Tiger Guards

Chapter 236 Observation Outpost
On the Huguan city wall, high-ranking officials were inspecting in brightly colored armor.

When the news that the three surnames of Tunliu were dismantled reached Huguan, it immediately aroused the courage of the powerful people in the city to resist.

There is no need for repeated encouragement from senior officials; the military officers below will naturally supervise and carry out the work of defending the city.

The senior officials have enough confidence in holding on and waiting for help.

Even the main forces of Yuan and Cao found it difficult to carry out fearless siege tactics.

The common tactic used by all parties was to besiege the city, then divide the troops and plunder the land to obtain supplies and military funds.

Fight to support the war, wear down the defenders' will, consume their food, until the defenders collapse.

Huguan City is well-stocked with food and fodder, and Gao Gan is confident that he can hold out until next spring.

While he was patrolling the city, Zhao Ji also led a small cavalry team around the city to observe.

Zhao Ji and dozens of his cavalry retreated to seven or eight miles north of Huguan City, where Xu Huang had already set up a forward camp.

The camp is on the east side of the river, making it easy to get water.

Even so, when Zhao Ji returned, the relevant military officers still directed the engineers to dig wells in the camp.

You don't need to dig too deep to get plenty of water.

In addition to being convenient for soldiers to use, it can also prevent diseases.

Zhao Ji was too lazy to explain how to prevent disease, he just made a regulation that required digging a well before setting up camp, unless there was a spring in the camp.

Not only do springs need to be dug, but there are also relevant requirements for the location of toilets and stables.

If it is a long-term camp, you also need to consider the construction of hay fields and granaries.

How to set up camp is a secret of generals and also the fundamental difference between military officers.

When Jinyang was organizing the troops, Zhao Ji summarized and formulated the "Jinyang Military Code", which made various regulations in four aspects: setting up camp, marching, facing the battlefield, and counting. If you follow these requirements, you won't be too far off.

The biggest shortcoming of the Tiger Infantry Army is the lack of sufficiently experienced officers, but this is also the biggest advantage of the Tiger Infantry Army at present, allowing Zhao Ji to make free changes.

The military tents have been set up in the camp.

After Zhao Ji and his men removed their armor and washed briefly, they gathered around the map. Zhao Ji pointed to Huguan and said, "Gao Gan has determined that our army will not attack by force, and I have no intention of forcing a storm on Huguan."

It was too late to build siege equipment by dismantling buildings in Tunliu to obtain materials.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Han Shu then asked, "Minister, Han Meng, the vanguard of the Yuan army, has already entered Huguan Pass. Should we go and surround Huguan Pass?"

"We'll just stay here. There's no need to split up."

Zhao Ji stared at the map. Due to the winding mountain roads, the Hebei reinforcements had already entered Lu County, which was to his northeast, across the mountains.

The tributaries of the Zhang River flow north from Tunliu and Huguan, then turn east, pass through Lu County, turn into the mountain gorge and rush into the Hebei Plain.

In terms of the river channel, the river nearby is connected to Chunyu Qiong who is stationed in Lu County in the northeast, but the river is turbulent and difficult to use.

However, the road that can really facilitate the army's march is to go south along a '√'. The southernmost turning point of the √ is Huguankou, and the upper right point of the √ is Chunyu Qiong in Lu County.

It is inconvenient for chariots and heavily armed troops to cross mountains and hills, but lightly armed troops can still do so.

In fact, heavy infantry can also cross the mountains and take the mountain road to Lu County. The problem lies in the subsequent supplies, and they cannot carry various camping tools and supplies.

Now that he was separated from Chunyu Qiong by a mountain, Zhao Ji did not want to move rashly. Any action would consume the soldiers' physical strength and morale.

If I don't move, why would Chunyu Qiong dare to move?
Since Chunyu Qiong doesn't dare to move, I can just deal with the senior officials slowly.

