Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhang Guangcheng was a steady and thoughtful person. He wouldn't risk the lives of his soldiers just to obtain military merits, and he wouldn't disregard the actual situation just to complete his mission.
From Zhang Guangcheng's point of view, the bandits lying in ambush on the road to Cuandi were determined to get the gold. If he wanted to send all the gold to Cuandi, it would be impossible for the Dragon Martial Army to complete the task. He didn't think that he had the ability to send out troops to eliminate the bandits. War wasn't child's play, and he didn't dare to take the risk without sufficient strength.
Of course, Zhang Guangcheng also felt that transporting the gold to Cuandi wasn't an extremely urgent task. As long as Ang Lee noticed something strange, he would definitely ask about it. Zhang Guangcheng was waiting for Ang Lee to lead the troops back to Gourd Valley.
"General Zhang, the military lieutenant has entered from the West Valley."
Zhang Guangcheng was overjoyed. He knew that the troops had returned, so he immediately went to greet them.
After a simple explanation, Zhang Guangcheng understood Ang Lee's intentions. He immediately ordered the Dragon Martial Army to clean up the barracks and prepare hot water for baths. Of course, there was also delicious food.
Even if there were only a thousand troops returning to Gourd Valley, it was still a very powerful force. With this force, the last large group of bandits in Luzhou would be finished.
After the sky turned dark, Ang Lee and a thousand soldiers were ready to attack at any time. They had already made up their minds to use a thunderous strike to wipe out all the surviving bandits.
"General, the soldiers are ready. We can set off at any time."
"General, let's go."
"General, the bandits on the road have returned to their camps. The left camp has increased to three hundred people, while the right camp still has seven hundred."
Ang Lee smiled. "Our troops and bandits are equal in number. How about this, Shouyu, you lead three hundred soldiers to attack the three hundred bandits on the left. The remaining seven hundred soldiers will follow me to attack the main force of the bandits. Let's move now."
"Move out, all troops move out immediately."
The various troops and horses of the army moved out one after another toward the bandit camp several li away.
In the bandit camp, the bandit leader, Cuan Wudi, was eating. He was strong and had a huge appetite. Eating half a lamb was a piece of cake.
However, it could be seen that Cuan Wudi was not in a good mood. He had already received the news that the Tang Army of Gourd Cave would escort a large amount of gold to Xi Cuan, and there was only one way to Xi Cuan. In order to intercept this windfall, he had brought all the troops under his command, but he did not even see the shadow of the Tang Army, let alone the gold he had been dreaming of.
After Ang Lee personally led the army to break into his lair, Cuan Wudi had planned to go to Cuan to seek refuge with his relatives. However, when he arrived at Cuan, he happened to encounter a huge turmoil in Cuan, and his relatives had been involved. He felt that the poor men under his command were likely to be annihilated once they were involved. It would be difficult for them to survive at all, so he quietly went into hiding.
Later, when he heard that the army had mobilized in full force to suppress the rebellion in Cuan, he had an idea. He quietly returned to Luzhou and returned to his lair.
Fortunately, his lair was not destroyed by the Tang Army. Instead, it was slightly rebuilt, which surprised Cuan Wudi greatly. He felt at ease and boldly lived in his lair until his confidant who had sneaked into Luzhou sent back the news that the Gourd Cave would send a large amount of gold to Cuan. Only then did he take the risk and lead all his men to leave his lair and set up an ambush at the place where the Gourd Cave had to pass to get a considerable amount of wealth.
"I've waited for three days, and the Tang Army has been holed up in the Gourd Cave. They don't even have the slightest intention of moving out.
I'm so angry. "Cuan Wudi threw a lamb leg out.
"Ghost Lord, could it be that our brothers were careless and were discovered by the Tang Army?"
"Ghost Lord, this is very likely. Yesterday, our brothers patrolling the mountain road found several hunters hunting. We were going to ask them, but these hunters ran away as soon as they saw us. Our brothers didn't catch up with them."
"Ghost Lord, could they be the scouts of the Tang Army? Maybe the Tang Army of the Gourd Cave really found us. If so, our brothers have waited for three days in vain."
All his subordinates were talking about it, and they all looked anxious.
