Zhu Xiejinhai, the commander-in-chief of the Shatuo Army, was also a noble of the Shatuo tribe. He was appointed as the captain of ten thousand men. He was about thirty years old. He was tall and tall, with a green face and a pair of eyes as cold and sharp as wolves. He used a
The sixty kilogram pure copper mace is very powerful and brave, and is a famous warrior in Shatuo.
He is not only brave and good at fighting, but also very smart. He heard that it was a Tang Army cavalry of two to three hundred people. He immediately guessed that this cavalry should be the Tang Army that wiped out the horse bandits in the Hexi Corridor a few months ago.
, they went to Anxi and came from Anxi, they must be going to Jinman County.
Time passed little by little, and the sky gradually turned to dusk, but the Tang army remained silent. A general couldn't help but whispered: "Will the Tang army take a detour to the desert?"
Zhu Xie Jinhai shook his head, "They won't go to the desert, they must be waiting for night operations."
"These Tang troops are very cunning!"
"They are very cunning, and we underestimated them a little bit."
Zhu Xie Jinhai immediately ordered: "Pass on my order, all armies are not allowed to leave their positions at will!"
Time gradually came to the third watch, and the Shatuo army could no longer support the army. However, the Shatuo spies who went to monitor the Tang army received surprising news that the Tang army was missing.
Zhu Xie Jinhai suddenly became nervous. The third watch was when the soldiers were most sleepy. The Tang army chose this time to attack. The timing was very clever.
Zhu Xie Jinhai immediately ordered: "Send the whole army to cheer up, the Tang army has broken through!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a rapid horn sound suddenly sounded from the far south, 'Woo-Woo--'
This was a signal that there was an enemy attack. Zhu Xiejinhai cheered up and shouted: "The Tang army is breaking out in the south and surround them!"
Zhu Xiejinhai guessed that the Tang army would take the southernmost route. If they went the southernmost route, they would not be attacked from either side. It would be the most advantageous position for the Tang army. Sure enough, he guessed it, so he deployed in the southernmost route.
1,500 people were recruited to prevent the Tang army from breaking out from the south.
The trumpets kept sounding, and five thousand Shatuo troops rushed from all directions to the south. A quarter of an hour later, Zhu Xie Jinhai rode his horse to the south and shouted: "Where is the Tang army?"
The commander bowed and said: "We are surrounded by the woods. Just now there were the sound of war drums and the neighing of war horses. Now it has become quiet."
Zhu Xie Jinhai frowned, "Have you sent someone in to check?"
"Several people were sent to see it. As soon as they walked to the edge of the woods, they were shot and killed by Tang Jun inside. Tang Jun must be hiding in the woods."
Zhu Xie Jinhai felt something was wrong. This was different from what he imagined. He thought that the Tang army was breaking out in a large scale and was fighting fiercely with the army to the south. Unexpectedly, it was hiding in the woods, and his generals did not see the large group of enemies.
He immediately gave orders: "Go into the woods and search!"
A thousand Shatuo cavalry formed a circle, held up torches and slowly shrank into the woods, but they never encountered any Tang army soldiers. Finally, when they came to the middle of the woods, everyone was stunned. The torches illuminated the woods like daylight.
I saw three horses in the open space in the middle, and a few war drums and a horn scattered nearby.
But not a single Tang Jun saw this scene. Zhu Xie Jinhai was so angry that he almost fainted. He was fooled. He turned around and gave the commander a slap in the face and cursed: "Open your dog eyes and take a good look, Tang Jun."
Where exactly?"
The captain covered his face and murmured: "But someone is shooting arrows!"
"Idiot, the archer has already left."
When Zhu Xie Jinhai said these words, a tall black figure squatted on the cliff of the mountain in the distance, looking coldly at the Shatuo Cavalry in the woods.
.........
Guo Song used the strategy of diverting the tiger away from the mountain and successfully deceived the 5,000 Shatuo cavalry to the far south, but his cavalry calmly crossed the blockade from the north.
At dawn, the Tang army would soon arrive at Zhangbao to guard the enemy, and Guo Song met them here.
"Nice job!"
Li Ji gave a thumbs up and praised: "Those who are good at fighting without great achievements are talking about a long history!"
"When did you learn to flatter me? Let me tell you, flattering me is useless. I will not promote you."
Everyone laughed, and Li Ji scratched his head and said, "But last night was really exciting. I thought it would be a bloody battle, but I didn't expect that we came here without spending a single soldier."
Guo Song said angrily: "Let's go quickly! If the enemy catches up, there will be no chance."
"You're right, speed up!"
Hundreds of cavalry galloped forward. Half an hour later, Guo Song led his men to Zhangbao Shouchuo. Zhangbao Shouchuo was a military city covering an area of about 50 acres. It was located high up and the terrain was dangerous, which blocked the way to Luntai.
