In the tent of King Shatuo of Yizhou, Zhu Xie Jinhai came from Tingzhou and asked Shatuo Khan Zhu Xie Jinding for additional troops.
Zhu Xie Jinhai is the biological brother of Shatuo Khan, but he is fifteen years younger than his brother. After Zhu Xie Weiming died a few years ago, Zhu Xie Jinhai became the most popular person to succeed the Khan.
Although he was hit by an arrow on his left shoulder, it did not hurt his muscles or bones. He was filled with hatred and vowed to wipe out the entire Tang army without leaving any one behind.
Zhu Xie Jinding was about forty-five or sixteen years old, but he was in poor health due to excessive drinking and sex, and often fell ill. Everyone said that he only had three to five years left at most.
Zhu Xiejinding looked at his anxious brother and said slowly: "I don't quite understand why you take this Tang army so seriously?"
"Khan, this is the Tang Army who are the envoys of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Once they return to the capital safely, they will definitely encourage the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to attack the Hexi Corridor, which will put huge pressure on us and will not be conducive to our dealing with the Geluolu people.
, we must annihilate them all to make the Tang Dynasty give up its ambition. This is related to the pattern of the next ten years, and we must go all out."
Zhu Xiejinding nodded, "I understand your concerns, but Ge Luolu is under great pressure in the north. I'm afraid I won't be able to spare many troops for you to deal with this Tang army."
"How many troops can your brother give me?"
"Up to three thousand people!"
Zhu Xie Jinhai thought for a while, he could also mobilize troops from Xizhou, and said: "Three thousand people are enough, but brother must ensure that there are heavy troops in Yizhou and cannot let them break out from Yizhou."
Zhu Xiejinding laughed, "Yizhou is where Shatuo's royal tent is. It would be a joke if the Tang army could pass through Yizhou."
"I'm afraid the soldiers will be careless!"
"Don't worry! Since you specifically reminded me, I will continue to give orders. No one dares to neglect my orders. But you should be careful. I don't want to hear about your injury again."
"Brother I will never be careless again!"
Zhu Xie Jinding took out a gold wolf fang and handed it to Zhu Xie Jinhai, "Take away the three thousand cavalry of the fifth account!"
"Thank you, brother!"
Zhu Xie Jinhai said goodbye and returned to his tent. He ordered his deputy general Mo Du to lead 5,000 troops to block the road to the north of Tingzhou. He also ordered 2,000 Xizhou cavalry to join him in Tingzhou. He led 5,000 cavalry to blockade the Tang army to the east.
As a result, the Tang army could only go south. This was the only way left for the Tang army.
.........
Guo Song and his party returned to Jinman County to rest for more than three months, but still did not receive news of the Uighurs' withdrawal from Wusundao. It seems that this is not a temporary deployment by the Uighurs, but a long-term measure.
The idea of returning to Anxi from Wusundao was completely abandoned.
That afternoon, Guo Song came to the Governor's Mansion and found Li Yuanzhong. Deputy Governor Yang Xigu happened to be there too.
"Did Commander Guo still decide to leave?"
"There's nothing I can do if I wait like this. I've thought about it carefully and decided to leave."
Li Yuanzhong and Yang Xigu looked at each other. Li Yuanzhong nodded and said: "Since you have made up your mind, I will no longer stop you. How do you plan to go?"
Guo Song pondered for a moment and said: "I'm afraid it's unrealistic to go due east. I plan to either go north or south. I would like to hear the opinions of the two generals?"
Li Yuanzhong said calmly: "Judging from the information I have, it is probably impossible for you to go north. Zhu Xie Jinhai's 10,000 troops have blocked the north and east roads. In fact, you have no choice but to go north."
southward."
Yang Xigu said at the side: "To the south, you can take the Yinshan Road. There is only one mountain road in Yinshan that can be used by horses. A pass was built at the most dangerous point, called Yinguan. There are cliffs on both sides. It can be said that one man can pass the pass and no one can pass it.
, there are five hundred Shatuo garrison on the mountain, but as long as you pass Yin Pass, you will see Yanji Town on the other side."
Guo Song nodded, "My men also tend to go south."
Li Yuanzhong added: "Actually, General Yang and I also prefer that you go south. We all have experience. You still have a glimmer of hope if you go south, but if you choose to go north, it is almost a hopeless road. You have to go there."
However, there is the triple blockade by the Shatuo people, the Geluolu people and the Xueyantuo people, and there is also the threat of the quicksand in the great desert."
