After marching for half a month, the white-robed army arrived at Youzhou.
It was late autumn, and the trees were falling.
Under the setting sun, the withered trees withered and the crows cawed.
On both sides of the road, there was no one in the village, but broken trees could be seen everywhere.
The entire world was deathly silent, sinking into endless darkness.
Along the way, they witnessed the tragic state of the border villages and towns. The white-robed soldiers were all furious.
"General, there is an old man and a child ahead.”
After listening to the Dragon Cavalry Guard's report, Li Changqing spurred his horse forward.
What greeted his eyes were hundreds of low graves without tombstones.
A white-haired old man in disheveled clothes and a child of six or seven years old were digging a hole in the ground with great difficulty and burying the dead villagers in it.
"Old man!" Li Changqing dismounted and walked to the old man. With a solemn expression, he asked,"May I ask what happened here?"
The old man raised his head and glanced at Li Changqing and the army behind him. He ignored them and continued to work with his head lowered.
The six or seven-year-old child spat on Li Changqing.
Seeing this, a Dragon Knight guard beside him immediately shouted,"You child, how dare you be so rude to the general!”
The child saw the Dragon Cavalry Guard's fierce look and hid beside the old man in fear. However, his eyes were still wide open and he did not show any weakness.
His eyes were filled with hatred and stubbornness.
"Retreat!" " Let's go!" Li Changqing shouted. The Dragon Riders retreated to the side and stopped talking.
Li Changqing cupped his hands at the old man and said,"Old sir, I am the Heavenly Strategy General Li Changqing. I have been ordered by the emperor to rush to the border and guard Youzhou. Can you tell me what happened here?”
The old man put down his work and stopped digging. His face revealed a painful expression as he recalled.
"This is the Song Manor," he said."There are three hundred and sixty-three households here. Three days ago, the Turks had charged into the village, killing and looting. The 1600 people in the village were all killed. The old man and his grandson had to collect firewood on the mountain to escape this disaster.”
As he spoke, his turbid eyes were suddenly filled with anger and resentment.
"On the mountain, I saw a Youzhou army nearby, but they watched as the Turks massacred my Song Manor!
This old man has lived for 68 years and has lived long enough. If it weren't for the fact that I'm worried about my grandson, I would've long since picked up my chopper and fought the Turks!
The Great Tang army would only pretend to be Turks and plunder the people! Facing the Outsiders, he was weak and could be bullied, without any courage! I only wish that in my next life, I won't reincarnate in China!”
The old man's anger and deep resentment towards the Tang army made Li Changqing feel deeply humiliated.
When he heard what the Youzhou garrison had done, his eyes turned red and his expression was terrifyingly gloomy.
"Old sir, is it true that the Tang army killed a good man and took credit?" he asked in a deep voice.”
The old man chuckled and ignored Li Changqing. He pulled his grandson and continued to dig the hole with great effort.
Li Changqing took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "Leave a group of people behind to help the pair of grandfather and grandson bury the villagers of Song Manor. Then, take them to Youzhou and settle them down."”
Along the way, the sufferings of the people at the border far exceeded Li Changqing's imagination.
The Turks had wantonly entered the village to burn, kill, pillage, and slaughter the people, but the Youzhou garrison did not even have the courage to stop them. They even pretended to be Turks to take advantage of the situation!
He was so angry that he wanted to kill these scum of the Tang army immediately!
When the white-robed general heard this news, his expression darkened and endless anger rose in his chest.
……
Due to its geographical location, Youzhou City always occupied an extremely important strategic position in any dynasty.
It was a military and commercial center in northern China.
Whenever the country was strong, they would use Youzhou as their base to expand their territory.
When the country's power declined, it became an important place for military defense.
When the country was stable, it became a trading center in the north, promoting economic and cultural exchanges between China and the nomads.
Youzhou City was a rectangular city, which was slightly long from north to south and narrow from east to west.
The four walls were twenty-four miles long, and it was a large city.
Youzhou City had ten city gates, two in the north, south, east, and west respectively. The other two were located inside the city.
On this day, the eight city gates of Youzhou were all opened.
General Tian Ce led 80,000 white-robed soldiers to Youzhou. Luo Yi, the general of Youzhou, welcomed him at the city gate.
When Li Changqing galloped over, Luo Yi hurriedly led a group of Youzhou generals to salute.
"Youzhou Prefecture Governor Luo Yi greets Heavenly Strategy General! The White Robe Army was stationed in Youzhou, and Luo Yi could not contain his joy!”
Li Changqing sized up Luo Yi. This person had a fierce face and a fierce gaze. His face carried a very obvious flattering expression.
He recalled Luo Yi's information in his heart.
Luo Yi, born fierce and crafty, headstrong and stubborn, does not speak of benevolence and righteousness.
But he was brave in battle and good at archery. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, due to repeated military exploits, the official to Huben Lang will be stationed in Youzhou (Sui Dynasty Youzhou renamed Zhuo County).
Five months before Li Yuan ascended the throne, he submitted to Tang. Li Yuan gave him the surname Li and granted him the title of Duke of Yan.
In history, because Luo Yi had offended Li Shimin, his heart was filled with fear and unease. He plotted to rebel and was later killed by his subordinates.
Li Changqing looked down at Luo Yi and said,""General Luo, quickly lead this general to the prefect's manor.”
The Turks were becoming more and more rampant, and the Youzhou garrison was ignoring the sufferings of the people. Li Changqing only wanted to take over the military and political affairs of Youzhou.
Luo Yi's expression changed. He didn't expect Li Changqing to take over his power on the first day.
The might of the white-robed army resounded throughout the land of the Nine Prefectures.
Even though Luo Yi was very unwilling to lose his power, he did not dare to disobey Li Changqing's orders.
He ordered Li Jing to arrange for the army to be stationed. Li Changqing led 5,000 Dragon Cavalry Guards to the prefect's manor and began to take over Youzhou's military and political affairs.
His actions were swift and decisive, and the White Robe Army was ferocious. All the officials in Youzhou were trembling with fear. When they handed over the task, they did not dare to be negligent.
……
Five days later, the prefect's manor was renamed the Heavenly Policy Manor.
Li Changqing had taken over the military and political affairs of Youzhou.
On this day, he sat on the main seat while Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling reported.
"Less than one-tenth of the resources shipped to Youzhou and the military supplies allocated to Youzhou by the Imperial Court were used by the people and ended up in the hands of the soldiers.”
"Luo Yi's Heavenly Army, when they encounter the Turks burning, killing, and looting the people outside the city, they quickly flee and rarely stop them. There were even a few armies that pretended to be Turks and plundered villages and towns. Killing a good person to take credit was not a small matter.”
The two of them spent five days investigating and listed out a list of shocking crimes.
Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, and the other generals gritted their teeth. The more they heard, the angrier they became. Their steel teeth were about to be crushed.
Li Changqing's eyes were like lightning. He stood up angrily and shouted,"This bastard Luo Yi is even more powerful than the Turks! Zhijie, Jingde, quickly escort Luo Yi here!”
Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong received the order and stood up immediately.
"Yes!"
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]