Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

"They arranged the old general in the Xianlu Temple in Xianlufang. The environment here is the best and the meaning is good." Li Chuyun explained that people in this era are more or less superstitious.

Shi Congyun didn't care about the fairy dew or not. The imperial guards led the way. He went in first. After a few steps, he passed through the courtyard and entered the main hall behind the temple. The monks inside had been driven to the east and west courtyards. In the main hall were several doctors. and the white-haired Si Chao lying on the bed.

The hall is filled with the pungent smell of medicinal stones.

Emperor Shi strode in, and several military doctors were startled, but he stopped him when he saluted quickly.

Si Chao was lying on the bed, his lips were cracked, his face was pale, he was speechless, he was breathless, his cloudy eyes were lifeless, and his eyes were loose and out of focus.

His figure is still tall, but the whole person has become thinner.

"How is the situation?" Shi Congyun asked several military doctors.

Several people looked at each other, stepped forward tremblingly, and finally the oldest one said: "Guan, we have tried our best, but

The old general was already old, and he suffered from the wind and cold. After being shot with an arrow by the Khitan people, he had a fever all the time. We washed it with strong wine and cut off the carrion, but it didn't help. .

I'm afraid that there is no way to recover."

Emperor Shi didn't speak, and the legs of several military doctors trembled with fear, but he was not unreasonable, so he just glanced at Si Chao.

The other party seemed to realize that he was coming, and with the intention of returning to the light, he tremblingly stretched out his big, bony hand, which Emperor Shi held in both hands.

He opened his mouth angrily, and Emperor Shi bent over. He heard a few faint words, but they were very clear in the quiet hall: "The officials, the old ministers, and the old ministers have not let you down."

After uttering a few words, the 68-year-old, white-haired veteran lost his eyes again and dropped his hands weakly. He was held up by Shi Congyun, and he didn't say another word, only the sound of hard breathing could be heard.

Emperor Shi repeatedly controlled his emotions, and finally managed to keep his face expressionless, but he didn't open his mouth to say a word.

Most of the civil and military personnel in the hall were silent, and a few lowered their heads and wiped their eye sockets.

Time is ruthless, any career and achievement needs a price, and once you succeed, you will die.

The 68-year-old Si Chao is gray-haired and skinny. At this age, he has no children and grandchildren to surround him, and he has no family happiness. He enjoys his old age, but he is lying on the front line of the battlefield, in a foreign country in chaos, lying in a cold temple.

Emperor Shi blamed himself slightly, maybe he shouldn't be allowed to go north again, although he was good at squeezing his courtiers, but this time he made an unintentional mistake.

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse in Youzhou City, and there were few stars in the sky. The slightly cold night was nothing to fear for the strong Emperor Shi, but it took away the spirited veteran Si Chao forever.

When the military doctor came to report the matter to him the next day, probably because of the emperor's benevolence, he had the courage to say a few more words: "Officials, the old general went very quietly, I think he was relieved. Holding one breath is to see the official."

Emperor Shi nodded, and rewarded each of the military doctors who took care of Si Chao with two thousand dollars.

Then he issued an imperial edict on the front line, posthumously presenting Si Chao Zhong Shuling, the King of Lu, and after being a class teacher, he was given a posthumous title by the agreement of the Imperial Academy.

At the same time, he ordered to take care of Si Chao's body, and sent people to escort the coffin back to the south for burial.

The army was still fighting. In order not to delay the military, the emperor decided to sit in Youzhou himself, and with Si Chao’s lesson, Emperor Shi ordered the 72-year-old Liu Renshan from the navy to stay in Youzhou with him to handle military decision-making matters. , Don't go to the front line.

Lin Renzhao, who was younger and also surrendered from Jiangnan, was the new commander of the navy.

As soon as this decision came out, many people in the army were surprised.

