The Red Mansions Across the Four Seas

Chapter 424 Snow and Fire in the Dark Night

Qingshichuan is 120 miles away from Erdaojiang River.Because bluestone is produced here, it got its name.

The defense line of the Sidwa people actually started from here.Erdaojiang is just an outpost in the entire defensive posture of the Sidwa people.

The reason why Xi Mairui put down two thousand-man teams here is mainly because Qingshichuan's strategic position is very important.

This is one of the main traffic arteries on the South Vendura Grassland.

Starting from here, heading east is the Erdao River, which can go directly to Bukui.

To the south is the Three Eyes Well, which is also a strategic location.It is the most important business center on the South Wendu Grassland.

In the past, the meeting of the four major tribes in the South Wendura Grassland was often held in Sanyanjing.

Going north to the North Peak Pass of Wendula Mountain, after passing the North Peak Pass, you will find the vast North Wendula Grassland.

To the west, it passes Xiaobei River, Hongshilazi, Baoyin Hill, and leads to Horseshoe Mountain.

Horseshoe Mountain, located in the center of the South Vendura Grassland, is the home of the Sidwa people.Sidwa's tribal leader, Xi Mairui, led the main force of 5000 Sidwa people and stationed there.

After passing the Horseshoe Mountain and going west, it is the western hinterland of the South Wendura Grassland, which is already close to the desert area. Because it is relatively dry and the land is sparsely populated, there is basically no decent defensive force.

Qingshichuan was chosen as the first battle to recover South Wendura.

First of all, the enemy of Qingshichuan has been eliminated, so there is a viable force to wipe out the enemy.

These two thousand-man teams are the elite of the Sidwa people, and they belong to the part with the strongest combat effectiveness.

The second is to control this strategic road, which can effectively block the information communication channel and the most convenient reinforcement road between Beifengkou, Sanyanjing and Xiaobeihe.

Of course, the terrain on the grassland is flat, and other places can also be walked.However, the road conditions are much worse.

Especially under the cover of heavy snow, the landmarks are not obvious, and the terrain under the snow is unknown. It is easy to get lost and cause obstacles to marching.The speed and efficiency of marching will be greatly reduced.

The task of attacking Qingshichuan was undertaken by Jia Lian's first regiment.

The first regiment has three battalions, Jia Qiang, Jia Yun, and Qin Zhong. Wei Ruoshui's 240-member unit is temporarily assigned to the first regiment. Together, there are 800 people in total.

The heavy snow has been falling, there is no moonlight in the sky, only relying on the slight reflection of the white snow, it is difficult to identify the road.

Although the Fubing Corps often conduct night and snow march training, it is still not an easy task to actually walk.

It was snowing heavily, the weather was cold, and it was difficult to identify the roads, which were the factors that made it difficult to march.Weight is also a factor.

In addition to sleeping bags, food, drinking water, individual weapons and ammunition, Franc machine guns, serial guns, spray guns, accessory ammunition, kerosene, and fodder for livestock are all heavy loads.

In order to carry these supplies, they had to be pulled by horse sledges.This greatly reduces the speed of marching in the snow.

Despite this, the marching speed still reached twenty miles per hour.This is already a relatively ideal effect, basically reaching the original expectation.

Since the beginning of winter, the night patrols on the South Vendura Grassland have stopped, and now that there is such a heavy snowfall, no one comes out to patrol. Therefore, although the march along the way is difficult, it has been relatively smooth.

Jia Lian and Wei Ruoshui are now in the middle of the team.

"Second Brother Lian, Batu and Brother Meng, these two old boys, are probably dreaming sweet dreams right now? I wonder if when they are dreaming, will they dream that we are on their way to kill them?"

"Hmph, we didn't even think of it before, how could they think that we will come at this time?"

"Second brother Lian, I think we are the only ones in the entire Dade Empire in such a march and war."

"I think it's almost the same. If you don't say anything else, it's just that others can't stand it. Those old soldiers, who is willing to suffer like this?"

"That's because they don't understand. According to the words of Chief Min, this is not called suffering, but called taking advantage of the situation."

"Isn't it just the momentum in Sun Tzu's Art of War? We are using the three major forces. One is the force of the dark night, the other is the force of the wind and snow, and the third is the force of fire."

"This is the snow and fire in the dark night, enough for Batu and Meng Ge to drink a pot."

The two were talking when Niu Jizong, the deputy battalion commander of the first battalion, came back.

"Reporting to the head, we have arrived at the Three Streams."

"Send down the order to camp and rest on the spot. Eat, fetch water, feed the horses, check and organize the equipment, check the luggage, and distribute three cigarettes to each person. Be vigilant, eat and sleep, and set off on time at two o'clock."

Niu Jizong agreed and went back to deliver the order.

Jia Lian and Wei Ruo got off their horses, took out sleeping bags from their rucksacks, spread them out on the snowy ground by the side of the road, and sat on them.

Jia Lian took out a fire pocket, uncovered his coat, blocked the wind, and lit a cigarette.

This year, the cultivation and curing of tobacco in Servante has been successful.This year a batch of cigarettes was produced and distributed to soldiers during battles.Soldiers who smoke can live off their addiction.

Three Streams is the confluence of three small rivers.The reason for choosing this place for rest and preparation is that there is a water source, and you can dig ice to get water for horses.

