Xue Bai had always heard that the Uighur cavalry was very powerful. After all, Li Heng paid a lot in return for borrowing troops from the Uighurs.
Those who deserve to be rewarded with gold and silk from Chang'an and Luoyang must be elite soldiers who are skilled in bow and horse. Even if they are defeated, they are likely to escape from the battlefield with the speed of their horses. Xue Bai is mentally prepared that he will not be able to capture Ye Hu alive.
But what he didn't expect was that when Huihe was defeated and Pugu was showing his gratitude, a group of cavalry flew towards Ye Hu's flag like sharp arrows...
"Repay! King Yong, we have lived up to our mission and have greatly defeated Uihe!"
Here, not long after the soldiers of the Anxi Army reported to Xue Bai in a loud and high-pitched voice, there were messengers under Wang Genlan running over and shouting excitedly from a distance.
"Report——"
"King Yong, General Wang has captured He Yehu alive!"
Xue Bai was praising Feng Changqing and Li Siye, especially praising Li Siye's bravery. He was still using the idiom "invincible" in his mouth. Wang Rao's messenger had already driven his horse to get in front of him, his eyes were burning, and he said again
Report loudly.
"Report to King Yong, General Wang captured Huihe Yehu alive!"
"good!"
Xue Bai was busy dealing with it and turned around to praise Wang Rao again.
He could clearly feel that Wang Jin was not convinced when he saw that Li Siye was too brave and wanted to compete. One was from the old tribe and the other was from the new tribe. Both were rare and fierce generals.
After a while, Wang Ran came back with a long spear slung across his body and escorted Ye Hu. There was no trace of pride on his face, he was still so cold and plain, as if he had taken the head of an enemy general out of ten thousand troops.
It was a very common thing for him.
"Okay!" Someone in the army suddenly cheered, "General Wang first provokes Prince Tubo, and then captures Prince He!"
"General Wang will make sure that the foreign invaders are eliminated!"
Listening to these boasts, Wang Ruolan unconsciously turned his head and glanced at Li Siye's banner in the distance, and then faced Xue Bai.
First, the prisoners were sacrificed, and some soldiers pulled Ye Hu's horse over.
Xue Bai saw that the war horse was extremely tall. Its back was almost as tall as a man. It was an extraordinary horse. Although he liked it, he gave it to Wang Jian as a trophy. This was the best use of it.
Afterwards, Xue Bai said that he thought the Uighurs were highly skilled in riding and was worried that the Tang army would not be able to catch up.
Wang Nan said proudly: "When the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Turks, the Uighurs were just a small tribe dependent on the Turks. How can we lose to the Uighurs in riding and shooting?"
Only then did Xue Bai realize that this was a misunderstanding between him and Wang Rao. In the mind of Wang Rao at this moment, the man of the Tang Dynasty conquered the world with his riding and shooting. How could he be willing to be weaker than others?
The pride of the men of the Tang Dynasty has not faded, and their glory is still there.
…
After chasing down the defeated soldiers and cleaning up the battlefield, the night gradually became dark.
A blazing bonfire was lit in the camp, and cheers were heard everywhere. During the cheers, a faint whimper could be heard in the wind. I don’t know whether it was the wind blowing over the rocks or the wounded soldiers crying, or whether it was half July.
The ghost is out and about.
Ye Hu was tied under a tree. Except for two people guarding him, no one came to pay attention to him for a long time. Gradually, he became a little uncomfortable with hunger.
When the wind blew, bugs fell on his face. He raised his head, squeezed his expression, stretched out his tongue, and finally rolled the still squirming bug into his mouth, biting it open, it was very painful.
But it's still pretty plump.
He is not a person who cannot bear hardships. There are often snowstorms on the grassland, and he has even eaten the big lice on the horse's buttocks.
Finally, he saw Xue Bai walking towards him, so he asked loudly: "Aren't you afraid of provoking a war between Huihe and Datang?"
