Tantai Xuanye stared at the map with a stern expression.
After the Shence Army defeated Taishan City, Tantai Xuanye had entered the city and directly used the governor's mansion as a temporary general's mansion.
Capturing Mount Tai opened the way to march into Xuzhou City and opened up the logistics line.
Although Tantai Xuanye was arrogant, he was very cautious in fighting.
Although there was an attitude of disdain for the Xuzhou defenders throughout the Shence Army, Tantai Xuanye still repeatedly reminded his generals that no matter what kind of enemy they face, they must not take it lightly. Even if they despise it in their hearts, they must not take it lightly.
When formulating strategies and tactics, you must pay attention to your opponents.
After taking Mount Tai, Tantai Xuanye not only strictly enforced military discipline and ordered his soldiers not to harm the people, but also ordered the entire army to quickly rest and recuperate, and did not continue to march eastward.
He needed to wait for news from Pengcheng. If Fang Hui captured Pengcheng, he would truly have no worries. Then the Shence Army would march eastward from Mount Tai and Pengcheng and attack Xuzhou City.
Although he was firm in his belief that he would be able to capture the city of Xuzhou, he still retained a cautious attitude as to whether he could do it quickly.
If Xuzhou City cannot be captured in a short period of time, or even a stalemate occurs, tens of thousands of troops will need to be fed, drank, and fed from the rear, so he did not act rashly before the logistics safety was completely assured.
The attack on Pengcheng was almost a gift to Fang Hui. All Tantai Xuanye thought was that Fang Hui could conquer Pengcheng in a few days.
He never expected that Fang Hui's troops would be attacked before they arrived in Pengcheng.
What is shocking is that Fang Hui was directly killed by the enemy.
Looking at the topographic map of Xuzhou in front of me
, Tantai Xuanye clenched his hands into fists, his face was stern, and he did not speak for a long time.
He Taiji and several other important generals were nearby, and they did not dare to speak for a while.
When the news of Fang Hui's murder came back, all the generals were horrified.
"What do you think?" After a long time, Tantai Xuanye finally raised his head and asked.
The generals looked at each other, and then He Taiji said cautiously: "General, if we want to attack Xuzhou City, Pengcheng must be captured, otherwise this nail will be a big trouble in our rear. The enemy may have sent cavalry to attack.
If they want to catch us off guard and damage the morale of our army, our army cannot abandon Pengcheng just because of this surprise attack."
"According to reports, the enemy has thousands of cavalry." A general said: "It sounds like a lot of people, but once our army knows where they are and uses all its strength to encircle and suppress them, it will be difficult for them to escape. With the strength of our army, we will wipe out thousands of people."
It is not difficult for the remaining cavalry. Therefore, my subordinates believe that their intention, just as General He said, is to launch a surprise attack while our army is unprepared, hoping to deal a blow to our army's morale. This army must not dare to fight with me.
The army is fighting head-on, and after winning the battle, they should quickly retreat to Xuzhou City."
Another general said: "General, we have four thousand fine cavalry. No matter in terms of equipment or combat power, they are far superior to the cavalry in Xuzhou. As long as their traces can be traced, our cavalry will kill them immediately."
Kill them all. If the general allows it, I would like to ask the general to allocate a thousand fine cavalry to my subordinates. I will immediately lead the troops to Pengcheng County and find them no matter what, and then annihilate them."
The general from before said: "Now send the cavalry over, they have already arrived
Not as good as that. My subordinates still firmly believe that they are just bluffing and will never dare to stay in Pengcheng County. They must be on the way back to Xuzhou City." He looked at Tantai Xuanye and said: "But just in case, we will send cavalry reinforcements to attack Pengcheng troops.
It’s still urgent.”
Tantai Xuanye said: "Who do you think the enemy's leader is?"
