At around a quarter to three in the morning, it was already late at night.
The moon had already risen to the western sky, and while everyone was still asleep, it was still silently watching everything that was happening, including the massive battle taking place outside Yonghe Pass!
The three armies from Longmen Pass had been madly pursuing the Turkic army, but none of them had been able to catch up. This was because Ashina Sheercum had not only led his most elite cavalry in this invasion of the Great Tang, but each of them had been equipped with two warhorses. Thus, even though they were deserters, they had been able to escape faster than anyone else!
In contrast, the soldiers brought by Qin Qiong, Fang Gongteng, and Leng Yuyao had either just finished a long journey or had just participated in a bitter battle to defend the city. At this time, their men and horses were exhausted, so it wasn't surprising that they couldn't catch up to the Turkic army!
But even so, the Turks could not so easily escape from the Great Tang, because there were still soldiers from four provinces waiting for them!
After passing through Madou Pass and Yonghe Pass, the fleeing Turkic army finally encountered the soldiers of Yunzhou, Yuzhou, Daizhou, and Shuo Province, who were preparing to reinforce Longmen Pass. Ashina Sheercum and Wu Jie only wanted to bring their army back to the steppe, so when the two armies met, they didn't even exchange a single harsh word before immediately fighting!
Ashina Sheercum's goal was very simple. He wanted to gather his most elite forces and use the shortest amount of time to tear open a hole in the defensive line of the four northern provinces of the Great Tang. He and Wu Jie would then be able to escape through this hole and return to the steppe!
Even if he had to sacrifice half of his army, Ashina Sheercum felt that it would be worth it. If he ran out of soldiers, he could go back and replenish them. The Turks had plenty of soldiers, and losing ten to twenty thousand soldiers would not hurt them much. But if he and Wu Jie were left behind in the Great Tang, the losses would be far too great for the Turks. This was especially true for Wu Jie. A Grandmaster expert was a treasure to any country, and the Turks with Wu Jie were completely different from the Turks without him. This could be seen from the fact that Wu Jie had single-handedly stolen a large number of books from the Academy!
Although he had failed in the end, it was an indisputable fact that Wu Jie had single-handedly pinned down thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Great Tang soldiers!
On the plains outside Yonghe Pass, an extremely gruesome battle quickly took place. Under Ashina Sheerchu's orders, the Turkic soldiers fearlessly launched their most ferocious attacks on the soldiers of the four provinces. The Turks of the steppe were naturally tougher than the people of the Central Plains, and all of them knew that they were being pursued. If they couldn't break out of the encirclement as quickly as possible, all of them would die here!
In this desperate situation, the Turkic soldiers did not despair. On the contrary, their fighting spirit was stimulated!
"Kill! If you kill one Tang soldier, you will be rewarded with fifty cows and sheep. If you kill ten soldiers, you will be promoted by one rank! Kill a hundred people and you'll be rewarded with a tribe! "
Seeing that there was hope for breaking out, Ashina Sheerchu hurriedly roared.
His method of boosting morale was extremely effective. The Turkic soldiers were all excited by these words, especially the last reward that Ashina Sheerchu had promised. It was simply too tempting. The majority of them were ordinary people of the steppe. The people of the Central Plains liked to study and obtain scholarly honors, while the Turkic people liked to become more courageous and fierce, becoming the warriors of their tribes. If they could become the leader of their tribes, that would naturally be even better!
Thus, Ashina Sheerchu's words thoroughly stimulated the ferocity in the bones of the Turkic soldiers.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! "
Many of the Turkic soldiers, despite being stabbed several times, still raised their scimitars and shouted, wanting to fight to the death with the Tang army. In the face of such a fierce and fearless army, the Tang army from the four northern provinces was unable to hold on for a moment, and their formation began to fall apart!
Even worse was that the Turkic army had a Grandmaster expert leading the charge. That invincible stance of slaying gods and buddhas was extremely effective in boosting morale. For a moment, the Turkic army was filled with war cries, and it seemed like they were on the verge of breaking through the encirclement!
Although Wu Jie only had thirty to forty percent of his strength left, he was still not someone that the ordinary soldiers of the Tang army could contend against. As time passed, the number of Tang soldiers around Wu Jie dwindled, because very few people were willing to face him!
"Commandant, the Daizhou army in the east is requesting reinforcements. They won't be able to hold on for much longer!"
"What? They have three thousand more men than us, how could they not be able to hold on? Tell them that they have to hold on even if they can't! We don't have enough men on our side! "
"Yes! Commandant! "
"… What? Yunzhou's Commandant Meng isn't willing to send reinforcements? "
"Commandant Huang, Commandant Meng said that they're under great pressure and can't send any men!"
"Bullshit! What kind of pressure could they possibly be under? The Turkic State Teacher is attacking our side! In my view, that Meng guy is worried that if the Turks escape, the responsibility will fall on his shoulders! "
Besides the fact that the Tang army's individual soldiers and commanders were inferior to the Turks, there was another fatal problem. The soldiers of the four provinces all had their own commanders, and most of them were fighting for themselves. No one had enough prestige to lead the soldiers of the four provinces! Thus, in terms of coordination, they were far inferior to the Turks!
