Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 364: Longzhou Confrontation
"Sorry..."

In the early morning, when the sound of horses' galloping could be heard, the Guankou military camp had already become a ruin.

Most of the camp was burned down, and countless corpses lay on the ground, burned beyond recognition.

The glory of yesterday is gone. Less than half of the 15,000 soldiers are left, and the rest were either killed or burned to charcoal.

"hiss……"

Inside the tent, Shang Moyan couldn't help but take a breath of cold air, but he saw that he was wearing armor, which was full of arrows.

Meilu Danzeng was trying to remove the arrow for him, but fortunately the arrow was blocked by the armor and only caused some superficial injuries at most.

"Where did the Tang army retreat to?"

Shang Moyan reluctantly asked, but Lu Danzeng's hands were shaking as he replied in a panic, "Tangqi, Tangqi reported back... They have retreated to the north to guide the river."

"In addition, some defeated soldiers fled back and said that the Tang army attacked Daojiang last night, and Lu Jie Du Hu was killed, and more than half of the soldiers were killed or wounded..."

"Uh... hum!" Shang Moyan groaned in pain, and then said: "In other words, the Tang army defeated Daojiang's troops yesterday first, and then attacked us from the south..."

"Yes..." Before Lu Danzeng nodded, Shang Moyan cursed: "Lu Jie deserves to be killed!"

Lu Danzeng nodded in agreement, because in his eyes, Lu Jie really deserved to be killed.

Lu Jie had more than 10,000 soldiers and horses. Even if his army was attacked and wiped out by the Tang army, he would not be unable to send out the Tang cavalry.

If the Tang cavalry from Guankou had not reported in time last night, they would probably have to wait until the Tang army reached the camp before they could react.

Thinking of this, Meilu Danzeng remembered that his father led the armored soldiers to fight against the Tang army last night. Finally, with the help of the troops withdrawn from the direction of Tangchang, he repelled the elite cavalry of the Tang army.

Even so, they suffered heavy casualties.

"Including the casualties of Dao Jiang, I'm afraid our casualties are no less than 20,000, and the armored soldiers alone have died more than 3,000..."

Lu Danzeng felt extremely distressed and could not help but say, "If Liu Jieshuai's urgent report could have been delivered faster, we could have avoided these casualties."

The arrow on the armor was pulled out, and Shang Moyan took off his armor with the help of the soldiers. His robe was stained with blood and almost stuck to the wound.

He took off his robe in pain. There were no less than twenty arrow wounds of varying sizes on his body. Fortunately, they were only flesh wounds. They looked scary, but not fatal.

Lu Danzeng had learned basic first aid knowledge in school in Songzhou, so he asked someone to find some strong liquor to clean his father's wound.

After cleaning the wound, he asked someone to find a clean piece of cloth, boiled it to disinfect it, and then wrapped the cloth around his father's wound.

After doing all this, Shang Moyan put on his robe and sat down, but Lu Danzeng was also very tired.

"You should go and have a rest first." Shang Moyan looked at Lu Danzeng distressedly, and then said:

"When they withdraw, we will withdraw to Maozhou..."

"Yes." Mei Ludanzeng breathed a sigh of relief, then dragged his tired body out of the tent.

At the same time, the Tang army that broke out from Guankou and retreated to Daojiang also poured into Daojiang City.

Because they defeated the foreign troops outside Daojiang, the people of Daojiang County who were attacked by the foreign troops were not forcibly relocated, and the city remained crowded.

Gao Pian could only allow soldiers from various armies to rest in civilians' homes and strictly forbade them to harass civilians.

General Lin Ruzhen took the military officers to count the casualties, and the results he submitted made Gao Pian very satisfied.

"Our army lost 552 men, including those wounded or disabled, 857 horses, and 332 mounts."

General Lin Ruzhen reported his own casualties, and finally said, "There were two consecutive battles last night, and at least 10,000 foreign soldiers were killed."

"Not to mention the foreign soldiers in Guankou, there are no less than 4,000 dead soldiers outside Daojiang City alone, and more than 1,700 sets of armor abandoned or captured by the defeated soldiers."

