The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 440 Talented Man and Old General

General Cheng Yaojin’s way of fighting was very steady. After all, it was very easy to capture cities.

But the general chose a more stable approach. Xue Rengui watched the men unload the food and fodder, and then looked at Cheng Chumo, who was walking with a limp.

The two of them usually have little in common, but their personalities are very compatible.

Xue Rengui asked in confusion: "Did the general fight like this before?"

Cheng Chu walked on while enduring the pain, saying, "Although my father seems out of tune on weekdays, he is usually quite alert."

"Give me a thousand soldiers to help the general take the first city."

Cheng Chumo snorted coldly and said, "I was still thinking about it. Did he give it to me?"

"Don't you have manpower in the Flying Tigers?"

"Only two hundred people. Not enough."

Xue Rengui said: "One hundred people are enough."

"I've heard that General Xue is brave, but fighting requires wisdom, and our Cheng family has always been a wise family."

Xue Rengui closed his eyes and bargained: "Fifty people!"

Cheng Chumo snorted coldly, "Not afraid of military punishment, I won't stop you from going to someone's house alone."

After hearing another rejection, Xue Rengui simply sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes and calmed down.

In fact, the same is true for other people in the army. They are all waiting to be dispatched, eating food here all day long, and getting fat.

Late at night that day, a group of officials rode up to the camp on horseback. The general immediately invited them into the camp, and then generals from all over the country were also invited into the camp.

These were all officials from the Honglu Temple, headed by the Minister of Rites, Xiangli Xuanjiang.

This man was originally sent as an envoy to Liaodong. At the beginning of this year, he went to Pamir Mountains to inquire about the various Hu peoples under the order of Your Majesty.

No one knew what the man said to the general. The general ordered that the various Hu people in the Pamirs refuse to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty. He ordered Xue Rengui to lead 5,000 soldiers to attack Suye Shuiche City and ordered the Flying Tigers to lead 1,000 soldiers to support.

After being stationed in the hinterland of Tianshan Mountains for a month, the Tang army finally took action. Before them lay a thousand kilometers of plains and Gobi, as well as the vast Pamir Plateau.

Only the Tang army dared to fight like this.

Bai Fang rode his horse and followed behind with three thousand monks, leisurely eating dried meat.

Lou Shide rode his horse to one side and said, "You monk soldiers from the Western Regions don't need to come here."

A monk from the Western Regions whispered, "We have returned to secular life."

Lou Shide asked again: "It would be fine if you returned to secular life, but why did you join the war?"

The Western Regions monk replied: "If you have made military achievements, you can go to Chang'an to study."

Hearing this, Lou Shide, who was riding on horseback, wrote down this sentence and rode forward again.

After leaving the hinterland of the Tianshan Mountains and arriving at the Issyk-Kul Lake, Cheng Chumo said, "We met the Sogdians here."

Xue Rengui always carried a longbow and a very exaggerated halberd.

Compared with him, the equipment of the others seemed much simpler.

Xue Rengui looked around and said, "I heard that the Sogdians are very rich?"

Cheng Chumo nodded and said, "They came from the more distant Anguo and Shiguo. Most of them make a living as merchants. The wealthy Sogdian nobles have their own troops."

Xue Rengui asked again: "So, they are just guerrillas?"

Li Jingheng stepped forward and said, "We have only fought them once, and we can only get a glimpse of them from the records of the rulers of the Western Regions throughout the ages."

Bai Fang stepped forward and said, "Using past experience to summarize current events is not the best choice. If they are still the same as before and have not made any progress, that would be another matter."

Xue Rengui asked in confusion: "Aren't you the servant next to Shouyue?"

"I am still the chief clerk of the Chongwen Hall in the Western Regions, and I am willing to die for the Khan of Heaven."

As he spoke, he saluted respectfully on horseback.

Xue Rengui retracted his gaze and said hesitantly: "It seems that the servants around Shouyue are not simple either."

Before leaving Lake Issyk-Kul, the group stocked up on drinking water and dry food, preparing for the long journey.

The wind here is very strong, and everyone's clothes are rustling in the wind.

Cheng Chumo said, "It will take at least three days to get to Suye Water City from here."

Xue Rengui looked at the snow-capped mountains in the distance and closed his eyes to rest.

The most tiring part of fighting a war is marching, so you need to conserve your energy, and every rest is precious.

Camping was done as economically as possible, with most people sleeping on the ground around the campfire.

With the war approaching, this land is so quiet that it doesn't seem like the human world.

After a night's rest, the next morning, a messenger came on horseback and reported: "General Xue, Pei Duhu is leading 6,000 soldiers and horses to the rear, 53 miles away."

