The knight in front fell, and the cavalry behind him were caught off guard and couldn't hold their feet. They bumped into each other one after another, and the whole team was in chaos. However, the Xueyantuo people's riding skills were very good, and the people behind them quickly controlled their horses.
, but the momentum of the impact also stagnated. At this time, the second round of iron arrows from the Western Navy came over again.
The biggest disadvantage of the crossbow is that loading iron arrows is time-consuming and laborious, but Liu Ziqiu has a total of 20,000 cavalry. After the first round of cavalry fired, they gave way to both sides, and the second round of cavalry followed closely and fired another wave of iron arrows. This wave of iron arrows
After the shooting, Xue Yantuo's forward had lost at least half of its troops.
Liu Ziqiu swung his sword: "Kill!"
The two elite cavalry rushed out and attacked Xue Yantuo's team like dragons. The two cavalry sent by Liu Ziqiu each had 800 people, and they did not have much advantage in numbers. The knights of Xue Yantuo's tribe were equally brave, and they saw both sides
The number of people was equal, so they did not choose to retreat and escape, but faced each other with swords drawn. The two armies collided fiercely, the swords flashed, and they screamed repeatedly. After a round of collision, there were only more than two hundred knights of Xue Yantuo's tribe left.
However, the 800 cavalrymen of the Western Navy only lost a few dozen people. Although many of them were injured, they were still vigorous and vigorous. After another round of charge, only six of Xue Yantuo's men were left on horseback.
Behind Liu Ziqiu's army, the team cleared a road so that the women and children behind could witness this tragic battle. The law on the grassland is that the strong is respected, and these women and children also respect the heroes. Seeing that the numbers of both sides are equal, the result of the battle is like this
The disparity can make these women and children who originally belonged to the Turkic Qilifa tribe more determined to integrate into the Xihai tribe created by Liu Ziqiu more quickly.
The only six remaining warriors of Xue Yantuo's forward troops were still holding their scimitars tightly. They thought they would not escape death, but the pride of the grassland people made them put life and death aside for a long time. Suddenly, a long horn sounded from Liu Ziqiu's army,
The hundreds of cavalry who surrounded these six warriors retreated like a tide. When these cavalry retreated, they did not forget to take away their comrades who fell on the ground, whether they were killed or injured. This is Liu Ziqiu
He has repeatedly emphasized that as long as he is still breathing, he will never give up on any of his subordinates! It is precisely because of this that he can have super strong cohesion and make these rebellious prairie men willing to drive for him.
Liu Ziqiu held a long knife in his hand, rode his horse forward, and shouted sternly: "Go back and tell your master, no matter who you are, anyone who dares to block Liu's path will be killed without mercy!"
Those Xue Yantuo knights could not understand Chinese and looked at each other at a loss. It was not until Jiao Liyan translated Liu Ziqiu's words into Turkic that their expressions changed. Ants still live in vain, even the toughest prairie people are no exception. These few
The knight had just made up his mind to die. It was a helpless choice when there was no chance of survival. When he heard that the other party was going to let them go, the desperate momentum that he had accumulated immediately dissipated without a trace, and he muttered in a low voice.
After a few words, they all turned their horses and retreated.
There were more than 60,000 women and children. Many of the people behind could not see the scene in front of them, but after word of mouth spread, they also burst into cheers. With such a battle loss ratio, even the most elite guards in the East Turks' tents did not have this ability.
.And all of this was done by the ordinary warriors around them. They had long forgotten that they were still Turks and prisoners of these warriors, and regarded themselves as one of them.
Xue Shixiong personally led five thousand elite cavalry to the halfway point. When he heard the news of the defeat of the former army, he couldn't help but be shocked. He was hesitating whether to go to the rescue when he saw several horsemen coming in despair. When asked about the battle, Xue Shixiong was so shocked that he almost missed the cut with the scimitar in his hand.
Falling to the ground, he kept saying: "Who are they?"
One of the surviving knights thought for a long time and said: "Their leader spoke Chinese, as if he was trying to borrow a way."
"Han people?" Xue Shixiong frowned, "How come the Han people came from the east?"
In fact, what Xue Shixiong wanted to say was that the Han people had always huddled behind city walls, so how could they dare to take the initiative to come to the grasslands. But the enemy's powerful combat power shocked him so much that he was a little timid and did not dare to talk nonsense. It was not Xue Shixiong.
He is afraid of death, but as the leader of the Xueyantuo tribe, he is responsible for the safety of the entire tribe. If the entire tribe is destroyed because of a wrong decision or even a wrong word, then he will regret it for the rest of his life.
Of course, Xue Shixiong has a good idea. Liu Ziqiu is indeed vigorously training Han cavalry, but it does not happen overnight to achieve the same superb riding skills as the nomadic tribes. Moreover, fighting on the vast grassland is no better than riding on horseback since childhood.
Nomadic cavalry composed of grown-up herdsmen are more suitable for the army. Therefore, Liu Ziqiu chose nomadic cavalry for this expedition. Even if there were some Han people among them, they were slaves who had been kidnapped by nomadic tribes since childhood and had just been liberated.
