Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 107: Burning Changsong
"Drive! Drive! Drive..."

While Zhe Bu Luo was still worried about the sudden appearance of the Tang army, Shang Moling, who had set out early in the morning, had already led his troops to the foot of Jialin City.

The journey is over 120 miles, and if precautions are required, it will take at least two days to get there.

From early morning to noon, they only traveled more than thirty miles, and they were conserving their horsepower all the time to prevent Liu Jilong from repeating his old tricks and attacking them from the side.

Fortunately, the whole day passed peacefully, and Shang Moling led two thousand elite cavalrymen to arrive at the foot of Jialin City at Youshi (17:).

Upon learning that Shang Moling had arrived, Mang Longhua also sent people outside the city to welcome him into the city, but his troops were left to camp outside the city, and he was only allowed to bring 300 people into the city to rest.

At dusk, the Jialin Yamen was already filled with candles, and the aroma of wine and meat wafted in the air.

"If it weren't for the lack of troops in my city, I would definitely join you, Qiliben, in defeating this traitor and evil thief Liu Jilong!"

At the dinner table, Mang Longhua expressed his thoughts with red eyes, and Shang Moling also gave advice from time to time.

"Don't worry, I will make sure he doesn't get any good this time."

Shang Moling raised his cup and said, "If possible, I will lead my elite cavalry to chop off his head and give it to you to use as a memorial to your father!"

"Thank you, Qiliben!" Mang Longhua raised his cup and drank it, then continued drinking with Shang Moling.

If Shang Moling had not declined because he was worried about the possibility of fighting tomorrow, Mang Longhua would probably have gotten Shang Moling drunk today.

After hastily dealing with a few games, Shang Moling went to the yard arranged by Mang Longhua to rest.

The person in charge of leading the way was Nong Guli, a foreign general who had been released by Liu Jilong. Now he had lost his position as a centurion and was just a small captain of ten men.

Seeing that a big shot like Shang Moling actually led two thousand elite cavalry to the east, Nong Guli was just glad that he did not listen to Liu Jilian and send someone to reveal the intelligence of Liangzhou to him.

In his opinion, the two thousand elite cavalry led by Shang Moling were unstoppable, and no matter how brave Liu Jilian was, he could not escape the fate of being killed by the sword.

Thinking of this, he took his former men to stand guard at the gate of the yamen.

From the hour of Hai to the hour of Zi, the one-hour night duty made him breathe heavily. He thought that he would go back and have a good rest after the shift change at the hour of Chou.

But I never expected that before the hour of Chou, someone came riding on a horse holding a torch.

"who!"

Nong Guli was cheered up and drew his sword to point it at the person who came.

"There's urgent news from Gu Zang! I want to see Qiliben!"

The man dismounted from his horse, and his dusty appearance made Nong Guli feel nervous.

"Wait!"

After giving these instructions, he immediately returned to the yamen, found the captain who was guarding Shang Moling, and told him the news.

The captain did not dare to delay and quickly woke up Shang Moling, who had not slept for two hours.

Shang Moling stood up with a lot of anger and ordered Nong Guli to bring the man in.

Nong Guli naturally did not dare to delay, and soon he took the man to the yard where Shang Moling was resting.

After the person was brought in, he walked out of the house on his own initiative and waited in the yard to take the person out.

However, the yard was too small, and the sounds from inside the house were clearly heard by him.

"Qiliben, the Protector General Zhebu sent a message that elite cavalry of the Han people were spotted twenty miles northeast of Guzang City in the afternoon."

"They killed the sheep they had plundered yesterday by a tributary of the Macheng River, and after eating and drinking their fill, they set off towards Changsong at 15:."

Hearing this, Shang Moling stood up and said in disbelief: "This dog Han slave really dares to go to Changsong?"

After mumbling, he looked at the centurion: "Is there any news from Fanhe?"

"No." The captain saluted and answered, which made Shang Moling a little unsure.

Logically speaking, Liu Jilong should not have gone to Changsong, but now it seems that he really went there.

However, this guy often uses the tactic of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, and I can't be fooled easily.

After careful consideration, Shang Moling decided to keep his troops in place for the time being.

"Immediately send the Tang cavalry to Fanhe to gather information, and send an order to the three armies to march towards Fanhe at dawn tomorrow."

"Yes!"

After Shang Moling gave the order, the captain immediately took his men away, and Nong Guli, who heard all the news, also led his men away afterwards.

But when he returned to the gate of the yamen to stand guard at night, he still couldn't believe what he heard.

"Liu Jilong went to fight Changsong?"

He was puzzled and couldn't understand why Liu Jilong went to Changsong.

With this confusion, he successfully handed over his shift at Chou time, but he couldn't sleep well when he returned to the barracks.

Time passed quickly overnight, and before dawn the next day, Shang Moling hurried out of the city and broke camp, heading towards Fanhe City.

