Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 105 Blatantly
"Woooooooo..."

In August in Liangzhou, the autumn breeze brings a cool breeze, and the grassland gradually loses its lush greenness and turns a light golden color.

The herdsmen waved long whips to drive the cattle and sheep, constantly shuttling through the sparse grass, stepping up clouds of flying dust.

The cries of cattle and sheep rose one after another, as if responding to the calls of the herdsmen. They ran happily and ate all the wild grass they could see.

On the grassland, you can occasionally see flocks of birds flying low in the sky. Their shadows draw elegant arcs across the sky, as if bidding a final farewell to the coming winter on this land.

In the distance, dozens of tents are scattered on the vast grassland, with smoke rising up, interweaving with the gradually deepening dusk to form a warm picture.

The wrinkles on the herdsmen's faces hide the vicissitudes of life, but at this moment they are filled with the joy of the upcoming harvest.

They knew that only if the herds had enough grass during this season could they survive the long winter.

Therefore, although the wind on the grassland is a little chilly, their hearts are warm because they are full of hope. They hope that their livestock will be safe this winter and that the grassland will revive and be full of vitality in the spring of next year.

Due to the ban of the Jiedu Ya, many tribes could only graze within a range of 50 miles north and south of Guzang, which inevitably led to the problem of overlapping pastures.

This kind of conflict needs to be resolved by patrolling scouts from a distance.

However, as time approaches the autumn harvest, the scouts in the north are also extremely busy.

Not only did they have to worry about the Han people in the west, they also had to worry about the Uighurs and Umu people in the north, and the Helong people who came to seek refuge from the east from time to time.

Precisely because the defense pressure was so great, Shang Moling restricted the tribes from grazing to the north.

Thanks to his arrangement, the entire Liangzhou's response has become much more sensitive, just like now...

"Beep beep beep——"

Suddenly, a shrill whistle sounded from the north. All the herdsmen who were grazing changed their faces at once, while the slaves regained their spirits.

"The beacon fire in the north has risen, retreat!!"

"Dog Hannu, what do you want to do!!"

In the blink of an eye, a large number of herdsmen began to drive their herds southward, while the herdsmen began to snatch horses and rush northward.

The news of Liu Jilian's two eastern expeditions had already spread among the Han slaves in various cities.

The Han slaves had also formed an unwritten rule in private long ago. As long as there was an invading force, no matter whether it was Liu Jilian in the west or Chengle and Dugazhi in the north, the Han slaves would flee to the west.

Just as now, hundreds of Han slaves were seizing horses and spurring them on to escape without saddles.

Some herdsmen rode their horses and drew their bows to chase the enemies for several hundred steps. Dozens of them were shot dead, while hundreds escaped.

In this regard, the herders had no other recourse except to curse.

They drove their herds and began to flee southward, and the Han slaves also saw small groups of scouts on their way to the northwest.

In the process, they were inevitably threatened by the scouts' arrows, but most of the time they escaped unharmed.

These scouts had already become frightened birds, and after lighting the beacon tower, they began to flee southward.

On the contrary, the Han slaves gathered in groups and searched towards the northwest.

Gradually, six or seven hundred Han slaves gathered together, and a large crowd appeared in front of them.

The Han slaves stopped their horses and looked ahead, until the Three Stars Flag came into view in the distance, then they began to wave frantically.

"We are here! Here!"

"Tang! Tang is coming!!"

On horseback, all the Han slaves burst into tears and waved their arms continuously when they saw the Sanchen flag.

A group of Tang cavalry rode towards them, and the Han slaves rushed forward excitedly.

"Who are you!?"

The Tangqi who came on horseback questioned the group of Han slaves. If they were not without armor or weapons, the Tangqi would not have gotten so close to them.

"We are the people who fled from the south. When those foreign dogs saw the beacon fire, they all fled to the south!"

"They are going to escape to Guzang!"

