Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 262 Unstoppable
"Wow..."

On the fifth day of March, after the snow melted, Liangzhou gradually regained its greenness and grasslands covered the ground.

A hare was frolicking on the grassland, and a goshawk was preying in the air. It swooped down in an instant, grabbed the hare into the sky, threw it down to kill it, and then landed to peck at its corpse.

When the Tang Dynasty focused its attention on Puzhou and eastern Zhejiang, the Umu and Uighur people who had obtained Liangzhou were able to rise above the rest of the world.

They planted corn on the 700,000 to 800,000 mu of cultivated land in Liangzhou, and hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep graze on the grassland at will without any restrictions.

In Changsong City, the people of the Umu tribe occupied all the houses and treated the captured Tibetans in the city as slaves, beating and killing them at will.

Their behavior made the people in Changsong City realize one thing.

Compared with Tubo and Umo, the Guiyi Army treated them more like human beings...

"Fannu, move faster!"

"Snapped!"

The Hu soldiers whipped the foreign people in the city, urging them to repair the city walls.

They endured the beatings from the horse whips and concentrated on repairing the city walls.

The wind was howling hard, and the flags on the horse trail were fluttering and making noises.

Hu Bing on the arrow tower felt his eyes blurry. When he rubbed his eyes and opened them again, he saw a red cloud floating in the distance.

He squinted his eyes carefully, his breathing gradually became heavier, and in an instant he grabbed the wooden whistle and blew it.

"Beep--"

"Enemy troops appear outside the city!"

"Beep--"

The whistles and shouts broke the tranquility in Changsong City. Countless people's eyes flickered as they tried to look outside to see who was coming.

Even Suo Xun, whom they once regarded as vicious, now looked particularly lovable.

But before they could see clearly, the Hu soldiers drove them off the road.

At the same time, a large number of Hu soldiers wearing armor in the city of Umu rushed up to the city walls from all the streets.

In just two quarters of an hour, more than three thousand armored Hu soldiers stood on the city wall.

Some of the armor they wore were made by the Umu people themselves, and some were captured armor from the Liangzhou army.

After taking Guzang and Changsong, the Umu people reached their most powerful time... 8,000 armored soldiers and 50,000 archers.

Now they are not worried about the Tang army coming to their rescue.

However, when they saw clearly the enemy troops surrounding Changsong City, the faces of many Hu soldiers on the city walls suddenly changed.

"Susu..."

The words "Liu" and "Longyou" hidden in the Sanchen flag appeared. Even if the Umo people could not understand them, the Umo generals stationed here could understand them.

"The one who sent the light cavalry is Liu Jilong from Longyou!!"

Du Huaijie, the governor of Changsong City, quickly gave orders, and the light cavalry, who had received the military order, immediately ran from the foot of the city to the west gate, trying to break out and report the news.

Dozens of light cavalry rushed out of the west gate and galloped towards Guzang City in the west.

The Longyou cavalry and infantry who were gradually closing in on Changsong did not take any action against them.

However, before they could break out of the encirclement, a larger number of elite cavalry appeared in front of them.

The fat and strong Helong horses were carrying the elite cavalry from Longyou with strong backs and broad shoulders.

Hundreds of elite cavalry blocked their way, and before they could even open their mouths to surrender, a rain of arrows fell on them.

As the horse neighed, Umo Qingqi was thrown off the horse. The horse lost its front hoof and rolled several times before being seriously injured and died.

The dozens of light cavalry sent by Du Huaijie were surrounded by hundreds of elite cavalry from Longyou in the blink of an eye and were all captured.

"This idiot really thinks he'll be invincible after taking Liangzhou? He doesn't even leave scouts outside!"

When the Longyou army surrounded Changsong City, Zhang Chang rode his horse to Liu Jilong's side and coldly complained about the contemptuous attitude of the Umu people towards the external situation.

