Chapter 105 Your Tang Dynasty Grandfather

Hebei, Youzhou.

As a military stronghold for controlling the Hu people in the north of the desert and even for controlling Liaodong, Youzhou had a very prominent position during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, and once had the Dongyi Protectorate. Later, throughout the Tang Dynasty, Youzhou Jiedushi and Fanyang Jiedushi were successively set up here to control the Xi and Khitan peoples in the north of the desert.

At the end of the Tianbao period, An Lushan used Youzhou as his base to launch an uprising against the Tang Dynasty, which triggered the "Anshi Rebellion" that severely damaged the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Although the rebellion was quelled, Youzhou has long been one of the three towns in Hebei that have been separatist and independent for a long time, until today.

Liu Rengong, who was over fifty years old at the time, also followed the tradition of the Youzhou Jiedushi of all generations and did not obey the orders of the Central Plains court.

In the past, he was just a general in Youzhou. He defected to Jin State due to a mutiny, and returned to Youzhou with the help of Li Keyong, who appointed him as the governor of Youzhou and Lulong. But only a year later, he fell out with Li Keyong again and defected to Zhu Wen to get rid of Jin State's control.

Ten years ago, Liu Rengong annexed the Yichang Jiedushi and expanded his jurisdiction to Cangzhou in the south. He appointed his eldest son Liu Shouwen as the Yichang Jiedushi and stationed him in Cangzhou. Then he became ambitious and wanted to seize Chengde and Weizhou to annex the three towns in Hebei.

Because of this, he became enemies with Zhu Wen, which led to the latter's two expeditions to Hebei. Not only did he fail to capture Chengde and Weizhou, but he also helped Zhu Wen, causing the two towns to transfer to Daliang.

But even so, Liu Rengong could still exist as a vassal in a corner, until a few months ago, when his second son Liu Shouguang led his troops to attack the Da'anshan Palace where he enjoyed himself, and imprisoned him, the governor of Youzhou, in a small courtyard...

…………

Jiedushi Mansion.

Because it has been under expansion for the past two months, this mansion, which occupies a considerable area, has already taken on some of the structure of a royal palace. The servants coming and going in the mansion are dressed like the palace maids.

Only this small courtyard still has the same layout as before.

There were weeds growing in the yard, and being blown by the biting cold wind, it looked particularly bleak.

There were dark clouds rolling in the sky, pressing down like an overwhelming force.

Liu Rengong's hair and beard were disheveled and somewhat tangled.

He sat in the narrow room with a wooden face. It was freezing cold in the room, but there was nothing to keep warm.

There was a bonfire in the yard, but two armored soldiers were standing by it, not even looking at him. They were the ones responsible for watching over him, and they only took orders from Liu Shouguang, not caring about his feelings at all.

At this moment, a yamen soldier who was in charge of delivering meals rushed in with a food box in his hand, looking overjoyed.

"The victory report from ten days ago has been delivered to the shogunate..."

"What good news?"

"Liu Shouwen was so arrogant that he dared to lead his army back after several defeats and stationed troops in Yutian, hoping to stop the army of the general. Now the general led his troops to fight in Yutian and won a great victory, beheading more than 3,000 people. Liu Shouwen only escaped with his life and fled to Liaodong again!"

"Fuck him, this guy is really good at running away!"

The three yamen soldiers spoke without restraint and intentionally or unintentionally shouted very loudly, so Liu Rengong heard it clearly.

The latter had a bitter mouth and regret welled up in his heart again.

A few years ago, Liu Shouguang had an affair with his beloved concubine Luo. At that time, he should have killed this evildoer with a knife, instead of just severing the father-son relationship with her. Who would have thought that just being soft-hearted back then would lead to the current situation.

The conversation outside continued.

"The victory report came ten days ago. It is possible that the commander has already returned. By then, I am afraid that you and I will also be rewarded..."

