There was singing and dancing in the palace of Chigu City, and there seemed to be no sign that the danger of annihilation of the country was imminent.
Of course, it is also possible that it was to use the help of the Han army to wipe away the bad luck caused by the previous paleness.
But from the dissolute nobles at the banquet, Li Shushi felt that the war would never reach those people.
But in any case, these have nothing to do with Li Shushi. No matter in any era, you can find such a group of people among the nobles-the front is tight and the rear is tight. At worst, they will surrender when the time comes, and in order to gain local support, as a person with status
Nobles who have status and take the initiative to take sides are welcomed after all, because they often represent the direction of local public opinion.
Unless they were facing the group of conquerors who "surrendered the city and then killed all the men taller than the wheel of a chariot".
Although Li Shushi, Jia Xu, and Banfu previously judged that the Xianbei people intended to use the Wusun land to appease the Xianbei nobles who had been harmed by Helian's policies, the Wusun people did not seem to think so, because even the Wusun people
Even though the people and Xianbei have already fought and were defeated, you can still see many people praising the strength of the Xianbei people at banquets.
And Pi Mi, who was sitting next to Li Shushi, seemed helpless about it.
Therefore, after the banquet started for a while, neither Li Shushi nor Pi Mi beside him seemed to have the desire to continue paying attention to the banquet itself. Even if it weren't for Pi Mi's signal, Li Shushi would have been ready to say goodbye and leave.
He had already sent Wang Yan and Wang Kai, father and son who knew some Wusun language, out, along with Yan Xing and Cao Zhen. Whether it was to inquire about intelligence or to encounter a plot by someone with an intention, Li Shushi was eager to understand Wusun's situation.
...and the movements of the Xianbei people.
From Dennuletai Mountain Road to Chigucheng, Li Shushi and his party did not see even a shadow of the Xianbei people. This was obviously not normal. Even if this force was not lurking near Chigucheng to intercept and kill all reinforcements, they could have stayed.
It is entirely possible for some harassing troops to at least not reassure the Wusun people. After all, the most important point in a city defense battle is to damage the morale of the defenders.
But no, not at all. Even when approaching Chigu City, Li Shushi and his party could even see some scattered but leisurely herdsmen grazing, and they did not feel the atmosphere of a war at all.
So where did the Xianbei people go?
Li Shushi, Jia Xu and others have made some guesses, but enough information is still needed to confirm these guesses.
"Why, General Li is still thinking about the Xianbei people?"
"Yes, it is indeed a very noteworthy thing for a powerful enemy to suddenly disappear without a trace. And since I have come to Wusun, I naturally cannot sit back and watch Wusun be destroyed in front of my eyes like some people do.
Perish."
"Then thank you very much, Your Excellency. If there is anything I can help with, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Then I wonder if His Highness Pi Mi has any information about the Xianbei people...or the Kangju people?"
In response to Li Shushi's question, the smile on Pi Mi's face faded a lot. Although it was still the kind smile, Li Shushi could clearly feel the reluctance of that smile. From this, it can be seen that the situation is probably the same as that of Jia Xu and Ban
It was as bad as expected, otherwise this experienced old king would never have shown such an obvious change.
"Made General Li laugh." Perhaps because he knew that his performance just now was somewhat marketable, the old king Pimi smiled helplessly. However, Li Shushi did not intend to comment too much on the old king's performance, because with his current situation
With my experience, I still can't tell whether the other party suddenly showed his true feelings, or... it was all a deliberate performance.
So, at this time, just smiling is enough. As expected, Lingbo’s cute and sincere spirit does not deceive me.
When he saw Li Shushi, he didn't show any expression. The old Wang Pimi didn't show any expression. He still had the same kind eyes as he did to his juniors. He was neither disappointed nor complacent. Perhaps what he was pursuing could not be obtained with just a few words.
"Although our Wusun country was continuously defeated by Xianbei's elite troops, fortunately, after gathering the remaining soldiers, recruiting new soldiers, and abandoning the defense of some unnecessary locations, we still have nearly 100,000 troops. It is still possible to ensure the safety of Chigu City, but if Xianbei
If we plan to besiege the city for a long time, the food and grass in our city will not be able to sustain it for too long. Therefore, it is inevitable to finally leave the city for a battle."
Li Shushi nodded, indicating that he understood. Of course, Li Shushi believed that the old king in front of him should have reservations about this matter. Although he said there were 100,000 troops, how many of them were elite soldiers and how many were
This is a very particular matter, as the gap between recruits and veterans is almost infinitely magnified in this world.
Moreover, there is another point that I am afraid the old king cannot fully explain, and that is whose orders these soldiers and horses listen to.
Military power is a very sensitive matter in any era, and it is also the basis of rights. Taizu's saying "Political power comes from the barrel of a gun" is extremely insightful.
