Chapter 198 Finding the murderer, encirclement and counter-encirclement

A gentleman is like a leopard, born ugly and ordinary, but through self-cultivation and pursuit of knowledge, he eventually becomes as agile and beautiful as an adult leopard.

Li Xuan's implication is not to become rich, but to transform the past life little by little and strive for the ideal of this life.

As for the rest, everything is self-explanatory.

Yan Zhenqing already understood what Li Xuan meant. He not only wanted to find clues about the thieves and merchants, but also wanted to take the opportunity to kill some powerful people.

In this way, the relationship between Li Xuan and the powerful will be incompatible.

Yan Zhenqing didn't know how Li Xuan planned for the future, but he would give his full support no matter what.

In his heart, the prosperous Tang Dynasty was beautiful, like the bright moon in the sky.

The ancients could not see it, but it illuminates us today.

They were fortunate to be born in this era. Wang Xizhi did not see such a prosperous era, but he achieved unprecedented success.

How could they not shoulder their responsibilities as they followed the spirit of the prosperous Tang Dynasty?
Yan Zhenqing was highly regarded by Li Xuan and was willing to follow him to the end.

The next day, Li Xuan went to the Yumen Army to comfort the soldiers.

The next day, Li Xuan went outside the city in person to watch the Yumen Army training led by An Yuanzhen.

The soldiers' morale was high. The infantrymen performed their martial arts with all their might, and the cavalrymen rode their horses and shot bows.

After the training was completed, Li Xuan ordered An Yuanzhen to go to the military treasury to get silk and reward those who performed well.

Li Xuan also rode his horse himself to demonstrate the essence of riding skills to the soldiers.

The soldiers cheered for his accurate hit from a hundred paces away.

"Tomorrow is the last day. What has Sheng Yuliang been doing these two days?"

After returning to the city, Li Xuan asked Yan Zhenqing.

"Reporting to General Li, Sheng Yuliang, the Dunhuang Biejia, and the Dunhuang prefect are leading the county troops, splitting them into three groups to search for the thieves and merchants throughout Dunhuang."

Yan Zhenqing replied to Li Xuan.

He has been keeping track of Sheng Yuliang's movements.

"We've been looking for it for three years and still haven't found it. Humph! I hope they can find it tomorrow!"

Li Xuan snorted coldly.

Today, when he was outside the city, he saw the old man sitting on the stone waiting again, and he felt very upset.

He had reason to suspect that Sheng Yuliang had hidden the thieves or had killed them to silence them, and he needed to know the truth.

"Liao Shisan observed that a lot of people left the city in the past two days, but none of them came back." Yan Zhenqing mentioned this matter.

"That's good too! People who are desperate don't believe they are in dire straits. They will try every possible means to drag others down with them."

Li Xuan smiled slightly.

A night without words...

"Giggle..."

With the crowing of a rooster, the sky suddenly brightened.

For some reason, the roosters crowed louder today.

Li Xuan got up early and asked Yan Zhenqing for advice on calligraphy.

Even though he knew something big was about to happen, he remained calm and composed.

"Li Shuai's calligraphy is full of charm and is improving by leaps and bounds. I'm afraid he will surpass me soon..."

Yan Zhenqing praised Li Xuan's rapid progress.

"Sir, your calligraphy is already superb. If I can get 11 times the style, I will be satisfied."

Li Xuan knew very well that Yan Zhenqing was being modest, and he knew exactly how much Yan Zhenqing was worth.

Although he considered himself superior, the Yan Zhenqing in front of him was a great calligrapher who carried on the tradition.

While Li Xuan and Yan Zhenqing were discussing calligraphy, the situation in Dunhuang city was very tense.

Dunhuang City, as an important city on the Silk Road, seems to be the same as usual, with merchants passing through the Lop Nur Desert and resting here.

But many officials and wealthy families have already smelled something unusual.

All this is because the killer Li Xuan is in Dunhuang.

News came from Jinchang that the Jinchang prefect and deputy governor, as well as a dozen officials implicated, were all captured by Li Xuan.

