Yelu Abaoji stood on the mountain peak, looking at the several pass cities under his feet, with no expression on his face.
Looking from his position, the soldiers inside and outside the Guancheng were as small as ants, but because of the large number, they looked like a torrent of ocean. In comparison, Guancheng is like a small island, facing the risk of being engulfed by waves at any time.
These days, the number of prairie warriors participating in the attack is no less than that of the Tang army, and the attack is fierce, like a pack of wolves descending the mountain. This is very different from their previous performance when they attacked the border of the Tang army.
Yelu Abaoji knew the reason for the discrepancy, so he was powerless and very angry.
Although Qilaotu Mountain has a good terrain, the time for Khitan to build a defense line here is still too short. The pass city is weak, the defense system is not strict, and there is no hierarchy, which means it looks solid.
In front of the attacker's continuous offensive, it is not much different from a paper tiger.
Prairie warriors are not good at attacking and defending.
At least for now.
They like to gallop on the grass on horses and charge in the wild.
Yelu Abaoji knew that it would be very difficult to defend Yikun Prefecture under the current situation with a group of remnants and defeated generals. But he had no choice, he had to fight hard, otherwise Khitan would have no way out, and he would no longer be the king of the grassland.
Originally, Yelu Abaoji thought that if Yikun Prefecture could not defend, he would go back to the depths of the grassland and rely on the vast wasteland to deal with the Tang army. Given the Khitan people's familiarity with the grasslands, if they wanted to avoid the battle, the Tang army would have nothing to do with it.
When the army of the Central Plains went to battle on the grasslands, food and fodder supplies were the heaviest burden, and they simply did not have the ability to support the protracted cat-and-mouse game. As long as the Khitan avoid the battle during the movement, it won't take long for the Tang Dynasty army to retreat, and the Khitan will be able to regenerate at that time.
But now, Yelu Abaoji knew that he had no way out when he saw the wolves and tigers of the grassland tribes outside the Guancheng.
Abandoning Yikun Prefecture and returning to the depths of the grassland will only give the grassland tribes who have defected a chance to plunder the Khitan territory. At that time, the Khitan will definitely lose its power to overwhelm the grassland, and the tribes everywhere will break free from the Khitan's control one after another.
"Li Ye, you have such a ruthless heart and such a ruthless method!"
If cursing could kill Li Ye, Yelu Abaoji would definitely curse him continuously for three days and three nights.
Yelu Dilugu, who was standing beside him, was also in the same mood as Yelu Abaoji.
Li Ye's method of controlling the grassland tribal army made him feel cold all over his body.
The grassland people are not like the Central Plains people. They don't have so much righteousness and loyalty. The cruel and realistic living environment prevents them from believing in those things. Whether it is said that they are simple in nature, or that they have no faith, what they pursue and do is to survive in the harsh environment.
So the Tang Dynasty wanted grassland people to be as loyal to the country as the Central Plains people, that was wishful thinking.
The Central Plains dynasty supported one grassland hero and suppressed another grassland hero, and they were often successful, but it was extremely difficult to control the newborn hero. When the life of the people in the tribe cannot be guaranteed, the leader must lead them to provoke wars and plunder property.
Poverty, too poor to survive, is always the root of trouble.
faith? It is something that one can pursue leisurely and elegantly after eating and clothing warmly.
Li Ye wanted the prairie people to fight for him, no matter how many benefits he promised, it would be useless, a wise hero would definitely hold back. But Li Ye took them to rob, and handed over the spoils. In the face of such tangible benefits, everyone from chiefs to ordinary soldiers will definitely move forward bravely and explode with frightening fighting power.
The best way to deal with barbarism is to be more barbaric than it is.
"My lord, the battle has been going on for several days. Not to mention the heavy casualties of our army, the fighting spirit of the warriors is also very low. Especially the grassland tribe army attached to us has already defected to the enemy. I am worried that the war will continue like this. If you go down, someone will directly open Guancheng."
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Yeludi Lugu said sadly, "Please, Your Majesty, make up your mind earlier and find a way out for the Khitan Kingdom."
The corner of Yelu Abaoji's mouth moved, but he remained silent for a while.
Make up your mind, any ideas
You can't fight, you can't drag, you can't run, what else can you do
"My lord! Something is wrong!"
Yili Jin Yelv Dilie from the northern courtyard suddenly flew up with a panicked expression, "Yellow Head and Tatars rebelled, the West Building was attacked, and the remaining army was defeated..."
Hearing this news, Yeludi Lugu's eyes darkened and he almost fell off the mountain.
Xilou is the capital of the Khitan Kingdom, and now it has been attacked and lost, which means that they have completely lost their retreat.
The battle in Yikun Prefecture is meaningless. Even if they block the frontal enemy, they will be attacked from behind by the Yellow Head and the Tatars. The defeat is inevitable, and the entire army may be wiped out!
Yelu Dilie bowed his head and reported the military situation, but he did not hear Yelu Abaoji's response for a long time.
He endured it for a long time, finally couldn't help it, and raised his head on his own initiative, but what he saw was a picture that completely disappeared the luck in his heart.
Yelu Abaoji burst into tears.
It's blood and tears.
"We lost...we, lost. Totally lost."
After saying this, Yelu Abaoji's black hair turned pale as snow in an instant.
...
Although the battle was fierce, there was no place for Li Ye to contribute, so he played chess with Li Maozhen in the camp.
