Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 85 Great Harvest
"Sorry..."

"Drive! Drive! Drive!"

In mid-spring, the grasslands of Ganzhou have not yet returned to green, but this does not prevent the major Yehus and governors from driving their herdsmen to graze.

The grass shoots were eaten by their herds over and over again, and the damage caused to the grassland by this overgrazing behavior was irreparable, but they didn't care.

The only thing they care about is whether the herd has increased this year, or whether there is a profitable business...

That is why when they find any business that can make them rich, they will chase it like a mad dog.

On the barren grassland, several herdsmen wearing fur coats rode their horses northward and rushed into a camp in excitement.

They rushed to the tent in a hurry, and after dismounting in a panic, the one with a higher status among them quickly saluted the Zhabarhuozhe (heavy armored soldier) in front of the tent.

"Please tell the governor that a large herd of cattle has been spotted in the south!"

"Wait."

The decapitator among the Zhabar Firemen gave instructions, turned around and walked into the tent, and saluted a figure inside the tent.

"Captain, someone outside said that a large herd of cattle was discovered in the south."

"south?"

Ponteler, who was sitting on the felt reading a book, slowly raised his head, then carefully put the book away: "Let him in."

"Yes!"

Zhabarhuozhe turned and walked out of the tent, and soon he brought the herdsman into the tent.

"Captain!"

The herdsman knelt in the tent. Pontell nodded and said, "You said there is a large herd of cattle in the south?"

"Yes! There are herds of cattle forty miles to the south, but they are carrying the banners of the Tang army, and they also have elite cavalry similar to the Zhabarhuozhe."

The herdsman answered quickly, and Pontell frowned and said, "Did you see who the troops were?"

"No, their patrol area is very large, and we only saw the Three Stars Flag."

After the herder finished speaking, he also specifically described the herds: "Their herds are at least tens of thousands, more than ours!"

"Hmm?" Hearing this, Pontell became interested. He looked up at the Zhabarhuozhe:
"Go, light the Qizabar fire, and follow me south to take a look."

"Yes!" Zhabarhuozhe bowed and obeyed the order, and the herdsman was also taken out.

Ponteler stood up and raised his hands, and the two women kneeling in the corner took the initiative to stand up and change his clothes.

Although the two women looked very exotic, Pontell felt a little bored and couldn't help thinking of asking his brother to send a new batch.

A quarter of an hour later, more than three hundred Zhabarhuo fighters wearing heavy armor gathered in the south of the camp.

After Pontell appeared, they followed Pontell closely on two horses and headed south.

The forty-mile journey was completed in just one hour if they kept riding without stopping.

However, after they arrived, the Tang army had already advanced several miles westward.

Ponteller was not in a hurry to catch up, but took his troops to rest for half an hour. After recovering his strength, he went around to the front of the Tang army for more than ten miles to wait.

At 15:45, after two hours of chasing and intercepting, Pontell finally saw the Tang army on the horizon.

Seeing the fluttering Sanchen flag, Pontell narrowed his eyes, and the Tangqi who discovered them also blew the wooden whistle at the first moment.

"Beep--"

The shrill whistles sounded one after another, and the Tangqi separated a part of their men, turned their horses around and rushed towards the central army.

As for the Tangqi who did not leave, they stayed where they were, waiting for the arrival of the central army in the rear.

About half an hour later, Pontell finally saw the main force of the Tang army and the huge herd following them.

Facts proved that what the herdsman said was right. The herd of Tang army was indeed not inferior to the herd under his command.

If Pontell had not seen nearly a thousand elite Tang cavalrymen in the formation, he would have really thought of grabbing a piece of the pie.

"Commander-in-chief, there are so many of them, should we retreat first..."

A general asked Pontell cautiously, but Pontell didn't care:
"The Tang army has been negotiating peace with the Khan for more than a month. It is impossible for these Hexi Tang troops not to know about this."

"They are different from us. As long as we don't take action, they will never dare to take action against us without going through Shazhou."

As if to verify Pontell's words, the Tang army in front did not intend to take action.

More than a hundred elite cavalrymen were separated from the team of nearly a thousand elite cavalrymen. They sped up their horses and marched quickly towards Ponteller and his men.

As the two sides got closer, Pontell's pupils shrank when he saw the general's flag clearly.

The general flag with the word "Liu" on it fluttered in the wind, and he could not think of any other general with the surname Liu who could appear at this location except Liu Jilian from Shandan.

