"Fighting the enemy bravely is only one of the hardships of a general. Sleeping in the open air, setting up camp, moving out of camp, and working hard to attack a distance are even more difficult, and it is the most difficult thing that reflects the combat effectiveness of an army..."
Xu Huai, Qian Shangduan and others accompanied King Jing Zhao Tuan to stand on the top of Yehuang Ridge at the northwest foot of Songshan Mountain, looking north and east of Gong County at the barracks established by the soldiers in just three or four days;
To the south of Yehuang Ridge, there is an open valley surrounded by Yehuang Ridge, Shengqi Peak in the southwest, and the more Cuiwei main line of Songshan Mountain in the southeast.
There is the mausoleum where the six generations of Dai Viet's late emperors and many concubines, princes and ministers are buried.
A carriage road has been opened at the entrance of the valley between Yehuang Ridge and Shengqi Peak, making it easier to enter and exit.
Fortunately, Commander Cao led the Lanshuo rebels to attack Gong County in a hurry. He only had time to detach a small group of troops and set fire to the annexed buildings in the Huangling District, leaving behind a pile of debris, but he did not have time to drive out the prisoners.
Go excavate the imperial tomb.
If the soldiers were asked to dig up the imperial tombs of the past emperors, rob all the funerary objects, and expose the remains of the past emperors in the wild, even if they finally defended Gong County, after the Chihu people's first southern invasion came to an end, the second prince
It is very likely that he will still be criticized by the courtiers and clan members.
Zheng Huaizhong, Gao Chunnian and others not only led the vanguard of the Western Army to Gong County, but also set up contiguous camps from Gong County to the west to the east bank of the Yiluo River. However, Xu Huai and others led their troops to withdraw from Gong County.
, and did not camp at the entrance of the Huangling Valley.
They chose a location slightly east of the valley entrance, at the foot of the northern foothills of Yehuang Ridge, and camped in a narrow area south of Gong County.
There is a narrow passage here for the soldiers to bypass from the east of Gong County.
And they camped here, not only to plug this gap, but also to act as wingers when necessary, taking the initiative to attack from the undulating low ridge area at the northern foot of Yehuang Mountain, bypassing to the northeast of Gong County, and attacking the gap between Gong County and Hulao.
enemy.
Deng Gui, Yang Qiye, and Tang Pan also led the Caizhou reinforcements to Gong County before noon today.
Caizhou's reinforcements arrived in Gong County later than scheduled, but it was not because of any accident on the way.
However, before Cao Shili supported Gong County and rushed to attack Gong County, Xu Huai had already helped King Jing successfully control the troops guarding the tomb, and he was confident of holding Gong County.
Instead, he was worried that Deng Gui, Tang Pan, and Yang Qiye would lead their troops to forcibly climb the dangerous path of Songshan Mountain. The generals would be too tired, resulting in unnecessary attrition, and deliberately asked them to slow down.
Although more than a thousand elite troops arrived in Gong County a few days later than expected, the generals were not pushed too hard and were not too tired. They still maintained relatively sufficient physical strength. At this time, they entered the camp at the northern foot of Yehuang Ridge to rest and recuperate, and soon they were
able to engage in subsequent operations.
However, the camp at the northern foot of Yehuang Ridge is a bit too simple.
The army guarding the mausoleum relied on the city to defend, and now it was barely qualified, but the soldiers were too pampered from top to bottom, and they were very unfamiliar with camping.
Xu Wujiang personally accompanied Zhang Xin and gave him detailed instructions on how to set up camp. After finally getting it straightened out a little, he climbed to the west peak of Yehuang Ridge with Deng Gui, Yang Qiye, Tang Pan and others.
Xu Huaize stood at the west peak of Yehuang Ridge, waiting for Xu Wujiang and others to climb the peak, and explained to King Jing how to set up camp.
King Jing Zhao Tuan was well educated and knowledgeable, but he was still unfamiliar with military matters and had no contact with them.
