The grassland is particularly cold during the period of warm and cold weather. It is night, and there is a steady drizzle in the sky, making the grassland cold and dark. Except for Mrs. Fan's city, which was blazing into the sky, everything was pitch black.
In the cold night wind, thousands of Turkic soldiers on duty in the city were wearing leather armor and huddled in corners where wind and rain could not reach to avoid the wind and rain; some soldiers were shivering with cold, and they took out their skin bags and drank heavily to keep out the cold.
Tonight, the guard in the north of the city was supposed to be Zhi Shihao, but Zong Luohu changed his duty time with Zhi Shihao on the pretext that he had something to do tomorrow. He was patrolling the city with a group of soldiers at this time. He looked at the huddled defenders and then at the dark night outside the city, and he couldn't help but feel a feeling of "a murderous night with a dark moon and high wind" in his heart. Feel.
"General!" A centurion under Zong Luohu's command galloped over and saluted on horseback: "Our scout who roped out of the city is back."
"Oh?" Zong Luohu asked, "Is there anything unusual outside the city?"
"Yes!" the centurion said quickly: "They heard the neighing of war horses and the sound of horse hooves from a few miles away."
Zong Luohu nodded: "It should be the Sui army scouts who are inquiring about our military situation. You must not act rashly."
The centurion said anxiously: "But the scout said there was a lot of movement. It doesn't look like a scout at all, but a large-scale invasion by the Sui army."
"That's right!" Zong Luohu said calmly.
The centurion asked in confusion: "What does 'this is right' mean?"
"This is what is said in the art of war: virtuality leads to reality, reality becomes virtuality, virtuality and reality complement each other, and virtuality and reality complement each other..." Zong Luohu said: "The Sui army scouts clearly deliberately created the posture of an invading army, making us suspicious and confused. The night is restless, but the main force of the Sui army is recharging its strength. When the enemy attacks tomorrow, the morale and physical strength of our soldiers will naturally be extremely low."
The centurion's expression changed: "The Sui army is so treacherous? What should we do?"
"This is the tactic used by us Han people to exhaust their troops. We have been doing it for more than a thousand years. There is nothing strange about it. There is no need to worry about them." After the introduction, Zong Luohu said: "For the current plan, we can only take turns It’s time to rest. Now let most of the soldiers rest and leave a small number of people to guard the city. Once the Sui army takes action, a clear warning will be given."
"The general is still smart!" The centurion breathed a sigh of relief and asked again: "Do you want to inform the prince?"
Zong Luohu nodded: "You must not act rashly, I will report it to the prince. You go down first."
"Yes!" the centurion responded.
Zong Luohu breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to Li Daliang, who was pretending to be a soldier: "The critical moment is coming. I hope there won't be any accidents."
Seeing that he was very nervous, Li Daliang smiled and comforted him: "Don't worry, General Zong, there won't be any problems there!"
Zong Luohu smiled bitterly when he heard this. He took a deep breath and comforted himself: "I think so."
However, the more worried they were, the more things would happen. They walked for a while on the city wall, and a large group of people appeared in front of them. The leader was a burly young Hu man. Zong Luohu took a closer look by the firelight and couldn't help but secretly complain.
This person is Ashinasmo, the concubine of Qimin Khan. He is the accidental product of Qimin Khan and a Sogdian woman. Although the issue of concubine discrimination in Turks is far less serious than that in the Central Plains, Ashinasmo Mo happened to inherit Sogdian appearance.
In the eyes of the Turks, the Sogdians are just "barbarians" with a low status. Therefore, Ashina Simo, who looks like a Sogdian, has always been unpopular with the royal family. Naturally, his status and power cannot be compared with that of the Turks. Other princes were compared. However, compared with Zong Luohu, he was still a superior prince.
Zong Luohu saw that the critical moment of the agreement was coming, but Ashina Simo unexpectedly appeared, and he was extremely depressed.
Seeing that he was nervous, Li Daliang whispered a few words quickly.
After hearing this, Zong Luohu's eyes suddenly lit up, and he led everyone to ride up to meet him.
The reason why Ashina Simo appeared here was because the moon was dark tonight, the wind was high and the rain was light, which was a God-given opportunity for a night attack. He did not dare to be careless, so he went to the city to patrol the city in place of Ashina Lifushu.
He is proficient in Sinology and is relatively modest. When he saw Zong Luohu coming to greet him from afar, he asked in a friendly voice: "General Zong, is there anything unusual tonight?"
