At the end of winter and the beginning of spring, the weather was relatively cold, especially in the second half of the night. However, the eight hundred soldiers who were hurriedly marching did not feel the cold at all. Their marching speed was too fast. Even if they were riding on horses, the physical exhaustion was still not small. The heat emitted from their bodies had completely offset the coldness of the outside air. In fact, they even felt a little hot.
Along the way, there were still soldiers who fell off their horses and fell behind from time to time, but the marching troops didn't stop at all. Their mission was to reach Qu Bai City at all costs. No matter how many soldiers fell behind on the way, they wouldn't care. As for the safety of these soldiers, they didn't care so much. They were just soldiers, worthless in the Tang dynasty. Even if they were frozen to death, it didn't matter. Their families would be compensated. Compared with this mission, sacrificing some soldiers was really nothing.
As for the soldiers who fell behind, those who were seriously injured could only stay to rest, while those who were slightly injured would get on their horses again and catch up with the main force after a short rest. They were all brave soldiers who always remembered their mission. Even if there was a mountain of swords and a sea of flames ahead, they would still try their best. They wouldn't choose to stay and rest just because they fell off their horses. For a soldier, it was a great shame.
Seeing his elite soldiers falling off their horses one after another, Lao Guo felt a little distressed. These were the elite soldiers he cared most about. Although most of the soldiers who fell behind wouldn't be seriously injured, he couldn't help but feel a little distressed when he saw them fall off their horses. Maybe it was because they had been together for so long that they had developed feelings for each other. Or maybe it was his foundation. Seeing his own soldiers fall off their horses, the general felt distressed instinctively.
However, the mission was the most important thing. Any general who loved his soldiers as if they were his children would never let them enjoy themselves in the rear because of his love for them. When there was a mission, he would personally lead them to break through the enemy lines. Although many soldiers would be injured or killed in every war, it was the responsibility of the soldiers and the general. For this responsibility, the general had no choice. The imperial court had paid a huge price to raise so many soldiers in order to let them serve the country at any time. No matter how great the danger was, the soldiers couldn't shrink back. Only in this way could they be called qualified soldiers.
"Soldiers, it's getting late. Let's work harder. We must reach Qu Bai City before midnight. Full speed ahead."
Lao Guo had lost track of the time, but he could roughly tell the time by looking up at the moon in the sky. He felt it was getting late, and it seemed impossible for them to reach the ruins of Qu Bai City before midnight. Therefore, regardless of the fact that his soldiers fell off their horses from time to time, he chose to let them speed up.
The soldiers were also good. None of them slowed down because they were worried about falling to their deaths. They all galloped as fast as they could. They maintained a certain distance from each other to avoid a chain reaction if one of them fell off the horse.
If they marched at night with torches, the possibility of falling off their horses could be reduced. But if they started a fire on a large scale, their whereabouts would be easily exposed. In this case, the whole plan would fail if they were discovered by the scouts of the Horse Gang.
"Scouts, throw away all your equipment and go to the front to gather information."
Lao Guo continued to give orders to the scouts beside him.
Because they were marching in a hurry, the scouts and the main force were together. No one was faster than the other. Lao Guo still felt the team was moving too slowly, so he let the scouts throw away their equipment and go ahead first. In this way, they would be faster than the main force. The armor and weapons of the soldiers were too heavy, while the scouts didn't wear heavy armor and had light weapons. If they threw away their light weapons, they would be faster than the main force at full speed.
The scouts sped up. But even if they threw away all their equipment, the distance between them and the main force was still very small. It took them quite a while to gain some distance.
In the direction of the ruins of Old White City, more than a hundred soldiers were making the most intense preparations. The soldiers lying in ambush were waiting nervously, and the guards in charge of luring the enemy were also nervous. They were standing right beside the city gate. Once the Horse Gang suddenly attacked, a shower of arrows would probably kill them. In order to avoid losing their lives, they had to pay close attention to what was happening in front of them. Once they noticed the Horse Gang's sudden attack, they had to cover their heads and necks with their arms. Their arms were already equipped with small shields, which were enough to resist arrows. The rest of their bodies, especially their chests and abdomens, were equipped with armor and additional wooden shields. As long as there were no accidents, they would not be shot through by arrows. Their legs were the weakest part, but even if they were shot in the legs, it would not be fatal. The only parts they had to worry about were their faces and necks. As long as these two parts were not shot by the Horse Gang, their lives would not be in danger.
