Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 606 Melting Glacier
After the new year, the lingering celebration of the Lantern Festival has not yet disappeared, and the beginning of February quietly arrives, and spring clubs around the world begin to be busy with drums and gongs.

But the border between Song and Liao was deserted, and the countryside was dead silent. Within two hundred miles south of the border, there were no people in the countryside, including many small towns and small counties.

This was not destroyed by the enemy, but the Song army carried out fortified walls and cleared the fields, pulled down all the houses, and took away all the girders inside. Not only the girders, but also all the trees in the field were cut down. A bare piece.

Regardless of whether the girders or the trees are materials for making siege weapons, the Song army will not leave them to the Liao army.

Of course, there are still a lot of trees in the mountains near Zhending Mansion. The trees on the mountains are endless, but the difficulty of picking wood from the mountains will increase greatly, and the transportation will be far away. It is better to build siege weapons directly in Yanshan Mansion and transport them. Come.

Not only trees, but also bridges in northern Hebei were demolished, and temporary pontoon bridges were built from small boats. Once Khitan cavalry came, these pontoon bridges would disappear at any time.

This morning, in front of Baigou in the north of Baozhou, Fan Ning, escorted by hundreds of cavalry, came to the border to check the melting of ice and snow. There are also pieces of floating ice left on the small river in the mansion, so what will happen to Baigou when the spring flood comes?

Baigou is called Juma River in the Liao Kingdom. It starts from Baozhou in the west and flows into the Yellow River and the sea in the east. It is about [-] miles long and is the natural dividing line between Song and Liao.

Baigou is also the only river in Hebei that does not freeze in winter, and the water flows continuously all year round.

Fan Ning stood in front of Baigou and looked carefully. The river was wide, at least two miles long. Its tributaries rose in spring floods and poured into Baigou, making the water in Baigou extremely turbulent.

"Fan Xianggong, I'm afraid the Liao army will not be able to cross the river with this water force!"

The general who accompanied Fan Ning to inspect Baigou was none other than Yang Wenguang. He had rich experience, and he knew that the cavalry would be insurmountable by looking at the water.

Fan Ning frowned and asked, "How did the Liao army cross the Baigou last year?"

A general next to him said: "The Liao army has a kind of bridge across the river, which can be temporarily assembled and erected on the river. Normally, there is no problem in crossing the river when the water flow is calm, but now the water situation, the temporary bridge is not good. According to the experience of previous years, about mid-February Left and right, the water calmed down."

Fan Ning nodded, "Let's go to Dingzhou again!"

Fan Ning turned his horse's head and led the crowd to the west, and then walked west for dozens of miles to the junction of Baozhou and Dingzhou, where Baigou turned north and the plain disappeared. The mountains are undulating. This is the Changshan Mountains of the Taihang Mountains. The more you go west, the steeper the mountains. The Song Army built countless dangerous passes at dangerous places, making it difficult for the Liao Army to cross.

At the junction of Baozhou and Dingzhou, there is a small town called Longwei Town. The town has been burned down, but this is not the Song army's fortification and clearing of the wilderness, but the Liao army passing through the border.

Commander Wang Yu bowed and said, "I would like to report to Mr. Fan that the Liao soldiers entered Dingzhou from here in March last year, and later besieged Tang County. Here Baigou turned to the north, and the Liao soldiers crossed the Baigou in their own territory." This area is flat and it is difficult to stop the cavalry. Seven out of ten times the Liao soldiers entered Hebei through this opening."

Fan Ning saw that the opening was four or five miles wide, and the terrain was flat. It was really difficult to stop the cavalry, but he didn't quite understand, "Why don't you build a city wall here?"

"This used to be a very large market. There was a clear regulation in the Tanyuan Alliance of the Song and Liao Dynasties. As the location of the mutual market between the two sides, neither side was allowed to build a city wall. Longwei Town was very prosperous when thousands of merchants gathered there."

Fan Ning sneered, "After prosperity, the land will be a piece of chicken feathers. If the city wall is not repaired, the Liao army can easily invade Hebei through this gap. They don't care if it is a market or not."

Commander Zhang Li clasped his fists and said, "I would like to report to Fan Xianggong that after the Liao army retreated last year, Han Xianggong also considered building a city wall here, but the generals all suggested not to build a city wall, and Han Xianggong accepted everyone's opinions."

"What's the point of this?"

Fan Ning felt a little strange. The five or six-mile-long opening was not blocked, but it was opened here. What is the reason for this?

Zhang Li continued: "This is actually an opening for the Liao cavalry to enter from here. To the southeast is Baosai County, to the east is Suicheng County, to the southwest is Tang County, and to the west is the Changshan Mountains. To the south is Ding County, and the four counties are big cities that are easy to defend and difficult to attack, so it will reduce the pressure on Xiongzhou and Bazhou."