This attitude makes it seem like Xue Bai was the one who did the wrong thing.
Xue Bai didn't like him, so he raised his hand and slapped him.
"Pooh."
Ye Hu felt pain and spit out the insect juice in his mouth. Xue Bai avoided it and fell to the ground.
"Huihe dares to collude with the rebels, your grandfather must give an explanation to the saint." Xue Bai said in a condescending tone.
This is completely the attitude towards his subjects. Just by listening to the tone, you can feel that Xue Bai represents Li Cong's orthodoxy, and that the Tang Dynasty is still strong enough to let Huihe become his subjects.
Ye Hu couldn't help but beat the drum in his heart, secretly thinking that maybe after this battle, Li Cong would soon put down the rebellion on all sides and restore a powerful central court of the Tang Dynasty.
He then felt a little guilty and said: "We were also deceived by King Zhong, and we didn't know that he was a traitor to the Tang Dynasty."
Only at this moment, after killing him and subduing him, and fearing death, can Li Heng's promise to Huihe's children of gold and silk be regarded as cancelled. Otherwise, it will be unclear, as if the Tang Dynasty could not accomplish anything without the Huihe soldiers.
Xue Bai was not satisfied yet and slapped him again with his backhand.
"If all the rebels are deceived with just one sentence, where will the country's laws be?"
Ye Hu was furious and became a prisoner. He could only swallow it with blood and said: "I came to serve the king under the imperial edict because I am loyal to the Tang Dynasty!"
"You are loyal to the Tang Dynasty now. Why don't you remember when you robbed my people?"
Ye Hu had never learned how to be a courtier, so he was not very good at talking. He still talked back, saying: "I thought that was a reward!"
"reward?"
Xue Bai slapped him again.
Ye Hu was beaten until his cheeks were red and he was so angry that he simply lowered his head and said nothing. The winner is the king and the loser is the enemy. He believes in the strong. If he loses this battle, he has nothing to say.
"Do you know why I can win?" Xue Bai asked.
"I don't know."
"I have a counselor, Li Mi." Xue Bai said, "He gave me a plan."
Ye Hu was stunned for a moment, thinking, isn't Li Mi Li Heng's adviser? Did he betray him so quickly?
Xue Bai asked: "You have a younger brother named Yi Dijian?"
"yes."
"He is going to send someone to kill you on your way back to Huihe, did you know?"
Ye Hu was shocked and asked: "Really? How did you know?!"
Xue Bai didn't know. He just heard from Li Mi that Ye Hu and his brothers were not on good terms. Ye Hu himself told Li Chu about this, and Li Chu told Li Mi.
When Xue Bai found out about this, he was determined to capture Ye Hu alive and put him back so that the Uighur brothers could fight against each other. Otherwise, if the Uighurs were allowed to take advantage of the civil strife in the Tang Dynasty to become stronger, they would definitely be trying to take advantage of the situation.
He was afraid that the fight between their brothers was not fierce enough, so he went out of his way to add fuel to the fire and sow discord between them.
This was a conspiracy. Even if Ye Hu saw Xue Bai's thoughts, he couldn't resist.
"I have my own news." Xue Bai said: "Since you have led the troops outside for so long, Yi Di Jian is bound to make preparations secretly while you are away. Do you think you can deal with him if I let you go back?"
Ye Hu was overjoyed and looked at Xue Bai with bright eyes. He wanted to nod, but then shook his head.
He eagerly wanted to answer, but found that the question was not easy to answer. So he racked his brains to think of an answer that would satisfy Xue Bai.
"Yong...King Yong, I can't let Yi Dijian take my position. I am loyal to the Tang Dynasty!"
The last dignity of the defeated was also thrown away at this moment. Ye Hu was too busy defending his life and interests to care about it at all.
"I have admired the Tang Dynasty since I was a child and studied poetry, calligraphy and etiquette. King Yong, look at me, I am gentle and gentle."
