When Gelofeng heard the bandit leader's words, he could not help but feel annoyed. This was also what he was most worried about. The Tang dynasty's army was right behind them, and they had been chasing after them. If they wasted any more time here, it was very likely that they would be caught. However, if they gave all the treasures to the bandits, they would also lose the ability to establish a foothold after they escaped. No matter what people did in life, they needed money. Losing money meant that they could not do anything.
In order to protect himself, Gelofeng took 500 of his most loyal warriors with him. However, it required a lot of resources to feed these 500 people. Without these treasures, these 500 people would leave him sooner or later. In this way, Gelofeng would really be completely reduced to an ordinary person, and there would be no chance for him to make a comeback.
In order to not be too miserable, Gelofeng absolutely could not give up these treasures. Even if the Tang Dynasty's army was behind him, he did not care.
The battle was inevitable. The 500 Nanzhao soldiers and the bandits who surrounded them soon began to fight.
Although the bandits had a large number of people, they were after all a motley crew. After a while, neither side gained the upper hand. About 200 soldiers were killed or injured, while at least 500 to 600 bandits were killed or injured. It could be said that both sides suffered heavy losses.
Geluofeng's brow furrowed at the sight of his most elite soldiers suffering such heavy losses. If this had been a fair battlefield, his elite soldiers would have never suffered such heavy losses. The reason for such heavy losses was simply that the terrain was far too disadvantageous for them. The bandits had surrounded them and occupied the advantageous terrain, allowing them to attack from above, forcing the soldiers into a passive position. But even so, these soldiers had still managed to make the bandits pay the price of several hundred men.
The bandit leader's face was also gloomy. It had not been long since the battle began, and one of his brothers had been killed or injured. If they continued to fight, the losses would only increase, and this was not what he wanted to see. But now that things had come to this, he had no good way to change all this. After all, if they retreated at this time, they would lose a lot. Not only would they not get any treasures, but they would also lose 700 to 800 men for nothing. This was unacceptable to him. Since the losses were already so great, he had to continue. As long as he could get the treasures, the previous losses would be worth it. As long as he had a lot of treasures, he could quickly recruit more men and restore his army. If he gave up now, he would have nothing left.
At this moment, the bandit leader was somewhat regretful. If only he had agreed to Gelofeng's suggestion to leave half of the treasures. If only he had agreed, he would have been able to get half of the treasures, and his brothers would not have suffered so many casualties. But now, his brothers had suffered so many casualties, but they were still unable to defeat these soldiers. If they continued to fight, he felt that at least two-thirds of his brothers would be killed before they could completely defeat these soldiers. And such a heavy loss made him feel very pained. More importantly, his men were a motley crew, and the more losses they suffered, the lower their morale would be. If they continued to lose men, his brothers would probably continue to flee.
At this moment, both sides were riding a tiger and could not back down. They had no choice but to continue fighting. No one could afford to lose, and it would be a lose-lose situation.
Very quickly, more than half of the soldiers had been lost, and the bandits had also lost 1,200 men. Their losses were more serious than the soldiers, but they still seemed to have a slight advantage. However, the bandits below were no longer willing to fight with their lives on the line. After all, for every soldier they killed, they had to pay the price of four or five casualties. This exchange was even more shocking than the soldiers. Bandits were bandits, and their fighting strength was much weaker than the soldiers.
At this point, there were already deserters among the bandits. Those bandits who were not willing to die had already begun to flee. Even if the bandit leader shouted loudly, it did not have much of an effect. In just a short while, 200 bandits had escaped. This greatly reduced the pressure on the soldiers. It seemed that the two sides would soon have a reversal in strength. With the situation becoming so critical, the bandit leader appeared to be very angry. He had already seen that these several hundred soldiers were tough men who were not afraid of death. If the battle continued, he was afraid that all the bandits under his command would die. If the losses were especially severe, even if they obtained the treasures, they would not have the time to quickly expand their troops.
At this moment, the bandit leader had already thought of retreating. He was regretting more and more. He should not have rejected Gelofeng's offer. Now, not only did he not obtain any treasures, he had also angered Gelofeng and caused the loss of half of his men. This was unbearable for him.
