There were nearly 100,000 rebels, like a huge dark cloud in the sky. The part facing the Tang army in the south was still condensed, as if it could drop rain. Once they started to rout, the edges continued to spread outward.
If so many soldiers and horses are scattered and deserters are robbed and taken captive everywhere, it will definitely bring a catastrophe to the people.
Trying to control the situation is like trying to catch the drifting clouds in the sky.
Guo Ziyi is trying to do this.
Military orders came one after another near the banner of the Chinese army, ordering each Tang army to drive, recruit, and kill the rebels from different directions, as if they were controlling several pairs of huge heavenly hands.
The so-called "like an arm using a finger" is nothing more than this.
It has been less than two years since An Lushan raised his troops, and Sergeant Fan Yang's awe for Tang Ting has not completely dissipated in his heart.
Therefore, when the news of Fan Yang's fall came, the army was defeated, and many soldiers were at a loss when they heard the cry of "Those who surrender will not be killed" stopped their movements, raised their hands and rushed to surrender.
"Don't kill me."
"Get out of the way!"
Xue Xin stared at Shi Siming's banner and rushed into the enemy's position. He was blocked by the rebels who were not surrendering. He raised his knife and was about to cut again, but Li Siye shouted loudly to stop him.
"Mount your horse and give chase."
Xue Xin then grabbed a horse, kicked it violently, and chased after it.
When he looked back, he discovered that the military order Li Siye had received was actually to collect surrender troops.
However, although General Anxi usually enforces military discipline very strictly, today an exception was made for him and he was allowed to compete for credit.
You must be feeling suffocated in your heart, right?
"General, I will definitely give you a good face!"
Xue Xin shouted in his heart, lowered his body, increased the speed of the horse, and then increased the speed of the horse.
His wound was broken and the pain was severe, but he was getting closer and closer to Shi Siming's flag.
On the road, rebel soldiers could be seen constantly surrendering or fleeing. There were few resisters, but more Tang Army knights were chasing after them, hoping to capture and kill the leader of the bandits.
"Mine, it's mine."
Xue Xin strengthened his belief and recalled the description of Shi Siming in the army.
He is thin, of medium build, with round shoulders and a hunched back, protruding eyes like a vulture, a pointed nose like an eagle, sparse red and yellow beard and hair, and a bald head.
The setting sun was like blood, and Shi Siming's banner entered Hengzhou City.
A Tang Army cavalry team quickly pursued them, intending to catch the rebels before they could close the city gate.
Li Guangbi's general Bai Xiaode chased at the front, waved the flag, and divided his troops to block the gates of Hengzhou City.
"Hush!"
Xue Xin pulled the reins sharply.
He was not one of Bai Xiaode's subordinates, so he didn't obey his orders and had no chance to step forward to claim credit, so he reached into his arms and took out a telescope.
This thing is still a rare thing today, and only high-ranking generals in the army can have it. Of course, he can have it because he is Xue Bai's man.
Skillfully scanning the front with a telescope, Xue Xin quickly saw Shi Siming's eye-catching armor and cloak, heading towards the city gate.
In this way, the great contribution of capturing and killing the thief leader belongs to Bai Xiaode.
But Xue Xin changed his mind and suddenly thought that Shi Siming had already fallen into this state. If he didn't rush back to Pinglu immediately and hide in Hengzhou City, what would be the use?
Although he is young and has little battle experience, he is often surrounded by Xue Bai and has a clearer understanding of the general situation than ordinary generals.
So Xue Xin turned his telescope and scanned the small groups of rebels fleeing in all directions. Finally, a small group of cavalry caught his attention.
The cavalry had just escaped from Shi Siming's pro-army group not long ago. There were only a dozen of them, but they had three horses per person, and the horses were all very impressive.
Thinking again that Shi Siming was a horse lover, Xue Xin did not hesitate and drove his horse to chase him.
At the same time, he shouted: "The leader of the thieves is over there! Follow me!"
Although he was determined to take credit, he could not defeat more than ten of Shi Siming's personal guards alone. This matter would ultimately require a concerted effort.
It was getting dark, and the group of people ran tirelessly toward the northeast of the battlefield.
~~
When Xue Bai was in Chang'an, he had planned for Feng Changqing to take Fan Yang directly, and even asked Li Mi about it. In short, he had expected Shi Siming's defeat.
But it was unexpected that the Khitan Khan would personally lead his troops.
This incident almost killed Xue Bai. It was an unexpected surprise, but now it is an unexpected surprise.
