Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 142 No one understands Tubo better than me

"Don't panic, the Tubo people have no siege equipment! Hold your position!"

"They don't have many flying ladders. The crossbowmen line up and shoot at anyone who comes up! Then use kerosene to burn the ladders!"

"The Tubo people have come a long way. It is impossible for them to cross the snow-capped mountains in armor! Don't panic!"

"Pay attention to protecting Wu Duo. The sword and shield soldiers are in front. The shield faces the outside of the city. Don't shoot arrows at the bottom of the city!"

"Don't show your head! Don't show your head! Don't show your head!"

Under the protection of a group of sword and shield soldiers, Fang Dafu raised his voice and patrolled along the city wall, shouting as he walked.The garrison, which was slightly chaotic for a while, gradually became orderly.

Fang Chongyong was very timid and was afraid of being shot in the head by the Tibetan Wu Duo, so he told Fang Dafu and the other party would yell again.Not only was his voice loud, but he also had a convincing majesty.

There are not many people in the small city who know how the Tubos attack the city. The army here has hardly fought against the Tubos so far.Moreover, most of the veterans from the early Kaiyuan era have retired.

But Fang Chongyong happens to be the leader in "talking on paper"!
Not only did the experienced Niu Xianke have "secrets" passed down from generation to generation, but he also had military assistance from the Tubo people.It is no exaggeration to say that among all the soldiers in this city, including Wang Sili, no one knows Tubo better than Fang Chongyong.

Just looking at the progress of the Tibetan siege, Fang Chongyong knew that the opponent might not expect to capture the small town tonight.

The tactics are clearly written in the opponent's military law!
To put it more clearly, the Tubo army's attack on the small town of Shazhou was just based on the four words "the soldiers are expensive and the speed". Did they only attack the small town?

Judging from Tubo's habit of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of troops, perhaps the small town of Shazhou is just one of them in this wave of offensives.Other places, even Guazhou, are not ruled out being attacked.

As long as the Tubo people capture any city in the Hexi Corridor, they can use the resources in that city to build excellent siege equipment, so as to surround the small city from all sides.

Just because it is safe tonight does not mean it will always be safe later on.

In ancient times, there were no satellite maps or wireless communications, so it was impossible to know what the war situation was like in other places in Hexi.

boom!
A stone hit the shield of the sword and shield soldier closest to Fang Chongyong, making Fang Yanei, who had been calm just now, tremble with fear.He was familiar with Uduo's power. A sword and shield soldier beside him accidentally exposed half of his shoulder, and was immediately hit by a stone thrown by Uduo. In an instant, his shoulder fell down!
"Stop shooting arrows at the city."

Fang Dafu shouted, and the messengers on the top of the city raised their torches and waved them, and the soldiers who were shooting arrows immediately stopped.

The Tibetan siege had stopped and lasted for less than half an hour. It was obviously just a test.Fifteen flying ladders were destroyed during the siege, which was probably the total number they carried this time.There were no more siege equipment, so we stopped. This was in line with the laws of war.

The so-called "flying staircase" is, to put it bluntly, a folding staircase.When not in use, fold it up for easy transportation and portability, and when in use, unfold it to attack the city.It can be adapted to city walls of general height. The advantage is that it is easy to manufacture and low cost; the disadvantage is that it is easily destroyed by the defenders.

"I hope you have good eyesight. This is the Tibetan army tempting us to shoot arrows at the city. The attack on the city is just a cover. I'm afraid there will be a bloody battle in the next few days."

Wang Sili, who was wearing bright light armor, came over and said.

"Hey, don't these Tubo people know? I have already known their plan and have stockpiled a large number of crossbows and arrows in the small town. Even the goods brought by Hu merchants from the Western Regions have been collected by us!
I want to see what these Tubo people are going to do to fight me! "

Fang Chongyong said proudly.

