Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 69: Hold on and Wait for Help
"I am alone and powerless..."

Liu Jilong thought about these four words in his heart and couldn't help but reveal a self-deprecating smile on his face.

"You are right about that, but it is precisely because I am alone that I cannot make the decision."

He didn't want to discuss with Shang Bibi anymore, perhaps realizing that it was easy to make mistakes if he talked too much, so he turned around and walked down the city gate tower.

Looking at his back, Shang Bibi's smile became even brighter.

At the same time, two figures came from not far away. They were Shang Bibi’s two sons.

They walked towards Shang Bibi, their eyes still on Liu Jilong who was walking down the road.

When they came closer, the older young man spoke up: "Dad, why do you like him? Is it because he saved our people?"

"Of course not, Dad wouldn't be so short-sighted!" The younger man hurried to rescue Shang Bibi.

Shang Bibi was not angry when she heard this, but looked at them and her smile gradually faded.

"A man born in a commoner family can hold the position of a general. This is enough to show that he is not an ordinary person."

"You also saw it yesterday. When he and Suo Xun were at odds, Zhang Huairong stood on his side. This means that Liu Jilong is very likely a member of the Zhang family."

"Just because of this?" Shang Bibi's eldest son frowned slightly, and the second son remained silent.

"Of course it's more than that." Shang Bibi sighed, not knowing whether it was because of disappointment in her two sons or for something else.

"I can't tell you about this in detail, but as long as we take his boat, even if we can't return to Luosi, we can still maintain basic food, clothing, shelter and transportation."

"Besides... ahem!"

As he was talking, Shang Bibi began to cough violently, and the two young men hurried forward to gently stroke his back.

After coughing for a long time, he finally recovered and met the gaze of his two children.

If it weren't for them, Shang Bibi wouldn't have thought of betting on Liu Jilong.

But how to make Liu Jilong trust himself has become a difficult problem for him at the moment.

However, Shang Bibi believed that Liu Jilong would choose them in the end because he had no better choice.

How could a commoner, alone and weak, resist his thousand-plus light cavalry?

This kind of military force would be fought over even if it was placed in Guanzhong, not to mention in Hexi.

"Uuuuuu——"

Suddenly, a horn sounded, Shang Bibi and the others looked outside the city, and saw that the Shandan soldiers inside the city had also put on armor.

The south gate slowly opened, and Liu Jilong, wearing armor, walked out of the city alone on horseback.

Outside the city gate, nearly a thousand Shanzhou cavalrymen were on high alert. When they heard the horn coming from the direction of Shang Yanxin's troops, they all mounted their horses and rode to the front of the camp.

"General Liu!"

"General Liu is here!"

"General Liu..."

Seeing Liu Jilian leaving the city, the Shanzhou cavalry outside the city all smiled.

Shang Duoluo was one of them, and he respected Liu Jilong even more.

"General Liu, this fellow Shang Yanxin..."

He gave a wry smile and glanced around him.

"You can't escape, prepare for battle!"

Liu Jilong's voice sank, and the Shanzhou cavalrymen around him all showed tension on their faces.

There are only about 900 Shanzhou cavalrymen who can still fight at the moment. Even if the wounded in the city are added together, there are only about 1,400 people.

With 1,400 light soldiers facing more than 3,000 armored soldiers, even famous generals such as Han Baiwei and Huo could not guarantee victory, let alone them.

Even though Liu Jilian demonstrated his corresponding abilities yesterday, yesterday's situation also indirectly demonstrated that the Hehuang cavalry was very powerful and far surpassed them.

If an enemy of the same level had encountered yesterday's surprise attack, they would have collapsed and retreated long ago.

"Beep--"

A shrill whistle sounded, and Shandan soldiers began to walk out of the south gate corridor.

They had already put on their armor and were waiting for the whistle to sound before they all came out.

Suo Xun took away 300 people, and 34 of his soldiers were seriously injured. The remaining lightly injured and uninjured soldiers were less than 300.

Zhang Huairong had discussed this with Liu Jilong last night and all the 260-odd soldiers with minor injuries or no injuries were sent out of the city to fight, while the armor of the wounded soldiers in the city was given to the civilians to wear and defend the city.

Therefore, under the gaze of everyone, more than 260 soldiers walked out, and the remaining ones with slightly more serious injuries rested in the tent, or were responsible for commanding the defense on the city wall.

More than 260 soldiers were all infantrymen. They took on the position of the center army, while the Shanzhou cavalry came to both sides of the center army and took the initiative to serve as the left and right wings.

