"What are those Tang barbarians shouting about? They look stupid." The captain of the Turkic Guards muttered with squinting eyes.
Tanli put his hands in his sleeves, looked at Xie Guang with interest, and said with a smile: "I have finally made up my mind to attack Tongguan."
At this time, the Turkic prince was standing on a high observation tower with his followers, overlooking the surrounding scenery.
The guard captain asked: "Your Highness, when will we return? The Great Khan and the others will soon reach the imperial capital of Shengtang, right?"
Tanli glanced at him with a smile: "What are you in a hurry for? That old guy Xie Guang is very naughty. There are still a few important clauses that he has refused to let go of. I just went back. How can I explain it to my father?" You might as well wait a little longer, let him suffer more under Tongguan City, and he will surely sit down and talk obediently. Besides, Lao Jianhua, Darren, and Gurt haven't come back yet, so they have to stop no matter what. A few days ago."
The captain of the guard looked a little sad: "Your Highness, if you wait a few more days, aren't you afraid of missing the battle in the imperial capital? That is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a contribution. Whoever is the first to break into the capital of Shengtang will be written into poetry. , it has been sung from generation to generation in the Western Continent.”
Tanli rolled his eyes at him, but still said with a smile on his face: "You know nothing! It's still being sung from generation to generation, do you understand? Let me tell you, the Imperial City is by no means so easy to chew. Oh, by the way, you Have you been to the Imperial Capital?”
"No."
"So, if you have never seen the imperial capital, you can't imagine its horror." Tanli looked into the distance and said leisurely: "In that place, the moat alone is ten feet wide, and the city walls are as tall as There are countless arrow towers and blockhouses on the cliffs. There is also an eight-armed crossbow installed on the top of the city. It can fire more than a dozen large crossbow arrows as thick as arms at the same time, and the distance is as far as seven or eight hundred steps. I want to conquer it in one fell swoop. The imperial capital? Humph, I’m not trying to scare you. Unless tens of thousands of people die, there won’t even be a door.”
The guard captain was stunned when he heard this: "No way? It's so exaggerated? According to what you said, isn't it very dangerous to attack the imperial capital?"
Tanli shrugged his shoulders: "I have told Father Khan a long time ago that there are only two ways to capture the imperial capital. One is to besieged for a long time. There are more than one million people in the city, and the daily consumption of materials is huge. As long as Besieging him for a year and a half will ensure that he cannot bear it. The second way is to cooperate with the inside and outside. Try to instigate the defenders of the imperial capital, let them open the city gate from the inside, and assist our army to clear out the resistance forces in the city. Only in this way can we have a chance to seize the city. .but……"
"But what?"
"But our marshals and generals have all been dazzled by the previous victory at this moment. They all feel good about themselves and are arrogant about everything." A bright smile appeared on Tanley's face: "They can't listen to my opinions at all. , not only mocked me for being timid, but also kept urging my father to march quickly, march quickly, and rush into the imperial capital to snatch treasures, women, and credit and honors. Hahaha, these idiots have no idea at all. What awaits them ahead is endless pain."
The captain of the guard suddenly said: "So your Highness means that we don't want to go into this muddy water with them?"
Tanli stretched his body leisurely: "Of course. If you attack the imperial capital, you will inevitably suffer heavy losses. Why waste your precious strength for the sake of a false reputation in poetry? As long as I am not here, my soldiers and horses will definitely be destroyed by them. Wouldn't it be nice to stay far behind and avoid sacrifice in a legitimate way?"
In the next few days, Xie Guang was busy mobilizing troops and generals, manufacturing various siege equipment, and planned to conquer Tongguan. But Prince Tanley didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, just wandering around leisurely and killing time.
Both parties to the negotiation have a good excuse in common: Mr. Lao Jian and Hua Lao have not returned yet.
As the intermediary between the Turks and the Xuanjia Army, Lao Jianhua was not present. Naturally, the negotiations on this alliance should be put aside for the time being and continued negotiations after everyone gathered.
At first, Tanli was very interested in watching the Xuanjia Army make siege equipment, hoping to learn some advanced experience from it so that it could be used by the Turks in future battles.
However, it is a pity that His Highness the Prince is really not a warrior. After only two days of watching, he felt that it was boring. So he said hello to Xie Guang and led his guards to leave the camp and go for an outing in the nearby mountains and forests. Hunting for fun.
But what Stanley didn't expect was that in his view, he was a hunter, but in the eyes of some people, he was actually a prey.
The so-called certain people are Li Jiangyao and Ni Linsi.
Just when Tanli came to Qianyun Ridge, seven miles away from the Xuanjia Army camp, and prepared to rest for a night and start hunting the next day, a sudden change occurred.
