While Mrs. Fan's city was in harmony, Ashina Qilifushe, Ashina Simo, Shi Shuhu Xi and others were actively preparing for war in the northern Turkic Khan's court.
They escaped from the city with eight thousand soldiers on the night when Yang Ji attacked the city. They originally planned to flee to Baicheng, but they encountered two thousand Sui troops responsible for harassment. In terms of number, the Turkic soldiers were four times as many as the Sui army. However, the Turkic soldiers had no idea how many enemy troops there were in the darkness. When they saw the fire in the city and the sound of killings, they were all panic-stricken. Everyone just ran for their lives, so they were captured by the Sui army. The army made a killing spree and then dispersed.
Ashina Qilifushe and others lost their way in the chaos. When they fled until dawn, they found that the direction they were taking was completely different from their destination. Instead, they were close to the Turkic Northern Khan Court. Ashina Qilifu imagined Beihanting was his base camp, and there were 20,000 shaman troops. He simply made the mistake and came to Beihanting.
After a few days of recuperation, Ashina Lifushu became more energetic and his appearance was no longer as haggard as before. He was sitting on the main seat in a military uniform. After listening to the military information reported by the scouts, his eyes showed a strong look. He had murderous intentions and his face was so ferocious that it was scary.
Now that the war has reached this stage, Ashina Qilifushu admits that he is not as cunning and cunning as Yang Ji, and he is not as ruthless as Yang Ji. He also admits that he is a little scared. But what the heck is this unknown super weapon? He dared to lead the mixed soldiers from the Great Lakes area to more than 200 miles away from the Northern Khan Court. However, with this mob, he slaughtered all dozens of tribes of different sizes.
When Zhi Shihao saw that Ashina was silent and didn't say anything, he loudly suggested: "Prince, Yang Ji has been restrained by the Khan's army in Madam Fan's city. Since this super weapon is seeking death, Lu, then there is no need for us to be polite, we must annihilate him as soon as possible, otherwise we will miss the opportunity."
"Prince, it's so important to lose the general, let's fight!" As soon as he said this, others also echoed.
Ashina Qilifushe was defeated by Yang Ji one after another, and the prince's arrogance disappeared. He was much more mature than before sending troops. He was not in a hurry to express his position, but asked Shi Shuhu next to him. Asked: "Mr. Shi, what do you think?"
"Fight! This battle must be fought." Shi Shu Hu Xi still had a big beard, but his face was extremely pale. His tall figure in the past became as skinny as a stick, and he looked like he was dying.
He was also considered lucky. He was hit by an arrow on the east bank of the Zabhan River. He only had to be bandaged hastily and fled all the way to the Turkic grassland. When the wound became inflamed, he was soaked in a heavy rain. After that, he had a high fever and almost died. However, Shi Shuhu Xi was in good health and managed to hold on.
"Mr. Shi, you previously opposed my expedition and asked me to stick to the Northern Khan Court. Why have you changed your mind now?" Ashina Qilifushu was very curious when he heard what he said. Shi Shuhu Xi said a few days ago It was someone who was opposed to fighting again. After hearing the report from the scouts, he actually changed his mind, and his attitude of sending troops was still so determined, which was really unexpected.
"It can only be said that things are different now!" Shi Shu Hu Xi said in a weak tone: "The powerful army has not been reduced in number until now. Instead, it has been strengthened by recruiting slaves from various departments along the way, and its military strength has also increased. From the initial 10,000, it has become more than 20,000."
"They're just a bunch of rabble, so what?" a general asked with a frown.
"This is not as simple as a mob." Shi Shu Hu Xi shook his head and said: "This army has been fighting and replenishing, and the weak have been eliminated in the battle, so the combat effectiveness of this army has become more and more powerful. The stronger it becomes, the more terrifying it becomes.”
He slowed down and then said: "Maybe some people said that the Great Khan would come to help, but while the Great Khan was restraining Yang Ji, his troops and horses were also controlled by Yang Ji, so the troops and horses on the Great Khan's side could not be counted on. Everything is up to us. We must defeat him before he grows into a behemoth."
"Hiss..." Everyone has experienced in the military, and their army has become bigger and stronger in battle like Po Chaoqi. They were not aware of this problem before. At this time, after listening to Shi Shu Hu Xi's words, I immediately discovered that such a possibility was indeed possible, and it was still very possible!
Cold sweat broke out on their foreheads. If the Pochao weapon was allowed to develop like this, by the time he got here, he would probably already have an elite force of fifty or sixty thousand people. So they must fight this battle.
Ashenalifushe nodded and said in a deep voice: "You have also heard what Mr. Shi said. Are you still opposed to the war now?"
Zhi Shihao, who was in charge of the battle, put one hand on his chest and bowed: "Prince, Mr. Shi has hit the point. This battle must not only be fought fiercely, but also won."
