After Wei Hong sent this letter, there was no reply. Presumably the Khitan did not intend to let Li Jing go. After all, Wei Hong wanted to exchange for an important minister of the country with only a dispensable 'secret book'. This was too much. If it can be guaranteed that the secret book is true and useful, that's okay. If it can't be guaranteed, wouldn't the Khitan lose both its wife and its troops? Such an ending is unexpected. If you can¡¯t do it with letters, then you can do it with force! This time, the general manager of the northern march was Yin Kaishan. As soon as Wei Hong said that he would help fight the Khitan, Yin Kaishan immediately agreed with a smile. It was because he failed to pay attention to Wei Hong last time that he suffered successive defeats in the Yuezhou battle. This time Yin Kaishan would never make the same old mistake again. Nowadays, the Tang Dynasty and the Khitan are mainly entangled near Yingzhou. Because the Khitan is brave and good at fighting, the Tang Dynasty is often unable to defeat it and can only temporarily withdraw its troops and maintain a stalemate with it. Originally, Comrade Li meant that the Khitan had been harassing the border for many years, but failed to conquer it with all their strength every time, so that the intimidation of the Tang Dynasty could not suppress the Khitan at all. This time, let's just play a trick. It's not just to repel the Khitan, but to either destroy the Khitan or make the Khitan surrender at the feet of the Tang Dynasty. But the Khitan cavalry was brave and more adapted to the northern battlefield. Every time the two armies faced each other, the Tang Dynasty never got an advantage, but occasionally it got the upper hand. The Khitan saw that the situation was not going well and ran away, but he had nothing to do and wanted to kill him in one fell swoop. Defeating the Khitans was no easy task. Wei Hong only fought against the Khitan once. It was at Mazong Mountain. Wei Hong led the Jade Dragon Guard to break the siege of Mazong Mountain and defeat the Khitan. In general, the Khitan is indeed brave, but at the same time, the Khitan is also too ambitious. Like other tribes, such as the Turks and Uighurs, they basically accept them as soon as they see fit, and that's pretty much it. As for the Khitan, they never let go of the eagle before they see the rabbit, and they have to do everything they can. Just like the last attack on Mazong Mountain, it was nothing more than an attempt to take advantage of the Tang Dynasty's disease and kill the Tang Dynasty. It¡¯s actually not difficult to deal with this kind of enemy. All you need to do is give a big enough temptation to lure the enemy deep, and then encircle and annihilate them. As for what this temptation is? Not gold, silver, or food, but Wei Hong himself. Wei Hong is well aware of the variables and dangers on the battlefield, but in order to save Li Jing, which is equivalent to saving Yan Ruyu, Wei Hong is willing to take the risk. On the day when Wei Hong led 6,000 soldiers and horses to the Khitan territory, the weather was gloomy and unbearably hot. This is a sign of heavy rain. Wei Hong rode a tall horse at the front, and six thousand soldiers and horses followed Wei Hong dejectedly. These six thousand soldiers were different from Wei Hong. Wei Hong was thinking about how to defeat the enemy, while the soldiers were thinking about how to escape. , after all, this is a battle deep behind enemy lines, and the entire army will be wiped out if you are not careful. Coupled with this damn weather, what little morale there was was wiped away by the weather. Leading troops to fight these days. It is popular to put up a big flag in the army to tell the enemy which army it is, so that the enemy can be mentally prepared. In fact, this is also a type of psychological warfare. If the enemy knows that he is outmatched, he will take the initiative to avoid fighting. Wei Hong also raised a big flag, but it was not the number of the army, but Wei Hong's surname. Before Wei Hong came. A large flag was made, with an area of ??about six square meters. In fact, it's not really a flag, more like a banner. There are wooden sticks on the left and right sides. Even if there is no wind, they can be spread out so that the enemy can see them from a distance. Others put up flags to intimidate the enemy, but Wei Hong put up the flag to attract the enemy and tell them, I'm coming! Wei Hong led these 6,000 soldiers not to walk blindly, but to go around behind the Xishi Valley, and then approach the inner belly of the Khitan from the Xishi Valley as the starting point. Now it was the time when the two armies were fighting, and the war zone was full of scouts. Wei Hong was spotted by the Khitan scouts before Wei Hong had gone far. Seeing the golden word "guard" on the banner, the scout immediately reported the news to the commander. The coach this time is Xiao Qi. Xiao Qi is Xiao He's cousin. When Xiao He led his troops to fight on the battlefield of East Turkestan two years ago, he was shot in the thigh by a stray arrow, leaving sequelae and retired after his success. , so the important task of fighting against the Tang Dynasty fell on Xiao Qi. Xiao Qi is also a talented person, but compared to Xiao He, he is a little inferior. It is not that Xiao Qi is not capable, but that Xiao He is too outstanding in all aspects and cannot be surpassed. In addition, Xiao He and Xiao Qi have two completely different advantages. Xiao He strives to be foolproof when marching and fighting, and only takes action after careful consideration. Xiao Qi is very decisive and good at seizing opportunities. Once the opportunity comes to him, he will never miss it. However, this kind of decisiveness can also be called reckless in a sense, and it is a fatal weakness of Xiao Qi. After learning that Wei Hong had led his troops deep into the hinterland, Xiao Qi immediately called a meeting with the generals. After discussion, everyone agreed that Wei Hong was preparing to lead troops to rescue Li Jing. Xiao Qi felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and would not take any measures. He immediately sent 10,000 troops to intercept Wei Hong. In Xiao Qi's opinion, Wei Hong was too confident and dared to lead a mere 6,000 soldiers and horses deep into the hinterland. What I didn¡¯t say was that we must kill these six thousand soldiers and capture Wei Hong alive! Since the northern battlefield is not very deep, Xiao Qi¡¯s10,000 soldiers and horses quickly intercepted Wei Hong's soldiers and horses, and they started fighting without any nonsense. The result was no different from what was expected. Wei Hong's 6,000 soldiers and horses were beaten so hard that they were unable to resist. After several rounds, 6,000 soldiers and horses lost 2,000, and Wei Hong routed with 4,000 remaining soldiers. Xiao Qi immediately ordered the entire army to pursue him, and he must kill all the remaining four thousand soldiers and horses before Wei Hong escaped from the battlefield! Wei Hong had already been mentally prepared for defeat before he came. To put it bluntly, if he was undefeated, Wei Hong would be a little panicked. Defeated at this time, Wei Hong withdrew into the Xiashi Valley with his remaining troops and retreated along the narrow road of the Xiashi Valley. Xiao Qi's 10,000-strong army took advantage of the victory and pursued it. With an absolute advantage, they did not worry about Wei Hong's deception and plunged into the Xiashi Valley. Seeing the Khitan army entering the Xiashi Valley, Wei Hong's heart dropped. He quickly ordered the army to retreat quickly. About half an hour later, only 3,000 of the 4,000 soldiers and horses were being chased, and the other 1,000 were killed while fighting and retreating. Seeing that Wei Hong's defeat was certain, the Khitan army only needed to work harder to annihilate Wei Hong's troops and capture Wei Hong alive. At this time, Wei Hong had already withdrawn from Xiashi Valley. While withdrawing from Xiashi Valley, Wei Hong suddenly ordered the entire army to counterattack! Originally, the six thousand soldiers and horses were no match, but now there were only three thousand left. The soldiers were in high spirits for battle, but they still had to obey the orders and fight back with the determination to die. (To be continued)