The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 525 Wei Yan Sends Out Troops
On the tower of Yanmen Pass, Wei Yan held the battlement with his hands, looking out at the boundless grasslands to the north. The late spring wind, carrying the scent of green grass, blew in his face, but it could not blow away the solemnity between his brows. The setting sun stretched his shadow long, overlapping with the mottled arrow marks on the city wall.

"General, His Majesty's secret order."

The guards presented a copper tube with a wax seal with a dragon pattern printed on it. Wei Yan's eyes shone and he quickly opened it. The few words on the parchment made his pupils shrink.

"Kebi Neng has sent all his troops south. I will lure the enemy deep into our territory. You can wait for an opportunity to attack them when they are weak."

"What a great strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao!" Wei Yan laughed loudly, his laughter echoing on the empty city wall. When he turned around, his battle robe fluttered like an eagle spreading its wings, and he shouted: "Order all the generals to hold a meeting in the central army camp!"

Half an hour later, the butter torches in the central army tent crackled. Wei Yan circulated the secret letter to the generals, poked his finger heavily on a certain place on the sheepskin map, and said: "The Duan army camp is only 300 miles away from here. The strong and strong will follow Ke Bineng to the east, and those who stay behind are only the old, weak, women and children."

Deputy General Hao Zhao frowned and said: "Our army only has 20,000 soldiers. If we rashly leave the border,

"Quality is more important than quantity." Wei Yan interrupted with a sneer, and the ring-handled sword on his waist suddenly came out three inches, and the cold light made everyone squint their eyes. He sneered, "The Duan tribe has plundered the border for many years, and has a lot of blood debts. Today we will give them a taste of their own medicine! Not only the Duan tribe, but also the Murong tribe, and even Kebi Neng are all the targets of our attack."

Suddenly, war horses neighed outside the tent, as if sensing the coming slaughter. Wei Yan suddenly closed the map, glanced at everyone with his fierce eyes and said, "Tonight at midnight, light cavalry will leave the pass! Bo Dao, you will still stay at Yanmen."

The generals responded loudly.

When the last ray of twilight sank into the horizon, the side gate of Yanmen Pass quietly opened. Wei Yan personally led 5,000 elite cavalrymen, with their horses' hooves wrapped in cloth and their mouths full of bullets, and galloped. The night sky of the grassland was full of stars, but it could not illuminate this ghostly army. Scouts kept going back and forth, reporting the location of the campfires in the Duan army camp one by one.

"General, the Duan army camp is three miles ahead." The scout said in a low, trembling voice, "They are holding a sacrifice, and seem to be celebrating something."

Wei Yan's mouth curled up cruelly. He raised his hand to signal the whole army to stop. The white mist spewed by the horses condensed into frost in the cold night. He couldn't help but sneer: "We walked three hundred miles for two days and one night, and the enemy didn't react at all. They really deserve to be destroyed. Zhao Yan led two thousand people around to the north, and rushed in when they saw the fire. The rest of you follow me to attack the central army - leave no one alive."

He untied the wine bag at his waist and took a sip. The spicy liquid slid down his throat. The other generals also took a sip of the strong liquor.

When the moon was swallowed by the dark clouds, Wei Yan swung his arm violently. Rockets flew into the sky like a swarm of locusts, instantly setting dozens of tents on fire. The Duan army camp was immediately in chaos, and panicked screams tore through the night sky.

"kill!"

Wei Yan was the first to charge into the sea of ​​fire, his sword slashing a sharp arc of light. A Xianbei warrior who had just rushed out of the tent had not yet seen the enemy clearly, and his head flew into the air. Blood splattered on Wei Yan's visor, dripping along the hideous animal pattern.

Duan Rilujuan, the general of the Duan army, was feasting in the big tent. When he heard the change, he jumped up and saw a scene of chaos outside the tent. He staggered and grabbed the scimitar, but was knocked down by the guards who rushed in.

"My Lord, hurry up! The Tang army is coming, kill anyone they see!"

"Asshole!"

