Chapter one hundred and ninety-ninth trapped in siege
That night, the soldiers had a hearty meal of wild boar meat, and each of them got an extra sheepskin as a bedding, which was also a small benefit for the army.
Early the next morning, the army packed up and set off for Jinman County, thirty miles away. From Luntai County to Jinman County there were oases, with large wheat fields and endless forests everywhere. Here was the Beiting Tang Army.
Controlling the last piece of land is also the core of Tingzhou, with gurgling streams and numerous small rivers. To the north is the vast desert, and to the south is Tanman Mountain, a branch of the Tianshan Mountains.
It was not easy for the Tang army in Beiting to retain such a foundation. In addition to fighting to the death with the Shatuo people, it was also related to the ambiguous attitude of the Uighurs. They also needed the Tang army to resist the Tubo invasion from the north, and they also needed the Tang army to contain them.
The rise of the Shatuo people is of course related to the eastward expansion of the power of the other wolf, the Geluolu people.
Jinman County is the prefectural government of Tingzhou, just like the provincial capital today. The city area is obviously larger than Luntai County, the population is larger than it, and the business is better than Tingzhou.
Outside Jinman County, Guo Song officially read out the decree of Emperor Li Yu, promoted Beiting garrison envoy Li Yuanzhong to be the protector of Beiting, made the third-rank champion general, conferred the title of Duke of Yi, and Yang Xigu was made the deputy capital.
He was granted the title of General Yunhui and was given the title of Duke. The rest of the soldiers were promoted to three ranks and were rewarded with numerous fields and silk. For a time, the soldiers shouted "Long Live Long Live" three times and shed tears of gratitude.
Li Yuanzhong is about sixty years old. He is a skinny old man. He suffered numerous injuries when he was young and left too many hidden dangers. As a result, he is not in good health now. His beard and hair are all white, and his speech is weak. It can be seen that he does not have the appearance of a long life.
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Compared with Yang Xi, who has a stern face, Li Yuanzhong always smiles, making people feel amiable.
In the military office of the Beiting Protectorate, Li Yuanzhong carefully explained the current situation to Guo Song.
"Actually, what we are most worried about is the Uighurs. We have always called the Uighurs the Smiling Tigers. They keep saying that they are brothers to the Tang Dynasty. But if it hadn't been for their full support, how could the Shatuo people who were originally trampled under our feet rise up like this?
So fast. In the final analysis, it is the Uighurs who really want to destroy us. However, they are still fighting with the Tubo people to the west of Congling and have no energy to take care of Beiting. Once their war with Tubo is over, they will not care about Anxi and Beiting.
They will all encounter huge crises at the same time.”
Guo Song pondered for a while and said: "Is it possible for the Beiting Army to leave a way out for themselves, such as Dunhuang? Once the situation in Tingzhou becomes critical, the soldiers and civilians will move to Dunhuang."
Li Yuanzhong nodded and said: "Guo Shijun and I thought of going together. I have sent people to Shazhou several times to contact us, but to no avail. I don't know if it's because Shazhou's attitude was unclear or because the letter was not sent at all.
"
"It should be the latter!"
Guo Songdao: "We passed through Shazhou when we came here and talked with the heads of the two wealthy families. They are very much looking forward to the Tang army stationed there. If the soldiers and people of Tingzhou move there, they will be happy!"
"If that's the case, it would be best if we also have a way out."
When the two talked about the future, they both became very pragmatic and frank. Guo Song added: "I don't know if the imperial court will send troops to Beiting. Under extremely unfavorable conditions, how long does Li Duhu think the situation in Beiting can be sustained?"
"
Li Yuanzhong said lightly: "I think about this issue all the time. The battle between Tubo and Uighurs to the west of Congling has been going on for ten years. I heard that the Uighurs have the upper hand. I estimate that the war will be over in a few years. Once the war ends
, Uighur and Tubo will all turn back to attack Anxi and Beiting. My personal judgment is that as early as five years and as late as ten years, Beiting and Anxi will face the final disaster of life and death."
Guo Song was speechless, history is indeed like this.
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After resting for two days in Jinman County, Guo Song completed his mission. Next, he had to return to Chang'an to reply and report the situation in Anxi to the emperor in detail. Guo Song's biggest wish was to persuade the emperor Li Yu to send troops to Suzhou and Guazhou.
, open up the front line to Dunhuang.
That night, Guo Song's army quietly left Jinman County and headed towards Yizhou.
Just as Guo Song led his army to leave Jinman County, several spies of the Shatuo Army who were ambushing outside the city discovered their traces and quickly ran eastward.
After marching all night, the Tang army had left Jinman County for more than a hundred miles. The wheat fields had long since disappeared and were surrounded by rivers, forests and large tracts of pasture.
The sky was getting brighter, and Guo Song saw a small river not far away on the left, so he said to the soldiers: "Go to the river and rest for half an hour!"
