Chapter 240 Divine soldiers descend from heaven
Chapter 240 Divine soldiers descend from heaven
The two infantry battalions of the Guards Brigade that had just emerged from the gorge, plus a battalion of the Gansu Army, totaling 4,500 people, quickly formed a battle formation, loaded their breech-loading rifles with all the bullets, and prepared to meet the charge of Bai Yanhu's 6,000 cavalry.
Then--
I saw the cavalry on the opposite side stopped their horses far away, the rear team became the front team, and ran away, ran away...
Bai Yanhu personally led his troops to take over the defense of the western entrance of Tiemenguan Gorge. When he saw the large number of infantrymen lined up here from afar through a telescope, he knew that he was late.
Bai Yanhu made a quick decision, turned around and left without any hesitation.
In fact, there were only three battalions of the Huai Army that left the valley, and they were traveling light and fast, without any heavy weapons.
Bai Yanhu's current subordinates are Kokand people, and they are also equipped with breech-loading rifles. Although they are not as well-trained as the Huai Army, they have the advantage of numbers and are cavalry.
If there was a famous general in command, some of the troops could dismount and engage in a firefight with the Huai Army on foot, while cavalry could be sent to harass the two wings. If the cavalry charged when the opportunity arose, it would still be possible to defeat the Huai Army and recapture the valley entrance.
But Bai Yanhu was only cruel and cunning, but not a famous general, and he lacked experience in commanding breech-loading rifle troops in combat.
More importantly, he has Shao Ye's cleverness and is used to betraying his allies to gain advantages for himself, but he does not have Shao Ye's courage to fight to the end at critical moments. He has no sense of family and country, nor national justice, and is a pure profit-seeking animal.
In addition, they had been defeated by the Huai Army too many times, so they had some psychological barriers to fighting the Huai Army head-on. They were particularly suspicious and worried that the Huai Army had cannons and machine guns. Therefore, they did not even try to fight and were scared away.
Shao Quanzhong and Grant seized the opportunity and did not stop for a moment after receiving the intelligence. Dong Fuxiang's troops set out immediately and captured the natural barrier of Tiemenguan before Bai Yanhu could react.
Shao Quanzhong led the reinforcements to support the attack, and deliberately let the Guards Brigade take the lead to prevent the enemy from reacting in time and launching a large-scale attack.
The Gansu Army's strengths were hard work, rapid action, and suitability for combat in the northwest, but their training time was short, and when it came to actual frontal combat, they still lagged behind the Jiangyan Guards Brigade, which had the most veterans.
The slightest gap on the battlefield could lead to a reversal of the situation. With two guard brigades, if a real fight breaks out, the Huai Army may suffer heavy casualties, but it should be able to hold the valley entrance until the three battalions of the Gansu Army arrive.
The Guards Brigade usually does not undertake offensive missions, but when necessary, they can still take the lead and dare to fight.
The next morning, three battalions of Gansu infantrymen pulling horses finally walked out of the canyon.
On the third day, the light field artillery brigade arrived on camelbacks.
With artillery, it was almost enough. There was a total of half a month's worth of military rations. They couldn't wait for the rapid-fire cannons and machine guns that had just been wasted halfway through the canyon. Shao Quanzhong issued an order, "Move out!"
Four days later, the army arrived at Luntai, and Shao Quanzhong immediately ordered, "Come on, go find the common people to buy food."
After a while, the subordinate came back and said, "Report, Luntai City is empty, all the people are gone, and there is not a single grain of food left."
When Shao Quanzhong led his troops into the city, he found it empty, but there were no signs of massacre. The valuables in the homes of the common people were gone, and most of the houses were in a mess, obviously leaving in a hurry.
Bai Yanhu is quite cunning. He started to defend the city and clear the countryside.
This really hit the Huai Army's weakness of food shortage.
Bai Yanhu knew exactly how much grain there was in the Korla area. He did not dare to fight the Huai Army head-on and decided to use the food to starve the Huai Army to death.
It has been seven days now. If we fail to capture Kuche and our troops are trapped in a fortified city without food, we won’t be able to return to Korla. It is too dangerous.
Should we simply withdraw to Tiemenguan and wait for more than 20 days before attacking again?
Shao Quanzhong was hesitating when Dong Fuxiang asked for a fight. "Bai Yanhu and his people are fleeing south, so they can't be fast. Commander, you stay in Luntai for a while. I will lead four battalions of Gansu troops to chase them and see if we can intercept the food they are carrying. If there is no opportunity, we will starve for half a day at most and we can still return to Korla."
Now that he was here, Shao Quanzhong didn't want to just go home. "Okay, go and try. Don't force it."
After shaking off the burden of the camel caravan, the fourth battalion of Dong's army galloped on horseback and pursued Bai Yanhu.
