Chapter 261 - Please Instruct Us
Lee Cheng walked into Zhao Sanlang's tent and saw him looking at the map with his head propped up. The map was based on the map drawn by Adnan. It was made by Huang Can, the military counselor. He was afraid that even Adnan himself did not know that someone could draw the map of the barbarians based on a few sentences he said.
“Has the general thought of a plan to fight the enemy?” He sat across from Zhao Sanlang and asked.
Zhao Sanlang looked up at him, then looked at the map again. He took a pencil and marked a few places. After a long time, he said, “You see, the barbarians have been fighting and killing each other all these years. They are divided and united. There is more or less some enmity between the tribes. But this time, they can unite and fight against the enemy. What does that mean?”
“It means that the enemy is very strong this time. They can't fight with just one tribe or a few tribes.”
“Right, then the number of enemies they revealed before is very problematic. ” Twenty thousand people. Can they really devour the entire barbarian race and cause their minds to be thrown into chaos? Do they want to borrow soldiers from us? “
“Are you saying… that they are hiding something?”
“Maybe. “But before coming this time, the Empress told me a few words in private, he said, do not rush at the very front, be careful not to be used as a gun, and be even more careful when your former allies stab you in the back.”
Lee Cheng's eyes darkened, “They dare!”
Zhao Sanlang rolled his eyes at him and said sarcastically, “County Prince is also someone who has been on the battlefield. How can you not understand this? “What if this is just a scheme of the barbarians? They will use the Great Tang's elite soldiers to repel the enemy and take advantage of the time when we are both injured to destroy the bridge. At that time, our ten thousand Black Armored Guard won't be able to return home. “
Lee Cheng was certainly not brainless. He had to guard against such a possibility. If he was in his shoes, he would really do such a thing that repaid kindness with enmity. It was possible that the barbarians would dare to do anything.
“What do you think we should do?”
“The enemy needs to fight, but we can't fight with everything we have. At least, we must let these Northern barbarians know how powerful we are, and they won't dare to attack us.”
Zhao Sanlang pointed at the marks he drew on the map and said, “These places are the places Adana mentioned when he fought with the enemy. It is said that all the original tribes have been wiped out. I want to send a few people to these places to see if it is as he said, and to see if we can find any traces of the enemy.”
“What's next?”
“The grassland is vast. It is too long from the east to the west. We don't have time to waste here. The more we waste, the more dangerous the soldiers will be. It is best to lure the enemy out.”
Lee Cheng also understood that this was the best way. He suggested, “I'll bring some people to lure the enemy out. Find a suitable place to ambush them.”
Zhao Sanlang finally looked at him. His eyebrows were cold. The corner of his mouth slightly curled. “Come on, don't make any decisions. This kind of thing is not for you to do. There is another job for you to do.”
Lee Cheng did not argue with him. He obediently replied, “General, please instruct me.”
“Tomorrow morning, take Crown Prince back to Suzhou.”
Lee Cheng stood up abruptly. “Impossible. If the enemy attacks, Black Armored Guard will not be safe if they split into two.”
“It's because of this that we have to send the Crown Prince away. The Emperor and the Empress let the Crown Prince train with their background, but they probably didn't expect the enemy to be stronger than expected. The Crown Prince is the only one. If something happens to him, what will you do to the Empress? The Great Tang cannot lack an heir.”
Lee Cheng knew that every word he said was right, but he would definitely not agree to let him leave at this critical moment. The battlefield was constantly changing, and he would be gone for at least two days and two nights. Anything could happen.
He slowly sat down, and his temper instantly vanished. “Tell me about your plan first.”
Zhao Sanlang looked at him in surprise. He did not expect that the hot-tempered young man in the past would change so much. His temper was at ease. He had really grown up.
However, it was always a good thing that he was obedient. Zhao Sanlang continued, “We were attacked as soon as we left Su Province. This means that the enemy is not too far away from us. Otherwise, we would not be able to deal with them so quickly. Since they are nearby, we need the barbarians to find them. This is their territory. If we can't even do this, we should leave as soon as possible.
Also, we must let them fight the first round. We are only allies. We are not in charge of the vanguard. “
Lee Cheng nodded as he listened. He felt a little disappointed when he saw that Zhao Sanlang had a clear mind and had arranged everything perfectly. He thought that he would be able to help if he followed Zhao Sanlang out, but he seemed to have underestimated Zhao Sanlang.
Looking at Zhao Sanlang's finger pointing at the map, his eyes paused. He did not know which string was wrong, but he actually reached out and held his hand.
The man's hand was wide and had distinct joints. There were hard calluses everywhere, and it was not delicate at all. However, he held it so tightly that his heart rippled and he was overwhelmed by emotions.
“Bang!” Zhao Sanlang kicked the table and pulled his hand out forcefully. Then, he punched Lee Cheng's cheek. He wiped his palm on his clothes and said with disdain, “If County Prince can't control his emotions, then please go back. I can't tolerate a Buddha like you. Also, if there is a next time, I won't just slap your face.”
Zhao Sanlang pointed at the door of the tent and shooed him away. “It's getting late. County Prince should rest early.”
