After the Holy Tang Dynasty settled in Dongdu, it showed extremely high efficiency in a short period of time.
More than 800 years of solid accumulation have formed a complete and scientific governance system for the dynasty. Officials are mature, systems are mature, and methods are mature. Once it is fully operational, government affairs, military affairs, finance and taxation, people's livelihood, education, and culture will all quickly get back on track and produce positive results step by step.
Luoyi, which experienced the rebellion of Xuanjia rebels and the bloodbath of poisonous soldiers and monsters, has regained its vitality.
However, as if God was deliberately testing Shengtang, the situation changed slightly for the better, but trouble soon followed.
The first is Yizhou.
After the imperial court moved, Bashu became leaderless, and it was difficult for local garrison troops and civilian armed forces to organize a strong defense to resist the invasion of Xuanjia rebels. It didn't take long for the entire Jiannan Road to be completely captured by Lao Jianhua's men.
So far, except for some sporadic resistance in some local state capitals, the entire southern region, whether Jiangnan, Jiannan, central Guizhou, or Lingnan, has almost completely fallen into the hands of Lao Jianhua.
The rebels and the imperial court formally formed a pattern of ruling by dividing the river, and also began a rapid expansion process.
The southern part of Shengtang did not encounter Turkic invasion, and its large population and resources were still relatively intact. Every day that passes, the rebels become stronger. It is not difficult to imagine that he will become a formidable enemy in the future.
The situation in the south is getting worse day by day, and the war situation in the north is not much better.
Ma Hongjie, who commanded the Southern Army to attack Tongguan, finally suffered his first defeat since moving north.
When Turkic Marshal He Lianxiong faced the Southern Army's attacks from both sides, he did not choose to stick to the city gates as Ma Hongjie and others predicted. Instead, he personally led 50,000 elite cavalry of the Golden Tribe out to fight.
The first target he aimed at was the west attack group that bypassed from the west from the direction of Wuguan.
The commander-in-chief of the West Route Army was Zeng Xun, the fifty-year-old military chief of the Qianzhong Road Marching Army.
As a well-known southwestern general, Zeng Xun himself did not lack experience in leading troops. However, he was dazzled by the previous victory in Wuguan, and he naively believed that the Turks would be like the people of Shengtang, waiting for work in Tongguan and defending by danger.
Therefore, he did not take any corresponding precautions in advance and just set up camp while building siege equipment.
But at this moment, the Turkic cavalry suddenly came.
To be honest, Zeng Xun's reaction was not particularly slow.
As soon as the troops at the front were attacked by the Turks, Zeng Xun immediately ordered the entire army to line up and prepare for battle. But it is a pity that the west attack group, which is mainly composed of soldiers from the Central Guizhou Daofu, has no previous experience in plains attacks with the Turks, so it has no understanding of the opponent's combat style and specific fighting methods.
Coupled with the natural disadvantage of infantry against cavalry, the battle presented a one-sided situation from the beginning.
Within an hour, the four infantry formations were destroyed.
Two hours later, the general's personal camp was besieged by Turks.
Three hours later, a large Turkish cavalry force appeared on the plain behind Zeng Xun.
The sun has not yet set, and the 110,000 West Route attack group has already abandoned its armor and armor, and is being chased by the main force of the 50,000 Golden Tribe and fleeing in all directions.
However, He Lianxiong had no intention of eating Zeng Xun directly.
After they drove away the Western Route Army, a fire burned the entire camp and siege equipment. Then they returned directly to Tongguan, took a short rest, and once again attacked the Southern Army soldiers and horses east of Chengguan.
Staying there was the East Route Attack Group, whose commander was General Yang Yunbao of Lingnan Zhechong.
Comparatively speaking, Yang Yunbao is stronger than Zeng Xun, at least not so careless.
Before the whole army took a firm position, he specially dispatched a security force to set up a formation near Tongguan to prevent the opponent from leaving the city for a sneak attack.
However, this is of no use.
Twenty thousand infantrymen, three or four miles away from Tongguan, formed a guard position with shields, spears, and daggers. For the Turkic cavalry, which was twice their number, it was like a joke.
The torrent of iron armor swallowed up the poor infantry in an instant.
Fortunately, Yang Yunbao had made warning arrangements in advance, and the warning line had a sufficient buffer distance from the main force. Therefore, Yang Yunbao, who suffered the impact, was still much more calm than Zeng Xun.
As soon as the defeated troops who were scattered in front ran back, the 60,000 infantry and cavalry mixed division in the main camp immediately backed up the camp and set up a defensive formation. The remaining 120,000 troops squatted in the tall camp. Behind the wall, prepare for echelon defense.
In this way, He Lianxiong was not given the opportunity to play a "surprise attack from behind".
However, although Yang Yunbao was very cautious and his defensive movements were almost in accordance with the standards of the martial arts hall textbooks, they were still beaten miserably by the powerful cavalry.
In just one day and one night, the casualties exceeded 27,000.
The eastern attack group of nearly 200,000 people was actually blocked in the camp by less than 50,000 Golden Tribe cavalry and did not dare to come out. It was really hard to tell who was the attacker and who was the defender.
Because Yang Yunbao fought hard to defend and the Turks lacked an advantage in strength, after two days and nights of fierce fighting, He Lianxiong gave up his strategic plan to completely destroy the East Road Camp and temporarily withdrew his troops and returned to Tongguan.
