Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 143: Marching to Longxi
"Don't you see, the army of the Han Dynasty is over, and the weak crowns are tied to the prisoners, please grow tassels."

"Have you not seen, Ban Dingyuan, the light cavalry of the remote region, urging the battle clouds..."

At noon, with the sun shining brightly, more than two thousand people were training on the grass outside the East Camp, singing military songs with great enthusiasm.

Seeing their enthusiasm, Liu Jilong and others who were watching them from a distance couldn't help but feel happy.

"Today is already the third day. I'm sure no more brothers will join the army."

Ma Cheng sighed, but Zhang Chang beside him smiled and said, "It's okay, it's enough anyway!"

"That's right!" Li Ji also agreed very optimistically, while Liu Jilong's face was very calm.

"Beep--"

Soon, a whistle sounded, and the soldiers who were training on the grass immediately gathered together, and then dispersed at Liu Jilong's signal.

After watching them disperse, Liu Jilong turned around and returned to the military camp, and Zhang Chang and others followed closely.

Soon, everyone arrived at the door of the tent, and Chen Jingchong had been waiting here for a long time.

"Governor, I don't think anyone will come. This is the current situation in the army. Please read it!"

Seeing Liu Jilian coming, Chen Jingchong hurriedly followed everyone into the tent and handed the document to Liu Jilian.

Since he was the most literate, he was temporarily in charge of the army's roster and logistics.

"All sit down."

After Liu Jilong greeted everyone, he sat down in the main seat first, and Chen Jingchong and the others also chose their seats and sat down.

Seeing Liu Jilong flipping through the military register and documents, Chen Jingchong simply explained the current situation of the army to Zhang Chang and others.

"At present, our army has 1,346 elite cavalrymen and 1,517 armored soldiers, a total of 2,863 people. Not only are they all wearing armor, but there are also more than 60 sets of spare armor that can be used to equip new soldiers in the future."

"But there are more than 800 new soldiers in the army who were recruited by Changsong. They have only been trained for half a month and cannot fight a tough battle for the time being."

After Chen Jingchong finished speaking, everyone had a general understanding of the army's situation, and Liu Jilong also asked in a deep voice: "How long will the food last?"

"There are still more than 34,000 shi in the military warehouse. However, in addition to the soldiers, our army also has more than 4,500 craftsmen and family members, which means there are more than 7,300 people, as well as 3,000 draft horses, 2,000 oxen, and more than 1,800 military horses."

"Even if all he eats is taken into account, he can only last until February next year at most."

After Chen Jingchong finished speaking, Liu Jilong also closed the document, and after scanning everyone, he said:
"The army will set out for Lanzhou at noon tomorrow. Li Yizhong will also lead 2,000 armored soldiers to help us recapture Lanzhou and stay in Guangwu at the same time."

"From Changsong to Lanzhou, the only official road is Lanzhou Road."

"This road is not easy to travel. We need to pass through the Herong Mountains and Hongchi Mountains, which are the eastern branches of the Qilian Mountains."

"There is a valley between these two mountain ranges, and in the valley flows a river called Wu Ni Shui."

"When the Tibetan king was still in power, the Herong territory had the Herong City and the Hongchiling had the Wu City."

"These two cities are located in strategic locations between two mountain ranges, but were abandoned due to the division of Tubo and the severe drought in Longxi."

"There are hundreds of soldiers in Changsong who have fled from Lanzhou. I have recruited twelve of them to serve as guides for our army."

"According to them, before the drought in Longxi, there were 1,500 soldiers stationed in Lanzhou, and there were more than 13,000 people in the city."

"After the drought, the tribes fled to Liangzhou, and many soldiers also fled because the Jiedu Ya could not pay their salaries."

"Right now, there are probably no more than a thousand soldiers in Lanzhou, and probably not even ten thousand civilians."

As soon as Liu Jilong finished speaking, everyone's faces showed worry.

Lanzhou has a small population and a small garrison, so they should be happy.

