Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 474 Chaotic Battle in the North (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"kill!!"

"Boom bang bang-"

On July 25, facing the situation that Li Keyong's main cavalry had withdrawn to Daibei, Wang Jingchong, the military governor of Chengde Town, did not hesitate to send troops to Yiwu.

He first led 10,000 troops to reinforce Dingzhou, but upon seeing this, Kang Junli immediately withdrew his troops to the north of the Kou River.

Upon seeing this, Hou Gu, the military governor of Yiwu Army, immediately expressed his willingness to submit to Wang Jingchong. After Wang Jingchong subsequently dispatched an additional 5,000 troops, he joined forces with Hou Gu to form a total of 20,000 troops. They crossed the Kou River and their army advanced as far as Yizhou.

Seeing this, Kang Junli had no choice but to retreat to Yi County and rely on the surrounding cities to defend it.

Faced with Kang Junli's continuous retreat, Wang Jingchong and Hou Gu pursued relentlessly, besieging Yi County for six days, but were unable to easily break through.

"Those damned bastards, with only 20,000 troops, dare to launch a full-scale attack on Yizhou, which I just conquered!"

In a river valley in the upper reaches of the Lai River, eight thousand cavalrymen gathered, but most of them were light cavalry, with only one thousand Ya'er soldiers and more than two thousand Shatuo cavalrymen wearing lamellar armor.

Li Keyong sat in his tent, listening to the message brought by the fast horse sent by Yi County requesting reinforcements, his anger surging.

There were many cavalry generals standing in the tent, most of whom were quite old, except for one who looked to be about the same age as Li Keyong.

Therefore, while everyone remained silent, Gai Yu took the initiative to speak to Li Keyong:

“My lord, although Wang Jingchong and Hou Gu only have 20,000 troops, Wang Jingchong can transfer troops from Chengde to the north at any time. This battle must be won quickly.”

“Of course!” Li Keyong knew that this battle could not be dragged out for too long; he had to crush Wang Jingchong and Hou Gu decisively.

Thinking of this, he looked up and scanned the generals, focusing his gaze on the young generals and the dark-skinned, towering thirty-year-old generals.

The young general was named Zhou Dewei, who was a year younger than Li Keyong. He served as a lieutenant in the Ya'er Army and was exceptionally brave in the battles against Huang Chao and Qin Zongquan in the south. Li Keyong promoted him out of turn.

The thirty-year-old general Xue Zhiqin had followed Li Guochang in his early years. Because of his dark complexion and tall stature, he was known as "Iron Mountain".

"Yang Wu, lead two thousand light cavalry to flank them from behind and harass their supply lines."

"The last general takes command!"

Faced with the military order issued by Li Keyong, Zhou Dewei resolutely bowed and agreed. Li Keyong nodded in response and then looked at Xue Zhiqin.

"Tieshan, you lead your army to Yi County at dawn and must arrive at Yi County by noon to confront Wang Jingchong and his men."

"This subordinate obeys!" Xue Zhiqin calmly replied.

Seeing this, Li Keyong stood up and said, "I will lead the Crow Army to make a detour at dawn, and once your main army arrives, we will wipe out these two traitors!"

Upon receiving the order, the generals immediately bowed and shouted, while the troops from Daibei inside the tent began to rest.

Three hours later, Li Keyong led a thousand Crow Army soldiers along the western side of the Taihang Mountains, preparing to detour from the west to the southern part of Yi County.

An hour later, Zhou Dewei and Xue Zhiqin broke camp and headed south, and the sky gradually brightened.

As dawn broke, Wang Jingchong, who was outside Yi County, lifted the tent flap and stepped out of his tent.

Inside the camp, the soldiers of Chengde Army were already eating breakfast, served by civilian laborers.

However, Wang Jingchong, only 24 years old, nodded in satisfaction as he watched the army begin to eat, his gaze fixed on Yi County in the distance.

"Take this opportunity to take over Yiwu Town, and those old guys in the town will have no excuse to stop me!"

Wang Jingchong's tone was relaxed, and his two aides nodded in agreement.

The Wang family's discipline and moral integrity have been deeply ingrained for nearly a century.

Even though Tian Hongzheng caused trouble during that time, it was quickly suppressed by the Wang clan.

Wang Jingchong took over as the military governor of Chengde at the age of twenty. He wanted to make a name for himself, but he was restricted at every turn.

He has now been in charge of Chengde for four years. During this time, when Huang Chao rebelled, he requested to lead troops south, but Li Cui refused his request, depriving him of the opportunity to lead troops and prove himself.

Fortunately, there is always a way out. With the death of Li Cui, the internal strife in the Tang Dynasty, Liu Jilong's entry into Luoyang and other events, even the old stubborn people in Chengde Town knew that great chaos was coming.

