p

I have to say that Tuoba Jue was quite right to adopt the strategy of delay, because Houyan was indeed on the verge of the end of the road.

Due to the rapid deterioration of the situation recently, the pressure on his shoulders has also increased, and he has entered the grade again, Murong Chui, who has always been known as the Houyan Optimus Pillar Stone, finally can't stand it anymore.

It was only because they were worried that the morale of the people of Houyan would be severely damaged, and Houyan tightly sealed the news, so the outside world has not yet learned the slightest.

With Emperor Yan contracting the disease, and the crown prince Murong Bao losing his prestige due to the defeat of Yi Shui, there was a turmoil in Houyan for a while.

Around the right to inherit the throne, King Murong Lin of Zhao and Prince Murong Bao are already incompatible.

In addition, the failure of the Western Expedition, the defeat of Yishui, the failure of the Southern Expedition, etc., in less than a year, Houyan has been hit hard, and has not yet come out of the shadow of failure.

Objectively speaking, although Murong Chui's southern expedition gained a large amount of territory, because of his poor governance, not only did not significantly improve the strength of Houyan, but because of the defeat of Youzhou, the difference in strength between Wei and Yan was further widened.

Now because of Murong Dying's illness, the various contradictions hidden behind the Houyan court have slowly become prominent.

And the crown prince Murong Bao can't use his ability and prestige to eliminate these contradictions like Murong Chui.

In short, Houyan, once the first power in the north, has declined, and its status has gradually been replaced by the Northern Wei Dynasty and Hexi.

However, Murong Chui obviously did not want to watch the destruction of the empire he had built, so during his recuperation, he appointed Murong De, the king of Fanyang, as the military governor of Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Jingzhou, and Yuzhou.

With Murong Nong, the king of Liaoxi, as the governor of Pingzhou, Yongzhou, Yizhou, Liangzhou, Qinzhou, and Liangzhou, the military of the six states, Pingzhou pastor, and the town guarded Longcheng.

Murong Chui sent the two most capable clans to Yecheng and Longcheng respectively, precisely to defend Hexi and Northern Wei.

At the same time, Murong Chui felt that his time was running out, and secretly made up his mind that as long as his health improved, he would personally conquer the Northern Wei Dynasty and prepare to destroy the Northern Wei Dynasty in his lifetime.

……

When the situation in various parts of the north was changing, Wang Maide led the cavalry north along the weak water to Juyanze.

After leaving Guzang, the army marched all the way to the northwest along the east-west artery, and after arriving in Zhangye, it was divided into two.

As a suspicious soldier, Duan Ye continued to advance westward with great fanfare, and his destination was Yumen Pass; And Wang Maide quickly went north in concealment.

The east-west artery was built after Hexi recovered Liangzhou, starting from Guzang, extending westward to Yancheng, and crossing the entire Hexi Corridor and half of the Western Regions in the middle.

The construction of this cement straight road was huge, and it took several years until the year before last to complete the construction of the main road.

Moreover, with the recovery of Qinzhou in Longyou, the main road was extended eastward to Shangqi, so that the project was postponed again.

With this cement straight road, starting from Guzang, it only takes half a month to reach the Western Regions, which is very convenient and fast.

The army went up the straight, as if on a broad road, galloping all the way.

While riding a horse, Wang Maide secretly looked at the cement straight road with a good reputation in the northwest, and the more he looked at it, the more shocked he became.

If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you wouldn't have believed that powder-like cement could build such a strong and durable road.

The whole cement straight road is solid, smooth and smooth, and the cars and horses will not feel the slightest bump when driving on it.

And the road is wide enough to drive several horse-drawn carriages, and it is not crowded.

Along the way, one carriage after another galloped by, carrying people and pulling goods, regardless of the facts.

It is like a carp crossing the river, coming and going, and there are countless of them.

The Hexi Corridor was originally an important part of the Silk Road, but now with the cement straightway, it is like a tiger with wings, and the exotic goods from all over the world will run from east to west through this straight road.

As the initiator and implementer of cavalry roundabout tactics, Wang Maide felt a lot of pressure.

I hope to become famous like the champion Hou Huo, but I am worried about repeating the mistakes of Li Ling.

At that time, Li Ling went north from Juyanze, and was besieged by the Hun cavalry near Junji Mountain, and finally surrendered.

However, Wang Maide knew that this trip was dangerous, but he still had the courage to take on the heavy responsibility, and he was full of confidence in the Hexi Iron Cavalry.

Due to the conquest of Shuofang and Longyou in Hexi, it not only has a war horse production area, but also has an excellent cavalry source.

The Qianghu people, the Huns, the Xianbei people, the Di people, and the Qiang people have long become the most important part of the Hexi cavalry.

