The battle continued until dawn. Seeing Hou Junji break out of the siege, the Western Region Allied Forces retreated one after another.
After fighting in the middle of the night, the Tang army was exhausted and unable to catch up. They could only watch the Western Region Allied Forces leave.
As soon as the men and horses were counted in the early morning, Hou Junji's forehead throbbed with veins.
In a surprise attack, the 30,000-strong army lost four to five thousand!
"Commander, what should we do now?"
Hou Junji was furious: "Go north and destroy Gaochang!"
The captain asked hurriedly: "Commander, what about General Guo?"
Hou Junji said angrily: "The enemy has gunpowder in their hands, and Guo Xiaoke's few men and horses can't wait for us to come to reinforce him!"
"I guess Guo Xiaoke has already started to retreat by now!"
"Guo Xiaoke's retreat route should be all the way east, passing through Gaochang on the way!"
"If it is intercepted by Gaochang then, Guo Xiaoke's troops will be in danger!"
Guo Xiaoke is also a veteran on the battlefield. Even if he cannot hold Sanmi Mountain, safe retreat should not be a problem.
The prerequisite is not to be ambushed by Gao Chang on the way.
Hou Junji cleaned up the battlefield, rested for half a day, and led more than 20,000 remaining troops to the north.
Seeing that the raid was ineffective, the Turkic coalition forces also knew how powerful the Tang army was, so they did not pursue Hou Junji, but went back to their respective homes to find their mothers.
This is very painful. Gao Chang went to Ju Wentai: This is different from what he said before!
Seeing Hou Jun and his army rushing toward him, Ju Wentai panicked and hurriedly sent people to beg Hou Jun for mercy while also asking for help from the Western Turkic rebels.
Hou Junji chopped down the Gaochang envoy who came to beg for mercy and prepared to attack Gaochang.
At this time, Guo Xiaoke, who had retreated from Sanmi Mountain, also came to Gaochang.
"Commander, the Turks got gunpowder bombs from nowhere, so the general had to abandon Sanmi Mountain!"
Hou Junji did not blame Guo Xiaoke: "I was also attacked by the Western Region Allied Forces and suffered heavy losses!"
"Hmph! Those things that were eaten away at the court, sharp weapons such as gunpowder have actually flowed out to the countries in the Western Regions. It is estimated that all my enemies in the Tang Dynasty now have gunpowder bullets in their hands!"
"I have reported this matter to Your Majesty and requested strict investigation!"
Guo Xiaoke frowned and said: "The countries in the Western Region have always been timid and fearful of trouble. When our army defeated the Western Turks, they did not send troops to help the Western Turks. Why did they unite and do right against me, the Tang Dynasty this time?"
Hou Junji said angrily: "Who knows why they suddenly went crazy?"
"But since you go against the Tang Dynasty, you have to pay the price. I will destroy Gaochang today!"
Guo Xiaoke hurriedly advised: "Commander, although Gaochang is a small country, it still has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. We have no siege equipment, and the remnants of the Western Turks are behind us. It will be dangerous if we fall into a situation where we are attacked from both sides."
Hou Junji thought for a while and said bitterly: "Then let Ju Wentai's head grow for a few more days!"
"Let's go back to Yiwu!"
Hou Junji brought only light cavalry this time, and the gunpowder ammunition was almost used up in the attack, so he had no ability to attack the enemy.
Besides, the remnants of the Western Turks are still following Guo Xiaoke.
Hou Junji had no choice but to return to Yiwu Prefecture to repair and supply supplies.
The retreat of Hou Junji and Guo Xiaoke greatly boosted the morale of the Western Turkic rebels. More Western Turkic tribes joined the rebellion and followed Hou Junji to Yiwu to launch a fierce attack on Yiwu!
The furious Hou Junji ordered Yumen Pass, Dunhuang, and Yangguan to be on guard, while he fought with the remnants of the Western Turks in Yiwu.
Just when the war on the western border was in full swing, Xue Yantuo and other Tiele tribes suddenly rebelled and led their troops to Liangzhou.
Li Daliang, the governor of Liangzhou, led his army to attack, and the two sides fought in Xiutuze!
What is even more infuriating is that the aristocratic families in the Hexi provinces, under the leadership of the Linghu family, took advantage of the lack of troops in the Hexi Corridor and directly raised their flags to rebel.
The Qiang, Sogdians, and Turks in the Hexi region all responded one after another!
For a time, Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou, and Guazhou were in emergency!
When the urgent documents from the northwest flew towards Chang'an like snowflakes.
Li Er looked at the map of the northwest, frowned and said, "That's it?"
Wei Zheng's eyes widened: "Your Majesty, the entire northwest is in crisis, don't you think it's enough?"
Li Er sneered and said: "There are more than 100,000 Tang Dynasty cavalry stationed on Longyou Road. Just these clowns can't make any big waves!"
Fang Xuanling worriedly said: "But there is a rebellion from the Hexi clan. Cheng Yaojin does not have many soldiers and horses, so it will be difficult to suppress it for a while. With the internal and external cooperation, Li Daliang may be attacked from both sides!"
“How about asking Niu Jinda to go and support us?”
Li Er shook his head and said: "Niu Jinda cannot move. He is keeping an eye on Tuyuhun and the remnants of Tubo. If they are allowed to unite, they will really be attacked from both sides."
Changsun Wuji was also worried: "But now, Hou Junji's army is being restrained by the Western Turks and the Western Regions Allied Forces on the western border. There is no army nearby that can be dispatched. If the Hexi Corridor is lost, Hou Junji's army will be left alone.
But it’s over!”
Li Er said calmly: "There is some chaos in Hexi. I believe that Du Ming, Li Daliang and Cheng Zhijie can still handle it."
Seeing Li Er say this, everyone stopped talking.
In fact, there was nothing anyone could do: Niu Jinda's army and Li Er did not want to move, and it was difficult to mobilize troops from other places to quench their thirst.
I had no choice but to place my hopes on Du Ruhui, Li Daliang and Cheng Yaojin.
Putting aside the tense situation in Hexi, Li Er said again: "Zhang Gongjin has sent a report back to Tang from the northeast, and the rebellions of Khitan, Mohe, and Shiwei have been subsided!"
Everyone was relieved, finally there was some good news.
"I am going to ask Hongshen to move the tribes involved in the rebellion to Guanzhou. What do you think?"
Everyone frowned. Everyone knew what Li Er meant: "I just think the railway construction is too slow, so I came here to help Su Chen."
Wei Zheng said: "Guanzhou is not a prosperous place to begin with. Now the fields cannot be cultivated. If the population is forcibly relocated, it will be difficult to feed them."
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji also disagreed: "Your Majesty, Khitan, Mohe, and Shiwei are all barbarians from the north. What do they do for a living when they move to the interior?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, this barbarian is difficult to discipline and may disrupt the normal life of our people in Guanzhou."
Li Er said indifferently: "Su Chen said to let them work as laborers to earn food rations. In the future, there will be many places to build bridges and pave roads in the Tang Dynasty!"
Wei Zheng and others stopped talking with dark faces.
Because they knew that once they objected again, Li Er would bring up the next issue: whether to recruit civilians to build roads!
In order to allow the people in the mainland to farm the land at home, they had no choice but to force the barbarians from the Northeast to work as coolies.
Who told you to sit around and rebel?
"By the way, Su Chen said that the first steam engine locomotive test will be conducted at the end of the month. Which one of you will go and take a look for me?"
Before he finished speaking, Changsun Wuji said first: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go!"
