Late Tang

(Today’s sixth update, a full [-] words, thanks to zhc and Chu Kuangren’s Leng Yansaw for their monthly support. [-] words, this is the first time this year to work so hard, everyone still has a monthly ticket!)

The golden crow fell into the depths of the grassland, and the boundless Saishang grassland was shrouded in the bloody sunset glow of the western sky, and the golden red broken clouds in the sky were still exuding the last afterglow.Under the increasingly dark sky, a group of cavalry was quietly approaching the Shanyu Dufu Mansion in the Great Fortress.

The new wind is blowing, the fortress in the first month is unstoppable, and the northwest wind is whistling, like someone crying in the wilderness.When the dripping water turns into ice, the face of the frozen person is numb, and the spear shaft must be tightly held in the bosom to move forward, otherwise when it is time to use it, the hand will stick to it if it is not good to hold it.

A puff of white cooking smoke curled up, adding a bit of vitality to the dim dusk.

The Shanyu Duhu Mansion is very large, and this land has always been the battleground for the Central Plains Dynasty and the grassland tribes. When the Central Plains was strong, it belonged to the Central Plains.When the grassland was strong, this place belonged to the grassland.In the Sui Dynasty, this place belonged to Dingxiang County of Dasui Bingzhou, and it was once used as a place for the defeated Turkic tribes in the Sui Dynasty.After Qimin Khan of East Turkic was defeated, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty married two royal princesses as his wives, and gave him a large area of ​​land at the foot of Yinshan Mountain.After living, by the time of his son Shibi Khan, he had risen again here, and went south from here, fighting all the way to Yanmen, where 40 grassland troops surrounded Sui Emperor Yang Guang in Yanmen City.

After the fall of the Sui Dynasty, the Turkic people also assigned the land of Dingxiang to Yang Guang's grandson as the fiefdom of the Sui king.Later, Li Jing destroyed the Turks and established the Dingxiang Dudu Mansion in this area.During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, it was changed to Shanyu Duhufu, with its jurisdiction bordering the desert in the north and the Yellow River in the south.In the last years of Emperor Gaozong, the late Turks rose up and once took away the old land of the Eastern Turks.After that, the Turks were destroyed, and the Tang Dynasty regained it.In the south of the desert and north of the Yellow River, the Sanshoucheng City and Shanyu Duhufu have always been the center of this desert.

Since the division of Shuofang Jiedushi, the Zhenwu Army has always used Shanyu Duhufu as the commander's residence in Yacheng.Li Guochang was once the Jiedu Envoy of the Zhenwu Army, but right now, Shanyu Duhufu, a fortified city, does not have many guards.

According to Li Siyuan's information, the Zhenwu Army was not a strong town in the first place, and the Zhenwu Army had only about 2 people. When Li Guochang rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, he purged a group.Later, when they went south, more than a thousand of the [-] Zhenwu troops died in battle, and then turned back and were wiped out by Li Ke's ambush. The rest either surrendered or were defeated and captured by Yu Yu.Yu Jing captured the Shanyu Duhu Mansion with a combination of inside and outside, and easily took down this fortified city.

But now Li Siyuan has no internal response, the Shatuo people have almost become dogs in the water, everyone shouts and beats them.

To retreat into the Yin Mountain, the only way to go is the Baidao in the west.But this easy way is only relative to the fact that there are town police stationed in Yunzhou and Weizhou.In order to pass through Baidao, the Shatuo army must take down Shanyu Duhufu.

Fortunately, there are not many soldiers left in Shanyu Duhu Mansion. According to the news from Shatuo's scouts, the Zhenwu army died, captured prisoners, and surrendered. All were taken to the east of the river.Right now, there should be no more than a thousand defenders in the city.

Li Siyuan has [-] elite cavalry in his hands, if he is careful and makes a surprise attack, he should be able to sneak into the city.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Li Siyuan hid in the withered yellow meadow of Qirengao, quietly watching Li Sizhao take dozens of brothers disguised as a horse dealer to the gate of Shanyu Duhu Mansion.Under his resolute face, there was a maturity beyond his age at this time.The excellent performance in many consecutive battles made Li Keyong more satisfied with this adopted son, especially when the Shatuo people were defeated in a row and were desperately in need of generals, he was only a teenager, and he had already become a Shatuo An excellent military commander.Now it is even more alone, leading the army alone.

Staring at a pair of red bloodshot eyes, he watched Li Sizhao's back without blinking.Although his expression was calm, his heart was extremely nervous, and his heart was beating violently.If it's just a war, just a sneak attack on a city, he can completely collapse Mount Tai without changing his face.But he couldn't help being nervous. Behind him were the family members of 3 Duosha Tuo soldiers, and among them, there was even the figure that always appeared in his dreams.Although he has warned himself time and time again that Mrs. Liu is his adoptive mother, but countless nights, he can't help but think of Mrs. Liu's smile and her figure.

