Chapter 53: The Winter of Jiwei (4)

  Pingzhou Governor Zhang Zaiji was handling government affairs in his study when he heard that Zhou Zhiyuan had arrived, and immediately invited him into the study.

  Zhou Zhiyu didn't beat around the bush and directly said: "Li Chengzhong returned early this morning."

  Zhang Zaiji was taken aback: "Has something changed with the White Wolf Mountain military situation?"

  Zhou Zhiyong said: "That has never happened. But some time ago they did have a battle with the Khitan people at Bai Lang Mountain."

  Zhang asked: "How?"

  "We beheaded 276 people. Forty-two of our own men died in battle."

  Zhang Zaiji's tense eyebrows immediately relaxed, and he exclaimed with joy: "Not bad! The result of this battle can be reported to the governor's office. It is a great victory in the near future for all parts of the border!" As he spoke, Zhang Zaiji couldn't sit still, got up from his desk, pulled out a volume from a stack of documents, and flipped through it while saying: "Have you seen the official report, brother?"

  Zhou Zhi nodded and said, "I've seen it. For the past month, there have been battles at various places including Lulong Pass, Beikou, Zhenyuan, Jimen, Kongling Pass, and Guangbian Army. Among them, Lulong Pass beheaded 135 people and killed over 90, Beikou beheaded 13 people and killed 17, Zhenyuan beheaded 37 people and killed 41, Jimen beheaded 45 people and killed 70, Kongling Pass beheaded 56 people and killed 80..." He reported the numbers of each battlefield like a family treasure.

  Zhang nodded at Jiji, flipping through the documents while speaking: "The above are all harassment and probing by the Khitan people. Only in the battle of Guangbianjun did the main force of the Khitan people move out, killing over 300 enemies, with our side suffering over 400 casualties, but due to the battlefield being obscured, there is no record of beheaded numbers." After finishing reading, he looked up and said: "Therefore, the Battle of Bailang Mountain should be the first major victory for my Lulong Army in recent times! Report back to the military governor's office, issue a proclamation to the border passes, and boost the morale of our troops!"

  As for the results and significance of Li Chengzhong's battle in Baima Mountain, Zhou Zhiyu understood it all when he saw the big bag of ears that Li brought back, but his mind was not on this at the moment. Zhang Zaiji noticed that Zhou Zhiyu seemed to have something on his mind and asked: "Good brother seems to have something to say?"

  Zhou Zhiyu took out the list of materials listed by Li Chengzhong from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Zaigi. Zhang Zaigi took a closer look, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Things are not a problem, I can take them out from the warehouse. But it seems that the situation in Baishan is not very good..."

  Zhou Zhiyu sighed: "Li Chengzhong came back and told me that it's really not good. If we didn't have these supplies, this winter would be absolutely unbearable. Moreover, the Khitan people suffered two major defeats at his hands, and now they've changed their tactics, using cavalry to block the passage from Yu Guan to Bai Lang Shan..."

  Zhang Zaiji thought for a moment and asked: "Good question, brother. What plans do you have to let Li Chengzhong return to Yu Guan?"

  Zhou Zhiyao said, "I haven't thought it through yet. Bailang Mountain is currently the only garrison outside the pass, and it's a thorn in the side of the Khitan people. With this thorn, our room for maneuvering will be much greater, and if the Khitan people want to attack Pingzhou, they must first remove this thorn. That place will be the focal point of contention between us and the enemy. Of course, even if Bailang Mountain falls back into the hands of the Khitan people, we can simply retake Yuanguan Pass again. What I'm worried about is Li Chengzhong's troops, which are currently the only elite forces in Pingzhou that can fight. If they suffer losses at Bailang Mountain, it would be truly heartbreaking."

  Zhang said to Ji Dao, "The way of offense and defense, I am not a military general, I don't know much about it. But I do know that since Li Chengzhong led his troops to White Wolf Mountain, the situation in Pingzhou has become much more stable, the common people can finally prepare for winter, and those wealthy families who were planning to flee to Youzhou have also calmed down and stopped talking about leaving. If the battlefield moves back to Yu Pass again, it will probably be a different situation... Of course, whether to withdraw or stay is up to General Li to decide, I don't understand... As for Li Chengzhong's troops, I don't know what he is thinking?"

