Except for the southwest mountainous area occupied by Tuyuhun, the rest of the Hehuang area was closely owned by the Sui Dynasty. These territories included the five states of Shanzhou, Kuozhou, Hezhou, Lanzhou, and Taozhou under the jurisdiction of the Liangzhou Governor's Office.

Taozhou's position in the Hehuang area has always been a top priority. Whether it was the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Western Wei Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, or the Sui Dynasty, it was one of the important defense lines to prevent Tuyuhun from entering Guanzhong and northern Yizhou.

Since the Sui Dynasty adopted rogue tactics of arms race against Tuyuhun, Yang Ji deployed 10,000 troops in the Taoshui River Valley in the West Qingshan Mountains. Later, because the imperial court moved a large number of people from other major states to settle in the Hehuang area, Yang Ji wanted to ensure that the people

The safety of life was not infringed and the people's sense of security was enhanced, so he made some adjustments to the confrontation line of defense and increased the Taozhou garrison to 20,000 people.

The former Taozhou governor and army chief Zhang Jun resold official rations and gave them to Tuyuhun. After Xiao Yu dug them out, the imperial court conducted a thorough investigation of Taozhou. It turned out that everyone in the Taozhou officialdom was involved; this kind of corruption, capital

enemy

This move made Yang Jian furious and executed all corrupt officials including Zhang Jun. He also appointed Fang Gongyi, who was famous for his integrity and good governance, as the governor of Taozhou, and appointed Yang Ji's second uncle Dugu Sheng as the marching army of Taozhou.

General manager.

Dugu Sheng led his army to sit in Taoyuan County, the source of the Tao River. On Yang Ji's orders, he used his free time during the confrontation and training to raise horses in the Taoyuan grassland meadow area to strive for self-sufficiency.

In addition, because this area is at the forefront of the confrontation, the Hehuang Valley with fertile land and convenient irrigation has become sparsely populated and uncultivated. Therefore, after Dugu Sheng and Fang Gongyi took office, they began to cultivate the Hehuang Valley, which belongs to the second county of Taozhou.

Farming in the valley, after today's spring grain harvest, has completely reversed the dilemma of Taozhou's lack of military rations and the need for supplies in Guanzhong.

The grain fields of Juntun are mainly located in the eastern part of Taoyuan and Taoyang County, while the horse farm is located in the grassland meadow in the western part of Taoyuan. Since ancient times, it has been famous for producing Hequ horses with good endurance and strong physiques.

Taoyuan County is located on the northwest bank of Tao River. The county has a circumference of 20 miles. Although the city covers a large area, due to Tuyuhun harassing the border from time to time and Dangxiang Qiang rebelling from time to time, a large number of people migrate to the east of Taozhou. To this day, the whole country

The county's population is only about 50,000. This is the result of successive immigrants from other places, and the previous population was even less.

Dugu Sheng's military office was set up in the county seat. In the afternoon, Dugu Sheng, who had returned from the military camp, was looking at a map of the Hehuang area in the lobby, taking a pen to record something from time to time.

Regarding the appointment as his nephew's direct subordinate, Dugu Sheng not only did not feel uncomfortable, but was full of excitement. After all, his nephew had achieved such great achievements at a young age, and only a few people could compare with him since ancient times.

On the other hand, as Yang Ji's uncle, Dugu Sheng not only has good reputation, but also has the opportunity to make contributions. However, Dugu Sheng is a little regretful that he is far away in Taozhou and has a heavy responsibility, so he cannot participate in his nephew's wedding in person.

Suddenly, a rush of footsteps outside interrupted his thoughts. He turned around and saw a vigorous young military general striding over with five dusty soldiers.

This general is named Dugu Wudu. He is the second son of Duguluo and has the title of Duke of Guzang County. Because his father Duguluo was rejected and humiliated by the sons of his stepmother Guo, the brothers Duguwudu

The five people have a very bad relationship with the Dugu family, headed by Dugu Shun. When their father passes away, the head of the family becomes

After being taken away by their uncle Dugu Shun, their brothers were marginalized in the Dugu family. The eldest brother Dugu Zuan was so angry that he responded to the court's family separation policy and moved his four younger brothers out of Dugu Mansion to become independent. They are directly related to the Dugu family.

