Chapter 3 Beacon Fire (Part 5) Guoxian County is a truly tiny place. If it weren’t for the fact that it became one of the only two unconquered cities in Yanmen County during the invasion of foreign enemies, most of them would
No one will notice its name. The city walls here are not high, and the defense facilities are also very crude. There is not even a urn inside the dilapidated wooden city gate. But the Sui soldiers carried on behind this low earth wall.
For more than twenty days, the Turks' pressure on Yanmen Pass was greatly alleviated.
The nominal commander of the defense force is King Yang Jian of Qi, but the actual commander of the army is Dugu Lin. This guy was born with a golden seal and has risen through the ranks since he was recalled from Qi County by His Majesty the Emperor last year.
, in charge of the Sixth Army of the Emperor with a total of nearly 20,000 troops, the position of the rear army was so high that it made Luo Shixin and others feel "jealous" and clamored for him to show something.
In front of his former companions, Dugu Lin did not look very proud. On the contrary, inadvertently, Xu Zi could even see a hint of helplessness and disappointment in his eyes. This imperial relative who was about the same age as Luo Shixin was far from what he used to be.
He was so carefree when he was in Qijun, as if he had a lot of depression buried in his heart. He was depressed and unhappy, but he didn't want to mention what changes he had experienced after being separated from everyone.
The behavior of King Yang Jian of Qi was also very strange. When he learned that the Turks who besieged the city had been defeated, he just came out to express his condolences to Li Xu, Li Shimin and other generals, and then retreated into the county government and refused to show his face again.
This cold attitude made Luo Shixin very dissatisfied. As soon as the footsteps of the palace guards were far away, he immediately grabbed Dugu Lin and complained loudly: "It seems that I shouldn't have come to take the credit. If I persist for a few more days, His Highness Prince Qi will do it himself."
Can defeat the Turks!"
"Hush, this place is no better than Qi County!" Dugu Lin frowned tightly and stopped.
"Don't let anyone talk anymore. You don't want us to come. You know, our Qijun brothers are the teacher!" Luo Shixin was very unconvinced and continued to yell.
"Shixin, please keep your voice down and don't cause trouble for everyone by yourself!" Qin Shubao, who had just applied the medicine, also raised his eyes. He is Luo Shixin's nemesis. As long as he opens his mouth, results will be achieved. After listening to Qin Shubao's words, Luo Shixin immediately panicked.
He closed his mouth in disgrace, but he was still dissatisfied in his heart. He looked around with a pair of tiger eyes, trying to find an ally in the crowd.
"Brother Shixin must not know that many important officials of the imperial court who are on the northern tour with His Majesty are also waiting in Nao County at the moment! His Highness King Qi has seen us and others, and he will definitely rush to inform the adults of the war situation and discuss the next step.
He is really busy with his official duties, and he didn't mean to neglect it!" Seeing Luo Shixin's eyes sweeping toward him, Li Shimin smiled and patiently explained to him.
He liked Luo Shixin's straightforwardness very much, so he warned him to be careful of being impeached. Many officials in the DPRK were not very good at doing serious things, but they were good at finding faults and making things difficult for others. He had never experienced this like Luo Shixin.
People with sinister officialdom can easily be caught by them
"Them?" Luo Shixin made a "chi" sound from his nostrils, with a very disdainful expression on his face. "If those people had some real skills, they wouldn't encourage His Majesty the Emperor to go on a tour!" He understood in his heart, but remained polite on his lips.
, "In this case, Luo is reckless, please don't blame me, General Dugu!"
"Brother Shixin, you don't have to be polite!" Dugu Lin couldn't stand Luo Shixin's attitude towards him. He bowed his head and added with a smile: "At noon, I will hold a banquet for His Highness King Qi to cleanse everyone. As for the injured brother, I will also
Someone will be arranged to take care of it.”
"There's no need to wash the dust. If Chongmu has time, why not talk about the situation near Yanmen Pass!" Li Xu saw that the atmosphere in the room was a bit awkward, so he smiled and changed the topic to business, "After all, I have come all the way, and I don't know that the war has already arrived.
At this point, General Yun Dingxing will arrive with his large army of soldiers and horses in the afternoon. After everyone rests for the night, they can march towards Yanmen Pass tomorrow morning!"
"Yes, rescuing troops is like putting out fires. Let's talk about the banquet later!" Changsun Wuji also supported Li Xu's suggestion and echoed with a smile. He was familiar with the internal strife in the imperial court. He understood Qi Wang Yang Jian's indifference towards everyone as a prince who had fallen out of favor.
, the more closely he interacts with military generals, the more likely he is to be jealous of the emperor. Unless he wants to kill his father, drinking and chatting with brave generals like Li Xu and Dugu Lin who have heavy troops will sooner or later lead to anger.
"Then I'd rather be respectful than obey your orders!" Dugu Lin cast a grateful glance at Li Xu and Changsun Wuji, and said with a smile, "But I don't know much about the situation here. The Turks besieged the city for nearly a month, and the outside world
There is almost no news!”
Several staff members brought the situation map of Yanmen County and spread it out in front of everyone. Duguxue pointed to the mountains and rivers on the map and introduced the situation he knew one by one. What he could provide basically lasted more than a month.
