Changes in the sky
Volume 2: The Edge of Heaven
Chapter 167: Surprise Troops
The rain was still falling in Guangxin, but the house gradually became brighter. At this point, Pei'er suddenly smiled. The guy in her belly woke up and moved a little. She was touching her slightly protruding belly at the time. Since she got pregnant, she always liked to touch there. Listen to Wan'er, our child is growing fast. He is only four months old and he can toss and turn. When she went to visit Pei'er, Pei'er would always suddenly smile and say, "The child kicked me again." So, Nalan often thought that this guy would definitely be like his heroic father in the future.
But I don’t want my children to be like me, as strange as it sounds.
I hope he can enjoy the students in the study room reading and discussing, even sophistry and howling, classmates playing and going out, even fooling around, and friends laughing and talking nonsense. I always feel that this kind of comfort and happiness is what people of this age should do, or enjoy. Sometimes, perhaps only after going to the court to fight against others, and entering the battlefield to fight with others, will you realize how pleasant and happy it was to study and meet friends without any scheming or suspicion.
Have you not heard Confucius say: "Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you." In other words, what you want others to do to you, you must do to them.
But strangely, if it were me, I wouldn’t be able to settle down to study in the library or enjoy these things. Maybe it’s because I’ve “climbed” high enough. If there weren’t so many things along the way, I’m afraid I could only dream of being where I am today.
Maybe I am still in a dream, but unfortunately sometimes I don’t want to wake up, and sometimes I want to wake up but can’t.
The sky was getting brighter, and the clouds seemed to have lightened a lot, and it seemed that the snow would not fall anymore. The light fog that originally covered the mountains, rivers, camps and castles around us was gradually blown clear by the wind mixed with ice debris. The only thing that could slightly hinder my observation of the situation on the other side of the water was the fleeting "white air" I exhaled. After a moment, I suddenly realized many things.
In fact, I am not sure either, but at least I can make a lot of deductions now, and this moment is when my mind is the clearest. It seems that as I watch them running past, everything is sorted out in my mind.
There is only one thing that can be confirmed now, at least my attack was successful. And up to now, the enemy seems to be confused about us. Where we came from and how many there are, they don't seem to know. And what kind of army we are, even the Han Dynasty would not recognize it. Although our armor is of Han style, each person is slightly different. It is almost impossible to find two people with the same helmet, armor, cape, and horse bridle. The weapons are even more different. The Qin soldiers who can make him a little familiar are still lying in ambush in the woods behind. What he sees in front of him is a completely unique army with no characteristics.
Of course, they were thinking about us, and we were not idle either. Everyone was taking a break, and they might be thinking about them as I was.
The first question is: Are there hundreds of thousands of them? Naturally, there are only two answers to this question: yes, and no.
If there were, there weren't many people here, and it seemed that there were only a few thousand people over there for the time being, and they didn't attack us, and they even took a defensive stance against our few hundred people. Where did all those people go? If there weren't, it would take at least tens of thousands of people to besiege Chencang and defeat the Eight Outer Armies. So these hundreds of thousands were made up by someone to scare people. There is a word called "claimed" which means this.
The second question: Where did the people in the camp go? This question is a little more complicated, but there are only three possible answers. One is here, two is on the other side, and three is out. If they are here, the Qiang people can only scare people. Maybe they think that there is always the Wei River between them, so they only need to set up a posture here, but they don’t need too many people. But there are always people on Chencang City who are always watching this side. Everyone can see that there are always no people in this camp. The Qiang people’s "if" is just a fake trick. It is meaningless and indeed a bit stupid, and not just ordinary stupid. But if there is a large army here and they are participating in the siege, they have to think of ways to cross the river every day, but there are no floating boats on the waterside.
