Tibet.

Chapter 1264 In a desperate situation
The Uighur army entered Feihu County and found themselves trapped in a trap, so Dengli Khan did not dare to act rashly.

He led his army to stay in Feihu Pass temporarily, then sent cavalry scouts to the east and west exits to inquire about the news, and sent capable soldiers to look for a third way out around.

Dengli Khan knew that the Han guide had been rescued, so there must be other secret passages in Feihu Pass.

This gave him a glimmer of hope.

Dengli Khan's biggest concern was food, followed by the combat effectiveness of his soldiers. They would most likely try to break out, so they could not take any property with them.

Dengli Khan sent people to hunt, fish, and look for plants and fruits that could be used as food. Even more than a hundred dead war horses were preserved as food.

Secondly, Dengli Khan ordered that all property be collected and stored together, and soldiers were not allowed to carry them with them, as they would be a burden when escaping.

Dengli Khan now understood that the main reason why he fell into the trap was that these properties made them lose their will to fight. If they had nothing, when the Tang army marched north, they would definitely rush down to fight.

Fortunately, they robbed 8,000 strong mules along the way and used them to carry food from Youzhou, so they still had enough food for more than ten days. Otherwise, they would have run out of food now.

That morning, Dengli Khan was sitting in the lobby of the county government office drinking a bowl of milk tea, which was one of the foods for the generals. There were more than a thousand mares among the war horses that could secrete milk, and the mare's milk was cooked together with the captured tea cakes.

At this time, the old general Gu Du came in and said, "Khan, there is news about the western exit."

"Tell me, how is it?"

"Just as we expected, the Tang army has deployed heavy troops at the western exit."

Dengli Khan's heart sank into the abyss. The last bit of hope he had was shattered. Just last night, he had received news that the way back was also blocked by the Tang army.

What to do now?
Gu Du said in a deep voice: "Khan, there is no other way. I request 20,000 soldiers to break out from the west!"

Dengli Khan was still a little hesitant, and Guduo suddenly became anxious, "Khan, there is still hope if we fight to the death. If we stay here and waste our will, we will starve to death in the end. I am not afraid of death, and I would like to use my life to open up a way out for the army."

Dengli Khan suddenly thought that if 20,000 people died in the battle, the 20,000 war horses they left behind could be used as food.

Well, it’s not a bad thing to consume some soldiers.

Thinking of this, he nodded and said, "You can lead the troops of the Pugu and Tongluo tribes to fight!"

Of course, other tribes must die first, and the Uighur tribe will be left last.

Guduo sighed and said, "Khan, the Huihe and Tiele tribes should each send half of their troops, otherwise the other tribes will cause trouble."

After a while, Khan Dengli said, "That's fine, but I hope the troops that come back are all Huihe troops. General Guduo, do you understand what I mean?"

Gu Du nodded, "I understand!"

In the afternoon, the Right General Gudu led an army of 20,000 and marched towards the Feihu Pass exit in the west.

In Youzhou, Li Ye met Wang Baofu who was escorted back by the army. Li Ye praised him highly. Although Wang Baofu had a poor appearance, being short and fat, he had extraordinary courage and single-handedly sent the 90,000 Uighur army into a desperate situation.

Wang Baofu was just a small ninth-rank official in the Intelligence Department. Of course he was very excited to be personally received by the Regent.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. I am only doing my duty."

Li Ye smiled and asked, "You are more familiar with the intelligence. How long do you think the Huihe army can hold out?" "I will write a detailed report and give it to Your Highness tomorrow!"

"Why don't you just tell me briefly now."

"About half a month, a month or even longer."

"What do you think?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, the Huihes came from the Juma River, robbing a lot of property and women along the way. According to what I have seen, there were about five or six thousand strong mules and about seven or eight hundred women. Later, when they found property in Youzhou, they threw away all the worthless things they had robbed on the way. They also released the looted women at my strong request. I also gave them some food and property and let them flee south. Then the Huihes used strong mules to carry food and war horses to carry property.

So I think that if they don't kill livestock, the food they carry can last for half a month. If they kill livestock for food, such as mules, they can last for a month. But if they desperately charge to break through, a large number of soldiers will inevitably die. On the one hand, this will reduce food consumption, and on the other hand, the horses of these dead soldiers can be used as food, so they can last longer. Think about it carefully. "

Li Ye nodded and said, "You have seen it very thoroughly. After writing the report, you will rest for two days and then take up the post of magistrate of Ji County."

"what!"

Wang Baofu was really stunned. Ji County was equivalent to Ji County, and it was a sixth-rank official. He was immediately very excited and knelt down to thank him. "Thank you for the appointment, Your Highness. I will be loyal to the emperor and love the people, and be an honest official to repay your trust!"

Li Ye smiled and said, "You are a good official who dares to take responsibility and loves the people like his own children. I believe your career will never end as a county magistrate!"

Ten years later, the newly appointed Jingzhao Yin of Chang'an was Wang Baofu, who changed his name to Wang Chang. He loved the people and won the love of the people of Chang'an. Twenty years later, Wang Chang, who was nearly sixty years old, was appointed as the Minister of the Left Prime Minister and served as the Prime Minister for seven consecutive years. He was granted the title of Duke of Yan and finally died of illness in office. He was posthumously named "Ci", which means "Ci" because he treated the people like his own children.

On the Liaoxi Corridor close to Juehua Island, 10,000 Tang troops disembarked from 200 ships, and another 100 large ships unloaded a large amount of food and supplies.

This area is relatively narrow, with a width of about thirty miles, but there is only space for cavalry and carts for two miles. The Tang army built a plank military camp along these two miles, and used wood and earth to ram a two-meter-high camp wall.

A beacon tower was built on a high mountain thirty miles in front of the camp to monitor the Khitan army on the official road at any time and provide early warning to the military camp.

There were no villages near the Tang army's camp, and the nearest village was thirty miles away. The surrounding area was deserted.

However, these 10,000 Tang troops were not isolated. There was another military camp on Juehua Island, ten miles away from the camp, with 10,000 troops stationed there and a large amount of supplies stored. Once the situation in the corridor became tense, the troops on the island would be ready to attack at any time.

The chief general of the Tang army was none other than the veteran Wang Sili. He repeatedly asked Li Ye for help, and Li Ye was moved by his sincerity, so he appointed him as the chief general of the Liaoxi Corridor, leading an army of 20,000 to intercept the Khitan army from moving south.

That morning, Wang Sili received an urgent report that black smoke was coming out of the beacon tower. He hurriedly walked out of the tent and looked toward the beacon tower in the north. He saw a thin line of black smoke burning on the northern mountain.

A wisp of smoke means an attack by an army of less than a thousand men. This should be an enemy scout.

Wang Sili immediately ordered: "General Li Yu!"

"The humble position is here!"

A Tiger Guard Lieutenant General stepped forward and saluted.

"You lead three thousand brothers to check. If they are a small group of scouts, you can ambush them. If the enemy retreats, remember not to chase them. I am worried that there will be a large group of enemies behind us."

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Li Yu, the Lieutenant General of the Tiger Guards, led three thousand elite soldiers to the north of the military camp.

(End of this chapter)