Chapter 110: Saynshanda
But if we want to summarize Qiao Yan's route more accurately, it was not entirely heading directly north.
It is easy to swear to go to war, but it is not so easy to break the alliance of the three Kuitou brothers in one battle.
Both the Southern Xiongnu King Zuoguli and Liu Hong who was far away in Luoyang felt that Qiao Yan's choice to launch a counterattack against the Xianbei in the spring was equivalent to launching an attack on the Han Dynasty without any warning, which was a preemptive move.
But in Qiao Yan's opinion, Budugen, who led tens of thousands of troops each with Fuluohan after Kuitou's death and who had been confronting Kebinen for decades, was by no means a simple character.
There are many vicious people in Mobei. In the current Little Ice Age, when supplies in the north are becoming increasingly scarce, people are forced by the times and environment to become ruthless.
This time the marching troops were stationed at Yanmen - this was also the direction in which the Xianbei had taken the old route of the Xiongnu south of the desert to raid in recent years, but Qiao Yan did not plan to send troops from here.
She had a talk with Zhang Liao before the oath-taking ceremony.
When Qiao Yan started the trend of making three-dimensional maps, Zhang Liao followed suit.
He had lived here for generations, and his ancestors changed their surname from Nie to Zhang because of the failure of the Ma Yi plot. Even though he did not have the advantage of Qiao Yan to observe the three-dimensional map at any time, he could still completely reproduce the terrain of Yunzhong, Dingxiang and Yanmen.
It includes the gate between Sumu Mountain and Yanmen Mountain, the exit to the north from Pingcheng, the two passes of Wuyao and Wugao where Dingxiang and Yinshan Mountain meet, and the Yunzhongqiantao Plain formed by the current Yellow River channel.
North of the Yin Mountains is where the Xianbei people now reside.
It is particularly important to decide which route to take out of Yinshan Mountain.
Going north through Yanmen is too straightforward.
If they wanted to follow the military example of General Huo in the past, they could go through Dai County. The current prefect of Dai County was none other than Wang Ze, the younger brother of Wang Rou of the Jinyang Wang family. He had a good relationship with Qiao Yan, so it was not impossible for them to temporarily cross the border and borrow the passage.
If they go a little west, they will go through Dingxiang and attack from the Yinshan Valley Pass defended by Wuyao and Wugao.
But after careful consideration, Qiao Yan felt that none of them were safe.
After the previous battle with Xiutuguhu, she had sent people out of Guyang Pass again and explore in the northwest direction. On the way, she saw Xianbei scouts, who were much more vigilant than Xiutugu. The two sides retreated quickly when they met. Given the distance between the two sides and the similar speed of their horses, it was impossible to stop the other side from reporting the news to the Xianbei Chanyu.
This is the situation with Guyang Road, but what about the area from Dingxiang to Daijun?
The frequent battles also meant that there were quite a few scouts stranded here.
Although Qiao Yan was sure that he would not get lost in Mobei, he did not want anyone to be on guard too early.
If Guyang Road, Wu Fortress, and the mountain pass north of Yanmen Dai County are not suitable as locations for surprise attacks, is it possible to go straight in through the middle road?
In this regard, Qiao Yan and Zhang Liao reached a consensus and decided to take the Baidaokou!
This was also the road that General Wei had taken during the Battle of Mobei in the sixth year of Yuanshou.
As the fourth important pass in the Yinshan Mountains after Jilushai, Gaoque and Guanglushai, Baidaokou has set up a defense line since King Wuling of Zhao was on guard against Loufan and Linhu. However, since the road is much more difficult to travel than Guyang Road, few Hu people pass through this place. It was not until the fifth year of Yuanshou that the Xiongnu cavalry invaded through this place again, but were dispersed by the subsequent Battle of Mobei.
The next time it was used as a fortress was because the powerful military group of Wuchuan from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties was stationed here.
But what Qiao Yan values most about this place is that it is located on the midline between Guyang and Yanmen, which is exactly the most suitable position for the sharp knife she is leading to be inserted!
It was precisely because of this combat strategy that after sending out troops from Yanmen County, the entire team marched westward along the Yin Mountains, passing the three important towns of Wuyao, Wugao, and Wuquan, and continued straight into Baidaochuan in the northern part of Yunzhong.
If we use a name that is more familiar to modern people, this place can also be called - Chi Le Chuan.
That is the Chi Le River, at the foot of the Yin Mountains, the sky is like a dome, covering the whole area. 1
Looking back to the south from the Yanmen Great Wall, what I saw was a solemn scene of a heavily fortified borderland. Looking west from the current position at the foot of the Yin Mountains, I saw a scene of lush water and grass.
