frightfiction Chapter 485 Word 1
Chapter 485 Word 1
Okay, Shen Youyou was not willing to pay attention to him anymore, and unilaterally decided to let him settle the account by himself next month.
But Shen Zhiqiu seemed to have no tact and teased her: "Girl, have you ever heard a song?"
"I don't want to hear it!"
Shen Youyou didn't want to give any face at all and refused directly.
But her father really didn't know when to quit.
She watched her father come over, pull up her mother who was squatting to plant seedlings, hug her waist, and dance while singing "You Have to Spoil Your Wife".
Shen Youyou was so helpless. Why did she work so hard to grow pepper seedlings, but still had to be fed dog food?
At the same time, on the grasslands of the northern border, the northern expedition army had been divided into two teams and marched towards the Northern Yuan Dynasty court. One team was led by Duke Fu himself, and the other team was led by Zhou Sheng and Fu Huaian.
With these supplies, the people on the Northern Expedition had more confidence.
The purpose of dividing into two teams is to disperse the enemy, break them into pieces, and defeat them one by one. The two army routes, however, at this time, on the grassland, no matter which route they took, it was a wasteland after being burned.
Even if there were some unburned grasslands, they were very short and sparse, and could not meet the needs of the army's war horses.
They could only feed the war horses with their stored food and fodder, but even so, the horses were losing weight at a rate almost visible to the naked eye.
What’s even more serious is that the further northwest you go, the more desolate the place becomes, and you can’t even see a single person.
Looking at the burning darkness in the distance, Zhou Sheng frowned and said:
"Speed up the march. We must find the remaining tribes of the Northern Yuan Dynasty as soon as possible. Otherwise, the food and fodder we brought with us will not be enough to feed these horses."
You know, the amount of food and grass that Shen Zhiqiu and Shen Youyou had calculated before was enough for people to eat for a long time, but now there is no grass to eat, and the war horses can only be fed with corn.
As mentioned before, a war horse eats six times as much as a human. Even if they have increased their food supply, they can't just keep living off their old supplies.
These days, the soldiers basically lived on the ready-made military rations provided by Tangjia Village and the imperial court.
There is no other way, we have to save as much corn as possible for the war horses to make up for the shortage of fodder for them.
Fu Huaian nodded: "According to the map that the scouts explored before, there is a low-lying area sixty miles ahead. Even if the grass and water there are burned out, there should be some water sources."
Hearing this, the other generals couldn't help but show a hint of joy on their faces. They had been chasing for hundreds of miles and finally heard good news.
But as the army continued to advance, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
There is indeed a water source, but there are many dead sheep soaking in the lake. They are all swollen and look like they will explode at any moment.
Moreover, the lake water also had a foul odor. Zhou Sheng did not dare to let the army get close. Even Fu Huaian and A Chi and others who went to investigate retreated one after another and quickly moved away because of the pungent smell.
For those who have been fighting in wars for many years, they know very well what this means. After all, this is why they have to cremate or bury the bodies after the enemy attacks the city.
Isn't it just to prevent the spread of disease?
Now, it is obvious that these yellow sheep thrown into the lake were deliberately slaughtered and thrown in.
Judging from the degree of decay of these sheep, it is estimated that they have been there for more than ten days. After all, the decay rate of corpses in this cold season, coupled with the fact that they were thrown into the water, is definitely much slower than at other times.
Moreover, the period of more than ten days coincides with the time of the prairie fire.
Even Zhou Sheng lost his temper. After all, Tai Aru was so cruel. Not only did he want to cut off their grass and food, he also wanted to cut off their water!
But it was useless to say all this. Looking at the sky, Zhou Sheng could only let the army move forward for more than ten miles and set up camp away from the water source.
This is when the role of the marching tent comes into play.
Because as long as the marching tent is set up at night every day, the heat inside the tent and the cold air outside will condense into dew droplets, thus collecting dew.
"Master, Mr. Shen is really talented. He was able to figure this out. How did his brain work? Not only did he think in advance that we might be short of water, but he also prepared this special tent."
Fu Huaian, who was chewing a piece of compressed biscuit, remembered what Shen Zhiqiu had said to him: "Don't let others know that this is what my daughter researched!"
Ah Chi, who had just opened a pack of luncheon meat, looked at his young master, who was chewing dry compressed biscuits, and quickly handed him the luncheon meat: "Young master, have some luncheon meat, it's delicious."
Fu Huaian finished chewing the dry, hard compressed biscuits in his mouth, but did not take the luncheon meat: "I'm full, the compressed biscuits will keep me going!"
