Chapter 4 Ambush

  "Is this a Tibetan warrior? Like a dead dog!" Kunde spat at the Tibetan cowering on the ground and kicked him hard.

  Li Changguo's martial arts skills were exceptionally strong, and his physical strength was not small. Without exerting much effort, the three Tibetan men couldn't withstand it and fell to the ground like dead dogs, twitching uncontrollably, unable to get up again.

  "Tibetan warriors are indeed of noble character!" The crowd of soldiers began to criticize and scold, each one raising their eyebrows and sighing.

  At that time, the Tang Dynasty had two enemies, one was Dashi and the other was Tubo. Although Tubo's national strength was not as good as that of the Tang Dynasty and could not defeat the Tang Dynasty, it was determined to control the Western Regions and make the Tang people feel disgusted. Therefore, they were more ruthless towards these three Tubo people than towards the small Bolu people. The soldiers either kicked or trampled them or spat on them, venting their hatred to their heart's content.

  Until he had vented enough, Huo Langkang waved his right hand to stop the soldiers, scanned the crowd of soldiers, and smiled before speaking. A warm smile spread across his face: "Brothers, today we captured so many small Bo people and three Tubo dogs. We have achieved great merit!"

  Today, the soldiers captured so many enemies without shedding a drop of blood, which was the first time Condé had ever encountered. He was overjoyed and his face was flushed with excitement, speaking as if he were singing.

  "Mission accomplished!"

  "You've done a great job!"

  The soldiers let out a cheer.

  Although the Tang Dynasty was extremely powerful, it was rare for a single soldier to capture more than twenty enemies, and this was the first time the soldiers had encountered such a thing, and they were all overjoyed.

  "This is all thanks to Li Chang's cleverness, discovering the small trick of the enemy. We are honored to have a hero like Li Chang who is not only highly skilled in martial arts but also humble and down-to-earth!" Li Changguo was already a hero in the eyes of the soldiers due to his exceptional martial arts skills, and what's more rare is that he was humble and kind, without any arrogance, getting along well with the soldiers. The soldiers truly admired him, including Huo Zhangkangde who was no exception.

  "What's going on?"

  "What's going on?"

  The soldiers erupted into another round of cheers, this time specifically for Li Changguo.

  "This merit I want! Very much want! But, I cannot monopolize Li Shizhong's merit, I must report to the Anxi Protectorate: The first merit is Li Shizhong's!" Kang De's eyes shone brightly, very excited, his tone was high and somewhat shrill.

  His words were interesting, and the soldiers burst out laughing.

  "Li Shichang, you say a few words." Kangde timely handed over the conversation to Li Changguo.

  Li Changguo smiled humbly and said: "I have made contributions, but everyone has made even greater contributions. This is the result of all brothers working together!"

  As always humble and courteous, Li Changguo won the favor of the soldiers, whose eyes were filled with admiration.

  "Li Shichen has been humble for a long time, and he is still being humble. Then I, this Fire General, will take the lead and give orders." Kang De's words were full of humor: "Brothers, hurry up and investigate, clarify the enemy situation, I want to report to the Anxi Protectorate."

  The Xiao Bolu people want to take the fort, this is no small matter, let alone the appearance of the Tubo people, it's clear that they are eager to make a move against Shule again, this is the most important thing, must report to the Anxi Protectorate as soon as possible.

  The soldiers separated the small Bo people and the Tubo people for interrogation, first came a round of intimidation, beating these small Bo people to death, they no longer dared to lie, only then did they come to ask questions, they didn't dare not confess.

  The only ones who remained stubborn were the three Tibetans. Kangde and his men used severe torture, beating them with fists and feet until they were covered in injuries, but still they refused to confess, leaving Kangde at a loss for what to do.

  "I hope your mouth can still be hard!"

  Li Changguo's face revealed a strange smile, he pulled down the pants of a Tubo person, revealing a white buttocks, took a glance, and said with a mocking smile: "Really ugly!"

  Drawing out a horizontal knife, reversing the handle, and making a gesture towards the land of the Five Grains' cycle, he laughed eerily: "Use a bit more force, don't make me stab it in!"

  "I surrender!"

  The Tubo people's faces turned white in an instant, their voices trembling, and they no longer dared to be arrogant.

  "Hmph!" Kant and the others laughed ambiguously, their eyes gleaming with a knowing expression.

