Duan Quange has been handling military affairs by candlelight tonight.

Although his family was regarded as a Nanban by the Tang people, he actually had a deep family background, and his children were both civil and military.

Picking up the pen and marking the progress of several troops and horses such as Xian Yu Zhongtong, Duan Jianwei, and Yixiang Yele on the map, he suddenly thought of something - the sentinels in the west did not return for two or three days.

"Someone!"

Immediately, the door was slammed open.

"General! The Tibetan people are here! ”

"What's the panic? The Tang Army's plan to divide is just that. ”

Duan Quange strode out, listening to the military situation as he went, until he heard that it was the slave named "pig" who had deceived the city gate, and he frowned.

"Go, take Yang Luoding!"

"Whoa."

Duan Quange walked towards the head of the city without stopping, and at the same time shouted loudly: "Guard the city gate for me!" ”

He had confidence in defending Longwei Pass, because he had enough troops, and as long as the command was right, he could completely deal with a sneak attack.

"Soldiers! At the beginning of the establishment of the Nanzhao Kingdom, the official is being knighted, and tonight to guard the city, everyone can become a minister! ”

He was greeted with a loud bang.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Two gates were blown down, and sawdust flew everywhere.

To make matters worse, the soldiers were all frightened, thinking that they were the gods and spirits, and they developed an incomparable fear of the enemy.

When the enemy soldiers entered the cave, few people dared to resist, and many more turned and fled.

Duan Quange was also stunned for a while, unable to understand what was sent. When he came back to his senses, he found that the situation was irreparable.

He immediately ordered Mingjin, gathered his men, and prepared to retreat to Taihe City.

When he rushed down the city, a team of soldiers escorted Yang Luoding over.

"General Duan." Yang Luoding shouted: "What's the matter? Why are you tying me up? ”

Duan Quange hurried down the stone steps and asked, "You said that the Tang army separated us from the Tubo, and now the Tubo people have attacked!" ”

"I ......"

"I'm going to ask you, what's going on?!"

Yang Luoding was about to answer, but the killing shouts approached a lot.

Duan Quange glanced back, and seeing that he didn't have time to ask any more, he pulled out his long knife and slashed it down.

"Poof."

A human head fell to the ground and rolled, its mouth still open, as if telling of injustice.

~~

Qu Huan was sitting cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed, and he was still unmoving, as if he was asleep.

He was a very young general, only twenty-four years old. His father's name is Qu Bin, as his name suggests, he is polite and courteous, and he has served as an official in Longyou all the year round, so Quhuan went to the northwest and became an excellent riding and archery kung fu in the fierce folk style middle school.

He opened his eyes when he heard the sound of gold in the distance, got up and shouted to his soldiers, "Go!" ”

There were originally more than 500 people under his command, and when they arrived at Longwei Pass, there were only more than 300 people left. Tonight, Wang Zhongji transferred 200 people from his own military camp to him, and only asked him to take the gate of Taihe City and guard it for half a day.

More than 600 people ran across the drawbridge, through the dusty city caves, and smelled a pungent smell in the air. When I entered Longwei Pass, I saw that under the bright moonlight, there were many wounded Nanzhao soldiers lying in a pool of blood, and they were wailing incessantly.

"Bring the torches!"

Quhuan glanced at the battlefield, walked to a corpse dressed in the clothes of a Nanzhao official, and kicked it twice, and the corpse moved twice and then did not move.

With a "bang", Quhuan pulled out his knife and shouted: "Dare to pretend to be dead again, cut off your head!" ”

The corpse immediately got up, kowtowed and begged for mercy, shouting for mercy.

"Can you speak Chinese?"

"Yes! Yes! ”

"Lead the way, go to Taihe City! If you dare to deceive, Lao Tzu will stab your intestines all over the ground! ”

"Yes, the general's side, this side to Taihe City! It's more than ten miles away......"

The Tang army did not ride horses, but led the horses to attack on foot, with only a dozen or so sentry horses exploring the way ahead.

Although the moonlight was bright tonight, they were unfamiliar with the road, and Quhuan did not want the sound of horses' hooves to disturb Taihe City.

Even so, the speed of the Tang army was still very fast.

