Gaoyu's troops and horses were attacked from both sides by the Jianling City defenders and Gu Jue's reinforcements. Gaoyu's iron troops were still good, but the original Yanzhou army that followed Wu Yi and defected to the Gaoyu people was defeated in an instant.
Some fled in all directions, and some simply lay down on the ground and surrendered on the spot. There were also some who followed the Gaoyu people, but they were of no use and were mostly holding back.
Coupled with what happened in the early morning, Gaoyu's soldiers and horses also have no fighting spirit. How can they fight again?
In the end, Heruomuti and Jamuka could only retreat hurriedly to the southeast with their troops.
Dasheng's soldiers and horses chased them for more than ten miles, but in the end they could not catch up with the Gaoyu people, so they had to withdraw their troops and return to the city.
After repelling the Gaoyu people and expecting reinforcements, the whole Jianling city was filled with joy.
"The last general, Gu Jue, comes to see the princess!"
Luo Junyao smiled and said: "General Gu, there is no need to be polite. I haven't seen you for a few days. How are you doing, General?"
Gu Jue smiled and said: "Princess, please worry, everything will be fine in the end. The end will come later, the princess and the generals have worked hard these days to defend Jianling City."
Jiang Yan said: "The princess said that General Gu will arrive in three days. It's exactly three days, neither early nor late. How can it be considered late?"
Jiang Guanmu also smiled and said: "That's what General Jiang said."
Luo Junyao looked at Gu Jue curiously, "General Gu, are you coming from Chixia Pass?" There seemed to be no other place in that direction except Chixia Pass where tens of thousands of soldiers and horses could pass.
Gu Jue smiled and said: "Exactly."
Luo Junyao said: "So...you first took a boat to land outside Chixia Pass, and then broke through Chixia Pass?"
She really hadn't considered this possibility, mainly because it was really difficult to transport troops these days.
Transporting troops by sea is even more difficult. Even a maritime overlord like the Fang family has to spend a lot of effort and time to build specialized ships.
She forgot that it was difficult but not impossible.
Although Da Sheng's current naval force is somewhat unimpressive, with a few giant ships in the south, they have just captured Yingzhou.
The Fang family has many ships in Yingzhou. Even if the Fang family's ships are not enough, there are still so many merchant pirates who are forced to stay in Yingzhou.
Their ships can also be requisitioned when necessary.
"Exactly. Your Majesty has already ordered reinforcements to wait on the coast of Huizhou to board the ship at any time, and then land not far outside Chixia Pass." Gu Jue said with a smile.
Luo Junyao sincerely expressed his admiration. She really couldn't be a general.
When the news of Gaoyu's defeat in Jianling City reached Pingshan Fort, He Ruoqiuti was drinking wine out of boredom.
Upon hearing the news, I spit out a mouthful of wine and coughed several times.
He Ruoqiuti raised his head with a blushing face and said to the people around him: "Quick! Come here with Beggar Buti La and Naiyan! And Wu Yi!"
The guard at the door hesitated for a moment and said: "Second Prince, General Wu Yi is not in the army."
He Ruoqiuti's face darkened, he stood up and said angrily: "Not here again?!"
The guard said: "General Wu Yi has special permission from the eldest prince, so he does not need to be sent by the second prince."
"Bastard!" He Ruoqiuti gritted his teeth, and suddenly thought of something and sneered, "Wu is not helping in Jianling to attack the city. He came here and can't help at all, and he didn't know that his elder brother asked him to do it.
What!"
His eldest brother suffered a big setback this time. I wonder what he will do in the future?
"Let Naiyan and Hua Buti come over first," He Ruoqiu said.
"yes."
Not long after, two confidants hurriedly stepped into the room.
He Ruoqiuti didn't bother to chat with them, "Do you all know the news about Jianling?"
The two people also looked a little solemn, and they responded in unison.
He Ruoqiuti sighed and said: "The Dasheng people are too cunning to think of breaking in from Chixia Pass. What should we do now?" Once Chixia Pass is occupied by the Dasheng people, they will be trapped.
In the middle, you can neither advance nor retreat.
Naiyan said: "Second prince, don't worry. Gu Jue came from the sea, so he will definitely not be able to bring many troops. What's more, although the eldest prince's side was defeated, the whole army was not wiped out. Calculating the strength of the troops, we may not be able to occupy the bottom.
.There are now two options.”
He Ruoqiuti looked at him and said, "Say."
"One, of course, is to go east and withdraw outside the pass. Now that Yanzhou's reinforcements have not arrived, if we want to rush out of the pass, the defenders of Jianling may not be able to intercept us desperately. Second, we are to go south, with the eldest prince and Qingzhou heading north.