However, with such a small population, it would undoubtedly be very difficult to feed more than 2,000 armored soldiers.

Originally, Zhang Chang, Shang Duoluo and others wanted to train their troops in Wuquan after retaking Lanzhou, and then march into Hezhou.

It now seems that their time is very limited. They must attack Hezhou before winter and capture as many passes and cities as possible.

"There are two county towns and one pass in Lanzhou, with a maximum of 400 soldiers at each place. It will not be difficult to capture Lanzhou."

Seeing that they had arrived at a familiar place, Shang Duoluo also started talking.

"Although Shang Yanxin controls the three states, he controls the three states in name only. In fact, he is still stationed in Hezhou."

"Hezhou, along the official road from north to south, is Fenglin Pass, Baohan County and Fenglin County."

"Among them, Baohan is the most important as the seat of government, because he has two official roads, one leading to Fenglin County, and the other going east along the East Valley into Daxia County in Linzhou."

"Shang Yanxin is probably staying in Baohan, and Baohan is only about 40 miles away from Fenglin Pass. Once we attack Fenglin Pass, Shang Yanxin will definitely rush to support Fenglin Pass, because Fenglin Pass is the northern gate of Hezhou."

"Two years ago, when Shang Yanxin was chasing me and Shang Jiedushi, he had 5,000 elite cavalry under his command, but many of them were elite cavalry from various tribes in Hezhou under his command."

"There has been a severe drought in Longxi in the past two years. All the tribes under his command have fled to Shannan and Duomai. He only has more than 2,000 soldiers and horses."

"But even so, we can't underestimate him. After all, he has formed an alliance with Zhe Buhui of Linzhou and Lu Ruyue of Weizhou. If we delay too long, Zhe Buhui and Lu Ruyue might come to his aid."

As soon as Shang Duoluo opened his mouth, he quickly sorted out the relationship between the four states.

There is no need to worry about Lanzhou. The people who need to be worried about most are Shang Yanxin of Hezhou, Zhe Buhui of Linzhou, and Lu Ruyue of Weizhou.

After he finished speaking, Liu Jilong asked, "Where is Lun Kongre?"

As for fear of heat, this person, who had brought the most trauma to the land of Helong in the past ten years, had no sense of existence at this moment, which made Liu Jilong very curious.

Seeing him asking, Shang Duoluo also explained: "He was stationed in Luomenchuan at first, and later ran to Mochanchuan west of Taozhou."

"I heard that he only has a thousand elite cavalrymen under his command. He enslaves the local herdsmen in Mochanchuan and occasionally harasses Hezhou, Taozhou and Kuzhou."

"But now that Guzhou has been taken over by Shang Jiedushi, I don't think Lun Kongre will be able to cause any trouble."

Shang Duoluo's explanation made everyone sigh. You know, two years ago, Lun Kongre was like a huge mountain pressing on the heads of the people of Helong. Even the Guiyi Army at that time had to treat him with caution.

Only two years have passed, and Lun Kongre, who had nearly 30,000 soldiers at that time, is now not as good as their army that is about to go to Longxi. It is really sad.

"This Lun Kongre has committed many murders. If I have the chance in the future, I will kill him!"

Hu Siguang at his position suddenly spoke up, and there was a reason why he was so excited. After all, he was from Ganzhou. When Lun Kongre killed the people of Ganzhou in the past, he was just a teenager, so naturally he hated Lun Kongre.

Seeing that he was thinking about revenge, Liu Jilong nodded and said, "When we recapture Taozhou in the future, I will leave Taozhou to you to stay in."

"As for whether you can kill Lun Kongre, that depends on your ability."

"Yes!" Hu Siguang instantly became alert and bowed to Liu Jilong quickly.

Liu Jilong nodded, then looked at everyone and said, "Longxi is not like Hexi. You must be prepared."

"The terrain in Hexi is mostly flat, but in Longxi it is full of mountains. Whether it is marching or farming, it is all done in the river valley."

