If a horse ran non-stop, it could move more than 500 kilometers in a day and night. But this was only a theoretical value. Because if it ran like this for a long time, the horse would die. In ancient times, people had to constantly change horses at courier stations to run 800 kilometers. People could bear the physical exhaustion for a long time, but horses couldn't.
If the Mongolians rode Arabian horses, they couldn't run wild in Eurasia. It was the Mongolian horses' outstanding endurance and tolerance to food and environment that created the glory of the Mongolian cavalry. But the Mongolians had to take turns riding two or even three horses when they wanted to travel long distances. Otherwise, the Mongolian horses couldn't stand it.
Mangurtai had already set off from Ningyuan Army. His understanding of Gao Hongzhong was still about the situation 12 hours ago. Twelve hours ago, the first brigade of the national defense army was fighting with the God Bless Army. He felt that the battle couldn't end in half a day, so he had to seize this fleeting opportunity. So he immediately decided to send troops to the battlefield.
And because of this one night's deviation, the situation of the battle had changed dramatically. 'Flat Hair' pecked to death the crane that sent messages to Gao Hongzhong. This kind of crane that could carry people was a high-end product, and there was only one in Gao Hongzhong. Mangurtai wouldn't be able to update the battlefield information for half a day.
In front of Shanhai Pass, tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers of the God Bless Army were throwing away their weapons and getting breakfast. In order to escort such a large number of surrendered soldiers, the first brigade of the Revolutionary Army couldn't rest after fighting all night. They didn't even have hot soup and food to eat. They had to calm the captives first.
The captives seemed to wake up from a dream. They shrunk their necks, put their hands together, and lined up in the direction of Shanhai Pass. Their clothes were shabby, their hair was messy, and their faces were sad. They were all listless.
There were rows of cooking carts on the side of the road that distributed food. Big pots were steaming with meat porridge. About 30,000 captives were lining up to eat, and each person had a bowl. The soldiers who maintained order held flintlock guns with bayonets and shouted, "Eat quickly, eat quickly. Once you're done eating, go ahead. "
A captive held a wooden bowl and blew on it while eating the meat porridge. His fingers were black and cracked. Some of his nails had disappeared, and the flesh underneath was directly exposed. It was painful to look at. The soldier who gave him the meat porridge pitied him, so he gave him half a spoonful more and asked, "What happened to your hands?"
"Digging fortifications, no shovels, use your fingers to dig. The captive who was eating the porridge smiled bitterly and said.
The soldier in charge of serving porridge was even more puzzled. "Why are you all so stubborn?"
The captive who was drinking the porridge smiled bitterly and said, "We don't understand either. It's like we've become muddle-headed. Whatever the adults say, we'll do. It wasn't until you guys bombarded me with cannons last night that I woke up and realized that my whole body was in pain. " He finished the porridge and even licked it clean. After putting down the bowl, he looked at the cook and asked, "How can your Revolutionary Army live so well? Even the clothes are the same. "
In the eyes of the God Blessed Army captives, the soldiers of the Revolutionary Army were like local tycoons. It was good enough for them to wear a cotton-padded coat. The soldiers of the Revolutionary Army all wore sheepskin jackets, leather boots, and cotton-padded hats. Inside the jacket, there were also close-fitting cotton-padded clothes and trousers. This sturdy set of clothes looked very warm.
Fortunately, Zhou Qingfeng did not have many soldiers under him. Otherwise, just the sheepskin jackets alone would be enough to give him a headache. He really did not have that many sheepskins to make clothes. However, when they were dressed like this, it was enough to make all the soldiers in this era envious.
The cook laughed when he heard this. He was also very proud of his warm military uniform. He said to the captive happily, "It's a pleasure to be a soldier of our Grand Marshal Zhou. We eat well, wear well, go to battle and kill the enemy, and we'll even get land. Even if we die, we'll get a lot of pension. It's worth it to be a soldier of Grand Marshal Zhou! "
The captives were all envious, and they all asked how they could get such good clothes. When they learned that the Revolutionary Army only chose elite soldiers, they were very disappointed.
