"Then what are you going to do? Count on your in-laws?" Jian Moucen sneered: "With them, can you defeat Wang Wenzuo?"
"I guess I still can't beat him!" Qi Si Biyu was very honest: "I don't expect to beat him on the battlefield!"
"Stop beating around the bush!" Jian Moucen's patience finally ran out: "Tell me, what are you going to do?"
"I plan to retreat to the north! Lead the Tang army to the north as far as possible. The rugged roads, dense forests, cold and hunger can help me defeat Wang Wenzuo!" Qi Sibiyu replied: "The people I am marrying to They are the tribal leaders in the northern wilderness, they can help me a lot!"
"Retreat to the north? How do you know that Wang Wenzuo will chase you?" Jian Moucen sneered: "What if he just drives you away? What will you do? In winter, what will your people eat? Even if they survive, After this winter, how will you spend the next year?"
"If Wang Wenzuo really does this, I will indeed be doomed!" Qi Sibiyu admitted: "But it is unlikely that he will do this. A few months ago, I begged him for peace on the condition that I hand over all the loot and hostages. , and surrendered, he refused! Obviously, he regards me as the culprit and will not stop until he gets my head!"
"Then what if he only sends one general to pursue him? What should you do?" Jian Moucen asked.
"If this is the case, then I can survive this year at most! But judging from his past behavior, he will probably go there in person instead of sending a general to go!" Qi Sibiyu said: "With you and me Given my identity, it’s already rare to have the opportunity to fight to the death with him!”
"A fight to the death?" Jian Moucen's eyes lit up and he murmured to himself: "Yes! This Wang Wenzuo is the last general of the Tang Dynasty. As long as he can be defeated, the entire situation can be reversed and the country can be restored. There is hope! Even if it is only one tenth or one percent of hope, we must fight for it!"
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The army marched toward the northeast along the roads left by the Goguryeo Kingdom, some on foot and some on horseback. One team after another, the dense crowds are simply bigger than the locusts swarming in the reeds, flying towards the boundless wilderness. Directly in front and on both sides of the army, two thousand Turkic cavalry were forming a huge fan, shouldering the task of scouting. Seeing these dark clouds of cavalry swimming on the flanks of their own ranks, the infantry marching on both sides of the road raised their spears and let out bursts of cheers, soaring into the sky in response to the whistles of the nomadic cavalry. .
The Chinese army was composed of the Tang Army's Hebei Army, Xiongjin Dudufu, Xuanrun Crossbowmen, and Silla people. In the gaps between the ranks of the army, there were many brand-new four-wheeled carriages, carrying the baggage and part of the rations of each battalion, as well as Combat equipment. Further behind is the camp's convoy, which consists of four hundred four-wheeled carriages, loaded with parts for siege equipment and enough rations for the entire army for a month. The Japanese army at the back was the Japanese army, protecting the herdsmen who accompanied the army. They drove a large number of livestock for food and spare hay-this was for the cavalry to eat if necessary.
As the army passed through a dense forest, the terrain suddenly opened up. The sky was clear, and the breeze blew slowly from the mountain, passing over the heads of the army. The sun shone on the spear tips, and illuminated the large fields of wild fruits and flowers on the edge of the swamp not far away. Groups of mosquitoes and flies flew up from the swamp, heading towards This group of uninvited guests flew in, and the buzzing sound even overwhelmed the marching sounds of the soldiers. Many soldiers had to wrap their heads and faces with cloaks to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. In the end, they had to light fires on both sides of the army's ranks and use smoke to drive away the mosquitoes and flies.
Near noon, the drummers and trumpeters played hard, the snare drums banged, and the horns whimpered. A Turkic knight let go of the reins, leaned on the saddle, looked up at the sky, and played a long-necked lute in his hand. , singing songs intoxicatedly, some of the companions nearby sang in unison, and some took out their Qiang flutes to play. This rough music, combined with the melancholy songs of the grassland shepherds and the sharp, rhythmless sound of the Qiang flute, formed a unique rhythm: rough, sad, and wild, just like this land.
