Located in the open space in the Hexi Army Artillery Camp behind Fengxiang City, there is a statue of Xuanwu cannons, the number of which has met the more than 100 proposed by Li Siye, but the two rows at the back are smaller in diameter and length than the Xuanwu cannons, and the wheels look very light.

Li Siye frowned on the horse, raised his whip and asked, "What's going on?" ”

Yan Xiaosi stood in front of him and reported: "It costs too much copper and iron to cast cannons, and Daochang Zhao has tried his best to search, but the construction period is too tight, so these more than 20 cannons have been shrunk and called them Xiao Xuanwu." But don't worry, doctor, Xiao Si has already tested it, and the range of this cannon is not much different from Xuanwu, but the power has been weakened a little. ”

At this juncture of the battle, there were small mistakes, but they were not serious problems. This is a time to be tolerant and encouraging, not harsh.

"Even so, the small Xuanwu can also be used, it is lighter in weight and can be used in a hollow array. Let's go, follow me to Dai Zhu's place to see how well the military rations are prepared. ”

When Li Siye led the army south, Dai Wang and Mi Chagan were all responsible for the grain and grass of the three armies in Ting, Anxi, and Xixi, Hebei, and they mobilized the people to transfer the grain and grass built in Liangzhou, Jiuquan, Zhangye and other places to Lanzhou, and from Lanzhou to Fengxiang, ensuring the food problem of more than 100,000 people.

Although Fengxiang was only a few hundred miles away from Chang'an, they had to fully consider that the battle would be at a stalemate at any time, so they gave food to the fire commanders of all battalions, regiments, brigades and teams of the three armies based on the 15-day limit per person, and instructed them to make fried noodles and compressed biscuits.

Michagan also spent a lot of money to buy a large number of sheep in the Lanzhou area, and ordered people to slaughter them and make meat strips with salt, so as to improve the army's food problem.

……

At the beginning of November, Emperor Li Heng ascended the Xicheng Tower of Fengxiang City to prepare for the army, and his eyes stared at the army array standing below, the Hexi Military Department, the Beiting Military Department, and Guo Ziyi's Shuofang Army. Ay? It seems that the number of Anxi troops is not enough, is it because the distance is far away and some have not had time to arrive?

As the emperor who was appointed on the verge of danger, at this moment of great crisis in the Tang Dynasty, he felt that it was necessary to address all the soldiers in order to boost their morale.

But Li Heng has never done this kind of thing, and a large-scale speech also requires some experience. Before going to the field, he comforted himself in his heart, there were seventy or eighty thousand soldiers standing outside the city gate, and his voice could be heard by some people close to the city tower at most, and the number of courtiers was about the same, so there was no need to be too nervous.

When he pushed the door out of the council hall of the city tower, standing in front of the female wall and looking at the tens of thousands of soldiers standing in a formation below, Li Siye suddenly put something with a horn mouth in front of him.

Li Hengton was surprised: "What is this?" ”

"Your Majesty, this is a loudspeaker specially ordered by the minister, and Your Majesty's speech can be shouted out at this mouth, so as to ensure that most of the soldiers can hear it."

Li Heng's face was already a little pale, and he glanced at him with a displeased expression, before he straightened up his belly, which was not considered fat, and said loudly: "My soldiers of the Tang Dynasty!" The thief An Lushan conspired against rebellion and killed the people of my Tang Dynasty, causing turmoil in Shenzhou and turmoil in the mountains and rivers! I need you, Datang needs you! Regain Chang'an, recover Luoyang, quell rebellion, and revitalize Sheji! ”

As soon as the emperor stopped speaking, Li Siye took the lead and shouted: "Long live the Tang Dynasty, long live my emperor!" ”

The soldiers under the city shouted loudly following Dr. Li's voice, and at the same time raised their spears or horizontal knives in their hands and stabbed them into the sky above their heads: "Long live the Tang Dynasty, long live my emperor!" ”

Li Heng was vigorous and personally walked down the city tower to inspect the army, and Li Siye followed him and came to Yan Xiaosi's Xuanwu Running Camp. He turned back to Li Siye and said, "I heard that you have made a weapon that is stronger than the bed crossbow, ask someone to show me how strong it is?" ”

Li Siye turned around and shouted: "Little Fourth, personally demonstrate the installation of artillery for Your Majesty." ”

Yan Xiaosi immediately ordered everyone to push a cannon out of the camp, ordered the soldiers to charge, load, and install the fuse, he personally raised the torch and lit the twist, and turned back to remind the emperor: "Your Majesty, please cover your ears." ”

Li Heng snorted, but as the Ninth Five-Year Venerable, he naturally couldn't make such an indecent move, so he only puffed up his stomach and said, "You just have to light the cannon." ”

Yan Xiaosi lit the twist, the soldiers guarding the left and right of the cannon covered their ears, and the emperor subconsciously retreated half a step. When the muzzle of the cannon shook and thundered and spit flames, Li Heng almost fell down, and Li Siye hurriedly stepped forward to support him.

