Late Tang

After dawn, the rain gradually weakened and turned into a continuous drizzle.Although there is little rain, it can be caught in the northwest wind, and when it rolls towards the body, it hurts like a steel needle.

Li Keyong invited Wang Jingchong to have breakfast, and at the same time sent people to the city to persuade him to surrender.Although there are tens of thousands of troops in his hands, Li Keyong is still willing to surrender if unnecessary casualties can be avoided.It's a pity that the people in the city didn't appreciate Li Ke's kindness.This time, although the Shatuo cavalry who shouted was skilled in riding, the archers and archers on the city were even more skilled. The eight-ox three-bow crossbow on the head used a thick crossbow spear to nail him to death in the mud.

This crossbow caused a burst of cheers from the top of the city, but it startled Zhao Jun and Jin Jun who had just had breakfast and were lazily preparing for battle. Some soldiers who were close hurriedly retreated, some Several retreated too quickly, and fell directly into the muddy ground, in a state of embarrassment, which attracted waves of ridicule from the top of the city.

Li Ke looked at all this coldly, turned his head and said to the guards next to him: "After the city is broken, cut off the tongues of all the defenders, and sell them to the grasslands to feed sheep to the Khitans!"

Before the words were finished, a group of cavalry covered in mud came galloping forward. The one riding in front was the sentinel who went out to patrol and guard, while the one following behind was a general wearing a silver mask.Li Keyong's face changed slightly, and he had already recognized that the knight wearing the silver mask was Jingniang, the guard leader next to his wife Liu who stayed behind in Yanmen.

Jingniang came suddenly at this time, it must be because something important happened in Yanmen.

That team of cavalry ignored the military order not to ride horses in the battalion, and rode their horses at a gallop. The horse rushed straight in front of Li Keyong for a few steps, and the knight reined in the reins severely. Kicked Li Keyong in the face.

Jingniang jumped off her horse and said in a hurry: "Yanmen urgently reported that five days ago Li Jing led [-] troops to the military capital pass, and the [-] defenders of the combined army capital pass suddenly went out and entered Guizhou. It's like breaking through the customs. General Li Kexiu couldn't resist, he lost Guizhou five days ago, Xinzhou four days ago, and Ruzhou three days ago when Madam asked me to report the news!"

Li Keyong was stunned on the spot, he couldn't believe Jingniang's words.A moment later, he strode forward and pulled off the mask on Jingniang's face.The mask was taken off, and inside was a woman who was actually very beautiful.Many people have never seen Jingniang's face, but of course Li Keyong has.This time, he had no excuse to deceive himself.

This is actually true!How can this be true?

Li Siyuan, Li Sizhao, and Li Cunzhang, the three generals Sha Tuo who were coming to ask for orders to attack the city, were all stunned when they heard the words.

"Didn't the previous news say that the Qin army was ambushed and besieged by Khitan when they went out of the fortress? Didn't Li Jing lead his troops out to rescue? Why is Li Jing suddenly going out to attack the front of the mountain?" Li Siyuan's face changed drastically, staring at Jingniang and shouting asked.

Holding the sword in her hand, Jing Niang said in a weary voice: "The information obtained earlier is indeed true, but when I reported before leaving, Madam just received the latest news from the grassland. Li Jing's Northern Expedition troops did not go at all. To attack Khitan, they only sent a small number of cavalry to bluff and wander around the Khitan grassland under the banner of a large army, attracting the attention of the Khitan people. But in fact, Li Jing's Northern Expeditionary Army and horses quietly invaded the Khitan grassland. Xi Han courted the king's tent and raided the Dongxi people who had already attached themselves to the Khitan. It is heard that the Dongxi people were defeated and more than [-] people died in the battle. Dongxi Wang Shise, his Khitan wife and children were all captured."

"It's a good strategy to divert the tiger away from the mountain, and attack the west with a sound!"

Li Ke bit his lip tightly, gnashed his teeth and said in a low voice.

"What about the 2 horses we went to the grasslands, is there any news back?" Li Keyong asked.

Jingniang shook her head, "General Li Jinzhong hasn't contacted Yanmen for ten days, we lost his news!"

Everyone was silent, and an extremely bad thought came to everyone's mind.Li Jing killed Dong Xi, who was attached to Khitan, and Li Jinzhong's 2 people went to Khitan for reinforcements, and they were about to end Xi's territory.

"Maybe it's just temporarily inconvenient to contact, sir, please don't worry too much." Li Siyuan persuaded from the side.

Maybe, Rick thought hard.

But now whether Li Jinzhong's 2 horses were ambushed by Li Jing is not the most important thing. The most shocking news is that Li Jing suddenly sent troops to attack the front of the mountain, and has already captured three states in a row.No, it was the news three days ago. Li Jing captured the three states. Now three days later, who knows how bad the situation is.It took Li Jing only three days to capture the three prefectures, and now three more days have passed, maybe Li Jing has captured both Wu and Wei prefectures, and went directly to Yanmen.

