Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 478 Ning Qi suddenly met here

In the morning, there is joy in the town.

The soldiers ate, fed the horses, cleaned their swords and guns, put on saddles, put away food, and filled their water bags.

Then they led their horses to the long road along the river in the town and began to assemble.

At this point, the Jurchen soldiers can greatly reduce the pressure on logistical supplies.

Because you need to prepare almost everything yourself.

The young prince Wanyan Hongkang rode back and forth diligently and responsibly to understand the assembly situation of various tribes and communicate information with various Moukes.

In the morning, he just ate a little food in a hurry, then rolled two large pancakes with green onions and sauce, put them in his arms and got busy.

He brought just this meal.

For the next meal, just grab it when you get there.

The same is true for their generals, officers and soldiers.

Unless it is an expedition, or there is uncertainty about whether there will be sufficient supplies along the way, soldiers have to prepare their own three meals a day.

This not only greatly reduced their baggage pressure, but also cultivated the soldiers' wolf nature.

When Huo Qubing was conducting blitzkrieg on the prairie, he also used this method: taking food on the spot.

However, the Han nationality entered the agricultural society and feudal society earlier, and the social system was already different.

Similar approaches cannot be adopted except in very specific areas and at very specific times.

While the real little prince was working like a slave in the town, the fake little prince was in the east wing of the real little prince, being served meals by Alihu and Ata.

Yingge sat on his left, and A'man was allowed to sit on the other side, which made A'man a little flattered.

It seems that all the hard work last night was not in vain.

Last night, Ah Man tremblingly and shyly gave herself to him and became his. She finally felt at ease in her heart.

With this bond, she felt safe.

Ah Man carefully peeled off the shell and eggshell of a salted duck egg, then gently broke it open and put the oily yolk into Yang Yuan's porridge bowl.

You don’t need to eat any dishes with it. Just the rich aroma of Wuchang rice, which makes you hungry, plus a salted egg, is a real treat for your taste buds...

Yang Yuan glanced at her and said with a smile: "The egg yolk and egg white should be mixed together to taste better. Please eat it."

Yang Yuan didn't want to set any rules or show off his power in front of Ah Man, or put on airs in front of a little girl.

Since we are a family, there is no need to have strict rules and regulations. Such a life would be so boring!

This is the Yang family, not the Yang family temple.

The previous warning to Ah Man was just to let her know the basic limits and to completely draw a line between herself and the Ugun clan of Saba Mountain.

Besides, the little girl is not as healthy as Yingge, so she must have been quite tired last night.

Yang Yuan suspected that Yingge was born with a hunchback, otherwise how could she become so resilient and able to attack and defend so quickly?

However, precisely because of the difference, Ah Man made Yang Yuan experience a completely different feeling.

The little Mini accelerates quickly, gives you a strong sense of push back, and has powerful drifting.

The small and exquisite body and the tight and cramped space make the Mini extremely light. With Yang Yuan's arm strength, moving the car into the garage is as easy as picking up a mustard seed.

If she hadn't seen the smile on Yang Yuan's face, Ah Man would have really thought that he refused to eat the salted eggs she peeled because he disliked her.

Taking a quick look at his face, Ah Man was sure that he was in a good mood, and she immediately felt happy.

Alihu and Ata stood aside, watching this scene, feeling extremely envious.

They also want to eat with their master, and want their master to speak to them in such a gentle voice.

Last night, they were in the auxiliary room and heard it clearly.

Miss A'man must have just been favored by her master, right?

She is Miss Yingge's close friend and there is no way to compete with her.

But with her as an example, Alihu is full of longing for a better life in the future.

As for Ata, this little Husky is still confused.

"Have you eaten? Hurry up, it's time to set off." Wanyan Hongkang rushed in and urged.

Yang Yuan took the salt water from Ata, rinsed his mouth slowly, and spit it into the bowl held by Alihu. He said calmly: "Why are you in such a hurry? It won't take a moment."

Wanyan Hongkang couldn't bear to see that Alihu's sister-in-law had to serve him like this.

Wanyan Hongkang slammed the suit of armor he was holding onto the table and said unhappily, "The horse is ready for you. It's in the yard. Hurry up."

