Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 881 The Savior

"That's true! No one believes this kind of nonsense!"

"What should we do?"

"Open the city gate and surrender to the Tang people. Don't worry about your family. The Tang people can fly in the sky. Even General Qinling cannot win. We should be on the side of the winner!"

"Yes, we should be on the side of the winner!"

The voices calling for Kaicheng's surrender gradually gained the upper hand, and the strange round thing that had been hovering in the sky reminded every Tibetan garrison of the current situation. Finally, the soldiers elected an officer to represent them all and surrendered to the strange thing in the sky.

In the pod of the hot air balloon, Yuan Lin was struggling to push the propeller. The transmission device made a buzzing sound, which made him more and more upset. Finally, he couldn't hold it anymore and shouted: "Liu Zhiyu, have you seen enough? Yes?" Are you done? Come and pedal!"

"It's only for a while, why are you arguing! At most, I can just kick on when I get back!" Liu Zhiyu didn't even look back, looking at it happily with a telescope.

"What do you mean it's up to you to pedal when you go back? It's your fault to pedal when you go back!" Yuan Lin cursed angrily. He jumped off the pedal and was about to pull his companion back when he heard Liu Zhiyu loudly say: "Hey! What are these Tubo people doing?" What? Climbing to such a high place, you are not afraid of falling to your death, and you are still waving a flag, but it is still a white flag! "

"The Tubo people are raising a white flag?" Yuan Lin grabbed the telescope and looked over. Sure enough, several Tubo people climbed to the top of the highest tower of Shibao City and were holding a white flag and waving it, shouting something about "too far away". Can't hear clearly from a distance.

"Are the Tubo people going to surrender?" Yuan Lin frowned: "Isn't this a scam?"

"Why do you think it's a scam?" Liu Zhiyu habitually sang the opposite tune: "I think it's really going to drop. The granary has been burned, and you see our hot air balloon, why do you still want to fly it?"

"So what if the granary is burned? There should be some food in other places in Stone Castle. It won't be difficult to hold out for a while. Although the hot air balloons are powerful, they have limited fuel and ammunition. If they hold on stubbornly, it shouldn't be a problem to delay for a month or so!"

"It will take a few months! According to me, seven or eight days at most!" Liu Zhiyu sneered: "Forget it, there is no result if we argue here, so we should go back and report it to the superior first, so that the superior can worry about it. !”

"Well, that's a good thing!" Yuan Lin said with a smile: "You just said that you will ride alone on the way back. A gentleman's words are hard to catch up with!"

"Damn it!" Liu Zhiyu gritted his teeth and said, "You guys are actually waiting for me here. Get out of here and make room for me, one person at a time. Today I will let you know how powerful I am, Mr. Liu!"

As soon as Yuan Lin and Liu Zhiyu's hot air balloon landed, they reported to their superiors the news that there were guards in Shibao City begging for surrender. After hearing the news, brother Hu Liang immediately summoned the generals to discuss countermeasures. The oldest one among them, Shen Faseng, was very calm: "It doesn't matter, just send two hundred people up the mountain. There are hot air balloons, so there is no need to worry about the Tibetan ambush." . When we get to the foot of Shibao City, let all the Tibetan soldiers inside go out to relieve the troops. If you agree, it’s best. If you don’t agree, at most, let the two hundred people come back down the mountain. Even if you suffer a loss, you won’t suffer much!”

"Uncle Shen is right!" Yanliang was the first to express his agreement: "If this is a trick of the Tibetan people, let the hot air balloon come again at night at most. Anyway, it won't be us who suffer!"

"Then just do what Uncle Shen said!" Hu Liang nodded: "Although we don't know yet whether the defenders of Shibao City really want to surrender, at least the night attack was successful. It is estimated that the morale of the soldiers in the city has been messed up. , As long as you don’t fall into the trap of the defenders, it will only be a matter of time before the city is destroyed!”

Facts have proved that Shen Faseng's judgment was accurate. Soon after the Tang army that accepted the surrender loudly raised their demands in front of the stone castle gate, the door of the formidable castle opened, and six hundred soldiers filed out of it. The Tubo soldiers docilely handed over all their weapons to the Tang army's advance team, which had only one-third of their own strength, and went down the mountain honestly. After confirming that the Tubo people were heading down the mountain, the Tang army soldiers hurried into the city and were delighted to find that the city was empty.

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Castle Castle.

Hu Liang stared at the narrow mountain road in front of him and the mountains of fallen rocks on the stone wall above his head, and suddenly asked: "Yan Liang, if there were no hot air balloons, how many people do you think we would have to die to capture this castle?"

