Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 93 Making a feint to the east and attacking in the west
"So, that pig-dog thing Shang Kongre was driven back by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty?"

In the inner hall of the Jiedushi of Liangzhou and Guzang City, Shang Moling was holding a Hu girl in his arms. The girl was holding a plate of cherries and feeding him from time to time.

Standing beside him were two pretty maids, about twelve or thirteen years old, holding other fruits and waiting for Hu Ji to take them.

This scene is Shang Moling’s daily life.

In the city of Guzang with a population of tens of thousands, all the commoner women with some appearance were recruited into his mansion, either as concubines or as slaves.

Even if they were slaves, Shang Moling would not hesitate to take action against them when they grew up.

For him, such days were enough, and he had no intention of changing the situation in Liangzhou or competing for supremacy in Helong.

Because of this, even when Shang Bibi and Lun Kongre were fighting fiercely, he never thought of attacking Hexi and Longyou.

He just wanted to guard his Guzang City, his wealth and glory, and his immortal life.

It was precisely because of this mentality that when he heard the news reported by Zhe Bu Luo, his face showed contempt and disdain, and he even changed Lun Kongre's name to Shang Kongre.

He swallowed the fruit in his mouth, then pinched Hu Ji's slender waist fiercely, and finally said to Zhe Bu Luo who was sitting in the first seat on the left:

"Shang Bibi and Lun Kongre have been fighting for so many years, but in the end, isn't this what happened?"

"I thought Shang Kongre could really borrow troops from the Tang Dynasty. Now that he has been driven back in disgrace, I guess he wants to take revenge on the Tang Dynasty."

"It should be." Zhe Bu Luo nodded, and then said:
"After Shang Kongre came back, he immediately sent people to borrow food from us, but I sent them away."

"Well, well done." Shang Moling looked at Zhe Buluo with great appreciation, and continued to explain:
"Without food, he is only a few years away from defeat."

"Let's live our own lives well, and when things change, we can..."

Shang Moling couldn't continue speaking because of the sound of hurried footsteps coming from outside the yard.

He and Zhe Bu Luo looked and saw an official hurriedly walking into the courtyard under the gloomy sky and stopping inside to pay his respects.

"Qiliben, Jialin and Fanhe have received news that the Uighurs have invaded again, and this time one of our tribes was also plundered!"

"How many were abducted!" Upon hearing that the tribe under his command had been plundered, Shang Moling patted Hu Ji.

Hu Ji stood up on her own accord, and Shang Moling also leaned forward to listen.

"I've sent someone to check, but no news has come back yet."

"There are three small tribes in that grassland. The other two have not sent back any news. I'm afraid they were all plundered by those barbarians!"

The officials looked unhappy, and Shang Moling looked even uglier.

The herds that one tribe can manage are no more than one or two thousand, so the loss is just a loss, but the loss of the three tribes combined is much more.

"Zhe Buluo, take two thousand households to the north to have a look."

"Also, let Jialin and Fanhe send their troops to accompany you and they will be under your command!"

Shang Moling gave orders to Zhe Buluo, but Zhe Buluo glanced at the sky and frowned, saying, "It's already close to the rainy season, and the weather isn't good. I'm afraid we'll be ambushed easily."

"Just be careful." Shang Moling waved his hand impatiently.

Seeing this, Zhe Bu Luo could only bow and retreat, and then began to gather troops in the city.

From the hour of Si to the afternoon, they simply carried seven days' worth of food and fodder and mobilized enough horses to head north.

Liangzhou had been recuperating for many years, and even the infantry had horses to ride. Even if they were ordinary, slow horses, they were quite fast.

The distance between Fanhe and Guzang is no more than a hundred miles. If the Tangqi changed horses but not the men, the message could be delivered within two hours, not to mention Jialin who was even closer.

Zhe Bu Luo was very cautious. Since his tribe was attacked on the grassland 150 miles away, he did not advance rashly. Instead, he sent Tangqi to inform Moli of Fanhe and General Manglu of Jialin to gather and set up camp at Sanquanyanzi, 100 miles north of Sanfang.

Soon, a team of 2,000 people led by him slowly headed north.

A few hours later, General Mangluo and Moli received news of Zhebuluo one after another. After gathering their troops, they each set out for Sanquanyanzi in the north.

At noon the next day, Zhe Bu Luo arrived at Sanquanyanzi first and stationed there. He sent cavalry to the tribes in the north, informing them that the Uighurs were invading and ordering them to move south to gather at Sanquanyanzi.