Among them, the more than 400 armored cavalrymen who followed Shang Duoluo closely adhered to the two sides of the Shandan Army and became their most reliable comrades-in-arms.

Yesterday, due to a mistake in intelligence, Zhang Huairong mistakenly believed that his own 1,300 armored soldiers and 2,500 light cavalry were facing 5,000 light cavalry, so he planned to defend and counterattack.

However, after discovering that the intelligence was wrong yesterday, Zhang Huairong discussed with Suo Xun at night and changed his strategy to not be able to hold on.

Therefore, in front of the Shanshan coalition forces, discontinuous trenches and low-height sheep-horn walls had been set up overnight.

Shang Yanxin saw their arrangements but didn't take them seriously.

"Humph! But with such a small number of troops, you dare to stay outside the city and wait for reinforcements."

On horseback, Shang Yanxin, who was in a mess yesterday, is now full of energy and vigor again.

Even if Shandan could still mobilize about seven or eight hundred armored soldiers, he had four times as many as the enemy.

Yesterday he did not expect that Shandan had a powerful general like Liu Jilong, which resulted in him not being able to get a good rest last night, for fear that Liu Jilong would lead his troops to attack at night.

Fortunately, Liu Jilian did not launch a night attack, and he also calculated that the troops in Qilian City were short of manpower, so he became confident.

"Hold your horses and shoot your arrows. Let's deal with those traitors on both sides first!"

"Yes!"

Compared to yesterday, Shang Yanxin was a little more alert today.

He did not dare to send out another elite cavalry attack, but chose to fight a war of attrition.

Anyway, Shang Bibi is in Qilian City, and they harvested a lot of horse meat yesterday, so it will be no problem for them to besiege the city for seven or eight days.

He wanted to see what the Tang army in Qilian City would use to fight him when they ran out of firewood.

"Sorry..."

Outside the south gate, more than 3,000 Hehuang cavalrymen slowly advanced until they were within a hundred steps of Qilian City. Only then did they dismount and switch to longbows.

"Everyone dismount, armored soldiers in front, light soldiers in the back, switch to longbows and wait for the whistle!"

Liu Jilian had amazing eyesight and discovered the actions of the Hehuang cavalry first, so he gave orders to the entire army without hesitation.

Shang Duoluo did not question it, but resolutely issued the military order issued by Liu Jilong.

All of a sudden, more than a thousand soldiers began to change their formations. Everyone switched to longbows and drove their horses to the rear.

If the city could not accommodate so many horses, they would have driven the horses into the city last night.

"Beep--"

At the sound of the whistle, both sides drew their bows and shot arrows at each other.

Arrows rained down, and the soldiers raised their wooden shields to block the attacks.

Fortunately, the front row is full of armored soldiers. Even if the arrows pass through the shield wall, they will not hurt the flesh and can only get stuck between the armor plates.

"This is not the way to go..."

After just one round of arrow rain, Shang Duoluo felt that this was not a solution and wanted to suggest that Liu Jilian change the military formation.

Facing his gaze, Liu Jilong looked at Shang Duoluo and said calmly: "I want to see how many arrows they have."

"So that's how it is..." Shang Duo Luo suddenly realized.

He didn't think of it the last time because he was afraid of Shang Yanxin's power. After all, Shang Yanxin's troops were pursuing, so the supplies they could carry were very limited.

Even if each of them had two horses, they would not be able to bring many arrows.

When the two sides shoot at each other, as long as they defend properly, they will not suffer too many casualties, but will instead receive a large number of arrows.

These arrows are very cheap supplies whether they are used to defend the city or to harass the enemy outside the city.

Thinking of this, Shang Duoluo couldn't help but look at Liu Jilong again, and he admired Liu Jilong's ability to think calmly in such a situation.

If he had been as calm as Liu Jilong at Yak Gorge, they might not have lost to Lun Kongre.

It’s a pity that things have already passed. There is no point in saying anything now. The only important thing is to defeat Shang Yanxin.

"put!"

"Beep--"

Outside Qilian City, arrows rained down and countless arrows fell into the formation again. In each round of rain, some soldiers were hit for various reasons.

After just a few rounds of exchange of fire, the Shan-Shan coalition had already injured more than 20 people, most of whom were injured in the legs or cheeks, but fortunately no one died. In contrast, Shang Yanxin's troops suffered less than 10 casualties, and most of them were minor injuries.

"stop!"

