Fu Tang

Li Congjia led people to chase and intercept those messenger soldiers. He thought that if he fought fast enough, if Yunnei Prefecture or Fengzhou did not receive the news in time, at least they could rest in Dongsheng Prefecture for a while. If that is the case, Li Congjia may still be able to look forward to fighting Fengzhou or Yunnei Prefecture.

However, the first thing they need to do is get people caught.

It has to be said that the Khitan people have natural advantages on the grasslands. Although the soldiers brought out by Li Congjia are elite enough, they cannot fully display their combat effectiveness in the face of an unfamiliar environment.

In the end, a total of eight people were caught. After Li Congjia saw those eight people, he began to think about a very important thing-how many people were there in this messaging team?

Zhao Kuangyin said very bluntly: "Your Highness, just let someone take you down and ask, shall we advance into the city?"

Li Congjia could only do this when he thought about it, nodded, and rode into the city with Zhao Kuangyin. On the way, Zhao Kuangyin explained in detail the process of the siege, and finally said: "Fortunately, we have many cannon barrels, otherwise we may be afraid The city gates are not easy to open."

"Ah?" Li Congjia was stunned for a moment, and then he realized: "Oh, we didn't bring 檑木."

Isn’t that right? If you want to open the city gate from the outside in a traditional siege, you must use wood to destroy the gate violently. Without wood, you can only send soldiers to jump in from the city wall. However, this difficulty is too great. Generally, unless This will only happen when the soldiers defending the city are less than one goose in combat effectiveness.

The combat effectiveness of the Khitan soldiers... Although Li Congjia didn't want to admit it, but overall it is really much better than the current Han people, not only because of the race and living environment, but also because of the war in the Central Plains for so many years, too many young and strong died in battle Now, conscription is not strict now, as long as they meet the requirements, they will be recruited, and because of the perennial war, there is not enough time for training, so they can only be honed by war. Many people died directly on the battlefield. Maybe beat others?

After Li Congjia entered the city, he found that the Tang army was searching little by little, driving out all the families of the soldiers stationed there, and getting them together to take care of them.

At this time, the Jiedushi of the Yingtian Army had also been occupied by the Tang Army. After tidying up a bit, Zhao Kuangyin invited Li Congjia to go there. When Li Congjia arrived there, he asked, "Where is the Jiedushi of the Yingtian Army? I remember it was called... Depressed? Bring him to me."

After hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin paused and said, "Daici... I'm afraid I won't be able to come to see you. Just now a soldier found his body. Not only him, but even his son was killed in battle."

Li Congjia was a little surprised. Although he hated the Khitan people very much, he still said from the bottom of his heart: "A real man, then... where are the other officials of the Yingtian Army?"

Zhao Kuangyin said, "I'll send someone to look for it."

Li Congjia nodded, and after walking around the decadent mansion twice, seeing how luxurious the home of a small Jiedushi was, he couldn't help but said, "I don't know how much of it is the hard-earned money of the people of the Tang Dynasty. "

Zhao Kuangyin stood aside and wanted to say something, but felt that it was inappropriate to say anything, so he just shut up and waited quietly for Li Congjia to finish shopping.

After Li Congjia finished reading it, the stinging subordinate officer was also found. That man was called Yetu, and he was the marching Sima of the Yingtian Army.

It's just that when Li Congjia saw him, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure you're looking for the wrong person? Isn't this dress right?"

The clothes Yetu is wearing are obviously the clothes of ordinary Khitan soldiers.

Zhao Kuangyin sneered and said, "He tried to escape by pretending to be an ordinary soldier, but was identified."

Li Congjia asked thoughtfully, "Are you identified by Khitan soldiers?"

Zhao Kuangyin nodded, and Li Congjia instantly understood that this person probably didn't get along with Tui Ci's face and heart, otherwise, Tui Ci's personal soldiers would not deceive him like this.

Yetu knelt down and shivered while carefully observing the two people above him. Just by superficial judgment, he knew that the two high-ranking officials in front of him were presumably Han Chinese, and the one with a slightly dark complexion should be a battle-tested general. Another handsome scholar who looked slightly weak, but he couldn't tell.

Even if the scholar was wearing armor, he couldn't conceal his gentleness, perhaps with a bit of extravagance, which he had seen in Khitan nobles.

I also saw two people dragging him over, but they just talked to each other and ignored him. I couldn't help being a little anxious, and couldn't help but beg for mercy.

Li Congjia had just verified Yetu's identity with Zhao Kuangyin, and before he had time to ask, he saw Yetu prostrate on the ground, and said a lot of chatter, which made Li Congjia look confused.

He turned to look at Zhao Kuangyin next to him and asked, "What is he talking about?"

Zhao Kuangyin hesitated for a moment: "Probably... begging for mercy?"

