Chapter 167: Fighting for the Lead
The Shenwei Army's charge horn sounded, and mortars and catapults launched extended fire at the long-range targets that had been locked. The Mongolian army's catapult positions, cavalry gathering places and grain depots were all taken care of one by one. The battlefield soon became a mess.
It turned out that Gao Jin and Wang Hancheng had arrived last night. When they sat together, Gao Jin brought out Zhao Yulin's collective wisdom and asked everyone to come up with ideas.
He first reported that the cavalry had gone directly to Kuoduan's rear and robbed the Mongolian army's cattle, sheep and horses, and the Mongolian army would definitely be out of food. As for the infantry, there were only 15,000 of them, because the third young master had instructed that there must be no mistakes in Guyuan, but it was enough.
Upon hearing this, Guo Chongma burst into tears and said that he had no virtue enough to deserve the third young master of the Shenwei Army to save him.
Gao Jin went up and hugged the burly man and said, "We are all family, and now that we are finally reunited, let's not talk about this anymore, let's talk about what to do next?"
Guo Chongma rushed to take the lead.
Everyone in the big tent was vying to take the lead, and finally Gao Jin made the final decision to coordinate the artillery. After the Shenwei Army tore open a gap in the enemy's position, everyone went up together and attacked freely as a group. There was only one goal, to catch Kuoduan.
Therefore, just after daybreak, the Mongolian army was subjected to saturation attack by Gao Jin Group's artillery. The fragmentation bombs were still exploding, and the Shenwei Army launched a charge wearing masks.
Kuoduan was simply unable to organize an effective counterattack. Seeing that defeat was inevitable, he ordered Androuel to hold on while he himself fled with his cronies. As soon as they withdrew from the battlefield, they found that Laohuizhou had been robbed, and a large number of cattle, sheep and horses were driven away by the Shenwei Army.
Kuoduan was so angry that he vomited two gulps of blood sausage in succession. He was stunned and was helped by the guards to sit on a big rock to catch his breath.
However, the following news seemed to give him another shot of chicken blood in the chest, and he soon became excited.
The messenger continued to report to him that the Song army did not do anything extreme. They only robbed food and supplies and left, without occupying the place. Our scattered brothers have returned to the garrison and can go back by the old route.
"Really? Seriously? Really?" Kuoduan was overjoyed. He grabbed the messenger and asked him three questions in a row, which frightened the messenger so much that he nodded repeatedly.
He immediately sent someone to inform Andro to withdraw his troops and follow him quickly.
He had few men left at this time, so the only way to survive was to escape together, so it would be best for him to travel with such a powerful general like Android.
Kuoduan hated Wang Shixian to death now. He had asked Wang Shixian to surrender earlier, but that guy was too concerned about his reputation and was reluctant to change his flag. In the end, he was swallowed up by the Shenwei Army, and not even a bone was left.
Kuoduan regretted it so much. He came to Huizhou just to pretend and scare people, but he didn't expect that the hateful Guo Xiazi would insist on resisting, and Wang Shixian collapsed in an instant and failed to be of any help .
His Lingzhou soldiers were afraid that they would be defeated before they could even move out, so they had to run back.
The Mongolian army in Lingzhou had indeed received the order from Kuoduan to attack, but they were still in the process of gathering and marching, and had not yet been seen by the cavalry of the Shenwei Army from Guyuan.
Gao Jin did not dare to be careless in defending Guyuan. He left all the troops of the Second Cavalry Column in Guyuan to be ready for them.
Kuoduan fled with the remaining soldiers, and Andro'er fought to the death behind them, while the Song army kept chasing them like a tide. By the time they escaped, there were few people around them.
When Kuoduan saw the Lingzhou defender, he slapped him in the face and cursed at him why he didn't contain the Song army that was attacking Guyuan?
The garrison commander covered his swollen face and reported with great grievance: The Song army in Guyuan was well prepared, and they were hit head-on as soon as they passed by.
The cavalry of the Shenwei Army used all rapid-fire muskets, which were extremely powerful. He lost three thousand men and horses in the first encounter. The Song army also learned the hydrogen charge and attacked from the flank. After he left behind five thousand horses, he did not dare to resist and retreated.
Just in such a simple battle, he lost more than three thousand brothers.
Gao Jin intentionally left the main force of the firearms in Guyuan. Firstly, Zhao Yulin had instructed him to give the Mongolian army a heavy blow and make them dare not think about it. Secondly, he was worried that if the firearms became ineffective in the event of heavy rain, he could replenish the weapons in Guyuan.
Unexpectedly, the cavalry musket demonstrated its tremendous power in this battle.
Kuo Duan was running in front, Gao Jin was chasing him from behind, he told his brothers to chase him as fast as they could, and to take credit for capturing the captives, they followed the Yellow River all the way up to find the Third Young Master.
Three days later, Feng Guiqi, Hao Xiaoming and Gao Jin's troops met in Lanzhou. Each tribe was fighting for territory. The surrounding small and medium-sized tribes could not resist at all and surrendered to the Song Dynasty one after another.
Zhao Yulin ordered to suspend the attack with the Yellow River as the boundary. Lao Cao also agreed with his point of view. No matter how wide the territory is, it will be useless if it cannot be defended.
However, several main generals were full of enthusiasm and fighting spirit, and they all suggested taking advantage of the situation to cross the river and establish a bridgehead to facilitate the recovery of Hexi in the future.
He said that was natural, and asked Gao Jin and You Wandi to dispatch the cavalry to attack, encircle the land, and set up defenses in dangerous places.
Cao Cao agreed and asked his imperial guards to cross the river to set up defenses. He said that the imperial guards represented the emperor in the expedition, so how could they not go to defend Hexi?
