The Struggle of the Reborn Prince

Chapter 165

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Fengzhou cannot be left without an owner for a day, and Zhao Tong cannot live there for a long time. After much thought and weighing, he made a decision and temporarily appointed Zhe Yanzhi, the second son of Yan Shi of the Zhe family, as the prefect. He was a Jinshi in the Chongning period.

The Zhe family, whose family is inherited from Yiwu, is considered an alternative. (氵kun

氵kundiandian)

The Zhe family despises knowledge other than military use, which means they look down on scholars. Legend has it that when Zhe Jimin saw that "there were many people in his tribe who had studied books, he often whipped them and humiliated them, saying that frontier soldiers should make a living by hunting, hunting and fighting. Now more

"Learning to read and write, this is the beginning of weakness." It was only after the successor to his ancestors was appointed magistrate of the state that this trend changed. "His descendants also had a rough knowledge of calligraphy." The trend changed from emphasizing martial arts to emphasizing both civil and military affairs.

Although Zhe Yanzhi is also a descendant of the Zhe family, he is a side branch compared to Zhe Kexing. Since he is a Jinshi and has read the books of sages for so many years, he must know some truths, which can make people feel at ease. Zhao Yan appointed him as the prefect.

It fulfilled his wish to lose his family and gave himself peace of mind, which was the best of both worlds. Moreover, Zhao Yu followed the normal conquest process, which meant that hereditary inheritance was not allowed, and Fengzhou still belonged to the imperial court.

With the candidates for Zhizhou ready, Zhao Tong appointed Zhe Keqiu, a general from Fuzhou, to stay in Fengzhou and serve as Fengzhou military and horse supervisor. Later, Zhao Tong selected Liu Zian, secretary of the Department of Economic and Strategic Planning, as the general judge and led a group of people.

Scholars were recruited from the public to serve as officials in various government offices, which was regarded as an internship after training.

After dealing with this major incident, Zhao Tao began to carry out the next military operation. According to the strategic goal he formulated to 'gather to destroy Chage and seize Henan', four battles were to be carried out. Now the goal of 'lureing the enemy deep and seizing Fengzhou' was

The first campaign goal has been completed, and the second campaign plan of "Gathering and Annihilating Chage" will be implemented next. The success or failure of this campaign also depends on whether Xiazhou can be captured.

Xixia originally only had a small territory in what is now northern Shaanxi. At that time, people called it "Xiazhou" or "Pingxia".

In the first year of Fengxiang of Great Xia in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Helian Bobo of the Tiefu tribe of the Xiongnu commanded 100,000 people to build the capital of Great Xia north of the Shuofang River and south of the Black River.

All nations can be named "To rule all nations"." In the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, he was the general manager of the Shuofang army and the protector of Anbei. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Tuoba Si

Gongzhen is a prefecture. For his contribution to conquering Huangchao, he was given the surname Li. There is a land of Yinxia, ​​Suiyu, and Jing in the five prefectures. In the fifth generation, Li Renfu and Yi Chao succeeded to the leadership of Jieyue and were named Dingnan Army. Until the founding of the Xixia people, before Li Jiqian

The Xixia people have always taken Xiazhou as their political center. There is even a saying that the name Xia people originated from Xiazhou.

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During the peaceful rejuvenation of the Song Dynasty, Li Jipeng came to the court, willing to take over the territory of Dezhou, with 270 chiefs, 50,000 tribes, and restore it to the royal territory. His younger brother was seventeen years old when he moved in, and he was not happy at home.

Migration, Xiao gathered in exile, invaded the border, Chunhua Zhongzhao destroyed the old city, and the soldiers from his state moved to Xiangzhou to set up camp, which was still called Xiazhou. Although at this time, Xiangzhou

The capital of the Xia Kingdom has been moved to Xingqing Prefecture, and Xiazhou's status has declined. It is just a remote town in Xixia, but it still has an indelible status for Xixia in spirit. It should be noted that although it is called "Xiazhou"

, but the area under its jurisdiction also includes the five states of Yin, Sui, You, and Jing in addition to Xiazhou.

