There was a cold light in Xi Po's eyes and she said nothing more.
Mika whispered: "Xipo, when the gate of Huiguan is opened, we will rush in directly and arrest Zang Ya and Qu Mang Bu Zhi! How about that?"
Xipo's eyes flashed and she nodded slightly.
At this moment, I saw seven or eight hanging baskets placed on the pass.
Zang Ya crossed his arms and sneered: "General Qu Mang said that in order to prevent you from rushing into the pass, he asked you to put the artillery in the hanging basket, and we will pull it up."
Micah immediately cursed loudly.
Siva is different from Mika. Although she is angry in her heart, she is more aware of the overall situation.
In order to prevent the artillery from falling back into the hands of the Tang people, he immediately ordered down to transport the artillery into the hanging basket.
When all the artillery was brought up, Zangya said again: "Hey, you guys should bring up the prisoners too, so as not to be taken back by the Tang people during the chaos of the war."
The generals didn't think much and were preparing to transport the prisoners up as well.
Xipo's expression changed and she suddenly said: "Wait a minute!" She raised her head and asked Zanya: "How did you know we have prisoners?"
Zan Ya rolled his eyes and said, "You just said you had wiped out 20,000 Tang troops, how could you not have any prisoners?"
Sipo said solemnly: "How do you know we didn't kill the prisoners?"
Zan Ya hummed, "Who doesn't know that Da Lian never kills prisoners?"
Si Po stared at him carefully, but unfortunately she was too far away to see his subtle expression.
Micah asked: "Silpo, what's wrong?"
Xipo said in a deep voice: "Don't you find it strange? Judging from the time, the Tang army should be only about ten miles away from us now, why don't the scouts come to report back?"
Mika was stunned for a moment and shouted: "Yes, the scouts at this distance from us should have discovered it long ago."
Si Po clenched her fingers tightly and looked at the Zan Ya on the wall, her face getting paler and paler.
Mijia said anxiously: "You should tell me what's going on!"
Xipo's eyes were blood red and she said in a hoarse voice: "I'm just afraid... I'm just afraid that the news of Tang Jun's arrival is false!"
Mika was stunned.
Another Tubo general wondered: "The news came from the scouts at the pass. How could it be false?"
Xipo's eyes seemed to be bleeding. She took a deep breath and said, "Mika, take the people ten miles away to have a look. If you encounter the Tang army, retreat back. If you don't encounter it, just...just..."
"Just what?" Mika asked anxiously.
Si Po gave a bitter smile and said: "What else can you do? Just come back and tell me, and I will find a big excuse to apologize!"
Mika was so anxious that his veins popped out, and he said angrily: "I can go, but you have to tell me what's going on, right?"
A quick-responsive Tubo general suddenly said: "General Xipo, could it be that we were deceived by Zanya?"
Sipo pursed her lips tightly, the muscles on her cheeks trembled, and said nothing.
Mika said angrily: "Why were you deceived? Tell me clearly!"
The Tubo general gritted his teeth and said: "Zanya must have surrendered to the Tang army. This pass has... been captured by the Tang people!"
Mika said angrily: "Impossible. This Kunlun Pass is so strong, how could it be knocked down? Absolutely impossible!"
The general said: "If that were not the case, why would the pass scouts lie about the military situation? They clearly wanted to take the opportunity to deceive the artillery!"
Si Po's face was ashen and she said: "I was wondering before why there were traces of being attacked at the pass, but unfortunately I didn't think about it in detail. Now that the artillery has been cheated away, I... how can I explain it to Da Lun!"
Mikayou refused to believe it. He raised his head and shouted loudly: "Zanya, have you surrendered to the Tang army?"
Zanya was silent for a while and said coldly: "It's nonsense, for no reason, why should I surrender to the Tang army?"
Mika said angrily: "The pass was captured by the Tang people. You, a greedy person who is afraid of death, surrendered to the Tang people, right?"
Zangya scolded angrily: "What a fart, you just surrendered to the Tang people. Stop talking nonsense, the Tang people are coming soon. You guys hurry up and bring the prisoners up!"