After running for about three or four miles, the sentry horse turned back and said, "General, there is a Nanzhao army ahead, and they are also rushing to Taihe City, and there are at least 5,000 people in the formation." The night was dark, and I couldn't be sure. ”

Quhuan was not frightened by the number of enemy troops, the barbarian soldiers were different from the Tang army, men could form an army in wartime, but their combat power and equipment were far inferior to the Tang army, and these were the routs that escaped from Longwei Pass, and there were many servants among them.

He thought about it for a while, and decided to wait for them to arrive at Taihe City, let the city gate open, and take advantage of the opening of the city, and then suddenly kill them, defeat them, and drive them to attack the city.

"Passed down one by one, the whole army sneaks, and those who dare to shout will be killed immediately."

"Whoa."

Even this military order was very quiet, and it was passed down one by one by the soldiers.

In this way, this small force of Tang troops unhurriedly embellished the retreating Nanzhao soldiers and horses, climbed the slope of Cangshan Mountain, and gradually, the outline of Taihe City was displayed in the moonlight.

~~

Taihe City.

The palace was brightly lit, and King Nanzhao was discussing with everyone the strategy of dealing with the Tang army.

Xian Yu Zhongtong has already passed Yaozhou, he claims to be 60,000 people, but most of them are people and servants who carry heavy baggage, and the real strong army is less than 10,000. Duan Jianwei led the army to meet the battle, so that he could not advance quickly, and when the Tang army reached the two levels, we would have been ready for a long time. ”

"According to what Yang Zifen saw when he went on an envoy, the Tang army is seriously plagued, and as long as we hold the initial period, injuries and illnesses can drag down this Tang army."

"Also, the soldiers and horses of Xiang Yele, who are dependent on each other in Tibet, are ready, and now Xian Yu Zhongtong's offensive is too fierce, he can lead the army to go around and give the Tang army a blow......"

In the past, the big chiefs still had a kind of godlike awe for the Tang army, and after the battle of Yaozhou to kill Zhang Qiantuo and this military discussion, they have found that the Tang army is not invincible, and now it is full of confidence.

After discussing, Yang Zifen stepped into the hall, walked to Ge Luofeng's side, and whispered.

Ge Luofeng looked at the big chiefs in the hall, and there was a faint light in his eyes that flickered for a moment, and he actually chose to tell them calmly.

"The Tubo people have broken through the Longwei Pass, don't panic, follow the king to the city to have a look."

After that, Ge Luofeng walked towards the East City Tower first.

The layout of Taihe City is different from other cities, because it is built on the hillside, the west is high and the east is low, the main city gate is open to the east, and there is an urn city.

Looking out from the city tower, you can see Erhai Lake as far as possible. Under the moonlight, I saw an endless stream of people and horses going up the mountain, and there was a small group of people left behind at a distance.

When Duan Quange and his subordinates rushed to the city gate, Ge Luofeng ordered the urn gate to be opened, and he stood on the city tower and questioned them.

"Your Majesty, the Tubo people are treacherous and want to destroy Nanzhao!"

Duan Quange said everything that happened, knelt on the ground, raised his head and shouted: "The last general was deceived by Tubo and failed to hold the Longwei Pass, please give the king a sin!" ”

Ge Luofeng's eyes were hesitant, thinking about it, and finally recruited Zheng Hui.

"Did you hear it, sir? What do you think about this strange matter? ”

Zheng Hui groaned, feeling that Ge Luofeng already knew it, so he said frankly: "It may not be a Tubo person. ”

"Oh?"

"The Tubo people should not attack Nanzhao at this time."

"Perhaps, Yi Xiangye Le is afraid that I am not really attached to Tubo and take the opportunity to destroy the Southern Zhao Kingdom?"

"Even if you set foot on Taihe City, you can't destroy Nanzhao; Even if the Southern Zhao is destroyed, there are still five edicts. If Tubo does this, it will only be self-defeating and cause Nanzhao to fall to the Tang Dynasty again. ”

Ge Luofeng asked, "What does the gentleman mean?" ”

Zheng replied: "The minister thinks that it should be Tang Jun who comes." ”

~~

I drove more than ten miles overnight, and the night was almost over.

