The knights in front fell, and the cavalry behind were caught off guard, unable to restrain their feet, and crashed into them, and the whole team was in disarray. However, the riding skills of the Xue Yantuo people were very good, and the people behind them quickly controlled their war horses, but the momentum of the impact was also stagnant. At this time, the second round of iron arrows of the Western Navy came again.

The biggest disadvantage of the crossbow is that it takes time and effort to reload the iron arrows, but Liu Ziqiu has a total of 20,000 cavalry, and after the first round of cavalry shè shots, they will give way to both sides, and the second round of cavalry will follow with another wave of iron arrows. After this wave of iron arrows, this forward of Xue Yantuo's department has lost at least half of its men.

Liu Ziqiu waved his long knife: "Kill!" ”

The two jīng horses rushed out and slaughtered the team of Xue Yantuo's department like dragons. The two cavalry teams sent out by Liu Ziqiu each had 800 people, which did not have much advantage in numbers. The knights of Xue Yantuo's department were also brave, and seeing that the two sides were equal in number, they did not choose to retreat and flee, but drew their swords to meet them. The two armies collided fiercely, the swords shining brightly, and screaming miserably. After a round of collisions, there were only more than 200 knights left in Xue Yantuo's department, while the 800 cavalry of the Western Navy only lost a few dozen people, although many of them were wounded, but they were still alive. After another round of charges, only six people from Xue Yantuo's department were still on their horses.

Behind Liu Ziqiu's army, the team moved out of the way so that the women and children behind could witness the tragic battle with their own eyes. The law of the grassland is that the strong are respected, and these women and children also respect heroes. Seeing that the two sides were equal in number, but the results were so disparity, it could make these women and children who originally belonged to the Turkic Lifa tribe even more desperate and integrate into the Xihai tribe created by Liu Ziqiu more quickly.

The only six warriors left in the forward force of Xue Yantuo's department were still holding their scimitars, and they had already thought that they would not escape death, but the arrogance of the grassland people made them put life and death aside long ago. Suddenly, a long horn sounded from Liu Ziqiu's army, and the hundreds of cavalry surrounded by these six warriors retreated like water. When these cavalrymen retreated, they did not forget to take away their comrades who had fallen to the ground, whether they were killed or wounded. This is what Liu Ziqiu has repeatedly emphasized, as long as he still has a breath of air, he will never give up on every subordinate! It is precisely because of this that he can have super cohesion, so that these unruly grassland men are willing to drive for him.

Liu Ziqiu held a long knife in his hand, rode forward, and shouted: "Go back and tell your master, no matter who you are, those who dare to block Liu's path will be killed!" ”

The knights of Xue Yantuo couldn't understand the Chinese language, and they looked at each other blankly, until Jiaoliyan translated Liu Ziqiu's words into Turkic and their faces changed. Ants still steal life, even the toughest steppe people are no exception. These knights had just made up their minds to die, it was a helpless choice when there was no chance of survival, when they heard that the other party was going to let them go, the accumulated momentum of desperate life suddenly dissipated without a trace, muttered a few words, and then turned their horses and retreated.

There were more than 60,000 women and children, and many of them could not see the scene in front of them at all, but after word of mouth, they also burst into cheers. With such a battle loss ratio, even the sharpest guards of the Eastern Turk Tent did not have this ability. And all this was done by the ordinary warriors around them, who had long forgotten that they were still Turks, prisoners of these warriors, and considered themselves one of them.

Xue Shixiong personally led 5,000 jīng to ride halfway, and when he heard the news of the defeat of the former army, he couldn't help but be surprised, and was hesitating whether to go to the rescue, when he saw a few horsebacks coming in despair. Asked about the battle situation, Xue Shixiong was shocked, the scimitar in his hand almost fell to the ground, and said continuously: "Who are they?" ”

One of the surviving knights thought for a long time and said, "Their leader speaks Chinese, as if he wants to borrow the Tao. ”

"Han Chinese?" Xue Shixiong frowned and said, "How could the Han people come from the east?" ”

In fact, what Xue Shixiong wants to say is that the Han people have always only shrunk behind the city wall, and how dare they take the initiative to kill the grassland. But the enemy's strong combat power shocked him too much, and he was a little frightened, and he didn't dare to talk nonsense. It's not that Xue Shixiong is afraid of death, but that he, as the leader of Xue Yantuo's department, is responsible for the safety of the entire tribe. If a wrong decision or even a wrong word leads to the destruction of the entire tribe, he will regret it for the rest of his life.

Of course, Xue Shixiong's idea is also good. Liu Ziqiu was indeed vigorously training the Han cavalry, but it was not an overnight achievement to achieve the same superb riding skills as the nomadic tribes, and fighting in the vast grasslands did not have a more suitable army than the nomadic cavalry composed of herdsmen who had grown up on horseback since childhood. Therefore, on this expedition, Liu Ziqiu selected nomadic cavalry, even if there were some Han Chinese, they were also slaves who had been forcibly captured by nomadic tribes since childhood and had just been liberated.

