socalfunplaces Page 376
Page 376
Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and said confidently, "Exchange the land!"
"Last time we captured Xu Fengnian and exchanged him for the most urgently needed grain and money. Now, of course, we need to exchange him for land. We only have one prefecture, so we can't really do much."
Li Chang'an said leisurely, "Bei Liang occupies Liangzhou, Lingzhou and Youzhou. Of these three provinces, I think Liangzhou is the most suitable."
Xu Fengnian was not far away, and his heart trembled when he heard Li Chang'an's words.
Li Chang'an wants to exchange him for Liangzhou with Xu Xiao, which is absolutely ridiculous!
Beiliang, Beiliang, what kind of Beiliang is it without Liangzhou?
Although Qingliang Mountain is located in Lingzhou, Liangzhou is the largest of the three prefectures in the Northern Liang region.
Liangzhou contributed the most soldiers and taxes among the three prefectures. Could it be that Li Chang'an set his sights on Liangzhou simply because it was adjacent to Shazhou?
The Northern Liang still has more than 200,000 troops, and Liangzhou alone has around 100,000 garrison troops. Yet Li Chang'an actually wants to exchange a crown prince for a province.
How could Xu Xiao possibly agree to that!
However, deep down, Xu Fengnian hoped that Xu Xiao would agree.
If Xu Xiao agrees, Xu Fengnian will have a chance to return; if Xu Xiao doesn't agree, he will only die in Shazhou.
Jiayuguan.
The Eight Linglong launched an all-encompassing offensive, turning the newly repaired Jiayuguan Pass into complete ruins.
Several mountain peaks were cut off from the rocks on both sides of Jiayuguan, turning this pass into a dead end.
Li Chang'an was not worried about reinforcements emerging from Jiayuguan; he simply wanted the Northern Liang soldiers who left the pass to never return.
Jiayuguan, which, along with Jiangeguan, was once a formidable pass, is now completely impassable.
Boom!Boom!Boom!
With the thunderous sound of hooves, the Snow Dragon Cavalry fought and retreated, dodging the ongoing battle between the Earth Immortals, and finally arrived at the foot of Jiayuguan Pass.
At this moment, Yuan Zuozong was burning with grief, because Qi Dangguo had been killed on the battlefield by Gu Dazu, and the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry only had more than four thousand men left.
Huo Qubing's light cavalry cut off the retreat of the main infantry force, and more than 50,000 Beiliang infantrymen were surrounded by the Shazhou army and were completely wiped out.
Of the 115,000 Northern Liang soldiers who went out to fight, only the 4,000-odd Snow Dragon Cavalry behind them remain.
The Northern Liang, with its thirty-five mighty warriors, lost a third of its forces, and its renowned Iron Pagoda was completely destroyed.
Of the dozen or so Northern Liang generals, only Yuan Zuozong and a few generals from the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry have now retreated to the pass.
We can't say we're completely safe now, because Li Cunxiao is hot on our heels with his Xuanjia Army and Guiyi Army.
However, upon seeing Jiayuguan in the distance, Yuan Zuozong was filled with despair.
On the city wall, the Eight Linglong, each wielding a weapon, stood tall.
The guards inside the city couldn't break through; the Eight Dragons had completely destroyed the city gates, making it impossible for a large cavalry force to pass.
The sound of hooves approached from behind; the black torrent had caught up.
Blood still dripped from the armor of these Xuanjia soldiers, and their lances gleamed coldly; though they had slain countless enemies, their sharpness remained undiminished.
The Xuanjia Army suffered 1,000 casualties, while the Guiyi Army suffered 5,000 casualties, and the remaining soldiers were even more eager to kill.
The Eight Linglong's sabotage of Jiayuguan was a plan Li Chang'an had long ago made.
Li Cunxiao did not rein in his horse; instead, he spurred it on, shouting, "My lads, the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry has nowhere left to retreat!"
"Today is the day to make a name for yourself! Follow me and fight!"
The Xuanjia Army and Guiyi Army, already eager for battle, are now even more excited!
The Snow Dragon Cavalry, trapped below Jiayuguan Pass, had already lost their formation and were feeling somewhat apprehensive.
"General, let's fight them!"
"The Great Snow Dragon Riders will never surrender!"
"Even if you die, you'll drag a few unlucky people down with you!"
At this moment, Yuan Zuozong was in the most torment, as only half of the nine thousand Snow Dragon Cavalry remained.
However, these four thousand Snow Dragon Riders are still crucial to Beiliang, as they are enough to withstand ten times the number of normal cavalry!
Of course, the Shazhou cavalry were an exception.
However, even with only three thousand Great Snow Dragon Riders, they would be an absolute deterrent against the Northern Barbarians or the Li Yang Dynasty!
"The wounded shall stay behind to defend against the enemy; the rest of you, follow me north into the Northern Wilderness!"
Jiayuguan borders the northern part of the grasslands, and beyond the border lies an endless expanse of grassland.
As long as they can break through a few Northern Barbarian tribes, the Great Snow Dragon Riders can bypass the vast Qilian Mountains and return to Qingliang Mountain.
