Although Murong Yong, Murong Xiaojun and others had a good idea, what they didn't know was that deputy commander Murong Xun had already launched a fierce attack on Ganquan Camp. The reason why they thought Murong Xun had not launched the attack yet was because of the time difference and poor road conditions. problems such as poor quality and backward communication.
Second, Murong Xun knew that his responsibility was heavy and his time was precious. He considered that a large-scale advance would easily make the Sui army aware and alert, and would not have the effect of taking them by surprise. In addition, the Ganquan Tuyuhun army had 20,000 troops, while the Sui army only had one. Wan, so as soon as he left Dangjin City, he asked the defenders to launch a fierce offensive against the Sui army. If the defenders quickly captured the Sui camp, that would be the best; if they could not capture the Sui camp, it would create a chance for him to win, allowing him to break through the enemy camp and capture Dunhuang in one fell swoop. This saves a lot of time.
The "basin" of sweet spring water is called Lenghu. The military camps of both armies are stationed on the bank of the West Lake of Lenghu and at the eastern foot of the western section of Qilian Mountain. This area is called Lenghuyuan. It is an alpine grassland with open terrain, which is conducive to the galloping of war horses, and the terrain here is high in the north and low in the south. The Sui army had already seized the strategic commanding heights during the battle that year, so the Sui army camp had a commanding advantage.
It's just that the slope is only slightly tilted to the south, so the advantage is not big. But for the Sui army, no matter how small the advantage is, it is still an advantage. When the Tuyuhun troops "climb" the slope to attack the camp, they will still lose some physical strength.
At this time, another brutal fighting finally came to an end.
The leader of the Sui army was Quan Xu, the deputy general manager of Dunhuang. He was wearing armor and standing on the sentry tower in the camp and looking into the distance. After several days of intense fighting, he had lost a lot of weight, but his brows were fuller than before. Never had a calm demeanor. Seeing the Tuyuhun soldiers receding like a tide again, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He confessed to a flag soldier beside him, then walked down the sentry tower and walked quickly towards the Chinese army's tent.
Stepping into the big tent, Quan Xu looked at the gentle and polite civil servant in the tent.
This person was none other than Liangzhou citizen Cao Wang Cong. He was also a man with both civil and military skills and knowledge in military affairs. After the Zhangye Military Conference, he was appointed by Yang Ji as the commander of the Dunhuang Road March. He was responsible for taking care of military logistics and other miscellaneous matters. Quan Xu was free to fight the enemy without any worries.
"Chang Shi, the enemy has retreated!" During the battle, Quan Xu used his military position as his official title instead of Wang Cong's official position.
"Thank you for your hard work, General! Let's drink a bowl of hot water to warm up first." Wang Cong poured a bowl of hot water for Quan Xu who was sitting down. He was also watching the battle in the front camp just now, watching the soldiers fight off the insurrection. The one who returns the account first.
"Thank you, Chang Shi!" Quan Xu roared until his throat was filled with smoke as he commanded the army to fight. He was thirsty, so he took the big bowl and drank it in one gulp.
He wiped the water from his mouth and as soon as he put the big bowl on the table, he couldn't wait to ask: "Murong Xun is coming from time to time, and our soldiers have been exhausted after fighting for several days in a row, but... I wonder if Chang Shi has a good strategy to deal with it?"
It was expected that Tuyuhun would send troops, and Yang Ji also sent a letter to remind him. However, Quan Xu did not expect that Murong Xun's 30,000 troops would unabashedly attack Lenghuyuan. For Quan Xu, who was leading an army alone for the first time, This new force that is about to arrive will undoubtedly be a difficult test.
"Murong Xun appears to be powerful, but in fact he is strong on the outside and weak on the inside. Don't worry, general!" Wang Cong stroked his beard and said in a deep voice: "Among his 30,000 troops, in addition to the 10,000 elites given to him by Murong Fuyun, there are also Those 20,000 troops cannot actually be considered elite troops, just because they include both Xianbei and Qiang people, regular troops and ordinary herdsmen. The combination of these two makes it easier to deal with them."
Quan Xu was confused and asked incomprehensibly, "Why?"
Wang Cong analyzed one by one: "That elite force of ten thousand people was built by Murong Fuyun with all his national strength. It is extremely valuable. If Murong Xun only leads this army, he will definitely let this army attack our camp. This is really worrying. But he has a large number of troops, and he is also responsible for the mission of capturing Dunhuang and going deep into the enemy's territory. He is somewhat lucky to preserve the elite. In order to complete the follow-up tasks better and faster, he will never use that army prematurely."
After the analysis, Wang Cong looked at Quan Xu and said: "And we are not alone. Zhang Tongshou's reinforcements will arrive soon. The general only needs to hold on to the camp until the reinforcements arrive."
Quan Xu was stunned when he heard this, and asked again: "Chang Shi, but I don't know what I should do?"
Wang Cong smiled and said: "The general has been beaten too hard these days. You can't beat him like this next time. You have to be gentler."
"Ah?" Quan Xu was stunned and said, "Isn't it good to hit him hard?"
"It's not bad, but the battle situation is changing rapidly. Plans and tactics cannot remain static. Our combat methods must also be adjusted in time as the battle situation changes." At this point, Wang Cong already laughed out loud, and he continued: " Our task is to hold the camp and wait for reinforcements. If Murong Xun doesn't come, it doesn't matter how you fight. But he is coming, and we are not sure of defeating that elite division, so once Murong Xun comes, and uses those miscellaneous When the soldiers attack the camp, you have to let him see the hope of victory and make him think that even a small number of soldiers can conquer our camp. In this way, he will not use the army that we are very worried about. "
"So next, you have to fake a fight, and make it very real and impeccable."