"According to the reports, the enemy general seems to be very good at using cavalry." One person said: "The Xuzhou cavalry is a collection of soldiers and horses from various state battalions. They have no experience in coordinated operations before. But this time they seem to have divided the cavalry into many small teams.
, although this has a great impact on large group operations, it is extremely effective when used for surprise attacks and harassment. This kind of small team can carry out small-scale local operations, avoiding the disadvantages of being unable to form a tacit understanding in a short period of time, and it can be said to make use of strengths and avoid weaknesses."
Tantai Xuanye nodded and said: "That's right. The information we have received shows that except for Changsun Yuanxin, the generals under She Yue's command do not seem to have the ability to command cavalry like this." He raised his head and said with a cold smile on his lips.
: "The enemy is attacking at night, and the general seems to be my old friend."
"Old friend?"
"Qin Xiao!"
All the generals have changed their colors.
"Xuzhou City blocks news, but there is no airtight wall." Tantai Xuanye said: "Qin Xiao has arrived in Xuzhou, and if nothing else happens, he has also taken control of Xuzhou's military power. The Xuzhou garrison is now under his command.
"
All the generals were a little surprised.
These people had also received news before that Long Rui's army was in full swing in the Northeast, and Qin Xiao had led his troops to annihilate the Liaodong Army and become the overlord of the Northeast.
Just after winning the Northeast Battle, who would have thought that Qin Xiao would immediately rush to Xu
state.
"If that cavalry was commanded by Qin Xiao, it would be explained." A general said: "I heard that this man was developing cavalry in the Northeast and had many cavalry generals under his command. It is natural that he learned some cavalry tactics from those generals.
"
"Judging from this person's past habits, he likes to launch surprise attacks." Someone clenched his fist and said, "This person is very brave and courageous. He often seeks victory in danger. This attack on General Fang does seem to be his method.
."
He Taiji frowned and said: "Since he is the commander-in-chief of the Xuzhou garrison, he led his lone army away from Xuzhou City and attacked Pengcheng County. Is it just to destroy the morale of our army?" Before others could say anything, he shook his head and stared at the map.
He quickly raised his head and said firmly: "They must not have withdrawn to Xuzhou City, and they must still be wandering in Pengcheng County at this moment."
Tantai Xuanye's eyes showed admiration and asked: "Why is General He so sure?"
"General, destroying the morale of our army is indeed one of their goals, but Qin Xiao has another purpose." He Taiji pointed at the map and said: "Please see, there are many mountains and forests in Pengcheng County, especially in the northwest of Pengcheng.
Although there are no high mountains in this area, there are many mountains and deep valleys. This terrain is indeed not conducive to cavalry operations, but it is a natural hiding place. As long as the cavalry enters this area, it is easy to hide." He pointed his finger towards the north.
Soon we arrived at the western part of Mount Tai.
The generals were not fools. They saw He Taiji's gestures and immediately understood what he meant.
"General He means that Qin Xiao's target is our food route?" someone asked in surprise.
Mrs. He
Ji nodded and said: "Qin Xiao is indeed a smart man. If the cavalry stays in Xuzhou City, they will definitely not be able to use cavalry to defend the city. As a result, when we attack Xuzhou City, their cavalry can only sit on the sidelines and waste it.
.In this case, the cavalry was pulled directly out of the city. With the mobility advantage of the cavalry, they could detour back to the rear of our army to carry out activities. Why did he only bring out a thousand cavalry? The reason is very simple. This kind of guerrilla tactics that go deep behind the enemy's rear is very difficult for them.
There are great risks. Once their whereabouts are caught by us, disaster will be imminent. If there are too many troops, the movement will be slow, and Qianqi is the best troop to maintain the speed of movement. This will not only maintain the speed of movement,
It also has a certain combat effectiveness and can pose a great threat to our logistics line."
"And their own logistics." Tantai Xuanye said: "They are far away from Xuzhou City. They definitely don't expect Xuzhou City to provide them with logistics and can only solve it themselves. Among this cavalry, there must be Xuzhou native sergeants.
