Li Tong's patience soon paid off, and the fighter appeared!

Perhaps it was the news of the death of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty that gave the Huns confidence. In addition to staring at Shule City, none of the Huns cared about the safety of their backs, and they did not even send vigilant sentry horses, so it can be said that the defense was lax and the fighters had appeared. On the third day of the ninth lunar month, the wind was high and the moon was dark, which was a good time to kill people and set fires, so Li Tong decided to launch an attack tonight.

The weather in September in the Western Regions is already cold, and at the beginning of the month in this place in the Western Regions, the moon only reappears in the middle of the night, and there is only a round of crooked waning moon, and there is some light on the earth, unlike the first half of the night. Li Tong's team began to assemble before the moon rose, and was ready to be pulled, whether it was a war horse or a camel, all of them were chewed, and the horses' hooves were also wrapped in thick fur. Standing at the front of the team, with a wave of his hand, he led a hundred soldiers of the scout and fire attack team to carry a large amount of fire oil on their backs, and took the lead out of the hidden valley and stepped on the solid Gobi.

According to the scout's report, they still need to march 30 miles in concealment to get out of this uncovered Gobi before they can reach a hidden point on the outskirts of the Xiongnu camp. If the Huns had been spotted on the march and had given a warning, the raid would have been a wasted effort. You must know that Li Tong's Xuanjia cavalry plus his own personal guards has a total strength of only 600 people, while the Huns gathered outside Shule City are 20,000, and the gap between the two sides is too big.

Li Tong was very worried in his heart at this time, and said in his heart, this is gambling! And what he relied on was, first, that the enemy did not know about his existence, and second, the fire oil in his hand, which was purified fierce fire oil, which was very close to the composition of gasoline; Third, Li Tong was very confident in the impact of the new cavalry. A few hundred years later, Li Shimin's 500 Xuanjia cavalry dared to carry Dou Jiande's 80,000 army head-on, and his equipment was better than Li Shimin's Xuanjia cavalry, so there was no reason not to win. As long as the raid team can successfully burn the company camp, the more people, the more likely it is that the Hun camp will be chaotic.

Li Tong's war horse slowly walked in the middle of the group, he let go of the reins, in this dark environment, the eyesight of the war horse is much better than that of people. The cavalry marched at night, relying on the eyesight of the horses. Walking on the vast Gobi Desert, one can see the dark mountains in the distance and the faint fire of the enemy camp in the distance, but they can't see the road under their feet at all.

Outside the city of Shule, Li Tong's troops arrived at the hiding point without danger. The people saw the army of the king of Zuolu Li, and they were standing guard in the wilderness outside the city with open fire. Just looking at the appearance of this group of soldiers, Li Tong felt that he had overestimated King Zuolu Li in the past, and it was already three watches at this time, and the barracks were still lively. What's even more advantageous is that these arrogant Huns are too confident! There were no villages, no scouts, no light and dark sentinels, dense felt tents dotted around, and everyone was huddled in an open field, and dozens of huge bonfires were lit. It was clear from the darkness that the group was drinking.

On the contrary, Li Tong's men and horses are now very quiet, and everyone performs their own duties, making preparations before the battle in an orderly manner. The scouts did choose a good hiding spot, including the war horses, and all the warriors were hidden in a depression in the Gobi, and the Huns would not find out that there were men and horses hidden here unless they were fifty paces away.

Gu Dexin was very excited, and said eagerly: "Captain, the Huns are too lax, when will we start fighting?" ”

Li Tong really couldn't believe that he had such good luck, and he couldn't believe the situation in front of him. Maybe he had too many thoughts, how he looked at it and felt that it was a trap, and he was even more uneasy in his heart. So, Li Tong instructed: "Old Gu, I am still a little unsteady in my heart, and the Huns are too lax!" You send two cautious scouts to scout and see if it's a trap. ”

"Alright! Actually, I don't think it's necessary. Captain, you're too cautious. Goodheart was a little dissatisfied.

