Tibet

Dugu Xinyue only exchanged a few pleasantries and then left without disturbing the deep conversation between her husband and her second brother.

How is the situation in Tubo now? Dugu Hanyang asked again.

Li Ye was silent for a moment and said: Tubo is actively preparing for war. I'm afraid there will be a big war.

Dugu Hanyang was surprised, When?

Wait until it freezes!

Li Ye said calmly: It's the first ice now. Wait another month and the river will be covered with ice, and that's when they attack!

But...but it was winter!

Dugu Hanyang was really surprised: Longyou is covered in heavy snow, can we still fight? What did Ma Chongying think? He is also known as a famous general. It is incredible.

Li Ye sneered and said: This has nothing to do with whether he is a famous general or not. He has no choice at all. If he cannot produce a result that satisfies Tubo Zamp before next spring, he will inevitably be dismissed. Tubo Zamp If we can't calm down the anger of the nobles in the country, we can only attack Ma Chongying, and removal from office is a minor matter.

I understand! How sure is His Highness of defeating the opponent?

Of course I am absolutely sure to defeat the opponent. The key is how much price do I have to pay?

The next day, Dugu Hanyang returned to Weizhou to take up his post. Li Ye, escorted by hundreds of cavalry, came to the east bank of the Tao River dozens of miles away. He was accompanied by military advisors Li Mi and Liu Yan.

On the east bank of the Tao River, the Tang army was also building fortifications and actively preparing for war. They filled sacks with soil and built a long sandbag wall along the mile-long pier. They poured water on it and after it froze, it became a frozen mud wall. , one foot high and very strong.

Then sixty steps to the east, a second mud bag wall was built, which was also poured with water, forming a second ice wall. There were two gaps in the ice wall for the retreat of the soldiers in front. Once the soldiers in front retreated, Fill the sandbags immediately,

Many soldiers who participated in the Chang'an Defense War knew at a glance that this was the second use of the Qujiang Defense War. It had the same effect. Coincidentally, the guard was still Guan Pei.

Li Ye stood on a high place, took out his clairvoyant and looked towards the west bank. He could clearly see the Tibetan army camp on the low hill. The camp was very large, and the camp walls were made of rammed earth and wood. They were about one foot high. There are Tibetan soldiers on patrol.

Li Ye also handed the clairvoyance to Li Mi, Judging from the size of the camp, it is estimated that the Tibetan army will send about 50,000 to 60,000 troops!

Li Mi also looked at it for a moment and handed the clairvoyance to Liu Yan. Li Mi smiled and said, Hasn't Your Highness ever thought about destroying this military camp?

Li Ye smiled lightly, I'm looking forward to the winter battle with the Tubo people.

However, Liu Yan became very interested in this silver clairvoyance and said with a smile: This is really a good thing. Objects several miles away can be found within easy reach. It has a huge effect on war and navigation. Your Highness made some for He Buduo. ?”

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: There is a saying that goes well, the more you call it, the more you make it wrong. If I make ten branches, I can control that each one will not be lost. If I make a hundred branches, it will be difficult to guarantee that it will not be lost. Will fall into the hands of the enemy. In fact, every Ying Yanglang general and scout captain and above have the right to use it. Before going out for the expedition, they can get it by applying and hand it over when they return. For example, Guan Pei has one in his hand. , the scout leader on the other side also has one in his hand.

At this time, the guard general Guan Pei stepped forward quickly, bowed and saluted with fists clasped in his hands, I see you for your humble duty, Your Highness!

Li Ye smiled and said: Thank you for your hard work, General Guan. Is there any movement from the Tibetan army on the other side?

Reporting to Your Highness, our scouts on the other side discovered that Tibet was transporting food supplies on a large scale.

How do they transport it?

They transported it from the Yellow River, using rafts to transport it and pulling it manually!

Li Ye nodded. The Yellow River has not frozen yet and can indeed transport goods.

How is the ice condition of the Tao River? Li Mi asked next to him.

For the information of the military advisor, I went to the river to investigate early this morning and found that the ice was more than twenty feet wide. Yesterday it was only ten feet wide. It spreads very quickly. However, people cannot go up. The ice is too thin and it will definitely break into the water.

Li Ye and the others immediately got off the mound and went to inspect the Tang Army's camp. The Tang Army's camp was also a board-walled military camp two miles away.

The military camp is very large, and the soldiers train on the school grounds.