Gao Pian looked tired, but after hearing the military report, he managed to cheer himself up and said:

"We report to the court that our army has killed 20,000 bandits, including more than 1,700 leaders. The foreign bandits will soon withdraw from Maozhou."

"I obey your orders!" General Lin Ruzhen agreed first, and then asked, "Why can the commander be so sure that Shang Moyan and his men will withdraw to Maozhou?"

"Because something is wrong." Gao Pian leaned back in his chair and said:

"You also saw the situation of the Jiang Fan army last night. They deployed the Tangqi only twenty miles away, but the Tangqi in Guankou were deployed more than thirty miles away."

"If not for this, we should have succeeded last night. Even if we couldn't kill Shang Moyan, we could have severely damaged all of his forces."

"I suspect that Shang Moyan was on guard, which prevented us from completing our mission."

"Since Shang Moyan was prepared, and so many soldiers were killed and injured last night, and the snowy season is about to arrive, he has no choice but to withdraw his troops."

"But before that, I still need to make another round of attempts."

Gao Pian said calmly, "The bandits have been invading for so long, and they even spread the news that Songzhou has been captured."

"Liu Jilong is a man of revenge, so why would he allow the dog he raised to betray its master and then attack him?"

"If he wants revenge, he will definitely attack Maozhou, but if he attacks somewhere else..."

Lin Ruzhen was about to react: "Do you also think that the invasion of foreign bandits this time was instigated by Liu Jilong?"

Gao Pian glanced at General Lin Ruzhen and said silently: "No matter if it's him or not, the final result will be him."

"Only by making the situation in Xichuan complicated and turbulent will the court continue to rely on me..."

Lin Ruzhen opened his mouth when he heard this, thinking, isn't this just nurturing an enemy to protect oneself?

But he thought about it and realized that with the current situation in the world, no one could say how many years the court could last.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to seize Jiannan Road, whether it is to support the imperial court or do other things afterwards, it will be more advantageous.

"Send someone to write a memorial, informing Liu Jilong of this matter. Also send fast horses to Songling Pass and Jiangyou Pass to urge Zhang Lin and his men to send troops to recapture Longzhou as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

Under Gao Pian's instructions, General Lin Ruzhen immediately called the military counselor and asked him to write a letter of victory with instructions according to Gao Pian's advice.

In addition, the light cavalry he sent out also galloped towards Songling Pass and Jiangyou Pass.

The next day, the Duokang Tubo army withdrew as Gao Pian had expected.

After evacuating Guankou, they destroyed the ruined Guankou Pass, burned down Guankou Town, and retreated to Maozhou with a large number of captured people.

When Yang Fuguang and others learned that Gao Pian had launched a surprise attack on Guankou and Duokang's Tibetan army had withdrawn to Maozhou, they immediately sent a memorial to Chang'an.

At the same time as the memorial was sent out, Zhang Lin and Wang Zhongren at Songling Pass and Jiangyou Pass also received military orders from Gao Pian twice urging them to attack.

The two wanted to attack quickly, but the army needed enough money, food and laborers to go abroad to fight, and the people of Mianzhou all fled to the south, so it was impossible to gather laborers in a short time.

In the end, it was thanks to Wang Zhongren's forcible capture of able-bodied men that they were able to gather enough laborers on August 15 and lead their troops to attack Jiangyou County.

Marching through the mountains was difficult, and some of the 20,000 conscripted laborers often deserted, which slowed down the march of the two men.

On August 18, when they were still 15 miles away from Jiangyou County, the soldiers in front discovered that something was wrong.

The Tang soldiers rode on draft horses and galloped from north to south towards the central army. Along the way, many armored soldiers and civilians cast inquiring glances at them, but they were all ignored.

It was not until the Tang soldiers rode up to Wang Zhongren and Zhang Lin that they reported the information they had obtained to them.

"Military commander, Jiangyou County has already hoisted the Sanchen flag!"

"What did you say?!"

