The reason why Li Jiangyao did not hold on to the city, but carried out a field attack, was actually a brave choice in desperation.

At present, Metasequoia has become an isolated city, and there is no strong reinforcement outside, and stubbornly defending is equivalent to a dead end. If you directly abandon the outer front and let the other side deploy calmly, once the Turks occupy various highlands and key roads and besiege the city, then you can really call the earth and the earth ineffective, and you can only sit and wait for death.

As a result, nearly 50,000 mixed troops of the Fourth Army of Zhenjiang took the initiative to attack, and on the plains outside the west gate of Metasequoia City, they fought fiercely with the 30,000 elite cavalry of the Turkic Blood Guard Iron Cavalry Legion.

As soon as the two sides fought, the situation was beyond the expectations of Yun Qianxue and the Turkic generals, and the famous Zhenjiang army was far more powerful than they had imagined before.

The Blood Guard Iron Cavalry, whose combat power was proud of the Western Continent, did not pay attention to the remnants of the Holy Tang Dynasty at first, and launched a fierce attack on the phalanx of the Zhenjiang Army as soon as they came up. Yun Qianxue sent nearly 10,000 cavalry under his command to form several sharp formations, and stabbed at the Zhenjiang army lined up in a goose-shaped formation.

According to past experience, once their cavalry is allowed to sprint on flat terrain, relying on the speed advantage of their war horses, and blooming more, the opponent will soon be in a situation of being passively beaten everywhere, and they will be overwhelmed.

Just a few months ago, in Blackwater City on the Western Continent, the resistance of the Tiele tribe completely collapsed under the repeated impact of the Blood Guard Iron Cavalry.

However, no one could have imagined that Li Jiangyao's Zhenjiang army was not suppressed by the Turkic "pinnacle" at all, whether it was the left and right flanks, or the large array of the Chinese army, all of them were guarded like iron buckets, no matter how the blood guard iron cavalry advanced, it never moved.

Under the joint command of Li Jiangyao and Xu Youchang, the Zhenjiang Army showed extraordinary combat quality, and the cooperation between various arms was seamless. Archers, pikemen, and sword and axe soldiers refused to block from afar, and from time to time they launched counter-charges, which simply kept tens of thousands of elite Turkic cavalry out of the main formation, and did not fall behind at all.

Yun Qianxue saw that the frontal rapid offensive was difficult to work for a while, so she hurriedly adjusted her strategy, and sent five thousand flying horsemen on the left and right to make a big circle from the periphery to outflank the flank and rear of the Zhenjiang army in a pincer shape.

Li Jiangyao sensed the opponent's intentions in time, and immediately sent 10,000 cavalry to meet the opponent in two directions. The 5,000 heavily armored cavalry on the left was personally commanded by Xu Youchang; The 5,000 white-robed army on the right was led by Du Jian, a general who survived from Homnitz.

The four groups of people collided together in the blink of an eye, knives and guns exchanged guns, and the sound of killing shook the sky.

Du Jian seemed to be possessed by a fierce god, with a long knife in his hand, rushing left and right in the blood guard cavalry group, as if entering a no-man's land. The subordinates all knew very well that Lord Du was avenging General Lin Feng, so much so that he had already put his life and death on the line.

With Du Jian as an example, the ghost-faced white-robed army naturally became more and more courageous, they were originally the elite of the Zhenjiang army, and their combat power was not at all under the Turks.

In less than half an hour, their Blood Guard Iron Cavalry suffered more than 2,000 casualties along the way, and in desperation, they were forced to retreat in panic.

The white-robed soldiers chased the enemy and killed all the way in the direction of the Turkic main formation, which made Yun Qianxue couldn't help but be slightly startled. However, he was not flustered, and hurriedly ordered his trusted lieutenant general to lead a new new force to rush forward to resist Du Jian and them.

The Turkic Blood Guards desperately resisted, struggling to withstand the attack of the Ghost-faced White-robed Army, Yun Qianxue turned his head to see that the iron cavalry on the other side was also defeated by Xu Youchang, and was retreating towards the main formation.

He frowned and began to reassess the strength of the Zhenjiang Army.

The so-called remnants of the Holy Tang army in front of him are so tough, it is no wonder that the Marquis of Durham and Duolun have been defeated repeatedly, and his sworn eldest brother Mohadi is even more hateful to the battlefield.

Looking at it this way, what kind of terrifying existence will the main army of the Holy Tang Dynasty east of Zijin Pass be?

At this time, Yun Qianxue didn't care about making too many emotions, he passed down the order, and asked the main force responsible for the frontal attack to divide into two teams of 1,000 people, turn the direction, and flank Xu You's long troops who were constantly advancing, so as to relieve the pressure on the cavalry on the right flank.

The Blood Guard Iron Cavalry is worthy of being the elite Turkic soldiers and horses, they are well-trained, experienced, and also fearless of death, plus they have the initiative to attack on the battlefield, so as soon as they received the commander's military order, they immediately adjusted their forces and defeated Xu Youchang, who was not far away.

Li Jiangyao found that the flank cavalry might be attacked from both sides by the opponent, so he hurriedly asked the herald to sound a warning and summon the men and horses on both flanks to shrink quickly and return to the main formation.

Xu Youchang and Du Jian received the signal and knew that the current situation was urgent, and they did not dare to be greedy for merit again, so as not to be cut off by the enemy, so they led their subordinates to withdraw in time and retreated, and broke away from the battle before the Turks could kill them.

