The battle in the border town in Fang Chongyong's impression should be a scene of warriors and cavalry charging, fighting on the vast grassland or sand, and from time to time, people would fall on their backs.
The bright light armor shines brightly in the sun, like a symbol of victory; the torrent of cavalry teams gathers in the high-speed impact, falls, and finally falls silent; and the locust-like arrow rain, like cutting wheat, will advance in formation The taxi soldiers fell to the ground, and the air was filled with the smell of blood.
The frontier should be like this, and it must be like this!
However, at this moment, there was another scene in front of Fang Chongyong.
The Turks, who did not know whether to live or die, braved the slight coolness of the lake and waded in the water regardless of their own safety, treating Baiting Sea as "Baiting Valley".
Then by accident, I fell into a shallow pit at the bottom of the lake. After a few flops, I disappeared!
Bai Dinh Sea is very shallow, with an average depth of more than one meter and less than two meters. Theoretically, it should be possible to find a way to Baiting Fort in the center of the lake.
But many times, "average" is a terrible word that cannot reflect the core and full picture of the problem.
Some places are three meters deep, while some places are only knee-deep. So the "average" water depth should theoretically be enough to prevent people from drowning.
But in fact, the final result was just like the Turks who were "exploring the road" at the moment. After exploring the lake for an hour or two, many people drowned, and they could not find a way to the white lake in the middle of the lake. The “road” to Tingbao.
On the tower of Baiting Fort, Fang Chongyong looked at Xin Yunjing speechlessly, pointed at the Turks who were wading in the water, and asked doubtfully: "Are these people sick? Do they really think they can wade out a way?"
Those closest to them are still several miles away from the land in the center of the lake where Baiting Fort is located.
As for the far ones, they were already beyond Fang Chongyong’s sight.
"In the Han Dynasty, Baiting Fort was set up in the center of Baiting Sea to monitor the movements of the Huns. This arrangement was based on local conditions, not just building a city blindly."
Xin Yunjing explained without expressing his doubts.
Baiting's army was not large in scale, but it was divided into two armies: left and right.
The Left Army was located to the south of Baiting Sea and was responsible for the security of Baiting Sea Ranch; the Right Army and the Yamen were located at Baiting Fort in the center of Baiting Sea and were responsible for monitoring the movements of the Turks.
This time the Turks suddenly attacked, and the left army was too small in number to be able to stop the menacing Turks. They had already covered the ranchers and evacuated to Chiwu Town with thousands of horses.
Baiting Fort, where the right army was located, was besieged by 10,000 Turkic cavalry and could not leave the waters of Baiting Sea.
Of course, the so-called "siege" is actually just that the Turks set up several camps around them and sent many rangers to patrol around.
After three days of siege, these people began to send people to tentatively wade through the water, as if they wanted to determine a shallow water path, and then rode horses to wade through the water to the center of the lake to attack Baiting Fort.
This crazy move almost broke Fang Yanei's eyesight in Baitingbao, who was always in panic!
"The Turks pose no threat to us. Their target is Liangzhou City. Baitingbao has enough food and grass to last for a year."
Xin Yunjing smiled forcefully and explained to Fang Chongyong, completely treating him as a layman on the battlefield.
In fact, Fang Chongyong has now "study" the Tubo's "Military Law Manual", and he also learned some specific operations of marching and fighting from Cui Qianyou before. He is no longer a pure layman, but a layman with half a bucket of water!
According to Fang Chongyong's opinion, the situation they are currently facing is far from as optimistic as Xin Yunjing said.
Indeed, there is a large granary in the center of the lake where Baiting Fort is located, which stores a lot of military rations. There are not many troops stationed in Baitingbao, so you can eat slowly and survive for a year.
However, people cannot just eat food!
It's cold in winter, do you want to light a fire to keep warm?
Does daily cooking require fuel, such as hay or animal dung?
If you really want to calculate it, the defenders of Baitingbao lack everything, the only thing they don't lack is reinforcements.
The Chishui Army was more than two hundred miles away in the south. Following the rules of "using horses as boats" in Hexi, it only took a day or two to attack and relieve the siege.
The problem now is not their situation, but the trends of the Turks themselves, which do not conform to the universal laws of geopolitics.
Today's Turks are no longer the grassland nation that controlled millions of people and traveled across Europe and Asia. The former Turks were exterminated long ago, and today's Turks, known as the Post-Turkic Khanate, have not only greatly reduced the territory they control, but are also in a very poor internal state of fragmentation!
In the autumn of the fifteenth year of Kaiyuan, Tubo wrote to the Later Turkic Khan Bijia, asking him to invade the borders of the Tang Dynasty. After weighing the pros and cons, Vega not only refused, but also sent the letter from Tibet to the Tang Dynasty for political speculation.
Feeling Bijia's "sincerity", Jige Longyan was overjoyed and held a banquet in Zichen Hall to entertain Mei Luchui, the later Turkic minister who had sent the letter. It also allowed the Shuofang army to set up a mutual market in Xishoujiang City, and exchange hundreds of thousands of horses with the Turks every year to strengthen the cavalry team and improve horse breeds.
