Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 167: Attacking the Wei River
"The Tibetans in Lin and Wei states are going to surrender to the imperial court?"

On the 23rd day of the eighth month of the Dazhong period, when Liu Jilian recovered Didao and marched towards Weizhou, Li Chen's voice of surprise was heard in the Purple Palace in Chang'an.

He was wearing a red and yellow round-collared robe, a Yishan crown on his head, a nine-ring belt around his waist, and Liuhe boots on his feet. He sat steadily on the golden platform with a suspicious look on his face.

"Shang Yanxin has 5,000 elite cavalry under his command. Together with Zhe Buhui and Lu Ruyue, there are at least 10,000 soldiers. Why would he suddenly defect to the imperial court?"

Li Chen's impression of Shang Yanxin and the other two was still based on the situation before the great drought in Longxi.

In response to his question, Linghu Tao, one of the prime ministers, explained: "Your Majesty, according to Xue Kui, the governor of Qinzhou, Shang Yanxin surrendered to the court because he was threatened by Liu Jilong of Lanzhou."

"Liu Jilong led his troops to attack Hezhou, occupied its territory, and marched towards Linzhou."

"Shang Yanxin was no match for Liu Jilong, so he surrendered to the imperial court..."

After Linghu Tao finished speaking, the officials from the three provinces and six ministries who had been urgently summoned looked at each other, obviously surprised that Liu Jilong could deal with Shang Yanxin so well.

Not only them, but Li Chen as well.

"What is the origin of this Liu Jilong?"

Li Chen was busy with government affairs and had long forgotten Liu Jilong's origins. However, Linghu Tao still remembered it clearly and explained it slowly:
"Liu Jilong was born in the seventh year of Taihe. He lived as a horse herder for a Tibetan noble in Guazhou since he was young. Later, Zhang Yichao led an army to recapture Guasha. After joining the army, he fought bravely and became Zhang Yichao's right-hand man together with Zhang Huaishen."

"Last year, when the imperial court conferred titles on the generals of the Hexi Army, Liu Jilong was granted the title of Marquis of Changle County, with a fief of 300 households... He was also appointed as the Defense Commissioner of the Three Prefectures of He, Lin, and Wei, and the Jiedushi of the Longxi Army of Weizhou."

Linghu Tao said a lot and finally made Li Chen remember Liu Jilian's origins.

"This boy has a humble background, but he is a heroic young man..."

Li Chen first said some polite words, and then said: "He, Lin and Wei were originally under his jurisdiction. He led the army to recapture the three states, which is a blessing for the court!"

"Your Majesty the Holy Ming..."

Some officials who did not know Li Chen thought that he was simply praising Liu Jillong and approved of what Liu Jillong had done, so they all echoed his words.

But for those ministers who knew him, they knew exactly what Li Chen meant.

If Liu Jilian could recover the three prefectures of He, Lin and Wei, plus the half of Lanzhou he occupied, he would undoubtedly become a powerful vassal in the Longxi area.

Li Chen naturally did not want to have such a powerful vassal next to his bed, but he did not want to openly resist Liu Jilian.

After all, Liu Jilong was the defense commissioner of three states, but he himself asked the Southern Court and Northern Court to draft the document.

If he doesn't admit it, wouldn't people all over the world think he is untrustworthy?
After all the twists and turns, Li Chen's meaning is very clear, that is, he will be the good guy and let others play the bad guy.

"Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate..."

Cui Xuan, one of the prime ministers, walked out of the team slowly, bowed leisurely and said: "Although Liu Jilong is a heroic young man, it is precisely because he is too young that he is prone to making mistakes."

"He has sent troops from Lanzhou and has already recovered Hezhou. As far as I know, the official road between Linzhou and Lanzhou has long been abandoned."

"In this case, Liu Jilong will be alone and deep in the territory, and he may be ambushed."

"If the imperial court does nothing, wouldn't it be just watching such a young hero fail in Linzhou?"

"I think that we should send Xue Kui, the governor of Qinzhou and the governor of Tianxiong Army, to lead 5,000 Tianxiong troops to Weizhou to receive the orders from Qinzhou and Weizhou, so as to prevent Liu Jilong from being frustrated."

Cui Xuan's words sounded high-sounding, but the people in the government were all shrewd people, so how could they not see what he was thinking?
If Shang Yanxin could really defeat Liu Jilian, he would not have to surrender to the court in a hurry.

Anyone with a discerning eye knew that Shang Yanxin was probably no longer able to withstand Liu Jilong and would be defeated by Liu Jilong soon.

By then Liu Jilian will have recovered the three states and will have tens of thousands of troops. The existing troops in Qinzhou will not be enough to defend Longxi, so he will have to send more troops.