Among the princes, except for the third son of Empress Shugong, who was favored by the official family and had long been interested in deposing the crown prince, the second prince also deliberately hid his clumsiness in order to avoid being targeted by Empress Shugong and her family, so he was not involved in the court.
Generals and ministers pay attention to it.
When King Jing wanted to fight for his heir, it was no longer as simple as winning the favor of an official; secretly cultivating power was no longer enough.
When the Chihu people invaded the south for the second time, Bianliang would most likely follow the established historical trajectory and fall. Even if Xu Huai could find a way to make King Jing escape from this difficulty, he still wanted to win the support of the officials and ministers of the government and the public.
Compared with Zhao Guan, the king of Lu who held the imperial edict and was in Weizhou, he was still at a huge disadvantage.
If King Jing wants to move back to the disadvantage, if he wants to win more ministers from the government and the public, as well as the support of the forces in the southeast, southwest, Shaanxi, Hebei, and Hedong, he must be seen as the one who can turn the tide when the mountains and rivers are broken.
.
In the prosperous times, an emperor must first know how to govern the country and make changes on a contingency basis. However, the mountains and rivers are broken, the country is in danger, and the whole country's strength is used to resist the barbarians. If the emperor does not know the military affairs, he obviously cannot be called qualified.
Therefore, Xu Huai now seized the opportunity, and of course he explained to King Jing the matters of marching, setting up camp, providing food and troops, etc. in simple and easy-to-understand terms.
The army guarding the mausoleum seemed to be holding Gong County and was not frightened by the brutal siege and bloody battle. The brave and brave soldiers were also promoted to fill the ranks of the grassroots soldiers and support the skeleton of the army. However, at this time, there was still a long way to build a strong army.
There is a long way to go.
Marching and setting up camp may seem simple, but they are the most important test of an army's skills.
Especially the high-intensity continuous march that lasts hundreds of miles or even thousands of miles. In addition to traveling on the road every day, we must put out warnings when arriving at the camp. We must not slack off in defense, cook in pots, organize logistics, and prevent epidemics;
After spending the night, when you break camp and set out, you have to put away the tents and take away all the reusable items. From the commander-in-chief to the lower-level soldiers, every day will be very boring, complicated, and extremely tiring and hard; while marching the army
It is not an easy task to keep the troops organized and ready to fight the enemy at any time.
What's more, the tomb-defending army had only defended the city once before, and had not really left the city to face the siege and attack of a powerful enemy. How could it be qualified to be called a strong army?
Therefore, even if Zheng Huaizhong, Gao Chunnian, Wu Wenche and others react, they may impose various restrictions on them. Even if they want to build the tomb-defending army into an elite force that truly dares to face powerful enemies, Xu Huai will still pull them back.
Come out of the city and engage the soldiers outside the city.
This condition did not exist before. The main reason was that Xu Huai had limited elites around him. It was far from guaranteed that once the formation was broken by enemy cavalry, he could only lead the limited elite cavalry to protect the generals guarding the mausoleum and escape the one-sided massacre by the enemy cavalry.
Tang Pan led a battalion of infantry over to ensure that there would be a solid anchor point on the battlefield in the nearby mountains that could not be easily defeated by the enemy cavalry. Xu Huaicai had room to deal with the captive soldiers - at this time, even if the array of the tomb guarding army
Being overwhelmed, Xu Huai was confident that he could cover one wing and cover the retreat of the defeated soldiers into the rugged mountains.
So after Xu Wujiang, Zhang Xin, Tang Pan, Deng Gui, Yang Qiye and others boarded Yehuang Ridge, Xu Huai directly followed the terrain at the northern foot of Yehuang Ridge and told everyone, especially Zhang Xin, Ling Jian, Zhou Shu
, Chen Jin, Yu Gong, Yu Zheng, Han Wende, Liu Shiwang and other generals explained the key points of coordinated infantry and cavalry operations.
