"Report!"
"Yangguan City was lost, and all 40,000 defenders were killed."
"Report!"
"Jiangyue City was lost, and the Mobei army massacred the city."
"Report!"
"Yulin City was lost, and the eight tribes in Mobei set fire to the city."
Great commercial capital.
For five days in a row, battle reports came in one after another. The Mobei army defeated three cities in a row, and the war situation took a turn for the worse.
No one expected that the Eight Tribes of Mobei, whose strength was so different from that of the Great Shang Dynasty, had such strong fighting power that they were unable to fight back against the Great Shang defenders.
The Mobei cavalry were extremely mobile. Everywhere they went, they burned, killed, and looted. The Dashang defenders were beaten and had no power to resist.
Although the Zhenbei Army, the most elite force in the northern territory of Dashang, had good combat effectiveness, it could not catch the tail of the Mobei Iron Cavalry at all, and could only watch helplessly as the Mobei Iron Cavalry marched straight into the territory of Dashang.
Due to geographical reasons, Mobei and Dashang have completely different main arms. Dashang's army has always been infantry-based and is good at defense and positional warfare. However, in terms of mobility, it is far different from Mobei's cavalry.
And three days ago.
The eldest prince and King Jiuyou led their troops northward and cooperated with King Zhongwu's Zhenbei Army to block the Mobei Iron Cavalry.
Unfortunately, the effect is not good.
Unless there is a geographical advantage, it is almost impossible for infantry to block cavalry.
How can a human being outrun a horse?
This is common sense and is also the biggest dilemma of the Shang Dynasty today.
The total number of the Zhenbei Army, the Blackwater Army, and the defenders from various places has exceeded 200,000, which is far greater than the Mobei Army. However, no matter how many infantry there are, if they are attacked by cavalry on the plains, their chances of winning will be very low. Very little.
However, if they do not go out of the city to block the attack, the Mobei Iron Cavalry will try their best to avoid Dashang's elite forces and choose to attack cities with weaker defenses.
For a time, Dashang's defensive formation in the northern border was scattered to pieces by the Mobei cavalry and was in a state of disarray.
"History did repeat itself."
Li Yuan.
After hearing the battle report from the north, Li Ziye sighed lightly, without saying anything else, got on the carriage and rushed towards the Taixue Palace.
at the same time.
Imperial Palace, Fengtian Hall.
When hundreds of officials went to court, the atmosphere was unusually heavy.
Nowadays, no officials recommend themselves or recommend others to go north. The huge difference between seeking military merit and risking death has discouraged many people.
The powerful people in big business are too shrewd and will never do anything that is not beneficial to them.
The thousand-year dynasty breeds not only wealth, but also corruption.
"Why, weren't you all vying to go to the North a few days ago? Why are you all mute now!"
On the dragon chair, Emperor Shang looked at the civil and military officials below with their heads hunched, and said angrily.
All civil and military officials lowered their heads, and no one dared to speak.
"King Xuanwu!"
Upon seeing this, Emperor Shang looked at King Xuanwu below and said coldly, "Lead the troops north tomorrow and stop the cavalry of the Eight Tribes of Mobei at all costs."
In front of all the ministers, King Xuanwu's expression changed again and again, but he did not dare to disobey the holy will in public. He took a step forward and saluted respectfully, "My minister, accept the decree!"
In the court, all the ministers looked at each other, and no one dared to say anything at this time.
The strength of the Eight Tribes of Mobei has far exceeded their impressions.
No one could have imagined that Mobei, which was once a piece of scattered sand, would be so powerful now.
Above the main hall, Emperor Shang looked at the ministers below who were greedy for life and afraid of death, and his face was livid.
These rubbish!
When fighting for power, they are more active than anyone else, but when it comes to serving the country, they all pretend to be dumb.
However, the mere Mobei Eight Tribes actually wanted to use the troops of the three Martial Kings, which was beyond his expectation.