"Maybe you won't understand what I'm saying now, but when you go there, you'll know why I said that."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Duoluo also bowed and said, "The governor is right, so I would like to suggest to the governor that the Tangqi be changed to a mixed Tangqi with infantry."

"In addition, our army's marching and camping methods must also be changed accordingly, for example..."

Shang Duoluo began to explain why the march, camping and cavalry needed to be changed.

Marching and fighting is no joke. Liu Jilian and his men all fought using the obvious northern style of warfare. However, the terrain of Longxi was obviously different from the flat north, so the fighting style also needed to be changed.

The main difference between the north and the south is the terrain.

Although there are high mountains in the north, the main area is still plains. Even if there are mountains blocking the way, there are long slopes and rivers that can be seen at a glance.

Therefore, Tangqi is the only one needed to guard the north, and their marching can be rigorous but also open and closed.

In comparison, the south has steep mountains and rivers, narrow valleys, and crisscrossing waterways...it's all different.

Because of this, Longxi, whose terrain is more towards the south, is more suitable for marching and fighting in the south.

Because there are many mountains and the terrain is long and narrow, it is easy to be ambushed, so the Tang soldiers in Longxi have infantry in addition to cavalry.

The Tang soldiers of the Guiyi Army were mainly Tang cavalry, with one group in each Tang and more than ten cavalry in each group, ranging from more than ten Tangs to hundreds of Tangs depending on the size of the army.

But after arriving in Longxi, the existing form of Tang soldiers had to be changed. The original more than ten cavalrymen formed a Tang, which had to be changed to ten cavalrymen plus ten infantrymen as a Tang, and all of them had to be composed of soldiers who were good at climbing.

Whenever they encountered steep mountains where the cavalry could not reach, the infantry would carry the flags and climb the mountains to explore, and no valleys or dense forests would be missed.

After confirming that there were no problems, Butang stood there with his flag raised. Then the Tang cavalry rode back on horseback to report. The army then advanced to the place where Butang stood, looked for a wide and flat place, stationed in formation and stood guard. Then the Tang soldiers continued to search forward, and this continued until they were out of the valley.

If any unusual ambushes were discovered, or if a butang was killed or a flag was waved, the cavalry would quickly run back to the army to report the incident, and the commander would then arrange the troops in battle array according to the shape of the mountain to meet the enemy.

If Butang is not killed, he can be allowed to escape and not return to the camp until the end of the war, and the general should also commend the Butang soldiers.

The method of driving the pond soldiers alone is enough for Liu Jilong and his men to learn for a period of time, not to mention the march of a large army.

When in Hexi, the elite cavalry basically guarded the left and right, and the light cavalry were sent out as scouts. But after going to Longxi, because the official road was narrow and long and the terrain was rugged, the marching also became very particular.

Normally, the first troops to leave the camp are the cavalry. Because they are fast, they will quickly advance to a place two or three miles away from the camp, then stop and stand still, line up and start to guard. After that, the infantry troops will leave the camp in order according to their location and direction, and line up on all sides at a distance of 20 steps from the camp to guard. The baggage train will leave the camp last.

After the entire army left the camp, the order changed again. The infantry withdrew and passed the cavalry to walk in the front, and then the cavalry guards led the baggage train and marched at a distance of two miles from the infantry.

If it is snowing heavily, the cavalry will lead the way in the snow, and the infantry will follow behind.

A forced march and surprise attack on the enemy, as Liu Jilian liked, would be fine in a place like Hexi, but in a place with complex terrain like Longxi, it would be like gambling.

In response to this, Shang Duoluo kept talking until nightfall, and it was not until Cao Mao asked whether the dishes should be served that everyone came to their senses.

"I didn't expect there would be so many explanations for going to Longxi to fight..."

"We have to learn this. Don't let ourselves be taught a lesson by the foreign bandits when we go to Longxi. That would be embarrassing."

“You have to learn…”

"Lao Shang, I'm going to sleep at your place tonight!"

"And I!"

