Black military uniforms and black military flags, like a black dragon baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, rolled to the north and killed the Khitans.
The soldiers wore battle jackets and leather helmets. At least half of the soldiers were equipped with cowhide armor. The whole team was made up of spears, swords and shields, and archers. They were equipped with all kinds of long and short ordnance, and their offensive and defensive strength could not be underestimated.
On the hillside, Xiao Man and A Nu stood in front, and the wet nurse stood behind with the young master and the young lady in her arms. She covered her eyes with her hands and looked at the army in the distance, not knowing where their husbands were.
Ren Wei stood next to her, and his face was twisted like a steamed bun.
If it was up to him, the suzerain should have resigned as soon as he completed the task of selecting officials in the Southern Border. As the suzerain of the Succession Hall, he should be in the dark and secretly guide the general trend of the world.
Now, with the Emperor's order, their sect leader had no choice but to go to the frontlines. Because he was in the army, the 'Succession Hall' had no way to intervene in such a short time. It was also impossible to sneak a few guards into his side.
Ren Wei could only comfort himself, "If there is a war in the thousands of troops, even a hundred guards won't be able to help. Besides, it's just a small Khitan. The 160,000 troops of the imperial court will definitely succeed. As a general, the suzerain won't have to go there personally, so there shouldn't be any danger … "
A Nu looked at the endless army, bit her thin lower lip, and suddenly said to Xiao Man, "Xiao Man, I want to go with the army. Maybe I will have a chance to take care of Langjun."
"How can you do that!"
Xiao Man looked at A Nu in surprise, "A Nu, you have never been in the army, so you don't know the strict military discipline. You are not in the army, so you can't sneak in. With Langjun's current military position, he is not qualified to have his own private army. There are more than 100,000 people in the army. Once the war starts in Liaodong, you won't even know where he is. "
A Nu said worriedly, "I know this, but I feel more at ease to follow him all the way. I am good at disguise and stealth. If there is a chance, I may be able to go to his side. One more person can always take care of him. You have to take care of the child, so you can't be distracted. Let me go. "
Xiao Man thought about it and shook her head hard.
Her experience was different from Ah Nu's, and her current identity was also different. It was very difficult for her to agree to Ah Nu's request.
She had lived in the army for a long time. Although she was just an inner guard and had never fought in a war, she was clear about the rules and discipline of the army. In her opinion, A Nu's idea was extremely absurd. Moreover, when Yang Fan left, he left the whole family to her. If she promised Ah Nu to go with Yang Fan, if something happened to Ah Nu, how could she explain to Yang Fan?
Ah Nu was obviously not on a whim. Seeing that she refused to agree, she hurriedly gave Gu Zhuting a look. Gu Zhuting then came up and helped Ah Nu to persuade. From the looks of it, Ah Nu and Gu Zhuting had already discussed this with each other. On the hillside, the two of them began to train Xiao Man …
Wu Zetian's timely punishment of Lai Junchen allowed the civil and military officials of the court to turn their attention back to quelling the rebellion in Liaodong. After a period of preparation, the army could finally set off. When she was naming the generals, Wu Zetian suddenly thought of her daughter Taiping's request, so she issued an edict and transferred him back to the army.
At this time, Yang Fan was leading his troops to advance with the main army. Yang Fan had been appointed as the captain of the first regiment. His troops were formed from elite soldiers drawn from the various prefectures of subjugation. Although they were called elite soldiers, they were just large soldiers pulled from a file.
The "prefectural military system" was already gradually collapsing, and the court had gradually begun to implement a recruitment system. General Cao Renshi of the Left Eagle Guard, General Zhang Xuanyu of the Right Golden Guard, and the newly appointed Vice-Minister of Agriculture Ma Renjie led the imperial guards and the recruitment army. They were the elite troops and served as the vanguard.
And the troops Yang Fan was in were mostly formed from prefectural soldiers. As a reserve force, they were the rear troops, led by the Chief of Marches, Yan Banshi, and General of the Left Guard, Li Duozuo.
Although Yang Fan's troops were formed from soldiers drawn from the prefectural armies, the entire structure of the troops was complete. There were other commanders, senior censors, six captains, and adjunct officers. Along the way, Yang Fan and a few of his subordinates had become familiar with each other. At this time, they were chatting and laughing as they hurried along.
Senior Censor Shi Rui said, "A small Khitan actually required so many famous generals and such a large army. Isn't the court making a mountain out of a molehill? Using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken!"
Senior Censor Yun Gufan advised, "Censor Shi Rui must not be careless. I heard that the Khitan soldiers are brave and skilled in battle. They took down the Yingzhou prefectural governor Zhao Wenren in one attack, then took down Chongzhou and captured Tang Longshan's deputy envoy, Xu Qinji. They are not so easy to deal with."
Senior Censor Tang Tao disapprovingly said, "Senior Censor Yun, don't boost the morale of others and diminish your own prestige. The Khitan people are invincible because the border armies are incompetent. In our dynasty's border armies, other than the Longyou Army who is skilled in battle, the other border armies are unable to withstand a single blow. Normally, they can maintain law and order in the border areas and arrest the smugglers. But to fight? They are far inferior! "
Senior Censor Shi Rui and six captains immediately echoed.
The Tang Dynasty's border army system adopted a hereditary military household system. This was similar to the Ming Dynasty's Wei Suo troops. The first generation were all soldiers who were skilled in battle. They settled in the area and established military households. The court exempted them from taxes and corvee labor. However, as a price, each family had to produce soldiers to fill in the gaps of the previous generation's border army.
This kind of army degenerated after a few generations. For example, in the Western Region, there were annual wars. The border army's fighting strength was still very impressive. Since the founding of the Liaodong region, there were very few major wars. Many border army soldiers had never fought a war since they received the weapons passed down from their fathers.
