"Zhonggong." Cao Shuang walked up to Guanqiu Jian and said, "Please give me ten or twenty riders. We are still fifteen miles from here to Mayi. It is getting dark. I want to go explore first."
Pathfinder?
Guanqiu Jian thought for a few moments and said with a smile: "Zhao Bo, if you arrive at Mayi City and find that Tian Yu has already arrived, what will happen?"
Cao Shuang replied: "Of course I will stay in Mayi and send someone back to inform Lord Liu and you."
Guanqiu Jian said: "Lord Liu stationed his troops here, naturally he intends to cooperate with Tian Yu's army. Why don't I go with you? You stay in Tian Yu's army, and I will return here."
"Wouldn't that be more appropriate?"
Cao Shuang thought for a moment and said, "Well, let's do it! Thank you for letting Zhonggong go with me."
Guanqiu Jian shook his head and said, "How can I call it hard work if I work hard for the king? I will go and call for help now!"
Guanqiu Jian called for twenty riders and rode out of the camp with Cao Shuang, heading north towards the city of Mayi.
The sky gradually darkened, and the mountains in the west, under the reflection of the setting sun, cast a large black shadow on the land on the west bank of the Sanggan River.
However, to the east of Guanqiu Jian and Cao Shuang, the Sanggan River was still sparkling, with golden colors appearing from time to time.
On the plain, fifteen miles was not a long distance for the cavalry. Half an hour later, the two had led the cavalry to the west side of Mayi City.
Climbing up a slightly higher mound, the two looked up and saw that Kebi Neng's Xianbei cavalry were gathering from the distance along the north bank of the Sanggan River from the east of Mayi City.
It was obvious that they wanted to camp to the east of Mayi City.
Guanqiu Jian looked at them for a while, then turned to Cao Shuang and said, "Look, Zhao Bo, judging from the Xianbei's posture, they can only camp east of the city tonight, and it is too late to encircle Mayi City."
"You and I have arrived at the right time. We should hurry into the city now and get out before the night ends."
Cao Shuang took a deep breath.
Since childhood, Cao Shuang has always lived under the aura of his father Cao Zhen.
The bravery and military achievements of his father's generation were a rare honor, but for Cao Shuang they were a huge, invisible pressure that was always around him.
Who doesn’t want to achieve success?
For a young man born in a family of military generals, making contributions on the frontier and defeating the Hu people is simply the most ideal template for joining the army.
That's it for today.
Cao Shuang looked at Guanqiu Jian and said, "Thank you, Zhonggong, for coming here with me. After we enter the city, I will need you to discuss with Lord Tian how to mobilize the troops."
Guanqiu Jian raised his whip and pointed in the direction of Mayi City: "Then go quickly. After meeting Lord Tian, leave the city as soon as possible to avoid being targeted by the Xianbei people."
After lightly tapping the horse's belly, Guanqiu Jian took the lead and galloped out, followed by Cao Shuang and the twenty riders behind him.
At this time, Tian Yu was standing on the city wall on the east side of Mayi City, looking at the Xianbei military camp three miles away.
Tian Yu sighed and asked Liu Qi, who was beside him, "How many days will the army have enough food and grass?"
Liu Qi thought for a moment, then clasped his hands and said, "Mr. Tian, we still have enough for three days. If we kill the horses and take the food stored in the city, it should be enough for seven or eight days."
Three days...Tian Yu stared at the Xianbei cavalry patrolling in the distance, and his heart began to worry.
We need to find a way to defeat the enemy as soon as possible, otherwise the situation will be in chaos!
At this moment, He Xin ran over on the city wall, shouting as he ran: "Mr. Tian, Mr. Qian has sent someone!"
Tian Yu turned around abruptly, stared at He Xin and asked, "Where is the person coming? Is Zhao Bo back?"
He Xin cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Tian, that's right. I remember clearly that Cao Shuang left with ten riders, but now he is outside the west gate with twenty riders."
"I have ordered people to open the city gates and welcome him in."
Tian Yu nodded, and trotted down the steps. After going down the city wall, he mounted his horse and galloped towards the west gate.
Noticing that there was a young man with an extraordinary demeanor and a green ribbon and silver seal on his waist standing next to Cao Shuang, Tian Yu dismounted and asked, "Zhao Bo, who is this person next to you?"
Guanqiu Jian smiled and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Lord Tian. I am Guanqiu Jian, the captain of the Yue cavalry, and I am the emperor's envoy who is here for inspection."
"Greetings, Captain Guanqiu." Tian Yu saw that Guanqiu Jian was young, so he just casually bowed and then asked Cao Shuang, "Zhao Bo, where is Qian Gong's army now?"
Cao Shuang finally relaxed at this time, and explained with a smile: "Mr. Tian, Mr. Qian has gone to Luoyang to take up his post, and is not in Yanmen County."
Seeing Tian Yu's face suddenly change, Cao Shuang knew that Tian Yu had misunderstood his words, so he quickly explained: "Mr. Tian has misunderstood. Although Mr. Qian is not in Yanmen County, the angel Liu Ye and Lieutenant Guanqiu have been sent to lead 3,000 county soldiers with the imperial seal, and they have already arrived 15 miles south of Mayi City."
Tian Yu's expression changed from worry to joy. He took Cao Shuang's hand and said, "Zhao Bo, come with me to the top of the city and show it to me!"
"Yes!" Cao Shuang replied, and then walked in front.
Tian Yu followed closely behind.
Guanqiu Jian stood there with his hands down, smiling slightly. He knew that Tian Yu was worried about the war, but he didn't think much of it.