In response, Liu Jilong looked at Changsong City from more than 200 steps away, thinking of his experience of surrendering Changsong City in the past, and responded after a moment:

"After all, they have only been in business for a decade or so, and they don't have the foundation or enough talent."

"Even if this small tribe rises, it will only take a few decades for it to decline."

Liu Jilian never took Emu seriously, not only because Emu was a new nation, but more importantly because Emu did not have any outstanding talents.

Historically, as the first ethnic group in Hexi to break off relations with the Guiyi Army, Umu did seize Liangzhou from the Guiyi Army.

However, a few years after they took over Liangzhou, Liangzhou was recaptured by Zhang Huaishen again.

Even though Zhang Huaishen was assassinated a few years later and Umu occupied Liangzhou again, the Umu tribe that fought with the Guiyi Army for Liangzhou inevitably consumed too many people because it died too early.

Because of this, Umu was defeated by the Liugu Tubo in the subsequent battle for supremacy in Hexi and fled to the northern grasslands again.

This time, they couldn't even save Bai Tinghai.

His shallow background, excessive greed, and early death ultimately led to Umo's failure to continue his rule in Hexi, and he was eventually lost in history.

Compared to them, the Ganzhou Uighurs ended up a little later. Even though they also had some conflicts with Hexi, they received continuous blood transfusions from various Uighur tribes in the Western Regions, so the problem was not serious.

If the Dangxiang had not emerged as a sudden force, Hexi might have eventually belonged to the Uighurs.

It’s a pity that these are always regrets of the original history, not Liu Jilong’s regrets.

Now that he has come, no matter whether it is the Ganzhou Uighurs or the Liangzhou Uighurs, the only two choices left for them are to migrate westward or perish.

"The army does not need to set up camp, assemble shield vehicles to attack, and enter Changsong to rest tonight!"

Liu Jilong's eyes were calm and his tone was peaceful, as if he was discussing what to eat in the evening.

Zhang Chang, Ma Cheng, Dou Bin, Li Shangyin, Cao Mao and others bowed and said, "We obey your orders!"

"Uuuuuu——"

The trumpets sounded, and dozens of horse-drawn carriages were pushed to the front of the battle and assembled.

Du Huaijie, who was standing on the top of Changsong City Wall, was puzzled when he saw this: "You came all the way here to attack the city. I want to see how many catapults you brought with you!"

"Someone, bring out the catapult from the armory!"

After conquering Liangzhou, the Ganzhou Uighurs and the Liangzhou Uighurs both obtained the counterweight trebuchet technology that Liu Jilian left in Hexi.

Although this technology was not as good as the capstan counterweight trebuchet technology developed by Liu Jilian in Longyou, it was advanced enough for that era.

Whether it was Chengle or Dugazhi, they all believed that they had obtained advanced technology sufficient to attack and defend cities, but they never thought about who brought this technology.

"Enter!!"

There were anxious shouts outside Changsong City as twenty shield carts and ten ferry bridges were assembled.

As Zhang Chang waved the command flag in his hand, three hundred Longyou armored soldiers pushed the shield carts and the bridge and began to advance.

At the same time, the people in the city had just brought out the catapults, and they had not yet assembled them.

"Shoot arrows every fifty steps. I want to see how they can cross the river without catapults!"

Du Huaijie was extremely confident in Changsong's city defense. Even though there were still many gaps in the Changsong city wall at that time, it could not be broken by a battering ram.

Like Tuoba Huaiguang in the past, he regarded the shield carts of the Longyou Army as battering rams for crashing into the city walls.

Arrows rained down like a torrential rain, continuously shooting towards the three hundred armored soldiers.

When the arrowhead collides with the armor, it will rarely penetrate the armor, except for causing a dent.

Even if arrows occasionally penetrate the armor plates, there are still chain mail and battle jackets behind the armor.

Because of this, although the three hundred armored soldiers were shot into hedgehogs, they did not suffer any serious injuries.

