No one could have predicted that the Gaochang army, whose morale had dropped to freezing point, would collapse in the first attack. Li Yanzhi looked at the generals who were ready to go to the north of the city to attack at night, and he couldn't cry or laugh for a while.

Li Bai's subordinates, who captured the city, immediately went in batches to occupy the nine gates of the outer city, and launched a pursuit of the rest of the Gaochang army. For a while, the streets and alleys shouted and killed, and the sound of knives and axes was endless. Li Bai ordered his guards to form several small detachments, and while patrolling the streets and alleys to prevent any of his soldiers from disturbing the people, he also struck a gong to tell the residents of the city not to leave their houses without permission. Anyone with weapons in the streets and alleys will be regarded as an enemy soldier and will be killed.

The scattered enemy forces either fled into the inner city or scattered into their dwellings. Some of those who wandered around in the streets and alleys and could not find a place to stay were killed on the spot by Li Bai's command, regardless of whether the unlucky ones had weapons or not. The soldiers cut off their heads, tied them around their waists, and swaggered on.

The enemy army in the inner city also reluctantly marched out of the inner city and counterattacked the soldiers of Li Bai's army, who were in a chaotic posture. However, after killing a few streets, he ran into the vanguard team led by Liu Jiwu into the city. As soon as they saw these murderous ironclad foot soldiers, the enemy's counterattack troops turned around and fled towards the inner city in a hurry. Liu Jiwu led his troops to pursue outside the inner city, and only after shooting arrows from the city did he collect his troops and return.

Li Bai used a vacant house in the outer city as his headquarters, and at this time, almost all the people who could write, such as the treasurer and the scribe in the army, were working hard in this house to copy the book drafted by Li Bai. Stacks of thick papers in front of a dozen people were thinning at a speed visible to the naked eye. The written books were folded up and tied to the arrows.

Although there were not many literate people in this era, Li Bai also wanted to win by quantity, and the scribes had to copy nearly 1,000 copies of the books. In addition to Li Yanzhi's words and words, there is also an article on the surrender book, when the city is broken, those who return to surrender with the surrender book can avoid death.

More than 1,000 people, including the Zhanfeng Battalion and the Jianrui Battalion under Li Yanzhi's headquarters, also entered the city one after another, building fortifications in the streets, forming a blockade and siege of the inner city. The soldiers of the Jianrui battalion carried horses, bows and arrows to the barricades. Everybody is ready to fight.

At night, torches are lit everywhere in the outer city, illuminating the streets and alleys. On the inner city where the Gaochang army was stationed, it was dark because it was necessary to prevent the Liangzhou army in the outer city from throwing arrows, arrows, stone bullets and other objects.

Sergeant Gao Chang spent the night in fear. At dawn, smoke burns everywhere in the outer city. When the Gaochang soldiers who were guarding the inner city saw this situation, they all showed envious looks. After the Liangzhou soldiers had breakfast, they did not immediately attack the inner city as they thought. The Gaochang soldiers guarding the head of the inner city looked at the Liangzhou army waiting between the barricades through the battlements, but they didn't know what medicine they were selling in their gourds, and they were all confused for a while.

At noon, the crossbowmen under Li Bai's command marched in from outside the city, all holding bows and crossbows in their hands, and did not stop until the prescriptions of the most advanced barricades. Following the orders of the generals, these soldiers put the arrows that bound the book on the strings. With a sound of "Put!" More than a thousand arrows were thrown towards the city at a high angle.

Seeing this scene, the generals of the Gaochang army in the city lowered their bodies and dodged behind the battlements, and occasionally there were bows and crossbows holding bows and crossbows to fight from the battlements, and most of the scattered arrows were blocked by the shields in the hands of the saber and shield bearers in the barricades.

After firing a round of arrows, the crossbowmen of the various armies withdrew from the front line barricades and moved to the rear. When the crossbowmen of the Gaochang army who reacted at the head of the city drew their bows and arrows, and shot rounds of arrows to counterattack, the barricades under the city had already become a line of Liangzhou soldiers and shieldmen holding shields holding shields.

