Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 222: The Enemy at the Gate
"Sorry..."

At the end of June, as the season approached the hottest time of the year, armies marched into Hezhou one after another and assembled at Fenglin Pass.

A corps consisting of 3,000 elite cavalry and 4,800 infantry was stationed outside Fenglin Pass, heading towards the two states of Shankuo along the official road, stretching for several miles.

Nine thousand civilian laborers and 4,200 horse-drawn carriages will also serve as a guarantee for the transportation of infantry and military supplies.

After a few years, Fenglin Pass has been built larger and stored with more than 20,000 shi of summer grain collected from Hezhou and 30,000 shi of autumn grain harvested last autumn, totaling more than 50,000 shi.

Since the troops had assembled in advance, Liu Jilong did not delay but ordered the army to march towards Shanzhou. At the same time, he issued a military order to Dou Bin in Lanzhou, ordering him to be ready to supply food and grass at all times to prevent Shang Bibi from cutting off the retreat of the Longyou army.

Of course, Shang Bibi would not be so stupid, because even if he cut off the retreat route of the Longyou Army to Hezhou, the Longyou Army could still retreat to Lanzhou from the north. Therefore, in terms of logistics, the Longyou Army under Liu Jilian had already been invincible.

Zhang Chang, Li Ji and Zheng Chu commanded the three armies, Chen Ying and Cao Mao followed the army, and Liu Jilian was in charge of the central army.

The army built a pontoon bridge thirty miles west of Fenglin Pass, crossed the Yellow River and headed north to Longzhi.

When the team was marching through Baituling, Longzhi in the north had already learned of Liu Jilong's movements.

At this moment, Longzhi City was guarded by Shang Moyan, and there were 400 elite cavalry, 300 strong soldiers, and more than 7,000 civilians in the city.

"Protector General, Liu Jilong's cavalry has sent a message saying that he will be stationed outside Longzhi City tonight. We hope we don't leave the city easily."

In the Longzhi County government office, a guard reported the movements of the Longyou army to Shang Moyan.

In response, another Jie'er hesitated and said, "Jie'er, Liu Jilong won't attack us, right?"

"He doesn't need to do that." Shang Moyan responded calmly, then stood up and walked over:

"Order your men to slaughter six hundred sheep and ten cattle. When the Longyou army arrives, follow me out of the city to reward the troops."

"This……"

The two officials looked at each other in confusion. They were both worried that they would be killed by Liu Jilong after leaving the city.

Fortunately, Shang Moyan still had confidence in Liu Jillong. He believed that with Liu Jillong's current strength, there was no need for him to resort to such means that would damage his prestige.

"Since Liu Jilong said that he would help us take over Mochanchuan, Duomai, Weixi and other places, he will definitely keep his promise."

The good reputation Liu Jilong has accumulated over the years always comes in handy at critical moments.

After hearing what Shang Moyan said, the two officers had no choice but to follow him out of the city to reward the troops.

For this reason, when Liu Jilian led his army over Baituling, what lay before them was Longzhi City located in the river valley, as well as freshly slaughtered beef and mutton.

Under the command of Zhang Chang, the two thousand vanguard troops put on their armor and arrived outside Longzhi City first.

After Zhang Chang communicated with Shang Moyan, Liu Jilong personally led 5,800 elite soldiers and 9,000 civilians down Baitu Ridge and entered the Longzhi River Valley.

The terrain of Longzhi County is not good. It is located between gullies, and the terrain is narrow and long from southwest to northeast. There are only tens of thousands of acres of arable land.

Because of this, its population is the smallest among the two states and six cities of Shankuo, with only 7,200 people, most of whom are foreigners.

As the Longyou army set up camp, the area outside Longzhi City was basically filled with tents, which were set up along the Longzhi River to the northeast for several miles away.

"Screw rustle..."

The rustling sound of armor plates colliding was heard, and outside the huge tent, Zhang Chang, Li Ji and Shang Moyan walked into the tent.

"Come on!"

"Sit down."

Liu Jilong never took off his armor. When he saw Shang Moyan, he raised his hand and motioned him to sit down.

After Shang Moyan and the other two sat down, Liu Jilong also promised:

"Since my debut, I have never broken my promise."

"Today, we are borrowing the passage to attack Shan, but we will not use it as a pretext to attack Guo."

"My promise to you and your son still stands. When I recover Shanzhou, I will send troops in the spring of next year to help you and your son wipe out Lun Kongre and occupy Mochanchuan."

"When the time comes, I hope you will hand over Longzhi County and Hankou in the city to me first, and you can take all the Fankou away."

"If the Fankou don't want to leave, I will treat them well and won't blame them."