"Be careful to travel a 10,000-year-old ship, old Gu, we can't afford to lose. This is a military order, carry it out! Li Tong was resolute.

"Yes!"

Goodheart shrugged and reluctantly agreed. Gu Dexin recruited two scouts, and personally led people to slowly touch the camp of the Huns, although he was full of words, but in the face of so many Huns, he was also a little apprehensive. Therefore, he had to see for himself whether the enemy was deliberately laying a trap. Soon the three of them disappeared into the darkness.

Half an hour later, Gu Dexin brought people back, his face was full of excitement, he didn't speak, just nodded heavily at Li Tong. Li Tong let out a long breath and put his heart in his stomach. He no longer hesitated, and immediately called all the officers above the rank and above to arrange a surprise attack. Everyone was full of confidence, and although there were many enemies, everyone did not take the Huns seriously. On a night when the wind is high and the moon is dark, once the ironclad cavalry of 500 people is charged, it is not at all something that those unprepared Huns can resist. If you can kill the enemy's big single or lead the general, the effect will be better, sometimes the more people in the battle, the easier it is to mess up, in the dark, the enemy will even trample on each other, causing greater casualties.

Thinking of this, Li Tong suppressed his excitement and said, "Brothers! Here's the opportunity to make a difference. Our luck is good, the Huns really think that there is no Han army in the Western Regions, and today we are going to teach them a lesson. Alright, alright! Don't get excited, everyone. This battle must be foolproof, and everyone must be patient. I'm going to attack Youyang. In the second half of the night, the person's brain is not awake and the reaction is sluggish. At that time, the Huns will be more lax, and we will be more likely to succeed. You tell everyone to calm down, take a good rest, and when you will charge, don't drop the chain. “

Li Tong turned his head again and ordered: "Old Gu, you work hard, the fire attack team must be in place in advance." It's a northeast wind blowing tonight, and later you lead the fire attack team to go to the upwind outlet with fierce fire oil to hide and wait, and light the fire on time. Once the fire starts, I will lead all the cavalry here to charge the camp, and after the fire is over, your task is to act as opportunistic as possible, and to stir up as much chaos as possible with the enemy. Do you understand? If this battle is successful, I will give you the first credit. ”

"Don't worry! Guaranteed completion of the task. ”

Gu Dexin grinned, and set off ahead of time with the people, Li Tong's hidden place was a depression, about three miles away from the Xiongnu's tent, which was very suitable for the cavalry to start an attack, and it was also a hidden place, except that no fire could be lit, everyone could walk around casually inside. Gu Dexin and the others soon walked into the darkness, and the rest of the people, except for the ten people who were left to guard the spare horses and camels, all the rest of the people went out to fight the army of the king of Zuoluli. When there was still a quarter of an hour before Yinshi, Li Tong waved his hand, and all the soldiers who were ready to attack got on their horses, and the hooves of the war horses were wrapped in soft cloths, and they walked silently.

When he was still five hundred paces away from the enemy camp, Li Tong raised his hand, and everyone stopped, quietly waiting in the dark for the fire to start in the east, which was the limit of the enemy's bonfire fire. Not long after, a fire flickered from the east, and soon formed a line on the east side of the camp, and the flames suddenly rose five or six feet high, igniting the wild grass around them, and the flames rushed towards the Hun camp like a tidal wave.

Seeing this situation, Li Tong no longer hesitated, he raised the horse lance in his hand, waved it above his head, and then urged the war horse to take the lead and kill the Huns' military camp. Five hundred steps, when the war horses arrived at the barracks, it was the moment of speeding up, and the sound of thunderous horses' hooves woke up the Huns who were guarding, and when they rushed out to fight, the overwhelming herd of war horses had already shocked them to pieces. The shouts sounded, and before the drunken Huns could stand up, they were already trampled into pulp by the horses' hooves.

