Yuntian Fort is located on Yuntianling, a branch of Liupan Mountain between Huining County and Pingliang County. It is close to the official road and is located at a high height. It has a dangerous terrain. It is a strong fort built in the Northern Wei Dynasty. It was first used to defend against the Huqi on the grasslands. It was once abandoned during the Sui Dynasty. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, in order to defend against the eastward advance of Xue Ju of the Western Qin Dynasty, this Yuntian Fort was renovated and re-stationed troops.

Yuntian Castle is to be precise, a military city with a circumference of about seven miles and can be stationed for thousands of troops. At this time, Chai Shao's 10,000 troops were stationed inside and outside the Jianbao, of which 5,000 troops were stationed in the castle, and another 5,000 troops were stationed on the foothills on the left side of the castle. The soldiers were busy building barriers, intercepting mountain springs, and transporting a large amount of food into the fort.

On the castle wall, Chai Shao watched the soldiers busy carrying stones and cutting down trees with his hands. His eyes were deep and he seemed to be worried. After some consideration, Chai Shao finally did not follow Li Shentong south, but stayed in the central and northern part of Huining County. Although he was appointed as the deputy general, in fact, he and his army were completely and could act independently.

Chai Shao did not agree with Li Shentong's delaying tactics. He was not a general, but a high-ranking official with great importance in the Tang Dynasty. He had a high status whether in the court, the royal family, or even the army.

To a certain extent, his status is even higher than that of Li Shentong. Li Shentong is the general of the Right Guard, while Chai Shao is the general of the Left Guard. It was only because the inner Taoist in the Guannei was Li Shentong's sphere of influence that Li Yuan made Li Shentong the main general.

Although Chai Shao and Li Shentong had a good personal relationship, he refused to lose his principles in military and national affairs. Before leaving, the emperor gave a clear explanation to seize Liangchuan County and nearby mines and drove the Sui Dynasty out of Huining County.

Chai Shao understood Li Yuan's concerns that the mineral deposits in Huining County could make the Sui Dynasty prosperous and powerful. At the same time, Huining County was a corridor connecting Guannei Road and Hexi. Once Huining County was occupied by the Sui army, the Sui army could enter the Hexi corridor to the west. It could sweep the five counties in Guannan to the east. Huining County had great strategic value to the Tang Dynasty.

It was just because the Sui and Tang dynasties had signed a ceasefire agreement and was restricted by the agreement that the Tang Dynasty stationed a small number of troops in Huining County. Unexpectedly, the Sui army tore up the agreement and sent troops to occupy Huining County. Chai Shaoshen understood the emperor's inner anger and the emperor's anxiety about losing Huining County.

Because of this, Chai Shao firmly opposes Li Shentong's escape strategy. If he just makes a gesture and does not have any substantial actions, then what is the point of sending troops this time? But Chai Shao cannot convince Li Shentong, so they have to go their separate ways and go their own way.

Chai Shao knew in his heart that the 10,000 troops in his hands could not be recaptured, nor could the Sui army be expelled. He had to wait for reinforcements. He had sent people to Chang'an to deliver a letter and requested assistance from the court.

On the side, Chai Shao's confidant general Duan Decao whispered to Chai Shao: "Li Shentong refused to attack Sui, but the general told the emperor whether this would offend Li Shentong? It caused the prince to be dissatisfied."

Chai Shao sneered, "I, Chai Shao, is the son-in-law of the current dynasty, and I set up my own family. Are he still afraid of offending him? If I don't explain the matter clearly, if the army is defeated, who will be responsible?"

"But the prince's side..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chai Shao waved his hand and interrupted his worries and said lightly: "If the prince is dissatisfied, I will go to the Qin Palace a few more times."

Duan Decao dared not say anything more when it comes to the King of Qin and the Crown Prince, but Duan Decao was a little strange in his heart. He knew Chai Shao. Chai Shao was a man who insisted on principles on the surface, but he was actually a versatile person. He would never offend people easily, let alone offend the Crown Prince.

But Chai Shao actually sued Li Shentong for the passive response to the emperor. This was a bit abnormal. It did not conform to Chai Shao's usual style of doing things, which made Duan Decao puzzled.

At this moment, a cavalry rushed over from a distance. Chai Shao was excited and he recognized the cavalry as one of the scouts he sent out.

After a moment, the cavalry ran along the mountain road and rushed to the bottom of the castle, shouting: "Report to General, we found that the Sui cavalry, about 10,000, were rushing towards the castle."

Chai Shao was shocked and asked quickly: "How far is the Sui army from here?"

"About thirty miles!"

Chai Shao quickly estimated in his heart that thirty miles were not far away, and it would take half an hour for the cavalry to arrive. He looked at the Tang soldiers who were building barriers. It would take at least one day to repair the barriers, and it was too late.

"Tell me my order, stop building camps, archers prepare, and defend against dangerous places!"

With Chai Shao's order, the Tang army began to gather quickly, and teams of Tang army were deployed at the dangerous places at the foot of the mountain, and they were ready to go.

At this time, a faint muffled sound came from afar, the earth trembled slightly, and then dust flew, and a cavalry brigade was running towards Yuntianling quickly.

Chai Shao stared at the cavalry that was coming from all over the world, and suddenly said coldly to the clerk around him: "Send a letter to the court immediately, saying that I led my own army to fight the main force of the Sui army's cavalry. Although the force is small, I would rather die than retreat!"

Duan Decao next to him was stunned. He suddenly understood Chai Shao's profound meaning.