Seeing the arrows aggressively shooting on the enemy's airtight shield array, the Gao Changjun at the head of the city became more and more unwilling, and even more vigorously fired arrows at the barricades, but they all did useless work. It wasn't until a soldier picked up the arrows that had just been thrown up from under the city and bound the book, as if he had discovered something terrible, and called out to the robes on the side: "Everyone, look, what is this that the Liangzhou soldiers shot up?" ”

Hearing this, the soldiers gathered looked at the book in the hand of the shouting soldier with curiosity, and the soldier unfolded the book of surrender, but he was illiterate, and read it upside down for a long time, and then showed the book in his hand in front of everyone: "Which of you can read? ”

All the soldiers looked at the densely written descending book, but they all shook their heads silently. While he was hesitating, a general strode to the gathered soldiers and asked loudly, "What are you doing here?" ”

The soldier who found the surrender letter trembled and handed the surrender letter in his hand to the general, and said, "Bow the team, subordinates...... I was in the city below, and I found this ......."

The general took the letter and read it carefully. Immediately, his complexion changed drastically, and he hurriedly rushed to the city with the letter of surrender. After a while, the letter of surrender appeared on the desk of Zhao Zhen, the captain of Wuji, who was in the center of the inner city.

Zhao Zhen looked at the letter of surrender and was speechless for a long time. Jiang Zuo, who had found the descending letter, stood beside him and said nothing. Zhao Zhen was silent for a while, and then asked, "How many arrows did the Liangzhou soldiers shoot in this book?" ”

"Subordinate...... Ignorance. The Liangzhou army entered the temporary barricade in the city and released a wave of arrows into the city with bows and crossbows, which were basically the arrows that bound the book...... Subordinate...... Later, his subordinates immediately ordered his soldiers to go everywhere and collect and burn all these things that bewitched the hearts of the army......"

Zhao Zhen shook his head: "No need, since this thing has been shot into the city by arrows, I am afraid that no less than half of the generals in the city are already passing it on." Even if it is collected at this time, what is the use? ”

"Now our army is only more than a thousand, and the outer city has fallen into the hands of the enemy. The fall of the city is only a matter of a few days...... Not to mention that if the surrender book is circulated, everyone in the army is in danger and everyone is suspicious, so how can they resist the enemy? ”

Zhao Zhen slowly took off his helmet and put it aside, while the back said to the team in a gloomy manner: "Let's go and collect the surrender books scattered everywhere, and the generals in the city will have one." Then, tie up the officials and surrender to Kaesong. ”

"The general can't be ......," Ju looked at Zhao Zhen in disbelief. And Zhao Zhen's subsequent words made the team suddenly wake up: "At this time, I will surrender by myself, or I will survive." However, if you are obsessed, you will surely die! At that time, not only the enemy army outside the city wants to take my head, but also the henchmen around me, why don't they have two thoughts? ”

Half an hour later, the gate of the inner city of Gaochang opened, and Zhao Zhen, the captain of Wuji, tied his hands and led the remaining Gaochang generals in the city out. Seeing this scene, the remaining Liangzhou soldiers between the barricades set up shield walls and spears as if they were facing a great enemy.

The soldier who had already had a good chance saw the opportunity and reported the matter. In less than a quarter of an hour, Li Bai had already brought several senior generals of the Liangzhou Army, together with his own personal guards, to the back of the barricades at the main gate of the inner city, looking at the surrendered enemy troops slowly marching out of the inner city.

Zhao Zhen walked forward for dozens of steps, and when he saw Li Bai riding a high-headed horse behind the barricade, he quickly knelt down, bowed his head after a few steps on his knees, and his attitude was extremely humble: "Sinner Zhao Zhen, treason and self-reliance, resist Wang Shi, and there is no redemption for death." However, the corporal was forced to follow me out of desperation, and he was not guilty. I beg your envoy to exempt the armies. Although Zhen dies, he will not regret ......"

