Zhang Zhongwu’s expectations were not wrong.

At this moment, in the desert, a cavalry of up to tens of thousands of people was coming towards Zunhua and other places. Moreover, the number of this cavalry was still increasing as they advanced.

There were only 5,000 cavalrymen stationed in Ningxia, who were only stationed in the Right Wu Guard. The others were basically cavalrymen of various tribes living on the desert.

They brought their own weapons and armor, and their own food and grass, and spontaneously joined the expedition.

With the formal completion of Hetao City, the three surrender cities in the middle, east and west formed a complete military central axis that governed the desert, which also made the Tang army's influence stronger day by day. The cavalry of the Right Martial Guard began to appear in every place in the desert to declare the sovereignty of the Tang Dynasty.

The tribes living in the desert had only two choices, either expressing their surrender to the Tang Dynasty and becoming citizens of the Tang Dynasty, or migrating further north to avoid the military threat of the Tang Dynasty.

The second choice is not a good choice, because it represents worse natural conditions and more difficult life, and some tribes who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty earlier set a good example for them.

Becoming a Tang people, you can immediately get a fixed grassland, which is the life that grassland herders miss day and night.

Of course, the original rulers of the tribes suffered from the damage. They no longer had the right to manipulate the people and monopolize various business transactions. Because the Tang Dynasty's policies were vertically imposed on every ordinary herder. Every piece of grassland was specifically divided into the heads of every herder.

The ranch is no longer the property of tribal nobles, and the herdsmen no longer pay taxes to them. Every time the tax season comes, the tax collectors of the Tang Dynasty will come here on horseback and carriages, collecting the herdsmen the tax they should pay this year.

It is not that there are no tribal nobles who resist, but as soon as the resistance appears, the powerful Tang army will appear in front of them with lightning speed, and will destroy the resistance like a mountain of Tai. Only some of their pitiful direct descendants and ordinary herders will no longer be willing to fight for them.

Because the taxes collected by the court were much less than those collected by their heads and patriarchs.

More importantly, the court collected taxes, but used a large part of it to local construction. For example, the court established many settlements in the desert. These settlements include clinics, schools, and various business shops. When the people are sick, they can come to these settlements and spend a little money to get the best treatment. Their children can go to the schools here, not only do not spend money, but also manage food. The business shops here, from needles to threads to grain, salt and tea, are all available, with fair prices and fairness.

For tribal leaders, this is very painful. They can't beat them, and they stay and seem to become redundant people. In the past, the ethnic minorities could only follow them because only they had channels for foreign transactions. The wealth they accumulated could allow them to kill the people of the tribe, and they could only rely on them unconditionally to survive.

But now, the Tang Dynasty court has ruthlessly destroyed all this.

Like destroying the clan forces on the Central Plains, the Tang Dynasty also ruthlessly attacked tribal forces on the desert and on the grasslands, so that their ruling power could directly face every ordinary citizen.

The first step is almost finished.

The tribe leaders who dared to resist had grown taller than others. Most of the tribe leaders who dared to resist had brought the wealth they had accumulated in their early years to Hetao City, several major surrender cities, or went directly to big cities like Zhenzhou Yizhou and even Wuyi.

Now, the second step has begun.

With the settlements established earlier as the center, the Tang people began to set up various management yamen. The scattered desert was slowly being gathered together.

This attack is an opportunity for these tribes to deeply integrate into the Tang Dynasty. The Yixing Society of the Tang Dynasty has begun to take root in these places. In their propaganda, those who actively join the expedition will have the opportunity to directly enter the Tang army and become a glorious Tang army. Once they become a Tang army, they will receive various preferential policies such as tax exemption before retirement. Of course, during this attack, they will also receive corresponding generous military pay and rewards.

For the court, it was not that they were not allowed to participate in the battle. With or without it, it would not affect the overall situation. They just wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to further strengthen the rule of these tribes and citizens, and to make these tribes have a sense of dependence on the Tang Dynasty, making them increasingly identify with their own belonging to this powerful empire.

This is also part of Li Ze's theory of country.

We have been together, have been prostitutes together, and have carried guns together. This friendship is enough to allow everyone to blend together more deeply.

This made the troops bigger and bigger during the march. The strong mobilization and command capabilities of Yixingshe were fully reflected. Although these tribes came from different tribes and regions, during the march, they were quickly reorganized into orderly combat troops.

