Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Burning of the Great River (II)

In a good mood, Salem turned his head and ordered someone to push a large number of trebuchets out.

This is a thorn in the eye, if you don't dial it out for a day, you won't be sure of it for a day.

Big rocks fell from the sky. But he was disappointed in the results. During the construction of the fortifications, Li Wei personally supervised it, and almost turned Guaegg Mountain into a huge air-raid shelter. At least it can meet the standards of the First World War in the future.

The special topography of Guaegg Mountain also plays a role. The back is the Wuhu River, which ensures that it will not be attacked on its back and that it can provide enough fresh water resources. In March, the weather is still a little cool, otherwise you can take time to go down to the river to take a bath. The slope of the front is not large, but it is somewhat condescending.

About the Tang army was ready to launch an attack, only 10,000 people were stationed, otherwise it would be difficult to successfully conquer the original thousands of Tang troops here.

The stones fell, and the soldiers immediately took refuge in the grottoes of the trenches. Hardly any damage was inflicted on the Don Army. On the contrary, seeing that the big food had smashed for a while, Luo Wuquan was angry, and also pushed the trebuchet out, and stones fell down one by one. Anyway, there are stones on the mountain, and it won't be able to finish it in a year. At most, it takes some mining labor.

Under the slamming down, dozens of soldiers were unlucky, hit by stones, fell in pools of blood, and some trebuchets were also smashed. Let Salem's good mood disappear immediately.

shouted: "Close." ”

Withdraw and don't smash it. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Wait and see." ”

Once you control the Wuhu River, use ships to launch an attack, do not take water for the Tang army, and lose the water source in the rear, see how long you can hold out? In fact, this stalemate is very beneficial to Salem, and after another month, the winter wheat will ripen, and it will be harvested. Another strong wall clears, and the weather is hot again, which is beneficial to you. At that time, even if the Tang army did not cross the Wuhu River, he could cross the river and take the initiative to find fighters. At the moment, this style of play is not suitable for him, and it also makes him feel awkward. But it can only be boiled for a while.

His guards suddenly said, "Look, Lord Governor. ”

Following the direction of his finger, he pointed to the other side of the river. The Tang Dynasty army moved, boarded the ships one by one, and conducted drills. The Wuhu River is the largest river in Central Asia, but it is not the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and it is not even as wide as the Sindh River (Indus River).

got on the boat, and the ship moved as well. However, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty staggered on it, and it was obvious that as the intelligence said, they did not understand the nature of water, so they would have this reaction.

Salem, however, frowned.

The Wuhu River is not a sea, and although the rainy season will soon arrive upstream, the river will flow faster than before, but the water from the upstream is still very gentle. I can only say that I am a little more anxious than now. Although Tang Jun doesn't know how to be water-based, it won't take long to get used to this kind of water.

So an order was given to send a good water-based army to the farther ends, and then send some soldiers who could drive ships to accompany them, and to collect more ships to come over, and go directly to the battle.

It worked immediately.

A few days later, the two armies fought incessantly on the Wuhu River. The real Tang Dynasty people did not participate, all who participated were soldiers from the Hanzhong region. On the shore they chilled the big cannibals, and when they got to the water, they were still scared when they saw them. In the end, they all gradually forced to Xiangliudu. Ten days later, the third batch of 20,000 troops arrived, and there was another batch behind. The Tang Dynasty also had 10,000 soldiers arriving, but this became the last group of soldiers from the Tang Dynasty.

For the time being, there is a battle on the Wuhu River, and Li Wei has such a little person in his plan.

The disparity is not very large, 50,000 soldiers and 80,000 soldiers, in a big battle, it is difficult to tell who has the advantage and who has the disadvantage. The commanding skills, morale, combat effectiveness of the generals on both sides, or a fortuitous incident, can make up for this gap.

But the side with more people is always more confident.

At the urging of officials in the rear, nearly 100 more ships were built. The ship is not big, the large one can carry forty or fifty tons, and the small one can only carry a dozen tons. Coupled with the ships collected some time ago, the gap in numbers is bridged. Salem gave the order to launch an attack on the flotilla gathered at Xiangliudu.

However, he punched Mianhua. Seeing that the fleets on both sides were converging in the middle, the Tang Dynasty made a move and sailed all the ships to a small river next to it. The river is no more than a dozen meters wide, and it is very shallow, and the slightly larger ships sail into it, although it is empty, and they run aground from time to time. Or use the soldier as a slender man to forcibly drag inside.