Ye Hu tried his best to put on a gentle expression, completely forgetting that there were still insect residues on the corner of his mouth.
"He is different when he is moved to another place. He is barbaric, rude, and does not surrender to the Tang Dynasty. If he is allowed to become the Huihe Khan, he will definitely commit crimes."
These sincere words finally convinced Xue Bai.
"That makes sense." Xue Bai asked, "If I confirm your loyalty, I will let you go back."
"I'm loyal, I'm loyal."
Ye Hu anxiously expressed his loyalty, and soon made a wish to gather the defeated troops for Xue Bai, and put down the rebellion for Xue Bai.
After this battle, most of the Uighur soldiers fled back to the grasslands. However, there may be hundreds or thousands of people who could be gathered together. Together with the prisoners, they would form a considerable fighting force.
Ye Hu hopes that by serving Xue Bai, he can bring his troops back to the grassland.
Of course, Xue Bai might not return his troops to him after taking advantage of him...
~~
The next night, there was a celebration banquet in the army.
When Xue Bai arrived after finishing his military duties, he saw a man standing there. He was about to ask him to sit down, but he found that it was Li Siye who was sitting. He was taller than ordinary people standing.
Throughout the entire celebration banquet, Li Siye didn't say much. He just sat there and ate silently. He ate a whole roasted lamb and piled the clean bones into a hill in front of him.
During military banquets, it is inevitable to talk about the current world situation.
Feng Changqing, in particular, was very concerned about the movements of Fan Yang's rebels. The reason why he chose to switch to Li Cong was that he hoped to settle down as soon as possible.
"An Qingxu is still holding strong in Xiangzhou." Xue Bai replied, "He was in a state of embarrassment after fleeing Luoyang, and those who pursued him at that time were Zhang Xun, Wang Sili, Li Sheng and other famous generals. Later Li Guangbi also went to Hebei, and even Guo Ziyi
Now it’s in Hedong.”
At this point, he asked: "Do you know why there are so many famous generals, but they can't help one An Qingxu, and they can make him gather tens of thousands of people again? Is it because An Qingxu is a talented man with rough strategies and extraordinary abilities?"
Everyone looked at Xue Bai, and Li Siye also put down the leg of lamb in his hand and sucked the oil from his hand.
"Grain and grass?" a general replied.
"We stopped ourselves." Xue Bai said: "It's ridiculous, but on the eve of annihilating An Qingxu, the Supreme Emperor issued a decree, which not only cut off the food road, but also made all the armies guard against each other. For example, the saint originally
Let the two Huaihe Rivers supply Yongqiu with grain and grass, so that Zhang Xun can cross the Yellow River to pursue An Qingxu. But now, Zhang Xun has no grain to leave Yongqiu, and he has to be prepared for Helan to attack him from Ningling in the Ming Dynasty. How can we defeat the thief?"
Feng Changqing was silent.
Xue Bai added: "The sage sent Li Guangbi to take charge of the overall situation, and Li Heng sent Guo Ziyi there. Two famous generals were by his side, but An Qingxu was still safe and sound in Xiangzhou. The two tigers were fighting each other, and the little boy was behind and applauded."
Feng Changqing said: "Since King Zhong has been defeated, it is better to resolve the civil strife as soon as possible and let the imperial court issue an order."
"According to the wishes of the sealing envoy?"
"How about sending people to make King Zhong and King Guangping surrender?"
"Assist Guo Ziyi, Li Heng committed suicide and abdicated the throne, and returned to the ten kings' residence to recuperate." Xue Bai did not talk nonsense and directly made the conditions.
He is not afraid of continuing the fight with Li Heng, but hopes to recruit Guo Ziyi as soon as possible. Otherwise, the nights will be long and the dreams will be endless. Who knows what kind of results Guo Ziyi will achieve on the eastern front, what if Chang'an is captured?
