Things were as Zhou Dewei expected, and it didn't take long for the army to retreat down the mountain, and it was only a quarter of an hour at most. launched an attack again, but Gao Xingzhou had already defended Yanmen Pass under the orders of Zhou Dewei.

The Tatars not only returned in vain, but also lost nearly 1,000 people, and nearly 10,000 Tatar soldiers were wounded. However, this casualty did not make the Tatars feel unusually angry.

…… The Great Tent of the Tatar Army...... The gray tent smelled of sheep scratching and the smell of barbecue that whetted the appetite. There's also an oppressive atmosphere.

The slave carefully took the whole roasted lamb, which had been roasted golden brown and had an attractive golden animal fat on the surface, from the stand and placed it on the large silver basin next to the campfire. The cook took the sharp knife handed by the slave and skillfully used the knife to break down the roasted whole lamb. In a few moments, a piece of the fattest piece of mutton had been cut. A slave hurriedly took a fine silver tray and brought it over. Lifting the tray above his head with both hands, he bent over and respectfully delivered it to Ashedna's table.

The commander of the Tatars this time, Ashdena came from the Oghuz tribe, the most powerful of the nine Tatar castes. This time the Tatars sent 113,000 troops, of whom 21,000 were from the Oghhuz tribe. The others were the soldiers and horses of the remaining eight of the nine Tatar surnames and their vassals. The strength of the Oghuz tribe can be seen from here. One surname is already equivalent to nearly twice the power of the remaining eight surnames alone.

The slave gently placed the tray away, and Ashed waved his hand expressionlessly, and the slave immediately bent down respectfully and exited the tent. Asdena drew a delicate little scimitar from his belt, the scabbard studded with delicate silver patterns, and several expensive gems of various sizes that served as the finishing touch.

Asdena slowly pulled the scimitar out of its scabbard, revealing its sharp blade. Asdna slammed the scimitar into the tray, "Bell! The tray made a loud noise, and the tray shook violently, but it was pinned to the table by the scimitar.

Everyone in the big tent couldn't help but be startled by Ashde's action just now, and the chef who was dismembering and roasting the whole sheep almost cut his own hand, and the sharp knife grazed the bones, making a piercing grinding sound. But surprisingly, no one spoke out to scold or scold Asde's neurotic rude actions just now.

Asdena looked up and looked at the cook with a cold gaze, who hurriedly lowered his head and fell to the ground, trembling. It is like a hare lying in front of a male lion, waiting for the lion's judgment in fear.

"Go on!" Ashedna's slightly hoarse voice sounded, and then Ashedna reached out to the tray with an expressionless face, tore out a piece of fatty mutton, and stuffed it into his mouth. But the whole time, Ashedna's face was expressionless, as if he was not eating delicious mutton, but pieces of dry, hard and tasteless wax.

"Poof!" Suddenly, a nobleman in the tent came out, knelt on the ground, and pleaded: "Ashdena, I was wrong! ”

"Oh?" Although Ashdena's tone was slightly surprised, his expression was still like a poker face, and he didn't change much. looked at the soldier kneeling on the ground, as if muttering to himself, as if asking questions. "Are you wrong? Is there something wrong? What's wrong? ”

An old man with a full beard in the tent frowned, and said in a deep voice: "Ashdena, take it when you see it!" ”

Ashid glanced at the old man coldly, and let out a low roar like a lion, "You said you would accept it when you saw it?" And what to do with the surnames of our Tatar warriors? It's obviously a pass that can be obtained without a strong attack, but it actually destroyed this guy who is a little stupider than the stupidest yellow sheep on the grassland! ”

"What do you say you should do? Killed my son? When the old man heard this, there was a deep irony and provocation in his eyes.

Hearing this, a look of annoyance and anger passed through Ashedna's stiff cheeks, but he quickly regained Ashedna's signature poker face. "You won't kill! But the shame of the warriors needs to be washed away with blood! ”

"How much blood does it take to wash it off? No, it should be the surname of the Tatar warriors! It's 10,000! 20,000! It's still 30,000! This is Yanmen Pass, Ashdena, I hope you don't make a fool! The old man also seemed to be angered by Ashdena's words.