Cuan Wudi suddenly lost his appetite. He slammed down the table knife in his hand and glared at his subordinates fiercely. "It's all because of you useless things. What kind of people did you bring out? How could you let the scouts of the Tang Army run away? Let's rest for a night and return to the stronghold tomorrow."
Obviously, Cuan Wudi felt that the Tang Army deliberately hid in the Gourd Cave and didn't come out. It was useless to wait any longer. It was better to return to the lair to recuperate and leave a few brothers to investigate nearby. Once they found the Tang Army, it wouldn't be too late to take action. After all, the Tang Army was escorting a large number of heavy gold. How fast could they move? They were good at moving in the jungle and mountains.
Of course, if Cuan Wudi had been enlightened earlier, he might have already gotten the 500 tons of gold. But he had only been enlightened at this moment. Obviously, the opportunity was gone, because the 1,000 soldiers of the Tang Army were already outside.
"Ghost Lord, bad news. The army suddenly attacked. The camp has been surrounded."
"Ghost Lord, the camp on the opposite side is on fire. It has been captured by the army."
Just as Cuan Wudi was about to rest, the soldiers had already rushed over from all directions. The battle cries and the clashing of weapons intertwined, making Cuan Wudi extremely nervous.
"Retreat. Prepare to retreat."
In a panic, Cuan Wudi gave the order to save his life, picked up the weapons in the tent, and personally led the way out of the tent.
After walking out of the tent, Cuan Wudi was completely stunned. The camp was surrounded by the army, and his men had suffered heavy casualties. Most of them surrendered their weapons and chose to surrender. Only a few people gathered around Cuan Wudi, ready to live and die with their master.
"Ghost Lord, we have been surrounded. It seems that we can't escape."
"These hateful fence-sitters. Ghost Lord usually treats them well, but they surrendered to the Tang Army at the critical moment. They framed Ghost Lord as an unjust person."
"Ghost Lord, let's kill our way out. Open a bloody path."
Cuan Wudi looked at the approaching soldiers in horror. He was very puzzled. Weren't these soldiers staying in Cuan Di? Why did they suddenly appear near Gourd Cave? Did they abandon Cuan Di?
Of course, because it was too dark, he didn't know the strength of the army in front of him. If he knew that there were less than a thousand soldiers in front of him, he wouldn't have thought so.
"Kill! Open a bloody path. At worst, I will die."
Cuan Wudi knew that even if he chose to surrender, a bandit leader like him would never be forgiven. Instead, it was better to take the risk and open a bloody path. Maybe there was still hope to escape.
Of course, this was just Cuan Wudi's wishful thinking. Since the army had surrounded them, how could they let Cuan Wudi, a leader, escape?
The moment Cuan Wudi ran out of the tent, Ang Lee had already locked onto him. The elite soldiers under his command had already aimed their crossbows at Cuan Wudi and his men.
"The bandit leader wants to escape. Fire immediately."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Following Li An's order, hundreds of Zhuge Repeating Crossbows fired at the bandits with Cuan Wudi as the core.
The dense eight-inch crossbow bolts hit the bandits. Even Cuan Wudi himself was hit by many bolts and lay powerlessly on the ground.
Cuan Wudi thought that he was brave, but he couldn't withstand the crossbow bolts. In front of the crossbow bolts, he couldn't withstand a single blow. All of his men were either killed or surrendered.
"General, the bandits on the east side have been wiped out. 120 were killed and 180 were captured."
The other group of soldiers also achieved great success and wiped out all of the bandits.
Li An looked at the 500 bandits who had surrendered and ordered, "Take these bandits who have surrendered to the Gourd Valley to do manual labor. Bury the dead on the spot and escort the injured to Luzhou City to be dealt with by the people in the city. These bandits have done evil for many years. They must have a lot of blood debts."
When the subordinates heard the order, they immediately took action and split into three groups to carry out the order. However, because it was already dark and Luzhou City was already under nighttime curfew, the injured bandit leaders were also locked up in Gourd Cave. They would be brought back to Luzhou City the next morning.
The two temporary camps of the bandits were burned down by the army. The huge flames could be seen clearly at the checkpoint outside Gourd Cave.
The Dragon Martial Army soldiers guarding the checkpoint immediately reported the situation outside to Zhang Guangcheng. Zhang Guangcheng also understood that Ang Lee's operation was successful. He immediately led a hundred Dragon Martial Army soldiers out of the checkpoint to welcome Ang Lee and the other soldiers. At the same time, he also ordered the army in Gourd Cave to make preparations to welcome them.
