"It's almost time. Manpower has been allocated. It should be completed before it snows."
On the hill, Cui Xin looked around and saw rows of brick kilns on the left. A large number of red bricks were piled in the open space. Horse-drawn carriages carrying red bricks drove southward. It is now a huge construction site. , ant-like crowds are building and building houses.
Li Shan picked up a red brick and weighed it. He held it in his left hand and chopped it down with his right hand... As a result, he grinned in pain, which made Zhang Wenguan on the side chuckle.
Wang Junhao took the red brick and tried it again, but this time the red brick was broken.
"The quality is not as good as the green bricks, and it is much worse than the batch from Zhuangzi." Li Shan nodded, "But overall it's not bad, and the price-performance ratio is high."
"There is no need to build city walls or moats, but there are still trenches and sheep and horse walls on the outside."
Li Shan turned around and confessed: "The final construction of the Sheep and Horse Wall requires Qi Laosan to pay attention and not to ignore it."
"Yes."
Cui Xin watched Li Shan explain various affairs bit by bit. What surprised him was that Li Shan seemed to pay more attention to various details, from wound medicine and diet to building camps and even defecation. But for those so-called big things, Li Shan Goodness doesn’t care.
Cui Xin thought in his heart that maybe the whole situation was under control.
At this time, Zhang Shigui climbed up the hill, holding a roll of drawings in his hand, "Your Highness, Mr. Cui."
"Brother Wu An." Li Shan greeted him with a smile, "Although the inside is not finished, as long as we follow the steps, we will rely on brother Wu An on the outside."
The main persons in charge of building the camp were Dou Gui and Wen Yanbo, but Li Shan named them specifically. Zhang Shigui was in charge of the peripheral sheep and horse walls, trenches, watchtowers and various military facilities.
Li Jing chose locations throughout Shuozhou to build villages imitating Guji Town, and it was Zhang Shigui who was mainly responsible.
Unfolding the map, Zhang Shigui explained it in detail, focusing on the Wengcheng that he worked with many generals to improve in Shuozhou. agate
Li Shan nodded repeatedly after hearing this. When the battle in Guji Town came to an end last year, it was largely due to the fact that after Wengcheng was breached, although a large number of Turks were killed and wounded, there was no backup plan. In fact, the Tang army was powerless at that time. On the second day of the meeting, the entire army came out of the stronghold and charged into the battle formation to the death.
"Then I'll leave it to Brother Wu An." Li Shan said with a smile, "Not only are you in charge of the central army, but you are also in charge of the peripheral operations. Thank you for your hard work, Brother Wu An."
"Responsibilities."
Now, tens of thousands of Tang troops have built a defense line in Baiquan County. They have chosen three campsites to build camps, which are connected with Baiquan County and two nearby towns, forming a large-scale and scattered defense line system.
Li Shan still divided the five armies according to the front, rear, left, right and center, and they were still led by Zhang Zhongjian, Dou Gui, Li Daoxuan and Qian Jiulong respectively. Among them, the Chinese army was entrusted to Zhang Shigui.
In addition, there is also a separate cavalry, headed by Su Dingfang and assisted by Feng Li and Xue Wanche.
After chatting with Zhang Shigui for a while, Li Shan and Cui Xin returned to the Central Army. Still thinking about it, they happened to bump into Chen Shuda, the Duke of Jiang Guo, who had just returned. agate
In the past few days, Cui Xin has basically been following Li Shan, but Chen Shuda is different. He came to work under the holy order. The so-called labor force does not target those soldiers at the grassroots level, but the army lieutenant generals, and at most the subordinates. He sank to the level of the Hussar General and the Sixteenth Guards Lieutenant General in each Zhechong Mansion.
For example, Hou Hongtao, He Fang, and Qu Silang were all comforted by Chen Shuda. Cui Xin speculated that this might be because they were from Li Huairen's personal guards.
"Uncle Shi, do you have any faith in Chang'an?"
"Huairen, don't be anxious." Chen Shuda waved his hand helplessly, "It's easy to talk about the weapons prison, but the young master..."
"Bah!" Li Shan scolded: "Back in Daizhou, the young master was causing trouble. He was not the son of a man, he was not the son of a man!"