The footsteps of a Shatuo cavalryman interrupted his contemplation. He woke up from his fantasy, as if he was naked and being looked at by countless people, he couldn't help but bow his head guiltily.Why do I always have these thoughts, what a sin.

"General, the three thousand cavalry are all ready to go."

Li Siyuan lowered his head and said quickly: "Stay where you are!"

The officer hadn't left yet, and a soldier beside him shouted excitedly: "There is a fight, General, there is a fight at the city gate!"

Li Siyuan quickly looked up, and sure enough, the team of brothers led by Li Sizhao at the city gate had already picked up the guys and started fighting with the city gate guards. While attacking the defenders, they drove the war horses they brought in In the city, there was an instant chaos at the city gate.

"Blow the horn, beat the drum, and the whole army attacks!" The corners of Li Siyuan's eyes twitched a few times, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly involuntarily.This plan to seize the door was proposed by him, and the inspiration came from the time when he was in the Thai opera pass and saw Li Jing's four disciples take the pass with his own eyes.When this request was made, Li Sizhao also agreed.They went to ask Mrs. Liu, and after seeing it, Mrs. Liu asked them some details about how to prepare for it, and smiled at him very gently. That smile is unforgettable for him now.

In the grass not far from the city gate, there was a sudden continuous sound of horns, followed by a thunderous rumble of war drums, like a thunderbolt rolling across the grassland, startling countless tired birds returning to their nests, It fluttered its wings and took off in panic, screaming under the dark sky.

With the sound of drums and horns, the [-] Shatuo cavalry hidden in Cao Xunzi divided into three groups, and thousands of horses galloped out, flying straight to the city like a sharp arrow.Three thousand cavalry flew fast, and they had already reached the gate of the city in a blink of an eye.

At this time, the tall and tall Shanyu Duhufu was getting closer and taller.But the Shatuo people were not afraid at all, because this majestic city had opened a gate for them at this time.Li Sizhao and the others guarded the city gate tightly.

"Send the arrow, release the arrow!"

Shouts in front of the city gate, the sound of clashing weapons, the neighing of war horses, the screams of wounded soldiers, and even the howling of countless sharp arrows passing through the air, all gathered together to play a war symphony.

The defenders in the city were constantly arriving, but more people from Shatuo rushed forward.

"Rush, rush, rush into the city!"

"kill!"

The Shatuo army below the city shouted in unison, rolling in like water breaking a dike.

"Report to the general, the south gate has been captured."

"Major General, the south gate and gate tower have been captured."

"General, the enemy soldiers at the east gate are quite fierce. The Zuoyi Dukang of the left camp will die in battle! Request reinforcements!"

Li Siyuan held the long spear in his hand, immediately rushed to his horse, and asked loudly, "How many enemy troops are there at the east gate?"

"At least thousands of them came out continuously, and the brothers were caught off guard."

Li Siyuan didn't even think about it, and immediately shouted, "Where is the Iron Forest Army!"

Several generals responded loudly.

"Tie Lin Army, come with me to reinforce the East Gate." Li Siyuan roared, and directly led the elite Iron Forest Army that Li Keyong handed over to him to attack the East Gate.Li Siyuan judged that there were not many guards in Shanyu Duhu Mansion, but now there are thousands of guards suddenly appearing, there are only two possibilities.One is that the soldiers who reported the letter lied, and there were not that many enemy troops at all.Or secondly, the enemy does have thousands of defenders, and it is possible that most of the enemy defenders are concentrated in the east city.

But no matter what the reason was, he had to go and kill the enemy now.Taking this city is the first priority.If you can't take this city, you won't be able to get through the passage to Baidao. If the Tang army catches up, they will be surrounded here.

Galloping his horse, Li Siyuan raised his head and glanced at the sky. At this time, the sunset glow had already disappeared, and the night had not yet completely covered the earth. There were a few bright stars hanging on the pale sky.

As soon as he arrived at the east gate, he immediately understood that the soldiers who reported the letter were not lying. There were no fewer than a thousand soldiers at the east gate, and they were all fiery red, which was the color of Tang army officers and soldiers.Just looking at the number, it will definitely not be less than a thousand people.Zuo Yidu, who rushed to the east gate earlier, had a hundred riders, and he was almost dead at this time.

As soon as the Iron Forest Army arrived, they immediately threw themselves into a fierce battle.As soon as Li Siyuan fought, he already exclaimed in his heart that the Tang army on the opposite side was stronger than he expected.This strength is not at all like the situation reported by the scouts that the defenders only have a thousand reorganized troops.

In the midst of the melee, a cavalry arrived and shouted to him, "Report to the general, there are also thousands of elite defenders at the north gate, and the two soldiers of the left battalion are all killed. General Sizhao led his troops away."

Li Siyuan frowned tightly, looked towards the direction of the north gate, and saw that the north gate was full of flames, and the sound of slaughter continued, it seemed that the day was not as easy as it was here.

