The land of Taozhou controls Fanrong in the west, Huanglong in the east, Fansheng in the south, and Shiling in the north.
Compared to Xizhou and Hezhou, this Taozhou is almost like a barren land.
And the Song army's action of climbing over this exposed mountain when the weather was freezing was definitely beyond everyone's expectations.
After the planned decisive battle in Hezhou failed, Zhang Yue led his army across Lugu Mountain according to his backup plan, while Zhongshidao divided his forces to attack Zhucheng and Xibawen to attack Yigongcheng.
Because they were well prepared, the soldiers carried enough winter clothes and other things to keep out the cold, and hired special guides to guide the way. Despite this, there is still a constant attrition of people climbing mountains in winter.
In order to achieve the purpose of surprise attack, this is also an inevitable price.
The so-called surprise attack means that when Bian Sibojie drew his sword, I had already put the sword on your neck.
The question is, you draw the sword first!
Regarding this crossing of Luogu Mountain, Zhang Yue could not help but think of Napoleon and Hannibal who had achieved great feats by crossing the Alps respectively.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yue was full of longing to conquer this exposed mountain.
The army just crossed Lugu Mountain, but saw a mountain pass ahead, called Lao Pass.
Lao Yakou is a wooden bridge spanning two mountains. On this wooden bridge, a Wubao of Taozhou Fan people was built, guarded by hundreds of Fan people. It seems that Bian Sibojie is not an incompetent person. He has already sent people to guard this important place.
Zhang Yue saw that this Wubao was not difficult to attack, but the wooden bridge was the only way down the mountain. Once the Tibetan people destroyed the wooden bridge, the Song army's surprise attack would be in vain.
Zhang Yue still followed the same plan as his master's way to take Minzhou, and spent a lot of money to recruit warriors.
Zhang Yue originally thought that the soldiers were afraid of the difficulty, but he did not expect that the whole army would rush to sign up. Everyone did not come here for the bounty. The main reason was that when Zhang Yue attacked Xihe before, those who had meritorious service would be rewarded and those who would be awarded officials. How many soldiers changed their lives because of Zhang Yue, so the soldiers all joined enthusiastically.
Zhang Yue immediately recruited a hundred soldiers, climbed up from the bottom of the mountain at night, and cooperated with the Song army in a frontal attack at dawn.
The soldiers in Fanbao never dreamed that the Song army would cross the Lugu Mountain in winter, and even sneak attack like magic soldiers descending from the sky.
Most of them were killed by the Song army in their sleep, and the rest were all taken prisoner.
Seeing that this natural danger was taken effortlessly, the morale of the Song army was very high.
After three days, the Song army finally crossed Lugu Mountain. Although hundreds of people were lost, this was almost a miracle.
When they arrived at the hinterland of Taozhou, it was mostly a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral place, with a lot of farming areas, cattle and sheep, as well as temples and houses, etc. The Song Army saw that everyone was full of high spirits and marching forward. .
There are high mountains behind, and flat land and low slopes in front. It becomes easier and more relaxed as we walk. It feels really good.
As the population in front became more and more dense, the Song army also passed through without any offense. No harm was allowed to the old, weak, women and children of the Tibetan people, and those who did not resist were only prisoners.
Right in front of the army is Taoyang City.
This Taoyang City was where Jiang Wei defeated Deng Ai. It was also Jiang Wei's ninth and last Northern Expedition.
At that time, Jiang Wei deceived Qishan, but actually took Taoyang. But Jiang Wei's intention of sending troops was seen through by Deng Ai. Deng Ai said that Jiang Wei was definitely not aiming to capture Qishan, but to capture Taoyang and gain contact with the Qiang people.
Therefore, he stationed troops here in advance, causing Jiang Wei to return defeated.
But when Zhang Yue arrived at Taoyang City, he heard from the prisoners that Bian Sibojie went to Minzhou to hunt grass and took away almost all the strong men, so there were not many soldiers and horses in such a heavy city as Taoyang. defense.
