A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 590 Killing a Chicken with a Bull's Knife

The night breeze is cool.

Inside the east gate tower of Xicheng in Fenzhou, several lanterns were lit, and Li Yi was roasting meat and brewing tea around the stove.

The silver charcoal is slowly roasted over a low flame, while a kettle of water is boiling on the side.

Roast some more red dates, walnuts, etc.

The aroma slowly wafted through the air.

Xiao Yi, the governor of Fenzhou, was absent-minded. After sitting for a while, he wanted to go out and look to the east.

"Master Xiao, the good news will come at dawn. Come and have some tea."

Xiao Yi stroked the battlements. The east was pitch black and he couldn't see anything. He turned back, smiling wryly, and said, "Sikong is too calm. Aren't you worried at all?"

Li Yi poured him a cup of tea.

"When Cheng Yaojin left, he said we were using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and he was absolutely right. Yuchi Gong and Cheng Yaojin are both top-tier, most capable generals in the Qin Prince's mansion, plus the most valiant member of our royal family, the Prince of Huaiyang..."

There were also local brave warriors such as Ren Sima and Guo Bingcan.
With twice the enemy's forces, there's no need to worry about this battle.

Xiao Yi picked up his teacup.

"That being said, I still feel uneasy. Please forgive me, Mr. Sikong, for I am just a scholar and really don't understand military affairs."

"Why don't you go back and rest, Governor Xiao? The good news will arrive after you've had a good night's sleep."

"My hands are shaking so much, how can I sleep?"

Li Yi remained calm, grilling meat and sipping tea. The autumn night was cool and breezy; he wasn't worried about the battle at all. He had anticipated the attack, and his six thousand men had launched a surprise attack on three thousand miscellaneous barbarians.
Several generals, plus the Divine Machine Squad he sent.

Before dawn, good news should be coming back.

···
Wild Fox Beach
The several thousand Turkic and mixed-race troops at Liulin Ferry, following the gap in the encirclement left by Cheng Yaoxin, all fled towards Yefutan.

When they heard that there were no pursuers behind them, they thought they had finally escaped.
Suddenly, the sound of hooves thundered in the darkness, and the earth trembled.

Yuchi Gong led eight hundred elite cavalrymen out suddenly, charging into the routed soldiers who thought they had escaped.

On the open riverbank of Wild Fox Beach, the sand and gravel were soft and damp, and reeds grew in abundance. The miscellaneous Hu people had just slowed their pace and were panting heavily.

Yuchi Gong appeared in the night like the Black Impermanence, his hair and beard bristling, his eyes bloodshot, and his black-lacquered iron spear pointing forward.
A thunderous roar echoed across the battlefield.

"Kill the Hu!"

Eight hundred elite cavalrymen had been waiting here for a long time, conserving their energy and preparing for the opportune moment.

Like a moving steel wall, they charged out with lances flying like a forest, their thunderous drumbeats echoing through the air, crashing headlong into the fleeing soldiers.

The man fell on his back and his horse fell over.

Eight hundred cavalrymen charged forward.
The fleeing soldiers were caught completely off guard and were plowed through by the cavalry, leaving bloody trails in their wake.

Many miscellaneous beards were knocked away and then trampled.

Yuchi Gong led from the front, thrusting, parrying, and smashing with his spear, each strike capable of taking down a scavenger. Sometimes, he could even lift several with a single spear thrust, like skewering lamb.

Each swing brought forth a storm of blood and gore.
He even targeted enemy officers and riders, and no one could stop him wherever he went.

Almost at the same time,

The boundless sugarcane fields to the east seemed to come alive, and Li Daoxuan charged forward, brandishing his horse spear.

"My lads, follow me and slaughter the barbarians!"

"eye for eye!"

They suddenly appeared on the flank and rear of the fleeing Turkic and Hu soldiers, blocking their retreat as soon as they appeared.

Eight hundred knights swiftly drew their bows and unleashed a hail of arrows at the enemy from afar. A rain of arrows fell in the darkness, and the mixed Hu people screamed in agony. The densely packed mixed Hu people suffered heavy casualties.

A surprise attack from the front,

Flanking strangler.

The more than two thousand barbarian tribes who were defeated and driven here by Cheng Yaojin never expected that escaping here would not be an escape from death, but a death trap.

Relaxed riverbanks, rushing river water.
Two Tang cavalry units continuously charged and fought each other.
There is no road ahead.

There's nowhere to escape to if you want to turn back.

The panicked and desperate barbarian rabble scattered and fled in all directions, trying to escape under the cover of night, but the fleeing soldiers who finally managed to escape...
However, they encountered Tang troops who were blocking their way from the outside.

Zhang Hao, Ren Zhi, and Guo Jiechou, along with 1,500 men, lay in ambush in the shadows, armed with bows and crossbows, quietly waiting for their prey to take the bait.

The arrows, with their chilling whistles, killed the fleeing soldiers who had barely managed to escape.

