Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 208: Unrest in Hexi
"Um..."

“It hurts! It hurts…”

"Bring me jasmine root powder! Quick!"

In early December, as heavy snow fell on the Hexi region, there were constant wailing in Shandan City, and the smell of blood was so strong that it made people nauseous.

Many tents were temporarily built on the parade ground, and military doctors were running back and forth between the tents. From time to time, corpses were transferred to other tents, and from time to time, seriously injured people were transferred to the emergency tent.

Shandan’s military medical system was left behind by Liu Jilian, so compared with the military medical system of this era, the survival rate here is very high.

"Screw rustle..."

Zhang Huaishen, covered in dust, walked into the training ground. He was wearing heavy armor, which was stained with blood. It was obvious that he had just experienced a fierce battle.

"Jiu Nie, what's wrong?"

Zhang Huaishen found the magistrate of Shandan County at that time, the young Li Mingzhen.

Li Mingzhen, who was able to serve as the magistrate of Shandan County at the age of sixteen, certainly did not climb the mountain by relying on his own ability. After all, since Liu Jilian took over Shandan, Shandan had become a wealthy county in Hexi, second only to Guzang, Changsong and Zhangye counties.

Li En supported Li Mingzhen to serve as the county magistrate of Shandan, Ganzhou, originally hoping to gain experience and wait to take over as the governor of Ganzhou in the future.

Unexpectedly, after the Tang Dynasty announced that the Uighurs and the Umu were its vassal states, the Ganzhou Uighurs and the Liangzhou Umu only rested for a few years before they began to march south and repeatedly invaded the two states of Gansu and Liang.

Last year, Zhang Huaishen sent troops to inflict severe damage on them. He thought they would lick their wounds on the grassland, but he did not expect that they would go south again.

Li Wei was not good at military strategy, and the Longshou Mountain defense line left by Liu Jilian in the past was like a sieve at this moment, and could not stop the Uighurs at all.

Under Liu Jilong's protection, Shandan County, which had finally enjoyed five years of peace, was once again engulfed in war.

I thought it was just gilding, but I didn't expect it to become the front line.

"Envoy, no less than 600 people died in the Shandan formation..."

Li Mingzhen's face was full of fatigue, and he was not outstanding in military strategy, but fortunately, the Shandan City renovated by Liu Jilong was strong enough, so for more than half a month, Li Mingzhen managed to defend Shandan.

It’s a pity that the Shandan army lost more than 400 soldiers.

Hearing this, Zhang Huaishen felt a throbbing pain in his heart, but he still comforted him:

"It's not your fault. I transferred most of the veterans of the Shandan Army to Liangzhou, and many of them followed Gao Jinda and his men to Longxi. The barbarians are coming with tens of thousands of people. It's not easy for you to hold on."

"Besides, I saw me repel the barbarians. You killed and wounded a lot of them. You don't have to blame yourself."

Even so, Zhang Huaishen still felt very uncomfortable in his heart, and Li Mingzhen looked at Zhang Huaishen's bloody mouth and said, "Envoy, you are injured. I will let the military doctor treat you."

"No need, let them treat the seriously injured soldiers first."

Zhang Huaishen interrupted Li Mingzhen, then sat in the corner between the tents with a stool.

Two quarters of an hour passed slowly, during which time many seriously wounded soldiers became corpses and were carried to the morgue tent.

For Zhang Huaishen, his heart was bleeding when he saw so many Hexi soldiers die in battle.

"Your Majesty!"

Du Wanmeng came hurriedly from a distance, and when he was three steps away from Zhang Huaishen, he bowed and said:

"The Uighurs withdrew from Longshou Mountain and retreated northward to the Juyan Sea."

"We found more than 700 sets of armor on our way back, and more than 1,400 sets of armor outside the city, all of which were heavy armor!"

Du Wanmeng's words made Zhang Huaishen clench his fists. After all, the Ganzhou Uighurs five years ago were fugitives who couldn't even lead 3,000 armored soldiers.

It has only been four years since they became a vassal of the Tang Dynasty, but they are able to lead so many soldiers to invade the south. Their momentum is ferocious and it is worrying and lamentable.

