Chapter 237: Another Arrival of the Holy Decree, Another View of Tai’an City

A cavalry army that left the domain of the feudal lord without the permission of the court’s Ministry of War, eight hundred riders, entered Hezhou from Youzhou on the Northern Liang Road, crossed Jizhou, and slowly headed to the western part of Gyeonggi-xi.

Along the way, the local garrison of each state that should have come out to stop this light cavalry, all of them were silent, not even a symbolic questioning, so that the 800 cavalry in the entire northern border of Liyang, like no one’s territory, before this, North Mang’s eastern line of elite cavalry in the northern defense of the Jijie and River states also acted in this way, but the problem is that at that time, under the command of Wang Sui is tens of thousands of tigers and wolves, while this cavalry But the problem was that Wang Sui had tens of thousands of tigers and wolves under his command, while this cavalry was only 800 strong.

According to common sense, only 800 people, not to mention the Liaodong, where both sides of the North Mang are heavily stationed, I am afraid that even if they are thrown into the war-torn Guangling Road, they will not be able to make a small dent.

As the eight hundred riders traveled eastward, a spy report from the two Huai Festival Minister Cai Nan, Minister of Strategy Han Lin, King of Han Zhao Xiong, Vice General of Jizhou Yang Huchen and other princes and ministers was transmitted to the capital at the speed of 800 miles.

Finally, in the westernmost fringe of the capital, there appeared an elite division dedicated to the safety and security of the capital, it was the three battalions of the western army of the Gifu Garrison with the western base camp as the main force, pouring out as many as 7,000 men, half of them mounted and half of them foot. This western army should be led by Yuan Tingshan, who was appointed as the General of Pingxi, but this general of Jizhou can’t even keep his position as the general of Jizhou, not to mention the control of the western army, which is second only to the northern army of Gyeonggi-gu, in terms of combat power. Today’s 7,000 western army, by the birth of the Zhao family clan of Anxi General Zhao Gui as the main general, the head of General Fenwu top of the capital of one of the four powerful lieutenant Hu Cavalry Lieutenant, Yuchi Changgong as a deputy general.

The seven thousand men who had raised their strength and vigor against the dusty eight hundred light cavalry, surprisingly, the former was like a formidable enemy.

With Yang Huchen, Song Rasa and other famous young generals Yuchi Changgong okay, in the end still able to maintain the face of the calm, but the serious Anxi General Zhao Gui is sweating like rain, cowering on horseback, full of complaints, whispering curses to the Zongrenfu gang of old nobodies are not good things, he said that the body is not well, how is it a hypocrisy? Even the Ministry of War Tang Tieshuang side have turned a blind eye to the recognition of the, did not think that in the end it is their own family members to harm their own family members, and even threatened themselves this time if they do not want to lead the troops, to be the name of the House of the patriarchs with His Majesty impeachment of a retreat from the battlefield.

Head of the scorching sun of Zhao Gui drinking that northwest wind, really want to die of heart, if it is ten years ago, to lead his seven thousand troops in their own territory to intercept a few hundred barbarians in Northern Liang, not to mention what the Ministry of War and the Zong Renfu both hard and soft, that is, can not be blocked to fish for credit, just with the cavalry to leave the Northern Liang, a number of gossip from the Northwest into the capital of the center of the key areas, and then from the government offices of the door or the palace door of the Some of the bead curtain cracks floated out, heard those appalling news after the bed killing power is far better than the sand field to move the knife Zhao Gui completely confused, this gang of Northern Liang barbarians really defeated the North Mang million army? It is said that even the famous general Yang Yuanzan of North Mang cut off his head in the ghost place called Hulukou? Some people even swore that there are as many Beijing temples in Youzhou as there are snowmen in our capital city in winter?

Zhao Gui’s lips fight badly, turned his head and asked Yuchi Changgong in a trembling voice: “General Yuchi, in case that Xu Xiaobarbazi …… is the king of Beiliang, his king of Beiliang refuses to stop, it is hard to believe that we really have to fight with them.”

In the early years, it was precisely by this clan lord that Yuchi Changgong squeezed out the position of the Anxi General and said expressionlessly, “General Zhao, the will of the higher-ups is like this, we can’t disobey the order.”

