Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 67: Thousands of Troops Are Easily Defeatable
"Search! Search them all! I must find them alive or dead!"

"Whoever finds Qiliben's trail will be rewarded with ten cattle and sheep!!"

At the entrance of Qilian Gorge, Liu Jilian's withdrawal made the Hewei cavalry who were pursuing them in the rear feel disheartened.

They did not have the eyesight of Liu Jilong and had no idea that Shang Yanxin had already run more than a hundred steps. They just thought that Liu Jilong had already killed Shang Yanxin on his horse.

This doubt reached its peak when a half-flag appeared in Liu Jilong's team.

Even if there is a one in ten thousand chance, they want to find Shang Yanxin or his body.

"Haha, that bitch Shang Yanxin must be dead... retreat!"

Shang Duoluo, who was fighting with the Hewei cavalry, saw Liu Jilian retreating, so he also withdrew without any desire to fight.

Before retreating, the news that Shang Yanxin had been killed spread, causing the Hewei cavalry to lose interest in pursuit.

All of a sudden, a large number of Hewei cavalry began to search for Shang Yanxin on the battlefield, but Shang Yanxin ran wildly for several miles before daring to look back.

When he saw the empty team behind him, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Qiliben, our great banner..."

The only remaining officer gasped and reminded Shang Yanxin, and only then he realized that his big banner was missing.

"Quick! Go back!"

After realizing what was happening, Shang Yanxin quickly turned his horse around and headed back to the battlefield.

He was well aware of the consequences of having the banner taken away. If he did not show up in time, the Hewei cavalry would be leaderless.

He began to return to the battlefield, while Liu Jilian led the team to retreat to the south gate.

The more than 200 infantrymen who had retreated earlier formed a formation at the city gate to support Liu Jilian's retreat.

"Kill that Han slave surnamed Liu!!"

A man named Dong Ben gave orders with red eyes, and soon hundreds of Hewei elite cavalry came in pursuit.

"Those with insufficient horsepower should retreat to the city gate first, and those with sufficient horsepower should follow me and guard the rear!"

On horseback, Liu Jilong glanced at the hundreds of elite Hewei cavalry chasing him from behind, and immediately slowed down his horse and gave orders to his attendants.

For a moment, nearly a hundred elite cavalrymen with insufficient horsepower retreated first, while dozens of elite cavalrymen with sufficient horsepower slowed down and followed Liu Jilong to the rear.

Liu Jilong took the bow and arrow, pulled the one-stone horse bow to a full moon, then turned around and released the arrow.

He displayed his skill of continuous shooting, and within just a few breaths, seven or eight elite Hehuang cavalrymen were shot in the face and fell off their horses and died.

"Anyone who chases me will die!"

Liu Jilong stopped his horse and shot an arrow in half, cutting off the flagpole of the pursuing He Wei soldiers who were more than seventy steps away.

Xiaojie, who was not far from the flag, felt his scalp tingling and subconsciously stopped his horse.

Before he could react, an elite rider next to him was shot through the cheek by an arrow and fell off his horse.

"withdraw!!"

After realizing what was happening, Xiaojie no longer dared to chase Liu Jilong and turned his horse around to retreat.

Hundreds of elite cavalry followed him in retreat. Seeing this, Liu Jilong also shook the reins and retreated towards the city gate.

In front of the city wall, Zhang Huairong and others watched Liu Jilong chase Shang Yanxin for several miles, and then return safely. While repelling hundreds of pursuers, the team also held high Shang Yanxin's banner.

Such a scene was jaw-dropping, especially Liu Jilian's method of shooting down the flagpole of Hewei's flag seventy steps away with one arrow was even more astonishing.

"Shang Yanxin is dead?"

"That's impossible... Is Shang Yanxin so easy to die?"

There was a lot of discussion in front of the city gate tower, and everyone was staring at the big banner and speculating.

After a cup of tea, Shang Duoluo led a team of less than two thousand people to retreat to the city.

Soon, Liu Jilian also retreated to the city with dozens of elite cavalrymen in the rear, rode to the city gate, and bowed towards the top of the city.

"Sima, I have fulfilled my mission and returned with Shang Yanxin's banner!"

Liu Jilong's words sealed the matter of Shang Yanxin's life and death, and also made everyone feel regretful.

"Open the city gate quickly and let Liu Bie and the others in!"

After Zhang Huairong reacted, he quickly gave orders and at the same time looked at this victorious army.

Before the battle, the Shanzhou army had 3,000 cavalry, while the Shandan army had 800 soldiers.

