Chapter 118: Confused Sun Jian
August 28, the fourth year of Zhongping.

East of Yichun County, Yuzhang County.

Three days ago, Sun Jian led his men to this place.

After suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Liang Province Rebellion, Sun Jian's subordinates were no longer the original infantry. More than a thousand private soldiers were all cavalry, all riding on Liang Province horses.

In fact, Sun Jian was not averse to Jin Mao's recruitment of Baiyue as soldiers. Among his private soldiers of a thousand people, there were Qiang, Hu, Xiongnu, and Han people.

The reason why Sun Jian looked down on Jin Mao was that the Baiyue were too weak. In his eyes, even if they were formed into an army, they would have no combat power at all. They would be good as a grain transport team.

The only thing that made Sun Jian jealous was the six hundred personal guards. In his impression, only Zhu Jun's private soldiers had such momentum.

Sun Jian was indeed half a student of Zhu Jun.

Just take the ability to set up camp, it is in the same vein as Jinmao.

Sun Jian did not relax his vigilance because of the cavalry. He chose to set up camp in a large bay of Yuanshui, surrounded by water on three sides and backed by a mountain on one side, with only one way in and out.

There are checkpoints at the entrances and exits, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack. Eating, drinking, defecating and urinating in the camp are safe and hygienic.

Every day, there are scouts scattered within ten miles around Yichun County, and there are also secret scouts on the mountains who can respond to any sign of trouble.

this day.

Inside the central military tent, Sun Jian was looking at the geomancy map and carefully planning the marching route.

The straight-line distance from Yichun County to Changsha County is over 200 miles, and there are many mountains and hills, so it is not easier for cavalry to travel than for infantry.

But when he thought about the fact that Jin Mao's 3,000 infantrymen still had to transport food and supplies, Sun Jian felt that they would not lose no matter what.

When a lion fights a rabbit, he also uses all his strength.

Sun Jian was not prepared to give in.

"Report!"

"A fleet is coming along the Yuan River. Should we let it pass?"

It must be Jin Mao who brought his men. Sun Jian ordered, "Let them go!"

After saying this, Sun Jian left the camp, wanting to see whether this junior fellow apprentice was genuine or not.

Beside Yuanshui River, east of Sun Jian’s camp.

This is a small dock in Yichun County. Sun Jian rides on a tall horse and looks at the fleet with flags flying in the distance.

The Mengchong warships were seen leading the way, with large and small ships following behind with deep draft. In the center of the army, a tower ship could be seen, with the upper, middle and lower floors filled with archers ready for battle.

"He's quite good at it!"

Just by looking at the naval formation, Sun Jian knew that his cavalry could not stop the enemy even if they wanted to.

When the ship arrived at the port, the Mengchong warships and tower ships were on alert, the troop transport ships docked, and the soldiers filed out to occupy the key points of the port. Only then did the grain transport ships begin to unload.

Just these few well-organized moves made Sun Jian praise: "Great!"

I couldn't help but look up to him even more.

Cheng Pu and his four generals also paid close attention, secretly comparing them in their minds, and were surprised to find that these soldiers were really good.

However, the best is yet to come.

The camp area enclosed by Sun Jian was large enough for both armies to garrison. The empty land on the east side was the good land that Sun Jian specially reserved for Jin Mao.

It is both upstream and on the sunny side.

Jin Mao was not polite and ordered his men to unload the goods while setting up camp.

As the surrounding area was flat and the mountains and forests were far away, Jin Mao's army dug on the spot, digging three shallow trenches facing Sun Jian, and then erected long spears as chevaux de frise, thus completing a simple cavalry fortification.

The effect is definitely not very good, but the fact that it was completed within just two hours is enough for Sun Jian to give it a very high evaluation.

"Demou, have you ever seen what that is?"

Sun Jian pointed at the crude engineer shovel in Jin Maojun's hand and asked Cheng Pu, "Is it something from the north?"

