Guo Shao, surrounded by a crowd, stood on the top of a mountain, panting, with beads of sweat on his forehead. The chilly spring wind blew across the top of the mountain, but at this moment he felt very comfortable.
From the side and back, we could see a large group of people and horses in the valley slowly moving eastwards. They were the infantry of Yang Biao's left wing Second Corps. The horses and carriages were moving through the valley, and there were also infantry columns marching on the undulating hills on both sides.
At this time, the Second Corps and the Third Corps on both wings were moving towards the center. After the Pingxia Army set out from Wuding Fort, they generally moved north along the Wuding River. However, Guo Shao took advantage of the terrain's narrow vision and in order to increase the horizontal warning range and prevent ambushes, he marched in three parallel routes. At this time, the three armies stopped advancing and gathered together again.
On the northern hillside, a group of people were leading horses up this side. They were Shi Yanchao and others.
Guo Shao stood on the hillside to take a breath while waiting for Shi Yanchao.
Everyone looked breathless. Guo Shao smiled and said, "My favorite way to exercise is to climb mountains. It's not a strenuous exercise, you can take your time, but it's very strenuous."
The thin Wang Pu was almost exhausted and said casually: It's really tiring. This mountain is too big.
While chatting and laughing, Shi Yanchao finally climbed to the top of the mountain, clasped his fists and said in a rough voice: Your Majesty, I have been ordered to withdraw the vanguard troops.
Shi Yanchao almost never disobeyed military orders, but his happiness was all written on his face, and he did not hide it at all, even in front of the emperor. Guo Shao glanced at him, and it was obvious that Shi Yanchao was not very happy at this time.
Guo Shao said calmly: It was originally a matter of mutual consent. Why did General Shi want to make it a one-sided affair
Shi Yanchao said: Your Majesty, please give me some advice.
Guo Shao said: In the current situation, Li Yiyin has gathered too many troops and we cannot afford to waste time. My army wants to find Li Yiyin for a decisive battle. He also wants this. If the other party is not interested, then we cannot find him even if we try hard to find him. If Li Yiyin is interested, we don't need to be so anxious, he will come by himself.
If we act a little reluctant and try to retreat cautiously, Li Yiyin will be more convinced that a decisive battle is in his favor and will rush to deliver himself to the enemy.
After hearing this, Wang Pu laughed and said: Your Majesty has a keen insight into people’s hearts.
Guo Shao said: It's human nature. He pondered for a moment and said, but we can't be too uncooperative. If we withdraw to Wuding Fort in a hurry, Li Yiyin will hesitate and most likely be unwilling to attack the fortress, which will only increase the variables. So my action at this time is to resist but also to welcome.
After hearing this, everyone's faces turned red, and some people couldn't help laughing out loud, but Guo Shao looked very serious.
Guo Shao did not think that he had a brilliant plan, but that it was just a simple logical deduction. The situation was clearly laid out before them, and there were not many options for both sides.
From the perspective of the Tangut Khitans, according to their previous understanding of the Central Plains Imperial Guards, their combat effectiveness was very strong, but not much different from the elite soldiers of the Liao Army. With this judgment, with 40,000 to 50,000 elite soldiers and 30,000 guards defending fortifications, the chances of the allied Tangut Khitans attacking the city were extremely low; but they had an advantage in field battles.
Therefore, Guo Shao's judgment is: if the coalition forces are given the opportunity to fight a decisive battle in the wild, they will be very willing to cooperate; but if they are asked to attack the city, it will be difficult for them to take the bait.
As the saying goes: When you feel you have no chance of winning a battle, the wisest choice is not to fight.
If you want others to fight this battle, either they have no choice, or you have to give them hope.
At this time Wang Pu praised: Your Majesty has made a good plan. In this way, the royal army can not only fight a decisive battle with the Dangxiang-Khitan coalition forces as it wishes, but also take the initiative to choose the battlefield.
That's right, Guo Shao said. He glanced at Shi Yanchao and saw that Shi Yanchao had stopped talking, but there was awe in his expression, and it was obvious that he still admired the emperor. People inevitably have things they are not good at, so they always admire those who are good at them.
Wang Pu looked down at the mountain below him and asked tentatively: Where will Your Majesty choose as the battlefield
Guo Shao has been standing at this high place and observing for a long time.
An official from the former camp military office seemed to be hesitant to speak, and Guo Shao said casually, "I don't know the true face of Mount Lu because I am in this mountain."
The official said hurriedly: "Excellent!"
Unexpectedly, Guo Shao shook his head and pointed in the distance and said: If I were to choose, I would choose the hillside on the east.
Everyone immediately looked in the direction he pointed. For a moment, there was complete silence, as they were wondering what was good about that place. They saw that it was a large hillside, but the slope was very gentle. In this ravine, that place was not called a mountain, but a relatively flat place.
Guo Shao immediately explained: From a common sense perspective, it is more advantageous to occupy the high mountain below, as the enemy's upward attack has a large slope. But this is not good for artillery.
He used the whip folded in his hand to draw a parabola in the air. This is how the shells fly. The artillery can have a negative elevation angle, but the angle cannot be too large. The slope of this mountain is too steep and the mountain is too small. The shells will hit the mountain directly and fly down, almost vertically hitting the ground. Our copper cannon relies on a small angle to bounce. If the vertical angle is too large, it will make a hole. What effect will it have
Guo Shao pondered and said, "So the slope must be long, and the steepness is secondary. In addition, a gentle slope will give the opponent more confidence to attack without us having to attack first."