Zhao Gui, who used to deliberately call out to Yuchi Changgong as a school captain, squeezed out a smile with difficulty and said, “Doesn’t it say in the book of war that it’s good to give up one’s army without a fight, and if the King of Beiliang doesn’t know how to be considerate, I’m on good terms with the Southern Army, so why don’t you tell me and call out a few thousand more people? It would also be good to teach the King of Beiliang about the might of our Jinggi garrison.”

Yuchi Changgong said flatly, “General Zhao, if I remember correctly, whoever dares to privately deploy the capital city’s soldiers and horses away from the garrison is to be killed, not to mention you and I, even Minister Tang of the Ministry of Military Affairs doesn’t have this qualification.”

Zhao Gui laughed dryly, “I’m not worried that the young vassal king who is always far away in the northwest doesn’t know how serious he is.”

Yuchi Changgong narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance, not interested in chatting with this Anxi General, but just waiting patiently for the next set of scouts to return with military information. Compared to Zhao Gui, this kind of so-called generals from the clan in the short pull tall, Yuchi Changgong and the crown after the first line of the Liaodong border, is down-to-earth accumulated merit to become a border lieutenant, and then only in the family through the pass section after the return to the capital step by step to the position, Yuchi Changgong is not Zhao Gui, this kind of relying on the family name to get to the top of the straw bag of goods, the capital of the real detailed knowledge of the war in the north of the cool of the big brother, absolutely not! More than a pair of hands, that is, the Ministry of War, now hanging in the air, the minister Xu Gong patrol, perhaps only in the capital in total control of the Ministry of War, the minister Tang Tiefang a clear inside, Yuchi Changgong because once in Liaodong training for the sake of some valuable personal relationship with the minister Tang, so more than Zhao Gui to know some of the Northwest reality, not only to determine that the North Rang repulsed the North Reclamation of the three lines of the pressure of the millions of troops, and even the two sides of Liang and Mang roughly Battle losses also have a number, coupled with the Yuchi Changgong in the border to personally understand the North Mang cavalry’s amazing strength, the more so, Yuchi Changgong more shocked, do not look at this time than compared to Zhao Gui to be calm, in fact, Yuchi Changgong’s right hand has not left the waist of the sword, knuckles have been white.

Maybe Zhao Gui is just afraid of the young man’s identity as a feudal lord, afraid of 300,000 Northern Liang iron cavalry of this statement, at most, plus the new Liang King of the martial arts master of the horror of the title, but Yuchi Changgong is really no confidence away from the smoke of many years of 7,000 people, can really withstand the 800 cavalry of the charge? A charge to stabilize the formation, two or three times later? History of the battlefield, to pawns against the bandits, to the first class elite against the ordinary pawns, on the stage of the strength of the advantage is never meaningless, not to mention the distant, say only two or three decades after the Spring and Autumn wars, as many as locusts tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of roving bandits to the thousands of imperial army killed in a river of blood, has ever been less? And on large-scale battlefields, it is not uncommon to see examples of one side breaking through enemy formations with thousands or even hundreds of elites. In the past, Yuchi Changgong on the claim that the iron horsemen of the world’s Northern Liang border army, although not as contemptuous as the Liyang scholar, but also not too serious, always think that the veteran general Yang Shenxing’s Jixinan infantry not to say that it can be compared with the Youzhou infantry, but always more or less, and even more think that the Liao Liao defense line such as the Duo Yan elite cavalry, the Blackwater Iron Riders such as the hundred battles of the division, even if placed in the Northern Liang border army is the first class of the fighting force, but so Yuchi Changgong! Not so optimistic.

Yuchi Changgong subconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, his mood is extremely complex, assuming that the Northern Liang cavalry army is not a hundred thousand or so, but really three hundred thousand, then is it not possible to pounce on the Beiting in the hinterland of North Mang, helping the Central Plains to completely conquer the desert and grassland for the first time? But if Bei Liang really has such a troop strength, since it can defeat Bei Mang, then how much harder can it be to defeat that Tai’an City behind oneself, even if it is more difficult?