Just as Li Xuan killed people with every step he took on the battlefield, in the officialdom, Li Xuan also killed people wherever he went, like a butcher.

There were such signs in Feng'an County of Lingwu Commandery; then there were Linhai and Yuyao; later, Xiping Commandery dealt with the military supervisor, Wuwei Commandery took down the chief historian; and there was Jinchang Commandery not long ago.

I wonder if Dunhuang County will follow in the same footsteps?

"I have come to see the governor to report something important."

Before the morning hour, Sheng Yuliang rushed to the prefect's residence and asked to see Li Xuan.

Li Xuan finished writing a piece of calligraphy in one go before summoning Sheng Yuliang into the main hall.

"Greetings, Governor. I have received a report that the hiding place of the thieves and merchants was discovered last night, and the county soldiers are besieging them."

After Sheng Yuliang bowed, he hurriedly reported to Li Xuan.

"You want to see people alive, you want to see corpses when you're dead."

Li Xuan just uttered these few words.

"Li Shuai, do you want to go and verify it?"

Seeing that Li Xuan was indifferent, Sheng Yuliang became anxious and asked.

"That's fine! I want to see what place it is that has made Governor Sheng look for so long."

Li Xuan stood up and walked to Sheng Yuliang's side, patting Sheng Yuliang on the shoulder: "People still need to be spurred on!"

"I was the one who neglected that place before. I didn't expect them to be so cunning and hide in a manor far away from Dunhuang City."

Sheng Yuliang said to Li Xuan respectfully.

He thought his plan was perfect, but in fact it was full of loopholes.

He had no other choice. He was going to die anyway, so he could only fight to the death.

Li Xuan can take full advantage of Sheng Yuliang's desire to survive to achieve his own goals.

"Where is the thief hiding?"

Li Xuan suddenly asked Sheng Yuliang.

"Report to the governor, the thieves are hiding in the north of Longle Mountain."

Sheng Yuliang replied.

"Okay, let's set off immediately."

Li Xuan nodded, and the location of Longle Mountain appeared in his mind.

He put on his armor and left Dunhuang City with the Shen Ce Guards.

Yan Zhenqing did not leave the city with Li Xuan.

……

Li Xuan did not let the war horses gallop. Although he had three horses under his command, their marching speed was slower than that of one man and one horse.

He would stop to rest from time to time and chat with Sheng Yuliang before leaving.

Sheng Yuliang was extremely anxious, but did not dare to urge Li Xuan.

"Sheng Taishou, who can chop off such a good head of mine?"

When they stopped to rest again, Li Xuan asked Sheng Yuliang in a deep tone.

"Li Shuai is joking."

Sheng Yuliang's heart skipped a beat and he spoke calmly.

"Sheng Taishou, please don't laugh at me for bringing so many guards with me when I go out, because there are countless people in this world who want to kill me. Once in Lingwu Huile City, I was almost assassinated by an assassin."

Li Xuan looked at Sheng Yuliang and said.

"Commander, you are so powerful that no villain can get close to you!"

Sheng Yuliang smiled awkwardly. He just wanted Li Xuan to get to the manor at the foot of Longle Mountain as soon as possible, no matter what Li Xuan said.

"The former Dou Lu military envoy was convicted of corruption and bribery. I think that people who have been greedy for money since ancient times do not understand the principle of loving money. What do you think?"

Li Xuan asked Sheng Yuliang again.

“People who love money definitely love money, there is no doubt about that.”

When Sheng Yuliang heard the word "corruption", his hair stood on end as if he had been triggered by a sensitive word.

My breathing is a little rapid.

He didn't know why Li Xuan asked this, so he could only answer it reluctantly.

"The governor of a lower county is an official of the fourth rank, with generous treatment. The annual salary he receives is enough to make him live comfortably. But if his crime is exposed, even if he accepted 100 or 1,000 gold coins, what will happen? Not only will his property be confiscated, but he will also be dismissed from his post. How can this be called love of money? Losing the big for the small is not worth the loss. Only a fool would do this. In the past, the prime minister of Lu, Gong Yixiu, loved to eat fish, but he never accepted fish. Yang Xu of the Han Dynasty also loved to eat fish, but he hung the fish sent by his subordinates in front of the courtyard. This is a smart person!"

