Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 495

The first month of the fourth year of Dashun came soon, and Shao Shude brought some of his family members to Tongzhou.

Zhe Fangai, Zhao Yu, Yeli Lingji, Wei Cailaimei, and Feng Du arrived at Xingde Palace in Tongzhou with their three sons and three daughters, under the protection of the Tielin Army and some of the bodyguards.

Dafeng was pregnant and stayed in Lingzhou.The Wuzang family and the Zhuge family also stayed in Lingzhou because their children were young.

Shao Shude appointed Lu Huaizhong, his most trusted general, to stay behind in Lingzhou and lead the Wuwei army to guard the lair.

After the Spring Society Festival on February [-], Guan Kairun and Zhang Yanqiu will lead the Jinglue Army and Zhenwu Army to the south to join the Tielin Army.

This is [-] paces at once, gathering in Guanzhong, it will be very eye-catching.

As for the Iron Cavalry Army, Shao Shude is still hesitating, and may eventually be inclined to send him south, and only send the Silver Spear Army to the west to fight against Shaqi Li Renmei.

If you take into account the follow-up troops of the guards who are about to be mobilized and assembled, the number of soldiers and horses will exceed [-].

Naturally, these 3 people cannot come to eat dry food, and the economic pressure will be great after a long time.The reason why they decisively ordered them to go south was mainly because Wang Chongying's good son secretly sent someone to pass the news that his old man might die soon.

A white-haired person giving a black-haired person, it seems that the impact is still very big, Lao Wang really couldn't hold it anymore.

In the middle of the river, there may be only one chance, and it is fleeting, so you must prepare in advance.

The arrival of family members filled the atmosphere of life inside and outside Xingde Palace.

Shao Shude left all kinds of "wild women" around him, and stayed with his wife Zhe Fangai wholeheartedly.

In addition, it is to bring children.

The eldest son, Siwu, is ten years old, and the eldest son, Chengjie, is also nine years old. They are now brought by Shao Shude's side all day long, so they even abstained from prostitution during the daytime...

On this day, Shao Shude traveled eastward with a thousand soldiers and two thousand bodyguards and arrived at the frozen west bank of the Yellow River.

"My son, can you see the mountains on the other side of the river?" Shao Shude asked with his horsewhip pointing at the mountains in the distance.

"I see." The two children, dressed like balls of wool, nodded in unison.

"That's called Zhongtiao Mountain." Shao Shude said.

This mountain lies to the north of the Dahe River, stretches extremely long from east to west, and together with the Yellow River serves as the southern barrier of the East Road.

This mountain is very famous in later generations. The Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain was extremely humiliating, and the ratio of casualties between the enemy and ourselves was unimaginable.

"For my father, I want to cross the river to the other side, how should I go?" Shao Shude asked.

"Can't we go across the ice?" Si Wu asked looking at the frozen river ahead.

"Where the water flows fast, it's hard to freeze. Even if it freezes, it's not thick enough. What if the ice breaks in the middle of the journey? On the river in Lingzhou, have you ever seen someone dragging a large carriage across the river in winter? "

"No." The two children shook their heads together again.

"To be a general, you must be proficient in geography and hydrology, otherwise you will suffer a lot. Master Du has told you all, right?" Shao Shude said.

It is really impossible to cross the army on the frozen river.

He thought of Gustav, the later king of Sweden, who crossed the army from the frozen Baltic Sea to attack Denmark.As a result, the ice broke, and hundreds of cavalry with him fell into the sea, and the royal sleigh he was riding almost fell into the sea.In some places the ice is thick, in others the ice is shallow. This is a gamble of luck.

"In the Shanzhou area, the water flow is relatively slow, but it's no problem to pass the army." Shao Shude said again: "But this is just for my father, so don't believe it all. Whether it works or not, you must see and try it yourself, don't follow what others say ,understand?"

"understood."

"After the big river thawed, I took a boat to cross the river for my father. If someone shoots arrows on the opposite side, will I be able to survive?"