When the scouts sped up to report that the 800 horsemen were only 10 miles away, Zhao Gui forced a smile and asked, “General Yuchi, I think that the King of Northern Liang won’t really make a big move at the foot of the Son of Heaven, right?”

Yuchi Changgong was not in the mood to fall on Zhao Gui again and frowned, “Wait for them to advance another five miles, if Beiliang takes the initiative to send scouts to contact our army by then, it means that that vassal king will follow the rules.”

Unconsciously Zhao Gui’s helmet was a bit askew, reaching out with a trembling hand to hold it up, wiping his sweaty forehead with his hand, and asked in a low voice: “If we can’t see the Northern Liang vanguard scouts, what are we going to do?”

Yuchi Changgong said in a deep voice, “Just form up to meet the enemy.”

Zhao Gui shivered and almost fell off his horse on the spot, snorted to hide his embarrassment, and reassured himself, “It shouldn’t be, the last time the King of Northern Liang went to the capital for an audience with the late Emperor, no matter if it was in the Lower Mawei Stage Hall or in the imperial court, in the end, he still understands the rules and speaks of them.”

General Anxi obviously has that the son of his highness in the State Prison outside the action and the storm of the nine nine pavilions, are automatically ignored, even more so when he threatened to say that if you run into that little barbarian must be over the grandiose words of ambition thrown into the back of the mind.

The two armies were facing each other for only five miles, and there was still not a single Northern Liang cavalryman in sight.

Zhao Gui slapped himself in the face and said indignantly, “You crow’s mouth!”

Yuchi Changgong didn’t need to look at the cavalry behind him to feel the suffocating sense of oppression.

Thinking back to the time when Hu Cavalry Captain Yuchi Changgong first went into battle to kill the enemy in Liaodong as a cavalry sergeant, it was as if he could clearly hear his own ragged breathing.

Because of excessive nervousness, the new pawns often before charging into battle, the whole world would become silent, and one would not even be able to hear the sound of the war drums.

Only three miles away, there was still no Northern Liang cavalry leaving the ranks.

Zhao Gui is like a dead mother, has no heart to talk to Yuchi Changgong, eyes demented, on the back of the horse muttering to himself: “Beiliang King, let’s talk properly, okay? In the end, Beiliang and Liyang is still a family, how bad is it for family members to use swords and guns, you Beiliang killed hundreds of thousands of North Mang barbarians have not killed enough? Kill their own people count what heroes and heroes …… Besides, the king your old man is at least with Deng Tai’a shoulder masters, with me this kind of people fighting and killing, how to lose the value of ah!”

Yuchi Changgong raised one hand high, without turning toward the back, and roared with all his might, “Rise the formation!”

The four thousand foot soldiers were in the center, layering up to reject the horses, shields like a wall, and archers were already ready to draw their bows.

The left and right flanks totaling over three thousand cavalry began to raise their lances.

According to the spies of the two Huai and Zhao hooks, the 800 Beiliang cavalry did not carry lances, but only crossbows and swords.

Yuchi Changgong, who had already steered his horse to the front of the cavalry on the left flank of the West Base Camp, sadly realized that he seemed to be the same Liaodong Border Army child who had first entered the battlefield.

The Xibei Battalion, the first battalion of the western army of the capital, had always had high expectations and believed that a single Xibei Battalion would be able to defeat the remaining two battalions.

The name of the battalion was taken from the West Bastion.

However, after more than twenty years, Yuchi Changgong himself had forgotten who had fought for the Western Bastion Battalion.

It seemed that only at this time, when they stood on the opposite side of Northern Liang and truly needed to face the Xu Family’s iron cavalry head on by themselves, did they realize this forgotten truth.

Pale-faced Anxi General Zhao Gui led a group of his own cavalry escorts to the right flank of the cavalry, constantly turning his head to glance over to Yuchi Changgong’s side, for the first time in his life, he regretted crossing paths with Yuchi Changgong.

Whenever there is a big battle, there must be a general to lead the troops, originally has always been the military law of Liyang, but in addition to the two Liao, at most, plus the southern border, the vast majority of other places in the military, more or less no longer so rigid and stereotypical.