General Mang Luo's troops hurriedly arrived at Sanquanyanzi before nightfall, and at that time seven tribes belonging to Guzang, Fanhe and Jialin had gathered near Sanquanyanzi.

These are not all the nomadic tribes in the north, but with this group of people gathered together, their team has suddenly grown larger.

"Screw rustle..."

There was a rustling sound of armor plates, and when General Mang Luo walked into Zhebuluo's tent, he immediately wiped his wet face.

"It's raining?"

Zhe Bu Luo frowned and asked, and General Mang Luo also cursed: "It's only one mile, but it just drizzled and didn't even get my clothes wet."

Having said that, General Mang Luo still asked the two guards behind him to take off his armor and sit by the brazier in the tent to keep warm.

"How many people did you bring?"

Zhe Bu Luo had no intention of exposing his bravado; he only cared about how many people Mang Luo brought.

"One thousand and five hundred elite cavalry and one thousand light cavalry."

General Mang Luo reported the number of his troops. Zhe Buluo nodded and said, "Including your men, we have one thousand elite cavalry and two thousand five hundred light cavalry."

"Those light cavalry should be used as Tang cavalry. Keep a distance to prevent us from being attacked."

After Zhe Buluo finished speaking, General Mangluo agreed and did not mind that Zhe Buluo took the dominant position.

"You decide. I just want to catch those bastards and take back my herd and slaves!"

"That guy Mo Li is too slow. My cavalry reported that he is 20 miles behind me."

"It was just dusk when he set up camp. I hurried ten miles to get here."

"He should be about thirty miles behind us now,"

General Mang Luo was very dissatisfied with Moli's speed of covering seventy miles in one and a half days, and seemed to be worried that the Hu Za would escape to the north.

However, Zhe Bu Luo comforted him afterwards: "Don't worry, the Tangqi in the north found the hoof prints of the group of barbarians today, they should not have left yet."

"Now that it's raining, they should be hiding somewhere and not daring to come out."

"Besides, the herds they stole this time were not as many as last time, so they should make more moves."

While he was talking, he stood up and walked to the door of the tent. After watching the drizzle disappear, he said, "When the rainy season comes, these barbarians' soft bows will be useless."

"But if you keep fighting outside during the rainy season, it's easy for the horses' hooves to get soaked and rotten."

"We must seize the opportunity, take back the herd and return to the city."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone brought in a plate of roasted lamb legs from outside the tent.

Zhe Buluo and Mang Luo began to eat the meat with big mouthfuls. Soon they had finished all the meat and went to rest.

The next day, before daybreak, Zhe Bu Luo got up, put on his armor, and walked out of the tent.

"Zhe Bu Luo, the Tang cavalry in the north reported that they had engaged the enemy, and that group of people were not Hu Za, but Han slaves from the west."

"I have already sent the Tangqi in the surrounding areas to gather intelligence. Now we will head north immediately and kill these Han slaves!"

From a distance, Zhe Bu Luo saw General Mang Luo walking towards them angrily, and at the same time he figured out their real enemy.

"Hannu in the west?"

Zhe Bu Luo did not expect that the invaders of Liangzhou this time were the Han slaves from the west, and he could not help but hesitate for a moment.

"Where are they and how many are there?"

He asked worriedly, and General Mang Luo said angrily: "Twenty miles to the north, there are at least one or two hundred people!"

"These guys mistook the elite cavalry for the Tang cavalry. Our light cavalry were caught off guard and many of them were killed."

"This is troublesome..." Zhe Buluo frowned and kept saying:

"They dared to send elite cavalry as Tang cavalry, which means that the main force must have more soldiers and horses."

"With just our few numbers, I'm afraid we are no match for them. We must first..."

"Humph!" Before Zhe Bu Luo could finish his words, General Mang Luo interrupted him and said indifferently:

"The population of several western states combined is less than ours, so what are you afraid of?"

"If they were a large army, why would they go here? They must be going through Yanzhi Mountain!"

"Zhe Bu Luo, if you are afraid, just hand over your troops to me and let me deal with them!"

General Mang Luo glared at Zhe Bu Luo, as if he would immediately seize the military power if Zhe Bu Luo dared to show cowardice.

Seeing this, Zhe Bu Luo could only nod in agreement, and then ordered the soldiers in the camp to put on armor and march north, and ordered the gathered tribes to retreat towards Guzang.

In more than half an hour, the more than two thousand foreign soldiers who stayed in the camp had cleaned up everything.

"The Jialin Army will lead the way, and the Guzang Army will follow."

