Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 156 The general strengthens his troops

"Call the troops!!"

"All those who are famous in the military books, gather at the Grand Parade Ground!!"

The military officers rode on fast horses, shouting all the way and galloping away.

Noises were heard from many houses around.

Yan Niang slowly opened the door, walked out, and watched the military officer disappear on the road in the distance.

She turned and walked into the yard.

Although the yard was dilapidated, it occupied a large area, enough for horse racing. On the left side, there was a row of straw men and wooden men. The heads of the straw men were full of arrows, while the necks of the wooden men were covered with knife marks, and dents from horse lances could be seen on their chests.

The old man stood in the middle, surrounded by six young slaves, three of whom were quite old, and three were slightly younger.

They were all holding horses, with unspeakable sadness in their eyes.

The old man looked at them, his lips trembling, and he suddenly dropped the cane in his hand.

"Bring me my armor."

Liu Datou was sitting at the gate of the parade ground. A knight led a group of young slaves here and informed Liu Datou of the preparations.

"If there is a household at the north end of the city, send out one soldier."

"If you lead ten young slaves with your mouth, eight of them will have enough!"

"We only need cavalry this time!! Either prepare them all or just take eight!"

"only."

After this person left, another person came forward.

When Liu Datou looked up, he saw a knight leading a horse, fully armed, having put on his armor long ago, and wearing a mask used for sacrifice on his face.

Liu Datou was not surprised by the mask, as many people in border towns wore masks when fighting.

But looking at the person in front of him, Liu Datou suddenly realized something.

The other party spoke.

"Yanhu in the south of the city, send one soldier."

"Yan Heita, led five young slaves, all of whom had feet."

Liu Datou immediately put down the pen in his hand and sighed, "Yan, you can go back. Don't worry about Yeye. When we come back, we will give some food to your family."

"Uncle, my Ye Ye never asks for charity."

Liu Datou rubbed his forehead and said, "But you are alone."

'Yan Heita' took down the strong bow, and in front of Liu Datou, he slowly raised the bow, leaned sideways, and gradually pulled the bow to its full length.

Liu Datou shouted, "Don't let it go in vain! Don't let it go in vain!"

Yan Heita slowly put the bowstring back.

Liu Datou hesitated for a moment and said, "Whatever, whatever."

He lowered his head and began to write, "Go in!"

"Thank you uncle."

As Yan Heita said this, he immediately mounted his horse. The surrounding slaves mounted their horses one after another and gathered around him. He led everyone into the parade ground.

Liu Datou sighed and continued to work.

The parade ground was empty; the Huaishuo soldiers were still gathering. It was not time to march yet, so everyone had not yet gathered.

Liu Taozi, Heba Cheng and others were still sitting inside the government office.

Among the crowd, there was a huge map, and Heba Cheng's chief secretary was describing the situation here to everyone.

"Previously, this was the pasture of the Rouran people. Later, the Rouran people were defeated by the Turks and fled here. The Xi people sent troops from the east and took the opportunity to occupy this place and the great pasture. They intended to sandwich us, the Turks, and the Pseudo-Zhou, and exchange supplies with us more often."

The generals were all helpless at this moment.

This was the second day after they arrived in Huaishuo, and General Zhen was already preparing to send troops.

They had already sent people to their own garrisons to lead the army to Wuchuan.

The chief historian continued, "There are Xi, Gaoche and other tribes here. If we go to attack the Turkic Khan's tent, we won't be able to hide our whereabouts. Even if we arrive, we will be held back by the Turks and won't be able to defeat them easily. If the Pseudo-Zhou, Xi and other bandits attack us or cut off our retreat, I'm afraid something terrible will happen."

After the Chief Secretary finished speaking, he looked at Heba Cheng.

Heba Cheng cleared his throat and then said, "Therefore, I think we should attack the Turkic Ashina Shetu's tent stationed outside Xinshan."

"This man is the nephew of the current Turkic Khan Ashina Jijin. He was ordered to stay here and gather the defeated soldiers of the Rouran people in an attempt to accept or expel the Xi people and Gaoche people."

