marching out
Not only the Black Banner Army in Guyuan City was fully deployed, but Suzaku Mountain was also deployed.
The reason why Fang Jie waited for so long was, firstly, to be on the safe side, and secondly, because he was waiting for someone.
Fang Jie was waiting for Chen Dingnan's army to return.
After Chen Dingnan received Fang Xie's military order and learned that he was going to attack Chang'an City, he dared not delay. He used all available soldiers on the Yunnan Road, first took the waterway to Xinyang City, and then sent people back to Zhuque Mountain to gather troops to meet in Xinyang. Chen Dingnan waited in Xinyang City with his troops, while Chen Qianshan returned to Zhuqueshan camp to mobilize the remaining available troops.
After the two met, according to Fang Jie's instructions, they did not go east into Jiangnan, but went all the way north, crossed the Yellow Niu River and entered the northwest of Sui Dynasty.
The reason why Fang Jie arranged this was because the number of sad soldiers and horses was too large. If the troops were concentrated together, the speed of crossing the north would inevitably be slow. Although the navy's current strength is good, it is not a matter of a day or two to escort so many soldiers and horses across the river. Chen Qianshan and Chen Dingnan led their troops across the Yellow Niu River, which was not particularly wide, without the assistance of a navy, just building a bridge.
The task of the two of them is to go to the northwest first and ask Jin Shixiong for advice in the remnants of the northwest. Then the iron mine in the northwest was taken down, and after leaving people to garrison, the brigade crossed the Yishui River and entered the Hedong Road.
This arrangement has two advantages.
First of all, needless to say, although the northwest is poor, it is thousands of miles away, not to mention there is a huge iron mine. Second, entering the Hedong Road from the northwest cut off Gao Kaitai's return journey.
Both Chen Dingnan and Chen Qianshan knew the significance of this battle, so neither of them dared to slack off. After the army was assembled, someone was sent to deliver a letter to Fang Jie, and the two of them rose up immediately. Naturally, nothing will happen in Huangyang Dao's rule, and there is no difficulty in crossing the Huangniu River. Even in the northwest, the resistance the two faced would not be strong. When Jin Shixiong left, he almost came out in full force, and the number of defenders left in the northwest was small and poorly equipped.
Fang Jie wasn't worried about Chen Qianshan and Chen Dingnan, but rather cared about the team rushing to help the eastern border. There is no problem with Nalan Dingdong leading the army. The problem lies in the chaotic situation in eastern Xinjiang. Now there are not only Zhao Tianzheng and Nalan who are rushing to help Eastern Xinjiang from Jiangnan and Jiangbei. After arriving in Eastern Xinjiang, all the teams in name are under the control of Mu Guangling, but it is difficult to manage such a large and complex team well.
It's good that everyone is here to fight against foreign enemies, but we must know that whether it is Fang Jie's past life or this life, the desire for power of the Han people in the Central Plains has never been divided into time and place. It is true that Mu Guangling is the commander-in-chief in name, but how many people really listen to his military orders? How many people think that they should be the deputy commander in chief
Worrying is nothing but worrying, but now that the team has been released, Fang Xie knows he can't intervene too much.
Winter passed in such a hurry. On a sunny day, the curtain of the Black Banner Army's Northern Expedition slowly opened.
According to Fang Jie's military order, the army was divided into six groups. The first to open the way was Xiahou Baichuan, leading 50,000 troops. The left wing is Zhuge Wuxian, and the right wing is Liu Xuri, each leading 50,000 troops. Cui Zhongzhen was in charge of the rear team, leading 80,000 troops. Fang Xie brought his own army with him, with Dugu Wenxiu serving as his military adviser, leading 200,000 troops.
This is a typical Sui marching formation. Compared with the foreigners, the Sui army lagged behind in terms of weapons, but in terms of formation, the Sui never lagged behind any side.
The army of 380,000 is mighty and mighty.
In addition, Zheng Qiu and Duan Zheng's two naval forces are already waiting on the Yangtze River. After Fang Jie's military order was sent to Yunnan Road, Duan Zheng's newly formed navy was the first to arrive. After integrating the original Nanyan navy and adding the newly built warships, Duan Zheng's navy is not weaker than Zheng Qiu's fleet in terms of scale.
Such a massive use of troops was the first time since Fang Jie established the Black Banner Army.
Fang Jie has been steadily accumulating strength over the years of planning in the southwest. When it is taken out now, this strength is already enough to make people fear.
"My lord."
Dugu Wenxiu looked at the map, sitting on the slightly swaying carriage, the upper body of this literati was straight, and he already looked like a soldier.
"Duan Zheng's navy is in Qinglin, and Zheng Qiu's navy is in Wanzhou. The distance between these two places is only ten miles. According to the size of the navy, it will take at least ten days for the entire army to cross the river. There are 380,000 soldiers. , hundreds of thousands of auxiliary soldiers and civilians, plus horses and carts, especially the supply camp, crossing the river is even more time-consuming."
Fang Jie nodded: "I have ordered Duan Zheng and Zheng Qiu's navy to take down a place on the north bank. The Sui army on the north bank has basically been cleared by Gao Kaitai's troops, and there is basically no defense on the river bank. The strength of the division is sufficient, and it is not difficult to take the places needed for landing."
"Although Xiahou has a quick temper, he is still safe."
Dugu Wenxiu said: "The lord uses him as the vanguard, he is the most suitable candidate."
"Your job is not to flatter."
Fang Jie smiled and said, "Find out the best route from this map, that's what you have to do."
Dugu Wenxiu also laughed, and then drew a line on the map with a charcoal pencil: "It is best to land from Qiongai City. Qiongai City is near the river, and it used to be a place where merchant ships on the Yangtze River had to stop for supplies. , Now the war has been much less than in the past few years, so there must be a lot of ships in Qiongai City, and those merchant ships can be requisitioned to transport troops at that time."