The full moon was sinking in the west, and the moonlight was dim, and it was the darkest time before dawn.

Qu Huan walked up the hill and looked up, only to see that the soldiers and horses of Nanzhao who had withdrawn all the way from Longwei Pass were already entering the city, so that his plan was half successful.

He immediately made a decision and ordered: "Attack! ”

"Whew-"

The horn sounded suddenly, and the Tang sergeant shouted and killed.

"Shoot the arrows!"

After two rounds of arrows, although the Nanzhao soldiers panicked, they had not yet formed a rout.

Quhuan was not satisfied with such a battle situation, and ordered the pro-order to hand over an explosives package, tie it to a spear, and run to the front of the army.

"Ignition!"

"General?"

"Light a fire for me! Drive! ”

With a knife in his left hand and a spear in his right, he galloped up the mountain, glancing at the fuse that had been burning.

The horse galloped into the enemy, and he swung his sword to slash down one of the people who stood in his way, and finally, he threw his spear out.

The spear made a graceful arc and landed on several Southern Edicts in front of them, just above their heads.

"Boom!"

There was a bang.

A light burst out of the darkness, reflecting several blasted heads.

Fear finally crept in.

The rout was so frightened that they had no master, cut down the guards who wanted to put away the drawbridge, and rushed to the city gate, but they were stuck at the city gate and could not enter.

Qu Huan led his troops to follow behind, and he was not in a hurry, and now the city gate could not be closed, which was equivalent to those defeated soldiers occupying the city gate for him.

The next moment, a rain of arrows fell from the top of the city, shooting at the Tang army, and also at the routed soldiers who were crowded at the city gates. The routs then screamed and fled, and the people crowded at the gate were able to enter.

The Tang army had already suffered some casualties under the rain of arrows, and Quhuan shouted: "Kill it!" ”

He rushed to the front, and the Mo knife in his hand flew up and down, killing through the city cave more than twenty steps long.

Enter the city! The first merit of attacking Taihe City!

Qu Huan's heart was excited, and he couldn't help but shudder. However, when I looked up, this place turned out to be an urn city. He really didn't expect that the city built by the barbarians actually had an urn city. Outside the dark city, I couldn't see clearly.

Hold the reins and look again, the second city gate has been closed, and rows of heavily armed Nanzhao elite soldiers are standing in front of the city gate with spears, and under their feet are dense corpses.

Defeat is often stopped by killing, and those who have been routed no longer dare to rush into battle in a panic.

"Kill the Tang Army!" On the tower of the city, the general of Nanzhao shouted: "Killing the Tang army is your only way to live!" ”

Qu Huan gritted his teeth, beckoned Meng Yinhu, the general of his henchmen, and ordered: "You guard the gate of the urn, and you must not let the soldiers and horses of Nanzhao bypass it and close it." ”

"General rest assured, the door is here!"

"How many packs of explosives do we have?"

Meng Yinhu said: "Four packs." ”

"You take a pack."

Qu Huan didn't have time to organize the formation, so he immediately ordered an attack, and he wanted to capture the second city gate as soon as possible.

He also had three packs of explosives, two of which were to be used to blow up the city gates, so he let the strong men in the army light them and threw them into the Nanzhao army, hoping to scare the Nanzhao army into chaos.

However, before you know it, a light has bloomed in the east. In the midst of the fierce battle, the sky was already bright.

Many people in the Southern Zhao Army had already seen that the "Heavenly Thunder" was ignited by the Tang Army, and their fear was greatly reduced, and the soldiers guarding the second city gate raised their shields one after another.

"The thunder is coming!"

There was a loud "boom", accompanied by a few skulls splashing, and there was still chaos in the Nanzhao army for a while, and the Tang army took advantage of the situation to enter.

However, the Tang army no longer had an advantage in terms of location, numbers, and physical strength, and was never able to break through the defenders' front.

In the mournful cry of "Bang", Quhuan's war horse died, although he was covered in armor, but the gaps in the armor were full of arrows, and he was stuck like a hedgehog, and blood kept flowing out from under his armor.

"General!" The soldiers desperately hugged Quhuan and persuaded: "Retreat, you can't kill it!" ”

"I didn't retreat, I received a death order...... Break the city! ”

"My brothers are all dead."