When Feng Changqing heard this condition, he shook his head slightly, thinking it was too harsh.
It is equivalent to asking Li Heng to give up the throne now, accept being imprisoned, and leave his fate in the hands of others.
Of course Xue Bai also knew that it couldn't just be this rough word, it had to be modified.
"This is what the sage said before I left Chang'an. The sage is kind and values brotherhood the most. What he wants is for Li Heng to be able to change his crime after he is convicted. As long as Li Heng is willing to plead guilty and surrender, he will still be the sage's brother."
??????55.??????
When he made the conditions, his attitude was very tough. As he spoke, although the conditions did not change at all, his tone became more tolerant and softer.
"We are all close brothers, how can there be any unbreakable knot? For the sake of the Tang Dynasty, is it difficult for Li Heng to admit that his eldest brother's throne is right? Don't forget that when he and the Supreme Emperor escaped, it was the help of a saint
Guarding Chang'an, looking back, the saint wanted to forgive him. The saint's original words were, 'As the eldest son, I guarded the family, and I just want my brother to come back. Is it so difficult?!'"
Hearing Li Cong's words, Feng Changqing immediately felt the bitterness of this emperor, and his eyes turned red.
"Your Majesty... you are kind and kind."
"Such a kind majesty." Xue Bai raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Jingzhou and asked, "How did Li Heng treat the saint?!"
Although Feng Changqing had not yet met the emperor, the image of a kind and wise king had already emerged in his mind.
He did not want to let Li Cong down, and hoped that the situation would not continue to be turbulent, so he nodded vigorously and said: "Then I will ask King Yong to ask for a decree to pardon King Zhong, and I will also send people to try my best to persuade King Zhong to plead guilty."
Abdicate and return the Tang Dynasty to a sea of peace and tranquility."
"Okay, let's return the Tang Dynasty to Haiyanheqing."
The generals breathed a sigh of relief. Li Siye had just been listening to the discussion between Xue Bai and Feng Changqing, and then picked up the knife again to cut up the roast sheep and eat it.
This was the second lamb roasted in front of him, and he didn't seem to be full.
Wang Rao kept looking at him and seemed to want to say something a few times. Seeing that Li Siye was busy eating, he fell silent again.
However, Xue Bai came over to chat with Li Siye for a few words and informed him of the reward for this great victory. Xue Bai never did anything to others and did it himself.
Li Siye thanked him and reacted calmly to the appointment. As for the reward, he just glanced at it to show his respect and said: "The general will stay in the military camp and will not need this money, house and land. Please take it back to provide relief to Guanzhong."
Common people."
Xue Bai looked around and found that although Li Siye was huge and rough, his eyes were very clean, and he really did not value money and family property.
"good."
Li Siye could feel that Xue Bai understood him, so he said: "Thank you, King Yong."
"What else does General Lee want?"
"The general likes to raise horses." Li Siye was not polite, "Ye Hu's horse is a great horse from Dawan, or a stallion, and the general wants to use it for breeding."
After saying that, he turned his head and glanced in the direction of Wang Lan, and said: "Today will be a foot battle, otherwise we will surely capture Ye Hu."
This matter put Xue Bai in a bit of a dilemma. He couldn't get Wang's rare horse back.
"Bring the horses here." Over there, Wang Nannan had already ordered his soldiers.
Xue Bai didn't feel embarrassed now.
However, Wang Rao was probably unconvinced and said: "It's not like I have never killed more than twenty people in a row on the battlefield."
Li Siye laughed when he heard this, picked up a wine jar and threw it to Wang Raan, saying: "Thank you, General Wang, for your horse."
"Your knife also opened my eyes."
"Hahaha!"
These military generals are still simple among themselves.
After all, there are only a few people like Gao Xianzhi who often don't get along with their colleagues.
