It was night again, and everyone was in much better condition than yesterday. The lights outside the entire Yuan County city were brightly lit. After temporary training, the soldiers recruited by Gao Heng had temporarily mastered some basic essentials. However, Gao Heng understood that such a short training would really make a difference. When they arrive on the battlefield, many people's minds will go blank and they will forget all about the skills they have learned. That's why Qi Jiguang's new Ji Xiao book says that if soldiers can apply one-tenth of their daily training on the battlefield, they can win.
Under Gao Heng's intentional arrangement, the soldiers slept for half of the time and basically ate a meal every two or three hours for the other half of the time. In addition to mixing the sugar collected by Gao Heng into gunpowder, In addition, all the rest was given to the soldiers. As a special forces soldier, he understood very well the role of sugar in replenishing the soldiers' physical strength.
Today, Zuo Bin and Huang Kunte came to see them off. Gao Heng's men and horses will set off at night. Although the distance is only less than thirty miles, considering the physical strength of these civilians, if they can reach Tuoxian County tomorrow night, they will This is already an incredible achievement. Zuo Bin's troops will evacuate Yuan County early tomorrow morning to avoid the incoming Annan reinforcements and return to Zhennanguan.
Zuo Bin had been busy with military affairs in the city and was unaware of Gao Heng's actions outside the city. When he went out of the city tonight, by the light of the torch, he saw the soldiers and horses in the camp. Zuo Bin was even a little dazed, although most of these people were wearing Annan. The armor of the army, but at first glance, Zuo Bin saw that the artillery team, the gun team, the spearmen, and the swordsmen were clearly distinct. Although the teams stood crookedly, they were quite impressive.
Zuo Bin and Huang Kun looked at each other. Both of them were leaders. Of course, they knew that it was impossible to train these hungry and thirsty civilians into an army in a short time. But Gao Heng just did it. Although this so-called army is probably just an empty frame, with a certain scale but no combat effectiveness, it is already an amazing achievement to be able to train civilians to this level in a short period of time. , you must know that Gao Heng himself is just a civilian husband, how could he have such ability.
Huang Kun looked at Gao Heng strangely and wanted to ask him if he was hiding something from him. When the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back, but took a few more glances at the soldiers and horses behind Gao Heng.
Zuo Bin was a little surprised and said: "Did you practice all this? How is this possible? When I saw them yesterday, they were still a group of poor people with no clothes and no food to eat. But their appearance has changed overnight?"
Gao Heng smiled and said: "This is all thanks to you. If you hadn't promised to provide some equipment, they wouldn't be like this. It's just that dressing up is one thing, and combat effectiveness is another."
Zuo Bin said: "Are you going to use this army to attack Tuoxian?"
Gao Heng said: "Exactly, as for the outcome of the battle, I actually don't know for sure. But since I agreed to these civilians to rescue their families, the lives of the compatriots in Tuo County will be in the hands of Beizi. It is my duty to do so."
Zuo Bin sighed. In fact, he had some appreciation for a brave and resourceful man like Gao Heng. Although Zuo Bin himself was just a paid Qianzong, he was not much different from other officers of the Ming Dynasty. , but Gao Heng's courage really impressed him. If he were young, he might go with Gao Heng, but not now. The lives of Zhennanguan and his brothers are in his hands, so he can't act rashly. Being able to annihilate Zheng Guang's men is already a miracle.
These days, Zuo Bin also heard about it. Although the news in the southwest was relatively stagnant, major events in the imperial court would still be reported through Di Bao. Outside the Pass, Jianlu led a series of battles, and the Central Plains was turned into a pot of porridge by Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others. , they are in a corner in the southwest, but who knows when the rebels or bandits will attack, Zuo Bin is living one day at a time. But there was one thing he was sure of. With the army losing consecutive battles, the report of his great victory would definitely make Long Yan happy, and he would be able to achieve great success.
Zuo Bin stepped forward and patted Gao Heng on the shoulder, "Okay, let's say goodbye here, and you can take care of yourself." Gao Heng clasped his fists heavily at Zuo Bin and Huang Kun and said, "Two adults, let's say goodbye. If we can succeed, , we can meet again in the future.”
