Five days later.

The whole Yingzhou city was a sensation, hundreds of people climbed up to the head of the city to watch the slowly approaching procession, in front of the snow to open the road, followed by a long procession, looking like ordinary herdsmen, and then there was the army, and there was a long team of horses, and there were cattle and sheep in sight.

The news has spread, and it is his own people who have returned from a victory.

Xue Wanshu organized people to burn the ice in the door hole with fire, preparing to open the city gate to welcome the victorious return team, and was very emotional, less than half a month after going out, not only killed the 50,000 troops of Goguryeo, but also took He Da He Ministry, if it wasn't for the news from his own nephew, he couldn't believe it.

That's a full 50,000 elite army, and there are only more than 5,000 people on my side.

At the head of the city, the common people watched the people dig up the snow and clear a passage for the people behind to follow, and exclaimed one by one, how big is this project? It turns out that a large army can still be done here?

In the long queue, Qin Huaidao looked at Yingzhou City and sighed with a little emotion, it really succeeded, for five days, everyone kept migrating and digging, but fortunately, there was no enemy to disturb them, several waves of wolves were shot by a crossbow, leaving corpses all over the ground and fleeing, giving away a bunch of wolf skins for nothing, which was worth a lot of money.

In about half an hour, the passage was finally dug to the city gate, and the city gate was also opened, Xue Wanshu led people out to greet him, in front of the passage was He Da He was young, curiously looking at the people who came out, but he didn't dare to speak, separated on both sides, and let go of the middle passage.

Qin Huaidao came over with the generals, and shouted from a distance: "Governor, come to disturb again." ”

"I can't wait to bother the old man like this." Xue Wanshu haha, her heart was full of emotion, if Qin Huaidao hadn't come over, Yingzhou would have been lost, and besides, Qin Huaidao came over twice with countless loot, not to mention that it didn't cause any pressure on Yingzhou, but it helped a lot, such a nuisance is simply wonderful.

The two exchanged pleasantries, and Qin Huaidao asked in a low voice, "What's the situation outside now?" ”

"Goguryeo's southward Pingzhou army was trapped by snow, and before being trapped, they frantically ransacked the surrounding villages and grabbed some grain, Pingzhou was safe, and there was also news that the Khitan did not continue to go south after taking the Xi people, and the imperial court reinforcements arrived, stationed in Youzhou and Yunzhou, 10,000 each, saying that they were co-defending the city, and they were waiting for your deployment at any time."

"Me?"

Qin Huaidao was stunned, took out the map and found Yunzhou and Youzhou, and gradually realized that once the two places were held, the Goguryeo army would not be able to continue to move south, and he was worried that he didn't know where to transfer troops, but the court sent 20,000, less is less, but if it is used properly, it can be used as an army of 100,000.

Thinking of this, Qin Huaidao asked, "Who leads the army?" ”

"Enter the city to assist in defense, listen to the command of the governors of the two cities, once you need to recruit, come over quickly, led by you, there are 20,000 people, General Qin is really young and promising, and he has won the enmity of the saints." Xue Wanshu hurriedly explained.

"I'm leading the army?" Qin Huaidao was a little surprised, he was only a five-grade, and he was not allowed to command so many according to the regulations, but it didn't matter, it was good to have soldiers, the imperial court's arrangement was obviously to let him act at the opportunity, and if he had the opportunity, he would make a big one, and if he didn't have a chance, forget it.

I don't know who saw through the situation and actually thought of it with himself, could it be Li Jing?

With 20,000 troops and other recruits, Qin Huaidao dared to let go of his hands and feet, and immediately pointed to a location on the map and said: "Dudu, Yingzhou is in the middle of two rivers, and it is the place where the Goguryeo army must return to it, and the location is very prominent, it is better for you and me to join forces to build another ice city south of Yingzhou, to expand the defense area, and to settle these prisoners, as well as cattle and sheep, there are too many, and the content of Yingzhou City is not inferior." ”

"I really can't afford it." Xue Wanshu looked at the long procession, tens of thousands of captives are difficult, not to mention countless cattle, sheep, and war horses, this is the largest tribe in the Khitan, and asked, "How does the general plan to build a city?" ”

Qin Huaidao took out a piece of charcoal, a piece of paper, drew a rectangle in three or two, and explained: "This is Yingzhou, build an ice city next to the south gate city wall, build a prismatic shape, conducive to defense, and wait for the spring flowers to bloom and the ice city melts, it will not hinder the future of Yingzhou, okay?" ”

Xue Wanshu looked at the painted prism, there are two more sides than the rectangular city, if it is built with rammed earth and masonry, the cost will be much higher, but it doesn't matter if it is made of ice, the most important thing outside the city is ice and snow now, as for the manpower, tens of thousands of prisoners are there, it is not a problem, and if it is built next to the south of the city, the two cities can communicate with each other and respond at any time.