While Zhang Huai was thinking deeply, Li Mingzhen also said: "In the past half month, we have seen no less than 4,000 armored soldiers on the Hulu battlefield, and there are also elite cavalry patrolling outside, and no less than 30,000 light cavalry."

"Sir, if the imperial court continues to support the barbarians, Hexi will be lost one day!"

Zhang Huaishen stood up upon hearing this and said with a cold face: "I will send light cavalry to report this matter to the court. The most urgent task now is to repair the stone fort in Longshou Mountain."

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately ordered the two of them: "Du Wanmeng, you lead two thousand elite cavalry and three thousand civilians to Longshou Mountain to repair the stone fort."

"Jiunie, you will use the captured armor to train new soldiers, and send them to garrison the stone fort in the spring."

"Yes!" The two bowed in response, and Zhang Huaishen also walked out.

Soon, he walked out of the military camp under the escort of several elite cavalrymen. The streets of Shandan were no longer as peaceful as when Liu Jilian was in charge. Many people were injured in the process of defending the city and transporting supplies, and many doors were hung with white linen.

"If Liu Zhechong were still alive, there would be no way the barbarians could cross Longshou Mountain..."

"do not talk……"

"Ugh……"

Zhang Huaishen felt upset when he heard several wounded civilians limping away.

He lowered his head and walked towards the outside of the city, and soon he arrived outside the city.

The blood almost dyed the walls of Shandan red, and thousands of corpses piled up under the city, filling the moat.

The laborers were salvaging the bodies and burning them. The bloodstained armor was simply cleaned, dried and placed on a horse-drawn cart nearby.

The air was filled with a foul smell and the gray and white rotten cotton that drifted from the roaring bonfire.

Cheng Le failed to capture Shandan, and lost more than 2,000 armored soldiers and 3,000 to 4,000 light soldiers. The casualties of the Hexi Army also increased from more than 400 to more than 500 over time.

In addition to the armored soldiers, more than 600 civilians also died while defending the city.

Sitting in the tent, Zhang Huaishen, who had just washed up, picked up the pen but didn't know how to start writing.

There were no more than 110,000 Han people in Hexi, and no more than 30,000 adults, while the Umu and Uighur tribes on the Ganzhou grasslands numbered more than 200,000 or even 300,000.

If they continue to fight like this, even if they can defeat the Uighurs and the Umu, the Han people in Hexi will also be extinct.

Zhang Huaishen's fingers trembled, and he put down the brush after a long silence.

Soon, Zhang Huaishen packed the silk book and sealed it with wax.

But before the silk letter could be sent out, hurried footsteps were heard outside his tent.

Zhang Huaijian lifted the curtain and said in frustration: "News came from the north that Wumo has invaded Liangzhou!"

"Suck……"

Zhang Huai took a deep breath, as if he had already expected that this invasion was the result of a joint effort between the Uighurs and Umu.

"Pass on my military order. Rest for three hours and move to Liangzhou after three hours..."

"Yes!"

Without a chance to rest, Zhang Huaishen could only send Li Mingzhen to take over the repair work of the Longshou Mountain Stone Fort.

The official road to Yanzhi Mountain, which was closer to the east, had been closed due to heavy snow in December, otherwise it would not have taken them nearly half a month to reach Shandan City.

Now the only road left for them is the Ganliang grassland in the north, and this road is destined to be dangerous.

For this reason, before dawn, Zhang Huaishen led less than 3,000 Gansu and Liang cavalry across Longshou Mountain and galloped eastward towards Liangzhou along the Gansu-Liang grassland.

As war raged across Liangzhou, the Umu people chose to attack Changsong, the second largest county in Liangzhou.

Time seems to be a cycle. It was at Changsong that Dugazhi was defeated and retreated to the north.

Now his opponent is still Zheduosibie and Changsong City, but the flags on the top of Changsong City have been changed.

"Zheduoxibie, since you can surrender to Zhang Huaishen, why can't you surrender to my Khan?!"

"Zheduoxibie, my Khan said that if you are willing to surrender, you will still be the county magistrate of Changsong!"

