Although Fangu City is only a small border city in the northwest of the Sui Dynasty, no more than three and a half miles long and no more than three miles wide, you can see the edges at a glance, but there is no doubt that this small city is extremely solidly built. This is the most outpost of the northwest frontier. Across the Langru Mountains on the opposite side is the territory of the Mandu Banner of the Mongolian and Yuan Empire.
On the other side of the Langru Mountains, there is an equally strong Nirvana City.
Nirvana City is a stone city, as solid as a natural mountain.
Fan Gu is not a stone city, but it is worse than Nirvana City. This small city was built under the personal supervision of Yu Wenzhongshu, the Minister of Industry of the Sui Dynasty at that time. It is said that the construction craftsmanship was the same as that of Chang'an City, the imperial capital of the Sui Dynasty. When the spies of the Mongolian Yuan Empire saw this small city with earth walls built first and then city bricks piled outside, they even laughed sarcastically. Only decades later did the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty realize how childish and ridiculous their ridicule was.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Strong.
It is as solid as a whole piece of the hardest diamond.
Seven years after the founding of the Sui Dynasty, when the last emperor of the Sui Dynasty was in office, a small-scale but far-reaching war broke out between the Mongolian and Yuan Empire and the Sui Dynasty. At that time, 40,000 wolf cavalry from the Mongolian and Yuan Empire passed through the canyons of the Langru Mountains and marched straight towards Fangu. Fangu City had only 800 frontier troops at that time, and the nearest reinforcements were Zuo Zhenwei from Jibei County, 450 miles away. Most of Zuo Zhenwei's troops are heavy armored infantry, and they obviously won't be able to catch up in a short time.
In that battle, 40,000 dismounted wolf cavalry used hundreds of trebuchets to bombard Fan Gucheng in turn. Hundreds of kilograms of boulders transported from Langru Mountain were smashed down intensively, peeling off all the two layers of blue bricks covering the outer walls of Fangu City. The frontier troops on the city wall were so suppressed that they could not even raise their heads and could only hide behind the wall stacks.
Mandu Lang, the leader of the Mandu Banner of the Mongolian and Yuan Empire who led the troops at that time, laughed and said: "There is no need to attack the city, just smash it like this, and the ruined city will collapse in one day. When the time comes, the Wolf Cavalry will When the horse enters the city, it is easy to kill all the people in the city."
What is shocking is that after a day of indiscriminate bombing, Fan Gucheng was like a hard-boiled egg. The eggshell was smashed into pieces, revealing the pitiful albumen inside. But no one could have imagined that what they thought was fragile was completely wrong. What happened next made the Meng Yuan Empire's jaws drop in surprise.
The seemingly fragile earth wall actually stands as tall as a mountain!
"A heavy boulder of several hundred kilograms could only leave a white mark on the earthen wall. After the first day passed, one of the walls of Fangu City was neatly stripped of its green bricks. It's just that the fragile-looking earth wall is actually as strong as a natural rock, with no cracks left even when stones hit it.
Mandu Wolf was furious and ordered the trebuchet to continue the fierce attack the next day. It took another whole day, and the team transporting stones from the Langru Mountains only stopped when they ran out of supplies. It is a pity that the walls of Fangu City, which looks like it can be blown down by a gust of wind, are still standing proudly.
The extremely furious Mandu Wolf ordered an attack on the city, and tens of thousands of wolf cavalry dismounted and began to attack. This was the first time that the troops of the Mongolian and Yuan Empire attacked a Han city since the founding of the Sui Dynasty. The war between the founding emperor of the Sui Dynasty and the Mongolian and Yuan Empire broke the myth of the Mongolian and Yuan Empire's invincibility on the plains. So this time, little Fan Gu let the soldiers of the Meng Yuan Empire know what it means to be indestructible.
The combat capabilities of a wolf cavalry on foot and a wolf cavalry on horseback are completely different.
Those wolf-riding soldiers wearing leather armor rushed forward clumsily carrying makeshift ladders, not knowing how to avoid and resist the arrows fired from the city wall. What frightened them the most was the powerful heavy crossbow installed on the city wall. The calf-thick heavy crossbow shoots down like the fury of thunder, capable of tearing a strong prairie war horse into two pieces.
