Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 389 Capturing Two Generals Alive
"Uuuuuu——"

As the melodious bugle call resounded across the Yanzhou grasslands, thousands of elite cavalrymen shot out like arrows.

Liu Jilong stood still, his expression unchanged, watching as countless elite cavalry charged out, leaving only a few hundred elite riders behind, who were still putting armor on their horses.

An Pohu led 6,000 elite cavalry in a surprise attack, while the elite cavalry led by Li Sigong and Zhou Bao felt their morale on the verge of collapse.

They were so exhausted that they could fall into a deep sleep as soon as they closed their eyes, so exhausted that they felt that even life itself was nothing more than this.

Zhou Bao was blocking Cao Mao, Li Sigong was launching a surprise attack on Anpo Hu, while Liu Jilong stood on the outskirts like an outsider, waiting for the hundreds of elite cavalry behind him to prepare.

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves was extremely imposing, yet it carried on in a melodious manner.

The troops in Baichi County dared not leave the city, while Li Sigong pondered deeply during his hundreds of steps of the charge.

He seemed to have made up his mind, gritting his teeth as he thrust out his lance, as if he wanted to pierce through the air in front of him.

"kill--"

Both sides were incredibly powerful, their horses' hooves seemingly ready to flatten the entire grassland.

When the two sides were about a hundred paces apart, they each took out their bows, drew their arrows, and hurled them at each other.

A dense mass of arrows suddenly shot out, like a black cloud rising, colliding, and finally falling.

"Hiss!!"

"Uh-"

Countless arrows rained down, and the Tangut cavalry, who were not wearing armor, undoubtedly suffered a great loss.

Arrows rarely wound armored soldiers, but horses are unarmored, so a single arrow can severely injure a horse.

The horse was shot through the chest, the arrow lodging obliquely in its flesh. The horse neighed in despair, lost its front legs, and fell over.

Countless men and horses were thrown to the ground. If the elite cavalry behind did not want to be pushed over, they could only leap up to avoid it, or trample it away.

Those elite cavalrymen who fell from their horses were trampled to death by their own comrades before they even met the enemy.

Both sides charged and fired at high speed. The distance of over a hundred paces was only fifty paces for each side.

Even so, while dodging the "obstacles," both sides fired seven or eight volleys of arrows in one go, then put their hard bows into their quivers and took out the long weapons from their victory hooks.

The elite cavalry of the Tanguts used long spears, while the elite cavalry of the Longyou used military lances.

Although the military spear is not as good as the horse spear, it is still one of the top standard weapons. Even in the era of the Fubing (military garrison), it was a rare and excellent weapon.

At a distance of about twenty paces, the Tangut elite cavalry attempted to avoid them, but the Longyou elite cavalry chose to keep up and engage in a long-range attack.

The elite cavalry, armed with long weapons, provided cover for their comrades in mounted archery. The two sides fought as they rode, but the horsepower and energy of the Tangut elite cavalry gradually waned.

At the same time, Zhou Bao's elite cavalry was no match for Cao Mao and his thousands of infantry, and were forced to advance.

Li Sigong and Cao Mao reunited, but the situation was extremely unfavorable.

Cao Mao's cavalry and infantry, and An Pohu's elite cavalry, were attacking and harassing them from both sides. The horses were already at their limit, and many of them had white foam coming out of their mouths. If they continued, they would only die from exhaustion.

"Sorry..."

At the critical moment, Li Sigong looked at the spot where Liu Jilong had been standing and realized that Liu Jilong had disappeared from that spot at some point.

"What about people?!"

"Where has that damned killer gone?!"

Li Sigong searched the area with his eyes, but he couldn't find where Liu Jilong's troops and their banner had disappeared to.

"Beep--"

Suddenly, a piercing whistle rang out, and the pursuers, who had gathered on the left side of Li Sigong and his men, quickly reined in their horses and stopped their pursuit.

When Li Sigong glanced to the side, he saw hundreds of elite cavalrymen, fully armored, charging towards their flank at full speed.

"Protect the banner!!"

Li Sigong immediately gave the order, but it was too late.

