On the night that Qu Tutong was captured, Xu Shiji sent five hundred cavalry to transport the captured Qu Tutong to the Sui army camp in Yiyang County as quickly as possible.
This battle in the Central Plains has been going on for more than a month. The battle is like an axis, and the rotation of the axis affects all aspects of the current situation.
Diplomacy, intelligence, internal affairs, and power struggles between the two sides have appeared one after another. However, as the fierce confrontation in the Central Plains Campaign continues to deepen, the game between the two sides has reached the final and most intense moment.
At this time, Yang Yuanqing received intelligence from Taiyuan, and the internal conflicts in Qingzhou intensified, and a civil war broke out. Dou Jiande led the army and fought fiercely with Song Jinjiang's army in Beihai County.
This was a victory in an intelligence war, a move carefully planned by Yang Yuanqing, and a key step in the war in the Central Plains. The civil war in Qingzhou meant that Dou Jiande was unable to invade Hebei, leaving Qin Qiong's army without worries.
Yang Yuanqing immediately issued an order, ordering Qin Qiong's 20,000 troops to quickly advance from Dongjun to Yingchuan County and become Li Jing's right flank.
If Xu Shiji's 20,000 troops are added, Li Jing's army will increase to 80,000, which has surpassed Li Xiaogong's Xiangyang Tang Army. The balance of the war is already tilting towards the Sui Army.
As time enters July, the weather is no longer too hot, there is a slight chill in the morning and evening, and more and more people are going out.
Although the war is not over yet, the people of the Central Plains have already experienced the baptism of war for many years and are no longer afraid of war. They still live in their own way.
Yiyang County is the westernmost county in Henan County, only fifty miles away from Changyuan County, and is the only way to go west to Hongnong County.
The good geographical location makes the business in this area relatively prosperous, and there is an endless flow of merchants on the official road.
At this time, a group of about 500 Sui cavalrymen came from the south at lightning speed. The soldiers running in front shouted: "Those in front of you, get out of the way!"
The people on the official road were so frightened that they left the official road and made way for a road. The Sui army's cavalry rushed past and rushed towards the Sui army's camp in Yiyang County. The camp was only a few miles away and could be vaguely seen.
The Sui Army Camp is located in the north of Yiyang County. It is a fortress-style camp covering an area of about 800 acres. It was the main camp of the Sui Army in the entire Central Plains Campaign and the command center of the entire campaign.
In the middle of the camp is a large school field of about 200 acres. At this time, there are thunderous shouts on the school field. Dozens of soldiers are participating in a riding and shooting competition. Tens of thousands of soldiers are sitting around the school field, cheering for the generals in their camp.
This is a tradition of the Sui army. This kind of riding and shooting competition has been held as early as in Fengzhou. All soldiers, regardless of their military rank, from the general manager Yang Yuanqing to the ordinary soldiers, can sign up to participate in the competition, and they will be eliminated through layers of competitions.
, the last twenty people entered the finals.
This is a way of entertainment for the soldiers. Almost everyone participates in the competition, so everyone is particularly concerned about who wins in the end.
However, this is not a formal competition for the Sui Army. There is no participation of the Sui Army from the East Route and the Sui Army from Taiyuan. This is just an entertainment competition for the Sui Army from the West Route. Despite this, it still aroused the interest of the 50,000 Sui Army officers and soldiers.
He rushed to the main school to cheer for him.
The war horses galloped within the prescribed area, the riders drew their bows like the full moon, and shot arrows like shooting stars. They shot at targets a hundred steps away.
The competition implements a cruel elimination system. The first is the straw man who is eighty steps away. Those who fail to hit the straw man's throat are eliminated, followed by the wooden pole. Those who fail to hit the wooden pole from a hundred steps away are eliminated.
After two rounds, there were only seven or eight people left. Among these seven or eight people, all the soldiers turned their attention to two people. One was Xie Yingdeng, the second archer of the Sui Army, and the other was a young and cutting-edge archer.
