Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 70: Fame is Difficult to Achieve
"Whoosh..."

The wind was so strong that it blew sand and rocks onto the ground, blinding many people's eyes.

The climate in the Qilian Mountains is changeable. It was cloudy in the Qilian Gorge just now, but after just one hour, a mountain wind started to blow.

The mountain wind blew suddenly, and Shang Yanxin in the formation suddenly felt a little uneasy.

Seeing that Molu Zan was leading his troops back to protect their equipment, he watched Molu Zan riding his horse to him, and after he dismounted, he asked, "What happened?"

"Return to Qilibon..." Molu Zan saluted and said:
"Last night, some Hannu cavalry did leave the city. I followed your instructions and let them go to Zhangye for help."

"Yes." Shang Yanxin nodded: "Have all the Tangqi on the northwest road been deployed?"

"Send them out ten miles, and they will report to me if there is any military intelligence." Molu Zan responded honestly.

After a conversation, Shang Yanxin's uneasiness was dispelled, and he began to give orders: "The army will cook, and leave 3,000 soldiers to siege this place in the afternoon, and the rest will follow me to grab food!"

"The last general takes orders!!"

The generals agreed, and more than 4,000 Hehuang cavalrymen began to cook in an orderly manner.

Time passed little by little, from noon to afternoon, more than a thousand Hehuang cavalry were ready to go, but Zhang Huairong in Qilian City called Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong hurried back to the city wall from outside the city and saw Zhang Huairong sitting in the main seat and Shang Bibi sitting beside him.

"Sima Zhang..."

He bowed and saluted, but Zhang Huairong looked worried: "I'm afraid these bandits are going to invade Ganzhou. What do you think?"

Zhang Huairong's words made Liu Jilong's heart sink, and he didn't know what to say.

They had done everything they could, except taking advantage of Shang Yanxin's contempt for them to break through the formation and seize Shang Yanxin's banner. At other times, they had no control over the battlefield.

Facing more than 4,000 armored cavalry, no matter how hard they tried, it was just like an egg hitting a stone. Yesterday's battle was a lesson for them.

"In the current situation, we can only station soldiers at the city gates and observe the movements of the bandits."

"If Governor Zhang leads reinforcements, our army will be able to support Governor Zhang in time."

As soon as Liu Jilong finished speaking, a figure hurriedly walked into the city wall.

"Don't worry! The bandits' cavalry are making a move!"

Jiu Juyan's words made everyone look at him immediately. Liu Jilian even walked out of the city wall directly, came behind the parapet and looked outside the city.

Dozens of Hehuangtang cavalry were seen retreating from the west of the city, blowing wooden whistles as they galloped.

"coming!"

Liu Jilong heaved a sigh of relief, and at the same time quickly ordered Jiu Juyan: "Let's go, leave the city!"

For a moment, the soldiers and civilians in Qilian City all showed joy. Liu Jilong and his men also hurried out of the city and organized their troops.

At the same time, Shang Yanxin also saw the Tang cavalry returning at full speed.

They came galloping from a distance, rode their horses along the road in the formation to the front of the tent, dismounted and trotted over.

"Qiliben, Tang troops appeared seven miles to the northwest. There are no less than 2,000 of them, most of them are armored soldiers!"

"..." Upon hearing this, Shang Yanxin's face couldn't help but look ugly.

He deliberately let the cavalry of Qilian City leave the city in order to encircle and attack the reinforcements, but he did not expect so many reinforcements to come, and they were all armored soldiers.

You should know that when Tubo ruled Gansu in the past, there were only more than 2,000 armored soldiers in Ganzhou.

It would be fine if there were only a few hundred armored soldiers in Qilian City now, but Zhangye could also send two thousand armored soldiers to provide support.

For a moment, Shang Yanxin was unsure whether he should continue fighting.

He was not worried about losing the battle, but was worried about suffering too many casualties, which would cause his status in Helong to decline.

This idea was not only thought by him, but also by the other five officers in the army.

