Four hundred and thirtieth chapters earth and jade chaos
The straight-line distance from the top of the mountain to Shiqu Town was only seven or eight miles. He Qizhou was traveling even faster than the horses running along the mountain road. After running for about four or five miles, He Qizhou jumped from the six-foot-high cliff.
When we reached the driveway, the twelve fleeing cavalrymen happened to pass in front of us.
He Qizhou ran a few steps with the cavalry and asked loudly: "I am from Qi, what's going on?"
These people who escaped did not expect that someone would come down the mountain in this way. Seeing that the other party was so skilled in qinggong and did not attack, they hurriedly shouted: "They are rebels colluding with the Northern Zhou Dynasty and want to prevent us from asking for help!"
"Got it!" He Qizhou immediately thought of Chi Yan and others' trip to the Western Regions, and without saying a word, he continued to rush straight down. If he encountered a cliff that was too high, he would use the deep whirlpool technique to slide down. Most places just kept going.
Jump down! By the time they rushed to the small town at the foot of the mountain, they were far behind the two cavalry groups that were escaping and chasing each other.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" He Qizhou shouted as he ran straight into the city gate.
"What's going on?" Because there was too much movement on the mountain, Xinleshan had been called to the top of the West City.
"There is a rebellion in Tuyuhun. Those who run away in front are asking for help, while those who are chasing behind are those who want to silence them! Set up defenses quickly and call Mr. Bai!" He Qizhou was breathing heavily after finishing speaking. The twelve riders were still about a mile away from the city gate.
, and the pursuers were about a mile away.
"We've already called. Let's get our bows and arrows and prepare to close the city gate!" Xin Leshan shouted.
Shiqu Town has a history of hundreds of years and has always been an important border town. I don’t know which dynasty built the walls of this small town. They are three feet high and six feet wide. There are arrow stacks on them. Although they are not very tall, they are all made of stone.
It is fortified, so it is extremely strong. If it were not for good relations with neighboring countries, heavy troops would always be stationed here.
I don't know who shouted: "There is a war! There is really a war!"
There were many people who responded in the small city, and word spread all of a sudden: "There is a war!" "Tu Yuhun is attacking, go to the west gate!" "Copycat!" "Where's the horse? Where's my horse? Donkeys are fine too!"...
…
In the blink of an eye, men were everywhere rushing towards the city gate, ranging from teenagers to sixties. Soon one man surpassed everyone and shouted: "Stop making noise! Let's see what's going on before we talk!" That man
It was Bai Yong who came from the inn.
There were a total of sixteen bows at the top of the city. Before all the twelve cavalry could run into the city, someone was already shooting arrows at the top of the city. One arrow at a time. The arrows were all aimed at the throat. The pursuers hadn't figured it out yet.
What's going on? Four riders have been shot down, but the large group of men and horses quickly caught up to within 40 feet. After breaking up the formation, they began to fight back at the archers at the top of the city. The sixteen bows at the top of the city were also in the arrow stacks.
Under the cover of the enemy, he looked for an opportunity to shoot again.
Of course, He Qizhou was the one who took the lead in shooting the arrow. Behind him, a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old was stamping his feet angrily on the wall. He finally got a chance to try his skills. Before the arrow could reach the string, for some reason, the bow and arrow in his hand
He was snatched away by the guy in front of him who was about the same size as himself, and even squeezed out of his position.
"Hurry! Close the city gate quickly." Xin Leshan couldn't help shouting when he saw that the archers at the top of the city were suppressed and the team of pursuers were rushing toward the city gate.
"Don't close it! Let them in! Those with the fourth pulse and above are guarding the street. Those below the fourth pulse can get away as far as they can!" Bai Yong hurriedly stopped the person closing the door.
The small town only has a central road where several horses can run parallel to each other. The rest of the place is an alleyway two or three feet wide. In the blink of an eye, the enemy cavalry wielding sabers rushed into the city one after another. Only the twelve cavalry rushing towards the east gate were in sight.
, where do you pay attention to those middle-aged and elderly people on the street holding knives and swords?
Bai Yong put in more than thirty cavalry. When he saw someone raising a knife and preparing to attack the guard behind the gate, he showed the straight knife behind his back. He got close to the enemy cavalry and cut the opponent off his horse with a single blow. He turned around and cut off the enemy again.
One person was left behind. Two frightened horses and men stood up and immediately blocked the city gate, which was only two feet wide.
Only two horses can walk parallel to each other on the slope entering the door at a time. When the following cavalry drove away the frightened horses at the door, Xin Leshan had already brought Bai Chong and others to guard the door with Bai Yong.
It turned out that it was already the fourth line. Under the leadership of Bai Yong, the enemy cavalry rushed up the slope and killed one of them, and two of the two above them.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the enemy troops under his command hurriedly shouted: "Don't attack the city yet! Shoot arrows!"
Bai Yong then calmly retreated into the city and ordered his people to close the city gate. However, those who had rushed into the city earlier had been "served" and obeyed. There were more than thirty riders, half of whom were killed and half of whom were captured. The streets were full of people.
They are middle-aged and elderly people with bright smiles.
"Do you understand? We are short of horses!" Bai Yong shouted to Xin Leshan.
"Brother, they seem to be running away!" someone shouted from the top of the city.
Xin Leshan asked hurriedly: "Master, they seem to be running away?"
Bai Yong clicked lightly and just jumped to the top of the city when he saw He Qizhou shooting another person. He couldn't help shouting: "What an arrow!"
"The caravan that set out in the morning is still on the mountain." He Qizhou reminded that the last arrow only hit the horse's buttocks, and all the pursuers had begun to retreat.