. They are very familiar with the terrain here, so they not only know how to hide, but also know where to find logistical supplements. One more cavalry means one more burden." Staring at the map, he said with a solemn expression: "I even feel that
, they may enter Yuzhou directly from Pengcheng County and obtain supplements in Yuzhou."
He Taiji clenched his fist and said, "The general is right. Qin Xiao only has a thousand cavalry, so he will definitely not think about attacking cities and territories. But with a thousand cavalry, it is not difficult to raid some counties and even villages in Yuzhou to obtain nourishment."
"If this is really the case, Yuzhou must be
People are in panic." Someone frowned and said: "The rear defense is unstable and the logistics lines are in danger of being attacked. We cannot attack Xuzhou City with all our strength from the front."
He Taiji nodded and said: "Yes, this should be Qin Xiao's purpose. He led his troops to harass behind, preventing our army from fully attacking Xuzhou City, and even hoped that the battle of Xuzhou would fall into a stalemate. This was his real purpose.
"
Tantai Xuanye's eyes were stern.
Of course he knew that although most of the states in the Tang Dynasty remained stable, She Yue's rise of troops in Xuzhou had caused people's hearts in various parts of the Tang Dynasty to be shaken.
But fearing the power of Kyoto, no one dared to act rashly.
But once the Shence Army really gets into a protracted war in Xuzhou, and even the main force of Kyoto's troops has been dragged in Xuzhou, then there is no guarantee that someone will take advantage of the opportunity and do something under the banner of responding to the Princess of the Tang Dynasty's revival of Li Tang.
Take action.
From the beginning, both Xiahou and Tantai Xuanye knew that the battle of Xuzhou could not be delayed for too long. The longer it lasted, the more detrimental it would be to Kyoto.
But now Qin Xiao is trying to delay the Shence Army's attack in an unexpected way.
Using thousands of cavalry to penetrate the rear of the Shence Army is a really dangerous move, but as someone said just now, Qin Xiao is very courageous and often likes to win in danger. The more dangerous the technique, the more dangerous it is for the enemy.
pose a huge threat.
"General, the troops heading to Pengcheng are still waiting for military orders." He Taiji said: "Do you want them to continue marching into Pengcheng?"
Tantai Xuanye nodded and said: "Qin Xiao wants to make moves behind us, so I will put them in the real rear. If Pengcheng cannot be taken, they can still coordinate with Qin Xiao. We
Take Pengcheng first and completely cut off the connection between Qin Xiao and Xuzhou City, so that he can only have a lone army in hand." He looked at one of the generals and said: "Yan Yue, you are a veteran cavalry general. Immediately order two thousand troops.
The cavalry quickly rushed to Pengcheng County to join Fang Hui's troops, and then escorted Fang Hui's troops into Pengcheng. With your two thousand cavalry, Qin Xiao will not dare to act rashly, and the attack on Pengcheng will be left to your command."
Yan Yue was a fierce general who was transferred from Wuchuan Town to Kyoto by Tantai Xuanye. He had always commanded cavalry in combat and had rich experience.
After Fang Hui died, Tantai Xuanye intended to promote Yan Yue's position in the Shence Army, so he handed over the victory in the attack on Pengcheng to Yan Yue.
Yan Yue knew it well and said happily: "I obey the order!"
"Send out the rangers, one team of twenty." Tantai Xuanye said simply: "Divide into thirty teams and look for traces of Qin Xiao's troops to the west. Remember, let them tell the people in the villages that if anyone finds that
If the traces of the cavalry are reported, there will be a lot of rewards, and the reward will be enough to keep them worry-free for three generations."
He Taiji smiled and said: "The general is wise. The people in Xuzhou have nothing to do with Qin Xiao, and they don't care about the Princess of Tang Dynasty. As long as there are heavy rewards, they will become our eyes and ears. If those people become our eyes and ears,