You must know that Dashang only has ten Martial Kings in total, and nearly half of the Martial Kings are on guard outside all year round and cannot be mobilized unless absolutely necessary.
The potential enemies of Dashang were not just the Eight Tribes of Mobei.
Thinking of this, Emperor Shang glanced at the eleventh prince in front of the ministers, and after a moment, he retracted his thoughts.
never mind.
Although Old Eleven is brave and good at fighting, he is still young and has little experience. Even if he goes to the north, he will not be of much use.
In front of the officials, Mu Qing saw the gaze of his father in the main hall, and was about to take the initiative to step out of the palace, but Mu Bai stretched out his hand to hold him back.
Mu Qing was startled and looked at the Fourth Emperor Brother aside with a puzzled look on his face.
It didn't take long.
Morning ends.
All the ministers left the palace one after another.
Mu Bai and Mu Qing also left Fengtian Hall one after another.
"Brother Four Emperors."
Behind him, Mu Qing took two quick steps to catch up and asked with a puzzled look on his face, "Why did Brother Four Emperors stop me just now?"
"Entrusted by others." Mu Bai responded truthfully.
"Entrusted by someone?"
Hearing this, Mu Qing became even more puzzled and asked, "Who is it?"
"Professor Li."
Mu Bai replied.
Mu Qing was stunned for a moment and asked in surprise, "Why does Mr. Li want to stop me from going north?"
"Not sure."
Mu Bai shook his head and said, "If you want to know, just ask him yourself."
Mu Qing nodded thoughtfully and said, "I will find an opportunity to ask him."
Taixue Palace.
The small courtyard on the east side.
After Li Ziye finished his morning lessons, he came to return the Heavenly Book.
Ever since he started practicing the Flying Immortal Technique with the help of the Heavenly Book, Li Ziye had to run to the East Courtyard twice a day, borrowing it and returning it on the same day.
In fact, Li Ziye found it troublesome, but he didn't dare to borrow it and not return it.
"Confucian leader, can I bring this heavenly book back to Li Yuan?"
In the small courtyard, Li Ziye asked tentatively.
"cannot."
Confucius shook his head.
"Why?"
Li Ziye said doubtfully, "You are already a strong man above the Five Realms. The distance between Li Yuan and Taixue Palace is nothing. If you want to get back the Book of Heaven, it is not even a thought."
He still clearly remembers the time when that old fellow Liu Rongnu was showing off his authority in the Great Shang Capital and was taught a lesson by the Confucian leader.
At that time, the Confucian leader had not left the Imperial Academy, but he could make Liu Rongnu, a great practitioner of the fifth realm, vomit blood and get injured. This level of cultivation was truly unparalleled.
"You will know the reason later."
While tidying up the garden, Confucius said, "If you want to borrow the Book of Heaven, you still come here every morning like this. I don't mind the trouble. As for taking the Book of Heaven out of Taixue Palace, don't think about it."
"All right."
Li Ziye nodded and said nothing more.
He just asked casually, and if it didn't work, then forget it.
Run two more times a day and treat it as exercise.
"Little guy, do you have any way to deal with the war in the north?" In the vegetable garden, Kong Qiu stood up and walked out, washed his hands, and asked.
"No."
Li Ziye shook his head and said, "Infantry is at a disadvantage against cavalry, and defending according to danger is the only way. However, Dashang's territory is too large, and it is too difficult to stop the highly mobile Mobei cavalry."
"Really?" Confucius said again.
"Confucian leader, don't you want to get involved in this war?" Li Ziye did not answer, but asked instead.
"I don't like their massacre of the city." Confucius took the handkerchief hanging beside him, wiped his hands dry, and said.
"The Eight Tribes of Mobei don't have any extra troops to defend the city, so it's not surprising that they captured the city and chose to massacre it."
Li Ziye sighed softly and said, "This is exactly the same as what the Mongolian cavalry did back then. History is repeating itself."
