The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 443: The Fear of the Hu People

On the grassland north of Ashibulai City, there were thousands of Tang troops following Di Renjie.

Pei Xingjian held the lance in his hand, looked alert, and lowered his body slightly.

It seemed that there was an argument among the Arabs, and for a moment it was impossible to hear what they were saying.

When Pei Xingjian turned around, he saw that Di Renjie had already drawn his longbow without him noticing.

Just as the Arabs were still hesitating whether to charge forward, Di Renjie released the bowstring and the arrow whizzed out.

The opponent quickly raised his shield, and the arrow hit the shield heavily, with the tail of the arrow still swinging continuously.

This arrow was a provocation from the Tang army to the Arabs.

Pei Xingjian watched with interest the angry and gnashing expression of the leading Arab general.

From the original reason for sending troops, which was a legitimate reason, the Tang army went on this expedition to protect the Ili River, the people of the Western Regions on both sides of the Ili River, and the cotton planted on both sides of the Ili River.

Over the years, the Congling Hu tribes had attacked the Ili River several times. The Tang army had tried to persuade them many times and had sent envoys to lobby them. However, after several attempts at persuasion failed, the Congling Hu tribes still dared to go to Lake Issyk-Kul and kill people. This gave the Tang army a reason to go on the expedition.

It was also for this reason that the Tang army received support from many Western Regions people north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. The Tang army had legitimate reasons to attack the Pamir Hu from the beginning to the end.

The Tang army was never afraid of going to war. As long as the enemy dared to cross the border, the Tang army would dare to fight.

This is how Pei Yan rushed for two days and two nights to hunt down the three Arabs who stole the cotton.

That's why the Flying Tigers chased the Sogdians at night by the Issyk-Kul Lake.

What's more, the Tang army is now marching westward to the Pamir Mountains.

This battle was originally a war between the Tang Dynasty and the Pamir Hu people, and had nothing to do with the Arabs. However, if the Arabs wanted to get involved, it would be like Di Renjie's arrow.

The brown-skinned, bald Arab pushed away the servant who was trying to persuade him. He rode forward, glared at Di Renjie, and gestured with the knife in his hand.

Before Di Renjie stepped out of the line, Pei Xingjian rode out of the army formation with a lance in hand.

The Arab man roared and rode his horse towards Pei Xingjian.

Pei Xingjian rode forward with a lance in hand, and when the opponent's saber came at him, he stabbed out with the lance in his hand.

The two sides clashed for the first time, narrowly avoided each other, and then confronted each other again.

The armies on both sides were silent.

Pei Xingjian urged the horse under him to rush towards the opponent again. His sharp eyes noticed that the opponent was not stable, so he stabbed out with his lance and knocked down the saber in the opponent's hand. He then switched the lance between his left and right hands and stabbed back at the moment when he passed by the Arab.

The spear head with a jet-black sheen had pierced through the man's abdomen. Pei Xingjian pulled out the lance with one hand, bringing up a pool of blood on the waist and abdomen of the Arab.

As the Arab fell off his horse, cheers came from the Tang army. The loudest cheers came from the Uighurs and people from the Western Regions.

Pei Xingjian only needed two encounters to deal with the enemy general.

Seeing that the remaining Arabs were about to flee, Di Renjie shouted: "Chase!"

The Tang army's cavalry charged towards the black-clad Arabs.

At night, Di Renjie and Pei Xingjian, who had been chasing the enemy for half a day, returned to the city of Ashibulai again.

In the camp preparing for the siege, Xue Rengui, Pei Yan, Li Zhi, Bai Fang and others were still discussing.

Seeing the people coming back, Li Zhi asked, "I heard you went to kill the Arabs?"

Pei Xingjian walked into the camp, took off his helmet and armor, sat down tiredly and said, "We chased them for more than ten miles and killed more than a hundred people. The rest ran away. We didn't pursue them further."

Di Renjie replied: "If we continue to chase, we will be ambushed. We have seen many Persians and Sogdians along the way."

Bai Fang explained: "After the fall of Persia, many Persian nobles fled to the Pamir Mountains with a lot of money. Countless poor Persians died, but those Persian nobles who fled are still living a wealthy life here."

Pei Xingjian was already accustomed to Bai Fang's tone of voice; most of his words were learned from the books in Chongwenguan.

Xue Rengui looked at the map in front of him and said, "We really shouldn't pursue them too far. Soldiers, don't worry. Anyone who dares to stop us will be killed."

"Here!"

All the generals responded in unison.

Outside the camp, Qibi Heli and Murong Shun were talking and laughing.

All the baggage and supplies that the Tang army needed for this expedition were provided by Murong Shun.

"Are you really a member of the Heavenly Khan's army?"