Facing Liu Jilong's straightforward remarks, Shang Moyan nodded and said, "Don't worry, General Jie, my father and I will not do anything like a mantis trying to stop a chariot."

Shang Moyan has already acknowledged the difference in strength between the two sides, and Liu Jilong also said:

"Last year your father fought against Lun Kongre. I wonder how many of them there were?"

"I am ashamed to say this..." Shang Moyan said with shame:
"Although the confrontation lasted for a long time, only a few hundred people were killed and more than a hundred heads of armor were captured."

Upon hearing this, although Liu Jilong was prepared, he still felt sad about Shang Bibi's military ability.

When it comes to scheming and maneuvering, Shang Bibi can use Lun Kongre as a chess piece, but once it comes to a military confrontation, Shang Bibi is far inferior to Lun Kongre.

With more than 2,000 armored soldiers and tens of thousands of militiamen under his command, he was able to fight a draw with Lun Kongre, who had more than a thousand elite cavalrymen and tens of thousands of militiamen.

But it's also good this way, as it will make Shang Bibi realize that she cannot wipe out Lun Kongre and must rely on the power of Longyou.

In this way, the cooperation between the two parties will be closer, and I will be able to better support and control him.

Considering Shang Bibi’s age, she probably doesn’t have many years left to live.

After he dies, Shang Moyan will take charge of the overall situation, and compared with Shang Bibi, Shang Moyan is even less guarded against himself.

As long as the alliance between Shang Moyan and Nanzhao was promoted, Nanzhao would be able to march straight into Chengdu in advance, realizing his idea of passing through Sichuan and migrating the population into Longyou.

Once this matter succeeds, Longyou's foundation will not be inferior to that of Lingnan, Guannei and other regions which are slightly weaker in strength.

But before that, Longyou must stockpile enough food to accommodate the people.

Therefore, after recovering the two states of Shankuo, the only thing left for him to do was to recover Liangzhou.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said to Shang Moyan in a deep voice:
"Your father is old, and you will still have to make the decisions for Eastern Tibet in the future."

"I can help you occupy the lands of Mochanchuan, Duomai, and Weixi, and become the lord of millions of heroes in the East Territory."

"But you also have to be prepared, because I won't help you for nothing."

"I know." Shang Moyan nodded honestly and said ambitiously:

"My father thinks I can't control the East, but I want to do something that my father can't guess."

"If the commander is willing to support me, I will definitely follow his lead in the future!"

After hearing so many words from his father saying that he didn't trust him, Shang Moyan couldn't help but develop a rebellious mentality.

Why can't he become a powerful leader, even through the hands of others?

"If you keep your promise, I will definitely not treat you unfairly."

Liu Jilong used tea instead of wine and raised his glass to invite Shang Moyan.

Upon seeing this, Shang Moyan raised his cup and drank the tea in one gulp.

Afterwards, the two exchanged a few words of greeting, and Shang Moyan left the tent with the two guards and returned to Longzhi.

After they left, Li Ji bowed to Liu Jilong and said:
"General, it's not that I don't trust Shang Moyan, it's just that the barbarians are cunning. Shang Moyan is so submissive to you now because he is weak. I'm afraid that when he becomes powerful in the future..."

Li Ji hesitated to speak, and Liu Jilong chuckled and said, "Don't worry, no matter how powerful he is, he can't escape relying on us."

Liu Jilong naturally knew that raising a tiger as a threat would easily lead to its backlash.

But the problem is that the decline of Tubo is a foregone conclusion.

Even the Zuosilo regime a hundred years later was only destroyed by the Song court.

Facing Shang Moyan, Liu Jilong was confident that he could easily suppress him.

What's more, there will be no so-called conflict of interest between the two parties.

The current Tubo is not the most chaotic time. In a few years, slave uprisings and internal strife among several major families will slowly erupt. As a member of the Meilu family, Shang Moyan's energy will also be attracted by the internal strife.

As long as he does what he says at the right opportunity, his plan will succeed.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong gradually calmed down and set about retaking Shanzhou.

The next day, the army moved camp and marched towards the Huangshui River. Shang Moyan also sent people to give 2,000 sheep as a reward for the army.

Liu Jilian gladly accepted it, and then led his army along the Longzhi River to the north of the Huangshui River.

Before dusk, the army arrived at the south bank of the Huangshui River and set up camp, while the Tangqi and Shaoqi under Longyou and Tuoba Huaiguang also met on the western front.

Both sides passed on intelligence and returned. After Liu Jilian learned the news, he simply ordered martial law and ordered the three armies to rest without disarming their armor. He was not in a hurry to attack Huangshui.

