socalfunplaces Page 407
Page 407
Li Chang'an's order clearly indicated a desire to engage in a decisive battle with Northern Mang, rather than adopting a defensive posture like Northern Liang.
If the intention is to adopt a defensive posture, all that is needed is to retreat to the border and defend, just as Xu Xiao has done over the years.
Since Li Chang'an ordered them to take the initiative, it meant that Li Chang'an wanted to seize the initiative and then compete with the 300,000-strong army of Dong Zhuo, the Southern King.
From this perspective, Your Highness truly possesses remarkable courage and decisiveness.
"I will obey your orders!"
After Li Cunxiao and others received their orders, Hongshu ordered someone to deliver the most detailed intelligence on the Rouran cavalry to Li Cunxiao.
“General Li, these are all intelligence reports on the Rouran cavalry that the Embroidered Uniform Guard has gathered over the years. Since the deaths of Hong Jingyan and Fifth He, the Rouran cavalry has been led by Gong Pu, the deputy leader of Tibing Mountain.”
"Gong Pu is known as the number one Vajra of Northern Mang, but his prestige is still far inferior to that of Hong Jingyan and the Fifth He, so there are many internal conflicts within the Rouran Iron Cavalry."
"Your Highness hopes you will make good use of this intelligence and eliminate the Rouran cavalry before the Northern Mang army assembles."
Li Cunxiao received a thick stack of intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and his confidence increased greatly.
After Li Cunxiao and Huyan Daguan left, Hongshu stayed in the central army. She not only had to ensure intelligence coverage of the northern grasslands, but also had to complete another task assigned by Li Chang'an.
Ancient Shazhou had seven prefectures. After Li Chang'an arrived in Shazhou, he recovered two prefectures that had fallen to the barbarians and one prefecture that had fallen to the Western Rong.
Shazhou still consists of only six prefectures, with Dunhuang Prefecture being the only one that has not yet been recovered.
Dunhuang Prefecture was under the rule of the Northern Mang. Due to the Northern Mang court, Dunhuang City was in a semi-autonomous state. The city lord of Dunhuang City called herself Empress, and she was Hongshu's aunt.
Actually, the current Empress of Dunhuang City and the Empress of Northern Mang, Murong, are sisters, which is why Northern Mang tolerated Dunhuang City's semi-independence.
Li Chang'an's task for Hongshu was to reclaim Dunhuang County.
The Dunhuang garrison numbered only 30,000, and the city lord was Hongshu's aunt. If Li Cunxiao could eliminate the Rouran cavalry, Dunhuang would be completely surrounded by Li Chang'an's forces.
Inside the sweet potato tent, Xue Songguan analyzed with a smile, "Good sister, this matter is not difficult to do. I'm afraid His Highness wants to make you a princess consort. This is to establish your authority."
Sweet Potato's hand, which was clutching the intelligence, suddenly tightened. She then immediately denied it, saying, "Sister, don't joke. Destroying the Rouran cavalry and taking Dunhuang City is a natural consequence."
"His Highness assigned me this task mainly because the Empress of Dunhuang is my aunt, and he hopes that I can subdue her without fighting and avoid bloodshed."
Xue Songguan and Hongshu were both assassins from the Northern Barbarian Kingdom and were quite familiar with each other. However, they dared not discuss Li Chang'an's harem too much.
After all, Li Chang'an must have had his reasons for not establishing a princess or a concubine.
“Sister, we have a clear understanding of the situation in Dunhuang City, and we have almost gathered enough manpower. I think we don’t need to wait for General Li to take down the Rouran. We can take Dunhuang City with the help of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”
Over the past six months, Hongshu and Xue Songguan have already placed many of their own people in Dunhuang City, and are very familiar with the situation.
Li Chang'an rose rapidly and gradually surrounded Dunhuang City. People with insight had long been looking for ways to get around him.
Three days later, in Dunhuang city.
In the main hall of the city lord, the Dunhuang Empress, dressed in a dragon robe, looked majestic, but her eyes were filled with anxiety.
"Gentlemen, Li Chang'an's letter urging us to surrender has arrived again. What do you suggest we do?"
Prime Minister Wang Yan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Dunhuang City is occupied on three sides by Li Chang'an, and now the northern part is gradually being annexed by the Huyan tribe under his command."
"Although we have a deeper connection with the Northern Barbarians, the current situation is beyond our control, so it is more appropriate to submit to the Tang King."
Wang Yan's words were echoed by many civil and military officials, and received considerable approval.
However, a woman in military uniform shouted sharply, "I request that Prime Minister Wang Yan be executed!"
"Li Chang'an is going too far! Not only does he demand that Your Majesty relinquish your imperial title, but he also demands that Your Majesty completely relinquish the power to govern Dunhuang Prefecture. In other words, Your Majesty will be reduced to a commoner from now on. How can this be accepted!"
This woman was the head of the Mao family, the most powerful family in the city, and her name was Mao Rou.
Although she was a woman, she held the position of General of Dunhuang City.
"Wang Yan had long been bribed and won over by the Tang King's Imperial Guards, which is why he wanted to submit to Li Chang'an. He deserves to die!"
Wang Yan persisted, saying, "Mao Rou, don't try to sound so high and mighty!"
“Your Mao family had a feud with the Zhang family back then. Now that Zhang Yichao is in power under Li Chang’an, you are afraid of the Zhang family’s revenge, which is why you refuse to submit to the Tang King.”
"The Tang Emperor has won every battle. Three of the five armies of the Liyang Dynasty have already retreated. Even that butcher Xu Xiao doesn't dare to make a move. Do we really have to wait until the Tang Emperor's army storms into Dunhuang City?"
