Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 2: Intertwined
"Sorry..."

In the dark night, the sound of horses and the bustling voices of people could be heard on the grasslands between Jinshan and Qilian Mountains.

I saw that on this grassland that had been empty for thousands of days and nights, a small camp had suddenly appeared without my noticing.

This camp is located close to Jinshan Mountain, and is two hundred steps long from east to west and three hundred steps deep from north to south.

Because it is located in the grassland and only relies on the golden mountain, it is not an easy place to defend and is prone to attack.

Because of this, the soldiers on duty were on high alert to guard against the nomadic Hu people in the Gua and Su areas.

"Drive! Drive..."

The Tang riders holding torches rode back from the east. The infantrymen guarding the gate checked and then let the dozen people enter the camp.

Not long after, a young general of about eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing armor and holding a sword, walked into the big tent in the center of the camp.

When he walked into the tent, a strong general in armor, about fifty years old, was sitting in the main seat, and on the left and right sides were a dozen generals ranging from twenty to fifty.

"Governor, the Tangqi who went to look for the third group have found them."

The general entered the tent and bowed, and the discussion among the crowd stopped abruptly.

At this time, the general sitting in the main seat leaned forward and asked, "How is it?"

"The third group of Tangqi encountered the Tangqi of the foreign people from Jiuquan, Suzhou. The leader Li Huaishen and the other nine Tangqi were killed, leaving only Liu Jilong."

"There is only one person left. How did he survive?" A thirty-year-old general on the left asked with a cold face.

In response to this person's question, the young general replied: "According to him, it was Li Huaishen who led them in a bloody battle against the foreign cavalry. In the end, he killed several foreign soldiers and cavalry with his own hands, and was then saved by a person who escaped from Jiuquan."

"He was the only one who survived and was able to kill several foreign cavalrymen with his own hands? Humph!" The thirty-year-old general obviously didn't believe it.

Not only him, but everyone else also frowned.

Not to mention them, even the general sitting in the main seat was silent.

"You just said that someone who escaped from Jiuquan saved him. Where is that person who escaped from Jiuquan?"

The chief general asked, and the young general turned aside and said, "This person is outside the tent..."

"Send him in."

"Yes!"

Following the order from the chief general, the tent curtain was soon opened, and Zhang Chang, with dishevelled hair and a dirty face, appeared in the tent.

When he saw the fifty-year-old general sitting in the main seat, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I am Zhang Chang, a Tang man from Jiuquan, and I pay my respects to Governor Zhang."

The general sitting in the main seat was Zhang Yichao, who personally recovered the two states of Gua and Sha.

Facing Zhang Chang's kowtow, Zhang Yichao sighed and said, "Get up and tell me about the situation in Jiuquan."

"Yes..." Upon hearing this, Zhang Chang stood up trembling with excitement and told the truth about the situation in Jiuquan.

But after he finished speaking, he added: "What I know is about the escape half a month ago. I don't know the current situation in the city..."

"This is enough information." Zhang Yichao nodded, showing a charitable smile on his face and said, "Tangqi reported that you saved Liu Jilong?"

"But I dare not say it is a rescue. When I arrived there, the man had already killed all the foreign soldiers. He just fainted due to his severe injuries and weakness."

Zhang Chang spoke the truth, and Zhang Yichao nodded when he heard it. The generals around him still didn't believe that someone could survive alone and kill several armored soldiers with his own hands.

After a while, Zhang Yichao, after thinking for a while, looked at the young general and said, "Huai Shen, take this little brother down to have a rest."

"Yes!" The young general bowed in response. Zhang Chang bowed quickly upon hearing this and said, "Governor, I beg you to take me in and join the army!"

"Haha..." Hearing Zhang Chang's words, Zhang Yichao stroked his beard and said, "You have to rest well for a few days before joining the army."

"But I..." Zhang Chang wanted to say something, but Zhang Yichao raised his hand and said:
"Don't worry, there are still more than ten states in Longyou of our Tang Dynasty that have fallen into the hands of the barbarians. Some of them are opportunities for you to take revenge."

Zhang Chang struggled when he heard this, but finally nodded unwillingly: "Yes..."

"Go down."

Zhang Yichao signaled Zhang Chang to leave, and Zhang Chang also cautiously left the tent. After he left, Zhang Yichao asked, "Can Liu Jilong still move?"

