Chapter 765

Bodo looked at the burning village with a cruel smile in his eyes.

After ordering the slave soldiers to besiege Yizhou City, he led 60,000 cavalry, dividing them into six routes to plunder within the Bashu territory.

For the past six months, the Golden Tent Khanate had been quietly preparing this plunder of the Great Yu Empire’s Bashu region. Another cold winter was approaching, and none of the Golden Tent Khanate’s descendants were willing to see their tribesmen die in cold and hunger.

And to successfully capture Songzhou City, they had sent envoys to Tibet six months ago, finally promising a quarter of the plundered wealth in exchange for passage through Tibet.

“Faster, faster! Don’t leave any grain or livestock in the village! There are many more villages to plunder below!” Bodo shouted loudly.

Before him, barbarian soldiers rampaged through the village like wolves, corpses of the Great Yu Empire’s common people lay everywhere on the ground. Mixed with the screams of daughters and the cries of children, this place was like hell on earth.

At this time, barbarian soldiers, scimitars in hand, shuttled back and forth in the village. They tied everything they could plunder onto their horses, while the village’s cattle and sheep were herded by them towards the next village.

Such a tragic scene made Bodo’s eyes gleam with excitement. He had to thank Beishan for being able to pass through Tibet so smoothly this time.

Although Beishan was once again punished by his Father Khan for the defeat in Goryeo, three months after his return to Shengdu, a British man arrived in Shengdu and began teaching them various different battle tactics. This passage through Tibet was also his idea.

“Amazing British people,” Bodo thought to himself. ‘He saved the Golden Tent Khanate.’

As he was in awe, a barbarian general came before him and said, “Prince Bodo, the Khan ordered us not to stay in Bashu for more than twenty days. The time is almost up now. We should withdraw from Songzhou and return to the grasslands.”

Bodo frowned upon hearing this. “We finally managed to penetrate deep into the Great Yu Empire’s territory this time. Wouldn’t leaving so quickly be a waste? The soldiers’ horses are not yet fully laden with grain. Let’s wait a few more days. Even if the Great Yu Empire sends reinforcements, they will first relieve the siege of Yizhou. We can still retreat then.”

The general said worriedly, “Prince, once the Great Yu Empire’s army arrives, I’m afraid we won’t be able to leave.”

“Hmph, has your courage been shattered by the Great Yu Empire’s army? They are only formidable with firearms, but can firearms outrun our horses?” Bodo rejected the general’s suggestion.

Seeing this, the general sighed and no longer tried to persuade him.

…

Chang’an. After a day of rest in what was once the capital of the Great Yu Empire, Luo Quan and Qi Guangyi led their cavalry directly towards Songzhou.

After Xiao Ming reinstated him, he did not go to Jinling Province to rendezvous with Lu Fei, but instead, he and Qi Guangyi led their cavalry straight to Songzhou instead of reinforcing Yizhou.

“General Luo, it’s only a day and a half’s journey from Chang’an to Songzhou. Are we truly not going to Yizhou?” Qi Guangyi asked.

Luo Quan’s expression was firm, “Yizhou city has twenty thousand musketeers led by Di Ying, and sufficient grain and fodder in the city. As long as there is no internal chaos, barbarian slave soldiers alone cannot conquer it. Moreover, the barbarians’ purpose this time is plunder; they will not wholeheartedly attack the city. Once they have plundered enough, they will withdraw from Bashu. So now, what we need to do is prevent them from returning to the grasslands from Songzhou City, and then rendezvous with Lu Fei to annihilate this barbarian cavalry in one fell swoop.”

Qi Guangyi nodded upon hearing this. This old general had fought many battles with the barbarians throughout his life and understood their temperament very well.

Luo Quan, seeing that Qi Guangyi still had doubts, continued, “If the cunning Beishan were leading this plunder, they might have already returned to the grasslands. But the battle report says that Bodo is leading this time. I know this person very well; he is very greedy. He will most likely delay the withdrawal.”

“If that’s the case, the sooner the better. General Luo, let’s go,” Qi Guangyi said, looking at the morning glow.

Luo Quan was somewhat excited. Returning to the battlefield seemed to have made him come alive again.

During his time in Qingzhou Province, he had been incredibly bored. He had endured it only to avoid suspicion, but it wasn’t until the military reform occurred that he suddenly realized he had no need to avoid suspicion at all.

Spurring their horses, Niu Ben and Qi Guangyi set off again. Although the journey from Qingzhou Province to Chang’an was exhausting, the war was urgent, allowing them no time for excessive rest.

At noon on the second day, Luo Quan and Qi Guangyi led thirty thousand cavalry to Songzhou City. When he saw the barbarian soldiers on the city wall, both of them were immediately delighted.

“The General’s foresight is truly divine! I didn’t expect Bodo to indeed be greedy for plundered wealth and not withdraw from Bashu,” Qi Guangyi said excitedly.

Upon learning that Songzhou had fallen and the barbarians had entered Bashu, all of them, as generals, harbored a burning anger. The Great Yu Empire and the barbarians were ancient enemies; they only wanted to completely annihilate these invaders.

Luo Quan stroked his beard and looked at Songzhou City. He mused, “This Songzhou City is the western gateway to Bashu. It has mountains on both sides and a city in the middle, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. In the past, when Tibet invaded, they always attacked from this very spot.”

After a pause, he continued, “We must immediately blockade Songzhou City to prevent the barbarians from sending intelligence. Additionally, have the soldiers dig trenches outside the city to prevent cavalry from entering.”

Qi Guangyi nodded. He looked at Luo Quan with some surprise, not expecting this old general, who had been out of action for so long, to understand digging trenches at such a moment.

It must be said that Luo Quan’s decision now was very sound. Currently, there were barbarian soldiers inside Songzhou City, and Bodo was leading 60,000 cavalry outside.

If Bodo returned, they would be at a great disadvantage due to being attacked from both inside and outside.

Therefore, digging trenches now would both prevent an ambush by the soldiers inside the city and prevent Bodo from using the barbarians’ cavalry advantage to launch a strong assault on them.

Upon receiving Luo Quan’s orders, the soldiers immediately dismounted. In front of the Songzhou City defenders, they began digging trenches one hundred meters outside the city.

By the time these trenches were completed, the soldiers led by Lu Fei should have arrived. Even if Bodo arrived first, they could still contend with Bodo’s cavalry for a few days.

The Great Yu Empire’s cavalry was no longer afraid of the barbarian cavalry.

The barbarian soldiers inside Songzhou City were terrified by the scene outside the city, but they dared not sally forth to meet the enemy.

Because most of the cavalry had left the city to plunder, there were only 8,000 men left to defend Songzhou City against any unforeseen circumstances. If they sallied forth to meet the enemy, they might lose Songzhou City, which would be far worse than a few trenches.

In the midst of these preparations, four days later, Lu Fei finally arrived with his large army, this time including 10,000 percussion cap gun soldiers from Qingzhou Province.

“These damned fellows actually came to plunder the Great Yu Empire! Today, Grandfather Lu will teach them how to behave!” Lu Fei’s first words upon arriving outside Songzhou City were filled with rage.