However, when he rushed to Fanhe City, a cavalry had already cut off the connection between Guzang and Changsong.

When the city gates were opened at the hour of Mao and the people in Changsong walked out of the city gates and began to work in the fields, the piercing sound of arrows was heard from the north.

"Beep--"

The piercing sound of arrows whistled along with the beacon fires, and many Han slaves and farmers outside the city were stunned when they saw it.

"Enemy attack! Retreat to the city!"

"Retreat to the city!"

The centurions in charge of supervision began to blow whistles and ordered a retreat, and many foreign farmers outside the city ran back carrying their farm tools.

Even though some Han slaves and households were unwilling in their hearts, they were no match for the centurion and the armored soldiers around him, so they could only lower their heads and flee.

The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard not only outside the city, but also inside the government offices inside the city.

"Tomoto! Tomoto!"

The hurried knocking on the door woke up Ben Xiduoyu from Changsongchengdong and made him unable to sleep.

"Stop shooting!"

He pushed away Ruoyu beside him, stood up, put on his middle clothes and opened the door.

Xiaojie saw the scene inside the house. There were several women lying on the wide bed. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart that his husband Dong Ben was still strong despite his old age.

"What happened? Why are you so impatient?"

Xiduoyu, who was in his fifties, was not in a bad mood when he woke up. After all, he had been in the army for more than 30 years and had fought with the Tang Dynasty several times. He knew that military intelligence was the most important thing.

"Elite Tang cavalry appeared in the direction of Guzang and are now charging towards us. They are now less than ten miles away from Changsong City!"

"What did you say?"

Xiaojie saluted and reported the military situation, but Xiduo Yu was so shocked that his eyes widened.

"How many of them are there?"

Without having time to think about why Liu Jilong would go to such great lengths to attack Changsong, Xiduo Yu immediately asked for detailed information.

"There were at least a thousand elite cavalrymen. The Tang cavalrymen in the north didn't get a good look and fled back."

"Bastard!"

Xiduo Yu cursed inwardly, and then immediately ordered: "Gather the soldiers and horses in the city and let all the farmers in the city follow the army out of the city to harvest the food!"

"Yes!" Xiaojie'er turned and left, while Xiduoyu turned around and looked at the women who had been tortured by him. While feeling a sense of pride in his heart, he quickly woke them up to put on armor for him.

At the same time, the speed of the Shandan elite cavalry's advance far exceeded the expectations of Xiduo Yu and others.

Before they could march out of the city, the Sanchen flag of the Shandan elite cavalry had already appeared in the sky.

The dull sound of horse hooves rang out frequently as a large group of elite cavalrymen were drinking water at the foot of Changsong City.

"Let the herdsmen and the bandits harvest the grain together. They can harvest as much as they can. The horses can eat as much as they want!"

"Throw the asphalt you brought on the fields, prepare the torches, and follow my military orders to burn the cultivated fields!"

On horseback, as Liu Jilian gave the order, more than 600 Han slaves and more than 200 captured foreign soldiers who followed the army immediately began to dismount and harvest grain.

The reserve horses of the Shandan Elite Cavalry roamed freely in the fields, eating the ripe crops.

When Xiduoyu came to the west gate tower wearing armor, he happened to see this scene.

Seeing his own food being wasted like this, Xiduo Yu became furious and his eyes also caught sight of the "Liu" flag in the Shandan elite cavalry formation.

"Liu Jilong?"

Xiduo Yu murmured, then looked at Jie'er beside him with a dark face: "How is the army gathering going?"

"The assembly will be completed in a quarter of an hour at the latest." Xiaojie'er reported. Xiduo Yu didn't want to go to see the situation outside the city anymore, so he walked down the city wall and waited for the army to leave the city.

At the same time, Xiduo Yu also sent Tangqi to Guzang to report the appearance of Liu Jilong.

As soon as their Tang cavalry left the city, they were spotted by the elite cavalry of Shandan. Shang Duoluo sent out elite cavalry to pursue them while coming to report to Liu Jilong.

"Zhechong, Xiduoyu has sent elite cavalry to Guzang to deliver news."

"Don't worry about them. Let them send the message to Guzang."

Liu Jilong spoke in a deep voice and glanced behind him.

Behind him, more than 800 Han slaves and captives spread out the bags that Liu Jilong had prepared in advance on the ground, and then kept pounding the millet and wheat in their hands.

In less than a quarter of an hour, hundreds of bags of grain were loaded, but even more grain was scattered on the ground.

Even so, they only harvested a dozen acres of millet and wheat, which was just a drop in the ocean compared to the tens of thousands of acres of millet and wheat outside Changsong City.

While he was observing, the west gate of Changsong City slowly opened, and groups of armored soldiers walked out of the city gate and lined up on the other side of the moat.

