Chapter 369 Changes in the Battle Situation (Part 2)
"Your Highness, what happened?"
Seeing that Li Xian's expression was not right, the two veterans immediately felt a slight trepidation in their hearts. After exchanging glances with each other, Qi Bi Heli took the lead and spoke.
"Well, I'm afraid there's going to be big trouble in Hezhou!"
Li Xian took a deep breath, suppressed the anxiety in his heart, and replied in a slightly heavy tone.
"hiss……"
"Hmm? What does your Highness mean by this?"
Upon hearing what Li Xian said was strange, Gao Gao couldn't help but take a breath, while Qibi Heli asked suspiciously.
"Gugang received an intelligence report that a group of Tibetan cavalry has quietly moved to a place less than twenty miles away from Hezhou. Whether Hezhou can be defended is still a matter of doubt. If not, the situation of the battle may change!"
Faced with the doubts of the two veterans, Li Xian directly revealed the information he had obtained without hiding much.
"How could this be so? How did this Tibetan army come? It's hundreds of miles from Shanzhou to Hezhou, and there are dozens of beacon towers along the way. How could nothing be noticed? How is this possible?"
Hezhou was under the jurisdiction of Gao Xian. When he heard that the Tibetan army had reached Hezhou, his eyes immediately turned red. He looked at Li Xian with disbelief on his face and kept asking questions.
How is it possible? Li Xian also hoped that this would be impossible. Unfortunately, wishes are wishes after all, but the reality is extremely cruel. The Salar tribe in Hezhou secretly defected to Tubo, raised troops to rebel against the Tang Dynasty, pretended to be a caravan, and deceived people along the way.
They captured all the beacon towers and cooperated with the Tibetan cavalry to launch a surprise attack on Wuhan County, the seat of Hezhou. If it weren't for a "Ming Dy" secret staker who desperately sent the information, Hezhou would have been lost and everyone would have been kept in the dark.
"General Gao doesn't know something. I have learned the exact news. The Salar tribe has rebelled and all the beacon towers along the way have been destroyed. Now it's time for the Yao Governor's Office in Hezhou to get the news. Maybe they can defend the city."
The matter of "Ming Dy" is highly confidential. Li Xian couldn't bring it to the table, so he could only vaguely talk about it, but he did not conceal the true situation.
But it clearly shows that Li Xian is not optimistic about the prospects of Hezhou - Hezhou governor Yao Wangshu was one of the confidants of the former crown prince Li Hong, and was originally the supervisory censor. When Li Xian was stationing troops in Khotan, this incident
He once gave Li Xian a knife, and later he was promoted to the high position of Minister of Rites. After Li Hong's death, he was demoted from the capital and took up the post of governor of Hezhou. Although he had some literary talent, he was just a mere
He was just an out-and-out civil servant, and he didn't understand the way of war at all. It was obviously unrealistic to rely on him to defend Hezhou. At least Li Xian was not optimistic about his ability.
"Damn, ugh..."
Not only was Li Xian not optimistic about Yao Wangshu's ability, but the chief officer Gao Tao was also not optimistic. When he heard what Li Xian said, he immediately punched his thigh in frustration and sighed, with a look of sorrow on his face.
——Before Li Xian left Luoyang, he sent an urgent letter to Gao Xiang, telling him to pay attention to the city defense of Hezhou, but Gao Xiang didn't take it to heart. In his opinion, deep in the hinterland of Hezhou, there was an enemy right ahead.
With Shanzhou in the way, both wings still have outlines, and Fang and Fangzhou as cover, there is no need to pay too much attention to it. Since then, Hezhou has never been paid attention to, and the huge Hezhou Communist Party was sent to Fuhan County, where the government was.
There are just over a thousand garrison battalions of average strength, and even the militia has not been mobilized. The defensive force is really pitifully weak. Coupled with a governor who is not familiar with military strategy, it is really difficult to save Hezhou.
If it is like what Li Xian analyzed, I am afraid that all the four states will be in danger. If the four states are lost, as a chief official, I am afraid that it will be difficult to escape accountability, and I will not be free and will not be angry for it.
"Your Highness, Gar Qinling has set his sights on Hezhou, and he is afraid that he really plans to seize our four states. What should be our plan now?"
Although the Four Prefectures are not the areas where Qibi Heli can defend him, he is still weak and he does not want to fight against the Tibetan army alone. Moreover, Hexi is now one, and if he loses the battle, Qibi Heli will not be able to do well either.
Go, at this critical moment, I couldn't care less about the slight discord between me and Gao Jie in the past, and hurriedly asked for advice.
"Let's wait and see, Gar Qinling has a wild mind, and the four states alone may not be enough to satisfy his appetite. The two old generals please gather the elite of each department on standby. You must first see clearly before proceeding!"
There was no room for failure in Hezhou. This was not only a matter of responsibility for defending the territory, but also related to the plan for the final confrontation with Tubo in the future. Li Xian wanted to immediately send troops to Hezhou, but his reason told him that doing so would probably result in his being punished.
Gar Qinling led the way. If he made a mistake elsewhere, the consequences would be no joke. If he made a mistake, he would lose everything. After thinking for a while, Li Xian still held back.
Feeling the urge to send troops immediately, he just gave a calm order.
"promise!"
Li Xian was now the official Governor-General of Hexi Province. Since he had given the order, the two veteran generals did not dare to neglect it. They each bowed to accept the promise, said their resignations, and went to busy dispatching troops and generals without mentioning it.
.
