The war in Gongyue City was progressing smoothly, far beyond everyone's expectations, including Qin Mubai.
Originally, Qin Mubai used a provocative technique to let Ni Shuipulai fight the Tang army, and then defeated him with absolute strength. Just like "boiling the eagle" and "taming the beast", it fundamentally smoothed out the wildness and temper of the Beiting Turks.
Ni Shuchui and the generals in Beiting were indeed aroused. When Beiting's Khan Yugushe heard about this, he personally led tens of thousands of reinforcements to Gongyue City to supervise the battle, putting on a show of fighting to the death. Mode. As a result, the number of soldiers and horses in Beiting increased to about 300,000 (including civilian soldiers temporarily recruited from Gongyue City, the capital of the capital). According to the instructions of Ni Shuchui, a veteran military strategist, the 300,000-strong army was divided into four divisions. Three divisions formed an iron triangle outside the city to form a horned defensive formation. There were also elite troops and a large number of bows and arrows hidden in the city for defense.
Xue Rengui only led his 30,000 elite Yueqi and Zhao Tong's less than 1,000-strong Vulcan, carrying 20 Shenwu cannons, and cleared the way to Gongyue City. Nishuchui had done a good job in the situation. When he learned that the Tang army had only sent 30,000 soldiers and horses as the vanguard to lead the battle, he wanted to catch the Tang army by surprise first and give him a disincentive.
Therefore, Beiting's three battalions of nearly 150,000 troops deployed outside the city took advantage of Xue Rengui's arrival and had not yet established a stable foothold.
Xue Rengui stayed calm in the face of danger and turned half of the elite cavalry into infantry strong shield players to protect the Shenwu cannon and the Vulcan. He ordered Zhao Tong to command the Vulcan to kill the enemy; Then attack the enemy head on.
As a result, the Turks, who faced the divine cannon and fire god for the first time, reacted the same way as the Tibetans did - when they heard the sound of a cannon, many soldiers, including horses, were frightened and pissed. !
The troops and horses of Beiting charged wildly, and their formation was suddenly in chaos!
After a round of artillery bombardment, the Vulcan cavalry charged and plundered the formation under Xue Rengui's personal cover. Another round of gunshots rang out and smoke rose into the sky. The Turks who were charging ahead were completely frightened and defeated. They suddenly had no fighting spirit and no fighting formations. There was a huge rout that was beyond Ni Shushui's expectation!
Xue Rengui jumped on his horse and took the lead with his halberd, leading the most elite Yueqi in the Guanxi Army to take advantage of the victory to cover up the kill. The people in Beiting were scattered in the clouds, crying for father and mother, and their bodies were lying on the ground for hundreds of miles with blood flowing like rivers!
It wasn't until the pursuit reached Gongyue City that Xue Rengui stopped his horse. Seeing that the city gates were tightly closed, the river protection was extremely wide, and the city head was densely covered with crossbows, Xue Rengui was not in a hurry to attack the city. He raised Fang Tian's painted halberd high and pointed it at the city head, and shouted angrily: "Turks in Beiting, listen! You are dissatisfied with Wang Huaming's stubbornness, plundering the trade routes, abusing my people, and killing my marshal for humiliation. My envoy, we have an irreconcilable hatred! Today we, the Heavenly Soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, are here to punish the people and punish the rebels. Why don’t you quickly open the city and surrender? Marshal Qin, the commander of the Guanxi Army of the Tang Dynasty, has ordered that those who surrender will be spared death. ! Anyone who wants to surrender will be pardoned and made a prince! - If he doesn't surrender, he will be burned to death!"
Xue Rengui was a martial arts practitioner. He was full of energy and the sound of thunder was rolling. Coupled with the illustrious name he had erected in the North Courtyard, if he continued to roar these few times, some Turkic soldiers guarding the city were frightened and confused. .
Just yelling, Xue Rengui still didn't feel satisfied. At a glance, I saw the top of Gongyue City, with a Beiting Langtouya flag flying high, and I felt very unhappy. After looking at the distance, it was about a hundred steps. With a thought in his mind, he took the tiger-striped thrush bow given to him by Qin Mubai from the saddle, and also took a large iron-mounted boxwood bow from the soldier. Take two giant bows with the power of two stones and twist them into one, string the two strings into one, and use your supernatural power to shoot an arrow!
That arrow was like a goshawk swooping down on a shooting star and stabbing at the moon. It was both fierce and accurate, and it broke the bowl-mouthed poplar pole wearing the wolf-headed fang flag!
The Wolf Touya flag floated down like a kite with its string broken. The Turkic soldiers on the top of the city were frightened and screamed repeatedly - this flagpole could not be cut off in one or two blows even with a knife and axe, but Xue Rengui shot it in half with an arrow from a hundred steps away!
