"The Son of Heaven ordered me, and the city was on the other side."

In the second year of Yuanshuo in the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu sent Wei Qing to lead the army to attack the Xiongnu, recovered the vast land south of the Hetao, and set up Shuofang County in the river valley area south of Yinshan. Later, he sent people to build the Great Wall at the southern foot of Yinshan Mountain, and built Shuofang County and ten counties under its jurisdiction.

Since then, Shuofang has become an important frontier town in the north of Chang'an, and has established Jilusai at the location of the Wuding River, a tributary of the great river, flowing through the Great Wall, and has become the most important military stronghold in the entire region.

If it is breached, the foreign enemy can drive straight down, and the front of the army is pointed at Guanzhong, which is equivalent to Youzhou to Luoyang. Therefore, Shuofang has stationed heavy troops for a long time, and the town is a fierce general.

However, since the late Sui Dynasty Liang Shidu occupied Shuofang County and rebelled and attached himself to the Eastern Turks, this important border pass has basically lost its effect, and because Liang Shidu himself has Turkic ancestry, he is Zhao Deyan's secret disciple;

Once the people are willing to let go of the garrison of the Great Wall and let the Turkic wolves ride in, and the Turks have ambitions beyond plundering, the situation will be much more serious, and for the past Central Plains Dynasty, it will be a crisis of national destruction.

It is precisely because of this that when the border passes are full of defensive holes, Zhao Qing showed her attitude of taking the initiative to regain control of the Great Wall as quickly as possible, blocking the shortcomings of Shuofang before the arrival of the Turkic army, so as to reduce the losses of the military and civilians in Guanzhong.

In addition to dividing half of the troops to march into Yunzhong and Wuyuan to take down Liu Wuzhou, who was divided over there, the remaining 50,000 expeditionary troops rushed towards Shuofang City, aiming to first break through the capital of the Liang Division, and then lean on the Great Wall, and formally engage the Turkic army in Wudinghe City.

Due to the production of many engines to replace animal power, the efficiency of the marching baggage was greatly improved, the consumption of grain and grass was significantly reduced, and the speed of the forward advance was quite amazing, and in less than half a month, it entered the range of Shuofang County, and defeated the defenders of Liang Shidu in the encounter.

The area of the Great Wall in Jilusai and the nearby Hongshi Gorge section was obviously mainly defended externally by geographical advantages, and did not have much advantage internally, but under the condition that the two sides were equal in strength and had technical crushing, this area was finally successfully recovered a few days before the Turkic army moved southward to this point;

Liang Shidu led only two or three percent of the remaining remnants of the army, defeated and retreated to the ancient city of Tongwan located on the edge of the Wuding River and the Mu Us Desert, relying on the fortified city and complex geomorphology and meteorological defense counterattack, barely waiting for the first batch of Turkic reinforcements of as many as 80,000 people, forming a state of confrontation.

……

In a mountain barrier that is made up of red stones, towering upwards, ringing like a screen, and there is a crack again, the Wuding River flows past from the broken stream that is more than ten zhang wide, and the east and west cliffs face each other, steep and majestic, very spectacular.

The Great Wall climbs mountains and mountains from the infinite distance in the northeast, connects the east side of the cliff break, and then continues from the west cliff to the distance that cannot be seen outside the field of vision, doubling the majesty of the chicken and deer plug, so that everyone who sees it is amazed.

The red gorge reflects the sun, dazzling and shining.

The more than 20,000 expeditionary forces stationed in the area inside and outside Jilusai, except for a small half who were on the alert for an attack by the Turks at any time, were busy using all kinds of recently modified excavation tools to clear lanes for the entire Hongshi Gorge defense area.

In this region, where there are thousands of ravines and ravines at the same time, it is far more difficult to put new tanks and various vehicles into combat than usual, a large number of problems need to be solved, and the flexibility and mobility are obviously suppressed by the Turkic cavalry.

