The other vultures, seeing that the situation was bad, quickly turned and fled in panic.
When Zhang Que and the others saw this, they let out another cry and quickly summoned back their rock eagles. 'Don't chase a cornered enemy' was a saying that applied not only to battles between two armies, but also to battles between eagles.
"Pass on my order! Prepare for battle!"
As Wang Chong gazed at the fleeing vultures, his smile slowly faded and his expression turned solemn. The ten-some vultures were only the first wave of scouting. All they needed to do was drive them away.
But that was not the most important thing. If the Ouzan's scouting vultures were here, that meant that their army wasn't far away.
Screech!
Before the first wave subsided, another wave rose. Not long after the vultures fled, another wave of sharp cries sounded, but this time, it was completely different from the previous cries. To the right of Wang Chong's army, from a completely different and unexpected direction, several The Eagle spread their wings and flew over.
These The Eagle didn't fly close, stopping around seven or eight hundred zhang away. They circled in the air, apparently scouting for something.
"Interesting!"
A hint of surprise flashed through Wang Chong's eyes as he looked up at the The Eagle circling in the air, but he quickly smiled.
"Marquis, do we need to exterminate those eagles?"
A young and immature voice came from the side. Zhang Que looked up at the The Eagle circling in the air, his eyes bursting with fighting and killing intent. Marquis's grand plan could not be allowed to fail, nor could he allow anyone to recklessly scout the area.
No matter who those people were, as long as they were flying in the sky, as long as Master Hou gave the order, he would definitely annihilate them.
The mistake of the White Braves attacking the city once was enough. Zhang Que would not allow himself to make a second mistake.
"There's no need."
Wang Chong indifferently waved his hand, rejecting Zhang Que's proposal.
"There are some eagles you can exterminate, but there are others you can't. Don't worry about The Eagle, let them be. It won't affect us. "
Zhang Que was still a youth, and it was normal for him to want to erase all eyes and ears in the sky. However, Wang Chong immediately recognized the golden hoop on the Eagle's right claw. It was the symbol of the Qixi Protectorate. Obviously, the fortifications he built here not only attracted the attention of the Ouzan, but also the Qixi Protectorate nearby.
Since they both belonged to the military system, Wang Chong naturally couldn't get rid of The Eagle who was on his side.
"Li Siye, you once served in Beiting. Do you know of any other famous generals in the Qixi Protectorate besides Pulan He?"
Wang Chong asked. Just as he finished speaking, a deep and powerful voice came from behind him while he was deep in thought.
"This … I think there's Xiluo Na, Heba Ye, and Qunandun. Xiluo Na is stationed in the steppe between Qixi and the Western Turkic Khaganate, defending against the Western Turkic Khaganate's soldiers. He's on the same level as Pulan He, perhaps even a little higher. In addition, Qunandun is with him in defense. If everything goes as expected, once Pulan He is dead, the one to replace him in the plateau and govern the western Qixi Protectorate should be Heba Ye. "
Li Siye had served in Beiting, and although he hadn't reached the rank of general, he had reached the rank of colonel, and one of the highest, on the verge of being promoted to commandant. As a pure soldier, Li Siye still had some understanding of some things in the military.
Moreover, Beiting and Qixi were very close, often needing to cooperate and communicate with each other. As a result, he also had some understanding of the Qixi Protectorate's military. Although he couldn't say that he knew it like the back of his hand, he had a basic understanding of the famous generals.
"Heba Ye …"
Wang Chong's mind was in turmoil, a look of recollection on his face.
He had some understanding of this name. Compared to Pulan He, Heba Ye had been more proactive, and when he had been in power, he had launched more attacks against Ouzan than Pulan He had. Alas, his flaw in this aspect was also rather obvious.
Heba Ye would become abnormally conservative when his aggressive actions didn't achieve the results he wanted, or in more serious cases, he would fail. He would be even more conservative than any other naturally conservative general. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a "turtle hiding in its shell".
In the early days, the Qixi Protectorate, which was close to Ouzan, had been able to take the initiative to attack, but when Heba Ye took control, it began to pull back on all fronts, entering a situation where it could only passively take a beating.
Wang Chong remembered that he had once flipped through Heba Ye's records, and when he was being tested by several seniors of the military, they had commented on him.
Heba Ye, on the other hand, was an aggressive person. Even when he was at his most conservative, he was still actively looking for opportunities to attack. However, his aggressiveness was built on the fact that he had absolute confidence in everything he did and that he would definitely win. In other words, he was a "conservative aggressor."
How could he possibly find an opportunity that would guarantee victory? Thus, later on, Heba Ye went to the other extreme and became extremely conservative. He would not take any risks, not even the slightest bit.
"So it's him!"
Wang Chong shook his head, grinned, and then quickly threw the thought to the back of his mind.
