Li Zhi, don't be a coward

Chapter 597 Xu Family Caravan
The hills on the wasteland are not too high, and there is no vegetation on the hills for cover.

After Li Qinzai's soldiers and horses occupied the top of the mountain, they were clearly placed in front of them, and everyone's position could be seen clearly.

Besieged in all directions, Li Qinzai could only choose to occupy the high ground and defend.

As in a dream, from the strategic initiative to the complete passiveness, the turning point is Shanzhou.

Is it worth it?

It's worth it.

If time were to start over again, Li Qinzai would still make the same choice.

Faced with the lives and deaths of tens of thousands of people, Li Qinzai couldn't have any other choice. He came from a powerful background, but his soul was still grassroots. He couldn't use the lives and deaths of the people as bargaining chips to win the war.

At this time and here, the remaining [-] soldiers and horses have been completely surrounded by the Tubo army.

Li Qinzai occupies a high ground, and he will not sit still. He still needs to do his best to let the soldiers who follow him survive.

"Do you know how to dig a trench?" Li Qinzai asked Sun Congdong and Song Jintu.

The two nodded. In fact, ancient wars also involved soil work. The purpose of digging trenches was to stop the enemy's cavalry and slow down the speed of the enemy's charge.

"We also dig trenches, but not to stop the enemy, but to stand in the trenches ourselves, step by step, and defend step by step. The most important thing is the gunners. Those who don't have guns use bows and arrows. In short, defensive warfare does not need to be used. Charge, stick to the trenches of the position."

"One ditch has been lost. Let's immediately retreat to the second ditch and continue to hold on. If there is a chance, we will regain the first ditch."

After Li Qinzai explained in detail, Sun Congdong and Song Jintu understood.

"When you understand, start digging. Everyone is moving, why are you stunned!" Li Qinzai waved his hand, and the two quickly conveyed the order.

More than 3000 people were doing soil work at the same time, and the only hill on the wasteland was covered with dust for a while, covering the sky.

From the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, according to Li Qinzai's idea, trench defense lines were built step by step, one after another.

Every line of defense is a chance to survive, and everyone digs very seriously.

"How far is Su Dingfang's army from us?" Li Qinzai asked suddenly.

Sun Congdong sighed: "At least there is still a day's journey away. When they arrive, they will just collect the body for us. It is considered that we have not ended up dying in a foreign land..."

Li Qinzai smiled: "I don't pay much attention to this, it's the same wherever I die."

Li Qinzai hugged Zi Nu beside him, and blinked: "I'll ask someone to dig another hole on the top of the mountain. Let's bury it together. I have many brothers, and I can cover you even on the road to Huangquan."

Zi Nu had no fear of death at all, instead he smiled sweetly, leaned on Li Qinzai's shoulder, and said, "I listen to you. When the last soldier dies, I will go down and wait for you first."

Speaking of which, Zi Nu suddenly hugged him hard, and smiled wildly: "I'm so happy, I can live and die with you, what your wife can't do, I did it!"

Sun Congdong and Song Jintu's expressions froze, and they turned their heads wisely.

Sun Congdong smiled sadly: "What did I do wrong? Before I die, I still want to see the love of others, but I am just a lonely ghost after death..."

Li Qinzai smiled uncomfortably: "The barbarian woman from outside the territory, her behavior is a bit unrestrained, so don't worry about it."

There was a rush of horseshoes, and a scout rushed to report: "Uncle Li, [-] soldiers of the Tubo army have arrived in the northwest, and they are only ten miles away from us."

Li Qinzai sighed, with a smile on his face, but his eyes were extremely determined: "Everyone, get ready to fight to the death."

…………

In a handsome tent thirty miles away from the top of the mountain, Lu Dongzan stood behind a low table, staring at a map in front of him with a sinking face.

The tent was full of people, all of them were brave generals under their command.

On the map, marked arrows point to the same place from all directions.Outside the encirclement on the map, another arrow is still hundreds of miles away from the encirclement of the Tubo army.

Lu Dongzan stared at the map and said, "Su Dingfang's army is about to arrive. According to the scout report, there is still a day's journey away from Liangzhou. If we know that we have entered the territory of Tang State and surrounded Li Qinzai, Su Dingfang will definitely order the army to divert to help."

Looking up at the generals, Lu Dongzan emphasized his tone, and said, "The old man dispatched all the troops in Tuyuhun to annihilate Li Qinzai."

"Now Li Qinzai is surrounded by us, it is impossible to break through, this battle must not be lost, if anyone's defenses let Li Qinzai escape, the general will be beheaded for public display, and everyone in the clan will be executed!"

The Tubo generals responded with a loud bang.

Lu Dongzan added: "Li Qinzai's army has only three or four thousand troops. This battle should be decided quickly. Remember, we only have one day. After one day, Su Dingfang's army will come to rescue us. Then we will be defeated."

"Within one day, Li Qinzai will be completely wiped out. I gamble on the fate of the country and set up this overall situation. If Li Qinzai dies, Tubo will at least be invincible. Even if it loses to Su Dingfang's army, I will still have a bargaining chip to share Tuyuhun with Tang!"

…………

The sky is full of yellow sand, and a caravan is struggling to move forward against the wind and sand outside Lanzhou City.

The caravan is a private caravan belonging to the right minister Xu Jingzong's family. It is operated by his grandson Xu Yanbo. It sets out from Chang'an City, loaded with exquisite porcelain and silk from the Tang Dynasty, and is heading to the Western Regions.

It is said that it is the Xu family caravan, but it is actually a joint venture of three companies. The largest one is Li Zhi, followed by Li Qinzai.

For the Xu family, it doesn't matter whether the caravan makes money or not, and it doesn't matter if they post money. What matters is political significance and status.

This caravan has more people than ordinary caravans, and the camels and horses are twice the size of ordinary caravans.

This was an accident. Before departure, Li Qinzai's wife, Cui Jie, and an unidentified county head of Jinxiang, who did not want to be named, each prepared a lot of materials and entrusted Xu Yanbo to bring them to Li Qinzai. Make enough for a whole caravan.

Xu Yanbo was willing to help, but he was unwilling to be a free logistics team, so he had to temporarily add camels, horses and caravan guards on top of the original size of the caravan.

Therefore, among the items carried by the caravan, half of the items carried by the two women were carried by the two women for Li Qinzai, and the other half was the items collected by Xu Yanbo.

You can piggyback things, but you can't make money, right?
Today, the Xu family caravan just set off from Lanzhou. Looking at the map, it was still hundreds of miles away from Liangzhou. Zhuzhou made another purchase to make up for the logistics loss on the road.

After leaving Lanzhou City, the caravan had traveled more than [-] miles. Xu Yanbo suddenly found that there were more and more people on the road. The people brought their families with them, looking panic-stricken. Some of them were carrying luggage, while others were simply carrying a burden.

Xu Yanbo felt strange, so he stopped several people and questioned them.

After asking, Xu Yanbo was dumbfounded.

"How dare the Tubo thief invade Shanzhou? You bastard, who gave him the guts!"

(End of this chapter)