The two were surprised, and then their hearts sank.

"It seems there are still flags from Longyou in the city!" Tang Bing said truthfully, and Zhang Lin couldn't help but recall the experience of being knocked off his horse by Liu Jilong with three shots in the past.

"What the hell, what should we do now?" Zhang Lin looked at Wang Zhongren, who hesitated and said:
"Let's go and have a look first. If Jiangyou is really taken by Longyou, then we can only retreat to Songling Pass and Jiangyou Pass."

"Let's go!" Zhang Lin shook the reins, and soon he and Wang Zhongren rode to two or three miles south of Jiangyou County.

At this time, the city gate of Jiangyou County also opened, and more than a hundred elite cavalry poured out of the city gate and approached them slowly.

After the two sides met, Wang Zhongren and Zhang Lin looked at the person coming across, and it was not a face they were familiar with.

"Who is this general from Longyou?!"

Zhang Lin's loud voice echoed in the valley, startling many military horses and causing them to stop and kick their hooves.

However, facing Zhang Lin's sudden attack, the general who led the army remained calm. Instead, he continued to ride forward until he was six or seven steps away from them.

Although they had not faced off against the Longyou troops for many years, Wang Zhongren and Zhang Lin still had to admire the strength of the Longyou troops.

At the same time, they also saw the face of the general clearly.

He looks ordinary, and is no more than 27 or 28 years old. He has a calm temperament and remains calm in the face of enemies.

"Chen Ying, a military officer of the Longyou Protectorate, has just recovered Jiangyou County under the order of our commander-in-chief."

Chen Ying spoke calmly, and Wang Zhongren's heart sank. Zhang Lin burst out, "How dare you cross the border?!" "You are incompetent, and you have lost tens of thousands of soldiers, causing the fall of six states. If it weren't for my general, the Tibetan flag would probably still be flying in Jiangyou County!"

Chen Ying raised his eyebrows. Seeing that the other party was rude, he naturally wouldn't be polite either.

"The little kid has a sharp tongue, but he doesn't know how to use his hands!"

Zhang Lin laughed out of anger. Among all the generals in Longyou, he was only afraid of Liu Jilian. He didn't take the rest of the generals seriously.

After all, when they first fought, two generals under Liu Jilong's command also fought bravely, but were stopped by Wang Zhongren alone.

Zhang Lin was confident that he could defeat Wang Zhongren within thirty moves, so he naturally looked down on the generals under Liu Jilian.

"Handy skills?"

Facing Zhang Lin's provocation, Chen Ying snorted: "On the battlefield, no matter how good your martial arts skills are, you are still being stabbed and stabbed by spears. Do you think you can stop the elite cavalry under my command?!"

His voice gradually became heavier, and finally he shouted violently. Murderous intent flashed in Zhang Lin's eyes, but Wang Zhongren raised his hand to stop him.

"I will definitely report this to the imperial court. Longyou... take care of yourself!"

"Don't worry about it!" Chen Ying turned his horse and left. More than a hundred elite riders watched him with eager eyes, but in the end they still followed Chen Ying.

Zhang Lin's temper flared up, but Wang Zhongren said, "Since Liu Jilong has seized Longzhou, the imperial court will not get along with him."

"You and I will withdraw our troops and report this to the commander-in-chief. He will surely applaud!"

As the person who knew Gao Pian's thoughts best, Wang Zhongren naturally knew what his commander-in-chief was planning.

Now he has been given a pillow when he is sleepy. After Liu Jilian's attempt to seize Longzhou, it is like a sword hanging over the head of Jiannan Dao. The imperial court will certainly not sit idly by.

Because of this, although Wang Zhongren felt a sinking feeling in his heart, he also knew that this matter would benefit his own commander.

"Damn it! The generals under Liu Jilong have no skills at all, but they are really good at talking!"

Zhang Lin was still unconvinced and kept cursing. After all, he had followed Gao Pian in his battles and had done many things like beheading generals and seizing flags, but he had only suffered at the hands of Liu Jilian, so he had been brooding over it for many years.

