Chapter 972: Besieging the City and Fighting for Aid (Part 1)
Guo Song led 20,000 cavalrymen to run for two days and two nights, and finally arrived at the main camp of Mingshan County. His deputy general Li Bing also returned a few days ago. The entire Tang army in Mingshan County had a strength of 70,000 people, all of them cavalry.
Their biggest problem is supplies. Ten thousand camels have been traveling between Chengdu and Mingshan County to transport grain and military supplies. As a result, the supply of military grain has been relatively tight. The fleet of the good eunuch group was brought back to Chengdu.
This allowed them to resupply through waterways. Although they still had to be transferred by camel caravans, the distance was much closer.
It was already midnight, and Guo Song ignored his physical fatigue and went back to the Chinese army tent to drink tea, then summoned Wang You, Pei Xin, Li Bing and Zhang Yun.
During Guo Song's absence in Mingshan, Pei Xin and Wang You temporarily commanded the army, and they understood the situation better.
"Reporting to Your Highness, four days ago, our team of scouts captured two Tibetan reporting soldiers and a servant. However, the Tibetan soldiers were very fierce and the two of them committed suicide on the way. The servant was a little timid and under our intimidation
I told you that these two Tibetan soldiers were reporting reinforcements, but the person who made the report was a servant after all and didn’t know much about the information. He didn’t know how many reinforcements there were or how far they were from here.”
Guo Song pondered for a moment and asked: "Isn't there a written letter?"
Pei Xin shook his head, "We searched again and again, but we didn't find any written letters."
Next to Wang You added: "As far as I know, the scout team chased the two messengers for more than fifty miles before catching them. They probably destroyed the letters in the process. I also think there should be written letters."
.”
Guo Song nodded. Since he chased for more than fifty miles before catching him, the letter must have been destroyed, torn into pieces and swallowed, or torn into pieces and thrown away. It is not clear.
He walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, then turned back to Zhang Yun and said: "I thought it would be best to annihilate this army a hundred miles away from Yazhou City, so the scouts have to explore further, so I will leave this task to the scout battalion."
Zhang Yun bowed and said: "Your Highness, please rest assured that your humble position will be arranged well!"
At this time, the soldiers reported outside the tent, "Your Highness, General Zhou sent a subordinate from the city."
Guo Song was overjoyed and said quickly: "Bring him in quickly!"
Not long after, the soldiers brought in a thin man. Zhang Yun burst out laughing, "Monkey, why is it you?"
This soldier is the subordinate who explored the cave with Zhou Fei. His name is Shen Yaozu. He is only twenty-five or six years old. He is from Chencang County, Guanzhong. He comes from a famous martial arts family. He started practicing martial arts at the age of three because he practiced martial arts too early. As a result, it affected
Due to his growth, he was thin and small, with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, so he was nicknamed a monkey.
He participated in the recruitment of the scout camp six years ago. Although he did not meet the physical requirements, Zhang Yun discovered that he was extremely talented and admitted him. He also made contributions in the battles against Guanzhong and Hebei. Zhang Yun promoted him twice. Now he
He is a scout brigade commander.
Shen Yaozu hurriedly saluted Zhang Yun, then knelt down on one knee to salute Jin King Guo Song, "Scout Camp Brigade Commander Shen Yaozu meets His Highness the King of Jin!"
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "It seems that Brigade Commander Shen is very famous in the scout camp!"
Zhang Yun stepped forward and introduced with a smile: "We all call him Shen Hou. He has excellent qinggong and can climb directly up the city. He should have climbed over the city wall to come out. I'm not wrong!"
"The commander is right. I came out from the east city wall and took advantage of a group of patrol sentries."
"Thank you for your hard work, Brigadier Shen!" Guo Song praised.
Shen Yaozu was moved in his heart and said quickly: "I have to rush back all night for my humble job. When the Tibetan army rolls the roll tomorrow, they will find that one person is missing. All the workers in the team will be killed. No one among the brothers will survive."
"Then let's make a long story short!"
Shen Yaozu immediately told Zhou Fei about the hole in the city wall. Guo Song and others exchanged glances. This discovery finally revealed a mystery in their hearts. How did the Tibetan army capture Yazhou City?
"How is the situation in the cave now?" Guo Song asked again.
"We have restored it to its original state. In fact, the Tibetan army just filled it in with stones. With more people, they can clean it out in half an hour. We are afraid that the Tibetan soldiers will find it and leave no trace."
Guo Song walked a few steps with his hands behind his back: "The Tubo people will not neglect this loophole. You are just lucky not to encounter anyone. You may encounter it next time. Tell General Zhou not to be careless!"
"I humbly obey orders!"
Shen Yaozu took out a roll of cloth from his arms and presented it to Guo Song, "This is a map of the garrison in the city drawn by General Zhou. Please come over, Your Highness."
This map was exactly what Guo Song needed. He cheered up and quickly took it and opened the map. The location of the labor camp, the location of the Tibetan army camp, and the deployment of the Tibetan army were all clearly marked.
