At this time, the horse bandits and the defenders were fighting each other in the city. They did not notice what happened at the city gate. When they heard Chang Sheng shouting in anger, both the enemy and us turned their heads and looked back. Only then did the horse bandits discover the three of their own. All the leaders have fallen to the ground dead, and the door has been closed again.
The ancients said that the commander of the three armies can be taken away from him, but his ambition cannot be taken away from an ordinary man. However, the old saying is not necessarily correct. This sentence is exaggerated. In fact, the ambition of an ordinary man is of little use, but the commander of the three armies is of great use. Losing the commander means that Losing command and dispatch also means that the morale of the military is weakened.
Seeing that all three of their leaders were dead, the horse bandits in Maka Mountain suddenly lost their spirits and lost all fighting spirit. The city gate of Goodbye was also closed, making their position even more chaotic. They had no intention of fighting again, and they all rushed towards the city gate. , trying to break out and escape.
The defenders on our side were smaller in number and were originally at a disadvantage, but the horse bandits suddenly became disorganized and collapsed. Hearing Chang Sheng's shouts, their morale was greatly boosted, and they immediately turned from defense to attack, chasing and killing them.
Changsheng held the dragon power in his hand to guard the north gate, and killed the first few horse bandits who rushed over. In fact, he could also kill only the people but not the horses. The reason why he killed both the people and the horses was to use the fallen horse corpses to stop the horses. The bandit's horse is galloping forward, and he is on the battlefield. He cannot tolerate the compassion of a woman. The horse is not guilty, but it must be killed when necessary. Just be sure to use the knife accurately and don't let them suffer more.
Seeing Changsheng guarding the north gate, the bandits reined in their horses and turned around, rushing towards the south gate.
The south gate was guarded by its own garrison. Changsheng did not go to rush for help. Instead, he climbed over the eaves and walls to chase down the horse bandits who had spiritual energy and tried to use light skills to escape.
Also doing the same thing as him was the general surnamed Yao. This man turned out to be a Da Dong practitioner, with dark blue aura. Not only was he good with swordsmanship, but he was also good at concealed weapons. Throwing darts rarely missed.
The two of them passed each other while chasing the enemy. Changsheng took the opportunity to cast a look of approval at the other side, and the look from the other side was full of admiration. Soldiers are good at martial arts. They will only admire the brave generals and not the strategists. counselor.
After a while, all the horse bandits who were able to perform Qinggong were killed by the two men, and then the city was full of chasing those horse bandits who had no fighting spirit.
The number of horse bandits is several times that of the defenders. If there is a bandit chief giving the command, the war will never be one-sided. However, the three leaders of the horse bandits have been killed by Chang Sheng. In addition, all the horse bandits are trapped in the city. I became a headless fly, only thinking about escaping, without any fighting spirit.
Changsheng rarely experienced melee battles between the two armies. This battle gave him many insights. The so-called "mountain defeat" refers to low morale and lack of interest in fighting. When the two armies are fighting, morale is crucial. If morale is high, it is possible to win with less. The weak defeat the strong.
The process of encircling and suppressing the horse bandits was not smooth, because in addition to the defenders who participated in the battle, there were also a small number of women and children and many disabled veterans in the houses in various parts of the city. When the horse bandits were desperate, they would take the old and weak women and children hostage and resist in a corner. In addition, some horse bandits jumped over the wall and set fires everywhere in the city, creating chaos and trying to escape in the chaos.
After the big battle was over, Changsheng turned around and went to the north city wall, looking down from a high position to watch and guard in case the horse bandits took advantage of the chaos to escape.
Seeing Changsheng going to a high place, General Yao knew what he was thinking, so he went to the south gate tower and faced him from the north to the south.
The reason why Chang Sheng wanted to annihilate all the horse bandits was not just to enhance the power of the Tang Dynasty army and relieve the resentment in the defenders' hearts, but also because he did not want any fish to slip through the net and return to Maka Mountain to report the news. As the saying goes, the war in the city is over once the evil has been eradicated. After that, he will go to Maka Mountain to kill all the remnants there, completely eliminating future troubles for the Ni family.
The battle lasted for half an hour, during which Chang Sheng and General Yao did not stand idly by. Horse bandits jumped over the wall from time to time in the city, and the two had to leave the city frequently to chase and kill them.
After the war completely subsided and the flames were extinguished, General Yao ordered people to ring the bronze bell and summon everyone in the city to formally pay their respects to Changsheng.
There are more than 300 people in the city, only a few women and children, most of whom are soldiers, but more than half of them are old and disabled. The youngest of these soldiers is nearly fifty years old. After all, General Zhang Yichao reconquered Hexi thirty years ago. , time flies by, and the hot-blooded boy back then has now his head full of white hair.
After everyone was assembled, General Yao first respectfully handed back the official seal, and then led everyone to kneel down and salute, "Yao Liqin, the pioneer of the Dingxi Army, the left camp general, led the soldiers of the left camp to see the hussar general."
Seeing a group of old veterans kneeling down, Chang Sheng felt sad in his heart. However, he did not immediately order everyone to get up. Instead, he stabilized his emotions and lied to comfort him, "Some time ago, Ni Zhuo, Duke of Jiguo of the Tang Dynasty, traveled to the Western Regions. There were eight high-level Taoist masters. Along with the escort, one of them heard that there were soldiers of the Tang Dynasty in this vast desert. I learned about this and immediately reported it to the court. The current emperor governs the country with benevolence and righteousness. When he heard about this, he ordered me to verify the authenticity. It happened that I went to the court. I was on official business in the state, so I stopped by to investigate, but I never thought that there were actually soldiers from the Tang Dynasty in this vast desert."
