As the saying goes, you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are until you become a family member. Now that Li Chengzhong is truly the master of the family, he knows how much effort and thought it takes to support a large family.
Many problems such as food, clothing and quilts, oil and salt, training, etc., are increasingly exposed with the arrival of winter, causing Li Chengzhong and Feng Dao, the two current military and political leaders of the Bailang Mountain military camp, to frown and sigh all day long.
Bailang Mountain is fifty miles away from Guxuan Yuguan. It is neither far nor close. In peacetime, the supply of materials will naturally not be a problem. With the power of Pingzhou, Emperor Anlushan of Yan Dynasty started his business.
At that time, it would be able to supply one-third of the military supplies of the entire Anjia Army. The supply of nearly a thousand soldiers and civilians in Bailang Mountain is certainly not a problem. Even if most of the products produced in Pingzhou need to be turned over to Youzhou, the burden will be in vain.
The Langshan military camp is still more than enough.
But the problem is that this is during wartime. Even though the main force of the Khitan Division was severely damaged before the military camp, it was still unable to break the Khitan blockade of Bailang Mountain. The reason was that the Khitan people changed their strategy. They no longer forced it.
Attack Li Chengzhong's troops, but instead block the supply line to kill Li Chengzhong. Once the Khitans restored the traditional warfare methods of the grassland people, Li Chengzhong's Bailangshan military camp was in trouble.
With the power of a great victory, Li Chengzhong once tried to break the blockade. He gathered all the capable troops at hand, formed a formation of more than 200 people, and launched an encirclement and suppression attack on the Khitan rangers outside the mountain. However, those Khitan rangers discovered Li Chengzhong.
After the troops came out of the mountain, they immediately retreated far away. Li Chengzhong's troops were only closely guarded within a mile of the field. How could the infantry outrun the cavalry on the grassland? So Li Chengzhong could only look at the hanging soldiers from a distance.
The Khitan knights in the distance shouted Naihe.
Li Chengzhong led his troops on a "several" march outside Bailang Mountain Pass, going as far as ten miles deep. Then, he discovered the Khitan cavalry who were gradually gathering from all directions. These cavalry gradually increased, but they did not take the initiative to attack.
Following Li Chengzhong's troops from a distance, the pressure gradually increased, making Li Chengzhong's soldiers nervous.
When the number of Khitan cavalry increased to more than a hundred, Li Chengzhong immediately ordered to return to Bailang Mountain. This decision was very decisive and timely. When he returned to the mountain pass, he finally saw the bearded man leading a large group of Khitan cavalry.
There were about 400 Khitan horses following Li Chengzhong's troops, and more than a hundred more rode in a circle, waiting behind Li Chengzhong's troops, hoping that when the two sides engaged in battle, they would rush to the mountain pass from behind and cut off Li Chengzhong's troops.
The Ministry’s retreat.
The two sides faced off for a while at Bailang Mountain Pass, and then Li Chengzhong ordered the entire team to return to the mountain. Li Chengzhong did not have the confidence to use his more than 200 infantry against the Khitan's more than 500 cavalry, even though the Khitan's more than 200 regular soldiers had been lost.
In front of the White Wolf Mountain military camp, he did not have this confidence. Fortunately, the Khitans on the opposite side were all light cavalry, and they had no way to charge forward against the dense infantry and gun array, so they did not pursue the retreating Li Chengzhong's troops.
During the entire process, there was no direct conflict between the two sides. A total of one arrow was fired. This arrow was shot by Meng Xuxing when the two sides faced off at Bailang Pass. It was used to verify and determine the range. The Khitan people
Without firing an arrow, the range of a riding bow is half that of a walking bow. Through Meng Xuxing's arrows, the Khitan people also evaluated the distance they needed to hit when firing an arrow.
Although there was no fighting this time, Li Chengzhong felt the pressure. He knew that the Khitan people began to change their tactics. Once the Khitan people used the correct tactics and used cavalry to block his supply line on the grassland, it would herald the end of his good days.
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Li Chengzhong began to taste the bitterness of hanging alone outside the pass. Everything has both positive and negative consequences, and this is what Li Chengzhong chose to stand on the top of Bailang Mountain.
In terms of benefits, he led his army to leave Pingzhou, went out of Yuguan, and left the control of the Pingzhou Army and Zhou Zhiyu, which made his little warlord dream take the first official step, and his officers and soldiers also took the initial step.
