Zhao Haiping's whip made the eunuch stunned, and also made the goatee veteran a little confused.
Even the guards around him were a little confused.
The two guards looked at each other, both unsure whether to take the eunuch away.
Zhao Haiping couldn't help but frown: "Why, I can't speak well?"
The guard looked troubled: "Your Majesty, this is Eunuch Liu..."
Zhao Haiping glanced at him: "Drag him down and kill him! If he says one more thing, you will also die together."
The two guards couldn't help but turn pale with shock, but then they showed some expressions of joy on their faces and stepped forward to twist Eunuch Liu off.
Zhao Haiping frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.
There seems to be something wrong with the imperial chariot's personal expedition this time.
Zhao Haiping had a vague feeling like this when the emergency military intelligence report was delivered before, and many details later provided him with the opportunity to further confirm his suspicions.
The urgent report said that the Northern Barbarians had already broken through the important town of Xuanningwei. If the army continued to move forward, it was very likely that they would run into the Northern Barbarians' elite cavalry.
But the problem is that this was during the reign of Taizu Sheng.
How could the Northern Barbarians be so arrogant?
Before Sheng Taizu decided to go on a personal expedition, he had already sent several famous generals to drive the Northern Barbarians out of the Great Wall through successive years of campaigns. The purpose of this personal expedition was not to resist the invasion of the Northern Barbarians, but to chase them out of Mobei, severely injure and cripple the Northern Barbarians, and thereby strive for decades of peace in the Northern Territory of Dasheng Dynasty.
In other words, Dasheng Chao is the one who takes the initiative.
At that time, the Northern Barbarian army had only two choices when encountering the army of the Great Sheng Dynasty: one was to flee to Mobei, keep retreating, and trade space for fighters. After the Sheng army penetrated deep into the grassland and was exhausted, they could then launch an ambush to win. The second is to leave the cattle and sheep and run away directly, running so far away that Sheng Jun can't find him.
The Duke of Qi was sent to attack the Northern Barbarians before, and the Northern Barbarians adopted the first method.
So now, the Northern Barbarians have taken advantage of the courage of the bear and the leopard. Why should they take the initiative to invade the border of Dasheng Dynasty?
And not only did they invade, but they also captured Xuanningwei, an important town in the north, at extremely fast speeds?
It's cheating, right?
This military situation was already outrageous, and what happened next was even more outrageous.
Why did this eunuch dare to interrupt when the emperor and generals were discussing military and state affairs? And the emperor hasn't even spoken yet, he has already started talking.
It's like it's not the emperor who has the final say here, but him.
This is really unimaginable.
The occurrence of this situation can only mean that the emperor's power has been neglected for a long time. This Eunuch Liu has been tested again and again, knowing that the emperor will support him, and he knows that the emperor will not be angry no matter how loud he is, so he dares to do this.
And what the veteran said also revealed something wrong.
The veteran general said that Sheng's army was poorly prepared for this trip, with insufficient food and fodder, and many heavy vehicles had not yet arrived. Other armies had not yet been able to join together, and the soldiers who had been marching for many days also lacked rest...
If this statement is true, it can only mean that the initial preparations for this expedition were not done well.
Why is there not enough food and grass? Why was the march in chaos?
Is this a problem Sheng Taizu would encounter when he was on his own expedition?
There is no problem that Sheng Taizu's military ability ranks among the top three emperors in the past dynasties. In the current era, he can be said to be invincible in the world. How could he make such a low-level mistake?
Therefore, the only possibility is that the personal expedition played by Zhao Haiping did not follow the real script in history at all.
But it has been distorted and tampered with!
This kind of scene reminded Zhao Haiping of the imperial conquest that was the most extraordinary in the world later in the Dasheng Dynasty.
I originally thought that there would be no difficult challenges before leaving the northern border of Dasheng Dynasty and going deep into Mobei, but now it seems that the real test has begun.
Thinking of this, Zhao Haiping looked far ahead.
Xuanningwei is not very far away from here, but it is impossible to see the Northern Barbarian cavalry with the naked eye at this time.
By the time it becomes visible to the naked eye, it will be too late.
Zhao Haiping looked at a small river in front of him and asked the goatee-bearded veteran: "Where is a suitable place to camp nearby?"
The veteran hurriedly replied: "Reporting to your Majesty, there are two places suitable for camping here, one is Huaishi Ridge and the other is Sangyuan River.