Suddenly, behind them, outside the urn city, there was a great commotion. The Tang army thought that reinforcements had arrived, and their morale was greatly boosted.

But soon they listened to the shout and realized that it was not the Tang army that came, but the Nanzhao army that had come from other city gates, and wanted to block the Tang army's retreat.

"General, retreat!"

"Nope." Quhuan raised the Mo knife, pointed to the city gate in front of him, and shouted, "Blow it up for me!" Kill! ”

He roared and rushed forward, was hit by two more arrows, and was desperately dragged back by the soldiers.

"Who dares to pull me?!"

"Mingjin, Mingjin, General."

"Who dares?!"

Qu Huan's anger rushed to the top of his head, glaring fiercely at the city gate, only to feel that he was so close to it, and so far away.

As long as it is exploded, he is the most dazzling person in the Tang Dynasty today, like when Gao Xianzhi returned to the court to ask for merit...... That's pretty much.

"Boom!"

There was another loud bang, Qu Huan turned his head, and his general, his brother Meng Yinhu was standing in the middle of the encirclement of the Nanzhao soldiers with an explosive bag and was blown into many petals.

Along with the urn gate, it was blown up.

"Meng Yinhu!"

Quhuan roared angrily, his eyes went dark, and he fainted.

……

"Don't retreat!"

Still remembering that he was fighting on the battlefield, Qu Huan woke up violently and shouted, "Kill!" Kill! ”

However, it was no longer the hellish urn city in front of him, but the tent.

Quhuan immediately thought that he had been captured, and he sprang up with an arrow and rushed out of the tent, but he crashed into a person.

His body was weak, his steps were floating, and when he looked up, he saw Xue Bai.

"Xue Lang? You ...... too."

Xue Bai picked up Quhuan, asked him to lie down on the stretcher, and said, "Break through, you are in the camp." ”

"Taihe City has been captured?"

"Nope."

Qu Huan was extremely disappointed and said: "There are cowards in our army who ordered Mingjin without authorization. ”

Xue Bai said: "It was Wang Jieshuai who ordered Mingjin, and under the circumstances at that time, it was impossible to conquer Taihe City." ”

"No, just a little bit ......"

Qu Huan didn't say any more, he was actually one of the most well-read among the generals, and when he calmed down, he knew that he was carried away at that time, and with the situation at that time, it was impossible to break through the second city gate.

"I haven't fulfilled the military order of the marshal, and I am willing to die."

"You're done." Xue Bai said: "At dawn, the gate of Taihe City is still under your control. You did a good job of completing the military order, we came late. ”

Qu Huan was stunned, tears fell from his eyes, and said, "I killed Meng Yinhu!" And so many brothers. ”

Although he was brave, he was still young after all.

Xue Bai said: "People in the army, life and death are fate, they won't blame you." ”

"It's different, they died because of my fault, I misjudged."

"But if you didn't try at that time, would you be willing? Will you regret it? ”

Qu Huan thought about it, wiped his tears, nodded vigorously, and asked, "Then how should Taihe City be attacked?" ”

Xue Bai said with a smile: "You have broken through the outer city gate and made a great contribution, take care of your injuries, and leave the rest to the Pao Ze brothers." ”

With that, he stood up, looked around at all the wounded soldiers in the tent, and said, "Each of you has made a meritorious service, and when you return to Chang'an, the saint will personally receive you and give you a great reward." Take care of your injuries, and your days will get better and better in the future. ”

"Xie Xuelang!"

All the soldiers who entered the wounded barracks respected Xue Bai very much, because many doctors in the army were recommended by Xue Bai and brought a lot of medicinal materials.

Even, the doctors told these wounded soldiers that Xue Bai had confessed and tried to save the lives of the wounded and remnant soldiers as much as possible.

~~

Out of the wounded barracks, Xue Bai walked towards the big tent.

In the tent, Wang Zhongsi sat alone in front of the map, his brows furrowed into a deep "Sichuan" character.