"Surrender……"

At dusk, a large number of elite cavalry and armored soldiers lined up outside the city, numbering no less than three thousand.

Among these three thousand elite cavalry and armored soldiers were nearly twenty thousand Umu light cavalry.

Dugazhi's big banner was waving in the dusk, and under the city of Changsong were several light cavalrymen who were sent out to solicit surrender.

Zheduosibie stood in front of the northern tower of Changsong, leaning against the parapet and looking down at the Umo army, his expression unchanged.

On his left and right, two Han generals were watching him closely, fearing that he would do something wrong.

Under their gaze, Dugazhi took out a bow and arrow from the bow bag at his waist, drew the bow and put the arrow on it.

In an instant, two arrows flew out and hit the two light cavalrymen who were shouting outside the city.

The horses were frightened by the arrows and threw the two cavalrymen to the ground, while Zheduosibe also laughed and shouted:
"I surrendered once, and I won't surrender again this time!"

"Go back and tell Dugazhi that if you want Changsong, come and get it yourself!"

After he finished speaking, he put away his bow and arrow, turned around and looked at the two generals: "It seems that the light cavalry that came to ask for help has successfully broken through."

Seeing that Zhe Duoxibie had no intention of surrendering, the two men's attitude towards him immediately changed, and they bowed one after another and said:
"Gu Zang doesn't have many troops, and Li Yizhong in Lanzhou has disobeyed orders several times. Do we really have reinforcements?"

Hearing this, Zheduosibie laughed out loud and said, "I, a Tibetan, can firmly believe that there are reinforcements, but you guys don't believe it, hahahaha..."

His laughter embarrassed the Han soldiers around him, but their originally low morale gradually rose because of his words.

Even the Tibetan Zheduosibie believed that reinforcements would come. As Han men, how could they not trust their comrades?

As they regained their confidence, the Umu Light Cavalry outside the city also quickly fled back to the formation.

Dugazhi and the grown-up Dulunxiga watched them retreat, and they immediately realized that Zheduosibie was unwilling to surrender.

Dulun Xiga looked at Dugazhi and said, "Aye, are we really going to attack Changsong?"

"No!" Dugazhi shook his head and said, "We have finally trained 3,000 elite cavalry soldiers, how can we use them to attack the city?" "What's more, Zhang Huaishen is good at fighting, and they can't take Ganzhou at all."

"Once Zhang Huaishen defeats Chengle, he will come back to rescue Changsong. Even if we capture Changsong, we won't be able to hold on."

"In that case, we might as well find their herds hiding in the valleys to the south and plunder them to exchange for iron."

"If we want to take Liangzhou, we have to wait until the Tang army in Liangzhou falls into internal turmoil before we have a chance!"

Ever since being tricked by Liu Jilong last time, Dugazhi also realized that the Umudu tribe did not have the strength to take over Liangzhou.

What they need to do now is to bide their time and wait for civil strife among the Tang army in Liang Province.

After saying this, Dugazhi turned his horse around and began to give orders calmly.

He surrounded the four gates of Changsong with elite cavalry and sent 20,000 light cavalry to search for the herds outside Changsong City.

When Zheduoshibie saw his arrangements, he knew that the herds in many valleys in the south could not be protected, and his face turned grim.

However, there were only 2,000 armored soldiers in Changsong City, and it was impossible for them to go out of the city to fight in the field.

At present, the elite cavalry of Liangzhou have been led by Zhang Huaishen to rescue Ganzhou. Even if Zhang Huaishen is fast enough, it will take eight or nine days to reach Changsong.

Thinking of this, Zheduosibie had no other choice but to defend the city and wait for reinforcements.

At the same time, Jiujuan had already assembled the troops of Fanhe, Jialin and Guzang, with a total of 800 elite cavalry and 4,000 infantry.

"Governor Jiu, the rebels of Umo have indeed gone to Changsong. The light cavalry of Changsong has already broken through the siege and delivered the military intelligence to us!"

Inside the government office of Guzang City, a lieutenant reported the situation to Jiu Juyan, who then looked at Zhang Huaiman:

"Six days ago, when the northern cavalry reported that Wu Mo was heading south, I sent light cavalry to Ganzhou to inform the envoy."

