The sudden attack caused a chaos in the Tang army. In the grass fifty steps away from them, a large group of black figures suddenly appeared. There were thousands of people. They were densely arranged, holding hard crossbows, and one after another they killed people.
It shot out of their hands.
The shrill screams resounded through the river. In the first round of arrows, nearly a thousand people from the Tang army fell into the river, and their blood dyed the water red. Soon, thousands more arrows came in the second round, and the Tang army was frightened out of their wits.
While scrambling to turn around and flee for their lives, Stanay was shot in the left shoulder by an arrow and fell from his horse.
He was an infantry general, and the injury to his left shoulder did not affect the speed of his legs. Stanai roared like thunder and tried to rush forward, but several soldiers forcibly dragged him back to the west of the bridge.
At this moment, the ground beneath their feet began to shake, and the thunderous sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance, and a soldier shouted: "The Sui army's cavalry is coming!"
Shi Danai looked back and saw overwhelming cavalry coming from the southwest. There were as many as ten thousand people, less than a hundred steps away from them. The moonlight was eclipsed by the murderous intent. There was an ambush of crossbow troops in front, and cavalry killing them behind.
Later, the number of troops was several times that of the previous one, and thousands of Tang troops were completely collapsed.
Stanai shouted in a hoarse voice: "Line up! Line up!" But no one listened to his cry. Fear shrouded the hearts of every soldier. They abandoned their helmets and armor and fled northward along the river desperately.
For the cavalry, in just a moment, tens of thousands of cavalry swept in, wielding their swords to kill, and they were extremely ferocious. Some soldiers who fled slower were hacked to death by the cavalry, and there were screams.
Stanai jumped into the river, holding a one-legged bronze man's spear in his hand, and lay down behind a pillar behind the bridge. The surroundings were piled with the corpses of his tribe's warriors, and his three thousand tribesmen were in front of the team, under the dense arrows.
The casualties were the most severe.
He stared fiercely at the cavalry on the shore, and his teeth chattered with hatred. At this time, the large group of cavalry had already chased away, and there were only a few hundred people left on the shore.
Suddenly, Shi Danai discovered that dozens of cavalrymen were approaching slowly, surrounded by a Sui army general. He seemed to be crossing the bridge to the other side. This must be the Sui army general.
The unique bravery of the Turks made it difficult for him to calm down, and a fire of revenge burned in Stanai's heart. He tightened his grip on the one-legged bronze man and climbed to the shore little by little.
This Sui army general was Xu Shiji. He divided his troops into two groups. In one group, Gao Zi led 3,000 men to pretend to attack the camp, attracting Shi Danai from the city to come out for rescue. In the other group, he personally led more than 17,000 men.
An ambush was set up on the road to the military camp. Seventeen thousand people ambushed five thousand people. He would win this battle even if he couldn't win. Xu Shiji led hundreds of people to inspect the battlefield. At this time, he slowly came to the bridge and prepared to go to the other side.
This area was where the enemy suffered the most casualties, most of them killed by arrows.
As soon as he reached the bridge, he suddenly heard a roar like thunder. A black shadow jumped up from the bridge, "General Sui, take your life!"
A one-legged bronze man slammed into Xu Shiji's face. In the dark night, this man appeared so suddenly. The surrounding soldiers were caught off guard. It was too late to rescue them. The soldiers screamed, but Xu Shiji reacted.
, he waved his long spear in his hand and swung away the oncoming weapon.
Xu Shiji had both civil and military skills. He could also appear and disappear even with a horse spear, but he was not among the top twenty generals in the world, mainly because of his weak strength. There was only a loud sound of "Dang!", and the one-legged bronze man's spear was hitting Xu Shiji.
On the pole, the one-legged spear flew out along the pole.
The huge force hit Xu Shiji's arms numb, and Ma Shan almost escaped, but Shi Danai was more seriously injured. He had an arrow wound on his shoulder, and the violent impact caused his wound to burst.
The severe pain made him unable to hold the one-legged bronze man, and the weapon fell from his hand. He fell to the ground and huddled up in pain. Only then did Xu Shiji's soldiers react, swarmed up, and slashed with their swords. Xu Shiji shouted: "
Don't hurt his life!"
The soldiers held him down and tied him up tightly. The severe pain had already made Shi Danai faint. Several torches were lit in front of him. This was a big Turkic man with yellow hair. Xu Shiji saw the one-legged bronze man next to him.
, he suddenly knew who this person was.
"This person is Shi Danai, who is known as the most powerful general of the Western Turks. Let the military doctor treat his injuries!"
Being able to capture Shi Danai was a small gain. At this moment, a cavalryman rushed over and said, "Report to General Xu and General Gao for instructions on whether the Tang Army's camp should continue to attack."
Xu Shiji pondered for a moment, his goal had been achieved, Li Shimin should know the news about the incident in Changyuan County soon, and there would be no need to stay any longer.
Thinking of this, Xu Shiji immediately ordered: "Stop the attack, let him take the remains of the fallen brothers and retreat to Hongnong County immediately!"
Orders were passed down one after another, and the Sui cavalry who were chasing the enemy withdrew one after another, preparing to retreat to the west. When Xu Shiji saw Zhang and his son approaching, he stepped forward and thanked Zhang Hongbang: "Thanks to Zhang Shijun for his great strength this time."
With your help, the Sui army can achieve a great victory, and I am grateful for the achievements."
