan Sanlang took the summary form and said: "Commander, in this battle, 1,154 people were killed and missing, and 807 people were injured or sick, of which 740 are no longer seriously injured."
Liu Chengzong couldn't help but wince when he heard this casualty situation. It was so outrageous. There were more killed than injured.
"Two thousand one hundred and eighty-eight enemy soldiers were captured, and they were being escorted by General Zhang to dig holes and bury their bodies. The bodies in the valley have not yet been counted. It is roughly estimated that there are enemy corpses including the retreating wounded soldiers killed by Lao Qijia. There are more than 3,000 bodies. In addition, there are more than 1,000 corpses that have been pushed into the trenches by the wounded soldiers and buried."
Liu Chengzong had a relatively good idea of the approximate number of his own soldiers who died in battle, mainly focusing on the Xifan nobles who were besieged and killed by a fraudulent defeat. Many of them died sadly.
They are superior to the enemy in skills and equipment, and have repeatedly made military exploits in pursuit, but their main achievement is to defeat the enemy, while the enemy's attack on them comes from rapid encirclement and annihilation.
The missing soldiers were the reason why Liu Chengzong temporarily stopped advancing. At least 400 of the mountain-crossing troops led by Lao Qijia were still on the snowy mountains. This was the time when rescue was needed.
In general, this battle caused very little loss to the main force. It also tempered the soldiers who came from all over the country, and also made the Xifan nobles suffer enough from disobeying orders and attacking without permission.
They seized a huge amount, thousands of large and small felt tents, more than 800 two-wheeled Lele carts with various weapons and equipment, more than 30,000 cattle, sheep, and horses, and countless gold and silver artifacts. These Khalkhas The people took away Huo Luochi Guru's livestock and baggage, only passed it through his hands once, and fell into Liu Chengzong's hands in a blink of an eye.
The livestock was divided by Liu Chengzong, and each participant received a war horse. Basang's slave boys also underwent a radical change after this battle, and they became a fully armed Mengwei Fanzi camp.
Liu Chengzong attached great importance to the Basang unit. Although their combat skills were not satisfactory, the soldiers showed great endurance and potential. In time, they could become the mainstay of the battle.
He has sent a message to Kang Ning to announce two orders in Kang Ning Mansion.
The first is the family members of the garrison in Kangning Mansion. Those who purchase rations from the Kangning Mansion for less than twenty-four shi per year will enjoy a 20% discount on the price. This will increase the garrison's advantage in marriage matters.
The second is to make an iron medal with the word "brave" for the Western soldiers who participated in the battle. It is announced that the family members of the holders of the iron medal will enjoy the same preferential treatment in purchasing rations as a reward for this battle.
In addition, there was also a letter to Cao Yao, asking him to consider Kangning Mansion's remaining grain reserves and recruit another 3,600 free serfs as field soldiers at the right time, with a little training to serve as future reserve soldiers.
However, there is a prerequisite for training the soldiers this time, which is to provide them with a slight increase in meat rations in their meals to make up for the disadvantage of the serfs being vegetarians all year round.
The army recuperated in the river valley for three days. Liu Chengzong led his army to pay homage to the fallen soldiers in the river valley, organized the prisoners into the Basang Camp, and then marched north to the Heka Grassland.
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