Ganzhou is a remote state with a vast territory and sparse population. The entire state has a population of about half a million people. Compared with other states in Daliang, which often have a population of more than one million, it is nothing to mention.
Not only is the population sparse, but the land suitable for cultivating food is only equivalent to the output of one county in other states.
Not only that, the environment is very harsh. There is sand and dust weather for at least half the year. If you encounter a sandstorm, it is easy to lose your way.
This is not only true for Ganzhou, but also for Mengzhou above it. The combined population of the two states barely exceeds one million. If Dongzhou is the tax cash cow of Great Liang, then the two northwest states are the main drag of Great Liang.
Every year, the imperial court allocates funds and grain to the two northwest states, accounting for one-fifth of the tax. The only advantage is that it provides horses for the Daliang cavalry.
The military horses produced in the two northwest states have strong endurance and stronger carrying capacity. They are natural war horses. The horses from the two northwest states have created the few elite cavalry in Great Liang.
Among the 60,000 troops in the two northwest states, there are about 50,000 cavalry, including heavy cavalry. Don't underestimate these 50,000 cavalry, which account for about 80% of the elite cavalry in Daliang.
You must know that the nation on horseback in Da Rong, which is facing the rising sun, has only about 100,000 cavalry, and it is impossible for all of these 100,000 people to go out in full force. They must be distributed in other places in Da Rong to take charge of guarding.
In this way, the elite cavalry that was able to invade south were barely on par with the cavalry from the two northwest states. It was precisely because of the toughness of the northwest cavalry that the pressure on the northwest defense line was stabilized.
The two northwest states seem to be the main drag of the imperial court, but their geographical location is very special. They are the main transportation routes connecting the Western Regions. For so many years in the Great Liang Dynasty, despite internal and external troubles, they were still able to send troops to fight everywhere without worries, all thanks to the northwest. The external defense of the two states.
Once there is any movement or loss in the two northwest states, the Darong Cavalry can completely avoid the iron walls of Ningzhou on the front battlefield and invade directly from the two northwest states.
Not only Kyoto and Jinzhou, but also half of Great Liang were exposed to the attack range of Da Rong's cavalry. The whole journey was basically a plain. If the iron cavalry made a long-distance attack and penetrated into the hinterland of Da Liang, then Da Liang would really be in danger.
Therefore, preserving the two northwest states means preserving the foundation of Great Liang. As long as the two northwest states are still there, it can give Great Liang enough time to prepare and leave a broad buffer space.
Therefore, even if you don’t understand military affairs, you only need to look at the map of Great Liang to know the importance of the two northwest states. This is why the Emperor of Great Liang, even if he is fatuous and incompetent, will still insist on not giving up the policy of the two northwest states. Appropriations and funds are allocated every year.
Under the consistent support policies of successive Daliang emperors, the two northwest states have established a very complete offensive and defensive system.
Set up a Duhufu to control the two prefectures in the center of Ganzhou, and then build defensive towns at various geographical points in Ganzhou along the Duhufu.
Just like the military city in Ningzhou, there are seven military towns in Ganzhou. Each military town is surrounded by several military forts that support each other.
Due to the harsh sand and dust weather in Ganzhou, it is impractical and unsafe to build villages and towns. Based on actual combat, the countryside is built into a military fortress integrating offense and defense.
There are a large number of connected tunnels underground under the military fort. Together with the local militia and the addition of 30,000 Ganzhou soldiers, it is more than enough.
As for the other half of the 30,000 troops, they are stationed in Mengzhou. The defense and construction of Mengzhou are exactly the same as those of Ganzhou, although Mengzhou will face the threat of Da Rong from the north.
But next to it, it borders Ningzhou. Fan Wenzhong's nearly 200,000 Ningzhou soldiers are stationed in various military cities and can take care of each other. From this point of view, the security of Mengzhou is much better than that of Ganzhou.
This is why Ganzhou, which borders the countries in the Western Regions, is the first to bear the brunt of this northwest movement, not Mengzhou.
Stepping into the border of Ganzhou, walking forward for about seventy or eighty miles against the sky full of yellow sand, I finally saw a military fort.
According to the marks on the map, this is the first military fort after entering Ganzhou. It is also the place where Su Qi'an and the Jiaozhou soldiers' supporting troops met. It is called Wushi Fort.
Looking at the gray castles ahead, Su Qi'an ordered everyone to speed up. Just when they were about to arrive at Wushburg, a large number of invisible figures came towards them in the gray castle.
Xie Cang's face was calm, and he was about to order the entire army to be on alert, but was stopped by Su Qi'an. His eyes flashed, he looked at the unidentified people gradually coming towards them, and said softly.
"Don't be nervous, he should be the one to pick us up."
After saying this for a while, as the figures approached, I finally saw their faces clearly. The leaders were none other than Chen Dao, Song Biao, and Er Meng who stayed in Jiaozhou.
Looking at the familiar faces, the three of them looked excited and hurriedly stepped forward and saluted Su Qi'an with clasped fists.
"Sir, it's been a long time no see. We have been waiting for news from you in Jiaozhou. After waiting for so long, we finally received your order."
"As soon as we received the order from Sir, we rushed straight to Ganzhou without stopping. Fortunately, we are finally waiting for you, Sir."
