Chapter 62: Return (Please Read)

That night, Zhao Huaian and Bao Yidu left the camp and waited at the road that the Nanzhao army had to take to withdraw.

Zhao Huaian asked each team to tie themselves up with ropes from front to back, and they finally arrived at their destination safely.

But even so, Zhao Huaian and his friends still got lost.

Fortunately, the villagers who led the way were helpful, and we finally arrived at a slope before dawn.

There is a dirt road at the bottom of the slope, extending all the way to Xihe, a tributary of the Minjiang River. After crossing this river, you can return to Tang'an.

After reaching this earthen slope, Zhao Huaian ordered the team to rest on the spot and catch up on their sleep.

He and a group of generals stood on the slope and looked at a fortress in the southwest, which was the Xianren Fort guarded by the Nanzhao Army.

The morning mist was hazy and the barrier was barely visible.

Suddenly, several heavy bell sounds were heard, and the gate of the immortal garrison opened wide.

Han Tong, who had sharp eyes, saw it and shouted:
"The enemy troops from Xianren Fort have set out."

Zhao Huaian has been practicing archery and eyesight hard during this period, so he discovered it at the first time.

He nodded and then stared at that direction.

This time, there was a certain risk for him to move his troops here. Although the Baoyi Army was directly under the Central Army of Western Sichuan, his personal rank was lower than that of the Fengxiang general.

Now that the Fengxiang Army and the Nanzhao Army have proposed a peaceful takeover, no matter whether it is reasonable or not, that is the leader's intention.

If the Nanzhao Army and the Fengxiang Army reached an agreement, and Zhao Da still took the initiative to ambush them, it would be a waste of effort because he was disobeying military orders and sending troops out without authorization.

But Zhao Da didn't care about much anymore. He would not let these Nanzhao people go anyway. If they made a fuss, he would end up suing General Yang.

But as time passed, Zhao Huaian still saw no movement over there. It seemed that they were really going to reach a peace agreement.

Gritting his teeth, he encouraged the players around him:

"If the Nanzhao army passes through here later, we'll destroy them. Those Fengxiang soldiers are cowards, but we in Baoyi are all brave. They want to run away after robbing us? That's just dreaming! Have you asked me, Zhao Da, and our brothers?"

Zhao Da spoke to boost his morale, and all the team leaders cheered in unison, especially Sun Chuanwei, who was shouting loudly, as if he wanted to kill those Nanzhao soldiers.

Ever since the battle at Baizhushui, this young Sun not only regarded the Yan family in eastern Sichuan as his mortal enemy, but also wanted to get rid of the Nanzhao army that massacred his brothers in the village as soon as possible.

As for the others, they all followed Zhao Da's lead.

After spending so much time together, no matter what the soldiers below are like, the teams present here will be convinced of our Zhao Da.

But among the crowd, Gao Renhou saw that there seemed to be light coming from the Immortal Guard, which must be the reflection of armor, so he expressed a different opinion:
"General, in my humble opinion, those Nanzhao troops are probably feigning peace."

Zhao Huaian was stunned for a moment, not knowing why Lao Gao said this, and asked hurriedly:
"Lao Gao, please tell me in detail."

Gao Renhou analyzed for everyone:

"General, how can you retreat with weapons and armor on? I think those Nanzhao people want to give the Fengxiang army a try. But you're also right. The Fengxiang army has more cavalry. If we don't defeat them first, they will be caught up during the retreat and it will be disastrous."

Zhao Huaian suddenly realized that he had learned a little knowledge about marching today, so he gave Gao Renhou a thumbs up.

Gao Renhou was indeed an amazing person. Not long after he made this prediction, there was a deafening cry from the Immortal Guard.

Then Zhao Huaian and others saw that the Fengxiang Army flag at the farthest point was withdrawn.

This?
The Fengxiang Army was defeated?
……

It was unknown how long it had been before Zhao Huaian and others saw the Nanzhao army approaching.

