It was the cavalry capital of the Guards that was sent out by Zhao Xun to hunt down Xue Nie Khan and his defeated army. Although only Yidu Cavalry was sent to take charge of this mission, even though they faced 30,000 enemy troops, several times their own. However, neither the leading general Han Meng nor the cavalry officers showed the slightest fear.
Although Han Meng is a rough man, he has been with Zhao Xun for several years. Under the influence of Zhao Xun, he also has a certain foundation for leading troops in combat. Although he cannot become the commander of an army, there is still no problem in leading an army. Besides, the target of this attack was just a group of routed troops and defeated generals.
Therefore, Han Meng did not fight the Turkic army from the beginning. Instead, they waited until the Turkic army ran wildly for nearly ten hours, and almost a day later, when the Turkic army was exhausted and thought it was time to escape, and then they began to attack the Turkic army.
Therefore, Han Meng was on the flank of the Turkic army from the beginning, rather than directly following the Turkic army's rear. When the Turkic army was preparing to rest in Qingli Lake, the whole army suddenly relaxed from the tension and suddenly broke out.
By the time Xue Nie Khan gathered the army that had just relaxed its tension and was preparing to rest at Qingli Lake. Han Meng and the cavalry of King Zhao's personal guard had already pressed forward with overwhelming momentum.
Although they are light cavalry, the armor on their bodies and the weapons and equipment of the soldiers are all the most sophisticated. You know, in the Guards, except for the cavalry, all infantry have a horse. As for the cavalry, there are two to three interchangeable horses. As for the light cavalry, they are all equipped with one person and two horses. Therefore, the Zhao cavalry followed the Turkic army and galloped nearly two hundred miles in the dark night, but the horses under their legs were still full of energy.
The Turkic army was different. They were attacked by Zhao Jun at night, and they also fled for their lives. Therefore, it is extremely rare to have one war horse per person. Even among the 30,000 Turkic soldiers, some did not even have weapons. As for Dajun's military flag and his ilk, they have long been thrown out of the sky. It can be said that the current Turkic army is completely a lost dog.
Looking at the momentum of the opponent's cavalry, the faces of Xue Nie Khan, Wu Duyan and other generals gradually became ugly. They found that this Zhao army's cavalry did not have many people. However, the other party chased them for more than a hundred miles at night, and they were not as tired as their own soldiers. Not only that, but the fighting spirit is high.
To be honest, at this moment Xue Nie Khan had no intention of continuing the decisive battle with Zhao Jun. It's not that he is afraid of the other party, but that he doesn't want his only remaining subordinates to be wiped out. Previously, Wu Duyan said that he still had an army of more than 200,000 men. However, Butuyan's words also reminded him that the current commander of these more than 200,000 troops was Mo Huba. Although Mo Huba is his confidant, although Mo Huba has never had any different intentions.
However, due to his actions in various grassland tribes, all tribes are extremely dissatisfied with him. If the news of this defeat spreads back, someone will encourage his brother and his son. So, it is still a matter of debate whether he can maintain his status as a Khan. The struggle for power on the grasslands is no worse than that of the Han people. In fact, they act without any moral hesitation.
Therefore, Xue Nie Khan was anxious to withdraw as soon as possible to stabilize his position and rear. As for fighting the Zhao army and going south to Zhao territory, that has to be discussed later. It was obvious that the other party would not let him go just like that. He wanted to leave, but he couldn't just run away. Otherwise, the 30,000 troops in his hands will collapse immediately. Without the military escort, it is doubtful whether he, the Khan, could escape from the hands of the Zhao army's cavalry.
Xue Nie Khan suddenly discovered that Zhao Jun was not his biggest enemy now. His biggest enemies are his own people, the leaders of the various tribes on the grassland. The Turkic grasslands are thousands of miles away, and tribes are scattered all over the place. He is not as capable as the Han people and can control all the tribes. Especially now that he has lost his troops and generals and returned in defeat, his structure is very worrying. At this moment, Xue Nie Khan really regretted that he had fought with Zhao Jun and that he had not been able to evacuate Landu City as soon as possible.
"Great Khan, the situation is critical now. The Zhao army is approaching us. The only plan now is to use all the strength to defeat the opponent's army first, and then withdraw immediately. This is already within our grassland. When defeated Zhao Jun will definitely not easily send out a small team to pursue the opponent," Wu Duyan said in a deep voice when he saw Xue Nie Khan's expression changing constantly.
