There are some things on the battlefield that are really interesting, sometimes it is not your comrades who save your life but your enemy, no, just when Li Zhen was worried that Tong Jin Yeda saw through his own reality, the whole army pressed on the mouth, the smoke and dust rose in the direction of Kaiyang, and the cavalry was rushing towards the Fugu camp, so that Tong Jin Yeda had to give up the plan to attack, and when he figured out that it was his younger brother Tong Jin Dagu who led the soldiers and horses, the Tang army had already withdrawn into Shenwu City, and Tong Jin also reached in addition to scolding the Tang people for being cunning, I can only look at the city and sigh.

Li Zhen, who is not angry, is too lazy to pay attention to it, there are still a lot of things waiting for him to worry about at this time, without him, entering Shenwu is just the first step of the entire strategic plan, if Hou Guozhong and others successfully win the tiger's mouth, I am afraid that Xue Yantuo's boss Dadu will fight hard to capture Li Zhen, whether he can withstand the siege of a strong enemy, Li Zhen still has no trace of confidence in his heart, no, as soon as he entered Shenwu City, Li Zhen didn't even have time to catch his breath, so he ordered Qin, Wang's two deputy vanguards stepped up their time to deploy garrisons and related defense matters, and they were accompanied by Liu Chen, the commander of Shenwu County, and Qiao Shengtai, the guard of Shenwu City, Ying Yanglang, to inspect the garrison, but it only took a while, but the more Li Zhen looked at it, the more frightened he became.

Shenwu County is a big county outside the Guan, but it is not much larger than Kaiyang, that is, the scale of more than 4,000 households, there are more than 2,000 households in Shenwu City, where the county is located, more than 15,000 people, the defenders are not much, there are only more than 1,800 people left and right, even if you add the young and strong people in the city who assist in the defense, it is only in the early 4,000s, although the grassland tribe is not good at attacking the city, but the archers of the grassland tribe are not vegetarians, more than 20,000 people have attacked for 20 days, and they have not won Shenwu, but they have lost more than 4,000 people. And the Tang Dynasty defenders only lost less than 800 yuan, this kind of results are too amazing, Li Zhen thought to himself that he couldn't do it by himself to defend the city, but now those city guards Although the morale of the soldiers is very high, but most of the armor does not fit, not to mention, it is also badly damaged, and the weapons in the hands are even more varied, and even the nail rake of the farmer's hoe is used, and furthermore, the local young people who cooperate in defending the city are too few, and if you calculate it roughly, it is not more than a thousand people. As for the pitiful dozens of sassholes, they are beams, pillars and the like, and the carvings and paint on them are still there, rolling stones? It's all bricks, if Li Zhen doesn't come, the servant Gu Department will attack the city again, and this city must be broken!

Thinking of the fierce battle he was about to face, Li Zhen couldn't help but smile bitterly, and after being silent for a while, he asked casually: "Liu County Order, General Qiao, the two stick to the lonely city, serve the country loyally, this king admires it to the fullest, but this king has a question: The city defense is difficult, why are there so few young people to assist in defense, could it be that the fathers and elders in the city don't know that there are eggs under the nest?" ”

Li Zhen asked this sentence just to find out if she could mobilize a group of young people to help defend the city, but in fact, she had no other intentions, but she didn't expect Liu and Qiao's faces to change sharply, they glanced at each other, and suddenly they all knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and Li Zhen was full of confusion, and she couldn't figure out which play the two in front of her were singing, so she hurriedly said: "Why are you two?" Hurry up, please. ”

Liu Chen hurriedly said: "The prince forgives the sin, this matter is all the opinion of the lower officials, it is not about General Qiao's business, the barbarians retreat, and the lower officials will definitely ask for their guilt ......"