"How can a mere 30,000 soldiers in the city possibly stand against the renowned Xuanjia Army!"
Mao Rou insisted, "This general has already made an agreement with the mountain lord of Tibing Mountain Palace to launch a surprise attack on Li Cunxiao's central army on a chosen day, and then let Li Chang'an suffer a great defeat!"
"No matter how powerful Li Chang'an is, he can't possibly stand up to the million-strong army of Northern Mang. If you're going to submit, you might as well submit to Northern Mang!"
The relationship between the female city lord of Dunhuang and Empress Murong is taboo and cannot be discussed casually.
This female city lord was even willing to send her niece to Beiliang as a hostage, and even with Beiliang's protection, she was unwilling to submit to Beimang, which shows that the two sisters had a great deal of discord.
Sure enough, the female city lord said somewhat impatiently, "Alright, alright, stop arguing. Let's wait for Xu Xiao's news."
"If Xu Xiao can stand between Li Chang'an and Northern Mang, so can we. If Xu Xiao is willing to send troops to launch a surprise attack on Li Chang'an, we can do it too!"
Ultimately, this female city lord didn't want to submit to anyone; she wanted to be an empress like her sister, even though that empress could only rule one prefecture.
With the city lord having said this, everyone could only disperse, each with their own ulterior motives.
Mao Rou is right. Wang Yan had already been won over by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The Wang family is an emerging family in Dunhuang City. They have no grudges against Li Chang'an and Zhang Yichao. Even after surrendering, the family will remain a powerful family.
However, the Mao family colluded with the Northern Barbarians back then to drive Zhang Yichao's Guihan Army out of Dunhuang County, and the current female city lord was able to rise to power thanks in no small part to the Mao family.
Therefore, if Dunhuang City were to fall to the Tang army, the Mao family would certainly be purged.
Late at night, Mao Rou was discussing matters with Spider Web's spies.
"General Mao, don't you believe Lord Li's words? This time, His Majesty has decided to completely eliminate Li Chang'an."
"The Southern King is assembling his army and will soon join forces with the Rouran cavalry. At that time, they will crush everything in their path, and Shazhou and Liangzhou will fall to the Northern Barbarians!"
Mao Rou was in her thirties, tall and imposing, and had a very dignified air.
"That's certainly true, but distant water can't quench an immediate fire, and the city lord is still placing his hopes on Xu Xiao..."
As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a strange zither melody coming from the courtyard!
The music contained a strange kind of true energy. Ordinary people who heard it would instantly lose their minds and go insane, and soon die with blood flowing from all seven orifices.
Only martial artists of the third rank or above can use their internal strength and true qi to resist this strange, demonic sound.
The Spiderweb spies' expression changed drastically. "This...this is the music of the Qin Demon! The Qin Demon is still alive!"
Mao Rou, a martial artist from the Xuan Realm, picked up the large spear on its stand and stepped into the courtyard.
"Who dares to trespass into the General's mansion!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two stunningly beautiful women, one in purple and one in red, descended from the sky. The music continued, and people were still dying in the General's mansion.
The Spiderweb Spy's lips trembled as he said, "Demon Lord Xue Songguan... you're still alive! So, the Leaky One didn't kill you after all!"
Xue Songguan smiled slightly, then stopped playing the zither. Subsequently, hundreds of Imperial Guards scaled the wall and stormed in.
“I’m not dead. Even if Geng Louzi dies, I won’t die.”
Mao Rou stared intently at the sweet potato, "Song Xiaoyu, you actually came back alive."
Sweet Potato's slender fingers gripped two short knives, their blades gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
"If I don't come back, am I supposed to let you inherit the title of Lord of Dunhuang?"
Hongshu, the legitimate heir of the Dunhuang female city lord, was sent as a hostage. The Mao family has the greatest influence in Dunhuang City, and Mao Rou is very likely to be the next city lord after the female city lord's death.
This is also why Mao Rou leans towards Northern Mang. Even if she cannot become empress, Northern Mang will still support the Mao family to continue ruling Shazhou.
"What are you doing back here?"
Sweet Potato's lips curled up slightly. "Of course, I'll come back to be the city lord."
Mao Rou held her spear high in the air and said disdainfully, "What makes you think you can be the city lord?"
"Is it because of your round breasts, or your slim waist and perky butt?"
"Or... it's because with your pseudo-Vajra and pseudo-Finger-Profound realms, you'll never be able to advance an inch further in your life..."
As a woman, Mao Rou was jealous of sweet potatoes.
Just as she thought her level of skill was enough to crush the sweet potato and was making sarcastic remarks, a red shadow suddenly flashed before her eyes.
Before she could even see her opponent clearly, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, and then a large amount of blood gushed out from her chest.
Then, her other hand, which was holding the spear, was cleanly severed from her forearm!
The sweet potato has two short knives, one to cut out the heart, and the other to sever the hand.
A stunningly beautiful, alluring face appeared before Mao Rou, a mocking smile playing on her lips.
"He's better looking than you, his martial arts skills are better than yours, and he's the rightful heir to the city lord's title."
"Tell me...isn't it infuriating...?"
Mao Rou cried out in pain, but she was still confused, "Fairy... what level are you in...?"
The next instant, the sweet potato knife struck again, slicing across Mao Rou's neck, and a head was in her hand.
"True Vajra Realm, True Finger Profound Realm, enough to kill!"
Chapter 245 The Origins of Sweet Potato, Xu Xiao's Expedition to Shangfang Valley
Mao Rou was known as a great general, but in reality, there were no experts in his mansion. Hundreds of Imperial Guards easily wiped out the entire Mao family.