On the third day of March, the Xia State's 250,000 troops were divided into east and west routes, and they launched war against Qi and Liang at the same time. Half a month after the letter of credence was sent to Qi State, Youyan, Xiliang, Xirong, and Kong on the eastern front Xianlangqi used the most ferocious attitude to pass through and behead enemies all the way.
Dong Zhuo, the Grand Master of the Xia Kingdom, led the Xiliang Army to take the lead in capturing the north and south passes of Feiyan Pass. The Youyan Army, Kongxian Langqi, and Xirong Qingqi entered Jiuding Prefecture the next day, defeating the rescue troops one after another. attack.
At the end of March, on the day when Xiliang and Youyan armies massacred Pingwu, 120,000 troops on the western front with Guan Yu as commander and Xia Houyuan as deputy commander rushed to the northeast of Liang State. Among them, the grassland cavalry suddenly turned around and killed a hundred Changkang, a small country in the Western Regions, borders Liang State twenty miles away.
This is a small country in the Western Regions located to the north of Xirong and Liang in the west. It is less than half the size of Yanzhou. The entire country has a population of about 100,000 and a total of 12,000 troops.
It was located between the Liang State and the Luotang tribe. Because it leaned towards the Liang State and was protected by the Liang army, it was spared when the Luoting army conquered the small kingdoms of Zhanmi and Tiele.
However, on this day, 50,000 Luoting light cavalry, plus 5,000 soldiers from Tiele and Zhanmi, launched an attack on Changkang. It took only two days to conquer the Changkang country, and hung the king's head on the city gate. Re-enter the north of Liang State and join the main force of Xia State that has crossed the border of Liang State.
On the first day of April, it rained rarely in the northwest.
The army, with the Yizhou Army and the Qingzhou Army as the main force, advanced for more than a hundred miles from north to south and set up camp in the open spaces between the two mountains. The camps of 40,000 people almost occupied the two wilderness areas in the north and south of the mountain.
The vegetation at the foothills here is sparse, and the brown mud beds and mountains are exposed. From the first sight, you can feel the vastness and desolation of the northwest.
Light rain fell on the campground.
Troops, horses, and convoys came in and out of the camp. Except for the soldiers on patrol and on duty, most of the soldiers huddled in their tents and waited for the rain to stop. From the vast grasslands to the desolate northwest, many people felt uncomfortable and suffered from vomiting and diarrhea. , Fortunately, the generals in the army are all veteran generals who have fought in the north and south. They have been prepared for these emergencies, and they are even accustomed to them.
Behind the slender rain curtain, the doctor accompanying the army was preparing a decoction to stop diarrhea, and then according to the list, someone sent the decoction over for the patient to take.
At this time, in the huge tent located in the middle of the military camp, a figure in golden armor and green robe was sitting in front of the case, stroking his beard with one hand and holding a book in his other hand to read.
There were two other people standing on both sides, one was his eldest son Guan Ping, and the other was a rough man with a black face, his hands on his hips and a knife.
"Second brother!"
Zhang Fei's loud voice suddenly sounded outside, and the curtain was opened immediately. Zhang Fei and Zhang Bao strode in covered with moisture, patting the water drops on their robes and shouting: "How long should we stop? ? Your nephew and I feel so uncomfortable and almost sick."
"Third brother, don't be impatient."
Guan Yu put down the "Chun Qiu Zuo Zhuan" in his hand. He knew his brother's temperament well. If he had placed it in the late Han Dynasty, he would have been scolded a little. But later he learned that he died in Jingzhou and that his third brother also avenged him. When encountering an unexpected event, there is unavoidable guilt in the heart, as well as cherishment of the reunion of brothers.
"The soldiers in the army have been running around for days, in the grasslands and the Gobi Desert. Now they are experiencing continuous wet rain and are feeling unwell. You and I should be considerate of the soldiers and not drive them like animals."
Zhang Fei grinned and didn't refute. He came over to get the wine on the long table, poured a glass and drank it: "Anyway, the eldest brother is not around, so whatever the second brother says, it will be whatever it is."
He poured another cup and handed it to Guan Yu. When the latter shook his head, he asked Guan Ping: "Nephew, would you like a cup?"
Guan Ping had a loyal nature and politely refused.
"Third uncle, it's better to come down and drink this..." Then he winked at Zhang Bao who was behind Zhang Fei. Zhang Bao also stepped forward to persuade his father and pulled him to one side to sit down. Then he heard someone coming in from outside the tent again. As he walked, he said: "Zhang Yide, are you prepared to show no sympathy to the soldiers again? Does your neck not hurt anymore?"
As soon as the visitor entered the tent, Zhang Bao hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and said, "Greetings to grandpa."
Ha ha!
Xia Houyuan brought Zhang He into the tent, and couldn't help but laugh when he saw Zhang Bao being so respectful. After all, he was his daughter's flesh and blood. He loved his daughter so much that he fell in love with his brave grandson after being in contact with him for a few days.
However, seeing Zhang Fei, Xia Houyuan still snorted coldly, and sat down opposite Zhang He.
Zhang Fei, who was opposite, pressed his desk and stared wide-eyed: "It's none of your business whether my neck hurts or not. Why don't you go out to repair the antlers?"
Seeing that the two of them were quarreling again when they met, Guan Yu sighed, turned the conversation away, and asked Xia Houyuan, "Miaocai, where is your clan brother?"
"Going to check the baggage."
He casually made excuses to get over it. In fact, it was his clan brother Xiahou Dun who didn't want to see Guan Yu. Although he had accepted the fact that he came to this world, Xiahou Dun was stubborn and stubborn. Like Zhang Fei, he didn't like a person, and it was all written on his face.
