In the fifth month of the fifth year of Tianbao, Gao Xianzhi led his army to Shule City and took the second rest during the march. Li Siye led 5,000 Shule troops to join the expeditionary army. Since then, the Anxi camp has 12,000 troops.
Everyone is already in place.
How many people is twelve thousand? As a number, it is not vivid, but if you imagine that there is a formation in front of you on the playground, with one hundred and twenty people standing in horizontal rows and one hundred people standing in vertical rows, this is a square array. If this square
If they stand closer together, the 70-meter square playground can accommodate them. Even if they hold up their flags, pick up their swords and guns, and form several small square formations to form an army, they can be seen at a glance without having to climb up to take a look.
Based on the ancient communication method that basically relied on visual flags, the army that a good general can directly command is about 30,000 people. If the number exceeds this number, it will not be within the general's sight. Even if he can climb up and look out, his eyesight is limited.
It is impossible to know the casualties and morale of friendly forces in the distance.
Since ancient times, a general who can command 200,000 people to win is a rare animal. A general who can win with more than 500,000 people is a god. A general who can command more than a million people can be regarded as a myth. But there are many who can win with less than tens of thousands of people. Many
Being young has always been a difficult dialectical question. Li Siye wondered in his heart, who lent them the confidence and courage to those guys who easily led hundreds of thousands of troops into battle. In the absence of communication equipment such as telephones and telegraphs, beyond the
The teams outside their sight are all unstable factors, redundant auxiliary units, mountains of food and baggage, and countless people piled together like slow reptiles. A single move affects the whole body. A slight setback will result in
Total defeat.
For those with limited abilities, a smaller but better army is the way to win. If you can't fight such a big battle, don't hold on.
Ten thousand troops set off from Shule City, and the city suddenly seemed a lot empty. Twelve Niangs, Meier and Daorou stood on the city wall, looking at the gleaming armor array in the distance, and the dust kicked up by countless horses hung in the air.
, looming and blocking their sight.
Twelve Niang turned back and asked Rou: "Can you see Alang? Where is he now?"
Daorou shook his head regretfully. No matter how special or different the man in his family was, he was just an inconspicuous dot in a crowd. No matter how high he sang or how high he jumped, he could not make waves.
The lady pointed to the six particularly conspicuous red flags and said: "He is now the deputy envoy of the camp. He should be in front of the flags and following General Gao."
Li Siye did follow Gao Xianzhi. According to the order of the Jiedushi's travel, he was on the right rear of Gao Xianzhi, the supervisor of the army was on the left rear, the marching commander, the military judge, the military governor, and the marching secretary were all lined up side by side.
As we move forward along the post road, we must stop for a short rest and replenishment at every city and post station we pass by. The commander of each battalion, Yuhou, strictly controls the soldiers to prevent them from being lazy and not getting food, but stealing food.
Dry food for the second half of the march.
This battle requires careful planning, and all efforts must not be wasted because of a lack of food and grass.
Li Siye deployed a small number of soldiers at each grain and grass storage point to maintain order and supervise the supplies of the soldiers.
In mid-May, Qingling, the landmark peak of Congling, appeared in the army's sight. Its four ridges wind upward, like the bulging meridians of a giant, but above the snow line, it looks like a steamed bun. Its body is majestic and majestic.
It's pure and pure and very much like love.
Soldiers who had never been to Congling were amazed when they saw such beautiful scenery. Some talented people might even leave poems to commemorate it.
This mountain is called Muztagh Mountain in modern times. Passing through it is equivalent to officially entering the Pamir Plateau. It is surrounded by many hills, and the continuous mountains make it more majestic.
The army was walking through the valley at the foot of the mountain. There seemed to be no obvious boundary between the lush green grass in the valley and the white snow on the top of the mountain. Blue-black flakes were exposed halfway up the mountain. The weather was clear at the moment, and glaciers could be seen on the mountain.
The icicles hang upside down and connect like a fairy's dress, giving people endless reverie.
After passing through the peaks, they passed by the Yanji Lake downstream of the Yiduo River. The shadows of the icebergs were still reflected on the blue water. They followed the rivers and lakes to reach the hometown of Hepantuo. Looking around, they found that they were surrounded by continuous snow-capped mountains. The ancient city
Congling Shouchuo appeared on the hilly slopes.
