On October 21, the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, the winter sun slowly rose from the horizon. It was not very warm, but the pale golden sunshine was still enough to dispel the not too thick morning fog on the grassland. , revealing the withered grass and hoarfrost all over the ground. Although the sun has come out, it is still very cold. The breath is enough to reveal the clouds of white mist. Hou Guozhong, who got up early in the morning, is bored. I walked around the Great Wall, occasionally glancing at the silent prairie, just to kill some time.
A whole day has passed since the capture of the tiger's mouth pass, but Xue Yantuo's tribe, who was expected to come to attack the pass, has never been seen. This makes Hou Guozhong feel empty and indescribable. However, there is still a trace of happiness mixed in it. Although he has been through life and death several times, who else would really want to be foolish enough to crash into the field of life and death without risking his life? Just thinking about the King of Yue Li Zhen, Hou Guozhong immediately felt extremely upset. He really couldn't figure out where he should put Li Zhen. Hou Guozhong had thought about it countless times in the past month, but he still couldn't find the answer. Therefore, this time Li Zhen After sending him to seize the tiger's mouth, Hou Guozhong not only did not feel that he was being pushed away, but actually felt much more relaxed because he could temporarily leave Li Zhen's side.
The future will be discussed in the future. Maybe everything will be solved when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne? Hou Guozhong laughed at himself. To be honest, he himself was not sure whether the Crown Prince's virtue could really wait until His Majesty ascended the throne. That day, I didn’t understand why his father had to side with the prince. It was just that as a son of a man, there were some things that he couldn’t choose on his own. Maybe it was all fate. Hou Guozhong took one last look at the vast sky where the morning fog had cleared. He turned around and walked towards the watchtower at the pass, intending to have breakfast first and then worry about it. But before he could start, suddenly a shrill horn sounded from the tall watchtower in the distance - the enemy finally appeared!
Although a lot of men were lost in this expedition, Qu Li was still in a good mood when he looked at the carts of property behind him. Without him, as long as he had the property, it would be easier for him to annex as many people as he wanted. It’s a small tribe, what does that person not have? It’s hard to say that the Baye Ancient Tribe will prosper just like this. Thinking that in the future when the Baye Ancient Tribe becomes stronger, it may replace Xue Yantuo as the new overlord of the grassland, Qu Lishu’s heart feels like eating. Like honey, it was so beautiful that it was bubbling. Qu Lishu felt that he was an extremely wise master for being the first to evacuate immediately, but it was a pity that his good mood could not be maintained - Tang Jun! Outpost Youqi sent back accurate news: Shahukou has fallen into the hands of the Tang army!
"What? How could this happen!" Qu Lishi glared with a pair of bull's eyes, and pulled up the knight who was kneeling in front of him. His face was so ferocious that he scared the unlucky knight to the point where he fainted. past.
"Damn it!" Qu Lishi was so furious that he threw the unlucky guy in his hand like a torn sack, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Bat Ye Tuo, pull Ye Tuo, damn!" Yes, bring your men up and capture the tiger’s mouth for me!”
"Commander, wait a minute!" High Priest Nalon, who came in a hurry, ran forward in three steps and said loudly: "Commander, the enemy's situation is not clear yet, do not start the war lightly, you should send someone to talk to him first. Let’s talk about the conditions and see if the Tang Army is willing to let me pass. Even if the negotiation doesn’t make sense, we can still take the opportunity to explore the truth and then make a decision.”
As soon as Qu Lishi saw Nalong's appearance, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed - Nalong had advised him not to take the shortcut of Killing Tiger's Pass yesterday morning. The reason was that the Tang army might have captured the passing of Killing Tiger's Pass, and he strongly suggested that Qu Lishen should leave.
Yungang, it's a pity that Qu Lishu wanted to return to the grassland early at that time, and did not adopt Nalong's suggestion, stubbornly insisting on killing the tiger. Now Nalong's prediction has become a reality, which makes Qu Lishu feel great
It was embarrassing. When he heard Nalong's suggestion to negotiate, Quli failed and didn't insist anymore. He just muttered: "Who should I send?"
Nalong straightened his clothes, sighed and said, "Then I'll go alone."
"No, if you have any chance, then..." Qu Li shook his head in frustration and said: "No, absolutely not!"
Nalong smiled bitterly and said: "General, among the nearly ten thousand people in our Beye Ancient Department, only He understands the etiquette of the Tang people. Besides, this idea came from He. If He doesn't go, who else can go?"
"Hey!" Qu Lishi stamped his foot heavily and said, "Since the high priest must go, then let Ba Yetuo accompany him and protect him."
Nalong didn't say anything more, he just bowed to Qu Lishi and led Ba Yetuo, holding a white flag, and the two of them rode towards the killing tiger's mouth in the distance.
"Ha, Lao Liu, those two guys with white flags must be here to test our army's background. When I go to play tricks on them, Lao Liu, take your people to hide. Don't let anyone see through the reality of our army.
." On the high watchtower, Hou Guozhong frowned when he saw Nalong and the two galloping towards him. He already guessed Nalong's intention and immediately said to Liu Tietao with a smile.
