The captains and brigade commanders of the two regiments who were waiting to launch the attack all looked at Xue Chongxun alone, waiting for him to come up with a solution. Now, the attack has been blocked, and the large number of enemy troops behind it will arrive in two moments, and it is a dilemma, what can be done?

"County King, decide!" The shape shì was urgent, and a general couldn't help but urge.

Xue Chongxun clenched his fists, his heartstrings tensed, almost broken. If you continue to fight Stone Fort City, not only will you have little hope of taking it, but you will soon encounter a situation where it will be difficult to fly with wings in front and back; If you give up, where will you go? Infantry against cavalry, it is not impossible to defeat, the Tang Army's Modao Formation specializes in cavalry, but how can a few hundred infantry troops defeat thousands to 20,000 cavalry? You can't win, you can't run away.

But there was once a man who said that you can't grasp anything when you clench your fists; Open your mind, but you can have the whole world.

Such a hesitant mood made Xue Chongxun very uncomfortable, he gradually loosened his fist, looked back at the generals and said: "The only way to maintain the present is to try to escape......

The crowd was silent. Xue Chongxun glanced back at the road in the east that was sprinkled with clear moonlight, it had been about an hour since he attacked Shibao City, they should go far away from Jincheng, they had enough horses, and they should be able to get out of danger. Thinking of this, he did not despair, but gave birth to a trace of relief.

At this time, the captain of the third regiment said: "The scouts have been gathered, and we still have a dozen horses!" The king of the county rode his horse first, and I waited here to fight to the death with the Tibetan pursuers! ”

Xue Chongxun looked at the general with a complicated expression. On the one hand, he was indeed tempted, the temptation of life, at this moment, as long as he endured the shameless moment, he could get the second half of his life; But on the other hand, he was shrouded in a strong sense of guilt, which was indescribable, stronger than killing a few innocent people.

Although in the territory of Tubo, a few people ran alone and encountered the Tubo stragglers, but it was always an opportunity.

The general said: "The military department has a roster of our waiters, and after the county king arrives in Beijing, remember to fight for the bereavement of the brothers' wives and children." ”

At this time, the sound of a child's reading sounded in his ears again: fish, I want, bear paws, I also want, you can't have both, and those who give up fish and take bear paws are also. Life, also what I want, righteousness, also what I want, can not have both, and those who sacrifice their lives to take righteousness are also ......

In the past, when I heard the sound of reading, I abandoned it without any psychological pressure...... And should he be the same at this moment? He paused, and said coldly: "Order, the two regiments attacking the city retreat." Horses, for wounded soldiers who can ride horses, two horses per person, a few run first, count a few. "Maybe it's because things have changed; Or maybe he's changed?

"The ...... of the county king" all the generals looked at Xue Chongxun in puzzlement. In their view, there is a difference between dignity and inferiority, and the life of a person with status is more important. But in reality, all lives are equal.

Xue Chongxun said categorically: "That's how it was decided!" Immediately ordered to retreat. ”

Mingjin withdrew his troops, and the Tang army left one or two hundred corpses on the hillside, without making any valuable progress. After assembling, Xue Chongxun discussed with the generals: "You can't go to the bottom of the valley to the east anymore, the past is the plain, and there is no way to go when you encounter cavalry in an open place." A few days ago, the terrain of the scouts was a mountainous pine forest in the south, and the branches and leaves were flourishing in April and May, which could be hidden. Let's go now, south! ”

The army then marched south in full formation. The troops of Shibao City suffered heavy casualties in the daytime resistance battle yesterday, and now they are even more empty, and they are afraid of the plan to divert the tiger from the mountain, so they did not go out of the city to pursue.

After crossing a small mountain range, which was very deep and full of undulating mountains and pine forests, the Tang army burrowed into the forest and continued its march south. This terrain was inconvenient for cavalry to march, and there was no danger of being caught up immediately for the time being.

The pine tree is larch, and the leaves are as thin as needles, and as they pass through the forest, the leaves sweep over the face, pricking the skin.

Xue Chongxun said: "On the marching map, there is a small river near here called Sun Moon Creek, send people to the left and right to find this small river, otherwise we will be finished without a water source!" ”

When they retreated hastily from Chiling, their equipment and baggage were lost, and now they had no tools, food and grass, and they ran for a day and a half night, and now everyone is hungry and thirsty, and can only endure the rumbling stomachs. Xue Chongxun ordered the armor to be taken off and thrown away to lighten the burden.

After walking for a while, everyone simply threw away all the long weapons, and only brought horizontal knives and crossbows. Hundreds of people have lost their armor, and wolves are unbearable.

At this moment, the scout came to report: "I found Sun Moon Creek!" ”

The army was overjoyed, and then called the sergeant to lead the way, and moved some way north, and sure enough, they saw a small river winding between the mountains. People rushed to the creek in high spirits, forgetting for a moment the annoyance of the bad situation.

