The army retreated calmly, taking with them a large amount of loot. The usable horses were led to the top of the mountain and gathered together. The dead ones were slaughtered and grilled on the volcano. The still alive ones were thrown at the bottom of the mountain. Their legs were cut off and lined up in a long strip of meat.
The walls and corpses were also piled up to form another wall of flesh.
The two walls of flesh are like two barriers. If the Turks want to kill them, they must be cleared.
Cleaning up means dismounting, and dismounting is a living target.
There are too many and they cannot be crossed without clearing the horses.
After the meal, Qin Huaidao saw that the Turks had no intention of attacking, so he refused to provoke them. He ordered the army to repair the fortifications and dig steeper any gentle slope up the mountain to increase the difficulty of climbing. He only left one road for him to walk along, and arranged two battalions of troops on both sides of the intersection.
guard.
There are three lines of defense in the entire Yangguan. Each line of defense is dug into a trench, which goes around the mountain and is connected to each other by communication trenches. As long as it is deep enough and a person squats in it with a shield, there is no fear of being shot by an archer.
Order after order was issued, and the whole army took action.
Qin Huaidao personally directed how to route the trenches, how to use the surrounding terrain as support, where to place the observation posts, how to choose the route during the attack, how to divide the areas responsible for each battalion during the counterattack, and how to arrange the hiding holes in the trenches. Once injured,
People can hide inside, warriors, etc.
Soon, Yangguan became a huge construction site.
The Turks didn't know what was going on. Someone came up to check, but were scared away by the fifth group that was cruising nearby.
Some generals observed and pointed from a distance, but in the end did not attack.
Both sides are waiting.
The Turks were waiting for reinforcements and supplies. After a big battle, they suffered huge losses from their feathers and arrows.
Qin Huaidao and others withdrew their troops and waited for the fortifications.
The battle entered into an incredible tacit understanding, with no one taking the initiative to attack.
Time is passing quietly.
…
Outside Dunhuang City.
A large army rushed over, led by Cheng Yaojin and Cheng Chumo. Seeing the city gates closed, flags waving on the walls, and Turkic soldiers with bows and arrows drawn, the two were a little confused. Don't Turks like to fight in the field? Why did they start to play defense?
In urban warfare, is this technology viable?
The two of them were puzzled. After exchanging glances, they reined in their horses and stopped, raising their hands to signal the army to stop as well.
The spring is cold and the wind is blowing slowly.
The earth is covered with green makeup and is vast, and the Dang River flows leisurely, reflecting the sun and sparkling.
Two mountain eagles circled in the sky, and their screams echoed throughout the wilderness.
This scene made everyone a little confused. City, oasis, river, farmland, and mountains in the distance. Isn't this a scene only found in the south of the Yangtze River? Where are we?
"It's a good place. If you take it, you can feed 100,000 soldiers." Cheng Yaojin said with emotion.
"No wonder Brother Qin asked us to come here. There is water, an oasis, and fertile land. If we cultivate it, we can feed hundreds of thousands of people. This is a good place." Cheng Chu agreed silently.
"How to fight?" Cheng Yaojin asked the examiner.
Cheng Chumo did not answer immediately. He stared at the city in front of him and thought about countermeasures. Gradually, his eyes fell on a forest not far away and said: "The Turks are good at attacking but not at defending, but the city is high and the walls are guarded."
The army is densely packed, I don’t know how many, and the cost of attacking by force is too high, no wonder Brother Qin let us surround him instead of attacking."
"It's okay to surround without attacking, but it's useless. Don't you want to win?" Chen Yaojin asked. His own son, his own son, had to give advice and give more advice.
"Of course I want to, but the price cannot be high, otherwise Brother Qin will not be able to explain it. The army will settle down first and cut down trees to build ladders. Unfortunately, there are no artillery. Otherwise, we can just blast open the city gate and rush in. We can only use conventional methods."
"Stupid, stupid! How did I give birth to a thing like you?"
Cheng Yaojin cursed unceremoniously, pointed at the river in front of him, glared and said, "Have you never thought of building a dam to cut off the flow, or store water to flood the city? The Turks have occupied this place for many days, and all the Tang troops in the city must be dead.
Why are you being polite to him? Just block the upstream and build a diversion dam."
Cheng Chumo heard that it made sense. If there were no people in the city, it would be flooded. He would block the water upstream and build a diversion dam somewhere. When the water opened up, the water would rush straight to Dunhuang City along the dam.
.
Although Dunhuang City was included in the list of border cities reinforced by the imperial court, it had not yet had time to be reinforced with cement. How many days could it survive being soaked in water?
Even if it doesn't collapse, the wells in the city will become turbid and unusable, and we will have to leave the city.