Duan Rilujuan's eyes were red with anger. He kicked over the wine table and rushed out of the tent. What he saw was a hellish scene. The burning tents dyed the night sky bloody, and the Tang army's cavalry galloped through the camp. A child ran past him crying, and the next second he was nailed to the ground by a spear.

“Gather the warriors!”

Duan Rilujuan screamed at the top of his lungs, only to see his personal soldiers being besieged by three Tang soldiers. One of the Tang army lieutenants cut off the personal soldier's arm with a grin, and then cut open his abdomen with a knife. The moment his intestines flowed out, Duan Rilujuan finally collapsed. Suddenly, there was a dense sound of horse hooves from the north. Zhao Yan's ambush arrived as promised, completely cutting off the retreat of Duan's people. Wei Yan caught a glimpse of Duan Rilujuan's golden wolf crown in the chaos, and immediately rode his horse to chase him. Along the way, Xianbei people kept rushing to stop him, and his blade had been cut to a curled edge, so he simply grabbed a spear.

“Protect the General!”

More than ten Xianbei warriors formed a human wall. Wei Yan laughed wildly, and his horse stood up, crushing the sternums of the two men in front with his iron hoof. He swung his sword and killed three people in succession. The remaining warriors were about to retreat, but were shot like hedgehogs by the Tang army archers.

Duan Rilujuan took the opportunity to jump on an ownerless warhorse and led dozens of his followers to break out to the north. Wei Yan was about to chase him when he suddenly saw an old Xianbei man crawling out of the fire scene holding a baby. The old man knelt on the ground and kowtowed, and the baby cried as weakly as a kitten.

"General, this..." The soldier looked at Wei Yan hesitantly.

Wei Yan raised his crossbow expressionlessly. The moment the arrow pierced the baby's swaddling clothes, the old man let out a howl that was not human, and rushed forward to fight, but was hacked to death by his personal soldiers.

"I said, leave no one alive."

Wei Yan's voice was colder than the cold wind in the north. He looked around and saw the Tang army cleaning up the tents one by one, screaming one after another. A Tang soldier dragged a disheveled girl out of the tent, and his companions laughed.

"Pass the order, it must be finished before dawn." Wei Yan wiped the blood off his face and shouted angrily, "Drive away all the cattle and sheep that can be taken away, and kill those that cannot be taken away on the spot. Burn all the tents."

At dawn, the Duan army camp had turned into scorched earth. Wei Yan stopped his horse at Gaopo and watched the last group of Tang soldiers leave with prisoners. The prisoners had their hands tied behind their backs and were tied together with long ropes, and were driven like livestock. At the end of the team, several seriously injured Xianbei people were killed and their bodies were thrown on the roadside to feed the wolves.

"General, according to statistics, we have beheaded more than 7,000 people." When Zhao Yan came to report, there was meat on the soles of his boots. He said regretfully, "It's a pity that Duan Rilujuan escaped."

Wei Yan looked at the dust rising from the north and sneered, "It's just right to let him go and tell Ke Bineng through his mouth that this is the fate of offending the Tang Dynasty!"

He suddenly grabbed a tattered Duan tribe wolf flag, drew a hideous Tang character on it with blood, and stuck it into the highest point of the scorched earth.

Three days later, when the defeated Duan Rilujuan found Kebi Neng's main force, the Xianbei Chanyu was arguing with the leader of the Murong tribe in the camp. Upon hearing that the Duan tribe had been destroyed, the tent fell silent.

"Tang dog!" The leader of the Duan tribe smashed the wine bowl, pulled out a dagger and was about to cut his face to swear an oath, but was hurriedly stopped by Xu You.

"Wait a minute, Chief! Wei Yan's plan is clearly to force our army to return for help. If we return now, it will be exactly what Qin Shou wants! If we rush back, Qin Shou will take the opportunity to chase us, and we will be powerless to resist."

Xu You’s eyes rolled rapidly.

Ke Bi Neng held the golden cup tightly, the wine oozing out from his fingers like blood, and said coldly: "What do you think, Mr. Xu?"

Xu You leaned in and whispered, "Why not let the warriors of the Murong tribe block the enemy. Chanyu and the Duan tribe should march back to support us, first destroy Wei Yan, and then..."

(End of this chapter)