The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 220 The Tang Army Arrives
Before Pei Xingjian could think more, a group of soldiers approached in the snowy night, and many of them were holding torches.

Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui were soldiers in the grain protection team. They could barely be considered soldiers. If we really wanted to investigate, they could only be considered militiamen. There was not much difference between the two identities. Militiamen became soldiers when they went to the battlefield.

After being frozen in the Hexi Corridor for a long time, Pei Xingjian began to miss the time when he was the county magistrate of Weinan County.

Li Zhen rode his horse closer, and the six teams came forward to salute and said, "Greetings, Captain Li!"

Looking around, Li Zhen took out the token and said loudly: "The prince ordered to open the gate of Dunhuang County. Five teams will be sent to Tuyuhun territory, each team will transport 300 dan of grain, and will be led by General Zhang."

The six teams were standing in the snow and shouted: "Yes!"

After giving the order, Li Zhen left behind a team of military commanders and left again.

The soldiers sitting around the city stood up one after another and began to get busy.

Pei Xingjian sat by the fire and said solemnly, "Are we going to move the food supplies now?"

Xue Rengui urged, "The army has its own arrangements. Hurry up and move the food so as not to be punished again."

In the city of Dunhuang, carts of food were pulled out. Under the light of torches in the snowy night, they formed long lines and headed towards Tuyuhun.

Everyone was walking, Pei Xingjian, holding a lance, followed behind Brother Xue.

No one knew what Pei Xingjian was thinking, and Xue Rengui did not ask much. They walked until dawn, and the team showed no intention of stopping.

From dawn to dusk, I can finally rest.

Pei Xingjian leaned against Xue Rengui exhausted, drinking water numbly and eating the Hu cakes he brought with him.

There were a lot of cavalrymen coming and going to deliver messages. I had never seen such frequent cavalrymen coming and going in the Hexi Corridor before.

Someone sitting next to the grain cart muttered, "It looks like a war is really about to start."

Xue Rengui was chatting with a man from Hexi, and the two seemed to get along well.

Pei Xingjian asked a brother beside him, "Where is this comrade from?"

"Give me a piece of Hu Bing, and I'll tell you."

"Don't you have Hu Bing?"

The man whispered, "There is meat in your Hu Bing."

Blinking at the dark-faced man in front of him, Pei Xingjian broke the cake in half and handed it to him.

Then the other party smiled and said, "Can you read and write?"

Pei Xingjian nodded.

"You sound nice, and people who sound nice are all like this." The lean man smiled and said, "I'm Wang Wendu, from Taiyuan."

Pei Xingjian nodded in understanding.

"You are from Taiyuan, what are you doing here?"

Wang Wendu chewed his biscuit and said, "I'm just free."

The soldiers transporting food were sitting in groups of three or four, talking to each other. Another team leader said loudly, "Go to bed early after eating. Sleep for two hours and then continue on the journey!"

There was still a day or two's walk to the border of Tuyuhun, and many people had already gone to sleep. For a while, the team was filled with snoring of various tones.

Wang Wendu said with a smile: "Look, you can read and write, there is no need to compete with us vulgar people for credit, so don't charge into the battle, just stay behind."

"Wait!" Pei Xingjian was startled and stopped the man and asked, "Are we going to charge?"

Wang Wendu blinked and said, “You don’t know?”

Pei Xingjian shook his head: "Aren't we escorting food?"

"If you give someone another piece of beef jerky, they will tell you."

Pei Xingjian took out a piece of dried meat and handed it to him, saying, "Speak."

Wang Wendu smiled and stuffed the dried meat into his arms, pointing at a young man who was holding a book by the fire. The man also looked to be around thirty years old.

"Keep an eye on this man from now on. He is not a simple person. His name is Liu Renyuan, the captain of our team. Even soldiers have to be polite to him. He was the one who told someone that this time when our grain transport team arrives in the Western Regions, we must take up swords and kill the enemy."

As he spoke, he patted Pei Xingjian on the back with a smile, and said with a sinister smile: "I also know that your identity is not simple, right? County Magistrate Pei?"

Pei Xingjian raised his foot and kicked Wang Wendu away, glaring at the man with anger.

After the other party got the beef jerky, he walked away smiling.

Pei Xingjian leaned against the grain cart and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. But then he thought again and felt that something was wrong. This man was not like an ordinary soldier.

I'm afraid there's not a word of truth coming out of his mouth.

After realizing this, Pei Xingjian felt more and more itchy in his fists, and he wanted to beat this guy up more and more.

After resting for two hours, the grain transport team had to set off early. The sky was still dark and the wind and snow stopped briefly, but they were still very tired.

