Yaji cried: "It's just a villain who can't draw. It's true that a villain can't draw. We Turks have always relied on memorizing the terrain. The villains in that place can know it at a glance, but they can't draw it!"
"What?!" Su Dingfang was immediately furious and kicked him: "That's not what you said just now!"
Yaji held his head and wailed: "Don't worry, Mr. Hou, the villain will be found when he arrives. He will definitely be found..."
Su Dingfang beat him again, but Yaji still couldn't draw the picture. Li Mu stopped Su Dingfang from continuing the violence. He was beaten into a pig's head and still couldn't draw. Maybe this guy was illiterate.
After asking someone to take Zhu Tou Yaji down, Li Mu and Su Dingfang discussed it.
Su Dingfang said: "Master Marquis, there is no exact location of the oasis now, only a rough range." He frowned slightly and continued: "Our army must go deep into the desert for at least more than a hundred miles. If we don't send people to verify it, the general will not agree to rush into it rashly.
send troops."
"You don't have to worry about that," Li Mu shook his head slightly and said, "The scouts I sent are all Jin Yiwei secret guards. They are highly skilled in martial arts and are better at hiding their bodies. If they go deep into the desert to explore, they will not alert the enemy."
"That's great!" Su Dingfang was overjoyed when he heard this. He knew that there were several powerful characters around Li Mu. They protected Li Mu Zhouquan overtly and covertly. These people never spoke to them and had no communication with them. They were just like shadows.
But their skills are unparalleled. They never leave Li Mu's side, but they didn't expect that Li Mu would send them out.
"If these people take action, they will be able to locate the exact location of the oasis and hit it with one strike!"
Now that we have a plan, we begin to implement it.
Li Mu sent secret guards and took Yaji deep into the desert to explore, while the army camped on the edge of the grassland to rest. After continuous high-intensity conquests, both men and horses were exhausted, and they needed to rest and adjust. What's more important
What's more, the army is running low on food and is in urgent need of replenishment. It must stop and wait for the baggage troops to transport the general food.
…
At this time, carts of grain and grass were being loaded in Dingxiang City. This was the second batch of grain and grass requested by Li Mu. The first batch had already arrived in Qiuci a long time ago and was on its way to the edge of the desert where Li Mu was. This was the second batch.
, because they were worried that Li Mu was not prepared enough.
Because of the bumper harvest of potatoes, Dingxiang City has plenty of grain and grass, which is enough for at least a year and a half. Li Siwen is Li Mu’s brother. He must have done his best to supervise the transportation of grain and grass. The first batch
The grain and grass transported were theoretically enough, but he had to transport another batch. He also said that even if the former army couldn't finish it, it could still be eaten by the people of Qiuci. Of course, if it was really eaten by the people of Qiuci,
,Moham will definitely have to pay...
By three o'clock in the morning, all the grain and fodder were ready. The person responsible for escorting the grain and fodder had a bodyguard and about three thousand soldiers to escort a thousand carts of grain and fodder and set off.
Although three thousand men and horses are not many, according to the news from the front, most of the Turks have been wiped out, and the remnants have also hid in the desert. As for those scattered small tribes, it would be good if the Tang army did not mess with them.
You dare to seek your own death.
Although there is no danger on the grassland, the officers and soldiers escorting the grain and grass are still very careful to check the vehicles, horses and weapons. The army is about to win, and no one wants to cause trouble at this time. Before leaving the city, the commander of the team ordered his subordinates to strictly follow the regulations, and the scouts went first.
, the army followed, marching fifty miles a day, stopping before dark, and surrounded the grain trucks into a formation, and the army took turns to watch the night.
In this way, we can execute the plan as planned without delaying anything. We can arrive at Kucha two days in advance to deliver the goods and complete the escort of grain and grass.
With a creak, the gate opened, and the escort team slowly drove out of the city gate.
Dingxiang City, which had been busy all morning, finally came to a rest. Li Siwen stood on the top of the city and watched the team escorting grain and grass disappear on the northern horizon. Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Except for the soldiers on duty, the rest
Prepare to go back and take a nap.
Unexpectedly, someone suddenly exclaimed, pointed in the direction where the army disappeared and screamed: "Look! There's something going on!"
Everyone at the top of the city raised their heads and looked in the direction the man was pointing. At this time, they saw a long black line on the northeastern horizon. Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a large group of cavalry was galloping towards Dingxiang City.
Come……
Urgent alarm bells sounded at the top of Dingxiang City!
Three days later, Kucha City.
