Early the next morning, a team of fourteen people left Chang'an City. People who leave the city would not normally be inspected, so the big dogs, who were carrying weapons and pretended to be merchants, did not encounter any obstacles when they left the city gate. A group of people drove away in a carriage, the ten people that Prince Zhong stayed in Chang'an City, plus Big Dog, Qilin, Tie Nu and Ye Xiao.
This time Fang Jie had only Shen Qingfan left beside him, especially without the big dog, he seemed a lot more deserted. Back in the shop, Fang Jie didn't want to go out again.
"I hope Dagou and the others don't have any strong opponents this time."
Fang Jie sighed, but he still had no confidence in his heart. He didn't know much about Chungu's ten people, so he wasn't sure if they could protect Wu Yinyu with the strength of fourteen of them. Wu Yinyu's outlook on Qingle Mountain is one-sided, but now that she thinks about it, she can't say she's absolutely safe. Those Taoists will not take care of a little girl in particular, and if the killer goes up the mountain pretending to be a tourist, it is impossible to guard against it.
"The lame man said that ten of them are very strong."
Shen Qingfan comforted Fang Xie.
Fang Jie nodded: "There is only so much I can do now, and there are still too few people around me. It seems that in the future, I will really pay more attention to the people who can be used secretly. After all, more helpers are necessary. The Academy of Martial Arts There are a few people who are suitable, but at least they can't help me within two years. So if you want to find someone, it's better to search in the Jianghu. Gyeonggi-do is the place with the fewest people in the Jianghu, and of course it is also a great practitioner The most places. But those great practitioners, who is willing to follow me?"
Shen Qing raised his jaw: "I am also a great practitioner now."
Fang Jie was amused by her words, and took her hand to make her sit on his lap. Holding Shen Qingshan's small waist, smelling the faint fragrance of her body, Fang Jie buried his head in her chest and murmured: "Actually, I should be content now, right?"
"Contentment makes a man lazy."
Shen Qingfan smiled and said, "This is what you said."
Fang Jie shook his head: "It would be great if I didn't have to get involved in so many things, just get promoted and get rich."
Shen Qingfan's fingers brushed Fang Jie's cheek lightly: "It's like a daydream to get promoted and get rich. Those adults in the court seem to have a bright future. Who doesn't have troubles behind them? Sometimes They have to stand in line, have to express their opinions, in fact, most of them don't want to provoke anyone, they just want to get promoted and get rich."
"This idea is indeed too extravagant."
Fang Jie suddenly thought of a question: "You haven't told me, what was your original teacher's name and where was it?"
"The largest mountain range in Nanyan is called Moshan, and my master's gate is on Moshan Mountain. The master's gate is called Huachiyuan, and they are all women. It is said that the patriarch who founded the sect was a concubine of the Shang Dynasty. , reading and writing every day, and later because she had read too many books, she actually figured out how those great practitioners recorded in these classics and history books practiced. In this way, she was imprisoned in the cold palace for sixteen years. It’s a high level of self-teaching.”
"Sixteen years later, she escaped from the cold palace. She reached out to take care of the uneven road along the way, and saved seven women. She accepted these seven as her disciples. On Moshan, the eight of them built it by themselves. She built a wooden house, because there was a pool not far from where she lived, so she called this place Huachi. Later, the number of disciples in the sect increased, and the name of Huachiyuan gradually became famous in Nanyan. "
"However, within Nanyan, there is another sect that is also full of women that is stronger than my Huachiyuan, and since that mysterious man seriously injured the master and several elders in the sect, Huachiyuan is no longer It has returned to its former glory. The other sect is full of women, called Piaomiao Palace."
"It's a strange woman."
Fang Jie said with emotion: "Zhuo Buyi meditated for ten years in the copper and iron walls, and realized that painting is a prison. The patriarch of your sect studied in the cold palace for sixteen years, and finally became a great practitioner. But I am not the kind who can calm down. , if I were forced to live in one place for ten years, I'm afraid most of them would become a fool."