The Wei River is not narrow, which is something they should have thought of before they set out. The Han people were stationed in the south of the river. Considering that the Wei River should not be frozen in February, these Five Pecks of Rice followers were indeed just here to cheer, not to fight. Considering this, the Qiang people who were camped by the friendly neighbors were most likely here to watch the Han people on the southern slope to prevent this team from mutinying, rather than to attack the city. I was still thinking whether all the people who could fight in this camp were on the opposite side, but I immediately gave up this idea. Imagine that if we fight here, it is understandable that other Qiang people will not come to rescue because they don’t know the situation and have hatred. However, it is incredible that the soldiers of our tribe let us trample on the camp and did not come. Therefore, considering that we encountered a group of Qiang people chasing Han villagers at night and regarded us as accomplices, they may have gone out to rob and have not returned.
More and more people gathered on the other side, and the mist that seemed to be there and not there at first dissipated, and the Qiang camp became clearer and clearer. However, it seemed that there were only about 10,000 people, and there might be more people surrounding the city, but I couldn't tell where they were hiding around. Compared with the few people riding horses and dressed in gorgeous clothes, they attracted my attention more.
I was wondering if those guys in brighter clothes were the enemy leaders. Then they stood behind the barricades, looked at us, and frequently turned their heads to talk about something.
I immediately imagined myself joining the group of people on the opposite side. After the leader of the other side saw the situation on our side, he decided to just gather his troops and not cross the Weishui River.
This question seems interesting.
I guess the reason is probably because there are too few of us.
This may seem like a strange reason, but I think it's mostly because of this.
We dared to charge such a large camp with such a small number of people. Obviously, we knew the real situation of this camp. Regardless of whether there were so many people in this camp, at least our behavior showed that our understanding of them might be beyond their imagination. And from their behavior, this camp did have a lot of people, but now they are not here. Then, they are very likely to think that the people who went out of the opposite camp have been completely annihilated by us, or at least trapped somewhere. And to annihilate or trap such a large camp, the number of Qiang troops that could be sent, and none of them came back to report the news, must be incalculable, and the strength of the marching and fighting must be beyond their expectations. They must think that there is such a support force behind us, and it is even possible that they have set an ambush in the east valley, and we are the bait.
And there were hundreds of us, even in front of tens of thousands of them, watching them leisurely.
Of course, I am sure that there is indeed a team behind me, but there must be a big deviation between the number of people in my mind and the number in their mind. It is not worth mentioning but I really want to mention that the number in my mind is much more reliable than the other party's guess. They should feel that we seem to be luring them into a trap. If we retreat at this time, it will be even more likely. But they should not dare to cross the river to attack, at least they dare not go too deep. The large forest on the east side of the water is too suspicious. I turned around and looked at it. It seems suspicious. But if I still doubt whether there is anyone over there, I feel like my head has been bitten by a dog.
I also thought of the thousand seemingly ownerless war horses tied up in the forest further back. If their scouts came to check and saw them and went back to report, they would be even more suspicious that there was an ambush behind them.
So, I prepared to withdraw.
That's why I laugh. I think most people around me probably don't understand my laughter at all. But they should have more confidence in me.
But before retreating, at least give others a reason to chase after us: provocation, or incitement. I don't want them to feel gloating over our attack on this camp. The hatred between the Qiang tribes is already fierce enough. God knows if the tribe that was left here is the one that the other side wants to destroy but is unable to deal with.
On second thought, this Qiang tribe here seemed to have no defense against the other side at all. Even if they were considered to have gone out to plunder before the Wei River froze, they should have left more troops for defense. So this tribe was sent by the Qiang people to keep an eye on the rice thieves above, and they could trust one or more tribes.
The "teasing" officially began. The order was given to everyone to dismount and eat breakfast, but not too far from their horses. They also had to keep looking at the other side and eat slowly. Those with hay bags could put them on their horses' heads and feed them at the same time. I also put on the hood for Hei, and then took out a rice ball wrapped in a layer of ice chips from my food bag and started chewing it. Brother Yide also drank the wine. I knew he was quite happy from the sound of "tsk tsk" behind him. He even took the initiative to pass it to Brother Fengxian. After hearing Brother Fengxian's thanks, I heard the sound of drinking.
