Chapter 701: Kou Jianghuai secretly went to Liang, and King Xin of Beiliang got the general.
Chu Lushan stood there and murmured to himself: “Is it because I, Chu Lushan, would have to throw 300 kilograms of meat on the battlefield one day, so that he would agree to Kou Jianghuai stay?”
Hutou City was a nail that the Beimang army had to pull out when they went south.
Hutou City is so huge and majestic that it has always been known as “the border is no longer two, and there is no hero in the northwest”. It is four and a half miles long from east to west and about five miles wide from north to south. After six years of completion, it is said that half of the huge stones and trees in the northwest of the dynasty were consumed. The south gate of the northwest of the dynasty was named Dingding Gate, which was criticized by the civil officials of Liyang. There are twelve winches and crossbows at the north end of Hutou City, and seven crossbows of arrows. The arrows are as big as rafters, with iron leaves as feathers. They are as fast as thunder, and can reach as far as seven hundred steps away! At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Gu Jiantang attacked the old Southern Tang Dynasty and used this crossbow to shoot through the large tower ship of the Southern Tang Navy to demonstrate Li Yang’s combat power. If it weren’t for the shock and restraint of these giant crossbows, but the Beimang infantry was allowed to push the attacking equipment arbitrarily, the defense of Hutou City would never have been as strong as it is now. Taking more than a thousand big and small catapults to attack a city, only a madman could do. Only a madman had ever seen the Dafeng Dynasty in the middle of the period when it turned from prosperity to decline. That city that suffered was the Dafeng Capital, whose scale was not inferior to Tai’an City. Of course, to this day, although the same number of catapults have accumulated in the middle line of Beimang, the weight of the throwing stones is only twenty or thirty kilograms more. Therefore, overall, the power of the cluster is still the offensive that Yuanshou was hailed as “the sky falls” by later generations.
In addition to being easy to defend and difficult to attack, Hutou City also has two military towns in the back, Liuya and Fuling, which help to restrain Beimang, so that Hutou City will not follow the footsteps of Xiangfan’s “ten-year lonely city”. In addition, there are 6,000 cavalrymen in Hutou City that can take the initiative to attack at any time, and they can echo the elite cavalry of Liuya and Fuling. The defense line of Huaiyang Pass is only a hundred miles away from the four towns of Chongzhong in the rear, and all of them are elite Beiliang border troops who get off the horse to guard the city and ride on horseback. If Beimang had not had enough troops on the central line and had an absolute advantage in terms of numbers, Beiliang would have taken the lead in launching a large-scale cavalry war at any time. So in the spring of the second year of Xiangfu, Hutou City became the only protagonist, attracting most of the attention of Liangmang.
After the Northern Liang Protectorate or Xu Fengnian personally decided to defend Hutou City for a year, under the leadership of Deputy Strategic Commander Song Dongming and Liangzhou Governor Tian Peifang, more than 10,000 infantrymen were quickly added to Liuya and Fuling Towns in Liangzhou. Among them, there were 4,000 young and strong people in Liuzhou, carrying a large amount of equipment and supplies. They headed north all the way and entered the two military towns under the strict escort of the Baiyu Guards of Qidangguo. For this reason, Beimang symbolically dispatched 20,000 cavalry troops around Hutou City to try to intercept them, but in the end, he did not fight to the death with the Baiyu Guard, and only two small-scale contact battles broke out. After this, Beimang should have guessed the strategic intentions of Beiliang, so he stepped up his efforts to attack Hutou City. His siege method was mainly derived from the Hulukou of Youzhou. However, compared with the simple and roughness of the two cities of Wagong and Luanhe, attacking Hutou City was much more.New. In addition to the catapult carts, the Southern Dynasty also created a large number of toad chariots for the Beimang army to fill trenches, and flying buildings for archers to climb high and shoot flats and destroy pheasants on the city. They also tried to pile up soil and build mountains in the city, and even sent cave masters to explore the terrain, digging tunnels day and night to destroy the city walls or to open the city. Hutou City has made various responses to this. The Beimang infantry was dead as if they were home. They rushed forward with thatched branches wrapped in soil and threw them into the trench. The thrown were like clouds. Hutou City shot the burned red iron beads into the trench and drilled into the gaps of firewood and grass. In the end, the ashes and soil were only increased by several inches, which was far from Beimang’s expectations. Hutou City dug a trenches in the city wall and blocked the crypts and attacked them with fire. Nearly a thousand soldiers in Beimang were suffocated to death, and the death was miserable. Hutou City was also prepared for the continuous offensive of nearly a thousand catapults in Beimang. Liu Jinu had carefully planned and had already ordered people to prepare more than 400,000 adobe bricks to be used to supplement the city walls in the battle and to repair them as they were damaged. Although it was not as strong as the city walls built in the first rammed earth plate, this made the catapult cart that Beimang originally used to win just a whistle item on the cake. When Beimang used the stupidest method to build soil outside Hutou City into a mountain, and everyone below ten thousand men carried the earth arrows, Liu Jinu used his own way to counter Beimang, digging the tunnel to empty the foundation, and sank thousands of enemy troops in Beimang in one fell swoop. As the mountains collapse and the earth cracks, dust is flying, and even the Beiliang Protectorate far away in Huaiyang Pass can be seen.
