Chapter 391: Breakout at the Valley Mouth
Chapter 391: Breakout at the Valley Mouth (Part )
Tuoba Tong led two thousand soldiers and galloped all the way. That afternoon, they gradually arrived at the valley entrance. When they were still a mile away from the valley entrance, the light suddenly dimmed in the narrow area ahead. It turned out that there were huge rocks piled up, blocking the valley entrance. Before they could react, arrows whizzed in front, and dozens of Tuyuhun running in the front screamed and fell to the ground.
Tuoba Tong was horrified and shouted, "Get down, everyone get down!"
Hundreds of Tuyuhun soldiers in the front fell down one after another, and the more than a thousand soldiers behind them retreated hurriedly.
Tuoba Tong hid behind a big rock. Only then could he see the situation on the opposite side clearly. In the narrowest part on the opposite side, there were three stone walls of different heights, stacked in a staggered manner. The stone walls were full of Sui army soldiers holding crossbows, there were as many as a thousand of them.
Although it was the narrowest part of the canyon, it was still two or three hundred steps wide, enough to ambush more than a thousand people. Tuoba Tong knew that it was not good. They had no shields and their leather armor was thin. They could not block the opponent's arrows at all. Going up would be suicide.
He immediately turned around and said to one of his generals: "Go back and report to the Khan immediately. The Sui army has cut off our passage out of the valley. We can't get out."
"Follow the order!"
The general under his command jumped on his horse and galloped back the way he came with two cavalrymen.
When it was almost dawn, Tuyuhun King Fuyun received an urgent report from the front that the Sui army had appeared at the entrance of the valley and blocked the valley.
This news left Fu Yun dumbfounded. This was the Kunlun Grand Canyon, which was 600 miles away from Shanshan City. All along the way there were barren desert mountains with no grass, and less than a single human habitation within hundreds of miles. It was simply unbelievable that the Sui army would appear here.
Fu Yun knew in his heart that Shanshan must have been conquered, but he refused to admit it.
"Father, let's retreat! Otherwise we will be trapped to death in the canyon." The eldest son Murong Shun advised.
Fu Yun pondered for a moment and asked, "How long can our food and water last?"
"About ten days!"
If they retreat, they can get out in two days at the fastest and three days at the slowest. Now they still have time. Fu Yun immediately said to his eldest son: "You lead 3,000 guards to support Tuoba Tong and attack the valley entrance for three days. If you fail, withdraw and we will retreat to the grassland."
Murong Shun agreed and led three thousand elite cavalrymen towards the valley entrance.
At the same time, Xiao Xia's army also blocked the exit of the canyon. The battle of Queshu Valley was repeated, but this time it was more difficult, more fantastic, and more unbearable than the interception in Queshu Valley. The 150-mile-long plateau canyon had thin air, no grass, and a serious shortage of food and fodder supplies. The Tuyuhun army faced an unprecedented harsh test.
Although the Sui army was also on the plateau, its conditions were much better than those of the Tuyuhun army. Their main force could be stationed at a low altitude twenty or thirty miles away, and the Sui army had prepared a large amount of medicine. More importantly, the Sui army had sufficient supplies and a psychological advantage, so they could confront the Tuyuhun army for a long time.
At this time, the scouts in front captured three messengers and a Tuyuhun official and brought them to Xiao Xia. The Qiang people in remote areas did not understand Chinese, but the Qiang people around the West Sea and Heyuan area basically could speak a few words of Chinese, especially the Tuyuhun officials, who basically all understood Chinese.
Xiao Xia interrogated them for a few questions and found out that the three men were soldiers who came out to urge the supply of military rations, and the official was the grain officer.
Xiao Xia asked the three soldiers again, "Where was Tuyuhun Khan when you set out?"
The leading soldier answered honestly, "We are almost at the valley entrance, probably still a few dozen miles away."
Xiao Xia frowned. Hasn't the other party discovered that the valley entrance is blocked?
Although I am a little worried, it is not the last moment yet. The other party will not find out that the valley entrance is sealed until they are about to leave the valley. Now there are still forty or fifty miles to go, so they really won’t be able to find out.
