Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 15 Non-stop
"Sorry..."

"Colonel Zhang!"

"Well, keep an eye on my horse."

Under the cover of night, Zhang Huaishen led several cavalrymen out of Fulu City and entered the camp outside the city which was brightly lit by flames.

As he dismounted, a team leader came forward, took the reins, said a few words to him, and left.

He walked towards the central military tent, and soon he opened the tent curtain, and saw Zhang Yichao who was looking at a map, and Li En standing beside him.

Zhang Yichao was wearing a red robe. He was serious and had a frown on his face. It was obvious that something was bothering him.

Li En stood aside with an unnatural expression, obviously having a conflict with Zhang Yichao.

"coming?"

Looking up and seeing Zhang Huaishen appear, Zhang Yichao also put down the map in his hand.

"Yes!" Zhang Huaishen nodded, then stepped forward to take a look at the map, and then spoke:

"The armor has been distributed. Are we sure we won't wait for the armor and weapons from the other four counties?"

"Speed is of the essence in war." Zhang Yichao responded: "While the reinforcements from Zhangye are being besieged and Fulu is being attacked, we must send troops to capture Zhangye."

"Tomorrow you will transfer some money and food from the treasury, and give each team a sheep, ten catties of soy sauce and salt, and five dou of corn."

After Zhang Yichao finished speaking, Li En, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but ask, "So many?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the uncle and nephew of the Zhang family all frowned.

"The army will be setting out in three days. What's wrong with giving the soldiers something good to eat before they set out?"

Zhang Huaishen was younger than him and it was difficult for him to speak, so Zhang Yichao spoke up to respond to Li En.

Li En felt a little distressed and couldn't help but say, "Although our army has captured a lot of spoils, the warehouses of the county governments are only enough to sustain them for half a year."

"If the attack on Zhangye fails this time, then..."

"We won't fail!" Zhang Yichao insisted firmly, blocking Li En's mouth.

Standing in front of the two, Zhang Huaishen saw that the atmosphere was somewhat tense, and took the initiative to bow and said:
"The Long family sent someone to deliver the news that they are willing to submit to our army and civilians, but they are not settled in a fixed place and are temporarily unable to submit their household registration books."

"As long as you are willing to surrender, that's fine." Zhang Yichao nodded.
"After Yanqi was occupied by Tubo, the Long family was relocated eastward to Hexi by Tubo. Now they are divided into three factions, each with thousands of followers. They are a force that cannot be underestimated."

"Now that we have stabilized them, we can free up our hands to take over Ganzhou."

"I heard that Shang Bibi and Lun Kongre in the east are in serious internal strife, so the troops in the Helong area must not be withdrawn. This is our opportunity."

"Ganzhou has only 4,000 soldiers and horses. We killed and captured nearly 1,000 of them who came to help Fulu, leaving only 3,000 men."

"We must seize Ganzhou before Shang Bibi and Lun Kongre decide the winner, and wait for an opportunity to retake Liangzhou."

Speaking of recovering lost territory, a gleam flashed in Zhang Yichao's eyes, and Zhang Huaishen was also encouraged. Only Li En was not thinking about this.

"Governor, it is not difficult to recapture Ganzhou, but how to get along with the Huihe in Ganzhou has become a problem."

Zhang Huaishen expressed his concerns, which was also the issue that Zhang Yichao and Li En had just argued about.

Therefore, when this question came up again, Li En calmed down and said directly:

"The Huihe have an old grudge against the Tang Dynasty, and they are also fickle. We must use thunderbolts to intimidate them."

His words made Zhang Yichao frown, but Zhang Huaishen felt somewhat supportive in his heart, but he still looked like he was waiting for Zhang Yichao's decision.

Ever since the Khitans defeated the Uighurs ten years ago, the Uighurs on the grasslands have been divided into three groups and have escaped separately.

Later, one of the three branches moved to Xizhou (Turpan), and another moved to the Chu River area west of the Pamir Mountains. They then joined forces with other ethnic groups and tribal alliances active in the area at the time, such as the Yangma and the Karluk, to create a new khanate.

As for the last branch, they moved to Gan and Liang areas of the Hexi Corridor and were called Ganzhou Uighurs.