The current military situation, that is, the specific strength of the Yanmen and Guoxian defenders. "Although the Emperor's Sixth Army's armor and equipment are sophisticated, they rarely participate in actual combat. This time they were caught off guard by the Turks, so the losses were huge! In addition to the internal army and
Except for the rear army, the other four armies have basically collapsed."
When it came to military affairs, Dugu Lin's eyes became lively again and were no longer as bitter as before. Especially when he mentioned that the people in the city would rather tear down their own beams to make rolling logs than to have their homes destroyed at the hands of foreign invaders.
His expression became even more excited, "It is thanks to the people in the city that we have been able to defend Yanmen and Naoxian until now! His Royal Highness the King of Qi has sent an order that he will bear all the losses of the people alone. After the traitors retreat, he will go to the capital from the capital."
Money and food are delivered here!”
‘I’m afraid it’s just words but not reality!’ Changsun Wuji had never believed in the Yang family’s promises, so he muttered something secretly in his stomach. He turned to look at Luo Shixin, and found the same suspicion on his face.
"The Turks came in almost all numbers, including Shibi Khan, Gutuolu Khan, and the Khitan, Xi, and Shiwei tribes in Fortress, totaling nearly 400,000!"
"With so many people, what do they eat every day?" Qin Shubao endured the pain in his leg and asked the same question again.
"I don't know either. After careful calculation, they should have eaten almost all the food they grabbed, but so far there is no sign of actively retreating!" Dugu Lin thought for a while and answered.
The counties on the fortress are vast and sparsely populated. Although there is food in the homes of the people, it is not enough to supply the consumption of the 400,000-strong army. This situation that the coalition forces on the fortress can neither penetrate deeply into the Central Plains nor retreat is very strange in the eyes of Qin Shubao and other leading military experts.
, that means that someone is continuously providing them with military supplies. As far as everyone knows, the grassland people only grow a kind of crop called millet, and the yield is pitifully low. With the grain reserves in the hands of the Turks, it is impossible to support long-term operations.
"It's impossible for them to only eat meat every day!" Li Xu thought of something, but he took the initiative to reject it, "Unless...?" Suddenly, a very shocking idea emerged from his heart and he shook his head vigorously.
Putting this thought behind him, "Forget it, no matter who provides them with food and grass, since we are here, we will definitely have a fight with them!"
"There are still five thousand cavalry in the rear army who can fight alongside the others!" Dugu Lin nodded and agreed with Li Xu's suggestion.
"My Flying Tiger Army lost less than 400 people last night, and there are still more than 1,500 people who can fight!" Li Shimin also reported his own strength. After last night's observation and learning, the strength of the Flying Tiger Army has at least improved.
He has reached a higher level, so he very much hopes to learn some knowledge from Li Xu that he has not mastered in the next battle.
Except for the tiger general Qin Shubao who was temporarily unable to go to the battlefield, the losses of the Qijun soldiers were not too great. During the robbery of the camp last night, they encountered almost no decent resistance. Later, they collided with Ashina Gutuolu, which was just
It was over with a quick touch, and there was basically no damage to the muscles or bones.
Coupled with the soldiers selected from the border army under Xu Zi, the cavalry that can be dispatched in Gu County is nearly 15,000. If they work hand in hand with the two veteran generals Qu Tutong and Yao Junsu, they should be able to give the Turks
Create some trouble. After last night's battle, everyone found that the combat effectiveness of the allied forces on the fortress was not strong. The physique of a single herdsman may be stronger than the ordinary soldiers in the Sui army, but their cooperation with each other and the coordination of the team were much worse.
The elite soldiers of the Sui army selected by Xuzi are completely different
"Besides, we also robbed the Turks' sacred objects!" Qin Shubao pointed to Gan Luo lying at Xu Zi's feet, and emphasized with a smile that although he had a big bite on his leg, he did not intend to argue with a wolf. Turkic shepherds vs. white wolves
He saw the awe with his own eyes. If Gan Luo and Li Xu were allowed to lead the battle together, almost no one in the enemy army would dare to step forward to stop them.
"Yes, this guy just made atonement for his sins!" Hearing Qin Shubao mention the wolf, several generals under Dugu Lin also laughed and said that they were still brooding about the past when their brothers were injured by the wolf, but seeing that the other party had already killed them,
For the sake of standing on the same front, I reluctantly accepted Li Xu’s apology.
Sensing the attention from all around, Gan Luo climbed up alertly, straightening his limbs. His body was much larger than that of an ordinary wild wolf. After his four legs were straightened, his back was already as high as Xu Zi's waist. Like Changsun Wuji, a relatively thin general.
, Gan Luo basically doesn't have to jump up, he can use his tongue to touch its throat, and the two pale golden gazes in its eyes are even more sharp, no matter who it is staring at, it can make the other person's heart suddenly tremble.
"This guy is enough to defeat a tiger general!" Luo Shixin smiled and stretched out his hand, trying to touch Gan Luo's forehead, but Gan Luo refused to accept his approach. He quickly turned his head away, then raised his ears and exposed his snow-white fangs.
"This guy!" Luo Shixin was startled by the sudden hostility. He quickly retracted his arm and put his fingers behind his back. His funny actions made the generals present laugh, and their eyes were full of anticipation.
"Maybe I'm not the only one who can order Gan Luo!" Faced with countless expectant looks, Xu Zi whispered.