In fact, this was also one of the reasons why Emperor Shi wanted to come to Youzhou. If he didn't come to Lin Renzhao, he couldn't control the scene. Firstly, Lin Renzhao was relatively young, and secondly, he came here from Jiangnan.

After Si Chao became seriously ill, Emperor Shi thought about it. Liu Renshan was a suitable candidate, but Liu Renshan was also 72, and he was afraid that he would not be able to bear it. Another change of coach would be detrimental to the war.

Next is Lin Renzhao. Lin Renzhao is the right candidate. Regardless of his outstanding performance in the Huainan battle, his unique vision and courage in the Jiangnan battle, and his rich experience in Jiangnan defense for more than ten years, it shows that he is a general with both wisdom and courage. .

But he just surrendered from the south of the Yangtze River, and it was difficult to convince the crowd, so when he heard that Si Chao was dying, the first thing Emperor Shi thought was that he had to go to Youzhou. He didn't dare to make mistakes at all, even if he refused to obey Lin Renzhao, he would obey orders.

On the afternoon of the third day of April, Emperor Shi sent Si Chao’s coffin away in person outside the city. In the evening, he immediately summoned the commanders of the whole army, the commanders and officers above, and held a combat meeting to prepare for the full deployment of the north to occupy the land and stabilize the land currently occupied. Began to take the initiative to attack Yuguan (Shanhaiguan) and Juyongguan.

Chapter 512, The Emperor's Bet

"According to the officials of the Liao Kingdom, it is now certain that Yelujing, the leader of the Liao Kingdom, was assassinated in Heishan, north of Shangjing.

Later, a group of Xiao Siwen's guests took Yelu Xiezhen away and escorted Xiao Siwen's daughter to the north, preparing to let the false emperor Yeluxian ascend the throne and make her his heir. "In the lobby of the Youzhou government office, Zhang Qixian is reporting to everyone the news he got from the civil and military officials who surrendered in Youzhou.

"Xiao Siwen deliberately planned to make his daughter a false empress of the Liao Kingdom. According to my observation, Yelujing's death may also be related to Xiao Siwen and others. On the surface, it was said that several cooks and servants assassinated him, but there was nothing behind it. No one would believe anything."

"The officials have clever calculations, and they have planned strategies thousands of miles away, and they have completely predicted their plots and tricks."

Zhang Qixian's words are also the voices of everyone. When they found out that Youzhou was empty, everyone was skeptical. They didn't know that the Liao Kingdom had really undergone major changes until they caught the generals and officials of the Liao Kingdom and questioned them. Going north, this is almost exactly the same as what the officials inferred in Daliang!

Thousands of miles away, this level of calculation has completely exceeded the cognition of everyone present.

Everyone looked at Emperor Shi as if they were seeing real immortals alive and immortals descending to earth.

Emperor Shi smiled calmly: "These are trivial matters. I know the details, and I have my own calculations in my chest." I was already happy, and I didn't expect it, I have read the script!

Under the reverent eyes of everyone, Emperor Shi pointed to the map in the middle and said: "Next, I will make a general deployment. Generally speaking, it will be divided into three directions, and the deployment will be staged, with priorities and priorities.

I talk about requirements and strategies, and you come up with solutions. "

As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone immediately quieted down and listened intently, while Zhao Shijian, who was dressed in men's clothes and light leather armor, followed him, recording all the words of Emperor Shi.

"The Central Route Army has three priorities, the most important thing is to take Tanzhou (Miyun) and deploy defenses to prepare for the counterattack from the north.

The second is to take Juyongguan in the northwest, and open up contact with the West Route Army, especially Yang Jiye's department. Before I went north, they had already arrived in Xinzhou, and it is likely that they will soon be outside Juyongguan.

As long as the pass of the Great Wall around Juyongguan is in our hands, we can communicate with the fronts west of Taihang Mountain and east of Taihang Mountain and support each other. "

Said Emperor Shi looked at the navy, "The boat that the navy can go goes up the Guhe River, can it hit the city wall from the river?"