After all, Li Jing had fought Shatuo with them in Daibei back then, and he was almost undefeated.Now Li Kexiu in front of the mountain has been defeated, and the whole Yanmen is controlled by a woman from the Liu family. Can he stop Li Jing's army from attacking?

Li Ke's mind was in a mess. After the first rebellion against the Tang Dynasty, in the battle of Daibei, Shatuo fought against the eight towns of the imperial court. In the end, they were defeated and lost the roots of Yun and Shuo prefectures.It was not easy for Shatuo to make a comeback. If he lost his hometown again this time, it would be an unbearable injury for Shatuo people.

"Go back to Master Yanmen immediately!" Li Ke exposed the blue veins on his forehead, his heart was startled, feared and angry.Now that he knew what Li Jing was doing, Li Jing didn't go to the grassland, but instead went to raid his lair.Right now, Li Keyong actually has two choices. One, continue with the previous plan. Li Jing will attack Li Jing, he will attack him, and Chengdezhen will continue to attack Mozhou, and then attack Hejian. machine, lay down Mo Ying.Or, return to the east of the river immediately to rescue your roots.After all, although Yizhou was captured, Shatuo's foundation lies in Daibei.If Yanmen is not protected, Yizhou will never be able to defend it.Even if Mozhou is defeated and Hedong is lost, the loss outweighs the gain.

Of course, there are two options for returning to Yanmen.One is to go back the same way, return to Yizhou, return to Weizhou from Feihu Road, and rescue Yanmen.But this road is too long, and it takes a long detour to go back.

There is another way for him to choose, and that is to lead his troops directly into Zhuozhou, pass through Youzhou, reach Junduguan, capture Junduguan, and then follow Li Jing's attack route and kill him from behind.This road is very short, and Li Jing only has 10 soldiers and horses entering Yanmen Town, leaving some defenders behind to lock up the newly occupied land.And he joined forces with Chengde Town, and there are [-] people.If they can capture Jundu Pass, they will be able to block Li Jing in Yanmen Town, close the door and beat the dogs.

However, this plan is too risky. Although the Shatuo army took Junduguan from Li Quanzhong in just one night, Junduguan is the two major gates of Youzhou. Never easy to get.Another point is that from here to the military capital, you have to pass through Zhuozhou and Youzhou. If soldiers and horses from the two places intercept them, they may be entangled here.

Is it adventurous or steady?

The matter involved the foundation of Shatuo, and in the end Li Keyong chose to return the same way, he did not dare to take that risk.If he is dragged here, the shortcut will become a dead end in the end, and Yanmen Town may be breached, and he dare not bet all his wealth.

Now Li Keyong can only pray, hoping that his wife Liu can lead the remaining soldiers and horses, stick to Yanmen, and wait until he leads the troops back to rescue.

"Leading an army back to Yanmen with you!" Faced with Li Keyong's request, Wang Jingchong readily agreed.Chengde Town and Yanmen Town share Li Jing's pressure, they need each other.Li Keyong was in trouble, Wang Jingchong had to save him, otherwise, once Li Keyong fell, it would be Chengdezhen's turn next.

"Throw away all unnecessary things. Let's go back to the teacher with light packs. We must rush back to Yanmen as quickly as possible!" Li Ke reduced with shaking his fists, getting angry so anxiously that his mouth was full of blisters.

The Zhao-Jin coalition forces retreated in a hurry like a tide, leaving a mess everywhere.

Li Ke wanted to rush back to Yanmen immediately, but the bad road made them move slowly.

"This speed is not good, absolutely not!" Li Ke shouted in a hoarse voice. He now regrets that he did not listen to his wife's advice and rashly sent troops into Hebei.As a result, he had just been happy for a long time, complacently winning Yizhou, but he lost three states in a blink of an eye, and he might even lose his old nest.

He was completely mobilized by Li Jing, exhausted and embarrassed, but he dared not help him!

"My lord, why don't I lead the cavalry back to Yanmen first!" Li Siyuan clenched his fists and said to Li Ke. He was also flustered at this moment, but what he was worried about was not Yanmen Town, or whether Yanmen Town could hold on. Not what worries him the most.After hearing that Li Jing invaded Yanmen Town, his mind was full of her shadow, and he was afraid that the last farewell would be a forever farewell.He wanted to go back right away, to see her safe right away.

Li Keyong nodded, "You and I lead the cavalry to go back to rescue first, and Cunzhang and Si Zhao lead the infantry to come later."

Wang Jingchong and Li Keyong gathered all the cavalry, a total of [-] cavalry, led by Li Keyong and Li Siyuan, will rush back to Yanmen immediately.For the remaining [-] infantry, the two armies will leave a part to guard the newly conquered Yiding Prefecture, and the remaining [-] infantry will be led by Wang Jingchong, Li Cunzhang, and Li Sizhao and then rush to Yanmen.

Three days later, Li Keyong and his cavalry had just arrived at Feihukou at the foot of Taihang Mountain, when they met the flying cavalry messenger again.This is already the first time I have met in three days. During the past few days on the road, Li Ke used to meet several messengers from the Yanmen every day.

