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◎The bloody smell of the battlefield.◎
"Father!"
Seeing his father fall off the horse, Prince Yuan Chongguang did not care to panic and dismounted to help his father.
The sons had lost their backbone. The six generals who had followed Yuan Chongguang and more than a hundred Yuan's personal soldiers faced the 70,000 Liangzhou troops who had betrayed the Yuan family. They felt like they had fallen into an ice cave and subconsciously huddled together, guarding against the siege from the Liangzhou troops and the imperial army. Then two smart generals dismounted in time and knelt on the ground begging Emperor Xingwu for mercy.
As soon as the two men knelt, the other soldiers who rebelled against the king also knelt down and begged for mercy.
Emperor Xingwu gave a few instructions to Deng Chong and Meng Ji.
The two generals immediately led their men forward and dispatched the Liangzhou Army to capture Yuan Zhaoxiong and others, including the wife of the Marquis of Pingliang and other Yuan family members who were not sent far away.
Before Qin Hong, Qin Bing and Qin Ren could recover from their father's majesty, they were called to the imperial carriage by Emperor Xingwu. When the three brothers got on the carriage, the little princess was already sitting inside.
Before he could even settle down, Qin Bing excitedly asked, "Father, why don't the Liangzhou troops listen to Yuan Zhaoxiong?"
Emperor Xingwu looked at the four children and said, "The Liang Province army is divided into generals and soldiers. The soldiers are drawn from the common people, receiving salaries and rations from the court. When war breaks out, they dare not disobey. When there's no war, they'd rather stay in the barracks and collect their salaries. If you were in his shoes, would you give up your peaceful life to follow a rebel who would force you to fight in vain and risk your life at any moment?"
Qin Ren shook his head repeatedly.
Emperor Xingwu glared at him and turned to the generals, "Soldiers obey their generals' orders. Generals are smarter than ordinary soldiers. They know that Yuan Zhaoxiong's rebellion is only for his own selfish desires. In a peaceful and prosperous era, they don't need to follow Yuan Zhaoxiong to his death. They also know that the tens of thousands of soldiers in Liang Province are unwilling to rebel. If I don't come, the soldiers dare not openly oppose Yuan Zhaoxiong. Once I arrive, I only need to raise my arms and mobilize tens of thousands of soldiers to defect. By then, what are the generals worth without their soldiers?"
"So, I only need to send people to warn these generals to keep their loyalty to the court. When the two armies are facing each other, if the generals don't obey Yuan Zhaoxiong's orders, the soldiers behind them will not move."
Qin Binglian praised several times, "Father, you are so wise."
Qin Hong: "When did Father contact those generals?"
Emperor Xingwu smiled and said, "When I feel it is necessary."
When Qingyang heard this, he thought of his father's prediction six years ago that Yuan Zhaoxiong would continue to be greedy. Then, as the emperor, his father would definitely place spies around a general who was both greedy and had military power. When there was nothing to do, the spies would only monitor Yuan Zhaoxiong, and when something happened, the spies would act according to his father's orders.
Qin Bing suddenly said, "That's not right. Since the Liangzhou army still obeys the emperor's orders, when Yuan Zhaoxiong disobeyed his orders, the emperor could have simply ordered other generals to capture him. Why did he lead a hundred thousand troops on this long journey? Not to mention the hardship, how much food and fodder did he waste along the way?"
Emperor Xingwu looked at the prince.
The Crown Prince pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, by returning Yuan Zhaoxiong's family to him and giving him another chance to confess, you demonstrate your generosity and kindness towards meritorious officials. Yuan Zhaoxiong persisted in his rebellion, and Your Majesty, by ordering the Liangzhou troops to defect before the battle, you demonstrated your control over the army and the loyalty of the border troops. This, in turn, served as a deterrent to other border generals harboring corrupt and rebellious intentions. Combining kindness and severity, you achieved two goals at once."
Qin Bing heard this and said admiringly, "Big brother is really amazing. I wouldn't have thought of so much."
Qin Hong blushed when his second brother praised him.
At this moment, there was a sudden deafening shout outside the car, mixed with the thrilling sounds of galloping horses and swords and guns.
