My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 521 If we hold firm, there's a way!

The sound of horses' hooves echoed outside the military camp as more than a hundred riders returned.

The entire military camp is somewhat like an aircraft carrier, constantly launching troops outwards and simultaneously recalling them.

When the knights went out of camp to play a game of 'cat and mouse' with the enemy, they only carried five days' worth of rations. They would return to camp to rest and regroup when their food supplies ran out or when they suffered too many casualties.

Every day, Gao Yu would take time to personally greet the returning knights at the entrance of the camp.

Boosting morale and inspiring people can also be considered a way of "winning people's hearts".

With snow and wind raging, everyone was gritting their teeth to ward off the bitter cold. What did it matter that he was enjoying himself in his tent?
Although Gao Yu possessed unparalleled prestige, prestige is something that can be depleted. He needed to replenish his prestige day after day and constantly exert influence over the army in order to ensure that his true base of support, namely the lower and middle-ranking soldiers, would always be loyal to him.

these days.

Gao Yu had been secretly observing that, despite the snow and wind, the morale of the army remained at a relatively high level.

This is certainly due to the buff provided by Gao Yu, the "Xiang Yu of our time" and the "Invincible God of War," personally overseeing the central army.

More importantly, there is a comprehensive logistical support system.

Because Gao Yu had already planned to wage war in winter, he had Gao Huan begin preparing winter supplies well in advance.

Each soldier on the front lines was equipped with a set of cotton-padded clothing.

Cotton-padded clothes are not the same as cotton-padded clothes.

Gao Yu has already begun to have Liu Taozhi send a caravan to Central Asia and India to bring back cotton seeds, but they haven't been officially promoted yet.

Cotton is either grown in Xinjiang.

However, Xinjiang at present is divided into several small kingdoms such as Beiliang, Kucha, Khotan, Shule, Wusun, and Yueban. Gao Yu has not even unified the north yet, so how can he spare the strength to conquer these places?

Alternatively, it is grown in places along the Yellow River, such as Hebei and Shandong.

It's the same old problem.

The country was not yet unified and was still in the process of unification. Wars were needed, and wars required provisions. Land was naturally prioritized for growing crops.

As for cotton?

After unifying the country, we can promote it as a project to improve people's livelihood. Right now, getting the seeds back in advance can allow Jia Sixie and his team to think about whether the planting techniques and cotton seeds can be improved in a small-scale experimental field.

If all else fails, we can summarize the planting techniques and then promote them.

The so-called cotton-padded clothes are actually just cloth-lined jackets stuffed with leftover silk floss from silk reeling and weaving. This stuff is not suitable for weaving, so it is used as a means of keeping warm.

The ancients were simply limited by the level of development of their time, but they were not stupid.

Whether it's clothing, food, housing, transportation, or even military campaigns, everything is developed to its fullest potential based on existing productivity and technology.

By this time, cotton-padded clothing had evolved to include more than just cotton stuffing inside.

High-ranking officials and nobles could use bird feathers, while the poorer ones used reeds for a long time.

As early as the Former Han Dynasty, in order to facilitate winter warfare, people would even stuff patches into cotton clothing to make what is known as cotton armor.

However, this thing was impractical, had poor defense, and only average cold resistance, so it was quickly phased out.

The soldiers preferred to wear both armor and cotton clothing at the same time rather than use cotton armor.

Of course.

When it really came down to fighting the enemy, most people wouldn't even wear padded clothes, but would go straight into battle clad in their cold armor. Wearing armor and padded clothes was too bulky and inconvenient for movement, so it was better to endure the cold in exchange for agility, which could often save their lives.

Is it bitter?

Natural suffering.

Throughout history, military service has always been a tough job, and in most cases, people would not easily choose to join the army unless absolutely necessary.

"Greetings, Prime Minister!"

Upon returning to camp, Gao Yang took the initiative to approach Gao Yu.

Gao Yang looked exhausted, covered in dirt, and had bloodstains on his body, but his eyes were bright and piercing.

"Get up, you must be tired from fighting outside."

"My lifelong wish is to lead troops and fight for my uncle. What is there to suffer?"

Gao Yu smiled, showing no disgust whatsoever, and simply patted him on the shoulder.

This is a man's recognition of another man.

"Go down and rest first."

"Here!"

........................

Helianda was not the only one who led his troops in retreat.

Li Bi, Wang Xiong, and others were all the same; it wasn't that they weren't brave enough, nor did they always encounter fierce men like Da Xi Wu and She Di Gan.

The main reason was that Gao Yu's knights were too brave.