It has to be said that because Changsong is close to the Helong area, it has gathered a large number of tribes and armored soldiers.

In just a quarter of an hour, about three thousand armored soldiers were lined up on the other side of the moat, including nearly a thousand elite cavalrymen.

"boom!"

The drawbridge over the moat was lowered, raising a cloud of dust.

Changsong's elite cavalry crossed the bridge first and formed a battle line, followed by armored soldiers.

This process took a quarter of an hour, and at this time, the Shandan Army had already loaded two or three hundred bags of food.

"The general is here!"

Liu Jilong spoke softly, and Zhang Chang quickly rode forward to respond.

Looking at the 3,000 or so armored soldiers in front of him, Liu Jilong raised his lips and said, "Set fire!"

"Yes!" Zhang Chang's eyes flashed with madness, and he turned around and ordered his soldiers: "Everyone get on your horses and retreat. Set fire as soon as the whistle blows!"

As the military order was conveyed, Xiduo Yu, who was still unaware of the situation, was correcting the formation of his troops and preparing to launch an attack on Liu Jilong after the formation was corrected.

When he turned around and prepared to attack, something he didn't expect happened.

The Shandan elite cavalry raised torches and threw them into the millet and wheat fields in front of his astonished eyes.

Although the millet and wheat are dry in mid-to-late August, they will not be ignited by hundreds of torches.

Because of this, Xiduoyu was not worried about the good farmland and even felt like laughing.

"stupid……"

Before he could utter the curse, he saw a fire suddenly start in the field and spread in all directions.

"Asshole!!"

Sitayu's eyes were red with anger, and he immediately ordered someone to blow the horn.

"Uuuuuu——"

The horn sounded, and three thousand armored soldiers outside Changsong City launched an attack towards the Shandan army.

"Blow the whistle, withdraw..."

Liu Jilian calmly turned his horse around and didn't even look at the attacking Changsong army.

"Beep--"

The shrill whistle sounded, and the Shandan elite cavalry began to retreat in large numbers. Seeing this scene, Xiduo Yu was furious: "Chase them!"

"Dong Ben, we should put out the fire first!"

A guard grabbed Xiduo Yu, who looked at the soldiers behind him and said, "You take two thousand infantrymen to put out the fire, and I will scout the battle for you!"

After saying this, he broke free from the restraints and rode his horse to chase after Liu Jilong and the others.

When passing the fire site, he turned his head to look at the field, wondering why such a big fire had started in the not-so-dry field.

As he watched, some of the burnt areas emerged from the ground, and besides the burnt food, there were also broken pieces of pottery on the ground.

"Lime?!"

Seeing this, Sitayu finally understood why the fire was so big.

Liu Jilong ordered people to smash pottery jars filled with asphalt in the fields and then set the asphalt on fire.

After finding out, Xiduo Yu was so angry that he laughed: "Liu Jilong, I want to use your head as a drink!!"

He led more than a thousand elite cavalrymen to chase after them, but the Shandan cavalrymen did not get rid of them.

Liu Jilian led his elite cavalry to circle around the outside of Changsong City, smashing pottery jars filled with asphalt, and then set these places on fire.

For a moment, fire broke out outside Changsong City, and Xiduo Yu was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

As Changsong City was on fire on all sides, Xiduo Yu did not dare to continue pursuing Liu Jilong and could only watch Liu Jilong retreat towards Guzang.

He reined in his horse and stopped, looking at the general beside him, and couldn't help cursing:
"What are you looking at! Put out the fire!!"

"Yes!!"

Seeing that they could not catch up with Liu Jilong, Changsong's foreign soldiers dismounted and began to put out the fire. The men in the city were also mobilized to go outside the city to put out the fire and collect the grain that had not been burned by the fire.

For a moment, billowing smoke and dust rose above Changsong, and could be clearly seen even more than ten miles away from Changsong.

"Drive! Drive!"

On the Liangzhou grassland, as a scout team galloped northward, a camp appeared on the distant horizon.

The scouts rushed into the camp and headed straight for the garrison tent.

When you get closer to the tent, you can still vaguely hear the sound of the erhu and the sound of laughter.

The captain on horseback did not bother to rein in his horse, but simply jumped off the horse, staggered, ran into the tent and knelt down.

"Great Khan, there is a huge cloud of dust rising from the sky above Changsong City in the south!"

His intrusion interrupted Dugazhi and many other chiefs' enjoyment of the dance and music, but after hearing his report, everyone stood up unable to sit still.

"What did you say?"

"Why is there smoke and dust in Changsong City? Didn't you send people deeper into the city?"

"I have sent someone there, but the news has not come back yet."

The captain explained, but Dugazhi began to feel uneasy after hearing what he said.

"Pass on my military order, move camp and advance towards Changsong!"

Dugazhi stood up and gave the order. Many chiefs did not refute when they heard it. They hurriedly left the tent and ordered the army to move forward.