At this point in the battle, only about half of the Shanzhou cavalry were left. If Liu Jilong had not launched a surprise attack on Shang Yanxin, attracting the attention of all the Hehuang cavalry, they would probably have surrendered in the battle line long ago.

As for the Shandan Army, the bodies of Shandan soldiers brought back by them were enough to illustrate the casualties.

Except for the bodies of the cavalrymen who died in the battle while following Liu Jilian in pursuit of Shang Yanxin, the bodies of the rest of the dead and wounded infantrymen were basically brought back. There were nearly a hundred corpses and wounded soldiers lying on the ground.

"Bring the bodies of our missing brothers into the city first!"

"General Liu!"

When the city gate opened, Liu Jilong ordered the less than 300 soldiers around him, and Shang Duoluo, who was rescued, also rode forward and saluted him.

"Thank you for saving my life..."

"Thank you, General Liu, for saving my life!!"

As Shang Duoluo spoke, the rest of the Shanzhou cavalry saluted and expressed their gratitude to Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong glanced at them, and wherever he looked, he saw grateful eyes.

"We Han people value trust. Since we promised to fight with you, we will not stand by and watch you die..."

If someone else had said this, Shang Duoluo and others would have certainly sneered at him.

But Shang Duoluo and others could still vividly remember what Liu Jilong had just done, so they were naturally very convinced.

"If Liu Bie needs any help in the future, just let me know!"

Shang Duoluo bowed and saluted on horseback, and Liu Jilong also bowed in return, then turned to look at the soldiers of the Shandan Army.

At this moment, the South Gate had been opened, and more than a hundred soldiers who had withdrawn previously were pushing many carts out of the city.

Together with the brothers outside the city, they first sent the wounded brothers into the city.

Liu Jilong counted the number of wounded soldiers and did not stop until he reached thirty-four.

Immediately afterwards, the soldiers began to place the bodies of the dead soldiers on carts and transport them back to the city.

Looking at the cold corpses, Liu Jilong no longer had the anger and impulse he had during the Battle of Zhangye more than two months ago.

Perhaps it was because there were too many unfamiliar faces, or perhaps it was because he had already experienced the Battle of Zhangye.

Facing the corpses of his comrades, he did nothing but remain silent.

The only discomfort was that it felt like there was a stone pressing on my chest, making it difficult to breathe...

"Fifty-five"

Liu Jilong watched the last body being carried into the city, and he continued to look at the remaining soldiers.

At this moment, they all turned their eyes to him, as if waiting for his next military order.

"Report the number..."

Liu Jilong spoke in a deep voice, and reporting numbers was already commonplace for the Shandan Army.

During the nearly two months of training, even though they were transferred to Qilian City in the middle, they brought the habit of counting with them.

"One"

"two"

"three……"

One after another, the number was called out, and finally stopped at three hundred and fourteen.

Among them, only 139 cavalrymen were reported, and 51 people were left on the battlefield.

Compared to the infantrymen who were able to bring back the bodies, the cavalrymen who launched the surprise attack could not bring back the bodies, not even leaving behind the thought.

"Shandan Army..." Liu Jilong closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling mixed emotions.

"Don't worry, your spear."

A voice woke him up, and he looked up, only to see a Shandan elite cavalryman handing him a spear with difficulty.

"Thank you!"

Liu Jilong didn't expect that someone would bring his spear back, so he looked at him for a second longer: "What's your name?"

"Mark Hu Si Guang!"

After Liu Jilong took the spear, the elite cavalry bowed respectfully. Liu Jilong nodded and said, "I remember it."

After he finished speaking, he looked around and gave the order: "Shandan Army enter the city!"

"Beep--"

Under his command, more than 300 Shandan soldiers finally entered the city.

It was not until they all entered the city that Liu Jilong turned his head to look at Shang Duoluo.

During this time, Shandor kept looking at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Protector Shang, please allow the injured soldiers to enter the city for treatment, and the remaining soldiers will be stationed outside the city temporarily."

"I obey!" Shang Duoluo said without any unnecessary words. He began to arrange for the wounded to enter the city for bandages, and at the same time led the team to turn their horses around and head towards the battlefield.

In the direction of the battlefield, the Hehuang cavalry has stopped its restlessness.

Shang Yanxin returned to the battlefield in a panic and was discovered by the Hehuang cavalry.

With a grim face, he looked towards Qilian City in the distance and scanned the entire battlefield.

On the battlefield, the most corpses were from the Shanzhou cavalry, followed by the Hehuang cavalry, and finally the Shandan army.