Hundreds of semi-armored elite cavalrymen broke through the flank of the government cavalry, their target being the banners of the Dangxiang and Shuofang tribes.

"Uh-huh!!"

"Hissing—"

"Boom..."

In the blink of an eye, half-armored cavalrymen wielding spears charged in, causing the Dangxiang and Shuofang elite cavalry to fall, or be directly impaled.

The entire elite cavalry was almost cut in half, and Liu Jilong's half-armored cavalry had reached the area beneath the banner in the blink of an eye.

"You dog-and-rat bastard!!"

Among the group, Zhou Bao and Li Sigong, dressed in magnificent and radiant armor, became their second target after the Great Banner.

With the banner severed, the half-armored elite cavalry of Longyou charged straight at Zhou Bao and Li Sigong like tigers descending a mountain.

Both men were renowned for their martial arts skills, especially Zhou Bao, whose lance was powerful and heavy. Even after two days and nights without sleep, he still relied on the length of his lance to take down two half-armored elite cavalrymen from Longyou.

"Protect me!!"

Li Sigong did not take any risks. Instead, he summoned the elite cavalry he could muster to protect him and led his army straight to Baichi County.

They were only three or four miles away from Baichi County, and could already see countless farmlands ahead.

However, this distance of three or four miles seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

Li Sigong gritted his teeth, cut off a banner, and wrapped it around his body to cover his conspicuous bright armor.

"Protect me and get out of here!!"

As soon as Li Sigong gave the order, the generals around him immediately understood his idea. Although there was reluctance in their eyes, they still gritted their teeth and swung their swords to cut wounds on the horses' rumps.

Others followed suit, each making a single slash, thus unleashing the potential of the warhorses.

The speed of the warhorses increased visibly. Dozens of generals and elite cavalry escorted Li Sigong at breakneck speed toward Baichi County, while the remaining generals decided to stay behind and lead the Dangxiang elite cavalry in a desperate battle against the Longyou army.

"You bastard, you're nothing but a scar the size of a bowl when you die! Kill them!!"

"kill……"

There were very few shouts of battle; the Dangxiang and Shuofang elite cavalry had been numb by the Longyou army.

Seeing the banner fall, many elite Tangut and Shuofang cavalrymen slowed their horses and abandoned their weapons and flags.

"You sons of bitches, what are you doing?!"

Zhou Bao took down seven or eight elite cavalrymen in the formation, but when he turned around, he saw that his own elite cavalry had abandoned their banners and weapons and gradually slowed down.

"General, we can't go back, let's surrender!"

"Yes, General..."

"The great banner has fallen, and the morale of the army has collapsed..."

All the generals looked at him pessimistically, and the elite cavalry of Longyou retreated and began to surround their less than three thousand men.

An Pohu led several hundred elite cavalry in pursuit of Li Sigong, but they did not know that it was Li Sigong; they only thought that he was a defeated soldier trying to break out.

Those who surrender will be spared!

Those who dismount and abandon their weapons may surrender!

Several thousand elite cavalrymen, armed with long weapons, surrounded the defeated army of about three thousand men. Countless soldiers abandoned their weapons and banners, but Zhou Bao and his hundred or so personal guards still wanted to fight to the death.

"Damn it, I refuse to believe we can't fight our way out!"

"Stay close, charge with me!"

He spurred his horse, shook the reins, and charged forward, his target the great banner among the elite cavalry of Longyou.

"Protect the commander! Capture this traitor!!"

Despite being extremely exhausted, Cao Mao shouted and rushed towards the banner with his military spear.

The hundred or so elite cavalrymen from Shuofang were no match for the thousands of elite cavalrymen from Longyou; it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Before Zhou Bao could even get within fifty paces of Liu Jilong, the elite cavalry who had charged with him were all killed on the spot.

He charged forward alone, using his spear to kill five or six elite cavalrymen from Longyou. But when Cao Mao's cavalry and infantry arrived, they all dismounted and formed a six-flower formation, surrounding him with their spears.

No matter how skilled Zhou Bao was, he was no match for the constant thrusts of spears.

