Volume 4 Looking Back at the Township Pass 64 Crossing the River
There is a generation of Yuan, attaches great importance to the construction of station red and post roads. Especially in the Liangdu area, it has always been the focus of the construction of the post station.
There are four roads connecting Dadu and Shangdu. Extending from the upper capital, there are three post roads, which can reach Helin directly to the north; Heading west into Lingbei Province and turning north, you can also reach Holin. Helin was the capital of the Mongolian period, and now it is the seat of Lingbei Province, and its status is very important.
From Shangdu to the east, you can go to Daning in Liaoyang Province, and finally reach Liaoyang through Guangning and other places. Jianshanzhai is on this eastward post road. Not only did Chen Paizi take this road, Lei Timur did not spend time waiting for the cavalry who rushed to Chahannaoer, and the first half of the road was also taken by this post road.
Lei Timur Buhua and the others passed through Songzhou Zhanchi, and then turned southwest and took another official road. Although the road has not been repaired for some years due to the war, and it is overgrown with weeds, it does not prevent the cavalry from marching.
The Yuan Dynasty, like the previous Central Plains Dynasties, planted trees on both sides of the official road, which had already matured, with thick trunks, covering the sky and the sun, and being very shady. In addition to the need to pay attention not to be discovered by the Yuan army's exploration horses, Lei Timur Buhua and others not only marched very fast, but also did not suffer from sun exposure.
Within a few days, they had crossed a tributary of the Luan River,—— the water of which was not deep enough to be crossed with a skin. Soon arrived at the east bank of the Luan River and entered the location of the scheduled river crossing.
They chose the deepest section of the water within a hundred miles, and as Deng She judged, the defense of the Yuan army on the shore was very lax. Lei Timur did not wait for the arrival in the afternoon, and in order to be foolproof, he did not approach directly, but first stopped ten miles away from the east bank, and waited until nightfall before quietly coming to the river.
I saw from afar that the Yuan army on the other side had lit bonfires, and there were a bunch of them every seven or eight miles. At night, this continuous bonfire resembles a sinuous fiery snake. On the side of the bonfire, a simple tent was set up, and occasionally a Yuan sergeant poked his head out to take a look. The breeze was cool, and some movement could be faintly heard.
Ray Timur does not spend lying on the shore and watching carefully. Not long after, Lu Qianxi and Zuo Che'er came from the left and right, and the three of them lay together and spoke in a low voice.
"The bonfire on the left, there aren't many Tartars guarding it. About a dozen people. Lu Qianxi said.
The left car said: "The right side is the same, the appearance of a team of ten." He asked Ray Timur if he didn't spend, "What about here?" How many tartars are there? ”
Lei Timur stretched out five fingers: "Fifty people." ”
"Ten on the left, ten on the right, fifty in the middle. The arrangement of the Tartars seems to be three bonfires with a team of hundreds. ......," Lu Qianxi thought for a moment and proposed, "There are only seventy people in total, so it's not difficult to deal with." Let's send two hundred-man teams to quietly go over, kill them, and then cross the river with the main force. ”
Lei Timur was not more cautious, and said: "You see, there are horses, wolf dung, and water basins piled up by the campfire. The way to alarm the Tartar must be to burn wolf smoke during the day and extinguish the bonfire at night. ”
He raised his head and looked into the distance on the other side, the night was so dark that he couldn't see anything.
He groaned and made a judgment, and said, "A hundred and ten people can't hold the river." I dare to assert that forty or fifty miles away, thirty or twenty miles near, there must be a large army of theirs lying in ambush around here. As long as the signal of the coastal guards is released, they can be killed at any time. Therefore, the pioneers we sent in the past must be very cautious, and do not give the Tartars a chance to extinguish the bonfire. ”
Zuo Che'er nodded yes.
There is also regular contact between each campfire. The three of them waited patiently and worked out the time they would contact each other, once every half hour. The way to get in touch is by striking a few gongs. Half an hour is enough. Zuo Che'er selected two hundred old soldiers, divided them into three teams, crossed to the opposite bank with the help of skins, and started at the same time.
