The stalemate in the northern border was broken because of the Battle of Guizhou. The Khitan army lost nearly 600,000 troops, including one of the grassland core elites.
So far, Datang's 400,000 to 500,000 Chang'an forbidden troops in the northern border, plus the border troops with a similar number, although the Khitan is still at a disadvantage in terms of the number of troops, they no longer have the absolute suppression power of the opponent several times their own .
As a result, under Li Maozhen's commander-in-chief, the Tang army began to launch an all-out offensive against Khitan in an orderly manner to determine the outcome of the war.
Except for Guizhou, the battlefield in the north, which had been quiet for a period of time, was once again in flames, and battles of varying scales broke out in various places, but absolutely fierce battles broke out.
The war in the northern border was initiated by the Khitan. When the Khitan attacked in an all-round way before, although the main force was blocked in Juyongguan, Beikou, Yuguan and other places, and could not enter the Great Wall, the small-scale rangers, through continuous efforts, were still from the front. Elsewhere infiltrated the frontier.
They burned, killed and looted everywhere, and frequently fought with the Tang frontier army.
When the battle situation was stalemate, the main forces of both sides were safe and sound, but the small-scale battle has not stopped.
Because of the previous defense strategy of the Tang army, many frontier troops in counties and towns had no reinforcements and were weak. Even if they discovered the invasion of Khitan rangers, they could not wipe them out. They could only protect key targets. It was extremely aggrieved.
But now, it is the Datang Frontier Army in these small places who are the first to launch a counterattack and achieve results. Now the military order issued by Li Maozhen is to clear all Khitans in the territory, not to let go, not to stay.
The reinforcements that these frontier troops have been waiting for day and night have arrived, and they are all elites, elites that are beyond their expectations. With the cooperation of the reinforcements, those Khitan cavalry who had been stared down by the frontier troops long ago, but made them unable to deal with them alone, were now wiped from the ground one by one.
Although the number of reinforcements in each place was small, the frontier soldiers were dumbfounded in terms of armament and combat power. Those Khitan cavalry faced them, even if they were small in strength, they would be beaten so helplessly that they could only howl and be hacked to death in despair.
These reinforcements are all temporarily "divided into pieces" of the Chang'an Forbidden Army, and they are only a small part.
Inside the Great Wall, the Frontier Army and the Forbidden Army worked together to sweep away the fallen leaves with the autumn wind, and quickly wiped out the Khitan cavalry that had infiltrated from the grassland.
Li Maozhen's purpose for arranging such an action is very clear, there are two main ones.
One, boost morale. Although the number of Khitan cavalry eliminated in the states, counties and villages was small in absolute numbers, and the total number was less than 100,000, the clean victories one after another were conducive to boosting the morale of the army.
When the Tang army has been passively defending for a long time and the battle has been calm for so long, it is very important to boost morale for the next main battle.
Second, clear away all Khitan's eyeliner and ensure that the rear is comprehensive. In the process of cleaning up the small group of Khitan cavalry, those Khitan monks who used this to hide their whereabouts, under the strong targeting of Tsingyi Yamen, almost none of them slipped through the net.
In this way, even if the Khitan side knew that the Tang army was likely to counterattack, it would not be able to know the exact time, which would be beneficial to the actions of the main force.
And once the decisive battle starts, these Khitan cavalry who were originally in the Great Wall may cooperate with the monks to threaten the Tang army's food roads and granaries, and even cause disasters in the village, causing the possibility of instability of people's hearts. And now, that will never happen again.
Even if the decisive battle enters the anxious stage, Yelu Abaoji wants to send people to infiltrate Datang to do something to change the situation, without the echo of the group of people who have been active in the Great Wall for a long time and are familiar with the situation everywhere, their eyes are darkened. It is basically impossible to achieve any results.
To a certain extent, Li Maozhen's arrangement is also to prevent Yelu Abaoji from repaying him with the same way, imitating the old things of Quanzhen Temple and Wukong Shimen in Guizhou.
north exit.
In the time-stained Guancheng, Er Gouzi was resting against the collapsed earth wall. The setting sun in the afternoon hit the soil, and countless fine dust billowed and rolled under the beam of light.
Thanks to the truce during this period of time, Er Gouzi's injuries have recovered seven to eighty-eight. Although he is still in the injury period and has not been included in the battle sequence, Er Gouzi is already consciously doing the training of battlefield skills.
I just practiced boxing and saber, tossing and tossing for an hour, and my body, which is still recovering, was so tired that I was panting and sweating profusely. Now he was sitting on the ground like a dead dog, sticking out his steaming tongue.
"The weather is getting colder."
In the shady place in front of the earthen wall next to him, the voice of Dutou Dan sounded, and he was looking up at the bloody sun, with a vicissitudes and seriousness on his face, and his eyes were particularly deep, "Er Gouzi, do you know what this means? "
Er Gouzi shook his head, and said a little embarrassedly: "I may not understand what the colder weather means, but I know very well that after you were injured this time, Dutou, your brain may not be able to return to the way it was before."
Niudan turned his head to look at Er Gouzi, this hot-tempered and stubborn mud-legged boy, if he was so disrespected by his subordinates in the past, it would definitely increase his memory. But now, there is no trace of anger on his face, but his eyes are full of kindness and concern.
He said softly: "Er Gouzi, let me say that you are good. You are young, but you have no motivation to make progress. This is not good. You have to learn to actively think about problems and consider more things in the battle situation. Going further in the ranks...
Seeing that Niudan was going to make a long speech, Er Gouzi wailed and hugged his head in pain.