But if the imperial court took the opportunity to recapture Linwei and other two states, it would be able to limit Liu Jilian's expansion in Longxi and curb his development with 5,000 Tianxiong troops.

After thinking clearly about the interests involved, the ministers all agreed: "Prime Minister Cui is right!"

"Your Majesty, I second the proposal..."

"Your Majesty, I second the proposal..."

For a moment, all the ministers in the Purple Palace leaned towards Cui Xuan.

Li Chen didn't care about these. He only cared that Cui Xuan acted as a black glove, said what he wanted to say but couldn't say, and won the support of the ministers.

Li Chen nodded in agreement, feeling relieved. "Prime Minister Cui is right. If that's the case, I'll send Xue Kui, the governor of Qinzhou, to lead the troops..."

"Your Majesty, I think the Tianxiong Army has only been established for three years and is unable to cope with the situation in Longxi. Why not send Yu Hou Gao Pian to lead an army to support the Tianxiong Army?"

Before Li Chen finished speaking, an elderly eunuch standing next to him spoke softly.

Obviously, he also wanted to get a piece of the pie from this matter.

Li Chen did not respond to him immediately. He felt a little angry in his heart, but his face showed no joy or anger: "Ma Zhongguan is right."

"In that case, let's send Gao Qianli to select 3,000 soldiers from the left army and march to Weizhou today..."

After he finished speaking, Li Chen stood up and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"

"..." The Purple Palace was quiet, and all the ministers bowed to each other.

"Since there is no report, let's adjourn the court."

Li Chen turned and walked towards the side hall, and the eunuch called Ma Zhongguan hurriedly followed him.

Not long after, an imperial edict was issued from the palace, and Mu Xiu's Gao Pian also received the imperial edict and went to the left army to lead 3,000 people to prepare for departure.

At the same time, Shang Yanxin and more than 4,000 other soldiers and civilians who had hastily evacuated from Linzhou finally walked out of Gaochengling and into the Wei River Valley.

The so-called Weishui River Valley actually refers to the narrow river valley of more than 600 miles from Weiyuan County, the source of the tailwater, to Xiaolong Mountain.

The river valley, which is only over 600 miles long, supports nearly 60,000 people in six counties.

The entire river valley is five or six miles wide at its widest point and more than a hundred steps wide at its narrowest point, which is a great test of the general's ability.

Fortunately, the official roads in Weizhou's three most important counties, Weiyuan, Xiangwu and Longxi, are very wide. The only county with a rugged road is Zhuang County, which is located in the Zhangshui River Valley and has few people and soldiers.

As a populous state in Longxi, Weizhou has a population of more than 20,000, but it is mainly concentrated in the two counties of Xiangwu and Longxi.

As for Weiyuan in the west and Zhuang County in the south, their populations were no more than three or four thousand, their city walls were no more than 16 feet high and two feet thick, and their circumference was no more than three miles.

Although such a small city is backed by the Wei River and the Loess Ridge Mountains in the north, it is ultimately too small to stop the army from advancing straight in.

"Take away all the food and fodder from Weiyuan!"

"Don't stay, replenish your beans and head to Xiangwu!"

"Sorry..."

"Damn it, how can we defend this place?!"

"Lu Ruyue, are you going to take us back to Xiangwu?!"

Looking at Weiyuan County which could not be separated by the river valley, Zhe Buhui and Shang Yanxin glared at Lu Ruyue.

Lu Ruyue also said coldly: "We only have more than 3,000 people now. If we want to defend the city, we can only go to Xiangwu and Longxi where the cities are high and the food is abundant."

"Weiyuan is such a small city that it can be conquered even with the Cloud Chariot. Do you really expect to use it to stop Liu Jilong?"

After all, Weiyuan is just a small town with a population of two to three thousand, so it is very easy to relocate all the people.

From the beginning, Lu Ruyue planned to trick Shang Yanxin and others to come to Weizhou first, and then take the people of Weiyuan to retreat to Xiangwu and Longxi.

As long as Xiangwu is not lost, the safety of Longxi and Zhuangxian can be guaranteed, and the essence of Weizhou is still in his hands.

By that time, if he can hold out until Xue Kui leads his army into Weizhou, his position will be as stable as a rock!
Thinking of this, Lu Ruyue snorted coldly: "If you don't want to, then go back!"

"You pig-dog bastard!" Zhe Buhui drew his sword angrily, and Shang Yanxin hurriedly stopped him when he saw him.

"Now is not the time for internal strife!" He snatched Zhe Buhui's knife, turned around and glared at Lu Ruyue.

"You'd better behave yourself from now on, or I can't guarantee that I won't cause internal chaos!"

When facing Zhe Buhui, Lu Ruyue could still put on an attitude of "what can you do to me", but she couldn't do that when facing Shang Yanxin.

