Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 384 Liu Taozi's Doomsday Has Come! (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"kill!!!"

On the endless plain, two armies were fighting.

The Qi knights took advantage of their high ground and launched a fierce attack on the Han soldiers below.

These Han soldiers were obviously new recruits. They panicked when they saw the charging knights. Fortunately, there were some veterans among them. Under their command, they managed to block the enemy's attack with great difficulty.

The knights charged into the enemy's formation and started a fierce battle.

Tu Xiyue was wearing armor. Looking at the Baibao Xianbei who were attacking frantically, his face turned red and his hand holding the spear was shaking.

Tu Xiyue was simply being led by Duan Shao.

He chased him everywhere, but could not catch up with Duan Shao every time. When he slowed down, Duan Shao suddenly turned around and bit him.

His army was obviously larger than Duan Shao's, but they were still badly beaten.

The casualty ratio even reached five to one or six to one.

Seeing the army he had trained with great effort being depleted by Duan Shao, Tu Xiyue's eyes were filled with indescribable grief and anger.

Tu Xiyue used to be a small military leader in Wuchuan, serving as a flag chief. Later, when Liu Taozi was the garrison chief in Wuchuan, he followed Liu Taozi and participated in the wars against the Turks and the Zhou people. He made many contributions and was finally appointed as the general of Zhaozhou.

The Zhaozhou of the Han State was built on the original capital area and part of the area bordering Hanoi, connected to Ji and Qing on one side and Bing and Hanoi on the other.

Tu Xiyue was not a useless waste. After all, his military achievements were there. He became a general through many battles and his military achievements.

However, it was really too much to ask him to lead a group of soldiers who had only been trained for more than a year to fight against Duan Shao, who led hundreds of elite troops.

He couldn't beat it at all.

In other words, he has Potala to help him and has an absolute advantage in numbers, otherwise, the situation would be really hard to say.

There were many areas to be garrisoned, and the enemy moved very quickly.

Tu Xiyue shouted angrily and rushed forward with a spear in hand.

A masked knight met him in front of him. Tu Xiyue dodged the enemy's stab and pierced the enemy's chest with a spear, "Follow me and kill!!"

The soldiers continued to charge and a melee ensued between the two sides.

Duan Shao quickly ordered someone to blow the horn and the knights quickly evacuated.

Only an enraged Tu Xiyue was left, but he dared not pursue any further and could only send people to rescue the wounded.

Duan Shao led the knights to escape from the battlefield. As they walked on the road, Duan Shao's face did not look so good.

The enemy's armor rate is somewhat high.

He didn't understand why ordinary local armies had such an armor coverage rate.

The enemy's general was very ordinary, at least in Duan Shao's opinion, he was mediocre and there was nothing to praise about him.

But the army under his command was actually quite good.

This was not like a group of new soldiers at all. They had a strong will to fight and they could fight to the death despite the repeated attacks from Bai Bao. Moreover, they were growing rapidly. Duan Shao had already encountered them five or six times. Every time they encountered them, the opponent's combat effectiveness would be greatly improved and the damage caused would become greater and greater.

Duan Shao does not have that many troops under his command.

Each of these people is a treasure and should not be wasted like this.

The enemy's city defense also surprised Duan Shao.

It was the first time he saw people voluntarily going up to the city wall to participate in the defense.

The war did not go smoothly for Duan Shao.

Tu Xiyue and Potuo Luo were like two disgusting bugs, always surrounding him. The cities in various places were very difficult to conquer. In order to conquer a county, more than 400 of his guards died. This was not acceptable.

After running for an unknown amount of time, Duan Shao was sure that the enemy could not catch up easily, so he ordered everyone to rest.

The soldiers dismounted to rest.

Bai Bao and the officers arranged by Dugu Yongye were in completely different states at this time.

The guards remained silent, but beneath their silence lay a deep dissatisfaction.

When Duan Shao took them away, their families stayed behind.

And they are basically all from Hebei, as for those under Dugu Yongye, they are basically from Heluo. Although the two sides are next to each other, they are not the same kind of people after all.