Cheng Pu shook his head and said, "I've never seen it before. It does look a bit like a shovel, but it's too short!"

Sun Jian nodded and said, "I think so too. It looks very useful."

Next, setting up tents, digging manure pits, and digging water platforms were all standardized procedures in Sun Jian's view.

But with this simple standardized process, Sun Jian was able to defeat more than 90% of the armies in the north.

How could those rough guys who make a living by riding horses understand this?

"It seems that I was wrong." Sun Jian said to his subordinates: "My junior brother is not a simple person!"

"Come on, follow me to greet them."

Sun Jian put away his contempt and secretly thanked God that his lessons during this period were not in vain, otherwise, he would be very embarrassed.

the other side.

Jinmao is trying its best to show off.

Sun Jian didn't know that Jin Mao had already conducted a round of screening of his men in preparation for this battle. These 3,000 men could be considered the elite among the new recruits, and they would be able to be promoted directly to the main battalion or even become the personal guards in the future.

This is the only way to accomplish everything with such a high degree of completion.

Seeing Sun Jian dismounting ten steps away, Jin Mao went to meet him with a smile.

"Brother, how is it, I didn't embarrass the teacher, did I?"

Sun Jian praised him, "If Marquis Qiantang knew that he had such an outstanding disciple like you, he would probably spread your fame all over the country!"

"Brother, you are too kind. Your cavalry is the elite. Please guide my cavalry when you have time."

"Not worth mentioning." Sun Jian pulled Cheng Pu and said, "De Mou is the cavalry expert, you can ask him to teach you."

Jin Mao said happily: "Then we will have to trouble Chief Cheng."

Cheng Pu clasped his fists and returned the greeting: "Cheng Pu doesn't deserve it." The few of them exchanged greetings again.

Jin Mao got straight to the point: "The competition will begin at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. What do you think, Senior Brother?"

"Isn't this too hasty?" Sun Jian asked, "Brother, you have come a long way, why don't you rest for a few days?"

Jin Mao said confidently: "It won't be too late to rest outside Changsha County. If I don't take the lead in this march, I have no confidence in winning."

“Hahaha!” Sun Jian said happily, “Brother, what a generous move!”

"It's enough to be able to defeat my brother."

Sun Jian laughed again: "Then you better be prepared, I'm going to take it seriously this time."

The two looked at each other and laughed.

Yin time the next day.

Before daybreak, Jin Maojun started cooking. The symphony of voices, the sounds of washing pots, and the neighing of horses created a very lively atmosphere.

At the hour of Mao, dinner begins.

Sun Jian held a Hu pancake in one hand and a bowl of hot soup in the other. The oil spots on the soup reflected the firelight. He took a bite and it tasted salty and fishy, ​​and there was meat!

Mix another bite of Hu pancake.

Hey!
The taste was so delicious. It was the first time that Sun Jian had eaten such delicious military rations.

He originally thought that this was Jin Mao's exclusive food supply, but after walking around he realized that it was indeed exclusive, but it was exclusive to officers and only the sergeants and personal guards could eat it.

However, the soldiers' food was not bad, enough to fill them up, but lacked oil and meat.

Looking at the soldiers' matter-of-fact expressions, it is obvious that this is a common practice in Jinmao's army and is not unique.

Sun Jian couldn't help but look at Jin Mao again in his heart: "I really misjudged him."

Before departure.

Jin Mao allocated a thousand dan of grain and a hundred donkey carts to Sun Jian, who was very satisfied. It would take at most seven days to get from Yichun to Changsha County, and a thousand dan of grain was enough for a thousand cavalry for ten days, and most of the fodder for the war horses could be replenished along the way.

It’s not so easy for Jinmao to take action.

There is nothing wrong with the march of 3,000 people, but the subsequent supply of food and fodder must keep up.

For this reason, Xi Zhicai was already on his way with people and food. Three thousand people were not enough to transport food, and another three thousand people were needed.