The excessive casualties were simply too much for them to handle.

Originally, they planned to infiltrate behind enemy lines to sabotage and raid the grain transport team. However, before they even made contact with the grain transport team, they ended up fighting with the elite knights who were "escorting" them from the outside.

They were incredibly lucky and bumped into a grain transport convoy. Guess what happened?

The auxiliary soldiers who transported the grain were all ruthless individuals.

Even after being attacked, they can always form a battle formation immediately, even if there is some panic!

In the dead of winter, crossbows were unusable, so they couldn't use rockets to ignite the grain wagons from a distance. And once the enemy formed a defensive line using the grain wagons and supply wagons, the cavalry simply couldn't break through their lines.

There's just no solution to that.

To minimize unnecessary losses, they ultimately chose to gather their surrounding soldiers and regroup at their camps, rather than remain outside.

But how could Gao Yu's knights let them have their way?
Come and go as you please, come and go as you please, go and go as you please?

A fierce pursuit resulted in heavy losses for Li Bi and his men, as they dared not linger for long and were ultimately beaten into submission.

After returning to camp.

Hebasheng summoned everyone to his tent.

Looking at everyone's disheveled and tired appearance, it was clear without asking that things hadn't gone smoothly.

"The Prime Minister sent a messenger with a military order, instructing us to remain in place and rest until the enemy begins their attack on the city, at which point we will seek a better opportunity."

Helenda was quite unwilling.

"Why should we fear them? General, I urge you to inform the Prime Minister and request that he transfer some elite cavalry from Gaodu and Bingzhou to us. We will surely achieve our goals!"

Hebasheng shook his head.

"Gaodu and Bingzhou are currently unable to provide support to us... Don't you know that enemy troops are also approaching from Shangdang?"

Helianda clenched his fist, and Wei Xiaokuan, who was standing next to him, reached out and pulled him up, saying quickly, "The soldiers under Gao's command are indeed brave."

Li Bi also spoke up, "I met a man named She Digan, who was exceptionally brave and fought me for dozens of rounds without a clear winner."

"I also met a man named Daxi Wu."

Hebasheng sighed and said, "You have been in Guanzhong for a long time and do not know the details. Under Mohedu's command, there are many brave and fierce generals like Daxi Wu and Shedi Gan... especially the Shuang Cao."

"Even if I encountered either of them, I would be powerless against them. These two are currently still within the territory of Bingzhou."

Hebasheng was also the bravest in the army under Erzhurong, and his bravery intimidated everyone.

However, he dared not be careless when facing Gao Feng and Lu Cao.

Seeing that the morale of the crowd was somewhat low, Hebasheng quickly said, "There are also brave generals like you in the army, so there is no need to worry."

"Mo He is currently very powerful, so we should avoid his sharp edge for the time being. In this freezing weather, I don't believe his men can maintain high morale forever!"

"When their siege fails and their morale is low, we can seize the opportunity to strike and beat them while they're down!"

"In the end, we were well-rested and waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, while Moheduo had traveled a long and arduous journey!"

To sum it up.

Hold on firmly and there will be a way.

The defender's advantage is not so easily erased.

Everyone was silent.

What other options are there?
If they were capable of fighting Gao Yu in the wild, how could Gao Yu have pushed the battle line all the way to such a forward position?

After suffering a series of setbacks, Helianda finally came to terms with reality.

He couldn't help but ask, "General, you always praise Gao the bandit's bravery. Just how brave is Gao the bandit?"

None of them had ever fought Gao Yu in person, so naturally they didn't know.

Hebasheng sighed.

“When Duke Chenliu launched his northern expedition, my two brothers and I met Moheduo for the first time. During the training before the expedition, Moheduo fought against all three of us without being at a disadvantage. At that time, he was only fifteen or sixteen years old.”

Helianda was taken aback. "So... brave and fierce?"

If nothing else...

In any case, none of the people present here could do such a thing.

This gave them a more concrete understanding of Gao Yu's bravery and made them realize why Hebasheng was so wary of Gao Yu.

He fought the three Herba brothers and held his own.

Even so, Hebasheng was still a little careful with his wording.

At that time, Gao Yu's warhorse could no longer bear the strain and collapsed from exhaustion.

If the warhorse hadn't fallen, the result might not have been a draw.

That scene was still vividly etched in Hebasheng's mind.

"Otherwise... why do you think the Prime Minister and the late Emperor valued Mo Hedu so much back then?"

"Do you really think 'like a reincarnation of the ancient overlord' is just flattery?"

"This is not flattery, it is the truth."

(End of this chapter)