"Well! The Japanese are actually the same as us. They came across the sea. If they lose, there is no way out! Do you remember the two confrontations with them? Although we won both times, those Japanese soldiers Even if the situation is unfavorable to him, he still fights hard and does not surrender until he reaches the end of the battle!"
"That's true!" He Bayong agreed after recalling it for a moment: "I remember that battle on the sea. Some Japanese soldiers were flooded to the deck and were still shooting arrows at us. They were so stubborn! Then why What about the Baekje people?”
"He Ba, since Fuyu Fengzhang killed Onimuro Fuxin, the hearts of the rebels have been shaken. The reason why there are not many surrenders is because there are two unknown things: the Japanese have sent out their entire country's troops to support Fuyu Feng Zhang, who is the winner between the Tang Dynasty and the Japanese? Secondly, if they surrender, what will the Tang Dynasty do to them. And as long as I can defeat the Japanese, the first answer will be obvious."
"What Junjun said is, as for the second matter, why not tell the Baekje people, and the Tang Dynasty will pardon their previous crimes and dispel their doubts!"
"It's still too early!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head: "Only if we defeat the Japanese first and pardon the previous sins will it be effective. The outcome is unknown, and the Baekje people will only laugh at our good intentions!"
"Not bad!" He Baoyong was convinced and geared up: "Then let's wait until we win the battle!"
The first attack by the Baekje people occurred at dawn the next day. Wang Wenzuo, who was awakened from his sleep, climbed up to the watchtower and saw the white flag with red edges commonly used by the Baekje people emerging from the horizon.
"It should be just an advance team, don't worry too much." Liu An said: "If I were the bandit's coach, I would definitely not go all out from the beginning!"
Wang Wenzuo nodded silently. In the wilderness outside the camp, the plain stretched infinitely until the mountains in the distance. A river meandered through the plain. There were some undulating hills on both sides of the river. The Tang Army's camp was located on the left bank of the river. On a low hill, the Baekje army chose to cross the river from a ford about three miles away from the Tang army's camp. The first to cross the river were the cavalry. Wang Wenzuo saw the enemy's cavalry hesitantly circling on the river bank, their cloaks and flags hanging on the river bank. Flying in the wind.
"Only about fifty riders!" He Bayong said.
Wang Wenzuo saw that these cavalrymen were scattered into a loose row. It was obvious that these cavalrymen planned to test the situation on the other side for the infantry behind them. The horn sounded, the war horses stepped into the torrent, water splashed, the armor was bright, the flags were flying, and the spear tips were shining, like an oil painting.
"Cui Hongdu's crossbowmen are in the grass behind the river bank!" Liu An whispered.
"Oh? There are a lot of mosquitoes on the river bank, which makes them miserable!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile.
"Yes, they sucked a lot of blood from the mosquitoes!" Liu An responded, with a smile on his face.
"We are all in the middle of the river, it's time!" Yuan Aolie shouted, and it seemed that he was hiding in the grass.
It was difficult to distinguish what was happening. In an instant, only the long neigh of the war horse was clearly distinguishable, and there was a faint sound of steel clashing among the screams. The battle flag suddenly disappeared, and the flag bearer was swept away by the river. A moment later, the first victim of the battle floated past the Tang army's camp and flowed southward with the river. At this time, the Baekje cavalry had recovered from the chaos. They turned their horses and retreated to the right bank of the river. The crossbowmen of the Tang Army climbed up the hill and waved their fists at it. They must have been yelling and cursing, but Wang Wenzuo must have been unable to hear the content clearly from this distance.
"Cui Hongdu has made great achievements in battle again, but it's a pity that he doesn't have a head!" Master Shen shook his head with regret.
"This can't be considered a military exploit, right?" He Bayong sneered: "The cavalry is a living target in the river. A woman can do such a thing as hiding in the grass and shooting arrows, so what a military exploit!"
"You can't say that!" After Wang Wenzuo confirmed that the Baekje people had given up crossing the river from the ford, he shook his head with interest: "But this should be just the beginning. The Baekje people probably won't just give up. They will be elsewhere. Keep trying!”
Wang Wenzuo's judgment was correct. In the afternoon of the same day, the Baekje people tried again at a ford further upstream. This time they succeeded. The Baekje people's cavalry dispersed the Tang army's sentinels and began to cross the river. Wang Wenzuo thought for a while and decided to give up his attempt to prevent the enemy from crossing the river. The soldiers were still taking turns building forts and did not get enough rest. It was not wise to fight the enemy at this time.
After spending the next ten days or so in scattered outpost battles, Wang Wenzuo spent most of his time reinforcing the fortress: outer trenches, defensive horses, barriers, watchtowers, traps, internal roads, camps, and warehouses. , toilets, cisterns, etc. He firmly believed in a rule that a strong fortress must be built before a field battle to store the soldiers' luggage and baggage. When going into battle, only two-thirds of the troops could be dispatched, leaving three thirds. One of the soldiers guards the camp, so that even if the field battle fails, since the soldiers' belongings are all in the camp, as long as the soldiers who are not dead will flee back to the camp, there will be another chance.
It should be noted that field battles in the era of cold weapons were highly accidental events. A cold arrow, a frightened war elephant, a sudden change in the wind direction, the superstition of soldiers, etc., would all affect the balance of victory and defeat, even for the most capable general. , it is also impossible to control factors and are also very limited. Therefore, Wang Wenzuo felt that rashly placing the life and death of the entire army on the outcome of a field battle was no different from a gambler. Although building forts could not increase the winning rate of each field battle, it could give himself several opportunities.
As the barriers continued to grow higher and the fortifications became stronger, Wang Wenzuo began to gradually let more soldiers take turns to rest and practice, and at the same time sent more sentries to record the surrounding terrain on the map to prepare for the next action.
"Look, Sanlang, the wheat is already ripe!" Liu An held two plump ears of wheat in his hands, shining golden yellow in the sun.
"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo took an ear of wheat and rubbed it in his hands. Ignoring the sharp awns, he picked up a few wheat grains and put them into his mouth and chewed: "Well, it smells so good. This wheat is really full!"
"It's almost time to go out to harvest the wheat, right?"
"Well!" Wang Wenzuo rubbed his hands and looked at the sky outside: "It's a pity that Yuan Fei and Sanqiu haven't arrived yet. Forget it, I won't wait for them. I hope they can catch the second wave!"
"Then they have to hurry up, otherwise all I'll leave them with is straw!" Liu An laughed.
Wang Wenzuo was stunned for a moment, and then he laughed. He grabbed Liu An's forearm and said, "Wu Lang, if it weren't for your care when the troops came out, how would I be today?"
"We are from the same hometown and we are from Paoze. Just saying these things makes us estranged!" Liu An said with a smile: "You and I are from neighboring counties. After this battle is over, we will go back to our hometown and buy more fields and houses. On weekdays, wouldn’t it be nice to take a few of our slaves to the mountains to hunt when we have nothing to do, and then go home and drink some local wine?”