The rebels have gathered together. It only needs a little reorganization, and it may not be impossible to retake Chixia Pass in one fell swoop. It’s just..."
"Just what?"
Naiyan said: "After all, the Cao family and us are not of the same mind. In addition, the eldest prince has enough troops and horses, but by then I am afraid we will not be able to make the decision."
Hua Buti La next to him instantly understood what Naiyan meant. In the final analysis, he had no confidence in He Ruoqiuti.
He Ruoqiuti was not a foolhardy fool as many people in Gaoyu thought, but his resourcefulness was indeed relatively limited.
At least he couldn't defeat Heruomuti. Although there was King Gaoyu's favoritism in this, if Heruoqiuti had even 80% of Heruomuti's tricks, the nobles of Gaoyu would support him without hesitation.
He Ruoqiuti was a little irritable, and he also knew that he was no match for He Ruoqiuti.
But now, if he just withdraws and leaves He Ruomuti and other Gaoyu troops in the pass, his father will never let him have an easy time.
"What do you think?" He Ruoqiu asked.
Naiyan and Hua Butila looked at each other, and Hua Butila said: "The current plan is that we will probably have to evacuate from Pingshan Fort first. It will be really bad if we are blocked here by Xie Yan and Gu Jue. As for what happens next.
How about... why don't we retreat to the vicinity of Chixia Pass first and then make plans based on the situation?"
He Ruoqiuti frowned and thought for a long time, then nodded and said, "That's the only way it can be."
"Second Prince, someone has sent you a letter." The guard came in from outside, holding a letter in his hand and said respectfully.
He Ruoqiuti said impatiently: "Whose letter is it? He Ruoqiuti?"
The guard did not answer, but presented the letter to He Ruoqiuti.
Seeing the mark on the envelope, He Ruoqiuti suddenly opened his eyes wide.
Naiyan and Huabutila standing aside also saw the mark. There was silence in the room for a moment. Huabutila came over and asked, "Has anyone seen it?"
The guard shook his head and said: "The envelope was just nailed to the pillar outside. The person came and went without a trace, and no outsiders saw it."
"Go down." He Ruoqiuti took the letter and said in a deep voice.
After the guards bowed and left, He Ruoqiuti opened the seal of the letter and sneered: "Xie Yan? What does he want to do by writing to this prince at this time? Could it be that he wants to persuade me to surrender?"
Gaoyu only has warriors who died in battle, but no cowards who surrendered.
If Xie Yan thought that they could force him to surrender after they had achieved a little victory, that would be fanciful.
Xie Yan's handwriting is vigorous and vigorous, with strong character.
The content is also concise and powerful, even the polite words and phrases that ordinary people use when communicating are omitted.
"If you want to seize the throne of Gaoyu, at midnight tonight, go down the rocky slope five miles below the mountain." It is really very concise.
He Ruoqiuti stared at the brief letter in silence for a moment, then suddenly sneered and threw the letter on the table, saying: "Mysterious!"
Huabudila walked over, picked it up and took a look, and her expression couldn't help but change.
"What do you think of the second prince?" Huabotila asked.
He Ruoqiu said: "What do you think? It's just Xie Yan's trick to sow discord, a common trick used by people in the Central Plains. I didn't expect that Xie Yan, a famous general of the generation, would also use these unflattering methods.
"
Huabutila and Naiyan looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
Their Second Prince, His Highness, is really a little too naive.
As the saying goes, war is the continuation of politics.
If the problem can be solved by peaceful means, who is willing to go to war?
Xie Yan was not only a famous general of Dasheng, but also the regent of Dasheng.
What is even more alarming is that he is obviously a military commander, but he can quickly see through the biggest contradiction within Gaoyu.
But their prince could not see it as clearly as an outsider.
He Ruoqiuti looked at the expressions of the two of them, frowned and said, "What are you thinking? If our father knows that we are secretly in contact with Xie Yan, no one will be able to reap the benefits."
Huabutila sighed and said: "Second Prince, do you think... Your Majesty, do you intend to give everyone good things to eat?"
"What do you mean?" He Ruoqiuti was confused.
Naiyan said: "The second prince thinks that the king just loves the eldest prince and wants to pass the throne to him, so he suppresses you and your mother's clan?"
He Ruoqiu didn't answer, he really thought so.
Many times he felt aggrieved and felt that his father was unfair.
He is obviously not that interested in the throne of Gaoyu, but he still has to bear the expectations of his mother and the family behind him. Sometimes he can't help but think that his father just wants to pass the throne to Heruomuti, and he won't fight for it.