Qin Hong's face changed drastically, Qin Ren shuddered, and Qin Bing flung open the car door. Father and son looked out at the same time, only to see that Fan Zhong and several groups of personal soldiers had tightly surrounded the imperial carriage, while soldiers in the distance were engaged in a fierce battle...
Qin Bing was first surprised and then suspicious. This didn't look like a fight. Which soldiers would fight so politely, just clashing with swords and guns?
Looking further away, the galloping cavalrymen were just circling around the periphery of the two armies, raising clouds of yellow dust.
Emperor Xingwu asked the second son to close the car door, looked at the four siblings in turn, and continued to ask: "Guess what I did this for?"
Qin Hong lowered his head in deep thought, Qin Bing was listening to the noise outside while thinking, Qin Ren looked at his eldest brother and then his second brother, and accidentally caught his father's sharp scrutiny. Qin Ren quickly scratched his head, pinched his chin and looked to the other side in deep thought.
Seeing that the three brothers could not guess the answer in a short time, Emperor Xingwu looked at his youngest daughter sitting next to him.
Qingyang smiled at his father.
Emperor Xingwu was not surprised at all: "Lin'er guessed it?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the three Qin Hong brothers all looked over.
Qingyang said to his eldest brother, "It was your words that reminded me. Previously, he was worried that the Western Hu would take advantage of your father suppressing Yuan Zhaoxiong's rebellion to invade the border, but your father was confident and unconcerned. I think your father had already factored the Western Hu into the war. Now that your father has withdrawn the Liangzhou army without a single soldier, the news of this victory will surely inspire the court and the people. There's no need for a feint. So your father's move was probably to deceive the Western Hu spies in Wuwei, hoping to lure the Western Hu into attacking us."
Qin Hong was enlightened and his spirits lifted. Qin Bing's eyes widened as if he had just met his sister. Qin Ren was surprised at first, and then he looked at his sister with a smile. His long eyes, which looked like those of Emperor Xingwu, should have been sharp and majestic, but his smile showed full of kindness and amiability.
Emperor Xingwu scooped up his daughter's small hand and patted it, then said to his three sons, "That's right. In the early years of our founding, our national strength was insufficient. The Western and Eastern Barbarians repeatedly invaded our borders, and Father could only command the border troops to defend, unable to initiate any offensive. In recent years, the weather has been good, and the granaries of the people and the army in all states are overflowing with food and fodder. It just so happens that Yuan Zhaoxiong is restless, so I am leading my troops to attack him in public, but in reality, I am taking the initiative to attack the Western Barbarians and let the neighboring countries see that the new emperor of the Central Plains is not afraid of them!"
Capturing Yuan Zhaoxiong without bloodshed could indeed demonstrate his grace and power, but this alone was not worth it for him to dispatch an army of 100,000 and consume the food and grass that the entire country had worked so hard to save. The real purpose of Emperor Xingwu's personal expedition was to severely defeat the Western Hu.
.
The sounds of fighting continued until nightfall. As hundreds of blood-soaked Liangzhou cavalrymen were "hunted down" by 3,000 cavalrymen led by Generals Lu Zan and Cao Guang and fled to Wuwei City, the battlefield outside Luhe Town finally became quiet.
Qingyang got off the carriage with his father and brothers.
The lights were dim in the vast night, and it was impossible to see the figures of people dozens of steps away. The evening wind was stronger and colder than that in the daytime, and it brought with it an unignorable smell of blood.
If it was just a feint, where did the blood come from?
Qingyang thought of the two pens of pigs and sheep that suddenly appeared in the military camp the day before approaching the Yellow River.
It was too late, so the little princess followed her father's instructions and went into the tent to rest.
The tent was pitch black after the lights were blown out. Qingyang didn't know when she fell asleep, but was suddenly awakened by a slight noise. She opened her eyes and listened attentively. When she made out the sound of horse hooves heading gradually south and the military camp was as quiet as before, she thought of her father's plan to lure the enemy.
Since we are feinting a battle to lure the enemy, my father's campaign against Yuan Zhaoxiong must be a tragic victory, because only when Wuwei's troops are seriously short of manpower will the Western Hu dare to invade.
Then most of the 170,000 troops here should have died in battle and been burned to "destroy their bodies."