Hezhou, the key is still in Hezhou! After the two veterans left, Li Xianduan sat a few minutes back and thought about it carefully. He still couldn't understand the strategic layout of Gar Qinling, but there was one thing that Li
Xian is clear, that is, there is no room for loss in Hezhou. Even if all the existing troops in Hexi are used up, Hezhou must be taken back. But at the moment, the troops and horses cannot be mobilized in time. What about the second?
, Li Xian still had deep doubts about the strategic intentions of Gar Qinling. Under the current situation, Li Xian had no choice but to wait for news from Hezhou.
Hezhou is located in the south of the Hexi Corridor. It covers a large area, but its population is pitifully small. It is said to be a state, but in fact it is only two counties. They are only small counties with more than 10,000 people. Even though it is the seat of its governance
Panhan County can't be said to be grand at all. The scenery is beautiful, with green mountains and green waters, and a unique beauty like a peach blossom garden. However, it is not located on the Silk Road. There are few merchants coming and going. The county is very depressed and the city is low.
It is short and shabby. In terms of scale, it is not even comparable to a small town in the Central Plains. Being the governor in such a rough place is obviously not a good job, at least for Yao Wangshu.
, Yao Wangshu never took care of government affairs, and was drunk every day. Even when the news of the emergency in Shanzhou came, Yao Wangshu could not raise his spirits at all, let alone prepare for war urgently, even he did not even impose a curfew.
It had already set, but now, the sun had already risen to three o'clock. Yao Wangshu, who had not yet woken up from the hangover, was still sleeping soundly with his arms around his concubine.
"Sir, Master Yao, it's not good, it's not good..."
Just as Yao Wangshu was having sweet dreams, a servant hurriedly broke into the inner room and woke Yao Wangshu up by shouting wildly.
"Damn it, are you in such a panic? You are seeking death!"
Yao Wangshu sat up in a daze. When he saw that the person who startled him was a servant, he immediately got angry. Without asking why, he raised his hand and slapped the servant hard.
Flying sideways and rolling to the ground.
"Oh, sir, it's not good. The Tibetan army is coming to kill us. The city cannot be defended. Sir, please leave!"
Although the servant grimaced in pain, he did not dare to miss the important event. He stood up and shouted loudly, regardless of the pain on his face.
"Ah, what? Where is General Zhang?"
As soon as he heard that the servant didn't seem to be telling lies, Yao Wangshu immediately became anxious. He didn't care much and jumped up with his shirt off. He didn't care about etiquette or impoliteness and asked anxiously.
"My lord, General Zhang has climbed up the city wall, saying that the enemy force is strong, and I want you to make a decision as soon as possible!"
Seeing Yao Wangshu's panicked look, the servant who came to report immediately felt his heart drop, but he did not dare to miss the point and hurriedly reported the news.
"Decision? Decision? Ah, this, this..."
Yao Wangshu was just a scholar. Although he was not incompetent, his military skills were not at all impressive. In this panic, he was immediately dumbfounded and wandered around the room shirtless.
He kept mumbling incoherently, sweating profusely, but couldn't come up with a reason for a long time.
"Sir, if we can't hold on any longer, we'd better retreat quickly. If the bandit army enters the city, then..."
The servant was obviously not a brave person. When he saw Yao Wangshu wandering around there, he immediately became anxious and hurriedly came closer and whispered something to persuade him.
"Withdraw? Ah, no, we can't withdraw. Quick, quickly send an order to close the city gate. I will personally go to the city to defend against the enemy!"
Yao Wangshu wanted to evacuate the dangerous area, but when he thought that the person in charge of the overall situation in Hexi was the British King Li Xian, he immediately shuddered, gritted his teeth, mustered up all his courage, roared, and ran out shirtless.
Just when he ran to the door of the room, he hesitated and stood still. His expression changed uncertainly, sometimes resolute, sometimes sad, and sometimes snoring with gnashed teeth. As soon as he looked like this, he immediately rushed to the scene after hearing the news.
The people who came here all looked at it with their eyes wide open...
"Report, the gates of Wuhan City are closed, and the city is in chaos. General, please give me a clear explanation!"
In a mountain forest less than five miles away from Panhan County, Hezzan, who had come all the way, was recharging his horse power in preparation for the final attack. A scout came galloping from the direction of Panhan City. When he saw
Hertzzan, who was standing on a big rock beside the road, immediately rushed over and with an extremely skillful swing of the saddle, he got off the horse, kneeled on the ground, and loudly reported the report.
"Yes." Herzzan did not rush to give the order, but waved his hand to push the horse back. Then he turned to look at a burly man standing at the bottom with a grin on his face, and said with a curl of his lips.
: "Ning Gusidu, have your people been arranged?"
"Don't worry, General. As soon as the army arrives, some of the generals will rise up in the city to respond. The city of Wuhan can be conquered in a day or night!"
This burly and strong man is none other than Ning Gusidu, the leader of the Salar tribe. Hertzzan's troops were able to sneak here because of his cooperation, in order to get the countless benefits that Gar Qinling promised him. At this time
Hearing Hezzan's question, Ning Gusi immediately patted his chest without hesitation.
"That's good. Come and send the order. The whole army will march directly to Fanhan and enter the city to have a drink!"
Herzzan had already known that the defense of Pouhan City was empty. Even if there was no internal response, he had absolute confidence in taking the city. He asked Ning Gusi, but it was just a formality. After hearing this, Ning Gusi gave a guarantee.
, no longer hesitating, he roared, jumped off the big rock, and with a push of his feet, he climbed onto the horse's back. With a whip, he led a group of subordinates to attack Pan Han like a rainbow.