After a few more rounds of exchange of fire, Shang Yanxin quickly raised his hand to signal the army to stop.

Seeing this, Jie'er beside him signaled for the horn to stop, and Shang Yanxin also glanced at the battlefield, and finally said calmly: "Gather the arrows on the ground."

"Yes!" Jie'er saluted and responded, and Shang Yanxin then turned his gaze to the Shanshan coalition forces.

Sure enough, when the Hehuang cavalry began to collect arrows, the Shanshan coalition forces also collected arrows.

"Trying to trick my arrows?"

Shang Yanxin laughed at the opposite side, and at the same time, his eyes passed them and looked towards the top of Qilian City.

He deliberately ordered his army to shoot arrows from more than a hundred steps south of Qilian City. After eight rounds of arrow rain, the defenders on the city wall did not take any action, which meant that there was no defensive equipment on the city wall of Qilian City.

In other words, as long as they launched an attack, this small earthen city of low height could be easily broken.

"Sound the retreat, retreat 200 steps!"

Shang Yanxin turned his horse around, and Jie'er was puzzled when he heard this: "Qiliben, aren't we going to deal with them?"

In response to the question, Shang Yanxin snorted coldly:
"They don't dare to fight. The world outside the city is ours."

"Moruzan has been out for so long, I'm afraid they have already found the woods and are probably building siege equipment now."

"When they bring the equipment back, we only need to leave 3,000 people to surround this place."

"It's the autumn harvest season now, and it's impossible for Ganzhou to harvest grain that quickly."

"We can loot and have enough food to hold off on them."

"If a Hannu army comes to our aid, we can just eat them up."

Relying on the abundant horsepower of his cavalry, Shang Yanxin actually wanted to implement the tactic of besieging Qilian City and attacking its reinforcements.

After hearing this, Jie'er smiled and bowed to Shang Yanxin: "If that's the case, maybe we can take Ganzhou."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Shang Yanxin nodded:

"Take down Ganzhou, and then we can join forces with Dalun (Lun Kongre) to attack the traitors in Liangzhou from the east and west."

"When the time comes, Helong will be entirely in our hands. I don't believe that the Tang court will still dare to look down on us like that!"

Shang Yanxin showed confidence on his face, as if he was sure of winning.

In this regard, Jie'er naturally couldn't help but praise him.

At the same time, seeing the Hehuang cavalry retreat, Shang Duoluo and others breathed a sigh of relief and then became excited.

They picked up arrows according to Liu Jilian's military orders and observed the movements of the Hehuang cavalry from time to time.

After half a cup of tea, several centurions and brigade commanders came to report.

When Shandor saw the pile of arrows, he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling: "With these arrows, we can hold out longer."

He subconsciously looked at Liu Jilong, but saw that Liu Jilong had a frown on his face, and his heart skipped a beat.

"General Liu, what are you doing..."

"It's not good news." Liu Jilian said slowly as he looked at the Hehuang cavalry in the distance.

The actions of the Hehuang cavalry did not seem to be a complete retreat to rest, because after they retreated, they began to feed the horses in an attempt to restore their horsepower.

But if they only wanted to surround Qilian City, there would be no need for them to restore their horsepower. After all, they were so close and there was no need to rush.

Therefore, Liu Jilong had a bad guess in his mind.

Shang Yanxin probably realized that he had the initiative, so he tried to fight to support the war and set his sights on Ganzhou's grain.

He was not making random guesses, but he had thought about it when he was arguing with Suo Xun on the battlefield yesterday. If the Shandan Army lost the initiative and dominance on the battlefield, Shang Yanxin would definitely set his sights on the grain in Ganzhou.

Liu Jilong didn't know whether Suo Xun had found the reinforcements led by Zhang Huaishen, but he knew that if Shang Yanxin was left alone, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for Ganzhou.

"Beep--"

"Enemy in the west!!"

The shrill whistle and exclamations brought Liu Jilong back to reality. He subconsciously looked to the west and saw a large cavalry group appearing at the western gorge.

His eyesight was far superior to that of ordinary people. When the cavalry team approached within a mile, he saw their flags.

"It's the cavalry that Shang Yanxin sent out yesterday. They brought siege equipment and wood!"

Liu Jilong's face looked grim, and Shang Duoluo felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave when he heard that.

He also knew the situation of Qilian City. The city walls had not been completely repaired, and there were no defensive equipment on the top of the city, only some small stones.

In this situation, if Shang Yanxin really wants to attack Qilian City by force, how long can Qilian City hold out?
"Reinforcements... When will our reinforcements arrive..."

