Going west along the Zi River for more than a hundred miles, the mountains will reach their end. There are no more mountains for more than two hundred miles to the west. The Yellow River will flow down through it, forming a huge strategic pass.
Passing through this pass is a vast plain to the south, posing a great threat to the Central Plains. In the third year of the Great Cause, Yang Guang ordered the mobilization of nearly a million people from the five counties of Loufan, Mayi, Yanmen, Dingxiang and Yulin to build the Great Wall.
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This section of the Great Wall starts from Yulin in the west and ends at the end of the mountains of Zihe in the east. It is about two hundred miles long, blocking this strategic pass. On the easternmost side of this section of the Great Wall, close to the end of the mountains, is the Zi River.
River Fort.
To be precise, Zihe Fort was a military city with a circumference of less than three miles at first. The Zihe River passed through the city here, leaving a half-moon-shaped water hole on the city wall.
After Yang Yuanqing annihilated Liu Wuzhou, he ordered the expansion, heightening and reinforcement of the military city, making the military city's perimeter reach eight miles, turning it into a small county-like city with 2,000 troops stationed all year round.
This time Li Jing was appointed as the general manager of Daizhou. Considering that the Turkic army was about to move south in a large scale, he ordered the troops of Zihe Fort to be increased to 5,000. The 5,000 defenders of Zihe Fort were responsible for the defense of the entire western part of Mayi County.
The guard general of Zihe Fort is called Xue Shao, who is the nephew of General Xue Shixiong of the Sui Dynasty and the younger brother of the Xue brothers. He is appointed as a general and is ordered by Li Jing to guard Zihe Fort.
In the early morning of this day, when the bright sunshine had just shone on Zihe Fort, a group of patrol sentry brought news that a group of Utu cavalry was heading towards Zihe Fort in a rout.
This news put the entire Zihe Fort garrison on alert. They rushed to the top of the city one after another, holding spears and crossbows in hand, looking slightly nervously toward the northeast.
General Xue Shao's eyes were as solemn as those of the soldiers. He knew what would happen recently. Before he came to Zihe Fort, the general manager Li Jing repeatedly told him that a war was about to break out in the near future, and the Turks might flood Zihe Fort like grassland locusts.
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Although it was just a possibility, Xue Shao knew Li Jing's intention of sending three thousand more troops to Zihe Fort. It was not impossible. Now that the Utu people were defeated and fled, what would be behind them? A group of Turks taking a leisurely stroll?
Soon, the thunderous sound of horse hooves came from the distance, and a group of scattered Turks appeared, about two to three thousand people, holding the white wolf-head flag, which was the flag of the Utu tribe.
The deserters were getting closer and closer to Zihe Fort. They were panicking like bereaved dogs, abandoning their helmets and armor. The war horses were foaming at the mouth, as if they were at the end of a powerful crossbow, and were about to be unable to support themselves.
A few miles behind them, another black line appeared. It was an overwhelming black line of Turkic cavalry. Their horse hooves beat on the grassland, and the earth began to shake slightly. The defenders on the city changed color in horror. The whimpering horns sounded.
The sound from the city head kept blowing.
Seeing that the soldiers of the Wutu tribe were advancing more and more. Less than a hundred steps away from Zihe Fort, they waved desperately and begged the castle defenders to let them into the city. A general rushed over and nervously asked Xue Shao for instructions, "General Xue
, what should I do, do you want to open the door?"
Xue Shao was in a dilemma. Although he knew that the Utu tribe had a good relationship with the Sui Dynasty and that they came to attach themselves to the Sui Dynasty, he didn't know what happened over there in Qifupo. What if this was a trap for the Turks to lure troops?
What should I do? They are using the banner of the Utu tribe, but they are actually Turks in disguise.
Xue Shao's eyes were fixed on these thousands of defeated soldiers. At this time, he suddenly recognized the general leading among them. It was Amutu, the general of the Utu tribe. Last month, he accompanied the chief Anuli to meet with the newly appointed general manager.