Xue Bai scanned the battlefield with his telescope and quickly discovered a favorable situation - Shi Siming was suddenly defeated, and the defeated army might block the retreat of the Khitan cavalry.
Of course, the situation on the battlefield needs to be actively controlled.
Only he knew that the small Khitan tribe would one day become the formidable enemy of the Central Plains Dynasty.
"Give me the order... follow me and kill the enemy!"
Xue Bai originally wanted to order a general, but found that everyone around him was sent out, so he simply led the army out himself.
Instead of crossing the river, he detoured back to the east, blocking the eastern retreat of the Khitan cavalry, forcing them to wade across the river. However, there were broken troops everywhere after crossing the river, which made it difficult for the Khitan cavalry to increase their horse speed.
.
In this case, it may be possible to capture Li Huaixiu.
"Send the order to Hun Yao and surround the three towers."
The horn sounded urgently, the flag waved, and the military order reached Hun Yao. He quickly understood Xue Bai's intention, and he admired and envied him at the same time.
He was envious because he knew that Xue Bai was able to make decisions so quickly because of such a powerful weapon as the telescope.
He has been coveting the telescope for a long time and has always wanted one in his dreams.
But when Xue Bai was about to give him one as a gift at the earliest, he curled his lips and said that it was not something he could buy off with small favors, which made Xue Bai lose his heart.
Later, when he saw Xue Xin also had one in the military camp, he was so regretful that his intestines turned green.
At the moment, she could only listen to Xue Bai's command, and Hun Yao still trusted the prince's ability to control the situation.
He deliberately allowed the Khitan cavalry to wade across the river in accordance with the order. The river water did not cover the saddles of the horses, and also soaked their bow strings.
But not everyone is so lucky. This is not a good crossing point. There are several dangerous deep water areas. As soon as you step in, people and horses will be swept downstream.
Shoot.
Hun Yao stared closely at Li Huaixiu's main force wading into the water, and at the same time ordered his generals to take off their armor and pursue them along the route they took.
On the north bank, the Tang army was chasing the rebels. A small group of cavalry received the flag order from the south bank and quickly intercepted Li Huaixiu.
"Stop the Khitan Khan!"
The shouts made more people realize that besides Shi Siming, there was another great feat waiting for them today. Suddenly, more people rushed towards this side, and even the rebels who had just surrendered joined in the pursuit of Li Huaixiu.
.
The Khitan people's bow strings were wet, their horses could not increase their speed, and they could not perform their best riding and shooting skills. They suddenly fell into panic.
"Protect the Khan and go!"
Seeing enemies on all sides, Li Huaixiu couldn't help but turn his head and look at the big flag that symbolized the glory of his Khan, struggling in his heart.
In order to revitalize the tribe, he killed the wife betrothed to him by the Tang court. He fought hard all his life and united to unite the Tang, Turks, Xi, Uighurs, and Yan. It was not easy for him to achieve initial results, but now he can only...
"Throw it away!"
Li Huaixiu gritted his teeth, threw down the flag, and his heroic spirit, and led only a dozen of his riders to turn around and escape.
He did not look back, but he could hear the Tang army cheering for capturing his flag.
Another group of Tang troops came over from the front, and more than a dozen of his warriors fought to the death to protect him, finally allowing him to break out. At this time, there were only four people around him.
"Whoosh."
A sharp arrow shot out and shot down another person. Hun Yao was still chasing after him.
~~
The night is getting darker.
The moonlight outlines the towering Taihang Mountains in the distance.
In the silent mountain forest, there were a few sounds of horse hooves, followed by a horse's neigh.
Xue Xin saw a huge thing in the rugged mountain road. He got off his horse and went to check, and found that it was a horse corpse.
It can be seen that the dead horse was extremely handsome. Although it died of foaming at the mouth, its huge muscles still appeared to be extremely energetic. Only such a horse can run so far in the middle of the night and get rid of countless horses.
Chasing troops.
It must be Shi Siming's horse, he is right in front.
Xue Xin looked back and couldn't see any of his comrades. As for him being able to catch up, firstly, he was good at riding, and secondly, he had a telescope. He could always detect Shi Siming's movements and pursue him directly without taking the wrong path.
He didn't know where this place was, but it was obviously far away from the boundary of Hengzhou.
Ahead was a path leading deep into the forest. He gripped the knife tightly and walked forward along the path.
"Shi Siming is very good at escaping. Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi defeated him several times, and each time he was allowed to escape only with his own body."
