A large army ran wildly along the road, trampled by horse hooves, and the sky was filled with yellow sand. Everyone on the horse was tired and exhausted, but no one complained. One person and two horses alternated, and even eating was done on horseback.
Qin Huaidao took the lead and shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers. He was dirty all over and his eyes were bloodshot. The war had begun. Time was everything. He had to get to Yumen Pass as soon as possible.
Following closely behind Qin Huaidao was An Guogong. Although he was old, he had grown up on horseback. He was not inferior to anyone all the way.
"Report——"
Luo Wu's horse rushed from the front, and after approaching, he jerked the reins.
"Xilulu!"
The war horses neighed and the men stood up.
Luo Wu didn't bother to calm down the war horse. He clasped his hands and said: "Uncle, thirty miles ahead is Yumen Pass. According to the report from the brothers who were investigating, Yumen Pass has fallen into the hands of the Turks."
"Damn it, are you too late, King Han?" An Guogong looked at Qin Huaidao angrily.
"Send the order, the army slows down and eats something to regain its strength." Qin Huaidao said decisively.
"Follow the order!" Luo Wu agreed and ran to the back of the team to deliver the order.
The large troops traveled day and night and were very tired. Once there was an ambush in front, the consequences would be serious and they had to be on guard.
The order was conveyed quickly, and the army began to slow down and take out dry food to eat.
Qin Huaidao took out a piece of braised pork jerky and ate it. It was a little hard, so he could only chew it slowly. He said: "Dong An, I didn't expect that I would be late. Once Yumen Pass is lost, Dunhuang City south of Yumen Pass may also fall into the hands of the Turks."
, each gate and city is like a door bolt locking the west gate of the Hexi Corridor. Now that it is missing, the situation is very unfavorable."
Yumenguan is in the north, Dunhuang is in the south, and they are distributed up and down, like door bolts and iron chains across the river. As a result, people from Longyou Road cannot go out to the west, and people from Hanzhou cannot enter from the east.
This move cannot be said to be endless, it is also because Qin Huaidao came in a hurry with his troops.
It’s a pity it’s too late!
An Guogong also knew the power, frowned and said: "Dunhuang City is located in the hinterland of the oasis in the middle and lower reaches of the Dang River. According to the description of the governor of Jiuquan County on the way here, there are Tuhe River, fortress and river weir outside the oasis, which is not conducive to cavalry charge, and the imperial court is stationed there.
There were five thousand frontier troops, but they were captured by the Turks. I judged that the enemy troops in Dunhuang City exceeded 20,000."
"Perhaps Yangguan is also lost." Qin Huaidao said.
Sunshine, Yumen Pass, and Dunhuang form a triangle. Sunshine is in the west and Yumen Pass is in the north. When An Guogong heard that Sunshine was missing, his face changed slightly and he said in a deep voice: "In this way, the Turks can form a triangle defense, and one side will be attacked.
, the other two parties will be able to provide timely support. This battle is not easy to fight, so we can only win it quickly."
"No, I have changed my mind." Qin Huaidao's eyes burst with fighting spirit.
"What do you mean? No more fighting?" An Guogong asked in surprise.
Qin Huaidao shook his head and looked ahead and said: "The sun is in the far west and cannot be hit. There are mountains on three sides of Dunhuang City. If the Turks hide their troops in the mountains and suddenly make a sneak attack, our army will be very disadvantageous. Moreover, the space outside Dunhuang City is limited, which is not conducive to the deployment of large forces.
, Yumen Pass is different. Although there is a river in the north, it is open on all sides. If there is an enemy coming, you can detect it in time."
"What does the King of Han mean?" An Guogong was even more confused. Didn't he change his mind?
Qin Huaidao smiled and said nothing, thinking about his plan.
An hour later, the army's physical strength had recovered a lot, and an earthen city appeared in front of it. It occupied a small area, but it stood out particularly eye-catchingly on the flat wasteland.
In the cold wind of early spring, Qin Huaidao tightened his clothes and raised his hand to signal the army to stop advancing.
A guard hurriedly came over on horseback, cupping his fist and saying: "Young Master, just ahead is Yumen Pass. I don't know how many Turks have retreated into the city. There are more than a thousand defenders on top of the city, and the city gate is closed."
"Send an order for the brothers to spread out and investigate."
"Follow the order!" The other party pulled the horse's head and hurried away.
Yumen Pass was named after jade, which was produced in Loulan. The caravan brought the jade out from Loulan, followed the river from Lop Nur to the east, and arrived at the pass to rest, hence the name.
The castle built for business purposes does not occupy a large area and does not have many people, but its location is too important. The Tang Dynasty sent a thousand people to garrison it and it became a military fortress. Now it is occupied by Turks, and the defenders may have been killed.
Qin Huaidao looked at the castle in front and said: "Dong Anguo, the area of Yumen Pass is not large. We can hide at most three thousand troops, and five thousand is the limit. With just these few people, we cannot stop our steps. It is impossible for the Turks not to know. Do you think so?"
Will they send troops to hide around?"
