Chapter 186: Breaking Yumen
"Su Ze sent you here to persuade us to surrender, are you here to insult me?"
The envoy, named Su Jie, came to Yumen with Su Ze's token in his hand, and rode alone to the carriage of Yi Fu, the Left Wise King of Gaoche.
In an arrogant tone, he proposed unacceptable surrender conditions to Yi Fu.
He even asked Yi Fu to tie his body with thorns, lead a sheep and hold a spear to surrender to Su Ze!
Even the most barbaric tribe on the grassland couldn't think of such an insulting way of surrender, right?
Yi, the Left Wise King of Gaoche, looked at the unruly envoy in front of him and wished he could give an order for the executioners to enter the tent and chop this guy into meat paste.
But Yi Fu still held back. He looked at the messenger sent by Su Ze, but admired his courage.
Of course, the most important thing is Yi Fu’s current situation.
A man has to bow his head under the eaves. The grasslands of Yumen cannot sustain so many people. The livestock he brought have already had various problems, and epidemics are spreading in the army. If he does not return to the grassland and endure for another month or two, he may never be able to go back.
Yi Fu suppressed his anger, returned to the negotiation table, and said to the envoy sent by Su Ze:
"Go back and tell your master that if you really want to negotiate, send a normal person!"
"Make way for us, return the livestock and people near Dunhuang, and we will return to the grassland."
After saying this, Yi Fu directly ordered his confidants to drive the envoy out of the carriage.
Two high-chariot warriors escorted him out of the carriage, but Su Jie walked out of Yi Fu's carriage and refused to leave.
Yi Fu's personal guards had never seen such a move before, and they urged him, "Envoy Su, don't you need to go back and report?"
Su Jie shook his head and said, "How can I have the face to report back if I fail to complete the master's mission?"
"Then you can't just stay here and not leave, right?"
These two bodyguards were going crazy.
In fact, after the defeat at Dunhuang, the Gaoche people no longer had the will to fight.
In the past, when people attacked Dunhuang, it was because the treasures and people in the city could be plundered, and everyone came there to make a fortune.
What's the point of staying in Yumen now?
There is nothing here in Yumen. His livestock and tribesmen have been taken away by Su Ze. If he is trapped here any longer, his pasture on the grassland will be occupied by others!
Su Jie patted his buttocks and stood up, and asked the two people: "Your king asked you to escort me out of the cart. You have completed it, and you can go back and report."
The two guards looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.
If it were in the past, they would be the most unruly warriors in the tribe, and they would have drawn their weapons and chopped Su Jie to pieces if he insulted their master like this.
But it’s different now!
Killing Su Ze's envoy certainly made me feel better, but what should I do in the future?
What if Su Ze asked Zuo Xian Wang to hand himself over to take the blame, then Zuo Xian Wang would probably not hesitate, right?
All in all, these unruly warriors have lost their confidence.
Now that they have lost the confidence to fight, everyone has to find a way out for themselves.
The two thought for a moment and said in a pleading tone, "The envoy cannot stay here either. If the king sees us, we two will definitely not be able to stop him!"
Su Jie was very "considerate" and said, "That's right, your king is so rude that he doesn't even offer me a meal. Take me to find a place to eat!"
There was a strange light flashing in the eyes of the two guards. They hurriedly took Su Jie out of Yifu's camp and led him to another gorgeous carriage.
There was also a crazy light flashing in Su Jie's eyes. What a great achievement it would be if he could just make King Zuo Xian surrender!
After being driven out of Yifu's cart, Su Jie had a new plan.
What follows is his journey of “seeking death”.
The curtain of the carriage was drawn open, revealing a nobleman in gorgeous clothes. He respectfully welcomed the arrogant Su Jie into his carriage.
The candlelight in the carriage lit up, and two figures standing close to each other swayed, like two poisonous snakes twisting and spitting out poison.
When Su Jie came out of the carriage, there were warriors guarding the door and leading him to another magnificent carriage.
In this way, Su Jie was busy until dawn. Looking at the rising sun, he finally felt a little tired, but compared with the harvest of last night, these were nothing.
Su Jie did not choose to return to Dunhuang, but instead lived in the carriage of a Gaoche noble.
-
In a river valley camp not far from Yumen Pass, Su Ze was playing backgammon with Hou Jing.
After Su Jie's diplomatic mission, Su Ze led his army to this valley.
The river valley and Yumen Pass are separated by a small desert. Su Ze built a defense line along the river and the desert, pretending to be ready for a decisive battle with the Gaoche people.
However, after Su Ze established his camp, he never sent out troops to attack Yumen Pass, but just stayed in the barracks and did not go out.
