Chapter 449 Luo Shi whips
Luo Shi didn't know that his family had collectively chosen a very difficult path. He led the entire Western Regions Protectorate's army to attack the Dayuan Kingdom.
The main force of the army is the three thousand temple troops. Naturally, they will not wear armor during the march. Each of these three thousand men looks burly, and from their faces, they are from all ethnic groups, and there are even Huns who used to live in Hexi. They have serious faces, and there is awe-inspiring power in their looks, and their eyes are like lightning. They seem to be integrated into one when riding on horses, and they move in an orderly manner. At first glance, they are the elite among the elite.
The Western Regions Protectorate did not have much else but a lot of good war horses. The Wushuang Marquisate and the Wusun Kingdom both had large grassland horse farms within their sphere of influence. With the support of the Hexi Corridor military horse farms, all the cavalry had three horses each, and even the infantry could arrive on horseback and then dismount to fight.
In addition to the temple army, there were also more than 30,000 Han soldiers from the Protectorate, a large proportion of whom were armored soldiers, and tens of thousands of troops from allied countries.
In terms of combat effectiveness alone, the Han army is more than enough. The allies in the Western Regions are mainly to provide food and fodder, and play a role in sieges. The war situation in the Western Regions is very different from that in the Central Plains.
Luo Shi sat in the center of the army, looking at the army stretching far away, and finally reaching a place that was out of sight.
After retracting his gaze, Luo Shi said in a deep voice: "We will count the number of dead and deceased when we set up camp today."
It takes thousands of miles to march from the Yishui River Valley to Dayuan, and Dayuan has an excellent terrain. The entire country is located in an extremely fertile basin and is surrounded by high mountains on all sides. It is a natural Great Wall with only a narrow mountain pass on the southwest side. If a Great Wall is built at the mountain pass and a military stronghold like Hangu Pass is built, it can almost be called an unconquerable country.
Historically, Li Guangli suffered a great loss when he conquered Dayuan, especially when he transferred troops from Chang'an and marched across a distance of tens of thousands of miles. It was really outrageous and he simply did not treat the soldiers as human beings. Even Luo Shi felt the logistical difficulties from the Yishui River Valley.
The army had to cross many mountains. Fortunately, if they marched from the north, they did not need to cross the desert. They could march along the oasis of the Zhou Dynasty in the desert basin. In order to conquer Dayuan, Luo Shi had been preparing for a long time. He cultivated the countries in the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains and made friends with the oasis countries north of the desert. Today, he finally got his reward.
A march of thousands of miles is a test of the commander's overall ability. It is not easy to appease the soldiers' emotions without blowing up the camp. There will definitely be soldiers who die during the march or escape in large numbers. These are all tests for the commander.
Even excellent commanders like Huo Qubing and Luo Wuji suffered many casualties during the march when they fought against the Huns, and Luo Shi was naturally no exception.
Since leaving Wushuang City, nearly two thousand soldiers have died or escaped. Most of the dead were Han soldiers who were burdened by acclimatization. Those who escaped were natives of the Western Regions who had poor willpower and could not endure the hardship of a long march.
Luo Shi looked at the geomancy map in his hand, staring at the location of Dayuan on the map, his eyes full of fighting spirit. As long as Dayuan was defeated and made to submit to Emperor Xia, the countries in the Western Regions would surely be shocked, and even the king of Dayuan would be killed by the Han Dynasty. They would then weigh their own geographical location, and by then all the countries in the Western Regions would surely submit to the Protectorate of the Western Regions.
By then, the Protectorate of the Western Regions would be able to transform from a military garrison to a supreme political institution that completely rules the Western Regions, just like the current Liaodong Protectorate.
The Liaodong Protectorate and the Western Regions Protectorate are different. Liaodong is much closer to the Central Plains, and the Yan State once ruled there for hundreds of years. Various countries of the Xia Dynasty were once established on the Liaodong Peninsula. The Western Regions are a completely foreign land.
During the years when Luo Wuji governed the Western Regions, he made great achievements, but the strength of one person at one time was not enough. Luo Shi took over the responsibility and power from his father and maintained the unity of this land in his own way.
After marching for who knows how many days, the Han army crossed the mountains and appeared on the land of Dayuan.
Dayuan was a very powerful country, not weaker than the Wusun in its former glory. There is a set of data that can provide a rough comparison.
In later generations, the population living in the Yishui River Valley was about four million, while the population of the basin where Dayuan was located was about 14 million. This land had a frost-free period of more than 240 days, making it a perfect place for farming.
There are now hundreds of cities in Dayuan. Although most of the cities have a small population, the total population still reaches 800,000. There are 80,000 troops, and the strength is very strong.
Facing such a powerful enemy, Luo Shi was naturally very cautious. Facing the border city of Dayuan that appeared in front of him, Luo Shi didn't even look at it. He left a group of troops to guard the garrison in the city, and went directly and decisively around the city. He led the army straight to the capital of Dayuan.
This was a typical tactic from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, because Dayuan was such a city-state, and each city basically belonged to the nobles. As long as the capital could be captured, Dayuan would be defeated without any effort.
What Luo Shi wants is for the royal family to admit defeat. As for occupying the entire Dayuan?
