In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 215 Running and Pursuing

"What day is it?" Gao Zhiyao asked suddenly, thinking of something.

"It's 21." Meng Ying said in a deep voice.

"How many days away is Fengxiang?" Gao Zhiyao asked again.

"War horses are six or seven days old, and cattle and sheep are at least half a month old."

Their more than 8 war horses were all driven away by the herdsmen and the Xiliang Mansion defenders, and they had to prevent getting lost in the middle, so they couldn't run fast on the road, and it took at least six or seven days to reach Fengxiang.

Not to mention cattle and sheep, at least half a month, or even a month.

Gao Zhiyao's face turned dark when he heard it: "If you guessed correctly, Wuwei City must have been destroyed. If the Mongolian army knew, they might send troops to chase after it?"

There were only a thousand Xixia soldiers, and the rest of the herdsmen couldn't fight at all, and they gave away their heads.

"Cross Taoshui first." Meng Ying said, "After crossing Taoshui, the soldiers will divide into two groups. The horses and some sheep will go to the Tianshui army. From the Tianshui army, they will cross the Qizhong Mountain and enter Sichuan via Qishan Road, not going to Fengxiang."

"We will have soldiers and horses coming to meet them. As long as we walk fast, we should be able to meet them."

After crossing Taoshui, it is closer to the Tianshui Army of the Southern Song Dynasty than to Fengxiang City.

The difficulty is that Sizhong Mountain is more difficult to walk, but with the Tianshui Army of the Song Army guarding there, as long as the horses and sheep enter Tianshui City, they can slowly climb the mountain and enter Sichuan without worrying about chasing soldiers.

But cattle cannot go to Tianshui Army, nor can they climb Sizhong Mountain. Meng Ying had already planned that most of the horses and sheep would go to Tianshui, and the cattle and the rest of the sheep and horses would go to Fengxiang.

"At the junction of Daxia River and Taoshui outside Hezhou City, there is Taolan Bridge. We have arranged for troops to guard there. As long as we cross the bridge, we will destroy the bridge immediately. If the Mongolian army wants to pursue them, they will have to detour. Get a day or so."

After Gao Zhiyao heard this, he could only let out a long sigh. A day's delay is a day, but a day or two is definitely not enough, and he will still be caught up sooner or later.

Unless it can defeat the pursuing Mongolian army, the Song army's combat power is not as good as our Xia army's?

He couldn't help but look at Meng Ying, Meng Ying didn't wear armor when she came here, she looked smarter, but she was still a little thin, not like a fierce general.

While the two were talking, groups of horses passed by them, and after tens of thousands of horses passed by, they couldn't wait for the cattle and sheep.

The cattle and sheep walked so slowly that the two couldn't help but look up, and when they met each other, they saw the darkness on each other's faces.

In order to drive away the cattle and sheep, thousands of herdsmen in Xiliang followed the cattle and sheep, and these people were left behind, which was very dangerous.

Thinking of this, Meng Ying couldn't help but said, "Fengxiang and Tianshui will definitely send troops to support them, and our people will replace yours at that time. In short, we will ensure that your people enter Sichuan safely."

Gao Zhiyao's face showed emotion, but he still said: "Only driving cattle and sheep, people from our herd station are more suitable."

"..." Meng Ying was speechless.

Before dark that day, they came to Taolan Bridge with the horse team.

Sure enough, there were Song troops on both sides of Taozhao Bridge.

The Song Army came with three teams, 33 people, led by Xu Daniu, the deputy head of the capital.

According to the new establishment, Xu Daniu is also a corporal leader, and the other two corporal leaders each lead ten people.

Xu Daniu's people arrived an hour earlier than Meng Ying and the others, and were setting things up by the bridge.

"Just—so few people here?" Gao Zhiyao thought how many Song soldiers there were, but he didn't expect more than 30 people to come.

However, these 30 people looked very elite, half of them wore armor, and the rest were leather armor, which was rarely seen by Xixia people before.

But the Zhajia of the Song Army is also found in Xixia. The Zhajia in front of me seems to be different, it looks lighter, and there are not many places to protect, especially a lot of pieces are missing on the back.