After weighing the pros and cons, Xue Wanshu agreed: "No problem, then do it." ”

"I need wooden barrels, shovels and other tools, and I ask the governor to help provide them, and I will exchange them for cattle and sheep." Qin Huaidao breathed a sigh of relief, Xue Wanshu agreed, this matter will be easy.

Xue Wanshu said with a smile: "It's just a few tools, you don't need to change them, not to mention that the general left a lot of cattle, sheep and horses last time, and the old man kept them for you, and the old man didn't dare to take the spoils of the soldiers." ”

Qin Huaidao smiled, didn't answer, and felt a little emotion in his heart, this Xue Wanshu is a particular person, and said to An Guogong and the generals: "Everyone, have you heard the information that the governor said just now?" I intend to continue to clear the snow and dig passages, around the root of the city wall, it is not suitable for so many people to enter the city, go around to the south and clear a clearing, and then dig up the ice of the river in the south, take water to build the city, let's do a bigger vote. ”

"Obey!" Everyone hurriedly said, their eyes lit up, and the bigger thing was to eat the army of Goguryeo going south, which was a full 100,000 people, if this was taken, it would be no problem to worship the marquis.

"General Qin, this matter is not trivial, has it been decided?" Xue Wanshu was also excited.

"Gotta try, you say?" Qin Huaidao said with a smile.

Xue Wanshu seemed to have made some kind of decision, and said solemnly: "General Qin, Yingzhou is below me, you are willing to listen to General Qin's command and take us with you, right?" ”

In the past, it was assistance, and the credit was too small, Xue Wanshu saw that Qin Huaidao was not simple through the recent release, and he was not satisfied with helping, he wanted to do it together, and he was done, he could go further, it didn't matter if he was defeated, there was no loss.

Qin Huaidao also had the heart to pull Xue Wanshu to do it together, not to mention that Xue Wanshu's ability was good, and the thousands of soldiers defending the city in Yingzhou also had good combat effectiveness, and it was a strong force, and said with a smile: "Governor, it's decided?" ”

"It's decided!"

"Okay, let's go crazy together." Qin Huaidao smiled.

The two nodded tacitly, Qin Huaidao gave an order, continued to clear the snow, and went around to the south, Xue Wanshu also went back to organize the forces and prepare tools, and several people decided to work together, so they naturally went all out.

As a former hidden princeling, Xue Wanshu is very clear about the status of the Xue family in the hearts of today's saints, usable, but also guarded against, if this is done, it is possible to enter the inner circle of the imperial court, at least the suspicions of today's saints will be eliminated a lot, and it will be beneficial to the Xue family.

An hour later, everyone came to the south of the city, cleared the snow, set up tents and felt houses, and did this kind of thing every day before, and they were already familiar with the road.

A large number of tools were sent to Yingzhou City, and the work was more efficient.

When the tents and yurts were set up, everyone cleared the snow to the periphery, piled it up together, formed a prism, and then poured water on it, and the people of Yingzhou ran to help, and fifty or sixty thousand people worked at the same time, the scene was so big and fast.

Three days later, a prismatic ice city with a height of five zhang rose from the ground, covering an area equivalent to Yingzhou, two zhang behind the city wall, enough for soldiers to move on it, there are many steps to facilitate going up and down, and a wall about two feet thick and one meter five high was poured on the outward side of the city wall, which is convenient for everyone to avoid arrows.

The city walls of Bingcheng and Yingzhou have figured out, people can go over directly and support at any time, with this ice city, Qin Huaidao's confidence has increased greatly, and he has settled the troops, and the headquarters is also in the ice city.

On the morning of the fourth day, Qin Huaidao was roasting a fire in the big tent, chatting with Xue Wanshu and Zhi Zhili outside, outside the big tent, Fang Yiai took Yulin Wei to guard, Li Yixie hurriedly ran over, and after entering the big tent, he said: "General, I have released the people, they are all Ke Dun's personally selected cronies, and they have given enough jerky. ”

"Okay, sit down and rest for a while." Qin Huaidao said with a smile.

"No, the last general will go to inspect the prisoner camp, just in case." Li Yixie politely refused to leave.

