Chapter 7 Appointing the Commander

"The information I received, Dashi sent someone to send Mochu with Damascus swords and iron, and a group of craftsmen. I guess Dashi wanted to help Mochu build siege equipment. With these equipment, Mochu will go south in the next year to capture the three cities of surrender and drive our army south of the Yellow River." Li Longji pressed his right hand on the map and then analyzed: "The Turks lack iron, and there is no siege equipment, so it is okay to fight in field battles. When it comes to siege, there is nothing to do. However, with these equipment, the situation is different. The defense of the three cities of surrender must be strengthened. I plan to use Mochu's idea of ​​rushing to capture the three cities of surrender and consume the sharpness of the Turks in the three cities of surrender.

"After dragging the Turks down, our army will attack and siege and annihilate them. Of course, while fighting a war of attrition with the Turks, our army should boldly intersperse the rear of the Turks, reach the designated area, and gather invisibly. The three cities who were surrendered will succeed, and immediately launch an attack to surround the Turks from all sides. This is my best strategy!"

The three cities surrendered were very important to the Tang Dynasty and the Turks. The three cities were the foothold of the Tang Dynasty on the north bank of the Yellow River. If it was lost, the Tang army had to retreat to the south bank of the Yellow River. If it was lost, the Tang Dynasty would have no foothold on the north bank of the Yellow River. It would be impossible to use this as a springboard to attack the depths of the desert. From a strategic perspective, the threat to the Turks was greatly reduced.

If the Turks took down the three cities of surrender, the Turks could return to the south of the desert and have a place to stand. Moreover, they could use this as a springboard to launch an attack near Youzhou, which poses a serious strategic threat to the north of the Tang Dynasty.

Youzhou was the most important strategic base of the Tang Dynasty in the north. Whether it is the north or Liaodong, it had to rely on Youzhou for supply. Not to mention conquering Youzhou, it would make the Tang Dynasty restless and a huge victory.

Mochuo fought for a lifetime, and was as cunning as a fox. Even Wu Zetian was so smart that he was deceived. He would not even be able to see this. In the past, the latter Turks had failed to attack the three cities of surrender repeatedly. The biggest reason was that the latter Turks did not have any siege equipment. If they received support from Dashi and had siege equipment, Mochu would definitely come to defeat the three cities of surrender.

This is a great thing that Li Longji couldn't get!

Taking advantage of Mochu's mentality, he consumed the spirit of the post-Turkish troops in the surrendered three cities, and then launched a decisive battle, which was of great benefit to the Tang Dynasty. Li Longji's idea was very good.

Zhang Shougui thought for a while and said, "The emperor's idea is very good, and I agree with it. But there is one thing, the interspersed army supply is a big problem. Going deep into the grassland is not a problem, and hiding is not a problem. The only problem is how to make the soldiers fill? There is no shortage of grass or water in the desert, and what is lacking is food."

He is worthy of being a general who has been in the north for a long time, and asked for the idea. Yao Chong nodded in agreement: "Emperor, General Zhang is very honest."

Li Longji did not answer, but looked at Chen Wanrong and asked, "How do you think we should solve it?"

Chen Wanrong thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, it's not difficult to solve the problem. Just bring more horses and carry food. Marines on the prairie, the cavalry is very fast, and it's not a problem to intersperse three or two hundred miles a day. For cavalry alone, it only takes three or five days to reach the designated area. In addition, deployment and resting will take about seven days. In other words, it's enough to set off seven or eight days before the decisive battle begins.

"It is impossible to complete such a large-scale war without five or seven days. A person only needs to prepare half a month's rations. If it really doesn't work, he can still slaughter and maintain it. A cavalry has three war horses, one for riding, one for resting and one for riding, and one with rations and equipment. I think it can completely solve this problem."

The battle with the Later Turks was inevitable, and Chen Wanrong often thought of countermeasures.

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Longji, Yao Chong and Zhang Shougui agreed with each other: "Good statement!"

Li Longji smiled and said, "What you are talking about is what I think. I want to send 100,000 cavalry to divide into two groups to capture the Turkish retreat. Give them three horses each, and carry them all with food and drink. The Turkish horse breasts are not only quenching thirst and hunger, but also easy to preserve, and are just useful in the desert. The soldiers in the north are also used to eating horse breasts, and I have ordered them to do a lot. At that time, one person will bring a few leather bags, enough for them to drink. In addition, some jerky and bread, there will be no problem with supporting them for half a month."

