The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 218: Loyal Father and Filial Son
Li Lin led a large group to the scene, only to see flames everywhere. The bodies of Tang soldiers were piled from the edge of Erhai Lake to the edge of Erhai Lake.

Wang Lekuan looked at Li Lin who had come and planted the Nanzhao flag on the captured Tang army ship. He shouted to Li Lin: "Thank you, Your Highness Prince Yong, for the gift of the big ship!"

As soon as Wang Lekuan said this, the soldiers of the Nanzhao navy followed suit and shouted.

Li Lin's face turned green. He kicked the broken wooden board with all his strength and shouted angrily, "Waste! All of you are waste!"

While Li Lin was angry, the war in Longwei City in the south was also going very badly.

Xianyu Zhongtong was let into Longwei City by the Nanzhao army, and lured all the way to Taihe City, where he was besieged.

Xianyu Zhongtong's troops were defeated and his vanguard general Wang Zhiyun was killed in the battle. Xianyu Zhongtong led the remnants to withdraw from Longwei City.

After several battles, the situation reversed.

Li Lin's navy was destroyed, so he had to abandon the plan of crossing Erhai Lake and instead led the central army to the south to meet up with Xianyu Zhongtong, preparing to gather a large force to capture Longwei City first.

When Li Mi learned that Li Lin had taken the central army to the south, he was completely dumbfounded.

"Talking about war on paper is harmful!" Li Mi couldn't help but slam the table and said to the generals: "Your Highness Prince Yong is moving his troops to the south. If the Tibetans lead their troops to attack us, we will lose our flank and will surely die! Let's retreat first!"

Li Zhenyuan said: "Your Highness Prince Yong has not given the order. If we withdraw our troops, we will be disobeying the military order."

Li Mi hesitated for a moment, and was about to speak when a scout came to report, "General, the Tibetan general Shang Ruozan led his troops stationed in Langqiong to raid our northern camp."

Then, another scout came to report: "General, the Nanzhao army raided our southern camp."

The generals present were all surprised when they heard this.

He Fuguang hurriedly said, "General, you lead your men to break out to the east, and I will stay behind to cover your retreat."

"Forget it." Li Mi shook his head. "How can I live with dignity after the battle has gone like this? General He, you lead the troops to break through, and I will stay behind to cover your retreat."

Tubo and Nanzhao attacked from both the north and the south, and it was basically difficult for those who were left behind to survive.

He Fuguang didn't want to abandon Li Mi, so he knelt on one knee and said, "General, I will stay with you."

The other generals also knelt down and begged for orders.

Li Mi was quite moved. He helped He Fuguang up and said, "I had anticipated this outcome from the beginning. I failed to stop this battle and killed countless Tang men. You are all loyal men. There is no need to die here. Moreover, if our army is completely wiped out, Jiannan will find it difficult to deal with the offensive of Tubo and Nanzhao in the short term. You must stay alive and protect Jiannan!"

"General!" He Fuguang's eyes were filled with tears and he was unwilling to leave.

Li Mi said: "This is a military order!"

"Yes." He Fuguang had no choice but to bow to Li Mi and reluctantly leave with his men.

Only Li Mi and Li Zhenyuan were left in the account.

Li Mi said to Li Zhenyuan: "Why don't you leave?"

Li Zhenyuan said resolutely: "As your subordinate, I should obey your order and retreat, but I am still your son. How can a son abandon you? This time Tubo and Nanzhao are attacking from both north and south, and the rearguard troops also need to resist from both north and south at the same time."

"Okay." Li Mi patted Li Zhenyuan on the shoulder and said generously: "I am a loyal minister, and you are a filial son. You lead the troops to the north."

"Yes, I will obey your command." Li Zhenyuan saluted Li Mi, then knelt down and said, "Son, I bid you farewell, Grandpa!"

Li Mi tried hard not to let her tears fall, and helped Li Zhenyuan up and said, "Grandpa will always be proud of you!"

