Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 72 Burning Camp
"Uuuuuu——"

On the ninth day of the ninth month, the autumn wind was bleak and the fields outside Zhangye city were crowded with people.

Under the heavy dark clouds, the Uighurs flew by like locusts. The sabers in their hands were used as sickles as they ruthlessly harvested the grain outside the city that had not been harvested in time, making a rustling sound.

"Take all the grain away and feed the horses the straw on the spot!"

"Ha ha……"

In the fields, the Uighur horses trampled the cultivated land wantonly, without any regard for the consequences of compacting the cultivated land.

Their eyes were full of greed, as if they wanted to suck every last bit of nutrients out of the earth.

"Changshi, fight them!"

"calm!!"

On the top of Zhangye City, Gansu Chief Secretary Cao Yiqian scolded several generals who tried to leave the city.

At this moment, he stood in front of the city wall, his eyes passing through the huge crowds besieging the city and falling on the trampled fields.

There was no anger on his face, only an unconcealable sorrow that was like a knife cutting his heart and making it bleed.

Some of the soldiers beside him held their weapons tightly and stared at the enemy angrily, while others were pale with deep fear in their eyes.

Outside the four gates, the armored cavalry of the Uighurs patrolled back and forth, constantly provoking the Zhangye soldiers on the city walls with their actions.

Wherever their iron hooves stepped, they left behind a series of heavy marks.

The sound of horses chewing on straw seemed like their final mockery of the city.

Two completely different scenes were presented inside and outside the city.

Inside the city, Cao Yiqian and the soldiers could only watch all this helplessly, while outside the city, the Uighurs continued their plundering.

"Asshole!!"

Some generals were so angry that they went crazy and kept beating the parapet with their fists, as if only the pain could eliminate their anger.

As the Chief Secretary of Ganzhou, Cao Yiqian ordered the harvest of grain on the first day he received the news of Qilian City.

Even so, nearly one-third of the grain outside the city has not been harvested.

These grains were now being destroyed by the Uighurs right before his eyes. His rage far exceeded that of everyone else, but he remained calm.

Because he knew that even if the grain was stolen, they could still plant it again, but if Zhangye City was lost, their prestige would suffer a severe blow.

Now he could only hope that Zhang Huaishen would defeat Lun Kongre's pursuers and return to drive out the group of Uighurs outside the city.

Yes, drive away...

The Uighurs had surrounded Zhangye for a day and a night, and he had already estimated the number of troops that the Uighurs would dispatch.

There were at least three thousand armored soldiers, and more than forty thousand light soldiers with simple equipment.

To call them light soldiers is an exaggeration, in reality they are just herdsmen armed with sharp weapons.

If Zhang Huaishen had not led his troops to rescue Qilian City, this group of barbarians would not have dared to go south to Zhangye.

Cao Yiqian clenched his hands tightly in his sleeves, but he was helpless.

In places beyond his sight, thousands of tents were pitched together, and in the distance were nearly a thousand armored soldiers on guard, and herdsmen grazing.

In the camp, a tent with a diameter of three meters is particularly conspicuous.

There was no curtain in the big tent. Several lambs were roasting outside the tent and were brought into the tent every half hour.

There was laughter and joy in the tent, and the aroma of wine and meat filled the air.

From noon to dusk, until the sky gradually darkened, more than 2,000 armored soldiers withdrew from the four gates of Zhangye City.

With them retreated Cunningham and Pontell, who were in charge of the siege and grain harvesting.

"Sweat!"

The two walked into the tent and bowed. Yaoluo Gechengle, who was sitting at the main seat, saw them coming back and said with a smile, "Sit down, and tell us how much food you harvested today!"

"Yes……"

Pontell and Xia Li looked at each other, then sat down in the middle of the first row on the left side of the tent, which also shows their strength and status among the Ganzhou Uighurs.

"Khan, today we harvested 16,000 bags of grain and 20,000 bags of straw. The extra was used to feed the horses."

Ponteler reported the harvest, and everyone couldn't hide their smiles when they heard it.

The Uighurs mainly eat milk lumps, followed by some wild vegetables and game.

Since grain was not easy to obtain, only the nobles in the Uighur tribe could eat it every day.

From the outside to the inside, grains are divided into bran, endosperm, and germ. The bran is used as horse feed for military horses, while the endosperm and germ are the grains eaten by the nobles.

The Uighurs did not have any measuring tools, so they counted by bag.

One bag can hold about 100 to 150 kilograms of corn. After processing, 16,000 bags of corn are enough for at least 50,000 people to eat mixed with milk lumps for one month.