Liu Tietao, the cavalry officer at Yanmen Pass, said uneasily: "General Hou, it's better to resign. If the other party tries to trick you, you have to be on guard."
"It doesn't matter, I am confident that those two people can't do anything to Hou, so it's settled." Hou Guozhong laughed, led several of his guards to hurriedly down to Guancheng, mounted a horse to face Nalong Er who was rushing straight towards him.
People came over.
"This general has invited me. I am Nalong, the high priest of the ancient Beye tribe. I would also like to ask the general to report on my behalf. I would like to see the general of your army and discuss important matters." Nalong rode up to the mountain with a white flag.
At the foot, when he saw Hou Guozhong waiting there, he immediately smiled and said.
Hou Guozhong obviously didn't expect that Nalong could speak fluent Mandarin with a standard Chang'an accent. He couldn't react for a moment. He was stunned for a moment, looked at Nalong carefully for a while, and then replied coldly: "Someone
That is, you have something to say, but it’s okay to say it.”
"Oh? May I ask what the general's name is?" Naron continued to ask with a smile on his face.
Hou Guozhong said calmly: "My surname is Hou. If you want to see me, tell me if you want to see me!"
"Ah, it turns out it's General Hou. Foreigners are polite." Nalong bowed on his horse, greeted him politely, and then continued with a smile: "General Hou, what I want to talk about is important, why don't you and I come in?
Can we sit down and discuss it slowly?"
Hou Guozhong had already seen through Nalong's plan, so he could not be moved by Nalong's words. He sneered and said: "No need, I have nothing in common with the robbers. If you have anything to say, I will say it here.
If you want to fight, just come."
"General Hou's words are wrong. Our Baye Gu tribe has always been close to the Tang Dynasty. I also studied in Chang'an and yearned for the strength and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. This time our troops entered the Tang Dynasty and were actually forced to do so.
Helpless, I don’t really want to be an enemy of the Tang Dynasty. I can swear this to God. This is the reason why our troops no longer obey Xue Yantuo’s orders and return to the grassland first. I hope the general will notice.” Nalong was not affected by Hou Guozhong’s cold words.
Exasperated, he still explained with a smile.
"Oh? Hahaha..." Hou Guozhong laughed loudly. After a burst of laughter, he suddenly stopped smiling and said coldly: "What a yearning for me, you are invading my territory, killing my people, and committing adultery."
It's useless to plunder, this is what you say your heart yearns for, hehe, OK, OK, OK! Get out, if you want to fight, fight, if you don't fight, surrender, why are there so many nonsense!"
Hou Guozhong's words were very harsh, but Nalong was unmoved, and he still said with a smile: "The general has misunderstood, haha, the general has been leading troops for a long time, he should be a person who is proficient in the art of war. I don't know that the military sage once said: Return to the army."
What? If we fight to the death with our armies, wouldn't it mean that we are benefiting Xue Yantuo's tribe in vain? Haha, my tribe has turned against Xue Yantuo now, but don't you know that your enemy's enemy is your friend? General, please think twice about these two points."
Hou Guozhong really didn't expect that Nalong could say such high-level words. He was secretly wary in his heart, but he didn't bring it to his face. He just replied coldly: "Open your mouth, huh, you don't want to
Just surrender if you fight. Your Majesty will have your own ideas on how to deal with it, so please come back."
"General Hou, you..." Nalong wanted to say something else, but Hou Guozhong no longer gave him a chance. He waved his hand coldly and said: "I will give you a stick of incense to think about it, get out, otherwise don't do it."
It's strange that I'm going to Na'er and other sacrificial knives!" Seeing that Hou Guozhong and others had drawn out their horizontal knives, Nalong was unwilling to do so, but he didn't dare to stay any longer. Under the escort of Ba Yetuo, who also drew out his waist knives,
He hurriedly beat his horse and retreated.
"High Priest, what did they say?" As soon as he saw Nalon returning, Qulishi hurriedly stepped forward to greet him and asked hurriedly.
"Alas!" Nalong shook his head and said: "Commander, the enemy general has a resolute personality and cannot win this battle. While there is still time, our troops should quickly detour to Yungang. If it's half a day later, we won't be able to detour even if we want to.
Come on."
Qu Lishu walked around in place like an angry lion for a long time, then suddenly stopped, his bloodshot and red eyes stared at the direction of Killing Tiger Pass, and suddenly roared: "Hit me, beat me."
, Ba Yetuo, take your people to capture Guancheng for me, go quickly!"
Upon hearing that Qu Lishi insisted on beating him, Nalong's face suddenly turned pale, and his lips moved and he wanted to say something more, but when he saw Qu Lishi's face twisted with anger, he still didn't say anything in the end.
But there was a trace of sadness in his eyes. When Tuo Tuo heard that he was about to fight, he immediately became excited. Without him, since the day before the fight, Tuo Tuo had been eating turtles one after another. He couldn't use up his strength, and he had long wanted to fight.
Okay, now that I had received the general's order, I naturally responded loudly and ran excitedly to gather the troops and prepare the siege equipment.
At the right time, the shrill horn sounded in the morning sun, and a bloody battle began... dd