After paying thousands of casualties, the Wolf Cavalry finally approached the city wall, then awkwardly erected the ladder and climbed up awkwardly. They drive their horses like arms and fingers, but this kind of attack is undoubtedly a nightmare for them. The Wolf Riders, who have been at ease for too many years, have long forgotten that their ancestors were once invincible in the Central Plains.
Six days, six days from the beginning to the end of the war. The Mandu wolves abandoned more than 4,000 corpses outside Fangu City and fled in panic. Every time I mentioned this battle for the rest of my life, I would beat my chest, stamp my feet, point in the direction of Fangu and curse. The reason why they withdrew was because the elite soldiers of Zuo Zhenwei of the Sui Dynasty who were hundreds of miles away finally arrived.
This battle made Fan Gucheng a well-known place in the world.
This battle made the world know that the city of Sui Dynasty was indestructible.
This battle also made Li Luan, the then general of Zuo Zhenwei, famous all over the world. The reason is simple. The only people who rushed to Fan Gucheng to rescue the frontier troops were Li Luan and his 900 cavalry battalion. Nine hundred cavalry were used,With thousands of banners, Li Luan frightened the Mandu wolf, which had tens of thousands of troops, and fled back to the west of the Langru Mountains, not daring to look back all the way.
Most of Zuo Zhenwei's troops were heavy armored infantry, so it was impossible for them to arrive in time. Li Luan had no other choice but to pretend to be an army of 100,000 men. Speaking of which, this was also the helplessness of the Sui frontier army. Zuo Zhenwei's 50,000-strong army only managed to gather 900 cavalry. This is evident from the lack of war horses in the Sui Dynasty.
After this battle, Yang Yun, Emperor Jianye of the Sui Dynasty, announced that all frontier troops in Fangu City would be promoted to captains, and each would be rewarded with thirty acres of land without having to pay taxes to the government. Residents of Fangu City do not have to pay taxes for ten years, and the Ministry of Household Affairs allocates 50,000 taels of silver to repair people's houses as a reward for loyalty.
Li Luan, the general of Zuo Zhenwei, was promoted from a county official to a national official, and he opened the government with the same three divisions.
During that battle, there was a young man beside Li Luan who never left. Even though he knew that he might be surrounded by tens of thousands of fine knights from the Meng Yuan Empire, the teenage boy still did not escape. This young man was Li Luan's eldest son. He later inherited his status as Tang Guogong, and now he is also Li Yuanshan, the general of the Right Xiaowei who served as the northwest barrier of the Sui Dynasty.
You Xiaowei is also stationed in Jibei County, but he is not in Jibei County and governs Jibei City.
You Xiaowei's 50,000 elite soldiers are stationed at Woxian Mountain, sixty miles away from Jibei City.
¡¡
¡¡
"Mr. Tang is so polite. This is our first time out of the imperial capital. Please forgive me for any inconveniences. You know, if the people below had not annoyed your majesty, how could your majesty let Dali Temple and The adults from the Ministry of War came out of Beijing to conduct a strict investigation. We also know that the brothers in the border army are working hard, so we are just showing off. Mr. Tang can rest assured. "
The speaker was an eunuch wearing a light blue official uniform of the sixth grade. He was in his mid-thirties, his face was covered with a thick layer of white powder, and his lips were painted particularly brightly without knowing what to use. It's disgusting. Although this eunuch is only from the sixth grade, what you need to know is once a eunuch has a grade, it can only mean that he is a favored person in the palace.
The official uniform of eunuchs is different from that of officials. It is blue. The higher the rank, the darker the color. Moreover, if there is no patch on the chest, one cannot wear a beam crown. The people at Ouchi's guard office were wearing flying fish suits, and the patch on their chests was a strange beast recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Flying fish, about ten feet long, with a dragon head, cicada wings and fish tail.
This eunuch is Wu Peisheng, the eunuch of the Imperial Study Room. He is really a very popular figure in the palace. This time, according to the order of Emperor Yang Yi of the Sui Dynasty, he inspected Hebei, Hexi, Shanbei and Shandong together with officials from Dali Temple and the Ministry of War. Jibei County belongs to Shandong Road and is also the last stop of this inspection.
When he arrived in Jibei County, the first thing he did was not go into the city but go to Woxian Mountain to visit Li Yuanshan. As the eunuch Bingbi of the imperial study, he naturally knew the weight of General You Xiaowei in His Majesty's heart. That's why he said the good words he just said. Along the way, apart from being humble and polite in front of various governors, he has never been so polite in front of a third-grade county governor.