Lee Cheng also knew that he was being rude. He apologized and left without saying a word. As soon as he went out, he heard a curse from inside. “Little bastard, how dare you!”
He smiled. He actually felt that such a curse was very pleasant to hear. It was better than ignoring him.
The next day, Zhao Sanlang and the Crown Prince really suggested sending him back to Su Province first. The latter understood the current situation and agreed to his request.
“I will only cause trouble for everyone if I stay here. It is time for me to step back. However, there is no need to arrange for too many people to escort me. I can pretend to be an ordinary citizen and return to the city in a cart. I can reach Suzhou in a day. It is safe here.”
Zhao Sanlang and Lee Cheng did not agree. Zhao Sanlang insisted on having Lee Cheng escort them. Although the latter did not agree, he did not object. At least, they would not let the Crown Prince go alone. In the end, it was Advisor Huang who advised them. The more people there were, the greater the target. At this moment, no one would attack the ordinary people.
That afternoon, Crown Prince Yuan left with only four guards. He dressed up as a family of five who were fleeing for their lives. He drove a cart and some luggage to Suzhou.
At the same time, Zhao Sanlang asked the Tasan tribe to send out troops to find the enemy's landing point. They could not be beaten passively. Now that the troops were gathered, they should take the initiative to attack.
This suggestion was approved by all the tribe leaders. They were probably scared by the attacks. If they could take the initiative to attack, they definitely wouldn't hide in the back.
Lee Cheng looked coldly at the group of overly excited Northern Barbarians. When they left, he immediately said to Zhao Sanlang, “Do they trust them?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if they lied about military intelligence?” Lee Cheng asked. Should I bring some people to investigate?”
Zhao Sanlang walked in front of him, looked left and right at his face, and said sarcastically, “How much does the duke know about this grassland? Can you differentiate the east, south, west, and north?”
Lee Cheng knew he was right. “You should be careful.”
“This is what I want to say to the duke. You should go back to Suzhou.”
Lee Cheng stared at him. “Don't, don't, think.”
Zhao Sanlang knew he wouldn't agree. He shrugged and stopped trying to persuade him. His life was his own anyway. He would do whatever he wanted. He had done everything he could.
Three days passed just like that. Adana brought good news. Sure enough, they had found the enemy's base. It was less than three hundred miles away from them.
“That place was once a small tribe, because the grassland was fertile and beautiful. Bulls and sheep flocked together, and it was very rich. ” In the end, when our people went out to gather information, they found that the tribe was very quiet, and the cattle and sheep were kept in captivity. Every day, a large number of cattle and sheep were slaughtered, and they lurked for a few days. Only then did they discover that the tribe had been exterminated. The enemy pretended to be a tribe and lived in that tribe. “
“This is too terrifying. Imagine, one day, my neighbor was suddenly exterminated. Then, the murderer moved in. They didn't even notice that the neighbors had changed.
Zhao Sanlang comforted them. “The grassland is vast and your tribe is far away from each other. It is normal that you did not notice anything unusual in a short period of time.” Zhao Sanlang did not doubt his words, because his people had found the location of these enemies first.
Next, he told the leaders of the various tribes his battle plan. When he was assigning tasks, Zhao Sanlang said sincerely, “This time, The Black Armored Guard we brought with us has 5,000 light armours and 5,000 heavy armours. They were divided into two groups. The light armor was fast. We will first circle around the enemy's back and drive the cattle and wolves to attack the enemy's camp. Disturbing the enemy, Heavy Armour hid nearby to kill. How about this, you split into two groups according to the number of soldiers. With us, this way, There are people on both sides. Don't worry about being unfair to anyone.”
Initially, the leaders were worried that Zhao Sanlang would send them to be the vanguard. They felt that it was a good idea to listen to his arrangement. Both sides had their own people, and they were facing the same level of danger. Therefore, no one objected.
After deciding the specific plan of action and the time of departure, Zhao Sanlang generously gifted a batch of bows and arrows to these barbarian soldiers. “This is a crossbow specially made by the Great Tang Empress. It has a long range and is very powerful. In order to succeed in the battle, we should do our best to cooperate.”
Adana was the first to be moved. He had been to Ye City before and had seen the Emperor and Empress. He was deeply convinced by their magnanimity. At this moment, he was the first to step forward and say, “If we can chase away the enemy this time, our Tasan Tribe will definitely have a hundred years of good relationship with the Great Tang. In the future, if the Great Tang is useful to our Tasan Tribe, feel free to instruct us.”
Although the other tribes didn't say much, they still silently sent people back to gather the remaining soldiers. The morale of the alliance army immediately soared, and everyone was a hundred times more confident.
With such a powerful alliance army, any strong enemy couldn't even withstand a single blow. Moreover, the enemy only had twenty thousand people.
Seeing this, Lee Cheng couldn't help but admire Zhao Sanlang's eloquence. Even Military Advisor Huang Can was especially passionate. He said, “We will win this battle.”
Lee Cheng didn't think that they would lose, but he would never put in a good word. He shook his head and said, “The battlefield is constantly changing. Everything is possible.”
