At the eastern foot of Guanxi Ridge and the source of Fenglin Creek, there is a remnant village Fenglin Port, which is also the only passage for Guanxi Ridge and the southern mountains to go out of the mountain to Jiangshan County.

The luxury family built the Shangrao defense line, and the villages east of Guanxi Ridge, except for a few extremely dangerous ones, were forcibly moved westward, and the villages were set on fire.

Fenglinbu is located at the source of Fenglinxi, about 50 miles away from the west of Jiangshan County, from the middle of November, Tang Fuguan led his troops to station one after another, and soon erected a large army village in the ruins of Fenglinbu, and Li Baidao led his troops to build a simple defensive base on the ridge of Guanxi Ridge, only six or seven miles away.

At present, the soldiers and horses gathered in the west of Quzhou, with Zhou Tong as the main general, Fu Qinghe temporarily remained in Tongziwu in the upper reaches of the Qianjiang River.

Compared with supervising the battle on the front line, it is of practical significance to continuously transport the material resources from the rear to the front line. Not only is the water and land passage to Wuyuan narrow, but the supply route to Quzhou is even longer and more tortuous. In the late autumn and in winter, the waterways of the Lanxi River and Qujiang River are shallow and narrow, which increases the difficulty of transportation. Of course, the difficulties encountered by the luxury family in Shangrao will inevitably be twice as high as that of Huaidong.

On the eastern line of Shangrao, with Changshan City as the core, the luxury family built 11 strong fortresses at the peripheral passes such as jaws and Litang, filled with 20,000 elite soldiers and horses, and it was not easy to storm the jaw pass and Litang, capture Changshan City, and open up the west to Shangrao.

Since the luxury family can spend so much money to build a fortress to defend the eastern front portal, why might as well ask them to build another fortress in the upper reaches of Shanxi?

Jiangning has entered the cold winter, but Quzhou is located between the deep mountains, the cold air has not yet blown, and the climate is quite pleasant, which provides a lot of convenience for the war after the winter.

Fenglin Creek becomes shallow and narrow in winter, and after the supplies arrive in Quzhou, they must be replaced by small black boats with a load of only 20 stones to continue westward.

Fortunately, the valley road on the south bank of Fenglin Creek has been developed for several generations and is quite easy, and a considerable part of the area is paved with stones.

Hundreds of mule and horse-drawn carts are constantly transporting supplies along the valley road on the south bank of Fenglin Creek to the depths of the northern foot of Wuyi Mountain. In addition to the horse-drawn carriages requisitioned from Quzhou, there were also new Huaidong four-wheeled carriages. The iron-clad wheels press the mountain road and squeak, the Sichuan horse that pulls the cart has a short head, but the endurance is strong, and the two horses can carry twenty or thirty stone goods, which is more convenient than sailing against the current.

Zhou Tong crossed the mule and horse team using materials under the support of more than 100 horsemen, and the main commander of Fenglinbu was Tang Fuguan, the deputy commander of the Chongcheng Army. Zhou Tong rushed to the Fenglinbu military village, and there were already soldiers and civilians reclaiming wasteland around the military village.

"In the new order letter from the Privy Council, we were instructed to pay attention to the combination of tuntian and war, and Dengchenghu was full of reluctance, and shouted that I should send him a tuntian officer. If it weren't for the last time he asked the lord to give him a hard training, this time I really don't worry about letting him go forward, I'm afraid that he will lack patience, or you should worry about it! Zhou Tong said to Tang Fuguan, who came to greet him.

Tang Fuguan said: "Back then, I was trapped in the deep mountains of southern Fujian, and the grain was scarce, and it was difficult to maintain, so I had more patience. War is nothing more than eliminating one thing and eliminating the other, and those who increase their own strength, no matter how small things are, are worth doing! ”

Zhou Tong nodded, and was accompanied by Tang Fuguan in the direction of Guanxi Ridge.

From Fenglinbu to Guanxi Ridge, although it is only six or seven miles deep, but the road is steep and steep, and in front of Guanxi Ridge, it is the mountain that rises up abruptly, lying in front of you.

