Dajin royal family

Chapter 137 Only One Way
As the sun was setting, a 5000-man infantry stopped by the Zihe River.They didn't know what happened ahead, but the brigade commander and the team were giving the order to suspend the march, and the soldiers were eagerly waiting for the command from the general.

Zhao Jiao was depressed for a while, and then turned his gaze to Jiang Chengxiao.Although the two have the same military rank, the five thousand infantry are also jointly led by the two.Due to the tactics Jiang Chengxiao showed in the previous battles, Zhao Jiao still regards Jiang Chengxiao as the backbone under such circumstances.

"Jiang Huqi, what should we choose now?" Zhao Jiao's tone was bitter. Judging from their current situation, they had only two options. One was to abandon Bingzhou and lead the army to flee immediately.The other is to lead these [-] infantry to fight against hundreds of thousands of Turkic soldiers.

In the former option, they may survive. After all, the Turks still don't know the existence of their army, but Bingzhou will be devastated, and after returning to Chang'an, they will also be punished for the crime of "running away".But then again, even if they stay, it is impossible to stop this Turkic attack.

As for the second option, there is no doubt that it is a dead end, a real dead end.Even if they were defending from Xiezhou Pass, they would not be able to withstand so many Turkic troops.In other words, if they advance, they will die, and if they retreat, they will die. This is the real death without life.

Jiang Chengxiao slowly opened his eyes, breathed a sigh of relief, and said slowly: "First send out two light cavalry, each with three horses, Xingye hurried on the road to send the news to Chang'an, and informed the Taiyuan County Sheriff on the way, and asked him to organize the people for a while. retreat."

Hearing this sentence, Zhao Jiao basically understood that this Jiang Hussar was planning to stay and hold back the Turks, so as to buy time for the people of Taiyuan County to escape.He nodded, summoned two light cavalry with excellent riding skills, and told them all about the matter. The two cavalry knew that the matter was of great importance, and set off immediately after receiving their orders.

Afterwards, Jiang Chengxiao took out another rubbing map, and while looking at the routes and marks on it, he measured the distance on the map with his thumbnail.According to the intelligence of the scouts, the marching route of the Western Turks should still be on the front line of Bingzhou, which means that they will retake the same marching route.

The speed of the cavalry is about four to five times that of the infantry. The Western Turks must strive for speed this time when they go south, and the straight-line distance from Dali City to Shanyang County is about 240 miles, but there are mostly winding mountain roads in the middle, so be conservative. It is estimated that the distance should be about [-] miles, and with the restrictions on cavalry on the mountain road, based on this calculation, they should arrive in Shanyang County at around noon tomorrow at the earliest.

Jiang Chengxiao is actually not particularly confident about this data, because this map is just a random rubbing, and there is no "scale" at all, so he can only make a superficial calculation like this.

Jiang Chengxiao said to Zhao Jiao: "Send the order, we will retreat at full speed, we must arrive at the outskirts of Shanyang County before dawn."

He doesn't have any advantage right now, the only thing that can compare to the Turks is their familiarity with the route here, he must take advantage of this weak advantage to return to Shanyang County first.

Afterwards, the three armies turned around and ran at full speed. Although the soldiers didn't know why the general turned back suddenly, they did not complain at all under the military order from above, and retreated at full speed towards the route they came from.

Zhao Jiao and Jiang Chengxiao rode horses and followed at the end. They were full of worries, and so did the soldiers behind them.Zhao Jiao came to Jiang Chengxiao's side on his horse, looked at him and said, "Is Jiang Huqi planning to return to Shanyang County to defend to the death? But Shanyang County is short and Guo Xiao, it is impossible to reach the hundreds of thousands of Turkic troops, even if we strictly guard against death In the end, it can only last for a day at most. In my opinion, it is better to stick to the Hezhou Pass."

"Of course not." Jiang Chengxiao denied.

Shanyang County was destroyed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and it was impossible to defend it as a bridgehead. His brain was broken and he would stick to Shanyang County.

Hearing this, Zhao Jiao asked, "Then you plan to defend the Xizhou Pass?" In his opinion, the only place worth defending to prevent the Turks from going south to Taiyuan County is the Xizhou Pass. Other places are more difficult than paper. Shou.

