Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 281 Side Story: Awakening Fragrance Three

One must perform one's duties in a way that satisfies others, while avoiding standing out and attracting attention.

It's not easy to strike the right balance.

Fortunately, Xingxiang is an extremely intelligent and cautious person.

Therefore, for a whole year after she became an assistant to Li Keyong, the young master of Fengshuai's family, Li Keyong only regarded her as a reliable advisor.

This progress greatly displeased her mother, who began to subtly criticize it.

Xingxiang met her gaze directly: "Mother, you know what I'm thinking."

Madam Dugu sighed, "Isn't it that Zhu family's third son? Very well, let me ask you, who is he to you, and what promises has he ever made to you?"

Xingxiang's expression suddenly froze.

There was no interaction, no promises, only traveling together and exchanging gifts.

Dugu looked on with a look of reminiscence and said slowly, "Back then, your grandfather generously took the jade hairpin I gave him as travel expenses to go to the capital for the imperial examination. The day before he left, we secretly pledged our lives to each other in an inn. There were no guests, no banquet, only tying our hair together to symbolize our eternal love. The turbid wine that cost twenty coins a liter in the inn was our nuptial wine."

Her voice suddenly turned stern: "Your grandfather once wanted to pave the way for Zhu Sanlang, but he refused, didn't he? He thought too highly of himself and didn't want to owe our family any favors, which wasted so many years of your life! He wants to make something of himself before proposing to you, but he'll never make something of himself, and he'll just waste your life."

Xingxiang remained silent for a moment: "Liangyu's temperament is different from that of ordinary men."

"He's different?" Dugu sneered. "Or are you putting yourself in such a lowly position? Where does a poor boy get such arrogance?"

Xingxiang knows that many girls who feel inferior in relationships comfort themselves by saying "he's different."

But he and Liang Yu clearly understood each other! She understood him, and he understood her. So what did it matter if they waited a few years for the sake of the other's youthful pride?
She didn't want to continue arguing with her mother, so she could only offer some casual words to brush it off.

As for Li Keyong, the young master of the Feng family was said to have grown up surrounded by women, yet he treated them with unusual respect and distance. His beautiful maid, Hu Ji, would sometimes come to the army camp to serve him, attempting intimate acts, but Li Keyong always refused. Several young ladies from prominent families had also expressed their feelings for Li Keyong, but he politely declined them all.

In the eyes of many women, Young Master Li's appearance was indeed extremely fresh and appealing. Not to mention his status as the heir of the Feng Commander.

Xingxiang thought, "Let those women bother him then. If I don't do anything conspicuous, why would he even notice me?"
One day, Xingxiang discovered that Li Keyong was not just a pretty face with no substance.

The second year of the Qianfu era was a year of many disasters for the Tang Dynasty.

In the Central Plains, Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao launched uprisings, while in Jiangdong, Yuan Chang and Wang Ying raised troops. In Xichuan, the Nanzhao Kingdom launched a large-scale invasion. Although they were quickly defeated by General Lei Gao Pian, they still caused considerable bloodshed and plunder in the local area.

In the northeast, the Khitan and Xi people also joined forces and attacked Youzhou. Li Maoxun, the military governor of Lulong, was unable to withstand the attack and petitioned the court for help.

Li Guochang received an imperial edict and led the main force of Zhenwu eastward. After twelve battles, large and small, he quickly suppressed the rampant situation of the Khitan and Xi tribes. However, he left troops in Youzhou to prepare for further pursuit and annihilation of the enemy, hoping to inflict a major blow so that they would be unable to invade the border for twenty years.

But just then, an urgent report came from the front lines in Zhenwu town.

The thirty Tatar tribes on the grasslands resolved their feuds and formed alliances, mobilizing tens of thousands of troops to completely besiege Dingxiang City, the front line of the Zhenwu Army.

Dingxiang City, also known as the City of the Protectorate of the Shanyu, shows the importance of this city in the past.

During the height of the Tang Dynasty, this city governed 200,000 Turkic tribes who grazed their livestock in the surrounding area.

However, with the decline of the Tang Dynasty, Dingxiang City also lost its former prestige and became an ordinary frontline fortress in Zhenwu Town.

The Uyghur Khaganate did not destroy it entirely because of the annual tribute of silk and horses from the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, based on past experience, although the garrison of Dingxiang City numbered less than a thousand, it was not something that tens of thousands of Hu cavalry could take. After the fall of the Uyghur Khanate, the organizational level of the Hu people on the steppe declined by more than one level.