Li Congjia squinted at him: "Do you understand?"

Zhao Kuangyin was very calm: "I didn't understand, I guessed."

You are really capable. I also know that he is begging for mercy. The problem is that he said such a long list, not just begging for mercy, right?

Li Congjia rolled his eyes and said, "Go and ask if anyone can speak Khitan. I remember that a small officer I promoted before should be able to speak Khitan."

Yes, Li Congjia didn't do nothing after he arrived in Yanzhou. He also went through a simple military parade, and then he saw that a soldier was good in every way, so he immediately took it into the Tiance Mansion. Now he is very grateful for his original A sudden decision, if it wasn't for this decision...their team doesn't even have a single person who can understand Khitan!

Apparently Zhao Kuangyin now only feels that the boss he is following is particularly unreliable, but regrets why he followed him in the first place.

After the little soldier came over, he stood by the side to do simultaneous translation. After listening for a long time, Li Congjia realized that this person was really begging for mercy. He glanced at Zhao Kuangyin, and found that he really had a look on his face, look, I was right.

Li Congjia decided to ignore him, and asked, "Where are all the military documents and defense maps about Khitan?"

After hearing this, Yetu stopped begging for mercy, and said tremblingly after a while, "I...I don't know."

Li Congjia smiled immediately: "You don't know? That's fine, I'll ask someone who knows."

Also pictured:...

Yetu glanced at Li Congjia, and found that he was not joking, but said: "I really don't know this very well. I am not in the same way as Tiaoci, and he hides many things from me."

"Are you going to the grave to burn newspapers to fool the ghost? Other things can be hidden, but this one can't be hidden. You are the commander of the marching army. How could he not let you know anything?" Li Congjia would believe him to be a ghost!

Zhao Kuangyin on the side couldn't help asking: "What is a newspaper?"

Li Congjia paused, silently slapped himself in the heart, and accidentally slipped the tongue again.

But he looked at Zhao Kuangyin very calmly and said, "You heard me wrong, I'm talking about straw paper."

Zhao Kuangyin: You probably think I am deaf.

However, what Wang said was naturally what he said. He was smart enough not to hate Li Congjia on this matter, but just nodded to show that he knew.

Seeing that he couldn't hide it from Li Congjia, he said, "I know some, but I don't know all the news. As for the others... I saw that Tiaoci set fire to a house before going to the battlefield. in there."

Li Congjia couldn't bear it anymore and raised his hand and said, "Procrastinate, replace someone who can tell the truth! He is still burning the house, he is a god who knows that he will lose the battle? Knows that he will die on the battlefield, do nothing before the battle. Burn the defense map, is he crazy?"

Zhao Kuangyin agreed with Li Congjia's words very much. If Li Congjia was not still here, he probably would have gone up to kill people.

Seeing that he was really going to be dragged down, he immediately changed his cowardly appearance and shouted: "Little Dang Xiang dares to come and stroke a tiger's beard, Khan will never let you go!"

Li Congjia raised his eyelids and said, "Oh? It's okay, I'll wait for him."

After Yetu was dragged down, Li Congjia didn't ask anyone to find another person, but just asked: "How did the messengers interrogate just now?"

Zhao Kuangyin asked the soldiers around him, then shook his head and said, "I haven't said anything yet."

Li Congjia raised his eyebrows: "Are you all so stubborn?"

Zhao Kuangyin smiled wryly: "There is only the last one left."

Li Congjia was startled: "I asked you to interrogate, why did you kill people?"

Zhao Kuangyin looked at him speechlessly, there are only two ways to interrogate, one is to attack the heart, and the other is to execute the sentence. They are running out of time now, and they don't know enough about those people. It is obviously impossible to attack the heart. , The punishment is severe, those people can't hold on, don't they just hang up?

Li Congjia also reacted quickly, sighed and said: "Forget it, just ask if you can. If you can't ask, we will leave after two days. Anyway, no matter whether it is Fengzhou or Yunnei Prefecture, even if you march here in a hurry, you must at least Five or six days."

Zhao Kuangyin asked: "Then I will order them to pack some food and grass first."

Li Congjia nodded, and suddenly thought of something: "Hey, wait, none of our people can speak Khitan, right? How did they interrogate?"

The language barrier, how do you know that they won't recruit?If you didn't understand the trick, and then thought the other party didn't say it, and ended up killing the other party, wouldn't it be miserable?

Zhao Kuangyin said, "It's Han."

Li Congjia was surprised: "Han people, why are there Han people here?"

Zhao Kuangyin sighed: "He was taken as a slave when he was robbed."

Li Congjia's heart sank, and he said after a while, "Although you may think what I'm doing is crazy, but I think many signs prove that I'm doing the right thing."

Zhao Kuangyin smiled wryly: "Of course that's true, but you shouldn't be in danger yourself, just let me do it."

