In the mountains, there was a small stream winding down from the cloud-shrouded summit.
In the dense forest, there were many weeds and shrubs growing on both sides of the stream. The wild branches of the shrubs weighed heavily on the surface of the water, swaying uncontrollably.
A little girl tied a tattered red dress around her waist and carried a basket in her hand as she followed an older boy upstream.
In some places, the water was very shallow, and in some places, there was a small waterfall. The water would flow faster, and the bottom of the waterfall would also be deeper. The little girl's dress clearly did not fit her. It was probably taken back by the Khitan soldiers when they attacked the city. It was a young girl's dress, and it was a little loose on her body. After being splashed by the water, her movements became even more clumsy, but she still carefully protected the small basket in her hand.
This scene was leisurely and beautiful, like a paradise that stood aloof from worldly affairs. Yang Fan and Fei Mo sat on a large rock by the river, smiling at them.
The bandage on Yang Fan's leg had already been removed, and he was lifting up his robe to let the sun shine on his thigh. The arrow wound had basically healed, and there was a tender red scar on it. Only the center of the wound still had a black scab that had not fallen off.
"Your wound is almost healed, right?"
Fei Mo's gaze fell on Yang Fan's wound, and she suddenly smiled inexplicably. "You don't need to always observe how many open and hidden sentries we have on the periphery, and you don't need to beat around the bush to find out the way from those children. When you recover, I'll send you off!"
Yang Fan suddenly turned his head and looked at her in shock.
Fei Mo said with a smile, "Do you think I'm a fool and can't see that you want to escape?"
Yang Fan sighed and said, "Aren't you afraid that your Khagan will cause trouble for you if you let me go?"
Fei Mo rubbed the back of her neck and smiled. "What's the use of keeping you alive? You've saved my life twice, and I've spared your life. This is called distinguishing kindness and hatred. Khan won't chop off my head for this, will he? "
Yang Fan was silent for a moment before he smiled bitterly. "That's because I'm a vile person in vain. If I had known that you would let me go, I wouldn't have needed to make so many preparations."
Fei Mo chuckled. Yang Fan also laughed. After laughing for a while, the wrinkles on his face gradually disappeared. He said in a low voice, "There is something that I shouldn't say, but I still have to advise you. Whether it's for yourself or for your clansmen, think of a way out as soon as possible!"
Fei Mo said disapprovingly, "Retreat? Do you think we'll lose? "
Yang Fan said seriously, "It's not that I think you will lose, but you will definitely lose!"
Just as Fei Mo was about to open her mouth, Yang Fan raised his hand to stop her. "When you fight a war, you need money, food, and reinforcements. That's right, you've won a few battles for now, but these few victories can't guarantee that you'll win forever. Until now, you don't even have your own base. When the fire is at its strongest, it's also when the firewood is about to run out! "
Fei Mo wanted to say something but hesitated. Finally, he angrily picked up a piece of wood. It was a piece of rotten wood that had washed up on the cliff during the flash flood. Fei Mo forcefully snapped the piece of wood into two and loudly said, "We won't lose! We won't lose! "
Fei Mo patted his butt and turned to leave. Yang Fan looked at his back and sighed softly. When he turned back, his body suddenly tensed up. The half of the tree that had been snapped by Fei Mo was bent like a hook. Yang Fan grabbed it in his hand and stared at the swaying flowers and grass in front of the big rock. He solemnly shouted, "Who's there?"
Behind the flowers and grass, there was a flash, like a snake coiled on the tree trunk pretending to be a branch, or a crocodile floating in the water pretending to be rotten wood. When it didn't move, it was impossible to detect it. A beautiful woman wearing a coat of flowers and grass stood up from the wild flowers and grass …
… …
After a while, Yang Fan left the big rock and hurriedly walked toward the Khitan people's temporary village.