Murong Shun replied in a low voice: "When Tian Khan was still the crown prince, I was working for Jingzhao Prefecture."

Qibi Heli said: "You have been dormant for so many years. Is it also the arrangement of Tian Khan?"

Murong Shun looked at the Tang people walking around in the camp and said with a smile: "I have never been dormant. I asked the old people of Tuyuhun to participate in this war. Those who are walking outside are my children. They are helping me with business."

"Are you still working for Jingzhao Prefecture?"

Murong Shun looked a little more emotional. He looked at the stars in the night sky and explained, "They don't need me anymore. However, the Tang Dynasty has made the Western Regions so rich. I don't need Jingzhao Prefecture's help. We still have letters, but not as many as before."

"Why are you so loyal to the Khan?"

Murong Shun replied: "They promised me that I would become the richest man in the Western Regions. They fulfilled their promise. The Heavenly Khan gave me a new identity and made me a Tang citizen. Well... I became a Tang citizen several years ago when the Tang Dynasty built the Anxi Protectorate."

Qibi Heli had never known before that there were so many secrets during the many years that the Tang Dynasty was governing the Western Regions.

The Tang people came to the Western Regions in large numbers, built karez, cultivated land, and irrigated, which led to the present day.

Seeing that Lord Liang still had doubts, Murong Shun said, "I am not a hero, and I cannot build countless karez like Guo Luotuo did. Although he killed many people when he built karez in the Western Regions, the Western Regions are really prosperous now."

Qibi Heli said: "Those who died of exhaustion are the prisoners of war, while the people of the Western Regions are still at peace."

Murong Shun and Qibi Heli were both from the Tuyuhun territory. When they sat together, they had a lot in common, shared common experiences and past, and had experienced the demise of Tuyuhun.

Guo Luotuo should indeed be praised by the people of the Western Regions. Qibi Heli also heard a very secret thing from Murong Shun, which was almost forgotten.

The earliest karez was built in Jingyang County, Guanzhong. At that time, a man named Xu Jingzong dug the karez and planted grapes.

At that time, Tian Khan was still the crown prince, and he advocated the construction of karez.

Later, there was the story of Guo Luotuo reclaiming karez in the Western Regions.

Qibi Heli had heard of Xu Jingzong, but did not know him. He only knew that Xu Jingzong was an important official of the dynasty.

The two of them were talking in low voices about the past and their experiences.

Murong Shun was much younger than Qibi Heli, so what Qibi Heli talked about were things that happened a long time ago.

After the generals in the camp finished discussing, Qibi Heli heard an extremely bold plan from these young generals.

This plan was learned from Pei Xingjian. Ten thousand soldiers were drawn from Liang Jianfang's camp in Suiye City, so the generals had 20,000 soldiers. Five thousand were left to continue to surround Ashibulai City, and the rest of the soldiers bypassed Ashibulai City and attacked Julai City in the rear to launch a surprise attack.

Qibi Heli was not surprised to hear this plan. This was a common tactic used by the Tang army. They also used this tactic when they attacked Goguryeo.

They also set up ambushes along the way to ambush the reinforcements coming to support Ashibulai City.

Qibi Heli said: "It would be great if Li Weigong was here."

Suiye City is also two days' journey from Ashibulai City. On the fifth day of the Tang army's siege of the city, Pei Yan arrived with 10,000 soldiers and horses.

That night, the Tang army sent out 15,000 troops, led by the Uighurs, Tibetan soldiers, people from the Western Regions and the old people of Tuyuhun, bypassed the north side of Ashibulai City and attacked the Julan City in the rear.

The wind whistled in his ears as Di Renjie led his cavalry across the plains under the night sky, their horses trampling up mud along the way.

They rushed thirty miles overnight, rested for two hours, and then set out again.

In this way, they traveled day and night, and within two days, the Tang army could see the city of Julan.

At this moment, under the city of Julan, Anyanyan, the Sogdian who owned Julan City, stood on the city wall and saw that the distant horizon was dark under the morning sun, and he also saw dust flying, which seemed to be sand.

But there hasn't been any sandstorms here for many years, so how could this happen...

An Yanyan saw someone shouting outside the city again, and someone was riding a camel towards him. Only then did he hear clearly the other party's nonsense, saying that the Tang army was coming.

An Yanyan was shocked. Weren't the Tang people attacking Ashibulai City? Why did they come to Julan City?

When did the Tang army arrive when they were hundreds of miles away?
An Yanyan hurriedly greeted them in the Hu language and ordered them to close the city gate.

As soon as he finished speaking, he looked into the distance and saw the Tang army's horses coming in a cloud of dust. As soon as the city gate was closed, arrows whistled in and hit the city gate heavily.