"First, this place is the closest to us. If we march by force, we can arrive in less than five days. It will not be difficult to travel back and forth without giving them a chance to prepare. Second, they have just arrived here, and most of their troops are surrendered Rouran and Gaoche, so there are not many elite troops."

"Third, Shetu is the son of the former Khan. After leaving the Khan's tent, he received a lot of property, which he used to gather the tribes and became quite wealthy."

After Heba Cheng finished speaking, he immediately looked at Liu Taozi.

He was afraid that Liu Taozi would look unhappy and reject his proposal.

If Liu Taozi insists on attacking the Khan's tent, things will be troublesome.

The Turkic camp was not something that these border soldiers could attack. The other side had just experienced a huge battle, and there were tens of thousands of elite soldiers who survived the battle. The current Turkic Khan was very good at fighting, and he had defeated the Rouran with a smaller force many times, forcing the Pseudo-Zhou to kill the Rouran who escaped as a sign of friendship.

Of course, in Heba Cheng's opinion, it would be best if there was no need to fight.

Although the Turks were very close to the Pseudo Zhou at the moment, first drafting a marriage contract with the Pseudo Zhou and exchanging gifts with each other many times, after all, they had not openly fought with the Great Qi. He was afraid that if he fought like this, the other party would completely surrender to the Pseudo Zhou, and then there would be trouble.

Liu Taozi also looked at Heba Cheng.

"Everything is up to General Heba."

Heba Cheng then dared to continue discussing the route of the troops with everyone. After the previous dynasty was divided into two, a large number of defense areas of the original six towns were lost. Da Qi could only re-establish defense areas along important places such as Wuchuan and build city walls. The border town soldiers were also very familiar with the areas outside the city walls because they used to belong to the six town soldiers.

As the generals listened to Heba Cheng's story, their blood boiled, they rubbed their hands and looked excited.

The soldiers in the border towns are all eager for war, because the purpose of their establishment is war. War can allow them to accumulate wealth, get promoted, and live a better life.

Since the previous dynasty, looting on the border has always been a daily routine for border soldiers. If the government has not launched a war for a long time, they will go out to provoke, make some money, and promote neighborly relations and advance the progress of the war.

Everyone left the office talking and laughing, their eyes full of desire.

Heba Cheng secretly looked at Liu Taozi beside him and said, "General, once this military order is issued, it cannot be changed."

"The Turks have not yet become enemies with us."

"When they made the marriage contract with the Pseudo-Zhou, they were already our enemies."

"Even so, there has not yet been a formal battle."

“It’s only a matter of time.”

Heba Cheng pursed his lips and asked again: "What if we scare the Xi people away?"

"I can't run away. We are being attacked from three sides. Unless I flee back to the original ranch, it will only increase the distance. There is no difference."

Heba Cheng could no longer say anything and could only nod helplessly.

Seeing the other party's dejected look, Liu Taozi finally said, "The soldiers in the border towns rely on war to keep in touch."

"If a general wants to command the troops of various border garrisons, he can only go out to fight."

"Call the elite troops, defeat the enemy, and then reward them. Gather them around you, and all the border towns will obey your orders. It will be easy to make all the towns united and obey your orders."

"If you want stability, you have to wait until autumn, when the imperial court brings in grain and distributes it. However, by that time, I'm afraid the prime minister will also come along."

Heba Cheng nodded slightly.

"After this victory, the general will be able to truly command all the border towns. There are too many shortcomings in the border towns that need to be corrected."

"The border garrisons in Heng and Shuo are no different from bandits. They have no military discipline, endanger the local area, and do not obey the orders of the generals."

"As for those civilian servants, they have greater uses and should not be treated as livestock for the border soldiers' amusement."

"Only after we win this battle and allow the towns to get food can these things be gradually advanced."

"So, General, don't worry, and don't be afraid. As long as you can win, you will be able to do a lot in the future. You have a few months to gradually reorganize."

"When the Grand Prime Minister arrives and sees the frontiers under the general's rule, the general will be able to be put to good use by the Grand Prime Minister and rise to prominence."

As Heba Cheng listened to Liu Taozi's "persuasion", his eyes gradually became firm.