This is to prepare for a protracted war in case a quick victory is not achieved.

Sun Jian went ahead, and Jin Mao had to divide the 3,000 men into two parts, a vanguard of 2,000 and a rear army of 1,000 escorting a hundred donkey carts as logistics.

The vanguard troops are composed of a thousand archers and a thousand mixed shield and spear soldiers. In addition to their own weapons, each person needs to carry all tents, manufacturing tools, and cooking utensils. It can be said that almost everyone's load-bearing capacity has reached the limit, except Jin Mao.

The vanguard was led by Jin Mao himself, who consisted of the two thousand most elite men among the three thousand men, and the rear army was led by Dong Xi.

Almost all responsibilities are undertaken by the vanguard, and the rear army only needs to follow the vanguard's route to reach the designated location. It is not difficult, so Dong Xian is just right to lead the escort.

Day one.

Sun Jian led the team to run more than fifty miles in one breath. He was very curious about where Jin Mao had gone, so he rode to the highest hill nearby to look around, and he really saw smoke rising within the limit of his visual range.

"Thirty miles a day?" Sun Jian nodded secretly: "Not bad."

Sun Jian had no idea that Jinmao did not go into full swing on the first day, but just let the people below familiarize themselves with the process.

After all, this was the first time that the vanguard troops truly performed their duties, and this camp had to be a wooden camp to build a resting place for the rear army and even the subsequent grain transport teams.

The next day, Sun Jian traveled more than fifty miles a day and arrived near the Luoxiao Mountains. The rest of the journey became difficult for the cavalry.

Sun Jian looked out again, but this time he saw no trace of Jin Mao. He felt disappointed and amused at the same time: "How can infantry march to keep up with cavalry?"

On the third day, Sun Jian traveled twenty miles a day. The soldiers were tired, so they took a day's rest.

Unexpectedly, the next day the sentry brought shocking news.

"what?"

"They're right behind?!"

Even in the mountainous areas, Sun Jian habitually spread out his sentries two or three miles apart, which means that Jin Mao marched 120 miles in four days.

Advance thirty miles at a constant speed every day?

This is a mountainous area!
Sun Jian couldn't sit still anymore. He had been marching and fighting for so many years, but he could be outdone by a junior fellow apprentice who had only been in the profession for three years?

No! March hard!

I don’t know if it’s because he stayed in the north for too long, or because the composition of his soldiers was complicated, but on the fifth day, Sun Jian tried his best to march more than 20 miles, which was not much better than the third day!

We sent out another sentry to investigate, and fortunately, Jin Mao was in the rear, but this time there was only a team of a thousand people.

"No!" Sun Jian realized something was wrong: "Probe again!"

This time, Sun Jian knew: "Two thousand men in the vanguard and one thousand men in the rear?"

"My junior fellow apprentice is really unique!"

Thinking about the fact that the other party was carrying 3,000 shi of grain and fodder, Sun Jian's face couldn't help but feel hot.

On the sixth day, Sun Jian could only eat dust behind Jin Mao's rear army, and he finally discovered the secret hidden by Jin Mao.

"This camp was built in half a day?" Sun Jian couldn't believe it. Could this guy be a field mouse who just likes to dig holes?
On the seventh day, Sun Jian's men were stimulated and marched thirty miles!

Looking at the camp in front of him which was not much different from the previous one, Sun Jian remained silent. The four generals behind him had different expressions, but the soldiers behind him were very happy as they could save energy and rest more.

Finally, Sun Jian exclaimed: "Everyone, my junior brother has not only inherited the true teachings of Qiantang Hou, but he has surpassed the master!"

Cheng Pu couldn't figure out the mystery, so he turned to look at Han Dang, Zu Mao and Zhu Zhi.

Han Dang and Zu Mao were confused, but Zhu Zhi seemed to understand something.

(End of this chapter)