Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 284 Side Story: Awakening Fragrance Six

By the flickering firelight in the cave, Xingxiang looked at Li Keyong's weak face, which was as pale as gold paper, lying on the horsehide, and felt that she might really be in trouble now.

But what could she do? Could a mere outsider, a lowly assistant, possibly suppress the generals' outward compliance with his words? Besides incurring a lot of resentment, she couldn't change anything.

When Bodonchar led eight hundred cavalrymen, taking advantage of the blizzard, they attacked like ghosts, and the Zhenwu Army's cavalry collapsed like a sandstorm.

When the Zhenwu Army was well-organized and united in its battle, it was able to defeat more than 15,000 barbarian cavalry with only 3,000 men at the Battle of Dingxiang, achieving a victory of more than 3,000 killed or captured. However, when they became arrogant and complacent because of their victory, and were eager to return home, they disregarded Li Keyong's admonitions, and their 2,000 cavalry were scattered by 800 Tatar soldiers in a single charge.

Bodonchar was indeed a man of some talent and strategy. Since the Tatar cavalry were not known for their close combat skills, he ordered his eight hundred soldiers to carry no bows or arrows. Once close to the enemy, the entire army charged forward with sabers. Without bows and arrows, they had no choice but to fight to the death, a strategy similar to Xiang Yu's burning of his boats and Han Xin's desperate battle with his back to the river.

During a march, only one-tenth of the troops are usually assigned to defense. Li Keyong had already sent a thousand men to escort prisoners and captures back south, leaving only two hundred of the remaining two thousand men focused and ready to defend against the enemy.

In the midst of the blizzard, it was impossible to send out scouts to investigate the enemy's situation.

When Bodonchari took the lead, riding his horse and brandishing his sword, he led eight hundred cavalrymen in a blizzard, striking like thunder from the sky. The Zhenwu Army's defensive troops, shivering from the cold, collapsed after only a few rounds of defense.

The chaos quickly spread throughout the army.

Sima Rangju said: "In marching, the formation should be loose; in battle, the formation should be dense." The formation of an army is always relatively loose, and enough space needs to be reserved to avoid collisions and trampling incidents during movement.

When a formation is suddenly attacked, the units will find it difficult to support each other and will be easily defeated one by one by the enemy.

Therefore, when an army is on the march, it is necessary to set up scouts extensively. However, in a blizzard, the scouts are as useless as the eyes of a blind man and the ears of a deaf man.

Xingxiang had somewhat foreseen this defeat. But she also calculated that if the enemy did attack, the Zhenwu Army would suffer heavy casualties, with only a few soldiers scattering.

Horses are much more resistant to cold than people, so escaping in cold weather is not a problem. The Tatars have just suffered a defeat and are unable to hastily assemble a large army for a surprise attack.

The leader of the Tatar alliance seemed to possess some talent and strategy. However, his surprise attack was merely an attempt to salvage his reputation after his defeat at Dingxiang and to regain lost face.

Xingxiang thought so, but she never expected that Bodonchar's prey was actually Li Keyong himself!
Isn't this guy worried about Feng Shuai's revenge at all? He's not some all-powerful Khan. If he suffers a defeat against Feng Shuai's vengeful army, his allies will most likely use his head as a bargaining chip to sue for peace with the court.

This has happened far too many times in history.

Or perhaps he believed that after killing or capturing Li Keyong, he could seize the opportunity to conquer Zhenwu City and pacify the entire Zhenwu military region. The immense prestige he would gain would allow him to unify the various Tatar tribes in one fell swoop. Even if Commander Feng returned with his main force, he would be powerless against him!
Although the attacking Hu soldiers numbered less than the entire Zhenwu Army by two thousand, they gained the upper hand and created a situation where they outnumbered the enemy in certain areas.

Faced with the desperate attack of Bodonchar's men, Li Keyong's personal guards were quickly scattered.