There were several layers of defense around the village, so there was no one in the village to keep an eye on Yang Fan. Because of Fei Mo's friendliness toward him, the Khitan people in the village treated him as one of their own. In this village, he was completely free.
"Fei Mo!"
From afar, Yang Fan saw many people walking out of a huge hut. With a quick glance, he saw that they were all leaders of various sizes. Fei Mo was also among them, talking and laughing with the others. Hearing Yang Fan's shout, Fei Mo said a few words to the others and then walked over with a smile.
Fei Mo walked in front of Yang Fan, sizing him up from head to toe. Suddenly, she burst into laughter, looking extremely pleased with herself.
Yang Fan originally wanted to say something to him, but seeing his strange expression, he couldn't help but be stunned and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Fei Mo said with a smile, "I don't need to send someone to escort you out of the mountains. In two days, we'll leave together. Once we're out of the mountains, I'll let you go!"
Yang Fan was stunned. "You're going out of the mountains? Why are you going out of the mountains? To attack cities and plunder land again? "
Fei Mo said proudly, "Wrong! It's not just me who's going out of the mountains. Our entire tribe is going out of the mountains to build the kind of foundation you mentioned! "
Yang Fan frowned and faintly had an ominous feeling. "What happened? Could it be … could it be that the imperial court has suffered another defeat?"
Fei Mo laughed loudly and put his hands on his hips. "That's right! Our Grand Marshal has won another great battle. The 180,000 soldiers that the imperial court dispatched were utterly defeated by our Grand Marshal. Even your current Prime Minister and Minister of War, Wang Xiaojie, lost his life in this battle! "
Yang Fan's expression changed abruptly and he cried out involuntarily, "How is this possible? How can this be! "
"What's impossible about this?" Fei Mo saw Yang Fan's shock and became even more proud. She told Yang Fan the news that Sun Wanrong had just sent back.
It turned out that Wang Xiaojie had led the 180,000 Zhou soldiers into Hebei. When Sun Wanrong received the news, he knew that the Zhou army had the advantage in numbers and that it would be difficult to use their arrogance like in the first battle to lure them into a trap. Therefore, he immediately pulled back his forces and fought as he retreated, luring the Zhou army to pursue them northward.
When they retreated to the vicinity of Yellow Deer Valley, they could only retreat back into the mountains and use the layers of mountains as a barrier. However, Sun Wanrong was not willing to retreat just like that. It was impossible to hide the news of Li Jinzhong's death after returning to the mountains this time. Moreover, his current prestige was not enough to obtain the support of all his clansmen. Therefore, he was determined to fight another battle.
Therefore, he once again led the army to attack Lulong and deliberately delayed the battle, allowing the Zhou army's request for reinforcements to smoothly reach Wang Xiaojie's main camp. At the same time, he sent a letter to King Xi, asking King Xi to feign an attack on the cities of the Zhou Dynasty to attract Wu Youyi's forces so that he would not dare to send troops to cooperate with Wang Xiaojie in the battle.
After Wang Xiaojie received the urgent letter from Lulong, he immediately traveled day and night to Lulong to help. At this time, he encountered the same problem as Cao Renshi, whether to pass through Yellow Deer Valley or not.
Cao Renshi was ambushed and defeated here, and his 160,000 troops were completely annihilated. How could Wang Xiaojie be willing to repeat his mistakes? Moreover, he had sent out scouts in advance and found out that there were indeed Khitan activities in this area.
However, if he didn't go through Yellow Deer Valley, he could only go around the mountains. In this way, it would take him at least ten days to reach Lulong. After asking the local guide, Wang Xiaojie learned that this Yellow Deer Valley was also called the West Gorge Stone Valley. At the other end of the mountains, there was another valley called the East Gorge Stone Valley.
The path of the East Gorge Stone Valley was shorter than the West Gorge Stone Valley. Moreover, the mountain terrain was more dangerous because one side was a cliff and the other side was a cliff that pierced the clouds. Therefore, although it was not easy to pass through, it was also not easy for others to ambush.