That's simply a joke. The strength that the city-state can exert is not strong, but when it comes to defending its own interests, it will not give up an inch of land. If you want to occupy Dayuan, you have to attack it city by city.
This is different from the wars between the various countries in the Xia Dynasty. There is cultural identity among the various countries, so it is not difficult for them to accept each other. But it is basically a dream to accept each other with the Dayuan people.
"Our army is incredibly fast and has strong field combat capabilities, so we will head straight to the capital and defeat the Dayuan King's army. Then we will surround and attack the reinforcements, defeat the Dayuan Kingdom's noble army that came to support us, and finally break through Dayuan City, kill the Dayuan King, and use his head to shock everyone!"
Luo Shi announced his strategy to the generals and captains of the Protectorate. The King of Dayuan received the news that the Han army had entered Dayuan. Hearing that the Han army had only 20,000 men, he laughed and said, "The Han army is powerful and they defeated the Xiongnu, but I heard that their army set out from the Yi River, covering a distance of thousands of miles, and their food and fodder were transported from the Han Dynasty, 10,000 miles away, and most of them were eaten before they arrived.
Could such a Han army defeat the powerful Dayuan army?
Dayuan will be the land where they will be buried.
Generals, obey my orders, mount your horses, put on your armor, pick up your weapons, and go kill those Han people. Tell them that the majesty of Dayuan cannot be touched by a country thousands of miles away. "
This sounds a bit harsh but weak.
Back then, the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu fought with bare knives and red knives for ten years, and the blood they shed flooded the entire grassland. From the distant Liaodong coast to the Tianshan Mountains in the Western Regions, there were traces of the fighting between the two sides everywhere. Although it has not been long since then, the Western Regions have not forgotten it.
The reason why the King of Dayuan dared to do this was because he relied on the fact that the Han Dynasty was far away from him. For an agricultural country, projecting power thousands of miles away was basically a pipe dream. However, he did not know how tempting it would be for an emperor who was fond of martial arts to go on an expedition thousands of miles away and capture and kill the enemy's leader.
After receiving Luo Shi's letter, Liu Dan did not express his opinion and left it to the ministers to discuss, but he had already made up his mind to conquer Dayuan and make the king of Dayuan submit to him.
…
"Grand Protector, the scouts report that the army from the capital of Dayuan has appeared."
When the Han army was rapidly approaching Dayuan City, the Han army captain reported to Luo Shi. Luo Shi was shocked and said seriously: "Notify all troops to march in order, keep the formation stable, and don't make a mess!
Armored soldiers put on their armor one by one, all members of the Temple Army put on their armor, and prepare to charge with me!"
Following Luo Shi's order, all the armies of the Western Regions Protectorate were arranged according to the previously arranged formations. There were not so many tricks in fighting in the Western Regions. After all, the land was flat and thousands of people could hide. But once there were tens of thousands of people, they would not be able to hide at all. Without the possibility of ambush, many tactics could not be used.
Fighting here tests the ability to command troops on the battlefield, the sophistication of equipment, the eliteness of soldiers, and the use of frontal tactics. The stronger side wins, it's that simple.
Soon both sides appeared in each other's sight, with Luo Shiyi's Han army in the front.
Because the elite of the Han army was not comparable to the army of the Western Regions, this was to prevent the Western Regions allied forces from being directly defeated by Dayuan and then engulfing the Han army.
Someone from the Han army rode out on horseback, and someone from the Dayuan army also rode out. The two men rode their horses to a distance of several dozen meters and shouted loudly.
"People of Dayuan, go back and tell your king to open the city of Dayuan immediately and pledge loyalty to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty will grant Dayuan the most precious friendship. Otherwise, Dayuan will face the most terrible destruction!"
"Han people, this is the land of Dayuan. Even the Xiongnu have never conquered the great Dayuan. You will be defeated here. Your corpses will cover every corner and turn into fertile soil. The grass and food will be extra lush next year!"
The two sides exchanged verbal attacks, using a mixture of Zhuxia's elegant language and the local language of the Western Regions, so it was naturally impossible to convince the other side.
Boom boom boom!
The sound of war drums began to resound, and after the verbal attacks, it was time to start the real fighting. Luo Shi sat in the center of the army, riding a very tall horse. Beside him were the brave warriors and the temple army, as well as several members of the Luo family with holy marks on their brows. Everyone was wearing thick armor and was fully armed.
Swords and guns are ruthless on the battlefield, especially cold arrows are common. Unless you are in the humid mountains and forests in the south, you must wear full armor, especially the face guard and neck armor, to save your life.
“Soldiers of the Han Dynasty, Dayuan has been disrespectful to the Han Dynasty. Kill them and wash away the shame. His Majesty the Emperor is waiting for us to return triumphantly in Chang’an City. Defeat the enemy and make great achievements thousands of miles away.
I, the Marquis, ask Your Majesty for a reward for the person who kills the King of Dayuan, and promote him five levels of rank until he reaches the rank of Marquis of Guannei!
forward!"
Luo Shi drew out his sword and roared loudly. Along with his voice, the sound of war drums rang out again. The Han army was in high spirits and marched forward.
(End of this chapter)
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