After the first experience, the brothers found it much easier to handle this time, so without waiting for Li Xiang's order, they began to hunt down other people in the tribe.
“We are Han Chinese, we are Han Chinese…”
Just as Li Xiang closed his eyes and waited for his brothers to do their work, he suddenly heard the voice of a Han man from not far away. Didn't they say that everyone had returned to the city? What was going on with these people?
"General, please spare our lives. We are all Han Chinese. We did not surrender to the Tuyuhun. They kidnapped us. We have been slaves here for years. Look at the scars on our bodies. It is not us who want to betray the Tang Dynasty. They are the ones who won't let us go back."
When these people were brought in front of Li Xiang, they all knelt down and lifted up their clothes to let Li Xiang see the scars on their bodies. It was obvious that they had not had a good life here during this period.
After questioning, it was learned that they were all farmers in the border area, but the Tuyuhun cavalry often robbed them. In the end, there was nothing left to rob in their homes, so the Tuyuhun people directly treated them as slaves.
"You were brought here as a family?"
Li Xiang felt uncomfortable looking at the scars on these people's bodies.
"In reply to the general, my parents couldn't stand this kind of life and were beaten to death. I don't know where my children were sold to. We are the only ones left, but my wife..."
When the middle-aged man talked about his wife, he really didn't know what to say. Since they came here, his wife has lost her personal safety. Although she is not young anymore, she has been well maintained. Therefore, Tuyuhun men often come to insult his wife. If he dares to resist, the Tuyuhun people will hang him up and freeze him all night.
When the attack just started, his wife happened to be in the Tuyuhun camp. When those people heard that the Tang army was coming, they raised their hands and chopped off his wife's left arm with a knife. Now her life or death is unknown.
"Kill them all, both men and women."
After hearing what happened to the man in front of him, Li Xiang finally couldn't help it. In the tribe just now, women and old people still stayed behind, but since you don't follow such rules, don't blame me for being rude. You guys just wait to die honestly!
"Your Highness, those children?"
Li Guang pointed at some children in the distance and said that from the faint light of the fire, it could be seen that there was hatred in the eyes of these children.
"Wildfires cannot be extinguished; they spring up again with the spring breeze. Kill!"
Li Xiang thought of the brother's child just now. Since you don't take our children seriously, then your children have no right to exist in this world.
"Pass on this king's order. If you encounter a similar tribe in the future, kill them all."
The major tribes of Tuyuhun are still different. Some tribes are not so ruthless in doing things, and Li Xiang will give them some opportunities to continue accordingly. But if they are like the tribe in front of him, treating us Han people as non-human beings, then you should go to the King of Hell to repent. I don’t deserve to give you this opportunity to repent.
The shouts and cries of killing lasted for half an hour, but the soldiers present showed no mercy on their faces. If anyone had to blame anyone, it was yourselves for going too far. If you hadn't gone so far, we would have left you a way out and not slaughtered your entire tribe.
When Li Xiang was about to launch a surprise attack on the third tribe, the sound of horse hooves came from afar. These should be the messengers sent by the Tang Dynasty. It seemed that the situation had changed.
"Reporting to Lieutenant General Li, the general has ordered all troops to retreat to Liangzhou City immediately. The Tuyuhun army of 20,000 is attacking!"
It was normal for the messenger to convey Qin Qiong's order to Li Xiang. They had been busy for a whole night. If Tuyuhun didn't respond, they might be surrounded tonight. Li Xiang's more than 3,000 soldiers were exhausted. They attacked two tribes in one night. In addition, this was their first time on the battlefield, so Li Xiang should give them a chance to breathe. Therefore, Li Xiang did not insist on advancing to the third tribe, but immediately sounded the horn to withdraw his troops.
Along the way, Li Xiang encountered several other attacking teams. These teams did not complete their tasks, but they also suffered heavy losses. This was mainly because their attack methods were not as diverse as Li Xiang's, nor did they have as many secret weapons as Li Xiang.
"Good fellow, brother, you've taken the lead this time. All the older brothers have been outshined by you."
When they were about to arrive at Liangzhou City, Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaiyu also surrounded them. According to the current rules of the Tang Dynasty, one must cut off an ear for killing an enemy. Li Xiang's side had more than 2,000 ears, which was more than the two of them combined, and more than all the other generals who went out to work.
"My brothers must have been delayed by those things."
Li Xiang pointed to some baggage in the distance and said, Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaiyu both felt a little embarrassed. To be honest, they were a little shortsighted, not as good as Li Xiang, who was on his first expedition. Apart from military goals, he was not interested in anything else. Instead, we wasted time collecting these things, which resulted in only solving one tribe in one night.
"These 150 slaves belong to my brother. I still owe you some money for the swords. I will send these 150 slaves to Chang'an for you. Now we are even now."
Cheng Chumo thought of his steel knife. Some of the money had not been paid yet. It was agreed that the money would be paid on the battlefield. In the first battle, he captured more than 800 prisoners. Some of them were handed over to the court, and some were distributed to his subordinates. These 150 were exactly his.
After hearing this, Old Man Sun felt very depressed. If we had captured prisoners last night, we could have captured 2,000 prisoners. Why did we have to accept only 150 now? But since our prince looked down on these people, we can only watch them get rich.
"It's all a small matter, let's settle it."
Li Xiang waved his hand nonchalantly. We were all eating from the same pot, so why bother with so much? Who knew who would be begging whom in the future?
"What's going on? Can prisoners be exchanged for knives?"
Qin Huaiyu, who was standing by, was immediately furious when he heard this. He has prisoners, and so do I!