Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 922
"Okay, Hu Sanguang stay, everyone else go down!" Ye Chen had already closed his eyes when he said this, except for Hu Sanguang, the other four bowed and retreated solemnly.

"Have you found that little silver wolf?" Ye Chen asked lightly.

Hu Sanguang looked solemn, and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have mobilized all the hands, but failed to find the little silver wolf. No one in Xiajing City has ever seen the little silver wolf, so I deduce that the little silver wolf is just after leaving the palace. The corpses of the two hidden guards were picked up in a carriage. During this period, the little silver wolf did not struggle or make any sound."

Ye Chen nodded, and said: "The queen said it was the devil Cui Xi who did it. I also think that apart from the secrets of the magic way, how can other people use a little wolf to make the queen go crazy."

Hu Sanguang's heart skipped a beat, and he said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I will search the whole city for Cui Xi. When he is found, we will mobilize experts to surround and kill him. It's just that the little silver wolf was given to His Royal Highness by Huzi and Shui'er." birthday present from…”

Ye Chen interrupted Hu Sanguang, and said: "Cui Xi will naturally search for him, but after finding his trace, call Lianjicheng and ask him to mobilize the dark guards to go with you, or go to Hei Yue and let him go. He mobilized the Tianwei army to surround and kill him. As for Huzi, he definitely doesn't know anything about it, and Shui'er...is probably used by others. Send a message to Shui'er, saying that it is my intention to let him After returning to Xiajing, Huzi has grown up too, and from now on, there is no need for Shui'er to protect him personally."

Hu Sanguang thought of a secret he had inadvertently learned about the death of Shui'er's father, Liu Nan, which was related to the queen, but he knew that Shui'er and Ye Chenqing were brothers and sisters, so he didn't dare to say more about it, but said: "I understand. It's just that the officials of Dang Xiangzhou still have to send people there to track down where the little silver wolf appeared and who he had contact with after he appeared."

Ye Chen nodded and said, "You can just do whatever you want to investigate."

Hu Sanguang respectfully said yes.

Gaizhu City is in July, and the weather is the hottest. The temperature at this time is tolerable for the army of Xiangfu Kingdom, but for most of the Tubo people from the plateau area, this hot weather is really a problem for them. worst enemy.They drank water non-stop during the day, and had to force four or five thousand captured Xiangfu people in Lanzhou to dig a ditch to divert water from a tributary of the Yellow River to their camp for human and livestock use.But even so, the hot weather was unbearable.Only at night, the cool evening breeze made them feel more comfortable.

But even on such a night, Cao Wei and Gwang Dorje couldn't sleep well.Because just after the time passed, the south gate of Gaizhu City suddenly opened quietly, and a hundred cavalrymen from the Xiangfu Kingdom slipped out. Two small gunpowder bags, two explosions startled the Tubo camp into a panic. Hundreds of horses were frightened, and they broke free from the ropes and escaped. , As a result, all the Tubo camps were facing a big enemy, and they didn't sleep well all night.

Naturally, Shangbo Qianbu would not let the defenders of Gaizhu City leave easily. A large wave of cavalry roared and chased after the hundred Xiangfu army, but when they chased to the front of the city, they were shot indiscriminately by the Xiangfu army at the head of the city. Covering the troops of the Xiangfu Kingdom and retreating to the city, Shang Boqian had no choice but to call back the pursuers.

On the second day, Gewang Dorje summoned all the generals to prepare for the siege. Unexpectedly, he had not yet proposed a siege plan, but the generals of all the tribes under his command could not wait to make a noise first. Everyone asked to move the camp back three miles to the Camped in the shade next to a wood.How did Gwang Dorje respond?But this kind of weather is indeed unbearable for these plateau tribes. Even though the [-] generals of Gwang Dorje's own tribe dare not say more, they still agree with the generals of other tribes in their hearts.

Fortunately, Cao Wei stood firmly on his side and opposed the transfer of the camp.One coaxed and lied to the other, and the other threatened and scolded. After tossing all morning, they finally suppressed the incident.

But the siege of the city was delayed for half a day.Gewang Dorje and Cao Wei rode horses to inspect the camps at noon, and found that most of the troops of the tribes were naked, not to mention the armor, even the clothes were taken off.Many people simply got into sleep under the carriages and horses.Only Gwang Dorje's own tribal army is fairly organized.But they are also drinking water non-stop, and some people have to leave the camp for convenience.

Although this situation was expected, it still caused Gwangdorje a headache, and Cao Wei sneered at the mob in his heart.But what Cao Wei didn't know was that although the tribal armies of Tubo were a little less disciplined, their individual combat power was no weaker than any of the imperial army of Song Dynasty and Xiangfu Kingdom, and they were even braver.

In the afternoon, Gewang Dorje sent a troop of cavalry to challenge at the south gate, but no matter how insulted the Tubo army was, Gai Zhucheng remained behind closed doors.Although Gwangdorje and Cao Wei had expected it, they were still somewhat disappointed.