...........

Pei Xingyan led 10,000 cavalry to arrive. He saw Yuntian Castle on the mountain from afar, about two hundred feet above the ground, with a steep mountain and a tall and sturdy castle, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Pei Xingyan frowned. It was indeed not easy to defeat this castle. Moreover, the Tang army occupied the mountain, which made the cavalry advantage of the Sui army disappear.

The Tang army has ten thousand troops, and he is also ten thousand troops. Moreover, the Tang army has a good geographical location, but it has the advantage. This battle is not easy to fight!

"General, it's better to siege the city and attack the aid!" A general suggested from the side.

Pei Xingyan pondered for a moment. The task assigned to him by the general manager was very simple. He guarded the mine and annihilated the invading enemy. He went from Yuntian Castle to Liangchuan County mine for about 130 miles. If he marched in a hurry, he could reach the mine in a day and a night. It should be said that the castle was still within the threat range and he had to find a way to pull out the castle.

Thinking of this, he immediately ordered a scout captain, "You can take a hundred scout brothers to monitor the Tang army in the south. If they have any intention to go north, report it to me immediately."

"Abide by the order!"

The captain bowed with his fists and led a hundred scouts to speed south, gradually disappearing.

Pei Xingyan ordered again: "The army is stationed on the spot and will not attack for the time being."

The Sui army cavalry immediately set up hundreds of camp tents at the foot of the mountain. They came with light cavalry and did not carry too many spears. They could only arrange more patrols near the camp tent to prevent the Tang army from stealing camp at night.

.........

As night gradually descended, the Tang army's barriers were built 80% of them, and torches were lit on the top of the mountain. When the dark mountain shape disappeared, the camp in the air was like a palace in the sky, shining brightly.

The Sui army camp two miles below the mountain was also brightly lit. Thousands of torches were inserted on the wooden stakes around the camp, causing a huge ring of fire to appear on the ground, which was also spectacular.

Chai Shao stood on the city wall and stared at the fire ring on the ground, thinking about something in his eyes. At this time, General Qiu Xinggong stepped forward and whispered: "General, I have a plan to defeat the Sui army!"

"What strategy do you think?"

"We found that the Sui army was coming with light troops and there were no spears around. It was easy to break through such a simple camp. As long as the Sui army encountered civil strife, we could rush down from a high place and break into the enemy camp."

Chai Shao smiled bitterly, "You said it simply, how can I make the Sui army civil strife? I can't think of a way."

Qiu Xinggong smiled, "Bizhi is from Fufeng County, but he has lived in Huining County for ten years and can speak fluent local dialect. Beizhi means......"

Qiu Xinggong whispered to Chai Shao a few times, and Chai Shao hesitated a little, "General Qiu is too risky to do this, and you are known as the tenth powerful general in the world. Many Sui soldiers know you, and you are easily seen through, so it is inappropriate."

Qiu Xinggong said again: "Then the school will come to the door, and the humble personal lead will lead a thousand cavalry and lie outside. If the Sui army is in a civil turmoil, I will take advantage of the chaos and rush to the camp, and I will definitely be able to raise Pei Xingyan's head to see the general."

Qiu Xinggong was eager to make contributions, and he was not Chai Shao's person. Chai Shao could not refuse the request, so he had to agree, "Okay! I will give you a thousand cavalry and fifty big chariots. If you have any accidents, go back to the camp immediately and don't do it recklessly!"

"Don't worry, General, good news will come."

...........

Qiu Xinggong was the second son of Qiu He, the general of the late Sui Dynasty. He had excellent martial arts skills and a iron spear made him elusive. He looked a bit like Luo Shixin, but he was better than Luo Shixinxun and ranked tenth among the ten powerful generals in the world.

However, although Qiu Xinggong was brave and brave, he was also quite tricky and acted unreasonably. In the late years of Daye, he also summoned a rebel army in Fufeng, but his troops were not large, with only more than a thousand people.

He took a fancy to another rebel army of tens of thousands of people and pretended to be local natives to deliver food to the rebel army. As a result, when the rebel leader thanked him, he killed the leader and seized the rebel army, and acted with courage.

This time he went to Huining County with Chai Shao. His biggest goal was to kill Pei Xingyan. He killed five fiercely with ten fiercely, which would definitely make him famous all over the world. However, if he directly fought, he had little chance of winning, so he decided to use a trick to kill Pei Xingyan.

The night became deeper and darker, and several patrols patrol near the Sui army camp, defenses without leaking.

At this time, a patrol soldier shouted, "Who is it? Stop!"

A dozen Sui soldiers rushed up, arched their bows and were ready to fight. A large cart came in the dark, about forty or fifty vehicles. A man in the lead shouted: "Don't shoot arrows, we natives at that time came to deliver food and grass to the Sui army."

There were more and more Sui troops patrolling around. They lit torches. A lieutenant rushed over and looked at the local people who delivered grain. They were all ordinary carriages. There were about dozens of men driving carriages in various clothes. The lieutenant looked at the carriage again. Half of the carriages were food and fine fodder.

"Where are you from?"

A man in his forties stepped forward and spoke a strong local dialect, "We are farmers nearby, and there are several villages around. When they heard that the Sui army was coming, they gathered some food and grass to bring it, and only begged the Sui army's battle not to affect the village."

The captain pondered for a moment and nodded, "Thank you for your kindness, but during the war, you should not approach the camp, and the food and grass should be unloaded on the spot. I will transfer your request to the Lord General, and you should leave quickly."
Chapter completed!