The section of road between Tongguan and Luoyang was called the Xiaohan Ancient Road in later generations. Han naturally refers to Hangu Pass, and Xiao is the Xiaoshan Mountain. It is a branch of the eastern section of the Qinling Mountains and is also the western barrier of the entire Heluo Plain.
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The road from Tongguan to Hengnong does not change much. It just goes along the river. However, going east from Hengnong and entering the range of the Xiaoshan Mountains, it is divided into two parts, the north and the south, due to the changes in the terrain of the mountains and rivers.
The road is the North-South Xiaodao Road.
Among them, the South Xiaodao Road has existed for a longer time. It mostly follows the terrain of mountains and rivers and proceeds along the river valley. After crossing the Xiaoling Mountains, it winds all the way down and finally reaches the Luoshui River Valley between the east of Xiaoshan Mountain and Xiong'er Mountain. It goes up the Luoshui River.
Traveling through the northeast, we finally arrived in Luoyang.
The Beijiao Road passes through the mountains at the northern foot of Xiaoshan Mountain. There is no valley passage to follow in the western section. Instead, it climbs directly up the mountain. A road was carved out with slashes and axes. The most rugged section of this road was later named Kip.
Shiguan, but there is another literary term that is even more impressive, that is Du Fu's "Shihao Official". This section of the passage dug between the rocks is also called the Shihao Ancient Road.
After passing the Shihao Ancient Road, you can go eastward along the valley passage and arrive at Mianchi. After passing Mianchi, you can continue eastward along the Gushui River and arrive at Luoyang after exiting Hanhangu Pass.
Comparing the two roads, the northern road is shorter but the road condition is much worse. Especially in the Shihao section, the road is narrow and steep, and the trafficability is much worse than the southern section.
The southern route mostly follows rivers and valleys, and the road conditions are better than those in the northern section. However, only sometimes, if there is an increase in rain in summer, the mountain springs surge, and the river valleys flood, it will be difficult for people and horses to travel. Moreover, the southern route relies too much on natural terrain such as rivers and valleys.
, so the road is winding and long.
If it is civilian logistics of people and goods, for the sake of safety, the South Road is a good choice. But for military purposes, the shorter and straighter North Road is undoubtedly a better route. After all, it will take more time for people and horses to be delayed on the road.
The risk doubles and the consumption doubles.
After the Battle of Mangshan, the area east of Weishan was basically occupied by the Eastern Wei Dynasty. The so-called rebels in the east of Wei had dissatisfied hopes. The previous strongholds around Heluo were almost wiped out. Now they want to set foot there again.
Heluo, of course, wants to reopen the channel.
In the past few years when Li Yuan was in charge of Hengnong, the strongholds in the east of Guangdong were somewhat restored. A series of fortifications, such as the Tongrail Defense where Wei Fabao was stationed, were located in the upper reaches of Luoshui at the exit of the South Guodong Road. Others
Most of the generals were active in the Guannan area of Guandong.
Before Li Tai's arrival, Li Yuan's plan was to go east along the Nangui Road, gather the rebel forces from the south of Guandongguan, capture Yiyang, which is also located in the Luoshui River Basin, and occupy Jiuqu City on the west bank of the Luoshui River.
, in this way, the Nanxiao Road is completely opened.
Li Tai had two choices at the moment. One was to set out with the army from western Henan and go east to Yiyang via the South Xiao Road. The other was to take the North Xiao Road, cross the Xiao Mountains, follow the Valley River, pass through Hanguan and enter the Heluo area.
After some introductions by Li Yuan and others, and considering his own military situation, Li Tai decided not to interfere with the South Road and directly marched on the North Road.
It's not that he wants to be new and different, it's just that the South Road is winding and long, and it's midsummer, so there is often precipitation, making the South Road more difficult to pass.
And most of his troops were cavalry, carrying many chariots and horses. Once they were stranded for a long time due to weather and geography, not to mention whether it would delay the fighter plane, the consumption of just one person eating horses would be very serious. The rebels in western Henan
The material conditions are so bad that it is unrealistic to expect them to provide supplies. It is more realistic to arrive in the Heluo area as soon as possible to support the war.
Li Yuan was not surprised that Li Tai made this choice. From his actions of daring to invade Jinyang, it can be seen that his style of using troops is more radical, and his five thousand elite troops are also a considerable force.
With the military strength of the Eastern Wei Dynasty shrinking due to the Hou Jing Rebellion, it is not a difficult task to open the Beikiao Road.
According to the mutual division of labor, Li Yuan assigned Han Xiong's troops to Li Tai as a guide to cooperate in the battle. Han Xiong was originally a native of Henan, and now he is also serving as Yin of Henan. He is regarded as the nominal military and political officer of the Heluo area, and he has been in Liyi since
He has been active in the Heluo area since then. He is also very familiar with the surrounding situation and is also brave and good at fighting.
Li Tai had no objections to this arrangement, and he was looking forward to cooperating with him this time. He could exchange feelings with each other during his free time, and ask about his children's grades at home. If they were not easy to discipline, why not send them to his own Shangyuan Village?
After the matter was agreed upon, the generals dispersed to rest. Shortly after midnight, Li Tai got up early, inspected the camp, ordered his troops to prepare meals, and set off early today.