"What did Eunuch Wu say?"
Li Yuanshan is thirty-three years old, the age when a man is calm and mature. He is of medium height, about 1.7 meters tall, not too tall. Compared with the fierce generals in the army, he lacks a bit of toughness and looks too thin. Especially compared with Qi Hu, the right warrior behind him, he looked even more ordinary. Those seven tiger generals are all tough men.
Because he had to accept the order, he specially put on the first-class official imperial robes today and wore a beam crown on his head. The court uniform is dark purple with a unicorn embroidered on the chest. The Duke of Liang has the crown of Liang Badao, which is the same as the prince and prince. This is the highest number among ministers, because not everyone can use the number nine. Officials of the first rank have seven beams on the crown, six beams on the second rank, three beams on the fifth rank, and those below the fifth rank are not allowed to wear beam crowns.
The costumes of generals and civil servants in the Sui Dynasty were also different. The biggest difference was the patch on the chest of the official uniform. Military generals are all ferocious beasts, and civil servants are all birds. The first to fourth ranks wear purple robes, the fifth to seventh ranks wear green robes, and the minor officials of eighth and ninth ranks wear green robes. Since the founding of the Sui Dynasty, there have been no first-rank military generals. The generals of the Sixteenth Guards are all third-rank officers. In more than a hundred years, there has not been a military general above the third rank.
But the Duke of the country is a genuine one, so Li Yuan wears an eight-beam crown, a purple robe, and a unicorn embroidered on his chest. The generals of the second rank are painted with lions, and those of the third rank are painted with tigers.
The first rank civil official also has purple official uniform, a seven-beam crown, and a crane embroidered on the chest, the second rank is a golden pheasant, and the third rank is a peacock.
Li Yuanshan is the Duke of the country, so he can wear an eight-beam crown and court clothes embroidered with unicorn patches. This is the rule of the court and cannot be messed with at all. If there is chaos, there will be suspicion of rebellion.
As he walked, he glanced sideways at Wu Peisheng and said with a smile: "Since Eunuch Wu has come down to investigate strictly according to His Majesty's order, I will naturally cooperate. No matter whatI have sent people to prepare these accounts including money, food, number of people, treasury, ordnance, and horses. If Eunuch Wu wants to take a look, I will send someone to send them over later. "
"Mr. Tang has fulfilled his duties diligently and our family admires him."
Wu Peisheng smiled, and the white powder on his face fell down: "Since Tang Gong is so solemn, if our family shirks it again, it will inevitably be suspected of slacking off. If your majesty asks, our family will not be able to handle the task. But check the accounts. It¡¯s an official from Dali Temple and the Ministry of War, so our family is just going to follow them.¡±
Li Yuanshan looked back, and the dozen officials from Dali Temple and the Ministry of War who followed him nodded. His eyes deliberately stayed on the faces of three of them for a while, and the three of them trembled slightly at almost the same time.
"Dali Temple sent down three law enforcement officers with more than broken mirrors this time, which is really thoughtful. I heard the Ministry of War also sent down a talisman master with broken mirrors for many years. Why don't we come with him?"
"Where did Mr. Tang get this news"
Wu Peisheng smiled apologetically and said: "The Ministry of War only sent down five civil servants, all of whom are good at arithmetic, just to check the accounts. Where are the magic masters who broke the mirror? We have a list of officials who came to inspect this time. Mr. Tang If you don't believe it, you can take a look. The Ministry of War only sent one Yuanwai Lang and four people to work on it, and there was absolutely no Talisman master."
He lowered his voice and smiled and said: "It's not like Mr. Tang doesn't know, Talisman masters are all treasures."
Li Yuanshan was startled for a moment, then laughed: "Indeed, there are not many broken mirror talisman masters in the Sui army. If we just send a talisman master to check the accounts, then the talisman master will be too worthless."
Wu Peisheng laughed, not knowing why he was so happy.
"please!"
Li Yuanshan made a gesture.
"This Woxian Mountain was originally called Wofo Mountain. After the founding of the Sui Dynasty, we opened up the territory in successive years. In the twelfth year of Guangwu in the Great Sui Dynasty, we conquered this land. At that time, the late emperor heard that this mountain was called Wofo Mountain and was very unhappy. So he was very unhappy. It was changed to Woxian Mountain. The late emperor saidthere should be no Buddha in the Sui Dynasty."