Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 234 Li Erlang, This World Is Yours

The Xuanjia Army consisted of over a thousand soldiers.

All the men were clad in iron armor, and the best of the best cavalry were selected.

Its origin lies in the light cavalry trained by Li Yuan to deal with the Turks.

Afterwards, this army was handed over to Li Erfeng.

Li Erfeng upgraded their armor and weapons, leading them to conquer the north and south and earning them a great reputation.

These Xuanjia Army soldiers were commanded by Qin Qiong, Cheng Zhijie, Yuchi Jingde, Zhai Changsun, and others.

"The Xia army was in disarray, unable to advance or retreat."

"Fighter jets have appeared!"

Hearing Lin Dao's voice coming through the walkie-talkie, Li Erfeng took a deep breath and put on her helmet.

As the sun rose higher, its warm rays shone on the two large lamps on Mingguang Armor's chest, making them shine brightly and dazzlingly.

More than a thousand Xuanjia soldiers followed Li Shimin and charged at the forefront.

The sunlight shone on them, making them look like a metal Great Wall from a distance.

Dou Jiande, sitting on the throne, had a livid face.

He looked around and saw his army hastily donning armor and forming ranks in a chaotic mess.

Many soldiers' armor and weapons were still on the carts.

The drums and bugles sounded incessantly, and the officers at all levels shouted desperately, trying their best to organize the ranks.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't arrive until the afternoon?!"

Dou Jiande was furious. "It's only been a short time since 9 AM, how come the Tang army arrived so quickly?!"

Liu Bin, who was accompanying him, felt a chill run down his spine. "King Xia, now is not the time to talk about these things."

"King Xia, please enter the city immediately!"

"Shut your mouth!" Dou Jiande roared. "If I run away now, the entire army will collapse immediately!"

Dou Jiande had fought for more than a decade, so he certainly had that ability.

The enemy is charging in; should the commander-in-chief flee at this moment?

You really dare to say that!
Xia Jun had not yet collapsed because Dou Jiande was still alive!
If they flee, the entire army will collapse immediately.

Dou Jiande had courage and was determined to fight to the death here.

But as the saying goes, "a large forest has all kinds of birds," and not everyone has that kind of courage.

The first to flee were the civilian laborers who accompanied the army.

These laborers, who had brought their own food and were conscripted to do hard labor, began to run towards the city gate.

Once someone takes the lead, the number of people fleeing expands rapidly, like an avalanche.

Nearby officers hurriedly brandished their knives to slash and block them.

There were too many laborers who could escape; they simply couldn't be killed.

Once someone starts it, a chain reaction gradually forms.

Almost all the laborers, as well as some soldiers, were fleeing towards the city gate, which was several miles away.

Anyone with a sound mind would think this is ridiculous.

The city gate is only so big; for so many people to try and squeeze through, isn't that just asking for trouble?
Only by being there can one truly feel that, under the threat of death and the pressure from those around them, many things are beyond their control, and they are even powerless to consider them, forced to simply follow the crowd.

The place where Xia Jun assembled was only a few miles away from the city gate where they had left the city.

The fast-moving laborers had already rushed to the door.

But what awaited them was the weapons of the defending army.

"Kill them all!"

Liu Heita, who was left to guard the city, shouted and ordered, "Don't block the city gate!"

"Go and bring all of Li Tang's men here!"

Following closely behind the fleeing laborers were the private soldiers and their retainers.

They surrounded their patriarch and turned to flee.

With more time to weigh the pros and cons, many people chose to bypass Mingzhou City.

However, some people were determined to escape back to the city and directly confronted Liu Heita, who was blocking the gate.

Li Erfeng, on the other hand, took the lead and personally led her cavalry into the enemy formation.

The Xuanjia Army led the charge, followed by ordinary cavalry.

The attack was swift and decisive, like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, shattering the hastily arranged battle formation of the Xia army.

Xia Jun was previously on the march.

Not only were the troops scattered, but the soldiers were not wearing armor, and even their long weapons were placed on carts.

The number of men and horses exceeded ten thousand, seemingly boundless and without end.

Despite being caught off guard by the attack, the Xia army was still able to form a rudimentary battle formation, which shows that they were well-trained.

Unfortunately, their preparations were poor, and their opponents were too strong.

Seeing the battle situation collapse, Dou Jiande closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

Liu Bin hurriedly called out, "Your Majesty, return to the city!"

"quick!"

Drones hovered in the sky.

Through the camera lens, Lin Dao, who was driving with one hand, witnessed this scene.

"He who is indecisive and hesitant will find it difficult to accomplish great things."

"If you really want to run, then you have to run ahead of time."

"We decisively abandoned our 20,000 troops as an obstacle to block the pursuers."

"Why didn't you run before? Now that your army is collapsing, do you think you can escape?"

"And they were so stupid as to ride in a conspicuous, slow carriage straight to the city gate, without even thinking of changing horses and going around the city to another gate?"

“Mingzhou City can’t just have one city gate.”

"They really do go back to where they came from!"

When an army is utterly defeated, even renowned generals will do some inexplicable things.

This is not surprising.

A famous general in white robes felt this deeply.

Lin Dao stopped the car and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Dou Jiande has escaped! Watch out for his vehicle!"

Upon hearing this, Li Erfeng immediately set her sights on Dou Jiande's carriage.

He personally led his troops, breaking through numerous routed soldiers blocking their path, and headed straight for the carriage.

Someone suddenly shouted, "The Xia King has run away!"

The Xia army, still resisting the Tang army, turned around and saw that the conspicuous royal carriage had actually run away, and their will to resist collapsed instantly.

Defeated soldiers were everywhere.

Dou Jiande's royal entourage was eventually overtaken by the Xuanjia Army a short distance from the city gate.