Their relationship is stiff, but they are very close to Dugu Kai and Dugu Sheng, whose original surnames are "Li".

Dugu Wudu has no actual position assigned by the imperial court. His status is just that of Dugu Sheng's personal commander. However, the military family has always led the young with the old. As long as he has established military exploits on the battlefield, Dugu Sheng will recommend him to the imperial court sooner or later.

He led five soldiers into the room, saluted Dugu Sheng from a distance and said: "General, these are the messengers for King Wei. They have urgent military orders."

"Where are the military orders? Show me." Dugu Sheng put down his pen, stood up and asked.

"Please take a look at it, Chief Dugu!" A soldier presented a sealed military order to Dugu Sheng.

When Dugu Sheng saw that the ink pad was complete, he opened the military order and read it. Yang Ji first said that he had led 10,000 elite troops to Taozhou, and said that Mai Tiezhang, the commander-in-chief of the march on Guazhou Road, would make a big move and asked the Taozhou army to attack Tuyuhun.

The military camp carried out strategic deterrence, and at the same time, it also required the collection of intelligence on Party Xiang Qiang.

After reading the military order, Dugu Sheng was greatly surprised. Yang Ji brought a strong army from Beijing. Could it be that he planned to fight against Tuyuhun?

After thinking for a while, he asked: "Is King Wei still in Daxing City?"

The fire chief quickly answered with his hands raised: "Back to Chief Dugu, when I came from Daxing, King Wei was taking over the army and was planning to march to Taozhou."

Dugu Sheng pondered for a long time and then asked, "Do you know the marching route of King Wei?"

"Back to Commander Dugu, King Wei's army is heading west along the Wei River. In addition to the army, there are also fleets loaded with food and ordnance." The messenger, Fire Chief, thought silently for a while, and then said: "According to the preparation process,

At normal marching speed, King Wei's army should have passed through the central part of Qizhou and entered the junction of Qizhou and Taizhou. As for other things, please forgive me for being ignorant."

Dugu Sheng nodded: "I understand, you go back immediately and report to the King of Guards, saying that I have received the military order and will act in accordance with the military order."

"I humbly obey my command." The fire chief saluted and led his team to say goodbye.

"Return to the military camp immediately." Dugu Sheng ordered to Dugu Wudu.

"Here."

…

The Sui army's camp was in the valley to the west of the county, only more than thirty miles away from the county. The three "pin"-shaped military forts set up on the watershed of the West Qing Mountain were the front line of the war. Dugu Sheng would have overstimulated Tuyuhun.

Usually there are only five thousand troops stationed in the military fort.

, as for the main force of 15,000, they were concentrated in the camp for rest, training, and farming. As for the defenders on the military fort, he changed their defenses once a month, which not only ensured that the defenders did not slack off, but also made the entire army familiar with them.

Alpine terrain, adaptable to harsh alpine climate.

When Dugu Sheng returned to the main tent in the military camp, he hurriedly ordered: "beat the drum to gather the generals."

The rumble of war drums suddenly sounded, and more than thirty generals rushed to the big tent to wait for orders. Dugu Sheng said to everyone: "I just received an urgent military order from the chief general. He asked us to strengthen the deterrent against Tuyuhun. General Sima and the order

General Fox, you two will lead your troops to support the military fort and closely monitor every move of the Tuyuhun military camp. General Zhao, you will lead a thousand fine cavalry and be responsible for the communication between the military camp and the military fort, ensuring that there are military exchanges every two hours.

"

The three generals who were named bowed together and said: "General, I will obey the order!"

Dugu Sheng deployed 5,000 soldiers in three military forts. This time he added another 10,000 troops, bringing the total strength to 15,000. On average, each military fort had 5,000 soldiers. The Sui army occupied

Not to mention the place of deployment, it also has the advantage of attacking the plateau meadow where the Tuyuhun military camp is located. If Tuyuhun wants to defend against the invasion of the Sui army, it must use several times the force of the Sui army to defend it.