In order to "prove" that his information was top secret and not made up, Fang Chongyong not only strengthened the local defense in Shazhou, but also purchased military supplies on a large scale.All "consumables" such as horizontal knives, bows, and arrows on the local market in Dunhuang were swept away by the government office!
Fang Chongyong admitted that he was gambling, but he was right!

"Fang Shijun is really a master of heaven and earth. He is indeed the son of Fang Jieshuai!"

Wang Sili couldn't help but sigh.

The Tubo people stopped attacking the city within half an hour. The reason was very simple: they found that the small town of Shazhou was heavily guarded.

The resistance they encountered didn't look like they were suddenly attacked without any preparation.

Therefore, the Tubo people are not stupid. Since the siege equipment is not in place, then... just wait until dawn.The city is dominated by cavalry and mounted infantry. It is really not suitable for forcibly attacking the city. The price/performance ratio is too low.

What's more, the armor and baggage of the Tubo army are all at the back, and now they are just light cavalry troops.

"There's no problem here, it's just over there in Luocheng..."

Wang Sili said worriedly, looking at the scattered torches under the city, wondering whether the Tibetans had retreated, or whether they had left a few scouts to bluff under the city.

Recently, Shazhou received reinforcements sent by Wang Zhongsi, and Fang Chongyong boldly adjusted his deployment.

Abandon the defense of Shouchang County in the south, call on the local people to live in Luocheng, and transfer the guest army Guo Ziyi's troops stationed in Shouchang County to Luocheng to strengthen the defense of Luocheng.As a result, the Tang army was concentrated in the area on both sides of Ganquanshui (Dang River), separated by only one river, so they could watch and support each other.

With Guo Ziyi here, Fang Chongyong believed that Luocheng could still be defended.

However, this move met with great resistance from the local people in Shouchang. Fang Chongyong had no choice but to make a guarantee that if the Tibetans did not come, the Shazhou government office would be responsible for reimbursing the moving expenses, and those people reluctantly moved to Luocheng.

Now it seems that Shouchang County in the south has obviously been captured by the Tubo people. Of course, they only occupied an empty city.

"The sweet springs are overflowing and the local canals in Dunhuang are suffering. Alas, what will we do with this year's autumn harvest?"

Wang Sili shook his head and sighed.

Whether it is Luocheng or a small city, they are not close to the sweet spring water, but there is no danger of the city being destroyed.The mother river Ganquanshui has a bad temper, and the locals actually know it.When the snow-capped mountains melt, the amount of water is huge and rushes like the Yellow River.When the weather is very cold, the flow of water is cut off, and the temper can be described as moody.

Therefore, the locals live some distance away from the sweet spring water. Generally speaking, they are not worried about river flooding.

In the Tang Dynasty, the Dunhuang area had formed a water conservancy system with Ganquan Water (Dang River) as the main canal and Maquankou Weir as the main hub.

Seven main canals, including Yangkai Canal, Beifu Canal, Duxiang Canal, Yiqiu Canal, Shennong Canal, Yin'an Canal and Donghe Canal, have been established to run through the Dunhuang Oasis. There are also more than a hundred branch canals arranged in a feather shape on both sides of the main canal.

There are also weirs and gates on the main canals, which together form a developed network agricultural irrigation system in Dunhuang.The locals rely on the irrigation system for their livelihood. The climate is stable every year and the harvests are relatively stable. They do not expect God to reward them.

Therefore, when the sweet spring floods and bursts its banks, the local people in Dunhuang are not worried about being drowned, but that the canals that have been accumulated for generations in the past will be destroyed by the flood!
The land here is "precision irrigated". If we only look at the "technological content", the level of farming is much higher than that in the Central Plains.

Due to the low winter temperatures in Dunhuang, the soil freezes and deep plowing is impossible.

In early spring, river runoff is small and cannot meet irrigation needs. Therefore, fields that need to be planted with spring wheat in early spring and beans later generally need to be plowed in advance in the autumn of the previous year.