The nomadic people like to drink horse milk, which is made of horse milk, which not only quenches thirst and hunger, and is very conducive to marching and fighting. With this thing, the Tang army is like a tiger adding wings.

Yao Chong nodded and said, "Emperor, there are not enough officials and horses, so you need to bring private horses into the army. The court should issue an order immediately to encourage soldiers to bring private horses into the army."

"This is your Zhongshu Ling's business." Li Longji actually gave up his pick.

The reason why Emperor Wu of Han was able to form such a large-scale cavalry was that the Western Han Dynasty implemented horse politics and accumulated a large number of horses. Without horse politics, it would be impossible to have such magnificent songs as "Shan Yu Escape at Night" and "Feng Langju Xu".

The Tang Dynasty fully absorbed the horse politics of the Western Han Dynasty and vigorously promoted it, which made the Tang Dynasty have many horses. During its heyday, the Tang Dynasty controlled nearly one million horses, and with such a large number of horses, the Tang army's mobility increased greatly, and it came and went like the wind.

If there were no such large number of horses, although heavy infantry was powerful, they would not have been able to be put into the battlefield. The clothes were too heavy, so how could they be transported to the battlefield by relying on people?

One of the consequences of the army's large number of horses was that the polo of the Tang Dynasty, which was highly developed. From the emperor to the common people, they all liked to play a few moves. Not to mention the military, the reason was that the gameplay of polo helped soldiers master superb horse skills.

Regarding horse politics, we need to explain it here. There are two parts of horse politics, one is an official horse and the other is a private horse. Official horse refers to the imperial court setting up a horse farm in a place with abundant water and grass to raise war horses. Such horse farms range from tens of thousands to more than tens of or twenty-thousand war horses, which are very large in scale.

When the Western Han Dynasty implemented horse administration, in addition to raising horses in the court, people also encouraged horses to raise horses. People could get preferential treatment for raising horses, such as taxes and corvee. This greatly increased the enthusiasm of the people to raise horses. There were many horses raised by the people in the Western Han Dynasty. During the "Decisive Battle of Mobei", Emperor Wu of Han invested nearly 300,000 war horses, and the total number of official horses was only 140,000. The other 160,000 were also mostly from the people.

How to transform private horses into official horses? As long as private horses meet the standards of war horses, the court will buy them for money. I did not find out the price of the Western Han Dynasty. The official price of the Tang Dynasty was 25,000 ci, which is 25 jin, which is equivalent to twenty-five taels of silver.

Ma Zheng was extremely important in ancient times. To put it too much, it was Ma Zheng who created the glory of ancient Chinese history!

Both Han, Sui and Tang dynasties attached great importance to it. In the Song Dynasty, horse politics was in name only and there was no horse in the Central Plains. The Song Dynasty could not form a large number of cavalry and could not effectively deal with the threat from the north. Some people defended the Song Dynasty and said that it was because the place where horses were raised was thrown away, and this statement was untenable.

The Western Han Dynasty also had no Hetao land, and still had so many war horses. At the foot of Mount Li, there was a large horse farm in the Western Han Dynasty. Not to mention, horses could also be raised among the people. With the financial resources accumulated by the Song Dynasty, private horses could be purchased, but the Song Dynasty lacked horses and had no measures and was not suitable for supporting facilities. It could only be said that they were corrupt.

"Master, what is the best way to play?" Zhang Shougui was very anxious.

Li Longji laughed and said, "Of course the worst is not enough. If it is broken, the best goal is not completed, the Turks are not consumed under the three cities of surrender, or Mo Chuo detects our arrangements and retreats early, causing our plan to fail, which will naturally become the worst."

Yao Chong thought for a while and guessed: "The Emperor said that if this is the case, the Tang Dynasty had to send a large army to pursue Mobei, and like Emperor Wu of Han, to fight to the Mobei decisive battle?"

"That's right!" Li Longji blurted out.

If you can't be fooled, you can only think of Yongjing's north. Compared to the best strategy, the disadvantage is that the difficulties will increase a lot.