"General, can we go to Shandan?"

For a moment, the Han slaves all explained their origins and reported the situation to the Tangqi.

Seeing this, the leader of the Tangqi team ordered a Tangqi to go back and report to the army, while he took the remaining Tangqi to supervise this group of Han slaves.

Although we are all of the same race, we must still be on guard against each other.

When Tubo conquered Hexi in the past, there were many traitors who assisted them.

In order to avoid this being a strategy of the foreign bandits to lure the enemy, we still have to report back to the main army and let them make the final decision.

"Drive! Drive..."

Tangqi rode his horse back to the army and soon arrived in front of Liu Jilong.

"Zhechong, there are six or seven hundred people who have escaped ahead. They said that all tribes have driven their herds back to Guzang."

The Tangqi saluted respectfully, and before Liu Jilong, who was wearing armor, could speak, Zhang Chang, who was accompanying the army on this expedition, spoke:

"Zhechong, it looks like Bai Tinghai's group of idiots broke their promise."

"According to what we agreed upon before, they should have invaded already."

Zhang Chang was a little angry. Umo's failure to keep his promise meant that their earlier plans were disrupted.

"Do not worry."

Liu Jilong was very calm: "I said, once the war starts, the arrangements will be half messed up."

"I didn't expect the Umo people to be able to contain many bandits. They must be in a pasture somewhere, waiting for news of our battle with the bandits."

"Once we fight the bandits, they will invade Changsong without hesitation."

Hearing this, Li Ji, who came with the army, frowned and said, "But if this is the case, the bandits in Changsong will attack us first."

"No problem!" Liu Jilong couldn't panic, so no matter what the situation was, he had to act as if he was confident.

He looked up at the sky and calculated the time in his mind.

Seeing that he was unmoved, Shang Duoluo, Zhang Chang, Li Ji, Ma Cheng and others all showed anxious looks.

As for Jiu Juyan, Chen Jingchong and Zheng Chu, they followed Zhang Huaishen and took the Yanzhi Mountain Road in the south to attack Fanhe.

Liu Jilian sent out his troops three days in advance in order to attract foreign soldiers other than Changsong.

Originally, Changsong's foreign soldiers were meant to be used to contain the Emo people. Now that the Emo people have broken their promise, it means that he needs to use more troops to contain them.

At this moment, his brain was like a high-speed computer, constantly calculating various combat methods and tactical executions, and even his breathing became much heavier.

As a cup of tea passed, Liu Jilong finally spoke: "Organize these Han slaves into the rear army."

"Zhechong!" Zhang Chang and others widened their eyes: "There might be spies of the bandits among them."

"That would be even better!" Liu Jilong said in a deep voice, "Follow my military order. In addition, each of you will lead a group of elite cavalry and capture some tongues!"

"Yes……"

Seeing Liu Jilian's order, everyone stopped arguing. Four of them each led two hundred elite cavalrymen to search around, while Liu Jilian set up camp on the spot.

This time he led 800 elite cavalrymen from Ganzhou and 1,000 elite cavalrymen from Shanzhou to the east. Although they had strong soldiers and horses, they were still no match for the bandits from Liangzhou.

He already had an idea in his mind on how to deal with the Liangzhou bandits, but whether it could be implemented depended on how the Liangzhou bandits reacted.

From noon to dusk, Shang Duoluo and his men had not returned, while the Shandan elite cavalry in the camp had already started eating Hu bing.

The rations they brought were only enough to last for half a month, and now they had already eaten up three days' rations on the road, leaving only twelve days' worth.

They set out two days in advance and their marching speed was faster than Zhang Huaishen's. Therefore, according to the agreement, Zhang Huaishen's troops would lead out of Yanzhi Mountain and besiege Fanhe three days later.

What Liu Jilong had to do was to attract as many foreign bandits as possible to his side within two days.

For a moment, the pressure on his shoulders became much heavier, and cavalrymen from the south gradually began to return.

