Tang Dynasty: The seventh rank of official residence, and you will be given the Ten Thousand People

As soon as the imperial edict came out, everyone present instantly burst into exclamations. No one expected that Fan Xin would be promoted to King Yan.

Prince!

You must know that even during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, famous generals such as Xu Maogong and Li Jing were only granted the title of Duke.

Fan Xinneng was promoted from the seventh rank of county magistrate to the king of a different surname in just a few years. Looking at the entire Tang Dynasty, he was the only one.

Not to mention that his daughter will become the princess of Yan Kingdom after birth.

"The Fan family is going to be in full swing."

Thinking of this, everyone from the princes and nobles to the people of Luoyang looked at the Fan family differently.

There is jealousy and envy, but most of all, I am happy. The Fan family is what it is today, all because of Fan Xin who sacrificed his life alone.

It is well deserved.

The happiest person at the scene was Princess Taiping. She looked at the people who were congratulating her, her beautiful eyes filled with pride.

As a woman, what can you be more proud of than marrying a great man?

Taking the imperial edict from Zhang Jianzhi, Princess Taiping glanced at everyone present and said with a smile.

"Everyone, today our Prince Consort's Mansion will hold a running banquet for three days. There are as many people as there are people. We will take care of them all! Please!"

With a bang, thousands of people rushed to the nearby restaurant, and for a while, the entire Luoyang restaurant and inn were packed.

"Hey, the Fan family is so generous. They can treat the whole city to dinner with just one move. This financial resource is really enviable."

On the wooden floor, the man wearing a bamboo hat curled his lips in a sinister manner.

Gao Lishi on the side frowned, also feeling that something was wrong, but thinking about Fan Xin's experience, he still shook his head.

"Forget it, King Yan has already planned to die for the sake of the country. There is no need for us to have trouble with his family anymore. Let's go back. The prince is still waiting to hear the report."

"Huh, I'm taking advantage of these remnants."

Looking at the Fan family unwillingly, the man in the straw hat flicked his sleeves and strode away.

Just when the whole of Luoyang was immersed in the joy of Fan Xin's promotion to King Yan, little did they know that Fan Xin had already reached a critical moment of life and death.

Pfft!

After spitting out the bloody foam from his mouth, Fan Xin staggered up from the ground and looked forward. After half a month of brutal fighting, there were corpses everywhere under the city, and the bright red blood had turned into ice cubes.

"Liu Zi, this is the first wave of attacks by the Tubo people."

"Back to Master, the one hundred and eightieth time!"

After hundreds of fights, even though the six men were highly skilled, they were exhausted. They were holding a purple gold hammer in their hands, kneeling on one knee on the ground, breathing heavily.

Behind them, hundreds of wounded guards stood behind, holding curling swords, staring warily at the Tibetan army below the city.

"It seems that Fuqi City cannot be defended. Tell the brothers to retreat to the cliff of the back mountain and avoid unnecessary casualties."

"I will obey your orders!"

The group of people supported each other and retreated towards the back mountain. The terrain there was steep and had the advantage that one man could not get through. As long as they held on to the bayonet, they could survive for at least a few hours.

Compared with the decisiveness of the Tang army, the Tubo army was undoubtedly much slower. After more than ten days of high-intensity siege battles, the morale of the army became increasingly dispirited.

Chita was so angry that he directly beheaded the two generals who were in charge of the army, and he personally led his guards to the front of the army formation.

"It's not dark yet, why don't you launch an attack?"

Seeing the soldiers hesitate to move forward, Chita's face was extremely gloomy.

The 180,000 troops were spent outside Fuqi City for more than ten days without even crossing the city gate. If the court and the Tubo King found out.

How could he have the dignity to serve as Prime Minister?

So no matter what, he must capture this city as quickly as possible and capture Fan Xin alive, otherwise he will have no chance when the king's envoy arrives.

Several subordinates also knew that they were not good at fighting, and said with shame.

"Prime Minister, after our food and grass were occupied by the Tang army, the soldiers have not eaten solid food for several days, and they really have no strength to attack the city."

"Yes, Commander, the weather is getting colder and colder, and our men are still wearing single clothes, how can we fight this battle."

Seeing that his subordinates were full of grievances, Chita's expression softened a bit and he sighed.

"Let the soldiers overcome it again. It is estimated that there are not many Tang troops left in the city. As long as we capture Fuqi City, we will get enough food, grass and clothes immediately."

"In addition, the imperial envoys are on their way. If we cannot capture Fuqi City before then, you will be dismissed from your posts and questioned just like me!"

As soon as these words came out, the faces of the generals changed slightly, and without saying a word, they led the people towards Fuqi City. Surprisingly, the army rushed into the city without encountering any resistance.

Looking at the empty houses around him, Han Jie frowned.

"Prime Minister, it seems that the remaining Tang troops have retreated to Beishan Cliff. It doesn't look like there is an ambush."