Lin Renzhao said: "Reporting to the officials, we sent small boats from the Gu River to investigate. If you go to the nearest place, the river bank is about two miles away from the city wall. There is a piece of land in the middle, and there are some low-rise woods. will drop significantly.

However, due to the width of the river, it is impossible to gather a large number of gunboats like the Sanggan River. However, it is still not a problem to hit the city wall and inside the city. "

"Then go up and assist the land troops to take down Tanzhou as soon as possible, the sooner the better."

"promise!"

Emperor Shi went on to say: "The last is the third phase of the battle plan, which is also the deployment after the first two goals are achieved. It will continue to occupy Pingzhou and Yingzhou in the east, and then take Yuguan in the north."

Everyone stared at the map, carefully memorizing Emperor Shi's words.

After he finished speaking, Li Chuyun, who always had a lot of ideas, said directly: "Official, I have something to say."

Shi Congyun nodded, and Li Chuyun stood up, pointed at the map, the finger was at the position of Tanzhou, and then kept sliding up: "Guan, if the main force of the Liao army wants to go south to Youzhou, there are only three directions.

After passing through Juyongguan Pass and passing through the mountains from the northwest to Youzhou, as long as we take down and hold on to Juyongguan Pass, deploying artillery is nothing to fear.

The second is to take Yuguan and go south from the southwest of Liaoning. This road is too far to detour from Shangjing to send troops, and Yuguan is surrounded by sea on three sides. If we control it, it will be difficult for the Liao army to break through.

Therefore, I thought that if they wanted to leave, they would go to the north entrance and go south to Tanzhou. In this case, my countermeasure is to store up heavy troops in Tanzhou and extend the defense to the north. military.

The north entrance is located on the main road between the mountains. The Liao army has no choice but to go south. If it goes south to Tanzhou, the city is solid, but the Liao army also has more choices. There is more than one road from Chanzhou to Youzhou. At that time, the initiative was in the hands of everyone in Liao.

They have a lot of light cavalry. If they are allowed to go out of the mountains and adopt the tactics they are good at dispersing their forces and attacking everywhere, without a decisive battle with the main force of our army, the artillery will not have such a big advantage. "

After hearing his plan, everyone had mixed expressions. Li Hanchao first questioned: "Will it be too risky? The north entrance is 150 miles away from Tanzhou. The most important thing is that there is only one village under the north entrance. It is located in a valley with narrow roads. The hoarded troops are limited, how to meet the Liao army in a hurry, I estimate that their main force will go south at least more than [-]."

Meng Xuanzhe and the others all nodded. This is the difficulty. Beikou is an important pass of the Northern Qi Great Wall. It is indeed an important place that the Liao army must pass through if it wants to go south.

The reason why it became an important place is because it is in the mountains more than 100 miles north of Tanzhou, and the army must pass through the mountains.

But this kind of natural danger also has its weaknesses, that is, it is a double-edged sword for both the enemy and us. For the enemy army, this has become a place they must pass through, and the course of action will be completely controlled by the enemy. Hit hard.

But for the defenders, the narrow valley at the north entrance made it impossible for the Qin army to deploy too many defensive troops. When it came time to counterattack, the main force of the Liao army must be coming from the opposite side.

This is Li Hanchao's worry.

Li Chuyun said seriously, "We don't guard Beikou. The scouts have been there. The pass of the Great Wall of Northern Qi Dynasty is on the mountain. After passing Beikou, we went down the hillside. There is a Beikou Village in the river valley. , only the southern valley has a road going south, and you have to keep walking along the valley.”

Emperor Shi looked at him, waiting for his next words.

Li Chuyun said solemnly: "Officials, we can build a lotus fort in Beikou Village to resist the Liao army."

"The village is not big, how many people can be stationed there?" Guo Jin asked with a frown.

"Two battalions at most." Li Chuyun said.

"You said that hundreds of people will be used to resist an army of tens of thousands!" Meng Xuanzhe was stunned.