I was so tempted that I wanted to turn around and criticize Brother Yide for being so unkind to me. He should have known that I liked this. He should have known it when we were together in Youzhou. So, I hoped that he would pass it to me first. The taste of the cold rice ball was acceptable, but the taste and texture of the ice chips on the outside were not good.
Then he actually handed it to Le Jin, Niu Jin, and ** in turn. These people were not polite at all. They just said thank you and started drinking.
What infuriated me the most was that none of these people thought of me! No one even said politely: Please have a drink to warm yourself up, Lord Yue.
I also reminded them specifically. I took down Hei's hay bag and asked, "Who left without it at the stable? We must ensure that everyone and every horse has enough to eat and drink." But except for Hei, who poked his head in to continue chewing, no one else understood the meaning of my words.
In addition to saying that they had brought their own, the people around me also misunderstood the spirit of my conversation. Some people who originally did not drink alcohol, but after listening to me, they also tried to take a sip of wine to warm themselves up.
However, in the scene, I seemed to be still looking at the opposite side quietly after finishing this sentence, watching the people opposite us quietly watching us eat and passing drinks to each other.
If the other party knew that I, as the leader of this team, was actually thinking about waiting for others to send me wine, I guess the provocation would be very effective.
But I really hope that one of the brothers will find his conscience and hear the call of the heart of this sanctimonious leader in front of them.
But in the end, Yide's wine bag was still drunk by an unfamiliar voice. This made me quite disappointed, but I couldn't turn around and question Yide.
I didn't expect Brother Yide to say this, Brother Fengyunhou... did you bring any wine? Lao Zhang's is empty.
I said righteously: I only brought water with me to lead everyone to defeat the enemy. I was afraid that drinking would cause trouble, so I didn't dare to bring any.
I felt my face getting hot as I finished speaking. With my hypocritical mentality, I felt that the emperor should cut off my neck and send it to the butcher at the West Market Gate in Luoyang to be chopped into meat for two hours.
But I really regretted not drinking a bag of wine at that time. Now I don’t even have water to drink because I just finished and when I patted the water bag outside the armor behind my waist, I found that it was frozen solid.
However, when I took a picture of the water bag, a scene emerged in front of my eyes: the girl on Qianshan seemed to have walked into the Wei River again, pouring wine from the wine bag and grinding ink.
I didn't dare to think further. I seemed to have just learned that women have some special things every month. At that time, I asked stupidly. Even a young woman would be embarrassed and speechless. However, except for Yinling, I guess she would be hit on the head.
Being distracted is my specialty, and I am also very skilled at focusing my mind. After finishing the food in my hand, I quickly focused my mind. As I clapped my hands, there were no other mountains, rivers, or people in my mind. There was only the water in front of me, the Qiang people on the shore, and the Chencang City behind the Qiang people.
The other side still did not move, I guessed it. I mounted my horse and went around to the back to see how everyone was doing, and then went to the place where the fight had just taken place to check the bows and crossbows in the hands of several Qiang men's bodies, so that I could have a better idea.
I rode my horse to the shore, thinking that it was out of the range of the Qiang people's bows and arrows, so I leisurely stopped and waved. I didn't speak Qiang language, but the meaning of this gesture should be very clear.
There were people shooting arrows at me from the other side of the water, but the Wei River was very wide here, and the Qiang people mostly used short bows and could not shoot at me at all. Hei Du sneered at this, and even took me forward a few steps, with a very arrogant attitude, which made me a little nervous, so I quickly reined in my gun.
Several people holding fur hats and bows ran onto the ice. I immediately put the bow on and aimed at one of them, but suddenly raised my hand and pulled the bow to the full extent and shot at those guys who were dressed differently from the others.
They were quite skilled, and one of them dodged the arrow. I ignored the people running over the ice, and continued to look at the gradually darkening crowd on the other side, and waved.
Those people walked forward, humming a few words from time to time. I waved back, drew out the arrow and pointed it forward. Everyone understood, and they felt a gust of wind in their ears. The people in front of them immediately stopped moving, but one of them left a red mark on the snow.
