General Zhang Shanfu was far-sighted, and in the Great Xia Dynasty, he was one of the few people who could stand side by side with Prime Minister Liu Yi.

The western front of the Xia army gathered hundreds of thousands of troops, with Zhang Shanfu, the general of the marching division, as the main commander, and Xu Wenhu, the general of Anxi, as the deputy commander.

Almost the entire marching division was taken to Tiemo Cliff to help the two marshals deal with various military affairs. Every day, dozens of various military orders are sent from here to various places. Both commanders were known for their generosity and elegance, but their styles of using soldiers were diametrically opposed. Zhang Shanfu used his troops in a strange way, often creating a situation to lure the enemy into the army, and unexpectedly completed the final blow at the minimum cost. And Xu Wenhu has always been known for his heavy use of soldiers, even if he will not win a big victory, he will never be defeated. In the eyes of most of the soldiers and civilians in the river, Zhang Xu, the two marshals, presided over hundreds of thousands of troops on the Western Front, which was already invincible in the world, and basically cut off the hope of victory for the Roma Turks.

In this battle of protecting the news, although Zhang Shanfu was far away in Tiemo Cliff, the main battle arrangements were all for one by one.

Before the results of the Battle of Huwen were known, the camp of Timore's Western Expedition was full of different opinions.

Even in the marching division, there were many staff officers who agreed with Xu Wenhu's view, advocating fighting with a heavy weight and ambushing tens of thousands of cavalry in the inferior terrain, which was tantamount to taking a risk. However, Zhang Shanfu insisted that this was not enough to defeat the determination of the Ghaznavid princes, who advocated a decisive victory with cavalry, to make a final stubborn resistance in an instant. Now, the news of the big win is enough to shut everyone up. The battle planned by the marching division under the command of Zhang Shanfu has never failed, and this record is enough to shut everyone up, and the battle of Huwencheng has also filled in a not-so-conspicuous mark on the general's personal record. Xu Wenhu's station was not far from Zhang Shanfu, and the dust of the battle to protect the news had settled and the results had been achieved, Zhang Shanfu was of course not afraid to lower his posture, and personally came to Xu Wenhu's camp to discuss the matter of continuing to march into the hinterland of the Roma Turks.

Tiemo Cliff is a mountain city built on the cliff, one side pass, three sides are cliffs, there is only one sheep intestine path up the mountain, the terrain is extremely precipitous, but the mountain city is very broad, enough to station tens of thousands of troops and grain and grass. This city is only a hundred miles away from the Khan City, an important Turkic town and the old capital of the Roma Turks, and the cavalry can come from morning to night. After the defeat of Zhou Li's army, the Rohm Turks pursued and counterattacked the Xia army all the way, but they were blocked by the Tiemo Cliff. And the camp of the Xia Kingdom's western expedition is also set up here, not only there are heavy troops and granaries in the city, but also various armies are stationed outside the city. The residents of nearby Baiyi have run out, and most of the houses have been converted into military hospitals. In the vast area under the Iron Cliff City, the battalions were scattered like multi-legged beasts to build barracks, and the outside of the camp was usually built with low walls and moats, and tents were set up inside, hoarding food and grass for more than ten days, and the distance between the barracks and the barracks was within the range of bows and crossbows.

With such a densely fortified area, it was difficult for even the most elite armored cavalry of the Roma Turks to charge through.

According to the order of the marching division, the daily stove pits of each battalion were dug in the open space between the barracks, and a little modification was a trap.

Zhang Shanfu rode through slowly, watching the sergeants on the left and right of the road preparing meals in groups of three or five, the morale of the army was very high, the sound of chopping wood and laughter came everywhere, and in the place where the carts and horses were concentrated, the big iron pot for the sergeants to make rice was also used as a manger. Not far away, some sergeants were tearing down a crumbling house, preparing to get planks and hay to make a fire and a fence.

"One, two, three, add on!" The sergeants all wore bare sleeves and shouted in unison, "Let's pull together—"

The thick ropes shook the thin plank walls of the house back and forth, the planks creaked, and the stakes in the foundation clicked, and finally, at the sound of a majestic trumpet, the seemingly tall plank wall collapsed and slammed to the ground, sending dust and sawdust flying everywhere, and the house itself fell to pieces. The sergeants erupted in a shout of joy, followed by a rough laugh. Although this kind of brute force is somewhat dangerous, it is better than saving trouble. Then the destructive creatures began to walk up like wild beasts to their prey and divide the spoils.

"You two, sawn this here, yes, just a little bit, sawed and you can haul this chunk away."

"Pry with a stick here, bring the stick and find a rock, yes!"

"Drag it all away, everyone, grandma's, hard! ...... Let's shout again! ”

"One, two, three, work hard! ...... Let's do it together! One two three! A deep and melodious voice continued to command the sergeant, and then more than two dozen people shouted together, "One, two, three, let's do it together!" The sergeants took the ropes off their shoulders, put on the horse's leash, and prepared to drag them into a newly built barracks not far away, where the snow was falling in August, and they were to build some hedges to keep out the wind before the snow fell.

