Li Guiren's solo escape put Zhang Tongru and Sun Xiaozhe into a desperate situation. They were led by exhausted infantry. How could they withstand Li Siye's attack?
In order to survive, they could only follow Li Guiren's example, abandoning their vehicles to save their commander and leaving a battalion of troops to resist. After the attack, General Zhonglang knelt down on one knee and spoke sincerely with a lump in his throat: "Zhang Liushou, General Sun, I humbly accept the post of two generals."
How dare you not repay your kindness with death? As long as there is only one person left in Zhongwu Camp, the Hexi Army will not be allowed to advance even half a step!"
"Okay, please get up quickly. When I return to Fan Yang, I will definitely take care of the general's family."
After Sun Xiaozhe arranged for the scapegoat, he immediately rushed the soldiers on the road. Unexpectedly, the lieutenant general turned around and surrendered directly to Li Siye.
"The crime will be brought to the attention of the Xiliang County Prince. I am willing to sacrifice my merits and lead the way for the County Prince to take a shortcut to encircle the rebels!"
Li Siye nodded and ordered to the generals around him: "Give him a horse and lead the way to pursue Zhang Tongru. Duan Xiushi, you lead the Han navy to detour back to Lantian County to intercept and outflank the rebels."
…
Not long after Sun Xiaozhe led his troops into the Lantian County area, the team exploring the front quickly turned back. The team was kneeling on one knee and said in panic: "General, something bad has happened! Li Siye's Han navy has blocked the front."
At this time, another scout came to report, kneeling on one knee: "General Sun! Li Siye's flying tiger cavalry has surrounded Lantian from three sides."
"What!" Sun Xiaozhe immediately beat his chest and wailed: "What! You damn, son-of-a-bitch bastard has surrendered to the enemy! I haven't lived enough!"
Zhang Tongru also sighed loudly: "Are you and I going to die here today?"
He suddenly turned around and asked, "Where is this place?"
A general stepped forward and said: "I'd like to inform Zhang to stay behind. This is Bashang in Lantian County, also called Bailuyuan. The terrain here is slightly higher and can be defended."
He slowly sat down on the ground in despair, and said helplessly: "Now that the soldiers are exhausted and can no longer fight, how can we hold on?"
The general replied: "There is a high ground in the northwest, which is the commanding height of Paoliyuan on Bailuyuan. It is surrounded by sloping slopes and ravines washed out by rain. The cavalry is at a disadvantage when attacking from the rear. As long as it is defended properly, it can be used by thousands of troops.
It can’t be captured either.”
Sun Xiaozhe quickly added: "Yes, yes, hurry up to the high ground and form a formation!"
The 15,000 rebels retreated to Paoliyuan and formed a phalanx on all sides, surrounding several carts of Sun Xiaozhe's belongings and women's family members in the center. At this time, the north wind was blowing on the plain, and most of the rebel soldiers were wearing thin armor.
Shivering in the cold wind.
Li Siye and Zang Xiye led the flying tiger cavalry to surround the highland on three sides. Duan Xiushi led the Han navy to surround the north, but they were not in a hurry to attack and just waited at the foot of the slope.
…
Sun Xiaozhe got into the carriage of a thick plate ink carriage driven by two horses. There were three or four beautiful women sitting inside. When they saw Sun Evil Ghost entering, they all shrank and hid in the back compartment. Only one woman from the clan looked down.
He leaned against the carriage board, as if indifferent.
Sun Evil Ghost spat and cursed: "Please calm down, please! Come here with me and take off your clothes!"
After a while...
Sun Xiaozhe put on his clothes again, tied his robe and pinched the chin of one of the women and said: "This may be the last time in my life. If I can't take it away, I can't leave it to Tang Jun! Don't look at it like this
Me, do you think I can survive without killing you? As a member of the royal family, your innocence has been tainted by me, a traitor, and it has insulted the majesty of the Li Tang royal family. Even if you return to Chang'an alive, you will end up being sentenced to death.
.”
He took out the poisoned short knife from his arms, gently pressed it against the woman's skin, and sneered: "I really can't bear to do it."
After a while, Sun Xiaozhe climbed out of the carriage and rubbed the blood on his feet with the soles of his feet.
At this time, three generals came to see him. Their lips were blue from the cold. They knelt on the ground and crossed their hands and said: "General Sun, the soldiers are hungry and cold. Seven of them were frozen to death in the cold wind last night. Now most of them can't even use their swords and guns."
If we are not sure, please ask General Sun to take pity on us and help everyone find a way out."
Sun Xiaozhe raised his triangular eyes with a fierce glare. The three generals took half a step back timidly. Then he asked with a gentle smile: "Have you asked Zhang Tongru?"
"We have already asked. Zhang Liushou said that he did not dare to be independent. Let us ask you."
"Oh, that's right," he rubbed his black mustache at the corner of his mouth with his fingers, lowered his head and asked the leading general: "Is the other way of survival you mentioned surrendering?"
The general did not hear the strange aura in his words. He lowered his head and crossed his hands and said: "It is pointless to resist now. It is better to surrender first and save your life in the long run."
"What you said makes sense. But..." Sun Xiaozhe suddenly stepped forward, gritted his teeth and thrust the short blade into the general's chest. I don't know what the blade was made of, but it could cut off easily.