Xipo took two steps forward and said tentatively: "We have sent scouts to investigate, but no Tang army has come. You deliberately ordered the scouts to lie about the military situation, just to trick the artillery into coming, right?"
Zan Ya remained silent and suddenly retracted his head, no longer visible.
After a while, several artillery pieces were mounted on the parapet. Sipo reacted the fastest and said sternly: "Back off, back off! They are going to use that weapon against us!"
Mika loudly said: "Why retreat? Let's attack the pass immediately, take back the artillery, and kill Zan..."
Before he finished speaking a single word, he suddenly heard a "bang bang bang" sound, several black shadows flashed past, and a "puff" sound came from beside Micah.
Then a scream sounded, and before Mika could turn his head, he smelled the smell of blood in the air.
Turning around to look, his eyes suddenly widened.
I saw a Tibetan general whose right arm had completely disappeared, as if he had been bitten by something, and he was lying on the ground rolling and screaming.
Behind the general, there were several other soldiers who were similar to him. They were either missing arms or legs. One of them even had a hole in his lower abdomen, and his intestines could be seen.
The wailing sounds don't stop here, there are several other places with the same situation, but they are further away from Micah's position.
The injured people were all in a straight line, and their wounds seemed to have been bitten by wild beasts.
Mika stood there in a daze, a little dazed, when Siva's sharp voice suddenly woke him up.
"Micah, why are you still standing there in a daze? Go back!"
Only then did Micah realize that the sound was quite far away. He turned around and saw that all the generals who were with him just now were riding horses and ran away more than ten feet away.
He suddenly woke up, got on his horse with a few quick steps, then tightly clamped the horse's belly, and ran wildly in the opposite direction of the pass.
He showed amazing riding skills. When riding the horse, he leaned his whole body on the horse's back to minimize the possibility of being attacked.
The generals were like this, and the soldiers were even more confused.
They all fled the pass like ants moving, and more soldiers died under their own feet than were killed by artillery fire.
Mika ran for more than two hundred feet in a row, and finally met up with the other generals. None of the generals spoke, and each commanded his subordinates to retreat in an orderly manner.
It wasn't until all the Tibetan soldiers retreated to a distance of 250 feet from the pass that the roaring at the pass stopped.
Generals, you looked at me, and I looked at you, but they didn't speak for a while.
After a while, Micah was the first to recover.
After all, his courage was different from that of ordinary generals, and he said loudly: "Don't cry in mourning. I see that artillery is not very powerful. It can only hurt dozens of people at a time. Let's make siege weapons immediately and attack Kunlun Pass!"
Xi Po said with a pale face: "The Kunlun Pass is so strong, the power of the artillery is so terrifying, and I don't know how many Tang troops are inside. How can we, a tired army of 30,000 people, defeat it?"
The quick-responsive Tubo general said: "General Xipo, I don't think there will be too many Tang troops in the pass!"
Xipo was stunned: "How do you know?"
The general said: "If there were enough of them, they could have taken advantage of our chaos to make a surprise attack just now, or they could have deceived some of us into the pass and surrounded and annihilated them. But now they don't even dare to open the door. There are a certain number of people inside."
Not too much!”
Xipo's eyebrows lit up and she said loudly: "That makes sense!"
Mika yelled hurriedly: "Then what are you waiting for? Attack quickly. I will personally lead the attack. I must kill that bastard Zanya!"
Xipo gritted her teeth and said: "Okay, send the order immediately and ask the soldiers to cut down the trees and make siege equipment. They will attack Kunlun Pass in three hours!"
Two hours later, a scout suddenly returned and said that he had found a deserter from Kunlun Pass on a nearby mountain.
Xipo immediately ordered someone to bring the deserter for questioning and asked: "Are you a defender of Kunlun Pass?"
The deserter shook his head and said, "I am a soldier of General Qu Mang."
When Mika heard this, he turned his hand and slapped him in the face with a whip.
The deserter covered his face and said loudly: "Why did you hit me?"
