On the way, Li Ke counted the people in the moonlight, he didn't know, and he was a little frightened! What's going on? The Ya'er Army, which he has worked hard for many years, has more than 7,000 people who have fallen on Yao'er Ridge, and now there are less than 15,000 people in the family. Li Ke was extremely depressed, and repeatedly asked himself in his heart: Li Ke Yong, Li Ke Yong, when did you fight such a?

Indeed, this is the first defeat of the invincible Li Keyong since his debut. He naturally thought of Xiang Yu in the battle of Yao'erling, Guan Yunchang in Maicheng, and Xue Rengui in Dafeichuan...... How similar to Nell!

Seeing that it was getting late, Li Keyong found a hidden place to set up camp. Early the next morning, we set off for the Xiongwu Army.

When he went to Xiongwu City, Li Keyong was dumbfounded, and the city tower was full of Lu Long's banners. What hasn't changed is a red Tangzi banner, standing in it, telling people about her loneliness.

Lu Longjie made Li Keju stand at the head of the city, and said happily: "Brother Keyong, don't come unharmed, the foolish brother has been waiting here for a long time." ”

Li Keju's ridicule made Li Keyong angry. Then he ordered the siege of the city, and he must take back the Xiongwu City! The generals wept one by one: the siege equipment was thrown on Yao'er Ridge, what kind of siege should they take? Kang Junli said: "My lord, for the sake of today's plan, we should rush to Ulzhou as soon as possible to join Lord Lingzun to avoid being broken by the officials and troops. ”

Li Keyong shook his head again and again after hearing this, and said: "Ulzhou Yuer, guarding this lonely city and having no reinforcements outside, isn't it self-imprisonment?" This is a taboo for soldiers. ”。 Li Ke, who has always been confident and resolute, is a bit of a mother-in-law this time, and he has no idea.

Just as they were hesitating, the sound of galloping horses came from behind. Li Ke thought about it, it must be Han Xuanshao's guy who followed up again. Ordered to prepare for battle. The sound of horses' hooves drew closer, and the dust raised obscured the sky. That's right, it was him.

The city gate opened, and Li Keju led a large group of men and horses out of the city - dumplings are coming!

If this was in the past, the Raven Army would not have taken the Lu Long Army, which had more than twice the number of troops than itself, in the past. However, today is different, after several internal disintegrations and yesterday's Yao'erling defeat, both the morale and combat effectiveness of the Ya'er Army have been greatly reduced, and they have fallen to the lowest point in history. And Lu Longjun is just the opposite, and he is in full swing! Seeing that he was making dumplings again, Li Ke sighed with his head to the sky: "Woohoo! Heaven destroys me. ”

In this open field outside the city of Xiongwu. The two armies launched an earth-shattering cavalry Armageddon!

Almost at the same time, tens of thousands of Han and Han troops of Li Zhuo and Helian Duo besieged the city of Ulzhou. Li Guochang only had more than 2,000 defenders in his hands, and there was a huge disparity in the strength of the two sides, and there was also a large number of non-combat groups in the city, the Zhu Xie family, which needed to be protected. At this moment, Li Guochang felt a psychological pressure that he had never felt before. He stood on the tower of the city and looked at it, as if he was crying out from the heart: "Keyongwu'er, where are you?" Come on! ”。

Li Keyong is really here.

Only more than 3,000 men and horses were left behind Li Keyong, and about 10,000 knights of the Raven Army fell on the ground outside the city. Lu Longjun also suffered a lot of losses, killing 10,000 enemies and losing 8,000 himself. So I took it when I saw it.

Li Keyong led the 3,000 tired army and stormed the besieging government army like crazy. Li Guochang on the tower of the city saw it clearly, he was experienced in a hundred battles, and he didn't need others to teach him the skills of fire. He reacted quickly. poured out of the nest and protected hundreds of dependents to break through.

When the two mourning armies meet, they roar like a flood. Break through the embankment and rush out! They went all the way north. After walking out of the land for about 100 miles, he stopped to rest. Li Ke counted the number of people. In addition to the dependents of the elderly, weak, women and children, the main members are only Li Guochang, Li Kening, Li Kerang, Gai Yu, Xue Zhiqin, Li Cunzhang, Kang Junli and more than ten others. The rest of the men and horses died and scattered, and there was not much left. Li Ke faced the reality with great frustration: the Crow Army was completely annihilated! This kept him awake at night......

The group continued north, over the Great Wall. To the north, it disappeared into the unfamiliar, vast Yin Mountain.