Taking advantage of the change in the mentality of these old guys and the opportunity presented by Li Keyong's unfinished mission, Wang Jingchong decisively sent troops to Yiwu, not only gaining Dingzhou, but also seemingly on the verge of taking Yizhou.

Thinking of this, Wang Jingchong felt refreshed and was just about to order the three armies to continue their attack on Yi County after finishing their meal when he saw a fast horse rushing in from the south gate of the camp.

"General, we have spotted cavalry from the north in the south. They have harassed the grain transport convoy to Suicheng!"

The words of the cavalry commander immediately put Wang Jingchong on alert: "Have any of our cavalrymen noticed anything amiss in other directions?"

"No." His advisors shook their heads. Wang Jingchong felt slightly relieved upon hearing this, but still remained wary.
"The general ordered eight hundred cavalrymen to be sent out as sentries, focusing on searching the north and west."

"Yes!" The staff officers on the left and right responded, and then eight hundred cavalrymen rushed out of the camp, transforming into small cavalry squads and going off to explore in all directions.

As time passed, half an hour later, Wang Jingchong ordered his troops to don their armor and prepare to attack Yi County.

However, after the army spent half an hour leaving the camp, before the 20,000 laborers could catch up, they saw the Tang cavalry galloping from the northeast.

"General, we have spotted cavalry from the north, numbering no less than five thousand, twenty miles to the northeast!"

"Five thousand cavalry?" Upon hearing this, Wang Jingchong was first wary, then envious.

In the past, when the Chengde army was at its strongest, it had a large number of troops, and both its cavalry and infantry were exceptionally powerful.

Unfortunately, after the Four Garrisons Rebellion, the Chengde cavalry suffered heavy losses. Although they have been recuperating for nearly a century, the number of cavalry in the garrison is only about five thousand.

He had already gone to great lengths to lead eight hundred cavalrymen out of the town this time.

"Order the three armies to form ranks in the northeast direction, recall the cavalry, and have them don their armor and form ranks."

"The last general takes command!"

Wang Jingchong gave the order unhurriedly, and at this moment Hou Gu, who was his subject, also caught up.

Hou Gu was mediocre in talent and indulged his subordinates, and had no merits that made the Yiwu Army believe in him.

This is why, when faced with Li Keyong's eastward advance, he was full of flaws and in a very embarrassing situation.

Although he now relies on Wang Jingchong, Li Keyong's previous aggressive military campaigns still make him uneasy.

"Can 20,000 soldiers stop 5,000 cavalry?"

"You dog-and-rat bastard, what did you say?!"

No sooner had Hou Gu spoken than Cheng De's guards began to reprimand him.

Hou Gu was furious upon hearing this and was about to retort, but then he remembered that he was now the other party's subject, so he had to lower his voice and say humbly, "I was just worried that Li Keyong might have some tricks up his sleeve..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jingchong's brows relaxed slightly, and he continued, "Five thousand cavalrymen is indeed a lot, but our army has twenty thousand, and we also have eight hundred cavalrymen flanking us."

"If he dares to attack, he'll be in for a world of hurt!"

Wang Jingchong's words somewhat calmed Hou Gu's anxious heart.

Afterwards, Hou Gu saw the Chengde garrison soldiers begin to form a battle formation and, within half an hour, they formed a large formation to fight the enemy. Only then did Hou Gu's heart calm down.

As time passed, half an hour later, the cavalry of Chengde Town gathered in one place, personally led by Wang Jingchong, and dust began to rise from the northeast.

Due to the severe drought, the entire north was extremely hot and dry. Many infantrymen, even though they had only been in armor for less than an hour, were already sweating profusely.

"Buzzing, rumbling..."

Five thousand Daibei cavalry, under the command of Xue Zhiqin, gathered from the northeast. Upon seeing this, Kang Junli, who was inside the city, immediately led his troops to beat drums on the city wall to cheer them on.

Although Wang Jingchong was young, he was not impetuous, but calmly assessed the situation of both sides.

When he saw that out of the five thousand cavalrymen of Daibei, only less than two thousand were armored elite cavalry, his confidence in winning the battle increased considerably.

"The troops will rotate shifts to conserve their energy!"

Wang Jingchong waved his command flag and began to allow all soldiers outside the main force to sit on the ground and recover their strength.

Each unit rests for 15 minutes, then alternates with the rear guard to conserve their strength.

There was nothing wrong with doing this, so Xue Zhiqin didn't dare to go forward and fight Chengde's army immediately. Instead, he relayed military orders to Kang Junli in Yi County.

Upon receiving the military order, Kang Junli, under the cover of cavalry outside the city, personally led 5,000 infantrymen from Yi County out of the city.

This move caught Wang Jingchong's attention, but when he saw that less than half of the infantrymen leaving the city were armored, he was relieved.