The war horses, which were fully speeded, trampled wantonly in the camp, the new cavalry scimitars fell, and countless human heads flew up. At this time, there is no need to do a chopping action at all, just need to charge the long knife horizontally between the ribs and charge through the crowd, which will bring a wave of blood. The 500 cavalry were divided into five squads and trampled wantonly in the camp, and after Gu Dexin's arson team lit the fire, it turned into a reserve, and as long as it saw that the Huns there had the intention of gathering, they would charge over with their 100 cavalry and disperse the gathered crowd.

Li took the lead, took the lead in rushing into the Huns' war horses, strangled those dispensable guards with horse lances, and drove a large group of war horses to the dark wasteland. The general of the Huns, Xu Bu, had just gathered some personal guards to guard the king of Zuoluli who was shouting to maintain order, but unfortunately now the Huns were shouting horses and neighing, and there was chaos, and no one listened to his command at all.

At this time, Li Tong's cavalry rushed over with thousands of horses, like a mountain and a sea, a stampede of the horses, and countless Huns fell in a pool of blood. Immediately followed by a rain of arrows from the five hundred cavalry, the Huns who had just assembled were rushed to pieces by Li Tong's cavalry, screaming again and again. Seeing that the situation was not good, the king of Zuolu Li turned his horse's head and ran, and the Hun general Xu Bu was loyal, raised the scimitar in his hand, and sacrificed himself to block the cavalry that rushed over, wanting to buy time for his master to escape.

In the dark, Li Tong's horse lance struck Xu Bu's chest like a whip, and the two-foot-long stainless steel spearhead sank into this guy's chest as a whole, and this guy's chest immediately collapsed, and a mouthful of blood spurted up two feet high, and as soon as his body fell to the ground, a huge war horse's hooves stepped on his head, and the whole head completely burst open like a ripe watermelon.

Li Tong, who broke through the enemy formation, was covered in blood, wielding a horse lance like a demon god, slashing left and chopping, there was no one to join, it was really unstoppable, like a tank rampaging through the camp, five hundred iron horsemen followed closely behind the commander, like a whirlwind to slash and kill the Huns who had nowhere to escape......

Gu Dexin's blood swelled, he led his subordinates to set fires everywhere, and finally came to the perimeter of the camp. They did not participate in the attack, but kept drawing their bows and shooting arrows in the dark, and one after another crossbow arrows "swished" out of the darkness, and the hidden enemy was even more confused. The Huns who were hit by the arrows were desperate to think that there were ambushes in the darkness, and they shouted in fright. There was still the slightest intent to fight, and countless people fell to their knees and shouted for mercy. Those who fell on their knees no longer had arrows to call them, and more wise men joined the ranks.

Although the five hundred Xuanjia cavalry were unstoppable, but after all, the number was still too small, most of the Huns fled into the darkness, Li Tong chased and killed for a while, and after chasing out of ten miles, he returned to the Huns' camp.

Gu Dexin ran over to ask for instructions on how to deal with the prisoners, Li Tong didn't think about it and said coldly: "Clean up the battlefield quickly, and there will be no prisoners left in this battle." Gu Dexin was stunned for a moment, hesitated a little, and then heard Li Tong say: "If it weren't for the fact that this official is thirsty for killing, it would be impossible for us to retreat with so many prisoners." It's only their bad lives to blame. Execute the order. ”

"Yes."

Gu Dexin thought about it, Li Tong also planned to rescue Liuzhongcheng, it was impossible for him to take so many prisoners on the road. More than a thousand captives surrendered their weapons and armor, and at this time, they looked helplessly at the fierce Han army in front of them like lambs.

These people also thought that laying down their arms would at least guarantee that they would not die, and who knew that from the moment they laid down their weapons, they were doomed to death. As soon as Goodixin gave the order, countless feathered arrows flew from all directions, each of which splashed a bloody flower on the captive's body.

The captives cried and screamed for a return to the battle, only to find that they were left with no weapons. When the last captive unwillingly clutched his throat and fell in a pool of blood, the Xuanjia cavalry soldiers gathered together immediately dispersed to clean up the battlefield.

