Horse on the World

Chapter 244 The Last Moment

On August [-]st, it was the time when the mountain wind broke Congling Pass. At this time, in Shahe Town, Dingzhou, the battle was stalemate. into a river.The defense system of Shahe Town has been cut off a thick layer, and the battle is approaching Shahe Town step by step, the core of the Dingzhou Army's defense system, and that is where Li Qing's camp is located.

As the commander-in-chief, Li Qing has already released all the chips in his hands. After nearly a month of fighting, the [-] officers and soldiers of the Qi Nian Division have reduced by one-third. With the task of counterattacking, and also harassing each other from the flanks from time to time, the two battalions suffered increasingly heavy losses after Huhe's [-] wolves rushed over.

At this time, there were only a few hundred personal guards left beside Li Qing. Seeing the criss-cross pattern of the enemy and us in the sand table in front of him, Li Qing frowned. ,wait.He believed that the barbarians on the opposite side had also reached the point of exhaustion. Compared with himself, they were even more disadvantaged in that their logistics was almost on the verge of collapse.

Both sides are gritting their teeth and persevering, to see who can't stand it first, and who can breathe a sigh of relief first.Li Qing walked out of the house, looked over the fierce battlefield in Shahe Town, and cast his gaze towards the distant Congling Pass. The mountain wind will be the last straw in this battle, the straw to crush the barbarians.At this time, has he breached Congling Pass?

At this time, there were no telegrams and telephone calls. Even if the Statistics and Investigation Department had already planted nails in the grassland and rushed to send the letter back from eight hundred miles, it would take more than ten days. Of course, Bayar would definitely get it before himself. News, maybe I can know the results of the mountain wind just by watching the movements of the barbarians.

"Marshal!" Shang Haibo hurried over under the protection of several guards. "The wolf-running army led by Nuo Qia stormed Xialaoxi, and it was about to be overwhelmed. The number of soldiers was severely reduced. If no reinforcements were sent, Xialaoxi would not be safe."

Li Qing took a breath, "If the Xialao Creek breaks, the enemy can flank our army's abdomen, or send a small group of troops to the city of Dingzhou. Although there is no threat, it will definitely cause panic in Dingzhou. You can't lose it in Xialongxi."

"But Commander, we don't have a reserve team anymore, all the troops have already gone into battle." Shang Haibo said anxiously. "Marshal, why don't you transfer Feng Guo's Panshi Battalion."

"The Panshi Battalion has 5000 troops and is in charge of the defense of the entire Dingzhou City. That is where our center is. There must be no mistakes. The Panshi Battalion cannot be moved. Soldiers, are there any soldiers there?" Li Qing murmured. .

"Deploy troops from Yi'an County, and transfer 3000 people from there to Xialaoxi." Li Qing made up his mind.

"Marshal, if we transfer 3000 people from Yi'an County, then Yi'an will basically be unable to defend, and it will also threaten the flanks of our central army!" Shang Haibo said.

Li Qing smiled slightly, "Mr. Shang, have you forgotten who was responsible for attacking Yi'an?"

"Hongbe Fusen!" Shang Haibo blurted out.

"Yes, it is because of him that I dare to send troops away." Li Qing said.

"But Marshal, the barbarians still have a slight advantage in the overall form. Fusen, a fool, can't fall to our side." Shang Haibo was a little worried.

"Send someone to tell him that Congling Pass has been breached by us, and Bayar's failure will be instant. Let him choose." Li Qing said in a deep voice: "At the same time, order the three fortresses of Dingyuan, Weiyuan and Zhenyuan , Out of the city to fight. To reduce the pressure on the defense line of Shahe Town. We only need to persist for more than ten days, up to 20 days."

In the big camp of Naben in the grassland, as the temporary commander of this army, Naben was even more anxious. He had been stalemate in Shahezhen for so long. The people of Dingzhou suffered heavy losses, but the price they paid was much higher than that of their opponents. The two-to-one casualty ratio made Naben almost crazy. Although they maintained a strong pressure in Shahe Town, Dingzhou soldiers in the three fortresses began to go out of the city to fight more boldly, constantly attacking their own grain roads, intercepting their own supplies, and letting themselves The logistical pressure is getting heavier.

If it hadn't been for the letter from his father to inform him that the Dingzhou people and the Shiwei people were attacking Congling Pass madly, in the face of such heavy casualties, Naben would have almost given up.This is the time of life and death of the grassland, if he fails here, the newly established Yuanwu Empire will immediately face a two-front battle.With Dingzhou people's strong recovery ability and hematopoietic ability, the Yuanwu Empire is in danger.

The arrival of the [-] wolf-running army led by Nuoqia was almost a timely help. Naben, in ecstasy, immediately launched another attack on the defense line of Shahe Town, and he could already clearly see the banner of Li Qing's Chinese army .But the closer to the opponent's core area, the stronger the resistance. For several days in a row, it was difficult for Naben to advance an inch.