As long as they kept their heads down and focused on pushing the siege equipment, it would be difficult for the arrows to seriously injure them.

"push!!"

The ferry was pushed into the moat, and after being washed down the river, it was directly built on the other side of the moat.

Seeing this, the armored soldiers pushing the shield cart got inside and pushed the shield cart while crowded inside.

At this distance, arrows have already posed a threat to them, but hiding in the shield car can protect them from being disturbed by arrows.

One after another, shield carts crossed the two-meter-wide moat and then landed at the foot of Changsong City.

"Oh!"

When the shield carts crashed into the city, the Umu armored soldiers began to pour asphalt and threw torches to set the shield carts on fire.

The shield cart covered with a layer of wet cowhide was not burned but was burning slowly.

"Dig a hole in the wall, quickly!"

Feeling the choking smell, the armored soldiers in the shield cart began to dig at the Changsong city wall in a hurry.

Of the twenty shield carts, some overturned into the water while crossing the river, others were hit by asphalt, battering stones and rolling logs. In the end, only twelve managed to crash into the city wall.

They crashed side by side into the city of Changsong, and then dug out the rammed earth city wall.

"Beep--"

As the wooden whistles sounded, more and more shield vehicles were ready.

"Beep--"

"Uuuuuu——"

When the twelve whistles sounded, the sound of the horn followed.

All the armored soldiers lit the fuse, then ran out of the shield cart with shields raised from the rear, and fled to the main camp outside the city.

"Escape!"

"The dog Hannu escaped!" "Hahahahahaha..."

The Umo people on the top of the city were still laughing at the "escaping" Longyou soldiers, and Du Huaijie in front of the city tower also sheathed his long sword with a look of disdain on his face.

"The tribe has made Liu Jilong a god, but now it seems that he is nothing more than a Han slave!"

He was still feeling smug, but the soldiers of the Longyou Army ran away sixty or seventy steps without looking back.

"Look at the way they are running away. Liu Jilong will probably be so angry that he will execute them in battle!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

"Boom boom boom——"

Before Du Huaijie's laughter ended, he suddenly felt the earth shaking and thunder rumbling.

The dust enveloped the entire Changsong City in an instant and spread outward at an extremely fast speed.

Those "escaping" Longyou soldiers were also covered up, but before the dust could reach Liu Jilian and his men, it was blown away by the fierce wind from Liangzhou.

"Um..."

"Cough cough..."

"Help me! I'm buried!"

"Rescue!"

"My hand! My hand!"

"Captain!!"

When the dust was blown away, a large gap more than ten feet wide was blown out in the Changsong city wall.

Even though he was two hundred steps away, Liu Jilong could still vaguely hear those miserable cries and cries for help.

"General Jie, this new gunpowder is more powerful than the old one. Only 1,200 kilograms can blow up the city wall like this!"

Zhang Chang looked at Liu Jilong excitedly, while Dou Bin, Li Shangyin and Ma Cheng stared with their eyes wide open, still in shock.

Among the crowd, only Cao Mao, who had witnessed the power of black gunpowder in siege operations, managed to remain calm.

In response, Liu Jilong said calmly: "Don't delay, while they haven't reacted yet, attack the city now!"

"Yes!" Zhang Chang bowed in response, and Ma Cheng and others also reacted.

"Attack. The first person to reach the county yamen will be promoted three levels!"

As Zhang Chang waved the command flag, the 8,000 Longyou cavalry and infantry outside the city immediately formed a formation and marched forward.

As the explosion site of the Longyou Army was too close to the city gate tower, Du Huaijie, the defender of Changsong, was killed and buried immediately, causing chaos in the command of the troops in Changsong City.

After the Longyou Army had already reached the city, they were able to barely form a battle formation of several hundred men at the gap.

The power of 1,200 kilograms of black gunpowder is indeed terrifying. However, if it is used against a strong city made of rammed earth and bricks, the power may not be that great.

