Oil lamps illuminated the meeting hall brightly. The night wind howled outside the window, and there were faint thunder bursts. The moonlight was like water, slipping into the house through the window, and he lay down on the ground to rest, motionless.
In an inconspicuous corner, several guards stood motionless, like sculptures.
At the door, Luo Wu held his sword in his hand and looked coldly, not letting anyone pass by.
On the main seat, Qin Huaidao was also staring at the battle statistics on the table. In the battle of Qinzhou, the Hanzhou army injured more than 5,000 people and killed more than 3,000 people. It was the largest loss since the expedition, and it was not even a crossbow.
, advanced weapons such as grenades and explosive packs, resulting in greater losses.
However, being able to kill 50,000 Tibetan troops in one battle is considered a bad thing.
Fortunately, the seizure was quite rich, including a lot of weapons for 50,000 people, as well as a large amount of food, gold, silver and jewelry. At least they would not have to worry about food and wages for a while in the future, not to mention the seizure of 10,000 war horses.
"Luowu!"
"Here!" Luo Wu hurried over.
Qin Huaidao ordered: "Arrange a battalion of brothers to go to Minzhou overnight, bring damaged weapons, and ask Xue Zhi to help smelt iron into crossbow arrows, and then bring 10,000 silver coins there, and ask him to help buy more iron
Build and fight continuously, but there are not enough crossbow arrows. The more you build, the better, and you have to do it quickly."
"Follow the order!" Luo Wu responded quickly.
"Report!" A guard came in hurriedly.
Qin Huaidao looked at the other party, a little surprised, what else could happen at this point?
The other party quickly said: "Inform the King of Han, the scout Fei Ge has come to report that a group of government soldiers, numbering about 5,000, were found fifty miles south, and they are marching towards Qinzhou."
"South?"
Qin Huaidao was a little surprised. To the south of Qinzhou were Fengzhou and Xingzhou. Fengzhou was besieged by the Tibetan army and could not be attacked for a long time. It was impossible to send troops out. Could it be that they were Xingzhou soldiers? What were they doing?
After a flash of thought, Qin Huaidao warned: "Send someone up to inquire about the situation and report back at any time."
"Follow the order!" The other party hurried away.
There were only five thousand people, and there was a city defense. Qin Huaidao didn't take it to heart and continued to study the current situation. At dusk, he received news that the Turks were heading south along the Wuding River and had already reached Yanzhou, which was the red holy land in later generations. This instantly changed the entire
War situation.
At first, Xu Shiji deployed heavy troops in Xiazhou, focusing on the defense of Wuding River. However, after the warrior Yu took over, he transferred all his troops to Huaiyuan and the Helan Mountain area, hoping to fight the Turks in a decisive battle and completely solve the Turks' troubles. However, he did not know that the Turks did not engage in battle.
Instead, go east to Xiazhou.
Most of the imperial court consisted of infantry. If they could outrun the cavalry, it would be too late by the time they realized something was wrong.
The warrior Xun quickly led his troops to retreat and blocked the Turks along the Luoshui River. He wanted to block the Turks from going south. The soldiers and horses of Hedong Road also rushed to block it. However, in this way, the soldiers and horses of King Qin who came from the north were unable to support Chang'an. Fortunately, a cement road was built.
, soldiers and horses from various states in Shannan Province have arrived south of Chang'an, containing part of the Tibetan forces.
Chang'an is safe for the time being, but no one knows what will happen next.
Xingzhou belongs to Shannan Road. If you don't go to Chang'an, why come to Qinzhou?
A suspicion flashed through Qin Huaidao's mind, but he quickly suppressed it and continued to study the situation. Since the Turks were moving south, Lanzhou and Hezhou did not need to hoard too many soldiers and horses for defense, and could allocate some manpower.
After pondering for a moment, Qin Huaidao shouted: "Send the order and ask Uncle Gui to come over."
Not long after, Old Ghost Li hurriedly came in with his rickety body: "See the King of Han!"
"Uncle Gui, are your bones okay?"
"Thanks to King Han for caring, I can still hold on."
"When we get to Chang'an, let Dr. Sun take a look at it." Qin Huaidao said politely and said: "Uncle Gui, Fei Ge sent a message to Luo Zhang, Liu Wei was stationed in Lanzhou, and a division was left in Hezhou, and all other troops were
Come and join us."
"Understood!" Old Ghost Li hurried away.
Luo Zhang has five full-strength divisions, leaving two and three, which is more than 20,000 troops.
Qinzhou suffered tens of thousands of casualties in the First World War, and its troops were somewhat insufficient. With more than 20,000 men, the chances of victory would be much greater.
Qin Huaidao continued to analyze the situation in Chang'an and looked for ways to break the situation.
The night light dances and is silent.
I don’t know how long it took, but a guard hurriedly came in and said: "Let us report to the King of Han that the scouts are here to report that the soldiers and horses coming from the south are here to defect. The leading general calls himself Duan Guan, and there are still twenty miles left."