Therefore, autumn plowing becomes the beginning of a production cycle and ends with autumn harvest.According to the "Shazhou Dunhuang County Water Use Detailed Regulations" promulgated by the Shazhou Prefectural Government, six rounds of irrigation are required in an agricultural production cycle, namely "autumn water irrigation", "spring water irrigation", "wounded seedling watering", "wheat field heavy watering" and "millet watering". Hemp heavy watering” and “Hemp heavy watering.”

And the number of times most farmland is watered each year, the time of watering each time, and the types of fields irrigated.These contents are all stipulated in detail in the "Shazhou Dunhuang County Water Use Detailed Rules".

When Fang Chongyong read this document for the first time, he was immediately shocked and deeply impressed.Even with limited productivity, the ancients managed the system to the best of their abilities, which should not be underestimated.

Fang Chongyong felt that the flood probably had nothing to do with the Tubo people.However, now that Dunhuang County is under siege, it will obviously affect the repair of canals and the harvest in the fields.Its subsequent consequences cannot be underestimated.

"Well, it's true that things have been tough this year."

Fang Chongyong said with a sigh.

Suddenly, a stone was thrown from the city, it was vicious and cruel, and it went straight to Fang Chongyong's head.At this time, all the sword and shield soldiers around him had been withdrawn, leaving him without any precautions.

At this moment, a soldier guarding the city behind Fang Chongyong had quick eyesight and quick hands. He rushed forward and pulled Fang Chongyong away, and he was hit with a stone on his back!

The man instantly felt that all his internal organs were displaced. Fortunately, the camel skin on his body was made into a small armor, and the leather armor was worn with a rope. It had a certain degree of flexibility and relieved most of the strength.

Angry, Aduan shot an arrow in the direction of the stone, and soon heard the thud of someone falling off his horse below the city.

"Is the warrior okay?"

Fang Chongyong quickly stepped forward to help the man up and went to check on the savior, only to see that the sturdy soldier seemed to be fine!

"Hey, it's all right."

This man who looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, with a childish look on his face, patted his chest, moved his arms and said, "I'm a real guy. Tubo Wuduo's tricks are just like playing."

"Okay! You will be my personal soldier from now on!"

Fang Chongyong patted the other party's arm and said.Because the young strong man was too tall, he couldn't hit the opponent's shoulder at all.

Wang Sili looked embarrassed on the side, then patted the strong man on the shoulder and said: "Zhang Guangsheng, you will follow Fang Shijun from now on. He is the son of Fang Jieshuai and has a bright future. Your military status will be determined by this military envoy." Disposed of properly.”

"Hey, okay! I've met Mr. Fang! I'll let you do whatever you want!"

Zhang Guangsheng cupped his fists and saluted Fang Chongyong.

Wang Sili shook his head helplessly. This man had just joined the army this year, and his family had settled in Dunhuang not long ago. His family was from Wumu, Shaanxi (today's Zhouzhi, Shaanxi). His father's father was a soldier in Hexi and never left again.

Originally, Zhang Guangsheng had been recruited as a soldier by Wang Sili, but now that Fang Chongyong had spoken, Wang Sili couldn't argue with him, so he might as well make a good sale. This kind of official favor might come in handy in the future.

Sure enough, after dawn, Fang Chongyong took Wang Sili and representatives of local large households to the city tower and found that the small town had been besieged by the Tibetan legions.It's just that they surrounded but didn't fight, and they didn't know what they wanted to do.

After a while, there was a Tibetan army scout under the city, riding a horse and shooting an arrow at the top of the city.

The guard soldier handed the arrow with the letter tied to it to Fang Chongyong for inspection. He saw it written in Chinese: Our army has broken through Guazhou and cut off the Tang army's way to the Western Regions.There is no point in defending the city. Kaicheng surrenders. Our army will not kill anyone, otherwise there will be a bloodbath for three days after the city is broken.

