Looking at the bird's nest pulled out of the cannon in front of him, the old soldier shook his head with obvious distress. But he said: "Because Yanshan Mansion is an important place in the north, and because it is afraid that we old soldiers will defect to the Northern Liao Dynasty, it has always attached great importance to the old and weak sergeants who have been demobilized. The severance pay is always 100%, and has never been withheld. When we withdrew, the old man who was the defense ambassador of Yanshan Prefecture at that time was also a kind man."
"Since we have never made a big mistake in the border army for decades, each of us was given an extra fifty guan when we were demobilized. The salary of the border army has always been high. In the past few decades, after joining the army, each of us has a lot of money. We have also accumulated a lot of money. Together with the severance pay and the reward from the big boss, we brothers each have hundreds of dollars in our hands. "
"People are old, and they are people who have fought for the rest of their lives. The older they get, the more homesick they are. After retiring from the army, they returned to Hulao Pass with their wives and children, and bought a hundred acres of land to settle down. This is the hinterland, so how can I say it? It's better than Yanshan Mansion, a bitter cold place where we fight with the Liao army all day long."
"In this case, I have to help a few of you. Whether these cannons can work is directly related to whether Hulao Pass can hold on until the imperial army arrives. You are also people who have been receiving salary from the imperial court for a long time. Please ask a few of you to help me. In this crisis situation for the imperial court, we can step forward."
"Please forgive me and allow me to temporarily assume the position of one hundred households in the artillery at Hulao Pass. I will allocate two hundred sergeants at a time, and they will be commanded by these veterans. When the war at Hulao Pass is over, I will definitely send these veterans to His achievements were reported to the emperor and the court, and several elders were given heavy rewards." After saying that, Huang Qiong bowed deeply to several old men.
Huang Qiong's humble behavior made these veterans feel very grateful. Before the two hundred sergeants allocated by Huang Qiong arrived, he rolled up his arms and sleeves and started cleaning the cannons. These veterans saw that what they said was true. When wiping the cannon, hold a bowl filled with water and carefully pour it over one cannon to check if there are any gaps in the cannon.
Huang Qiong was also impressed by the carefulness of his inspection and the professionalism of his actions. It was estimated that it would take some time for the colleague to deliver the shells and weapons, so Huang Qiong focused on the rebels. According to Zhao Wushan, the rebel reconnaissance cavalry has been discovered outside Dongguan, indicating that the rebels are not far away.
According to Zhao Wushan's judgment, the rebels were still fifty miles away at most, but this speed of movement was somewhat beyond his expectation. The question now is, how long will it take for the main force from Commander Yu to arrive? At this time, the Henan Jiedushi envoy who was supposed to be dispatched according to the imperial edict had already advanced to where? Thinking of this, Huang Qiong realized that his eyes were now completely dark.
Not only is the surrounding enemy situation also unclear. Even the movements of his own friendly forces were unknown. Turning his head, Huang Qiong said to Fan Jian: "Have all the reports arrived now? Where are the Henan Guards in Bianzhou now? When I sent troops, my father had already ordered the Henan local guards to The army is cooperating with me, how is the progress on their side?"
"Your Majesty, how can it be so fast? We set off from Mengjin and took a small road all the way. We didn't enter any town, so we couldn't receive the news from the palace at all. After arriving at Hulao Pass, our sword turned over at the Dutong Yamen, but it didn't go anywhere. I found the recent newspaper. Your Majesty, it is very likely that we won’t know anything about the situation until the commander-in-chief’s army arrives.”
Regarding Huang Qiong's question, Fan Jian answered it neatly and without any sloppiness. Although Fan Jian also knew what Huang Qiong was thinking about. But the problem is that if it doesn’t exist, it doesn’t exist. He can’t just make it up. Although Hulao Pass is very close to Jingzhao Mansion, it may not be possible to get the latest notification from the court in the shortest time.
While Huang Qiong was talking to Fan Jian, a soldier from the Xiaoqi Battalion hurried to Guancheng to report. According to the dispatched reconnaissance cavalry reports, the main force of the rebels was less than thirty miles away from Hulao Pass. Zhao may as well ask him to report. It is estimated that the rebels will rush outside Hulao Pass this evening and ask His Majesty the King to be prepared.
After hearing the report, Huang Qiong and Fan Jian looked at each other, almost seeing the shock in each other's eyes. Fan Jian was silent for a while and then said: "Your Majesty, something is wrong. Prince Jing's actions were slow and slow before, but now they are moving so quickly. It has only been three days since the official announcement of the announcement, and more than two hundred people have arrived. He traveled a long way from Zhengzhou to Hulao Pass. What is his true thoughts?"
Regarding Fan Jian's thoughts, Huang Qiong shook his head and said: "No matter what he thinks, let's go ahead and cover up the water and the soil. As long as we win this battle and wipe out the rebels cleanly, we will know everything. As for Now, make every effort to prepare for the challenge. Why are you thinking so much?"
After saying that, Huang Qiong turned around and ordered the colleague who came up with him and the 200 soldiers he brought to immediately transport the six general cannons back to Dongguan. All the weapons that had been transported to the top of the city were also transported there. He, along with Fan Jian and Liu Hu, quickly rushed towards Dongguan.
Just when Huang Qiong arrived at Dongguan, some rebel cavalry appeared under the city. Although the number is small, there are only five or six hundred people. However, these cavalrymen believed that they did not dare to go out of the city to fight, so they showed off their power outside the city. What surprised Zhao Wushu in Dongguan was that the horses used by these cavalry were actually fine Khitan horses.
