It was clear that the victory of the imperial army was already in the bag. The remaining eight thousand bandits posed no threat at all. What Li An was considering now was how to eliminate the remaining two groups of bandits at the least cost. The smaller the losses, the better. It would be best if he could persuade them to surrender. After all, at least eighty to ninety percent of the remaining eight thousand bandits were new recruits in the past one or two years. They were all ordinary civilians who had nowhere else to go. If they were all killed, it would be a huge loss of manpower for the Tang Empire in the future. In the future, building roads, paving bridges, and workshops would require a huge amount of manpower. Without sufficient manpower, the progress of these construction projects would be greatly affected.
Ang Lee's idea was naturally approved by Zhao Wufu and the others. They naturally understood the situation here very well. They knew that these bandits were ordinary people who could not survive. As long as they surrendered, they could be forgiven.
For thousands of years, the population in Dongnu Province had not been very large. The transportation was also inconvenient. Too much loss of population would break the inheritance here, and it was not conducive to improving the environment here. Now, the Tang dynasty was very short of population. The local food shortage was because the surplus food of the Tang dynasty had not been transported. As long as the transportation was improved, there would definitely be no shortage of food in the future. Obviously, the construction of roads and bridges was inseparable from a large number of workers. Therefore, the more the population, the better. As long as these bandits surrendered, they could be incorporated into the road construction team. Every day, they could earn a sum of money and eat their fill. It was killing two birds with one stone.
This time, the number of rebels and bandits who surrendered was relatively large. Other than those who were seriously injured or dead, there were about seven thousand people left. Zhao Wufu quickly mobilized and organized these people. He let his trusted subordinates be the leaders of these new recruits and provided them with rations. Of course, these rations were originally captured.
Because there were too few soldiers and too many captured bandits, most of the troops were new recruits. This would bring a lot of trouble to the command and management.
In order to prevent the newly formed army from suddenly changing sides, Zhao Wufu put all the old bandits and old leaders under control and kept these dangerous people by his side. He had three hundred of his trusted subordinates specifically in charge of watching these fellows. If these fellows made any strange movements, they would immediately be annihilated.
Most of the newly organized troops were ordinary people. As long as the leaders were replaced by Zhao Wufu's men, these troops would not have too many problems. At least, when fighting against the two groups of bandits in the west, there would be no problem. The bandits' fighting strength was very weak. As long as Zhao Wufu's elite troops were in front of them and these new recruits were behind them, it would be enough.
"That's settled. Let's get ready!"
Ang Lee said.
After some discussion, Ang Lee and Zhao Wufu decided on their respective roles. Zhao Wufu would lead the main force, which was two-thirds of the troops, to block the two groups of bandits in the north. Ang Lee would lead the rest of the troops to block the bandits' retreat. In order to end the battle as soon as possible, the two groups of troops would split up. In fact, it was four groups of troops attacking together to take down the two groups of bandits in one fell swoop.
Although it was a little dangerous, it could be done in one battle. If they took down one group first, the remaining group would definitely have to run away. With more than 4,000 people, and with their leaders still alive, they were still a great threat to Dongnu Province.
After resting for a night, Ang Lee and Zhao Wufu split up their troops and set off. After all, the news of the central rebel army being wiped out could reach the ears of the two groups of bandits in the west at any time. Once the bandits in the west knew about this, they would most likely run away. Ang Lee would not give the rebel army any time to escape. As long as they acted quickly, the rebel army would not be able to escape.
The army was marching at the fastest speed possible. For the elite soldiers, marching in a hurry was bearable. Although the new soldiers felt that it was strenuous, the burden on their bodies was light. Not only did they not have armor, even their weapons were very simple and crude bamboo weapons. There was only a little bit of iron at the tip. Marching with such light weapons, they did not have the right to complain that they were tired. After all, the elite soldiers were wearing armor. If they could move so fast in armor, what reason did these guys, who were wearing light armor, not have to walk faster?