There were horses standing beside me, and the people on the horses waved to the other side together with me. Some people were blowing their noses forward, but this action might not be entirely provocative, and there were also sneezes and farts from time to time, especially the "coo coo" that would cause some laughter.
Is there anyone willing to compete with me to shoot the enemy chief on the other side
There was a sound of bowstrings in my ears, and there was a commotion on the other side. Although the weak crossbows could not shoot all the enemies on the other side, the strong bows and crossbows of our Han people must have made them afraid. Seeing them dodging in a panic, and even some falling off their horses, I guessed that they were panicking. Where did this group of fierce Han people come from
We looked at them like this, and they looked at us like this.
I continued to wave.
A sudden gust of wind from the east swept across the ice, stirring up a cloud of snow and fog. The wind passed and only a few dogs barking could be heard from time to time. The rest was just a deathly silence. It was already bright enough, but the sun had not yet appeared, and the clouds in the eastern sky had not yet dispersed.
I couldn't help but shiver, and the crisp sound of the scales on the armor colliding was heard.
Suddenly I began to miss the continuous rain in Guangxin.
Peier listened to the sound of rain and the roosters outside, and suddenly felt sleepy and wanted to sleep for a while. At this moment, she suddenly felt a little shy. Her father was very strict with her and always made her get up early to study. After marrying me, she really liked to be lazy, and it was even worse after she got pregnant. She always felt a little guilty towards her father.
In the end, she made up a good excuse for herself that she needed to sleep more for the sake of her children, and only then did she feel at ease.
There is another reason, she might still see me in her dreams.
We continue to look at them in the same way, and they continue to look at us in the same way.
I didn't intend to drag on this confrontation for long. The chill in the early morning after the snow made many people shiver unconsciously, and yawns could be heard from time to time behind me.
He whispered, "Go back along the river, don't talk, don't be quiet, don't leave any scouts behind." Then he was the first to turn his horse and trot eastward.
No one asked me why. Maybe it was because tonight went too smoothly, making everyone think that I had planned it all out long ago.
We moved slowly forward as if we were going hunting, under the gaze of thousands of eyes on the opposite side.
Before leaving, I took a special look at the rice bandits' camp above. Many people were looking at us, but there was still no movement.
Eighty-nine is the number of all the tribes of the Qiang people in Liangzhou that I know of. In the past, there were more than a hundred of them. They had a lot of internal hatred. In the past, the Qiang were often provoked to fight among themselves, but they could be quelled without the court having to specially dispatch troops.
Twenty, my age, is also the time from when Lord Duan pacified the Western Qiang, and the court ordered people to register and settle them. It is also the time when the Qiang people have stabilized and have increased their population and reproduced. The children born after that, by this year, are expected to go to the battlefield, and right across from me. I heard from Yin Ling that the Qiang people are very good at raising children. A father often has more than a dozen children, and it is common to have hundreds of grandchildren. Before long, when there are too many Qiang people, they will basically make trouble again. Twenty years have passed, and there are so many young people, but they still have hatred towards us. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it was rumored that the Qiang people seemed to be moved by the Yellow Turbans and wanted to make trouble together, but they were suppressed by a mobilization: Han Sui was defeated, and the thief Dong entered Liang. (This is not the case in the official history, as explained in the previous article)
I felt that everything seemed to be under my control. The other side seemed to be at a loss, and I still had an ambush - although there were fewer people and a city - although I knew basically nothing about the internal situation of the city.
But I was worried about one thing: the missing Qiang army. The cries of women and children I heard along the way reminded me of the existence of this army. The man sitting next to me kept looking in the direction of the crying, perhaps thinking of his mother.
I didn't have time to miss my mother. I just wanted to go back to see her, my father and Yinling as soon as possible after the war.
I hope the Qiang people will chase us, but I also know that they are very hesitant about whether to chase us or not.
Although there are only a few hundred of us here.
All I need to know is that the Eight Outer Armies had only about 10,000 people and were able to fight here for a whole day. Although they lost, the remaining soldiers were able to enter the city and even send a letter from Chencang. This can explain some problems.
