Chapter 598: not as good as back
Chapter 598 Not as good as and retreat
Marched on the plateau with 15,000 troops, deep into the barren.
Crossing mountains and ridges, wading across rivers.
This team is composed of Longyou Tang Army, Dangxiang Qiang Cavalry, and Tuyuhun's newly attached soldiers. The cavalry, infantry, and logistics auxiliary soldiers. The auxiliary soldiers rode horses and drove camels loaded with supplies, and drove cattle and sheep to accompany the army.
Such a team does not move fast.
The Longyou Army, which was originally the most powerful, was not as good as the Dangxiang Qiangqi and Tuyuhun surrendered troops because of the discomfort of the plateau.
Compared to the loss of at least half of the Tang army's combat effectiveness, the Dangxiang Qiangqi and Tuyuhun people are still in high spirits as usual.
Woke up early in the morning, Lao Cheng yawned, still a little drowsy, this ghost place always makes people doze off.
He took out a small leather bag from his bosom, and grabbed a handful of herbs from it. This is a strange herb, which has a good effect on refreshing the mind, especially when marching on the Qiang plateau. Eat some of this herb and soak it in water. Or put it directly under the tongue, which can greatly relieve the pain.
Pressing the herb under the tongue, the feeling of tiredness and drowsiness gradually disappeared.
One ride to report.
Present the military situation.
Cheng Yaojin opened it to watch, frowning.
"What happened? But Xue Wanche?" Liu Lancheng asked.
"It's Xue Wanche, but it's not bad news. This kid took a shortcut and intercepted a Tuyuhun tribe of more than 5,000 people at Chishuiyuan, and then wiped them all out."
Liu Lancheng was surprised, "Good thing."
"This guy slaughtered an entire tribe."
Liu Lancheng let out a sigh, "It's a bit bold."
"More than that, he also committed adultery."
"Too much."
The two were silent for a while, and Lao Cheng raised his concerns, "This Xue Wanche is like a tiger out of prison, he is fierce, but it always makes me a little uneasy, he runs a little fast, and he is a little far away from us gone."
Liu Lancheng said, "Isn't it precisely because of his bravery that he was asked to lead the attack in order to open the situation?"
"I'm worried that if Xue Wanche advances so bravely, he will be lured into an ambush by King Tianzhu."
"Let's not do it, Er Xue is also a champion in all battles."
"Brothers of the Xue family use troops, either a big victory or a big defeat."
"Just in case, I think it's better for me to pick up another five thousand riders to meet them, and you bring the rest of the ten thousand people to come later." After thinking about it, Lao Cheng said, Xue Wanche's great victory was originally a good thing, but finally opened The situation was over, but Lao Cheng always felt that the victory came a little suddenly.
Moreover, Lao Xue's fierce behavior also made him more worried that this kid would be greedy for success.
Out of an intuition, Lao Cheng always feels uneasy.
"Why don't I take care of it?" Lao Liu proposed.
"Stop arguing with me, let me go. After all, you are a literati, and you are better at managing logistics and auxiliary troops than I am."
"Go away, when I was cutting people with a knife, you were still a rich man in the countryside." Old Liu cursed.
Finally, it was decided that Lao Cheng would lead five thousand horsemen to speed up the march to meet Xue Wanche, and Lao Liu led 10,000 horses to come later. Lao Cheng's five thousand soldiers consisted of two thousand Tang cavalry and three thousand Dangxiang Qiang.
Lao Cheng got on his horse and galloped south with five thousand horses.
Walking halfway, Lao Cheng encountered several wounded soldiers.
They ran in the valley in a state of embarrassment, more than a hundred horsemen chased after them, Cheng Yaojin's forward rescued them, and brought them to Cheng Yaojin.
"Where are you from?"
"We are under General Xue."
Although he had expected it, Lao Cheng was still very surprised, "What's going on?"
"We were ambushed by bandits in Hot Spring Valley, and two generals Xue were seriously injured."
"Where are they?" Old Cheng was shocked.
"General Xue led his brothers to break through desperately, but they still couldn't break out. In the end, they were forced to retreat to a small valley. We were also ordered to fight to the death. The two hundred brothers only escaped with more than ten riders, and were chased by fan riders all the way. Kill, there are only a few of us left. Please also ask the general to save the brothers."
After understanding the situation, Lao Cheng was both shocked and angry.
Things turned out as he had feared. Xue Wanche was indeed attacked. King Tianzhu was really ruthless enough, and deliberately sent a small tribe of 3,000 people to go fishing in Hot Spring Valley.
That small tribe acted as a fat bait without knowing it. This bait was so tempting that Xue Wanche fell for it. Tianzhu King had already mobilized tens of thousands of riders nearby. Afterwards, he swung his troops to seal the valley entrances on both sides, and then rushed in.
Xue Wanche was outnumbered, but after a fierce chasing battle, it was the time when they were extremely exhausted, especially the altitude sickness exacerbated their exhaustion. At this time, the Tianzhu King came out. Although Xue Wanche was fierce, he still The dead were killed.
There were more than 4,000 horsemen, but they were still unable to break through the siege. In the end, the Xue family brothers retreated into a small valley with the remnants of the soldiers, and blocked the narrow valley entrance with their lives, so they got a chance to breathe.
But the people who broke out and asked for help have been out for a day, and they don't know what's going on there now.
40,000 to 50,000 riders, Lao Cheng hesitated.
"General, Erxue is probably gone. If our 5,000 riders go up again, I'm afraid we will be bitten. Why don't we retreat now, join General Liu first, and then choose an opportunity to fight Tianzhu King."
The subordinates were euphemistic, but they were actually trying to persuade Lao Cheng to retreat.
The 5,000 cavalry led by the Xue Wanche brothers were all elites from Longyou of the Tang Dynasty and the most elite part of the Southern Route Army. Now that they are gone, the entire Southern Route Army still has 15,000 riders, but its combat effectiveness has actually been reduced by half.
If you really want to fight, you may not have a chance.
Old Cheng stared at the south.
There, in the hot spring valley, maybe Xue Wanche brothers and thousands of Tang Longyou soldiers are still working hard to defend, and they are still looking forward to the arrival of reinforcements.
"One day, Er Xue should still be supporting."
"But it will take another day for us to rush there."
"Then they will definitely last another day."
The generals bowed their heads, "Even if we survive, there may not be many left, General, we can't let ourselves in."
"If we are also surrounded, then the South Route Army will be in complete danger."
Old Cheng was angry.
"As a soldier, you shouldn't be afraid of death. There are no undead in war. Now that idiot Xue Wanche and his brother are leading thousands of brothers to die in blood. Are we going to see death right in front of us?"
"Don't say anything, anyone who dares to persuade the soldiers to retreat will be killed immediately!"
"Send me the general order, advance at full speed, and rescue that idiot Xue Wanche!"
Although a group of generals are dissatisfied, no one dares to disobey the military order. The army pays attention to the distinction between top and bottom. They can have their own opinions, but when the general makes a decision, they must strictly obey it.
"Let's go!" Lao Cheng took the lead and headed south.
(end of this chapter)