They looked at each other, and finally looked at Shang Yanxin.

"Qiliben, Shang Bibi arrived a day earlier. I think Ganzhou is also prepared. Maybe they have already finished harvesting."

"In this battle, our army killed more than a thousand rebels, several hundred Tang soldiers, and captured several hundred armors."

"Even if the Great Council knew about this achievement, it would be hard for him to blame us. Why don't we go back to Shancheng and discuss the matter with the Great Council?"

A guard found a way out for Shang Yanxin. Shang Yanxin pretended to be reserved when he heard this: "If I leave like this, will they, the Han slaves, laugh at me for not daring to fight?"

"Qiliben, what are you talking about? It's obvious that these Han slaves are hiding in the city and want to keep us out until the snow comes. If we don't leave now, we will fall into their trap."

"That's right!"

"Qiliben, our army will return to Shancheng to replenish arrows and food supplies first, and then we will deal with these Han slaves later."

"Yes, Chiliben..."

For a moment, several officials gave Shang Yanxin enough way out.

Shang Yanxin was still worried after hearing this, so he looked at everyone and asked:
"We lost more than 300 soldiers in this battle. If the great theory blames us, what should we do?"

In response to his question, a Dongben saluted and said;

"Although we lost more than 300 armored soldiers, we still have the armor in our hands, and we also captured dozens of sets of Tang army armor from the battlefield."

"With these armors, we can capture some Shanzhou herdsmen when we return and have them wear armors to pretend to be armored soldiers."

"Yes, yes, yes... this is a solution."

Dong Ben's suggestion attracted everyone's approval, and Shang Yanxin felt relieved when he saw this.

As long as he goes back and maintains the number of 5,000 elite cavalry, at least he won't have to worry about any of these five people daring to stab him in the back and report him to Lun Kongre.

"In that case, let's retreat."

"Qiliben is wise!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several officers began to praise him, and then began to command the army to retreat with the spoils.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

Outside the city, some Shanzhou cavalry and Shandan army soldiers shouted, and everyone had ecstasy on their faces.

At this moment, regardless of their nationality, they looked at each other excitedly, and the estrangement caused by their first meeting was eliminated in this battle.

On horseback, Liu Jilong breathed a sigh of relief. He was most worried that Shang Yanxin would fight them to the death, but fortunately, Shang Yanxin did not have that kind of courage.

He watched Shang Yanxin lead his troops to retreat, but did not order the soldiers to go forward and collect the bodies of the soldiers who were humiliated yesterday.

"Protector Shang, please send some cavalry to see if Shang Yanxin is really retreating or just pretending to retreat."

"If they are really retreating, then it is probably because reinforcements from Zhangye have arrived!"

"Yes!"

Liu Jilong gave the order in a deep voice, and Shang Duoluo agreed without hesitation.

Soon, dozens of cavalrymen came out and followed the Hehuang cavalry. Only when they disappeared over the horizon did Liu Jilong order his soldiers to go forward and collect the bodies of the soldiers who had died in the battle yesterday.

After thousands of corpses were left here yesterday, a lot of smell had already formed.

Their armor and leather armor were stripped off, and their clothes were also stripped off by the Hehuang cavalry and used as felt.

Liu Jilong was stationed on the battlefield, and all he saw were the soldiers who had died in the battle yesterday and had been stripped naked.

Whether it was the soldiers from Shanzhou or Shandan, they all felt an unconcealable sadness at this moment.

For a moment, the atmosphere inevitably became depressed, but Liu Jilong had no time to grieve. He ordered people to bury all the bodies on the spot to prevent them from being exposed in the wilderness and being eaten by vultures.

While they were packing up, a group of elite cavalry suddenly appeared from the northwest.

"Beep--"

"Be prepared for the enemy!!"

When the whistle sounded, everyone let go of the corpses in their hands, picked up their spears, and united together.

Liu Jilong had sharp eyes and quickly identified the faces and flags in the hands of this team of Tang riders.

"It's reinforcements!"

