Bang bang bang!
The dull drum beat seemed to hit everyone's heart, and everyone at the long table quickly stood up with serious eyes.
"Go to the school grounds quickly!" Liu An took out a handful of meat and threw it to the proprietress who ran over: "This is our drink money!"
According to the military law of the Tang army, if the three tongs and drums are not completed in time, military law will be engaged. Wang Wenzuo walked up to Sancho, who was still a little confused, and kicked him gently: "Go back and clean up, there's going to be a war!" Then he ran quickly to the school ground.
There was a clang and chaos in the military camp. Servants carried bundles of feathered arrows, sandbags, and throwing spears up the city wall; craftsmen were busy repairing armor, crossbows, and shoeing horses and mules. The iron leaf armor was put into wooden barrels filled with sand and rolled along the ground to remove the rust. The women accompanying the army were busy mending their robes and cloaks. All buildings near the city walls were demolished to prevent them from becoming targets of arson; soldiers carefully polished their weapons, and archers waxed their bowstrings. The horses neighed and panted, the officers gave orders, and the soldiers cursed each other. The whole city of Sixian was like a huge beehive, and the noise was extremely noisy.
Liu An was the first to leave the city. He was riding a red horse. His copper-colored mane was the same color as his cloak, like burning flames. The women who accompanied the army watched him leave. Some women were sobbing softly, and more people looked at the soldiers silently and remained silent.
"If it were me, I wouldn't dress so conspicuously! There are many good archers among the Baekje people!" Wang Wenzuo looked at Liu An's back and thought to himself. The soldiers lined up in two lines and filed out, with the cavalry in front and the infantry and archers behind. The target this time is the Baekje rebels in the Jinhyeonseong area, but the news is very confusing. According to the intelligence, there are many Baekje counties rebelling. Obviously, the seeds of rebellion have been sown long ago. There are even rumors that Goguryeo in the north has sent The army is restraining the Silla people, which is not a good sign.
"Sanlang, Sanlang!"
Wang Wenzuo raised his head and realized that it was Liu An calling him. He quickly kicked the horse's belly and urged the horse to come to Liu An: "What's the matter? Captain?"
"Sanlang, look at it!" Liu An reined in his mount and pointed at the mountains in the distance with his riding crop. The breaths of men and horses intertwined into a steaming white mist net in the early morning air, and the cold wind passed over their heads. The general's flag was blowing loudly, and the mountains in the distance showed a gloomy blue-black color. No one knew what was hidden there, no one knew.
"Do you think it will be dangerous for us to go directly to Zhenxian City like this? Dongyi are all locals and are familiar with everything here, but we know very little! It's like, it's like-" At this point , Liu An stopped and began to think about how to express it more appropriately.
"A blind man riding a blind horse, walking into a deep pool in the middle of the night?"
"Yes, this is a good analogy!" Liu An glanced at Wang Wenzuo in surprise: "That's it. We are like blind men now, and we don't know when we will fall into Dongyi (the contemptuous name of Baekje in the Tang Dynasty at that time). An ambush, that would be terrible, what can you do?"
"I have a way!" Wang Wenzuo thought for a while: "Otherwise, wouldn't there be a lot of military slaves from the Three Koreas in our army this time? We can gather them together, distribute weapons, and let them serve as vanguards. They are very familiar with the local conditions!”
"Is this okay?" Liu An hesitated: "Will they work hard? Will they flee in all directions, or even collude with the Baekje people?"
Wang Wenzuo smiled and said: "Although a blind man cannot see things, he can monitor the tunnels better than a man with normal eyes when guarding the city. It depends on how we use it!"
"It seems that you are already confident!" Liu An twirled the short beard on his chin and said with a smile: "In that case, then I leave everything to you!"
"Yes, captain!" Wang Wenzuo did not refuse. There was no room for such false courtesy in the army, so he turned around and rode towards the rear.
In the early Tang Dynasty, the military system was still based on the government-armed system. The empire set up a total of 634 Zhechong mansions in strategic locations in various provinces, states, and counties across the country. Each mansion had 1,200 to 800 soldiers, including one Zhechong captain. There is one Captain Guoyi on the left and one each, one each for General, Chief, and Soldier Cao. Below the government, three hundred people are regiments, with captains and brigade commanders; fifty people are teams, with captains and deputy captains; ten are fire fighters. , there is fire. Farm when there is nothing to do, and send troops when there is something to do. Of the more than 600 Zhechong mansions, 285 are located on the Guannei Road (i.e., the Guanzhong area) to ensure Guanzhong's absolute military advantage over the four parties. Next is Hedong Road. Liu An was originally a branch of the Liu family in Hedong. After the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty, his ancestors moved to Shandong with the army and served in the military government for generations. This time Su Dingfang crossed the sea to expedition to Baekje, and almost all the athletes from Shandong Zhechong Prefecture were recruited. This time Liu An led two regiments of soldiers to support Zhenxian City, and more than 300 Sanhan army slaves were assigned to each battalion.
The road is long and there is no end in sight.
As the people and horses got farther and farther away from Sixian City, the wind became stronger and stronger, and the surroundings became more and more silent. On the southwest side of the road are raised hills. You can see the observation towers on the top of the hills. They are the fortifications used by the Baekje people to defend against the Silla attack from the northeast. On the west side, there is a gentle wilderness. From time to time, you can see rising smoke from cooking stoves as far as the eye can see. Those are the villages of the Baekje people. But as time goes by, the farmland becomes less and less, and the roads No pedestrians could be seen on it.
Wang Wenzuo jumped off the horse and felt a twinge of pain on the inside of his buttocks. It seemed that the short period of peaceful life in Sixian City had made him weak. He looked around and saw that the military slaves were busy erecting antlers, making fires, feeding animals, and setting up tents around the camp. He pushed away Sancho's hand, who was about to take the reins of the horse, and whispered: "Bring my crossbow, call two people, then lead the mule, and go with me to the woods to see if you can get it. Order fresh meat!”
Sancho's mouth opened in excitement. He preferred hunting to chopping firewood and feeding livestock. Soon he disappeared behind the tent, and when he reappeared a few minutes later, he had a crossbow in his hand, a bag of crossbow bolts, and a short bow on his back. Behind him were two military slaves, both of whom had their heads wrapped in black cloth. In his hands were a short spear and an iron fork.
Wang Wenzuo looked at them and felt that both of them were still energetic, so he nodded. He moved his sword behind his back to avoid catching the crossbow and then the group walked down the road and walked deeper into the woods against the stream.
Sancho had a good eye for selecting people. Wang Wenzuo was satisfied to find that the two military slaves who came with him walked briskly and stepped on the forest land full of fallen leaves without making a sound. The sound of the stream came from not far away, and suddenly , there was a soft sound under Wang Wenzuo's feet. He stopped and squatted down. When he stood up again, there was a cracked dried walnut in his hand.
