Chapter 995 Non-refundable
It's winter.
The winter wind on the banks of Qinghai Lake is bitingly cold, and when you wake up in the morning, a sheet of hoarfrost covers the ground. The ground is frozen hard, and the cow felt tent is as hard as a piece of iron.
In this season, staying outside is undoubtedly suffering.
"The herdsmen on the grassland have already moved to sheltered valleys for the winter, but we still have to drink the northwest wind here every day, it's a bitch."
By the lakeside of Qinghai, a team of Dangxiang Qiang cavalry who were ordered to reconnaissance marched forward against the north wind with difficulty. The sheepskin robes on their bodies could not block the biting cold wind. The hot air he exhaled quickly condensed into frost on his beard.
"The wind is getting stronger and stronger, it looks like it's going to snow heavily, what are we aimlessly looking for in this wilderness?"
"That's right, Tuyuhun people are not stupid, how could such a day come."
"Murong Cheng is not a fool. Now that there are 100,000 troops gathered around Haiyan Fort, how stupid is he to rush in?"
"If I were Murong Cheng, I would just go straight to the east, or simply avoid the edge and let the cold wind block us and defeat us. How can I do it myself?"
Several party knights complained on the horse.
The party knights leading the team just kept silent and rode their horses slowly.
"Stop talking so much nonsense, what's the point of blowing a little wind outside here, we are still afraid of this frost knife and wind sword? You want to go back now, do you want to learn the military skills of General Hou? Do you want to hang up and clean up and whip a leather whip? , or hitting the ground with a stick?"
"If you meet him in a bad mood, maybe your complaining tongue will be cut off!"
A knight was not convinced and said, "Hou Junji is a **** mess, all kinds of troubles, if you want to fight, fight as soon as possible. Earlier, Qiu Gaoqishuang just marched quickly, but he was tossing left and right, gathering from Shanzhou and then It's been a few months since we set off, no matter how stupid Murong Cheng is, he can't just stay there and let you fight, right?"
"That's right, this Hou is far worse than Qin Tianwang. Qin Tianwang was so decisive when he used his troops at the beginning."
Although they were once beaten by Qin Lang, the Dangxiang Qiang fighters who had always been tough were completely convinced by this. After several battles, the Qiang people lost their temper at all.
And although Qin Lang and Qin Qiong defeated them terribly and broke down their last bit of self-confidence, they did not kill Dang Xiang and even asked the court for a good solution. Dang Xiang Qiang has been in Jiannan for the past few years Under the protection of Jinglue and Songzhou governor Qin Qiong, life is relatively stable.
The party members no longer formed an alliance with Tuyuhun, nor did they plunder the Tang Dynasty. The tribe sells livestock, furs, medicinal materials, ores, etc., and life is very nourishing.
Compared with before, it is indeed much better.
In the past, before winter, they would slaughter most of the male cattle and sheep, and freeze the meat for the winter. This would also reduce the consumption of forage, and allow other cows, ewes, sheep and their young to survive the winter safely.
But now, they kill less, and sell most of the cattle and sheep to Tang merchants directly before winter, in exchange for money or wheat millet, salt, tea and cloth. It is much more cost-effective to replace cattle and sheep with grain.
Not to mention, their cheese ghee has become a valuable treasure now. In the past, things like salt, tea, and cloth were extremely expensive, but in the past few years, as Dangxiang surrendered to Tang Chen and the border market was liberalized, these things became cheaper and cheaper.
Even many iron products such as iron pots and pots are not as strictly controlled as before, making life much more convenient.
Now the ministries keep fewer cattle and sheep in the winter, anyway, in exchange for food to eat, so everyone will not fight frequently for the limited pastures that can survive the winter, let alone bury them for the winter because of a sudden heavy snow. The grass froze to death and the livestock had to attack and plunder each other.
Now even if a disaster occurs, it is not so terrible. There is still food to eat without cattle and sheep. If the cattle and sheep are frozen and starved to death, the leather goods can still be valuable. Even the meat can be slaughtered immediately and then frozen and sold to reduce losses. There is no need to kill and grab this step.
There are fewer wars, and the population is recovering faster.
In the previous hard battles with Tang, those who were annihilated and killed, captured as slaves, and moved away later, the Eight Departments of the Dangxiang lost a lot of people. They have recovered a lot in recent years of recuperation.
All of this, of course, the party members also remember in their hearts, and they are also in awe and gratitude to the Qin family father and son.
"If you want me to tell you, if Duke Wei hadn't left Longyou and returned to the imperial court in exchange for this bird Hou Junji who came to proclaim the Qinghai Road, and let this surnamed Hou mess around here, he wouldn't be here now. There’s no such thing as a mess.”
"No, if Duke Wei is still in Longyou, who would dare to blow a thorn in Tuyuhun?"
"Qin Taibao was called back by the sage for more than two years before Murong Cheng dared to be arrogant, and even that little fan dared to go north."
In the eyes of these Dangxiang Qiangqi, Qin Lang is the Heavenly King of the Tang Dynasty, and with his Longyou, no one here dares to be disrespectful to the Tang Dynasty.
At that time, eight parts of the Dangxiang rebelled against the Tang Dynasty. Tuyuhun was led by Fu Yun, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the whole country came to attack. As a result, each defeat was worse than the previous one. Qin Lang didn't even need the Tang Dynasty to send troops. , the Longyou soldiers alone won the battle, and the Dangxiang and Tuyuhun people who fought were convinced.
