Rou Yuan County, inside the city.
Xiao Yuanqi and Ma Yuan received the news of Li Shimin's division and quickly made arrangements. In the end, Xiao Yuanqi was left behind to continue guarding Rou Yuan County. After all, a county was easy to defend and hard to attack. With the mortars, it was enough to defend the county.
Therefore, Ma Yuan led thirty thousand elites and quickly left the county.
They hurried from the official road outside Rou Yuan County's west gate.
They did not advance from any other direction.
When the operation in this direction began, the news quickly spread and reached Li Shimin's ears outside the east gate.
When Li Shimin heard that Rou Yuan County began to divide, he immediately became excited.
The opportunity was here.
He immediately called Zhangsun Wuji over and said to him, "Assistant, it's done. Our chance is finally here. In this battle, we will definitely defeat this divided army and then take over Rou Yuan County. Especially in the direction of Mulberry Hill, there is still Duke Wei's army. We will definitely win this battle. "
Zhangsun Wuji said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. We will definitely win this battle. "
Then, Zhangsun Wuji said, "Then, who will lead the army in this battle?"
Li Shimin said, "Assistant, who do you think is suitable?"
Zhangsun Wuji said, "I suggest Duan Zhixuan lead the army. He once suffered in the hands of Du Qi and has always wanted to avenge his humiliation. Now, chasing after the retreating army of Xia Xia is Duan Zhixuan's chance to avenge his humiliation. Therefore, it is suitable for Duan Zhixuan to lead the army in pursuit. "
Li Shimin said, "Okay, you go and pass the order."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Zhangsun Wuji received the order and turned to leave the central tent. He quickly went to Duan Zhixuan's tent. When he saw Duan Zhixuan in the tent, he did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point, "General Duan, congratulations."
Duan Zhixuan said, "What's there to congratulate?"
Zhangsun Wuji said, "His Majesty has given you a chance to avenge your humiliation. Currently, Xia Xia's army has divided. One army left the county and headed north, quickly retreating. It was clear that this army wanted to retreat back to Yiwu County so that they could reinforce Yiwu County. Therefore, in front of His Majesty, I tried my best to fight for this opportunity for you to pursue and destroy the troops that left. "
"Thank you, Duke Qi."
Duan Zhixuan cupped his fists with a grateful expression.
Because to him, if he didn't defeat Xia Xia's army, it would be difficult to wash away the humiliation he had suffered.
Therefore, Duan Zhixuan hoped to lead troops into battle.
Zhangsun Wuji said, "General Duan, you don't have to thank me. Actually, I have my own selfish reasons for recommending you. Because I have a deep enmity with Du Qi, if you lead the troops there, it will be absolutely safe. That's why you're the one going. "
Duan Zhixuan nodded.
He and Du Qi also had a deep grudge against each other. As a descender, he had been reduced to a captive on the battlefield. This was a mark that Duan Zhixuan would never be able to erase in his entire life. So Duan Zhixuan could only use victory after victory to wash away his humiliation.
Especially attacking Xia Xia, that was the key to washing away the humiliation.
Zhangsun Wuji continued, "General Duan, the opportunity is here, but it's fleeting. Seize the opportunity and attack immediately. Once you miss this opportunity, it will be impossible to defeat the retreating army of Xia Xia. "
Duan Zhixuan stood up and said, "Understood!"
At this time, Zhangsun Wuji also stood up and walked out, no longer lingering. The two of them left the tent. Not long after, Duan Zhixuan directly mobilized the troops out of the city. The troops he sent this time were also 50,000, all of them fierce soldiers in the army. Following Duan Zhixuan's deployment, the army galloped all the way to the 30,000 elite troops led by Ma Yuan.
This situation was quickly learned by Xiao Yuanqi, who was guarding the county. Even if he knew now, there was nothing he could do. Xiao Yuanqi's only task was to guard the city and make sure that Rouyuan County was not lost.
On the other side, Ma Yuan led the army and rushed forward quickly.
The army galloped all the way, and in a short time, they were already far away from the county. Even so, Ma Yuan arranged sentries along the way to keep an eye on the movements behind. Once the Tang dynasty's troops appeared, he would know in the shortest time possible.
Ma Yuan galloped all the way, and in the evening, he was already 60 miles away from the county.
This distance was a bit far.
At this time, the army led by Ma Yuan stopped to rest, and at the same time, the soldiers in the army began to eat dry rations. All the soldiers who went out this time were simple, and it was impossible for them to cook slowly, so they all ate dry rations to fill their stomachs.
"Report!"
At this time, a scout galloped over from the rear.
The scout galloped all the way to Ma Yuan's side and reported, "General Ma, the Tang army has sent out troops and is chasing after us. They are now about 30 miles away from us. "
"Got it, continue to scout."
Ma Yuan directly ordered.
After the scout left, Ma Yuan immediately ordered the messenger to pass down the order, and the army rested for another 15 minutes before continuing on their journey. After all, the distance between them had been shortened to about 30 miles, which was a very close distance, so he had to speed up.
Even though the night was now falling, and even at night it was freezing cold, the soldiers in the army were wearing thick clothes and furry hats. Even though the wind was biting cold, it did not affect the soldiers at all.
After a short rest, the army continued on their journey.
Torches were lit one by one.
They whistled in the night sky, but it also dispelled the darkness.
The army set off and hurried on.
Under the dim light of the night, the army continued to move forward. After moving forward for more than 30 kilometers, the sky gradually brightened. After all, the speed of the army at night was very slow. Therefore, they could only move for more than 30 kilometers in one night. At this time, Ma Yuan saw this place, but he stopped. The army temporarily stopped to rest.
On one hand, Ma Yuan let the soldiers rest, and on the other hand, he arranged the soldiers to defend. The place he and Du Qi had agreed on was this area, so he was ready to fight the Tang army here. However, Ma Yuan's side first had to defend. When Du Qi's army arrived, they could gather this batch of troops and annihilate them.
The army quickly arranged and built defensive fortifications. About an hour later, a scout came to Ma Yuan's side and reported, "General, the Tang army is less than 10 miles away from us."
Ma Yuan waved his hand to let the soldier retreat, but a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.
The Tang army came very quickly!
It should be known that Ma Yuan and his soldiers did not rest at all. And the other party had arrived not long after Ma Yuan stopped. It could be seen that the other party did not stop at night and also hurried on through the night.
That was why they could close the distance at this time.
Ma Yuan immediately passed down the order, saying that the Tang Army was already close. He ordered the soldiers to rest and reorganize, and to reinforce the fortifications.
The team quickly formed and built up a defensive force.
Because this group was meant to speed up their journey, the army was not equipped with mortars. But the soldiers in the army were equipped with enough landmines and grenades.
However, this place was surrounded by open areas, so it was difficult to set up landmines. Because it was necessary to rely on landmines to block attacks, it was necessary to use the state road to block attacks. In this situation, they could only build defensive fortifications and use the grenades in their hands to resist.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