He gritted his teeth and said, "If a man cannot eat from five cauldrons while alive, he should be cooked in five cauldrons after death!!" "Done!"

Liu Taozi walked out of the office.

He slowly raised his head.

In a moment, countless birds flapped their wings and took off into the sky.

Liu Taozi watched for a few moments, then mounted his horse and led everyone towards the parade ground.

Scorching sun.

After a long period of cold, the border finally became warmer.

The surrounding scenery has not changed much. Looking around, the world is still desolate.

The dilapidated farmland turned gray, and the gullies dug on the edges of the farmland in the past were now unclear. Even though the sun was high in the sky, this piece of land did not usher in the revival of all things. It was still the white land and the scattered weeds. The weeds did turn green, but it was of no use. When they were scattered, they lost their beautiful characteristics and made the world look even more bleak.

You have to walk north for a long time before you can see the scenery of "wind blowing the grass low and seeing cattle and sheep".

Outside the city, a large army gathered.

In addition to Huaishuo and Wuchuan, more than 2,000 people were recruited from various places, and the number of soldiers to be dispatched reached more than 5,000 cavalry.

It was said that there were more than 5,000 cavalry, but the young slaves were not counted.

Including these people, the number of troops reached about 30,000, which is already a very terrifying number of troops.

Especially the 5,000 among them, they are one of the most elite troops of Northern Qi.

Heba Cheng looked at this huge army with some panic in his eyes. Why did he feel that it was still a bit too much?

On the high platform temporarily built by the servants was Chu Jiande, equipped with all the equipment.

At this moment, he was performing hard.

His rough dance steps, combined with the musical instruments of several wizards around him, were quite touching.

Chu Jiande shook all the ornaments on his body, suddenly dropped the bone in his hand to the ground, and then jumped back and forth around the bone.

He suddenly raised the bone and looked at the many knights who had gathered.

"Good luck!!!"

"Good luck!!!"

At this moment, the knights were excited and they shouted loudly with high morale.

Afterwards, Liu Taozi took the lead.

The knights followed one by one in their respective garrisons and began to move forward.

The fine horses lined up next to each other, forming a long dragon, rushing all the way from Huaishuo to the mountains in the north.

In the past, Huaishuo Town was as big as a state, with its own pastures and many cities. But today, Huaishuo is just a small town on the edge of a mountain, nothing more.

The outline of a black mountain in the distance was clearly visible. Apart from that mountain, there was no other scenery on the road, just endless desolate land.

The horse was not charging at full speed, but was just gently raising its hooves. The knight on the horse's back swayed as the horse moved, gently lifting his buttocks and then dropping them again. One knight got tired of sitting, so he stood up directly, keeping his whole body pressed forward, his legs still constantly kicking the horse under his crotch to make the horse speed up.

Liu Taozi walked in front of the team, and the scouts kept going back and forth.

Some of the knights behind him put on armor at his command, while the others set out lightly.

Heba Cheng was walking beside him, and was discussing tactics with Liu Taozi.

"After we pass the mountain pass, we may encounter the army of the Pseudo-Zhou. They are close to the Turks, so they will definitely tip us off. After we pass the mountain pass, we have to split our forces. One part can patrol along the Black Water, keep an eye on the Pseudo-Zhou, protect the rear route, and be able to respond to us at any time."

"Another group of people went straight to the Shetuya tent. After defeating the enemy, the rear army immediately came to support them and escorted the supplies back to Wuchuan from the southern slope."

As he was talking, he stopped to look at Liu Taozi's expression.

Liu Taozi nodded and said, "I have never led troops outside the border and have no experience. General, you can make your own decision."

Heba Cheng did not continue talking. He had led troops out before, but he had never led so many people.

He was about to say something, but when he saw the sweaty knights in armor around him, he smiled and said, "General Liu is really inexperienced. He cannot wear armor when he is on the road."

Liu Taozi whispered, "If we are going to fight outside the border, it would be best to divide the soldiers into three groups, put on armor, and march to the outside to prevent sudden attacks."

Heba Cheng was stunned and asked in surprise: "Didn't the general say that he had never been outside the Great Wall?"

"Someone has told me."