After saying that, he walked out.

He couldn't stand it anymore and he got angry.

Yang Yuan walked over and picked up the helmet. He felt that this Jurchen helmet was a bit like the helmet of Lord Darth Vader.

The color of the helmet, the eyebrows and the dovetail neck are all similar, except that it does not have the mask with a respirator.

This set of armor is a layered armor made up of iron plates, and also has accessories such as a goblet tail, skirt armor, shoulder guards, and wrist guards.

The set of armor that Wanyan Hongkang brought to Yang Yuan was obviously not something an ordinary soldier could afford.

Yingge was very familiar with how to wear this kind of armor.

She immediately came over to help Yang Yuan get dressed.

Alihu quickly stepped forward to help, carefully observing Yingge's every move and taking the opportunity to learn.

Little Ah Ta doesn't have that kind of ambition now, and is still cleaning the table stupidly.

Ah Man could also wear this kind of armor, but just as she was about to stand up, she let out a light cry and her delicate eyebrows frowned.

She was feeling a little unwell, so she mustered up the courage to go to the battlefield last night.

When I saddled myself on the horse, it felt like I was sitting on a rolling pin. It was really eye-opening.

Yang Yuan stood there straight with his arms open, allowing Alihu to cooperate with Yingge to put armor on him.

Hearing the light cry, Yang Yuan took a look and said, "Okay, just take a rest. You can put on armor for me next time."

"Oh!" Ah Man responded shyly with a red face.

……

Huanxi Ridge is about eighty miles away from Santuzi Mountain.

If an adult walks four to five kilometers an hour, they can complete this distance in just eight hours a day.

However, marching is not as simple as traveling alone.

When an army marches, it must maintain proper formation and have scouts ahead.

During the journey, terrain such as slopes, ditches, shrubs, mud puddles, and cultivated fields will affect the travel speed.

Especially for cavalry, unless they are in combat, they cannot take the terrain into consideration and cannot leave the road and march in the wilderness for a long time.

Otherwise, the horses would easily be cut by sharp stones and vegetation in the wilderness, and once infection occurred, the horses would lose their combat effectiveness.

In places like this, there are no official roads or highways like in the Central Plains, so people can only march in a long snake formation.

When marching, there should be space between soldiers and space between queues...

So even though they were traveling light and without any baggage, they still arrived at the territory of the Hesheli tribe at the beginning of the hour of Wei, which was around 1:00 p.m.

Further ahead is a small village belonging to the Hesheli tribe.

Yang Yuan and Wanyan Hongkang led their men to leave the road in advance and hid in the jungle.

The weather in the north at this time is no longer so bad.

But the sun is still scorching around noon.

In the jungle, Wanyan Hongkang ordered everyone to remove their saddles and rest, and to use the spring water in the forest to water their horses. The soldiers also began to eat lunch and take a short rest.

The time of the official attack was set at 3:00 p.m.

This means that they had trekked here early in the morning and had about two hours to eat and rest.

Li You, Yang Xuance, Yu Fengxian, Wu Laoer and other Mouke officials all rushed to Yang Yuan and Wanyan Hongkang.

Wu Laoer was quite familiar with the situation of the Hesheli tribe.

This Mouke's family usually does business. They buy goods from the capital city, then travel around various tribes, selling all kinds of small commodities.

As a result, he knew the geographical conditions and population situation of the entire Hesheli tribe very clearly.

The Jurchen families here usually live together without separating, so the ratio of households to people is about seven to ten people per household.

The Hesheli tribe had more than 5,000 households and a population of 40,000 to 50,000, scattered among dozens of villages, towns, forts and villages.

Among them, large villages may have one or two thousand people, medium-sized villages may have several hundred people, and small villages may have only dozens of people.

The size of the villages was determined by the amount of natural resources available at the location where they were settled.

This battle could be fought by surprise, so Wanyan Hongkang boldly adopted the method of dividing the Mouke into units, dispersing them and attacking separately.

As long as they avoid those large fortresses and villages that are more difficult to attack, a Mouke or several Moukes working together can deal a fatal blow to a village.

