Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

"click click"

The sound of bones shattering, accompanied by the thunderous thud of horses' hooves hitting the ground, completely drowned out the ear-piercing screams of the Turkic cavalry.

The Turkic cavalry were numerous, but in the face of the clash between the two armies, and the surprise attack by the Crown Prince's six generals using new firearms, they were caught off guard.

A swift and decisive clash of swords.

The blows struck the soldiers of the Eastern Palace's Six Commands, producing only clanging metallic sounds.

Donggong Liulu, whose helmet was a full metal round helmet with a neck covering, swept his long sword horizontally.

In an instant, one or two unlucky Turkic cavalrymen were beheaded on the spot, or simply knocked off their horses.

"Rumble, rumble..."

With the excitement of battle in his eyes, Li Chengqian immediately made a quick maneuver and turned his horse around after breaking through Jieli's cavalry formation.

"Hahaha! That's great!" Cheng Chumo and Xue Wanche laughed heartily.

The feeling of winning with fewer troops, especially with the Crown Prince, the heir to the empire, personally leading the charge, was overwhelming for everyone present, from the generals to the fierce soldiers in the Crown Prince's six ranks.

Each of them was clearly in a state of bloodlust.

As Li Chengqian turned around, he pointed his blood-stained silver spear and charged forward on horseback once more.

Xue Wanche and the others behind him roared again and followed.

"Kill all these Turkic dogs!"

"Those who offend the might of our Great Tang Dynasty shall be slain!"

The raging torrent came again. In such a lopsided battle, the Eastern Palace's six forces suffered almost no losses. In contrast, there was the ambush with firearms just now, and the troops under Jieli after the clash between the two armies.

At this moment, he watched as the Six Commanders of the Eastern Palace charged forward once again.

Their eyes widened in horror.

"Run! Run! Retreat! Retreat to Dingxiang City!"

Jieli's face trembled, the brief surge of courage that had welled up when he saw Li Chengqian again.

And with the return of the nightmare's terror, it vanished completely.

He lashed his whip wildly, hoping his warhorse would run even faster.

"Hmph! Chase after them!"

Li Chengqian snorted coldly.

In an instant, just like when he was frantically chasing Jieli on the banks of the Wei River, Li Chengqian's warhorse galloped, gradually closing the distance between them.

As the enemy gradually entered the range of the crossbows, a sinister smile appeared on Li Chengqian's face.

"Archers! Fire! Today I will show these audacious Turkic barbarians just how many heads they have left to lose after messing with the people of my Great Tang!"

"kill!"

The sound of something cutting through the air came from behind.

Jieli and the others turned around in horror, and the next moment their pupils trembled involuntarily.

"Quick, run!"

"what!"

"The horse is startled! The horse is startled! Get out of the way!"

One side chases, the other kills.

Along the way, in the blink of an eye, the two sides had already run dozens of miles. Because Li Chengqian's warhorses were equipped with iron armor, which was a heavy burden, they gradually increased the distance between them.

however.

Just as Jieli breathed a sigh of relief, he was thinking that as long as he retreated to Dali City, where the former Sui puppet Yang Zhengdao was located, he would have a chance to catch his breath.

Dingxiang City.

In the darkness of night, the city walls of Dingxiang were brightly lit.

One by one, the soldiers of the Later Sui Dynasty guarded the area, just as before, either standing guard or secretly dozing off, pretending to be on duty.

On the city walls of Dingxiang, where winter had already arrived, the night was bitterly cold. The Sui soldiers, who were still wearing only a single layer of clothing and an iron armor plate, were taking a nap after the city's general left.

They squatted down in twos and threes under the city wall and parapet.

They squinted and nodded one by one.

To everyone's surprise, several figures rushed quickly toward the city gate beneath the brightly lit city of Dingxiang.

Holding a bunch of jars in her arms...

"Boom!!!"

Suddenly, a terrifying roar erupted, accompanied by the tremors of the city walls.

Having led his troops all the way from Yanmen Pass to this place, the weary Hou Junji immediately brandished his longsword in excitement.

"Kill! Follow me and charge in!"

"Take Dingxiang City!!!"

"kill!"

The loud explosions and shouts of battle awakened the Sui soldiers on the city wall.

However, when they peered down, they could only watch helplessly as squads of cavalry poured into the city from the city gates.

The entire city of Dingxiang instantly resembled a delicate young girl whose clothes had been stripped off.

The soldiers on the city wall put up a token resistance for a few moments, then immediately knelt down and surrendered.

Inside the city.

Led by Hou Junji, they were all awakened from their sleep. The Turkic general in charge of the city's defense had just led his troops over when they were met with a dense rain of arrows.