If we delay time, Zhang Yang and the troops of ministers and officials will attack from the south; Xu Huang is also sweeping through the counties of Changzi. All this will take time.

Zhao Ji looked around and said, "Tomorrow, camp will be set up. Han Shu, you will lead a thousand knights to support the battle. I will mobilize 3,000 soldiers from the Shangdang Yi army and use them to dig and build a hill half a mile south of Huguan City."

Han Shu bowed and said, "Yes."

After a slight hesitation, he asked, "Why not in the east of the city?"

The Zhang River flows from south to north, and the terrain south of Huguan City is higher.

Seeing Zhao Ji looking at him, Han Shu said, "Digging a hill by the river is difficult because the soil is loose. I think digging east of the city will give the appearance of digging a tunnel, intimidating the enemy and tiring them out."

Ximen Jian, standing nearby, also said, "Minister, if our army digs and builds a hill during the day, the enemy will surely come out of the city at night to destroy it. Why not mobilize more soldiers and volunteers to build a new camp tomorrow, and hire strong men from various counties to dig a trench here? Dig a trench around Huguan, and then use the strength of 10,000 people to dig and build a hill. Within half a month, the hill will be completed, and from that position we can shoot down at the defenders inside the city."

"feasible."

Zhao Ji looked at Ximen Jian and said, "Tomorrow we will divide our forces and set up a camp one mile east of the city. I want to see if Gao Gan dares to leave the city to harass us. Once this camp is built, the militia from each county will be able to arrive. We will dig the earth to surround it, and then we will dig the earth to build a hill!"

Ximen Jian looked excited and looked at the others with pride.

Zhao Ji added, "For the militia recruited from each county, strong men will be given seven liters of rations per day, weak men and able-bodied women will be given six liters, and twenty coins per day. Keep a close eye on them all and distribute the necessary rations and money. These people will be of great use in the future!"

"Here!"

Everyone saluted, and Zhao Ji raised his index finger and placed it on the winding Zhang River. He slid along the river from the upper reaches to Lu County in the middle reaches and nodded. "Yuan Shao allowed Cao Cao to slaughter people in Xuzhou one after another. The harm he caused was no less than that of the Xianbei. Once the Shangdang counties are stabilized, I will choose a site downstream of Lucheng to build a dam. When the mountain torrents gather in late autumn and the dam breaks through, I will see if Yuan Shao's Yecheng can withstand the torrent of the Tianhe River!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked for a moment, but then they felt that this plan was not so bad.

Drowning the enemy with water... this is truly brilliant. Seeing that no one objected to this idea, Zhao Ji said, "Since you all agree, this is settled."

"Here."

Everyone felt heavy-hearted, thinking that such a matter would be difficult to keep secret. If it were leaked, it would lead the Hebei soldiers to fight desperately.

Chang Mao turned his head to look at Ximen Jian. He felt that Ximen Jian could see through Zhao Ji's intentions. Ximen Jian had a blank expression on his face.

After the meeting ended, Zhao Ji started to eat.

After eating, he dealt with some military documents. In the afternoon, he led more than a hundred nominal knights along the mountain road towards Lu County in the northeast.

They were all dressed as lightly armed scouts, and the people in the mountain valleys had retreated to the deep mountains to avoid the chaos. The mountain roads suitable for travel had become life-threatening traps.

The scouts of Yuan's army and Jin's army were all outsiders and had no way of determining the true identity of the mountain people.

At this time, do you still want to pretend to be a mountain villager and deceive the other party?

When the scouts of both sides entered the battlefield and confronted each other, there was basically no room for any hostile forces.

Xu Huang had sorted out the situation in advance. The people who were willing to move had moved to the open areas in the basin, while the mountain people who were unwilling to move went to hide in the deep mountains.

In addition, Xu Huang also built some simple beacon towers. These beacon tower fortresses served as nodes, and his own scouts suppressed Yuan's army and gained regional intelligence advantages.