As soon as Li Yixie left, Xue Wanshu smiled and said: "The general's trick is clever, let Kedun select a group of cronies to find He Dahe, and the Khitan Khan must not go crazy when he hears the news?" What's even better is that the general asked the khan to exchange for the Taiyuan Wang, however, the old man was worried that the Khitan was not the opponent of the Taiyuan Wang? ”

"You're worried about the Blacks?" Qin Huaidao asked, for a few days in a row, Qin Huaidao already knew a lot of outside news, and when he saw Xue Wanshu nodding, he smiled indifferently: "The governor doesn't need to worry, the khan has two choices, one is to go to the end of the road, and the other is not to move the Taiyuan Wang family, come here to ask for people, and leave a way for himself to retreat." ”

"What does the general mean that in the eyes of the Khan, we are easy to bully?" Xue Wanshu asked, seeing Qin Huaidao smiling and silent, after thinking about it, he said with some grievances: "Really, if the Khitan army arrives and rides 50,000 horses, maybe the Taiyuan Wang clan will also send troops to assist at that time, and we may not be opponents." ”

"The snow outside is deep, and the march is difficult, if they want to come, they must learn from us to clear the snow and come all the way, but the space for activities is limited, can you ask the governor to take over the ice city, I will take the initiative to attack and use the snow outside to block and kill them." Qin Huaidao said with a smile.

"Please rest assured, General Qin, guarantee that nothing goes wrong." Xue Wanshu responded with a full mouth.

"Then there is labor, the army is too hard during this time, and it needs to rest, it will take two or three days for the people who are released to find the Khitan army, and it will take time for the Khitan army to come, so let's set off in six days." Qin Huaidao made a final decision, his firm gaze fell on the stubborn thinking force, and added: "An Guogong, the army is okay, right?" ”

"No problem, what the general points to is what our army is going to." Stubbornness and thoughtfulness solemnly reassured.

"That's great!"

Qin Huaidao nodded with satisfaction and took out the map.

Although there is snow to block, the Khitan army is inconvenient, but after all, there are more than 50,000, and it is not easy to take it at a very small price, and it is necessary to choose a favorable terrain.

After a while, Qin Huaidao said: "This battle is probably a tough battle, An Guogong, take out all the fine iron captured from He Da and Hebu, ask the governor to help, let the blacksmith make crossbow arrows, the more the better." ”

"Obey." An Guogong responded.

Qin Huaidao saw that the governor Xue Wanshu also nodded in agreement, and his eyes fell on Li Dejian: "Order the Cheng family brothers and Wei Chi brothers to train the army to practice tactics, improve the speed of gliding, and the speed of the array has been the accuracy of the crossbow, and tell them that if this battle can be completed, the Khitan will become history, and the land of the Khitan will become the territory of the Tang Dynasty." ”

"Obey!" Li Dejian's eyes lit up and he hurried away.

Opening up the territory and expanding the territory, what every general dreams of, An Guogong and the governor exchanged glances, and also hurried away, Qin Huaidao stared at the map, his eyes were firm and powerful.

……

Three days later, a waterfront town thirty miles east of Yunzhou was developed due to water transportation, but more than 100 families changed their owners overnight, and it was He Da and He who lived in it.

In one of the best courtyards, the Khan and his generals were chatting around a bonfire, eating meat and drinking wine, so happy, a bearded man with a face shouted: "Dear Khan, if it weren't for this damn blizzard blocking the road, we would have entered the Central Plains by now, right?" The Central Plains woman is tender, and she will think about it in the end. ”

"What, the woman I gave you last night wasn't enough?" Khan laughed.

"Crying, looking annoying, I'm done to reward the brothers below." The other party replied, suddenly rolled his eyes, and asked: "Khan, since the Taiyuan Wang family has a request for us, it is better for them to send some beautiful women to come over to relieve their hunger, so that the brothers can also open their eyes." ”

"That's a good idea." The others' eyes lit up and they agreed.

"Do you want to die?" Khan's face sank.

The man just now said indifferently: "What are you afraid of, anyway, they have a request for me, if you don't agree, let's go back, anyway, we have already taken the Xi clan, and the harvest is not small, the Xi Wan Dan Department has been back for a long time, they are wolf ambitions, in case they annex our department, it will be terrible." ”

"Report!" A man hurried in.

"What's the panic, can't you find death?" Someone scolded.

The person who came in looked at the khan with a frightened face and said, "Respected Khan, the big thing is not good, the respected Khatun's guard centurion came with a few people and said...... Say ......"