The cannonball exploded in the distance, and the white smoke rolled up in the clearing, because there was no reference to destroy the real thing, and the emperor's definition of this cannonball in his heart was that deterrence was greater than power.

He pretended to raise his hand calmly and said, "Sure enough, it is like the sound of thunder, and it also has the power of thunder, not bad." ”

The two monarchs and ministers continued to walk through the barracks with their hands behind their backs, and Li Heng turned around and asked him: "The army is over, I don't know when to start?" ”

"The minister also wants to ask the generalissimo of the world's soldiers and horses, King Guangping, according to the time he set."

Unexpectedly, Li Heng directly exposed him: "Didn't you plan this battle from beginning to end?" Li Yu was just pushed to the stage by you to answer the name. ”

Li Siye hurriedly crossed his hands and said: "Where is it just as simple as the name, Guo Ziyi, Wang Sili, as well as Ning Yuanguo and Ge Lulu Ye Hu who participated in the war need His Royal Highness the King of Guangping with a higher status to command." Moreover, His Royal Highness the King of Quang Binh served as the commander-in-chief, and the soldiers were more clear about who they were fighting for, and with the prince personally in command, their morale could be strong and they could exert their greatest strength to fight the rebels. ”

Li Heng asked suspiciously: "What do the soldiers really think?" ”

"That's right, Your Majesty." Li Siye nodded: "We are going to swear to the heavens in seven days, and then march to Chang'an, which is an auspicious day of the zodiac." ”

"Well, I'm sure you can defeat the rebels."

……

Feng Changqing led 8,000 soldiers to march around Qianxian County, passing through the scattered plains of the highlands, and in order not to expose their whereabouts, they went out at night and marched overnight with torches.

The rebel forces are now recently affected by the north but Fuping, the south is not Wuguan, the west is not Wugong, in fact, the army is only stationed in these counties, Feng Changqing boldly narrowed the arc of the march, and at the same time sent soldiers to pretend to be a merchant to explore the road, but as long as they can pounce under the enemy's nose, they will never detour, the nearest time they are only seven or eight miles away from Gaoling County, and they can even see the fire on the city when marching at night.

Li Chongbao led the horse and followed behind Feng Changqing, and when he encountered a problem he didn't understand, he was ashamed to ask: "Since Grandpa wants to recover Chang'an, why do you want to take Tongguan first?" ”

"When you encounter this kind of problem, you have to think about it carefully, the rebels came in from Tongguan, and the first choice for retreating in the future is of course Tongguan. After we took Tongguan, we waited for the rebels to retreat here to block them, and waited for the pursuing army to destroy them all before the pass. ”

"But there is not only one way to leave Guanzhong, if they go south to Wuguan Nanyang, or then go north from the Yellow River Pujin to cross the east of the river, won't our move be in vain?"

Feng Changqing turned around and said with a smile: "I can't rule out such a possibility, but whether it is crossing the east of the river or going down to Nanyang, it means going around the long distance and wading into danger." Going east to Tongguan is their first choice, but after they are blocked in Tongguan, they will definitely choose other routes. But your father was unwilling to disperse his forces and weaken the main forces, so he had to divide his forces only after defeating the enemy. Therefore, as long as we take Tongguan smoothly and ensure that the news is not leaked, the rebels will run around like lost dogs after Tongguan is blocked, and it is not too late to go to Wuguan or Pujindu to block it. ”

"So that's the case," Li Chongbao respectfully saluted Feng Changqing: "Thank you Uncle Feng for your advice." ”

"Why do you kid need to be like this, your grandfather asked you to follow me, just to let you follow me to learn to fight, and when you encounter something you don't understand in the future, you will think more, watch more, and ask more. It is very important to prepare for the march and operation, including the transportation of grain and grass, the use of people, and the survey of the terrain, and you must be meticulous in everything, and have no insight into everything, if you know the direction of the mountains and rivers, and even the width of each estuary, and have a thorough understanding of yourself and the enemy, you will have the bottom of your mind when you start a battle. ”

"The kid made a note of it." Li Chongbao pondered carefully in his heart, and firmly remembered every word Feng Changqing said, and every time he went to a new terrain, he had to imagine in his mind how the two armies would fight against each other when they encountered here, and how his own side could take advantage of the terrain.

When they entered the territory of Huayin County, Feng Changqing's march was extremely cautious, taking dangerous paths that were difficult to pass, or marching directly next to the Yellow River, and finally stopped at Fengyiyuan, thirty miles away from Tongguan.

Feng Changqing stood on the plain, followed by two partial generals and Li Chongbao, he pointed to the Yellow River bent in the distance and said: "There is Fenglingdu further down, and Tongguan is opposite Fenglingdu." What we are standing on is the place where the Qinling Mountains and the Yellow River are about to form an angle, and the Guanzhong Post is the best ambush location from Huayin County and the post road that comes to our feet. ”