This fighting style won the support of all the Moukes.

Because, by doing this, they can get enough spoils.

Otherwise, there will inevitably be too many wolves and too little meat.

The wound on Li You's head has not healed yet and he looks unwell.

But even though his head was tangled like an Indian's and he couldn't even wear a helmet, he still came.

Yang Yuan looked at him and warned, "Brother Li, don't lose your mind because of hatred.

Sometimes, sparing your enemy his life temporarily can make him more sad than killing him.”

"I see!"

Li You smiled grimly: "There are more than 1,500 households on the Santuzi Mountain. We won't go there to die with just a few people like me."

Wanyan Hongkang said: "Remember, just do as I say. Kill the young and strong! Do not move the old, weak, women and children. They are a burden for Heshelie to blow the cauldron."

Wanyan Hongkang smiled like a little fox: "The crops were all burned when we evacuated.

It's already this season, they don't have time to plant anything, I want to see how many people Hesheli Chuding can feed this winter after he empties his family's coffers."

Yang Xuance praised: "Young prince is wise. This move is more distressing to Hesheli Chuding than simply slaughtering their entire village."

Wanyan Hongkang glanced at Yang Yuan guiltily, and seeing that he had no intention of stealing the credit, he puffed out his chest and said proudly:
"Of course! Fighting and killing is just a way to defeat the enemy, but in many cases, it may not be the best way."

Yang Yuan pointed to the map that Wu Laoer had drawn on the ground, on which the locations of villages with different population sizes were marked with large and small stones.

As for larger rivers that could hinder the cavalry's movements, lines were drawn with branches.

Yang Yuan said: "Our location is here. Do you remember the location of each village above?
You should discuss now who will attack which place, who will attack next, and who will join forces with whom to attack which big village."

Wanyan Hongkang also said: "Yes, don't let our own people start fighting over it and waste time.

Also, Wu Lao Er, you are not allowed to rob people before you retreat, otherwise you won’t be able to perform your duties.”

Wu Lao Er grinned and said, "Don't worry, young prince. Unless we run into a fairy, I, Wu Lao Er, will wait until we are about to retreat before I snatch anyone away."

When a group of officials were eating the food they brought in the morning and "dividing the cake" enthusiastically, Yang Yuan walked aside.

He sat cross-legged under a big tree that was so thick that it took two people to hug it. He leaned his back against the thick trunk and began to breathe in and out.

The Zhelong skill is not something that can only be practiced by two people.

Of course, the effect will be better if yin and yang are harmonized and practiced together.

Yang Yuan can only practice alone now. He has no plan to teach Yingge and A'man right now.

If he wants to teach them, he has to wait until he has accomplished his mission and retired, returning to the Song Dynasty.

Now that the war is imminent, he needs to adjust himself to the best condition.

Although he did not intend to participate in the attack on the Hesheli tribe, he might encounter the enemy if he wandered around and observed the situation.

……

Yang Yuan and Wanyan Hongkang brought out a total of two thousand cavalrymen this time.

If we do not intend to engage in a direct field battle or an offensive against the Hesheli tribe, the more soldiers and horses we have the better it is not the case.

Two thousand people were divided into more than ten teams.

While waiting for the time to act, their scouts captured a peddler and a young couple returning home.

The road where two thousand cavalrymen passed was clearly marked with traces of trampling by their iron hooves.

So those who were unlucky and happened to pass by the road they came from had no choice but to arrest them all.

However, as long as they are not from the Hesheli tribe who are ready to fight, they will not do anything to them.

The peddler was not from the Hesheli tribe. He had also been to Huanxi Town to do business.

Wu Laoer recognized this colleague and detained him temporarily, waiting to release him when the action was ready.

As for the young couple, the bride was from the Hesheli tribe.

Wanyan Hongkang looked at the plump bride, the skinny groom, and the donkey, which was even skinnier than the groom. The young prince sighed sympathetically and waved his hand generously, indicating that once the action began, they could get out with the donkey.

There were no watches in this era, and most people had mastered the ability to judge the approximate time by observing the sunlight.

