It has to be said that there are knowledgeable heroes everywhere in the world, and it is not only those who are knowledgeable and sensible. The grassland tribes can compete with the Central Plains dynasty for thousands of years despite the huge gap in weapons and equipment.
It's not just galloping horses and sharp bows and arrows.
They have never lacked cunning and insidious side. They are better at using sneak attacks and sudden attacks. This has a lot to do with the fact that the Hu people make a living by hunting.
Jieli Khan gave up one of his sons, and took Tuli Khan and so many tribes to go south together. How could he be willing to be killed at Yanmen Pass?
Since ancient times, the Hu people have peeked into the Central Plains from beyond the Great Wall. There are actually many roads they can take. However, after years of fighting, they quickly determined that only a few places are qualified to accommodate the march of large armies, such as Yanmen Pass. Although the roads are narrow,
However, the terrain inside and outside the pass is flat enough to accommodate an attack by hundreds of thousands of troops.
Relatively speaking, the conditions in other places are relatively poor. For example, the west side of Shuozhou is not impossible to pass people, but that area is a high loess slope with crisscross ravines. In the era of cold weapons, such terrain was obviously not suitable for formation combat.
Not to mention that most of the grassland tribes are cavalry... After crossing the Loess Plateau, we have to cross the Yellow River. Is it possible to swim across it?
Therefore, most of the battles between grassland tribes and Central Plains dynasties took place around Yanmen Pass.
But there is one exception.
That is Ningwuguan, also known as Loufanguan.
As early as the Warring States Period, King Wuling of Zhao once built a tower and pass here to prevent the Huns.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Loufan County was established and Loufan Pass was established.
Yanmen uses mountains as natural dangers, making it difficult for cavalry to break through. However, there is a reason why barbarians often use Yanmen Pass instead of Loufan Pass when invading.
Because Loufanguan uses the river as a natural barrier, and there is a Huihe River in the north of the pass, it is difficult for the Hu people who are not good at water to pass through this natural barrier. Only when the river stops flowing can it be possible to send troops southward. Although the Huihe River Valley is not big
, but it can also accommodate ten cavalry riding together.
However, the river water often cuts off in spring and east, and in summer and autumn, the main seasons for the invasion of the Hu people, the river water often fills up. This makes the main attack direction of the Hu people still at Yanmen Pass.
It’s no wonder that many people can’t remember that in recent decades, the only appearance of Loufan Pass was in the third year of Daye. Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty returned from Shuozhou on his inspection tour.
In the next ten years or so, Qimin Khan first besieged Yanmen with his troops, and then the world was in chaos. Liu Wuzhou and Yuan Junzhang started to revolt one after another. Yanmen Pass seemed almost undefended, and the Turks came and went at will, as if they were entering their own back garden.
generally.
In this case, many people have inadvertently ignored Lou Fanguan.
On May 18, while Jieli Khan was still storming Yanmen Pass, he secretly sent Ashina She'er to lead his elite cavalry south, and used sheepskin rafts to transport the soldiers across the Hui River.
In fact, the Tang army had a garrison at Loufangguan, but there were not many. Ashina Sheer led hundreds of cavalry to attack at night. The Tang army was defeated and was driven out by the Turks.
Then Ashina Sheer immediately built a simple bridge with the craftsmen who had prepared it long ago. On May 20, nearly 5,000 Turkic cavalry entered Lanzhou from Loufangguan.
The Turks marched extremely fast, as fast as thunder. They broke through Yifang County on May 20th and Jingle County on May 21st. Zhong Mo, the governor of Lanzhou, was defeated and died.
On May 22nd, Ashina Sheer led the Turkic cavalry south to Taiyuan Prefecture, sacked two towns, replenished supplies, and then quickly headed north.
On May 23rd, Fang Renyu, the governor of Xinzhou, sent troops to meet the enemy. Ashina She'er sent a small force to harass and then turned back to set up an ambush. At dusk that day, he successfully ambushed and sent reinforcements from Bingzhou Governor Li Daozong.
