There were 5,000 cavalrymen. After finishing their meal, they took some beef jerky and water bags from Tubo's Baggage and set off.
They were going to face Tubo's main scouting team. They brought two hot air balloons, grenades, and explosives.
After feeding the horses, one person rode four horses. The horses carried barley and boiled rice, which was also used to feed the horses.
Horses liked to eat such good food. It would be a waste not to use it. Their own people could not eat so much.
One person riding four horses meant that when they found the enemy's scouts in sight, as long as the distance was enough, they would chase them to the end.
The enemy's scouts only had two groups of horses, at most three horses.
How much difference was one horse? The difference could be 20 miles in two hours.
If it was four horses and five horses, the difference could be five miles. If there were more horses, the difference would not be small.
In order to increase the difference, Zhang Xiaosong sent the cavalrymen with barley rice. Horses eating grass and rice were different.
No matter how many horses there were, they could not run forever. Could a horse that did not carry people keep running forever?
Everyone still had to rest and eat the grass on the ground.
Eating grass replenished water, so there was no need for extra water.
The Tang soldiers had to use refined materials. They all rested and ate, so the speed of recovery was different.
The people in the imperial court did not understand these details. The soldiers at the front would seize every opportunity to increase their speed and fighting strength.
…
The officials in the imperial court did not know, but Li Yi was not a member of the imperial court. He knew.
Li Yi had not personally participated in a large-scale war, but he could look up information, analyze, judge, and summarize.
He conveyed his will to the people on the propeller boats. The people on the first and second propeller boats set off a few days ago.
They brought their own food and did not bring any water. They drank the water of the Yellow River.
There was a filtering device on the boat. Yao Chong's team used a filtering device. They scooped up the water of the Yellow River and poured it in. The filtered water was clear water.
Four people in a group stepped frantically on the pedals. Against the current, two boats overtook other boats one after another.
"Change." Another two hours later, four people took over the position of the previous four.
The ship's speed suddenly slowed down. In less than ten breaths, it accelerated again.
The people who were replaced hurriedly ate some food and saliva, raised their legs high, and then covered themselves with something to sleep.
There were twelve people on the ship carrying a hundred shi of goods. They changed shifts every four hours, and there were four people on each shift.
That was two hours. The four of them kicked crazily for two hours before resting and eating some food.
They didn't dare to eat until they were full. After a lot of exercise, they would need a longer time to absorb and recover.
The two ships each carried three groups of Sky Cracker Monkeys. There were no packs of explosives. The ones with explosives were on the following ships.
Li Yi knew what the frontline needed, long-range explosive weapons.
The soldiers on the frontlines could choose not to use these weapons, but they could not do without them.
Having it but not using it would allow the soldiers to operate more flexibly and carry out tactical coordination.
Li Yi played a lot of games and read a lot of historical information.
The sky-scraping monkey was a rocket launcher. He did not know what the Tubo people were thinking.
In any case, if he were to hold a knife and see the enemy pushing out a rocket launcher, he would not be able to do anything.
He would throw down the knife and run for his life. He would not fight or play with them anymore.
There were no reverse slopes or deep trenches. How could they fight like this?
They would not enter the connected cat's ear holes, for fear that the rocket launcher would be fuel-air explosive.
Unless the cat's ear holes were deep enough and they brought their own oxygen tanks.
The speed of the propeller boats was indeed fast, surpassing the local paddle boats for short-distance transportation, as well as some of the ships.
It was just that they set off late. The first fifty ships received orders to load the frontline soldiers with things they needed. They did not stop and everyone took turns to step on them.
When the wind was good, the small sails were propped up and they used the wind and manpower to go against the current.
The people who stepped on the ships were in a state of excitement. Previously, their task was to contact the entire Yellow River.
Later, a fast horse suddenly passed on an order. Their task was changed to deliver supplies to the frontline soldiers.
It was all food. There were no weapons. Perhaps the food was only enough for a small portion of the soldiers for a few days.
They still risked their lives. They knew that they were giving their strength, while the soldiers at the frontline were giving their lives.
With the help of the wind and manpower, they traveled more than two thousand miles. They arrived at Michuan in the evening. After asking the people on the shore, they continued forward.
In the middle of the night, they passed through Jin Tianjun's location. They were still pedaling with all their might. It was just the southwest wind.
As soon as the sails were hung up and they entered the tributary of the Yellow River, they saw Guo Zhiyun's troops. Guo Zhiyun's camp was beside a small river. This river was naturally connected to the Yellow River.
The people on the fifty ships were so tired that they were about to vomit blood. They panted and looked at their own troops on the shore.
They were more confused. How did they get here?
They were actually lost. If they had come a day earlier, this would have been Tubo's territory.
At that time, they would probably have vomited blood. It was obviously too late to turn around and run back.
They stopped the ship at the shore. They did not have the strength to get off the ship, even if they took turns to pedal.
They took out handkerchiefs and put them in the water. Then they covered their mouths and tried to control their breathing rate to add water to their lungs.
They could not use too much strength or their lungs would explode.
This feeling was very uncomfortable. They wanted to vomit but could not. When they breathed, their heads were buzzing.
In fact, it was like running a thousand meters in four minutes for people who had never run before. It was a feeling of wanting to die.
The people on the fifty ships were paralyzed. They could not take it anymore. It was too uncomfortable. They did not know that the climate here was now in the highlands.
They did not have altitude sickness now. Maybe it was because they had trained their lungs and blood oxygen supply.
Under the light of the torch, Guo Zhiyun was about to kneel.
He had just occupied the place and built the military camp, and the logistics of Chang 'an had arrived?
It was said that speed was the most important thing in war. Your logistics were better than mine.
"I can't take it anymore. I'm going to die. I'm so tired. I can't breathe. Disgusting. You, you are Jiedushi Guo?"
A person on the ship was in a slightly better state. He rubbed his face with both hands and spoke. He was now numb all over.
"You are younger than me. You call me Brother Guo. Come, carry my brothers out. Chang 'an Baggage Troops have arrived. Take the Yellow River."
Guo Zhiyun shouted at the top of his voice. He knew that this was the most exciting thing.
"See, we have just occupied a place, and the supplies from Chang 'an have arrived. What else do we have to worry about?"
One by one, they were carried out. The morale of the soldiers was greatly boosted.
They did not care what was sent. Even if it was an empty ship, they would feel relieved. This speed …
Today, they had traveled with empty ships. In two days, the ships with goods would arrive.
After the people were carried out, they looked inside the ship. It was not empty. There were many things inside.
There were dried fish, dried mutton, watermelon, cantaloupe, green onions, yams, wheat, shrimps. What were these things? The people being carried said that they were dried oysters, dried clams, dried sea cabbage …
The rest were all seafood. There were fifty ships transporting them all the way to the Great Northwest.
For a moment, the people who had finished their work and built the military camp were very tired. Suddenly, they felt that they had the strength to build another military camp.
They felt a special kind of power, a kind of will.
They did not even dare to dream that the imperial court would send seafood to them just after they occupied Tubo.
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