noveltune Chapter 5466 Beating Zhang Raozhou
Chapter 5466 Beating Zhang Raozhou
Chapter 5466 Retaking Raozhou
Li Kucao spat a mouthful of phlegm onto Mr. Zhao's face, glaring angrily and resentfully.
Mr. Zhao let the spit dry on his face, sighed, and shook his head, saying, "The saying goes, 'Man proposes, God disposes.' Who can guarantee that all their guesses are correct and all their plans are without error? It's all about timing and fate. Young General, you should face it calmly."
Li Kucao snorted angrily, but had nothing to say.
He was just an advisor, his job was to offer advice and strategies, but the decision-making power was in the hands of the two brothers. How could they blame others for the decisions they made?
But regret gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake, causing him unbearable pain.
If he hadn't listened to Mr. Zhao's wild guesses, why would he have made the decision to assassinate Abugu?
If Abugu had not been killed, how could the Daji, Hebian, and Duhuo tribes have raised the banner of "annihilating internal traitors and eliminating internal strife" to cause the Khitan internal strife?
Seeing his state, Mr. Zhao advised, "Things have come to this point, what more can be said? The young general should be thinking about how to minimize the losses to the Dahe clan and even the entire Khitan. The government army has only sent three thousand troops this time. It is easy for them to capture Raozhou City, but they will never be able to seriously injure the two generals. The young general can write a letter to the two generals and send it to them, so that they can immediately gather their troops and return to Raozhou. They can then build up their own strength and gain leverage in negotiations. After all, the central government absolutely does not want to see the entire Khitan people rebel and cause the entire Liaodong situation to fall into chaos."
Li Kucaoli felt that what he said made sense, but because his previous wrong guesses had put the Dahe clan in a passive position, he was not sure if he was right this time.
After much deliberation, I had no choice but to agree.
As Mr. Zhao said, the government army only sent 3,000 troops this time, while Li Jinzhong had gathered 20,000 elite Khitan cavalry. Obviously, the government army's purpose was only to quell the rebellion and stabilize the situation, rather than to really accuse the Dahe clan of "rebellion" and exterminate them.
In that case, there is an opportunity for negotiation.
With 20,000 elite Khitan troops besieging Raozhou, the government army would inevitably have to make concessions. In fact, if the Dahe clan were to swear allegiance to the Tang Dynasty again, they might even be able to reclaim the position of Governor of Songmo...
"Okay, I'll write it!"
Li Kucao immediately dictated a letter, which Mr. Zhao then wrote down, to Li Jinzhong, who was leading his troops in battle on the south bank of the Huangshui River, urging him to surrender.
After Li Kucao was taken away and imprisoned, Li Jinxing patted Mr. Zhao on the shoulder and nodded, saying, "If the rebellion is successfully quelled, you will have made a great contribution. All the conditions that the Grand Commandant promised you will be fulfilled without any shirking of responsibility."
Mr. Zhao beamed with joy: "I am a Tang person. Although I live in a land of barbarians, I have never forgotten the Chinese culture. It is my greatest honor to serve the Grand Commandant!"
In a residence in Qinglongfang, Chang'an, a place was offered to the grandson for admission to Zhenguan Academy... Without spending a single penny, Mr. Zhao was willing to betray the Dahe clan and lead the Li brothers into internal strife and a dead end.
Li Jinxing said, "I will leave a thousand soldiers to control the entire city. Please cooperate with me, Mr. Zhao."
"General, rest assured, I would be more than happy to oblige!"
"Very well, then please stay here and await my triumphant return!"
……
On the south bank of the Huangshui River, Li Jinzhong led 20,000 elite cavalry, moving swiftly and unstoppably. With the Daji, Hebian, and Duhuo tribes each harboring their own schemes and acting independently, Li Jinzhong combined the elite forces of his own tribes and defeated them one by one. He first defeated the Daji and Hebian tribes, and then defeated the Duhuo tribe head-on at Wufeng Prefecture. He was full of pride and high spirits.
Now, sweeping across all the tribes, the Dahe family is the most powerful. The lost position of Governor of Songmo has returned to the Li family. This glory is even greater than that of his grandfather during his lifetime!
However, disagreements soon arose among the tribes. The Fenwen, Tubian, and Ruixi tribes insisted on pursuing and exterminating the Daji, Hebian, and Duhuo tribes to prevent their resurgence. Li Jinzhong, however, wanted to spare the three tribes on the grounds that they all belonged to the Khitan and shared the same origin and race, promising not to pursue them as long as they swore allegiance to the Dahe clan.
The Fenwen, Tubian, and Ruixi tribes believed that failing to eradicate the threat at its root would inevitably lead to trouble, but Li Jinzhong intended to leave the Daji, Hebian, and Duhuo tribes to counterbalance the Fenwen, Tubian, and Ruixi tribes...
The army was stationed at an oasis by the desert, and the two sides were locked in a dispute.
Just then, the messenger from Raozhou arrived...
After reading Li Kucaoli's letter, Li Jinzhong was both shocked and furious: "How dare the Tang people do this?"
Unexpectedly, the Tang people actually sat idly by while he stirred up internal strife among the Khitan and defeated various tribes, and then suddenly accused him of "inciting internal strife and disturbing the border," and even "endangering the development of Liaodong." They were trying to pin a "rebellion" charge on him!
The crime of treason is something he can bear.
The leaders of the various departments around him fell silent instantly, looking at Li Jinzhong with suspicion and uncertainty in their eyes.
If Li Jinzhong is a "traitor," then aren't these people "collaborators"?
"Traitors" certainly deserve a bad death, but how can "collaborators" fare any better?
