"Don't go on a killing spree right away, kid. Don't fail to understand our current situation. If we kill all these thirty thousand people, the hatred on the grassland will be unresolved. No matter what we do on the grassland, we probably won't be able to do it. Killing is fine, but making enemies is not."
Li Guang was an old and experienced man, and he could understand what Li Xiang was thinking. The killing of hundreds of people before would be forgotten in three or two days at most, but if these 30,000 people were killed, then this matter might spread throughout the grassland. By then, they would bear a grudge against the Tang Dynasty, and no matter what you do on the grassland in the future, these people will cause trouble for you. It would be a loss.
What's more, the brothers have been fighting for more than a month, and it's time to go back and rest. Even a strong man can't continue fighting now.
When attacking various tribes, Li Xiang only took up some valuable things. At that time, each tribe only had one carriage, but now it has been more than a month, and there are quite a few of these things. If they are not transported back quickly, in case of failure, these things will be lost to others.
So from all aspects, Li Xiang has to go back now. If he continues to stay and fight, the soldiers will be too nervous and may suffer a disastrous defeat, which would be a loss.
"I just thought that if we couldn't hold on any longer, the enemy might be even more vulnerable. As long as we grit our teeth, we could achieve a greater victory."
This guy Huo Qubing is just like in history. The soldiers who followed him to fight have basically used up their last bit of strength. This guy once chased the Huns for more than 2,000 miles in history. You can imagine what kind of general he is. But we are not at that point yet, so there is no need to gamble with our brothers' lives.
"Listen to me. Check these prisoners. If they can't walk for a long time, leave them here, but don't let them continue to fight."
Li Xiang stood up and looked at the large number of captives in the distance. Many of them would become slaves after being taken back, but some of them were injured and could not withstand the long journey of hundreds of miles.
Li Xiang also pulled out 1,500 cavalrymen from his command and asked them to set up a defense line in the direction of the Ronggong tribe. If the people from the Ronggong tribe attack us, we will have time to prepare. According to what the lieutenant general said just now, people from the fifteen surrounding tribes have gathered here, so we have to be careful to deal with them.
At dawn the next day, most of the people had been selected. After a night of preparation, Li Xiang set off with 24,000 captives. The remaining people could only wait to die on the spot. Not only did they have their ears cut off, but some of them also had their leg tendons scratched, and they might not be able to stand up straight in the future.
In this day and age, doing this is already very merciful. If it were any other general, he would probably have taken your lives directly. You may still be able to survive now, but you will definitely not be able to continue fighting in the future.
This place is about seven hundred miles away from Liangzhou City, which is also a challenge for the remaining people. Li Xiang has gathered all the war horses and will never allow these captives to ride forward. Whether you can reach Liangzhou City depends on your luck.
Li Xiang deployed 1,500 cavalrymen to cover the retreat of the troops twenty miles away. If any prisoners fell behind, these 1,500 cavalrymen would take their lives, so these people had to run forward for their lives. If they ran slowly, they would have to report to the King of Hell.
According to Li Xiang's regulations, they had to advance at least fifty miles every day and would reach Liangzhou City half a month later. However, this journey was extremely dangerous because Li Xiang had already exposed his whereabouts. Hopefully, there would be no army to intercept him on the way back.
On the fourth day of the team's journey, they encountered a large tribe along the way. Li Xiang ordered his men to plunder the tribe and take all 2,500 people with them.
Now we are going back to Liangzhou City, so no matter how big or small the tribes we meet along the way, men, women, young and old, we must take them all with us. If we can't take them away, we can only order our men to kill you.
It is not convenient to bring these captives with us when we enter the grassland because we need to maintain strong mobility. If we bring captives with us, our speed will probably slow down very quickly. Once we are besieged by the Tuyuhun army, it will be of no benefit to us. But when we go out, we will go north in a straight line and take everything we can along the way. This is also the time for us to harvest the spoils.
On the eighth day, they encountered the first intercepting team, which consisted of about 12,000 Tuyuhun cavalry. Unfortunately, this cavalry was a motley crowd, not an elite group from a large tribe. After two rounds of artillery fire from Li Xiang and his men, this cavalry quickly dispersed.
This cavalry did not cause much damage to Li Xiang and his men, and only shot and killed some of the captives, but they left behind nearly three thousand war horses, which could be said to be the biggest gain. They collected a large number of cattle and sheep along the way, but in terms of value, war horses were the most valuable. If each batch of war horses were pulled to Chang'an City, it would be worth at least three thousand strings of cash.
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 their hands never stopped from morning to night. If they encountered a prisoner who was unwilling to walk, they would be whipped twice.
The most difficult ones were the elderly, the weak, the sick and the disabled. In the end, Li Xiang only agreed to let them ride in carriages. If these people were allowed to walk, it would probably take them a month to reach Liangzhou City. Li Xiang could not keep these people. After all, bringing them back would destroy the productivity of the grassland. If such a large grassland was without people, then the destruction of their country would not be far away.
"Liangzhou City..."
As the vanguard, Ma Chao finally saw the city wall of Liangzhou in the distance, with the conspicuous Tang Dynasty flags on it fluttering in the wind.
"We're back..."
The soldiers under his command were filled with excitement. In contrast, the faces of the nearly 40,000 captives around them were filled with despair. After arriving in Liangzhou City, they would be slaves for the rest of their lives...