Before Liu Chen finished speaking, Qiao Shengtai hurriedly said: "No, Your Highness, this matter has nothing to do with Liu County's order, it is the last general's own opinion, and the last general will admit his own responsibility, and please don't blame Liu County's order." ”

Well? What kind of plane? Lao Tzu didn't say anything, why did they all admit their sins, what a demon moth! Li Zhen glanced at the two local officials who were kowtowing suspiciously, and said in a deep voice: "It's better for the two of you to get up first, and it's not too late to say something slowly." ”

Yes, Li Zhen said it very politely, but Liu and Qiao didn't dare to get up, and explained alternately, and occasionally fought to take responsibility, and after mixing for a while, Li Zhen finally understood what was going on - the Tang army who dared to love those Tang troops who defended the city also had the same virtue as Li Zhen's half-hung cavalry, and most of them were parallel goods.

Shuozhou's army belongs to the border army in the Tang army, neither the guards of the Sixteen Guards nor the general government soldiers of the Zhichong Prefecture, and its military source is not a half-peasant and half-soldier government soldier but a military salary recruitment, but in order to prevent the border generals from being powerful, there are clear provisions in the Tang system that the border army is not only limited in number but also cannot be recruited privately, even if there is a gap in the number of soldiers, it must be reported to the military department before the number of soldiers can be replenished, and only the soldiers who have prepared the case in the military department can get military salaries, no matter in any case, the border generals cannot recruit troops privately, otherwise they will be regarded as complicit.

Liu and Qiao defended the city for more than 20 days, and the original border army in the city had already suffered more than half of the casualties, and the young men in the city who assisted in the defense also suffered heavy casualties, but one was to confuse the servant army outside the city, and the other was also to motivate the young and strong people who assisted in the defense - the border people were strong, but the border cultivated land was less, and the grassland was more, and most of the border people were half-cultivated and half-pastoral, and it was difficult to make a living. Under the discussion of Liu and Qiao, a large number of young men were recruited into the border army, and the armor used came from the armor left by the dead soldiers, although this was an expedient measure, but it really violated the law of the Tang Dynasty, and the charge of "rebellion" always hung over the heads of the two.

Damn, it's been a long time, and it's such a to dare to be in love, which makes Lao Tzubai worried. After Li Zhen figured out what was going on, he couldn't help but cry and laugh, Li Zhen knew very well about the shortcomings of the Tang Dynasty military system, in Li Zhen's opinion, there were too many unreasonable places, the problem was that Li Zhen had no power in his hands at this time, and he couldn't change the status quo at all, but well, it was still easy to help Liu and Qiao down, and then thinking about how these two people could hold on to the lonely city for more than 20 days under the pressure of a strong enemy, it was somewhat of a skill, and I couldn't help but have the heart to win over, my eyes rolled a few times, and I said with a smile: " What are you talking about? I don't understand how the king listens, those soldiers are all here on the orders of the king, even if there is something wrong, what does this king explain to his father at the meeting, what does it have to do with the two? Ha, don't talk about this, I'm afraid that there will be a fierce battle tomorrow, and the two adults should go back to the yamen with this king to discuss the strategy of defending the city. ”

Liu and Qiao are not fools, obedient bosom friends, when they saw that Li Zhen had taken all the charges on their own bodies, they were grateful, but they no longer talked about this matter, but they each kowtowed heavily, and followed Li Zhen back to the government to hold a military meeting without mentioning it.

On October 20, the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, in the camp of the Tang Army in Xinzhou, Li Jizheng, the commander of the Western Army and the head of the Shuozhou Road March, stood alone and silently in front of a sand table and pondered.

"Report, Dashuai, Vice Marshal Li has arrived." Just as Li Ji was pondering, the guards at the door hurriedly walked into the big tent and bowed down to report.

Li Ji raised his head and said with a flat face: "Please." ”

Li Xianyu, the word Maoshi, the second son of Li Jingyou, the assassin of Taizhou in Sui, was originally a soldier of the Sui Champion's Mansion, and later joined the Tang Dynasty, because of his contribution to the Tang, he was awarded the title of Ankang County Gong, and was the head of the Liangzhou Road March, and he was strict and neat, and he was the deputy marshal of the Western Expeditionary Army, and led 40,000 Liangzhou soldiers to the right army, and arrived in Xinzhou one day earlier than the Beijing Division Guard led by Li Ji, and set up camp ten miles outside the camp of the Middle Route Army.

