Chinese New Year

Chapter 1441 Forced Landing
You Yi never knew he could be so brave, or was it just good luck? He actually killed two Kuaihu cavalrymen!
One enemy, along with his horse, fell to the ground, one leg pinned under the horse, screaming in agony, like a pig being slaughtered.

Without wasting words, You Yi struck him down with a single blow.

Another enemy also fell from his horse, but quickly got up, swung his axe past You Yi, and knocked down one of his fellow villagers.

You Yi was furious and called on his fellow villagers to surround him. In the end, it was four against one, and one of them was killed on the spot. The remaining three ignored everything and surrounded him, hacking and slashing wildly until he was turned into mincemeat.

After killing two people, he regained some of his senses and quickly gathered a dozen or so fellow villagers into a small formation, advancing forward, but without any further gains.

After the battle, You Yi realized that despite the freezing weather, he was soaked to the bone. But he felt as if he had broken free of some kind of shackle within his body, and he was different from before.

This constraint is mental, psychological; it's hard to describe the feeling, but it just feels different. He'll definitely perform better in similar situations in the future.

While he was still in a daze, his fellow villagers had already run back with shifty eyes, showing him their spoils as if they were treasures.

"I've never seen this armor before. It's all connected circles. I wonder what it's for. If I thrust my spear straight at it, will it be able to defend against it?" someone said.

"It protects against sword cuts and arrows." You Yi, having practiced martial arts since childhood and hailing from the You family of Jincheng, immediately saw the key point: "It's quite useful, but it's too labor-intensive and probably not cheap."

"Sir, look at this iron helmet." Someone brought over another helmet, pointed to a movable beam-like iron component in front of it, and laughed, "It's in front of your nose, and it can move up and down. Are you afraid someone will cut off your nose?"

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this and came over to watch.

This helmet is really strange. The spikes on top are frighteningly high, there's a nose guard in the front, and buckles on both sides. I don't know what they're for. It's completely different from the style of the Central Plains.

“This is a Persian helmet,” said You Yi, who was knowledgeable. “Some Sogdian merchants’ guards wear this helmet.”

"I see." Everyone looked at You Yi with admiration; the official knew so much.

You Yi was quite pleased and said, "Put them all down."

Everyone is puzzled.

You Yi patiently explained: "The spoils are all distributed as a reward to the entire army and cannot be kept for private purposes."

Everyone said "Oh" and was about to ask how the rewards would be distributed when You Yi said, "We cannot share the spoils, but we may be able to receive some cloth and grain when we get home."

He revealed the bloody reality that the army was divided into different ranks, and they were the lowest rank, charging ahead when attacking cities but being last when it came to distributing rewards.

Sure enough, not long after, light cavalry from the Luoyan Army arrived on horseback, ordering them to collect all the spoils of war and make an inventory.

The dead were buried on the spot, and the heads of the Kuaihu were cut off and transported to Wulei City for disposal.

The dead or wounded horses were immediately slaughtered, their hides handed over, and the meat was to be eaten by the owners.

As for live horses, they certainly wouldn't be in their position to handle them.

You Yi had seen it, and the horses of the Kuaihu people seemed quite good. They were a little slender but had a really good physique. They would be very valuable if taken to the Central Plains, and could even be presented to the emperor in exchange for money and official positions.

The horses from Cheshi, Yanqi, and other countries were not as good. They looked like second-class horses mixed with inferior bloodlines—but they were still quite good, and they were still very valuable when transported back.

"Let's get started, it's getting dark," You Yi urged everyone to begin their work.

******
Throughout the night of the 25th, the sound of horses' hooves echoed outside Wulei City, causing panic among the more than 3,000 residents who couldn't get a good night's sleep.

After daybreak, the situation gradually stabilized.

At this time, the first batch of Luoyan Army soldiers who had pursued the Kuaihu to the east had returned.

Outside the south gate of Wulei, the novice monk Baiduo looked at the more than one hundred dejected Kuaihu prisoners, said nothing, gave each of them a dry, hard pancake, and then sat down to the side in a daze.

He was still young, only thirteen years old this year, and did not know Kuaihu. However, some of the local people who were conscripted with him to do odd jobs knew him. In the whispers, Bai Duo Shami overheard quite a bit of it.

It turns out that this Kuaihu had fought for many countries. Because he was very brave and had many victories, the countries vied to hire him.

Some people claim that the Kuaihu people once plundered cattle, sheep, and children in Wulei, but the king of Wulei was actually the city lord. Since Wulei had long been destroyed by Kucha, they could not control or manage the situation. It seems that as long as the Kuaihu people did not cause too much trouble, they would generally pretend not to see it.

Some also claimed that the king had arranged for his eldest son to marry a woman from the Kuaihu tribe, but before the marriage could take place, he was assassinated. The murderers were said to be his brothers, who feared that their eldest brother's position would be unshakeable after marrying the Kuaihu woman.

Some say that after the Liang people arrived in Gaochang, the King of Kucha sent envoys to bribe the Kuaihu with large sums of money to invite them to help in the war. Now that they have suffered heavy losses, it is unknown what Kucha is thinking...

Bai Duo, the novice monk, only half understood, but he grasped a key point: the Kuaihu were very strong and skilled in battle, considered a decisive force by all nations. Yet, they were defeated by the Liang people in a single battle. Upon learning this, the morale of the people of Kucha would likely suffer a severe blow. A sudden curiosity arose in his mind: he had heard that most of the Liang cavalry that defeated the Kuaihu were Xianbei. Just how strong were the Xianbei? Were they the strongest cavalry in the region?