Hearing this, Liu Rengong was already in deep despair, but years of luxury and extravagance did not allow him to be so cruel as to seek death, so he suddenly coughed dryly.

After attracting the attention of several people, he shamelessly begged: "Can I pass a message to Erlang?"

"If you have anything to say, just say it, but I can't guarantee that you will listen."

"Ahem..." Liu Rengong coughed dryly and smiled flatteringly: "Erlang is the new governor of Youzhou, so I have to step in, right? I hope you can tell Erlang for me that I really misjudged him and favored Dalang. Now I know that Dalang is incompetent, and I am willing to give up the position of governor to him. I only ask that I don't have to be imprisoned here in the future..."

The three guards were stunned, then looked at each other. Suddenly, someone laughed loudly, "Old General Jie, do you think too highly of yourself? Now that General Jie claims to be the King of Yan, no one dares to oppose him. Why do we need you to show up?"

"If you don't want to stay here, where else do you want to go? Go back to Da'an Mountain and continue enjoying yourself?"

Several people kept laughing, as if this would give them more pleasure, and they did not give Liu Rengong any face at all.

Liu Rengong's old face froze, a look of embarrassment flashed across his face, and after a dry laugh, he had to sit back again in vain.

He gripped the armrest of the chair again, but his fingers were clenched extremely tightly. A deep sense of humiliation surged from his heart.

------

North of Youzhou is Yanshan Mountain.

Gubeikou.

If there is any difference between the frontier and Hebei, it is the majestic and undulating mountain range separating them.

Yanshan Mountain runs from east to west, located in the northernmost part of the Hebei Plain, with a total length of more than 300 kilometers, and is the most important obstacle to defending the southward advance of Mobei. At the same time, on this dangerous mountain, the ancient but heavy Great Wall just hovers on the top of the mountain. Qin bricks and Han tiles stand coldly in the strong wind.

Heavy rain poured down, and the sound of horns tore through the layers of rain and fog.

The wind was strong and the rain was heavy, forming dense diagonal lines between the sky and the earth, and splashing blood along the cracks in the bricks. On the top of the city, corpses were piled higher than the battlements, and blood flowed down the city wall. Even such a heavy rain could not wash it away.

Under the city wall, the scene was also extremely tragic. Shields and rocks were scattered among the densely packed corpses. The corpses had been soaked white by the rain, and were rotten by the boiling sewage, presenting an extremely disgusting scene.

There were no more people on the city wall.

The last Youzhou army general was covered in blood. The cold rain hit his helmet at an angle and poured down his neck.

In the rain and fog, another horn sounded like a death horn.

"Where are the reinforcements! Where are the reinforcements!?"

The general was already exhausted, but he still stared at his eye that was cut by the arrow, ignoring the blood gushing out, and shouted hoarsely: "The beacon fire has been burning for a day, why haven't the reinforcements from Tanzhou arrived!?"

His voice continued to echo on the desolate mountain top.

But for a long time, no one answered him.

It was not until a figure climbed up to the top of the city wall that the general was able to look with blurry eyes in the direction of the sound.

He was a short and stocky man with bow legs. He was wearing cheap leather armor and a felt hat. One could see some wet braids hanging down the side of his head.

"Za Hu..."

The general murmured unwillingly, and was immediately beheaded by the wildly laughing Mobei man.

Outside Gubeikou, the horn sounded again.

In the rain and fog, a figure riding a horse slowly emerged. He was about thirty years old, with strong muscles, a rough face, a short beard, and a pair of eyes that were still as sharp as lightning even in the heavy rain.

He combed the horse's mane that was flattened by the rain, and looked at the Great Wall pass covered with blood and dead bodies for a long time without saying a word.

Behind him, several royal guards approached.

"Your Majesty, Gubeikou has been conquered by our men. As the queen said, with Liu Shouwen as a trap, Liu Shouguang must have thought that we were going to march south from Liaodong, and he actually withdrew all the troops from Tanzhou..."

Yelu Abaoji remained silent, and only closed his eyes after a long time.

