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Volume 1: Saving the Three Thousand Beauties in the Harem Chapter 451: Eight Hundred Miles to the Clouds and the Moon (Part 2)

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    The great sandstorm caused huge losses to the 12th Division, with more than a hundred people dead and missing; more than 200 war horses were lost, and dozens of camels were buried or swept away; more than 80 vehicles were damaged, many of which were buried deep in the sand dunes.  If you want to dig out the bottom, don't even think about it for a day and a half; as for the losses in terms of food, drinking water, weapons, armor, ammunition, etc. in the vehicle, it is difficult to estimate.  And in the injured camp dozens of miles away from the main army, less than half of the survivors

    Such losses, to the Twelfth Division, are no less than a medium-intensity battle - in fact, this is a battle, but the one fighting is not humans, but the sky and the earth.

    Faced with this heavy loss, even the most irritable Xu Qing just silently dug sand and dug cars with the soldiers to find scattered items.  Finally, I buried my comrades with my own hands

    But, but, this is not the worst situation. What is really bad is that the army is lost.  And it was only after being disoriented for two full days that I realized I was lost.

    When he first heard the news, Xu Qing, who was already suffering from internal injuries, finally burst out: "What did you guys do? A guide of more than a dozen people and more than 20 eyes can't even figure out the direction!  Leading the army in circles will waste the opportunity to fight! Believe it or not, grandpa will kill you all to enforce military law!"

    The Khitan and Mongolian guides had earth-colored faces and kowtowed to the ground as if they were pounding garlic.  He was babbling and speaking in an incomprehensible language.  Xu Qing became even more irritated and almost wanted to draw his sword.

    As the leader of the guide team, Sun Zhangong looked ashamed and apologized to Yue Fei: "General, if we had not encountered this damn storm, we would never have lost our way. It is true I am willing to accept military sanctions."

    Yue Fei remained silent for a while.  He said: "Although the circumstances are excusable, it is indeed a dereliction of duty. I will keep the twenty army sticks for now and execute them after we get out of the desert."

    Sun Zhangong¡¯s face was filled with gratitude and he bowed deeply: ¡°Thank you, General.¡±

    Wang Gui on the side asked: "How are you now? Can you find your original path?"

    Sun Zhangong discussed with the guides in Khitan for a while, then turned back with a troubled look on his face.  He hesitated to speak.

    Yue Fei said warmly: "The matter has come to this, it is useless to think too much. Commander Sun, there is no harm in speaking out."

    Sun Zhangong gritted his teeth and said: "Because the terrain changes so much, it is difficult to identify the direction. Therefore therefore"

    Wang Gui's heart sank. He glanced at Xu Qing, who was angry and about to roar, stretched out his hand to hold his shoulders and shook his head.  Xu Qing angrily let go of the hand holding the handle of the knife and punched the sand hard.

    direction?  Yue Fei was keenly aware of the key words Sun Zhangong said.  He said in a deep voice: "Commander Sun means that as long as the direction is correct, you can find the right path?"

    Sun Zhangong nodded solemnly: "Exactly. It's just that the clouds have been thick recently, making it difficult to see the sky, and the star guidance may not be accurate; the positions of the sun and the moon also change with the hour. Except for experienced guides, it is difficult to find the correct position based on this."

    Yue Fei suddenly smiled: "Let's do this. I'll give you the directions and you guys will lead the way. How about that?"

    Sun Zhangong was astonished, Wang Gui was astonished, Xu Qing was stunned - when did this eldest brother of his own know how to observe the sky?

    If possible, Yue Fei would like to tell his brothers and subordinates that he "understands" observing the sky since returning from Chang'an.

    It may be difficult to teach Yue Fei to read a watch, but it is extremely easy to read a compass.  In the Song Dynasty, there were actually Sinan chariots and compasses, but the former was bulky and the latter was inconvenient to use. Its instructions were vague and inaccurate, making it difficult to use as a marching tool, especially in harsh environments.

    Such a delicate compass is definitely a weapon for marching.  Yue Fei had doubts at first, but after repeated experiments and even wandering around in the deep valleys of Zhongnan Mountain for a long time, he finally came to the conclusion that it was indeed reliable.

    In this desert march, because there was a guide team who knew the way, the compass was not used much, so Yue Fei almost forgot this sharp weapon.  It wasn't until Sun Zhangong said that the direction was difficult to discern that Yue Fei remembered that he still had such a treasure in his hand.

    The army moved out again, and this time Yue Fei personally sat on the hump and led the way in front of the entire army.  Sun Zhangong and a group of guides actually did not believe in the direction indicated by Yue Fei. They should know that this is not just a general direction. If there is a slight deviation, the army may be taken deeper into the desert.  Thousands of miles" is the current situation.  But they had no better way. They had no other choice but to believe that Yue Fei, as the commander of the first division, would not lead the troops to a dead end without any confidence.

    Wang Gui, Xu Qing, and even Yue Yun didn¡¯t really believe it either.??¡­ However, they were all surprised when they saw the general constantly giving instructions and correcting the direction of the army's march, with a calm and confident look on his face.  The most surprising thing is that every time the general gives instructions, he does not raise his head to observe the sky, but frequently lowers his head and plays with a shiny gadget

    A miracle occurred three days later, when Sun Zhangong came to report in surprise, and they returned to where they were before being hit by the sandstorm - that is to say, they could finally recalibrate their route and move forward along the familiar business road.

    The whole teacher burst into cheers, as if they were saved from a desperate situation that day.