"Grandpa!" Li Zhenyuan looked at Li Mi with nostalgia and left the tent.

After leaving the camp, Li Zhenyuan immediately led his troops northward to resist the Tubo army.

Li Zhenyuan was very brave. He held a spear in his hand and charged into the Tubo army instead of retreating. In a short time, he killed more than ten Tubo soldiers. Seeing Li Zhenyuan's heroic spirit, the Tubo general Shang Ruozan felt sorry for his talent and said loudly: "Tang general in the battle, Tubo has always cherished heroes. If you lay down your weapons and surrender, I will recommend you to serve the Zamp and enjoy a life of wealth and glory!"

Li Zhenyuan stabbed a Tibetan soldier and threw him away, pointing his spear at Shang Ruozan and saying, "Thief, there are only generals who died in battle in the Tang Dynasty, not the shameful people who surrendered!"

Shang Ruozan values ​​talent, but the generals under him do not have this idea.

When his three generals heard Li Zhenyuan's words, they rode their horses in anger and charged over.

Li Zhenyuan did not retreat at all and rode his horse to fight.

Fighting one against three, with many Tibetan spearmen attacking from behind, Li Zhenyuan soon fell into a disadvantage. One of the Tibetan generals seized the opportunity and slashed the neck of Li Zhenyuan's mount with a knife.

Li Zhenyuan's mount fell to the ground and threw Li Zhenyuan off.

Li Zhenyuan rolled to avoid the Tibetan spearman's finishing blow, then swung his spear horizontally to force the Tibetan soldiers back, and turned to look at his mount.

At this time, blood gushed out of the neck of Li Zhenyuan's mount, and it lay on the ground twitching continuously. Its eyes met Li Zhenyuan's, revealing a desolate look of love for its master.

Then the twitching stopped and the eyes closed.

Li Zhenyuan felt his blood boiling and anger burning as he thought of the days when he had been with his beloved horse day and night and had gone through battles of all sizes.

"I kill you!"

Li Zhenyuan roared and rushed towards the Tibetan general who killed his beloved horse. Along the way, he stabbed and killed dozens of Tibetan soldiers, and the blood gradually dyed his whole body red.

The Tibetan soldiers were frightened to see that Li Zhenyuan was still so brave and fierce, like a killing god, even without his mount, and their offensive weakened a lot for a while.

The Tibetan general who had killed Li Zhenyuan's horse was also frightened. He turned his horse's head and shouted, "Shoot, shoot!"

Upon hearing this, the Tibetan soldiers drew their bows and arrows and shot at Li Zhenyuan.

Li Zhenyuan also got the hint, picked up the crossbow, aimed at the Tibetan general and shot.

The arrow flew through the air and hit the Tibetan general on the back, knocking him off his horse.

At the same time, arrows from the Tibetan soldiers rained down, piercing Li Zhenyuan's body with thousands of arrows.

Li Zhenyuan could no longer fight. The blood in his body flowed out from every hole in his body. In the last moment before he lost consciousness, he inserted his spear into the ground and used the butt of the spear to support his falling body.

After completing this last action, Li Zhenyuan lowered his head towards the golden sunlight and closed his eyes forever.

"What a hero!" Shang Ruozan praised sincerely.

Li Mi's side was also extremely tenacious, and he fought with the Nanzhao army all the way to the suspension bridge in front of the pass.

When he reached the bridge, his mount stopped.

Seeing this, the general of the Nanzhao garrison said loudly: "The horses are not moving forward because they are afraid of the power of Nanzhao. Why don't you surrender now, General Li, and drink with our prince?"

Li Mi took a look at the suspension bridge and had a rough idea in his mind.

He originally came here to cover the rear, prepared to die. Now it is better for him to die on the way forward than on the way backward.

"General Tang, I don't know what fear is!"

Li Mi shouted loudly and rode his horse onto the bridge.

When they reached the middle of the bridge, the rotten wooden planks suddenly broke, and Li Mi and his mount fell into the river and drowned.

(End of this chapter)