Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 402: Take the grassroots route

On the other side of the capital of the Huoxun Kingdom, Jiduojuzhe City, which is the south bank of the Wuhu River, the Tang army has been arrayed here and is ready to fight.

The big cannibals formed a formation in the city and refused to cross the river at all, waiting for the Tang army to attack.

Before the fight even started, the momentum was already weakened by three points.

On the south bank of the Wuhu River, Fang Chongyong stood on a small sand dune with a slightly higher terrain, using a telescope to observe the movements of the big man-eater.

"Pass the order and ask Wang Nan to lead the main force to repair on the spot, and He Changqi to lead the elite guard. They will switch after an hour."

Fang Chongyong said to Feng Changqing who was standing next to him.

"Order!"

Feng Changqing took the order and left.

After he left, Che Guangqian asked doubtfully: "Commander Jie, the morale of our army is strong, why not work hard?"

When it comes to fighting, everyone relies on their ability. It is said that having more soldiers is not about being more skilled, and it is about being more strategic than having a general. A commander is a commander who arranges his troops in formation, not a fierce general who rushes to the front line, nor a special soldier who can defeat a large number of people with just a few people!
If not for anything else, Fang Chongyong just wants to win beautiful points while having the advantage, and the battle losses will be higher than the good points.

Some people wanted to cross the river, some wanted to rotate, and some wanted to return to the city. Officers at all levels of the Dashi Army had to come forward to appease the soldiers and leave their original positions.

"Jie Shuai, the big cannibal is getting restless!"

On the other hand, we all underestimated the enemy. If we were caught off guard, we would probably suffer losses. There is no harm in playing safe. "

Che Guangqian suppressed her inner excitement and shouted.

At this moment, the psychological advantage between the two armies began to appear!
The Tang army was not worried about the cannibals crossing the Wuhu River, so they could calmly adjust their formation and let some of their soldiers rest.

After hearing the sound of the reed pipe, the soldiers of Dashi had already started to form their team, but not very quickly.

Because if you don't resist to the end, there will be no hope of survival.

Behind them is the city, and there is no way to retreat. The only way to survive is to fight with your back and advance without retreating.

At this moment, Feng Changqing ran over panting and asked Fang Chongyong out of breath: "Commander Jie...them, General He and the others are asking for a fight!"

Fang Chongyong gave a thumbs up and praised, then stopped talking and kept staring at the other side of the river.

"Go and tell He Changqi and Wang Nannan that anyone who dares to go into battle rashly will be killed without mercy! Be more steady!"

Fang Zhongyong handed the "Telescope" to Che Guangqian, who looked at it and looked thoughtful.

"Take a breath first."

"These people have expectations of our strength, and they have decided to risk their lives and survive. This is when they are at their strongest.

Slowly, the soldiers of the Dashi Army began to become slack and restless.

Fang Chongyong believed that he would definitely not be the first to worry.

But the food army did not dare to rush directly across the ice of Wuhu River!
They vacillated between fighting in the field and defending the city. As time passed, they saw that the formation was not as neat as before.

In fact, it is not ruled out that the cannibal's general is also observing the battlefield on the opposite side and planning various tricks.

Fang Chongyong would rather be patient than lose his troops because of too much provocation.

These soldiers of the Food Army had firm eyes. Although their faces looked nervous, their hands were clenching their weapons, as if they planned to die together.

As time passed, half of the Tang army on the south bank of the Wuhu River could always rest due to rotation. On the other side of the river, there were many hurricanes covering the city, but the food army did not dare to relax at all.

Sure enough, when it was getting dark, the troops on the other side of the river blew the sound of reed pipes. The sound was very special, and it was played only when the whole army was charging.

At that time, it was time for us to destroy the enemy in one go. "

In fact, he didn't need to say it. Everyone on the sand dune could see it clearly, and Fang Chongyong could see it even more clearly through the telescope.