However, for Changsong City, which was built with rammed earth and had not yet been covered with bricks, the more than ten-foot-long city wall was blown away and collapsed, making it easy to attack the city.

The Umu people fought the enemy with bows and arrows and spears, while the Longyou army fought with spears, swords and shields on the periphery and bows and crossbows on the interior.

For a moment, the Umu people on the left and right sections of the city wall were beaten so hard that they could not raise their heads, and the Umu people in the front were pushed into the city by the Longyou Army from the high ground of the collapsed city wall they had occupied.

Compared with the sturdy and disciplined Longyou Army, the Emo Army was more like monkeys wearing armor, too thin to support the armor.

The two armies faced each other, and when their spears collided, the Longyou army, holding three-foot-long spears, faced the Emo army, holding nine-foot-long spears. Even if the spears did not collide, they could still pierce their cheeks first.

The fighting styles of the Umu people were varied, while the fighting style of the Longyou Army seemed very clumsy.

With a grand formation, the long spears were thrust out like a cluster and retracted like a cluster, pushing forward and being invincible.

After fighting for less than two quarters of an hour, the Umu army was completely defeated and fled into the city through the gap.

After entering the city, the archers in the Longyou Army switched to spears and formed a formation to attack the left and right walls.

They formed a battle array on the horse path and pushed the Umu people away from the path, and countless of them fell below the city.

"General Liu Jie from Longyou is coming! Help us!"

The foreign people in the city were more excited when they saw the Sanchen Flag than when they saw their former beliefs.

They led the way for the Longyou Army and wished they could personally pick up their swords and kill a few of the Umu people.

Under their guidance, the Longyou Army dispersed in an orderly manner, and each team of fifty people went along the alleys to raid the Umo people on the main road, making it impossible for the front and rear to take care of each other.

Under this circumstance, although Emu still had more than 2,000 armored soldiers, its decline was already apparent and its defeat was imminent.

At the same time, Liu Jilong and his men walked into the city and climbed up the city wall.

Li Shangyin saw the unity between the Tibetans and the Longyou Army and sighed:

"This world is indeed as the commander said, the rise and fall of a country is nothing but the suffering of the people."

"If the people are united in their hatred of the enemy, these little bandits are nothing but clowns!"

Before this, Li Shangyin couldn't believe that during the hundred years of hatred between the Han and the Fan people, the Fan people would actually help the Han people deal with other people.

Even though he had already felt the power of the unity between the Han and the Fan people in Longyou, he always believed that the Fan people were like this because they were defeated.

But now it seems that the Changsong people are not familiar with most of the Longyou troops, but now they can unite against the common enemy, which shows that what Liu Jilong said is right.

"Whether they are Fan people or Han people, they are nothing more than poor people who are exploited."

"They don't ask for much, just to have enough food to eat and not be exploited by officials."

Liu Jilian felt extremely relieved when he saw the Changsong people and the Longyou army sharing the same hatred for the enemy.

How to resolve the century-old conflict between the Helong Fan and Han people?

Cultural identity is the most powerful means, but before that, the gap between the two sides must be eliminated.

The invasion of the Ummats and the Uighurs was the best opportunity to eliminate the gap between the two sides.

Only when the Tibetans in Liangzhou realize that Tibetans are the same as Umu and Uighur, will they sincerely agree with the Longyou Army's entry.

As long as they have this sense of identity, and then spread the culture, let the foreign people learn Chinese and write Chinese characters, and recognize that the foreign people and the Han people have the same origin, Helong will truly stabilize.

"kill……"

The setting sun was blood-red. The Umo people in Changsong City were no longer able to hold on. More than a thousand of the three thousand armored soldiers were killed, and the remaining less than two thousand Umo people chose to surrender.

Liu Jilian did not make things difficult for the surrendered Umu people.

As for the Umu people who did not have their own writing and language, it was much easier to assimilate them than to assimilate the Tibetans.

