"No matter what, in order to prevent the Western thieves from getting the news and being on guard, we still have to send troops as soon as possible." After thinking for a long time, Gu Tingye said:
"The army can be divided into two groups, one to capture Hehuang and the other to march toward Hengshan. Which one will be the main force and which one will be the auxiliary depends on whether the journey to Hengshan goes smoothly."
Gu Tingye's hidden meaning is very obvious, that is, if there is a chance to capture Hengshan, the army along Hengshan will be the main force.
If the war does not go well, the main task is to occupy Hehuang.
There is nothing wrong with trying to decide whether Xixia can be decided in one battle.
The strength on paper is good, but no one will be willing to give it a try.
Sending troops in two directions can also play a role in containing the enemy's forces.
"It's okay. Zhong Huai, this battle is related to the fate of the country of the Great Zhou Dynasty. After entering the battlefield, please be cautious and don't rush forward greedy for success." Sheng Changbai persuaded as usual, but he was still too impressed by Gu Tingye's reckless man.
rest assured.
Sheng Changbai could think of the reason for Dazhou's failure, and it was only possible if Xixia lured the enemy deeper, stretched Dazhou's supply line, and cut off food supplies.
So I told you again and again.
"In my province, countless people have told me before and after the expedition." Gu Tingye replied seriously.
He is also in his thirties, which is considered middle-aged at this time, but he still looks more stable than before.
"That's it, I won't say any more. Go back to Qinzhou and make preparations to set off with the army attacking Hehuang."
Gu Tingye himself gained the emperor's trust and directly became the commander-in-chief of the army without any constraints from civil servants.
The emperor just routinely sent eunuchs from the palace to accompany the army as supervisors.
Because Gu Tingye was more trusted by the emperor than the eunuch, it was impossible for the eunuch to control Gu Tingye.
This supervisory army was to accompany the army to record the battle situation and report the battle situation to the emperor. It was obviously impossible to interfere with the army's actions.
However, other armies in the northwest, as well as generals such as generals and generals, cannot receive this kind of treatment.
Not only must they obey the orders of civil servants, but they must also accept the interference of eunuchs.
As the magistrate of Qinzhou, Sheng Changbai had to march with the general who was stationed in Qinzhou and the deputy commander of troops and horses on Qinfeng Road.
"Zecheng, are you willing to come with me? I can transfer you to the Chinese army to follow orders?"
In the entire northwest region, Gu Tingye, the Xuanfu envoy, now has the greatest power.
It is indeed not a big problem to transfer Sheng Changbai to the Chinese Army.
"Which way are you going to march on, a handsome man?"
"No matter what, Hehuang can only be regarded as a partial force along the way, and not many people will be dispatched. Of course, I will still follow the army into Hengshan."
In fact, the Hehuang area is much easier to conquer than Hengshan. The defensive force is not that strong, so of course it does not require too many soldiers and horses to attack.
"Then I'd better follow Qinzhou's soldiers and horses into Hehuang. If possible, you can take care of my eldest brother-in-law and Chang Wu for me."
Sheng Changbai still followed his own wishes and regained Hehuang.
In the three years that Sheng Changbai spent in Qinzhou, what he knew most about was the Hehuang area near Qinzhou, and he put a lot of effort into research.
Whether it is the terrain, the number of defenders, or the generals leading the troops, they can all be understood.
Various reasons dictated that it would be more suitable for Sheng Changbai to attack Hehuang's group.
"Don't worry, Yuan Erlang is also an old friend of my family, and Sheng Changwu is your cousin. I know it and am somewhat familiar with it. I won't let them fall into a dangerous place and carry out too dangerous actions." Gu Tingye promised.
With the guarantee of the commander-in-chief Gu Tingye, at least Sheng Changbai can rest assured.
The commanders where these two are located will not carry out missions that involve death.
Yuan Wenshao and Sheng Changwu also went to the battlefield this time.
This time the emperor was not just putting on a show, he was really going to fight the Xixia soldiers.
Sheng Changbai could not stop the two people from wanting to make great achievements.
I can only ask Gu Tingye to take care of her a little bit.
"That's enough. It's the first time for both of them to go to the battlefield. It's better to survive first, adapt to the battlefield, and then think about making achievements."
It's not like Sheng Changbai's own family can't go to the battlefield.
I just want to try to give the two of us time to adapt.
In the future, there will be many battles to fight in the Great Zhou Dynasty. If two people want to make great achievements and honor their ancestors, they have plenty of time.
"Zecheng, do you have the confidence to lead a group of soldiers and horses alone to attack Hehuang?" Gu Tingye suddenly changed the subject.
"Of course, I can't stay in Qinzhou for three years in vain. I have been thinking about how to open a border in Qinzhou all day long. Occupying the Hehuang area is like searching for something." Sheng Changbai said confidently.
At first, Sheng Changbai had no idea of leading the group by himself.
Because Sheng Changbai's qualifications are still somewhat inferior.