At this time, on the Guanxi Ridge, Li Baidao led his troops to build a simple fortification, and two battalions of elite soldiers were stationed. The fortifications stand between the mountains of the ridge, and the logs are cut down and erected, and the mountain soil is rammed.

Because it was not easy for the Zhejiang-Fujian army to storm the ridge from the western foothills, they robbed four times around Guanxiling, leaving more than 200 corpses, and failed to recapture the Guanxiling Heights.

The armor and ordnance of the Huaidong Army have comprehensively surpassed the Zhejiang-Fujian Army, and under the condition that the two sides have the same will to fight, the Huaidong Army will defend and attack, occupying the advantage of the terrain, and even if the Zhejiang-Fujian Army is willing to pay double the casualties, it may not be able to win.

As time passed, the Huaidong Army's control over Guanxiling became stricter and stricter. From the initial crossing of the mountains, just a few days have passed, and a trail has been set up between the mountains for the mule and horse teams transporting supplies. On the steep slope at the eastern foot of Guanxi Ridge, a simple plank road was also built with iron cable pallets for materials and personnel to come up.

At the western foothills, the Zhejiang-Fujian army has never cleared a passage that can be used by large-scale soldiers and horses to pass through and attack Guanxi Ridge.

Zhou Tong also used both hands and feet, only to climb up to Guanxi Ridge from the temporary simple iron plank road, the corpses of the enemy and our pawns have been separated to bury, but the blood stains in front of the fort are mottled, showing that the enemy army did not want to take Guanxi Ridge back.

The western foot of Guanxi Ridge is relatively gentle, but there are also several ridges undulating, to the northwest, the terrain sinks rapidly, forming a basin-shaped valley, and the streams converge into the main source of the Shanxi River, flowing northward, and have been converging with the Xinjiang River in the north of Hengshan City.

Between the mountains, the sparkling waves of the Shanxi River shimmer.

"Indeed, if Guanxiling does not become an obstacle, it will be more advantageous to directly attack Hengshan and Shangrao from Shanxi, and it will be easier to gather troops," Zhou Tong said, "In general, the luxury family will taste the bitterness of not defending the dangerous land of Guanxiling!" ”

"It's not that the luxury family doesn't keep it, but the luxury family couldn't have thought that we would give up the near and far, and the easy and the difficult!" Tang Fuguan said with a smile, "From Jiangshan City to Fenglinbu from the west, the mountain road has been abandoned for a long time, and it needs to be repaired; From Fenglinbu to the heel of Guanxi Ridge, it is only six or seven miles away, but it is necessary to climb two low ridges in a row, and the wild path is already difficult to argue. The main peak of this Guanxi Ridge forms a ridge like a city wall, protecting the source of Shanxi on the west side. Guanxi Ridge has been extending fifty or sixty miles into the depths of Wuyi Mountain, and it can only be forcibly chiseled with iron drills, and if you want to bypass it, it will only be more time-consuming and troublesome. We have to build the passage to Guanxi Ridge, which is extremely difficult. And it is not easy for the luxury family to build a defensive barrier on top of Guanxi Ridge. Luxury families always have to make trade-offs, and they can't let the jaws or the pond leave gaps......"

"Also," Zhou Tong smiled, summoned Li Baidao, the main commander of the Guanxi Ridge fortification, to him, pointed to the slightly lower mountain beam in front of him, and said, "The real danger of Guanxi Ridge is that it is between these two ridges, not only can we not let the enemy army gain a firm foothold over there, but also repair the fortification, and build this piece of land into an advance base for sending troops to Shanxi Ridge......"

Li Baidao wiped his face full of beard, and said to Tang Fuguan: "That Fenglinbu can have enough strength, relying on two or three hundred people to carry supplies up the mountain with baskets and supplies every day, but there is no way to push the formation to Shanxi Stopper......"

"Then I'll give you two months to open the mountain road leading to Guanxi Ridge," Zhou Tong said to Tang Fuguan, "In two months, the Changshan Army will also enter Quzhou to participate in the war, be careful that the credit is taken away by others." ”

"I won't keep it!" Li Baidao rushed to issue the military order.