Moreover, the morale of the Turkic army was high, and the soldiers were like gods of war, all of them fearless in the face of death. For the soldiers of the four provinces to defend against Ashina She 'er's fierce assault was much more difficult!
Under Wu Jie's lead, the Daizhou army that had been waiting outside Yong He Mountain Pass would soon be slaughtered by Wu Jie's army!
Rumble! Bangbangbang!
At this moment, several more armies appeared on the southern road. There were at least thirty to forty thousand of them, and they were rapidly approaching the battlefield!
"Zhijie, Jingde, each of you will lead an army to flank them from the left and right to prevent the Turkic army from escaping from the flanks. This old man will lead the rest of the army to attack from the front. Tonight, we will ensure that these invading Turks remain in the Great Tang!"
These soldiers had come from Longmen Pass. At this moment, Qin Qiong unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the Turkic army.
Along the way, Qin Qiong had relied on his powerful prestige in the Tang army to quickly integrate the Qizhou soldiers brought by Wang Renbiao and the Bing Province soldiers led by Fang Gongteng. Thus, at this moment, he was the one giving orders to everyone!
"Okay! Second Brother Qin, be at ease. With this Old Cheng here, not a single Turkic soldier can escape from the east! It would be best if we could capture Wu Jie and avenge Little Xuan! "
Cheng Yaojin loved war the most, and when he learned that Li Zexuan had been heavily injured by Wu Jie, Old Cheng became even more furious. He truly wished that he could fight Wu Jie so that he could avenge Li Zexuan!
Yuchi Jingde also clasped his fists and said, "Okay! With this old man here, not a single Turkic soldier can escape from the west! "
The two of them received their orders and then led a group to flank the Turkic army. Meanwhile, Qin Qiong roared, "All soldiers, hear my order! The time to render meritorious service has come! Follow this general and kill the Turkic wolf cavalry!"
"Kill!"
Qin Qiong could be considered a rather legendary figure in the Great Tang army. Moreover, he was one of the first to follow Li Er. His prestige in the army and among the people was extremely high. Under his leadership, the soldiers, no matter where they came from, were willing to listen to Qin Qiong's orders. Thus, after Qin Qiong gave the order, the more than ten thousand soldiers behind him quickly charged toward the Turkic army!
Leng Yuyao was at the back of the army and didn't charge forward. This time, she was under Wang Renbiao's orders to assist Fang Gongteng in commanding the Qizhou troops. However, since Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and Yuchi Jingde, these founding veterans, had brought people over, then there was naturally nothing for her to do now!
This was because Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and Yuchi Jingde, any one of them had the strength and prestige to control the thirty thousand soldiers of Qizhou. Moreover, the development of the situation was more or less as she had expected. The thirty thousand soldiers from Qizhou were orderly under Qin Qiong's command, as if they were his arms!
This was the great positive effect that a commanding general with great prestige could bring to an army!
"Not good! The Tang army at Longmen Pass has caught up! And it seems that there is an additional army! No, it seems that Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin are here! "
Hearing the movement here, Ashina She 'er's expression changed. He quickly killed two Tang soldiers and rushed to Wu Jie's side. He shouted, "Imperial Teacher, we must rush out as soon as possible. Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin seem to have brought people over!"
Wu Jie's mace couldn't help but pause. After a moment, he said in a hoarse voice, "Immediately gather all the troops and attack this place. Tear open an opening as soon as possible. Take as many as you can!"
"Yes! Imperial Teacher! "
Ashina She 'er replied and then shouted, "All soldiers listen to my order. Attack this place and follow this general to open a bloody path!"
… … …
"Provincial Governor Wang, a young man wants to pass. Our brothers won't let him, so he is making a ruckus below!"
Longmen Pass, on top of the city gate tower.
Wang Renbiao and Meng Wenhao were anxiously waiting for the results of the treatment inside. At this time, another soldier ran over and bowed with his fists cupped.
"A young man wants to pass? Why is there still someone trying to pass so late at night? "
Hearing this, Wang Renbiao frowned deeply. Then he thought for a moment and said, "This official will go down and take a look!"
It was already the middle of the night. If there was someone who wanted to pass at this time, it must be unusual. Wang Renbiao expected that Li Zexuan would not have a result for a while, so he decided to go down and take a look!
"Provincial Governor Wang, this student will also go with you!"
Meng Wenhao was also a little curious, so he took the initiative to "volunteer".
Wang Renbiao nodded and said, "Good! Then let's go together! "
After that, the two of them looked back at the candlelight on the turret, then turned and walked down the stairs.
"I … I really have something urgent to do. Quickly call your general out and let me pass!"
Just as they walked down the tower, the two of them heard a clear voice anxiously urging them.
"Little Yu 'er ~?"
Meng Wenhao felt that this voice was a little familiar. He looked at the city gate and saw a handsome young man in a scholar's robe arguing with the gatekeeper. The more he looked at this figure, the more familiar it was. After being stunned for a moment, he exclaimed in disbelief.
"…"
Hearing Meng Wenhao's shout, the young man in a scholar's robe at the city gate couldn't help but be stunned. Then he (she) turned around and looked at the west side of the city wall. Under the light of the torch, he (she) instantly saw Meng Wenhao and Wang Renbiao. His delicate face, which was dirty because he didn't take care of it, instantly revealed an extremely surprised expression.
"Wenhao? Why are you here? "
… …
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