Chita shook his head and said calmly.

"You underestimate our opponents too much. When Lun Qinling was in Liangzhou, Fan Xin used explosives to severely injure tens of thousands of elites."

"There is no guarantee that this person will not want to repeat his old tricks. Let's order the army to station outside the city first. You can lead an army to search for grain and food. I will go and meet this guy in person."

Han Jie didn't waste any time and took his people to search for food and supplies. The army had been hungry for several days and the top priority was to replenish food and supplies as soon as possible.

After separating from his subordinates, Chita walked towards the North Cliff with five thousand soldiers and horses. He now urgently wanted to see the expression of defeat on his opponent's face.

There was no insult as expected when they first met. The two looked at each other like old friends.

"Yes, it is really impressive to be able to become a hussar general at such a young age. No wonder a mere Fuqi city actually cost me 60,000 local soldiers. It is amazing!"

Fan Xin smiled slightly.

"It's a pity that you couldn't bury all of your 180,000 troops here. It's a pity."

"Haha, you mean the gunpowder buried in Fuqi City, right?"

Chita flashed the gunpowder bag in his hand and said with a proud look on his face: "Lun Qinling suffered a big loss in Liangzhou City. Do you think I will be fooled a second time?" "

Speaking of this, Chita's face turned solemn and he said coldly.

"Fan Xin, you lost. If you want to survive, lead your subordinates to surrender as soon as possible. Since you are a talented person, I can spare your life. How about that?"

Looking at Chita, who regarded himself as the winner, Fan Xin's lips flashed with a trace of ridicule.

"Chita, you are so foolish as the Prime Minister of Tubo. Do you think I will place all my hopes on explosives?"

"What do you mean!"

Chitaxu narrowed his eyes and had a bad feeling. It seemed that he had missed some place. Where could this place be?

Suddenly, Chita was shocked, raised his head suddenly and stared at Fan Xin, his voice trembling.

"You poisoned the food and water!"

hiss!

Chita took a breath and looked at Fan Xin as if he were a madman. He never expected that there would be such a crazy person in the world.

In order to poison the enemy, he did not hesitate to put poison in the food and water of the whole city. If this spread, it would be recorded in the history books and he would be infamy for life.

At this time, a subordinate ran over and said in a panic.

"Prime Minister, it's not good, our soldiers have been poisoned and there are countless casualties!" Han Jie's panicked voice came from the distance.

Chita collapsed to the ground with a thud, big beads of sweat streaming down his forehead, and his face looked pale.

It's over, it's all over. Only a few thousand of the 180,000-strong army have survived to this day.

How should he explain to the court and the King of Tubo?

When he thought about his fate even more miserable than that of Lun Qinling after returning to China, Chita felt a sense of fear in his heart for no reason...

At this point, there is only one way to survive, and that is... to capture Yan Guogong Fan Xin alive!

At this thought, Chita suddenly raised his head and stared at Fan Xin and said coldly.

"Come here, take this person down for the truth!"

"Yes, Prime Minister!"

With an order, thousands of Tubo people surrounded the remaining Tang army on the top of the mountain.

Looking at the densely packed enemies, Liu Zi wiped the blood from his mouth and clenched the purple gold hammer in his hand.

"Young Master, my humble position from a young boy to a Qianniu Guards general depends entirely on your support. If there is a next life, I will still follow you."

"We will follow Duke Yan to the death!" The remaining subordinates knelt on the ground and said in unison, cupping their fists.

Fan Xin laughed as his eyes swept over the soldiers in front of him.

"It's worth it for me to have brothers like you in my life!"

"In the next life, we will still be brothers!"

"Take care, Lord, and take the first step in despising your duties!"

Liuzi knelt down and bowed, and when he raised his head, he jumped off the cliff without hesitation.

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Ji, Cao Wei, Zhang Huan, Ma Ying and others followed one after another.

Seeing this scene, all the Tubo people stopped in their tracks, with strong shock in their eyes.

Since ancient times, those who have been martyred on the battlefield are all loyal and serving the country.

Unexpectedly, the remaining Tang troops were so fierce. They would rather jump off a cliff and die for their country than surrender to Tibet.

This has never happened in previous wars.

"Prime Minister, do you want to shoot Fan Xin with a few arrows and capture him first?"

Han Jie's eyes flashed and he gritted his teeth and said.

Chita glanced at him, then his eyes fell on Fan Xin again, and said in a complicated tone.

"No need, we cannot capture a person who is determined to serve the country."

"Let him serve his cause generously!"

Oh oh oh!

The horns sounded leisurely, and the five thousand Tibetan soldiers held the swords in their right hands and raised them to their chests, looking at the Han people in front of them with respect.

The cold wind was blowing and the snow was flying. Under the gaze of the Tubo people, Fan Xin walked towards the cliff step by step.