"Many people will die." Cheng Jie said.

"If someone sets fire on the other side, will the boat catch fire?" Si Wu also asked.

"That's right." Shao Shude said with a smile: "Crossing the river by boat, my father calls it 'landing combat', this may be the most difficult battle in the world. As long as the enemy is reliable, they will not let you succeed."

"Then how do you win?"

"Have you seen the way wolves hunt on the grassland?"

"I have seen."

"Staring at the front, harassing from the side, and turning around from the back." Shao Shude looked at the Zhongtiao Mountain in the distance, and said leisurely: "The famous general in ancient times, as his father, Taizong of this dynasty is the favorite. He has fought cleanly, has a good military discipline, and does not harm the people. There is the demeanor of a master of the king, and there are all kinds of positive and strange changes. My son must remember that when using soldiers, one must understand Zheng Qi, but you must not stick to it. The way of wonder, change is in one mind, and you have to learn more and see more.”

……

Qibing is in Zhongtiao Mountain.

Niu Li, the deputy envoy of the Tianxiong Army, has already lived in the mountain, and they returned quietly from Shangnan Road.

After Fangzhou was pacified, Dingyuan Army envoy Wang Yu led his troops back north to Shangzhou, and the defense of this remote road on South Shang Road was officially handed over to them.

The Tianxiong Army's northward move was low-key, and under the banner of a normal defense change.

After they arrived in Shanzhou, they immediately crossed the river from the 76-foot-long Sun Pontoon Bridge and arrived in Pinglu County.

This county is attached to Shanzhou, formerly known as Hebei, and changed its name to Pinglu in the first year of Tianbao.

After receiving grain, grass, and supplies in Pinglu County, the Tianxiong Army continued northward, heading northeast along the Shajian River Valley, and walked for more than 40 miles to a place called 軨 (líng) Bridge.

There is a section of uphill road here, which was called Dianjiban in ancient times. It is a sandy stream, with a clear stream from east to west, deep valleys, and a road in the middle. It takes more than ten miles to Yucheng.

The city of Yu was located on the Yu Yuan, which was sealed by Yu Zhong, and it was called Bei Yu. In history, the Jin State used this way to crusade against the Guo State.

Yucheng is to the east of the main road. It was originally a military fort, but it was changed to Cangcheng in the second half of last year. At this time, it became the garrison of [-] soldiers of the Tianxiong Army.

Go north out of Yucheng and start downhill.The mountain road passes through the entire seven-layered mountain, with a total length of more than [-] miles, and is very steep.

This section of steep mountain road with a total length of less than forty miles is collectively called "Yuban Dianjiao Road". It is one of the passages in Zhongtiao Mountain and an important communication line between the north and the south.

After going down the hill, the road divides into two ways.

Go northwest for more than [-] li to Anyi County, and go northeast for more than [-] li to Xia County.These two counties are both counties of Shanzhou, north of Zhongtiao Mountain.

Thanks to the imperial court, among the eight counties in Shanzhou, five counties are north of the Yellow River, and the two counties of Anyi and Xia are even north of Zhongtiao Mountain.When dividing the states and counties at the beginning, the court officials must have been full of scheming and deliberately did so.

Otherwise, let the Yellow River be the boundary between Hezhong Mansion and Shanzhou. It would be too easy to defend. There are two barriers, Dahe and Zhongtiao Mountain, wouldn't it give you a chance to separate yourself?
"Wang Yao is not a son of man. If I had given birth to such a child, I would have drowned in the latrine." As an important participant in the Hezhong battle that may break out at any time, Niu Li is one of the few generals who knows the inside story.

He had been in Yucheng for more than ten days, and he was almost blown away by the cold mountain wind, so he was old-fashioned.But I can't tell others that there is no one in the room at this time, so I curse in a low voice to relieve my anger.

"Why haven't Qibizhang's men arrived yet? Six thousand soldiers, what a force. These foreigners are lazy and useless." Niu Li rubbed his hands that were stiff from the cold, his eyes were on Walk around the map.