The people in the big tent could not help but turn their heads to each other, and they had no problem in fighting. But if the price to pay is too great, it is obviously not what everyone wants. The Tatars are different from the Central Plains, and their tribes, men, women, and children combined, are less than 500,000 people. The death of a strong man is enough for their hearts to ache for a long time.

"No!" Ashdena glanced at the old man deeply, and then glanced at the faces of everyone in the gray and white tent, and a slightly hoarse voice sounded again, "No! Their king, Li Cunhuan, had already rushed over. He will definitely choose to fight us, and when that time comes. I will no longer allow such cowardice to happen today! ”

Speaking of this, Asdea paused, glanced deeply at the nobleman who was still kneeling in the big tent, and said in a deep voice: "Heyer, I hope that in this battle, you will not be cowardly again. Delechin is watching you from heaven! (Delechin: the god worshipped by the Tatars, meaning the god of the sun and the god of fire)"

The nobleman named Huyl obviously couldn't stand the stimulation of Ashdena, gritted his teeth, raised his head and said categorically: "I, Heyle, am willing to swear in the name of my ancestors, if I am not brave enough in this battle!" Then please let me die on the battlefield before anyone else! After death, you will not be blessed by the gods! ”

"I hope you can always remember what you said at this moment on the battlefield!" Ashdena gave Huyler a deep look, said in a deep voice, and immediately buried his head in the delicious roast lamb.

When the old man heard this, his slightly pale eyebrows couldn't help but be tangled together, and he glanced at Ashid with some hatred, and then at his son, but in the end he didn't say anything.

When he returned to his tent, the old man immediately scolded his son Huile. "Why are you so stupid? Don't you see that Ashde's madman is provoking you? In this way, in the next battle, our Möngke tribe will not suffer heavy losses. ”

By this time, Haim had obviously known that he had been beaten by Ashdena's agitation, and he lowered his head and did not dare to reply.

After a long time, Huyl waited for his father to finish scolding, and then he said a little unconvinced: "Father, why are you so jealous of this Ashedna, I don't deny it, he is indeed capable. But if I'm careful, he can't say anything about our Möngke tribe! ”

"You don't understand!" The old man's face turned pale, and he let out a low roar like a wounded beast. Heager was a little frightened by the old man's voice, and couldn't help but take two steps back with a little horror.

The old man was slightly startled by Huyl's movements, and knew that his movements were too amazing. Taking a deep breath, he spoke, "Do you know why the Oghuz tribe is so powerful? It's because of Ashde's madman! He is simply a madman who lives for war, but a madman from hell! ”

When Huyler heard this, his eyes widened and his mouth opened. But in the end, he didn't know what to say, so he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut and prick up his ears to listen to his father say something he didn't know.

"At the age of twelve, Asid was already exposed to the brutality of war. And you'll just pick up a bow and practice it on the target! The old man glared at Huyl fiercely, quite hating iron but not steel.

When Huyler heard this, he laughed awkwardly.

However, the old man seemed to know that his conversation this time was not to scold his son. The subject was immediately changed. "He was leading seven young men his age to herd horses. But they were met by horse thieves, eleven men in all, all young and strong men of the steppe. Asedna's companions all chose to flee, but Asdena did not. Instead, he drew his saber from his waist, raised it above his head, and roared: 'Coward, stand back and get out of the way!' Warriors march! He rode his horse and sprinted against the thief. His companions were all disgraced, and they all charged at the horse thief. ”

"Poor boy!" When Huyler heard this, he smiled sarcastically, "They must have been kicked in the head by a horse, eight children, against eleven horse thieves?" Why hasn't Asderna died yet? ”

Instead of showing the same sarcastic look as his son, not even a hint, the old man showed deep jealousy in his eyes. "Asid was very brave, but bravery doesn't make people so afraid of him! He stabbed the horse in the buttocks with a sharp knife, and the horse charged at the thief like a madman. The formation of the horse thieves was thrown into chaos. Asdna, on the other hand, brought his companions into the midst of the horse thieves who had been overwhelmed by the horses. Killed the heads of seven horse thieves. ”