The situation in Yanmen Town is very critical now, very critical!

Li Jing has wiped out Li Kexiu's [-] soldiers and horses, completely occupied the first four prefectures of Gui, Xin, Ru, and Wushan, and the soldiers have entered Weizhou.

Mrs. Liu personally brought [-] troops to Weizhou to resist the enemy, but as of yesterday, most of Weizhou had already fallen into Li Jing's hands.Now Mrs. Liu sits at the Zhigu Pass in Weizhou, resists the pass, supports it hard, and is anxiously waiting for him to go back.

Li Siyuan brought the messenger to his horse, and he asked impatiently: "How is the situation with Madam?"

The messenger panted and reported that the situation in Weizhou was fine. The Qin army had stopped attacking since the day before yesterday.This news made Li Keyong heaved a sigh of relief, and the messenger reported another news, a very bad news.

Li Jinzhong, who had been out of contact for half a month, finally got news, but it was bad news.As expected, Li Jinzhong was ambushed by the Northern Expedition troops of the Qin Army that defeated Dongxi in Xi's territory, just as Li Keyong was worried about.The 2 Shatuo Army marching north were defeated. Li Jinzhong died on the spot. More than half of the [-] people were killed or injured, and the rest were basically captured. Only a few hundred people fled back to Yanmen to bring back the bad news.

This is undoubtedly another major blow to Li Keyong and the Shatuo people. The three elders of the Shatuo people, the three brothers Li Guochang, Li Youjin, and Li Jinzhong, have all died.Moreover, 2 troops were annihilated in Xijing, even if this army was not the elite of Shatuo, it would be a huge blow to Shatuo, especially at this time.

"Why did Li Jing suddenly stop attacking and give us a chance to breathe? This is a bit unreasonable. It stands to reason that Li Jing's momentum is fierce. Although his wife led troops to guard Weizhou, Li Jing's soldiers and horses are completely superior. He shouldn't be here at this time. Stop acting suddenly." Li Siyuan forced himself to calm down, and then thought of a doubt.

Li Keyong also came back to his senses, this is indeed a doubtful point.Li Jing's use of troops has always been cunning and cunning, making it difficult for people to guess his true intentions.But once Li Jing's intentions were revealed, it was almost unstoppable at that time.

The same is true for this action. At the beginning, Li Jing used a lot of tricks to confuse the other party.But once he launched the attack, it was too late for Li Keyong to rescue him.But right now, Li Jing obviously still has the ability to attack, and his offensive momentum has not yet reached the end, so why did he suddenly stop at Zhigu Pass in Weizhou?He could have fought all the way to Daizhou, or even to the city of Yanmen.

What does Li Jing want to do?Perhaps, this is another conspiracy by Li Jing?

"My lord, Li Jing's use of troops is elusive and extremely cunning. He said he sent troops to the northern expedition to Khitan, but the target was Dongxi and our northern troops. Li Jing said that he would lead troops to rescue the besieged troops in the northern expedition, but instead made a surprise attack. General Li Kexiu. Now that Li Jing is suddenly standing still, I always feel a sense of danger. Li Jing will definitely not just stop here, he must be planning some kind of conspiracy to wait for us!" Li Siyuan rubbed his head and said in some pain .

"What will his conspiracy be?" Li Ke thought hard.

"Tune the tiger away from the mountain!" Li Keyong and Li Siyuan yelled almost at the same time, making the guards next to him startled and confused.

Li Keyong and Li Siyuan looked at each other, and they both saw the fear in their eyes.If it is really as they guessed, then it is really a big deal.

"Datong Army!" Li Ke said with hatred, "Li Jing deliberately weakened the momentum of the attack in Yuzhou, and he was trying to lure Yunniang to lead his troops to rescue.

Li Siyuan nodded, "Jiedu Envoy of the Datong Army, Governor of Anqing Shi Jingcun, Governor of Yunzhou, Governor of Sage Mi Haiwan, Governor of Shuozhou, Governor of Qibi Qi Bizhang, they were originally my subordinates under Shatuo, but they all betrayed later. Us. Since we returned to Daibei, they are the ones we fear the most. Moreover, they have always had a good relationship with Li Jing, and they were all under Li Jing's command during the Daibei War. Now the Three Departments of Datong must have secretly In collusion with Li Jing, Li Jing is deliberately luring his wife to divide the troops to rescue Weizhou, so as to divide the soldiers of Yanmen. Right now, the three departments of Datong may have sent troops to raid Yanmen!"

Li Keyong gritted his teeth, terrified in his heart, if this was the case, Li Jing deliberately lured his wife to separate troops to defend Weizhou, and he held his wife back in Weizhou.And secretly let the three divisions of the Datong Army behind Yanmen send troops to raid Yanmen, this move is too ruthless.

"Hurry up, we have to rush back to Yanmen immediately, maybe it's too late!" Li Ke clamped the horse's belly fiercely, and galloped the horse, burning with anxiety!