Three days later, Dong Fuxiang's urgent messenger reported back, "Kucha is also empty. Bai Yanhu has fortified his city and cleared the fields, and fled south with his people to seek refuge with Berkhuli."
Well, Bai Yanhu knew that if the land survived but the people were lost, both the land and the people would be lost. He was determined to use the vast geographical space of Yili Province to gain advantages, use logistics to wear down the Huai Army, and not fight the Huai Army at all. Bai Yanhu did not understand steam tractors, a transportation equipment that does not consume food. According to traditional calculations, the Huai Army could not support more than 10,000 people to march to Kashgar.
If he and Bakhhuli joined forces and waited for the Huai Army to tire themselves out in Kashgar, he would definitely be able to force the Huai Army to retreat and finally take back the lost territory.
Shao Quanzhong knew that Bai Yanhu was daydreaming. With the increase in steam tractors at a rate of four per day, they would eventually be able to establish a steel logistics line all the way to Kashgar. It was only a matter of time.
However, an army of 80,000 would cost tens of thousands of taels of silver a day, which was really too wasteful. It would be best to seize the opportunity to win, the sooner the better.
Bai Yanhu's strategy of clearing the countryside could delay the Huai Army's attack for at least a month, but one million taels of silver were gone. What could one do with so much money?
The scout took a few sips of water and continued to report, "We dug three feet deep in Kuche and found some food that the people of Kuche could not take away before Bai Yanhu took them away. They were buried underground, enough for our 10,000 people to use for three days. Now General Dong is leading his troops to chase Bai Yanhu and try to stop the people carrying the food. In this way, we can rely on the food in Kuche and stay in Kuche without having to retreat."
The grain dug out in Kuche bought the Huai Army two more days, so they could try again.
But it's a bit mysterious for 6,000 people to chase Bai Yanhu's 10,000 people. I hope Dong Fuxiang doesn't take risks. If it really doesn't work, retreating to Korla is something we can consider.
Shao Quanzhong stationed his troops in Luntai and sent his men to the suburbs to herd horses, trying to save food and fodder as much as possible while waiting for news from Dong Fuxiang.
…………
Sixty miles west of Kuche is Xixiang. The Uyghur name here is Toksu, which was later renamed Xinhe to avoid confusion with Toksun.
Sixty to seventy thousand common people from Kuche and Luntai, bringing their families with them, pushing carts, driving cattle, sheep and camels, were struggling forward under the drive of Bai Yanhu's army of more than ten thousand.
A few months ago, these ordinary people were laughing at Ma Zhan'ao's refugees who were extorting money from passers-by and had an ugly way of eating, but now they have become refugees themselves.
The common people looked back at Kuqa, wondering if the imperial soldiers would come and rescue us from Bai Yanhu?
Dust rose from the east, and Dong Fuxiang arrived with 6,000 Gansu troops.
Bai Yanhu was not a famous general, but he was also an old veteran. Looking at the smoke and dust, he knew that the pursuers were no more than six thousand. He sneered.
You have only 6,000 men and you dare to chase after more than 10,000 of me? Do you really think I'm a coward?
"Come on, form a battle line. We won't run away this time. Kill the pursuers!"
In the pursuit team, Dong Fuxiang immediately put down his binoculars and sighed, "Although the common people are moving slowly, it will be difficult to stop them with Bai Yanhu and more than 10,000 men guarding their rear."
Karis beside her was wearing a veil to block the wind and sand, revealing her alluring red lips and fair cheeks. She looked more charming than heroic.
"Dong Lang, let's send a few hundred people to the enemy's two wings. Let them run while dragging branches, creating a huge cloud of dust to confuse the enemy. Then we will make a gesture to encircle Bai Yanhu and see if we can scare him away."
The plan is good, but Bai Yanhu knows clearly that we have no food and cannot have so many soldiers. Can we be fooled? Let's try.
"Someone is coming——"
Before Dong Fuxiang could give the order, his men suddenly shouted, "General Dong, look!"
Suddenly, a large amount of dust rose in the north of Bai Yanhu's team, and three thousand cavalrymen emerged from the dust, holding a large flag, "Dong".
Almost at the same time, the sound of rumbling horse hooves came from the south of the bandit army. A team emerged from the smoke and dust. On the big flag were crooked Tibetan characters and a huge Chinese character "王".
The army in the south stopped and suddenly heard a series of "boom" sounds. Several artillery shells hit Bai Yanhu's troops, raising columns of sand.
What was going on? Dong Fuxiang's confusion lasted only a few seconds before he stopped thinking and swung his sword, "Brothers, Bai Yanhu has committed many evil deeds. Our army has the help of God. Charge!"
Six thousand horses started, dust filled the sky, and rushed towards Bai Yanhu's gang.
(End of this chapter)