The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 504 Massacre
The dispute in the golden tent was finally suppressed by Kebi Neng. He drew the scimitar from his waist, and the cold light reflected his stern face: "Enough! If you keep arguing, the Tang army's cavalry will step into our tent!"

He slashed his hand with the blade, and blood dripped into the wine bowl: "Today I swear with my blood that I am willing to form an alliance with all tribes and fight against the Tang Dynasty! If you break this oath, the gods will kill you together!"

Murong Ke was the first to stand up, cutting his palm until blood dripped out: "The Murong tribe is willing to follow!"

Tuoba Jian smiled grimly, but also cut his palm to swear an oath. Elder Duan hesitated for a moment, and finally sighed and cut his palm.

Following Kebi Neng's order, various tribes on the grassland swore an oath of alliance.

"Today we swear an oath. After you return, you will reorganize your troops, gather your tents, and march south together to harass the borders of the Tang Dynasty and seize money and food. Remember, you cannot massacre the city. We will slowly reap the Central Plains."

There was a cold light flashing in Ke Bineng's eyes.

Everyone responded loudly, except Tuoba Jian, who showed disdain on his face.

The cold wind whistled outside the golden tent, carrying the smell of blood. Kebineng looked at the backs of the leaders of the tribes leaving, and the stinging pain in the wound on his palm reminded him of the blood oath he had just made. He lowered his head and stared at the blood clots that were gradually solidifying in the wine bowl, as if he saw the tangled fate of the various tribes on the grassland.

the next day.
"Great Khan." The captain of the personal guard, Timur, lifted the curtain and reported loudly: "The scouts reported that Tuoba Jian did not return to the headquarters as agreed, but led 3,000 elite cavalry to the southeast."

Ke Bineng frowned, put the wine bowl heavily on the table, and snorted coldly: "Southeast? That's the direction of the Tang Dynasty border. Immediately send someone to catch up with Tuoba Jian and ask him what he is doing!" He stood up suddenly, and the collision of armor made a crisp sound.

But it's too late.

Five days later, when the first rays of morning light penetrated the clouds, the walls of Wangtao City had already collapsed. The wolf flag of the Tuoba tribe was planted on the broken tower, and the flag was filled with headless corpses. The cries in the city continued until noon before gradually subsiding, not because the massacre was over, but because there were not many people who could make a sound.

"Khan, the East City has been cleared." The deputy general put his bloody hands on his chest and said loudly: "According to your order, all men who are taller than the wheels will be executed."

Tuoba Jian stood in the square in the center of the city, stepping on the head of Magistrate Wang Tao. This civil servant, who was over fifty years old, stared until his death, as if he couldn't believe that the grassland cavalry would suddenly appear in this small border town.

Tuoba Jian poked the head with the tip of his boot, his mouth twisted into a cruel arc. He said coldly: "Pass the order to empty all the wheat in the granary, and burn what can't be taken away. Take the women and children back to the tribe, and as for the rest..."

He drew out his scimitar, the blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight: "Leave no one alive. Then, we will march to Juyang."

The fate of Juyang City was even more tragic. When the Tuoba cavalry broke through the city gate, the defenders in the city had just received the news of Wang Tao's fall and had no time to organize a defense.

The massacre extended from the city gate to every street and alley, and the blood flowed into the moat in streams, dyeing the water dark red. Tuoba Jian specifically ordered the soldiers to hang hundreds of corpses outside the city wall and let the crows peck at them.

"Let the Emperor of the Tang see that this is the attitude of our grassland. Let him honestly offer his princess to us for marriage." Tuoba Jian said to the trembling captives.

When the news reached Kebineng, he was discussing the allocation of autumn pastures with Murongke. The messenger stumbled into the tent, his face still covered with traces of smoke.

"Great Khan! Tuoba Jian has captured Wangtao and Juyang!"

The bone cup in Kebineng's hand shattered. Murongke stood up suddenly, knocking over the table and causing the sheepskin map to roll to the ground.

