Chinese New Year

Chapter 537: Deployment
Amid the drizzle, thousands of people came to the foot of Gushan Mountain.

Hou Feihu climbed to the top of the mountain as soon as possible and looked down at the earth.

You know what, this mountain is quite big.

From south to north, it is about several dozen miles long, and maybe ten miles wide from east to west.

When walking among the grass and trees, pheasants flew up into the sky. Occasionally, I saw a few deer and rabbits, which ran away when they saw people.

There are seasonal streams in the mountains. At this time of autumn rain, the gurgling sound is pleasing to the eye.

Occasionally, you can see a few small ponds that appear to be stagnant water.

Hou Feihu squatted down and took a closer look. The water was a little turbid after the rain and there were a lot of mosquitoes. It seemed drinkable, but also seemed not drinkable.

But it doesn't matter, these small ponds can be used as a backup water source. When there is really no water, we can get water from here and boil it to drink.

He looked carefully at the vegetation on the mountain again.

Wood is an essential material for setting up camp.

Dead branches and rotten wood are essential for cooking.

Fodder can be used to feed draft animals and even war horses. If a country is besieged for a long time and food is scarce, fodder will be very valuable so that the war horses will not go hungry.

After seeing all this, the sun was setting, so the group camped on the mountain and continued their survey the next day.

This time he saw several relatively flat mountain basins of varying sizes.

He asked someone to take careful note of it, compared it with the location of the water source, and finally circled a few times on the paper to determine the location of the camp.

He carefully distinguished where the cavalry and infantry were stationed, and even walked carefully around the two camps to see if there were any obstructions to his vision and whether he could see the flags clearly.

After going through all the questions, he finally felt relieved.

That's what war is like.

There is a heroic side of charging forward with bare body and shouting in fierce battle, but there is also a tedious side of patiently and carefully weighing the pros and cons.

Hou Feihu's fighting skills were half learned in school and half he gradually realized after leading troops.

The process of understanding made him feel "extremely happy".

Yes, when he was studying with Master Shao, he only had a partial understanding of some military knowledge, and it could be said that he had memorized it by rote. But the more battles he fought, the more he could understand what he had memorized by rote.

The moment when you understand everything and suddenly realize it is really more enjoyable than playing with a woman.

He fell in love with this feeling.

The knowledge he memorized by rote back then now seems to be a treasure trove. When he has completely digested it, perhaps he will be able to have a place among the generals of the world, right?
He knew that he actually had no special features.

He was not as upright and steady as Wang Que'er, nor as brave and courageous as Jin San. He was privately called a "peasant" type of general.

Whenever he arrived at a place, he would carefully investigate the terrain, water sources, and vegetation, even wanting to dig three feet into the ground to study it in detail. Sometimes he was even too thorough, which made people feel uncomfortable.

But he was not a conservative general. Once he had determined certain things, he would repeatedly work on the purpose of the campaign, even if it meant taking risks.

After spending a few days, he had already gained some understanding of Gushan and Fushui.

He already had a plan for where the more than 4,000 infantrymen of the Heilongjiang Army would be stationed, where the more than 400 cavalrymen from Henan nobles who followed them would be stationed, how to communicate, which route to attack from, how to respond and how to retreat after the battle.

After everything was done, the sound of logging could be heard on Gushan Mountain.

Military supplies and fodder were brought in by cartloads and stored in the camp.

On the last day, he simply kept the drivers, laborers and baggage carts of the various forts and sent them to cut branches and make simple deer antlers.

On top of Gushan Mountain, the battle was in full swing and the atmosphere of war was overwhelming.

******
Outside Shexian City, the foundation of a camp has been laid.

In the afternoon, Liang Su left the county town and began to patrol the camp.

According to the plan, two thousand hereditary soldiers from Wancheng would be stationed in the camp outside the city, plus one thousand recruited soldiers who surrendered from Shi Le - soldiers who were allocated land and houses by Shi Le in Yecheng, Anyang and other places.