He was knocked off his horse by a spear.

Cao Mao reacted quickly, rushing forward, grabbing the reins, and pulling the horse away.

By the time Zhou Bao realized what was happening, his mount had already been dragged away by Cao Mao, and he was being pointed at by a hail of spears, unable to move an inch.

"You pig-dog bastard, you think you can fight? Pick someone else and let me see!"

Cao Mao was furious, for he had personally witnessed Zhou Bao take down more than ten elite cavalrymen from Longyou.

Most of these fallen brothers have already perished, yet this fellow is still barking like a dog here.

He knocked Zhou Bao's iron armor away, and seeing Zhou Bao's disheveled appearance, he was still not satisfied.

"Are you Liu Jilong?"

Looking at Cao Mao, who was wearing bright armor, Zhou Bao couldn't help but question him.

Cao Mao was only five feet seven inches tall and not particularly robust; his speech was somewhat frivolous.

He couldn't believe he had been repeatedly defeated by such a person, but Cao Mao sneered, "You think you can see my General?!"

“Cao Mao…”

Suddenly, news came from outside the formation. The soldiers of Longyou spontaneously made way for the approaching rider, Cao Mao, who also stepped aside and bowed. "General, I failed to trap this bandit at Mingsha. Please punish me!"

As soon as Cao Mao finished speaking, Zhou Bao tried to look at the rider, but was pinned down by a hail of spears and could not move an inch.

Fortunately, the rider slowly approached, and soon the tall horse and its rider were revealed.

He wore no luxurious armor, only heavy lamellar armor and ordinary iron helmet, but he was a strong and imposing man. Judging from his appearance, he was no more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a majestic and heroic bearing. His appearance was elegant and beautiful, like that of a god.

Upon seeing this man, Zhou Bao immediately concluded that he must be Liu Jilong: "Gao Qianli was right, you do indeed have the appearance of an outstanding person and the demeanor of a rebellious minister!"

Liu Jilong, who was about to dismount, heard this strange remark and frowned slightly as he looked at the trapped Zhou Bao.

"You son of a bitch, what are you yelling about?!"

Cao Mao raised his spear to strike, but Liu Jilong stopped him, saying, "He's just a defeated general; why waste words with him?"

"And detain Di Dao, and when the court softens its stance, exchange him for money and grain to reward the army."

"Yes!" Cao Mao replied somewhat unwillingly. Liu Jilong continued, "Where is the head of the Pingxia tribe?"

"They haven't been found. They're either dead or have escaped. However, I see that General An is leading troops in pursuit, so we should be able to capture them."

As soon as Cao Mao finished speaking, Liu Jilong saw An Pohu leading his elite cavalry back in the distance. Among the cavalry was a young general who was wrapped in a banner.

Liu Jilong did not stop waiting, but glanced at Zhou Bao and thought to himself that although Zhou Bao was brave, he was reckless and would not amount to anything.

Historically, he controlled four prefectures in Jiangdong, making him the strongest in the Jiangzhe region, but he ruined it all himself.

If he had any strategy, Qian Liu and Yang Xingmi would probably have had no chance in Jiangnan.

Using a military governor with close ties to the Northern Army as a bargaining chip is not bad.

Thinking this, Liu Jilong left his main camp and walked towards An Pohu.

"General, I have not failed in my mission. This is Li Sigong, the military envoy of the Pingxia tribe!"

"Li Sigong?"

Liu Jilong never expected that he would actually capture Li Sigong.

He looked over and saw that the captured man was wrapped in a banner, his face was rather pale, his eyes were darting around, and he looked to be only about twenty years old.

"The head of the Pingxia tribe is Father, right?"

Liu Jilong asked Li Sigong, who nodded and replied, "It is my father."

“Send someone to the Pingxia tribe and tell your father that 20,000 horses will be exchanged for you and your people.”

Liu Jilong spoke calmly, and An Pohu said, "General, are we just going to let him go like this?"

"General, this fellow is cunning and treacherous; we cannot let him go." Cao Mao also caught up and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

“Of course I won’t let him go so easily.” Liu Jilong nodded in response, then looked at Li Sigong: “The court is defeated, and the interior belongs to us.”

