"Great Khan, we were attacked at night the day before yesterday. We suffered too much loss. Not only did we lose all our food, grass and baggage, but many of our brothers' horses also had problems. We had no choice but to kill horses these days to satisfy our hunger. Fortunately, the Tang army did not continue the pursuit, otherwise We all have two legs, so we can’t run away at all.”
The defeated army regrouped, and a leading captain temporarily took the place of the general and reported the situation to Jie Li. It is said to be a report, but actually it is a complaint.
Having lost his military advisor Zhao Deyan and all his trusted generals, Jie Li regretted not doing so. Had he known what he wanted the Tang prince to do? Now that he has nothing, he returns to the royal court with these few deserters around him?
Pointing at them to help me conquer the world? Can you trust it? If someone in the royal court has a different intention, will I use this group of people to protect me?
well……
That's it, it's better than nothing. I just hope that I can subdue them on the way back and be barely usable. If he really returned to the royal court alone, he might be assassinated along the way.
"Just kill the horses. Many of these horses have problems and cannot travel a hundred miles in a day, which is a waste of time. There is no harm in killing them to satisfy hunger. The most indispensable thing on our grassland is horses."
"One day further forward is the Wolf Pond. There is enough water to drink from the horse all night. Then we will go two hundred miles northwest and there will be our small tribe. We will collect some supplies by then. It will take less than five days to leave. We will be safe once we reach the hinterland of the Turks. Tell me, please hold on a little longer. Anyone who can come back to the royal court with me this time will be promoted to two ranks. From now on, they will all be my own soldiers."
The captain excitedly went to deliver the order, and his morale was indeed much higher.
One day later, the Wolf Drinking Pond could be seen in the distance, and without Jieli's orders, his soldiers rushed over to drink the horses in a swarm, howling.
Su Lie, who had been waiting in ambush behind the gentle slope five miles away from Yinlang Pond, had been waiting for a long time. He hurried on for two days, thinking that they would just be able to intercept Jie Li. Unexpectedly, they overestimated Jie Li's marching speed, and they were one day late. If it weren't for the fact that no traces were found after investigation, Su Lie would have thought that Jie Li had already passed.
I had no choice but to wait patiently according to my temper. I was prepared to wait for up to three days. If I couldn't wait, it meant that Jieli had changed his route and didn't come here, so he had to go back.
"General, there is movement, broken troops are approaching Yinlang Pond." The scout came to report.
Su Lie's heart suddenly moved, "After waiting for a day, there is finally some movement. Retract all the scouts and don't let them find any traces."
"Got the order!"
The lieutenant general said in confusion: "General, we have withdrawn all the scouts, how do we know whether Jieli is there?"
Su Lie sighed: "We can only gamble. No matter whether Jie Li is there or not, we have to fight out. This is the last chance."
Seeing the nervous look on the deputy general's face, Su Lie suddenly laughed, "Actually, don't worry, the scouts don't necessarily have to see Jie Li. If there are really 30,000 defeated troops, the scouts won't be able to see Jie Li himself if they don't stick up. But. If you stick it up and are discovered by them, it will be bad if you are on guard."
"If you want to know if Jie Li is inside, just don't use scouts. Looking at the enemy's formation and number, no one except Jie Li can gather too many defeated troops. It's possible if it exceeds 10,000 troops, and it's very possible if it exceeds 20,000 troops. . If we can gather all the 30,000 defeated troops, there will be no one but Jieli."
The lieutenant general admired him and said: "The general is so smart, I finally surrendered. Learn another move."
Su Lie said proudly: "When you have experienced hundreds of battles, you will know many things like me. Come on, let's go to the gentle slope and take a look."
The two of them led a few personal guards and abandoned their horses, slowly climbed up the gentle slope, lay on the ground and looked at the Yinlang Pond in the distance.
The deputy general mocked: "Jie Li really doesn't have a long memory. He was attacked once and managed to escape death, but he didn't send any scouts? Are you waiting for us to ambush him a second time?"
"General, the broken troops are gathering more and more, but their march is scattered and does not look organized? What should I do? Is Jie Li really inside? When will we fight out?"