Instead, after the scouts under Tuoba Huaiguang's command passed the news back to Shancheng, Tuoba Huaiguang led 600 elite cavalry to the Huangshui Gorge in the east of Huangshui overnight to camp. Huangshui Gorge is the mountain gorge through which the Huangshui River flows, and it is also the gorge for attacking the hinterland of Shanzhou.

There are eight large bays here. There is an official road in the north of the bay that leads into Huangshui County, but the road is only more than ten feet wide, making it easy to station troops for defense.

After Tuoba Huaiguang fell out with Liu Jilian last year, he sent 800 armored soldiers and 3,000 tribesmen to station here and built a strong pass.

Now he has arrived with another 600 elite cavalry, plus another 1,400 armored soldiers from Shancheng and Huangshui who can provide support at any time. Although he is worried about the behavior of the Longyou troops approaching the city, he is full of desire to win.

On the fourth day of July, Liu Jilian led his troops to break camp and cross the river, and then marched towards the Huangshui River along the official road on the north bank of the Huangshui Bay Gorge.

The narrow bay of more than 30 miles stretched the Longyou team of more than 16,000 people to nearly 20 miles.

Before dusk, Zhang Chang of the vanguard army also saw the pass that lay before them.

The city wall built with stones cut off the official road of more than 20 meters leading out of the gorge. The city wall relied on the mountains on the north bank and was immersed in the Huangshui River on the south bank.

The city wall is twenty feet high, and its thickness is unknown, but it looks very solid at first glance.

The Tibetan flags on the city walls fluttered in the wind, and the armored soldiers stationed at the pass were lined up in several rows on the horse path.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Chang immediately sent someone to pass the news back to the central army. At the same time, he built a camp by building a wall of earth three hundred steps away from the pass.

At the same time, Tuoba Huaiguang, who was resting in the pass, also climbed onto the horse path and looked at the Longyou army in the distance.

"This is the front army, and the generals' methods are relatively stable."

Tuoba Huaiguang narrowed his eyes and gave his evaluation, while encouraging the soldiers around him:
"Our pass is built of stone. Even if Liu Jilong's catapult is very powerful, it will not be easy to break through here."

"Pass on my military order. Leave three hundred soldiers on the horse road, and the rest will go down the city wall and rest in the houses at the base of the wall."

"Wait for them to build the trebuchets, then I'll give you my orders to counterattack!"

With just a few words, Tuoba Huaiguang calmed down his soldiers and made arrangements for their shifts.

After doing all this, he continued to observe the movements of the Longyou Army on the horse trail, and Liu Jilian outside the pass also got the news and galloped to the front army camp.

As the distance was too far, Liu Jilong continued to approach the pass until he was about a hundred steps away. He then reined in his horse and stopped, calmly observing the situation at the pass.

This was also thanks to the fact that he only wore zavian armor and not Ming Guang armor or other armor. Otherwise, when Tuoba Huaiguang saw senior generals coming to the front of the battle, he would have ordered the catapults in the pass to attack without saying a word.

"General Jie, the distance is too close, should we retreat a bit?"

Zhang Chang, Chen Ying, Cao Mao and others were worried about speaking, but Liu Jilong chuckled and said:

"Don't worry. If you worry, it will make the other party suspicious. Just treat us as Tangqi."

After the words fell, Liu Jilong also commented: "This Tuoba Huaiguang is also experienced in defending the city. No wonder he was able to block the fierce attack of Lun Kongre's tens of thousands of troops with hundreds of armored soldiers and thousands of people."

"This stone wall is so solid that it's hard to say whether it can be blown down even if we use gunpowder to attack it."

"At a height of two meters, if we use a cloud car to attack, we will definitely be blocked by the asphalt and wood."

"Zhang Chang, send someone to bring some wood and pretend to build a trebuchet to see how far their trebuchets can reach."

"I obey your command!" Zhang Chang agreed without hesitation, and then began to arrange people to test the pass.

Liu Jilong turned his horse around and returned to the camp, because he had already memorized the key points of the pass.

Soon, hundreds of armored soldiers drove horse-drawn carriages towards the pass, and Tuoba Huaiguang on the horse road saw this and began to prepare the catapults for the attack.

Time passed, and when the armored soldiers of Longxi approached three hundred steps, Tuoba Huaiguang immediately waved his hand.

"pull!"

Following the centurion's order, three thousand soldiers began to pull the ropes in their hands, and the stones in the catapults were thrown high into the air.

"Beep--"

The Longyou Army’s daily training included training in guarding against catapults, so when a black spot appeared in the pass, wooden whistles were immediately heard in the team.

Upon seeing this, all the armored soldiers retreated hurriedly. Thirty stones as big as human heads fell on the team pulling the carriages, killing several horses and hitting several carriages. The vehicles fell apart on the spot, and the horses ran away in panic.