Gathered in one place. Here, he has the final say in everything, and he has more space and a higher degree of freedom to realize his various ideas.
On the downside, Bailang Mountain is too small. This military stronghold cannot truly carry his dream. Just feeding the nearly a thousand mouths of his men who are waiting for food is enough to make him miserable.
The food problem has always been stuck in Li Chengzhong's mind, giving him a headache. Bailang Mountain is indeed a good place to spend the winter. Because it is located in a valley, it blocks the knife-like cold wind outside the pass in winter, and because of the geothermal heat in the back mountains
Because of the hot springs, the entire military village is much warmer than outside the mountain. In the fields in the back mountain, the green seedlings have grown a little taller, but it will take another three months to harvest, so there is no hope.
Up. The food supplies that Feng Dao brought from Yuguan last time were gradually reduced as thousands of people digested them at the same time. It is expected that they will be exhausted in about twenty days.
In addition to the food problem, there were still not enough clothes and quilts for winter. Feng Dao mobilized the people in the mountains, and the women worked together to sew three hundred sets of winter clothes. The winter clothes were stuffed with Ula grass, a specialty from outside the customs, and they were worn
It was quite warm, but it was a little uncomfortable and not very comfortable. These winter clothes were given priority to the soldiers in the military camp, but the common people did not have to wear them. Every time Li Chengzhong saw the common people shivering in thin clothes in the cold weather,
They all felt uncomfortable and couldn't bear to see it.
In addition, the consumption of salt is also a problem. Although the half-cart of salt brought by Feng Daola seems to be a lot, many of it is used to pickle the game hunted by the hunters, so it is consumed very quickly, and I have to go to Yuguan again to ask for it.
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The above are the problems that Li Chengzhong needs to face and solve this winter.
But at least, this is a starting point. Although this starting point is very low and the conditions are very harsh, without this starting point, Li Chengzhong cannot truly take off.
Li Chengzhong thought about it and decided to go back to Yuguan in person. With Feng Dao in charge of the civil affairs in the Bailangshan military camp, he was relieved. As for the military affairs, he left it to Jiang Miao, Zhang Xingzhong and Zhou Qidao to jointly take charge.
.The so-called joint management means that in normal times, each person manages his own team. When encountering major issues, the three people will discuss and decide together. If there is a disagreement during the discussion, the three people will vote to resolve it.
Li Chengzhong is not worried about the Khitan attack. Firstly, the Khitan have changed their tactics and rely mainly on cavalry to block supply lines. Secondly, now that the defense facilities in the military camp have taken initial shape, it should be easy to resist the Khitan. What he is worried about is
His subordinates attacked without permission, so he talked to the three of them one by one, especially Zhou Qidao. He specially warned this militant until Zhou Qidao waved his hand impatiently and said: "Don't worry, everyone.
Got it... don't be nagging, I've said it several times, I really understand..." and then left with peace of mind.
As for Li Chengzhong's decision to ride back to Yuguan alone, all the officers under him gave up. Everyone ran to him and asked for orders to protect him back. But Li Chengzhong didn't want to take anyone with him. On the one hand, it was because of his subordinates
The officers were all responsible for their own military affairs, and their roles in the battle were all obvious. After much deliberation, it was not appropriate for anyone to leave. The most important thing was that he decided to set off at night, and bringing people with him would be a drag.
Without night blindness, there were very few officers who could keep up with Li Chengzhong at night, so everyone had no choice but to let Li Chengzhong return to Yuguan alone. Moreover, if he rode alone, he could complete the fifty miles in one night. In fact,
There was no risk. After thinking about it, we decided not to argue.
Taking advantage of the darkness, Li Chengzhong selected the strongest horse in the stable, took a waist knife, and rode alone from Bailang Pass to Yuguan. The horse was tied behind its back and cut off from the Khitan man's head.
He has more than 200 ears. This is to go back and ask for merit. Zhou Zhiyu will definitely not open his mouth just to ask for something. Only with military merit can he be confident.
Li Chengzhong did not urge the horse to run wildly. It would not work to urge the horse to run wildly. Not only would it cause great damage to the horse, but the horse's power would also be unbearable. So he let the horse trot all the way and rested twice in the middle. Even so,
It only took more than two hours to reach the foot of Yuguan.
