Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 381 Wulan Chase

"Sorry..."

In the afternoon, the noise of war gradually subsided, leaving only the sound of the wind murmuring in the empty fields.

The cavalrymen in Longyou dismounted one after another and began to collect the horses left behind by the government troops on the grassland, or to capture those government troops who were left alone.

Thousands of Longyou soldiers dismounted and held spears, carefully examining the bodies of the government troops lying on the ground with skilled and calm movements.

Occasionally, they would use their military spears to pry open the armor on the corpses to confirm whether there was still breath, or if they found their brothers who were still alive, they would quickly call for a military doctor.

Except for Dou Bin, who was sent by Liu Jilong to pursue, the war was over for everyone else.

"You pig-dog bastard, next time I see that guy, I will shoot him back!"

Liu Jilong dismounted and immediately heard Cao Mao cursing from the crowd.

"Hit by an arrow?"

Liu Jilong pushed everyone away and saw Cao Mao sitting on the ground with his sleeves rolled up. A military doctor squatted beside him and treated the arrow wound on his hand.

There was an arrow under the feet of the two men, obviously Cao Mao was shot in the arm.

"The arrow pierced through the arm armor and flesh. Fortunately, it was the left arm, so it won't affect the next step."

Without waiting for the military doctor to answer, Cao Mao, who was originally cursing, immediately changed his tone, fearing that Liu Jilong would ask him to stay.

Liu Jilong nodded his head expressionlessly when he heard this. It's not that he didn't feel sorry for Cao Mao, but on the battlefield, this injury was indeed not considered serious.

He looked back and saw that hundreds of bodies of Longyou soldiers were taken away dozens of steps away, and there were more than 200 seriously injured Longyou soldiers lying in one place, and military doctors were treating them.

Longyou has already had distilled liquor, which is perfect for disinfection.

"Damn it, the arrows of these bastards are either rusty or tainted with wolf poison."

"Even the foreign bandits in the past would not have been so cruel!"

Although he was dozens of steps away, Liu Jilong still heard the insults.

His face changed and he hurried over there.

"Is there wolfsbane on the arrow?" Liu Jilong asked as he approached. The military doctors answered while treating the wounded:

"There's wolfsbane and gold juice. It's very troublesome to clean up."

"Damn it! I'm going to kill these bastards!"

As soon as the military doctor finished speaking, many soldiers following Liu Jilong were about to get angry, drawing their swords and rushing towards the side where the prisoners were being guarded.

"Stop!" Liu Jilong stopped these people and looked not far away.

In a corner of the battlefield, hundreds of captured soldiers were gathered together, their hands tied with ropes, squatting on the ground.

Their faces were filled with confusion about the future, and fear was revealed from time to time.

More than a hundred Longyou cavalrymen, armed with lances, stood around the captives, watching their every move with cold eyes.

A Shatuo captive raised his head and said to the guard in stiff Chinese: "We are just following orders, please spare our lives."

The guard looked at him coldly and said in a cold tone: "If you behave yourself, you may still be able to survive."

Upon hearing this, the captives lowered their heads and dared not speak again. Liu Jilong also withdrew his gaze and searched among the wounded soldiers.

Soon, he saw the banner soldier who had been shot by an arrow, and walked towards him.

Most of the wounded soldiers here were wounded by arrows. Those who survived basically had scratches, and most of those whose visors were shot through have already become corpses.

As for those who fell off their horses, nine out of ten were unable to be saved and all lay down.

Liu Jilian came to the side of the banner guard. The soldier was tall and muscular, at least six feet tall, an inch or two shorter than Liu Jilian. His armor was full of arrows.

"How is your injury?" Liu Jilong asked about his injury. Before he could speak, the military doctor said:

"It looks scary, but they are all flesh wounds. The only wound on the arm needs attention."

Liu Jilong looked down and saw that he was unlucky. His right arm, which was needed to hold a weapon, was injured. The arrow cut a two-inch wound on his forearm and it was bleeding profusely.

"What's your name?"

"Zheng'an Pohu, the second squadron of the third brigade of the Wuquan Army, greets the commander!"

An Pohu respectfully reported his identity, and Liu Jilong nodded after hearing it: "You have made great contributions in protecting the banner, and I will give you another merit."

"Thank you, General Jie!" A look of joy appeared on An Pohu's face. After Liu Jilong comforted him with a few words, he turned his attention to the rest of the people.

Most of the other wounded soldiers were fine, but in just a dozen breaths, two seriously injured soldiers died.