During these days of fighting with the enemy, Baibao had always been fighting fiercely in the front, while the people sent by Dugu Yongye were fighting fiercely in the rear.

They were even unwilling to do things like standing guard and doing logistics.

Several generals gathered around Duan Shao at this moment, with smiles on their faces.

They were all sent by Dugu Yongye to help Duan Shao fight.

This time, Duan Shao brought a total of 4,000 troops, of which only 2,000 were from Baibao, and the remaining 2,000 were Dugu Yongye's troops.

However, these people sent by Dugu Yongye are really not a good match for Baibao.

Duan Shao often pretended that they did not exist and that he only had those two thousand elite soldiers under his command.

If these two thousand men could also be used, Duan Shao would have killed Tu Xiyue and defeated Potala long ago.

Unfortunately, many of his two thousand guards suffered casualties in the initial siege. With the current scale, it would be OK for him to lead those people to fight a favorable battle, but it is hard to say whether he can completely wipe out the enemy.

Duan Shao looked at the surrounding terrain and did not dare to relax at all.

The generals didn't care about that.

"Da Sima, while the enemy is still clearing the battlefield, let's turn north again!"

"There are many merchants over there, and they have nowhere to run. If we catch a few of them, we can get a lot."

Everyone thought that they were here to make a fortune, and they couldn't wait to plunder separately.

Duan Shao looked at them calmly.

"Poduoluo's army is roaming nearby. If you want to plunder, go ahead."

"Well, isn't Baibao going with us?"

"They need to rest. You may not know that they just fought a tough battle."

There was thorn in Duan Shao's words.

The faces of several generals changed, and they did not dare to confront Duan Shao, so they turned around and left, muttering something.

The sky gradually darkened, but no one dared to light a fire, so they just sat together to keep warm.

In the distance, there were warriors looking around to prevent enemy attacks.

Duan Shao sat in the center of the army, squinting his eyes and resting them.

There was a noise around him, Duan Shao opened his eyes, and saw a general sitting next to him.

He took off the mask on his face and revealed himself to be Baibao's general, Lou Jilue.

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't understand, Da Sima."

"What are we doing?"

Lou Ji asked somewhat bewilderedly.

Duan Shao said calmly: "We are fighting against the rebels."

"Da Sima, I don't quite understand."

"Your Majesty no longer trusts us. Dugu Yongye sent someone like this to assist us. Does he want us to achieve great things or does he want us to die at the hands of Liu Taozi?"

"The north can't go back, and the south doesn't want us, the Grand Marshal. What are we going to do in the future?"

Duan Shao looked at Lou Jilue, who looked bewildered, and said calmly, "The situation is not that bad yet."

"Dugu Yongye still needs my help to stop Liu Taozi. He doesn't dare to attack me first."

"As for Liu Taozi, he is just a traitor. He cannot occupy the land of Da Qi and will be defeated sooner or later."

"The rebellion will surely be suppressed successfully."

Lou Jilue was in a trance. "We didn't suppress the rebellion. We just burned the farmland and destroyed the villages outside the city. My brother used to be the governor here. I even rode a horse and had fun on the official road over there."

"This is all war. In war, there are no innocent or innocent people."

After Duan Shao finished speaking, he closed his eyes and no longer paid attention to Lou Jilue in front of him.

As soon as the sky brightened, everyone started on their journey again.

Duan Shao made Yecheng and Cheng'an his first choice targets.

However, it is still somewhat difficult to use these troops to conquer Yecheng.

The most important thing at the moment is to increase the number of troops. When he was in the south, Duan Shao attacked the city while absorbing the local dead and defeated soldiers, and his fight became more and more fierce.

There are no deserters here, but there are many old subordinates and many big families who are dissatisfied with Liu Taozi.

Maybe we can get their help? ?
The entire Han Dynasty's war machine has begun to operate at this moment.

A large number of troops rushed to the front from various military offices. They were to gather in Dingzhou, and then march to Zhaozhou and Bingzhou to fight the enemy on the front line.