    Due to the extensive use of vehicles, the army originally had sufficient food and water storage, but it encountered frequent natural disasters and constant dangers along the way, causing losses of various sizes each time.  In addition, after being lost for many days, a lot of precious food and drinking water were consumed in vain, so that the storage became less and less.  With people eating horse chews and constant consumption, about 20 days after the army set off, there was a shortage of drinking water.

    When they set up camp that night, the quartermasters of the 35th and 36th brigades reported to Yue Fei the food situation of their brigade: "General, our brigade can still sustain food for seven days, and horse feed for five days, but drinking water is enough."  But it¡¯s been less than three days.¡±

    "How is the situation of the 34th Brigade?" Yue Fei summoned the quartermaster of the brigade.

    "General, our brigade's losses are slightly less. The army rations and horse feed can last for ten days, and the drinking water can last for seven days." the quartermaster replied.

    "Divide the food and drinking water among the three brigades equally." Yue Fei said decisively, "People can drink the collected rainwater and pond water when necessary, but they must be boiled."

    Wang Gui was a little worried: "The soldiers are tired and the march is slow. They can't march more than thirty miles in a day. And now it is April, the military situation is urgent, and food and water are worrying. General, if this continues, I'm afraid"

    "Does our army still have a choice now?" Yue Fei looked directly at his apprentice, his eyes as firm as ever, "We can only go on! We can only go on! We can't turn around!"

    In order to say "no turning back," this army of ten thousand people experienced a series of hardships such as water cuts off, horses being killed to drink blood, drinking sewage by mistake, and injuries increasing in the next five days.  Especially when the army passed by a sandy moraine, they found a pool of water. The soldiers shouted wildly and rushed forward, leaning down to drink from the buffalo. Sun Zhangong and other guides could not stop them.  At this moment, he became very sick, with vomiting and diarrhea, severe dehydration, high fever, and some even died.

    The doctors accompanying the army were afraid of causing a plague, so they had to ask Yue Fei to set up a separate camp for isolation.  Likewise, this sick camp will slowly fall behind the army and fend for itself in the desert.  In the last survivor, not one out of ten survives.

    This is the price, the price of war. You have to pay something, and success will wave to you.

    On April 13, when this army, which stretched for several miles, was exhausted and walking around a long canyon, the guides who were walking at the front of the group suddenly became excited and shook their camels.  The hooves gallop forward.

    Three miles away, with rustling reeds and gurgling water, a clear and gentle river appeared in front of you.

    "Camel River! It's Camel River!"

    Sun Zhangong screamed like crazy, rolled down from the camel's hump to the sand, and rolled and crawled for more than ten feet regardless of the blood on his hands and face.  He knelt heavily on his knees, raised his arms to the sky, and screamed: "We're here! We're here! Hahaha"

    On April 13, the second year of Tianjian, after nearly a month, the 12th Division finally crossed Mu Us and arrived at the Luotuo River, a tributary of the Yellow River. The most difficult and difficult journey on the Western Expedition was over.

    ¡­¡­

    April fourteenth, night.  At Sun Zhangong's strong request, Yue Fei agreed that he would lead fifty warriors to raid Wei City in the upper reaches of the Luotuo River.

    This city is a fort belonging to the Shunjun Division of the Youxiang Dynasty of the Xia Kingdom. It is also the only fort in the central and western parts of Henan Province.  The mission of this fortress is to serve as a checkpoint to collect taxes from business travelers traveling from north to south.  Although it is a fortress, its defense level and military strength are far from comparable to those on the southeastern border of Xia Kingdom.  As for alertness and vigilance, not to mention, the guards are useless.

    Sun Zhangong killed all the more than sixty Xia soldiers guarding the city with just one attack, without even making a sound, and easily occupied Shengwei City.

    ??Subsequently, Wei City in this province became the place where the Twelfth Division recovered its vitality.  The army took turns entering the city to rest, replenish water sources, repair vehicles, recuperate and treat injuries, and adjust and recover.

    Yue Fei is well aware of the principle of "sharpening the sword but cutting firewood". If the soldiers, horses, and morale of the army are not well restored, a tired army will not be able to win the battle.  This time across the desert, the Twelfth Division was really damaged. At least a thousand soldiers were dead, injured or sick, and lost their combat effectiveness. Five hundred horses were lost, accounting for 20% of the total. The rest of the weapons and ammunition were also lost.  Not a small amount.

    However, as the emperor said, as long as we successfully cross the desert and capture the targetTo achieve the strategic goal, even if half of the troops are lost, it is worth it.

    This rest lasted for five full days, until the entire army was in food shortage.  Yue Fei then ordered to go north to capture Keyimen, the important town of Xia Dynasty.  There, the Youxiang Chaoshun Military Division of Xia Kingdom was stationed.  According to intelligence, there are 3,000 Xia troops stationed here, including nearly 800 regular soldiers and more than 2,000 support soldiers.  The food and military supplies for the troops stationed here are what the Twelfth Division urgently needs right now.  Keyi Gate must be conquered.  This is an important springboard to achieve established strategic goals.

    On April 20th, in addition to more than a hundred wounded and sick people who would not recover for a while, who stayed in Weicheng, Shenghui City to continue their recuperation, and a team of mixed infantry for protection, the entire division's 10,500 soldiers stayed overnight.  In the meantime, they crossed the Yellow River on wooden rafts and sheepskin rafts, and rushed to the Xia army's important town of Keyimen, which was seventy miles away.
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