But if the northwest Xuanfu envoy is Gu Tingye, Gu Tingye can decide the northwest affairs with one word.
It is within Gu Tingye's authority to send out a partial force.
Sheng Changbai personally led the troops to conquer Xia, which made it possible.
"Then you and Qinzhou Xiang are in charge of the deputy capital, lead Qinzhou troops and horses, and attack Hehuang from the west together." Gu Tingye said happily.
Gu Tingye is the person who knows Sheng Changbai's military capabilities best.
"A handsome man like you can't make jokes."
Regardless of whether Gu Tingye was nepotistic or whether he believed in Sheng Changbai, Sheng Changbai would just do this.
After all, there must be a civil servant who will lead the troops to conquer Hehuang.
Among civil servants, Sheng Changbai can be regarded as a person who knows military skills.
At least Sheng Changbai understands the overall situation and strategy. It's not a big problem that he has never led troops.
Xiang has been leading troops for many years, and he can be said to be a warrior on the battlefield. With the cooperation of Sheng Changbai, he is more than enough.
"There is no joke in the army."
"That's it. You, the Xuanfu envoy, have just arrived in the northwest. You have a lot to do and many people are waiting to see you. I also need to go back as soon as possible to make preparations, so I won't stay any longer."
After the matter was confirmed, Sheng Changbai needed to think a lot. He had no time to reminisce with Gu Tingye, so Sheng Changbai was anxious to go back.
"Then let's have a celebratory drink together after this battle is over," Gu Tingye replied.
After bidding farewell to Gu Tingye, Sheng Changbai returned to Qinzhou, except for mobilizing the troops and horses originally stationed in Qinzhou.
The chiefs of various tribes were also mobilized to dispatch troops and horses to help the Zhou Dynasty fight.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Each tribe mobilized hundreds or thousands of people, plus the soldiers originally hired by the Zhou Dynasty.
The total number of Fan soldiers who attacked Hehuang this time was one hundred thousand.
Although this number is very small, we need to bring along the logistics personnel driving cattle and sheep.
But the apparent number has exceeded the 50,000 troops stationed in Qinzhou by the Zhou Imperial Army and Xijun Xiangyong combined.
Mobilizing these fan states is actually not difficult, just release the trade rights between the fan states and the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Of course, Dazhou could trade some ordinary luxuries with Fanbang casually, and Fanbang could have as much as he wanted.
However, it was impossible for the Zhou Dynasty to trade strategic materials such as salt, tea, wine, and iron with foreign countries casually.
These supplies were a powerful weapon for Zhou to win over other countries.
Tea, in particular, is a necessity for these countries that rely on animal husbandry for their livelihood.
The transaction volume of these supplies can be used as a bargaining chip for Zhou to win over the Fan soldiers.
These foreign states were actually considered attached to the Great Zhou Dynasty, and they had the obligation to assist the Great Zhou Dynasty in sending troops.
Three days later, Gu Tingye's military order was sent to Qinzhou. After bidding farewell to his wife and children, Sheng Changbai began to march towards Hehuang.
Troops were sent from the ancient Wei Village on the border of Qinzhou, passed by Weiyuan Fort, and continued north to Linzhou. After Linzhou, they reached Lanzhou. Lanzhou was under the control of Xixia during this period.
After half a month's march, Sheng Changbai's Qinzhou troops arrived at Wahuichuan, the border of Xixia.
Sparing such a large circle, they did not directly attack Huizhou, which is adjacent to Qinzhou in Xixia.
Of course, we still have to think of surprises and attack its weaknesses.
Although after the founding of Xixia, it had always taken the initiative in the war against the Great Zhou Dynasty.
But after all, Xixia relied on the Liao Kingdom to be so arrogant.
He has some self-awareness and understands that his national power is not as good as that of the Great Zhou, and he has always been on guard against the Great Zhou.
Many defensive measures, passes, cities, and forts were also built on the border.
Compared with Huizhou, which is close to Qinzhou, and Lanzhou, which is obviously behind Xixia, the defense force will be weak and much lax.
If you can attack Lanzhou in a detour, there is no need to attack Huizhou, which has strong defenses.
Although Lanzhou also has defense facilities, the main ones are some early warning beacon towers.
"Commander Sheng, do you want to attack Wahuichuan?"
I asked the deputy governor, what is the current situation in Dazhou?
The generals responsible for leading the troops have no decision-making power, it is the civil servants who have the final say.
For the old Zhao family, as long as the generals are obedient, they have no responsibility even if they lose the battle.
If you disobey, you will be guilty even if you have won the victory and defeated the enemy.
The old Zhao family doesn't need military commanders who don't listen to them. What they fear most is that the military commanders will do the same thing as their ancestors.
As you can tell from the name, Wahuichuan is a market, located at the junction of Xixia and Tubo. It is the market where Xixia and Tubo trade.
It took a long time to build and was quite prosperous.
It was already considered a fortified city. When I asked the Deputy Governor, it was obvious that he wanted to give up the attack and go around.
