On February 25, Xuanchongwen, the assassin of Liangzhou, and Zong Jingcheng, the deputy envoy of the Huizhou regiment, were the commanders of the former army, and led 12,000 soldiers of the Changsong army, Wucheng army, and Zhenyuan army out of Jincheng Pass, and arrived at Limenshui four days later. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Xuan Chongwen then occupied the favorable terrain on the other side of the river to build a pontoon bridge, and built a fortified camp for logistics and grain storage. Zhang Yue was very excited to receive the report, and he and Li Hui led the Changyi Army and the Jingnan Army to ride 25,000 steps, carrying a large amount of grain and grass equipment, and then slowly followed.

When crossing the Limen Water camp, there was good news coming from the front. Li Duofu and Shen Nianban captured the county town of Longzhi 30 miles to the south, the Hechuan military city of 100 miles, the Bayan Mountain military city and other important strongholds, and continued to march west along the Yellow River.

And Xuan Chongwen led the Zhenyuan army to march 7,000 miles along the Huangshui for 50 miles, captured the weak troops, the city is dilapidated and low, and the troops are resting, waiting for the main force to come.

Lanzhou City to the border of Limen water 300 miles, on the way is to build five military villages as grain and grass transit place, and Limen water to Michuan City and 120 miles, the more than 400 miles of logistics supply line is all in the river valley area, there are Guzang South Mountain, Daxue Mountain, Zhiliuling in the north, there are also small stone mountain, Bayan Mountain in the south, all are very high altitude snow valleys.

Even in March, the climate here is very cold, with a huge temperature difference between day and night in the morning and evening. There are many Qiang tribes distributed in the mountains and mountains on both sides of the Huangshui, so the supply line is easy to be cut off, all relying on 10,000 Jingzhou township soldiers and 7,000 Huizhou township soldiers to guard, after all, Lanzhou has not been taken for a long time, and it is still an enemy-occupied area.

At this time, there were front-line scouts reporting that the enemy army was already assembling in Miaochuan City, but the total strength of the army had not yet been revealed, because the Tibetan people were very vigilant, and the Zhou army scouts were easy to recognize when they went deep into the enemy territory. Although some of the Qiang people in Tangchang acted as guides and cover, they could only protect themselves.

In order to ensure logistical security, Zhang Yue carried forward the political-political ideological offensive, marched at a speed of 40 miles a day, and sent the Qiang people of Tangchang as guides wherever he went, and led the officers to go to various tribes to issue military orders under the herdsmen's station, expressing the intention of the western expedition camp to appease them, so as to win the hearts of the people and stabilize the role of logistics.

Facts prove that the former Great Zhou still had a certain influence in the northwest, and there were many small tribal patriarchs on the march who waited for the army with cattle and sheep gifts after receiving the order, which was a sign of allegiance.

Zhang Yue and Li Hui met with dozens of people along the way, but found that they were only in charge of hundreds of accounts, and the small tribes and the leaders of the big tribes who were exploited by Wen Fan on weekdays were all high and powerful, sitting on the ground to collect cattle and sheep taxes, and now in the event of a war, they enlisted in the army and expanded the army, and none of them showed up. They are vested interests after the new Zampu came to power, and it is reasonable not to come, and Zhang Yue doesn't care very much.

The city of Chenzong is also a military city left over from the Tang Dynasty, the original Tonghuang army was placed, located at the right-angle turn of the river on the south bank of the Huangshui, just the east and north two city walls are surrounded by the river, and the west and south two city walls are by the mountain. Out of this military city that controls the mouth of the valley, the alluvial plains on both sides of the Huangshui River in front of it are much wider, but the enemy situation is also much more complicated.

The reason is very simple, the city of the Sect is like a gate, whether to rush into someone's yard and fight with others, or at the door, the difference is huge. Finish the enemy at the door, and then rush into the door to face the old and weak, that is, chop melons and vegetables. On the contrary, if you are not familiar with the situation in other people's homes, you may be shut down and beaten by the dog.

So when he got here, Xuan Chongwen, who was good at changing and not losing his steadyness, did not advance any further, and Zhang Yue led the main force to arrive without moving, waiting for news from Li Duofu and Shen Nian in the south, Kuozhou is also located in the valley on both sides of the Yellow River, and it is more important to control that road.

Li Duofu and Shen Nian's 5,000 soldiers are an army of infantry and cavalry, all the way to advance very quickly, on the first day of the first day of March to the west of Michuan City, which is a low city at the turn of the north bank of the Yellow River, there is Michuan County in the Tang Dynasty, and now it belongs to the jurisdiction of Xinli Tubo Zuo Shanglun and Zuo Ji Chang Khen Blanwang, scouts and reconnaissance returns, and there are a large thousand households in the garrison.

Large households usually have jurisdiction over three to five thousand households, and the household is also the account, because the Fan people generally live in a big account for a family, and the richer ones can share the accounts, but only one account is counted. In wartime, one to three people per household are drawn, so a large household normally commands three to five thousand troops, but in wartime it may explode to one or two thousand.