Another knight said with great certainty: "They are indeed Han people. I also saw many women and children behind them."
The knight who spoke first seemed to wake up and echoed: "Yes, yes, it seems to be a tribal migration."
Xue Shixiong was even more confused. If they were Han people, where did the tribal migration come from? But one thing is certain, since there are a large number of women and children accompanying them, they are definitely not here to fight, and it is not impossible to take advantage of the road. Continue from here
To the south is the Dunhuang County of the Sui Dynasty. Thinking of this, Xue Shixiong waved to two of his confidants: "Jurtu, hurry back to the camp and inform everyone to prepare for the move! Vidya, if you understand Chinese, go and ask in front.
Who are they and what do they want?"
At this time, Xue Shixiong already regretted that he should not have let the reckless Yantuo Agan take the lead. Maybe this was just a misunderstanding.
Not long after leaving, Vide'a came back with his horse and said loudly: "I have inquired clearly, it is really the soldiers and horses of the Sui Dynasty. They captured Qilifa's camp three days ago and are now escorting the loot back to the West Sea via Dunhuang."
Qilifa is one of the three most powerful tribes in the Eastern Turks. Xue Yantuo's tribe also had conflicts with them and suffered a small loss. Therefore, Xue Shixiong was deeply impressed by Qilifa and did not believe in the powerful Qilifa.
The tribe couldn't even defend their own camp, so they asked in a deep voice: "Are you sure they really captured the Qilifa camp?"
Videa nodded seriously and said: "Their leader is called Liu Ziqiu. He claims to be the new general manager of Hexi Road in the Sui Dynasty. He has 20,000 fine cavalry under his command. They captured no less than 60,000 women and children, as well as a large number of cattle.
Sheep. By the way, Qi Lifa's wife Mu Duoli was held in Liu Ziqiu's arms. I recognize her and can't lie."
Even Qi Lifa's wife became a prisoner. It is absolutely true that Qi Lifa's camp was captured, and the combat effectiveness shown by the other party in annihilating Yantuo Agan's troops just now cannot be underestimated. Xue Shixiong's destruction of Qi Lifa
Already convinced, but still a little hesitant: "Since that Liu Ziqiu was just passing by, why didn't he even say hello? If he sent an envoy over, there would be no misunderstanding."
Yantuo Mu'en, who was following Xue Shixiong, said angrily: "What nonsense, Liu Ziqiu, he doesn't take us Xue Yantuo people seriously at all. Brother Xue, give the order! I will lead people to kill Liu Ziqiu, and seize those women and children."
And cattle and sheep. If you still can’t win, come and see me!”
Yantuomun is the brother of Yantuo Agan, and he has the same bad temper as his brother. Xue Shixiong glared at him, as if he was seeing an idiot. Just now, the three thousand cavalrymen were cleaned up and fled back.
The six people seemed to have lost their souls, and the morale of the others was also affected. Why should they fight with others? After glaring at Yantuomun, Xue Shixiong ignored him and turned to look at him again.
Videa asked: "What do you think Liu Ziqiu wants to do?"
The look on Wei Dea's face became strange, and after a while he said: "Liu Ziqiu is indeed arrogant. He never planned to inform anyone along the way. He even said that if anyone dared to stop him, he would kill him.
!But, but..."
Xue Shixiong saw that Wei Dea was about to speak but hesitated, and said displeased: "But what about it?"
Videa sighed and said: "But he also has that capital. It is said that because Qi Lifa attacked a county town in Wuwei County, Liu Ziqiu sent troops to wipe out Qi Lifa's tribe. His actions were similar to those of the past.
Sui officials are completely different. In my opinion, it is better not to offend him and let them pass."
Xue Shixiong pondered for a moment and said: "I understand. Liu Ziqiu could have returned directly to Wuwei County, but chose to take a detour to the west in order to show off his force to us and warn us not to disturb the Sui border. Otherwise, today will be our tomorrow.
.”
Yantuomun shouted: "How can we not disturb the Sui border? Where do the salt, iron, cloth, and slaves come from?"
The living environment on the grasslands was extremely difficult, and materials were scarce. It would be fine if there were no slaves. However, salt, iron, and cloth were all essential items in life, and they were only produced in the Central Plains. The Sui Dynasty had extremely strict control over border trade, with annual quotas
Very limited, most of the gaps mainly rely on constantly raiding the Sui border and meeting needs through plunder. If they do not raid the border, the life of the Xue Yantuo tribe will be even more difficult.
Xue Shixiong lowered his head and thought for a while, then suddenly asked: "Videa, what are you talking about? Qi Lifa's wife is now being held in Liu Ziqiu's arms?"
Videa nodded and said: "Muduoli is the daughter of Mu Lin, another tribal leader under Qimin Khan. She is a natural beauty. When we were negotiating with Qi Lifa last year, I was in Qi Lifa's tent.
I have met her, so I remember her clearly. Qi Lifa was very fond of her and even let her participate in tribal affairs. Now even Mu Duoli has fallen into the hands of Liu Ziqiu, and Qi Lifa's tribe has been destroyed, I am sure of it!
"
Xue Shixiong laughed loudly and said: "I have a solution!"