It was a beautiful raid, and in less than an hour, the Huns lost about 5,000 men and horses, and as expected, many of the Huns trampled each other to death, or snatched horses from each other and killed each other. The remaining Huns fled in all directions, most of them into the Gobi. It is estimated that after the king of Zuo Luli reacts and learns the truth, he will definitely be angry and fight back, but it will definitely take time to gather the scattered soldiers and horses.

Li Tong still had a few hours of peace from now on, and they had to clean up the battlefield as quickly as possible, take the remnants of Shule City with them, and then escape into the Tianshan Mountains to cover Geng Gong's troops from the hidden hunter path in the mountains to retreat to Hami to rest. Li Tong also planned to take the Xuanjia Cavalry and take the ancient road of the Rider to attack Liuzhong City to see if he could continue to concoct a miracle.

At dawn, the battlefield had been cleaned, and Goodixin brought back the horses that had been driven away. War horses are different from ordinary horses, they are accustomed to running in groups, even in the event of a sudden attack. The lit tent had burned out, the flames had been extinguished, and only puffs of green smoke were a testament to what had happened here last night.

The pre-dawn battle had already awakened Geng Gong and his men, and there was chaos outside the city, filled with fires and the neighing of war horses. Although Geng Gong judged that reinforcements were coming, he didn't dare to act rashly, first of all, their horses were all eaten, and they didn't know who they were in the dark, and it would be too unjust if they were killed by their own people. Therefore, he did not attack lightly.

When it was dawn, the noise outside the city calmed down. All the defenders stared nervously at the movement outside, and the entire stone city was dead silent. Geng Gong looked into the distance, looked at it for a while, and in the distance, there was indeed a string of torches swimming. In the silence, you can hear the faint sound of people and horses moving, a bit like muffled thunder.

Zhang Qing, who was standing beside Geng Gong, said: "General, last night's movement was not small. You seem to have a lot of reinforcements! I don't know which unit it was. ”

Geng Gong said: "The situation is unclear now, maybe the Huns are deceiving." It's about to dawn, and they might want to kill one of us by surprise, but we'd better be careful. Geng Gong turned to the only two hundred people and said, "Brothers, be vigilant!" Beware of falling for the enemy. ”

"Whoa!" All the sergeants agreed in unison.

It was foggy outside, and it was impossible to see the distance of thirty paces. The torches got closer and closer, all the way to the bottom of the city walls. The soldiers drew their bows and arrows, waiting for Geng Gong's order. At this time, from the light of the torches, a voice came out, soldiers in the city, we are the Han army who has come to rescue you. Hearing this voice, they couldn't believe their ears. Because they really couldn't believe that this was true, and thought it was a plan of the Huns, everyone heard it, but no one responded, including Geng Gong. Not only did they not respond, but they all clenched their bows and arrows, ready to do the last fight.

Li Tong in the team didn't hear the answer, his heart couldn't help sinking, and he shouted more eagerly: "General Geng, I am Captain Li Tong of Hami, I brought Xuanjia to ride." Are there still people in the city? I am Li Tong, and I came to the rescue on the order of Ban Sima. I have already killed the Huns, Hugh will release the arrows! Put down the hanging basket! Wait for me to pass my badge to me. The situation was urgent, and the Huns were only frightened off by me, and they could counterattack at any time. ”

"Li Tong, is it really you? Tell me your little brother's name. Geng Gong is still very cautious.

"General Geng, don't doubt it! I have a little brother named Wan Fu, who used to be your attendant. Li Tong replied loudly.

Geng Gong was overjoyed and immediately ordered: "Sure enough, it's General Li!" Quick, open the gates! ”

There was a burst of cheers on the city wall, Geng Gong personally led a dozen soldiers down the city wall, walked to the city gate, and after pulling the latch together, they stood in a row with each other's support, and a few would fall if they were not pulled by others. Standing in the middle was Geng Gong, his arm around four or five soldiers at the same time.