Zong Luohu saluted on the horse and said: "Reporting to the prince, the scouts have just come to report. They said that there was the sound of horse hooves and the neighing of horses several miles away. However, the general thought that this was the Sui army's plan to attack the east and attack the west."
Hearing this, Ashina Simo couldn't help frowning and asked in a deep voice: "You mean the Sui army plans to attack Nancheng tonight!"
"According to what the scouts said, the general feels that there is a high possibility of attacking in the east and attacking in the west. Of course, it may also be a strategy to exhaust the troops, so he is preparing to report to the city lord's palace." Zong Luohu told all the plans provided by Li Daliang.
"Your idea is correct, but we can't live without you here, so you don't have to go!" After hearing Zong Luohu's words, Ashina Simo became worried: "I'll go to the south of the city to have a look."
He explained a few more words and then turned the horse's head towards the south of the city. Zong Luohu immediately felt relieved and asked his soldiers about the time. Only then did he know that there were only about two moments left before the agreed Hai hour. He whispered to Li Daliang Said: "Mrs. Fan's city is more than thirty miles in circumference. Ashina Simo's trip will take at least half an hour. If you include inquiries and reports to the city lord's palace, an hour will pass. . It seems that the matter is settled."
"That's true!" Li Daliang laughed in a low voice: "General Zong can now use the excuse of tired troops to arrange for the Turks to rest."
"That's exactly what I meant!" Zong Luohu smiled and nodded.
. . . . . .
Two miles away from the North City, 15,000 Sui troops were preparing their troops in the dark night. The soldiers were patiently waiting for the appointed time to arrive. Not far away, there were 15,000 surrendered cavalrymen holding spears.
The soldiers of the Sui army mainly occupied strategic places such as city gates, main roads, and the city lord's palace, especially the granaries, which were the top priority; while the descending soldiers were responsible for killing. As long as the Sui army's cavalry, who were the former army, occupied the city gates, they would Then they rushed into the city and carried out a bloody massacre on the Turkic soldiers.
Although the night was very dark, the torches on the city illuminated the city as if it were daytime, making the city the best reference for the Sui army. It also pointed the direction for the Sui soldiers, even if it was a mile away. Outside, you can also see the tightly closed city gate.
Yang Ji led his troops behind the infantry phalanx. In order to win tonight's battle, he almost mobilized all his troops. With such a formation, even if Zong Luohu and Li Daliang failed to successfully open the city gate, he would still capture Madam Fan's city tonight even if he attacked by force.
"Your Majesty, it's almost time!" The soldier responsible for looking at the hourglass whispered to Yang Ji.
Yang Ji nodded and gave instructions to the waiting soldiers: "Instruct Yuchi to seize the city respectfully, and the other armies will prepare for battle."
"Here!" The ordering soldiers dispersed and ran to each army to convey orders.
After a while, Yuchi Gong led three thousand powerful Sui cavalry and quickly approached the city.
When they were outside the light outside the city, the appointed time came, and three small torches were lit.
Zong Luohu in the city had already replaced his soldiers with "Zongbu" soldiers. When he saw three torches lit and extinguished one after another, he threw a torch to the gate of the city. Dozens of soldiers were on standby under the city. Seeing this, he quickly removed the iron door bolt, and then struggled to open the two doors.
"General Zong!" On the city wall, the centurion rushed toward Zong Luohu again. He reported loudly: "General Zong, a large group of Sui troops appeared outside the city. They don't seem to be engaging in any tactic to exhaust the troops. Really attacking the city.”
"I know!" Zong Luohu grinned, revealing his white teeth, then quickly pulled out the horizontal knife and stabbed him in the chest fiercely.
The centurion let out a scream and looked at Zong Luohu in disbelief. Zong Luohu pulled out his horizontal sword and shouted to the defenders on the city: "Everyone, run for your lives. Prince Ashina Simo has opened the south city." Gate, the Sui army has entered the city."
The Turkic soldiers on the city were at a loss and looked at him in horror. Zong Luohu became angry and shouted again: "I have opened the city here, and the Sui army will come soon. Believe it or not."
"I will never return until the Turks are destroyed! Kill! Kill! Kill!" At this moment, an earth-shattering cry of killing suddenly erupted outside the city, and the rumble of horse hooves suddenly sounded. Immediately afterwards, flames burst into the sky outside the city, and a large group of people moved quickly towards the city gate like a swarm of ants.
The Turkic defenders were in great chaos as if they had just woken up from a dream. They threw away their helmets and armor and ran towards the city without their lives.