With these words in his mind, Xue Xin gave up hope of catching Shi Siming.
Anyway, Wang's army has already won a great victory. When Yingzhou is recovered, there will probably be surrendered generals who will present Shi Siming.
Suddenly, Xue Xin stopped, raised his ears, and heard a cry for help coming from ahead.
The mountain road was steep, so he loosened his horse's rope and climbed up quickly. Finally, he saw a simple wooden house in the forest, which must have been the residence of a hunter.
Under the moonlight, two rebels were chasing out and chopped a thin man to the ground.
Xue Xin, a newborn calf, was not afraid of tigers. He rushed forward with a crossbow in hand, steady his elbows, and shot at one of the rebels.
"puff."
"who?!"
The distance quickly closed, Xue Xin put aside the crossbow, grabbed the knife and faced another rebel.
The rebels were ruthless, as ruthless as a desperado, while Xue Xin's ruthlessness was desperate to kill the other party even if he didn't want his own life.
Both of them thrust their knives into each other's bodies. The rebel turned the knife and struck Xue Xin. Xue Xin suddenly let go and dug out the other's eyeballs.
"ah!"
"Puff puff puff puff."
The rebel was exhausted from the pain, so Xue Xin directly picked up the knife and stabbed him four times.
Xue Xin also ran out of energy. He fell to the ground, gasping for air, and murmured to the corpse: "Fight me, I'll even kill my grandfather..."
"call--"
The sound of breaking wind sounded, and Xue Xin rolled on the spot. He looked up and saw a thin man with a face like an eagle and sparse hair in the moonlight.
"Shi Siming!"
Shi Siming stared closely at the young Tang Jun in front of him. Because of the words he just heard, he thought of his son Shi Chaoyi who wanted to kill his father.
Today's morals are really corrupt, people's hearts are not the same as before, and there are too many unfilial children.
"die!"
~~
There were clanging sounds in the forest, and the clash of swords and soldiers, followed by the soft sound of spears piercing flesh.
Hun Yao chased after Li Huaixiu, fighting against four. He actually killed three Khitan warriors first, and then stabbed Li Huaixiu in the shoulder with his spear, nailing him to a big tree.
Li Huaixiu knew that he was outmatched, so he closed his eyes sadly and finally surrendered.
He stopped struggling to avoid being too embarrassed and damaging the Khan's dignity. Little did he know that his greatest dignity might be to die in battle.
"I give up."
Hun Yao wiped the blood on his face and whistled vigorously. Soon, Tang troops came on horseback. Seeing him capturing the Khitan Khan on his own, they admired him and praised him for his bravery.
The crowd tied up Li Huaixiu and said, "Let's go and take him to see Guo Jieshuai."
"Wait!"
Hun Yao banged his spear on the ground and said loudly: "Prince Yong has the highest title, and he is the one who commanded us to defeat the Khitan, so we should go see Prince Yong!"
Although it is impossible for him to support King Yong's attempt to usurp, he was transferred to the battlefield in Hebei by Xue Bai in the name of his personal guard. He has made military exploits, and of course he must be counted among the personal guards. Otherwise, he will be rewarded based on his merits afterwards, and he will suffer a loss.
It's his colleague.
As a general, his sense of collective honor is very strong.
Capturing the Khitan Khan was indeed extremely honorable.
"Ten thousand enemies! Ten thousand enemies!"
After escorting Li Huaixiu back to the camp, there were cheers in the camp. Hun Yao finally became like Li Sheng and won the title of "enemy of ten thousand people" at a young age.
Whenever the generals return to camp to report on their affairs, they all ask, "Who is Hun Yao, the fierce general under King Yong?"
Comrades in the army surrounded him and kept boasting and asking for advice without interruption.
"You don't know that the Khitan suddenly came to attack, and the army was almost defeated. Hun Yao killed ten thousand riders alone..."
The excitement lasted until dawn, when Hun Yao suddenly noticed that Xue Bai looked worried after listening to a report, and hurriedly ran forward to stand by.
"King Yong, the last general can still fight."
"There's no fighting, just go and rest."
Hun Yao felt that this was not a military order, so he didn't go to rest. He still stood by and waited for orders. He was so excited at this time, how could he sleep?
After listening for a while, he realized what was going on.
It turned out that it was Xue Xin, the younger brother of King Yong before he recognized his ancestor and returned to the clan. He disobeyed military orders and went to chase Shi Siming without authorization. He had not returned after a night, so he was probably in danger.