"Get ready. Check all the beehives, ballistae, and warhorses again …"
Wang Chong urged his horse forward.
In the sky, The Eagle circled a few times before flying back in the direction it had come from.
"What! The people of Wushang are building fortifications on the plateau? "
A few moments later, in the camp of the Qixi Protectorate army on the eastern line, a general with skin as rough as sand but an extremely determined expression stood up from his chair, a look of shock on his face.
"Yes, Milord. They've prepared a large amount of steel and recruited at least five thousand craftsmen, as well as six to seven thousand soldiers! They should have gathered more than ten thousand people. "
The scout kneeled on the ground and reported.
“！！！”
Heba Ye's eyes went wide, speechless. This was too surprising. He had some understanding of Wushang's Young Marquis. He had just constructed a steel fortress in Wushang, so what was he doing on the plateau? Did he not know that this was the territory of the Qixi Protectorate?
Just what did he want with more than ten thousand people?
"Milord, when we arrived, we discovered that the Ouzan vultures were flying back. I reckon that the Ouzan will quickly dispatch soldiers once they learn of their movements. Do we need to send reinforcements? "
The scout kneeled on the ground and said.
Protecting Qixi, protecting all the people and merchants of the Tang dynasty who passed through this region, was a duty that every member of the Qixi Protectorate understood. Wushang's ten-thousand-some men and five-thousand-some craftsmen could not stop the Ouzan army.
"There's no need!"
Heba Ye immediately refused. An army was no trifling matter, and while Wushang's ten thousand men were important, the safety of the Qixi Protectorate was even more important. He could not risk the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers. But Heba Ye quickly began to hesitate.
"No, wait a moment. This is a serious matter. Hurry and inform the Protector-General of this matter and have him make a decision! In addition, send more scouts and eagles to keep an eye on the situation. I need to know the slightest sign of trouble. The Lord of Wushang is the Young Marquis of the Tang dynasty, a disciple of the Son of Heaven personally bestowed by the Holy Emperor. If something happens to him, none of us will be able to bear the consequences! "
"Yes!"
The scout hurriedly left with the order. A few moments later, flapflap! A messenger bird flew into the air, flying toward the nearby Qixi Protectorate headquarters.
… …
"This brat, what does he want to do now!"
In the protectorate headquarters, Fomonlința had been sipping tea, but when he received the news, he immediately stood up in shock. This was the most surprising news he had received since Wang Chong's arrival in Wushang. Fomonlința had never imagined that the first thing Wang Chong would do after establishing himself in Wushang was run to the Ouzan Plateau.
"Lord Protector-General, this is truly unreasonable! Just what does this youngest son of the Wang Clan want to do in Wushang? Does he want to deal with the Ouzan? But with just his ten-thousand-some men and five-thousand-some craftsmen who don't know martial arts, isn't this a joke? "
A doubtful voice came from Xusha. It wasn't just Fomonlința who was confused by this matter. At the same time, the Qixi generals protecting him were also confused.
"But if he's not here to deal with the Ouzan, why would he run to the plateau? How could he not understand the risks involved? "
Another Qixi general said.
For a moment, the hall fell silent. Wang Chong had participated in the war of the southwest and rendered an enormous service. No one would believe that he had not brought so many men to the plateau to deal with the Ouzan. But no one would believe that he had come to deal with the Ouzan.
The plateau was bitterly cold, the altitude high, and the air thin. Even Fomonlința and the other Hu needed to withdraw their armies from time to time, and they had to constantly switch out the garrison, let alone the Han. Moreover, if the Ouzan could not win, they would flee. This was their territory, and they knew every blade of grass and tree like the back of their hand. Who could be more familiar with this place than they were?
If the Ouzan chose to avoid battle, then whatever Wang Chong wanted to do would become meaningless. Moreover, the plateau had always been a suitable place for the Ouzan to charge. Wang Chong's ten-thousand-some men would probably be eaten until nothing was left of them.
So the question was, why had Wang Chong mobilized such a large force?
Had he really gone senile?
For a moment, even though the people in the hall were all experienced generals who had been through many wars and had seen many things, they were all confused.
"Hey, I was just thinking about how to deal with that brat. I didn't think that he would run off to deal with the Ouzan. He brought this upon himself. Even if the Imperial Court investigates, we can wash our hands clean of responsibility. "
In the end, it was Fomonlința who broke the silence. He narrowed his eyes, a cold light shining in them.
"Pass on my order. Tell Heba Ye to stay put. Without my order, he is forbidden from providing any reinforcements. In addition, if that brat from the Wang Clan dies in battle, immediately inform me. Although we won't help him, we still have to get his corpse back. That way, those old imperial censors of the court won't make trouble for me again. "
"Yes!"
With that, the messenger left in a hurry, looking travel-worn.
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