Just when Jia Ke was living his small life leisurely like this, two hundred miles north of the Gubeikou of the grassland, there were many flags and people shouting, and the place had become a sea of people and horses.
Countless people and horses on the grassland gathered here. All kinds of materials piled up like mountains. In addition to the cavalry on the grassland, there were also some soldiers from the Western Regions who served as servants this time, carrying supplies for the Tatars and doing some logistical things.
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Alsileng Khan gathered 200,000 troops here. Although Alsileng Khan has become a little arrogant now, he is still somewhat smart and knows that he cannot yet pose a substantial threat to the Southern Dynasty.
So this time when he went south, his goal was to plunder. He wanted to take a good trip to the most prosperous places near the capital of the Southern Dynasty and bring all the wealth here back to the grassland.
At the same time, it also shocked the emperor of the Southern Dynasties, letting him know that he, the Great Khan, was here, and from now on he could only obediently offer his wealth and beauties. Otherwise, he would destroy his country.
If the emperor of the Southern Dynasties could compromise and send a large amount of wealth and beauties every year, he would save himself and lead his troops southward every year. Not only would he lose a lot of food and supplies, but the warriors who went south would also suffer more or less losses.
When Alslen Khan gathered his troops and prepared to go south, the only pass in front of him was Gubeikou. The Tatars had led troops to attack Gubeikou before, but they failed every time.
The terrain of Gubeikou is dangerous. It is in the middle section between Shanhaiguan and Juyongguan. It has steep mountains and dangerous roads. It is only two hundred miles away from the capital. It has been a key place for Kyoto since ancient times. It has been called a dangerous place since ancient times. There is a saying that "the earth strangles the throat and leads to the desert, and the sky holds the key to the key."
"It is called. Such a majestic pass is naturally tightly guarded and heavily stocked with troops.
Arslenkhan's current problem is how to break through this great pass at the minimum cost.
Since ancient times, the only way to conquer a strong pass is to attack the city with ants, make a sneak attack, or cooperate with the inside and outside.
Alsileng Khan thought about all these methods, and finally decided to use a sneak attack first. If it failed, he could only attack by force. As for the Tatars who cooperated internally and externally in a military fortress like Gubeikou, they did not have the ability to deploy manpower. Like
There are no ordinary residents living in such a military fortress. The fortress is filled with elite soldiers from the Southern Dynasties and their relatives. Tatar spies cannot break into this place at all.
As soon as Alsileng Khan made up his mind, he immediately sent someone to find Battelle, one of the four horses.
Since Battle was defeated by Jia Ke in Kaiping Town last time, he was neglected by Alslenk Khan for a while after returning to the grassland. But after all, Alslenk Khan was in the process of employing people, so Battle was quickly brought back.
After Battle's comeback, in order to regain the trust of Alslen Khan, he would take the lead in every battle in the war with the tribal alliance. With his personal bravery, he saved the situation several times in dangerous situations and killed the grassland tribes.
Frightened by the news, he even broke through the enemy's formation of tens of thousands with one or two thousand men on several occasions.
Alsleng Khan was impressed by his performance, so Battelle quickly regained Alslenk Khan's trust. As a pioneer officer in this southern invasion, he was always at the forefront of the team.
When Barter heard the Great Khan's summons, he did not dare to neglect him. He took three steps at a time and walked quickly to the outside of Alsleng Khan's tent. The soldiers at the door saw him and hurried in to report to him.
Soon the soldiers came out and asked Battle to come in. When Battle entered the tent, he saw Alsileng Khan thinking about the map.
Battle cupped his fists and saluted: "Great Khan, Battle has been ordered to come here. I wonder what the Great Khan's instructions are?"
At this time, Alsileng Khan seemed to know that Battle had come in. He raised his head from the map, turned around and said, "But here you are, my sharpest sword. This time I go to Gubeikou. I'm afraid you have to go there in person."
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Battle immediately said: "The Great Khan has his destiny, and Battle will never give up even if he dies."
"Okay, what Battle wants is your words. In our army, only your bravery can accomplish this." Alslen Khan was still very satisfied with Battle's bravery.
Alsileng Khan then ordered Battelle: "Send a team of warriors to pretend to be merchants, prepare more smoke in the accompanying vehicles, and send this team to the Gubeikou city gate tomorrow to pretend to open the city gate. Once the Gubeikou opens,
At the city gate, immediately set off smoke as a warning. You lead a thousand cavalry in an ambush five miles away. When you see the smoke, you must rush to the Gubeikou city gate within half a quarter of an hour to assist the warriors in seizing the city gate. Then I will
Lead an army to ambush ten miles away, and when you see the smoke, we will rush towards Gubeikou. If you persist for another half-quarter of an hour, my army will arrive at the gate of Gubeikou. What do you think? Can you do it?"
Battelle did not dare to agree to Alslen Khan easily. He just thought about it silently in his heart for a while and felt that the Khan's plan was feasible. Moreover, they had not invaded the south for three years. The defense of Gubeikou was not very tight, and merchants came and went from time to time.
Between the north entrance and the grassland, with the current defense situation of the Southern Dynasty, the chance of success is very high, and even if it fails, there will be no loss.
After thinking clearly, he bowed and clasped his fists and said to Alsileng Khan: "Great Khan, I think this plan is feasible. As long as the warriors sent out to seize the door can persist until my arrival, Gubeikou will definitely be in the pocket of the Great Khan.
thing.”