At this moment, Zhao Gui, the main general, is slowly retreating backward, causing the entire right flank cavalry to experience a slight commotion and disorganization of their formation.

Although the ordinary soldiers in the western army of Gyeonggi didn’t know the shocking news that Beiliang had already broken the North Mang, who hadn’t heard that the new Liang King was a great master of martial arts who had defeated Wang Xianzhi of Wudi City, this kind of flying fairy character, even if they thought that the young feudal king couldn’t kill 7,000 troops by himself, it was possible to kill about 700 to 800 people, right? As one of the two wings of the cavalry, the first to charge, is not the first to die that group? In this way, one out of three or four cavalrymen will have to die, and if they are unlucky, they will be slaughtered like a chicken. If we take a step back and say, if we are lucky enough to survive, and the young lord of the 300,000 Northern Liang iron horsemen dies in this place, causing the Northern Liang army to attack Tai’an City, who is to be blamed for the death of the young lord? It’s still not these pawns of theirs! Would the high-powered bigwigs of the Six Ministries be righteous with you?

In the sunlight, on the ground.

In the crowd’s view, the light cavalry, all clad in white armor, shone brightly.

The eight hundred cavalry slowly marched forward and did not launch a charge for the time being.

Just when the crowd thought that the Northern Liang cavalry would stop in front of the formation and then send someone to negotiate with the two Lords of Anxi General Hu Riding Captain.

A strange phenomenon occurred!

Almost in the blink of an eye, the 800 horsemen spread out a charging formation.

There were no iron lances.

But the eight hundred white-armored cavalry all held Northern Liang swords at their waists.

It was obvious that this Bei Liang cavalry with absolute inferiority in strength, facing the 7,000 man army of the imperial court that was waiting for their turn, would still draw their swords and start charging at any time.

General Zhao Gui of Anxi began to ride fast, but instead of trapping and killing the enemy, he showed his amazingly superb riding skills and circled around to the very end of the right flank’s cavalry.

Hu riding lieutenant Yuchi Changgong knows very well, as long as the Northern Liang cavalry began to charge, his side whether to win or defeat is a small matter, once the appearance of the court and the Northern Liang completely tear their faces, settling scores, a Yuchi Changgong plus the entire Yuchi family, can not afford to take the blame.

But at the same time he can not retreat, not a step back.

Back today, then his career in this life is completely finished, not only is he Yuchi Changgong suffer, the whole family do not want to have a day of comfort in the officialdom in Liyang.

Therefore, Yuchi Changgong violently clamped his horse’s belly, rode out of the formation, and came to less than a hundred paces before the front line of the Northern Liang cavalry, bowed and cupped his fists and said loudly: “My general Yuchi Changgong, see the King of Northern Liang!”

Each row of Northern Liang cavalry front line is only two hundred people, and in the center of the area, there is a lone eye-catching ordinary carriage parked, nearby only four or five riders escorting the carriage.

The front curtain of the carriage was still and hanging low.

The Hu Cavalry Lieutenant who did not receive any response continued to lower his head and said aloud, “Reporting to the King of Northern Liang! When a vassal king enters the capital, according to the Liyang law, the two kings of Beiliang and Huainan’s escorts need to stop their horses at the western army camp in the capital!”

Yuchi Changgong clasped his fists and spent his days like years.

This real power lieutenant gritted his teeth and slowly raised his head, when he saw a captain-like Northern Liang cavalryman who showed no signs of wanting to speak, only that his hand gesture had changed from holding his sword to drawing it.

Yuchi Changgong gulped and said hoarsely with a hardened head, “I implore the Northern Liang King to act according to the law!”

Right at this moment, a clamor came from the western army.

Originally already like a dead heart Yuchi Changgong stunned turned his head to look, only to see three riders galloped to, one of them dressed in eye-catching red python robes, is the old eunuch in the palace, one hand held up the yellow silk, sharp voice hissed: “The imperial decree to!”

Another accompanying two riders in a rather young official, look at that official complement, should be from the Ministry of War’s leading figures.

Yuchi Changgong was instantly relieved, as if he had walked through a ghost gate, just short of being paralyzed on his horse.

