Late Tang

After the banquet was over, Hutu said to Hebuler: "Brother let the Shatuo tribe station in our territory today. In the long run, it will be a serious problem for our Tatar confidants. People don't hurt the tiger's intentions, but tigers hurt people's hearts. Brother, you must guard against it." Ah. Li Keyong was a general who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty. Now that our department takes him here, it is already a great risk. He has borrowed food from him several times, but he is not satisfied. Instead, he keeps recruiting soldiers and buying horses, and keeps asking I borrow food. Now that the long winter is approaching, my department has no food left."

He Bule frowned, "Li Guochang and his son are the heroes of the desert and the lords of the Central Plains. Now that we are in such a difficult situation, we should treat them kindly in return for the care of the Shatuo tribe. We must not be enemies, otherwise it will only make the world laugh."

"I know that my elder brother used to be sworn brothers with Li Guochang, so Li Guochang can be regarded as a trustworthy person. But Li Keyong is different, he is ruthless, but he is not a kind person. I heard that Li Keyong has a batch of excellent armor and weapons in his hands. Not much. At today’s banquet, it was proposed that they take some out as collateral in exchange for food, but what did you think of his reaction? He just wanted to borrow our food for nothing, and then use the food to recruit soldiers and horses, and then equip them with sophisticated armor and weapons, but did not He refused to give it to us. In my opinion, we must prevent him from stealing the show."

"Isn't that the case?" Hebuler still hesitated.

"Brother, I will treat each other with sincerity, lest he give birth to a heart of tartar. Think about how Tang Guo treated Sha Tuo, Li Keyong, father and son generously, but in the end, they still killed officials and rebelled? Li Keyong just A white-eyed wolf, no matter how good it is, can't be raised well. There is a saying that one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, and keeping him here, I'm afraid it will be a disaster sooner or later."

Hebuler was also a little annoyed by the words, "But now that we have taken his father and son here, how can we open our mouths to drive him away?"

Hutu took a step forward, leaned into Hebuler's ear and said, "Brother, do you still remember the envoy from the Tang Dynasty?"

"They're still there?" Hebler exclaimed in surprise.

The envoy of the Tang people mentioned by Hutu is the secret spy of Zhen Xiaoqisi. After Li Keyong escaped, Li Jing sent the secret spy to go deep into the desert to hunt down Li Keyong.However, he secretly assassinated twice, but failed.Later, when Li Ke used Mobei, the defense was stricter and it would be more difficult to get out the phone.After the matter was reported to Li Jing, Li Jing ordered them to contact the Tatar Ministry, preparing to provoke the Tatars to attack Li Ke.

However, the initial contact did not achieve the desired result, and Hebuler directly rejected Li Jing's emissary.However, the envoy did not give up. He had been lobbying Hutu for a long time, and now he finally persuaded Hutu. Although Hutu was able to agree, it was because the envoy promised him that he would give him a generous reward.

Hutu nodded.

"Didn't you hear that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty had pardoned Li Guochang and others for their crimes?" Hebuler had also found out that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty had pardoned Li Guochang and others for their crimes. It was still preserved, and he also served as a military officer, leading the Shatuo tribe to fight in Xichuan.

"Although the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty pardoned Li Guochang and others, he has not expressly pardoned Li Keyong." Hu Tu immediately replied, "The envoy of the Tang Dynasty is the emissary of Li Jing who suppressed [***] Li Jing."

Hebuler took a deep breath, the words Zhen[***] Li Jing put a lot of pressure on him.Although he is far away from Yinshan Mountain, he still knows the name of Li Jing, a young star who is newly rising in Tang Guozhong.

"The messenger is in my tent, how about I call someone to come?"

Heble thought for a moment, and finally nodded.He may not care too much about the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, but Li Jing must be treated with care.Li Jing is currently serving as the Jiedu of Zhen[***], the commander of Lulong Army, the commander of Datong Army, and the chief protector of the Anton Dadu Protectorate.Dengzhou and Liaodong are far away from him, but Lulong Army and Datong Army are only a mountain away from him, especially Datong Army, which is just opposite him.And his other neighbor, Zhenwu Jiedu envoy Yu Yu, is also Li Jing's teacher.