Li Xuan said slowly to Sheng Yuliang.

If you are greedy for your own sake, you will lose your country; if you are greedy for others, you will lose your life.

"The governor is right."

Sheng Yuliang said this on the surface, but in his heart he scoffed at Li Xuan's words.

Who doesn't have desires?

In one's life, one must have one of the following: money, sex, and power.

Li Xuan was not greedy for money, but he loved power too much.

He also likes supreme power, but he can't get it, so he can only be greedy for money and enjoy life.

Sheng Yuliang had already realized that something was wrong, but he only had a dozen followers around him, so he could only go all the way to the end and grab a glimmer of hope.

"gone!"

Following Li Xuan's order, they set off again. This time, they saw Longle Mountain in one breath.

I saw fields full of corn, stretching as far as the eye could see.

There are many manors here, and it is a rare place with beautiful mountains and rivers in Dunhuang County.

It seems to be another "paradise" for the rich families.

Sheng Yuliang led the way and took Li Xuan to a huge manor and stopped.

The buildings here are exactly the same as those in the suburbs of Chang'an.

There are also several orchards next to the estate, surrounded by fences.

There were dozens of county soldiers guarding the gate of the manor, and each of them looked nervous.

The door was broken and there seemed to be signs of a fight, and there were bloodstains.

"Reporting to the governor and prefect, the bandit merchant has been breached and a hundred people have been captured. Please come in and take a look."

Wang Cong, the deputy governor of Dunhuang, ran out of the manor and paid his respects to Li Xuan.

"please……"

Sheng Yuliang next to him jumped off his horse and extended his hand to invite Li Xuan in.

This was his most nervous moment. He swallowed his saliva when he lowered his head.

If Li Xuan didn't dismount and ride away, they would be in danger.

"Bring out the thief merchant!"

Li Xuan did not dismount and said lightly.

At this moment, Wang Cong and Sheng Yuliang both turned pale.

Fortunately, Sheng Yuliang had a strong psychological quality. When he saw Wang Cong was stunned, he immediately shouted at him: "Wang Biejia, why don't you have someone bring the thief merchant out!"

"Yes... I will go right away."

Wang Cong reacted and immediately returned to the manor.

The moment he turned his head, Sheng Yuliang also turned his head and looked at him.

The four looked into each other's eyes. Wang Cong seemed to have read something from Sheng Yuliang's eyes.

The atmosphere at the scene was very solemn.

The Shen Ce Guards all put down the face guards on their helmets, grabbed the spears in the carriage, and removed the reins of the spare horses to avoid affecting the horses' flexibility during the battle.

When Sheng Yuliang saw the Shen Ce Guards on high alert, his heart rose to his throat.

Calm down... Calm down...

Sheng Yuliang, who had seen big scenes, could hold back, but the county soldiers around him couldn't. When they saw this scene out of the corner of their eyes, their legs trembled.

A person's name, the shadow of a tree.

General Li's reputation of beheading generals and pulling out flags, tearing tigers apart alive, and holding up city gates with all his strength, making the army retreat in fear, has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

"Bang..."

A county soldier accidentally dropped his spear.

He immediately bent down to pick it up, once, twice, but in his panic he failed to pick up the spear.

Finally, he used both hands to hold the spear firmly. He leaned on the spear with both hands, and the shaking became more severe.

"Sheng Taishou, your men seem to be feeling a little unwell..."

Li Xuan spoke to Sheng Yuliang.

Everyone's attention was attracted by this county soldier.

"The county soldiers usually participate in arresting criminals, and have never seen a big battle. Governor, please don't be surprised!"

Sheng Yuliang bowed to Li Xuan and evaded the question.

"Even if the county soldiers can't do the work of the border army, they should act like soldiers."

The county soldiers in the prosperous Tang Dynasty were useless. They were either scoundrels who lived off the land and waited for death, or good-for-nothings who were the sons of powerful families. There were few real brave generals.

