"Bring me General A." After passing through the mountains, the road was basically smooth. The army camped in the east of Lanzhou, waiting for supplies.
The soldiers quickly brought over a set of iron armor in a wooden box.
This was transferred from the rear. The general knew that the commander-in-chief was very concerned about Hao Zijia, so he concentrated his efforts on making a set of samples and sent them to the front line among the logistics supplies.
"Without hiding in the capital, Yuhou led his army to defeat several villages in a few days. His bravery was unparalleled. As soon as the reward was due, it was distributed in full when the merits were recounted after the war. However, before that, a certain person had to give an additional reward. This
The suit of armor is yours." The soldiers opened the lid of the box, and Shao Shude pointed at the suit of armor placed inside and said with a smile.
He had seen this set of armor before, and it was indeed the Ware Armor that he recognized. However, the person who made the armor may have made it gaudy and too exquisite in order to please him, and it contained some things that were not very practical.
But it's just right to use it as a reward.
"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief, for the reward." He was not polite even if he didn't hide it, and just let him accept it.
Shao Shude looked at this young general who was not born in the Zang family and was very satisfied.
He had heard about this man when he first attacked Wenchi County. This was actually not easy. Among the tens of thousands of troops, the one who could be heard by the supreme commander must have made a big contribution.
When he attacked Wenchi County, he was brave enough to lead his men to the top of the city. He was not afraid of death and made great contributions to the final breach of the city.
After entering Guanzhong and collecting Huizhou, he did not have any outstanding performance, that is, he made some achievements in peace. But this time in the westward expedition to Lanzhou, he seized the opportunity and led Hengshan Dangxiang to defeat several villages in a row, and he made great contributions.
I heard that he was not of high origin. He was originally just an ordinary mountain man in the Musang tribe. After being discovered by Musang Yumei, he gradually became prosperous.
But that was just a success within the tribe. Now he is standing on a broader stage. If he wants to continue to make a fortune, he needs the support of someone with a higher position.
"Fight hard, and you will have greater wealth in the future." Shao Shude encouraged.
"I swear to be loyal to the commander-in-chief to the death." Mu Zangdu bowed down on his knees and said sincerely.
His wife was originally an ordinary woman from the mountains, but she died of illness at the end of last year. Many women in the tribe were courting him, including even the daughter of a close relative of the leader.
He originally had this intention, thinking that marrying the clan leader's cousin would help them get closer to each other. But now that he thinks about it, it doesn't seem appropriate.
It happened that a clan member of Qiu Weidao, who was supervising the army, had made good friends with him. He said a while ago that he had a niece named Wang, whose family lived in Xiazhou, and who could be a wife for Wu Zangdu Bao.
Muzo Doho is ambitious. He can be considered a government general now. Although he is ranked lower, as long as he continues to make military exploits, he will one day be appreciated by the commander and gain greater wealth.
But before that, he still needs to resolve some problems. After returning, he proposes marriage to the Wang family, and marries her back as a second marriage. As for whether this move will make everyone feel grudge, it is not a big deal. At worst, he will go to other armies in the future.
Now, there is no boundary between the Yi Cong Army and other armies, and personnel can flow.
By the way, it's best to change the name on the Yamen register and call it Mo Dubao or Zang Dubao.
When the ten states are in trouble, the only one worthy of refuge is the commander-in-chief.
After Wu Zangdu Bao retreated, several dog-headed military advisors came forward to congratulate him.
There is a painter painting in the camp. The theme is the Leopard Cavalry’s raid on Jinchengjin and Jincheng Pass. The painting is large, detailed and rich in content. Marshal Shao came to look at it when he had time, and made comments from time to time, mainly on the details of the war.
.
After this painting is finished, there will be another theme of attacking the mountain stronghold, and there may be a series of paintings such as conquering Weizhou and attacking Lanzhou. Painters are very busy!
"Commander, we still have food and grass in the camp for more than half a month, so we can try to attack Lanzhou." Zhang Yanqiu came over to report something in the morning. He hadn't left yet when he saw Shao Shude coming in, so he suggested.
Zhang Yanqiu's attitude is very good. He knows that today is different from the past. Now that he is a subordinate, he must behave like a subordinate. If his mentality cannot be adjusted, then it is better not to come and continue to live in Beijing.