"I also……"

After coming back to their senses, Zhang Chang and the others started talking, obviously having gained a lot of experience and knowledge.

Not only them, but even Liu Jilong learned a lot of knowledge.

At the same time, an idea came to his mind, so he couldn't help but say:

"What Shandor said is very useful. It is very practical knowledge in marching and fighting."

"Once I settle down in Lanzhou, I plan to continue to offer literacy programs. While doing so, I can also compile this knowledge into a book and give it to the soldiers below to learn from."

Shang Duoluo was flattered by Liu Jilong's words: "This is just what I have gained from many years of experience. As for editing a book... I..."

"It's okay. Just tell me more about this and I'll write it." Liu Jilong chuckled to comfort him, then glanced at everyone and said:
"The army will set out tomorrow. As Shandor said, we will have to change our march and the troops."

"Shang Duoluo, I will temporarily appoint you as the military inspector to correct the unreasonable actions of the army on the way south. What do you think?"

"I will definitely fulfill your mission!"

Liu Jilian created a non-existent official position, and Shang Duoluo quickly accepted it. Zhang Chang and the others did not show any other expressions, and they were sincerely happy for Shang Duoluo.

After all, just now, Shang Duoluo had already demonstrated his experience in fighting in Longxi.

From this point of view alone, few people in the account dare to say that they are more familiar with Longxi than him, so it is appropriate for him to serve as the inspector.

"At this time, I have a question!"

Suddenly, Director Zheng who was sitting in the corner couldn't help but speak out, and everyone looked at him one after another.

Facing these gazes, Zheng Chu remained calm, stood up and bowed, saying: "Governor, since our army is going to Longxi, should we still call for the Guiyi Army?"

Zheng Chu's words made everyone turn their attention to Liu Jilian again. After all, they entered Longxi after going south this time, and Guiyi Army was the military name given to Zhang Yichao by the Tang court, and it was limited to Gua and Sha states.

If they use the Guiyi Army's military horn in Longxi, it would indeed feel a bit unjustified.

Liu Jilong did not get hung up on this: "Who cares? At most, we can call the Hexi people the Hexi Guiyi Army, and we will call ourselves the Longxi Guiyi Army!"

"Yes!" Zhang Chang immediately agreed, and Ma Cheng also echoed: "Why bother with the court so much? We just need to be comfortable with it. The court won't give us military pay anyway!"

"Let's call it the Guiyi Army!" Li Ji also said, "Unless the imperial court gives the governor of Longxi a banner, we won't change it!"

"Haha...that's right!" Geng Ming and Hu Shiguang also laughed.

Chen Jingchong, Shang Duoluo and Zheng Chu didn't say anything, but the smiles on their faces represented their attitudes.

Obviously, after the Tang court refused to grant the title of Hexi Jiedushi to Zhang Yichao, and Liu Jilian went to Longxi to set up his own faction, the generals in the account gradually became more open-minded.

They no longer fantasize about the prosperous Tang Dynasty, but return to reality and adapt to local conditions.

Liu Jilong watched all this and while he was happy, he couldn't help but have the idea of taking revenge on Tang Ting.

Don’t those guys in the temple want to use the Guiyi Army to restrict them? Then he will use the name of the Guiyi Army to make things bigger and see who will be the one to suffer in the end!
"Okay, it's getting late. I'll ask Cao Mao to prepare some food. After we eat, we can go back and rest."

Liu Jilong gave some instructions and then summoned Cao Mao, asking him to find the soldiers to get some food.

Although we left Shandan and lost so many herds, it was much more comfortable for everyone to share the joys and sorrows together than for one person to eat meat while the others drank soup.

Seeing that everyone is eating the same thing, I no longer have the urge to compare myself with others and naturally enjoy my meal.

Soon, the people who had eaten and drunk their fill dispersed one after another, and Shang Duoluo became a popular commodity.

Zhang Chang, Ma Cheng and others hugged him to rest, apparently wanting to squeeze out all of Shang Duoluo's experience in Longxi.