They were recruited by Hou Junji this time, but months passed in a blink of an eye, they hadn't fought a single battle, and they hadn't seen the face of the Tuyuhun people. Marching, it was okay before, but if it is cold today, this day is really hard.
They were all thinking about their wives, children and children in the tribe, whether the sheep at home had fried the last season of wool before the winter, whether they had sold the male cattle and sheep to the Tang people before the winter, and whether there were people in the tent. Didn't store dry cow dung and cheese butter for the winter, did they buy enough grain, tea, salt, etc.?
Now the biting wind is being driven by Hou Junji to look for Tuyuhun people outside every day, but no ghost can be found.
How do you find such a big place!
"Why do you think the sage didn't let Qin Taibao lead the troops?"
"I heard that Qin Taibao is ill."
"real?"
"Don't spread rumors. I heard it by accident. It seems that Qin Taibao fell ill after returning to Songzhou from the capital. Otherwise, it would be Hou Junji's turn to take command."
"What about Duke Wei? Duke Wei is also in command than Hou Junji."
"Mr. Wei is in southern Xinjiang. He travels through the three provinces of southern Lingnan and Guangxi, and the five roads of south central Yunnan and Guizhou. He can't get away."
"Didn't I hear that the imperial court previously ordered Yu Chigong to manage Hexi and Zhang Liang to manage Longyou? Moreover, Liangzhou Governor Cheng Yaojin and Lanzhou Governor Xue Wanche, except for Zhang Liang who can't fight, the others are very fierce? Cheng Yaojin and Xue Wanche both participated in the extermination of Tuyuhun."
"Who knows, I heard that Hou Junji sent his daughter to the prince's bed, so now with the prince's backing, he is crazy."
"This prince is not a good prince."
"I heard that the crown prince is a student of Duke Wei, why is there such a big difference?"
The Cavalier Captain heard them talking too much, and couldn't help but stop them, "Okay, stop talking nonsense, if these words are heard by others, your heads will be lost."
"Why don't we find a leeward place to rest for a while, and boil some hot water to make some milk tea?"
Snow fluttering down.
In Haiyan Fort, Hou Junji stretched out his hand to catch a pure white snowflake. Watching the snowflake melt quickly in his palm, a smile appeared on his face.
"Why is the general laughing?"
"The heavy snow came just in time. Look at the goose-feather snow that covered the sky. After a day and a night, the snow can cover your knees. When the snow will block the road, no matter whether the Tuyuhun people have a conspiracy or not, even if they are really ambushing here, But this snow can also make it impossible for them to come out again."
A member of the army frowned when he heard this.
"However, such heavy snow will definitely affect our marching. Now we have gathered a hundred thousand troops here, and troops from Hexi, Jiannan, and the Western Regions are still gathering here one after another. So many soldiers and civilians will be affected by the heavy snow. affected."
"Yes, Haiyan Fort alone has an army of 100,000, and there are many soldiers and horses, but there is little food in the city, and we don't have much food and grass. With the heavy snow, it will be difficult for us to supply food and grass."
A member of the army also pointed out that because it was still autumn when it came out, and now it is winter, and there is heavy snow, many soldiers do not have enough winter clothes and blankets to protect against the winter, and the tents cannot withstand the cold, especially in this snowy day. Many soldiers froze to death.
"A fire is burning to keep out the cold, but there is no firewood for fuel."
All the soldiers who join the army talk to each other, not as relaxed as Hou Junji, on the contrary, they are all worried. On such a day, even if the Tuyuhun people don't come, but everyone is in this ghost place, with so many soldiers and horses, I can't support myself live.
"Xuan Shuai, since the people from Tuyuhun are nowhere to be seen, why don't we go back to Shanzhou for the winter, let all the tribesmen and soldiers return to the headquarters, and when the spring is warm and the flowers bloom next year, it won't be too late to regroup and attack Murongcheng again!"
"Yeah, the time has passed, and now a hundred thousand troops are gathered here, which will only increase and deplete you."
Hou Junji, who was quite happy at first, turned dark instantly.
Mobilized hundreds of thousands of horses, and paid countless fees, and now I haven't even seen the shadow of the Tuyuhun rebels, and I haven't even caught a hair, so just withdraw the troops?
He, Hou Junji, was not reconciled and did not dare, so he withdrew like this, and the gang in the court who had always disliked him should take the opportunity to swarm up, and there is not even a bit of bone left from him?
It was hard to get this opportunity to lead the army, how could you just admit defeat like this?
Opportunities to lead an army of 100,000 alone do not come often. In order to seize this opportunity, he transferred Wei Chi Gongdu, the general who was ordered to manage Hexi, to the Western Regions by the Prince's order, saying that he was controlling the soldiers of the Western Regions, and at the same time kept an eye on Qiemo. The B Fu A leopard.
He also asked Zhang Liang, who was ordered to manage Longyou, to sit in Qinzhou and be responsible for the overall preparations for the transfer of food and grass. He was not given the opportunity to lead the army. He transferred all the soldiers and horses in Longyou Hexi to his command, just to monopolize the military exploits. How could it be possible to retreat without a fight like this?
After retreating like this, it is estimated that he will never have the opportunity to lead such an army again.
"No refund!"
Hou Junji said angrily, "Just a little bit of difficulty, and you call the squadron to retreat?"
"If Murong Cheng is not captured alive, I promise not to retreat!"
(end of this chapter)