"According to the time, the envoy should be on his way back."

"With our abilities, we are not capable of leading troops to relieve the siege of Changsong. We can only dispatch troops after the envoy arrives!"

Zhang Huai looked grim, but he still nodded and acknowledged the fact.

Seeing this, Jiu Juyan also asked the captain who was delivering the message, "Changsong Hulu, are the number of soldiers and horses consistent with the previous investigation?"

"Reporting to the governor, the number of soldiers and horses is about 20,000. In addition, Changsong has also sent troops to Guangwu for help."

The captain bowed in response, Jiu Juyan frowned slightly, and Zhang Huaiman snorted coldly:

"Li Yizhong has 600 elite cavalry and 1,400 armored soldiers, but he has disobeyed orders several times and will not come to support us this time."

"He neither surrendered to the envoy nor to Liu Jilong. What was he thinking?"

Zhang Huaiman expressed Jiu Juyan's doubts, which was what Li Yizhong was thinking at the moment.

He was confused, and so was Zhang Huaiman, but they were sure of one thing, that is, Li Yizhong would definitely not respond to Changsong's call for help, and that was indeed the case.

While Jiu Juyan and Zhang Huaiman were waiting for Zhang Huaishen to return for help, Changsong's elite cavalry also galloped across Hongchiling and Wunishui, and went south along the Wunishui to Guangwu County, Lanzhou.

At this time, Guangwu County was thriving under the management of Li Yizhong. Nearly 10,000 soldiers and civilians settled on 100,000 acres of arable land outside the city. All the money and grain output was collected into the state treasury, and only military pay and food for the people were allocated.

Although this resulted in insufficient training for the Guangwu Army and reduced combat effectiveness, the military and civilians in Guangwu County were able to become self-sufficient.

It is for this reason that Li Yizhong would not obey Liangzhou's orders.

Of course, there are other reasons besides these.

"Ask for help?"

In the Guangwu County Government Office, Li Yizhong, who was dressed in casual clothes, looked at Rebajian who reported the matter.

"Yes, he was found by a scout ten miles north of the city. This is the letter he brought for help."

Rebajian, speaking broken official language, handed the letter for help to Li Yizhong.

Li Yizhong took a glance at it and then said, "Place him well."

"Envoy, the matter of seeking help..."

Rebajian asked tentatively, but Li Yizhong frowned and said, "Reinforcements must be sent, otherwise Zhang Huaishen will definitely use this as an excuse."

"How about this, you lead 400 elite cavalry to Liangzhou. If the Umo people in Changsong retreat, you will gallop towards Changsong."

"If the Umoths continue to besiege the city, then you will wait for your chance."

"After this is over, remember to ask Zhang Huaishen for food and fodder."

"The snowfall in Longxi this year is not as much as last year. I estimate that the harvest next year will not be as good as this year. It would be a good idea to take this opportunity to ask for some food."

"Yes!" Rebajian bowed in response, but he looked at Li Yizhong and said:
"If Governor Suo of Huizhou finds out about our dispatch of troops, then..."

"Humph!" Li Yizhong snorted coldly, "Why bother with him? Just because I took some people and food from him, you think you can order me around?"

"Then why did you not listen to Liangzhou's orders several times?" Rebajian was puzzled, and Li Yizhong explained:
"The waters over in Liangzhou are muddy, so it's best not to get involved."

"If Zhang Huaishen asked me to receive Wuquan, do you think I should go or not?"

"It would be better to just stay in this stalemate and wait for Liu Jilong to send someone to find me."

Being between the three forces of Zhang Huaishen, Suo Xun and Liu Jilian, Li Yizhong knew that he was qualified to be sold at a good price.

His position was to accept Suo Xun's solicitation but not do anything, while maintaining a subordinate relationship with Zhang Huaishen, and finally waiting for Liu Jilian to recruit him.

After all, among the three, Zhang Huaishen has the most trouble, while Suo Xun has the strongest background, and Liu Jilong is the strongest and is at the peak of his career.