The vigorous and vigorous attack on Tongguan had not officially begun yet, but they were crippled and frightened by the opponent all the way. This made the Southern Army Command both embarrassed and shocked.
Generals of the Southern Army such as Ma Hongjie, Yan Huiqing and Mi Pei finally woke up from the joy of the victory at Wuguan and began to re-examine the power of the Turkic Golden Tribe.
And it was only then that they truly understood why the imperial capital fell tragically after not even surviving two months, and what an amazing army Li Jiangyao's Xinjiang Army was.
As the ruling tribe of the Turkic Empire, the main force of the Golden Banner is completely different from the miscellaneous armies of other tribes.
Their combat power is at least on the same level as the Black Armor Legion and the Qilin Legion, and may even be higher.
Therefore, when hundreds of thousands of gold troops besieged the imperial capital, it was very difficult for the Kirin Legion of less than 100,000 people and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry of the Forbidden Army to last for forty-five days.
In the same analogy, the Zhenjiang Army that fought fiercely with the Golden Cavalry at Zijin Pass not long ago was so powerful that it was simply terrifying.
"It seems that Mr. Dong's evaluation of Li Jiangyao is not exaggerated."
Veteran general Yan Huiqing expressed heartfelt emotion.
After discussion, the Southern Army Headquarters decided to adjust its strategy and postpone the all-out attack on Tongguan.
Judging from the current situation, not to mention 330,000, even if all the 500,000 Confederate troops attack together, they may not be able to capture the Xiongguan Fortress guarded by the Golden Tribe.
This new decision of the Southern Army was sent by messengers to both directions at the same time: Luoyi in the east and Zijin Pass in the west.
After Li Bing received the news, he couldn't help but Long Yan was furious. He repeatedly blamed Ma Hongjie for being afraid of the enemy. However, he became timid when encountering a slight setback. Even Tongguan did not dare to fight. How could he regain the imperial capital in the future?
After Li Jiangyao received the news, he breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately wrote back to the Southern Army, agreeing with the other party's decision, and suggested that Ma Hongjie use defense as offense and look for opportunities to fight again.
At the same time, Li Jiangyao also proposed a new idea to the court and the Southern Army: seize the time and make every effort to build a new heavy armored infantry regiment.
The so-called heavy armored infantry is an infantry combat force that uses heavy armor as its main defensive equipment compared to light infantry.
Although the Shengtang was a prosperous country and a strong people, due to the attributes and influence of farming civilization, the dynasty's armed forces had always been dominated by infantry.
Cavalry, especially the powerful armored cavalry, has always been a relatively rare elite unit in Shengtang. Only the main forces such as Xuanjia, Qilin, Fiery Blade, and Long Dao will be assigned some of them.
As for the imperial army system with a large number of personnel, there are almost no cavalry. Even if there are, they are usually only used as the guard battalion of the general. He rarely engages in fierce battles.
On the other hand, Shengtang's infantry were actually mostly light infantry, that is, infantry soldiers wearing leather armor or half-length iron armor.
The weapons are basically wooden spears, daggers, ring-headed knives and shields, as well as corresponding bows, arrows and crossbows.
This kind of combat power cannot be seen when defending the city, but once you fight the cavalry on the plains, you will be completely at a disadvantage of being beaten. It is precisely because of this that the light infantry of the Sixth Army of Zhenjiang went crazy and forced the Turks to retreat continuously, which was regarded as an unimaginable miracle by everyone.
However, miracles are called miracles because they are not the norm and cannot happen every time.
Out of long-term considerations for the war situation, Li Jiangyao proposed that Shengtang must establish four to six heavy armored infantry regiments.
Only those strong soldiers wearing two layers of iron armor, tightly protected from top to bottom, armed with iron spears, long knives, sledgehammers, and giant axes, and forming a tight formation, can withstand the impact of enemy cavalry on the plains.
This proposal immediately received a positive response from the Southern Army, but the Dongdu Army seemed a little hesitant about it.
The reason is simple. Ma Hongjie and the others suffered a big loss from the Turkic cavalry, and of course they hope to upgrade their light infantry to heavy infantry as soon as possible.
The court's hesitation was due to insufficient money in its pocket.
There were also heavy armored infantry before Shengtang. There are some in several main legions, and also in the government soldiers. However, the heavy infantry's equipment costs, personnel food, and maintenance costs are much more expensive than ordinary infantry.
Like cavalry, they are also a rare elite unit.
It is acceptable to use elite units as special forces, but if they are built as legion-level units, it is a bit unbearable.
Let alone forming four to six heavy armored infantry legions, the cost of setting up a legion of fifty thousand people alone is enough to cover several ordinary legions.
Shengtang's vitality has been severely damaged. Now that there is little money in the treasury, the people in the Ministry of Revenue and the Taifu can't wait to break a copper coin in half and use it. Many places that need silver are still waiting eagerly. At this time, they can build new ones. The heavy armored infantry regiment was too strenuous.
Li Jiangyao couldn't wait for the poor people in the court to grind away every day, so he decided to upgrade the infantry of his Xinjiang Army first.
And the target he wanted to upgrade was the Nulang Sixth Army.