"Leader, if we continue to fight, our brothers will all die. These soldiers do not want to live anymore. We have suffered too many casualties. We can't continue fighting."
A small leader said helplessly.
"But the price we paid is too high. If we just walk away like this, we will be laughed at."
The bandit leader's face was full of pain.
"Leader, it is not too late to suffer losses. What is face? As long as our brothers can survive, we will regain our face sooner or later."
The small leader did not support continuing the fight. If they continued, he was worried that they would all die.
"Sigh! We have suffered a great loss! "
The bandit leader sighed helplessly and ordered a retreat.
"My lord, the bandits have finally retreated. However, the soldiers have suffered heavy losses. We have lost at least 60% of our soldiers. We only have 200 men left who can still fight. Half of the carriages have been destroyed. What should we do?"
The carriages were used to transport treasures. During the fight, the bandits had destroyed some of the carriages. As a result, it was difficult to continue transporting the treasures. In addition, there were many injured soldiers, especially those who were seriously injured. They also needed carriages to transport them. Otherwise, they would have to stay where they were.
"Let the injured soldiers and half of the treasures stay here. Find a place to hide first. When I have settled down, I will send people to receive them and the treasures."
Gelofeng said.
"My lord, there are bandits on this mountain! If we leave half of the treasures and injured soldiers here, the bandits will definitely not let them go. None of the injured soldiers will survive. The treasures will also be taken by the bandits. "
The subordinate frowned and said.
"What else can we do? The situation is already like this. Do you have any other ideas? If we delay any longer, we are all doomed. Let's get on our way! "
Gelofeng said without hesitation.
"Yes, my lord."
Gelofeng took half of the treasures and 200 guards and left quickly. He left the injured soldiers and the other half of the treasures where they were. He also ordered the injured soldiers to find a place to hide and hide the treasures.
Although Nanzhao had suffered a crushing defeat, these soldiers were the core of Gelofeng's forces. They were absolutely loyal to Gelofeng. Therefore, even if Gelofeng left them in the ravine, they would not complain. They could only find a way to solve the problem on their own.
However, unfortunately, after the bandits retreated, they left behind a few spies. These spies hid in the dark and saw everything.
"Leader, good news! Good news! "
One of the spies ran to the bandit leader's side and said with a smile.
The bandit leader said angrily, "What are you smiling about? I have lost so many men. What good news can there be? "
"Leader, please calm down. The soldiers have left. They left the injured soldiers and some treasures in the ravine. It would be a waste if we don't take it! How can these injured soldiers be a match for us? Wouldn't the treasures be for free? "
The spy said with a smile.
"Good, at least we can get something. Kill the injured soldiers and move all the treasures back to the stronghold."
The bandit leader ordered loudly.
Soon, more than a thousand bandits came back and rushed down. At this time, in the vicinity of half of the treasure, there were only about a hundred wounded soldiers besides corpses. These wounded soldiers were not lightly injured. How could they resist the attack of more than a thousand bandits? They were all killed very quickly. However, they still killed fifty bandits. It was clear that these soldiers were indeed the best of the best. Their strength was not to be underestimated.
"Quick, move all the treasures away. Hurry up."
The bandit leaders ordered loudly while swearing. They had suffered great losses in the conflict with the Nanzhao soldiers this time. So many of their brothers had died. If something happened to the treasures, they would suffer a great loss.
Just when these bandits thought they could get a lot of treasures, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty suddenly appeared in front of them. This Tang Dynasty army was not large, only about five hundred men. They were ordered to kill Gelofeng. At this moment, they saw the bandits moving the treasures on the road.
"Captain, it looks like they are bandits. Gelofeng won't be wiped out by bandits, will they? If they are dead Gelofeng, then the treasures will be worthless. "
A Tang Dynasty soldier said.
"Who cares? Let's kill them first. "
The Captain frowned and led his men to kill the bandits.
The bandits had just gone through a big battle and lost more than half of their men. All the bandits were very tired. At this moment, they suddenly saw the Tang Dynasty's army rushing over, which made them panic. The bandit leaders even felt like banging their heads against a wall. The Tang Dynasty's army came at such a bad time. Wasn't this killing them?
"Leader, the Tang Dynasty's army is here. What should we do? What kind of fate is this?"
