Chapter 1086: Divided into strategic locations

Chapter 1086: Divided into strategic locations

Guyuan City is located dozens of miles north of Yining City. It is also located in the Qinshui River Valley. Its city location is slightly more open than Yining City in the lower reaches of the south. There are also many reclaimed farmland and farmlands on both sides of the river valley. Pasture fields planted on the hillsides.

From the scenery around Guyuan City, we can see that before the war, many people must have lived and worked here. After the Wei army captured Guyuan City, most of the people in this area were forcibly moved southward, except for some people who fled eastward along the mountain road.

Because most of these people are the family members of the Zhenbing family, Gao Huan placed them here when he built the Bafu in Jinyang in the old years. Now that the Western Wei Dynasty has taken control of this place, it is naturally not suitable to place these family members of the Zhenbing family on such an important river valley channel, so So they moved these people to the vicinity of Fenjiang in Hedong, which was more controlled by the Western Wei Dynasty.

Previously, Li Yantou led other troops to conquer Guyuan City, and many of the Three Guardsmen were involved in the task. Now that Li Tai finally arrived at Guyuan City, when the generals met in front of the city, those Three Guardsmen were They couldn't help but talk about their first formal siege experience.

Although the garrison force in Guyuan City was relatively empty before, because it was inhabited by the families of the soldiers, and most of these family members of the soldiers had experience in the army, their military literacy was also relatively high, and both men and women could fight, so there were still people who defended the city. There were two to three thousand people, so this battle was not easy to carry out.

In this battle, the three guardsmen who accompanied the army performed relatively well, and there were also several brave soldiers such as Wang Gui who got the first victory.

Li Tai also emphatically praised this. To be honest, seeing these young people gradually emerging, he was extremely happy. He looked at the young heroes who had made meritorious services and said with a smile: "The war is not over yet, so let me record your merits first." It will be added to the list when the division triumphs!"

When several young men heard this, they all looked excited, but it seemed that they had already discussed it. They each bowed before Duke Tang and said loudly: "The last general has been raised by the Lord for a long time, and will be used in battle." It's my duty. I don't dare to be greedy for a big reward after receiving the merit, but I only ask for the Lord's appreciation. I know that this young man is brave enough and can be used more seriously!"

Li Tai burst out laughing when he heard this, and then he pointed at Li Yantou and other generals and said with a smile: "Looking at this young man's voice, you should know that the future is formidable, and you should work harder and forge ahead, otherwise you will inevitably end up in trouble. Don't take advantage of it!"

After hearing this, all the generals nodded and smiled in agreement, and immediately gathered around Li Tai and entered the city together.

As a middle-of-the-road base for the army to move into, Guyuan City is more competent than Yining City. The terrain here is relatively open, and it is also close to Qinshui, a stable water source, and there are relatively large-scale farmers in the area. The animal husbandry foundation has a certain hematopoietic ability.

From Guyuan City to the east, there are several mountain roads that can lead to Wusu and other places. Since the Jinyang army of the Northern Qi Dynasty passed through here before heading to Hebei, the roads were also repaired and in good condition and easy to pass. This saved a lot of the Western Wei army from splitting the mountains again. Roads were dug for the advance and retreat of divisions and brigades.

After entering the city and sitting down, Li Tai began to listen to reports from Li Yantou and others about the traffic conditions between Guyuan City and Wusu City.

There are quite a few roads from Guyuan City to Wusu. They were mainly formed after the tributaries of the Qinshui and Zhangshui rivers dried up and stopped flowing. Then, based on these naturally formed valleys, it can be passed with a little repair. . Because it is not a large-scale artificial road, the roads are often winding.

There are currently two roads in and out of Qinyuan that are in good condition, one is in Jiashi Ridge in the north. "Zuo Zhuan" records that the Jin people destroyed the Red Dijia clan, which was the Di tribe living here. Jiashi Ridge is more tortuous, but the road condition is better. Before Han Guo's march and Li Yantou and other divisions and brigades, they often followed this road.

The other road is the Tongtan River line slightly to the south. Although the distance is shorter, it is relatively steep. You need to climb over thousands of meters of mountains before you can descend through the Tongtan River and enter the southern area of ​​Wusu City. It is difficult for large groups of people to follow this road.

When the Western Wei Dynasty's army entered Wusu, it also needed to take into account all aspects of the problem, such as road conditions, water supply, and fortress defense, etc., which were all the most basic elements to ensure that the army could advance smoothly and carry out operations.

Before Li Tai's arrival, most of these tasks had been completed by the frontline divisions and brigades. The fog of war was gradually lit up, and some locations that needed focus were marked.

But if we say that we have completely grasped the geographical key points of this area, that is not necessarily the case, because this area is located between the junction of the two major mountain ranges, Taiyue Mountain and Taihang Mountain, and the changes in geographical terrain are too complicated, even with satellite maps as a reference. , I’m afraid it would be difficult to mark all the dangerous locations for cold weapon operations.

When Li Tai came to Guyuan City, further enemy movements were also reported from Wusu City. In the mountains and fields to the north of Wusu City, traces of the activities of the Qi people team appeared in different locations. Apparently, they were also preparing for the pick-up. Prepare for the coming battle.

