Two days later at noon, when the sun was high in the sky, the mighty but somewhat embarrassed army of 180,000 Black Jie people finally arrived at the grassland 20 miles east of the Crescent Valley.
This time, the Black Jie army had to withdraw. In just a few months, it was like a journey from heaven to hell and back again for the Black Jie army. After defeating the Seven Shatu Tribes, they originally thought that they would have the final say in the Gulang Grassland from now on. Now with the addition of the Seven Shatu Tribes, the Black Jie army even made plans to invade the northwest of the Han Empire. At that time, everything was beautiful. The entire army, from top to bottom, was full of confidence. Thinking that the rich and vast Gulang Grassland would be their territory in the future and the western part of the Han Empire was open to them, the Black Jie army, from top to bottom, was at a climax.
But the good times did not last long. A decree to kill the Hu people issued by the Qiyun Protectorate reversed the situation on the entire Gulang grassland in the blink of an eye.
The omnipresent Han knights and militia poured into the Gulang grassland in large numbers. They were more numerous than the wild dogs and jackals on the grassland, and more cunning than foxes and falcons. All the Black Jie people became their targets. First, the small groups of Black Jie people stationed in various places on the Gulang grassland were cleared out by the Han knights and militia. Then the patrols and small groups of people sent out by the Black Jie army became the targets of the Han knights and militia. Once a group of less than 1,000 people left the army's camp, it would be basically impossible for them to return intact. If the army was dispatched with a group of more than 10,000 people, those people would scatter in a hurry, and you would not be able to even touch them. Once you stopped, they would start to gather around you, spying, harassing, attacking your camp, poisoning, assassinating, setting traps, and doing everything they could. It seemed that they would never rest, just to chop off your head. Once the group collapsed and fled, all the people would become their prey again.
The Black Jie army also thought of various ways to deal with the Han knights and militia, such as deliberately setting traps and baits, but they were not very effective because the Han knights and militia had no unified organization at all and were shrewd and cunning. They only tricked a small number of people, and the rest learned their lesson and would even trick the Black Jie in turn. Faced with the disappearance of Black Jie people every day and countless harassment and assassination traps every day, Prince Temiba had to shrink the Black Jie army and adopt the tortoise tactics.
However, this turtle tactic was only effective against ordinary Han rangers and militia, but when facing those top Han masters, the Black Jie army's camp defenses were simply like decorations.
The first strong man of the Han people came, and although he did not do anything to Prince Temiba, he killed Kadar, the war priest in the army. The war priest Kadar was a top master among the Black Jie people, but he was no match for the strong man of the Han people who raided the army camp.
The war priest Kadar was killed, but Prince Temiba was still there, so the army could still remain stable. However, a few days ago, after discovering that the head of Prince Temiba, who was hidden in the army, was missing, the entire Black Jie army finally became leaderless and completely confused. After discussion, the remaining generals had to withdraw.
Even during the evacuation, the journey was not all smooth sailing, because the number of Han knights and militiamen who followed the army increased, and they became more and more daring. In just a few days, the Black Jie army lost six or seven thousand men on the road, and was in a state of disgrace and panic.
During the day, the vanguard of the army had to be on the road to guard against all kinds of traps set by the Han knights and militia, as well as poisons in the water and all edible things. The rear army had to constantly drive away the knights and militia who followed the army too closely. They had to fight as they went, and had no time to rest. At night, it was even more terrifying. No one dared to sleep soundly, even though the army had arranged three times the number of patrols. However, at night, the Han knights who came to raid the camp and touch the heads of the army could alarm the army more than ten times a night. When they woke up the next morning, many of the Black Jie soldiers in the tents would never come out again. When the tents were opened, a group of people were still sleeping, but their heads were gone. In the tents, in addition to the smell of blood, there was also the residual smell of the incense used by the Han people.
At this time, all the Black Jie people in the army understood that their invasion of the Gulang grassland was no longer a battle, not a war, but a journey of death. The Han Empire was no longer their target of plunder and spying, but a terrifying behemoth that could turn their hundreds of thousands of troops into prey with a single order to kill the Hu. Once such a behemoth became angry, it could make all invaders fall into hell in an instant.
Seeing the Crescent Valley in front of them, several generals of the Black Jie army did not rush in with their troops, but sent out spies first. However, the news brought back by the spies made several Black Jie generals feel cold. The 20,000 Black Jie soldiers that Prince Taimiba had arranged at the entrance of the Crescent Valley to guard the army's retreat were gone. The entire camp was in a mess. Except for some corpses that were gnawed beyond recognition by wild beasts, not a single bird feather was left. There was no trace of the Han army in the valley...
