White-robed Minister

Chapter 200-0198 [Siege and Reinforcements]

The Song Dynasty cavalry, composed of both Han and Qiang peoples, galloped across the plateau.

The Tibetan army and civilians fled in disarray. Because there were still a large number of elderly, weak, women, children, grain, livestock, tents and furniture in the north, the pursuing Song cavalry were blocked by these living and dead creatures.

After a long struggle, the Song cavalry finally broke through the passage and continued their pursuit, capturing a large number of scattered soldiers and civilians along the way.

When Xu Lai and Gao Zunyu arrived at the battlefield, the ground was littered with enemy corpses.

The vast majority of the corpses died from being trampled together.

Gao Zunyu looked towards the rocky fortress to the southwest: "Shouldn't we just leave that fortress alone?"

Xu Lai said, "Persuade them to surrender. If they refuse, cut off their water and firewood supply, leave a portion of the Qiang soldiers to block this place, and our main force will head straight for Wusheng Army (Lintao)."

This fortified village is surrounded by water on three sides, with only one road leading to the plateau. By blocking that sole passage, the garrison inside the village will be unable to leave.

More than half an hour later, the cavalry from various units returned one after another, all escorting a large number of prisoners.

Xu Lai sent Ba Zhanjiao to the outskirts of the village to persuade them to surrender, and also ordered the Qiang laborers accompanying the army to bring the supplies, and then to deal with the corpses on the battlefield.

Bazhanjiao charged alone toward the fortified village, shouting from afar, "I am Bazhanjiao, I am Bazhanjiao—"

The guards, who were about to shoot, immediately put down their bows and arrows upon hearing this.

This is the grandson of the previous Zanpu (Khanpu), and under normal circumstances, no Qiang soldier would dare to harm him.

Bazhanjiao swaggered to the outside of the fortress, looked up and shouted, "Who is the commander here?"

A young general poked his head out: "I am Ear-Slapping Star."

Bazhanjiao asked, "Who is your relationship to the leader of the Ear-Sweeping Tribe?"

"He's my father!" the garrison commander replied.

Bazhanjiao said, "Your father's soldiers and followers have all scattered. As long as you surrender the fortress, you can search for your followers among the prisoners, and you might even find your family."

Moerxing hesitated.

Bazangjiao threatened, "If you don't surrender, I'll interrogate the prisoners and kill every single one of the Ear-Catching Tribe!"

Moerxing was furious and wanted to shoot Bazhanjiao to death with an arrow.

Ba Zhanjiao, however, was not worried at all: "The main force has been defeated, do you think your small force can hold out? You saw it yourself, the Song army is protected by the gods, Mu Zheng can't withstand the divine weapon bestowed by the gods at all!"

Moerxing looked at the soldiers around him and found that they all looked fearful. Many soldiers were also looking towards the distant plateau, clearly worried about their families.

"Open the gate," Moerxing said helplessly.

Xu Lai selected 500 Qiang soldiers from the Shuyang tribe to enter Panshi Fortress and take over its defense. This fortress and plateau thus became a stronghold for the Song army and a transit point for supplies.

Xu Lai then temporarily assigned the more than 8000 captured Qiang soldiers to Qiang generals such as Bazhanjiao and Yulongke. More than 10,000 Qiang elderly, weak, women and children were selected to serve as laborers.

Even more useful were the provisions, warhorses, and livestock, which were so plentiful that they were difficult to count at the moment, instantly alleviating Xu Lai's food shortage problem.

Dong Gu ran wildly for more than 40 miles before stopping at Yujing Town, which is the town of later generations.

This area also features wide terraces, surrounded by water on three sides and cliffs on the other, making it a strategically important location that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

During the Three Kingdoms period, the Wei Kingdom built Houhe City here. Nearby are also Jiang Wei's command platform and Liao Hua Fort, built by Liao Hua.

Soldiers gradually returned, and by evening, Dong Gu counted the number of men and found that only a little over two thousand remained.

