Two days later, Yun Zheng left Dugu Ce to deal with the aftermath, and personally led an army of 80,000, claiming to be an army of 100,000, and marched towards Xing'an Fort on the southern border of Qiuchi.
Among these 80,000 troops, only 20,000 were from the Northern Palace Army, and another 20,000 were vassal troops expanded based on the framework of the several thousand people led by Tong Gang.
This was also thanks to Dugu Ce and his men who had previously raided the army led by Lou Yi and seized a lot of weapons and armor.
Otherwise, they might not be able to gather these 20,000 vassal troops.
The remaining 40,000 were all civilian laborers who were escorting food and supplies.
However, all of these civilians are young and strong.
When necessary, young and strong people can be drawn to supplement the army at any time.
Yuan Wei, who was originally imprisoned by Yuan Fu, was also taken away by Yun Zheng.
I heard from Ji Miao that Li Wenzhou, the commander of Xing'an Fort, was a close confidant of Yuan Xu.
I hope Li Wenzhou will be more sensible and not let them use their troops!
...
...
After leaving Yufeng City, Yun Zheng immediately ordered Qin Qihu to lead two thousand cavalry to escort Yuan Wei to meet Lu Xing, and then rush to Xing'an Fort to persuade Li Wenzhou to surrender.
Xing'an Fort is about three hundred miles away from Yufeng City.
After passing Xing'anbao, there is a Gobi desert that spans nearly 100 miles from north to south.
This long and undulating Gobi Desert also serves as a natural barrier in southern Qiuchi.
If you want to attack the tribes in western Mobi, you have to cross the vast Gobi Desert.
It is said that there is no water source in that Gobi Desert. Many refugees who fled to Qiuchi to escape the war many years ago died of thirst in that barren land.
But as long as you cross the Gobi Desert, you can see a clear river.
It is called Shimo River.
Shimo River is just a small river, less than ten meters wide at its widest point.
But Shimo River saved countless ancestors of Qiuchi.
Therefore, Shimo River is also called the Origin River by many Qiuchi people.
Xing'an Fort was built along the Shimo River.
On the way to Xing'an Fort, they also encountered many refugees.
At first, the refugees hid from them, but when they saw that they had no intention of attacking or arresting them, they gradually became bolder, and some even followed their team.
Just because they have food here.
When Yun Zheng ordered people to cook, he would also share some with these refugees.
Gradually, more and more refugees followed their team.
"Your Highness, the rear army reported that several hundred refugees followed us just now."
Deng Bao rode his horse to report.
Yun Zheng smiled helplessly and asked, "How many refugees are there behind?"
"There are about 4,000 to 5,000 of them." Deng Bao was a little worried. "With so many refugees, the consumption of food and grass is secondary. I am worried that these refugees will cause trouble."
“That’s true.”
Yun Zheng thought for a moment and ordered, "Send two thousand cavalry to separate the refugees from the grain escort team. If they follow us obediently, it's okay to give them some food! But if anyone dares to steal the grain, regardless of gender, age or status, they will all be killed!"
Although these refugees were pitiful, he would never let them cause a riot.
If the food supplies of their 80,000-strong army were set on fire, all their subsequent plans would be shelved.
"yes!"
Deng Bao immediately took the order and left.
The next morning, Yun Zheng received the news sent back by Qin Qihu.
They had successfully persuaded Li Wenzhou to surrender and moved into Xing'an Fort.
After getting this result, Yun Zheng felt completely relieved.
With Li Wenzhou's surrender, it also meant that the last hard bone in Qiuchi had been gnawed off by them!
From now on, this land is the real Northwest Protectorate!
Upon receiving this good news, Yun Zheng immediately ordered the entire army to speed up and rush to Xing'an Fort as quickly as possible.
After another eight days of long march, Yun Zheng and his men finally arrived at Xing'an Fort.
Xing'anbao is a typical border military fortress.
However, the city walls of Xing'an Fort were relatively simple.