Food from all over the country was transported to the front line, and there were piles of grain trucks on the official roads.

The ironworks was operating at full capacity, and the weapons stored in the arsenal were also taken out and transported to the front line on a large scale.

Thanks to the Han State's strong grassroots organizational capabilities, the launch of the war machine was smoother than expected, and the roar was louder than expected.

Liu Taozi led the army in person, accompanied by many generals, and headed straight for the Dingzhou front line with great momentum.

At this moment, Duan Shao still went deep into enemy territory. He took advantage of his own strengths and led the troops of the two states around, trying to cause greater damage.

But he was keenly aware of the enemy's movement, because the pursuers behind him suddenly slowed down and were no longer so impatient.

Jinyong City, the General’s Mansion.

Dugu Yongye sat in the upper seat, his smile could no longer be suppressed, the joy in his eyes was clearly visible.

His many confidants were surrounding him on both sides at this moment, and everyone was laughing happily.

Dugu Yongye looked at Yang Su standing aside.

"It's just as Gao Jun said!"

"Liu Taozi is desperate. I heard that he has led a large army to attack and wants to capture Jinyong City!!"

Dugu Yongye was not afraid. Not only him, but the generals under his command were not afraid either.

Everyone laughed.

Dugu Yongye stroked his beard and said proudly: "Over the years, there have been too many people who wanted to occupy my Heluo treasure land."

"Back then, when Yuwen Hu of the pseudo-Great Zhou led an army of 200,000, he still couldn't conquer our Heluo!!"

"In the end, he could only run away like a loser without even looking up!"

As Dugu Yongye spoke, he secretly glanced at Yang Su standing beside him.

At least in Dugu Yongye's heart, Yang Su was the first prime minister he used to establish the Han Dynasty, and he did not want his prime minister to have any connection with the Zhou people.

Seeing that there was no displeasure on Yang Su's face, and that he was laughing heartily with everyone else, Dugu Yongye breathed a sigh of relief, and his mood immediately became better.

He said happily: "That Dugu Qihai is really just a poor boy. The government gave him an official position and a title because his grandfather had been a slave for many years. They thought he would not rebel. Who would have thought that he would disregard the government's great favor and raise the flag of rebellion!!"

"When we were in Quyang, his men were very rude to us!!"

"I've always wanted to compete with Liu Taozi!"

"Everyone, now is the best opportunity!!"

"Our city is strong. Let's not talk about anything else, just the ravines in Hanoi. Liu Taozi's cavalry wants to come over? Dream on! Those ravines are enough for him to pacify for a year!"

"We spent so many people and put so much effort to build these fortifications!!"

"Liu Taozi only has 40,000 to 50,000 troops, and most of them are new recruits with no fighting power. They came from afar and want to capture Hanoi. This is wishful thinking!"

"I have already contacted the Zhou people. They are particularly disgusted with traitors like Liu Taozi and have agreed to join us in dealing with Liu Taozi!"

“The Zhou people will distribute their troops in Xiazhou, Yinzhou and other places. Once Liu Taozi’s army reaches Hanoi, they will launch a fierce attack on the rebellious Lingzhou, Shuozhou and other states!!”

"The Turkic army has also gathered outside Youzhou and Hengzhou!!"

"By then, Liu Taozi will be surrounded by enemies on three sides!"

Dugu Yongye raised the wine cup in front of him, drank it in big gulps, and then threw it to the ground.

He stood up excitedly.

"Everyone, Liu Taozi's doom is coming!"

"We just need to tie up Liu Taozi and keep him in Hanoi, so that he can't escape. His power will be broken by the three of us!!"

"Wait until we defeat Liu Taozi and recapture Hebei!"

"Everyone here is a prince! We share the wealth and honor!!"

Dugu Yongye's other abilities were not very good, but his method of encouragement and motivation was quite good. After he said this, everyone became even more excited and started to cheer.

Dugu Yongye showed his big teeth and smiled with a smug look on his face.