Moreover, the commander-in-chief had great trust in him. As soon as he came up, he handed over 7,000 Zhenwu troops into his hands and led the army alone, which made him even more grateful.
"If you don't have enough food to support the moon, how can you make progress lightly?" Shao Shude shook his head.
He plays this conservatively and may miss opportunities, but it is not easy for others to take advantage of him. The more troops he brings, the more cautious he must be. If there are only a few thousand or tens of thousands of troops, you can try to take risks.
It's a risk, but he can't afford to lose now.
"Besides, the iron cavalry and leopard cavalry have been active on both sides of the river for the past two days, fighting with the Tibetan cavalry. The battle has been going on." Shao Shude said: "When the food and grass are available, we will march westward."
It is not easy to organize tens of thousands of troops for action.
On Shao Shude's side, there are 9,000 Tielin Army, 7,000 Wuwei Army, 5,000 Iron Cavalry Army, 1,000 Leopard Cavalry Army, 10,000 Yi Cong Army, 4,000 Tiande Army, and 7,000 Zhenwu Army, with a total strength of 4
More than 10,000 people. Even though they have been damaged after fighting for so long, the main force is still there and the number has not changed significantly.
A battlefield that can accommodate 40,000 troops, even if they are close to each other and maintain an offensive formation, will still stretch for several miles or even more than ten miles.
Because it is impossible for 40,000 people to maintain a unified pace, we can only assign generals, set campaign goals, and send multiple messengers at the same time to organize attacks from multiple directions, multiple local battlefields, time periods, and waves.
Each unit must have sufficient distance to prevent chaos and trampling on each other. In short, it cannot accommodate tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people together like a concert. That would be suicide.
"Commander, if Tubo doesn't have more than 10,000 troops now, should we speed up its advance and march into Bo Lanzhou?" Zhang Yanqiu asked again.
The current marching speed is a bit slow!
"I'm worried that there are reinforcements from Tibet. It's been so long. Are there any changes in Tibet in Hezhou, Linzhou and other places? Many of the scouts we sent to spy were intercepted and killed on the way, and we didn't find anything.
What news makes me feel uneasy."
"The commander-in-chief's concerns are reasonable. Why don't we send the left wing to set up defenses near the mountain tunnels in the Wogan Mountains (the mountains from the south of Lanzhou to Linxia), and at the same time send more rangers to search diligently?" Zhang Yanqiu heard this and said,
Although I felt that Shao Shude's military style was too conservative, it was not unreasonable, so he suggested.
"The left wing should not participate in the attack on the city. The Tibetan troops are few and the city wall is in ruins. There is no need for 40,000 people to attack together. Let's do it this way." Shao Shude said.
After that, he reminded me emphatically: "My flank will be handed over to General Zhang. If an enemy cavalry group comes out of Wogan Ridge when the army is attacking the city, it will be dangerous, so be careful!"
"General, I will obey your orders and protect the whole army." Zhang Yanqiu said solemnly.
The 40,000-strong Dingnan Army had passed through the narrow area in the mountains, crossed the river to the south bank, and entered relatively open plains.
The distance between the various units was widened, and it was no longer the long and snake-like formation when they marched along the narrow terrain along the bank of the Yellow River.
The Tiande Army and Zhenwu Army consist of a group of more than 10,000 people, led by Zhang Yanqiu, with Sun Ba as his deputy, located on the left wing of the Chinese Army. The Yi Cong Army consists of 10,000 people on the right wing, while the Chinese Army consists of the Tielin Army, the Iron Cavalry Army, and the Leopard Cavalry Army, each with 15,000 soldiers.
Thousands of people, Wuwei Army's 7,000 people are the vanguard, advancing in a general shape, with the distance between the armies ranging from a few miles to more than ten miles.
This distance is not determined by yourself, but is also affected by the natural environment, such as whether the terrain is suitable for marching, whether there are rivers or streams nearby for drinking water, whether there is fodder to supplement the consumption of horse feed, whether there are woods for cutting firewood, etc.
When you are thirsty, you need water, and you need firewood for cooking. When there is no battle, you cannot feed the horses all with beans. You have to send people out to cut the grass. Otherwise, the logistics pressure is too great, so there are too many factors that restrict the specific position of the army.
