Chapter 182 The Pearl is covered in dust and burns itself
After hearing this, Ma Lingcha laughed loudly and said: "I like to hear this. As an Anxi soldier, if you can't fight one against ten, then you are really weak!"
He raised his cloak and turned around, waving to Li Siye beside him: "Let's go, take me to see the heads you captured."
The heads captured by Li Siye's men were piled between the stables and the sheepfold. Due to the warm weather in the past few days, six hundred heads piled together began to rot and deteriorate. Each one was green and black, and emitted a foul smell of corpse. The sheep nearby were originally
Manure and horse manure are smelly enough, but they react with the smell of corpses to produce another disgusting smell.
Ma Lingcha walked to the pile of heads and subconsciously wanted to cover his nose, but when he thought about how many battles he had gone through as the envoy of a town and the commander of the army, he was used to seeing mountains of corpses and seas of blood, how could he be treated like this by a mere corpse?
His demeanor was ruined, so he simply put his hands behind his back and resisted the discomfort and said with a smile: "Are these the heads of those Tibetan soldiers?"
Li Siye originally raised his hand and touched his nose, but when he saw Ma Lingcha's expression was indifferent, as if he didn't notice it, and even his superiors ignored the stench, wouldn't it look pretentious for him to cover his nose again.
He immediately crossed his hands and said: "I'd like to inform the envoy Ma Zhen that these are indeed the heads of the Tibetan army in Lianyun Fort. There are six hundred and twenty-one heads in total. Please send someone to check them."
The followers behind Ma Lingcha also had great endurance. Since the town envoy was not afraid of the smell, they were even less afraid of the smell. After Ma Lingcha waved his hand, they all took the initiative to participate in the on-site inspection.
However, there were also civil servants among them who had never been on the battlefield. Their faces had become sallow due to the raging stench, and their foreheads were bulging with green veins. They could actually puff up their mouths and smile, which Li Siye admired quite a lot.
Ever since Li Siye did anti-nausea training with Zhang Kuo's corpse in the desert devil city, no matter how bloody the scene is now, it is just drizzle for him, so his expression is still calm. But he must be kind. In order to take care of the emotions of these civil servants,
He quickly said to Ma Lingcha: "We have captured more than thirty horses in this battle, as well as some weapons and armor. Return the horses to the envoy to watch with me.
Ma Lingcha's face turned redder and redder. He didn't know if it was because he was holding in his breath. He just nodded calmly, raised his hand and walked forward. When they were out of the smelly area, the two of them let out a long sigh of relief.
"After the inspection is completed, quickly find a place to bury these heads. If they are piled up for too long, they can easily cause diseases."
"Here."
As soon as Ma Zhen envoy left, his followers also fled in a hurry. Some of them couldn't hold it in anymore and vomited out loudly while holding on to the wall of the building.
One of them raised his sleeve to wipe the stain on the corner of his mouth and gasped, "It stinks so much. It smells worse than feces that has been pickled for ten years. In fact, I couldn't bear it anymore."
Another person said: "You still can't help it. I just had all the food from the previous night in my mouth. I just held it in my mouth and didn't dare to spit it out."
As soon as these words came out, two more people vomited out while holding on to the wall.
Li Siye led Ma Lingcha to the corner where the captured items and horses were. The Ma Zhen envoy took the reins of the horses and looked at the horses' mouths, and said with praise: "They are all good horses." But when he stood among the piles of horses, he
In front of the armor and weapons, there was rust on the chainmail and pierced armor, as well as various swords and guns. He just frowned: "A pile of scrap metal."
Li Siye took the opportunity and said from the sidelines: "The Shikakus suffered heavy losses in this battle, and General Gayancong was also seriously injured, so I humbly request on his behalf whether these seizures can be given to the Shikakus."
"Indeed," Ma Lingcha nodded, twirling his beard and waving his hand. "There is no need to report it to the Governor's Office. The envoy of this town has given permission."
Ma Lingcha asked him again: "Gayyan sent a message from the king to say that the guard of Lianyunguo, Qianzong Gongjuezan, and 300 Tibetan soldiers were also captured in this battle?"
"That's right, Ambassador Ma Zhen, please come with me."
In the cellar where bracken was stored where Gong Juezan and the three Gui shooters were imprisoned, Li Siye just opened the lid of the cellar and asked Ma Lingcha to look down from above.
The Lianyunbao Qianzong was stripped of his clothes. He only had a loincloth and a red belt wrapped around his waist. His swollen eyelids were squinted and closed tightly as the light stimulated him. The same was true for the other three shooters.