As time went on, Kang Junli successfully led 5,000 troops out of the city to serve as the scouts in breaking the enemy's formation, while Xue Zhiqin placed 3,000 light cavalry on both sides of the main army, and led 2,000 armored Shatuo cavalry as the rear guard.

The ratio was 20,000 to 10,000, but less than 50% of the soldiers in Daibei were armored, while 80% of the soldiers in Chengde were armored.

The two armies are locked in a stalemate, and it seems that Daibei is at a disadvantage in terms of both quantity and quality.

Even so, Xue Zhiqin did not withdraw his troops, but waited for time.

As noon approached, Xue Zhiqin began waving his command flag.

"Enter!!"

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

Upon receiving the military order, Kang Junli immediately led 5,000 infantrymen, both Han and non-Han, to press forward. Wang Jingchong remained calm and simply ordered the entire army to be on alert.

Time passed, and in less than a quarter of an hour, five thousand Daibei infantrymen had pressed forward to within a hundred paces.

Crossbowmen in both armies began to pull the triggers, and countless bolts streaked across the sky, heading towards the enemy's formation.

The sound of arrows striking armor echoed continuously, interspersed with muffled groans and screams of those hit.

The two armies closed to within fifty paces, and the archers drew their bows and unleashed a torrent of arrows.

Before they even clashed, both armies had suffered heavy casualties. As they drew closer, the more than two thousand Daibei infantrymen, who served as the flank troops, clashed with Chengde's army.

"kill!!"

"Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo!!"

Shouts of battle and cries of war resounded continuously. The spears in the hands of the soldiers of the two armies began to clash. The sound of the spears striking the armor was like countless blacksmiths frantically hammering their anvils.

Some people vomited blood and their recently eaten food after being stabbed by spears, while others were knocked unconscious and collapsed on the battlefield.

For a moment, the air was filled with the rusty smell of blood and the stench of vomit, which was extremely unpleasant.

If it were just a clash between the two sides, it wouldn't be a big deal. But as both sides, as leaping soldiers, began to draw their bows and nock their arrows, countless arrows collided in the air above the soldiers in the formation, eventually turning into a rain of arrows that fell down.

The whistling of arrows piercing the air mingled with the vibrating of bowstrings; for the unarmored soldiers, this rain of arrows was enough to kill them.

"Hold your ground!"

The number of infantrymen from Daibei was still too small. Wang Jingchong only ordered the vanguard to go out and they had already surrounded the five thousand infantrymen led by Kang Junli on three sides.

The steel embankment formed by the Daibei soldiers with their guns was now retreating uncontrollably in the face of the Chengde army's steel torrent.

"Aren't you going to move...?"

Wang Jingchong looked at the five thousand cavalrymen led by Xue Zhiqin, a hint of anticipation in his heart.

If he can capture enough military horses, his status in Chengde Town may be further enhanced.

"Uuuuuu——"

"coming!"

When Xue Zhiqin finally gave the order to sound the bugle, a hint of anticipation and excitement flashed in Wang Jingchong's eyes.

He nodded to his aide beside him, and then the aide raised a command flag.

In an instant, ten thousand infantrymen from the rear, forming the central and rear armies, began to advance, while the eight hundred armored cavalrymen beside Wang Jingchong were also fully prepared.

"kill!!"

"Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo!"

"Sorry..."

Ten thousand allied troops from Chengde and Yiwu pressed forward, their shouts and battle cries causing the horses of the Chengde cavalry to sway restlessly.

Upon seeing this, Xue Zhiqin immediately led 5,000 cavalry to press forward, intending to use light cavalry to wear down the strength of the Chengde infantry, and then use armored cavalry to break through their lines.

Seeing the light cavalry pressing forward, Wang Jingchong remained unmoved. Instead, he waved his command flag, ordering the leaping soldiers in his formation to counterattack the light cavalry with crossbow bolts.

In terms of difficulty, mounted archery is definitely the most difficult, while foot archery is relatively easier to learn.

In a one-on-one situation, the mounted archer can constantly change his movements to wear down the foot archer's stamina.

However, if they form a battle formation, the dense rain of arrows from foot soldiers will suppress any light cavalry unit that wants to engage in mounted archery.

The unarmored Daibei light cavalry were suppressed by the crossbows of more than three thousand infantry archers in just a few breaths. Round after round of arrows fell, and countless horses and cavalrymen were shot to death.

Upon seeing this, Xue Zhiqin looked up at the sky, then looked down at the small sundial that was about to reach noon. He then put down the sundial and raised the command flag in his hand.

"Enter!"

"Uuuuuu——"

Xue Zhiqin moved, and Wang Jingchong, seeing this, immediately waved his command flag, and eight hundred elite cavalry followed him and began to move.

Seeing Xue Zhiqin leading his elite cavalry in preparation for a charge, Wang Jingchong also urged his own elite cavalry to begin their charge.