Fan Ning nodded. This plan actually moves the defense line inward to form an inner defense line instead of an outer defense line. This is not impossible, and the effect will not be too great. The Liao army is not a fool. , One east and one west attacked at the same time, and this restrained the Song army's strength too much, and the four cities had to invest heavily.

Although Fan Ning is not very in favor of this plan, the plan can also be modified, such as closing the door and beating dogs, letting the enemy troops go south, and then cutting off the return passage. He nodded and said: "Let's see first and then talk!"

Fan Ning carefully inspected this channel again, and saw that the terrain here is low-lying, with the mountains of Yizhou to the north, and low and gentle hills to the south. The channel is surrounded by a basin with a radius of more than ten miles. He has a plan in mind and will not go west. Continue to patrol, turn the horse's head and run towards Hejian Mansion.
The camp in Hejian Mansion is full of steam. The barracks covers an area of ​​nearly 20 mu, and 20 troops are stationed there. The [-] troops have spent the whole winter in intensive training. It is undoubtedly a good idea for Di Qing to be the deputy envoy. A smart move by Fanning, he makes up for what Fanning lacks in military very well.

In addition, more than 100 million shi of grain and countless armored supplies have been hoarded in the major counties at the same time. The soldiers are strong and the grain and supplies are sufficient.

What Di Qing is best at is training the army. He can quickly transform a weak brigade, and with the assistance of Yang Wenguang, the training of the 20 troops is organized in an orderly manner, forming a positive competitive atmosphere in the entire military camp. .

Fan Ning used the 3 taels of gold and [-] pieces of silk that the emperor rewarded him as a training incentive fund, which inspired the enthusiasm of the generals at the bottom to actively train soldiers.

When Fan Ning returned to the commander's tent, Liu Kui came in and said, "I have an important military report!"

"You said, what is the important military situation?" Fan Ning sat up and asked.

"Two pieces of news, one is that Liao Emperor Yelu Hongji sent Beiyuan King Yeluchao to lead an army of [-] to suppress the Wanyan tribe of the Jurchen tribe. The Jurchens rioted one after another and raised troops against the Khitan army. They also followed the Jurchen rebellion, and the Liao Kingdom added another [-] troops to counter the rebellion, this should be the success of the Xianggong's countermeasures."

Fan Ning nodded. The Jurchens were deeply dissatisfied with the brutal oppression of the Liao Kingdom. It only takes one spark to ignite the Jurchens' rebellion.

As for the Wugu and Dilie tribes, they have always been the confidants of the Liao Kingdom. Although the Liao Kingdom unified Mobei by force, this was only a superficial unity. Both the Liao and the enemy's tribes resisted the rule of the Liao State intermittently, and continued until the demise of the Liao State.

"What's the other news?"

"Another message was sent by Yang Gui with a letter eagle. He said that Youzhou had assembled an army of [-], and that the envoy Xiao Han's servants from the south would be the commander. .”

Fan Ning paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. Yanshan Mansion had [-] troops before, but Yanshan Mansion did not refer to Youzhou alone, but also included Yizhou, Zhuozhou, Jizhou, Tanzhou, Jingzhou, Pingzhou, Guihua At least half of the [-] troops in Liaozhou and other places were stationed in various places before, but now Youzhou has assembled a [-] troops, which obviously does not include the local army in Yanshan Prefecture, which shows that the Liao Kingdom has increased its troops to Youzhou again.

"Any news about Xi Xia?" Fan Ning asked again.

"Yes! The seven-year-old new emperor Li Bingchang of Xixia came to the throne, and the Empress Dowager Liang held the power. The Liao Kingdom sent a mission to Xixia to ask Xixia to send troops to the Song Dynasty. I heard that there was a fierce debate within Xixia. It is unclear whether to send troops."

Now Fan Ning can basically conclude that Yelu Hongji is going to send troops to Hebei to avenge the burning of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. He pondered for a moment and said: "Send my order to call all the military commanders to discuss the matter!"

Soon, the four commanders, the four princes of Du Yu, and the twenty commanders rushed to the account, as did the deputy commander Di Qing and the logistics deputy Gao Zunfu. Seven or eight civilian officials including Han Qi, who joined the army, also attended the meeting.

"Everyone, according to the latest information, Xiao Han's slaves are serving as envoys to the south. They are currently gathering 5 troops in Youzhou, and at the same time recruiting 20 troops from various places in Yanshan Prefecture, plus 20 troops stationed in various places in Yanshan Prefecture. The total strength of the Yanshan Mansion will reach [-]. This will be a severe test for us. However, we have a navy threat from the side, and the Liao Kingdom does not dare to send troops south. Judging from the situation I visited this time , I infer that the Liao army will go south from east and west, focusing on attacking the city. Once they capture the city, they will inevitably massacre the city in order to avenge the shame of the burning of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Therefore, I consider allocating the [-] troops to each Inside the city, guard the city strictly with the frontier army."

(End of this chapter)