Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 110: Capturing Xiduoyu

"Those who surrender will not be killed!"

"Xiduoyu has been captured alive. Stop resisting in vain!"

Several miles north of Changsong City, as the encirclement formed by the elite Shandan cavalry led by Shang Duoluo began to persuade them to surrender, many elite cavalry who knew that their commanders had been captured alive by Liu Jilong looked at each other in bewilderment and finally put down their weapons.

Of course, there were also many breakouts during this period.

But facing the Shandan elite cavalry that outnumbered them by several times, their fate was nothing but blood splattered on the grassland.

"Withdraw troops!"

Seeing that some of the elite cavalry of Changsong, who were surrounded by the elite cavalry of Shandan, began to surrender in the distance, Zheduosibie, who knew that he could not save Xiduoyu, quickly ordered a retreat.

Inside the encirclement, some of Changsong's elite cavalry who were still in a stalemate saw that their own infantry had actually begun to retreat, so they hurriedly dropped their weapons and surrendered.

"Take off their armor and have these brothers wear it. Put the remaining armor on the horses and gather the horses together."

Liu Jilong, sitting on horseback, calmly gave the order that the surviving elite cavalry of Changsong, along with the more than one hundred corpses on the ground, were stripped of their armor, while more than six hundred herdsmen slaves were put on armor.

It's a pity that their bodies are too weak due to long-term malnutrition. Putting on armor not only fails to improve their combat effectiveness, but actually decreases it.

However, for Liu Jilong, he did not need this group of "new soldiers" to charge into battle. He just wanted to boost his morale.

He turned his horse around, and Zheduosibe had already led the southern army to slowly retreat to the south.

"Zhechong, what should we do with these guys?"

"How about just killing them all?"

"Why not send them back to Shandan with the wounded?"

Shang Duoluo, Zhang Chang and Ma Cheng rode their horses to Liu Jilong's side one after another and glanced vaguely at the hundreds of captured Changsong elite cavalry.

Of the one thousand elite Changsong cavalry, four to five hundred surrendered, two to three hundred were killed, and another one to two hundred took advantage of the chaos to break through and head south.

In a short period of time, the armor obtained by the Shandan army was not only enough to equip the group of "new soldiers", but also had some left over.

"Zhechong!"

In the distance, Li Ji rode towards them with a heavy face.

He hardly had to open his mouth for everyone to know what he was going to say.

As expected, as he approached, he said solemnly: "One hundred and two brothers were killed in the battle, and two hundred and twelve were injured, of which eighty-five were seriously injured."

"..." Liu Jilong frowned slightly, he turned around and glanced at the group of foreign soldiers and Xiduo Yu.

The situation in Changsong is different from that in Fanhe. It would be a waste to kill these hundreds of Fanhe soldiers directly, and Xiduo Yu cannot be killed even more. They are all stepping stones for his future conquest of Changsong.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Jilong raised his hand with a cold face: "Go to Changsong!"

With his order, the army immediately marched south to Changsong.

At the same time, Zheduosibei, who was slowly retreating to Changsong City, also sent light cavalry in the city to go through the east gate to Guzang for help.

When he saw the Shandan cavalry marching south, he immediately retreated to the other side of the moat with his armored soldiers, ready to pull up the drawbridge at any time.

A quarter of an hour later, a team of more than 2,000 people arrived one mile north of Changsong City.

As the scene of the crossbow carts firing crossbow arrows was still vivid in his mind, Liu Jilian did not lead his army to continue approaching the prepared city wall.

"Burn the pot to cook, boil water to treat the wounds, and supervise the surrendered soldiers to harvest the food!"

Liu Jilong gave the order calmly, glancing at Li Ji at the same time: "Go and interrogate the captured Xiaojieer and Xiduoyu, and see if you can find out how many soldiers are left in the city and who is the guarding commander."

"Yes!" Li Ji bowed and turned his horse around to retreat.

Time passed little by little. The new soldiers wearing armor supervised the surrendered soldiers to harvest food, the remaining four hundred people were taking care of the wounded, and the remaining one thousand elite cavalry were patrolling the surroundings.

The morale of Changsong's troops had been crushed by Liu Jilong, and their commander Xiduo Yu was captured, so they did not dare to continue fighting outside the city.

As two quarters of an hour passed, Li Ji rode his horse to Liu Jilong and told him the news he had gained from the interrogation.

"Zhechong, the commander of the city is Zheduosibie, the son-in-law of Xiduoyu."