Of course, these processed corns would only appear on the tables of the nobles, and the herdsmen would never be able to eat them.

This batch of millet can at least satisfy the food needs of the nobles and soldiers in the tribe for a year, so everyone is naturally happy.

"How much grain is left outside the city that has not been harvested?"

Chengle happily raised his glass and took a sip, while Ponteler bowed and said, "There are two large plots of land in the south and west of the city, which can harvest at least 20,000 bags."

"Good!" Hearing what Ponteler said, Chengle happily raised his glass:

"Even if we fail to capture Zhangye this time, this batch of food is enough for us to celebrate. Come on! Let's drink!"

"Long live the Khan!!"

Everyone raised their glasses and drank to celebrate their achievement.

After two hours of excitement, everyone dispersed and returned to their tents to rest.

Ponteler was one of them, and his tent was near the tent where the food was stored.

Even though he was drunk, he still checked the tents, then returned to his own tent and lay down. Soon he began to snore.

Under the cover of night, all the nobles in the camp fell asleep, snoring.

While they were dreaming, a flash of fire appeared in the dark wilderness.

In the dark night, hundreds of people gathered together, each wearing armor and holding a torch.

In the firelight, Zhang Huaishen's face was revealed, and in front of him were Liu Jilong and Suo Xun.

Behind the two men were eight hundred armored cavalrymen holding torches. They all looked tired, with a hint of tension in their tiredness.

Zhang Huaishen rode on horseback, holding a torch high, and walked back and forth in front of the formation.

"Before we set out, I have already made it clear that this group of barbarians is just a mob. As long as we attack their central army, even a hundred thousand men will be thrown into chaos."

"Don't worry about anything else. Just charge forward when the horn sounds. Kill anyone you see and burn any tent you find. When you hear the whistle, retreat immediately. Do you understand?"

Zhang Huaishen's eyes were as sharp as torches, and everyone bowed and saluted without saying a word.

Liu Jilong and Suo Xun stood side by side in front of the eight hundred people, both of them feeling unsettled.

After Zhang Huaishen gave the order to break camp yesterday, the 800 cavalrymen in the city were gathered together and set off. From yesterday afternoon to today dusk, they stopped and walked along the way before finally arriving outside Zhangye City.

At this moment, they were more than fifty miles away from the infantry led by Li Wei in the rear. If the surprise attack failed, then these eight hundred people would be trapped in prison and it would be difficult for them to survive.

But even so, Zhang Huaishen still wanted to launch a surprise attack on the Uighur central army, which shows his confidence in himself.

Even though Liu Jilian knew that the Uighurs were indeed a group of rabble, he had only seen such things as eight hundred people defeating tens of thousands in history books.

Even though he knew that these tens of thousands of Uighurs were just a string of data, they were tens of thousands of people after all, and the commander's control over the battlefield was required to be extremely high.

If Zhang Huaishen failed to issue the order to retreat in time, it would be difficult for these 800 people to do anything.

After thinking about it, even he himself couldn't help but sweat in his palms.

It’s a pity that Zhang Huaishen would not give him time to prepare, but as soon as his voice deepened, the eight hundred Ganzhou cavalrymen shook their reins in unison.

"Set off!!"

Soon after they set out, the sky and earth became increasingly darker due to the dark clouds. It was pitch dark in the wilderness. Only a tiny light shone through the Uighur camp, as if it was a call from another world.

At the time of cockcrow (2 o'clock), all the Uighurs fell asleep. Even the cavalrymen patrolling the outer periphery could not help but yawn a few times due to sleepiness, and their eyelids felt heavy.

When the north wind blows, the sea of grass outside Zhangye city rolls, making a rustling sound, as if it is the breath of the grassland.

Occasionally, the howls of one or two unknown animals would lift one's spirits, but they would soon become dull again.

On a night like this, time seems to stand still, with only the rustling sound of the sea of grass echoing in my ears.

On this difficult-to-defend night, the Uighurs' patrol focus was in the southeast direction, and the weakest point was in the north direction.

Even the Uighurs on patrol did not think that the Ganzhou army would launch a surprise attack from the north, but Zhang Huaishen led 800 people to make a major detour.

They avoided the patrolling cavalrymen holding torches and went around to the north of the camp under the cover of darkness.

In the dark night, the only sound was the anxious groaning of the war horses, and none of the eight hundred Ganzhou cavalrymen dared to make a sound.

At this moment, the Uighurs' central camp was very close, only two miles away from them.

Two miles is neither long nor short. If we launch a charge, we can break into the camp in half a cup of tea at most.