Of course, in order to convince these soldiers and make them cooperate well, Ang Lee and Zhao Wufu continued to brainwash them. Of course, in order to convince these soldiers and make them cooperate well, Ang Lee and Zhao Wufu continued to brainwash them. When the army rested, they would tell them about the beautiful life they would have after the road was repaired, what they could do in the future, whether they would starve again, and so on. After all, these were simple farmers. After listening to these brainwashing words, they immediately agreed. Their hearts were filled with anticipation for the future, and this anticipation would stimulate their feelings for a normal life. After all, no one liked to live a life on the edge of a knife. Living an ordinary life was the most satisfying.
At this moment, on the mountain path in the west, Zhao Dahu and Blindman's two groups of people were still slowly marching. They clearly did not know about the news of the central rebel army being wiped out.
Li Dahu was also a shrewd person. He had planted spies in the central rebel army. Every day, they would report the position of the central rebel army to him. He could adjust his marching speed according to the position of the central rebel army. This was to prevent himself from moving too fast and becoming cannon fodder.
This was because Li Dahu's confidant had already told him about the central rebel army speeding up. However, he did not mention the specific reason. After all, his confidant was only a small character. Zhao Changkong did not tell too many people about Pang Gui's letter. Only the higher-ups knew about it. Li Dahu's confidant naturally did not know anything. He could only report that the central rebel army had doubled in speed.
Since the central rebel army was speeding up, Li Dahu naturally did not dare to be too slow. He also increased the marching speed appropriately so that he would not fall too far behind.
However, Li Dahu really wanted to know why the central rebel army suddenly sped up. What was the reason for this to happen? This was very strange.
He felt that after another day, his confidant would definitely send the news back. However, after a day, his confidant did not send the news back. This made him very puzzled and his heart was in a mess. However, when he thought about how the army had doubled in speed, they must be moving in a hurry. It made sense that his confidant could not find the time to send him a message. After all, traveling sixty li in a day was already a heaven-defying speed. His confidant was probably too tired to report the situation, or perhaps he did not have the chance.
However, without knowing the central rebel army's position, he was not too sure about his marching speed. After all, it was not suitable to be too fast or too slow. The timing had to be right.
"What happened to the central rebel army? Why is there no news at all? This can't go on."
Li Dahu was clearly very frustrated.
It was fine if there was no news for a day, but he patiently waited for another day. In the end, there was still no news from the second day. This made him very puzzled. His confidant was very obedient. How could there be no news from him? This did not make sense! He felt that something must have happened. Perhaps his confidant had been discovered and Zhao Changkong had detained him in a fit of anger. He did not allow him to send any news.
"Leader, what should we do? Should we speed up or walk slowly?"
The sub-leader asked.
Li Dahu frowned and thought for a moment. He then said, "Forget it. Let's just walk slowly. What's the rush? This mountain road is so difficult to walk on. It's normal to be a few days late!"
Clearly, Li Dahu was still unwilling to take the risk. He felt that it was better to go later. If he went earlier, he might encounter danger, but if he went later, he would not. At least, in his opinion, it was much safer to go later. Even if Zhao Changkong gave him a hard time, he did not care. He had four thousand soldiers under his command and could be considered a tyrant. No one could do anything to him. He did not believe that Zhao Changkong, whose foundation was not stable, would dare to touch him.
Just like Li Dahu, Blind had the same thoughts. He was also a selfish person. How could he sacrifice himself for someone else? Bandits were all slick and sly people. How could they work for others?
However, Li Dahu and Blind's actions were exactly what Ang Lee wanted. If these two fellows walked slowly, it would be beneficial for Ang Lee and Zhao Wufu to pincer them and block them on the mountain road. This way, these two groups of bandits would be like turtles in a jar.
When dealing with the soldiers in the middle, Ang Lee had already sent his confidants to the two groups in the west. Furthermore, they would send back news every day. At this time, Ang Lee had a comprehensive understanding of Li Dahu and Blind. He knew their positions very well. Zhao Wufu was the same. Since the two groups of soldiers knew the bandits' positions, it was naturally much easier to deal with them.