"There are still 2,000 armored soldiers in the city and the 100 or 200 elite cavalrymen who just escaped. The population is more than 30,000."

"In addition, we have also obtained news from Guzang. Guzang has nearly 60,000 civilians, 2,000 elite cavalry and 3,000 armored soldiers in the city."

Liu Jilong didn't expect to get such an unexpected gain, so he couldn't help but ask, "Did Xiduo Yu tell him to do that?"

"No, the old dog refused to say anything. It was his subordinates who told him to do so," Li Ji explained.

Hearing this, Liu Jilong took out a palm-sized sundial, held it steady in his hand, and then squinted his eyes to look at it.

Although they had experienced a great battle, it was not yet 9 o'clock. Guzang should have seen Kuleden and his men and received the news that they were about to attack Changsong.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong calmly analyzed the current situation. It was not until Zhang Chang and others brought the cooked military rations that Liu Jilong came to his senses.

"Zhechong, what should we do now? Should we continue to surround Changsong City?"

"If you ask me, we should just capture Changsong. The food outside the city will be enough to defend the city for a year."

"Yes, by then even if Shang Moling comes, he will be unable to do anything to us!"

Facing their suggestions, Liu Jilong shook his head:
"How can we take down this city? Just relying on Sidoyu?"

Liu Jilong glanced at Zhang Chang and the others sternly, and said unhappily, "Don't forget how Zhao Qian and the others died."

"I think you have been confused by the great victories. How can siege and field battle be the same?"

Liu Jilian was not so arrogant as to think he could capture Changsong with less than 2,000 cavalry. He knew very well what his purpose in Changsong was.

Capturing Xiduo Yu alive was an unexpected surprise, but Liu Jilian would have to rely on Xiduo Yu to persuade Changsong City to surrender, unless he had already captured several other cities in Liangzhou.

Given the current situation, Xiduoyu can't be of much use.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said in a deep voice: "Set fire, burn all the grain fields outside the city!"

"Ah?!" Everyone showed regret on their faces.

The tens of thousands of acres of arable land outside Changsong City can yield at least 200,000 shi of grain.

So much food is enough to feed more than 10,000 soldiers. Burning it like this would be a waste of resources.

Others might not be willing to do so, but Liu Jilong was.

He couldn't take the food away, and if he didn't burn it he would be aiding the enemy.

Therefore, under his stern gaze, large fires soon broke out outside the city.

At the same time, Liu Jilian did not retreat with the hundreds of captured soldiers, but rode his horse to the front of the formation and scanned them.

Facing the anxious gazes of the hundreds of soldiers, Liu Jilong actually said loudly: "Xiduo Yu is willing to exchange his life for yours."

"I, Liu Jilong, am not a bloodthirsty person. I also know that you all come from poor farmers and herdsmen."

"I joined the army and killed the enemy just to earn a living. I am not a treacherous or evil person."

"The truly vicious people are the Tibetan nobles who enslaved you and the herdsmen who made it impossible for you to eat meat or drink wine!"

After he finished speaking, Liu Jilong dismounted and patted a guard on the shoulder: "Take your people home, return to Changsong!"

Hearing this, Najie'er's eyes widened, unable to believe that Liu Jilong actually let them go.

Without waiting for him to attack, Liu Jilian mounted his horse and led his troops to retreat northward.

Looking at their receding backs, the released soldiers looked at each other, not knowing how to describe General Liu.

In the end, they walked back to Changsong, but the defenders of Changsong did not dare to let them cross the moat.

On the city gate tower, Zheduoshibie looked at the four or five hundred elite cavalrymen who had lost their armor and horses, and for a moment he could not help but feel suspicious.

"Let Cuo Ben come up!"

Zheduoshibie said this in a deep voice, and soon the officer who was patted on the shoulder by Liu Jilong walked into the city and went up to the city wall.

"Cuo Ben, how did you get back?"

"It was Liu Jilong who let us back. He said he had reached an agreement with Dong Ben."

Zheduoshibie looked at Cuoben and asked, and Cuoben responded honestly.

"condition?"

Zhe Duoxibie frowned slightly, but still couldn't figure out why Liu Jilong let them go.

However, these hundreds of soldiers were trained at a great cost of money and food, so he really couldn't abandon them.

After thinking it over, he let those hundreds of people enter the city, and at the same time released the few light cavalry in the city to search for the traces of Liu Jilong and others.

When they were looking for Liu Jilong's whereabouts, Liu Jilong was moving north with the tied up Xiduoyu. On the way, Zhang Chang and his companions also asked Liu Jilong why he released that group of people.