"What's going on, what's going on?! Uh, huh? ......”

With this voice, there were all kinds of swear words that were common in the barracks. "You're in the way!" An officer ran up from behind and angrily confronted the marching officer, who was also full of anger. His face was covered with dust, the sleeves of his military robe were still rolled high, and he was followed by more than a dozen elite sergeants, looking at the officers of the marching division with a provocative expression, and they all looked at the guys who were afraid that the world would not be chaotic. If it weren't for the big camp, they would have drawn their swords against each other. When this officer arrived at Zhang Shanfu, he was unexpectedly stunned.

"Governor Li," Zhang Shanfu smiled gently, "how are you lately?" ”

He has been in the top position for a long time, and when he made this sound, the other officers naturally lowered their voices, and immediately silenced the boring scolding, and some people looked at this veteran timidly, looking at this bearing, I am afraid that he is at least a general, I don't know if he is a friend or an enemy with the unlucky governor?

"Thanks to you." Li Sihai muttered angrily, "If you want a boat or not, if you want a soldier without a soldier, if you want wine without wine, if you want meat without meat." ”

But the voice was not loud, and no one could hear it but himself. He recognized Zhang Shanfu, but he was not as weak and timid as other juniors in the army, but a little rubbing fire. He was transferred from the fourth battalion of Chengying to the commander of the West Sea Division on the western battlefield, and he had already won several small battles, however, the marching division recalled him from Zhenxi Fort to Tiemo Cliff, and he had been waiting for more than ten days inexplicably, but no one paid attention to it. Li Sihai has not received this cold reception since he was in the army. He was both angry and had some ominous premonitions.

"It seems that Governor Li is planning to build a barracks?" Zhang Shanfu smiled, "You and I are also forgetful of the New Year, don't invite me to sit?" ”

"The ghost and you old ghost are old friends." Li Sihai was scolded, but there was a smile on his face, "The barracks are narrow, and I am afraid that the hospitality will not be good." General Zhang forgave me. His voice was not high, but when the words "General Zhang" came out, the surrounding sergeants couldn't help but gasp. The generals in service are almost counted on two hands, and there is only one general surnamed Zhang, that is, General Zhang Shanfu, the marching department of the first person in the General's Mansion, which army eats meat, which army drinks soup, which army gnaws bones, and which army whistles and blows the wind, all have a great relationship with him.

"When the old man killed the enemy and ate meat, you didn't know where to eat milk?"

Zhang Shanfu laughed sarcastically. He looked at the late day and ordered: "Lead the way, you kid is used to enjoying happiness, I will go to you for one night, and then enter the city tomorrow morning to meet Xu Zahu." "Xu Zahu" is the nickname given to Xu Wenhu by the older generation of sergeants, which means that he fights like a tiger in the mountains, and he will not easily run out of his own territory, but if anyone invades his territory, he will not be polite. This nickname is a bit of a ridicule of Xu Wenhu's more than enough defense and lack of progress, although Xu Wenhu is also proud of it, the junior officers dare not call it that. Zhang Shanfu didn't wait for Li Sihai to shirk it, waved his horsewhip, signaled him to lead the way, Li Sihai cried helplessly: "Boss, where is my barracks simple, seeing that the north wind is about to rise, I don't know how long I will nest here, let me drag these woods back first." He spread his hands and yelled at the sergeant behind him, "What are you doing in a daze?" ”

The sergeants were yelled at him, leading the horses and pushing the wood.

"You're going to help." Zhang Shanfu said with a smile.

Several marching horses also dismounted and helped push the timber to Li Sihai's camp.

Trenches and low walls have been dug here, and stakes have been erected on earthen walls with timber found from everywhere, and fence walls have been woven from straw. A fire was lit behind the wall, and several sergeants were mending shoes and socks by the fire, while others stripped naked and baked lice inside. Zhang Shanfu frowned slightly when he saw this, as if lice were this thing, no matter what method was used, they couldn't be completely driven away. Li Sihai arranged for the sergeants to clean up and dismantle the timber that had been dragged over, and sharpen the big ones into sharp stakes to make fences, and burn them as firewood if they were broken and could not be used. The Xia army often relied on local materials for food and heating, although Li Sihai was born in the hereditary Houmen, he was also proficient in this way, and other sergeants were even more so. Whether it is marching or camping, the sergeants will try to make themselves as comfortable as possible, and those who cannot do this, the weak-willed, the physically weak, have long since been eliminated in a difficult environment.

Li Sihai invited Zhang Shanfu to sit next to a large fire, and out of nowhere, he found a cast-iron teapot, filled it with water and hung it on a wooden stick holder to boil. The teapot has been burned black, and it can still be seen that the shape is exquisite, and it didn't take long for the water to boil, and when it was about to be opened, Li Sihai took out a piece of tea cake, and said with some pity: "Fujian's dragon and phoenix tea cake, I only have this half left, so I will entertain the boss." After speaking, the tea cake was finely broken and thrown into the teapot, and almost instantly, a rich tea fragrance wafted out.

"I'll just say you'll be blessed." Zhang Shanfu said with a smile, "The old man never brought this thing when he went out. ”