"Kiliben, your iron helmet..."

A guard carefully handed over a helmet. Shang Yanxin's eyes fell on it, and then he subconsciously touched his head.

Only then did he realize that he had not only lost his banner during his escape, but he had also been chased by the Han general and had to abandon his helmet.

"roll!!"

He slapped the helmet off, staring at Qi Liancheng with clenched teeth.

"Send someone to find firewood, and we'll fight again after dinner!"

He was very angry, but he also knew that his side's morale had been low after this battle.

Fortunately, his arrangement was successful. More than half of the Shanzhou cavalry were killed or wounded, and the control outside Qilian City was transferred to his hands.

Now they can look for dead trees and branches without any scruples, build pots and cook to besiege Qilian City.

Under Shang Yanxin's command, more than 4,000 Hehuang cavalry were divided into two, with more than 3,000 people lurking two miles south of Qilian City, and more than 1,000 people went out to look for firewood to cook.

At the same time, Liu Jilong also walked into Qilian City...

"I used the troops without permission. Sima and Guo Yi will punish me!"

When he got on the city wall, Liu Jilian did not take credit for himself but knelt on one knee and bowed, making a gesture of apology.

Zhang Huairong first glanced at Suo Xun when he saw this, and after confirming that Suo Xun had not had an attack, he stepped forward and helped Liu Jilong up with a smile.

"You have accomplished a great deed by taking Shang Yanxin's banner and helping the Shanzhou cavalry escape from their predicament."

"Shang Yanxin suffered such a setback and is no longer able to attack our army today. You will be credited with a great achievement in this battle."

"When Governor Zhang leads his troops to help, I will commend you for your contribution to him."

Zhang Huairong was very happy with a smile on his face, and Shang Bibi beside him also bowed and said, "Thank you, General Liu, for saving my Shanzhou boy. I will remember this favor."

"You're too polite, Governor." Zhang Huairong responded quickly and then looked at Suo Xun.

At this moment, Suo Xun was also very embarrassed. He wanted to praise Liu Jilong like Zhang Huairong, but he couldn't. After all, the incident of Liu Jilong seizing the soldiers from the battlefield was still vivid in his mind.

In response to this, he could only slow down his tone, but his expression remained calm, and he said in an educating tone:

"Although you are brave and resourceful in this battle, disobeying military orders is still a taboo on the battlefield."

"Considering that you have only been in the army for a year and have made great contributions, I will not pursue the matter."

Suo Xun spoke these words very fluently, as if he had rehearsed them several times in his mind.

"Thank you for your kindness, I will keep it in mind!"

Liu Jilong bowed to Suo Xun alone, giving him enough face, and then looked at Zhang Huairong and Shang Bibi.

"Although I have seized the banner of Shang Yanxin's army, Shang Yanxin did not lose too many soldiers, while we suffered many casualties."

"For now, we can only defend the city and send out our best horsemen in heavy armor to send a small group of cavalry to the northwest Zhangye to prevent the reinforcements from being attacked by Shang Yanxin."

"That's right!" Zhang Huairong was the first to agree, then looked at Shang Bibi.

"Many of the Jiedushi's soldiers were injured, and they have been through a fierce battle. I think they need a good rest."

"Why don't you lend me six hundred soldiers and horses, and I will send soldiers to meet Governor Zhang."

After the battle just now, Zhang Huairong also believed that Shang Bibi was really fleeing and did not have any other ideas.

After all, more than half of Shanzhou's cavalry had been killed, so it was impossible to put on a show at such a high price.

"How can I not obey Sima Zhang's request?"

Shang Bibi smiled modestly and looked at Liu Jilong at the same time: "Please ask General Liu to make another trip and ask my people to mobilize 600 soldiers and horses."

"Thank you, Governor!" Liu Jilong did not complain, but turned around and walked down the city wall. After negotiating with Shang Duoluo outside the city, he obtained 600 military horses from him.

Since we have to go out of the city to provide support, we naturally have to do our best.

Only when one person rides two horses and ensures that the horsepower is not exhausted, can they fight with the Hehuang cavalry in the wild.

"General Liu Bie just fought a great battle. I'll leave the task of supporting Governor Zhang to you, Suo Guoyi."

"The last general takes command!"

On the city wall, watching Liu Jilian borrow 600 soldiers and horses from Shang Duoluo, Zhang Huairong turned his attention to Suo Xun.

Suo Xun was naturally unwilling to become Liu Jilong's background wall, so he decisively took on this task.