At noon, the cavalry that went out to scout quickly reported that Mangurtai's vanguard had already passed through the Liuzhou River and entered Qianwei Town. The main force did not stop and was still advancing rapidly. Qianwei Town was the future Suizhong County. It was only 120 kilometers away from Shanhai Pass.
"This barbarian came so fast." Zhou Qingfeng did not order for the news that the God Blessed Army had collapsed to be sealed. Many of the defeated soldiers fled to the north. However, the defeated soldiers on foot scattered in all directions. They were disorganized and could not report to Mangurtai even if they wanted to.
In front of the wall, a large number of surrendered soldiers were filing in. The composition of these people was complicated and had not yet been identified. Zhou Qingfeng could not let them stay outside Shanhai Pass, nor did he dare to let them stay inside Shanhai Pass. He could only let them pass through Shanhai Pass to the south and hand them over to the militia that was rushing over to guard them.
The remnants of Gao Hongzhong retreated all the way to the mountains north of Shanhai Pass. They did not fight head-on with the Eleventh Brigade that was responsible for clearing them out. Instead, they tried their best to avoid battle. These traitors were obviously determined to protect themselves and wait for Mangurtai's reinforcements.
Zhou Qingfeng looked at his watch. After estimating the speed of Mangurtai's arrival, he ordered the Eleventh Brigade to withdraw from the battle and enter the pass. Due to the lack of dock lifting equipment, the cannons that the brigade had shipped by sea could not be transported ashore. The dozen or so transport ships could only unload part of the ammunition and leave.
At around three in the afternoon, Mangurtai's vanguard was less than 60 kilometers away from Shanhai Pass. This guy began to slow down and send out a large number of scouts to try and figure out the current situation. Meanwhile, Zhou Qingfeng's second batch of reinforcements finally arrived. Xu Bing piloted a biplane and used a space-time island to transport Han Shi's cavalry brigade to him.
Zhou Qingfeng only had one cavalry brigade, and the entire brigade only had 2,500 men. This brigade could be said to be extremely luxurious. They used Mongolian horses for daily operations and Arabian horses for assault. He had used all his strength to transport these horses from Goa. Almost all of them were used to equip this powerful unit.
When Xu Bing opened the spacetime door, she said apologetically, "The 5th Infantry Brigade stationed in Baoding has too many people and equipment. Especially the heavy cannons, I can't get them. I can only transport this cavalry brigade for you. "
After a night of mobilization and a day of propaganda, the entire territory of the 'Revolutionary Army' was publicizing the situation of the invasion of the Tatars. Under the threat of war, the people were highly nervous, and the power of will Zhou Qingfeng received was ten times more than usual. It was also because of this powerful support that he could get a cavalry brigade of more than 2,000 people from the space-time island that had exhausted their spiritual power.
The appearance of this new force directly affected Zhou Qingfeng's decision. He considered that the enemy cavalry should be very tired after a long journey, and at this time, a cavalry brigade that was ready for battle would be very effective.
Not only did Xu Bing send over a brigade for Zhou Qingfeng, he said, "I've already ordered the entire Revolutionary Army to mobilize and send over two brigades from the south. In addition, a large number of militias have been drafted. Considering that there are still many places that need military support, I can only order about 30,000 militias from Tianjin to join the battle here for the time being.
"It's enough, it's completely enough."
With the reinforcements brought by Xu Bing, Zhou Qingfeng was completely confident that he could fight the enemy in Shanhai Pass.
"We just lack some cannons. The cannons of the 11th Brigade can't be unloaded on the ships, and the cavalry brigade only has some small cannons. Only one artillery battalion of the 1st Brigade has 12 cannons. " Zhou Qingfeng liked to use artillery to bully his opponents, but now that he thought about it, Mangurtai was a light cavalry assault, and it was impossible for him to have cannons for the time being. His firepower advantage was still very big.
"I'll help you take care of the prisoners first, and then build a temporary dock behind Shanhai Pass to load and unload the cannons, but it will take some time." Xu Bing was still very attentive to the battle. As the chief of the 'Revolutionary Army', she took care of a lot of chores for Zhou Qingfeng. "Fight with peace of mind and beat those female barbarians. I'm in the rear. "
With Xu Bing's support, the pressure on Zhou Qingfeng was greatly reduced. He was in a good mood and reached out to hug Xu Bing's waist and kiss her. However, Xu Bing glared at him and said, "Be more serious."