You should know that Khitan horses were not used as the main cavalry horses in Daqi. Da Qi's cavalry is still mainly composed of Dangxiang horses and Tuyuhun horses. There are also a certain number of Khitan horses in the army, but they are mainly used by the Yanshan Prefecture border army. The rest of the frontier troops used only a small number. Among all the horse farms in Daqi, only a few horse farms around Yanshan Prefecture have some domesticated Khitan horses.
The Khitan horses currently used by the rebels look like war horses at first glance, and they are definitely not the horses used by civilians to drive shafts. Zhao Wushu was a little surprised as to where these fine Khitan horses came from. Unless it was a Khitan horse obtained from Yanshanfu Racecourse, the only possibility was that it was smuggled from Bei Liao. However, Beiliao's export of military horses has always been extremely strictly controlled.
Although Da Qi itself did not lack war horses, Bei Liao still strictly prohibited the export of Da Qi horses. Because the standard equipment of Bei Liao's cavalry is three horses, while Da Qi's cavalry does not lack horses. But after all, the Han people are not of nomadic origin like the Bei Liao, and they cannot be equipped with three war horses like the Bei Liao.
This was also the main reason why Daqi's counterattack against the Northern Liao invaders could only stop at about 200 miles along the outer Great Wall and was never able to penetrate deep into the hinterland of the Northern Liao. In addition to supply difficulties. The war horse equipment could not reach the number of cavalry of the Liao army, and its continuous combat capability was not as good as that of the Liao army, which also restricted Da Qi's northward attack.
Of course, this is also related to the comparison between the national power of Da Qi and the national power of Northern Liao. In addition to the Uighurs and Tubo in the west, Annan in the south invaded many times, which also distracted Daqi's energy to a certain extent. But in duels between cavalry, the number of horses is still a key factor. Just because there is no shortage of horses does not mean that they can be over-equipped like nomads.
The rebels were equipped with so many good Khitan horses, and it would take a lot of effort and property to smuggle them over from Northern Liao. Not only does Beiliao need a lot of connections to get out of the customs, but also after entering Daqi. After passing through various checkpoints on Hebei Road, it was transported to the vicinity of Zhengzhou. This was not considered horse feed along the way. Just opening up all the joints would require a lot of money and materials.
With so many war horses, it is easy to imagine the price they paid if they were not King Jing's horse. It is shocking that King Jing actually spent so much effort on these rebels. For Zhao Wushu, who simply thinks about things on the battlefield, the combat effectiveness of the rebels may need to be reconsidered.
Facing the arrogant rebel cavalry under the city, Zhao Wushu did not go out of the city to fight, but only told the troops in the city to be on guard. There are not many cavalry in the city. There are only 500 fine cavalry brought by Zhao Wushu and 300 cavalry from the Hulao Pass garrison. The main force of the rebels is about to arrive. Even if it is a city defense battle, the cavalry still plays a great role.
Zhao Wushu, who had a new understanding of the rebels, still adopted reliable tactics and did not rush into battle just because the rebels outside the city were showing off their power. Seeing that there was no movement in the city, the rebels outside the city became even more arrogant. But although he is young, Zhao Wushu shows a mature side. No matter how arrogant the rebels outside the city were, they just turned a blind eye.
Huang Qiong did not express a single opinion on any of Zhao Wushan's arrangements. He just sat on a Taishi chair on the top of the city, guarded by Liu Hu on the left and Wang Dalong on the right, watching Zhao Wushu constantly adjust his deployment. He said he would not interfere with Zhao Wushan's command, and he really meant what he said.
Just when the colleague, with more than a hundred young men recruited and two hundred sergeants, moved the heavy cannons from Xiguan, dust was flying outside the city, and it was very lively for a while. . The main force of the rebels has also arrived one after another. Large groups of infantry, under the pressure of cavalry and crossbows, began to unfold outside the city.
As the main force of the rebels arrived, Huang Qiong's brows frowned more and more. The main force of the rebels arriving one after another outside the city numbered tens of thousands. This shows that the Henan local guards should have been dispatched, but they did not play any containment role at all. Bianzhou, where Henan's pacifying envoys and Henan's Jiedu envoys were based, was even closer to Zhengzhou than Zhengzhou was to Jingzhao.
Because of its location and the responsibility of guarding the capital city, the number of Henan Guards ranks first in the country. Not to mention the full 20,000 cavalry, there are also the only 3,000 cavalry among the other roads except Hebei Road. Although Huang Qiong didn't know the situation of the Henan Guards, whether they were also corrupt. But these 20,000 guardsmen cannot be all dregs.
The old man's imperial edict must have reached Bianzhou by this time. But with Bianzhou so close to Zhengzhou, the rebels were still able to mobilize without any restraint, which shows that there must be something wrong with the Henan Guards. But where the problem lies, whether the Henan Guards were also involved in the rebellion, or there are other problems, Huang Qiong cannot figure this out.
The only thing he knows now is that there is no hope of countering the rebellion by the Henan Guards this time. It's even possible that the rebels that the Xiaoqi battalion has to face are not just the ones in front of them. Thinking of this, Huang Qiong realized that he had not underestimated the rebellion. But in some aspects, he still looked down upon his opponents. Of course, the opponent he was referring to was not King Jing in front of him.
Zhao Wushu was heavily guarded above Guancheng, and after the main force of the rebels arrived, there was no ambiguity. Regardless of the fatigue caused by the march, they directly launched a tentative attack. Under the cover of bed crossbows and strong bows and hard crossbows outside the city, a wave-like offensive was launched against the Dongguan Pass of Hulao Pass. Suddenly, the previous peace in Guancheng was broken by shouts and sounds of fighting.
When the rebels appeared outside Hulao Pass, it meant that the rebellion, which had been secretive before, officially kicked off this time. By this time, neither the emperor nor King Jing and King Duan had any way out. Except for the complete failure of one of the two parties, there will be no third ending.
