The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 166: Strike first to gain the upper hand

Since the Hetao area is fertile, why not build the Great Wall in the north of the Hetao area, but in the south of the Shanyu area?

Because the current Great Wall is located in the hills, with the desert edge on the left and the Yanshan Mountains on the right, the Hetao area is the only protruding part. Therefore, it is easy to break through if the Great Wall is built here. Therefore, the surrounding areas form a corner and give up the Hetao area.

Although they gave way, they were still under the nose of the Zhou army and could be attacked at any time, which led to the current situation in Hetao.

In the Dabansheng area, you can go anywhere you want, and there are roads in any direction. As you go south, you will gradually reach hills and begin to see mountains, and the role of roads becomes apparent.

The road was not built, but it became a road after people walked on it more often.

After passing a water bubble, they had to officially enter the hilly area from a mountain road. The Hexi Cheying strictly followed the marching regulations.

In this kind of environment, if you encounter an enemy attack and cannot form a large formation, each unit will form its own small formation, with each unit leaning against each other, back to back, fighting for each other. This tests the tacit understanding and trust between the units, and only I would dare to do this.

Wang Xin couldn't help but smile, expressing his confidence in his subordinates.

Soon, there will be a vast oasis with abundant water. If I remember correctly, it is the headquarters of a certain cow in the future.

The last time we marched was hasty, we didn't have much information, and the situation was unclear. I wonder if I'll have the chance to go and see what it's like this time when a certain bull is setting up its headquarters in this unknown place.

Wang Xin was riding a horse, not feeling nervous at all. Instead, he felt a little relaxed and thought about many things.

"Bahhhhh."

"General."

A soldier was stopped and quickly identified. After approaching, he said, "The oasis ahead has been occupied by someone flying the banner of the Chanyu tribe."

"They did come."

The cavalry led by Zhang Can is an important unit of the entire army, whether in attack or defense, so it is not surprising that it stays in the headquarters. He has been in Datong for many years, so how could he not know it?

"Are you just flying the Chanyu's banner?" Wang Xin asked.

"General, yes, they discovered us even though we were flying the Chanyu's banner."

Wang Xin pondered for a moment and came up with an idea: "Go and find out their purpose and whether they have other troops."

After that, Wang Xin said to Zhang Can, "The road ahead is blocked by them. If they are hostile, hold this place. We can only attack. Get ready."

"My unit's main attack?"

"Attack for nothing." Wang Xin cursed with a smile, "Wait for my order."

Zhang Can left in a depressed mood.

The tactics of the chariot camp are very rigid, and they have thick health and high defense, but their movements are stiff, so the importance of Zhang Can's cavalry is highlighted. They can act as a "lubricant" to buy more time for the chariot camp to switch, or to seize opportunities.

For example, last time, if there had not been the cavalry, the horse thieves would not have had to run away, and they would not have been "intentionally" driven to the front of the artillery.

I don't know Fatty Feng's trump card, so I need to keep Zhang Can's most flexible troops ready at all times. They may never be used, so it's foolproof.

"L."

"L."

The trumpet sounded, and the entire army was clearly visible. All units stopped advancing, and officers on horseback rushed to the center of the army. At the same time, each officer commanded his own unit, holding a small yellow flag and shouting, "All squads, report your number" and "All teams, report your number."

"sit!"

"Crash."

Each unit sat down in its own team. At the same time, scouts were sent out, either to open-view areas, or to high places, or when encountering mountains and forests, several people would cooperate. One person would be in the sight of others, so they would go around the mountains and forests in this way, ready to give warnings at any time.

They looked out for each other, held flags in their hands, and waved them constantly when they encountered the enemy.

There are also various regulations for the headquarters.

Even drinking water during a march had complex rules, from the smallest detail to the smallest detail. Rules governed the circumstances, the orders, and how to drink. Without strict military discipline, this was impossible. The trumpets stopped only after all the commanders had reached the main banner.

Wang Xin inquired with various departments, such as determining the number of artillery shells and gunpowder for the Portuguese, the number of lead bullets for the musketeers, the bows and arrows for the archers, and the food and horse grass for the entire army.

Although they were leaving the country, the chariot camp still carried a certain amount of horse grass.

After all the questions were asked, the generals returned to their teams. At the same time, each team raised a flag to tell the commander that their generals had returned.

Such a meticulous daily routine will drive some impatient people crazy, and will also make many elite generals dissatisfied, and they may even agree verbally but fail to do it in reality.

Over the past few years, whether it was the Yangzhou Camp or the establishment of the Hexi Camp, including the absorption of various departments, many people were continuously eliminated.

Among those eliminated, many are treasures in the eyes of others.

For example, when he wanted to eliminate a fierce general named Hua Yan under Liu Tong's command, Liu Tong was very reluctant to let him go. When this man finally left, he was quite resentful of him and always felt that he looked down on him.

But what I told Huayan was the truth.

If a talent like Hua Yan were to go to other armies, others would be too busy to snatch him away. But in his own hands, his strengths could not be fully utilized.

By the same token, many generals in his army are highly valued by him and can play a huge role, but once they leave the Hexi Camp, they may not be useful to others and may even be despised.

For example, Zhuo Zhi was courageous, but he was not brave enough or passionate enough. However, he was very meticulous. In the environment of Hexi Camp, he was not only very adaptable to the cumbersome military discipline, but he was also very satisfied with it and was happy to do so.

The tactics of the Chariot Camp and the Mandarin Duck Formation are completely different, but the core ideas are the same.

Concentrate all your efforts, even down to the role that every soldier plays, to build the entire collective and unleash all your strength. This requires sacrificing a certain amount of self and obeying the entire collective.

So whether it was Liu Tong or Tang Ping, these originally diverse people became more and more similar after being forged in the Hexi Camp. Even though they looked different, had different personalities, and different abilities, they seemed as if they were carved from the same mold.

"General, they said there was only the Chanyu tribe, no one else."

"General, they asked you to come over and meet them."

"Please come over, Chanyu."

"General, they are asking why you disobeyed military orders and demanding that you go with them to Datong to meet with Feng Jiedu."

"General, Zhao Zhubu is over there. Please come over and see him."

"Please ask Zhao Zhubu to come over."

After some probing, both sides realized that the other had seen through everything, but the Chanyu's army controlled the key points and blocked the Hexi Camp's way back, and it seemed that they were going to exhaust the Hexi Camp.

"Boom."

"Boom."

"Boom."

Three cannon shots were fired and the entire army set off.

The Hexi Camp took the first action.

Wang Xin ordered the flags to be waved, and Tang Ping's artillery battalion moved first, firing at a part of the Hu cavalry.

The other side was completely stunned. Wang Xin only had two thousand people and was at a disadvantage, but he dared to attack. How reckless was he? Did he know the gap between the two sides?

Shuoerhui was so angry that he cursed loudly, leaving behind dozens of dead and wounded soldiers, and hundreds of Hu cavalry scattered in a panic.

On the distant slope, seeing Wang Xin suddenly take action, the Chanyu sighed. He had originally thought of capturing the leader first to reduce casualties, but although this man was young, he was like a hedgehog, making it difficult to know where to start.

It seemed like he had no choice but to resort to force, so he said impatiently, "Let Shuo Erhui do it."

(End of this chapter)