"What are those Tang barbarians shouting nonsense? Looks silly, huh. The captain of the Turkic convoy muttered with squinted eyes.

Tan Li put his hands in his sleeves, looked at Xie Guang with interest, and said with a smile: "Bacheng has finally made up his mind to attack Tongguan." ”

At this time, the Turkic prince and his subordinates were standing on a high lookout, overlooking the surrounding scenery.

The captain of the guard asked, "Your Highness, when are we going to return?" The Great Khan, they are all about to hit the imperial capital of the Holy Tang Dynasty now, right? ”

Tanley glanced at him with a smile: "What are you anxious about?" Xie Guang, that old guy is very ghostly, and there are a few important terms, he has always refused to let go, so I just went back, how to explain to my father Khan? might as well wait, let him suffer more under Tongguan City, and he will probably sit down and talk obediently. Besides, Lao Jianhua, Darren, and Gurt haven't come back yet, so they have to stop for a few more days. ”

The captain of the guard had a sad face: "Your Highness, wait a few more days, aren't you afraid of missing the battle in the imperial capital?" It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make meritorious contributions. Whoever is the first to enter the capital of the Holy Tang Dynasty will be written into poetry and sung from generation to generation in the Western Continent. ”

Tanli glanced at him, but still said with a smile on his face: "You know what a fart!" It's still being sung from generation to generation, do you understand? Let me tell you, the imperial capital is by no means so easy to gnaw. Oh yes, have you ever been to the imperial capital? ”

"Nope."

"So, you've never seen the imperial capital, so you can't imagine its horror." Tanli looked into the distance and said leisurely: "In that place, the moat alone is ten zhang wide, the city wall is as tall as a cliff, and the number of arrow towers and bunkers around it cannot be counted. There is also an eight-armed divine crossbow installed on the head of the city, which can fire more than a dozen large crossbow arrows as thick as an arm at a time, and the distance is as far as seven or eight hundred steps. Want to conquer the imperial capital in one fell swoop? Hmph, I'm not scaring you, if you don't die, you don't even have a door. ”

The captain of the guard was dumbfounded: "Won't it?" How exaggerated is it? According to you, wouldn't it be very dangerous to attack the imperial capital? ”

Tanli shrugged his shoulders: "I have long told my father Khan that there are only two ways to take the imperial capital. One, it is a long-term siege. There are more than one million people in the city, and the daily consumption of materials is huge, as long as he is surrounded for a year and a half, it is guaranteed that he will not be able to bear it. The second way is to combine the inside and the outside. Try to rebel against the defenders of the imperial capital, let them open the gates from the inside, and assist our army in clearing the city of resistance, so that you can have a chance to take the city. But ......"

"But what?"

"But our marshals and generals have all been carried away by the previous victory at this moment, and they all feel good about themselves, and their eyes are empty." A bright smile appeared on Tanley's face: "They didn't listen to my opinion at all, not only mocked me for being cowardly, but also kept agitating my father Khan, and rushed to the imperial capital to rob treasures, women, and merit and honor." Hahaha, these idiots don't know at all, and what awaits them ahead is only endless pain. ”

The captain of the guard suddenly said: "So Your Highness means, let's not wade into this troubled water with them?" ”

Tan Li stretched out for a while: "Of course." Storming the imperial capital will inevitably lead to heavy losses, so why waste your precious strength for the sake of a false name in poetry? As long as I am not there, my soldiers and horses will definitely be left far behind by them, and it is not good to justifiably avoid sacrifice? ”

In the next few days, Xie Guang was busy deploying troops and making all kinds of siege equipment, intending to shake Tongguan. Prince Tanley, on the other hand, did not seem to be in a hurry at all, and just wandered around leisurely, killing time.

Both sides of the negotiation have a good excuse in common: Mr. Lao Jianhua has not returned.

As the intermediary between the Turks and the Xuanjia Army, Lao Jianhua was not present, so the negotiations on this alliance should naturally be put aside for the time being, and continue to negotiate when everyone gathers.

At first, Tanli also ran with great interest to watch the Xuanjia army make siege equipment, hoping to learn some advanced experience from it, so that it could be used by the Turks in future battles.

However, it is a pity that His Royal Highness the prince is really not the material for war, and after only two days of hard work, he felt bored, so he said hello to Xie Guang, and led his guards to leave the camp and go to the nearby mountains and forests to hunt and have fun.

What Stanley didn't anticipate, however, was that he was a hunter in his eyes, but in the eyes of some, he was actually a prey.

The so-called people are Li Jiangyao and the Reverse Scale Division.

Just when Tanli came to Qianyunling, seven miles away from the Xuanjia Army camp, he was about to rest for one night and start hunting the next day, but a change suddenly happened.