Right now, the entire south of Yinshan Mountain is Li Jing's people, and Lian Qibi, Helian, Sage, and Anqing's Hu tribes are almost Li Jing's subordinates.Once Li Jing was really angered, if Li Jing sent troops out of the fortress, it would be a disaster.

The envoys who pretended to be Hutu's soldiers arrived soon, and the two sides greeted each other.

"I don't know what Marshal Li means?" Hebuler asked.

The secret envoy Xiaoqi smiled, "The commander asked me to say hello to Mo Hedu on his behalf. Dedicate Li Keyong's head to the commander, and the commander is willing to give one hundred thousand coins! Li Keyong's adopted son, wife, general , Brothers, etc., each with [-] guan, life or death. The rest of the Shatuo soldiers, each living ten guan, dead five guan, women and children, etc., each two guan, regardless of life or death."

Hebuler just had a calculation in his mind, so his throat felt dry and his heart beat violently.If Li Ke can be used up, at least three or four million coins can be exchanged, which is also a huge sum of money even for Hebuler.

"If I kill Li Keyong for Marshal Li, I will ask for 50 guan, and the money will have to be exchanged for salt, tea, cloth, and ironware." Hebuler also no longer cared about his sworn brotherhood with Li Guochang.

"No problem, of course, you have to kill Li Keyong and wipe out all the troops. My commander-in-chief's reputation is well-known in the world, so don't worry. As for the wealth of my family's commander-in-chief, it is well known that Dengzhou is the richest. This you Not to worry."

"After the matter is completed, I hope that Marshal Li will make an application to the court and help me get the post of governor of Yinshan Mountain." Hebuler made another request.

"As long as you send Li Ke's head to Dengzhou, Marshal Li will naturally satisfy your request." The messenger readily agreed without even hesitation.

Hebuler's breathing was a bit rough, and finally he squeezed his fists and said in a low voice: "Okay, it's a deal!"

"It's a deal, I'll be quiet and wait for Mo He to make good news!" After finishing speaking, the messenger left.

Hu Tu smiled and said, "Li Guochang is just a man of courage. Although he saved his life, it is no longer a concern. Only this Li Keyong is extremely courageous and fierce. I heard that three women came to Chilechuan recently, and they are extremely beautiful. "A lot of people tried to get their idea before, but they all lost their food. I found out clearly that these three women were originally famous killers in Chang'an. Why don't you send someone to invite these three people to kill them first?" Use it, and then directly send troops to destroy the Shatuo people."

Hebuler shook his head, "If Li Keyong could be killed by an assassin, Li Jing would have taken action by himself. It is estimated that they have already used this method and failed. In my opinion, let's temporarily agree to Li Keyong's loan. Then wait for the weather to clear up, invite him to hunt, and during the hunt, deploy an ambush and take the opportunity to kill him."

"A small amount is not a gentleman, and non-toxic is not a husband. It was Li Keyong who disrespected us first, brother, don't hesitate any longer."

After contemplating for a long time, Hebre finally made up his mind.

On the second day, it just rained and the sky cleared.

Hebul sent someone to pass on Li Keyong, telling him that he could borrow some grain from Shatuo first, and wait for a while for the rest, and then asked him to go hunting together tomorrow.

Li Ke used Zhaokang Junli, Li Siyuan, Li Sien and Liu Shi to discuss with each other.

"Yesterday, at the banquet, in the words of Hu Tutu, there was a lot of tolerance for me, and the intention of driving Shatuo away. I guess he must have the intention of plotting against me. Yesterday he refused to borrow food, and he was in a lot of trouble. Today he suddenly Agree to borrow food, and invite me to hunt together tomorrow, in case there is fraud, I have to guard against it." Liu knew what happened at the banquet yesterday, so he was full of worry.

Li Siyuan strongly agreed, "I think the previous event was a reception banquet, but this one may be a Hongmen banquet. Tomorrow I will bring [-] elite riders to the left and right, so that the Spring Festival will be safe."