There were nearly 100,000 Uighurs in Ganzhou. If they had not been limited by the lack of armor and weapons, Hexi would have been captured by them long ago.

Even so, the Huihe were still able to mobilize 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers, which was a force that could not be ignored.

They were entrenched in the grasslands north of Zhangye and were a thorn in the side of Tubo and a potential enemy in the dispute among the three men.

Facing Li En's words, Zhang Yichao frowned, and after a long while he said, "The Huihe people are cunning and repetitive, I naturally know this."

"But if we enter Ganzhou and a conflict breaks out with them, then once the fight between Shang Bibi and Lun Kongre comes to an end, we will have to face the tens of thousands of Helong soldiers after the war."

Zhang Yichao also disliked the Huihe people, but the situation in Hexi, where there were more Hu people than Han people, meant that he would not listen to Li En's advice. "After we take over Ganzhou, they will naturally come to talk to us."

Zhang Yichao knew very well that the Uighurs were not skilled in farming or handicrafts, so they had to rely on themselves to obtain some necessary daily necessities.

But even so, he would not feel at ease with the Uighurs, and necessary attention and vigilance were indispensable.

"Okay, let's all get down."

Zhang Yichao was not going to continue talking about this. Now he just wanted to recapture Ganzhou, and then stop and digest the four states.

Following his gaze, Zhang Huaishen and Li En left one after another.

Looking at their departing backs, Zhang Yichao let out a long sigh.

At the same time, Liu Jilong, who was strolling in Fulu, also returned to the military camp early and shared the remaining mutton from yesterday with Zhang Chang and others in the tent.

When he came back, there were three dou of rice and beans piled in the corner of the tent, as well as a lamb tied to a wooden stake.

Even though they were full, everyone was still drooling over the lamb. Zhang Chang wiped his mouth and said, "Captain, when are we going to eat this lamb?"

"What—"

As if sensing the malice coming from the crowd, the lamb bleated a few times.

Liu Jilong was helpless when he heard this, and could only say: "Let's see when the army will set out first."

"If there is no news within three days, then we will take action after three days."

"Okay!" Zhang Chang looked at the lamb happily, as if he had already figured out how to cook it.

"Sir, I want to write a letter home."

Ma Cheng suddenly spoke, and the others also looked at Liu Jilong.

Seeing this, Liu Jilong also nodded and said, "It's good to report that you are safe. You wait."

After saying that, Liu Jilong stood up and walked out of the tent, heading towards the 13th Regiment's headquarters.

Soon, he returned with a stack of rough yellowed paper and pen and ink, and under the gaze of everyone, he wrote a letter home for everyone.

When going out, people usually report good news but not bad news. Plus, since everyone was not well educated, they just said a few simple words and ended the conversation after reporting that they were safe.

Liu Jilian put the letter away and put it into an "envelope" folded from letter paper, waiting to hand it over to the regiment's tent the next day, and then send it back to Jiuquan with the baggage team.

After doing all this, everyone lay back on their felts with peace of mind and fell asleep one after another.

That night, Liu Jilong dreamed that he returned to his previous life and ate all the food that he once disliked.

It was a pity that the dream was too short. He didn't have time to savor it before he was awakened by the sound of soldiers' armor.

Liu Jilong subconsciously turned over and got up, looked at the other ten brothers who were still sleeping like dead pigs, and shook his head helplessly.

If they had been attacked, the heads of all ten of them would have been used as military merits.

"Captain Liu!"

"coming!"

A voice was heard outside the tent. Liu Jilong put on his shoes, walked out and opened the tent curtain.

Outside the tent, the sky was gradually clearing up, and a thirty-year-old man of five feet five or six inches tall appeared in front of Liu Jilong.

He was wearing armor and was followed by two team leaders of the same rank as Liu Jilong.

"Send the governor's order. The army will set out in two days. Ask two brothers to go to the parade ground to get rice, meat and soy sauce."

"In addition, our group is part of the rear army. When the army sets out, the third group will be the last to leave."

The captain explained everything and then turned and left.

Seeing him leave, Liu Jilong rubbed his hazy eyes.

Things turned out just as he expected, the third group was indeed taken care of, but this was also a good thing.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong turned around and looked at the people who were still snoring in the tent.

"Get up and go to the training ground to get rice, meat and soy sauce!"

(End of this chapter)