Chapter 278: The troops were divided into three groups to explore the enemy camp at night

Chapter 278: The troops were divided into three groups to explore the enemy camp at night

Chapter 278 The troops were divided into three groups to explore the enemy camp at night

Tingzhou City, located at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, is actually less than 300 miles away from Xizhou, but there is the endless Tianshan Mountains in the middle. Therefore, the nearest Cheshi Ancient Road between the two cities is more than 450 miles away. , and the road is narrow, only for people and horses. As for the Yimo Road, which can allow cattle, horses and vehicles to pass calmly, it has to make a large circle to the west, which is more than 700 miles long.

Coming out of the south gate of Xizhou City, the large group of cavalry quickly caught up with the convoy that left the city first. Qu Chongyu led the horse for a tour, came up and nodded to Pei Xingjian, "Keep the promise, I will lead the troops first. Ten days later Goodbye!"

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "Yu Lang, be more careful!"

Qu Chongyu raised his eyebrows, "It's just murder and arson, so what's the difficulty?"

Pei Xingjian hurriedly waved his hand, "Just set fire. If possible, kill people."

Several Xizhou people behind him laughed. The first one was Mi Dalang's partner Yelun. He clasped his hands and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Chang Shi, we have no grudges with the Chumukun tribe. This time it is I went there many times to set fires. I sold grain, grass and cloth to several granaries in the city, as well as the horse farms of several wealthy families. I closed my eyes and searched for them. Within ten days, they were all burned down. !”

Pei Xingjian nodded and said with a smile, "Pei, I wish you success immediately, and I will ask for credit for you later!"

Ye Lun laughed loudly, "Exactly, I have been jealous of Dalang for several years, and now it's finally my turn to come forward!" Five or six years ago, Mi Dalang followed Su Dingfang in two campaigns against the Turks, and was awarded the title of Military Cavalry Lieutenant for his military exploits. Since then, he has stopped engaging in human trafficking and switched to the grain, grass, and cloth business. Within a few years, he has opened shops in several large cities and military towns in Western Xinjiang, and now he is one of the first-class merchants in Xizhou. . Everyone said that Mi Dalang survived a catastrophe and would have endless blessings in the future. But how could Yelun not understand that behind all of this was Pei Changshi's arrangement, those stores were also Pei Changshi's eyes and ears in various parts of Western Xinjiang, just like the Shahai Di stores everywhere were Prince Qu's eyes and ears... If this battle is successful, he, Ye Lun, might be able to gain a military background and become a truly decent person!

Several people from Xizhou behind Ye Lun are obviously thinking about it now. Hu and Han people live together in Xizhou, and wars are frequent. Everyone has a **** spirit in their bones. Although they may not be happy to serve as government soldiers on weekdays, this is General recruits came here, took advantage of the Chumukun tribe's overwhelming force, entered their lair, burned their food and grass, fought so wantonly, and received military honors and generous rewards, everyone's face was filled with excitement. meaning.

As he spoke, Lu Qingyan followed up with a group of troops from the Yizhou border army. Not long after, about 300 Xizhou civilian warriors and 300 Yizhou frontier troops formed a loose formation, all riding two horses. Each person carried ten days of food and grass and several bags of rockets, and followed them. With a command, he ran towards the west.

The remaining more than 200 Xizhou civilian warriors quickly gathered together. Bai Sanlang immediately came up and saluted Pei Xingjian, "Chang Shi, I'm taking my leave."

Pei Xingjian nodded lightly and said in a deep voice, "I will entrust the lives of these two hundred men from Xizhou to you. When I go to Tingzhou, remember my instructions, remember that you are brave people, and remember that I am going with you this time." Illinois Frontier Army!”

 Bai Sanlang chuckled, with a hint of slyness on his brows, "Don't worry, Chang Shi. I have written down all the instructions of the long history. I will definitely not disappoint the long history! The long history should also be careful."

Pei Xingjian smiled and nodded, "I know it well."

Seeing that there was a fork in the road ahead, Lieutenant Zhou led the remaining 500 Yizhou frontier troops and Bai Sanlang led more than 200 Xizhou civilians to ride their horses towards the ancient Cheshi Road to the north. On this relatively flat road, soon there were only the hundreds of grain trucks and the two hundred Su soldiers who were guarding the grain. In addition, there were the few Yizhou border guards who had received military sticks in the past few days. Army officers and several of their soldiers. The wounds suffered by these officers have mostly healed, but they are still unable to ride horses and can only sit in the carriage to recuperate. These carriages had new horses and healthy horses, and they only pulled most of the carts of fodder and rice. The speed was much faster than the ordinary convoys, but it would take at least eight or nine days to actually cross the mountains and ridges to Tingzhou. At that time, their injuries Can heal on its own.