"Reporting to the General! The west gate of Dingxiang City has been captured!"

"Reporting to the general, the armory south of Dingxiang City has been taken control!"

"Reporting to the general, the south gate..."

As military reports continued to arrive, the burning desire in Hou Junji's eyes intensified.

Sure enough, following His Highness the Crown Prince means military merits and wealth are easily within reach!

Hou Junji imagined that in the future, he would use those things called gunpowder canisters to blow open the city gates of the enemy, and then lead his army as if entering an empty land.

They stormed into the city.

"Very well! His Highness the Crown Prince has decreed that no one is allowed to trespass into private residences or loot the local area. Anyone who dares to cause trouble or break the law will be dealt with according to military law!"

"Also, take control of the palace for me. Don't let anyone inside escape!"

On Jieli's side, they sped along at breakneck speed, barely daring to delay for a moment, and countless Turkic cavalry horses even died along the way.

We finally arrived at Dingxiang City.

His hazy eyes, however, were fixed on the flags fluttering atop the city walls of Dingxiang.

He was momentarily stunned.

"What, what happened? Is there something wrong with Benhan's eyes?!"

Several fluttering Tang Dynasty banners were clearly seen flying atop the city walls of Dingxiang.

however.

Before Jieli could even question his subordinates in bewilderment and despair, Jieli was already at a loss.

A loud, arrogant laugh suddenly came from the city wall in front of them.

"Hahaha! You old thief Jieli, how have you been!"

"You, you're Hou Junji?!"

When Jieli saw Hou Junji standing tall and arrogant on the city wall, he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

He was lying on the horse's back, and he couldn't help but feel dizzy and sway.

"Damn it! Calm down, we still have a chance!"

"Sweat!"

The anxious and panicked shouts around him made Jieli's pale face turn gloomy.

He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and stared at Hou Junji on the city wall with eyes wide with rage.

however.

At this moment, they could only turn their horses around again and head north, just like a stray dog.

"You old scoundrel Jieli, I'm only letting you off the hook because you're getting on in years. Surrender now and you'll be spared some suffering. Otherwise, if you fall into the hands of our Crown Prince, with your physique, you'd be lucky to even die!"

A wild laugh echoed as a cavalry unit pursued them out of Dingxiang City.

This forced Jieli, who was originally planning to curse a couple of times, to shut up and hurriedly mount his horse and gallop away.

For several days.

Li Chengqian led the six guards of the Eastern Palace, like a hurricane across the grasslands.

Jieli had just escaped from the pursuit of the Dingxiang cavalry and arrived near Tieshan, northwest of Dingxiang.

Li Chengqian, who also seemed to have anticipated his escape this way, waited patiently for him.

Another battle ensued.

They abandoned another two or three thousand corpses and warhorses and fled north.

"Report! His Highness the Crown Prince has led his troops in pursuit of Jieli to Qikou, and a battle has broken out. Jieli has fled north again!"

Tieshan looked at the corpses of the Turks scattered on the ground, and the warhorses that had been tied to the spot.

Hou Junji listened to the message delivered by the messenger.

A face full of helplessness.

"What exactly is His Highness the Crown Prince planning? With the strength of the Six Guards of the Eastern Palace, he should be able to capture all of Jieli's troops in this battle at Tieshan..."

Hou Junji shook his head, however, upon receiving this news.

All they could do was arrange for people to clean up the battlefield and transport warhorses.

On one side, they led another group of cavalry towards Qikou.

"Report! His Highness the Crown Prince has killed over two thousand of Jieli's men at Qikou and captured three of his generals. He is now heading towards Qingshui River!"

"Report! His Highness the Crown Prince has turned his attention to pursue and kill Jieli, and is now heading towards Saiyinshanda!"

"Report! His Highness the Crown Prince has pursued Jieli to the Uyghur territory..."

As Hou Junji continued his pursuit, reports came one after another from the messengers.

however.

Hou Junji was almost completely bewildered by his own crown prince's behavior.

On the other side, Jieli was also on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

More than ten times!

It started with Langshan Prefecture, where the Tang army first fought a major battle.

All the way to Dingxiang, Tieshan, Qikou, Qingshuihe, Saiyinshan...

He was chased by Jieli like a dog for nearly a thousand miles, running east and west, but Li Chengqian always managed to catch up in time, and then chase him again, leaving behind a pile of corpses.

Now that he was almost within the territory of Tuliya's camp, his forces had dwindled from more than 20,000 to less than 5,000.

"Ahhhh!"

Jieli roared in anger.

Jieli howled and wept.

Jieli wept bitterly, but due to his continuous escape, he couldn't even squeeze out a single tear...

