Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 108 Atypical Border Town Battle

The battle in the border town in Fang Chongyong's impression should be a scene of warriors and cavalry charging, fighting on the vast grassland or sand, and from time to time, people would fall on their backs.

The bright light armor shines brightly in the sun, like a symbol of victory; the torrent of cavalry teams gathers in the high-speed impact, falls, and finally falls silent; and the locust-like arrow rain, like cutting wheat, will advance in formation The taxi soldiers fell to the ground, and the air was filled with the smell of blood.

The frontier should be like this, and it must be like this!

However, at this moment, Fang Zhongyong saw another scene.

The Turkic people, who don't know how to live or die, have the courage to endure the coolness of the lake, wading in the water regardless of their own safety, and treat Baitinghai as "Baitinggou".

Then occasionally, accidentally, it fell into the shallow pit at the bottom of the lake, and after a few thumps, it disappeared!

Bai Dinh Sea is very shallow, with an average depth of more than one meter and less than two meters.Theoretically, it should be possible to find a way to Baiting Fort in the center of the lake.

But in many cases, "average" is a terrible word, which does not reflect the core and whole picture of the problem.

Some places are three meters deep, while some places are only below the knee, so the "average" water depth should theoretically not be able to drown people.

But in fact, the final result was like the Turkic people who were "exploring the way" at the moment. They tried in the lake for an hour or two, and many people were drowned. The "road" of Pavilion Fort.

On the tower of Baiting Fort, Fang Chongyong looked at Xin Yunjing speechlessly, pointed at the Turks who were wading in the water, and asked doubtfully: "Are these people sick? Do they really think they can wade out a way?"

Those closest to them are still several miles away from the land in the center of the lake where Baiting Fort is located.

As for the distance, it was already out of Fang Zhongyong's vision.

"In the Han Dynasty, Baiting Fort was set up in the center of Baiting Sea to monitor the movements of the Huns. This arrangement was based on local conditions, not just building a city blindly."

Xin Yunjing explained a sentence, but did not express the doubts in his heart.

Baiting's army was not large in scale, but it was divided into two armies: left and right.

The Left Army was located to the south of Baiting Sea and was responsible for the security of Baiting Sea Ranch; the Right Army and the Yamen were located at Baiting Fort in the center of Baiting Sea and were responsible for monitoring the movements of the Turks.

This time the Turks suddenly attacked, and the number of the left army was too small to stop the menacing Turks. They had already covered the ranch personnel and evacuated to Chiwu Town with thousands of horses.

Baitingbao, where the right army was located, was besieged by [-] Turkic cavalry regiments and could not leave the Baitinghai waters.

Of course, the so-called "group siege" is actually nothing more than the fact that the Turkic people set up several camps around and sent many rangers to patrol around.

After three days of siege, these people began to send people to wading tentatively, as if they wanted to determine a shallow road, and then rode horses to the center of the lake to attack Baitingbao.

This crazy move almost broke Fang Yanei's eyesight in Baitingbao, who was always in panic!

"The Turks pose no threat to us. Their target is Liangzhou City. Baitingbao has enough food and grass to last for a year."

Xin Yunjing smiled and explained to Fang Chongyong, completely treating him as a layman on the battlefield.

In fact, Fang Chongyong has now "study" the Tubo's "Military Law Manual", and he also learned some specific operations of marching and fighting from Cui Qianyou before. He is no longer a pure layman, but a layman with half a bucket of water!
According to Fang Chongyong's thinking, the situation they are currently facing is not as optimistic as Xin Yunjing said.

Indeed, in the center of the lake where Baitingbao is located, there is a large granary that has stockpiled a lot of military rations.There are not many garrisons in Baitingbao, so you can eat slowly, and it will not be a problem to cook for a year.

However, people cannot just eat food!

It's cold in winter, do you want to light a fire to keep warm?
Do you need fuel for daily cooking, such as hay or animal manure?

If you really think about it, the Baitingbao defenders lack everything, the only thing they don't lack is reinforcements.

The Chishui Army was more than 200 miles to the south, following the rule of "using horses as boats" on the west side of the river, it took only a day or two to make a rescue.

The problem now is not their situation, but the movement of the Turks themselves, which does not conform to the general laws of geopolitics.

Today's Turks are no longer the grassland nation that controlled millions of people and traveled across Europe and Asia.The former Turks were exterminated long ago, and today's Turks, known as the Post-Turkic Khanate, have not only greatly reduced the territory they control, but are also in a very poor internal state of fragmentation!

In the autumn of the 15th year of Kaiyuan, Tubo wrote a letter to the later Turkic Khan Pija, asking him to invade the border of the Tang Dynasty together.After weighing the pros and cons, Vija not only refused, but also sent the letter from Tubo to Datang for political speculation.

Sensing the "sincerity" of Vija, Jige Longyan was overjoyed, and hosted a banquet in the Zichen Palace to entertain the post-Turkic minister Mei Luchu who had delivered the letter.It also allowed the Shuofang army to set up a mutual market in Xishoucheng, and exchanged hundreds of thousands of horses with the Turks every year to strengthen the cavalry team and improve the horse breed.