Su Lie muttered: "Wait patiently, wait to see how many there are in the end, and also wait to let their horses drink enough water. Haha, a war horse that has drunk a belly of water cannot run and fight immediately. Just like last time, They really don’t have long memories.”
By the Drinking Wolf Pond, countless Turkic soldiers were lying on the water's edge, drinking wildly. At this time, there was no distinction between humans and animals. People and horses were all hungry and thirsty, and drinking from the same pond seemed even more intimate.
A careful captain suddenly realized that something was wrong. There seemed to be horse hoof prints beside the pool? how could be? This is the Wolf Drinking Pond, where many prairie wolves usually come to drink water at night. We haven't had soldiers or horses passing here recently, and there have been no teams transporting supplies. Where did the horse hoof prints come from?
It looked like there were quite a few of them, and the horse hoof prints were fresh, unlike the ones from earlier, just the past two days.
Thinking of this, he immediately went to report to Jie Li, "Khan, there is something going on! There are unknown fresh horse hoof prints beside Yinlang Pond, there are a lot of them. It should be that unknown troops have been here."
oh?
Jieli was startled, remembering the last time he was ambushed, and muttered: "I have brought out all the soldiers and horses in the grassland. If others don't go back this way, where will the army come from? Which one is it?" Team? Could it be the lingering Xiao Rui?"
"Hmph! I don't believe it. He can plan an ambush in Daqinggou. Is it possible that he can also plan that we will pass by Drinking Wolf Pond this time? Absolutely impossible!"
However, it is necessary to guard against it. Even if it's not the Tang Army, what if it's another tribe? It would be equally dangerous if they saw Ben Khan in desolation and wanted to usurp the throne with evil intentions.
"Send the order, half of the people drink water, and half of the people are left to be on guard. After an hour, they will drink water alternately. The last time I was ambushed can't happen again."
Before he could speak, a black shadow appeared on the gentle slope five miles away. From a distance, it looked like a black scarf covering the gentle slope.
The earth shook and the water in Drinking Wolf Pond rippled. Everyone turned their heads to look ahead and stayed in place for a while. This scene is so familiar. Five miles away, you don’t even have to look at the flag. It’s the Tang Army cavalry again!
The distance of five miles can be reached in the blink of an eye for the galloping horses.
Su Lie took the lead and laughed wildly: "Jieli Khan, Su Lie has been waiting for a long time!"
In fact, he didn't see whether Jie Li was there at all, he just knocked the mountain to shake the tiger.
But he couldn't stand the pig teammates, so the commander panicked, "Quick, quick, protect the Khan, protect the Khan! Khan, we will cover you, retreat quickly..."
Jie Li:......
Am I going to use you as a cover? Ben Khan hasn't given the order yet, what are you shouting for? What a waste! Now that it's over, people know where I am without even looking carefully.
I really want to pull out my sword and chop this brainless captain to death. If you hadn't yelled, Ben Khan could have disguised himself as an ordinary soldier and hid among the deserters. Now, is it escape or defense?
The Tang army was like wolves and tigers, full of murderous intent. Su Lie had everyone shout in unison: "We only want to be profitable, and those who surrender will not be killed!"
Shouting? There was no need to shout. This group of people had no intention of resisting. No matter how much the captains and centurions shouted, they could not stop themselves from running for their lives in fear.
In the end, only Jie Li was left, standing naked by the Wolf Drinking Pond, looking like a hero at the end of his life.
Thirty thousand guards? What a thirty thousand guard! I know it's unreliable.
Su Lie was simpler and did not order to chase down the deserters. He came directly to Jie Li and ordered his troops to be on guard all around.
He got off his horse and came to Jie Li's side in person, "Jie Li Khan, it's been a long time! Let's go, my Marquis has been waiting for a long time."
Just like Jieli's fate, this is also the year in the official history. In the fourth year of Zhenguan, the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Turks: heavy snowfall, Li Jing's three thousand men in white attacked Dingxiang City at night, and the Turkic Khan Jieli escaped at night. Su Lie's two hundred men chased him hundreds of miles out of the city and captured him alive.
Nowadays, there are no white-clad night attacks, but the great success of capturing Jie Li was still Su Lie's.