Under his gaze, a tall figure gradually approached, causing chaos in the formation.

"This... is General Shenwei..."

"It's really him..."

"Commander-in-chief, let's retreat..."

"What are you afraid of!" Pontell turned around and shouted angrily: "Don't forget that we are allies now!"

"This..." The generals looked at each other, but their expressions did not recover.

The shadow Liu Jilian left on them was too big. From the confrontation in Shandan to the Battle of Zhangye, the two sides fought three battles in total, and they did not gain any advantage from Liu Jilian.

In the Battle of Zhangye, they witnessed Liu Jilian leading 800 elite cavalry to chase more than 10,000 light cavalry, which shocked them greatly.

Because of this, Liu Jilian was given the title of "General with Divine Power" in the Uighur tribe, which was quite similar to the "General with Divine Power" Li Siye in the past.

"Ponteller!"

Liu Jilong's voice came from dozens of steps away, startling the horse and making it take several steps back.

Ponteler also had sweat on his forehead, but he had to remain calm on the surface.

Under his gaze, Liu Jilong raised his hand to let more than a hundred elite riders rein in their horses, while he rode slowly towards them, not worrying about his own safety at all.

In front of him, Liu Jilian came to their formation and rode his horse back and forth five or six steps away, as if inspecting his own troops.

"I just returned triumphantly and you guys are here to congratulate me... There's no need to bring so many people!"

Liu Jilong stationed in front of the Uighur army, looking at Ponteller.

Liu Jilong was also very surprised to see Ponteller here.

Two hours ago, a cavalryman reported back that he had discovered traces of the Uighurs, but he did not take it seriously at the time.

Half an hour later, when the Qiantang cavalry reported back that hundreds of elite Uighur cavalry blocked the road ahead, Liu Jilian was still wondering who was rushing up to seek death.

Now I see that it turns out to be an old acquaintance.

"General, are you going to Liangzhou?"

Ponteler looked past Liu Jilong and towards the tens of thousands of herds.

"We killed some ignorant bandits and seized some herds of livestock."

Liu Jilong looked Ponteler up and down and said, "I am a little surprised that you are still alive."

"Haha..." Ponteler was not angry, but smiled and said:

"Zhang Jiedushi has negotiated peace with our army. Now the two armies are as close as brothers. Naturally, I have to tell the general the good news that I am alive."

"Brothers?" Liu Jilong sneered, his expression somewhat arrogant: "Father and son are more like that."

"You can say that, after all, the Celestial Empire is the father and we are the sons."

Ponteler was very tolerant and even confirmed the father-son relationship between the two.

Seeing how shameless he was, Liu Jilong didn't bother to waste time talking to him. He just raised his whip and waved it: "Okay, the message has been delivered, you can leave now."

"It's natural..."

Pontell shook the reins and cleared the way with more than 300 elite cavalrymen.

Seeing them make way, the Shandan army continued to advance forward.

Liu Jilian led more than a hundred elite cavalrymen to confront them, while Pontell watched hundreds of elite cavalrymen with nearly two thousand civilians, driving tens of thousands of herds of cattle past him.

In his heart, he was very envious of this herd of cattle, but he really didn't dare to fight with Liu Jilong.

In the past, they led a thousand elite cavalrymen but were defeated by Liu Jilian and his eight hundred elite cavalrymen. Now he has only three hundred elite cavalrymen, while Liu Jilian’s elite cavalrymen are no less than a thousand.

If the two sides really start fighting, Ponteler might not see the sun tomorrow.

In this case, it's okay to endure some verbal humiliation.

"General Liu..."

Ponteler smiled at Liu Jilong in front of him and said, "My unit is closest to Shandan, so you and I will be neighbors in the future."

"I hope you, my neighbor, will behave yourself." Liu Jilong glanced at him and didn't take him seriously.

As time went by, the Shandan Army finally reached the tail end.

Liu Jilong shook the reins and followed with more than a hundred elite cavalrymen. Pontell stayed where he was and did not turn his horse around until Liu Jilong and his men were far away.

"Let's go."

"Captain, should we tell the Khan about this?"

Seeing that Pontel said nothing, a general couldn't help but ask, but was rejected by Pontel.

"No need..." Seeing this, the generals shut up and set out on the return journey with Ponteler.

At the same time, the Shandan army, led by Liu Jilong, headed to the stone fort at the Longshou Mountain trade fair.

Compared to the short three days of departure, it took much longer to return triumphantly.

