Hiss!
Zhang Zhao took a breath like a toothache. About ten days before the Khotan army besieged Shule City, Zhang Zhao despised Ittihad, the governor of Shule.
He felt that this guy had no ability. Tens of thousands of people beat him three times, and the general was in a state of panic.
But after looking at it for more than ten days, I found out that this guy is Hao Zhao!
He is a waste in field battles, but he is very good at defending the city. No wonder Saktu Bugla Khan of the Kara Khanate dared to appoint him as the governor of Shule and let him stay here.
It turns out that we didn’t expect him to be in charge, but we knew that he was good at defending the city and could defend Saktu Bugla Khan’s lair.
Zhang Zhao knew that Li Shengtian was probably heartbroken. This flood not only made it impossible for the Khotan army to fill in the moat, but actually made it impossible to even fight a siege.
The ground is covered with water. Although it is not deep, it can only reach a person's calf at most. But it is impossible for the Khotan army to stand in the water and fight in the cold March. When the water under the city subsides, at least half a month has passed.
.
"My lord, what you said is right! Every time Saktu Bugla Khan goes on an expedition, he always leaves Ittihad Nazahu to defend the city, because this thief is very good at defending the city."
Li Qilang squinted his eyes, looked at the chaotic Khotan army, and said to Zhang Zhao.
Zhang Zhao nodded in agreement. Under the current situation, if Li Shengtian didn't still have his trump card of gunpowder blasting, it is probably very likely that the siege of Shule would have failed again.
"My lord, the emperor has urgently summoned you!" Before he could finish his sigh, the handsome palace guard Liu Zaisheng ran over.
It seems that Li Shengtian was really anxious. He sent someone to summon Zhang Zhao almost as soon as the flood rushed through Shule City.
"Erlang! Now the plan depends on you. How many days will it take for you to complete the project?
News just came from Balashagon. Saktu has received the news that Shule is besieged, and is attacking Balashagon at all costs. We don’t have much time!"
As soon as Zhang Zhao entered the king's tent, Li Shengtian signaled him to excuse himself and shouted impatiently.
Zhang Zhao also knew what Li Shengtian meant when he said there was not much time. Saktu Buglahan attacked Balashagon not because he thought it could be captured, but because he was making a last effort. If he could not capture it, it would be very difficult.
They may retreat immediately and come back to rescue Shule.
However, Zhang Zhao knew that there was actually enough time, because although it seemed that there were only 800 miles from Balashagon to Shule, the journey was actually very difficult.
The Nalen River and the surrounding mountains in March are not easy to live in. Historically, that beast Bai Yanhu once led people across the Nalen River at this time, but he directly lost 20 to 30% of the population.
Therefore, the speed of Saktu Bugla Khan's return from Balashagon will not be too fast. When crossing the snow-capped mountains, he has to lose his baggage and auxiliary troops. He can only bring his elite troops back. After returning, he will definitely need to repair and repair them.
It’s impossible to supply supplies in less than two months.
If we want to pull all the troops over, we can only take a detour through the Ili River Valley. This is a journey of three to four thousand miles, and it will take a month and a half to run non-stop. With repairs and repairs, it will take at least three months.
p>
So there is still enough time. Li Shengtian is just frightened by the shadow of past failures.
Because in the past, the attack on Shule was basically impossible after a few months of losing troops, and then the Kara Khanate transferred large forces from other places, and the two sides fought a fierce battle, and were finally forced to withdraw to Khotan.
"Don't worry, uncle. Now that we have pulled out Fort Esquesa and Fort Yusuf, Shule is already an isolated city. Although Ittihad can protect itself for ten days by releasing water, it is just a delay.<
/p>
With all the generals here, even if Saktu Bugla Khan returns from Balashagon, we can defeat them!"
Zhang Zhao acted like a loyal man this time and deliberately spoke slowly when he spoke.
When Li Shengtian saw Zhang Zhao's uncharacteristic behavior, he suddenly realized that he had gone too far.
What do you mean you can only rely on Zhang Zhao? Although the truth is similar to this, you can't say it in front of so many generals!
Ahem! Li Shengtian coughed dryly and regained the calmness that a king should have. He stroked a few strands of goatee on his chin.
"What Duke Fengtian said is right. The lonely king made a mistake just now. With all the generals here, Duke Fengtian is even more powerful than ours. Shule has become an empty city and will be conquered sooner or later!"
After Li Shengtian said this, the atmosphere in the king's tent became less deserted than before. A Khotan Amozhi who was stationed on the territory of the original Pantuo Kingdom raised his hand.
"What Duke Fengtian said is right. Please don't worry the emperor. As soon as the water recedes, I will personally lead my tribe to capture Shule for the emperor. Even if Saktu comes back quickly! I can defeat him together with the generals."
."
"Pei Governor is really a brave general of our Jin Kingdom. With all of you here, I would like to see what other methods this thief Ittihad can use after the water recedes?"
Governor Pei, well! This is not a Han, but a strong man with Scythian ancestry. The surname Pei is not Pei from the Central Plains, but Pei from Shule, one of the four major Han surnames in Anxi.
In the Tang Dynasty, Shule Pei, Qiuci Bai, Tujue (A) Shi (Na), and Yuchi of Khotan were collectively known as the four major Hu people in Anxi with Han surnames.
The biggest feature of these four surnames is that they are closely related to the Central Plains Dynasty, and there are a large number of elite and loyal officials among the four surnames.
For example, Ashina Sheer, Bai Xiaode, Yuchi Sheng, minister Pei Bin during the Dezong period of Tang Dynasty, etc.
Zhang Zhao gave the governor Pei a friendly look with the title of Amozhi. At this time, he was still using the surname Pei. Needless to say, he was probably an elite Tang Dynasty. Of course, it was also possible that he was trying to please Li Shengtian.
Governor Pei also noticed Zhang Zhao, and immediately gave him a friendly look, and seemed to have something to say. Only then did Zhang Zhao remember that Pei's surname was the surname of the original King of Shule!
"Erlang! How is the progress of your gold capital? Although a certain pro-independence army is not afraid of Saktu's return reinforcements, if we can capture Shule before the thief Hu arrives in Shule, we can wait for the hard work and fight hard.
Give him a break."
Although he expressed a lot of opinions just now and praised his ministers, Li Shengtian still understood that if he really wanted to capture Shule quickly, Zhang Zhao's hole blasting method was the most reliable.
"Reporting to my uncle, my nephew has obtained the most detailed map of Shule City, and he has dug a tunnel of tens of meters with all the money.
Starting today, I will go to supervise the formation in person, and I will dig out a tunnel and blast open the Shule city wall within twenty days!"
Zhang Zhao knew that this was the most critical moment. If the tunnel excavation failed and the Shule city wall could not be blasted, all the previous efforts would be in vain.
Losing Li Shengtian's favor is secondary. The most important thing is that Khotan is the only force Zhang Zhao can rely on in the Anxi area. Without Khotan, rescuing Tang'er in Anxi and finding the descendants of Guo Xingong, the king of Wuwei County, etc. are all in vain.
Bullshit.
The time for Saktu Bugla Khan of the Kara Khanate to return aid is about two and a half to three and a half months, so the time left for him to blast through the Shule city wall is only one month at most.
This chapter has been completed!