"Not only a few hundred people, but also more than 70 cannons and lotus forts, just like those built by Daqinghe." Li Chuyun said.

Even if he said that, everyone still thought it was too crazy to use hundreds of people to resist the attack of tens of thousands of troops!

Although the terrain at the north entrance is indeed narrow and the army cannot be deployed, it is still tens of thousands of Liao troops!

Emperor Shi looked at the map seriously. Li Chuyun has always been a very courageous person. He has also seen the lotus fortresses on the banks of the Daqing River. Emperor Shi can tell at a glance that this kind of fortress is very similar to the ones that were very popular in Europe before World War I and before. Bastion.

In the final analysis, they are all designed to maximize the power of the artillery and remove all the dead spots around the military fortress. Finally, with the hard work of the craftsmen, a similar shape was formed.

Whether it is the prismatic outer wall or the gentle slope outside the wall specially designed to keep enemy soldiers in a straight line with the trajectory of the shells, they are all designed to maximize the power of the artillery.

However, Emperor Shi began to seriously consider Li Chuyun's suggestion. It is indeed crazy to use hundreds of people and more than 70 cannons, and a big fortress to resist tens of thousands of Liao troops.

But everything has two sides. If their army hastily went north, the Liao army might not fight with them, but retreated from Beikoucao to deal with them. If they could not seriously damage them, the occupation of the south would be unstable.

This risky method also has a significant advantage, that is, in the face of such an advantageous situation, the Liao army will definitely invest in the main battle with confidence. If they can cause large-scale damage to the Liao army's new force near the north entrance, then their occupation of the south will be completely stable. up.

If the situation is favorable, the killing effect will be even more astonishing, and it may be possible to go directly to Shangjing through the North Exit.

Even in the worst case, the North Gate cannot be defended, and the valley and Tanzhou to the south are still strong. The main force is still there, and they can still stop the Liao army. The loss is two battalions and more than 70 field artillery.

Soon, Emperor Shi came to a conclusion in his mind that this was a cost-effective gamble. If he won the bet, he would make a lot of money, but if he lost the bet, he would make a small loss.

Although cruel and ruthless, it is not a big deal for the emperor to bet on the lives of two battalions.

But war itself is the biggest gamble.

Chapter 513, From Point to Surface

Emperor Shi paced back and forth, but no one spoke.

After thinking for a while, Emperor Shi said, "If you have any blueprints of Lotus Fort, show me."

The emperor opened his mouth, and the officer next to him rushed out immediately, asked the craftsman of the confidentiality department to ask for it, and quickly put the blueprint on the table.

Emperor Shi looked at it carefully for a while, and said directly, "This fortress can't accommodate two battalions of people."

Li Chuyun hesitated for a moment: "The officials are sages, and the two battalions really need to be squeezed together. Usually, there are about 500 people deployed. If the staff is full, it will be one battalion."

Emperor Shi carefully looked at the map again, and pointed to the Beikou River Valley, "It would be a good idea if the width from east to west here does not exceed [-] paces. The distance between [-] and [-] paces, the artillery can be accurate and powerful, and it can also protect you from bows and crossbows." threaten."

Everyone nodded, Zhang Zhengtao said: "It would be great if we could move the naval guns up."

His words awakened the dreamer, and the confidential craftsman next to him immediately said: "Yes, the Lotus Fort is mainly deployed in the Daqing River area, but there is a lot of space inside, and many cannons can be replaced with more powerful ones. Big naval gun.

Especially for the relatively deep shooting holes, put the cannon back, and you don't have to worry about the problem of filling. "

Emperor Shi looked at the blueprints on the desktop. Indeed, the artillery positions behind the Lingbao were hidden relatively deep, and generally extended inward along the polygonal walls. The artillery shooting holes were located deep inside the intersection of the two walls. Those depths The artillery deployed here is also safer, and it can indeed be replaced with a more powerful artillery, which can greatly enhance the defense of the bastion.