If there had not been so many border raids by the Hu people in recent years, the Han people would not have to fear that the Xianbei would come at any time because of the fertility of this place. What she should see at this moment is cattle and sheep appearing when the wind blows the grass low, instead of the spring when wild grass begins to grow everywhere and there is no sign of people when she looks around.
Only the Yellow River and its crisscrossing tributaries irrigate this fertile land.
Qiao Yan was quite attracted by this place.
Just as the open-pit coal mines in Yanmen and Xihe have not yet been developed, most of Bingzhou’s population is now active south of Taiyuan, so that this rice-producing area outside the Great Wall has not been fully utilized.
Zhang Renyuan, commander-in-chief of the Tang Dynasty's Shuofang Army, reclaimed more than 3,800 hectares of fertile land here, saving the court an incalculable amount of expenses.
Even if the people dare not live here, she wants this place to be her military base.
But the premise of this idea is to first break up the Xianbei's ambitions!
"Lord Qiao?" Seeing Qiao Yan standing at the door with his eyes fixed for a long time, Zhang Liao came over and asked.
Qiao Yan shook his head. "Nothing. I was just thinking that this place has a wide terrain. If conditions permit in the future, we should conduct military exercises here to deter others and build a garrison city. We should also develop animal husbandry, aquaculture and farming in the south. It's too wasteful now."
During the Little Ice Age, even the Huai River was frozen, which meant that at least four months of planting time was cut off here. But once the threat from outside the Great Wall was resolved, this would be a very safe place to store grain.
"Let's go, cross Yinshan Mountain."
The reason why Baidao is named Baidao is because the color of the rocks here is different from that at the Guyang Road Pass.
The Guyang Road is covered with red rocks, but the soil here is as white as lime.
This is not an easy road to walk. It was not until the Yanyou period of the Yuan Dynasty that the White Road was repaired and this "dangerous place was turned into a smooth road." 2
And at this time, the benefits of her three-dimensional map plug-in were shown.
At first, Zhang Liao didn't understand why Qiao Yan, the governor of the state, not only had to supervise the battle here, but also had to walk in the front. However, after walking half of the way through Yinshan Mountain at Baidaokou, he realized that the road they were taking this time was the best solution for their destination.
Qiao Yan had obviously considered this place, even the most dangerous place, Centipede Dam, was no exception.
When the mountain path began to go downhill, the shadow of the Mobei grassland appeared before their eyes.
Because the march to Baidaokou saved a lot of physical strength, the soldiers were still in a relatively energetic state at this time. However, Qiao Yan wanted a raid as soon as they entered the grassland, so he decisively gave orders. Even though it was only the afternoon of the second day after they started their expedition, what they had to do now was to set up camp when they were about to leave Baidaokou.
"In fact, we can march at night once we get out of the mountain pass and attack the enemy camp directly." Lu Bu muttered.
Perhaps because he felt that Qiao Yan was not that difficult to get along with as a superior, he also brought up this issue in front of Qiao Yan.
"It is rare for soldiers in border areas to not be able to see the road clearly at night. How can the Xianbei barbarians not be the same?"
Qiao Yan fiddled with the pile of charcoal in front of him, which was used for warmth but the flames were dim, and asked back after hearing Lu Bu's question. "I must not make any mistakes in the march along the valley entrance. Even if we are to be discovered by the enemy, we must do so while we are already close to them."
It is obviously not easy to explain to Lu Bu why there is such a difference. It is because he eats more animal organs.
She would never be stingy with unusual tactics when necessary, but at this time, going to Baidaochuan was already a situation where an unusual tactic was required, so she still preferred to use the normal tactics to assist the unusual tactic.
Qiao Yan glanced at Lu Bu again.
Maybe it was because this was his first time to participate in such a war, but the future Tiger General had a face full of eagerness to try, and he said, "If you really have too much energy, I'll give you a task."
Lu Bu straightened his back immediately.
Seeing Qiao Yan pointing upward, he handed him one of the ten telescopes equipped for this march.
"You climb up there, and if you see any Xianbei scouts, be sure to shoot them at the entrance of the Baidao River Valley. Can you do it?"
After she reached an agreement with Mi Zhu from the East China Sea, this big businessman from Xuzhou, who was particularly cooperative in winter, had already sent the first batch of white crystal to Bingzhou. This is why Qiao Yan now has enough telescopes available.
Lu Bu replied: "Don't worry, Lord Qiao."
Qiao Yan certainly didn't want him to complete this task alone, and Lu Bu was aware of this.
He quickly picked up a few young men from his team who were also overly energetic, and headed towards the valley entrance together.
Qiao Yan looked at his back and shook his head helplessly.
