After galloping south for thirty miles, Chen Changjie ordered to rest the horses, because all of them were one horse and one person, and if they didn't stop to rest, they were afraid that they would run the war horse to death.

Sitting on the ground and closing his eyes, Chen Changjie recalled today's encounter in the southern part of the Great Dou Tu Valley. Although there were hundreds more people in Dashi, and the soldiers under his command were not timid at all, he was still a little afraid, so that cold sweat oozed from his back.

The previous encounter was largely due to luck, because the big cannibals didn't understand their combat style, so they made rash moves under the light enemy, and if they encountered it again, Chen Changjie didn't dare to guarantee that he would be able to retreat with his whole body.

Suddenly, Chen Changjie jumped up from the ground, as if he had thought of an extremely serious problem.

"Everybody get on the horse, all get on the horse, go now......"

Even the men and horses rested for less than a quarter of an hour, but the soldiers under Chen Changjie's command still mounted their horses and assembled as quickly as possible.

They did not follow the same path and return to Shancheng along the Haomen River, but bypassed a mountainous area and turned to the direction of Menggu.

Huangshui originates in the Menggu Valley, which is actually a mountain range, although it is called a valley. Some subordinates wondered why they had made such a big circle instead of returning directly to Shancheng.

Chen Changjie did not hide it and said bluntly:

"The Great Cannibals suddenly suffered a loss, so they hurriedly withdrew, but after they found out that we were only a lone army, they would definitely rely on the advantage of their strength to turn to pursuit. These people are at least one person and two horses, and when it comes to long journeys, they must not be their opponents, and if they are caught up, it is difficult to say who will win and who will lose......"

After bypassing the Menggu, further south is the Liehai, the big cannibals are not familiar with the terrain around the Hehuang, and will not be able to catch up in time, so they can return to Shancheng along the Huangshui River through Suirong and Lindu.

If the big cannibal pursues directly in the direction of Shancheng, he will not continue to pursue rashly for a maximum of fifty miles, after all, it is already very risky to go deep into the land of Longyou River with more than 1,000 people, and at most pursue to the north bank of Huangshui, and then return to the Great Dou Tu Valley.

At this time, it was the height of summer, and the wind in the scorching sea was still slightly cool, and there was a slight smell of fishy salt. Chen Changjie was originally born on the shore of Jimo Sea, and grew up in the waves in the sea since he was a child, but his husband sacrificed his life to serve in Rong, if he didn't get ahead, how could he still have the face to return to his hometown?

The slightest bit of homesickness because of the scorching sea was quickly shattered by the cruel reality. The total number of border troops in the entire Longyou Land did not exceed 20,000, and they were all scattered all over the place, and the 5,000 people under his command were already the largest force.

Walking forward is an abandoned stockade, looking at the scale is not large, the cavalry did not stop galloping past, here was once a town army set up by the imperial court on the shore of the Burning Sea, called the Shenwei Army. Although, the name of this border army is very powerful, but I am completely sorry for this name.

Last year, when Tubo invaded Guanzhong through the bottom of the Hehuang Valley, the town troops along the way had basically been wiped out. The Shenwei army had 3,000 soldiers, most of whom had fled, and a small number had been collected by Chen Changjie as his subordinates.

Therefore, nearly 30% of the 5,000 soldiers and horses stationed in Shancheng by Chen Changjie were the remnants of the army in various towns.

The largest army stationed in Shanzhou was the Zhenwu Army east of Chiling, that is, Shibao City.

It's a pity that the Zhenwu Army built by Ge Shuhan was also vulnerable in front of the Tubo people, and it was even inferior to the small-scale town armies such as Shenwei and Suirong, which actually defected and surrendered to Tubo.

When it came to these, there was no one in the Longyou army who was not filled with righteous indignation.

At sunrise the next day, the group finally saw the city wall of Shancheng and the Tang Army battle flag fluttering on the city's head, which made them feel extremely reassured.

……

Yusufuton was on the bank of the river, his eyes crossed the water, and he could faintly see the city wall on the south bank, and he couldn't understand why the non-stop pursuit all the way failed to catch up with the fleeing Tang soldiers.

According to his speculation, it was most likely a detour.

Yusuf secretly felt that Tang Bing's general was a cunning fox, and he could actually guess what he was thinking.

This big cannibal nobleman showed a rather playful smile on his face, and he was even secretly thinking that if the Tang Dynasty also had such a cunning general in Anxi, a plate of scattered Anxi Tang soldiers would not collapse like rotten wood.

"Withdraw your troops!"

He believes that there is no need to cross the river at this time, and now that he has discovered the reality of the Tang soldiers south of the Qilian Mountains, he can naturally return to Hexi calmly.

According to Yousufu's judgment, the Tang Dynasty was in Longyou, at least in Shanzhou, and the soldiers and horses were stretched, otherwise how could the defenders of Shanzhou sit back and watch them calmly reach the north bank of Huangshui?

The lack of movement in Shanzhou City on the other side of the river was itself a manifestation of the lack of strength of the Tang soldiers.

