Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 541
Golden eagles streaked across the sky.

On the vast land, cattle and sheep are wild.

From Wangwu County to Qiziling, and then to Zhiguan; from the north bank of the Yellow River to Heqing County, and then to Baiyacang, the grass has turned green.

Of course, the Bian army would not take the initiative to plant pastures. This is the credit of the Shuofang army.

Transportation is difficult and costly, which has always been the Achilles' heel of restricting Shuofang's army.Grass can at least offset part of the consumption of livestock. From a logistical point of view, this is food, which is under the nose of the enemy and can be used in any corner.

On the rugged mountain road in the south, mules and horses were full of grain and beans, walking panting.

Gravel slides down the steep slope into the valley.

In the bottom of the valley, there are a large number of dead mules and horses lying here and there.The food was scattered all over the place, and the birds were chirping, chasing the food that fell from the sky.

A group of crows flew over, staring fixedly at the wife who was bleeding to death at the bottom of the valley, also preparing to enjoy their gluttonous feast.

On the mountain road in the north that can pass through the square track, the old nauseous horse suddenly fell to his knees.

A lame cow lay on the side of the road, letting the whip hit him, with big tears streaming from his eyes.

Tens of thousands of draft animals and more than [-] masters are busy on the two narrow mountain roads.

The money and food in one prefecture and four prefectures in Hezhong decreased at a speed almost visible to the naked eye.

The masters complained and even cried bitterly, but no one sympathized with them.Almost every day, people were beheaded for public display, and the whole family was distributed to Feng, Sheng, Jie, Cheng, Min, Lan and other states.

Since Commander Shao came to Hezhong, the people's life has really plummeted, fighting every day, killing every month, fighting every year, compared to the time of Wang Chongrong and Wang Chongying, it is really much worse.The only advantage is probably that Li Hanzhi no longer dared to go down the mountain at will, and broke into Jinjiang to burn, kill and loot.But the problem is, after Wang Ke married Li Keyong's daughter, Li Hanzhi never went down the mountain again.

At the foot of Zhiguan City, more than [-] Tutuan villagers from the middle of the river, plus [-] young adults from Wangwu County, have already set up their battles.

However, they will not attack with all their strength, but a diversionary feint to let the enemy know that the front line of Zhiguan must be paid attention to, and reinforcements must be continuously sent here.

In the area around Heqing County in the south, the troops seem to be about the same, but the real swords and guns are not comparable to those in the north.

The three thousand infantry of the Wuwei Army lined up in the wilderness. Like the Tianxiong Army back then, Senhan's swords and guns were raised forward.

In front of them, [-] Tibetans from the Hewei states had already pushed the siege equipment and started to attack.

It was not easy to save some food to the front line, and he paid a huge price for it. There was no time to lose, and Heqing County must be captured as quickly as possible.

Two thousand cavalry infantry of the Flying Dragon Army were resting on a gentle slope on one side.

They closely monitored Bai Yacang and were ready to fight at any time.

"The Baiyacang was first built in the Gaozong Dynasty, and this location is too damn good." Gao Renhou stood on the watchtower cart, carefully observing the sturdy and huge mountain city.

Yes, Baiyacang is a mountain city, built on Baiya Mountain, with a huge scale, which can store hundreds of thousands of grains.Cangcheng faces deep valleys on three sides, and only one avenue is opened on the south side leading to the wharf at the foot of the mountain: Liaowu.

Liaowu is also a fortress with sailors and soldiers.

In other words, the area of ​​Heqing County is actually guarded by three fortresses, namely Heqing County, Baiyacang, and Liaowu.

Zhao Keyu said that Heqing County and Baiyacang each have 2000 people, which should be correct.Heqing County is not big, with a maximum of 3000 defenders, and Baiyacang is large, but the water source on the mountain is limited, and 1000 people are enough, but there should be more than [-] people in Liaowu.

The defense system of the entire Heqing County is not 4000 people, it is likely to have about 6000 people, but it is not known how good the defenders are.

"General Gao, the thieves probably didn't expect that I would come to besiege Heqing with all my troops. Zhang Shensi's troops are limited, and Huaizhou is newly harassed. He shouldn't send more troops to Heqing. Most of the guards here are nothing. Elite soldiers, otherwise the other battlefields will not be able to support you." Lu Huaizhong also looked at it for a long time, and finally said: "In my opinion, Baiyacang is the most difficult to fight. If the defenders are determined to defend, they may not be able to attack in a year .”

This mountain city is a bit like a stone castle.As long as a winding mountain road leads to the strong city on the mountain, it is impossible to deploy troops at all.At that time, Datang was built by human life, and tens of thousands of people died, which shows the difficulty.

This kind of fucking fortified city is not easy to use. It doesn't matter if there is a city wall or not, because most of the casualties occurred on the way to attack the mountain.

Strictly speaking, it is in the same category as Qiziling, Zhiguan, Xin'an County, Xiashibao, and Xiaoshan. It is defended by mountains and rivers, not by city walls.A city that is really on a plain is actually not that difficult to attack.

"Whether it's hard to fight or not, you won't know until you fight. Attack Heqing County first. It would be best if the defenders of Baiyacang and Liaowu go out to rescue them. The Feilong Army is waiting." Gao Renhou said indifferently: "Bringing so many people Come here, it is difficult to transport food."

Having said that, he paused, but didn't say anything later.

In fact, he didn't like this kind of battle very much.What he likes most is setting up ambushes in the field, attacking east and west, and making surprises. This kind of head-to-head siege warfare does not reflect Lao Gao's level at all.

"There are more people dying, and the food shortage will be less severe." Lu Huaizhong sighed in his heart, and then looked firmly at Heqing County.

Some battles have to be fought.Some casualties are inevitable.