Just as the hazy night fell, a long, mournful howl suddenly sounded in the forest without warning, startling the birds that roost in the mountains.

Immediately afterward, a group of men in black burst out of the darkness and launched a surprise attack on the Turkic guards around the campfire. In just a moment's effort, seven guards were killed on the spot, and only one who was still alive was also captured by the black-clothed man.

As the knife was pressed against his neck, the guard heard the man ask in a fluent Turkic voice, "What about Tanli?" Where is he? ”

The guard felt that the cold blade was piercing the flesh little by little, and hurriedly replied honestly: "Your Highness, he ...... Your Highness was just about to eat when he suddenly stood up inexplicably, looked around for a long time, and then ...... Then without saying a word, he went behind the woods. Then, you're going to kill it! ”

"Slipped away on your own?" The questioner was slightly stunned: Could it be that this guy Tamley is like a beast, and can foresee danger in advance? The man in black abandoned his guards and turned and leaped in the direction of the woods, and the others followed closely behind him, speeding after him.

Skirting the dense undergrowth, several horses were tethered to a glade in the woods, kicking their hooves and snorting from time to time, apparently the mounts of Thanley and his men.

A man in black quickly counted them and said hurriedly: "It's not good, Master Li, there are only eight horses here, Tanley is running!" ”

Another man in black crouched on the ground, searching around by the light of a torch. After a while, he straightened up and said, "My lord, I did walk on horseback, and the hoof prints were very clear, and I went north. ”

"Mommy! Is that guy a fox reincarnated? The man in black, who was in charge of counting the horses, cursed: "The sense of smell is so good, it smelled us in advance." My lord, let's chase after him, or let him run away! ”

Li Jiangyao raised his hand to take off the hood, carefully looked at the hoof prints on the ground, turned to look at the remaining war horses, pondered for a moment, and suddenly smiled: "Don't chase it first." Look at it, there's nothing strange about it. ”

The other men in black followed his example, and they also removed the black cloth covering their faces one after another, and carefully observed the surrounding environment. After a while, everyone said one after another that they didn't notice anything abnormal.

Li Jiangyao asked Zhou Xing, who was standing next to him, "Have you ever hunted?" ”

Zhou Xingying said: "When I was in the imperial capital, I would occasionally accompany my father to play. ”

"What do you take with you when you hunt?" Li Jiangyao continued to ask.

"It depends on the length of time." Zhou Xing said: "If it lasts for a few days, tents, dry food, blankets, rain gear, all are indispensable. By the way, and wine. ”

Li Jiangyao smiled: "Was there any of these things on the bonfire just now?" ”

Everyone looked at each other, then shook their heads.

"And what about here?" Li Jiangyao pointed around.

Everyone, you look at me, I look at you, and I find that the place where the horses are tied is indeed strange. There are a few pieces of equipment you need for a safari, but they are not many and are very messy.

Zhou Xing suddenly reacted: "Do you mean that the war horse that ran away was not carrying Tanli, but equipment, in order to create the illusion that someone was riding a horse away?" ”

Li Jiangyao said: "That's right. In my opinion, Stanley is suspicious. He probably sensed that danger was approaching, but he did not dare to run away rashly, so he put a heavy object on the horse's back, and stabbed the horse with the tip of his sword, so that the horse could gallop away in pain, so as to lure us into desperate pursuit of the horse's hooves. As for him, he waited until we were all gone, and then left in a hurry. So the guy should be hiding nearby. You will search for me, and I will definitely be able to find him! ”

The spies of the Scales Division agreed in unison, and were about to start moving, when they suddenly heard a soft applause from the bushes next to them.

The second Turkic prince Tanli clapped his hands and walked out from behind the bushes with a smile: "Amazing! Your Excellency, it is truly remarkable. Originally, I was still thinking about taking a shot with you, and then everyone went back to their own homes and found their own mothers. Unexpectedly, he still couldn't escape the eyes of Baron Metasequoia. Hahaha. ”

He walked up to the crowd, as if he were meeting an old friend: "Baron, we haven't seen each other for a while, don't come unharmed?" ”

Li Jiangyao looked at the smiling Tanley, and couldn't help but wonder: "Your Royal Highness, you are still the same." ”

"It's okay, thanks to you." According to the rules of the Holy Tang, Tan Li intervened in Li Jiangyao's salute, and said with a smile: "It's a pity that I'm too busy." You know me, born to work hard, to run around for my father all day long, and not to be idle for a moment. No, taking advantage of the good weather these two days, I was thinking about going out to hunt, relaxing, and I happened to meet you, what a fate. ”