A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 673
"The Han people are really rich, especially the Jingbian Army."

The short and sturdy Garede and Tabunang devoured the braised mutton, and the aroma of the meat permeated the air, making the two of them salivate wildly while eating.

Fat sheep, still braised in soy sauce, where have you ever eaten such high-quality food on the grassland?Even if the Naadam Festival is nothing more than a roasted sheep, the taste is not worth mentioning. On weekdays, milk tea, dairy products, wheat noodles, fried rice, etc. are the main food, and the bitter days of full and hungry.

People in the world have the impression that grassland peoples roast whole sheep at every turn, but actually killing sheep for food is a big deal.

Just like the people in the Central Plains slaughter pigs on festivals, there are seasonal requirements. The sheep must be killed when they are fattest. Otherwise, they will kill chickens to get their eggs.
It is impossible for a tribal leader to eat cattle and sheep frequently, and for a landlord in the Central Plains, it is impossible to eat white flour every day.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The chattering nonsense continued, beside Galed and Tabunang, there were Mongolians with "Huhele" hairstyles, and everyone laughed and laughed, eating meat and drinking salty milk tea.

Although the tea leaves are not good, they are only brewed from green brick tea or black brick tea, but these Mongolians are already satisfied.

Tea is the life of grassland peoples, and it is impossible not to drink tea for a day.

And the vat of vegetables also made these Mongolians happy.

Why would they rather have one meal a day than tea three times a day?It is because there is a lack of vegetables on the grasslands, and vegetables are expensive on the grasslands, and only the leaders of the big tribes can enjoy them on weekdays.

"Galed, this time I must cut off the heads of a few Tumet savages and make a military contribution."

Tabu Nang sipped his milk tea while talking to Garrard.

"Well, merit must be done, but swords and arrows have no eyes, so be careful, I don't want Addu to lose a man in the future."

Gallard's temper will be calmer, and he said solemnly.

Tabu Nang is an outstanding warrior in the tribe. He grew up with his younger sister. In the words of the Han people, they are childhood sweethearts. Galed approves of the two being together.

He also has plans, hoping to make military exploits, become a native of the barbarians, and share the grassland, so that his family's life will be guaranteed in the future.

He silently took out his weapons and wiped them. His equipment was a pair of ancestral willow leaf armor, a crescent knife, a horn bow, and a spear with hooks on it, which could pull the opponent's cavalry off their horses. Two horses, one for the main ride and one for carrying some baggage.

The tabu pouch is similar, but the armor is a pair of ring armor. Like the willow leaf armor, it is made of cooked cowhide, with iron sheets on the surface, and there are mottled traces of time on it. It seems that there is a faint smell. After all, the leather The nails are all tanned with dung.

These leather armors are thick and covered with iron sheets, which have better protection against bows and swords. Of course, if they encounter stabbing attacks such as swords and spears, they will have little effect.

In addition to the horn bow and horse fighting weapons, Tabu Nang is an ax and a hammer. He is strong and likes to use these heavy weapons.

Looking at the Mongols in this area, Galed and Tabu Nang are less equipped, and only occasionally see a pair of willow leaf armor or ring armor. After all, there are more than 200 of them, and they do not belong to any big tribe, but Zhaowu It's just a hematoxylin under the banner of Dameng Naiman.

The entire Naiman tribe, twelve Zhalan (participant leaders), fifty Sumu (zuo leaders), and the headman Gunchuk, in the first year of Chongde, he was named the king of Doro Darhan County, named Zasak, and lived in Huangzhou. On the south bank of the confluence of the Laoha River and Laoha River, there is a pasture land 95 miles wide and 220 miles long.

However, last year when the Jingbian army went out of the fortress, the Naiman tribe was hit. Su Mu Zhangjing Lu Boluo took the opportunity to leave, and the leaders of the tribe turned to Wang Dou. Because they absorbed the scattered herdsmen of the Naiman tribe, the population of the Luboluo tribe has increased a lot. .