The clashes between the two sides must occur in close proximity to the German infantry.

In this way, once the two sides clash, Chengde's infantry will quickly surge forward and surround and annihilate the two thousand Shatuo elite cavalry led by Xue Zhiqin.

Once the movement of the elite cavalry is restricted, they are nothing more than lambs to the slaughter.

"kill!!"

Wang Jingchong raised his arms and shouted, and in an instant both armies launched an attack.

Xue Zhiqin seemed not to understand Wang Jingchong's thoughts, and actually clashed with him not far from the Chengde army infantry, just as Wang Jingchong had expected.

"Bang!!"

"Hissing—"

"Um..."

In an instant, countless people and horses fell to the ground, those who fell were trampled to death, and the horses neighed incessantly.

Apart from the cavalry on the outer perimeter successfully crossing paths, the cavalry in the middle were almost completely restricted in their speed.

"kill!!"

Upon seeing this, Hou Gu, who was in command of the infantry, immediately led 10,000 infantrymen from the central and rear armies to break away from the encirclement of the Daibei infantry and head towards Xue Zhiqin's side.

The sounds of horses' hooves and battle cries made any bugle calls and whistles seem faint.

But when countless whistles sounded, Wang Jingchong immediately realized that something was wrong.

"What happened?!"

All around were shouts of killing, and Wang Jingchong had no way of knowing which direction the whistles were coming from, nor could he see his surroundings.

While he was panicking, Li Keyong, who had been waiting for a long time in the southwest direction of the battlefield, finally launched an attack.

"Buzzing, rumbling..."

In an instant, the charge of a thousand Crow Army soldiers left the troops of Chengde and Yiwu garrisons, who were surrounding the infantry of Daibei, completely at a loss.

"Form ranks! Horse catchers, prepare to capture the horses!!"

The young man, who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, with an ordinary appearance and a dignified demeanor, held a spear and commanded his troops to form a battle formation to defend against the enemy.

With this young man setting an example, all the troops followed suit and lined up facing southwest.

"kill!!"

Seeing that Chengde's army numbered over a thousand, Li Keyong did not panic but instead urged them to charge.

Just before the two armies clashed, the cavalrymen of the Ya'er Army drew their bows and arrows, while the Chengde and Yiwu armies also retaliated with their bows and crossbows.

However, the Crow Army seemed undaunted by death, letting the arrows fall until they charged to within about fifteen paces of the Chengde and Yiwu soldiers' formation, at which point they drew their bows and fired their arrows.

"Uh-huh!!"

In an instant, countless soldiers fell with arrows in their faces, and this was the face-piercing mounted archery technique that Li Keyong had learned from Liu Jilong.

"Bang!!"

"Um..."

Led by Li Keyong, a thousand Crow Army soldiers successfully broke through the formation of less than a thousand men, charging into the formation surrounding the Daibei infantry like arrows in an instant.

Chengde's vanguard was split in two by the crow army's charge. Seeing that the situation was in his favor, Kang Junli immediately changed formation from a straight line to a curved line and began to counterattack.

"kill!!"

"General! The elite cavalry from Daibei have launched a surprise attack from behind our army. Our vanguard has been broken and is struggling to regain its footing!"

"What did you say?!"

Wang Jingchong had no idea that Li Keyong had made so many preparations.

His gaze fell upon Xue Zhiqin, who was under siege. He was about to order the complete annihilation of Xue Zhiqin's troops and then turn his forces to attack Li Keyong.

Just then, a large cloud of dust appeared in the east, making him tense. "Damn it! The rear guard and the central army should form a battle line to support the front army before retreating back to Sui County!"

"Withdraw the troops!!"

Faced with Li Keyong's endless tricks, Wang Jingchong, fearing a mishap, ultimately chose to withdraw his troops.

The rear guard and the central guard formed a battle formation, while the vanguard troops began to retreat continuously.

Li Keyong joined forces with Xue Zhiqin, and the two sides together numbered over four thousand cavalry.

Instead of attacking Wang Jingchong's retreating and central army, they continuously coordinated with Kang Junli's infantry on the battlefield to shoot and kill the Chengde and Yiwu soldiers who had not retreated in time.

"You son of a bitch!!"

Wang Jingchong was hot-tempered, but at that moment, dust began to rise from the east.

Seeing this, Hou Gu hurriedly urged, "Li Keyong still has a backup plan, Commander, don't act rashly!"

"Withdraw!" Upon hearing this, Wang Jingchong could only suppress his anger and ordered the army to retreat to Suixian.

The army began to retreat in formation, but Li Keyong relentlessly pursued them, constantly harassing the retreating Wang Jingchong.

Seeing this, Wang Jingchong became even more certain that Li Keyong had a backup plan, and had no choice but to continue ordering a retreat.