Half an hour later, more than 10,000 Umu cavalry packed up everything and started heading south.

They had only gone twenty miles south when they met the scouts who had returned from being sent by the centurion to gather information.

After the scout reported the intelligence to the captain, the captain immediately found Dugazhi.

"Great Khan, the Tang army in Ganzhou raided Changsong and set fire to the food outside Changsong City. The defenders of Changsong City are trying to put out the fire!"

"What did you say?!"

Dugazhi couldn't believe that the Tang army actually raided Changsong City and set it on fire.

After reacting, Dugazhi seemed to have thought of something and said in a lost voice: "Quick! Seize this opportunity and attack Changsong City!!"

As he issued the military order, the troops around him reacted.

Changsong's troops are putting out the fire, so if they launch a surprise attack now, they might be able to catch the enemy off guard.

Soon, more than 10,000 Umu cavalry began to march towards Changsong, and Dugazhi also sent out more than 1,000 scouts to search westward for the traces of Ganzhou cavalry.

It was already afternoon, and they would not be able to reach Changsong until tomorrow morning at the earliest.

At the same time as they were heading south, the Tangqi sent by Changsong also headed straight for Guzang City, which was more than 60 miles away, while Liu Jilian was unguarded.

"Drive! Drive..."

At 15 p.m. in the afternoon, as a team of cavalry came galloping from the direction of Changsong, the farmers and serfs who were harvesting grain outside Guzang City looked up at them.

Seeing their anxious and embarrassed appearance, the farmers and serfs became curious.

Under their gaze, the team of Tangqi headed towards the east gate of Guzang, and the farmers and serfs once again bent down to harvest crops.

It would take at least ten days to harvest the more than 200,000 acres of grain outside Guzang City.

If they don't work hard, the soldiers supervising their work will show no mercy.

"Emergency news from Changsong! Urgent news from Changsong!"

More than a dozen Changsong cavalrymen arrived at the east gate and were stopped. The leader of the ten households shouted anxiously: "I want to see Qiliben!"

Upon hearing this, the guards at the East Gate checked their identities before taking the ten household heads into the city.

Two quarters of an hour later, the restless heads of ten households finally met Zhe Buluo in the main hall of the yamen.

"Qiliben went to help Fanhe, what happened to Changsong?"

Zhe Bu Luo frowned and asked. He had not had a good rest since they discovered traces of Tang army in the northeast yesterday.

Now that Changsong's Tangqi came in such a hurry, his anxiety reached its peak.

"Banwa?"

The head of the ten households from Changsong was stunned for a moment, then he knelt down and saluted, saying urgently: "They didn't go to Fanhe, they went to Changsong!"

"What did you say? Did they really go to Changsong?"

Zhe Bu Luo was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted: "What's Changsong's situation now?"

Hearing this, the head of the ten households hurriedly explained: "When Dong Ben sent out the city, the group of Han slaves were harvesting grain outside the city. Their entire army is made up of elite cavalry, no less than two thousand people!"

"Two thousand elite cavalry?" Zhe Buluo's face darkened, but he quickly reacted and asked:

"You said they had 2,000 elite cavalrymen, so how did you break through and deliver the message?"

The head of the ten households swallowed his saliva and said, "After we left the city, they sent more than a hundred elite cavalrymen to chase us, but they retreated after chasing us for more than ten miles. They probably retreated because they couldn't catch up with us."

After saying this, he remembered the purpose of his visit to Guzang, and quickly bowed and said, "Please ask the Protector General to send troops to help Changsong!"

"Rush to help Changsong..."

Hearing this, Zhe Bu Luo's face turned a little ugly. He couldn't help but ask, "Aren't there two or three thousand armored soldiers in Changsong City?"

"Yes, but the Han army is powerful, and the leader is still Liu Jilong. Dongben is worried about the loss, so he sent us to ask for help."

Seeing the ten heads of households say this, Zhe Buluo stood up and paced back and forth. After a while, he said, "You go down and rest first. I need to consult Qiliben."

"Yes……"

The head of the ten households felt that his words carried little weight, so he could only be taken away to rest.

After he left, Zhe Buluo quickly ordered: "Send a hundred light cavalry to Fanhe and tell Qiliben about Changsong!"

"Yes!" Xiaojie'er bowed and responded. Soon he walked out of the yamen and sent light cavalry to Fanhe.

For a time, the news of Liu Jilian's attack on Changsong spread throughout Guzang City. No one could have imagined that Liu Jilian would go to such great lengths to raid Changsong.

After sending out light cavalry, Zhe Bu Luo ordered to speed up the harvesting of grain outside the city, and many serfs and farmers were inevitably whipped.

Even so, Zhe Bu Luo still ordered the people to hurry up and harvest, even if some farmers died or were injured...

(End of this chapter)