Liu Jilong stood there, looking at the soldiers escorting the body, crying silently, with a heavy heart.

"Come on!"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind Liu Jilong. He turned around and saw a captain bowing to him.

"How?" he asked, and the captain replied:
"At present, 206 brothers have been killed, 42 brothers are injured or disabled, 130 brothers are seriously injured, and the remaining 7,622 brothers will not be affected in the battle."

"There were 596 corpses on the government side, and 142 prisoners, including many Shatuo and Tangut people."

"Our army lost 626 horses and only captured 255 horses."

"In addition, we also found hundreds of looted civilians and more than 20,000 dan of grain in the government army camp."

Needless to say, the cost of cavalry combat is huge, and the gains are far less than when two armies fight in battle.

Including the captured, the government army lost at most 738 cavalrymen. Even if Dou Bin was able to shoot and kill many lone government soldiers in his pursuit, it is estimated that the number would hardly exceed 800.

Even so, the casualties were not small, close to 10% of the cavalry, which was enough to make them lose their courage.

"The elite cavalry of Shatuo and Dangxiang are indeed well-deserved of their reputation. They are better at riding and shooting than the elite cavalry of Tubo. On the contrary, the elite cavalry of Shuofang Town is like a child who knows nothing about the world."

Liu Jilian commented on this mixed cavalry of the government army. If it weren't for the strong combat effectiveness of the Shatuo and Dangxiang cavalry, Longyou might have been able to kill more people.

"Send someone to interrogate the prisoners and see if we can get some useful information."

"Also send someone to Guangwu to notify the reinforcements and have them come to receive the civilians, prisoners, and food."

"Yes!" Upon hearing Liu Jilong's order, the captain hurried forward to take care of it.

Half an hour later, Liu Jilian got the information he wanted, and Dou Bin led the cavalry back, bringing back a lot of spoils and prisoners.

Liu Jilian borrowed the camp left by the government troops and immediately held a simple meeting in the tent.

"Shuofang Town originally had 7,000 elite Shatuo and Dangxiang cavalry, 2,000 elite official cavalry, and 8,000 infantry."

"There are 2,000 infantry stationed in Lingzhou, only 1,000 in Yanzhou and Weizhou, and 5,000 in Huizhou, including 3,000 infantry in Huining and 2,000 infantry in Wulan."

"Now our army has killed or captured 229 Shatuo cavalrymen, 242 Dangxiang cavalrymen, and 316 Shuofang cavalrymen. The Shuofang army has lost 787 elite cavalrymen, and nearly 10% of them have been killed or wounded."

"It is impossible for the Dangxiang and Shatuo elite cavalry to fight to the death for the imperial court. They should have retreated to Wulan by now."

"Li Ji and his men have surrounded Huining City and are believed to have begun the siege."

"Given the gunpowder in the army, it won't be a problem to capture Huining City. Next, we just need to attack Wulan in the north and put Shuofang in danger. Wang Shi can only attack Weizhou after rescuing Chengji."

"Chengji is where the government army stores food and fodder. Once the news is exposed, Wang Shi will definitely transfer the food to other places, most likely Longcheng and Shanggui."

Liu Jilong kept pointing at locations on the map, and then said, "The most urgent task now is to capture Huizhou, then march south quickly and attack Chengji and Longcheng fiercely."

"Send a message to the Xichuan Military Governor's Office and the Dongchuan Military Governor's Office to guard the place strictly and do not let Gao Pian and Li Fu get any advantage. Do not hide the things that should be used!"

"Send the Tangqi to Wulan Ferry. There are thousands of elite cavalrymen in the government. It's not easy to cross the river. If you find any trace of the elite cavalrymen staying on the west bank, inform us immediately!"

"Yes!" After being bandaged, Cao Mao and others quickly responded, and then sent the wounded soldiers who could not participate in the battle to act as fast horses and report to Wuquan in the south.

Half an hour later, the three armies rested after Ma Li, and then headed north to Wulan, leaving behind a hundred elite cavalrymen, the wounded, prisoners, and civilians.

At the same time, after several hours of speeding, Zhou Bao and his team arrived at the Yellow River ferry in Wulan County before it got dark.

Due to the high speed, many cavalrymen were left behind on the grassland, and only less than 6,000 cavalrymen crossed the river and set up camp outside Ulan County.

While they were crossing the river, a number of cavalrymen who had successfully broken through gathered on the other side of the Yellow River, but they could only wait until tomorrow to cross the river.

"There are only 7,000 elite cavalry inside and outside the two rivers, and 2,000 of them died in one battle. I am so heartbroken!"