Amidst the laughter, Feng Changqing also picked up his wine and toasted a glass of wine to an unknown general with scars on his face sitting in the corner. Then he laughed and felt much relieved.
"Settlement as soon as possible and return to Anxi as soon as possible." He said in his heart.
~~
Xue Bai came out of the tent, slightly drunk.
"Mr. Lang." Fan Lao stepped forward and said, "Gao Shen wants to see you."
"Has he found Mr. Shen?"
"Found it." Fan Lao hesitated to speak.
Xue Bai could understand, nodded to indicate that he understood, and said: "Ye Hu, he is still Li Chu's sworn brother."
Fan Lao valued loyalty the most. He pinched his thumb and sneered, "Their loyalty."
After a while, Gao Shen came over, with all kinds of complicated emotions written on his face.
"King Yong, the last general..."
After waiting for a while, Xue Bai saw that he did not continue and said: "If you follow my suggestion, I will go back to Chang'an and reward you for your military exploits, and ask your mother to find a suitable wife for you."
"The last general begs King Yong to allow the last general to take away Lady Shen." Gao Shen said, "Please ask the court to take back all the rewards from the last general... This is the only thing..."
"You all know how to save money for the court."
"Yes." Gao Shen was ashamed.
Xue Bai couldn't help but cursed: "I have no ambition at all."
"yes."
"Many years later you may regret that you could have become a famous general because of a woman's delay."
"The last general may regret it in the future...but the last general will not regret it."
Over the years, Xue Bai only cared about who could become famous generals and how they became famous generals, but now he discovered that most people were actually not that motivated.
Their pursuits are all different, and what they want is not success or fame.
“It’s pretty good.”
Xue Bai suddenly thought of Du Wulang. He must have been sleeping soundly in Chang'an when he was fighting on this bloody battlefield.
"If you want to take Mr. Shen away, don't stay in the army anymore and live incognito."
"Thank you, King Yong!" Gao Shen was overjoyed.
"Really don't want to make progress?"
"The general doesn't want to fight anymore. It's enough to defend Chang'an once and live up to being a forbidden army for so many years." Gao Shen said: "In fact, every time blood is stained on the body, those arms are broken on the ground and the fingers can still move, the general... I'm going crazy, I just want to protect Mrs. Shen and don't want to go through the battlefield."
Xue Bai had nothing to say about this and said, "Is she willing to go with you?"
"Yes." Gao Shen looked distressed, thought for a moment, and whispered: "She is a very good woman, and Li Chu doesn't know how to cherish her."
Xue Bai was still thinking about a few things. For example, Shen Zhenzhu's son, and someone would soon be sent to recruit Li Chu.
Finally, he thought that Li Chu didn't care about Shen Zhenzhu at all, and this matter would not affect him. As for Shen Zhenzhu's son, maybe Gao Shen would take him away in the future? It didn't matter.
"Go ahead and don't let anyone know."
"Thank you King Yong!"
Gao Shen fell to the ground and kowtowed, and his figure gradually disappeared into the night, heading towards his own life.
~~
Outside Jingzhou City, a few remaining cavalry soldiers returned to the camp.
Pugu Huai'en is a very tenacious man. After this defeat, he is still preparing to reorganize his army and fight again. The worst case scenario is to retreat to Lingwu. It will not be easy for Xue Bai to destroy him.
In Jingzhou City, Li Chu felt very frustrated and cried loudly in Duguqin's arms.
He didn't think it was cowardice, but the character of the Wei and Jin Dynasties and his true temperament.
"I lost the battle, but in your heart you are still the omnipotent Li Lang?"
"Lang Jun never needs to be omnipotent." Dugu Qin said, "Lang Jun is the best."
The two of them were still talking sweetly, and Cheng Yuanzhen rushed to the door and whispered: "Your Highness, the saint is angry."
"Blame me for the defeat?"
"It's Xue Ni who sent an envoy."