In the 22nd year of Kaiyuan, the later Turkic minister Meiluchuu poisoned and murdered Vija Khan.However, when the poison broke out but he was not dead, Vija ordered troops to kill Mei Luchu and his followers.

After Vija's death, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty sent Zong Zhengqing Li Quan to pay a memorial service, set up a temple and a stele, and ordered the historian Li Rong to write the inscription.

This was the beginning of a comprehensive peace between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks. The result was that the Khitan and the Xi people were frightened and uneasy, and they were ready to make a move in Youzhou.

At the beginning, Datang recruited Khitan and Xi people to divide and disintegrate Turks. Once Turks made peace with Datang, under the truth of "whoever is strong will be beaten", the next plot should be that after Datang united, Turkic Khanate would deal with Khitan and Tang. Xi!
Now that Bijia Khan has died, the Turks have established his son as Yiran Khan.

Yiran Khan was once canonized by the Tang Dynasty, but died of illness shortly after taking the throne. His younger brother succeeded him as Bijiagudulu Khan, and the Tang Dynasty sent General Li Zhi of Youjinwuwei to canonize him as Dengli Khan.

Dengli was young and his mother-in-law took part in political affairs on the ground. The people of the country were dissatisfied. Dengli's cousin divided the army and horses. The one in the east was called Zuo Sha, and the one in the west was called Right Sha.

In other words, the Turks attacking Liangzhou now may be direct descendants of Dengli Khan, or they may be Dengli Khan's cousins.

This kind of complicated situation has led to the situation facing this battle, which is very tricky and confusing.Even the usual diplomatic means are not very easy to use.

Because Datang currently doesn’t even know who the real person behind the scenes is!
Xin Yunjing still couldn't help telling Fang Chongyong about these things. He had dealt with Turkic people for a long time, and also asked Turkic businessmen to help sell stolen goods, so he knew a little about the political situation of the post-Turkic Khanate.

The external manifestation of this incident is that the Turks went south to invade Liangzhou, and it can even be simply regarded as the grassland people "threshing grass" after autumn.

But combined with the current situation of the Turks, we know the reason and connotation of this matter, which is not simple at all!
"Can a sheepskin raft be used to cross the river? I heard that the Tibetan people often use sheepskin rafts to cross the river and blow them into boats. It is very convenient."

Fang Chongyong suddenly mentioned a strange thing.

Hearing this, Xin Yunjing's complexion changed slightly, and he thought something was wrong in his heart!
Sheepskin rafts are rafts made of sheep and cow hides.The ancients have known for a long time that "sew leather into a bag" and fill it with air, thinking it was used for swimming. It has a very long history, and there are clear records before the Han Dynasty.

Before the Tang Dynasty, sheepskin rafts were called "leather bags".

When Fang Chongyong crossed the Yellow River at Wulan Pass, he crossed the river on a sheepskin raft!
This means of transportation is very common in the upper reaches of the Yellow River.Using sheepskin rafts to send people across the river and carry goods is widely popular along the Yellow River in Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia.So Fang Zhongyong's question was not only nonsense, but extremely targeted!
If the Turkic people blow a bunch of sheepskin rafts and swim from the Baiting coast to Baitingbao, it will be a troublesome thing!

The Baiting Army consisted of 700 people, the left and right armies totaled 300, and there were [-] "water troops" equipped with flat-bottomed and shallow-draft "warships".It's just because there has been no war in Baitinghai for many years, and now the "warships" have long been transformed into fishing boats and cargo ships!All the bed crossbows on it were dismantled!

It is not an exaggeration to describe it as "armed but not repaired".

"It's like this. Sheepskin rafts are common in Liangzhou and can be seen everywhere."

Xin Yunjing said casually, then pulled Fang Chongyong aside, asked in a low voice:
"My dear brother, according to my observation, the Turks are just pretending to be stupid to numb us. If my prediction is correct, the Turks are very likely to attack Baitingbao on a sheepskin raft tonight.

We don't have many defenders, and we rely entirely on the Baiting Sea as a natural barrier.If the Turks attack regardless of casualties, I'm afraid... the situation will be dire.

I want to ambush tonight and catch the Turkic people by surprise, what do you think? "

Xin Yunjing asked in a deep voice.

When something bad happened, he decided to find someone with a background to carry it with him. In this way, as long as he survives this battle, he will not be punished in the future!
In the Hexi Corridor, I have never heard of any wonderful defensive battles. Except for Liangzhou City, the rest of the cities are easy to attack and difficult to defend.Including this small Baiting Fort, if there is no protection from the surrounding lake, what use is there for a 500-man garrison and a plain fortress?
"Soldiers don't tire of deceit. Why don't we hang those few less useful ships with fishing lights and send them out to patrol at night, so that the Turkic people can clearly see that our defense is empty and unprepared."

Fang Chongyong added, obviously agreeing with Xin Yunjing's idea.

Defend the city?That's not his character!