The gates creaked open. Li Tong saw Geng Gong, saw all the defenders in the city, and when he saw the situation inside, Li Tong felt a sour nose, and tears slid down the corners of his eyes. There were less than two hundred warriors left in the city, all of them with resolute expressions, all of them as if they had been carved out of stone. The clothes on his body were in tatters, and the flesh was exposed in the holes. As far as the eye could see, there were no pieces of leather armor from everyone's armor, and the city was cut off from food, and it was all boiled and eaten, and the strips of rotten cloth were stained with blood and stains. The same goes for the boots on the feet, which can't even protect the toes. Behind them, the banner with the word "Han" written on the head of the city was almost a strip of cloth, but it still fluttered in the cold wind of the early morning.

Li Tong walked quickly in front of Geng Gong, knelt on one knee, clenched his fists and said, "General Geng, we're late." You have suffered! ”

"It's good to be here! It's good to come. How many of you came? Geng Gong picked up Li Tong and asked hurriedly.

"General Geng, including the Xuanjia cavalry, a total of six hundred cavalry." Li Tong replied.

"Six hundred!?" Geng Gong's eyes suddenly widened, and his face was incredulous, "Oh my God! With 600 cavalry, you dare to launch a surprise attack on more than 20,000 Huns. You're too bold! The result? ”

"A big win! The kid has a calculus or an unintentional mind, and burns down the company camp. In this battle, our army beheaded the Hun general Xu Bu, killed 4,700 enemies, captured more than 6,000 horses, and other captures were not counted. The Huns who surrounded the city of Shule, except for those who were eliminated, have now all run away, and it is estimated that when the king of Zuoluli reacts and re-gathers his troops to kill back, it will be at least until the afternoon. General Geng, please retreat with my brothers to Hami. Li Tong replied with a smile.

Geng Gong was already stunned and couldn't close his mouth for a while. But Li Tong asked him to withdraw to Hami, and he was still a little hesitant. Li Tong persuaded him with the principle that "if you lose your land, you will lose both people and land, and if you lose your land, you will lose both your land and your land." Geng Gong also understood that King Zuolu Li had suffered such a big loss, and when he reacted, the Huns' counterattack was certain. The imperial court is now holding a state funeral, and there is no way to send a large army to the Western Regions in a short period of time, rather than letting the Huns break the Han army in the Western Regions, it is better to concentrate troops to stick to Hami and wait for the moment of counterattack after the political situation of the imperial court is stabilized.

So, the two teams converged, selected the best war horses, took the camels, and retreated towards the Tianshan Mountains with one person and three horses. The team of 600 people brought by Li Tong did not suffer much damage. Only thirty-one people were killed in battle, and the wounded were well treated and did not affect the march. Such a victory is very good for the growth of the army. At the very least, there was no longer the pre-war atmosphere of unease in the ranks.

To be honest, even Li Tong couldn't believe that he could achieve such a significant result. When Geng Gong saw the battlefield, he was also shocked. 600 people defeated the 20,000 Xiongnu army, and after killing nearly 5,000 Xiongnu, this Xuanjia cavalry warrior composed of former Han army soldiers and savages from the Western Regions finally had a trace of military consciousness and pride. Unfortunately, a lot of the loot could not be taken with them, especially the horses. It's just too much! The booty that could not be taken away could only be burned, and the horses that could not be taken away were driven to the Gobi, where they were left to fend for themselves and all slaughtered, and Li Tong could not do it. This is also a helpless move.

Every horse and camel carried heavy supplies on their backs, and they trembled on the rugged Tianshan Road, and if they were not careful, they would fall into the cliffs next to them. Since entering the Tianshan Mountains, a real smile appeared on everyone's face, and soldiers began to lead the singing, although the singing was very ugly, but it continued one after another.

Everyone knows in their hearts that the Hun cavalry will not dare to enter the Tianshan Mountains, and if the king of Zuoluli is crazy, he will do so. When the time comes, Li Tong has countless ways to eliminate the pursuers behind. Even Li Tong's cavalry did not dare to enter the Tianshan Mountains easily, and once they entered the vast Tianshan Mountains, the cavalry would no longer have any combat effectiveness at all. War horses are a heavy burden in the Tianshan Mountains, not a necessary product for marching and fighting. According to the military law of the Han Dynasty, it is a felony for a general who dares to bring cavalry into the mountains. Li Tong could only do it this time. After entering the mountain, after losing more than a dozen horses and some supplies along the way, Li Tong's team finally walked on the hidden path that the hunters of the Western Regions scouted for their ancestors in his team.