He had just made arrangements here, and Han Xiong also led his troops to obey his orders. There were more than 500 strong soldiers, their uniforms and robes were not neat, and some even wore Eastern Wei military uniforms. They were probably captured directly on the battlefield, and these
The soldiers' heads, faces, hands, necks, and other parts visible to the naked eye were more or less covered with scars, which shows the hard work of the defense operations in this area.
Although these sergeants are not good-looking in terms of their clothes and appearance, there is a fierceness and stubbornness in each of them that many people do not have. People dare not get close to them rashly and just want to keep a distance. This is probably the so-called
Be murderous.
Since it was a coincidence, Li Tai waved to Han Xiong and other soldiers to enter the camp for dinner first. When they saw the neatly stacked grain cakes on the camp's grain cart, the sergeants couldn't help but whisper, and
Han Xiong couldn't help but widen his eyes and asked in shock: "How can the food supply in the Xihe public camp be so generous?"
Li Tai then smiled and told the story of the origin of this grain cake, and said that his family had a complete industrial chain and could produce it continuously as long as the raw materials were sufficient. It was not a trophy snatched from Jinyang in the Eastern Wei Dynasty.
Han Xiong suddenly realized this when he heard this, but soon he looked at Li Tai with shining eyes, and couldn't help but sigh: "Such refined food is really suitable for rationing to the soldiers in western Henan.
The mountain roads here are rugged, and it is difficult to carry supplies and cargo. Every time the soldiers come in and out, they often have to eat and drink, and the targets they plan to attack are hundreds of miles away. If they get such rich supplies, they will travel day and night, running around and attacking without restrictions, to root out the thieves.
It would be much easier to defend the army!"
Not only in the mountainous areas of western Henan, but also in any combat environment that relies on logistical supplies, this refined grain cake can greatly improve the dietary supplies of soldiers and increase their combat capabilities and combat methods.
After the soldiers had finished eating and packed up their belongings, there was still some time before dawn. With the faint moonlight in the west sky, the group of people set out from camp and hit the road. Taking advantage of the cool night, they arrived at the western foot of Mount Wei in one breath.
The road gradually became rugged, and the sky gradually became brighter, but because the peaks of Mount Laoshan were blocking the way, we couldn't see the sun rising.
"The mountain road ahead is narrow and cannot accommodate carriages and horses running side by side. It will take a long time for the whole army to climb over. If they cannot avoid the scorching midday sun, there will be no water to drink and no shade to cover, and the strength of the people and horses will be seriously depleted. It will be even more dangerous if they are stranded on the top of the mountain...
…”
Listening to Han Xiong's words, Li Tai simply asked him to arrange the order and rhythm of the troops climbing over the mountains here. He first led a group of light infantry to climb over to the other side of the mountains to patrol and guard.
Despite the dispatch and command of Han Xiong, who was familiar with the terrain, due to the heavy weight of the carriages and horses, and the need to avoid the too hot midday, it took until dawn the next day for all the horse and horse teams to completely pass through this section of the stone trench road.
At this time, the people and horses in front of them had already traveled along the mountain road for more than 20 miles.
What lay in front of the people and horses ahead was a spindle-shaped valley between two mountains. The valley was more than a mile wide at its widest point and several miles long. The mountain walls on both sides were steep and covered with dense vegetation. At dawn, the light was already weak.
It makes this valley look like a huge black mouth ready to devour anyone at any time.
Based on the principle of caution, Li Tai did not lead people into the valley immediately. Instead, he stopped at the entrance of the valley on the west side and rested for about half an hour. Han Xiong also led a group of soldiers to catch up from the rear.
"Going out of the valley and passing the pass in front, you can reach the Gushui River Valley in Mianchi. There is Yanhan City, a military town set up by the Eastern Bandits. The city is an important road in the valley, and it is the only way to go west and out from the east. At the end of the time, we will have passed
I sent people to investigate the situation and found that there were still more than three thousand people in the city."
Han Xiong knew the enemy situation in this area well, and after introducing it to Li Tai, he put forward his own combat ideas: "The terrain of Yan Han City is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but the general will know that there is another way to go around here and go to the east of the city. If you send a team
By blocking the east road with elite soldiers, we can attack from both sides. But if we cannot conquer the city in a short time, when reinforcements from the Guancheng garrison reach the lower reaches of the Gushui River, I will be in danger of severing my forearm."
All parties in Li Tai's army this year have a lot of experience with such valley terrain. He knows that such strongholds are the most troublesome. If they cannot be conquered in a short time, it will be difficult to take them down even if they are surrounded for several layers.
, often becomes a war of attrition.
The combat method proposed by Han Xiong can greatly shake the morale of the defenders. However, if the battle cannot be fought quickly, the troops who penetrate deep into the enemy's city will inevitably be attacked from two sides, and will be in an extremely dangerous situation.
After pondering for a while, he summoned He Ruodun, briefly described the situation to him, and then asked, "Do you dare to go east to stop the enemy?"
"Don't worry, Sir. As long as these soldiers from the west of Henan are not afraid and lead them to the wrong road, I will go straight to the east road and kill the thieves in the city!"
He Ruoden laughed and said after hearing this, completely ignoring Han Xiong's raised eyebrows and glaring eyes.
Li Tai couldn't help but secretly feel funny when he saw this scene, and then asked He Ruoden to select 300 brave soldiers to join Han Xiong's elite soldiers to form a team of 500 people, and gave He Ruoden 30 pairs of long swords.
Heavy armor. It’s not that I don’t want to give more, but carrying too many heavy weapons will definitely affect mobility.