Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 232 Defense System
"Western barbarians (huǐ yì) live here, and they have not received tributes over the years, so they are ashamed. Now they are turned into Qimin, and they become good places." In the camp at night, Shao Shude was still reading through the history of the country since the dynasty. class literature.

If you want to govern a place well, it is obviously impossible not to understand the actual situation.In addition, the experience of the predecessors can also point out some detours, so you don't need to go any further.

Generally speaking, reading this kind of literature is very boring, but sometimes you can find some fun, such as this passage.

Shen, Guang, Cai and other prefectures do not make offerings and do not hand in their household registrations. That is where barbarian poisonous snakes live.After doing these things, it is a good place.The logic is simple and crude, very clear.

"Marshal, dinner is here." The soldiers brought him food.

"Let Deputy Envoy Chen and Sui Envoy Zhao come and have dinner together."

"As ordered."

Chen Cheng and Zhao Guangfeng came soon, and the commander often invites them to have dinner together, which is a sign of respect and favor.

"Marshal, this is Lanzhou japonica rice porridge, right?" Chen Cheng glanced at it, then smiled.

"Last year's old rice was sent from the city. When Liu Yuanding visited Lanzhou 60 years ago, in the rich land of Lanzhou, all he could see was japonica rice. Let's taste it today." Shao Shude greeted.

There were still some fruits, preserved fruits, milk and fish on the case, and the three of them were so excited that they finished eating and drinking in a while.

"Commander, during the day the army killed thousands of Tubo in He and Liner Prefectures, and captured 300 or [-] people. They are all elite tribesmen. They have only fled back for more than [-] people. They should be frightened. Why don't you send someone to recruit them?" After the meal, Chen Cheng suggested.

Linzhou governed Didao (now Lintao) and Changle (near Kangle County today), governing Didao.

Hezhou governs three counties, Fanghan (southwest of today's Linxia County), Fenglin (eighty miles south of Linxia), and Daxia (in today's Guanghe County).

These five counties had a large population during the Tianbao period. Because they were close to the front line of the battle with Tubo, the imperial court moved many people to settle here.Linzhou was still part of Lanzhou at the time and was not split off. However, in the three counties of Hezhou, there were more than 6000 Han people in the Tianbao period, and the number of household registrations has basically recovered to that of the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties.

To be able to support so many people, the main thing is that there is a large area of ​​river valley alluvial plains that are conducive to irrigation, and all three counties are distributed here.Even at this time, these tributaries of the Yellow River still provide abundant water, but the Tibetans are not very interested in using it.

"Of course we want to surrender." Shao Shude nodded and said, "Recruit as much as you can, so as to reduce some casualties. But the Tubo people may not give up. The surrender they want may mean that everything remains the same, but they just surrender to someone on the surface. But the Tubo people may not agree to a certain request, such as sending officials, garrisoning troops, and collecting taxes."

This is indeed very possible.

Tubo in Hezhou and Linzhou suffered heavy losses outside the city of Lanzhou. General Mei Guxi was killed in battle, and no more than [-] people fled back.According to the current situation, they must not dare to fight anymore, and they will send people to surrender. If they are only satisfied with recovering the lost ground on the surface, then the possibility of success is extremely high.However, if one wanted to actually control the five counties of He and Lin, everything would be governed by the prefectures and counties of Han, and the local Tubo might not be willing. This involved the issue of whose hands the local power would fall into.

No tears without seeing the coffin.

It won't work if you don't put some pressure on them.No way, I still have to mobilize the army to go south. It may not be necessary to fight, but I still have to go.

"Commander, don't forget the Shan and Kuo prefectures in the west, and the Min, Tao, Die, and Dang prefectures in the south, but the He and Lin prefectures must be taken down." Chen Cheng asked someone to bring over a map, and said, "Today's closing According to the military report, the troops on the Southeast Road have conquered the Tubo mountain stronghold in Dalai Valley and killed more than a thousand enemies. So far, the post roads to Linzhou and Hezhou have been opened. In the early years of the Kingdom, from Chang'an to the Western Regions, the Weishui Road was the most important. Seriously, since Weizhou is in your hands, if you don’t take Hezhou and Linzhou, it will be a dead end, and the meaning will be greatly reduced.”