After that, he waved his hand and the army set off directly. "Drive! Drive!" Fan Yu waved the whip in his hand and spanked the donkey's buttocks. Several donkeys screamed and pulled the artillery into action, with the artillerymen following behind. Immediately, the fire gun team, spearmen and sword players also lined up in a long snake formation and set off.
The backs of the army gradually disappeared into the darkness. Zuo Bin seemed to be talking to Huang Kun, or to himself: "Gao Heng, this guy is a bit interesting, but this time, I guess he is in the tiger's mouth. It's a pity, it's a pity, young people are too impulsive."
Huang Kun's heart was full of mixed feelings. Gao Heng discovered it by himself, but he couldn't keep him. He insisted on going. He couldn't do too much to persuade a small flag official who didn't even sue him. He could only He let him go, but he vaguely felt that Zuo Bin's prediction was wrong. Gao Heng could kill an enemy general among thousands of troops, so how could he be an ordinary person?
The soldiers held torches and marched on the official road like a long dragon. In fact, the conditions of the official roads in Annan were incomparable to those in the Ming Dynasty. The road between Tuoxian and Yuanxian was nothing more than a dirt road. In tropical areas It rains a lot. If there is a heavy rain, the roads here will become very muddy and not suitable for marching at all.
As the soldiers marched forward, Jing Zhao approached Gao Heng and asked: "General, you said that the enemy troops in Yuan County have been defeated. Will they go to Tuo County to report the news? Or there are stragglers who have gone to Tuo County to alert them. They have Ming troops coming in."
Gao Heng replied: "Of course it is possible, but even if you know it, it is useless. There are only a few hundred people in Tuo County. If they encounter the Ming army that can defeat three thousand Beijing soldiers, they will not be able to defend it. If they heard that Knowing the news, it would be a good thing for us to abandon the city and flee. If we don't know, we can catch them off guard, so no matter what, it is beneficial to us. "
The two talked all the way, and Gao Heng also asked Jing Zhao about the situation in Annan. After all, this was the Ming Dynasty four hundred years ago. Gao Heng still had many questions about this place. Jing Zhao answered them one by one, allowing Gao Heng to have an understanding of the border situation. Get a comprehensive understanding.
According to Gao Heng's arrangement, the army marched with constant rest. They walked for an hour and rested for an hour. This was to conserve their physical strength to the maximum extent. Now Gao Heng did not have the conditions to equip the entire army with firecrackers and turn them into gods. A firearms unit like a machine battalion can only be equipped with more firearms in the future if I can really accomplish something.
Firearms at that time had slow firing rates, poor accuracy, and unstable status. They were very complicated to manufacture and use. However, Gao Heng, who came from later generations, understood that the reason why firearms can replace cold weapons is because they have incomparable capabilities. Advantage. In wars in the cold weapon era, soldiers could only use half of their physical strength to march, and half of their physical strength had to be reserved for fighting.
But firearms are different. Soldiers can fight as long as they pull the trigger. They can use all their physical strength on marching, and they don't have to expend physical energy on fighting on the battlefield. Like an archer, after shooting a few rounds of arrows, the strength of their arms will be reduced. It will be exhausted, but there is no such restriction for the Fire Gun Soldier. As long as the ammunition tube is enough and the barrel does not explode, it can fight from day to night without stopping.
Now, most of his small army uses cold weapons and can only save energy for fighting. No one knows what will happen on the battlefield.
It would not take a normal person a day's march, but it took Gao Heng and the others a full day and a half to arrive. When Gao Heng's men saw Tuoxian County, it was already the morning of the third day.
Gao Heng took Lu Tao and others for a closer reconnaissance and found that the situation in Tuo County was very similar to that of Yuan County. There was a huge camp outside the city. Gao Heng understood that this must be the civilian camp that his men were talking about. Tuo County The county seat, like Yuan County, is a small county on the border of Annan, with no more than 10,000 residents. With so many expatriates brought here, they certainly cannot occupy the houses of Annan residents in the city, so they can only build a temporary camp outside the city. Confinement of foreign nationals.
Far away, there was an unpleasant smell in the air. Gao Heng knew that this must be the stench coming from the camp. Tens of thousands of people were crowded into such a small place with no food or clothing. There was no medicine, nothing, no place to bury the bodies of those who died of starvation or disease, they could only rot and stink there. People couldn't take a bath either, and they must all be smelly. Gao Heng could even vaguely hear the cries of children. Yes, in a place like this that is worse than a concentration camp in later generations, the living conditions of children must be even worse. Children will not be like adults. Just as patient, he would only express his truest thoughts through crying.