Older gingers are more spicy!
Cheng Chumo's initial dissatisfaction with the scolding was swept away, and he smiled and said: "Okay, this is a good idea. You can work hard and lead people to build the dam. I don't believe in this kind of technology. I will leave a thousand people staring at the city.
In the past, the Turks sent troops to intercept and kill them to ensure nothing went wrong."
"One thousand is too little. I'll leave you two thousand. Be careful." Cheng Yaojin was really afraid that Cheng Chumo wouldn't be able to do the technical work of building a dam, so he left his two thousand elite soldiers behind and led the others to disperse and charge upstream.
.
The river is east of Dunhuang City and flows from the northeast to the southwest. There is a certain distance. Where to build the dam and how to build the diversion dam is a technical job that needs to be determined based on the terrain. It is really impossible without some experience.
Cheng Yaojin roughly selected a location, walked it on site, determined the route, and started taking action with others.
Cheng Chumo led his men to guard three miles outside the city. He ordered the soldiers to dismount and rest, and eat some dry food to regain their strength. With the ruthless plan of flooding, he hoped that the Turks would not leave the city to attack.
…
Outside Yumen Pass.
Luo Zhang hurried over with his army, looking at the three circles of ditches outside the city, he was a little confused. What kind of song was this?
Duke An Guo did not dare to look down upon Luo Zhang, so he quickly led people out of the city to greet him. After some greetings, Luo Zhang asked directly: "Gong An Guo, we have dug three lines, and the brothers are still digging. What kind of defense is this?"
"I don't understand either. Before he left, the King of Han told him to dig five trenches, each one ten meters apart. He said that in the future the trenches could be flooded and turned into a moat. I'm afraid I have to ask the King of Han for the details. I'm only responsible for the execution."
When Luo Zhang heard that it was Qin Huaidao's request, there was no problem. Just follow it. He looked at the sturdy city that was not high and said: "This Guancheng is too small and cannot accommodate too many troops. How can our army settle down?"
"It can still be accommodated even if it is squeezed."
Anguo Gong smiled and said: "General Luo, don't underestimate this Guancheng. The city is not good now, but as long as the five trenches are dug, there is no way to capture it without tens of thousands of Turkic cavalry filling in. As long as this Turkic attack is repelled, the King of Han will definitely
People will be sent to reinforce it, and when the time comes, it will be built into a cement wall, and even tens of thousands of people will not be able to capture it."
"Uncle is planning to build this place into a permanent city?" Luo Zhang asked in surprise.
"Yes, the King of Han warned you before leaving that you must guard this place, otherwise I won't be left behind. I'm afraid General Luo doesn't know yet. Following the river to the west is Lop Nur, which leads directly to Loulan Kingdom. You can get there in one day on horseback.
The location is dangerous." An Guogong explained.
Luo Zhang had been to Lop Nur and instantly realized the value of this place. This Guancheng was not only the bridgehead and gate from Loulan to Longyou, but also the rear area of Hanzhou. If necessary, it could prevent the imperial court from sudden attacks and illegal status.
"Report!"
Suddenly, a fast horse roared over.
Soon, the opponent rushed forward, clasped his fists and said: "Report to Duke An, a great victory at Yangguan. The King of Han killed nearly 30,000 Turks in one battle, and there were still more than 20,000 Turks. However, they did not retreat and chose to go on the defensive and confront Yangguan.
, Yangguan is building fortifications, the details are unclear, and it is too far away to see clearly."
"Well, as expected of the King of Han, how long did it take to kill 30,000 people in one battle? It doesn't even take a day, hahaha, these Turks are doomed." An Guogong said excitedly.
Luo Zhang didn't understand the situation yet, but when he heard that the battle was won, he was in a good mood and asked: "Dong An, why do you say that the Turks are doomed?"
Anguo Gong recounted the situation of the battle and added: "The Turkic prince refused to retreat after defeat. He was obviously unwilling to accept it and could not retreat. Otherwise, his reputation would be damaged and he would not be able to inherit the position of Great Khan in the future. He could only continue the fight, which would inevitably involve sending troops from all over the country.
Ma, the danger of the three cities of Hanzhou was easily solved by the King of Han, high, really high!"
Luo Zhang grasped the key point keenly and asked: "You mean that the Turkic prince will mobilize his troops and besiege the three cities of Hanzhou. The troops and horses will leave part of them. The remaining troops and horses will not be too many, and they will only besiege but not attack."
, the victory or defeat at Yangguan will determine the outcome of the entire war."
"That's right, Yangguan is a calamity. If we win, our army will sweep across the Turks and peace will be restored in Hanzhou. If we lose, the situation will become even more corrupt." An Guogong agreed.