As long as the world is restored to peace and the people can recuperate, no matter how great the sacrifice is, it is worthwhile, although not everyone agrees with his ideas.

……

The golden eagle fell on the cliff.

Two thousand cavalry led their horses and wandered in the field east of Heqing County.

On the banks of the big river to the southeast of them, there were also [-] cavalry infantry of the Flying Dragon Army, also leading horses on foot, looking for the enemy.

The [-] cavalry infantry led by Qi Bizhang had just returned to Baishuijiao to rest.

Sun Ru is a scam, Li Hanzhi is a scam, Zhao Keyu is a scam, and there are not many people in the two prefectures of Heyang, and it is impossible to raise food in the wild.

When Wuzong Huichang built Mengzhou, the combined population of the ten counties of Meng and Huai was estimated to be 80 million people, but now there are no more than 8 people. It would be good to have [-] people. The villages in the countryside are empty and there are no people living in hundreds of miles. No wonder Even Li Hanzhi is not interested in this place, and he does not want to come and plunder.

Fortifying the wall and clearing the field, whether passive or active, has always been the most annoying thing for the Shuofang Army with a large number of cavalry, because it limits the range of cavalry activities.Yang Liang now even wants to go to the other side of the river. Heyin County is the largest wharf and cargo distribution center in this area, so he should be able to get enough supplies.

But he finally sighed, the river had already thawed.

"Go to Mengzhou!" With a big wave of his hand, he didn't get on the horse, but continued to lead the delicate horse on foot.

In Mengzhou city, Zhang Shensi had just received the news that Zhiguan and Heqing counties were attacked at the same time.

Beyond Zhiguan, Xia's company camp was more than ten miles away, with flags covering the sun and people shouting and horses neighing. It seemed that there were more than [-] troops.

Outside Heqing County, there are probably more than ten thousand soldiers and horses, far less than those in the north.

This is in line with everyone's perception.

Zheguan Xing, the first Xing Xing of the Taihang Eight Xing, is also the southernmost Xing Road, which can pass through square-gauge carts.

Qin Guodong went out and kept walking this way.

In the second year of Yongjia Emperor Huai of the Western Dynasty (Western Jin Dynasty), Wang Mi went to Luoyang and took this road.

In the third year of Emperor Xianhe of the Middle Jin Dynasty (Eastern Jin Dynasty), Duke Zhongshan of the later Zhao Dynasty Shihu attacked Hedong, and he also entered from Zhiguan.

Fu Jian, Murongchui, Hu Luguang, etc. all went in the same way.

Serious people who take the path?

"Can Zhi Pass be defended?" Zhang Shensi scratched his head after considering the strength of his troops.

There are 500 people in Heqing County, [-] Heyang Yamen, and the rest are soldiers from Xuzhou.

There are more than [-] people in Baiyacang, half of them are Heyang Yamen and half of them are peasants from Tutuan.

There are more than a thousand people in Liaowu, except for a few backbones who are the Heyang government army, most of them are soldiers from Xuzhen.

Originally, there were more than 1000 Puzhou soldiers who surrendered, but they were attacked by Xia thief cavalry a while ago, and the whole army was wiped out.

These people should be enough to hold on, right?

There are still more than [-] guards at Zhiguan, more than [-] Heyang Yamen, [-] Bian Song Yamen, and the rest are Tutuan villagers.

There are more than [-] people in Jiyuan County, most of whom are Tutuan villagers.

In fact, these two roads are not the most dangerous. After all, there is a favorable location and a strong city, and the most dangerous is the direction of Huaizhou.

At present, there are only seven thousand people in Huaizhou, half of them are government soldiers transferred from the south, and half of them are Tutuan peasants or state and county soldiers. Facing the erratic and elusive Xia bandit cavalry, they are now basically huddled in Hebei, Wuzhi, The three counties of Xiuwu basically do not go out for activities. This is actually very dangerous, because it is easy to be cut off from each other, resulting in each being defeated.

There are more than [-] defenders in Mengzhou, and they are basically Bian Song Yajun who can fight. They are the largest field force in Heyang, including [-] infantry and [-] cavalry. .

But they may not be willing to confront you head-on, which is a headache.If you can't find anyone, or if you find them, they turn around and run away, what should you do?
Zhang Shensi always felt that he was playing a very dangerous game.

The troops were stretched to the extreme, and it seemed that they could barely support it, but if there was a breakthrough, he would have to put in the last field troops. From then on, the situation was no longer under his control, and it went in an unpredictable direction.

But he didn't dare to ask for help anymore.

It is said that the king of Dongping County is focused on attacking east and defending west, but ask yourself, has he really not sent more troops to Heyang in the past year?
No, indeed more soldiers.Although the number of yajun troops sent was very small, only three to four thousand, there were no fewer than ten thousand prefectural and county soldiers and Tutuan villagers, which was also real support.

More than a month ago, another [-] soldiers from Xu and Pu were sent to support the army to the greatest extent, unless the strategy was adjusted immediately and the center of gravity was shifted to the west.

In addition to military strength, material assistance is actually even greater.This is actually "strength", because Zhang Shensi can temporarily conscript Heyang's young men into the army to expand the size of the army. Although it is weak in field battles, it is still possible to defend the city under the leadership of veterans.

Does it make sense to complain again and ask for help?Only the king of Dongping County can make this determination, and no one else can comment on it, and it might even offend the commander-in-chief.

"Dutou, Zhang Quanyi has entered the city." In distress, the general came in to report.

"He's here for a fart." Zhang Shensi cursed secretly, but she straightened her robes and went out to greet her.

　I wish you all a Happy New Year!

　　During the Chinese New Year, there are many things.It may not be possible to update twice a day, sorry.

　　If you have a vote, please vote, thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)