Of course, you can also go around the county from north to south, but the distance will be far.
There are currently 300 Tang troops stationed in Zhangbao. Although the number is not large, it is not easy to capture it due to the difficult terrain. A heavy price must be paid. More importantly, capturing it does not mean that it will be fully conquered.
The Tang army in Tingzhou was wiped out, as well as Luntai and Jinman counties, which were also difficult to attack.
It is precisely because the gains of attacking strong cities such as Zhangbao are not worth the losses, so the Tang army in Beiting always had several peripheral defensive castles.
After shouting for a while, a Tang Army brigade commander came down in a hanging basket, stepped forward to ask a few questions, and suddenly shouted excitedly to the top of the city: "It's the envoy from Chang'an!"
The red flag was waving above, and the brigade commander cupped his fists and said, "Please go up the mountain!"
Everyone rode on horseback along a mountain road and walked up a hillside more than 20 feet high. The gate of the castle was opened, and a general came out with a group of soldiers to greet him. He knelt down on one knee and saluted, "Zhang Bao Guard Capture Envoy Li Jiao meets the envoy."
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Guo Song dismounted and helped him up, "I am the emperor's special envoy. Thank you for your hard work, General Li."
Li Jiao, the envoy guarding the capital, was a little stunned. This envoy was too young!
Next to him, Guo Chongqing smiled and said: "Guo Changshi is the pacifier of the Western Regions appointed by the Emperor, the Chief of the Anxi Protectorate, and the fifth-rank Dingyuan General."
Li Jiao was immediately in awe, "It's disrespectful to hold such a humble position. Please go to the city to rest!"
Guo Song rested for an hour at Zhangbao, calmed the soldiers guarding the city, and understood some of the situation, and then set off for Luntai County. Li Jiao had already sent people to Luntai County in advance to report to his superiors.
Luntai County is today's Urumqi. To be precise, it is located a little north of Urumqi. Starting from the Han Dynasty, the central court stationed troops in Luntai County. Since Tingzhou was a state directly under the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty, a large number of Han people came to the Western Regions, basically
Shangdu is in Tingzhou, so after passing Zhangbao Shouhuo, there are vast expanses of farmland as far as the eye can see, lush and green, as if you have returned to Longyou and Guanzhong.
In comparison, the Tang army in Tingzhou did have a better life than the Tang army in Anxi. Most of the resources in Qiuci were occupied by Tubo and Qiuci Kingdom. The Tang army in Anxi had very few resources, and Tingzhou did not have the ancient Western Kingdoms and was directly under the
The imperial court and the powerful Uighurs did not want to attack the Tang army in Beiting for the time being.
Although Shatuo wanted to destroy the Tang army, their forces were limited. They wanted to occupy the Hexi Corridor, and also occupied Yizhou and Xizhou. It was a bit difficult to attack Jinman County and Luntai County with tall and strong cities, so Tingzhou
The core is still occupied by the Tang army, while the periphery is occupied by the Shatuo people.
There were 4,000 Tang troops in Beiting, 2,000 each in Jinman County and Luntai County. Li Yuanzhong, the military commander of Tingzhou, was in Jinman County, and the chief general of Luntai County was deputy general Yang Xigu.
Yang Xigu is about fifty years old, with a body as straight as a board, a slightly thin body, a serious smile, and his gray beard and hair are full of vicissitudes of life.
Yang Xigu had been notified by Li Jiao in advance. He personally led the generals out of the city to welcome the emperor's envoy. Everyone knelt on the ground.
"Guerrilla General Yang Xigu meets the pacifier!"
Guo Song's position was the director of the Anxi Protectorate, which had nothing to do with the Beiting Protectorate. His Western Regions pacifier was the official position to pacify Beiting.
"General Yang, please get up! Generals, please get up!"
Guo Song only had one imperial edict for Beiting, and it needed to be read out in Jinman County, so it was not easy to get it here.
"Generals, you have stood firm in the Western Regions and preserved the last dignity for the Tang Dynasty. The imperial court and the people of the Tang Dynasty are grateful to you from the bottom of their hearts. The emperor will reward you heavily. I will read out the edict in Jinman County. I can only do this here.
Verbally convey the Emperor's cordial condolences to everyone."
Yang Xigu's usually stern face finally showed a rare smile. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Commander Guo, for expressing condolences to us on behalf of the Emperor. This journey must have been particularly difficult for Commander Guo!"
Guo Song nodded and said: "We went to Anxi first and then came over the Wusun Ancient Road. Apart from the heavy losses caused by flash floods, there were no accidents along the way."
"Please let me enter the city. There is a military camp in the city. Brothers, please go and rest together."
Guo Song then followed Yang Xigu into Luntai County. As soon as he entered the county, everyone couldn't help but exclaimed.