May 28th, Yanmen Pass.
At the head of the city, Li Jing was wearing armor and a large cloak, with a stern look on his face, and his eyes were like lightning. Within his line of sight, a dark Turkish army was slowly retreating back in the distance.
The nearby city was full of countless mutilated limbs and flesh, and the soil was purple and black, which was daunting. Obviously, these days, the Turks' aggressive attack on Yanmen Pass was not just a show.
There was silence on the top of the city. Behind Li Jing stood a group of generals. Most of them asked Li Jing to give orders to go out and pursue them when the Turks retreated, but now no one has spoken.
On May 26, Li Jing, who had been gathering troops in the south of Nao County for a long time and had been worried for a long time, finally went north. He arrived at Yanmen Pass on the same day and was appointed as the general manager of Daizhou. He inspected the pass and praised the chief general of Yanmen, Su Dingfang.
But on May 27, Er Zhu Yichen, Ma Sanbao, and Kan Leng who pursued the Turks returned without success. Although they attacked the Tang army stationed in Lanzhou and defeated the Turks twice.
But Ashina She'er remained calm in the face of danger and turned back to set up an ambush when approaching Loufan Pass. More than a thousand Turkic cavalry fought for their lives and defeated the Tang soldiers. Ma Sanbao was wounded by an arrow and retreated. Er Zhu Yichen only escaped with his own life. If Kan Leng hadn't arrived, the entire army would have been almost wiped out.
However, when the Turks were at the end of their rope, they abandoned their horses to cross the river and fled in panic from Loufan Pass.
Just as Li Jing had guessed, on the next day, May 28, the Turks did not make any further efforts and withdrew their troops northward.
But what Li Jing didn't expect was that most of the generals, starting from Yanmen Pass general Su Dingfang, immediately sent out troops to pursue the Turks, including Li Jing's direct nephew Li Kai.
After experiencing the incident of Er Zhu Yichen, Ma Sanbao, and Kan Leng ignoring military orders and persisting in pursuit, Li Jing immediately knew what these people were thinking, but he did not expect that the young Handan County Prince had such a high reputation in Daidi. .
Even Zhang Gongjin vaguely mentioned that he might be able to send partial troops out of the pass to go north to reduce the pressure of the Turks on Guji Town... Now everyone knows that although Niu Bin was killed by Ma Sanbao, Guo Ziheng escaped Outside the customs, the Turks would definitely pass by Guji Town on their way back north. Do you expect Jieli Khan to let Li Shan go?
After all, Li Jing was new here, and he wanted to be tactful, but he didn't expect that even the soldiers, government soldiers, young men and even civilians below would become commotion.
At this time, Li Jing was furious... He couldn't help but be angry. Each of these guys held the Prince of Handan County in their hands, and they could hardly see the manager of Daizhou in front of them!
So, Li Jing made a decisive decision and strictly ordered not to leave the border... At first, he was planning to take action on Li Shan's confidant, Su Dingfang, his direct disciple in history. However, he did not expect that although Su Dingfang was not politically sensitive, he had extremely high military talent. , has a stable temperament and is not impulsive. He only recommends sending scouts out to investigate, and then proceed at most.
Therefore, Li Kai, who had the most violent words, was in great trouble. He was punished with a staff of forty and rushed back to Dai County.
Using his own nephew to operate on him made everyone temporarily shut up. At the same time, Li Jing also successfully took control of the entire army. Su Dingfang returned to his duties from the Yanmen general, and Zuo Wuwei Zhonglang also served as the cavalry chief.
Seeing the Turks receding and gradually disappearing on the horizon, Li Jing turned his head and looked around. Many generals had a look of dissatisfaction on their faces... Also, in the eyes of many people, Li Shan had done so many great things when he was appointed to Daizhou. Li Jing came here to pick up peaches, but he refused to save her.
But Li Jing also clearly saw that there were two people with calm expressions, one was Zhang Gongjin and the other was Su Dingfang.
Li Jing stood at the head of the city until dusk when the scouts reported back.
The Turkic army returned north, but did not leave Shuozhou. Instead, they besieged Guji Town. The scouts climbed up and looked into the distance, only to see endless cavalry, overwhelming the sky.
At the same time, the scouts to the west reported that the army besieging Mayi withdrew northward... I am afraid they also went to Guji Town.