Since the Khitan was repelled, the Confucian scholars represented by Zhang Zai showed great combat power here, and they became a very popular group in the military camp. After getting along, the influence is mutual. Zhang Zai and others were invaded by the Beikou frontier army to be brave and heroic. Correspondingly, people like Niudan gradually became somewhat bookish.
Of course, Er Gouzi would never admit it, Du Niudan has a bookish air about him. A more reasonable statement, he thinks, should be arty, and the most accurate statement should be Handan toddler.
However, this did not stop Niudan's enthusiasm for "seeking progress". He taught Zhang Zai what is the way to fight in battle, and also let the other party understand what is brotherhood and what is the real details of the shroud of horse leather.
And Zhang Zai's thoughts also let Niudan understand that if he wants to become an excellent soldier, general, and general, he can't be vulgar all the time, not to mention things like literacy, learn how to get along with his subordinates better, and lead the series , caring about the battle situation, thinking about ways to win, etc... are all very necessary.
In a word, Niudan and others inspired Zhang Zai's bloodiness and armed Zhang Zai's limbs, while Zhang Zai wisened up Niudan and others' minds and inspired their upward fighting spirit.
But just like when Zhang Zai was fighting, he often ignored everything when he was red-eyed, yelling that he would sacrifice his life to serve the country and wish to die with the Khitan people. , It is inevitable to become hypocritical, and also give birth to a sense of superiority.
In any case, Er Gouzi feels that the current Niudan no longer kicks himself a few times when he has nothing to do, but starts to try to reason with himself as much as possible, which is still a good phenomenon.
"The weather is getting cooler and autumn is approaching, which means that this war has been fought for a long time, and it is likely to usher in a decisive moment."
Niudan restrained his cultural temperament, mainly because of the desperate look of being hugged by Er Gouzi, who was so shocked that he lost all confidence, so he could only sit next to the other party and talk to the other party about business in an ordinary tone.
Seeing that Dutou finally returned to normal, Er Gouzi lowered his hands and looked at each other curiously: "Could it be that Dutou heard something?"
Niudan nodded solemnly, and said in a proud tone: "Not long ago, the Khitan army in the direction of Guizhou was completely wiped out by my master. The 600,000 Khitan fighters were almost wiped out. What a glorious record this is!" !
"Do you know what this means... Forget it, this means that our army is no longer at a disadvantage compared to the Khitan army!
"The battle has been stalemate for quite some time. Now that Master Wang has opened up the situation, the next moment will be the moment of counterattack and decisive battle. That's what Zhang Zai said. For you and me, this will be a life-and-death crisis. Coexisting bloody battle!"
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Hearing this, Er Gouzi looked excited.
But soon, his eyes were a little dazed again.
Niudan glanced at him, and said with a smile: "What's the matter, I received a letter from my family the day before yesterday, knowing that the little lady of the Liu family at the head of the village heard that the soldiers at Beikou were fierce, and she worried about you day and night and wiped away tears for you. Want to go back and marry someone to come in?"
These words made Er Gouzi's face turn red all of a sudden.
He looked at Niudan in disbelief, "How do you know...you peeked at my letter?!"
Niu Dan curled his lips in disdain, "Look at your worthless appearance, you need to peek at your letter for this kind of thing? I am the father of two fat boys, Lao Niu, and I have experienced it!"
When Niudan said this, Er Gouzi's face turned red up to the neck, like a little girl, she was so ashamed that she wanted to dig a hole in the ground. Niudan and him are in the same village, and these things are things that can be understood without too much guesswork.
But Niudan didn't intend to let him go, and continued with a smile: "If you say that the little lady of the old Liu family is indeed handsome, what is rare is that she is good-natured and sensible. There are many young people from all over the world. Think about it. If you die on the battlefield, she will definitely not worry about being married!"
Er Gouzi followed Niudan's words and thought about it. This young man who was able to enter and exit three times in battle and killed many Khitan warriors in Beikou, a real hero, but at this moment his complexion is gloomy and his eyes are sad , looking very unpromising.
Niudan patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly: "Er Gouzi, listen to me, go back and get married. You have fought in Beikou for a long time, and your military achievements in killing the enemy are enough for you to be promoted to my position. It is not an insult to your ability. And last time you almost lost your life, you can be considered a real man.
"The battle going on will be even more cruel. If you don't go back now, I'm afraid you'll confess without getting a wife in this life. Wouldn't it be a loss?"
Er Gouzi said in astonishment: "Du Tou, this doesn't sound like what you said, you made me a deserter?!"
Niudan slapped him on the head, hating the iron and saying: "You are not too many in the army, and you are not too many. Do you really want to let down the little lady of the Liu family? Your mother who is lingering in the bed, you want to Without relying on her to take care of you, you can kill the enemy and make meritorious deeds on the battlefield?!"
After saying this, Niudan stood up, patted the dust off his buttocks, and finally turned his head to Er Gouzi and said, "Life is not easy, especially for ordinary people like us.
"It is a great blessing to be able to pass on the family line with enough food, clothing and warmth, and to live a safe and stable life. Now that you have military merits, you can return to your hometown in fine clothes, so don't go into a dead end and make people who are looking forward to your return home every day sad!"
Du Tou said what Du Tou should not have said, and then left.
The two dogs were left at a loss.
He originally thought that all the mention of the upcoming decisive battle was to arouse his fighting spirit, so that he would follow the opponent to fight selflessly on the battlefield, so as to inspire other companions to move forward bravely, and finally won a good result. Head their own "motivated" dream.
Looking at the back of Niudan going away, Er Gouzi realized at this time that no matter how many Confucian scholars Zhang Zai had instilled in Niudan the idea of making great achievements and honoring the lintel, Niudan, a man who has fought on the battlefield for many years , and never forget what I really care about and want to cherish.