The government army won a complete victory, and the good news reached the Beijing Division, and the Son of Heaven Li Yi was overjoyed and issued an imperial decree to commend him. The main figures who made great contributions to the annihilation of Li Keyong's rebels were all promoted: Li Zhuo was appointed as the envoy of Heyang Jiedu, Helian Duo was the assassin of Yunzhou and the defense envoy of the Datong army, Bai Yicheng was the assassin of Ulzhou, Mi Haiwan was the assassin of Shuozhou, and Li Keju was also the provincial servant of Menxia.

Among them, the biggest winner is Helian Duo, Li Zhuo's position as the former servant is the same as that of the Jiedu envoy, and the concurrently served by Li Keju is just a fictitious title. Only he, Helian Duo, jumped to become the defense envoy of Datong and sat in the seat that Li Keyong wanted to sit in even his dreams.

Helianduo was happy, but there was always a little unsteadiness in his heart. He lay on the bed tossing and turning, thinking: The whereabouts of the bandit leader Li Keyong are unknown, and there has been no news for more than a month, which has become a mystery like the "lost Malaysia Airlines passenger plane". He must be found, to see people in life, and to see corpses in death. Otherwise, how can I sleep peacefully?

So, he sent scouts (scouts) to investigate...

"In the Qin period, the bright moon and the Han period, the Long March has not been returned. But to make the dragon city fly will not teach Humadu Yin Mountain. Wang Changling's poem "Out of the Stopper" shows us a magnificent picture of the Han nation's anti-aggression war, and also highlights the unique strategic position of Yinshan since the Qin and Han dynasties.

Yin Mountain, which lies north of the Great Wall, has an average altitude of 1,500-2,300 meters and stretches for more than 1,200 kilometers. Its eastern section is in the north of Hebei Province, here is the land of ancient Yan and Zhao, and several Great Walls have been built in various historical stages from Spring and Autumn to Qin, overlapping and overlapping, and some are built on the backbone of the Yinshan Mountain Range. The western part is in the middle of a vast, inaccessible desert. Therefore, the middle section of Yinshan has become the only way for nomadic cavalry to invade the Central Plains.

The Tang Dynasty's extermination of the Eastern Turks, Xue Yantuo, and the destruction of the Turks after the Tang Hui (Su) coalition army were mostly attacked from the middle of the Yin Mountain. Now that the Uighurs have died out, the Khitan has not yet grown, and the Yinshan Mountains have suddenly become much quieter.

Yinshan is 50-100 kilometers wide from north to south, the southern slope is steep, the northern slope is relatively gentle, and the mountain is full of green grasslands. As sung in the folk song of the Northern and Southern Dynasties "Eilechuan": "Eilechuan, under the Yin Mountain, the sky is like a dome." Caged four wilds. The sky is vast and the wilderness is vast. The wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep low. ”

In the north and south of the Yin Mountains and in the mountains, there are many Tatar tribes of different sizes. The Tatars are said to be the ancestors of later Mongols. They live here as nomads and hunters, and are free and free.

In the winter and October of the first year of Guangming (880), the first snow in the Yinshan Mountains came earlier than before. The empty valley seems to show no sign of life, except for the snow and a few domed yurts scattered here and there. In the distance, a group of uninvited guests gradually appeared, which was a cavalry detachment of more than ten people. They wore Xianbei clothing and armor. Waist sword. Who are these people? What are you doing here?

Suddenly, countless Tatars emerged from all directions, armed with scimitars, bows and arrows, and surrounded the group at the core. The head of this cavalry detachment, a lieutenant (the title of the first-class commander of the Tang Army), said: "Please take us to your chieftain, there is something important to discuss." ”

They followed the group of Tatars to a large, luxurious white tent surrounded by sentinels. When one of them went in to report it, he came out and said, "The Great Khan has an order." Ask the captain to come in and speak. ”

After the lieutenant entered, he reported to the chief and all the leading figures: "I am ordered by the Tang Datong defense envoy Helian Duo to come to your place to offer condolences. With that, he high-fived him twice. A few people came in from outside, carrying heavy items such as silk and gold on the table.

"It's just a small courtesy, and I hope to accept it."

The chief grabbed a gold ingot in one hand. He opened his mouth and bit it hard, then looked at the teeth marks. Joy in the shape of color, talking to himself: "Well, the color is good! ”

His eyes moved to two "beauties", which were two colorful porcelain sculptures - ladies on horseback and holding polo sticks. The body is plump and lifelike, bringing people infinite reverie. The eyes of the Tatars present were straight. Someone asked, "What is this, is it worth it?" ”

The lieutenant said: "This is a kind of pottery called 'Tang Sancai', and the imperial court often gives it as a gift to foreign guests. ”

The chief nodded and said, "Oh, good, good, good! ”

The lieutenant said, "There is a better one, Great Khan, please see." He carried four porcelain bowls and placed them carefully in front of the chief. The heads of the people present also stretched their necks one by one to look, but they saw that the porcelain bowl was crystal clear, white and blue, and warm as jade. These outsiders have never seen this, and their saliva is about to flow out.