Changsheng paused for a moment before speaking seriously, "Sergeant Zuoying, the vanguard of the Dingxi Army, listen to the order!"
"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison.
Changsheng said loudly, "You have been ordered to camp and guard the border. You have performed your duties faithfully for many years and devoted half your life to serving the country. You are indeed heroes of the Tang Dynasty and role models for soldiers. Now that you have completed your duties, I have specially ordered the soldiers of Zuoying to withdraw from Hexi and go to Chang'an to accept the reward."
Hearing Changsheng's words, everyone had mixed feelings and choked up. They thought they would never be able to return to the Tang Dynasty in this life, but they never thought that their persistence for many years would finally pay off and they could finally withdraw their defenses and return home.
"General, we were just ordered to garrison. We have neither battle merit nor merit. How dare we accept the reward?" Yao Liqin was frightened.
Changsheng said sternly, "General Yao, there is no need to be humble. You are loyal to the Tang Dynasty with your life and guard the border with your youth. This is the most important thing. I will make arrangements immediately after I return. From the moment you step into the border of the Tang Dynasty, you will be able to visit every place you go." The officials personally went out to welcome you, arranged food and drinks, and sent troops to escort you. After you went to Chang'an to receive rewards, you returned home. The government officials sounded gongs to clear the way, and the tribesmen lined the streets to welcome you."
As soon as Changsheng said these words, there was a burst of crying.
Changsheng is not a sentimental person, but he is also susceptible to infection. The most rare thing in the world is deep kindness and righteousness. How much sincerity has been betrayed and how much dedication has been ignored. Loyal and righteous people must be rewarded heavily to comply with the way of heaven and justice. People's hearts.
Seeing that everyone was still kneeling on the ground, Changsheng ordered everyone to get up quickly. Seeing several veterans with missing legs and feet nearby, he personally stepped forward to help them.
When several veterans saw him, they felt as if they were relatives. They felt extremely kind in their hearts. They wanted to hold him and cry and complain about their grievances, but they did not dare because of their superiority and inferiority. "General, these years, these years..."
Before the veteran could finish speaking, Chang Sheng interrupted him. One could imagine how difficult it was for these veterans to live in the desert for so many years. He really didn't have the courage to listen, so he could only comfort him by saying, "Don't be sad, the Tang Dynasty has no I have forgotten you, and the Emperor has not forgotten you either.”
For fear that everyone would be too excited and cry out, Changsheng hurriedly changed the subject, "Pack your things as soon as possible and leave early. Those who are already married and have children will also take their families with them. The Ministry of Household Affairs will give them proper arrangements."
After hearing Chang Sheng's words, everyone was overjoyed and started to pack up.
Yao Liqin originally wanted to ask Changsheng to rest at his residence, but Changsheng pulled him to a remote place and asked about the specific location of Maka Mountain and how many bandits there were.
Yao Liqin knows a lot about Maka Mountain. He only knows that there are about 500 bandits who have been entrenched there all year round. The three bandit leaders have been killed by Chang Sheng before. At this time, there should be only about 100 people left to look after the house in the mountain. .
While answering Chang Sheng's question, Yao Liqin also guessed Chang Sheng's intention and immediately shouted loudly, "All those who can fight should go back and put on their armor, and follow the general to level Maka Mountain."
Everyone was very happy as they were about to return home. When they heard Yao Liqin's words, their blood immediately surged, their ambitions rose again, and they all returned to their residences to put on their armor.
After wiping out the horse bandits, a large number of war horses were obtained. Half an hour later, a hundred veterans in armor got on their horses. Some even found military flags and wrote a big Chinese character "Li" in vermilion.
An attentive person discovered that Mr. Hei had been hit by an arrow earlier, so he brought a horse to replace it for the immortal. However, they were surprised to find that the two arrow wounds on Mr. Hei's body had all healed, and no scars were left.
The city gate opened wide, Chang Sheng and General Yao rode their horses ahead, followed by hundreds of Tang soldiers in armor.
Maka Mountain is located in the southwest of the city, about eighty miles away. The group of people rode fast and arrived before sunset.
There were not many horse bandits left in the mountain, and they were neglected to take precautions. In addition, they lost all their elite troops. Facing the sudden attack by Chang Sheng and others, they abandoned their armor and had no power to fight back. They either escaped or were killed for half an hour. The war ended smoothly before long, with few casualties on our side.
The horse bandits had been robbing homes all year round and had accumulated a lot of money. Chang Sheng gave an order to move away all they could.
In addition to the horse bandits, there were also some wealthy businessmen who were captured for ransom in the mountains. Seeing a group of soldiers under the banner of the Tang Dynasty annihilating the horse bandits, they didn't know what their fate would be, and they were terrified and shivering.
Naturally, Chang Sheng would not give them any trouble. He asked them if they knew Ni Tuo, who had moved here from China, and one of them only said that he knew him.
Changsheng originally wanted to go and see Ni Chenyi, but after hesitating for a long time, he finally gave up the idea and handed the box with the luminous pearl to the wealthy businessman, entrusting it to be handed over to Ni Zhuo.
"We are the army of the Tang Dynasty. We will go back and tell everyone in the Western Regions that Ni Ni, the Duke of Ji, is our hero of the Tang Dynasty. Anyone who dares to embarrass us will be attacked by the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty..."