Even Chu Lushan, who rarely praised others, could not help but exclaim: “What a Liu Jinu who is both offensive and defensive!”
As for the Beimang general who suffered a lot, everyone was more and more eager to eat his flesh for this famous general in the Northern Liang Dynasty who had long been famous.
After Liuya and Fuling each received five thousand infantry help to defend the city, the two towns of light cavalry were able to completely let go. At the same time, Xu Fengnian personally ordered several major horse farms in Liangzhou, including Xianli Ranch, to replace or replenish war horses for the two towns of Liuya and Fuling, which originally needed to take the long-distance raid, and turn them into pursuing explosive power as their only purpose. Xu Fengnian and the Protectorate made a rule for Liu Ya and Fuling that the next battle should be bounded by two hundred miles. As long as you find the right opportunity, you don’t have to report military information to the Protectorate, you can go out of the city to find the Beimang Cavalry to fight. You only need to save the main force after the war, regardless of the outcome! This is really an incredible military order for the Northern Liang border army. There is a good thing that will not be punished if you suffer a defeat. The leaders of Liuya and Fuling towns also went to Huaiyang Pass to inquire about this matter, for fear that the news was transmitted incorrectly. The answer that can be obtained is actually yes. Afterwards, the two cavalry generals met and discussed the matter, and they were both a little frustrated and angry, thinking that the prince and Chu Duhu looked down on the combat power of the cavalry in their two towns. The Fuling Army Cavalry, who had been holding his breath, soon found a catharsis port with thousands of “new wives” who had just been married from several major ranches. After receiving the report from the crossbowman, he fought with a side cavalry in the Yachi Slope area. The four thousand Northern Mang cavalry lost their battle to the death and fled westward. A cavalry commander named Qifu Longguan suggested that Wei Liang, the head of the army, should not be pursued. Wei Liang did not listen to the dissuasion and chased for more than 30 miles, and ambushed the eight thousand miraculous cavalry. Following the last Qifu Longguan in the Fuling CavalryAt the critical moment, he led 500 cavalry to break the formation and rushed to the Beimang Dazhang, and after that, he swears to die, which won valuable time for the main force of the Fuling Cavalry to withdraw. Qifu Longguan had as many as six arrows embedded in iron armor, and the 500 troops were less than one horse. Although the Beimang battle was greater than that of Beiliang in this battle, the Fuling Cavalry on the second line of defense in the border of Liangzhou was almost wiped out. Even if there were still five thousand infantry guarding the city, without the cavalry, the defense line that originally flew with both wings would break one wing. Wei Liang went to Huaiyang Pass to apologize for this, but Xu Fengnian did not punish the Fuling General. He only promoted the Qifu Long Pass who was thrown into Fuling Army Town as the young commander, promoted him to the school prosecutor under the captain of the commander, commanded the 1,000 cavalry after the quota, and set up a killing camp, allowing this battalion to increase its troops as appropriate every time it made a contribution, and eventually the captain would be the upper limit of the number of three thousand cavalry. This is another eye-catching event after the Hupu Camp of the Hulukou Infantry Army was withdrawn and the Youzhou Cavalry Army was newly established and the camp was not withdrawn. Qifu Longguan, an unknown soldier from Beimang Horse Roof, began to make a splash in the Beiliang border army.