Li Congjia smiled: "Who is different? Now that the Tang Dynasty has a large land area, but being persecuted by the Khitan like this is still powerless to fight back. If I don't gamble, maybe I will still be a king of subjugation. "

Zhao Kuangyin didn't speak, but he was just thinking about what the word "return" meant. Li Congjia had never been a king of subjugation before, and it was his own father who had really been a king of subjugation!

Li Congjia didn't feel that he said something wrong, but just said: "Go back and ask those slaves how to get home, there is no need to tell them our identities."

Zhao Kuangyin said: "This may not be easy. There are many people whose whole families have been taken captive. They have no homes for a long time, and some are women... I guess they will go back..."

Li Congjia was dead at the time: "Then... we can't take them with us, right?"

Zhao Kuangyin thought for a while and said, "Send someone to escort them to Datang territory, let the governor of Yanzhou figure out a way."

Li Congjia suddenly asked: "Then tell me...does Yanzhou know that we are no longer there?"

Zhao Kuangyin said: "I'm afraid I already know it. It's hard for Su Guogong to hide it for such a long time."

Li Congjia nodded: "Okay, then let someone take those slaves back, or I... no, you write a letter to the governor of Yanzhou, let these slaves take them there, and find a way for the governor of Yanzhou to resettle them."

As Li Congjia spoke, he lit a candle to the governor of Yanzhou in his heart. It might not be easy to settle these people.

Just as Zhao Kuangyin was about to say something, he saw a soldier coming to report, but it turned out that the last messenger finally couldn't stand it, and broke down and said that two of them had escaped.

Li Congjia thumped in his heart. He just felt that the more he was afraid of something, the more he would come. These two messenger soldiers can no longer chase after them. They can't catch up with the vast grassland. Take away what you can take with you, and destroy what you can't take. It's best to set fire when you leave.

Zhao Kuangyin took the opportunity to say: "Your Highness, I believe that the Khitan will get the news within two days, why don't we go back, whether it is to dampen the Khitan's spirit or attract the attention of the Khitan people, we have basically achieved the goal, and there is no need to attack Yunnei Prefecture or Fengzhou."

Li Congjia calculated the time briefly, and felt that it was not enough. Shi Xueting could not have done it in a day or two in the past. Li Congjia might not be able to buy him a year or a half, but he could try his best to delay the time.

He thought for a while and said: "Don't worry, let's talk about the actions of Yunnei Prefecture and Fengzhou. If they really send troops to assist Dongsheng Prefecture, I think I can take the opportunity to sneak attack one of the cities. What do you think? ?”

Zhao Kuangyin didn't say anything immediately. This idea was very bold, but after careful analysis, he felt that it was very suitable. The three states were originally fighting each other, and they had enough troops. Yelvjing probably wouldn't send too many soldiers here. If they came to rescue Dongshengzhou, there would be fewer soldiers stationed in their own city, and a sneak attack was not impossible.

Zhao Kuangyin immediately said: "I will take people there this time. Your Highness, you take some people, and then take those slaves back. Don't worry, I won't let them go easily."

Li Congjia looked at him in surprise and said, "Why do you think I took you with me? Because you know the way. My horse only knows the way to Khitan, and I'm afraid it doesn't know the way back."

Zhao Kuangyin was devastated. He didn't remember that Ma Jilu only memorized one way. Most importantly, in Li Congjia's eyes, he only had the function of remembering the road?

Anyway, he is also an ever-victorious general, right?Victory in every battle is not counted, but since leading the army, he has won more and lost less. As a result...he is very unconvinced now.

Li Congjia said: "Besides, as you know, I really don't have much experience in leading troops. If I meet some Khitan people on the way, I may delay the battle because of a hesitation... and if I don't speak, the people below estimate I don't dare to make a decision casually, when the time comes..."

Zhao Kuangyin had no choice but to surrender: "Okay, I know, I don't want to persuade you anymore. Anyway... they have already come out. When you go back to the censor to join me, please remember to block me."

When the censor was mentioned, Li Congjia couldn't help feeling very toothache, and said: "After going back, not only you will be imprisoned, but I will also be scolded, but it doesn't matter, if nothing else, you have saved so many Han people Come to see, is it worth it to be scolded?"

Zhao Kuangyin said seriously: "I don't think it's worth it. All these slaves are not as important as you. This is probably the last time you will be willful. No one will give you another chance in the future!"

Li Congjia smiled slyly: "That's not necessarily true."

Zhao Kuangyin... Zhao Kuangyin was very upset at once. He suddenly remembered that whenever Li Congjia wanted to die, he would never fail. Nima, how could there be a feeling that the entire court could not control Li Congjia?

Li Congjia patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I know it well."