This type of city wall is made of stone on the outside and filled with rammed earth on the inside, just like a sandwich.
Xing'an Fort was not very big, and garrisoning five or six thousand troops was basically the limit.
Yun Zheng led his troops to arrive, and Qin Qihu immediately brought people out to greet them.
"Are the dry food ready?"
As soon as he saw Qin Qihu, Yun Zheng immediately asked.
“Everything is ready!”
Qin Qihu said excitedly: "We can send out the troops as soon as you guys have rested!"
"very good!"
Yun Zheng smiled with satisfaction, "Let the army rest for a day first. The day after tomorrow morning, you will lead the Blood-Cloaked Army to march with Deng Bao's troops. Make a big noise to let the tribes in Moxi know that we are here to attack!"
Although the Blood-Clothed Army is not suitable for long-distance journeys, they must be sent out.
We must let the tribes in the western desert see our powerful heavy cavalry!
Show them more than 2,000 people first!
As for how many heavy cavalry they have, let the tribes in western Mo guess!
Qin Qihu moved closer and said seriously: "Brother, I think we can attack directly this time!"
"What do you mean?"
Yun Zheng was suspicious, "Could it be that the enemy doesn't have many guards on the border?"
“There aren’t that many people.”
Qin Qihu nodded and said, "I have sent people to investigate. The enemy has two outposts at the front line. The city of Buwanda is about five or six miles behind the outposts..."
Although Buwanda City is called a city, it can only be regarded as a garrison.
According to their people's report, the city wall of Buwanda City is just a simple rammed earth wall, which is not as good as the city wall of Xing'an Fort, and many places are still dilapidated. It should have been damaged by this year's rain and has not been repaired in time.
Besides, Buwanda is not as big as Xing'anbao.
According to preliminary estimates, the number of troops stationed there should be less than 5,000.
As long as they take care of the soldiers at the outpost ahead, their cavalry can quickly raid and annihilate the enemy forces.
Hearing Qin Qihu's words, Yun Zheng's heart suddenly moved.
If it is true as Qin Qihu said, it should be easy for them to launch a surprise attack and capture Buwanda.
This desert is only a hundred miles deep.
It is autumn again and the Gobi Desert is not so hot anymore.
One day is enough to cross the Gobi Desert and launch a surprise attack on the enemy.
If the enemy really did not have a complete city wall, the Blood-Clothed Army alone would probably be able to easily capture Buwanda.
Instead of intimidating the tribes in the western part of the desert, it would be better to attack Buwanda directly and chop off the heads of the defenders in the city and hang them on the city walls!
This is the biggest deterrent!
Yun Zheng pondered silently for a while, and immediately sent someone to call You Jiu, ordering him to lead the Eighteen Ghost Riders to conduct a careful investigation. They must determine whether the city walls of Buwanda are complete and how many troops there are.
You Jiu took the order and without any delay, immediately led the Eighteen Ghost Riders to set off.
After watching the Eighteen Ghost Riders leave, Yun Zheng looked around again, then took Qin Qihu to the top of the city wall of Xing'an Fort.
"Brother, what are you looking at?"
Qin Qihu asked in confusion.
"I want to expand Xing'an Fort!"
Yun Zheng said: "Xing'an Fort has only 5,000 soldiers stationed there, which is too few! I plan to build another circle of walls outside Xing'an Fort so that at least 20,000 soldiers can be stored here!"
If they raided Buwanda, the tribes in western Mo would certainly look for opportunities to retaliate.
If the tribes from western desert launch a massive invasion, Xing'an Fort's limited military force will be more than enough.
The Shimo River is too narrow to be a true natural barrier.
Whether it is to guard against the tribes west of the desert or to intimidate the tribes west of the desert, Xing'an Fort can play a huge role.
Anyway, they brought so many civilians this time, and nearly ten thousand refugees followed.
It's just right to let these people build the city wall. We can't waste food, right?
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