Chapter 201 Purple and White Armored Soldiers
Two purple, two blue and seven green.
It’s been a month since Su Ze “sucked dry” Madam An and he got a purple follower again.
【Old Bai Li Soldier】
Grade: Purple;
Effect 1: Old, your soldier is old and can no longer exert his full combat power on the battlefield;
Effect 2: Xinhuo, a veteran in a team, is both an ember and a fire. His rich experience can teach new recruits. This follower fights in a squadron (20 people). Daily combat can also improve the squadron's training level just like training in the [Parasite] building.
Comment: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away."
Price: 500 wen Taihe Wuzhu coins, wen maintenance fee per month, and funeral expenses after death in battle.
The Bai Li soldiers are the personal guards of the Shu Han emperor and also the most elite infantry!
Is it because Didao is the ancient battlefield where Jiang Wei fought in the past, so the Bai Li soldiers series of followers appeared?
The Bai Li soldiers are a good bunch. It is said that after Zhuge Liang entered Shu, he selected skilled fighters from the ethnic minorities in the southwest and trained them into infantry.
They had white bird feathers and animal hair pinned on both sides of their helmets as symbols, and were heavily armored infantrymen wearing full body armor.
This type of infantry uses square shields and swords and axes to fight. They are good at mountain warfare and have a very strong will to fight.
During the Battle of Yiling, Liu Bei's camp was burned down by Lu Xun, and it was the Bai Li soldiers who fought desperately to protect him. Only then did he flee back to Baidi City to entrust his son to the care of others.
After this, Zhuge Liang reorganized the Bai Li soldiers and let Li Yan lead them to station in the Yong'an area. The State of Wu did not dare to attack again, thus ensuring the safety of the eastern front.
Are there also Bai Li soldiers buried on the ancient battlefield in Didao?
Su Ze couldn't be sure what the principle of this system refresh was, but this purple follower made Su Ze very satisfied. Although he was a veteran, such veteran seeds were the most important things for a newly formed team.
After being summoned, an old soldier with an old body but vigorous spirit appeared in front of Su Ze.
He was already a little old, and his body could hardly support the armor of the Bai Li soldiers, but he still tried to stand straight.
Su Ze said to the purple follower: "From now on, you will be called Su Li. You don't need to wear armor on weekdays. Stay in the Didao training ground to train new soldiers."
But what Su Ze didn't expect was that Su Li said, "My lord, if I can't go to the battlefield, Su Li would like to return to the fields."
Su Ze didn't expect this old soldier to be so stubborn. Su Ze thought about his effect. Anyway, as long as he stayed in the army, he could also play the role of training in the military field. He could only say: "In this case, when the infantry arrives in the rear, he will lead a team of soldiers and serve as the captain."
"Thank you, Lord!"
Su Ze waved his hand to let Su Bi settle down, and the next purple follower was also related to the Shu Han army.
[Old Shu Han heavy crossbowman]
Grade: Purple;
Effect 1: Old age;
Effect 2: Fire.
Comment: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away."
Price: 500 wen Taihe Wuzhu coins, maintenance fee of wen per month, funeral expenses are required after death in battle, no crossbow.
Well, the system has always been inhumane. It spawned cavalry without horses, and this time it spawned a heavy crossbowman without a crossbow!
Historians have been arguing over whether Zhuge Liang's crossbow existed or not, but there is no doubt that the Shu Han army was equipped with a large number of heavy crossbows to defend the city.
In fact, the heavy crossbow is a defensive machine fixed on the city wall, which requires a team of three to operate it. So thinking in this way, it seems reasonable not to bring a crossbow?
What the hell is reasonable!
The technology to build heavy crossbows has existed for a long time. For example, the large crossbow was used in the Han Dynasty. It required multiple people to pull it open and was incredibly powerful. It was an important weapon for the Han army's infantry to fight against the Xiongnu cavalry.
The tradition of Shu Han using powerful crossbows may have been passed down from the Han Dynasty.
This is also a useful follower. Infantry and crossbowmen are both very important infantry units. These veterans can serve as seeds to lead new recruits, which is a timely help for Su Ze who is preparing to build infantry.
Old age should be a neutral term. From this perspective, both the [White Li Soldiers] and the [Shu Han Heavy Crossbowmen] should be purple-level followers. They are indeed a group of elite soldiers.
The remaining two blue followers are also Shu Han soldiers, namely [Reckless Nanman Infantry] and [Cowardly Shu Han Archer].
If I stay in the ancient battlefield of Longxi County for a while longer, can I spawn more special infantry of Shu Han?
You know, Jiang Wei was able to lead the Shu Han infantry to march thousands of miles around the plateau. Such elite infantry was really enviable.
However, Su Ze also knew that this dog system probably would not let him fulfill his wish, but as long as he had these elite soldiers, Su Ze was confident that he could build an elite infantry.
In the following days, Su Ze met with various forces in Didao. He did not ask these families to hand over their private soldiers, but gave them two choices.