"Send the light cavalry to the rear to tell Mo Li to speed up!"

Before the army set out, Zhe Bu Luo gave special instructions to General Mang Luo, who also impatiently sent out light cavalry to inform Moli, and then he led the light cavalry to clear the way north.

Along the way, they would occasionally see Tang riders rushing back from the north, bringing new news.

"Protector General! The enemy is retreating to the north."

"Chase them all!"

The enemy troops in the north kept retreating under the siege of the light cavalry, and General Mang Luo, upon hearing the news, hurriedly led the light cavalry in pursuit.

The news of his pursuit soon reached Zhe Buluo in the central army, who was furious: "He is pursuing with light cavalry, isn't he afraid of being surrounded?"

Although he was angry, Zhe Bu Luo, who was worried that the front army would be surrounded, ordered to move forward and follow General Mang Luo's front army as much as possible. They chased for more than ten miles and saw the flags fluttering in the wind on the grassland from a distance.

"Captain! The foreign dog has indeed come as Yi said!!"

In the chaos, hundreds of light cavalry harassed more than a hundred Shandan elite cavalry. The Shandan elite cavalry could obviously retreat, but they never broke through.

Seeing the main force of Liangzhou arriving, someone in the team immediately reminded Director Zheng.

Zheng Chu looked to the south, his eyes passed the chaotic figures of the Liangzhou cavalry, and saw a large army in the distance.

"withdraw!"

"Beep--"

Without any hesitation, Director Zheng immediately issued the order to retreat.

A whistle sounded in the battle formation, and Zheng Chu personally led more than a hundred elite cavalrymen to attack left and right, breaking out of the encirclement of hundreds of light cavalry.

They sped away to the west, while the hundreds of light cavalry followed closely behind them.

"Chase!"

When General Mang Luo saw the Shandan army retreating in the distance, he quickly tried to pursue them.

As he began to pursue, Zhe Bu Luo behind him gradually could not keep up with his team.

"What does this bastard want to do! He's a former soldier!"

Zhe Buluo angrily scolded General Mangluo for his recklessness and quickly summoned the light cavalry: "Go tell General Mangluo that this may be a trick by the Han people to lure the enemy, and tell him to stop the pursuit immediately!"

"Yes!" After receiving the order, more than ten light cavalry began to chase the front army.

Half an hour later, when they caught up with General Mang Luo's team, General Mang Luo also noticed something was wrong.

The hundred or so elite cavalrymen in the distance seemed to be hanging them. Once they slowed down a little, those guys would slow down and hang on to them like bait on a fishhook.

"stop!"

"Blow the whistle and tell the Tangqi to stop chasing!"

After General Mang Luo calmed down, he immediately ordered the troops to stop the pursuit. At the same time, he blew the whistle and ordered the Tangqi to stop the pursuit.

"Beep--"

A shrill whistle sounded on the grassland, and the gloomy weather seemed like it would rain at any time.

Gradually, the Tangqi in front also stopped chasing.

"Captain, they're not chasing us anymore!"

On horseback, a brigade commander reminded Zheng Chu, and Zheng Chu also turned his horse's head to see the scene behind.

"Uu——"

He was the first to rein in his horse, and more than a hundred elite cavalrymen around him also reined in their horses, turned their horses' heads, and faced General Mang Luo and more than a thousand other pursuers.

"You bastard! How dare you set a trap for me!"

Seeing that Director Zheng did not run away, General Mang Luo finally realized that he had been lured.

He no longer acted rashly, and even asked his soldiers to dismount and restore horsepower, waiting for Zhe Bu Luo behind to catch up.

About half an hour later, Zhe Buluo finally caught up with his troops.

After the two armies joined forces, it was already noon.

When General Mangluo saw Zhebuluo riding towards him, he immediately pointed his whip at the Shandan army in the distance and said, "This dog Han slave is trying to lure me deeper into our territory!"

"I told you not to chase after me a long time ago, but... now is not the time to make a scene."

Zhe Bu Luo was also angry, but in order to avoid internal strife, he suppressed his temper and looked around.

There were grasslands all around, and no main enemy forces were visible.

"Send the Tang cavalry twenty miles away to see if there are any main forces of the Han slaves around!"

"Yes!"

Following Zhe Bu Luo's order, the light cavalry in the two armies transformed into Tang cavalry and went out to scout around.

During this period, Zhe Buluo kept his eyes on the more than one hundred Shandan soldiers three or four miles ahead.

They dismounted their horses right under his noses as if no one was around, fed the horses with fine feed and fresh water, and they were almost writing the word "bait" on the flags.