The muddy riverbank has been transformed into a boiling battlefield.

When Cheng Yaojin arrived with his troops, the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt.

Those two thousand or so Turkic and non-Turkic peoples were attacked from three sides and had nowhere to escape.

Even if a few defeated soldiers escaped, there were still 1,500 infantrymen lying in ambush on all sides.

In the chaotic darkness, Yilidagan brandished his mace and roared like a wild beast. He was desperate and could only fight like a cornered animal.

His inherent ferocity was fully unleashed, and his hundred personal guards surrounded him, hacking and slashing wildly.

But what use are all these?

Yuchi Gong, standing in the distance, saw the assembled positions and wiped the blood from his face. "Damn it, they still want to turn the tables?"

With a roar, he, as imposing as a black iron tower, shouted, "Follow me!"

The long fingers of the horse spear,

Any attempt to gather or form an array was seen by Yuchi Gong as suicidal; he had to break through their defenses immediately and give them no chance whatsoever.

On the battlefield, being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to oneself.

On the other side, Cheng Yaojin also saw the tough nut to crack and was even more attracted by the general's flag.

"It seems the barbarian general is over there. Men, kill the general, seize the flag, and charge!" He led his men and charged fiercely toward the general's flag.

He kept hurling vulgar curses, but his lance was incredibly cunning, always aiming to strike the enemy where they were weak.

Both he and Yuchi Gong had their eyes on that general's flag, knowing that the enemy's commander must be under it.

They all had to kill generals and seize flags.

Erythrodagan's struggles were in vain.
Under the assault of the two generals from the Qin Prince's mansion, the routed soldiers who had barely managed to gather were quickly breached again.

Li Daoxuan didn't join in the fun.

He continued to lead his cavalry, repeatedly flanking and cutting through enemy lines.
They scattered enemy troops one after another, continuously expanding their gains.

The fierce battle lasted for almost half an hour.

More than two thousand defeated Turkic soldiers
They are getting fewer and fewer as the fighting continues.

They couldn't even put up a decent resistance.
They were swept away and ran around aimlessly, bumping into things like headless flies.

Yilida's personal guards were almost all dead. Although the general's flag had not fallen, it was only because it was piled with corpses that the flag seemed to have taken root for a time.

However, there are hardly any men left under his command who can still fight.

"Dagan, hurry up."

A guard told Yili to take off his helmet and give it to him; the two exchanged helmets. "Dagan, go into the river. That's the only place with a glimmer of hope. Go upstream; on the other side of the Shahe River, there's another force of ours. That's the only place with a glimmer of hope." Despair filled Yili's eyes as well.
It let out a furious howl of defiance.
"Come on."

In the end, Yili traded his gold-trimmed bull-horn helmet, which the Khan had just given him, with the captain of his personal guards.
Even the half-suit of armor, stained with blood, was removed.

The guards, donning their magnificent horned helmets, struggled to the flag, and rose to their feet, supported by the flag.
He pounded his chest and roared at the Tang army coming from all directions.

A dozen wounded guards fought their way out for Yi Li with their own flesh and blood.
Yili, along with a dozen or so loyal men, abandoned their armor and horses and charged into the river.

The sky gradually brightened.
The battlefield was a scene of utter devastation.
Corpses lay strewn everywhere, and many unclaimed battlefields echoed with mournful cries.

Scattered swords and spears, tattered flags,
The smell of blood was so strong it was almost unbearable.

Yuchi Gong and Cheng Yaojin were leading their men to clear the battlefield.
Last night, Yuchi Gong managed to capture the general's flag first, but they failed to find Yilida Gan.

They only captured his golden bull-horn helmet, but only one of his personal guards was wearing it.

They searched the pile of corpses several times, but couldn't find any E. elida.

"Has the Prince of Huaiyang captured Yilida Gan?"

"I asked around, but I didn't find anything."

Not only did they fail to capture Li Daoxuan's troops, but they also failed to find Zhang Hao's three generals on the periphery.

"They actually managed to let him escape?"

"He probably took advantage of the chaos to rush into the Fen River and escape downstream. This guy is very cunning. He didn't go ashore but escaped through the river. It was dark and chaotic, so he managed to slip through the net for a while."

“Chase along the river; he can’t get far.”

Wild Fox Beach had long since become a battlefield, the mud underfoot stained with blood and incredibly sticky.

Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin, and Li Daoxuan met.

The results were actually quite good.
Last night, Cheng Yaojin raided the enemy camp, not only breaking through the enemy lines but also beheading over 500 enemies and capturing over 2,000 horses and camels.

The enemy, driven here, also failed to escape in large numbers.

In the Battle of Wild Fox Beach, 1,000 were beheaded and more than 1,300 were captured.

Of the 3,000 cadres of Yilida, only about a hundred escaped.

More than two thousand warhorses were also captured here.
The Tang army's casualties were not heavy.
The enemy army was routed and had no ability to fight back. In one night of fighting, of the more than 6,000 Tang soldiers, only a little over 100 died.