Quan Xu smiled bitterly when he heard this. He understood what Wang Cong meant. It was nothing more than the word "drag", but it was a bit embarrassing for him to pretend to hit him and make it look real.
He was silent for a long time, and seeing no one around him, he sighed: "Chang Shi, the bandit army has lost nearly 6,000 to 7,000 people in the past four days, but today, they don't know why they are crazy, and they have been fighting since early morning. At Si hour, our soldiers have suffered relatively heavy casualties since the battle, and the remaining fighting men are extremely exhausted. If this continues, I'm worried that we won't be able to hold on to reinforcements. Why don't we abandon the front camp and retreat to the middle camp?"
The defensive power of the camp is naturally far inferior to that of the city and castle. Although Yang Ji asked General Quan Xu to strengthen the repairs of the camp long before the war started, the defense of the military camp is ultimately not as good as that of the city, and the front camp's defense area is relatively large, leaving the remaining The soldiers below seemed relatively weak when defending. Therefore, he wanted to shrink his troops, abandon the front camp, and defend the middle camp with a narrow defensive surface. In this way, he could better compete with Murong Xun.
"We can't retreat!" Wang Cong shook his head and said, "The front camp is the commanding heights that the enemy and we are fighting for. Whoever controls it will have the advantage of being at the top."
"Our military strength is inferior to others, and now there are 30,000 enemy troops approaching. Once we give up this only advantage, all the persistence and sacrifices we have made these days will be destroyed. However, Murong Xun can swoop down and control the war. If we take the initiative, the situation will become even more unfavorable for us."
Quan Xu was silent after hearing this. Although it was true, their troops were too thin behind the front camp. If they continued to fight like this, they wouldn't be able to hold on for long.
"Don't worry, General!" Seeing Quan Xu's silence, Wang Cong comforted him: "Your Majesty, there will be good news soon. The longer we can support here, the less pressure there will be on Your Majesty's side."
Having said this, Wang Cong's face slowly became serious, and he continued: "The important thing is that once we abandon the front camp, if the middle camp cannot resist, Murong Xun can march straight in, not to mention Dunhuang County, that is Zhangye, Yiwu, and Shanshan will all be devastated by the war, and no one can afford the consequences."
Quan Xu was stern when he heard the words, and he cupped his hands and said, "Don't worry, Chang Shi, I will definitely hold on until reinforcements arrive."
He knew that this war was a contest between Liangzhou alone and a country. The Liangzhou Prefecture sent all available troops to the battlefield without affecting the people's livelihood. Within the two major theaters, Yang Ji shifted his forces to the eastern theater. The western theater headed by himself only had tens of thousands of troops. As a result, the Sui army in the west not only did not have the right time, place and people, but also its military strength was far inferior to that of the enemy. This also shows that Yang Ji gave the hope of victory to the eastern army led by Zhang Xutuo, but he shouldered the greatest pressure. .
As soon as he heard that Murong Xun might attack the Ganquan camp, he immediately transferred available troops instead of assisting him himself.
Therefore, this strong passion and selfless mind alone are enough to convince anyone.
Faced with such a selfless coach who is dedicated to the country, what else can Quan Xu, a direct member of the King of Wei line, say?
At worst, he would use his life to repay Yang Ji's kindness.
"General, Chang Shi, Zhang Tongshou has sent someone here."
At this moment, a soldier came in and said with joy.
"What's the matter? Tell me!" Quan Xu said loudly.
The soldier cupped his hands and said, "Zhang Tongshou asked his soldiers to send a message: He will lead his army to Lenghuyuan before dusk tomorrow, so that the general and the chief historian can rest assured."
Quan Xu and Wang Cong were overjoyed. Zhang Dinghe came just in time.
"General, Chief Shi, urgent military information has been sent from the front!" At this time, another soldier came to report.
"What's the matter? Tell me!"
"Reporting to the general and chief historian, the enemy's reinforcements have arrived ten miles away."
"I know, let's continue exploring." Quan Xu waved the scouts back and said to Wang Cong, "Chang Shi, Murong Xun came so quickly, it was a bit unexpected."
"It is indeed very fast, but this also shows that the king has cornered Murong Yong who is in charge of the Golden City, so they are eager to break through from our side." After Wang Cong said this, he immediately stood up and said with a serious expression: " General Quan, if my prediction is correct, the war will resume soon. Please prepare for a bloody battle and a big battle immediately, otherwise it will be too late!"
"Chang Shi, I understand!" Quan Xu nodded. Just as he was about to say goodbye to Wang Cong, another soldier came in and said loudly: "General, Chang Shi, the enemy soldiers have organized their troops again. All soldiers Already assembled in front of the enemy camp."
As soldiers and scouts poured in military information, Quan Xu and Wang Cong gradually became more solemn. They stopped talking and walked outside in unison.
"Woo, woo, woo..." Not long after the two arrived at the front camp, the horn of the Tuyuhun army's attack sounded again.
After a short period of repair, the Tuyuhun defenders launched an offensive against the Sui army camp again. Quan Xu looked at the Tuyuhun soldiers walking from a distance. He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice to Wang Cong: "The soldiers are fighting fiercely. It's dangerous. Let's go back to the camp and wait until the end to defeat the enemy!"
Wang Cong retreated as instructed, and an offensive and defensive battle began again.