In the camp, in Su Ze’s simple tent.
Madam An sat next to Su Ze, helping the two of them count the chips.
Hou Jing had just come into contact with double-sixes, but he was very obsessed with it. When he was in Hezhou, he often dragged Murong Shaozong to play double-sixes.
Su Ze's backgammon skills are also at the beginner's level. The two of them can be said to be a pair of poor chess players against each other, or they can be considered "evenly matched".
Madam An, who is proficient in backgammon, looked at the two people fighting fiercely on the chessboard and her eyes were almost rolled up to the sky. Who would have thought that General Su, who was a military genius, was so bad at backgammon.
In the end, Hou Jing was the better chess player. When Hou Jing was about to win, Su Ze deliberately knocked over the chessboard and said, "Oh, let's not play today. We'll continue next time!"
Hou Jing also got excited. He picked up the chessboard and pulled Su Ze and said, "My lord, are you using this trick again? I have memorized the positions of the chess pieces just now. I will set up the chess pieces and continue playing! This time, my lord bet a top-quality warhorse with me! We can't just let it go like this!"
Su Ze showed an awkward smile, and Madam An also laughed with her mouth covered with a scarf.
It seemed that he couldn't get away with it, so Su Ze could only continue playing against Hou Jing. Sure enough, after three moves, Su Ze threw in the towel and admitted defeat.
Hou Jing was addicted to gambling and wanted to continue gambling by pulling Su Ze, but Su Ze said:
"Wan Jing, wait until next time. We have a war to fight."
When Hou Jing heard that there was going to be a war, he immediately threw away the chess piece in his hand. He raised his eyes to look at Su Ze and asked, "Gaoche people?"
Su Ze nodded and said, "It's almost time to give the Gaoche people some chips."
Hou Jing also grinned and said, "My lord, I am willing to be the vanguard!"
Su Ze nodded and said, "I'll give you a thousand light cavalry. Set out at night. First, set fire outside the camp, and then follow the guide to charge into the camp. Do you understand?"
Madam An was shocked. The Gaoche people still had nearly 6,000 troops in Yumen, plus the herdsmen's families who were responsible for logistics, there were more than 10,000 people here.
Su Ze gave the monkey-faced general in front of him a thousand light cavalry and asked him to attack the enemy camp at night?
Isn't this battle plan too frivolous and too risky?
I thought this monkey-faced general would have a different opinion, but Hou Jing crossed his arms and said, "I respect the general's order! I will not return until we destroy the enemy camp today!"
After saying this, Hou Jing turned and left, preparing for a night raid.
Madam An watched Hou Jing leave. Su Ze asked with a smile, "Why, Madam An, do you think I'm sending them to their deaths?" Madam An quickly said, "I dare not."
When she was in Dunhuang, she had already moved into Su Ze's mansion.
Although Su Ze hadn't taken action yet, Madam An had already changed her hairstyle into a woman's bun.
Now the entire army regards her as Su Ze's concubine.
Su Ze said: "If it was Murong Shaozong, he would ask for the plan for the sake of his subordinates' lives, but Hou Jing would not do that."
Madam An asked in confusion, "Why can't Admiral Hou do this?"
"Because he wants to improve so badly, he's willing to put everything on the line if there's a chance for improvement."
"He may not be aware of my arrangements, but he bets that I will win, and he also needs the credit, so he will carry out my orders to the letter."
After listening to this, Madam An also found it terrifying to think about it carefully. If someone risks everything to climb up, how terrifying will the energy that is unleashed be?
Only the man in front of me can control such subordinates, right?
-
After nightfall, Hou Jing summoned a thousand light cavalrymen. In order to make it easier to identify his own people, he ordered everyone to wear white turbans on their heads.
Hou Jing did not make a mobilization speech, but silently raised the torch and led the way towards Yumen.
The cavalry behind him hurriedly followed, and a group of people left the camp in a mighty manner.
Only after Hou Jing's cavalry rushed out of the camp did Su Ze set out with the remaining soldiers. He ordered the soldiers to dismantle the temporary fence in the valley and carry it on their backs, and then slowly headed towards Yumen.
. . .
Hou Jing just felt that the process was going unbelievably smoothly.
The cavalry he led crossed the small desert without being blocked by any high-chariot scouts.
He arrived at the Gaoche camp smoothly. When the Gaoche people guarding the camp saw his army, they scattered without even raising the alarm.
This is going too smoothly, isn't it?
However, Hou Jing did not have time to think about it. He began to follow Su Ze's orders and led the cavalry to circle the Gaoche camp and start setting fire.
