……

……

Let's not talk about the respective arrangements of the Mongol coalition forces and the Shaanxi and Gansu sides for the time being.

However, he said that after the new army left the Huamachi camp, the soldiers soon divided into two routes and rushed to Ningxia Middle Road and Yulin South Road.

Compared with Zhang Cheng and Li Pi's division of troops, He Zhang's command concentrated the firearms battalion, cavalry battalion, and the first infantry battalion, all of which were the most elite troops in the new army.

Such a force is naturally effortless to deal with a few military attachés of the border army who support their own troops and do not obey military orders.

But He Zhang still didn't dare to slack off, he knew Zhao Junchen's true intentions very well, and he also knew how heavy the burden was on his shoulders!

The real purpose of the new army is to establish prestige, so it is necessary to show overwhelming strength and complete the task cleanly; once there is a slight delay and twists and turns, this operation will be regarded as a failure, and it will even affect the war situation between the Shaanxi-Gansu border army and the Mongolian coalition army.

At the same time, this operation is also aimed at further strengthening the run-in and tacit understanding of the new army of soldiers, and even Zhao Junchen's assessment of the new army of soldiers, and what role the new army will play on the battlefield in the future depends to a large extent on the effect of this action.

In addition, the new army of soldiers also has a hidden task, that is, to "learn" and "communicate" with Qi Bin's new army on the march, and to subdue Qi Bin's new army with strength, so that Qi Bin's new army is completely subordinate to Zhao Junchen!

For these goals, He Zhang can be said to have broken his heart along the way.

In order to complete the task in the shortest possible time, the new army of soldiers must march at a faster pace; If you want to show your strength to the border guards along the way, the new army must show a strong military momentum while marching rapidly; Such a requirement is really a bit harsh for the army of this era.

But after all, the new army has just been formed, and there are still a lot of problems, and when encountering such harsh requirements, the soldiers will inevitably be resentful, so He Zhang needs to find ways to appease; At the same time, because of the rapid march, soldiers would be left behind and scattered from time to time, and these troubles also needed to be distracted by He Zhang.

It can be said that after leaving the Huamachi camp, He Zhang was even more fortunate than when he was training, if it weren't for Mao Jiadong, Liu Manniu and others who could share a share of one or two for him, even if He Zhang was old and strong, I am afraid he would not last long.

Fortunately, the new army of soldiers was well paid, and after being mobilized by Zhao Junchen's ideology, their morale was high, so they were able to barely meet the requirements.

*

Under such circumstances, He Zhang led his troops to Yulin South Road.

On the way to the march, it can be said that the situation is frequent, and the new army will stop every ten miles to rest, and while reorganizing the ranks, it is also waiting for those soldiers who have fallen behind.

By the time it was time to camp and rest in the evening, the new army had advanced less than seventy miles.

During the Battle of Huayang, the famous general of the Qin Dynasty, Bai Qi, once led his troops to march 800 miles in eight days; Huo Qubing of the Han Dynasty fought for more than 1,000 miles in six days, and also killed tens of thousands of enemies; In the Tang Dynasty, Li Daozong's army was even more amazing, marching more than 2,000 miles in ten days, during which he also fought several battles with the Tuyuhun army; Even in the previous dynasties, Qin Liangyu led nearly 10,000 infantry from Chongqing to Beijing, but it only took two and a half months, and the number of troops was reduced to less than 200......

That is to say, in ancient times, the marching speed of the elite army should have reached the standard of at least 60 miles a day, and if it was a rapid marching speed, it should reach the standard of 100 miles a day.

However, on the first day of the rapid march of the new army, it only advanced less than 70 miles, and He Zhang was naturally not very satisfied with this achievement.

But He Zhang also knew that the new army was still in the run-in period, everything was in a hurry, and after a period of adaptation, the marching speed of the soldiers would gradually increase, so He Zhang was not too eager.

However, not long after the army had camped and rested, a messenger suddenly caught up with the new army and handed He Zhang a secret letter from the governor's palace.

Inside the handsome tent, He Zhang opened the secret letter and checked it, and his face suddenly changed greatly.

In this secret letter, Zhao Junchen explained to He Zhang in detail the movements and intentions of the Mongol coalition forces.

Knowing that the Mongol army was about to attack Longnan and a major battle was about to break out, He Zhang could no longer calm down, and hurriedly asked the messenger: "What arrangements does Lord Qincha have for the Mongols' movements?" Do you need me to lead troops to Longnan to support? ”

The messenger's name was Li Han, and he was also a staff member brought by Zhao Junchen from the capital.

