When Hou Junji heard the report from the soldiers requesting for reinforcements, he couldn't help but stand up in shock. "The Firearms Division was ambushed!"
Hou Junji was in Gao Chang. Although compared to Chang 'an, Gao Chang was closer to the location where Mo Jiazi had been ambushed, because it was two thousand li away from the Gobi Desert, he received the news the latest.
"Our army had just walked out of the Firearms Division when we were ambushed by Tubo's five thousand soldiers. They seemed to have known our marching route," the soldier crying for reinforcements complained.
"They knew our marching route." Hou Junji couldn't help but grimace. The Firearms Division was the first batch of soldiers to return victorious. Although the Firearms Division had a special status, he believed that with the protection of one thousand soldiers, they wouldn't encounter any danger at all.
However, he hadn't expected that Tubo would take the initiative to lie in wait outside the Gobi Desert. It was clear that this wasn't an impromptu plan. Rather, they had expected that the Firearms Division would be the first to return. At this moment, Hou Junji couldn't help but recall the rumor in the army that Princess Changle was pregnant and wanted Meton to return as soon as possible.
"Damn it, they even schemed against this general," Hou Junji hatefully said.
If he hadn't wanted to curry favor with Li Shimin, how could he have fallen into the trap of this mastermind? At this moment, Hou Junji coldly shouted, "Come, someone in Gao Chang is colluding with Tubo. Investigate immediately."
Very quickly, the situation in Gao Chang, which had just been relaxed, became tense again. All the Hu merchants who were involved with Tubo were interrogated by the Tang Army.
Even the people from the Anxi Protectorate who had just arrived in the Tang Army were interrogated by the Tang Army. Anyone who had interceded with Hou Junji was no exception.
"What Merton is in danger?" The three messengers turned pale with fright. The three of them were the first to bring news of Princess Changle's pregnancy and were the first to be interrogated.
However, their suspicions were quickly eliminated. After all, they had been rushing along the road. How could they have colluded with Tubo? At most, they were used by others to spread the news that Princess Changle was pregnant.
"I have let Merton down!" Qiao Shiwang said with a sorrowful look on his face.
Kong Huisuo's face couldn't help but turn gloomy. Tubo was able to accurately ambush the School of Mo, so he was definitely involved in the internal forces of the Tang dynasty. Furthermore, the School of Mo and the School of Confucianism were already showing signs of conflict, so the School of Confucianism was also very suspicious. In the past, he would have never believed that the Confucian school would do such a thing, but this was related to the War of the Hundred Schools, so not even he dared to say that the Confucian school was completely innocent.
Besides this, everyone in the Anxi Protectorate was in a state of panic. After all, colluding with a foreign race was a heavy crime. But in just two days, Hou Junji concluded his interrogation and released them.
"It's over just like that!" All of them couldn't help but be bewildered. They had originally believed that they would be doomed. Everyone knew the importance of the Firearms Supervisor and Merton, and now that they had been ambushed by Tubo, this was a matter of great importance. But to their surprise, the interrogation was over in just two days.
"You are all very lucky, because Merton is fine." Hou Junji meaningfully said. He had hastily concluded his interrogation, only using the Hu merchants who had been carrying messages for Tubo to make an example of them.
"Merton is fine?" Master Qiao looked at the crowd and exclaimed. They knew that when Marquis Mo left, he only had a thousand men. However, the Tibetan cavalry had a total of five thousand men. Everyone felt that Marquis Mo was doomed this time.
But when they came out to ask around, the final result left them flabbergasted. Not only was Merton fine, the Firearms Supervisor had even defeated the five thousand Tubo cavalry.
"Mo Jiazi is truly Mo Jiazi!" Upon hearing that Meton had once again created a miracle, the Anxi Protectorate officers all rejoiced. If something had really happened to Merton and the Firearms Supervisor, even if they were innocent, they would still have been punished. Now that Meton was fine, they could naturally turn this matter into a small one.
It wasn't just Qiao Shiwang and the others who rejoiced, Hou Junji was even more relieved. He had been the one to issue the order for Meton's departure. If something had happened to Meton, he would have been the first to be blamed. By lightly letting the Anxi Protectorate officers go, he had the intention of minimizing the effects of this incident.