In the 22nd year of Kaiyuan, Mei Lu, the later Turkic minister, poisoned Viga Khan and murdered him. However, when Bijia was poisoned but not yet dead, he ordered troops to kill Mei Luchu and his clan members.
After Bijia's death, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty sent Li Quan, the minister of the Tang Dynasty, to pay his respects. He also erected a temple and a stele, and ordered Li Rong, the historian and living room official, to write an inscription.
This was the beginning of a comprehensive peace between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks. The result was that the Khitan and the Xi people were frightened and uneasy, and they were ready to make a move in Youzhou.
When the Tang Dynasty recruited the Khitan and the Xi people, it was to divide and disintegrate the Turks. Once the Turks and the Tang Dynasty made peace, under the principle of "whoever is strong will be beaten", the next plot should be that the Tang Dynasty unites the Turkic Khanate to deal with the Khitan and the Tang Dynasty. Ridiculous!
Now that Bijia Khan has died, the Turks have established his son as Yiran Khan.
Yiran Khan was once canonized by the Tang Dynasty, but he died of illness soon after taking office. His younger brother succeeded him as Bijiagu Duolu Khan. The Tang Dynasty sent General Li Zhi of Youjin Wuwei to canonize him as Dengli Khan.
Dengli was young and his mother-in-law took part in political affairs on the ground. The people of the country were dissatisfied. Dengli's cousin divided the army and horses. The one in the east was called Zuo Sha, and the one in the west was called Right Sha.
In other words, the Turks attacking Liangzhou now may be direct descendants of Dengli Khan, or they may be Dengli Khan's cousins.
This complicated situation makes the situation faced in this battle very difficult and confusing. Even conventional diplomatic methods are no longer easy to use.
Because Datang currently doesn’t even know who the real person behind the scenes is!
Xin Yunjing couldn't help but tell Fang Chongyong these things. He had been dealing with Turks for a long time and also asked Turkic businessmen to help sell stolen goods, so he had some knowledge of the political situation of the post-Turkic Khanate.
The external manifestation of this incident is that the Turks went south to invade Liangzhou, and it can even be simply regarded as the grassland people "threshing grass" after autumn.
But combined with the current situation of the Turks, we know the reason and connotation of this matter, which is not simple at all!
"Can a sheepskin raft be used to cross the river? I heard that the Tibetan people often use sheepskin rafts to cross the river and blow them into boats. It is very convenient."
Fang Chongyong suddenly mentioned a strange thing.
Hearing this, Xin Yunjing's complexion changed slightly, and he thought something bad in his heart!
Sheepskin rafts are rafts made of sheep and cow hides. The ancients have known for a long time that "sew leather into a bag" and fill it with air, thinking it was used for swimming. It has a very long history, and there are clear records before the Han Dynasty.
Before the Tang Dynasty, sheepskin rafts were called "leather bags".
When Fang Chongyong crossed the Yellow River in the Wulan Pass section, he crossed the river on a sheepskin raft!
This kind of transportation is very common in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Using sheepskin rafts to send people across rivers and carry goods is a mode of transportation that is widely used along the Yellow River in Qinghai, Gansu, and Ningxia. Therefore, the question raised by Fang Chongyong is not only not nonsense, but also extremely targeted!
It would be really troublesome for the Turks to use a bunch of sheepskin rafts to swim from Baiting coast to Baiting Fort!
The Baiting Army had a strength of 1,700 men, and the left and right armies totaled 1,400 men. There were also 300 "water troops" equipped with flat-bottomed and shallow-draft "warships." Just because there has been no war in Baitinghai for many years, the "warships" have long been transformed into fishing boats and cargo ships! The bed crossbows above have been dismantled!
It is not an exaggeration to describe it as "armed but not repaired".
"It's like this. Sheepskin rafts are common in Liangzhou and can be seen everywhere."
Xin Yunjing said casually, then pulled Fang Chongyong aside and asked in a low voice:
"Brother, according to my observation, the Turks are just pretending to be stupid now to paralyze us. If my prediction is correct, it is very likely that the Turks will attack Baiting Fort on sheepskin rafts tonight.
We don't have many defenders, and we rely entirely on the Baiting Sea as a natural barrier. If the Turks attack regardless of casualties, I'm afraid... the situation will be dire.
I want to set up an ambush tonight and catch the Turks off guard. What do you think? "
Xin Yunjing asked in a deep voice.
When something bad happened, he decided to find someone with a backing to carry it with him. In this way, as long as he didn't die in this battle, he wouldn't be punished in the future!
In the Hexi Corridor, I have never heard of any exciting city defense battles. Except for Liangzhou City, all cities are easy to attack and difficult to defend. Including this small Baiting Fort, if there is no surrounding lake protection, what use can a mere 500-man garrison and a mediocre fort tower do?
"Soldiers never tire of deceit, so it would be better to mount those less useful ships with fishing fires and send them out to patrol at night, so that the Turks can clearly see it and think that our defense is empty and unprepared."
Fang Chongyong added, obviously agreeing with Xin Yunjing's idea.
Defend the city? That's not his character!