"Five thousand, ten thousand, or even twenty thousand?" Yan Liang looked at the raised stone wall not far away and sighed: "Anyway, these roads will be covered with corpses!"

"Anyway, it may not be enough to bleed all the blood of our current troops!" Hu Liang sighed: "No wonder Aye is so confident, it turns out that he has already prepared a backup plan!"

"This is not the first time you have met him!" Yan Liang laughed: "No one knows how many killing moves he has in his belly. If you want to be his enemy and think that you will win, you will probably be unlucky. ”

"Yes!" Hu Liang said with a smile, "This time it's Qin Ling's turn!"

"Well!" Yanliang suddenly whispered: "Do you feel that my father has always been looking forward to you taking his place in Chang'an?"

"Take his place in Chang'an? What do you mean?" Hu Liang asked in confusion. "You still don't understand?" Yan Liang said with a smile: "Father, he has no interest in the power of the Central Committee of the Tang Dynasty at all. He just has to stay in Chang'an until you can replace him? He will leave Chang'an immediately! Otherwise, Look at this hot air balloon, if he wanted to be the emperor, he would have become it already!"

Hu Liang looked at the hot air balloon suspended in mid-air and sighed: "You are right, if he wanted to be the emperor, he would have become the emperor long ago!"

The Hu Liang brothers walked together silently. The cold wind passed by, lifting the cloaks behind them and making a hunting sound. Hu Liang walked through the cold city gate and came to the cold low battlements in the west. The height outside the city wall dropped sharply, leaving only a dark and cold wasteland. Yan Liang followed, and the two stood side by side at the end of the world.

In order to clear the field of fire and not provide the attackers with materials to build siege machinery, the defenders of Stone Castle City would not allow the forest to extend within one mile. All kinds of trees that originally grew within this range had already been cut down. Clean, leaving nothing but bare rock, so that no enemy could attack undetected. But despite this, you can still see the large forest below the hillside. Standing here, Hu Liang could see those dark forests. Even in broad daylight, the sunlight could not penetrate the ancient tangled roots, giving people a ghostly feeling.

Hu Liang stood and looked from a distance. The surrounding area was silent and deserted. The strong wind was blowing and it was as cold as a knife. He suddenly felt as if he was in an ancient and uninhabited land, and the various legends and stories about monsters and monsters that his wet nurse had told him when he was a child no longer seemed so ridiculous.

"Our enemy is over there." Hu Liang stretched out his right hand, pointed at the boundless wilderness to the west, and said softly: "Father asked us to march west, but there is no final border!"

"The enemy is not difficult to find!" Yan Liang said with a smile: "There are not many places to feed large numbers of livestock, cattle and horses. It is spring again, and the livestock have been through the whole winter and have no fat. Unless the Tubo people abandon their livestock, they will run away. It’s not far away. It’s just like when we chased the Ezo people before. You don’t have to worry too much!”

Just like a flood rushing out of a river channel, after occupying Shibao City, the Tang army passed through the valley of the Riyue Mountains and poured into the Dafeichuan grassland (ie Qieji grassland) on the south side of Qinghai Lake. It has been a long time since the last time the Tang army arrived at this grassland. Twelve years have passed, and the armed forces are still the same. The difference is that hot air balloons are still floating in the sky above the army, overlooking all directions.

"General!" Sanjie was one of the troops who surrendered from Shibao City. After he surrendered, he immediately revealed the Tibetan people's arrangements. With this, he gained Hu Liang's trust and was immediately awarded the official position of catching the living general. Grateful, he immediately offered advice, urging the Tang army to take advantage of the moment when the Qinghai Tibetans had no time to concentrate their forces, divide their forces into four strategies, and defeat them one by one.

"Last year, Qinling and his son had already mobilized two-thirds of the troops in Dongdai (Qianhu Station), crossed the Qilian Mountains, and attacked the Hexi area. Now the only ones left in Qinghai are the old and the weak. Last winter, the troops of various tribes The livestock spend the winter in the southern pastures, and will move north after spring to eat the new grass from the northern pastures. Although the guard has learned about the army's departure, relying on the strong danger of Shibao City, he thought that our soldiers of the Tang Dynasty would at least be able to survive. It would take two months to enter Dafeichuan, so they only ordered the various tribes to close up slowly to prevent a large number of livestock from dying. But now that Shibao City has fallen, the army has entered Dafeichuan, and the Tubo tribes are still scattered and cannot be reunited in a hurry. . If you can divide the army into several groups and advance in parallel, you will surely be able to defeat each group like a tiger entering a flock of sheep!
"Do you suggest dividing the troops?" Hu Liang looked at Sanjie: "Would it mean that if we divide our strength, we would be weak and be defeated by Tubo?"