"What I'm worried about is that the Zhao army's cavalry will be entangled here, causing the Zhao army to chase. If that happens, things will really be bad for us here" As he said this, Wu Duyan's face became increasingly gloomy.
Xue Nie Khan pondered for a moment, and after thinking about the gains and losses, he nodded and said: "What you said is true. The top priority is to deal with these Zhao cavalry first! Send the order, and the whole army rushes to kill them!"
Qingli Lake was the original place where the Turkic army's former military camp was stationed. The surrounding area is wide and there is sufficient water source here. Therefore, this is a very good place for setting up camp or starting a battle.
Xue Nie Khan gave an order, and 30,000 troops fought desperately. At this moment, the 30,000 Turkic soldiers also knew that if they could not defeat the Zhao cavalry in front of them, then they would have no chance of survival. Only by defeating these Zhao Jun cavalry can they have a chance to survive.
Five thousand versus thirty thousand, it stands to reason that the Zhao army¡¯s cavalry is far from a match for the Turkic army. However, in fact, in the first round of hedging, the casualty ratio between the Zhao army and the Turkic army was almost one to the other. Zhao Jun not only has sophisticated weapons and equipment, but also has plenty of energy. However, the Zhao army did not rush into the middle of the Turkic army. Instead, it was like a whittling knife, constantly cutting around the Turkic army, making it difficult for the Turkic army to deal with it. If you can't catch up, you can't fight. What made Xue Nie Khan even more annoyed was that these Zhao soldiers were like dog-skin plaster, sticking to their backs, making it impossible for them to escape.
Han Meng wore plate armor and moved his two halberds like flying with both hands. Countless Turkic soldiers who fought against him died one after another. It has to be said that the soldiers of King Zhao's personal guard are indeed one in a hundred, and every soldier is the best among the best. Think about it, among the hundreds of thousands of Zhao soldiers, there are only 30,000 Zhao King's personal guards. One can imagine the difficulty of selection.
Although the Turkic soldiers fought desperately for a chance to survive, although 10,000 of the 30,000 Turkic troops were Xue Nie Khan's Chinese escorts, although these soldiers were also very brave. But after all, they were attacked first and had the advantage of running away all night. Now, Zhao Jun is waiting for work, and the battle can be imagined. In particular, all the Zhao army's cavalry were archers, and very few of the Turkic troops, who were good at riding and shooting, were equipped with complete bows and arrows during their escape.
Seeing that his side suffered heavy casualties, Xue Nie Khan retreated while fighting. However, Zhao Jun still insisted on holding on. Two hours passed, and nearly half of the thirty thousand Turkic soldiers were killed or injured, only about fifteen thousand. However, Zhao Jun still has more than 3,500 people who are fighting with him. It can be said that in the current battle, Zhao Jun is completely suppressing and shooting the opponent with arrows.
Seeing that all of his subordinates were injured, even the good horse from the north under his crotch had reached the point of exhaustion. Xue Nie Khan could not help crying: "Is this Khan going to die here today?"
Contrary to Xue Nie Khan, Han Meng and other guards officers became more courageous as they fought. Now, they are totally bullying each other. The Turkic army, which was good at riding and shooting, now had no bows and arrows. The Turkic army's horses ran wildly all night, and now they are unable to catch up with Zhao Jun. As a result, Zhao Jun's cavalry started to bite around the Turkic army like hungry wolves.
¡°General, it¡¯s really a pleasure!¡± the cavalry captain said with a smile.
Looking at the excited expressions of his subordinates and the fearful Turkic army on the opposite side, Han Meng felt extremely happy. Since following Zhao Xun, he has watched his lord step by step from a small camp captain to the three major princes in the world and the king of one land.
And he, Han Meng, has also grown from a small Guards leader to the current General of the Guards. He is the one who is envied by all the generals in the Zhao army. In the past, the young and old at home and in the villages located in the north of Youzhou, escaping from the war, now have no worries about food and clothing. He became the general of the Zhenjun Army, which can be said to be extremely glorious. But this way, Han Meng did not feel complacent. Now, he wanted to repay King Zhao with victory.
