Loufan Pass is the last line of defense among the three defense lines of the Northern Sui army. Once the Turkic army breaks through this line of defense, the Turkic cavalry will enter the hinterland of Bingzhou, bringing a catastrophe to the people of Bingzhou.

After the Northern Sui army occupied Loufan Pass, it immediately began to rebuild the Guancheng. The main reason was that the wall of Guancheng on the north needed to be rebuilt, from one zhang high to three zhang high, it was replaced with huge bluestone strips, and the city wall was widened and heightened, increasing the soldiers involved in defending the city from 3,000 to 5,000.

That afternoon, a team of 3,000 cavalrymen headed north from Loufan County and arrived at Loufan Pass. The general of Loufan Pass was Huya Lang General Fan Wenchao. He belonged to the third guard of the Northern Sui Army, namely Pei Xingyan, and led his army of 5,000 to guard Loufan Pass.

When Fan Wenchao heard that a king flag appeared in the army, he hurriedly met five miles away. This army was Zhang Xuan coming from Jingxing and inspecting the combat preparations of the three northern counties.

"See the general in a humble position!" Fan Wenchao urged him to step forward and bow to Zhang Xuan with his fists.

Fan Wenchao was the son of Fan Zigai, the former Minister of the Civil Affairs Department. He was wanted for participating in Yang Xuangan's rebellion. His father also cut off the father-son relationship with him. Fan Wenchao was desperate and had to surrender to the Wagang Army. He was depressed and was unsuccessful. When Zhai Rang surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, Fan Wenchao was ordered to take the opportunity to surrender Zhang Xuan and was appointed as the general of Huya.

Fan Wenchao was mediocre in martial arts and used a 60-pound big sword. He was not good at long-distance raids or charge. Pei Xingyan asked him to train the third guard recruits, but his extraordinary qualities were soon revealed. The army he trained was very good at defending the city. Pei Xingyan discovered Fan Wenchao's specialty, which was good at defending the defense. This time, Pei Xingyan chose the main general who guarded Loufan Pass, so Pei Xingyan strongly recommended Fan Wenchao.

Zhang Xuan asked with a smile: "How did General Fan know that I was coming? Is it because of the Wangqi?"

"Reporting to the commander, the scout sent by Beiyi has been confirmed to be the arrival of the Sui army, and the Sui army will not be able to attack the king's flag, so Beiyi determines that the commander's arrival."

Zhang Xuan actually wanted to ask him, if Tang Jun was dressed up, wouldn’t Fan Wenchao go to the city to greet him? But although Fan Wenchao’s answer was simple, there were no loopholes.

Zhang Xuan nodded and smiled, "Is Guancheng sufficient supplies?"

"Report to the Grand Marshal, the sled team from Yanmen County has sent supplies."

Zhang Xuan nodded happily, and the sled team was indeed here.

Zhang Xuan then followed Fan Wenchao into the city. After a while, Zhang Xuan went to the city to inspect the combat readiness. Although Pei Xingyan strongly recommended Fan Wenchao to guard Loufan Pass and praised him for his superior ability to defend the city, Zhang Xuan had never seen it. Today he was a little curious and wanted to see if Pei Xingyan's recommendation was worthy of his name.

Zhang Xuan went to the warehouse first. The warehouse was still in the northwest corner, but there were already several independent stone houses. The top of the warehouse was slightly higher than the city wall. A large hole was opened on the wall, which was connected to the city head. There were dozens of human-powered unicycle wooden carts, namely deer carts, neatly placed next to it.

Zhang Xuan was puzzled why he wanted to open a big hole. Could it be that he would send supplies directly from this big hole? But the hole was at least three meters high from the ground, which really puzzled him.

Fan Wenchao smiled and said, "Your Highness will know when you enter the warehouse."

Zhang Xuan then walked down the corridor and entered the warehouse gate. The size of the warehouse was not visible from the outside. However, when he entered the warehouse, he found that the warehouse was huge. All the materials were placed in different categories against the wall. The placing was neatly arranged and extremely clean. It was the cleanest warehouse that Zhang Xuan had seen, and it could be said to be pleasing to the eye.

Fan Wenchao quickly explained: "Weizhi found that a clean and orderly warehouse is very effective in improving the military's support capabilities. For example, soldiers on the city wall urgently need arrows, but the warehouse is in chaos, with a bunch of arrows here and there, and arrows may be pressed under the spear, which will waste too much time. Therefore, Weizhi believes that the clean and orderly warehouse is the first priority."

Zhang Xuan nodded secretly. From this small detail, we can see that Fan Wenchao is indeed unique in defending the city.

But Zhang Xuan did not praise him. He came directly to a wooden hanging tower. There were three hanging towers, just opposite the wall hole on the above wall. He could directly hang combat supplies from the warehouse with ropes and net bags onto the city wall. It turned out that this was the reason for the opening of the wall hole. This was the first time Zhang Xuan saw him. He was quite interested and stood on the hanging tower and looked carefully.