What if this arrow hits a person? ... No wonder Nishuchui was shot through by him with an arrow and nailed to the ground!
"A certain arrow will kill someone!" Xue Rengui put the bow on the arrow again and shouted.
The Turks on the top of the city were terrified, and without exception, they all shrank their heads and hid under the female wall. Many people shrank their necks, fearing that Xue Rengui could penetrate the city wall with an arrow, so they simply rolled on the ground and ran away.
Xue Rengui did not fire the arrow, but laughed loudly. All the soldiers of the Tang army laughed together!
"Send a message to Nishushu! Don't be ignorant of current affairs and bring the danger of annihilation to the Turks! Open the city early to accept the surrender and wait for my young commander to deal with it. There is still a glimmer of hope! - Withdraw the troops!!"
Xue Rengui led his army to retreat ten miles to the village.
The shocked Turkic soldiers on the tower of Gongyue City did not dare to look up. It took a long time for someone brave enough to peek out from the hole in the female wall, but not even the shadow of Tang Jun could be seen, only the smoke and dust left by the horses' hooves.
At least 30,000 corpses were left on the battlefield. In this battle, Xue Rengui won quite completely; the little fighting spirit the Turks had managed to inspire was instantly wiped out. In Gongyue City, there was a rumpus and everyone was in danger. Seeing that even Khan wanted to have a good time with the marshal, he was about to lose his composure.
At this time, Qin Mubai led the main force of the Guanxi Army and the 100,000 allied troops from Nanting who had just been admitted, and came to Gongyue City to join forces with Xue Rengui.
Qin Mubai and the generals heard the details of Xue Rengui's vanguard battle, and they all laughed happily. Qin Mubai said that it turned out that Xue Rengui, who had always been taciturn and almost dull, could also tease and scare people. The Beiting Turks may have really lost their temper after being beaten and humiliated by him several times.
The next day, Qin Mubai did not waste any time and mobilized an army of 300,000 to surround Gongyue City. All the Shenwu cannons, a total of sixty, were aimed at the north gate of Gongyue City.
Before starting to attack the city, Qin Mubai gave the city an ultimatum - asking Xue Rengui to shoot a surrender letter into the city. The letter stated that if Beiting did not leave the city to surrender within an hour, the Kansai Army would attack the city forcefully. After the city was broken, the Khan, the marshal and all the officers and generals in Beiting were not pardoned. If you surrender at this time, you can still avoid death.
Then, Qin Mubai and others began to wait patiently.
At this time, Xue Rengui asked Qin Mubai: "Young Marshal, I still don't quite understand. What is the difference between surrendering to Beiting now and accepting the surrender of Nishuchu?"
"The difference is huge." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "When Ni Shuchui surrendered, it was a false surrender. Even if it was not a false surrender, it was a temporary surrender with ulterior motives and a delaying tactic. I will never accept such a surrender. The situation is different now. You fought really well in the Pioneer battle, saving us a lot of effort. Originally, I planned to persuade Gongyue City to surrender after a few rounds of siege battles. Of course, it is to reduce the casualties of our army as much as possible, and to buy time and protect this historical city on the Silk Road. Now, you, the vanguard, have done what I want to do in advance, and defeated Beiting in just one battle. There is no trace of anger in people. The success rate of surrender should be high now, because I feel that people in Gongyue City are starting to lose their temper."
"Maybe!" Xue Rengui nodded in approval, "When I came to Gongyue City for the first time two days ago, even though they had just been defeated, the city was covered with crossbows and the flags were very neat. But when I look at the city again today, The top crossbowmen are hiding under the parapet, obviously afraid of our army's artillery. Moreover, their flags are also a bit messy, indicating that their orders are inconsistent. "
"So, we might as well try our luck!" Qin Mubai raised his lips and smiled, "The Art of War says, 'It is the best policy to subjugate an enemy without fighting.' Ten simple words, but it is easier to do it than Killing millions of enemies is even harder. Killing people is not as good as killing people, but it is a hundred times harder than killing people. First, I have to be tough and not let him play tricks on me. The second is to completely destroy his confidence in the military and defeat their fighting spirit; the third is to rely on victory and persuade them to surrender when their fighting spirit and belief collapse. Unless all the people in Beiting are crazy, most people will consider surrendering."
Xue Rengui suddenly laughed, "That's right!"
"What do you mean - this is right?" Qin Mubai asked.
"This is like your wrist." Xue Rengui laughed softly, "soft yet strong, hard yet soft. When you refused to surrender, Hong Tai and I felt that you were very different. As for Yu Ping, it turns out that you have already made a decision in your mind. It seems that how to conduct correct operations, when to use regular troops and when to use surprise troops is really a big question. Marshal, you have indeed learned the true art of Wei Gong's tactics. Damn it—when it comes to strategy and scheming, I think Ni Shuchui is still a step behind you!"