Raising his eyes, he saw that it was Xue Bai, and Wang Zhongsi spoke: "I am known as a famous general, but I can't capture Taihe City, far inferior to Gao Xianzhi." ”

"The situation is very different, Xiao Boluguo never thought that the Tang army would kill it, but Nanzhao has been preparing for war for a long time, not to mention the huge gap in their national strength."

"But they all anger the saints to the same extent."

Xue Bai smiled: "Jie is handsome and funny. ”

"I'm not kidding." Wang Zhongsi remained silent.

"It's hard for a good woman to cook without rice." Xue Bai said, "If the commander has the strength of Xian Zhongtong and leads the army south, it will not be difficult to destroy Nanzhao." It's a pity that the reason why the saint dared to use the marshal was because we proposed the strategy of 'light army' attack. ”

He said this because he had another purpose, but Wang Zhongsi waved his hand and said, "Don't talk about these, let's talk about ways to break the city." ”

"Okay." Xue Bai then sat down and said, "I thought that we should retreat to Longwei Pass and wait for Xian Yu Zhongtong." ”

"yes." Wang Zhongsi said: "The city gate that Quhuan broke through, Ge Luofeng has already repaired. ”

The Tang army rushed to attack, with few troops and no siege equipment, if it couldn't enter Taihe City at one time, it would not be able to attack it at all.

And the terrain of Taihe City is high, if the Tang army is stationed at the foot of Cangshan Mountain, facing the Erhai Lake. When the Nanzhao army reacted, they condescendingly killed it, but they were afraid that they would be destroyed.

Wang Zhongsi had already thought about these very clearly, and the reason why he asked Xue Bai was just to see if this young man could come up with another strange plan, but the strange plan could not be counted on every time.

"In any case, we have a great hope of winning this battle." Xue Bai said: "Occupying Longwei Pass, the heart of the Nanzhao army is shaking, and there is no danger in the south of Taihe City." Just wait for the arrival of the army led by Zhongtong, and the victory or defeat can be determined. ”

Wang Zhongsi also roughly agreed with this point, nodded, but asked one more question.

"Do you know where I'm upset?"

"Hope for the odds of winning in Xian Yu Zhongtong?"

Wang Zhongsi said: "If I lead the main force to Shicheng in this battle, you will lead a surprise attack with light troops, and attack before and after, Taihe City has been broken last night." ”

~~

Yupao River.

This is a large river located between Yaozhou and Taihe City, the river flows eastward, turns to the north, and finally joins the Jinsha River.

Xian Yu Zhongtong's army was preparing to cross the river.

Due to the many injuries and illnesses of the sergeants in the army, coupled with the soldiers and horses of Duan Jianwei on the opposite bank, Xian Yu Zhongtong did not rush to cross the river, but ordered the ship to be built.

On October 19, two Tang soldiers swam across the river and rushed to the camp to convey Wang Zhonghe's military order.

Xian Yu Zhongtong then summoned the generals and prepared for a decisive battle with Duan Jianwei.

"Jie Shuai, I have something to say."

It was Li Hui, a general under his command, who spoke.

Li Hui walked to the map and said: "Duan Jianwei is ready to fight halfway, although the commander has a strong teacher, he will definitely be able to defeat him, but it is difficult to win quickly." And although he can win, he is familiar with the terrain, once he loses his position, he will withdraw immediately, how can the marshal rush to Longwei Pass as soon as possible? ”

Xian Yu Zhongtong asked, "In your opinion, how is it?" ”

"Please divide my cavalry with 4,000 people, I can cross the river by detour, gallop to Longwei Pass, and join forces with Wang Jieshuai. Strike while the iron is hot and capture Taihe City in one fell swoop. Li Hui said, "Otherwise, when the Nanzhao rebels calm down, I am afraid that the good situation will be lost!" ”

Xian Yu Zhongtong stretched out his hand to touch the military order, but he hesitated.

Although he claimed to be an army of 60,000, in fact, the strong army was only 10,000, and the cavalry was less than 6,000.

Of course, he is not a person who would rather spoil the overall situation for the sake of merit. I just think that when we march into a war, we should fight steadily and steadily, and we should not divide too many troops.

"You lead a thousand horsemen to support Wang Zhonghei first, and I will be there in a few days." Xian Yu Zhongdao, "Let me concentrate my forces and quickly defeat Duan Jianwei." ”

"Lady ......"