If it wasn't for future plans, wouldn't it be good for Fang Chongyong to wait to die in the name of "Fang Ya Nei" in Chang'an City?Why bother to eat sand in the Hexi Corridor?
Come here, keep a woolly city!
"This……"

Xin Yunjing was stunned for a moment, carefully savoring Fang Chongyong's suggestion, and suddenly felt that this move was too destructive!

Sending out "warships" that have been transformed into fishing boats and cargo ships, which are basically better than nothing and have little combat effectiveness, actually restricted the direction of the Turks' attack and also determined the direction of defense!
This is to use up the "dead" warship!

The warships had little combat effectiveness. Although the Baiting Army knew this, the Turks did not!Going out on patrol at night with loud noises is quite a deterrent!

It is true that Bai Dinh Fort is in the middle of Bai Dinh Sea, but the "island" in the middle is not only as big as Bai Dinh Fort!
In fact, in addition to Baiting Fort, there are also granaries, armories, etc. Overall, it can be regarded as a small village.

This is the ingenuity of the site selection of the frontier army in the Han Dynasty!
If the Turkic people came to attack, it was very important where the sharp soldiers of the Baiting army ambushed. A little detail could determine the success or failure of the initial battle.

This is the so-called "be prepared, the one who counts the most wins"!
And once the Turkic people were hurt in the first battle, the Baiting Army could ensure that the next defensive rhythm was under their own control, and persisted until winter came and the Baiting Sea froze.

Once the Baiting Sea freezes, it will be a short time for the Turkic people to race to Baitingbao, and then it will be the time of life and death!
But this is only a theoretical danger, and it is far from now.

In previous years, the river water in Baitinghai would freeze before the Chinese New Year.At that time, the lake water will freeze so hard that people and animals can walk on it as if they were walking on flat ground.

Ji Ge definitely had no reason to let the Turks run wild in Liangzhou for a few months. If it was true, then he would not talk about "equaling with Taizong". It would be better to abdicate directly. The impact of this kind of thing on the emperor's prestige must not be ignored.

Because today's Turks are no longer the Turks of Taizong's time!
So the obvious truth is that tonight's defense is crucial to Bai Tingjun.

Basically, winning will ensure that this crisis is completely resolved!
Xin Yunjing also didn't expect that Fang Yanei, who came from Chang'an, was not a big man, but he knew the art of war very well!
Generally, if a child of this age is besieged by Turkic people, if he doesn't scare himself to pee, he is already mentally strong.This Fangya Nei can actually come up with ideas, he is really "extraordinarily talented", he is born to be a general.

"That's very good. Why don't I lead a hundred people to guard Baiting Fort tonight, and I will lead the elite to ambush near the granary."

Xin Yunjing suggested calmly, obviously treating Fang Chongyong as a colleague who could discuss important matters.

Just think about it and you will know that if the Turks attack at night, they will definitely take the Baiting Army's granary.As long as it is burned down, Baiting's army will not be able to stay in Baiting Fort.

"From now on, let's move all the grain and grass in the granary to Baitingbao. Send out warships and let the sharp soldiers hold bows and arrows to shoot and kill the Turkic people who are exploring the way in the lake. Show the power of the warships and let the Turkic people I also feel apprehensive."

Fang Chongyong added.

Xin Yunjing nodded slightly. In fact, that was what he planned.Since the Turks are to avoid the patrol direction of the "warships" at night, it is also appropriate to let the "naval forces" show off their majesty during the day.

Anyway, those Turks moving in the water were like living targets, and they were also bait sent by the opposite party to test the strength of Baiting's army.

……

"What? There are no soldiers anymore? How can there be no soldiers in the vast territory of the Tang Dynasty? How did you become the Minister of the Ministry of War!"

In the Zichen Hall of the Daming Palace, Li Longji scolded Zhang Shougui who was also the Minister of the Ministry of War!

"Back to the saint, the soldiers and horses in Hexi are on the front line against Tibet. Liangzhou is empty. The Turks suddenly moved south this time. We could not have predicted it in advance."

Zhang Shougui said helplessly, crossing his hands and saluting.

Soldiers are not leeks, they don't just grow as long as you want!

In Hexi and Longyou, more than 20 frontier troops are on standby, confronting the Tubo people on the long border line. Taking away any army may lead to the collapse of the defense system.

The priority now is not to increase the number of troops, but to understand why the Turks sent troops to attack Hexi regardless of the fragmentation of the country!And which group of troops are sending troops this time?

In addition, the Chishui Army has now moved north to Baitinghai, and it is necessary to expel the drifting Turkic cavalry to the north of Baitinghai.Will the deployment of this strategic mobile force affect the war against Tubo?
These questions were difficult to answer in one sentence, and Zhang Shougui didn't know how to tell Li Longji.

"Saint, how about recruiting [-] Han Fan athletes in Hexi to solve the urgent need."

Li Linfu, who had been silent until now, suddenly suggested something.

Hearing this, Zhang Shougui suddenly glared at Li Linfu with an angry face!The latter looked down at the ground, waiting for Li Longji's approval.

(End of this chapter)