According to the agreement, today was the day when the second batch of food and grass supplies arrived. However, Usman, who was preparing to receive the supplies in front of the camp, waited left and right, but the heavy troops were nowhere to be seen. To prepare for the unexpected, he was planning to send out scouts.
But he heard the alarm bell ringing from the watchtower, and the sentry shouted loudly: "More than a hundred riders are coming from the east!"
The officer on duty quickly climbed up to the watchtower, took a closer look with the telescope left by Li Mu, and first breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Looking at the attire, it should be one of our own. Send someone to take care of it..." Then he suddenly thought of something, and his expression became frightened.
, hurry up and report to Usman!
When they got close to the camp gate, the quartermaster recognized them. They were clearly the troops responsible for escorting the transportation of grain and grass!
The garrison soldiers obviously recognized these people, and they immediately started talking nervously. At this time, one of the leading baggage officers got off his horse, staggered and shouted: "I have an urgent military situation!" After saying this, the person fainted.
Passed by!
After finally resuscitating the man, Wusi looked cold and listened to the baggage officer crying: "Two days ago, we just marched north with provisions and grass, and only ten miles out of the city, we were surrounded by tens of thousands of cavalry! They didn't say anything.
He said, and began to attack the convoy. Although we fought hard, the enemy army was too powerful to fight hard. Not only the food and grass were taken by the enemy, but most of the brothers died on the spot..." Speaking of this, that man
The officer couldn't bear it anymore, and burst into tears with heartbreak. While crying, he sobbed: "It's so shameful that Dingxiang's Paoze didn't come to rescue even though they were so close. What happened to them? How could they bear to watch us being killed!
"
Amid the officer's cries, the atmosphere in the big tent was stagnant to the extreme, and everyone looked extremely sad and angry. Until now, the number of soldiers injured in the battle with the Western Turks was not as high as the number of people who died in this battle!
"Can you see clearly, how many people there are and which tribe they are from? Are they Turks? Or are they Tiele?" Although Usman's eyes were full of anger, he also understood that there must be monsters when things go wrong. He said in a deep voice
He asked the officer: "Also, what is the situation in Dingxiang City?"
"There are at least 30,000 cavalry attacking the grain team. They don't have any flags and can't tell where they came from." The officer stopped his tears, paused and said, "Now that I think about it, it may not be Dingxiang's robes.
To save us, maybe they were too busy to take care of themselves. The one who attacked us was a branch of the large army. The real main force went straight to Dingxiang City... No, there are less than 30,000 people in Dingxiang now, and the prince is still in Dingxiang!
"The officer became excited and shouted that he was going to kill him. Usman suppressed him and asked for some details. After the officer finished telling him everything he knew, he raised a hand knife and knocked the person unconscious before letting him go.
People took him down to rest.
There were generals from the Tang Dynasty in the tent. Before Li Mu left, he left five thousand troops and horses for Kucha. Otherwise, Usman, the general stationed in Kucha, would have been a mere commander. These officers were all after Li Xiaogong came to Dingxiang.
, recruiting an army trained by refugees. They have very deep feelings for Dingxiang and regard Dingxiang as their home. Seeing that Dingxiang is besieged by a large army, who can still sit still? They all call for war and rush to help Dingxiang.
.
When Usman was angry, he heard the noise of these people. He couldn't help it anymore and scolded the generals: "You are all so scared! Do you know how many enemy troops there are and what their origins are, so you have to lead the army to take revenge?"
There are only 30,000 people attacking the grain brigade. This is still a branch. How many people are there in the brigade? Thousands of us can't even get through it! Is it revenge or death?!"
Although Usman has just become their leader, this guy has been a fierce bandit in the past and has enough momentum. The generals all shut up obediently and gradually calmed down. This calmness does not matter, it is simply terrifying to think about it...
Thirty thousand is just a branch, so the main force must be at least...100,000? Where did this force come from in the vast grassland?
Soon, they thought of who it was, and Usman slowly said: "It's Xue Yantuo."
"There is no one else except them." Everyone agreed: "In the previous two battles, most of the Turks have died. The remaining scattered tribes are all old, weak, sick and disabled. It is impossible for there to be so many people now.
On the grassland, the only force with so many people is Xueyantuo in the north. When we learned that the Western Turks were advancing eastward, we detected the movement of the Xueyantuo tribe, but we didn't expect that they would have so many people."
