Wei Jingtang raised his head to look at the sky, his eyes brimming with tears. He smiled and said, "Teacher, in your letter, you asked me if I dared to go down and drink with you. Student Wei Jingtang is more than happy to do so!"
— —
Outside the mouth of the gourd in Youzhou, in a massive commander's tent that was heavily guarded by soldiers, the coals produced by the finest carp kiln burned fiercely, blocking out the spring chill. Of the thirty-some people in the tent, half of them were dressed in the armor of Beimang's high-ranking military officers, while the other half were dressed in the uniform of the Southern Dynasty's Ministry of War. The latter were all between twenty and thirty years old. At this moment, the vanguard of the army had already begun to break through the mouth of the gourd. The vanguard had over ninety thousand people, with the main general, Yang Yuanzan, commanding the various troops. The main force was the thirty thousand personal soldiers of this great general of Beimang, while the various garrisons of Dragonwaist Province had forty thousand soldiers. However, the true elites were the twenty thousand Rouran cavalry under the command of the Southern Dynasty's Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War. The Rouran Mountains had always been an important source of troops for the elite cavalry of the northern plains. It produced fine horses, but it also produced strong soldiers. Most importantly, compared to other places, the Rouran cavalry were more obedient, willing to give up their lives and daring to fight to the death. Beimang and Liyang had fought so many great battles during Yonghui's reign. The valiance displayed by the Rouran cavalry had even caused many famous generals of the Central Plains to raise their eyebrows. Back then, even the old Grand Secretary of Liyang had to admit that 'the barbarians here had the style of the Great Qin'. Other than the vanguard led by Yang Yuanzan, who had already driven south, the remaining two hundred thousand soldiers were still biding their time outside the mouth of the gourd. Compared to the invasions of the nomads in history, this expedition south to Beimang was clearly more methodical. Yang Yuanzan was the nominal Commander-in-Chief of Beimang's eastern front. However, after Yang Yuanzan led the troops out, there was no chaos in the seemingly leaderless commander's tent. Countless orders for the deployment of troops were accurately issued from here to the various armies. This was all thanks to Dong Zhuo, the number one military and political figure in the Southern Dynasty. After he became the King of the Southern Courtyard, he focused on restructuring the Ministry of War and added the position of "Strategist in Front of the Curtains". He took the opportunity to promote a large group of young people to become the staff of the Ministry of War. Everyone was bestowed with fine clothes and jade belts by the emperor. Hence, they were nicknamed "Strategist in Front of the Curtains". Even though their ranks were not high, they were considered to be of low status and power. As long as the strategies they formulated were reviewed by the Ministry of War in the Western Capital, not to mention the generals of the towns and the Prairie Lord, even the prefectures of the various provinces and generals like Yang Yuanzan and Hong Jingyan had to follow the rules. After the start of the war, these strategists all left the Ministry of War and followed the army. Most of them rushed to the eastern front. Dong Zhuo gave them the power to "act according to the circumstances". Of course, it was impossible for there to be no opposition in the imperial court in the western capital. However, Fatty Dong didn't pay much attention to them and even shamelessly used Her Majesty's imperial edict as a shield. Furthermore, the young people who rose to the center of the imperial court overnight were mostly from the Yelu and Murong surnames, or the "flaming and plump" aristocrats from Longguan. They were the young talents from the "North, Seven, South, and Three" Surnames A in Beimang. It could be said that Dong Zhuo's exceptional promotion had captured almost all the top aristocrats in Beimang in one fell swoop. As a result, the saliva in the western capital didn't even need to be refuted by the king of the South Courtyard, who knew how to conduct himself. However, Beimang soon realized how insidious and cunning Fatty Dong was. These strategists were divided into two groups. One group went to the eastern front to impede General Yang Yuanzan, and the other group went to the western front where General Liu Gui was. Only the central front didn't have any strategists! However, the general situation had been determined. In addition, the war in the north of Liangzhou was destined to be the deadliest and bloodiest. It wasn't easy to gain military merits there. Therefore, the old and cunning elders behind the strategists could only pinch their noses and admit defeat.
However, when almost everyone thought that the Battle of Hulukou in Youzhou was just a side dish to the war in Liangzhou, the King of the South Courtyard, Dong Zhuo, actually came here in person and joined a group of strategists. In the military tent as spacious as a hall, Dong Zhuo stood at the northernmost position at one end of the long table. On the table was a sand table with mountains, rivers, and cities. The terrain of Hulukou could be seen at a glance. In the last years of the Great Feng Dynasty, there was a generation of mathematicians who proposed the Tilt Reordering Method in their works. Later, there was the Six Directions Map. After more than three hundred years of improvement, Huang Longshi proposed the theory of altitude, which made the sand table technology reach its peak. Therefore, today's sand table was so delicate and accurate that it was enough to stun the ancients. On this sand table, the system of Hulukou Wu Castle created by Hong Xinjia was most directly reflected. The three cities, six passes, and two hundred strongholds were all marked on the sand table. As the number of beacon towers was too small, only those important beacon towers that occupied dangerous places were marked with small flags less than an inch long.