Pei Xingjian only had Acheng and about twenty other attendants and servants with him. They were already skilled at transporting grain and dispatching, and some of them were very familiar with the road to Tingzhou. It was just that he didn't know whether it was because the horsemen were reckless or because there were not enough vehicles. Sure enough, these carriages had traveled less than half a day, but something had happened. Seeing the sun setting in the west, they had only traveled more than twenty miles in half a day. Many carriages were left behind because they needed to replace axles and other items. to the back.

Pei Xingjian looked at the sky and ordered the car to stop and set up camp. Su Nanjin sternly urged the horse to come up and said straight away, "The good carriage you have prepared is just a glamorous one. If this continues, will you be able to reach Tingzhou in less than half a month? You will delay the military situation." Carrying it?”

Pei Xingjian nodded calmly, without any anger in his voice, "This time the driver and the carriage were originally selected separately, and they are all two-horse carriages. Some people are inevitably not used to it. The ride will be slower on the first day. Ziyu, don’t worry, if you can’t reach Tingzhou within ten days, I will take care of it.”

Su Nanjin glanced at Pei Xingjian with a sneer, then turned his horse and left. He ordered his soldiers to set up tents in the camp surrounded by grain trucks. The grooms went outside to collect firewood for cooking. There was a busy scene inside and outside the camp.

Pei Xingjian arranged everything properly. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he turned around and got into a carriage. He took out his luggage from the carriage and saw that there was indeed a package more than one foot square inside. When he picked it up, he knew it was a pair of boots, but with It was wrapped tightly in white folded cloth. While Pei Xingjian was unpacking, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth. After taking out the boots, I glanced inside the boots and didn't see the expected roll of paper.

He couldn't help but was slightly startled. After thinking about it, he reached in and tried it as if nothing had happened. His fingers suddenly touched something cold and hard. After weighing it for a while, it seemed to be two copper and iron plaques half the size of a palm. He suddenly guessed When I saw what this was, I couldn't help but feel shocked and a little bit dumbfounded.

He quietly put the brand into his sleeve, and then put on new boots. The soles and shafts of the boots were sewn with soft fur. A warmth suddenly rose from under his feet, but as soon as the other foot was put in, The sole of the foot felt hard again. Pei Xingjian stiffened and looked back at Xizhou City. The corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily: Could it be that she thought this object was the baked biscuit at the entrance of Qushui Square, something she could bake for fun? This plug is four yuan! God, how much has she done?

Taking off his boots and tapping the soles of them, Pei Xingjian put on his leather boots again and slowly stood up straight. The heavy sleeve pockets pressed against the skin on his arms. The touch was cold and a little hot. He was stunned for a moment, left the camp, and glanced at the road he came from several times. The sky was gradually getting dark, and the carriages that had been left behind on the road were still coming here one after another.

He hesitated for a moment, then waved over Acheng and several other entourage, and said, "Take a few more experienced coachmen and torches to collect the vehicles, and bring those that can be repaired back to the camp." He thought for a moment. He turned back and took a wine bag and handed it to Ah Cheng, "I'm afraid you won't be able to catch the hot meal when you come back. There are dry food in the saddlebags of the horses. I'll give you this wine bag to drink!"

Ah Cheng was startled, and the hand under the wine bag clenched tightly, nodded and smiled, "Don't worry, Ah Lang!"

The group of people rode on fast horses and soon disappeared on the road.

There were quite a few broken vehicles along the way. It wasn't until it was completely dark that dozens of repaired carriages arrived at the camp one after another. The Su family soldiers on duty around the camp only glanced at them and saw that these grain trucks were moving in an orderly manner at the camp. If you have to arrange it yourself, you won't bother to take care of it. But no one noticed that not all those who went to collect the carriage came back with the carriage.

 Dozens of miles away, Ah Cheng and another entourage had bypassed Xizhou City and knocked on the door of a posthouse. The postman held a copper lamp, rubbed his eyes and opened the door, "What time is it? This is..."

A Cheng took out a bronze medal and waved it in front of the postman's eyes, "It's urgent business, bring out two of your best post horses!"

The postman took a closer look and quickly put on a smile, "Please wait a moment, I will go get the horse." Ah Cheng turned the talisman in his hand and smiled on his face. Alang is such a god! The Governor's Mansion in Xizhou is as guarded as an iron barrel these days. I thought all I could get was an extra pass for the An family. Who knew that Alang actually got a teleportation talisman without anyone noticing, saving a lot of things? ! With this small bronze medal, he could send Alang's memorial to Chang'an around the time of Yuan Dynasty!