"Duan Guan?"
Qin Huaidao was a little surprised. He had no memory of this person in his mind, so he couldn't help but look at Luo Wu who was waiting next to him.
Luo Wu thought for a moment, then suddenly thought of someone and said, "Uncle, could he be from Duke Bao's Duan Mansion?"
Duan Zhixuan, the Duke of Bao, was his legitimate son Duan Zan, but he really didn't know who else was in his family. Qin Huaidao was not sure, so he immediately called Fang Yiai to ask about the situation.
Fang Yiai was a powerful figure in Chang'an at that time. He had many contacts and knew many people. When he heard about Duan Guan, he laughed and said repeatedly: "King of Han, the second son of Duke Bao is indeed called Duan Guan. Do you need to meet the same person before meeting him?"
I know, but Duan Guan is funny to say. His father wanted him to study, so he named him "Guan". Guan is a beautiful jade, but he is also a mixed person. He is as martial as me, but not like others.
My brother has practiced the art of war and is a fierce general."
"Which one of you is stronger and who is weaker?" Qin Huaidao asked curiously.
"Of course I am stronger." Fang Yiai said confidently. Suddenly something occurred to him, his brows furrowed and he continued: "No matter what, he seems to be the Xingzhou County Lieutenant. Where did he get the five thousand soldiers and horses?"
"Oh, there is another matter. You should go and take a look. Since you two are familiar with each other, if you really come to vote, the five thousand troops will be enough for you." Qin Huaidao said with a smile.
"Really? Thank you King Han, I'll go right away." Fang Yiai added to herself when she heard this. She was immediately overjoyed and saw Qin Huaidao nodding and hurried away.
Luo Wu watched Qin Huaidao leave and said: "Uncle, I went to check the warehouse just now and found a lot of sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter. It may have been looted by the Tubo from the pharmacy in the city they occupied. Could it be that they knew the power of explosives and wanted to
Can’t it be counterfeited?”
"How many?" Qin Huaidao's eyes lit up.
"You can make a hundred explosive bags."
"Take me to see it." Qin Huaidao was overjoyed.
The two hurried to a warehouse, with guards guarding the door. When they went in, they saw that some large wooden barrels indeed contained sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal, but they were all crudely made and mixed with many debris, and there was no matching.
The ratio was a core secret. Qin Huaidao did not intend to pass it on to anyone. He immediately asked people from the Guards Regiment to come over to screen and remove debris, and then directed everyone to finish the work.
After the fine processing was completed, Qin Huaidao mixed the gunpowder alone, and then handed it over to the Guards Regiment to make explosive packets. This work lasted until dawn.
Back at the Governor's Mansion, Qin Huaidao ate something and fell asleep. He was too sleepy.
When he woke up, it was already noon. Qin Huaidao asked Luo Wu to find out that the relationship was indeed a tribute to the second son of the duke. Since he was an old friend, of course he could not neglect to greet him and express his welcome.
After a chat, I found that the other party had a bold and upright personality, but he was really not proficient in the art of war. The five thousand soldiers and horses were not government soldiers, but local rangers recruited, gangsters with nothing to do, heroes who wanted to make a career, and then use them
Opening the warehouse and distributing infantry and weapons while on duty is undoubtedly a rebellion.
But Duan Guan was not stupid. He declared to the outside world that he would organize a voluntary organization and go to Chang'an to serve the king. He had great righteousness and no one dared to stop him.
Qin Huaidao saw that the other party was tall and tall, so he tested it on the spot and found that he was indeed a strong warrior with good martial arts, so he appointed him as the commander of the heavy armored cavalry regiment.
As a brother of Zan, he was the first one to vote, so he naturally received preferential treatment.
Duan Guan was very surprised when he heard that he was appointed as the commander of the heavy armored cavalry regiment. The commander of the regiment, Da Guan, had no idea at all and had never heard of it. However, the heavy armored cavalry was a legendary invincible unit. Its fighting style was rough and enjoyable, which suited him perfectly.
, he agreed wholeheartedly and no longer cared about recruiting his own five thousand troops.
…
Manna Hall.
Niu Jinda fell to his knees, covered in blood, his armor was in tatters, his hair was scattered, his face was gray and defeated, he stared at his superior with a pair of bloodshot eyes, and said unwillingly: "Your Majesty, I am defeated, I am ashamed of myself.
The imperial court deserves to be beheaded, and please ask the Holy See to give me another chance for the sake of my loyalty. I am willing to be a pawn, and would rather die in battle under the city to atone for my sins with death."
At the imperial court, Li Zhi remained indifferent and looked at Changsun Wuji.
Changsun Wuji was about to speak, but Wei Zheng was the first to say: "Your Majesty, I believe that victory or defeat is a matter of military strategism. There is nothing wrong with General Niu's command. Qizhou fought well, and the attack on the road was just an accident. Tubo is cunning and cannot be guarded against. It is not my fault.