The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 248 Capturing the Two Bears
On the cliff, two pairs of specially made triangular wooden frames are stretched out in the air like mechanical arms and fixed to the rocks with iron nails. There is an iron ring at one end of the wooden frame, and a wooden pulley is hung in the iron ring. The rope passes through the pulley and along the The rock walls drop down into the valley.

Chai Rong and Zhang Yongde led a team of sergeants to wait here.

Several sergeants each pulled up the rope and began to pull hard. The wooden pulley "creeped" and turned. Soon, a huge bamboo basket rose from the bottom of the cliff. Zhu Xiu stood in the bamboo basket, shaking the feather fan with one hand and holding on to the rope with the other. , with safety ropes tied from his legs to his crotch and then to his waist.

When the bamboo basket was raised high, Zhu Xiu stood in the bamboo basket, hanging outside the cliff, and smiled calmly at Chai Rong and Zhang Yongde.

Another sergeant rolled out the huge sampan that had been prepared and placed it at Zhu Xiu's feet. Zhu Xiu jumped out of the bamboo basket and landed on the sampan, and walked calmly to the top of the cliff.

Soon, the gray donkey was hoisted high under another tripod.

The donkey, with ropes tied around its four hooves, seemed very excited about the high-altitude lift, and screamed loudly, "Humph~Humph~".

Several sergeants hooked the rope with a long hook and pulled it closer to the cliff, so that the donkey's hooves could land firmly on the sampan.

The gray donkey hoofed gracefully to Zhu Xiu's side, and the donkey's head rubbed against him affectionately, as if it still wanted to play the high-altitude lift just now.

Zhu Xiu asked the sergeant to untie the rope from the donkey, patted the donkey's head and said with a smile: "You stupid donkey should lose weight. If the rope had been broken just now, it would have turned into donkey meat if it fell."

The gray donkey gently nibbled on Zhu Xiu's robe, its big moist eyes showing a flattering look.

"Okay, I know you have merit, I will give you some beans to eat today, go ahead~" Zhu Xiu waved his hand in disgust and asked the sergeant to lead the donkey down.

Chai Rong smiled and said: "You donkey is quite understanding of human nature."

Zhang Yongde said coldly and calmly: "Those who are close to ink are black, and donkeys are also quite rogue. They only eat fine feed and don't even look at ordinary fodder."

Zhu Xiu curled her lips and cast a resentful look at Zhang Yongde, but Zhang Yongde ignored it naturally.

The soldiers dismantled the tripod. Chai Rong stood on the edge of the cliff, looked into the valley, and said with a smile: "Look, the party members have indeed entered the valley."

Zhu Xiu sneered and said: "Dangxiang people don't believe in evil. I tried to be mysterious, but they thought I was bluffing. Once they enter the valley, they will be unable to escape."

Zhang Yongde seemed to be feeling a little emotional: "This valley does not have the conditions for an ambush. Moreover, most of the party's troops are cavalry. Once they find that the momentum is wrong, it is extremely easy to evacuate. According to past experience, they can pass through the valley bottom unharmed." .

It's a pity that they didn't expect that the so-called ambush would actually be a large number of thunderbolts."

Chai Rong deeply agreed and said sternly: "This battle is worth learning from. It must be recorded in a book after the war. From now on, Zhentian Lei will be used in large numbers on the battlefield, and the battle tactics will also change accordingly!"

Zhu Xiu cast an admiring glance at him. This spirit of advancing with the times and not sticking to inherent tactics and traditional experience is extremely valuable for a commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

"Boom~bang bang bang~"

Just as he was talking, a series of explosions came from the bottom of the valley, huge smoke rose, the mountains shook and the ground shook, and countless gravels collapsed.

