After the Xue Yantuo tribe was defeated at the gate of Dali City in Fengzhou in the early years of the Daye, its strength was greatly reduced. Bian took refuge with the Turkic Qimin Khan and was placed in the north of the Turkic Yazhang, with a large grassland with rich pasture.
After more than ten years of low-key development and rapid population proliferation, Xue Yantuo successively annexed many small tribes and gradually became stronger, with nearly 300,000 tribesmen and 100,000 troops.
In the Battle of Fengzhou the year before last, Xue Yantuo's tribe learned a profound lesson. They were not optimistic about it from the beginning. Khan Yinan only sent a few thousand people to participate in the battle on the pretext of resisting the invasion of Utu tribe.
As a result, the Battle of Fengzhou caused the Xueyantuo tribe to suffer minimal losses. However, when Utu led his army into the Turkic tent, they stayed far away.
The second largest grassland power.
This time the Turks went south to establish their power and ordered Xue Yantuo to send troops. Xue Yantuo's tribe could no longer evade, so Yinan Khan personally led an army of 40,000 to accompany the Turks.
Yinan Khan was the eldest son of Yi Shibo, the great chief of Xueyantuo. He opposed his father's attack on the Sui Dynasty. In the end, his father was killed by the Qixin people. Yinan, who was still in his prime, was elected as the new chief by the remaining Xueyantuo nobles.
Fast forward more than ten years, and Yi Nan is already nearly fifty years old, with both beard and hair white. In the grasslands where the average life expectancy is only over thirty years old, he is already considered to be old.
Yi Nan understood what Suli Khan meant. He stood up and said with a smile: "According to tradition, the Great Khan naturally decides how to distribute the spoils. This time should be no exception. I believe the Great Khan will distribute it fairly.
"
As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Sa sneered and said: "If the word 'fairness' existed in the world, there would be no Xue Yantuo today."
The relationship between the Uighurs and Xue Yantuo has always been very bad. Ever since the Turks settled Xue Yantuo in the early years of the Daye, the land where Xue Yantuo was settled originally belonged to the Uighurs, but was forcibly assigned to Xue Yantuo by the Turks.
In addition, the Turks were particularly partial to Xue Yantuo and made the Yi man a khan, while Pei Xi of the Uighurs was only a chief. Therefore, if Xue Yantuo spoke for the Turks today, how could the Uighurs give him a good look?
Yi Nan didn't expect that the other party would be so sarcastic. He immediately glared at Pesa and said, "What do you mean? Please explain it clearly!"
Pesa stood up abruptly, pressed the handle of the knife with his hand, glared at the other party fiercely and said: "What can I say to you, a dog?"
Not only was Yi Nan angry, but the four Xue Yantuo Ten Thousand Captains beside him became furious and all drew their swords and pointed them at Peisa. Several Uighur Ten Thousand Captains also did not show weakness and drew their swords at the same time.
Swords were in full swing in the Turk King's tent, and the atmosphere was extremely tense. Lingli Khan did not expect such a scene to appear. He was extremely annoyed, but he still restrained himself and coldly ordered: "Put away all the knives!"
For the sake of the Turkic Great Khan, both sides put away their knives, but Peisa was still angry in his heart. He snorted heavily, turned around and walked out of the tent. Several Uighur captains also followed him.
go.
There was silence in the big tent. Xuli Khan's face was as gloomy as water, staring at Peisa's back, murderous intent bursting out of his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. It was not the time to clean up and return to Hehe.
…
While the Turks were setting up camp to celebrate their victory, a team of eight thousand cavalry was running rapidly westward in the dim starry night.
To the north is the dark Wuzhou Mountains. The tall mountains are majestic and tall. Under the shining light of the cold moon, they are steep and towering into the sky, and are extremely dangerous.
Li Jing pursed his lips tightly, the moonlight was harsh, and the strong night wind whistled in his ears. He kept whipping his horse and galloped.
Their time is very tight and they must reach Zihe before dawn tomorrow. This is a risky move. If successful, they can hold off the Turkic army for more than five days. These critical five days can guarantee the safety of the people of Mayi County.
Withdrawing south, the main force of the Sui army could move north in time.
But if he fails, he will bear the responsibility for his failure to stop the attack. Li Jing's eyes became more solemn, and he felt that the pressure on his shoulders was huge...
After a day and night of running, eight thousand Sui army cavalry arrived at the Zihe River at dawn. The Zihe River originates from the high mountains of Mayi County, gurgling all the way north, after flowing out of the Great Wall, it curves like the Sui army's diversion
It curved, turned to the lower left, and then straightened majestically.
The shimmering light blue and lavender river flows through high mountains, then through grasslands with rich pasture, and finally flows into the Yellow River.
The lower reaches of the Zihe River have always been the main channel for northern nomads to enter the Central Plains. Although this time the Turks were almost certain to go south from Qifupo in order to annihilate the Utu tribe, Li Jing still erred on the side of caution and went along the Yellow River channel in the lower reaches of the Zihe River.
Five thousand defense troops were deployed in the area.
Facts have proved that his prudent attitude was completely correct. Who would have thought that the last members of the Utu tribe fled towards the Zihe River, but they were pursued by 20,000 Turkic cavalry. Turkic troops also appeared in the Zihe River Basin.
The sky was completely bright, and the Sui army entered the Zihe Valley. This is a valley about one mile wide and more than twenty miles long. It is actually a mountain stream slowly formed by the erosion of the mountain by rivers for thousands of years.