In this case, if you don't dare to enter again, you will be sent to death if you enter. But Salem's goal was achieved, and the entire middle and lower reaches of the Wuhu River were all controlled by the big cannibals. The Tang Dynasty army of Guadanshan also became a lone army. This is used as a bridgehead, and there is no way to cross the Wuhu River again, can this 10,000 troops still endanger Henan?

That's it, Salem still doesn't let go. Let the ship cruise along the Wuhu River, and see that there are Tang troops coming down from Guazi Mountain to get water, shooting with bows and arrows. Forcibly take advantage of the water and cut off the water source on the mountain.

There was still water on the mountain, and seeing this situation, the Tang army filled the water bladder with water in advance and placed it in various trenches. You can't take a shower or do your laundry as you used to. But the water for consumption can last for a while.

But the situation has become very favorable for the Great Cannibal.

Guazi Mountain is such a large area, with 10,000 troops, more than 1,000 war horses, and a large number of weapons. People want to eat and drink, horses also want to eat and drink, how much space can there be to store grain and grass?

Li Wei didn't see it.

After a few more days of stalemate, the Empress Dowager An Guo arrived with some nobles.

Some time ago, when I heard the great victory of Guaegg Mountain, I raised my eyebrows and exhaled. But when they heard this, they were worried.

In order to gain the support of the Tang Dynasty, they sent soldiers and supplies to almost all countries this time. Of course, these were made for the sake of their protection from aggression. Then the expulsion of the Muslims. In fact, Islam and religion are very rejected, and the two religions are almost wherever they develop, and wars are fought. Unlike Taoism, Buddhism, or their Zoroastrianism, the doctrine is peaceful. But it can be regarded as completely offending the big cannibal.

Once the Tang Dynasty was defeated, the Tang Dynasty emperor could continue to be his Heavenly Khan when he returned. However, the Hanaka region is bound to usher in the mad revenge of the Great Cannibals. Anguo, in particular, bore the brunt.

The idea is somewhat extreme, but after all, they live in the cracks, so they fell to the Tang Dynasty, and they didn't dare to openly turn their faces with Da Shi. fell to the big food, and will continue to fight with the Tang Dynasty.

With questions and worries, I came to Xiangliudu.

When I saw Li Wei, I asked very tactfully: "Your Majesty, now that the Great Food has raised the Wuhu River, what should the soldiers on the south bank do?" ”

Li Wei looked at this old queen mother, and it was the second time he saw it. I want to laugh when I see it. Originally, life was very luxurious, and one shoe was worth 20,000 dill, but after being washed and plundered by the great eaters, they met twice, wearing only a cloth and linen clothes. What did you do earlier, if you use this wealth to raise soldiers, even if you lose, you won't lose so badly.

He asked lightly: "Do my soldiers have a strong fighting power of the soldiers?" ”

"How does the Great Cannibal compare to the Celestial Empire?"

"You don't have to brag about it, in the battle of Guaegg Mountain, I witnessed with my own eyes that my weapons are slightly better than those of the big cannibals. But purely in terms of combat effectiveness, the two are similar. But war is not one side that is strong in combat, and that side will win. ”

"Yes, yes."

"Since you're here, it's almost time for the fire, so take a look."

Let the group stay.

Then let the soldiers blow their horns. After the blow was finished, the Tang army on the other side of the river was also blowing the horn in response. Salem was in the barracks when he heard the sound of a horn and hurriedly ran out. But I saw that after the blowing, there was no movement on both sides of the strait, and I returned to the camp. He has a lot of business to deal with. The Tang Dynasty really launched an attack, and this time Persia also bombed the camp. News of rebellions came from time to time, and several of his brave generals had to fight fires everywhere. I also have to be distracted to think about the movements of this Tang army, which has exhausted him half to death these days.

Bear with me.

In less than a month, the harvest will be ready. The harvest is over, and the weather is hot. There are more than 200 large and small ships in his hands, which can carry 10,000 troops and cross the Wuhu River at one time. When the time comes, this Tang army will be cleaned up, and then turn back and slowly clean up this group of Diao people.

But the next day he received good news.