Hearing this, Xue Rengui said loudly: "Okay! We are three days away from Suye City."

After receiving the reply, the messenger rode back to report again.

Just as they were about to break camp and set off again, Xue Rengui noticed the sword on Bai Fang's waist and said hesitantly, "The style of your sword is a bit strange."

Bai Fang picked up the sword at his waist and handed it over, explaining: "This is a sword commonly used by Arabs, a saber."

"Saber?" Xue Rengui studied the saber with a curved handle, but lost interest after a moment. He handed it back and said, "It's not as useful as the Damo sword."

Li Jingheng explained: "I heard that the Arabs have a lot of cavalry. They captured a lot of infantry from the north of Persia. They are all very warlike people."

In fact, the Tang people were also warlike. The powerful Arabs had just conquered Persia, and the soldiers, full of fighting spirit, wanted to have a fight with the Arabs.

The Tang army set out again, and their marching speed was much slower. This was the territory of the Sai people, and from time to time one could see Sai people walking around here, in groups of three or five, avoiding the advancing Tang army.

Bai Fang led the Western Region monks and soldiers to rush over first and stopped all the Sai people who were going to report the news.

Seeing this, Xue Rengui smiled with satisfaction. These Western monks were very useful. As long as they were given weapons and equipment, they didn't even need to be given food or fodder. They could work for the Tang army with just the dry food they carried with them.

In the rear, east of the Issyk-Kul Lake area, a large army composed of Tang troops and Uighur troops was marching.

Qibi Heli walked at the back. He did not take the initiative to lead the troops in this battle. After he entered retirement, he planned to just watch this battle from afar.

The Tang army was in front, the Uighurs were behind, and then the Tibetans, who had six thousand soldiers and horses.

The army needs a reason to go on an expedition. General Cheng Yaojin is waiting for the envoy to come back. Pei Xingjian admires this old general in his heart.

Don't joke about a large army of tens of thousands of people; every step is carried out in accordance with regulatory procedures.

First of all, there must be a legitimate reason to send troops. Only when the envoy who went to Pamirs returned and informed the reason, could the Tang army set off, otherwise it would not work.

If the army is dispatched rashly, once the court investigates, tens of thousands of people will be implicated. The general puts himself in everyone's shoes and ensures the safety of every soldier.

This is a good general.

Pei Xingjian was thinking in his heart, even though General Cheng Yaojin cursed all the time, when it came to big things, he would think over and over again before making every decision.

Even if we don't send troops to Tianshan, the court will not be able to criticize us.

"Report!" The messenger came back and said, "General Xue's front troops are still three days away from Suye Water City."

Pei Xingjian nodded and said, "Send a message to the general, we will camp on the west side of Yinsek Lake."

"Here."

Li Zhi rode his horse beside him and whispered, "It may not be easy to sweep the Congling Mountains with 10,000 soldiers."

Pei Xingjian asked, "When Wang Xuance invaded Tianzhu alone, did he ever consider whether it would be easy?"

Li Shen sighed, "If I can go back this time, I can be appointed as a general of the royal family."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Okay! When we return, we will ask the emperor to make me a general. Go!"

In the camp in the heart of Tianshan Mountains, when Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian left with their troops, the camp was empty.

With the help of two guards, Cheng Yaojin finally climbed up a hillside, from where he could see farther.

In the past two days, the old general has been guarding the camp with two guards, and there are only three people left in the entire camp.

It's quiet with few people and not much food.

A few snowflakes fell, and Cheng Yaojin's clothes fluttered in the wind. It was suddenly snowing in Tianshan Mountain. He reached out to catch a few snowflakes and asked, "How far have they gone?"

"Replying to the General, he has only been gone for two days."

Cheng Yaojin nodded, looked at the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and said with a smile: "The scenery here is so magnificent. How could I not know that there was such a scenery here back then?"

"General! The troops are coming."

Cheng Yaojin looked back and saw a large black crowd of people marching in the snow in the distance behind him.

"Help me down."

The two guards helped the general down the hillside, and the army in the distance also came closer.

The person who came was still a young general, Liang Jianfang, the general of the Anxi Army who had been stationed in Tingzhou for many years. He looked very energetic.

Liang Jianfang dismounted, ran forward and saluted, saying, "I am here with 30,000 soldiers and horses under the order of General Zhang to report."

Cheng Yaojin reached out and took the order, and asked again: "Does the old man have anything else to say?"

"This..." Liang Jianfang hesitated, and then said, "General Zhang also said that the army should clear the Congling Mountains as soon as possible, and also said... you old man stays in Tianshan all day, what kind of hero are you?"

“Hahaha!” Cheng Yaojin burst into laughter. He laughed for a long time before saying, “If he has the guts, let him come to Tianshan Mountain and fight me.”