Now that he was provoked by a young general, he was naturally resentful.

"Don't worry, Liu Jilong won't last long."

Wang Zhongren said a few words to comfort him, then turned his horse around and withdrew his troops back to Songling Pass with Zhang Lin.

They sent light cavalry to inform Gao Pian of the situation in Longzhou. By then Gao Pian had already led his troops into Chengdu and taken over all matters in Xichuan.

Although Xichuan had the foundation laid by Bai Minzhong, Cui Xuan and others, after this war, Xichuan lost at least hundreds of thousands of people and no less than 20,000 soldiers, and its strength was severely damaged.

Although Duokang Tubo retreated to Maozhou, Jiazhou in the south was still occupied by Dali, and You Shilong had no intention of leaving. Instead, he planned to rest and then continue his invasion.

All these problems needed to be solved by Gao Pian, and Wang Zhongren's urgent report was delivered to Gao Pian at this time.

"Liu Jilong went south to occupy Longzhou, but to get from Songzhou to Longzhou, he had to pass through Wenzhou, which means that Wenzhou was also occupied by him."

"If Wenzhou is also occupied by them, then the situation in Fuzhou, which is further north of Wenzhou, may not be optimistic either..."

In the Chengdu government office, General Gao Pian placed the general report on the table and looked up at all the officials sitting in the main hall.

Compared with the Zizhou Yamen where the Dongchuan Jiedushi was in charge of government, the Chengdu Yamen was undoubtedly more prosperous and larger.

After all, this place was where successive emperors of the Tang Dynasty took refuge, so in terms of scale, although not as large as the Daming Palace, it is not inferior to some royal palaces.

Sitting in the main seat, Gao Pian felt that dozens of officials in the hall were crawling at his feet, but he also knew that this was an illusion.

He glanced around and saw Yang Fuguang, Chen Qiqian, Suo Xun, Li Changyan, Wang Fuyan, Li Changfu, Lin Ruzhen and others sitting in the hall, each with their own thoughts.

Obviously, except for General Lin Ruzhen under his command, no one else obeyed him, even though it was because of his surprise attack on Shang Moyan that Shang Moyan had to withdraw its troops.

"The three states of Longwenfu have already been assigned to Dongchuan. We can just report this matter to the emperor. There is no need for us to retake them, right?"

Li Changyan spoke first, and at the same time said: "Now that Shang Moyan has withdrawn to Maozhou, my Fengxiang army has suffered heavy casualties. I am afraid that I can't help defend Xichuan."

"When you make your report, please remember to mention that our Fengxiang Army needs to return to town."

"Of course." Gao Pian was not angry about this. After all, he came from the imperial guards and naturally knew what the Fengxiang Army was like today.

Not to mention anything else, just the matter of Li Changyan, Wang Fuyan and Li Changfu losing Gutaoguan, he got the general idea at a glance.

They clearly abandoned the pass and fled, but in the end they lied that they could not hold it and broke out.

If Gao Pian didn't want to create enmity with Fengxiang Town, he would have dragged these three people out and sacrificed them long ago.

It is good that these three men have led their troops away now. This will save some money and food, and allow us to train more soldiers.

Thinking of this, Gao Pian looked at Wang Fuyan and asked, "Will General Wang also withdraw to Shannan West Road?"

"I... uh... thank you for your help, sir." Wang Fuyan thought it over again and again and decided to withdraw his troops.

Gao Pian nodded when he saw this and said, "If that's the case, I will write this down in the memorial."

"Besides that, does General Suo want to withdraw his troops back to Qianzhong Road?" Gao Pian looked at Suo Xun.

In the past, he looked down on Suo Xun, but after he was stationed in Lingnan, Lingxi and Dongchuan, he discovered Suo Xun's strengths.

Suo Xun knew the least about military affairs and had no problem leading an army alone, but most of the generals and military commanders in various towns had not fought in a war for more than ten years and could only hold their troops back on the battlefield.

Because of this, he was not as indifferent to Suo Xun as he was to Li Changyan and Wang Fuyan, and still wanted to win him over to his side.