About the mountain drinking water gradually ran out, in the second half of yesterday night, some Tang troops desperately sneaked into the river and filled it with water bladders. Let the patrolling flotilla shoot arrows back.

"Okay!" Salem smacked the table.

If the group of Tang troops on the mountain is eliminated, then the battle situation will become more favorable to you.

Walked out and stared at the melon egg mountain. After a while, he actually saw a good scene. Through the fence, I saw two soldiers halfway up the mountain grabbing a shriveled water bag, and at the end of the grab, they raised their fists and fought with each other. After fighting for a while, the helmet fell off and the armor was messed up, and then an officer came over and stopped the two.

After watching the show, Salem ordered: "Dig a trench." ”

Dig the trench deep and widen it to prevent the 10,000 Tang army dogs from jumping over the wall.

Li Wei was also watching, and sighed after reading it: "I heard that Salem can fight well, but that's it." ”

Hearing a lot of news about the Great Eclipse, the four orthodox caliphs are all capable of fighting well, and Aviya is not simple. In addition, there are Khalid, Said, and Amur, who are no less famous than Li Ji, who are dazzling and support the sky of the powerful expansion of the Great Eclipse.

Either Ogbai is now on an expedition against the Berbers, and he is also a very rare famous general. Maybe there were other famous generals in the Great Food Army who weren't spotted by their scouts, but Salem wasn't.

This time he was a little mistaken, Salem was okay. It's just that the preparation is not sufficient, and even some time ago it was thought that the Don army was bluffing and would not attack Khorasan and Sestan at all, so it fell into disadvantage.

Moreover, he likes to be tough with the army, and he has never presided over the battle of the large corps, while Li Wei is soft in the use of troops, and under the influence of Pei Xingjian, he is good at using strategy, which just plays a role in restraint. And the people around Salem are limited in talent. Before Li Wei left from Luoyang, he made many arrangements with Pei Xingjian and Liu Renliang. When I arrived in Qinghai, I had a heart-to-heart talk with Hei Tooth Changzhi. Then he came to the Western Regions, and the people around him to discuss the marching plan were Li Jinxing, Wang Fangyi, and Guo Yuanzhen, who was gradually growing up, and other generals to make up for some omissions. There is also a serious gap.

As for Salem's own talent, it really can't be compared with Li Ji. It can't even be compared with Wang Fangyi, only comparable to Qi Mingming. But even if he has Wang Fangyi's skills, all kinds of innate deficiencies, such as preparation, such as the support of the people, such as the talents of his subordinates, such as the domestic situation, will inevitably fall into disadvantage.

So there's a big gap.

Either way, Salem is now really falling into the rhythm of Li Wei.

After saying that, he began to let the soldiers blow the horn again. This is to inform Luo Wu, ready to carry out the plan formulated.

Then the order was given to shrink the left and right armies to the center. Salem has noticed this, too, but no matter how much you try to toss, I'm as steady as Mount Tai on the South Bank. Can you grow wings and fly over? But he was also afraid of falling for the conspiracy, so he ordered all the ships swimming to concentrate on Xiangliudu, and sent people to monitor the movements of the Tang army day and night.

The next day, I saw that the Tang army was moving again.

One by one, the soldiers took off their armor, their robes, their weapons, and then they began to make rafts again with axes, saws, planers, and chisels in their hands. This made Salem feel very puzzled, did the Tang army still want to cross the river on a small raft?

I didn't have to fight, I hit it with a boat, and I knocked over these rafts. It's that what kind of lifebuoy do they have, they can't swim, and when they get into the river, what will happen? It is possible to send someone to stand on the ship and stab with a spear, and most of the soldiers of the Tang army crossing the river can be killed.

Very puzzled and curious, he stood on the shore and stared at the other side.

Tens of thousands of people participated in the construction, and the speed was very fast, and in a few moments you could see a small raft that took shape into shape. Not a small raft, this time it's a real little wooden boat. There are bow and stern ships, which are small and can only carry a dozen people. However, it is equipped with neat ears and oars.

With the start of the Tang army on the opposite bank, the Tang Dynasty army on Guaegg Mountain also echoed. Many people cut down the small trees on the hill and followed to make boats.

What was the Tang army going to do?

Or did they come from the rear with a soldier who was good at water, and who could steer boats?