"Thanks for the reminder, I decided to go south!"
........
It was another night with high wind and dark moon, and the Tang army set off again.
Yinshan Road is located in Xizhou, about 600 people away from Jinman County, and it takes the army four days to reach it.
Although Guo Song waited in Jinman County for three and a half months in order to slack off the Shatuo people, he still underestimated Zhu Xie Jinhai's will to become the successor of Shatuo Khan. Zhu Xie Jinhai also had abilities that were difficult for ordinary people to achieve.
This means that you have a strong will and will never give up until you achieve your goal.
For several months, he had been sending secret sentries to monitor Jinman County day and night. When the Tang army and his party came out of Jinman County at night, they were immediately discovered by the Shatuo secret sentry lurking outside the city.
At the third watch, Zhu Xie Jinhai received the news. He was overjoyed and immediately ordered the entire army to assemble.
This time, he also learned the lesson from the Tang army's escape last time, and no longer acted too hastily, but followed the Tang army from a distance.
Three days later, the Tang army entered Xizhou. They had a guide who was a Tang army soldier under Li Yuanzhong and was very familiar with this place.
"Shijun Guo, do you want to make some preparations? It's not that easy to attack Yinguan."
The guide's name is Li Shuang, a Han Chinese from Gaochang County, Xizhou, a very smart young man.
"What do I need to prepare?" Guo Songxiao asked.
"I don't know. The main thing is to be on guard against the rolling logs and rocks above. It's a narrow passage with cliffs on both sides. If the rolling logs and rocks fall down, there's no place to hide. Hey! It's great to take the Wusun Road, but I chose Yin.
Mountain Road.”
Guo Song smiled and asked: "How far is it from Yinshan?"
"It's that big mountain with snow in front of you!"
Li Shuang pointed ahead and said, "Yinshan Road is a mountain col in the middle."
Guo Song put up his hand curtain and looked south, and sure enough he saw a snow-capped mountain peak in the distance. It didn't seem too far away, but he knew that it would still be at least a hundred miles to reach the foot of the mountain.
"Are there many Shatuo troops here in Xizhou?" Li Ji asked from the side.
Li Shuang scratched his head, "There are several thousand Shatuo troops, not as many as Tingzhou. They are mainly concentrated in Gaochang County and are also under the command of Zhu Xie Jinman."
Li Shuang's last words suddenly gave Guo Song an ominous feeling. After two interactions with him, he knew that Zhu Xiejin was a very persistent person. Would he let him go and leave safely?
Guo Song looked around vigilantly. This area was hilly and grassy, and it was easy for troops to ambush around.
Guo Song blew the bone flute, and not long after, Mengzi came flying from the east. Guo Song blew several more hurriedly, which was to tell Mengzi to check the situation around him.
Mengzi circled around and suddenly started chirping rapidly. Now even Li Ji understood. His expression changed and he asked, "Is there an ambush?"
Guo Song's face was very serious, and he nodded slowly, "Mengzi discovered the enemy's situation!"
He immediately ordered: "Stop moving forward and prepare to fight!"
"Woo——"
There was a low sound of horns all around, and densely packed cavalry appeared on the gentle hills in all directions. They were already surrounded.
The number of enemy troops would not be less than 8,000. Guo Song took a deep breath and shouted: "We must break out, everyone follow me!"
Guo Chongqing shouted: "I am in charge of the rear!"
Guo Song nodded, "I'll give you fifty brothers!"
He then said to Li Ji: "Take your soldiers and follow me closely!"
"Brothers, this is a battle of life and death. Follow me and fight out!"
Guo Song roared loudly, clamped his legs on the horse, and the horse galloped out. The soldiers of the Tang army roared and followed Guo Song closely. Guo Chongqing led fifty soldiers behind as the rear.
More than two hundred Tang troops were like sharp swords, stabbing the enemy troops to the south...
Zhu Xiejinhai waited for three full months, and finally waited for this moment. He learned the lesson from the last time and deployed eight thousand Shatuo cavalry. Taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, they laid a dragnet in front of the Tang army. This
In a battle, he is determined to win.
Zhu Xiejin drew his sword at a high altitude and shouted with a ferocious face: "Kill a Tang army and reward him with a hundred sheep; kill a Tang general and reward him with a thousand sheep; whoever kills the chief general will reward him with ten thousand sheep!"
Under the heavy reward, the Shatuo cavalry went even more crazily to kill the Tang army.