The scene of Li Qinzai and Sun Congdong joining forces was not as exciting and enthusiastic as imagined.
In fact, the two troops were in a very embarrassed state, having been chased by the Tibetan army all night. It would be a bit hurtful to say that they looked like bereaved dogs, but the two troops did have that taste.
In an unknown canyon, Sun Congdong was dressed in dust. The moment he saw Li Qinzai, his eyes turned red and he greeted him with open arms. His excited look was like that of a long-distance boyfriend who finally got to eat meat tonight.
When he was about to run in front of Li Qinzai, Li Qinzai dodged and avoided Sun Congdong's bear hug. He subconsciously kicked Sun Congdong and staggered him.
"Be more restrained, our relationship has not reached that level." Li Qinzai dusted the hem of his robe and said.
Sun Congdong didn't mind, and grinned: "Fortunately, I am relieved to see that Uncle Li County is fine. If you have any shortcomings, I will not be alive."
"No, you'd better live shamelessly. If you wipe your neck in front of my grave after I die, the scandal between us will spread for a thousand years."
Li Qinzai turned around and looked around, asking, "Are there any spare horses?"
Sun Congdong said hurriedly: "Yes, many of the soldiers were killed in battle, but we took all the horses away."
Li Qinzai did not ask for the specific number of casualties, but he knew that the "quite a few" mentioned by Sun Congdong should be an unoptimistic number.
"Everyone, mount up. This place is dozens of miles away from the Tubo camp and it is still unsafe. Let's leave first." Li Qinzai ordered.
Taking the time to look at the map, Li Qinzai pointed to a small oasis more than a hundred miles away on the map and said, "Go there to rest."
The group of people mounted their horses and ran wildly. Two hours later, they arrived at the small oasis on the map.
As expected, there were people living in the oasis, a small tribe in Tuyuhun. After Li Qinzai and others arrived, Sun Congdong ordered an attack without saying a word. In an instant, the small tribe was wiped out.
Li Qinzai did not stop them and acquiesced to their actions.
There is no room for romance in war, and there is no room for kindness. Li Qinzai can only do his best to kill innocent people as little as possible, but never the Holy Mother of the White Lotus. He has his own standards in his heart for those who should be killed and those who should be kept.
It is said to be an oasis, but there is a little more vegetation around it. There are some old and leaky tents set up here and there on the oasis. Dozens of cattle and sheep are digging listlessly in the sand, trying to dig out some plant roots to satisfy their hunger.
There is a well in the oasis. The water in the well is almost dry, and the water that comes out is also turbid. It has been settling for a long time and the color of the clear water has not changed yet. But such conditions are already heaven-like in this vast wasteland.
During the Han Dynasty, Huo Qubing died suddenly at a young age. Historians speculate that it was because Huo Qubing drank unclean water while attacking the Xiongnu in the north, causing irreparable damage to his body, and he died suddenly of illness.
At this time today, Li Qinzai can finally understand the hardships faced by Huo Qubing during his time of glory.
A jar of water was placed in front of Li Qinzai. After waiting for a long time, a thick layer of sand had settled at the bottom of the jar, but the color of the water was still turbid and yellow. Li Qinzai had no choice but to order someone to boil the settled water, and then continue to settle.
Then bring to a boil.
After repeating it several times, it finally looked like water, and Li Qinzai dared to drink it.
After tasting the taste, it was a bit salty and acceptable. So Li Qinzai ordered all the soldiers in the army to boil the water three times or more before drinking it.
Fenglangjuxu, who admires the champion, must not follow in the footsteps of the champion.
Is it for the sake of showmanship that the fifth young master in a war-torn environment must lead a refined life? No, it is to live a healthy life until the end of his life without any disease or disaster.
After replenishing dry food and drinking water, Li Qinzai summoned Sun Congdong, Liu Asi and others to discuss matters.
Sun Congdong reported the casualties of the Forbidden Army with red eyes. After many days of guerrilla warfare, Sun Congdong's more than 1,000 Forbidden Army had suffered more than 200 casualties. Last night, when he rescued Li Qinzai, the Forbidden Army suffered about 200 casualties.
Fortunately, thanks to the cover of night and the sharp three-eyed gun as a weapon, we didn't suffer a big loss.
But for Sun Congdong, the loss of nearly half of his brothers was an unbearable pain.
Li Qinzai didn't know how to comfort him. He just sighed and said: "Generals will inevitably die in battle. In war, there are sacrifices. Today it is them, but tomorrow it may be us..."
Looking around at everyone, Li Qinzai said with a bit of resoluteness: "We will still have war next, and I will do my best to save the lives of the robes, and at the same time, I will do my best to kill the enemy."
"As the commander-in-chief, I will not make any mistakes in command, causing unnecessary sacrifices for the soldiers. As soldiers, you should also faithfully execute every military order of mine. Once the order is given, the soldiers will risk their lives and live to the death.
"
Sun Congdong and Liu Asi stood up, clasped their fists, and said solemnly: "I am willing to obey the general's order!"
Immediately, Sun Congdong said: "Uncle Li County, what should we do next?"
Li Qinzai pondered for a moment and said slowly: "We only have 800 troops left. Of course, it is impossible for this small number of troops to fight the Tibetans head-on. So next, we should focus on harassing the guerrillas."
"Try to contain the strength of the Tibetan army so that they cannot occupy the entire territory of Tuyuhun and buy time and space for General Su Dingfang."
Li Qinzai paused, suddenly showed a strange expression, and said: "By the way, let's set up another game for Lu Dongzan..."
Sun Congdong was stunned. With only 800 people, Ma Qian still wanted to set up a trap for Lu Dongzan?
If I give you a division, how dare you attack Taiyuan?
"What's the plan?"
"Zheng Rentai's 5,000 soldiers and horses are about to join us. There are 5,800 of us in total, fighting against the Tibetan army and harassing the guerrillas."
Li Qinzai stretched out his index finger and said: "I want to draw out Lu Dongzan's anger, make the Tibetan army exhausted to annihilate us, and make Lu Dongzan's original plan for Tuyuhun completely out of control..."
"Hold on until Su Dingfang's army arrives, and it will be easy for the Tang Dynasty to swallow Tuyuhun."
Sun Congdong still didn't quite understand, but he still clasped his fists and said: "At the end of the day, I am willing to serve as the front soldier of Bo Ma in Li County."
…………
After being stationed at the oasis for a day, Li Qinzai immediately gave the order to set off.
Within the area controlled by the Tubo army, they could not stay anywhere for a long time, otherwise the entire army would be annihilated.
After the breakout of the Tubo camp, Li Qinzai no longer dared to underestimate Lu Dongzan.
On the evening of the next day, Li Qinzai led his troops to the east side of Dafeichuan and joined forces with 5,000 border troops.
The leader of the army was not Zheng Rentai, but a general under his command named Song Jintu, who was about thirty years old and from Jingyang. He was originally the captain of Zuowuwei and was transferred to Ganzhou three years ago.
As the governor of Liangzhou, Zheng Rentai commanded the soldiers and horses of the six states. Of course, it was impossible for him to personally lead his troops into Tuyuhun to fight.
Song Jintu had already received Zheng Rentai's military orders. After the two armies joined forces, Song Jintu handed over the command without saying a word.
Li Qinzai finally felt at ease at this moment.
Therefore, it is still necessary to tie thousands of troops to your waistband and run around. At least you will feel safe and no longer have to worry about being surrounded by enemies like Sun Tzu.