Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 114 Kill Po Lang
"Susu..."

As night falls, the grassland becomes desolate. Only the chirping of insects and the rustling of the autumn wind through the grass prove that the world is not dead.

The darkness was like a giant beast that devoured everything, swallowing up all the colors in the world. Only the bonfires in the camp of the Guzang army were bright, like a lighthouse on the sea, transmitting light to all directions.

This light is very obvious, and therefore very vulnerable to attack.

In order to protect the camp, Zhe Buluo carefully organized the 3,000 light cavalry into 300 teams of cavalry. Each team of knights was like a leopard at night, patrolling silently in the dark, alert to the night attack led by Liu Jilian's elite cavalry.

The wind howled on the grassland, raising clouds of dust, but it could not cover up the sound of Tangqi's horses' hooves.

Inside the camp, the tent reflected a dim light. Zhe Buluo did not fall asleep immediately, but sat in the main seat with a frown, his eyes scanning the map on the low table.

In front of him sat more than ten officers in charge of the armored soldiers, civilians and light cavalry, all of whom were listening to his orders.

"This Liu Jilong is good at attacking, especially in the late night and early morning."

"We are still thirty miles away from Jialin City. Although I have sent the Tangqi to inform Mang Longhua to pay attention to Liu Jilong, the Tangqi on the periphery must not rest just in case."

"Hard work these days. After this battle, each person will be given five catties of mutton and a bushel of rice and wheat!"

Zhe Bu Luo told the other soldiers about the difficulties they were facing and generously provided the post-war reward standards.

The children looked at each other and bowed in response.

"Okay, let's all go down and rest."

Since it only took three hours during the day to travel the thirty miles, Zhe Bu Luo did not bother the soldiers, but asked everyone except the Tangqi to rest early.

The officials were already exhausted by this time. When they saw Zhe Bu Luo asked them to rest, they stood up, bowed and left the tent.

Seeing them leave, Zhe Bu Luo rubbed his eyebrows and looked at the map of Liangzhou again.

From west to east, from Fanhe to Changsong, the distance of Liangzhou along the official road is nearly 200 miles.

Even the elite cavalry led by Shang Moling would need three days to cover this 200-li distance, while the Guzang army, a mixture of infantry and cavalry, could only cover 50 miles a day.

Today they had marched more than thirty miles in three hours, and the army was already exhausted. If this continued for the next two days, they would not be able to fight when they arrived in Fanhe.

Zhe Bu Luo re-planned and decided to walk sixty miles tomorrow and thirty miles the day after tomorrow.

Only in this way, when they arrive at Fanhe City the day after tomorrow, will they have the strength to line up to meet the enemy and set up camp.

However, when he thought of the marching speed, Zhe Bu Luo couldn't help but think of the terrifying marching speed of the elite cavalry led by Liu Jilian.

He used a cloth ruler to measure the marching situation of the elite cavalry led by Liu Jilian in the past few days on the map, and got the answer in just a dozen breaths.

"In just four days, we traveled over 400 miles..."

Zhe Bu Luo was horrified, but soon calmed down.

He calculated the distance from Changsong to here and came to a conclusion in his mind.

"If Liu Jilong were to attack me today, he would have to march nearly 500 miles in the next four days."

"Five hundred miles...more than one hundred and twenty miles a day?"

"With someone like him, it's no wonder he could play Shang Mo Ling around, but..."

After calculating Liu Jilong's terrifying marching speed, Zhe Bu Luo breathed a sigh of relief:

"According to his marching speed, the horses are probably losing a lot of weight. We won't dare to launch a surprise attack easily in the next few days."

"However, judging from his performance in the past few days, we still need to be on guard..."

Zhe Bu Luo frowned and his heart was beating fast.

The art of war says, "Double the speed and march at the same time, and compete for advantage within a hundred miles. Then you can capture three generals, the strong ones first and the tired ones last. The rule is to capture them in eleven."

The elite cavalry from Liangzhou led by Shang Moling would have soldiers falling behind every time they marched 80 miles a day. However, Liu Jilian marched over 400 miles in four days and there were very few soldiers falling behind who were discovered by his own cavalry. It was truly shocking.

"How does this guy train his troops?"

Zhe Bu Luo was very troubled. He had never encountered such elite cavalry led by Liu Jilong in his life.

With the way he fought, any army coming to Liangzhou would be beaten black and blue at the beginning.

During the last battle, Zhe Buluo calculated Liu Jilian's marching speed, but the result was more than 260 miles in three days.

Although it exceeded the marching speed of the elite cavalry of Liang Province, it was not much faster, so he did not take it to heart.

But this time, it seemed that Liu Jilong had kept a trick up his sleeve the last time he invaded, and this trick caused them to suffer a great loss this time.

