Haotian frowned, and he obviously understood the meaning of the mystery. After experiencing the Battle of Hukou, although there was a half-year rest, the strength of Hetao has only just recovered. Hetao has more than 300,000 troops.
, including all the troops stationed at Fengling Ferry and Wangjin Ferry, half of them were killed in battle. Dugu Yuming's White Crane Army and Bian Zhongxing's Panshi Army had been crippled, and Haotian's rear army, the Honorary Army, had almost all been defeated.
After the collapse of the war, the cavalry formation was facing collapse. Fortunately, there were still hundreds of thousands of plundered warriors who were determined to take revenge as candidates, and the military strength of Hetao returned to its pre-war state. After forming an alliance with Xue Qingcheng, Haotian also regained
He has assembled a hundred thousand cavalry under his command, and all of them are the most sophisticated war horses from the Bloody Plateau. Although the strength of the troops has been restored, no one can guarantee how strong their combat effectiveness will be until they go to the battlefield.
Due to the surge in the number of people, the food gap in the Hetao has become even greater. Fortunately, after Song Junlin made a sneak attack on Dingzhou, all the fine grain and grass hijacked were blocked by the Hetao. Later, Luo Xiang used various means, both soft and hard, to
The three major aristocratic families extorted a lot of grain and grass, which temporarily alleviated the food pressure in the Hetao, but the problem in the Hetao is still serious.
However, the biggest headache for Haotian is the Iron Eagle Tribe and Qiu Ming Tribe entrenched on Hexi Road. These are more than 100,000 nomadic cavalry. Although their number has been greatly reduced due to winter, they still cannot be underestimated. Although Hukou
After the battle, they were all quite honest, but their respective cavalry teams wandered along the river from time to time, which greatly restricted Haotian's strength. If
If we really want to go south to King Qin, we must first deal with these more than 100,000 cavalry. In fact, with the current strength of Hetao, it is not that they cannot be defeated, but the northwest area is vast. If Yumen Pass and Jiayuguan cannot be blocked, even a temporary victory will not be good for the overall situation.
It is also useless. Moreover, although it is winter now, under the emergency situation, the three tribes in the northwest will definitely form reinforcements to come to the rescue through Yumen Pass and Jiayuguan Pass.
"My lord, Hengshi Hassan of the Iron Eagle Tribe led 60,000 cavalry in Shazhou and Sangzhou on Hexi Road, and they are eyeing me in Hetao. And Memphis of the Qiuming Tribe is stationed in Huangzhou and Bingzhou, along the east bank of the river.
There are also more than 100,000 troops from the three Northeastern countries. Although we occupy the natural barrier in Hetao, we still do not have enough troops to guarantee the safety of the territory." Luo Xiang said expressionlessly.
"What do you think?" Haotian is no longer a newly minted child. Although he did not see the true thoughts of Xuanji and others, he is not an idiot either, so he asked with a smile.
"Lord, there are three main problems we face now: First, we are surrounded by foreign troops. There are at least 300,000 troops of foreign tribes around our Hetao. If our army leaves the country, the surrounding foreign tribes will inevitably take advantage of it. Second, there is a shortage of food.
The six prefectures of Hetao now have a total population of close to 11 million. However, most of them are women, old and young, who have no labor force or low labor force. Although many measures have been taken, our food pressure still remains.
However, it is very heavy. If the lord's army goes south, the Huai River can still rely on the relationship of Mistress Yuewan to replenish military rations. However, in other places, they must prepare their own food. Third, there is a shortage of funds. Hetao has experienced disasters and the economy has almost collapsed.
Although there is capital investment from Tianwu Galaxy, only its own doubles is the best way to restore the economy. Tianwu Galaxy's funds can only solve the temporary problem, and it is definitely not a long-term solution."
"Oh? Go on." The corner of Haotian's mouth curled up. Chu Xiangcheng was a seasoned man who wanted to seek the country. Since he could raise these questions, he must have a way to solve them.
"Therefore, my subordinates and others all agreed that the best way to solve these problems is to unexpectedly send troops to the northwest route, strike first, and eliminate the nomadic cavalry entrenched here in one fell swoop. Then rely on the complete Great Wall defense line,
Form a complete defense against the three tribes in the northwest." After looking at each other, Xuanji and the others said.
Haotian raised his eyebrows. He had no idea that these subordinates had such a common goal. Tianyi's expression was also obviously stunned. It was obvious that he did not expect this result. He tapped his fingers on the table.
Then he said: "Tell me your reasons first."
