The Orkhon River prairie covers an area of 180 miles, with mountains of corpses and rivers of blood!
One hundred thousand of Xue Yantuo's elite cavalry were defeated like mountains and stars fell into the clouds, throwing away their helmets and armor. They were expelled and killed by a brigade of crazy and domineering Tang Army cavalry, and they hurriedly retreated to Qibei!
The battle started at noon and lasted for six hours.
The smell of blood wafted in the air, and people with lingering breaths could be seen everywhere rolling and twitching on the ground. Even the eyes of the scattered war horses were filled with fear of killing and blood, and they were running around aimlessly.
Xue Rengui held Fang Tian's painted halberd and rode a half-red and half-white horse, walking slowly. Behind him, the proud military flag of the Tang Dynasty was still flying, and thousands of soldiers followed him and retreated.
It was an incredible, unimaginable victory.
But there was no joy or excitement in Xue Rengui's expression. Along the way, I saw countless corpses of Xue Yantuo, Datang and Uighur people, and my face became tense.
"General Xue..." A deputy general next to him shouted in a hoarse voice. Xue Rengui came back to his senses and asked him what was going on.
After fighting fiercely for such a long time, once it calmed down, people's mental and physical strength were severely exhausted. At this time, the fatigue began to show, and it seemed that they even had no energy to speak.
"General, look..." the deputy general pointed not far away and said, "There is a small group of Uighur cavalry over there, following us for several miles."
Xue Rengui glanced over there, and there was a group of Huihe cavalry following them. He couldn't see clearly in the night. He could only make out their traditional white war hat brim and battle flag. There were about one or two hundred people in total.
In the battle just now, Xue Rengui took the lead and was always at the forefront. Xue Yantuo's army collapsed due to the death of thirteen fierce generals and the fall of Yi Nan, so the Tang army and the Uighur army covered them up together. However, the only ones who had been closely following Xue Rengui at the forefront were his more than 3,000 elite cavalry from the Chinese army, the same brigade of elite soldiers that Qin Mubai had pulled up before. The other generals of the Tang army were plundering the formations to cover up the killings; while the Huihe people were mostly busy taking advantage of the situation to rob them - collecting prisoners and seizing weapons and horses.
It was with these three thousand elite soldiers that Xue Rengui drove Xue Yantuo's 100,000 troops for nearly 180 miles, killing countless enemies and returning with a great victory!
Earlier, I really didn't notice that there was a small group of Huihe cavalry who followed him closely to kill the enemy.
"Since we are friendly forces, please invite them to come over and join us on the journey! There are few of them, so we might encounter the remnants of Xue Yantuo's troops on the road again," Xue Rengui said.
The deputy general accepted the promise and went over to invite him. Soon the soldiers and horses came back.
It was difficult to see the opponent's figures clearly in the night, and everyone was quite tired, so Xue Rengui said nothing and continued to direct the troops to advance. But four or five of the Uighur cavalry came to the Chinese army.
"General Xue, is there any medicine in your army that can heal injuries and stop bleeding? I have a brother who is injured and bleeding. His life is at stake. Please help me, General!"
As soon as the other general said these two words, everyone was surprised.
For one thing, she speaks Chinese as fluently as a native Han Chinese; secondly, she has a female voice, and a very nice female voice!
"Female?" Xue Rengui couldn't help but be stunned.
"Yes." The general opposite, like everyone else, was covered in blood and had a ferocious face. It was even more difficult to see his face in the night. She said, "My name is Ashina Blood Lotus. It's not the kind of Jinshan Snow Lotus. Snow, but this blood.”
After saying that, she gently lifted up the brim of her hat, which was covered with blood.
"Ashina Blood Lotus..." Xue Rengui groaned and smiled, "Are you from the Ashina family?"
"Yes." Xuelian said, "The leader of the Ashina clan is my father."
"Are you the daughter of Heluohu Khan?" Xue Rengui asked in surprise.
Just because Heluo's father Tuli was a Turkic Khan before, and Heluohe inherited the title and official position bestowed on his father by the Tang Dynasty, and was the spiritual leader among the tribes in the grassland, so people used to call him Heluo respectfully. The falcon is called "Khan", but it is no longer a Khan in the actual sense of the past, it is just out of politeness.
"That's right..." Xue Lian took a deep breath, spit out murderous intent and anger, and said, "The Yi man bullied the weak, was unfaithful and unjust, destroyed my race and killed my father. I am sworn in with him! The great leader of the Huihe tribe. Tumidu is my half-sister's biological uncle. If my sister and I hadn't come to Huihebu to visit our uncle a few days ago, I would have been killed by Yi Nan too!"
"Oh...that's it!" Xue Rengui thought about it for a moment after hearing this. It seems that this interpersonal relationship is quite complicated.