At this time, Li Ye saw Xin Changwu. He was wearing heavy armor and wielding a gleaming Mo Dao. He was training a thousand heavy armored infantry recruits, with a thousand veterans sitting next to him.

The heavy armored infantry has always led the new with the old. A thousand veterans lead a thousand new recruits. Only after being tempered by actual combat can they grow up quickly.

Xin Changwu himself was highly skilled in martial arts and could fight dozens of people alone with a pair of sledgehammers. After he joined the Modao Army, he received careful instruction from the Black Spear and became a Modao master in just a few months.

The knife must go in a straight line and hit the target accurately. It must be ruthless, accurate and fast, and no sloppiness is allowed!

Pay attention to the formation, don't mess with it!

Xin Changwu shouted loudly, his voice was like a cow roaring, and he could be heard from far away.

Li Ye walked around the military camp, calmed the soldiers' emotions, and encouraged them to actively train and prepare for the war.

But Li Ye didn't stay in the military camp for long, so he went back to Longguan.

Huilong Pass is located between Taoshui and Jincheng County, about thirty miles away from Jincheng Pass. It can be said to be the west gate of Jincheng County.

Of course, Li Ye would not let Jincheng County directly face the Tibetan army. That would be risky, so he built two strong lines of defense.

Even if the Tubo army breaks through the Taohe defense line, they will still face the obstruction of Huilong Pass. Huilong Pass is actually a canyon called Huilong Valley. There are huge mountains on both sides. The canyon is about two miles wide and a small river runs through it. The stream passed by, and the official road also passed through the canyon.

After Li Ye decided that Jincheng County would be the location of his royal palace, he began to build defenses. He built Guancheng at the exits and entrances at both ends of Huilong Valley. The Guancheng was three feet high and very thick, with five thousand troops deployed inside. The Tang army was led by Zuo Dazhi.

It can be said that attacking this city wall is even more difficult than attacking the Tao River. Of course, the Tibetan army can also cross the mountain, but the baggage will not be able to pass, and there is no logistics and food. The Tibetan army will not be able to support it for a few days.

Damn it! Li Mi suddenly cursed in a low voice.

Li Ye had never seen Li Mi lose his composure like this before. He looked at Li Mi and asked, Military advisor, what's wrong?

Li Mi raised his head and said to Li Ye worriedly: I just discovered that we made a major mistake!

Li Ye was startled, What mistake?

All your Highness's defense ideas are based on normal seasons, but this time the Tibetan army attacked in winter. Didn't Your Highness ever think that the Tibetan army would come from the Yellow River?

Li Ye was stunned. He took a few steps with his hands behind his back. He had to admit that he had not thought about it. He had considered all aspects, except that he did not think that the other party could come from the Yellow River.

Of course, the Yellow River will also be covered with thick ice in winter. Large quantities of grain and grass supplies can be transported by sleds, and the army can also come across the ice of the Yellow River.

This should be a major decision-making mistake on my part, which wasted so much time and energy.

But luckily, Li Mi discovered it.

At this time, Liu Yan also slowly said: The military advisor's worries are very reasonable. The reason why Ma Chongying is called a famous Tubo general must be because he is outstanding. I doubt that he will build plank roads openly and secretly attack Chencang again, just like him It’s the same as transporting food before.

On the surface, he will definitely attack the Taohe River, allowing us to focus on the Taohe defense line and the Huilongguan defense line. Then he will choose a night to come from the Yellow River, attack Jincheng, and catch us off guard.

Li Ye is really big-headed. The Yellow River in Lanzhou is flat and there are no mountains and canyons on both sides. It is easier to get ashore. It can be said that you can get ashore anywhere. This means that they have no advantageous terrain to take advantage of and are unable to defend themselves. How can they defend themselves?

At this time, Li Mi thought for a moment and said: Your Highness, I have two suggestions for you, please be sure to adopt them!

Commander, please tell me!

First, please Your Highness to abandon the Tao River defense line. The Tubo army can completely circle from the Yellow River to the back of the Tao River defense line. At that time, the Tang army will be attacked from both sides, and the 10,000-strong army will most likely be wiped out. We can increase the number of troops at Huilong Pass. The number of troops was increased to 10,000, thus ensuring that the Tibetan army could not withdraw from the official road.

My second suggestion is to withdraw the garrison on the north bank of the Yellow River to Jincheng County. Starting now, we must seize the time to build the defense of Jincheng County.