The Tang Army Camp was outside the northern city. Li Shatuo led more than a hundred scouts to walk hard in the wind and sand, all the way to the northwest of the Tang Army Camp. It was a good wind, and the wind was strong, making people unstable. If you didn't squat down, you would feel like you would be blown away by the strong wind.

The scouts found several stone walls and squatted behind the wall. It turned out to be an abandoned mansion. It was eroded by wind and sand for many years, leaving only a few ruins. More than a dozen baggage soldiers unloaded several bundles of heavy objects from the three camels. This was a small stone thief, which was dismantled into several parts and was checked by the camels. They could throw more than a hundred steps away from the heavy stones.

The baggage troops were quickly tied up and installed, and soon as they were assembled into a 100-meter-high stone catapult. At this time, a scout rushed from the darkness and pointed to the southwest and said: "The Tang army camp is just a hundred steps away. It is about fifty steps away from the outside and the big tent inside. There are still many caltrops sprinkled on the ground."

Li Shatuo sneered. The Tang army's camping method was the same as that in the Central Plains. It did not take into account the actual situation in Dunhuang. I will let them taste the power of Dunhuang night wind tonight. He immediately ordered: "Prepare the fireball!"

The scouts took out more than a dozen black fireballs from the camel box, which were wrapped with turmeric cloth. They were as big as Badog, and the core of the ball was cast iron balls, so that it weighed ten kilograms and could be projected about a hundred steps in the windless state. However, on strong windy nights, with the wind, it could be projected 150 steps away, which was enough to be cast into the Tang army's tent.

A fireball was put into the iron bag, and dozens of soldiers pulled the catapult, and the two-foot-long throw pole was bent to the limit. A soldier ignited the fireball, which burned rapidly and pulled out a long tongue of flame in the strong wind.

"Let me!" Li Shatuo ordered. The fireball soared into the air, forming a bright dot in the gray night sky, flying towards the Tang army camp.

The fireball crossed the whistle tower, crossed the dense spear, and flew into the Tang army camp. With a "boom!", the fireball hit a big tent. The soldiers in the tent were awakened and rushed out of the big tent in panic. Then the big tent was ignited and burned rapidly with the wind.

"Dang! Dang! Dang!" The alarm bell on the whistle tower rang urgently. Amid the harsh alarm, another fireball crossed the dark night sky and flew into the Tang army camp. This time it hit the ground, and the fireball rebounded and rushed into a large tent. The soldiers in the tent rolled and crawled out, and the fireball shone red in the tent, and the fire soon burned out of the tent.

The fireball shot into the northwest corner of the Tang army, which was the infantry camp. At this time, the soldiers woke up from their dreams. They ran out of the camp tent in horror and gathered in the open space outside the tent. Many people were still barefoot and shivering in the cold wind. Hundreds of soldiers were thrusting at several burning tents. Li Xiaogong also rushed to the northwest corner and shouted loudly: "What's wrong?"

"Your Highness, look!"

When Li Xiaogong looked up, he saw a fireball roaring in the sky. Several personal soldiers quickly pushed him away. The fireball flew over his head and hit a camp tent. The big tent burned a big hole in a moment. The fireball fell into the tent, and the curtain quickly burned.

"Extinguish the fire. Don't let it spread!"

Li Xiaogong shouted loudly, and he rushed to the edge of the big tent in anger. A soldier pointed at the faint highlights in the wind and sand, "Your Highness, right there!"

Li Xiaogong stared for a moment, turned around and said to a general: "Speed ​​up a thousand cavalry to wipe out the fire source Sui army!"

The general turned around and ran away. At this time, another fireball hit the tent. This was the seventh fireball. Although the Tang soldiers tried hard to put out the fire, the wind was too strong. The fire took advantage of the wind. The rope of a large tent was burned, and the burning fragments of the large tent were blown into the air. Seven or eight tents were lit in a row, and the fire began to burn into pieces.

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In the darkness, Sui soldiers put another fireball on the catapult. At this moment, a sentry rushed over and shouted loudly: "Go away! The Tang cavalry is coming."

Li Shatuo immediately made a decision and said, "Destroy the catapult and withdraw it immediately."

The Sui army soldiers drew their swords and slashed. After a moment, the catapult collapsed. They flew onto the horses with the last few fireballs and ran to the north, and soon disappeared into the wind and sand.

Soon, the Tang cavalry found the attack site. Except for a damaged speculator, the rest of the people and items were gone.

In the Tang army's tent, Li Xiaogong found that the situation was serious and could not extinguish the fire. More than 100 tents in the entire northwest corner were lit, and the flames flew into the air and burned in the howling wind. He knew in his heart that either the entire camp was burned down or half of it was destroyed.

"All tents are removed!"

Li Xiaogong rode a horse and ordered that there would be at least two hundred steps of isolation area to deal with such a fire. He pointed a tent two hundred steps away from the fire. "Dismantle this side first and divide it into isolation area!"

At this time, Shi Wanbao rushed up and said, "Your Highness, we must prevent the Sui army from taking the opportunity to attack!"

A word reminded Li Xiaogong, and he quickly ordered: "You lead 4,000 cavalry out of the battalion to defend. If there is any movement, no matter who it is, shoot me in a random arrow!"

"Abide by the order!"

Shi Wanbao turned his horse and rushed to gather the cavalry, while the infantry soldiers were busy demolishing the camp tents, while a large group of soldiers fled to the southwest corner. At this time, the fire became bigger and bigger, and hundreds of large tents were ignited. This was the entire infantry battalion area, which was burning in the strong wind, forming a sea of ​​fire.

