"General, I am Xin Leshan, the mayor of Shiqu Town. We currently have five thousand infantry troops stationed in Longqian City, forty miles south of the royal city. We now have two thousand cavalry troops stationed twenty miles south of the royal city, and two thousand cavalry troops.
Thirty miles east of the city, we arrived last night, and the inner city of Xining seems to be in danger and may be breached at any time."
Zhang Zhiren said: "You guys came so quickly. Are there so many cavalry in Shu now? Who is the general in charge? Do you know the rebels' deployment outside the royal city?"
Xin Leshan said: "The commander was originally a general of the Jincheng faction, but now he voluntarily let my master Bai Yong take command. He is the post officer in the town. Among the cavalry, 3,500 are Tuyuhun people, and 500 cavalry
It was gathered together by various people from Shiqu Town and nearby areas. As for the enemy's situation, during the sneak attack last night, the master asked us to count them secretly. He judged that the enemy had about 40,000 horses and 70,000 people. If it were not for the fear of the city being broken,
We don't even dare to make a sneak attack."
Zhang Zhiren said: "I have heard that your master has done a good job. Now it is not so easy for them to break the city. You go back immediately. The tactics are still the same as last night. If they distribute their troops evenly, every place will be weaker."
, I will also divide my troops into several places, and as soon as they start to attack the city, we will harass them from all sides!"
"Okay!" Xin Leshan was excited and ran back.
…
Due to the harassment of the Qi cavalry, the exhausted rebels were unable to organize a decent attack. It was not until the afternoon that a new situation emerged. Lingyue, who had arrived to reconnoiter the royal city, returned to the camp and reported:
"Master Zhang, it's not good. The rebels used a lot of manpower and began to block the entrances to the outer city. They left 20,000 cavalry on patrol outside the city!"
Zhang Zhiren frowned and said: "If this is the case, we will have no choice but to fight to the death with the enemies outside the city. With a total of 15,000 cavalry, we are still capable of fighting. After the city gate is blocked, the people in the city will not come out for reinforcements."
It’s easy, we can only hope that after the rebels divide their forces, the royal city can be defended, I don’t know what you two think.”
"We are just warriors, and we are all at the mercy of Lord Zhang." Lu Zhenyao said.
"Okay, I'll send someone to notify Bai Yong and fight them to the death! Please find a way to control the opponent's coach."
"I will never give up even if I die!"
…
An hour later, the rebels blocked all entrances to the outer city with bricks, stones and earthworks, sealing themselves inside the city. Zhang Zhiren's army joined forces with Bai Yong's army ten miles south of the city, and two thousand soldiers came with Bai Yong.
The infantry archers and a thousand spearmen can also pose a considerable threat to the light cavalry when formed.
Lin Chuan, Liu Junzhi and others were delighted to find that there were people from the Keji tribe in Bai Yong's team, and it was Dili who led the team. This time he brought more than a hundred riders. After several twists and turns, his tribe finally settled in
There is a pasture with a radius of hundreds of miles in the southern border of Tuyuhun.
When Zhang Zhiren's team was about to attack, he heard from Tan Ma that there seemed to be some unusual movements in Xining City, and the several city gates that had just been sealed began to be opened again. Seeing that the opponent did not attack the inner city, for fear that the opponent was deceitful, he temporarily held back his troops.
In Xining City, Ruocha received three bad news in succession: First, a detective came to report that a large group of infantry with more than 10,000 people appeared in Longnan and had entered the territory of Tuyuhun. They could reach the royal city in two days of urgent march;
The second news is even more troublesome. The 20,000 elites led by Crown Prince Li Ruogu passed by the eastern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, bypassed the Qilian Mountains, and headed towards their home base in the western part of the sea. The second news was nothing more than a thunder. If the tribe was captured, but he had not captured it yet
In the royal city, there is no food and grass, and there is a danger of losing the foundation and the whole army being destroyed;
But the real trouble was the third news. I don’t know who leaked the news. The two messages that had just been sent spread in the city and even reached the inner city. The soldiers and civilians in the inner city had already begun to rejoice.
