Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 131: Under Jialin City
"Take a seat!"

In the main hall, Zhang Huaishen nodded and motioned Liu Jilong to sit down first.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong stood up and sat in the first seat on the left, while Suo Xun sat in the first seat on the right.

Looking at this seat, Liu Jilong couldn't help but sigh.

Suo Xun used to be the one sitting in the first seat on the left, but now he was one step ahead and actually sat in the first seat on the left as well.

It’s a pity that the first seat on the left is never his position. His position can only be the main seat.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong focused his mind and scanned the crowd, but found two unfamiliar faces among the many familiar faces.

Before he could speak, Zhang Huaishen introduced them: "These two are Wang Jingzhi, the chief clerk of Shazhou, and Li Mingzhen, the son of Li En, the deputy governor of Shazhou."

"Wang Jingzhi...Li Mingzhen?" Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong looked at them twice more.

Wang Jingzhi is not famous, but his brother is quite famous within the sandbar.

Wang Jingyi, the governor of Yizhou, was his elder brother, and Liu Jilian was also very familiar with the name Li Mingzhen.

If he remembered correctly, in history he and Suo Xun supported Zhang Huaiding, the son of Zhang Yichao who escaped from Chang'an, to ascend to the throne.

After Zhang Huaiding's death, Suo Xun did not support Zhang Yichao's grandson Zhang Chengfeng, but instead appointed himself as the governor.

This practice caused dissatisfaction among Li Mingzhen, who took soldiers who supported Zhang to kill Suo Xun and enthroned Zhang Chengfeng. Li Mingzhen died of illness a few years later.

A few years after his death, Zhang Chengfeng grew up and used some means to overthrow Li and regain control of the Guiyi Army.

For more than ten years, there were many internal battles within the Guiyi Army, but in the end, power returned to the hands of the Zhang family. It was a pity that Zhang Huaishen's lineage ended up being wiped out.

"They both followed my father to Chang'an, bringing with them the Imperial Edict and the Jiedushi Banner!"

Zhang Huaishen's words brought Liu Jilong back to reality. Liu Jilong couldn't help but look at him: "Hexi Jiedushi's banner?"

Under Liu Jilong's gaze, Zhang Huaishen's face darkened, and then he shook his head: "The court has placed the Guiyi Army in Hexi, and granted the Jiedushi the title of 11-state inspector and the Jiedushi of the Guiyi Army!"

Sure enough... After hearing what Zhang Huaishen said, Liu Jilong couldn't help but sneer in his heart.

After all, the Tang Dynasty is still the same Tang Dynasty, and nothing has changed.

If nothing unexpected happens, Zhang Yichao will never see the flag of the Hexi Jiedushi until his death.

"You still have to look at me..."

Liu Jilong took a deep breath, his eyes became more determined, and then he looked at Zhang Huaishen:
"In that case, we should send someone to escort them to Dunhuang!"

"Yeah, I think so too." Zhang Huaishen agreed.

"But before that, we still have to discuss the Eastern Expedition so that they can arrange to bring the Eastern Expedition army back to Dunhuang."

Zhang Huaishen glanced at everyone, and finally stopped at Liu Jilong: "Liu Governor, what do you think?"

"What do you think?" Liu Jilong asked back, and before anyone could answer, he said decisively: "Lead an upright army and march eastward!"

"Although the foreign bandits still have more than 2,000 elite cavalry, we also have a similar number of elite cavalry."

"Then the light cavalry will lead the way, the elite cavalry will guard the two wings of the army, and the catapults will be enough to attack the city and seize the land!"

After saying that, Liu Jilong bowed to Zhang Huaishen and said, "Shang Duoluo of my army has led 800 elite cavalrymen back to the battle formation, and is currently setting up camp outside the city with the main army!"

After hearing this, Zhang Huaishen and others understood why Liu Jilong was so confident. It turned out that Shang Duoluo and others had returned.

However, everyone was happy to see Shang Duoluo and his companions return.

"Jiujuyan, how many light cavalry can the city gather?"

Zhang Huaishen looked at Jiu Juyan, who was sitting there. Jiu Juyan also bowed and said, "No less than three thousand."

"Okay!" Hearing this, Zhang Huaishen nodded and said, "Three thousand light cavalry are enough to place the main army fifteen miles away."

After that, he made a detailed plan for the marching team of the Eastern Expedition Army, for example, how the three armies would march, how the civilians would transport food and fodder, how many miles they would walk every day, etc. He explained clearly all the matters.

After all the explanations were completed, he stood up and looked at everyone:
"Send a message to the three armies, move camp and march east at noon tomorrow!"

"The last general takes orders!!"