Wu Yidao said beside him: "The fleet of Huotong Tianxiaxing is also waiting in Qiongai City."
…
…
Fang Jie looked at the map, and the thoughts in his mind extended along the line drawn by Dugu Wenxiu. There is no doubt that although the route selected by Dugu Wenxiu is not the closest, it is definitely the safest. If you follow this route, as long as you cross the river, you can reach the city of Chang'an within a month.
"Now the most powerful person in Jiangbei is naturally Gao Kaitai. After Wang Yiqu's death, although some of Wang Yiqu's subordinates were unwilling to respect Gao Kaitai's orders, and a few even fled, Gao Kaitai still had at least one hundred and two hundred thousand people. Breaking through Chang'an with these troops is nothing short of a joke, but standing in front of us is an obstacle."
Dugu Wenxiu sighed: "It would be great if the conflicts in Gao Kaitai's camp could be intensified before the battle. Wang Yiqu's subordinates, even those who stayed behind to listen to his orders, might not be convinced by him. If we can Find some suitable people to instigate the rebellion, then the first battle in the true sense will go much smoother."
Fang Jie hummed: "I have already informed Chen Xiaoru to start doing it, Xiaoqi School is doing this job, no one is better than them."
"If Gao Kaitai is not the problem...then the biggest problem is the walls of Chang'an City."
Dugu Wenxiu said: "Although I have never been to Chang'an, I can imagine how strong and tall the city wall was built with the power of the prosperous Sui Dynasty for two hundred years. Even if we have a firearms battalion and want to break through the city wall It's also difficult."
"and… "
Dugu Wenxiu said: "We don't know much about the things in Chang'an City. Apart from the five thousand iron generals left by Yang Jian, how many troops are there in the city? If we can find out in advance, it will be of great benefit to the attack."
"It's not difficult."
Wu Yidao smiled: "I have a fat man named Jiu Se Cai in Chang'an City. Even though his lightness kung fu is not unparalleled in the world, it is not too difficult to get in and out of Chang'an City."
Fang Jie nodded: "I know the ability of wine, sex and wealth. He runs like a ball of catkins blown by the wind."
"Although... it looks like a big group."
Dugu Wenxiu's eyes lit up, he really didn't expect Fang Jie to leave a pawn in Chang'an City.
"It's not just the number of defenders. If we can get in touch with our people in Chang'an City, then we can completely divide the nobles in the city. Yang Jian died, and his general Wei Mu led five thousand iron generals to guard Chang'an. The absolutely defensive city of Chang'an is equipped with a knife, which can not only defend but also attack. However, this subordinate thinks that not all the dignitaries in Chang'an city want to accompany Wei Mu to defend to the death."
Wu Yidao nodded: "Those people are the ones who are most able to follow the wind. Maybe they won't do anything at the beginning, but as long as the lord fights with prestige, many people will take the initiative to contact the lord."
Fang Jie hummed: "Jiu Se Cai is not a fool, if he knows that the army has arrived, he will know what to do."
Wu Yidao thought for a while and said, "Princess Chang's call for rebellion..."
He looked at Fang Jie, but didn't say the following words.
"hair!"
Fang Jie didn't hesitate: "Notify all places."
"The next thing I want to talk about is food and grass..."
Dugu Wenxiu said: "Not counting the teams of Chen Qianshan and Chen Dingnan, the total number of troops led by the lord will exceed 500,000, plus horses and livestock, such a huge team will consume a huge amount of money every day. We With Shengtu and Yang Jian's army rations, plus those brought over from Zhuque Mountain, plus donations from families in the south of the Yangtze River... it is estimated to be enough for the army for a month. I can't bring any more... "
"It seems that there is no need to worry about food for the time being, but after arriving in Jiangbei, the place has been swept away by Wang Yiqu and Gao Kaitai for two or three years. The people are poor and the land is barren. It is difficult to supply the army food. If it is transported from the Zhuqueshan camp to the north, then The marquis's fleet and navy will take up a large part of it."
He shook his head: "It's better to solve the problem of food and grass in Jiangbei."
"So... the route marked by my subordinates has turned a small bend here..."
Dugu Wenxiu pointed to a place: "An Qingcang."
Wu Yidao shook his head: "Gao Kaitai has been in Jiangbei for the past few years, I'm afraid he has already emptied Anqing warehouse."
"uncertain."
Dugu Wenxiu said: "The reason why Gao Kaitai searched the people so hard, I thought it was not that he emptied the Anqing warehouse, but that he wanted to keep the Anqing warehouse until the end. I have known Gao Kaitai specially, and he is extremely cautious in his personality. Yes. His team ate the looted food first, and kept the food in the Anqing warehouse for emergencies."
"It will be fought after all."
Fang Jie thought for a while and said: "For the issue of grain and grass, besides Anqing warehouse and Zhuqueshan camp, there is Xinkou warehouse in Xinyang City. It is the fastest way to transfer grain from Xinkou warehouse to the north along the waterway."
As he spoke, he looked outside the carriage: "We're almost at the riverside, and we can already smell the fishy smell of the river."
At this moment, the carriage suddenly stopped.
Chen Xiaoru's voice sounded outside: "My lord, there are many people from famous families and countless common people gathered by the river ahead, saying that they want to work hard."
"The troops?"
Dugu Wenxiu smiled: "It's time for them to make gestures."
"How much did Lao Jun bring?"
Fang asked.
Chen Xiaoru came in from the outside, holding a big wooden tray in his hand.
"In addition to food and grass... and this."
Fang Jie turned his head to look sideways, his heart tightened suddenly.
On that big tray, there was a set of shining golden armor!