Xiao Xia ordered someone to bring the grain officer up and asked him, "How much grain do you have left?"
"There are about five thousand sheep left."
"What about bread and cheese?"
"They are almost gone. Most soldiers can only hold out for two or three days."
“Are there any reserves?”
The grain officer shook his head. "The bread and cheese are distributed directly to the soldiers. We plan to arrange for the logistics team to follow after the army leaves the valley." "Why don't you go together?"
"After a long march, the herdsmen, women, and the elderly and weak are exhausted and need to rest. Originally, the army should have rested on the grassland for half a month before leaving, but the Khan was anxious and only rested for one night before leaving. He asked the herdsmen to rest for a few more days and leave after they left the valley."
Xiao Xia nodded and asked, "How many livestock and war horses are there in the valley?"
The grain officer still shook his head and said, "Most of the horses, camels and other livestock are on the grassland. There are no livestock in the canyon. Each person only rides a horse."
"What about fresh water?"
"Fresh water can last about five days, and alcohol can last two or three days."
Xiao Xia roughly understood that the Tuyuhun army could kill horses for food and would have no problem lasting for a month or two, but they did not have enough water, which was the key. Otherwise, how long could they last if they had to kill horses and drink their blood?
Thinking of this, Xiao Xia ordered his men to take the grain officer away, and then gave the order: "Pass on my order, immediately block the valley entrance, build fortifications, and prevent the enemy from breaking through!"
At noon, Murong Shun led three thousand elite soldiers to the interception point of the Sui army. Prior to this, Tuoba Tong had organized two attacks, both of which ended in disastrous defeats, with more than six hundred soldiers and more than three hundred horses killed.
The main reason was that the crossbows of the Sui army were too sharp and accurate, and they couldn't dodge them at all.
Murong Shun's arrival made Tuoba Tong breathe a sigh of relief, and he hurried forward to report.
"How many people are left under General Tuoba?" Murong Shun asked.
"Reporting to the prince, there are still more than 1,300 people."
"More than 600 dead and wounded?"
Tuoba Tong smiled bitterly and said, "I sent troops to attack twice, and more than 600 people died. As long as they are only hit by arrows, the possibility of escaping back is very small."
"How many people are there on the other side?"
Tuoba Tong shook his head. "I don't know the total number of troops, but I know they have deployed about a thousand men on the fortification wall."
"Is there any way?" Murong Shun asked again.
"It would be better with a shield, but it would still be useless without a ladder. They built three stone walls, the shortest of which was ten feet high.
Murong Shun knew that if there was no ladder, he could use a human ladder. He nodded, called a general and said to him: "General Murong, I will give you a thousand soldiers. Make sure you take down the enemy fortifications!"
"I humbly obey orders!"
Generally speaking, it is better to attack at night, as it can be covered by darkness, but Murong Shun wanted to see the blockade of the Sui army with his own eyes, and he could not see anything at night.
General Murong Pingyuan shouted, and three hundred soldiers armed with shields and spears carefully approached the enemy's stone wall.
Since they had shields, they were certainly not an ordinary army. They were the contradictory army among the Tuyuhun King's guards. Among the 12,000 troops that followed the Tuyuhun King Fuyun in his westward retreat, most of them were guards composed of Xianbei children. They were also very well equipped with short spears, crossbows, swords and shields, all of which were equipment of the Sui army. Even the most elite 3,000 iron guards were wearing iron armor.
The two thousand troops that followed Tuoba Tong before were two thousand Qiang soldiers responsible for doing miscellaneous tasks and running errands, but the troops that followed Prince Murong Shun now were the Royal Guards, and they were completely different in all aspects.
The commander of the Sui army was Cao Taiyue. He could see clearly from the highest stone wall that the enemy army actually had shields?
If it was a thin wooden shield, their crossbow arrows could penetrate it, but if it was the double-layer wooden shield of the Sui army, that might not be the case.
He didn't want to take any risks, so he turned around and ordered, "Send us 500 heavy-duty crossbows!"
(End of this chapter)