At the beginning of the Thirteenth Year of the Day, the war that took place in Mayi showed the determination of the Turkic Khanate to go south, but it was also this determination that held back the Turks. The novel (the best experience of reading the novel is at [
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As far as the war is concerned, the Turks are obviously in a strange predicament.
The Turkic Khanate, which sat in the south of the desert and in the north of the desert, with its territory stretching from the Western Regions in the west to Liaodong in the east, was unable to raise more troops to march south to the Sui Dynasty.
Obviously, when they faced the sudden opportunity, they themselves became confused at first.
The new situation, the new war model, and the never-ending internal struggles among the Turkic nobles made the huge body of the Turkic Khanate look too clumsy.
In fact, what the Turks need to do is to re-establish a more flexible and effective military and political system.
Unfortunately, the stubborn diseases of the northern tribes since ancient times cannot be eliminated.
There is no doubt that the Turkic Khanate was more powerful than the Xiongnu and Rouran. This did not depend on the size of their territory or the number of their tribes, but rather on the efficiency of their military and political systems that imitated the Central Plains Empire when they rose.
They had a decent official system, they created their own writing, and based on the Tiele tribes and the Ashina clan, they initially formed a military alliance model.
They are not as fierce as the Rouran people, but they are smarter than the Rouran people. They are not as cunning as the Huns, but they are more organized than the Huns.
It can be said that the Turks represent the pinnacle of tribal civilization on the grasslands so far, and even the later Khitans, Jurchens, or Mongols cannot be compared with them.
Of course, the two consecutive wars southward also exposed the weaknesses of the Turks.
Because of the continuous influence of the civilization of the Central Plains, the Turkic Khanate, which was transforming into an empire, seemed to suddenly find that they were unable to launch several or even one war with all their strength.
Their rudimentary logistics system and long-established power structure make it difficult for them to go all out.
Because the war-based, life-and-death war model is gradually moving away from them. But the Turks themselves have not yet truly realized this.
Because they simply didn't realize how big the difference was between an empire and a tribal alliance composed of many tribes.
Therefore, in terms of grand strategy, they cannot hit the target with one hit. But in terms of tactics, they also face new challenges.
The two border fortresses in Mayi County, the fierce resistance of the Jin border troops and the common people miraculously withstood the offensive of the Turkic Khanate.
Mayi County City, there was a continuous killing spree both above and below the city, and the people in the city suffered heavy casualties. By mid-March, women and children had begun to appear on the city walls of Mayi.
Blood was flowing on the stairs of the city wall, and grotesque corpses were lying everywhere on the city wall. People who walked up the city wall stepped on the blood on the ground and tripped over the corpses from time to time. Some people cried bitterly, and some people vomited from time to time. But
Men, women, and children were all fighting desperately.
They picked up all available weapons and risked their lives to kill the Turkic warriors who climbed onto the city wall one by one and drove them off the city wall.
This is no longer a city attack and defense battle in the typical sense.
The soldiers, officials and people in Mayi City regard every day's fighting as the last battle. There is no doubt that their retreat is dead, and the Turks who suffered heavy casualties will not allow them to attack the city again.
One life survived.
The bravery and bloody spirit of the Mayi border residents fully exploded at this moment. Men, women, old and young came to the city together and fought to the death. One family after another died on the top of the city, which also turned the city into a hell.
, the hell of the Sui people is also the hell of the Turks.
Above and below the city, the blood of Turkic warriors was spilled wantonly, and the casualties were scattered everywhere. The golden wolf flag was still flying high, but now it seemed that it had lost its former deterrence.
In more than half a month of siege battle, more than 8,000 Turkic warriors fell into the arms of their god. Such casualties were something Shibi Khan had never expected when he led his troops south.
Looking at the sun, moon and star flags flying high above the city of Mayi, Khan Shibi felt a chill in his heart.
There are Yanmen in front and Mayi in the back. On the way south, these are not really big cities of the Sui Dynasty. What will happen if we go to Jinyang?
Although the Turkic army marching south suffered heavy casualties, its numbers were still increasing, but its morale was constantly declining.
The tribes that came one after another regretted it and were unwilling to let the warriors of their tribes participate in such a war.
Complaints are spreading quietly, because now, not only have they not seen the shadow of victory, but even if they win, it seems difficult to get decent trophies.
At the beginning, the Khan was re-weighing the pros and cons, and the nobles were considering the pros and cons in private.
Too much blood finally made the Turks begin to feel unbearable. The powerful empire sometimes also seemed very fragile. This scene had been played out several times under Liaodong City, but now it was the Turks' turn to have a headache.