"Haha, don't praise me too much." Qin Mubai frowned slightly and said, "It is only against an opponent like Ni Shuchui that I would use the method of persuading him to surrender in the end. For Gar Qinling, I never thought about it. Because Ni Shuchu is the wolf king of a group of wild wolves. In the end, he will consider the survival of the group; but Galqin Ling is an arrogant goshawk. If his wings are broken, he will not be able to survive. If he flies again, he would rather kill himself than live a humble existence..."
"Actually, I also admire Gar Qinling..." Xue Rengui also sighed and said, "He is a capable and ruthless character, but it is a pity that he was born at the wrong time. If he can join hands with the young marshal to serve the Tang Dynasty..."
Qin Mubai smiled and waved his hand, "It's still possible if the mud is ripe. It's impossible for Gar Qinling!"
"Young Marshal, do you want to sip it with mud?" Xue Rengui exclaimed in surprise.
"Didn't you hear what Khan Bobu Zianqin said about how prestigious Nishusip is in the Western Regions?" Qin Mubai raised the corner of his mouth slightly, "We are now like hunters patrolling the Western Regions, like Nishusip If you don’t need such a good eagle dog, what else can you use?”
"But he is the young marshal who killed your father?..." Xue Rengui suddenly said it out loud. He suddenly felt speechless and was about to admit his guilt and apologize, but Qin Mubai smiled slightly and said:
"Yes, he is my father-killing enemy. It was he who personally commanded the raid that killed my father. But... at that time, everyone was his own master, and there was no selfish hatred on the battlefield. Not only did my father lecture me like this, I have this realization myself. As for hatred, how can I count the hundreds of thousands of enemies I killed in the many battles to quell Tibet? In the end, Garqinling did not hate me, and Qi Zong Nongzan did not hate me. There are also tens of thousands of Kunlun cavalry who have been recruited, but they don’t hate me—do I, Qin, have a lower heart than these people?”
"..." Xue Rengui was speechless and could only remain silent. Finally, he nodded slightly and said, "Xue, you have killed a lot of people..."
Three hundred thousand troops surrounded Gongyue City like an iron bucket, without leaking. The barrels of dozens of divine cannons were pointed directly at the city gate, ready to go.
Gongyue City, this ancient hub city located on the Silk Road, has many Manichaean churches made of white jade and ancient Western Regions characteristic buildings, as well as the Khan's tooth tent built in the Beiting at a huge cost. This city was once a dazzling sight on the Silk Road. Business travelers who came here were all amazed by the beauty of the city's architecture and never wanted to leave.
At this moment, this ancient city is facing a disaster. It's hard to imagine what this ancient city would look like if the Shenwu cannon fire ruthlessly destroyed it.
Qin Mubai had also heard of Gongyue City for a long time. From the first day he set foot in the Western Regions, he had thought about setting up the "Anxi Protectorate" in Gongyue City, a historical city located in the heart of the Western Regions. .
Therefore, there is an important reason why he persuaded to surrender today, which is to protect the integrity of this city.
Time passes slowly. The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty who were deployed in the field were waiting patiently. Qin Mubai rode on the horse and hit the saddle slowly with the whip, as if counting seconds.
Finally, the northern gate of Gongyue City was slowly opened from the inside. A group of people came out of the city, led by a man with a full beard, wearing a pure white moon robe, and walked out slowly holding a tray in both hands.
Suddenly, someone beside Qin Mubai whispered in surprise: "Young Marshal, Beiting has come out to surrender! Look, a white flag has been raised on the top of the city!"
Qin Mubai was also overjoyed—it was indeed a success!
The suspension bridge was lowered in Gongyue City, and the bearded moon-robed man came up from the suspension bridge with a group of people behind him. Qin Mubai stood on his horse and looked at the man. He was about forty years old, and he did have an aura of nobility that no one else had. He guessed that it must be Khan Yugushe from Beiting!
Behind him were several generals in military uniforms. The person closest to him has a tall body and a half-white beard, and is majestic and has sharp eyes. He must be a muddy man!
The man in the moon robe walked to a place ten steps in front of Qin Mubai's horse and stood there. He looked up at Qin Mubai and said, "If you want to set up a valley, you are willing to lead all the officers and generals in Beiting and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Gongyue City to submit to the Tang Dynasty." !”
After saying that, he lowered his head, knelt down on his knees, and raised the tray high with both hands. On the tray, there were items such as the deed and seal of the Kufusu field. Many officers and generals behind him knelt down together, asking to surrender.
Qin Mubai stared at the kneeling people in front of him, then raised his head to look at the sky after a moment, and said to himself: "Father, have you ever seen this scene in the sky? - Your long-cherished wish has been fulfilled at this moment! From now on, the Tang Dynasty will dominate the Western Regions with only one hand and no one can match it!"