Xiao Yannian, the captain of the school.
In addition to Yang Yuanqing, the best archer in the world, there were many other archery masters in the Sui army, such as Su Dingfang, Pei Xingyan, Xie Yingdeng, Wang Junkuo, Qin Qiong, etc.
Among them, Xie Yingdeng's archery skills are the most brilliant, and he can pierce Yang with a hundred steps. He is known as the second arrow of the Sui army, second only to Yang Yuanqing.
This time, other generals with strong archery skills were not in the camp, so everyone thought that Xie Yingdeng was sure of victory. Unexpectedly, a young captain, Xiao Yannian, appeared on the way. His archery skills were as good as Xie Yingdeng's, which aroused the strong interest of tens of thousands of Sui army officers.
The story of Cinderella is often more interesting to people. Except for a few people, no one knows that Xiao Yannian is the son of Yuwen Chengdu.
Yang Yuanqing was also sitting in the stands with a dozen civilian officers. He found that Xiao Yannian's archery skills were more advanced than last time, so he smiled and said to Yang Wei next to him: "Fat Sanlang, how about we make a bet?"
Yang Wei scratched his head, feeling a little confused: "Didn't the general manager issue a ban on gambling?"
"Haha! My bet has nothing to do with the gambling ban. Who do you think will win, Xiao Yannian or Xie Yingdeng?"
Yang Wei thought for a while and said: "Although Xiao Yannian's archery skills seem to be very good, no less than Xie Yingden, but he is still slightly inferior in experience and momentum. I still think Xie Yingden wins."
"Okay! I'll bet that Xiao Yannian will win. If I win, the gold enamel bottle your father-in-law gave you will be mine."
Yang Wei’s father-in-law is Kangbas. He returned to Samarkand two years ago. Yang Wei also has a strong gambling habit. He has been fond of gambling since he was a child. He suddenly became excited, "Okay! If I win, your two bottles of top quality
Italian rose wine, give me a bottle."
Yang Yuanqing smiled slightly, "Then we have an agreement!"
The two of them were making bets. The school grounds were already filled with joy. The horse-riding and archery competition was already underway. Two wooden stakes as thick as wrists were erected a hundred steps away on both sides. They had to shoot two arrows from the left and right within the sound of seven drums.
Xie Yingden took the lead. As soon as he entered the shooting area, the drums started beating rapidly, "Boom! Boom! Boom..." The drums beat rapidly. Xie Yingden had already drawn out two arrows, held them on his fingers, and shot one arrow from the left.
The arrow is powerful.
But he couldn't wait for the result, so he turned around, drew his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot an arrow while running quickly. Before the last drum sounded, he shot two arrows in a row and rushed out of the shooting area.
There were thunderous cheers from both sides, and both arrows hit the wooden pole accurately. Xie Yingden glanced back from the corner of his eyes to see how Xiao Yannian was doing.
Xiao Yannian bit his lip, feeling a little nervous. He took a deep breath and rode out. The moment he crossed the shooting line, the rapid drum beat sounded. He had already drawn two arrows, one with his teeth.
Biting it, when the third drum sounded, he opened his bow and shot the first arrow.
Then he exchanged his hands, turned his body to the left, opened his bow and nocked an arrow. When the sixth drum sounded, another arrow was shot out. His movements were skillful and graceful, as if he was moving like clouds and flowing water, and he hit two wooden poles with the same accuracy.
The soldiers on both sides burst into cheers, and even Xie Yingden couldn't help but cheer, "Beautiful!"
Yang Wei sighed, "The younger generations now are much better than ours back then. This Xiao Yannian has the style of his father Yuwen Chengdu, and Qin Qiong's son Huaiyu is also a general. He is only fifteen years old, but he is very powerful in martial arts.
Less than his father, even I was defeated by him."
