bayedsolid Chapter 465: It’s our ancient heritage, not theirs!
Chapter 465: It’s our ancient heritage, not theirs!
The desert sandstorm was still raging three days later. The battlefield was like a dead silent Shura field, and the yellow sand buried most of the bloodstains and broken weapons.
Xue Rengui was wearing heavy armor, his cloak rustling in the strong wind. He looked around the tragic battlefield with a serious expression.
Every step you take seems to be stepping on the unyielding heroic souls of the soldiers.
After looking around, Xue Rengui said in a low voice: "Collect the remains and don't let the soldiers' bodies be exposed in the wilderness."
After he finished speaking, the soldiers around him immediately took action, carefully collecting the cold bodies one by one. They moved gently, for fear of disturbing these sleeping warriors.
Xue Rengui looked at the busy figures of the soldiers, his thoughts drifting away.
The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were willing to sacrifice their lives and shed their blood to defend the territory. Every life sacrificed was as heavy as Mount Tai. How could he let them not rest in peace even after their death?
After dealing with the battlefield affairs, Xue Rengui rushed back to the camp without stopping.
As a border guard general, he shoulders the heavy responsibility of defending the borders of the Tang Dynasty.
Although he was in charge of an army of 60,000, this force could not be easily deployed without the order of His Majesty.
But there is a special army that he can directly dispatch, and that is the army of sins.
The soldiers of this army are eager to make meritorious deeds on the battlefield to atone for their sins and die in battle to wash away their crimes of treason. Therefore, they often have extraordinary fighting spirit.
This provocation from the Black Arabs was of no small importance, so he immediately decided to send someone to report to His Majesty in detail what happened on the battlefield, while at the same time preparing to lead the army on a western expedition.
The mere Arabia dared to claim to be an empire and invade the border of the Tang Dynasty, which made Xue Rengui furious.
Now that they are heading east to provoke, how can Xue Rengui sit idly by? Since the other party has provoked the war, don't blame him, Xue Rengui, for retaliating with a thunderous force to the west.
His deputy general Yan Ruoshan was filled with worry when he saw Xue Rengui preparing for the Western Expedition so decisively.
Yan Ruoshan has always been cautious in his actions. In his opinion, it is too risky to rashly send troops without the clear order of His Majesty.
So, he looked at Xue Rengui, frowning, and advised worriedly: "General, it's not too late to wait for His Majesty's order before the Western Expedition! Otherwise, I'm afraid His Majesty will be unhappy. General, you are not General Qin, and you don't have the deep love of His Majesty!"
Hearing Yan Ruoshan's words, Xue Rengui just looked at him quietly.
There was no anger in those eyes, but a kind of majesty that made it impossible to look directly at them.
After a moment, Xue Rengui slowly spoke: "We are all working for the Tang Dynasty, so Your Majesty will naturally treat us all equally."
"Your Majesty is wise and all you care about is the country and people of the Tang Dynasty. How could you be dissatisfied with the timing of the military deployment?"
"Don't say this again. If someone with ulterior motives hears it, it could bring disaster. Be careful of what you say."
Xue Rengui paused for a moment, his tone softening a bit before continuing, "I know you were just being considerate and didn't mean to say that, so I won't pursue the matter this time. You'll be fine."
"As for the Western Expedition, Your Majesty will not be unhappy. Instead, you will feel that I did not strike fast enough or hard enough."
"The situation in Xinjiang is not yet completely stable, so we really can't mobilize all of our troops. Otherwise, the rear will be left empty, and there's a risk of accidents."
"But in my opinion, 20,000 men are more than enough!"
Speaking of this, Xue Rengui's eyes flashed with confidence.
In Xue Rengui's mind, the strength of the Tang Dynasty army was beyond doubt.
Even if 20,000 people were to fight against 200,000 Arabs, it would not be a difficult task.
He did not expect to completely annihilate the enemy in one battle, but only hoped to teach this arrogant neighbor a severe lesson, so that they would curb their arrogant ambitions and understand that coveting the territory of the Tang Dynasty, even if it was just an idea, was a big mistake.
Just as Xue Rengui was immersed in his strategic thinking, a soldier suddenly came hurriedly outside the door and reported: "General, the Arab envoy wants to see you."
When Xue Rengui heard the announcement, he just raised his head slightly, a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes, and he said lightly: "Behead him!"
Yan Ruoshan was surprised to hear Xue Rengui's straightforward order. This time, he couldn't help but speak up again to dissuade him: "General, this isn't a good idea, is it?"
"Since ancient times, when two armies engage in battle, they do not kill envoys. This is a rule that everyone follows."
"If we kill their envoy directly, wouldn't that put the Tang Dynasty at a disadvantage legally and lead to criticism from the world?"
After hearing this, Xue Rengui couldn't help but smile. He seemed to have expected Yan Ruoshan to ask this question.
He slowly stood up and looked into the distance, as if he had traveled through time and space and returned to the magnificent battlefield many years ago.
"Do you know how General Qin destroyed the Tubo nation and exterminated the Tubo people?"
Xue Rengui suddenly asked.
Although Yan Ruoshan was a little confused about Xue Rengui's sudden mention of this matter, he still nodded.
The affairs of Tubo were known to everyone in the Tang army, and General Qin's notoriety made every soldier admire him.
Yan Ruoshan didn't understand why Xue Rengui suddenly brought up this matter at this time.
"In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed. Time flies."
Xue Rengui was filled with emotion and reached out to gently touch his beard.
"Back then, General Li Jing and General Qin Ruzhao had a heated debate about the destruction of the Tubo nation and its genocide."
"I found General Qin Ruzhao's words at that time particularly reasonable."
Xue Rengui paused slightly, his eyes revealing a firm look, and continued: "The truth should be explained to people, not to those ignorant barbarians."
"When discussing the ways of gentlemen with men, it's a matter of give and take, nothing is wrong. But when discussing the ways of beasts, it's the law of the jungle."
"If you are kind to a wild animal, it will not only not be grateful, but will also think you are afraid of it."
"How could these barbaric nations understand the gentlemanly ways of our Chinese people?"
"They wantonly invaded the borders of the Tang Dynasty and wanted to kill the people of the Tang Dynasty. Now that they don't want to fight anymore, they send an envoy to ask for peace. How can it be so easy?"
"So, they sent an envoy, what does it have to do with us?"
"They fight when they want to, and don't fight when they don't want to?"
"How can such a good thing happen in this world? What do you think of our Tang Dynasty?"
"If you want to talk, of course you can. Wait until I'm done beating them and let them know the pain, then we can talk about compensation."
"You have all fallen into a misunderstanding. That is, since ancient times, it is our ancient times, not their ancient times. If you are one of us, you can naturally follow the way of a gentleman."
"Don't confuse the two!"
Xue Rengui's voice unconsciously rose a few notches.
"Go, follow the order, drag the Arab delegation to the battlefield and behead them, as a sacrifice for our army's departure!"
"The Arabs are really thoughtful. Knowing that my army is about to go on a march, they sent us sacrifices. Hahahahahaha."
Thinking of this, Xue Rengui couldn't help but burst into laughter, and that laughter was extremely heroic.
Yan Ruoshan looked at Xue Rengui and couldn't help but feel admiration in his heart.