The King of the South Courtyard, who was travel-worn, had just arrived here with hundreds of Dong family's cavalrymen. After drinking a mouthful of coarse milk tea with a strong smell of mutton to drive away the cold, he asked a young strategist from a major clan in Gusai Province to tell him the progress of the Battle of Hulukou Wu Castle. The latter, who was holding a slender long pole made of jasper, drew a big circle on the sand table and said loudly, "Beiliang put Hong Xinjia in an important position. By the beginning of this spring, he has built 214 strongholds in Hulukou in Youzhou Province. The Battle of Mount Daxing in Liyang Province started in the first year of Yonghui Province … "
Upon hearing this, a prairie lord, who was planning to come to Youzhou Province to snatch food, people, and military exploits, could not help but roll his eyes and say, "Don't talk about those boring things. Just tell us where our sons have fought their way to Hulukou Wu Castle and how many heads they have chopped off. It's easy for you to say it, kid, but King Dong and we can also hear it clearly. Every time I hear you people who have read books talking about it, I feel like I'm going to doze off! "
Dong Zhuo did not even look at that big talker, but stared at the sand table and said slowly, "Go on."
The prairie lord immediately shrunk his neck and dared not to act rashly.
The strategist continued, "Mount Daxing in Liyang Province was first proposed by the Han family of Ji Province. Their original intention was to reduce the pressure of grain and fodder supply when Liyang Province launched the war in the early days. Later on, Liyang Province took the opportunity to withdraw all the border armies in Ji Province and moved them inwards to strengthen the internal defense and shorten the transportation distance of grain and fodder. Once the war broke out, they could use the fort to slow down the vanguard of the enemy, and then the main force in the rear would wait for an opportunity to strike. However, over the past ten years, Liyang Province has purposely placed more emphasis on the two Liao provinces and neglected Ji Province. Obviously, they have the intention to use Ji Province, a soft persimmon, as the opening of Youzhou Province. As long as our army chooses Ji Province as the breakthrough point, Beiliang and the two Liao provinces will be able to launch a pincer attack. "
The strategist pointed at somewhere north of Hulukou Wu Castle with the long jasper pole in his hand. "Beiliang's fort is especially majestic. The big fort has more than a thousand steps around it, and the small fort has more than eight hundred steps around it. The big fort has six hundred steps around it, and the small fort has three hundred steps around it. Moreover, the fort has never had a fixed shape. It is closely connected to the geography of Hulukou Wu Castle, tightly controlling the river valley. Most of the walls are made of rammed earth, and some of them are covered with bricks. Many forts have several layers inside and outside, with different heights. If we are careless, even if we successfully break through the fort's gate, we will still have to fight a tough battle. This is enough to show Hong Xinjia's sinister intentions. For example, the group of forts here at Hulukou Wu Castle, with the Jujube Horse Fort as the core, and the Green Wind Fort Bee Rising Fort and the other eighteen forts surrounding and protecting them. In total, there are three thousand four hundred garrison soldiers. The first fierce battle between the two sides will definitely take place here. "
The jade pole in his hand shifted slightly to the south. "If Beiliang's Hulukou Wu Castle was only blocked by these forts, it would not be worth mentioning. However, after Chen Zhibao became the Governor of Beiliang, three towering and sturdy cities were built at Hulukou Wu Castle. Although they are far inferior to the number one town in the northwest, Hutou City, they are definitely not to be underestimated. This Crouching Bow City, built against the mountain, is one of them. In fact, all the forts in the northern line of defense at Hulukou Wu Castle are attached to Crouching Bow City. Unlike the forts that only defend to the death, the three cities of Hulukou Wu Castle each have a different number of elite cavalry troops from Youzhou. "
A major third rank general from Ju Province laughed and said, "That Youzhou also has a capable cavalry troop? I thought that Yan Wenluan's subordinates were only a group of soldiers crawling like turtles. "
The story of turtles crawling like turtles had been circulating in Beimang for a long time. In the past twenty years, most of the battles in Liang Mang took place on the northern line of defense in Liangzhou. Youzhou had always been sparse. Beiliang Infantry Commander Yan Wenluan, this "old" tiger, had no power to speak of in the eyes of Beimang. The younger Beimang generals were somewhat convinced by Beiliang Governor Chu Lushan or the new cavalry commander Yuan Zuozong. After all, Yuan Zuozong's military achievements in the several large-scale battles in the hinterland of Beimang many years ago were obvious to all. That Lu Qiuer even chased the current King of South Courtyard for almost a thousand li. Moreover, Beimang's cavalry was like the wind. How could they pay attention to slow infantry? Therefore, Yan Wenluan had the nickname of Turtle General in Beimang.
Dong Zhuo finally spoke with a solemn expression. "All of you are clearly aware that my Dong Clan Army consists mostly of infantrymen. But perhaps all of you aren't aware that I, Dong Zhuo, learned from Yan Wenluan when I first trained my infantrymen. Although now it's enough to look down on most of the Youzhou infantry, Yan Wenluan, who you laughed at as Turtle General, has one thousand heavy armored soldiers under his command. His fighting strength is still worthy of being called the world's number one infantry troop. How's the fighting strength of 'Dong Infantry'? Do I need to boast? "
Dong Zhuo raised his head and looked at the people present with cold eyes, "The Youzhou cavalry is not good enough? Don't forget that the Long Xiang Army that turned our Gusai Province into a sieve was based on the Youzhou cavalry. "
Dong Zhuo smiled gloomily, revealing his white teeth, "Right, I forgot to tell you a secret. After General Yang Yuanzan learned that he was going to fight Yan Wenluan, he had already made arrangements for his funeral. If you think that I, Dong Zhuo, am boosting the morale of others and diminishing my own prestige, it's fine. Heh, I'll say the ugly words first. When the time comes, whoever is hurt by the Youzhou garrison, remember not to complain to me or His Majesty. "
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