Xingxiang drew her sword and fought fiercely, killing several men, and protected the wounded Li Keyong as they fought their way out of the encirclement. However, both of their warhorses were wounded by the Hu people, and they collapsed and died with a pitiful neigh after running a short distance.

Fortunately, the heavy snow also obscured the Hu people's vision, and the Tatars were unable to catch up.

In the midst of the blizzard, without his horses and with his injuries, Li Keyong had to find a place that could withstand the wind and snow.

Fortunately, there were many caves in the area, and Xingxiang quickly found one and dragged the unconscious Li Keyong inside.

She chopped some firewood and made a makeshift frame. Then she skinned the dead horse, shaped it into a pot, and hung it on the frame. She lit the firewood with tinder, and used the horsehide bag to cook the horse meat soup, using the original broth.

The water source is snowmelt. The tree surface may get wet in the snow, but once the bark is peeled off, the inside remains dry. After being cut into small pieces, they are easy to ignite.

The horsehide bag was hung a little higher so that it wouldn't be burned by the rising flames, while still allowing the broth inside to be heated effectively.

As Xingxiang did all this, she thought to herself: Luckily, I also suffered when I was young. If it were an ordinary pampered daughter of an official, she would be helpless in the face of such a thing.

The warmth of the firewood prevented the injured Li Keyong from suffering hypothermia.

While unconscious, Xingxiang could only feed Li Keyong horse meat soup to help him regain his strength. This required skill, as it was easy to accidentally pour the soup into his lungs, so Xingxiang had to be extremely careful.

Three days later, Li Keyong finally managed to open his eyes.

He looked around blankly, trying to figure out what was going on, and thanked Xingxiang for saving his life.

Then, with a hint of panic, he asked, "Madam Zhang, did I say anything when I fainted?"

Xingxiang then remembered that he had mumbled a few words, as if asking his grandfather not to beat him, and that he missed his mother who had died young.

When a person who has been in a coma wakes up, they sometimes retain some memory of what they said in their sleep. Li Keyong felt embarrassed, probably because he didn't want others to see his weakness.

What's the point? His weakness is obvious to everyone.

Li Keyong's initial victory followed by defeat stemmed from his lack of authority within the army, despite his goodwill. His soldiers, emboldened by his arrogance, dared to disregard his words after a period of complacency.

Xingxiang carefully considered her words: "It seems like she said something, but I didn't hear it very clearly."

"As your subordinate, saving you was simply my duty; don't take it too seriously. If you are grateful, you can reward me with some money afterward."

I was in such a rush to save people that I didn't think much about it. But now that I've thought about it, the fact that I saved their lives, and that we were alone together as a man and a woman, makes this situation really dangerous!

Mother really adores Li Keyong, but Xingxiang has no interest in him and doesn't want him to fall for her.

During her year of working for Li Keyong, Xingxiang even deliberately made her makeup look ugly, turning her eyebrows into thick and short laurel leaf eyebrows.

If anyone asks, I will answer that it is to reminisce about the glorious Tang Dynasty.

Li Keyong did not find it vulgar to talk about money while he was in the incense room. He replied, "Although Lady Dugu is noble, she still needs land to support her. After we return, I will give your mother a temporary estate in Guandong."

After the collapse of the equal-field system in the Tang Dynasty, land transactions became frequent. Officials and large landowners often bought land in other places and hired people to manage it, a practice known as "hired estates." The estates in Guandong were originally much more fertile than those in the Hetao region.

Xingxiang immediately felt uneasy. "I saved you, so why is the reward going to my mother?" This made her wonder.

Li Keyong's actions were largely motivated by a sense of guilt towards Xingxiang's mother stemming from the massacre of the Dugu clan in Shengzhou and Dugu's machinations, rather than being intentional. However, his behavior resembled a deliberate attempt to curry favor with Xingxiang's mother, a strategy intended to break through her defenses.

Xingxiang felt slightly annoyed, but on the surface she could only appear gentle: "Young Master Li, are you feeling better now?"

(End of this chapter)