Chapter 189: The Road Ahead in Mobei (Part )

It was already afternoon. Perhaps it was indeed early spring in the south, but here in the northern frontier, it was still the coldest time of the year.

Although it didn't snow anymore, the heavy rain had been falling for the past two days, and there was still snow in the river beside the road that wouldn't melt until March or April. It was very cold under the continuous drizzle.

Normally, it would take an hour or two for the sky to get dark, but the sky was covered with dark clouds these past two days, as if a thunderstorm that had been building up for months was about to strike. Before dusk in the afternoon, the camp under Hengshan City was slowly shrouded in darkness.

Because of this, torches have been lit in the main camp guarded by the Lulong Army, and the large tents used to store food and military supplies have begun to be covered with cowhide to prevent moisture.

The guards patrolling the camp, the sentries on alert, the soldiers on rotation on the walls, and those in charge of military equipment, all carried out military orders as usual in an orderly manner.

In a side tent, Tian Daocheng was walking back and forth holding his sword, his brows furrowed.

On the left and right sides of the tent, there were some Lulong Army generals sitting in rows, all of them looking excited.

After a long time, the bad guy that everyone had been waiting for finally came in hurriedly holding a carrier pigeon.

Tian Daocheng was cheered up and went forward naturally.

Not only him, but all the generals stood up as well.

This action was not superfluous. Since Xiao Yan rebuilt the Lulong Army in Yuyang, he left about a dozen bad people in the army. Although these people never participated in the military, everyone spontaneously regarded them as military supervisors. In their eyes, these bad people represented Xiao Yan, so of course they would always treat them politely.

At this moment, everyone asked questions at once.

"how?"

"Great victory in Youzhou!"

The bad guy holding the carrier pigeon had almost no time to breathe, and his face under the mask could not hide his joy. He no longer had the mysterious look of the past, and his tone could not hide the trembling caused by excitement as he handed the letter to Tian Daocheng.

"As you wish--

General Xiao has indeed recovered Youzhou!"

The atmosphere in the big tent suddenly became tense. Tian Daoben, who was holding the letter, looked at the words on the letter and his cheeks turned red with excitement.

That’s not all. The bad guy slammed his fist on the table in the tent and continued to make excited noises.

"Yesterday morning, General Xiao raised his army at three o'clock in the morning and the decisive battle was about to begin. With one blow, he destroyed 24 camps of the Yan army. The Yan army was frightened and countless soldiers were defeated. After that, half of the Yan army surrendered and no one dared to disobey!
In this battle, Xiao killed three of the four generals of the Yan army, the front, rear, left, and right armies, and the remaining one surrendered on the spot. All the so-called generals under him who did not obey were killed in the battle! The Yan army totaled 142,000 people, and was defeated by Xiao in half a day!

This battle, the first battle is the decisive battle! "

"Damn it!"

The Lulong Army general, who was about 20 years old, had a red neck and slammed the table hard, "In this kind of war, I was not lucky enough to follow General Xiao into battle!"

As soon as he said this, everyone agreed, and suddenly the tent was filled with the noisy sound of people talking at once.

"Our Lulong Army has been established for half a year, but we have never fought any tough battles. If this continues, when will we be able to match Dingbadu?"

"Let alone conquering the capital, we are now inferior to the Yichang Army..."

"Eating dog intestines, Ding Badu is really a damn good fighter. If this battle goes on, won't Ding Badu be famous all over the world? The First Army under General Xiao is likely to be eaten alive by Ding Badu!"

For a moment, these nominal generals of the Yan army, upon hearing that most of the Yan army was destroyed, began to clamor for joy. If others saw this, it would be extremely ridiculous.

Tian Daocheng couldn't hide the smile on his face and waved his hand.

"Don't make a fuss. We all know the strength of our Lulong Army. Don't be too ambitious. In Yuyang, the predecessor of the Lulong Army was annihilated because of the infighting between the Liu brothers. Fortunately, we were recruited by General Xiao. However, we only got the reputation of General Xiao. We must not be unclear about our own strength.

Before Dingba joined Xiao Shuai, he was already the strongest army in Hebei. They have good armor and weapons, and they are a veteran army. How can they not be strong? And everyone, if we, 7,000 people, followed Xiao Shuai to charge into the battle of 100,000 people, can we win in one battle?"

Fortunately, this pour of cold water extinguished everyone's excitement and made the big tent less noisy.

However, Tian Daocheng immediately comforted him, "But since we are following General Xiao, why should we worry about not having a big battle in the future? Although our Lulong Army is composed of men who have only been recruited for half a year, why should we, the men of Yan, fear a big battle? Dingbadu's army, which has fought hundreds of battles, may not be comparable in a short time, and the Yichang Army is rare and cannot be compared."

"The commander is right. I know very well what the Yichang Army is like." At this time, a general who originally belonged to the Yichang Army took over the conversation and sneered: "Under Liu Shouwen's command, the Yichang Army has long been rotten. If it hadn't been led by General Xiao to fight two tough battles, it would be worse than our new soldiers."

This time, everyone burst into laughter.

Tian Daocheng also laughed, and then looked at the bad guy again.