Not to mention the distance from the south of the desert to the south of the desert, but because there is no good road, this supply alone is a big problem. Although Emperor Wu of Han was successful in the "Decisive Battle of Mobei" back then, the price was extremely high. Not to mention the 140,000 war horses when he left the pass, less than 30,000 were returned. Not to mention the number of civilians who died in transporting food and grass to the army, there were countless infantrymen, and this battle was "the world riot".

However, this also shows Li Longji's determination, Chen Wanrong and others were greatly infected. Zhang Shougui was very excited: "Emperor, if this is the case, the difficulties in this battle will certainly increase a lot, and with the strong national strength of the Tang Dynasty, it can still be supported."

The Tang Dynasty's strong national strength was famous for its eternity. I dare not say that there were too many wars like this, and it would be fine if there were only a few battles.

Li Longji clenched his fist with his right hand and said strongly: "My idea is to make the above strategy the following plan as the goal, and prepare for the following plan. To achieve the best plan as much as possible, and to eliminate Mochu's army in the south of the desert. Prepare, we must make the following plan as the goal, and we must be prepared to cross the desert. Once the best plan is not achieved, adjust the deployment immediately and chase the north of the desert!"

"Abide by the order!" Li Longji made great determination. This time, no matter what, the Turks could not be rampant. Chen Wanrong and the others were very excited. These two words were particularly high!

Li Longji looked at Zhang Shougui and said, "You will command this battle next year."

After receiving Shen Que's reminder, Zhang Shougui was still a little surprised and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I am too young and afraid of insulting the emperor's order. I would like to ask the emperor to choose another wise general."

Li Longji browed and said, "What's wrong with being young? Huo Qubing went to the war at the age of 18, isn't he the whole army's merit? Just say Chen Wanrong, he didn't lead artillery soldiers to attack Luoshecheng at the age of 18? I don't use people to use age, not value qualifications, but talent. Among the generals in the north, I have been thinking about it over and over again, and you are the most suitable. Your strength is that you are smart and flexible in fighting, not following the rules, courageous, and not afraid of hardships. If you don't need to be the commander of such a person, then I'm blind!"

"The emperor is wise!" Chen Wanrong heard about Zhang Shougui's deeds. When he met him, he realized that he was far away from the rumors and agreed with Li Longji's appointment.

Zhang Shougui was extremely grateful, with tears in his eyes: "The emperor loves you very much, I am willing to die on the battlefield!"

Li Longji continued: "The army, war horses, food, equipment, and clothing are being mobilized from all over the country to the north. You commander should have arrived in the north as soon as possible. Youzhou has a question, you can go later. I still have a sharp weapon in my hand, you have never seen it, that is, the artillery commander Chen Wanrong, and will definitely be put into the battlefield next year. You can go with Chen Wanrong and get to know it carefully. Don't be able to use artillery in the coming year!"

"Abide by the order!" Zhang Shougui was very excited: "Your Majesty, even if you don't give me artillery, I have to ask you for shamelessness. I am in the north and have heard of the name of artillery for a long time, and I finally have the chance to see it."

In the battle of Tubo, the artillery was so revealing that the name of Daqi had been spread throughout the army, and they were all proud of having a glimpse of the truth.

"The use of artillery in the coming year is very different from that in Tubo." Li Longji reminded him: "In the battle of Tubo, the number of artillery was small and could only be used as a tough attack. In the coming year, there will be thousands of artillery in the future and you can face it head-on. You must use it well."

His views coincide with Chen Wanrong's ideas. Li Longji is proficient in military tactics and often thinks about artillery. It is normal to have such views.

"You should also take my two strategies to heart and see if there is any problem. If there is, you must tell it. This is a war. If it makes a mistake, many people will die." Li Longji said at the end: "Zhang Shougui, follow Chen Wanrong to see the artillery."

After receiving the order, Zhang Shougui followed Chen Wanrong to leave Luanxiang Pavilion and left the Daming Palace. Zhang Shougui couldn't wait: "General Chen, take me to see the cannons, but I'm not anxious. I didn't tell you that our soldiers in the north had only heard of their name and had never seen real cannons. They all imagined that they were one floor high and ten feet long. Is that true?"

"Will that be a monster?" Chen Wanrong teased and shook his head, "The cannon is not that big, not that long, too small. General Zhang, I said it is not vivid enough, you should know it just by meeting it."