The Wei army took the lead in occupying the important stronghold of Wusu City on the opposite side, which was a very important advantage. Of course, if he didn't have this advantage, Li Tai might not choose to leave Qinyuan and run into the hundreds of thousands of Northern Qi's army sharpening their swords.

What the Wei army needs to do now is to first ensure the safety of the Qinshui River Valley and Yining, Guyuan City and other strongholds along the river valley. This is the main route for the army to advance and retreat with supplies. Once it is cut off, the entire army will be destroyed. Become a lone army.

At present, most of the Qinshui River Valley, from Qinyuan to Jianzhou in the south, has been controlled by the Western Wei Dynasty.

After Li Tai entered Guyuan City in the north, he arranged for Xue Shan to lead 5,000 troops to guard Yining City, and Yun Bao to lead 2,000 troops to guard the Fajiu Valley connecting the southeast side of Yining City and Tunliu in Shangdang area, to ensure that the middle section of Qinshui River would not be attacked by the enemy troops from Shangdang area.

Going further north from Guyuan City is Mianshan, which is also part of the Taiyue Mountains, where Jie Zitui is said to have lived in seclusion.

Although this area is also relatively rugged and difficult to travel, because there is a ready-made river valley in the upper reaches of Qinshui River as a road for advance and retreat, it is also necessary to guard against the enemy army or adopt the previous tactics of the Wei army and attack Guyuan City by detour.

Therefore, Li Tai ordered to build a garrison city in Mianshan, and sent 300 troops to garrison there. After discovering the enemy situation, they defended and blocked it while quickly reporting to Guyuan City.

After Gao Le advanced eastward and defeated the enemy troops who returned to Wusu City, the situation in Wusu City was further consolidated. Therefore, the next step is to strengthen the transportation of materials from Guyuan City to Wusu City, and use Wusu City as a supply center for the army.

Guo Yan's troops who withdrew from Wusu City before are now distributed along the Jiashiling line to guard the safety of this road. As the Qi army approached Wusu City, they also had many collisions with each other.

In addition to reaching Wusu City from the east of Jiashiling, there is also a road diagonally heading northeast, connecting the Nieshui River Valley north of Wusu City, and Nieshui can directly lead to Wuxiang City where the Jinyang Army of the Northern Qi Dynasty is now located.

Therefore, if the Northern Qi army in Wuxiang City wants to go south to besiege Wusu City, Jiashiling is also a relatively important passage. And on this passage there is a fortress called Duanliang City. Duanliang City is surrounded by deep ravines and three sides of cliffs. The city is two miles wide. It is the most dangerous place in the Jiashiling Pass. If a large group of troops want to go east and west through this, they must take Duanliang City.

Before Han Guo captured Wusu City, he had noticed the steepness of Duanliang City when he inspected the surrounding terrain. So after conquering Wusu City, he immediately sent troops to occupy the city and block the passage from Wuxiang South.

The Qi army explored water sources and opened passages nearby, and naturally soon noticed Duanliang City, a relatively dangerous stronghold in Jiashiling. After reporting to Wuxiang City, Qi Lord Gao Yang immediately sent divisions to attack.

The terrain of Duanliang City is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but it also has its own shortcomings, because it is located on a raised high plateau, and there is no stable water source on the plateau. Even if you dig dozens of feet deep, there will be no springs. To get drinking water, you either rely on rain from the sky or use tools to draw water from the streams outside the city.

However, there was a severe drought this summer, and there has been no rain for a long time. The streams outside the city have also become dry, making it particularly difficult to replenish water in Duanliang City, and it must be transported from outside to the city. It is precisely because of this that, despite the fact that Duanliang City is located in a very prominent position, Han Guo only arranged 500 guards considering the difficulty of water supply.

Thousands of soldiers from the Northern Qi Dynasty came to Duanliang City with great momentum and attacked it repeatedly. However, due to the steep terrain of the city and the stubborn resistance of the defenders in the city, the Qi army suffered heavy casualties but still failed to capture the city. Some soldiers also proposed to use fire attack, but Duanliang City is located on a bare mountain. Even if rockets are fired, it is difficult for the fire to spread in the city.

Although the defenders of Duanliang City resisted the enemy's offensive, the situation was not optimistic. As the enemy continued to besiege the city, the drinking water stored in the city was also rapidly consumed, and it was about to run out. Therefore, they could only light beacons to warn the divisions and brigades west of Jiashiling and ask for help, hoping that they would supply water here.

After receiving this message, Guo Yan immediately summoned 2,000 soldiers, led by himself, and escorted water carts to reinforce Duanliang City.

Duanliang City was originally the fortress of the Qi army, and the disadvantage of the city's lack of water was naturally not hidden from the Qi army. Therefore, after several unsuccessful attacks, they adjusted their combat methods and no longer attacked the castle, but cruised nearby to prepare to attack the reinforcements.

Soon, the reinforcements led by Guo Yan entered the vision of the Qi army scouts, and quickly reported to the general Xue Guyan who was supervising the battle.

Xue Guyan was overjoyed when he learned that the Wei army had indeed reinforced him. After a little hesitation, he ordered the troops under the city to retreat temporarily, and when Guo Yan led his troops to arrive at the foot of Duanliang City, he led his troops back to fight back, and wanted to swallow up this reinforcement army and the strong city on the plateau!