When Zong Luohu saw that a group of elite cavalry had entered the city, he asked the "Zongbu" soldiers to take control of the city. He led more than two hundred soldiers and ran westward along the city wall. Everyone ran and shouted: "The Sui army has entered. The prince has an order: the whole army gives up resistance and surrenders to the Sui army."
"The Sui army has entered. The prince has an order: the whole army gives up resistance and surrenders to the Sui army."
"The Sui army has entered. The prince has an order: the whole army gives up resistance and surrenders to the Sui army."
"..."
Under Zong Luohu's instigation, the defenders in the east of the city also began to become confused. Especially when he shouted "The prince has an order: the entire army gives up resistance and surrenders to the Sui army", many people were convinced.
At this stage of the battle, the Turkic soldiers could not see any hope of victory. Everyone was full of pessimism about the future, and the morale of the whole army was low. Therefore, Zong Luohu's defection at this time gave the Turkic army a sharp and fatal blow. The attack caused a huge collapse of the defenders in the west of the city.
. . . . . . . . . . .
While Zong Luohu was running around, Yuchi Gong, who rushed into the city, finally encountered a group of five thousand Turkic elites.
This Turkic elite was brought by Ashina Simo. After Ashna Simo entered the city, he divided his 20,000 elite soldiers into four according to the needs of the combat mission, and stationed them in military camps near the four city gates. Among them; when Yuchi Gong encountered this group, he was led by Qilifa He Loumeng.
Although the Turkic garrison on the city was in chaos, He Loumeng still led his army to guard the street leading to the city lord's palace. When Yuchi Gong led his army to kill, the two armies started a fierce and fierce battle on the street.
Soldiers from both sides fought together on the long street, stabbing with spears, slashing with swords, and the killing was extremely bloody.
The number of Sui soldiers entering the city was not as large as that of the Turkic army, but their weapons, equipment, morale, and fighting spirit were stronger than those of the Turkic army. However, the streets were so wide that Yuchi Gong could not achieve the goal of a quick victory, and He Loumeng could not use his troops. advantage; so although the Sui soldiers advanced step by step, their speed was pitifully slow.
Yuchi Gong, who took the lead, killed so many corpses on the ground, with broken limbs and arms flying everywhere, that the men and horses were stained red with blood. However, no matter how brave everyone else was, the effect they achieved could not change anything in the crowded streets.
Annoyed, Yuchi Gong simply withdrew from the battle. He held a bow and arrow in his hand and searched for the enemy general by the blazing fire. He also used a five-stone bow, and his archery skills were the same as Ma Shan's, both fast and efficient. Accurate and ruthless, there are few opponents in the Liangzhou army. At this time, he saw a Turkic general killing his soldiers and retreating step by step. More than 20 Sui soldiers were already dead nearby.
When Yuchi Gong saw him pull out a spear from a soldier's body, he quickly deflected the tip of the Sui army's spear that was stabbing him, and then sent it forward, piercing the soldier's identity. He roared, and the soldier was stabbing him. The corpse was picked up from the horse, and the corpse flew into the air. Then he hit the spear pole and smashed the corpse out hard. The corpse flew into the crowd of Sui troops, knocking five or six people off their horses.
Yuchi Gong was furious. He drew the bow and arrows suddenly, and the bowstring suddenly loosened, and a sharp arrow shot at the Turkic general like lightning.
This general was none other than He Loumeng. He was a descendant of the Xianbei people and came from the same tribe as the late Duke of Julu County, He Lou Zigan. Later, He Lou Zigan’s ancestors moved south with the Northern Wei Dynasty and lived in Ganzhou for generations; He Loumeng's ancestors stayed in the north. Since the split of the Northern Wei Dynasty, their ancestors have served Rouran and Turks successively.
He Loumeng was born with supernatural power and excellent martial arts. He was stabbing a Sui soldier to death when suddenly a powerful arrow roared towards him with a sound of breaking through the air. He Loumeng had no time to think about how to deal with it, and relied on his instinct to stab one side of his body. , however, he reacted quickly, and the arrow fired from the five-stone bow was even faster, and shot through his chest with a "pop". After the arrow penetrated his body, it still had enough power to hit a Turk behind him. The soldiers shot down the horses.
He Loumeng let out a muffled groan, and the spear in his hand fell to the ground weakly. The Sui soldiers fighting around him seized this opportunity and pierced his body with more than a dozen spears.
When Yuchi Gong saw the confusion among the Turkic soldiers after He Loumeng's death, he knew that this man was the enemy's general, so he put away his bow and arrow and charged into the enemy's army again. He saw that He Loumeng's method of hitting people just now was good, and the effect was far better than stabbing people to death one by one, so he stabbed a Turkic cavalry to the point of death, then lifted him into the air, and then struck hard with the stick. , followed the same pattern and smashed the corpse into the crowd. The flying corpse knocked down more than ten people in a row.
