Tibet.

Chapter 1248 In trouble
On a small mound about two miles away from the Yongji Canal, a dozen dark figures were busy working nervously. They set up a large fire crow made of pine wood and covered with kerosene.

The beef tendons were tied between two big trees, and the Fire Crow flew out by catapulting.

Of course, this crude catapult device had poor accuracy. If it was launched with a large stone cannon, the effect would be much better, but they had no choice. A large stone cannon weighed several thousand pounds and there was no way to transport it.

"I'm coming!"

Several men in black shouted in a low voice.

I saw a huge ship appearing on the Yongji Canal two miles away. It was particularly clear under the moonlight. It was the 5,000-stone ship that Li Ye was riding on. It stood out among the 1,000-stone warships.

"Ready to launch!"

A dozen men in black pulled the Fire Crow backwards with all their might. When they pulled it to the limit, another man flicked a fire stick and ignited the Fire Crow directly, and the Fire Crow instantly caught fire.

"put!"

More than a dozen men in black let go at the same time, and a huge fire crow took off into the air and flew towards the large ship on the Yongji Canal.

"Get out!"

A group of men in black didn't even bother to remove the cow tendons and fled westward in panic. They knew very well that as soon as the fire flashed, the Tang cavalry would immediately discover them.

Indeed, the moment the fire started, they were discovered by the Tang army. More than a hundred Tang soldiers turned their horses around and rushed towards the hill at high speed.

At the same time, a blazing fire crow flew across the sky and headed towards the 5,000-stone ship, but its accuracy was too poor. The fire crow flew past the ship dozens of steps away and crashed into the mud on the other side of the river, where it began to burn fiercely.

The cavalry guarding the ship were suddenly in a commotion, and even Li Ye was alarmed. He stood up and walked to the window, just in time to see the fire crow burning on the ground.

This feels a bit like the assassination attempt by Bolangsha, except that what Bolangsha threw was a 40-jin iron spike, while what was shot today was a burning fire crow.

At this time, there was a commotion in the distance. Li Ye walked out of the cabin and looked into the distance. There was actually a very small hill two or three miles away, which was rare in the vast Hebei Plain.

Soon, the cavalry caught several men in black. They could not run fast and were caught up by the Tang cavalry.

After a while, He Jing, the General of the Cavalry, came aboard and reported, "Your Highness, they have admitted that they are Tian Chengsi's spies!"

"How did they know I was on this ship?"

"They didn't know. They just wanted to attack the largest ship and didn't know His Royal Highness was on board."

So that's how it is. Li Ye nodded, "This is a small problem. Don't delay. Keep going at full speed!"

The sneak attack was just a minor episode, but it also indirectly reflected Tian Chengsi's nervousness. He sent a large number of scouts to investigate the movements of the Tang army.

At this time, Tian Chengsi's 100,000 troops were stationed in Changlu County. Changlu County was located at the intersection of Zhangshui River and Yongji Canal. Its transportation location was extremely important and it was about 300 miles away from Li Ye's fleet.

Tian Chengsi had already received the news that 200,000 Tang troops were heading towards him in two directions. Although he still had 120,000 troops, these were his capital. Moreover, he abandoned Weizhou and other bases and retreated northward in order to preserve his strength, allowing the Uighur army and the Tang army to consume each other first, and he would come out to reap the fruits in the end.

But now the Uighur army has not arrived yet, and the Tang army is advancing step by step. What should we do?
These two days, Tian Chengsi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan and couldn't sleep or eat.

At this time, his nephew Tian Yue advised: "Your Highness, since the Tang army is divided into two groups, we can concentrate all our forces to fight against one of them, and perhaps we will have a chance to defeat the other side!"

Tian Chengsi shook his head. "The commander-in-chief of this expedition is Regent Prince Li Ye. He has been through hundreds of battles. How could he give you the opportunity to defeat them one by one? Look at the intelligence. His army and Guo Ziyi's army are only 50 miles apart. As long as one army is attacked, the other will come and cut off our retreat. This is actually a trap!"

"But we have been unwilling to fight and have been retreating all the time. This is too passive. Why don't you let my nephew lead 30,000 cavalry to attack the enemy fleet at night and burn it. This will cause them to lose their logistics and supplies, and Li Ye will naturally retreat."

Wang Lun beside him also advised: "Your Highness, General Tian Yue is right. If we keep retreating, not only will we lose our territory, but it will also seriously affect our morale. It is better to take the initiative to attack once to boost morale. A night attack on the fleet is a good plan. Even if it fails, the cavalry can break out and the loss will not be too great. But if it succeeds, Li Ye will really have to withdraw his troops!" Tian Chengsi was convinced. He thought for a moment and agreed, "We can give it a try!"

Tian Yue was overjoyed and immediately clasped his fists and said, "I will definitely live up to the trust of the prince!"

That night, Tian Yue led 30,000 cavalrymen south along the Yongji Canal.

Wang Lun returned to his camp, and his personal soldiers came forward to report, "The second master is here!"

Wang Lun was startled. Why was his brother Wang Wei here?

As soon as he changed his mind, he vaguely guessed that it might be related to the Cui family.

Brother Wang Wei’s wife is the daughter of Cui. Although she is not a legitimate daughter, she is indeed from the Qinghe Cui family.

Wang Lun walked into the side tent, and a man stood up and said, "Brother!"

Wang Lun waved his hand, "You came at the right time, sit down!"

The visitor was Wang Lun's younger brother, Wang Wei, a scholar who was currently the head of the Cui family school.

Of course, I was asked by Cui Ze to meet Wang Lun.

"Did the master of the family ask you to come?" Wang Lun asked again.

Wang Wei shook his head, took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Wang Lun, "Take a look!"

When Wang Lun took the letter, he was shocked to find that it was written to him by Regent Li Ye.

"What's going on?"

"The head of the family went to see the regent and mentioned you. The head of the family hopes that you will turn back from your wrong path. The regent will give you a chance. If you can seize the opportunity, the regent will pardon you."

Wang Lun's face turned red and white. He opened Li Ye's letter with trembling hands. There were only a few words on it. If he could assist the court and make meritorious deeds to atone his sins, Li Ye would pardon him.

Wang Lun lowered his head and remained silent for a while. He certainly knew that the huge dilemma Tian Chengsi was currently facing was not because there was not enough food, but because Tian Chengsi had made a major strategic mistake.

They actually gave up their own base and retreated north to Cangzhou. Tian Chengsi wanted to let the Uighur army and the Tang army have a decisive battle so that he could reap the benefits.

But his soldiers did not think so. They all believed that Tian Chengsi was afraid of fighting and kept retreating. Finally, more than 100,000 troops were trapped in a sparsely populated county in Cangzhou, which caused the morale to collapse.

Now the overall morale is at its lowest point, and it is impossible to fight against the Tang army.

After thinking for a long time, Wang Lun looked up and asked, "Is there any letter you haven't sent me yet?"

"Do you accept it?" Wang Wei asked.

Wang Lun sighed, "I have no choice."

Wang Wei took out another note and handed it to him. This was the task that Li Ye gave to Wang Lun.

Wang Lun took a look at the note and realized it was indeed a vicious scheme to kill three people with one move.

He groaned for a moment and said, "I understand. Also, you should immediately rush to the Tang army and tell the regent that Tian Yue will lead 30,000 cavalry to attack the fleet!"

(End of this chapter)