Then he happily sat down in the yamen and began to write memorials.
Zhao Yulin explained to Gao Jin and Hao Xiaoming that to recover Hexi, they had to rely on the local tribes. This place used to be the site of the Tang and Song dynasties, and there were many large Han families and tribes that yearned for the Central Plains here.
At night, Zhao Yulin and Lao Cao discussed local governance matters. He suggested that Hao Xiaoming be in charge and set up the Lanzhou General Administration Office to coordinate the management of Hexi, Lanzhou, Huizhou and the former Gongchang Prefecture.
Old Cao agreed, but wanted to leave his third brother Cao Youliang to garrison in Lanzhou. Zhao Yulin smiled and said that he wanted to be brought under the unified management of the Shenwei Army's military regulations.
Lao Cao also promised, saying that over the years he had fully understood the Shenwei Army's military management strategies, that they had strict military discipline, and that they cared for the people more than the Song Dynasty's Imperial Guards, and that everyone liked them.
Zhao Yulin told him that Gong Chang and Cao Yong's 20,000 troops were transferred back to the Lishan camp for training and were directly under the command of the Military Control Office.
Lao Cao was even happier and said that he had thought it through very carefully.
He said that on the one hand, it should show that we do not treat them as outsiders, and on the other hand, these teams still need education and training to strengthen discipline and improve combat effectiveness.
Lao Cao agreed and let him make the arrangements. He would then personally reorganize the team.
The next day, they called together several main generals to discuss matters. They appointed Hao Xiaoming as the chief steward of the Lanzhou General Administration Office, and Feng Guiqi and Zhang Zhi as deputies. After stabilizing Lanzhou, they marched into Xining Prefecture.
Gao Jin was appointed as the chief administrator of the Pingliang General Administration, garrisoning Guyuan, Pingliang and Qinzhou, with Wang Hancheng and Wanyan Chengmin as deputies, and the army was intensified in preparation for war.
Wu Sicheng followed Gao Jin all the way to Lanzhou. After attending the meeting, he asked them a little disappointedly:
Old Cao smiled and went on to say that Guo Chongma and Cao Yong's troops were very tired after living in the border area for a long time and needed rest. I have asked Cao to do it personally. They need to change their uniforms and clothes like the Shenwei Army, and the generals also need to learn different fighting styles.
When Wu Sicheng heard this arrangement, a smile gradually appeared on his face.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said to him that Gongchang Prefecture was going to be downgraded to a state, and there was nothing to do there, so he would not go back and would stay here to work.
He said that the first important official position the court promoted him to was Xingyuan Prefecture. Today, the official position that General Cao reported to Wu Gong for approval in Lin'an was also Lanzhou General Administration Prefecture.
When Wu Sicheng heard this, he was so delighted that he pretended to kneel again.
Zhao Yulin quickly stopped him and said that Lanzhou is very big and they will be very busy, so they must take care of themselves.
He turned around and instructed Hao Xiaoming to arrange guards for Wu Sicheng.
Wu Sicheng's eyes welled up with tears as he listened to Zhao Yulin's caring words. In the past, he had worked like a dog in Gongchang Prefecture, but when had he ever received a word of sympathy?
Now, he can finally do things with his head held high, and he is so happy.
The next day, chaired by Cao Youwen, they convened a meeting of leaders and officials of all tribes in Lanzhou. Zhao Yulin preached the principles of the Shenwei Army, emphasized that all people in the world are brothers, abolished slavery, and made it clear that everyone's right to life and freedom must not be violated.
Zhao Yulin spent three days communicating with the tribal chiefs, telling them that there were more ways to make money and encouraging their children to join the army and go to the interior to work as officials. Some enlightened chiefs began to agree with his opinions.
He told Hao Xiaoming that the Lanzhou area had long been controlled by Tubo and Wang Shixian, and was still in a tribal slave society. Our inland areas had long entered a feudal society, and when dealing with these tribal chiefs, we could not just copy the inland methods.
We must implement our governance methods gradually, but not too hastily, and we must liberate the slaves, but we cannot kill these chiefs all at once. But one thing must be adhered to, that is, we will never allow treason, this is the bottom line of our Shenwei Army.
Lao Cao originally planned to continue with the control system, but when he saw that Zhao Yulin's arrangements were very detailed and he even explained the policies in detail to the officials in charge in Lanzhou, he agreed with his approach.
Zhao Yulin and Lao Cao handled the affairs of Lanzhou, leaving Miao Gui to take charge of the affairs and coordinate the mobilization of various troops, while he and Lao Cao set off back together.
After arriving in Dingxi, I met the injured Cao Yong and Guo Chongma.
The two of them came all the way to Dingxi to wait.
As soon as they met, he blamed Cao Yong, saying that everyone knew he was injured , so why should he work so hard?
Lao Cao also looked concerned and explained the arrangements for the two of them and their troops.
When the two heard Cao Youwen propose to transfer the troops to Guanzhong, their expressions turned a little unhappy.
Zhao Yulin patiently explained that once they joined the Shenwei Army, they would be promoted based on their merits. General Cao would be the commander of the cavalry column, and General Guo would be the commander of the infantry column. They would be stationed in the Lishan camp and would be directly commanded by General Cao. They would need to learn new tactics and change their uniforms.
The team also needs to be reorganized. Those who really don't want to work can return to their hometowns, and those who are not on the same path can leave or stay on their own. The two generals can let the soldiers put the weapons into the warehouse and leave them to the local militia, or they can go to Guanzhong fully armed.
When Guo Chongma heard what Zhao Yulin said so bluntly, he immediately patted his chest and said that he would take people there directly.
Cao Yong also expressed his willingness to obey the order and led his troops there personally.