  After investigation, Kang De was shocked and summoned Li Changguo's five battalion commanders to discuss countermeasures.

  "You all know the situation, it was the Tibetans who instructed Small Bulu to do this, in order to take down our garrison and not let us warn Shule. Fortunately, Li Shilong is clever and discovered the Tibetan plot."

  Kang De's eyebrows were tightly knitted, and he said with great concern: "This is just a small vanguard of the Small Boer army, and the three hundred-strong Small Boer army is only five miles away from us. Among them are the elite troops of Tubo. The situation is critical! My intention is to report to the Anxi Protectorate immediately, we will defend the fort, and wait for the Anxi Protectorate to send reinforcements."

  One fire is fifty people, compared with the army of Xiao Bolu who is about to come and commit a crime, the military strength is too far apart, it is six times the difference in military strength, and it should be reported to the Anxi Dudufu and request reinforcements.

  "I agree!"

  "I agree!"

  Zheng Dashou and the other three Shilang expressed their opinions one after another, all of whom fully supported Kangxi's handling.

  Li Changguo remained silent, and Kangde asked: "Li Shichang, what profound views do you have?"

  "Alas, I thought otherwise." Li Changguo's view was diametrically opposed to theirs: "The large army of Xiao Bolu is only five miles away from us, and we can't expect any reinforcements."

  It's half a day's journey from here to Suoluer, and it takes a whole day to come and go. This is the fastest speed. One day is enough for Xiao Bolu to do many things.

  The Tubo people also made two preparations. If they could take down the fort without bloodshed, it would be good. If not, they would launch a strong attack and must take it down in one go. The fort had only fifty men, facing three hundred small Boer troops, how long could they resist?

  "This is what I understand, but what else can be done besides this?" Kant's eyebrows were even more tightly knotted, forming a river character, scratching his forehead, with a look of helplessness.

  "Besides, even if the reinforcements arrive, what results can we achieve?" Li Changguo continued to analyze: "Once our reinforcements arrive, the Xiao Bolu people will definitely escape. This is Congling, everywhere are mountains, everywhere are forests, and everywhere are dangerous places. Once the Xiao Bolu people escape, no matter how many reinforcements we have, it will be useless, and there won't be any decent results."

  The Congling Mountains are numerous, with towering peaks everywhere. If the small Bo people escape to the mountains to hide, the Tang army will really have no way to deal with them. It is precisely because of this that the small Bo has betrayed the Tang Dynasty for many years, and the Tang Dynasty has used troops many times, but it cannot be conquered. It's not that the Tang army's combat effectiveness is not good, but rather that they are at a disadvantage in terms of terrain, adding enormous difficulties to the Tang army.

  "Li Shichang, you wouldn't be thinking of getting rid of Little Bao, would you?" Kang De said disbelievingly.

  "That's right! I think so too!" Li Changguo nodded heavily and said, "The small troops of the enemy coming to attack, isn't this an opportunity for us? Here is Congling, the terrain is complex, the mountains are high and the forests are dense, as long as we use it properly, it will be very beneficial to us."

  Geography is a double-edged sword, which can be beneficial to both the small Boer and the Tang army. It depends on who seizes the opportunity first. This time, it was the small Boer who came to attack the fort, and the Tang army had the upper hand. If they use it well, they might even win a battle.

  It would be much better to win a battle than wait for reinforcements.

  "How are we going to hit?" Zheng Dashe and his three companions' eyes lit up, they rubbed their fists and palms together, and asked loudly.

  "You see, Little Bao is going to attack the city of Jingzhou, he must pass through here, we can set up an ambush here." Li Changguo said while drawing a line on the ground with a tree branch, which was exactly Little Bao's marching route.

  "The terrain here is not treacherous, it's not advantageous for us, and it's not an ambush spot." Kant shook his head in strong disapproval.

  "Yes!" Zheng Da Shi and the four Shichen loudly echoed in agreement: "There isn't any overly complex terrain on the Xiongnu army's route, our chances of successfully setting up an ambush are slim."

  "You can't imagine it, and Li Bo is even more unimaginable!" However, Li Changguo was very certain: "This is called 'out of the blue' and 'attacking the unprepared'!"

  "Strike where he does not expect, attack where he is unprepared?" Kant savored the words carefully, his eyes shining brighter and brighter.