Zhao Kuangyin murmured in his heart: You'd better know what's going on, otherwise, neither of us will even think about going back.

Li Congjia and Zhao Kuangyin quarreled with each other for a while, and the people below cleaned up similarly. Li Congjia directly waved his hand to let most of the soldiers go to rest, and the rest of the people took care of the prisoners, and then dispatched a few scouts to check in all directions to avoid being touched by Khitan soldiers. They didn't know when they came here, after all...the city gates of Dongshengzhou were blown up by them, they couldn't stop them before, and now they can't stop others either.

Li Congjia was finally able to sleep in a dry place, and after a night's rest, he felt that he had finally come back to life on the spot, and when he got up early in the morning and had a good mood after eating, he planned to meet those Han slaves.

Then his good mood immediately disappeared without a trace. Those Han people had a very miserable life. Not to mention everyone was skinny, and most of them had injuries on their bodies. They were all wearing soldiers' clothes, and most of them looked very empty. Hypertrophy.

It is said that these slaves basically had no clothes, and at most they had a small piece of cloth to cover their vital organs. As for whether they would freeze to death, the Khitan nobles didn't care. Even if they died, they could continue to plunder without spending money. , what is there to care about?

Li Congjia was very sad. After comforting the slaves with Wen Yan, he turned to Zhao Kuangyin and said, "Tell me, how many years will it take if you want to destroy Khitan?"

Zhao Kuangyin was silent for a while and replied earnestly: "It may take many, many years, or His Highness Poor may not be able to do it in his lifetime."

After all, Khitan is a big country, and if the Great Tang really ruled the world, the most likely thing would be to have a truce with Khitan, so that both sides can rest and recuperate. Even if there is still a fight in the future, it will not be a matter of their generation.

Li Congjia felt very regretful, and he said, "I will tell Dalang when I go back, I must take destroying Khitan as my mission!"

Zhao Kuangyin didn't say anything more, he couldn't bear the miserable conditions of those slaves.

At this time, some scouts reported that they had found the Khitan army's scouts eighty miles away from Dongsheng Prefecture, and the Khitan army must have followed closely behind.

Li Congjia immediately said: "Let everyone pack up and prepare to evacuate."

Zhao Kuangyin hurriedly asked, "Then... those Khitan captives?"

Li Congjia's eyes turned cold: "Kill!"

Zhao Kuangyin was taken aback by him. He had never seen Li Congjia's murderous side before, but before he could ask again, Li Congjia explained: "Many of these Khitan captives are still capable of fighting. If we let them go, wait for those The Khitan army is coming, and these people will soon follow and chase us."

Of course Zhao Kuangyin understood, he just didn't expect Li Congjia to be so decisive, he wanted to persuade him at first, but that's good too, it's better to have a boss who understands than a boss who only softens his heart.

After Li Congjia ordered the captives to be killed, he ordered the entire anti-dongshengzhou city to be burned. Such a military center was always a danger to Datang. Since they came, it was best not to let this thing continue to exist.

After burning, even if the Khitan want to re-establish the southwest line of defense, it will take at least a year and a half. During this period of time, it is estimated that they will not be able to go to the border to plunder. Even if they will go in the future, the border of the Tang Dynasty The military town should also be built similarly, and it will no longer be easy for the opponent to succeed.

Li Congjia and Zhao Kuangyin wanted to go back with their troops, although he didn't really want to, but seeing Zhao Kuangyin's hair turning gray, he felt that it was too worrying to go on such a risk, anyway, he figured it out, Let's just go, if it's really not good, let Li Hongji and Zhao Kuangyin come again.

However, because the Khitan army in Yunzhou had already been dispatched, they could only take a detour to Xiazhou's side. As a result, not long after they left, they heard the scouts report that there was also a Khitan army on the other side, and the flag should be the Yingtian army. !

Li Congjia had already said at that time: "That's not right, isn't Ying Tian's army already wiped out?"

Zhao Kuangyin's face was covered with frost: "Perhaps this team is sent out to do something. Is there a lot of people on the other side?"

The scout lowered his head and said, "Don't dare to get too close, but it seems that there should be more people than us."

If there are a lot of people, it's better not to go head-to-head, after all, there is a team of chasing soldiers behind them!

Zhao Kuangyin was about to persuade Li Congjia to take a detour when he heard Li Congjia excitedly say, "In this case, why don't we go to Fengzhou!"

Zhao Kuangyin: ...

The author has something to say: Zhao Kuangyin: Your Highness, there are two teams chasing us now, and we will be finished if we catch up. What do you think?

Li Congjia: I think... we can still save it by taking a detour, such as going to Fengzhou or something.

Zhao Kuangyin: What?Are you going to fight Toyosu?

Li Congjia: That’s right, first time raw, second time cooked, third time and fourth time, cook casually!

Zhao Kuangyin: ...