At the fourth watch of the night.
On the battlefield, the Tang Army was slowly divided into two armies, one in the south and the other in the north.
"General! The southern army is ready. "Hou Junji led a group of southern army generals and bowed to Li Jing.
Li Jing looked at the army that was ready to set out and nodded. "This pursuit will definitely be filled with difficulties. I hope that all of you will have a smooth journey. I hope that all of you can meet up with all of you in Qimo City."
Qimo City was the westernmost border of Tuyuhun, and it was also the rendezvous point for the southern army and the northern army. It was more than 3,000 miles long, and most of the way was deserted and uninhabited. The journey was extremely difficult.
"Yes, General!" The generals bowed and said.
Li Jing turned his head and looked at the fire that was less than ten miles away from the army. He waved his sword and said, "Let's go."
For the Tang Army, the sooner they pursued, the more likely they would win. Immediately, the two armies turned around, one in the south and one in the north, and rode along the border of the fire.
After the army set out, Su Dingfang, who stayed behind, began to burn the weeds on the westernmost side of the wounded barracks to make living space for the wounded barracks.
"Hyah!"
With a series of shouts, the army slowly moved north.
The route of the Tang Army was always ten miles away from the fire. On the one hand, it was dark at the moment, and the light of the fire on the grassland was just enough for the Tang Army to move smoothly. On the other hand, before the fire spread, they seized the time to fatten up the war horses as much as possible. Otherwise, once the fire spread, it would not be so easy for these war horses to have a meal again.
In the huge army of the northern army, Meton led the soldiers of the Firearms Supervisor and moved slowly. Unlike the other armies, there were two eight-wheeled carriages in the Firearms Supervisor's team, which were pulled by eight horses, and they were moving the furthest away from the fire.
The other soldiers looked at the eight-wheeled carriages with awe in their eyes. After the battle of the three Tuyuhun fortresses and yesterday's battle, they had a lingering fear of the power of gunpowder.
Fortunately, the Tuyuhun cavalrymen who died in the hands of the Tang Army were left with intact corpses. Even the infamous Mo Saber Troop was only cut in half. But those who died in the hands of the Firearms Supervisor were smashed into pieces.
For a moment, the Tang Army's awe of the Firearms Supervisor instantly surpassed that of the Mo Saber Troop, the strongest troop, and became the most ferocious troop in the army.
"Fortunately, there aren't many people in the Firearms Surveillance Department."
Many soldiers couldn't help but rejoice when they saw that there were only thirty or so people in the Firearms Division.
"Nephew Mo, you've really displayed your skills this time. You've made the Firearms Division number one in the army!" Cheng Yaojin rode up to Meton and clicked his tongue.
Yesterday, he and the Left Army Guard fought side by side with the Firearms Supervisor. He had seen the Firearms Supervisor's combat power with his own eyes. Under every round of gunpowder attack, at least three hundred Tuyuhun soldiers fell. Although Meton had only fired three rounds of gunpowder in the battle, he had killed at least nine hundred enemy soldiers.
Although this was far from the fifty thousand that the Tang Army had killed, it must be known that the total strength of the Firearms Division, including Meton, was no more than thirty people. In this way, each person in the Firearms Division had killed nearly thirty enemies. This was a record that even the Mo Saber Troop could not match!
Killing nine hundred enemies without losing a single person, the status of the Firearms Division instantly soared in the army. Li Jing originally didn't want to let Meton go on an expedition. But when he heard that the Firearms Division also had grenades, he instantly changed his mind. Presumably, he also didn't want to give up the Firearms Division's strongest offensive power.
"Uncle Cheng, you flatter me. Although the Firearms Division's offensive power is strong, they don't have the slightest bit of defensive power. They simply cannot form an army on their own. Without the protection of the army, the Firearms Division will most likely not be able to move an inch." Meton bitterly smiled.
Cheng Yaojin nodded and said, "It's good that you have this awareness. Remember, arrogant soldiers are bound to be defeated. The army emphasizes teamwork. The infantry is like an anvil, and the cavalry is like a hammer. When the hammer and the anvil collide, even if the enemy is as hard as a rock, they will still be crushed to pieces. This is the most simple yet powerful military strategy of the Tang dynasty. Although the Firearms Division is unique, they cannot act alone. "
"This nephew will sincerely follow Uncle Cheng's teachings." Meton looked at the Firearms Division's convoy that had separated from the army and was moving alone. He immediately understood the teachings.
Seeing that Meton understood, Cheng Yaojin nodded with satisfaction. Meton had just joined the Firearms Division and was in the limelight. Coupled with the uniqueness of the Firearms Division, the entire Firearms Division vaguely felt isolated. An isolated army's fate was destined.
When the sky was already bright, the army immediately moved away from the fire and sped up. Meton took this opportunity to lead the Firearms Division to get closer to the other Tang Dynasty army. He took the opportunity to introduce that as long as gunpowder weapons were used properly, their safety could be guaranteed. Gradually, the army's fear of gunpowder weapons dissipated, and the Firearms Division quickly integrated into the Tang Dynasty army.