After the An-Shi Rebellion, the soldiers recruited by the counties always appeared to be very impressive.

"From now on, I will seriously reorganize the county soldiers."

Sheng Yuliang responded immediately.

At this time, Wang Cong and dozens of county soldiers appeared, escorting hundreds of thieves and merchants.

With white skin, high nose bridge and big beard, he is obviously dressed like a Sogdian.

Although they looked miserable under the swords and guns, there was a murderous look in their eyes.

"stop!"

When they wanted to get closer to Li Xuan, Luo Xing rode his horse and called them to stop.

At this time, the two sides were about twenty steps away.

Wang Cong had to ask the Sogdians to stop.

"They look very unconvinced. Governor Sheng, kill a few of them first to deter their courage!"

Li Xuan ordered Sheng Yuliang.

"This……"

Sheng Yuliang was stunned, and for a moment he was in a dilemma.

These Sogdians and county soldiers are close to Li Xuan, so they still have a great chance.

But Li Xuan didn't let them get close and asked him to kill several people. What should he do?
The self-torture trick was not discussed in advance! Besides, the self-torture trick cannot really kill people, otherwise it will cause a big accident.

"Why? Does Governor Sheng still sympathize with the thieves and merchants?"

Seeing that Sheng Yuliang didn't move, Li Xuan questioned him.

When Sheng Yuliang looked at Li Xuan again, he suddenly understood something.

He immediately ran towards the Sogdians. When he was only ten steps away from them, Sheng Yuliang suddenly turned around, pointed at Li Xuan, and shouted: "Go, kill Li Xuan! Otherwise, we will all die today!"

Li Xuan was obviously on guard.

At this time, we must act decisively and rush forward to knock Li Xuan off his horse before his horse starts running.

"Kill! Let's kill Li Xuan together!"

Suddenly, the style of painting changed suddenly.

Knowing that it was a matter of life or death, the county soldiers plucked up their courage and rushed forward with guns.

The Sogdian bandit merchants were already doing a risky business, and they knew that the current situation was all because of Li Xuan.

As long as they killed Li Xuan, Sheng Yuliang would allow them to seize Yangguan and escape.

At the same time, other county soldiers who were ambushed in the manor rushed out quickly, and the sons of powerful people and slaves also rushed out with weapons.

More than 200 horses suddenly appeared from the orchard and rushed towards Li Xuan.

Most of the knights holding swords on horses were not county soldiers, but sons of powerful families, and the horses were also provided by the powerful families.

Originally, these cavalrymen were prepared to block the entrance after Li Xuan entered the manor.

Now we can only attack head-on.

"Bold Sheng Yuliang, do you want to rebel? Do you know what this crime is?"

The prosecutor who followed Li Xuan shouted at Sheng Yuliang.

"I want to be a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty, but Li Xuan is too aggressive and won't give me a chance. Now I can only resist like Tian Ji. Li Xuan, you little brat, I have tolerated you for a long time. Today, either you die or I die!"

Sheng Yuliang yelled at Li Xuan, venting his anger.

If Li Xuan died, he would personally chop off Li Xuan's head to relieve his hatred.

A part of the Shen Ce Guards quickly turned their horses back and attacked the cavalry.

Another part of the Shen Ce Guards rushed to the front and closely guarded Li Xuan.

Before their horses could run away, the Sogdian thieves and merchants ran ahead of them.

These thieves took out the daggers hidden in their clothes and tried to use them to fight back.

Li Xuan took out an iron spear from beside the saddle, and when he saw a Sogdian bandit merchant approaching, he stabbed him with the spear.

"Pfft..."

The Sogdian thief merchant only felt his eyes blurred, and the gun blade pierced his chest like lightning.

The pain ended in an instant...

Li Xuan placed the body of the Sogdian merchant on the tip of his gun and held it high.

The county soldiers and the Sogdian bandits had never seen such a scene before. When they approached Li Xuan, they stopped...

They watched in fear as Li Xuan stabbed the corpse with his gun as if it were nothing.

Is this something a mortal can overcome?