"The upstream of Gushui is connected to Baoqiu River (Chaohe River), where the river channel is not wide enough for large ships to enter, but small boats can be used to transport guns, and the naval guns can be sent directly to the north mouth, and Gushui enters Baoqiu River along the way. It’s much easier and faster to go all by water.”

Emperor Shi glanced at the map, and was immediately pleasantly surprised. The Baoqiu River was connected to Gushui, leading directly to the downstream, and probably intersected with the Haihe River near Tianjin in later generations.

As long as the fleet returns along the way, they can go to Gushui along the waterway, and Baoqiu water will go straight to Beikou. In this way, no matter how heavy the naval gun is, it can be easily transported to the front line of Beikou, and the same is true for gunpowder and shell supplies.

"Is this section of the river clear?"

Lin Renzhao, the commander of the new navy, immediately stood up, "Guys, our scouts only went as far as the north of Tanzhou, not the north entrance, and they took the land road, but I can assure you that there is a [-]% chance that it will be unblocked.

Since the Northern Qi Dynasty built the Great Wall near Beikou as a pass, it has always been an important place in the north. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, in order to ensure the supply of Beikou, troops were transported through this route, and the army of the Liao Kingdom traveled from Shangjing to the south, and recently reached Youzhou. The north entrance enters Tanzhou, and the food and taxes from the south have to be transported north. This waterway is also indispensable. The Liao Kingdom will definitely manage it well. "

Emperor Shi nodded after listening, and was also happy that his generals not only looked at the map to understand the geography in order to fight the war, but also knew the history in their chests, which was very gratifying.

However, although he is tempted, he has not made a decision easily. The emperor represents the highest decision-making body. Once he speaks, the army will change its deployment and start dispatching. The cost is huge, so he will not randomly issue some important military orders, "Take down Tanzhou first and see." Look."

"No!" Everyone understood what he meant, and they took Tanzhou to see if the waterway to the north could support this plan.

Emperor Shi was very assured of the power of the artillery and the Lotus Fort, but the key was whether the supply and support could reach the north entrance by water, and it was a race against time. If Tanzhou was slow, Liao had time to react. empty talk.

Shi Congyun solemnly said to the generals: "Shangjing is thousands of miles away from Youzhou. Last time I went north to take the Guanbei states, it took the Liao army about a month to assemble from Shangjing and go south. This time the situation in the north is even more chaotic.

It will take at least one and a half months for them to stabilize the situation and assemble the army to go south. That is to say, from now on, it will take about [-] days to take down Tanzhou, go north to Beikou, and build the Lotus Fort.

Therefore, from now on, we must race against time. The premise of the plan to block the enemy at the north entrance is that Juyongguan in the northwest, Tanzhou in the north, and Yuguan in the east are all in your hands. "

Emperor Shi looked at Li Chuyun, the commander-in-chief of the three armies: "You handle these matters, and the three armies are all at your disposal."

"I will never fail His Majesty!" Li Chuyun vowed.

Emperor Shi nodded, and then said in front of all the generals: "In the future, all the navy will be controlled by Lin Renzhao, and anyone who disobeys will be dealt with by military law. If you have any questions, come to me and talk to me."

The generals of the navy and the officers all bowed their hands and agreed.

After making these arrangements, Emperor Shi then took Zhao Shijian out of the main hall. The specific deployment and dispatch were to be discussed and decided by the commander of the three armies appointed by him and the generals of each army. Although he was in Youzhou, he was mainly concerned with three things.

The first is to see Si Chao, the second is to support Lin Renzhao, the third is to make strategic deployments and organize high-level meetings, and the generals will worry about the specific implementation.

After returning to the palace of the Great King in the Southern Courtyard of Youzhou, Emperor Shi lay still on the comfortable bed, while Zhao Shijian carefully sorted out the minutes of the meeting just now.