"The Tanguts have been rampaging through Henan. One day, we will surely have to deal with this scourge. The Pingxia tribe can be brought under my command."

Liu Jilong did not speak to Li Sigong in a tone of negotiation; in fact, it could be said that Li Sigong had no choice at all.

The Pingxia tribe numbered only tens of thousands, with fewer than 20,000 able-bodied men capable of fighting. Among them, two or three thousand had been captured by Liu Jilong. He himself had been captured, so what could he offer to negotiate with Liu Jilong?

Furthermore, given Liu Jilong's military strength, if this battle were to drag on for several years, Liu Jilong might actually seize control of the Guannei region and would naturally not tolerate the Dangxiang's plundering activities in Henan.

After much deliberation, Li Sigong decided to feign agreement with Liu Jilong first, and then consider his next move once Liu Jilong allowed him to leave.

"I'd like to write a letter to my father..."

Li Sigong answered honestly, and Liu Jilong looked at Cao Mao: "Take him back to Mingsha and confine him to the courtyard."

"Yes!" Cao Mao was somewhat unwilling, but he still did as Liu Jilong said.

"General, Baichi County is right in front of us. Should we take it?"

An Pohu bowed and asked, but Liu Jilong shook his head: "This place is too far from Longyou and too close to the government troops."

"Furthermore, we did not bring any tools to breach the city, so it will not be easy to take it down, and it could easily be recaptured by the government troops. There is no need to waste our energy."

After speaking, Liu Jilong looked at Cao Mao and said, "The army will rest for one night. Tomorrow, you will lead three thousand cavalry and infantry to escort the prisoners to Mingsha and persuade the government troops of the three counties of Lingwu to surrender."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Cao Mao bowed respectfully and accepted the order. Then, Liu Jilong shook the reins and returned to his own camp.

Before long, the three thousand prisoners were stripped of their armor and, despite their exhaustion, began to work.

Even so, they were remarkably calm, simply because they were too exhausted. Even if they were to be killed, they hoped to die in their sleep.

In less than 15 minutes, several thousand small tents were set up. Liu Jilong first let Cao Mao and other cavalry and infantry rest, and then sent his elite cavalry thirty miles away to take turns protecting the camp that was not protected by fences.

At the same time, when Baichi County discovered that the Shuofang Army had been completely annihilated and captured, the county magistrate of Baichi County did not hesitate any longer and immediately released dozens of carrier pigeons in the county to send the news to Wuyuan County, the seat of Yanzhou.

The two counties were not far apart, and the carrier pigeons quickly carried the message. When the officials of Yanzhou learned of this, they immediately released more than ten carrier pigeons to fly south to Chang'an.

Three hours later, only two carrier pigeons arrived at the Southern Office of Chang'an. Upon learning of this, the officials of the Southern Office hurriedly sought out Xu Shang, who was in charge of the Ministry of War.

"My lord, the Shuofang Army..."

What happened to the Shuofang Army?

Sitting in the yamen, Xu Shang's mood instantly became tense, and the official handed over the copied military intelligence.

Xu Shang hurriedly took it and looked at it, but his vision went black after reading the contents.

"The town of Shuofang is gone just like that?"

He seemed to have aged a few years. After realizing what was happening, he hurriedly said, "Prepare the carriage, I need to go to the palace!"

"Yes!" The official hurriedly went to prepare the carriage and then escorted Xu Shang to the Daming Palace.

It was already dark, but Xu Shang claimed that the military situation was urgent, so Li Cui ordered his men to let Xu Shang into the outer court and head straight for Xianning Palace.

Half an hour later, when Xu Shang finally arrived at Xianning Palace, the first thing he saw was Li Cui sitting on the golden platform.

"Your Majesty, the Shuofang Army has fallen into enemy hands..."

Xu Shang greeted Li Cui with a bow, but his subsequent remarks made Li Cui's mood sink.

Tian Yun dared not delay and quickly stepped down from the platform to present the military intelligence to Li Cui for review.