Hearing Zhao Zhen's words, the dense generals behind him all bowed to the ground and kowtowed: "Please make the king surrender!" ”

Li Bai took a few steps forward on his horse, raised the whip in his hand and pointed at Zhao Zhen and said, "Now that you know your sin, it's not too late to know your way back!" It's just that you are the first evil, and how to deal with it, this long history has no right to decide. Your men will be sent out of the city and put them under their watch. Food and clothing are provided by the treasury, and there is no danger of life. Zhao Wuji, I ask you to give in for the time being and live in the city temporarily with my department. Wait for the left to settle down, and then go to the state to govern, and wait for the fate. ”

After that, several guards behind Li Bai stepped forward and escorted Zhao Zhen away. The rest of the soldiers were also escorted by more than 300 soldiers of the Zhanfeng Battalion led by Liu Jiwu to the camp outside the city.

After Li Bai's non-commissioned officers escorted the prisoners, they went to the inner city and the Wuji Captain's Mansion, the city treasury, and the barracks to take over, count, and seal the materials. From time to time, a group of soldiers patrolled the streets. The treasurer and scribes in the army also wrote notices to reassure the people in accordance with Li Bai's instructions, and sent soldiers to post them all over the city. Order in the city, which had become somewhat chaotic due to the war, was also being restored at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.

Li Bai fulfilled his promise and gathered the grassroots soldiers of the Gaochang Army in a camp outside the city to temporarily take care of them. Zhao Zhen and a handful of high-ranking generals were taken to a vacant residence for centralized care. In this way, it is possible to prevent high-ranking generals from instigating troops to launch riots. At the moment, though, this seems to be a very unlikely.

Gao Chang was kept, and Zhao Zhen's department was basically destroyed. Most of the rest of the Western Regions have ceased to adopt a hostile approach. Half a month later, small countries such as Yanqi, Cheshi, Qiuzi, Shule, Shanshan, and Khotan, who had previously been to Li Bai's letter, replied one after another, expressing their willingness to obey the orders of Zhang Zhijun of Liangzhou.

Li Bai, who received this series of replies in the Wuji Lieutenant's Mansion, couldn't help but sneer, and then looked at Li Yanzhi on the side with this stack of letters, and said: "At the beginning, I wrote a letter asking these grass-headed kings not to assist Zhao Zhen and help him to abuse. No one will reply! Now that Zhao Zhen has been destroyed, these people see that the situation is not right, and immediately change their tune! ”

Li Yanzhi laughed and said lightly: "Changshi is angry." Although these kings did not reply to the letter, none of them came to help Zhao Zhen. Nowadays, the long history of the first war to conquer the Western Regions, outstanding meritorious service is rare in the world. Now that these people have made it clear that they are obedient, there is no need to be too harsh. The Western Regions are established, the trade routes are unimpeded, and the long history sits in the sea, so it is indispensable to deal with them in the future. Through the trade routes, in order to facilitate the temptation, and then restrain their hearts, in order to ensure the longevity of the Western Regions. ”

Li Bai put down the stack of letters in his hand, and then nodded and said: "The report document has already been sent to the state administration, and when the envoy arrives, Dingdong can escort Zhao Zhen to Guzang to report the victory and sacrifice the prisoner." Speaking of this, Li Bai looked at Li Yanzhi again, and couldn't help but feel a little sad: "Dingdong has already considered it properly, and he still wants to lead the army back to his hometown?" ”

Li Yanzhi lowered his head and arched his hand: "Previously, the king sent the last general to lead the army to help the long history, but it was for the public. Now that the Western Regions have been decided, the disciples have stayed here and gained nothing. Everyone in the army thinks of returning, the land of Henan, the thieves are ready to move, just when our generation is defending the land and resisting the enemy, thinking of the fathers and elders in the township, the coffin of the dead robe Ze still needs to be guarded, and I have to leave the long history for a while and return to the Lingju ......"