Such a layout made the logistics line changeable and complex, which could easily give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it. Therefore, Shao Shude sent out the Iron Cavalry and Leopard Cavalry troops to protect the fragile logistics line.
When the troops arrive at Lanzhou City, the various units will slowly move closer together and reduce the distance between them, but they will still be divided into multiple independently commanded units.
Now he felt that the Tibetans in Hezhou and Linzhou were too quiet. The enemies were not fools. He was making so much noise, so they had the motive to unite.
After Zhang Yanqiu left, Shao Shude asked Chen Cheng and Zhao Guangfeng to give some advice.
"Commander, in the situation in Lanzhou, it is unnecessary for 40,000 people to gather together to attack the city, and it is easy to cause trouble." Chen Cheng answered first: "I think that Wogan Ridge is indeed in danger. General Zhang has more than 10,000 people.
There shouldn't be any big problem in defending the left wing, but if the bandits don't have an opportunity to take advantage, they will most likely cross the ridge and go eastward to intercept our food route."
"So we need to replenish our supplies before marching. In one month, we failed to capture Lanzhou!" Shao Shude sat on the tiger-skin chair and said, "As long as the Tubos in Lanzhou are defeated, I don't believe in Hezhou. The thieves in Linzhou are still there.
Have the guts to linger.”
"To attack Lanzhou, I will send the Tielin Army and the Wuwei Army. Sixteen thousand people are enough. The more people, the more chaos and waste of troops!" Shao Shude continued: "Dou Jiande gathered a large army, but was defeated. Someone will not
Make this mistake."
In fact, when the ancients generally said that the two armies had 50,000 or 100,000 people in formation, they actually referred to the total number of people on the battlefield, which was widely distributed. There may not necessarily be 100,000 people actually fighting in the front line, but maybe only two or three
Ten thousand people. And among the two to thirty thousand people, maybe only ten thousand people actually started to fight.
Once these ten thousand people are defeated, if their morale is not high, the various ministries are likely to run away without fighting, or surrender directly. Dou Jiande in the early years of the dynasty is the best example.
In the process of pursuit, greater results are generally achieved. When writing history after the war, literati will not delve into how many people fought at that time. They will only say that 100,000 people from the two armies lined up and fought.
He was defeated, and tens of thousands of people were beheaded. It sounded like a hundred thousand people were using their knives to cut into pieces, but in fact it was impossible.
On May 17, the army gradually moved to the east of Lanzhou and set up camp.
At this time, a military report was received, and Yang Yue, the commander of all the armies on the southeast road, led the troops to attack Weiyuan, and fought a battle with the reinforcements sent by the Langqu tribe and the Fufuling tribe.
This time Tubo became ruthless and fought tooth and nail, but Yang Yue only brought 6,000 cavalry and could not hold them down for a while. At the critical moment, the brothers Shu and Zangcai of the Yinshan Tibetan tribe came out from the flanking mountains and defeated the bandits, beheading three of them.
With more than a thousand troops, Weiyuan was recaptured in one fell swoop, and the bandits retreated to the line of Niaoshu Mountain to linger.
While Marshal Shao was pleased, he was also grateful for his previous caution. Yang Yue knew how to contact the Yinshan Tibetan tribe and struck a decisive blow when the battle between the two sides was in full swing. He could not let this happen.
Although some people often complained about his conservative use of troops, boring battles, and missed opportunities. He also felt that he might never be able to fight a hearty, soul-stirring, and brilliant battle with twists and turns in his life. However, Zhuge was always cautious in his life, which is not a bad thing.
You can win others brilliantly, and you can also lose brilliantly. Although bystanders may look happy, this is not the correct way of war, and you should not take it yourself.
You must not force yourself into a situation where you need to explode to win. That is seeking death and only exists in novels.
I have a wife and children, and the wealth, honor, and disgrace of so many people are tied to one body. People in thirty-four counties across ten states have just begun to have hope. I cannot afford to lose.
On May 18th, the army broke camp and set off to continue to Bolanzhou. At the same time, they also sent people to cut wood and make tools to prepare for the siege.
Tubo is very quiet, but the Battle of Lanzhou is about to begin. This is a war to determine the land of several states under the original Tubo Hezhou Delun. Whoever wins will be the new owner of this land, and Shao Shude plans to be their owner.