But the problem is that the Ganzhou cavalry not only has to attack, but also has to retreat, so horsepower must be conserved.

Therefore, Zhang Huaishen did not order a surprise attack, but instead led everyone to continue advancing carefully southward.

The closer they got to the camp, the more fires they saw around it.

The patrolling cavalry began to approach them, from two miles on each side to no more than one mile.

At this distance, even Zhang Huaishen couldn't hold back.

"Charge!" With his order, eight hundred Ganzhou cavalrymen followed him closely and launched a charge.

"Buzzing..."

"who are you?!"

"Enemy attack!!"

The sound of the galloping hooves of the eight hundred cavalrymen could not be covered up at all. The Uighur scouts on the left and right wings instinctively questioned them. After all, it was not uncommon to see scouts with their torches extinguished.

Unfortunately, as they did not answer, the Uighur scouts also noticed something was wrong and galloped towards them while questioning loudly.

Seeing that the Ganzhou cavalry was not far from the camp, one of the scouts finally fired a whistling arrow and shouted that the enemy was attacking.

The sound of dozens of whistling arrows was particularly harsh in the night sky. The soldiers on duty in the camp immediately blew the horn after hearing it.

"Woooooooo..."

"what happened!"

"Enemy attack!!"

Horns sounded in the night, and the armored soldiers kept shouting. Even the drunken Yehu and governors of various tribes had hazy eyes and groped for their weapons.

"Commander-in-chief, enemy attack!!"

"Armor me, quick!"

Pontell woke up suddenly the moment the horn sounded, grabbed the knife beside him and gave orders to the armored soldiers who entered the tent.

At the same time, the dull sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer to the camp. For the Ganzhou cavalry, the unprotected camp was like a naked woman, with no resistance at all.

"kill!!"

Under the firelight of the camp, the 800 Ganzhou cavalrymen suddenly saw a clear view. Many of them drew their bows and arrows, and using the torches in the hands of their comrades beside them as guides, they shot the rockets in their hands, and then put away their bows and switched to long weapons.

Rockets streaked across the night sky, setting fire to the grease-filled tents.

Eight hundred Ganzhou cavalrymen rushed into the camp and cut through the armored soldiers who tried to counterattack on their way forward.

In the team, some people lit torches on horseback and passed them to their comrades beside them, while others threw down torches and lit up tents one by one.

Others acted as spearheads, constantly knocking down the armored soldiers blocking the way ahead. Liu Jilian was one of them.

He swung the 18-jin iron spear, and some soldiers who ran out of the tent were hit in the cheek by his spear before they could put on their armor.

The yellow teeth flew out with their roots, blood splattered on the grass, and the dog was trampled to death by the following horses' hooves.

No matter how many times you see his bravery, it will make people feel terrified, even the Shandan cavalry.

As for the cavalry in Zhangye, they felt their scalps tingling when they saw this scene, and were glad that people like him were their own.

"Don't be distracted, light the fire!"

Liu Jilong spoke up to remind them, and the surrounding cavalrymen finally reacted and threw out torches.

It took only a dozen breaths for the eight hundred Ganzhou cavalrymen to break into the camp.

They rushed out of the camp and followed Zhang Huaishen, turning their horses around and facing the camp.

At this moment, the camp had turned into a sea of fire. Seeing this, Zhang Huaishen was not in a hurry to expand the battlefield, but looked towards the direction of Zhangye City.

There were flickering flames in that direction, but no large groups of flames were rushing towards them, which meant that the Uighur cavalry besieging the city had not yet reacted.

Seeing this, Zhang Huaishen raised his spear: "Kill!!"

The cavalry launched another charge, each man holding a torch in his hand, as if they were going to burn the camp to the ground.

"Don't panic! Gather together and put out the fire in the food tent!!"

Pontell's camp was close to Zhangye, so he was lucky enough to escape the first raid by the Ganzhou cavalry.

At this moment, he was wearing armor and kept calling on the armored soldiers who were like headless flies around him to protect the granary.

At the same time, the Yehu and governors of each tent put on their armor with the help of their own soldiers and walked out of the tents one after another.

The fire could not be stopped, and some Yehus and governors chose to escape, while others, like Pontell, tried to gather soldiers to put out the fire.

It’s a pity that no matter what, they will eventually face the hooves of the Ganzhou cavalry.

"kill!!"

The eight hundred Ganzhou cavalry launched a second assault, and a large number of panicked armored soldiers put on their armor and ran out of the tent to avoid the fire.

They occupied the space between the tents, and the eight hundred elite cavalrymen from Ganzhou were divided into several groups and charged along the open space between the tents.

