After traveling through time, I became Han Zhang’s grandson?

After the Song army swore an oath to march on the morning of March 8, Gao Zunyu and Liu Changzuo took a long detour to better reach Deshengzhai, which was slightly to the north, and traveled with the brothers Zhe Kerou and Zhe Kexing.

First, they took a detour to Longde Village in the west, and then quietly sneaked in from the southwest of Desheng Village.

Although this was time-consuming and energy-consuming, it effectively prevented the spies from the Western Xia from figuring out that such a powerful force had suddenly appeared behind them.

Coincidentally, Gao Zunyu and Liu Changzuo had just arrived at Longde Village when they heard the report from the scouts ahead.

"Generals, all the Xixia troops from Desheng Fort left the fort three days ago. One group headed south with great fanfare to attack Zhongnan Fort, while the other, seemingly the main force, turned west and stationed at Zhangyi Fort."

Hearing the sentry's reply, Gao Zunyu and Liu Changzuo frowned at the same time, then looked at each other and saw a hint of deep thought in each other's eyes.

"General Gao, why don't you tell me what you think first?"

Although Liu Changzuo was older than Gao Zunyu, Han Ming arranged for Liu Changzuo to be the deputy of the slightly younger Gao Zunyu because of his steady character and his concern for the overall situation.

This is very similar to the two people in history, but this time because there are too many generals in the army and they have made many contributions, these two people are not as dirty as before.

In addition, Gao Zunyu has not yet grown into the future brother-in-law of the emperor, so he is still highly malleable in his bones.

Hearing Liu Changzuo's polite words, Gao Zunyu thought for a moment and couldn't help but chuckle, "I only lament that you and I didn't follow the military governor's Liupanshan marching route, which resulted in the loss of a possible encounter along the way."

Upon hearing this, Liu Changzuo rubbed his chin and laughed out loud: "General Gao is indeed extraordinary!"

Gao Zunyu shook his head slightly: "But I am also glad that you and I changed our route and headed west, choosing to go through Longde Village."

"Otherwise, if we encounter the enemy, then the subsequent encirclement and suppression strategy may alert the enemy, causing them to notice the problem and escape early."

Liu Changzuo nodded in agreement. "However, Xixia's sudden deployment does confirm the governor's suspicions. They also want to fight a decisive battle at Haoshuichuan."

Gao Zunyu immediately fell into deep thought. After a long while, he finally stated his guess: "And the other party's purpose of splitting up into two groups is obviously to lure the enemy out of their hole."

"In addition, the move to station troops in Zhangyi Fort was most likely intended to seize an exit for retreating northward."

"This will make the actions of the Duke and General Yang much more difficult."

Gao Zunyu spoke out all his thoughts in one go.

Liu Changzuo laughed heartily and patted the other man on the shoulder: "Don't worry, compared to us, the Duke and General Yang are quite experienced in combat and command. The other party wants to challenge them, but they will only return empty-handed!"

Gao Zunyu felt that what Liu Changzuo said was correct. These two gentlemen had fought against the Liao cavalry before and survived from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The level of the Western Xia was not enough to leave them helpless.

Then Liu Changzuo seemed to have thought of something, his eyes lit up and he smiled: "Since the other party has given up Desheng Village, we should seize it as soon as possible, otherwise if the other party reacts, it will be more trouble than gain."

These words reminded Gao Zunyu, and the two of them immediately commanded the army to move quickly and head straight for Desheng Village.

The Zhe brothers who were staying in Longde Village later looked at the two people who were hurrying north with a puzzled look on their faces.

It was not until Gao Zunyu and the other two sent a message that their doubts were resolved.

"Lao Gao and Brother Liu are incredibly lucky this time. Not only did they get the mission to block the enemy's rear, but they also captured Desheng Village without a single soldier. Now, the Western Xia army has no way to retreat."

Zhe Kexing said with some envy.

"How can it be that simple? Didn't you hear that Xixia has taken Zhangyi Fort first?"

"This move alone is truly a stroke of genius. If we hadn't been prepared in advance, the encirclement and suppression campaign would have likely allowed the enemy to retreat calmly."

Zhe Kerou stood with his hands behind his back, staring coldly in the direction of Zhang Yibao.

"But this is also to be expected. If Xixia really stupidly sends out its entire army and circles around here, that would be a way to their own death."

Zhe Kexing didn't care much about whether he would fail in the decisive battle. After all, the lineup this time was unprecedentedly strong.

If no one had expected that Song and Xia would end up like this at the beginning, the Song army in Shaanxi would have prepared for a period of time, and with their reinforcements, they would have been able to pacify Western Xia in one fell swoop.

After all, all the military families of the entire Song Dynasty and many famous and unknown generals were involved, which shows Han Ming's means and abilities.

"The next step is to see if the general has the ability to lure the enemy into an encirclement."