Shen Qingfan shook his head: "No one can be sure about things that have never been experienced. Moreover, I have always believed that even if people all over the world are living in difficulties, you must be the one who finds a way to live the best."
"My lady values me so much, I am so grateful."
Fang explained with a smile.
"It's because you are shameless enough and shameless enough."
Shen Qingfan explained seriously.
Fang Jie curled his lips and patted her buttocks: "Tell me, if something really happened to Marquis San Jin, would he help me if I asked Lame Lord? You two ninth-rank masters, He doesn't know how confident he is in being rescued from Chang'an City. As long as he doesn't die, it's fine, as for the transportation of goods... there are nine out of ten chances that he won't be able to keep it."
"Fang Jie, don't you think the emperor is a very paranoid person?"
Shen Qing fan asked.
"feel."
Fang Jie nodded: "From the very beginning, I thought he was a paranoid and terrifying person, especially later, knowing what he did for this expedition to the Northwest, I found him even more terrifying. The responsibility of Jiang Tuotu is his obsession. This is a good thing, but also a bad thing. Fortunately, the emperor is not a person who acts recklessly for the desire in his heart. He has prepared for this war for more than ten years. How many years have you been playing?"
"You don't think Da Sui can win?"
Shen Qingfan frowned and asked.
"Win?"
Fang Jie shook his head slowly: "If I was an authentic Sui person, if I hadn't been in Fan Gu for three years, maybe I would have believed that the Sui Dynasty would win like the common people, but it is precisely because I know some Mongolian and Yuan people I know some things about Buddhism, so I always feel that this war will not be won so easily, even if I win, maybe... it will be a miserable victory. "
Shen Qingfan remained silent, thinking to himself, is it really so important to be an emperor to open up territories and leave a name in history
…
…
Northwest Grassland.
General Li Yuanshan led nearly 20,000 cavalry in pursuit of the remnants of the Mandu Banner, and the men and horses of the Mandu Banner retreated steadily all the way to the Tumu Fort. This is the second largest city in Mandu Banner, second only to Zhicheng. However, this place is really not big, because the Mongolian people never had the habit of building big cities. The Tumu Fort is next to the Keqin Banner, and less than 20 miles to the west, is the camp of nearly 60,000 cavalry led by Keqin Lelang, the owner of the Keqin Banner.
Perhaps now Keqin Lelang is already regretting why he didn't send troops to help Mandu Latu. He really didn't expect the Sui people's offensive to be so fierce, and the warlike Mandu Latu was defeated so easily. The Mandu Banner is finished, the banner owner Mandu Ratu, and his son Mandu Teler are all dead. The eldest son in the royal court was as lonely as a wild goose out of the flock.
Fighting on the grasslands is inherently cruel. Although a family that has been exterminated is a disgrace to the Mengyuan people, no one is willing to help Mandu Qi stand up again.
Maybe Man Duyong rushed back with the royal army, but when he came back, the family's grassland had already become the territory of the enemy.
The reinforcements sent by the Wang Ting camped about 30 miles away from the Keqin Banner. This time, the leader of the army was Mengge Dahan's younger brother, Te Qin Kuo Ketai Menglie, who led the Wang Ting's 200,000 troops to arrive early. When they left the royal court, the second batch of reinforcements was already gathering, and they arrived at the easternmost edge of the grassland about a month later than they did.
The Sui army wiped out Mandu Banner, and most of the territory was occupied by them. After the 700,000 Sui troops marched westward for 1,700 miles, they began to build a defensive line. Before His Majesty's order came down, the first task of the army to conquer the west was to defend the nearly 2,000-mile grassland just won.
For Tai Sui, this is not just a number.