He started to spread the news, which made everyone look ecstatic.

"coming!!"

"Reinforcements are coming!"

As the Tangqi team approached, many Shandan soldiers who saw the Sanchen flag hugged and cheered.

"I am hereby ordered by the Governor of Ganzhou to ask who is Sima Zhang?!"

Seven or eight Tang cavalrymen holding the Sanchen flag approached the Shandan army. Liu Jilong rode his horse and saluted: "Sima Zhang is in the city. I am Liu Jilong, the deputy general of Shandan."

"General Liu!"

Upon hearing this, the Tangqi bowed to him and then said, "Inspector Zhang has led reinforcements ten miles away. Please ask General Liu to tell Sima Zhang to send elite cavalry to support our army."

"Shang Yanxin has already withdrawn. I will bring elite cavalry to support him!" Liu Jilong nodded and passed on the message, while instructing Li Ji behind him to take the message to the city.

At the same time, he borrowed more than a hundred horses from Shang Duoluo and led more than a hundred soldiers to meet Zhang Huaishen.

They walked quickly towards the northwest for more than a quarter of an hour, and soon they saw dust and smoke appearing in the northwest direction.

After half a cup of tea, a fully-equipped army marched out in a mighty force.

In the biting northwest mountain wind, the Three Stars flags of the Tang Dynasty fluttered, and Zhangye's troops marched out in a long snake formation.

As the army advanced, hundreds of armored cavalrymen were particularly conspicuous.

"Stop!"

Liu Jilian led the armored troops to stay in the garrison and did not rush forward.

At this moment, the two sides were only three or four miles apart, so after a quarter of an hour, the Zhangye army arrived in front of them.

The soldiers looked up at them curiously, and at the same time, they kept on marching towards Qilian City. Liu Jilong led his troops to the side of the road, and soon they saw Zhang Huaishen and others riding out of the team from a distance, signaling the army to continue marching towards Qilian City, and their eyes also looked at Liu Jilong who was galloping towards them.

"Governor Zhang!"

Liu Jilong raised his hand and bowed, and his eyes also caught sight of Suo Xun who was following behind Zhang Huaishen.

"Tangqi reported that Shang Yanxin had retreated, is that true?"

Zhang Huaishen was as calm as ever, and Liu Jilong nodded solemnly: "I sent the Tang cavalry to follow Shang Yanxin eastward, but they haven't returned yet. I think they have retreated."

"Hmm..." Zhang Huaishen nodded but didn't say anything. Instead, a man beside him rode forward.

"General Liu, when you saw the bandits retreating, why didn't you stop them?"

"Huh?" Liu Jilong looked at the person in front of him who questioned him in confusion.

He had no impression of this person at all, so he was sure that there was no conflict between him and the other party.

Without waiting for him to ask, Zhang Huaishen also frowned and looked at the man.

"Li Beijia, our army's goal is to repel Shang Yanxin and prevent them from invading Ganzhou, while protecting the safety of the five states' maps and records."

Zhang Huaishen reminded Li Wei, hoping that he would not forget the purpose of this trip.

However, Li Wei snorted coldly upon hearing this, and sized up Liu Jilong, saying sternly, "Governor, Liu Jilong let Shang Yanxin go without asking for permission. What's wrong with me questioning him?"

"Li Biejia, General Liu has done a great job in preparing for the enemy, don't go too far!"

The one who spoke was not Zhang Huaishen, but Suo Xun who couldn't stand it anymore.

It is true that Suo Xun was very jealous of Liu Jilong's victory yesterday, but he also knew that if Liu Jilong had not done what he did yesterday, the soldiers of Qilian City would have been trapped in the city, and there would be no talk of rescuing it today.

It is for this reason that he took the initiative to defend Liu Jilong.

"But I heard that General Liu seemed to disobey orders on the battlefield yesterday!"

"absurd!"

Li Wei raised his voice, which made Suo Xun look ugly. While arguing, he subconsciously looked at Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong also glanced at Suo Xun secretly, but he didn't think that it was Suo Xun who said this.