When Bai Yong saw that there were only about 150 people on the other side, he said: "Then what are you waiting for? Everyone with horses will get on their horses and chase after me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, more than 30 war horses on the street were snatched away at once. Some of the ones who didn't get it were swearing and swearing. The defenders in the city already had more than 40 horses.
Shi Ye quickly chased after him.
He Qizhou originally wanted to snatch a horse from someone else, but when he saw that the young man who led the horse out of the city was the one from whom he had snatched the bow and arrow, the resentful look in his eyes made him unable to do anything, so he could only take it from an old man.
He grabbed a Tuyuhun war horse from his hand, and until He Qizhou returned to the city, he could still hear the old man's endless "greetings."
The enemy cavalry that had just been chasing like a whirlwind were now running away like a whirlwind. On the zigzag mountain road, in front of them were a hundred and fifty Tuyuhun cavalry stretched into a one-mile stretch. Two or three miles behind, there were a hundred or so cavalry stretched into a five-mile stretch.
Among the pursuers in Shiqu Town, the last man actually rode a donkey, shouting as he rode: "Stop chasing, there are two thousand of them! Two thousand!"
"Master, why don't we chase him?" Xin Leshan asked after chasing him to the top of the mountain.
Bai Yong said: "Do you think we are the heavy armored cavalry of the Royal Forest Army? Didn't you hear that there are two thousand people on the other side? Let's take back the caravan that stayed on the top of the mountain first!"
Back in the city, the twelve Tuyuhun cavalrymen spoke out the difficulties they were facing in tears. The leader was Tuyuhun's Minister of Rites. In order to deliver the news as quickly as possible, his throat was hoarse and he spoke quickly to Bai Yong:
"Because last year, 30,000 elite troops from the royal city were transferred to help Da Qi defend Jiayuguan. This year, Qi State went on an expedition, and the army that had suffered heavy casualties was still required to stay for a period of time.
The Northern Zhou Dynasty sent people to the Western Regions, borrowed 10,000 elite soldiers from the Kangche Kingdom, and then conspired with King Haijun, who had already colluded with him, to rebel. King Ruocha of Haijun was the uncle of King Tuyuhun, the leader of the large Haixi tribe, and controlled all the troops
There are more than 30,000 people. We have only 100,000 soldiers in the country. Seeing the strength of the rebels, the defenders in various places kept surrendering the rebels. Within five days, the rebels surrounded the royal city of Xining.
There are only 5,000 guards in Xining City, so we have to abandon the outer city and stick to the inner city. Although the inner city is strong and tens of thousands of people have been recruited to help defend it, the enemy besieging the city has reached nearly 40,000 people. You Daqi must send troops as soon as possible to help
Tu Yuhun put down the rebellion!"
Bai Yong said: "Is there a rescue letter? I will prepare eight hundred miles of urgent documents."
"Wait a minute! You are dressed in fine clothes, how do you look like you are running away in a hurry? It is much more convenient to go from Gannan, why do you want to send the letter from here?" He Qizhou asked hurriedly.
"My lord, please get ready first." The Minister of Rites ordered Bai Yong and then turned around and asked He Qizhou: "Who are you?"
"My name is He Qizhou." He Qizhou replied confidently.
The Minister of Rites only thought that the other party was a local strong man, and said: "That's a good question. We were originally a mission to Luoyang to congratulate us. We have already reached the border of Gannan. The Xin soldiers who broke out from the royal city caught up with us and informed the capital of what happened.
It was said that the Gannan garrison had also rebelled, so we had no choice but to turn here overnight.
Because Gannan Border City had received news that the mission was about to pass by, they sent people to chase us after waiting for a long time. We were all civil servants, and we were still chased after running for three days and three nights. The dozen or so people who came from the royal city
Almost all the elite soldiers who broke out and our guards were killed.
There are about 2,000 pursuers. Fortunately, the border town here has not rebelled yet and blocked us for a while. Most of the 2,000 people stayed in the town to clear out the defenders. They may attack soon. We can defend this place.
If you can't hold on, then defend, if you can't hold on, retreat, and be sure to send the letter for help to Luoyang as soon as possible!"
After speaking, the Minister of Rites took out the sheepskin and blood book written on the road from his arms. It had the seal of his Ministry of Rites on it, and he also handed over the credentials of the envoy.
"Is King Qin of Qi okay?" He Qizhou asked again.
"I'm trapped in the royal city too, so I must hurry."
"By the way, let me ask you again, what kind of gift are you congratulating?" He Qizhou asked.
"It's the wedding ceremony of Xiao Jihuai and Princess Mei."
As soon as he heard Xiao Jihuai, He Qizhou became nervous for no reason. Fortunately, the second name was Princess Mei, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Xiao Jihuai? No wonder." Bai Chong said a little enviously.
"Have you heard of him? Why haven't you heard of me?" He Qizhou didn't expect Xiao Jihuai's reputation to be so famous in the border town, and he couldn't help feeling a little sour.
"Who doesn't know Mr. Xiao?" someone in the mission shouted.
He Qizhou no longer asked for trouble and said: "I'm sorry, this matter is so important, I still have to ask one more question: Why did Xiao Jihuai's marriage alarm your country's Minister of Etiquette?"
"It was unfavorable for the Qi State to send troops. The Xiao family is now powerful, and after marrying into the Zhang family, one of the three great families, the emperor personally granted him the title of princess. My king did not want to lose etiquette, so he sent me to lead a delegation to congratulate him.
"
"Qi State was defeated?" Although He Qizhou had had a premonition, he still felt shocked.
"It's not bad. Some men and horses were lost, but the land was not lost. Beizhou was unable to counterattack for a while."