Li Jing looked at the Firearms Division that had integrated into the army with satisfaction and could not help but nod with satisfaction. He had seen the changes in the Firearms Division with his own eyes. However, when he looked down at the low grass under his feet and saw that it could not cover the yellow sand on the ground at all, his mood suddenly became bad.
It had to be said that Fu Yun's determination to escape was very firm. He did not let go of almost all the grassland that could be set on fire. From the next day onwards, the Tang Dynasty army had been forced to the edge of the grassland by the fire. Only the sparse grassland here was spared and did not burn.
However, the grass here was very low and sparse. It could not meet the needs of nearly 100,000 warhorses at all. After a long march, the entire grassland was eaten up by the warhorses, including the grass roots. Even so, these warhorses were losing weight at a speed visible to the naked eye.
What was more serious was that the army had been chasing for five days. They had marched for five hundred miles, but they had not even seen a shadow of a person. The future was uncertain and aimless. They had to rely on the compressed dry rations that they had brought with them to support their needs.
Looking at the endless desert, the generals of the Northern Road could not help but gather around Li Jing to discuss countermeasures.
"We must find the remnants of the Tuyuhun tribe as soon as possible. Otherwise, these warhorses will become weaker and weaker, and I'm afraid that we will run out of food and fodder," Cheng Yaojin said with a frown.
These days, the generals and soldiers had been eating compressed dry rations to survive. The grains they saved were used to feed the warhorses to make up for the shortage of fodder. However, one warhorse was probably more than the consumption of three generals and soldiers. The army's food and fodder were decreasing at a rapid rate.
Li Jing nodded and said, "According to the map provided by the Dang Xiang tribe, there is a low-lying place fifty miles ahead. It is lush with water and grass. It may be the hiding place of the Tuyuhun tribe. It should not have been burned. I have sent people to check it out. I think there will be a reply soon. "
The rest of the generals could not help but be happy. They had chased for eight hundred miles and now they finally heard good news.
"Report!"
A scout hurriedly came in and reported, "General, there is no trace of the Tuyuhun tribe in the valley ahead."
The generals were disappointed. This time, they had found nothing.
Li Jing's heart skipped a beat and said, "Was the valley burned?"
If the valley was not burned, the warhorses in the army could have a good meal.
The scout shook his head and said, "It was not burned. It was just occupied by a group of gazelles."
"Gazelles!" Cheng Yaojin's eyes lit up and said, "This is good stuff. Yellow mutton is a rare delicacy!"
The last time Cheng Yaojin ate yellow mutton was during the northern expedition to the Turks. That delicious taste was something that he could not forget.
"How many gazelles are there?" Cheng Yaojin could not help but ask.
"At least a thousand." The scout said.
"A thousand!" Everyone was stunned. A herd of Yellow Gazelles would at most have a dozen of them. The reason why there were so many Yellow Gazelles in the valley was probably because of the fire set by Fu Yun, which caused these Yellow Gazelles to gather together.
"General! Now that the army is short of supplies, if we can hunt these gazelles to replenish the army, "Meton had an idea and said. If there were only a dozen or so gazelles, it would not be enough to fill the gaps between the teeth of the army. Naturally, there was no need to make such a big fuss. However, there were a thousand of them this time. It was enough for the army to have a good meal.
Cheng Yaojin shook his head and said, "Little Mo, you don't know. These gazelles are very alert. I am afraid that by the time the army arrives, they will have already heard the noise and run away. There is no need to talk about hunting them, unless …"
"Unless we set a trap and wait for the gazelles to come in," Meton said.
Cheng Yaojin laughed and said, "Little Mo, the Old Man personally hunted gazelles in the Turks. Once these gazelles start running, even cavalry cannot catch up. It is very difficult to lure a group of gazelles into a trap.
Meton said confidently, "One gazelle is indeed difficult to catch, but if there is a group of them, then it is very simple."
"Why do you say that?" Cheng Yaojin raised his eyebrows and asked.
"In 'Mozi's Secret Works', there is a mention of a flock of sheep. A flock of sheep is a very scattered organization. Usually, when they are together, they will blindly charge left and right. However, once one of the leading sheep moves, the other sheep will rush forward without thinking, completely ignoring the possibility that there may be wolves in front of them or better grass not far away. This is the herd effect! "Merton said.
"Herd effect!" Everyone's eyes lit up.
Meton nodded and revealed a mysterious smile. He said, "Little Mo, you don't need to control the entire flock of sheep. You only need to control the direction of the leading sheep. To deal with the gazelles, whose hearing is very developed, I think the firearms supervisor is the most suitable."
When Meton led the firearms supervisor to the valley, he couldn't help but gasp when he saw the densely packed gazelles scattered in the valley. The number of gazelles was probably more than what the scouts had said. When the firearms supervisor appeared in the valley, all the gazelles immediately gathered together. However, when they saw that the firearms supervisor was few in number and didn't want to give up the grass they had found with great difficulty, they didn't immediately run away.
"Libation Lord!" Xue Rengui whispered to Meton.
"Begin!" Meton waved his hand and said.
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