With Liu Jilian's marching speed, if he were to go to Fanhe, I would probably hear the news that he had led his troops to Fanhe at noon tomorrow.

Fortunately, the walls of Fanhe were high, so even if Liu Jilian sent cavalry to Fanhe, they could not form any combat power.

Thinking of all this, Zhe Bu Luo began to admire Liu Jilong somewhat.

At least among the generals he knew, no one could do what Liu Jilong had done.

Thinking of this, Zhe Bu Luo stopped worrying and blew out the lamp, lay down and rested.

Just as he had expected, the night was very quiet. Until dawn, the army's cavalry had not brought any news about Liu Jilong.

At noon, the army began to break camp and headed towards Jialin City without even having breakfast.

Two hours later, the silhouette of Jialin City gradually appeared on the horizon.

When Zhe Buluo led his army to the west gate of Jialin City, Mang Longhua had been waiting for a long time with his elite cavalry and armored soldiers.

In addition, there is breakfast prepared early.

Each person had two one-pound Hu cakes and a bowl of corn porridge. This was the breakfast of the Guzang Army.

Zhe Bu Luo sat on a mat, eating breakfast while watching Mang Longhua arranging for the army to eat.

By the time he had made his arrangements and came over, Zhe Bu Luo had already eaten and drunk his fill.

"Protector General, I have been waiting for a long time with 300 elite cavalrymen and 500 armored soldiers under my command!"

Although Mang Longhua was unwilling to help Fan He, he also knew the principle of "the lips and the teeth are cold".

So when faced with the call from Zhe Buluo, he still assembled 800 soldiers and horses to rush to the rescue of Fanhe.

"Good! With your joining, these Han slaves from Ganzhou won't be able to make trouble for much longer!"

Zhe Bu Luo praised Mang Longhua generously, and then used his father's story to encourage him.

"If we can capture Liu Jilong alive this time, it will be considered as revenge for your father."

"Yes!"

When mentioning General Mang Luo, a hint of hatred naturally flashed in Mang Longhua's eyes.

But this hatred came quickly and went away quickly.

Facing Zhe Buluo, Mang Longhua still expressed his concerns: "I heard that Zhang Huaishen, a Han slave from Ganzhou, sent nearly 10,000 troops to besiege Fanhe."

"With this army of nearly 10,000 plus the elite cavalry led by Liu Jilong, our army has only so many men and horses, this..."

"Don't worry!" Zhe Buluo gestured to him to be at ease: "I sent the Tangqi to pass the news to Changsong at noon yesterday."

"If nothing unexpected happens, Qili should be able to catch up with us tomorrow afternoon."

"By then, our army will have nearly 4,000 soldiers, plus the thousand-plus soldiers led by Moli in Fanhe City. The Han slaves are nothing more than chickens and dogs!"

After comforting him, Zhe Bu Luo continued, "Let's finish eating early and go to Fanhe early. We still have to walk at least forty miles today."

"After walking these forty miles, we will only need to walk less than thirty miles tomorrow to reach Fanhe."

After giving the instructions, Zhe Buluo began to urge the generals to eat, and then signaled them to move camp westward.

From noon to dusk, nearly twelve thousand people walked thirty-five or thirty-six miles.

Seeing that the sun was about to set, Zhe Bu Luo no longer insisted and immediately ordered to set up camp.

The camping site they chose was only thirty-three or thirty-four miles away from Fanhe City. The terrain was flat and there was a stream as a water source.

The Tang riders who were on patrol last night were resting in horse-drawn carriages and ox-drawn carts early this morning. As soon as it was time to set up camp, Zhe Bu Luo sent them on patrol.

Before nightfall, the troops led by Zhe Bu Luo had set up the camp and lit enough bonfires.

Zhe Bu Luo felt that he was familiar with Liu Jilong's style, so he still summoned the generals to explain the precautions.

"Liu Jilong is good at night attacks and early morning raids. As I said before, keep an eye on the 30-mile radius of the camp. As long as we don't make any mistakes, even if Liu Jilong leads his army to raid, we will be prepared!"

"Yes!"

As Zhe Bu Luo explained clearly, the guards began to leave the tent and keep a close eye on the patrol officers.

Mang Longhua did not leave, but bowed after the other members left and said, "In order to avoid any more trouble, we will move camp and head to Fanhe at 1:00 a.m. tomorrow."

"Okay!" Zhe Bu Luo did not reject the suggestion, but agreed with it very much.

In his opinion, arriving at Fanhe one hour earlier would reduce the danger.

While the two were talking, a head of ten households came into the tent with food and handed two plates of food to them.

Roast lamb leg and lamb soup, plus lamb flatbread...