  Zhou Zhiyao said: "He naturally wants to stay in Baitou Mountain, Yuan Li younger brother still remembers, Li Chengzhong's five-year plan to recover Yingzhou?"

  Zhang laughed and said, "Young people, naturally have high aspirations. I still remember when you joined the army, you pointed to the sky and vowed to become a commander-in-chief. Haha, now Brother Hao is already a marshal..."

  Zhou Zhi smiled and said: "You have also become a master of one state."

  The two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing, knowing that Zhou Zhiyu's mood had been lifted a lot. He immediately made up his mind and asked, "Yuan Li, little brother, how long will it take to prepare the things on the list? We don't need grain, we can just get it directly from Yu Guan, which will also save time."

  Zhang said on Jidi Road: "It can be done within a day."

  Zhou Zhi nodded: "Then please ask Yuan Li to make arrangements. I still need to go back and train new soldiers, practice formation, otherwise we won't be able to send them to White Wolf Mountain. By the way, I plan to have Li Chengzhong inspect the vanguard commander..."

  Zhang said on his way back: "This is natural, such a great achievement, even the governor's office has nothing to say."

  Li Chengzhong finally waited for the best result, Zhou Zhiyong decided to send a large team of Pingzhou army to escort supplies into the mountains according to Li Chengzhong's requirements. On the one hand, it supports Li Chengzhong through the winter, and on the other hand, it will also use this escort as an important experience for training new soldiers. The Pingzhou army has been recruiting for two months, although they have been practicing all along, but without experiencing war, facing enemy troops, can not be considered a truly combat-effective army. Therefore, in this sense, it is also a good opportunity to train new soldiers.

  What more can be said when encountering such a superior? Li Chengzhong suppressed the grateful words in his heart, followed Zhou Zhiyu's orders, and came to the big camp with Zhang Long, selecting soldiers and training the chariot array he had envisioned.

  Li Chengzhong listed a lot of materials needed, and it is expected that fifty large carts will be filled. Zhang Long selected fifty large carts from the logistics warehouse in the military camp, harnessed horses to them, and also selected three hundred riflemen and concentrated two hundred archers from the whole camp, forming an army array for this material escort mission.

  When marching, the large vehicles were divided into two columns, with soldiers walking in between. When encountering a large Khitan cavalry army, the two columns of large vehicles would form a rectangular shape, with the infantry standing at the outermost side of the vehicle array and the archers inside. The Khitan light cavalry could not rush into such a vehicle array.

  With so many battle experiences, having led troops and fought against the Khitans twice with victories, Li Chengzhong is currently the most prestigious among the Pingzhou military officers. Zhang Long's seniority was much older than Li Chengzhong's, but he admired Li Chengzhong very much, and remembered all of his teachings by heart. After personally training for a day, Li Chengzhong roughly formed the team and came to the central army tent, where he wanted to bid farewell to Zhou Zhiyu and hurry back to Mount Baiwu. Zhang Long took over the training, which would continue for seven more days, until the soldiers were truly proficient before they could set out on their mission.

  That night, Zhou Zhiyu set up a banquet in Yingzhou to celebrate Li Chengzhong's victory. All officers above the rank of commander attended the banquet. Although Li Chengzhong had a good capacity for liquor, he still got drunk from drinking too much of the low-alcohol liquor of that era and slept until the sun was high before waking up. Since preparations for supplies and chariot drills would take some time, after setting a date to send troops to Bailang Mountain ten days later, Li Chengzhong did not delay any further and rode his horse back to Yu Pass.

  When they arrived at Yu Guan, it was still afternoon. Zhao Zhi Li planned to let Li Cheng rest until nightfall before continuing on their journey. Li Cheng looked up at the sun and saw that there were about two hours left until dark. Although they had only been away from Bai Lang Shan for less than two days, he was already eager to return home. He estimated that by the time they encountered the Khitan cavalry's blockade within their expected range, it would also be dark. Therefore, he thanked Zhao Zhi Li and declined his invitation to stay, leaving the pass instead.