　　…………

On the second day of the first lunar month, it was originally the day when every family visited relatives and friends, but there was no lively scene in Tingzhou City as in previous years. Every door in the city was closed, and everything was lifeless. Everyone who was slightly closer to the city wall had fled to the government offices in the city. The small hall in the government office was now crowded with old, weak, women and children. It was the harsh winter season when dripping water turned into ice and the breath turned into frost. The empty hall without fire was naturally very cold. As the dull thumping sounds came from the distance again, many people began to tremble from head to toe.

Walking out from the government office and near the city wall, you can see many houses with broken roofs. In the wide-open courtyard gate, you can see some stones as big as dendrobium and as small as watermelons. The closer you get to the city wall, the more broken it becomes. Half of some people's courtyard walls were smashed down.

Under the city wall, which is more than one foot high, it is quite clean. There are simply a row of felt tents. In each tent, there are several people lying around. Some people are just sitting at the door of the tent, looking into the distance with dull eyes.

The banging sound of "dong dong" finally stopped. At the top of Tingzhou City, the guards hid behind the turrets or under the corners of the wall. Some people began to collect the stones scattered on the city head, and more people started to collect them. Exhausted and numb, he stood back behind the crenellations of the city head, waiting for the next wave of Turkic attacks.

Since the death of the governor Laiji in the enemy battle two days ago, for more than twenty hours, the Turks' trebuchets would throw a shower of stones from time to time, day and night, and the cavalry would also drop rain of stones every once in a while. In the interval, they roared and rushed to the city, but quickly retreated under the random arrows of the defenders. Although the city wall of Tingzhou has been damaged by stones, it still stands there silently. The guards behind the city wall did not suffer too many casualties, but they gradually became dull after bouts of nervousness and fear for two days and nights.

Looking at the expressionless faces, the governor of the court finally realized that the other party was using a trick to tire out the troops. After thinking for a while, he decided to let the 500 defenders rest for two hours in three groups. Once the defenders arrived, In the felt tents erected haphazardly under the city wall, some people were either wrapped in blankets and fell down, unable to wake up due to thunder, or they still had their eyes open blankly, not daring to close their eyelids no matter what.

Seeing that the sky was slowly getting dark, the last group of soldiers had gone down to rest. The soldiers who had taken turns to take a nap did not show signs of regaining their spirits, but became even more listless. Several Tingzhou soldiers who had already had red eyes and hoarse voices The official couldn't help but feel his heart grow colder.

Bing Cao joined the army and walked to Chang Shi and whispered, "Chang Shi, you should go and rest for a while first. It's good for a few of us to keep an eye on you. If Chang Shi is tired, we will have no backbone." ”

Chang Shi shook his head, "I feel a little uneasy. If I want to take a break, I'll talk tomorrow. I'm afraid tonight..." He sighed, looked at the Turkic camp outside the city, and stopped talking.

The winter night at the beginning of the first lunar month was extremely dark and long. There was a torch burning every few steps inside the city. I could barely see what was going on around me, but if I looked outside the city, no matter how wide my eyes were, I couldn't see. Not knowing what was going on in the Turkic camp two or three hundred steps away, the north wind stung their eyes. Everyone had given up on this effort, but their ears had become extremely sensitive, wary of the rain of stones that fell from the sky from time to time.

Before midnight, the whistling sound sounded again. Before the sound of impact could be heard again from the top of the city, all the guards had hid in the thickest part of the city wall. In the darkness, this burst of stone rain seemed to be particularly dense and long. After a long time, it still continued. There will be a buzzing sound for a while. Bingcao Junjun was the first to feel that something was wrong. He grabbed a torch and shined it on the city wall, and immediately let out a loud roar, "Hurry, the Turks are coming!"

 The Turks are coming up! Everyone got chills.

I saw dozens of ladders set up outside the city of Tingzhou. When the guards leaned forward to push the ladders, the ferocious faces of the Turks were clearly visible in the firelight, and the hands of several young soldiers suddenly became numb. They were weak and knew that they had to pull out the sword from its sheath, but the waist knife could not be pulled out no matter what. The elderly veteran kicked them away, grabbed the spear at the top of the city and stabbed it down. Some people also used the spear to push it out. The ladder, roars, and screams sounded intensively on the top of the city for the first time. Some Turks screamed and fell off the ladder, and some Tingzhou guards were pierced by several Turkic arrows from the city in the light of the fire, almost nailed to the ground at the top of the city, and let out a horrifying scream. Call.

Several government officials also shouted and rushed forward, blocking the most critical gaps. The soldiers resting under the city were naturally awakened. Some jumped up and rushed towards the city wall, while others mixed garlic at their feet. , before taking two steps, he fell to the ground and couldn't get up.