Mika said: "You guys are a bunch of trash. The Tang army easily captured Bahuan City. Shouldn't you be beaten?"
The deserter said: "The weapons of the Tang Dynasty are too powerful and the city walls are like cheese. So what can be done?"
Mika said angrily: "How dare you find excuses." Just as he was about to lash out again, Siva stopped him.
Xipo said in a deep voice: "Let me ask you, how did the Tang army capture the Kunlun Pass?"
The deserter hesitated and made no answer.
Sipo let go of Mika's hand, and Mika immediately slapped the other side of his face with a whip and said sternly: "Speak quickly, or I'll whip you to death!"
The deserter lowered his head and whispered: "More than 20,000 Tang troops came to attack the city. They used the weapons used to attack the city to shoot iron balls from a long distance. Our bows and arrows could not reach them. Qu Mang
The general said that sooner or later Kunlun Pass would be unable to be defended, so he led everyone to abandon the pass and escape."
The other generals had just seen the power of the artillery, and they did not speak. Only Mika loudly said: "Cowards! You cowards, you are all frightened by the artillery of the Tang Dynasty!"
Xipo's focus was not here. He asked with a pale face: "You said the Tang army has more than 20,000 people?"
The deserter nodded and said: "Yes, General Qu Mang said that if there were not so many of them, he would definitely lead his army out of the border and fight with them!"
Xipo's hands were trembling a little. She looked at the pass and murmured: "How could this happen? There are really more than 20,000 Tang troops at this pass? Then why don't they come out to attack us?"
Mika suddenly roared angrily, lifted up the deserter, and broke off the deserter's right arm with both hands, causing the deserter to scream in pain.
Siva was surprised and said: "Are you crazy?"
Mika roared angrily: "He is lying to us. He must have been sent by the Tang people to confuse us deliberately, so that we would not dare to attack the pass!"
Sipo was stunned for a moment and asked the scout: "How did you find him?"
The scout said: "He was hiding in a cave. When I passed by the cave accidentally, I found horse hoof prints nearby, so I went into the cave to inquire and found him."
Xipo frowned, it was impossible to fake this kind of accidental situation, and they were guarding the pass, so the Tang people couldn't send people out to fake it.
But if there are really more than 20,000 Tang people in the pass, why don't they come out?
Just as he was hesitating, the quick-responsive Tibetan general suddenly said: "Are they waiting for a big discussion?"
A flash occurred in Xipo's mind and she exclaimed: "Yes, that's it. The reason why they didn't attack was to wait for Dalun to come over so that they could capture Dalun alive!"
Mika shouted: "These bastards have this idea!"
Sipo still dared to stay longer and immediately said: "Give me the order to retreat quickly. Go to the nearby Kiwi Tao Mountain first, and then send someone to inform Dalu of the situation!"
All the Tibetan generals said yes, and soon they all retreated from the pass.
Before reaching Kiguo Mountain, a scout came to report on the road, saying that the troops from Qin Lun were ten miles ahead and coming this way.
Not long after, the two armies reunited.
Micah and Siva got off their horses and both fell to their knees. Siva loudly said: "Dalu, I made a big mistake. Please kill me!"
Lun Qinling frowned, looked at the rear of the army, and said in a deep voice: "What happened? Why didn't you enter Kunlun Pass? Where are all the artillery?"
Xipo lowered her head and hissed: "The truth is that the Kunlun Pass has been captured by the Tang army. They... they used the surrendered prisoners to deceive the artillery!"
As he spoke, he told the whole process of defrauding the artillery, and also told what the deserter said.
Talking about Qinling, I was stunned and speechless.
After a long time, he sighed and said with a wry smile: "It's not your fault, it's my misjudgment again. The only Tang army chasing us is Xue Rengui's 5,000 men, and the other Tang army split up to attack Kunlun Pass."
Xipo, Mika and other generals also wanted to understand this, and they were all dejected.
More than 40,000 of them were driven back for several days by Xue Rengui's 5,000. For this reason, they spared a besieged Tang army and abandoned a large amount of food, grass and baggage.
It can be said to be a great shame and humiliation.