A bandit leader was very depressed. They had just fought with the elites of Nanzhao and suffered great losses. They did not expect to encounter the elites of the Tang Dynasty so soon. In this way, they would definitely not be able to get the treasures, which made them very depressed.
"Alas, we are really unlucky. If I had known, I would have promised Gelofeng. Now we have lost everything. Alas!"
The bandit leader regretted it, but it was too late to say anything now. If they did not give up, they would be wiped out by the Tang Dynasty.
In desperation, these bandits could only put down the treasures and flee into the mountains. They left a few spies to continue to investigate the situation.
"Captain, these are all treasures. What should we do? Continue to chase Gelofeng or transport these treasures back?"
A soldier asked.
"We don't have any vehicles now, so we can't transport these treasures. How about this? You two go back and report the situation. Leave 200 people to guard these treasures. The rest of you follow me to continue chasing Gelofeng. "
Seeing the corpses of Gelofeng's soldiers, the Tang Dynasty Captain decisively made the decision to divide the troops. According to the intelligence, Gelofeng only had 500 guards with him when he fled, and there were 200 to 300 corpses of guards in this ravine. In this way, there were only 200 guards left with Gelofeng. The Captain led 300 soldiers to chase after them, which was more than enough to deal with the situation. As for leaving 200 soldiers to guard the treasures, the Captain was not worried. After all, the bandits had also suffered great losses. 200 elite soldiers guarding the treasures could completely control the situation. Once the main force in the rear received the news, they would definitely send vehicles to transport these treasures away.
"Leader, the Tang Dynasty Army left 200 people to guard the treasures, and the remaining 300 continued to chase Gelofeng. It seems that we can't get these treasures back."
The bandit leader said disappointedly.
"It's really bad luck. I don't know what bad luck we have today. It's actually not going well. Don't think about the treasures anymore. Retreat back to the stronghold."
The bandit leader's face was cold. One could imagine the pain in his heart. After this battle, the bandit leader's prestige had been greatly damaged. It was possible that he would be replaced by his subordinates. After all, no one wanted to follow a bad leader. Everyone hoped to follow a good and capable leader.
"Assistant Minister Li, we have recovered 100 chests of treasures, all of which belong to Gelofeng. They were intercepted by the bandits and lost 200 to 300 guards, while the bandits lost more than 1,000 people. Gelofeng is still unable to escape. They only have 200 people with them, but they have 100 chests of treasures. However, I believe that our army will catch up with them soon."
Chen Long reported.
Ang Lee nodded with satisfaction and said, "Good, you did a good job. Half of these treasures will be handed over to the imperial court, and the rest will be distributed to the soldiers. All the soldiers will have a share. Hahaha!"
After such a great victory this time, Ang Lee was in a particularly good mood. Although he had not caught Gelofeng yet, it was only a matter of time. Gelofeng would definitely not be able to escape. Sooner or later, they would be caught by Ang Lee's troops. Ang Lee only needed to wait in Wangcheng.
A few days later, the other two groups of troops also entered Wangcheng. They looked a little unhappy. After all, they had just arrived at the border of Nanzhao when they heard that Nanzhao's Wangcheng had been occupied. The soldiers of Nanzhao who were in charge of resisting them at the border immediately surrendered when they heard that Wangcheng had been captured. The two groups of troops entered Nanzhao's hinterland without shedding any blood.
One of the groups entered Yu Chengjie's territory. Originally, they were going to pass through the territory of Yu Chengjie. It was unknown whether this guy was scared or not, but he actually directly asked to give up the title of the dynasty and completely integrate into the Tang dynasty. The generals of the Tang dynasty naturally did not object and directly agreed. It was such a good thing that they naturally would not refuse such a good thing that could give the empire more territory.
"Assistant Minister Li, you are too mean. Our two groups have just finished preparing, and your side has already occupied Nanzhao's Wangcheng. Our preparations were in vain."
One of the generals said with a smile.
"If we had known that Assistant Minister Li would advance so quickly, we wouldn't have prepared, haha."
Another general opened his mouth and said.
The two of them were not really angry. They were just a little unhappy. Naturally, they would not be in a good mood if they did not succeed.
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