A heavy sigh echoed across the mountain tops.

"A marquis is not a marquis, a king is not a king. He rides thousands of horses back to Mang Mountain. After my death, you are injured again. I will sing Guangling San, and I will play Li Taiping again in the next life."

"Farewell, Taiping!"

"Farewell, Yinzhu!"

"Farewell, Wan'er!"

"Farewell...Your Majesty Wu Zetian!"

Fan Xin closed his eyes gently, jumped up, and disappeared into the wind and snow.

At this time, the blizzard was getting heavier and heavier.

"Prime Minister, all the remaining Tang troops jumped off the cliff to die. What should we do?"

There are now less than a few thousand people left in the 180,000 Tibetan army, which is obviously no longer enough to compete with the Tang Dynasty.

"What else can we do? Let's lead the army back to Luoxie City. I hope His Majesty the Tubo King will spare the lives of our brothers for the sake of his merits."

Garchita took one last look at the cliff, turned around and left.

After this battle, although Tubo severely damaged the main force of the Tang army, it also suffered heavy losses. I am afraid that it will not be able to invade the Central Plains again in the next thirty years.

Not long after the Tubo army left, a larger Tang army came in force.

When everyone saw mountains of corpses and rivers of blood in Fuqi City, their eyes turned red.

Lin Tie, Li Tong, Li Lang and others immediately jumped off their horses and looked for Fan Xin like crazy.

The search was stopped until a soldier who was seriously injured but not dead told them that Duke Yan and his men jumped off the cliff together.

One by one, they knelt on the ground, facing the direction of the cliff and crying loudly.

The cry was so loud that it was still above the cold wind and snow.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Lang wiped away his tears and stood up from the ground and said sadly.

"The Duke died fighting for the country, we cannot let him die in vain."

"Send the order, the three armies will immediately take charge of mourning, and all the prefectures and counties along the way will hang white sails!"

"I ordered this great victory in Fuqi City to be reported to the imperial court immediately and summoned to the world in an eight-hundred-mile expedited manner!"

"Do you understand?"

"understand!"

All the red-feathered messengers clasped their fists together, and the next moment they wore mourning cloths on their heads and white ropes around their waists, and rode horses all the way to Luoyang.

Looking away from them, Li Lang clasped his fists at Li Tong.

"General Li, these 20,000 fallen soldiers died for the country. Please collect their bodies and let them go home with the Duke!"

"Don't worry, Director Li, no brother will be left behind at the end of the cliff!"

After stamping the general's seal on the Tang newspaper and pressing their fingerprints, the three of them looked at each other speechlessly for a while.

……

Luoyang, Fengge Luantai.

Yao Chong sat in front of the desk and curiously looked at the invitation in his hand.

This was sent by someone from the Fan family, saying they were inviting him to a banquet.

Logically speaking, a married princess is not qualified to invite the prime minister of the dynasty.

But the Fan family is different. Behind it is King Yan Xin. This face has to be given to others whether they want it or not.

"Prime Minister Song, you are here. Prime Minister Yao is resting inside."

The curtain was opened, and Song Jing walked to the stove and sat down, placing a pair of big dry hands on it.

"Why, brother Yuan also received an invitation from the Fan family?"

"Yes, Fan An, the general manager of the Prime Minister's Mansion, personally sent it to the house. I couldn't make up my mind and had someone send it to me."

Yao Chong put down the invitation and said with a wry smile.

"Forget it, let's go there. I heard that the King of Huainan, the King of Dongliu, the King of Han, the King of Zhao, the King of Wu, as well as some princes, six ministers and nine ministers are planning to go to the Fan family to congratulate them."

"What's more, Fan Xin is fighting hard on the front line with the Tibetan army that is several times larger. We should go there because of the love and etiquette."

Yao Chong nodded and said with a smile.

"Since Brother Guangping has spoken, I will go there, just in time to see Fan Xin's background."

Suddenly, a cabinet official hurried into the room holding a box.

"Reporting to Mr. Yao Ge, Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty, please read the urgent report for the eight hundred miles of frontline!"

"Oh? Why are you so anxious?"

Yao Chong looked solemn, took the Tang newspaper from the official and opened the vellum.

When he saw a few eye-catching characters on the rice paper, his face instantly turned pale and he fell unsteadily on his chair.

There was a look of disbelief in his eyes.

"This is impossible, how could it be?"

The next moment, he suddenly raised his head and asked: "Where is the person who delivered the report?"

"Back to Prime Minister Yao right outside the door!"

"Call quickly!"

"Yes!"

As Li Lang, who was dressed in malays and mourning, walked into the cabinet, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the visitor in shock.

"The last general, Li Lang, was ordered by the martyred Duke to deliver the Tang report to Fengge Luantai!

The person knelt down on one knee and said sadly in a hoarse voice.

(End of this chapter)