Within the county town, there were 3,000 hereditary soldiers from Wancheng and 1,000 surrendered soldiers from Shi Le.

There were a total of 7,000 people inside and outside the city, basically all infantry, who supported each other and guarded the key location of She County.

After inspecting the camp, Liang Su rode his horse westward.

As we walked along, we saw the steep mountain roads and lush trees, and we took a deep breath.

Not bad, not bad!

They had originally received orders to station in Wu'an County, but the day before yesterday they suddenly received an order from Chen Gong's army: to move westward and seize She County.

She County is a county under Guangping and theoretically belongs to Hebei.

But in a place like this where the two forces are intertwined, what does it matter what belongs to what?
Liu Kun occupied this place, Tuoba Xianbei came here, Shi Le stationed troops here, and the Huns passed by frequently. Who do you think it belongs to?

After sending people to inquire, they learned that since Shi Le withdrew his troops, this place had been a no-man's land. So they marched over a hundred miles in two days, even leaving behind the baggage caravan, and finally captured the almost deserted county town this morning.

The name of She County originated from the Western Han Dynasty, because people traveled on foot across the Qingzhang River, hence the name.

This is indeed a major traffic artery and a crossroads...

There was the sound of horse hooves coming from the southwest.

After seeing Liang Su from afar, the knight dismounted and reported: "General, Huguan has been occupied by bandits. We approached at night, but saw that the city was heavily guarded and flags were lined up. We climbed up to a high place and looked far away, and saw that there were endless carriages and horses on the post road to the west, and there were a lot of infantry and cavalry. The Xiongnu seemed to be gathering a large army."

"Did you see it clearly?" Liang Su asked. "I saw it clearly." The knight raised his head and answered with a tone full of certainty.

"No wonder, no wonder!" Liang Su muttered to himself.

The war between the Xiongnu and Liu Kun and Tuoba ended at the end of July. Now it was early September and they had not yet launched an attack, which Liang Su found a bit strange.

Now it seems that a large number of infantry have been mobilized from the west, no wonder it is so slow.

Huguan is located 35 miles southwest of Shexian County. It has been a strategic pass since ancient times and is also called Hukou Pass.

In the fourth year of Duke Ai, Qi attacked Jin and captured eight cities, among which was a place called Yukou, which is now Hukou.

Huguan is located at the mouth of a valley in the Taihang Mountains, hence the name Hukouguan (now northeast of Licheng County).

Thirty-five miles northeast of Hukou Pass is She County (now She County) of Guangping County.

Fifty or sixty miles southwest of Hukou Pass is Lu County, the capital of Shangdang County (now northeast of Lucheng District), located on the west bank of the Zhuozhang River.

After passing Lu County, go southwest along the post road and after crossing a mountain, you will enter today's Changzhi Basin, which is one of the core areas of Shangdang.

The mountain road is more than 100 miles long, and in the middle there is a small basin where Lu County is located. It is very close to the core area of ​​Shangdang County, but the most difficult part is this mountain road...

Damn it, just beat him up, what’s there to be afraid of!
Liang Su gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go!"

A group of dozens of riders headed straight back to Shexian County and began to prepare for war.

The Huns even brought their infantry over, and it was obvious that they were planning a big fight.

Shexian County is relatively flat, with no terrain advantage, no strategic pass, and all it relies on is a mud city. But as long as this mud city stands on the bank of the Qingzhang River, it can threaten your food supply.

The Art of War states that when you encounter a city on the road, you must either capture it or surround it.

As long as Mr. Chen does not give up on them and as long as there are reinforcements outside, he has the confidence to hold on.

After returning to the city, Liang Su sent out messengers one after another to report military intelligence and urge the delivery of food and fodder.

******
The news quickly reached Yecheng, and Shao Xun immediately convened a meeting of his staff, with Wang Yan, Yu Bing and Le Zhao attending as observers.