"Say what, hurry up, it looks like you're in a hurry." Someone scolded.

The visitor was startled, worried that his mouth would be cut down, and hurriedly said: "They are outside, let's let them tell the respected khan in person." ”

"Call in." Khan shouted, feeling a little uneasy in his heart.

Not long after, a man hurried in, dusty and covered in snow, and knelt down with a pop, and one of them shouted anxiously: "Respectful lovely, the little man is honored by the order of Kedun, the tribe ...... The tribe was attacked by the Tang army, and the whole tribe was captured, and in the ...... Wait for the Khan to rescue in Yingzhou. ”

"What...... What the? The Khan was shocked, got up suddenly, and stared at the people who came in, if he didn't know him, and knew his loyalty, he would definitely think that he was lying about the military situation, but the blizzard closed the mountains, and the roads were difficult to travel, how could the tribe be put in a pot? How can it be?

The others also looked at the crowd with hungry faces, and one of them rushed up and kicked the person who spoke, pulled out his knife and put it on the other's neck and shouted, "Say it again? What happened to the Horde? ”

The tribe not only has Kedun, but also has wives and children, and no one can be calm.

The person who gave the report glanced at the other party with a frightened face, then looked at the Khan, and said stubbornly: "Ten days ago, a Tang army suddenly appeared, using a crossbow, impenetrable, five thousand left-behind troops were all killed, the respected Ke Dun had to surrender in order to cover the whole clan, the hateful Tang army forced us to clear the snow, opened the passage, walked for five days, and finally arrived in Yingzhou, it was the Tang army who let us over, they said......"

"Say what?" The Khan stepped forward with a sinister look on his face.

The other party hurriedly said: "Say ...... said that the respected khan would take the people of the Taiyuan Wang clan to exchange, one for another, and within five days, the whole clan would be destroyed. ”

"What...... Bastard! The khan was furious, drew his sword and slew him, and without relieving his hatred, he slashed at the others again, and said, "I can't even keep my tribe, so what do I want you to do?" Bastards, damn it, you all damn it......"

The sword was blazing, and blood was splattered.

After a while, these people survived the sneak attack, came alive to dig snow and dig passages, and also came alive to build cities, and even came back to report the news after nine deaths, but they died at the hands of their own people, and they didn't look away.

However, the khan is still not married, his eyes are red, like a mad hungry wolf staring at the corpse, it is difficult to calm down, the whole tribe is captured, everyone is homeless, there is nothing, what is this?

What's the use of taking down the Xi clan fortunately?

Everyone was gloomy and silent, each with their own thoughts.

The silence in the room was a little depressing, and it was like two worlds from the laughter just now.

After a while, one of the generals reminded: "Honorable Khan, you must plan ahead!" ”

"What do you want to say?" Khan stared at the other with murderous intent in his eyes.

The other party panicked and quickly changed his words: "It's all up to the Khan." ”

Khan took a few deep breaths, suppressed his anger, calmed himself down, returned to his place and sat down, looking at the beating bonfire, the roasted sheep on it were bubbling with oil, where there was still a little appetite, and there was no joy of taking down the Xi tribe and expanding the territory for the tribe, and his face was gloomy and dripping.

Everyone looked at Khan, but no one dared to speak, for fear of touching the mold.

The room was eerily quiet, except for the crackling sound of the bonfire, which was particularly harsh, as if mocking something.

After a while, the khan regained some senses, looked at everyone and said: "Two choices, either withdraw the troops and go back to save people, but in this way, it will offend the Taiyuan Wang clan and violate the covenant, and Goguryeo will also attack us, or sit and wait for the blizzard to melt and continue to go south, and if the wife and children are gone, you can find them again, regenerate, let's talk about it, how to choose?" ”

A sentence that hits the hearts of the people.

How easy is it to rush back to Yingzhou in five days, even if you arrive, what can you save? Once the Don army blocked the prisoners in front, could the bows of the soldiers still be pulled apart?

Moreover, once the troops are withdrawn, it means that the alliance is torn up, and the Khitan will have two more enemies, Taiyuan Wang and Goguryeo, plus the Tang army, one to three, how to fight?

Everyone held their breath, their faces flushed.

