Chapter 59: Envoy to Lanzhou (II)

On the way north, Liu Chengtong kept meeting the son of the Tang Dynasty, and his mood became heavier and heavier. He had heard of the things he encountered along the way in the court, and it felt completely different if he was in the scene.

When we walked the next day, traces of the war appeared on the road one after another, and corpses lying on the ground from time to time.

Khan Renyu's army and Gesa's army fought in Liangzhou for more than half a month, and no one could do anything to each other. The war was in a stalemate. Before Gesa became a Lanzhou general, he was active on the battlefield with the reputation of General Divine Arrow, and bravely charged in battle without excessive setbacks. After taking over the military power in danger, Gesa led the sluggish Lanzhou Uighur army with the spirit of a young man to capture Longxi and regain Lanzhou. Gesa won the hearts of the people in the Lanzhou Uighurs with these two battles and gained a firm foothold.

The Khan army had tens of thousands of soldiers in Liangzhou and were eyeing Lanzhou. Gesa accepted Tu Shaodu's advice, hid the idea of ​​revenge on Zhou's army in his heart, and focused on dealing with the Khan army.

In the initial war, Gesa led his army to defeat the Khan army one after another with a tax atmosphere. Khan Renyu took advantage of the war and used some of his military strength to drag down the Lanzhou Uighur Army. The main force and the Dangxiang cavalry fought decisively in Baitinghe. Shortly after the Left Prime Minister Ashan arrived in Fengzhou, the Khan army defeated the Dangxiang Army twice, and the situation gradually improved.

After the war was in a stalemate, the shortcomings of the Lanzhou Uighur Army were not prepared enough and the training of soldiers were constantly exposed. As the commander of the Lanzhou Uighur Army, Geza considered completely different from those of his vanguard officer. At that time, he was a simple soldier, and now the burden of military and political affairs was pressing on him, making him breathless. After the Battle of Weishui, Geza had a period of contempt for Tu Shaodu, and now he tasted the taste of being barbecued by fire in the middle. He understood the difficulty of Tu Shaodu.

When Liu Chengtong and his party arrived at the Lanzhou Uighur Army camp, it was already morning. The Lanzhou Uighur Army had just fought a fierce battle with Khan Renyu's troops, and both sides suffered heavy casualties, but none of them had the absolute advantage.

The Uighur Army team in Lanzhou, accompanied Liu Chengtong to enter the camp first to inform us of Zhou's arrival. Liu Chengtong and the Black Eagle Army guards stood outside the camp gate waiting. The Black Eagle Army soldiers took this opportunity to slap the dust on each other and tidy up their armor.

In the time of an incense stick, the gate of the Uighur military camp opened, three war horses came out of the military camp, and an Uighur military academy in a furious dress shouted: "The general sent an order that the envoys of the Great Zhou Dynasty entered the tent, and the envoys could ride horses into the camp, and the rest of the soldiers were dismounted."

According to the requirements of the Uighur Military Academy, Liu Chengtong rode alone on the horse, and all the personal guards dismounted. Three people and one side lined up. The soldiers held the reins of the horse in one hand and pressed the knife in the other hand, and slowly walked into the Uighur military camp.

After just experiencing a fierce battle, the Uighur military camp seemed quite messy. The injured soldiers had not settled yet, and blood was everywhere. The Uighur soldiers did not expect that a group of full-scale armed Great Zhou soldiers would suddenly come in, stop their work, and look at the team of Great Zhou soldiers in surprise.

Gesa's military tent faces the east. A golden wolf-headed flag is treed in front of the teeth. Liu Chengtong has been a court official for a long time. Although his rank is not high, he can get the moon first when approaching the water tower. He often meets major events in front of the palace. After several years of experience, he has a very civil servant style. At this time, he looked calm and walked into the military tent calmly.

A row of tall Uighur soldiers stood in front of the Uighur tent and stared at Liu Chengtong fiercely. Liu Chengtong knew that it was the Uighurs who were trying to scare him, and snorted coldly in his heart: "Children's trick." He raised his head and walked to Geza.

Ge Sa was wearing light yellow soft armor and sat in the middle of the camp, looking at Liu Chengtong with a cold expression.

Liu Chengtong bowed long and said, "The envoy of the governor of the Great Zhou Xiongsheng Army, has seen the general."

An Uighur general in front of the tent shouted: "The person who came to kneel down and salute."

Liu Chengtong ignored him and continued, "The lower official brought the handwritten letter from the governor and presented it to the general." After saying that, he took out the fire paint from his arms and sealed the letter.