When Zhang Yue's army arrived at Taoyang City, the Taoyang defenders panicked and immediately surrendered without any resistance.
The Song army captured Taoyang City without any bloodshed, and still had hundreds of stones of food stored in it.
Just as night fell, a group of Fan troops passed by Taoyang and were about to rush to Minzhou to join Bian Sibojie. As a result, this group of Fan troops did not know that Taoyang had fallen on the way. As a result, they were ambushed by the Song army and captured. There were thousands of people and hundreds of horses.
After a series of victories, Zhang Yue not only captured the fortified city of grain and grass, but also spread the news behind Bian Sibojie's surprise attack across Lugu Mountain throughout Taozhou.
At the same time, the Song army of Zhongshi Dao also captured Daozhu City, and Xibawen sent troops from Fuqiang City to threaten the front line of Yigong City.
Xibawen was a local aboriginal and the original chief. When he arrived at Yigong City, he solicited the surrender of the garrison in his own name. However, he was rejected by the defender.
However, Xiba Wen was not worried. He appeared in Yigong City every day dressed in fine clothes and shouted loudly to the defenders in the city to surrender.
After all, Xibawen had been in the Guizhang tribe for many years, and many of the city's defenders knew him. After he surrendered and the Song army besieged the city, the morale of the soldiers in the city was unavoidably turbulent.
It was only a matter of time before the city was destroyed.
On the front line of Tiechengzhai, soldiers gathered together waiting for the army to gather. Nearly 100,000 troops arrived, with flags and staffs stretching for dozens of miles.
But before the other party arrived, Zhonge burned all the bridges on Taoshui in advance.
Bian Sibojie had no choice but to send troops to cross the river on the ice. As a result, less than a thousand troops crossed the river. Unexpectedly, the ice was not frozen solid, and dozens of people fell into the river when the ice broke. Seeing this, Zhong'e led three hundred fine cavalry to kill him. In the end, no one of the more than a thousand people escaped.
Zhonger ordered the soldiers to strip off the clothes and trousers of the Fan prisoners, let them go barefoot in the ice and snow, picked up their clothes and trousers with the tip of a spear and led them with a rope, and walked around the city triumphantly.
This scene made Bian Sibojie furious on the spot.
Then Bian Sibojie urged the soldiers to cross the river again, and this time they successfully crossed the river.
But it has already wasted a day's work.
Then Bian Sibojie attacked Tiecheng without much preparation.
Tiecheng Sizhai was built under the supervision of Shen Kuo, a master of technology. With Shen Kuo's meticulousness, he was completely picky about the construction of the Four Villages.
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Zhong'e defended this fortified city in ice and snow, and faced the Fan army that lacked siege weapons, and withstood the siege for three days.
Seeing this, Biansi Bojie was furious and immediately ordered his soldiers to dig earth and pile sandbags to attack the city.
But in this ice and snow, how easy is this kind of soil work? Sergeant Fan's fingers were frozen from digging the soil, but he still couldn't meet the needs of Bian Sibojie.
Biansi Bojie was so angry that he killed dozens of people, but the work was not completed.
On the fifth day of Tiecheng's defense, Mu Zheng and You Shixiong led tens of thousands of Minzhou Fan troops to Tiecheng.
Seeing this, Bian Sibojie had no choice but to withdraw his troops and set up a formation to face Mu Zheng and You Shixiong's troops.
It was at this time that Mu Zheng learned that the Song army had crossed Lugu Mountain and captured Taoyang City.
At the same time, the soldiers and horses of the Xihe Road and the imperial guards of the Song Army on Qinfeng Road who were going to Qinzhou for food were rushing to the battlefield day and night under the leadership of the military envoy Zhang Shen on Qinfeng Road.
In Qingtang City, Ali Gu chaired a military meeting to discuss whether to reinforce Bian Sibo Jie. After more than ten days of debate, there was still no result.