Li Keyong led his cavalry in pursuit for more than twenty li, inflicting heavy casualties on the Chengde and Yiwu armies. Only after they retreated to Suixian did Li Keyong leisurely withdraw to Yixian.

"Li Keyong, the dog and the rat!!"

Watching Li Keyong withdraw his troops, Wang Jingchong angrily punched the parapet in front of the city gate of Suixian. His advisors, seeing this, immediately spoke up:

"Our army suffered heavy casualties this time. If we go back now, we will definitely be criticized."

"Now the court has long labeled Li Guochang and his son as traitors. The military commander can submit a memorial to the court, stating that our army has sent troops to assist Yiwu Town in blocking Li Keyong's troops from invading Yiwu, and demand money and silk from the court."

"Even if the quantity is small, it's enough to satisfy the task and put an end to the complaints in the town!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Jingchong could only clench his fists and grit his teeth as he forced out, "Fine!"

Just as Wang Jingchong was preparing to report his achievements to the imperial court, Hou Gu, the military governor of Yiwu Army who had survived the ordeal, summoned the young colonel who had previously performed outstandingly, panting heavily.

“Good man, if you hadn’t formed ranks in time, my troops would have suffered even greater losses.”

Hou Gu looked at the young man before him, who was not very old but had a burly build, and asked with satisfaction, "What is your name?"

Upon seeing this, the young officer immediately bowed and said, "I am Song Wentong..."

"Good!" Hou Gu nodded quickly and pointed, "From today onwards, you are a general in the army!"

"Thank you for your promotion, General!" A glint flashed in Song Wentong's eyes, and he bowed even lower.

Half an hour later, the battle casualty statistics for both armies were completed. Chengde's army suffered more than 4,000 casualties, while Yiwu's army suffered more than 2,000 casualties.

Upon learning of the situation, Wang Jingchong immediately submitted a memorial to the emperor and headed south to seek Liu Jilong's help in order to prevent unrest in the town.

The following day, Li Keyong led nearly 10,000 troops south, while simultaneously dispatching Zhou Dewei with light cavalry to harass the supply lines of the two garrisons.

Left with no other choice, Wang Jingchong had to lead his army back south of the Kou River, surrendering all the counties on the north bank of the Kou River that he had just acquired.

Even so, Li Keyong remained relentless, directly leading his troops to garrison north of the Kou River, sending people daily to hurl insults at those south of the Kou River.

"Why did this guy go and fight Chengde?"

On the tenth day of the eighth month, Wang Jingchong's memorial arrived in Luoyang, and Liu Jilong learned of Li Keyong's movements through Wang Jingchong's memorial.

First, when Li Keyong attacked Yiwu, he withdrew his troops without achieving complete success for some unknown reason. Then, when Chengde sent troops to Yiwu, he decisively dispatched troops to provide reinforcements.

It must be said that Li Keyong's tactics were commendable, but strategically speaking, he was a complete mess.

If it were Liu Jilong, he would definitely take Yiwu first, then send troops to support Cui Xuan, while simultaneously harassing the Han army in Shengzhou.

Once Yiwu is captured, he will begin to systematically evacuate the population of Yiwu Town to Daibei, waiting for Lulong or Chengde to launch a proactive attack on Yiwu, defeat the invading army, and sustain the war through war.

This would stabilize Daibei, weaken the strength of Chengde and Lulong, and allow Cui Xuan to serve as a shield in the south.

If we persist for one or two years, we can reclaim the abandoned farmland in Daibei and rely on the terrain of Daibei to hold on to it.

Even if Hedong is lost, it will not be easy for the Han army to invade Daibei.

However, judging from the current situation, Li Keyong obviously did not think that far ahead. He only thought about settling scores and defeating the enemy.

"The kid is still too inexperienced..."

Looking at the memorial, Liu Jilong's lips curled up, feeling that the sixteen-year-old Li Keyong was still too immature.

“Your Highness, Wang Jingchong said in his memorial that he was sending troops to suppress the rebels on behalf of the court. He certainly knows how to flatter himself.”

Looking at Wang Jingchong's memorial, Zhang Yanhui couldn't help but laugh and said, "I thought these three towns in Hebei would be difficult to deal with, but I never expected that even His Highness's defeated opponents could be defeated."

Although Zhang Yanhui had been in the Central Plains for more than a year, he still did not know enough about the three towns of Hebei. He thought that the three towns were able to stand against the imperial court for a hundred years solely because of their fierce fighting power.

Now it seems that Chengdu, Deyang, and Weibo are just so-so, and Lulong is probably not much better.

"We must not underestimate them. These soldiers are not good at fighting outside the border, but they are very difficult to deal with when defending the territory."

Liu Jilong said to Zhang Yanhui, and at the same time instructed Zhang Yanhui: "Wang Jingchong has lost a lot of troops. If he returns directly to Chengde, although it will not cause a mutiny, he will definitely not gain anything."