In the Beiliang Protectorate, Chu Lushan was discussing with the general whether to transport troops to Hutou City. The two sides had a fierce dispute. The focus of the quarrel was whether the huge price paid to open up this road was meaningful. Now everyone knows that Hutou City can accommodate another 15,000 people, is not a problem, the real problem is whether it can be entered. The involvement of the cavalry of Liuya and Fuling can only prevent Beimang from launching a stable offensive in the south of Hutou City, which is a world of difference from the Beiliang border army’s support of Hutou City from the south gate. The one side insists that the cost of sending 15,000 people into Hutou City would probably be the loss of more than 10,000 cavalry; the other side insists that this loss is too underestimating the combat power and determination of Beimang. This risky behavior is just right, and Beimang is worried that it will not be able to break the situation. This is the Northern Barbarians dozed off, and we will send pillows in Beiliang. Not to mention the loss of 10,000 cavalry, even 30,000 people will not be enough to fill the big hole in the south of Hutou City. Then someone suggested that Liuya and Fuling towns attack at the same time, boldly advance, and harass the Beimang army stationed in the Longyaner Plain, and cover the source of troops traveling to Huaiyang Pass. But someone soon opposed it, believing that with Dong Zhuo and others’ brains, this kind of military use that seems kind but is actually inferior is tantamount to taking the initiative to say hello to the Bei barbarians, for fear that they would not know that our Beiliang would have any action.
Chu Lushan, who was full of noise, said calmly: “With Liu Ya and Fuling’s increase in troops, Beimang must have speculated that we should use Hutou City as the support point, otherwise they would not have put a condom on Fuling’s cavalry a few days ago. So Beimang is now guessing when we will support Hutou City, rather than whether we will support Hutou City. There is no doubt about this.”
After Chu Lushan spoke, the whole audience was immediately silent, and the rebellious and unruly generals of the border army naturally raised their ears and listened attentively.
Chu Lushan continued to say tepidly: “Then we will try to choose an opportunity they could not imagine to accomplish this. There is no such opportunity,Then you can only do it. Everyone, Hutou City must be defended, but don’t forget the original intention of why Hutou City is defended. It is not to defend the city to defend the city, but to protect our Liangzhou defense line to the greatest extent. The matter of exchanging troops is meaningless even if our border army exchanges one person’s life for two Northern Mang barbarians. Of course, during this period, we can attract several Beimang cavalry to leave the main army, and even put 15,000 people behind Huaiyang Pass without moving, but we can let the military and town cavalry on the front line of the Chongzhong line be launched to create a large-scale battle that Beimang could never imagine, and then withdraw if it wins. “
When Chu Lushan said this, he stretched out his finger and tapped his head, smiling and said without a smile: “There is Liu Jinu in Hutou City. He will do a good job in defending the city. Everyone here, in addition to two legs, we also have four legs to help run away. Don’t walk one way to the black. After all, now we and the Beimang army are staring at each other in Hutou City and Huaiyang Pass. Everyone is building a temple in the snail shell. The two sides are intriguing, and it depends on who is doing the Taoist Dharma even more unexpectedly. “
Although no clear conclusion was drawn in the matter of support from Hutou City, after Chu Lushan spoke, the generals present no longer had any objections. After that, Chu Lushan accompanied Xu Fengnian for a walk in the Protectorate’s Mansion. Chu Lushan sighed softly, “What a pity, it’s a waste of trouble. “
Xu Feng laughed young and said, “Maybe this is why people are not as good as God is. When I shoot myself in the foot, I will do it. ”
Chu Lushan shook his head, still feeling a little regretful. After Xu Fengnian issued the military order to Liuya and Fuling towns, Wei Liang’s rash pursuit and Beimang’s ambush were actually expected by the Protectorate. In fact, once Wei Liang led the cavalry into a death-fighting situation, at most half an hour, a long-distance Qingyuan cavalry would join the battlefield and eat Beimang’s bait cavalry and subsequent ambushing troops in one breath. But suddenly, a young commander Qifulongguan, who had a sense of crisis and dared to fight to the death, destroyed all layouts. Xu Fengnian and the Protectorate had to die and had no choice but to suffer. Such an opportunity belongs to the fact that after passing this village, there would be no such store. Beimang must have thought that Beiliang would not “repeat the same mistake” and broke into the ambush circle. Beiliang also lost the great opportunity to give Beimang a series of traps.
Chu Lushan suddenly laughed: “The Ministry of War in the capital has finally remembered that he wanted to ask us for military information about the Beimang offensive. ”