At this time, He Xin noticed the two thousand stone official beside him, and bowed slightly and said, "Captain Guanqiu, my Lord Tian is eager to fight, I hope you don't mind." "No problem." Guanqiu Jian replied, "You and I will go to the city together, while there is still some light in the sky, I will return to the camp later."
He Xin turned sideways and pointed at the steps with his right hand: "Captain Guanqiu, please go first."
Guanqiu Jian nodded and followed.
Tian Yu looked towards the south and said softly, "Fifteen miles is really far. It may be too late to coordinate."
Cao Shuang bowed and said, "Mr. Tian, why don't you talk to Captain Guanqiu about the strategy for this battle? Captain Guanqiu also participated in the campaign in Huainan at the beginning of the year."
Then, Cao Shuang roughly explained to Tian Yu the route he had taken in the past few days and what Liu Ye and Guanqiu Jian had done when they got here.
Tian Yu turned around, bowed his hands apologetically and said, "I was a little rude in a hurry, I hope Captain Guanqiu will not blame me."
Guanqiu Jian did not dare to be arrogant when a senior official from a border county who was over 60 years old apologized to him. He bowed and said, "Mr. Tian, you are worrying too much! Mr. Liu and I led the soldiers from Yanmen County here for the war."
"I think Mr. Tian has a plan. Why don't you explain it to me? It's getting dark, so I should return to the camp as soon as possible."
Tian Yu was silent for a moment, then slowly explained his plan. Cao Shuang and He Xin on the side were also listening carefully.
After discussing a few details with Tian Yu, Guanqiu Jian bowed and said goodbye: "Mr. Tian, see you in three days. I will tell Lord Liu everything you said just now."
……
From the morning of the second day, the Xianbei army had surrounded Mayi City on all sides.
Although he was surrounded, Tian Yu's originally anxious mood became much more relaxed after he learned that the 3,000 county soldiers from Yanmen County had arrived.
The Wei Dynasty was established less than ten years ago, and Emperor Wu had been raising troops for more than thirty years. Even the soldiers from various counties still maintained a high level of combat effectiveness.
Tian Yu's own two thousand elite foreign troops, plus three thousand soldiers from Yanmen County, totaled five thousand.
Together with the 3,000 cavalrymen of the Wuhuan Yicong and the 4,000 miscellaneous soldiers of the Suli tribe, the total number was 12,000.
Even if Kebineng could lead an army of 30,000 cavalry, it would be enough for a battle!
It’s not that Tian Yu is being arrogant, it’s just the truth.
The Xianbei cavalry were not professional soldiers, but were recruited from tribes and herdsmen. Whether in terms of fighting will or the ability to withstand casualties, they were far inferior to the Wei army.
In other words, defeating one group would frighten the others and make them dare not move forward. This kind of thing happened frequently during Tian Yu's career of defending Youbing.
Outside the south gate of Mayi City.
A Xianbei nobleman riding a brown horse and wearing a feather crown slowly walked out of the Xianbei formation and went straight to thirty steps outside the south gate.
The Xianbei nobleman raised his head and shouted in broken Chinese: "Is Lord Tian here? Prince Fuyi wants to talk to Lord Tian."
After he shouted this, a few moments later, several feather arrows flew through the air and shot in front of the Xianbei man's horse, scaring him so much that he took several steps back.
Tian Yu stood on the city wall, squinting his eyes and looking down silently.
He Xin shouted, "Who are you? Why do you want to see Tian Gong?"
The Xianbei nobleman shouted hastily, "I am Yu Zhugan! Kebineng's son-in-law!"
"The king said that we don't want to go against Lord Tian, we just want to make trouble for Suli! If Lord Tian releases Suli and his troops, we will return to Yunzhong tonight!"
He Xin was about to answer, but Tian Yu beside him could no longer bear it after hearing the name "Yu Zhuqian". He took the bow from the guard, bent the bow, drew the arrow and shot.
The arrow accurately hit the chest of the warhorse under Yu Zhugan's crotch. With a wail, the brown horse fell to the ground with its legs collapsed.
The horse's body pressed down on Yu Zhuqian's body. After much effort, Yu Zhuqian slowly climbed out from under the horse, and it was obvious that his legs and arms were injured.
Yu Zhuoqian actually saw someone drawing a bow just now, but he didn't have time to dodge, and the brown horse under him was hit by the arrow.
Yu Zhuqian yelled at the top of his lungs: "Mr. Tian, what do you mean?"
Tian Yu shouted in a deep voice from the top of the city wall: "This is the interest I collected for Xia She! If you have anything to discuss, let Ke Bi Neng come to see me himself!"
Yu Zhugan dared not say more, and limped back to the battle array with a look of hatred on his face. Seeing Yu Zhugan's defeat, four cavalrymen rushed out to welcome him back.
Just when Yu Zhugan rode a new horse to Kebineng to complain, he was stopped by Kebineng.
Ke Bineng said calmly, "Since your leg is injured, go back and rest. Didn't Mr. Tian ask me to talk to him in person? Then I will go see him tomorrow."
Yu Zhuqian said with a face full of resentment: "Your Majesty, Tian Yu shot me today, and it is obvious that he has no intention of making peace with you! Why do you still want to see him?"
"Idiot!" Ke Bineng cursed, "If you don't take advantage of the fact that we have surrounded the city and ask for more conditions, how can you have such a good opportunity to ask for it in the future?"
"Tomorrow you will follow me and learn how I talk to the Han people!"
"I understand." Yu Zhugan stood aside, not daring to say more. (End of this chapter)