The shadow of the wooden stick stuck in the ground for timekeeping gradually moved to the prepared position.

Each Mouke began to return to his own team, shouting loudly to the sleeping soldiers to get up, and began to put on armor with the help of his personal guards.

With so many people acting together, the birds in the trees were startled and flew away again.

Soon, the teams were assembled.

Each of the moukes had already determined their own routes of action and targets of attack based on the "map" drawn by Wu Laoer.

At a command, they rushed out of the woods with their troops.

Wanyan Hongkang couldn't help laughing as he watched the teams of people sweeping away.

He waved his hand and said to the peddler pushing the wheelbarrow and the young couple, "Go away. This is none of your business."

When the three heard this, they felt as if they had been pardoned and hurriedly ran away, fearing that the man would regret it later.

Wanyan Hongkang was obviously a man who loved fighting. After one by one the Moukes led their men out of the forest, he couldn't wait to fight.

At this time, there were still more than 300 people left in the forest. They were all the prince's followers and confidants.

Wanyan Hongkang could not help but jump on his horse and said to the more than 30 guards who were specially left to protect Yang Yuan:
"You must protect Master Yang well and follow his instructions. When I come back, I will give you 20% of the spoils."

The thirty-odd people who stayed with Yang Yuan were all members of the royal palace and his absolute confidants, so they naturally could not be treated harshly.

Those soldiers who stayed with Yang Yuan were feeling melancholy. After all, they could not take part in the operation, which meant they had one less opportunity to make money than others.

Now, after hearing what Yan Hongkang said, he would get a portion of the spoils of the 300 men he led, he was overjoyed.

They immediately congratulated the young prince on his victory and return with a great harvest.

Wanyan Hongkang laughed and pointed at Yang Yuan, saying, "Alright, stop flattering me! Remember, outside, Yang Xueshi is the little prince, so be careful when you speak."

After Wanyan Hongkang finished his instructions, he could not wait to ride away.

There is only one chance for a large-scale "hunt" like today.

After today, the fact that an all-out war will break out between the tribes that have a common enemy will certainly force the Hesheli tribe to take necessary measures.

By that time, it would be impossible to plunder so wantonly.

As for today's sudden all-out hunt, there is no need to worry about being subjected to fierce sniping from Sanduzi Mountain.

The territory of the Hesheli tribe was a basin surrounded by mountains on three sides.

The headquarters of the leader of the Hesheli tribe is located at the end of the basin, on the Santuzi Mountain, which is built on the mountain.

From there, you can overlook dozens of villages of different sizes arranged in a fan shape in the basin.

However, if they wanted to rush to the aid of the tribes at the foot of the mountain, even if Hesheli Chuding had time to gather troops, it would still take a long time to rush here from Sanduzi Mountain, dozens of miles away.

This period of time is enough for them to have fun.

Yang Yuan looked up at the sky. The agreed time for retreat was when the sun set.

According to the time when the sun sets in this season, there is about two hours of time for looting.

In two hours, even if they didn't have enough time to penetrate deep into the heart of the Hesheli tribe, they would be able to cause huge damage to half of the villages.

Not to mention the timing was so poor that the Hesheli tribe did not have enough time to come to the rescue.

Even if they were willing to spare no effort to rush to support, once their army arrived and immediately engaged in battle without taking a break, the troops on Huanxi Ridge would also begin to retreat.

Under the cover of night, Hesheli Chuding would never dare to chase after him.

Since Huanxiling dared to send so many people to fight him, who knows if there were any ambushes in the dark?

Yang Yuan climbed onto his horse, pointed to the left with his whip, and said, "Let's go up from this side."

The location where Yang Yuan and his team were located was at the far left edge of the opening of the trumpet-shaped basin.

On the left are steep mountains with a semi-natural winding path that twists and turns towards the middle of the mountain.

If you run along this side for twenty or thirty miles, you can reach the leftmost side of the center line of the entire basin.

There were no tall buildings in this era. If you rode along the path halfway up the mountain, you could see the general situation of the valley.

The thirty-odd cavalry guards had already received Wanyan Hongkang's promise that their trip would not be in vain, so they naturally did not mind accompanying Yang Yuan on a sightseeing tour.