In the Wulan County government office, Zhou Bao walked quickly into the main hall, threw down his helmet and cursed, but Li Sigong, who followed him into the main hall, was relatively calm: "Not so many, many brothers are left alone, but the rebels' elite cavalry came from a long distance, and their horsepower is insufficient, so they should not be able to catch up with them."

"The exact number of casualties will not be known until tomorrow."

After Li Sigong finished speaking, Zhou Bao nodded and said, "Although there were many casualties, at least their elite troops were attracted." "I will send someone south now to tell Wang Shaobao about the military situation so that they can attack Weizhou without hesitation!"

As soon as Zhou Bao finished speaking, he saw the Magistrate of Wulan County hurriedly walk into the yamen and bowed quickly, saying:
"General Jie, Longyou has sent tens of thousands of troops to surround Huining. Huining City is in danger. Please send troops to help!"

"Impossible!" Zhou Bao stood up immediately after hearing this and refuted:

"Longyou has only 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers. How can they send tens of thousands of troops to besiege Huining?"

"Even if there are not tens of thousands, there should be no less than 20,000 people." The Ulan County Magistrate also reacted and quickly changed his words.

Zhou Bao looked at Li Sigong, but Li Sigong frowned and said, "Our army is short of horsepower, and we need to rest for at least one night."

"Okay! Let's take a night's rest." Zhou Bao nodded in agreement, then persuaded the Ulan County Magistrate to leave and asked someone to prepare meals for them.

At the same time, Zhuxie Chixin and Zhuxie Yisheng also walked into the courtyard of the yamen one after another, but their left arms were wrapped in coarse cloth, making it difficult for them to move.

It is not an easy task to pull another person onto your horse while standing in the stirrups.

Although Zhuxie Yisheng weighs only a hundred pounds, the weight of his armor and jump is enough to injure Zhuxie Chixin's arm.

Without a few days' rest, the father and son could forget about shooting.

"You two came just in time!"

When Zhou Bao saw the two people coming, he immediately told them that Huining was surrounded and that troops would be sent to rescue it the next day.

Zhu Xie Chixin frowned after hearing this, looked at Li Sigong, and then looked at Zhou Bao again:

"So, the cavalry today should have been sent by the rebels to kill us."

"We currently have less than 6,000 cavalry. Even if a lot of cavalry return at midnight, there will be no more than 7,000."

"I saw today that the rebel cavalry was very powerful, and the casualties were no more than 500."

"It may not be that easy for us to rescue Huining alone..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Bao was about to speak, but Zhu Xie Yisheng couldn't help but said, "Since they are besieging Huining, how about letting Huining defend it and we take the opportunity to raid Liangzhou?"

The young man's words did not cause any praise. His haphazard approach also reflected his immaturity at the moment.

Li Sigong chuckled when he heard this, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone: "If you go to attack Liangzhou, then Huizhou will fall and the rebels will attack Lingzhou. Then won't we have to withdraw thousands of people to Tiande Army?"

Zhu Xie Yisheng wanted to argue after hearing this, but Zhu Xie Chixin stopped him and said, "General Li is right. I think we should wait for Wang Shaobao and his men to capture Weizhou, and then we can act when the time is right."

"That's what I think." Li Sigong and Zhu Xie looked at each other, and both could see the reluctance of the two.

They did not go south to fight to the death this time. Although they obtained a lot of armor and money and food in Shuofang Town, both sides suffered many casualties in today's battle.

If they go to Huining to rescue, and then encounter the cavalry today, there will probably be even greater casualties, which is not what they want to see.

While thinking, they turned their eyes to Zhou Bao, and Zhou Bao also guessed their little thoughts.

He wanted to command these two people, but the performance of the Shuofang cavalry in today's battle really made him unable to be tough.

What's more, what these two people said was right. With only their more than 6,000 cavalry, they were indeed unable to rescue Huining.

Thinking of this, Zhou Bao hurriedly called his personal guard and whispered in his ear: "Tell Wang Shaobao about Longyou's surprise attack on Huining, and urge Wang Shaobao to send troops to threaten Weizhou and force the main force of the Longyou army to withdraw."

"In addition..." Zhou Bao looked at Li Sigong and Zhu Xie Chixin, and finally said: "The ferry will also take our people to the east bank tonight. The others will wait for our people to cross the river first."

"Yes!" The guard nodded in agreement and then left the yamen.

After Zhou Bao watched his guards leave, the food prepared by the county government was served.

