The combat effectiveness of the Western Turkic warriors is strong after all. Facing the defected captive soldiers, they did not panic at all. Under the leadership of their respective commanders, they wielded their scimitars like the scythe of death and carried out orderly killings. The captured soldiers were like
Like wheat, their throats were cut one after another, but these well-trained Turkic warriors still had no expression on their faces.
They are the elite direct descendants of Tong'e, killing machines trained for many years. They no longer have normal human emotions and will only obey Tong Luo's will and complete his orders.
The blood soaked through their armor, turning from bright red to dark red, and finally solidified in the gaps in the armor. Tong'e watched this scene with a strange smile on her lips, seeming to enjoy it very much.
When the horn sounded to withdraw troops, all the captive soldiers who dared to defect were dead. The remaining ones who did not dare to defect quickly retreated to the Turkic camp under the scolding of the Turkic warriors, where their wives
The children have been looking forward to it for a long time... The Turks drove the tribes that had been surrendered by force, and the plundered people went out together. In addition to taking women and children as hostages, forcing the men to fight for them, and threatening the men not to escape, they could also
To give vent to Turkic warriors, this is an old routine passed down from the time of Datou Khan...
The tortured women and children stared nervously at the blood-stained faces, begging for their men to appear among them... But most people are destined to be disappointed. Those men who are lucky to return, return to themselves
Surrounded by his family, he hugged his wife and children tightly, breathing heavily. His eyes were full of joy, and he was glad that he lived for one more day... Although he didn't know whether he would live or die tomorrow, at least he could be reunited with his wife and children today.
.
As for those poor people who didn't wait for their men in the end, they either hugged their heads and cried, or sobbed, or stood there with expressionless faces... In fact, it didn't make any difference how they reacted, because there was no such thing as anything in this world.
People paid no attention to their pain. From time to time, they would pick up stones from the ground and hit their heads to die, and the people around them would not stop them. Rather than living like a zombie, death might be a relief for them.
The Qiuchi people on the city wall saw the Turks retreating and fell on the city wall as if they were exhausted. Many carrier pigeons had fallen down just now. They already knew the news that the Tang army was about to arrive. Now that the sun was setting on the family, they only needed to hold on for a few more
In time, the Tang army will come to rescue them.
Right now, there are dead bodies under the city wall. The captive soldiers are too frightened to attack the city again. And the Turks are all cavalry, and the dead bodies will make their horses unable to run, and the cleanup cannot be completed in an hour.
It's okay, so for the time being, I can take a breather.
Their family members took the opportunity to climb up the city wall and bring them food. Although the smell of blood in the air made them unable to eat, they had to eat so that they could maintain their strength to fight. Someone told their family members that the Tang army was coming, and the women and children
There was also a look of joy on their faces. Many of them had actually never seen the Tang Army. They had only heard about the bravery of the Tang Army and the wealth of the Tang Dynasty from the merchants who came and went. Now, this has become their only
The belief, the belief to persevere.
Soon the word spread, and finally everyone knew about it. The atmosphere in the city became more joyful than ever before, and even those families who had lost their loved ones seemed to feel that the sadness was not so strong...
Turkic camp.
The atmosphere in the camp became very solemn. The leaders at the upper level and the soldiers at the lower level could not help but whisper and discuss the battle just now. They were not worried about whether they could win. This time the Western Turks came out in force, and the cavalry had
150,000, there is no suspense in the battle. They just can't understand why Tong'e wastes time in Kucha. Although Kucha is rich, food and grass are enough now. Militaryly, Kucha's self-protection is not enough.
Those who are unable to respond to the Tang Dynasty. Instead of wasting time here, it is better to march eastward and fight to the death with the Tang Dynasty.
"Welcome the Great Khan!"
A voice sounded, and all the generals stood up. Tong'e stepped in, followed by Ashimu.
Everyone looked at him. He had destroyed several countries and established Tong'e's majesty. The nature of the Turks made them prefer Khans like Tong'e to pacifists like Ni Shu.
Tong'e sat down at the main seat, looked at the generals, and said nothing. She just kept a gloomy face and stared directly outside the tent... He seemed to be waiting for something, and the atmosphere in the tent became more solemn.
.
"The messenger has arrived!" There was a sudden shout, and Tong'e's expression finally changed. He glanced at Ashimu, who got up and walked to the door of the tent and brought in someone.
"See the Khan!"
