Tian Boyuan hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice slightly and said: "General Sun must have also seen it. Now we have a complex and large number of people in Yanmen Pass. In addition to ordinary soldiers and generals, there are also 20,000 to 30,000 people staying here. You Don’t you think it’s a little strange?”
"Yeah, I also think this thing looks quite weird. Why, is this related to the danger you mentioned?" Sun Tu was even more curious: "By the way, why are they staying here and not leaving?"
"Because we can't leave." Tian Boyuan said with a wry smile: "To be honest, these people are all civilians from various places in Daming Prefecture. They were transferred to help transport ordnance, food and other materials to the front line."
In the war to conquer the country, the competition is not only about the military strength between the two countries. Such a protracted war also tests the logistics supply capabilities between the enemy and ourselves, as well as other aspects of soft and hard power that match the war.
Nowadays, the Song Dynasty has hundreds of thousands of troops fighting on the front line. It is an extremely terrifying gold-swallowing beast. The daily consumption of grain, rice, vegetables, etc. is an astronomical figure. Even if the imperial court had begun to make arrangements many years ago, after a year of consumption, logistical support must be continuously provided by the rear. At this time, Yanmen Pass has become a transfer station for storing and transporting these logistical supplies. Almost half of the supplies go north from here. As a result, most of the civilians who were recruited will naturally come here.
But now, all these people are trapped here, and combined with the troubled look on Tian Boyuan's face, Sun Tu naturally guessed something: "Is there something wrong with the grain road in the north?"
"I don't dare to hide it from General Sun. That's exactly what happened. In the past month, the three teams we sent to transport supplies to the north were all harassed by Liao cavalry. Two teams were almost completely wiped out, and the last team was Because they were prepared, they were able to escape after several hard battles, but they suffered a lot of casualties and lost more than half of their food... And according to what they said, there were three to five thousand Liao cavalry outside the pass, coming and going like the wind, and the offensive was fierce. They are so ferocious that they are impossible to guard against. So much so that now we can no longer send food supplies northward, otherwise they will only fall into their hands, and those civilians can only stay in the pass temporarily. "
After saying these words, Sun Tu's expression became extremely solemn. This is really a big problem. You must know that the Song army on the front line is already at a disadvantage. Once the food route is blocked for a long time and the army's food is really cut off, I am afraid there will be a big defeat. But then, he thought about the problem: "For such a big event, why didn't General Tian report to the front line quickly since he has the responsibility? Also, shouldn't you lead the army to defeat the enemy and clear the grain road? I have taken a rough look at Yanmen Pass. There are a lot of soldiers and horses inside, so they should be enough to deal with this problem, right?"
"How could it be possible that General Sun had never done what he said before? Let's just talk about delivering the message. During these days, I have sent no less than five groups of people to the north, but the results were like nothing, and there was no news at all. I have also tried sending troops to attack these Liao cavalry. However, I have sent troops out of the customs several times, but no trace of them has been found. These Liao people are as cunning as foxes, and they are like prophets. As long as the logistics team comes out of the customs, they will We can intercept them in time, but if our officers and soldiers are dispatched, they escape without a trace. After several times, it frustrates the morale of the troops and makes people in the pass even more panicked. Now even those
All the people knew about this, and no one dared to take the risk of leaving seclusion. Fortunately, the front-line army has always had the habit of hoarding three months' worth of food. Otherwise, there would really be trouble after this month. "
After saying this with a bitter look on his face, Tian Boyuan looked at Sun Tu and said: "General Sun, you should also know that if you reach the plains, a large number of cavalry will have a great advantage over the infantry. If you really get out of the barrier like this, Go, I'm afraid..." There is no need to say the rest of the words, just make the meaning clear.
Sun Tu's brows were also frowning: "Is this the reason? But I still feel that this matter is a bit strange. Where did these Liao cavalry come from, and why were they able to bypass my frontline army? , appeared near Yanmen Pass? Also, don't you think it's strange, why can they distinguish the food transport team from the army going out so clearly, and never miss it? Even the people delivering messages on the front line can be easily captured by them Intercepted."
"Of course this official has thought about it. It's hard to tell about the former. As for the latter, it should be because there are Liao spies in Yanmen Pass. He can send this information out so that the Liao people outside can be targeted. In fact, I The officer has carefully checked the defenders these days and captured a few suspicious people, but still didn't gain much..." Tian Boyuan said helplessly. As a guard general, he would not have any difficulties when it came to dispatching troops, familiarity with Guancheng, or strategies to deal with an enemy attack. However, it was really difficult for him to find the hidden Liao spies among hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
Not only Tian Boyuan, but other soldiers in Yanmen Pass were also helpless. The only thing they could do was to warn the front line and ask for help, hoping that the generals would send troops to help protect the food road and find out. Those Liao cavalry came and were wiped out in one fell swoop.