"The general is worrying too much!" Sanjie said with a smile: "After Qinling conquered Qinghai, he split the local Tuyuhun tribes and cooperated with the Tubo people he brought. Siru (Tubo's military unit is similar to the Dudufu of the Tang Dynasty) ), the Tuyuhun people's tribes were withering, and their troops were often drafted. In fact, they had long been dissatisfied, just because they had no chance. If the Tang Dynasty's heavenly soldiers arrived, there would be people everywhere to respond, and the Tubo people would not be able to suppress them in time. Where can I find the strength to deal with your army?"

"Well, that's a good idea!" Hu Liang and Yan Liang exchanged glances and nodded: "Well, you select fifty people from the surrendered troops and send them to all directions to spread the message!"

"Follow the order!" Sanjie quickly retreated. Hu Liang said: "Uncle Shen, what do you think of the strategy of dividing the troops?"

"The strategy is a good one, but we don't need to take this risk now!" Shen Faseng said with a smile: "To put it bluntly, the Tubo people themselves are just sitting on the pile of firewood. They have oppressed the Tuyuhun tribes over the years. The Tuyuhun tribes have long been resentful, but their strength It's no good, just dare not speak out. As soon as our army arrives, as long as justice is served, the Tuyuhun people will naturally attack and kill them. They are natives of Qinghai. Are they worried that they can't find the Tubo people? We just need to march forward and take them directly. Shudun City, the old capital of Tuyuhun, is enough! If you burn its collection and destroy its walls, even if you can't get the head of Qinling, your vitality will be severely damaged and you won't be able to bring disaster to our Tang Dynasty again!"

"Uncle Shen is right!" Hu Liang's eyes lit up when he heard this: "It is indeed a long-distance expedition, and we should not divide our troops any more and create unnecessary problems!"

After determining the marching strategy, the Tang army began to march southwest. Three days later, they passed the pass of the southern mountains of Qinghai and headed west. Along the way, he separated out reconnaissance cavalry and shouted loudly, trying to build momentum. If the tribes encountered along the way were Tubo, they would be killed. If they were Tuyuhun people, they would be indulged and rewarded with the cattle, sheep and children of the Tubo tribe. Instead, they would follow the orders of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to save them from water and fire. The people of Tuyuhun were so happy that they spread the news of the arrival of the Tang army to all directions, and the whole area around Qinghai Lake was boiling.

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Shudun City.

"The Tang people have captured Shibao City and entered Dafeichuan!"

Brenzan did not raise his head. His fingers slid across the map, passing through mountains, grasslands, and around lakes, and finally stopped in front of a black square. At this time, he raised his head: "What else? It can't be just these, right? ?”

"What else?" The Tubo officer's face was not good-looking: "The Tang people also spread the news that they came this time to rescue the Tuyuhun people. The tribes they met along the way killed us Tubo people without harming the Tuyuhun people. He also gave them the captured livestock and horses!”

"Rescue the Tuyuhun people?" Brenzan laughed: "The Tang people are still so cunning, as if their mouths were coated with honey. Unfortunately, their words are wrapped in poison. However, they are very good to the Tuyuhun people now, but when they are defeated It’s our turn to save the Tuyuhun people. Isn’t this the case for the Turks, Goguryeo people, Tiele people, and Xueyantuo people?”

"Yes! But the problem is that those idiots don't understand this truth! After hearing the news about the arrival of the Tang Dynasty, there will definitely be many Tuyuhun slaves who will rebel!"

"There is no need to worry about this. As long as the Tang army can be defeated, the rest will be very simple!" Brenzan waved his hand nonchalantly: "The question now is how the Tang people could capture Shibao City so quickly. We all know the danger. Even if the Tang people are good at making siege equipment, it won't be a matter of time. Could it be captured by a traitor? "

"No!" The Tubo officer shook his head and showed a wry smile: "I heard a news that the Tang people were blessed by the gods. The gods' thunder and fire fell from the sky and burned down all the granaries in Shibao City. Without food, naturally they could not hold on. That’s why Shibao City surrendered!”

"God's thunder and fire fell from the sky and burned down the granary?" Brenzan frowned: "How is this possible? Even if you are unlucky and lightning strikes down and causes a fire, the guards in the city will definitely put out the fire! Some of the food can be saved!”