Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 223
The gloomy weather lasted until mid-April.

Xilibo was standing on the hill by the bank of the Yellow River, gently stroking the beard under his chin with his right hand, squinting his sharp eyes like a falcon, and staring viciously at a certain place down the mountain.

The army of the Tang people camped in that area. Depending on the size of the camp and the number of tents, there were about 1 people.He didn't believe that the Tang people only had so many troops, and there must be more in the future.And looking at the way they camped, they were very cautious, so cautious that he was a little surprised, don't you think it's troublesome?
Xilibo didn't intend to attack the camp of the Tang people, his target was the transportation team of the Tang people, those masters with extremely poor combat effectiveness.As long as all these people are killed and scattered, the Tang people will not continue to support them, and they will have to retreat if they do not retreat.

He has been observing for several days.The masters of the Tang Dynasty always pulled more than a hundred carts from somewhere far away to hoard supplies in the camp.He didn't know how long it would take to stockpile, but judging from the fact that the Tang people always carry one month's supplies with the army, it shouldn't take long before they can move on.

From here to Lanzhou, it is only three hundred miles away, and it will take ten days to march.

"Let's go!" Xi Libo greeted, and more than a thousand riders who were resting gathered one after another, and then walked slowly to the northeast along the mountain valley road, first looking for a place to recharge their batteries and wait for the opportunity.

The leader of the Zhuanglang tribe advocated building a stronghold based on the mountains and valleys east of Lanzhou.But Xiribo disagreed, and he believed that he needed to take the initiative.Even if the enemy cannot be defeated, their food and grass must be burned to make them retreat.

The rest of the ministries disagreed and quarreled.In the end, a compromise was finally reached, that is, to continuously send cavalry to harass the sluggish and exhausted army of the Tang people, so that they could not get enough supplies, exhausted physically and mentally, and then lure them to the vicinity of Lanzhou, use the terrain to ambush them, and annihilate them in the first battle.

It is never wrong to use a small army against a large army, lure the enemy to go deep, and wait for work at leisure.

In Lanzhou in April, the grass is fertile and the trees are beautiful, and the leaves are tender and the branches are delicate.

Hundreds of soldiers from Yi Congjun's right wing drove more than ten thousand cattle and sheep forward slowly.

An army of [-] needs too much supplies.Grain is a part, and cattle and sheep are also a considerable part.

However, it is impossible to raise so many cattle and sheep in one place. There is not so much fodder, and they are prone to disease, so they must be spread out to graze.The army ate while walking, and wasted slowly to support until the end of the war.

There are 7000 soldiers in the right wing of the Yi Cong Army, and 3000 soldiers in Zhongyongdu are cavalry pawns, and it is impossible to herd herds. Then this task naturally falls to the remaining [-] infantry.

A group of cavalry flashed by not far away.

It may be a person from Zhongyongdu, one of the only two units in the volunteer army that enjoys the treatment of the Yajun.

But some people don't think it looks like it, because this army is too luxurious: a total of thousands of riders, one man and three horses, one pack horse carries food, water, armor, and equipment, one rides on the road, and one war horse runs empty .

The food intake of a horse is more than three times that of a human!For one thousand riders, two thousand more horses are raised, which is equivalent to the burden of six thousand more infantry. What kind of army is this, so extravagant?

While Yang Hongwang was on his way, he was still thinking about the order given to him by the commander-in-chief: The enemy army will definitely be paralyzed when they see our army stationed here, you can lead the leopard riders to detour and go around Lanzhou. If the intelligence is obtained, the enemy's food and grass can be burned like this, which will dampen the morale of the enemy army and make them feel suspicious.

The aggressiveness of the Dingnan Army is very suitable for young people like Yang Hongwang.After receiving the equipment in the camp, he set off with the whole army of Leopard Cavalry to carry out the order of the commander in chief.

This walk is three days.

It could have been faster, but in order to maintain horsepower and find the way, it took them a while to find the way. It took them three days to reach the other side of the Yellow River in the north of Wuquan County, Lanzhou. Surprise.

The trails are narrow and covered by jungle.

Yang Hongwang built a pergola with his hands, stood on the hillside and looked into the distance, and the dilapidated city walls of Lanzhou appeared in front of him.

There are dense black spots everywhere under the city wall, which should be people, and it seems that the city wall is being repaired.

Two miles to the north of the city wall is the Yellow River. There are Jincheng Pass and Jinchengjin on this side of the river. I don't know if there are any troops stationed there.There is a warehouse in the east of Jincheng Guan, which stores a large amount of fodder, grain, beans, and equipment. Yang Hongwang thought about it and decided to start with this one.

At the same moment, Xilibo also set his sights on a grain transportation convoy.

But there are a lot of rangers around, and he is afraid that he will be discovered before he gets close, which makes him hesitate a bit.

In fact, it is okay to attack the herdsmen who are driving cattle and sheep, but the cattle and sheep cannot be taken away for a while, nor can they be destroyed or burned.

How to do it?Next to the convoy were guarded infantry from the Tang Dynasty, and there were also a large number of rangers aimlessly guarding around.

Xilibo stood up and sat down again, constantly weighing things up in his heart.

Two rangers from the Tang army passed by. Judging from their attire, they should be the Pingxia Dangxiang Qiang soldiers who surrendered Shao Shude.One of them glanced at this side casually, but passed away quickly.

Xiribo's back was soaked.

If it is discovered at this time, it will not be able to achieve the effect of a surprise attack.