Geza and Liu Chengtong had a conversation. Knowing that he was very strong, he was not polite, so he waved his hand and an Uighur guard came over, took the letter, and handed it to Geza. Geza slowly finished reading the letter, put the letter gently on the table, looked at Liu Chengtong, picked up the letter and read it again, with a gloomy face on his face.

Geza suddenly sneered and said in Uighur language: "But a small governor, he was so big."

An Uighur behind Gesa translated loudly to Liu Chengtong.

Before Liu Chengtong set off, Hou Dayong had told him the content of the letter, which had only one content: the governor of the Great Zhou Xiongsheng Army needed 500 war horses, and hoped that Ge Sa would sell it to the Great Zhou Xiongsheng Army at two-thirds of the market price according to the agreement.

Hou Dayong was not in a hurry to fight the horse. This move was just a way to throw a stone into a way, mainly to test Ge Sadi's attitude and bottom line.

Liu Chengtong also had a certain understanding of Geza. He knew that Geza had not completely transformed from a military general to a prince. He said neither humble nor arrogantly: "The Uighurs value trust and keep their promises and make a name for themselves. This time, the governor only needs to fulfill half of his promise."

Ge Sa slapped the table heavily and said, "This is a blackmail. I have never admitted the agreement by the Weishui River again. I will not mention it again in the future."

Liu Chengtong sneered: "Short long after General Tu Shaodu passed away, no one listened to his promise again. Asi would definitely be very sad to know about this."

"As, where is Asi? Is it in your hands? Is it handed over it quickly, otherwise you will be chopped into meat paste?" After Geza took back Lanzhou, he was unable to find Asi. Suddenly, he heard the news from Asi from Liu Chengtong and became excited.

Liu Chengtong chuckled softly and said, "General, don't be anxious. Asi is fine. He will set off and return to Fengzhou soon."

After Ge Sa stood up excitedly, he immediately thought of his current identity and sat down heavily again, staring at Liu Chengtong with sharp eyes as sharp as an eagle. Looking at Liu Chengtong's smile, Ge Sa felt tired of it. He wanted to cut Liu Chengtong's beautiful face into several big holes. However, behind Liu Chengtong was standing with the Black Eagle Army. Now the Lanzhou Uighur Army and the Khan army were fighting fiercely. He didn't want to make enemies on both sides, so he pretended to sigh: "You know the situation here. When the matter between us and Renyu is over, we will do this according to the wishes of the Jiedushi."

Liu Chengtong smiled and said, "I am just a person who brings a letter. Today, the letter from the Jiedushi has been brought. I should say that the task has been completed. I will go back to Fengzhou after a day off. The general will be busy with all kinds of things. I will leave here again and will not disturb you when I leave."

Geza said to the personal guard behind him: "Take Envoy Liu to the tent to rest and entertain the guests well. Do not neglect them."

After Liu Chengtong retreated, Ge Sa summoned several generals such as Duluo and informed the generals of Hou Dayong's request.

Several generals led an army, and they fought with Renyu's army many times, and fought for several days, which made them exhausted. After a while of silence, Duluo said: "The battle of Wei River hurts the vitality of the Lanzhou Uighurs. Now we are fighting with Renyu's army in a difficult position, and we must not fight on both sides."

Ge Sa sighed: "Our war horses are too much to lose. Hou Dayong proposed to buy war horses at this time, and he was completely robbed and had bad intentions." Ge Sa spoke and became angry. He said: "As sooner or later, we will compete with the Black Eagle Army."

Pugu is a veteran Lanzhou general. He said: "We have no energy to do business at this time. Why don't we ask the Sogdian merchant to come forward? Sell a hundred war horses to Hou Dayong and deal with this matter for the time being."

Ge Sa nodded and said, "General Pugu is very good at this plan, so just use this slowdown plan."

Liu Chengtong followed the Uighurs' school to the northwest corner of the Uighurs' barracks. According to conventional practice, the Uighurs generally did not leave the Zhou army in the Uighurs' barracks. However, because they were on the front line, the Lanzhou Uighurs and Khans' barracks were intertwined. If the envoy of the Great Zhou Jiedushi made a mistake, it would be difficult to explain to Hou Dayong. Seeing that Liu Chengtong was a civil servant, Ge Sa agreed that he could not see through the facts and reality of the camp, so he arranged him in the Uighurs' barracks.

It was this arrangement that led to a big and small disaster.

During the Battle of Weishui, Liu Chengtong had already arrived in Fengzhou. As a civil servant, he did not participate in the battle beside the Weishui River, but stayed in Fengzhou City. The Black Eagle Army defeated the seven or eight thousand Uighur Army with five thousand people. This surprised Liu Chengtong.