"The terrain of Huaishi Ridge is relatively steep, which can play a certain role in blocking the Northern Barbarian cavalry. Once the camp is set up, the possibility of defending it is also very high. However, the danger here lies in the water source. Although there is spring water, it may not be able to supply two A hundred thousand people drank it.
“However, it is also possible to dig a well into the ground to obtain water.
"The other place is the Sangyuan River. It is easy to get water close to the river. However, due to the flat terrain and unobstructed view, even if fortifications are built in a hurry, it may not be able to stop the Northern Barbarian army."
Zhao Haiping thought for a moment: "Send the order to camp at the Sangyuan River and wait for the other armies to join together!"
Zhao Haiping himself can figure out this very basic problem.
Now, there are only three options before Sheng Jun: first, rush directly to fight with the Northern Barbarian army; second, camp on the spot and wait for other armies to join together; third, retreat and withdraw to the nearest stronghold to guard.
The first method is obviously nonsense. The enemy's situation is not clear yet, and it is likely that he is giving away.
The third method seems safe, but in fact there will be many problems during operation.
Now that the Northern Barbarian cavalry has defeated the important military town in front, it means that the cavalry troops can basically be regarded as unimpeded and may attack at any time.
It is even possible that the sentinels sent by the Northern Barbarians have already locked the location of this prosperous army.
Retreating at this time was even more difficult than Gao Yi's change of formation encountered in the cavalry trial.
Changes in formation were extremely risky in ancient times, and an accident could cause the entire army to collapse.
Once the order to retreat is given, the soldiers at the bottom do not know the specific thoughts of the generals above and will have a lot of room for imagination. They may think that the front line has been defeated, or that there is a major problem in the army, or they may even think that the emperor has died...
These speculations will greatly damage the morale of the soldiers. The further they retreat, the heavier the blow to morale will be.
If the Northern Barbarian cavalry caught up before retreating to their stronghold, it would be a one-sided massacre, and it would be almost impossible for Sheng's army to resist.
Therefore, the only option at this time was to camp and hold on to withstand the attack of the Northern Barbarian cavalry.
When other reinforcements arrive and surround them from inside and outside, the problem will naturally be solved.
Of course, this was a decision made by Zhao Haiping with absolute rationality. For some emperors who had no military knowledge and were not rational enough, they would probably not make such a decision, but would choose to escape.
After all, the emperor was not sure whether his soldiers could stop the Northern Barbarian cavalry. What if they stayed where they were and were killed?
As long as he escapes back, the emperor will continue to be emperor, so what if he loses his army? If you can't escape, there's nothing left.
Fortunately, Zhao Haiping can maintain absolute rationality and is not ignorant of military matters.
As for the choice of camp location, Zhao Haiping did not think about it for too long.
Although Huaishi Ridge has a higher terrain and can occupy some terrain advantages in fighting the Northern Barbarian cavalry, in the final analysis it is just a passive defense.
What's more, if the water source problem is not solved, it will be in vain.
Even if you can dig a well into the ground, what if there is no water? The terrain here is relatively high, so there is a high possibility that there will be no water.
Camping here is tantamount to leaving the fate of this army to God's will.
If such a decision is really made, there are only two possibilities: one is that he believes that he is the son of destiny and is superstitious to the extreme; the other is that he is too afraid of the Northern Barbarian cavalry and does not believe that he can fight the Northern Barbarian cavalry on flat ground.
Therefore, Zhao Haiping chose Sang Yuanhe after only a moment of consideration.
If we are stationed here, at least there will be no problem with the water source.
As for how to deal with the Northern Barbarian cavalry in open terrain?
Of course, Zhao Haiping didn't intend to just defend passively. He didn't suffer so much in the cavalry trial just to be a grandson here.
Hearing Zhao Haiping's arrangement, the veteran goatee breathed a sigh of relief and immediately sent an order to set up camp.
Zhao Haiping, on the other hand, rode a war horse and came to patrol the military formation.
Some generals were a little frightened and hurried to follow.
The emperor's war horse was of course the best horse that could be found at that time. Although Zhao Haiping's riding experience seemed a little worse than Chi Ji's, it was not much different. Especially when there is a high-bridge saddle and stirrups, it is easy to achieve a state of unity between man and horse.
And what surprised Zhao Haiping was that he was controlling the body of Sheng Taizu in his prime, about fifty years old.