One was to build a beacon tower near the village. If the enemy came, they would light the beacon and wait for rescue. Su Ze allowed them to train private family soldiers to fight against the invading enemy.
Another option is to move to the vicinity of Didao, but the family's private soldiers must be handed over to Su Ze for disbanding and reorganization. Su Ze will ensure the safety of the vicinity of Didao.
Both methods have their pros and cons, but General Anxi Su Ze at least gave them the power to choose.
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Just when Su Ze was busy incorporating the local forces in Didao, an army appeared in the distance in Shouyang County.
The Mozhe Dam bypassed Xiangwu City, and suddenly it felt like the world had become wider.
Murong Shaozong naturally had no way of implementing the policy of clearing the entire Longxi County. If he did so, the local nobles would rebel.
After passing the area controlled by Xiangwu, villages and farmlands appeared. Mozhe Dati immediately dispatched his refugee army and launched the traditional skill of "robbery".
Mozhe Dike also learned his lesson. When he encountered some Han forts with strong defenses, he would not take on these tough tasks. At most, he would send people to extort some money and food and then run away.
When encountering Qiang nomadic people or small Han villages, Mozhe Dati launched the Three Alls Policy, abducting the entire village along with its population as cannon fodder.
The people's houses were demolished for heating, their cattle and sheep were killed for meat, and their furs were made into clothes for warmth.
And those people who lost their homes were forced to join the refugee army, and Mozhe Dike's team was replenished.
In this way, they walked and robbed all the way along the Mozhe Dike and finally arrived at the border of Shouyang County.
Unlike generals like Murong Shaozong who were good at setting up camps and fighting simple battles, Hou Jing's characteristic of using troops was risky tactics.
Building a stronghold and fighting a stupid battle is not a derogatory term. In fact, there are very few generals throughout history who can master the art of building a stronghold and fighting a stupid battle. Defending a city is also a technical job.
The most famous one is Zhang Xun of the Tang Dynasty, who guarded Suiyang like an iron barrel.
Murong Shaozong was naturally not as good as Zhang Xun, but arranging him in Xiangwu County at the entrance of Longxi County showed Su Ze's trust in his defensive capabilities.
But Su Ze used Hou Jing in a different way.
Hou Jing is the kind of general who likes to take risks. In this case, Su Ze will give him the conditions to take risks.
Before leaving, Su Ze secretly summoned Hou Jing and drew a bottom line for him.
If the war situation requires, Shouyang City can be abandoned, giving Hou Jing ample freedom to play!
But Su Ze's bottom line was that Hou Jing's elite cavalry could not be wiped out. Hou Jing was so moved that he burst into tears and cursed and swore a military order that if more than half of his cavalry were killed, he would commit suicide to apologize.
Su Ze helped him up and explained the geographical conditions of the mountains and rivers near Shouyang County, Hou Jing. These were the information collected by Su Ze's scouts and followers.
Hou Jing didn't need paper or pen to record it. He just looked at the sand table and engraved it in his mind. When Su Ze asked him again, he was already able to gesture in front of the sand table.
I have to say that the gap between people is greater than that between people and pigs.
Su Ze did not fail to give opportunities to his old subordinates like Wang Hui. He personally taught the officers to read and write, and also gave them the copied military books to read.
But they just didn't get the hang of it and were far less quick at learning than Hou Jing, who had a lower level of education and a more grassroots background.
In addition to studying the art of war, Hou Jing was also obsessed with backgammon. However, his talent in backgammon was far inferior to his talent in the art of war, which was only comparable to that of Su Ze.
On the battlefield, this area was the attack site chosen by Hou Jing.
This is a desert wasteland.
The decline of Guanzhong and the changes in the natural environment are also great.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, there were quite a lot of trees in Guanzhong. Even on a plateau like Longxi, there was plenty of land that could be used for planting.
This is why there is a saying that Guanzhong is the foundation of the Qin and Han dynasties.
However, with the development of new land, a large amount of forests were converted into farmland. As for the natural conditions of the Loess Plateau, after the loss of windbreaks provided by trees, the farmland soon began to become desertified.
When the wind blows, the sandstorm from the Loess Plateau can blow to Chang'an. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Guanzhong could no longer support such a large population, so the capital had to be moved to Luoyang.
Relying on the remaining power of the Grand Canal, the Tang Dynasty established a waterway to transport grain from Jiangnan to Guanzhong, which solved the problem of food shortage in Guanzhong. However, the problems of land desertification and tree reduction still existed.
One example is that in Bai Juyi's "The Charcoal Seller", he was still cutting firewood and burning charcoal in the Nanshan Mountains. At that time, Chang'an still used charcoal.
But by the Song Dynasty, there was no charcoal to burn in Bianliang. The Song Dynasty government had to build a coal mine to transport coal to supply the people of Bianliang for burning for heating. This coal is now coal.