After receiving this news, several Black Jie generals discussed together and decided that it would be impossible for the army they led to stay here, as the Han army was chasing them. If they rashly advanced their entire army into the deep, they were afraid of being ambushed by the Han people. So, they might as well send 10,000 troops into the Crescent Valley first to see what the situation was.
After a while, 10,000 Black Jie cavalrymen broke away from the main army and rushed towards the Crescent Valley...
…
"Hahaha, I didn't expect these Black Jie people to be smart enough to throw stones to ask for directions..." On a hillside in the middle of the Crescent Valley, Fu Changde looked at the 10,000 Black Jie cavalrymen rushing into the valley and laughed, "It doesn't matter, we'll let this group of people go first, and then serve them a full meal when the army behind arrives. Please wait a moment, big bosses..."
“Look at how cowardly those Black Jie people are. These ten thousand cavalrymen are trembling with fear, like plucked quails. They must have been scared out of their wits. Hahahaha…” Boss Long laughed.
"The governor is leading the army to chase after these people. In the past few days, I don't know how many rangers and militia soldiers have been following them like hungry wolves. They will rush up to take a bite and tear off a piece of meat when they get a chance. It would be strange if they still have the courage. I have dealt with the Black Jie people for decades, and I know their morals very well. These Black Jie people, from the royal family to the slaves, are all bullying and fearing evil by nature. If you treat them well, they will dare to ride on your head and shit on you, and domineering to you in a nasty way. If you are evil and scare them to death, they will kneel on the ground and be loyal to you and serve you as slaves. As long as you give them a little benefit, they will be grateful to you..." Situ Feixing squinted his eyes and looked at the 10,000 Black Jie cavalrymen who rushed into the valley, and shook his head, "Even if these people can survive this time, they are too scared. When they see the Han army in the future, they will run away..."
"You are the only one who knows so much..." Empress Huo glanced at Situ Feixing coquettishly, her eyes full of affection, which made Situ Feixing blush. He coughed twice and stopped talking. Wu Daquan just chuckled twice, and Empress Huo raised her eyebrows and glared at him with murderous eyes. The leader of Huoyun Village just shrank his neck and tightly closed his mouth. He had fought with Empress Huo once two years ago. That time, if this woman had not held back at the last moment, Wu Daquan would have fallen under this woman's pear blossom spear. It would be a lie to say that Wu Daquan was not afraid of this woman.
…
The 10,000 Black Jie cavalry passed through the Crescent Valley safely and arrived safely at the west side of Qiyun Mountain. When the news came, the Black Jie army waiting on the Gulang grassland could no longer bear it, and the remaining 170,000 troops marched towards the Crescent Valley in a mighty force.
It's not that these Black Jie generals were stupid enough to take risks with their large army, but the Crescent Valley has a special terrain. The narrowest part of the valley is more than 300 meters wide, and the mountains on both sides are not absolutely steep. According to past experience, if there were really people lying in ambush on both sides of the valley, there would not be many means of attack that could be used. As long as the army passed through quickly, the losses would be very limited. It was based on this understanding that the Black Jie generals dared to lead the rest of the army into the Crescent Valley only after 10,000 troops had passed.
An army of more than 170,000 men meandered through the valley, filling it up and stretching for three or four kilometers, like a giant snake crawling in the valley.
The journey was smooth for the first twenty miles or so. After more than twenty miles, the Black Jie army arrived at the middle section of the Crescent Valley, which was also the narrowest section, and finally entered the ambush circle set up by Fu Changde and his men.
Seeing that the vanguard of the Black Jie army had reached the predetermined position, Fu Changde, who was watching with his waist bent halfway up the mountain, suddenly stood up and shot a flaring arrow at the Black Jie army below.
"Woo..." The fired arrows made a loud and piercing sound, crossing the valley below. The Black Jie army in the valley below suddenly panicked, but before those Black Jie people could react, at the moment the arrows sounded, seven or eight bright lines of fire suddenly sprang up from both sides of the valley at the same time, burning all the way, and suddenly burned to the ground below the valley.
The ground beneath the feet of the Black Jie army seemed to be on fire.
With a loud "boom...", a ball of fire suddenly burst out from the ground. Amidst the screams of agony, hundreds of Black Jie soldiers within a radius of more than ten meters were engulfed in the fire. A raging fire started in the valley.
Wherever the fire reached, countless black liquids burst out from the ground, attached to people's bodies and began to burn violently. The burning fire net continued to extend along the fire line on the ground into the Black Jie army. In just a moment, the entire valley where the Black Jie army was located was suddenly engulfed in a sea of fire...
Thick smoke, raging fire, and screams echoed throughout the valley!
(End of this chapter)