Their advance was so fast that the Tangqi outside Guzang had no time to react. It was not until they advanced to fifty miles north of Guzang that the beacon tower passed on the message.

Because of this, some tribes that were not fast were naturally hunted down by them and forced to move north.

Shang Duoluo and his four regiments, 800 elite cavalrymen, finally led two small tribes northward.

Liu Jilian was waiting in the tent. Soon he saw the four of them walking towards the tent, followed by two foreign bandits in their forties or fifties.

"We found two of their tribes, with a population of about 100 to 200 people and a herd of only 700 to 800 people."

Shang Duoluo walked into the tent first to report, and Liu Jilong glanced sideways at the two tribal leaders.

"Bring them in."

"Yes!"

Under Liu Jilong's order, the two chiefs were brought into the not-so-spacious tent.

As soon as they came in, they knelt on the ground, their bodies trembling a little, and they looked at Liu Jilong vaguely from time to time.

"Are you the small chieftains from Guzang, or the small chieftains who came to seek refuge from Helong?"

Liu Jilong asked the two men in Tibetan. After hearing what he said, they looked at each other and did not dare to explain.

Seeing this, Liu Jilong's face turned cold: "My time is very tight. If you delay for a quarter of an hour, I will kill a hundred people."

Upon hearing this, a chief immediately confessed: "I am a small chief under the command of Zhebu Duhu in Guzang City. Please don't kill me and my relatives."

"I am also from Guzang City, but I am a small leader under Qiliben's command."

Seeing the people around him explaining, the little leader next to him also started to explain.

Most of these tribes were herders who were dependent on officials in the city, and their grazing was basically carried out in the form of relatives and families.

If Liu Jilong really killed a hundred people in a quarter of an hour, their entire family would be destroyed.

"What's the situation in Guzang City?"

Liu Jilong asked in a deep voice, and then softened his tone: "As long as you tell the truth, I can give you a way out."

"Inside Guzang City..." The two leaders looked at each other, but Liu Jilong directly signaled Shang Duoluo: "Take the one on the left down and wait."

"Yes!" Shang Duoluo stepped forward and grabbed the collar of the little leader on the left, pretending to lift him out.

"I'll confess! I'll confess!!"

The little leader thought that Liu Jilong only needed one person to provide information, so he quickly shouted out the information. Unfortunately, he had been lifted far away, and Liu Jilong didn't hear what he said clearly.

He fixed his eyes on the only little man in the tent: "Tell me."

"Yes..." The little man swallowed hard and then began to explain.

"Guzang City has more than 5,000 warriors wearing heavy armor, and more than 20,000 men who can participate in the defense of the city at any time."

"There are twenty-six tribes outside the city, but now they should all have fled to the valley south of Guzang."

"Qiliben has told us to clean up the traces. If anyone is caught, the others will move to other valleys."

"There are six valleys in the Qilian Mountains to the south, which are large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of herds."

After the little leader gave the instructions, Liu Jilong nodded and said, "Go wait outside first."

After that, he signaled Zhang Chang at the door of the tent: "Bring that guy here."

"Yes!"

It is normal to interrogate in batches. Liu Jilong will not kill that man.

In front of him, Zhang Chang took the little chief away, and soon brought back the little chief that was previously taken away by Shang Duoluo.

"Go ahead."

Liu Jilong opened his mouth and the little leader immediately told him all the information he knew.

The two knew similar information, so Liu Jilong spoke directly:

"Take your men back to Guzang and tell Shang Moling that I will attack Changsong tomorrow."

"Go?" The little leader was in a trance. He couldn't believe that Liu Jilong would actually let his entire family go.

"Yes, remember to tell Shang Moling that I will attack Changsong tomorrow, and tell him that I asked you to tell him."

After Liu Jilong finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the little leader stood up carefully, looking back every few steps, and walked out of the camp.