Jiang Chengxiao still shook his head and said: "The Xizhou Pass is just a road to enter Taiyuan County. If this Turkic army catches the Han people to ask for directions, it will be difficult to use it. There is only one place we can defend, and we can only defend it. Only then can the Turkic people’s ambition to enter Taiyuan County be completely blocked.”

Zhao Jiao was startled, and then said: "Lou Fanguan!"

Jiang Chengxiao nodded slightly. Loufan Pass is the only way to go south. This pass is set on the only road in the middle of the mountains. Only by taking Loufan Pass can one enter Loufan County and invade Taiyuan from multiple routes.There are high mountains on both sides of Loufan Pass, and it is impossible for the Turkic people to break through the pass from both sides. The only thing they can do is to attack from the front.

"May I ask Jiang Huanqi, can he defend?" Zhao Jiao lowered his voice and asked.

Jiang Chengxiao gave him a funny look, and said, "General Zhao should ask me how many days I can stay."

Although Loufanguan is a dangerous pass and occupies a favorable location, there are 5000 people guarding it and 10 people. Even if the opponent is a Turkic who is not good at attacking the city, the final result can be imagined.Not long ago, in order to escape from Bingzhou, the Loufan Pass, which was defended by 1 people, was also broken within a few hours under the onslaught.

Although there were many factors involved in the breakthrough of Loufan Pass, it is undeniable that the Turkic people really wanted to break through the pass, and they really couldn't hold it.

Hearing Jiang Chengxiao's words, Zhao Jiao's heart turned cold, which means that they will live and die with Lou Fanguan, and they won't last for a few days.

Seeing the uncertain expression on Zhao Jiao's face, Jiang Chengxiao said: "If General Zhao is unwilling to defend, he can lead his troops back to assist the people of Taiyuan County to evacuate. Although Qingque is not very proficient in defending the city, but for the sake of the country and the people, I will not give up."

In fact, Jiang Chengxiao knew very well that even if he was a deserter, the emperor would not take him for Zhao Wang's sake.However, he can't. If he escapes today because he is afraid of the Turks, this matter will become a hurdle and a shadow in his heart. influence his decision.

He will not leave until the last moment, until he shoots the last arrow, breaks the last spear, shatters the last horizontal knife, and kills the last soldier.War is sometimes a battle of gamblers' chips. Whoever gets more chips has more choices and a greater chance.

He only has [-] chips in his hand now, he is not the son of a certain plane, and he does not know the magical magic of justice from heaven.He can't expect to win the opponent's hundreds of thousands of chips.The only thing he can do is keep playing the "and" card, praying and waiting for the reinforcements from the court.

"General Hussars, why bother me? Although Zhao is not talented, he is fed with military rations and received the imperial salary, so he should die for the imperial court. This Zhao will do what he says." : "This time sticking to Loufan Pass, life and death depend on each other, and I swear to be with the pass."

Jiang Chengxiao cupped his hands towards him, "The same goes for Qingque!"

Due to the urgency of the situation, they hurriedly marched all night, and finally arrived at Shanyang County around Yinshi.At this time, the soldiers all looked exhausted, and even the horses lowered their heads weakly.But Jiang Chengxiao understood that now was not the time to rest.

"Give me an order to send two thousand soldiers to dig three horse traps within two hours. The distance between each trap is about two miles. All three horse traps are dug in Shanyang County. In front of the door!"

The soldiers led away, and then Jiang Chengxiao said to another soldier: "Send people into Shanyang County and tell the people that the Turkic people are coming, and let them hide in the mountains as much as possible."

"Yes."

Jiang Chengxiao sighed slightly. Although there are not many people in Shanyang County, and the rest are widows and lonely, it is good to have a chance to survive.The purpose of the Turkic people this time is Taiyuan County, and they should not stay in Shanyang County for a long time. If those people can hide in the mountains, they may survive.

Later, Jiang Chengxiao said to Zhao Jiao: "General Zhao, you lead the remaining 3000 people to Loufan Pass to garrison and rest. I will stay here to cause some trouble for the Turkic people."

(End of this chapter)