Zhu Xiu shook his feather fan and said distressedly: "Most of those war horses are from Yuanzhou Racecourse. They are also their own things. I hope they won't be damaged too much."

~~~
In the valley, when Li Guangyan saw the long-bearded general ordered someone to light the fuse at the exit ahead, he instinctively sensed the danger.

Li Guangrui was extremely jealous when he saw Pan Mei, and his face was full of sternness. This distance was just enough for the cavalry to charge, and they could kill the enemy in the blink of an eye.

Li Guangrui turned his head to ask Li Guangyan to order the attack, but found that his face became serious.

"Fifth brother, you." Before he finished speaking, the fuse buried on both sides of the narrow valley bottom burned rapidly, making a "hissing" sound like a snake spitting out a letter.

Then there was a deafening explosion!
More than 1000 war horses neighed in panic, and the party cavalry on horseback was overturned and fell to the ground.

The ground was shaking, and sand and rocks fell from the steep rock walls on both sides. The smoke and dust blurred the eyes, and the sounds of explosions, horses neighing, and panicked roars of party soldiers were intertwined in the valley.

The thunderbolts buried on both sides of the valley bottom were detonated one after another. The exploded rubble, tiles and iron beads flew everywhere, and screams could be heard endlessly.

Pan Mei led his troops back to the outside of the valley, holding crossbows and arrows in his hands, and was waiting in battle. Whenever any party soldiers escaped in a hurry, they would be shot and killed without mercy.

"You have to aim damn well before shooting. Shoot people but not horses. Those are all trophies. If one is injured, the young ambassador will feel distressed for a long time. Then he will yell at our old Pan again~"

Pan Mei was carrying a plain knife, and looked at the valley filled with smoke, dust and sand with a sneer. A large number of party members rushed out of the valley in panic, facing a rain of arrows, and fell down in groups screaming.

"Fifth brother, save me!" Li Guangrui was also overturned and fell off his horse in the instant of the earth-shattering explosion. The choking smoke and dust rising into the sky seriously obstructed his vision, and he couldn't see clearly what happened in the valley.

The sound of drums and shouts of killing could be heard from both sides of the cliff. The panicked party soldiers even thought that an enemy was falling from the sky, so they drew their swords and slashed randomly, but they ended up injuring their companions.

In the chaos, a large number of party soldiers were trampled by war horses, pushed down and trampled by their own people, and even killed each other like crazy without distinguishing between ourselves and the enemy.

"Don't panic! Listen to my order and charge toward the south exit!" Li Guangyan roared with all his strength, his face covered in black ash, and his forehead was cut open by the broken tiles. Blood flowed down and flowed into his eyes. He stretched out his hand. Wiped it off, his face was covered in blood and his expression was terrifying.

"Fifth brother, run! The God of Thunder is angry!" Li Guangrui's face was pale and he didn't even bother to retrieve the iron gun that was lost in the chaos.

Li Guangyan pushed him away angrily and couldn't help but yell: "Idiot! This is the Han people's new firearm, the Black Fire Thunder! Don't talk nonsense and shake the morale of the army!"

Li Guangrui's ears were ringing and he couldn't hear the voices at all. He just followed the swarming fleeing party soldiers to the south exit in panic.

Li Guangyan dragged him back and ordered several soldiers who followed him closely to protect him.

The party soldiers were divided into two groups, one group fled to the south exit, and the other group fled to the north exit when going back and forth.

Li Guangrui fled north under the protection of his own soldiers, while Li Guangyan organized party soldiers to rush south.

The roar of explosions in the valley could be heard for miles. The Dangxiang infantry on standby outside the valley were shocked when they heard the noise. Under the leadership of deputy general Jie Bili, they hurried to the valley for reinforcements.

Just as Jie Bili led the infantry into the valley to respond, Zhao Kuangyin led a cavalry army and arrived in time, blocking the north entrance and fighting with the party members who were desperately charging.