In addition, there was the beheading at Liulin Ferry.

Last night's battle resulted in the beheading of over 1,500 enemies, the capture of over 1,300 prisoners, the seizure of over 3,000 warhorses, as well as numerous cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys. Furthermore, thousands of captive civilians were rescued.
In addition, a large amount of silk, cloth, money, and grain looted by the Turks.

"It's a pity that Yilida ran away."

"We have failed to live up to the expectations of the commander and have not been able to annihilate these three thousand barbarian foes."

Yuchi Gong was unwilling to give up, "This battle is not over yet. Yilida Gan is not a fish. Without a horse, how far can it swim down the river?"

"Report!"

A lone rider galloped in.

"Report! We've discovered the direction in which Yilidagan fled. They've headed towards the Shahe area, upstream on the east bank of the Fen River. We've also discovered another group of Turkic cavalry active there."

The number was even greater, possibly over five thousand cavalry.

Yuchi Laohei's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he looked at Cheng Yaojin and Li Daoxuan, "Your Majesty, Brother Zhijie, the opportunity has come."

We should immediately press our advantage and pursue them.
"annihilate those five thousand Turkic troops at Shahe, retrieve Yili's head, and while you're at it, bring back the head of the enemy general from Shahe as well."

Cheng Yaojin chuckled twice, "This Yilida Gan is indeed good at leading the way, so how can we be polite? Let's charge over and take them all down."

Last night's battle resulted in the annihilation of 3,000 enemy soldiers, but only a hundred or so of them were killed, leaving their fighting strength intact.

Li Daoxuan was also tempted, but after the battle in the clouds, he had become more cautious.

"I will immediately send someone back to Fenzhou City to report to the Minister of Works. Whether to fight or not is up to the Minister of Works. We should now focus on cleaning up the battlefield and then rest and replenish our supplies."

"As soon as Sikong orders us to attack, we'll rush to Shahe immediately."

Cheng Yaojin shook his head.

"It's still thirty li from here to Fenzhou City. It would take half a day to go there and back. Yilidagan has already fled into the enemy camp. If we do that, we'll alert the enemy."

The opportunity to fight is fleeting, and there is no time to hesitate.

Before Yili has fled far, and before the Shahe Turkic enemies realize what's happening here, let's attack now!

"A swift and decisive approach is needed to resolve this."

Li Daoxuan looked at Yuchi Gong.

Old Hei said bluntly, "I support Duke Su. Shahe is not far from here, less than thirty miles away. We can still fight."
"A mere five thousand men—there's no need to wait for Sikong's decision; our six thousand men can take them down."

"Yes, we mustn't let the big fish get away."

It's best to catch the enemy off guard; if we wait until they discover us, it won't be so easy to launch a surprise attack.

Seeing this, Li Daoxuan finally nodded.

"Alright, send someone to report to Sikong immediately. We'll also hurry up and finish cleaning up the battlefield and take a break."

"Send out light cavalry to intercept Yilidagan, so as not to let him tip off the enemy and alert him."

Yuchi Gong shouted, "I will chase after Yili and make sure he doesn't escape to report back!"

The sky was bright.

The Tang soldiers shook off their fatigue and their fighting spirit was rekindled.

Li Daoxuan assigned the tasks of clearing the battlefield, searching for fleeing enemies, and transporting the captured spoils to generals Zhang Hao, Ren Zhi, and Guo Jiechou.

Meanwhile, the more than 4,000 men from Li Daoxuan, Yuchi Gong, and Cheng Yaojin's three units seized the time to eat dry rations and rest.

quickly,

The three men, with over four thousand troops, set off in high spirits towards the rising sun, pursuing the Shahe River, which flows upstream on the east bank of the Fen River.

Bathed in the golden morning sun, the knight galloped swiftly to the city of Fenzhou.

"A great victory,"

"Reporting to the Minister of Works, a great victory has been achieved."

Duke Su of Liulin Ferry launched a night raid on the enemy camp, beheading over five hundred. At Yehu Beach, together with the Prince of Huaiyang and Commander Yuchi, they beheaded another thousand and captured over a thousand.

Three thousand Turkic and mixed-race soldiers were almost completely annihilated.

Upon hearing this news, Xiao Yi's fatigue vanished, and his bloodshot eyes gleamed with brilliance. "Sikong, we've won! We've annihilated the enemy!"

Li Yi smiled and nodded; this was a result that did not surprise him.

It would be strange if we didn't win.

"Reporting to the Minister of Works, the Prince of Huaiyang and his men have discovered another Turkic army of about five thousand men operating near the Shahe River, not far north of Liulin Ferry. The Prince of Huaiyang and his men have already launched a surprise attack on the enemy and are determined to annihilate them."

Li Yi frowned slightly.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Someone, gather the remaining three thousand infantry and cavalry in the city and come with me to Shahe to reinforce them."

(End of this chapter)