Qingtang City is the name of the Tubo people, and the Tang people generally call it Shancheng County, Shancheng Town or Heyuanjun.
Qingtang City is located in the core of Xining Basin. During the Western Han Dynasty, Linqiang (Huangyuan), Poqiang (Ledu), and Anyi (Ping'an) were established in the nearby Huangshui Valley, but there was only one Xiping Pavilion in the Xining Basin.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao ordered the construction of Xiping Pavilion, built cities on its north, west and south sides, and established Xiping County.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Nanliang took Ledu as its capital and once moved westward to Xiping. However, overall, the development of the Huangshui Valley still surpassed that of the Xining Basin.
In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Shanzhou was still located in the Huangshui Valley, that is, Huangshui County (Ledu), and Qingtang City (Shancheng County) was just a subordinate county of Shanzhou.
The real rise of Qingtang City was during the Tubo rule.
The Xining Basin is wider than the Huangshui Valley, with "Huangshui River running through it" and "two rivers flowing vertically". It has abundant water resources and the virgin land is extremely fertile. Heiji Changzhi farmed more than 5,000 hectares here and harvested more than a million stones a year.
of irrigation canals.
The Tubo people also grow wheat, highland barley, and beans nearby, and the harvest is also very high. The highest yield of highland barley in the Xining Basin is recorded to be five stones, which is a bit exaggerated, but based on the yield per mu of farmland in Heijichangzhi, the soil here is indeed
It is very fertile.
Of course, another factor that contributed to the development of Qingtang City was that the city was not within the sphere of influence of most of the Tibetans. The city was able to develop independently and attracted a considerable number of people to come to cultivate and graze.
There is also a tacit understanding among several major departments that no one will occupy Qingtang City and allow the city to develop freely. Coupled with the influence of the Silk Trade Road, it has gradually become prosperous with various industries, business travel, agriculture and animal husbandry.
Industry is prosperous.
Qingtang City generally followed the old system of the Heyuan Military City of the Guo Dynasty, but the Tubo people carried out repairs and some additions.
The city's circumference is about twenty miles, which is much larger than a county seat and is close to a state capital. However, it is understandable that if you want to station 14,000 troops, the city will not be large enough.
Qingtang City is divided into two parts, the east and west parts, separated by a city wall in the middle, with a total of eight gates. During the reign of Xisiluo in later generations, he renovated the city, especially the collapsed West City, which was completely rebuilt as his own.
The palace is located. By the time of his son, the Khitan princess and the Xixia princess also lived in Xicheng.
At this time, the West City has not collapsed, and the most conspicuous palace has disappeared. The gleaming golden Buddha Temple is regarded as a "landmark building."
There is a Buddha statue in the Great Buddha Temple, which is dozens of feet high, gilded, and decorated with pearls and precious stones. Next to the Buddha statue, there is a main hall and a high pavilion, and there are more than a hundred Buddhist houses. Master Jiezan, who calls himself Qu Lun, is standing on a high building and looking carefully outside.
The Buddhist village outside the city was occupied by the cavalry of the Tang Army who arrived in a surprise attack. This happened last night.
There is a Buddhist field in the Buddhist village, which is the main source of income for the Great Buddha Temple. The wheat and highland barley accumulated on weekdays are no less than 50,000 dendrobium. Although most of them were temporarily taken away to the city, there is still a lot left outside, and now they have become spoils of war.
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The villagers in the Buddhist village were tied behind their backs and strung together with ropes. Their wives and children were crying and shouting beside them. The Tang army soldiers kicked and beat them and took these people away.
Robbing Dingkou, goods, food, cattle and sheep, what a great Tang Dynasty king!
Master Jiezan's face was expressionless, but his heart was filled with huge waves, turbulent.
All the silver spears rushed to Qingtang City, which he had not expected. No, maybe he had thought about it vaguely, but he forcibly ignored it.
To deal with the Tang army, the tribes are not united and their troops are few, so they will definitely not be able to defeat them head-on, so they can only use some cunning tactics.