In their hearts, Qin Ling has always been an image of a man who wields soldiers like a god and knows every strategy. However, this time, he also fell into the Tang people's conspiracy.
Xi Po said with a pale face: "Big talk, Kunlun Pass is blocked by the Tang army, we can only take a detour back, but our army only has enough food and grass for one day, what should we do?"
When Lun Qinling looked around, he saw that everyone's eyes were mixed with fear and frustration, and morale could be said to be extremely low.
If we try to attack Kunlun Pass at this time, there is absolutely no hope of capturing it.
But if we take a detour back to Tubo, most people will starve to death.
Faced with such a desperate situation, he suddenly smiled and said lightly: "Don't worry, Kunlun Pass will be back in our hands within three days. Let's go to Kiwi Mountain to camp first."
Xipo was surprised and said: "Then the Tang army won't come to attack us?"
On Qinling's confidence: "Absolutely not."
When everyone saw his expression, they immediately felt relieved.
Xipo was more thoughtful, so she hesitated and asked, "Da Lun, can you tell us the reason?"
Lun Qinling smiled and said: "Do you know why the Tang army in Kunlun Pass did not come out to fight you?"
Xi Po was stunned and said: "Is it...do they want to wait for you to pass by and then catch us all?"
Lun Qinling shook his head and said: "That's not the reason."
Mika asked anxiously: "Why is that?"
Lun Qinling smiled slightly, but did not answer directly, and said leisurely: "If I am not wrong, Xue Rengui of the Tang Dynasty must be as confused as you are now."
The sun sets and twilight falls.
By a small river, Xue Rengui's army and horses were camping and resting.
After the 5,000 Tang troops fought against the 10,000 Tubo troops at Lunqinling, only about 4,000 were left.
Although a thousand people died, they killed more than 3,000 Tibetans. Every Tang soldier held his head high and his morale was high.
Although Xue Rengui still had a serious expression, he spoke more than usual, and he and other generals gathered around a fire to eat.
At this moment, a Tang Army scout arrived and reported the military situation at Kunlun Pass.
After Xue Rengui heard this, his face turned livid instantly.
Yang Xuanji beside him said angrily: "Why didn't the Kunlun Pass defenders attack? There are more than 20,000 people. Are they still afraid of 30,000 Tibetan troops?"
Zhang Jiujie hurriedly grabbed Yang Xuanji and gave him a look.
Yang Xuanji immediately remembered that the leader of the 20,000-man army was Xue Rengui's eldest son, Xue Ne, and immediately stopped talking.
Xue Rengui said coldly: "The army will set off immediately to Kunlun Pass!"
On the way, another scout came to report that the Tibetan army was stationed in Kiwi Mountain to rest and kill horses for food.
When Xue Rengui learned this, he frowned and his face became even more gloomy.
After a day's journey, the army arrived at Kunlun Mountain.
The flag on the pass has turned into a Tang-character flag, the door is wide open, and Xue Ne personally leads the soldiers out to greet him, saying: "Father, you are here."
Xue Rengui did not dismount and said coldly: "Let me ask you, what did I say when we divided our troops?"
Xue Na gave a bitter smile and said: "At that time, when we learned that the artillery was captured by the Tubo people, you gave me more than 20,000 troops and asked me to attack Kunlun Pass. After the Tubo people fled to Kunlun Pass, defeat them and recapture them.
artillery!"
In fact, the guess about Qinling was not wrong.
After Xue Rengui captured Baguan City and learned the entire Tibetan strategy from the prisoners, he immediately led all his troops back to Qiemo City, intending to outflank Lun Qinling.
However, halfway through the journey, Zhang Xuanyu suddenly sent someone to tell him that Guo Daifeng had led troops to Huerling without authorization and planned to ambush Lun Qinling.
Xue Rengui had long heard the name Lun Qinling.
Especially when he was attacking the camp in the west, Wu Chengsi would nag something in his ear from time to time, saying that Lun Qinling was his lifelong enemy and he should not be careless when facing him.