"An imperial edict was issued to the Southern Court, appointing Wang Jingchong as Grand Commandant and concurrently Chancellor, to transport 30,000 strings of cash and 20,000 bolts of silk northward, and ordering Wang Jingchong to continue the standoff with Li Keyong at the Kou River."

Thirty thousand strings of cash and twenty thousand bolts of silk could only buy fifty thousand bushels of grain in Luoyang, but after being transported to Chengde, they could buy seventy thousand bushels of grain.

Although the amount of money and grain was not much, it was enough for Wang Jingchong to shut up Chengde's group of generals.

"Why isn't Choi Hyun surrendering yet?"

Liu Jilong asked Zhang Yanhui, who shook his head. Just as he was about to say something, Gao Jinda walked into the Prince of Han's mansion with a solemn expression.

"Your Highness!"

Gao Jinda bowed and then took out two memorials: "Your Highness, Governor An has already breached Yindi Pass and is currently heading north to attack Lingshi. However, Lingshi is easy to defend but difficult to attack, so it will probably take a lot of time."

"In addition, just as Your Highness predicted, Gao Pian probably received news of our army's northern expedition ten days ago. He sent troops eastward into Jiangxi, and Du Shenquan, the military governor of Jiangxi, was unable to resist and fled north to Luoyang."

"Li Bo, the military governor of Fujian, surrendered to Gao Pian. Now, Fujian and Jiangxi have fallen into Gao Pian's hands. Gao Pian claims that the two garrisons refuse to transport grain, so the court has ordered the suppression of the rebellion and the shipment of 200,000 shi of summer grain northwards..."

"Two hundred thousand shi?" Liu Jilong scoffed, dismissing Gao Pian's methods with disdain.

Two hundred thousand shi of summer grain is indeed a lot, especially for the Central Plains, which is short of food.

However, for Liu Jilong, he could squeeze out 200,000 shi of grain by himself, not to mention that Gao Pian was transporting 200,000 shi at the beginning, and it was estimated that even 150,000 shi would be transported to Luoyang.

If it weren't for Da Li's You Shilong constantly provoking him at the Yak River, attempting to retake Huichuan City, Liu Jilong wouldn't mind opening a second battlefield in the Jianghuai region.

"Restore production in Shannan East Circuit as soon as possible. Once we recover Hedong, we can also send troops to recover the Hehuai Circuit!"

"Yes!" Gao Jinda nodded in agreement. Liu Jilong did not rest, but began to continuously reduce the number of weak-willed soldiers in the Han army who were advancing eastward, and to recruit hardworking new soldiers from Henan Road and Shannan East Road.

The quality of the Han army has declined considerably compared to the period in Longyou, as evidenced by the fact that it took more than half a month for An Po Hu to launch a strong attack on Yindi Pass.

Ultimately, the soldiers from Jiannan and Guanzhong, even though they were hardworking and resilient, lacked the tenacity forged in Longyou after a century of enslavement.

Even if the veterans from Longyou are transferred away from Longyou, they will not complain. Unless they are really suffering from acclimatization problems, they will not easily leave the front line.

In comparison, soldiers recruited from other places, as well as the new generation of soldiers in Longyou, cannot do this.

Taking this opportunity to eliminate a group of soldiers with weak willpower is also a good thing for the Han army itself.

Only when the team is stable can it face complex warfare.

While Liu Jilong was doing this, Anpohu in the north, after breaking through Yindi Pass, also encountered Lingshi County, which was equally easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Seeing that Yindi Pass could not be defended, the garrison commander of Yindi Pass directly retreated to Lingshi. However, due to the heavy casualties of his troops, they had to continue their retreat after only five days in Lingshi County.

When the Han army advanced into the Taiyuan Basin, the Taiyuan area had a small population and abundant water resources, which led to the formation of a huge lake called Wuchengbo in a large depression west of Pingyao, south of Wenshui, and north of Jiexiu.

Wucheng Lake is 60 li long from north to south and more than 10 li wide from east to west. The surrounding cities were all built along Wucheng Lake.

An Pohu's troops split into two groups and recovered the six counties on both sides of Wucheng Lake.

At the same time, Wang Chongrong led his army to break through Shihui Pass, and the remaining soldiers from Hedong fled to Taiyuan.

On August 20, Wang Chongrong and An Pohu joined forces in Qixian County.

Because the generals and officials of Hedong were arrogant and domineering, they controlled more than 90% of the land in Taiyuan. The Han army issued the order to "suppress the rebels and redistribute the land." In addition, the army dared not harass the people. Wherever the army passed, the county towns all surrendered.

On August 22, Cui Xuan abandoned Jinyang and fled north to Xinzhou.