"Brother Mao Gong, why is it so urgent?" As soon as Li Xiyu walked into the big tent, he didn't have any politeness, and asked directly.

Li Ji smiled bitterly, didn't speak, and straightforwardly handed over a military report in his hand, Li Xiyu only glanced at it, and immediately said in surprise: "This ......, His Royal Highness the King of Yue's plan is too risky, if there is a good one, how should we explain to the saint, Brother Mao Gong, without further ado, we will send troops immediately, I hope we can win." ”

Li Ji has always been safe with soldiers, but where the army rarely wins a big victory, he has never been defeated, this time he originally just wanted to slowly figure it out, and the army was not fast, but he didn't expect Li Zhen's vanguard to make such a big move, and his heart was already miserable, Li Xiyu's worries he naturally had already considered, but now the army has just arrived in Xinzhou, and there are still about three days away from Shuozhou, in his opinion, it is not a big problem to catch Xue Yantuo's main force, but if you want to solve Li Zhen's danger, it is too late to put on your wings, if Li Zhen has an accident, Even if the main force of Xue Yantuo is completely annihilated, he will not be able to explain it to Li Shimin, at this time, when he heard that Li Xiyu was anxious, he really didn't know what to say except for a wry smile, he shook his head and said: "King Yue risked his life this time and fell to death, just to completely annihilate Xue Yantuo's department, if my army blindly attacked, not to mention the thoughts of His Royal Highness, but there is a possibility of being bitten by Xue Yantuo's juniors. His Royal Highness King Yue has also explained in his letter that our army has to be defended. ”

Although Li Xiyu has also fought, but it is all a little bit of a fight, in terms of combat experience and ability is naturally not comparable to Li Ji, when he heard what Li Ji said, he suddenly felt reasonable, but he couldn't rest assured of Li Zhen's safety, and said in a deep voice: "This is possible, but I am worried that if I act according to the strategy of His Royal Highness King Yue, once Dadu'er sets up a child to find out about the plan, I am afraid that he will attack Shenwu desperately, and threaten to hold His Royal Highness King Yue in exchange for the corresponding conditions for withdrawing the army. ”

How is it good? Things have come to the current field, in addition to acting in accordance with Li Zhen's strategy, Li Ji really doesn't know what to do, if he really rushed to save Li Zhen and fell into the conspiracy of Xue Yantuo's department, resulting in the loss of the teacher and humiliation of the country, then it is even more impossible to explain to the emperor, for Li Zhen such a first cut and then play, the subordinate commander of the superior as Li Ji is really angry, but for Li Zhen's courage and calculating ability Li Ji is still very appreciative, after thinking silently, Li Ji gritted his teeth and said: "Brother Maoshi, You and I are divided into two ways, so let's act according to the strategy of His Royal Highness King Yue. ”

"Well, yes." Li Xianyu thought about it, nodded and said, "It's just the safety of His Royal Highness King Yue......

"That's it, I hope Your Highness Jiren has his own heaven, without further ado, you and I will each lead our troops to set off." A hint of perseverance flashed in Li Ji's eyes, and he made up his final mind in a calm voice. Li Xiyu sighed, didn't say anything more, gave a military salute to Li Ji, turned around, and strode out of the tent.

Li Ji silently looked at the back of Li Xiyu leaving, raised his head and sighed, and ordered loudly: "Come on, beat the drum and gather the generals!" ”

At the same time that the Tang army was busy transferring troops and sending generals, a military meeting was also being held in the original Shuozhou Thorn History Mansion, and now the great prince of Xue Yantuo was stationed in the location of the festival.