After this, the generals left the main hall one after another. During this time, Zhang Huaishen kept staring at Liu Jilian. He opened his mouth but still couldn't say anything.

Liu Jilong and others left the main hall and were placed in the East and West Halls to rest.

However, thinking that they would set out at noon tomorrow, Liu Jilong only left Cao Mao in the east hall to rest, and then took Hu Siguang and the others out of the city to the military camp.

When they returned to the military camp, the camp had already been set up. Nearly 8,000 people were stationed together with more than 6,000 people from Zhangye, and the scale was boundless.

Liu Jilian summoned all the generals to decide on the details of tomorrow's march, and then asked everyone to withdraw and have a good rest.

After everyone left, he lay down in the tent to rest. However, while he was resting, Zhang Huaishen couldn't fall asleep.

He stood at the door of the inner hall and looked up at the night sky, but the clouds were so thick that they blocked the moonlight and prevented him from seeing anything.

"Jiedushi..."

Jiu Juyan walked into the inner hall and stopped talking when he saw Zhang Huaishen like this.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Huaishen turned around and looked at Jiu Juyan. Jiu Juyan stepped forward and bowed, then stood up and said:

"Xiduoyu has been imprisoned in the west hall. It seems that the governor is planning to use him to force Changsong to surrender after conquering Jialin and Guzang."

"What do you think?" Zhang Huaishen asked him, and he pondered:

"I don't know... but if we can really take Jialing and Guzang, Changsong probably won't resist."

"But our army now has fifty trebuchets. Even if Changsong intends to resist, he can't stop our trebuchets from attacking in turns."

Jiu Juyan was still very confident about recovering Liangzhou. After all, the scene of them attacking Fanhe with catapults last year was still vivid in their minds.

Although the city defenses of Jialin, Guzang and Changsong were stronger than those of Fanhe, they could not withstand the fierce bombardment of their own catapults.

"Let's take one step at a time."

Zhang Huaishen seemed to have lost his fighting spirit. He waved his hand tiredly and went into the bedroom to rest.

Looking at his back, Jiu Juyan hesitated to speak, and finally shut up and left...

The next day, everyone was ready to go, and three thousand light cavalry spread out to the surrounding areas of the army, with the main reconnaissance directions being the east and north.

The Three Cities Eastern Expedition Army, consisting of 2,300 elite cavalry, 5,000 armored soldiers, 3,000 light cavalry, and 8,000 civilian laborers, marched eastward under the command of Zhang Huaishen.

Since the uprising, the Guiyi Army has never organized an army of such a scale. But now, in order to recover Liangzhou, it has mobilized the absolute strength of the two Gansu states and Fanhe City.

If they fail to win this battle, it will be a long time before the Guiyi Army can recapture Liangzhou.

Because of this, everyone took this Eastern Expedition very seriously, and Jiu Juyan, who was in charge of the light cavalry, was also arranging light cavalry reconnaissance at all times.

The Eastern Expedition Army of more than 18,000 people advanced towards Jialin on the plain at a speed of 50 miles per day.

This action resulted in the scouts sent out by Jialin coming into contact with the army's light cavalry shortly afterwards, and they hurriedly brought the news back to Jialin City.

The next morning, a group of cavalrymen rushed into the city from the Jialin West Gate and hurried to the yamen.

"Dongben! Hannu's Tangqi suddenly began to advance eastward, and the army is probably heading towards Jialin!"

"The pig-dog stuff, they're finally here!"

The captain of the scout cavalry came to the inner hall to report, and Mang Longhua, who was eating at the time, couldn't help but curse when he heard the news.

After cursing, he looked up at the scout captain and said sternly, "Send someone to Guzang to tell Qiliben about this military intelligence!"

"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the captain left the inner hall, and Mang Longhua snorted coldly, lowered his head and continued to eat.

That night, Jialin's light cavalry arrived at Guzang, the capital of Liangzhou. Shang Moling, who had just fallen asleep, heard the news and hurriedly summoned Zhe Buluo and others.

When everyone gathered together, Shang Moling, who was wearing a fur coat, said with a cold face: "The Han slaves are advancing eastward!"

"Mang Longhua and I have deployed 2,000 armored soldiers in Jialin, plus there are 2,000 elite cavalry and 1,000 armored soldiers in Guzang City. I want to see how Liu Jilong will take down Jialin!"

After Shang Moling finished speaking, seeing that no one was speaking, he turned his gaze to Zhe Buluo and said, "Zhe Buluo, you take a thousand armored soldiers to garrison Guzang City!"

"Yes!" Zhe Buluo saluted and accepted, but he still asked: "Qiliben, do you want to lead the elite cavalry out of the city?"

"Humph!" Shang Moling snorted coldly, revealing a bit of cruelty: "Doesn't Liu Jilong like to be a wolf and run around on the grassland?"