Now, can everyone live a good life?
Naiyan said: "The eldest prince is indeed excellent, but the most important reason why the king prefers the eldest prince so much is... his biological mother is not the daughter of any wealthy family in Gaoyu. She is a fox from the Western Regions who has nothing but beauty.
female."
"What kind of reason is this? Aren't the queens of Gaoyu in the past always chosen from various wealthy families?" Emperor He Ruoqiuti found it a bit funny.
The major tribes have always been the most important or even almost the entire force of Gaoyu. They all have a lot of wealth, soldiers, horses, and people. In the event of a war, they will also contribute their own soldiers, horses, children, and even money and food to serve Gaoyu.
.
The royal family of Gaoyu, after all, is the largest among these tribes, and was elected as the co-lord by all tribes.
Therefore, the Gaoyu royal family in the past dynasties had to marry into other wealthy families in Gaoyu to ensure the stability of this relationship.
Even He Ruomuti also married a daughter of the Gaoyu clan as a prince and concubine, and gave birth to a legitimate son.
Otherwise, even if his father favors him again, other tribes will not accept it.
Hua Buti said: "However, the Central Plains is not like this. When the Central Plains people founded their country, perhaps the emperor would choose to marry into some influential families, but this would become less and less the later. Moreover, even those
There are few influential large families that can really influence the decisions of the Central Plains Emperor."
Of course, there are also those who have real power over the government, that is, either the ministers kill the king and ascend to the throne, or the king kills the ministers and kills the whole family.
The emperor of the Central Plains would not share his power with others, and the power of King Gaoyu itself came from the major tribes.
He Ruoqiuti was stunned, and it took him a while to react: "You mean, my father... wants to imitate the emperor of the Central Plains. That... is called cutting down the feudal vassal?"
Although it's not that accurate, it doesn't seem to be a problem.
Hua Butila sighed and said, "Why do you think your father and aunt are so anxious? Is it really just because they are worried that you will not be the king of Gaoyu? Even if you are not the king of Gaoyu, with the status of the Geler family in Gaoyu,
I can keep you safe for the rest of your life. My aunt's position as queen and queen mother will not be shaken. Cousin, the king wants our lives."
He Ruoqiuti's face looked a little ugly, and he frowned in thought.
Naiyan and Hua didn't mention it and weren't in a hurry, leaving him some time to think quietly.
I don't know how long it took before He Ruoqiuti raised his head and said: "Father will not do this. It is impossible for him to..."
Hua Butila interrupted him forcefully and said: "He Ruomuti's prince and concubine are feuding with the Gele family. They had decided the moment they married their daughter to He Ruomuti. You and the eldest prince
It is impossible for us to live in peace and harmony. Haven't you noticed over the years? Your Majesty personally divided the tribes of Gaoyu into two factions. Everyone is waiting for one day to break out and destroy the other side. And... even if He Ruomuti finally
If he inherits the throne, his future heir will not be the current legitimate son. The eldest prince and concubine may have been stunned by the eldest prince."
King Gaoyu wanted to centralize power, why didn't Heruomuti want to?
Half of his foreign bloodline has a weak foundation, which will only make him more wary of these powerful Gaoyu clans.
He Ruoqiu said: "So, what cousin means is that we cooperate with Xie Yan? What if he sells us back?"
Hua Butila shook his head and said: "No, Dasheng is currently experiencing internal and external troubles. Xie Yan may not want to go to war with Gao Yu. Otherwise, he would not contact us at this time."
He Ruoqiu was silent, but he still found it difficult to accept it.
In his opinion, meeting Xie Yan was betraying Gao Yu and his father.
But his cousin and mother clan, who he always thought were loyal to Gao Yu, didn't seem to care.
He is not stupid. Such an important matter cannot be easily decided by his cousin. Maybe before his cousin entered the customs with him, Gulle had already had this plan.
Seeing He Ruoqiuti's silent expression, Huabudila sighed softly and said, "I won't force you, just think about it yourself." After saying that, he resigned and left.
Naiyan, who was one step behind, looked at He Ruoqiuti, who looked solemn, and said: "Second prince, no one wants to betray Gao Yu and the king, but... everyone wants to live. You might as well think about it seriously,
If the eldest prince succeeds to the throne in the future, what are the chances of Gullah and yourself escaping unharmed?"
After saying that, he bowed respectfully to him and left.
He Ruoqiuti was the only one in the room quietly, sitting on the side in a daze.
I don't know how long it took before my eyes slowly moved and fell on the letter on the table.
Those powerful words on the paper seemed to sting his eyes for a moment.
