The fighting lasted all night. When the sun rose from the eastern horizon and climbed over Langru Mountain, the fighting finally stopped. The victorious Sui soldiers began to clean the battlefield and count the casualties. Before the war started, no one expected that this would be such a brilliant and hearty victory.
At least three hundred prisoners under the custody of the Sui army were searching for the bodies of Mandu Ratu and his son on the battlefield. From the prisoners' confessions, the Sui army generals finally understood why at the last moment, Mandu Ratu took all the corpses with him. The troops rushed in. You must know that this is definitely not a decision that a qualified commander should make, but he is a qualified father.
In the end, Mandu Ratu was found among a pile of corpses. It seemed that these loyal soldiers planned to take the flag owner's corpse back, but in the end they failed to break through the siege. The concentration of corpses in this small area is staggering, not only the corpses of the Mongolian people, but also a large number of Sui soldiers.
It can be seen that at the last moment, Mandu Latu's personal army broke out with extremely strong combat power. Fighting more with less, the number of Sui troops killed was almost equal to their losses. In such a desperate moment, the power that a person can unleash is hard to estimate. In the last moment of their lives, they probably had no idea of ??victory or defeat, and were only supported by the thought of taking the flag owner's body home.
Soon after finding Mandu Latu¡¯s body, the prisoners found Mandu Telle, who had been almost trampled by a war horse. This young Meng Yuan warrior could no longer see many injuries on his body, and there were twenty feather arrows pulled out from his body. His eyes were not closed, and he would not rest in peace.
Perhaps before death, it was also the last moment he saw hope.
The cry of his father sounded in the distance. Regardless of whether Mandutel was an adult or not, at that time, his dependence on his father must have been extremely strong.
"But this is war. Family love is valuable, but death is the main theme.
Yang Kai, the king of Xujun, looked at the corpse of Mandu Latu in a daze. Then he walked to the corpses of the Sui soldiers who died in the final attempt to prevent the Meng Yuan army from defeating the troops, and solemnly performed a military salute. At this moment, no matter what others were thinking, they all followed Yang Kai and saluted.
The main force of the Mandu Banner was eliminated in one battle. This was the most glorious victory since the Sui Dynasty's march. Although it also paid a high price, its significance will definitely leave a strong mark in the history books.
Apart from wiping out the enemy's main force, the biggest gain was no less than 30,000 war horses. This was an exciting and huge wealth for the Sui army. The Sui army had never had this number of war horses. There is no doubt that in a short period of time, the Sui army will have a powerful light cavalry team.
Although there is an acute shortage of war horses in the Sui Dynasty, when the soldiers of the guards are training on weekdays, some people with outstanding physical fitness are allocated to take turns to use the few war horses to train riding and archery skills. These people can easily control war horses. Although they are far from as flexible as the Meng Yuan people, they will quickly adapt to their new identity.
Because of these more than 30,000 war horses, almost all the generals of the Sui army were red-eyed. Before the battlefield was cleared, they began to argue. Everyone wanted to get more horses. When there was no answer that could not satisfy everyone in the debate, they handed over the decision to the previously forgotten army commander, Yang Kai, Prince of Xu Commandery.
"I plan to ask Your Majesty to use 20,000 of the more than 30,000 horses to form a pure cavalry team and give it to a suitable person to lead. The remaining 16,000 horses will be divided evenly Although it is not enough to satisfy you, it can at least increase the combat power of the army and increase the number of ranger scouts."
"The commander-in-chief said this, even if some people are dissatisfied, they can no longer argue.
After calming down, people began to discuss how to form the first cavalry in the true sense of the Sui Dynasty. Some people proposed to select outstanding soldiers from each guard to form them, but the average number of 5,000 soldiers per guard made the generals unwilling. The soldiers who were transferred out were all soldiers who were good at fighting. Even if the same number of people were replenished, they would still feel that they had suffered a loss.
In the end, it was nothing. Yang Kai, the king of Xu County, sent troops to escort 20,000 war horses back to Fan Gu and handed them over to the logistics and civilian officials. Other matters will be decided after reporting to His Majesty. The messengers who left before these horses were the messengers who reported the news to Chang'an City. They put on red cloaks and new clothes, and rode the Mongolian horses towards the imperial capital. Although their speed could not match that of flying pigeons delivering messages, His Majesty would rather hear someone personally tell him the story of this great victory.