Shang Duoluo swallowed hard and placed his hope on the reinforcements from Zhangye that Zhang Huairong had promised before the war.

"If nothing unexpected happens, he will appear before dusk."

Liu Jilong looked up at the sky. There were still dark clouds in the sky, casting a grayish cast between heaven and earth.

"Are you sure?" Shang Duoluo looked a little nervous.

Liu Jilong's first reaction when he heard this was that Shang Duoluo was a little careless, and it was no wonder that Shang Bibi was defeated.

Only after he came to his senses did he remember that Shang Duoluo and the others' eyesight was not as good as his, so they naturally could not see as clearly as he did. So he raised his chin and motioned Shang Duoluo to look at the returning Hehuang cavalry team.

Shang Duo Luo looked at them in confusion. Half a cup of tea later, as the team approached, he breathed a sigh of relief: "I don't see any signs of them having experienced a battle."

"Yes," Liu Jilong nodded, "That's why, according to the normal route, the reinforcements from Zhangye should arrive between afternoon and dusk."

"Even if they didn't come, they probably met with Suo Guoyi."

"If reinforcements arrive, Shang Yanxin should withdraw, right?" Shang Duoluo was somewhat happy.

Just after hearing what he said, Liu Jilong did not relax: "Whether we will retreat depends on how many soldiers and horses Governor Zhang has brought and whether they are elite."

"Although I am not familiar with Shang Yanxin, from watching him deploy his troops yesterday, it is not difficult to see that he is very proud of his soldiers."

"Then...will he continue to fight?" Shang Duoluo hesitated, but Liu Jilong shook his head decisively.

"No, his pride comes from his soldiers. If he encounters a tough opponent, he will also have to consider how many of his soldiers will die."

Liu Jilong looked at Shang Duoluo and said, "You are a Tibetan. You should know what will happen to Shang Yanxin after he loses his troops."

"If he fails to capture your Jiedushi, at most he will be scolded by Lun Kongre, but if he loses his troops, he will have to consider whether he will be beheaded."

Having said this, Liu Jilong turned his horse around and gave orders to Jiu Juyan in the army behind him.

"The people in the city are cooking, and we still have to fight these pigs and dogs. We can't go hungry."

"The last general takes command!"

Jiu Juyan bowed in response, turned around and went into the city to give orders.

At the same time, Zhang Huairong, Zhang Huaijian, Shang Bibi and others on the city wall also looked unhappy when they saw the Hehuang cavalry bringing siege equipment.

Qilian City was repaired in a hurry. In addition, there were no large forests in the Qilian Gorge, so it was impossible to build temporary city defense equipment. Therefore, there were only a pile of stones in the city to defend it.

Besides, since Zhang Huaishen was leading the team here, they had to be prepared to support them, so they had no intention of defending to the death.

When Zhang Huairong thought about how many mistakes had been made in his arrangements, he couldn't help but look at Shang Bibi angrily.

If Shang Bibi had not given them wrong information, they would not have wasted a day in vain.

Shang Bibi also knew that she was in the wrong, so she told her eldest son behind her: "Mo Yan, go and give the map to Zhang Sima's people."

"Yes!" The eldest son Shang Moyan nodded in agreement. Seeing this, Zhang Huaijian also sent someone to follow.

Seeing this, Zhang Huairong calmed down a little.

In his opinion, as long as he could obtain the maps of the five states, the price he paid would be completely acceptable.

"Sima Zhang, how long will it take for Governor Zhang's reinforcements to arrive?"

Shang Bibi was also worried that Zhang Huairong was lying to her, so she couldn't help but ask.

"According to the information sent by the Tangqi before the battle, it should be in the afternoon or dusk, provided there are no accidents."

Zhang Huairong said nervously, he was not sure whether Zhang Huaishen could arrive on time.

Moreover, with Shang Yanxin's strength, if he really determined to capture Qilian City, even if Zhang Huaishen arrived, a bloody battle would be inevitable.

As he thought of this, Shang Bibi also breathed a sigh of relief.

He considered the feasibility of Zhang Huairong, Suo Xun and Liu Jilong in his mind.

However, based on observations over the past two days, Liu Jilong's abilities far surpass the first two.

It was for this reason that he chose to bet on Liu Jilong, who had no background at all, but now Liu Jilong would not accept them easily, which gave him a headache.

Compared to Zhang and Suo, who were confident and confident, Liu Jilong's vigilance was too high...

(End of this chapter)