On May 24, Ashina Sheer went north again and defeated the Tang army outside Dingxiang County. Fang Renyu, the governor of Xinzhou, only escaped with his life.
On this day, Ashina Sheer led his troops to attack Daizhou.
On this day, Ashina Sheer was not surprised, but he was also surprised to find that thirty miles south of Nao County, a well-organized Tang army was waiting in formation.
The reason why it was not unexpected was that Ashina Sheer knew very well that although he was marching fast, he had been engaged in many battles after all. By now, the people at Yanmen Pass should have received the news and should divide their troops and go south.
Ashina Sheer was surprised that it was so fast. The distance from Yanmen Pass to Nao County was not too far, but it was not too close either. Looking at the Tang army in front of them, it was obvious that they did not arrive in a hurry.
The great victories in the previous battles were largely due to surprise. The Tang army did not expect that the Turks would take the risk of using the road to cross the pass, and the Bingzhou pursuers did not expect that Ashina Sheer would not speed up the march and instead set an ambush.
This battle... Ashina She'er held the riding whip in his hand tightly and looked around. He saw that the Tang army had about thousands of soldiers, mostly infantry, but there were also more than a thousand cavalry who wanted to get around... I'm afraid it was impossible.
big.
The Turkic cavalry does not follow marching lines. Once they are chased by the cavalry, they are likely to be scattered and scattered all over the mountains and plains... And Ashina Sheer also hopes that these more than 4,000 cavalry will put pressure on the Yanmen Pass defenders. Naturally
Neither willing nor daring to go around.
"Since the King of Handan took control of Daizhou, he prepared to build the Daizhou Army. The first battle was a great victory at Yanmen, and he was pursued on a snowy night. He wanted to capture Yugushe alive." Zhu Yichen, the commander of Daizhou, squinted his eyes and looked at the opposite side, and said loudly: "Don't harm your highness in this battle.
face!"
Ma Sanbao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "I didn't expect Huairen to guess correctly..."
Three days ago, Li Shan, who was still in Guji Town, used Xue Wanche to send troops to attract the attention of the besieging troops. He sent ten personal guards to rush to Yanmen Pass from different directions, then abandoned their horses and went up the mountain from the trail, crossing the mountains and ridges to reach Yanmen Pass.
It was already May 22nd at that time. After hearing that the Turks might use the Taoist Tower to cross the pass, Su Dingfang did not hesitate and immediately sent three treasures of horses. Er Zhu Yichen led 3,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry to go south immediately.
During the march, all kinds of bad news came one after another. Zhu Yichen and Ma Sanbao knew one thing very well. They could not let the Turkic cavalry approach Yanmen Pass, so they could not defend themselves by occupying the city wall. Even if they could not defeat the Turks, they must still stop them.
To the south of Nao County.
This is also the reason why Fang Renyu, the governor of Xinzhou, knew that he was difficult to match, but he did not defend the city.
The key is time.
Ashina Sheer hopes to reach Yanmen Pass quickly, cooperate with Jieli Khan inside and outside, and break through Yanmen Pass, then the next thing will be easy to handle.
On the way from Taiyuan Prefecture to Xinzhou, and then from Xinzhou to Yanmen Pass, all the generals of the Tang Army hoped to block the Turks to the south of Guoxian County, so that the morale of the army would be difficult to shake.
Moreover, Ma Sanbao and Er Zhu Yichen knew clearly that when they set off, Jieli Khan once again strengthened the siege efforts, and the troops at Yanmen Pass could no longer be divided.
With only 3,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, can they stop it?
Suddenly a strong wind blew by, and the yellow sand was swept into the air, making both sides blurry and unclear.
The next moment, a roar like a mountain roar and a tsunami sounded, and the Turkic cavalry roamed on the left and right wings of the Tang army's camp, with black arrows overwhelming the sky.