Tin Aino hesitated for a moment before revealing a relaxed smile, saying: "Since I have already promised you, are you afraid that I will go back on my word?"
Yang Fan replied: "Of course not. I am only worried that if you conceal anything from Young Master Jiang, he will not harm you, right?"
Tin Aino's heart warmed. Shaking his head, he said: "You can rest assured. Although Young Master has always been suspicious, he has always trusted me greatly. In this trip to the Western Regions to pursue Shen Mu, I was the only one sent. In front of Young Master, I will not reveal anything. "
Yang Fan sighed in relief and said: "That is good. Ah Nu, this is truly hard on you. "
Hearing this, Tin Aino glared at him reproachfully. Just as she was about to speak, there was a light knock on the door. Someone outside called out: "Miss, is Imperial Guard Yang here?"
Yang Fan gestured to Tin Aino and stood up to open the door. A border soldier dressed in martial attire was standing outside the door, holding a spear in his hand. Beside him was the courier from the relay station. Upon seeing Yang Fan, the soldier said: "Imperial Guard Yang, the Palace Commander invites you for a moment!"
Yang Fan already knew that once this Palace Commander was free, he would definitely want to see him. After all, he was the one who brought the news of the Turks' attack and there were some details that he needed to inquire about. Yang Fan turned to Tin Aino and said: "Ah Nu, I will be back soon!"
Tin Aino gently nodded her head and watched Yang Fan depart. She immediately stood up and sweetly said to the courier who was also about to turn and leave, "Uncle, is there any place where I can boil some hot water?"
Which girl did not want to dress up prettily in front of her sweetheart? However, the first time Tian Ai Nu met Yang Fan, she was dressed in black and was lying in a ditch covered in blood. This time, she was dressed as a man and crossed the desert with him in the snow and wind. She wore a thick leather robe and was covered in yellow sand and dust. She wanted to take advantage of this rare opportunity to dress herself up nicely and cleanly.
Yang Fan followed the soldier out of the relay station but did not go to the Palace Commander's residence. Instead, he went directly to Qianmen Street. Upon reaching Qianmen Street and seeing the tall city gates, Yang Fan guessed that Palace Commander Ye must be arranging the defenses.
Yang Fan followed the soldier to the side of the city gate. Following the military path up the city gate tower, he saw many soldiers busily moving boxes of arrows, barrels of kerosene, big crossbows, wolf teeth up the city wall, or installing and wiping them.
Yang Fan saw Ye Yunbao at the battlement in front of the gate tower. Ye Yunbao seemed to be giving some orders and there were a few generals beside him. After Ye Yunbao finished giving his orders, the generals left one after another. Ye Yunbao turned his head and saw Yang Fan, so he walked over. Yang Fan hurriedly stood still and cupped his fists: "Palace Commander!"
Ye Yunbao waved his hand and said: "No need to stand on ceremony. I have already asked Flying Fox Pass Garrison General and the information you sent is very important. Although Xu Yisheng was too cautious and did not believe it, your contribution cannot be buried. At the same time, you thought of a way to impersonate Xu Yisheng and replace him in commanding the garrison at Flying Fox Pass to return safely. This is a great contribution. I have already reported this matter to Liangzhou and I believe it will be reported to Luoyang soon! "
Yang Fan bowed and said: "Many thanks to Palace Commander!"
Ye Yunbao smiled and said: "I already know that one hundred cavalry of the Featherwood Guard have gone to the Western Regions on official business. Just now, I specially ordered people to investigate the official letters related to you. It seems that you have been missing for a long time. Your captain, Huang Xuchang, even asked the Shanzhou government to send letters to various places to investigate your whereabouts. "
Yang Fan said: "Yes, I was originally going to the Hexi region to gather information, but I accidentally ran into the Turks and heard that they intend to attack White Pavilion, so I came here."
Ye Yunbao said: "Mm, tomorrow I will send someone to escort you to the Liangzhou government and take the road to Luojing from there. What do you think?"
Yang Fan said: "Thank you for your trouble, General Ye. But where are my companions now?"
Ye Yunbao said: "When the official letters came, they were still at the Huangshui. I do not know where they are now."
Yang Fan said: "Since that's the case, I will go to Liangzhou first. Once I have news of them, I will make my move."
Yang Fan had once said to Huang Xuchang and the others, "If there is merit, I will not take it for myself. If I return to Luoyang now and leave Huang Xuchang and the others at the Huangshui, what would that mean? Even if I wanted to share the merit with them, it would be impossible, so I have this plan."
Ye Yunbao indifferently said: "You can make your own arrangements for your journey. This general will send someone to escort you safely to Liangzhou!"
After Yang Fan expressed his thanks, Ye Yunbao said: "Although Xu Langjiang did not believe the news of the Turks' attack and wasted an opportunity to make early preparations, the information you obtained isn't completely useless. I want to know how many soldiers the Turks have sent this time, who their commander is, which tribes are participating, and what is the relationship between them? Do you understand these things? "
Yang Fan replied, "This lowly one knows a thing or two. I will report it all to General!"