"Now is not the time to charge. When it gets dark and our army still doesn't take action, the cannibals will definitely relax their vigilance. Even if the general orders him to stay, I'm afraid the soldiers won't be able to bear it and want to return to the city to garrison. The morale of the army is fluctuating. inevitable.

Fang Chongyong ordered Che Guangqian.

Fang Chongyong said to Feng Changqing calmly.

After being pursued by the Tang army, these big cannibals had no time to prepare for battle. After escaping back to Jiduojuzhe City, they hurriedly organized resistance.

But because of this, they will be like trapped animals in this battle, fighting to the death with the Tang army!

Che Guangqian hurriedly ran to deliver the order, fearing that she would run too slowly. He Changqi and others rushed away in excitement.

"Do you think it's time to rush now?"

Feng Changqing calmed down, thought for a while and said.

Fang Chongyong looked at Feng Changqing with a half-smile and asked.

It's hard to eat cannibals now!
I want to hold on, but now the bloody courage has slowly dissipated; I want to return to the city, but I am afraid that the Tang army will rush across the river directly from the ice; I want to rotate, but I am worried that when I adjust the formation, there will be a gap to be attacked by someone.

More importantly, for Fang Chongyong, this battle can only be regarded as an appetizer. There is still a tough battle ahead, but he cannot lose too many troops because of his carelessness. A miserable victory or something will be a lot of fun. .

"If you join the army, you can become a general."

Fang Chongyong had only heard of it in the Dashi Army, not even in the many small countries west of Congling.

"Look at them and then talk."

In the previous battle, the Great Eaters collapsed without a fight due to the "divine fire", so the morale of the Anxi expeditionary force was extremely high, and they all believed that they had divine help.

Fang Chongyong put his hands on his hips and looked at the food army on the other side of the river, with a trace of worry in his eyes.

"Pass my military orders, the military band beats the drums, and raises the flag! Get ready to break the formation!"

Fang Chongyong ordered Che Guangqian.

"Order!"

Che Guangqian felt that blood was welling up in her frozen body!

Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The war drums roar and the blood boils!

On the sand dune, a large flag with the word "square" written on it was erected by the flag officer and fluttered in the wind.

The whole army of the Dashi Army had not even been sorted out, and they had not even set foot on the Wuhu River, when they saw the Tang Army's light cavalry roaring towards them with their horses in hand!

Its momentum is like thunder, moving forward inexorably!

The already loose sword and shield soldiers at the front of the Great Food Army were rushed out of a gap in an instant. He Changqi led the elite troops to continue breaking through the formation. Behind them, the mounted infantrymen wearing leather armor dismounted and each held a mace. Like a tiger breaking open the belly of its prey, they quickly and skillfully expanded the results of the battle.

They followed the cavalry and continued to tear open the gaps in the Great Food Army's formation.

Almost as quickly as a stick of incense was burned, the morale of the food army collapsed. It's not like the kind of person who has been almost killed only to run away when he is outnumbered. Instead, he was shocked by the powerful impact and his will was shaken. His body naturally turned around and ran away because of fear!
It cannot be said that the leader of the Dashi Army did not work hard. He launched the attack before Fang Chongyong. In fact, he had already seen through the Tang Army's intentions. It's just that many times, hard power is there, and the gap in absolute strength cannot be smoothed out by the commander's tactics. The battle has entered garbage time. He Changqi has already dismounted and is fighting fiercely. There are soldiers everywhere running towards Jiduojuzhe City. Wang Rao had already led his cavalry to pursue them, and the city was broken only by the way.

Because the cannibals themselves are not the masters of this city, they also live here as guests, forcing the locals to embrace Islam and imposing heavy taxes on non-believers! Very unpopular locally.

Its popularity is probably only a little bit higher than that of Gao Xianzhi and his Anxi Army.

Fang Chongyong, who was watching the battle on the sand dune, breathed a sigh of relief. With a strong army in hand, he was able to kill chickens with a sledgehammer, just to achieve this effect.