These two hundred people did not choose Lei Timur's subordinates, because his subordinates usually practiced horsemanship, and rarely learned the tactics of foot soldiers.
The Haidong cavalry such as Zuo Che'er even practiced the tactics of foot soldiers. After all, cavalry engaged, and it was impossible to always be on horseback. This was also a bit of foresight on the part of Dunsher. Sure enough, it is used now. The two hundred men lowered their bodies as low as they could, hid their bodies in the water, and floated smoothly across the opposite shore. Two people accidentally touched the armor with short knives, making a little noise, but they were immediately muffled by the sound of the gurgling water, and were not exposed.
Close combat, more strikes and fewer strikes, and it is a sneak attack. The two hundred old pawns barely even hung the lottery, and the cat bent into the enemy's tent and easily eliminated the Yuan army guarding the river.
During their drills, they learned how to make the other party unable to make a sound when they were killed, and they tried it many times on prisoners, and they also used it in peacetime battles. Therefore there is no hand. These dozens of Yuan troops didn't even make a sound, and all of them died quietly.
Lei Timur is not an old soldier, the so-called layman looks at the lively, and the insider looks at the doorway. He knew that it was not easy for the sneak attack to do this, and he stretched out his thumb in admiration: "Well done!" Worthy of the elite. ”
The most difficult one is solved, and the following is easy and simple. The pontoon bridge was erected on the opposite bank by several veterans, and more than 2,000 cavalrymen and horses dismounted one by one, pulling their mounts, and crossed the river in a stream. First of all, the two hundred old soldiers who crossed the river had already set up a guard, and there was a special person to calculate the hour, and when the time came, they struck a few gongs and kept in touch with the other bonfires.
In total, there are two pontoon bridges. One of them had a slight error, and the bridge was too long, so it took a lot of effort. Fortunately, there was no delay in using it. Fortunately, it's long, and if it's short, there's no way, so you can only scrap it. In any case, more than 2,000 people were in good order, and all of them crossed the river in less than an hour.
Left the car with ten men, and told them to continue to ring the gong on time and wait until it was almost dawn before leaving. Each of them was left with two fast horses so that they could catch up with the team.
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1. Between Shangdu and Dadu, there are four roads that communicate.
Of these four roads, only one is a veritable post road, called Wangyun Road. Two of the other three are reserved for the emperor to visit the capital every year, which are called the east road and the west road respectively, and when he goes, he takes the east road and returns to the west road.
Ordinary people are forbidden to walk on the host road.
The West Road was the main post road between the two capitals during the Mongol period, but after the opening of the Wangyun Road, its importance declined, and many stations were reduced, and it was mainly used to transport supplies except for the emperor's return to the capital.
The fourth road is reserved for the use of inspectors and the military. Starting from Dadu, passing through Yixing Prefecture, going up along the northwest of the Luan River, to the east pavilion of Shangdu.
2. The Yuan Dynasty, like the previous Central Plains Dynasties, planted trees on both sides of the official road.
"The government of the Yuan Dynasty stipulated that trees were planted on both sides of the road. Since the capital is around the county seat of Luzhou and on both sides of the canal, the side of the express paving shop, each is suitable for anywhere, and the officials and people plant elm willow locust trees. ......, the purpose of planting trees is not only to provide timber, but also for transportation. Marco Polo mentioned the significance of the ancestral tree: "It is easy for pedestrians to know the way." This is good for pedestrians and pleasant for pedestrians. ’”
As for the Central Plains Dynasty of various generations, there has long been this custom, "Shan Xiang Gong told the king about the Zhou system: 'Lay down trees to show the way, and set up food to guard the road.'" This means that trees are planted in columns to mark the road and mileage, and post stations are set up on the way to receive passing officials, which is a system that exists in the Zhou Dynasty.
"Contemptible". Disdain: The five hundred families of the Zhou system are one contempt, and it is said that "the place where the capital lives is said to be disdainful." The capital is 500 miles away from the country,......。 "Food, the meaning of the building.