And this body's condition is actually full of strength, not inferior to any first-rate general.
It can be seen that Sheng Taizu was indeed gifted. He was able to survive the Great Famine as a child, and later worked as a model worker until he died in his seventies. His body was indeed made of iron.
Zhao Haiping came to a high place and while watching Sheng's army camp next to the Sangyuan River, he asked: "How many cavalry are there in the army at this time? How is the distribution of troops between the enemy and ourselves?"
A general quickly replied: "Your Majesty, according to the latest military report analysis, the Northern Barbarian Army is divided into three groups, with at least one hundred thousand soldiers, of which about 20,000 are well-armored cavalry, and they also carry a large number of cattle and sheep;
"And our army has 140,000 combat soldiers and 80,000 auxiliary troops. Among them, there are 50,000 elite cavalry, led by Li Kezhong and Dingyuan Marquis Zhang Yong respectively. In addition, there are two large armies coming."
Zhao Haiping felt a lot more at ease.
This is obviously because our side is in a position of superiority in military strength, right?
Although the barbarian army had about 100,000 troops, only 20,000 were well-armored cavalry. In the Dasheng Dynasty, there were fifty thousand elite cavalry, not counting auxiliaries, and there were about one hundred thousand infantry.
Among the elite cavalry of the Dasheng Dynasty, only the 20,000 cavalry among the Northern Barbarians could be used as a hedge. The other ordinary cavalry should not be defeated.
From this point of view, it was not as bad as Zhao Haiping imagined.
"Then where are these cavalry?" Zhao Haiping asked.
The general was silent for a moment and replied: "According to Eunuch Liu's order, they have just set off to attack the Northern Barbarian cavalry. Firstly, they want to find out the strength of the enemy. Secondly, if they can form an anxious situation with the enemy, the main force of our army will You can take the opportunity to cover up..."
Zhao Haiping had an extremely shocked expression on his face, almost thinking that he had heard wrongly.
What the hell?
Let 50,000 elite cavalry go to find out the truth?
Can such an operation be performed without a brain hemorrhage in ten years?
Although the Dasheng Dynasty's troops were at an advantage in this battle, the key to victory lay in the 50,000 elite cavalry. As for the infantry, although they also have a certain fighting capacity, under the impact of the cavalry, once they are defeated, no matter how many people there are, they will be killed.
In this case, the elite cavalry was actually allowed to explore the opponent's true identity.
What if I'm ambushed? What if we are surrounded?
It’s purely a gift!
The corners of Zhao Haiping's mouth twitched and he was furious: "Send someone immediately, catch up quickly, and call these two cavalry back to me!"
The general was stunned for a moment: "But Your Majesty, Eunuch Liu..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw two guards coming on horseback and presenting Eunuch Liu's head.
The general couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and then showed a shocked expression.
Eunuch Liu...has been beheaded by His Majesty? ?
Zhao Haiping frowned and regretted it.
Too early to kill.
If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have beheaded him so easily, I should have cut him to pieces with a thousand cuts and let the whole army watch!
He had no choice but to dismount and use Eunuch Liu's head as a ball to kick out to relieve his hatred.
The generals next to him were all shocked and quickly dismounted and knelt together.
Zhao Haiping now finally figured out what was going on.
Obviously, this trial illusion was indeed distorted, but it was not a historical figure that was distorted, but many events that were distorted and blended together!
The other three players have also encountered this situation, where many historical events were mixed together, which greatly increased the confusion.
For example, Lu Heng, who played the beggar, did not completely follow the trajectory of Sheng Taizu when he was young, but was forced to experience the lives of many poor people.
Another example is Chu Ge. The cases he was involved in were not only those in Sheng Taizu's later years, but also some cases in his prime.
The situation that Zhao Haiping encountered at this time was obviously a forcible blend of Sheng Taizu's personal expedition and the later "Jiming Mountain fiasco", or it could also be seen as allowing the prime minister Sheng Taizu to directly time travel into the body of the emperor at that time. .
That's why the eunuch named Liu dared to constantly express his opinions on the military situation.
If it was the real Taizu Sheng who went on a personal expedition, most of them would not even let the eunuchs express their opinions.
After using Eunuch Liu's head as a ball to kick away, Zhao Haiping got on his horse again and inspected the surrounding terrain.
"Hang Eunuch Liu's head to the Chinese army and prepare the army for war!"