An Pohu led an army of over 40,000 northwards and recaptured Jinyang. At the same time, he personally led 20,000 troops northwards to attack Chitang Pass. Generals such as Wang Chongrong led 20,000 troops away from the main force and divided their forces to recapture the various prefectures within Hedong Town.

Upon learning the news, Li Guochang of Datong immediately tried to recall Li Keyong, but no sooner had Li Keyong left than Wang Jingchong, who had received benefits from Liu Jilong, prepared to cross the Yellow River to the north.

Li Keyong had no choice but to continue the standoff with Wang Jingchong in Dingzhou, while ordering Kang Junli to transfer the money and grain from various counties in Yizhou to Daibei.

"Liu Jilong, the dog and rat, actually had Wang Jingchong restrain me!"

On the north bank of the Kou River, upon learning that the Han army was advancing triumphantly and that one or two of the seven prefectures in Hedong had already been lost, Li Keyong could not help but feel anxious.

Seeing his anxiety, Gai Yu could only say to him, "If Liu Jilong pacifies Hedong, then we will probably be next."

"Then what should we do?" Li Keyong looked at Gai Yu and asked him if he had a way to get out of the predicament.

Gai Yu remained silent for a moment upon hearing this, then frowned and said, "With the money and grain our army has plundered from Yizhou, if we can make up our minds, we could retreat to the southern desert and rely on our relationship with the Tatar tribes to graze our livestock in the northern Yanshan Mountains..."

"Impossible!" Li Keyong was immediately displeased upon hearing this.

In his view, retreating to southern Mongolia would mean that they had lost completely, so not only him, but even Li Guochang was unwilling to withdraw from Daibei.

Gai Yu frowned upon hearing this: "If we withdraw from Daibei, we might still have a chance to make a comeback. But if we continue to linger in Daibei, I'm afraid..."

"I've said it before, I will never go to the southern desert!"

Li Keyong slammed his fist on the table in frustration, interrupting Gai Yusuo's words.

In the following days, military reports kept coming from the east of the river. Of the one prefecture and seven states in the Hedong region, only Daizhou and Xinzhou remained in less than ten days.

Li Guochang seemed to be getting anxious and directly ordered Li Keyong to abandon Yizhou and withdraw to Daibei.

Seeing this, Li Keyong ordered his men to set fire to the counties and prefectures of Yizhou, and ordered Gai Yu to lead his infantry and take more than 100,000 people to Daibei, while he stayed behind to cover the rear.

Wang Jingchong attempted to send troops across the Kou River, but was repeatedly repelled by Zhou Dewei's army, which Li Keyong had left on the north bank of the Kou River.

Seeing this, Wang Jingchong could only wait for the situation to develop northward and reported the situation in Yiwu Town to Luoyang.

At the same time he reported this, An Pohu led his army to break through Chitang Pass, leaving Cui Xuan with no choice but to defend Shiling Pass in the rear.

Upon learning the news, Li Guochang hurriedly dispatched troops to attack Loufan Pass and Yanmen Pass, attempting to seize Daizhou and Xinzhou, and urged Li Keyong to withdraw to Daibei.

"We must breach Yanmen Pass within three days!!"

"The general will obey the order!"

Outside Yanmen Pass, Li Guochang gave a death order to his generals in his tent, while Li Youjin of the Shatuo tribe and Helian Duo of the Tuyuhun tribe bowed to Li Guochang.

After Li Guochang dismissed everyone, Helian Duo led his army out of the camp and commanded his troops to launch a strong attack on Yanmen Pass, while looking at the people around him.

Bai Yicheng, Mi Haiwan, Li Youjin...

These three men were all tribal chiefs who had submitted to the Tang Dynasty and were settled in Daibei. Li Youjin was also a cousin of Li Guochang and an uncle of Li Keyong.

"While you oversee the troops here, I will return to my headquarters to devise a plan to defend against Liu Jilong."

Li Guochang, finding the weather too hot, simply ordered Helian Duo and three others to supervise the army.

The four men dared not be negligent and respectfully agreed.

Li Guochang rode back to the camp, and Helian Duo, seeing him go far away, immediately urged his horse forward and said to the other three:

"Liu Jilong has a strong army. Although Cui Xuan still has two prefectures, once Shiling Pass is breached, Xinzhou and Daizhou will soon be lost."

"Yindi Pass is no worse than Yanmen Pass, but it only held off the Han army for less than a month."

"Even if we capture Yanmen Pass, we'll probably still have a hard time holding onto Daibei."

"What do you want to say?" Li Youjin frowned and asked directly.

Upon hearing this, Helian Duo immediately said cheerfully, "Although you are Li Guochang's brother, Li Guochang only gave you the damaged Yunzhou, while leaving Shuozhou and Weizhou to himself."

“I can help you, a mere prefectural governor, if you are willing.”