"When did it happen?" Kebineng's voice was terribly low. "Three days ago. The Tuoba tribe was massacring the two cities." The messenger swallowed and whispered, "They didn't even spare the babies in their swaddling clothes."

There was a deathly silence in the tent. Ke Bineng slowly stood up, walked to the hanging sheepskin map, and pressed his fingers heavily on two cities marked as the territory of the Tang Dynasty. His knuckles turned white from the force.

"Gather the leaders of all tribes." He gave the order with his back to the crowd, his voice suppressing the wrath of thunder, "Immediately."

Murong Ke waved his hand to signal the attendants to leave, and when they were the only two left in the tent, he spoke: "Tuoba Jian is trying to provoke a full-scale war. The Tang Dynasty will not sit idly by and watch the two border towns being massacred."

"He broke his blood oath." Ke Bineng turned around, his eyes burning with cold anger, "What we agreed to was to harass the border and plunder food and grass, not to capture cities, let alone massacre civilians! Our current strength is not enough to compete with the Tang Dynasty."

"The Tuoba tribe is connected to the Tang Dynasty. He is worried that our actions will provoke retaliation from the Tang Dynasty, so he wants to bring us down together and start an all-out war." Murong Ke sighed.

Ke Bineng punched the pillar and said, "Personal hatred cannot destroy the entire grassland! Once the Tang Dynasty mobilizes the border troops for revenge, who among the tribes can remain unscathed?"

"It's probably too late to say this now. We can only march south in large numbers." Murong Ke said with a wry smile.

A single move can affect the entire body, and this is exactly what is happening right now.

Half a month later, outside Yanmen Pass.

The cold wind blew snow particles onto the face of the garrison soldier Zhao Laosan. He squinted his eyes and looked toward the northern horizon. Suddenly, his whole body stiffened. Countless black spots appeared vaguely in the snow mist rising in the distance.

"Enemy attack! The Xianbei are coming!"

The shrill sound of the horn resounded throughout the city. When the defender Zhang Yi quickly climbed up the tower, the snow outside the city had turned into a black tide. Tens of thousands of Xianbei cavalrymen came like a swarm of locusts, and the golden wolf banner led by Kebineng fluttered in the wind.

"Archers, take your positions!" Zhang Yi ordered solemnly, but saw his personal soldiers stumbling over: "General! There is smoke coming from the beacon tower in the east. Murong's army is attacking Pingcheng!"

The veins on Zhang Yi's hand bulged as he held the knife. The Bingzhou defense line stretched for thousands of miles, and at this moment, the enemy troops outside the pass numbered at least 100,000. He suddenly pulled off his cloak and said, "Light the beacon fire and rush 800 miles to Jinyang for help!"

The enemy's troops were approaching Yanmen, so Wangtao, Juyang and other places north of Yanmen must have been lost. Even no news had been received, which showed how sharp the enemy's offensive was.

At the same time, Taiyuan Military Governor's Office.

General Hao Shao of Pingbei slammed the urgent report on the table, and the five-colored flags on the map shook violently. The deputy general whispered: "Ke Bineng personally led the main force to attack Yanmen, the Murong tribe attacked Pingcheng, and the Tuoba tribe took a detour to plunder Shuofang. This is a large-scale invasion. We must go to war with the Tang Dynasty!"

"The whole clan? They are risking the lives of their entire clan." Hao Shao sneered, his armor rattling as he stood up. He grabbed the command arrow and sneered, "Order the defenders of Yunzhong and Dingxiang to shrink their defenses, and ask the people from all over the country to enter the city. Let's lure them in first."

Before the guards left the tent, another scout dismounted and said, "Report! The cavalry of the Duan army broke through the Shaohu Pass and are besieging Mayi!"

Hao Shao's pupils suddenly shrank. Once the Tiger's Mouth was broken, the Xianbei people could march straight into the heart of Bingzhou.

(End of this chapter)