However, according to the standards of the Jingbian army, they can only pull out two hundred horsemen and horses, and those with armor, less than fifty, a lot of people, but there are some iron pieces inside the leather robes, which are like cotton armor, which was used at the earliest It's the Mongols.

You can see the whole leopard at a glance. The Mongols in the grassland have declined and are no longer as powerful as they used to be. The Mongols in the Mongol and Yuan Dynasties, not to mention armor, were famous for their heavy cavalry.

Knights have thick leather armor, iron armor, chain mail, etc., even horses are covered with iron armor, shields are also wrapped in metal, and soldiers have copper and iron helmets on their heads.

Because of the good protection, the Europeans scattered arrows like rain, and the arrows on the armor were like clusters, and they would not be seriously injured.

But at present, even if the equipment is poor, the Mongols such as Galed are still willing to fight for a better life, hoping to make military exploits.

……

"Come on, brother Han, I wish you a smooth trip and a successful start."

In the big tent, there are the Han Dynasty, the Xuanwu Army's middle army, Lei Xianbin, the general of the middle battalion, Xie Shangbiao, the general of the left battalion, Tian Qiming, the general of the right battalion, Qi Tianliang, the ambassador of the logistics department, Sun Sanjie, the general of the supply battalion, and the newly attached The battalion officer Zeng Yiyi and others took their seats.

There was a slight chill outside, but it was warm inside the tent. On the desk, there was a lot of wine and meat, and everyone ate comfortably.

But even though there is a lot of meat, there is not much wine. This is because they are about to go to war, and the military law is not to drink too much. People like Lei Xianbin, Xie Shangbiao, and Zeng Yiyi who are good at drinking can only have fun.

Qi Tianliang and Han Chao are old acquaintances, when he and Wang Dou came out on the same road, they spoke at this moment with very sincere concern.

"Thanks to Brother Qi's auspicious words."

Han and North Korea drank it all in one gulp. This time, he was able to stand alone on the Western Front. With his calmness, he was also slightly excited in his heart.

Years passed, Qi Tianliang was still so skinny, but he had cultivated his temperament, cultivated his body, and cultivated his tolerance.

Putting down his wine glass, he stroked his beard, looked at Han Chao and said slowly: "The battle on the Western Front was watched by the general, and the people of Xuanda also watched it. The general has a lot of weight in his heart... so this battle must be fought well, and the majesty of the Xuanwu Army must be fought."

Han Chao nodded. He knew that among the generals of the Jingbian Army, Wen Fangliang was probably the only one who could truly stand alone in the heart of the general, but he would prove himself with facts.

Tian Qiming, the general of the Right Battalion, was originally Tian Changguo Ding. After so many years, he has fully integrated into the Jingbian army system, but he still maintains a shrewd and smooth personality.

He laughed and said: "Ambassador Qi's words really impressed the generals, but I believe that as long as there is more food and grass, the Xuanwu Army will definitely show its prestige and momentum under the leadership of the captain."

Qi Tianliang laughed. In fact, he and people like Tian Qiming got along better. He solemnly said: "Don't worry, don't say that the military law is here... In terms of personal friendship, I'm sure I will also fully support Lao Qi." Brother Han, there is no need to worry about the supply of food and grass."

Tian Qiming hurriedly said: "With Ambassador Qi's words, the general can rest assured."

Han Chao got up from the case, walked to the huge map hanging by the tent, looked at it for a long time, and said slowly: "According to the strategy of the Chief of Staff, we only need to set up five villages along the way, and our army on the western front will win more than half of it." Even if the cavalry is harassing, it can't change the general situation, the only way is to fight with me, and the matter of Monan can be settled in one battle!"

Lei Xianbin and the former Huang Yujin were subordinates of the Han Dynasty very early on. He faintly guessed the hidden worries in the heart of the general. He rubbed his face and said: "Even if there are twists and turns when the army goes out of the fortress, victory is inevitable. I'm afraid the Tartars will see it." The situation is not good, flee to Mobei."