"No gift." Tong'e looked at the messenger and said, "Your master, do you have a message?"
"The master has a letter, please read it." The messenger took out a letter from his clothes and handed it to Asimu, who handed it to Tong'e. Tong'e opened the letter, took a look at it, and her face became even brighter.
gloomy.
He pulled out his scimitar, and the blade was like lightning. The messenger screamed and his left ear fell off.
"Go back and tell your master that if he dares to break the contract, the warriors of the Western Turks will directly march northward. If he can withstand the wrath of this Khan, he will try! Get out!"
The messenger fled in a hurry, and Tong'e took a deep breath and said, "Each of us will return to camp to prepare for battle. After daybreak, if the Tang army does not come, abandon Qiuci and go straight to Gaochang! I want to see if Gaochang and the others can save us!"
…
In the big tent, the oil lamp flickered on and off, and Ashimu was roasting a leg of lamb for Tong'e. Ashimu's grilling skills were obviously first-class. Under the flying machetes, the lamb leg meat turned into leaves and scattered one by one on the plate.
It's an average size.
"Dahan, how much can you eat?" Ashimu asked softly, handing over the plate and knife.
"You don't need to call me Dahan when there is no one around." Tong'e took a sip of wine and said, "You are my adopted son, and you will not change because of your identity."
"Thank you, Khan." Ashimu still did not change his words. It was true that Tong'e was indeed his adoptive father. However, after Tong'e became the Khan, he was moody. He had to be careful. Otherwise, if he said the wrong thing, he might become a
The reason for death in the future.
Tong'e glanced at Ashimu, but did not correct him. She said quietly: "It seems that this time, it will be a bit difficult."
"Ah?!" Ashimu never expected that Tong'e would say this. Her eyes widened and she said in disbelief: "Great Khan, we have an army of 150,000, and we have enough food and grass. It is impossible to be invincible.
?”
"That bastard Yi Nan, ask the messenger to tell me that the person coming to rescue is Luoyang Marquis Li Mu. He has been named a hussar general by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and led 20,000 troops to help."
"It's only 20,000 yuan, but Yi Nan doesn't dare to fight?" Ashimu couldn't believe it. A terrible possibility popped up in his mind, and he trembled: "Khan, could it be that Yi Nan lied to us from the beginning? He
He has already colluded with Datang..."
"No," Tong'e waved her hand and said, "Yi Nan is greedy and will take advantage of every opportunity. If there is an opportunity, he will not let it go. He retreated because the person who came was Li Mu, and he was afraid of Li Mu, so he was like this.
"
"Why be afraid?"
"Do you still remember Camel Valley?" Tong'e looked at Ashimu and said: "It is said that the divine object with the power of thunder was made by Li Mu. When Li Mu came, he must have brought that thing with him, Yi Nan
It’s not surprising that you are afraid.”
"His original plan was to send a group of cavalry to attack Mayi. But Li Mu was not fooled. Their army advanced slowly, leaving him no opportunity to take advantage of it." Tong'e said with a gloomy look: "Li Xiaogong is old and cunning, so he only sent a few
With Qian's cavalry reinforcements, the strength of the Dingxiang Protector's Mansion was intact, and he had no chance to attack there. Seeing that there was no more meat to eat, it was normal for him to want to retreat. If a villain like him didn't have this intention
, that’s weird.”
"To deal with the Tang Dynasty, we must attack from both sides to be effective. If Yi Nan does not send troops, even if we have 150,000 troops, we will be wasted in Dingxiang. It will be winter in a few months. We cannot afford to delay, so he must
Let’s go to war.”
Tong'e said harshly: "Now we have no direct confrontation with the Tang Dynasty. It will also be a deterrent to Yi Nan. If he doesn't send troops, I will really send troops north. Li Shimin will definitely be happy to see us fight with Xue Yantuo. Anyway,
, this time I march eastward, I don’t want to go back. The Turkic people are the children of Changshengtian, how can they live in the yellow sand in the sky? We can’t get the grassland of Tang Dynasty, so we will rob Xue Yantuo’s grassland! Changshengtian
Your children must live in a place with abundant water and grass!”
"I would like to be the pioneer of the Great Khan!" Ashimu said enthusiastically. It was Tong'e's will that made him willing to remain loyal to him even though he knew his cruelty. "The Great Khan is generous!" Asimu said loudly.