Twenty miles is just on the border line of a dangerous distance for the Zhou army, which is mixed with infantry and cavalry, and seeing that it is a little late, they can only camp on the spot, and the camp tent of the Chinese army is quickly set up first.

"Thousands of households! How many thousands? What is the exact number of troops stationed? Didn't you fucking scratch your tongue and ask? Li Duofu summoned the scouts to the tent to inquire about the enemy, but the scouts arrived for two days and still did not come out.

"I asked, but some said it was 8,000 households, some said it was 3,000 households, and the enemy army was cowering in the city, and they couldn't enter it at all, and it was only two days ago, and I didn't see anyone driving cattle and sheep into the city." The scout team is innocently speaking.

"No tribal villages nearby? Don't have a stronghold of a military fort? Li Duofu realized that this battle might not be easy to fight, and he was a little anxious.

"Yes! This is a brief map of the fifty miles around the outskirts of the city. The scout immediately took out a roll of white silk with oil and sweat from his bosom and respectfully handed it over.

Li Duofu took a look, there is a military fort on the west bank of the Yellow River in the west of the city, it was called Huangshashu in the Tang Dynasty, and there is a carved city on the east bank of the Longwu River, a tributary of the Yellow River fifty miles to the south, the map is drawn in detail, but the number of troops stationed is unknown.

"Repay you all, keep an eye on the three directions for labor and capital, whether there is an enemy movement between Kuozhou City, Huangshashu and Diaoyao City, seventy miles to the north, and cattle and sheep escort supplies, if there is, report back in time!" Li Duofu ordered with a calm face.

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!" The scouts saluted, turned and strode out, pulling their horses out of the camp.

The sky was dark, and the temporary fence was finally erected, and three trenches were dug deep on the periphery, and obstacles such as antler-pointed wooden stakes were laid at the foot of the fence wall. Li Duofu inspected the inspection and summoned the officers to the military tent to discuss the matter.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Our two armies in Liangzhou, as the main force and partial division, do not have many troops, but the task is very arduous, of course...... If the combat mission is accomplished, the credit is also great. According to the relevant enemy situation, there are two large thousand households stationed in Kuozhou, but we still don't know how many troops there are, and Shen Duling should know better than us in this regard, but what suggestions do you have? ”

"Kuozhou and its west of Shudun City, Dafeichuan and the two banks of the Yellow River, all belong to the sphere of influence of Khenblang Lanwang, and now the south of Shi Deyuan is far away from where it can not be contacted, we may fall into a heavy siege deep into the territory, for the sake of safety, the last general suggested that the Yellow Sand Fortress City should be fought first, which is relatively easy to take, and can also lead the enemy to rescue, so as to judge the strength of the enemy army, if in distress, you can retreat south to Hezhou, Xicangzhou and other places, if you succeed in capturing Michuan City." Shen Nian replied.

When Song Lingguang heard this, he immediately vetoed: "The last general has something to say, Huangshashu wants to cross the Yellow River, and Diaoyao City is too far away, if we divide our troops, our headquarters will be weak, it is better to attack Michuan City directly, and divide a small number of troops to ambush halfway in the north and south, and intercept its reinforcements." As long as Michuan City is at a moment, Huang Shashu does not raise his hand to surrender, and the only thing he is worried about is that the large thousand households of Kuozhou will converge in the south, then it will be troublesome, so we have to do it as soon as possible. ”

"Not bad! The march on the mountain road was slow, and the soldiers were very tired, otherwise according to the last general, we should attack the city overnight, and once the Daqianhu of Kuozhou heard the news and went south, we would face the problem of a serious shortage of troops. So, in fact, we only have half a day to siege tomorrow. Senator Ding Baosheng also said.

Li Duofu frowned suddenly, he first asked the scout, of course, he understood, in the face of this situation of not knowing the enemy army, there can be two ways to fight, either fast or slow. Slow play is calm, but fast play is too dangerous, and the consequences are unpredictable.

From the point of view of knowing oneself and knowing the other side with the common sense of using soldiers, the enemy situation is unknown, and their own side needs to attack fortifications, only the headquarters of the Changsong Army has a strong ability to attack fortifications, and the Wucheng Army is a horse army, in which the soldiers are basically from the Liugu Division, but the officers are transferred from Huining, and the ability to attack the fortifications is relatively poor.

In addition, there are no heavy siege equipment, only ordinary siege ladders, climbing soft rope ladders, flying fox catches and other new light equipment, although the city wall is not too high, but if the enemy army is strong, it is not a day to capture.

"We don't have much time, tomorrow morning when the fourth watch is ugly, we can't light torches, we must rush to the city on the fifth watch, try to attack the city!"

Li Duofu tilted his head and pondered for a moment, made a decision, and then took out the map and planned the deployment of troops and arms with the eight senior officers of the two armies according to the combat strategy. These are very detailed and cumbersome, and they are generally done by the regimental senators. (To be continued.) )