Suddenly I felt stupid. I knew how many people there were in Qin. I heard it again when the fiefdoms were divided. How could it be so easy to pull out hundreds of thousands of people? If there were really hundreds of thousands of people rebelling, Qin would have changed hands long ago.
How come I thought of this so late
Why did father, teacher, Meng De and even Yin Ling believe it? None of the princes in the court thought of it
I felt relieved, as it seemed that I was not the only one who made such a foolish mistake.
But at the same time, my heart tightened, thinking about some things in the past. Maybe there was something else going on
I didn't want to think about it. I quickly thought about the actual number of enemies here.
It is possible that there were 100,000 people, including the rice thieves, the old, the weak, the young and the old. If there were hundreds of thousands, I am afraid that only the livestock could make up the number.
Of course, even if they only had tens of thousands of men, they were still much more than us. But the key point was that they didn't know that we only had a thousand men. And when they deployed these more than ten thousand men by the water, I could almost imagine what the other soldiers were doing - besieging the city, but Chencang was on a higher ground, so I couldn't see the situation on the other sides clearly.
But I really didn't expect what happened later. What happened in my plan was not what happened in the end.
My plan is this: If they are cautious, they should send a scout force of at most a few hundred people to follow me, and when I go around the mountain in front and walk a dozen miles slowly, I will immediately turn around and eat them, and finish it within half an hour, and then have a verbal fight, and then leave. Even if these hundreds of rabbits all escape, I will deal with them the same way.
The situation is very different from the last time. They will not chase me anymore. If they chase me, they will not chase me with hundreds of people. We can easily eat less than hundreds of people, and I seem to be very interested in eating them. If they consider our suspicious backup, sending thousands of people may be eaten by us together with the outside reinforcements. Then the number of people chasing me will be tens of thousands, almost all the people we see. As long as he chases more people, once he catches up, his coalition forces of dozens of tribes have always had hatreds in the past, and it is impossible to effectively control them at the last minute. Even if they find something wrong, they may have to bite the bullet and continue to chase me. At this time, Weishui and even the city are naturally empty. As long as the Eight Outer Armies and Chencang are still strong, Zilong will be smarter, and the Qiang Camp in the north of the water will be enough for them to destroy. And it is a matter of life and death for me to take them to find a place to go around and have a ride.
But in fact, they are too cautious, even a little afraid, just hold on and don't chase, then we will disappear. Go to the neighboring county to rest, go out every night, and make small moves, so that he can't rest every day. They are going out to plunder food now, and the food and grass will definitely not last long. If I make trouble for them for two more days, they will not be able to bear it. Once they run out of food, they will eventually have to slaughter cattle and sheep to fill their stomachs. It's just after winter, and the cattle and sheep must be thin. With so many people here, the slaughter must be astonishing. In Qin State, I knew that the nomadic Qiang people had to find us Han people to exchange their livestock for our salt, food, and cloth, and the weight of the livestock was calculated (due to the mixed residence with the Han people, there were already many Qiang tribes in Gansu and other places that mainly relied on farming or half animal husbandry and half farming). They did this as an advance payment for future salaries, and the loss was so great that they couldn't recover for a long time. Moreover, if I really didn't win quickly, my father and others would definitely send troops again, so if it dragged on, it would definitely be more advantageous for me.
I just don’t know what will happen to the emperor, my father and others if I delay for too long.
This is really a headache.
But I can’t worry about it now, I should consider the present first.
If the Qiang people took the risk and chased me with all their strength from the beginning, it would be the best, and Brother Zilong and Chen Cang would have the opportunity earlier. In the various peace stories that Yinling told me when I was a child, the Qiang people seemed to be reckless and impulsive, brave but not wise.
This is the correct answer that I hope to see in my original plan. I just don't know what bad ideas this Han Chinese named Wang Guo will come up with. He can instigate so many Qiang tribes and rice thieves. This is his ability. If this person's actions were not really harmful to many people, I would think he could be used.
