The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 253 Iron Horse and Silver Spear
Wang Huailiang watched Li Jingyu leave, then took another group of people and rushed to Mingsha Mountain, where they stationed their troops.

Wang Huailiang and Li Jingyu were determined to defend the city to the death, but some of their soldiers did not want to do so.

For example, Yuan Huaichen.

Yuan Huaichen was a soldier in the Doulu Army and a Tuyuhun native. His family was from the Tuyuhun tribe in Molichuan.

He had been instigated to rebel by Tubo. After Li Siye came to check the accounts, he contacted people everywhere in the army, waiting for the opportunity to support Tubo.

The Lu army at Sanweishan was defeated. Yuan Huaichen wanted to lead his men to defect in the middle of the battle, but Wang Huailiang was not completely incompetent. He retreated in a planned way, and Li Jingyu was always by his side, so he did not seize the opportunity.

But now that Li Jingyu and Wang Huailiang are stationed separately, he has a chance.

So, on the night when Wang Huailiang was stationed at Mingsha Mountain, Yuan Huaichen fled with 500 soldiers on a snowy night and defected to the Tubo commander, Lu Mangqidun.

Yuan Huaichen led his men out of Mingsha Mountain and went down along the Ganquan River. After running for seven or eight miles, they met Li Chengguang's troops who were secretly approaching Mingsha Mountain.

On a snowy night, Li Chengguang rode up to Yuan Huaichen with his iron horse and silver spear, and shouted, "Where are you going, General Yuan?"

Yuan Huaichen only knew the names of Gao Xianzhi, Li Siye and others, and was only acquainted with Li Chengguang, so he looked disdainful and said, "Do I need to report to the general in Qixi wherever I go?"

"This general has been keeping an eye on you for a long time!" Li Chengguang replied loudly, "You have been contacting people everywhere in Shazhou these days, and your evil intentions are obvious. Now that Shazhou is in danger, you must have defected to Tubo!"

At this point, Li Chengguang pointed his spear directly at Yuan Huaichen and the soldiers behind him, and said, "You are all soldiers of the Great Tang Dynasty. This general does not want to hurt you. Now put down your weapons and surrender, and I will spare your lives. Otherwise, I will kill you without mercy!"

"What a boast!" Yuan Huaichen laughed. "I see you only have a hundred cavalrymen, how can you be a match for our five hundred warriors? I'll kill you today and present you to General Lumancheton as a gift."

Seeing that Yuan Huaichen and his men had no intention of surrendering, Li Chengguang said no more, raised his gun, and shouted, "Kill!"

Li Chengguang rode his horse towards Yuan Huaichen, and Yuan Huaichen's confidants immediately drew their bows and arrows, and a volley of arrows shot towards Li Chengguang.

Li Chengguang waved his spear to block the arrow, then he shot the spear through the air and knocked Yuan Huaichen off his horse with one shot. Then he jumped off the horse, drew the sword at his waist, and cut off Yuan Huaichen's head with one stroke.

When Li Chengguang took action, his subordinates had already followed and dispersed Yuan Huaichen's front-row subordinates.

Li Chengguang jumped onto his horse nimbly, held Yuan Huaichen's head high, and said, "Yuan Huaichen is dead, why don't you surrender quickly!"

Li Chengguang took off Yuan Huaichen's head in a flash. The people standing behind Yuan Huaichen's subordinates didn't see what happened clearly, but they saw Yuan Huaichen's head.

The eyes on the bloody head were still wide open. Yuan Huaichen seemed to not believe until his death that he would be easily killed by Li Chengguang.

Li Chengguang is so brave that it is frightening.

As a result, most of Yuan Huaichen's troops immediately dropped their weapons and surrendered, while a small number fled in panic.

Li Chengguang's deputy general Han Jinggui wanted to ride his horse to chase the fleeing people, but Li Chengguang stopped him and said, "Don't chase the desperate enemy. The Tibetan army is nearby. Don't alarm them. The most urgent task is to stabilize the morale of the Doulu army."

"Yes." Han Jinggui accepted the order.

Li Chengguang counted the troops and rushed to Mingsha Mountain with his subordinates and Yuan Huaichen's surrendered soldiers.