Li Jing and Xue Shao were also present at that time. At this time, Amutu's face was pale, with two arrows stuck in his back, and he was about to lose his support.
"Open the city quickly and let them in!" Xue Shao ordered urgently.
The city gate of Zihe Fort slowly opened. Thousands of defeated Wutu troops rushed into the city with their last strength. The city gate slowly closed again. The suspension bridge was pulled up. Five thousand defenders stood ready with their bows and arrows ready, watching.
The Turkic army quickly attacked from afar.
Several Sui soldiers in armor walked quickly to the top of the city carrying a stretcher. On the stretcher lay the dying Amutu. He escaped from the disaster several times, but was finally shot by an enemy arrow when he was about to arrive at Zihe Fort.
She was hit.
Xue Shao rushed forward, squatted down and held his hand, "General Amutu, what happened?"
Amutu smiled miserably, his pale face showing an expression of great pain, "The Utu tribe is over, the Turkic army of more than 200,000 has caught up with us, the men were killed, the women were robbed, and my wife and daughter were also killed by them.
snatched away."
"What about Chief Anuri?"
"She left the Valley of Darkness with... thousands of women and children, and we... diverted the Turkic pursuers away." Amutu said with difficulty.
Xue Shao knew that the dark valley he was talking about was the Zihe River Valley. He shook Amutu's hand and said, "You will not die, and you cannot die. If His Highness the King of Chu wants to see you, you can rest assured to recuperate in Zihe Fort."
He stood up and ordered: "Order the military doctor to treat his injuries!"
The soldiers of the Sui army carried the stretcher down. At this time, the ground began to shake again, as if an earthquake had occurred. Twenty thousand Turkic cavalry roared towards them. They rushed dozens of steps away and opened their bows and arrows. The overwhelming arrows were fired angrily.
City head.
........
The 20,000 Turkic cavalry did not carry siege weapons. Facing the towering and solid city wall, they had no choice but to use their anger and pointlessly shoot arrows at the city head.
After struggling for more than an hour, Haji, the Turkic captain of ten thousand, saw that it was irreversible and had to order the withdrawal back to the main camp of Qifubo. The 20,000 Turkic cavalry retreated like water.
But just as the Turkic cavalry had just withdrawn, several Sui army scouts rode out of a forest to the east. They rushed to the city and shouted loudly: "Where is General Xue?"
A sergeant ran to report to Xue Shao. Xue Shao quickly walked to the top of the city and asked, "Where are you from?"
"We are under the orders of General Manager Li. General Manager Li has given orders to General Xue."
Xue Shao heard that Li Jing had sent them, and hurriedly ordered people to open the city to let them in. After a while, a soldier led a scout to the city. The scout took out a letter, knelt down on one knee and presented it, "This is the warrant from Manager Li, please
General, take it back!"
Xue Shao opened the order and looked at it, his eyes suddenly showed surprise, and then he became excited. He put away the order, turned around and shouted sharply: "Order the entire army to line up and prepare to attack!"
.......
It was about 200 miles and 60 miles from Zihe Fort to Wuzhou Pass. The Turkic cavalry also rushed for a day and night before arriving at Zihe Fort. However, when they returned, their speed was much slower, mainly because their horses were tired.
And they no longer have task pressure.
The captain leading the 20,000 troops is called Haji. He is about 20 years old. His skin is dark and rough, and he looks like he is in his thirties. He is six feet five tall, weighs more than two hundred kilograms, and is as strong as a black bear.
He is a famous Turkic warrior who can fight tigers and leopards with his bare hands. Although his limbs are well-developed, his mind is not simple. He is even very careful.
He led his army in pursuit until the end, and gradually caught up with the Utu tribe, but found that there were obviously fewer people. Tens of thousands of people had obviously escaped, but in the end there were only two or three thousand people left, and all of them were young and strong soldiers. Anuri
Where have they gone? Where have the women and children gone?
