Zhao and Jin jointly attacked Lu, but suffered successive defeats. They lost more battles than they won, and suffered heavy casualties outside Yuguan. Even the commander-in-chief of Jin almost died there.
The war was at a stalemate. If they withdrew their troops at this time, the two countries would not gain any benefit, but would lose a lot of food and soldiers' lives in vain. How could the King of Zhao and the King of Jin be willing to accept this? However, if they insisted on attacking, no one was sure that they could capture the city as soon as possible. Zhao Xu received the battle report from the front line and once again regretted his original alliance.
If he had known this, he should have formed an alliance with the State of Lu. Who would have thought that the State of Lu, which was vulnerable in the original world, would be helped by God this time and could hold out for so long under the alliance of the two countries. The general Wuqu who was guarding the city gave Zhao Xu a headache. He was supposed to be a powerful general under his command in the future, but now he became an enemy, which was really heartbreaking.
"Your Majesty, do you really want to continue fighting?"
"Fight!" Zhao Xu said firmly. It was no longer up to him to decide. The voices in the court pushed him forward. Not only did he have to fight this battle, but he also had to win it. Otherwise, not to mention attacking other countries and the grassland, problems would arise within Zhao.
As soon as the news that Zhao Xu was going to Yuguan in person spread, the three kingdoms of Jin, Zhao and Lu were all shaken. Not all people in Zhao were loyal to the young King of Zhao. Some people were still loyal to his uncle Yu Shangjun, and many people wanted to see his show.
Jin State had many speculations, thinking that the King of Zhao wanted to gain greater benefits. Originally, the armies of the two countries were mainly Jin State, but once Zhao Xu went, as the king, he would of course be the commander. In this way, once Yuguan was breached, wouldn't Zhao State benefit the most? Jin State wanted Zhao Xu to contribute, but didn't want to reduce its own benefits, so it could only do some small moves in secret.
As for the State of Lu, the reason they were able to hold out for so long was due to the secret support of the surrounding countries, especially the State of Yin, which provided war horses from the grasslands, locally produced grains, and even weapons. Both sides were happy.
While the war situation here was at a stalemate, the Wutu tribe far away in the grassland had a rare bumper year. The products and resources on the grassland were continuously transported to the inland Central Plains, and large carts of supplies were transported to the grassland. The places where several tribes lived became increasingly lively, and people's lives became visibly prosperous.
Summer is over, and autumn has arrived on the grassland. In this vast land, the autumn sky is high and the air is fresh and vast. Everyone has started to get busy preparing for winter, and going out hunting has become the favorite thing for the men in the tribe.
When it comes to archery, certainly no one can compare to Wotu, the chief of the Wutu tribe. Everyone has long known how powerful he is. A few years ago, there were still young people who were ignorant of the world and wanted to compete with him. But in the past two years, basically no one is willing to pay attention to him. The men play by themselves and don't bring him along. After all, no one wants to always watch such a monster attacking them.
Therefore, Wo Chu usually went out hunting alone, but now he brought Yin and Xu with him.
"You have almost learned archery and can go out for actual combat. It is useless to learn archery if you only learn to shoot the arrow but don't really hit anything. Come on, let's go hunt a few red-back foxes and make a hat for you." Wo Tu said this to his 'student', and then he found a day and took her out to have fun for several days.
They rode a long way, from the time the sun just rose to the time the moon rose. There were only the two of them on the endless plain. Yin Ruxu started riding by herself, but after riding for a long time she felt sleepy, so Wo Tu carried her to his horse and let her sleep by leaning against him. Yin Ruxu's horse followed behind Wo Tu's horse, trotting together obediently.
Yin Ruxu always had trouble finding prey because those little creatures were good at hiding. They had lived on this grassland for a long time and were familiar with it. If Yin Ruxu was alone, she would probably get nothing, but she brought along a son of the wolf god. Her chieftain, Wotu, was born on the grassland and knew everything about it, including those cunning little creatures.
Every time Wo Tu saw prey, he would first pull Yin Ruxu, let her look, and then let her take action.
Ten shots, ten misses.
Yin Ruxu had just been able to shoot a stationary target, and now it was difficult for her to shoot an animal that could run flexibly. But Wo Tu never got tired of it, and every time he saw her fail to shoot, he was very happy for some reason.
They met a group of gazelles. Yin Ruxu shot an arrow, but one of the gazelles kicked the arrow away.
Yin Ruxu: “…?”
Wo Tu: "Hahaha, this is the first time I see someone shooting a yellow sheep and getting the arrow kicked away, hahaha!" He laughed so hard that he slapped his thigh.
Yin Ruxu pointed the bow at him, pretending to scare him. Wo Tu was so amused that he said to her, "Come on, try to shoot me first."
Yin Ruxu: “Nonsense.”
Wo Tu: "No, I'm not kidding. Shoot me first and see. With your strength, I can catch your arrow with just my hand."
At his repeated request, Yin Ruxu shot an arrow at him. Wo Tu did not dodge, but grabbed her arrow like lightning. "Your aim is OK, but your power is not good enough." Wo Tu put several of Yin Ruxu's arrows back into her quiver.
He painted a red mark on the tail of Yin Ruxu's arrow.