……

At the Mingsha Mountain Pass, Wang Huailiang had already learned that Yuan Huaichen had escaped, and was now sighing anxiously in the castle.

"Military envoy, there is a general in front of the pass who calls himself Li Chengguang. He is carrying the head of General Yuan and is leading a hundred cavalrymen to knock on the pass." A soldier hurriedly ran in to report.

"Li Chengguang?" Wang Huailiang's deputy general Zhang Silang was startled and rushed out of the door, followed closely by Wang Huailiang.

Zhang Silang took a look from the tower and saw Li Chengguang on his iron horse and silver spear. He quickly said to Wang Huailiang who was following him: "Military envoy, it's really him!"

Wang Huailiang asked, "Do you recognize him?"

Zhang Silang said: "He once followed Li Siye as the personal bodyguard of His Royal Highness Prince Shou, and is now the number one person under Li Siye..."

Before Zhang Silang finished speaking, Wang Huailiang had already rushed down from the city wall and personally opened the door for Li Chengguang.

When the door was opened, Li Chengguang saw Wang Huailiang standing behind it, so he dismounted and presented Yuan Huaichen's head, saying, "Governor Wang, I will clean up the rebellion for you. You won't blame me, will you?"

"I can't thank the general enough." Wang Huailiang took Li Chengguang's hand and said happily: "Please come in, general and brothers."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengguang waved his hand and let his soldiers enter the pass without further ado.

inside the house.

Wang Huailiang asked curiously, "How did General Li suddenly come to the sandbar?"

"To be honest with Governor Wang, I have been on the sandbar the whole time." Li Chengguang told the truth.

Wang Huailiang was slightly surprised when he heard this and asked, "Where are the 100 cavalrymen under General Li from?"

Li Chengguang said, "It is the Tianshan Army, led by General Cen Shen. I was originally in Shazhou City, and I just showed up today to meet them."

Wang Huailiang was even more surprised and asked, "To dispatch the Tianshan Army to Shazhou, we need a warrant from His Royal Highness Prince Shou, right?"

"That's right." Li Chengguang nodded. "His Royal Highness Prince Shou predicted that Tubo would attack Shazhou and Guazhou, and made preparations in advance. Governor Wang, don't worry. His Royal Highness Prince Shou is in the rear. His Royal Highness asked me to lead a hundred cavalry to assist Governor Wang first, and he will be here soon."

"Isn't His Royal Highness Prince Shou in Liangzhou?" Wang Huailiang's eyes widened.

As one of Li Ying's confidants, Li Chengguang liked to see other people's surprised expressions after Li Ying caught them off guard.

Li Chengguang smiled slightly and said, "All is fair in war."

"Your Highness Prince Shou is a master of strategy, truly a general of heaven." Wang Huailiang praised Li Heng sincerely, and looking at Li Chengguang, he added: "General, you rushed in the snowy night and killed the rebel Yuan Huaichen, you were also unstoppable. I am ashamed that I had a rebel under my command, and I asked you to solve it for me."

Li Chengguang said: "Governor Wang, don't blame yourself. Your loyalty to the Tang Dynasty is known to His Royal Highness Prince Shou. The most urgent task is to organize the army and defend the pass."

"General, what you said is absolutely right." Wang Huailiang nodded in agreement. "Originally, Yuan Huaichen escaped and the army's morale was unstable. Now that the general has arrived, the army's morale has stabilized."

After Wang Huailiang finished speaking, he turned to Zhang Silang and said, "Silang, send someone to hang Yuan Huaichen's head on the city wall as a warning to others. At the same time, send an order to the entire army. His Royal Highness Prince Shou sent General Li Chengguang to lead the vanguard reinforcements. Tonight, we will welcome General Li Chengguang and give the soldiers more meat."

"Yes." Zhang Silang took the order and left.

"General Li, do you think my arrangement is appropriate?" Wang Huailiang asked Li Chengguang.

"Very appropriate." Li Chengguang nodded, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "How does Governor Wang plan to deal with the soldiers who followed Yuan Huaichen's rebellion and returned?"

Wang Huailiang said: "It would be disadvantageous to kill him now. In my opinion, he should be incorporated into the vanguard team and made meritorious to atone for his sins."

"Okay." Li Chengguang agreed with Wang Huailiang's approach.

(End of this chapter)