Qikou was located beside the Yellow River and was an extremely important land and water transportation hub.
The ships that came down from the upper reaches of the Yellow River basically had to stop at Qikou and change to land transportation.
This was because the river basin was filled with reefs and rapids at Qikou, and a single mistake could cause the boat to capsize.
Just as Li Yu had guessed, Jie Li Khan didn't head directly to the White Road, but took a detour to Qikou to repair himself.
After all, not to mention that they couldn't withstand such a long night of running, even their warhorses were close to collapsing.
If they didn't take care of themselves, they would definitely die if they were ambushed by the Tang army!
Most importantly, Jie Li had left three thousand soldiers at Qikou to guard, they were here to gather their soldiers!
After all, Qikou was once a prosperous place that controlled trade and transportation. How could Jie Li give up this piece of fat meat to others?
A skinny camel was still bigger than a horse. As the former king of the Eastern Turks, how could Jie Li be so easily defeated?
"Khagan, I've sent people to search the White Road overnight, but they didn't find any Tang soldiers lying in ambush!”
The scout hurriedly sent back the news. Jie Li Khan nodded and said,"
"Yes, it seems that the Tang army has not detected my traces. Yesterday's ambush was probably to prevent the remnants of Dingxiang City from escaping.”
Thinking of this, Jie Li Khagan still felt a lingering fear.
He had never thought that he would encounter an ambush from the Tang army on his way out of Dingxiang City!
Fortunately, the Tang army was not on guard and was attacked by Jie Li's charge before they could fight.
How terrifying was the cavalry's charge?
Last night, Governor Liu led the Feng Province Army and was caught off guard. Jie Li led a thousand cavalry and suddenly charged!
Almost in a single exchange, the Feng Province army suffered heavy casualties, they couldn't stop Jie Li and the rest.
However, the Tang army was brave and fearless.
Although he was heavily injured by Jie Li's charge, he still fearlessly went forward to block!
Jie Li fled in a hurry, naturally unwilling to fight with him for a long time, but the soldiers led by Governor Liu vowed to fight to the death.
In the end, Jie Li had no choice but to leave Kang Sumi and his 1,000 soldiers to stop him, while he took the remaining soldiers and fled.
"Khagan, last night, the Tang army was so weak that you can imagine how weak they are. Moreover, there are not many of them, at most ten thousand of them!”
A nearby Turkic general said,
"Instead of running away, it's better to take the initiative to attack and destroy the Tang army. Only then can we show the bravery of our army!”
"Yes, we have gathered a lot of troops now. We can fight against the Tang army!”
"These damned two-legged sheep have ventured deep into the grasslands. They really don't know what's good for them. Khan, give the order!”
The Turkic generals all spoke. As warmongers, how could they allow themselves to flee in such a sorry state?
Moreover, he was being chased by the Tang Army in his own base camp. It was a great humiliation!
In their opinion, Dingxiang City had been ambushed in the early hours of the morning, which was why they had retreated in such a panic.
Now that they had reorganized and regrouped, they could compete with the Tang army!
In particular, they underestimated the strength of the Tang army again when they charged into the ambush in the wee hours of the morning.
"We'll discuss this matter again. When we meet up with the White Road army, we'll turn around and attack the Tang army to recapture Dingxiang City!”
Jie Li said in a deep voice.
No matter how much the soldiers persuaded him, to him, stability was the priority and he could not take any risks.
Although they had gathered 3,000 soldiers from Qikou, it was still not enough!
He would only attack the Tang army if he was absolutely confident!
After all, Tuli Khan and Xue Yantuo were still watching. If they suffered heavy losses in the battle with the Tang army, wouldn't others benefit?
"This…"
The Turkic general was stunned and wanted to persuade him, but Jie Li waved his hand and said,
"I've made up my mind. I'll immediately let the soldiers rest for four hours before setting off for the White Road!”
There were nearly ten thousand Turkic soldiers on the White Road. Jie Li would only have the courage to fight against the Tang army if he gathered this group of soldiers!