This step went very smoothly. Normally, a non-flammable area should be separated by sand on the periphery to prevent night attacks and fires to the camp. But this time, for some reason, the Gaoche people had piled their hay on the edge of the camp, and soon fire started in the Gaoche camp.
Next comes the last step, which is also the most thrilling step.
Only a man dressed as a Han envoy was seen rushing out of the Gaoche camp, holding in his hand the token given by Su Ze.
In the firelight, Hou Jing saw the face of the person clearly. It was Su Jie, the envoy sent by Su Ze to Gaoche camp.
"General Hou, please follow me. The camp of Zuo Xian Wang is here!"
Hou Jing now understood everything: why the Gaoche people didn't even have basic patrols, why their camp was so easy to catch fire, why the outer perimeter of the camp was already on fire, but no army came out to fight, and instead the Gaoche people opened the camp gates themselves.
After understanding all this, Hou Jing became even more excited. This was the time to accomplish an unprecedented feat!
"Keep up, charge!"
All the doubts and fears in Hou Jing's heart were dispelled. He whipped his horse angrily and leaped into the camp of the Gaoche people, following Su Jie and rushing towards Zuo Xian Wang's carriage.
When Hou Jing led a thousand cavalrymen to advance rapidly into the Gaoche camp, Su Ze led his army to Yumen. He ordered the soldiers to put down the fences in their hands and stick them into the ground on the spot.
Su Ze ordered his men to light a bonfire in the camp and shouted to the Gaoche camp: "Only the ringleader will be killed! Those who surrender will not be killed!"
As the Gaoche camp began to catch fire everywhere, the chaos intensified further and Gaoche people began to rush out of the camp.
They saw the fire on the opposite side and heard the slogan "Only kill the main culprit! Those who surrender will not be killed!" Finally, they gritted their teeth, laid down their weapons, and rushed towards Su Ze's camp.
At the same time, Hou Jing rode his horse through the Gaoche camp as if there was no one around.
All the barricades that should have been in the camp were removed, and there was no team to intercept Hou Jing. He followed Su Jie and easily came to the front of Zuo Xian Wang's carriage.
This was the easiest battle Hou Jing had ever fought since he joined the army.
When they arrived in front of Zuo Xian King's carriage, Hou Jing finally encountered some resistance, but he led his cavalry to easily defeat these unprepared soldiers and surrounded Zuo Xian King's carriage.
The Left Wise King, looking pale, pulled open the curtain of the carriage and looked at Su Jie and Hou Jing. He said to Su Jie:
"What I regret most is that I should have killed you that day."
Su Jie just smiled and did not respond to Zuo Xian Wang's harsh words.
Then the Zuo Xian Wang looked at Hou Jing and asked, "Who are you?"
Although Hou Jing seemed fearless, he was of humble origins and was naturally afraid of people of noble birth.
Seeing the extraordinary demeanor of the besieged Zuo Xian Wang, and the noble temperament of the Gaoche royal family, Hou Jing was actually shocked. He said honestly: "Hou Jing, the cavalry lieutenant general of the Hu Qiang General's Mansion."
The Gaoche Zuoxian King smiled bitterly and said, "I'll give you the head to help you become famous."
After saying this, the Gaoche Zuoxian King drew his sword and committed suicide.
Hou Jing originally wanted to capture him alive, but only reacted at this time. However, when he went forward to check, Yi Fu had already died. Hou Jing then lifted the pearl curtain of the carriage and smelled a strong smell of blood. He lit a lamp and saw that Yi Fu had actually killed all his family members in the carriage.
Hou Jing was silent for a moment, but he quickly reacted. He cut off Yi Fu's head, ordered his men to cut off Yi Fu's military flag, and sent knights to announce Yi Fu's death.
The entire Gaoche camp was in complete chaos now, and everyone rushed out of the camp and surrendered to the opposite position.
When the sun rose, the fire in the Gaoche camp finally went out.
After an inventory, except for more than a thousand Gaoche people who took advantage of the chaos to escape to the Gobi Desert in the north, the remaining Gaoche people in Yumen all surrendered to Su Ze.
In addition, Su Ze also obtained a large number of high carts, livestock, fodder and food.
In the two battles of Dunhuang and Yumen, Su Ze almost swallowed up all the property brought by Yi Fu, the Left Wise King of Gaoche.
But looking at so many prisoners in the camp, Su Ze also felt the pressure of food.
But this time he had a plan, Su Ze invited Gao Hui.
After listening to Su Ze's plan, Gao Hui asked in surprise: "General Su, do you want me to send Zuo Xianwang's troops back to the grassland?"
I'll try to run 5k tonight. My eyes will be less swollen now.
(End of this chapter)