"Haha! Soldiers, follow me to kill the thieves." Yuchi Gong laughed loudly, stabbed the enemy soldiers to death, and smashed the corpses into the crowd, smashing the Turkic soldiers in front of him into a mess. The Sui army soldiers Following him, he easily stabbed the fallen Turkic cavalry to death one by one with his spear.
Such cooperation between the generals and soldiers, coupled with the fact that the Turkic soldiers were leaderless and panicked, made the Sui army advance faster and faster.
As the progress of the front increased sharply, more and more Sui soldiers entered the city. Whenever Yuchi Gong led the front army to push forward, exposing the forked roads on the left and right, the soldiers behind, led by the general, killed each other. Streets and alleys.
The Turkic soldiers in the north of the city finally couldn't resist, threw away their weapons, ran to both sides of the street and squatted down, begging the Sui soldiers for their lives.
Zhu Can, who entered the city, rushed to the top of the city with hundreds of Xuanwu guards and ordered the "Zongbu" soldiers to avoid both sides. He ordered the soldiers to pour the kerosene they carried on the wooden tower and set it on fire. When it was ignited, flames suddenly billowed and the flames shot into the sky.
"Cavalry, attack!" Yang Ji, who had been waiting for a long time, saw the city tower burning and knew that the front line had reached the middle of the city, so he immediately gave the order to enter the city.
"Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo of of of onim.
. . . . . . . .
At this time, Ashina Simo was rushing from Nancheng to the city lord's palace. He was deceived by Zong Luohu into going to Nancheng. However, his idea came from Li Daliang, who knew everything about him. In fact, there were indeed Sui troops in Nancheng. . So when Ashina Simo arrived at the southern city, there was indeed a roar of gongs and drums and a bustling crowd outside the dark city.
Ashina Simo arranged for the soldiers to take turns to rest, then left the city gate and returned to the city lord's palace. Just as he walked for a while, earth-shattering shouts of killing suddenly erupted from the north city, followed by flames shooting into the sky. This made Ashina Simo Simo was shocked. He was worried that the Sui army was "attacking the north and attacking the south", so he sent someone to inform Ashina to strengthen defenses before he returned to Nancheng.
However, the thunder was loud and the raindrops were light here, and the shouts of killing in Beicheng became louder and louder. After a while, the Sui soldiers outside the city stopped and there was no more movement. Just as he was anxious and patiently waiting for news, the towers in Nancheng were also on fire, and the raging flames could be seen for ten miles.
Only then did Ashina Simo realize that the Sui army was "attacking from the south to attack the north." Frightened and angry, he handed over the city defense to the miscellaneous soldiers, and led 5,000 elite soldiers stationed in the southern city to rush north. But just as he was halfway there, Ashinaqilifushe and Shishuhuxi came towards him with hundreds of cavalry.
"Brother, how is the battle situation in Beicheng?" Ashina Simo asked loudly.
Ashina Lifushu saw that there was still a large group of people here, and his tense heartstrings relaxed a little. He calmed down, pointed to Zhi Shihao next to him, and said: "General Zhi Shi has just inquired about the news, saying that it is Zong Luohu opened the city gate and led the Sui army into the city."
Speaking of this, Ashina Qilifushu hated Zong Luohu deeply in his heart. He had known that Zong Luohu was from the Sui Dynasty, and surrendering to the Sui army was their best way out. But that bastard actually used self-harm to deceive his trust; And I was so blind that I believed his lies.
When Ashina Simo heard this, he felt as if he had been hit hard. He almost fell off his horse. After a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "I also fell into his trap tonight and was deceived." Nancheng. This damn bastard, I have to kill him."
"Prince Simo, there is no point in talking about it now." Zhi Shihao next to him said in a deep voice: "The morale of our army has long been shattered, so when the Sui army entered the city, only the five thousand soldiers you deployed in the north city resisted tenaciously. The rest abandoned their weapons and surrendered. Now Beicheng, Dongcheng and Xicheng have all fallen, and the Sui army will soon reach here."
Ashina Simo bit his lip and thought for a long time, then suddenly asked Ashina Chilifushe: "Brother, what do you think we should do now?"
Ashina Lifushu heard the thundering sound of killing and the rumbling of horse hooves, and was getting closer and closer to here. He let out a long sigh and said: "Our army has no intention of fighting anymore, and we have no intention of defeating the Sui army." With your strength, your thousands of troops are no match for the Sui army. So we must evacuate from the south gate immediately, otherwise, we will all die in the city."