If it weren't for future plans, wouldn't it be better for Fang Chongyong to eat and die in Chang'an City under the name of "Fang Ya Nei"? Why come to the Hexi Corridor to eat sand?
Come here, keep a woolly city!
"this……"
Xin Yunjing was stunned for a moment, carefully savoring Fang Chongyong's suggestion, and suddenly felt that this move was too destructive!
Sending out "warships" that have been transformed into fishing boats and cargo ships, which are basically better than nothing and have little combat effectiveness, to patrol, actually limits the direction of the Turks' attack and also determines the direction of defense!
This is to make the "dead" warship come alive!
The warships had little combat effectiveness. Although the Baiting Army knew this, the Turks did not! Going out on patrol at night with loud noises is quite a deterrent!
It is true that Bai Dinh Fort is in the middle of Bai Dinh Sea, but the "island" in the middle is not only as big as Bai Dinh Fort!
In fact, in addition to Baiting Fort, there are also granaries, armories, etc. Overall, it can be regarded as a small village.
This is the ingenuity of the location selection of the Han Dynasty border army!
If the Turks come to attack, it will be very important where the sharp soldiers of the Baiting Army are ambushed. A little detail can determine the success or failure of the initial battle.
This is the so-called "Be prepared, the one who counts more wins"!
Once the Turks were hurt in the first battle, the Baiting Army could ensure that the subsequent defensive rhythm was under their control and persist until winter came and the Baiting Sea froze.
Once the Baiting Sea freezes over, it only takes a stick of incense for the Turks to come to Baiting Fort. At that time, it is a matter of life and death!
But this is only a theoretical danger, and it is still very early.
In previous years, the river water in Baitinghai would freeze before the Chinese New Year. At that time, the lake water will freeze so hard that people and animals can walk on it as if they were walking on flat ground.
Ji Ge definitely had no reason to let the Turks run wild in Liangzhou for a few months. If it was true, then he would not talk about "equaling with Taizong". It would be better to abdicate directly. The impact of this kind of thing on the emperor's prestige must not be ignored.
Because the Turks of today are no longer the Turks of Taizong's time!
So the obvious truth is that tonight's defense is crucial to Bai Tingjun.
Basically, winning will ensure that this crisis is completely resolved!
Xin Yunjing also didn't expect that Fang Yanei, who came from Chang'an, was not a big man, but he knew the art of war very well!
Generally speaking, if a child of this age is surrounded by Turks and is not frightened to the point of peeing, he is already mentally strong. This Fang Yanei was actually able to come up with plans to trick people. He was truly "endowed with extraordinary talent" and was born to be a general.
"That's very good. Why don't I lead a hundred people to guard Baiting Fort tonight, and I will lead the elite to ambush near the granary."
Xin Yunjing suggested calmly, obviously treating Fang Chongyong as a colleague who could discuss important matters.
Just think about it and you will know that if the Turks attack at night, they will definitely take the Baiting Army's granary. As long as it is burned down, Baiting's army will not be able to stay in Baiting Fort.
"From now on, move all the grain and grass in the granary to Baiting Fort. Send out warships and let the sharp soldiers with bows and arrows kill the Turks who are exploring the way in the lake. Show the power of the warships and let the Turks I’m also afraid.”
Fang Chongyong added.
Xin Yunjing nodded slightly. In fact, that was what he planned. Since the Turks are to avoid the patrol direction of the "warships" at night, it is also appropriate to let the "naval forces" show off their majesty during the day.
Anyway, those Turks moving in the water were like living targets, and they were also bait sent by the opposite party to test the strength of Baiting's army.
…
"What? There are no soldiers anymore? Our Tang Dynasty covers thousands of miles, how come there are no soldiers? How did you become the Minister of War!"
In the Zichen Hall of the Daming Palace, Li Longji cursed Zhang Shougui, who was also the Minister of the Ministry of War!
"Back to the saint, the soldiers and horses in Hexi are on the front line against Tibet. Liangzhou is empty. The Turks suddenly moved south this time. We could not have predicted it in advance."
Zhang Shougui said helplessly, crossing his hands and saluting.
Soldiers are not leeks, they don't just grow as long as you want!
In Hexi and Longyou, more than 200,000 border troops stood ready to confront the Tibetans on the long border. Removing any one of the troops may lead to the collapse of the defense system.
The priority now is not to increase the number of troops, but to understand why the Turks sent troops to attack Hexi regardless of the fragmentation of the country! And which group of troops are sending troops this time?
What's more, the Chishui Army has now moved north to the Baiting Sea to drive the wandering Turkic cavalry north of the Baiting Sea. Will the dispatch of this strategic mobile force affect the war against Tibet?
These questions were difficult to answer in one sentence, and Zhang Shougui didn't know how to tell Li Longji.
"Sage, it is better to recruit 30,000 Han soldiers in Hexi to solve the urgent need."
Li Linfu, who had been silent until now, suddenly suggested something.
Hearing this, Zhang Shougui suddenly glared at Li Linfu with an angry face! The latter looked down at the ground, waiting for Li Longji's approval.
(End of chapter)