The number of Qiang soldiers and civilians who escaped was certainly more than just this, but they all disappeared into the mountains and did not flee along the river valleys.

-

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment.

The blind man said, "Let's go back to Wusheng Army City. The two thousand or so remnants of our army can't hold this place."

Bazhanmo was lost in thought and didn't reply.

His soldiers and followers were either captured or had fled; only a little over three hundred managed to escape to this place. Moreover, all his wealth, food, and livestock were gone.

It's better to just surrender!

His brother, Bajang, simply surrendered and has been living quite comfortably.

Dong Gu raised his hand to check his felt helmet, only to find it was gone. He sighed, "Alas, let's go back to the city!"

This place is less than 30 li away from Wushengjun City. They arrived at the city after nightfall.

The general guarding the city here was called Qusa Fourth King Ake (some say it was two separate individuals, Qusa and Fourth King Ake, but we will consider them as one person, referred to as Ake).

Ake was just about to go to sleep when he heard the news and hurriedly put on his pants. He went to the city wall himself and only let the two thousand or so defeated soldiers in after he clearly heard Dong Gu's voice.

Dong Gu pulled Ake aside to a secluded spot: "How many troops have you gathered here?"

Ake replied, "In the past few days, only a few small tribes have come, and the city only has a little over four thousand soldiers in total. We do have a lot of laborers and provisions, which we are planning to transport to you."

Dong Gu said, "We brought back more than two thousand soldiers, and you have more than four thousand here. You should be able to hold out until my brother comes to our aid."

.

Ake hurriedly asked, "You lost over there? What about your master?"

Dong Gu said, "The master has disappeared."

The master had been trampled to death by the soldiers; it was clear that neither the gods nor the Buddha protected him.

Ake didn't ask any more questions. Since the master was nowhere to be found, he must have suffered a great defeat.

The defeated soldiers were exhausted. After filling their stomachs in the city, they immediately lay down and fell fast asleep.

The next day, fearing that the person seeking help might not be able to explain clearly, Dong Gu personally rode to Tabai City. He wanted to recount the entire battle to his elder brother, Mu Zheng, in detail.

However, the more than two thousand remaining soldiers who fled back to Wushengjun City spread fear uncontrollably within the city.

The news spread, and even ordinary people found out.

"Have you heard? The Han people can summon gods to descend to earth and fight!"

"That's not all. I heard that the gods bestowed magical artifacts upon the Song army. Those artifacts can unleash thunder and fire; a single bolt of lightning can kill someone from miles away."

"The master has been captured by the Song army."

"What should we do then? Can we hold this position?"

'

'

Before Xu Lai even arrived with his army, the people of Wusheng Military City were already in a state of panic.

Stepping onto Baicheng.

Mu Zheng looked at his second brother and asked, "Why are you back?"

Dong Gu said, "We've lost."

"Defeated?" Mu Zheng couldn't believe it.

Dong Gu explained in detail: "After the Song army arrived, they didn't attack Shibaozi, but instead went to attack Mobangshan. They had two large spheres that could fly into the sky, and the spheres were painted with celestial gods—"

After listening to the entire battle, Mu Zheng felt as if he were listening to a mythological story.

Mu Zheng confirmed, "So, on the last day of the battle, before the Song army even made it up, our soldiers collapsed on their own?"

-

Dong Gu could only recount the events in more detail: "The Song army had a weapon that could throw round balls from halfway up Mobang Mountain towards our positions. At the time, I was observing the Song army from the front, and the nearest round ball landed about twenty paces away from me. It bounced off the ground, and anyone hit by it was either killed or wounded. I personally witnessed several soldiers having their legs broken."

Mu Zheng said, "We can't just collapse without even engaging the Song army."

Dong Gu explained, "At first, all the leaders were frightened, and so was I. I was trying to figure out what was on the other side, while some leaders were just staring blankly at the sky, completely forgetting to suppress the fleeing soldiers. As more and more rounds of the Song army came at us, more and more soldiers fled. By the time the leaders realized what was happening, it was too late. The Song army seized the opportunity to attack, which terrified our vanguard and caused them to completely collapse."