Xu Bing brought some administrative personnel to settle the prisoners, and Han Shi, who came riding a demon pig, came to Zhou Qingfeng with a salute and shouted, "Grand Marshal, the Independent Cavalry Brigade has arrived, requesting to enter the battlefield."
"We're out, the enemy is on their way to die." With the cavalry brigade in his hands, Zhou Qingfeng no longer had to hide in the wall and defend passively. He left the 1st and 11th Brigades in Shanhai Pass to rest, and brought the cavalry brigade out, ready to give the enemy's vanguard a head-on blow.
With the arrival of the cavalry company, the National Defense Army of Shanhai Pass had all three types of infantry, artillery, and cavalry. Together with the two artillery ships equipped with rockets on the sea, they could advance on land and sea at the same time. Zhou Qingfeng brought Han Shi's fresh troops out of the city, and all of them rested and prepared for battle.
At five o 'clock in the afternoon, Mangurtai's vanguard, led by Engedri and 3,000 cavalrymen, appeared outside the camp. He was overjoyed to see that the camp was still there, but when he saw that the camp was in a mess and there was no one inside, he was shocked.
Where's the Blessed Army?
Weren't they fighting fiercely yesterday?
Didn't they say that there were still more than 40,000 people before sunset last night?
Where are those people now?
Engedri was completely confused, and he sent out scouts to search everywhere. Gao Hongzhong, who received the news, ran out of the mountains in the west with the last of his defeated troops. When he saw Engedri, he was as excited as seeing his own father, and almost knelt on the ground and cried, "Oh, Engedri, you're finally here. If you were any later, we'd all be dead. "
The Revolutionary Army had fortified the walls and cleared out the wilderness, and there was not even a house north of Shanhai Pass that could be lived in. In this winter, without food or water, hiding in the mountains and facing the northwest wind, they would all be dead after one night!
"Where are your men?" Engedri asked anxiously, "Where are your 50,000 men? Weren't they all fine yesterday? It's only been a day, and this is all that's left? "
50,000 men, and they couldn't even hold on for a day? Are you a pig?
This is too much!
Gao Hongzhong knelt on the ground and didn't dare to get up. He kept kowtowing and said, "Engedri, it's not that we're useless, it's just that the Revolutionary Army is too cruel. They shot heavenly fire at me from the sea during the day, and they dared to attack my camp with only 5,000 men. They even sent another 5,000 men to cut off my retreat. Last night, we fought fiercely with them all night, but they used cannons, gunpowder, and strange tricks to trick us. "
Gao Hongzhong cried and cried, and as he cried, he told Engedri how the First Brigade taught him a lesson. Engedri listened with his heart full of absurdity, and he raised the horsewhip and slapped the slave's face hard. The whip was imbued with Qi, and with just a few lashes, Gao Hongzhong's skin was torn open, and he fainted.
However, Gao Hongzhong couldn't faint even if he wanted to. Engedri, who was extremely angry, splashed him with cold water to wake him up, and asked, "How many men do you have left?"
Gao Hongzhong felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave in the cold water, and he answered while trembling, "About 3,000 to 4,000 men."
"50,000 men, and only 3,000 to 4,000 are left after fighting for a day? How many men are there in the Revolutionary Army? "Engedri asked again.
"5,000 men last night, and another 5,000 came this morning, so there should be only 10,000 men left." Gao Hongzhong didn't know that Zhou Qingfeng had an additional cavalry brigade.
"There were 10,000 men, and you only have 5,000 left?" Engedri didn't even know how to scold this idiot. "Why don't trash like you go and die?"
Knowing that the Blessed Army had suffered a crushing defeat, Engedri had the intention to retreat. But on the battlefield, Han Shi's cavalry brigade was slowly approaching. The Kennu scouts kept sending back information, and it was obvious that this vanguard force couldn't retreat just because they wanted to.
Although Gao Hongzhong's face was covered in blood, to show his loyalty, he specially reminded Engedri, "Engedri, this traitor Zhou's ships can shoot heavenly fire, so it's better not to get too close to the coast. Also, we have to worry about them cutting off our retreat. "
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