"Zhechong, I think we should just kill him and put an end to it all!"

"Zhang Chang is right!"

"Stop talking, Zhechong must have his own ideas!"

Zhang Chang and Li Ji sang the same tune, but were finally stopped by Ma Cheng's scolding.

Although he could stop the two of them openly, he couldn't control what they thought.

On horseback, Xiduo Yu looked at Liu Jilong in front of him and said in a deep voice: "You want to use me to win people's hearts?"

"Hmm?" Liu Jilong looked back at Xi Duoyu and said, "You are not that stupid."

Seeing that Zhang Chang and the others were not convinced, and Xi Duoyu just expressed his thoughts, Liu Jilong explained to Zhang Chang and the others:

"With this guy in hand, plus the hundreds of people we just released, if we recover the other cities in Liangzhou in the future, it will not be difficult for us to recover Changsong!"

"Zhechong, I don't understand!" Li Ji asked in a deep voice:
"Even if we release those hundreds of people, they won't be grateful to us at all. They will only attack us in the future!"

"You're right!" Liu Jilong did not deny it, but admitted it while looking at Xiduoyu.

"They won't be grateful to us, but it's different with this guy in our hands, so he can't die."

"So this old guy is still a popular guy?" Zhang Chang looked Xi Duoyu up and down.

During this period, Xiduoyu remained silent, and Liu Jilong ignored him and just talked about his own things.

"There are too many foreigners in Hexi. Simply slaughtering them won't solve the problem."

"The conflict between the Han and the Fan people is not that big, or the conflict between the Han people and the Fan farmers is not that big."

Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Chang and the others and asked, "What do you think is the difference between the Han herdsmen and the farmers?"

"This..." Zhang Chang and his men were a little hesitant. Although they hated the Fan people, they had to admit that ordinary Fan farmers lived only slightly better than the Han slaves.

This is slightly better, probably the difference between Han slaves eating bran porridge and farmers eating bran cakes.

Seeing that they understood, Liu Jilong continued, "In the past, there were 110,000 Han people in Liangzhou. Although there are more than 100,000 people now, there are more foreigners than Han people."

"Under such circumstances, can we kill all 70,000 or 80,000 Liangzhou barbarians with our butcher knives?"

"We can only select a group of foreigners who recognize and support us, and unite with them to govern Liangzhou."

Having said this, Liu Jilong stopped talking.

Because the following topic involves how to assimilate these 70,000 to 80,000 Liangzhou barbarians, he could not bring up this issue in front of Shang Duoluo and other barbarians.

Sinicization can be subtle, but if it is spoken out loud, it will provoke resistance from some people.

Liu Jilong had already learned about the entire Helong situation from Shang Bibi, so he was very clear about one thing, that is, Liangzhou was the biggest obstacle to his eastward advance.

Once he captured Liangzhou with a population of over 100,000, the Helong states would be in his pocket and could be taken at any time.

Precisely because he understood all this, he understood why the Tang Dynasty took action immediately after the Guiyi Army recaptured Liangzhou.

The entire Helong region has been torn apart, and the population of the Guiyi Army that recovered Liangzhou is approaching 200,000. As long as the Guiyi Army is given enough time, they can mobilize no less than 10,000 armored soldiers to march east to Helong.

Today, fourteen states including Helonghui, Shan, Lan, and Kuo are still in the hands of the Tibetans.

This sounds like a lot, but the combined population of the fourteen states does not even reach 200,000.

As Helong fell apart, each state could only mobilize one or two thousand soldiers.

In this situation, as long as we can gather 10,000 soldiers and march eastward, all the enemies will surrender.

Although Emperor Yizong of Tang was mediocre in ability and fond of pleasure, he still had a good vision.

If he had not intervened in the situation of the Guiyi Army in Liangzhou in time, the Guiyi Army would have recovered the entire Helong area within a few years. By then, the entire Longyou Road, except Qinzhou, would be in the hands of the Guiyi Army.

At that time, the Tang court would have to face the "feudal" forces with a population of more than 400,000, nearly 20,000 soldiers and close at hand.

Although Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen both showed sufficient loyalty, for the Tang court, which was afraid of "feudal vassal states", such a "giant monster" must not appear to the west of Guanzhong.

Even Emperor Yizong of Tang, who was of mediocre ability, could notice this problem, so it was natural that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Chen, who was slightly more capable, could not have failed to notice it.

