Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 49: Even though there are thousands of people
"You killed the horse with one blow of a hammer?"

"Is this man still a human being..."

On the grassland, the Uighurs who witnessed Liu Jilong smashing the soldiers and horses to death in an instant were talking about the matter, and cold sweat broke out on everyone's forehead.

The three hundred Uighur soldiers were thirsty and their palms holding the bows were sweaty.

In front of the battle, the Uighur general put his hand on the hilt of his sword, but he had no confidence that he could save Xia Li.

He looked at the warhorse on the ground with a sly look, only to see it lying on the ground with its head covered in blood, its limbs twitching from time to time, and its breathing heavy.

Xia Li withdrew his gaze and looked at the iron hammer covered with blood and flesh. Only then did he realize that the iron hammer was as big as his fist. You know, an ordinary blunt weapon hammer is only the size of a child's fist.

This hammer must weigh more than ten pounds...

"Didn't the general say that we should talk peacefully? Why did you resort to violence?"

"It takes a hammer to kill a horse. That's the strength."

"Didn't you say that we can't do it?"

Not only the Uighurs were thirsty, but even the Shandan soldiers were sweating coldly.

You know, Liu Jilong just said yesterday that we shouldn't fight easily, but now he went up to the other party and smashed the other party's horse to death without even saying three words to him. This...

For a moment, even Zhang Chang, Jiu Juyan and the others didn't know what to say. They could only put their hands on the hilt of the knife, ready to strike at any time.

"With your martial arts skills, it's a pity to stay in the Tang army. Come to my camp and I will recommend you to be the commander-in-chief!"

Although Liu Jilong was pointing at him with a hammer, Xia Li calmed down after the panic.

He looked at Liu Jilong with burning eyes, fearing that Liu Jilong would think the price was not enough:

"If you think the position of the governor is too small, then you can rest assured that I can help you become the Yehu in the future!"

"I don't have the habit of being a dog for others." Liu Jilong interrupted.

"I say again, take your people and retreat back to the north of the Dragon Head!"

His eyes were cold, as if he would attack Xia Li in the next second.

"How many people do you have in Ganzhou?"

"Once I die, my Aba (grandfather) will definitely take this opportunity to lead 100,000 cavalrymen south to Ganzhou. By then..."

Xia Li didn't dare to continue speaking because Liu Jilong's hammer moved forward an inch.

"One hundred thousand cavalry? How dare you say that..."

The contempt in Liu Jilong's tone made Xia Li lose his mind. Without waiting for Xia Li to refute, Liu Jilong spoke:

"If you really had 100,000 soldiers, you would have led your people back to the grassland long ago."

"Do you think that these herdsmen who can't even wear armor can pose any threat to us?"

His eyes swept over the thousands of Uighurs, and his expression gradually became ugly.

Indeed, the Ganzhou Uighurs were not as powerful as he said.

If they really had 100,000 men, even if most of them did not have armor, they would have marched south to defeat the Tubo in Ganzhou long ago, and would never have allowed the Shazhou army to recapture Ganzhou.

This time they went south only to follow the military order of their Aba and to see whether the Tang people in Shandan were just strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

If a conflict really breaks out, Aba himself would not want to see it.

Moreover, judging from the methods of this Han man in front of him, the Tang army in Shandan should have something to rely on...

As he was thinking, Xia Li's face looked uncertain, and Liu Jilong was also looking at him.

During these days in Shandan, he has learned about the system of the Ganzhou Uighurs from the mouths of the Uighur slaves who were liberated in Shandan City.

The official system of the Uighurs followed the traditions of the nomadic Khanate of the grasslands and was deeply influenced by the Tang Dynasty.

Under the Khan there were two "killers" who commanded the troops, and ministers numbering twenty-eight from Yehu down, which were the same as those of the Turks.

Under the Khan, there were internal and external prime ministers, and each department had a governor, and under them were generals and Sima, which was an imitation of the Tang Dynasty system.

There were more than ten tribes of Ganzhou Uighurs, large and small, each with a governor who controlled several hundred to several thousand households.

The young man in front of him was probably a military commander, and these hundreds of armored soldiers and thousands of herdsmen were his followers.