The riders of the Zhuhu tribe are not only superb in riding and archery, but also have superb survival ability and endurance on the grassland.

In addition, Hexi is not blind to the north of Juyanze, and the scouts will soon find out the situation for hundreds of miles.

It is reported that north of Juyanze, after passing the Bahan Mountain, it is considered to have officially entered the territory of Rouran.

To the north of the Bahan Mountain, with Junji Mountain as the center, to the north deep into the Tuyuan Water (now Tuyin River) and Lishuiyuan (now Wengjin River), a radius of hundreds of miles is full of Rouran, Gaoche tribe pastures, a total of more than 100,000 people such as Rouran, Gaoche and so on.

If you continue to the north, it is the land of the five rivers, and it is also the territory of the Rouran headquarters, where there are more than 300,000 members of the Rouran headquarters.

Wang Maide's purpose was very clear, the army first went north to sweep the north of the Bahan Mountain and the south of the Junji Mountain, in order to solve the problem of logistics and supply of the army.

Then it rushed westward and entered the grassland between Jinshan and East Tianshan (now Santanghu Basin).

……

The army continued to move north, and suddenly a huge mirror appeared in front of it, and it was the beautiful Ju Yanze.

I saw that the surface of the lake was sparkling, the sky and water were the same color, the vast and mighty, and the weather was thousands, reflecting the vicissitudes of the weak water quicksand for thousands of years.

Crossing Juyanze and boarding Juyansai, Wang Maide looked at it, and the lake scene was in full view, and he couldn't help but have a big heart.

Juyansai, is the Western Han Dynasty Emperor Wu Emperor Lu Bode along the weak water (now Heihe) to build, from the northeast to the southwest distribution, the total length of hundreds of miles.

Due to the centuries that have passed, most of them have been flooded or blown away by windblown sand.

After Wei Shuo entered the west of the river, he spent a lot of manpower and material resources to renovate the fortress.

At present, there are a total of 170 cities, barriers, plugs, tunnels, etc., along the weak water coast and in the oasis, including 16 city barriers and more than 150 beacons.

Each building is built according to local conditions, some are built with earthen slabs, some are built with adobe, and some are built with stone or cement.

At present, Juyansai has become an important frontier fortress in the northwest of Hexi, shouldering the heavy burden of blocking the southward movement of Mobei Hulu and protecting the safety of Zhangye and Dunhuang.

"Governor, what do you want?" Frustrated Nancheng, who was next to Wang Maide, asked softly.

"It's nothing, the first time the governor of Pontus saw the scenery of Juyanze, it felt very magical."

"Hahaha, if the governor joins Hexi earlier, he will still have the opportunity to participate in the Juyanze drill a few years ago."

"That year, most of the guards led tens of thousands of horses to gather in Yanze, practice formations, and test the training results of the army, not to mention how lively it was."

Listening to the introduction of Ju Yanze's military drill scene by Fuqu Nancheng, Wang Maide couldn't help but show a hint of fascination, and now there are few such opportunities.

Since this was the last supply point for the army, Wang Maide ordered to rest and recuperate in Juyansai before heading north.

During the recuperation period, Wang Maide seized the time to discuss the military situation with Fuqu Nancheng, the bald Wei Tan, and Qi Ganali and others.

"Rouran is a grassland tribe that likes to live by water, but has always had no fixed place."

"Right now, the governor of Pontus is most worried that after the army goes north, he won't be able to find the Rouran tribe."

"At that time, the army will be short of food and grass, not to mention attacking Hami from afar, I am afraid that it will be difficult to protect itself."

After speaking, Wang Maide looked up at the north, his eyes full of worry.

Frustrated Nancheng comforted: "The governor is too worried, it shouldn't be!" ”

"This time, Rouran concentrated his forces to the west, as one of the important pastures, shouldn't the herdsmen north of the Bahan Mountain provide cattle, sheep and livestock for the Rouran Khan?!"

"I hope so!"

Many people say that nomads don't need supplies to fight wars, but this is not entirely true.

Nomads rely on logistics to fight wars, but their logistical supplies are very special - a group of herders who move with the army.

During the war, these herders herded their cattle while moving with the army, and the livestock they raised provided food and grass for the army.

As Fuqu Nancheng said, the rich pastures north of the Bahan Mountain and the north and south of the Junji Mountain are likely to be the location of the Rouran army.

It was there that the first target of Wang Maide's attack was there, and he was anxiously awaiting the return of the scouts.

Early the next morning, the scout finally sent Wang Maide back the military information he wanted.

He immediately made a decision and ordered the army to set off, all the way north, to the southern foot of the Bahan Mountain.