Ashina Simo turned his horse's head and loudly ordered: "The whole army turns around and evacuates from Nancheng."
"Yes!" As soon as the order was given, the entire army quickly turned around. The defenders opened the city gate as ordered and escaped from Madam Fan's City together to the east.
Mrs. Fan's city was very large, and Yang Ji had limited troops and could not intercept from all sides. The main attack direction was the north city. In order to implement the tactic of "attacking the south and attacking the north", he only deployed two thousand harassing cavalry in the south city. In addition to Ashina Simo's 5,000 elite troops, the Turkic army also had 3,000 defenders. They dispatched in large numbers this time, and the Sui army simply could not cope with it.
Fortunately, the night was dark, and the Turkic soldiers, who were like lost dogs, had no idea how many enemy troops there were in the night. At this time, everyone was only focused on escaping, but instead they were killed by two thousand Sui army cavalry, leaving corpses scattered all over the field. In the end, everyone They dispersed and fled into the vast night.
. . . . . . .
With the departure of the Ashina brothers, Mrs. Fan's city was gradually controlled by the Sui army, and sporadic fighting continued until dawn, then ended.
Groups of Sui troops roamed the streets and alleys of Madam Fan's City, driving out all the deserters hiding in dark places and private houses. Those who dared to resist were killed on the spot by the Sui troops. The deserters took advantage of the chaos to rob merchants. They were also caught showing their heads to the public on the street, and groups of deserters were driven by Sui soldiers to the city square to gather.
When Yang Ji entered the city, everything was over.
Groups of cavalry patrolled back and forth in the city, and some soldiers shouted in Turkic language to the residents in the city who had closed their doors and windows, telling them: The battle is over, and everyone should not go out for the time being, otherwise they will be killed without mercy; if there are deserters or broken soldiers hiding in their homes, , you must report it as soon as possible, otherwise, you will be treated as an enemy.
When he arrived at the center of the city, Li Daliang brought Zong Luohu to pay him a visit.
"Zong Luohu, the sinner, pays homage to the king!" Although Zong Luohu had made meritorious service, he was obviously a little frightened in front of Yang Ji, with a somewhat uneasy expression on his reserved face.
"General Zong made great contributions to the Sui Dynasty, what crime did he commit?" Yang Ji got off his horse, helped the young Zong Luohu up, and said kindly: "After you became a hero, although there was a detour, you never It is especially rare to forget that you are a citizen of the Sui Dynasty. Now that you have awakened and made great achievements, you can be regarded as the prodigal son turning back. When we return to Ganzhou, I will definitely report it to the court so that you can get the rewards you deserve."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Seeing that Yang Ji treated him so warmly, Zong Luohu felt relieved.
"Work hard in the future, and I believe you can become a general." Yang Ji said with a smile.
"Here!" Zong Luohu responded respectfully.
Yang Ji asked Yu Chigong who was on standby: "Is there any news about Ashina Qilifushe and Ashina Simo?"
Yuchi bowed respectfully and said: "Your Majesty, according to the ambush of our army, the Ashina brothers, Shi Shuhu Xi and others escaped from Nancheng and fled eastward."
"Your Majesty!" Zong Luohu next to him raised his hand and asked for orders: "I am willing to lead my soldiers to chase the Ashina brothers and take their heads."
"Ashina Chilifushe and Ashina Simo are just small characters now. It doesn't matter whether they are dead or alive. They are more useful to me, Sui Dynasty, if they are alive. There is no need to chase them specifically." At this point, Yang Ji smiled and said, "Are you familiar with this area?"
Zong Luohu cupped his fists and said, "Report to your Majesty, I am very familiar with this place."
"That's good!" Yang Ji said to Yuchi Gong: "Jingde, I will hand over 10,000 surrendered troops to you. You and General Zong will march eastward as quickly as possible and give me all the tribes in this area. Flattened."
"Yes!" The second general accepted the order with his hands raised.
Yang Ji specifically said to Zong Luohu: "Our Sui Dynasty's attitude towards foreigners is to kill them if they don't accept them, and take them after they are done. My style is also the same. If the Turks know what they are doing, they will be captured by me. If they dare to resist, they will be killed." Kill them all and burn them all!"
When Zong Luohu heard the words of great love, he happily said loudly: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the best thing about this humble position is murder and arson."
"That's good!" Yang Ji nodded with a smile: "Take your own soldiers with you."
Zong Luohu was overjoyed, bowed deeply and said: "I humbly obey my orders."