After hearing He Zhang's inquiry, Li Han shook his head and said: "Lord Qincha has his own arrangements, General He's task has not changed, it is still to attack those border army military attaches who support their own troops, according to Lord Qincha's plan, the new army of soldiers will join the battlefield in the middle of the war and be responsible for the encirclement and interception, so General He does not need to rush to Longnan to support...... Lord Qincha informed the general of the movements of the Mongols, just because the general is the pillar of the Shaanxi-Gansu border army, and I hope that the general can know and understand the urgency of the situation, and the current task must not be delayed for too long! ”

He Zhang's expression became more and more serious, and he nodded: "I understand, I hope you go back and tell Lord Qincha that I, He Zhang, will definitely complete the task within the time limit and will never delay the war!" ”

Li Han nodded, then got up and said: "Since General He has understood what Lord Qincha meant, I will no longer stay here, because of the changes of the Mongols, the Huamachi camp is already busy at the moment, and I have to rush back to the Governor's Mansion as soon as possible to share the worries of Lord Qincha, so I will leave!" ”

Li Hannai is Zhao Junchen's close staff, and it stands to reason that even if He Zhang did not send him off in person when he left, he should have a few polite compliments.

But He Zhang was only thinking about the future war arrangements in his heart at this time, and after gently raising his hand to signal, he let Li Han leave.

After Li Han left, He Zhang's gaze turned to the other two people in the big tent.

These two people are one of the military attaches that He Zhang values most in the new army, namely Mao Jiadong, the commander of the cavalry battalion, and Liu Manniu, the commander of the first infantry battalion

What made He Zhang more satisfied was that both of them performed well, Mao Jiadong still looked cold, but his eyes flashed with thought, while Liu Manniu was faintly excited, and seemed to be a little impatient.

He Zhang said slowly: "The Mongolian army has finally made a move, and wants to concentrate its forces to attack Shaanxi, Gansu and Longnan, this is a great opportunity for us to make contributions!" But before that, we first have to attack those border army military attaches who do not obey military orders, so you should not disclose this news to others for the time being, so as not to disturb the morale of the army...... Also, I originally wanted to slowly run in the soldiers on the road and let them gradually speed up the journey, but now it seems that this is no longer appropriate. In order to avoid delaying the fighters, the pace of tomorrow's march must be further accelerated...... The military attachés should also step up their efforts to supervise and urge that too many soldiers should not be left behind, and today it has been delayed for too much time because of this kind of thing...... If any more soldiers are left behind, there is no need to wait for them deliberately, with the morale and treatment of the new army, the soldiers will not run away even if they fall behind, and they can go to Yulin South Road to return to the team on their own......"

As he spoke, He Zhang's eyes were fixed on Liu Manniu and asked, "Manniu, is it okay?" ”

Liu Manniu stood up abruptly and replied loudly: "General He, rest assured, starting tomorrow, the first battalion of our infantry will never lag behind any longer!" ”

He Zhang's command concentrated the cavalry battalion, firearms battalion, and the first infantry battalion, of which the cavalry battalion is all on horseback, the most relaxed when rushing, most of the soldiers in the firearms battalion are just carrying the fire on their backs, and there is not much burden on the march, but Liu Manniu's first infantry battalion is a little behind, because of the well-equipped, most of the soldiers of the first infantry battalion are carrying heavy armor and weapons on their backs, not only slower, but also more physical consumption, today's soldiers and soldiers left behind by the new army, The vast majority of them came from the 1st Infantry Battalion.

This is an objective situation, so He Zhang didn't blame Liu Manniu, but seeing that Liu Manniu's emotions were a little excited, which was very different from his usual calm performance, he couldn't help frowning and asked, "What?" The decisive battle with the Mongols is about to begin, and the wild bull is a little excited? ”

Liu Manniu was slightly stunned before he discovered his abnormality, and then his expression became calm again, his voice contained a hint of cold and murderous intent, and nodded: "I just feel that I can finally kill the enemy and avenge my family!" ”

This time, He Zhang was reproached and said: "You are now the commander of the first battalion of infantry, and you are responsible for the lives of nearly 4,000 soldiers under your command. Although Ben will understand your feelings, you must not let the emotions in your heart affect your judgment, otherwise I will not dare to reuse it for you in the future! ”

Liu Manniu was silent for a moment, and then lowered his head and replied: "I understand my humble position!" ”

In fact, although He Zhang warned Liu Manniu, his mood at this time was also faintly excited!