The sky gradually darkened, and the fighting on the battlefield slowly came to an end. The Tang army sent out a special "finishing knife team" who would go up and kill any struggling Arabs on the ground with a knife.

Qian Chongyong had already said before that after this battle, the enemy would leave no one alive, so don't cause trouble for yourself.

He has said so, and his subordinates will naturally act according to the regulations and will not have unnecessary or useless sympathy.

Half an hour later, He Changqi, who was covered in blood, walked up the hill to Fang Chongyong with a human head in his hand. He threw the head to Fang Chongyong's feet, cupped his fists and saluted, "The leader of the Dashi Army has been claimed by the last general. "Jie Shuai, do you remember your merits?"

"Remember him for killing generals."

Fang Chongyong said to Feng Changqing.

"Jie Shuai, why isn't this your first achievement?"

He Changqi asked slightly dissatisfied.

"You are a pioneer, and you are the one who kills the generals and captures the flag. If you have to be the first to do this, then you will be the first to do it every time. Go ahead and think about it for yourself!"

Fang Chongyong waved his hand impatiently and led a group of personal guards across the ice of Wuhu River to the gate of Jiduojuzhao City. I saw that the place was filled with corpses of the food army, many of which were shot in the back.

Broken arms and limbs, and even corpses that were dented and dented by maces, abounded.

Extremely miserable!
Even though Fang Chongyong was used to big scenes, seeing this bloody scene, his stomach was churning and he wanted to find a place to vomit.

War is so violent and ever-changing. A decision made by the general may very well determine the outcome of the battle, or even the life or death of thousands of people.

After the battle begins, these living beings become casualties and chess pieces that can be commanded remotely.

Only after the battle is over will they become "human" again.

Up until this point, Fang Fang Chongyong had been suspecting that according to historical records of his previous life, Geshu Hantongguan lost 200,000 troops in the battle.

How on earth did this guy waste 200,000 soldiers and horses in one battle?
Even if there are 200,000 pigs, it will take several days to kill them, right?
But after today's battle, Fang Chongyong completely understood. The moment the army's morale collapsed, the sun and the moon hung upside down, and the mountains and seas shattered!
Its momentum is like a flood, and no one can stop it. Not to mention 200,000, even if the number of people doubled again, the same thing would happen when it collapsed!

In this day and age, no matter what kind of law, morality or ethics, it is not as good as the knife in your hand.

Because the battle is so dangerous, the winner gets to take it all and share the spoils they risked their lives to get.

"Let the king of Huoxun Kingdom and all the princes and ministers come to Kangguo to build a city and meet this commander.

You can take care of the rest, and I won't go into the city. "

Fang Chongyong ordered Feng Changqing.

"Order!"

Feng Changqing cupped his fists and saluted and said, as if he still had something to say, as if he was hesitant to speak.

"It's just a difference between closeness and distance, no need to say more."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand, turned around and left. The piles of corpses in front of his door disgusted him so much that he didn't even want to see the King of Huo Xun.

Fang Chongyong already fully understood the virtues of these small countries in the Western Regions. He naturally had ways to deal with the situation and was too lazy to listen to the noise of those boring people.

……

In December of the ninth year of Tianbao, the Anxi Expeditionary Force defeated the remnants of the Great Food Army in the Huoxun Kingdom. In one battle, the enemy general Mansur was beheaded.

Then the army returned to the capital of Kang State to build it. The king of Kang State presented a large number of horses, cattle, sheep, camels and other livestock. As well as almost all the grain in the treasury, to reward the Tang army who returned from victory.

Fang Chongyong was unparalleled in the limelight for a time, and was called the "Lion of the Western Regions" by the people in various countries west of Congling.

In January of the tenth year of Tianbao, Fang Chongyong, as the economic and strategic ambassador of the Western Regions, established the "Hezhong Protectorate" with Shiguo as the center and governed Zhezhi City.

