Chapter 477 North and South Xiao Road

Chapter 477 North and South Xiao Road

This section of road between Tongguan and Luoyang was called the Xiaohan Ancient Road in later generations. Han naturally refers to Hangu Pass, and Wei refers to Xiaoshan Mountain, which belongs to the branch of the eastern section of Qinling Mountains and is also the western barrier of the entire Heluo Plain.

The route from Tongguan to Hengnong has not changed much, it is just along the river. However, going further east from Hengnong and entering the range of the Yaoshan Mountains, due to the changes in the terrain of the mountains and rivers, it is divided into two roads, the north and the south, which are the north and south Yaodao.

Among them, the South Xiaodao Road has existed for a longer time. It follows the terrain of mountains and rivers and follows the river valley. After crossing the Xiaoling Mountains, it winds all the way down and finally reaches the Luoshui River Valley between the east of Xiaoshan Mountain and Xiong'er Mountain. It goes up along the Luoshui River. Traveling through the northeast, we finally arrived in Luoyang.

The Beijiao Road passes through the mountains at the northern foot of Xiaoshan Mountain. There is no valley passage to follow in the western section. Instead, a road is carved directly up the mountain and cut with axes. The most rugged section of this road is later named Kip. Shiguan, but there is another literary term that is more impressive, that is, Du Fu's "Shihao Official". The passage dug out between the rocks is also called the Shihao Ancient Road.

After passing the Shihao Ancient Road, you can go eastward along the valley passage and arrive at Mianchi. After passing Mianchi, you can continue eastward along the Gushui River and arrive at Luoyang after leaving Hanhangu Pass.

Comparing the two roads, the northern road is shorter but the road condition is much worse. Especially in the Shihao section, the road is narrow and steep, and the trafficability is much worse than the southern section.

The southern route mostly follows valleys and rivers, and the road conditions are better than those in the northern section. However, this is only sometimes the case. If rains increase in summer, mountain springs surge, and river valleys overflow, it will be difficult for people and horses to travel. Moreover, the South Road relies too much on natural terrain such as rivers and valleys, so the road is winding and long.

If it is private logistics of people and goods, Nandao is a good choice for safety. But from a military perspective, the shorter and straighter North Road is undoubtedly the better route. After all, if the troops and horses are delayed on the road for a little longer, the risk will double, and the consumption will also double.

After the Battle of Mangshan, the area east of Mount Wei was basically occupied by the Eastern Wei Dynasty. The so-called rebels in the east of Mount Wei had dissident aspirations, and the previous strongholds around Heluo were almost wiped out. Now if I want to set foot in Heluo again, of course I need to reopen the passage.

In the past few years when Li Yuan was in charge of Hengnong, he had slightly restored his stronghold in the east of Guangdong. A series of fortifications, such as the Tongrail Defense where Wei Fabao was in charge, were located in the upper reaches of Luoshui at the exit of the South Guodong Road. Other generals are also active in the Guannan area of ​​Guandong.

Before Li Tai's arrival, Li Yuan's plan was to go east along the Nangui Road, gather the rebel forces from the south of Guandongguan, capture Yiyang, which is also located in the Luoshui River Basin, and occupy Jiuqu City on the west bank of the Luoshui River. , in this way, the Nanxiao Road is completely opened.

Li Tai now has two choices. One is to set off with the army from western Henan and go east to Yiyang via Nanxiao Road. The other is to take the North Xiao Road, cross the Xiao Mountain, follow the Gushui, pass Hanguan, and enter the Heluo area.

After some introductions by Li Yuan and others, and considering his own military situation, Li Tai decided not to interfere with the South Road and directly marched on the North Road.

It's not that he wants to be new or different, it's just that the South Road is winding and long, and it's midsummer, so there is often precipitation, making the South Road more difficult to pass.

Most of his troops were cavalry, and they carried many chariots and horses. Once they were stranded in transit for a long time due to weather and geography, not to mention whether it would delay the fighter plane, the consumption of horse chews for one person would be very serious. The material conditions of the rebels in western Henan are so poor that it is unrealistic to expect them to provide supplies. It is more realistic to arrive in the Heluo area as soon as possible to support the war.

Li Yuan was not surprised that Li Tai made this choice. Judging from his actions of daring to invade Jinyang, it can be seen that his style of using troops is more radical, and his 5,000 elite troops are also a considerable force. With the military strength of the Eastern Wei Dynasty shrinking due to the Hou Jing Rebellion, it is not a difficult task to open the Beikiao Road.

After mutual division of labor, Li Yuan assigned Han Xiong's troops to Li Tai as a guide to cooperate in the battle. Han Xiong was originally a native of Henan, and now he is serving as the Henan Yin. He is regarded as the nominal military and political officer of the Heluo area. He has been active in the Heluo area since the founding of the Rebellion. He is also very familiar with the surrounding situation and is also brave and good at fighting.

Li Tai had no objections to this arrangement. He was also looking forward to cooperating with him this time. He could exchange feelings with each other during his free time and ask about his children's grades. If they were not easy to discipline, he might as well send them to his own Shangyuan Village.

After the matter was agreed upon, the generals dispersed to rest. Shortly after midnight, Li Tai got up early, inspected the camp, and ordered his troops to prepare meals and set off early today.

