Outside Xichun City, a war without gunpowder was over before it even started.
At a quarter past noon, the fire on the moat gradually extinguished. After Yeluqi ordered Yelu Fengyun and others to re-build the trestle, the army rushed out of Xichun City and swept all the way to the positions of the soldiers in southern Xinjiang.
However, what they saw was another blazing fire. Miles of pine branches, accompanied by cross-heavy slaves and the help of kerosene, ignited the fire. The fire once again blocked the path of Xichun's army.
Yeluqi, who rushed over after hearing the news, looked at the long wall of fire and said worriedly: "Li Ye, Li Ye, what exactly do you want to say to me?"
I don't know if it's because the time for Kaiyang to stop the attack has passed, or because they went out to commiserate with Yeluqi.
Li Ye gave up his second salvo against Xichun's army and quietly left while the wind and snow filled the sky.
If the wall of fire in front of them hadn't proved that a large army had come here, no one would have believed under the heavy snow that an hour ago, the soldiers of Southern Xinjiang who were ambushing here had blocked the charge of Xichun's 20,000 troops.
Lan Wudi also rushed over. Looking at the blazing wall of fire, he shook his head and said, "What do these southern Xinjiang people want to do?"
Yelu Qi glanced at him, turned around and said to Yelu Fengyun: "Feng Yun, you and General Wu will lead these 20,000 troops to Kaiyang. Remember to let the secret sentry scout the way first, and the army will follow behind. Be careful in everything."
"This will pass, will it still be useful?" Yelu Fengyun asked softly.
Looking up at the sky, Yeluqi replied helplessly: "No matter what, we always have to take a look. We have already missed Xiaguan once, and we cannot let the soldiers of Kaiyang feel cold again."
Yelu Fengyun nodded, looked at Wu Changtian and said, "General Wu, let everyone gather together to push this wall of fire out of the way, and the army will reinforce Kaiyang City."
"Remember, don't rush back when you arrive at Kaiyang City. Wait for news from me." Yelu Qi thought about it and told Yelu Fengyun.
Yelu Fengyun nodded heavily.
...
Outside Xiaguan City.
Yue Tianlang led the injured Yue Meng and stood at the place where Li Ye had led troops to fortify himself. Looking at the vast white wasteland, he felt an absurd feeling in his heart.
If it hadn't been for the death and injury of nearly two thousand soldiers, he would never have believed that a steel defense line was built here by soldiers from southern Xinjiang a day ago. His deputy general Yue Laqi died of serious injuries and died on the spot.
But at the moment, he felt a little lucky. After all, judging from the news he received, the casualties in Xiaguan were the least. The worst result was that one of the guards died. If the royal court was convicted, it would not be his turn. Take the blame.
No matter how you look at it, it is a good deal in his eyes to exchange for the stability of Xiaguan with less than 2,000 casualties.
Just because of the inexplicable attack by the army from southern Xinjiang, the soldiers in Xiaguan will be suffering from worry and fear throughout this winter, and there will no longer be the days of singing and dancing like before.
Looking at the gloomy sky, Yue Tianlang spat hard, looked back at Yue Meng and said: "From today on, we will send secret sentries to places fifty miles outside the city every day to inquire. We can no longer be beaten inexplicably."
Yue Meng, who was still wrapping his wound, nodded and replied, "Don't worry, General, I'll make arrangements later."
"It seems that this war after the beginning of spring is not so easy to win." With a deep sigh, Yue Tianlang got on his horse and ran towards Xiaguan City.
...
At the end of the day, Harisawa Pingming led the army to the battlefield outside the city that was attacked. Looking at the broken limbs and dead and injured horses on the ground, he took a deep breath of cold air.
He never expected that just because of his wrong decision, more than 10,000 soldiers were killed and wounded, and less than 8,000 soldiers returned to Kaiyang intact. This was the worst time since he joined the army, so much so that he didn't even know How to explain to King Khan Zhize Sogu.
More than a quarter of the 50,000-strong army was injured or killed, and he felt like his head was as big as an ox. If this continued, he didn't know how the war would proceed after the beginning of spring.
The death of soldiers is a fact that no general is willing to face.
"Carry all the injured soldiers back to the city for treatment, and then send people to take the dead brothers back for cremation, and then return them to the tribe for burial in the next spring."
In desperation, Zhi Zeping Mingfa issued instructions to Zhi Zetian and Wu Na Lone Wolf.
Even if you die in battle, your soul must return to your hometown. This is the tradition of the grassland tribes here.
"In addition, starting from today, I will send out secret agents. I want to know the daily situation sixty miles outside the city. No day should be missing, no matter it is windy or snowing!" Zhize Pingming said in a deep voice.
Wu Na Lone Wolf and Zhi Zetian nodded. They waved their hands and sent orders to their own soldiers to rescue the wounded on the battlefield.
The battle in Kaiyang ended with the defeat of the prairie cavalry.
...
In Xichun, Yelu Qi had already led Yelu Yan and Lan Wudi back to the city lord's mansion. Yelu was silent as he watched the two days' battle reports.
"The battle outside Xichun City did not start yet, but more than half of the soldiers who reinforced Xiaguan were killed. Many soldiers could not go to the battlefield again even after they recovered from their injuries. We were defeated in this battle. We were really shameless to face King Khan. and soldiers from the two tribes.”
After a long sigh, Yeluqi said coldly.