Wu Rong punched the tree trunk next to him and said to Gao Heng: "Boss! These bitches are so bullying. My Chinese people are living like pigs and dogs. I swear to kill them all." !”
Gao Heng also gritted his teeth. Since the army has arrived at this place, they will go directly to fight and fight the Annan people with real swords and guns.
"Hey! I wonder what's going on over there at Zhennanguan. General Zheng Guang is here with so many people. A small Guancheng in the Ming Dynasty shouldn't be able to stop our Annan army."
"That's not necessarily true. Don't forget, it's Zhennan Pass. It's easy to defend but difficult to attack. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to capture a pass for hundreds of years. The artillery and cavalry of the Ming Dynasty are powerful. This is not a boast. of."
"Are you kidding? I heard that a barbarian tribe emerged in the north of the Ming Dynasty. They rode war horses and came and went without a trace. They had several layers of iron armor on their bodies. They were even more powerful than the Mongols back then. They had already conquered The Ming Dynasty's frontier army was defeated and defeated."
In the morning, the sun had just risen. On the tower of Tuoxian County, two Annan Army soldiers on guard were talking. They are all local soldiers from Tuo County, and they are also the so-called four town soldiers of the Annan Army. They have been military households since their ancestors, and they are still military households until their generation. They were already used to the life of farming, but because of Master Zheng During the Northern Expedition to the Ming Dynasty, they were requisitioned by the court, re-dressed and joined the army.
A small county like Tuoxian County was originally guarded by only one Qi army. Once the war started, Lord Zheng imprisoned all the northern residents captured by the Annan Army in Tuoxian County. Therefore, the imperial court re-recruited the military households working in agriculture, which was enough. Equipped with three strange soldiers and horses, more than 600 people including generals were stationed in Tuoxian County to guard these foreigners.
The two of them were discussing where to have a drink after the sentry round. Suddenly one of them pointed to the woods outside the city and said, "Wait, look, what is that?"
The other person looked in the direction of his finger and saw hundreds of black figures suddenly appearing in the dense forest. Although the formation of these people was a bit scattered, it was not difficult to see that they seemed to be an army. Generally speaking, if it is a friendly army, it will definitely appear in a marching column, forming a long line and entering the city via the official road.
However, this army and horses obviously did not follow this routine. Instead, they were in a battle formation, lined up in a row from the dense forest. Although there were not many of them, the sudden appearance still startled the sentry.
Dang, dang, dang, the alarm bell rang in an instant, and even the expatriates in the concentration camp realized that something was wrong, and crowded to the fence to see what was going on.
"What's going on?" The sound of the alarm alarmed the soldiers and horses in the city. A strange man, who had obviously just woken up from sleep, ran up the tower without even putting on his armor, rushed to the crenellation, and stretched his head to look outside the city.
The sentry reported: "Sir, unidentified people were found outside the city."
The strange commander said: "Go to the city gate tower and get a telescope." Although he was only a strange commander, it stands to reason that only those at the camp general level are qualified to possess a telescope. However, because the Tuo County defenders were guarding so many civilians, the imperial court specially sent a governor to supervise Tuo County. He was also the highest military officer in the city. When he came, he brought a telescope and placed it at the city gate. Inside the building, the officers on duty can take turns using it.
A soldier rushed over and took out the telescope and handed it to Qi Chang. Qi Chang unfolded the telescope and took a look, and immediately showed a puzzled look on his face, "Huh? That's strange. Where did these people come from and why are they wearing our clothes?" ?”
Everyone looked puzzled, and Chief Qi immediately ordered his surroundings: "Hurry up and inform the governor, tell the men and horses in the city to get ready for battle, and send someone to inform the soldiers and horses guarding the camp to get out of the camp and form a formation. Also send a fast horse to see who they are."
"Yes!" Several soldiers behind Qi Chang responded, turned around and went down to the city to deliver the order. After a while, the governor arrived at the top of the city. At the same time, the city gate opened, and a knight with a small flag on his back galloped out. The horse was very fast, heading straight for the tall people outside the city.
