Chapter 458 "Scared?"
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When Li Shiyue and the others arrived at a place about twenty miles outside the Turkic royal court, Li Wangzheng and General Wan from the Youzhou army had just entered the grassland.
This cannot be blamed on Xie Lang's poor troop deployment, nor on the fact that the Youzhou army was slow.
The main point is that the place where the Youzhou army set off was much farther away from the Turkic royal court than where Li Shiyue and his group were.
Li Shiyue and his men could take the shortcut behind Lijiatun, but the Youzhou army only had one other way to go.
Moreover, in recent years, Anton has acquired a considerable number of warhorses from the Turks through the wool trade.
Although it's still impossible for one person to ride three horses, by putting things together, one person and one horse is still possible.
And what about the Youzhou army?
That would be a luxury for the two of them to even ride together.
Most of them rely entirely on their two legs.
Not to mention, although the Xie family is a noble family, Xie Lang, who is stationed on the border, is already lucky if he can squeeze some military rations from the capital. Where would he get the money to buy and raise horses?
Xie Mingyue said that she came to the Turkic market to earn some money, not entirely to find out the defense layout of the Turkic royal court. She really wanted to earn some money to support her father's army!
It's no exaggeration to say that Liu Tan practically gave Li Shiyue and his three thousand cavalrymen all the warhorses that were capable of fighting in Andong.
This battle is one where only victory is allowed, and defeat is not an option!
In any case, Li Shiyue and his group have arrived at the agreed-upon hiding place for the troops well in advance.
They were just waiting for the Youzhou army to arrive, so they could make contact with She'er and Xie Mingyue and launch a full-scale attack on the Turkic royal court, ready to make a big splash!
Two days have passed.
Li Shiyue and General Liu were sitting face to face, holding their breath.
Chen Yong and Sun Xiaoliu stood behind Li Shiyue, glaring at each other with the two bodyguards behind General Liu.
If eyesight could be used as a weapon, the four of them would have killed ten or eight times already.
Thinking about the shared view between the golden eagle and herself, Li Shiyue took a deep breath, clapped her hands, and looked at General Liu, whose face was dark.
"Xiao Jin told me that the Youzhou army still has a day's journey to reach this place."
Yesterday, one-third of the Khan's troops went to help drive cattle and sheep into the winter pastures.
At this time, only two-thirds of the troops remained in the royal court!
With our men and those of Nelisher, we can launch a surprise attack at night, supplemented by fire. If we can behead the Khan within two hours, this battle will be over!
If General Liu insists on waiting for the Youzhou army to arrive, then we will miss this golden opportunity. We will never have another chance like this to attack the Turks!
The point of contention between General Liu and Li Shiyue was that Li Shiyue wanted to take advantage of the Khan's reduced military strength within the royal court and launch a major offensive.
If we win, then we can kill the Khan, install Sher as emperor, and complete our mission of entering the Turkic Khaganate.
What if we lose?
Well, Li Shiyue never thought she would lose!
With the Golden Eagle in hand, how could Li Shiyue possibly lose?
But in the eyes of the steady and pragmatic General Liu, the golden eagle was powerful, but not this powerful!
General Liu still felt that their three thousand soldiers were a drop in the ocean compared to the nearly ten thousand troops in the Turkic royal court, and that they were not capable of fighting them.
Even if there is a Sherman working in from within and without;
Even She'er had informed them of the city's defense layout;
Even though Li Shiyue's golden eagle had thoroughly investigated the Turkic Khan's army from the air these past two days;
However, without the help of the troops from Youzhou, General Liu still wouldn't dare to gamble!
Of course, this cannot be blamed on General Liu.
After all, what if She'er is a liar, and what if Xie Mingyue was forced by She'er to spread false information to them?
If they attack rashly without waiting for the Youzhou army, what will happen if they are caught like turtles in a jar?
The point of contention between Li Shiyue and General Liu lies here.
As darkness fell, the temperature on the grassland dropped considerably.
Li Shiyue, wrapped in a cloak, looked at General Liu, who was still frowning, and said only one sentence: "We only have enough food for one day."
Because they intended to launch a surprise attack, they didn't cook any meals along the way, and naturally didn't bring much food.
Moreover, the entire journey was undertaken by light cavalry traveling at high speed, without bringing enough auxiliary troops.
Three thousand people, each carrying their own rations, just went like that.
If they insist on waiting for the Youzhou army to arrive, then Li Shiyue and his three thousand soldiers will have to go hungry for a day.
Being hungry and ready to ride a horse while hungry is a completely different experience from being well-fed. How could General Liu, a veteran of many battles, not know this?
Finally, with the night breeze blowing across the grassland, the soldiers received the order to eat all their rations.
Chen Yong and Sun Xiaoliu followed Li Shiyue, also gnawing on dry, hard pancakes.
"General, what about us?"
"Scared?"
Sun Xiaoliu swallowed the pancake in his mouth, touched his nose, and looked at Li Shiyue, who had asked the question, with a slightly embarrassed expression.
"Hehe, with the general by my side, I have nothing to fear."
"It's just... I'm a little unsure. Our forces are far outnumbered by the Khan's. If a war really breaks out, can we handle it?"
What are you afraid of?
When will I, the general, send my brothers to their deaths?
When have I ever not been at the forefront?
"If anyone's going to die, it'll be me, the general, first. What are you afraid of?"
Although Li Shiyue's words contained several instances of the word "death," Sun Xiaoliu thought about it and realized it was true; Li Shiyue was always at the forefront of the battle.
If even a general like Li Shiyue isn't afraid of death, what's a lowly soldier like him to be afraid of?
"Sixth Brother, I dare not speak of bestowing titles and appointments upon him."
But as long as you kill enough, you can always rise two ranks and accumulate some wealth for yourself!
Pass down the word: This time, the general has agreed. As for the wealth, each person can take 60%!
If anything goes wrong, I, the general, will take full responsibility!
Of the three thousand soldiers under Li Shiyue's command, about a thousand were originally under Li Shiyue's command, and another thousand were under the command of General Liu.
The remaining thousand or so were originally under the personal command of General Liu Tan, but during this surprise attack on the Turks, they were separated to follow Li Shiyue and General Liu.
So, after Sun Xiaoliu relayed the message that he could keep 60% of the spoils from the raid, Li Shiyue's soldiers were fine, but General Liu and Liu Tan's soldiers were all quite surprised.
Sixty percent!
That's 60%!
More than half!
A lowly soldier never dares to dream of being promoted several ranks, since the positions at the top are all limited.
But getting more gold and silver is a good thing!
Otherwise, who would risk their life every day to enter the military camp and eat such a meager meal?
The night was as dark as ink, and the moon in the sky was obscured by dark clouds.
It truly was a dark and stormy night for murder!
The entire army of three thousand men, with cloths tied to their horses' hooves, arrived outside the Turkic royal court in less than half a day.
Li Shiyue was waiting, waiting for the most suitable opportunity.
It was midnight when a strong wind blew up.
A rocket was launched by Li Shiyue with her longbow fully drawn!
The rocket was the first to fly into the top of the tent where the grain was stored.
Subsequently, dozens of rockets landed in the surrounding dozen or so large tents with a "whoosh" sound.
The wind fanned the flames, and by the time the barbarian soldiers guarding the tents discovered the fire arrows, Li Shiyue and the others had already scattered, mounted their horses, and charged out of the outer perimeter of the royal court.
One slash, one kill; the spurting blood splashed onto the little red horse's fur and stained Li Shiyue's black armor.
The slaughter began.
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