Gongxian County is affiliated to Luoyang Prefecture on the northwest road of Beijing. As the county magistrate, Gao Huihong, as well as the county captain Zhu Xun and others, are directly dispatched by the transfer envoy Wu Wenche. However, King Jing led the tomb-defending army out of the city, Qiao Jien served as the tomb-defending envoy, and Chen Yougui served as the tomb-defending army capital.
The commander, even if he was deprived of the right to command the tomb-defending army, had no choice but to leave the city with him.
They thought that after hiding behind the Western Army's reinforcements, their safety would be guaranteed even if they left the city.
At this time, they were standing next to King Jing Zhao Tuan, listening to Xu Huai and the generals talking about the formation of infantry and cavalry to meet the enemy, and their faces became tense.
Qiao Jien hesitated for a long time, then gritted his teeth and advised King Jing: "The reinforcements of the Western Army have arrived, and we have set up a battle array in Gong County. When we have to fight the Japanese soldiers from the front, there is no room for us to intervene. Besides, the Emperor
The mausoleum has been ravaged by soldiers, and it will take time to rebuild the sacrificial hall, but we must do our best to clean it up, so that it can be worthy of the spirits of the past emperors in heaven!"
"The mountains and rivers are broken, the country is in danger, and it is everyone's responsibility to expel the barbarians. How can I stay out of it? This is more important than cleaning up the sacrificial tombs!" King Jing said solemnly.
"The Western Army's reinforcements will set up a frontal battle and will fight the main force of the Japanese troops. As wingers, we will look for opportunities to attack the enemy from the northern foot of Yehuang Ridge. On the one hand, we will share the pressure of the Western Army's reinforcements from attacking from the front and open the battle as soon as possible.
Entering the east passage to relieve the siege of Bianliang, in the loyalty and filial piety of His Highness, on the other hand, this direction is not only the weak flank of the captive soldiers, but also the terrain is much more rugged than the front, which is not conducive to the deployment of the superior troops of both sides.
Suitable for small-scale combat, not very dangerous,"
Qiao Jien and Chen Yougui have been quite cooperative in the past ten days, but King Jing is really lacking in available manpower. Xu Huai explained to them as pleasantly as possible and said,
"Xu Huai dare not risk His Highness's safety by taking random risks."
Now that Qiao Jien knew the whole story of King Jing's "refuge" in Gong County, how could he believe Xu Huai's lies?
However, Qiao Jien witnessed the entire process of defending the city in Gong County, and he became more and more determined that the ancestral laws were correct, and he would strictly control these military leaders to prevent them from acting rashly. But this was also the case at this time, and he did not dare to talk to Xu Huai and other military leaders.
Argue in person for fear of offending them.
Qiao Jien was also mumbling and silent at the moment.
Xu Huai had already figured out the thoughts of people like Qiao Jien, and now he just hoped that they would shut up and said: "What Qiao Langjun just said makes some sense. The imperial mausoleum and the sacrificial hall were ordered to be set on fire by the soldiers. Your Highness cannot ignore it completely.
But you can call him Qiao Langjun, and Chen Junhou is responsible for recruiting people to serve him..."
When the Japanese soldiers attacked, a large number of people fled into the mountains in panic. They were short of clothes and food, and were crying for food. They didn't know when they would be able to return to their homes.
Even as a winger, using rugged terrain to engage the enemy from the flank, casualties are inevitable, and a steady stream of new soldiers will be needed in the future.
Now that they have handed over Gong County, they will not be able to recruit volunteers from the city to supplement the tomb-guarding army, so they will have to recruit new soldiers from the fleeing people in the mountains.
Fortunately, most areas of Luoyang Mansion have not suffered from military disasters, and there is no shortage of food and fodder supplies. At this time, we can recruit reserve soldiers in the name of cleaning up the imperial tombs...