Driving his horse through the valley, Zhao Ji saw that a mountain village beside a stream in the valley was completely silent, without even the sound of chickens crowing or dogs barking.

There is nothing to worry about. On the top of the mountain behind the village is a beacon tower controlled by our side.

Zhao Ji led his men up the mountain, and the horses stopped halfway up the mountain. When they reached the top, they could see the valley road leading from Huguankou to Lu County.

Looking back from here, you can see Huguan County and the smoke and dust gathering above your own camp in the north.

It was so close that one could even see Yuan Jun felling trees on the slopes on both sides of the valley road. They cut down trees to clear the view and then placed these trees on both sides of the road to build a safe corridor that could resist intrusion.

If there were drones dropping bombs here, Yuan Jun would probably cover the corridor with a layer of gauze.

The Hebei reinforcements from Lu County can arrive here quickly, and then cross the mountains to support Huguan City.

If they abandoned their vehicles and baggage and crossed the mountain to get supplies from Huguan City, they could not do that. If they crossed the mountain to set up camp, it would be difficult for the troops crossing the mountain to be supplied.

As he observed, the military officer guarding the area pointed to the dense forest below the mountain and said, "Lord Zhao, beware of sneak attacks."

Zhao Ji lowered his head to observe, and sure enough, he saw people moving about fifty or sixty steps away, and all the trees near the top of the mountain had been cut down.

Unfortunately, due to insufficient manpower, most of the trees could not be moved up. Only a part of them were moved up and piled up with logs to build a simple and crude beacon tower.

There were still many trees lying across the slope, and at this moment there were scouts of Yuan's army hiding among them, observing the top of the mountain.

"I'll give you reinforcements!"

Zhao Ji lowered his eyes and observed. "I'll give you a hundred men tonight. I'll station three hundred in the village behind the mountain. I'll give you another batch of arrows before nightfall. If you hold this place after this battle, I'll promote you two levels."

"Here!"

The only one guarding here is a Tiger Guard Doctor, with a three-star bar on his armband. He has some experience, but not much.

Two bars and two stars can be considered the backbone.

After the Battle of Jinyang, Han Shu was promoted to two bars and three stars, and was qualified to lead his own unit.

On the road in the valley below the slope, Zhang He was also wearing ordinary military leather armor, inconspicuous, and riding an ordinary horse.

He was also watching the beacon tower of the Jin army on the mountain, as they had arrived earlier and seized it in advance.

Many trees were cut down and logs and rockfalls were built. If a large force was sent to attack, all beings would be equal under the logs.

If it is a small force, it will be difficult to capture it, and once the enemy reinforcements arrive, it will be a waste of life.

If we don't remove the beacon observation post on this salient, our strength and movements will be in the hands of the enemy, and we will be in a very passive position.

We don’t know the specific situation outside Huguankou now. If the enemy really sweeps through all the counties and divides their troops to surround and kill Gao Gan, we can bypass Huguankou and attack Lu County directly.

When the fighting gets intense and camps are set up everywhere, any mountain that can be climbed is a passage!

Looking at the beacon tower observation post in front of him, Zhang He felt that it would not be a loss if it was exchanged for a thousand lives.

As a man who knows military affairs, Zhang He instinctively resisted a war of attrition like the Battle of Changping.

But Shangdang is too important to Wei County.

If Shangdang is not taken, Yuan Shao will not be able to sit in Yecheng safely, and the entire Hebei Province will be difficult to stabilize.

Zhang Yan stationed his troops in Changshan, and Gongsun Zan also began to gather troops in Yijing.

If the main force of Yuan's army came here to confront Zhao Ji and was tied up in consumption, then Zhang Yan and Gongsun Zan would take advantage of the situation and invade, causing chaos in the rear.

By that time, the front-line troops will also collapse.

Thinking about this information, Zhang He couldn't help but become pessimistic.

(End of this chapter)