Going west from Weiyuan County in Weizhou, along the valley post road at the northern foot of Niaoshu Mountain, you can reach Didao County in Linzhou for a hundred miles.

Didao is another very important traffic node. From then on, it goes northward, along the flat Taoshui River Valley, and crosses the Wogan Mountains. The total mileage is 190 miles to Wuquan County, Lanzhou.

From Didao to the west, you can also go to Hezhou through Heguping Road, and cross Hezhou to the west to Shanzhou.

To put it simply, if Didao County and the Changcheng Castle in the north of the county are not in the hands, then the most convenient communication line between Lanzhou and Weizhou will be cut off.Three years before Tianbao, the two counties of Linzhou belonged to Lanzhou. At that time, Didao, the traffic mouthpiece, was considered.

"So Linzhou must be in your hands." Chen Cheng concluded.

"It's a pity that Hezhou is not in our hands. It is recommended to send troops to take it. With Hezhou and Linzhou in hand, Shanzhou seems to be a good choice. The rest of the states can be tied for the time being, and we can take it when we have time." Zhao Guangfeng said.

Shao Shude looked at the map, and he considered another angle.

Most of the elite agricultural belts in He, Lin, and Wei prefectures are within 2000 meters above sea level.The three counties of Shanzhou and the three counties of Kuozhou are mostly at 2000 meters, and some counties are slightly higher, but it is also limited.

These more than a dozen counties are all at altitudes that Kanto immigrants can adapt to, and there are a large number of river valleys and plains with fertile soil, which can indeed be vigorously developed.

But other states are either full of layers of mountains, and the plains are extremely small, like chicken ribs.Either the altitude is high, up to 3000 meters, and it is not worth spending a lot of effort to capture it for the time being. The best way is to recruit the local Tubo and Qiang people, and keep them under control, so as not to waste your energy.

"Five counties of He and Lin..." Shao Shude pondered for a while, and said, "Since the main force has been severely injured, we should send troops to take it. Shan and Kuo prefectures, let's take a look again, and send people to surrender if they wish. I don’t want to talk about it later.”

"The commander is wise." Chen and Zhao said in unison.

"Give Zhang Yanqiu an order to lead the Zhenwu Army and Tiande Army to the south, and cooperate with Yang Yue to attack the second county of Linzhou." Shao Shude said: "In a few days, I will personally lead the army south to Hehe and Liner Prefectures to meet with the Tubo tribes. Union."

"Commander, do you give Commander Yang an order to attack Minzhou in the south? The Fufuling family has always been rebellious, and they think highly of themselves. They don't take advantage of the army here and go south in one go. If we attack again in the future, we will make a big move." Zhao Guangfeng said suddenly.

In his opinion, this Fu Fuling family is very hateful, and it is also very cruel to the Tang people. If this thief is not killed, Wei and Linzhou will never have peace in the future.

"What is the strength of the two prefectures south of Minzhou and Dangzhou?"

"Returning to Commander-in-Chief, after the first year of Guangde's capture of Tibet, Tubo has been occupying it. However, in the past 20 years, the power of the Qiang people has gradually risen, and the rule of Tubo in two prefectures and four counties is in jeopardy. In fact, the local Qiang people are self-governing. On the other hand, the Gaozong Dynasty Some places in Fangzhou, where the Tibetans were trapped, are also dominated by Qiang people." Zhao Guangfeng replied: "If Minzhou is conquered, you can send people to appease them, and just keep them in custody."

"You two really have a big appetite." Shao Shude said with a smile: "The Helong states have been trapped in Tibet for more than a hundred years, and the people's conditions are complicated. Just now, a certain one has been thinking about which points should be controlled and how many troops should be stationed. I can't imagine the appetite of the two of you. It’s so big, does this mean that a certain general Dingnan Army will also move it here?”