The first time Xue Rengui heard Wu Chengsi praise a foreign general like this, he wrote down the name.
He knew Guo Daifeng's abilities, and he might be considered a good general, but if he encountered an enemy like Lun Qinling, he would most likely lose the battle.
If he is defeated, the artillery will fall into the hands of the Tubo people. If they take the artillery back to Tibet, it will affect the entire strategy of the Tang army to attack the Tubo people.
As a last resort, he could only make a dangerous move and divide his troops into two groups, letting his eldest son Xue Na lead the main force to attack Kunlun Pass, while he led his light cavalry to help Guo Daifeng.
Approaching Hu'erling, the Tubo people were frightened by him and gave up the encirclement and suppression of Guo Daifeng, and took another road to retreat to Kunlun Pass.
Xue Rengui pursued fiercely all the way, forcing the opponent to give up his baggage, and finally forced Lun Qinling to cut off the rear.
As a result, there were only more than 30,000 tired Tibetan troops going to Kunlun Pass, and Qinling was not there. Xue Rengui believed that Xue Na could annihilate them.
Who would have thought that Xue Na would let them go!
Xue Rengui said sternly: "Why didn't you send troops?"
A young general next to Xue Ne said: "General, you can't blame the young general for this. After we were stationed at Kunlun Pass for two days, many people in the army suddenly fell ill, and most of those who were not ill were weak and unable to fight at all.
!”
Xue Rengui was shocked.
He had indeed heard someone say that people from the Tang Dynasty were prone to falling ill when they arrived in Tubo, and people in the four towns of Anxi called it "miasma."
Generally speaking, people with poor health are more likely to suffer from this disease. Xue Rengui realized that everyone in the Western Army was strong and healthy, so he did not take this disease too seriously.
Who knew this disease could be so serious!
"Take me there immediately to have a look."
Entering Kunlun Pass and arriving at the wounded barracks, almost all the wounded barracks were filled with soldiers. Some were vomiting, some were moaning softly, and some had difficulty breathing.
After Xue Rengui visited several wounded barracks, he stopped asking for accountability and asked Xue Ne about his method of seizing the artillery. Xue Ne explained it in detail.
Zhang Jiujie smiled and said: "Major General, even when you were unable to fight, you were still able to deceive the artillery back with ruse. Not only is it nothing wrong, it is actually a meritorious service!"
Xue Ne gave a bitter smile and sighed: "If possible, I would rather kill all those 30,000 Tubo troops with my own hands!"
Yang Xuanji said carelessly: "Young General, there is no need to regret. The Tubo people are still entrenched in the Kiwitao Mountain area and have not left. After the soldiers recover from their illness, we can immediately follow the commander to annihilate them!"
Xue Rengui suddenly said: "Xue Ne, go and call over the Tibetan general named Zanya."
Xue Ne agreed and ordered someone to call Zanya.
Zan Ya said respectfully: "I have met General Xue in my humble position!"
Xue Rengui was not polite and said straightforwardly: "General Zanya, many people in our army got "miasma" after arriving at Kunlun Pass. Do you know how to treat this disease?"
Zanya shook his head and said: "Back to General, because only people from other countries who come to us will get this disease, we will never get this disease ourselves, so we don't know how to treat it!"
Zhang Jiujie frowned and said, "Hasn't any of you Tubo people ever had this disease?"
"Yes, even newborn children will not get this disease. According to the masters in the temple, it is because we Tubo people are blessed by the Buddha, so we are fine."
Yang Xuanji snorted secretly and thought to himself: "God bless you, you must be used to this kind of poison." He had heard people say that people who have been exposed to poison for a long time can resist the poison.
Xue Rengui asked again: "What happens to people who get this disease?"
Zang Ya said: "If you leave Tubo immediately, you can return to normal. If you stay in Tubo, it depends on your luck. If you are lucky, you will live, if you are not lucky, you will die."
Xue Rengui raised his eyebrows. If what Zanya said is true, then this strange disease is like an invisible barrier.
If this barrier cannot be broken down, even if the Tang army can defeat the Tibetans, they will not be able to enter their territory.