Chapter 160 Harvesting the Grassland

"You kid, don't go crazy killing people as soon as you come up. Don't understand our current situation clearly. If we kill all these 30,000 people, then the hatred on the grassland will probably be unsolved in the future. No matter what We probably can't do anything on the grassland. We can kill people, but we can't make enemies."

After all, Li Guang is an old man and can understand what Li Xiang is thinking. The previous killing of hundreds of people could only be forgotten in three or two days at most, but if all these 30,000 people are killed, Get rid of it, then this matter may spread throughout the grassland, and they will bear a grudge against the Tang Dynasty in their hearts. No matter what you do on the grassland in the future, these people will cause trouble for you, and the losses outweigh the gains.

What's more, the brothers have been out fighting for more than a month, and it's time to go back and rest for a while. Even the tough guys can't continue to kill now.

When attacking various tribes, Li Xiang just picked up some valuable things. At that time, each tribe only had one carriage, but now that he has been killing for more than a month, there are a lot of these things alone. If it were If we don't transport it back quickly, all these things will be prepared for others in case of failure.

So from all aspects, Li Xiang has to go back now. If he continues to stay and fight, the soldiers' nerves will be too tense, and they may usher in a disastrous defeat, which would be a bit more than worth the gain.

"I just think that we can't hold on anymore, and maybe the enemy can't hold on any longer. As long as we grit our teeth, we can achieve greater victory."

Huo Qubing is indeed the same as in history. The soldiers who fought with him have basically exhausted their last strength. This guy once pursued the Huns for more than two thousand miles in history. You can imagine what kind of general he is, but now We have not reached that point, so there is no need to gamble with the lives of our brothers.

"Listen to me. Check these prisoners. If they can't walk for a long time, then keep them here, but you can't let them continue to fight."

Li Xiang stood up and looked at the dark mass of prisoners in the distance. Many of them were taken back and became slaves, but some of them were physically injured and could not withstand the hundreds of miles of trek.

Li Xiang also pulled out 1,500 of his cavalry and asked them to set up a defense line in the direction of the Ronggong tribe. If the Ronggong tribe came out, we would have time to prepare. According to the reference just now, As mentioned, people from the fifteen surrounding tribes have gathered here, so we have to deal with them carefully.

At dawn the next morning, most of the people had already been selected. After a night of preparations, Li Xiang set out with 24,000 prisoners. The remaining people could only wait where they were. Not only did they die, their ears were cut off, but some of them had their leg tendons scratched, and they might not be able to stand upright in the future.

In this day and age, this is already very merciful. If it had been another general, I'm afraid it would have directly killed you. You can still survive now, but you will definitely not be able to continue fighting in the future.

This place is about 700 miles away from Liangzhou City. It is also a challenge for the remaining people. Li Xiang has gathered all the war horses. These prisoners will never be allowed to ride forward. Can you Arriving at Liangzhou City depends on the fate of you people.

Li Xiang deployed 1,500 cavalry at a place where the team retreated 20 miles to break up the rear. If any prisoners fall behind, these 1,500 cavalry will kill you, so these people must fight for their lives. You have to run forward. If you run slowly, you have to report to the Lord of Hell.

According to Li Xiang's regulations, he must advance at least fifty miles every day and arrive in Liangzhou City after half a month. However, this journey is extremely dangerous because Li Xiang has exposed his whereabouts and hopes that no army will intercept him on his way back.

On the fourth day of the team's march, they encountered a large tribe along the way. Li Xiang ordered his men to loot all the tribesmen and took all 2,500 people from the tribe with them.

Now we are returning to Liangzhou City, so no matter how big or small the tribes we encounter along the way, we will take all the men, women, old and children with us. If we can't take them with us, we can only order our men to kill you.

It is inconvenient to take these prisoners with us when entering the grassland because we have to maintain strong mobility. If we take prisoners with us, our speed will probably slow down very quickly. Once we are surrounded by the Tuyuhun army, it will be very difficult for us. There is no benefit at all, but when we go out, we just walk north in a straight line and take everything we can along the way. This is also the time when we harvest the spoils.

On the eighth day, they encountered the first intercepting team, about 12,000 Tuyuhun cavalry. Unfortunately, this cavalry was a ragtag group, not an elite tribe. After Li Xiang and the others shelled After two rounds, the cavalry quickly collapsed.

This cavalry did not cause much damage to Li Xiang and the others. They only shot and killed some prisoners, but they left nearly 3,000 horses behind. This can be said to be the biggest gain. They gathered a large number of soldiers along the way. Cattle and sheep, but in terms of value, war horses are the most valuable. If each batch of war horses is brought to Chang'an City, it will be worth at least three thousand guan.

There were more and more things and people, so advancing fifty miles every day was a luxury. However, Li Xiang still asked his soldiers to grit their teeth and persevere. The whips in everyone's hands never stopped from morning to night. If they were unwilling to walk, The prisoners of war were hit with two whips.

The most difficult thing was the old, weak, sick and disabled. In the end, Li Xiang only agreed to let them ride in a carriage. If these people were allowed to walk, they would probably not be able to reach Nanzhou City in a month. Li Xiang could not move these people. After all, what they were brought back to destroy was the productivity of the grassland. If there were no people in such a large grassland, then their country would not be far away.

“Liangzhou City…”

As the vanguard, Ma Chao finally saw the city wall of Liangzhou City in the distance, with the conspicuous Tang Dynasty flag fluttering in the wind.

"We are back..."

The soldiers under their command were excited. On the contrary, the faces of the nearly 40,000 prisoners around them looked dead. After arriving in Liangzhou City, they would never have anything to do with slaves in this life...