Seeing Xue Rengui's suspicious expression, Xue Lian said: "And my biological mother is a royal princess named Li who was married to my father by the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, I can speak Chinese and write Chinese characters... General, are there any injuries? Medicine, saving people is like putting out fire!”
"Come here, go immediately and help treat the wounded friendly troops!"
"promise!-"
Xue Lian then heaved a sigh of relief and rode beside Xue Rengui. He looked at Xue Rengui's invincible Fang Tian painted halberd with fascination and said, "General Xue is indeed an unparalleled general in the world!"
"I don't dare take it." Xue Rengui said hurriedly, "There is only one person in the world who can be called a 'divine general' - he is my Duke Yi of the Tang Dynasty, Qin Shubao!"
"But in my opinion, the general's bravery is even better than that of Qin Shubao! With thousands of armors, he killed an army of 100,000 and retreated for hundreds of miles. Such a feat cannot be achieved by famous generals in ancient times!"
"Really..." Xue Rengui responded lightly without saying much.
"The general doesn't seem happy about this great victory?" Xue Lian asked bluntly and curiously.
"What a blessing..." Xue Rengui smiled slightly, his eyes looking particularly deep and confused.
"General... why do you show sadness and sadness?" Xue Lian became even more curious and asked directly.
"I don't want to cause so much killing. I just... want to go home." Xue Rengui smiled slightly, turned to her and said, "More than ten thousand of us just want to go home. But there are already many people, They can’t return home, including the Xueyantuo people and the Huihe people.”
Xue Lian opened her eyes wide and looked at Xue Rengui in surprise. She was confused for a long time. The moonlight illuminated her smart eyes brighter than the stars in Yejia.
"General... has a great compassionate heart and is a true hero!" Xue Lian said suddenly.
"Why do you say that?" His relatives and friends all have his wife, children, and children waiting at the door... Killing one person is not a crime, but injuring a hundred people is a big crime! I don't know how these brothers who died in the Orkhon River grassland will be with their families after they return. explain!"
The words made the nearby soldiers of the Tang Army burst into tears.
Xue Lian was immediately horrified and said in surprise: "General Xue, you are all real warriors! Your tears will move the gods!... When my uncle and the others finish clearing the battlefield, I will ask him to collect the bones of the Tang Army soldiers. How about cremating them and letting the southerly wind take them home?”
"What?" Xue Rengui didn't come back to his senses for a moment.
"It's the end of summer, and the most southerly wind blows to the Central Plains, doesn't it?" Xue Lian said, "There is a legend in our Ashina tribe that if someone dies in a foreign land, his ashes will be blown away by the wind. They will find their way home and be reunited with their families. This is what the Central Plains call "fallen leaves returning to their roots." I think it's been the south wind these days. Why don't we send these heroes back by the Orkhon River tomorrow and the day after tomorrow? Go home!”
"..." Xue Rengui pondered for a long time and nodded gently.
Two days later, a raging fire was lit by the Orkhon River, and the military song of the Tang Dynasty was sung - "The vast sea, kiss my home. The rolling dust, the leisurely my cave! The universe is bright, the man's blood..."
Mighty and far away!
Tragic and desolate!
The south wind whistled on the grassland, and the soldiers of the Tang Army scattered their ashes and shouted the names of their fallen brothers, their voices were shrill and vigorous...
"Zhao Qingshan, Xianyang, Guanzhong, is back home!"
"Feng Chengde, Luoyang, is back home!"
“Lingnan Zhucheng, back home!…”
Xue Rengui was riding on a horse, his body no longer stained with blood from the fierce battle that day. The white horse and silver robe were majestic, but his brows were furrowed and his eyes were looking far away to the south.
Ashina Blood Lotus changed into her prairie daughter's clothes and stood beside Xue Rengui on horseback. Her exquisite facial features and slightly wheat-colored skin show her special softness, yet still have a heroic spirit and a hint of wildness.
On the grassland, she and her half-sister were both top-notch beauties. It is said that Yi Nan's reason for bloodbathing the Ashina tribe this time was "the rejection of his proposal" - he wanted to forcibly marry the Blood Lotus sisters at the same time, but He Luohu did not agree, thus igniting the fuse of the war between the two tribes. .
Although it is just an excuse, it is enough to show the beauty of the Blood Lotus sisters.
"What is the general thinking?"
Blood Lotus, who had taken off his military uniform, was obviously much more graceful than when he first saw her on the battlefield that day. But despite this, she is very different from most gentle and innocent women from the Central Plains. There is no pretentiousness or awkwardness in her interactions with men. She is very fiery and can bend a bow, shoot an arrow and charge into battle better than men. She can survive such a fierce battle and continue to lead a group of men, which is enough to show her special ability. place.
