At the bend of the North River in Suzhou, Luo Tongda commanded an army to attack Suzhou City. Within three days, Ganzhou Renyu Khan arrived with more than 6,000 cavalry.
Fortunately, Luo Tongda's mission was to hold back the Ganzhou people and make them bruise their heads and bleed.
Therefore, as soon as the army arrived in Suzhou, the Guiyi army began to build parapets and set up military fortresses, especially Zhang Zhao's gold capital. The civil engineering work was quite professional. In a few days, a crude but functional structure was built.
Military stronghold.
Most of the Ganzhou Uighurs are cavalry, and they have also inherited the weaknesses of the grassland peoples of the past dynasties, that is, although they come and go like the wind, their siege ability is really unimpressive.
Not only them, but also the later Xixia and Liao Kingdoms. The reason why the Mongols were so fierce during Temujin's period was that their ability to attack fortresses at that time was the best among the grassland peoples of the past dynasties.
So when the Gui rebels set up a military stronghold and took in all the cavalry, the Ganzhou Uighurs were a little bit unable to gnaw, even though most of the military stronghold was built with stones.
"Barbarian Bear! Barbarian Bear! Hurry up and bring your men, kill those big shield bearers and the heavy armor soldiers behind!" Yan Jin pressed his long sword and shouted at the barbarian bear wearing three layers of armor beside him.
Since Zhang Zhao was preparing to use cavalry to attack the Ganzhou Uighurs, Man Xiong and others did not go with Zhang Zhao, but stayed outside Suzhou City.
The barbarian bear glanced at the group of soldiers approaching with huge striped shields on the opposite side, and took a big gulp of wine.
Then he looked at the soldier behind him who was also wearing three layers of armor, waved his hand, and took the lead to rush out from the gap in the stone wall.
Renyu Khan quietly stared at the battle to attack the Guiyi army camp. He did not invest many troops, not even 2,000 men. This was a tentative attack.
Amid the howls of the soldiers on both sides, Renyu Khan looked intently and saw a giant bear-like warrior rushing out from behind the stone wall.
He was carrying a big ax in his hand, and before he could reach the big shield, he was hit by more than ten arrows shot from behind the shield.
But this giant bear-like warrior didn't even slow down. Obviously, these arrows couldn't break the armor at all. Sure enough, after he ran a few steps, the arrows on his body began to fall down.
There is no good way to deal with such a large shield, except to get close and slash.
The wild bear was already extremely strong, but after being fed with large amounts of fish and meat by Zhang Zhao over the years, his body became even stronger.
He swung the giant ax in his hand and slashed hard, cutting off the heads of the long spears that protruded from the gaps in the shield.
Even if it is not cut off, it is very difficult to pierce through the two layers of cotton armor and a layer of chain mail of the Barbarian Bear.
Subsequent soldiers also arrived one after another. They were all from the mountain capital of Zhang Zhaoxuan, not good at riding and shooting but good at foot combat. They had fought together for more than four years, and they had already become extremely skilled in cooperating with each other.
Everyone was holding hammers and axes, facing the Ganzhou Uighurs' spears and archers with three large shields as a combination, and squeezed in as hard as they could.
Finally, a large shield was completely slashed by the wild bear, and the spearman and sword-shielder inside were exposed.
The wild bear laughed wildly and was the first to rush in. After a while, the shield formation was penetrated from the inside.
The Uighur warriors behind the large shield fled in all directions, while the wild bear stared at the large shield group next to it.
The Ganzhou Uighurs were originally weak in foot combat, so as soon as the shield formation was penetrated, they were immediately defeated.
Renyu Khan, who had been paying attention to the battlefield, immediately ordered the gold medal. He could no longer hold on, and the shield infantry waiting to retreat retreated with a clatter.
Barbarian Bear led his men to charge and kill for a while, until the retreating Uighur infantry began to form formations again. Seeing that they could no longer take advantage, he cursed and led his men back.
Something was wrong! Renyu Khan frowned. He had never seen the armor on that group of warriors before.
Moreover, the way this group of soldiers fought made his eyelids jump, giving him an indescribable feeling, as if they were full of vitality!
Yes! It’s vitality! In the past, the Shazhou Han soldiers were also very brave in battle, but Khan Renyu felt that there was an indescribable air of twilight in them, and what he saw today was completely different from before.
The Uighurs erected a large shield, originally to cover the infantry when they pulled down the stone wall outside the Guiyi army's stronghold.
Because the archers of the Guiyi Army could use the cover of the stone wall to shoot against them, the Uighur archers who had no cover were at a great disadvantage.
As a result, Dardun was attacked three times, and each time Yan Jin sent Barbarian Bear, Dunzhu, and a tough guy named Luo Yide to fight him back.
At noon, Renyu Khan simply withdrew his troops and summoned his tribal leaders and generals to discuss the matter.