"In the early years of the Kingdom of China, the Tubo invaders mainly marched along the Huangshui, Taoshui, and Dahe Rivers. Therefore, the imperial court set up the Heyuan Army, the Momen Army, and the Jishi Army to control them, with more than [-] people." Shao Shude also said: "If a certain According to Lan, Lin, He, Wei, Min, Die, Dang, Shan, Kuo, Tao and other prefectures, how many troops should be sent to stay behind?"

After all, Shao Shude asked Li Renfu to hang the map on the wall, and said: "Hezhou, Guangwuliang, Changcheng Castle, Didao, Dalaigu, Fenglin Pass, and Luomenchuan are all important traffic passes. If possible, They all need to garrison troops, but the Dingnan army is not strong enough, so it is impossible to stay too many troops."

"Di Dao County, you should keep an army, and also manage the line from the north to the Changcheng Castle and the south to the Dalai Valley."

"Fenglin Pass is adjacent to the Dahe River in the north, the accumulated stones in the west, and Likou in the east. The traffic between east and west is very important. There is also Fenglinjin Ferry, and you can reach Shanzhou by crossing the river in the north."

"Guangwuliang is located on the east side of the place where Huangshui flows into the river, and it leads to Shanzhou in the west. It is also particularly important."

"Pingyi defends Zhuocheng. Between Fenglin County and Hezhou, blocking the main road passage, we have to place an army."

"Weishui River Valley..."

Shao Shude pointed out five important nodes in one breath, all of which are for the garrison.

Defense is a system, and it is not as many people think that once the army is stationed in Guancheng, it will be over.In fact, this is not enough. Guancheng generally only blocks the largest and best road, and there are trails around it, which must also be defended.Some may only be enough to station a dozen people, that is a beacon, but it is also a part of the defense system.

Just like the garrison in Didao County, if Tubo invaded, it is likely to pass through the Dalai Valley, because it is the most suitable place to station a large army and solve many problems such as drinking water, firewood collection, and pasture.Therefore, it is usually necessary to build a stronghold here, and the defenders in the stronghold are under the jurisdiction of General Didao Town.In the same way, the Long Castle, more than [-] miles north of Didao, also had to garrison troops. If there were police, they should send troops to rescue them.

Many troops will be stationed, Shao Shude sighed.

This is something he has always tried to avoid, but at this point today, the territory is getting wider and wider, the terrain and people's conditions are complicated. If you don't send a large army to guard it, people will definitely not obey you.

Why did the Hetao, Hengshan, and Yinshan tribes obey?It's not that Marshal Shao's ruling center is there, with a large army gathered and a strong influence.

Throwing [-] to [-] troops to the Hewei states is really extravagant.

But how to put it, even if you don't occupy the five counties of He and Lin, and just defend the two prefectures of Lan and Wei, you still have to send a large army.Moreover, the defense system was torn apart, leaving a big gap.Then it is better to simply occupy Hezhou, level the defense line, and expand to the periphery. Then Lanzhou will not be the front line, but can develop with peace of mind.

"Marshal, if we send all the government troops to defend, it will cost a lot of money. For the current plan, we should spread the army to farm and fight." Chen Cheng and Zhao Guangfeng seemed to have a countermeasure, and they suggested together.

"Where did the Tuntian Army come from?" Shao Shude asked.

"Go to Henan to recruit soldiers."

"He's recruiting Yajun, Anken will be a field soldier?"

"All you need to do is to recruit civilian households, and promise to pay more attention to profits, and then send veterans of the Yamen to serve as commanders at all levels, just like the story of Huizhou."

Then the population allocated to Lingzhou will decrease, Shao Shude sighed.

"Let's improve it slowly. Tomorrow, I will go to Lanzhou City with a certain person, and ask some people who are familiar with the inside information of the neighboring states, and then make a fuss."

"As ordered."

(End of this chapter)