The cannon that Zhang Shougui mentioned was only available in modern society. During World War II, the Soviet army had a super-large cannon. This cannon alone required a division's artillery team to defend. Although it was extremely bulky, its power was extremely great. The German strong fortifications destroyed a lot of this cannon.

Of course, this kind of cannon cannot be made by the Tang Dynasty. At least it cannot be made by the Tang Dynasty today!

"Hey! You can't be so encouraging my appetite, right?" Zhang Shougui was still a little unwilling.

"It's true!" Chen Wanrong affirmed and said, "We'll go now." After slapped the horse's back, Blue and White accelerated the speed.

The two rushed to the Longwu Army camp and went straight to the artillery training ground. At this time, the artillery was conducting artillery training. Zhang Shougui saw the artillery from afar and was surprised: "This is the artillery? It's so small? It's much smaller than we imagined! Is this useful?"

A series of questions were thrown out, and Chen Wanrong couldn't answer. He slapped the horse on his back and rushed forward as if he was flying. He rushed to the front, flew off the horse, and took two steps at a time. His eyes shone and he was about to touch the cannon, but he was snatched by a thunderous sound: "Stop! Who are you? Who asked you to come in? This is a big place! Come on, take it down for me!"

It was no one else, it was Ge Fushun who discovered Zhang Shougui and thought he was an outsider who broke in private. We can't blame Ge Fushun, it was Zhang Shougui who was not wearing armor and was wearing plain clothes.

The Longwu Army was very fast. With the order of Ge Fushun, he surrounded seven or eight of them and surrounded Zhang Shougui in the middle.

"General Ge, are you too brave? You actually want to capture General Zhang!" Chen Wanrong rushed to the front, waved his hand, and shouted, "Get back!" The soldiers of the Longwu Army hesitated and couldn't help staring at Ge Fushun.

Ge Fushun naturally believed in Chen Wanrong, waved his hand and the soldier retreated. He stared at Zhang Shougui and asked, "I'm asking about your name Gao, and Ge Fushun is a little clumsy and doesn't know the emperor."

Zhang Shougui has been in the north for a long time. Although he is famous in the army, he rarely goes to Chang'an. He has never met Ge Fushun yet, so he doesn't know him.

Chen Wanrong jumped off the horse and instructed him: "General Zhang, this is General Ge, the general of Longwu Army. He is a good person and specializes in the convoy of our artillery."

"You are still behaved when you get a bargain!" Ge Fushun was very unhappy.

Chen Wanrong continued: "General Ge, this is General Zhang Shougui and General Zhang."

"Oh! It turns out to be General Zhang! Ge Fushun has been famous for a long time and is well-known. He has long been looking forward to seeing you, but he has never been able to do it. There have been many offenses just now, so I would like to forgive General Zhang." When Ge Shunfu heard that he was the famous Zhang Shougui, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. He didn't care about etiquette. He hugged Zhang Shougui in his arms, as if he was meeting an old friend, and he couldn't hold him to beat him on his back.

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"Haha!" Ge Fushun laughed: "If General Zhang is not satisfied, I will treat you!"

Zhang Shougui's name was really loud, and Yang Sixu hurried over to meet him. When the two of them saw the etiquette, Wang Shaohua clasped his fists and said, "General Zhang, do you still recognize me?"

"General Wang! Haha! We're meeting again." Zhang Shougui was overjoyed and hugged Wang Shaohua and said with a smile: "Who brothers in the Northland don't know that General Wang who dares to kill his boss?"

Wang Shaohua smiled and said, "If the general hadn't helped me back then, I would have killed someone!"

"Well, killing! That guy is so annoying. If you don't kill him, I will kill him too!" Zhang Shougui's army was strict and he was very disgusted with the kind of killing the people and making military achievements.

Chen Wanrong slapped Ge Fushun's shoulder and smiled and said, "General Ge, did the sun come out from the west? You never set foot in the artillery training ground, why don't you leave here today? I tell you, it's useless for you to stay here, they are still artillerymen, they won't be the Dragon Martial Army."

Always convening soldiers from the Longwu Army, Ge Fushun was so upset that he was angry that he would never come to any place with artillery, and he would not see it. Since Chen Wanrong came up with the idea of ​​sending the Longwu Army to the battlefield in batches, he had a 180-degree turn towards the artillery, and he would come to take a look whenever he had time.
Chapter completed!