Because the dirt road was narrow, these people lined up in a long column. The team in front was almost reaching the dirt slope on Zhao Huaian's side, while the team behind was still at Xianren Fort.

It was also at this time that Zhao Huaian and his men understood why these Nanzhao troops pretended to surrender in order to defeat the Fengxiang army outside.

Looking at the endless winding convoy on the dirt road, Zhao Huaian and others swallowed their saliva.

How much did these Nanzhao dog slaves rob? The loot was seized in carts one after another, so much so that it was hard to keep up.

You know what, the commander of the Nanzhao army was also a smart man. He knew that if the Fengxiang army saw their mountains of baggage, they would definitely break their promise and tear up the agreement.

By then, these Nanzhao troops will be unable to stop the Fengxiang army's cavalry on the road.

Therefore, it would be better for the Nanzhao army to take the initiative and defeat the Fengxiang army first.

It seems that this Nanzhao general is also a smart one.

Thinking of this, Zhao Huaian felt that the Nanzhao general should not be an unknown person, so he hurriedly asked Guo Congyun to call a Nanzhao cavalry slave over.

Soon, a Nanzhao cavalryman came over with bow legs, a tough temperament and a bun combed like a Tang Dynasty man.

Zhao Huaian knew this man, his name was Duan Zhongjian. He was the first of the more than 20 knights to surrender. He was very practical and could speak Tang dialect.

This person came over and kowtowed to Zhao Huaian on the ground.

At first, when Zhao Huaian heard that the man's surname was Duan, he asked him if he had a brother named Duan Zhengchun, but the man was confused for a while and told him that their Duan family was a big family in Nanzhao, so there might be one, but he didn't know him.

In fact, Duan Zhongjian was no ordinary man, and ordinary families couldn't afford to raise a knight like him. He was a descendant of the former Nanzhao powerful official Duan Zongbang.

In Nanzhao, the major military families included the Duan, Yang, Zhang, Zheng, and Li families. These five families, together with the royal Meng family, constituted the main body of power in Nanzhao.

It's just a pity that except for the royal family of Nanzhao, the Meng family, who had a sense of national identity, they always insisted that they were the fierce men who fought their way out of the Ailao Mountains.

The other five major ethnic groups basically all say that their ancestors were Han people, and some of them were wealthy Han people.

For example, the Duan family to which Duan Zhongjian belonged believed that they were from the Duan family of Wuwei in Hexi, and that their ancestor was the famous general Duan Xing of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Look, how can I explain this? Nanzhao and the Tang Dynasty fought for a hundred years, but it was still a civil war.

After Zhao Huaian called Duan Zhongjian over, he pointed at the Nanzhao army flag on the distant slope and asked:
"Do you know this army commander?"

Duan Zhongjian hurriedly stood up and carefully ran up the slope. After taking a look, he hurried back and replied:

"General, that's the Wusa tribe of the Thirty-Seven Barbarian Tribes of the Black Cuan. Their chief commander is called Wu Menglong, and he's known for being cunning and fierce."

Zhao Huaian naturally didn't know what the Thirty-Seven Barbarian Tribes of Hei Cuan were. He only asked:
"Can our army win?"

Duan Zhongjian buried his head in the ground and said without hesitation:
"The general is mighty and the troops are energized. Our army is well-rested while the enemy is tired. We will defeat the enemy with unity and victory is certain."

Zhao Huaian shouted "OK".

From this sentence, we can see that Duan Zhongjian has a high degree of Chinese culture and is a talented person.

Zhao Huaian no longer had any doubts. Looking at the approaching Nanzhao army, he gave the order in a deep voice:
"Everyone return to your team, look at my flag, and you will win!"

All the teams roared in unison:
"Must win!"

The crowd rushed to the back of the slope with the sound of armor clattering, where more than 700 officers and soldiers were sitting on the ground in complete silence.

……

Walking at the forefront of the retreating Nanzhao army was its commander, Wu Menglong. As one of the most prominent heroes in eastern Yunnan, he was skilled in archery and horsemanship, and was particularly proficient in military tactics.