After singing, the mutiny in the city quickly ignited like a prairie fire, and even began to burn towards Ruocha's royal tent.
King Haijun's troops are not too many. He relied on the Northern Zhou Dynasty's tricks and the help of Kangche State to fight with small things and make all-out moves. Although he seems to be powerful now, it is mainly because he has absorbed a large number of surrendered officers and soldiers and requisitioned troops.
After the 20,000 elite cavalry were left alone outside the city, the only people loyal to King Hai in the city were the Haixi rebels, who numbered about 15,000, and the 300 cavalry brought by Chi Yan.
Yulin Guards, and the number of those threatened troops was more than 30,000.
Many of the soldiers who were forced to attack the city had relatives in the inner city. They had long been waiting for the opportunity to fight back. After hearing the spread of the news, there was little organization, and various resistances emerged one after another.
Things happened all over the city. Some people climbed up the city wall and immediately surrendered their weapons; some secretly opened the gates of the outer city; some joined forces to kill the governor behind them; and some took advantage of the chaos to assassinate the rebel leader Ruocha.
Of course, even without Chi Yan, relying on the masters in the tribe and the strength of his own Eight Meridians, no one could easily hurt Ruocha, but the news that "King Haijun is dead" and "the rebels are surrounded by reinforcements" has long been scattered
Rumor has it that no one is attacking the city now, and fifteen thousand elites from the western part of the sea are fighting with "ours" everywhere!
"Guardian, there is no hope of destroying the city, withdraw your troops!" Ruo looked at the current situation and said weakly.
"Those traitors inside the city are nothing to worry about, you still have the upper hand; the same goes for outside the city, we have the advantage, order the attack. As long as the Qi army and official troops here are eliminated, the riots are quelled, and the inner city is captured, we can take advantage of it.
Fight against the 20,000 reinforcements coming from the west. Don’t worry about Qi Guoguo sending people over again, as long as they move, our Great Zhou Heavenly Army will sweep over them!" Chi Yan said.
"Our army has little advantage outside the city. How many people are left after the battle? There are even fewer people inside the city. After the cavalry is dismounted, its combat effectiveness is not as good as that of the infantry. We cannot eliminate those repeated traitors, let alone attack the inner city!"
Ruocha shouted.
"Yeah, it's better to go back and defeat the reinforcements from the west and then pursue a great cause." The prime minister of Kangche Kingdom also shouted. Li Ruogu's 20,000 cavalry were enough to crush the small Kangche Kingdom, and he didn't dare to spend all his family.
Half of the elite.
"Come here!" Ruocha shouted, "pass the order and open the three gates in the west city. There is no need to worry about the affairs in the city. Everyone exits from the west gate and returns to Haixi! Notify the army at the south gate to also go around to the west gate and retreat together.
!”
Ruocha then said to Prime Minister Kang Che: "Your Majesty, our two families have 10,000 cavalry at the rear. What do you think?"
"Okay, okay, evacuate quickly!" Of course the prime minister agreed quickly, but he walked slowly, and he might be trapped and die here.
If Chi Yan's thoughts were found out, if he could not control Tu Yuhun, it would be of great benefit to the Northern Zhou Dynasty to use up all Tu Yuhun's troops. That's why he still asked for a life-and-death fight in this situation, so in the end he did not give up.
Ask him, as long as Kangche State agrees to withdraw its troops, with the superior number of cavalry on its side, it can still withdraw safely.
Of course Chi Yan also thought so. Seeing that Ruozha Tiexin had withdrawn his troops, it was inconvenient to say anything. Anyway, a battle with the prince in the west of the sea was inevitable, and there was still a chance to exhaust Tu Yuhun's strength. He and the Sixth Prince had a relationship
With three hundred feather forest guards protecting them, it is not too difficult to escape unscathed.
