northernbook Chapter 209 Encounter
Chapter 209 Encounter
Changsun Wuji retracted his gaze and said, "This is not something we need to worry about. Our mission is to train the veterans of Qiuci City into a firearms unit within three days to lay the foundation for the Tang Dynasty to regain its foothold in the Western Regions in the future."
At this time, Fang Xuanling sighed: "To be honest, although I have experienced two time travels, I still haven't recovered from my shock. What method did His Highness use..."
Zhang Sun Wuji also sighed: "Yes, Your Highness has unfathomable powers, maybe there really is such a thing as the Son of Heaven!"
Fang Xuanling nodded: "Let's not talk about this anymore. Since Your Highness has this method to make up for the regrets of history, we should cherish it.
Let’s go and do some work…”
On the other side, Li Chengqian and his party headed westward under the guidance of Guo Xin.
After half a day's journey, it was already night, and everyone had changed horses twice.
They were all fine, but the old and frail Guo Xin could not withstand such a long journey.
"Let's stop and rest for a while!"
Seeing that Guo Xin was not in a good state, Li Chengqian hurried to persuade him again.
Along the way, he had persuaded Guo Xin three times, but was opposed every time.
"No, we cannot slow down our march because of me. Time waits for no one. We must arrive at the city of Gumozhou by noon tomorrow."
Li Shimin also stepped forward to persuade them, "It doesn't matter if you can't hold on for a while, but if you can't hold on, we will be lost in the desert without a guide, which will be detrimental to our plan!"
Li Jing also advised: "Yes, it doesn't matter if it's a little later. As long as we can get to Gumo Prefecture before nightfall tomorrow, it will be fine. Old General, you should take a rest!"
Guo Xin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and cursed himself in his heart for being so useless.
He was also shocked by the physique of Li Shimin and others.
But now my body...
"Okay, then we'll rest for an hour, and then we'll have to continue on our journey!"
After saying that, Guo Xin fell asleep and slept very soundly.
No one bothered him, but some things still needed to be done.
Li Jing ordered six teams, each led by six original guards, to explore the surroundings.
An hour and a half later, Guo Xin was still sleeping soundly, but no one woke him up.
At this time, a team of scouts who had been sent out finally brought back a piece of news.
"Reporting to the general, we found a market town fifteen miles to the north. The Tibetans who had escaped earlier were resting there."
After learning the news, Li Jing immediately reported it to Li Shimin and Li Chengqian.
The two of them were also resting their eyes at this time.
After hearing the news, Li Shimin became interested: "Leave it to me, I only need 300 cavalrymen to capture these Tibetans!"
Cheng Yaojin came up and said, "I only need 200 cavalrymen!"
Yuchi Gong also joined in the fun: "I only need one hundred cavalrymen!"
Li Chengqian looked at Li Jing: "What do you think?"
At this time, Li Shimin also reacted and said first: "I was just excited. This group of Tubo defeated must not be touched, otherwise the news will leak out."
Li Jing nodded: "That's right, I think so too, but we have to send a team to monitor them, and we have to get to Gumo Prefecture before these Tibetans!"
Li Chengqian looked at the sky and said, "I estimate that they will not set out until daybreak, which means we have one night to catch up with them. We must set off now."
Everyone looked at Guo Xin who was still sleeping!
Although I am worried about his physical condition, I have to make a decision now.
"Go wake up the old general!"
Guo Xin was called for a long time before he slowly woke up and opened his red eyes! !
"Has one hour passed?" Guo Xin looked up at the sky!
"Oh, didn't I tell you to wake me up in an hour? What time is it now?"
Li Chengqian consoled him, "It's only been an hour and a half. It's not a big deal. We can still leave now!"
No one told him about the discovery of the Tibetans.
After some preparation, the other scout teams that had been dispersed also returned.
But Guo Xin saw a team of ten people separated from the team and ran to the north.
He asked Li Chengqian while riding on his horse: "Where are they going?"
"Nothing, just a scout sent out!"
Guo Xin nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
After another whole night of marching, half of the march distance had been covered!
When everyone was about to stop for breakfast, a rider on a fast horse came hurriedly from the west to report that an army of 2,000 generals and a combination of Tibetans and Western Region troops appeared 50 miles ahead.
Guo Xin still had a wheat biscuit in his mouth. He stood up immediately after hearing the news.
"Oh no, our whereabouts must have been exposed!"
Li Chengqian, Li Jing and others did not think so. The previous group of Tibetans were in the north, and their numbers did not match.
The scouts who came back this time were the ones they sent out to explore the west. They should be another group of Tibetan talents.
As for why the other party appeared fifty miles away, perhaps it was not because their whereabouts were exposed, but because they went to support the defeated Tibetan people in the north.
In other words, Gumo Prefecture was already short of military forces at this time, and it was the perfect opportunity for them to take it down in one fell swoop.
The question now is whether to bypass this group of Tibetan vassal soldiers or to face the enemy head-on and defeat them! !
Li Chengqian looked at Li Jing and Li Shimin.
Both of them pondered for a while, and Li Shimin was the first to speak: "I tend to defeat the opponent head-on."
Li Jing said, "But this is deep in the wilderness. Even if we have the absolute strength to defeat this army, there are no witnesses and it will not have the effect of deterring the surrounding areas."
Guo Xin took over the conversation: "I thought I could face the enemy head-on, but I couldn't kill them all."
After hearing this, Li Chengqian asked in doubt, "General, do you mean to chase these Tibetans all the way to the city of Gumozhou?"
"That's right. This will not only maximize the visual effect, but also allow us to follow the Tibetans directly into the city of Gumo Prefecture, and also allow people from other forces in the city to witness the bravery of the Tang soldiers!"
Everyone nodded after hearing this.
Li Chengqian made the final decision: "That's it, everyone, rest here, eat and drink, and get enough rest. We will wait for the opportunity to strike!"
A journey of fifty miles is neither long nor short.
If we travel at full speed, we can arrive in an hour.
But it was obvious that the other side was not marching at full strength. More than two hours later, the scouts came back and told them that the Tibetans were already five miles away!
Li Jing officially took over the command and began to deploy troops.
Guo Xin looked at the command of the Tang Dynasty God of War with excitement.
He discovered that five hundred of the Tang Dynasty soldiers, who were originally all cavalry, had given up their horses and chose to fight on foot.
They drew their flintlocks from their saddlebags and formed up in five lines.
The remaining 400 or so still maintained the cavalry formation, divided into two teams, holding composite bows, guarding on both sides of the infantry.
As for the small steel cannon he carried with him, it was not put into use and was still carried on the horse's back.