Chapter 198 Rescue Battle
Chapter 198 Rescue Battle (Part )
Dadouba Valley is a canyon passage that runs through the Qilian Mountains. Since ancient times, it has been a shortcut from the Hexi Corridor in Gansu to the Hehuang in Qinghai. For thousands of years, merchants and herdsmen have been traveling back and forth in this famous strategic canyon.
The terrain in Dadouba Valley is very complex, with lush forests, large pastures, countless lakes and streams, as well as towering cliffs and Gobi wastelands. The weather is also changeable, and extreme weather often occurs. It is often sunny and warm in the morning, but in the afternoon it is freezing and windy, with blizzards raging. The temperature drops by dozens of degrees, and even water freezes into ice.
At present, Dadouba Valley was controlled by the Tuyu army, who occupied the canyon's water source and the strategic locations for garrisoning troops. The Sui army also attacked Dadouba Valley several times in an attempt to recapture strategic points, but all ended in failure.
The two sides also reached a verbal balance agreement, designating a 30-li buffer zone in the northern section of the Dadouba Valley. As long as the Sui army did not attack the Dadouba Valley, the Tuyuhun army would not enter the buffer zone.
Xiao Xia led his men to the valley entrance, where he saw dozens of Sui soldiers waiting. Xiao Xia rode forward and asked loudly, "Is this General Xue's army?"
The leading captain stepped forward and said, "We are the subordinates of General Xue. May I ask where you are from, General?"
"We are coming from Chang'an? Where is Manager Xue?"
The captain pointed to the valley and said, "The chief steward has already entered the valley."
Xiao Xia was startled and asked, "How many people did Manager Xue bring into the valley?"
"About a thousand people. The second young master is injured and in danger. The chief steward has led people to rescue him."
Xiao Xia said decisively: "Let's go into the valley!"
He led twenty of his men into the valley. The captain at the entrance of the valley left a few men behind, and he also followed Xiao Xia into the valley with a dozen men.
As soon as we entered the valley, there were steep mountains on both sides. We ran for several miles without seeing any Sui army.
The captain explained to Xiao Xia: "General Xiao, there are no enemy troops in the northern section of the Dadouba Valley. You will only see the military city built by the Tuyuhun people in the middle section."
Xiao Xia asked puzzledly: "Then why don't we build a fortress in the north section?"
The captain smiled bitterly and said, "How could we not build it? We have built it three times, but each time the Tuyuhun army fought back desperately and defeated us. Later, the two armies reached a consensus that as long as the Sui army did not attack the northern section of the canyon, the Tuyuhun army would stay in the middle section and not go north. In recent years, the two sides have basically been at peace."
"What's up with the horse bandits in Zhangye?"
"The origin of the horse bandits in Zhangye is unknown. There are several theories. One theory is that they are made up of Qiang bandits from the Hexi Corridor. Another theory is that they are disguised as Tuyuhun troops. Another theory is that they are made up of bandits from the Hexi Corridor, but they have the support of Tuyuhun troops. Xue Zongguan is inclined to the last theory because the horse bandits have been there for decades without interruption."
After walking for more than ten miles, someone suddenly shouted from above: "Captain Luo!"
When everyone looked up, they found that there was a Sui army soldier hiding on the cliff above their heads. He was standing in a crevice, but below him was a cliff more than 20 feet high, and the soldier could not come down.
"Ah! It's Kingoro."
The captain recognized the man on the cliff, and he quickly explained to Xiao Xia: "The soldier up there is General Xue's personal soldier, named Jin Wulang!"
Xiao Xia immediately ordered: "Throw him a rope!"
The soldiers immediately tied a long rope to a five or six jin iron hammer. After several soldiers threw it three times and failed, Xiao Xia turned over and dismounted, saying, "Let me do it!"
Xiao Xia took the hammer, weighed it, then looked up at the soldier's position. He channeled the energy from his Dantian into his arms and threw the hammer with all his might. The hammer flew more than thirty feet away, passed over the head of the soldier above, and fell into a crevice in the rock. The soldier grabbed the rope.
With the rope, the soldier above quickly climbed down the rope and brought him to Xiao Xia. The soldier knelt on one knee and saluted, saying, "I, Jin Wulang, greet General Xiao!"
Xiao Xia nodded, "Where is your manager?"
"He was trapped in the Silver Phoenix Valley by thousands of Tuyuhun soldiers, so he sent me to climb out of the cliff medicine path to ask for help." Captain Luo explained, "The Silver Phoenix Valley is just two miles ahead, also in the northern section. There are grasslands and lakes inside, covering a large area, but the exit is a very narrow and long passage."