"She County is isolated and vulnerable." Xi Jian, a Zhonglang, said immediately, "Liang Su is a surrendered person who fled from Guanxi. Liang Fen took care of him and made him a general in Wancheng. How could he command 7,000 troops? Moreover, there are Shi Le's surrendered soldiers among them. You are wrong."

Yu Chen frowned slightly.

It was he who suggested using Liang Su, so what's the problem?
The Guanxi soldiers had no relationship with the Huns and even had hatred for them, so they still had the will to fight. He felt that nothing would go wrong.

Shao Xun stood by the wall and drew a line with his finger starting from She County, dividing the country into two routes.

Although She County has no geographical advantage and no pass, it is the intersection of various post roads, or the main road entrance.

One hundred and sixty miles southeast of this county, there is Fukou Spring, which is to the right of Fukou (the foot of Fukou).

There are rivers along the way (Qingzhang River Valley) with abundant water and grass. After coming out, you can reach between Anyang and Yecheng.

However, this road is not a proper post road because it is difficult for a large army to pass through the canyon split by the Qingzhang River. However, there are no restrictions on pedestrians and merchants.

Traveling more than a hundred miles northeast of Shexian County, you can reach Wuan, and then east of Wuan to Handan.

During the Warring States Period, the Qin army "camped in Wuanxi" and "all the tiles on the roofs of Wuan were shaken" in order to force Handan.

This is the main road of Fukouxing.

"My lord, She County is indeed important. However, if the enemy army goes out of Fukou, they will inevitably be attacked from both sides by the defenders of Gushan and Wu'an. So the front is light and the back is heavy. The weak soldiers are in the front to wear down the enemy's morale, while the elite soldiers are in the back to support their flanks. My lord, you can lead the elite troops to meet them in the main road, then we will surely defeat them." Yu Chen walked to the map, pointed to the mountains, roads and cities on it, and said.

Shao Xun remained silent.

"My lord, among the eight passes of Taihang Mountain, will the Huns definitely take the Fukou Pass? Could it be a trap?" Yang Chen asked.

"If we go through Jingxing, won't it be too close to Tuoba Xianbei?"

"It is still possible to take the risk. Liu Kun is unable to attack, and Tuoba has already returned to Shengle. It will not be that fast to gather troops in a hurry."

"What about Baixing? It's Ji County right out of here. If we turn north, it will be a hassle."

"Instead of worrying about Baixing, we should think about whether the Xiongnu will sneak down from the Zhuozhang River Valley to launch a surprise attack."

"This road is not easy to travel. At most, we can send a few cavalry to advance and retreat quickly. There is nothing to worry about."

"You think there is nothing to worry about, but the commander of the fort is ignorant and stupid. When he sees the Xiongnu soldiers, he doesn't know how many there are, so he gets flustered and thinks that you have been defeated."

"There is a canyon in the south, right? In the past, Cao Mengde went through this road when he was recruiting high officials. There is a poem called "Ku Han Xing" that says..."

"Don't read it. That road is even harder to walk on. No one has walked on it for many years."

The “big guys” didn’t speak, but the middle and low-level staff were whispering and the discussion was very heated.

"My lord, the situation is so clear, we should block it if necessary. As for She County, perhaps you can send a group of government soldiers. Although I am not talented, I am willing to go to She County." Xi Jian volunteered.

Shao Xun turned to look at Zhang Bin and asked, "Mengsun, why don't you say anything?"

Zhang Bin cupped his hands and said, "You, my lord, already know the chance to win. Why should I say more?"

"Oh?" Shao Xun smiled and asked, "What's the opportunity?"

"Far away in the sky, yet close at hand." Zhang Bin behaves like a "riddler".

Shao Xun smiled but said nothing.

Now it’s time to do what I’m good at, but the cost is a bit high.

(I'll post it as soon as I finish writing it. I went out early in the morning, so the 8 o'clock chapter is no longer available. I'll wait until the afternoon. Please vote. Also: I've updated a map in the book review section.)
(End of this chapter)