The sergeant came up with a kettle to fetch water, Xue Chongxun took a sip, looked back and said: "Let's go straight in the direction of this river, first to the south, and when the river turns to the east, we will go east over the mountain and return to China." ”

A veteran said with a worried expression: "I'm afraid that the Tibetan people will also think that we will find a water source, and they can easily find our traces by following the river search." ”

Xue Chongxun said: "It doesn't matter, the mountains and mountains here are steep, and Tubo didn't have many troops in the first place, and what we are guarding against is only the Lang clan in the rear, as long as we step up the march, we can avoid being chased over." ”

He said that he groaned endlessly, the water source was solved, how to solve the grain and grass? There are some small animals in this forest, but they have to march, so naturally they don't have much time to hunt, and they can't meet the food and grass problems of hundreds of people.

He thought for a long time alone, and suddenly muttered: "Such a large place, it can't be completely uninhabited......

Yes, the way Xue Chongxun thought of was to feed the war with war and plunder the civilians in the war zone for self-sufficiency. Sometimes he has a conscience and a shame, but it is clear that he is not a bad person at all.

Everyone walked for another day and night, and they were already hungry, and Xue Chongxun himself was so hungry that his eyes were dazzled. But there is no end to it, and at this time, the scout found a village in time.

They deserve their bad luck. Xue Chongxun said to the generals: "Let's go and ask for some military rations." "The starving people heard and saw hope again.

The army climbed up a hill and looked down at the village below, where there were still people washing clothes beside the Sun Moon Creek, and suddenly they found a group of ragged men with weapons in their hands, thinking they were thieves, and immediately ran in panic. Xue Chongxun looked at it quietly for a moment and said, "The jacket and pants, the hat seems to be a Xianbei hat, this is a Tuyuhun village." ”

Because there was food soon, everyone's mood was better, and some people didn't forget to echo: "The county king is so knowledgeable!" ”

"Surrounded!"

At the sound of the order, a team was rushing down the hill with its troops, deploying troops on all sides of the village, stretching their bows and arrows. Xue Chongxun, as a precaution, let the main force occupy the high ground and did not go down the mountain, but only lined up on it and waited. Then he took a team of people down the mountain to see the situation.

Most of the buildings in the village are made of earth and grass roofs, and there are only about twenty or thirty households, which is not a small village in this area. Soon some hunters came out with bows and arrows, hiding behind the fence and looking out.

Xue Chongxun shouted: "Is there anyone who can speak Chinese? To prevent bloodshed, come out and talk! ”

After a long time, an old man with a long beard and a round hat and two young men came out, and the old man shouted, "Don't let go of the arrows, the old man has come to talk about peace." ”

In history, the Xianbei people had close contacts with the Han people, and the sinicization was also very strict, and there were not a few people who could speak Chinese. Moreover, in the eighth-century Oriental world, the Han dynasty was the center, and the Chinese language was equivalent to the lingua franca, just like today's English.

The old man and the other three cautiously walked to Xue Chongxun's side, looked left and right, and saw the clothes and weapons worn by the army, and they had already guessed that they were Tang people, and they were still speaking pure Chinese just now.

"The heavenly soldiers have arrived at the small border, and we are flattered, I don't know what can serve your army?"

Xue Chongxun said: "Our army has run out of food, and if we want to collect some grain and grass, my husband will help raise it, and our army will not make any mistakes." ”

The old man said: "The heavenly soldiers have arrived, and we should use cattle and sheep to work the army, but I don't know how much military food is needed?" ”

"You have twenty or thirty families here, and one household levies 100 catties of grain and grass."

The old man's face changed greatly, and he hurriedly said: "General, please look, our poor village, all industries are withering, and we are really shy......

Xue Chongxun's expression was cold: "Whether it's cured meat or grain, a family doesn't even have a hundred catties of grain?" Hugh is wordy, if it is a barbarian, will bargain with you? ”

The old man said: "The border people are living in difficulty, and they can barely be half hungry and half full, please check the general." ”

Xue Chongxun pointed at a fat man very impatiently and said, "You see that my brothers are so hungry that their faces are yellow, you don't pay food to try." ”

The old man glanced at the fat man speechlessly, and said with an ugly face: "Two or three thousand catties of grain...... What happens if you can't hand it over? ”

Xue Chongxun raised the horizontal knife scabbard in his hand, and said fiercely: "We are hungry, and we still have weapons in our hands, do you say that we are waiting to starve to death or what?" Think about what it would be. ”

The old man was stunned and said, "How about I go back and discuss with the villagers before replying?" ”

Xue Chongxun glanced at the sun in the sky and said: "Give an answer at the time of a stick of incense, there is no result after a stick of incense, let's do it ourselves!" ”

Man is a sword, I am a fish. In fact, there was nothing to discuss, and soon the villagers recognized it and brought a lot of cured meat, corn, pine nuts and other food from their homes. Tang Jun, who was so hungry that he fainted, even distributed food, barbecued on the spot, and ate and drank.

After eating, everyone came to the spirit, and "levied" their two mules, grain, woodcutters, arrows and other things, which was equivalent to forcing them to loot, and then they were ready to go satisfied.

But at this time, a captain said: "The Tuyuhun people on the right side of Longyou have already become the vassals of Tubo, if they are left alive, when the Tubo soldiers arrive, their whereabouts will be made clear by them." It's not as good as ......."

Xue Chongxun pondered for a moment and said: "It's useless to slaughter the village, the Tubo people came to take a look, who did it if we didn't do it?" Anyway, you can't hide, so why bother ruining the reputation of our Tang Army? Forget it, let's go! ”M