"These bunch of Han slaves are so disrespectful to us!"

General Mang Luo was almost enraged again, but fortunately, Zhe Buluo was right beside him. He said to himself, "These Han slave dogs are just bait. The main force of the Han slaves must be in all directions."

"It won't be too late to deal with them after the cavalry comes back from investigation!"

"Okay!" General Mang Luo nodded.

At the same time, the Shandan army, three or four miles away from them, was very nervous.

Many elite cavalrymen were feeding their horses while keeping an eye on the movements of the foreign troops, fearing that the more than a thousand foreign troops would pursue them.

Despite the situation, Director Zheng coldly rebuked, "Why worry? Since Guo Yi arranged this for us, he must be sure of it."

"We just need to wait here for them to catch up. We can change horses in 20 miles anyway. What's there to be afraid of?!"

After being scolded by him, many soldiers gradually put their minds at ease, while Zhe Bu Luo and others behind them were quietly waiting for Tangqi's report.

Time passed little by little, from noon to four quarters after noon. As half an hour passed, the Tang riders from the east, west and north all brought back news.

They did not detect the main force of the enemy within twenty miles, which made Zhe Bu Luo suspicious.

"Damn it! Are these Han slaves playing tricks on us? They probably only have these few people!"

General Mang Luo did not think too much about it. Seeing that there was no main force of the enemy within a radius of 20 miles, he concluded that there were only a hundred or so elite cavalrymen invading this time.

"impossible!"

Zhe Bu Luo said confidently: "If there were only a hundred elite cavalrymen, how could they have plundered so many of our cattle and sheep in less than three days?"

"Maybe their main force retreated with the cattle and sheep, leaving behind these hundred or so elite cavalrymen to cover their retreat?" General Mang Luo asked in dissatisfaction.

Hearing this, Zhe Bu Luo was a little unsure, and General Mang Luo drew the scimitar from his waist and said, "Why bother with so much? First, capture these hundreds of Han slaves, strip off their armor, and I will peel off their skins!"

Seeing that he was determined to send troops, Zhe Bu Luo had to calm down and appease him: "Even if you want to send troops, you have to wait for Mo Li to come."

"With the three of us joining forces, we can not only capture these hundred people, but also pursue them westward and take back the herd!"

After saying that, he turned around and asked the children around him, "How far is that guy Moli from here?"

"This..." The little guys looked at each other, and no one could give any information.

Finally, it was Xiaojieer from the rear army who saluted and said, "The rear army's cavalry has deployed from Sanquanyanzi to this place, but there has been no news."

"No news?" Zhe Bu Luo had a bad feeling in his heart: "You..."

"Beep--"

Before he could finish his words, a shrill whistle was heard from the south, and the faces of Zhe Bu Luo and Mang Luo changed drastically.

"what happened!"

The two men led the generals and turned their horses to one side of the team, only to see dozens of light cavalry galloping towards them from the south.

More importantly, as they gradually approached, there were nearly a hundred light cavalrymen galloping behind them.

This scene made Zhe Bu Luo feel anxious, and General Mang Luo also felt uneasy.

"Protector General!"

As the first group of light cavalry arrived, they hurried to Zhe Bu Luo and saluted: "The seven tribes retreating to Guzang were attacked by hundreds of elite cavalry, and all their herds were taken away!"

"What did you say?!"

Zhe Bu Luo's eyes were red with anger. He never thought that he would fall into the trap of this group of Han slaves to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

"My herd!!"

General Mang Luo let out an unwilling roar, but before he could continue his attack, the second group of light cavalry also hurried over.

Compared with the previous batch, they seemed more hurried and flustered.

"Protector General, there is news from Sanquanyanzi that Moli Dongben was attacked and needs help!"

"withdraw!!"

What was even more shocking than the first piece of news was that the troops of Moli from Fanhe City, one of the three cities, were attacked.

Zhe Bu Luo felt dizzy. He didn't know how this enemy army got behind him.

How did they attack the Fanhe army more than 20 miles away immediately after attacking seven tribes?

At this moment, apart from going south to rescue Moli, Zhe Bu Luo no longer knew what he should do.

With his order, the light cavalry from all directions were summoned to march south, and Zhe Bu Luo and General Mang Luo also led a thousand elite cavalry to march south first.

Seeing them retreat, the hundreds of Shandan soldiers who were leisurely feeding their horses immediately relaxed, and Zheng Chu's face showed joy.

"Okay, now we just have to wait for Guo Yi and the others to return triumphantly!"

(End of this chapter)