 At hand-to-hand combat, blood and flesh flew everywhere. There were continuous ladders that brought several Turks down to the bottom of the city, but more ladders came up. In several places, Turks finally jumped onto the top of the city, and then more people came up. The governor of the court, who was guarding the rear, felt his heart go cold. He pulled out his sword with a "choking" sound and was about to block the last team when a rapid drumbeat suddenly sounded from the city, and then it was in Turkic language. He shouted loudly, his voice filled with panic. The Turks who were fighting at the top of the city suddenly seemed to have lost their courage and retreated one after another. Some actually jumped directly from the two-foot-high city wall. The sharp-eyed guards swept outside and shouted, "Reinforcements." , Reinforcements have arrived!”

A few hundred steps away, countless fires suddenly lit up behind the Turkic camp. In the light of the fire, only war horses could be seen neighing, figures swaying, and they were already in a mess.

The garrison guards in Tingzhou suddenly became energetic and rushed forward one after another. The Turks who had no time to retreat from the city were suddenly attacked by random swords. When everyone was about to push the ladder again, a hail of arrows came up from the city and pushed the guards back behind the wall. They could only hear the sound of horses and people from the city, and they gradually went away. When I looked outside, the fire in the Turkic camp actually became smaller. After a while, it gradually extinguished, and the reinforcements who set the fire disappeared.

The defenders in Tingzhou immediately looked at each other. Bing Cao joined the army and said loudly, "This must be the arrival of the reinforcements from Xizhou. The thieves are so powerful that they can only set fire to disturb the enemy first. Now that the Turkic thieves are attacked from both sides, their arrogance has weakened. As long as we hold on for a few more days and wait until most of the reinforcements arrive, we will be able to cooperate from the inside and outside to prevent these thieves from coming back!"

His voice was already hoarse, but he shouted this sentence with all his strength, and by the end he almost lost his voice. But to everyone's ears, it was the most beautiful voice. He responded with a loud roar, without waiting for the main line to speak. , and began to clean up the city. Seeing those comrades who died horribly, or whose armors were stained with blood, even the weakest young soldiers, their eyes were slowly burning red with anger and hatred.

At this moment, in the eyes of the Tingzhou guards, the reinforcements, which were like divine soldiers descending from the sky, had already run more than ten miles away. The team ran sparsely, but miraculously no one was left behind. They arrived at a place that had been recently washed with blood. After the military base was abandoned, everyone reined in their horses. The leader, Bai Sanlang, strode into the military station and hugged Captain Zhou who came out with a look of astonishment on his face. "Thank you for your honor, I have lived up to my command. The truth and falsehoods in the Turkic camp have been discovered by Bai. Tonight, Tingzhou will definitely be the same." No worries.”

An Yizhou officer who came back with Bai Sanyi had a smile on his face and whispered a few words into Captain Zhou's ear. Captain Zhou's face suddenly darkened, "You can only wait outside the Turkic camp." Shooting two or three rounds of rockets, is this called an overnight camp visit?”

Bai Sanlang's eyes widened in surprise, "Hundreds of fires broke out at the same time. The places where the Turks put out the fire the most were naturally the most important places in the camp. Bai not only found out the strength and weakness of the Turks' formation, but also made people aware of the situation. The Turks who were attacking the city retreated in panic, and the Tingzhou garrison knew the news of the reinforcements, killing three birds with one stone. What else could the captain do? Is it possible that all of us had to serve as a side dish for the Turks to go with the wine? camp!"

 Zhou Lieutenant looked at Bai Sanlang who looked confident and confident, and was so angry that he could hardly speak. They traveled day and night after starting from Xizhou. They arrived outside Tingzhou City this afternoon. They saw the flag of the Tang Army still flying on Tingzhou City. Others didn't know what to think, but he was a little embarrassed: If Tingzhou had fallen, All they had to do was gather the scattered troops in Tingzhou and wait for news from Crown Prince Qu and Young Master. But Tingzhou was actually defended. Could it be that they had to rush to the camp to rescue the siege? Their seven hundred men and horses are not enough for the thousands of Turkic soldiers to sweep back and forth!

When he was in a dilemma, Bai San unexpectedly volunteered, saying that most of the troops might as well rest for the night. He would lead people to explore the camp tonight, which Colonel Zhou wanted to do. The young master had told Master Lu before he came that he would always order someone to come. These Xizhou people would have suffered most, but they actually bumped into it themselves! Immediately, Bai San made a guarantee and sent several Yizhou officers to monitor the situation. However, he did not expect that his "camp exploration" would be such a "detection" method! Is it possible that the hundreds of people who burned down the Dudu Mansion in Beiyan were not satisfied enough? His face suddenly darkened, "How can military law be a child's play? Come on, get Bai San down for me!"

 5,000 words long chapter, please be inspired by pink...

　　

　　

 (End of this chapter)