Thinking of this, Han Meng raised his two halberds and shouted sternly: "It is a happy thing for a man to be wrapped in horse leather and die on the battlefield. Today is the time for us and other good men to show their power. Soldiers, let me, the great Zhao Zhifeng, be involved in the entire grassland of the Tang army and kill !¡±
The commander is like this, and the soldiers are even more energetic and motivated. Zhao's cavalry, directly led by Han Meng, charged towards the Turkish army's formation, which had lost all morale.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the Turkic army's position. Zhao Jun's cavalry rushed into the sheep like a fierce tiger. Han Meng was the first to bear the brunt. The pair of iron halberds flew up and down. The shiny crescent halberd blades glowed with a bloody cold light, bringing out strange arcs of light. Wherever they passed, they saw Turkic soldiers falling on their backs, and no one could stop Han Meng's charge. The rest of the cavalry, following closely behind Han Meng, immediately charged forward, galloping through the enemy formation like a sharp blade.
"Great Khan, the situation is not good. If the Great Khan retreats first, then his subordinates will stop the Zhao army here!" Looking at the battle situation, Wu Duyan said to Xue Nie Khan with a solemn face.
Xue Nian Khan¡¯s expression was red and he said sternly: ¡°How could I leave my guards behind and leave alone! Today, I will fight to the death with the Zhao army together with the other generals.¡±
Xue Nie Khan didn¡¯t know the critical situation at hand, but could he just leave? How could he leave alone when hundreds of thousands of troops were wiped out in one go? Even if he had this idea, he might not be able to escape Zhao Jun's pursuit. If he just ran away,These more than 10,000 soldiers are afraid that they will fall apart immediately.
"Report General Qi, Tan Ma came to report that there are Turkic troops heading here ten miles away from the north." Just as Han Meng was charging with his troops, he got the news of Tan Ma.
"Oh? The Turkic army in the north? It seems that the actions of the brothers from Bingzhou and Dingzhou in the northern grassland must have produced results. In this case, if the order is passed, the army will immediately evacuate and return to the capital of Junlan." Han Meng ordered in a deep voice. .
"General, are we going to let them go?" Gao Xian, the captain of the cavalry capital, said with some pity.
Han Meng said in a deep voice: "My lord has no intention of directly killing this so-called Khan. Secondly, now that the Khan returns, he will not do much harm to our Zhao land. Our personal guards are the prince's cronies." , Every soldier is a valuable asset, how can we waste it in vain? "
"Great Khan, the Zhao army has withdrawn! They have withdrawn!"
Xue Nie Khan was startled and quickly looked forward. I saw that Zhao Jun's cavalry, who had been fighting bravely before, had collected the corpses of Zhao Jun's dead soldiers and ownerless horses and started to turn around and leave.
"Strange? Why did Zhao Jun withdraw like this?" Wu Duyan muttered to himself in confusion.
After a while, they understood. Amidst a rumble, tens of thousands of cavalry descended from the north and headed straight towards the Turkic army. After looking at the flags, the Turkic soldiers who survived the battle couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The army came under the banner of the Turkic Army. Suddenly, Xue Nie Khan and others understood why the Zhao army left when they had the upper hand.
"Hateful! If I had known earlier, I should have trapped this Zhao Jun cavalry!" A captain of ten thousand men said angrily.
Xue Nie Khan did not care about the words of this captain of ten thousand men. What he cared about was why thirty or forty thousand of his own cavalry appeared here?
"Chi Xiang, the commander of ten thousand men of the Central Military Department, pays homage to the Great Khan!" Before the army could approach, a horseman quickly approached Xue Nie Khan, and then prostrated himself in front of Xue Nie Khan's horse.
"Chi Xiang? Didn't you accompany General Zuo to guard the southeastern area bordering the Zhao army? Why did you come here? Why did you lead the army here? How did you know that I am here? In addition, I am here Do you already know the battle situation under Landu City?" Xue Nie Khan did not become in a good mood because of Chi Xiang's rescue and courtesy. Instead, his face was gloomy and his eyes flashed with fierceness.
At this time, Wu Duyan, who was on one side, also woke up and understood what Xue Nie Khan was worried about. Immediately, he stared at Chi Xiang blankly, waiting for his answer.