The Mongol army has finally made a big move, and soon it will be a decisive battle with the Mongols!

After all, he only had two or three hundred private soldiers available under his command in the past, and he could only deal with a small group of cavalry of the Mongols, and the so-called war exploits were only more than ten kills and hundreds of retreats, which could not hurt the Mongols at all, nor could they affect the situation of the war.

But now, He Zhang has become the commander of the new army of soldiers, with nearly 20,000 elite soldiers under his command, and has the full support of Zhao Junchen, who has the strength to face the main Mongolian force, and finally has the opportunity to make a big fight and leave a name for eternity!

The long-cherished wish of many years is finally about to come true, how can He Zhang still be calm? His mood was even more excited than Liu Manniu!

It's just that He Zhang is a veteran of the battlefield after all, he knows that he must stay calm at this time, and his warning to Liu Manniu is actually a warning to himself!

Seeing that Liu Manniu heeded his warning, He Zhang nodded with satisfaction, and said: "Although the battle between Shaanxi and Gansu and the Mongolian coalition army is imminent, we can't ignore the task in front of us, and we must complete the explanation of Lord Qincha in the shortest possible time...... By the way, where is Qi Bin's new army located now? ”

Speaking of the back, He Zhang suddenly remembered the hidden mission that Zhao Junchen gave to the new army of soldiers.

Mao Jiadong got up and replied: "According to the intelligence, Qi Bin's new army is now eighty miles southeast of us, although this army is marching in the direction of Huamachi Camp, but the speed is very slow, and it is only thirty or forty miles a day...... If we speed up the march, we should meet with Qi Bin's new army after tomorrow afternoon! ”

He Zhang's face was cold, and he said: "Order, tomorrow's day, the army will leave the camp on time!" …… After the order went down, after the Tanma discovered Qi Bin's new army, he did not have to contact them, but to hide his whereabouts and report to the general as soon as possible...... Qi Bin violated Lord Qincha's military orders many times, but Lord Qincha repeatedly tolerated it, believing that this person's ability was rare...... Hmph, I'm going to try this person's catties this time! ”

Now, He Zhang can probably see that Zhao Junchen has two most valued generals on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, one is himself, and the other is Qi Bin, and even Zhao Junchen attaches more importance to Qi Bin than He Zhang.

As the so-called Wen Wu is the first, Wu Wu is the second, not only the literati are inferior to each other, but the generals are also unconvinced by each other, Qi Bin has certainly made good achievements in the past two years, but after all, he is only a junior, what qualifications do he have to compare with a battlefield veteran like He Zhang?

Therefore, He Zhang's decision, in addition to Zhao Junchen's orders, is also a factor that is not convinced!

After hearing He Zhang's orders, Liu Manniu and Mao Jiadong obeyed the order again.

They are all Zhao Junchen's cronies, and they have also been unpleasant to Qi Bin for a long time!

It's just that they didn't expect that Qi Bin's new army's performance was far beyond their imagination!

Then, they finally understood the reason why Zhao Junchen valued Qi Bin!

*

Unlike He Zhang's rapid march all the way, Qi Bin has been grinding and unusually perfunctory since he received Zhao Junchen's conscription order, not only delaying for several days before starting to lead the army, but also the speed of the march along the way is outrageously slow.

Of course, Qi Bin was not blindly delaying, he also took the opportunity to further train the new army.

On the march, Qi Bin had extremely high requirements for the new army under his command, and the soldiers of the new army must not only wear armor and hold swords, but also must maintain a neat formation and the same pace!

Such a requirement is far more stringent than He Zhang's requirements for the new army of soldiers!

The new army needs to be reorganized every ten miles of walking, and He Zhang is already very dissatisfied with such an achievement, but the situation of Qi Bin's new army is even more exaggerated - whenever the formation of the soldiers of the new army is slightly scattered, Qi Bin will order the army to stop and form a team, so that Qi Bin's new army needs to be reorganized almost every half a mile of march, so it is not difficult to understand their turtle speed.

At around the end of the next day, seeing that the sun had risen three poles and the soldiers were all hungry, Qi Bin ordered the army to be stopped and let the soldiers rest and eat.

However, just when the soldiers of Qi Bin's new army were resting and eating, the scouts of the new army had already discovered their traces.

Then, according to He Zhang's request, the Tanma did not alarm the new army, but quietly returned the same way and reported the matter of Qi Bin's new army to He Zhang.

……

…… 10