"Assistant Minister Li, I didn't expect things to go so smoothly. The bandits are so cowardly. It seems like we will be able to eliminate them soon."
Chen Long said happily.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "I also didn't expect this! These bandits can't even withstand a single blow. Moreover, they are very selfish. They only want to be the fisherman. How can it be easy to be a fisherman? The more disunited they are, the faster they will die. However, isn't this a good thing for us? "
These bandits all had ulterior motives. They were all thinking of the most beneficial ideas for themselves. However, such a good thing did not exist. If everyone shrank back, they would eventually be defeated one by one. Only by uniting together could they have a chance to win. Of course, bandits were bandits. How could it be possible for them to unite as one? If bandits had this ability, then they would not be ordinary bandits. They would be tyrants with the ability to change dynasties.
Since Li Dahu and Blind were slow, Ang Lee did not have to be polite. He directly ordered the army to speed up and block the two groups of bandits as soon as possible. As long as these bandits were blocked, there would be no pressure to persuade them to surrender.
Zhao Wufu's troops were moving faster than Ang Lee. After all, they needed to block the bandits on the mountain path. Once the bandits ran out of the mountain path, they would not be able to block the exit. They would also not be able to launch a pincer attack with Ang Lee.
Fortunately, the two groups of bandits were moving very slowly, which gave Zhao Wufu more time. Zhao Wufu's troops finally arrived in front of the bandits and blocked the exit. It was only a day before the bandits arrived at the exit, and it was only a day before the bandits arrived.
Ang Lee's troops were slightly slower. They were still two days away from the bandits. However, it was only a matter of a few dozen miles. The mountain path was the only path. There were no roads on both sides of the mountain. If they gave up everything, they could still climb up the mountain and escape. However, there was no road at the top. The only outcome of escaping into the mountain was to starve to death or be tortured to death by the poisonous insects in the mountain. It was better to just surrender.
Li Dahu and Blindman's teams also had scouts. They only scouted towards the north and didn't check behind them. The distance they scouted was only thirty to forty miles, which was only a day's journey. Therefore, when they were about to reach the exit, the scouts immediately discovered the terrible situation of the exit being blocked.
This time, Zhao Wufu didn't set up any traps. Instead, he openly blocked the crossroads. There were five to six thousand people at each of the two crossroads. The military formation was extremely grand, scaring Li Dahu and Blind's scouts silly.
In the valley where Li Dahu set up camp, Li Dahu was just about to sit down and rest when the scouts ran over to report the situation of the exit being blocked. Li Dahu was quite frightened.
"What? Five to six thousand soldiers blocked the exit? How is this possible? Impossible!"
Li Dahu was so frightened that he sat down on the ground.
"Leader, I saw it clearly. The five to six thousand soldiers have indeed blocked the exit. There are more than ten arrow towers. It is impossible for us to charge through."
The scout said.
Li Dahu was instantly stunned. When he thought about how his confidant in the middle had not been able to send back any news, he suddenly had a terrifying guess. He did not even dare to believe that this guess was true.
He felt that the rebel army in the middle had eight thousand soldiers. No matter how weak they were, they should not have been wiped out so quickly by the imperial army. Could it be that the sudden increase in speed in the middle was for the sake of war?
In fact, a few days ago, Zhao Changkong in the middle had already given orders to Li Dahu and Blind. He also told them about Pang Gui and told them to speed up and attack Gui Chang City with him. Unfortunately, the two fellows who delivered the letter did not go far and were discovered by Ang Lee's confidant. The two fellows were killed and the letter was also intercepted. Therefore, Li Dahu and Blind did not speed up. If they had received the letter, these two groups of soldiers would have already left the mountain path and rushed towards Gui Chang City. Although these bandits might not be able to break into the city, their destructive power was still very great. Even if these fellows could not break into the city, they could still wreak havoc outside the city. Ang Lee's experimental field was also outside the city. If these fellows were to destroy it, wouldn't it be terrible? But at this moment, this worry did not exist. This made everyone feel relieved.
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