Yang Fan told Ye Yunbao what he had learned about the two armies, the three commanders, and the strength of the major tribes involved. He especially described the conflict between the Ashina Tribe and the Ashina Tribe in great detail. Ye Yunbao listened attentively, unwilling to miss a single detail.
At this time, Mu En and Mu Si's forces had already set up camp at Flying Fox Pass, their yurts spread out for ten li.
Mu En and Mu Si had around fifty thousand men, and besides these people, they also had tens of thousands of cattle and sheep, which were their rations. At the same time, they had circled around the edge of the desert, taking a detour from the Mikochuan River. This way, they could resupply themselves with fodder from the tribes garrisoned there. Thus, they did not move very quickly.
They could not march in a straight line through the desert to Flying Fox Pass. The cattle, sheep, and horses could not withstand the extreme cold of the desert at night. Moreover, they could not bring the fodder and drinking water needed by the tens of thousands of livestock. If they had come from the desert, all the cattle, sheep, and horses would have died in ten days.
The camp, fodder, and firewood at Flying Fox Pass had all been burned down by the Tang army. However, Mu En and Mu Si still chose this place as their encampment because the terrain was suitable for setting up camp. Although this place was a little far from the Mingwei garrison, they could not immediately surround it because they still lacked siege weapons.
Flying Fox Pass was on two hillsides, and not far from it was a forest. They could use the local materials to build a large number of scaling ladders, nest carts, catapults, trench bridges, battering rams, and other siege weapons. At the same time, they could wait for the other army led by Zhu Tu to arrive.
Zhu Tu's journey to the Gobi Desert was further than theirs. Moreover, he needed to send light cavalries to feign an attack on Juyanhai, so he would arrive later than them. By the time Zhu Tu arrived, the Munn Kingdom would have produced a large number of siege weapons. Mu En and Zhu Tu's plan was rather efficient.
Since Yang Fan wanted to tell Ye Yunbao the news, he had to mention what he had done in Xue Yantuo City. The information he mentioned was very detailed and important because he had once impersonated Mu Si and heard Mu En's instructions. These secrets were not easily understood by outsiders.
Ye Yunbao was a very steady and vigilant general. Not only did he have to analyze the value of the information Yang Fan mentioned, but he also had to analyze the authenticity of Yang Fan's information.
It was not that he doubted Yang Fan's identity. If Yang Fan was a fake, he would not need to protect so many Flying Fox Pass soldiers and strengthen the Mingwei garrison's defense. He only needed to lead the few remaining soldiers and 'escape' back. Besides, if the Turks wanted to work together, sending one or two people in would be useless.
Ye Yunbao was worried about whether the information Yang Fan had gathered was reliable. If that was the case, Yang Fan would have no choice but to tell him that he had impersonated Mu Si.
Ye Yunbao was already amazed when he heard that Yang Fan looked the same as Ashina Mu Si, the son of Silent Cui. When he heard the thrilling story, he was even more amazed. This time, he believed Yang Fan's information without a doubt.
Ye Yunbao praised, "Amazing! Truly amazing! You are young, brave, and intelligent. Today, when you led the Flying Fox Pass soldiers to retreat, you also displayed brilliant military tactics. Such a talented young man will have a limitless future! "
Yang Fan felt guilty and repeatedly said that he did not dare.
Ye Yunbao saw that he was humble and polite and had a good impression of him. He could not help but praise him, saying, "This information is very important. The flames of war have been lit. I believe that Liangzhou will soon send reinforcements. When the time comes, I will have a good discussion with the commander of the reinforcements to see how we can make use of the information you have provided. "
Yang Fan looked at the tense situation on the walls and worriedly asked, "The Turkic army of one hundred thousand is surging over. Can this garrison of Ming Wei be defended?"
Ye Yunbao calmly said, "In this world, there has never been an impregnable fortress that cannot be breached. Whether the garrison of Ming Wei can be defended or not depends on the strength of both sides, the strength of the commander, the use of tactics by the commander, whether reinforcements can arrive in time, and … luck! "
He held onto the battlement and looked out at the vast snowy plains outside the city. There were many messy horse tracks and hoofprints on the snowy plains. Because the sun was setting in the west and twilight was deep, the originally bright and beautiful snow had become dim. The places that had been trampled on seemed to have withered into mud.
Ye Yunbao pointed at the bottom of the city and said to Yang Fan, "Ever since this garrison was built during the reign of Emperor Taizong, it has been attacked five times and successfully defended seven times! Whether it can be defended this time, heh! We'll know in a few days … "
Ye Yunbao's manner of speaking had always been very calm, and his expression and demeanor were both dignified and gentle. Only these two cold chuckles at this moment had some of the coldness and sternness of a great general of the border.
Yang Fan frowned. "Have they never counterattacked?"
Ye Yunbao took a deep breath and then exhaled a cloud of white mist. Shaking his head, he said, "The Turks are vicious, but they are not reckless. There is no lack of intelligent and scheming people among their leaders. Moreover, their soldiers are all cavalry. They come like arrows and leave like a broken bowstring. They can fight and leave as they please. Chase? That's too difficult! "
Yang Fan frowned and looked out at the vast plains. "Are we really … going to have to passively take a beating?"
… …
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