Ah Chi also nodded: "It's true that it can resist hunger, but every time I finish eating, I always want to eat something delicious again."
Fu Huaian smiled slightly when he heard this. He had heard this too many times. When many soldiers first ate the compressed dry rations, they felt that although it was hard, the more they chewed, the more delicious it became.
But after a long time, I often heard the generals complain about these compressed biscuits. Although they were not really hungry after eating them, they always felt like something was missing in their mouths, so they wanted to chew on a piece of braised meat or luncheon meat.
Some even say: "The person who invented compressed biscuits and meat stew is definitely a talent. These two things should be eaten together. Otherwise, who can stand eating compressed biscuits alone?"
However, self-heating hot pot has really become the favorite of all generals. Now there is a new rule in the army that only teams that have made meritorious services can be allocated self-heating hot pot.
At this moment, Zhou Sheng, who was eating cornmeal with pork liver, shuddered suddenly: "It's so cold, is it foggy?"
When everyone heard this, they looked up and found that some of the plastic tents were covered with a layer of fog.
Ah Chi also came back from outside the tent and said, "It's frost."
Lieutenant Li said worriedly: "Although the military boots, cotton-padded clothes, and sleeping bags were distributed to ordinary soldiers first, there are still some ordinary soldiers who have not received new cotton-padded clothes.
The old hemp quilts sent by the court are not warm enough in this horrible weather! I’m afraid the soldiers can’t bear it!”
Fu Huaian also had a serious look on his face. He looked at the plastic tent and suddenly had an idea: "Are there any spare plastic sheets used to cover the food and grass?
Let's divide it into pieces that can wrap one person, and distribute it to the soldiers who don't have new cotton clothes. Since this plastic tent can keep warm, I believe adding a layer of plastic cloth can also block the wind.
Plastic tents are also good for keeping warm, so they will be given priority to soldiers who didn’t get new cotton-padded clothes.”
On the grassland, there is a big temperature difference between day and night. In addition, at this season, if I can’t get more cotton-padded clothes, military boots, and sleeping bags, I guess I can only hide during the day and move at night.
Because even if there were soldiers who froze to death in previous years, they were all frozen to death in their sleep. If they were walking, basically neither the war horses nor the soldiers would freeze to death.
In addition, due to the temperature difference between day and night on the grassland, walking at night and sleeping during the day can slightly alleviate this dilemma.
After listening to Fu Huaian's analysis, Zhou Sheng nodded in agreement: "Pass the order down, take the time to rest, we will move camp in the second half of the night, and from tomorrow on, we will sleep during the day and march at night."
"Yes!"
Captain Gao and Captain Li immediately stood up to give the new orders.
It was just the right time to break camp at midnight, rest from 9 to 3 p.m., eat ready-made dry food, and reduce the trouble of cooking.
Not only can it satisfy everyone's sleep, but it can also prevent the soldiers from freezing to death. After all, the temperature from Sishi to Shenshi is the highest on the grassland.
Sleeping time passed the fastest, and many soldiers felt that they had not slept for long before the drums sounded again.
The soldiers immediately stood up and prepared to break camp.
Taking advantage of the moonlight, they marched all night.
In this way, they traveled thousands of miles, hiding during the day and traveling at night, but still found no trace of the Northern Yuan army.
You know, the nights on the grassland are getting colder day by day, thanks to the soldiers who didn't get cotton clothes.
You can also wrap yourself with a piece of plastic sheet or sheepskin, otherwise even if you don't freeze to death by walking, you will get frostbite.
The team led by Duke Fu himself was not much better.
Although they found some small tribes along the way, these small tribes were not willing to fight hard and surrendered as soon as they were beaten, leaving no room for everyone to maneuver.
In addition, it was a small tribe, so they certainly didn't have much supplies. Even though the Fu family army was hostile to the Northern Yuan Dynasty, they couldn't bear to harm these retail investors.
After all, looking at the current situation, the small tribes that can remain now basically have no one who cares about their life or death.
It is estimated that the Northern Yuan army has already assembled.
Therefore, the two teams wandered aimlessly like ghosts in the wilderness.
The water sources we passed along the way were all polluted by the Yuan army, and there was a shortage of water and grass, making the journey very difficult.
But no matter which group the soldiers were from, they were all very grateful that someone could make plastic marching tents and compressed dry food.
Because the more they marched, they realized more and more clearly that if they did not have these things, if they had chosen to continue the northern expedition at this time, they would have been wiped out without the enemy having to fight back.
On this vast grassland, the two armies were carrying out an arduous expedition of thousands of miles.
There were endless arguments in the court about this expedition every day.