The path was barely wide enough for two horses to ride side by side, and they were in no hurry to travel, so for safety's sake they lined up in a long line and rode their horses up the mountain, looking around as they went.

The mountains in the north are taller. The halfway point of this mountain range is more than one hundred feet high.

The weather is clear and sunny today, and the fields and farms at the foot of the mountain are in full view.

From a high place, one could see that the troops of Huanxi Ridge had broken up into small groups and transformed into dozens of hungry wolves, pouncing on the villages.

Two or three nearby villages have been rushed into by the iron hooves of Huanxiling.

They would capture, plunder, and capture again and again before the sun set...

No matter where they eventually fight, they will retreat immediately once the sun sets.

The crops that were about to be harvested in the autumn and could not be taken back would be set on fire when they retreated, and would also illuminate their retreat path and block Hesheli's pursuers.

Standing on this mountain, you can't hear any crying or see any blood.

Only those who already knew what was happening there knew clearly that those moving black dots were soldiers charging into battle.

About fifteen or sixteen miles halfway up the mountain, there was a flat area on the side of the road, covered with dense weeds.

Yang Yuan and others got off their horses, walked to the edge of the platform, and looked at the ground below.

The "wolf pack" from Huanxi Ridge has not yet arrived here. After all, they are killing and abducting at the same time.

This affected their travel speed to a certain extent.

Yang Yuan and his party rode their horses at a gallop without stopping, and they did not have to turn back and forth between villages and fields, so they moved much faster.

Closer to the foot of the mountain, some figures can be vaguely seen. They should be farmers working in the fields.

But soon, human figures, slightly larger than ants, began to rush towards the village from all directions of the fields.

Standing here and watching, it really looks like a group of ants looking for food everywhere, and suddenly received some message at the same time, and rushed in one direction together.

Yang Yuan looked towards the village and saw no signals such as beacon smoke.

Yang Yuan said: "The village that was attacked ahead should have sent out a warning.

Those working in the fields are rushing back to their villages. There should be warning signs in the villages.”

A guard nearby said, “Yes, every village has a bell.

The bell was not very big, but its sound was loud enough for everyone in the village to hear.

They also have certain ideas about the sound of bells, such as what one sound represents and what two sounds represent.

However, this agreement is different in every village.”

Yang Yuan nodded and looked towards the end of the basin in the valley.

At the end is the Sanduzi Mountain. The sunlight is shining on those peaks, making them look particularly bright.

As the saying goes, a horse will die if it runs too close to the mountain. Even though those mountains look very close, they are actually dozens of miles away.

Yang Yuan said: "The villages here have not been attacked yet, but we have received the warning.

While they are gathering their own villagers to come back, they will certainly continue to warn the villages behind them, and the news will soon spread to Sanduzi Mountain."

Yang Yuan had never led troops, especially the Jurchen troops under the control of Meng'an Mouke.

So even though he realized this, he was unable to estimate how much time it would take Hesheli Chuding of Sanduzi Mountain to gather troops after receiving the warning.

However, after half a day's march today, he could roughly estimate the speed at which they were rushing here from the mountain.

Yang Yuan thought to himself, next time when we gather troops, I should really follow the young prince throughout the process.

After walking with him a few times, I can understand their mobilization efficiency.

Seeing him looking at the three peaks in the distance thoughtfully, the guard took the initiative to introduce them: "The one on the left is Big Baldy Mountain, and the one on the right is Small Baldy Mountain.

The highest peak in the middle is Lao Tuzi Mountain. The three Tuzi Mountains we usually refer to are those three peaks.”

Yang Yuan listened to this simple and unpretentious name and looked at the mountains in the distance.

The mountain is covered with lush vegetation, but the top is dome-shaped and feels a bit bare.

There may not be no grass or trees on top, but they are probably all low vegetation, so it looks a bit bare from a distance.

Yang Yuan asked, "How far can this mountain path we are taking go? Can we reach the Sanduzi Mountain directly?"

The guard grinned and said, "I have never been there, so I don't know. But even if you can go straight to Sanduzi Mountain, you can't go there.