Of course, we also need to consider the worst case scenario, that is, they are determined to bet that we have no backup and everything is just a pretense. They will send a few thousand people to chase me, and the rest will continue to defend. Brother Bu Zilong has no chance, so I have to retreat to Wugong and Meixian, and then I will meet the retreating Qiang team on the way.
Then I would basically have to confess, and I would have sacrificed all these elite soldiers and generals. Then I could only hope that Brother Zilong and the others could evacuate safely.
I felt the hidden worry in my heart becoming heavier and heavier, even to the point of making it hard for me to breathe.
However, perhaps because I hadn’t slept all night, although I wasn’t sleepy yet, I seemed to have forgotten to consider a special problem at the time. It was this special problem that led to the development of things in a direction that I had never thought of.
After walking for more than ten miles, he ordered the team to stop and sent a few people to run back a few miles to check. After a while, they reported that no one was following.
I think maybe I was too much like a bait, and they were fooled into thinking I was a bait, so they didn't take the bait. It was still early, so I could still do something, and I didn't have to retreat to the martial arts line. I was thinking about how to deal with it, how to better "provoke" and "provoke" effectively. As everyone was holding their breath, suddenly there was a faint sound of drums and shouts of killing from the west!
Brother Yide was so anxious that he reined in his horse: "Why did Zilong start a fight?"
Le Jin suddenly said in surprise: "Oh, could it be that Chencang has sent troops? How can they do that at this time? Chencang is in danger!"
I didn't tip off Brother Zilong for fear of revealing their whereabouts.
I didn't leave a patrol post behind, just to make the bait more obvious, and to prevent the enemy from "accidentally" discovering Zilong's team by going around in a big circle to avoid our sentinels and scouts.
They are unwilling to not chase us, but they are afraid of being ambushed if they chase us. If they become impatient like this, I will have many opportunities in the future.
But the shouts and screams behind me stunned me for a moment. This was definitely not in my plan. Listening carefully, this was not the sound that two hundred people could make when charging at ten thousand people. If Chencang City chose to send troops at this time, that Lord Zhong of Youfufeng should have been thrown into the market at birth. I felt a little exasperated.
Turning back and attacking is like adding fuel to the fire; it will not help and will only hurt yourself.
Now let's just assume that Zilong and that Lord Zhong suddenly became stupid. Then the battle center must be on the waterside on both sides of the river, outside the city. Lord Zhong will at least support Zilong, just like he supported Captain Zhang of the Outer Eighth Army. Then the Qiang people will naturally surround them.
So I decided to attack the main gate of the Qiang people’s Shuibei Camp—if there was such a so-called main gate.
I didn't say much that day, and no one asked me much. The journey was too smooth, and they knew a lot of the original plans at Shanglinyuan. Seeing me giving orders without hesitation and expression, they probably thought that everything was under my control.
I felt that what I held in my hand was just the column of smoke rising from the incense burner. I could see it and smell it, but I couldn't grasp it. And when I secretly paid attention to other people's expressions and eyes, I felt as if I was holding the incense burner.
I have to admit that other people's confidence in me is usually much stronger than my own confidence.
Fortunately, the Wei River under my feet is like the threshold of Pingle Pavilion, and I can cross it however I want.
This section of the road was a bit difficult to walk on. The snow on some slopes was above the knees, and some looked flat but were actually gravel underneath. However, following the remaining footprints left by the Qiang people, we quickly climbed up to the flat land on the north bank.
The shouts and cries of killing became louder and louder, and the footprints in the forest became more and more numerous and denser. The sky became brighter and brighter, and the forest gradually flashed with golden light.
I am very grateful to these heroes behind me. None of them complained or had any objections. They just followed me. I don't know what they think of me. But I know that my strength comes from them.
I have said to others several times: Although there are good and bad generals, a good general will be strong even if he has few generals, while a bad general will be weak even if he has many generals. However, the strength of a general ultimately depends on the soldiers he leads. What he can do also depends on the generals he leads.
Unfortunately, the speaker is sincere, but not all listeners accept it.
I really wanted to say something loud to the heroes behind me, even though I knew I couldn't. But I really wanted to. If they couldn't see their wives and children, I didn't know how guilty I would be. And if I couldn't see my wife again, even I would feel guilty, but for them.
