At Xiaohedao Mountain Pass, in just half a month, Wei Zheng led more than a hundred craftsmen from Fanyang County and organized the people of Xiaohe Town to build two military villages.
During the days when Wang Junlin attacked Huangshi Village, the 10,000 soldiers of the Storm Bear Battalion stationed here were not idle. They led the people of Xiaohe Town to sweat profusely and dig countless trenches for the camp.
Wei Zheng paid grain and Fanyang copper coins, and took care of two meals. There was no need for any coercion at all, and he didn't even need to organize people to mobilize. As long as the news spread to Izumo, the people in Xiaohe Town came to work spontaneously, and they were very enthusiastic.
high.
Xu Shiji, who thought his plan had succeeded, appeared in front of the mountain pass with his handsome flag. He looked at the strict barrier in front of him and was speechless for a long time.
Not only him, but also Li Jing, who came here from Huangshi Village with Wei Zheng the day before yesterday, was silent for a long time. Of course, Li Jing was shocked and smiled bitterly, while Xu Shiji was depressed and gloomy.
The two military strongholds were built close to the mountain walls on both sides of the mountain pass. Due to time constraints, they are not very tall, but they are hopelessly strong.
Because these two military villages were built with cement and masonry produced in Fanyang County, it can be seen that the cement has not completely dried, but the unique characteristics of cement and masonry still give people a very hard feeling.
But what really depressed Xu Shiji was not the two military strongholds, but the two trenches that lay in front of the two military strongholds and completely blocked the entire mountain road.
These two trench positions are not city walls, but their functions are the same as city walls.
The earthen wall is about one to five feet high, but the deep moat below is another seven to eight feet, which is equivalent to a two-foot city wall.
After passing these two roads, there are two military villages and cities, where there is still a complete defense system.
All in all, there are a total of three lines of defense for the Far Eastern Army in front of us, but these lines of defense are completely different from what we knew before Shiji.
In fact, Li Jing was shocked when he saw the three lines of defense in front of him the day before yesterday. He had never seen such a pattern of defense lines before.
But this does not prevent Li Jing from combining these three lines of defense to formulate the most appropriate and appropriate defensive tactics and strategic play.
Xu Shiji asked in a deep voice to a general beside him: "I remember there are several hill crossings on both sides. What are they like?"
"Reporting to the General Manager, within ten miles, there are seven small mountain crossings that can allow soldiers and horses to pass. Now, the damn Far Eastern Army has dug out several layers of earth walls."
"In addition, there are also earth walls on the other side of the mountains on both sides of the mountain pass. If we want to avoid the defensive line set up by the Far Eastern Army at the mountain pass in front of us, we need to start from the camp here and go around the mountains on both sides for more than three hundred miles. In the process
Enough for the Far Eastern Army to adjust its defense line."
Xu Shiji saw at a glance that if he wanted to attack the two military strongholds from the front, the price would be high, so he wanted to attack from the side or even from the rear. However, after listening to the words of his subordinate general in charge of reconnaissance intelligence, he knew that it was not feasible, but he
I still want to see the conditions of the hills on both sides with my own eyes.
"Brother Xu, if these two military strongholds are really difficult to attack, I think we can deploy heavy troops on both sides to block the favorable location and prevent the Far Eastern Army from coming out to cause trouble in the two military strongholds."
Everyone knew who it was without turning their heads. Among the whole army, the only one who did not address Xu Shiji as the general manager was Jia Yunfu, the supervisor sent by Li Mi.
After Li Mi took charge of the power of Wagang, he followed the practices of previous emperors and courts and assigned supervisors to all the armies. Especially, the supervisors assigned to the big bosses in the Wagang army such as Xu Shiji and Cheng Yaojin were all his confidants.
.
It was just that Cheng Yaojin was cunning and clever, so he placed the supervisor Fang Yanzao in Fengyang City to defend the city.
At the beginning, the dispatch of supervisory troops made the heroes of Wagang very unhappy, but Li Mi's tough attitude towards this matter forced everyone to accept it, and they got used to it as time went by.
It's just that most of these supervisors are civilians, and many of them are civilian officials who surrendered and defected to the Sui Dynasty. They are incompatible with the heroes of Wagangzhai, and they have always looked at each other. The hot-tempered military heroes even beat the supervisors.
This made Li Mi very embarrassed.
But because of Zhai Rang's existence, he did not have the absolute power to punish him harshly, which made him extremely depressed. This also strengthened his determination to get rid of Zhai Rang and take over the power as soon as possible.
Of course, with the minds of Xu Shiji and Cheng Yaojin, they would not openly conflict with the supervisors around them, but with their methods, it is really easy to ignore the supervisors around them and even have no say in the army.
matter.
However, Xu Shiji knew very well that Jia Yunfu represented Li Mi, so he had always given the other party enough face, and the two parties could live in harmony.
At this time, Xu Shiji was actually in a dilemma, but he still showed his magnanimity and patiently explained to Jia Yunfu: "Jia Jianjun doesn't know something. If these two military strongholds cannot be eradicated, our Wagang army will not dare to attack at all."
Enter the small river, otherwise the retreat will be easily cut off, and there will be problems with the food, grass and baggage. Looking at the performance of the Far Eastern Army in recent years, especially the battles presided over by King Qin An, he most likes to cut off the opponent's food, grass and baggage. Therefore, it is not
If we capture these two military strongholds, it will be difficult to ensure the safety of our food and grass supplies and our retreat. And without our food and grass baggage, how can our army retake the small river?"