Having worked with Suo Xun for almost two months, he also knows Suo Xun's temper very well.

Suo Xun was very concerned about his reputation, so it was impossible for him to tell Zhang Huaishen and the others about his disobedience on the battlefield.

There were many generals in the Shandan army who were from the Li family, and there were several of them among the 300 people brought by Suo Xun.

Without thinking too much, Liu Jilong could guess that it was this group of people who spread the news.

"Since Suo Guoyi said no, then there is no such thing as disobeying orders on the battlefield."

Zhang Huaishen tried to smooth things over with a cold face, and at the same time looked at Liu Jilong: "Where is the monk's maidservant with the Five States Atlas?"

"Everyone is in the city!" Liu Jilong bowed in response, and Zhang Huaishen also nodded and said, "Enter the city!"

Under the tactics of Zhang Huaishen and Ni, Li Wei had no choice but to swallow his anger.

When Suo Xun passed by him, he glared at him fiercely, and Li Wei could only look at Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong felt completely confused about this.

Two thousand Zhangye soldiers were stationed outside the city, keeping a wary eye on the Shanzhou cavalry under Shang Bibi, and the Shanzhou cavalry were also very nervous.

However, under Liu Jilong's command, they gradually calmed down.

This scene was seen by Zhang Huaishen and others, but they did not say anything. They just led 300 Shandan cavalry into the city.

As soon as they entered the city, Zhang Huairong and Shang Bibi walked down from the city wall to greet them.

"The governor!"

In front of outsiders, Zhang Huairong still addressed Zhang Huaishen by his official title, even though he was Zhang Huaishen's cousin.

"Is this the Shang Jiedushi?"

Zhang Huaishen nodded and his eyes finally fell on Shang Bibi.

"He is just a man who fled westwards. Governor Zhang is too polite."

Shang Bibi was clear about her position, which made the many officials from Zhangye look better.

"General Liu Bie, you will be in charge of setting up camp for the army."

Zhang Huaishen turned and looked at Liu Jilong. Liu Jilong naturally did not refute and bowed obediently.

He stood at the city gate and watched Zhang Huaishen and others go away, then he negotiated with the three captains stationed outside the city and began to arrange for the army to set up camp.

At the same time, the people who went to the tent to discuss matters also arrived at the tent half a cup of tea later and began to discuss the battle of Qilian City.

"In the battle of Qilian City, Sima Zhang and Suo Guoyi performed meritorious service in command. I will report the achievements to Shazhou after the battle."

"Thank you, Governor..."

As soon as everyone sat down, Zhang Huaishen gave the credit for defeating Shang Yanxin.

His actions made the Shandan generals look at each other in bewilderment, even Zhang Huairong and Suo Xun looked as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.

Zhang Huairong was the main general, and Suo Xun was the deputy general. It was normal for both of them to have made contributions, but the main credit for stopping Shang Yanxin went to Liu Jilong.

Zhang Huaishen did not mention Liu Jilong, which made Zhang Huairong look embarrassed. Instead, Suo Xun glanced at Li Wei secretly, and he probably thought of something in his mind, but it still made him look ugly.

"Governor, my general Liu Jilong led his troops to repel Shang Yanxin yesterday and captured Shang Yanxin's banner. He deserves credit for this."

Zhang Huairong thought that Zhang Huaishen and others did not know about Liu Jilong's achievements, so he hurried to explain.

"From what I heard, it was indeed him who captured Shang Yanxin's banner, but it is also true that he disobeyed military orders on the battlefield."

"Li Beijia!!"

Li Wei spoke in a sarcastic tone as soon as he opened his mouth, which made Suo Xun unable to sit still. He glared at Li Wei angrily.

"I have already said that there is no such thing as disobeying orders on the battlefield!"

"That's the military order from Suo Guoyi, right?" Li Wei chuckled, then bowed to Zhang Huaishen:

"Suo Guoyi ordered to break the formation and capture Shang Yanxin's banner. According to military rules, he can be promoted to the second rank!"