Su Qi'an smiled and nodded, indicating that this was not the place to talk, and that we should talk first in the military fort. The three of them understood and immediately turned around to lead the way.
Su Qi'an followed behind, feeling very excited. This time he asked Su Xuanyong for support from Jiaozhou soldiers. Everyone knew that the newly promoted Jiaozhou Mu Huocheng was promoted because of him.
In disguise, the Jiaozhou soldiers are his subordinates, but there is a fundamental difference between his subordinates and his confidants. There are at least 50,000 Jiaozhou soldiers, and Su Qi'an mobilized about half of the troops. These people are his serious confidants.
The 25,000 men were the Dongshan Second and Third Divisions he originally formed in Jiaozhou, and the Dongshan Cavalry Division of 5,000 men.
These talents are Su Qi'an's true confidants. They were mobilized this time, on the one hand, to support Wang Zhenshan, and on the other hand, to train their strength.
When I left Jiaozhou and went to Dongzhou to quell the rebellion, the reason why I didn't take Song Biao, Chen Dao, and Ermeng with me was mainly because it had just expanded and there were mostly new soldiers, most of them land troops. They were obviously not acclimated to Dongzhou.
Only by leading the first division with the strongest combat effectiveness can Su Qian feel at ease. Now, about a year later, under the training of Chen Dao, Song Biao, and Er Meng, the second, third, and cavalry divisions can also be used to verify their training. Results.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, we can train our troops well. Of course, if we have to mobilize others, we must arrange for others to return to defense.
Chen Dao and Song Biao were transferred out, and naturally Su Yong's first division returned to the defense.
This arrangement is not not to distrust the strength of the First Division, but to give the First Division good training after experiencing the Dongzhou War.
Of course, the most important point is that the first division was sent back to defend Jiaozhou to take over Jiaozhou for Su Qi'an.
With the end of the war in Dongzhou and his return to Kyoto, Su Qi'an became acquainted with the three princes again, especially the secretive Yue King Su Kang. Su Qi'an became increasingly aware of the complexity of the struggle for imperial power.
He had a hunch that the fight between the three kings was likely to cause major events and cause turmoil in the Great Liang. In order to prevent a second Xizhou Incident and a fire in his own backyard, Jiaozhou must be stabilized.
Su Qi'an of Xizhou is not worried. After all, Luo Qingyuan, the big boss, is in charge of him and there can be no chaos. But Jiaozhou is different, with complex ethnic groups and remote geographical location. If something big happens, they can directly occupy the pass, seal the pass and separate the country. Big trouble for Su Qian.
Huo Cheng, Huang Wenyan, and Wu Yong alone may not be able to stabilize Jiaozhou, and transferring Su Yong back together with the First Division is a shock.
There is no doubt about the strength of the First Division. With the help of the First Division, it is enough to intimidate those Xiaoxiao. With the skills of Huo Cheng and Huang Wenyan, it should not be a problem to stabilize Jiaozhou.
After hearing Su Qi'an's explanation, Su Yong, who was originally unwilling to accept it, also realized the importance of the matter and understood that it was equally important to look after his own backyard for Su Qi'an.
Under the leadership of the three of them, Su Qi'an and Xie Cang walked into Wushi Fort.
Ganzhou military forts are basically built with stone bricks, earth and rocks piled up to form a semicircular dome. Each window is different from the state mansions. It has a small square opening for breathing, reconnaissance, and even counterattack.
There are many underground passages underground in the military fort. This is also a life-saving means to ensure that after being besieged, they will not be taken over.
These underground passages are multi-layered, extremely complex, and winding. Even if someone leads the way, there is no guarantee that they can get out safely.
You can imagine how difficult it is to build this kind of underground passage in such a harsh environment. According to reports, it will take at least several years or even longer to complete the construction of this single underground passage.
At the beginning, according to the plans of the great governors of the past dynasties, I wanted to connect these underground passages with various military forts and even military towns. However, when implemented later, I found that it was too difficult. The underground soil and sand and stone structures were very different. I wanted to build an integrated tunnel. The underground passage is nothing more than a whimsical idea, and you have to give up later.
Although it is not connected, it is quite remarkable to be able to independently build such a large-scale underground passage. Even Su Qi'an admires it.
After a brief visit, Su Qian began to inquire about serious matters and understand the current situation in Ganzhou.
The castle owner of Wushburg told him everything he knew, but unfortunately, what Su Qi'an knew and what the castle owner told him were basically the same.
The only difference and new clues are that at the border of Ganzhou, Saktu Chenbing fought another battle with the cavalry led by the governor. After thousands of people were killed and injured, he actually asked for peace talks.
Since the other party requested peace talks, for the sake of the stability of Ganzhou, Wang Zhenshan naturally agreed to the peace talks. Calculating the time, it was only a few days.
When Su Qi'an came to Ganzhou, the castle owner had also sent a message to the Protector's Mansion. It was estimated that the people who came to meet him were on the way. They would pick Su Qi'an up soon. When they arrived at the Protector's Mansion, some specific situations , you can understand clearly.
Su Qi'an was not anxious about the Duhu Mansion picking him up. Mainly because of Saktu's sudden peace talks, Su Qi'an was a little confused.