"I'll be the wolf this time. Let's see how he deals with me!"

"This..." Zhe Bu Luo hesitated to speak, but finally made up his mind, stood up and saluted:
"Liu Jilong has the wisdom of a wolf, but you have the wisdom of a dragon. You should not imitate him."

"Instead of imitating him, we should recruit Changsong's troops to come to Guzang, and we can defeat him with a dignified battle array!"

What Zhe Bu Luo said was not nice, but he had no other choice.

He couldn't say that Shang Moling didn't have Liu Jilong's ability, and rashly led two thousand elite cavalry out of the city. If his entire army was wiped out by Liu Jilong, Liangzhou would be completely finished.

Fighting in a grand battle array outside Guzang City, even if defeated, there is still a possibility of recovery. The firewood and food stored in Guzang City are enough for the army to hold out for two years.

Zhe Buluo didn't believe that Liu Jilian could waste two years fighting them. One has to know that the distance from Ganzhou to Guzang is nearly 300 miles. Not only is the food that can be carried very limited, but if they want to fight a protracted war, the food consumed on the road will be enough to kill these Han slaves.

If this goes on, he doesn't believe Liu Jilong can hold on!

"What you said does make some sense..."

Shang Moling thought about it carefully and was still unwilling to take the risk of fighting Liu Jilong in the field.

He looked up at Zhe Buluo, and after a moment's silence, he said, "Send someone to Changsong to have Xilunqin lead his troops to help Guzang."

"Tell Xilunqin that if Jialin and Guzang are conquered by the Han people, his Changsong will be turned into a sea of fire again. Let him think it over carefully!"

After saying this, Shang Moling stood up and walked towards the inner hall, while Zhe Buluo conveyed his words to the scout and ordered the scout to take the message to Changsong.

After doing all this, Zhe Bu Luo began to mobilize the people of the city to cut down the few trees outside the city and transport them into the city as firewood.

In addition, tree stumps and some debris were also collected as logs and fallen rocks.

In short, Zhe Bu Luo wanted to avenge the humiliation brought upon him by Liu Jilong through this battle to defend the city!
At noon on March 14, as a large number of scouts outside Jialin City turned back to the city, the shadow of war completely enveloped the entire Liangzhou.

The weather in Liangzhou was still cold at this time, and the snow in the Qilian Mountains had not yet begun to melt.

The farmland outside the city was empty. Although the small river in the distance had thawed, the river, less than two meters wide, was unable to stop the army on the eastern expedition.

On the top of Jialin City, hundreds of armored soldiers were ready, and next to them were crossbows, catapults and other city defense equipment.

The two-meter-wide horse path was large enough to accommodate them, and there were hundreds of them.

Beside them, there were batches of crossbows, crossbow arrows and slingshots that made people's scalps tingle, and the people who operated them were civilian laborers who had received short-term training.

"Woooooooo..."

Suddenly, the foreign soldiers on the arrow tower blew the horn, and dust began to rise at the end of the official road in the west.

They stayed at the edge of the sky for a long time, during which time Mang Longhua also put on armor and walked to the top of the city wall.

At the same time he arrived at the west gate, the Guiyi Army, which had been staying in the distance for a long time, also began to move forward.

The distance between the two sides was shortening, from two miles to one mile, and then to three hundred steps.

"Go! Come closer!"

Mang Longhua frowned secretly and urged the Guiyi Army in a low voice, because if they got any closer, they would be within the range of the crossbows and catapults.

It’s a pity that the Guiyi Army did not continue to advance, but instead set up camp.

An endless stream of people began to build camps, and carts of siege equipment were pushed to the front and assembled.

Soon, catapults appeared outside the city.

Unlike the catapults on the horse trail, this batch of catapults is heavier, has more mechanisms and parts, and is taller.

However, for Mang Longhua, it was too difficult for him to distinguish the difference between the catapult three hundred steps away and the catapult next to him.

In his opinion, the catapults of both sides were the same, because the catapults and crossbow technology of Tubo were also made by Hexi craftsmen from generation to generation after they conquered Hexi.

"Are they going to set up the trebuchets and then move forward three hundred steps?"

Mang Longhua thought it was just a false alarm and couldn't help but relax a little.

"Dong Ben, as long as we reduce the weight of the stone, we can hit it even if it is 400 steps away. Should we..."

A member of the Jie'er made a cautious suggestion, but Mang Longhua shook his head and said, "No, wait until they enter 300 steps before calling them."

After saying that, he stretched out his hand and patted the catapult beside him, and said proudly: "Seventy catapults and fifty crossbows, I want to see what Liu Jilong can use to break through my Jialin City!"