Ashina Qilifushu looked at the chiefs and generals who were anti-war and fearful of war, and said: "If the Qi Chaowei is allowed to grow, not only will the Northern Khan's court be lost, but your tribe will not be able to protect it either. Do you still oppose the war? "
"No objection, the prince gives the order!" Everyone expressed their opinions slowly.
Ashina Qilifushu smiled with satisfaction: "This battle concerns everyone's tribe, and I hope you will fully cooperate."
"We know!" The generals responded by pressing their chests.
"Prince!" Shi Shu Hu Xi added: "In order to ensure victory in this battle, it is best for us to use the shaman army. However, the prerequisite for using the shaman army is to recruit the high priest."
Ashina Lifushu heard this and said helplessly: "Mr. Shi, do you think the high priest agrees?"
The grassland people believe in shamanism, which makes the shaman chief priest second only to the great khan. Moreover, the high priests of all ages not only have followers all over the world, but also have their own shaman army. The shaman army always only listens to the orders of the high priest. If the high priest does not agree, not even Qimin, the great khan, can move this army, let alone the prince Ashina Qilifushe. .
As for Ashina Qilifushe, although all the generals and chiefs have agreed to fight, their armies are ordinary herdsmen cobbled together temporarily, so the main force in the attack must be composed of shamans directly under the high priest. The military is in charge.
However, the high priest Azoron's previous support was Ashnawaid, and he also sent troops to the Great Lakes region to fight against Xue Yantuo's army. After both sides were defeated, Azoron became determined to preserve his strength; although he finally surrendered to the victorious Qimin Khan, the 20,000 shamans refused to move.
Although Qimin Khan was very dissatisfied, he was also worried that Azoron would say that he was not orthodox and call believers to oppose him; as for killing him, he did not even dare to think about it. So in the end, I had to let it go and trust Azoron.
Qimin Khan had nothing to do with the high priest Azoron, how could Ashinaqilifushe be able to mobilize him?
These days, Ashnazlifushe has encountered many obstacles with Azoron in order to obtain this army. At this time, hearing what Shi Shu Hu Xi said, there was no hope at all.
Shi Shu Hu Xi said: "The high priest loves money. The prince first uses the current situation to show his strong relationship, and then lures him with benefits."
"Forget it!" Ashinalifushe nodded and ordered: "Please invite the high priest to come quickly to discuss the matter."
Soon, the guards invited an 'old man' who was about fifty years old to come in. This 'old man' had a withered figure, his blue eyes were full of the marks of time, and his face was like bark, full of ravines. However, no one here dared to be disrespectful at all, because the old man was the high priest Azoron. When everyone saw him coming in, they all stood up and saluted: "High Priest."
Azorun smiled and nodded in return. He walked directly to the throne of honor, saluted Ashinaqlifushe who greeted him, and said, "I have met the respected second prince."
Ashinalifushe said respectfully: "High Priest, please sit down!"
In fact, both father and son are admirers of "strength first" and "strength determines everything", and do not believe in the gods, mountain gods, and water gods mentioned by shamanism... However, the men, women, and children in the grassland all firmly believe in the arguments of shamanism. , the father and son couldn't help but didn't believe it, so they had to pretend to be pious during some celebrations, otherwise, they would never be able to secure their seats.
In the same way, even though Ashinatlifushu was very unhappy with this Azoron and could kill him with one hand, Azoron was the 'Messenger of God' and he did not dare to be disrespectful, even when facing his father Khan. , not as respectful as they are now.
After Azoron sat down, he asked: "Dear second prince, what can I do for you?"
Ashinalifushe sighed and said, "It's still about the Sui army."
Azoron understood why he came to find him. He frowned a little unhappy and said, "Didn't the Great Khan lead his army back to defend?"
"Father Khan restrained Yang Ji, but he was also restrained by Yang Ji and couldn't move..." Ashina Lifushu glanced at Azorun, and according to what Shi Shuhu Xi said before, he would be threatened by the super weapon. He said it again and finally said: "You also know that my army has been exhausted, so I hope that the high priest will take the overall situation into consideration and lend me the shaman army."
When Azoron heard this, he said, "If that's the case, then I have no objection."
"Uh..." Ashinalifushu was stunned at first, and then became in disbelief. He never expected that Azoron would be so reasonable today, which made the words he prepared useless.
Azoron has transformed from an ordinary believer into a high priest. In addition to his first-class ability to pretend to be mysterious and his first-class eloquence, he also has extraordinary wisdom and profound knowledge. At this time, when he saw Ashina Lifushu With such an expression, you knew what he was thinking. He smiled slightly and said, "Although I'm not a Han Chinese, I still know the truth about dying lips and cold teeth."
Ashnatliphus was overjoyed and said, "Thank you so much, high priest."