Li Cui glanced at it briefly and couldn't help but feel frustrated: "Nearly ten thousand cavalrymen, just like that, lost their lives?"

"Your Majesty, according to Yanzhou's report, Lingzhou and Weizhou are probably..."

Xu Shang felt a bitter taste in his mouth, unsure how to tell His Majesty.

But Li Cui wasn't stupid. The elite cavalry of Shuofang were all wiped out on their way to Yanzhou, so the situation in Lingzhou and Weizhou was self-evident.

What should we do now?

He knew panicking would be useless, so he asked Xu Shang in a deep voice, and Xu Shang replied:
"Right now we should wait for news from Yanzhou, Youzhou, or Xiazhou. If we haven't received news from Yanzhou within two days, it means the rebels are besieging Yanzhou."

"If the rebels withdraw, then the only place they can attack is Xiaoguan..."

"Xiaoguan?" Li Cui's heart tightened.

Since the Western Han Dynasty, historical records have mentioned the four major passes of Guanzhong: "East Hangu Pass, South Xiaowu Pass, West Sanguan Pass, and North Xiaoguan Pass".

If one place is lost, at best the Guanzhong region will be unstable, and at worst the region will be lost.

Even though the Tang Dynasty had repeatedly built up its northwest defenses after the Tubo Kingdom seized Longyou in the past, Li Cui still couldn't help but feel somewhat worried.

"How many troops does Xiaoguan have? Can they hold the pass and repel the rebels?"

When Li Cui asked him, Xu Shang thought for a moment and then said, "Zhu Xiechi, the military commander of the Shatuo Army in Daibei, led more than 2,500 elite cavalrymen to retreat into Xiaoguan. Xiaoguan also has 1,000 garrison soldiers, which is enough to defend Xiaoguan."

"However, in my opinion, we should conscript 3,000 troops from Jingyuan, Fengxiang and other towns to go north and help defend Xiaoguan."

"If the rebel army arrives, the government troops will be stationed in Pinggao County, Yuanzhou."

Xiaoguan is not a large place. It is located in the Qingshui River Valley in the Loess Plateau mountain area, on the west side of the valley terrace, and adjacent to the western mountain ridge.

It cannot prevent a large number of enemy troops from invading the Qingshuichuan Valley, but if the enemy ignores it and penetrates deep into the valley, it can immediately send troops to cut off the enemy's retreat.

Taking it down is not easy, so throughout history, foreign enemies have often had to expend a large force to surround it, and that is how it achieved its purpose.

If it were during Tibet's peak period, Li Cui and Xu Shang wouldn't have thought that Tibet could occupy Xiaoguan, but with Liu Jilong, it's hard to say.

In less than a month, the 17,000 infantry and cavalry of Shuofang Town were not captured, and three prefectures were lost.

Today, Shuofang Town is reduced to only Yanzhou, with less than two thousand soldiers within its borders.

If Yanzhou is lost, it will be fine. With the military strength of Xia Sui and Binning garrisons, it can be easily recovered once Liu Jilong leads the main force to withdraw.

However, if Liu Jilong were to turn his troops around and attack Xiaoguan, the situation would become complicated.

For this reason, even though Xu Shang was relatively optimistic, he still suggested sending troops to reinforce Xiaoguan.

“So best!”

Li Cui nodded in agreement with Xu Shang's suggestion, and then, suppressing his emotions, he said:
"Send a message to Yang Gongqing and the others. I want to know when Wang Shaobao will bring me news of victory. Must I wait until the rebels have reached the heart of Guanzhong before I can see the news?!"

"Your subject obeys the decree..." Xu Shang's heart sank. He knew that the emperor's trust in Wang Shi had reached its limit.

If Wang Shi fails to produce any significant achievements, the emperor may have to replace him.

However, changing generals at the last minute is a major taboo, and who else can replace Wang Shi right now?

After much thought, it seems that only Gao Pian is left, but Gao Pian's performance in Xichuan seems to be no different from Wang Shi's.

Thinking of this, Xu Shang couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"This battle should never have been fought..."

(End of this chapter)