Seeing the rebels outside the south gate turning west and heading west with the large enemy troops withdrawing from the city, Zhang Zhiren did not order an attack, but just asked all the cavalry to follow him at a distance of twenty or thirty miles. If he really wanted to
In the fight, the opponent has almost 40,000 cavalry, and he has only 15,000 cavalry put together. There is almost no chance of winning. The real decisive battle will be in the Haixi tribe. It is best to hope that by the time he gets there, Li Ruogu has already wiped out the Haixi County.
!Not only will they be almost the same in terms of military strength, but they will be able to crush the opponent in terms of morale.
The city of Xining was devastated. The siege of the inner city was lifted, 5,000 Shu troops entered the city, and more than 20,000 "rebels" returned to surrender. In the end, there were still about 5,000 rebel officers and soldiers who followed Ruocha back to Haixi, and the rebels were retreating
At that time, he took away almost all the property looted along the way.
…
"Master, how are you? Do you want to take a rest?" Xu Mu asked.
"Yes, my old bones are almost falling apart." After Li Jichen finished speaking, he glanced at He Qizhou, who had chapped lips on the other side.
"Look what I'm doing, I can still run." He Qizhou was a little unconvinced, but his body was really not up to par. He had been suffering from diarrhea for the past two days. Ever since Shi Qu rushed back to Luoyang with all his strength, he was still on the road every day.
People who have not recovered and who almost never get sick now appear very weak.
"We have walked more distance today than yesterday. My soldiers and horses also need to rest. There is a valley two miles ahead. Let's spend the night there." Tian Bing said. This is the third day after setting off from Ganzhou, and the team has traveled two miles.
After thousands of miles, we have entered the remaining veins of the eastern foothills of Tianshan Mountain.
A big river made several bends in the valley. The riverbanks are lush with water and grass, the river water is green and cold, the hillsides are lined with green trees, and the grass on the top of the mountain is green and silky. There is no feeling of heatstroke in the valley. Compared with the wind and dust all the way in Longxi, this place
Everywhere can be compared to heaven.
While stationed at the camp, Tian Bing's men hunted a yellow sheep, and a mouthful of fragrant mutton was enough to heal them from the fatigue of running around.
Only He Qizhou still felt weak and tired: "What does it matter if I take a bite?"
"You're still eating it after it's stretched like this? Enjoy your porridge." Xu Mu snatched the mutton from He Qizhou's hand and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Are you sure you will go to the Tianshan sect first tomorrow?" Tian Bing confirmed again.
"Well, let's go to the Tianshan sect first, and then go to Xining!" Li Jichen said. The old head of the Tianshan sect and he had always been sympathetic to each other. Although they had chatted a few times, they could be considered close friends.
When Li Ruogu set out from Suzhou, he allocated a small number of troops to the Urhan brothers and sisters and the previous Tianshan Sect tribute students of the Armed Forces Hall, so that they could rebuild the Tianshan Sect and restore the trade routes. The location of the Tianshan Sect guarded the middle line of the trade route to the Western Regions.
It is like the patron saint of trade routes. If it is not controlled early, it will affect the trade between Qi State and other countries in the Western Regions.
Xu Mu and He Qizhou thought the same way. It was close to the Kangche Kingdom. If the other side had troops stationed there, they might not be able to win it successfully with a small number of troops, so they also wanted to go to the Tianshan Sect to have a look.
The station is only more than 200 miles away from the Tianshan sect, but the journey is not fast. It is going up all the way. After experiencing the pain of altitude sickness in Shiqu Town, He Qizhou doesn't feel much uncomfortable about it. Tian Bing's
The team often patrols the mountains, and most of them are used to it. Li Jichen, who looks middle-aged but is actually old, seems to take his time wherever he goes, but the lips of brothers Xu Muxue and Zhang Mufeng are slightly purple.