Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

Chapter 554 Heavy Duty

Riding on a steed, drifting with the tide, Zhang Shigui is almost conditioned to follow the horse, with a strange and complicated feeling in his heart.

Since meeting at Yanmen Pass that day, the King of Handan immediately showed his kindness and praised him frequently, and today he actually gave such a high evaluation.

No. 1 in both civil and military skills...Although Zhang Shigui is quite conceited, he dare not bear such an evaluation.

In this era, there is no such thing as a clear distinction between civil and martial arts. Both civil and military skills are standard, but in general, even the children of aristocratic families, who claim to be both civil and military, always have a focus.

For example, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui once led the army among the strategists of Tiance Mansion, but most of the time they were in charge of planning, promoting talents, and military strategies.

For example, Qin Qiong can also be said to be both civil and military, but in fact he has always appeared as Li Shimin's closest cavalry commander, and rarely has the opportunity to be alone.

In fact, because of Li Shimin, most of the heroes under his command have no chance to be alone. Today's Daxingtai in Shaanxi Province is just a team effort.

And Zhang Shigui is one of the few officials in the Tiance Mansion who used to be alone... So from a certain point of view, the evaluation of No. 1 in both civil and military skills can't be wrong.

Zhang Shigui had a feeling that Li Shan knew himself very well.

A voice came from ahead, Zhang Shigui reined in the reins and slowed down his horse, turned his head and looked around, and saw dilapidated houses, uneven hills... When he got closer, he realized that they were not hills, but uneven stones, mound.

Li Shan chose a slightly higher hillside to get off his horse, and asked with a smile, "How is this place?"

"I'm afraid it's been a long time since I chose?" Li Daozong smiled, turned his head to look to the southeast, then to the southwest, and asked Chi: "How much is the distance?"

"To Mayi and Yanmen Pass, the fast horses galloped for more than two hours." Su Dingfang, who was in charge of the site selection, explained clearly: "This place was originally Guji Town, plus the surrounding villages, there were about [-] people, and it was later destroyed. In the hands of Liu Wuzhou, it was plundered by the Turks, and gradually declined, and the people fled, so that it was abandoned."

Li Daozong looked around carefully, "Water source nearby?"

"There are rivers, and there are more than one. One of the streams passes through the original site of Guji Town." Su Dingfang explained: "The choice of this place is for the convenience of repairing the village, and the second is that it is not far from Mayi and Yanmen Pass. When the cavalry go out to support each other, the invading enemy will not be able to look at each other from head to tail."

Mayi, Guji Town, Yanmen Pass, three points form a triangular structure... Triangle is the most stable composition, but Li Shan didn't consider all these when he first started planning.

Li Gaoqian was the first to lead his troops out of the fortress last year, but his escape alone led to a big defeat, which inspired Li Shan a lot. He found that the distance between Mayi and Yanmen Pass was a bit embarrassing.

From Yanmenguan to Mayi, it takes about four or five hours for the fast horses to gallop. It starts at dawn and arrives at dusk. This journey... No matter how good the army horse is, it will be the end of the battle.

If the army is going out of the fortress, it is necessary to stabilize the position and move west slowly... Let alone the day, it is considered fast to touch the edge of Mayi in seven or eight days, but the Turkic cavalry came immediately, covering the sky and covering the ground, blocking the battlefield.

There are many reasons for Li Gaoqian's defeat. Abandoning the army and fleeing is of course the main reason, but there are also some objective reasons. Because of this, it is difficult to make a quick response.

Since then, Li Shan has had the idea of ​​choosing a place to build a village in Shuozhou, and has been making various preparations for it... Unfortunately, it has not yet started, and various accidents are coming. He's pushed to where he is now, and he's going to be gone soon.

On the New Year's Eve three months ago, Li Daozong came to visit unexpectedly and had a good talk with Li Shan. He promised that this year when the Turks invaded, he would attack Mayi fiercely.

And Li Shancai took this plan out... Li Daozong was very interested, and helped a lot in choosing a place and craftsmen.

Over there, Su Dingfang was still explaining the nearby terrain to Li Daozong, while Li Shan was talking to Zhang Shigui about the benefits of rebuilding Guji Town... Zhang Shigui basically knew what Li Shan wanted him to do.

Rebuild the Zhaibao in Guji Town... This is a task that makes ordinary people tremble when they hear it, because further north of Guji Town is Yunzhou. The front line of the Turks.

Even Zhang Shigui, who has a stable temperament, can't help but slander... No wonder Li Shan wants to praise him so much these days, it's because he is afraid that he won't take over!

At least there is still a tall city wall on the side of Mayi, while Guji Town...is still in ruins. Zhang Shigui glanced out of the corner of his eye, feeling a little puzzled in his heart. Although Li Daozong and Su Dingfang are not very old, they are also veterans in the army, so they can't fail to see.

Li Shan is still chattering there, the three sides are stationed and form horns with each other, so that they will not be alone and helpless, and Guji Town is relatively closer to Yunzhou. The two nails of Yi and Guji towns are quite difficult.

Mayi and Yanmenguan are both important towns, with sufficient food and grass, and heavy troops stationed. If Guji Town is planned to be built, Li Shan will not just throw some crooked melons and cracked dates in it... Isn't this already brought Zhang Shigui? With Gu Jizhen in series, so that the hands can look after each other, the defense system can be very three-dimensional.

In the end, Li Shan concluded: "No matter where Jieli Khan wants to attack, he will feel like a light is on his side or even behind him, and he will never dare to attack with all his strength."

Zhang Shigui shook his head, "Yanmen Pass is the gate of Hedong, so we will not send troops at will, Guji Town, Mayi...if the cavalry are lured out by the Turks..."

"That's not the case." Li Shan said softly, "Brother Wu An has not yet arrived in the north, so I don't know yet. Although the Turkic cavalry are known as brave, they are actually good at riding and shooting, gathering and dispersing. When it comes to fighting on the battlefield, they are far inferior to armored cavalry."

Zhang Shigui murmured in a low voice, and he also understood Li Shanwan's explanation. After all, there is only more than two hours' journey between each other, and the distance is too close. If the Turks attack Mayi, Guji Town will send cavalry to attack , the news will spread quickly, which can greatly delay or even destroy the Turkic offensive on Mayi.

The most important thing is that if the planning is good, even if the Turkic cavalry use this as a bait to lure the Tang cavalry to attack, with the impact of the Tang cavalry, as long as they don't love fighting, it is difficult for the Turkic people to do anything... In other words, the Turkic people want to surround You don't have the qualifications to hit aid.

In fact, in essence, Li Shan chose to build a village in Guji Town, the main function is to cut the space.

Try to weaken the movement space of the Turkic cavalry, so that the large-scale activities of the opponent can gather and disperse freely to reduce the threat.

Li Shan thought in his heart, this is a bit similar to the defense system of the Ming Dynasty later, but the essence is different. The Ming Dynasty can only defend and basically dare not fight in the field, while the Tang Army can attack in these places.

Before Gao Manzheng defended Mayi twice, he did not only defend the city, but attacked frequently. Later, because of the overwhelming number of Turkic cavalry, he could only stick to the city.

(End of this chapter)