"It's hard to say. The surrounding area is flat and clearly visible, which is not conducive to hiding troops. Maybe the Turks didn't expect us to arrive so quickly, so they didn't have time to station a large army, or they deliberately allowed our army to attack. Generally speaking, there are no tools for climbing the city. Attacking three
It will take a day or two to garrison a city with five thousand people. This is enough time for reinforcements to arrive. Are the Turks showing their weakness?" An Guogong expressed his doubts.
"It's possible. The biggest question is where will the Turkic reinforcements come from?" Qin Huaidao looked around.
An Guogong also looked at the surrounding terrain for a moment and said: "At most, it is the Tubo City in the south. Of course, there are mountains in the distance to the north. Although they are not high, it is not a big problem to hide tens of thousands of soldiers. If we know that our army is coming, the Tibetan soldiers will go north."
Maybe, if you didn’t know better, you wouldn’t have hidden your troops and headed north. The night was too cold and the soldiers couldn’t bear it.”
"The Guards Regiment acts as scouts and hunts down all enemy scouts along the way. The Turks should know that our army is coming, but they absolutely cannot judge our marching route. Don't forget that our army went straight to Dunhuang City yesterday afternoon and temporarily changed its route after dawn. The Turks
There was no time to send troops to hide in Beishan, so..." Qin Huaidao said and looked to the south, becoming more determined in his plan.
After a while, Qin Huaidao suddenly looked solemn and shouted: "Dong An Guo, listen to the order!"
"Here!" Duke An Guo solemnly clasped his fists.
"Is it possible to lead my troops to the south, find a place where I can hide my troops, and ambush the enemy who comes to the aid of the Turks?"
"Follow the order!" An Guogong quickly accepted the order, and realized that Qin Huaidao had changed his mind and wanted to encircle the area for reinforcements.
"Luo Wu, send a battalion of guards to help, bring all the steel wires to lay the ropes to help detect the enemy's situation, and ensure the safety of Anguo public without any mistakes."
"Follow the order!" Luo Wu quickly accepted the order.
When An Guogong heard that he sent a battalion of powerful guards to assist, and also specifically asked to protect his own safety, his heart warmed up, and he clasped his fists gratefully again, without saying anything, burying this gratitude deep in his heart, and hurried away after the order.
"Luo Ying, the special forces divisions advance and surround Yumen Pass for me. Not a single bird can leave the city."
"Follow the order!" Luo Ying agreed and shouted loudly: "Special warfare division, attack!"
"drive--"
"drive!"
Six to seven thousand special forces troops rushed forward on horseback, their horses galloping like dragons and tigers.
Qin Huaidao led the remaining members of the Guards group behind him and walked slowly behind. While observing the surroundings vigilantly, he was worried and shouted: "Luo Wu, you personally lead a battalion of brothers to search north, be careful of ambushes."
"Follow the order!" Luo Wu agreed and hurried away with a battalion of troops.
Not long after, the army surrounded Yumen Pass, keeping within an arrow's reach. The Turks in the pass were good at shooting, but they could only stare at them and yell something strangely, but they couldn't understand a word of it.
Qin Huaidao rode forward and observed the castle in front. It was made of rammed yellow clay. The earth wall was about ten meters high. The entire city was in a square shape. On the wall, the Turks were waiting with their bows drawn. A general shouted something.
Luo Ying at least came over and asked: "Uncle, do you want to attack? This kind of earth city is much worse than Zhangye City. Artillery fire concentrates on the city gate and bombs it, and it collapses easily. Brothers can take it with a single charge."
"Why are you so anxious? It's just a gate city. Remember, in war, you don't care about the gains and losses of a city or a pool. It's about destroying the enemy's strength to the maximum extent. Kill all the enemy troops. The city will soon be yours. Send the order and block the artillery camp.
The four gates will be blown up as soon as they come out, and they are not allowed to be blown up until they come out. Use the shells sparingly, and the army will rest where they are, but do not relax," Qin Huaidao warned.
"Uncle, what is this?" Luo Ying was a little confused.
"Surround the area for reinforcements!"
"Surround the site for reinforcements?"
Luo Ying reacted suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he looked towards the vast Gobi desert in the south. It was particularly desolate under the dazzling sunlight. It seemed as if someone was coming. He smiled knowingly: "Uncle, I understand, let's go and deploy it now."
"No attack is allowed without orders. If a bird flies out, shoot it for me. From now on, no news will be allowed to spread in Guancheng." Qin Huaidao warned uneasily.
"Follow the order!" Luo Ying pulled the horse's head and hurried away.
Qin Huaidao cast his sharp gaze in the direction of Beishan. It would be best to have an ambush. To come from the north, you need to pass through Heleshu, an east-west river. The source is Lop Nur. After connecting to the Dang River, it flows from the southeast and flows into the direction of Qinghai Lake. The river is blocked. How many reinforcements are coming?
Not enough to kill.
With the surrounding topographic map emerging in his mind, Qin Huaidao suddenly had an idea. If he captured Yangguang, Yumen Pass and Dunhuang City, wouldn't he be able to move his troops south along the Dang River and fight to the rear of Tibet?
The thoughts came together and were suddenly difficult to suppress.