The population of Changsong City is over 40,000, more than at its peak, but these 40,000 people are basically Tibetans and Umu people.

In addition, there are more than 20,000 Emu herdsmen on the grassland southwest of Changsong.

Liu Jilian was not in a hurry to capture them. Instead, he calmed down and signaled the army to have a good rest and set out to recapture Guzang tomorrow.

"The reason why Changsong was recaptured so easily today is not only because our army's gunpowder is powerful, but also because the walls of Changsong have not yet been covered with bricks."

In the Changsong Yamen, Liu Jilian sat in the main seat and summarized the battle with everyone.

"Tomorrow, when the army goes to Guzang, it will be much more difficult to defeat than Changsong."

"Gu Zang was renovated by Zhang Shijun, Suo Xun and others. The inner part of the city wall was made of rammed earth and stones, and the outer part was covered with bricks, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"If it weren't for Umo's strong attack with 100,000 troops, and if Suo Xun had not had a small number of soldiers, Umo wouldn't have been able to capture Guzang so easily."

"Tomorrow, after our army surrounds Guzang, we will first attack with catapults to destroy the bricks, and then use black gunpowder to blow up the rammed earth walls."

When Liu Jilong finished his explanation, a military officer walked into the hall. Li Shangyin stood up and took the document. After reading it, he handed it to Liu Jilong and said:

"It's been calculated. There are more than 7,000 strings of cash, silk, spices, more than 23,000 dan of grain, and more than 7,000 jin of dried meat in the warehouse."

"There are more than 3,000 cattle and 4,000 horses in the city. The herds are grazing in the south. Only by encircling and capturing them can we know the exact number."

After Li Shangyin finished speaking, Liu Jilong briefly flipped through the documents and looked at Cao Mao:

"Send a message to Lanzhou, and have Gao Jinda and Cui Shu send troops to relocate 4,000 households from Guangwu to Liangzhou, 1,000 households to Changsong, and the rest to Guzang."

"In addition, 100,000 dan of grain will be shipped from the Lanzhou government warehouse."

"Yes!" Cao Mao bowed in response. Liu Jilong also closed the document and looked at Ma Cheng:
"Ma Cheng, tomorrow you will lead a thousand soldiers to garrison Changsong, and recruit soldiers from the 20,000 civilians. We welcome anyone who is willing to serve."

"I obey your command!" Ma Chengguo bowed decisively in response.

Seeing this, Liu Jilong looked at Dou Bin and said, "At 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, you will lead your elite cavalry to set out first and conduct a thorough investigation of the thirty-li area along our route."

"I will lead the army to set out at noon, and let the brothers in the car rest for an hour and have breakfast before leaving."

"I will obey your orders!" Dou Bin also bowed in response, and then Liu Jilong waved his hand and said:

"Well, we have been traveling all day, and spent half a day attacking Changsong. We have to rush to Guzang tomorrow. You are all tired. Go down and rest early."

"I'll take my leave..."

Zhang Chang and others were indeed tired, so after Liu Jilian spoke, they did not delay and immediately retreated to rest.

However, when they left, Cao Mao stayed behind and bowed to Liu Jilong and said:

"General Ji, two hours ago, news came from Wuquan that Chen Ying is back."

"You're back?" Liu Jilong nodded and said, "It's good that he's back. Let him explain his affairs and then come to Liangzhou to take up his post."

"Yes!" Cao Mao responded with a smile, then turned and walked away under Liu Jilong's gaze.

After he left, Liu Jilong turned his gaze to the table in front of him. In front of him were the three cities of Guzang, Jialin and Fanhe in Liangzhou.

The Tang court was in chaos, and Jiangnan and Henan were in even greater disarray because of Wang Shouwen and Qiu Fu, leaving them no time to look east.

"It's better to have more chaos. The more chaos there is, the more opportunities there are to fish in troubled waters..."

(End of this chapter)