The soldiers who heard the music, whether they were Hebei people, Japanese people, Baekje people, Silla people, Mohe people or Turks, were gradually infected by the sound of music, and they were accompanied by the footsteps of people, the hoofbeats of mules and horses, The floating flags and frightened birds seem to be integrated into this music. Occasionally when the music stops, people can hear the neighing of horses, the creaking of wheels, and the sounds of birds.
Wang Wenzuo himself rode a white horse and wore a purple cloak outside his armor. He walked with the "Wang Zi Shuai Banner" that represented him. The whole army was like a rolling torrent, with bad waves and waves, flooding the meadow. , forests, hills, swamps, the noise of the army was everywhere, and no force could stop his progress.
Wang Wenzuo was not advancing very fast. He calculated very clearly: Time will spread the victory he has achieved to everyone's ears. In this way, the wavering ones among the rebels will hide in a corner where they can't find it. ; And the determined ones will gather in their lair, so that they can be eliminated in one go. And in this kind of field battle, the horse power of the war horse is very important. Slowing down the forward speed can save the horse power.
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"According to the confession from the thief, Qi Sibiyu retreated to Wuerta City!" Actun reported to Wang Wenzuo: "This was the northernmost guarding city of the former Andong Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty. After passing there, we went to North is the real wild land. It is said that every time Qi Sibiyu robbed property, he would have it sent there!"
"Urta City? Oh, I found it, here!" Wang Wenzuo's finger slid on the map, and finally stopped at a small point near the northeast corner of the map, less than two inches from the edge of the parchment, which meant This cunning enemy has fled to the edge of the known world of the Tang Dynasty. Further north, there are only inaccessible dense forests, swamps, hills, and mountains. If it can be summarized in one word, it is a wilderness.
"General!" Acton hesitated for a moment, but still said boldly: "My subordinates think that Qi Sibiyu is likely to escape into the wilderness and join the company of those savages!"
"Why?" Wang Wenzuo asked.
"I have interrogated the prisoners. According to them, the city of Urta is very small. It can only accommodate less than a thousand people at most. It is located on a small mound and can be defended infinitely. If you let your subordinates besiege it, It will take three or four days at most to be captured. Qi Sibiyu knows this very well. Defending the city will only lead to death, and escaping into the wilderness is his only way to survive!"
"How many troops does Qi Si Biyu have now?" Wang Wenzuo asked.
"The specific number has to wait for the scouts to report, but many of the remnants of the rebels who were intimidated and defeated by the army have gone to Ulta. There should be many more under his command now than before!"
"A lot more than before?" Wang Wenzuo rubbed his hands: "Great!"
"That's great?" Acton was stunned and looked at Wang Wenzuo in confusion.
"What I'm most worried about now is not that there are too many rebels, but that the rebels will be scattered, forcing me to divide my troops and drag out the war! If I can accomplish my task in one battle and kill Qi Sibiyu at the foot of Ulta City, then It’s the best!” Wang Wenzuo laughed.
"You can definitely do it!" Acton replied with admiration: "That guy can't escape your grasp!"
"I hope so!" Wang Wenzuo looked at the sky in the distance: "I hope fortune is on the side of the Tang Dynasty!"
As the forward of the army gets closer and closer to Ulta, more and more intelligence comes like raindrops. The number of rebels has exceeded 30,000, of which at least one-third are cavalry, which has exceeded The troops under Wang Wenzuo's command did not weaken Wang Wenzuo's desire to seek a decisive battle - he was convinced that he could achieve the final victory in the field.
"Thank God!" When Wang Wenzuo saw the rebel camp slowly rising from the horizon, he couldn't help but let out a long breath: "The thieves did not escape!"
"General!" Acton looked unhappy: "There is bad news!"
"What's the bad news?" Wang Wenzuo asked.
"Qi Si Biyu has escaped!" Aktun replied: "He left at dawn three days ago, accompanied by about five or six thousand people, all cavalry. I heard that he also took away the remaining items in the treasury. The property has gone to the wild land!"
"Then who is left?" Wang Wenzuo asked.
"It's Jian Moucen!" Aktun replied: "It is said that the two of them had a conflict. Jian Moucen refused to escape. He took the remaining troops and prepared to fight us to the death!"