From Shanzhou to the north, there is another shortcut.

After crossing the river in Shanzhou, go northeast to Yuban Dianji Road, go northwest to pass Baijingling and Zhongtiao Mountains, and you can reach Xie County, Hezhong Prefecture.

This road is short, but it is not within the geographical scope of Shanzhou, and it is very difficult and dangerous.

Baijingling, "the mountains are towering, with walls standing on the left and right, and there is no track between them, it is called Shimen, and the road goes out of it", so this road is called Shimen Road.

As soon as Shimen Road came out of the mountain, it was Yanchi, the biggest source of income for the Hezhong Mansion, so it was conceivable that this place was heavily guarded.

Moreover, this mountain road cannot pass a horse-drawn carriage, which is too flawed.In these years, even pure cavalry troops must bring a large number of carriages, loaded with grain, arrows, medicinal materials and various pots and jars.

If you rely on pack horses alone, your ability to sustain combat is limited—I don’t know how the Mongols lived behind the enemy lines in history. I heard that they often couldn’t get food, so they ate people, grazing, and raw horse livers. The horse died, and even the manure of livestock was eaten, and the bones were not willing to throw away the bones after eating all the meat. Their success is indeed difficult for others to replicate, because you can't do it so ruthlessly.

"General, Zang Jun is here." In the barracks, the soldiers came to report.

Niu Li got up, adjusted his military uniform first, and then went out to greet him.

"The commander-in-chief sent someone to report that Wang Chongying vomited blood again and could not get out of bed. I am afraid that time is running out. There is an undercurrent in the Hezhong Mansion. Wang Ke entertains guests all day long. The meaning is obvious." Zang Dubao pulled Niu Li into the room, and said in a low voice, "Jiangzhou Inspector Wang Yao is also secretly recruiting people, brothers will fight each other not far away."

"Come according to the plan of the Marquis of Duyu." Niu Li said: "I hope Wang Chongying will last for a while. After the big river thaws, the commander-in-chief will lead Tielin and other troops to cross the river through Longmen. At that time, our troops will suddenly march west and attack from both sides. , and strive to severely injure the Hezhong Yajun."

There are 37 counties in four prefectures and one prefecture in Hezhong, with a household registration of one million and [-] yamen troops.If you can't break the enemy in one fell swoop, it will be very difficult.

"How can you be so rigid in using troops?" Zang Dubao laughed, and said, "Even if you can't attack the Hezhong Mansion, it's good to encircle and send reinforcements."

"Wang Yao controls more than [-] foreign town troops, and most of the food and equipment depend on the Hezhong government's supply. This battle should be done quickly rather than slowly." Niu Li thought about it: "The Tianxiong army and the Yinshan tribe combined have more than [-] soldiers. It is best Bring some more people."

"Don't think about it!" Zang Dubao threw his helmet on the case, shook his head and said, "Emissary Li Jinglue has Tianzhu, Shunyi, Heyuan, Jishi, and Yicong five armies in his hands. The Shanguo army has just returned to Shaanxi. The state rests, these uncles will not be able to fight a tough battle."

"Then it depends on our Tianxiong army." Knowing that there is no reinforcements, Niu Li also became ruthless, and said: "The big deal is to fight all, in order to repay the kindness of the commander."

"It's not necessarily that there will be no reinforcements." After thinking for a while, Zang Dubao suddenly said: "I heard that 4 people from Tubo in the Qingtang Dynasty have arrived at Jingzhao Mansion. If they reach Shanzhou smoothly, they may be able to take over and withdraw part of the army. Defend the city Well, what do you want Yajun to do?"

"The commander-in-chief's arrangement is really just right!" Niu Li was a little excited, and said: "The situation is very different after taking Hezhong."

Zang Dubao was also excited when he heard the words.After seizing the middle of the river, if he can repel the army from east of the river, then it will be the trend of the later Zhou Dynasty. However, the Northern Qi has not yet formed in the east. This... maybe... is it really possible?
(End of this chapter)