This time the Turks came out almost in full force, with a strength of about 150,000 to 200,000. Although they suffered heavy casualties in attacking Yanmen Pass, and not even one of the 5,000 elite troops who used Daoloufan Pass remained, in comparison, Guji Town looked like The small sampan was bumping in the wind and waves, how could it not make onlookers frightened.
It was late at night, and after half a month of fighting, Yanmen fell into silence. However, there were still defenders patrolling the city. The Turks came and went, and their erratic style kept the Tang Army generals on alert.
"Meet the steward."
"Meet the steward."
Li Jing, who was looking beyond the Great Wall, did not turn around, but said softly: "I heard that the King of Handan was very kind to Dingfang?"
"Yes." Su Dingfang simply said one word.
"When someone heard about the Western Expedition to Tuyuhun, he decided to attack with hundreds of cavalry. Eight battles a day, divine soldiers descended from the sky, faced off thousands of enemy troops, killed the generals and captured the flag, which was a great success." Li Jing said leisurely: "This time we held on to Yan. Gate, allocate troops, defend like a rock, it can be said to be able to attack and defend well."
Su Dingfang remained silent, and Zhang Gongjin beside him said with a smile: "The King of Handan has a keen eye, Dingfang will definitely become a famous general in the future."
"How can I be angry when I ordered not to leave the border to pursue him?" Li Jing turned around slowly, "You can tell me."
Li Jing nominally controlled the Daizhou Army, but in fact... he knew very well that Su Dingfang, as Li Shan's confidant, had been in charge of the Daizhou Army for half a year, and this influence was not easy to dissipate.
Now that the Turks are lingering in Shuozhou, Handan King Li Shan is trapped in Guji Town. If he and Su Dingfang don't get along, it's really not a good sign... The easiest way is to kill Su Dingfang, but this is also the stupidest way. Well, there will be a mutiny.
Only a few days after arriving in Daizhou, Li Jing had already deeply felt the influence of Li Shan in Daizhou.
After a long silence, Su Dingfang bowed and saluted, "The Turks dominate the world with their cavalry, and they roam around erratically. If they rush out of the border and the Turks turn around and attack, they may be unable to break out of the siege and they will be defeated outside the fortress."
"I heard from Brother Wu'an that the Guji Town Fortress is extremely strong?" Zhang Gongjin added: "Even if Jieli Khan's army attacked, it would be difficult to break it for a while... It is said that Jieli Khan attacked Guji Town for two days, but nothing happened. To make progress, why did you take a detour south?"
"So, it is the best policy to sit back and watch the Turks attack Guji Town." Su Dingfang's words could not help but bring out a hint of anger, "The Turks have been moving south for half a month, and neither Mayi nor Guji Town has been conquered. The Turks looted Shuozhou villages and towns for supplies, grain and grass It’s already insufficient.”
Zhang Gongjin shut his mouth. Of course he knew what Li Jing was thinking and what Su Dingfang meant... If the Turks failed to attack Guji Town, ran out of food and grass, and lost people's hearts, then Li Jing would lead his army to attack, and the winning rate would be much higher. .
But whether the Turks can capture Guji Town and whether Li Shan will be beheaded... this is not among Li Jing's considerations, or it is not Li Jing's first consideration.
Su Dingfang, who was greatly favored by Li Shan and was regarded as his confidant, must put Li Shan's life and death first.
After a pause, Su Dingfang saluted again, "I would like to obey the commander-in-chief's military orders."
Li Jing's expression softened, but he saw Su Dingfang turning around and leaving without hesitation.
Hundreds of thousands of troops besieged Guji Town. Su Dingfang knew very well that it would be difficult to rescue him alone, and Li Jing also made his attitude clear... If he disobeyed, there would be nothing he could do if he was transferred to Guo County or Dai County. Therefore, he Must stay at Yanmen Pass.
Su Dingfang was thinking as he walked, it's a pity that King Ma Bin is not here, otherwise he can be asked to write for him... Well, it is better to rush to Dai County. Although Li Demou was punished with a cane forty, it was an injury to his buttocks, and his hands were not injured at all.
No matter how stupid Su Dingfang is, he knows that at this time, the only way to influence Li Jing is to contribute to the imperial court, and since his writing skills are not good, if he wants to hire someone to write for him, he must find someone he can trust.
Although Li Shan did not reveal the matter, Su Dingfang knew in his mind that Li Kai should have vaguely guessed something about Li Shan joining the army of King Qin.