Not only do people need supplementary food, but horses do too.After such a march, the horse's physical strength is also exhausted.

It's eleven o'clock in the evening, it's been more than five hours since we set off from Erdaojiang, and we're less than twenty miles away from Qingshichuan.After resting here, arrive at Qingshichuan around three o'clock to launch an attack.

At that time, it was the time when people slept the deepest.

Qingshichuan is close to the Luosun tribe, and more than 40 miles away, it is the original territory of the Luosun tribe.

Of course, it is now the territory of the Sidwa people.

As the conqueror of the South Vendura Grassland, it seems that he has the power to kill the people on this land.

Those who hold such power will not be stingy with the opportunity to use this power.

Batu and Meng Ge are no exception.

They are the commanders of the two Tatar thousand-man teams stationed in Qingshichuan.

Just yesterday, they went to the Luosun people.In order to please them, the Luosun people sent two singing girls.

Lady Luosun has always been known for being good at singing and dancing, and these two singing girls are the best of them.

Snowy nights are a good time for the powerful to have fun.

Batu and Meng Ge were drinking and having fun in the yurt at this time.Although it is the first moment of childhood, they still enjoy it.

Here is the spirit sold by Pu Kui, which is much stronger than the previous wine, and it tastes very strong.

Here is the most delicious lamb on the South Vendura grassland, which tastes soft and delicious.

Batu and Meng Ge have been friends for many years, and at this time they are stationed together again, and they are life-and-death friends who talk about everything.

"Brother Meng, the Votel people are really useless. So many people went into the mountain to search, and they forced the prince to run away. Recently, they also told Princess Chang'an to run away. If we went, we would have caught them long ago."

"Catching the prince and princess was originally a matter for our Sidwa people, but later we asked the Votel people to snatch this good job away. I wanted to catch two big fish, but I didn't expect that people didn't catch it. I have lost my army. Now, I am ashamed. How will they explain next year's alliance?"

"This time, the headman Xi Mairui wanted to raid Bu Kui for the sake of Princess Chang'an, right?"

As Batu spoke, an obscene smile appeared on his face.

"Of course it's for that woman. It is said that Princess Chang'an is beautiful, and our head Xi Mairui is naturally unwilling to let go of this good opportunity."

"Sigh, I'm afraid we've missed the best time to attack Bu Kui at this time. Now that Jia Min has returned to Bu Kui, and Wang Ziteng has more than 7000 people here, it will be much more difficult to succeed."

"There's no need to worry. After all, they are few in number. Let's dispatch [-] iron cavalry. When the time comes, we can kill people and set fire to them, and take advantage of the chaos to rob them."

"I'm not optimistic. The firearms of the Bukui people are too powerful. When we captured the prince last time, we suffered a big loss. It's difficult. It's better to take Princess Chang'an back to the imperial capital and intercept and kill him halfway. The chances of winning are great." some."

"Headman Xi Mairui also thought about this plan, but Chang'an stayed in Bukui. There was no chance to do anything. Now the envoy is negotiating with the imperial court in the imperial capital. The longer the delay, the worse it will be for us."

"Hey, after this heavy snowfall, I'm afraid it will be delayed for another ten days or eight days. If Chang'an is gone these days, it will be a waste of joy."

"Don't worry, if it snows here, it won't snow over there? With such heavy snow, it will be difficult to walk on the official road. Chang'an will be the lamb in our hands sooner or later."

"Has there been a letter from Liu Lun?"

"No, I guess it will come in two days. Oh, forget it, we don't have to worry too much about this matter. It's getting late. I'll go to check the post and go back to sleep by the way. "

"What else is there to check? It's snowing so hard, who will come? I went out just now, and the children have gone to sleep. You should go back to sleep too."

"That's right, with such heavy snow, the wolves will not come out, but the Bukui people will come? He dare not come because of his courage."

"That is, even if he dares to come, how can he come?"

With that said, Batu staggered away.

At [-]:[-] in the middle of the night, Jia Lian's first group arrived in Qingshichuan secretly.

It turned out that when Shi Terui was captured in Erdaojiang, he was planning to ask him to lead the way and deal with the sentries.When I arrived, I found that there were no sentries in the entire camp.

At 03:30, the first regiment completed the encirclement of the two thousand-man teams of Batu and Mengge.

Back then, in order to prevent Jia Min from showing up at the Golden Palace, Jia Qiao was hired by Niu Jizong and Ma Shangde to intercept and kill Jia Min on the road.Therefore, he was sentenced to exile and went to Bukui.

Later he joined the Fubingtuan and served under Qin Zhong's command.

When the prince was rescued last time, because of his bravery and outstanding performance in battle, he was promoted to be the company commander and transferred to Jia Qiang's command.

Now that Niu Jizong is the deputy battalion commander under Jia Qiang's command, the two became comrades-in-arms again under such circumstances.

This time, the task of the two of them was to lead a company, touch the stables, and drive more than 2000 war horses to the upper grassland.

More than 100 people quietly entered the stables and began to cut the reins. After 10 minutes, personnel withdrew.Twelve fire-breathing soldiers approached the stables with spray guns on their backs.

"Spit fire!"

When Jia Qiao gave an order, the stable immediately burst into flames.

The horses were frightened and rushed out of the stables frantically, running around.

With the rise of the fire, the battle to encircle and wipe out the two thousand-man teams in Qingshichuan officially began.

(End of this chapter)