"Military orders are like mountains, do you want to obey?!"

"Whoa."

Li Hui had no choice but to take a thousand horsemen and make a detour upstream to find other crossing points.

~~

At the same time, Duan Jianwei also got the news from Taihe City.

He immediately decided to return to the rescue.

Considering that Xian Yu Zhongtong returned Chen Bing to the east of the river and prepared to cross the river, he ordered to retreat quietly at night in batches, and let the soldiers still cook the same number of stoves every day, confusing Xian Yu Zhongtong.

This is not a new tactic, but he learned it from the military book that his ancestors brought with him when they moved to Yunnan, and it must be an old strategy of the Warring States period.

However, Xian Yu Zhongtong looked down on them as "Southern Barbarians" in his heart, and thought that the barbarians did not plan their plans, so he must not be suspicious.

As a result, Duan Jianwei boldly withdrew from the battlefield and went straight to Longwei Pass.

Three days later, he arrived at the shore of Erhai Lake, ordered the soldiers and horses to rest, and at the same time beckoned Hong Guangcheng, a confidant general, and asked: "Have you brought the Tang Army flag we used before?" ”

"How could I forget what the general ordered?" Hong Guangcheng patted his chest and replied proudly.

"Okay, you lead five hundred people in front, pretend to be Tang Jun, and deceive the Longwei Pass. I led the army behind and quickly followed the breakthrough. ”

"Command!"

Hong Guangcheng laughed and said: "This trick is to use the Tang army to deceive the Longwei Pass to recapture it, the Tang people bully us and other barbarians, and they will be taught to open their eyes." ”

~~

The scenery of Erhai Lake is beautiful and the West Erhai Lake flows in front of Longwei Pass.

Wang Zhongsi stood on top of the city, his back to his soldiers, and his eyes once again flashed with thought.

Because Longwei Pass is very close to Taihe City, there is not much grain and grass in the city, which is only enough for six days. As for the food brought by the Tang army, the jerky and cheese were all eaten on the night of the attack, and after the grain and grass ran out, they could only bite the leather.

The problem is that the side defending the homeland can defend the city with little food and clothing, and they are here to attack the city and destroy the country, and falling to this point is obviously a great blow to morale.

Where will they go to plunder the grain and grass? There is little arable land here, and all the people are scattered in the mountains and forests......

Just as he was thinking, dust and smoke rose in the distance.

Wang Zhongsi raised the clairvoyant mirror and looked over, first saw a banner of the Tang Army, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and said secretly: "So fast? ”

The dust and smoke got closer and closer, and the big flag soon fell into the eyes of the Tang soldiers, so there were bursts of cheers.

"Reinforcements are coming! Breaking Taihe City is just around the corner! ”

"The army is coming to the city, and the day when the head of Ge Luofeng will fall to the ground is not far away."

"Ge Luofeng is going to be taken prisoner back, hahaha......"

In the midst of the call, soldiers had already rushed to the gate tower and waved small flags, asking if they would lower the drawbridge.

Suddenly, a general rode his horse to the Xi'er River, raised his head and shouted at the city.

Everyone at the head of the city looked at him, and he could faintly see his long beard fluttering, majestic.

"Is Wang Jieshuai here? The last general, Li Hui, was ordered by Xian Yu to come to support, and please let go of the city gate! ”

Suddenly.

"Whoosh."

An arrow shot through the neck of this "Li Hui" like lightning, and blood splattered on the spot.

At the head of the city, Li Sheng shouted with a bow: "Dog, dare to play tricks in front of your grandfather, die!" ”

Sergeant Tang was stunned for a moment, and then shouted "10,000 enemies".

Wang Zhongsi raised the clairvoyant mirror in his hand and said, "This thing helps a lot." ”

Having said that, in fact, the soldiers and horses of Nanzhao have surrounded Longwei Pass in front and back, and the situation has begun to take a sharp turn for the worse.

Xue Bai glanced at the clairtelescope in Wang Zhonghe's hand, thought of something, and turned his head to look at Cangshan.

In the distance, the mountains are covered with snow, and in the near front, the general's white head......

(End of chapter)