¡°You can¡¯t slack off just because you win.¡±
When Yang Kai, King of Xu County, summoned the generals of the Four Guards for discussion, he said: "The main force of the Mandu Banner has been wiped out, and the number of escaped enemies will not exceed 5,000. But these 5,000 people will be reunited in a short period of time.After the new integration, a new general was selected to take command. If we wait for them to organize herders and distribute weapons and armor, it will be difficult for us to control the entire Mandu Banner as soon as possible. "
"so¡¡"
Yang Kai paused and said: "I have decided to temporarily gather the war horses assigned to the guards and hand them over to General Li Yuanshan. He will lead the light cavalry and the heavy cavalry under his command to win the pursuit and must not give the Mandu Banner people a break. We must suppress the last resistance as quickly as possible, and then the army will immediately move westward to deploy defenses on the western border of Mandu Banner. We have already completed half of what His Majesty has entrusted to us The next step is to defend firmly. Fight back and never let Meng Ge¡¯s reinforcements set foot on this grassland again!¡±
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New Year's Eve
Just when the Sui army defeated Mandu Latu on the northwest prairie, a grand annual banquet was being held in the Taiji Palace in Chang'an City. Every year on New Year's Eve, the emperor would host a banquet for all his ministers. Some highly respected elderly people will also be invited from Chang'an City to sit next to the emperor to celebrate the arrival of the new year together.
The Sui Dynasty respected filial piety. Although the invited old men had ordinary status, on this night, they would receive extremely solemn courtesy and respect. This is an example for His Majesty to call on the people of the world to observe filial piety, so the elderly can enjoy honors such as the Emperor's personal toast.
In addition to these old people, those old ministers in the court who have aged but have not left Chang'an City will also return to Tai Chi Palace and enjoy people's respect. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, His Majesty the Emperor would wear the most solemn crowns, take everyone in the harem and courtiers to the Ancestral Temple to worship their ancestors, and then go to the Ming Altar to pray for the people. But tonight, the emperor did not need to put on those heavy and gorgeous clothes. He looked more relaxed and natural in ordinary clothes.
As the first person to enter the martial arts academy, Fang Jie naturally had the opportunity to participate in this feast. But because they have no official positions and are the youngest, they are placed on the outside according to the rules. But this also suits Fang Jie's thoughts. He doesn't like the hypocritical etiquette between changing cups and cups.
¡°He¡¯s a lazy man, in some ways.
Zhuo Buyi did not have an official position, and he had little friendship with the courtiers. So he also sat with the students of the Yanwu Academy. Of course, this was the seat he chose. But even so, his common clothes stood out among the crowd of people in rich and colorful clothes. Except for Fang Jie, no one among the students at this table knew him, so they were all a little surprised how this young guy in civilian clothes got in.
Zhuo Buyi naturally didn't bother to pay attention to the doubtful looks cast by the students. If he could refuse, he would not even appear on such an occasion.
"Not adaptable?"
He asked Fang for an explanation.
Fang Jie nodded with a smile and whispered, "You seem to be more uncomfortable with it than me."
Zhuo Buyi hummed, poured himself a glass of wine and took a sip: "Every year at the feast, His Majesty will give me a seat. But this kind of occasion is obviously not suitable for me to appear, not that I don't fit in here."
¡°It¡¯s sour¡±
Fang Jie smiled and said: "Although you are wearing commoners, if you reveal your identity, half of the people present will be in awe of you, and the other half will be thinking about how to have a good relationship with you."
Zhuo Buyi sighed: "This is the troublesome thing. I'm really afraid that His Majesty will suddenly have a whim and point at my nose in front of all the civil and military officials and say, this guy! He is the number one thug in the Ouchi Guards Department!"
"The number one thug"
Fang Jie couldn't help but laugh: "This title is really appropriate."