Although the northwest region of Xiazhou is a desert area, it is also a transportation artery for the northern grasslands. Many Western business travelers and northern grassland tribes will concentrate on weak water, Mu Us Desert and other places in this area at fixed times to conduct trade. Although the land itself

It doesn't produce anything, but the profits from relay trade are very considerable. As the "rear area" in the northwest of Xixia, it not only benefits from grassland border trade, but is also a vast desert that is not conducive to the Song army's penetration.

Precisely because Xiazhou has an important geographical location and controls the Wuding River Valley, in Zhao Tong's battle plan, it can not only cut off the road of Chage's army returning south, but also block the Xixia Xishou Baotai Army and Jingsai Army.

, Jianing Military Division, and Xiangyou Military Division went north to reinforce Chage, playing a connecting role between the past and the following. However, two difficulties must be overcome to capture Xiazhou.

First, when Xiazhou City was first built,

The illustrious general in charge of building the city, the great craftsman, criticized Ali for being cruel and easy to kill, and ordered the city to be built with steamed earth, which is to evaporate white clay and lime with water, then add fine loess, and compact it layer by layer with flat tampers.

After the soil is dry, test the soil with an iron cone and knock it down if it fails.

Rebuilding. If an iron cone penetrates the city even an inch into the wall, it means that the ramming is not up to standard, and the builder is killed; if it penetrates, it means that the assassin is intentionally shielded and the assassin is killed. Countless people were brutally killed because of "incompetent construction of the city."

Thousands of people, it took six years for this city to be built day and night.

Zhao Tao had been there when he was training there in his previous life. This earth city was buried in the sea of ​​sand. Because the earth is white and extremely solid, it is commonly known as "Baichengzi". Most of the materials used by local villagers to build walls are

It is impossible to follow the rammed earth layer from the wall of Tongwan City

The rectangular rammed earth blocks are as hard as bricks. After more than 1,500 years, they have been blown by the wind, covered with sand, stained with sweat, and stained with blood. The shape of the city is still there, and the city walls still have not collapsed. It can be seen that its shape is still there.

It is so strong that it will take a fierce battle to capture this city!

Second, the distance from Fengzhou to Xiazhou is 900 miles. Choosing the offensive route is a headache. During the Shenzong Dynasty, the Hedong Army once participated in the five-pronged siege of Xixia. This was the only time the Hedong Army directly participated.

expedition,

However, it lost troops and generals and ended in failure. The target of the campaign at that time was the Xingling area of ​​Xixia. According to the idea of ​​Zhong E, a famous general of the Yanyan Army at that time, it was to gradually advance from Mizhi, Yinzhou, and Xiazhou to first occupy Hengshan and then go north to attack Xingling.

,and

Instead of taking the west route directly to Xingling, this is equivalent to going around in a circle, which increases the supply pressure to a certain extent. The explanation for this is that the main force of the Xixia army is stationed on the east road. If the west route is chosen to send troops, then the main force of the Xixia army on the east road will inevitably

Will go around

If the Song army was behind, the Song army might be attacked from the front and rear by the Xixia army and be attacked from both sides. Therefore, Zhong'e's operational idea was to "meet the front and be defeated. With the army's sound vibrating, there will be no one who dares to resist after traveling thousands of miles." However, Emperor Shenzong did not adopt this approach.

its plan.

Now that Zhao Tong has basically regained the Hengshan area, it is said that this unfinished idea can be implemented under conditions, but the Chage army is attacking in the grassland area. It is simply impossible to attack tens of thousands of people without leaking their whereabouts under the eyes of 100,000 people.

of, under investigation

When my brother finds out, he will understand Zhao Tan's strategic intention and quickly return to the army. All the previous efforts of Zhao Tan will be wasted. Therefore, if you want to achieve suddenness and concealment, you can only cross the thousand-mile Mu Usu Sand Sea, and crossing the thousand-mile sand sea is not just a matter of course.

So simple.

If you choose to cross the desert, you have to face the problem of no supplies on the way. At that time, Wang Zhongzheng, the internal supervisor who was known as the emperor's expedition, led the Hedong Army, but they still took the road to capture Xiazhou from the north through the grassland. Before departure, transfer

Judge Zhuang Gongyue distributed food to the Hedong Army. The prince boasted that he only needed half a month's food, and even claimed that even if it was not enough, he could eat their food after reuniting with the Yan Yan Army. Zhuang Gongyue refused to listen and gave him eight more days of food.