Xiao Xia asked puzzledly: "Why did the steward go into the valley?"
"The steward went to rescue the Second Young Master, who was chasing a group of horse bandits and was ambushed by the Silver Phoenix Lake. General Xue was wounded by an arrow and was surrounded by the horse bandits. The steward was worried about the Second Young Master's safety, so he rushed into the valley, but was blocked by thousands of Tuyuhun troops in the Silver Phoenix Valley."
Xiao Xia immediately understood what was going on and asked, "Is this a trap?"
Jin Wulang nodded, "It was indeed a trap. General Xue Er only brought fifty men with him. How could he hold out for so long when surrounded by hundreds of horse bandits? The horse bandits deliberately surrounded them but did not attack them, luring the general manager into the valley. Moreover, the horse bandits had placed a ladder on the cliff in advance. After the general manager led the army into the valley, they climbed up the cliff and escaped. It can be seen that they were just luring the enemy."
Xiao Xia looked at the sky and saw that it was already evening. He immediately said to Jin Wulang, "Go to Dadou Military City right away and bring several hundred brothers with you!"
Jin Goro and another soldier rode their horses towards the Dadoujun Castle.
Xiao Xia climbed up the cliff with the rope again. There was a very dangerous path for collecting herbs on it. The path was less than one foot wide, and below was a cliff more than twenty feet high. He had to half-squat and move forward little by little close to the rock wall. Once he was discovered by the Tuyuhun soldiers below, he would become a sitting duck.
After walking only one mile, there were dense crowds of Tuyuhun soldiers below, numbering several thousand.
Xiao Xia originally considered shooting the enemy chief, but he now found it completely unrealistic. First of all, he couldn't find where the enemy commander was. Secondly, it was difficult to draw the bow and shoot arrows on the cliff, and it was very easy for the body to lose balance and fall down. Finally, there was the issue of his own safety. As soon as he released the arrow, he would be immediately discovered by the enemy below. The enemy would fire arrows at him indiscriminately, and he would have no place to hide. He could only be shot into a hedgehog.
Xiao Xia slowly retreated back, and he jumped down. Several of his men came up to him and asked, "General, how is it?"
Xiao Xia shook his head. "The Tuyuhun army is too large. We can't find their commander. Let's retreat to the valley entrance first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Xia suddenly felt something. He drew his sword and chopped an arrow away. Then, dense arrows shot towards them.
Xiao Xia swung his sword to cut off the arrows and shouted, "Quickly retreat to the valley entrance!"
Everyone mounted their horses and galloped towards the valley entrance. Xiao Xia deflected three arrows shot at him, then jumped onto the horse and squeezed his legs together, and the horse immediately started running.
Xiao Xia swung his sword to chop the arrows while galloping on his horse, gradually running away.
At three o'clock in the morning, three hundred soldiers from Dadou Military City arrived.
Xiao Xia was a fourth-rank general of Mingwei and the military commander of Zhangye appointed by the imperial court. Naturally, the soldiers obeyed his command.
At this time, the Tuyuhun army also discovered them. They used tree trunks to block the road at the entrance of the valley. Hundreds of people holding bows and arrows hid behind the tree trunks to block the entrance of the valley.
There was a way to deal with the enemy's bows and arrows. Xiao Xia ordered the soldiers to use sandbags to build a high platform dozens of steps away from the valley entrance. He lay on the platform, looking down from above, and ordered the soldiers to deliver the crossbows like a stream, and the crossbows were already strung and loaded with arrows.
Although the valley was pitch black, Xiao Xia's eyesight was far superior to that of ordinary people. He could see human figures swaying dozens or even hundreds of steps away.
"Swoosh!" A crossbow arrow was shot out, and a black shadow fell headfirst.
Another arrow was shot, and another black shadow fell down. Xiao Xia shot more than 30 crossbow arrows in one breath, and every arrow hit the target. More than 30 Tuyuhun soldiers fell down, most of them were shot through the head and died on the spot.
The Tuyuhun soldiers were so frightened that they buried their heads behind tree trunks. No one dared to look up. If they looked up, they would be shot in the head by an arrow.
At the same time, Xu Min led dozens of soldiers crawling on the ground. They seized the opportunity and quickly ran towards the valley entrance. Seeing that the situation was not good, a dozen Tuyuhun soldiers drew their bows and shot, but the crossbow arrows shot mercilessly in the darkness, knocking down more than a dozen people one by one.
The Sui army had already rushed to within a dozen steps. The remaining twenty or so Tuyuhun soldiers were so scared that they got up and ran into the valley.
(End of this chapter)