At this moment, he was wearing a black willow-leaf armor lined with chain mail, riding a Tibetan horse, and the eight-petal helmet on his head was shining in the sun, looking majestic.

This man was riding a horse while talking to a Tang scholar who was walking side by side with him.

Wumeng Longpo was respectful to the wise and humble, and said to the man beside him:

"Mr. Zhang, I believe the Li Tang dynasty is declining and will eventually end. It would be better for you to come with me to Yunnan and serve as a peacekeeper. While Yunnan may not be as vast as Nanzhao, the thirty-six tribes are united and form their own nation. As our peacekeeper, I can't guarantee you generations of wealth and honor, but I can guarantee a lifetime of wealth and glory."

This Tang scholar wore a black futou and had a majestic demeanor rarely seen in Shu. Facing Wu Menglong's words, he saluted:
"My Lord, you are wise, but I am humble and I am afraid I will fail to live up to your expectations."

This scholar was named Zhang Guiling, and he was from Chengdu Shuzhou. He was captured by Wumeng Long and detained in the army.

As a hero of one of the thirty-six tribes in eastern Yunnan, Wumenglong also has ambitions.

Now the leader of Nanzhao, Chief Long, is old, and powerful officials in the court, such as the Duan and Zheng families, are all ambitious. This is just as the Han people say, it is the time for heroes to show their strength.

And Wu Menglong thought he was the hero.

But if he wanted to fulfill his ambition of replacing the Meng royal family, he needed to recruit all kinds of talents. The Zhang Guiling in front of him was not only dignified in appearance, but also very knowledgeable. It was said that he had participated in the imperial examination in Chang'an.

Although this person definitely failed the exam, otherwise he would not have been found by him in the countryside of Shuzhou, but the experience of taking the imperial examination alone was enough for Wu Menglong to take it seriously.

He still remembered that the elders in the tribe once told him that the former leader of their Nanzhao had only captured a county magistrate of Xilu and brought him back to the country to become their Qingping official. And that Qingping official was the seventh generation ancestor of Zheng Maisi, the most powerful official in their court.

Whenever he heard this story, Wu Menglong felt a deep awe for the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty had too many talented people and its territory was too vast. Even though Nanzhao had fought for ten generations, its territory was connected to Qianzhong in the east, Wadi River in the west, Tubo in the northwest, Dadu River in the north, Queendom in the south, and Pyu Kingdom in the southwest, dominating the endless forest south of the Tang Dynasty.

But even so, every time the Nanzhao invaded western Sichuan, they only looted people and livestock, and never dared to think of replacing the Tang Dynasty.

Every year, thousands of elites from Nanzhao go to Chang'an to study. If it weren't for their leader, Chief Long, who was hostile to the Tang Dynasty, Wumeng Longben would have been one of those studying in Chang'an.

Pity.

Therefore, Zhang Guinian's ability and knowledge are enough to help him achieve his ambitions.

But what can be done? This person seems to be happy on the outside, but he is actually unhappy on the inside.

But it doesn't matter. When he returns to the tribe, I will give him five or six aunts, dozens of slaves, and dozens of cattle and sheep. Why should I be afraid that he will not be loyal?
Thinking of this, Wu Menglong couldn't help but look back, because that was the capital for him to realize his ambitions.

But when he looked back, he did not notice that Zhang Guiling was looking thoughtfully at the slope not far away, and even slowed down his horse cautiously.

After Wu Menglong turned around, he casually glanced at the slope over there and suddenly said with disdain:

"The Tang generals are foolish and greedy, destined for this defeat. If it were me, I would have ambushed an army behind that slope and attacked our army on its way back. But, what a shame, the Tang army has no men!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a khaki military flag suddenly rose from the hillside over there, with the words "Bao Yi" written on it.

Wu Menglong was so frightened that he fell off his horse.

(End of this chapter)

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