Alsileng Khan was very satisfied after hearing what Battle said. When Battle was thinking just now, he was impressed by this subordinate who only knew how to fight and kill before. Now Battle is a brave and strategic general. It seems that
The last setback touched him a lot and made him think better. He was no longer the reckless man who only knew how to fight and kill.
After hearing his promise, Arslen Khan said: "You personally search the whole camp for the warriors who are going to seize the door this time. The horses of the one thousand cavalry you lead must be the best in the whole army. You go now
Get ready, it'll be up to you tomorrow morning."
Battle once saluted Alslen Khan, "Don't worry, Khan, I will use my life as a guarantee. As long as I, Battle, are still alive, the city gates at Gubeikou will not be closed."
After hearing Battle's promise, Alsileng Khan went up and patted him on the shoulder and said, "Well done. As long as you complete this task, our army can successfully reach Kyoto in the Southern Dynasties. At that time, I will reward you with 300 households of herdsmen. If
If you perform better in the capital this time, I will even allow you to lead a small tribe."
After hearing Alsleng Khan's promise, Bart's blood boiled all over. Although he was a general under Alsleng Khan, he could lead a tribe alone and never thought about it. Now that he had received Alsleng Khan's promise, naturally,
You have to fight to the death to build a future for yourself and your family.
When Battle came out of Alslen Khan's tent, he searched the entire army for the warriors who would capture the gate this time. Battle did not look for the strongest ones, but looked for a hundred people and Tatars who were similar in size and appearance to the Central Plains people.
people.
Then they selected seven or eight dedicated people from the previously plundered slaves from the Southern Dynasties. These people had stayed on the grassland for a long time and had defected to the Tatars early due to their flexible minds. Therefore, they are now small slave managers.
Manager, they can no longer return to the Southern Dynasty, so there is no problem with their loyalty.
Battle ordered them to disguise themselves. When the time comes, the small stewards of the Southern Dynasty will talk to the elite soldiers at Gubeikou. The remaining Tatars will pretend to be young men and take the convoy to Gubeikou early tomorrow morning. After blowing open the city gate, they must use all their strength to
Those who go guard the city gate.
Battelle had already made a promise to those Southern Dynasties who had taken refuge. As long as they could succeed this time, they would all be liberated slaves. Each of them would be given five households of herdsmen. This was to reassure them, fearing that they would suddenly report bad news to the Southern Dynasties.
this big event.
Battelle, with a thousand selected cavalry, ambushed himself in a small forest less than five miles away from Gubeikou in the middle of the night. He only waited for the smoke to rise from Gubeikou before leading his troops to rush out.
The morning was bright and sunny. Li Yuan, the imperial guard of Gubeikou Qianhu, came to the city gate leisurely and waited for the passing merchants.
In recent years, the Tatars and the Southern Dynasty had been relatively peaceful, so there were more merchants traveling between the two sides. However, the court prohibited the sale of supplies to the Tatars, so smuggling became a lucrative business for the merchants.
Since it is smuggling, all the joints must be opened. The most important of them is Li Yuan, the guard of Qianhu at Gubeikou. Because Gubeikou is the only way from the capital to the grassland, Li Yuan has been a daily driver during this period.
Of course, he can’t just keep the money he got. For Miyun’s defense, his immediate superior will take more than half of it. In addition, his generals at all levels will also have to take part of it. Only in this way can this be ensured.
Interest groups do not collapse.
What Li Yuan likes to do most now is to drink tea at the city gate early in the morning while waiting for merchants to give him bribes. At this time, he feels happy because he knows that a lot of the money belongs to him.
of.
Today's visit to Li Yuan was no exception. After the Gubeikou city gate opened, Li Yuan sat at the table at the city gate and drank tea. However, he was a little unlucky today. It was almost midnight and there was no caravan passing by.
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Li Yuan was very dissatisfied with the result and was wondering if all the customs clearance fees of the passing merchants would be increased by one layer to make up for the loss caused by no one passing by in the morning.
While Li Yuan was making calculations, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps. He looked up and saw that it was his confidant Li Quan running over quickly.
Li Yuan, you knew something good was coming when you saw Li Quan running over. As expected, Li Quan rushed to Li Yuan's side and said to Li Yuan regardless of his panting: "Master, it's a great event. There is a big caravan coming.
I went back to the capital through Gubeikou, and I am waiting for my master outside the gate."
When Li Yuan heard this, he immediately became excited. He immediately took Li Quan and a few soldiers to the city wall to look down. Sure enough, there was a caravan waiting at the city gate, with about a hundred people.
Twenty or thirty large cars were all wrapped tightly. It seemed that they had made some money on this trip north, and the cars were actually loaded with gold and silver. Only the dignitaries in the capital could handle a caravan of this size.
How dare other people dare to be so blatant.
Although Li Yuan wanted to make money, he also valued his head, so every time there was a caravan coming and going, he had to go and check it in person, for fear that any weapons such as knives, guns, etc. would flow into the grassland, or that some spies would sneak into the grassland.
Zhongyuan. This time Li Yuan was no exception. After seeing the size of the caravan outside, he led a team of 100 people to the city gate, ordered people to open the city gate, and prepared to personally inspect the caravan.
And the city gate of this magnificent gate was slowly opened.