Qin Qiong's eldest son Qin Huaiyu has inherited his father's true martial arts skills and is now fifteen years old. Since last year, he has been determined to join the army with his father.
But Yang Yuanqing had already changed the law, and he was only allowed to join the army when he was 16 years old. Now he is studying art of war at Taiyuan Chongwen Museum, and he is also a young general with both civil and military skills.
Yang Yuanqing smiled proudly, "There is one last item, shooting the golden bell. If Xiao Yannian and Xie Yingdeng are tied, but Xiao Yannian is only seventeen years old and Xie Yingdeng is twenty-eight years old, in this case, Xiao Yannian should win, so you
That golden enamel bottle shall belong to me."
Only then did Yang Wei react. After a while, he said bitterly: "Anyway, you are the one who makes the rules. Even if Xie Yingden wins, you will add a temporary rule. The captain and above are not counted. Xiao Yannian still wins. With you
Bet, I really got a big advantage."
Yang Yuanqing laughed and patted his shoulder, "I'm not such a scoundrel."
At this time, a soldier rushed over and whispered a few words in Yang Yuanqing's ear. Yang Yuanqing was startled, with a look of surprise in his eyes, "Where is he?"
"The person is already in the deputy account of the Chinese army."
Yang Yuanqing couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart and had no intention of watching the riding and shooting competition anymore. He got up and walked quickly towards the deputy tent of the Chinese Army.
Xie Sili next to him didn't know what happened. Seeing Yang Yuanqing's expression was different, he quickly got up and followed him.
"Your Highness, what happened?"
"Xu Shiji made great contributions to me. He annihilated 20,000 people from Qu Tutong's tribe in Xiangcheng County and captured Qu Tutong."
Xie Sili was startled and became extremely excited, "Then the time will be ripe for a decisive battle on the Eastern Front."
Yang Yuanqing nodded, "Now we just wait for Qin Qiong's army to arrive."
The two of them talked and walked quickly towards the big tent...
In the deputy tent of the Chinese army, more than a dozen guards stared at Qu Tutong sitting on the couch with cold eyes. The ropes around Qu Tutong's feet had been untied.
But his hands were still tied behind his back, his eyes were covered with black cloth, and he was slowly moving his feet, which were numb after being tied up.
At this time, his heart was very calm. He knew where he was, and he was neither afraid nor worried. He had taken life and death lightly. He was over sixty years old. Even if he died, he would be considered at the end of his life.
At this time, there was a rush of footsteps outside the tent, the curtain was opened, and a dozen guards walked in from the outside surrounded by Yang Yuanqing.
Yang Yuanqing saw Qu Tutong sitting on the couch at a glance. He was very familiar with Qu Tutong. When the Han Dynasty was suppressed, his grandfather Yang Su was the commander and Qu Tutong was the general.
After he later established himself in Fengzhou, Yang Guang even sent Qu Tutong and 50,000 elite troops to march to the north of Guanxi to contain him.
Yang Yuanqing looked at Qu Tutong silently for a while, then ordered around him, "Untie his ropes and blindfold him."
Several guards came forward, untied the rope from Qu Tutong's hands, and took off the black cloth from his eyes. Qu Tutong closed his eyes slightly, moved his wrists gently, and did not look at Yang Yuanqing.
Not sent.
"Mr. Qu Tu, are you okay with us?" Yang Yuanqing smiled slightly.
Qu Tutong slowly opened his eyes, adjusted to the light, and pierced Yang Yuanqing with his sharp gaze, and sneered, "It turns out to be Manager Yang. We haven't seen each other for many years."
Yang Yuanqing did not avoid his gaze, but simply said: "Now that Lord Qu Tu is a prisoner under my command, what are you going to do?"
"If you want to kill, then kill, if you want to cut, then cut. I won't frown at all."
Yang Yuanqing thought for a moment and said, "Okay! I'll give you two paths, you can choose for yourself."