The lieutenant gushed as a commentator: "This is called shadow celadon, foreigners call it fake jade, produced in Changnan Town, south of the Yangtze River. In the West, that is, in Europe, only princes and nobles could own this shadow celadon, and its market price was several times that of gold. ”

Hearing this, the chief seemed to think of something: "Aa, Marshal Helianduo sent me such a valuable gift, there must be something important that I need to help with, say, what's the matter?" ”

Only then did the captain take out a handwritten letter from Helendor's bosom and present it. The chief unfolded the letter and looked at it, and unconsciously gasped: "Is this Li Keyong the Shatuo man, with one big eye and one small eye?" ”

"Exactly, exactly."

"I heard that this person is extraordinary, I think, how can he dare to rebel without two brushes? It was not an easy task to arrest him. ”

"The Great Khan doesn't have to be filtered, didn't Li Keyong's army just be wiped out by our Helian Duo Marshal? Now, even if he is a colorful tiger, it is also a tiger that falls into Pingyang......" As soon as the words came out, the captain consciously lost his words, and when he saw that the chief and everyone present looked like nothing happened, he coughed twice and then said: "And a tiger that falls into Pingyang is not as good as a sick cat!" The ancients said, 'On the side of the couch, you will not allow others to snore.' 'In your territory, once the power of Li Ke forms a climate, it will be very disadvantageous to you of the Great Khan! ”

When the Tatar chief heard this, he couldn't help but secretly clench his fists, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. He said to the lieutenant, "Go back and wait for my good news." ”

The Tatar chief then added: "It is a long way back, and it is snowing, so rest here for two days before you go." ”。 So, the uninvited guest returned to Yunzhou the next day to resume his life.

I sincerely admire this unknown captain (whose name is not seen in the history books), what a talent! Even Su Qin and Zhang Yi are nothing more than that, right? Heliando didn't choose the wrong person. Having said that, will Helendor's plan to bribe the Tatars to capture Li Keyong succeed? Is it a meat bun beating a dog? It also depended mainly on the attitude of the Tatar chieftains. And the attitude of the Tatar chieftain is entirely up to Li Keyong!

A friend asked, "Who is the superior leader of the Yinshan Tatar tribe?" Judging from the above situation, the defense of Datong made Helian Duo not look like the leader of the Tatars? ”

The leader of the Tatar tribe is indeed not Helendor, who is it? It was Li Guochang, the former envoy of Zhenwu Jiedu (the new envoy of Jiedu had not yet arrived), that is, the Yinshan area was under the jurisdiction of Zhenwu Town. Two years ago, when Li Guochang was in Zhenwu Town, the Tatars gave him the impression that they were timid and fearful. It was the Uighurs, Dang Xiang, and Tuyuhun who made the trouble restless.

Now, Comrade Li Guochang, the Tatar boss, has come to the masses, inspect work, and experience life, but they have not even held an informal welcome banquet. People go to tea and cool! Not only that, but they are also preparing to kidnap the son of the top boss, what is the reason!

Ever since Li Ke escaped into the Yin Mountains with them, he has been wandering among the Tatars all day long. Because of his boldness, righteousness, and deep love of the locals, he has made many friends. For several months, Li Keyong always sighed at home, didn't think about tea, didn't want to eat, and couldn't sleep well for many nights. He was reflecting, reflecting on the unbearable rebellious road, and his heart was full of deep guilt-

My ancestors of the Zhu Xie family have been loyal to the Tang Dynasty for generations, and no one has ever rebelled. The Son of Heaven is kind, our father and son Ping Pangxun are meritorious, and the imperial court has given him too many honors: he was given a surname, a high-ranking official was honored, and the entire Zhu Xie family was stained. How can I learn from the Three Towns of Heshuo? What are they? Originally, he came out of a nest in An Lushan, a thief who was not polite, righteous and shameless! And me? I'm a highly educated, noble-blooded, dignified member of the Li Tang clan!

Seeing her husband's depressed and depressed appearance, Mrs. Liu felt pain in her heart and enlightened him: "Don't think too much, everything is over, now we just need to be safe." ”

Li Keyong didn't seem to hear her words, still reminiscing about the past and talking to himself: "I only regret that I shouldn't have listened to the words of Li Quanzhong and Kang Junli, the two bastards, and as a result, not only did I hurt myself, but also cheated on my father." Originally, my father was a good season, and his future was bright. If it weren't for me, I wouldn't have fallen to the point where this sender left. (To be continued......)