Yang Su sat aside and also immersed himself in the atmosphere, feeling very excited.

Most of what Dugu Yongye said was bullshit.

But there is truth in this too.

For example, in Hanoi, Yang Su, for many plans, instigated Dugu Yongye to build many defensive fortifications in the area bordering Liu Taozi, mobilizing a huge amount of manpower. The trenches used to block cavalry charges alone were dug for dozens of miles, and several trenches were dug at a time.

These elite cavalry were more than enough to stop Liu Taozi.

In addition, the cities in the Heluo area are indeed strong and the quality of the core troops is also high. If Liu Taozi does not have a large force, it will be difficult for him to take them down.

As for the reinforcements from the Great Zhou and the Turks. Well, in theory there will be, but not necessarily in reality.

Of course, they had to pretend. At least Wei Xiaokuan had to mobilize the troops, and the government had to send some troops to the front to pretend a large-scale attack. In addition, the Turks might really fight. Not long ago, they were robbed of their homes by Hulugu, which made the Turkic Khan extremely angry and he vowed to take revenge.

In any case, the current situation is definitely unfavorable to Liu Taozi.

Dugu Yongye made many promises. Just as everyone sat down again, a general suddenly cleared his throat and said, "My lord!"

"I have something to report."

"Oh? You said."

"I found someone and I want to invite him to the banquet."

Dugu Yongye asked loudly: "Who did you find?"

The general also said in a loud voice: "The famous living immortal was Youwu Daorong! I met him in the mountains and forests, and invited him over!!"

"Is that the one who can predict the future, Yugo Michiei, who is called a god?"

"It's him!"

"Okay! Okay! Please let him in!!"

Dugu Yongye clapped his hands and shouted. Everyone vaguely sensed something and held their breath, looking towards the door.

A moment later, an old man was pushed in by the sergeant.

The old man's appearance was indeed different from that of ordinary people. He was very tall, had a long beard and eyebrows, and looked a bit like the god in the legends.

You Wu Daorong was pushed in, looked around, his face flushed red, and bowed helplessly to meet Dugu Yongye.

The general smiled and said, "I met him in the mountains in the past. He said that the emperor would come out of Jinyong City. I thought he was a traitor, so I arrested him. Unexpectedly, the emperor really moved to Jinyong. I thought what he said made sense, so I was ready to let him go. Unexpectedly, he said he had a dream and wanted to meet the general."

Dugu Yongye smiled and nodded, looking at the old man in front of him.

"Yugo Michiyoshi. What do you want to say to me?"

The old Taoist stared at Dugu Yongye in front of him, his lips trembling for a long time.

He was practicing well in the deep mountains when this group of soldiers and bandits suddenly rushed over, grabbed him, and brought him all the way here, insisting that he let people read his fortune.

I’m practicing the Bigu Qigong, I don’t know how to read faces or qi!

The general stood up, holding the hilt of his sword, and pointed at Dugu Yongye, "Old sir, you are a world-famous immortal. Come and take a look at my general's appearance."

The old immortal glanced at the opponent's knife and his expression gradually softened.

"What a great look! Extraordinary look! Must do extraordinary things."

The general cleared his throat.

The old immortal then continued, "In the general's face, one can actually see the appearance of a golden sword."

Dugu Yongye clapped his hands suddenly, "He was right! My last name is really Liu!! I changed my last name to Dugu later!"

“It’s really divine!”

Everyone was shocked.

"The prophecy of a golden sword Liu in the world, could it be that it has come true for the general?"

Dugu Yongye quickly revealed a serious look, "I am a subject, I should not talk about such things, from now on, you all keep this matter in your heart, and never tell anyone else!!"

"only!!"

Dugu Yongye then rewarded the old immortal with money and gold, allowed him to settle in the city, and then continued his banquet.

Everyone laughed happily.

They all dreamed of defeating Liu Taozi and assisting the general in founding the country.

Yang Su was also very happy.

Great things can happen.

(End of this chapter)