Of course, Guan Yu also knew in his heart that since Xia Houyuan said so, he would not expose it to save everyone from embarrassment.
"Ah... so boring!!" Zhang Fei rubbed his thick beard vigorously, "If I had known, I would have followed Li Xuanba and the others as a vanguard!"
"Follow the two armies with peace of mind, so as not to save your second brother from worrying about what trouble you will cause!"
Xia Houyuan took a sip of wine, teased Zhang Fei, and discussed the next step with Guan Yu. The Tang army was now the vanguard, opening the way in front. They didn't have to race against time. After all, the Emperor of Liang had already reacted and was stepping up his preparations. Soldiers deployed.
At this time, Tuoba Kui, the Emperor of Liang in their mouth, was sending various tribal leaders away, leaving only three people still in the palace, talking other words.
"The Xia soldiers attacked Liang and Qi in two groups at the same time. Previously, the queen mother dispatched Fengpintang masters to rescue her aunt and killed a senior official of the Xia Kingdom... I didn't expect the revenge to come so fast and with such great momentum."
Tuoba Kui strongly opposed his mother's actions. The war between the two countries should be open and honest, and he still needed the last moment to complete the reform of the military system and gather all the tribesmen in his hands. However, the queen's move , was directly retaliated by the Xia State. The army came so quickly that he had to temporarily stop the reforms in his hands.
"This time the Xia Kingdom is fighting on both the east and west fronts. On the eastern front, I don't know how long the Qi Kingdom can sustain..." The leader of the Xifeng Tribe was a little worried, "And the number of Xia Kingdom soldiers and horses who invaded my beam is a bit small."
"Currently we know that there are 60,000 people, and their former army has arrived at Shifengkou." The Yeci tribe is also one of the surnames of Daliang. Many civil servants in the court came from their tribe. Yeci Nongbie is the elder of the tribal leader. After he said this, he added: "This group of Tang troops have already fought against the Fangdang tribe in Tianzhu City twice. The opponent has won two battles and should not be underestimated."
"I heard that the opponent's forward was divided into three troops. Which way was the Fangdang family defeated?"
"The news that came back seems to be an old general, but Fang Dang should be able to defeat them one by one now. I heard that there is a young general in the vanguard."
"Chiefs, don't worry about the war there for now. I am going to send a messenger to pass through the blockade of the Xia army and go to Changkang, so that they can attack the back of the Xia army. Who has the best equestrian skills among your tribe?"
Tuoba Kui didn't want to listen to the nonsense of these old tribesmen. At present, his various tribes had begun to take effect. They mobilized troops and horses from three directions and began to set up battle lines more than 700 miles north of Daliang Xidu. As long as they could block the Xia Guobing With the momentum of Ma's move south, Changkang would attack from behind and create an opportunity for counterattack. In this battle, he would be able to drag the opponent's troops into the Gobi and mountains of the northwest.
Not long after he said this, a horse came from outside with news and was brought in by the eunuch. Tuoba Kui took one look and his expression changed.
"Your Majesty, what happened?" The three tribal leaders below saw the strange look on his face and asked quickly.
Tuoba Kui took a deep breath and handed the letter to the eunuch and handed it to the three people for circulation.
"Changkang State was destroyed. No wonder Xia State's Western Front Army only had 60,000 people. It turned out that the cavalry of the Xirong Lutang tribe did not go south immediately, but went to fight Changkang State. The other side's commander was a bit powerful. "
The expressions of the three tribal leaders were stern, but it was not enough to scare them. Changkang was a small country, and had it not been for the protection of Liang, they would have been wiped out by Luo Tingba Gui long ago.
"Your Majesty, the terrain here in Dadu is rugged. There is no need to be afraid of those crazy dogs in the grassland. Why not take advantage of the cavalry advantage to defeat the Xia Kingdom's vanguard at Shifengkou before the Tutan people come over!"
The speaker was Fei Tingbajun, the leader of the third tribe, "Gather the cavalry from the main beam and take them down in one go."
"I also have this intention, but my cavalry is still training..."
"Your Majesty, there are also a lot of cavalry in each tribe, and the newly-emerged Sogdian tribe in the past two years has quite a lot of strength. Its tribal leader Yaluoshan is also a warlike warrior. Your Majesty, you might as well recruit him to Dadu if you have time! "
Sogdiana...
Tuoba Kui had some impressions of this tribe. Three years ago, there were only a few dozen people. However, three years later, the number of tribe members surged to more than 10,000. There are also 2,000 Yiluohe cavalry under their command, and they are well-trained.
"Well, I will send someone to call him immediately."
…
At the same time, Liang Dadu headed north to Shifengkou, which is more than 800 miles away.
The soldiers and horses in Tianzhu City are surging and are being redeployed. Outside the city, the Fangdang tribes, large and small, are gathering in the city.
The chief of the tribe, Fangdang Cuobie, led 5,000 tribal cavalry and 10,000 tribesmen to fight with Xia's thousands of troops at Shifengkou a few days ago. As a result, he lost two games in a row, losing more than 2,000 people and wounding more than 1,900 people. He fled back to the city in embarrassment.
Afterwards, they summoned the surrounding tribes to move into the city, not giving Xia's forward troops any chance to take advantage.
Of course, he was unwilling to fail like this. After further investigation, he found that the 20,000 forwards were divided into three groups and were on a hill twenty miles away from the northwest corner of Tianzhu City.
It is a Xia Kingdom pioneer camp with only more than 2,000 people.
According to the information from the investigation, the leader was a young general from the Xia Kingdom. Apart from being tall and tall, there was nothing remarkable about him.
This time, he set his sights on the soldiers and horses.
Defeat them one by one!
(End of chapter)