…
Time passed quickly.
On the hillside in the distance, the shadow of the Northern Barbarian cavalry appeared.
Soon, the number of Northern Barbarian cavalry began to increase, covering the mountains and plains, everywhere.
Zhao Haiping was still riding a war horse and inspecting the Sheng army.
He had reacted in time before and sent people to chase back the two 50,000-strong elite cavalry. Otherwise, these two cavalrymen are likely to run into the Northern Barbarian army head-on, be divided, surrounded, and suffer total losses.
And once these 50,000 elite cavalry are gone, there will be no need to fight the next battle.
Now, 50,000 elite cavalry are still there, and Zhao Haiping carefully selected 5,000 cavalry from them.
These most elite cavalry all have the best horses, weapons and armor, and are led by him personally. The other cavalry continued to be led by the two cavalry generals, waiting to be outflanked by two groups.
The infantry army formed camps and various fortifications, relying on muskets and artillery to guard the front.
There was the sound of horse hooves, and smoke began to rise from the distant hillside.
The Northern Barbarian Cavalry has moved!
Seeing that these cavalrymen finally launched an attack, Zhao Haiping breathed a sigh of relief.
Instead, he was worried that these cavalry would not take the initiative to attack.
According to the smartest approach, the Northern Barbarian cavalry should continue to wait and see until Sheng's army shows a fatal flaw before launching an attack.
But on the one hand, the cattle and sheep brought by the Northern Barbarian cavalry are not very many, and the Sheng army relies on rivers and there is no shortage of water. If this consumption continues, the Northern Barbarian cavalry may be surrounded by Sheng's army coming from other places, so time stands On the one hand, Sheng Jun; on the other hand, the overwhelming momentum of the previous attack made the Northern Barbarians obviously despise Sheng Jun.
Seeing the Northern Barbarians' cavalry charging, many Shengjun soldiers also had slightly panicked expressions on their faces.
The charge of these cavalry did not start at full speed, but gradually accelerated.
From fast to jogging, and then to the final gallop, the psychological pressure of Shengjun's infantry is also constantly accumulating, and finally reaches its peak in the shock of thousands of horses galloping!
Although Sheng Jun was also working hard to dig trenches and arrange roadblocks such as horseback during this period, the terrain here is relatively open after all, and the hastily built fortifications will not have much effect.
But after the Northern Barbarian cavalry entered the shooting range, the guns and cannons fired!
Countless cannons set up made loud noises, and each cannon popped out of the chamber and hit the Northern Barbarian cavalry.
Although the northern barbarian cavalry in front were wearing heavy armor, they could not block the artillery fire. They were beaten to pieces in an instant by both men and horses. The artillery shells directly penetrated several cavalrymen and even bounced on the ground.
After a charge, the Northern Barbarian cavalry did not gain much advantage.
But soon, these northern barbarian cavalry gradually dispersed, showing an encircling posture, wanting to attack from other directions.
On the hillside, the leader of the Northern Barbarians looked at the Sheng army's formation from a distance, with contempt in his eyes.
After the recent series of battles, he has determined that although Sheng Jun is famous, it is actually difficult to live up to it. First, they easily conquered Xuanning Guard, and then blocked the Dasheng Dynasty's army at the Sangyuan River.
As long as we can break through this powerful army, we can march straight in and recreate the glory of our ancestors!
But soon, he found that his thinking was too simple.
With the help of firearms, Sheng Jun's defense was very resolute. The Northern Barbarian cavalry was unable to penetrate Sheng Jun's defense line quickly. While the two sides were fighting in a melee, two elite cavalry had already outflanked him from both wings!
These two cavalrymen who should have been sent away before finally played their due role at the critical moment and launched a fierce attack on the hillside where the leader of the Northern Barbarians was.
The Northern Barbarian cavalry immediately launched a countercharge, commanding from a high position, and charged against Sheng's army like a torrent of steel.
Although Sheng Jun's elite cavalry was better equipped, they were at a disadvantage on the terrain and were smaller in number, so both sides quickly fell into anxiety.
Li Kezhong, a cavalry leader from the Dasheng Dynasty, died in battle, and several princes from the Northern Barbarians also died in battle.
In the military formation, the veteran with a goatee wiped the sweat from his forehead and felt a little calmer.
Although the outcome has not been determined, the current situation has finally prevented a major defeat.
