Chapter 1677: Generals gather in Lanzhou, Bian Xi borrows food
Chapter 1677: The generals gathered in Lanzhou and Bian Xi borrowed food
The generals were shocked when they heard this, and then hurriedly asked each other. However, Shen Tang waved his hands and said mysteriously, "Don't say it, don't say it, it won't work if you say it."
"Hehe, the commander will take us there if he doesn't say anything. We will naturally know when the time comes."
Xin Qiji smiled.
"Then when will we send out troops?"
"Since the arrangements have been made here for the second brother, we will send out troops tomorrow. We will first go north to join forces with the elder brother, and then cross the river from Jingyuguan."
Early the next morning, the two groups of troops reunited and met the 5,000 cavalrymen, totaling more than 20,000 people, quietly leaving the land of Hezhou and heading towards Lanzhou in the north.
The army marched for three days and arrived at the Xiguan Fort area, fifty miles west of Lanzhou City. Bian Xi's camp was stationed here!
"Commander, Brother Shao, Second Brother!"
Bian Xi led his troops ten miles out of the camp to meet him.
Everyone had seen each other, and the army marched directly into Bian Xi's camp!
"Commander, after I got the news, I sent a message to the party generals at Jingyuguan. They said that if our troops want to send troops, they can do so at any time."
Bian Xi spoke first, and then he said with a bit of worry, "But once we leave Jingyuguan, although there will still be some troops left behind, we will not have enough troops. It will be difficult to return from Jingyuguan by then." And if the party members have other ideas, I'm afraid it will cause us a lot of trouble."
"Don't worry, it's all in my plan!"
"Also, have the party members prepared food and grass for me?"
As soon as Shen Tang said this, all the generals present burst into laughter. His commander-in-chief was really bad. He sent out troops to fight and let others help prepare food and fodder. It was not enough if others did not prepare.
Yes, Shen Tang had already sent his cronies to meet Zhang Hua before setting off.
There were three purposes. One was to inform him of Tubo's movements and to tell him that the Song Dynasty's troops would cross the river and start a war with Tubo.
The second is to borrow a way from the Dangxiang people.
Compared with other states, the situation in Lanzhou is indeed complicated and a bit strange.
Lanzhou City, the capital of Lanzhou, is still under the control of Zhang Hua's troops, and the same is true for Jingyuguan. However, Xiguan Fort, the only way between the two places, was directly cut off by Bian Xi's camp.
Moreover, the most important thing is that after the first few battles, the party's soldiers and horses knew that they were no match for Bian Xi. In addition, with Zhang Hua's order, they could only turn a blind eye to Bian Xi's soldiers and horses.
Fortunately, Bian Xi did not intercept Dangxiang's grain transportation, so the situation in Lanzhou maintained such a strange balance.
This is also the reason why the soldiers and horses of the Song Dynasty needed to borrow a road from Dangxiang to cross the river from Jingyuguan.
As for the third purpose, that is to borrow food!
After all, Lanzhou is located on the northern border. It is too difficult to transport grain and grass from the Song Dynasty. Instead, it is right next to the Xia Kingdom.
Therefore, Shen Tang sent someone to discuss with Zhang Hua about borrowing grain.
Of course, nominally Shen Tang bought the grain and grass from Zhang Hua, but he didn't have enough money for the time being, so he could just pay for it later...
Zhang Hua was naturally furious, but now he was in Shen Tang's hands and it was difficult to resist. The most important thing is that both the prince and the prime minister had already said in their previous secret letters that as long as Shen Tang's request If it doesn't go too far, Zhang Hua can directly agree.
After all, that big thing is more important.
As long as the goal is achieved, all efforts are worth it.
Zhang Hua didn't know how long he had been thinking about it, but he also felt that in theory, borrowing food was not too much...
"Hey, the Dangxiang people are indeed not very happy, but they cannot be tolerated. A large amount of grain and grass happened to enter the customs two days ago. The general led his troops to discuss with them and let them choose. The purpose is to let the general grab them all. Still offered to lend us half.
So, they not only lent us half of the grain and grass, but also lent us nearly 10,000 people who transported the grain!"
Bian Xi's face did not turn red when he said this, and Xin Qiji, Shao Hongyuan and other generals all gave him a thumbs up.
If you want to say this is shameless, you have to say it to our General Bian!
"The general has already had people inspect them, and they all contain good-quality food and grass, as well as a lot of dried meat and the like.
Although I only borrowed half of it, it is still enough to feed our 20,000 to 30,000 horses for about a month!"
"Of course, if the commander feels that it is not enough, he will immediately raise troops and borrow the other half.
Their grain team moved slowly, and they couldn't even get out of Lanzhou territory in just two days."
This time, even Shen Tang couldn't help laughing out loud.
"That's enough. Besides, you can't lend money to others all at once. Otherwise, no one will have to deal with you in the future. Slow and steady flow is the way to go!"
"Can you find out how many Tibetan soldiers and horses there are in Huangzhou now?"
Huangzhou's territory is not large, and its capital, Miaochuan City, is only a small city, or even a small city, rather than a small town.
After passing Miaochuan City and heading northwest along Huangshui River for less than a hundred miles, you will find Zongge City.
"Commander, news has come from Tanma. Many soldiers and horses in Miaochuan City have been transferred away before. Now there are only two thousand soldiers and horses left. As long as the commander needs it, the general can lead his troops to capture it at any time. "
"Okay! Then tomorrow, big brother will be my vanguard and lead five thousand troops to raid Miaochuan City! After capturing Miaochuan City, the rest of the soldiers, horses, and food teams will then move over. This is Miaochuan City. We are temporarily stationed."
Under the envious gazes of all the brothers, Bian Xi stood up proudly and said, "Don't worry, Commander, the general will lead his troops to set off at the end of the morning tomorrow. We will definitely capture Miaochuan City before noon tomorrow."
If the time is delayed, the general will be willing to be punished by military law!"
"The commander-in-chief doesn't want to attack the Tibetan troops in Miaochuan City!"
Xin Qijihu asked, "This is not the only way for the Tubo soldiers and horses. They will definitely attack Zongge City directly. If we are in Miaochuan City, they only need to strengthen the protection on the flanks, which will be enough to stop us, and even if If it is a surprise attack, they will definitely discover it in advance, and the meaning of the surprise attack will be lost."
"Hahaha, second brother, please let me keep it a secret for a while. When the real attack happens, second brother will naturally understand."
Xin Qiji shook his head helplessly, his third brother actually had such a naughty nature.
However, since you don't say it, then that's it, just follow Shen Tang's orders.
Before Mao o'clock on the next day, pots were buried in the camp to make rice. At Mao o'clock, after reporting to Shen Tang, Bian Xi directly ordered five thousand soldiers and horses and headed west out of Jingyuguan.
In the Xia Liao army camp near Watingzhai, the deputy general asked Zhang Hua with a puzzled face, "Commander, I am not the last general to question your decision, but they actually robbed half of our food and grass. Are we going to do this?" How can you endure it?
Moreover, our scouts from various places have already received news that many soldiers and horses from the Song Dynasty have indeed been mobilized to gather in Lanzhou. If we fight back, won't we be able to defeat the Song army?"