Five grain stores were set up at the post station at the foot of the hillside, which served as the last stop for supplies on this trip. The Tang army camped in the open air in front of the post station, and Gao Xianzhi led his staff into Shouchuo City.
Of course, the size of the city cannot change, but the appearance of the city is very different. The recent improvement of the commercial road environment of Khotan Road and the expansion of the post station have made the commercial activities on this line of Congling far more frequent than in the past. And in Congling
This small city in the hinterland has become increasingly prosperous.
There are two wine shops competing with each other in the city, and there is a market open space that can be used to set up stalls. The Hupantuo herdsmen and the people from the Shini State who live nearby bring their by-products and sell them here in exchange for copper coins. Shi Jiang, Song Heng and others under Yu Gou's command
People no longer need to lick blood with a knife and act as a catcher to earn extra income.
Gao Xianzhi's surprised expression was exactly the same as that of Tian Renwan. It was like discovering a bright pearl in the wilderness. He said to Li Siye who was standing beside him with emotion: "This is the place where you made your fortune. I remember the time when I was guarding the village in Congling."
It's just a garrison. It's the best now. It's popular among chickens and dogs, and in the streets, it complements the thousands of years of glaciers."
They stood on the top of the city, facing the direction of Lianyun Fort, but there were thousands of mountains between them. Tian Renwan and Fumeng Lingcha had both been here, and they had all been very ambitious, but in the end they failed.
After a day and night of repairs, the final supplies were completed before the capture of Congling. The Tang army regained their energy at night and officially entered the vast mountains of Congling. At this time, most of the mountains had no names, one after another, stretching endlessly.
Absolutely, the undulating snow line towered above their heads, and the floating clouds and mist on the peak blocked the blue sky, and they lost their sense of distance and direction.
According to the map, there are as many as six or seven routes from Congling to capture Lianyun Castle, but only two or three are really suitable for large groups of people to pass. In order to make this long-distance attack more secretive, and in order not to
A necessary adventure, Gao Xianzhi decided to set the route in Telemanchuan and move along the river valley to avoid the risk of crossing the glacier pass.
Even in the river valley, the road was rugged and long, with rugged mountains and sparse vegetation in some places. The Tang army had to use part of the dry food to feed the livestock. In the undulating rock gaps, streams formed by melting glaciers flowed down from the mountains. The soldiers
They stopped and led the horse to look up ahead. The mist-shrouded peaks lay across the road. Sometimes the glaciers about to collapse seemed to hang above their heads. Some people's faces became red and their breath was uneven. Li Siye knew that this was the plateau.
A reaction occurred.
Fortunately, the leader of the Shini Kingdom, General Jinwuwei, took the initiative to greet the Tang army. He was an old acquaintance of Li Siye. It was a great joy in life for the two sides to meet in such an environment.
In spring and summer, the Shini people nomadicly travel along the river valley between Congling Shouhuo and Telemanchuan. They have adapted to the local climate and environment for thousands of years. They are truly white-skinned people with high nose bridges and large nostrils.
They are large and have thick nose hair, which is suitable for surviving in the low-oxygen environment of high mountains. Even the argali sheep they raise are very large and have thick hair, and their horns are curled like snail horns. The Shini people like to cut off their horns to use as drinking utensils and eating utensils.
, the horns of the sheep were sold to the Central Plains by traders as medicines and decorations.
After a period of recuperation and recuperation, the Sangyana tribe of Gayancong has become prosperous again. Their current camp is located on the shore of Catal Lake in the middle of the Teleman River, with mountains on the back and the lake facing the lake. There are felt tents dotted here and there.
When Tang Jun arrived here, the sun and moon were setting, the morning light was rising, and the sky was dark blue. It seemed to be the closest to the sky, so there were no thick clouds in the starry sky, only diamond-like stars that shone brighter than usual. You could reach out and touch them. Even under the felt tent
The bonfire lit in the middle also looks as quiet and colorful as an oil painting. People sitting in front of it can be illuminated by the fire and have no fear of the beast-like mountains behind them.
"If I can come back alive, I will build the abandoned inn here as a good deed for the business travelers in the past."
Li Siye threw the dry branches into the fire, which made a crackling sound. He turned his head and said to Gayancong beside him.