After taking on the task, he began to organize soldiers who dared to leave the city.

Shang Bibi borrowed 600 military horses. The Shandan army originally had 300 cavalrymen, and after the war there were still more than 240 people, so there were more than 240 military horses.

More than 800 military horses were enough to allow 400 Shandan soldiers who knew how to ride horses to leave the city, and it was not difficult to organize them.

What Hexi lacked the least was people with superb horsemanship. Over the past few decades, most of the children of commoners served as slaves of various kinds in Tubo, among which pastoral slaves were the most common.

Although the more than 300 people who survived the battle with Liu Jilong had expended a lot of energy, Suo Xun did not intend to leave the city immediately.

He organized 400 cavalrymen to stand guard outside the city, and then ordered the soldiers and civilians in the city to cook.

From afternoon to nightfall, until the hour of Hai (21:), Suo Xun led cavalrymen out of the city through the west gate and headed towards Zhangye.

Unlike Suo Xun who was anxious to show off himself, Liu Jilian chose to rest alone in the tent after the battle.

His eyes were fixed on the campfire in the tent, and he watched the flickering flames in silence.

He was not worried that Shang Yanxin would launch an attack because he had observed the smoke from Shang Yanxin's troops in the afternoon.

All the dead trees and branches within twenty miles of Qilian City had been consumed by the Shandan Army in the past two months, so that the Shandan Army itself did not have much firewood.

There was no large-scale smoke rising from the cooking fires of Shang Yanxin's troops until the afternoon, and it was not until the afternoon (15:) that they found enough firewood to cook.

Given their situation, it would be impossible to launch an attack tonight.

"Don't..."

Outside the tent, Jiu Juyan carefully opened the curtain and walked in. Liu Jilong looked up and saw that he was holding a wooden plate with a whole roasted leg of lamb on it.

"Sima Zhang and the governor have just roasted a sheep on the city wall. They have also ordered half of the sheep in the city to be slaughtered for the soldiers to eat before they go on night duty."

"This is the roasted lamb leg that Zhang Sima Rang sent. You have consumed a lot today, so you need to eat more."

Jiu Juyan spoke cautiously, but Liu Jilong asked, "How many sheep are there in the city?"

"Eighty-four. I just received orders to slaughter forty-five of them." Jiu Juyan responded without hesitation.

Liu Jilong breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this: "Call Li Ji over, and you all sit down and eat together."

"Li Ji is on duty now. I have asked someone to leave two pounds of lamb chops for him."

Jiu Juyan sat down with the lamb leg in his hand and diligently cut the mutton for Liu Jilong.

The two of them ate sporadically. Jiujuan did try to find topics to talk about, but Liu Jilong's answers were so brief that there was a bit of silence in the tent.

Jiu Juyan stayed for a while and then left on the pretext of patrolling the camp.

Not long after he left, Liu Jilong stood up from his seat and walked out of the tent.

Outside the tent, many civilians were sitting in groups of three or five, and it was rare to see soldiers of the Shandan Army.

Even so, after seeing Liu Jilong, the laborers could not help but stand up and bow to him, their eyes revealing respect and admiration.

Most of the civilians in the city were witnesses of his deeds during the day.

No one knew better than them how bad the situation in Qilian City would have been if it hadn't been for Liu Jilong's brilliant idea.

Liu Jilong's deeds ignited hope in the many civilians trapped in Qilian City, and they naturally respected Liu Jilong.

"Get some rest early."

Liu Jilong glanced at everyone, and his face no longer had the usual cheerful look, only indifference.

He left the tent and walked towards the northeast corner where the wounded were resting.

The civilians and patrolling soldiers he met along the way would bow to him and look at him with respect and admiration.

But all this respect and admiration did not belong to him alone. Especially when he came to the area where the wounded soldiers were resting, he could personally experience his current identity and status, as well as the consequences of his words and actions.

There were constant wailing sounds in the area where the wounded were resting. Many soldiers had broken limbs and became disabled in the eyes of ordinary people.

The reason they did so was largely due to Liu Jilian's military order to fight back.

Looking at the dark scenes before him and listening to the wailing sounds coming from his ears, the stone in Liu Jilong's heart almost made it difficult for him to breathe.

Now he understood the indifference of Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen during the Battle of Zhangye.

Because only such indifference can lead everyone to victory and ensure that most people can survive.

Faced with this group of wounded soldiers, even if he could do it again, he would still order a counterattack, because he had no better choice.

He heaved a sigh of relief, as if he had untied some heavy burden, and turned to walk into the darkness...

(End of this chapter)