  The matter of winter supplies for the White Wolf Mountain military camp has been settled, and Li Cheng's stone in his heart can finally be put to rest, he is in a great mood. The northern winter night falls quickly, so he intentionally slowed down his horse's pace, when they had traveled more than 30 miles out of Yu Pass, the sun was already westward. Li Cheng hummed "Returning from Archery Practice", got off his horse, planning to rest for a moment, and wait until after sunset, when the sky turns dark, before setting off again. The next 20 miles will be within the range where the Khitan nomadic cavalry roams, so he needs to be careful.

  Li Chengzhong had just finished relieving himself and eaten some dry rations he was carrying when he heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the west. He was startled, and hastily looked in that direction, whereupon he saw a warhorse galloping towards him from the west, with a man sitting upright on its back, looking back over his shoulder as he urged the horse on wildly. In an instant, the horse had arrived right in front of Li Chengzhong.

  The rider rushed forward, and as soon as he saw Li Chengzhong, he immediately swung his sword to chop over. Li Chengzhong hastily rolled over to dodge, drawing his knife to protect his chest. The rider was stunned: "Lu Long Army?"

  Li Chengzhong heard that it was Chinese, and hastily nodded. The rider said: "Hurry up and go, there are Khitan soldiers chasing behind!" After finishing speaking, he didn't care about Li Chengzhong either, and continued to urge the horse to head east.

  Li Chengzhong was inexplicably startled, and when he looked towards the west where the riders had come from, he saw several cavalrymen appearing on the horizon, chasing in this direction. Upon closer inspection, they seemed to be dressed as Khitans. He was shocked and hastily mounted his horse, thinking for a moment before galloping eastward in pursuit of the person who had just passed by. On the open grasslands, one could see very far ahead, and the best way to escape was to first run east, get out of the pursuers' line of sight, and then change direction to head north back to Mount Bailu.

  Li Chengzhong's horse was just getting into its stride, and it was much faster than the Khitan horses behind him. After a short gallop, he gradually left the Khitan riders' silhouettes behind the horizon. He began to change direction, heading northwest, and after another short gallop, he saw the rider he had met earlier riding ahead of him, but at a slower pace.

  The rider heard the sound of horse hooves behind him, turned his head to look, and saw that it was Li Chengzhong. He slowed down a bit more. When Li Chengzhong caught up with him, he asked: "Where are the Khitan people? Did you shake them off?" Listening to the voice, it seemed like a woman's.

  Li Chengzhong was taken aback and said, "Let go." He took advantage of the remaining light to examine her carefully, and indeed she was a woman, with a slender figure and a beautiful face. The woman had a horizontal sword hanging from her waist, and on her back she carried a bow and arrows. She rode her horse with ease, exuding an air of elegance. However, she wore a fur hat on her head and leather armor on her body, which was not typical of Han women.

  Li Chengzhong sized her up as she also looked him up and down for a moment, then asked: "Are you from the Lu Long army?"

  Li Chengzhong replied: "Pingzhou Army."

  The woman exclaimed: "Is this Pingzhou territory?"

  Li Chengzhong said: "Thirty miles north of Yu Guan."

  The woman asked: "I heard that this place is Pin Department's territory. Are you a Pingzhou Army scout? How dare you go so deep?"

  Li Chengzhong said: "We have a garrison in Báiláng Mountain, I am going back to Báiláng Mountain."

  The woman nodded: "Uh-huh, I've heard that you are the only troops of Lulong who dare to station outside the pass."

  Li Chengzhong couldn't help but feel a little proud, but he didn't want to boast in front of others, so he just smiled and said nothing.

  The two of them chatted for a while, and in front of them appeared a small grove. The woman said: "My horse is somewhat tired, it can't go on, let's rest for a moment in the woods."

  Li Chengzhong nodded in agreement, and the two of them galloped into the forest on horseback, searching for a spot with dense foliage to block the wind, where they dismounted.