"You're welcome, prince." Azorun sighed: "The Turks are in troubled times, and everyone should do their part. Only in this way can we defeat the Sui army! When the prince will go out, all he needs to do is say. "
"The high priest is very righteous!" Ashinalifushe praised loudly. He asked in a consultative tone: "High priest, we plan to go on an expedition the day after tomorrow. What do you think?"
"Okay." Azoron smiled and said very proudly: "The Shaman Army is not weak to any elite soldiers and can go to war at any time."
Everyone deeply agreed with this point. Ashina Huaide was crippled by Yang Ji in the beginning, but in the end it was able to make it difficult for the huge Xue Yantuo army to move forward, relying on the sparse but fearless shaman army.
"It was my mistakes and miscalculations that led to the Sui army's large-scale eastward advance. I can never allow the Sui army to continue to harm the Turkic people like this. I must end it all with my own hands."
If it had been in the past, Ashina Chilifushe would never have said such self-examination, but he is a man born with heroic temperament and magnanimity, with perseverance and courage that ordinary people can't imagine; after this series of events Despite setbacks, instead of being depressed, he became more courageous with each setback. His previous pride, complacency, and arrogance were replaced by maturity and stability, and he seemed to have grown up all of a sudden.
When Asnalifushu saw Azoron's cooperation, he was all worried. He glanced at the generals and said sternly: "Immediately send an order to all the warriors near the Khan's court to gather together. Join me the day after tomorrow." As long as this Sui army is annihilated, I will collect and distribute the wealth and livestock of the tribes slaughtered by the Sui army to the meritorious people. In addition, I will provide another two million sheep as a reward. Whoever has more heads at that time will get more wealth."
"Thank you, Prince!" The generals thanked him excitedly. The strength of the foreigners is mainly reflected in the aspects of population, women, and livestock. Dozens of tribes massacred by the Sui army lived on the east and west sides of the Yuwushui River, which was also one of the richest core areas of the East Turks. There were too many fascinating things. Coveted wealth.
Although these areas were plowed by the Sui army, the Sui army attacked them in a hurry, targeting tribal communities that were concentrated together. As a result, a large number of women, children, and livestock scattered on the grassland became ownerless. . If they are divided into some of them, it will definitely be a qualitative leap in the strength of these chiefs and generals. So when Ashnazliphus made such a generous promise, everyone, including Azoron, became excited.
Following Ashina's order to assemble, the promise of reward was issued to the surrounding ministries. The surrounding young men gathered from all directions towards the Yuwu River at the foot of Yanran Mountain. They all rode high-headed horses, wore leather armor, and carried bows and arrows. However, the weapons in their hands were of all kinds and varied, including scimitars. , spears, lances, broadswords, axes, and datewood maces; the so-called datewood mace is to cut the hard datewood core into the shape of a mace, and then drive an iron nail into the hammer head. , its hardness and killing effect are no worse than iron weapons.
When more than 30,000 string masters were in formation, Ashinalifushu led an army of 20,000 shamans and galloped in from a distance. The morale and evil spirit of these 20,000 elite soldiers are far beyond what the string controllers can match, and even their weapons and equipment cannot compare with them.
In the past few hundred years, due to the continuous turmoil in the Central Plains, especially the massive confrontations and duels between the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty, a large number of northern people fled to the Turks for refuge. Many of them were skilled craftsmen. These people brought advanced smelting techniques and manufacturing methods to the Turks. Armor.
It's just that the Turks have a serious shortage of pig iron production capacity and have far fewer skilled craftsmen than the Sui army. Therefore, the popularity of armor in the army is far lower than that of the Sui army. However, the direct armies of some major forces on the grassland are no longer much different from the Sui army. For example, the shaman army in front of us, because they rely on the shamanism that everyone believes in, not only has huge financial resources, but also can use the teachings to recruit craftsmen, so the weapons and equipment of this special army are exquisite in workmanship and of excellent iron quality. The Sui army was not much different, especially their bows and arrows, which were a big leap forward.
Ashinalifushu led a group of troops to the military formation, and the soldiers shouted: "Second Prince."
"Turkic warriors, the Sui army continues to destroy our Turkic tribes and kill our herdsmen. Today, I, Ashina Qilifushe, decided to kill the invading enemies and annihilate them in the Yuwu River Basin, creating the glory of our Turkic tribes that are victorious in every battle. ." Ashina Lifushu shouted loudly.
"Ouch!" The sound like a roaring mountain and a tsunami is filled with fierce passion, which shows the inner wildness of the grassland people and their yearning for war and killing.
A trace of excitement flashed across Ashinalifushe's face. Looking at the army in front of him, he pulled out the gorgeous scimitar inlaid with gems from his waist with a "clang" and shouted: "Warriors, follow me. Kill the enemy and go to war!"
"Kill the enemy." Each phalanx, led by the generals of each department, rushed towards the southwest.