Generous, the eldest son of Xue Yantuo Khan Yi Nan, when he was twenty years old, tall and strong, strong in martial arts, extremely wise, has the reputation of "Eagle of the Prairie", known as the favor of Yi Nan, led the troops to fight all the year round, was rigorous, not smiling, but generous, magnanimous, and won the respect of the commanders of all departments.

"Commanders, you have all read the letter of help from the servant department, now Kaiyang has been attacked, and the Tang army has occupied the mouth of the tiger, and the Tang army has also entered Shenwu City under the banner of Li Zhen, the king of Yue, what do you think of the current situation, you can tell me." After the commanders of the various departments came, Dadushi looked around at the commanders sitting on the lower horse, and said calmly.

The grassland tribes rely on their strength to arrange the order of speaking, in addition to Xue Yantuo's department in the alliance of various departments, only Hui Hui is the strongest, and as soon as the words of the generous set fell, the Hui commander Tu Midu was the first to stand up and said: "Metropolitan Governor, Qu Li, this damn dog thief does not show the Metropolitan Governor, and withdraws the army without authorization, he should be killed!" If he hadn't released the water, how could the Tang Army have smuggled across the goose feather mouth to attack the back of our army. ”

At this time, seeing that the most powerful Hui commander said that he wanted to cure the sin of the Baye Ancient Department, the commander of the Tongluo Department Dolan Ge naturally raised his hands in agreement, and then jumped out and said: "The Metropolitan Governor, Brother Tumidu is right, you must not spare Qu Li, this old dog, even the misbehaved Qi Jin should also be asked!" ”

At this time, seeing that the commander of the Tongluo Department, Dolan Ge, fell into the well, the commander of the Secret Department of Ba Xi Ashina Dahe immediately objected: "Brother Dolan Ge, you can say what you said, if it weren't for the elder brother who came to report the news, I am afraid that I don't know that the Tang army has arrived, even if Qu Li is guilty, what is the matter with the elder brother?" ”

"! If he hadn't lost the battle, Shenwu would have taken it down a long time ago, and I would have gone back to the grassland a long time ago, how could he be copied by the Tang army, if he is not guilty, who can be guilty! "Dorange is a fiery character, as soon as he heard Ashina Dahe's words against himself, he immediately jumped up, pointed at Ashina Dahe's nose and scolded, not to be outdone, Ashina Dahe also jumped up, did not reply, and flicked his cuffs, he was going to rush forward to give Dolange an old punch, so shocked that the commanders of all the departments on the side rushed forward to persuade him, and the hall suddenly became a mess.

"Enough, if you want to fight Tang Jun, when is it, and you still have to make trouble by yourself!" Dadushe, who had been listening silently, saw that the commanders of the various departments were making too much trouble, slapped the table suddenly, and shouted angrily.

Xue Yantuo is powerful, and Dadu has always been ruthless, and the commanders of all departments are extremely jealous of him, and at this time, seeing that Dadu is angry, he naturally does not dare to make another time, and they each sit back in their original places, but in this way, they all became dumb and no longer spoke. Dadu set glanced at the commanders, and said calmly: "Qu Li's loss should be decided by his father Khan, there is no need for me to discuss, now that the Tang army has arrived, we will only discuss how our army should deal with it, and the rest of the words this governor doesn't want to listen to." ”

"Dadu Governor, the Tang army is strong, our army is invincible, it is better to withdraw from the Great Wall first, and temporarily avoid the edge, although the killing of the tiger's mouth was captured by the Tang army, but our army is not unable to deal with it, and we can go out of the Great Wall like Yungang, or our army will be pressed by the whole army, and it is not impossible to take the tiger's mouth, I hope that the Dadu Governor will make up his mind as soon as possible." Tu Midu, the commander of the Hui Dynasty, has always been friendly with the Tang Dynasty, and this time he was forced by Xue Yantuo to send troops, so he naturally did not want to clash head-on with the Tang army, so he took the lead in proposing to withdraw his troops.

"Yes, Brother Tumidu is reasonable, and it would be better for the Metropolitan Governor to make a decision as soon as possible."