Li Xiaogong rode a horse to the southwest corner, where six or seven thousand infantry had gathered. Most of them had no armor. Many were barefoot, wearing thin middle clothes, curled up in a ball in the cold wind, and could not see the shield spear. About half of them had a horizontal knife in their hands. Li Xiaogong turned around and looked into the sea of ​​fire. The soldiers' weapons and equipment were basically engulfed by the fire. He sighed a long time. How could he fight this battle?

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The city was full of Sui soldiers. The fire in the Tang army camp three miles away was fast, and it was clearly visible in the night. The soldiers were talking about what kind of fighter jets this sudden fire would give them. Su Ding sneered. When he arrived in Dunhuang on the first day, he discovered that Dunhuang night was extremely good for sneak attacks with fire attacks. At that time, he was considering sneak attacks on Li Zhaojin's camp, but he did not expect to use the Tang army's head in the end.

Although this fire would not cause heavy casualties in the Tang army, it would at least have a heavy blow to the Tang army's morale and cause them to suffer huge losses in military capital. When the other party's food and grass are not good and the morale is extremely sluggish, it is the moment for him to attack.

The fire was burning until the first update and the deadly silence returned to the outside of the city, with only the sharp and sharp wind whistling. The dust in the sky covered the sight.

The next day, the sky gradually became brighter and the wind became much smaller. The dark yellow color was revealed on the field. In the hazy morning light, you could vaguely see the Tang army camp, and the camp tents were gone, leaving only a charred black.

At this time, a scout came on a horse and shouted under the city wall: "General Su!"

Su Dingfang leaned over and asked, "What's the situation in the Tang army?"

"Report to General Su, the Tang army is gone. They have evacuated overnight!"

Su Dingfang was stunned for a moment. What's going on? He came in a fierce manner but ran away overnight. Did a sneak attack scare them out of fear?

"Is there any remaining supplies?"

"Report to the general. Except for hundreds of burned tents, nothing was left. The food, tents, and spears were taken away by them."

Li Shatuo was overjoyed, "General Su, the enemy fled in panic, which is our chance to pursue. Give an order! My subordinates are willing to lead the cavalry to pursue him."

Su Dingfang shook his head. None of the Tang army's supplies were left behind, which means they retreated in an orderly manner. Their five thousand cavalry suffered no losses and they all left the camp last night. With Li Xiaogong's cautiousness in leading the troops, he would never be careless and would never leave himself a chance to pursue. Maybe this was his plan to lure troops.

"Don't pursue! Pass my order. You are not allowed to open the city today!"

Behind a sand dune dozens of miles away, five thousand cavalry were lined up neatly. Li Xiaogong wore a golden helmet, silver armor, and a horse spear in his hand. He looked into the distance with a cold look. Behind them, the Tang army infantry had gone far away, but Li Xiaogong was not in a hurry to retreat. He was waiting for the pursuit of the Sui army. Perhaps he could still seize the last chance. The real Sui army had only 3,000 people, and the rest of the army was Li Zhaojin's Liang army. Their reorganization time was too short and it was not enough to form strong combat power. The Tang army still had a front-line opportunity.

Li Xiaogong waited patiently until noon, a Tang army scout rushed over from afar, "Report to Your Highness, the Sui army has no movement, and the gate of Dunhuang City has not been opened yet."

Li Xiaogong sighed helplessly. He knew that his ambush scheme had been seen through by the other party. The other party refused to fight with him. He had to turn around and order: "Retreat!"

Five thousand cavalry turned their horses and headed towards Changle County. The Tang army came with hope, but retreated in great disappointment.

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In Chang'an City, the negotiations between the Tang and Sui Dynasty were at a stalemate. The two sides mainly argued about the status and ownership of Dunhuang County. The two sides were quarreled. The Sui Dynasty believed that Dunhuang County had always been the territory of the Great Sui Dynasty and was stolen by Li Gui. Now the Sui Dynasty sent troops to drive away the Liang team and recaptured Dunhuang County. It was natural and Dunhuang County should be part of the Sui Dynasty.

However, the Tang Dynasty insisted that Li Gui's Liang Kingdom had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, so all the land of Liang Kingdom should belong to the Tang Dynasty, and it should also include Dunhuang County. Therefore, Dunhuang County should belong to the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Although occupied by the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty did not recognize it. The Tang Dynasty believed that Dunhuang County should be a disputed area, and the settlement agreement reached did not include it, nor did Yiwu County.

Both sides held their own opinions and refused to give in to each other, and could not reach a settlement agreement. To count, Du Ruhui had been in Chang'an for a full half month, and the two sides showed no sign of compromise. In two days, December will be coming.

Early that morning, Du Ruhui had just gotten up, and there was a burst of rapid knocks outside the door. Wei Zheng was shouting anxiously outside: "Prime Minister Du, emergency news from Taiyuan!"

Du Ruhui put on his shoes and went forward to open the door. Seeing Wei Zheng's face full of excitement, he asked with a smile: "Mr. Wei is so happy, but what good news is there?"

“That’s right!”

Wei Zheng took out a letter and said impatiently: "I heard from the sender that the Tang army had been forced to evacuate Dunhuang County. Now Dunhuang County and Yiwu County are completely controlled by us."

Du Ruhui's eyes lit up and he laughed, "If this is the case, our day to go home is coming soon."

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[The weather is cold and Lao Gao is not lucky to be sick. Everyone should take care of themselves, add more clothes, and don’t act like a young man. Being healthy is the guarantee of happiness]

---{Piaotianwen Thank you for your support, your support is our greatest motivation}
Chapter completed!