Although there is no possibility for these small towns to be "strong" in the face of hundreds of thousands of troops.
But it will take several days no matter what, so the troops are very quick.
The Zhou Dynasty used troops on a large scale and could not hide Xixia's detailed operations. Taking advantage of the fact that Xixia's troop mobilization had not been completed, it was better to attack Jincheng, the seat of Lanzhou.
There is no need for the army to attack Wahuichuan.
"No need, leaving enemy soldiers behind is always a hidden danger. I will spend the night in the city tonight," Sheng Changbai said.
"Liu Tao, roll out the cannons I made. It's time to verify them in actual combat."
There are still some achievements in climbing the technology tree. The most important thing is that the ratio of gunpowder is really not difficult for Sheng Changbai.
Although cannons still have many problems, such as being difficult to cast and easy to explode.
But it can be used reluctantly, fire a few cannons, and open up a small city. It's not a big problem.
"Boom, boom, boom." The city gate burst open in response.
"Go into the city and kill the thieves!"
This battle actually didn't last long, and it was just a small town.
After blasting open the city gate, the war entered the easy difficulty level.
There are only a thousand Xixia soldiers stationed in the city, and a thousand additional soldiers are not enough to appetize the hundreds of thousands of troops.
The party members of Xixia, including the old, weak, women and children, have a total population of only three million.
Therefore, a large part of Xixia's army were Fan soldiers.
When Xixia and Da Zhou fought, it was probably the Fan soldiers who died the most every time. This was a very realistic thing.
"The valuables, gold, silver and horses will be taken away by our army, and other people and materials will be rewarded to those soldiers."
After the city was broken, it was very simple to dispose of it. All supplies, people, and all kinds of useful things were looted.
Fan Bing dragged his family and brought so many logistics personnel here, just enough to accept these tedious things.
Just leave the city behind. There is no time to manage it now. Sheng Changbai led his army and rushed directly to Jincheng, the seat of Lanzhou.
Although Jincheng, as the administrative seat of Lanzhou, is a state city, it is much stronger than a small city.
But Sheng Changbai still took advantage of the night and used gunpowder to blow down the city wall of Lanzhou.
The more than 20,000 defenders in the city became a shining military achievement in the eyes of the hundreds of thousands of armies of Zhou Dynasty and Fan State.
The Xixia soldiers were skilled in bows and horses and had excellent weapons, but they had no advantage at all when fighting in the city.
Since the population was large, Zhou Dynasty would use several times more people to besiege.
"Commander Sheng, what a great victory. If we capture Jincheng, we can capture the entire territory of Lanzhou. This is the achievement of opening up territory and expanding the territory."
In the City Lord's Mansion in Jincheng, Deputy Governor Xiang exclaimed, "Following Sheng Changbai, Deputy Governor Xiang went through a simple dungeon this time."
Sheng Changbai had the greatest credit, but Xiang Fudu, the highest military officer, would obviously also get a large share of the credit.
The land of a state is not large, but for the Zhou Dynasty, which has not expanded its territory in the north for decades, it has great political significance, and the rewards will be very generous without even thinking about it.
"It's not yet an expansion of territory. We just occupied Jinzhou City. Xixia has sent troops from Hebei and Huizhou to support Lanzhou. Only if we can defend Lanzhou can we be considered an expansion of territory."
It was just too early to say that they had broken through the Lanzhou administrative center and expanded the territory. Sheng Changbai still remained calm.
"If you can't defend Lanzhou with this, please behead someone." He promised to the deputy governor.
"It's not enough to just defend Lanzhou. At least we have to defeat the enemy troops coming to help from Huizhou. We can take advantage of the situation to take back Huizhou."
After conquering Jincheng, Sheng Changbai finally completed a phase of his mission.
You can wait in Jincheng and wait for the soldiers and horses from Huizhou to arrive.
Relying on the city to fight Xixia reinforcements, even a broken city is enough to prevent the Xixia cavalry from taking advantage of their mobility.
The military affairs were handed over to Vice-Capital Xiang, and Sheng Changbai reported his merits to the court to Gu Tingye.
On the other hand, he began to exert his political abilities.
Winning over the foreign countries in Lanzhou, although most of these foreign countries are not well-fed.
But these people do fear power rather than morality. As long as Dazhou can ensure a strong national power, these people are also very good followers and thugs.
The most important thing is that these people are now Xixia's younger brothers, and winning over these people is a matter of trade-offs.
Although these people will not fight to the death for Xixia due to various reasons such as equipment, people's hearts, and interests, their combat power is average and it is not difficult to attack.
But using political means to win over these people is undoubtedly the most economical way.
Even Sheng Changbai, a party member of Xixia, was also trying to instigate rebellion.
After all, not all Xixia people are satisfied with the rule of the Li family.
The political systems of Xixia and Liao were similar, and they were political powers established by nomadic peoples.
It can still be said that it is a union of tribes. There are always some tribes that will be suppressed and squeezed.