"General Sun, I have no intention of looking down on you and the Forbidden Army soldiers, but this is related to your safety after all, so it is better to be patient for the time being and stay at Yanmen Pass. And I believe that no food has been sent northward this month. Tong Shuai and others over there should have noticed that something is wrong, and the matter will be resolved in half a month at most." Finally, he persuaded with a sincere expression.
Sun Tu weighed the pros and cons and couldn't help but nodded in agreement. Yes, if it is true as Tian Boyuan said, once you leave Yanmen Pass, there will be a lot of danger. Although the Huben Army under his command was stronger than the general Forbidden Army, in terms of actual combat power, it was far inferior to the elite Liao Army. He had learned this before when he was in Youzhou. Even the Qingzhou Army, which he was so proud of, might not dare to say that it could defeat the elite Liao Army in a head-on confrontation.
What's more, after leaving Yanmen Pass, they were even more unfamiliar with the environment, but the other party had been hiding here for a long time, so they naturally had a geographical advantage. In addition, the enemy is hidden and we are clear, and the Liao people have the initiative. If we really encounter them, they may be completely defeated.
So no matter how you calculate it, it seems that staying in Yanmen Pass is the most rational and correct choice. Sun Tu didn't want to die before leaving the army. That would be too worthless. So after a period of silence, he finally nodded: "What General Tian said is true. Fortunately, we are not too eager to rush to the front line. It doesn't matter if we just stay at Yanmen Pass for a few days."
Seeing what he said, Tian Boyuan couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief: "General Sun
Being able to think this way, the official felt relieved. Come, I'll offer you a bowl of water instead of wine. "
Sun Tu smiled and raised his glass in response, drinking all the water in the bowl in one go, but he was still thinking about the current situation in his mind. He always felt that this thing looked weird, but for a while he couldn't figure out what was wrong.
It wasn't until the banquet dispersed and he moved into the largest courtyard of the only military post in the pass, half leaning on the couch, as if sleeping but not sleeping, that Sun Tu suddenly thought of where he felt something was wrong just now - What benefits can the Liao people get from doing all this
On the surface, this question seems so strange that even the answer is obvious. The role that these thousands of cavalry can play in the rear of the Song army is really not small. Not only can they cut off the Song army's food routes, but they can also pose a certain threat to the army's rear route. They can even defeat the Song army's morale with one hand. Their morale was completely knocked down, and they were forced to retreat southward in a hurry to resolve the current crisis.
But Sun Tu saw what was hidden behind these, which would be very detrimental to the Liao people - you must know that the Liao people clearly have the upper hand in the current battle situation. If the two sides fight immediately, there is a 70-80% chance that the Song Dynasty will be defeated. , In this way, the pressure on their southern front has completely disappeared. But today's approach will make the Song army worried about the instability in the rear, and it is possible to retreat and withdraw to avoid the Liao people's attack.
Although the imperial court had ordered Tong Guan and the others to fight a decisive battle as soon as possible, after all, the general would not be affected by his fate. If he really felt that doing so was futile, neither Tong Guan nor other generals who were experienced in war would be so determined as to gamble. That's not even a chance of victory. They will withdraw their troops and return to Yanmen Pass, which coincides with the suggestion Sun Tu made in the court. And more importantly, because there is such a reasonable excuse, even the person who takes the blame is ready-if Tian Boyuan is not enough, then a few officials in charge of logistics support can be pulled out to take the blame-Tong Guan and the others are naturally It is even less possible to have any worries.
Once a quick battle turns into a protracted tug-of-war, the problem of the Liao people already having insufficient national strength, and now the Jin people wreaking havoc in the rear, will emerge. By then, they will really be on the verge of being dragged down and not far from defeat. .
So if you think about it carefully, what the Liao army did was completely harmful to them, so why bother? Based on Sun Tu's understanding of the Liao people, Yelu Dashi and others would not be so confused.
In this way, the answer is very clear. There must be a deeper conspiracy for the Liao people to do this, which is far more sinister than cutting off the Song army's food route. However, Tian Boyuan and the others were confused by the predicament in front of them and did not realize it. That’s all.
"What went wrong? What is their purpose?" After thinking about this, Sun Tu became more and more irritable. Then he walked out of the door and came to the courtyard outside. Then he saw that the outside of the post house was also in chaos. Various tents were erected randomly in the area. They were Xiang soldiers and civilians who came from the south to escort food. Because there are so many irrelevant people inside, Yanmen Pass no longer has the chilling atmosphere it used to have, and even the strict curfew cannot operate normally.
At this moment, Sun Tu's heart suddenly shuddered, and a terrible thought came to him: "Could their real target be me, Yanmen Pass?!"