Chapter 219: Expedition

On May 21, the third year of Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin ordered a crusade against the Turks on the grounds that the Turks had already been listed and had reinstated the Liang Division. Li Jing was appointed as the chief of the march, under the jurisdiction of the three marching chiefs and the soldiers and horses of all parts of the northern border, coordinating the overall situation, and being responsible for the war against the Turks.

On May 22, the Tang generals who participated in the war took the fish talisman issued by Li Shimin and the documents of the military department, left Chang'an with their own soldiers, and went to Guanzhong and Hedong Zhuzhichong to collect government soldiers.

According to Li Jing's order, the generals must arrive before the 10th day of June to lead the troops to the designated places, mainly Yunzhou and Shuoxian.

And Zhang Yunwen did not set off with these generals, he was in charge of this battalion and a military academy, and the two sides combined were almost 10,000 horses. Zhang Yunwen took 2,500 non-commissioned officers of the reconnaissance battalion, more than 400 artillery pieces, and 1,000 heavy soldiers, and on May 28, he also set out from Chongxuanmen in the north of Chang'an and headed north.

The 4,000-strong contingent consisted mostly of cavalry, with the reconnaissance battalion in the front, the artillery in the middle, and the baggage men driving the carts drawn by mules and horses to follow slowly at the back of the group.

Looking back at Chang'an, Zhang Yunwen suddenly had an inexplicable feeling in his heart. Thinking of the lingering with the two wives last night, it seems that their resentful eyes appeared in front of me again.

Shaking his head, he threw out some emotions that should not have been in his mind at this time, and looked at the soldiers who came and went beside him, and his eyes suddenly became sharp.

"Brothers, work hard to reach Shuo County as soon as possible!" Zhang Yunwen yelled at the crowd, and a response immediately sounded below.

Zhang Yunwen walked at the front of the team with his own soldiers, and Li Yang and several other middle-level officials followed him. There were also officers who kept shuttling in front and back of the line, checking on the team.

The march was a bit monotonous and boring. The cavalry was fine, at least there was a means of transportation, but the baggage soldiers walked on two legs and slowly fell behind. Zhang Yunwen was unwilling to abandon the baggage and lead the cavalry to advance first, so the marching speed was not fast.

"Brothers, let's sing a song!" As soon as Zhang Yunwen's words fell, the soldiers immediately responded.

"One-two-three-four, one-two-three......-four" starts with the reconnaissance battalion and then to the artillery, and the song gradually sounds. And those baggage soldiers are the soldiers of Zhichong Mansion, and they have not learned this song, so they have to prick up their ears to listen to the soldiers in front of them singing loudly, but as this passionate melody sounds, they only feel that their bodies are full of energy, and every step they take seems to be more powerful.

After a day's drive along the official road, Zhang Yunwen estimated that he had walked at least a hundred miles, and finally set up camp by a stream. At noon, I only nibbled on two fried flatbreads, drank two sips of water, and barely filled my stomach. Immediately after stationing at the edge of the stream, there were reconnaissance battalion soldiers who were swinging in the nearby woods with steel crossbows in their hands, fishing in the stream. Seeing this situation, Zhang Yunwen did not stop it, and let the soldiers toss.

So, in addition to the jerky they brought with them for dinner, there was also fresh broth and fish soup.

In this way, they marched during the day and camped at night, and walked for nearly ten days, and finally reached the outside of Shuozhou. At this time, there were already tents outside Shuozhou, and there were as many as 30,000 troops arriving one after another. After taking a few officers around, Zhang Yunwen finally found a place to camp on a slope.

When it comes to camping, the location of the slope here is not good, not only is it far from the water source, but also the slope is steep, which is very inconvenient. However, the entire city outside Shuozhou was already full of troops, and it was difficult to find a suitable place anymore.

Ordering Li Yang and Zhang Liang's righteous son Zhang Chao to arrange the camp, Zhang Yunwen took two of his own soldiers to the city of Shuozhou to meet Li Jing, the chief of the march.

At this time, the city of Shuozhou was completely under military control. On the top of the city, sergeants with swords hanging from their waists and holding long lances can be seen patrolling back and forth. On the street, I also saw teams of sturdy soldiers shuttling back and forth, dividing the entire Shuozhou City into blocks, and people in the area were not allowed to interact with each other. A curfew is in place from the moment the sun goes down, and no non-military personnel are allowed to be on the streets, otherwise they will be killed.

showed the waist card and military order, and Zhang Yunwen smoothly entered Shuozhou City. After inquiring about Li Jing's big tent from the patrolling soldiers, he quickly came to Li Jing's big tent.

The so-called big tent is just the name of the headquarters, which is located in a large compound with three entrances and three exits. The dilapidated and mottled walls and dilapidated gates look so inconspicuous.

Entering the courtyard, I saw Li Jing in the hall.

At this time, Li Jing was looking at the map on the wall with his hands behind his back, without saying a word. Several other generals stood behind him, glaring at each other depressedly.

Seeing this, Zhang Yunwen couldn't help coughing lightly.

Li Jing turned around, saw Zhang Yunwen, nodded expressionlessly, motioned for him to sit down casually, and then turned around to look at the map. At this time, Zhang Yunwen finally felt why those generals were depressed.

Picking up the tea, he really wanted to take two sips, but suddenly remembered that this tea might have been drunk by other people, put down the tea bowl again, and looked at the generals opposite. These generals Zhang Yunwen are not familiar with them, and they must be military generals who have been stationed in the local area all year round. Because he was not familiar with it, Zhang Yunwen did not come forward to talk to them.