This piece of wasteland east of Shouyang County was still a dry field twenty years ago. However, in the past two decades, the violent convective climate brought about by the rising temperature has made the wind in Longxi particularly strong, the rain clouds have been blown away, and the rainfall has become less.
Climate is a systemic influence.
The temperature in the Western Regions and Hexi has risen and the rainfall has become increasingly abundant. This year, Hezhou and Hexi have both ushered in a bumper year.
However, in the Longxi area, including Longxi County, Qinzhou, and Qizhou, the extreme climate has brought about drought and the continuous degradation of farmland. This year is another year of reduced production.
The same thing happened in the north. This year, drought also occurred in the Six Garrisons, and they requested disaster relief from the imperial court.
Another area that has undergone changes due to climate and human activities is the Yunmeng Lake in the Jianghan Plain.
During this era, the area of Yunmeng Lake decreased dramatically, and a large amount of land that was originally a large lake was turned into paddy fields.
During the reigns of Wang Dun and Huan Wen, the Yangtze River waterway, which was able to build large ships in Jiangling (Jingzhou) and sail south to Jiankang at any time to "clear the court of corrupt officials", was now so congested that only ordinary warships could pass through due to the depth and flow.
Back on the battlefield, Hou Jing's deputy general led the cavalry to hide in the valley, while he led a hundred cavalrymen dragging brooms and hid in a sparse woods.
The tactics used by Hou Jing were the same ones that Heba Yun adopted when he lifted the siege of Wuchuan.
It means first raising dust on the battlefield to confuse the enemy's vision and make it impossible for the enemy to see the strength of one's own side.
Then use the charge of elite cavalry to disrupt the enemy camp, making the enemy think that a large army is coming and collapse.
This tactic is nothing new, but it is effective.
When Hou Jing saw Mozhe Dati’s troops appear, he immediately rushed out with his cavalry.
The soil desertification in Longxi is even more serious than that in Wuchuan. Just riding a horse can raise huge amounts of sand and dust. The first phase of the tactics went very smoothly. The huge amounts of sand and dust immediately caused panic in the army at Mozhe Dike.
Originally, the army of Mozhe Dike had no formation or rules when marching. Dust was raised, and elite cavalry rushed out from the dust. The sound of horse hooves caused the ground to shake, and the shouts of killing were deafening.
The rebels like Mozhe Dati had never seen the world before. Even if a large army was placed in front of them, they would not be able to count how many enemies there were.
Not to mention that Hou Jing emerged from the sand and dust, which caused the front army of Mozhe Dam to fall into panic in an instant.
Mozhe Dadi in the central army received reports from the front army. Some said it was a small group of cavalry, some said it was tens of thousands of cavalry, and some said it was one hundred thousand cavalry.
Mo Zhe Dadi wanted to chop the general who reported the 100,000 cavalry with his sword. If the enemy had 100,000 cavalry and was in Shouyang County? Wouldn't it be better to just push Qinzhou directly?
However, in such a chaotic situation, Mozhe Dati couldn't figure out how many opponents there were.
But no matter how many enemies there were, his front troops had already collapsed.
In the end, Mozhe Dati had no choice but to grit his teeth and give the order for the rear and central armies to retreat and build a camp. He personally led his men to gather the defeated soldiers from the front army, figure out the situation on the battlefield, and then decide how to fight.
The reason for giving this order was that Mozhe Dati was previously the military commander of Qinzhou, leading the regular troops of Qinzhou prefecture.
If it were a regular army, there would be nothing wrong with Mozhe Dati doing this.
However, the fighting had been going so smoothly these days that Mozhe Dati forgot that he was leading a group of rabble.
After the central army began to retreat, the front army collapsed completely.
The soldiers dropped their weapons and were trampled to death by Hou Jing's cavalry.
Some turned the blades of their swords and swung them at their comrades behind them in order to escape faster.
The entire front army was in complete chaos, as if it had been trapped in a wolf's fold.
The number of sheep is naturally far greater than that of wolves, but they still cannot escape the fate of being hunted by wolves.
Hou Jing only regretted that he had too few cavalry. He fought from noon to dusk, and finally he could not kill anymore, so he led the cavalry back to Shouyang County.
In this battle, no one competed for military merit for the sake of lives. They all believed that Su Ze would assess them with reasonable military merit based on the results of the battle. This was also something that had been proven in many previous battles.
Hou Jing came and went like the wind, and it took another three days for the Mozhe Dike to count the losses.
He brought 50,000 men with him, including 20,000 regular soldiers and 30,000 cannon fodder.
Five or six thousand cannon fodder escaped in Xiangwu County, and another four thousand regular troops were lost in the battle of Shouyang. The number of cannon fodder that escaped is even more difficult to calculate.
Of course, not all of these 4,000 men died in battle. Those who were injured or killed were also counted, and even more fled in the face of the enemy.
Mozhe Dike is confused, what should he do next?
(End of this chapter)