"You..." Suo Xun was stunned. He didn't understand why Li Wei was trying to take credit for him.

"It should be so," Zhang Huaishen said calmly, then looked at Zhang Huairong and Suo Xun.
"According to military rules, you two should be promoted to the second rank for this battle. As for Shandan's general Liu Jilong..."

Zhang Huaishen paused, as if waiting for some signal.

After a few breaths, seeing that no one spoke to stop him, Zhang Huaishen finally spoke: "Promote him one level to the rank of Shangfu Biejiang, and continue to serve in Shandan, temporarily replacing the Right Guoyi Duwei, and will be given a real position in the future after accumulating merit."

"The governor!"

Seeing that Liu Jilian, who had made the greatest contribution, was only promoted one level and was still serving in Shandan, Jiu Juyan could not help but stand up. Li Ji, who was standing behind him, even glanced at Li Wei vaguely.

"How dare you! You are the commander of a brigade, who allowed you to give advice?"

Li Wei scolded Jiu Juyan, who looked unhappy, and Li Ji's eyes showed a fierce look.

"I..." Jiu Juyan clenched his fist and prepared to speak again, but Zhang Huaishen raised his hand and said, "Jiu Juyan, sit down."

"Your humble servant..." Jiu Juyan was reluctant to sit down, but when he saw Zhang Huaishen frowning, he had no choice but to sit down.

Seeing him sit down, Zhang Huaishen relaxed his brows, but Li Ji, who was at the end of the team, gritted his teeth and left the tent.

No one paid attention to this small brigade commander, but continued to discuss the reward issue.

"The merit of Shandan is thus determined. I will ask for credit from Shazhou someday."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Shang Bibi again: "I wonder what arrangements Shang Jiedushi has made. Is he going to Gansu and Su as agreed, or does he have other plans?"

"This guy... is not simple." Shang Bibi's heart tightened when she heard Zhang Huaishen's words.

Anyone who is not a fool can see Liu Jilian commanding the Shanzhou cavalry to station there when the army appeared just now.

Zhang Huaishen had ideas about his own subordinates, which made Shang Bibi not know how to respond.

After a while, he smiled and said, "Now that Shang Yanxin has been repelled, I'm afraid he won't come in the short term."

"I think I don't need to go to the western part of Ganzhou for the time being. I can just stay between Zhangye and Shandan."

"Huang..." Li Wei tried to refuse, but Zhang Huaishen's answer was more decisive: "Okay!"

"In that case, then it's settled..."

Zhang Huaishen raised the ceramic bowl and gestured to everyone: "Use water instead of wine. After you drink this bowl of water, this agreement will be established!"

Under his gaze, everyone picked up the pottery bowls one after another and drank the water in the bowls.

After drinking water, Zhang Huaishen discussed how to pursue Shang Yanxin, and did not dismiss everyone until quarter of an hour later.

Jiu Juyan had no choice but to walk out of the tent, but happened to run into Li Ji who was walking towards the tent.

"Li Ji?"

Jiu Juyan was stunned. He remembered that Li Ji was clearly inside the tent, so how come he suddenly appeared outside the tent?

"you……"

He wanted to say something to Li Ji, but Zhang Huaishen came out and stared at Jiu Juyan: "Jiu Juyan, go and call Liu Jilong over."

"Yes!" Jiu Juyan bowed in response. Seeing this, Zhang Huaishen nodded and walked back into the tent.

Seeing Zhang Huaishen leave, Jiu Juyan, whose questioning was interrupted, comforted Li Ji and said, "Don't worry, the governor will not treat other generals unfairly."

"Hmm..." Compared to just now, Li Ji's performance at this moment was very dull.

Seeing that he did not feel any resentment, Jiu Juyan patted him on the shoulder and walked towards Liu Jilong's tent.

Li Ji looked at his back, then turned around to look at Zhang Huaishen's tent, said nothing, and walked in another direction.

(End of this chapter)