Mu Zheng stood there speechless, still unable to imagine that situation.

For ancient armies that were attacked by firearms for the first time, the direct casualties were negligible; what was truly difficult to withstand was the fear of the unknown.

What generals must consider is how to overcome the fear of their soldiers.

Dong Gu said, "I've been thinking of a solution all this way, and now I can only come up with one."

"What method?" Mu Zheng asked hurriedly.

Dong Gu said, "We must ask Master Wu Chila and his monk soldiers for help. Place the monk soldiers in the center of the army to provide support and set up an altar to boost the morale of the entire army."

Mu Zheng said, "We can invite him. But I dare not send out my full force here, as Dong Zhan has been harassing and plundering our rear."

"I'll go and persuade him myself," Dong Gu said. "If he knew the strength of the Song army, he certainly wouldn't ally with them again. Otherwise, if we're annexed by Song, he'll be next!"

Mu Zheng asked, "Will he believe what you say? Unless the Wusheng Army really falls into the hands of the Song army, he won't believe it. He'll just think you're deceiving him."

Dong Gu then asked, "Has the Xia Kingdom not yet sent troops to help us?"

Mu Zheng said, "The chief commander of Xia Guo Zhuo Luo and the Southern Army Command is Wei Ming Lang Yu's man, and he is currently engaged in a fierce battle with Empress Dowager Liang. He is unwilling to send troops, fearing that if he suffers a defeat, Empress Dowager Liang will find an excuse to replace him."

Dong Gu was completely out of options.

After thinking for a long time, Mu Zheng said, "I'll send all my sons to Dong Zhan as hostages, promising to cede territory to him after this battle in exchange for him not taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack from behind!"

That same day, Dong Gu took several of Mu Zheng's sons to Qing Tang City (Xining) to persuade Dong Zhan.

Regardless of Dong Zhan's response, Mu Zheng immediately ordered the army to be assembled to rescue Wu Shengjun. Men under fifty and over fifteen, even if their families had only one male member, were required to accompany him on the expedition.

In just a few days, he amassed tens of thousands of troops and charged into the Song army.

Before they even left the Guanghe River Valley, they encountered the remnants of the Jiehe tribe.

"And what's going on with you guys?" Mu Zheng asked.

The leader of the Jiehe tribe said, "The Song cavalry launched a night attack and occupied the south bank of the Jiehe River!"

Both Jiehe River and Guanghe River are tributaries of the Tao River.

The Song army directly captured the confluence of the three rivers, effectively trapping Mu Zheng's reinforcements in the Guanghe River Valley.

night.

The Tibetan garrison, waiting in vain for reinforcements, hoisted the messenger and his horse down the city wall.

Under the cover of night, these messengers broke through the Song army's layers of blockade, losing more than half of them before finally managing to escape and plead with Mu Zheng to quickly rescue Wusheng City.

"Several more riders charged out; Mu Zheng should be here soon," Gao Zunyu said with a smile.

Xu Lai looked north, where the outlines of mountains were faintly visible in the night: "I'm afraid he's too cowardly and would even dare to abandon Wusheng Army City."

The Song army is besieging the city and attacking reinforcements!

-

The area surrounding Wushengjun City, except for the southern camp, was completely empty. The Song army's empty camps were filled with flags, and cavalry patrols were seen from time to time.

The city's defenders, terrified, dared not come out to investigate, believing that the main force of the Song army was still besieging the city.

In reality, the main force of the Song army had already moved dozens of miles north, waiting to engage in a decisive battle with Mu Zheng's reinforcements.

On the Song army's side, both Han and Qiang people were in extremely high spirits. The great victories of the past few days had dispelled their previous fear of battle, and now everyone wanted to kill the enemy and make a name for themselves.

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