Li Chu had no choice but to gather his energy and go over. When he arrived, he saw that the one sent by Xue Bai was Wei Shaoyou.
Wei Shaoyou was originally Shuofang's water and land transport envoy and played a major role in supporting Li Heng. Later, he was defeated and captured by Fang Guan at Xianyang Bridge. Because his servant had rescued Xue Bai, he surrendered.
"Traitor, how dare you come?"
"King Guangping calm down."
To Li Chu's surprise, Wei Shaoyou's attitude was not tough. He didn't look like he was here to surrender, but rather like he was taking advantage of the opportunity to escape.
Of course, the last Pugu Bin who came back had already been hacked to death by Pugu Huai'en. Wei Shaoyou was also very scared. He spoke softly and looked like he was doing his best for Li Chu.
"What did Xue Bai send you to do?"
"King Yong hopes that King Zhong and King Guangping will find their way back..."
When Wei Shaoyou told Xue Bai's conditions, Li Chu became furious and understood why Li Heng almost killed Wei Shaoyou.
"Isn't this reasonable? The traitor wants to usurp our country, the Tang Dynasty, and he wants me to catch him without mercy?!"
Wei Shaoyou said: "I am here because of the consideration of King Guangping. Not mentioning the stability of the Tang Dynasty, I only want to ask one question. If we want to continue to fight this war, where will the money and food come from?"
Li Chu said: "It comes from Shu County and Jianghuai River!"
"I am the transport envoy to Shuofang, and no one knows it better than me. Fengxiang is lost, and the roads in Guanzhong are impassable. Even if grain is transported from Shu County to Jianghuai, how can it be transported?"
"Guo Ziyi should have taken over Hedong, even without transporting grain, to have recovered Chang'an."
Wei Shaoyou asked: "Does King Guangping know why he was defeated this time?"
"Why?"
"It's okay to inform King Guangping." Wei Shaoyou said: "With Mr. Li's advice, how can King Yong not win?"
Li Chu was surprised: "Who?"
"Li Mi Li Changyuan."
"Impossible." Li Chu, who had always been patient, changed his expression and said, "Sir, you will not betray me."
"With all due respect, Mr. Li is loyal to the Tang Dynasty, not to..."
"We are the orthodox ones. You, Sir, will never support a rebel." Li Chu interrupted directly: "Don't think I don't know, you are trying to alienate me. Xue Bai wants to subdue Sir, but he can't."
"What King Yong has done has always been to make up for the mistakes made by King Zhong and King Guangping. How can Mr. Li not understand?"
"We guard the Zhengshuo of the Tang Dynasty, how can we make mistakes?" Li Chu sneered.
Both sides knew this kind of thing, but it was impossible to admit it with their mouths. Wei Shaoyou refused to say more and replied: "The reason why Feng Changqing joined us is precisely because of Mr. Li's intervention."
Li Chu's eyes changed and he wanted to refute, but he really couldn't think of any other reason. Feng Changqing couldn't have chosen to rebel just for the sake of the stability of the Tang Dynasty, right?
So, Li Mizhen became Xue Bai's adviser?
This incident inexplicably cast a shadow on his heart.
Wei Shaoyou lowered his voice and said: "I really think about King Guangping and surrender with the overall situation in mind. My reputation is certainly not low. It is enough to ensure that you can enjoy peace and happiness in Chang'an. Isn't it better than eating yellow sand in Shuofang?"
As he spoke, he added: "This is exactly the result of Li Mi and Feng Changqing persuading King Yong for you out of personal friendship."
Li Chu didn't believe it and even wanted to kill Wei Shaoyou, but he could see something from the negotiation with him.
Wei Shaoyou added: "Now that I have surrendered, I am the prince and grandson. When all the soldiers around me have betrayed and fled, it will be too late."
Li Chu keenly noticed that Wei Shaoyou's words were extremely firm, as if Xue Bai wanted to recruit another general on his side. No, this was another alienation plan.