It has to be said that the Turks took the lead in keeping the Angolan army out of the steppe, where the terrain was flat and easy to charge, thus avoiding a head-on confrontation with killing weapons, which was indeed a very clever strategy, which largely wiped out the opponent's advantage.

There is no doubt that whether or not they can adapt to the changing terrain conditions and give full play to the advantages of concentrating forces under high and new technology is precisely the focus of this battle for the Wuding River, and even determines the victory or defeat of the overall battle situation between the two sides.

After the forward troops regained Hongshi Gorge, due to the limited baggage they carried, the army still had to wait for the arrival of several subsequent batches of key materials, such as coal, steel, and mechanical parts, before they could pass the stage of adaptability and exert sufficient strength according to local conditions.

After several days of confrontation and several skirmishes, the expeditionary force repelled the attack organized by the remnants of the Liang Division, the Turkic "two-spear general" Yan Lihui and the "fierce lion" Mu Tiexiong in the desert field battle with a battle loss ratio of 1:15.

However, according to the news from the Turkic side, the number of the second batch of Turkic reinforcements will be as high as more than 200,000, in addition to the 120,000 Golden Wolf Army directly commanded by Jieli, the rest are the servant army sent by the various tribes of the steppe, and more than 200,000 slaves who have been taken captive to work;

Coupled with the original Tongwancheng garrison and the remnants of the Liang division, the first batch of Turkic forwards, known as a million troops, will arrive in the Wuding River area in the next month, and launch a truly tragic large-scale battle, intending to reopen the border pass of the Great Wall and drive straight in.

……

On the afternoon of this day, at the city wall west of Jilusai, between the two 300-stone giant crossbows, Shuanglong Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who accompanied the army on the expedition, were talking with their new friend Yang Gongqing to discuss the next battle situation.

Yang Gongqing was originally one of the leaders of the rebel army at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and now he has already accepted Zhao'an, and because of his outstanding performance in the follow-up battle, he was appointed as the commander of the 1,200-strong Zhichong Commander.

I saw that he looked a little old, of medium stature, with a gentle smile on his face, holding a telescope that could be rationed for every 300 lieutenants in his hand, looking at the Tongwan Ancient City, which was shrouded in sand and dust dozens of miles away, and looked white, and took the initiative to speak:

"Tongwan City is located in the north of Shuofang, south of Heishui, and was built hundreds of years ago by Helian Bobo, the lord of Western Xia, who drove 100,000 people. This person was not originally surnamed this person, it seemed to be Tiefu or something, but he was arrogant by nature, thinking that 'the emperor is the son of the sky, and he is for Huihe, and he is connected with the sky', so he changed his surname to Helian. ”

"When Helian was full of vigor, he came to the bank of the Wuding River, and shouted 'beautiful Sifu', built the capital on the spot, and became the Great Xia Kingdom. Tongwan is 'to unify the world and reign over all nations'. After Ducheng, it has always been a political and military fortress on the meandering plateau. ”

"Although the city is no longer in the grand presence of its construction, and the lower half of the city wall is mostly buried by wind and sand, its solidity is still very famous on the grassland. Legend has it that it was built using a special kind of soil, mixed with the blood of cattle and sheep, and then piled up firewood for barbecue. ”

"Every time a layer is built, Helian Bobo ordered the soldiers to cone it with a large iron cone, and if the cone is an inch, he will kill the builder of the wall; If the cone does not enter, the soldier will be killed. The two of you can imagine that the fort built in this way can be sharpened with a sword and axe? ”

Hearing that the fortified city he was about to conquer had such a bloody history of city building, Kou Zhong couldn't help but gasp, but remembering the scene when they were called by Lu Miaozi to test new weapons, he quickly became calm again, and changed the topic:

"Even hundreds of years ago, the indestructible Tongwan City at that time was not captured and lost by the Northern Wei army, not to mention that the equipment and weapons of our army are changing with each passing day, which is far beyond the reach of the old dynasty? Waving his master to win Tongwan and make great achievements is the pursuit of my Kou Zhong's life. ”