When the generals went back to prepare, Dugu Sheng handed Yang Ji's military order to the marching commander Shi Huangfuwan. Huangfu shrunk and looked at it again, and couldn't help but ask: "General, is the chief executive going to attack Tuyuhun?"

He smiled bitterly and said: "The chief manager just said that Mai Tiezhang will make a big move. I'm afraid our role here is to cover up Mai Tiezhang."

Huangfu Wan was also a battlefield veteran with both civil and military skills and rich practical experience. He knew that during the long-term confrontation, both sides were a little numb and slack, and this slackness was the key to the Sui army's victory.

At this time, a sudden increase of troops in the military fort must be

However, it aroused the vigilance of the Tuyuhun garrison, thus eliminating the chance of a surprise victory. He thought silently for a while, and then said: "It would be fine if he just helped General Mai to provide cover. If the general manager is preparing to launch a full-scale war, then the general will

The deployment will alert the enemy."

Dugu Sheng said: "General Huangfu is very worried! But I think the purpose of the general manager is to alert the enemy."

Huangfu Wan asked curiously: "How can you see it?"

Seeing that there was no one in the tent, Dugu Sheng whispered: "Both of us know that General Mai Tiezhang sneaked into Shanshan as a horse thief to fight. Although his true identity has not been exposed so far, he has sacrificed countless troops.

There are many, poor equipment, and the cost of not being able to get assistance from the Yangguan army. If he were to defeat Tuyuhun's army in Shanshan, you can imagine how difficult it would be. I think the purpose of the general manager's decision to let us act is to attract Tuyuhun.

The whole body's attention can reduce the pressure on General Mai. If General Mai can open up a situation with his own strength, that will be the best. If he cannot open the situation or is defeated, he is also a 'horse thief' who has nothing to do with the Sui Dynasty.

The Sui Dynasty did not completely break up with Tuyuhun. This is one. Second, the general manager brought 10,000 elite soldiers and asked us to inquire about the intelligence of the party members. Didn’t General Huangfu find any problems? "

"General, are you saying that the general manager is ready to deal with Dangxiang Qiang, a state within a state?" Huangfu Wan had just seen the military order, and his vision and thinking were not clear yet, while Dugu Sheng, after thinking all the way, had roughly guessed Yang Ji's intention.

"That's right!" Dugu Sheng nodded and said: "We suddenly increased the garrison of the military fort, which made Murong Fuyun think that the Sui Dynasty was about to attack Tuyuhun. When they focus on the border, then General Mai will have a chance. If I guessed right.

If so, Kuozhou, Shanzhou, Ganzhou, Guazhou, Yizhou and other places also received such military orders.

Compared with the other five states, our Taozhou army has one more mission, which is to mislead Tuoba Ningcong and make him mistakenly believe that the Sui Dynasty and Tuyuhun are about to go to war. If he really thinks so, he will see our army make a big move

If we send out troops, then some shady means will be used, which also gives us an excuse and opportunity to send troops."

Huangfu Wan, combined with Tuoba Ningcong's aversion to the "Fourth Class" policy, and Dang Xiang Qiang's recent frequent demonstrations, already recognized Dugu Sheng's inference in his heart, and said: "If this is the case, I would suggest that the general go to the military fort in person

, before departure, it is best to make a big splash, the more people know about it, the better, and the humble position is mainly responsible for collecting intelligence about the Party Qiang and evidence of their collusion with Tuyuhun. What does the general think?"

"Just follow what General Huangfu said!" Dugu Sheng was right when he thought about it. If he, a marching general, did not arrive at the front line in person, how could Tuoba Ningcong believe that the war was coming? If they attacked the village after he left, everything would be easy; if Dang Xiang

The Qiang did not attack, so Tuoba Ningcong's behavior due to the "war" is the most favorable evidence of guilt.

Dugu Sheng immediately ordered the state soldiers stationed in each county to assemble in Lintao County and Taoyuan County, where the state was governed, and asked Huangfu Wan to guard the camp. He also wrote a letter asking the governor Fang Gongyi to cooperate, and he led two thousand soldiers to the military fort.

.

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Chapter completed!