Fang Chongyong handed the letters sent in by the Tubo people to everyone for inspection, and then said seriously:

"Not to mention whether this is a plan made out of nothing by the Tubo people, even if it is true, they said they won't kill people, but they didn't say they won't make you slaves.

When you become a slave, don't your life and death depend on other people's thoughts?
I am determined to coexist and die with Shazhou, what do you think? "

Fang Chongyong looked around the crowd and said, Zhang Guangsheng clenched the handle of the horizontal knife in his hand very smartly, paying close attention to Fang Chongyong's body movements.

However, Fang Chongyong and Zhang Guangsheng's worries were unnecessary.

The serfdom of the Tubo people had an insane demand for slaves, similar to Fang Chongyong's notebooks in his previous life that were called "boards."The gentle orders of the Tubo high-level officials were often not implemented at the grassroots level, let alone others.

So basically as long as you go to a place, you will enslave the people there.Only those local tycoons who had desperately resisted them and caused serious harm to them would be awarded the position of "sacrifice" and manage places that were inconvenient for the Tubo people to manage.

Simply put, the martial Tibetans looked down on cowards.So when facing them, whether you want to protect yourself or take refuge, just pick up the knife.Without a knife, you are not even qualified to be a dog, you are only qualified to be a pig or sheep to be slaughtered.

The local big businessmen headed by Zhang Chan immediately knelt on the ground and shouted: "We will be of one heart and one mind with the envoy, and we will live and die with Shazhou!"

"Very good. From now on, the food and fodder in the city will be rationed, and local people will be mobilized to defend the city. Anyone who disobeys the order will be punished as a Tibetan comrade and will be killed without mercy!"

Fang Chongyong said a harsh word and led the people away from the city.

There are still many things that require careful planning and need to be completed in private places, and it is not convenient to make them public in public.

The blockade of the small town has not been lifted yet, and the trouble in Shazhou is even more unfathomable. So far, no one around Fang Chongyong knows how far the Tibetans have progressed. He is not even sure whether Guazhou City is still there. Sure.

Vaguely, Fang Chongyong felt that there was no need for the Tibetan people to lie about such "inconsequential" matters.Guazhou is most likely destroyed.

If Tubo breaks Guazhou, and if it breaks Shazhou this time, the Western Region and Central China will be divided into two.The chain reaction caused may be difficult for even Hexi Jiedu Mansion to deal with.

Fang Chongyong was worried about this and lamented that the Tibetan people's big move was really as fast as the wind!

……

In the early summer of the first year of Tianbao, the Tubo people took advantage of the brief opportunity when the snow melted and the rivers swelled and the meadows along the coast were lush. They concentrated their elites who had not participated in the battle before and divided them into three groups to attack Hexi!

Along the way, the Tubo army pretended to attack Dadou Bago. After conquering the new city, it saw back and forth with the Tang army between Dadou Bago and the new city.

Along the way, the main force of the Tibetan army attacked Guazhou along the Mingshui (Shule River) and defeated the city in one fell swoop.Letinghuan, the governor of Guazhou, died in the battle, and both the offensive and defensive sides suffered heavy casualties.

Because of the heavy casualties, the Tubo people massacred the city in Guazhou to vent their anger, leaving almost no one alive.

Another group of Tibetan troops attacked Shazhou, and after occupying the uninhabited Shouchang County without any blood, they met with failure in Shazhou Town and Luocheng, and had to besiege the two cities and persuade them to surrender.

The urgent military information reached Chang'an. When the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji, learned that Guazhou had been defeated, he was furious and was so angry that he didn't eat for a whole day.

Subsequently, he issued an imperial edict to directly remove Xiao Jiong, the governor of Hexi Province, from his post, demoted him to the governor of Qizhou, and replaced him with Wang Zhongsi as the governor of Hexi Province!
He suffered such a big loss just after changing his year name. Brother Ji couldn't bear it. He must regain his position!

(End of this chapter)