The old general walked into the camp in a very good mood and said, "Let all the brothers come in. The tents here are empty. Stay here first."

Liang Jianfang asked again: "Should we send troops to help Xue Rengui?"

Cheng Yaojin walked with one hand behind his back and the other stroking his beard, shaking his head and saying, "Those kids are divided into two groups, the front group is Xue Rengui and Chu Mo, the rear group is Pei Xingjian, the two groups will cooperate with each other, first take down a city or a place and then discuss, your troops don't need to move in a hurry, absolutely don't be in a hurry."

Looking back, he saw the man still standing behind him. Cheng Yaojin said impatiently, "Do you think I have been here for a month just to enjoy the scenery?"

Liang Jianfang was puzzled.

Cheng Yaojin pulled out a roll of military reports from his sleeve, shook it in his hand, and said, "This is an urgent report from Tianzhu. The King of Eastern Tianzhu sent someone to deliver a message to Wang Xuance, saying that the Arabs are preparing to march east, and it is rumored that they have 200,000 soldiers and horses."

Liang Jianfang suddenly looked up and said hesitantly, "Two hundred thousand?"

"scared?"

"I am not afraid."

General Cheng Yaojin put away the report again with a smile on his face.

Liang Jianfang really wanted to see whether what was written in this military newspaper was true.

But seeing that the general had taken it back, he could not ask any more questions as it involved the secret communication within the army. He had to go back and lead the troops into the camp, let the army rest and camp there, and cook.

The army had all left, and Cheng Yaojin felt that he was guarding the camp alone with two guards, which was a bit like an old man guarding a place alone, and it was quite leisurely.

When Liang Jianfang's troops came in, the place became lively again, and along with them came a boy named Pei Yan.

Cheng Yaojin looked at the soldiers carrying food and grass, and said, "That's good. The entire Anxi Protectorate has been dispatched. It's enough for Zhang Shigui to guard Xizhou City. Don't let him come. If he comes, send him back."

"The general is guarding the camp alone in the heart of Tianshan Mountain with only two guards around him. I admire the general's courage." Pei Yan handed over a box of biscuits and said with a smile: "These are sent by my family in Chang'an. Please have a taste, General."

Cheng Yaojin knew that it was a biscuit, and while eating it, he said, "Pei Yan? I remember that you were a student at Chongwenguan, and Su Tan often took you with him. You also helped the Ministry of Rites with things, is that right?"

"That's right." Pei Yan nodded in response and sat down next to the general.

Cheng Yaojin chewed the biscuit, making a dull sound, and said, "I have done the same thing before, so why should I be afraid of thousands of troops?

You young people are born well, and you were born at a good time. In the past two years, there are more talented people like you. "

Pei Yan bowed and said, "General, you are joking."

Cheng Yaojin said: "Your Majesty made this arrangement because he hopes that we old guys who are still useful can take care of you young people and cultivate them well. In fact, you are like Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian..."

"Haha, you guys don't need us old guys to lead the way. You are all talented and outstanding, and you don't need us to teach you. You can walk well on your own. But when the army is out, there must be someone to guard the rear. I can help Your Majesty for another three to five years to the best of my ability, so I will help Your Majesty for a while, and a little longer..."

When Pei Yan heard these words, he was moved and felt respect for this great general.

"Do you know why His Majesty does not use the three brothers of Xue Wanche's family?"

Pei Yan shook his head slowly.

Cheng Yaojin snorted and laughed, saying, "They are not as smart as me. Looking at the army, there are only a handful of people with my wisdom and strategy."

Pei Yan smiled silently again.

Another soldier came riding fast. He dismounted and ran forward, handing him a roll of military newspaper and saying, "General, this is a letter from Lord Ying."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin took the letter. It contained all the military arrangements in various parts of the country. Liu Boying was sent to Liaodong County. Was this to deal with Jin Chunqiu?
Nowadays, many affairs in the Wei Mansion are arranged by Lord Ying. Cheng Yaojin narrowed his eyes and watched the arrangements.

Along with Zhang Shigui, there came a boy named Li Jingye, the grandson of Duke Ying, to the Anxi Protectorate.

Ashina She'er is still on the northern expedition. Ever since this man left all his descendants in Chang'an, he has been on the northern expedition all the way, and no one knows where he is going.

This year, Your Majesty named Mengshe Zhao Nanzhao, and Nanzhao declared war on other Zhaos. The wars in various parts of Nanzhao affected Tubo, which sent troops to support Nanzhao.

Cheng Yaojin snorted coldly: "It seems that there is no peace in the east, south, west or north of the Tang Dynasty."

After saying this, he put away the military newspaper and looked up at the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

(End of this chapter)