How many manpower will be needed if Tongguan is completely taken over? This is a question that Shao Shude has been considering for the past two days.
Tongguan is not just a city.
From Zhuguan City on the bank of the Yellow River to the south, on both sides of the Forbidden Valley, there are seventeen Zhaiguan Passes including Jindou Pass, which are all part of the Tongguan defense system.
These village passes are all located next to the ravine, either blocking the path, or at a commanding height. They can garrison more troops, but the attackers cannot deploy due to the terrain, so they are actually very easy to defend.
By the late Tang Dynasty, the foundations of most of the villages were still there, but they were abandoned and abandoned for a long time, becoming a paradise for smugglers.
Perhaps, the imperial court felt that "Tree General" might be more effective than the castle in guarding the roads. If you can save money, just save money. After all, those small roads are too difficult to pass, and large troops cannot pass them, so they can only be sneaked over by small groups of people.
To guard Tongguan, at least 30,000 people are needed, and you don't need to be able to fight. Of course, you can't do it with local villagers, but professional warriors at the level of state soldiers and county soldiers.
"The order is sent to the ten prefectures of Shuofang, each of which will draw 300 state soldiers; the ten prefectures of Longyou, except Shan, Kuo, and Chie, each state will draw 200 state soldiers; the five states of Jingyuan and Pingning will draw 200 state soldiers of each state.
"The five states in Weibei send out 300 soldiers from each state; the three states in Hexi send out 300 soldiers every week." After reviewing the Huazhou soldiers, Shao Shude returned to Tongguanyi and issued orders directly.
Jieduzhang Secretary Lu Siye quickly wrote it down.
Chen Cheng counted silently in his mind, there were already 7,800 people, they were serious professional martial artists.
It is a pity that Shuofang's army did not set up county soldiers. Each county of the Kwantung princes had more than a hundred to more than a thousand professional warriors. They were not local warriors, but full-time professional county soldiers who had been trained all year round. They were on the same level as the state soldiers.
In some places with a strong martial arts style, there is a huge difference between the non-professional Tu Tuan villagers, the professional second-level town soldiers of prefectures and counties, and the elite outer town army, Yamen army and other troops directly under the shogunate.
Shuofang's army has lacked professional warriors at the county level since Zhuge Shuang dismissed the county troops during the Xia Sui period, and relied entirely on the local regiments and villagers to take turns shouldering the garrison duty.
The commander-in-chief is now in a hurry to reorganize the Tongguan defense system. He suddenly needs to mobilize an army of 30,000 to 50,000 people. I wonder if he regrets not having a large-scale local military system in Jianzhou County.
"The Fan tribe in Longyou will send out two thousand Ding; the Fan tribe in Yinshan will send out two thousand Ding; in Pingxia, Dangxiang in Hengshan will send out another two thousand Ding; in Jiecheng, the three prefectures of Min will recruit two thousand Qiang people; on the west road of Shannan, in the second town of Fengxiang,
Send a thousand soldiers to each."
Less than 17,000 people, still less than half...
"Let's do this for now." Shao Shude said: "After a while, we will recruit 10,000 new soldiers in Huazhou. The hole in Tongguan is not that easy to fill."
Chen Cheng understood.
Recruiting new soldiers in Huazhou should be Wang Bian's job. The words "after a while" make people think a lot.
On September 16, Shunyi and Yi Cong's Second Army arrived at Tongguan. The Zhejia Army had already arrived at Zheng County, the Guards' Army had arrived at Fangzhou, and the Tielin Army as a whole had entered the Wuding Valley in Suizhou, while the Wuwei Army had not yet arrived.
Leave Yanzhou.
Shao Shude decided not to wait.
Early in the morning on September 17, he personally led the cavalry, Fei Xiong, 27,000 infantry of the Shunyi Army, and 10,000 infantry of the Huazhou Army to go to Shaanxi and Guo.
My brother-in-law Bu Zang joined the army with 8,000 infantry soldiers to guard Tongguan. Another brother-in-law, Zhe Silun, also received an order not to stop after passing Tongguan, but to go directly eastward.
After the army left Tongguan, they passed through the Huangxiang Slope, which was more than ten miles long, and headed straight towards Wenxiang County.
When the army passed here, the queue was very long and moved very slowly.
The formation is not easy to form, and the head and tail cannot coordinate. If someone were to ambush on the ground, tens of thousands of people would die without a burial place.