After two days, Xue Rengui, who had experienced life and death together, had drunk a large bowl of wine with her three times, and almost fell asleep as brothers.
"Missing home." Xue Rengui answered simply.
"Miss your wife and children at home?"
Xue Rengui smiled slightly, glanced at Xuelian, and said: "I have two homes. One is Lanzhou City, where my wife and children are. Although I miss them, there will be people who take good care of them there. I don't Worry. What I worry about most is another home... "
"where?"
"Datang, Kansai Army."
“…”
"We are a group of lost children. We all want to go home." Xue Rengui sighed slowly and said, "After we were defeated in Gaochang, we escaped all the way and traveled thousands of miles to kill people. We have only one purpose, to go home. But, I Afraid to go home…”
"Why?" Xue Lian wondered.
"I have no face to go back and meet..." At this point, Xue Rengui was speechless and his eyes were red.
"Don't you dare to meet Qin Mubai?" Xue Lian responded and sighed, "I can't blame you for the death of Duke Yi. Can you bring these brothers out, walk here, and then return to Lanzhou? , just try your best.”
"I let him down. This is the fact. There is no reason that is irrefutable." Xue Rengui pursed his lips tightly, took a deep breath and sighed, and said, "He treated me like a brother without any reservations. Before leaving, He asked me to serve my father on his behalf, but I..."
"General..." Seeing Xue Rengui closing his eyes and shaking his head repeatedly, he could no longer say anything. Xue Lian also felt a little sad and said softly, "Although I have never met Qin Mubai, he can make a great hero like you admire him. He must be a great person. Even though I am far away in the grassland, I have heard his legend... I really want to hear for myself how beautiful the music of his pipa is."
Xue Rengui was silent and the Blood Lotus chanted alone. The soldiers of the Tang Army scattered their ashes and sang military songs. This scene made many Huihe people who stopped and watched quietly shed tears.
"General, after the battle is over and revenge is taken, I will go to Lanzhou with you." Xue Lian suddenly said.
"What?" Xue Rengui was stunned for a moment. This woman is always a bit unexpected. He didn't say this in a soliciting tone, but in a very clear "I've decided" attitude.
"My tribe is gone, and my family is gone. After I get my revenge, I will go back to my mother's family to see... I often hear my mother say how magnificent Chang'an is, how resplendent the imperial city is, and how beautiful the Central Plains is. It's wonderful to be prosperous and wealthy, but I left Chang'an as soon as I was born and came to the grassland and never went back." Xuelian said, "General, aren't you going back to Lanzhou? I will go with you."
"..." Xue Rengui was almost speechless for a moment, so he had to say, "Lanzhou is a barren and dangerous military town and frontier fortress, not the Central Plains you imagined. You'd better not go."
"Do you think I'm the kind of person who's afraid of fighting?" Xue Lian smiled, her mixed-race light blue eyes showing confidence and mischief, and said, "Maybe I can become a member of your young commander's command. Where is the general?"
"Stop talking nonsense, why do we need female generals in the army?"
"Why, you look down on me?" Blood Lotus stared with almond-shaped eyes and raised his eyebrows, "How about you fight me for another 300 rounds?"
"Forget it..." Xue Rengui couldn't help but smiled bitterly and shook his head.
In the past two days, Xue Lian forced Xue Rengui to compete immediately if he had nothing to do. This woman with astonishing courage and considerable strength seems to have the mark of the Turkic wolf in her body. She is full of wildness, explosive power, lethality and aggression, and she must try her best in every battle, as if she has to fight hard. When all was said and done, she had no idea what "stop at the last minute" meant. She had to wait until Xue Rengui had no choice but to knock her off the horse and completely subdue her before she would admit defeat.
In two days, she lost eighteen battles in a row, but the more she fought, the braver and fiercer she became.
"Then you come with me to Lanzhou!" Xue Lian said, taking advantage of the victory.
Xue Rengui could only shake his head and smile bitterly, his eyes brightened, and he said with a smile: "Do you want to go to the Central Plains to see it, or do you want to... see my third brother Qin?"
"Both!" Xue Lianxin said frankly and without any hesitation, "It's true that I want to go to the Central Plains; I want to meet Qin Mubai, who is famous all over the world and deeply impressed you. This is also what I want. There is nothing to hide. ”
"What did you see him doing?" Xue Rengui couldn't help laughing.
"I just want to meet..." Xue Lian finally blushed, but his tone remained uncompromising, and said sonorously, "I want to know whether he is just a fake name or a real person. Why do you let someone like you, the No. 1 person in the world? A brave general, treat him like a god?"