Furthermore, a little further on the White Road was the Iron Mountain, where Xue Yantuo's tens of thousands of troops were stationed.
If he really couldn't do it, he could only retreat to the depths of the grassland and lure Xue Yantuo to destroy the Tang army!
"Yes."
The Turkic general turned around and left.
"Khan, are you going to the White Road again? But I'm afraid my family won't be able to hold on."
At this time, Princess Yi Cheng walked over and looked at Jie Li.
It wasn't just the Turkic soldiers who had fled, but also Empress Xiao and some of Great Sui's old subordinates.
They had originally settled down in Dingxiang, but the city was broken yesterday and they could only follow Jie Li to escape.
How could these people who lived like kings withstand a night raid? At this moment, none of them could hold on any longer.
"This Khan naturally knows, and this is also the reason why I came to Qikou.”
Jie Li nodded and said,
"Qikou is suitable for temporary survival. The surrounding tribes have already been conquered by the soldiers, so no one will come to invade.”
"Take Dieluo Shi and the Xiao clan and stay here. Wait for me to return from the White Road with my army and regroup!”
"Ah?"
Princess Yicheng's expression changed slightly." Khan," she said," what if the Tang army is lying in ambush on the White Road?"”
"Hehe…if they dare to ambush us again, I will let them taste the disaster of a pincer attack. The grassland is not a place where they can behave atrociously!”
Jie Li's eyes were cold as he looked at Princess Yicheng,
"I've made up my mind. I'll set off immediately after four hours of rest!”
……
"Battalion Commander Zhao, there are indeed Turkic soldiers stationed at Qikou, and there are quite a few of them, probably four or five thousand!”
Five kilometers away from Qikou, in a forest, a scout hurried back. Zhao Hu's expression changed when he heard this. Li Yu hurriedly asked,
"Did you find any traces of Jie Li?"
"Yes! He saw many traces of the Turkic royal family in the distance. They were probably hiding here!”
"Good fellow, Yu brat guessed it right again. Jie Li is really resting here!”
Zhao Hu couldn't help but exclaim. He then looked at Governor Liu and frowned,
"Didn't Governor Liu say that there were only two to three thousand last night? Why were there still so many Jie Li troops?”
Four to five thousand. With just a thousand cavalrymen, it would be difficult for them to even feign an attack!
If he didn't do well, he might lose everything here!
"There were only two to three thousand last night, and there were still one thousand left to fight with us. This…"
Governor Liu was also dumbfounded. He did not understand this at all. Li Yu said,
"Battalion Commander Zhao, it seems that Jie Li already has troops stationed at Qikou and has just gathered. We underestimated Jie Li.”
"Hmm…"
Zhao Hu's expression was extremely grave as he said,"
"Great General asked us to come here to feign an attack. Now that the other party's forces are so strong, I'm afraid we can't do it.”
"Immediately order the Great General to surround us from the other side and attack the Turkic soldiers head-on. We will then attack from the rear!”
There was a mistake in the intelligence of Jie Li's forces. Now that there was such a huge disparity in their forces, if they rashly attacked, it was very likely that they would be completely annihilated and all their efforts would be in vain.
The best way was to let Li Jing lead 3,000 cavalry to attack from the other side!
Both sides attacked at the same time, surrounding Jie Li and the other soldiers!
"No, I can't! Jie Li had thousands of soldiers here, so they couldn't guarantee that there were still soldiers in other places.”
Li Yu shouted and looked at Zhao Hu solemnly.
"If we let the Jie Li gather their troops, our thousands of cavalry won't be able to take them down and we might be surrounded by them!”
"Moreover, sending a message now is too slow. If Jie Li escapes into the white path, we won't be able to chase him anymore!”
"What…what should we do?"
Zhao Hu looked at Li Yu with a pale face. The latter took a deep breath and said fiercely,
"The four or five thousand Turkic soldiers here must be one of the Jie Li's trump cards. If we want the Great General to capture them alive, we must break one of their arms!”
"For now, we can only think of a way to exterminate these thousands of Turkic soldiers and risk our lives!”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。