This matter made it very difficult for generals at all levels in Li Guangbi's army to deal with it. It was neither a matter of merit nor a demerit.
Xue Bai's statement was a bit unkind, and he just asked the army to deal with him in accordance with military law. Because Xue Xin did not obey military orders, if he did not return within two days, he would be treated as a deserter.
Seeing this situation, Hun Yao's excitement immediately dissipated a lot.
Although he made great achievements, King Yong lost a close brother in this battle. Moreover, not only could he not be rewarded for his military achievements, but he had to be held accountable.
On that day, the Tang army was busy cleaning up the battlefield and counting the results of the battle. The soldiers and horses pursuing them from all directions returned to camp one after another.
Due to Guo Ziyi's effective command, the disturbance caused by the fleeing rebels to the surrounding areas was minimized.
At this point, a rebellion that had lasted for almost two years was almost put down.
It is said to be almost because there are still some variables. For example, Yingzhou has not yet surrendered. Assuming that Shi Siming escapes back to Yingzhou, there may not be a possibility of a comeback.
After another busy night, the captured weapons and armor were counted and put into the warehouse one after another, and the prisoners were placed properly.
In Beiying, Guo Ziyi finally got free time to meet and discuss with Li Guangbi.
"This battle with King Yong is the first achievement. I'm afraid this cannot be denied."
Li Guangbi said: "The plan to suppress the rebellion was decided by King Yong. Feng Changqing rushed thousands of miles to attack because King Yong approved and vouched for the court. In addition, he defeated the Khitan reinforcements and took the first credit."
Guo Ziyi said helplessly: "The Khitan Khan he captured under his tent is comparable to the ten thousand people you and I captured."
"You want to talk about offering prisoners?"
"Yes, if a prisoner is sacrificed, his reputation will be known all over the world..."
Only halfway through speaking, there was a big movement outside the tent.
Guo Ziyi was alert, so she immediately stopped talking, raised the curtain and went out to see what happened.
"What's the fuss about?"
"Jie Shuai, we have captured Shi Siming!"
"real?"
Guo Ziyi did not expect to capture Shi Siming. As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, he paid more attention to the overall situation rather than the life of the leader of the thieves. Moreover, he knew that Shi Siming was cunning and had many horses in the army, so he could escape every time he was defeated.
Of course, it would be a great thing if Shi Siming could be captured.
When reporting meritorious deeds to the saints, officials, and people in the world, not everyone understands the overall situation. What matters is whether the leader of the thief has been killed or not.
"As if it's true!"
"Where are the people?"
Guo Ziyi took a step to see Shi Siming, but he heard an answer that surprised him.
"Reporting to Commander-in-Chief, the leader of the thieves is in the southern camp, under King Yong's tent."
"Why did he end up on the other side of the river?" Guo Ziyi laughed dumbly, "I saw the leader of the thief fleeing north with my own eyes. Could it be that he captured a fake one to repay me?"
"It was Xue Xin who captured Shi Siming. Because he was stopped by others when he returned to the camp, he got angry and escorted people to see King Yong."
Guo Ziyi was silent for a while, then turned around and looked at Li Guangbi, with surprise and helplessness in his eyes.
In this battle, the results of both battles actually went to King Yong?
~~
Xue Bai sat upright and took a sip of water calmly.
In the tent, the two captives who were tied up were staring at each other.
When Li Huaixiu saw Shi Siming, he became angry and cursed.
"Trash, I should have known you were a trash! When I defeated Anlu Mountain so much that you abandoned your armor and hid in the valley alone. I regret that I should have listened to your defeated general and raised troops to enter the Tang Dynasty... His Highness King Yong,
It was Shi Siming who deceived me. In fact, I am a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty!"
Once such a vent is released, there is no need to check it, and you will know that this Shi Siming is true.
When Hun Yao saw this, his eyes fell on Shi Siming and did not move away.
Shi Siming suffered several injuries on his body. After the defeat, he still had a fierce and fierce aura in his body.
After hearing Li Huaixiu's words, he was immediately angry.
The reason why he was defeated by Li Huaixiu back then was because An Lushan had improper command and was eager for success. He had long realized that something was wrong, so how could he be a waste?
Let’s talk about this defeat. If Li Huaixiu could attack the Tang army’s camp in half an hour, they would have a chance of victory. They would lose because of Li Huaixiu’s mistake!
But Shi Siming did not speak to refute Li Huaixiu, which was meaningless. The reason why Li Huaixiu said this was because the Khitan still had the possibility of being recruited by the Tang court, and he was bound to die.