He was full of confidence, as if Jialin City was the most solid city in the world.

At the same time, at the Guiyi Army position outside the city, Liu Jilian used his amazing eyesight to roughly determine the number of catapults on the top of Jialin City.

"Sixty or seventy trebuchets, is that what he relies on?"

Liu Jilong stood beside the horse and drank a sip of water nonchalantly.

Zhang Huaishen shook the reins and walked to his side, also looking up at Jialin City.

"How long do you think it will take to take it down?"

"If Shang Moling doesn't cause trouble... three days!"

The two asked and answered each other, and Jialin's fate was decided during the conversation.

However, compared to taking down Jialin, how to defend Jialing is the most important thing.

In this regard, Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Huaishen and said, "Gua, Sha, and Su states can no longer accommodate any more foreigners."

"According to the information provided by Nong Guli, there are at least 20,000 people in Jialin City, 60% of whom are foreigners."

"If these foreigners are not handled properly, they may rebel in the future, so how do you plan to deal with them?"

He raised a question, and Zhang Huaishen frowned and said:
"The Fan people in Jialin are easy to deal with. Divide them into three groups. One group will stay in Jialin, and the other two will be sent to Shandan and Fanhe."

"What I am worried about now is how to deal with the foreigners in Guzang City..."

Guzang, the largest city west of the Long Mountains, has a population of 50,000 to 60,000 civilians, more than 70% of whom are foreigners.

You should know that the Guiyi Army had a population of only more than 80,000, of which more than 37,000 were Uighurs, Kuchas and Tibetans.

After taking Guzang, there were nearly 40,000 foreigners in the city that they needed to deal with, and this problem was the biggest reason for the loss of Liangzhou in history.

Historically, the Tang court transferred 2,000 Tianping troops from Yunzhou to garrison in Guzang. However, in less than 30 years, all of these 2,000 Tianping troops were assimilated, and only a dozen people were left who could speak the Yunzhou dialect. This shows how strong the assimilation of the Guzang barbarians was.

"Let's take a step by step!"

Liu Jilong couldn't think of any good solution because no one wanted these foreigners, and he couldn't kill them all.

"Provincial governor, Jiedushi... the catapults are all set up, ready to throw stones at any time!"

Geng Ming, who was in charge of the trebuchet, rode over. Zhang Huaishen asked, "Have all the trebuchets collected along the way been polished? How long will they last?"

"It's all polished. It can be used for at least a few hours!" Geng Ming smiled innocently. Zhang Huaishen took a deep breath and said:
"Built a pot and cooked a meal. When you are full, you can fight again. Also, have Jiu Juyan search far away to see if there are any more slings that can be collected!"

"Yes!" Geng Ming nodded in response, turned his horse around and left.

After he left, Suo Xun and Li Yizhong directed the laborers to set up the camp, while the soldiers were recuperating.

All the elite cavalry were wearing armor to guard against Shang Moling who might launch a surprise attack.

Time passed by little by little, and soon it was already 15 p.m. from noon.

After the army had their fill, Zhang Huaishen began to order the army to line up four hundred steps outside the west gate of Jialin, and ordered Geng Ming to lead a thousand armored soldiers to start operating the catapults.

Their actions made Mang Longhua on the top of the city wall smile, and he even laughed at them, "They start throwing stones from three hundred steps away. How many kilograms of stones can they throw? Haha..."

His laughter was very harsh, but it also affected the soldiers and civilians around him.

The thousand soldiers on duty had smiles on their faces, while the conscripted foreign laborers were laughing and chatting, not taking the attack of the Guiyi Army seriously.

Just as they were talking and laughing, Zhang Huaishen also raised his hand and swung it down fiercely.

"put!"

"Boom bang bang-"

The sound of wooden hammers hitting each other was heard, and then fifty Shandan catapults began to operate. Dozens of kilograms of heavy stones streaked across the gloomy sky and slammed heavily on the top of Jialin's city wall.

In an instant, dust flew everywhere, and many stones smashed the catapults and crossbows on the city walls, killing many people.

The person who was still chatting and laughing the previous second was killed by a sudden stone the next second, with blood and flesh splattering everywhere...

Such a scene greatly shocked the defenders and civilians on the road.

“This is…what is this!!”

Mang Longhua, who was covered in dust and dirt, opened his mouth wide and stood up with the help of the broken parapet in a look of horror.

"my leg!!!"

"Save me! Save me!"

"Luo Yan! Where are you!!"

"Cough cough..."

Dust was rising from the top of the city walls, and many parapets were smashed down. The sounds of wailing and crying occupied everyone's hearing.

In the blink of an eye, the top of Jialin City had become a living hell, but the Guiyi Army outside the city did not stop its attack...

(End of this chapter)