"Does Xiao Shuai have any other instructions for us?"

"General Xiao's intention is to have you restrain the tens of thousands of Yan troops here and not let them scatter because of this news. Also, Yuan Xingqin and others have already led Liu Shouwen to 'break out'. When General Xiao handles the affairs of Youzhou, he will immediately lead the army north to put an end to this matter. Commander Tian Du's current task should be to prevent the fort masters below from finding out this news as much as possible..."

"Ben will understand."

Tian Daocheng nodded, then gave a few instructions to the generals, and then pulled the bad man out of the tent, whispering: "I have a piece of military intelligence here, and I hope you can deliver it to General Xiao as soon as possible."

"Is it urgent?"

Tian Daocheng frowned and thought about what the old Taoist said to him, then nodded: "It's very important, the sooner the better."

The bad guy took the letter handed over by the former with a serious expression and strode away.

Tian Daocheng let out a breath and walked back into the tent. The generals inside who thought they would be "liberated" soon were still excited and some could not suppress their excitement.

He walked back and forth for a while, holding the sword, and suddenly looked at someone: "Have you found out Liu Yi's background?"

"My Lord, this fellow is indeed a little strange." The man who was called over suppressed his emotions and said solemnly, "I have investigated carefully. I didn't know before that when this man came to surrender half a month ago, he used the name of Jinzhong Fort. But according to my inquiry, Jinzhong Fort is only ten miles away from here, and the young and strong among them have already joined the Yan army and went south to Youzhou..."

"Isn't this person a Bohai Han?" someone nearby asked.

"That's right, but I asked many people and they all said that this man and his subordinates came in under the name of Jinzhong Fort. After joining the Yan army, they claimed to be Bohai Han people in order to get closer to some Hu people."

Tian Daocheng frowned and squinted his eyes in thought.

The Lulong general who spoke up suggested, "General, since this man is a bit strange, why don't we capture him sooner? I have already found out that he has only 300 or 400 so-called Bohai warriors under his command, and the rest are some people recruited from nowhere, totaling only 200 or 300. Give me a battalion (500 people) and I will capture him for you!"

Someone beside him smacked his lips and said, "It's not difficult to capture this man, but we're afraid of alerting the enemy. In the entire camp, there are more than 20 fortress owners who have surrendered, not to mention other "rebels". If we act rashly, we're not afraid of a fight, but we're afraid that these tens of thousands of people will scatter, which will ruin General Xiao's plan."

"How difficult is that? Gather a few fortress owners and tell them that this person has evil intentions. Allow them to annex his subordinates and property. I'm sure everyone will be tempted. When they attack him in groups, what will these guys care about? General, what do you think?"

Tian Daocheng sat in the main seat, nodded, and then shook his head: "It's feasible, but not feasible. We should indeed capture this man earlier. If it's too late, there's no guarantee that something bad will happen. But we can't call in other people. There are countless people in the Yan army who have ulterior motives. It's inevitable that someone will leak the news among the good and bad, which will easily alert the enemy."

"Then according to the Lord's will..."

"Liu Yi boasted in his tent this morning that he would attack the city tomorrow morning. They should have rested tonight to gather their strength."

Tian Daocheng thought for a moment and said, "Let's go into the camp and capture the people tonight. Regardless of whether there is resistance or not, all the fierce soldiers of Bohai must be captured and finished off quickly to avoid causing disturbances in other camps. Announce the matter early tomorrow morning, and then let others divide them up however they want." "We all obey the commander." All the generals stood up and obeyed.

Tian Daocheng appointed two generals to be in charge of this matter. After arranging the troops of the two camps, he gave another order: "Also, all units should strengthen their vigilance tonight and double the number of patrol personnel. If they act unsteadily, they should be careful of anyone attacking the camp."

"Follow the order."

After arranging this matter, Tian Daocheng finally felt at ease.

No matter what, although he was slightly frightened by the old Taoist priest's so-called "Emperor's Appearance", he still tried his best with absolute strength, so there shouldn't be any mistakes...

Thinking of this, he stood up and pressed his sword, saying loudly: "Everyone, General Xiao's great cause is coming to an end, and we must not let it cause trouble. No matter if it's Liu Yi or someone else with ulterior motives, no matter what they want to do, be alert and be careful! Keep safe for the next two days, and you will be able to follow General Xiao to gain wealth and honor in the future!"

"Follow the order!"

------

Night finally fell completely.

Some of the Yan army camps scattered around Hengshan City had already settled down, while others were still noisy.

In short, in the ups and downs of this chaotic world, especially in the Yan army which was almost like bandits, no matter whether it was the bandit leader who had his own troops to protect himself or the elderly, the weak, women and children who had luckily survived, they could only barely relax their tense nerves for a moment under the cover of night.

Regardless of whether they were full or not, at least there was a place for them to sleep and rest. Today was about to pass, and they could sleep peacefully. Who knows, tomorrow might be better...

Some of the camps built in the wild were lax in guarding and had no lights on early. Some of the camps that were patrolled and guarded simply hid in some sheltered places on this night of ice and snow, wind and even rain.