That was because it was impossible to climb up the mountain. Even if someone could climb up, the precipitous mountain walls were bare. It was impossible to carry rolling logs and stones up, and only a few people could stand on top of it. This completely ruled out the possibility of the Khitans laying an ambush on the mountain.
In view of this, Wang Xiaojie decided to transport his troops through the East Gorge Stone Valley. There were several mountain roads in this valley that were very narrow, even grain carts would not be able to pass through. However, Wang Xiaojie's purpose was to solve the siege of Lulong. At worst, he could abandon the grain carts. As long as the army passed through the valley and solved the siege of Lulong, they would naturally be able to replenish their rations.
Therefore, Wang Xiaojie commanded the army to pretend to go to the Yellow Deer Valley. Halfway through, he suddenly made a turn and rushed to the East Gorge Stone Valley. Unexpectedly, the East Gorge Stone Valley was already guarded by Khitan soldiers. As soon as the two sides fought, Wang Xiaojie knew that they had encountered the main force of the Khitan people. It turned out that before Wang Xiaojie used the "diversion" strategy, Sun Wanrong had also "repaired the road openly".
He knew that the Yellow Deer Valley had become a sore point for the Zhou army. As long as he set up a diversion, it was enough to scare the Zhou army. If he did not go through the Yellow Deer Valley, the most likely choice for the Zhou army was the East Gorge Stone Valley. He had already withdrawn his main force from Lulong and stationed his troops here.
This time, he could not use the terrain to ambush in the valley, nor could he let the Zhou army use such a simple trick to lure the enemy. Therefore, he gathered his main force and crossed the mountain pass of the East Gorge Stone Valley to fight the Zhou army!
As soon as the two sides fought, Wang Xiaojie knew that this was the main force of the enemy and thus understood the enemy's strategy. Therefore, he personally led the elite troops as the vanguard, hoping to wipe out the enemy's main force here to prevent them from escaping. At that time, the battle would inevitably be protracted, which was what the Empress was most worried about.
In the battle, Sun Wanrong ordered the Khitan soldiers to feign defeat and lure the enemy deeper. Wang Xiaojie was eager to win and did not notice it. He ordered his troops to follow up and bite them tightly, not allowing them to leave the battle. The two sides fought and advanced until they reached the other end of the East Gorge Stone Valley.
At that moment, the 180,000 troops of the Zhou army formed a long dragon. The dragon's head had already reached the other end of the valley, and the dragon's body stretched for more than five kilometers. Half of the dragon was outside the other end of the valley.
Although the Zhou army had the advantage in terms of military strength, because of the narrow valley path, the number of people who could fight the enemy was limited. Seeing that the Zhou army was about to attack the valley entrance, Sun Wanrong suddenly ordered a counterattack and charged back without any regard for their lives.
Wang Xiaojie was not to be outdone. He led his army forward. The terrain of the valley was not suitable for arranging troops. In terms of disadvantageous conditions, it was disadvantageous to both sides, so Wang Xiaojie was not afraid. However, he did not know that while he was fighting, his backyard was on fire.
It turned out that Sun Wanrong had considered that although the Zhou army had 180,000 troops, once they entered the valley, they would not be able to use their many troops. The advantage of the Zhou army would not be able to be displayed, so he did not need to arrange 60,000 troops here.
Therefore, he only arranged 40,000 troops at the entrance of the valley. The other 20,000 troops were lying in ambush in the Yellow Deer Valley. If the Zhou army really dared to pass through the Yellow Deer Valley, these 20,000 troops could rely on the favorable terrain to hold their ground. The 40,000 troops he had placed in the East Gorge Stone Valley could also arrive in time to help and cut the Zhou army in half.
It was the same the other way around. If the Zhou army chose the East Gorge as a breakthrough point, then the 20,000 Khitan troops lying in ambush in the Yellow Deer Valley could also arrive in time to help when the battle was in full swing.