Zhe Kerou exhaled slowly, squeezed the long sword at his waist, and then led Zhe Kexing to build the defense of Longde Village.

Just as Gao Zunyu and Zhe Kerou's troops arrived at their positions on time and started various fortifications, the Yao brothers, who were ordered to seize Zhong'an Fort, encountered an unprecedented crisis.

. . . . . .

On the plain east of Zhong'an Fort, the Yao brothers looked at the cavalrymen in the distance, their faces instantly darkening.

"How come these bastards are so fast? It takes at least a hundred miles to get here from Desheng Village."

Yao Gu's expression was tense, and he couldn't help but tighten his grip on the spear in his hand.

"The so-called unpredictable military situation is just like this. We can't expect the enemy to follow our plans completely. That would not be war!"

Yao Xiong's mood changed quickly and he calmed down immediately.

"Looking at the enemy's flag, it should be the commander of the Western Xia army, Mo Zang Xiling!"

"But this force doesn't seem as large as imagined. It seems..."

Inspired by his brother, Yao Gu calmed down and carefully observed the enemy's situation.

"Partial Army!!!"

Yao Xiong could easily see that the number of the enemy's army was completely different from what was reported in the intelligence.

"The other party is also starting to lure the snake out of its hole!"

Yao Gu suddenly figured out the key point and chuckled.

"And the goal is very clear: attack Zhong'an Fort!"

Yao Xiong immediately ordered the flag bearer to give a signal, allowing the army in the rear to form up and prepare for battle.

"Erlang, this is our first battle in Shaanxi. The Yao family ancestors and my father on the front lines are watching us!"

"Whether the banner of 'Yao Family Generals' will fall in our hands, or remain high and extinguished, depends on you and me, brothers!"

Yao Xiong said in a high-pitched voice, then extended a hand.

Seeing this, Yao Gu also stretched out his right hand and bumped it with his brother's, then held it tightly.

"Immediately lead 3,000 cavalry to ambush the left wing. Upon receiving the command, charge out immediately and cut off the enemy cavalry. Then, detour to the north and advance a second time from behind to cut off the enemy until you meet up with our central army!"

Hearing his brother's order, Yao Gu quickly clasped his fists and saluted: "Yes, I will obey your command!"

Then he quickly gathered three thousand soldiers and marched out from the left wing of the central army.

Mo Zang Xiling, who was a little further away, also saw Yao Xiong's army with its flags flying. He was shocked at first, but the shock soon faded away. A hint of joy appeared on his face, and finally this joy turned into a cruel smile.

"All troops, listen to my orders!"

"Charge forward and crush the enemy!"

"Kill--!"

Mo Zang Xiling's roar spread across the wilderness, shocking the entire Western Xia cavalry, and then a feeling of boiling blood filled their hearts.

"Ow—!"

"Ugh——!"

The Western Xia cavalry drew their long swords from their waists, let out incomprehensible roars, and rushed fiercely towards Yao Xiong's central army.

Yao Xiong also drew out his long sword for command and stood on the high platform in the center of the army.

Except for the 3,000 cavalry taken away by his younger brother Yao Gu, the remaining 7,000 soldiers were all infantry.

There is no way. The Song Dynasty's lack of horses is rare in the world. After all, it cannot take back the horse-breeding land in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and it has also lost all the horse farms in the northwest. Do you expect the Song Dynasty to do this by magic?

Those who are able to deploy cavalry for this purpose are the elite among the elite.

Even if they were elite troops, this situation would be stretched to the limit if spread across an army of nearly hundreds of thousands.

You should know that the entire Yongxing Army Road can only mobilize nearly 20,000 cavalry.

If we exclude the cases of people drawing salaries without working, this number will be even more inflated.

If it weren't for Han Ming's military reform, which replenished the required number, the Yongxing Army would not have been able to provide enough cavalry to launch various raids in the war against Western Xia.

The situation on the Central Imperial Guards side was not much different. This time, Duke Ying of Ying, Zhang Wenbi, brought most of the central cavalry to the northwest, allowing the troops in several locations to have the ability to maneuver.

At this moment, Yao Xiong looked at the huge steel wave of the Western Xia army, his face trembling, and he tried hard to calm down the tension in his heart.

Then he brandished his long sword and roared, "True north, three volleys—!"

The flag bearer waved the flag quickly to pass on the military order, and the officer in front of the crossbow soldiers who were positioned behind the central army immediately roared in anger.

“Due north—!”

"Three volleys—!"

All the crossbowmen immediately became tense and ferocious-looking as they used all their strength to lie down on the wooden beds from their upright positions.

As nearly a thousand people lay back, their feet were hit by terrifyingly thick arrow feathers over one meter long.

Seeing that the action was basically completed, the officer roared again in a heartbreaking roar: "Fire!"

"boom--!"

"boom--!"

"boom--!"

"..."