frightfiction Chapter 478 Fighting Fire with Fire
Chapter 478 Fighting Fire with Fire
However, in this battle, only a few soldiers of the Fu family army were slightly injured, and no one died.
Moreover, Fu Huaian also learned from the captured Agula the current location of the Northern Yuan Dynasty’s royal tent - Buyuer Lake!
Another half a month passed, and under his leadership, they reunited with the army, bringing with them the only living prisoner, Agula.
"Hahaha, good job, kid!"
His uncle Zhou slapped him on the back again.
Of course, the main force was not idle either. You know, although they were at the back, they were the vanguard chasing the Dacaogu team.
The large force of the Fu family army also swept and advanced all the way, conquering many small tribes.
The number of cattle, horses and sheep harvested was innumerable, and several batches have been sent back.
On the grassland, although the Northern Yuan army's military rations basically consisted of cattle and sheep, the Fu family army would take the cattle back, after all, they were good at plowing the land.
As for the sheep, some of them would be pushed back, and the rest would be used as rewards to the soldiers who had won the battle.
Moreover, now that the army has gathered, the news has been gathered and it is found that the current royal tent of the Northern Yuan Dynasty is indeed in Buyuer Lake, which is the later Beier Lake, straddling the Sino-Mongolian border.
Belonging to the southwestern edge of the Mongolian Plateau, it lies quietly in the embrace of the Hulunbuir grassland, and the lake water sparkles with silver light. Although we know where the king's tent is now, the weather is getting colder as we go deeper.
The soldiers' cotton-padded jackets could not withstand the severe cold.
And the most serious thing is not the resistance caused by the weather.
It was the Northern Yuan Dynasty's royal court that also received news that the team sent out to raid the valley had been wiped out, and that many small tribes had surrendered.
This completely infuriated the Northern Yuan Dynasty's national master Tai'alu. This old man was so vicious that he actually burned the grassland and cleared the land.
The Fu family army's horses were left without fodder, in an attempt to cut off Daqing's route to the north.
"This old thief Tai'aru is really cruel!"
Fu Changzhou and other generals looked solemnly at the red sky in the west.
"It seems that this battle will become even more difficult to fight!"
Deputy General Zhou also sighed.
At this moment, the lush green grass has gradually turned yellow. Coupled with the dry autumn weather, the northern grasslands are an arid and rainless area.
As long as we send out servants to light a fire, it will spread quickly.
Moreover, in order to stop the advance of the Fu family army, Taiaru certainly did not set a single fire, but instead sent out a number of cavalrymen to directly set fire to the grassland within a radius of hundreds of miles.
With the fire continuing to spread all around, now wherever the Fu family army looked, it was all red and flames were shooting up into the sky.
To be honest, Tai Alu's move was truly amazing. Even Fu Changzhou couldn't help but sigh:
"In ancient times, Zhuge Liang borrowed the east wind, and now Tai'a Lu borrows the power of fire! I'm afraid his move will be passed down to future generations."
Indeed, in ancient wars, there were very few battles that were able to take advantage of the weather and terrain to fight. The most famous one was probably the Battle of Red Cliffs.
After hearing this, one of the generals named Li also cursed:
"Zhuge Liang used the east wind to burn Cao's ships, and now Tai'a Lu is using the fire to stop our army from marching north. Damn it, I never thought that my Fu family army would help others gain fame."
The other generals also had worried looks on their faces and sighed.
Zhou Sheng also had a serious look on his face at this time: "According to the report from the scouts ahead, the fire is less than a hundred miles away from the camp. If it continues at this speed, it will burn to us in a few hours at most.
Now is not the time for us to rush, let the soldiers dig out the isolation zone as soon as possible."
Everyone's heart sank. Judging from the situation, the fire was bound to spread here. Moreover, the speed at which they could move their positions might not be as fast as the fire.
After all, the burning of dry grass on the grassland at this time is extremely powerful.
Not to mention that after the fire, even hay would no longer be enough to feed the war horses. The expenses for the war horses alone would be enough to drag them down.
Everyone was even more worried: "It's easy for us cavalry to retreat, but it's hard for the infantry and soldiers transporting supplies to retreat because the fire is too fierce.
Moreover, if we only build isolation belts to block the fire, it will not work. When the surrounding areas burn, the thick smoke will choke us to death."
Everyone agreed with this statement. If only the cavalry retreated, it would be better than the entire army being wiped out, but they would also suffer heavy losses.
"This old man has such a vicious trick."
The few soldiers who had figured it out were even more angry with Tai Alu.
Gao Xin gritted his teeth, also with a look of grief: "Now, we can only make heroic efforts. The cavalry will retreat first, and the infantry will clear the isolation belt. Then, we will plug our mouths and noses with rags. In the end, whether we can survive or not, we can only rely on God."
It was obvious that the other generals had only this solution. Although they felt reluctant in their hearts, they knew that every soldier of the Fu family army was very precious to them, and they had never thought that they would be so aggrieved now.
But Fu Changzhou obviously could not accept such an opinion. For him, abandoning the Fu Family Army and running away with the cavalry was absolutely unacceptable.