Immediately afterwards, An Yanyan saw the Tang people begin to encircle Julan City in a very orderly manner.

Inside the city, the shouts of the Hu people were heard everywhere, and the panicked Hu people began to climb up the city walls to defend against the Tang army.

Half a minute later, when the dust settled, An Yanyan saw that the dark mass of Tang troops had surrounded the city.

Cheng Chumo sat on the horse's back, pulled the reins, and shouted, "Come out and surrender!"

The response to the Tang army was a stone thrown by the Hu people.

Di Renjie held a longbow and a sword on his waist. He calmed his horse and said, "It seems that he is unwilling to surrender!"

"Has the ladder arrived?"

"General, the ladder has arrived."

Cheng Chumo snorted coldly: "Attack the city!"

"Wait!" Li Zhi stepped forward and said, "Brother Chu Mo, I have something better."

As he spoke, a large cart that required two horses to pull was pulled up. Li Zhi said with a smile, "This is the weapon I have been studying recently."

Cheng Chumo was surprised and asked, "What is this?"

Li Zhi said: "I modified the crossbow cart!"

Regardless of whether the things of His Royal Highness Prince Jin are useful or not, Cheng Chumo still shouted loudly: "Attack the city!"

"Kill!" Bai Fang took the lead and led the Western Region monks to attack Julan City.

Under the cover of the army rushing towards the city wall, Li Zhi and several craftsmen pushed the large crossbow cart to the front of the city. It took five people to operate this improved large crossbow cart. By turning the handle on the wheel, the crossbow string tightened and made a creaking sound.

Li Zhi cut the rope with a knife, and the spear flew out. The spear, as thick as an arm, immediately pierced through the city gate.

Seeing this, Li Zhi was overjoyed and said, "Keep going!"

The power of this large crossbow cart was extremely great at first, but its power gradually became smaller and smaller.

When Li Jingheng saw that there was a gap in the city gate, he ordered people to hit the broken gate. The Sogdian city gate was not strong, and after more than ten hits, the gate of the earthen city was smashed open.

When the city gate collapsed, it took the Sogdians behind the gate a long time to see clearly that the people in front of the gate were the Tang cavalry.

When they tried to escape, Di Renjie's arrows arrived first, and the armored Tang soldiers in the rear filed in, broke into the city and started killing.

Shouts of killing rang out in the city, and the Tang army that broke into the city gate even headed for the city wall.

The Sogdians who were still throwing stones at the city wall saw that the people defending the city with them fell one after another. They looked back and found that the Tang army had already reached the top of the city wall. They looked back again and saw a large number of Tang troops pouring into the city.

Several cities along the Pamir Pass were still worried about the Tang army's attack on Ashibulai City. When the reinforcements from Talas City were going to provide assistance and passed by Julan City, they found that the Tang army was already attacking there. This Hu cavalry immediately gave up the plan to provide assistance and hurriedly sent people to report that the Tang army had already captured Ashibulai City and Julan City.

In half a month, after the Tang army arrived at Pamirs, they captured three cities in succession.

In fact, the city of Ashibulai was not captured by the Tang army, but was surrounded by the Tang army.

Pei Yan rode his horse in front of the army and had been waiting here for two days.

"Report! Julan City has been broken!"

"Okay!" Pei Yan said with a smile, "Congratulations to General Cheng, Prince Jin, and Di Renjie on my behalf."

"Here!"

"General Pei, are you going to attack the city?"

Pei Yan looked at the earthen city and said with a smile: "Don't worry, wait a little longer!"

"Here!"

The Tang army besieged the city for another three days. When Julan City was broken, the Tang army brought the prisoners of war from Julan City to the city of Ashibulai and beheaded them. Then, amid the cheers of the Tang army, the Hu people opened the city gates and Ashibulai City surrendered.

Compared to the White side using thousands of monks to attack the city, the Tang army's way of capturing the city was much simpler.

Pei Yan rode his warhorse into the city with the Tang army, and ordered the soldiers around him: "Bring out all the people in the city. The army will need hard labor before going out."

"Here."

Lou Shide rode his horse beside him and said, "General Pei took down a city without any effort, and he is neither sad nor happy. I admire him."

Pei Yan said: "What I have done is nothing. General Xue and his men are out there killing the enemy. I envy them."

"General Pei, you must not say that. Preserving the population of this city can bring a lot of manpower to the army, which is what is important."

Pei Yan smiled slightly.

Lou Shide shook his head and said nothing, thinking that if this young man didn't want to laugh, he shouldn't laugh. What's the point of forcing a smile? It's not a good look.

The Tang army's way of fighting shocked the Hu people. The Tang army did not attack one city after another. This time they skipped the rear and attacked Julan City.

This battle brought great fear to the Hu people.

(End of this chapter)