Soon, he and his entire family set out on foot southwards.

It was fifty miles from here to Guzang. Even if they had enough strength, they would have to walk until dawn to bring back the news.

Looking at his receding back, Zhang Chang and others were puzzled and came to the tent to ask.

"Zhechong, Changsong is sixty miles southeast of Guzang. Why should we attack Changsong?"

"Could it be that Zhechong thinks that the Umu people will not go south, so we go to Changsong to attract the attention of Shang Moling and Guzang's garrison?"

"I see, there are indeed many ways to compromise!"

Several people asked Liu Jilong questions, and during the process they also tried to make their own guesses, and finally praised Liu Jilong.

In response, Liu Jilong glanced at everyone and said, "Then he will definitely go south, but he will only go south after we do."

"Since they don't keep their promise, then we don't have to keep our promise either."

"We will attack Changsong tomorrow and harvest millet and wheat from Changsong to supplement our army's food supplies!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ji tried to test him: "But with only these two thousand soldiers in the army, even if they harvest the grain, they won't be able to harvest much."

"If Shang Moling leads his army to chase us, our army will probably be burdened by food."

"Don't worry about this." Liu Jilong's eyes were blazing: "Tomorrow you will know what I want to do!"

After saying that, everyone looked at each other, and soon they all retreated to rest.

At the same time, Shang Moling, who was in Guzang City, also learned the news of Liu Jilong's invasion again through Tangqi and the tribes that continued to move south.

In the Guzang government office, Shang Moling summoned powerful generals such as Zhe Buluo to gather together.

He glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Liu Jilong invaded twice a year. Does he really think that there is no one in my Liangzhou?"

Shang Moling didn't know that this was Liu Jilian's third invasion, so he just thought that Liu Jilian wanted to grab a lot of money before the autumn harvest.

"Organize the elite cavalry in the city. Tomorrow I will lead them to drive out Liu Jilong."

"Zhe Buluo, you lead 3,000 infantrymen to defend the city. Send someone to deliver the news of Liu Jilong's invasion to Xiduo Yu of Changsong, Moli of Fanhe, and Manglonghua of Jialin!"

"Yes!" Zhe Bu Luo bowed in response, and the other generals also spoke one after another.

"Liu Jilong's invasion is nothing more than an attempt to weaken our strength. Since he can't seize the herd this time, he might attack the grain outside the city."

"The autumn harvest is approaching, so we should order the people to harvest quickly to prevent Liu Jilong from getting the advantage."

"That's right, we have to rush to harvest the grain in Fanhe, Jialin, and Guzang."

No one mentioned Changsong because Changsong was located at the easternmost part, facing the Han people in the west, and was the safest location.

"Humph, tomorrow I will lead my army to search the northwest. I believe we won't find him."

Shang Moling snorted coldly, then dismissed everyone except Zhe Buluo.

After seeing everyone leave, Shang Moling said to Zhe Buluo, "Keep an eye on those people who come to seek refuge."

"Don't worry, Qiliben. I will keep an eye on them!"

Zhe Bu Luo bowed and accepted the offer, and only then did Shang Moling feel completely relieved.

Soon, the entire Guzang City was in action.

The news of Liu Jilian's invasion was sent to Fanhe and Jialin in the west, and Changsong in the southeast.

Fanhe and Jialin had suffered great losses, so they immediately began martial law and prepared to harvest grain overnight.

After a night of preparation, the two thousand elite cavalry of Guzang will leave the city early tomorrow morning and search for Liu Jilian under the leadership of Shang Moling.

Shang Moling was a big, plump man, and he had a good rest that night.

But before he woke up, someone knocked on his door.

"Tuk tuk..."

"Qiliben, there is an urgent matter to report in the inner hall."

"Tuk tuk..."

The knock on the door did not wake up Shang Moling, but it woke up his two bed-warming maids and the Hu Ji in his arms.

