After receiving the letter, Ye read it and was so angry that he laughed on the spot.
Although I had long anticipated that the Third Prince would not help, it was already good enough that he did not add insult to injury at this time.
But I didn't expect that they could be so shameless.
According to the information we found, the number of enemy troops attacking Jialing Pass was the smallest.
And relying on the dangerous terrain, they only need a few people to easily defend it.
Not only were they unwilling to come to the rescue, they also demanded food and even asked us to send troops to help them.
Ye showed the letter to others.
"He can't be relied upon, and we have to be on guard against someone stabbing us in the back.
Be sure to pay more attention to their movements!"
Zhao Wudi saw that his confidence was extremely poor.
As a prince, he actually did such a thing. Don't you understand the principle of "lips and teeth are cold"?
Collaborating with the enemy to deal with your own people will definitely not end well.
If Ye was really defeated, I'm afraid the enemy would immediately raise their knives against him.
Even if we don't kill him, we'll have a handle on him and he'll always be able to work for the barbarians.
"The other garrisons also disbelieved it. They said they would look for opportunities to attack, but they did not fully commit to actively attacking the enemy."
Lei Ying sighed helplessly.
"Actually, we can't blame them entirely! They've been stationed at the border and fighting the enemy for years, and they've become frightened by the enemy.
Every time the enemy invaded, they relied on the city's defense and waited for support from the imperial army.
Without a force several times greater than the enemy's, we simply wouldn't dare engage in direct combat." Zhao Wudi sighed helplessly.
The barbarian army was fierce and brave in battle, and with their invincible cavalry, they could easily crush the infantry.
Not to mention that we win less than we lose, even if we manage to win a battle we can only drive the enemy away and we can't catch up with them.
The generals of the defending army have always been of the opinion that a decisive battle should be avoided if possible.
Do not seek to establish yourself, but seek to avoid mistakes.
"Don't count on them, we have to have our own way of fighting.
As long as we can hold the city and not surrender and sign a part of the troops, it will be enough.
I was just worried that the enemy was just bluffing and their real intention was to loot supplies.
Just think about it, winter is over and the spring grass has not yet grown.
There is not enough feed for cattle and sheep. Cattle and sheep are already very scarce, so it is not cost-effective to slaughter them at this time.
The best way is to rob the food of the Qi family.
You must pay more attention to the movements of the other side's main force."
He pointed to a few places and said, "Go a few miles ahead, there are many villages and county towns with people living here.
I am not worried at all about attacking the provincial capital city.
It would be troublesome if we searched for people with the surname Qi in the countryside."
"That's certainly possible, but we have too few cavalrymen. It might not be easy to rescue them quickly!"
Ye smiled slightly and said, "That's easy. Just send the infantry out.
Transporting by horse-drawn carriage was very fast.
Complete the layout as soon as possible before the enemy officially attacks.
Zhao Wudi led the cavalry to intercept the main force of the enemy and delay time as much as possible.
In addition, we can create the illusion for the enemy that we are short of troops.
It is best to attract some of the enemies to attack.
As long as you can defend against the first round of attack, you can lead the cavalry to launch a surprise attack from the rear, and we will attack from both front and back.
Even if we can't destroy the enemy, we must at least inflict considerable damage on them."
"Wouldn't it be too dangerous to take away all the troops? What if their target of attack is our daughters? Plus, the women left behind have too little training time.
I'm worried that if we suffer casualties, we might be defeated."
Zhao Wudi was very worried.
His mission is to protect Ye's safety, how could he take all the elite troops away?
Ye smiled and said, "Don't worry, the enemy's main force will not come to attack.
Besides, what am I afraid of as the commander here?
Leaving me 100,000 young men and strong men, together with the remaining women, is more than enough to resist the enemy."
Princess Ruyue was also worried about the safety of the Qi family.
He said to Zhao Wudi: "General Zhao, don't worry, I will definitely protect your highness's safety.
And I also believe that with General Zhao's ability, he will definitely be able to arrive in time at the critical moment."
Zhao Wudi thought about it for a while and finally made up his mind.
"Well then, my cavalry will only move within a radius of ten miles and won't go too far.
As soon as I receive news that the enemy is attacking, I will immediately launch a full-scale defense."
"Okay, let's get ready! Send swift riders along the way to inform the people with the surname Qi in the countryside, and have them take refuge in the city as soon as possible.
Don't stay.
The enemy is likely to go and loot.
Not only will they steal all the property and food, they may also kill everyone.
Don’t take any chances!”
Ye gave him a serious explanation.
"I understand!"
All the carriages were loaded with people and sped away along the highway.
Look for inhabited villages along the way to set up camp and build fortifications to block the enemy.
Zhao Wudi led his army to search for the main force of the enemy army.
He now has over 30,000 cavalrymen under his command, all of whom are equipped with excellent war horses.
The running speed is not slower than the enemy.
The only weakness is that the training time is relatively short and there is no experience in the battlefield.
But Zhao Wudi did not think that his strength was inferior to that of the enemy.
The power of crossbows can greatly improve combat effectiveness, and relying on tons of bows and arrows is enough to repel the enemy.
The barbarian king made his arrangements and first surrounded the garrison in the city.
Then wait for news from the scouts.
He wanted to act under the cover of darkness at night so that the defenders would not know that he had quietly left with his troops.
As the saying goes, war is all about deception, the goal is to catch Dayuan off guard.
Soon his scouts also brought news.
"Your Majesty, there's been a huge reaction from Prince Dayuan! Many carriages have left the city and are fleeing inland.
The carriage was packed with people, so many that it was hard to count them all."
The barbarian king was very surprised when he heard the report.
The last time I fought a battle, I suffered a great loss against the crossbow.
Since we have won the battle, we should not be afraid of them at all.
Even if we want to retreat, we have to wait until we defeat him.
This movement is really abnormal.
"Their people have escaped? How is that possible?"
"My king, do you want to send fast cavalry to rob and kill them?" The generals under his command were already eager to try and couldn't wait to fight.
“Although they were riding in a horse-drawn carriage, they were taking the highway, so their escape speed was not slow.
If we were any later, we might not be able to catch up!" said the scout.
"Are you sure they are all ordinary people with the surname Qi, and not their soldiers?" The barbarian king confirmed again.
"No weapons were found, and each carriage was packed with people, not like their soldiers."
"In that case, send two thousand cavalrymen to intercept and capture all those people and bring them here.
Those are the best slaves, don't kill them if you can." The Barbarian King immediately gave the order.
"I'm worried that the prince might hide in the carriage and escape.
Wushuang Zi has demanded that we kill him and not let him escape." A general said.