Yun Qianxue saw that there was nothing to take advantage of, but she was not in a hurry, so she ordered the whole army to temporarily stop the attack, retreat all, and decide on the next move after adjusting and resting.

Seeing that the Turkic blood guards finally stopped and retreated back one after another, the top and bottom of the Zhenjiang army suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Jiangyao's expression was solemn, and he also silently assessed the strength of the opposite side in his heart.

That's amazing!

The fierce confrontation between you and me just now, the Zhenjiang side was almost unable to bear it. The main force of the whole army has done its best, and it has worked hard to barely hold on to the current point, and the formation is not lost for the time being.

If he hadn't taken out the reserves in advance, the Ghost-Faced White-robed Army, and withstood the surprise attack launched by the other party from the flank at all costs, I am afraid that he would have been forced to flee back to the city by now.

Today's enemy is only a small part of the Turkic army, if Ashina Jin sends more main forces, what kind of terrible scene will it be?

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"My lord, I think it's about the same, let's take it when we see it." Xu Youchang rode his horse to Li Jiangyao's side, and said in a deep voice: "After fighting for nearly two hours, our casualties far exceed those of the other side, and if we continue to consume like this, I am afraid that the brothers will not be able to hold out for long." ”

Li Jiangyao stared at the Turkic Blood Guards in the distance, and bowed slightly: "Well, I agree with your opinion. The Turks rushed all the way here, and then fought fiercely for so long, they should have been tired enough. What's more, if we fight each other desperately, they will not be able to calmly arrange in a short period of time, let alone dare to take it lightly and divide their troops to besiege Metasequoia. Now that the goal has been achieved, while the other party has not been tightly bitten, it is good to quickly apply oil to the soles of your feet. ”

Seeing that he agreed, Xu Youchang hurriedly waved his hand behind him, and the herald immediately beat the war drums vigorously. The Zhenjiang army with its back to the city began to change its formation in turn according to the instructions of the drumbeat, and retreated one after another.

The generals on the Turkic side found out that Li Jiangyao planned to retreat, and hurriedly ran to Yun Qianxue for instructions on whether to pursue him.

Yun Qianxue carefully observed for a moment, and shook her head helplessly: "The enemy did not flee in a hurry, but acted in moderation. Even if we rush forward now, it will probably not have any effect. Besides, the soldiers are already very tired today, and it is not advisable to wear them out excessively. Let's stop here, the whole army is encamped, eat and rest! ”

Li Jiangyao, a famous general of the Holy Tang Dynasty, and Yun Qianxue, a famous Turkic general, who were called "two heroes in the world" by later generations, ended their first meeting in a draw.

Although the scale of the forces invested by the two sides was not particularly large, and the impact of the battle was not very important and far-reaching, the intensity of the confrontation far exceeded any previous battle between the two men.

The so-called fierceness is not measured by the degree of casualties in this battle, but refers to the fact that these two people have truly experienced a feeling of "chess meeting opponents" on the battlefield: they have the most elite combat power in their hands, but they cannot take advantage of the opponent.

This kind of indistinguishable and entangled and fierce battle is the true meaning of "fierce".

However, no one expected that the second fierce confrontation between the two of them would also come very quickly, and there was only less than five hours between the first duel.

On the night of the fierce battle between the two sides, the Turkic Blood Guard Iron Cavalry retreated to a place about five miles away from Metasequoia City, set up camp, and rested for dinner. Due to the high-intensity marching and fighting before, the Blood Guards were exhausted, and after dinner, they fell asleep. All of a sudden, the tent was filled with snoring.

Yun Qianxue looked at the hourglass of the timer, estimated that the time was about three watches, so she ordered her subordinates to gather the whole army quietly.

He was going to steal the city.

Yun Qianxue concluded that Li Jiangyao and the others must be exhausted from the big battle during the day, and they would inevitably relax their vigilance when they hid behind the city wall at this time. If you take advantage of the time to sneak up on Metasequoia, it will probably have a miraculous effect.

In war, it is who is more tenacious and brave, and who is more unexpected. After all, the walls of Metasequoia City are not too high, so you only need to send one or two hundred warriors with good skills, touch them quietly, and then take one or two of his city gates, and then you can launch a whole army charge, pour into the city in one fell swoop, and capture the city.

So, the Turkic elite, who had always been tenacious and tenacious, endured fatigue and sleepiness at this time, lifted their spirits, and everyone took their mouths and horses, wrapped their spears and blades in furs, and left the camp silently and marched towards Metasequoia.

Almost at the same time, the west gate of Metasequoia City slowly opened. A large army of Sen Ran silently walked out of the city, the same mouths and horses, and the same cloth wrapped in the blades of the spears.

Li Jiangyao walked in the middle of the team, looking back and forth, and kept reminding the soldiers passing by him to be quiet and careful.

He was going to steal the camp.

Li Jiangyao believed that in the big battle during the day, the Turks must have been exhausted, and as the main attacker, it was inevitable that they would relax their vigilance at this time. If you can take advantage of the other party's sleep and sneak attack the Turkic camp, it will most likely have a miraculous effect.

In war, it is who is more tenacious and brave, and who is more unexpected. After all, the Turkic camp has no fortifications, and the Turks have always been good at attacking but not defending, so they only need to send one or two hundred good men with good skills to quietly turn in, and then open the camp gate, and then they can launch a whole army assault, break into the camp in one fell swoop, and burn him with meat and vegetables.

As a result, the Zhenjiang army, which has always been tough, gritted their teeth to support their sleepy and unbearable bodies at this time, left the city silently, and marched towards the Turkic camp.