"Having said that, Uncle Yang, you are so old, you should have enjoyed Qingfu at home, did you also come to make contributions? Do you need my help to take care of the next battle? ”

However, Kou Zhong, who saw Yang Gongqing's martial arts, shook his head when he saw the other party and gave the opposite explanation: "Yang Mou has been revolting in HD for ten years since his great cause, and he has never seen anything, but he has never imagined the grand occasion of the new dynasty today. ”

Glancing at the soldiers who were actively building fortifications under the city wall, Yang Gongqing smiled and said: "I once studied the scriptures and thought that the Gaomen clan had decayed into my heart and was not qualified to bring happiness and stability to the people, and this situation was difficult to break. ”

"Later, I rallied my brothers to rebel, but it was not to change the way of the world, but only out of my own personal will, to expand my power and take revenge on the murderer of my whole family...... The man in the gate valve has done a lot of evil, and he should also pay the price he deserves. ”

Judging from Yang Gongqing's expression, the other party should have avenged the revenge, Kou Zhong's heart moved slightly, thinking of the large number of gate valve disciples who had been purged for colluding with the Turks in Guanzhong before the expedition, as well as the complete destruction of the two major gangs of Jingzhaolian and Weishui League, which had dominated Guanzhong for a while.

In this "Jingzhao Case", even Li Yuan, who ranked high among the four valves, was unable to protect his eldest son Li Jiancheng, who was not clean with the Demon Gate and the Turks, and incidentally found out An Long, who had eliminated another big chamber of commerce located in Shu and was actually the sect leader of the Demon Gate Tianlian Sect.

If there is no accident, after several rounds of review, Li Jiancheng and others should have ended up being beheaded, so that Yang Gongqing, who succeeded in "revenge", was willing to run for Zhao Qing and die.

As far as Kou Zhong knew, there were many military participants like Yang Gongqing who advocated the overthrow of the gate lords in the expeditionary force, and if they made amazing achievements in this battle, the gate valve system would further enter the brink of collapse and destroy the original old era.

As if recalling the family members who were killed, Yang Gongqing couldn't help but fall into an unspeakable silence, and stayed in the city for two hours with Kou Zhong, who took the time to practice and practice, and then got the order that the commander was about to send a surprise army to sneak attack and test at night, and decisively signed up to participate in this battle.

……

An endless silence shrouded the savannah at dusk, and the sun, which was almost submerged in the horizon, spit out glow before being swallowed up by the earth, staining the western sky.

Tongwan City stands in front, and all kinds of camp tents are scattered outside the city. This white fortress is composed of the east city, the west city and the outer outline city, and the four corners of the city have prominent square piers, which are majestic on the city wall, adding a lot of momentum.

As we all know, the Turks are good at attacking but not good at defending, especially defending such a fortified city that has never existed on the steppe, although they have the help of Zhao Deyan, Shi Zhixuan and other tactics who are good at Central Plains tactics, they still prefer to use the method of camp tent settlement.

In addition to the important stronghold of Tongwancheng and more than a dozen original affiliated fortresses on the edge of the city, the Turkic wolf army camped in two places, mainly in the Wuding River area, and the upper reaches of the Hailiutu River as the secondary.

Wuding River main village is set up between the river, the north bank camp occupies an area ten times larger than the south bank camp village, the south bank camp is smaller, only more than 500 camp tents, with the moat pit wooden fence for the external weight protection, set up 12 arrow towers, can accommodate 5,000 people.

If there is only this village, the expeditionary force will break through as soon as it is attacked, but there is a big village on the other side of the river to echo, but it is another matter.

Dazhai on the north bank, stretching for more than ten miles, pressing the chicken and deer in the east, and pointing to Wuding Fort in the south, conforms to the rules and regulations of setting up camp and setting up a village to prepare for fire, stop disturbance, cherish water and grass, Shen Ye, set up lights, etc., and become the camp and headquarters of the invading army, and it is a strategic place in the middle reaches of the Wuding River District.