Under the cover of night, in a not-too-small Yingzhai facing the Lulong Army camp in the east, it was quiet and the lights were very dim, as if everyone had gone to bed early.

However, in the central military tent of the camp, the oil lamps were burning brightly.

Dozens of people sat there, some holding swords, some holding knives, their faces were nervous, some fierce, some excited, their expressions were different, but they all just kept silent, looking at the person in the lead quietly.

At the top, Yelu Abaoji is wearing a Mobei-style armor. If you look closely, you can see countless knife marks and traces of blood that have not yet faded on the armor.

He closed his eyes, and placed his right hand, with one finger broken, on the long and broad sword placed across his thigh, striking it intermittently.

After a long while, he did not open his eyes and said calmly, "Have all the thirty sets of armor been issued?"

"Reporting to the Great Khan, the men are ready." A short and strong man replied in a buzzing voice. He was a Jurchen named Wanyan Agunai. He was one of the current leaders of the Wanyan tribe. The other leader, Wanyan Hanpu, was his younger brother, but he was not in this tent.

A Khitan man at the side said, "Thanks to the king, Tian Daocheng really sent thirty sets of armor. Although it is still not enough, it can at least equip thirty warriors! This man is still young in front of the king."

"Don't underestimate the people of the Central Plains." Yelu Abaoji said calmly: "This man was appointed as the commander of the Lulong Army by Xiao Yan, so he must have extraordinary qualities. He lent me thirty sets of armor, but he just wanted to use military law to take my head tomorrow..."

Wanyan Agunai laughed, touched his shiny black scalp, and laughed in Mobei dialect: "What a pity, the Great Khan didn't plan to wait until tomorrow!"

Yelu Abaoji did not smile at all, but sighed instead.

"I looked at the Lulong Army camp from afar in the evening and saw that the garrison was strict, which seemed to be a little stricter than the previous day. Perhaps Tian Daocheng noticed something..."

Wanyan Agunai frowned and said, "Then according to the Great Khan, we shouldn't act tonight?"

"On the contrary, it should be tonight." Yelu Abaoji smiled, stroked the blade of his broad sword with his hand, and said: "The arrow is on the string. If it is not shot, the bowstring will break. But if you accumulate power and shoot an arrow, even if it is a heavy shield, it can penetrate three inches into the wood."

He paused and said slowly: "Besides, I have no intention of breaking the shield."

Wanyan Agunai closed his mouth and touched his chin, obviously not knowing how to answer.

As for the Khitan generals who accompanied Abaoji, they had long been accustomed to it. Ever since their great king lost his finger in the battle of Yuyang, he often said some inexplicable words, which were less heroic and more roundabout like the people of the Central Plains.

However, after these words, the tent fell silent again.

Yelu Abaoji said no more, closed his eyes and thought, as if he was thinking about something important.

I don't know how long I waited like this, but finally footsteps were heard outside the tent.

Suddenly, Abaoji opened his eyes.

Before he could say anything, the two Mobei generals at the door had already opened the curtain.

Outside the tent, two burly men, steaming from their bodies, strode in. One was from Mobei, the other from Jurchen.

The Mobei man bowed as soon as he entered the tent: "Your Majesty, the military order has been delivered. Once Your Majesty gives the signal, Generals Xiao Dilu and Yelu Helu will charge out immediately and head straight to the camps outside!"

Yelu Abaoji nodded and looked at Wanyan Agunai.

After listening to the Jurchen's whisper, the latter stood up and said, "Great Khan, it's the same for us. Give the signal and my brother will lead our Wanyan tribe to attack and help the Great Khan drive out the Yan army refugees!"

"it is good."

Yelu Abaoji finally stood up. He looked around at everyone and smiled, saying, "In the past, Xiao Yan used this method to deal with me. Today, I will use this method. It depends on whether this subordinate of his can handle it."

All the Mobei generals looked solemn. They knew how their great king had been through the past year, so there was no need for them to say more.

Wanyan Agunai had more or less heard about the inside story, so he stroked the rat tail behind his head and said nothing, but his Wanyan generals pretended to know and laughed.

Abaoji also laughed, and then suddenly shouted loudly.

"Aya-no!"

"I...will be here in the end."

"After the Yan army revolts, you don't have to worry about anything else. Just go straight to where Liu Rengong is and capture him!"

When he said this, Abaoji's face was filled with murderous intent: "I don't care what method you use, you must bring the person to me! If you fail, everything will be over and all the previous efforts will be wasted!
If we can't accomplish our goal tonight, let alone destroying Bohai and giving birth to the Jurchens, even I, you, and your Wanyan tribe will be hunted down by Xiao Yan, and there will be no way to escape to heaven or to the earth. We will not stop until we have annihilated you!
Do you understand!? "

Wanyan Agunai narrowed his eyes, then hit his chest heavily with his forearm without saying anything.

At this time, no matter what you say, it all depends on the results.

Abaoji sneered, said no more, and walked out of the tent with his sword in hand.

Behind him, dozens of people came out at the same time.

In a moment, a bright color streaked across the sky and exploded into the sky.

(End of this chapter)