But the premise of all this was that they had to discover the Horse Gang's arrival in time. They couldn't keep raising their arms to cover their necks and faces. If they did so, not only would it arouse the suspicion of the Horse Gang spies, but their arms would also be unbearably sore.
Compared to the soldiers outside the city gate, the soldiers standing on the city wall were even more nervous. If they were shot by arrows, would it be better for them to fall off the city wall? Or would it be better for them to fall directly on the city wall? It would be safer for them to fall directly on the city wall. If they fell from the city wall, they might be seriously injured. If they were hung directly on the parapet, they might be continuously attacked by arrows. However, if the different situations were intertwined, it would seem more realistic and it would be easier for the Horse Gang to accept it. In order to avoid injuries, they had to be prepared in advance. For example, the soldiers who planned to hang themselves on the broken parapet would need to equip themselves with a helmet that could resist arrows. The northern part of the city had to be equipped with an extra layer of armor. The back of the neck had to be protected. In this way, if they hung themselves on the city wall, they wouldn't be continuously attacked by arrows.
In addition, there was a tent at each city gate. This was a place for the soldiers to rest. The few soldiers who were responsible for guarding the gate would take turns to rest in the tent when the sky turned dark. It was inevitable that they would have to take off their armor to rest. And the tent would inevitably be the place where the Horse Gang would attack. Then, the soldiers who rested inside would be in danger of being killed. In order to protect these soldiers, they had to be prepared in advance.
Naturally, taking off their armor was the most comfortable way to rest. If they took off their armor, the defense of the soldiers would be very weak. In order to solve this problem, they had to put on inner armor. This armor was very thin under the soldiers' clothes. It wouldn't be easily discovered by the Horse Gang. In the chaotic battlefield environment, where would the Horse Gang have the time to carefully examine the corpses of the soldiers?
Arrows and bloodstains also had to be prepared in advance. The soldiers wore white clothes outside. First, they had to stain it with bloodstains. Then, a broken arrow would be inserted into the clothes. When the Horse Gang launched a surprise attack, as long as they heard the sound of arrows flying everywhere, they could pretend to panic and escape from the tent. Then, they would suddenly fall to the ground. As long as a few bloodstained arrows were inserted as backup, the Horse Gang would be fooled.
These details didn't seem to be very important. In fact, they were very important. Only when these details were done well enough could the Horse Gang completely relax their vigilance. Then, they would be able to boldly rush into the city. In this way, Ang Lee's plan to beat them at their own game would be successful.
"Assistant Minister Li, I'm back."
The scouts that were sent out had quietly returned. These were the excellent scouts that Ang Lee had personally trained. They were the best at disguise. They could easily disguise themselves as a small animal, a tree, a stone. It wasn't difficult for them to even blend into the desert. And it was with this special disguise skill that these scouts could detect important situations that ordinary people couldn't.
"How is it? Have you found the Horse Gang?"
Ang Lee asked with concern.
"Found them. They are hidden in a gully more than ten miles away in the northwest. It's very well hidden. Under normal circumstances, it's impossible to find them. But because many Horse Gang scouts on horseback suddenly disappeared in the same place, I found this gully. It was too dark, so I didn't dare to get too close. I only saw a few hundred people, maybe more."
The scout reported.
"It seems that there are a lot of Horse Gang! If Lao Guo's troops don't come to reinforce us in time, we won't be able to handle so many of them. "
Ang Lee said.
