The two sides fought bloody battles to seize the gate. When the team rushed to the gate, several Chu cavalry who had been arranged in advance immediately raised their bows and pointed them towards the sky. Several loud arrows flew into the sky and made a sharp sound.
Although Tongguan is the gateway to the northwest, there are not many soldiers and horses guarding it. There are only a few hundred people in total. The three hundred cavalry swarmed up. They are not weak in terms of military strength. After the sound of the arrow was fired, there were already ready reserves. Reinforcements immediately rushed towards Tongguan.
This time Lu Kang followed Qi Ning to capture Tongguan. Qi Ning led the team to seize the gate, while Lu Kang led the remaining troops to respond. When he heard the sound of arrows over there, he did not hesitate to give the order for the entire army to charge.
The Chu army did not have many cavalry, and the two thousand soldiers and horses that attacked Tongguan only had 200 cavalry. Fortunately, they captured several hundred horses from Qu Manbao on the way. At this time, Lu Kang had less than 200 cavalry, and the remaining Almost all of them were infantry. He was only worried about the lack of troops and horses on Qining's side, so he led more than a hundred horsemen to gallop towards Tongguan, while the infantry also spread their legs and rushed to Tongguan to quickly support.
Tongguan, the most powerful pass in the northwest, is currently undergoing fierce fighting.
The Han soldiers guarding Tongguan knew that if Tongguan was lost, even if they escaped alive, they would be punished by military law in the future. In this case, they might as well fight hard. The Chu army was determined to control Tongguan, and everyone actually thought in their hearts. I understand what capturing Tongguan means to the Chu Empire. What's more, the small princes are the first to lead the soldiers regardless of their status. The so-called generals have the heart to die, and the soldiers have no desire to live. The small princes are fighting in front, and the Chu soldiers are naturally more fierce than the last. .
Being driven into the pass by a group of cavalry wearing warrior uniforms, many Han soldiers actually only knew that they were enemies, but many of them were still confused as to where they came from.
But at this time, it is no longer important where the other party comes from. What is important is that Tongguan must not be lost.
Hundreds of guards within Tongguan had already gathered towards the gate from all over. The two sides fought fiercely. There were already thick piles of corpses at the gate, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.
This was Qining's first real fight on the battlefield, and he truly understood that the only words on the battlefield were life and death.
There is no mercy, no mercy. If you don't kill people, people will kill you.
He had thought many times that the capture of Tongguan would be a bloody battle. Only when he was there did he realize that the battle would be even more brutal than he had imagined.
Compared with the bloodshed when the eight gangs and sixteen factions attacked the Black Lotus, the battle on the battlefield was a completely different world.
Simple and original.
This time, Qi Ning truly understood the fierceness of the Northwest people. Although the Tongguan garrison was killed by him at the first opportunity, these Northwest soldiers stationed at Tongguan were still extremely fierce. Although he brought with him the elite of the Chu army, But the Han soldiers stationed at Tongguan were also warriors in the Northwest Army.
The pile of corpses at the gate made it impossible for the horses to rush in. The Chu cavalry behind could only dismount and charge forward with their swords in hand.
Qi Ning didn't know how many people he had killed. He only knew that the Han soldiers rushed towards him one after another. If he killed one person, the second one would quickly attack him. He was not afraid of death. He cut bluntly and snatched another knife from the enemy's hand. The armor on his body was stained red with blood, and his face was also stained with blood.
After all, it was difficult for the Han soldiers to resist the fierce offensive of the Chu people, and the entire formation had been forced back into the pass.
Qi Ning didn't even know when the men and horses led by Lu Kang pounced on him. He only cut until his hands were soft, and then he realized that the sounds around him became smaller and smaller, until finally there was no sound anymore, and no Han soldiers pounced on him.
An unprecedented feeling of fatigue ran through his body. Qining even felt as if all his strength had been exhausted. He staggered to the edge and held on to the wall. At this time, someone had already rushed to his side and said worriedly: "Sir, sir, you …!”
Qi Ning looked over and saw that the man was Lu Kang by the light of the fire. He forced a smile and looked around. There were corpses everywhere, and there was blood everywhere, and there were many people from the Chu Kingdom standing around who looked like they had been bathed in blood after a bloody battle. Soldiers, everything has quieted down, and everyone is looking at him, and everyone's eyes are full of awe.
"Sir, Tongguan has been captured." Lu Kang said with indescribable excitement, "We have captured Tongguan."
The entire Tongguan was shrouded in night. In this battle, only more than 40 of the hundreds of guards at Tongguan were captured, and almost all others were wiped out. Lu Kang quickly deployed defenses at Tongguan, completely controlling the entire Tongguan in the hands of the Chu army. .
The Chu army also paid more than 200 lives in this bloody battle, and hundreds of people were injured.
Qin Ning knew that it was almost impossible to transport the bodies of these dead soldiers back to Xichuan at the moment, so he ordered every dead soldier to be registered in a register, and ordered all the corpses, including those of Han soldiers, to be recovered. Buried near Tongguan.
Hundreds of corpses cannot be disposed of overnight.
There is a special guard's room in Tongguan, which is very simple, but quite spacious.
Qi Ning did a little cleaning and tidying up, and then asked someone to bring Qu Manbao over.
