When all the officers and generals climbed up to Changling Mountain, they were all covered in sweat.
Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, was also sweating profusely, but he still maintained an elegant demeanor. He stood beside the fire road pier, looked around, and sighed: "This place is indeed important. If we station an army, we can fight with Xing." The mountain fort should be aligned from the north to the south to prevent the enemy from outflanking us, and the trenches should be encircled to protect us."
Zhang Ruoqi also nodded frequently and said: "The north of Changling Mountain is Songshan Fort, and the south is Huxingshan Fort. It controls the Songshan and Xing arteries. The location is really important. It is just a temporary camp on this mountain. If it is not solid, it may be difficult. Stick to it."
He then looked at the northeast foot of the mountain. A stream came into view from the mountains. His eyes lit up and he said: "There is a water source here, and the drinking water for the garrison has been solved. We should act immediately to build a strong city and stronghold so that we can hold on. Make a lasting plan!”
At this time, Zhang Cheng was also on the top of the mountain, accompanied by Chen Zheng, the commander of the Xuanbei Army's single-stone infantry camp and guerrilla general, Wei Zhice, the commander of the chariot camp and guerrilla general, and Du Chungang, the commander of Qianzong on the left side of the chariot camp. People, standing silently.
Chen Zheng will serve as the commander-in-chief of the Changlingshan camp, and Du Chungang, the commander of the Qianqian Command on the left side of the chariot, will also lead the troops and soldiers to stay and temporarily put them under Chen Zheng's command to enhance the firepower of the Changlingshan camp.
As the commander of the chariot camp, Wei Zhice naturally accompanied Zhang Cheng and other officials to visit the terrain of Changling Mountain in order to decide on the location of the camp.
Zhang Guangda, the commander of the cavalry camp, Zhang Guodong, the commander of the Chicheng camp, Li Jiyu, the commander of the Dengfeng camp, and Lin Fangping, the commander of the Huwei camp, and the generals of the Xuanbei generals also came with them.
In addition, Xuanzhen Commander-in-Chief Yang Guozhu, Shenji Camp Front Battalion Commander-in-Chief Chen Jiugao, Datong Commander-in-Chief Wang Pu, Liaodong Commander-in-Chief Liu Zhaoji, Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief Ma Ke, ASEAN Commander-in-Chief Cao Bianjiao, former Tunwei Commander-in-Chief Wang Tingchen, Shanxi Commander-in-Chief Li Fuming, Commander-in-Chief Zuo Guangxian of the Chinese Association and other commanders were accompanied by generals of guerrilla and above.
In addition to the generals' retinue and personal soldiers, the entire top of the mountain is full of generals and personal guards wearing helmets, which are vividly illuminated by the bright sun.
Zhang Cheng stood on the top of the mountain and looked at the wilderness in the distance. The land was vast and the plains and hills were undulating.
Looking into the distance, Xingshan Fort is located in the hilly plain in the south, with Changling Mountain about five miles away. The view is blocked by a mountainous area after the plain, otherwise it is possible to see the waves of the sea to the east.
He turned back and looked to the west, where he saw the rolling mountains standing majestically. The mountains were filled with ravines, just like the loess plateau. The gentle slopes were interspersed with ravines, full of vicissitudes of life.
How many major events have happened in this land before us from ancient times to the present?
Zhang Cheng's heart was surging, and after listening to Zhang Ruoqi's words, he continued: "What the general general said is true, and this is what I mean, and I have set up a stronghold here.
There are soldiers under my command guarding this place, and a baggage chariot is stationed here to provide fire support. If the Tatars dare to attack, they will definitely be beaten and walked around, and they will shed all their blood and tears under this mountain. "
He climbed to the top of the ruined pier again, and after looking around for a while, he already had his own idea.
Because it had been agreed as early as in Ningyuan that Zhang Cheng would set up a base camp and station a team of chariots here, which would amount to a hundred chariots and more than 4,000 sergeants and horses.
Among them, the carriage was a secret move left by Zhang Cheng to Chen Zheng. The purpose was to increase the number of artillery under Chen Zheng's command, in the hope that he could hold on to the camp.
Next, Zhang Cheng began to explain his point of view. The northwest side of Changling Mountain is relatively steep and connected to mountains. There are ravines in it. It is difficult for non-agile people to climb up it. There is no need to think about a large army attack.
Therefore, the key defense lines of Chen Zheng's camp are still in the northeast and southeast of the mountain. The slopes on these two sides are relatively gentle, and horses can rush up the mountain directly.
Especially the northeastern part of the mountain is even more important because it is close to a stream and is the source of drinking water for the garrison.
It is conceivable that if the Tatars attack, they will definitely attack on these two sides. Therefore, according to Zhang Cheng's personal vision, he is to imitate their method of using low walls and trenches to defend against the enemy during the Battle of Julu.
There are two or three wide trenches, coupled with a wide and solid low wall, which can not only prevent the Tatars from charging and breaking the formation, but also can calmly fire muskets and effectively attack the enemy.
Even if you can't defeat the Tatars, you can still rely on low walls and trenches to retreat from the front line to the next low wall defense line to continue to resist the Tatars' attack, so as not to be defeated by the Tatars in one fell swoop.
The task of digging trenches and building walls is naturally inevitable. After all, this is always the case in places where large armies are stationed. What's more, the people who are facing the battle now are Tatar bandits and cavalry.
In addition to the squatting tiger cannons and mortars that Chen Zheng carried with his army, he also arranged the carriages in clever positions. The artillery and muskets formed a defense line like canines.
Just when the officials were arguing, Zhang Cheng called them to continue to watch: "There are mountain roads in the southeast and northeast of this mountain that can go directly to the top of the mountain. Therefore, our troops should rely on slopes like Changling Mountain. , low wall trenches were set up layer by layer at various dangerous locations.
If the Tatars are unable to break through our Changling Mountain defense line for a while, they will not dare to attack Xingshan with all their strength! "
In Zhang Cheng's vision, they planned to camp on this section of the Changling Mountains, which was about four miles long from northeast to southeast. From the foot of the mountain to the top, at least a number of strong low-wall trenches would be built.
Since the low wall is called a low wall, it clearly means that it does not need to be very high, but it should at least reach the chest of the soldiers. In this way, the firearms hand can calmly aim at the enemy and shoot. Of course, the low wall must also be built thicker to avoid It was easily broken through by the Tatar thieves.
The trench needs to be dug deeper, at least more than one foot deep, and one foot wide, and wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. In this way, once the Tatar thief falls into the ditch, it will be difficult for him to do so by himself. Climb up again.
With this arrangement, there are three trenches in front of each low wall, and the last trench is dug right next to the low wall. In this way, the height of the low wall is actually more than four meters high, which is comparable to the walls of ordinary small castles. High.
Moreover, the distance between each low wall is not far, and because they are stacked along the mountain, the next low wall will actually be higher than the previous one.
The fire gun shooter behind the low wall can easily aim at the enemy without hitting the heads of his own soldiers. In this way, the up and down echoes form a three-dimensional fire bombardment network, not to mention that some key positions are preset. emplacement.
Yang Guozhu also participated in the Battle of Julu. At that time, Zhang Cheng used parapet trench tactics. Although it failed to prevent the defeat of Julu, it was precisely because of this arrangement that Zhang Yan's troops suffered minimal losses. It can be seen that it is still quite practical.
Of course, the beauty of this low-wall trench tactic is far more than that. In Zhang Cheng's vision, there are as many as nine low-wall trenches, divided into three defensive waves.