There was a shortage of war horses in the Sui Dynasty, and the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty was the country with the most war horses in the world. With these two thousand miles of pastures, Da Sui could build his own horse farm and train his own cavalry. As long as the Mandu Banner can be defended, after ten years, the Great Sui will have a strong cavalry team. At that time, in terms of strength compared with Meng Yuan, Da Sui will have the advantage.
The reason why no one was willing to go to war easily before the Sui Dynasty and the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty was because the monarchs of the two countries were not sure of winning the war. It was impossible for the infantry of the Sui people to fight thousands of miles into the grassland, and it was impossible for the cavalry of the Mongolian Yuan people to conquer the densely packed cities of the Great Sui.
But now, the scales seem to be tipping.
As long as the Great Sui defended the results of the battle, then when the cavalry of the Great Sui became stronger, the Sui people would have the strength to march further westward.
The Tumu Fort is a small city built on an earthen hill. In the past, less than 4,000 herdsmen lived here, and there were more than a thousand cavalry. After Manduwolves' rout troops stationed here, the small city seemed even more crowded. About 8,000 people are crowded in this earthen city, and food and weapons are the first things they worry about.
Because the west side of the Tumu Fort is the territory of Keqin Banner, the Sui army only surrounded the south, north and north sides of the Tumu Fort. The Sui army was not willing to easily place a team of men and horses in the cracks of the Mengyuan people. The terrain here is not suitable for encirclement on all sides.
Standing on the west side of Tucheng, Mandulang frowned slightly as he watched the Keqin Banner army camp faintly visible in the distance. Keqin Lelang, that old fox, refused to make any further advances. He was worried about being attacked by the Sui people and wanted to preserve his strength. But if no reinforcements come, this small civil fort will definitely not last long.
He killed Mandu Ratu to avenge his father and to take back what should belong to him. But he didn't expect that Wang Ting's reinforcements would stand still forty or fifty miles away. That despicable guy, Quoketai Menglie, must have no good intentions.
Just as he was meditating, suddenly a group of people came galloping from the west. It seems that there are not many people, about seventy or eighty riders. It was only when we got closer that we could see that the flag that was flying was actually the flag of Mandu Banner.
Those seventy or eighty riders arrived outside the Tumu Castle, and the leader shouted loudly: "I am Mandu Yong, warriors of the Mandu Banner defending the city, open the city gate and welcome your new banner owner to enter the city!"
Hearing his words, Mandu Lang frowned even deeper.
"General, please open the gate of the city, it is really the young banner master who has returned."
A commander shouted excitedly.
Mandu Lang's eyes froze, and he nodded to Agudam. Agudam understood what he meant, and led his soldiers down the Tucheng wall.
"Welcome back, my Banner Master!"
Mandu wolves shouted on the city wall.
The city gate opened with a creak, and Man Duyong rushed into the city gate with seventy or eighty cavalry soldiers. Man Duyong looked at the herdsmen and soldiers who surrounded him, feeling so sad that he even wanted to cry. Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, a wolf-toothed arrow passed through his mouth, and the bloody arrow came out from the back of his head, with some white brains on it.
In an instant, hundreds of spiked arrows poured down, and the seventy or eighty cavalry soldiers were shot down to the ground before they had time to react.
This sudden change surprised everyone. They looked at the Mandu wolf standing on the city wall with fear and anger in their eyes. Mandu Wolf laughed loudly, scanned the crowd below and asked loudly: "Now, is there anyone who opposes me inheriting the banner owner of Mandu Banner? If so, you can stand up and speak out."
Agudamu stood there with hundreds of soldiers holding bows and arrows, and the originally angry people began to retreat. Man Duyong is dead, what else can they do? Avenge Manduyong? They don't have the courage. The herdsmen did not dare, and neither did the soldiers. The strict hierarchy made them fearful of the people of the Mandu family, and now... there is only one Mandu wolf left in the Mandu family.
"Children, let's bury him. Next, we should think about how to defeat the Sui people."
Mandu Lang smiled, his expression flat as if he just killed a flock of sheep.