Fan Wenchao explained on the side: "Bizhi believes that a very important part of defending the city is that the materials for defending the city must be in place at the fastest speed. For example, the arrows of the defenders at the top of the city have been shot, but the arrows in the warehouse have not been sent yet, which is likely to cause a big mistake.

The key to ensuring that the materials for defending the city are in time is to be convenient to transport. Soldiers run from the city to the corridor, not to mention that they are slow, the biggest problem is that it is difficult for deer carts to push up the corridor. Manpower can transport them to the city, but the number of transport is not large, and some large items are still difficult. Therefore, using a crane to lift them directly on the city head, or even directly on the deer cart. Soldiers push the cart to run on the city head, and can deliver a large amount of supplies to the city head in time."

“Have you done the experiment?”

"Of course, the time has been reduced by 50% compared to shipping from below, and the transportation personnel have been reduced by half."

Zhang Xuan sincerely praised: "This is a good idea and deserves great promotion."

Now, Zhang Xuan was completely relieved. He had experienced many battles and knew that defending the city was largely a logistics support. If the logistics support was effective, then this battle to defend the city would have a basis for victory. No wonder Pei Xingyan strongly recommended this person, and he was indeed superior.

Then there is command in front of the battle, which is also extremely important and is the key to whether you can defend the city. I wonder if Fan Wenchao is good at this point?

At this time, Zhang Xuan suddenly thought of another person, Wang Xuanjing, the general under Yuchi Gong. This person is also known for defending the city. He is especially good at commanding the battle. He defended the attack of tens of thousands of Tang troops with hundreds of people in Huguan. In that battle, he was promoted to General Yingyang Lang. Wang Xuanjing's commanding the battle and Fan Wenchao's logistics support, isn't this a seamless combination?

Thinking of this, Zhang Xuan immediately decided to ask Yuchi Gong for someone to get together as soon as possible and reach a tacit understanding. Then Loufan Pass would be like a wall of iron.

After coming out of the warehouse, Zhang Xuan went to the city again. He found another unique feature. There was no catapult on the top of the city, but was filled with yellow crossbows. The yellow crossbow is also called heavy crossbows. It cannot be operated by individual soldiers. At least two people need to be wound on the strings. It is quite heavy and inconvenient to carry, so it is not used much in the field.

Zhang Xuan frowned and asked, "Is General Fan going to replace the catapult with a rhubarb crossbow?"

Fan Wenchao hurriedly said: "Your Highness, I have carefully considered it. Using a big yellow crossbow is more lethal than a catapult."

"Why? Let's hear it!"

"A large catapult has a range of 300 steps, and a big yellow crossbow has a kill range of 300 steps. It takes twenty-five people to operate a catapult, and only two people can operate a big yellow crossbow. That is to say, a catapult can be exchanged for twelve big yellow crossbows, and well-trained soldiers can shoot three arrows within a throwing time of the catapult. This is a comparison between a big stone and thirty-six big yellow crossbows. To deal with dense cavalry, a big stone can injure about ten people, while thirty-six big yellow crossbows can kill at least thirty people."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Xuan interrupted coldly, "Does General Pei know that using a big yellow crossbow to replace the catapult?"

Fan Wenchao had a little cold sweat on his head. Using a catapult was a strict order issued by the commander. He changed the order without the consent of the general, which violated the military law of the Sui army.

He whispered: "Biyi is preparing to report to General Pei, but Your Highness will arrive first."

Zhang Xuan's face looked a little ugly, and his military law was as good as a mountain. Although Fan Wenchao gave him a good impression, if he was not pursued, there must be sufficient excuses.

"In addition to the fact that the big yellow crossbow has more killing effect than the catapult, this is just your point of view. In Liaodong, a big rock rolled out and killed more than 30 people, absolutely more than ten people. Well, even if the cavalry hid quickly, only ten people were killed or injured, then is there any other reason?"

Fan Wencheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and whispered: "Your Highness, Loufan Pass can only accommodate 5,000 soldiers. The catapult takes up too many soldiers and takes up too much space, which affects the balance of defense forces and material transportation. Beizhi believes that this is the real reason for replacing the catapult with a big yellow crossbow."

Zhang Xuan's face was a little slow, and he could barely accept this reason. He said lightly: "Today is not the deadline for the final preparations. You must report to General Pei in time to explain the situation to him clearly. If General Pei still disagrees, then you must change it back. Do you understand?"

"I understand!"

"In addition, I will transfer another great general who is good at commanding the war in the future to be your deputy general. I hope you will play your own advantages and cooperate with each other. Then the Turks will not be able to break through the Loufan Pass."

"I must remember Your Highness's instruction!"

At this time, a soldier in the distance shouted: "It's snowing again!"

Zhang Xuan looked up and saw heavy snow falling from the misty sky. He walked to the city wall with his hands behind his back and looked at the gray north. I wonder if the Turks were also actively preparing for war?
Chapter completed!