Huge noise echoed all night along the Zhangshui River.
It was hundreds of blacksmiths hammering away at the river day and night.
This kind of noise disturbs people's hearts, but no one is really annoyed by it, because they all know that what is tempered in this diffuse mist are countless armors and arrows.
In such troubled times, iron is strength and stability.
It's not just the noise. When the blacksmiths use sledgehammers to pound a piece of iron to make it into a breastplate, the whole earth shakes, which often makes the nearby fishermen fishing by Zhangshui quite distressed because the fish
They were all frightened away by the shock.
Just like this, the soot and dust were floating, shaking the earth, and filling the world with noise. These inconveniences demonstrated the supreme power of this era, and also heralded the start of the war machine of the Taishan Army.
As early as the Taishan Army stationed in Yecheng, this huge workshop had been built on the north bank of Zhangshui River. It benefited from the technical reserves of the Taishan Army in the Taishan area and the conscious recruitment of craftsmen during the transition to war.
The Taishan Army's workshop soon exploded in production capacity in armor, arrows, and iron farm tools. Thanks to the division of labor and the application of water conservancy, energy, and coal, the efficiency of the workshop is now almost ten times that of the Han Army.
This is because the workshop is still in the stage of ramping up its production capacity. It is estimated that in about half a year, with the proficiency in division of labor and the addition of craftsmen, the efficiency of Taishan Military Workshop can be doubled.
At that time, what kind of armored troops the Han army would face.
Zhang Chong’s layout vision can also be seen from here. To develop the smelting industry, three things are indispensable, one is iron, the other is coal, and the third is water.
Yecheng has all three of these things. Yecheng and Handan in the north are both famous coal and iron capitals now and in the future.
Coupled with the continuous Zhang River, this city of Ye is truly the foundation of the royal family.
Therefore, thanks to such innate conditions, the Taishan Army built countless war preparation materials for four months in winter and spring.
The most common type of arrows are lost arrows. Arrow heads are made by blacksmiths, arrow shafts are made by carpenters, and finally assembled by women, and then stored in the city's arsenal.
In a war, the biggest cost is lost arrows.
Although lost arrows are theoretically retrievable, no one will retrieve the lost arrows in battle. In this way, to ensure a continuous rain of arrows, you must carry a sufficient amount of lost arrows.
The Taishan Army has a very high proportion of archers.
On the one hand, Zhang Chong attaches great importance to the long-range strike capability of bows and arrows. In this era, whoever can kill a large number of enemies within a hundred steps has already won half the battle.
Therefore, whether it is Zhang Chong's personal martial arts performance or the graduation banquet of previous martial arts students, the art of bow and arrow is regarded as the top priority.
But the skill of bow and arrow is not something that ordinary people can master. Most of them are Shanliao and hunters, and the Taishan Army is not lacking in this aspect. Whether it was in the Taiyimeng Mountain area, the Songshan area, or the current Taihang Mountain area, the Taishan Army is consciously absorbing these skills.
Soldiers with archery abilities.
But with archers, bows and arrows have become a difficulty. At present, the mainstream bows and arrows of the Han army are compound bows, which are good bows composed of wood, animal horns, and tendons.
This kind of bow and arrow has strong drawing power and good accuracy. It has been used for thousands of years until it was replaced by fire blunderbuss.
However, this kind of bow and arrow is very good, but it is not good at all, that is, the production cycle is too long, which takes one year.
In the past, the Taishan Army had moved to other battles, so there was no environment to make bows in advance, so there was a situation where there were more people and fewer bows behind them.
In the end, Zhang Chong had no choice. On the one hand, he asked the craftsman camp to start stocking up on making bows and arrows, and on the other hand, he started looking for a transitional bow and arrow, that is, a longbow.
This kind of longbow shined in the hands of the English. In the Battle of Agincourt, 6,000 French knights were annihilated. These were all distinguished military nobles, but they died under the longbows of English peasants.
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Although the longbow is good, it requires high quality wood. However, Yecheng and even the whole of Hebei are now surrounded by forests, so it is no problem to find wood that goes straight up.
In addition, it is quite difficult to recruit so many archers who can draw such a high draw weight. If you want to draw a bow with such a high draw force, you must be someone with broad shoulders and long arms.
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However, after several years of high-nutrient supplementation, the original shooters who were still in the Taishan Army were physically strong enough to meet this condition. As for the newly recruited shooters from Shanliao, they would definitely not be able to pull them.
So they can only use old bows that have been eliminated by old archers.
