Chapter 194: Breaking Through the Datong River Valley (1)
Datong River, one of the tributaries of the Yellow River, starts from Tolenan Mountain in the west, connects to Huangshui River in the east, and then merges into the Yellow River. The total length is only a thousand miles, and the amount of water is not too large. However, the valley is deep and narrow, and the water is turbulent. Only the middle stream Haomen
Sichuan and the Babaochuan River Valley downstream are wide and flat, with luxuriant forests and abundant pasture. They are important farming and animal husbandry areas in the Qilian Mountains, especially the area around Babaochuan. It has a humid climate and suitable cold and heat. It has been an important place for Qiang people since the Spring and Autumn Period.
One of the pastoral areas, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered the Xiongnu, he devoted all his efforts to the management of Hexi and built the Babao River along it into one of the granaries of Hexi.
To this day, although after the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty, the irrigated acres in the Babaochuan area have been slightly reduced, it is still known as the granary of Hexi. Most of Lanzhou's rice grains come from here. However, the Tang army has been newly defeated and is no longer able to defend the entire Babaochuan area.
Having to retreat across the Datong River, Yiyunwu City faced off with the Tibetan army on the other side. Although there were no large-scale battles between the two sides, small-scale fighting between the rangers was frequently staged. Generally speaking, the local garrison was responsible for the
The main Tang army suffered a slight loss. Few of the rangers sent crossed the Datong River. The land in Henan was completely under the control of the Tubo army. Of course, few does not mean none. No, at this time, there was
A small team of less than thirty people was taking advantage of the darkness before dawn to wading on foot and quietly toward the south bank of the Datong River.
It is late autumn, and the weather should be getting colder. However, due to the severe drought this year, the temperature in Hexi is still abnormally hot. Even with the moisture from the Datong River, it still cannot alleviate the ravages of autumn tigers.
Even at dawn, there was some comforting coolness, but at this time, Li Xian, who was hiding on a small dirt bunker, was obviously not in the mood to enjoy the rare coolness, and stared at the person wading in the water without blinking.
The small team crossing the river looked solemn, but in fact they were full of nervousness and anxiety.
Li Xian was really nervous. Although he knew that being nervous would not help at all, Li Xian's heart still couldn't help but feel uneasy - he couldn't help but be nervous. You must know that this was the first time he fought in his life.
It was such a large-scale battle from the beginning. Even if the course of the war has been repeatedly deduced and made as foolproof as possible, there is no such thing as a perfect plan in this world. What if, if there is a chance, the consequences will be
It was so unbearable that Li Xian couldn't help but feel a little frightened when he thought about it. However, now that the arrow had left the string and there was no possibility of turning back, Li Xian could only wait silently for the signal to start the war...
The water in the Datong River is not deep. During the dry season, the deepest point in the center of the river is only two and a half feet. At most, it can only flood people's thighs. However, it is extremely cold, with the penetrating water of snow-capped mountains.
Even though Ling Zhong had been mentally prepared for the chill in his bones, the moment he stepped into the water, he was still so cold that he grinned and sucked in a breath of cold air. He couldn't help but feel dark in his heart.
He cursed, but he didn't dare to hesitate, because he knew the significance of his attack very well, and he couldn't make any mistakes, otherwise, it would definitely affect the smooth progress of the overall battle situation.
Although he couldn't see clearly and could only vaguely see a few lights flashing from time to time in the dark night ahead, Ling Zhong knew that that place was where the first camp of the Tibetan army was located, about a mile away from the river.
There were not many troops stationed there, with only a thousand men and horses in total, but they occupied the narrowest part of the pass and blocked the advancing route of the Tang army. They must be eliminated, but that was not Ling Ling.
Considering the purpose of this trip, all he had to do was to clear the surrounding area of light and dark sentries and seize the village gate, creating a good opportunity for his own army to attack and win in a single battle.
The gurgling sound of the Datong River covered up the sound of Ling Zhong and others wading across the river. The darkness before dawn gave everyone the best cover. However, it was only half a stick of incense. Ling Zhong and others were already unaware.
Unconsciously, they boarded the other side. As Ling Zhong made a "start" gesture, a group of people holding mud-smeared weapons dispersed into the darkness like ghosts. Their respective dives had already been observed.
Ling Zhong himself did not move, but stood silently for a moment, estimated the time, took a deep breath, hunched over and walked forward quickly.
The wet trousers clung to his flesh, and when he was blown by the wind from the pass, it was really uncomfortable. However, Ling Zhong ignored it, and the whole person shuttled between the grass and shrubs like a nimble civet cat.
, and quickly approached to a distance of only forty feet away from the gate of Tubo Village. The journey was smooth, but this good luck seemed to end here. Just as Ling Zhong had just jumped out from behind a big stone, he was about to jump two feet away.
When there was a clump of weeds outside, a premonition of extreme danger suddenly came to his heart. Ling Zhong was startled and hurriedly twisted his waist in the air, forcing himself to change from forward to sideways. He had just landed on the ground.
, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a guide knife flying through the air, striking the place where Ling Zhong should have passed by before.
Damn it, you were so careless! Ling Zhong had already laid an ambush on the high ground on the other side of the river before sunset. He had clearly checked the locations of the light and dark sentries deployed by the Tibetan army. In his memory, there should not be any hidden sentries here.
That's right, but at this moment, there happened to be such a secret whistle. If Ling Zhong hadn't reacted quickly, the knife just now would have been enough to cut Ling Zhong into two pieces. This made Ling Zhong so scared that he broke out in cold sweat.
He couldn't stop, but at this moment, Ling Zhong didn't think too much. He didn't even bother to stand up. He raised his hand and shot out a sleeve arrow, but with a "swish" sound, the sleeve arrow struck out.
It broke through the space and accurately shot into the throat of the Tubo secret whistler who was trying to intercept.
"Clang!"
Ling Zhong's sleeve arrow skills were really good. He killed the Tubo secret sentry with just one blow. Unfortunately, Ling Zhong was lying on the ground at this time and was really unable to stop the scimitar from rolling in the hands of the Tubo secret sentry.
Falling, I could only watch helplessly as the scimitar landed on a big rock, and a crisp sound rippled in the night sky.
Worse! Ling Zhong stood up in frustration and stared nervously at the village gate not far away. Sure enough, he saw a group of Tibetan officers and soldiers guarding the gate of the village who seemed to have noticed the movement here and stretched their necks towards the place where the sound came from.
While looking around, without turning around, a group of sentries patrolled out from the west side of the stockade. After talking to the soldiers guarding the gate for a while, they held a torch and headed towards Ling Zhong's hiding place.
Ten people, damn, we are in big trouble! With the help of the light of the torch, Ling Zhong counted them briefly, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead - on normal days, Ling Zhong would not take the ten Tubo soldiers seriously.
, even if total annihilation is not possible, it is very easy to escape, but now it is in trouble. Even if this team of patrol sentries can be killed, they cannot prevent this team of patrol sentries from sending out an alarm signal.
Once the Tubo camp was alerted, the originally scheduled surprise attack plan was bound to be ruined.
If it happens, a hard battle will most likely follow. By then, the battle plan of rushing across the Datong River Valley as quickly as possible will also be in danger of failure. If so, Ling Zhong will be a sinner for the ages.
"Gugu, gugu..."
Just when Ling Zhong was extremely anxious, a gentle sound of birdsong sounded one after another, and then figures in black appeared from the left and right sides one after another, but they were the Tang Dynasty detective sentries who had dispersed earlier.
Come to meet up after completing the mission.
It’s too late! Although his officers and soldiers came to gather one after another, and the number soon exceeded 20, the group of Tibetan patrols was about to come within ten feet. Ling Zhong knew that there was not enough time to avoid this group.
The planned plan of patrolling the sentry to reach the enemy's stronghold silently has obviously become impossible. Now there are only two ways to go - one is to give up, which can keep all the men safe, but it is a pity that Ling Zhong cannot.
Doing this is just because if you do this, the overall combat plan will inevitably suffer a heavy setback. Even if you can escape, you will never be able to escape Li Xian's punishment. In this case, there is only one way left.
, that is killing, killing to find a way out!
"Charge forward and kill!"
Ling Zhong was a very murderous person. Now that he had made up his mind, he did not hesitate at all. He raised his hand and threw the fireworks he was holding into the sky. Then he yelled without hesitation and raised the
The sword then attacked the group of Tibetan patrol sentries. Upon seeing this, the Tang Dynasty sentries did not dare to neglect, and followed them with roars, and the war officially began.
No, something happened! As soon as the fireworks exploded in the night sky, Li Xian reacted immediately, and his heart sank involuntarily - Li Xian had made preparations in advance, and the best case scenario was
It was Ling Zhong and others who successfully wiped out all the outposts of the Tubo army, and then took advantage of the darkness to seize the gate of the enemy stronghold, and sent out manpower to enter the enemy stronghold and set fire to it, creating maximum chaos, while the main force of Li Xian's troops used the fire as a warning.
The whole army takes advantage of the enemy's chaos to rush into the enemy camp and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. As for the second situation, that is, once the advance team is defeated by the enemy, then the whole army will send out fireworks as a signal, and the whole army will storm the enemy camp. Now
, the fireworks have bloomed in the night sky, which means that Ling Zhong and others are in trouble, and it is inevitable that they will be in trouble.
"Blow the trumpet and the whole army attacks!"
There was no time to hesitate. Although he was extremely annoyed, Li Xian did not dare to hesitate. He raised his voice and roared angrily. Then he jumped off the small bag, flew on the back of the horse, and rode ahead to kill the other side of the river.
passed.
"Woooooooo..."
Li Xian attacked first, and the 5,000 elite Tang troops who had been waiting for a long time launched a charge. In an instant, the sound of horns, the sound of horse hoofs, and the roar resounded through the night sky. Countless cavalry poured across the Datong River like a tide, like a huge river.
Like a tornado, it rushed towards the chaotic Tubo camp...