If His Majesty had not made up his mind to camp at the Sangyuan River, but instead advanced rashly or evacuated hastily, Sheng's army would have been defeated by this time, and the consequences would be disastrous.
The two elite cavalry that had been saved also played a role at this time, greatly reducing the pressure on the front. Otherwise, even if the Northern Barbarian cavalry cannot break through the defense line of the Sheng army's infantry, it will only need to be surrounded, which will make this battle protracted.
Speaking of which...where is His Majesty?
The veteran with a goatee looked around, and then discovered a scene that shocked him extremely.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, you must not do this!"
However, before he could finish speaking, he saw His Majesty leading five thousand cavalry and rushing out of the military formation like a whirlwind.
…
"Kill me!"
Zhao Haiping rode a war horse and took the lead!
"Escort! Hurry, escort!"
Amid the panicked shouts of the crowd, five thousand elite cavalry followed closely behind Zhao Haiping.
The emperor's charioteer only went on a personal expedition, and most of the time it was just a show at the rear. In fact, as long as the emperor sits in command in the army and allows the soldiers to know that the emperor is with them, the purpose of personal expeditions to improve morale will be achieved.
But the emperor actually led the charge himself?
The boost to morale has indeed been off the charts, but swords have no eyes on the battlefield. What if the emperor has some shortcomings and something goes wrong?
These five thousand cavalrymen obviously did not expect that the emperor would rush faster than them, so they could only rush their horses to keep up.
When the rest of the infantry saw this, they naturally couldn't cower behind, and hurriedly followed behind and charged forward!
On the hillside, the leader of the Northern Barbarians was also stunned.
Because the man headed by these five thousand elite cavalry wore yellow robes and golden armor, he was obviously the emperor of the Dasheng Dynasty. Other generals cannot wear such clothes at all.
"That's the emperor of the Dasheng Dynasty! Kill him!"
A shout broke out from the northern barbarians, and the northern barbarian army, which was almost exhausted from the front, once again burst out with powerful fighting power.
At this time, several rounds of battles had already taken place on the battlefield. First, the Northern Barbarians attacked the Sheng Army's main formation, but were repelled by firearms and suffered heavy losses. Then the Northern Barbarians tried to encircle the Sheng Army, but two cavalrymen from the Sheng Army arrived and attacked the flanks. The army had to divide its forces to resist.
Now, the battlefield has become intense, and these last five thousand elite cavalry will determine the outcome of the war.
The Northern Barbarians were indeed exhausted, but seeing the opportunity to kill the Emperor of Dasheng Dynasty, they naturally burst out with all their final strength.
Many heavy cavalry rushed down the mountain to confront this elite cavalry!
"boom!"
"Bang! Bang!"
Gunshots rang out!
The elite cavalry of Sheng's army took out their fire guns or strong bows and shot at the charging Northern Barbarian cavalry.
These Sheng soldiers are the elite among the elite. Although they attack high places and have no advantage in speed and impact, they can use their firearms to kill the barbarians first.
But at this moment, the expressions of many cavalrymen changed.
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
The cavalry from both sides clashed, and several Northern Barbarian heavy cavalry were already wielding their sabers to slash at Zhao Haiping.
His armor is indeed very conspicuous on the battlefield.
But when the enemy's saber was still far away, Zhao Haiping's big gun had already stabbed the cavalryman first.
The Northern Barbarian heavy cavalry was wrapped up like an iron can, but under the huge impact of the big guns, they were knocked off their horses on the spot. One foot was entangled in the stirrup and they were dragged a long way.
Zhao Haiping, on the other hand, easily stepped on the stirrup, canceling out the recoil force from the big gun.
The feeling of riding a stirrup horse after riding a stirrupless horse is truly indescribable.
The Shengjun cavalry beside them watched His Majesty the Emperor rushing back and forth among countless cavalry, as if they were in a deserted land.
This elite cavalry force of 5,000 people pressed forward at the most critical moment, causing chaos in the formation of the Northern Barbarians. The other two cavalry groups finally succeeded in breaking through.
Finally, amidst the shouts of killing and gunfire, the Northern Barbarian cavalry retreated in full!
Zhao Haiping reined in his horse on the hillside and watched the morale-boosted Sheng army chasing the Northern Barbarian leader who fled in a hurry.
"That's it?
"I thought it would be a difficult battle, as long as I have the skills..."
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