"yes, that's how it should be."

"That's right!"

…… All the ministries are extremely jealous of the Tang Dynasty army, and they are not very confident that they can defeat the Tang Dynasty army, besides, this time they have won a lot of wealth in Shuozhou, and they are not in the mood to fight with the Tang army again, so they naturally want to withdraw as soon as possible.

"The withdrawal of troops is to be withdrawn, but even if I wait for this time to withdraw, I am afraid that it will not be so easy, since the Tang army has arrived, how can we let our army withdraw easily?" Dadu set up a wave of his hand to interrupt the words of the commanders of the various departments, and said with a sneer: "The Tang army's surprise attack and killing the tiger's mouth is just planning to copy my back road and force my army to confront it head-on, so what's the matter, is it that my grassland men are all muddy, huh?" ”

"Dadu Dudu, that's not what I said, my grassland men are all good men who stand up to the sky and the earth, and they can go up to the sword mountain and down the sea of fire, isn't it just a war? What's so scary? It's just that our army has been dispatched for a long time, and the soldiers of all departments are homesick, so it seems better to withdraw from the Great Wall first and then set a stop. The Great Commander of Hui Tu Midu said with a red face.

Although Tu Midu's words were impassioned and high-sounding, he was still very weak inside, and he still advocated retiring from the army, and his face sank when he heard it, his eyes widened, and he said coldly: "Better?" Hehe, if our army retreats directly, regardless of whether it can retreat or not, even if it can withdraw, under the front and rear attacks of the Tang army, how many people can retreat, the cunning of the Tang people has already been seen, and there is no need for this governor to remind it. ”

Over the years, the Tang army has been invincible, the soldiers are invincible, and the commanders of the various departments present are all aware of the use of soldiers by the generals of the Tang Dynasty. This is scared, hey, the Tang army is now in the dark, our army is in the light, if our army moves recklessly, in addition to sending death in vain, how can there be any other result, but our army is not without a chance to win, if it acts properly, a big victory may not be possible, but it is not difficult to return to the grassland safely. Dadu paused at this point, glanced at the commanders of the various departments, and a mysterious smile appeared on his face.

Although Dadu was able to become the governor of the coalition army, it was because he was the eldest son of Xue Yantuo Khan, but it was more due to his outstanding military exploits on the grassland. ”

"Good!" Dadu set up suddenly, slapped the table and said, "Bring the map!" The soldiers who were standing outside the room hurriedly brought up a map and spread it out on the large table.

"Everyone, please see, this is Shenwu, now Li Zhen, the king of Yue, is in the city, hey, there is an old saying in our grassland, reluctant children can't trap wolves, this Li Zhen is a bait, it is used to trap our army's bait, if our army is not careful, it will be the end of the trap, but well, the Tang people are cunning, this time it is too cunning, our army not only wants to eat this bait this time, but also use this bait to set the Tang army in turn, your commanders are interested in singing a big show with this governor?" Dadu pointed to the Divine Object City on the map and said with a smile.

Seeing that Dadushi knew that there were tigers in the mountains and still favored the tiger mountains, although the commanders of the various departments did not dare to say anything, the expressions on their faces clearly showed disbelief, but they were forced by the power of Dadu, but no one dared to speak out against it. For everyone's thoughts, Dadu set up a very clear heart, but he didn't break it, pointed to the map and said: "Everyone, please see, there are four roads leading to Shenwu, and each road has a lot of ambush locations, but if the Tang army wants to save Shenwu, there are actually only two ways to go, so that our army can take advantage of the situation and set up an ambush in these two places, which can hit the Tang army hard, and then take Li Zhen as a hostage, slowly retreat, so that although the Tang army is strong, what can I do?" ”

"The Governor is wise! I'm willing to listen to the Governor! The leader of the sub-clan saw that Dadushe was extremely reasonable, and he was overjoyed, and everyone praised him, and for a while the room was full of the sycophants of the tribal leaders, and he laughed proudly when he heard it......