While driving the herds, they could only cover a distance of more than 40 miles a day.

Starting from the time they returned on February 7th, it was not until February 12th that they arrived at the Stone Fortress of Longshou Mountain.

“Guo Yi!!”

Geng Ming, the defending general, led more than ten elite cavalrymen out of the valley for more than ten miles to meet them.

Even though he had made preparations in advance, Geng Ming still widened his eyes when he saw the herd of cattle brought back by Liu Jilong.

"This...this...this...how many herds are there!"

Geng Ming drooled as he spoke, and Zhang Chang rode up and patted his horse's butt.

The frightened military horse jumped twice, which scared Geng Ming to death.

After finally calming down the troops and horses, he had no time to seek revenge on Zhang Chang when Liu Jilong came up to him and looked him over: "Did you switch guards with Director Zheng?"

"Yes!" Geng Ming smiled and said, "A group of people will be replaced every ten days. I just arrived yesterday."

"Ma Cheng!" Liu Jilong turned around and shouted, and Ma Cheng in the team quickly rode forward: "Guo Yi!"

"Leave a hundred sheep for this fool, both male and female."

Liu Jilong pointed at Geng Ming with his whip, then looked at Geng Ming and ordered: "Kill ten of them as a reward for the troops, and you can herd the rest by yourselves."

“This time next year, I hope the herd here will be bigger and bigger, instead of being eaten up by you.”

"Oh! Of course!" Geng Ming nodded with a smile, and then took the initiative to lead Liu Jilong and the others.

Even though Liu Jilong was very familiar with this road, he still wanted to lead the way.

The valley road was over 20 miles long, and it took from noon to dusk to drive the herd through it smoothly.

Liu Jilong and his men rested in Shibao for one night, and hurriedly set out on their return journey the next day.

The journey from the southern valley entrance of Longshou Mountain back to Shandan was not long, so Liu Jilong sent out Tangqi in the afternoon to notify Cui Shu and others in advance.

By the time they were looking at Shandan City from several miles away, Cui Shu and his men had already set up a tent outside the north gate and cooked pots of hot meals.

"Mom, I can finally eat hot food!"

"This military ration is tasteless, and there's not even any food in Stone Fort!"

“Finally I can eat something hot!”

“Is this Shandan…?”

In the team, the soldiers were complaining about the running around in the past few days, while the liberated slaves were looking at Shandan City.

Shang Duoluo rode forward and saluted Liu Jilong: "Guo Yi, this herd of sheep..."

"I'll let Cui Shu and the others divide it up later. If you feel at ease, take the brothers back to the camp to rest first."

"If you are worried, stay in the city. I will take your share back tomorrow after we divide the herds."

Liu Jilong proposed two options. Shang Duoluo looked at the shepherd slave behind him.

During these days, they had already divided the herdsmen and slaves of the Han, Fan, Uighur and other ethnic groups on the road.

There were 784 foreign slaves, in addition to 422 women.

As agreed previously, these people all belong to the Shanzhou Army.

"Take the three hundred elite cavalrymen and the more than a thousand people back first!"

Liu Jilian saw through Shang Duoluo's thoughts. After all, on the way back, the soldiers of the Shanzhou army had attacked those women many times. However, due to their military orders, no one dared to break through the last line of defense. They were just satisfying their desire.

Now that he is back, Liu Jilong can no longer control them.

"Thank you Guoyi!"

Upon seeing this, Shang Duoluo bowed and then began to give orders to the 300 elite cavalrymen from Shanzhou.

The shepherd slaves, who had been prepared, led the female captives out of the team, and then followed Shang Duoluo to the camp more than ten miles away.

Seeing them leave, Liu Jilong didn't say anything, but led his team slowly towards the north gate of Shandan.

"Guo Yi..."

In front of the north gate, Chen Jingchong and Cui Shu bowed and saluted, while Li Yizhong also rushed out with several brigade commanders.

When he saw Liu Jilong bringing back so many people and livestock, his eyes widened just like Geng Ming's did yesterday.

“Has the palisade been expanded?”

Liu Jilong dismounted and first asked about the problem with the fence.

The expansion of the wooden fence was an order he issued before he set out, and now that ten days have passed, it should have been completed.

"Reply to Guo Yi, it has been repaired."

Cui Shu answered respectfully, and Liu Jilong nodded and said, "There are more than 1,100 people behind you. You should take people to register them, arrange housing for them, and distribute summer clothes, linen and food."