Shi Siming's eyes fell on Xue Bai and said, "You are Xue Bai."
"Insolent!" Diao Bing scolded: "Prince Yong of the Tang Dynasty is here!"
"I've heard of your poems." Shi Siming really liked poetry and said, "I respect you more as a poet than as a member of the Li Tang clan."
Such a calm tone and ordinary topics made him look more graceful.
Shi Siming added: "You and I have similar poetic styles."
"Maybe." Xue Bai said.
"Without you, I would have captured Chang'an and overthrew the Tang Dynasty!" Shi Siming became arrogant again.
"You are wrong."
Xue Bai waved his hand and declined the compliment, rarely having a few heart-to-heart words with Shi Siming.
"Without me, you would have been defeated. The Tang Dynasty has not exhausted its energy, the people's support is still there, and there are still countless loyal ministers and good generals to help the country. This is the trend, and it is in the people's hearts. But you have never been popular."
Afterwards, Xue Bai also lost interest a little and said: "I just followed the general trend and helped guide a little bit."
Shi Siming sneered and said: "You want to be the obedient and loyal dogs of the Tang Dynasty. I am different. I only obey the strong."
An imperceptible light flashed across his eyes.
When he told Xue Bai this, he was not out of touch, but he had long known Xue Bai's ambition to usurp.
Then, Xue Bai actually has some possibility of cooperating with him. The premise is that Xue Bai needs to be told some truths about raising bandits as the most important thing and not to stick to trivial matters.
He just wanted to provoke Xue Bai by saying this.
But Xue Bai didn't answer at all, and said calmly: "Strong people? Times make heroes. There are no strong people in my eyes, only the people of the world who have inherited them for thousands of years."
Shi Siming was stunned for a moment, and then looked at Xue Bai with doubts in his eyes, as if he was looking at a fool.
He originally thought that Xue Bai was a man of great talent and strategy, but now he saw that Xue Bai was a weak person with a unclear mind.
In imagination, Xue Bai looks like the fierce and fierce Shi Chaoqing, but in fact, he seems to look like the indecisive Shi Chaoyi.
But he is kneeling here, and Xue Bai is sitting there, becoming a king or losing a bandit, leaving people speechless.
Thinking like this, Shi Siming became more and more sad, and Shi Siming couldn't help but sigh.
What made it even more difficult for him to accept was that Xue Bai seemed to find it boring to talk to him, so he yawned and stood up.
Before Shi Siming could say anything, a soldier came in and reported, "King Yong, the two generals want to see the prisoners."
"See you."
Xue Bai agreed casually and went to visit Xue Xin.
Seeing this situation, Shi Siming knew that he was different from Xue Baidao. All he could ask for was dignity before death.
~~
Hun Yao followed Xue Bai into the wounded barracks and looked at the young man of his own age lying on the stretcher with some curiosity.
"Brother."
Xue Xin still wanted to struggle to get up, but was stopped by Xue Bai.
"Lie down, the doctor said you have dozens of wounds on your body, why are you working so hard?"
"I know that the leader of the thief is of great use to my brother, and I vow to capture him for him!"
Xue Bai did not deny him, but nodded and said: "The army praises you for your bravery in the three armies, and you will also be a famous general in the future."
"real?!"
Xue Xin was overjoyed and quickly stood up, but the wound was affected and he grimaced in pain.
He glanced at Hun Yao beside him, and his smile unconsciously narrowed a little.
Although he would never admit it with his mouth, in fact, in front of Hun Yao, he privately did not dare to call himself a famous general.
After all, he had also heard about Hun Yao breaking the formation alone and capturing the Khitan Khan alive against a hundred enemies.
On the other hand, if I only fought against Shi Siming, I almost died.
Xue Xin only looked away when Hun Yao suddenly spoke.
"It's really remarkable that you were able to capture Shi Siming."
Xue Xin was stunned at first, and then couldn't help but feel proud.
Even the people he admired admired him. This feeling made him want to laugh, but he was a little embarrassed, so he grinned a little and looked embarrassed.
He didn't know how to answer Hun Yao, so after a while he whispered what was in his heart.
"I will one day become a more famous general than you."
"Don't worry." Hun Yao said, "I won't let you surpass me."
Xue Bai couldn't help but sigh while listening to the silly conversation between these two young people.
Although the rebellion is about to be put down, the famous generals of the Tang Dynasty have not withered away. Just looking at these young people who are fighting bravely, you know that there will be a brighter future.