In fact, when Zhang Chong chose to deploy such longbowmen in the army, some military officers in the army, especially those with previous Han army background, suggested using crossbows to supplement the ranks.
For example, the thousand-man rhubarb crossbow team that Lu Zhi held before was a key force that determined the outcome of the battlefield.
But Zhang Chong thought about it and chose the long bow.
If nothing else, it’s just because it’s cheap.
Another thing is that he himself has used the big yellow crossbow. Although this heavy foot-fired crossbow is powerful and has a long range, its shooting speed is still too slow. It can only shoot two crossbow arrows per minute on average.
And what about the longbow? If you can't shoot ten arrows a minute, you can't even be called a qualified archer.
Therefore, to achieve true arrow loss coverage, you still have to use a bow and arrow.
Zhang Chong's configuration for each archer is that he must carry sixty arrows. Every twenty arrows are a bundle, two bundles are carried on the back, and one bundle is tied in the belt.
In other words, if the Taishan Army's archers want to attack intensively, a round of arrow rain will last about half a quarter.
After half a moment, the arrows carried by the archers are exhausted, and they can only wait for new arrows to be sent from the rear.
These data were obtained by Zhang Chong through many calculations. He wanted every commander to know these data, so that he could reasonably allocate the firepower of the archers.
In addition, Zhang Chong also needs to let the commander know when to use which arrow.
The Taishan Army used to be equipped with only one standard type of arrow, which was a light arrow, mostly used to hit unarmored targets. However, as the Taishan Army encountered the main force of the Han Army, its armor coverage rate was comparable to the first-class, so it needed to equip more
Shorter, heavier arrow shafts designed to break armor.
If the generals do not know this information, their lethality will be greatly reduced.
In fact, these are the contents to be taught at the Taishan Military Preparation School. Compared with the god-like art of war in the past, Zhang Chong summarized and summarized the methodology of later generations and began to organize a replicable scientific art of war, and these are just
It's just part of it.
These are the armaments prepared by the Taishan Army. In addition, another very important reserve is the preparation of grain and military supplies.
War has always been a material war, and food and clothing are indispensable.
So where do these materials come from? Of course they come from the common people. Whether it is land tax or oral tax, all materials are collected by the common people.
But these things provide only raw materials and cannot be regarded as finished products.
And this process from materials to finished products was prepared by the Han Dynasty's own government-run workshops.
In fact, a very important part of the Qin and Han military system was to directly control such production. Hundreds of thousands of officials and slaves worked day and night to produce a steady stream of supplies for the empire.
But even so, this is just a routine military replenishment.
More often than not, tax collectors would go directly to the countryside and expropriate the goods without any compensation at all. Sometimes, if the management was strict, these tax collectors would also give some scratched wood chips to offset the debt.
The tax collector split the bamboo chips in the middle, and then each person took half, which meant that he would take this to the government office to exchange for money. But in fact, these bamboo chips were useless at all.
This is why a harsh government is as powerful as a tiger, but a tax collector is as powerful as a tiger. Therefore, every taxation is a destruction of the common people. This is also the reason why the Han Dynasty conquered the Xiongnu and was able to consume half of the world.
But these are unpopular measures taken by the Han army. The Taishan army, which started out by punishing people with names and punishments, cannot do this. Once they do it, the people will lose their support.
But the army needs supplies, especially since the soldiers of the Taishan Army generally eat meat. Where can these supplies come from?
It still had to come from the common people, but the Taishan Army introduced a system, which was salt stamps.
That is, after the Taishan Army requisitions materials from the local area, it will distribute a batch of salt coupons. At that time, people from various communities can use them to exchange for salt in the county.
In addition to these, the farmers in the base area near Yecheng, especially those who have formed a farm cooperative, need to undertake front-line support tasks, on the one hand, transporting supplies, and on the other hand, forming a stretcher team to rescue the wounded.
But no matter what, war consumes a lot of people's energy, especially now that spring plowing is imminent.
Why did Zhang Chong only reach the northern part of Zhao during this Northern Expedition? It was because of this practical factor.
But fortunately, compared with the benefits to be obtained, this certain level of consumption is undoubtedly cost-effective and can be tolerated.
Fortunately, the batch of Aocang millet greatly reduced the burden on the people of Yecheng, otherwise the Taishan Army would not have dared to fight so frequently.
But the biggest trouble the Taishan Army faces is not the collection and preparation of these combat preparations, but how to transport them to the front line.
