Hou Junji had led his army here in high spirits and brimming with confidence. In the war to destroy the Turks, it had been Li Jing and Du Qi who had received the greatest merit. Hou Junji had received no benefit.
Now, his chance had come.
Take down Du Qi.
He would be able to render an unparalleled achievement.
As the army got into formation, Hou Junji impatiently urged his horse forward and called out, "Where is that brat Du Qi?"
Du Qi rode his horse to the entrance of the camp, his eyes falling on Hou Junji as he indifferently said, "Hou Junji, you're truly a petty person intoxicated by success. When this king was in the Imperial Court, why didn't you call me 'brat Du Qi'? Now, you're calling Du Qi 'brat' the moment you open your mouth. If I were you, I would have never done such a thing.
"All people leave a way out.
"I won't go to the extreme.
"On the other hand, you, Hou Junji, came with an army of fifty thousand and believed that you could deal with this king, so you acted so brazenly. Alas, it's simply impossible for you to deal with me with this army of fifty thousand. "
Du Qi continued, "And now that you, Hou Junji, have been defeated in this battle and fallen into this king's hands, just those words of yours will make you suffer endlessly. If you had only come on orders, even if you were defeated and fell into this king's hands, perhaps I would still consider our old friendship. But now, that's impossible. Hou Junji, your words just now have cut off your path of retreat. "
"Hahaha …"
Hou Junji laughed.
His laughter was brimming with arrogance.
His laughter was filled with disdain.
He was confident that he could defeat Du Qi, and he was even more disdainful of Du Qi's army of one hundred thousand.
Hou Junji's eyes were sharp as he laughed. "Du Qi, ah, do you really think that you're omnipotent? Let me tell you, the only reason you were able to win on the battlefield was because you had His Majesty's backing. Even your victory in the Western Regions was due to His Majesty's prestige. You're just a brat. "
Du Qi said, "I didn't expect Hou Junji to be such a bootlicker."
Hou Junji's face twitched as he coldly snorted. "Du Qi, this general will give you one last chance. Immediately hand over your military power and accept His Majesty's edict. In this way, you will still be the Ping Xi Wang conferred by His Majesty. Otherwise, His Majesty can give you everything and take everything back. "
Du Qi waved his sleeve and indifferently said, "Hou Junji, this king is waiting for you to attack."
Hou Junji said, "Even the evils of the heavens can be avoided. The evils he brought upon himself were the hardest to bear. Du Qi, everything that happened to you is your own doing. To be honest, His Majesty is very disappointed that you insist on doing this. But this general is very gratified, because you, Ping Xi Wang, will become this general's stepping stone. You're just a little kid, yet you're Ping Xi Wang, you don't live up to your name. Today, I will make you fall. "
After saying this, Hou Junji waved his hand and gave the order to attack.
Du Qi slightly retreated, leaving the command of the army to Xue Rengui.
In this battle, they did not use any new weapons.
Only the archers, crossbowmen, and spear formations were arranged, and even so, they were able to stably hold out. Hou Junji's army ferociously attacked for half a day, but in the end, they were unable to break through the defenses.
At noon, Hou Junji gave the order to retreat.
The army withdrew.
Du Qi looked at the retreating Hou Junji and indifferently said, "Hou Junji, you've been attacking for so long. Even now, you still haven't broken through the defenses of the camp. It seems that you won't be able to break through. "
Hou Junji's expression was cold and solemn as he indifferently said, "Du Qi, this battle has only just begun. War is not something that can be won in a single day, but over a long period of time. "
Du Qi said, "If this is all, then you, Hou Junji, are nothing more than this. I have never wronged His Majesty, but His Majesty arranged for you to attack me. Even so, I, Du Qi, am willing to express my sincerity. For this battle, I will withdraw thirty li as a sign of respect. "
"Withdraw!"
Du Qi gave the order to withdraw.
Following Du Qi's order, the army began to retreat in an orderly fashion.
Hou Junji narrowed his eyes at the sight of the army's retreat. At this moment, Gao Shilian said, "General Hou, Du Qi is withdrawing because he's afraid. If we pursue now, we can use this opportunity to crush Du Qi's army. "
Hou Junji shook his head. "Du Qi is an extremely skilled schemer. He says that he's retreating to show respect to His Majesty, but he might actually be setting up an ambush. There's no need for us to follow Du Qi's rhythm. In a battle, fighting power is one aspect, but rhythm is another. We must have our own rhythm when attacking Du Qi. If our rhythm is already under Du Qi's control, we'll definitely lose. Thus, we can't pursue. "
When Gao Shilian heard this, he nodded.
This seemed to make sense.
Su Dingfang stood to the side but didn't say anything. He hadn't opened his mouth since the beginning. Because of Su Dingfang and Du Qi, he actually understood Du Qi. Since Du Qi had said this, it was definitely out of respect for the Emperor.
After all, Du Qi had another new weapon.
But Su Dingfang said nothing.
Hou Junji also didn't care what Su Dingfang thought. He waited until Du Qi's army withdrew before waving his hand to have his soldiers take over Du Qi's camp.
At this time, the camp was already empty.
Only the outer fence remained.
Even the tents had been moved away. It was clear that Du Qi had made ample preparations. Otherwise, he wouldn't have retreated so cleanly.
Hou Junji pushed forward, and when Du Qi retreated thirty li, Hou Junji's army followed thirty li and set up camp not far from Du Qi's camp.
Hou Junji was well aware that Du Qi was skilled in scheming, so he had investigated the surrounding rivers and mountains. None of them were suitable for an ambush, so Hou Junji relaxed.
As the two armies faced off, the sky began to darken.
The Golden Crow set and the moon rose.
Hou Junji saw that the sky was dark and arranged for men to guard the camp so that it wouldn't be ambushed. In Hou Junji's view, this could be one of Du Qi's schemes, so Hou Junji had to make ample preparations.
But after one night, the camp was quiet, and no ambush had occurred. The next morning, Hou Junji led his army back to Du Qi's camp. He was about to attack again.
Since he was attacking Du Qi, Hou Junji would not let the matter rest. When the two armies faced off once more, Hou Junji once more stepped forward to speak.
This time, Du Qi didn't beat around the bush. "Du Qi, your attack today will become a nightmare for the rest of your life. At the same time, your attack today will be an unforgettable experience for the rest of your life. "
Hou Junji sneered at these words. He didn't care about Du Qi's threat at all.
"Attack!"
Hou Junji said no more and gave another order.
When Hou Junji gave the order to attack today, he had brought eight thousand soldiers.
Eight thousand elites.
He wanted to break the camp in one fell swoop.
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