He had just made arrangements here, and Han Xiong also led his troops to obey his orders. There were more than 500 strong soldiers, their uniforms and robes were not neat, and some even wore Eastern Wei military uniforms. They were probably captured directly on the battlefield, and these The soldiers' heads, faces, hands, necks, and other parts visible to the naked eye are more or less covered with scars, which shows the hard work of the defense operations in this area.

Although these sergeants are not beautiful enough in terms of their clothes and appearance, there is a fierceness and stubbornness in each of them that many people do not have. People dare not get close to them rashly and just want to keep a respectful distance. This is probably the so-called Be murderous.

Since it was a coincidence, Li Tai waved to Han Xiong and other soldiers to enter the camp to eat first. When they saw the neatly stacked grain cakes on the camp's grain cart, the sergeants couldn't help but whisper, and Han Xiong couldn't help but widen his eyes and asked in shock: "How can the food supply in the Xihe public camp be so generous?"

Li Tai then smiled and told the story of the origin of the grain cake, and said that his family had a complete industrial chain, and as long as the raw materials were sufficient, it could continuously produce it. It was not a trophy snatched from Jinyang in the Eastern Wei Dynasty.

Han Xiong suddenly realized this when he heard this, but soon he looked at Li Tai with sparkling eyes, and couldn't help but sigh: "Such refined food is really suitable for rationing to the soldiers in western Henan. The mountain roads here are rugged, and it is difficult to carry supplies and cargo. Every time the soldiers come in and out, they often have to eat and drink. The targets they plan to attack are hundreds of miles away. If they have such abundant supplies, they can travel day and night, run around and attack without restrictions, and we must root out the thieves. Military defense is much easier!"

Not only in the mountainous areas of western Henan, but also in any combat environment that relies on logistical supplies, this refined grain cake can greatly improve the dietary supplies of soldiers and increase their combat capabilities and combat methods.

After the soldiers had finished eating and packed their bags, there was still some time before dawn. With the faint moonlight hanging in the west sky, the group of people set out on the road. Taking advantage of the cool night, they arrived at the western foot of Mount Wei in one breath. The road gradually became rugged, and the sky gradually turned brighter, but because the peaks of Mount Laoshan were blocking the way, we couldn't see the sun rising.

"The mountain road ahead is narrow and cannot accommodate carriages and horses running side by side. It will take a long time for the whole army to climb over. If they cannot avoid the scorching midday sun, there will be no water to drink and no shade to cover, and the strength of the people and horses will be seriously depleted. If they are stranded on the peak, it will be even more dangerous... …”

Listening to Han Xiong's words, Li Tai simply asked him to arrange the order and rhythm of the troops climbing over the mountains here. He first led a group of light infantry to climb over to the other side of the mountains to patrol and guard.

Despite the dispatch and command of Han Xiong, who was familiar with the terrain, due to the heavy weight of the carriages and horses, and the need to avoid the too hot midday, it was not until dawn the next day that all the horse and horse teams completely passed this section of the stone trench road. At this time, the people on the road had already traveled along the mountain road for more than 20 miles.

At this time, what lies in front of the people on the road is a spindle-shaped valley between two mountains. The valley is more than a mile wide at its widest point and several miles long. The mountain walls on both sides are steep and densely covered with vegetation. The light at dawn was already weak, making the valley look like a huge black mouth ready to devour anyone at any time.

Based on the principle of caution, Li Tai did not lead people into the valley immediately. Instead, he stopped at the entrance of the valley on the west side and rested for about half an hour. Han Xiong also led a group of soldiers to catch up from the rear.

"Going out of the valley and passing the pass in front, you can reach the Gushui River Valley in Mianchi. There is Yanhan City, a military town set up by the Eastern Bandits. The city is an important road in the valley, and it is the only way to go out from the west. At the end of the previous period, General I sent people to investigate the situation and found that there were still more than three thousand people in the city."

Han Xiong knew the enemy situation well, and after introducing it to Li Tai, he put forward his own combat ideas: "The terrain of Yan Han City is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but the general will know that there is another way to go around here and go to the east of the city. If he sends a team If the elite troops block the east road, we can attack from both sides. But if we cannot capture the city in a short time, I will be in danger of losing my forearm when reinforcements from the Guancheng garrison reach the lower reaches of the valley."

All parties in Li Tai's army this year have a lot of experience with such valley terrain. He knows that such strongholds are the most troublesome. If they cannot be conquered in a short time, it will be difficult to take them down even if they are surrounded for several layers. , often becomes a war of attrition.

The combat method proposed by Han Xiong can greatly shake the morale of the defenders. However, if the battle cannot be fought quickly, the troops deep behind the enemy city will inevitably be attacked from two sides and be in a dangerous situation.

After pondering for a while, he summoned He Ruodun, briefly described the situation to him, and then asked, "Do you dare to go east to stop the enemy?"

"Master Lang, don't worry. As long as these soldiers from the west of Henan are not afraid and lead them to the wrong road, I will go straight to the east road and kill the thieves in the city!"

He Ruoden laughed and said after hearing this, completely ignoring Han Xiong's raised eyebrows and glaring eyes.

Li Tai couldn't help but secretly feel funny when he saw this scene, and immediately asked He Ruoden to select 300 brave soldiers to join Han Xiong's elite soldiers to form a team of 500 people, and gave He Ruoden 30 pairs of long swords. Heavy armor. It's not that I'm reluctant to give more, but carrying too many heavy weapons will inevitably affect mobility.