When Naben was anxious, the expression on Fusen's face in Yi'an County was also cloudy. Congling Pass was critical, which shocked him greatly. If Shiwei people entered the pass, the grassland would never have peace. He had already seen very clearly that if the grassland could not occupy Dingzhou and defeat Li Qing before the Shiwei people went deep into the grassland, failure would be inevitable.

But today, when the two armies had just finished a day of fierce fighting, the Dingzhou people unexpectedly came to their camp, and it was none other than Shang Haibo, an important figure in the Dingzhou army.

"You are so courageous. You are not afraid that I will kill you." Fu Sen said gloomyly.

Shang Haibo smiled and said, "Clan Chief Fusen, I'm here today to tell you some news."

"what news?"

"The Congling Pass has been breached. Our coalition forces from Dingzhou and Shiwei have marched straight in." Shang Haibo smiled triumphantly.

Fusen jumped up in shock, "How is it possible? Why don't I know anything about it?"

Shang Haibo laughed loudly, "Of course you don't know, Bayar concealed the news, and he still wanted to make a final death struggle, Patriarch Fusen, do you want to accompany Bayar to perish together, or make another wise choice ? There is not much time left for you to choose, and Marshal Li sent me here today to ask you to make a choice as soon as possible."

Fusen hesitated for a moment, "It's not too long before the defense line of Shahe Town is broken through. Even if the people of Shiwei pass by, it is impossible to shake the foundation of the grassland in a short time. As long as we lead Dingzhou, the victory still belongs to us. Why should I choose you?" ?”

Shang Haibo curled his lips and sneered, "Really? Did Chief Fusen think so, or did Naben tell you so? Are you really able to conquer Shahe Town in a short period of time? Don't forget, it took you almost a month , paid nearly [-] casualties, and still haven't touched the edge of Shahe Town, how much time do you think you have to spend?"

"Ten thousand steps back, even if you win in Shahe Town, so what? We retreat to Dingzhou City. With the strength of Dingzhou City, is it possible for you to capture it? Patriarch Fusen, wake up, think about Fuyuan. Think about the battle of Dingyuan, with such a superior force, have you ever defeated one of these dangerous barriers, we only need to defend Dingzhou City, and you are finished."

Fusen sat down slumped. Shang Haibo was right. Even if Li Qing failed in Shahe Town, he might still be able to defend Dingzhou City. Taking down Dingzhou City is not something that can be done in a short period of time. In addition to the long-term siege of Dingzhou by the army, Fusen has no confidence in storming Dingzhou City. You must know that Dingzhou City is several times the size of the Fuyuan Fortress.However, Shiwei's invasion will turn the grassland army in Dingzhou into a rootless tree and a source of water. What's more, most of his clansmen still stay on the grassland. The Shiwei people will definitely not survive.

"What do you want?" he trembled.

Shang Haibo smiled and said: "Patriarch Fusen, you have shown us your possible choice a long time ago, so in order to show you sincerity, we will transfer some troops from Yi'an County. At the same time, if you want to retreat, we will The Zhenyuan Fortress can be opened, and you can walk from there without being intercepted by our fortress troops, other tribes may not be so lucky."

"I want to think about it, I want to think about it!" Fusen murmured.

Shang Haibo knew that this matter should not be rushed, anyway, his purpose of coming here was not to force this guy to surrender immediately, as long as he could withdraw the troops of Yi'an County from under his nose, he immediately stood up, "Okay, You can think about it carefully, but the time can't be too long, patriarch Fusen, our commander said that you must make a choice immediately, if you choose again when the overall situation is settled, it will be worthless. Only at this time is the need to send charcoal in the snow, and the icing on the cake is doomed to not have much benefit."

Fusen's lips moved, but he didn't make a sound. Shang Haibo clasped his fists together, saluted, and turned away.That night, [-] soldiers in Yi'an County opened the city gates and marched out under the eyes of the Red Ministry, but the Red Ministry's camp was silent and did not respond at all.

Immediately, Xialaoxi, who received three thousand reinforcements, stood firm, which made Nuo Qia, who didn't know why, flustered. It's completely different. Could it be that Li Qing still has a reserve team in his hands that has not been invested in this battle?Otherwise, where did his army come to support Xia Laoxi?Hesitating, he slowed down his attack and sent someone to report the situation to Naben.

At this time, in their rear, Guan Xinglong, the guard of Dingyuan, and Wei Xin, the guard of Weiyuan, were planning a big operation. Naben dispatched troops to Shahe Town to support them, which greatly weakened the troops holding the three fortresses. The two decided to make a sudden effort, gather two forces, and launch a surprise attack on the defenders of the blue department under Weiyuan City.

After Li Qing sent 4000 reinforcements to Dingyuan Guan Xinglong, he still had nearly 2000 soldiers in his hands. He decided to dispatch [-] troops to cooperate with Wei Xin, leaving [-] troops to defend the city.

(End of this chapter)