"Don't worry, let's take it slow, we'll definitely win." After he laughed at the princess, he picked her up and threw her into the sky to make her laugh.
The two of them walked around aimlessly. Yin Ruxu occasionally worried that he didn't know the way back. Wo Tu shook his head and laughed, "Of course I know how to get back. Why worry about that... Hey, Xuxu, look, there's a hole next to the bush. Rabbit, do you see it? Hurry up and shoot!"
Yin Ruxu also became nervous, carefully pulled the bow, and shot at the rabbit. With a swish, the arrow with red tail feathers pierced into the hole, and the rabbit ran away.
Wo Tu: “Hahahaha!”
Yin Ruxu was annoyed by his laughter and stared at him without saying a word. Wo Tu raised his hand: "Okay, okay, I won't laugh anymore, I dare not!"
"This rabbit can't run away. Come." He jumped off the horse, picked up Yin Ruxu and looked around with her. Sure enough, he found another hole. "Wait here. When the rabbit comes out, hold it down."
Yin Ruxu: "Why did the rabbit come out from here? How do you know?"
Wo Tu: "I just know it." He tossed around in the other two holes he found for a while, and then squatted in front of another hole. He didn't know what he did, but after a while, Yin Ruxu really heard some noises. She held her breath, knelt on the ground and looked at the hole in front of her, and vaguely saw the shadow of a rabbit.
"Ah! Got it! Wotu!"
Yin Ruxu grabbed the rabbit that suddenly appeared. This was the first time she caught a rabbit with her own hands. She pressed the struggling fur with some excitement, but because she didn't know the right way and her technique was unfamiliar, she ended up messing up the rabbit's fur.
"Wotu, hurry, it's going to run away!"
Wo Tu had seen enough of her being so excited like a little girl, so he grabbed the rabbit's ears and saved her. "Look, the rabbit you caught." He held the rabbit and shook it in front of Yin Ruxu.
The rabbit was tied up and put in the bag on the horse's back, and the two men continued to move forward.
"Xuxu, look over there." Wo Tu poked his wife again.
Yin Ruxu glanced over there and didn't take any action.
Wo Tu: "Xu Xu, it's a red-backed fox."
Yin Ruxu: "... Come here."
All right. Wo Tu drew his bow, put it back halfway, raised his hand and pulled out an arrow from Yin Ruxu's quiver, drew the bow to its full length and shot it out. Of course he would not miss, the red-backed fox ran a few steps away, but was shot in the neck by Wo Tu who saw through the opportunity. Seeing that Yin Ruxu still had no reaction, he rode over and picked up the red-backed fox.
After that, no matter what he shot, he would draw arrows from Yin Ruxu's quiver and not use his own arrows.
"Stop using my arrows. You've almost used them all up."
"Then you can shoot the arrows yourself next time?"
“… I shoot my own arrows.”
Still nothing was shot.
If he couldn't hit the target, then he couldn't hit the target. Yin Ruxu didn't get discouraged. If he couldn't hit the target with one arrow, he would shout "Wo Tu" and the Wo Tu next to him would shoot an arrow, and he would usually get something.
At night, they sat beside the campfire. The starry sky was vast and silent, remaining unchanged for thousands of years. As long as they lay down, they could sink into the ground beneath them and forget everything.
At first, Yin Ruxu couldn't sleep. In this simple environment, she could only lie half-lying against Wo Tu. Wo Tu held her and sang to her. His hands were rough and thick, and felt heavy on her head. Yin Ruxu fell asleep after he sang a few songs with his chin against her head.
Occasionally, Yin Ruxu would sing Yin songs for him. Yin songs emphasize harmony of rhythm, beautiful words, and melodious tunes. Her songs are as graceful and exquisite as she is, like a beautiful dream of the south in the depths of the grassland. She sang on Wo Tu's shoulder, and Wo Tu looked at her quietly, his eyes shining like the stars behind him.
Being away from home is not as convenient as being in the tribe. Although they brought enough drinking water, they could not wash every day. If they encountered water on the way, Yin Ruxu would inevitably want to wash. While the sun was still there and the water was still warm, Yin Ruxu undressed his hair and clothes and went into the water to wash the sweat off his body.
Suddenly, a strong and familiar body came over from behind.
They sank into the water, were surrounded by the current, and floated together in the water. The coldness of the lake water was dispelled by another hot body. At this moment, there were only two people between heaven and earth, melting into the appearance of the initial intersection of life.
…
The two of them were alone together for a long time, and it was as if they were the only ones left. There was no trace of other tribes, and no other people showed up. They were just accompanied by the sun and the moon, riding horses in the wilderness. In a trance, Yin Ruxu forgot that she was a princess of the Yin Kingdom, and forgot the pain of being trapped in such a small world.
She felt as if she had turned into a gust of wind, or a cloud.
"Come on, it's time for us to go back." She felt a little disappointed when she heard Wo Tu say this.
Wo Tu saw it, rubbed her head, and leaned his forehead against hers, "I'll take you out to play next time. I have many places I can take you to."
"Next time, you'll be able to hunt your own prey."
Yin Ruxu felt that he was teasing her, but she still felt happy.
The author has something to say: Speaking of the Lantern Festival... The Lantern Festival Poetry Contest has not yet ended. It will end on the 21st. Do you want to catch the last train? Let's post some silly poems~~