On the cliff, the soldiers lit bundles of half-dampened branches and threw them into the valley. In an instant, thick black smoke rose from the valley.

Branches sprinkled with kerosene and dusted with flint powder can produce a large amount of pungent and choking smoke. Even half-damp branches will not burn out quickly, and the entire valley is engulfed in billowing black smoke.

Zhu Xiu covered his mouth and nose and hid upwind. These black smokes were harmful gases. Inhaling them into the lungs would cause damage to the body. He did not dare to joke with his own life.

Chai Rong and Zhang Yongde refused to listen to the dissuasion and stood on the edge of the cliff to look into the valley. They were choked and coughed repeatedly, but their interest did not diminish.

At the south entrance of the valley, Li Guangyan led the remaining party soldiers to fight hard, but he was forced to break through the arrow array arranged by Pan Mei.

Pan Mei went up to fight with Li Guangyan for several rounds with a knife in her hand, and the more she fought, the more frightened she became.

"Damn it! I can't beat him! Retreat, retreat~" Pan Mei forced Li Guangyan back, got on his horse, shouted and decisively led his troops to evacuate, seemingly giving up on blocking the south entrance.Li Guangyan was panting, but he did not pursue. He looked at the corpses of party soldiers lying on the ground on all sides, gritted his teeth, gathered the remaining troops and took the path at the foot of the mountain, retreating towards the Hulu River.

This place is not far from the Hulu River. As long as you escape to the river, your hope of survival will greatly increase.

Hundreds of party soldiers suffered from the smoke and fire in the valley and were extremely thirsty for water. Li Guangyan led them to rush down the grass slope and ran to the river.

The party soldiers cheered and howled as if they were dying.

Li Guangyan also breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the river.

Suddenly, he noticed that the terrain at the foot of the hillside was a bit strange. There was a large area, as if it had been hollowed out and then paved with withered grass and dry branches.
Li Guangyan was shocked and shouted anxiously: "Come back!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the party soldier who could only see the river water rushed too fast. When he rushed down the hillside, he suddenly missed his footing and fell into the ditch screaming.

A hidden trench under the hillside swallowed up nearly half of the party soldiers.

A group of troops rushed out of the woods by the river, Pan Mei went and returned, and stood guard at the foot of the hillside. Pu Dao pointed at Li Guangyan obliquely, and laughed loudly: "Young Dang Xiang, surrender as soon as possible!"

Li Guangyan's eyes turned cold, and he clenched the pole tightly with both hands, already intending to die in his heart.

At the south entrance, Zhao Kuangyin led his army from the north and wiped out the stubborn party soldiers, and also captured Li Guangrui who tried to escape in the chaos.

"Li Guangyan, look who this is!" On the slope, Zhao Kuangyin put his Yanling knife on Li Guangrui's neck, sitting high on horseback, looking down at him from a high position.

"Fifth brother, save me! I don't want to die! ~ Wu Wu Wu ~" Li Guangrui cried bitterly, bent his knees and fell to the ground, crying to Li Guangyan on the slope.

Li Guangyan gritted his teeth and wanted to scold Li Guangrui for being a coward. All he had to do was fight to the death. What was the use of crying?

Unfortunately, he knew that even if he died in battle, Li Guangrui could not die, otherwise Li Yiyin would not let his tribe go.

Father, three elder brothers, and their relatives will all be buried for Li Guangrui.

Zhu Xiu, Chai Rong, and Zhang Yongde walked down the path behind the mountain and came to the slope. Zhu Xiu shook his feather fan and said with a smile: "Li Guangyan, if you are willing to surrender, both of you can survive. I promise not to hurt a finger of either of you." Head! Otherwise, I will chop off Li Guangrui’s head first and then capture you alive!”

Zhao Kuangyin moved his wrist, and the sharp blade cut a bloody hole on Li Guangrui's neck. The stinging sensation almost made him wet his pants.

"Fifth Brother! Surrender! I don't want to die! Wuwu~ Fifth Brother, please save me~" Li Guangrui cried loudly, his majestic body curled up together like a fat worm.

Li Guangyan glared at Zhu Xiu with his eyes spitting fire, and gritted his teeth: "You mean what you say?"

Zhu Xiu raised three fingers and said seriously: "I swear to God!"

