"The leader of the Turks only relies on riding and shooting. He advances when he sees an advantage and retreats when he sees difficulties. He is driven by the wind and lightning, and he does not keep his position. He uses bows and arrows as his claws and armor as his regular uniform. The team does not march in rows and the camp has no fixed place. He chases water and grass. In the living room, sheep and horses are used as military rations. When you win, you only seek wealth, and when you lose, there is no shame. There is no work of police patrols at night and day, and no expense of building forts to provide food..."
This simple statement sums up the nomads, including the Turks, incisively and vividly. In particular, "advance when you see benefits and retreat when you see difficulties", "stop seeking wealth when you win, and no shame when you lose" and it clarifies the nomads' characteristics. feature.
But there are no absolutes. Although the half-soldier and half-herdsman did respond to these words, the Tuojies and bodyguards in the hands of the Great Khan and tribal chiefs were extremely brave.
Tuojiesi and bodyguards are experienced warriors who have experienced hundreds of battles. They have always been the main force of the Turkic great khans and chiefs of various tribes; while string controllers are adult men from Turks who are capable of fighting. This type of people, fight It's especially good to fight a smooth battle, but if you let them fight a tough battle, it will be difficult to achieve anything.
And above the three, there is the shaman army whose fighting power and fighting spirit top the entire grassland.
Under the brainwashing of the doctrine, the shaman army turned into fanatical extremists/believers who fought without fear of death. What they were afraid of was not death, but the fact that they would not die for God or for shamanism.
Before they set off this time, the high priest Azoron had already talked with them and told everyone that this battle was based on God's will and they were fighting for the Turks. Therefore, although they lost the first move, they fought extremely tenaciously.
Although the number of soldiers in the Sui army was small, they were all strong men who survived the war. The soldiers also showed great tenacity in this battle. At present, the first two or three rows of spearmen and long sword soldiers paid a heavy price. The impact of the Turkic cavalry became weaker and weaker, and they gradually lost the advantage of the cavalry.
The crossbowmen behind the spearmen and long swordmen, after Paoze withstood the enemy's attack with their lives, shot arrows in their hands at an elevated angle. The shaman army and war horses rushing at the front fell to the ground after being hit by arrows. Dead bodies piled up and blood flowed to the ground. Flow into a river.
While commanding the army to fight, Po Chaoqi looked up at the sky from time to time.
At the beginning of the war, they used traps and crossbows to kill a large number of Turkic soldiers and maintained the upper hand. However, as the two sides fought in close combat, the disadvantage of small troops gradually became apparent.
The total strength of Pochaoqi is only 20,000, but only more than 10,000 people are actually engaged in the battle, and the other 10,000 are lurking in the hills on the left and right. As time goes by, soldiers continue to reduce their numbers in the war, their physical strength is also losing little by little, and their combat effectiveness is also declining little by little.
The Turkic army is different. Their total strength is more than 50,000, which can be fully afforded. If the battlefield he chose hadn't been relatively narrow, they would have been ambushed on all sides.
The two sides fought for more than half an hour, but the advantage of the Sui army was gone, and the defensive circle continued to shrink with the sacrifices of the soldiers.
However, after fighting for an hour, Sui Jun unexpectedly stabilized and even regained its disadvantage a little bit. It can be seen that the physical strength of the Turkic soldiers is also greatly consumed, and the string controllers on the left and right wings have begun to waver.
Yang Tie and Murong Yan commanded the soldiers to fight before the war. They really didn't understand what Po Chaoqi was thinking.
Of course, although the situation was temporarily stabilized by them, the gap in strength was really too big. Moreover, the enemy soldiers on the frontal battlefield were all fierce soldiers who were not afraid of death or injury. If they continued to fight like this, they would be The more than 10,000 strong soldiers had to be wiped out.
If they use up all these 10,000 strong soldiers, they can achieve a decisive victory, and they will have no problem with it. But even if they used up all these 10,000 soldiers, Ashina Qilifushe still had the strength to defend the Northern Khan's Court, and their more than 10,000 ambush troops still could not do anything major. If this is the case, why waste it so much?
At this moment, Po Chaoqi, who was commanding the Chinese army, felt that the enemy army was no longer able to continue, and the time was ripe for an attack. He immediately said to the messenger: "Blow the horn and order the ambush troops to attack!"
"Woooooooooo..." In an instant, the trumpet sounded loudly in the Sui army. More than 10,000 soldiers who had been preparing for a long time came out from the hills on the left and right, and attacked the two Turkish wings with overwhelming force.