Anyway, the emperor was the supreme commander, and if he said to choose a gentle slope, then choose a gentle slope. The three armies immediately deployed their camps in that area.
Guo Shao also ordered Shi Yanchao to lead the vanguard and to send out scouts to investigate the surrounding situation and monitor the movements of the coalition forces.
Thirty miles south of the Wuding River is where Cao Bin’s nearly 30,000 guards are located, namely the Fourth Corps of the Pingxia Army.
They left more than 3,000 people to defend Wudingbao, and continued to build the fortress with tens of thousands of civilians. Because Wudingbao was designed to accommodate barracks and warehouses for 70,000 to 80,000 troops, it still occupied a large area; more than 2,000 people were needed to fully defend the city defense fortifications, so they did not dare to leave too few people.
Cao Bin's troops were originally marching twenty miles away from the central army. After receiving the military order, they retreated ten miles as a gesture, then stopped and looked for a high place to set up camp and garrison.
On the third day, fast horses from the central army brought news that the enemy cavalry, with an unknown number but more than 10,000, were approaching the rear army from the eastern mountainous area.
Cao Bin immediately ordered to be on guard
The general asked: Lord Cao, should we give the order to prepare for war
Cao Bin said calmly: "Don't worry. This group of enemy cavalry will not attack us casually."
The general was puzzled and asked: Then they came
Cao Bin said: "The news said that there are more than 10,000 troops, but not more than 30,000 or 50,000. That means they are not here to attack us. Their purpose is to wait for us to reinforce the central army before looking for an opportunity to fight. You all know that it is best to break the formation when the infantry is marching in formation."
All the generals bowed in submission. Cao Bin then ordered scouts to find out the direction.
The guards' camps did not deploy for battle but continued to build fortifications on the spot.
Yu Liang was also digging trenches with more than 30 of his men. He had a lot of suffering to endure. He walked a long way to Wudingbao, built a fortress, worked hard in the ice and snow for more than a month, and then continued to walk in the ravines all day long to continue working.
His hands were already cracked, and every time he used force to hold the hoe, it hurt. Although he wore linen gloves, they could not stop the lime water from pickling and cracking. When he was repairing Wudingbao, the lime water was unbearable for him.
The material of rammed earth is a mixture of lime water, clay and soil. There is no such thing as the legendary glutinous rice juice. There is not so much grain in the Central Plains. Once the lime meets water, it will heat up and bubble for a long time. In addition, the mixed soil is piled up in the room with a heated kang, so it will not freeze before being transported up, but it is not easy for people to bear it.
Yu Liang did so much hard labor that his mind was in a daze. When he was studying at home, he never did any housework. Why did he do so much hard labor
At this moment, I seemed to hear a voice in my mind again: Zhao Hu is a hero.
At the beginning, Yu Liang kept looking for Xu Er Niang, and he was actually following Hong Ying's advice. He thought that Xu Er Niang was close to the female imperial physician Lu Lan, and Lu Lan was a noble person. But later he found that Xu Er Niang was very special, and he couldn't explain it. Anyway, she was not the same kind of person as Hong Ying at all.
Xu Erniang is almost illiterate, but obviously not stupid. She seems to have sensed that Yu Liang was in contact with her not only because he was grateful for her care in Lingnan. Before Yu Liang went to the war, he met her and expressed his feelings to her; Xu Erniang refused, but also mentioned that when she had the chance, she would tell Madam Lu about him.
Yu Liang was rejected and heard the meaning again. He felt humiliated and angry. Am I such an ungrateful person who only wants to rely on women
However, after two months of going to war, Yu Liang gradually stopped being angry. Thinking back, he felt that Xu Erniang was just kind-hearted and had no intention of humiliating him. If she had intended to humiliate him, why would she have helped him
While reminiscing about the beauty in Tokyo, Yu Liang buried his head in digging the soil in the ravine.
What kind of hero is Zhao Hu? He is just a pawn. How much does the outcome of the battle have to do with him? Besides, Zhao Hu didn't win that time. He was killed by the Khitans.
Yu Liang had mixed emotions. He gritted his teeth and endured the pain from the crack on his hand. He waved his head violently again. After serving in the army for more than a year, his endurance had improved.
At this moment, the shout of a general startled the confused Yu Liang. When Yu Liang looked up, he saw the guy riding on a horse, arrogant and ready to be beaten, pointing his whip at the brothers who were digging the ditch: "Whoever builds the ditch wall should squat and watch behind. There is also a ditch wall. If you think you can't stand it here and can watch the rain of lead bullets and arrows and climb over the ditch wall behind, then just run away."
The general was obviously of much higher status than Yu Liang, one of the ten generals. Yu Liang cursed in his heart, "Fuck you!", but he could not say a word and just buried his head in his work.
Regardless, Yu Liang was looking forward to a good fight. He had had enough of the tossing and turning in this mountain valley. People deserved to be beaten. It was better for the Tanguts to waste time like this. Why not just set up a good fight? In the end, there would be a winner anyway.
The brothers seemed to feel the same as him. Someone shouted: Damn it, come earlier, the grandfathers can't wait, let's kill them happily!