Because General Lin Ruzhen was well protected, Shang Yanxin had more than 800 elite cavalrymen in addition to more than 5,000 family members under his command, accounting for nearly 30% of the current Weizhou foreign troops.

If Shang Yanxin was in internal turmoil, then they might really be defeated one by one by Liu Jilong.

"Don't worry, as long as you help me defend Xiangwu, and wait for Xue Kui to enter Weizhou, I promise to let you live the life I promised you before!"

"That's better!" Shang Yanxin returned the knife to Zhe Buhui.

Although Zhe Buhui was angry, he knew that he was a stray dog and could not threaten Lu Ruyue.

Soon, the team they led took away the few people in Weiyuan County and headed towards Xiangwu County, more than 70 miles away.

After all, they are a nation on horseback. Although they are burdened by food, their marching speed is not slow.

The marching speed of sixty miles a day was already faster than that of some vassal garrison troops in the Central Plains.

But everything needs to be compared. If they are compared with the guards in the Central Plains, their marching speed will naturally be very fast.

But compared with the Longxi Guiyi Army, their speed seemed a bit slow.

Less than four hours after they left Weiyuan County, before the sun set, a group of Tang cavalry rode out from the mountain road in the west.

They approached Weiyuan City cautiously and searched the surroundings. In addition to finding a large number of messy horse hooves, all they saw was the messy Weiyuan County. As the sky turned completely dark, in less than half an hour, a large amount of fire illuminated most of Weiyuan City.

Liu Jilian led his troops into the city, took over the city defense and closed the city gates as quickly as possible.

The soldiers were able to relax, and Liu Jilian squatted in a dirty house and felt the temperature of the brazier with his hand.

"The charcoal in the brazier has gone out and turned damp. It must have been four or five hours."

Liu Jilong stood up, dusted off his hands, and instructed Zhang Chang, Shang Duoluo and others who were exhausted behind him:
"Let each group of soldiers move into civilian houses. Weiyuan City should be big enough for our people to stay in."

"I obey your command!" Hearing that they could rest, the two men seemed to have unloaded a burden.

Not only them, but even the soldiers of the Longxi Army who received the news felt relieved. They looked for civilian houses to live in and took off their armor to rest.

The laborers were also very tired. Everyone was thinner than when they set out. The only difference was that their eyes were becoming brighter.

During the days of pursuit by the Longxi Army, the stereotype in their minds that "the barbarians are invincible" was finally broken.

They regained their confidence, and this was their greatest gain from following the pursuit.

That night, there were snoring sounds everywhere in the city, and even in Liu Jilong's tent, there were faint shouts.

They were so tired that they only covered ninety miles in a day and a half, and thirty or forty miles of that were through mountains.

If it were flat ground, they would have run at least 120 to 130 miles.

Because of this, although they set out a day later, they shortened the travel time between the two sides to four or five hours.

After a quick rest for three hours, Liu Jilong sent someone to wake up Shang Duoluo and Zhang Chang.

The three of them had heavy eyelids, bloodshot eyes, and were severely sleep deprived, but they still had to force themselves to stay awake.

"Shang Duoluo, gather your elite cavalry, and we will set out in pursuit in half an hour."

"Zhang Chang, you lead the infantry and civilians to follow. If you encounter defeated soldiers on the road, take them in. We will meet at the foot of Xiangwu City!"

Faced with Liu Jilong's military order, the two men had to bow and respond even though they were tired.

Half an hour later, Liu Jilian led more than 800 elite cavalry to continue pursuing Shang Yanxin, while Zhang Chang and his men rested for another hour and left the city at dawn to chase after Shang Yanxin in Xiangwu.

From dusk to noon, the elite cavalry led by Liu Jilian galloped eastward along the winding Wei River Valley.

The autumn wind was bleak, yellow leaves were everywhere in the river valley, and the iron hooves of the elite cavalry from Longxi trampled past, raising dead grass, fallen leaves and dust.

The sound of horse hooves echoed in the valley, as rapid as a heartbeat.

As they got closer to Xiangwu City, a tense atmosphere filled the air. The elite riders gripped the reins tightly, their faces filled with anxiety and confusion.

They were worried that Shang Yanxin and his men had already run into Xiangwu City, and then they would have to continue the boring and tedious siege, which would often bring them the greatest casualties.

In the Battle of Daxia City, even though the Longxi Army won a one-sided victory, more than seventy people were still killed and more than two hundred were injured.

They didn't want to attack the city again, they just wanted to defeat Shang Yanxin and his main force in the wild, recapture the entire Weizhou, and then have a good rest for a while...

At this moment, physical strength is not a problem for them, but they are so exhausted that they can't even open their eyes.

"Beep--"

Suddenly, a quick but different wooden whistle sounded from the valley ahead, and everyone on horseback was cheered up.

"Governor, the Tangqi have run into us!"