Salem did not dare to be careless, and ordered all the ships to be concentrated in the area of Xiangliudu, always on alert, ready to attack at any time.

saw it, but the Tang troops on both sides continued to work hard as if they didn't see it. One day passed, two days passed, three days passed. One by one, small wooden boats were formed, and I don't know how many small wooden boats were made, and the open space behind the camp was filled, and it looked very spectacular. On the fifth day, a northeasterly wind blew that night. Most of the time the winds blow westerly in the lower Amu Darya region. However, due to the serious damage of water and soil, and the obstruction of high mountains in the east, the wind direction is very unstable, and sometimes even hurricanes.

In fact, it doesn't matter if it's north and south. But it needs to be windy, and the bigger the better.

Li Wei stood at the gate of the camp, looking at the sky, and the clouds in the sky made the wind blow and gallop. From time to time, dark clouds blow from the north, hiding the remnants of the sun that hangs in the west. said, "It's windy." ”

As before, the order was given early for the soldiers to rest.

Tang Jun got up early and went to bed early, which made Salem nervous at first. It was this abnormal early and early sleep that lost the melon egg mountain. But I'm used to it, and I'm used to it. Anyway, if you don't move, I won't move. Respond to change with the same. It's not the kind of inaction-type immobility, seeing the abnormal behavior of the Tang army, some scouts were sent to sneak into the Hezhong area to find out the intelligence. But the truth and falsehood made Salem feel very uncomfortable.

After resting for a while, it was time for the third watch. Let the northeast wind blow and blow some moisture, but the raindrops did not fall. It could only be said that it was a cloudy day, and the moon made the dark clouds fill the night. But the Tang Dynasty barracks suddenly became brightly lit, and all the soldiers climbed up. Not only did the Tang troops on the other side climb up, but the Tang troops on Guaegg Mountain also came out of the trenches in various places. Then Hebei sounded the horn. This understands, the Tang Dynasty army invented a slogan. As for what slogan, only the people of the Tang Dynasty could understand it, and they couldn't understand it.

Salem had no choice but to crawl out of his tent. I was a little confused in my head, could it be that the Tang Dynasty army wanted to take advantage of this dark night to smuggle across the Wuhu River? But you can't make such a big fuss. Or is it a bluff and another one in a few days? It's possible.

I didn't guess for a while, so I had to go out of the camp to watch.

With a torch, you can see it clearly even though the night is dark. The Tang Dynasty army came out of the barracks, launched trebuchets, lined up with crossbowmen, and aimed at the river. At the same time, looking from the side, the same is true of the Tang Army on Guaegg Mountain.

Next, the freshly built boats were pushed out by the soldiers. Salem was in a fog, could it be that the Tang Dynasty army really wanted to attack the Wuhu River, or forcibly cover the Tang army in Guaegg Mountain and withdraw to Hebei?

Not only was he confused, but the Empress Dowager Anzhong and a group of nobles stayed in the Tang camp every day, and they were all confused, and they got up one by one to watch.

Salem had no choice but to give the order, and the boats parked by the river set sail and cruised together in the middle of the river. At the same time, I gritted my teeth and thought, in a little while, the wheat will be harvested, so that you can see how good I am.

In fact, there was no need for him to order, the Tang army made such a big move, and almost all the big cannibals and Persians on the ship got up and got dressed and prepared. Ships left their anchorage in Henan and headed for the middle of the river. Suddenly the trumpet sounded again, and with the sound of the trumpet, the torches were extinguished almost simultaneously on both sides.

This visual gap made the big cannibal on the ship look black. It took me a while to get used to it, but I still couldn't see the shore clearly. Just then, a shout came from a ship: "Something." Something stopped the boat. ”

After shouting, the people on the boat brought the torch to the bow of the boat, and saw a thick iron cable in front of the bow gradually rising from the bottom of the river. Some of them had sharp eyes and shouted, "There are still ahead." ”

Looking ahead, not only this one, but also two iron cables in front of it, slowly rising from the bottom of the river. Three iron cables prevented the ship from sailing westward, and some felt bad and prepared to turn east. But the same shouts were heard from the east.

With the exception of a few ships, most of the ships were stopped by these six iron cables.