We still have to attack from the bottom of the mountain. If we want to attack up to Santuzi Mountain from here, we will be asking for death. "

Yang Yuan nodded. This was indeed the case in the era of cold weapons.

If it were in later times, precisely because this place is so dangerous, as long as there is a machine gun or a few submachine guns to guard the pass, it would be enough to ensure that follow-up troops can arrive continuously.

But in this era, even if this mountain road can really lead directly to Sanduzi Mountain, it cannot be used.

"Let's go further..."

As Yang Yuan spoke, he withdrew his gaze from the direction of Sanduzi Mountain and subconsciously looked towards the mountain road.

Before he finished speaking, his face changed and he said anxiously, "There's someone over there!"

The mountain road is like a snake, winding around the mountains, and the "snake body" appears and disappears from time to time.

Yang Yuan just clearly saw a knight flash by on the mountainside.

That place is about one mile away from here in a straight line.

When Yang Yuan looked again, he saw another knight galloping past from the mountainside.

From where Yang Yuan and the others were, it was difficult to see anything because of the obstruction of grass and trees.

Moreover, the section where people can be seen passing by is on a cliff, so there is no obstruction.

When a knight passes by there, he will look at the road more carefully and will not look around.

Even so, Yang Yuan immediately took a few steps back and waved to the guards.

“Someone is coming over there, so quickly lead our horses to the corner over there and hide.

Don't let the horse neigh, the others will ambush here with me, quick!"

Most of the royal guards are skilled in horse riding.

They just touched the horse's head to comfort it gently, then led the horse away, hurriedly walking towards the corner of the mountain road where they came from.

The horses are hidden there and cannot be seen from this side.

Soon, they sent the horses to the corner and left four people to guard them.

The others hurried back, carrying bows and swords, with excitement on their faces.

Yang Yuan waved his hand and led them quietly to the bushes on the upper side of the hillside.

Shangguan Luo, Shangguan Mingyue, and Wanyan Yuanyun led more than 20 riders and walked slowly along the mountain road.

The mountains have beautiful scenery and a fresh air, and they are in a good mood.

I was a guest at the Hesheli tribe yesterday, and they just left today.

So far, the Shangguan Luo brother and sister have successfully brought together the Puchaye, Nalanbuha, Ujihe and Hesheli tribes.

It should have also included Wanyan Yuanyun's Hubu Dagan.

Unfortunately, people are not as good as God.

No one expected that Wanyan Luti's family would return at this time.

What is even more unexpected is that although Li Taigong had only a thousand cavalrymen with him, he had such great courage that he sent all of them out to raid a team of three thousand people.

Moreover, after they succeeded, they dared to continue fighting, and reached Beiyin River in one go, catching Wanyan Yuanyun off guard.

As a result, although Wanyan Yuanyun clearly had the advantage in military strength, he ended up being a lonely man.

However, losing the guard Dagang also has one advantage for the Shangguan siblings, which is that Wanyan Yuanyun is easier to control.

The combination of the Puchaye, Nalanbuha, Ujihe and Hesheli tribes, plus the Ugurun tribe in the Suifenhe River basin, basically formed a siege on Longquan Longcheng (Mudanjiang City) where Wanyan Dari was located.

At this moment, they were rushing to Ningguta (Ning'an City, south of Mudanjiang City) to persuade the Gao family, a noble family of the Bohai Sea.

As long as the Gao family joins them again, they can surround the ancient city of Longquan like an iron barrel.

Wanyan Dari himself was in Liaodong. His family had few talented people and it was a time of transition.

In this way, they can even defeat the enemy without fighting.

As long as he can take control of the ancient city of Longquan, Yuanyan Yuanyun will be more competitive than his uncle Wanyan Luti in the "Dubojilie" conference that is about to be held!

Shangguan Luo wants to become the youngest prime minister in the history of the Jurchens, Shangguan Mingyue wants to become the woman that Wanyan Yong values ​​the most, and Wanyan Yuanyun wants to become the leader of the alliance. They all want to have a bright future.

In the future, Yang Yuan, the sixth child, was lurking quietly like a wolf.

(End of this chapter)