When the grain cart got stuck in the snow, people had to push it out with force.

Fortunately, Xue Rengui was very strong, otherwise Pei Xingjian would have suffered a lot.

After two days of travel, traveling day and night, they finally arrived at the Tuyuhun territory where General Zhang was.

There are still quite a few Tuyuhun people here, but there are also many Tang troops.

While Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui were resting here, troops and horses kept coming here from the direction of the Hexi Corridor, and food and fodder were continuously delivered later.

Sitting beside the grain cart, Pei Xingjian took out a branch and drew on the ground, saying, "It seems that we need to split the troops into two groups. General Hou Junji in the rear will attack Gaochang City, and we will stop the Yugu tribes in the south of the Altai Mountains."

Xue Rengui hesitated and said, "The old soldiers in the army said that the wall of Xiyu City is not high and the earth wall is easy to climb over."

Pei Xingjian sat cross-legged and said solemnly, "The troops under the Gaochang King may be just chickens and dogs, but the Western Turkic cavalry under Yu Gushe are the most difficult to deal with."

"Okay!" Xue Rengui nodded heavily and said, "That's how it should be."

Not far away, there were a few old soldiers looking at the high-spirited young people. In the eyes of the old soldiers, these young people were going to the battlefield for the first time, and the most painful time was about to come before they started killing the enemy.

The Tang army will rest here for five days and wait for the troops to arrive before setting off.

These days Pei Xingjian will learn horse riding, archery, and the use of the Mo Dao from the soldiers.

Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui, who grew up in Hedong, were good at riding and shooting, but they were not used to using the Damo sword.

Today, I was still practicing hacking, and I saw a group of people coming towards the camp. There were quite a few of them, about three to five thousand people.

Xue Rengui looked at the approaching troops and said, "They are Turks."

Pei Xingjian asked doubtfully: "Turkic people?"

As the two were watching, they saw Liu Renyuan, who had been unknown in the team, left the training team at this time and walked quickly towards the Turks.

Listening to the language Liu Renyuan used to talk to the Turks, Xue Rengui was surprised and said, "He can actually speak Turkic."

After the training was over, Pei Xingjian started to inquire among the soldiers. Because his Hu Bing had meat filling, he was particularly popular among the soldiers.

Xue Rengui ate the cake and drank the water in big mouthfuls. "Brother Xue, I found out that the Turkic cavalry was led by Qibi Heli."

This is understandable. When the Tuyuhun was conquered, Qibi Heli was also in the expeditionary force. Now this Turkic Tiele man and his tribe are working for the Heavenly Khan again.

Pei Xingjian admired Tian Khan very much. There were too many people in the world who were willing to work for Tian Khan.

The army rested for another two days. That day, after General Zhang Shigui had a conversation with an envoy from the Western Regions, the army began to march again. This time they were going to enter the territory of the Western Regions, and the road ahead would be much more difficult.

The horse team walked in front, and the camel teams followed behind with food, fodder and water.

During the march, Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui were known as heroes from Hedong in the team because of their excellent riding and archery skills during training.

When Zhang Shigui left with 20,000 soldiers, Hou Junji's army also arrived at the previous camp in Tuyuhun. They would be three days behind in the journey, and the 30,000 troops had to rest before marching again.

This was undoubtedly the most painful period of time for Pei Xingjian since he came out of Hedong. Not only was the long journey long, but he also had to set up camp along the way, which was the most painful process in the army.

At night, people are so cold that they shiver, and during the day, they are so hot that their mouths are dry and their tongues are parched.

Xue Rengui's thick beard grew again, covering his chin and mouth.

Pei Xingjian was not in much better condition, with wrinkles all over his face. After Qibi Heli's troops entered the Western Regions, they disappeared without a trace and no one knew where they went.

I heard that General Zhang Shigui had other arrangements.

After marching for ten days, the army was finally able to rest for a while in a poplar forest, where there was water and grassland.

The war horses were also able to rest, and a river flowed from the west.

The closer to the water source, the more tribes there are from the Western Regions. At this time, there are also soldiers from the Western Regions, which means that this place is not far from Gaochang.

However, the troops could not stop for the moment as the journey was not that short. Instead, they had to take a detour to the rear of Gaochang, blocking the main road for reinforcements between Yugushe and the King of Gaochang.

The Yanqi envoy was explaining the route of this march to General Zhang, who was also the guide of this army.

At this moment in the Royal City of Gaochang, Murong Shun led a large group of merchants transporting wine, cloth and silk into the royal city.

Murong Shun walked into the palace of King Gaochang with the friendliest smile.