When Heyler heard this, his eyes widened, and his tongue was a little knotted, and he muttered, "This...... Isn't that all the horses wasted? ”

The old man nodded, as a shepherd on the grassland, how could he not know that doing this could certainly inspire the courage and strength of the horses. However, after this, many horses will die due to excessive blood loss, and some will lose their vitality due to excessive blood loss, and they will have to be recuperated for a long time, and they will not be able to return to their original state. This move really killed a thousand enemies and lost eight hundred.

"That's right, he's so ruthless! That's why when Ashdena grew up, we clashed with him. It's the battle you've heard of. Although our eight surnamed Tatars were victorious, and even forced the Oghuz tribe to refrigerate Ashedna, we didn't expect that today, the monster Ashedna would reappear! A flash of fear flashed in the old man's eyes, the undetailed battle was obviously not an ordinary cruelty, so that the old man who had to destroy the old man still has a deep fear to this day.

When Huyl heard this, he couldn't help but be silent, as if he was also quite afraid of that battle.

…… Yanmen Pass ...... When Li Cunhuan came to Yanmen Pass, a peculiar scene formed outside Yanmen Pass. On one side is an overwhelming tent, countless sheep and horses are looking for food by the water, and shepherds are wielding long whips, full of vitality. The direction of Yanmen Pass is a murderous appearance, and neatly dressed soldiers are seen patrolling at the head of the city all the time.

Killing and peace are a strange combination, but everyone knows that it is only a prelude to a great war.

Li Cunhuan met and rewarded Zhou Dewei and other generals, and before he had time to freshen up, a soldier came to report. It is said that the Tatars have come to the messenger.

When Li Cunhuan heard this, he was stunned, and laughed silently: "It's quite fast!" It seems that Zhenyuan (Zhou Dewei) said that the Tatars were too peaceful during this time, and I am afraid that there is a conspiracy. I just want to compete with the Lone King! As soon as he came, he couldn't wait to send an envoy to ask for battle. ”

When Zhou Dewei heard this, he showed a little disdain, and sneered: "The barbarians are so arrogant! ”

Fu Cunshen also deeply agreed, came out, and said to Li Cunhuan: "Your Highness! These barbarians let the last general come forward and send them away! ”

"Your Highness, there is a personal envoy who has gone out in person! Otherwise, the last general will go to battle, so that he will know the strength of Lu Long's army! When Yuan Xingqin heard this, he also went out to fight.

Li Cunhuan shook his head and said, "I'm afraid the commander of the Tatars is not ordinary. Moreover, he specially sent people to find the Lone King, if the Lone King didn't see him, wouldn't it weaken Lu Long's morale? Not a single messenger dared to see him, how could he greet his army of hundreds of thousands? ”

"Your Highness, this is not a matter of not being able to see it, but such a barbarian, isn't it rude for Your Highness to see you?" Yang Shihou, who did not want to accompany him this time and served as the marching Sima, also spoke out against it.

However, it is not that no one supports Li Cunhuan, and Zhou Yanzhong, who is a military advisor, nodded in agreement: "The art of war has clouds, knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent is invincible." If you lose the number of rites, won't you become the 'benevolent and righteous' Song Xianggong? ”

The allusion of Song Xianggong is known to those who are a little familiar with history. At the beginning, Song Xianggong was the overlord, but the Chu State was not convinced, so he sent troops to fight Song Xianggong. At that time, Song Xianggong's army was camped on the edge of a river, while the Chu people were on the opposite bank. The state of Chu sent a large army to attack Song Xianggong, and his ministers suggested that Song Xianggong attack him halfway. But Song Xianggong said benevolence and righteousness to the minister, saying that it was not benevolent and righteous to do so. When the enemy had crossed the river and was in formation, his minister persuaded Song Xianggong that he should attack while the enemy had not yet formed a formation. But Song Xianggong said that this is taking advantage of people's danger. As a result, he was defeated by the army of Chu in one fell swoop and became the laughing stock of the nations.