Li Maozhen's chess skills are really stinky, and she keeps making tricks. But Li Ye's chess skills were not much better, and he couldn't see Li Maozhen's flaws at all, so the two of them fought inextricably, and each of them felt very happy.
This is called chess meeting opponents.
"Report! His Royal Highness King An, His Royal Highness King Qi, raise a white flag in Guancheng! Khitan... surrendered!"
Hearing the elated report from the military envoy, Li Ye and Li Maozhen turned their heads at the same time, staring at the envoy non-stop.
The military envoy soon felt uncomfortable.
Suddenly, Li Maozhen slapped the chessboard and slammed down the pieces in his hand, "I won!"
Li Ye also dropped a chess piece, and said hesitantly, "I won too."
The two looked at each other, and then, very artificially raised their heads and laughed together, pretending to be chic.
Yelu Abaoji, who had no choice but to surrender, appeared in front of Li Ye.
He came alone and only wanted to meet Li Ye.
For such a request, Li Ye naturally had no reason to agree to it generously.
Winners need to be magnanimous to elevate their style.
Only the winners are eligible for generosity.
Seeing the white-haired Yelu Abaoji, Li Ye was a little surprised, shook his head and sighed: "If I knew today, why bother?"
"If there hadn't been this battle, how would we know that King An is so tyrannical? Being able to fully see the methods of the strongest person in the world is not worthy of my generation's mighty power."
Yelu Abaoji looked like a wise man who saw through the world of mortals and had no worries. He saluted like a ceremonial, "Although you and I are rivals, we are old friends. Isn't King An going to invite me to the discussion?"
Li Ye felt that the other party's request was not a problem at all, so he invited the other party to the table, and ordered the army cooks to set up a banquet, intending to treat Yelu Abaoji well, so as to show that he had a broad mind.
Yelu Abaoji really wasn't pretentious, after the wine and meat came, he didn't wait for Li Ye's invitation, so he buried himself in eating. During this time, he toasted frequently, exchanged cups with Li Ye, and behaved very casually. He didn't look like an enemy, but he was really just an old friend as he said.
It was also during this process that Li Ye discovered that Yelu Abaoji could no longer see.
For a loser and a hero who has nothing, it is a blessing not to see the world that disappoints him.
Or maybe because of this, Yelu Abaoji was able to face Li Ye calmly.
After eating half a fat sheep and drinking three jugs of wine, Yelu Abaoji shouted happily, then sat upright and said to Li Ye solemnly: "When King An was still the governor of Pinglu, you and I first met in Hedong. I know that King An must have made great achievements. But at that time, I did not expect that King An’s achievements would be so great. With today’s defeat, the Khitan Kingdom no longer exists, and this world belongs to King An.”
Li Ye spun his glass with a smile and said, "To be honest, I have been fighting for many years, and you are the strongest opponent. The king of the grassland is not in vain after all. The victory or defeat of this war is not because of you and me personally. Which one is higher and which one is lower, but the Central Plains Dynasty, which has a profound heritage and a complete world, is not comparable to the Grassland Dynasty after all."
Yelu Abaoji sighed, "Being able to receive King An's words, Yelu Abaoji is a lifelong comfort. Standing in this world, being able to fight for the world with King An is really a great joy. Even if you lose, you will have no regrets."
Speaking of this, Yelu Abaoji got up and went to the tent, and bowed completely to Li Ye, "King An has already ruled the world, and the whole world belongs to King An. In this blue sky, there is no enemy of King An anymore.
"Yelu Abaoji fought all his life, and gained nothing. Only those warriors who followed me north and south and fought bloody battles are the greatest gains in this life. King An has won this battle, can you spare these Khitan warriors and let them live? "
Yelu Abaoji said these words sincerely, obviously from the bottom of his heart, and the look of pleading on his face did not pretend at all.
Li Ye looked at Yelu Abaoji, "You really care about these ordinary soldiers so much?"
Yelu Abaoji's face was full of vicissitudes, and he said truthfully: "Before today, Yelu Abaoji didn't think much of the soldiers under his command. He only regarded them as swords in his hands. Not even half moved.
"Now that I have been defeated, I know that I am not a god, and I am just an ordinary person.
"In this life, it is the greatest blessing to have these warriors who are willing to follow me and fight for me without complaint or regret. This kind of love is as precious as heaven. It's just helpless. I, Yelu Abao, have let them down, and I can no longer Let them enjoy the glory and wealth, and now thinking about it, I feel ashamed."
Li Ye put down his wine glass, thought for a while, and said slowly, "What if I don't agree?"
Yelu Abaoji smiled wryly, "When King An got angry, he buried millions of corpses, who can do anything?"
Li Ye nodded, "In that case, I can spare them from dying, but I can't keep their belongings."
"It's a blessing to be able to save a life. King An is kind. If they don't fight against Datang in the future, they are willing to be driven by King An to help King An control the grassland. King An will never let them starve to death, right? "Yelu Abaoji's empty eyes showed nervousness.
There is nothing to say about this, Li Ye said: "I will never treat my own people badly."
"With King An's words, I feel relieved." Yelu Abaoji had a sincere smile on his face.
Immediately, there was a smile on the corner of his mouth, "His Royal Highness An, if there is an afterlife, you and I will fight on the battlefield again, and we will never die."
After saying this, Yelu Abaoji didn't speak again.
The smile on the corner of his mouth is still there, but the brilliance on his face has gradually dissipated.
His body was standing like that, but it was already motionless.
The king of the prairie killed himself and died like this.