The soldiers led their horses to the river to drink water. The soldiers sat on the grass and took out dry food and water bottles. Their dry food was flour cakes prepared by the Tang army in Tingzhou, and dried meat marinated in salt.
Guo Song also had the same dry food. He had just taken a few mouthfuls of noodles when a rapid chirping sound suddenly came from the sky.
This was the cry of Mengzi, but there was something wrong with the sound. Guo Song raised his head and looked at the sky, only to see Mengzi circling rapidly above his head, chirping loudly.
This was the uneasiness that Mengzi would show when he felt in danger. Guo Song suddenly felt something was wrong and shouted sternly: "There is enemy situation, all soldiers mount their horses!"
The soldiers ignored breakfast and got on their horses one after another, holding short spears in hand, and quickly lined up. At this moment, a large group of Shatuo cavalry, about seven or eight hundred people, suddenly came out from the woods three hundred steps away on the left.
They spurred their horses to gallop with murderous intent.
"Li Ji, you come to command the battle!"
Guo Song shouted, but he was observing the situation to the east and west, and his intuition told them that they might have entered the encirclement of the Shatuo people.
I saw two black lines appearing on the east and west sides. They were surrounded by the Shatuo people from three directions.
"The first brigade is facing the front, and the second and third brigades are preparing to cover from both sides!"
Li Jigang issued the order, but Guo Song hurriedly ordered: "Cancel the battle, cross the river and retreat south immediately!"
In the Eagle Attack Army, Guo Song's order was the highest order, completely surpassing Li Ji's. When the order came out, several brigade commanders immediately shouted, "Retreat south!"
The cavalrymen turned their horses and ran towards the river. Li Ji was annoyed and rushed up and asked: "Why retreat? We can completely destroy less than a thousand enemy troops!"
Guo Song said coldly: "Look both ways!"
Li Ji turned his head to take a closer look, his expression suddenly changed, and he accelerated his horse towards the river.
Guo Song somewhat admired the enemy general's strategy. He first used seven or eight hundred people to attract him to fight, but the main force surrounded him from both sides. If he hadn't made a quick decision, he would have been surrounded this time.
But Guo Song knew that they were far from out of the crisis. Since the enemy had laid a trap, it would not be so easy to escape.
Sure enough, after the Tang army rushed across the river, a group of seven to eight hundred Shatuo cavalry also came from the south. The Tang army could no longer get rid of it and had to fight them.
The two armies suddenly collided, and the powerful Tang Army cavalry instantly overturned dozens of Shatuo Cavalry. The Tang Army's soldiers were strong in coordination, formation, and personal martial arts, while the Shatuo Cavalry also had advantages. They had outstanding equestrian skills, and the soldiers were generally brave.
The two sides fought fiercely for several rounds, and the Tang army also suffered casualties. At this time, the Shatuo cavalry behind them also came to kill. The Tang army had to divide its forces to fight. 1,500 Shatuo cavalry instantly surrounded more than 270 Tang legionnaires.
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At this time, Zhu Xie Jinhai also led more than 3,000 cavalry to the river. Zhu Xie Jinhai looked a little proud. Unless this cavalry was permanently stationed in Tingzhou, they would not be able to escape his grasp as long as they left.
Zhu Xie Jinhai's judgment was accurate. He knew that this cavalry came from Chang'an and was not a supporting army, but should be an envoy from the Tang Dynasty. After completing its mission, it would soon return to Chang'an.
So he ambushed more than a dozen spies on all sides of Jinman County, waiting for the cavalry to leave.
As expected, he predicted that this team of envoys would leave after only two days. In order to completely annihilate this Tang army and avenge the horse bandits in the Hexi Corridor, he set up a dragnet more than a hundred miles away in Jinman County.
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Guo Song was extremely calm at this time. As the coach, he first considered breaking out and not fighting the enemy to the death with the courage of an ordinary man.
While the enemy's main force had not yet crossed the river, he immediately ordered: "Breakout to the southwest!"
He had long discovered that the enemy's troops were more powerful in the east and less in the west, and more in the north and less in the south. This was also related to the direction of the Tang army. The troops in the southwest were relatively weak, with less than 500 cavalry.
Guo Song took the lead, swinging his halberd to slash left and right, causing rivers of blood and corpses everywhere he passed. No one could reach him. He killed dozens of people in a row and broke through the Shatuo people's southwest defense line. The Tang army launched a massive attack.
He broke out of the siege with anger.
However, Guo Song found that Li Ji and several soldiers at the rear were surrounded again. He turned around and fought back, cutting a bloody path and shouting to Li Ji: "Follow me to break out of the encirclement!"
Li Ji led three soldiers and followed Guo Song to break out of the siege and rush toward the southwest.
Zhu Xiejinhai did not expect that the Tang army could actually break out of the encirclement. He realized that he had underestimated the enemy, and he couldn't help but became angry and ordered: "Hunt them!"
More than 4,000 Shatuo cavalry pursued the Tang army closely.