The palace of King Gaochang did not look luxurious on the surface, and the earthen walls made of rammed earth were not solid either. It was just a matter of walking across these simple earthen walls.

Murong also saw the luxurious interior of the palace, where there were foreign girls wearing gold and silver jewelry and a pond.

There is even the smell of wine here.

Murong Shun walked towards Gaochang King Qu Wentai with a smile and said loudly: "Respected King Gaochang, I am here again."

Qu Wentai smiled and said, "I heard that the Tang army is coming?"

Murong Shun said: "Is the king afraid?"

"Hehehe..." Qu Wentai laughed and said, "Where is the Tang army?"

Murong Shun said in a clear voice: "How can the Tang army come to Gaochang so quickly? The wind and sand from the Western Regions along the way are enough for them to eat. I'm afraid they haven't even passed Yizhou yet."

Seeing that Qu Wentai was still a little worried, Murong Shun took out a wine bag and said, "This is the best Xinfeng wine from Guanzhong."

After handing over the wine, Murong Shun said, "I am the most trustworthy person in the Western Regions. When I came out of the Hexi Corridor, the Tang army was still guarding the city and had not moved."

Qu Wentai was now middle-aged. He stroked his beard with a suspicious look on his face.

Another Western Region soldier who was sent out came back to report: "We didn't see any Tang troops!"

"Hahaha!" At this moment Qu Wentai's heart was completely relieved. He waved and called Hu Ji over, asking her to entertain the most reputable merchant in the Western Regions.

With the arrival of Murong Shun's caravan, the Gaochang royal city seemed to be celebrating.

Gaochang King Qu Wentai was an arrogant man. He had been accustomed to being arrogant since he had ruled Gaochang for a long time.

However, his son, Prince Gaochang Qu Zhisheng, was full of worries these days. He advised him several times not to let down his guard at this time.

But it was found that Qu Wentai had already immersed himself in wine and sex.

Qu Zhisheng looked at the Western Region merchant Murong Shun again and felt that there was something very problematic about the merchant's smile.

Half a month later, Gaochang King Qu Wentai woke up from a hangover. He was shaken awake by the panicked Western Regions soldiers and angrily said, "It's not even daybreak yet."

"Tang...Tang army..."

"The Tang army hasn't passed Yizhou yet, why are you shouting?"

"The Tang army is coming! The Tang army is coming!"

Qu Wentai was still looking around in confusion.

"The Tang army is coming!"

More and more Western Region soldiers were shouting, and Qu Wentai was startled and sat up. He didn't care that his clothes were in disarray at the moment. He walked out of the palace and saw the panicked Western Region soldiers running.

Then Qu Wentai walked up to the top of the city wall in disbelief. He saw a large number of Tang troops outside the city. His legs were so weak that he almost couldn't stand. He slowly stood up by holding on to the city wall.

The Tang army appeared before his eyes like a god descending from the sky. He slapped himself and even suspected that he was dreaming and must not have woken up yet.

But the Tang army flags were flying in the distance, so it didn't look like a dream.

"Murong Shun! Murong Shun!" Qu Wentai shouted.

Qu Zhisheng whispered: "He left last night."

“This…” Qu Wentai calmed down after being flustered. He said, “Send a letter to Yu Gushe and ask him to come to our rescue.”

To the west of Gaochang, Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui were riding their horses and galloping along this important road with a group of people.

This time the Uighurs also joined the battle, and Pei Xingjian couldn't understand why the Uighurs came at this time.

The composition of this army is very complex. It includes not only Tuyuhun, Turks, people from the Western Regions under Yanqi, but also Uighurs.

"Here it comes!" Xue Rengui shouted.

A group of Western Turkic cavalry appeared in the distance, and judging from the dust they raised, it seemed that they had a large number of soldiers and horses.

Xue Rengui held a longbow in his hand, Pei Xingjian straightened his helmet, picked up his lance, and prepared for battle.

Zhang Shigui shouted: "Prepare to meet the enemy!"

On the day they left Tuyuhun, Pei Xingjian heard from people in the army that the Western Regions soldiers under the Gaochang King were definitely a bunch of losers, but facing Yugushe's cavalry, they would definitely be a tough nut to crack.

"kill!"

Zhang Shigui roared, and Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui followed the cavalry team and rushed towards the oncoming Western Turkic cavalry, and the troops of both sides collided with each other.

The Uighurs were excellent riders. They stood on horseback, scimitars in hand, and pounced on the enemies who were also on horseback.

The moment the fighting broke out on the battlefield, blood splattered.

This was Pei Xingjian's first time fighting in a battle. When the enemy's knife came, many scenes flashed through his mind. Since he was born, his memories of his father and brother were very vague.

(End of this chapter)