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Chapter 828: Return to Liang (Part )

After a stick of incense, the personal guards came on horseback to report.

It was Liu Hengchang who caught up with them with 10,000 cavalrymen.

General Zuo exhaled slowly, his back was covered with cold sweat, sticky on his clothes. Fortunately, no one could see it, so his dignity as Duke Weiyuan and general was not damaged at all.

General Zuo was not in a hurry to move forward and ordered to set up camp on the spot.

Twenty thousand cavalrymen kept patrolling and giving warnings. The rest of the cavalrymen dismounted and set up simple tents. The kitchen staff was busy cooking. The number of civilians rescued from the Rouran barbarians was far beyond expectations. Fortunately, this army had sufficient food and grass, and the food they brought was saved, at least enough to last until they returned to the border army camp.

After Liu Hengchang dismounted, he immediately went to see General Zuo.

General Zuo was sitting in the military tent, calm and composed, with no sign of his previous nervousness or anxiety.

Liu Hengchang did the same, and he bowed and reported, "General, Shi Luohou has already left with the Rouran Khan. I am leading my men to catch up with the army."

General Zuo nodded and raised his hand to signal, and the rest of the people in the tent immediately retreated.

Only General Zuo and Liu Hengchang were left staring at each other.

They both spoke at almost the same time: "We must be on guard against night attacks by the Rouran barbarians."

General Zuo said in a deep voice: "This Shi Luohou is young and hot-tempered. He has suffered such a great loss this time. I am afraid he will not let it go."

Liu Hengchang took over the conversation in a low voice: "It is clearly stated in the letter of state that Daliang and Rouran will not engage in war within five years. In this war, the Rouran barbarians suffered heavy losses. Shi Luohou only brought 10,000 to 20,000 cavalry today. We have 60,000 cavalry and 10,000 auxiliary troops. In terms of military strength, we are not afraid of them at all."

"I am only worried that the people have just jumped out of the fire pit and are like frightened birds. If the Rouran barbarians attack at night, the people will be scared and flee in all directions. It will not be conducive to the army's march."

General Zuo slammed the table and said, "You and I have the same idea. For the rest of our journey, we must always be on guard against surprise attacks by the Rouran barbarians. In addition, we must find a way to appease these people."

Liu Hengchang solemnly cupped his hands and said: "I am not a talented general, but I am willing to be the rear guard of the army."

This is also the most dangerous job.

General Zuo looked at Liu Hengchang deeply and said: "General Liu should be credited with the greatest achievement in this trip to the grassland."

Liu Hengchang replied, "Let's not talk about merit for now. The 10,000 Nanyang guards I brought with me are all brave and have practiced for many years to deal with the Rouran barbarians. We are not afraid of them at all. Therefore, this mission is most suitable for us."

This is true.

General Zuo was not the type to be coy and quickly agreed: "Okay! I'll leave this mission to you. Ten thousand cavalrymen will be the rear guard, which is barely enough. If you encounter any situation, send someone to request support immediately."

Liu Hengchang bowed and accepted the order.

That night, the torches in the military camp were never extinguished, and the patrolling cavalry did not relax for a moment.

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not occur. There were indeed quite a few Rouran barbarians spying on the military camp from a distance, but they did not actually rush over.

The next day, the army continued to move forward slowly.

A group of Rouran barbarians followed the army from a distance.

On the third and fourth days, the number of Rouran barbarians following them increased to several thousand. Liu Hengchang did not wait and took the initiative to lead 10,000 cavalry to attack. The two sides collided and fought fiercely, and both sides suffered losses. The Rouran barbarians left behind hundreds of corpses and retreated like a tide.

Liu Hengchang gave a cold order: "Clean up the battlefield quickly and take all our people away. Pile the bodies of the Rouran barbarians in one place."

In the grasslands, there was always a bad habit of building a fortress to intimidate the enemy. But when it came to Liu Hengchang, they didn't even chop off heads, but directly piled up a fortress of corpses.

This tough battle directly crushed the fighting spirit of the Rouran barbarians.

The defeated soldiers fled back in panic. The leading Rouran general knelt before Marquis Shi Luo and cried, "The Daliang cavalry is really powerful. They dared to confront us head-on. They are strong and brave. We are no match for them at all."

Shi Luohou was so angry that his face turned blue. He cursed angrily and then personally beat his confidant with a whip.

Fu Mingdun also completely lost his ambitions and said weakly: "Shi Luohou, I told you a long time ago. Daliang is different now than before. In the past, Daliang was a rabbit and we, the Rouran warriors, were eagles. Now, Daliang has become a cunning and cruel wolf. We have already lost many eagles. If we continue to fight, we will not be able to keep our nest in the future. Don't forget, there are not only us eagles on the grassland, but also the Tatars and Gaoche tribes."

That's right, the Rouran tribe suffered a great defeat and their strength was greatly reduced. They can no longer withstand another great defeat. If they lose too many people, other grassland tribes will take their place and seize their position as the overlord.

The Han people have a saying: As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.

Shi Luohou threw away the bloody whip and said bitterly: "I will listen to my father Khan and lead the troops back now. After a few years, when new Rouran warriors have grown up, we will seek revenge on Daliang."

……

After walking for more than half a month, the people of Daliang followed the Daliang army and finally walked out of the grassland.

When the tall border came into view, suddenly some people burst into tears. The excited crying was very contagious, and soon, the crying became continuous.

No matter how hard-hearted General Zuo was, he couldn't bear to scold the crying people. He ordered the army to rest on the spot and sent people to block the pass.

In less than half an hour, the city gate was opened.

A bearded general led his personal soldiers on horseback to greet them.

It was General Fan, the commander of the border army.

It has been more than two months since the imperial army left the border and entered the grassland. During this period of time, General Fan had been sending people to keep a close eye on the movements in the grassland. He led his troops to the border three days ago and waited, and finally waited for the army to return. He also waited for hundreds of thousands of pale, thin, and ragged civilians.

General Zuo had no time for idle chatter and said, "The army needs to rest and reorganize, and so many civilians also need to be resettled."

"Please ask the border army camp to take out food first so that the people can have enough food for a few days."

During the march, they had to guard against the Rouran barbarians' surprise attacks and ensure the speed of the march, so they had no time to care about the hunger of the people. In fact, in the last few days, the military rations were greatly insufficient, and the cavalry could only eat half full. This ensured that most of the people had food.

General Fan agreed immediately without saying a word.

Hundreds of thousands of people entered the city gate one after another. Only when the last citizen entered the city did General Zuo order the army to enter the border.

The moment the tall and sturdy city gate was closed, General Zuo breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Hengchang's heart, which had been hanging in the air, slowly settled down.

In the past few months, there have been no major wars, but small wars have continued. In addition, I have been so nervous that I have not had a good rest. Tonight, I can finally sleep peacefully.