Nail plate.
The general covered his chest and his eyes widened, the veins on his forehead gradually turned black, and he slowly fell to the ground.
The other two people hurriedly kowtowed, saying: "We are stupid, we deserve to die! General Sun, spare your life!"
Sun Xiaozhe wiped the blood from the dagger on his cuffs and said coldly with a stern look: "Go down and lead the troops. If anyone dares to mention surrender in the future, he will be your fate."
…
Li Siye, who surrounded the rebels on the ground, was not helpless. The enemy was already a bastard in the jar. It was up to him to decide whether to braise or fry. He did not have to injure his soldiers for this last feast.
He had already sent people to mobilize Yan Xiaosi's artillery battalion that was stationed near the Bahe River. However, the Xuanwu artillery was too heavy and seriously slowed down the march. Yan Xiaosi then sent more than twenty small Xuanwu artillery pieces.
Come here. This small basalt cannon is light and easy to move. It can be easily towed by just one horse driving the shaft.
In the afternoon, these more than 20 cannons were pulled to the cannon plateau and placed together under the gently sloping soil plateau. The 800-meter range allowed them to easily throw the cannonballs onto the high ground.
He ordered people to shout at the foot of the hillside, urging the rebels to surrender quickly. After shouting three times, it was considered a final warning.
"There's no point in shouting, so let's bombard them."
Li Siye directly ordered to aim the small Xuanwu cannon at the high ground. The muzzle of the cannon sprayed out white smoke in this winter, and exploded thick smoke on the high ground. From time to time, the screams of the rebels could be heard. Waiting for the cannon to fire five times
After the volley, Li Siye immediately ordered two battalions of the infantry army to test the attack upwards, but the rebels still had a certain resistance, and the Tang army quickly withdrew.
Soon the sun rose and the moon set, and the stars rose into the sky. The sky turned from light blue to pitch black. Due to the raging cold wind, the clouds and fog were erratic, and only a few lone stars were left flickering, like the embers of a bonfire that was about to be extinguished by freezing in the cold night.
.
Sun Xiaozhe was lying in the compartment of the ink truck, sitting on his right side with two or three female corpses that were already cold, and he was able to snore and talk in his sleep.
The army was extremely suspicious of this man's perversion, but when forced into a desperate situation, some people were still willing to come forward. Two generals led six soldiers and approached the carriage. One of them held a big stick in his hand and stepped on the shaft of the carriage.
He went up, squatted at the door of the carriage, followed the direction of the sound and beat the stick several times.
Unexpectedly, this man was too panicked and frightened, and the first few blows missed him, and the last one hit Sun Xiaozhe on the shoulder. Sun Xiaozhe jumped up with a scream, and rushed forward mindlessly, holding this
The person rushed out of the car and fell to the ground.
The soldiers hurriedly rushed forward to suppress Sun Xiaozhe and tied him tightly with hemp ropes. The generals simply did not stop and tied up Zhang Tongru, who was sleeping soundly.
In the early morning, when it was dawn, the rebels threw down their flags and weapons from the high ground. Two rebel generals led Zhang Tongru and Sun Xiaozhe, who were bundled into making rice dumplings, down the slope to surrender in person.
"We have long heard that the king of Xiliang County loves his soldiers like sons and cares for his subordinates. Today we are willing to abandon the dark side and surrender to the king. We specially offer these two thieves to show our sincerity."
"Very good, you two can work under my account, and you will be put to great use in the future."
They thanked each other and stood aside, and ordered the soldiers to escort Zhang and Sun in front of Li Siye's horse.
Li Siye stared at the two of them and smiled coldly: "You two are the cronies of the traitor An Lushan. Now that you are captured by me, what do you think?"
Zhang Tongru raised his chest and said proudly: "Emperor Shengwu is a saint of his generation because he dares to act. But you are just a lackey of the Tang court. How can you be compared with Emperor Shengwu?"
Tian Zhen, who was beside Li Siye, was furious. He picked up the Mo Dao in his hand and was about to cut him in half just waiting for Li Siye's order. Siye waved his hand but smiled without saying a word, and looked at Sun Xiaozhe.
Sun Xiaozhe knelt down on the ground with a plop, and kowtowed his head to the ground five or six times before raising his face and saying: "The dog thief An Lushan is just a withered bone that is about to die. How can you be as powerful as the Xiliang County Prince?
King, you will pacify the world and establish achievements that will be admired by all generations. The thieves will also be given their heads under your sword. I am a humble general but I am not talented. I am willing to dedicate the treasures in my chariot to the prince. I am willing to lead the army to invade Luoyang. All the thieves will be safe.
I know all the treasury where the treasure is stored. If the prince does not abandon it, I will be willing to worship you as my adopted father."
The old arrogance on his face was gone, replaced by a servile appearance. He stood up on his knees and walked in front of Li Siye's horse's belly. He actually raised his head and kissed Li Siye's Liuhe boots. This was a sign of his identity as a Hu man.
The most humble gift performed by a noble person.
The two surrendering generals were shocked. They could not imagine that Zhang Tongru, who looked like a weak scholar, straightened his spine and refused to surrender, but Sun Xiaozhe, who was usually cruel and domineering, knelt down so completely.