Gao Zhiyao knew that the infantry armor of the Song Army was too heavy, and many people could not wear it. Now it seems that the emperor of the Song Dynasty made improvements and reduced the weight, so most of the Song Army can easily wear it.

"We came first with two horses, and brought some food and water. Later, Deputy General Chen (Chen Xiaodao) brought a large team of horses and horses and rushed over. They brought a carriage, and they were much slower than us." Xu Daniu said.

"Why do you have to bring a carriage? Soldiers are so expensive." Gao Zhiyao said anxiously.

"From here to Fengxiang, there is no supply." Xu Daniu was helpless.

"..." Gao Zhiyao remembered that after entering the Song Dynasty, it was not easy to even supply cattle, horses and sheep.

Since Cui Yuzhi came to Sichuan again, the people of Song Dynasty have been like lunatics to fortify the walls and clear the fields in Linzhao Mansion, and even cut down a lot of trees around Fengxiang.

Now they have entered the territory of the original Linzhao Mansion. Fortunately, they have been walking along the Taoshui River, and there are still some grass and water on the roadside, otherwise the cattle, horses and sheep will starve to death in the Song Dynasty.

They were accompanied by thousands of households and herdsmen, plus a thousand Xixia troops, nearly [-] people. Although they brought a lot of food from Xiliang Mansion, and they could kill sheep and eat meat along the way, they always took precautions.

If all the sheep and cattle are chased by the Mongols, there will be nothing to eat later.

The Song people were thoughtful and brought a carriage and food over.

However, Gao Zhiyao obviously guessed wrong. Chen Xiaodao brought the carriage over to prevent the large Mongolian army from encountering in the wild. He could then form a carriage formation with the carriage and specially brought ten iron cannons.

At this time, the Mongolian army was mainly attacking Xixia. Meng Gong and Cui Yuzhi believed that even if the Mongolian army knew that the horses had been taken, they would send troops to chase after them. What progress has the army made after these two years of training?

Moreover, Meng Gong was young and energetic, so he specially told Chen Xiaodao not to be cowardly when encountering the Mongolian army, as long as the opponent's soldiers and horses are comparable to ours, they can fight if they can.

At this time, they were not afraid to turn against the Mongolian army, mainly because the defense line was basically established, and they wanted to delay the demise of Xixia.

It is best to distract the Mongolian army. Xixia can live for another year, which is a good thing for Sichuan and the entire Southern Song Dynasty.

Emperor Zhao Yurui did not want to start a war with Mongolia prematurely, but they gave Cui Yuzhi and Meng Gong great local autonomy. In addition, this is Sichuan, which is too far away from the capital, and history has always been local autonomy. The money for recruiting soldiers and levies is all done by yourself, without the consent of the capital.

Therefore, after discussing with Meng Gong, Cui Yuzhi and Meng Gong believed that the situation in Sichuan is relatively good now, and the training of soldiers and horses in the past two years is also good. He won't completely turn against Song.

In the original history, the Song army did not fight the Mongolian army. The Mongolian army still found a way to enter the Song Dynasty to fight the Song people. It's okay, bully if you can.

Gao Zhiyao and Meng Ying slept on the south bank of Taolan Bridge that night. After dark, they saw Song Jun digging and digging, and then learned that they buried gunpowder under the bridge.

Of course Xixia knows about gunpowder and uses gunpowder to defend the city, but can gunpowder blow up this bridge? At this time, the power of gunpowder in various countries is limited, and it usually has the effect of scaring people. Gao Zhiyao doesn't understand.

They got up before dawn the next day, and the horse team continued on their way. Meng Ying said that he would not leave, and would stay here to meet the cattle and sheep behind, and wait for Fengxiang and the Tianshui army Song army in the southeast.

In fact, Meng Gong only had soldiers from Fengxiang, not Tianshui, but in order to appease the Xixia people, he could only say so.

Fengxiang has more soldiers and more artillery, which can be pulled out to fight in the field. Tianshui army has fewer troops and less artillery, so it can only stick to the city.

Gao Zhiyao is also a fierce person. After listening, he signaled his family members to continue to Tianshui with the Song people and some cavalry. He also stayed here to cooperate with Meng Ying.