Before Liu Chengtong came to Fengzhou, the Black Diao Army experienced the Battle of Cangzhou, the Battle of Gaoping and the Battle of Fengzhou. Within two years, the Black Diao Army soared into the sky in the Great Zhou army. However, in Liu Chengtong's mind, the Black Diao Army was a relatively strong unit of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The combat power was expected to be similar to the imperial guards of the Palace Front Office and the Guard Office. As for the Black Diao Army and the Uighur Army, before the Battle of Weishui, Liu Chengtong chose the Uighur Army without hesitation, because the Uighur Army's combat power was already powerful in the Central Plains.

Liu Chengtong was a Jinshi and liked to read history the most. He was very familiar with the great achievements of the Uighur Army during the Anshi Rebellion. Liu Jintong had the most impressed him with three battles.

In November of the 14th year of Tianbao, the governor of Fanyang, An Lushan, launched a rebellion. The An tribe had been stationed on the border for a long time, and the army was strong. There were soldiers from Luo, Xi, Khitan, Shiwei and other tribes to help. The Tang army was defeated repeatedly, and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang also fled to Sichuan for refuge. In order to deal with the rebels, the Uighur Gele Khan, at the invitation of the Emperor of Tang, sent Geluo to lead troops into the mainland to help the Tang Dynasty quell the rebellion.

The first battle participated by the Uighur army took place in December of the first year of Zhide. The Uighur cavalry joined forces with the Shuofang army, the Minister of War of Tang, Guo Ziyi, and killed 30,000 rebels and captured 10,000 in Yulin.

The second battle took place in September of the second year of Zhide. Guo Ziyi believed that the Uighur cavalry was elite and persuaded Emperor Suzong of Tang to increase recruitment from the Uighurs. Gele Khan sent his son Ye Hu and general Di De to lead more than 4,000 elite troops to Fengxiang. Tang Marshal Prince Guangping Li Chu led Shuofang and other troops and the Uighurs, with 150,000 troops from the Western Regions. He set out from Fengxiang and the army went west of Chang'an. He encountered 100,000 rebels from An Lushan on the east of Fengshui in Xiangji Temple. A rebel army was preparing to attack the official army from behind. The left-wing soldiers and horse envoy of the Shuofang army, Pugu Huaien, led the Uighur cavalry to destroy the ambush. The rebels were discouraged. Tang general Li Siye and Uighur cavalry went around to the enemy's back and attacked the army forward and back, killing 60,000 enemies. The rebels collapsed, and the Tang army was able to recover Chang'an, the Western Capital.

The third battle took place in October of the second year of Zhide. The army of King Guangping of Tang arrived in Quwo. An Lushan rebels 150,000 were arranged in line with the mountain. Guo Ziyi and others were unfavorable in the first battle. The Uighur general Bishi Tubo Peiluo and others rushed down from Nanshan to attack the enemy formation. Bishi Tubo Peiluo shot ten arrows in a row, and the arrows hit. The rebels were already afraid of being beaten by the Uighur army. Seeing this scene, their souls were scattered and they were defeated again. After this battle, the Tang army recovered the eastern capital Luoyang.

After the three battles, the Uighur army fought many beautiful battles in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, showing great combat effectiveness. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains regime changed, and Liang, Tang, Jin, and Han were frightened by the power of the Uighur army. None of them developed westward. The old lands of the Tang Dynasty were occupied by the Uighurs, Tubo and Dangxiang.

The more familiar Liu Chengtong was with history, the more he looked at the achievements made by the Black Eagle Army in the Battle of Weishui. After this battle, Liu Chengtong put down the airs of the court officials in his heart and began to carefully observe the Black Eagle Army, exploring the reasons for its victory over the Uighur Army.

For the past month, the Black Eagle Army gave him two surprises.

The first surprise occurred after the Battle of Weishui. The Black Eagle Army suffered heavy casualties in the battle, and the injured soldiers were well taken care of. On the battlefield at that time, the death rate of wounded soldiers in the general army was relatively high, and most of the seriously injured soldiers could not escape death, and had to withstand unbearable torture. Therefore, the military camp had a relatively complete military medical system. The Black Eagle Army was headed by Han Qi. Each battalion had five special medical officers, and most of the medical officers received special training organized by the Black Eagle Army and had a certain level. Therefore, most of the injured soldiers in the Black Eagle Army could be treated in time. The number of injured soldiers was significantly reduced compared to other troops, and the proportion of veterans in the army was also relatively high, making it easy to maintain combat effectiveness.