This terrain should be a nightmare for the attackers, but there are always "gods" who turn it into a death place for the defenders. For example, Ge Shu was forced out of the pass and crowded on the narrow river beach, and was ambushed by the Anshi rebels.
John.
Xuanzong was very outrageous. It was obvious that he had a good location to ambush the Anshi rebel army, but he was ambushed by others when he came out of Tongguan, and the entire army was wiped out, which is incredible.
Shao Shude did not ride in a carriage, but on a war horse.
There are high mountains and dense forests on one side, and turbulent waves crashing on the shore. The road ahead is narrow, and is occasionally cut off by ditches flowing into the river. The only way to cross is through bridges with impressive traffic speeds.
Amazing terrain!
On the Nanyuan behind Tongguan, there is a gap of several hundred meters between the north-south Yuanwang Valley and the Forbidden Valley and the original top. Like an abyss cut with a knife and axe, the terrain is divided into several pieces.
If you want to cross the ditch, you can't carry baggage, you can't bring armor, you can't have many people, and there are stockades blocking the way. If you can defeat the Tongguan garrison in this way, then Guanzhong really deserves to die.
On the evening of the 19th, Shao Shude's Chinese army arrived in Nuxiang County, Guozhou.
After all, it was not his own territory, and the whole army was camping in the wild. Shao Shude moved into Enxiang Station. It was a super station that could be compared with Huazhou Pude Station, and its regulations were majestic.
The officials and generals of the two states of Shaanxi and Guozhou disappeared completely like air...
Wang Chongying and his son have always used the neutral attribute to the extreme.
Shao Shude remembered that when armies from all walks of life besieged Li Keyong in history, the cities of Jin and Jiangzhou were "lent" to Han Jian, Tuoba Sigong and others.
"I wonder if Wang Gong would like to temporarily lend me some city passes..." Shao Shude looked at the map and said.
All the generals who were summoned for discussion laughed, while Wang Bian laughed a little awkwardly.
"May I ask where the commander wants to borrow the money?" Chen Cheng asked jokingly.
"Too many." Shao Shude put down the map and said with a smile: "It makes sense for Suzong Dynasty to combine Shaanxi, Guo and Hua into one town. These three states guard the most vulnerable passage between the two capitals. If it cannot
If you hold it in your hand, you won't be able to get out east."
"Commander, the imperial court will establish a new festival town."
"Zhen Guojun or Shaanxi Town, the commander of this town will be led by Wang Shijun, how about it?" Shao Shude turned his eyes to Wang Bian, who was squeezed into a corner in the distance, and said.
Wang Bian was sweating profusely and stepped forward. Unexpectedly, he tripped over the horse. Fortunately, Yang Hongwang helped him.
Wang Bian put on his plain headdress, ignored the ridicule of the crowd, bowed and saluted and said: "This town is very important. Only when you leave Shaanxi and Guo can the road be said to be smooth and convenient for the commander's cavalry to gallop. Commander Wanwang thinks twice, a certain
He has insufficient talent and learning, and has little political skills. He only wants to govern the people and enjoy wealth and wealth. In the land of Shaanxi and Guo, wars are fought day and night, so we must choose the most important generals to guard them."
Shao Shude stood up in person, helped Wang Bian up, and said warmly: "I already know your talents. He recruited the refugees from Guandong, cleaned the ditches, and built gardens. In the land of three counties, the household registration is stable and the people are stable. This is a great talent. Please sit down.
The wealth and honor of Wang Shijun will definitely be indispensable in the future."
Wang Bian felt a little at ease and stood aside.
Zhejiyu, Yang Hongwang, An Xiuxiu and others glanced at him and secretly thought that this guy was quite clever and that the position of commander in chief of the town should not be lost. Even if it was not Huazhou, Shaanxi and Guo, the commander would definitely arrange it for him.
Although there is no military power in this place, wealth and wealth are indispensable, so it is worth it.
These days, not many military leaders can die a good death, and even fewer can die a good death and be rich and noble at the same time.
"Tomorrow, the Flying Bear Army will march forward, pass through Hucheng County, and take the north road to Lingbao County. Wang Shijun will march with me with his infantry."
"As ordered." Yang Hongwang and Wang Bian responded together.
The Feixiong Army marched forward, but the Cavalry Army did not leave. This was because Shao Shude had few soldiers around him. He did not fully believe that the Shunyi Army and the Huazhou Army had to stay to suppress the formation.