Hu Ji carefully woke Shang Mo Ling up, and said when Shang Mo Ling was still confused: "Qiliben, there is an urgent report outside the door."

"Urgent report..."

Shang Moling got up in a daze, and then got dressed with the help of Hu Ji and two maids.

As the door opened, Shang Moling, who had recovered his spirit, looked at the captain in front of him with a bad face.

"What's the emergency?"

He asked with a dark face, and the centurion hurriedly saluted and said, "The little leader in the eastern part of Zan was captured and released by Liu Jilong. The whole family was released. He said he had something important to report."

"Praise the little headman in the east?"

Shang Moling thought about it, and soon an old face appeared in his mind.

He walked towards the inner hall and soon saw the little-headed man who was sitting uncomfortably.

"Zan Dongqin, I heard that you were captured by the Han slaves, and your entire family was released?"

"Chiliben!"

Walking into the inner hall, Shang Moling said with an unpleasant expression: "Where are my herds?"

"The herd was snatched away by Liu Jilong."

Zan Dongqin was a little scared, and said, "After Liu Jilong captured me, he said nothing and asked me to take my family south. He told me to tell you, Qiliben, that he would invade Changsong tomorrow..."

"Bullshit!" Shang Moling cursed with a dark face, "Changsong is in the southeast. Why would he go to Changsong if he doesn't want to rob Fanhe and Jialin?!"

"I...I...I don't know either. He told me to say that. Please forgive me, Qiliben!"

Zan Dongqin knelt down and kowtowed. Shang Moling calmed down before saying, "You were taken to Liu Jilong's camp. Did you see how many people he had?"

"It's too dark to see clearly, but judging by the situation in the camp, there are no less than 2,000 people."

Zan Dongqin explained, and Shang Moling breathed a sigh of relief when he heard it, thinking that Zan Dongqin had finally told the truth.

As for the news that Liu Jilong asked Zan Dongqin to convey, he regarded it as false news.

"Get out of here, and remember that you owe me two thousand head of cattle!"

"Two thousand?" Zan Dongqin was stunned. He had clearly only helped Shang Moling to herd seven hundred sheep, so why did he owe two thousand now?

"What? You're not satisfied?"

Shang Moling's eyes flashed with ferocity. Seeing this, Zan Dongqin could only kowtow and said, "I will pay it back! Thank you for your kindness, Qi Liben!"

"Get out!" Shang Moling waved his hand to drive him away.

When he was retreating, Zhe Buluo, who had received intelligence, also rushed over overnight wearing a cloak.

When he saw Shang Moling, he quickly asked, "I heard that Liu Jilong released a group of people and asked them to bring back news. What news is it?"

"Humph!" Shang Moling snorted coldly: "He said he was going to fight Changsong."

"Changsong?" Zhe Buluo also showed an expression of disbelief on his face.

"How could it be Changsong? Changsong is in the east and farthest from Ganzhou."

"Even if he goes to Changsong and plunders herds and food, he can be easily intercepted by us on the way. What does he want to do?"

Zhe Bu Luo kept asking questions, and Shang Mo Ling sneered, "Another trick of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. This Liu Jilong only knows this trick."

"I think attacking Changsong is fake, but attacking Banhe is real."

"He tricked us into going to Changsong, and then went to fight Fanhe himself. By the time we realized what was happening, it would take at least three days to get to Fanhe."

"Yeah!" Zhe Bu Luo also nodded in agreement. After all, beating Chang Song was not in line with common sense.

"Go down and have a good rest. Tomorrow I will lead my army directly to Fanhe. I want to see what Liu Jilong's expression will be when he sees me."

Shang Moling stood up and walked into the house. Seeing this, Zhe Buluo also bowed and left the yamen.

The night passed quickly, and the next morning, Shang Moyan led two thousand elite cavalrymen from Guzang, wearing armor, and went to Fanhe through the west gate.

(End of this chapter)