During the bloody battle between the two sides, someone in the Chu army controlled Qu Manbao to prevent him from escaping in the chaos.
After Qu Manbao saw Qi Ning, his face turned pale. Qi Ning glanced at him and did not let him sit down. He just said lightly: "Without the help of the eldest son, Tongguan would not have been taken. Maybe throughout the ages, I am the number one A general who captured Tongguan so easily."
Of course Qu Manbao saw the scene where the Tongguan garrison was almost completely wiped out.
Of course he knew that now that the Chu army controlled Tongguan, the entire northwest would soon fall into the hands of the Chu army, and the vast northwest land would soon be incorporated into the territory of the Chu state.
The northwest that the Qu family relied on was completely destroyed in his own hands.
He didn't know how Qu Yuangu would look after knowing that Tongguan was lost, but he also understood that the Northwest Army led by Qu Yuangu to attack Luoyang had no way out. If the Northwest Army could not capture it within two months, Luoyang will be in an unprecedented crisis. The northwest army only carries enough food and grass for two months. When Qu Yuangu went on the expedition, he was not worried about his logistics being cut off. After all, the food he had hoarded in the northwest for many years, It is fully capable of supporting the Northwest Army's offensive against Luoyang this time.
But now that his old nest has been raided, Qu Yuangu has made no progress or retreat.
When the princes of the Northern Han Dynasty competed for the throne, local forces, big and small, naturally had their own interests. Beitang Hao was based in Luoyang, Beitang Zhao led the border troops to attack Luoyang from the north, and Beitang Feng sent troops from the northwest. In the end, there was only one prince among the three. can achieve final victory.
If you follow the right person, you will naturally rise to the top, but if you follow the wrong person, your family will be destroyed.
Among the three princes, Beitang Zhao and Beitang Hao were the first to confront each other. After several confrontations, the two had consumed a huge amount of strength. The forces from all over the country that had not yet participated naturally waited to see what would happen and waited until the time was right before placing all their bets.
Beitang Feng led tens of thousands of troops into the pass from the northwest, and Zhong Li'ao on the front line was held back by the Chu people. Under such circumstances, Beitang Feng's advantage was naturally extremely obvious.
Once the Northwest Army is in full swing, the forces of the Northern Han Dynasty will naturally defect to Beitangfeng, and there will even be the possibility that officials in Luoyang will liaise with the Northwest Army. In this way, Beitangfeng will ascend the throne and Beitangfeng will be just around the corner. Once Tang Feng ascends the throne, the Qu family will surely become a powerful and powerful family in the Northern Han Dynasty.
But now that the northwest is occupied by the Chu people, and the Northwest Army's base has been lost, even those who are more optimistic about the Northwest Army cannot believe that Beitangfeng can win the final victory. As a result, those forces who were already prepared to defect to the Northwest Army , not only will they not surrender to Beitang Feng, they will even attack him in groups.
Qu Manbao knew that not only the hundreds of guards at Tongguan were destroyed, but also the tens of thousands of soldiers from the northwest who entered the pass, and the Qu family that had dominated the northwest for more than ten years. All of this was because of his extremely miserable end.
His hands and feet were cold, and the young Duke of Chu in front of him filled him with resentment. At this time, there were only himself and Lord Chu in the room. He even wanted to rush up and tear the other person into pieces, but his legs were weak. I was thinking in my heart, but I didn't dare to make any move at all.
However, Qi Ning's harsh words still made him angry, and he said coldly: "Congratulations to General Qi for his unparalleled achievements."
"The great merit is not on me, but on you." Qi Ning said with a smile: "I keep my word. You are the one who made the first contribution to the capture of Tongguan. After returning to Xianyang, I will immediately write a note and give it to you. The emperor will state your merits. I believe it won’t be long before the emperor’s edict of rewards will be sent to the northwest. I believe the emperor will be very generous to the eldest son.”
"Xianyang?" Qu Manbao's eyes flashed.
Qi Ning sighed: "Young Master, you should understand that I, the Emperor of Chu, have great ambitions. For the sake of the people of the world, I naturally want to wipe out all rebellions. Our Chu army came to the northwest, of course, it is not just for the little Tongguan. If If all goes well, by the time we arrive in Xianyang, Xianyang will have changed its flag." Staring at Qu Manbao, he said word by word: "The northwest no longer belongs to the Northern Han Dynasty, nor to your Qu family, but to our Great Chu Empire! "
The more Qu Manbao thought about it, the angrier he became. What happened in the past few days quickly flashed through his mind, and he suddenly said: "Despicable!"
"mean?"
Qu Manbao stared at Qining and said: "You... you actually planted spies around me. If I hadn't been fooled by you, how could you have allowed you to set foot in the northwest?" He clenched his fists, and the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and he regretted it.
"Spy?" Qi Ning didn't understand what he meant, but immediately thought of the secret letter and said calmly: "Who is the spy you are talking about?"
Qu Manbao sneered and said: "Don't think that I don't know. That Daosheng must be your spy planted in the northwest. It's just that I was blind and thought of him as one of my own and listened to his bewitchment. This led to the huge disaster now." I...I will cut him into pieces."
"Daosheng?" Qi Ning looked thoughtfully at the oil lamp on the table and muttered to himself: "Who is Daosheng?"