He was led by a hemp rope, and the other end of the hemp rope was tied to an iron ring on the wall.
Ma Lingcha looked down at him and ordered someone to cover the cellar. He turned to Li Siye and asked, "Didn't you say there are three hundred prisoners? Where are the people?"
Li Siye took two steps back, half-knelt on the ground and crossed his hands, saying, "Run away."
"Run away?" Ma Lingcha stretched out his hand to stroke his beard and thought deeply, then patted Li Siye on the shoulder with sincerity: "Li Siye, you can decapitate more than 600 people, which is already a great achievement, so why bother to falsely report the number of prisoners? Do you know? Hide it.
There will be punishment for taking credit."
"Si Ye did not dare to conceal anything, let alone falsely report. He indeed captured three hundred people. The four people under the cellar were from the Gui and other soldiers of Tubo, and the more than three hundred people were mediocre slaves of the Tubo army. Originally,
They were all imprisoned in the sheep pen because the soldiers guarding us got drunk last night when we were drinking to celebrate our victory, so they all ran away. This is a crime of low duty, so please punish me with envoy Ma Zhen."
Ma Lingcha's expression froze. How could anyone believe this reason?
"What crime should the guarding soldier be guilty of for escaping the prisoner? Why not behead him as a warning to others?"
It was Li Siye's turn to take a breath, and he asked Ma Lingcha tentatively: "It was just a moment of carelessness, so there is no need to behead him in public, right?"
"What do you think?"
Faced with Ma Lingcha's unquestionable expression, Li Siye could only take a deep breath, stretched out his hand to invite: "Envoy Ma Zhen, please take a step to speak. I have something important to report to you."
…
After a while, Ma Lingcha walked out of the thatched hall refreshed, turned to Li Siye who was following behind him and said, "What you did is really a bit bold. You put out such a long line. What if you can't take it back in the future?"
manage?"
Li Siye smiled and explained: "I have thought through this matter thoroughly and made inquiries to make it clear. This Gong Juezan is indeed a noble man in Tubo. As long as he is still alive, the traitor I put back will be like a gleam on my back every day.
So we can do anything with him."
Ma Lingcha shook his head with disdain and said with a smile: "As a border guard of the Tang Dynasty, everything is based on combat strength. The spy you created is just a trivial trick and may not be useful."
Do you look down on intelligence work? Is the Tang Army already so arrogant? All kinds of espionage warfare and psychological warfare flourished in troubled times such as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period or the Three Kingdoms. In this prosperous era when strength seemed to be overwhelming, they were restrained by rules?
"But." Ma Lingcha changed his voice and said: "Your motives are good, and you have used your mind. Maybe you will be able to do something unintentional in the future. We will not ask about this prisoner named Gong Juezan.
Whether you lock him up in Congling or let him fend for himself, you are responsible for all the consequences, and you have to think about it."
Of course Li Siye knows what his superior is thinking. You have to think about this kind of thing yourself from beginning to end. Even if I know, I will never stick to the pan. If it works, I will give you a credit. If it fails, I will give you a few sticks. You can weigh it yourself.
.
Li Siye originally wanted this kind of attitude, so he immediately crossed his hands and said, "I have thought it over clearly. If there are any mistakes, Siye will take full responsibility for it."
"Very good," Ma Lingcha said proudly: "It is rare to see a responsible young man like you in the Anxi Army. He should be moved to important positions to replace those who have lost their vitality. This matter is
It's over, please be patient, the awards and transfer orders from the Protectorate will come out soon, young man, you have a bright future."
"let's go."
Ma Lingcha and his entourage walked out of the city. These people were curious when they came, but looked numb when they left. They all seemed to say in their hearts that it was enough to visit this kind of ghost place once in a lifetime.
Li Siye and all the soldiers bowed outside the city gate and crossed their hands: "I humbly send you to the envoy of Ma Zhen."
Dozens of flags fluttered with crimson waves, and the cavalry of a hundred people walked along the hilly ridge away from this desolate and lonely place.
Ma Lingcha looked back at the city guard and saw a man at the city wall, waving his arms and high-fiving himself with a new gesture that he had never seen before.
The envoy was filled with emotion and said to the people around him: "A person should be determined to make progress. Even if he encounters a cold reception, he should always be prepared. Otherwise, when the opportunity comes one day, you will miss it. As long as he is a pearl,
Even if it is buried in the soil like Congling, it will eventually bloom with brilliance."