"Envoy, you haven't contacted General Liu for almost three years. Will General Liu really come to pacify us?"

Reba persisted in her skepticism, but Li Yizhong sneered, "I have already heard that Liu Jilong will probably use his troops against Shankuo soon."

"Once he has recaptured Shankuo, there will be no more valuable places around for him to capture."

"Given the current situation in Hexi, chaos may break out at any time."

"When the time comes, whether Zhang Huaishen asks for help or Liu Jilong takes the initiative to enter Hexi, Liu Jilong will have to go through Guangwu to enter Hexi."

"I can take this opportunity to rely on him and take root in Lanzhou!"

In three years, Li Yizhong has become much smarter, and in terms of weighing the pros and cons, he is becoming more and more like his father Li Wei.

His position was very awkward. He didn't dare go south to ask Liu Jilong for the Five Springs, and going north to Liangzhou would result in chaos.

Suo Xun in the east has become the candidate supported by the Tang court, but he is not strong enough to compete with Suo Xun.

If he went west, he would not be able to defeat Tuoba Huaiguang and the monk Bibi, so he could only guard Wuquan here and wait for Liu Jilian to go north to recruit him.

"Envoy, then why don't we take the initiative to join him?"

Rebajian didn't understand, but Li Yizhong explained:
"I have worked with Liu Jilong and I know his character well."

"After all, I am a general in the Hexi Army. If I surrender to him with the city, he will inevitably be criticized by the people of Longyou and accused of betraying Zhang Hexi."

"Given his personality, there is no way he would accept this."

"So if I surrender to him, I will have to abandon the soldiers in Guangwu and surrender to him."

"But if that happens, I will go alone and my power in the army will definitely not be very high."

"That's why I can only stay here in Guangwu and wait for the Liangzhou Incident. Then, I will surrender to him with the excuse that I have been cut off from news from Hexi."

Li Yizhong's calculations were clear, and Rebajian's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Now the Umu soldiers are besieging Changsong. If Changsong falls, we will be cut off from Hexi, then isn't that right..."

Before he could finish his words, Li Yizhong interrupted him and said, "Emu's strength is not enough. At most, they can plunder some herds and then withdraw. Attacking the city is impossible."

"If you don't believe it, take a good look at it this time."

Seeing Li Yizhong say this, Rebajian could only boo, but after a moment he still asked his last question.

"Envoy, if you knew that Hexi was about to undergo a change, would Zhang Hexi and Envoy Zhang know about it?"

Li Yizhong could understand what Rebajian said, that is, if Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen knew that changes were about to happen in Hexi, why did they delay in reacting?

"Of course they know, but they don't dare to fight back."

"Don't dare to fight back?"

Rebajian was stunned. In his opinion, if Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen fought back, they would at least be able to inflict severe damage on Emu and the Uighurs. How could they not dare to fight back?

In response, Li Yizhong just glanced at Rebajian and didn't say much.

What he could see, Zhang Huaishen and Zhang Yichao naturally knew clearly, and they could even see further than he did.

But the problem is that even though they saw that changes were about to happen in Hexi, they were still helpless.

Even though the Hexi Army inflicted heavy losses on the Uighurs and Umu several times, it was still unable to defeat them because the Tang Dynasty was behind them.

As long as the Tang Dynasty continues to support these two tribes, Hexi will always be constrained, unless Hexi dares to draw the sword against the Tang Dynasty.

But if they really do this, the ending of Hexi will be even more tragic.

Although the Tang Dynasty has now issued orders not to move the countries in the Western Regions, if the Tang Dynasty acquiesces in their attack on Hexi, the Anxi Uighurs, Gaochang Uighurs and Xizhou Uighurs in the Western Regions will unite with the Ganzhou Uighurs, the Umu people and the Tuhun people to divide up Hexi.

Unless Zhang Yichao is sure of defeating these forces, they can only watch Hexi decline and change.

Thinking of this, Li Yizhong couldn't help but sigh, and at the same time he thought of Liu Jilong.

The reason why he jumped out of Hexi was probably because he had already anticipated the ending of Hexi.

Only by following people like him can I go further...

(End of this chapter)