: "Please give me five thousand warriors from the Great Khan. I will destroy the reinforcements of the Tang Dynasty tonight."
Five thousand versus eight thousand, the word "destroy" rather than "win" is used, which is enough to show Ashimu's confidence. Afraid that Tong'e would disagree, Ashimu stepped forward and cupped his fists and said: "Ashimu dare to issue a military order, if we can't win,
, you should kill yourself in front of the battle!"
Tong'e looked at Ashimu: "Military orders cannot be issued casually. If you fail to complete them, you will lose your head!"
Ashimu looked serious and said loudly: "There is no joke in the army. If you can't complete it, you won't have the dignity to live in this world!"
"This is what you said! Okay!" Tong'e stood up and handed her scimitar to Ashimu: "Take my scimitar and choose the people yourself. If the Tang army invades tonight, cut off their heads."
, eight thousand heads, I will remember your first merit!"
"Thank you, Khan, for your trust!" Ashimu was excited. Tong'e's scimitar was just like the Shang Fang sword of the Tang Dynasty. It not only represented power, but also was an honor.
"It's good to have confidence." Tong'e looked at Ashimu and told him: "Don't be brave when fighting, you have to use your brain. You must plan carefully and don't waste the precious lives of your own men."
"Don't worry, Khan, Ashimu knows what to do."
Tong'e patted Ashimu on the shoulder and said, "Go ahead, I'm waiting for your good news."
"Don't worry, Khan, Ashimu will definitely not let you down!"
…
Qiuci was brightly lit, and the defenders lit countless torches and even used rockets to ignite the wooden beams thrown under the city, illuminating the whole city as bright as day. This was to guard against night attacks by the Turks and to give instructions to the Tang army.
The road, the vast desert grassland, if there is no light, it is easy to lose the road. The brutal siege warfare has quickly trained the defenders. They know what to do when and what to do without any command, so that the enemy can't take advantage of it.
Can be multiplied.
Despite this, King Moham of Qiuci personally climbed to the top of the city, inspected every place, and reminded the defenders to be vigilant and not to take it lightly.
Moham is a greasy fat man with a waistline longer than his height. Anyone who sees him will not like him at first sight. But his prestige in the Western Region is one of the best. He is respected as if he were a god.
Fanaticism is not only because of his noble status as King of Kucha, but also because he single-handedly created Kucha, the commercial capital, and gave the merchants and people on the Silk Road the gentlest protection. As a 'neutral country' on the Silk Road,
Kucha is famous for its 'service merchants'.
In the city of Kucha, you can not only trade goods, but also have various consumption places. Many caravans go back and forth, and Kucha is the end point. They will deliver the goods here, so although they make less money, it is still cost-effective without having to cross the desert.
Several generations of kings of Qiuci have pursued this policy and accumulated a lot of wealth. They used this wealth to continuously expand the city and market of Qiuci. In terms of city size, it is the largest in the Western Regions.
Without such a city, they would not be able to withstand the attack of the Western Turks. Also because of this scale, Moham is confident that the Tang Dynasty will definitely come to the rescue. Without Qiuci, the Silk Road of the Tang Dynasty may be lost.
Broken.
Moham was a little excited. When night fell, he received another letter from a flying pigeon. The pigeon was painted black and was perfectly concealed in the darkness, so that the Turks could not detect it.
The letter did not come from the Dingxiang Protectorate, but from the legendary Marquis.
Although Moham is the king of Qiuci, he is a businessman at heart. The merchants who come and go tell Li Mu's various methods that he is amazing. Moham has long been yearning for it and wants to meet this Silk Road merchant.
What does the God of Wealth look like?
Looking at the vast night, Moham rubbed his hands nervously.
According to the agreement, the Tang army will arrive in two more hours. It only needs to hold for two more hours, and Kucha will be saved. Moham has not had time to count the losses in this battle, but he doesn't care, as long as Kucha City
Here, the money will continue to flow. When the Turkic siege is over, he will continue to build the city and double the width and height of Qiuci's city wall. Let Qiuci become an unbreakable fortress!
These are all things for later, but for now we still need to be vigilant and survive these two hours.
Suddenly, dots of light lit up in front of his eyes, which was in the direction of the Turkic camp. Moham frowned and murmured: "What are they doing?"
As he spoke, the stars became brighter and brighter and even connected into one. Moham frowned and looked at it, and suddenly realized, no, the Turks are still going to attack the city!