The left and right wings were composed of string control soldiers. By now, they had lost all their morale. The sudden change caused them to be in chaos. The outermost army fell apart in an instant and turned around and ran away. The rear army was at a loss and was also rushed by the broken troops. The formation was scattered, and they were forced to flee with them, and were killed by the Sui soldiers until they cried loudly and wailed again and again.
Ashina Qilifushu's hands were cold and his face was pale. He never expected that the war would reach such an extent that there would be an ambush in Pochaoqi, but he endured not dispatching. Now his army was exhausted, and the addition of this new force directly caused the collapse of the left and right wings.
What's even more terrible is that the Sui army's ambush was wedged in from the middle and rear, which made the soldiers on both wings want to reduce their "sense of presence", so everyone wanted to squeeze into the middle, squeezing the front army and the middle army in a chaotic manner, making the middle army and the front army The army also became chaotic.
As a result, although there are many people, we have lost order and structure. Looking back at the Sui army, the soldiers rationally used the cooperation of different arms and took advantage of the advantages of each arm to continuously harvest the lives of Turkic soldiers.
"Kill! Kill!" Suddenly, earth-shattering roars and shouts of killing rang out from the northwest of the Turkic soldiers.
Po Chaoqi couldn't help but feel his heart tremble. He only had so many troops, and there was no reinforcement at all. Now he relied on traps and ambushes to disrupt the Turkic army. Although the advantage was great, it could not withstand the large number of enemy troops. If When Ashina Lifushu regroups and fights again, there is no telling who will win and who will lose. If those who came to kill were the reinforcements of Ashina Chilifushe, all his plans would be defeated due to the absolute disadvantage in terms of military strength.
He squinted his eyes and looked far away, only to see dense figures appearing on the other side of the horizon. I saw a big flag heading toward the main battlefield. The fiery sunset shined through the red flag, like a blazing flame. A large gold-painted Chinese character "Sui" was fluttering in the strong wind.
The soldiers entering the battlefield were wearing black armor. Under the blessing of the fiery red sunlight, the soldiers' whole bodies showed a misty glow. Accompanied by thunderous roars, they were as fast as dragons and as powerful as rainbows, charging towards the Turks' rear like a stormy sea.
The leader was wearing black armor, riding a dark horse, and galloping among the enemy troops waving a horse pole. He held the middle part of the spear pole with his right arm and waved his arm to kill, while his left hand held a short weapon and struck the enemy soldiers on the head.
The attacks of the two weapons, one from a distance and the other from a close range, caused blood and flesh to fly everywhere, and the bodies were piled up. The Turkic cavalry died when they were next to each other or when they touched them.
Because they were too far apart, Po Chaoqi couldn't see the general's face clearly, but after getting along for so long, how could he not know it was Yuchi Gong?
"Haha!" Po Chaoqi didn't bother to think about why Yu Chigong appeared here. He just knew that he came at the right time. He was so happy that he just wanted to laugh wildly.
This was the first time for him to use an infantry phalanx in his life, and the soldiers were all raised on horseback and had no access to battle formations. If he hadn't been on the defensive side and had plenty of time to prepare, he wouldn't have dared to do so. So risky.
But despite this, he didn't have much confidence in his heart at all. Although he acted calmly in front of Yang Tie and others, in fact, he was under tremendous pressure. As for how much pressure it was, only God knew, besides himself.
The infantry phalanx is indeed very powerful. This time, 10,000 soldiers were able to hold up more than 50,000 Turkic cavalry, all thanks to this formation that was only in shape but not in form. But after all, fighting is all about the attrition of both the enemy and ourselves.
The Sui army relied on the interlocking formations and pre-war arrangements to control the initiative in the war. However, in the battle, due losses were inevitable, but the Turks' losses were more serious. This battle reaches Butian, and before the Turks completely collapse, all they can do is exchange damage.
The problem is that the Turks are outnumbered and the Sui army only has about 10,000 soldiers left. If the consumption continues, Po Chaoqi believes that the winning side will eventually belong to him, but this army will also pay a heavy price.
And when Yuchi Gong suddenly appeared at the critical moment, the war of attrition between the two sides turned into a crushing war. Effectively avoiding the tragic victory of killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred.
"Brothers, General Yuchi has taken the Dog Turks' retreat. Let's press forward together and completely annihilate these dog thieves!" Po Chaoqi has already established his status and reputation in these days. These soldiers because of They were admired by Po Chaoqi for his bravery, because Po Chaoqi led them to defeat each tribe, but this kind of admiration was only due to his personal charm. Until Po Chaoqi led everyone to withstand the hard attack of 50,000 Turkic cavalry and created a miraculous record, everyone's original respect also rose to heartfelt admiration, almost blind trust.