When Li Cunhuan heard this, he nodded and said: "What Mr. said is not wrong, there are rude and non-rude in the battle between countries!" If I can win, I don't care if I go to see a woman sent by the Tatars. ”

When Zhou Dewei and others heard this, they stopped persuading.

It didn't take long for two soldiers to half-lead the way, half-surveillance, with a Tatar wearing a mink hat and a tight animal skin robe, to the Chinese tent.

"The villain has seen His Royal Highness King Qin!" The messenger didn't dare to be disrespectful when he saw Li Cunhuan, knelt down on his knees, took out a hardcover letter from his bosom and held it high above his head, and said respectfully.

"Flat!" Li Cunhuan held his hands on the back and said in a deep voice. When he spoke, he didn't forget to glance at Zhu Jilong, who walked up and took the letter. Then the messenger stood up, looking bowed and pleasing to the eye.

Li Cunhuan ignored the messenger, tore open the envelope, and pulled out the letter paper from inside. There are a lot of oil stains on the letterhead, with a strong smell of sheep scratching, which is estimated to be sheep fat. Li Cunhuan couldn't help frowning, but Li Cunhuan was born in the army, and although he didn't like the smell, he couldn't bear it. Unfold the letter and read the words on it carefully.

The letter should have been written by the Tatar commander, not to mention the atmosphere of the literati, but also in a crepe style, which made it quite difficult for Li Cunhuan to read, and he couldn't help frowning again. After about a quarter of an hour, Li Cunhuan roughly understood that after saying a lot of words, he actually meant one. The Tatars asked for a showdown with Li Cunhuan, and if Li Cunhuan won the victory, the Tatars would serve Li Cunhuan as the Khan of the Tatars, but because of the deep friendship with Li Keyong, the Tatars would not help Li Cunhuan attack Hedong, but they would no longer interfere in the affairs of Hedong. However, if Li Cunhuan dealt with other forces, the Tatars would send troops to help in the war.

Don't look at this condition is quite rich, but if Li Cunhuan loses, he will withdraw from Hedong and return all the states and counties he won before to Li Keyong unconditionally, and he will also give the Tatars 100,000 yuan, 300,000 horses of cloth, and 50,000 catties of tea and sea salt.

Li Cunhuan pondered it for a while, and then he knew the intention of dealing with it. If you attack, don't look at the Tatars who have more than 100,000 troops, I am afraid that they will really not be able to capture Yanmen Pass, and in the end they can only make a detour. In the middle of this battle, I am afraid it will take several months. There was only one season left for autumn, and the Tatars had to return to the steppe before the heavy snow came. Otherwise, they will not be able to take care of the herd next year, resulting in the death of a large number of cattle, sheep and horses.

And in less than a fall, it was obvious that Ashdena had no way to defeat Li Cunhuan, so he thought about a battle. In fact, this kind of battle was not uncommon in ancient times, and there were even some who chose to decide the battle by heads-up because the strength of the two sides was equal. For example, Xue Rengui's Three Arrows Dingtian Mountain is one of the typical examples.

Seeing that Li Cunhuan was silent, the generals couldn't help but look at each other, and finally Zhou Dewei opened his mouth and asked, "Your Highness, I don't know what is written in the letter?" ”

Li Cunhuan didn't answer, handed the letter to Zhou Dewei, Zhou Dewei took it, and after reading it, he handed it to others. When the letters were all turned, everyone had read them. Li Cunhuan asked, "What do the generals think?" ”

For a moment, all the generals couldn't help but hesitate, this matter can be said to be very important, and it can be rash there. But it is definitely a battle of success or failure in the east of the river. It is gratifying to be successful, but if it is defeated, it is not ordinary sadness. The most important thing is that now that the Lu Long army still has the upper hand, and cannot afford to take risks in order to gain the allegiance of the Tatars.

I can't help the generals think twice after thinking twice, let alone Li Cunhuan as the commander of the first army.

(To be continued)