The guards were killed and scattered, and Liu Bin and other close officials either died or knelt on the ground begging for mercy.

With a roar, the towering Yuchi Jingde reached out and grabbed Dou Jiande, who was wearing the royal robes, and tucked him under his arm.

"Quickly!" Upon seeing this, Lin Dao hurriedly called to Li Erfeng, "Tell Yuchi Jingde to put him down. He has body odor and will suffocate people!"

"Your uncle and aunt are still being held hostage!"

"To quickly pacify Hebei, we need a living Dou Jiande."

Li Erfeng didn't care much about her uncle and aunt.

But this kind of thing can't be discussed openly.

Thanks to his repeated shouts, Dou Jiande was finally saved before he was suffocated.

'Cough cough cough~~~'

Dou Jiande, who was sitting on the ground coughing repeatedly, looked up and saw Li Erfeng on horseback in front of him.

"treachery."

Li Erfeng scolded, "You promised to release them but then went back on your word. What else do you have to say for yourself!"

Dou Jiande smiled bitterly and said, "The victor is king, the loser is villain; there's nothing more to say."

"Li Erlang, this world is yours."

Dou Jiande, who had started his rebellion against the Sui Dynasty more than a decade earlier, had never encountered such a powerful opponent.

The young Li Erlang marched a thousand miles, precisely seizing the opportunity when his troops were at their weakest. In one battle, he not only won a great victory but was also captured.

Such a powerful figure will surely become the ruler of the world in the future.

Li Erfeng turned her head and glanced at Mingzhou City not far away.

"Order them to surrender."

Dou Jiande sighed and turned to Liu Bin, who was kneeling not far away, instructing him, "Liu Qing, go and tell the people in the city."

Liu Bin got up and jogged to the foot of the city wall, shouting to the guards that King Xia had been captured and that the city should surrender.

Li Erfeng had already shown a smile.

The results this time were truly better than expected.

One strike was enough to pacify the entire north!
'Whoosh! '

An arrow whistled down and pierced Liu Bin's throat.

Liu Bin, who was shouting for surrender, suddenly made a gurgling sound in his throat, stared wide-eyed in disbelief, and collapsed to the ground.

Li Er's smile froze instantly.

Something unexpected has happened!

Before long, several figures bound by ropes were lowered down from the city wall.

"Li Erlang!"

Liu Heita, standing atop the city wall, shouted sternly, "Release my king at once!"

"Otherwise, your uncles and aunts will die!"

Li Erfeng's face instantly turned ashen.

As long as the benefits are great enough, members of the royal family, including parents, brothers, and sisters, can be disposed of.

But this kind of thing can't be brought up in the open.

People who come out in the open will still be criticized behind their backs, even after a thousand years.

Li Erfeng naturally wouldn't let Dou Jiande go.

With Dou Jiande captured, the entire Hebei region was essentially secured.

Let him go?
What a joke!
But if this leads to the tragic deaths of her uncle and aunt, then Li Erfeng will surely be condemned by the world.

This condemnation will be written in history books and passed down year after year.

They say Li Erfeng forced her family to their deaths for power, and so on.
There's no way around it; it's all due to years of Confucian influence.

These have long been established as moral standards.

Just as he was caught in a dilemma, Lin Dao's voice came through his walkie-talkie again.

“Take Dou Jiande with you.”

Li Erfeng's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned her horse around and rode away.

Yuchi Jingde also picked up Dou Jiande and followed.

The Tang cavalry, leading their routed soldiers and prisoners, retreated ten miles away and joined up with the bicycle troops.

"Brother Zihou."

Looking anxious, Li Erfeng jumped off her horse and rushed to the cart beside the forest path, crying out, "Help me!"

"can."

Lin Dao nodded. "However, my time is very precious."

"If I could lend a helping hand..."

Li Erfeng understood immediately and clasped her hands in gratitude, saying, "As long as my uncle and aunt can be rescued, Shimin is willing to reward me with 20,000 catties of raw silk!"

"That's your own aunt and uncle!"

Lin Dao frowned deeply. "Your family is only worth 20,000 catties of raw silk?"

In her twenty years of life, this was the first time Li Erfeng had ever encountered a price gouging incident.

He was clearly confused. "What does Zihou mean...?"

“Add a little more.” Lin Dao raised his head and said, “Twenty thousand catties of raw silk per person.”

Li Erfeng was somewhat shocked, and the beard on his face trembled.

He truly hadn't expected that someone with Lin Dao's extraordinary abilities would be so greedy.

This is different from the legendary immortals.

Are there any gods in this world who are short of money?

In the second year of the Wude era, Li Shiji, who was granted the surname Li, stepped forward and nudged Li Erfeng without making a sound.

Once she came to her senses, Li Erfeng immediately clasped her hands in a salute.

"As long as my uncle and aunt can be saved, 20,000 jin is fine!"

Lin Dao raised one finger.

"It was one person, and 20,000 jin (10,000 kg)."

"Okay." Li Erfeng agreed without hesitation.

For him, money was just an external thing, not worth mentioning at all.

Lin Dao got off the bus and looked up at the sky.

"It's inconvenient during the day, let's talk about it at night."

After saying that, he stepped forward and approached Dou Jiande, who was under strict guard.

Looking at the Xia King, Lin Dao squatted down and asked.

"There's something I've been wondering about and I'd like to ask you."

Dou Jiande was also puzzled. Looking at the strangely dressed person in front of him, he replied in a low voice, "As long as you have any questions, I will answer them."

"tell me."

Lin Dao frowned. "Why should we submit to the Turks?"

Dou Jiande was taken aback, clearly not expecting this question.

His brow relaxed. "Didn't your Li Tang dynasty also submit to the Turks?"

(End of this chapter)