As if by fate, the same dilemma befell the two most authoritative kings of this era one after another.
What's even worse is that behind them, a more cunning and fierce enemy is trying to stretch out his claws and scratch the Turks' backs hard.
When Shibi Khan received the report, due to the increase in numbers, the Turks had already tried to attack the city in two directions, but still made no progress.
The casualty list of Turkic generals is getting longer and longer.
In the past two days, the names of senior Turkic generals also appeared on the death list. Kebulunshe died in the battle. Ashina Qiuluo, who was related to him by marriage, was so angry that he personally led his troops to the city and returned seriously wounded.
The angry Shibi Khan immediately beheaded several nobles.
The hatred became more and more profound in the blood. At the beginning, Khan forced the noble generals of various tribes to attack the city, and the war suddenly became more fierce.
At this time, the riders from behind came to report.
The Sui people's Heng'an Town Army sent troops. This news undoubtedly cheered up the increasingly irritable Shibi Khan. Today's Turkic army badly needs a victory to boost morale.
If we can catch this cunning fox, it seems... everything will be worth it?
Shibi Khan was not sure what the casualties of the army would be, even if he could conquer Mayi and the two cities in Yunnei in one fell swoop.
It seemed that he could already hear the quarrels and complaints of the nobles in his ears.
After the news came, the siege gradually slowed down, which obviously gave the defenders of Mayi City a chance to breathe.
At this time, the tentacles of the Heng'an Town Army were probing around, and four thousand-man teams were divided into four directions, probing from Yunnei to the west.
Yu Chigong's group of people walked slowly northeast along the foothills of Wuzhou Mountain. His group walked the slowest way, not only because the road went south, but also because he had heavier responsibilities.
The Turkic horsemen were scurrying around, and their movements could not escape the eyes of the Turks.
But a cavalry army of thousands of people would not allow many flies to be watched by the side. Therefore, in an increasingly wider area, groups of Sui army cavalry chased and competed with the Turkic rangers.
Bu Qun and Chen San finally encountered an obstacle. A tribal coalition of 3,000 people was driving southward with cattle and sheep. This was obviously a group of Turkic cavalry who wanted to go to Mayi City and follow the Khan to perform meritorious deeds.
military.
Most of them come from two tribes, and the rest are warriors sent by their affiliated tribes.
After a little testing, Bu Qun and Chen San immediately sent a message to Liu Jingsheng, asking him to lead his troops to join them. Obviously, they did not care too much about the difficulties they faced.
The Turks who discovered the existence of the enemy were startled at first, and then became energetic. Being able to defeat the enemy and cut off some Sui people's heads was the best gift for the Khan.
Of course, the first thing they saw was the trace of a thousand cavalrymen in the infantry group.
This time, the communication between the Turks was not smooth, and the intentional consequence was that they trapped their own people first. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that these Turkic tribes who are going south one after another have become a natural bait for their Khan.
Groups of Turkic warriors came on horseback, and soon... they discovered the existence of another Sui cavalry army of thousands of people.
Suddenly, the Turks became panicked.
Obviously, they also thought about the possibility that this might be the precursor of the Sui army.
At this time, if they turned around and ran away, no one would be able to catch up with them.
But the courage of the Turks is really commendable, and if you want them to give up their cattle and sheep, they can only do so if they encounter an invincible enemy.
So, while they sent people to report to the Khan and discovered the news of the enemy behind the army, they gathered together and prepared to deal with the enemy.
This battle took place at the edge of Yunnei, not far from Yunnei Racecourse.
Three thousand Heng'an town army cavalry gathered together and launched an attack on the Turks without hesitation. The Turks were not afraid of such an encounter. They were able to come south to participate in this war, and there was no doubt that they also had a desire for victory.
and confidence.
The soldiers swarmed forward on horseback, shot arrows, raised their swords and guns, and fought together.
The head-on collision of thousands of cavalry was short and fierce.
It only took less than half an hour to decide the winner.
The Heng'an town army cavalry used stronger armor, sharper swords and guns, longer-range bows and arrows, and the same skillful horse-mounted combat skills to tell the Turks that their chances of winning were slim when their forces were equal.
More than 3,000 Turkic warriors, their slain corpses littering the fields, eventually fled in all directions, leaving behind not only corpses but also large groups of horses, cattle and sheep.
The Heng'an Town Army, which had won a small victory, detached some of its men, drove cattle and sheep, and carried the wounded back to Yunnei.
Later, they received praises from Li Po and extremely severe reprimands, ordering them to minimize casualties and find out the movements of the Turks.