At dawn, Qingyang got up, put on his cloak, and went out with Jie Yu.
To Qingyang's surprise, his third brother, who often woke up at the last minute, was already standing outside the next tent. Their eyes met, and Qin Ren, with a look of worry he had never seen before, walked up to his sister and said in a panic, "Second brother, Zhang Su, Qin Liang, my eldest brother-in-law, and the noble sons that our father brought with him, have all left with the cavalry of Duke Dingguo and Marquis Weiyuan."
Last night, just after the second update, my second brother crawled out of the bed. Qin Ren asked him what he was going to do, and my second brother excitedly said that he was going to the battlefield to make merit.
Because his father was there, Qin Ren was not afraid at all. However, his father's war against the Hu was not part of his preparation. When he thought that his second brother, Zhang Su and other familiar men were going to fight with the fierce Western Hu cavalry, and might encounter danger and never come back, Qin Ren was in fear and anxiety that night.
Qingyang guessed that his father was going to send the main force of the cavalry to ambush the Western Hu by a detour, but he didn't expect that his father would send his second brother and others who were accompanying him out at once.
The faces of his second brother and Zhang Su appeared in his mind one after another, and Qingyang felt cold all over.
"Your Highnesses, breakfast is ready. The Emperor invites you over." He Yuanjing walked over from the front and reminded with a smile.
Qingyang came back to his senses and took his third brother over.
Emperor Xingwu and Qin Hong were both in the big tent. When the brother and sister noticed that the eldest brother's face turned pale, Emperor Xingwu also noticed that something was wrong with the brother and sister.
Emperor Xingwu said nonchalantly, "They are all promising military generals. Sooner or later, they will have to go out and gain experience. Opportunities for actual combat like this are not something you can just wish for."
Qingyang pursed his lips, and Qin Ren couldn't help but say, "Second brother is only seventeen, and Zhang Su is only fifteen..."
Emperor Xingwu said: "They are both superior to some of the generals. It would be a waste of opportunity if we don't go."
It would have been fine if he hadn't been fierce. But when he became fierce, Qin Ren blinked and two strings of tears rolled down his face. He turned around and wiped them away with his sleeve.
Suddenly, it seemed as if he saw Emperor Xingwu, the Concubine Li crying in grievance: "..."
Seeing that the third child was like this, Emperor Xingwu looked nervously at the nine-year-old princess.
The little princess' eyes also turned red. Perhaps because she was afraid that her father would worry, she was sensible enough to hold back her tears.
Emperor Xingwu quickly added, "Don't worry. Father wants to train them, not just kill them. Father has already instructed Deng Chong and Meng Ji to restrain themselves. He will then release your second brother and his men when the time is right. Your second brother and his men are accompanied by personal guards."
Qingyang understood, and she ate in silence as soon as breakfast was served.
But his appetite was still affected, and Qingyang left after eating only half full.
Fan Zhong was guarding outside. Seeing the little princess, he considerately advised, "This area is covered in blood to camouflage the battlefield. Your Highness should stay here and get in the car later."
Qingyang didn't want to just wait, so he would rather go and see the disguised battlefield to pass the time.
After Fan Zhong went in to ask for the emperor's instructions, he set off with the little princess.
In the dim morning light, after walking a little further, Qingyang saw various bloodstains. Some were sprayed all over the place, some were condensed in one place, some left footprints, some seemed to have been moved by something, and there were also some broken gun barrels and military flags.
The number of soldiers was obviously decreasing, so Qingyang asked, "How many soldiers are left with the emperor?"
Fan Zhong laughed and said, "Eight thousand cavalry, twenty thousand infantry, and Yuan Zhaoxiong's seventy thousand cavalry were almost completely wiped out."
This is the "battle report" that the emperor wants to convey to the Western Hu.
Qingyang understood because Yuan Zhaoxiong had been mentioned. He looked at the tents being dismantled and asked, "Where are the Marquis' wife and the others being held?"
Fan Zhong was stuck.
Qingyang looked up and saw Fan Zhong looking around but not answering. Qingyang looked at the blood on the ground and suddenly vomited.
【Author’s words】
Experience in every sense.
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
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