Things were already going out of control, Li Siyuan's face was livid, the number of soldiers and horses in the city was completely different from what the scouts reported, at least there were more than 2000 soldiers and horses in the city right now, and they were no less elite than the Shatuo Army.

Suddenly, he was shocked and thought of a very bad possibility.

"How is Simon?"

The messenger didn't know what was going on at the south gate, so he could only whisper, "I'll go right away."

The messenger quickly left and returned, and said with a look of panic: "Report to the general, the situation is not good, and there are also a large number of enemy troops in Ximen, no fewer than a thousand."

Li Siyuan's complexion changed drastically, and he turned pale all of a sudden.

"This is a trap, a hole dug by Tang Jun!"

The more Li Siyuan thought about it, the more frightened he became. The scouts in the city reported that there were only a thousand soldiers, but now there were more and more soldiers and horses in the city, as if these Tang soldiers came out of the underground mouse hole.

Something was too wrong, even if Yu Yu left more soldiers and horses, there would never be so many, let alone such fighting power.These soldiers are no weaker than those encountered in Hedong.

These soldiers could not be Zhenwu Army, let alone Tiande Army. Where did they come from?

Thinking that the east, west and north have fallen into chaos, Li Siyuan suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. What about the South Gate, how could he forget about the South Gate.He came in from the south gate, so he never thought about it.

If this is a trap, then the south gate is the bait. Now that they have been lured into the city, the enemy army should close the south gate immediately, catch them in the urn, and close the gate to beat dogs.

Thinking of this, he was already sweating wildly all over his body, and his shirt was wet.

He reined in his horse, shouted loudly, and shouted: "Pass my military order, the whole army immediately withdraws to the south gate, immediately withdraws to the south gate, this is the enemy's trap, we have been fooled, there is an ambush in the city!" He stretched out his hand and shouted to the cavalryman who just ran back: "You, go back to the camp outside the city immediately, tell the old patriarch and his wife that there is an ambush in the city, and the Tang army is coming around us. Let them prepare for defense and be careful of the enemy Sneak attack!"

Just as he finished his words, several riders galloped towards him.Lian ran and shouted: "Where is General Siyuan? Where is General Siyuan?"

Li Siyuan recognized that the leader was Jingniang, the commander of sword guards beside his wife, and couldn't help being shocked.He knew something must have happened, otherwise Mrs. Liu would not have sent Jing Niang.It's just that at this moment, he still held that trace of luck in his heart, and shouted: "Commander Jing, I'm here."

Jingniang rode over and rushed over, at this time Shang Cheng saw the female guard who usually wore a silver mask, but now the mask was gone, half of her body was dyed red, and there was a stick stuck in her back. The shining white feather arrow, as she galloped on the horse, the arrow kept shaking, and the blood couldn't stop flowing.

"Madam has an order to ask General Siyuan to lead his troops back to the camp immediately." Jing Niang's face was pale, obviously too pale, but she was anxious and didn't care about the injury, "It's the Tang army, the Tang army suddenly appeared and is attacking Daying, madam wants you to go back."

When Li Siyuan and the Shatuo soldiers around him heard this, they were as if struck by lightning, and they stood dumbfounded on the spot.At this time Li Siyuan was also startled and trembled all over, and his face lost all color.Immediately, Liu's voice and smile were all in his mind, and he hurriedly asked, "Where did the Tang army come from, and which town's soldiers? How is the situation in the camp now, Madam, is she okay?"

Jing Niang swayed, fell off the horse, and passed out.Li Siyuan quickly pinched her, and Jingniang woke up after a while.

"Commander Jing, where did the Tang army come from, and what banner is it playing?"

Jing Niang said weakly: "It's the town master, fighting under the banner of Li Jing, there are not many soldiers, but they are extremely powerful, although there are thousands of young and strong in the camp, they are not the opponent of the town master. Madam also said, There must be an ambush in Shanyu Dufu's mansion, so you must hurry back and join us." After saying this, he fainted again.

Now Li Siyuan was very worried, and he wanted to return home, so he ordered a soldier to take Jingniang with him on horseback, and led his army to kill at the south gate.When he reached the south gate, he happened to see a large group of Tang troops in red shirts approaching.At the city gate, Li Sizhao led more than a hundred riders and was still desperately defending the city gate. When he saw him coming, he hurriedly shouted: "Siyuan, go!"

Li Siyuan rode his horse and rushed out of the city gate, Li Sizhao held on for a while and finally failed, he rode his horse and rushed out of the city.As soon as Li Sizhao left the city, his back was covered in fiery red, and the city gate was slowly closed.

Seeing that there were only less than a thousand cavalry and horses left, the two dry brothers Li Siyuan and Li Sizhao felt heavy, clamped the horse's belly, shouted, and ran towards the camp without looking back. (To be continued.)