An old man suddenly got up and said: "Khan, the clan cannot be remedied, otherwise the army will be unstable, but it is very unwise to tear up the covenant at this time, it will offend the Wang family and Goguryeo at the same time, anyway, our army has taken the Xi clan, and it is considered to be a tear face with the Tang Dynasty, it is better to tell the situation bluntly, let the Taiyuan Wang family help, and go to save people together, since everyone has formed an alliance, there is no reason for them to sit and ignore." ”

The khan also knew that if he didn't send troops to rescue, the army's morale would be in chaos, and it wouldn't take a few days to run away, so he thought about it and said: "That's right, the Khitan only raised troops because of the Taiyuan Wang clan, and now that something happens, they have no reason to hide behind and watch the jokes, but the blizzard closes the road, and the army is difficult to ......."

"Khan." The old man interrupted: "The person who came to report just now mentioned clearing the snow and opening up the road, since the Tang army can do it, our army can also do it, tens of thousands of Xi prisoners are in hand, don't worry about lack of labor, as long as the road is opened, it will be easy for tens of thousands of Khitan warriors to take Yingzhou." ”

"It makes sense, pass the order, let the people of the Taiyuan Wang family come to see you." The khan made a decisive decision, as long as the army besieged Yingzhou and forced each other to slaughter the city, Langyingzhou did not dare to kill the prisoners, if he really killed, the army would have the same hatred and hatred, and the army's heart would be available.

Not long after, a sturdy man wearing armor came in, it was Wang Tongbiao of the Taiyuan Wang family.

Wang Tongbiao felt the oppressive atmosphere in the room, looked at the corpses all over the ground, a flash of surprise flashed in his eyes, and pointed to the corpses and asked bluntly: "Respected Khan, what does this mean?" ”

"The people who came to deliver the letter." The Khan explained, motioned for Wang Tongbiao to sit down, briefly explained the situation, but concealed the replacement of the Taiyuan Wang family, and finally added: "General Wang, this Khan hopes that the Taiyuan Wang family will help send troops, take Yingzhou, and rescue the clansmen, otherwise, the Khitan army will be in turmoil, and it may be difficult to continue to go south." ”

"You're threatening me?" Wang Tongbiao's eyes sank, a little dissatisfied.

"No, Ben Khan is telling the truth."

Wang Tongbiao also knew that the news spread, and the Khitan army was panicked, which did affect the morale of the army, and after thinking about it, Zhengse said: "The nobles were captured, and I deeply sympathize with them, but sending the barracks to the state is a matter of the overall situation, and this matter needs to be discussed with the elders in the family, and the current situation is also clear to the Great Khan, so you can't act rashly." ”

"This ......" Khan was a little angry.

"A letter to the Great Khan in a day's time, okay?" Wang Tongbiao asked.

"Okay, please." Khan held back his anger and squeezed out a smile.

If it was usual, the khan would not give Wang Tongbiao a face at all, and the patriarch of the Taiyuan Wang clan would be about the same, but now it is not what it used to be, and he asked for the Taiyuan Wang family, and when he saw Wang Tongbiao leave, his mood became complicated, and he felt a little remorseful.

When Wang Tongbiao walked away, the khan looked at the old man: "Wizard, how is this person?" ”

"This person is ruthless, cunning and changeable, what he just said looks like delaying time, when he sends someone to keep an eye on it, if this person escapes, decisively take it down, send it to the Tang Army, transfer to the imperial court, and seek a way to live." The old man said solemnly.

"Can you switch to the imperial court?" Khan's face changed dramatically.

The old man smiled: "Why not? In the past, we have not done anything out of the ordinary, the imperial court needs us to contain Goguryeo in the north, we can only compromise, then we only need to have nothing to do with the Taiyuan Wang clan on the surface, and take down the Xi people is a personal grudge, and there is no intention to attack the Tang Dynasty, and then give the Xi people to the imperial court, the imperial court has benefits, and has face, and it will inevitably appease our army, as before. ”

"Makes sense, you go." Khan looked at one of the generals beside him.

The other party hurried away.

The khan looked at everyone and continued to advise: "Pacify the army, whether the Taiyuan Wang family comes or not, we must go back to save people, it's a big deal to join the Tang army, with a good face in the Tang Dynasty, the style of benevolence and righteousness, plus we need to contain Goguryeo, not only will we not do anything to us, but also release the clansmen, this time to the south, my Khitan has tens of thousands of Xi prisoners in hand, and a large number of captures, and the strength has increased greatly." ”

"Khan is wise!" The crowd complimented.

The Khan thought about it carefully and felt that this method was feasible, as long as Goguryeo existed, as long as the tribes farther north existed, the Tang Dynasty needed the Khitan to contain all parties, and even to provide swords and soldiers and food, as before.

The generals also thought of this, thinking of all the tolerance and support of the imperial court in the past, and their hearts were settled.