Although he suffered a defeat during the day, fortunately he was not seriously injured and could still fight.

Thinking of this, they gradually relaxed their vigilance, but as time passed and the sky turned from night to light, the defeated soldiers who had been gathered with great difficulty on the west bank of the Yellow River were discovered by the elite cavalry from Longyou.

"General, there is military intelligence 26 miles to the northeast!"

Liu Jilong didn't sleep for long, he was awakened by Cao Mao after two hours.

He frowned and opened the tent curtain, but saw that the bonfire in front of the tent was still burning. Cao Mao bowed and reported:

"The Tangqi sent a message that more than a thousand defeated soldiers gathered at the ferry twenty-six miles northeast, and are now crossing the river."

"If we launch a surprise attack now, we might be able to gain something."

"Order the three armies to break camp!" Liu Jilong did not delay upon hearing this and immediately decided to break camp and launch a surprise attack.

"The last general takes command!"

When the military order was passed down, Cao Mao immediately sent people to wake up all the brothers in the army.

It was past midnight and the sky was already beginning to get light. In half an hour at most, the sky would become completely bright, so they didn't have much time left.

Five hundred men were left behind to pack up the tents, while the remaining seven thousand men immediately put on their armor and rode north on horseback.

The distance of twenty-six miles was only half an hour's journey for them.

However, when they headed north, the defeated soldiers who had been fleeing for a day and a night did not even have a tent. They could only sleep next to their horses, curled up, and wait to cross the river.

Boatmen have already started to move at the ferry outside Ulan County. More than 30 rafts are traveling on the surface of the Yellow River, carrying 60 to 70 people each time, but it takes a lot of time.

It was coldest before dawn, and these defeated soldiers could not sleep at all. They could only add firewood to keep warm.

As the number of people around them dwindled and the sky grew brighter, the group gradually relaxed.

Just when they relaxed, the shrill whistle sounded like a demon whispering in their ears, making their scalps numb.

"Enemy attack!!"

Someone shouted and the whole ferry was in chaos.

Hundreds of people had not yet crossed the river, and it was midsummer, so although the river was not turbulent, it was still capable of drowning people and horses.

They could only stand at the ferry and shout to urge them on, but the laborers were "slow".

"The Han people are dogs and rats. They must want to leave us here to die!"

"Get on the horse, if all else fails, flee to Lingzhou!"

Among the team, many Shatuo and Dangxiang people immediately mounted their horses and fled to the north at the urging of their companions.

There were many people following them, and in the end, everyone fled to the north.

When the boatmen saw that there was no one at the ferry, they didn't know whether to go forward or backward.

It was not until thousands of cavalrymen galloped from the south that they hurriedly rowed back to the east coast.

"He ran to the north, chase him!"

Liu Jilian did not hesitate and immediately led his elite cavalry to pursue northward.

It was not easy for them to cross the Yellow River before Li Ji captured Huining, went north to surround Wulan and seized the ferry.

Instead of this, it would be better to go north and wipe out these fleeing defeated soldiers first.

Under his command, five hundred elite cavalrymen stayed at the west bank ferry, and the remaining six thousand elite cavalrymen from Longyou left their horses and vests behind, changed to military horses and pursued lightly.

A horn sounded in Ulan City, and Zhou Bao, Li Sigong, Zhu Ye Chixin and others who were still asleep were awakened by the sound of the horn. They did not even have time to put on their armor and hurried to the city wall.

When they reached the city wall, they realized that the cavalry from Longyou were chasing them, and the hundreds of elite cavalry left on the west bank fled to the north.

"You dog-rat rebels, I will kill you sooner or later!!"

After learning that most of the elite cavalry left behind were from Shatuo and Dangxiang, Li Sigong punched the parapet and glared at Zhou Bao.

Although Zhou Bao felt guilty, he still breathed a sigh of relief.

If he had not told the county magistrate last night to transport the Shuofang cavalry first, the two or three hundred Shuofang cavalry left on the west bank might have been lost.

Although there are still hundreds of Shatuo and Dangxiang cavalry on the west bank, the dead are not his people. Even if it hurts, it is better than losing his own people.

“Dad…” Zhu Xie Yisheng looked at his father with a grim face.

Although Zhuxie Chixin was full of anger, he still pretended to be calm, but his tone was very unfriendly:

"Look carefully, this is what they are like. They are as cowardly as pigs and sheep on the battlefield, but they are full of tricks off the battlefield."

"These two or three hundred troops should all be treated as a lesson, but their deaths will not be in vain. We will get our revenge one day!"

(End of this chapter)