Bai Duo, the novice monk, eagerly awaited their triumphant return, wanting to see what they looked like one more time. Hmm, they must be incredibly strong, especially their arms, which were like iron clamps; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to lift such a thick, long spear…

In the afternoon, his wish came true.

The second wave of pursuing cavalry returned, fewer in number and with many wounded soldiers, as evidenced by the damage to their armor, indicating a fierce battle with the Kuaihu.

They brought back more than fifty prisoners, many of whom still had their heads hanging from their saddles, covered in blood. Bai Duosha couldn't count them all at once, but estimated there were at least four or five hundred. Clearly, they had encountered a new group of Kuaihu people and a battle had broken out.

All the prisoners were locked up together, a total of 162 people, sitting silently together, not saying much.

The heads have been counted. A total of over 1,140 heads were obtained from the three battles. Including those who escaped after sustaining minor injuries, the more than 2,000 Kuaihu cavalry should have lost their fighting capacity, or at least their morale has been crushed, and they dare not come again.

But the Liang people still did not let them go.

As evening fell, the third batch of well-rested cavalry set off from Wulei, determined to search and pursue the enemy throughout the night.

The pursuing force consisted of a thousand Luoyan Army cavalry and several hundred Liangzhou herdsmen skilled in mounted combat. At this point, the Kuaihu's fighting strength had greatly diminished, and it seemed unnecessary to send all their elite troops.

The first two batches of returning troops were stationed inside and outside the city, and they were overjoyed, laughing heartily.

Tuoba Sigong, who killed two people and captured three others, received a generous reward on the spot.

As ordered, Bai Duo, a novice monk, presented the roasted lamb leg and a pot of fine wine. When he looked at Tuoba Sigong, a look of envy appeared in his eyes, for the man was sitting next to the most beautiful woman in Wulei City, whom he would enjoy tonight.

The Great Liang Dynasty truly has a clear system of rewards and punishments!
******
On October 27, Yin Xi, who had been appointed as the pacification commander, dispatched 1,000 Luoyan soldiers and 1,000 armored cavalry westward with prisoners and heads. They set off together with the two grain transport teams that had gathered there. After marching for several days, they arrived east of Kucha City on the fourth day of the eleventh lunar month.

The fighting outside Kucha City is no longer as intense as before.

Perhaps it was because too much blood had been shed, or perhaps both sides were waiting for something, but in any case, there was nothing noteworthy on the fourth day of the eleventh lunar month. After the able-bodied men of Weitou and Wensu were defeated, they launched a rebellion, which was quickly and brutally suppressed.

King Yuchi Poluo of Khotan was horrified by what he saw.

These two countries actually had very few people; they were vassals of Kucha and were weak, each with only a few thousand men. They were defeated halfway through the journey, and both countries surrendered. Then, they were subjected to large-scale conscription, and now almost all of them have been lost here.

In the parlance of the Central Plains, this is called "every household wearing mourning clothes." There are probably not many strong men left in the country; they are either elderly or young boys, and it is unknown how long it will take for them to recover their vitality—perhaps even a hundred years.

The Kingdom of Gumo also suffered heavy losses. This kingdom was slightly weaker than Yanqi, with a population of about 30,000. It had previously suffered a defeat against the allied forces of the three kingdoms, but fortunately surrendered in time. However, by this point, it had lost more than 3,000 men in battle, a truly tragic loss.

Yuchi Poluo's Khotan troops fared slightly better, suffering losses of over a thousand men.

No fewer than two thousand soldiers from Shule died in battle.

In recent days, some people have been privately approaching him, saying that they can't fight anymore and that they should join forces with the King of Kucha to defeat the Liang army from within and without.

He didn't agree, but he also didn't betray these people. Seeing that he wouldn't agree, the others had no choice but to give up and continue attacking the city with bitter faces.

But today, when over a thousand heads of the Kuaihu were brought over by carriage, and over a hundred and sixty prisoners arrived at the east of the city with their wrists tied behind their backs, everyone's expression changed.

The Kuaihu cavalry, who had roamed deserts and snow-capped mountains for years and were treated as honored guests by many countries, were actually defeated in a single blow.

What else can be said? What else dares to say?
Centuries have passed, and the Heavenly Soldiers of the Central Plains are still as valiant and skilled in battle as ever. Yuchi Poluo was very glad that he had not wavered. If he had really followed those fools and started causing trouble, regardless of victory or defeat, could he have withstood the return of those armored cavalry and charged straight at him?
The victory on the battlefield shattered all the commotion, and the undercurrents beneath the surface vanished instantly.

On the fifth and sixth days of November, the allied forces of the various countries began to exert themselves and launched an attack for two consecutive days.

Liang Jun also launched three offensives, each one more ferocious than the last.

Upon seeing the neatly arranged heads of the Kuaihu, prisoners, armor, and flags outside the city, the morale of the Kucha defenders plummeted, and they were filled with fear and unease. They knew there were no reinforcements, not a single one.

On the seventh day, Yang Qin ordered envoys from various countries to take turns persuading the other states to surrender, saying that only the Bo family would be executed and the rest would be spared.

On the night of the eighth day, a chaotic battle broke out in the city of Kucha. Bo Jing, the younger brother of Bo Shun, restored the old surname Bai from the Han Dynasty and was enthroned as king by the nobles. He then sent envoys out of the city to discuss surrender.

Yang Qin had nothing else to say but requested that all the ministers and officials of the Kingdom of Kucha leave the city without any conditions.

On the tenth day, after a day of stalemate, the east gate of Yancheng suddenly opened, and Kucha surrendered.

(End of this chapter)