"The registered people will be allowed to come over for dinner, and the herd will be divided up tomorrow."

"Yes..." Cui Shu bowed in response. Liu Jilong retracted his gaze and looked at Li Yizhong and said with a smile:

"Li Guoyi, how much did our army capture in this battle? Are you satisfied?"

“This…” Li Yizhong was a little speechless. After hesitating for a while, he said, “Liu Guoyi is so powerful that I am ashamed to be inferior to him.”

"Haha, we can have some meat today." Liu Jilong laughed heartily, and then he and Li Yizhong walked towards the temporary canteen under the shed.

There are only a dozen or so tables and chairs in the shed, and it can't accommodate many people.

After Liu Jilong and Li Yizhong chose a place to sit down, the cook immediately brought two dishes, a soup and two bowls of rice.

Stewed mutton, fried wild vegetables and wild vegetable soup were their dinner.

In the past, Li Yizhong would never eat this kind of food in the wilderness. At least he would eat some poultry and game.

However, there were tens of thousands of herds right before their eyes, so in order to watch the fun, Li Yizhong sat down with Liu Jilong and began to eat with relish.

Under their watchful eyes, the most important populations were counted first.

From 4:44 pm until the sun sets in the sky, the population, oxen and horses are counted first, and the remaining sheep will have to wait until tomorrow to be counted and divided.

When Cui Shu presented the document, Liu Jilong and Li Yizhong were tasting the tea brewed by the roasting tea method.

"Although this tea tastes bitter, it has a faint sweet aftertaste. It is much better than the tea I drank before."

Li Yizhong praised the tea brewed from the tea frying. Liu Jilong chuckled when he heard it.
"Although there are few tea trees in Shandan, the tea harvested in this mid-spring is more than 8,000 kilograms. Unfortunately, after frying, only more than 1,800 kilograms of tea are obtained."

"Later I will ask Cui Shu to transfer 100 kilograms from the treasury to Li Guoyi, and send another 500 kilograms to Zhangye."

Tea trees have been planted in Ganzhou since the Sui Dynasty. Although they were destroyed several times in wars, they were transplanted and planted several times afterwards.

Although Shandan’s tea fields are not as numerous as Zhangye’s, they still cover an area of nearly 20 acres and can produce tens of thousands of kilograms of tea every year.

After the iron pot was made, Liu Jilong had no time to perfect the method of frying tea due to the busy war.

Before setting out this time, Liu Jilong specifically instructed Cui Shu to pick tea, and also taught several people how to roast tea.

That is why they can now drink roasted tea freshly produced in mid-spring.

For Liu Jilong, the taste of this tea was several levels higher than the tea he drank a few days ago.

Of course, this is just because he is not used to the tea of this era. If it were Li Yizhong, he would just think that roasted tea is more novel.

"Thank you, Liu Guoyi."

Li Yizhong accepted the tea with a smile, and was thinking about what to give to Liu Jilong.

Before today, although he felt that Liu Jilong was very capable, he never felt that Liu Jilong was someone he could look up to.

However, after seeing the results of Liu Jilong's Eastern Strategy, he saw through Liu Jilong's talents and couldn't help but have the idea of winning him over and getting close to him.

While he was thinking this, Liu Jilong was quickly flipping through the document handed to him by Cui Shu.

There were 847 men, 262 women, 1,432 cattle, and 2,232 horses, of which 658 could be selected for breeding as military horses.

In addition, there was also grain seized by the Shandan elite cavalry from various tribes, but they ate a lot of it along the way and only brought back more than 300 stones.

These documents are the results of Liu Jilian's eastern expedition.

A rough count of the sheep showed that there were at least 40,000 to 50,000 of them.

Even if half of it was given to Shang Bibi, there would still be 20,000 to 30,000 Shandan left.

Shandan's herds grew stronger instantly after this battle, and after training, these cattle and horses could also be involved in Shandan's agricultural production.

The more than one thousand men and women who were rescued will become the new force of Shandan handicraft industry and will strengthen Shandan's handicraft industry.

Looking at the contents of the document, Liu Jilong couldn't hide the smile on his face, and immediately instructed Cui Shu:
"Every soldier who participates in this battle will be given two dan of rice and one sheep!"

"Yes……"

Cui Shu bowed in response, and Liu Jilong also stood up and walked out of the shed, looking up at the sky:

"We are one step closer to retaking Liangzhou..."

(End of this chapter)