Was it wrong to ambush the main force of the Tang army in Changning Gorge?
No, that's right. If you want to defeat the Tang people, this is the best way.
The next best option is to pretend to surrender, and then suddenly rebel while Shao thief relaxes his vigilance, catching him by surprise.
Master Jiezan had repeatedly considered these two methods, and finally chose an ambush.
I was not wrong! The plan was perfect, but Thief Shao was not heroic at all in fighting. A real man would stand up with his sword drawn, and after defeating the enemy, he would march forward and march forward indomitably. This is what makes a true hero!
Shao Thief doesn't want to be a hero, so what can he do if he doesn't fall for it?
The soldiers of Silver Spear City were divided into several groups and wandered around the city.
Qingtang City is so big that they may not have even thought about attacking the city, but are just looking for weaknesses. But there are too few soldiers guarding the city, only more than 800 people. Even if they are temporarily armed, do they really have combat effectiveness?
Master Jiezan's face was calm and calm, but there was a layer of sweat on his back. A villager outside the city was captured. If the Tang army tortured the prisoners carefully, they should be able to get some information.
Wang Chong did receive some confusing and even contradictory information at this time.
"Viga, come here." He called to the Uighur Viga who had just been promoted to deputy general because of his military exploits.
"General."
"You lead five hundred cavalry and go to the northeast gate to shoot arrows. If you see an exposed head, shoot. Remember, shoot with a walking bow." Wang Chong ordered.
Bijia took the order and left.
They must have been at a disadvantage when they were fighting against the enemy troops on the city wall, but since the general had given this order, he had to carry it out.
The Silver Spear City, or the entire Shuofang Army, attaches great importance to obeying orders, which is very different from the tribe. The various rules are too strict and do not conform to the freedom-loving nature of the herdsmen.
At first, some people always ran away, but later the families of the escaped soldiers were directly demoted to slaves and ravaged by others. The captured deserters were also beheaded in public. In addition, the rewards were indeed very generous, and the Uighur sergeants slowly calmed down.
People never know where their lower limit is.
Grassland herdsmen are pretty good at horseback riding and archery, and they also have a life-threatening bravery. Their requirements for survival materials are relatively low, and they can endure hunger, climb on ice and sleep in snow, and march thousands of miles.
But the organization is too low!
If you can work hard on this, generally speaking, you can burst out with extremely strong combat effectiveness. Maodun Chanyu once improved the organization level of the Huns, and Genghis Khan once improved the organization level of the Mongols. Hu who can accept the harsh military laws of the Han people
Generally speaking, people are the source of superior (gray) quality (color) soldiers (animals) (mouth), and the Eight Thousand Yiluo River in Anlu Mountain has proven this to everyone.
Although the eight thousand sergeants (including auxiliary soldiers) in Silver Spear City have not yet completely transformed into the shape of Shuofang Army, they have gained preliminary discipline, and their morale is more than twice as strong as that of the idle and loose tribal army.
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After receiving the order at this moment, Pijia did not ask any questions and directly led a battalion of 500 cavalry under his direct jurisdiction and rode to the northeast gate of Qingtang City.
There were many flags on the city top, and some people poked their heads in. It looked like the Tibetans were facing a formidable enemy and were heavily fortified.
The five hundred cavalrymen dismounted in unison, stood within a stone's throw, first strung their bows, and then went out in batches, aiming at the target on the tower and launching a wave of attacks.
Wang Chong arrived not far away with his soldiers and observed carefully.
Five hundred archers took turns shooting. The Tibetans initially fought back from the top of the city, but after more than 20 people were shot and killed, they hid directly and never showed their heads again.
This shouldn't be the case! Wang Chong played with the bowstring in his hand and thought to himself.
After a while, the Tibetan people's counterattack at the northeast corner of the city suddenly became fierce. Judging from the longing look of the people at the city head, a large number of archers should have been transferred from other places.