How to do?Do you want to fight?All the soldiers around looked at him.

Xilibo was panting heavily, and after a long time, he tossed his braids behind his head, drew out his saber, and yelled viciously, "It's done! Come with me!"

After a while, one rider after another came out of the woods, then got on the horse, accelerated slowly, and rushed towards the grain transport convoy.

"Follow me!" On the north bank of the Yellow River, Yang Hongwang also pulled out his horse and took the lead.

Behind him, Zhe Congyun took out his lance and followed closely.Eight hundred riders rushed down the gentle slope like a long dragon.

200 people remained on the hillside.Among them, 114 people were already standing beside the well-dressed war horses, holding long lances in their hands, and looked like a group of dazzling silver sculptures from a distance.

They haven't been dispatched yet, but no one can doubt their decisive role.

"Boom!" "Boom!" Under the horrified eyes of the Tubo people, dozens of riders slammed into the thin wooden fence, causing them to fall to the ground.

"I told you not to dig a trench!" "I told you not to put antlers!" "I told you not to tie a gun!"

Yang Hongwang thought happily, but he was not slow in his hands. Ma Li directly stabbed a Tubo officer with a red copper on his arm.

The cavalry from behind swarmed and rushed into the warehouse and into the panicked crowd.

Stabbing with spears and wielding sabers, the Tibetans disrupted the organizational system and could not organize effective resistance at all.Some people blew the horns, some people screamed and fled into the house, relying on the building to resist.

Some of the knights in the Leopard Cavalry Capital got off their horses and sprinkled the hay with oil drums.Someone rode a horse and threw a barrel of oil directly on the roof.

The fire quickly flared up, and the smoke filled the air.The Tibetans couldn't bear the fumigation in the house, so they ran out staggeringly, but they were greeted by riding bows and shooting.

The guards at Jincheng Pass also saw this scene.

There is a large amount of fodder, tarpaulins, and grains and beans stored in the warehouse, all of which have been collected with great difficulty, and there is no room for loss.

He made a decisive decision and assembled the only thousand infantry in the Guancheng. After roughly forming a line, he rushed to the warehouse.They were so anxious that they walked faster and faster, shouting loudly, trying to scare away the cavalry of the Tang army who were raging over there.

The sound of heavy hoofbeats suddenly sounded.

The Tubo infantry looked to the side in amazement, and saw more than a hundred steel monsters charging towards them at high speed. The lances in their hands were astonishingly long, and the tip of the lance was shining with a dazzling cold light. Because they were in a hurry, their formation had already been scattered. Unbearable.

"Boom! Boom!" It was as if a heavy dump truck rushed into the crowd, and the out-of-breath Tubo infantry were scattered by the middle of the road, and dozens of them were the first to be knocked out. Life or death is unknown.

More than [-] Leopard Cavalry soldiers were intercepting and killing Tubo stragglers outside the warehouse, seeing this, they did not give up the opportunity to beat the dog in the water.They rearranged their formation a bit, pressed down hard, and plowed the dizzy Tubo Guancheng infantry again.

On the north bank of the Yellow River, the flames were blazing, and the sky was crying.

The Tubo people who were putting all their energy on the city wall on the south bank never expected such a scene to happen.It's too late to react at this time.

"Woo--" the horns sounded one after another, and on the bank of the Yellow River, the infantry of the Wuwei Army hurriedly stopped the cart, and then slowly gathered it to form a semicircle.

The masters rushed away, but the guards did not dare to run away.The military law is harsh, and no one can afford the consequences of running away.

Dozens of rangers stepped forward desperately to resist the Tubo cavalry rushing to buy time for the infantry comrades.

Xilibo raised his saber in his hand and cut down the rangers of the Tang army standing in front of him, and continued to charge forward.

Oncoming is the overwhelming rain of arrows.

The foot archers shot arrows desperately.At this time, there is no need to aim, just take out the arrow branch from the quiver and wind it, and then let go of your hand, anyway, it is right to shoot the arrow out desperately.

Tubo cavalrymen were constantly shot off their horses.But this further aroused the ferocity of the people behind. They raised their horse speed to the extreme, and when they approached the convoy, they jumped suddenly.

The sound of collision and hissing came and went one after another.

The spearmen flew out almost instantly.The Tubo riders who landed didn't please. Some fell to the ground and were nailed to the ground by spears before they had time to get up.There were people who were even more miserable, being crushed under the horse, with distorted faces and screaming in pain.

The second group of Tubo cavalry came one after another.

Someone directly crashed into the cart, the grain was scattered all over the ground, and the horse neighed in pain.

Someone rushed into the formation, and before they had time to be happy, suddenly the horse's hooves gave way and fell to the ground.

The infantry of the Wuwei Army formed a group of three, one with a hook and sickle gun, one with a long-handled axe, and one with a sword and shield. They hooked the legs of horses, smashed riders, and chopped when they fell to the ground. fast.

The carts filled with grain acted as antler guns, forcing the Tubo cavalry to make difficult moves to overcome obstacles. However, after the initial panic, the Wuwei soldiers became more and more proficient at cooperating.There were only a few hundred of them, and relying on their carts for protection, they fought evenly with the Tubo cavalry, and killed many of them, although their own casualties were also great.

Xilibo fell off his horse when he rushed through the car formation.But he had been prepared for a long time, got up the moment he landed, and then held a small round shield, dashed left and right, trying to escape to the periphery, until the back of the head was hit hard by the shield.

It's over, that was his last thought.

(End of this chapter)