Such a sumptuous dinner made the head of the ten households who delivered the meal couldn't help swallowing.

Mang Longhua glanced at him and couldn't help but scold him, "You pigs and dogs, if you hadn't failed to protect my father, why would I have led the army to fight this time?" "Protect?" The higher-ranking Zhe Buluo looked at the ten heads of households in confusion. Seeing this, Mang Longhua also explained:

"This Nong Guli was the slave who fought with my father when the Han invaded last time. He failed to protect my father, so I demoted him to the head of ten households."

After saying that, Mang Longhua glared at Nong Guli:

"You useless pig-dog thing, this time I'll let you see how the Protector-General and I deal with Liu Jilong!"

"Yes..." Nong Guli felt wronged. The last time Liu Jilian invaded, he was just a captain and could not command many people. How could he protect General Mang Luo?

What's more, Zhe Bu Luo had said at the beginning that it would be best to return all the way to Fanhe. However, General Mang Luo did not listen to the advice and was eventually killed by Liu Jilong. How could he be blamed?

"Why are you still standing there? Get out and stand guard!"

"Yes……"

Amid Mang Longhua's scolding, Nong Guli walked out of the tent with grievance, and guarded the tent together with Zhe Buluo's personal guards.

After eating, Manglonghua did not return to his tent, but asked questions to Zhebuluo in the yazhang.

As the two men were talking and answering each other, time passed little by little, until the night clock changed to the hour of Hai (21:), and then Mang Longhua prepared to get up and leave.

But before he could leave, the sound of horse hooves was heard outside the tent.

A team of more than ten Tang riders rode their horses to the front of the yamen. The head of the ten households dismounted from their horses, came to the door of the yamen, and knelt down to pay their respects.

"Protector General, we have spotted elite Han cavalry more than 20 miles to the northwest!"

Hearing this, Zhe Bu Luo and Mang Long Hua could no longer sit still. Mang Long Hua said excitedly: "It must be Liu Jilong!"

Zhe Buluo did not answer him, but asked seriously: "Where are they going?"

"They were heading for Fanhe. After they met us, they did not put out their torches but headed for Fanhe blatantly. It is hard to tell their number, but it must be no less than a thousand!"

The ten heads of the households reported the situation truthfully, and Zhe Buluo heaved a sigh of relief when he heard it, thinking that it was okay as long as they were not coming towards him.

"Keep a close eye on them and make sure they go to Fanhe before reporting back!"

"Yes!"

Following Zhe Buluo's instructions, the ten heads of the households also stood up and retreated, then jumped on their horses, turned their horses around and rushed out of the camp with the Tang riders.

After they left, Mang Longhua also smiled and said, "If it is confirmed that Liu Jilong is going to Fanhe, then we will be safe tonight."

"Yeah!" Zhe Bu Luo did not deny it. After all, from twenty miles northwest to Fanhe, the distance was almost twenty miles.

This calculation shows that it is at least forty miles. In addition, Liu Jilong and his men should still be marching during the day, so no matter how you look at it, they will not have enough horsepower to launch a surprise attack on him.

Thinking of this, Zhe Bu Luo's worries gradually subsided. Now it was enough to make sure that Liu Jilong and the others were indeed going to Fanhe.

After they came to their senses, Zhe Bu Luo and Mang Long Hua did not rest, but waited in the tent for confirmation of the news.

I don't know how long it had been, but with the sound of horse hooves outside the tent again, the two of them immediately stood up and walked to the door.

Sure enough, a group of Tang cavalry were coming from the west of the camp.

Seeing them arrive in front of the tent, Zhe Buluo asked without waiting for them to dismount: "Did Liu Jilong go to Fanhe?"

"Reporting to the Protector General, they walked more than ten miles southwest and then bypassed Fanhe City and went west of Fanhe City."

"Our army was blocked by the Tangqi of the Hannu in Fanhe City and did not advance further!"

The ten heads of the households responded truthfully, and Zhe Buluo looked back at the night clock in the tent and finally relaxed after finding that it was already four quarters past midnight (0 o'clock).

"Good! With such a short time, I guess they won't attack at night."

"But just in case, we still have to be prepared."

Without hesitation, Zhe Buluo gave the order: "Withdraw the Tang cavalry in the east to a range of ten miles, and transfer the rest to the west. Keep a close eye on Liu Jilong's elite cavalry!"

"Yes!" The head of the ten households responded, then turned his horse around and left. Soon he passed the military order to his own son.

Soon, the Tangqi in the east were transferred to the west in large numbers, and at this time the Fan and Ganzhou troops outside the west of the city also saw the arrival of thousands of elite cavalry.