Therefore, for Liu Jilian, the speed of recovering Liangzhou must be fast. He should lead his troops eastward and recover most of Longyou and Longnan areas before the Tang court could react.

By then, even if the Tang Dynasty wanted to split up the Guiyi Army, he would be able to occupy a good position with his military achievements and the troops under his command.

But at that time, I will have to face a difficult choice...

Liu Jilong looked up and saw a sunny and green grassland ahead, but to him, it was a single-plank bridge that he had to walk on carefully.

"Drive! Drive! Drive..."

When the sound of horse hooves rang out in the west of Jialin City, Shang Moling, who had been galloping since early morning, finally arrived at Jialin City after four and a half hours.

It was only afternoon now. As long as Shang Moling and his men gritted their teeth, they might be able to enter Guzang City before nightfall.

"Open the city gates and get some water and bean feed out!"

To the west of Jialin City, Shang Moling was giving orders to the defenders on the city walls from the foot of the city.

What he didn't expect was that as soon as he finished speaking, a manglong face appeared behind the women's wall.

"Qiliben, you've come just in time. Gu Zang has sent news!"

Mang Longhua shouted, then ordered his attendants to prepare water, beans and hot rice, and he walked down the city wall.

As he walked out of the city gate, Shang Moling frowned and looked at him as he walked in a hurry.

"what happened?"

Shang Moling felt a little uneasy, and this uneasiness reached its peak when he saw Mang Longhua holding a handwritten letter.

"Qiliben, this is the message that Gu Zang sent an hour ago. You should read the contents yourself."

Shang Moling's heart skipped a beat as Mang Longhua was busy trying to distance himself from the matter. He quickly took the letter and opened it.

This handwritten letter was sent from Guzang last night, and its content said that Liu Jilian led his troops to retreat northward after burning Changsong.

"The pig-dog guy! What does he want?!"

Shang Moling tore the letter into pieces. You should know that he rushed back from Fanhe because Changsong was surrounded.

Now that the siege of Changsong has been lifted, where should he go now?
"Qiliben, this Liu Jilong is full of tricks. What do you think we should do now?"

Mang Longhua saw that Shang Moling had finished his temper, so he bowed and asked.

Shang Moling heard this and tried his best to calm himself down. He then took a few deep breaths before saying:
"I'll be waiting in Jialin. I don't believe that a few hundred heads of cattle and a small amount of food can satisfy his appetite!"

"Qiliben is right!" Mang Longhua was naturally happy to see Shang Moling stationed in Jialin. After all, Liu Jilong was elusive. If he suddenly attacked Jialin, wouldn't the grain that had not been harvested outside the city be ruined?
Thinking of this, Mang Longhua quickly turned around and looked at his follower Nong Guli, and said with a serious face:

"Hurry up and prepare hot meals for Chiliben and the army, and slaughter 500 sheep as a reward!"

“Yes…” Nong Guli swallowed, he hadn’t tasted mutton since he was demoted after being captured and released by Liu Jilong.

Now when he heard that they were going to kill sheep to reward the soldiers, even though he couldn't eat it, just smelling the aroma of the meat would satisfy his craving.

On the way back to the city, Nong Guli couldn't help but admire Liu Jilong for being able to make the entire Liangzhou run around again.

Nong Guli couldn't help feeling resentful when he thought about how he brought back the body of General Mang Luo, but not only was he not promoted, but he was demoted instead.

For a moment, he even hoped that Liu Jilian would lead his troops to besiege Jialin. Perhaps he could use his brief encounter with him to find a way to betray Mang Longhua and get a high-ranking official position.

Thinking of this, Nong Guli's mind became more and more active.

Half an hour later, as the hot meals were carried out of Jialin City in barrels, before Nong Guli and Gu Zang's elite cavalry could eat, smoke and dust rose faintly in the east.

Since there were Jialin's light cavalry patrols outside the city, no one was worried about being attacked.

What they were worried about was the direction from which this team of Tang riders was coming.

Shang Moling was looking towards the east. As the Tangqi team got closer and closer to them, he could clearly see the Guzang flag in the hands of the Tangqi.

In an instant, he stood up quickly, and the team of Tangqi galloped towards him.

The head of the ten households who was leading the charge reined in his horse five or six steps in front of Shang Moling, then jumped off his horse and presented the letter in his arms with both hands.

"Qiliben, this is an urgent message sent at 7 o'clock this morning. Please read it!"

"Expedite?"

Upon hearing this, Shang Moling's face immediately turned ugly, and he subconsciously reached out to grab the urgent...

(End of this chapter)