Chi Xiang was startled for a moment, and then he understood that his answer this time was of great importance. If you answer well, you will be reused by Xue Nie Khan. If the answer is not satisfactory, the result will be self-evident.
"Reporting to the Great Khan, my subordinates went south this time specifically to deliver news. Since the third day after the Great Khan led his army south, at the borders of Dingzhou and Bingzhou in the Zhao region, Zhao troops have been dispatched one after another. In total, The Zhao army's cavalry of 140,000 to 50,000 soldiers entered our Turkic grassland. In addition, our Shiwei tribe in the northeast also sent tens of thousands of cavalry to accompany the Zhao army to take advantage of the situation. The Zhao army's infantry advanced slowly, holding down our soldiers. This makes it impossible for our army to effectively intercept.¡±
"In addition, the Zhao army's cavalry used a weapon that was extremely powerful and could burst out like thunder, making it difficult for our soldiers to resist. After several battles, our army's morale plummeted and we suffered heavy casualties."
"Therefore, General Zuo sent messengers to deliver information to the Great Khan. However, for dozens of days, he did not receive any response from the Great Khan. General Zuo felt that something was wrong, so he specifically asked the last general to lead three thousand troops and go south to deliver the news. Today, the subordinate My subordinates went to the front to explore the horse and found out that there were soldiers of our army fighting Zhao Jun here. I didn't know the strength of the enemy and ours, and I was worried that I couldn't solve the problem with the three thousand men in my hands. Therefore, I came from the Wenyu tribe in an emergency. More than 20,000 tribesmen were mobilized to support him from thousands of miles away. His subordinates also knew that the Great Khan was here before. As for the battle situation under Landu City, they did not know. "
Xue Nie Khan's face looked a little better now, and then he said: "Very good, get up! This time you have made a great contribution, I now officially canonize you as a former general of our Turkic Army, replacing the fallen Liqiu Guang as a trusted former Military General."
Hearing that the former general of the army was killed in battle, he also looked at the army of more than 10,000 people left in embarrassment around Xue Nie Khan. Chi Xiang was shocked in his heart, and then he said respectfully: "I accept the order and thank the Great Khan for the gift!"
"By the way, what is the situation in the north now? Zhao Jun is still operating on our grasslands? Has Mo Huba taken counterattack measures?" Xue Nie Khan asked coldly. Now, his heart was full of anger. Not to mention that the expedition south to conquer Landu City was unsuccessful, but now the Zhao army counterattacked, and he became the one being attacked.
"We reported to the Great Khan that the situation was very bad. At the beginning, our soldiers relied onThey had the advantage over the cavalry army and fought against the Zhao army. However, since Zhao Jun used weapons that made loud noises and were extremely lethal, our soldiers were unable to fight against Zhao Jun. By the time the subordinates left the main camp, our army had lost more than 60,000 soldiers. More than 30 small and medium-sized tribes were wiped out, and more than 100,000 tribesmen became slaves of the Zhao army. "
"In addition, the Zhao army plundered more than 100,000 war horses and more than 300,000 livestock from various tribes. More than 100,000 capable warriors from each tribe have been recruited by our army. Therefore, some large tribes have now spoken out and expressed their disapproval. The Great Khan was dissatisfied. In fact, these large tribes began to win over the small and medium-sized tribes and contacted them secretly. General Zuo was worried that the situation had changed, so he asked his subordinates to report immediately!
"These tribes should be killed and exterminated! The enemy is in front of them, but they are making small moves behind the scenes. They are driving our Turkic army to death! I will definitely want them to look good to others, and I will never give them mercy!" Xue Nie! Khan cursed angrily.
"By the way, these large tribes were also attacked by Zhao Jun?" After thinking about it, Xue Nie Khan asked again.
"No, for some reason, most of the Zhao army's cavalry attacked small and medium-sized tribes. In addition, there were more than ten small and medium-sized tribes that were forced to surrender to the Zhao army. They followed the Zhao army to attack other tribes and became the minions of the Zhao army. ¡±
"Damn it! Damn it! This Zhao Jun is obviously using the same method as Landu and other tribes. They are trying to cut off our roots. Those damn bastards, Zhao Jundou has forced them to this point, and they are still going against Yu Benhan. Unforgivable!" Hearing this, Xue Nian Khan's face turned pale with anger. At the same time, I was also shocked and frightened by Zhao Jun's methods.