Of course, in the end, the blame would definitely be pushed onto Tubo's head. All of this was Tubo's fault.
"Tubo!" Hou Junji couldn't help but grimace. When he heard the news about Tuyuhun, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, the Firearms Supervisor had allowed the Tang Army to break through Gao Chang's defenses in the shortest amount of time. Otherwise, if the Tang Army and Gao Chang had been in a prolonged standoff in the Western Regions or suffered heavy losses, then Tubo and the Western Turks would have pounced on them like a pack of wolves. At that time, the western expedition would have been in an extremely disadvantageous situation.
But what had surprised him even more was the Firearms Supervisor. The Firearms Supervisor could break through a city in a single attack, and in defense, it could fight one against five, and it had won a complete victory. He had never encountered an army that could perform both offense and defense to the extreme, but the Firearms Supervisor had done so.
Of course, the Firearms Supervisor was not without shortcomings, which was gunpowder. Once the Firearms Supervisor ran out of gunpowder, their combat strength would probably be at the bottom of the Tang Dynasty. But as long as they had gunpowder, the Firearms Supervisor would be invincible.
However, Hou Junji still overestimated the Firearms Supervisor. Now, the Firearms Supervisor was once again in a desperate situation, which was the 800-mile Immensity Sea.
In the vast desert, the two armies were constantly confronting each other. In the scorching environment, the water supplies carried by the two armies were decreasing at an alarming rate.
At this time, their biggest opponent was no longer the other side, but the extremely hot desert environment.
"Young Master, we can't chase after them anymore. Otherwise, we will all die in the desert," Zhang Mu persuaded him bitterly with cracked lips. He had also traveled through the 2,000-mile Gobi Desert with the army, so he naturally knew the crisis of water shortage. However, this was the 800-mile Immensity Sea, which was more serious than the Gobi Desert. If they were not careful, their 400 soldiers would probably be wiped out.
However, Meton shook his head and said, "We are short of water, but the Tubo remnants are even more short of water. When we came here, we brought more than half of the Firearms Supervisor's water supply. But the Tubo remnants are fleeing all the way. They can't fight with water."
Now, the Firearms Supervisor and the Tubo remnants were like being in the same circle. They could only rely on gunpowder and blood. However, it was obvious that the Firearms Supervisor, who was well-prepared to chase after them again, had brought more gunpowder.
However, Zhang Mu said worriedly, "The purpose of Tubo's trip this time is Young Master. Now the remnants of the Tubo army don't go to Qiemo City where there are plenty of water and grass. Instead, they deliberately lead the Firearms Supervisor into the 800-mile-wide Immensity Sea. They want to die together with us. We may hold on longer than the remnants of the Tubo army, but our water will definitely not last until we return."
Zhang Mu was right. The Firearms Supervisor might be able to win the battle, but it would be difficult for them to return safely. Now, the Firearms Supervisor was like a circle everywhere. They might defeat their opponents, but they definitely couldn't survive until they reached the safe zone.
The officers and soldiers of the Firearms Supervisor couldn't help but fall silent. They were not illiterate soldiers. Instead, they were rare people in the Tang Army who were proficient in both civil and military affairs. Naturally, they knew the risk Zhang Mu mentioned.
Modun looked at the silent soldiers of the Firearms Supervisor. Suddenly, he broke into a smile and said, "Do you believe in this chancellor? Since I brought you into the desert, I'm sure I can bring you out safely. "
The eyes of the officers and soldiers of the Firearms Supervisor lit up. They suddenly stared at Meton. If it were someone else who said this, the officers and soldiers would definitely snort at him. However, Meton was different. He was Mo Jiazi, the most amazing person in the Tang Dynasty. He had created miracles again and again and had the experience of going deep into the desert 800 miles away.
"Wherever you point your sword, we swear to follow you to death," the officers and soldiers shouted. Tubo ambushed the Firearms Supervisor and caused heavy losses to the Firearms Supervisor. Now that they had Meton's guarantee, the fire of revenge suddenly ignited in their hearts. This time, they must make these Tubo remnants stay in the desert.
"Chase after them!" Meton pulled out his long sword and suddenly shouted.
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.
