Thief Emperor

Chapter 583 Building momentum
Wars in this era are basically measured in years, and it is normal for them to last for several years. They can never be ended in a day or two, nor can the outcome be determined by one or two battles.

In fact, the three months that Li Yun has to stay in the north is usually enough to truly determine the outcome of a war.

The Pinglu Army suffered only a minor loss in this battle, which had no impact on the overall battle situation.

Moreover, the Pinglu Army's battle this time was not without benefits.

At least, at the level of public opinion, this battle is of great benefit.

More than 700 Han people were tied up and beheaded in front of Jizhou City. If the army in the city remained unmoved and could not hold on, and the news got out, not to mention whether they would be blamed, Li Yun's achievement of defeating the Khitan army a few days ago would certainly be overshadowed by this vicious incident.

Now, although the Pinglu Army sent out troops and only rescued about 30% of the more than 700 people, they did rescue them after all.

From now on, even if the Khitans wanted to use the same trick again and recruit hundreds of Han people, it would not be as easy as before.

Xiao Heng was standing nearby. He looked at Zhou Chang, then at Li Yun, and said, "My Lord, Brother Zhou Shi, the battle in Jizhou City can be said to have been won."

He lowered his voice and said, "In Youzhou, my father will take action soon. The Khitans will probably withdraw their troops by the turn of summer and autumn at the latest."

"The Khitans will not repeat their old tricks. As long as we hold on to Jizhou, the crisis in Fanyang can be resolved immediately."

Li Yun looked at Xiao Heng and said with a smile: "I feel relieved with what the young general said."

Indeed, having fought up here, he had basically gained both the inside and the outside. In the next three months, as long as he could defend Jizhou, his trip to the north could be said to be a complete success.

But Li Yun's personality is naturally not one that can stay calm.

In the future, he will definitely send out as many scout camps as possible. If there is no chance, he will just stay in Jizhou honestly. If there is a chance, he will still go out and confront the Khitans outside the city!
Even a little more understanding is good.

Xiao Heng sighed silently and said in a deep voice: "The Khitans are not at their full strength right now. In a few years, when the Khitan Khan has completely integrated the Khitan tribes and digested the Bohai Kingdom, he may become even more terrifying."

Upon hearing this, Li Yun and Zhou Chang remained silent for the first time.

After thinking about it, Li Yun chuckled and said, "There will be ways to deal with it a few years later. There is no need to worry about it now."

"The young general of Qingzhou has made great efforts today. It is really rare. I will treat you and let's have a good drink."

Zhou Chang smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I was hit by that beast, and now I feel uncomfortable all over. I feel nauseous and can't drink any more. I'll talk about it after I recover after a few days of rest."

He was hit by the warhorse and probably suffered some internal injuries.

When Li Yun was about to speak, Zhou Bi came running over. After he walked in front of Li Yun, Zhou Bi lowered his head and said, "Master, Xiao Gan is still hanging on the tower. How should we deal with him?"

Li Yun was a little surprised: "This guy is not dead yet?"

"No."

Zhou Bi replied: "But it should be, he was tormented quite a lot."

Xiao Gan suffered severe internal injuries and was hung on the city wall for almost half a day. He was indeed very weak at this moment.

"This man should have some status among the Khitans, so I won't kill him. Zhou Bi, I'll hand him over to you, and you can take care of him."

"Think of a way to get some information about the Khitans from him."

Zhou Bi quickly lowered his head, responded, then went up to the city wall and asked someone to let Xiao Gan down.

After being hung for such a long time and suffering from injuries, Xiao Gan was almost on his last breath.

After being pulled up, Zhou Bi untied the ropes on him personally, lifted the clothes on the back of his neck, threw him aside, and slapped him in the face.

Xiao Gan woke up slowly, feeling a tightness in his chest and could hardly breathe.

He tried hard to open his eyes and finally saw the young man in front of him clearly. After taking a few breaths, he gritted his teeth and said, "How dare you do this to me! Do you know who I am?"

"know."

Zhou Bi squatted down and looked at him quietly: "Khitan General Xiao Gan."

"You weren't the only one captured that day."

Zhou Bi said calmly: "Although there are not many people here who understand Khitan, there are quite a few people in the Fanyang Army who do understand Khitan. In the past few days, we have asked all the questions that need to be asked."

"You are the brother-in-law of the Khitan Khan."