"You're wrong, it's not about being a god..." Xue Rengui chuckled, "It's about trust and respect."
"That's what you mean!" Xue Lian also chuckled and said, "Brother Rengui, we hit it off so well at first sight, why don't we sworn brother and sister? To tell you the truth, all the daughters of the prairie are in love with those who are good at fighting. A brave man, but I am not! Because I am no worse than those so-called warriors, I am not afraid of them! - But I am willing to fight with them courageously! - Brother Rengui, you are the most brave person I have ever seen! Warrior, you must become brother and sister with me!"
"Haha! Okay!" Xue Rengui couldn't help laughing, "It's okay to be sworn brothers!"
"...Brother and sister! They are brother and sister!"
That night, countless blazing bonfires were lit in the Uighur tribe's camp, and the aroma of milk wine, barbecue and the sound of Hu Xian singing filled the night sky.
In the first battle, Xue Yantuo was severely defeated and Yi Nan was severely injured. The Uighurs, who had gained countless benefits, were proud and confident. The big leader Tu Midu was even more overjoyed and personally celebrated Xue Rengui's soldiers.
Xue Rengui had no intention of doing these things, but it was hard to refuse such hospitality, so he had no choice but to follow the host's will.
At the bonfire banquet, Xue Rengui and Xue Lian knelt under the totem of the wolf clan and the dragon flag of the Central Plains and married Jinlan, becoming brothers and sisters with different surnames. Only then did Xue Lian tell him that her original name was indeed 'Snow Lotus', which was given to her by her grandfather Tuli Khan who was still alive at that time when he was in Chang'an. But when she grew up, Xue Lian felt that the word "snow" was too weak and didn't suit her personality, so she changed it to the rebellious and sharp-edged name she has now. For this reason, her parents could not dissuade her and had no choice but to let her do it.
The half-sister Ashina Xiyan, who grew up with Blood Lotus and was inseparable from her, has a completely different personality from Blood Lotus - pure, gentle, kind and diligent, which coincides with the temperament of traditional Chinese women. In Xue Lian's words, her sister was "like a lamb that had just been born in Uncle Tumidu's pen."
The two great beauties on the grassland, Xue Lian and Xi Yan, sat with Xue Rengui on the left and right, taking turns holding the cup for him, but they envied those Huihe men. But these Uighur people can only be convinced - beauties love heroes. This is a tradition in the Central Plains, but in the grasslands it is like an unwritten iron rule!
Of course, the most beautiful beauties can only accompany the most heroic warriors!
"Brother Rengui, why don't you marry my sister!" Suddenly, Xue Lian said something so unexpected that Xue Rengui almost spit out his drink.
"You... you don't have to mess around!" Seeing Xi Yan blushing beside him, Xue Rengui didn't know what to say for a moment, "I already have a wife and children!"
"So what! It's normal for a good man to have many wives and concubines." Xue Lian said nonchalantly, "Sister, just tell the truth to Brother Rengui! Tell him how much you like him! Apart from him, you will never see anyone else in this life. You can’t find another man like him who makes you fall in love at first sight and fall in love with him! —And I also think that only brother Rengui is worthy of a beauty like my sister!”
The folk customs of the grassland are fierce and wild, and the daughters of the grassland are unrestrained and generous. But when it comes to matters between men and women, I am afraid that except for the Blood Lotus, every woman in the world will be a little shy.
Xiyan is naturally no exception. At this time, he lowered his head and was speechless.
"Xue Lian, I'm going to get angry if you continue to talk nonsense!" He is a nobody and already has a wife and children, and he can be humiliated!"
Xue Lian was about to argue when Xi Yan hurriedly stood up, bent down and saluted, "Sister, please stop talking...Brother Rengui, I'm sorry."
After that, he ran away in a hurry.
Xue Lian was immediately anxious to chase her, but Xue Rengui held her down, "If you continue to mess around, don't blame me for falling out on the spot!"
"Uh!..." Xue Lian had no choice but to give up and bit her lips bitterly, extremely unwilling to do so.
Early the next morning, Xue Rengui was about to step out of the felt tent and ride a horse to stretch his muscles. He bumped into Xue Lian walking towards him. With a happy face, he pulled him and hurried to the big leader's felt tent, saying: "Brother Rengui, you Come on! Good news, great news!”
"What's the good news?"
"No, that's really good news!" Xue Lian almost cheered and shouted, "The king of the Tang Dynasty is coming! The main army of Li Ji, the governor of Bingzhou, is coming! Did you know?! The king of the Tang Dynasty is coming to put down Xue Yantuo's rebellion !”
"Master of the Tang Dynasty, Li Ji's main force!!!" Upon hearing these words, Xue Rengui's blood boiled on the spot!
"Where is it? Take me there quickly—"