He already understood in his heart that he must have fallen into a trap. Anuri and thousands of women and children escaped from another road halfway, but he couldn't figure out which road they escaped from.
Haji was not familiar with the terrain in this area.
But at this time, he was very worried about what he would do when he went back. The Khan ordered him to lead 20,000 cavalry to hunt down the fleeing Anuri, and he must kill all the Utu tribe without leaving any further trouble. Unexpectedly, he did not catch up with anyone.
, not even a woman or child was captured.
Going back empty-handed like this is not only a matter of being ridiculed, but the key is how he will explain to the Khan? Could it be that his 20,000 cavalry can't outrun a few thousand women and children?
Haji was extremely anxious. At this time, an older captain stepped forward and said, "General, could it be possible that Princess Anuri and the others escaped from the Valley of Darkness?"
'The Valley of Darkness?'
Haji was stunned, "Where?"
"It is the valley where the Zi River passes through the mountains. People in the Sui Dynasty called it the Zi River Valley. It is sixty miles ahead. I once followed Qimin Khan and walked through the valley to the hinterland of the Sui Dynasty. There are many villages."
Haji's heart moved and he quickly asked: "Can I go around to Zihe Fort?"
"sure!"
Haji's heart suddenly became hot. The thousands of Utu soldiers they were chasing would not stay too long after entering Zihe Fort. After a short rest, they would continue south to join Anuri.
Maybe Anuri would lead the women and children waiting for them halfway, and he would go to the south first. Even if he couldn't catch Anuri, he could still intercept thousands of Utu soldiers and kill them all.
You can also use human heads to give orders to the Khan.
Thinking of this, Haji immediately ordered to the commander: "You will lead the way, and the army will immediately cross the valley to the south."
Haji gave an order, and 20,000 Turkic cavalry sped up and ran along the Zi River towards the mouth of the valley.
In the afternoon, 20,000 Turkic cavalry arrived at the bend of the river valley. They turned south and headed deep into the hills. Soon they found clues. There were dense horse hoof prints on the soil, indicating that a large group of people passed by here. They also discovered that
Got some lost sheepskins.
Haji became even more excited and led 20,000 cavalrymen to rush deep into the valley, and soon entered the dark valley in the legend of the Turks.
About half an hour after the Turkic army entered the valley, Xue Shao led 4,000 Sui army cavalry and chased them to the entrance of the valley. Twenty Sui army scouts were waiting at the entrance of the valley. They were Li Jing's agents who stayed here.
A school lieutenant urged his horse forward and saluted: "To inform General Xue, the Turkic army has entered the valley as expected by General Manager Li, and it has been half an hour."
Xue Shao nodded, turned around and ordered: "Half of you go up the mountain, and the other half follow me in!"
The Sui army divided into two groups, one group followed Xue Shao into the valley, while the other group carried more than a thousand barrels of kerosene up the mountain, climbing along the edge of the mountain stream to the top of the mountain...
The valley is about thirty miles long. Because the river water has condensed into ice, the roads in the valley are relatively flat. It only takes more than an hour to get out of the valley. Twenty thousand Turkic troops lined up in the valley, stretching for several miles. The valley is very dark.
There was a sliver of sky above our heads. After walking for about ten miles, the soldiers in front suddenly shouted loudly and there was a lot of noise.
"What happened?" Haji asked, urging his horse forward.
"General, the road ahead is blocked by boulders and we can't get through!"
Haji was stunned, and urged his horse forward. Sure enough, he saw that the narrow place in front was blocked by dozens of huge rocks. Each of the huge rocks weighed several thousand kilograms or even tens of thousands of kilograms, and was more than one foot high, blocking the road.
It was so tight that people could try to climb over it, but horses couldn't get through it no matter what.
Haji suddenly felt an extremely ominous feeling in his heart. He seemed to realize something and immediately ordered: "Go back quickly, go back quickly!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud rumbling sound above their heads. When they looked up, they saw dense rocks falling from the sky and hitting their heads.