When the army was sent from Khorasan, Yusuf's ears were filled with warnings about how powerful the Tang Dynasty was, and even Abbas, the governor of Khorasan, had personally warned that the Tang people in the east must not be taken lightly, otherwise they would probably lose the battle.

Abbas once participated in the battle of Talas ten years ago, he witnessed the fierceness of the battle between the two armies, and said more than once in front of his subordinates that if it were not for the betrayal of the Grolus, the Tang soldiers would not necessarily be defeated, although the warriors of the Great Food were brave, but the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were not bad, but luck fell to the Great Food, and the Tang Dynasty could only swallow the bitter fruit of defeat.

Yusuf also received important news from Abbas, the governor of Khorasan, that the Tibetans had been enemies of the Tang Dynasty for many years, so long before the expedition, Abbas had already sent an envoy to form an alliance with the Tibetans to jointly deal with the Tang Dynasty.

According to the time calculation, the envoy must have arrived in the city of Raksha almost early. But why has there been no movement on the part of the city?

Of course, in Yusuf's opinion, it was better for the Tubo people not to react, and he could monopolize the credit for this Eastern Crusade to destroy the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, returning to the west with the success of a great victory, Abbas's position as governor of Khorasan will probably be ceded to him.

Yusuf had already vaguely seen that he was about to take the position of governor of Khorasan.

In fact, although Abbas had participated in the defeat of the Tang soldiers in Talas, he was a coward and indecisive, and Yusuf had already sent people to bribe Ctesiphon's high-ranking officials before he sent troops to force Abbas to leave Khorasan.

Now, the Crusade is Yusuf's stepping stone, and if you succeed in defeating * again, everything will be within reach.

Therefore, Yusuf is cautious and cautious, just to not make mistakes.

After crossing the Qilian Mountain again and passing through the Great Dou Pull Valley, it was already a day and a night later.

At this time, an envoy from the Tuqi Shi people rushed to report that Liangzhou City had been captured!

This result surprised Yusuf a little, with his understanding of the Tang Dynasty's defense of the city, even if it looked low, the small earthen city was still able to hold on for ten days and a half with a tenacious will to fight.

Now, the siege of Liangzhou is only three days and two nights, how can it be captured so quickly?

However, the capture of Liangzhou City was downright good news for the Great Food Alliance in any case. Moreover, after discovering the reality of the Tang soldiers in Shanzhou, Yousufu gave up the battle plan of ambushing and attacking at the northern foot of Qilian Mountain, and instead attacked the east of Liangzhou.

The Tang Dynasty had a large number of town troops on this line, and although the hoarded grain and grass were scattered, they were not a few, and if they could all be grabbed, they could definitely reduce the supply pressure of the coalition army.

Back at the barracks outside Zhangye, Ponteler had also rushed back, and with the excited faces of the people alone, Yousuf could see that the battle of Liangzhou was indeed a complete victory.

From Pontel's mouth, Yusuf learned that the defenders in Liangzhou City actually surrendered without a fight, and although the defenders in the city were not many, they also reached 5,000 and still had the ability to fight, so they surrendered hastily, indicating that the morale of the Tang Dynasty's border army was far lower than rumored, and even on the verge of collapse.

As for the strong resistance of Zhangye City, Yusufu believes that there are officials sent by the central government of the Tang Dynasty in the city, and the families of these officials are usually hostages in the capital, because they cannot involve their families by surrendering except for fighting to the death.

This is similar to the officials sent by the Great Food to various places, and in order to maintain sufficient influence over the local officials, this is often the least costly and costly method.

Yusuf felt that the plan for besieging the city and sending reinforcements could be changed, and since the Tang Dynasty did not have a garrison in the southern part of the Qilian Mountains, why bother? It was better to raise troops and kill them directly to see where the Tang army's troops were hiding.

Thinking of this, he immediately conveyed the military order to all armies to build large weapons for siege as soon as possible.

……

Miao Jinqing stood at the head of Zhangye City more than once, but he was extremely depressed tonight, because he had just learned a depressing news that Liangzhou City had fallen.

The strength of the Great Food Army was not enough to surround the entire Zhangye City, so there were still people who could find an opportunity to enter and exit the siege in order to pass on the news.

This news can't spread in the city no matter what, otherwise the morale of the army will be further damaged, and Zhangye City can hold on for a few days, and he doesn't dare to guarantee it.

"When will the soldiers and horses of the imperial court arrive in Hexi?"

This is what all the defenders of the city desperately want to know, but unfortunately they don't know that a great battle of unprecedented cruelty is about to begin. The vast majority of the generals and soldiers in this important town in Hexi will not see the day when the imperial court reinforcements arrive.

"Fujun, it's late at night, hurry up and rest, you have to ...... tomorrow morning"

Miao Jinqing's assistant persuaded him to rest earlier, this Miao Fujun is the backbone of Zhangye City, if he is tired, it will really be the end.

"Take a walk around and see how well the garrison on the walls is doing!"

Before resting every day, Miao Jinqing would walk around the four walls of Zhangye, which would take at least an hour, but he always took the trouble and worked tirelessly.