The sun is out. Is she watching it with me? Is she watching it with me? Unfortunately, I can only glance slightly eastward in the forest. Then I have to turn east to find the source of this forest.
When I find a way out, that might be the place where I fight to the death with the Qiang people.
Pei'er woke up again. Nalan helped her open the window, drew aside the curtains on the couch, and looked out to see that the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared up.
Yinling also stood up at this time. She was looking at the yellow and red lights on the window pane and knew that the clouds and fog had finally cleared.
Pei'er walked straight out of the house, ignoring Nalan's dissuasion behind her, and stood on the wet stone slabs in the courtyard.
The sky was blue, but the mountains to the east were still shrouded in smoke.
Holland, when she arrived, the lady was still barefoot with her hair loose, her hands folded in front of her, ignoring others' calls, looking far to the north.
Yinling opened the door and walked into the snow-covered courtyard. There was red light everywhere and a golden morning sun rose in the east.
Qiu Luan, the lady has been looking to the west, her hand slowly stroking the air as if trying to grab something. After calling for a long time, the lady realized that she was barefoot and not wearing thick clothes.
It seemed that we had reached the edge of the forest and heard many voices of livestock and people. The human voices were somewhat húnluànluàn, and most of them were in Qiang dialect. Brother Fengxian could understand some of them and told me that they seemed to be aware of the chaos in the south from Yemeng.
I stopped the troops, hung my gun on my horse, threw the reins to Brother Yide, and walked forward quietly. From time to time, balls of snow fell from the trees, and one ball fell right into the back of my neck. Although it was very uncomfortable, it just made me sober and calm down.
I hid behind a cypress tree that was big enough for two people to hug. Before I hid inside, I could already tell there was a figure in the snow between the large camp and the dense forest. I didn't know if he noticed me. I hid behind it, holding my breath, and looked out to the distance on both sides. I could vaguely see that the distance between the forest and the camp was only about fifty steps. There was a wooden fence more than one person high at the edge of the camp. Some entrances and exits were piled with chevaux de frise. There were Qiang cavalry patrolling from time to time, but the atmosphere was not as tense as those people by the water. There were some suspicious protrusions between the camp and the forest. They were either traps or the stumps left by them.
The man in the snow seemed to be an elderly man, coughing from time to time. He seemed to have sensed the presence of someone around him, and stopped what he was doing. The wind carried his panting sound. I still huddled in the tree, covering my mouth and nose with my cloak, afraid that he would notice the hot breath. At the same time, I was thinking: the other party didn't seem to notice that we had come around, but we needed to find a way to break into the camp. The other party didn't seem to come over to ask, and after stopping for a while, he started hitting the ice with something again.
A gust of wind blew and the old man coughed, which immediately blew the thick smoke from the camp around me. I suddenly felt an itch in my throat and was about to make a sound. I tried my best to stop it, but in the end, a muffled choking sound came out in my cloak.
The sound of ice breaking stopped, something was thrown onto the ice, and then a sound of snow crunching was heard.
I really like stepping on the snow, especially the crunching sound, but this is only limited to me and myself.
I had to think about how to kill him, at least not letting him call the police in time. Maybe he was just an innocent old man who was coerced. I thought to him in my heart: But there are hundreds of brothers behind me. For them, I have to kill you!
Suddenly I thought hopefully he wouldn't call the police.
But I don't dare to gamble.
I hate war.
You seem to have a lot of conditions and opportunities, but you often dare not make any assumptions.
I hate war.
All etiquette, kindness, compassion and restraint will be lost at some point, just because you want to live.
The footsteps stopped behind me on the left. He might have sensed my presence behind the tree and didn't dare to move forward. Just as I saw the furry brim of his hat, I moved accordingly. I immediately pulled up the cloak covering my mouth and nose with my left hand and threw it backwards. With my right hand, I drew my sword from under my left ribs and stabbed at the heart of the figure wrapped in the cloak. The blood dyed my sword red and flowed out along the grooves on the sword. He just made a few muffled sounds and stopped struggling. I numbly pulled out my sword and took back my cloak, leaving him limp on the snow.