Relying on the protection of a large number of arrow towers, trenches, and pits, both sides have sufficient functions of self-consolidation and strangulation of the enemy, so that the Turkic wolf army can rely on and guarantee when fighting in formation, and it is deeply in line with the military law of "doing must be prepared for war, and the camp must be fortified".

The strong military stronghold, which formed a horn with the city of Tongwan ten miles away, could make the border guards daunted, and they hesitated whether it was worth the risk from within the relatively safe city walls.

Looking at the current strength of the enemy camp, it is clear that the Turks not only came prepared this time, but also had an attitude of long-term combat, intending to forcibly advance and destroy the expeditionary force in front by virtue of their absolute superiority in troops.

……

Under the magnificent starry sky, a bright moon hangs obliquely on the eastern horizon, and the earth is dark at night.

On the desert, the undulating dark yellow sand mounds, extending from the foot to the sky in all directions, clusters of sand willows, sparse or dense, everywhere dotted with the yellow wasteland mixed with boundless sand and soil in front of it, covering it with a thin layer, and the green light coat with thousands of holes, yellow and green mottled, forming a unique landform of barren, cold and barren in the plains.

The night in the desert region cools down much faster than the normal climate, and in the winter season, only an hour or two after sunset reaches a temperature that can condense and freeze, and the environment is so bad that ordinary armies cannot move at all.

However, with a sufficient amount of warm clothing, as well as the heat produced by various mechanical coal burning, the two thousand elites joined by Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Yang Gongqing and others, taking advantage of the night and undulating terrain, secretly made a big circle and rushed to Tongwan City from the side and rear, but they were not discovered in advance by the Turkic scouts.

Through the remote exploration of the telescope, they soon saw that under the yellow hazy night, several half-moon-shaped large outer moats outside Tongwan City, wide and deep, wrapped the southern line of the eastern line and ended at the corner towers on both sides.

Outside the pit is an artificial mound that is three feet high and stretches the entire length of the trench, using sand, mud and stone excavated from the trench, which is weak in defense, but in combination with the trench, it can greatly strengthen the function of the trench obstacles, so that the enemy does not dare to recklessly cross the pit, and can only fire from a distance outside the trench.

There are two brow-like bunkers in the outer trenches, one side is connected to the outer trench, and the other side ends at the partition wall, which is half the size of the outer trench and no more than four feet deep, and acts to strengthen the interception force of the outer trench.

In addition, there are thousands of floating sand bunkers that cannot be seen on the surface, arranged by water and mud, once they are trapped, it will definitely be difficult to get out of the trap for a while, whether it is people or wheels, no exception.

At present, it seems that these fortifications may have received the guidance of a master, although these fortifications look quite ordinary, far less spectacular than the white walls that stretch for thousands of feet in the city, but they are not weak in practicality, and they are extremely restrictive to the main force of the expeditionary force, that is, heavy chariots.

In addition, due to the incessant desert sand and dust, precision weapons with insufficient sealing are very prone to malfunction, causing adverse effects.

Turning past a mound that obscured the view, you could see tens of thousands of huge stones piled up near a fortified fortress outside the city, each with sharp angular parts, which the Turks had collected to build stone barriers during the day.

In a full-fledged battle, if you want to clear a large area of fixed stone barriers in front of you, which are only five or six feet apart, only for men and horses, so as to get a path for the smooth advance of the chariots, you will obviously have to pay an additional price, making the sappers a target for the Turkic cavalry.

Although they had already anticipated the methods of the Turks, Kou Zhong and the others, who had detected these lines of defense and knew the other party's strategy, were still secretly frightened, and decided to immediately activate the newly developed high-end weapons to launch a powerful night raid.

"Arson Flying Kite", "Split City-Class Super Heavy Crossbow", and "Shock Jammer" are the names of the weapons that this elite will use, and will have an unprecedented negative impact on the Turkic defenders inside and outside the city.

…… (End of chapter)