In addition, the hereditary generals of the border army were not paid, the soldiers were not enough. Some families' fathers doted on their children and grandchildren, so they were not willing to hand over their duties. As a result, the soldiers were aging and there were all kinds of problems. As a result, basically they did not have much fighting strength. For this reason, among the various military systems of the imperial court, it was the prefectural army that looked down on the border army, the conscripted army looked down on the prefectural army, and the imperial army looked down on the conscripted army.
Listening to his subordinates' discussion, Yang Fan said, "It is true that the Khitan people's armors are incomplete and their weapons are broken. But they live in bitter cold, nomadic herding and hunting for a living. Therefore, they are naturally skilled in riding and archery, valiant and aggressive. Now that they have assembled into an army, their fighting strength cannot be underestimated. You must know that arrogant soldiers are bound to be defeated. Be careful! "
Yang Fan was a commanding general, with the rank of captain, it was not good for the generals to refute his opinion. Thereupon, one after another, they agreed.
Shi Rui laughed and said, "This lowly general heard that when Captain Yang was at Longyou in the past, you once led five thousand border troops at Mingwei Garrison to safely withdraw from Flying Fox Pass under the pursuit of a hundred thousand Turkic troops. The casualties were less than one-third. You also assisted Great General Lou in outsmarting the Turkic troops. Captain is so proficient in military affairs, we are fortunate to be under Captain Yang's command. This time we are going to Liaodong, we will definitely be able to render meritorious service! "
Yang Fan knew his own situation very well, how could he dare to consider himself a general who was proficient in the art of war? Hastily he waved his hand and modestly said, "That is just a rumor, it cannot be taken seriously. It is true that the Turks had a hundred thousand troops, but at that time they broke through Flying Fox Pass, less than twenty thousand troops entered the pass. While we were retreating, we took advantage of the terrain, so we calmly withdrew to Mingwei Garrison. "
"Right now there are many battle-hardened generals commanding the entire army, mobilizing the troops and dispatching the generals. Our battalion's duty is only to follow the Great General's command, to issue clear orders, to strictly enforce military discipline, and to fight the enemy bravely. Speaking of rendering meritorious service, based on our imperial court's military power, as long as you and I work together, it will not be difficult! "
All the generals were very optimistic and agreed in unison.
At this moment, Chief Marshal Yun Gufan suddenly pointed his finger and said cheerfully, "Look! Chief Steward Yan is here! "
Yang Fan and the others looked back and saw the commander's flag fluttering in the wind, with a large 'Yan' character written on it, as if a new wave had suddenly surged into the midst of the advancing army, splitting the waves and rolling over. The advancing Official Army soldiers quickly moved to the sides of the post road, making way for them.
Seeing this, Yang Fan hurriedly moved his horse to the side of the road and stood solemnly with his subordinates, respectfully sending off Chief Steward Yan's troops.
This was a true elite army. The military flag fluttered like fire. There were a total of eight hundred armored cavalrymen riding on tall and sturdy horses. Their armor was bright, their saddles were neat, and their swords and shields hung from their shoulders. They held long lacquered spears with red tassels. The silver steel tip of the spear flickered with a cold light, looking very mighty and majestic.
Shi Rui, Yun Gufan, and the others looked enviously at Chief Steward Yan's personal army. They were uniformly dressed in iron armor with a half-arm battle robe on the outside. There were war bows on their shoulders, short knives at their waists, and cowhide quivers. A black lacquered cowhide cavalry shield hung from the side of their saddles, painted with the image of a ferocious beast. A long red tassel spear with blood grooves flashed with a sinister light.
On the other hand, Yang Fan's Official Army could not be compared at all.
The horses they led were of different heights, and some were fat and some were thin. On the backs of the horses hung their own food bags, cooking utensils, felt clothes, and sleeping bags. The swords, bows, and arrows, as well as their armor were of a mess. Some of them did not wear leather armor at all. Although some of them wore half-body armor, their leather armor had not been oiled for a long time. The paint had worn off, the leather armor was cracked, and the shoulder was even cracked.
The awe-inspiring personal army walked over, and the "Iron Man" appeared shining with golden light.
A full set of brand-new Radiant Armor covered Chief Steward Yan from head to toe, making him look like a shining golden-armored deity under the sunlight. The copper scale-like cheek protector and neck protector also covered his face. Only a hawk-like nose and a pair of sharp and majestic eyes could be seen.
He walked straight past Yang Fan, but Yang Fan did not see his appearance. He only remembered the hawk-like nose.
Many of the new Official Army soldiers were full of admiration and envy. Some veterans who had fought in wars were leading his old horse, but they spat disdainfully, "Ptui! You're new recruits who have never fought in a war. What are you so proud of? Liaodong is still far away. All of you look mighty in heavy armor, but it won't be long before you're tired! "
Yang Fan's ears were sharp enough to hear the veterans' disdainful curses. He could not help but blush because he was also admiring them in his heart. Just now, he was like the other admiring soldiers, shocked by the majesty of this army. Now that he heard the veteran's words, he realized that Chief Steward Yan did not seem to know much about military affairs.
However, when Yang Fan rode to the side of the road and looked at the endless army, he could not see the end of it. It was vast and boundless, and he could not help but feel confident.
Perhaps Chief Steward Yan was as ignorant of the art of war as he was. However, the army also had General Cao Renshi of the Left Eagle Guard, General Zhang Xuanyu of the Right Golden Guard, and General Li Duozuo of the Left Mighty Guard. They were all experienced generals who were good at fighting and had been on the battlefield for a long time. With such a mighty army, the rebellion could not be quelled overnight.
Therefore, this trip to Liaodong was just a long trip for him!
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