Send another battalion to the west of the city! Wang Chong had a plan and immediately gave the order.
Another battalion of cavalry was on the road. They had been plundering all night last night, and now they received the order and still stepped forward without hesitation. Their physical strength was truly amazing.
Volleys near the west gate caused confusion among the Tibetan people.
Wang Chong was so anxious that he climbed up a big tree and carefully watched what was going on in the city. He saw that the Tibetans had sent archers from the other two walls to the west. The city was in chaos, and every household was closed, as if it was the end of the world.
"Come here!" Wang Chong shouted directly from the tree.
"General!" the soldiers responded under the tree.
"Build siege equipment immediately!" Wang Chong ordered.
"General, there are no craftsmen."
"Can you make ladders? It doesn't have to be good, just usable." Wang Chong still didn't get down from the tree and shouted directly from the tree.
The soldiers left in a hurry.
The dull sound of horse hooves came from the land to the west.
Wang Chong was shocked. Is this the main force of Tibet coming?
Just as they were waiting to gather their troops under the tree to fight, they saw several cavalry scouts running towards them, shouting: "The red-haired army is here!"
Hmm? Red-haired Army? That's the name of the Long Family Tribe Army in Silver Spear City, because they have so many red hair.
The Yumen Army came to take the credit! It was obviously me who came first.
Wang Chong jumped down from the tree and rolled on the ground. He didn't bother to beat the grass clippings and dust, and shouted angrily: "Quick, hurry up and make the ladder. If anyone is lazy, I will kill him!"
Long then led more than 5,000 Yumen troops to stop in the west of the city.
This journey was like a dream. The expected battle did not exist at all. Thanks to their caution, they were wasting time!
He had already sensed that something was wrong. The Tubo people must have few soldiers, and they were all concentrated in Qingtang City. Almost all the outer areas were abandoned, and only one city was defended to the death.
This is the war method of the Han people, and it is actually of little use to them. The grassland army rarely attacks the city directly, and usually mainly loots. What is the use of sticking to Qingtang City? There are still cattle and sheep in Dingkou outside the city.
Aren’t they all other people’s?
This time, Long plans to grab it directly. There are many farmlands and pastures outside Qingtang City, so he should be able to catch a lot of things.
But what did he see? Sergeant Yin Qiandu was cutting down trees to build siege equipment!
"Let's go find Wang Chong!" Long took dozens of soldiers and headed for the Silver Spear Capital.
Wang Chong hid elsewhere.
While urging the auxiliary soldiers to build ladders, they stared at Qingtang City.
His heartbeat was a little fast. It shouldn't be that Qingtang City was so empty! But what if it was true?
There’s nothing wrong with giving it a try! At worst, you’ll only lose a few manpower. But once you succeed...
Wang Chong swallowed, as if he saw a golden avenue waving to him.
Sometimes, people need a little luck. Should I be lucky today?
At noon, the first batch of ladders was completed.
Wang Chong ordered that a thousand sergeants with the most outstanding archery skills be selected to stand by in front of the formation, and then he selected a thousand sergeants who were relatively brave in hand-to-hand combat and ordered them to carry hidden spears, iron bone flowers, short spears, horizontal knives and other weapons.
, also on standby.
When things came to an end, his mind became clearer.
There should not be many Tibetan defenders in the city, and the city is so big that it is difficult to defend. It is better to attack from the east to the west, feign attacks in other places first, mobilize the enemy's few troops, and then use the elite to break the city in one go.
So he dispatched another thousand riders to shoot arrows outside the west city, and then asked three thousand auxiliary soldiers to rush over with some ladders to attack the city.
About half an hour after the sound of fighting rang out in the west city, Wang Chong felt ready. He took a deep breath and directly gave the order to the two thousand elite soldiers who had been waiting for a long time: "Attack the city! Whoever gets there first will be rewarded with three hundred pieces of brocade."
!”
"General, the sergeants have arrived at the top of the West City!" The sudden arrival of his own soldiers almost made him stagger.