"Great Khan, further ahead lies the territory of that traitor Tuli's camp. If they discover us with their patrolling cavalry..."

The general's lips had turned white and were peeling.

Now, let alone the five thousand cavalrymen left behind them, even their own legs were already worn out, and their bodies were so weak that they could fall off their horses at any moment.

Jieli gritted his teeth.

His gaze kept darting around in all directions, as if he was worried that the mad Tang Dynasty Crown Prince Li Chengqian would suddenly appear from the horizon in some direction at any moment.

suddenly.

As if he had thought of something, Jieli suddenly gritted his teeth.

"Let's go! Let's go see Tuli!"

"What? Great Khan, if we are discovered by Tuli and his men now, we..."

"Do you really think that, given our current situation, we'd have any chance of survival if we encountered Li Chengqian?!"

Jieli gritted his teeth, enduring the stinging pain in his legs, and spurred his horse, heading first towards Tuli's camp.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before they were discovered by the patrolling cavalry of Tuli's unit.

"Stop! I am not here to fight you to the death! Bring Tuli to see me!"

When Tuli arrived with his troops in a grand procession from the camp, he could hardly believe his eyes when he saw his uncle Jieli, who looked disheveled and even thinner.

Especially when you see behind the enemy, there is a team that has clearly suffered a defeat, and a very bad one at that.

His mind went completely blank on the spot.

"Jieli! What brings you here?"

Tuli looked wary, while Jieli opened his mouth and beckoned to the other party.

"First, give me a sip of water..."

Tuli was taken aback. His long-standing fear of Jieli made him wary: "What trick are you up to now?"

however.

The next moment, he saw Jieli dismount and stagger towards him alone.

Everyone was stunned.

Jieli looked up and gritted his teeth: "Do I, your uncle, have to kneel before you and beg for a sip of water?"

Tuli: "..."

He stared at the other man in silence for a long time, noticing that the cavalry behind him were also looking at him wearily, even drawing their scimitars when they saw him.

With a mere flick of the wrist, they could have finished off Jieli, who hadn't even had to lift a finger.

Tuli finally realized that Jieli was probably in big trouble.

Tuli took off a water bag and tossed it to the other person. Watching Jieli open the water bag and frantically gulp it down, a look of seriousness flashed in Tuli's eyes.

"Send some water to them too..."

Looking at Jieli, whose eyes finally regained some spirit after drinking the water, and the Turkic cavalryman behind him who was even whimpering and crying.

Tuli frowned even more deeply.

"What on earth did you encounter?"

Jieli gritted his teeth, then suddenly let out a long sigh.

"You guys really haven't given me a single piece of information..."

He didn't care about his image at that moment, and sat on the ground with his legs wide open.

"Ashina She'er surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and Dingxiang City was also captured by the Tang Dynasty in a surprise attack. Even my subordinates..." Jieli took a deep breath, tears glistening in his eyes.

"More than 20,000 of my Turkic men... that's all that's left."

"What?!" Tuli and the tribal generals behind him exclaimed in surprise.

"The Tang Dynasty launched a surprise attack on Dingxiang City?! That means... the Tang Emperor is attacking us?"

Everyone was in a panic.

however.

Upon hearing the questions from the crowd, Jieli suddenly let out a mournful howl.

"If it had been Li Shimin who came, I wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat!!!"

"It's that madman!"

"That Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, Li Chengqian!!!"

The moment Li Chengqian's name was uttered, Jieli's ferocious expression startled Tuli, but at the same time, seeing Jieli's current disheveled appearance...

And he heard from the other party that Ashina She'er had defected to the Tang Dynasty.

An ominous premonition instantly welled up in the hearts of everyone present.

......

"Your Highness, Jieli has gone to Tuli's camp. There was no conflict. It seems that the plan is going smoothly."

Cheng Chumo excitedly spurred his horse and rushed back.

Hear the words.

Li Chengqian nodded in satisfaction.

"The entire army shall return to Yanmen Pass, and another messenger shall be sent back by fast horse."

"The various tribes of the grasslands have broken their alliance, violated the rules of the trade, and attacked our Tang Dynasty delegation. Therefore, the trade is hereby closed, effective immediately!"

"No grain, fodder, weapons, refined salt, or medicine may be allowed to leave the pass!"

"No matter how many cattle, sheep, gold, and silver the Turks offer, they will never be able to buy a single grain of rice from my Great Tang!"

Li Chengqian spoke coldly.

Li Tai, who was standing to the side, was about to say something when he suddenly looked up and his eyes changed.

A white snowflake suddenly and gently drifted down from the grassland with the cold wind.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's snowing..."