Ang Lee led a thousand soldiers and escorted the captured bandits towards Gourd Cave. When they were one li away from Gourd Cave, they met Zhang Guangcheng's troops who enthusiastically quickened their pace.
"General, you're finally back. I've been so worried these past few days."
When Zhang Guangcheng saw Ang Lee, he was the first to speak excitedly.
Ang Lee praised him, "Guangcheng, you did the right thing. You didn't act rashly because of my orders. Instead, you sent scouts to scout ahead. However, you should have sent your trusted subordinates to Cuandi and tell me the situation here. That would have been even better."
"General, when I discovered that there were bandits lying in ambush on the road to Cuandi, I immediately sent two of my trusted subordinates to Cuandi. However, the Dragon Martial Army wasn't too familiar with the road. When they went around it, they bumped into a small group of bandits and had no choice but to turn back. The second time, I sent five of my trusted subordinates, but the result was the same. We were unable to secretly break through the bandits' blockade."
Zhang Guangcheng had an aggrieved expression. He had tried his best, but the bandits were more familiar with the terrain, while the Dragon Martial Army wasn't.
Of course, Ang Lee was also responsible for this. If Ang Lee hadn't set aside the Dragon Martial Army and focused on training them, they wouldn't have been so unfamiliar with the surrounding terrain. The reason Ang Lee had done this was because the Dragon Martial Army was going to leave this place sooner or later. The army was the future master of this place, so it was important to focus on training them.
Ang Lee smiled, "It seems I've wronged you. However, if I hadn't brought my troops back, what would you have done?"
Zhang Guangcheng said, "I definitely wouldn't have taken the risk. I would have continued to send out scouts to familiarize myself with the terrain. After a few more tries, I would have found a way to break through. I would have definitely been able to inform you of the situation here."
Ang Lee nodded in praise, "Very good. That's what you should do. I really didn't misjudge you. Alright, let's return to the valley."
The soldiers marched back to Gourd Cave in high spirits. After entering, they received a grand welcome. Good food and wine were prepared, making the soldiers feel very comfortable. After leaving Gourd Cave for so long, the soldiers felt like they had finally returned home.
The captured bandits were all brought to a place where they would be forced to do manual labor. They were all shackled to prevent them from escaping or resisting, which would pose a threat to the army.
The wounded, including Cuan Wudi, were not treated. Although the Gourd Valley had enough Golden Sore Medicine, it was a serious waste to use it on these abominable bandits. Anyway, the next morning, these bandits would be taken to Luzhou City to be shown to the public. What difference did it make whether they were treated or not?
After filling their stomachs, the 1,000 soldiers took a nice bath in the warm bathtub and talked about topics of interest to them.
Ang Lee, led by Zhang Guangcheng, went to the mine to check on the production and reserves.
"General, this is the first batch of gold that will be sent to Cuandi. There are ten boxes in total. Each box is 50 pieces of gold. There are 500 pieces of gold in total."
Zhang Guangcheng pointed at the ten boxes in front of him and introduced.
Ang Lee casually opened a box and glanced at it. There were indeed 50 pieces of gold. He gently held the box in his hand. It was about 60 to 70 kilograms. Of course, this 60 to 70 kilograms was not only the weight of the gold, but also the weight of the box.
"Cuandi is now an official province of the Tang dynasty. Money is needed for all aspects of development. This batch of gold is very important to Cuandi. Tomorrow morning, send 200 soldiers to escort it directly to Nanning Province."
Ang Lee gave the order directly.
Zhang Guangcheng nodded and sighed softly. "General, Zhu Lingqian, the City Building Envoy of the Tang dynasty, was killed by the Cuandi tycoons in order to build Nanning Province. Now, the Tang dynasty has regained control of Nanning Province and the entire Cuandi under our control. Zhu Lingqian can rest in peace in Heaven."
"Yes, Zhu Lingqian built Nanning Province for the Tang dynasty. He was a meritorious official of the Tang dynasty. Although he has been killed for a long time, he provided convenience for us juniors to enter Cuandi. We must remember this person forever. We can build a statue in Nanning Province to commemorate Zhu Lingqian's achievements and let future generations remember him forever."
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