Although they are eight hundred elites, walking in such a vast world, although there are colleagues in front of and behind them, everyone can't help but feel a sense of loneliness deep in their hearts.
Because there is only one color within sight.
White.
No matter when you look up, no matter which direction you look to the south, east, north or west, you can only see a vast expanse of white.
When there is no strong wind, everything is still. It seems that only this group of people in the world can prove the vitality here.
Zhang Zhongjian strictly ordered that there should be no noise during the march except for generals and scouts. The world was so quiet. Except for the occasional report from the scouts, there was only the continuous sound of rustling footsteps on the snow. The soldiers marched quietly towards the endless north. go.
As the commander of the bodyguards, Liu Heier was half a step behind Li Shan, maintaining the rhythm neither fast nor slow. From time to time he touched the cotton armor on his body, and occasionally looked at Li Shan's side face. It seemed that he could not see any expression.
There was no excitement, no excitement.
No fear, no shrinking.
In the past two days, Liu Heier thought about many possibilities, but one thing is for sure. The King of Handan will definitely use him. He thought that he might send special troops to attack Honghe Town and Pingfeng Town, or he might let himself and Li Zhengbao Returning to Liang Jun, no matter what, I never expected that the target of the King of Handan of the Tang Dynasty was actually Xiaoguan.
Liu Heier vaguely guessed that the long-distance attack on Xiaoguan was not something Li Shan came up with. It was probably after a long period of preparation. This is also consistent with the fact that the truce lasted for more than two months, but this attack on Guyuan was a virtual reality. Shake a shot.
Yes, Liu Heier guessed right. Li Shan gave up the possibility of conquering Guyuan with heavy troops from the beginning.
There are two reasons. One is that Guyuan is located on the Liupan Mountain. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is too difficult to fight. He is unwilling to drag out the war for too long. On the one hand, because as time goes by, Liangshi may be in the battle. On the other hand, the foundation of the Guannei Road was laid because it was almost the critical moment for the imperial court to seize the rightful son.
The second reason is that due to strategic considerations, it is very difficult to capture Guyuan, but the benefits are not large. After that, we have to attack important passes such as Shimen Pass and Xiao Pass. Liang Shidu only needs to block Xiao Pass to defeat the enemy. Can securely win Huizhou and Lingzhou.
As for Li Shentong on the Longyou Road... Li Shan had never expected to cross Liangzhou to attack Lingzhou. He would need a clever command, benevolent to foreigners, or have a reputation as a deterrent. These Li No magical powers.
Although the Tang army had a great victory in Jingzhou before, Liang Division actually still took the initiative on the battlefield. The reason was Xiaoguan.
Therefore, Li Shan's initial goal was Xiaoguan. As long as Xiaoguan was captured, the main road from Huizhou and Lingzhou to Yuanzhou would be blocked, and the connection between Liang Luoren and Liang Shidu would be severed.
Take Xiaoguan and lock up the Liang army in Guyuan, Shimenguan and other places. As long as they can hold Xiaoguan firmly, the desperate Liang army in Guyuan will probably surrender without a fight. In this way, the situation of this war will be completely reversed.
You can use Xiaoguan as the foundation, send cavalry to sweep Huizhou and Lingzhou, you can divide your troops in Yanzhou, and go straight to Liang Jun's home base to dominate Wancheng. No matter which choice you make, Liang Division will never be able to make a comeback strategically. .
For two months, Li Shan inquired about the details of Xiaoguan through Li Zhengbao, Xin Li'er and many Liang Army prisoners of war. He also asked Duan Decao and the released prisoners, and even instructed Huangfuzhong to inquire about the garrison strength through contacts. After thinking about it, he finally decided on the risky move of taking Xiaoguan.
In the current situation, the most important role of Xiaoguan is that once the Yuanzhou War breaks out, the Liang Division in Lingzhou can quickly send troops south to support.
But in fact, Xiaoguan itself is not big, and it does not accommodate many troops. Because it is actually a passage, the number of troops will not exceed two thousand, and the chance of success for a risky attack is not low.
But even so, Li Shan was extremely well prepared. In order to march secretly, he asked Huangfuzhong and Fan Shiyi to determine the route in advance and find a foothold.
Cotton armor, thick boots, jade pot springs and various equipment were prepared for the soldiers. In order to hide the truth, Li Shan acted in a play with the unsuspecting Li Zhengbao... In order to fully focus on Liang Luoren In Guyuan, Li Shan instructed Su Dingfang to attack fiercely and not retreat, and even ordered Guo Xiaoke and Yang Ze to send troops northward.
All the preparations were perfect, except for a perfect long-distance run. Li Shan slightly lifted his hat and just raised his head, a strong wind mixed with snowflakes hit his face.
There were reports from scouts ahead. After Zhang Zhongjian personally investigated, he dug dozens of spears into the snow on both sides to form a slightly narrow road.
Li Shan waited silently and slowly passed the road. He glanced sideways and saw a large beast struggling in the snow nest, but its movements were getting weaker and weaker. It was estimated that it would be frozen in a while. It's so hard.
Li Shan's earliest plan did not take into account the impact of heavy snow. The earliest inspiration came from the famous snowy night capture of Caizhou more than a hundred years later. At that time, he was naive and thought that although it was far away from Xiaoguan, he would be able to conquer Caizhou with Qingqi. Galloping, even if there is wind and snow, you can reach Xiaoguan quickly.
But then Huangfuzhong introduced Yuanzhou to the local area, which made Li Shan give up this idea. Caizhou is located in the Central Plains, and the biggest resistance to Li Su's surprise attack came from the cold. Yuanzhou is in the northwest of Guanzhong, and the continuous heavy snow makes the ground snow extremely thick. , covering almost all roads.
Moreover, the east side of Yuanzhou is slightly flat, but the four subordinate counties of Guyuan, Pingliang, Jingning, and Tongxin are all on the west side, relying on Liupan Mountain. The only Baiquan County that does not have Liupan Mountain on its back is not on the east either. Even on the west side of Rushui River.
This directly resulted in the sparsely populated east side of Wonju, which was naturally beneficial for hiding marching traces, but it also made the roads on the east side mixed and difficult... To put it bluntly, under the heavy snow, you have no idea that there is land under the snow. Whether it's a rock or an open space, if you fall into a snow nest like this unlucky beast, the loss will be a trivial matter, but the impact on morale will be unspeakable. Who knows how many such natural traps are ahead?
Therefore, it is impossible to attack Xiaoguan with light cavalry. This does not take into account how the cavalry can fly across the Rushui River and Hulu River.
This was one of the main reasons why Li Shan asked Huangfuzhong and Fan Shiyi to investigate in advance. If a safe road could not be found, then there would be no possibility of implementing this plan.
Fortunately, Huangfuzhong, who was born and raised here, did not disappoint Li Shan.
Liu Heier on the side whispered: "It seems to be a leopard looking for food."
Li Shan looked back and saw spots on his body, which must be a leopard.
Continuing forward, although the speed is getting slower and slower, the pace never stops. In this case, as long as you stop, you will be close to death.
(End of chapter)