"What the hell!" Wang Wenzuo muttered, his expression became unsightly. This accident gave him a strange premonition, as if something bad was waiting for him ahead. After a while, he suppressed the annoyance in his heart: "Forget it, let's think about the battle in front of us first!"
The Tang army arrived outside Urta City on the afternoon of September 28. Wang Wenzuo immediately ordered trenches to be dug and forts built as if they were nailed to the ground. In the next few days, it rained all the time, the temperature dropped sharply, it was cloudy and foggy.
"God is not on our side!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "Such a heavy rain will make the grass soft and wet. Not only will the bows and arrows become soft, but the armored knight will also slip every step, and nothing can be done!"
"Yes!" Shen Faseng also nodded in agreement: "Although the rebels have a lot of cavalry, they are all light cavalry. If they are hedging, they will definitely not be our opponents. This rainy day is good for them!"
The weather was indeed on the side of the rebels. It rained non-stop. The soldiers of the Tang army were digging trenches in the watery soil. If they were not careful, they would collapse, which was a waste of time. The rebels also took advantage of the weather and continued to send out skirmishers to attack at night. In the camp late at night, in addition to the sound of wind and rain, there were also blasts of horns and shouts of killing from time to time. No one, whether it was the rebels or the Tang army, slept a wink that night.
In the early morning, the Tang army's camp blew the bugle, sighing secretly with sorrow, as if sighing with emotion. Then the military drum sounded. The sky was still dark, gloomy and humid. The strong wind had died down, but the rain was still falling, and the tiny raindrops seemed to be leaking from the eyes of the sieve.
Drums sounded in the rebel camp, and the rumbling drums made everyone's scalp numb and made their bones feel numb.
"Uncle Gao, take me to a higher place and let me see how this battle is fought!" Yan Liang said to Gao Sheji.
Gao Sheji nodded. He also wanted to see what happened with his own eyes, so he took more than ten cavalry to protect Yan Liang, Hu Liang and more than ten teenagers and came to a mound on the right side of the battlefield. On this, everything They all knew clearly: where were the high places, where were the plains, where were the swamps, where were the woods, and where were the two opposing armies. Yan Liang just took a look and exclaimed: "The rebels occupy a high place, and the terrain looks much more favorable than our army!"
"Yes!" Gao Sheji nodded: "But that's okay. After all, we are the guest army this time and the rebels are the main army. They will naturally occupy favorable terrain. However, the general has fought so many battles. This It’s hard for him!”
At this time, the outpost battle had begun. Looking down from the mound, both sides sent a small number of infantry and cavalry to catch pairs of soldiers fighting each other. Tang troops in bright and neat armor and rebels in messy uniforms mingled with each other. Some attacked from the flanks, some fired at each other with their bows, some stabbed with spears, and some used lasso, trying to pull their opponents off their horses and capture them alive. . From a distance on the mound, these things look like a game, not like fighting each other. Only when the horses that lost their masters rushed out of the battlefield and fled to a place near the mound did it show that this was not a game, but a real battle. war.
As the war continued, the rebel cavalry formations became more and more numerous. In the blink of an eye, looking from the mound, it was already a dense mass of darkness, while the Tang army was forced to retreat, in front of its own gully. They formed a tight line. At this time, Yanliang had a very clear understanding of the formation of the Tang army. He could tell which army, which team, and even who was the commander based on the patterns and badges on the flags.
His heart began to beat wildly, and a blush appeared on his fair face due to excitement and nervousness. He nervously shouted to Gao Sheji: "The Xuanrun crossbowmen are at the back. They have erected their shields and are squatting behind the shields. In the first confrontation, they will retreat behind the shield, and then they will attack hard with the powerful crossbow. No armor can stop that kind of crossbow within fifty steps! The thieves will finally suffer a big loss. !”
Gao Sheji glanced at Yanliang in surprise. This young man's enthusiasm for war and his eyesight left a deep impression on him. Not just anyone could see clearly the wonderful effects of the Tang army's deployment.
"Kill! Kill!" There was a cry from the dense crowd of rebels, who rushed towards the Tang army on the opposite side, and were greeted by a burst of arrows. But the first row of rebels was just a bluff. They immediately moved to both sides and disappeared into their own ranks.