"Go ahead! You've already raised your swords, are you still planning to let Li Xuan let you go? If you don't use the sword on Li Xuan, then you'll put the sword on your own neck and commit suicide."

Sheng Yuliang saw it and felt anxious. He stepped forward and made these people wake up.

"kill!"

The county soldiers and Sogdian bandits and merchants had no choice but to force their way in.

"Oh!"

Li Xuan threw the body out, knocking down two county soldiers.

Luo Xing and Xue Cuo, as Li Xuan's left and right, led the personal guards and rode up on horseback.

Those who came close were all stabbed to death after the swords collided.

"clang!"

Li Xuan saw Wang Cong, the former deputy governor of Dunhuang, shooting him from dozens of steps away.

Li Xuan, who was quick-eyed and quick-handed, knocked the arrow down with one spear.

"Pfft!"

Li Sheng was behind Li Xuan and had not yet engaged in close combat. He quickly bent his bow and drew his arrow, hitting Wang Cong.

The arrow pierced Wang Cong's chest, and he fell to the ground with his eyes wide open.

As fate would have it, Wang Cong thought he could hit Li Xuan with his archery skills.

If you fail to hit the target, you will expose yourself.

Wang Cong no longer needs to think about escaping Yangguan...

"what……"

When Sheng Yuliang saw this, he screamed and quickly hid in the crowd, fearing that he would follow in their footsteps.

Taking advantage of this time, Li Xuan had already charged into the battle array with his spear in hand. Although the horse did not run, Li Xuan was in a dominant position, swinging his spear and knocking the enemies away continuously.

No one came close to Li Xuan.

They were too naive and thought that after getting close to Li Xuan, they could pounce on him and kill him.

The Tibetan soldiers thought so at the beginning, but they never did it.

Li Xuan's personal guards were also strong in combat. They only revealed their emotionless eyes beneath the masks. They were like killing machines. No matter they were county soldiers, thieves and merchants, or sons of powerful families and slaves, it was difficult for them to survive more than three rounds in their hands.

Another part of Li Xuan's personal guards had retreated and rushed forward, led by Zhang Wanfu, to engage the enemy cavalry.

Zhang Wanfu killed the enemy general with his own hands and defeated this makeshift cavalry in one round.

The surviving members of the cavalry did not dare to fight anymore and turned around and fled.

"He's really that amazing..."

Sheng Yuliang looked at Li Xuan killing people everywhere, picking them off like rabbits, and was frightened to death.

He thought Li Xuan would run away, but he just ran over them and didn't take them seriously.

"We have more people, we can definitely take down Li Xuan!"

Sheng Yuliang looked at the helpers pouring out of the fence gate and cheered himself up.

"Rumble..."

Just then, accompanied by flying dust, the sound of horse hooves came from afar.

Yan Zhenqing and An Yuanzhen came with two thousand Yumen cavalrymen to support.

Before, Li Xuan delayed time on the road and left marks along the way to wait for the Yumen cavalry.

If you want to capture all the enemies, relying solely on the Shen Ce Guards is definitely not enough.

"It's the Yumen Army..."

"It's over, run..."

"There's an ambush!"

"Run to the hill..."

The arrival of the Yumen Army was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The county soldiers, who had no confidence in the first place, fled one after another, and now they had to survive for as long as they could.

The Sogdian bandits were dumbfounded. Didn't they agree that if they killed the Tang marshal, they could leave Yangguan?

It’s bad enough that Li Xuan is extremely fierce, but why are there so many Tang cavalry now?

If they were caught, simply chopping off their heads would be considered a light punishment.

Therefore, the Sogdian bandits and merchants all fled to Longle Mountain, regardless of whether they could survive in the mountain.

The slaves dropped their weapons and surrendered.

Only the sons of powerful families were still fighting. They had all heard of Li Xuan's bad reputation.

"Li Xuan has seen through my plan. He is using me to find Hu Shang."

At this moment, Sheng Yuliang understood everything.

He did not regret doing this. He tried his best, but his strength was too weak.

……

(End of this chapter)