In terms of this arrangement, Sun Wanrong's move was indeed more outstanding than Wang Xiaojie, the famous general of Wuzhou. Deputy Marshal Su Honghui was commanding the army to enter the valley when the 20,000 Khitan cavalry suddenly charged out from the flank. As they charged, they shouted, "The Tangs have fallen into the trap, annihilate the Tang army!"
Su Honghui turned pale with fright. He thought that he had really fallen into the Khitan ambush, especially when the 20,000 Khitan cavalry were charging here. At a glance, they covered the sky and covered the earth. He did not know how many troops there were. Su Honghui was afraid that he would follow in Cao Renshi's footsteps. He actually led half of the Zhou army that had not entered the valley and fled.
The Khitan reinforcements scared Su Honghui away and immediately attacked the back of the Zhou army. At the same time, they continued to make noise, shouting that the Tangs had fallen into an ambush. The Tang army in the valley did not know what was going on. They only knew that the Khitan were attacking from both the front and the back. Immediately, the morale of the army was thrown into chaos. Poor Wang Xiaojie, a famous general, in the chaos, was squeezed by his own troops and fell off the cliff with his horse.
With Wang Xiaojie's death, the Zhou army had even less desire to continue fighting. They were in such a mess that they could not form a battle force. The Khitan attacked from both sides and slaughtered them. Sun Wanrong then led the army to chase after Su Honghui. Su Honghui was so frightened that he ran for his life. He was utterly defeated and had no way to launch a counterattack. In this battle, the Tang army's third army to subdue the rebels finally failed.
The Khitan's morale was high. Hearing the news, King Xi's confidence also increased. He had only been feigning an attack, but now it became a real attack on the Zhou cities. When Wu Youyi heard that Wang Xiaojie's 180,000 strong army had been halved in one battle and the remaining half had fled, he was so shocked that he did not dare to leave the city. He could only rely on the city to defend against the Xi's attack.
In the entire Hebei region, there was no longer a Zhou army that could threaten them. Under these circumstances, Sun Wanrong finally decided to start building his own base. The news of the Supreme Khan Li Jinzhong's death could also be announced at this time. The joy of victory had indeed diluted the impact of Li Jinzhong's death. His authority was also established because of this battle.
When Yang Fan heard this, his heart was filled with sorrow. "When did my Tang dynasty become so weak? There's no need to talk about Taizong Li Shimin, but Gaozong Li Zhi's martial arts are also outstanding!
This man, known for being afraid of his wife, has never shown weakness in the face of foreign enemies. He was the one who brought the Cong Mountains into the territory of the Tang dynasty. He was the one who extended the borders of the Tang dynasty to the waters of Wuhu. He was the one who destroyed Tiele, the Western Turks, Baekje, Goguryeo, defeated the Wo Kingdom at the Battle of Baimen River, pacified Fujian and Guangdong, Jiaozhi …
It's only been a few years. How could the military strength of the dynasty have weakened to this extent? At the hands of a puny Khitan, we've lost again and again, and lost so miserably? "
In contrast to Yang Fan's desolation, Fei Mo was in high spirits. "That's right, why did you call me?"
Only now did Yang Fan remember that he still had an important matter to attend to. For the moment, he had no time to be sentimental about the dynasty. He hurriedly said, "I feel that my body is a little hot. I'm afraid it's not right. Get me some medicine!" Fei Mo could be considered half a native doctor and knew some medical skills. The medicinal herbs that they had gathered were all kept by her.
Fei Mo curiously asked, "Are you feeling a little hot?" She raised her hand to touch his forehead.
Yang Fan blocked her hand and impatiently said, "You think I can't feel it? Hurry up and get the medicine. Don't tell me you can't bear to part with me? "
Fei Mo chuckled and said, "I know you're in a bad mood. I won't argue with you!" Then she hummed an unknown song and went to get the medicine for him …
… …
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