The craftsmen who accompanied the army captured by the Tubo people from Lanzhou City, together with the craftsmen brought by Cao Wei, built twelve simple ladders in two or three days.However, Gewang Dorje had seen the combat effectiveness of the defenders of Lanzhou City, and he was worried that the ants would attack the city, causing too many casualties and dampening the spirit of his own army, so that the major departments only wanted to preserve their strength.Therefore, even though Lord Lunbu gave him the order to destroy the city in seven days, under Cao Wei's suggestion, Gwang Dorje still only ordered the craftsmen to build arrow towers and watchtowers overnight under Cao Wei's guidance.

At dusk, the craftsmen built the first watchtower, which was as high as three feet. When Gewang Dorje and Cao Wei climbed up the watchtower, they immediately knew the movement in Gaizhou City like the back of their hands.This watchtower also attracted the attention of the generals of various tribes in Tubo. Many people looked at the watchtower almost in awe, and everyone seemed very excited.

But Gewang Dorje couldn't get excited.

He found that there were more flags in Gaizhu City than he expected, and the army of Xiangfu Kingdom marching in ranks in the city was not just dressed in the same clothes as the Suzaku Army. This may be Ding Jiagang's suspicious strategy, but it may also be Xiang Fu Guo deployed troops unknown to them in Gaizhuli in advance.

In addition, he also discovered that the army of the Xiangfu Kingdom was building a crossbow platform on the east tower.This is another unexpected thing.

Gewang Dorje then focused his observations on the area around the south gate.

Because Gaizhu City is next to a big mountain in the west, there are only three gates and no west gate.Because the Tubo people just want to capture Gaizhu City, not thinking about destroying the defenders, not counting the mountains on the west side, they just encircle two and one, and the key point of defense is the east gate and south gate, and there is no encirclement in the north. with.The south is the direction from which the Tubo army came, which is naturally the main attack direction of the Tubo army, while the north gate is the gate for the Xiangfu army to enter and exit. The soldiers and civilians in the city need to go out of the city to cut firewood and cook. Take turns out of the city to graze.It is impossible for them to feed their war horses for a long time with only the food in the city. Even if they are to ensure the drinking water of the horses, it is not easy to be trapped in the city.Therefore, although there is no wall of sheep and horses in Gaizhu, the army of Xiangfu Kingdom still has to go out of the north gate every morning and evening. There are heavy troops at the top of the city to support them. chop wood.

Sure enough, Cao Wei found a group of Xiangfu troops driving many cattle and horses to the north, marching towards the north gate.

Gewang Dorje also noticed this scene, and quickly summoned a general under his command, and asked him to lead a thousand horses from his headquarters to try and attack the Xiangfu army that had left the city to see if he could take advantage of it.Just in case, he ordered to select [-] elite soldiers from Anduo, and go around from the east to help.

The generals of Xiangfu Kingdom's army who guarded the firewood this day were Ma Yongbin and Tuoba Fengxiong, respectively the company commanders of the first and second companies of the cavalry battalion under Ding Jiagang's command.Both are in their early 20s and have broadly similar resumes.Ma Yongbin is the nephew of Ma Wentao, the left minister of Xiangfu Kingdom, who abandoned literature and went to military affairs. Ma Wentao arranged for him to participate in the first batch of military academy training in Xiangfu Academy. He graduated with very ordinary grades. He had mixed his seniority in the city, which he thought was a relatively safe place, and then he was transferred back to the Xiajing Army's headquarters in a few years, but now he ran into the Tubo people who came to attack the city.And the origin of Tuoba Fengxiong is not simple. He is the cousin of Tuoba Gelu, the head of the White Wolf Army, and also participated in the first batch of training at the Xiangfu Military Academy.After graduation, both of them were promoted to vice-principal of Shaodu, and became a company commander of the Suzaku Legion stationed in Gaizhu City. There was another one, Zeng Guoyong, the son of Zeng Shangfei. A hundred warriors go out of the city to herd horses.

They went out of the city for a little more than a mile, and when they arrived at a place with fertile water and grass, they were about to graze cattle and horses, when they suddenly heard the sound of drums and horns as a warning from the southern city.Immediately afterwards, more than a thousand Tubo cavalry came to kill from the east.Zeng Guoyong felt a surge of enthusiasm, and he whistled. A hundred of his subordinates immediately got on their horses and drew their bows, and rushed out with Zeng Guoyong.

Seeing the strength of the Tubo army, Ma Yongbin, the firewood guard, felt timid in his heart, and wanted to retreat back to the city, but in a flash, first Zeng Guoyong led his troops to meet him, and then Tuoba Fengxiong also led his [-] cavalry rushed forward.Ma Yongbin didn't dare to abandon his robes, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and lead his troops to meet him to the east.

That team of Tubo cavalry was coming in a hurry. The two companies plus one hundred cavalry from the Xiangfu Kingdom were a bit unprepared. As soon as he got close, Ma Yongbin heard Zeng Guoyong's roar, took off his spear, held the gun with one hand, and galloped into the Tubo army formation, stabbing a Tubo cavalry in the chest, taking advantage of the situation, he picked up the Tubo cavalry slumped.Tuoba Fengxiong also roared loudly, swung his iron spear, and fought with a young Tubo general.

(End of this chapter)