Hedong Army is slightly far away from the battlefield, so it arrived later. According to the plan, the Hedong Army and the Yanyan Army met up and then encircled Lingzhou. Most of the recruits just recruited from the mainland followed this road. The Hedong Army encountered heavy fog after leaving the fortress, and Wang Zhongzheng

Claiming to be cautious, he stayed in place and wasted nine days of food and supplies. After the fog cleared, he continued along the Wuding River.

I went to chase Yan Yan's army and accidentally walked into a swamp. Many people died and a lot of time was wasted. In fact, Zhong'e was clearing the way ahead, and the Xixia people had already disappeared. However, when the prince first entered the battlefield, he was very nervous.

Fearing that the fireworks would attract enemy attacks, they were not allowed to light fires for cooking. The soldiers ate raw food and fell ill in large numbers.

The Hedong Army wasted a lot of time on the grassland, and according to the original plan, the Hedong Army and the Yan Yan Army were supposed to meet at the foot of Hengshan Mountain. However, Zhonge received an order from the Japanese army to march directly to Xiazhou, and the generals who were transporting grain in the rear

The officials could not find Wang Zhongzheng's location and could not supply him with food, so the new soldiers began to flee.

The prince angrily said: "We must move forward with all our strength, and we will fight to the death!" He led his army to attack the defenders, but all the defenders had already fled Youzhou. After Wang Zhongzheng entered the city, he killed good people and pretended to be meritorious, and robbed cattle and sheep to use as food for the army. Fortunately, Shen Kuo sent Jingsi to the rear.

Yi came to meet him, and the Hedong army finally had a full meal before they had the strength to retreat to Hedong.

At that time, most of the Hedong Army were infantry, and the supply pressure was still small. However, Zhao Yu's loyal and brave army were all cavalry, and they had to choose to march in the desert. It was impossible for the horses to eat some grass. They could only ensure that they carried supplies with them.

War horses are not hungry

Death. Furthermore, the troops attacking Xiazhou went deep behind enemy lines alone. After occupying Xiazhou, they had to continue fighting. The weapons used by the Zhongyong Army were all firearms. They could not replenish ammunition behind enemy lines and had to rely on themselves to ensure supplies. The logistics pressure was huge.

Just imagine.

"Your Majesty, I have carefully calculated that our loyal and brave army is preparing to dispatch eight battalions of dragoons, plus the attached baggage battalion, scout battalion, machine gun battalion and command organization to participate in the Xiazhou Battle. The number will reach 7,000 men and 10,000 horses.

Five thousand horses, based on six liters of grain per person per day, and ten pounds of grass per day for the war horses

For a month of fighting, the amount of food and fodder required is huge. Even if each person carries ten days of food and fodder, a heavy supply camp will not be able to meet the needs. Please consider it!" At the pre-war meeting, the logistics manager Zhao Zhi stood up and said,

This is still a conservative estimate. There is a shortage of water in the desert, and he has not included water.

"Your Majesty, Xiazhou is mostly a desert with barren land and less output. Once the war is delayed and supplies are exhausted, the same mistakes will be made again. Otherwise, the entire army will be annihilated. Please think twice, Your Majesty!" Zhao Ren also said to the Prince.

There are doubts about the plan. The combat effectiveness of the Zhongyong Army has been tested many times. A battalion of soldiers can be used as a general of the Song Army. There is no problem in taking Xiazhou, but without food, grass and ammunition, it will eventually fail.

"Wang Heng, if your desert battalion crosses the desert, how long will it take to reach Xiazhou?" Zhao Tong nodded and pointed at Wang Heng, the commander of the fourth battalion of Tiger General, and asked.

"Report to your lord, if the road is familiar and the weather is good, it will take up to fifteen days!" Wang Heng stood up and reported.

"Okay, how much supplies do you carry?" Zhao Tong asked again.

"Your Majesty, all the mounts in our camp are camels. Camels can last for five to seven days in the desert without food, and can carry a load of up to 500 kilograms. As long as there are one or two oases on the way, they can feed themselves without consuming supplies. They only need to carry

All the soldiers need are weapons, ammunition, food and water!" Wang Heng looked at everyone and said proudly.

"Yes, then the problem of supplies on the way can be solved!" Zhao Tong said with a smile.

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