"Replying to the governor, he can still walk." The young general bowed in response. Zhang Yichao nodded and said, "Then let him come in."

"Yes!" The young general responded and walked out of the tent. Outside the tent stood Liu Jilong, who had just changed into a clean half-sleeve shirt and trousers.

"Come in." The young general gestured, and Liu Jilong bowed and saluted: "Yes!"

Liu Jilong knew the young general, and the young general also knew Liu Jilong, because Liu Jilong was the soldier he recruited.

Even in this northwest region, the average man is only about five feet five or six inches tall. For a young general who has only a few soldiers under his command, it is still difficult to forget a soldier like Liu Jilian who is over six feet tall.

If it weren't for the shortage of soldiers and the lack of so many official positions, he would even let Liu Jilian directly serve as the team leader or even the captain.

The organization of the Tang army began during the Wude period and underwent many adjustments during this period.

Since the Guasha area had been cut off from the Tang Dynasty for nearly a hundred years, Zhang Yichao adopted the organization left in Li Jing's military book.

In the early and middle period of the Tang Dynasty, when the military system had not yet been destroyed, the basic organization was: guard - prefecture - regiment - brigade - team - gang - squad.

Among them, the prefecture had a Zhechou Duwei and the regiment had a Xiaowei, which were in charge of 200 people and two brigades.

Each brigade has a brigade commander who commands 100 people and two teams.

Each team has a captain, who is in charge of 50 people and has five groups under his command.

Each gang has a gang leader who is in charge of ten people, and under him are two squads. Each squad has a squad leader who is in charge of five people.

The current military system of the Shazhou Army is basically the "two-five" system of the early and middle Tang Dynasty.

After the middle Tang Dynasty, the Tang army usually consisted of 250 teams, with a total of 12,500 soldiers.

Although the team was only one-two-hundred-and-fiftieth of the army, it was not a small position for the Shazhou Army, which currently had only two thousand infantry and more than two hundred cavalry.

The Shazhou Army originated in Shazhou and later captured Guazhou. It had families and powerful people such as the Suo, Zhang, Li, and Cao families.

These powerful people and family sons all need to occupy positions when they join the army or serve as officials. Even a small position as a squad leader is a position that they need to fight for.

For example, Li Huaishen, the leader of Liu Jilong's gang, was a member of the Li family. Many of the Li family members died, but Liu Jilong was the only one who survived. This inevitably made the Li family members feel suspicious.

However, as early as when that guy died, Liu Jilong had already prepared an explanation, so after taking a deep breath, he followed the young general into the big tent.

As he entered the tent, Liu Jilong attracted a lot of attention.

"Liu Jilong, a soldier from the third group of the second squadron of the second brigade of the 13th regiment, greets the governor and generals!"

After entering the tent, Liu Jilian took the initiative to bow and salute, his voice was dull but everyone could hear it.

"He's a good man!"

Zhang Yichao's eyes lit up, and he was the first to praise Liu Jilong, then smiled at the young general and said, "Huai Shen, you have recruited a good soldier."

"It is thanks to the governor that Guazhou was recovered. Otherwise, no matter how capable I am, I will never meet him."

The young general responded respectfully, but Liu Jilian, who was listening to him, couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

He came from the future, so he naturally knew the future of the two.

After Zhang Yichao recovered the five states of Gua, Sha, Gan, Su and Yi, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang established the Guiyi Army and appointed Zhang Yichao as the governor of the Guiyi Army.

Zhang Yichao was very excited after receiving the title, and recovered Liangzhou a few years later. The Tang army also took advantage of the internal strife in Tubo to recover Lanzhou, Hezhou and other places. Thus, Hexi was recovered...

Shortly after the recovery of Hexi, Zhang Yichao was summoned to Chang'an as a hostage, and the Guiyi Army he personally founded was defeated by the political intrigues of the Tang court.

As for Zhang Huaishen, the general of the Guiyi Army entrusted by Zhang Yichao, he ended up being beheaded and without any descendants in the internal strife of the Guiyi Army.

Faced with the two people who were full of high spirits at this time, Liu Jilong didn't know what to say.

It's just that he doesn't want to say it, but someone wants to tell him.

"Governor, the leader of the third group, Li Huaishen, is also quite brave. I would like to ask this soldier how Leader Li was killed in battle!"

(End of this chapter)