Chapter 179 Zhang Xutuo
Tiele is a general term. In fact, all the tribes have the same origin as the Turks, but they were stubborn and unwilling to completely integrate into the Khanate. While obeying the Turkic Khan as their leader, they maintained some independence, such as the Xueyantuo, Uighur, Bayegu, and Tongluo tribes.

Qimin Khan was a Khan supported by the Sui Dynasty, so the Tiele tribes did not particularly respect him. The same was naturally true for Shibi Khan, who inherited Qimin Khan's lineage.

However, Shibi Khan was a stubborn person and of course was unwilling to endure it. Over the years, he had been oppressing the various tribes forcefully in order to establish the Khan's authority.

Where there is oppression there will naturally be resistance, and when the strength is inferior, the weak will spontaneously form an alliance, and that is how people collude.

It was precisely because of their inferior strength that when faced with Shibi Khan leading 100,000 troops north without hesitation, the various tribes began to panic and kept sending people to beg for mercy, but they had no intention of handing over the two men.

It's not for loyalty, but because they are afraid that the two of them will give up all of their leaders and clan leaders in front of the Khan. They have been cursing and secretly trying to sabotage them behind their backs over the years.

Given Shibi Khan's personality, he would have killed them after finding out, and killing them to silence them was not an option. Shibi was also a protective person, and killing his own brother would be tantamount to giving him a legitimate reason to kill, and perhaps even more people would die.

The Tiele tribes were caught in a dilemma, and Shibi Khan, after being angry, was also hesitant. He was sure of victory, but he was not sure that he could stabilize the situation in a short period of time.

If the problem could be solved by simply killing a group of people, not only him, but even his father would not have hesitated at all and would have found a reason to take action long ago.

If those leaders are killed, the warriors and herdsmen of each tribe will only feel resentful, and the new leaders will also be coerced by the herdsmen under their command. Not only will they need to be vigilant for a long time, but they will also have to worry about them turning against them at critical moments.

Maybe I should turn a blind eye to it for now, but I feel a little regretful now.

Li Jiancheng knew that if he continued to persuade Shi Bi at this time, it would only make Shi Bi suspicious of him. Suspicion is a common quality among those in power.

The Khan's trusted adviser Kang Tan said, "Great Khan, since we have already sent out the troops, we must not withdraw them without bloodshed. Doing so will only make those tribal leaders despise your authority even more."

Shibi Khan nodded slowly. Majesty was the most important thing for him to control the grassland. A Khan without majesty would surely be killed by God.

"Jiancheng, what do you think?"

Li Jiancheng said calmly: "The reason why the tribes hesitated is nothing more than the fear that the Khan will settle accounts with them in the future.

As long as the Khan is willing to promise to hand over Ashina Shilifu and Ashina Duobi, the leaders of the tribes will send their eldest and youngest sons to serve as guards under the Khan's tent. He will believe in their loyalty and will never pursue the past. I think the tribes will agree.

But before that, the Khan still had to shed blood first, so that the tribes would know the Khan's majesty. The reason he didn't destroy them was because of the Khan's mercy, not because he couldn't do it. "

After listening to it, Shi Bi felt that it made sense and his thoughts became clearer. It was worth his effort to recruit these two talents.

So Shibi Khan marched forward again. Whenever he encountered resistance along the way, he was unstoppable. However, Shibi exercised himself and did not order the killing of prisoners or pursue deserters.

All the tribes watched Shibi Khan's attack. Small tribes began to flee for safety, while large tribes had many herdsmen and it was impossible for them to abandon their lands with lush grass and water to escape the disaster. People might be able to endure it, but livestock certainly could not. Without livestock, how would the herdsmen survive?

…………Li Mi disparaged Zhang Xutuo in front of everyone in Wagang as if he was vulnerable, but when he actually faced him, he took it very seriously and patiently explained clearly what each person was responsible for.

Zhai Rang led tens of thousands of people to confront Zhang Xutuo, and then performed normally according to Li Mi's requirements. As expected, he was defeated by Zhang Xutuo. The enemy's young general named Luo Shixin was really brave and people and horses fell wherever he passed.

Zhai Rang fought and retreated. Li Mi, who was ambushing among the trees in the forest north of Dahai Temple, was jealous. He thought he was another Yang Xuangan. If he could have such a brave general under his command, everything would be easy.

Zhang Xutuo was now so powerful that fighting these bandits had almost become his instinct. He sharply judged that Zhai Rang had no talent as a general or commander, but was just another lucky guy.

Therefore, he personally led his troops to hold on to Zhai Rang, hoping to defeat Wagang in one battle. In this way, several counties could be restored to peace, and he would also be able to spare time to deal with other bandits.

Zhang Xutuo didn't know when this day would end, but he knew that he was just an ordinary man. He might have some talent to help the court suppress rebellions, but he had no ability to govern the country. He could only pin his hopes on His Majesty to cheer him up.

When Li Mi saw Zhang Xutuo's front army and central army passing by, and that his rear army was about to pass by, he immediately shouted to lead the ambush troops to attack. He and Wang Bodang personally led the troops to charge out and closely followed the Sui army that had been chasing them for more than ten miles.

Upon receiving the news, Xu Shiji and Zhai Rang immediately restrained the Wagang Army, allowing their own frightened people to escape, and led the elite troops that had been prepared in advance to block Zhang Xutuo's vanguard.

Xu Shiji, Bing Yuanzhen and several other cavalry generals went to fight against Luo Shixin together, but they could only barely hold off, as the opponent's personal guards were also very brave.

But in a great battle, the bravery of one or two people could not make any difference. The Wagang Army had already surrounded the Sui Army, and the Sui Army was already exhausted after chasing them for more than ten miles. The ambush army took advantage of their rest and took them by surprise, and the Sui Army began to collapse.

Zhang Xutuo wanted to capture the leader first, but Zhai Rang had long disappeared, and his general's flag was hidden by the crowd. Zhang Xutuo could only separate and break out of the encirclement first.

Among this Sui army, Luo Shixin was undoubtedly the strongest, followed by Zhang Xutuo. With a horse lance in his hand and his personal guards who were veterans of hundreds of battles, he successfully broke out after fighting for a while.

But Zhang Xutuo looked back and saw that the soldiers he had led with great difficulty were still trapped in the siege, so he immediately fought back again. After several battles, he was invincible. Only some soldiers were saved, but there were only a few guards left around him.

The last ambush troops arranged by Li Mi also appeared in front, with more than a thousand shadowy men. This number of soldiers and horses was insignificant, but in such a fierce battle, it was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Zhang Xutuo said nothing. He wiped the blood from his eyes and led his troops in again. He rushed to Luo Shixin alone and helped him block Xu Shiji's long spear.

"go!"

Luo Shixin looked at him and knew that he was determined to die, so he shouted and stabbed a cavalry general of Wagang to death, then led the remaining guards to escape through the gap torn open by Zhang Xutuo.

With Zhang Xutuo there, they paid no attention to Luo Shixin and surrounded him. Li Mi rode his horse a little closer and said, "General Zhang, you are a peerless hero. You have fought in many battles over the years and suppressed countless rebellions for the Sui Dynasty. You have repaid Yang Guang's kindness. Surrender."

...............

(End of this chapter)