Seeing them talking and laughing, and leaving with a lot of noise, Liu Jilong couldn't help laughing.

But even though he was laughing, he still had a lot to do, such as summarizing the experiences and Longxi intelligence that Shang Duoluo had told him today.

After recording this information, Liu Jilong lay down to rest, and the candlelight at the bedside gradually went out.

It was not known how long it had been, but when Cao Mao woke him up, he got up, washed up briefly, and then began to command the army to break camp.

It was still dark outside the tent, and you couldn't see your hand in front of you.

Although it is midsummer, the cold wind is blowing and it is still a bit chilly.

Liu Jilong put on an embroidered robe and then walked around in the military camp.

In front of each tent there was a horse-drawn carriage or ox-drawn cart. The soldiers placed the tents, weapons, armor and food on the carts, and saluted Liu Jilong when they saw him.

Chen Jingchong and his men had already gotten up. Thirty-four thousand dan of grain was a lot, but five thousand horse-drawn and ox-drawn carts could only carry armor, weapons and twenty thousand dan of grain.

The remaining 14,000 dan of grain had to wait until Li Yizhong's 2,000 armored soldiers and 3,000 civilians arrived.

Fortunately, Li Yizhong did not keep them waiting for long, or rather, Zhang Huaishen did not keep them waiting for long.

As the sky grew brighter, noises began to be heard from the direction of Changsong, followed by a team whose end was not visible slowly moving eastward.

"The Jiedushi is also going to march eastward?"

"It should be, otherwise there wouldn't be so many people... Look, the Jiedushi's flag has appeared, it must be!"

On horseback, Zhang Chang and Li Ji were discussing the scene before them.

Liu Jilong turned around and looked behind him. There was no end in sight for the team of more than 7,300 people. If such a team entered the mountains, he would probably only be able to rely on reports from the pond soldiers to know the situation of the front and rear troops.

"Xu..."

As the Guiyi Army continued to advance, Zhang Huaishen and Li Yizhong also rode over with their elite cavalry.

They reined in their horses to the front of the army and looked at Liu Jilong.

"Governor, our men are at the end of the team, and there is still more than three miles to go. Let the brothers wait for a while."

Li Yizhong bowed to Liu Jilong, and Liu Jilong also nodded and turned back to give instructions to Zhang Chang and others.

After doing all this, Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Huaishen, who had been looking at him.

The two looked at each other but said nothing.

Not long after, as Suo Xun led the central army past, Zhang Huaishen finally spoke: "After you go to Longxi, don't be too eager for success."

"If things can't be done, it won't be too late to return to Hexi in a few years."

He was still dreaming of taking the position of Jiedushi of Hexi and then summoning Liu Jilian back to assist him.

But Liu Jilong's mentality has changed. From today onwards, he is his own master and no longer anyone's subordinate.

Therefore, facing Zhang Huaishen's words, he did not give an answer, but just bowed and said: "Go slowly!"

Seeing that he didn't respond, Zhang Huaishen's expression changed slightly, and his tone was apologetic: "Let's go..."

He shook the reins, joined the central army, and walked away gradually.

Half an hour later, two thousand armored soldiers and three thousand civilians led by Li Yizhong arrived, and there were more than four thousand horse-drawn carriages in the team.

After Liu Jilong instructed Shang Duoluo and Lieutenant General Li Yi to load the remaining food onto the trucks, he continued to look at Zhang Huaishen's troops.

The flag with the word "Zhang" on it fluttered in the air, but gradually fell down as the strong wind blew.

In contrast, the "Liu" flag behind Liu Jilian not only did not fall down due to the strong wind, but became even more stable.

After an unknown amount of time, a ray of sun rose in the east, and the Gansu-Liang army led by Zhang Huaishen disappeared completely.

"Governor, it's done!"

Zhang Chang rode his horse to Liu Jilong's side and spoke. Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong looked at the team behind him, took a deep breath and said:
"set off!"

(End of this chapter)