In his moment of panic, Li Jinzhong realized the change in the attitudes of the various tribal leaders and quickly said, "We are all in the same boat. Now that the government troops are blaming us, I can't escape, and neither can you! Rather than each having our own thoughts, we should advance and retreat together. I don't believe that the government troops would really dare to attack us and sit idly by while the Khitans disrupt the entire Liaodong region!"
The leaders of each department exchanged glances and all agreed that it made sense.
The task was done by everyone together, so how could the court show favoritism or treat people differently?
Even if they were to hand Li Jinzhong over to the government troops now, it wouldn't lessen their guilt by much.
"Second General, what do we do now?"
"The government troops have suddenly arrived and occupied Raozhou City; their intentions are certainly not good!"
"Nonsense, they've already labeled you 'rebellious,' what's the point of being kind!"
"They can't just wipe us all out, can they? We can't just sit here and wait to die!"
"But those are government troops! Our attacks on the Daji, Hebian, and Duhuo tribes can be considered internal strife, but once we face government troops, it will truly be a rebellion!"
"What good will rebellion do? Are we just going to wait to die with a knife to our throats?"
The crowd was noisy and in complete chaos.
Li Jinzhong rubbed his temples and shouted, "Shut up, all of you!"
After calming down and thinking it over carefully, he said angrily, "The reason why the government troops have been indulging us is probably because they want to let us fight amongst ourselves and deplete our strength before they step in to clean up the mess. Their goal is to weaken the Khitan's strength and make us like dogs, wagging our tails when given a bone."
Although he was impulsive and violent, he was not stupid and quickly understood the court's intentions.
It was simply that the Khitan had developed too rapidly in recent years, which made the court feel threatened. In order to prevent them from becoming too powerful and causing hidden dangers to the security of the border, the court took advantage of the death of the grandfather Li Kuge to deal a heavy blow to the Khitan. It was not necessary to annihilate the entire Khitan, but a fierce internal struggle with countless deaths and injuries was definitely what the court wanted most.
"Now we only have two options. One is to take off our armor and lay down our weapons, and let the government troops do with us like cattle and sheep."
Everyone shook their heads: "How is that possible? Since the government troops have already accused us of 'rebellion,' they will never let it go."
"Rebellion" is an unforgivable crime. Even if the court is concerned about the stability of the situation in Liaodong and does not launch a major attack on the Khitan, it is inevitable that "only the ringleaders will be punished." These tribal leaders will be the first to be targeted, and none of them will have a good end.
Li Jinzhong nodded: "Secondly, my brother mentioned in his letter that the government troops only have three thousand soldiers stationed in Raozhou City this time. Although they look elite, their strength is insufficient. If we launch a strong attack on the city, we will definitely be able to take it in one fell swoop, rescue our clansmen in the city, and take our food, cattle and sheep to migrate north across the Great Xianbei Mountain to Julunbo to seek refuge with the Shiwei."
The Dahe clan was the leader of the Khitan, possessing the greatest strength and the most abundant resources, but all of them were located in Raozhou City. It was already late autumn, and winter was fast approaching. Without capturing Raozhou City and taking their people, supplies, and resources, how could they possibly cross the Great Xianbei Mountains in the winter?
Moreover, if they had nothing, why would the Shiwei people, who had lived in the marshland for generations, risk offending the Tang people to take in the Khitan?
"This one……"
The leaders hesitated.
After all, once they launched a counterattack on Raozhou City, it would be a complete rebellion. The Tang Dynasty had been at the height of its power and had been invincible in recent years, which put immense pressure on them. The decision to go to war with the empire was not something they could make lightly.
Li Jinzhong's expression was ferocious as he fiercely slammed his curved sword into the ground: "I know what everyone is thinking, and I certainly didn't want to take this step. But think about it carefully, the government troops are clearly targeting us now, using our heads to quell the situation in Liaodong. Our lives are no longer in our own hands!"
His words were not entirely true. The fate of the other tribal leaders was indeed precarious, and it was unknown how the government troops would deal with them. However, he, his brother, and even the entire Dahe clan were certainly doomed to perish.
At this point, the only chance of survival is to tie everyone together in one place.
The other tribal leaders may not be unaware of this principle either, but who would dare to gamble with their own head and the lives of their entire family?
"Then let's listen to the Second General, and fight our way back to Raozhou City and capture the Governor's Mansion!"
“That’s right. We Khitans are nomadic tribes in Liaodong. How wonderful it is to roam freely between the grasslands and deserts! How can we be bound to this land by the Tang people?”
“In the future, our descendants will probably forget the fierceness of their ancestors who roamed the mountains, rivers and lakes, and instead, like the people of the Tang Dynasty, spend their whole lives farming with their faces to the soil and their backs to the sky.”
"Once we take Raozhou, we'll migrate north. Once we cross the Great Xianbei Mountains, we'll be in a place beyond the reach of the Tang!"
Li Jinzhong was invigorated: "Then listen to my command and take back Raozhou City!"
"it is good!"
Everyone responded with a resounding "yes".
Li Jinzhong mounted his horse and led the leaders of various tribes and 20,000 elite cavalrymen away from the desert oasis. They traveled upstream along the Huangshui River valley for more than a hundred miles, crossed the Huangshui River at a narrow place, and then headed straight north to Raozhou City along a north-south valley.
Speed is of the essence in war; he wanted to seize Raozhou by surprise.
However, just as they were about to cross the valley and were dozens of miles from Raozhou City, the Khitan cavalry, who were moving at full speed, suddenly saw shadowy figures on the high slopes on both sides of the mountain, and then countless dark iron lumps fell from the sky...
boom!
Thunder roared and the earth shook.