This is also the only path for a general. If a certain general does not have a good record, it will be difficult to convince the public. Although the soldiers had to obey orders from their superiors, this forced obedience and unity would cause military morale to collapse once the army encountered a disastrous defeat. But if the general leading the army has a brilliant record, even if the soldiers suffer a major setback, they will firmly believe in him and believe that he has the ability to lead everyone out of trouble.
Through this tough battle, Po Chaoqi also established the prestige of the general. When he gave the order now, the soldiers did not even hesitate for a moment. Their morale was stimulated to the top, and roars of "completely annihilate this gang of thieves" kept coming. , deafening.
Even the crossbowmen hung their crossbows on their backs, drew their swords and rushed forward to press them.
When the battle reaches this point, there is no need for any formations. All you need to do is rely on the advantages of flanking attacks from the front and the back and strong morale to break up the Turkic soldiers and kill them all.
The Turkic army, which was already in a state of collapse, was slightly more stable due to Ashina Lifushe's reorganization, but the fatal blow brought by Yu Chigong was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, making the once stable army The Turkic army fell into chaos.
Under the attack of the vigorous and powerful infantry and ambushes, as well as Yuchi Gong's reinforcements who rushed and killed them, the exhausted Turkic soldiers, with low morale and shaken military morale, quickly collapsed and began to trample on each other and flee in all directions. Seeing the trouble, Ashina Lifushu couldn't do anything, so he helplessly followed the deserters and became a deserter again.
In just two moments, the dead bodies of Turkic soldiers were piled up everywhere. The cavalry rushing back and forth on the battlefield were all Sui soldiers stabbing and slashing the remaining Turkic soldiers with spears and swords.
"Everyone mount the war horses and chase until dark!" Po Chaoqi shouted and then galloped towards Yuchi Gong.
He asked curiously: "General Yuchi, why are you here?"
Yuchi Gong laughed: "The king was worried that you would suffer a loss, so he asked me to bring troops to respond. Fortunately, I came in time."
Po Chaoqi's heart felt warm and he almost shed tears. He said excitedly: "The king actually asked General Yuchi to come to meet us. It is so unexpected and touching."
"Haha! Your Majesty will never forget any army or soldier." Yuchi Gong looked at the blood weapon and said with a hearty smile: "General Pochao, this is a great opportunity for us to weaken the Turks' vitality. Given the timing, can you still fight?”
"Of course!" Po Chaoqi immediately understood what Yuchi Gong meant: The Central Plains Art of War says that when a poor enemy is defeated, he is afraid that he will fall into the enemy's trap of luring him deeper. However, this Turkic soldier marched hundreds of miles south from Beihanting. , the surrounding tribes were massacred again, and they had no reinforcements or ambushes at all.
If we don't take the opportunity to kill them all now, when will we wait?
. . . . . . . . .
The news that the army of the Northern Khan Court of Ashina Qilifushe had been dealt with reached the camp of Qimin Khan on the third day.
In the king's tent, several soldiers carefully helped the thin Sogdian man with an arrow on his back onto a Hu bed. Upon closer inspection, he found that this man turned out to be Hu Xi of Shu.
This time he participated in the war again. Fortunately, he did not die in the war. Unfortunately, he was hit by another arrow. However, Shishu Huxi was afraid that if he continued to follow Ashina for a living, his life would be lost, so he did not escape back to the Northern Khan Court, but ran directly to see Qimin Khan.
After the witch doctor took out the arrow from his back and bandaged it, Shi Shu Hu Xi sat up with a pale face. He bitterly said to Qimin Khan, "Great Khan, when the ambush of the powerful weapons is exhausted, I will We sensed something was wrong, but we never expected that Yuchi Gong would suddenly appear on the battlefield. It was the Sui army's two-sided attack that caused our army to completely collapse."
"I understand!" Qimin Khan looked very calm. He was silent for a long time, and suddenly smiled miserably: "Now that I think about it, Yang Ji planned all of this. All peace talks and withdrawals were all lies to me. In fact, It’s all to transfer Yuchi Gong to deal with you. I was careless and didn’t inform you.”
He sat cross-legged on the wool blanket and stared blankly at the tent roof, feeling very painful in his heart. For many years, he had wanted to get rid of the Sui Dynasty and no longer become a vassal or slave of the Sui Dynasty. After unifying the Eastern Turks, this ambition could no longer be controlled; instigated by Ashina Duoji and Shishu Huxi, he launched this war. On the one hand, he coveted the rich Great Lakes area; on the other hand, he also A test of the Sui Dynasty.