Of course, the Right Martial Guard does not expect these teams composed of troops to have the ability to fight tough battles. In fact, such troops can only perform some tasks at the edge of the corners. There is no problem in fighting with the wind, and stalemate is enough. If it is a battle against the wind, there is no need to expect it.

Fei Yu, general of the Right Army of the Liao army, led 5,000 Liao army cavalry to meet the cavalry team of Right Wugu in Longhua.

At this time, in Zunhua, Zhang Zhongwu's lonely attack had already begun.

For the Tang army, there was no hurry at all now. Han Qi planned many Zunhua battles and was moving forward step by step according to his plan. Using the solid city walls, he first eliminated Zhang Zhongwu's vitality, frustrated the morale of the Liao army, and then attacked the entire army and captured Zhang Zhongwu in one fell swoop.

Time is on their side.

Wen Fu had already invaded Liaodong. Tens of thousands of cavalry commanded by Yelu Yuan and Liu Yan were sweeping across the East. The logistics supply of Zhang Zhongwu's troops had been completely cut off. Now, he was surrounded by several areas.

The lack of food and grass, the cold weather, and the solid city walls were all Zhang Zhongwu's mortal enemies. He had no other way out except to move forward regardless of the lives of the soldiers.

Of course, he could surrender, but the temperaments of Zhang Zhongwu and Deng Jingshan were probably better than to surrender than to die in battle.

Furthermore, Han Qi never hoped they would surrender.

He would rather see these opponents who had fought with him for almost a lifetime, fall on the battlefield and put a perfect end to this lifetime of struggle.

Deng Jingshan personally led the team to charge in armor, and Zhang Zhongwu directly pushed his central army flag into the range of the catapult in the city. Within a day, his central army flag was destroyed by the catapult in the city three times, but each time, the banner was re-established and even moved a distance forward.

The desperate struggle of the soldiers left the soldiers with no choice. The abnormal morale soared in front of Zunhua City, and waves of fierce attacks continued endlessly. The violent wave of humanoids hit the city walls of Zunhua, with corpses buried all over the city.

Countless irritating bombs were thrown to the city by the ditches. The fire never stopped from the beginning, and the Tang army above the city did not show any bullets. They threw irritating bombs on the heads of soldiers siegeing the city. Every explosion would cause a large number of Liao soldiers to fall to the ground and die without a word, or wail to turn into a fireman and flee everywhere. The consequences of these firemans were basically cut by their companions or stabbed them, completely relieved their pain.

The city wall was burnt so much that after a stone bomb was applied, a large area of ​​collapse would collapse. The Liao army attacked the city again and again, but was driven down again and again.

From the beginning of dawn to the night sky, the battle never stopped. From the beginning of shouting and killing to the sky, to the end of the mechanical fight, there was no sound of human beings. The only sounds of weapons echoed on the battlefield were the sound of collisions of weapons, the sound of feather arrows breaking through the air, and the roar of stone bombs.

Even the screams before death were almost inaudible.

Zunhua's city wall can no longer be called a city wall. Large sections of land collapsed into pieces of ruins, and above the ruins, soldiers on both sides were still fighting forever.

Until the sound of the golden gongs to withdraw troops sounded among the Liao army.

"The decisive battle is tomorrow!" Han Qi and Xue Chong looked at each other.

Today, both them and Zhang Zhongwu have retained their strength and have not fully given their all, because at this time, everyone knows it.

"General Li, I will leave it to you in the battle tomorrow!" Han Qi smiled and looked at Li Han who had been watching all day long, and said with a smile.

"Five thousand Mo Dao Guards will smash everything that blocks us." Li Han stood up and said in a buzzing voice.

For both sides of the war, the rest in the middle of the night seemed to pass in a flash. Before the sky was clear, the scouts of the Liao army saw teams of Tang troops pouring out of the city and began to line up in front of Zunhua City.

The Tang army took the initiative to attack.

The scouts rushed back to the camp.

In the Liao camp, the Liao army, who had just finished breakfast, were also sorting out their weapons.

Accompanied by the sound of the ox horns, the cavalry of the brigade rushed out from the central army, from the left camp, and from the right camp, and rushed towards Zunhua City.

Today will be the day of the decisive battle.

Today will be the day of destiny.
Chapter completed!