Gu Yu
As a khan who had historically controlled the Uighurs of Ganzhou for nearly twenty years, and brought the Uighur tribe that Cao Yijin had conquered the city of Ganzhou back to a powerful khan, Renyu Khan clearly felt that something was wrong.
"Siyi, you have always been on the mission to Shazhou. Who do you think the three Cao brothers are? Is Cao Yijin really critically ill or dead?"
Renyu Khan asked the nephew beside him. As a group of Uighurs who have a very close relationship with the royal family of Li and Tang Dynasties, the names of the Ganzhou Uighurs have gradually begun to become Chinese.
However, they still follow the pattern of the naturalized Uighurs, such as Sizhong, Siyi, naturalization, Tongshun, and Shunyi, which sound like names given by ethnic minorities.
Yao Geluo Siyi arched his hand in a very Chinese-like manner, "Reporting back to the Khan, according to Chen's observation, although the three Cao brothers are not mediocre people, they can only be called house-keeping dogs at best. Cao Yuande is more than stable in his work but lacks change.
As for Cao Linggong, Princess Tian sent a message a few months ago, stating that he often fainted and could hardly get out of bed, which should be true.
And if Cao Linggong is still here, Princess Tian and her children will never be harmed!"
"More than enough stability, not enough change" Renyu Khan muttered a few words in his mouth, seeming to be a little hesitant.
"Does the Khan feel that something is wrong with those Shazhou Hans? In my opinion, this is direct evidence that Cao Yijin has died of illness!"
"Oh? Why did Zuo Yehu say that?" Renyu Khan turned around in surprise and asked.
"Although Cao Yijin did not start with military exploits, he knew a lot about military affairs. He ran the army with strictness and integrity, and he used great force to win the battle.
In this case, it seems that he deliberately put himself into a desperate situation, calling it an attack on the city, and doing it as if he was sent here to be beaten. It does not look like Cao Yijin could do it, but more like the result of random command."
All the Uighurs in the tent nodded unanimously, and they all felt that what Zuo Yehu said was reasonable.
This type of play that puts oneself into a passive position as soon as the battle begins does not look like there is any conspiracy and ambush, but it really looks like something done by a novice on the battlefield.
"It doesn't matter if there is fraud. The passage in Hexi is so narrow that there is no way to go around it. Cutting off the retreat and cutting off the enemy's food and fodder are all nonsense.
The most likely possibility is that we will hide a troop in the Black Mountain and rush out when our troops are exhausted. My brother is willing to lead a troop to search the entire Black Mountain!"
Renyu Khan's compatriot Yao Geluotongshun stood up and took the initiative to ask for orders from Renyu Khan.
The topography of the Hexi Corridor is a long and narrow passage sandwiched between the Qilian Mountains and other mountain ranges to the north.
If you want to get to Ganzhou without taking the Hexi Corridor, there is no other way for the army to pass except through the Badain Jaran Desert, which is hundreds of miles away, from Minqin County in later Gansu Province to Liangzhou, and then to Ganzhou.
In other words, if the Guiyi Army wants to attack Ganzhou, they can only go along the Hexi Corridor and attack one city after another.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to bypass the Badain Jaran Desert to bring back the horses, livestock and people of the rebel army.
To put it bluntly, even if it could be done, it would take less than a month to complete the journey. After the journey is completed, the people in the north of Liangzhou and Dangxiang will not let them pass easily. By the time these are settled, the day lilies will be cold.
Renyu Khan also knew this very well, so he had no worries about being outflanked or cut off from food routes. He was just subconsciously cautious based on his instinctive feeling that something was not right in his heart.
"Khan, the total number of Tang'er in Guasha and Shazhou is only a few hundred thousand. Over the years they have fought against us, and they have sent out only three to five thousand troops, and as many as six or seven thousand have already turned out in full force.
There are at least four to five thousand soldiers and horses at the bend of the river. It can be said that all the Cao family's belongings are here.
If I can defeat them in one battle, Guasha will be easily under my control. If I let them go, who knows when and what month will I have this opportunity?
After all, no matter how stupid the Cao brothers are, they will not make such mistakes again and again!"
Zuo Dayehu expressed the thoughts of Renyu Khan and all the Uighurs in Ganzhou.
The Guiyi Army at the river bend opposite was indeed a bit abnormal, but the temptation for the Ganzhou Uighurs was particularly great. They had been fighting each other for decades and knew each other's details very well.
If these five thousand soldiers and horses can be wiped out and returned to the rebel army and the Cao family, they can be expelled from the land west of Hexi.
"Tongshun, take five hundred Youyiqi to search the entire Black Mountain. Also search the Golden Pagoda Mountain in the north. Make sure there is no ambush!"
Yao Geluo Tongshun excitedly knelt down on one knee and received the military order.
"Zuo Dayehu, you immediately organize the Long family members in Suzhou City and let them take the lead. I will attack day and night to capture the Shazhou Han people on the opposite side!"