However, Yang Ji was so powerful that he did not need the imperial court to support a single soldier. He only relied on the power of Liangzhou to defeat Ashina Qilifushe, who had high hopes, again and again.
The Turks are not monolithic. There are disputes among the Turks, and Tiele and other ethnic groups have disputes with the Turks. Moreover, the grassland people respect the strong and despise the weak. Therefore, the Turkic Khan must have the personal charm to convince the masses and possess Convince the masses of military strength, possess the prestige and wisdom to conquer the masses.
Qimin Khan had all this at the beginning, and he also had the strong support of the Sui Dynasty. Therefore, after the death of Dulan Khan, all the Dulan tribes defected to him instead of Bujia Khan.
But now, due to his mistakes in decision-making and his son's successive defeats, his authority has been seriously challenged. The chiefs of various tribes also had distrust towards him as the Great Khan; and the strength of the Sui Dynasty further aroused the disunity of the chiefs of various tribes.
Facing the very dangerous situation in East Turkestan, Qimin Khan felt frustrated and desperate, as well as extremely frightened. At the same time, he deeply regretted his rash invasion. If the generals of the Sui Dynasty were encouraged by this great victory and asked Yang Guang to take advantage of the situation to launch a war, Yang Guang would definitely launch a war to destroy the country, and internal conflicts would also break out because of the Sui army's northward march. The Turks will inevitably perish their country and species.
Qimin Khan thought of this and let out a long sigh. He said to the sallow-looking Shi Shuhu Xi: "This is my responsibility, and I don't blame you. If I hadn't despised Yang Ji, why would there have been such a defeat? "
Having said this, Qimin Khan vomited out a mouthful of blood, and his upright body also slumped down.
"Dahan! Is Dahan okay?" The generals immediately panicked and shouted.
Qimin Khan started coughing violently, which was so heartbreaking that he could hardly breathe. He waved his hand to silence the generals. After finally regaining his composure, he said, "I'm fine, I'm not dead yet!"
"Khan, what should we do?" A general asked worriedly.
Although Qimin Khan vomited blood, his mind was extremely clear, but his whole body was weak. He said with difficulty: "For this reason, I have to enter the court to apologize."
The generals were shocked: "No, Khan! If the Sui Emperor detains you, what will we do?"
"It's okay!" Qimin Khan glanced at Shi Shu Hu Xi and said slowly: "Mr. Shi, I appointed Du Ji as the second Khan of the Turks. When I go south to the Sui Dynasty, he will be in charge of the military and political affairs. You must do your best. Assist him."
"Yes!" Shi Shuhu Xi was overjoyed.
"If I can't come back or die in the Sui Dynasty, he will inherit the position of Great Khan." Qimin Khan said this and said to Liu Gan: "Go to Madam Fan's City immediately and tell me that I want to enter the city. Meet King Wei."
"Yes!" Liu Gan responded and retreated.
"Great Khan!" Shi Shu Hu Xi suggested: "If the Great Khan goes south, you can ask the Sui Lord for peace."
"A marriage?" Qimin Khan frowned and said, "The Sui Lord is a firm opponent of a marriage, how could he agree to it?"
"Great Khan, you misunderstood." Shi Shu Hu Xi coughed lightly and said, "I mean, marry our princess."
"..." Qimin Khan glared at Shi Shu Hu Xi and said coldly: "Since ancient times, when has marriage brought about real peace? The so-called marriage, the so-called harmony and the beautiful family are nothing more than the emperor of the Central Plains, The officials from the Central Plains are just using it as a fig leaf to cover up their lack of ambition and contentment with pleasure!"
He shook his head and said word by word: "When Yang Ji opposed the marriage, he said a very reasonable thing, that is, 'Send the princess to others to play with, and they will invade after playing with it!' If we send the princess Wouldn’t it be such a shame to send it over?”
"Other than that, what can we do?" Shi Shu Hu Xi glanced at Qimin Khan, whose face was as heavy as water, and said with a wry smile: "Great Khan, if the Sui Dynasty accepts our Turkic princess, at least the Sui army The soldiers thought that the emperor recognized this peace. In this way, the voice of the main battle could be suppressed. Otherwise, the arrogant Sui army would definitely strongly request their emperor to pursue the victory."
After hearing these words, Qimin Khan began to think silently, and after a long while, he sighed: "After I meet Yang Ji and Changsun Sheng and find out the attitude of the Sui Dynasty, I will come back and make a decision! If the Sui Dynasty intends to destroy our Turks, there is no need to talk about it."
"Yes!" Shi Shuhu knew that the Great Khan had been shaken and stopped trying to persuade him.