"Oh"

The army continued on their journey, and Heba Cheng also discovered this. Liu Taozi really lacked experience in fighting outside the Great Wall, but he had a huge amount of theory, as if someone had taught him specifically how to march outside the Great Wall. Liu Taozi understood everything from water sources, weather, to formations, but he had never done it himself and was still in the process of running in. This made Heba Cheng increasingly unsure of the other party's origins.

Liu Taozi was unaware of many of the preparations he had made, but when he heard them he felt as if they were his personal experiences. As soon as he heard them, he knew that they were taught by a general who had actually led a large army and fought outside the Great Wall.

Whose child is this?

Is his real last name Gao? ?

Liu Taozi hardly had a moment to relax. Scouts came and went, and Liu Taozi would occasionally lead the knights to and from the rear, and deal with several knights of different affiliations who had quarreled and fought over trivial matters.

At night, everyone camped at the foot of the mountain.

A cold wind blew, ruffling the horses' manes, and the knights gathered in groups of three or two.

'Heba Cheng' integrated the knights from different regions into one army, and many commanders were appointed by him personally. These people no longer mentioned their past disputes, but chatted and laughed. Some of them even found out that the other party was their relative.

Liu Taozi led his personal soldiers to move back and forth in the tents.

In front of the bonfire, a knight looked up and sang loudly.

Yurts stand on the ground like bamboo shoots. There are many fences around the yurts. These fences are not connected but are set up in multiple layers to separate the yurts. There are herdsmen riding horses and driving cattle and sheep.

There were knights patrolling around.

In the middle of countless yurts, there is a huge building, which is the only brick and stone building. It has a tall courtyard wall, as tall as a city wall. It is guarded by armored soldiers. The soldiers are fully armed, and only half of their faces can be seen under the armor.

At this moment, a group of light cavalry led by knights arrived here.

They dismounted immediately, and an armored soldier stepped forward and spoke a few words to the escort, asking them to hand over their weapons. Only then did he have someone take them into the high court.

There were more than ten people in the group, and their clothes were quite similar to those of the locals. However, upon closer inspection, one could find the difference: what they wore was so clean that they looked completely brand new.

They followed the soldiers, walked through the long corridor, climbed the stairs, and walked all the way to the innermost hall.

Armored soldiers pushed open the door of the hall and walked into the magnificent hall. There was a man sitting at the top with wine utensils placed around him, staring at them solemnly.

The leader hurried forward and bowed to greet him.

"Meet the Special Service!!"

Ashina Shetu looked at the people who came to pay their respects, took a sip of wine, and then said, "Get up."

Everyone stood up, and the leader was a white-haired old man. He smiled and complimented: "It's been a long time since we last saw Special Agent. Special Agent has become stronger!"

"Strong? I've been kicked out of the Khan's tent. How can I be strong here like a broken-backed stray dog?!"

The old man shook his head. "The special forces have just arrived, but they have already taken over the Rouran tribes. They are very powerful. It is only a matter of time before they drive out the Gaoche people and the Xi people."

"What's the matter with you?"

Shetu interrupted the other party rudely.

The old man sensed the hostility of the other party and stopped being polite. He said directly, "The Pseudo-Qi is preparing to attack Meilu. Right now, their army has passed the Bana Mountain and has just reached Heishui. In less than three days, they will attack you!"

"Please be prepared to defend yourself!"

Shetu was stunned for a moment, then narrowed his eyes, "I have no hatred or grudge against Qi, why would they attack me?"

The old man looked up and said, "This is the true nature of the Qi bandits. They have always been like this, plundering, ignorant of etiquette, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. You came to Xinshan and did not send troops to provoke them. This must have made them think that you are weak and easy to bully, so they came to attack you!"

"As long as you fight back fiercely and let them know your ability, they will never dare to invade again!"

Shetu asked, "How many of them are there?"

"Including those miscellaneous soldiers, there are only 30,000 of them. You have far more elite troops under your command. They have come from afar. As long as you are well prepared, you will be able to bury all of them under the lucky mountain and let the world know your power."

The photographer looked at the follower beside him.

"Inform all the Burkes to evacuate immediately."

(End of this chapter)