Just as the hazy night fell, a long and shrill roar suddenly sounded in the forest without any warning, startling the birds that lived in the mountains.
Immediately afterwards, a group of men in black suddenly burst out of the darkness and launched a surprise attack on the Turkic guards beside the campfire. In just a moment, seven guards were killed on the spot, and only one who was still alive was captured by the men in black.
When the sharp knife was pressed against his neck, the guard heard the other party ask in proficient Turkic: "Where is Tanli? Where is he?"
The guard felt that the cold blade was digging into his flesh little by little, and he quickly replied honestly: "Your Highness... Your Highness was just preparing to eat when he suddenly stood up inexplicably and looked around for a long time, and then... Then he went to the back of the woods without saying a word. Then, you all came out!"
"Escaped by yourself?" The person who asked the question was slightly stunned: Could it be that this guy Tanley was like a wild beast, able to foresee danger in advance? The man in black abandoned his guard, turned around and jumped towards the woods. The others followed closely behind him, chasing after him quickly.
Bypassing the dense bushes, several war horses were tied up in a clearing in the forest, kicking their hooves and snoring from time to time. Obviously, these were the mounts of Tanley and his men.
A man in black counted quickly and said anxiously: "No, Mr. Li, there are only eight horses here, Tanli ran away!"
Another man in black squatted on the ground, searching around by the light of the torch. After a while, he straightened up and said, "Sir, he was indeed riding a horse. The hoof prints are very clear, heading north."
"Damn it! Is that guy the reincarnation of a fox?" The man in black who was responsible for counting the horses cursed: "His sense of smell is so good that he smelled us in advance. Sir, let's chase him quickly, otherwise we will let him run away!"
Li Jiangyao raised his hand and took off his hood, looked carefully at the hoof prints on the ground, then turned around to look at the remaining horses. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly smiled and said: "Don't chase after me yet. Take a look to see if there is anything here." Weird place."
The other men in black imitated his example, removing the black cloth covering their faces and carefully observing their surroundings. After a while, everyone said one after another that they did not notice anything unusual.
Li Jiangyao asked Zhou Xing who was standing next to him: "Have you ever hunted?"
Zhou Xing responded: "When I was in the imperial capital, I would occasionally accompany my father to play."
"What do you bring with you when you hunt?" Li Jiangyao continued to ask.
"It depends on the length of time." Zhou Xing said: "If it lasts for a few days, tents, dry food, blankets, and rain gear are all indispensable. By the way, there is also wine."
Li Jiangyao smiled: "Were there these things over there at the bonfire just now?"
Everyone looked at each other, then shook their heads.
"What about here?" Li Jiangyao pointed around.
Everyone, you look at me and I look at you, and you realize that the place where the horses are tied is really weird. There are a few pieces of equipment here that are needed for outings and hunting, but they are not many and are placed very messily.
Zhou Xing suddenly realized: "Are you saying that the horse that ran away was not carrying Tanli, but equipment, in order to create the illusion that someone was riding away?"
Li Jiangyao said: "That's right. I think Tanli was trying to spread suspicion. He was probably aware that the danger was approaching, but he didn't dare to run away rashly, so he put the heavy objects on the horse's back. Stab the horse's butt lightly with the tip of the knife, causing the horse to run away in pain, so as to lure us to follow the horse's hooves and chase after us. As for him, he waited until we were all gone, and then left calmly. So that guy should be hiding there Nearby. If you search carefully for me, I will be able to find him!"
The spies from the Nilin Division agreed in unison and were about to take action when they suddenly heard a soft clap coming from the bushes nearby.
The second prince of the Turks, Tanli, clapped his hands and walked out from behind the bushes with a smile: "Amazing! Your Excellency, Baron, it is indeed amazing. I was originally thinking about feinting a shot with you, and then everyone went back to their homes and found each other. Where are the mothers? I didn’t expect that I still couldn’t escape the eyes of Baron Metasequoia. Hahaha.”
He walked up to everyone, as relaxed and cordial as if he were meeting an old friend: "Baron, we haven't seen each other for a while. Are you okay?"
Li Jiangyao looked at the smiling Tanli and couldn't help but smile: "Your Highness, you are still the same."
"It's okay, it's okay, thanks to you." According to the rules of Shengtang, Tanli intervened and saluted Li Jiangyao, and said with a smile: "It's a pity that I am too busy. You know me, I am born with a hard life. I have been running around for my father all day long, and never had a moment to spare. Well, I took advantage of the nice weather these two days to go hunting and relax, and I happened to meet you. What a fate."