Zhao Zaili was guarding Yuguan. He was a little surprised when he saw Li Chengzhong. After asking about Li Chengzhong's purpose, he spread his hands and said: "The soldiers and horses have returned to the Pingzhou camp. The recruitment of soldiers there is very complicated. Mr. Li Lang
Let’s rest here for one night and leave again at dawn tomorrow.”
Li Chengzhong shook his head. He didn't want to delay any more, so he ate something to restore the strength of his horse. He said goodbye to Zhao Zaili and continued to Pingzhou. There was an official road from Yuguan to Pingzhou, so the road was easy to walk.
It took more than two hours to cover the eighty miles. When we arrived at Pingzhou, the sky became brighter.
When he saw Zhou Zhiyu, the military envoy was eating. Li Chengzhong was not polite, took the porridge bowl, drank the porridge and gnawed the noodles, and finished it in an instant.
Li Chengzhong first gave a detailed report on the last battle at the White Wolf Mountain Army Stronghold, and then took the bag unloaded from the horse and handed the Khitan ears to Zhou Zhiyu for inspection. People who have not experienced bloody battles will see it at first glance.
After being exposed to so many people, he probably would have vomited everything he ate, but Zhou Zhiyu was a battle-experienced general, so he took a closer look at it with interest, and then handed it over to his personal guard Zhang Long for inspection.
Zhang Long is the oldest bodyguard around Zhou Zhiyu, and he is particularly loyal to him. Although he has not been officially conferred an official position at this moment, he has fully assumed the responsibility of Yuhou, the capital of Pingzhou Army, and even takes care of military law matters.
Quite a few. After Zhang Long inspected them, he told Zhou Zhiyu: "The soldiers and horses have a total of 276 right ears. There is nothing wrong."
Zhou Zhiyu and Li Chengzhong discussed some details of the battle in detail, and then sighed: "How can you not reward such a great achievement! Li Yuqing will stay in Yingzhou for a day, and I will go to the governor Zhang's office today."
Li Chengzhong said: "Soldiers and Horses, the reward can be discussed later, but the matter of food and salary needs more attention from the Soldiers and Horses." Then he talked about the current shortage of supplies in the Bailang Mountain Military Village.
He took out the supply list he had made after discussing with Feng Dao and handed it to Zhou Zhiyu.
Fifty sets of swords and shields, fifty wooden spears, several leather helmets...
One hundred bolts of cloth, one hundred catties of cotton...
One cart of salt, thirty kilograms of tea, one hundred kilograms of dried meat, three carts of various fruits and vegetables...
Liang Qianshi...
Some pens, inks, paper and inkstones...
Zhou Zhiyudao browsed through it carefully and saw that there were many types of items listed above and the demand was large. He frowned: "There are many needs. Among them, grain, meat and other items can be replenished by your department from the camp. Others are still needed."
I'm going to discuss with Governor Zhang. How can we transport so many things? I heard from a Qianchen that there are many Khitan cavalry outside the pass, especially between Yuguan and Bailang Mountain. Although your tribe won the battle, it doesn't seem to be the case.
Not getting all the credit.”
Li Chengzhong honestly listed the current strength of the Khitan Department, and then said: "Soldiers and Horses, if you want to transport these supplies, you need at least five hundred soldiers to escort them. If you encounter a large group of Khitan cavalry, you only need to form a formation.
However, the Khitan cavalry are all light cavalry and do not dare to rush into the formation easily." He then explained all the formation methods he had thought about, including how to connect the vehicles when encountering the Khitan cavalry, how to arrange the infantry, and how many infantry were needed.
Archers, how many spearmen have been mentioned.
Zhou Zhiyu thought for a long time and said slowly: "Where did you come from with this method?"
Li Chengzhong was stunned. His method was actually pieced together from bits and pieces of knowledge and hearsay before time travel. At this moment, he could only say: "I came up with it based on several battles with the Khitans."
Zhou Zhiyu was a little surprised by this. This method of forming a car formation to fight against light cavalry seemed feasible. If he really thought of it, then the man in front of him could really be regarded as a genius. This made Zhou Zhiyu more and more interested in Li Chengzhong.
Take it seriously. But although the method is good, the soldiers under his command are all newly recruited. No matter how good the formation is, it still relies on people to fight. If it really encounters the obstruction of the Khitan cavalry, Zhou Zhiyu does not have much confidence. He decided to go first
Discuss with the governor Zhang Zaiji before making a decision.