The second surprise happened when he was on his first mission to Lanzhou. At that time, Liu Chengtong brought more than 20 guards from the Black Eagle Army Lion Camp. The guards were strict in discipline and skilled in bows and horses. Liu Chengtong was no longer uncommon. What surprised Liu Chengtong the most was that the guards were drawing maps while walking. When they returned to Fengzhou, the topographic maps along Fengzhou to Lanzhou were drawn. The topographic maps were accurately and detailed, with mountains, rivers, villages, and cities all in sight. There were also some curves that they couldn't understand. After asking, they realized that they were lines that represented the height of the terrain.

After these two incidents, Liu Chengtong had a new understanding of the Black Eagle Army and secretly admired Hou Dayong for leading troops as an ancient general.

After Liu Chengtong and his personal guards arrived at the northwest corner of the Uighur military camp, the Uighurs gave them three tents, sent a team of Uighur troops to serve as a warning, and at the same time restricted their activities.

Liu Chengtong was running around for several days and was really tired. After eating the milk and meat sent by the Uighurs, he took a nap in the tent. After sleeping for a while, a Black Eagle Army soldier rushed in with blood all over, pushed Liu Chengtong and said, "No, we are fighting with the Uighurs."

When Liu Chengtong heard this, he was shocked and sweated. He jumped up. Another Black Eagle Army soldier rushed into the tent, "Follow me and rush out." After saying that, he used his waist knife to cut the tent in the west. There was a fierce sound of weapons colliding outside the tent, and cursing each other. Liu Chengtong couldn't tell what was going on, but this situation could no longer allow him to think. He followed two Black Eagle Army soldiers and crawled out of the tent. Not far from the tent was their war horses. The Black Eagle Army soldiers did not hesitate, raised their swords and cut off the leash of several horses.

The three of them jumped onto the horse, and two Black Eagle riders were in front. Liu Chengtong followed closely and headed straight to the side door. There were more than a dozen Uighur soldiers on the side door, all facing outside the camp. Unexpectedly, several war horses suddenly rushed out of the camp. When they heard the rapid sound of horse hooves, the war horses had arrived. The Black Eagle soldiers raised their knives and used the horse's stance to chop down the Uighur soldiers who were blocking the ground. The three rushed out of the military camp.

After a while, dozens of war horses rushed out of the Uighur military camp and chased them.

After Liu Chengtong retreated, Gesa, Duluo, Pugu and other generals discussed for a while. Lunch time was coming, and Gesa and several other generals arranged wine and food in the camp, and chatted while eating.

Geza was a little uneasy when he ate, and Asi's face kept waving in his mind.

Suddenly, an Uighur soldier hurriedly ran in and said, "The soldiers and the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty have started fighting." Geza was shocked and threw the wine glass on the ground, and rushed to the northwest corner of the military camp with a pale face.

The battle was not over yet, dozens of Uighur soldiers surrounded the Black Eagle Army soldiers, and the sound of weapons was still colliding in the encirclement. Geza's personal soldiers shouted loudly: "The general is here, everyone retreat." After the personal soldiers shouted several times, the Uighur soldiers slowly retreated.

Liu Chengtong and his party had twenty-five people. In order to stop the Uighur soldiers, the twenty-two Black Eagle Army soldiers gave Liu Chengtong time to escape and formed a small round formation and fought to the death.

When Geza's personal soldiers drank the Uighur Army, only five injured Black Eagle Army soldiers could stand up. In front of them, dozens of Uighur soldiers and Black Eagle Army soldiers fell beside them, and blood dyed the small piece of land dark red.

The matter was quickly figured out, and this was purely an accident.

At that time, Liu Chengtong and most of the Black Eagle Army were resting in the tent, and the Black Eagle Army left five soldiers on duty. The Uighur Army also sent ten soldiers as guards. It happened that one of the soldiers participated in the battle of the Wei River. Both of his brothers died on the bank of the Wei River. When he saw the Black Eagle Army soldiers appearing in the Uighur barracks, he was angry and scolded the Black Eagle Army soldiers in the Uighur language.

Although the Black Eagle Army soldiers do not understand Uighur language, swear words will be popular in any military camp. Recently, a few Uighur language swear words have been popular in the Black Eagle Army barracks. When the soldiers rest, they often use them to joke with each other. Therefore, several Black Eagle Army soldiers understood the swear words that the Uighur soldiers scolded. The Black Eagle Army soldiers were not willing to be outdone, and also used these swear words to return to the other party. After a few rounds and turns, both sides drew their knives, which eventually led to a fight.
Chapter completed!