In the big eunuch next to listen to the declaration of the Hu Cavalry Lieutenant, actually did not listen carefully to what the decree specifically said, only heard a general meaning, is that His Majesty the Emperor licensed eight hundred feudal king’s pro-horse along with the king of Beiliang to enter the capital, in the lower Mawei stage pavilion near the station.

When the old eunuch in python robe shouted out the two words to accept the decree, the whole room was silent.

Especially that young military official, the corner of his mouth curled up in a playful smile.

The Ministry of Rites official who was unlucky enough to be caught as the villain was much more sophisticated, just watching with his eyes and nose, if it wasn’t for the fact that the imperial decree had only just ended, he would have hated to pretend to doze off on the back of his horse.

The car curtains do not move.

Elderly eunuchs who reside in the position of the eunuch of the Palace of Justice, a stiff old face as withered as tree bark is actually the same as the car curtains, not moving in the slightest.

Even Yuchi Changgong could feel the old eunuch’s gloomy aura now.

As the second-in-command of the Secretarial Supervisor, one of the many eunuchs in Tai’an City, able to wear a big red python robe of high existence, at this moment, even in the face of such a treacherous subject, the old man still suppressed his anger without showing half a bit of superfluous expression, without saying a word, holding the imperial decree.

A voice rang out, “Finished?”

The old eunuch froze for a moment, finally lowered his head and slowly said, “Finished.”

That voice in the car did not have any rise or fall in tone, “Then make way for this king.”

Yuchi Changgong’s jaw dropped.

The young Ministry of War official was about to utter a rebuke when the aged eunuch immediately turned his head and glared sorrowfully at the latter.

Then this Eunuch of the Palace of Ceremonies, who had to treat several ministers with courtesy, softly said to Yuchi Changgong, “Captain Yuchi, why don’t you still escort the King of Northern Liang.”

When Yuchi Changgong turned his horse’s head to command the army to spread out in formation, Gao Tingshu, a popular man in the capital who is now in the limelight, and who has risen to fame in the Ministry of War’s Political Observation and Border Patrol, clenched his fists, his fingernails piercing into his palms.

The old eunuch lowered his eyebrows and said in a thin voice: “Bei Liang Wang, the old slave still has to return to the capital first, so he can’t accompany the king.”

There was no response in the carriage.

The old eunuch led the two officials of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites to take the lead in returning.

The holy decree was still there.

Since Li Yang unified the world, since the first year of Yong Hui to the second year of Xiang Fu, there were only two times when the holy decree was rejected.

And the disobedient person who rejected the imperial decree twice was the same person.

It was the Northern Liang King who didn’t even bother to lift the curtain of the car.

The official of the Ministry of Rites carefully stole a glance at the eunuch who held the pen of the Minister of Ceremonies, and no change could be seen on the old man’s face.

Gao Tingshu turned his head to look at the eight hundred cavalry that had passed through the center of the Western Army’s foot soldiers’ formation and sneered, “What a big stance!”

The official of the Ministry of Ceremonies clearly couldn’t see how the Eunuch of the Brush’s lips were open, but he could hear a thin chuckle seeping out of his throat, which gave him the creeps.

The corner of Gao Tingshu’s mouth curled up again.

Earlier, it was him who had intentionally or unintentionally slowed down his speed, and the Eunuch of the Bibliography had not raised any objections.

Gao Tingshu knew that a good show was about to unveil.

Because this was Tai’an City, not Northern Liang.

When the walls of Tai’an City were reflected into the eyes of the Northern Liang cavalry bit by bit, they appeared taller and taller.

Xu Fengyen finally lifted a corner of the curtain and raised his eyes to look. Dressed in that Vassal King’s python robe that was sewn by the Northern Liang Golden Wisp Weaving Bureau itself, he smiled at the horseman who was driving him and said, “Last time I came here, I felt that the city walls were very high, but looking at it again now, it seems that it’s not as good as those Seated Capital Guan of our Hulukou.”

Xu Yan Bing, who acted as the horseman, pulled the corner of his mouth and did not speak.

In the second year of Xiangfu, late fall, the King of Northern Liang entered the capital.