But this time it's very different.

The distress message from Dingxiang City was extremely urgent.

The enemy even brought in dozens of catapults, which bombarded the city repeatedly, leaving it teetering on the brink of collapse.

This is not a capability that ordinary tribal cavalry possess. The main force of Zhenwu Town has been taken by Feng Shuai Li Guochang to the east to conquer the Khitan. If they need to provide reinforcements, they can only spare a maximum of three thousand troops.

If the Hu cavalry used catapults to attack the city, they wouldn't suffer from the exhaustion and wounds caused by swarming attacks. Three thousand soldiers would hardly be enough to fill the gaps between the teeth of tens of thousands of Hu cavalry.

Panic gripped the town. Soldiers whispered amongst themselves, "What are we going to do? Are we going to sacrifice all of us?"
Even if the city is lost, when Commander Feng returns, he will surely avenge the fallen soldiers who defended the city. What we need to do now is to defend Zhenwu City.

Xingxiang originally thought that Li Keyong would also hold this view.

Unexpectedly, after hesitating for a long time with a complicated expression, the young man put on a brand-new black military uniform, walked firmly to the command platform on the drill ground, and summoned the entire army.

The military uniform was loose and stiff, concealing Li Keyong's slender, woman-like figure and his narrow shoulders.

His usually bright eyes, like a hundred waves, exude an indescribable heroic spirit.

"Gentlemen, you may think that Keyong was chosen to be your general in a magnificent mansion, and therefore lacks the courage to fight to the death against the enemy."

"But Li Keyong doesn't want those hypocritical, incessant flattery; he only wants to share the glory of victory with you all amidst the scorching flames of war."

“Our Zhenwu Army has both Han soldiers and non-Han soldiers. Many people may feel that the meager military pay is not worth risking their lives for the court.”

"But the soldiers of Dingxiang City are our brothers! Many of them are even blood relatives of many of you here! You are all men of honor, how can you abandon your own brothers?"

The Zhenwu Army's treasury had been opened, and large amounts of money and silk were piled up at the edge of the drill ground. Li Keyong's meaning was clear: as long as everyone dared to fight to the death, the rewards would be distributed immediately, and even if they died in battle, the wealth would have already been sent home.

The soldiers stared blankly at the young master on the reviewing stand.

The young master is still so handsome, making many women pale in comparison.

But wasn't Gao Changgong, the famous general of Northern Qi, also gentle in appearance but strong in heart, with a face like a beautiful woman? How many generals in history could compare to his heroic figure when he broke through the Mangban Pass and was invincible?

"I am willing to die for you, sir!"

"Rescue our brothers in Dingxiang City and slaughter the Tatar barbarians without leaving a single one alive!"

A deafening roar erupted from the crowd below.

Li Keyong issued orders, organized provisions, counted warhorses, prepared flags and banners, and rewarded the three armies. Everything was arranged in an orderly and efficient manner.

With the commander-in-chief absent, the young master's sudden decisiveness and courage greatly inspired the soldiers. They felt that the young master was like a great bird on the mountains of Chu, which would not fly for three years but would soar into the sky, and would not sing for three years but would astound the world with its song.

In war, courage is paramount. The Tatar tribes are ultimately a motley crew, no match for the Uyghur soldiers of yesteryear. The war god Shi Xiong, with three thousand men, defeated a hundred thousand, annihilating the Uyghur Khanate. We have three thousand men; can't we disperse a horde of Tatar soldiers besieging the city and rescue our besieged brothers?
With the expedition decided, Li Keyong invited Xingxiang into his tent and took out a battle plan.

"Please enlighten me, Madam Zhang."

Li Keyong said calmly.

Xingxiang, however, discerned something he had tried so hard to conceal when he took the stage to review the troops earlier.

Li Keyong was actually very uneasy.

The young man suddenly sighed: "If it were someone else being besieged, I might have just stood by and watched them die. But the one besieged in Dingxiang City is my best friend whom I grew up with."

That's why we can't not save them, but that's also why we're even more afraid of failure.

By this time, Xingxiang had finished reading Li Keyong's battle plan.

It's not bad, and it's quite detailed, so much so that I only have two or three things to add.

Under normal circumstances, this battle could be won.

This handsome young master is not just a figurehead. However, he is too heavily suppressed by his domineering father and lacks self-confidence.

(End of this chapter)