The heavy rain showed no sign of stopping, and the second rain was still falling, but a little lighter.
In ancient times, the most feared thing when marching and fighting was rain. The roads were difficult to travel on, and equipment and logistics were the most life-threatening.
Zhu Qing summoned the three Blue Wolf Regiment leaders to the general's tent and said, "Ma Wen, take your men and ride to Daling Town to bring back rations. Seven days' worth of rations will be enough. Kong Fuzi and Luo Shiqi, let's go up the mountain to cut grass."
"Wolf Head, when will the rain stop?" Luo Shiqi couldn't help but ask.
Zhu Qing did not answer him: "Get your stuff ready and go up the mountain!"
In the Iron Wolf Army camp, soldiers wearing straw raincoats stood in the rain, and those without straw raincoats had to get wet in the rain.
Zhu Qing didn't have a straw raincoat, nor did Kong Fuzi and Luo Shiqi. It wasn't that these three didn't have any, but that the Iron Wolf soldiers shared hardships and they gave their straw raincoats to other soldiers.
Zhu Qing stood in the rain and said: "We are the Iron Wolf Army! I hope that in the Song Dynasty, everyone will give a thumbs up when they mention the Iron Wolf Army! Because we are all men of the Song Dynasty, and you are all real men!
It's unfortunate that it's raining so hard. We don't have enough fodder to keep going. I'm thinking, horses are more valuable than people! Horses are the legs of our Iron Wolf Army. Without them, how can we fight?
We need to go up the mountain to cut grass to feed our legs. This is not a military order, so you don't have to go. You can stay in the tent and wait for the rain to stop. But I think the men of the Iron Wolf Army will not let their horses starve! Those who are willing to go up the mountain to cut grass, follow me!
"Go up the mountain! Go up the mountain! Go up the mountain..." The enthusiasm of the soldiers outside the tent was quickly ignited, and no one stayed in the barracks except the guards.
The soldiers were diligently mowing the fresh, green grass, still wet from the rain. No one complained, no one was discouraged, and instead, everyone's face was filled with smiles.
This wasn't a war. Soldiers wouldn't find anything hard as long as they weren't on the battlefield. Mowing the grass in the rain wasn't a big deal.
The cooks in the barracks were quite busy. They had already set up the fire and put the big pot on it. Fortunately, the dry firewood had been prepared before the rain.
The big pot is boiling ginger soup. It is easy to get sick when cutting grass in the mountains in the rain. After returning, everyone has a bowl of ginger soup to drive away the cold and dissipate heat.
The Iron Wolf Army had enviable supplies and equipment, which were all approved by Zhao Huan himself.
Food and fodder were provided by local authorities, and they carried their own weapons, which was why the Iron Wolf Army only brought three rations.
But the place where they were stationed was too far away from Daling Town where they could resupply their supplies, and when it rained they could only go up the mountain to cut grass to feed their horses.
The soldiers returned to the barracks in high spirits, each carrying a large bundle of fresh grass.
The rain finally stopped. The war horses in the stables were excitedly chewing the delicious grass, and the soldiers were drinking hot and spicy ginger soup, which drove away the cold and fatigue.
Zhu Qing and the two regimental commanders ate their dinner in the soldiers' tents, which consisted of corn and multi-grain porridge. The Iron Wolf Army's commander was not unusual; he ate the same food as the soldiers, which made the soldiers respect the young commander even more.
Ma Wen's military rations were finally brought back from Daling Town. The Iron Wolf Army rested for half an hour and took five minutes to get out of the muddy road and reach Daling Town.
They camped there during the day and marched at night. Apart from replenishing supplies, they did not cause any disturbance to the local area, and many people did not even know that such an army was passing through.
In this way, the Iron Wolf Army marched non-stop and finally arrived at Qinghe Prefecture.
At this time, Qinghe Prefecture had become a mess, and Han Shizhong's troops were frequently fighting with the Mongolian cavalry.
Han Shizhong's troops displayed the highest tactical prowess of the Song army, while the Mongolian cavalry were no pushovers. Both sides faced off against elite troops, with both sides winning and losing.
The Mongols were unable to penetrate Han Shizhong's defenses, so Han Shizhong could only defend himself. Facing the superior Mongolian cavalry, he was unable to attack the Xixia territory occupied by the Mongols, and the two sides continued to fight a tug-of-war.
When the Iron Wolf Army arrived at Qinghe, Han Shizhong had already received the news. This was an army independent of the Han family army, directly under the emperor's command, and Han Shizhong had to unconditionally assist and support this army.
When Han Shizhong learned that the other party was the emperor's brother-in-law, who was only sixteen years old, he was not optimistic about this cavalry of only 3,000 people. Perhaps this was just an excuse for the emperor to promote his brother-in-law.
But when he saw this cavalry stationed in Qinghe Prefecture, Han Shizhong changed his mind. This armored cavalry looked ordinary, but the aura emanating from the soldiers made Han Shizhong take notice.
What's the matter? Laziness, freedom and carelessness are common problems in every army, but you can't see the existence of this phenomenon in this army.
If Yue Fei or Han Shizhong were to lead the troops, they would be able to ensure their subordinates obeyed orders with only 3,000 soldiers. However, the young man in front of him was only sixteen years old. It was true that heroes have always emerged from youth, which made Han Shizhong secretly shocked.
"Marshal Han, could you show me the deployment map of your battle against the Mongolian cavalry?" Zhu Qing went straight to the point without any official greetings.
Han Shizhong actually liked his straightforward personality: "Okay, please follow me!"
In Han Shizhong's camp, the Han family army was well-trained, and the soldiers were doing their respective duties in an orderly manner.
The patrol teams in the camp were also quite unique. They did not patrol in groups, but rather in a staggered pattern, ensuring that there was almost no blind spot in the entire camp. This also made Zhu Qing secretly admire them.
Han Shizhong also had sentries at the gate of his camp. He had specially added mobile secret sentries. If a night attack came, the visible sentries would naturally become sitting ducks, and the mobile secret sentries would be the first to issue a warning.
What Zhu Qing admired was that his secret sentries were mobile, which made it impossible for the enemy to grasp their positions. There was even another layer of secret sentries behind the secret sentries, which ensured that the enemy's sneak attack plans could be completely crushed.
"I have received the letter from His Majesty and will fully cooperate with General Zhu. If there is any shortage of military equipment and food, just take strict measures." Han Shizhong said.
Zhao Huan was full of love for the Iron Wolf Army, although he did not expect this cavalry of only more than 3,000 to create any miracles.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Qing said: "No need, we already know all this."
Han Shizhong was surprised: "You have come a long way, and you are traveling light. Where did you get the food and supplies?"
Zhu Qing said: "The Iron Wolf Army is a place where the weak are preyed upon by the strong. If you don't want to starve, you must use the fierceness of a tiger and a wolf to rob. We don't have it, but the Mongolian cavalry does. We can rob their supplies."
Han Shizhong was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "General Zhu, it's really like the Yangtze River's waves behind pushing the waves in front, haha..."
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