Everyone gradually fell silent. If this was the case, the trouble would be really big. Xue Yantuo was originally one of the Tiele tribes, which was formed by the merger of Xue and Yantuo tribes. Initially, in the Tula River Basin of Mobei, it was under the servitude of
Turks. They were originally slaves of the Turkic tribes. After the Turks split into two khanates, the East and West, which attacked each other, Xue Yantuo took the opportunity to move north and escaped from control. Later, the East Turks were destroyed, and some of the remaining tribes fled to the north and were absorbed by Xue Yantuo.
, Xue Yantuo gradually grew, claiming that the tribe had 300,000 people.
Unexpectedly, I thought it was less. Seeing that an army of 100,000 people can be mobilized now, the tribe may have at least 500,000 to 600,000 people.
"It is said that Xue Yantuo and the Turks had a feud, and there was a lot of friction between the two sides, almost becoming a fire and water." A general asked strangely: "How could they risk offending the Tang Dynasty and send a large army to help the Turks?"
Contrary to common sense, the nomadic people are not one family. It is not difficult to understand that the Han people attacked them and then withdrew after the attack. They would not annex their grasslands, nor did they look down on their people. But the differences between the nomadic tribes
The war is aimed at annexing the other side's territory and tribe, so it will naturally go on to the death.
"It depends on whether the benefits are big enough!" Usman has been living in the grassland for half his life and has a very thorough understanding of the thinking of the grassland tribes: "The tribes on the grassland are all hungry wolves. If they don't bite, they have no chance. If there is a chance,
They all bite and won’t let go!”
"Regardless of whether it is possible or not, they have already appeared there." Usman said solemnly: "We must decide how to deal with it immediately, and we can't delay for a moment!"
The generals nodded one after another, and indeed there could be no delay. Dingxiang was in danger now. If Dingxiang was defeated, Xue Yantuo would directly attack Chang'an City. If Dingxiang resisted, the angry Xue Yantuo would definitely turn his spear and attack just now.
The countries in the Western Regions, Qiuci and Gaochang, which had been devastated by war, were their first choice.
The city wall of Qiuci is in ruins, and there are few intact buildings in the city. They have just sent away the Turks, and when they come to Xueyantuo, there are only 5,000 defenders. Even with the support of artillery, they will definitely not be able to withstand it.
"If it doesn't work, let's go?" A general said tentatively; "Let's also go west, let's go find the Marquis. The Marquis must have a way..." The more he talked, the less confident he became. Obviously in such a situation,
He couldn't think of anything Li Mu could do.
"Nonsense!" Usman glared and said, "We don't know the situation over there with the Marquis. Besides, the first batch of grain shipped there is only so much. Can we eat it if we go there again? Besides, there is still such a thing here
There are so many people, and you want them all to die?"
"But, don't we have nothing to do?!" Usually, after being reprimanded, no one dared to say more. But now the general said bravely: "Xue Yantuo's people can only be better than the Turks."
There are many people, but they will definitely not be less than the Turks. We don’t need to fight these people, they just need to besiege us and starve us to death!"
"Look at how cowardly you are!" Us spitted a mouthful of phlegm on the general and cursed: "When I was guarding the city, I never thought about this in your head!" He said with a stern look as he glanced at the generals.
, shouted: "I have a big scar on my head. Whoever wants to leave can leave. Anyway, I won't leave! I want to defend Kucha City, so that if the war goes against me on the front line, the Marquis will still have a way out. If Kucha City
No, when the Marquis withdraws from the desert, he will face more than 100,000 Xue Yantuo's tribe, which will be a dead end. The Marquis treats me well, even if I give my life back to him, it will be worth it!"
Everyone was provoked by him, and they were all bloody men. They couldn't bear it, and they all shouted: "Who is afraid of death? Just defend the city. At worst, we will all be destroyed. We still have gunpowder, so we have someone to support us when we die!"
"Yes, there is gunpowder!" Wusman's eyes lit up and he said: "Dingxiang City also has gunpowder. With this thing, it may not be impossible to defend it. Maybe Xue Yantuo will retreat on his own if the casualties are too heavy to bear."
"Yes, the Turks have all retreated. How many birds does Xue Yantuo have?"
Everyone encouraged each other, as if the Xueyantuo people were local chickens and tile dogs. But in fact, everyone knew in their hearts that even if there was gunpowder, as long as the Xueyantuo people risked their lives, the remaining gunpowder would not be enough to repel the enemy. Unfortunately, they did not know gunpowder.
They couldn't make gunpowder with the formula, otherwise they would have enough Tiger Cannons, and they really wouldn't be afraid of the enemy attacking the city.