There are straight cliffs on both sides. The cliffs are covered with densely packed plants and vines. Even though it is winter, the withered branches still cover the stone walls. Although the sun is particularly warm today, the sun cannot shine into the mountain stream.
, making the mountain stream dim and somewhat eerie and depressing. The river has long been frozen like a mirror, and the cold wind howls through the mountain stream, making a huge and weird sound. People walking on the ice always have a strange feeling, as if this is
A gate leading to the underworld.
Eight thousand Sui army cavalry silently walked through the narrow mountain stream. The cacophony of the horses on the ice occasionally startled some unknown winged creatures. They screamed and flew to the top of the mountain dozens of feet high. The sudden attack
The screams are always scary.
At this time, a dozen patrols came against the team, and among them was a Taoist priest wearing a blue robe, with his hair randomly pulled into a bun and wearing a worn-out bamboo crown. The Taoist priest was about thirty years old.
He looked a little uneasy when he was held hostage by Sui soldiers.
"Manager Li!"
The patrolling soldiers finally found Li Jing and came to greet him. Li Jing also saw the Taoist priest among them. He pointed his riding whip and asked, "What's going on with this Taoist priest?"
"Report to the manager, this person was found in a crevice on the cliff. He is an herb collector. He has news about the Utu tribe."
Li Jing was overjoyed and asked quickly: "Where are you a Taoist priest? Do you want to tell me anything?"
The Taoist priest quickly bowed and said: "Xiao Dao is a Taoist priest from Xuan Qing Temple. The Taoist temple is about fifty miles south of here. He has been collecting medicine in this area for a long time. It was probably around five o'clock last night when Xiao Dao was sleeping in a rock crevice and was hit by a burst of horse hoofs.
Awakened by the sound, he poked his head out from the trail and saw about five to six thousand people walking through the mountain stream. They were holding torches. Most of them were women and children, but there were also hundreds of young and strong men. They looked like Turks at first sight. Many of the men were injured. They were walking along the way.
Weeping and crying like a funeral procession."
After a pause, the Taoist priest continued: "Their leader seems to be a woman. She is dressed gorgeously and is protected by dozens of guards. She also keeps wiping her tears."
Li Jing nodded. They should be the last survivors of the Utu tribe, and Anuri was among them. They went south and just missed him. But after Li Jing thought for a while, he immediately understood. The scout said that the Utu tribe was still alive.
There were nearly ten thousand people left, but the Taoist priest only saw five or six thousand people. Most of them were women and children, and hundreds of men were injured.
This shows that the Utu tribe is divided into two groups. One group should be soldiers, responsible for attracting the Turkic pursuers to cover Anuri and the women and children's escape from the mountain stream. Li Jing quickly estimated the time. The Taoist priest saw them at the fifth watch, so the Turkic pursuers
The soldiers should have chased past the mouth of the mountain stream and headed west.
Li Jing immediately became worried. The five thousand Sui soldiers stationed in Zihe Fort were not very far away from here, only more than a hundred miles away. They were likely to encounter 20,000 Turkic pursuers. Thinking of this, Li Jing became anxious. He
Then he asked: "How far is it from here to the north entrance of the mountain stream?"
"It's not far. We can go out in seven or eight miles. You can keep walking along the Zihe River. After leaving the hilly area, there are grasslands all the way. I guess the person you are looking for will also go west along the river."
"Thank you very much!"
Li Jing immediately said: "Give him ten taels of silver and let him go."
The soldiers released the Taoist priest, and a soldier gave the Taoist priest a piece of silver. The Taoist priest left with great gratitude. Li Jing immediately gave the order: "Pass my order, and the troops will speed up the march!"
The Sui army's cavalry suddenly accelerated and quickly headed towards the north entrance of the mountain stream.
…
The journey of seven or eight miles passed in a short time. After a while, the team came out of the mountain stream. On both sides were low hills and dense forests, both of which were vast black pine forests. There was no road to the west. The Sui cavalry had no choice but to follow the
The riverbed continues its rapid march to the northwest.
After walking for about twenty miles, the hills became lower and lower, and soon we came to the turning point of Zihe River. Suddenly, our eyes suddenly opened up. There were no hills in the distance, but endless grassland. Zihe River made a big turn here.
Flows to the southwest.
Behind them is the towering Wuzhou Mountains. Under the sunlight, the mountains are exceptionally tall and majestic. The mountain stream they passed through has turned into a thin black line, making it difficult to see clearly.
"Manager Li!"
A scout rushed to report: "We found large areas of horse hoof prints. Tens of thousands of cavalry passed by and went west along the north bank of the river. More than an hour has passed."
Li Jing thought about it for a moment. Zihe Fort is about a hundred miles away from here. If he speeds up his horse, he can get there in about half a day. However, they have been marching for a day and a night, and the people and horses are extremely tired. It is not a big deal to rush over like this. They can let him go.
The scouts went to investigate the situation first.
Of course, Li Jing was not going to rescue the last few thousand soldiers of the Utu tribe. Their purpose was to annihilate the 20,000 lone Turkic cavalry. If the 20,000 Turkic cavalry were completely wiped out, it would be enough to prevent the Turkic army from going south easily.
.
Li Jing immediately ordered: "Pass my order, and the entire army will dismount and take a breather!"