Lan Wudi glanced at him, thought for a moment, but was weak and replied: "We don't know the situation in Kaiyang yet. If there is another defeat there, the defenders of our three towns will be defeated this time. Even if When we first captured the three towns, there were only a few casualties.”
Upon hearing this, Yeluqi slowly raised his sword eyebrows, with a hint of a wry smile on his face.
He said to himself: "What's the point of comparing now? After the monk from Prajna Temple came, everything became different."
After saying these words, the bitter smile on his face gradually disappeared, and turned into frost as the north wind blew on his cheeks.
As a proud young general among the grassland tribes, Yelu only lost once at the hands of Li Ye, and he swore that he would never want to meet him again on the battlefield in the future.
This unpredictable terror will torture until spring comes.
Lan Wudi didn't know what he had seen with Li Ye, because the person he had met with Li Ye before was Jamuhe, and Jamuhe was the general of Yelu Palace.
At this moment, he was taking the place of Yeluqi and sitting in the city tower, staring at the vast snowfield to prevent the soldiers from southern Xinjiang from making another surprise attack.
"In any case, this battle is finally over. When the news comes tomorrow about the sunrise, we will tally the casualties with Xiaguan and send back the battle report to the khans of each tribe."
Lan Wudi took a deep breath, and in just one day, he felt that there were a few more white hairs on his head.
"General, go back to the camp to rest first. I'm watching here. It's important to take care of yourself." Looking at Lan Wudi who was getting older, Yeluqi suddenly felt a little sad in his heart.
How could his father Yelu Chucai not be like this? He now increasingly doubts the meaning of this war.
Just as Li Ye said, even if the grassland tribes capture Nanyun City, can they unify all the towns and princes in Nanxuan Territory? Will the Five Regions Imperial City allow Nanxuan Region to become independent and turn a blind eye?
What's more, based on the current situation, he really lost confidence in winning the decisive battle after the spring.
Once this belief tends to waver, it will be out of control. If a river bursts its banks and surges away...
Lan Wudi waved to him and led the guards outside.
Yeluyan looked at him and couldn't help but mutter: "Brother, you haven't rested for two days. You go in the house and take a nap. I'll watch here. I'll call you if anything happens."
Yeluqi looked up at her, feeling suddenly exhausted physically and mentally. He nodded and said, "I'll go in and take a break. Remember to call me if you have anything to do. Don't make your own decisions."
Yeluyan came over and helped him up, like picking up a drowning baby, and slowly moved him to the back room.
At this time, Yeluqi finally understood that this was a war and a gamble.
...
Halfway through application time.
There were still twenty miles to go back to the inn station in Nanyun City. Li Ye, Mu Mu, Nalan Yu, Ma Tianyun, Long Potian and others were riding at the front of the group. They were chatting while walking. The faces of the group were full of joy. look.
Only Li Ye's face was always covered with thick dark clouds. In his heart, he was unwilling to start this war, but in order to win the decisive battle after the beginning of spring, he had to win this surprise battle to gain morale.
The arrow rain outside Xiaguan City took away nearly 2,000 lives, and the broken limbs and broken arms in the Wushiling Gorge. Scenes emerged in his mind, making him entangled.
Does Vajra's angry eyes have to be at the expense of the lives of all sentient beings?
But if we don't fight, when the grassland tribes break through Nanyun City in spring, the people of Southern Xinjiang will bleed for thousands of miles, millions of innocent people will be displaced, and the soldiers of Southern Xinjiang will have their families destroyed.
At this moment, he missed the time in Prajna Temple. There were no assassinations, no wars, no harm, only the peaceful years of practicing alone. ,
Even if he didn't encounter the dragon bone in the cave, so what if he couldn't cultivate the "Phaseless Dharma Body", at least his hands were not stained with the blood of innocent beings, so he could be regarded as a qualified Buddhist disciple.
A monk with a compassionate heart, an idler who would not think about digging holes to bury people, would not suffer casualties ranging from thousands to tens of thousands in a battle like this.
Even though he had read many Buddhist scriptures, he didn't know how to convince himself to continue.
Even if the three towns in southern Xinjiang suffered more than 20,000 casualties this time, they still had at least 178,000 cavalry.
Even if he had calculated everything and won the decisive battle after the beginning of spring, I am afraid that the three towns outside Nanyun City and Southern Xinjiang would be filled with bones and corpses everywhere.
And those soldiers on both sides who were about to die in that battlefield were not ordinary people, and they never had parents, wives and children at home.
After this great battle, how will the relatives of those who died on both sides face this cruel reality?
The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. Looking at the high-spirited generals around him, Li Ye looked at Nalan Yu and said coldly: "Go to the back and bring me a carriage. I want to rest. Don’t call me when you get to the inn.”
Nalanyu didn't react, he just yelled and galloped back.
Even Deputy Commander Long Potian, Ma Tianyun and others did not understand what Li Ye was thinking. Jiang Huo smiled and said, "I have worked hard these days, the Imperial Master. Take a good rest. When we return to the inn, we will prepare some food and wine before calling you."
Only Mu Mu seemed to understand Li Ye's current mood. In her eyes, it was common for Li Ye not to sleep for several days. How could he look so haunted because of this surprise battle.
However, she didn't know how to comfort Li Ye. After all, Li Ye seemed to be taking care of her since she was a child.
The wilderness is windy and the snow is getting charming.
Some people return at night, while others don't.