Kang Junli shook his head, "Don't lead troops there. If you lead troops to protect you, I'm afraid that you won't be able to defend yourself against me. Why don't you just pretend to be sick and let me take part in the hunting on your behalf."

Liu said: "If the Tatars really have the intention of murdering, then it is not suitable to stay here for a long time. They might as well leave tonight, saying that something urgent happened in the ministry and they need to return early."

When Li Keyong was in a dilemma, suddenly the guards came to report that someone begged to see him.

He brought the person forward, but he was a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy named Zhang Diluo.Li Keyong recognized this man, he was a Uyghur.His father, Zhang Junzheng, defected to the Tatars in his early years, and now he is a general under Hebuler's tent.In the early years, Li Keyong and Zhang Junzheng competed in archery together, and the two were considered to be somewhat friendly.

"What's the hurry for Shui Luo to come?"

Zhang Wuluo gasped and said, "General, leave quickly. I, Aye, overheard that Hebuler and Hutu were conspiring to murder the general during the hunt tomorrow. They have already made a deal with Marshal Li of the Tang Kingdom." The deal is to take your head and offer it to him, and exchange the lives of the Shatuo people for 50 yuan of money and the post of governor of Yinshan Mountain."

Li Keyong was shocked when he heard this, and quickly thanked Zhang Wuluo.Immediately ordered Li Siyuan to immediately escort Liu and others to go first, and then took Kang Junli and others to abandon the camp and leave.

"No!" There was a sudden objection from the tent, but it was Mrs. Liu who spoke. "My lord, the Tatars must have reached a deal with Li Jing. If they escape at this time, even if they escape now, once the Tatars dispatch troops, they will not be able to do so. In this case, it is better to act first."

"It's better to strike first?" Li Ke was stunned for a moment.

"This is just the Hebre headquarters, with only five thousand tents, tens of thousands of people, and only a few thousand soldiers. We have a thousand fine cavalry, so it is not impossible to defeat them in such a sudden attack."

Li Ke used this time to calm down and think, it is indeed so.If they can win this battle, it will be of great benefit to them to capture Hebuler, Hutu and others.Even if they can't catch two people, they can still seize a large number of cattle, sheep, horses, food and grass, and even get a lot of people and troops to supplement them.

In the middle of the night, Li Ke led a thousand Shatuo cavalry to rise up and attack the Tatar camp.The Tatars didn't expect that the Shatuo people actually made a move first.Quan Bule originally intended to attack tomorrow, so in order to prevent the enemy from being overwhelmed, the camp did not strengthen its defenses, and everything was as usual.Who knows, Li Keyong made the first move.

Li Keyong, Li Siyuan, Kang Junli, Li Cunzhang, Li Si'en, Liu Shi, etc. all put on armor and armed themselves, and 1000 men and horses rushed out, directly attacking the Chinese army.The Tatars were in chaos, and Hebuler, Hutu and others could not resist, and they were defeated and fled.

Hebul and Hutu fled with only a few hundred men and horses. Li Ke led his troops to fight in the middle of the night. By dawn, as many as two groups of more than a thousand Tatar soldiers abandoned their weapons and surrendered, and more than 2 were captured. A large number of grain and grass equipment.

After the war, when the battlefield was cleaned up, soldiers came to report, and Zhang Junzheng came to vote.Li Keyong went to see him with joy, but saw that Zhang Junzheng had thrown away his helmet and armor, and had fallen to the ground unconscious with seven arrows in his body.When the military doctor woke up, he was already on the verge of death.Zhang Junzheng took Zhang Wuluo's hand and said to Li Keyong: "Hebuler found out that I leaked the secret and killed my whole family. Only this son survives under his knees. Now I entrust it to the public. In the future, it will be all about this son's revenge." After Qijue died, Li Keyong buried Zhang Junzheng generously, adopted Zhang Wuluo as his adopted son, and changed his name to Li Cunxin.

Li Ke returned to the Shatuo camp with the booty and prisoners of war. In order to prevent the Tatars from retaliating, he retreated all the way to the foot of the Yin Mountain, set up camp, and prepared for the defense with all his strength! (To be continued.)