On the second day when Chen Shuda and Cui Xin arrived, Li Shan formally requested the central government to allocate armor and ordnance. So many heavy cavalry had been damaged before and needed to be reorganized. Although the cavalrymen who died in the battle left some armor and ordnance, Obviously it's not enough.
In fact, the Weapons Supervisor has little power in this regard. They are not the main force in making ordnance and armor today. The Shaofu is... The reason is very simple. Mine mining is the power of the Shaofu. Only they have a large amount of iron ore, and there are Sufficient manpower and craftsmen. agate
The year before last, Li Shan communicated with Princess Pingyang in Daizhou, mined iron ore in Daizhou, and made some ordnance and horseshoes. The Shaofu was very dissatisfied and felt that Li Shan had usurped his authority.
As for why Li Shan scolded the young master for not being a son of a man, there was another reason.
Chen Shuda smiled and said: "Huairen's price is too high, no wonder the young master refuses."
"I'll tell Third Sister later, I don't believe they have the guts!" Li Shan complained: "They actually denied the things they promised at the beginning of the year, and they didn't even give Third Sister face!"
Cui Xin sneered: "Cotton armor has never been used by the military, and the price is almost the same as a pair of iron armor. How can the young master agree?"
"Then we can't refuse the allocation of armor and ordnance!" Li Shan snorted, "Should we let the heavy cavalry charge into the battle wearing cotton armor?"
"By the way, now the young eunuch is the Prince of Lujiang County... he seems to be friendly with the prince?"
"The Young Master has too much authority. Making weapons and armor should belong to the Weapons Supervisor!"
"They also manage craftsmen, collect taxes, and supervise construction projects. Not only have the weapons supervisors been embezzled, but the general supervisors, Taichang Temple, and even the Ministry of Civil Affairs have also been embezzled!"
Chen Shuda was speechless. In a sense, the Shaofu specifically served the royal family, and its powers overlapped with those of many yamen. This was not unique to the Tang Dynasty.
"I also ask Duke Jiang Guo to return to the court and report to Your Majesty that Li Huairen from Handan has conquered Baiquan County. However, due to lack of weapons, it is difficult to advance." Li Shan's words flew up and down, "I remember that the King of Lujiang County was quite complaining back then!"
Well, it is indeed true. There was no travel station in Hebei Province at that time, and Li Yuan, the general manager of Luozhou, was the highest in name. But after the defeat of Xiabo, Li Yuan abandoned Luozhou and fled back to Chang'an... Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, Li Yuan Liu Heitai was captured and executed, and the next year Li Shan was granted the title of Duke of Guantao County for planning a war. The contrast was so stark that Li Yuan complained constantly.
Cui Xin understood this time and glanced at Chen Shuda from the corner of his eye... Li Shan complained quite a bit about the prince in his words. Cui Xin, who knew the inside story, knew that this was a test of Chen Shuda.
Chen Shuda remained calm and only smiled and persuaded a few words. He was suspicious in his heart. He didn't know whether Li Shan's complaints that were vaguely directed at the prince were intentional or unintentional. agate
Li Shan did not guess wrong. Chen Shuda had some contacts with Qin King Li Shimin only after getting a hint from Li Yuan... Of course, in name, it was because Li Shimin began to perform the duties of Shangshu Ling, and he naturally had to communicate with his subordinates. Among the attendants, Pei Shiju was attached to the Prince of the East Palace.
"Mr. Lang."
"Huh?" Li Shan tilted his head to signal Fan Shiyi to come closer.
"Letter from the north."
Li Shan raised his eyebrows, took the letter and looked at it for a few times, with a smile on his lips, and handed it to Chen Shuda.
"It seems that Tuli Khan has the upper hand." Chen Shuda said with a smile after reading: "If this were not the case, there would be no guarantee that Liang Division would be ordered to be released to King Xiangyi and Prince Pingyuan."
"It's just a prisoner exchange between the two sides." Li Shan's eyes flickered, "In the battle of Jingzhou, Ashina She'er was injured and his foundation was shaken... But I am afraid that this person will be able to overwhelm Tuli Khan in the end."
"How can I see it?"
Li Shan said quietly: "Tu Li is not as ruthless as She'er."