Since the old king was so angry that he vomited blood before, I am afraid that the overt and covert fighting within Chigu City has reached a very fierce level, and if the old king has enough soldiers and horses to suppress the situation, he can use force.
To quell the civil strife or sit back and watch the fight and finally come out to clean up the mess, but it is obvious that this king who is definitely not simple in his heart did not do that.
Of course, since the old king is still sitting here peacefully and no one seems to be able to interfere with his decision, it is obviously not only because he has the title of king, but also because he has the strength that makes other careerists afraid.
Therefore, it is indeed impossible for Li Shushi to make any clear statement when the situation is unclear.
"But General Li must have guessed that the current situation of Kang Ju, my important ally in Wusun, is not very good."
"How bad has the situation become? Have the Xianbei people captured Kangju?"
"That's not the case yet. It's just that Kangju has not yet been wiped out. The situation abroad is already so bad that it couldn't be worse."
When the old king said this, the smile on his face could no longer hold on. He knew very well the reason why his lips were dying and his teeth were cold. Without the help of the Kangju people, let alone the Xianbei people, perhaps the Kushan Empire in the west would be enough to keep them awake at night.
"What is the specific situation, and how long can Kang Juguo support it?"
If the people of Kangju can support it for a longer time, Li Shushi may consider waiting for the arrival of Xu Rong and Hua Xiong's army before making any plans. If Kangju cannot support it, maybe Li Shushi will propose to lead troops to rescue now, even if the rescue cannot be carried out.
The Kangju people should also look for opportunities to weaken the Xianbei people, and then...
If the situation goes bad, even if he has to retreat in the end, there is nothing he can do. After all, Li Shushi does not want his troops to be wasted here and Bingzhou will fall into an unstable state.
It's one thing to lead an army out, but it's another thing to annihilate the entire army. Because the former may suddenly blast you from behind when you are taking advantage, while the latter is equivalent to a girl who lacks an important cover, leaving nothing but
Blocking is more like a piece of cloth for temptation.
"The Xianbei people came with a large army, and they were caught off guard. The Kangju people were naturally unable to stop them. Although they tried their best, the Xianbei people's multiple attacks made them miserable. Either they were majestic, or they were unpredictable, or they were mysterious.
Advancing quickly, each of the Xianbei people's generals has distinct characteristics, and they are very knowledgeable about their own abilities.
He was very good at style, and later used various rumors and false news to make the people of Kangju not know who they were facing, so they could not respond effectively. Instead, they suffered heavy losses because of wrong targeted arrangements.
In fact, if no accident happened, maybe King Kangju would have surrendered by now."
"Accident?" Li Shushi was very concerned about this word. He was very curious about who could stop the Xianbei people in their prime. After all, it was a large-scale army of more than 100,000 people. Apart from the big men, there were already
It is a number that requires a country like Wusun to devote all its strength to barely compete with it. If you want to stop such a corps, unless it is a mixed force of the Tang Dynasty Cavalry and Mo Dao Team, which will be famous in the Western Regions in the future, there must be at least a considerable number of troops.
troops.
And such a force, except for Wusun in the Western Region...
"General Li thought it was a Kushan army. Unfortunately, according to the information we received, it seems that the costumes of the soldiers and horses are quite different from those of the Kushan troops we are familiar with, so we are also very curious.
.”
"Given the relationship between your country and the Kangju people, can't we get this bit of information?"
"We just got the Kangju people to spend a lot of money and treasures to invite an army from the west to come to our aid. We didn't know exactly what kind of army they were. We only know that the Xianbei people were caught off guard by this sudden appearance of the army."
"The number of people in this unit shouldn't be very large."
"Yes, there are less than 30,000 people, but because their actions caught the Xianbei people by surprise, they forced the Xianbei people to suspend the siege of Kangju King's City. But after they finished resting, they were ready to take it all in one fell swoop.
When attacking the enemy, an accident happened again. Although the Xianbei people did not suffer much losses this time because of their caution, they could not go any further."
"Is it the Kushan army this time?"
"Yes, although I don't know the significance of the Kushan people's actions at this time, they did appear. And it was precisely because of their appearance that the battlefield became a tripartite one between Kangju, Kushan and Xianbei.
situation."
"So the Xianbei Danhanshan Wangting troops who penetrated deeply into Wusun had to rush west to support the main force of their own army?"
It was only then that Li Shushi's face showed a look of sudden realization. Although he still had many questions in his heart, it seemed that this was the only reasonable explanation.
And at the same time...
"It turns out that those who penetrated deeply into our Wusun were actually the Xianbei people's imperial troops?! No wonder, no wonder!"
Old Wusun Wang Pimi also expressed a sigh of admiration or annoyance.
Perhaps if he could have known the identity of that unit earlier, he would not have to double the number of troops to keep that symbolic unit. Even if the strength loss is great, the morale will be improved.
