Luochuan, located along the Luoshui River, has become more and more prosperous in recent years. In addition to the Shifo Temple, which has great influence among the Jihu tribe, there is also a large-scale Luochuan City, which attracts people every year.
A large number of people from various states in northern Shaanxi came here to engage in business and trade.
Even in the cold winter when the water flow dries up, Luochuan City, as the largest commercial goods distribution center in northern Shaanxi, still gathers a large number of people and goods, and its prosperity is not inferior to that of several large cities in Guanzhong.
Luochuan Fangcheng in Luochuan is also one of the military centers in the region. Thousands of armored soldiers are stationed daily. It is also a transshipment center for war horses and various materials in the pastoral areas of northern Shaanxi. It also plays an important role in the military system of the Western Wei Dynasty.
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Luochuan Fangcheng was also one of the three defense cities built by Li Tai when he served as the governor of the three defense cities. The position of governor of the three defense cities was the beginning of Li Tai leaving the Bafu and getting involved in the local military power.
His life history also has important significance.
So when he once again led his troops north along the Luoshui River and saw the familiar yet unfamiliar scenery along the Luoshui River, he felt sad in his heart. Especially when the team entered the Luochuan territory and saw the construction along the Luoshui River.
Li Tai felt particularly deeply when he saw the mansions, warehouses, and the endless stream of traveling caravans coming and going.
Looking back on the past, due to the neglect of control by the overlords, the wandering of the territory, and the many robbers and bullies who occupied the territory to cause trouble, the territory was desolate, which was completely different from the prosperous and lively scene in front of us.
Two worlds, Li Tai is also very proud to have brought about and promoted this series of changes.
"The servants are waiting to welcome Master Lang for his inspection of Beizhou!"
Outside the Luochuan Fangcheng, in addition to Dugu Bin, the governor of Xihe County who returned first to prepare supplies, there was also guard Li Dao and other generals and commanders here to welcome Li Tai's arrival.
Li Tai saw these familiar faces that he had not seen for a long time, and a heartfelt smile appeared on his face. He stepped forward, his eyes passed over everyone's faces one by one, and he said in a deep voice: "I will go forward with you all.
After receiving the order, we went to Beizhou together to promote governance. However, the framework of the business was initially established, but it was transferred to another place. Fortunately, you all stayed and worked hard, so that the old camp rules were not lost, and Huhuang Beizhou took on a new look. Today I return to my old place.
, the scenery is charming, thanks to all of you!”
As he spoke, Li Tai raised his arms and cupped his fists, intending to salute everyone.
However, when everyone saw this, they all leaned down to worship. Li Dao even said in a deep voice: "The servants have no talents at all. They are all fighting men. They can kill people but are incompetent in governing. Fortunately, the master has chosen him as his subordinate."
, give many good strategies. The benevolent Lord Julang of Beizhou created it. The servants are just following the previous orders and abiding by the rules. The current prosperity of Beizhou is beyond the expectations of the servants. It is the credit of Lord Julang who established it!"
Among them, a middle-aged man said excitedly: "I am a native of Beizhou, and I know the differences between this town best. In the past, this place was desolate and full of ghosts. Now it is prosperous and happy, and the people are all grateful to Master Lang for his reconstruction!"
"
Li Tai glanced at the middle-aged man, briefly recalled it in his mind, and said with a smile: "You are Lu Chuan. You refused to go south with me back then, and you just wanted to stay in your hometown. How is your life now?"
When the governor general Lu Chuan heard Li Tai call out his name, his expression suddenly became more and more excited, and he bowed deeply and said: "I am a lazy old soldier who cannot be helped. He sticks to his hometown. It is difficult to achieve great things. Now that we are married, we have a family."
I already have two children..."
Hearing Lu Chuan introduce his current life, Li Tai was also happy for him. This Lu Chuan was a countryman whom he accidentally saved when he first entered northern Shaanxi and fought against Jihu. At that time, his family was massacred by Jihu.
, after joining Li Tai's command, he worked hard to kill Hu and take revenge. Now he has reorganized his family and has his own children, which is really gratifying.
After a conversation, everyone surrounded Li Tai and entered the city. After reminiscing about old times, the joy of meeting old friends gradually subsided. When Li Tai asked about the war preparations here, the atmosphere gradually became solemn.
In order to maintain the stability of the situation in Guanzhong, Li Tai did not make any big noise about the deployment of troops in Guanzhong. He only sent troops one after another in the name of inspecting Beizhou. As for the military provisions and baggage required for this battle, part of them was transported from Shannan Road to
, the other part will be raised in the states in northern Shaanxi.
Although Li Tai can now be regarded as a veteran on the battlefield and has rich experience in commanding troops, this attack on the Turks is his first time going out to fight, and it is also his first foreign war since taking power in the DPRK, and the target he wants to fight
The Turks are still such a powerful opponent, so there is a lot of pressure in his heart.
In order to maintain the mobility of the troops, all cavalry troops were used for this battle. They were all veterans who were skilled in bow and horse skills and experienced in combat. Among them were many sergeants who had joined Li Tai's command in Longshang in the early years.