Zhang Hongbang also returned the gift, smiled and said: "I am a Sui minister, and it is my duty to help the Sui army. I don't want to be a lowly official anymore. I plan to go back to Yangxue to teach the children. I have something to do, can I ask General Xu for help?"
"Just tell me, your Majesty, and your achievements will be fulfilled."
Zhang Hongbang pulled his son over and said, "The dog is fluent in writing and has a strong body. I want him to follow General Xu and help organize documents and write family letters for the soldiers. I wonder if the general can accept him?"
Zhang Hongbang saw that Xu Shiji was both civil and military, young and promising, and would be a pillar of the Sui Dynasty in the future. His son could also find a future by following him, and his eyes were filled with hope.
Xu Shiji smiled slightly, stepped forward and patted Zhang An on the shoulder, "Our army is about to retreat, are you willing to follow us?"
Zhang An was excited and bowed deeply, "Junior is willing to serve the general!"
"You are not working for me, you are working for His Highness the King of Chu."
Xu Shiji immediately ordered the soldiers on the left and right, "Give him a military uniform!"
Soon Zhang An changed into a civilian military uniform. He pulled his clothes left and right, feeling quite excited. He stepped forward and knelt down to his father, "Father, my son is leaving now. He will definitely come back to visit his father when he has time. I hope my father will take care of himself!"
"
Zhang Hongbang felt a little sad in his heart and stepped forward to help his son up. "Son, get up! My father is happy for you." He helped his son up and said with a forced smile: "Get on the horse! I hope you will make great achievements soon."
He handed over to Xu Shiji again and said, "General Xu, I will leave my son to you."
Xu Shiji nodded, "Don't worry, I will treat him as my younger brother."
Seeing that the soldiers had all returned, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"
The Sui army brigade left Changyuan County and headed northwest. Zhang An waved to his father from afar, and his figure gradually disappeared into the night. Zhang Hongbang looked at the direction where his son disappeared and sighed deeply, "My son has grown up.
.”…
After the Sui army launched a lightning attack on the Tang army's logistics camp in Changyuan County, they quickly evacuated Changyuan County and evacuated westward towards Hongnong County. The Tang army suffered heavy losses, and the news of the capture of the general Shi Danai was like having wings.
, quickly spread to Luoyang.
At this time, Li Shimin led the main force of the Tang Army and had just withdrawn to Sanyuan City. This was the transfer station for the Tang Army's logistics supplies, and a small amount of grain and grass supplies were also stored.
In the room, Li Shimin was in a heavy mood, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. In fact, he had seen the Sui army's strategy to attack the Changyuan County logistics camp and force him to return to help Hongnong County. But in this way, he and Li Xiaogong's
The army is getting further and further away.
The Sui army obviously wanted to split the gate in two and not allow them to join forces. Although the Sui army's intention was obvious, he was powerless and could only helplessly be led away by the Sui army.
Li Shimin stared at the sand table and couldn't help but sigh. At this time, Fang Xuanling appeared at the door, "Your Highness, can I come in?"
"Sir, please come in!"
Fang Xuanling walked into the room and said with a smile: "Old General Qu Tu and King Zhao have arrived in Yingchuan County safely. Your Highness should be happy, why are you still frowning?" Li Shimin smiled bitterly, "Yang Yuanqing is working step by step, forcing us to follow his arrangements.
Let’s go, but I can’t do anything about it, how can I be happy?”
"Your Highness, are you referring to the Sui army's night attack on the camp in Changyuan County?"
"Yes! Shi Danai was captured, and I don't know whether he is alive or dead. I know clearly that the Sui army is luring me to come back for reinforcements, but I can't do anything. It's really frustrating."
Fang Xuanling pondered for a moment and said: "Your Highness, I have something to say about my humble position. I don't know whether I should say it or not?"
"Sir, just say it!"
Li Shimin waved his hand, "Please sit down and talk!"
Fang Xuanling sat down and said worriedly: "Actually, I am not worried about Yang Yuanqing's plan. Although his plan is powerful, it is not impossible to crack. At worst, he will withdraw to Guanzhong. I am worried that the relationship between His Highness and the Crown Prince has been controlled by Yang Yuanqing.
, he has already begun to take advantage of it."
Li Shimin was startled, "What do you mean, sir?"
"Has Your Highness ever thought about why Yang Yuanqing was not afraid that the Tang army from Tongguan would send troops to the east to help, and directly ordered Xu Shiji to attack the Changyuan camp?"
"Sir, what you mean is that Yang Yuanqing knew very well that Tongguan's army would not come to help, is that what you mean?" Fang Xuanling nodded, "The army in Tongguan belongs to the prince's influence, and the chief general of Tongguan, Luo Yi, only listens to the prince's orders.
If Luo Yi was willing to send troops to make a gesture, even if it was only a few thousand troops, to go out to Tongguan to create momentum, Xu Shiji would not dare to go south easily, but there was no movement at Tongguan, and Yang Yuanqing did not take Tongguan to heart. If it weren't for Luo Yi and
Yang Yuanqing has colluded, that is, Yang Yuanqing knew that Tongguan would definitely not send troops. If so, doesn’t this prove that Yang Yuanqing is using His Highness to turn against the Crown Prince?"
Li Shimin was silent for a long time and said: "But this cannot be easily improved, and I don't want to be like this. Is there anything you can do, sir?"
Fang Xuanling smiled lightly and said: "This is what I came to tell His Highness. No matter what, His Highness must have all military power in his hands. If the prince is allowed to control part of the military power, His Highness's career will inevitably be ruined in the future because of this part of the military power that is not in his hands."