Even if he did so, he would not be ashamed to go back to see his father: "Okay, pass the order, gather the cavalry, try to have two people ride on one warhorse, don't we have cattle and horses, get a flatbed cart and harness it, as many people as possible can go.
Those who cannot leave, follow me and stay to clean up the isolation zone."
When this order was issued, the generals were all furious and shouted, "Marshal, this cannot be done."
Fu Changzhou was very firm: "No need to discuss it. I, Fu Changzhou, will never abandon my soldiers and live in disgrace. This is a military order."
After saying this, he turned to look at his son and said, "Chuan Ting, if your father cannot go back, you must respect your grandparents and take good care of your mother and sister."
Fu Huaian really wanted to roll his eyes at his father: "Marshal, it's not such a serious moment yet. There is no need for our army to move."
This sentence stunned everyone: "What? Do you have any ideas to put out the fire?"
Although I don't believe there is really any way to put out such a big fire, after all, looking at the weather, it doesn't look like it will rain heavily in the short term.
But since it was Fu Huaian who said this, this kid would never speak without a purpose.
For some unknown reason, a glimmer of hope arose in the crowd.
But Fu Huaian's next words dashed everyone's hope.
He said: "How is it possible? The fire is spreading all over the place and with the help of the wind, it will be impossible to put out once it starts burning."
Isn't this nonsense? If we can't put it out, why don't we move the camp? Are we going to stay here and wait for death?
Although no one said this out loud, basically everyone thought this way.
Unexpectedly, Fu Huaian smiled confidently: "Didn't Uncle Zhou just say to clean up the isolation zone?
Of course, we will definitely be choked by the smoke in the small isolation zone.
If we clear all the dead grass within a radius of tens of kilometers, even if a fire breaks out in such a large area, it will not have any impact on us. "
"How is it possible that we can clear dozens of kilometers of isolation belt in such a short time?"
Hearing everyone's exclamation, Fu Huai'an's eyes were firm and his mouth corners slightly raised:
"Of course we are fighting poison with poison. As long as we burn the surrounding weeds before the fire comes, we won't be in a situation where we can't breathe.
By the time the fire spread, the weeds here had already been burned by us, so it naturally couldn't burn.
If the area is larger, even if the fire is bigger and the smoke is thicker, it will not have much impact on us."
It sounds reasonable, but no one has ever done this. Everyone is afraid of burning their own people. After all, the grassland is windy, what if something happens by mistake?
Fu Huaian could only continue to explain: "We only need to clear the firebreak in front of our military camp, and then control the fire in Fang County and connect it with the grassland fire to fight fire with fire.
Then we set fire to the grasslands in other directions of the tents one by one. In this way, the burned grasslands formed a huge firebreak, and we were naturally safe in it. "
Everyone understood what was said, and the previous haze was immediately swept away, and their eyes were surprisingly bright.
"Haha, the Major General is really smart."
“Indeed, this method is absolutely feasible.”
Following this method, not only can the difficulty of relocating military camps be solved, but it also requires very little labor and can be completed in a short time.
Fu Changzhou himself felt that his own child was better than anyone else. Now he was even more satisfied with his son. He laughed:
"Pass the order down. According to the Major General's method, we will fight fire with fire."
Immediately, a large number of soldiers rushed out and began to clear the isolation zone around the camp on a large scale.
Although there were people cleaning up all around the camp, it was obvious that there were the most people on the west side because the major general had given instructions.
In order to prevent death from thick smoke, you can only light fires in one direction at a time. Wait until the fire in one direction has gone far away before starting to ignite the fire in another direction, and leave enough space.
Zhou Sheng had an even more loving look on his face. Although he was Duke Fu's deputy general, they were also sworn brothers.
He had always regarded Fu Huai'an as his own son. Now he put his arm around Fu Huai'an's shoulder again:
"Good boy, you really have a very smart mind. You can solve such a difficult problem so easily."
When Fu Huaian heard this, Shen Youyou's childish face flashed through his mind. He felt very complicated: "Seven orifices of a delicate heart? Haha, I'm afraid that only Mr. Shen's daughter is worthy of it."
Now that the problem has been solved, the generals returned to the tent. After all, even if they had temporarily avoided the danger of fire, it did not solve all the problems.
After everyone was seated, Fu Changzhou said, "Chuan Ting, do you have any plans for the future?"
After all, his son had just helped them solve a big problem with just a few casual words, so he wanted to ask,
Regarding the burning of the grasslands by Tai'aru and the clearing of the fields, which made it impossible for them to replenish their food and grass, is there any other solution?
Fu Huaian could only speak out: "In fact, Tai Alu's move seems powerful, but it hurts others and yourself.
Although his burning of the grasslands could hinder our northern expedition and even cause us huge losses, our horses would have no fodder and the Northern Yuan would also suffer heavy losses. "
Everyone present believed this. After all, as long as they were not burned to death, the worst that could happen was that they would retreat this year. Anyway, the severe cold here was enough for the soldiers to bear.
Moreover, given the current situation, if we retreat and wait until next spring to fight again, I believe His Majesty will not blame us.