"What can you do?" Li Youjin and the others were drawn to his words, but Helian Duo urged his horse forward, placed his hand on his sword, and lowered his voice:
"If Li Guochang and his son Li Keyong were a match for Liu Jilong, how could they have been reduced to only a few hundred cavalrymen?"

"Of the fifteen circuits under heaven, Liu Jilong alone controls eight. Unifying the world is only a matter of time."

"If that's the case, why should we help Li Guochang and his men resist Liu Jilong?"

“If we surrender to Liu Jilong, he will surely regard us as a role model. Even if we cannot obtain the position of governor, we will still receive sufficient rewards and jewels, and we may even be able to go to Chang’an and Luoyang.”

Helian Duo's words were enough to tempt not only Bai Yicheng and Mi Haiwan, but also Li Youjin, who was Li Guochang's cousin.

"You want us to talk about the surrendered general?"

Li Youjin had no intention of taking the lives of Li Guochang and his son. Seeing this, Helian Duo's eyes flickered: "If we succeed, we will enjoy endless wealth and honor, and our people will also get new pastures."

"Alright, leave this to me!" Li Youjin thought it would be better for him to persuade Li Guochang to surrender himself than to let Helian Duo and the others do it.

If I go myself, at least I can save Li Guochang's life, but it's uncertain for others.

Thinking of this, he turned his horse around and headed back to the camp, while Helian Duo and the others simply stopped their attack.

"What's going on? Why did the shouts of battle stop?"

Inside the tent, Li Guochang, who had taken off his armor and was washing himself with water, heard the shouts of battle stop and immediately turned to look at the entrance of the tent.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers at the entrance of the tent bowed and said, "I will go and inquire now."

"no need!"

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves rang out from afar, and then Li Guochang saw Li Youjin dismount and walk straight into the tent.

Seeing this, Li Guochang frowned and scolded, "Why are you here instead of supervising the troops outside?"

Li Guochang's attitude made Li Youjin somewhat uncomfortable, but he still suppressed his temper and said:

"Liu Jilong is coming on strong. Even if we can take Xinzhou and Daizhou, can we really hold them?"

"What do you want to do?" Upon seeing this, Li Guochang dropped the towel, stepped back to the table, and tucked the knife into his waistband.

Seeing his reaction, Li Youjin could only frown and say, "Of the fifteen provinces under heaven, Liu Jilong alone controls eight. Why don't we surrender?"

"If we surrender, at least..."

"You scoundrel, shut up!" Li Guochang glared angrily at Li Youjin, drawing his sword and pointing it at him.
"You know how I have treated you. I even begged the court for your name, Li Youjin. And now you're asking me to surrender to Liu Jilong?"

"Don't you know the feud between me and Liu Jilong?!"

“I know.” Li Youjin said somewhat impatiently, “This is not a decision made by one person, but by all the departments.”

"If I weren't worried that Helian Duo and the others would come to force you and you would suffer misfortune if you didn't comply, do you think I would have come here?"

"You dog-like scoundrel, you belittle me every day, but you don't know that I'm saving you!"

Li Guochang was taken aback by what he heard. He hadn't expected that Helian Duo and the others would betray him as well. For a moment, he wavered, unsure whether to surrender.

Seeing his demeanor, Li Youjin knew he was unlikely to surrender, so he directly cursed, "If you don't want to die, immediately take your troops and flee to Weizhou!"

He stepped aside, and seeing this, Li Guochang carefully moved his feet, then rushed out of the tent and began to mobilize his troops to retreat north.

His retreat quickly attracted the attention of Helian Duo and others.

Upon seeing this, Helian Duo immediately shouted to Bai Yicheng and Mi Haiwan, who were standing to his left and right, "If Li Guochang wants to run away, don't let him get away!"

"Chase!" Without hesitation, the two blew their wooden whistles, directing their troops to pursue Li Guochang.

Upon seeing this, Helian Duo led his troops to the camp, only to find Li Youjin inside the main tent.

"You bastard, you let him go?!"

Enraged, Helian Duo drew his sword, but Li Youjin shouted, "I already had someone blow the whistle; it was you yourselves who failed to stop him."

"If you wish to get entangled with me here, I would be more than happy to oblige."

"I just wonder what my nephew will do when he leads his army back to Weizhou and learns how his father was treated by you!"

Li Youjin did not want to have a conflict with Helian Duo, and Helian Duo calmed down after his impulsive act.

His troops are not many, and if he clashes with Li Youjin, he may not be able to cope with Li Keyong's wrath.

Thinking of this, he could only grit his teeth and sheath his sword, saying viciously, "Dog Rat, if you refuse to surrender when Liu Jilong heads north, I will cut off your head!"

"Get out!" Li Youjin remained unmoved, while Helian Duo angrily turned and left the camp.

Before long, he personally led three thousand Tuyuhun cavalry in pursuit of Li Guochang...

(End of this chapter)