Luring the Horse Gang into the city and then launching all kinds of attacks, especially fire attacks, could indeed deal a heavy blow to the Horse Gang. However, the Horse Gang outnumbered the Horse Gang, and Old White City was an abandoned city with damaged walls everywhere. If the Horse Gang abandoned their horses, they could escape from the damaged walls. More than a hundred soldiers were mainly guarding the three city gates, so there were no extra soldiers to guard the walls. Therefore, it was difficult to stop the Horse Gang from escaping. But things would be different when Lao Guo's troops arrived. With the reinforcement, they could wipe out all the Horse Gang who had entered Old White City.
"The Horse Gang ambushed us more than ten miles away. It seems that they are really going to attack us. It's almost midnight."
Li Hanlu said.
Ang Lee nodded, gently stood up from the bench, and then sat down again. In the whole city gate tower, only Ang Lee and Li Hanlu had small stools to sit on, while the rest of the soldiers were all sitting on the mud. The conditions here were simple and crude, so there was no way for the soldiers to sit on stools. Ang Lee stood up because it was too uncomfortable to sit all the time, so he stood up to relax the nerves in his legs and let his buttocks get some fresh air. But he immediately sat down because he thought that there might be Horse Gang spies around. If he stood up for too long, he would be easily discovered by the Horse Gang spies, which would be very detrimental to the plan of luring the enemy.
Looking up at the sky, Ang Lee knew that midnight was indeed approaching. In the era without clocks, the most reliable way to tell time was to look at the sun and the moon. As long as one looked at the height and angle of the moon in the sky, and then compared it with the date, one could estimate the approximate time. Whether it was the imperial court officials, the common people, or even the Horse Gang, they all used this method to tell time.
"Don't be nervous. The Horse Gang is nothing to be afraid of. In this battle, we will definitely defeat them."
Seeing that a soldier was a little scared, Ang Lee encouraged him. This soldier looked very young. According to the standards of later generations, he was a minor. But in the Tang dynasty, this age was enough to enlist in the army.
"Assistant Minister Li, I'm not afraid."
Although his expression was obviously nervous, the little soldier still stubbornly expressed that he was not afraid, which could be considered as emboldening himself.
"How old are you this year?"
Ang Lee asked with concern.
"Assistant Minister Li, I'm seventeen this year."
The soldier replied.
"Seventeen years old, still a child. When the battle starts later, pay attention to your safety. You must not only eliminate the Horse Gang, but also protect yourself well."
Ang Lee said with concern.
"Yes, I understand."
The soldier said excitedly.
Then, Ang Lee encouraged the soldiers again, telling them not to be afraid and that the reinforcements would definitely arrive in time. Lao Guo was not so bold as to not arrive in time. And regarding this, the soldiers all firmly believed. They believed that with such a big figure like Ang Lee, the reinforcements would definitely come. So, what was there for them to be nervous about?
Soon, it was midnight. Ang Lee and his people were closely preparing for the battle. The Horse Gang was about to take action, but Lao Guo's troops had not yet arrived. It seemed that they had arrived a little late.
According to the latest intelligence from the spies in Summer Province City and other directions, there was no sign of mobilization of troops in Summer Province City, nor any large-scale mobilization of troops in the surrounding area. There was also no trace of soldiers on the main road from Summer Province City to Old Bai City. All these seemed to indicate that the soldiers in Old Bai City were a group of lone soldiers, and no reinforcements would come to their aid. At the same time, it also indicated that this was not a trap set by the soldiers, but a high-ranking official of the imperial court who had accidentally entered their territory. If they did not take action, they would not be worthy of the title of Horse Gang.
The Horse Gang leader looked at the moon in the sky, and then at his subordinates, saying, "Brothers, the soldiers should be asleep now. This is a great opportunity for us to attack. Remember, we must be fast. Before they wake up, we must chop off their heads. Don't let any of them escape."
"Don't worry, brother. With us, none of the soldiers will escape."
"Brother, just wait for our good news! Brothers, get ready to fight. "
"Brothers, follow me."
The group leaders had been waiting impatiently for a long time. They each led less than two hundred soldiers, left the valley where they ambushed, and rushed to the ruins of Old Bai City at the fastest speed.
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