The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

August 20th, the ninth year of the Wude era!

As expected, Jieli arrived in Jingyang.

Yuchi Gong had already led his troops to wait there, and the two armies faced each other across the Jinghe Valley.

When Jieli saw the enemy's army of tens of thousands, he gritted his teeth: "That son of a bitch Liang Shidu dares to bully me! Li Shimin has clearly seized power and subdued his troops."

"I'm afraid that only Luo Yi is the one who harbors rebellious intentions and has not submitted to Li Shimin."

Zhi Shisi said with hatred in his eyes: "That traitor Liang Shidu has probably already secretly surrendered to Li Shimin. They took advantage of the fact that Luo Yi had rebellious intentions and deliberately guided us to break in, first to make us lower our guard, and then to ambush us."

"Khan, we have probably fallen into a trap. Li Shimin has likely already completed the transfer of military power and taken control of the army."

"Tuli has not yet joined forces with us; he must be held back by someone. Moreover, Yuchi Gong is leading an army to guard this place."

"And..." Zhi Shisi recalled some news he had heard on the way, his expression grim. "We had heard that Li Shiji and Chai Shao had led their troops back to reinforce, and now it seems that this was not false news."

"Khan, what do we do?"

Although Zhi Shisi felt frustrated, he did not lose his composure and only offered reminders from the side.

Jieli was clearly not stupid; he understood the meaning of "obsessing over the power of thought."

Tuli's failure to join forces with them as originally planned must have been due to an unexpected incident.

Either they were only pretending to cooperate with him before, and they didn't actually intend to infiltrate the Tang Dynasty, so it's not surprising that they haven't arrived yet.

Either he was tied up by Li Jing and couldn't get away.

According to Jelly, the latter is more likely than the former.

After all, they were Turks. If they fell into the trap, they would be severely weakened, or even wiped out. Then Tuli would have a good life afterward.

impossible.

It's unlikely that the cooperation was feigned, since Tuli had launched a genuine attack from the other side.

Zhi Shisi Li's final question, seemingly asking him what to do, was actually asking him whether he should retreat.

Judging from the current situation, they are clearly doomed.

When Li Shiji and Chai Shao returned with their troops to reinforce, along with the tens of thousands of troops led by Yuchi Gong on the opposite side.

They might be surrounded and killed.

Finally, Zhishi Sili added, "Khan, the fierce army led by Qin Qiong suffered very few losses, and they took all those weapons with them; we didn't get a single one..."

This was a message to Jieli that, putting aside Li Shiji and Chai Shao, the Mo Dao Army, which was almost fully prepared for battle and whose morale was high, could emerge at any moment if they forced their way into Jingyang.

Jieli's face was so dark it was almost dripping with water; he felt both frustrated and angry.

This attack not only resulted in the loss of nearly 20,000 men, but also yielded nothing, leaving him helpless!

"Ashina Duobi!"

A loud shout came from the opposite bank. Yuchi Gong, spear in hand, spurred his horse to the riverbank and called out across the Jing River valley, "You look terrible! What's wrong? What's bothering you?"

"Why don't you tell me? It'll give me a good laugh!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

This remark elicited a burst of laughter.

Jieli's expression grew even uglier; from Yuchi Gong's attitude, he only saw arrogance and fearlessness.

They were saying meaningless things, as if they were just stalling for time!

With a hardened heart, Jieli raised his scimitar and pointed it at Yuchi Gong: "Yuchi Gong, enough nonsense, retreat immediately, or your army of less than 30,000 will soon be crushed by my Turkic army!"

Upon hearing this, Yuchi Gong was not afraid at all. Instead, he laughed loudly, slamming his spear on the ground, sending dust flying. "Crush me? Ashina Duobi, aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew! If you have the guts, bring your men across the river. I, Yuchi Gong, will be right here waiting, and I guarantee you won't be able to leave!"

"You Turkic barbarians have been raiding the border for so many years, it's time you taste what it's like to be cornered and beaten at home!"

Cheng Yaojin, standing behind him, reined in his horse and stepped forward, brandishing his long spear and shouting, "That's right! If you've got the guts, come across the river and have a go! Don't just talk the talk from the other side! I've been eyeing your spear for ages!"

The two men, speaking in unison, enraged the Turkic soldiers, causing their faces to turn red. Several hot-tempered generals immediately stepped forward to volunteer for battle, wanting to lead their troops across the river and charge into the enemy lines.

Jieli was filled with rage, but he hadn't completely lost his mind.

Although the Jing River is not extremely wide, the terrain on the south bank is relatively high, and the Tang army had already dug trenches and set up barricades, so cavalry would be at a disadvantage if they charged through. The enemy infantry were arrayed in front, while the cavalry were hidden on the flanks, which clearly showed that they were well prepared.

He couldn't swallow his anger and just back down like that.

"Order three thousand cavalry on the left flank to cross the river first and probe the Tang army's defenses..."

Before Jieli could finish speaking, dust billowed up from his right flank.

This commotion immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Jieli turned his head and saw the person who had appeared. A shameful sense of fear welled up in his heart, followed by anger. "Qin Qiong, how dare you show your face in front of me?!"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Qin Qiong rode his warhorse, dragging a long Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) with him. Behind him, the eyes of the five thousand Mo Dao soldiers were sharp and even revealed a hint of greed.

It seemed less like they were looking at the enemy and more like they were looking at a battle achievement.

Such a look terrified the Turkic army.

The scene of the Mo Dao Army slaughtering them a while ago has left them with an indelible psychological scar.

Seeing Qin Qiong arrive, Yuchi Gong felt even more confident, crossing his arms and saying, "What? Ashina Duobi, didn't you say you were going to send troops to attack? Why aren't you here?"

"What are you waiting for?"

Jieli remained expressionless, having completely abandoned any thoughts of attack, and was now considering where to retreat.

If this goes on for too long, I might end up being left behind.

However, despite his thoughts, he wouldn't back down verbally, confidently stating, "I admit your fierce army is indeed formidable, but once we cross this river, what will you use to fight me?"

"No matter how strong your fierce army is, can you catch up with our cavalry?"

"Moreover... it's not just our army that's attacking the Tang Dynasty!"

Yuchi Gong raised an eyebrow: "Are you referring to Tuli?"

"He asked me to pass on a message to you. Would you like to hear it?"

Jieli was greatly shocked, and an idea inevitably surfaced in his mind.

Tuli... betrayed him and allied with the Tang Dynasty?

Yuchi Gong laughed heartily: "He said, Ashina Duobi! It's best for the Turks to have only one Khan!"

"Bullshit!" Jieli retorted angrily. He was unwilling to admit it, at least not here.

Otherwise, morale will waver.

Just as he was about to say something, another cloud of dust rose from the left side of the Turkic army, as if a large number of people were rushing in this direction.

Jieli felt a chill run down his spine. There was still support?

Zhishi Sili was terrified and didn't care about anything else: "Khan, let's retreat! We can't hesitate any longer."

Jieli glared at Yuchi Gong, barely suppressing his anger and resentment, and growled:

"withdraw!"

"..."