When Li Bai heard this, he had to nod: "Since Dingdong has made a decision, I won't say anything more." Previously, your troops resisted Zhao Zhen's main force, and your achievements were outstanding. The casualties of the generals under his command were also quite heavy. I have ordered the treasurer to complete the inventory of the treasury of Gaochang Mansion, and send one to your army later. ”

Li Bai treated him so kindly, but it was beyond Li Yanzhi's expectations. He didn't know what to say for a while, so he had to kneel and kowtow: "The long history is a good encounter, and I will remember it in my heart." He has a long trade route through, and there are many places that rely on the long history, and I hope that the long history will often communicate letters in the future, and where there are one or two difficulties to entrust, I will go all out......"

Previously, when Zhang Junyan sent Li Yanzhi to assist Li Bai in recovering the Western Regions, Li Yanzhi only said that this was not easy dirty work. After all, if you are fighting abroad, you can be regarded as a guest army, and there is such a leader as the long history of the Western Regions. To put it bluntly, it is very likely that the credit for the good work is someone else's. If you don't play well, this pot is likely to be carried by him.

However, now that he has talked with Li Bai, Li Yanzhi's doubts have immediately disappeared. No one is a saint, Li Bai can let himself take Zhao Zhen to sacrifice prisoners, and share part of the assets from the Gaochang Mansion treasury to Li Yanzhi. It shows that he does not have the intention of monopolizing this credit, and it is also a reassuring pill for Li Yanzhi.

The reason why he agreed to Zhang Jun to come to help conquer and pacify the Western Regions was that Li Yanzhi saw that Zhang Jun had the intention of promoting the rising Hanshu generals to compete with the high gates in the state. After all, Han Pu, as a representative of Gaomen and a general of the Three Dynasties, was beaten like a dog by thieves in several attacks on Longxi. After the defeat of Woganling, although he was pardoned by Zhang Jun, he also completely lost his right to speak on military issues. And the Song match that can be fought in the scholar clan has also been made ancient, Zhang Lang may be able to barely count one, but Jincheng, an important place in the festival, cannot be moved lightly.

In addition to wanting to use this shareholder wind to seek a step forward for himself, Li Yanzhi's other purpose is to get a share of the business road that is about to be opened. The land is limited, and every year on this one-third of an acre of land, the tax that can be collected is just a little. Previously, more than 1,000 regular soldiers were raised, and 2,000 auxiliary soldiers were already struggling. If we don't open up new sources of wealth, if the thieves raise a large army to attack again in the future, most of them will not be as narrow as this time.

Fortunately, when he was about to leave, he finally formed a good fate with Li Bai, the leader who will pass through the Western Regions in the future. He is making a fortune by using trade routes day by day, which is also a good thing for both parties.

The army was stationed in Gaochang for another month, and the envoy of the state was late. In the letters he sent, Zhang Envoy Jun was full of praise, and he was obviously extremely satisfied with the pacification of the Western Regions. In addition to the letters, the messenger carried a thick stack of reward papers. Specify in detail the rewards for meritorious soldiers in the armies. Li Yanzhi and all the generals under his command are also impressively listed. The reward is not rich, but it is not thin, Li Yanzhi, Liu Jiwu, Cao Jian, Tao Heng, Wang Cheng, Wei Xu and other major generals are all promoted to the first level. Li Yanzhi Jin Huqiang Lieutenant belongs to the long history and is still stationed in the festival residence.

The rest was to order Li Yanzhi to lead his troops to set off immediately and escort Zhao Zhen and other prisoners to Guzang. Li Yanzhi was ordered to go, then returned to the camp, ordered the whole army to prepare for half a day, and then escorted the prisoner cart loaded with Zhao Zhen and several senior generals, bid farewell to Li Bai, and went all the way east under the guidance of the guide.