After sending away the guards at Zijin Pass, Gema quickly called in his men and carefully studied the current movements of the Zhenjiang Army.
According to the latest news sent back by the spies, after the Zhenjiang Army successively captured Rouge City, Langkelondo City and Yinghe Military Town, the overall advancement speed slowed down significantly.
Perhaps because there were large casualties during the battle, or because the way the attack was advancing was too depleting of combat power, the current reaction of the Zhenjiang Army was mostly to deliberately adjust the rhythm and implement a short rest.
"There is another possibility that they heard that our army arrived in time to intercept, so they slowed down and were a little hesitant." Gilus said confidently.
Gema nodded and asked the scout officer: "Who is the enemy's commander? Have you figured it out?"
"Report to the Khan, everything is clear!" the officer replied loudly: "The enemy general is Li Jiangyao! Almost all the other leaders of the Zhenjiang Army are here."
Gema asked: "How did you determine this?"
The officer responded in a serious manner: "The other party has more than a dozen general flags, embroidered with various surnames. I specifically asked someone to verify it, covering the commanders of each army and battalion."
"That's pure nonsense!" Gema Khan muttered dissatisfiedly: "Don't they try to be mysterious and make some fancy flags to deceive you?"
The officer was stunned when he heard this, and said in surprise: "Ah? No way?"
Gema frowned and reprimanded: "Why not?! Haven't you heard that Li Jiangyao used a bunch of rags and flags to deceive Durham into running around? Now he probably wants to repeat the same trick again. La."
"Khan is right. When you go to explore the enemy's situation, you should go deeper and more accurately. What's the use of just counting a few broken flags?" Gilus also complained a few words to the other party, and then said to Gema. : "You mean that the commander-in-chief of the other party may not be Li Jiangyao? What does this mean?"
Ge Ma glanced at him helplessly, and then explained to all the generals: "If Li Jiangyao is in the army, it can probably show that they do have the intention to attack Zijin Pass, and then continue to advance eastward to harass the Eastern Expedition Army. The rear. However, if the person in charge is not Li Jiangyao, then we cannot rule out the possibility that the other party may just be pretending to attack Zijin Pass. In other words, they probably have another conspiracy. "
A hundred thousand troops are approaching the strategically important Zijin Pass. Military operations of this level often test the heft of the commander. Whether Li Jiangyao personally performed the operation can indeed reflect the Zhenjiang Army's combat intentions from the side.
On this point, the Turkic generals all agreed, and many of them also believed that the Zhenjiang Army was most likely not just here for Zijin Pass, but might actually have other plans.
Ge Ma said in a deep voice: "Tan Ma will continue to investigate with all his strength. We must try to find out the enemy's strength, especially whether Li Jiangyao is in the army or not. You must find out for me. That Baron Metasequoia is very cunning, unless you see it with your own eyes. , otherwise we must always be on guard against the possibility of the other party cheating.”
He paused briefly and then asked the scout officer: "What's the situation over there in Ikoru County? Troop strength? Defense?"
"Report to the Khan, the Zhenjiang Army's guard force in Iklu County is about 3,000 to 4,500 people." The officer replied: "At the same time, they will also use it as a food and grass supply depot, and a large number of people from Metasequoia City will The transportation team frequently travels between the two places every day, transporting various military supplies."
Gema was overjoyed when he heard this and asked Gilus: "Where is my brother now?"
Gilus thought for a while: "Under normal circumstances, Duke Belen's team should have passed through the Chaikun Basin and is heading towards Chechi Country. Yesterday, I specially sent a messenger and guide to guide the Duke and others to avoid In the towns along the way, it takes at most two days for them to reach a valley not far from Iklu County and lurk there secretly. When the main force of the Zhenjiang Army arrives here and confronts us outside Zijin Pass, he will start from Set out from the valley to capture Ikoru County in one fell swoop and block the enemy’s retreat.”
Gema asked worriedly: "You won't be discovered by enemy scouts on the road, right? As soon as you enter Chechi Country, you will be very, very close to the territory of the Zhenjiang Army, and their spies are everywhere."
"Don't worry, Khan," Gilus said without hesitation: "The guide is very familiar with the terrain in that area, and the routes chosen are all inaccessible areas. As long as Duke Belen chooses to move at night and is fast enough, It won’t be easily discovered by the other party.”
Gema nodded slightly: "Well, this is the best. Fortunately, Belen will lead the team. He is a famous running master in our tribe and has the most experience."
A general couldn't help but ask: "Khan, Sir Belen has more than 60,000 soldiers and horses. Wouldn't it be... too wasteful to sneak attack a small county town where 3,000 to 4,000 people are garrisoned?"