Listening to the shouts by the river, Salem also felt bad, and stood on the bank and shouted anxiously: "Cut it off." ”

The Wire Hengjiang River has appeared many times in Chinese history, not only on the Yangtze River, but also in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The Northern Wei Dynasty tied the captured warships with iron cables and tied them triple in an attempt to cut off the Yellow River channel. However, the Southern Song Dynasty general Yuan Hu commanded his subordinates to forcibly cut off the iron lock with a long axe, and escaped from the encirclement by going down the river. I've used a lot, but almost none of them have been successful.

Successful examples may not succeed in the Wuhu River, and failed examples may not succeed in the Wuhu River. The Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Wuhu River are two concepts, far wider than it, and the water flow is far more turbulent than it. Moreover, the situation of the war is different.

Li Wei thought of the weakness of his army, and this weakness would sooner or later be discovered by the big cannibals. So he thought hard about countermeasures, and read the history books in his mind, and turned over the example of the Second Northern Expedition of Yuanjia in the Southern Song Dynasty, which made him think of an idea. Many chains were shipped in advance. That night, he was on the melon egg mountain, and ordered the scouts to forcibly expel the people of Fang Chengcheng for several miles, so that no one could watch, precisely for today. Let the soldiers tie the chains together and form six iron cables, bury them, and cover them with earth. In fact, there is no need to cut, the steep rise and change, and it is at night, otherwise if you look closely, you can find the joints one by one, and if you untie the joints, the iron cable will be scattered into two, and the ship can no longer be stopped.

The iron cable only plays a temporary blocking role, and the real arrangement is in the back.

It happened that a group of craftsmen from Chang'an rushed to the Western Regions, and there was no gunpowder, and with gunpowder, it was impossible not to use it. However, the cost of transporting gunpowder from Chang'an was too high, so a group of craftsmen were transferred from China. For the sake of technical secrecy, they were placed in Broken Leaf City, and then found nitrate and sulfur from the river or the Western Regions to refine and make gunpowder on the spot.

Now a lot of saltpeter and sulfur are piled up in Broken Leaf City, mixed with supplies, and quietly transported to the Wuhu River. Most of them were placed in Beiying, and a few were transported to Guaegg Mountain that night. After the arrangement, I made all kinds of arrangements for this evening's operation.

Deliberately setting fire to the ships on the south coast, if the general is a fool, doing useless work. But no. In this way, he took the initiative to remind the big cannibal of this weakness. Next, they practiced on the river to give the big cannibal a sense of urgency. Then let the soldiers in the river be cannon fodder, and lead all the boats of Dashi to the vicinity of Xiangliudu step by step.

Guaegg Mountain then created some false images, including sneaking into the river at night to forcibly fetch water, and fighting over the water on the mountain. In fact, there is a lot of water stored on the mountain, but for fear that the performance will not be successful, the water is guarded and the soldiers are not let know that those fights and brawls are really fighting for water. After all, the soldiers in the Hanzhong region came from all over the world, and they were poorly disciplined and not united, and the situation was faintly not good.

Then the five armies merged into one army and made small wooden boats, which were used to set fires, but there was also a wonderful use, seeing that so many small wooden boats were made in their own army, in exchange for that general, they could only have two ideas, either forcibly cross the river by themselves, or cover the return of the army on the south bank. Then the next night action, all the ships of the Great Food set sail and entered the ambush circle.

The wooden boat also needed not so much, but Li Wei was waiting, the first class was windy, and the second class had a dark moon. The weather was perfect for him tonight, and the action began. First, light the torches, blow the horns, and let the big cannibals get up together and steer the boat. Then all the torches were suddenly extinguished, so that the big cannibal had a huge visual contrast, and took the opportunity to take out the iron cables buried in the ground, use a few thick trees as bar points, and then use a winch to twist the iron cables from the bottom of the river. Otherwise, if the big cannibals saw it, wouldn't they all escape? Then put the dry grass and branches on the small boat that had been made in the past few days, and sprinkle them with flammable materials. Just as the cannibals were forcibly cutting the ropes, they pushed the boats loaded with flammable materials down the river.

As soon as the wind blew, the boat quickly drifted into the river. At this time, the arrows were released, the trebuchet was fake, and the crossbow was probably not used, but the bow and arrow were real, but the bow and arrow were tied to a crude rocket. Dense rockets took off into the air. The technology of rockets is also not mature, some burn up, some do not burn, but the advantage lies in the large number, many burned rockets fell on various small boats, and a raging fire immediately rose on the Wuhu River.