In fact, the best mode of transportation is of course to rely on water transportation.
The Taishan Army also established a naval division based on the original Han Army's Weijun Boat Division, and then there was a Dahe Boat Division in Puyang.
But it is a pity that in the 200-mile distance from Yecheng to Xiangguo, there is no river that can be used by the Taishan Army. In other words, if the Taishan Army wants to go north, it can only rely on land transportation, which will be very costly.
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If we then go north to attack the four counties in northern Hebei and rely on land, it will not only be slow in maneuvering, but also a waste of money and food.
Speaking of which, the Hebei region is worse than the Central Plains region.
The water network in the Central Plains is dense vertically and horizontally, so it can be maneuvered quickly. But in Hebei, because most rivers originate from the Taihang Mountains, and Hebei is high in the west and low in the east, most rivers naturally run east-west.
Therefore, the connections between the east and west in Hebei are denser than those between the north and the south.
In order to overcome this difficulty in the future, Cao Cao still built several north-south canals. Now Zhang Chong can attack Xiangguo, but he will still dig canals honestly in the future.
But now, Zhang Chong could only let the carts and horses camp, step up the production of ox carts and handcarts, and make final preparations for the subsequent Northern Expedition.
However, there is nothing that can be done about it. In the past, the Taishan Army did not have these considerations when it came to mobile operations. If there were not enough supplies, just hit a few dock walls.
But now that the Taishan Army has sat down, it has to face these if it wants to fight a serious offensive and defensive war. This is the only way for a force to mature.
…
The first year of Chengtian, the first year of Republic, February 15th.
After swearing an oath, the commander-in-chief Guan Yu led his troops from the left military school with 4,000 lieutenants, 1,000 cavalrymen, and 10,000 soldiers from Qingzhou, and marched toward Handan in the north in a mighty manner.
After marching for three days, the army arrived at Handan to replenish a batch of supplies and campers. The army continued northward and arrived at Congtai the next day, where they set up a grain platform.
Afterwards, Guan Yu ordered the left army generals Zhang Nan and Guo Mo to each lead an army to attack Yiyang and other places in the north of Handan to protect the grain road from Handan to the front line.
After that, the army continued to advance, without encountering any interference from the Han army in the process. It was obvious that the other side had completely given up fighting in the wild with the Taishan army.
After marching for two days, the army reached Qingshui, and a line of defense that Jushu carefully built, Tantai, Yongnian, was located on Qingshui.
The first battle of this battle is coming.
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When Zhang Nan and Guo Mo led thousands of elite troops to attack Yiyang, Yiyang ordered Cao Kun to abandon the city and flee. This Cao Kun was represented by Dong Zhuo back then, and he had never been able to win over the hearts of the people in the city.
At this moment, Taishan's army came with troops. What could he use to defend it? So he abandoned the city and fled overnight.
Zhang Nan and Guo Mo then captured Yiyang without any bloodshed.
And because the Taishan Army's Eastern Expedition had occupied Quliang and Lieren areas in the east of Yiyang early in the morning, the east-west passage from Zhangshui to Benshui was blocked by Zhang Nan and Guo Mo's troops.
In this way, the entire Taishan Army was completely protected on the right side of the grain platform in Handan. Even if the Han army on the Julu side wanted to go around and attack the Taishan Army's supply line, they would have to pass through the defensive front jointly constructed by these three cities first.
In fact, this is exactly what the Han army planned.
As early as the beginning, Jushou had made an alliance with Guo Dian of Julu. The plan was for Jushou to block the front of the Taishan Army, and then Guo Dian would lead his troops to attack the Taishan Army's supply line from the side and rear.
Guo Dian also knew the truth about the coldness of lips and teeth. In addition, he had a tacit understanding with Lu Zhi, the leader of Jushou, so he had to help him both emotionally and rationally.
In addition, Guo Dian has always attached great importance to the northeastern part of Handan, and regarded it as a transfer route for the Taishan Army to attack Julu in the future. Therefore, when he learned that the Taishan Army had indeed moved north from Handan as scheduled.
Guo Dian took quick action.
At this time, a cavalry unit led by the famous Hebei general Gao Lan was moving at high speed along the south bank of Qianshui River. Their target was Yiyang where Zhang Nan and Guo Mo were located.
Yiyang was an important city of Zhao State at that time, so it must be captured first as an advance base.
At this time, Zhang Nan and Guo Mo didn't know anything about this. At this time, the two of them were led by a scholar dressed as a scholar, visiting a ruined wall.