Zhou Tong smiled, went down the mountain with Tang Fuguan, and said as he walked: "Give you three thousand soldiers right now, and you won't be able to use it if you have more." When the mountain road is deepened, there is a lot of space to line up people, and I will draw people for you; You can recruit mountain people, but be careful to let the extravagant scouts blend in......"

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The previous speculation turned into a fact, and the Huaidong Army massed troops on a large scale on the back of Guanxi Ridge, opened mountains and built roads, hoping to open a troop channel from the upper reaches of Fenglin Creek into Guanxi Ridge, and then go down Shanxi to directly attack Hengshan and Shangrao.

Once the main force of Huaidong crossed the natural obstacle of Guanxi Ridge and went down Shanxi, the defense line of the Zhejiang-Fujian army in front of Hengshan would be far weaker than the Jiankou and Litang defense lines that had been strengthened in the early stage.

In the early stage, it was not that he did not realize that Guanxi Ridge was too thin and had the possibility of becoming a passage for the Huaidong soldiers. It's just that before that, the construction of the jaw and Litang defense line was more important, and there was still Guanxi Ridge as a barrier in the upper reaches of Shanxi, making it difficult for a large group of soldiers and horses in Huaidong to pass through at once.

Weighing the priorities, during Deng Yu's reign in Shangrao, he only built the beacon pier in Guanxiling first, and did not even build a fortification, but asked the Huaidong army to seize Guanxiling from the other side and build the fortification first.

In the current situation, Huaidong is extra concerned about the gains and losses of Guanxi Ridge, and sends more than 1,000 armor soldiers to defend it, and the trail at the western foot of Guanxi Ridge is not smooth, so it is difficult to send a large number of troops to attack immediately.

Four small-scale counteroffensives in a row were repulsed, and it was tested that the Huaidong Army's will to defend Guanxiling was unshakable, and the next step was to consider whether to fight a tug-of-war around Guanxiling, or to withdraw and build a fortress between Shanxisai and Hengshan City, so that the defense line in front of Hengshan could be completely consolidated.

The Flying Bear summoned the generals to discuss the matter.

"In Shangrao, Huaidong's soldiers and horses have surpassed our army by a large margin, and there is even the possibility of continuing to increase troops, and the tug-of-war and consumption around Guanxi Ridge will put our army in a more unfavorable situation," Wang Hui was once a general who would be guarded, and after the soldiers of Liangchuan County were defeated, he chose to join the luxury flying bear, and he has been fighting on the Western Front all these years, and he is not as likely as Tian Chang, Su Tingzhan and other generals to have the opportunity to directly face the Huaidong Army, but his choice is still cautious and conservative, and it is not recommended to carry out a counteroffensive against Guanxi Ridge, saying, "For our army, holding Shangrao is fundamental, When Jiangzhou or Cao Yan of Guanxi decides the winner, a turnaround will naturally occur, rather than expending troops in the battle for the border......"

"Once the Huaidong Army is called to open the passage of Guanxi Ridge into Shanxi, there will only be Shanxi Village and Hengshan City on the southern line to prevent the main force of the Huaidong Army from approaching Shangrao," Shi Hejin said, "On the periphery of Shanxi and Hengshan City, the terrain is open, which is convenient for the Huaidong Army to besiege the superior forces, but what?" ”

"Our army can mobilize 20,000 soldiers and horses to the Shanxi River Valley to fight a decisive battle with the Huaidong Army, and the Huaidong Army will not come in easily, but it wants to dig a passage for 20,000 soldiers and horses and supplies to pass through the Guanxi Ridge, and it will not be possible to do it in March or May," Deng Yu said, "In these three or five months, we can fight out from the jaws or Litang, and we can also build additional fortifications between Xiaxi Pass and Duxianyu......

"Both choices, I'm afraid they are both what the Huaidong Army wants!" Fei Fei Xiong said with a heavy face.

Huaidong's tactics on the front of Shangrao became extremely conservative, and they also built fortifications and confrontations on the front of Litang and Jaws, and they were not in a hurry to attack, and even did not hesitate to spend an extra three or five months, but also wanted to open up a new channel for sending troops between Guanxi Ridge, isn't it forcing this side to invest more troops and build more fortifications in Hengshan and Shanxi?