"...Even if they occupy Guihua City, they may repeat the history of the Central Plains. When they were strong, the Tartars avoided the king's division, and even moved westward and northward. When they were weak, they came back and went south again. "

Xie Shangbiao has a rough personality, even if he speaks on weekdays, it is like a roar. He said: "It is impossible to escape. If the Tartars in Guihua City and other places want to flee to Mobei, they will flee as early as after the letter is sent... They can't bear to be indifferent. It’s the beautiful land in the south.”

He said: "Besides, our Jingbian army occupied Guihua City and controlled the front line of Monan, so what if the Tartars fled to Mobei? Cross the desert, chase them and beat them to death...we will control Mobei later. Any Tartars who dare to come in will be killed."

Han Chao nodded slightly, Lei Xianbin and Xie Shangbiao had also been tempered, both of them were both rough and fine, and had a good sense of the overall strategic situation.

The matter of the grassland is like this. If the Central Plains has always been strong, the Hu people on the grassland have never been a problem. Unfortunately, there is no dynasty that does not decline. The power of the Central Plains shrinks. Huns, Wuhu, Turks, Mongolia, etc., wave after wave.

However, when chatting with Wang Dou on weekdays, Han Chao has a vague feeling that the current world structure is different. If the Hu people are eliminated or driven away this time, they will not be able to come back.

"Don't talk about that," he said.

Talking about the luggage with Qi Tianliang and Sun Sanjie, Qi Tianliang said: "Brother Han, according to the plan ahead, in addition to some of the luggage of Brother Sun, the two second-class battalions of your Xuanwu Army will also be transported together. , a wheelbarrow for each team, and a flatbed cart for the team, in addition to carrying grain and grass, there are also leather bags and water tanks..."

"The outside of the Great Wall is no better than the interior. I often walk tens or hundreds of miles without seeing a drop of water. People and animals can't do without drinking water..."

……

On August [-], Han and North Korea looked at the army below, with clear banners, strict guns and guns, and the military capacity was at its peak.

Every soldier is also wearing winter clothes at this time. The temperature in the grassland is lower than that in the mouth, and there are ultraviolet rays mentioned by the general. It is not enough to wear thin clothes, and there are densely packed carts and horses.

Han Chao shouted: "I am the Xuanwu Army."

"mighty!"

"I am the Xuanwu Army."

"mighty!"

The soldiers below shouted like a mountain roar and a tsunami.

"set off!"

According to the conclusion of the intelligence department's spying outside the Great Wall, the staff department has formulated a detailed marching route. Under the leadership of the intelligence department personnel, the western expedition army will use the new attached battalion as the forward, and the two second-class battalions will be the central army. The rear of the battalion feather cavalry.

On this day, we traveled westward for dozens of miles, but along the way we saw barren mountains and weeds, dotted with some shrubs and birch trees, a desolate scenery outside the Great Wall, because the terrain does not have much ups and downs, it is still easy for military vehicles to move.

However, due to the lack of water sources along the way, the army consumed a lot of drinking water this day, especially the horse mules in the army, which were a big drinker.

On the fourth day, the army began to walk through some shallow mountains and valleys, a large area of ​​dense meadows, as deep as the horse's belly, and patches of poplars, birches, and larch trees were layered on top of each other in the valleys and mountains.

At this time, the weeds are yellowing, yellow leaves are piled up on the roads, and there are many rat holes. Horses are often on them, and vehicles are even more difficult to push.

However, there are many magnificent colors in the mountains, and sometimes springs and streams can be seen emerging, which can replenish drinking water for the army.

Han and North Korea are very cautious. These areas are places where people and horses can be hidden. The army sentry and cavalry try to expand the search area as much as possible.

The soldiers looked around vigilantly as they went forward. The sharp sentry battalion did not close at night, and intelligence had already been sent that there were active figures of Tartar cavalry in the Daqingshan and Dongyang River areas.

(End of this chapter)