At this time, it is autumn, and the wild flowers in the Tianshan Mountains are blooming, most of them are extremely brilliant, purple and red all over the ridges, and there are few white flowers. The melted snow water merges into a babbling stream in the mountain stream, and if you look closely, you can easily find some good raw materials for making jade in the stream. In the Western Regions, jade is a very common thing.

In the afternoon, Gu Dexin, who was guarding the mountain pass, came back and reported that until now, the army of the king of Zuolu Li had not appeared......

——————

It was almost dark, and King Zuo Luli finally gathered the rout, regrouped his team, and came to the camp that had been looted by Li Tong's army. The already bleak scenery of the Gobi, coupled with the dilapidated tents and charred wood, half covered by a thin layer of sand, everywhere bloodstained, made the environment even more oppressive. The city of Shule was also empty, and the Han army had long since disappeared.

A weathered trench not far from the camp was about to be filled with layers of Hun corpses. These arrogant cavalrymen in the past are now casually abandoned in the wilderness with all kinds of strange appearances. The wild wolves and vultures, who had never eaten such a sumptuous meal, did not care about the king of the left deer who came with his personal guard, they thought that this was also a group of foragers. There was enough food for all the hungry animals, so they didn't leave.

King Zuo Lu is no stranger to the scene in front of him, and not long ago, he also created several such scenes. But when it was his turn, he really couldn't accept it. Especially when he saw Subu's distorted head, he almost went crazy. King Zuo Lu Li stared at his blood-red eyes, turned his head to look at the captain of the personal guard who was trembling and followed behind him, and roared angrily, "These enemies have taken my armor. ”

The captain of the guard lowered his head to his chest and did not answer, he knew that the king of Zuo Lu Li only wanted to find a punching bag, and he didn't want to become a punching bag of Da Shan Yu at all, but he knew that once he became the punching bag of King Zuo Lu Li, he would die very miserably.

Sure enough, King Zuo Luli did not expect the captain of the guard to give an answer, and continued to roar angrily: "They took my iron spear!" They stole my warhorse! Who is the leading general? I'm going to kill him and skin him. Only in this way can I wash away my shame. Fucking check out, where the hell have these people gone? ”

"Yes, Da Shan Yu!"

The captain of the guard hurriedly left the scene as if he had been granted amnesty.

"Who the hell is this man? Where did this Han army come from? Could it be that the armies of other countries are impersonating? I saw a lot of faces from the Western Regions in that. And their armor is different from that of the Han army. It's unbelievable! At this time, in addition to my Great Huns, whose army in the Western Regions can swallow my 5,000 cavalry overnight? What a shame! I can't even figure out how many enemies there are now......"

In the roar of the Zuo Lu Liwang King, there was finally a little reason mixed in it. At this time, someone had to answer the question of King Zuoluli, and Xu Bu's younger brother Xutu said in a deep voice: "Da Danyu, last night was too chaotic, and the enemy attacked from all directions. Although the enemy launched a surprise attack at the time when we were at our most lax, even so, it would have been impossible to kill more than four thousand seven hundred men in a short time without two or three thousand troops. The Han Dynasty people should not have so many troops in the Western Regions, and our sentinels did not see the Han army out of Yumen Pass. Da Shan Yu, I'm sure this is a Han army pretending to be from a country in the Western Regions. Yesterday, I killed an enemy, and that man looked like the face of the Western Regions. ”

"Who is so daring?" The analysis of the false diagram satisfied the vain heart of the king of Zuo Lu Li, and he asked again: "False diagram, your analysis does have some truth. Then you should check carefully, what country in the Western Regions can swallow Ben Danyu's nearly 5,000 elite cavalry overnight? Help me dig it out, I'm going to kill him! ”

(To be continued)