The Great Snow Dragon Cavalry truly lives up to its reputation as a powerful army of Beiliang, and also boasts the best military discipline among Beiliang's troops.
Upon hearing the order, the wounded spurred their horses forward, determined to die, and charged toward the pursuers.
Yuan Zuozong led about three thousand men and plunged into the Northern Wilderness Grassland without hesitation.
Youzhou.
Xu Xiao stood on the city wall of Beilao Pass, looking down at the densely packed Northern Mang army below.
Upon learning that Xu Fengnian was personally leading the expedition against Shazhou, the Northern Barbarians actually mustered an army of 300,000 and marched towards Youzhou.
Fortunately, he and Li Yishan were well-prepared, and with the help of Yan Wenluan and 100,000 veteran soldiers of the Fish Drum Camp, they were able to withstand the Northern Barbarians' offensive.
He's not too worried about the Northern Barbarians right now; he's more worried about Xu Fengnian.
Although Qi Dangguo and Yuan Zuozong had both given secret assurances that Xu Fengnian had not interfered with the command, Xu Xiao still felt inexplicably uneasy.
Perhaps it was because the cost of this western expedition was too high, and it concerned Xu Fengnian's status as heir apparent, so Beiliang could not afford to lose this battle.
"Report! Your Highness, an urgent report from Jiayuguan!"
A scout ran up the city wall, panting, and handed Xu Xiao a sealed military report.
Xu Xiao felt his hands trembling; he had never felt this unease and fear in decades.
He tried to calm himself down, then eagerly opened the sealed container, where a few lines of text came into view.
"The western expeditionary force was defeated, Qi Dangguo was killed in battle, and 100,000 soldiers were lost."
"The prince has been captured. We beg Your Highness to exchange him for Liangzhou, or else he will be executed by slow slicing."
Suddenly, a beast-like roar erupted from the top of Beilaoguan Pass.
"Shu Zi, you dare me!"
At this moment, Xu Xiao was consumed by rage and furious!
Li Chang'an, you've gone too far!
Chapter 226 Chen Zhibao succeeds as heir apparent, Xu Fengnian's tragic fate
Tai'an City.
Emperor Zhao Chun was no better off than Xu Xiao.
Li Chang'an almost completely annihilated the Northern Liang army, the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry suffered a major defeat, the Iron Pagoda was destroyed, and Li Chang'an himself lost less than 20,000 men.
Moreover, because Li Chang'an's prestige soared, many former subjects of the Eight Kingdoms flocked to him.
In his letter to Xu Xiao, Li Chang'an completely disregarded the imperial court, directly demanding that Xu Xiao exchange Liangzhou for Xu Fengnian.
The fiefdoms of vassal kings were all conferred by the imperial court. If these fiefdoms were to be privately granted to each other, what prestige would the imperial court have left?
At this point, even Yuan Benxi, the imperial tutor who had initially advised letting Li Chang'an grow powerful, fell silent.
Before the great battle between Shazhou and Beiliang, no one could have imagined that Li Chang'an would be able to defeat the powerful Beiliang army, but now it has happened.
Originally, only Beiliang was a major threat to Liyang in the northwest. Now that Shazhou has also gained a foothold, if Li Chang'an is allowed to occupy Liangzhou, then the two sides will be evenly matched.
One major threat has become two, leaving Yuan Benxi helpless.
"Teacher, things have come to this, what should we do?"
Zhao Chun had no intention of blaming Yuan Benxi, because the other party's plan was actually not problematic and was quite ingenious.
However, everyone underestimated Li Chang'an's speed of development and his ability to discover talent. Now, the number of loyal civil and military officials around Li Chang'an is showing a trend of surpassing that of Bei Liang.
Yuan Benxi coughed awkwardly twice, "Firstly, we will send Zhao Gou's elites to assassinate Xu Fengnian."
According to intelligence, Li Chang'an bound Xu Fengnian tightly and hung him on the gate of Jinchang City, a truly pitiful sight.
The people who had been oppressed by Beiliang came all the way to Jinchang City to insult the high and mighty prince with rotten fish and shrimp, and even excrement.
Since he wasn't secretly imprisoned like last time, Zhao Gou's assassination attempt might have a chance of success.
Once Xu Fengnian dies, there will be absolutely no possibility of Beiliang and Li Chang'an being of one mind.
Yuan Benxi and Zhao Chun had been discussing this for a long time. Given the current situation, they absolutely could not allow Li Chang'an and Xu Xiao to work together. They had to eliminate even the slightest possibility of cooperation.
Because these two powerful vassal kings, working together, could overthrow the Li Yang court at any time.
"Secondly, an imperial edict was issued to Xu Xiao, reassigning Liangzhou to Li Chang'an. From then on, Northern Liang only had Lingzhou and Youzhou, while Shazhou and Liangzhou were Li Chang'an's fiefdoms."
Zhao Chun nodded helplessly. What else could he do now? He could only continue to stir up trouble between Shazhou and Beiliang, keeping them in a state of animosity.