Xu Shiji explained very clearly. The generals next to him looked at him with sarcastic expressions, and some rough guys even sneered without concealing their disdain.
It was just that Xu Shiji always had a smile on his face and a gentle attitude. Although Jia Yunfu was made angry by the others next to him, he still suppressed it and kept his face calm, pretending to lower his head in thought, and finally nodded and said: "Brother Xu said.
It makes sense, but I didn’t consider it properly.”
After saying that, Fake Yunfu stepped aside and said nothing.
Xu Shiji glanced down the mountain, and after a while, with a sneer, he said: "Based on the ability of Wang Junlin's army and the virtue of Li Jing, there may not be anything famous in those ditches. What can be counted are ghost arrows.
Iron caltrops, horse traps, pointed wooden stakes, as well as their gunpowder weapons, mines, ground crossbows, fire bottles, and poison bottles. Their crossbows were not raised high, but were laid flat with the gaps opened, and only a few horse-blocking trenches were wide.
Within ten steps, they are all within the range of their powerful crossbows, and the shield chariots cannot get close. If the trenches are filled, more than a thousand people will die."
Xu Shiji's eyes were changing. The two military defense lines in front of him were like a silent monster, eroding his steely will and confident self-confidence.
After observing carefully for a long time, and then frowning and thinking for a while, Xu Shiji finally couldn't help but cursed: "The Poison King is indeed vicious, where did this bastard Li Jing come from, and how can he be so insidious."
Another general said: "I heard that Li Jing was originally from Li Yuan in Taiyuan, and that Li Xuanba was Li Yuan's third son..."
Jia Yunfu suddenly said: "These two people are actually from the Taiyuan side. Could it be that Li Yuan's side..." Xu Shiji shook his head and said: "This matter is a long story, but Li Yuan and Wang Junlin will never
It is possible to form an alliance, and they are destined to be enemies, and it is difficult to tolerate each other, because behind Li Yuan is a powerful family in the world, and when King Qin An acts in the counties under his control, he is cutting off the foundation of the powerful family and offending the powerful family to death. "
Jia Yunfu nodded with an ugly look on his face and said nothing again, which only attracted sarcastic looks and laughter from the generals in the army next to him.
Jia Yunfu's face suddenly turned ugly when he heard this, but he had been working as a supervisor beside Xu Shiji for more than a year, and he had long been used to it. He had developed a thick skin and pretended not to hear.
There are also some literary staff in Xu Shiji's army. Logically speaking, they are the same people as Jia Yunfu. However, these people do not want or dare to intervene in the dispute between the general of the Wagang Army and the supervisor representing Li Mi, so they pretend not to see it and keep a straight face.
Poker face.
Xu Shiji's eyes gradually condensed, and he knew that he could not delay it any longer. The matter was at this point, and the plan was now in progress. There was no turning back. No matter how much it cost to capture these two military strongholds, this battle must be fought.
.
Because this is not only a problem in Fengyang City, Huangshizhai and Xiaohedao Pass. According to the plan, Li Mi has begun to mobilize almost all the troops of the Wagang Army. In total, nearly 300,000 troops are gathering here.
So at this point we cannot leave without a fight.
What's more, he, Xu Shiji, is the number one man in the Wagang Army. The Wagang Inner Camp he trained is the soul of the Wagang Army. He also called for battle on Wagang Mountain several times a few days ago. Now he leads 50,000 Wagang troops.
In the inner camp, they came to attack the defense line where 10,000 Far Eastern Army troops were stationed. However, they turned around and went back without fighting. Then everyone in the Wagang Army would think that they were afraid of the Far Eastern Army.
These days, their Wagang Army has faced successive defeats against the Far Eastern Army, and the morale of the army has been greatly affected. If he retreats without a fight, it will inevitably cause the morale of everyone in Wagang to be turbulent, and the morale of the troops will drop drastically.
Once the morale of the army drops, no one will fight to the death when they encounter the Far Eastern Army again, especially when they attack the defense line of the military camp where the Far Eastern Army is stationed.
Therefore, Xu Shiji thought carefully and decided that he would rather die than to maintain the spiritual momentum of the Wagang Army.
Xu Shiji, like Cheng Yaojin, was a very decisive person. He had already made a decision in his heart, so he immediately pushed those depressing thoughts out of his mind, pointed at the two military strongholds in front of him, and said loudly: "I am raising the flag at Wagang Stronghold.
Since the founding of the army, no matter which army our Wagang army faces, no one has left without fighting, and it has won more and lost less, so it can conquer this land of the Central Plains. Today, the two military strongholds are the must-attack places for our army.
, according to the commander's order, immediately prepare the shield chariot and attack the two military strongholds in half a day. The first to climb the earthen wall will be promoted to two levels and will be rewarded with two hundred silver. The first to climb the walls of the two military strongholds will be promoted to three levels and will be rewarded with five hundred taels of silver.
Anyone who flinches and refuses to do so will be killed regardless of his or her position..."
"Promise!" Xu Shiji's generals clasped their fists and turned back to where their troops were, greeting their own generals to convey orders and arrangements.
Xu Shiji sighed softly and looked at the two military walls in the distance. He didn't know how long it had passed and murmured to himself: "Wang Junlin didn't actually fight me here in person. Instead, he sent Li Jing here. He wanted to come here."
Li Jing is by no means simple, but I don’t know what he will do now.”