Chapter 73: Challenge
The first battle was very fierce.
After the battle, both sides counted the number of casualties.
The Yanmen defenders had a total of more than 2,000 casualties.
The Xixia army had nearly 6,000 casualties!
Almost three times that of the Yanmen defenders.
In this battle, the Xixia army did not gain any advantage, but no soldier had any complaints.
The resentment accumulated over the past few days seemed to be vented in this battle.
It was so refreshing!
At this moment.
Yanmen Pass.
Wei Yuan was counting food, supplies and other things.
"With the existing food and the water source inside the pass, we can hold on for a year or two even if we are isolated and helpless."
Of course, the premise is that Yeli Yuqi will not suddenly increase his troops.
However, even if he increases his troops, it doesn't matter. After all, Yanmen Pass is not really an isolated city!
"There is no need to worry too much about food, water, and supplies."
"Now, should we send those 500 people out?"
Xu Changzhi asked.
Wei Yuan nodded and said, "I have asked them to set off in the dark. It will take at least ten days to get the result."
Ten days?
Xu Changzhi said worriedly, "Ten days. How can we ensure that the Xixia army will not come back to help?"
Today, in order to attack Yanmen, Yeli Yuqi brought hundreds of thousands of elite troops.
The remaining tens of thousands are mostly cavalry, surrounding Yanmen Pass.
Once there is any disturbance, they will quickly report to Yeli Yuqi with the mobility advantage of cavalry.
With these cavalry waiting outside, it is difficult for the five hundred people to do anything, and there are too many variables in ten days.
"Do you think the enemy army will attack again tomorrow after just attacking the city today?"
Wei Yuan asked.
Xu Changzhi shook his head and said, "Today's siege is extremely fierce. If I were Yeli Yuqi, I would have to rest for at least one day."
Rest for one day?
Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Then he won't be able to rest!"
Xu Changzhi asked curiously, "What will General Wei do?"
Wei Yuan said, "Tomorrow, I will lead 10,000 cavalrymen to challenge the enemy. If the enemy army fights us with an advantage in numbers, we will quickly retreat to the inside of the pass."
"If the enemy army fights us with the same number of people, then this general will kill the general in front of the battle."
Before the Zhou Dynasty, in the early Tang Dynasty or the Three Kingdoms period, the generals of both sides would fight in front of the two armies.
If a general of one side was knocked off his horse or died in a duel, the morale of the general who died in the battle would be damaged.
Or if they didn't want to mobilize the army, each side would send a general to fight to decide the outcome of the battle.
This kind of thing happened, but it was rare.
However, in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the duel between generals was not only rare, but almost gone.
After all, the Great Zhou Dynasty valued civil officials over military officials, and few generals had real power like Zhang Fu, most of them were just honorary titles.
We are all nobles, and we have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of our lives. Who would want to do a job that makes them hungry?
A duel that is a matter of life and death? It is impossible.
However, Wei Yuan proposed this strategy mainly to harass the enemy and attract their attention.
If the 500 people sent out really burned the enemy's food and grass, it would be a great achievement!
It can save many brothers from dying in Yanmen.
"This is too risky. You are the commander of Yanmen. If you make any mistakes, what should Yanmen do? How should you explain to General Zhang?"
"If I have to go, I will go."
Xu Changzhi shook his head.
Wei Yuan patted his shoulder and said earnestly: "Who is better in martial arts between you and me?"
Xu Changzhi said truthfully: "Of course it's you, but"
Wei Yuan said decisively: "No buts, I have a 'killer mace', I can run away if I can't win, I will never lose my life because of this."
"Tomorrow, you will be on the tower to observe the enemy's movements for me, and try to avoid direct conflict between the two armies to prevent accidents."
Xu Changzhi had no choice but to nod and said: "Be careful!"
The next day.
It was just as Xu Changzhi guessed.
The Xixia army did not make any movement.
After lunch, Wei Yuan brought tens of thousands of elite cavalry to the outside of Yanmen Pass.
Suddenly, a hundred people left the army formation and came to Wei Yuan, facing the enemy's garrison, and said in unison:
"Xixia rats, dare to come out of the camp to fight?"
"Xixia rats, are there any who want to fight this general?"
"Xixia rats."
One person's voice was very small.
But hundreds of people shouted together.
The Xixia army couldn't possibly not know about it.
Besides, since Wei Yuan led his army out of the pass, Yeli Yuqi probably knew it all.
At this moment, in the Xixia tent.
Yeli Yuqi looked at the generals and said solemnly:
"Wei Yuan, the general guarding Yanmen, is still young, but he dared to yell and curse in front of our army. I wonder who dares to go and fight? If you kill Wei Yuan, you will be the first hero of this battle!"
A scholar suggested, "Why not send heavy troops to encircle and annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop?"
In this era, there are still people playing single combat?
This is a joke!
Yeli Yuqi shook his head and said, "If we send heavy troops, the enemy scouts will definitely know, and Wei Yuan will definitely return to the city."
"Besides, in front of the two armies, the commander yells and curses, and there should be generals to go to resist the enemy. If what you said is true, how can people in the world underestimate our Daxia soldiers?"
However, no one in the tent volunteered to fight Wei Yuan.
They knew how strong Yeli Wangrong was.
His martial arts were definitely among the best in the Xixia army.
What was the result?
Dead, killed by Wei Yuan.
Who has the ability to fight Wei Yuan? And defeat him?
A person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree. The five characters "Zhongyong Bo Wei Yuan" are also very important.
Yeli Yuqi looked around and frowned, "Why, no one dares to fight? Will the Zhou people underestimate our Great Xia in the future?"
"If you don't fight, I will go there myself!"
At this time, one of his trusted generals stood up and said, "Marshal, no! You are the commander of the three armies, how can you fight a mere city gate garrison commander?"
"If the person coming is Zhang Fu, it is worth it for you to go there in person!"
Yeli Yuqi sighed, "This is not okay, that is not okay, do you want our army to hang up a sign of exemption from war?"
Then, he said seriously, "Well, since you are unwilling to go and don't let me go, then I will personally select the generals."
"Li Ninglong, you go in this battle and bring back Wei Yuan's head!"
Li Ninglong was born in a branch of the Xixia royal family.
At the age of thirty, he is good at double swords and is one of the rising stars that Li Yuanhao wants to cultivate.
In front of him, most of the people in this tent were the confidants promoted by the Yeli brothers.
But there were also some people secretly supported by Li Yuanhao.
When Li Ninglong heard this, his mind sank and he said, "I will obey your orders!"
He had to obey his orders.
During the march and battle, dying for disobeying military orders is much more embarrassing than dying on the battlefield!
Then, Li Ninglong ordered 10,000 light cavalry and left the camp.
Then, the two armies confronted each other.
Li Ninglong took a look at Wei Yuan and found that the other party was just a young general in his twenties.
He had dark skin and thick arms. Except for being a little handsome, he was no different from ordinary military generals, and he didn't have any three heads and six arms.
At that moment, he was not afraid anymore, thinking to himself that Yeli Wangrong's death probably had nothing to do with him!
So, he immediately held two swords and cursed, "Are you Wei Yuan's kid? Do you know me?"
Wei Yuan didn't bother to pay attention to him, and galloped towards him directly.
Seeing this, Li Ninglong said angrily:
"How dare you ignore me? Today, I will take your head off!"
After that, he also rushed towards Wei Yuan.
The generals of both sides fought against each other.
This is a rare event in more than a thousand years.
The soldiers of both armies naturally watched intently.