"May the Eternal Heaven and Duokuohuo protect Mobei."

Several guards looked at each other, and then said in unison: "May Duokuohuo bless Mobei..."

After a moment, Yelu Abaoji kicked the horse's belly hard.

"Go south and kill Liu Shouguang."

Afterwards, countless Mobei cavalrymen rushed out from the rain and fog and poured into Gubeikou.

……

The large group of troops swept southward. At this pass on the Great Wall, there were still several teams of elite troops from Mobei and a slave army from a small tribe left.

Now on the grassland, many tribes north of Yanshan Mountain have been conquered by Yelu Abaoji. This time when he goes south, he will gather troops and raise a total of 20,000 soldiers. Basically, everyone has a mount. It doesn't matter whether it is a war horse or not, as long as he is a cavalryman and can run fast, it's fine.

These slave troops were not qualified to go south to beg for money, so they could only stay in Gubeikou and guard the retreat route.

However, staying here is not without benefits. This time, the siege basically wiped out the Youzhou defenders. The poor vassal soldiers who had no uniform attire walked around on the city wall laughing and checking the corpses of the Youzhou defenders.

The clothes and armor had to be taken off and handed in. If there were any valuables, they could not be kept, but they could be taken away secretly to bring some back to their wives.

The Youzhou soldiers who died in the battle were buried naked in a random pit.

They were even reluctant to roll up a mat. Once upon a time, the Mobei grassland was the target of the Youzhou army's exploitation, so they also hated these Youzhou southern barbarians who blocked their southward march.

The heavy rain is still falling, but it is much lighter now.

Inside and outside Gubeikou, the atmosphere was bustling with activity, and soldiers from the vassal army were moving around everywhere.

Some truly elite soldiers huddled in the city walls to avoid the rain, all of them laughing loudly and happily.

But after a while, the faint sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance.

The Mobei people who were still digging the pit raised their heads.

In the rain, a feather arrow suddenly shot out and pierced his wide-open mouth.

The fallen body splashed a lot of mud and water, and it just happened to lie in the pit that it had dug.

The next moment, dense buzzing sounds were heard in the much thinner mist, and rows of arrows flew over and shot them to death one by one in front of the corpse pit.

In the city tower, the elite armored soldiers looked stunned.

"Liu Shouguang is coming to help!?"

But they were confident of their bravery and marched out with swords drawn.

But when they looked up, everyone's eyes shrank in horror.

Hundreds of riders were unstoppable, all drawing their bows and arrows, looking very aggressive!
But what was still strange was that they all wore iron-studded hats and visors on their faces, and rushed out into the rain like the same ferocious beast, rushing towards them like the roaring mountains and seas.

"Youzhou..."

The leading soldier shouted immediately, but then someone drew his bow and shot instantly.

"puff."

After the last wave of arrows had been unleashed, the densely packed crowd abandoned their horses, climbed up the tower, and started killing with swords drawn.

The Tang swords in their hands seemed to be extremely sharp. With one blow, these self-confident and brave elite soldiers from Mobei could not even take it. They were like lambs to be slaughtered. In an instant, they were killed, leaving only the last man.

The last Mobei man was seriously injured, but he was not afraid. He just cursed loudly in Mobei dialect.

Under the bamboo hat, Fu An took off his mask, and without caring whether the man could understand Chinese or not, he grabbed the top of the Mobei man's head with one hand and cut it hard with a knife.

"Don't yell, be more careful in your next life."

"The person who came is your Tang Dynasty grandfather."

------

Ten miles away from Youzhou City, there is a village located in a place surrounded by mountains and rivers.

In the heavy rain, several riders rode in.

The village head did not dare to refuse to receive them because they were all wearing military robes and had sharp blades on their waists, which made them look particularly scary.

"Father, can you please allow me to buy some horse feed?"

Xiao Yan put on a straw raincoat on his back, and said with a friendly face, "We don't want to stay overnight. We just need to replenish our energy and leave."