In addition, we have already entered Shaanxi and Guizhou, and the logistics departure base is in Huazhou. The road in the middle is not easy to travel, and we must send cavalry from time to time to patrol and take care of us.
An army campaign is not about playing games or writing novels. Logistics is crucial.
The masters in Shaanxi and Guo can not be recruited. Currently, the masters in Weibei and Huazhou towns are being mobilized. The total number has exceeded 100,000, but it is still far from enough.
During the Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao, the State of Zhao mobilized more than 300,000 soldiers to provide support for tens of thousands of soldiers and horses on the front line. In recent years, transportation technology has developed, and the number of draft animals has increased, but it only provided 60,000 infantry and cavalry (equivalent to hundreds of thousands of Guandong princes).
The army's food and fodder consumption) were still very strenuous.
As the army gathers more and more, Weibei Town will carry out further mobilization and recruit more than 50,000 masters. The Jingzhao Mansion does not intend to be polite anymore. It will recruit 100,000 masters and use 250,000
Strong men provide protection for the front line.
Maybe it's not enough! It would be better to have a surplus of 100,000 people. This consumption is really not ordinary.
…
Ge Congzhou rushed into Luoyang City with more than 3,000 cavalry.
His current position is rather strange.
If we talk about high status, he has never had a role in leading the army in battle. It usually belongs to Zhu Zhen, Ding Hui and Pang Shigu, but Lao Ge has never had his turn.
When it comes to seniority, direct lineage and outside lineage, there is nothing to say.
But he was not in a hurry.
Prince Dongping still values abilities. Zhu, Pang, and Ding are old men and are deeply trusted. They cannot shake their positions for the time being. However, after several years of hard work, he has shown his abilities. It is only a matter of time before he ascends to the throne.
He rescued various battlefields and made meritorious deeds at critical moments. How could he not be there?
This time the Hedong army went south. As expected, Zhu Zhen was the commander and led the army to Heyang. The king of Dongping County supervised the army and was stationed in Zhengzhou to provide support at any time.
As for the Henan Prefecture, because they were not sure about Zhang Quanyi, they had no choice but to send Ge Congzhou to come over and select three thousand fine cavalry. He was given full authority to command all the troops and horses of the Henan Prefecture and Ruzhou to block Shuofang's army and protect the flanks.
Zhang Quanyi respectfully welcomed Ge Congzhou into the Jiedushi Mansion.
"Zhang Shuai has been in charge of Heluo for several years. I just want to ask you today, do you have all the food, grass, and equipment?" Ge Congzhou didn't even sit down and asked directly.
Zhang Quanyi was planning to organize the banquet, arrange dancers and musicians, and make friends with Ge Congzhou. Unexpectedly, he had no intention of doing so and asked directly.
"It's all ready. Every time Prince Dongping goes out, I will try my best to provide him with wages and weapons." Zhang Quanyi felt a little uneasy in his heart. This was not the rhythm of interaction he was accustomed to.
"How many cavalry are there in Luoyang?"
"There are still more than a thousand people, and there are hundreds more in the south..."
"That's enough." Ge Congzhou interrupted him directly and said: "Immediately prepare food, water and a place to rest. Let my subordinates have a full meal and a short nap. It is not too late to have a banquet after defeating the enemy."
"Yes." Zhang Quanyi responded, and then called several people and asked them to go down and make arrangements as soon as possible.
"Gather the infantry immediately. I want to take a look. At this time, if you are still huddled in Luoyang, do you know how to fight?" Ge Congzhou ordered again.
Zhang Quanyi's face turned red and white.
Ge Congzhou was not born in the same school as General Rang Pianpi, and his status was even lower than that of Zhu Chongjie, Zhu Youyu and others. When he entered Guanzhong with King Huang, these people might not be able to squeeze in front of him and let him remember
his name.
Alas, this moment and that moment, what can I say?
"There are more than 6,000 government officers and 3,000 state soldiers in the city, but they all need to be assembled in formation?" Zhang Quanyi corrected his attitude and asked.
Since we don't have the confidence to deal with Shuofang's army, it's better to leave this burden to someone who has confidence.
"I heard that Zhang Shuai has trained many field soldiers, and the names of the eighteen field generals are known far and near. How many field soldiers are there in Luoyang?"
"More than ten thousand people."
"Give me your equipment and pull it out for me to see."
"Follow your orders." Zhang Quanyi, who was a respected military envoy, saluted Ge Congzhou, who was no more than a government officer.
There was no smile on Ge Congzhou's face. He nodded and went out directly.