But in today's situation where most people in the Central Plains are focused on the power struggle, people like Lu Bu who are willing to do things if given a chance to fight and a goal of promotion, and can also help her achieve the goal of first fighting foreign enemies and then pacifying the country, are still lovable no matter how you look at it.
When she looked away, she saw Zhang Yang walking towards her.
"Marquis Qiao has already given us the order to bring more charcoal and drink hot water. However, it is not convenient to carry water for the subsequent raids, otherwise the baggage will be too cumbersome. I will supervise the situation in the camp, so please rest assured, Marquis Qiao."
Qiao Yan nodded at him, indicating that he was confident in his leadership.
Although this trip could be considered to have the experience of a pioneer, Qiao Yan did not dare to forget how Huo Qubing died young. Because of this, she paid special attention to water and food for this expedition.
Just as Zhang Yang said, starting from tomorrow morning, they will send light cavalry ahead to ensure that they can raid the enemy camp before the Xianbei find out about this marching plan.
According to the speed of the light cavalry, which is 300 miles a day, it is impossible for them to carry drinking water drawn from the south of Yinshan Mountain with them, so they can only use water on the grassland.
Fortunately, Hua Tuo's disciple Wu Pu was in Bingzhou. During the winter preparation period, Qiao Yan asked him for help and designed a set of medicine kits for the soldiers to adapt to the border environment, which were kept at their side before the troops went out.
Under the supervision of the leaders of each unit, everyone must drink boiled water, which should be able to reduce some casualties.
She held her cloak and looked up at the starry sky above her head. It was the end of February and the beginning of March, and there was no bright moon in the sky. Only the stars could be seen through the rugged rocks.
This tranquil scene suppressed the irritability that she had unconsciously felt at night.
She also fell asleep quickly after getting into the sleeping bag in the tent.
On the second day, when there was just a hint of light in the sky, she got up energetically, washed, and ate the breakfast she brought with her baggage.
In the atmosphere of an impending raid, the entire camp was filled with people walking around, eating, and feeding horses, and no one was whispering to each other.
By the time Qiao Yan's red sandalwood horse was led to her side and she threw aside her cloak and jumped on the horse, the team behind her was already ready to go.
She raised her hand, signaling to advance.
Zhu Tan seemed to have noticed the special situation at this moment, and she pawed the horse's hooves twice agitatedly. As her command was given, the horse immediately galloped out impatiently.
More than 4,000 cavalrymen serving as the vanguard created a thunderous sound of horse hooves at the entrance of Baidao Valley, and then joined up with Lu Bu and his cavalry who served as scouts, and headed straight into the Mobei grassland.
At this time, Qiao Yan no longer needed to lead the way.
The two cavalry groups led by Zhang Liao and Lu Bu passed by from the left and right sides, leading the way, while she and the group led by Zhang Yang followed behind.
Of course, further back, there were also infantrymen carrying carts with baggage, supplies, and medicine boxes coming one after another.
Galloping across the grassland is completely different from galloping across the Central Plains.
The fierce wind from the northern desert, blocked by the Yin Mountains, slapped on people's faces wantonly, but it could not hinder the lofty ambitions of the march to conquer at this moment.
If she is like this, how can those who want to achieve success in this battle not be like this!
Even if they first face a raid that will last nearly two days!
This seemed like an ordinary evening to the Xianbei who occupied the Mobei steppe.
The failure to plunder the Central Plains this year did make this winter quite difficult for them. Fortunately, they finally got over the impact of the loss of their leader Tan Shihuai, and under the rule of the three leaders Kuitou, Fuluohan and Budugen, they established a stable forward camp at the foot of Mount Saiyin.
This was the outpost transit station they were preparing to use to attack the Han territory, and the cavalry patrolling in front of Yinshan Mountain were also regularly dispatched from here.
In the gradually falling dusk, the cattle and sheep that had been released on the grassland were returning to the camp, and the patrolling cavalry had also gathered around, forming a solid protective team.
This seemed like the safest place.
However, at the moment when the last ray of sunlight sank from the southwest horizon, they heard a terrible sound coming from afar.
This was definitely not just an ordinary herd of late-returning sheep or a patrol team, but rather the sound of thunder that occurred when the army was on the march!
In the still-light daylight, this cavalry force that appeared from nowhere had already charged to the outer barrier.
It was not difficult to see that the leading general was very tall as he came riding a tall horse. The Fang Tian Hua Ji in his hand was raised and lowered at the moment the cavalry rushed in, tearing a bloody path.
Once he succeeded, he did not stop at all and went straight to the center of the camp with the team behind him.
That was the command post of the outpost.
The one who is in that prominent position and has been supervising the battle here recently is Budugen's second brother and Kuitou's younger brother Fuluohan!
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