Zhuo Buyi said: "You'd better think about how to deal with it. His Majesty will definitely ask you to stand up and say something in front of everyone. Everyone here is full of Chinese. If you don't speak well, be careful of being criticized. It¡¯s sarcastic. After all, he is excellent in five liberal arts subjects, so he can¡¯t show his timidity when he opens his mouth.¡±
"Thousands of times I've worn flattery, but I can't wear it. When I sing praises of virtue, I just pick up the flowers and say it."
Fang Jie stuffed a piece of cooked meat into his mouth and looked very uncivilized when eating it. As the only female student among the ten students in the Yanwu Academy, Ma Lilian secretly glanced at Fang Jie sitting opposite from time to time. She had not yet recovered from the grief of losing her friend, so she was somewhat repulsed by such celebratory scenes.
Your Majesty naturally knows that the students of the Yanwu Academy were killed one after another, but obviously it cannot be mentioned during the new year celebration. Ma Lilian always felt that something was wrong with Fang Jie sitting across from him. It was not until the emperor sent someone to call him and he stood up that Ma Lilian realized that what Fang Jie was wearing was not a formal dress, but the battle uniform of an army scout. Compared with others, it seems nondescript.
Fang Jie, who walked up to the emperor, bowed meticulously, then stood up and paid respects to His Majesty and the Queen on behalf of the students of the Performing Arts Academy.During the New Year, the professors from the Wushu Academy have taught you many times about following the rules, and Fang Jie did it perfectly. There is nothing wrong except the clothes are wrong.
When the emperor asked him to say a few words in front of the courtiers, Fang Jie straightened up.
Her Royal Highness Princess Yang Wanyi, who was extremely disgusted by Fang Jie, stared at him fiercely, wishing that he would be embarrassed in front of the civil and military officials of the court. When she saw that Fang Jie was actually wearing military uniform, she immediately thought of the word bumpkin.
"Logically, I should write a prosperous and beautiful article."
Standing in front of everyone, Fang Jie smiled and said: "Before coming, I thought about it for a long time, whether I should also wear a grand dress to attend the banquet, but after hesitation, I rejected it for three reasons"
"First, wearing a long gown and long sleeves is a hindrance when eating."
As soon as these words were said, people immediately burst into laughter, many of which were sarcastic.
Fang Jie ignored it and continued: "Secondly, I am a student of the Yanwu Academy, so naturally I can't live without the word "wu". As we all know, after completing the training, people from the Yanwu Academy must join the army to kill enemies and make contributions to the country. In this case, in my case, It seems that military uniform is the most solemn costume to pay tribute to His Majesty.¡±
"third¡¡"
Fang Jie's eyes swept over the crowd and then said slowly: "I am a soldier from the border army from the border town of Fangu. Right now, the imperial court's 700,000-strong army is conquering the Mongolian barbarians to the west of Fangu, because those damn barbarians They massacred 2,000 civilians and 800 frontier troops in Fangu City! I am the only one of the frontier troops in Fangu who is still alive, but this life makes me blame myself because I did not stand with my comrades holding weapons at the last moment. I didn¡¯t die in battle with them. Now the Sui army is clearing the grassland to avenge my former comrades. I can¡¯t go to fight and kill the enemy, but I can wear the uniform of the frontier army to cheer for the soldiers!¡±
"I'm a rough guy."
Fang Jie said word by word: "But whether before entering the Yanwu Academy or after leaving the Yanwu Academy, I was a soldier of the Sui Dynasty! Now, I dare to replace those who are facing Chang'an City in the distance on the prairie west of Fan Gu. Soldiers who are saluting Your Majesty, I would like to offer you a glass of wine, Your Majesty!¡±
Fang Jie, who was holding the wine glass, felt his heart rise and fall slightly: "May the Great Sui Dynasty bring prosperity to the world forever. May the Great Sui Dynasty's great army return in triumph. May your Majesty live long!"
"Longevity for the common people!"
The emperor actually stood up and raised his glass solemnly.
Everyone was a little stunned, no one thought that Fang Jie would actually say such a thing. And when Her Royal Highness the Princess of Sui Dynasty looked at Fang Jie again, she suddenly felt that he was much more pleasing to the eye.