"Nothing is wasted!" Gema stared at the map and pondered: "Don't think that Iklu is just a small county, but its location is of great strategic significance. Iklu happens to be in Ulundu The corner between the river tributary and the Gaoling area guards the only way from Metasequoia to Zijin Pass. If we take this place, it will immediately become a big problem for Li Jiangyao's 100,000 soldiers and horses to even eat, let alone retreat safely. ”
Another general said solemnly: "Speaking of this matter, Khan, I still have a worry in my humble position. If Li Jiangyao finds that his retreat has been cut off, will he instead ruthlessly attack Zijin Pass? He commanded If a hundred thousand troops attack like crazy, I'm worried that the two divisions of the Western Xinjiang Army won't be able to withstand it."
As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately received responses from most generals.
Although judging from the strength of the two sides, it is 80,000 versus 100,000, which is not a huge difference. However, the problem is that the more than 80,000 people they have are mostly local warriors from Western Xinjiang who appear to be incompatible but whose combat capabilities are worrying. Once a fight starts, In a tough battle, whether it can be relied upon is highly questionable.
Gema Khan thought for a moment, waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter! If Li Jiangyao is really fierce and wants to fight us desperately, then our army will immediately withdraw into Zijin Pass and defend the city. In that case, the town will The Xinjiang army cannot advance, and its retreat will be cut off. If it escapes in other directions, it will be pursued by our cavalry, and it will definitely die!"
Ten days later, the Turks who had been stationed in front of Zijin Pass finally waited for the Suppression Army.
On the southwest horizon, a forest of flags appeared in the distance.
Hundreds of flags were fluttering in the wind, and the flying dragons, tigers, unicorns, horses and other mythical beasts embroidered on the flags seemed to be alive, swaying violently and shining brightly.
Not long after, as the large array of flags continued to advance, a formidable army gradually came into view.
Twenty thousand heavy armored cavalry led the way.
Although the war horses were only advancing slowly, the sound of tens of thousands of horse hooves hitting the ground was still like muffled thunder, rumbling for miles.
The knights on the horse are all wearing three layers of heavy armor. They hold an iron spear in their right hand, a round steel shield in their left hand, and a long knife hanging from their waist. On both sides of the back of the saddle, they are equipped with cavalry horn bows and black spears. Feather arrow pot.
The war horses are also covered with chain armor and are not afraid of any flying arrow attacks.
Suddenly, a melodious horn sounded from the flag array. As if by magic, the 20,000 armored cavalry suddenly changed their formations while marching, quickly and orderly spreading out to both sides, leaving a large open area in the middle.
After the cavalry took up positions on the left and right sides, a surging infantry group suddenly appeared from the distance, shouting and running forward while automatically forming a formation.
In the blink of an eye, four huge square formations were deployed.
The oar shieldmen lined up in front, setting up a tall shield wall to protect the defense line of the position. The spearmen stood behind the shield wall, with all the spear points pointed upward, looking like a steel jungle from a distance. Behind them were tens of thousands of formation-breaking soldiers, each holding a long-handled ax or a sword, with a thick and burly body and a murderous look on their faces.
Further away, there are four rows of archers and crossbowmen, with thousands of strong bows and crossbows pointing diagonally forward, ready to provide long-range strikes for the army.
Together with the armored cavalry on both sides, six phalanxes lined up in front of Gema and his men.
Ge Ma frowned and looked at it for a long time, and couldn't help but feel a little heavy in his heart: from the moment the army of nearly 40,000 troops appeared in front of him to the moment it was completed, it only took less than a meal. There was not even the slightest hesitation or omission during this period.
During the formation process, the entire legion made no noise at all. Except for a few horns, not even the officer's command to the entire team was heard.
The only thing that filled my ears was the sound of footsteps.
Veterans who are used to the battlefield know that this kind of army, as silent as water, is the truly terrifying existence.
Ge Ma swallowed his saliva and subconsciously looked to both sides. His Turkic generals were normal, but their faces were a little solemn. But looking at the Western Xinjiang generals, the word fear was already written on their faces.
Gema sighed secretly, and just when he was about to say a few words of encouragement, he suddenly heard another trombone sound coming from the other side.
Everyone immediately became nervous again, including Gema, who couldn't help but look further away.
An even larger and boundless team is coming from the horizon.
There was no noise, no clutter, just the sound of footsteps. The endless queue kept moving forward, and the killing momentum was enough to make the world change color.
The army stopped a little further away and divided some of its troops into four square formations, echoing the troops that had arrived before. At the same time, more people began to set up camp on the spot.
The Zhenjiang Army moved very quickly. It was obvious that they had practiced similar subjects countless times before. In just half an hour, a main camp was in the middle, surrounded by six small camps, forming a plum blossom-shaped barrier composed of seven camps in total. It began to take shape.
In the middle of the main camp, a huge handsome flag was raised, with a striking "Li" written on it.
A Turkic general couldn't help but ask: "Khan, are we going to let the enemy camp calmly like this? Should we send troops to harass them and dampen their spirit?"
Gema glared at the guy like he was a fool: "Go to hell!"