Zhang Huaishen walked out of the camp wearing a cloak and came to the camp gate to welcome Liu Jilong.

Suo Xun, Jiu Juyan, Chen Jingchong and others followed closely behind.

However, they never expected that when they arrived at the camp to greet them, the person standing under the banner with the word "Liu" on it was not Liu Jilong, but Ma Cheng.

"Captain Ma Cheng, I greet Governor Zhang!"

Ma Cheng turned over and dismounted, but Zhang Huaishen frowned and asked, "Where is Liu Jilong?"

"Replying to the governor, this is the handwritten letter that Zhechong wrote to you."

Ma Cheng handed out the handwritten letter from Liu Jilong from his arms, and Zhang Huaishen decisively took it and opened it.

Soon, Liu Jilong's idea appeared in Zhang Huaishen's eyes. His pupils shrank slightly, and then the corners of his mouth raised slightly: "He is good at planning!"

"Okay, take care of the wounded and these new soldiers!"

"The last general takes command!"

Zhang Huaishen instructed Ma Cheng, then turned to look at Suo Xun and said, "Call on 500 elite cavalrymen and all the armored soldiers who can ride horses, and prepare to attack the foreign dog reinforcements in the east in two hours!"

"In addition, recall the Tangqi in the east to a range of ten miles and have them go out with the army!"

"Yes!" Suo Xun agreed without hesitation. Even though they knew the number of reinforcements from Liangzhou in the east at dusk, Suo Xun did not show any fear.

After he accepted the military order, he turned his gaze to the handwriting of Liu Jilong in Zhang Huaishen's hand.

"Governor, I wonder what Liu Zhechong wrote?"

Suo Xun answered tentatively, thinking that Zhang Huaishen would hand him the letter, but he didn't expect Zhang Huaishen to throw the letter directly into the bonfire at the camp gate.

"Don't worry about that. Just gather the elite troops in the tent in two hours!"

After Zhang Huaishen finished speaking, he walked back into the camp, leaving only his back to Suo Xun.

Suo Xun frowned secretly. Although he didn't know what Liu Jilong wrote to Zhang Huaishen, judging from Zhang Huaishen's tone, it was probably good news.

But no matter what the good news is, I must demonstrate my abilities in this battle and secure a place for the Suo family in Liangzhou!
With this in mind, Suo Xun returned to the camp, preparing to let the soldiers rest for another hour and set aside another hour for assembly.

Soon, the Tangqi of the Ganzhou Army began to shrink their patrol range, and in order to spy on their movements, the Tangqi of the Guzang Army had to go deeper.

As they advanced westward, the Tangqi in the other three directions inevitably began to shrink their range.

However, Zhe Bu Luo was not wary of this.

In his opinion, Liu Jilong had already joined forces with Zhang Huaishen, and now he just needed to keep a close eye on the movement and direction.

Thinking of this, Zhe Buluo, who had waited until Chou time (1 o'clock), finally blew out the candle and lay down to rest peacefully.

Perhaps because he was too tired, he did not dream about anything and just rested quietly.

Just when he was resting soundly, he was awakened by a shrill whistle.

"Beep--"

"Beep--"

The whistle seemed to explode in his ears, waking him up in an instant.

"What's going on! Did the Han people in the west send out troops?"

He stood up and began to put on his armor, while the soldiers in the camp were still in a daze.

Before he could put on his armor, the shrill whistle was getting closer and closer, which made Zhe Bu Luo look ugly.

The curtain of the tent was lifted the next second, and a guard hurriedly reported: "Protector General, our army was attacked by the enemy in the east, and the enemy is only a few miles away from here!"

“East?!”

Zhe Bu Luo was so stunned that he lost his voice, but he heard the dull sound of horse hooves faintly in his ears, which made him and Jie'er's faces change suddenly.

"Kill the thief!!"

"Kill--"

Under the cover of night, nearly a thousand elite cavalrymen advanced towards the camp, and the two sides were only two or three miles apart.

Their horses were running very fast, and many Guzangtang riders were being chased and killed, while the foreign troops in the camp were hurriedly putting on their armor.

In the firelight, the flags with the word "Liu" on them fluttered, and in front of the elite cavalry team was Liu Jilong wearing heavy armor.

"Shoot arrows!!"

"Run!"

The night duty soldiers who had briefly assembled tried to fire arrows in retaliation, while the slaves who served as their entourage fled in all directions.

Faced with the approaching torrent of cavalry, they had no intention of resisting.

They disrupted the formation of the foreign soldiers, and even if the foreign soldiers raised their swords and hacked at them, it was of no avail.

In their desperate eyes, a torrent of cavalry rushed towards the group of foreign soldiers...

"Kill the thief!"

(End of this chapter)