"First of all, there are more than four million Chinese people on the Northwest Second Road. They all belong to our people of the Celestial Dynasty. Since the lord has the responsibility of guarding the land and protecting the people, he naturally has the responsibility to save them from the enslavement of foreign races. I think that I did it for Youyun Sixteen
With the four million people besieged in the state, the lord was able to mobilize all the troops in Hetao to march eastward. But facing the people in the northwest who were also displaced under the iron heel of the alien race, the lord had no reason to sit idly by.
Secondly, the land in the Hetao is really limited. In the history of the Hetao, the population was at its highest at nine million. When China was at its peak, the number of people in the Hetao remained at about eight million. Overpopulation will inevitably lead to
The pressure on the land is increasing. There are now more than 10 million people in the Hetao. If the population cannot be diverted, the pressure on the land will definitely be greater. Although the land on the Northwest Second Road is not fertile, as long as it is sorted out a little, it will still be
It can be cultivated by the people.
Thirdly, the eternal trade route passes through the Second Northwest Road. This trade route is the communication channel between China, the Central Continent and the far-off Western Continent. During peacetime, the trade flow is constant, and the annual tax is not a small amount.
.At present, due to the invasion of aliens, although the trade routes have not been interrupted, their scale has shrunk a lot. If our army can regain the northwest, relying on past tariffs, it will certainly be able to greatly ease our financial pressure. Moreover, the creations during this period
The income is also immeasurable.”
"We only have 300,000 soldiers on hand. Excluding the necessary defensive forces, the most we can dispatch is 200,000. However, the Qiu Ming Iron Eagle's army on Hexi Road alone has nearly 150,000, and the enemy troops on Anxi Road
Although there are few, there are still 80,000. We do not have an advantage in numbers, and the enemy also has geographical advantages. Do you think we have the ability to regain the Second Northwest Road now?" Haotian said calmly, but his eyes turned to
On the other hand, there was worship and bloodshed.
Xue Sha stood up and said in a deep voice: "If it is a head-on collision, even if we can win, it will be a tragic victory. However, if we are surprised and take certain cover measures, we can at least increase the success rate to 80%."
Haotian nodded: "Continue."
"My lord, although the three tribes in the northwest occupy Hexi Road and Anxi Road, due to their own ethnic characteristics, they can only deploy more than 200,000 cavalry on the second northwest road. In order to put a certain amount of pressure on us, Tie Ying and Qiu Ming
The army has been cruising along the river for a long time. And they are
The Great Wall defense line at the back is particularly empty, and the nomads are not good at defending the city. If we can unexpectedly seize the two most important passes on the Great Wall defense line, Jiayuguan Pass and Yumen Pass, then the nomadic cavalry on the Northwest Second Route will inevitably become the turtle in the urn.
." Xue Sha continued.
Haotian was silent for a while. The nomadic peoples in the northwest had always been a serious concern for the Shenzhou dynasty in the Central Plains. Except for the prosperous Han and Tang Dynasties and the powerful period in the history of China, the nomads in the northwest had been harassing the northern border of the empire. In order to resist the plunder of the foreign races outside the Great Wall,
The Shenzhou Dynasty had no choice but to build a Great Wall along the dividing line between the farming and livestock areas in the northern part of the empire. It started from Shanhaiguan in Wuzhou on Donghai Road in the east and ended at Jiayuguan in Xizhou on Anxi Road in the west. This line was
The border defense line in the northern part of the empire has been perfected by China for thousands of years and has become extremely strong. Therefore, even in the face of millions of foreign troops outside the Great Wall and a defense line that is thousands of miles long, although there are only four northern and western Xuanwu
The 400,000-strong army of the Grand Army still prevented the aliens from taking half a step south. It was not until 618 that the sudden death of Shenzong, internal and external troubles, and the actions of traitors led to the collapse of the Great Wall's defense line. However, there is no doubt that the Great Wall's defense line was complete.
The mysterious proposal is not impossible. As long as you want to get past the more than 200,000 troops on the Northwest Second Route, it is not so easy to directly seize the Great Wall defense line behind them. Moreover, it also includes Shanhaiguan and Hexi, which are known as the most powerful passes in the world.
It leads to Yumen Pass, the strongest defensive line of the Great Wall.
"My lord, although the Northwest Second Road covers a vast area, the really important strategic locations are Shazhou, Huangzhou and Xizhou. Xizhou is located at the western edge of the empire. It is the western exit of the eternal trade road and borders the Western Region Three to the west.
