Fish swimming around the world

If we carefully observe the movement of troops of both sides from the map, it is obvious that they are pointing to the last line of defense of the Xia capital - Tongya Pass.

Tongya Pass is the last natural barrier of the Xia Kingdom. Facing this city, Qin's firearms will basically be useless.

First of all, because its terrain is too special.

This is a city built on a cliff, with a height of more than 100 feet above the horizon. In front of it is the Tongzhou Grand Canyon, which is nearly 100 miles long, nearly 30 feet wide, and 50 feet deep. The branch of the Longjiang River at the bottom of the canyon is turbulent and rocky, making it impossible for ships to navigate.

The Xia State stationed 60,000 garrisons inside Tongya Pass and assembled another 300,000 troops inside the canyon, ready for battle.

Yes, there were only 360,000 troops at Tongya Pass, so where did the other 400,000 go? It was simple, there were two arrangements, to defend the capital city of Xiadu and to fight against other princes.

In addition to the geographical limitations of Tongya Pass itself, which could not accommodate too many people, Zhang Yi's design was also very clear. The army could not be placed in one place, otherwise a defeat in one battle would likely lead to a total loss.

Don't forget that the coalition forces of Dian, Chu, Chen and Jin are also attacking the western part of Xia State from three sides. We can't lose sight of one while focusing on the other.

As for those in Xiadu, they are more meaningful.

Two hundred thousand troops were stationed in Xiadu, echoing Tongya from afar. If Qin chose to take a detour, they would attack from both sides. If Tongya failed, they could not only rush to help but also hold on. At the same time, his approach had two meanings.

First, he had to retain some strength for himself and could not lose his capital because of Xia’s failure.

Second, he has always been on guard against Qin and Yuzhou? In addition to never believing that Qin only has 400,000 soldiers, he is also very afraid of Jiang Fan's strange ability to mobilize troops in the battle of the Imperial Court? You know, up to now, the three guards of the Imperial Court, the Zhenbei Army, and the Hanba Army have not shown up. He does not want the gods to descend from the sky like last time. If they land in Xiadu, he will be crazy.

An army of 360,000 is already a stretch to deploy at this special location, Tongya. There is no need to have any more troops.

The Qin army was faced with a terrible problem. Tongya Pass itself could not be hit by artillery, nor by crossbows. Even hot air balloons would not work because the city was in the middle of the cliff. As long as crossbows were set up on the upper part of the cliff, the hot air balloons would not be able to lower their altitude and throw accurately.

So how to go around it? First of all, it is a hundred miles away, and then to the west, it has to pass through the Zanggu area, where Zanggu Pass is located. This area is a continuous hilly terrain, which is not suitable for a large army to march. To the east, there is Lingjiang blocking the way, which is not realistic when the Qin navy cannot cross the Xiabei waterway. Even if it is possible to go around it, it will cause the biggest taboo of military strategists - bypassing the city without attacking, and being attacked from both sides.

In fact, there were originally more than ten bridges in the canyon, some natural and some man-made, but Xia State had already demolished them all for this battle.

Unless the Qin army stopped fighting, they had to force their way across the canyon. In terms of method, filling up a section was not advisable. Once the earth and rocks were filled, the water veins would overflow and the exit would inevitably run to the low-lying area, which was the direction of the Qin army. At the same time, there were still countless civilians in the flooded area. The empress was waving the banner of justice, so this method would definitely not work.

Then there is only one way, to seize the shore and build a bridge. This requires a battle for the opposite bank with the Xia army. Only at this time can the Qin State's firearms play a role in beachheading, and once the crossing of the gorge begins, it will still be a hand-to-hand fight.

The Xia Kingdom finally took out its best weapon and almost gambled all its national strength for this battle. Various battle formations and weapons were shipped in large quantities to fight against the Lishan weapons.

There are some secrets unknown to the public. Zhang Yi invited the celestial weapons from Taiyue and obtained more long-range weapons made by Qi Refiners from the Wumeng.

Therefore, despite the high ground, they stayed at the edge of the Tongzhou Gorge and did not launch an attack for a long time.

Jiang Fan knew that Gao Qi was not in a hurry. He had taken over nearly 70% of Xia Kingdom step by step. The collection and transportation of money and grain were not a problem. This was the best effect brought by seeking stability in the early stage.

No matter how urgent it is, this battle must be fought. This is the last barrier in the attack on Xiadu. After crossing it, the road ahead will be smooth.

In fact, according to Gao Qi, the butcher's idea, he planned to use all the hot air balloons to drop the magic oil and burn it all.

But this proposal was rejected by the empress long before the troops were dispatched. Ever since the battle with the monkey that set the river on fire, she made a decision that, except against alien races, thunder bombs and magic oil could only be used in siege warfare, but they must not be used in large-scale military operations, otherwise it would be against the harmony of nature and even inhumane. After all, these were all Chinese people, and she understood that she must not lose the people's hearts.

Therefore, the only way is to attack by force. After all, when large armies face each other, once the front shows signs of defeat, the ones behind will basically flee, and the casualties will be minimal.

"For this battle, the Mohists and Gongshujia built 300 special cable bridge vehicles, which are used to build large-span bridges. However, we must seize the positions on the other side in order to allow the army to cross the canyon."

Jiang Fan said as he stood beside Gao Qi.

"One day and one night."

Jiang Fan understood that the vanguard troops had to hold on for a day and a night after crossing the bridge to allow all the troops to cross. Of course, not all of them had to cross in actual combat.

The overall tactics were simple. Firearms bombardment of Mount Li would clear some space on the opposite bank, and then the vanguard would wedge in to protect the ferry and clear the space, allowing the main army to continue crossing and pressing forward.

"It's time to test the Qin army's combat effectiveness."

Jiang Fan took a deep breath.

Gao Qidian nodded and said, "I will assign thirty brave generals as vanguard officers. Each team will have two thousand elite soldiers, all of whom are strong men in the army, equipped with Lishan weapons, and will be responsible for ten bridges."

Jiang Fan sighed secretly. He had just seen that Montaigne and Ba Xiong were all on the list. But at this time, he couldn't possibly replace them. Ba Xiong wouldn't agree, and he couldn't tell the difference between close and distant relatives.

In the end, he could only pat each of the eight bears on the shoulder and said, "Come back alive and get a wife."

Boss Bear looked excited, but his stuttering became more and more intense.

——I, we, we are going to die on the battlefield..., if so, Your Majesty, please don't... don't be sad, I, we are so happy...

Jiang Fan's eyes were sore, but he could only give him an encouraging look, turned around and left quickly.

"The bridge will take about 15 days to arrive. During this time, you should think carefully. After all, if we push forward, we have to defeat the outer army. The enemy is fighting a battle with its back to the mountain, which will surely be very fierce. And the key is to capture that strange city."

Gao Qi simply said: "I will let them understand what a crushing defeat is."

Jiang Fan clapped his hands: "The Marshal has such confidence, and Daqin is fortunate."

"This is not a decisive battle, but it is better than a decisive battle." Lu Qinghou's voice came from behind.

Jiang Fan looked back and saw Lu Qinghou sitting in the wheelchair again, waving a feather fan in his hand, looking calm and composed, and it was obvious that his mentality had recovered.

Jiang Fan smiled slightly: "Military Advisor looks good."

Lu Qinghou bowed slightly: "When their hearts are connected, their tempers will be calmed. I have to thank you, Your Highness. However, I will trouble Your Highness for the war here, so that they can't be connected and their tempers can't be calmed."

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