Seeing that he was handsome and didn't look like a bad guy, the head of the village was indeed much more relaxed and said quickly: "I will arrange it immediately."

"No rush, take your time."

Xiao Yan took off his rain-soaked hat, hid under the eaves made of dry grass, and looked up at the gloomy sky.

Ji Ruxue also put on a straw raincoat, but underneath it she also wore Xiao Yan's cloak to prevent her growing body from being soaked by the rain and exposed.

Children from the houses on the left and right poked their heads out and looked at them curiously.

"What are you looking at? Be careful or I'll catch you!"

Shangguan Yunque made a grimace and frightened people viciously.

The child really shrank back, and after a moment, loud crying was heard in the house.

The former was stunned, somewhat surprised that he was really that scary?

But he immediately complained with a sad face: "Xiao Lang, we are traveling every day, when will it end..."

"almost."

Xiao Yan took out a string of coins from his pocket, thanked the headman who came out with the horse feed, and asked, "Old man, how far is this place from Youzhou?"

"Ten miles west from here is Youzhou City."

The village head looked at Shangguan Yunque, whose face was as pale as a ghost, fearfully. He did not dare to stay for long, and went back to fetch a pot of hot water, and poured it for Xiao Yan with a smile, "My husband and my wife have been caught in the rain, so you must go first to ward off the cold. I still have an extra room in my house, why don't you stay for one night before leaving?"

After saying that, he still hesitated and poured a glass for Shangguan Yunque.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yan did not respond to him. Instead, he frowned and whispered to himself: "Ten miles..."

Ji Ruxue thanked him on his behalf: "We really appreciate your kindness, old man. But we have important matters to attend to in Youzhou, so we won't stay here."

The village head waved his hand, not caring much, and instead advised with a worried look on his face: "In my opinion, you should not go to Youzhou for the time being."

"Why?"

"Now, the new commander is building a lot of buildings, and he is eager to recruit more laborers to enter the city. If you go in, it may be dangerous..."

Xiao Yan smiled and said, "It's okay, we are going to look for Marshal Jie."

The village chief was startled, and after a closer look, he felt that the three people in front of him looked wealthy. Of course, the demon face was hard to describe.

"Ah? But I heard that Marshal Jie is still fighting in Liaodong. I'm afraid you have gone the wrong way, sir?"

"We are coming from Liaodong."

"Does that young man know Liaodong..." The headman stroked his messy beard and asked deliberately.

But at this moment, a horseman came rushing from the east on the official road not far away.

He was dressed as a messenger, his body stained with blood. At this moment, he saw the three good horses here. His tired eyes brightened up and he dismounted and ran towards them.

"The Jiedushi Mansion has requisitioned it, you guys go to Youzhou to claim it!"

The head of the village did not dare to stop him and stepped aside obediently.

"Eh!"

Shangguan Yunque was dissatisfied, but Xiao Yan just smiled and let him lead the horse and whip it hard and ride away.

In a short while, when the mount had gained some power, Xiao Yan put on his hat, jumped onto the horse's back, and stretched out his hand to Ji Ruxue.

"Okay, let's get going."

The girl smiled and jumped up holding hands.

"Really? You won't give me the cloak, and you won't even ride on the same horse with me!" Shangguan Yunque followed behind in the rain, complaining in his heart, "Do you know what the difference between men and women is?!"

As the three figures gradually faded away, the mayor sighed, feeling somewhat uneasy.

After a long time, several strong cavalrymen rushed in.

"Old man, I'm here to ask for some fodder."

The head of the village was furious. He looked up and immediately became submissive again.

On the official road, the continuous cavalrymen were covered in dust, but each of them was in high spirits, as if they had something important to do.

"Ten miles."

Wang Yanzhang narrowed his eyes and looked towards the west, muttering to himself, "At this distance, it shouldn't be considered as being exposed, right?"

(End of this chapter)