After waiting for a while, Li Jing turned around, sat on a stool, and said to the generals present: "Hehe, let you wait for a long time!" It's the old man's, isn't it! ”

All the generals clasped their fists at the same time and said: "The last general will not dare!" ”

Li Jing smiled, and then changed the topic and said: "You have just arrived in Shuozhou in the past few days, if you have anything and don't understand, now just tell the old man!" The old man will answer your questions! ”

The generals glanced at each other, and one of them stood up and said, "The last general, may I ask the general, has our army been assembled?" When can there be a big war with the Turks? ”

Li Jing stroked his beard and said, "As soon as Yunwen arrived just now, the army had already been assembled. As for when to fight against the Turks, the old man will inform you when the time comes! ”

Hearing this answer, several generals, you look at me, I look at you, and they are speechless for a moment.

Seeing this, Li Jing didn't speak, picked up a cup of tea, and drank it slowly.

Zhang Yunwen saw that the cup of tea was the one he wanted to drink just now, and he was immediately glad that he didn't drink it.

Seeing Li Jing's appearance, several generals got up at the same time and said, "General, since there is nothing else to do, then a few generals will retire first!" ”

After those people left the hall, Zhang Yunwen coughed, and then said: "General, the last general has arrived today, I don't know what the general commands?" ”

Li Jing put down the teacup and said with a smile: "The old man doesn't have any orders!" However, since the reconnaissance battalion and artillery have arrived, according to Yunwen's original suggestion, the reconnaissance battalion will be divided first, and then the artillery will be directly placed under the jurisdiction of the old man! What does Yunwen think? ”

Zhang Yunwen suddenly felt a burst of sadness, as if he was a general who was specifically responsible for transporting troops. Even so, he said, "But by the general's arrangement!" ”

Seeing Zhang Yunwen's slightly aggrieved expression, Li Jing couldn't help laughing twice, got up and stood in front of the map, and said to Zhang Yunwen: "Yunwen, you once said that you want to go straight to the Turkic Tooth Tent with a small number of elite troops, and you come over to take a look, from the side of the Turkic Tooth Tent on Shuozhou Road, you can't bypass a Dingxiang City, and you can tell me, how do you go to attack the Turkic Tooth Tent?" ”

Zhang Yunwen looked at the huge map, which depicted the mountains, rivers, plains, and towns in the northern part of Hedong Province all the way to the vast area of Mobei, with simple icons. And between Shuozhou and the Turkic tent, Dingxiang City lies in between.

Suddenly, Zhang Yunwen's eyes focused on Dingxiang City.

At this time, the city of Dingxiang was occupied by the Turks, and more than 20,000 defenders were stationed. Dingxiang City is located in the northwest of Shuozhou, guarding the Yanmen Pass, the gateway to the east of the river, and was originally the city of the Great Sui. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Turkic Jieli Khan took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to lead his troops to attack Dingxiang City and move his tent to the northwest of Dingxiang City.

If you want to attack the Turkic tent, you must uproot Dingxiang City. This is the conclusion that Zhang Yunwen came to after looking at the map.

"It seems that Yunwen already has a plan!" Looking at Zhang Yunwen's expression, Li Jing said with a smile.

Zhang Yunwen was silent for a moment, but shook his head: "Unless you capture Dingxiang City, there is no way to surprise the Turkic Tooth Tent!" ”

Li Jing nodded: "So, the old man is ready to capture Dingxiang City in the next three months!" ”

When Zhang Yunwen heard this, he immediately clenched his fists and said: "The last general is willing to rely on the general's arrangement!" ”

Li Jing said with a smile: "I can't say anything about the arrangement, it's just a matter of practicing every day and waiting for the opportunity!" ”

Zhang Yunwen suddenly said: "What chance?" ”

"Take the opportunity of the Evil Yang Ridge!"

Evil Yang Ridge is located in the south of Dingxiang City, standing on the ridge, you can see Dingxiang City in the distance. If the Evil Yang Ridge is taken, then the Xiangcheng is only in the morning and evening. However, there are more than 10,000 troops stationed on the Evil Sun Ridge, and by virtue of the terrain and the danger, they can block several times the enemy.

After listening to Li Jing's words, Zhang Yunwen suddenly knew that he had a plan in his heart, so he no longer spoke, but nodded heavily.

"By the way, Yunwen, although the artillery has arrived, it's better for you to take care of it first! The old man is still inexperienced in the use of this kind of artillery, if Yunwen has time, he can come over and give him some guidance! Li Jing looked at Zhang Yunwen and told the truth.

Zhang Yunwen hurriedly said: "The general is polite!" What is pointing and not pointing, everyone is learning from each other and making progress together! ”

"Huh!" Li Jing smiled very kindly, looking at Zhang Yunwen's gaze, full of approval.

So, Zhang Yunwen gave Li Jing the first lesson on the spot - the role of artillery.

"The role of artillery is mainly reflected in the following three aspects: First, it kills and injures the enemy's living forces in large numbers and collapses the enemy's fortifications. Second, the loud explosions and flames produced by the artillery can chill the enemy and demoralize them. Third, artillery can provide means of fire blockade and fire suppression to cover our cavalry infantry. ”

Zhang Yunwen explained slowly and in detail over there, Li Jing nodded from time to time, looking at Zhang Yunwen's gaze more and more approvingly.

"In fact, artillery has little effect in cavalry duels! The cavalry charges, breathing can reach, and when the time comes, it is the cavalry foot soldiers who will decide the victory! After explaining the role of artillery, Zhang Yunwen explained the use of artillery in combination with the characteristics of the Turks.

Unconsciously, Zhang Yunwen had been explaining for an hour, and seeing that the sun was about to set, he couldn't finish his words, waved to Li Jing, and left.

Only Li Jing stared at the map in a daze, as if recalling what Zhang Yunwen explained.