Among the Sixteen Kingdoms, the northwest is the territory of Rouran, the southwest is the powerful country of Sashan in the mid-continent, and the south is the dangerous bloody plateau. As long as we can recover Jiayuguan, then we can not only deter Rouran's territory, but also contain the Sashan Dynasty.
Regarding our ambitions. Shazhou is located in the easternmost part of Hexi Road. To the north is the Iron Eagle tribe, and to the east is the Bazhou of Taihang Road, which is now under the control of the Mandan Dynasty. Because there is an unreachable relationship between Mandan and Iron Eagle.
Although they are connected by a narrow area in the southern region due to the blocking of Broken Soul Ridge, as long as they occupy Shazhou and rely on the complete defenses of Yumen Pass, they will definitely be able to cut off the connection between Tieying and Mandan. And if Yumen Pass is closed,
With this gate, the nomadic cavalry of the Second Northwest Route can only exit through Jiayuguan in the west. And Huangzhou is located in the south of Hexi Road, across the river from Dingzhou in Hetao. This is an important eternal trade road.
As one of the transfer points, occupying Huangzhou will not only ensure the smooth flow of the eternal trade route, but also kill the ambition of the Song family on Yizhou Road to go north." Xuanji said eloquently.
However, Haotian waved his hand and directly interrupted Xuanji's words, and said impatiently: "I don't care which state's geographical location is important, and I don't care what strategic ideas you have after this. I just want to understand that the northwest
Although there are only three strategic locations on the Second Route, at least 100,000 troops are needed to control this thousand-mile-long Great Wall defense line. And in this big urn, there are also 200,000 nomadic cavalry from the three tribes in the northwest. We
We only have 200,000 troops available now. If we tighten our belts, it will only be 250,000. But with this small number of troops, why should we recapture the Northwest Second Route? Moreover, the war in the southeast is raging. We
This problem must be solved as soon as possible. Behind the Great Wall is the headquarters of the three tribes in the northwest. If we cannot kill with one strike, we will inevitably fall into the quagmire of war. All the enemy troops are cavalry, and we do not have the advantage in terms of speed.
The most important advantage is that the opponent also occupies the Jiayuguan Pass, the most powerful pass in the world, and Yumen Pass, one of the four major passes of the Great Wall. Although the foreigners outside the Great Wall are not good at defense, with good defenses, it is not difficult to hold on for a period of time.
Have you considered these factors?"
Xuanji and the others looked at each other, and finally Xuanji smiled slightly. After whispering in Haotian's ear, Haotian and Tianyi also smiled.
"It turns out that you have already discussed it a long time ago, are you just waiting for this sentence from me?" Haotian said with a smile.
"My subordinates and others are doing this for the sake of the overall situation. Please don't blame me, my lord." Xuanji and the others burst into laughter, and among them, the bloody murder of Fengjing and others laughed the most. After holding it in for so long, they finally
For a general who is eager to make achievements on the battlefield, what could be more satisfying than being able to lead troops on an expedition?
In November of the 620th year of the Chinese Calendar, although the weather had turned cold, the preparations for the war in the six states of Hetao were still carried out in an orderly manner. In addition to the necessary garrison in the territory, Haotian gathered all the 200,000 troops he could mobilize
These included the 100,000 cavalry who killed Fengjing and Xingeng, the infantry retrained by Dugu Yuming and Bian Zhongxing, and the reorganized Honorary Army. As for Situ Lie and Li Xiao, they were stationed in two important areas.
's ferry.
Due to the Battle of Hukou that day, Haotian's army was basically crippled. After reorganization, at the suggestion of Luo Xiang and Xuanji, Haotian did not reorganize the Scarlet Army and White Crane Army as before, but instead
The generals are separated, and the generals are only responsible for training the army in peacetime. In wartime, orders from the Hetao Prefecture are required to mobilize the army. This to a certain extent increases Haotian's influence on the forces below.
Fortunately, Dugu and others understood the pros and cons, so they did not object. After splitting the original establishment of Hetao, the army in Hetao was generally divided into two parts: the field army and the city defense army, and Honor
Among all the armies, the Army is the only one that has had a fixed organization for a long time. For this reason, he most often serves as Haotian's Guards.
Regarding the gathering of armies in Hetao, the people of the six states in Hetao were particularly calm. Since 618, they had experienced wars sporadically, and in 619 they experienced an unprecedented catastrophe. Therefore, they were accustomed to war.
.Both Hengshi Hassan stationed in Sangzhou and Memphis in Huangzhou were particularly relaxed, especially after Haotian's army moved south to Dingzhou.