Suo Xun saw Gao Pian's intention to win him over. In addition, he had not accumulated enough merits, so he was definitely not qualified to be transferred to a town as a governor. So when faced with Gao Pian's attempt to win him over, he gladly accepted it and said:
"The situation in Xichuan is difficult. I still have 3,000 soldiers under my command. I am willing to stay and lend a helping hand to you, Lord!"

"Good!" Gao Pian was very satisfied, and then looked at Yang Fuguang:
"May I ask General Yang, how much money and grain are left in the Chengdu treasury?"

“Now there is still…” Although Yang Fuguang was not convinced by Gao Pian, he wanted to defend Xichuan more.

In response to Gao Pian's questioning, he truthfully confessed the remaining money, silk, and grain in the Xichuan treasury, which after discount was no less than 300,000 strings of cash.

After explaining the money and grain situation in Xichuan, Yang Fuguang continued:

"Envoy Cui left Lizhou three days ago. Lizhou is leaderless right now, so we need you to make arrangements early."

"I have already arranged this matter!" Gao Pian said:

"I have already transferred Liang Zan, one of my military commanders, to Lizhou to lead the three armies. Liang Zan has been guarding against the southern barbarians in Rongzhou for a long time. Now that he is transferred to Lizhou, he will surely be able to manage Lizhou as solid as a rock. There is no need to worry."

"But right now Xichuan is exhausted, and Chief Long has stationed troops in Jiazhou. The situation is not good."

"I have decided to transfer Wang Zhongren, Zhang Lin and their troops to Chengdu, and send troops to recapture Jiazhou in five days."

"Songling Pass and Jiangyou Pass will be guarded by Dongchuan Metropolitan Gao Yu and Gao Ji!"

Gao Yu and Gao Ji were Gao Pian's nephews. It can be said that the two passes were nominally under the jurisdiction of Dongchuan, but in reality Gao Pian was still the one in charge.

Yang Fuguang frowned slightly, but did not say anything to spoil the fun.

However, when Li Changyan, Wang Fuyan and others heard that Gao Pian was going to send troops to recapture Jiazhou, they all decided to watch the joke.

"In that case, we would like to congratulate you in advance on your success!"

Li Changyan raised his glass to congratulate. Gao Pian saw what he was thinking, but he didn't care at all.

What he wants is for everyone to be pessimistic about him. Only in this way can his ability be demonstrated.

Thinking of this, Gao Pian raised his glass and drank it all.

After he drank the glass of wine, Li Changyan, Yang Fuguang and others found excuses to leave one after another, leaving only Gao Pian and Lin Ruzhen.

"General Jie, are we really going to send troops to Jiazhou?"

Lin Ruzhen was about to walk over to Gao Pian to ask, but Gao Pian lowered his head and drank:
"Winter is only two months away. By then, it will be difficult for Dali to transport food and grass. Even if we don't send troops, Chief Long will not be able to stay in Jiazhou any longer."

"But if we send troops, Chief Dragon will definitely choose to withdraw his troops in this dilemma."

"They all think we can't retake Jiazhou, but retaking Jiazhou is actually the easiest thing to do."

"The truly difficult thing is how to take back the six states from Liu Jilong!"

Gao Pian looked solemn. Lin Ruzhen was surprised and asked, "Liu Jilong? Didn't he only occupy three states?"

"It's indeed just three states now..." Gao Pian glanced at him and said in a playful tone: "But do you think he can capture three states in such a short time?"

"What you mean is..." Lin Ruzhen guessed what Gao Pian meant, but he was not sure.

Faced with his caution, Gao Pian raised his glass and drank it, then put it down and stood up.

He looked outside, as if he was looking beyond the courtyard and at the entire Xichuan.

He didn't expect that after so many years of twists and turns, from Qinlong to Lingnan, and finally to Xichuan, his opponent was still the same person.

"People say Liu Jilong has the appearance of a great man, but I think he has a rebellious heart!"

(End of this chapter)