After dawn, Meng Ying planned to go ahead to look at the cattle and sheep. They followed the horse team, but they hadn't seen the cattle and sheep for several days, and they didn't know what was going on behind them.

Xu Daniu left a team to stand guard by the bridge, and led the rest of his men, two riders per person, to follow Meng Ying.

At that time Gao Zhiyao looked a little dazed.

People in the Song Dynasty used to be famous for their lack of horses, but now the Song army in Sichuan has begun to ride on both sides.

War horses don't seem to need money, it's all thanks to them Xixia.

"Deputy General Meng, please wear armor?" Before leaving, Xu Daniu held a new pair of armor with both hands, which they brought from Fengxiang City.

Meng Ying looked at it and waved to Gao Zhiyao: "Put armor on Gao Zhifu."

"No, no, no," Gao Zhiyao was a little embarrassed.

Without further ado, Xu Daniu took off his armor, Gao Zhiyao gave way to him, and finally put it on.

Xu Daniu was born in the Zhongshun Army in Yangzhou, not a local soldier in Sichuan. He is from the old army of Meng Zongzheng, and can be regarded as the Meng Family Army.

After putting on the armor, Meng Ying led more than [-] people, each riding on two horses, and rushed forward quickly.

The cattle and sheep were really slow, and they didn't see them until dark on the first day.

Meng Ying almost thought that all the cattle and sheep had been cut off by the Mongols.

Gao Zhiyao reassured him that he was definitely not intercepted, and someone would notify us if he was intercepted.

There are more than 1000 herdsmen following the cattle and sheep. These people are not good at fighting, but they are skilled in riding.

They slept near Lanzhou that night and continued to run the next day.

Finally, at about nine o'clock in the morning, I saw a black herd of cattle.

"Wozha should have bought us some time." Gao Zhiyao said excitedly when he saw the cattle.

Wo Zhachen fought the Mongols for one day first, then delayed for another day, buying them two days.

They traveled five or six days earlier than the Mongols, nearly seven days.

The war horses were far ahead. In Meng Gong's view, it would be no problem for the war horses to go back, but cattle and sheep were still a problem. It would take at least half a month to walk from here to Fengxiang.

Of course, after crossing the Taolan Bridge, most of the sheep can take a shortcut to Tianshui, but these 2 cows are worth a lot.

"Let the sheep speed up and walk in front of the cattle, how much can you bring?" Gao Zhiyao made a suggestion at this time.

The cattle are obviously too slow in the middle, and it also affects the sheep behind.

Meng Ying didn't understand these things, but Gao Zhiyao was an expert, so he immediately agreed.

Then the people in the herd began to drive the sheep faster, and the flocks of sheep passed the cattle and headed south.

Xu Daniu waited for Song Jun to stare dumbfounded, so many cattle and sheep?When can I finish eating?
"Ba..." Meng Ying slapped him on the head, and he knew to eat, eat, eat, these things need to be raised, and the more you raise, the better.

"There's no place to raise them in Shukou?" Xu Daniu said with a silly smile.

"Cows and sheep are going to be sent to Chengdu, and Chengdu Plain can raise any amount." Meng Ying said, the key point is that cattle can be used to cultivate land. There is no shortage of fertile land in Chengdu Plain, but there is a shortage of cattle.

But now in June, the weather is getting hotter and hotter. If there is no people from the herding station to take care of the road to Chengdu, it is estimated that a lot of people will die.

In this way, after entering the Song Dynasty, there was no way to provide fodder, and the people in the herdsmen brought some of them. The cattle and sheep were getting thinner and thinner. There was no way, they had to give priority to supplying war horses, and let the war horses go back first. It is estimated that this batch of cattle and sheep will starve to death all the way into Sichuan.

Now as long as you enter Sichuan, you can walk slowly. Cui Yuzhi has asked officials from all over the country to prepare fodder and fodder to help them, and they will raise them while walking along the road, even half a year to Chengdu.

On June 23, Meng Ying, Gao Zhiyao and others followed the cattle to Taolan Bridge.

The two were a little strange, because many days passed, and the shadow of the Mongolian army was not seen.

Under normal circumstances, if the Mongolian army doesn't say anything, the sentry cavalry should be approaching.

(End of this chapter)