He himself also serves as the Chief Protector.

At the same time, the first step in the establishment of the Hezhong Duhufu Yamen was the promulgation of the "Slavery Ban Order" that shocked the countries west of Congling.

Fang Chongyong ordered the abolition of the slave status of all slaves in Jisi Prefecture under the jurisdiction of the Duhufu in Hezhong west of Congling. According to the principle of voluntariness, they were included in the special "Buqu" household registration and registered in Zhezhi City.

At the same time, relevant laws were also promulgated to inform all Jisu prefectures. As long as they are slaves, as long as they are recorded on the roster of the Hezhong Protectorate, they will share the land and participate in the military camp on a first-come, first-served basis.

And those who are unwilling not to participate in the equalization of land can engage in various industries in each city without restriction.

After a series of combined punches, slaves from all over the world fled from the homes of local dignitaries and came to Zhezhi City to apply for household registration. Those wealthy households were afraid of the bravery and proficiency of the Tang army and did not dare to make mistakes, so they had no choice but to let the slaves leave.

Under Fang Chongyong's instruction, Feng Changqing took over all of them, equalized the land one by one, and even organized them into militia for basic military training. At the same time, we crack down on slave traders and prevent them from operating in various countries.

For a time, the authority and reputation of the Anxi Expeditionary Force skyrocketed. Except for the local big landowners and big Hu businessmen, others no longer guarded against Fang Chongyong and the others like they guarded against thieves.

While "showing favor", Fang Chongyong also asked the "Cheka" led by Che Guangqian to go around to inquire about information and forcefully crack down on local illegal tycoons!

They were not allowed to pursue slaves, and they were not allowed to capture runaway slaves. In order to set an example, Fang Chongyong did not hesitate to commit several tragedies that destroyed his family.

Don't ask if it was done by the Tang Army. The question is that there are many bandits in the Western Regions and no one wants to see such a thing.

Fang Chongyong's principle is, whoever takes the lead will be killed! To ensure the effective advancement of the Abolition of Slavery Act!
Through the protection of laws and the army, and the implementation of abolition and equalization of land, Fang Chongyong forcibly turned the original "slave" class in the small countries in the Western Regions into die-hard supporters who relied on the protection of the Tang army.

Unlike the previous high-level route that Datang used to take when planning the Western Regions, Fang Chongyong went in the opposite direction and took the grassroots route.

By gaining the support of freeing slaves and not infringing on the interests of ordinary people, we can gain the understanding of ordinary people and use them to check and balance the big nobles and big businessmen who don't have much good reputation.

The prohibition of slavery was used to pave the way to weaken the power of large local households, so that they and the emancipated slaves who had become "militia and military colonies" became two irreconcilable conflicting parties, checking and balancing each other.

However, Fang Chongyong and Tang Jun only "mediated" (pull a sideways relationship) among them, breaking the personal dependence relationship between the wealthy households and the slaves, turning them into a pure employment relationship, or households in the military settlement.

At the same time, local nobles who have not committed any crimes will no longer be purged without reason to establish rules.

As a result, the countries west of Congling lost the "stability and peace" they had in the past, but the support the Tang army received became even wider.

The Tang Dynasty did not abolish slavery, but Fang Chongyong actually promoted the abolition of slavery in the small country in the Western Regions west of Congling. It can only be said that in order to control the local situation, this Western Region Economic and Strategic Ambassador no longer had to worry about so much!
However, just as the Anxi Expeditionary Force was preparing to set off, cross the Wuhu River, cross the desert, and go to Mulu City in the depths of the desert to crusade against the cannibal's lair.

The messenger sent by the imperial court has arrived!

There was a civil official whom Fang Chongyong didn't recognize, an eunuch who he also didn't recognize, and a general who he still didn't recognize.

The "Chang He comfort group" composed of three people and their entourage came to Zhezhi City.

And the one who comes is not good!
(End of this chapter)