Zhou Bi was silent for a while, then narrowed his eyes and said, "It was you who gave the order to hang the heads of Han people under the city of Jizhou that day."

"Whether it's me or our superiors, we'll all remember this. According to this crime, it's enough for you to die a hundred times."

Zhou Bi looked at him.

"The reason you're not dead yet is because you might be of some use."

Zhou Bi looked at him and his voice turned cold.

"General Xiao, if you actively cooperate, we might even release you back to Khitan so that we can have long-term cooperation in the future. If you don't know what's good for you, then we'll be able to help you."

Having followed Li Yun for several years, Zhou Bi had seen blood on his hands and had experienced many storms. When he spoke now, he also had a sense of momentum. "It depends on how strong your life is and how long you can hold on."

The last time he met Li Yun, Li Yun asked Xiao Gan who issued the order to hang the heads of Han people under the city of Jizhou. At that time, Xiao Gan felt guilty and denied it.

Looking back now, the tall young man named Li already knew the whole story.

Thinking of this, Xiao Gan became even more frightened. He lowered his head and could not utter a word.

After a long while, he swallowed and his voice trembled a little.

"I…"

"I'm hungry."

After being hung for a whole day without eating or drinking, he was really starving.

Zhou Bi stood up, waved to the two soldiers beside him, and said calmly: "Carry it down."

After a pause, he added: "Don't give him food."

…………

Mid-May, Jinling City.

At this time, the situation in the north had already reached Jinling.

After Du Qian received the news, he just read it once and was overjoyed. He read it carefully again, and then asked someone to call several important civil servants from Jiangdong, including Fei Xuan, who had just returned to Jinling to rest, to the Jinling government office to discuss the matter.

In the government office, Du Qian asked Fei Xuan to sit in the main seat, but Fei Xuan refused. Later, Du Qian did not hesitate and sat in the main seat to preside over the meeting.

After everyone sat down, Du Qian handed the document in his hand to everyone and said with a smile: "This is the battle report just sent back from the north. Everyone, take a look."

With a smile on his face, he said, "The emperor defeated the Khitan army outside Jizhou City."

Everyone passed the document around to look at one by one.

It cannot be said that all of these people present were geniuses, but at least they were all capable people. Soon the documents were passed around for review. After reading them, Fei Xuan was the first to speak: "Shangwei, you are truly brave. The Fanyang army was beaten back by the Khitans. Shangwei has just arrived in the north and he has made the Khitans suffer such a big loss."

"It's amazing."

Zhuo Guangrui was the last one to finish reading. He handed the document back to Du Qian and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Du?"

"Although this news was sent back by Jiusi instead of the superior himself, I think there is a lot to be said for this matter."

He looked at everyone and said, "This is a great achievement from the higher-ups. We need to publicize it."

"At least the prefectures and counties under our Jiangdong jurisdiction should publicize it."

Xu Ang looked at Du Qian, thought for a moment, and then said, "Lord Du, I think we should be cautious about this matter. The superior said before he left that his trip to the north would take at least several months. It is impossible that there would be only one battle in a few months."

"If I suffer a loss in the future, the news spread today may be disadvantageous to the upper position."

Yao Zhong shook his head slightly, clasped his fists towards Xu Ang and said, "Xu Si Zheng, I think we can't be too secretive about this matter. Since we have defeated the Khitans, we should publicize it. If we suffer a loss in the future, the worst that can happen is that we can just keep silent."

"I think that this matter should not only be spread, but also be exaggerated, and it should be said to be destiny and sacred."

As soon as he said this, everyone looked at him sideways.

Du Qian touched his chin and said softly, "Brother Juzhong, while you are still in Jinling, you can write a charter. When your charter is written, we can get together and discuss it again."

"By that time, there should be more news to come."

"When the time comes, it will be convenient for us to adapt to the situation."

He looked at Xu Ang and asked, "Brother Ziwang, do you have any objections?"

"No."

Xu Ang shook his head and said, "However, I think we should first send a document to the superiors and ask for their opinions."

"Lest you do bad things with good intentions."

Du Qian smiled and said, "We must submit a petition."

Having said this, he stood up, looked at everyone, and said slowly: "This matter is great news for us in Jiangdong."

"From now on, everyone here, when you think about things, you must think long-term and deeply, and especially pay attention to the impact."

He narrowed his eyes and whispered, "Wait until the superior comes back, Jiang Dong."

"It will probably expand outwards."

(End of this chapter)