Li Guangyan pointed to the party soldiers trapped in the trench and said: "There are still them."

Zhu Xiu said slowly and calmly: "The Changyi Army has always treated prisoners well, and it is unlucky to kill prisoners. I will only let them build roads, build bridges, dig ditches and open up wasteland, and I will not harm their lives."

Li Guangyan took a deep breath, threw away the horsetail in his hand, stood upright, and stared at Zhu Xiu with a knife-like gaze.

Pan Mei and her men rushed forward, knocked him to the ground, and tied him up tightly.

All seven to eight hundred party soldiers became prisoners.

Li Guangyan was escorted to the front, and Zhu Xiu looked him up and down. This guy was only three or four years older than him, but he was more than half taller. He was even taller than the black bear-like Li Chongjin. Among the warriors he had seen, he was the only Second to the great Han Dynasty Shi Xiangwen.

If I chop this guy down now, wouldn't it mean that I'm severing the ancestral lineage of the future Emperor of Xixia?
An idea popped into Zhu Xiu's mind and she stared at Li Guangyan with twinkling eyes.

Li Guangyan showed no fear and glared at him fiercely.

Soon Zhu Xiu secretly smiled. Even without Li Guangyan, if the party's popularity does not decrease in the future, there will still be other heroes who will lead the party to establish the country.

Saving Li Guangyan's life is far more useful than killing him.

Even Li Guangrui and Zhu Xiu never thought of killing him from the bottom of their hearts, otherwise Li Yiyin would go crazy and the situation would be difficult to deal with.

To prepare for the great changes that may occur in the world next year, we should not overstimulate the troubleshooting forces now.

"Li Guangyan, you have set up a camp ten miles north of the city on the bank of the Hulu River. I wonder how many soldiers and horses are stationed there? And who is leading the army?" Zhu Xiu asked with a smile.

Li Guangyan glanced at him coldly, turned his head and ignored him.

Zhu Xiu smiled and said seductively: "Your two brothers have been captured. Why don't you write a letter asking the other soldiers and horses under your command to surrender as soon as possible. Otherwise, if you break the camp, you will be left alone."

Li Guangyan said contemptuously: "You captured the two of us. When the soldiers and horses in the camp get the news, they will naturally withdraw. But if you dare to stop or even challenge us, you are seeking death and overestimating your own capabilities!"

Pan Mei stared furiously and tried to draw her sword. Zhu Xiu stopped him and said with a smile: "According to my estimation, you will only bring four to five thousand troops on your trip south, and there will be at most one to two thousand people in the camp. There are hundreds of war horses, and I can dispatch a partial division to wipe them out, so why are you still uttering wild words?"

Li Guangyan looked at him sideways and sneered: "If you don't believe it, you can try it! The people in charge of the camp are ten times more resourceful and brave than me!"

Zhu Xiu was very surprised, and for a moment he was not sure whether Li Guangyan was putting on airs or relying on something.

"Who can be so praised by you?" Zhu Xiu asked curiously.

Li Guangyan snorted coldly, closed his eyes and didn't bother to pay attention to him.

Li Guangrui, who was kneeling aside and with his hands tied, said flatteringly: "The person who stayed at the camp is not from the Li clan of our party. His name is Yang Chonggui. He is the son of Yang Xin, the governor of Linzhou. Yang Chonggui is a friend of my brother. If Mr. Xiao needs it, I can write a letter to summon him to surrender."

Zhu Xiu found it funny. This guy poured the beans through a bamboo tube and vomited them all.

But why does the name Yang Chonggui sound familiar?
Li Guangyan said angrily: "Shut up! Brother Yang is a close friend of you and me. We are helping each other this time. You are defeated and captured. How can you put Brother Yang in danger?"

Li Guangrui muttered: "My life is almost gone, how can I manage so many things?"

Li Guangyan was so angry that he was trembling all over. He was about to curse, but he saw Zhu Xiu's eyes widening and he said in shock with a tone that was almost broken: "Yang Chonggui!? Yang Xin's son? A native of Linzhou? He is the one who stayed at the camp by the river. ?!”

Li Guangrui shrank his neck: "Not bad."

Zhu Xiu took a breath and slapped her forehead: "I'll be a good boy."

(End of this chapter)