Another knight said with great certainty: "It is indeed a Han Chinese, and I have seen many women and children behind. ”

The knight who spoke first also seemed to come to his senses, and echoed in a loud voice: "Yes, yes, yes, it seems to be a tribal migration." ”

Xue Shixiong was even more confused, if it was a Han Chinese, where did the tribe migrate? But one thing is certain, since there are a large number of women and children accompanying them, they are certainly not here to fight, and it is not impossible to borrow the road, and from here to the south is the Dunhuang County of the Great Sui. Thinking of this, Xue Shixiong waved his hand and called two henchmen: "Zhu Ertu, you hurry back to the camp and inform everyone to prepare to move!" Vadea, you know Chinese, go ahead and ask, who are they and what do they mean? ”

At this time, Xue Shixiong already regretted it a little, he shouldn't have let Xìng be reckless Yantuo Agan to take the lead, maybe it was just a misunderstanding.

After a short time, Weidea came back from beating his horse and said loudly: "I have inquired clearly, it is really the Great Sui soldiers and horses." They had captured the camp of Tong Lifa three days earlier, and were now escorting the spoils back to the West Sea via Dunhuang. ”

Tong Lifa is one of the three most powerful tribes in the Eastern Turks, and Xue Yantuo has also clashed with them and suffered a small loss, so Xue Shixiong was very impressed by Tong Lifa, and he didn't believe that the powerful Qi Lifa tribe couldn't even defend his camp, so he asked in a deep voice: "Are you sure they really captured the Qi Lifa camp?" ”

Weidea nodded seriously and said, "Their leader is called Liu Ziqiu, who claims to be the new governor of Hexi Province of the Great Sui, and has 20,000 jīng horsemen under his command, no less than 60,000 women and children captured by them, as well as a large number of cattle and sheep. By the way, Tong Lifa's wife Mu Duoli was embraced by Liu Ziqiu, I recognize her, I can't fake it. ”

Even Tong Lifa's wife has become a prisoner, and it is absolutely impossible for Tong Lifa's camp to be captured, and the combat effectiveness shown by the other party in annihilating Yantuo Agan's department just now is indeed not to be underestimated. Xue Shixiong was already convinced of the fall of Tong Lifa, but he still hesitated: "Since that Liu Ziqiu is just borrowing, why didn't he even say hello?" If he had sent a messenger, there would have been no misunderstanding. ”

Yantuo Muen, who was following Xue Shixiong, said angrily: "What bullshit Liu Ziqiu, he didn't take us Xue Yantuo people in his eyes at all. Brother Xue, you order! I led people to kill him, beheaded Liu Ziqiu, and took those women and children, cattle and sheep. If you don't win, come and see you! ”

Yantuo Muen is the brother of Yantuo Agan and has the same short temper as his brother. Xue Shixiong glared at him like seeing an idiot. The three thousand cavalry just now were cleaned up in the blink of an eye, and the six people who fled back were like losing their souls, and even the morale of the others was affected, so what could they do to fight with others? Glaring at Yantuo Muen, Xue Shixiong ignored him, turned his head to look at Wei De'a again, and asked, "What do you say that Liu Ziqiu wants to do?" ”

The look on Videa's face became strange, and he said after a while: "Liu Ziqiu is indeed arrogant, he has never planned to inform anyone along the way. He also let out the words, if anyone dares to stop him, he will destroy him! However, it is not ......"

Xue Shixiong saw that Vader Ayù stopped talking, and said unhappily: "But what? ”

Vadea sighed and said, "But he also has that capital. It is said that because Tong Lifa attacked a county seat in Wuwei County, Liu Ziqiu sent troops to wipe out Tong Lifa's tribe, and his behavior was completely different from that of previous Great Sui officials. In my opinion, it is better not to mess with him and let them pass. ”

Xue Shixiong pondered for a moment and said, "I understand. Liu Ziqiu could have returned directly to Wuwei County, but he chose to make a detour to the west in order to show off his strength to us, and told us not to attack the Great Sui border, otherwise Tong Lifa's today would be our tomorrow. ”

Yantuo Muen shouted: "What if you don't attack the border of the Great Sui? Where did the salt, iron, cloth, and slaves come from? ”

The living environment on the grassland was extremely difficult, materials were scarce, and there were no slaves, but salt, iron, and cloth were indispensable items in life, and they were only produced in the Central Plains. The Great Sui had extremely strict control over border trade, and the annual quota was very limited, and the vast majority of the shortfall mainly relied on constantly harassing the Great Sui border and meeting its needs through plunder. If you don't attack the border, Xue Yantuo's rìzi will be even more sad.

Xue Shixiong lowered his head and pondered for a while, and suddenly asked, "Weide'a, what are you talking about, Tong Lifa's wife is now being embraced by Liu Ziqiu?" ”

Videa nodded and said, "Mu Duoli is the daughter of Mu Lin, the leader of another major tribe under the Qimin Khan, and she is a natural stunner. When I was negotiating with him last year, I saw her in the big tent of Lai Fa, so I remember it clearly. He was very fond of her, and even let her participate in tribal affairs. Now that even Mu Duoli has fallen into the hands of Liu Ziqiu, the tribe of Tong Lifa has undoubtedly been destroyed, I am sure of this! ”

Xue Shixiong laughed and said, "I have a way!" ”