It was indeed a scout's map, concise and complete. Guo Song gave the map to Wang You and asked him to arrange for him to join the army and redraw it.
Guo Song said to Shen Yaozu again: "Go back and tell General Zhou that we are likely to launch an iron fire thunder attack. You must pay attention to safety. Then on the third night after the iron fire thunder stops, at the third watch, we will attack the west city.
Probably at the first update, there will be a reminder of nine gunpowder arrows."
"Remember your humble position!"
Guo Song immediately asked his soldiers to take Shen Yaozu down for a feast, and then sent him out of the camp.
At this time, Li Bing saw that His Highness King Jin's eyes were bloodshot, and he must have been awake for two nights, so he said: "Your Highness, please rest! If anything happens, we will discuss it tomorrow."
Guo Song nodded, he was really a little sleepy.
...........
In the endless mountains and forests, a Tibetan reinforcement army of 20,000 people was rushing towards Yazhou. This was 20,000 infantrymen and thousands of yaks. The yaks carried the soldiers' rations on their backs.
The place where the Tubo army is located is a village called Songcheng, which belongs to the Tubo territory. After crossing a mountain, it enters the Yazhou territory. It is not far from the Jinsha River. The Jinsha River roars in the mountain stream, making a sound like a huge thunder, which can be clearly heard dozens of miles away.
smell.
At this time, a team of Tang Army scouts appeared on a hill ten miles away, consisting of ten Tang Army scout cavalry and a guide.
They discovered the Tibetan reinforcements within an hour, but they needed to determine the number of the opponent. On the hill, the scout brigade commander determined the number and equipment of the Tibetans. They were about 20,000 people, with ordinary equipment, leather armor, shields and short swords. He immediately
He turned his horse's head and led his men towards Huiye Castle, which was more than ten miles away.
Huiye City is today's Kangding. It is under the jurisdiction of Yazhou. It is a small border town. The residents are basically Qiang people. There are also some Tang Dynasty businessmen who come here to do business. The Xinying of the Tang Army scouts is in Huiye City.
Soon, a trust eagle took off into the sky, circled a few times in the air, and then flew towards the Mingshan County camp three hundred miles away...
The Tang Army camp in Mingshan County was extremely lively. Ten thousand camels and three thousand ox carts arrived at the camp loaded with grain and grass. They came from Meizhou, and the ox carts were also requisitioned from Meizhou. The arrival of the grain team greatly
This relieved the Tang army's food shortage.
Mingshan County has become the Cangcheng of the Tang Army. Five thousand troops are dedicated to guarding Cangcheng. There is a long queue outside the moat of Cangcheng. The oxcart drivers have gone to rest and have been replaced by Tang Army soldiers. Even so, it is still difficult to enter Cangcheng.
Strictly checking military badges and passwords, Guo Song was almost impeccable in ensuring the safety of supplies and food, and did not give the enemy any chance.
What they had to guard against was not only the Tibetan army, but also the destruction by other forces. This was the main reason why Guo Song used Mingshan County as the Cangcheng.
At this time, in the Chinese army's tent, Guo Song urgently summoned Li Bing, Pei Xin and Wang You.
"We just received an eagle message from the scouts in Huiye City. They found Tibetan reinforcements, about 20,000 people, mainly infantry, with a small amount of cavalry. They are still more than 200 miles away from us."
Guo Song unfolded a map. The red line on the map was the marching route of the Tibetan army. He pointed to a black spot on the map and said: "This is Huiye City. The scouts discovered the Tibetan reinforcements in the morning. After marching for most of the day, the Tibetan army probably
After walking about forty or fifty miles, we should be here."
Guo Song marked another point on the map and said to everyone: "This time I am considering using the Tibetan army to strengthen the army. What do you think?"
Wang You smiled and said: "Why doesn't Your Highness consider using an ambush strategy? I think the forest in this area is lush and is very suitable for an ambush. Don't Your Highness think about it?"
Next to him, Pei Xin said: "Sir, I don't know. If it is Zhu Si's army or Li Na's army, they can use an ambush method, but the Tubo army is different. The Tubo army is good at gathering and fighting. Once they are ambushed, they will not run away, but
They can quickly assemble into a group and are extremely resilient, and the cavalry cannot be used in narrow areas. Although ambush is a good strategy, it is not the best way to deal with the Tibetan army."
Guo Song glanced at Pei Xin approvingly, and the last sentence summed it up well.
Wang You felt a little ashamed. Although he worked hard to come up with plans, he was really not familiar with the Tibetan army. He felt a sense of frustration in his heart and fell silent.
"What do you think of General Li?" Guo Song asked Li Bing again.
Li Bing pondered for a moment and said: "We don't know whether the Tibetan army in Yazhou City has received the message from the Flying Eagle. If the Tibetan army in Yazhou City gets the message, they will definitely discover our intention, so while we are attacking the Tibetan reinforcements, we must also prevent
A sneak attack by the Tibetan army in Yazhou City."
Guo Song nodded, and the combat ideas in his mind gradually became clear.