Shang Duoluo shouted excitedly, and Liu Jilong also suppressed his excitement and said: "Speed up the horses! Don't let them retreat to Xiangwu City!!"

"Roar--"

To the elite cavalrymen of Longxi at this moment, the sound of the wooden whistle was like a sip of wine to a drunkard when he sobers up, or a puff of cigarette to a smoker when he is anxious.

As the wooden whistle continued to sound and got closer and closer to them, the people on horseback became more and more excited.

"You bastard! How did Liu Jilong catch up to us so quickly?"

Shang Yanxin, who was on horseback seven or eight miles away from Liu Jilong and his companions, looked horrified. He could not believe that Liu Jilong had caught up with them so quickly.

"Everyone speed up! If you don't want to die, hurry up!!"

Lu Ruyue roared and waved the whip continuously, trying to make the horse under his crotch quickly escort him to Xiangwu City.

Unfortunately, their ideas were destined to be shattered.

The Tang cavalry they deployed in the rear were constantly approaching the rear army, which also meant that Liu Jilong and his men were approaching.

Within two quarters of an hour, the flags of the Longxi Army had appeared in the rear army, and this news was also passed on to Lu Ruyue and the other two.

"You bastard! How dare Liu Jilong chase us with hundreds of men!"

"If you underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, this will be the place where he will be buried today!!"

Lu Ruyue turned his horse around and roared, "Horse and carriage, women and children drive the herds to Xiangwu, and the elite cavalry will stay and form a battle line!"

"Form a battle line!" Zhe Buhui also shouted and turned his horse's head, and Shang Yanxin did the same.

Soon, the team of tens of thousands of families and slaves passed the assembled elite cavalry. The elite cavalry formed a formation facing the west. In front of them were more than 700 elite cavalry from Longxi galloping from afar.

"Damn it! More than 80 of our brothers are running out of steam and are falling behind!"

Shang Duoluo reported the news he had just received to Liu Jilong, who was not surprised.

He blinked hard to make his eyes less sore.

"Seven hundred people are seven hundred people. Seven hundred people will take the initiative to attack first!"

Liu Jilong stretched his arms, took out his iron spear and raised it high: "Charge!"

"Woo-"

As the horn sounded, seven hundred elite cavalrymen from Longxi rushed towards the elite cavalrymen from Linwei more than two hundred steps away like wild horses.

"You pig-dog guys! Do you really think you can win battle after battle?!"

"Liu Jilong, Daddy is going to settle accounts with you today!"

"Brothers! Only by defeating them can our families return to Xiangwu. Raise your spears and weapons, and charge forward following the sound of the horn!"

"Uuuuuu——"

Zhe Buhui, Shang Yanxin and Lu Ruyue successively boosted the morale, and more than 1,600 elite cavalrymen of Linwei were mobilized to charge towards the elite cavalrymen of Longxi.

"kill--"

Shouts of killing rang out from both sides at the same time, and two torrents, one silver and one brown, collided in an instant.

“Hiss!”

"Um..."

"Death to the foreign dogs!"

The two armies crossed each other, the war horses neighed, the hooves sounded like drums, and dust filled the sky.

The sounds of flesh colliding, spears clashing, and metal hitting wood were endless.

The soldiers on both sides shouted at each other, disregarding life and death.

For a time, the flashing of swords, the shadow of blood, and the bloody storm polluted the beautiful scenery of the Wei River Valley...

In the battle formation, Liu Jilian, holding an iron spear in his hand, charged into the enemy formation like a tiger. His advance was unstoppable and his retreat was impossible to catch up with.

All the foreign cavalry who tried to rush up and cut down his banner fell off their horses, and countless people died.

Under his leadership, 700 elite cavalrymen from Longxi defeated the offensive of the elite cavalrymen from Linwei head-on and attacked the heart of the enemy.

This time Shang Yanxin learned his lesson and placed the big banner more than ten steps away from him to prevent him from having a head-on collision with Liu Jilian.

But even so, when the eight hundred elite cavalrymen from Longxi charged over, his helmet was knocked off by an unknown young general, and he felt a chill on his head.

In a chaotic battle, personal strength can only add icing on the cake, but cannot provide timely assistance.

Even the brave Liu Jilong didn't know how many times he was hit.

These collisions did not scare him, but instead brought out his anger.

"I *you*!!"

"All the generals, listen to my orders... follow my banner closely and kill all the pigs and dogs that try to fight back with weapons!"

In this era, the only person who could curse others so bluntly was Liu Jilong.

The temper accumulated from not eating well and sleeping well in the past few days was fully displayed at this moment.

What about propriety, righteousness, integrity, gentleness, courtesy, frugality and modesty... fuck it all!
What he wants to do now is to kill all the foreign cavalry standing in his way!
"Uuuuuu——"

(End of this chapter)