The soldiers who reacted had clear division of labor: some calmed the frightened draft horses, some began to collect the dead horse carcasses, and others counted the number of fallen rocks.

"Liu Jilong, the pig-dog, has fallen into the trap!"

When Tuoba Huaiguang saw that the soldiers from Longyou outside the Great Wall remained calm in the face of danger, he immediately realized that Liu Jilong was testing the number and distance of the catapults in his hands.

As he was shouting and cursing, hundreds of armored soldiers began to retreat to the camp in an orderly manner.

"General, there are thirty fallen rocks, weighing about twenty pounds, about two hundred and sixty steps away."

Zhang Chang brought a fallen rock to the central army's tent, and Liu Jilong also said after hearing it;

"With a limit of 280 steps, build a trebuchet position and attack in echelon formation to protect the civilians."

"I obey your command!" Zhang Chang bowed in response, then walked out of the tent with Luo Shi.

Soon, the Longyou army began to build a catapult position 280 steps away from the pass.

"Qiliben, should we reduce the weight of the stone and use the opportunity to stop them?"

A Jie'er bowed and asked, and Tuoba Huaiguang snorted coldly: "The throwing stones have been polished long ago. To reduce the weight, we can only continue to dig... waste!"

"Yes..." After being taught a lesson by him, Jie'er did not dare to refute, and Tuoba Huaiguang continued:
"I've heard that Liu Jilong's trebuchet is powerful. I want to see how powerful it is."

"Once they have built the trebuchets, immediately withdraw the soldiers on the bridleway to the base of the city wall, and the civilians also retreat a hundred steps."

"Yes!" Jie'er agreed, and then asked: "Do we need to withdraw the catapults?"

"Do I need to teach you?" Tuoba Huaiguang glared at him. Seeing this, Jie'er began to place rolling logs under the catapult, preparing to move the catapult away.

Half an hour later, the sun was setting in the west and was gradually sinking into the mountains, and the catapults of the Longyou Army were also built.

The position was divided into four rows from west to east, with ten trebuchets in each row, staggered.

After the catapult position was set up, Zhang Chang did not rush to attack, but let his army cook.

Soon, the aroma of cooked corn began to waft, and Liu Jilian also ordered the slaughter of five hundred sheep to feed the soldiers.

The amount of meat from five hundred sheep is not much. On average, each soldier can only eat a little more than one pound.

As for the mutton offal and bones, they are left over and stir-fried with peppercorns or used to make soup.

In the Longyou Army, among every hundred people in each brigade, there was a group called the cooking group. They usually trained one hour less than the other groups, as they used their time to learn how to cook.

Things like making soup, kneading noodles, cooking etc., although not easy, can be done passably.

Soon, food was placed on Liu Jilian's table. It was the same food as that of his brothers in the army, except that the portion was slightly larger.

A bowl of mutton soup, a bowl of corn rice with soaked vegetables, and mutton offal fried with peppercorns.

Liu Jilong poured the food into the mutton soup, stirred it and started eating.

After eating nearly two kilograms of mutton, my stomach immediately became full of oil and water.

The mutton soup was served with corn rice and fried mutton offal. The whole bowl of soup and rice was eaten up as easily as drinking water.

"Marshal Jie, do you want another one?"

Cao Mao and Chen Ying were in the central army tent, so when they saw Liu Jilong finish his soup and rice in no time, they thought that he still had not had enough.

Liu Jilong shook his head and said, "The food was good, thanks to Shang Moyan."

There was nothing wrong with what he said. After all, the two thousand sheep accompanying the army were all sent by Shang Moyan.

"Tomorrow you will go on stage to observe, but don't get too close."

He explained to the two that although Chen Ying was just a dental dealer, he would eventually enter the battlefield.

As for Cao Mao, Liu Jilian promised to let him lead the troops. Although this time he was accompanying the army as a recorder and military officer to command military officials and supervise the transportation of food and grass, it was time for him to get some experience in the battlefield.

In fact, Liu Jilian also had his own ideas. He hoped that the bloodiness and cruelty of the battle could persuade Cao Mao to retreat.

However, he still underestimated Cao Mao's determination to fight.

The next day, before dawn, Cao Mao got up early, put on his armor, and went to the front army with Chen Ying.

When the sky began to brighten, Zhang Chang began to order an attack.

Under the supervision of soldiers and operated by civilians, forty catapults began to lock the capstans, heavy stones were put into the counterweight boxes, and slightly polished Huangshui River stones were also placed on the slingshot belts.

Before the sun rose, the whistle sounded on both sides of the Huangshui River.

"Beep--"

(End of this chapter)