Although he only had 300 men behind him, Liu Jilong was confident that he could defeat the 300 Uighur armored soldiers in front of him. Without these 300 Uighur armored soldiers, the remaining thousands of herdsmen would be lambs to be slaughtered, at his mercy.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong glanced in the direction of Longshou Mountain and his pupils couldn't help but shrink.

A few miles away, there was a cloud of dust, obviously a large group of people were on the move.

Liu Jilong knew who was coming from that direction without having to guess.

"Zhang Chang!"

Liu Jilong raised his voice and said, "Send two brothers to invite Zhang Sima to come over and see who has more people!"

"Yes!" Zhang Chang did not hesitate at all. He turned his horse around and passed the general's order to Jiu Juyan and others.

Jiu Juyan sent a group of cavalrymen to gallop towards Shandan City, and all of this was seen by Xia Li.

Xia Li was still thinking about whether to retreat, but suddenly he heard a commotion behind him.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw dust rolling behind him, which made him happy.

Even though Liu Jilong's armor-piercing hammer was right in front of him, he was confident: "Man, it looks like you won't be able to wait for your reinforcements."

"Heh..." Liu Jilong said mockingly, "I can also guarantee that you won't see the sun tomorrow."

"How about a bet?"

As Liu Jilong said this, he thrust the armor-piercing hammer towards Xia Li's face. Xia Li was so scared that he closed his eyes and cursed himself in his heart for being so rude.

Fortunately, there was no pain, and Liu Jilong's armor-piercing hammer stayed on the tip of his nose.

In just a breath, his entire body was soaked, as if he had just been pulled out of the water.

"Xilulu——"

In the distance, a black wave swept in, accompanied by the neighing and trampling of horses, as if it was going to crush the Shazhou soldiers with its momentum.

Faced with the endless team, there was inevitably some commotion in the Shazhou camp.

But all the commotion came to an abrupt end when they saw Liu Jilong's back, who was as steady as a rock.

From Suzhou to Ganzhou, Liu Jillong's deeds have been continuously spread. Unlike Zhang Huaishen, Suo Xun, Zhang Huairong and others, Liu Jillong is extremely unique.

Zhang Huaishen, Suo Xun, Zhang Huairong and others were all born into powerful families, so it is not surprising that they were promoted.

Even during the period when Tubo governed Hexi, local tyrants were still people whom Tubo needed to win over.

Because of this, during the period when Tubo ruled Hexi, the sons of powerful people would not be targeted by the Tubo people as long as they were careful in what they said and did, but it was different for ordinary people.

The common people in Hexi, regardless of their ethnicity, were the property of the Tibetan nobles.

They had served as herdsmen and horse slaves of the Tibetans, doing the most tiring work, receiving the worst treatment, and being whipped at any time by the Tibetan nobles.

The children of the rich and powerful cannot experience these experiences, only they, the common people, can.

Liu Jilian, like most of the Shazhou soldiers, was born into a commoner family and joined the army as a commoner. In less than a year, he was promoted ten levels from an outsider soldier to a seventh-rank general of the Central Government.

For the soldiers of Shazhou, especially the soldiers of Shandan who worked with Liu Jilian, he was a role model for the children of ordinary people.

Zhang Yichao wanted to promote him not only because of Liu Jilian's talent, but also because of his background and origin.

Shazhou needs people like Liu Jilian. His existence means that children of ordinary people can also squeeze into the center of power in Shazhou.

During these days in Shandan, Liu Jilong figured out his role clearly.

Therefore, when facing a powerful foreign enemy, he had no chance of retreating.

If he retreats, this benchmark for the common people of Shazhou will fall.

Even though he was afraid of death in his heart, he couldn't show it.

Once he showed a little cowardice, the sons of powerful people would not laugh at Liu Jilian, but they would think that "commoners are commoners."

This kind of thought cannot arise, so Liu Jilong cannot retreat.

His eyes were firmer and sharper than anyone else's, as if he could see through the cunning in front of him, through the thousands of Uighurs, and take in all the Uighurs in the black wave...

(End of this chapter)