Liu Jilong swung the spear in his hand on horseback with smooth movements. Even if he was fighting on the battlefield, he could easily stab, smash, and kill any enemy.

In front of him, no matter whether they were armored soldiers or unarmored light soldiers, it seemed that they could not escape death.

The armored soldiers were smashed to death by his spear, and the unarmored light soldiers were killed and thrown away by him.

"Captain!"

Ponteller, who was supposed to put out the fire, saw the familiar flag from afar. Before he could think of Liu Jilian, he saw a cavalry general killing soldiers along the road like slaughtering pigs and dogs in the fire.

He couldn't even see the man's face clearly before he was protected by several armored soldiers and hid in a tent that was not on fire.

At the same time, in the chaotic central army camp, Xia Li also tried to form a defense line with dozens of his own armored soldiers, but they were quickly attacked by Zhang Huaishen and his elite cavalry, and most of them were killed or wounded.

Horrified, Xia Li could only flee hastily in the camp.

"Don't worry! That looks like the banner of this bunch of barbarians!"

During the charge, Li Ji loudly reminded Liu Jillong, and Liu Jillong also saw a tall flag out of the corner of his eye.

"Burn it!"

At Liu Jilian's command, Li Ji immediately drew his bow and shot a rocket at the flag of the great banner.

The big banner was burning, and the big tent in front of it was cut open by Liu Jilong's spear, but unfortunately no trace of the Uighur Khan was found.

Faced with the night attack by Ganzhou's elite cavalry, the Uighurs were like headless flies, unable to organize any room for resistance.

They were slaughtered like pigs and dogs by Zhang Huaishen, Liu Jilian and eight hundred other people.

The attack lasted only a short while, and the entire central army camp turned into a sea of fire. Even the most dull-witted person would have known that the camp had been attacked.

All of a sudden, the Uighurs who surrounded Zhangye rushed towards the camp, and the Ganzhou cavalry also broke through the central camp for the second time.

Zhang Huaishen looked towards Zhangye. A large number of flames were coming from that direction, with a scale of no less than 10,000 people.

"Blow the whistle and retreat!"

Without further ado, Zhang Huaishen quickly turned around and gave orders, and Suo Xun also blew the wooden whistle hanging around his neck.

"Beep--"

A shrill whistle sounded, and everyone followed their comrades in front and began to retreat northward.

They did not have to retreat in the dark, but could retreat openly with torches.

It’s a pity that no one is paying attention to them now. Everyone rushed to the camp to put out the fire, while Xia Li led people to search for their own Khan.

"Sweat!"

"Sweat!"

"Go put out the fire!"

When they saw the tent under the central army's banner caught fire, everyone rushed to put out the fire.

There was despair in Xili's eyes, but soon a voice sounded from behind him.

"Ahem...Xia Li, have the Tang troops withdrawn?!"

Xia Li's expression froze. He looked back and saw Cheng Le being protected by seven or eight armored soldiers. He was covered in dust and kept coughing.

"Are you okay?"

He hurried forward to show concern and shook his head.

After all, he was a man who had survived the encirclement of the Tang army in the past, so the moment the horn sounded, he knew that his headquarters had been attacked at night.

Faced with danger, he did not choose to run around, but ran to a small tent next to him, threw the felt into the bucket inside the tent, wrapped himself in the felt and lay down in the tent, waiting for the soldiers to rescue him.

His approach successfully allowed him to avoid two attacks by Ganzhou's elite cavalry, but his tent with the big banner was burned to ashes.

When he was rescued by the armored soldiers, Zhang Huaishen had already fled far away with 800 Ganzhou cavalrymen, and he could only tremble as he watched the camp burned into a sea of fire.

“Who…who did it!!”

Cheng Le was so angry that he was shaking, and the armored soldiers around him looked at each other in bewilderment. Until now, they still didn't know who was in charge of the raid on the central army.

"It's Zhang Huaishen's men!"

The dusty Pontle rode his horse over from a distance, and around him gathered seven or eight Yehus and governors, including Xiali.

"Zhang Huaishen..."

Cheng Le gritted his teeth and glared at Xia Li: "Xia Li, didn't you say that he took his troops to Qilian City?!"

"He went!" Xi Li argued loudly, "If he hadn't gone, how could we have harvested so much grain so easily during the day?!"

"Food...right! Where's the food?!"

Chengle locked eyes with Ponteler, who coughed and saluted: "I tried to put out the fire, but the fire was too big and I only managed to get less than a hundred bags."

Hearing this, Cheng Le grabbed his chest in anger and his face turned pale.

"Food! My food..."

(End of this chapter)