In addition to cursing the Northern Yuan Dynasty's imperial master for being a beast and the cruel and insane court officials, there were also those who sighed and lamented.
Most people believed that there was no chance this time and it was probably impossible to continue the expedition. In order to reduce losses, it would be better to order the Fu family army to withdraw.
The King of Yan was even more disappointed by this. "If it weren't for the thief Tai Alu being so vicious, our army would have won a great victory and wiped out the Northern Yuan Dynasty in one fell swoop!"
At this time, some civil officials could no longer sit still, and the cabinet minister Chen said worriedly:
"Your Highness, since the situation is so grim now, and the horses can hardly get enough food, how can we pursue the enemy? It would be better to order a withdrawal and fight again in the spring of next year!"
Obviously, what Lord Chen said hit the nail on the head for many people. They all thought that continuing the pursuit was too risky. If they went too deep, they would suffer heavy losses.
Because on the vast grassland, it was very easy for the enemy to starve the Northern Expedition Army to death when it had insufficient food and fodder.
The King of Yan frowned and said nothing, but the Prince of Yan smiled bitterly and said, "It's too late to say anything now. The Northern Expedition Army has now continued to advance. According to the news from the front line, they have split into two groups and are estimated to have traveled another thousand miles."
The court officials were even more worried when they heard this and didn't know what to say.
After all, the army is thousands of miles away, and even if we want to rush to notify them now, it will be too late.
In that endless prairie, even if you wanted to send a message, you wouldn't be able to find anyone!
It was Mao Junyi who spoke up again: "The news from the grain transport team before was that Duke Fu and his men decided that the next supply point would be near Harun-Arshan, where the two armies would gather."
But he stopped talking halfway because he knew that since they had already reached Harun-Arshan, they were not far from their destination.
Let's not talk about whether the army can get there. Even if the two armies meet there, given Duke Fu's temper, how could he return without a fight when the Northern Yuan Dynasty's court is right before his eyes?
At this time, Daqing's biggest troll, Imperial Censor Yan Song, couldn't help it anymore:
"Your Majesty, Duke Fu is too eager for quick success. The land ahead is a thousand miles of barren land, and the food and grass cannot be replenished in time. The army may be in danger!"
Apparently, even this big troll was much more restrained when criticizing Duke Fu than when criticizing Fu Huaian.
The old man was not afraid of Duke Fu's power. He went easy on him simply because Duke Fu had made many contributions to the northern border over the years.
But there were also those who supported continuing the northern expedition, such as the Minister of War:
"Your Highness, I think it is right for Duke Fu to continue the pursuit, because the old villain Tai Alu is capable of such a cruel thing as burning the grassland.
This shows that he is a petty and vindictive person. If we withdraw our troops now, I believe there will be no peace on the border this winter.
He will definitely send troops to retaliate against us twice as much. Now that he dares to burn the grassland, why doesn't he dare to burn the border?"
The King of Yan was also troubled by the quarreling court officials. Now most of the military generals supported the idea of pursuing the victory.
The civil officials expressed their support for ordering a withdrawal, saying that Duke Fu should not be allowed to act on his own. Even if they reached the vicinity of Harun-Arshan, they could not use their tired troops to fight against the hundreds of thousands of Northern Yuan troops.
"When a general is on the battlefield, he is not subject to the king's orders! Since the king has appointed Changzhou as the Grand Marshal of the Northern Expedition, I believe that he must have his own considerations for choosing to continue deep into the enemy's territory. We only need to wait for the army to return triumphantly."
Although the Prince of Yan made the final decision with great confidence, he was not very confident in his heart.
Because he himself had led troops into battle countless times and was also an expert at marching and fighting.
But under the current situation, he himself probably would not choose to continue the northern expedition, because in his opinion, this trip would basically be a life-threatening one.
But he knew even more clearly that for a ruler, the worst thing to do is to have groundless suspicion and to act based on personal likes and dislikes; for a general, the worst thing to do is to be indecisive and to lose critical opportunities.
Ministers do not need to be suspicious or fearful and should concentrate on their work. Only in this way can the country be united between the ruler and his subjects and be free from worries.
People in Shuntian Prefecture also learned about the Northern Yuan Dynasty's burning of the grassland, especially since this news was only reported half a month ago.
Now half a month has passed and no news has been sent back from the front line.
As a result, rumors were flying everywhere in the city, making people panic.
Whether in the restaurant, teahouse, inn, or even the theater, no one was concentrating on listening to the opera. All of them were gathered together to discuss the situation of the Northern Expedition.
The female actors and actresses on the stage sang in vain.