Huang Can smiled. “County Prince doesn't need to worry. The reason why the enemy was so strong was because he defeated the enemy one by one. The Northern Barbarian Tribe alone wasn't enough to resist the enemy, but at this moment, the morale of the Northern Barbarian Tribe is unprecedentedly united. With our Great Tang's elite soldiers and generals, why should we worry about being defeated?”
Zhao Sanlang walked past him and stopped in his tracks to ask a question. “The Northern Barbarians are unprecedentedly united. What if they turn around and deal with us after winning?”
Huang Can laughed even more happily. “General, Su Zhou has 200,000 soldiers. If they really dare to do this, This vast plain will soon be ours.”
Zhao Sanlang and Lee Cheng looked at him in surprise and asked, “When did you store the soldiers?” One of them was the commander and the other the deputy commander, but they did not know.
Huang Can said in a profound tone, “It was I who asked Crown Prince to gather the soldiers in his name from nearby to protect His Highness outside Suzhou City.”
Zhao Sanlang frowned. “Aren't you afraid of incurring His Highness's injustice? You need Tiger Tally to mobilize soldiers, right?”
“I only mentioned it this way. His Highness has really completed it. It means that His Majesty must have given him the Tiger Tally before he went out. Don't worry, the Suzhou Prefecture will definitely send a letter to His Majesty.”
At noon that day, they also received a military newspaper from Su Zhou. It was written by Crown Prince Yuan himself. It stated what he did after he returned to Su Zhou, as well as the fact that he would be waiting for the soldiers in Su Zhou to return home.
After Zhao Sanlang read the letter, he put it down and said with emotion, “Each and every one of them is really bold. Fortunately, His Highness doesn't have any other brothers, otherwise…”
He did not say anything else, but everyone understood that the Crown Prince was the only child of the Empress. There was no competition, and that was why he could obtain the support of the soldiers. Otherwise, this step would not be so easy to complete.
The alliance army of the various races was full of momentum. Sure enough, after going through a fierce battle, they wiped out the enemy. Even the thousands of people who escaped were all captured.
Although the battle was intense, it was not dangerous. The Northern Barbarians' minds were wavering after they won the battle. A few of the leaders of the big tribes were discussing whether they should take the opportunity to capture the Black Armored Guard.
“Aren't you ungrateful by doing this?”
“Heh, there is no deception in war. We have never been enemies or friends with the Great Tang.”
“But they are strong, and they might not be able to easily take them down. We have suffered quite a loss this time.”
“It's strange to say that nearly forty percent of our soldiers have been injured, but have you calculated the losses of the Black Armored Guard?”
“What do you mean?”
“I secretly asked someone. Less than ten percent of the Black Armored Guard's soldiers have been killed.” As soon as these words were spoken, The moment these words were spoken, all the leaders were dumbfounded. Someone asked in disbelief, “Really?”
“I'm sure of it.”
Everyone's expressions were colorful. Those who had said that they would be ungrateful did not say anything. They were fighting together with the Black Armored Guard, so there shouldn't be any possibility of them saving their strength. It could only be said that the Black Armored Guard was indeed capable and capable.
Someone pointed out the main point. “Their weapons are excellent, and their armor is almost impervious to swords and spears. The weapons they use are much tougher than ours. Have you noticed that the bows and arrows they gave us are not ordinary weapons? They gave us such important military supplies just like that. If we turn around to deal with them, it won't make sense, right?”
Everyone nodded. Of course, it was not because they felt guilty about destroying the bridge after crossing the river. It was because they knew that even if they won, they would definitely suffer heavy losses.
Moreover, from the looks of the alliance army, the Tasan Tribe definitely supported the Great Tang. If they used all their strength to defeat the Black Armored Guard and ended up being taken advantage of by the Tasan Tribe, the losses would truly be greater.
After the war ended, Zhao Sanlang naturally needed to lead his army back. All the tribes had sent a large number of gifts. Zhao Sanlang narrowed his eyes and said, “There's no need for gifts. We don't lack these things, but we need to take those thousands of captives with us.”
The leaders did not understand his intention. They asked, “What does General Zhao want these captives for? They will not sincerely submit.”
“This is our own business. We should kill them and keep them. We have to bring them back to His Majesty to decide.”
The Northern Barbarian leaders thought that this was a rule of the Great Tang, so they didn't say anything. They had originally planned to kill all of these captives, but keeping them was a waste of food. Since General Zhao wanted them, they had given them to him as a favor.
However, they still forced Zhao Sanlang to take their gifts. “This is a small token of our appreciation. It's all thanks to General Zhao's help that we can be safe. This is nothing.”
Zhao Sanlang took the opportunity to accept it. The long convoy followed behind the cavalry and returned to Suzhou in a mighty manner.
Lee Cheng's men had heard the conversation from before. They wanted to strike first, but Zhao Sanlang did not agree. He said, “Since they did not attack, we should not have attacked first. Otherwise, it would be unreasonable.”
“Is this the key to a war?”
“This is a national matter, so we should be careful. Otherwise, even if we defeat the Northern Barbarian Alliance Army, their civilians won't submit to Great Tang. “Why?”
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