The equipment of the generals is also luxurious. In addition to Li Yunxin and Yang Zhong who set off first, there are also Yu Wengui and Li Xian, two generals who are very familiar with border affairs. There are also He Ruodun and Shi who were transferred back from Shannan Road before.
Several generals such as Jing Jing, including Wu Mingche who came from the Southern Dynasties, were also placed in the army by Li Tai for the purpose of allowing them to see the world and gain experience.
Because the journey to the fortress was long and full of variables, and because he had no experience fighting Turks before, Li Tai did not know what kind of situation he would face after the battle, so he tried his best to prepare as thoroughly as possible before setting off.
In this battle, one person and two horses are the most basic, so in addition to tens of thousands of soldiers, there are more than 20,000 horses. Even if we adhere to the principle of quick victory, it will take at least ten days to get to and from the Loop, and
In order to be more secure, it is necessary to prepare at least a month's worth of food and fodder for the army.
People's food rations are not bad. The military rations made by Li Tai have improved year by year. Now they have a salty and sweet taste and are easy to store and transport. They are most suitable for such long-distance battles. Thirty kilograms
Each soldier carried two heavy grain cakes, which was enough to sustain consumption for a month.
To be on the safe side, Li Tai also arranged to bring an additional 10,000 pieces, enough to sustain consumption for forty-five days. Of course, these grain cakes were previously stored in Shannan, and the Guanzhong government treasury was empty, so it was difficult to provide them again.
Compared with people's rations, horse feed is more troublesome. The most important point in cavalry combat is that it is better to lose to people than to horses. If the horse cannot maintain its horsepower and condition due to lack of food, the consequences will be absolutely
It's disastrous.
The war horses' feed is divided into millet and hay. When they are traveling the whole way, they will consume one bucket of millet and two kilo of grass every day. More than 20,000 war horses plus the rationed pack horses will consume more than a thousand stones of grain and hay every day.
There are tens of thousands of fodder around, so horse fodder accounts for a very high proportion in the baggage weight. Regardless of the quantity, the volume alone is difficult to transport.
Therefore, when cavalry goes out to fight, they must set up sufficient supply points along the way and store enough grain and grass supplies. However, such supply lines did not exist in the previous Western Wei Dynasty.
In order to ensure that the needed grain and grass could be received in time, Li Tai arranged for Dugu Bin to return first to raise grain and grass supplies, and the effects of all aspects of the previous construction in northern Shaanxi were reflected.
Although the Chinese and foreign government's previous eastern expedition had plundered all the treasury of the states in northern Shaanxi, they could still be purchased on the market. In order to exchange the cloth and silk from the Shangyuan folks for supplies, Li Tai established a chain in northern Shaanxi.
The regulations for selling goods in the official market continued to carry forward this model after arriving in Mianbei.
Moreover, a series of reclamation work in northern Shaanxi centered on Kulichuan was to serve the opening of China. Although Li Tai left here before, related work has been carried out, and supplies to armies in Xiazhou, Suizhou and other places have also been carried out.
They have all relied on Kai Zhongfa for supply.
At this time, Dugu Bin talked about the relevant war preparations, and he was quite confident: "Now the fodder collected in Tongwan City has reached more than one million, and it is still being transported from various places. By mid-March, it is expected to reach
Around three million. The remaining materials and materials have also been supplemented..."
There are already many official and private herders in the prefectures of northern Shaanxi, and stockpiling fodder is also a common practice among the people. In late winter and early spring, some accumulated old materials are burned into ash to increase the fertility of the land.
Due to the existence of Kaizhong and Guanshi in northern Shaanxi, although the order was only issued for ten days, a considerable amount of materials had already been gathered. Without these preliminary constructions, Li Tai and his ten thousand elite cavalry would not even dare to
It was easy to get out of Guanzhong, let alone rush to fight the Turks outside the Great Wall.
The only regret is that these materials can only be transported as far as Tongwan City in Xiazhou. Further north, there is no stable stronghold of the Western Wei Dynasty. From Xiazhou to the Hetao area, it is still six to seven hundred miles away.
Even if the cavalry brigade attacks at full speed, it will take several days.
In addition to the most basic military supplies such as grain and grass, the bows, arrows, armor, swords, felt tents and military uniforms needed for this battle, as well as various marching tools were also replenished in Luochuan. Li Tai stayed here for another two days.
Then he led his troops directly to Xiazhou.
When Li Tai arrived at Tongwan City, Yu Wengui, who had arrived first, had arranged for Youyi to explore several alternative marching routes.
Although there is still a vast space from Tongwan City to the north to the Hetao Plain, this area is mostly barren land, a large area of barren land. Later, the Tang Dynasty once established Liuhu Prefecture here to accommodate the Turks who surrendered.
But even those Turkic remnants couldn't stand this harsh environment and frequently revolted, which shows that the environment was really harsh.
However, in order to avoid being noticed by the Turkic scouts in advance, the safest way for the army is to advance through these inaccessible desert moraine edges. Therefore, as long as there is surface water on the way that can barely sustain the consumption of the troops and horses, there is no need to worry too much about other factors.
So after Li Tai and his party had eaten and drank as much as they could in Xiazhou, they rode their horses against the wind and sand into the barren moraine in the north of Xiazhou, and marched hard towards their destination.