After a while, he returned to the crowd and said, "God bless you, great man. Outside the forest is a pond for drawing water. Behind the pond is the camp. The entire camp is within sight, but there is no fence behind the pond. The camp is in chaos now, so it is hard to see clearly here. Maybe we can only know what is going on after we go in."
He took a deep breath and said, "The pond is frozen, but I don't know how solid it is. But God has led us here. The snow in the forest is not deep, the snow on the water is not deep, and the snow in the camp is not deep. God has only pointed out this surprise attack path for us. From now on, the fate of the Han Dynasty is determined by us."
"Get on your horse and follow me to camp!" Those were my last words in the forest.
I thought these might be my last words before I die.
I was worried that the ice was not solid enough, but at that time, I had no choice but to take a gamble.
I hate war.
Even if you seem to have everything under control, sometimes you still have to gamble.
When my horse seemed to slip on the shore but still reached the camp, I felt relieved, but I didn't know whether I should be happy or not.
Yinling and the others didn't like the latter part, but Chen Wu, Song Qian, Liao Hao and the others did.
In fact, they would not like it if they came by themselves, but they would be the same as me. I even thought about how Yinling would deal with it if she brought people with her. At the critical moment, questions kept popping up in my mind, but no one could give me the answers. I didn't even have time to think about the answers, so these questions quickly dissipated in the white air I exhaled.
But a few questions kept receding and then popping up again, and I didn't even know why I had these thoughts.
Why do Pei'er and Yinling like me
A few more arrows were stuck in the armor, and I didn't have time to pull them out, and I didn't even have time to feel the pain. It was only as I ran in the dark, with the feathers flying in front of my eyes and the arrowheads jumping in the armor, that I realized how deep those arrows had pierced. I gradually felt inexplicably sleepy, and I knew it shouldn't be like this, but my eyelids were still about to close, as if the sky was slowly getting dark.
It wasn't until we reached a high platform that I could finally see what was happening on the other side of the river and at Chencang's feet that I was speechless. Not only me, but also the people who came up behind me were speechless.
It was as if the sun suddenly shone throughout the entire valley, illuminating everything.
Le Jin was the first to break the silence: Is this what the Marquis of Yue told General Zhao? How did the Marquis of Yue expect this
**Sharp Eyes: Help! He is following General Zhao!
I don’t know who is saying: Isn’t that the guy from the Ma family? And that guy from the Western Regions…
Another person: The Qiang people are still blocking the entrance to Chen Cang. It seems they are afraid that Chen Cang will come out to support them.
After we rushed onto the earthen platform, we had a temporary rest. Most of the Qiang people who could fight were in the siege and on the other side of the river, and they were extremely tight. The Qiang people near the earthen platform were temporarily unable to organize a more effective counterattack.
Everyone started talking about it, and asked me what was going on. There were also many people talking behind my back, mostly praising me for designing it this way. I actually thought of borrowing such a surprise weapon, but that was not what I had thought of.
But I had no time to explain. I was gritting my teeth and turning my back to everyone, pulling out the dozen arrows stuck in my front armor one by one. Some of them even had some flesh stuck out. That was really painful. There were many arrows that didn't penetrate completely, and there was still blood on the tips. Maybe they didn't penetrate when they shot, but were worn out later when the horse was bumping. If it weren't for the sturdy armor and thick clothes, and my rough skin and flesh, I would have been shot down when I rushed in the front just now.
Everyone saw that I didn't say a word and thought I agreed. In fact, if they were in my place, they probably wouldn't say anything either, and if they did make a sound, it would be moaning and shouting in pain.
But this was definitely not my plan, although it seemed that everything was going more encouragingly than the best I could have imagined. The rice thieves, or perhaps it would be better to call them the "Five Pecks of Rice Sect" followers, were fighting the Qiang people under the leadership of Zilong and others! They were already in a dominant position and were slowly pushing the Qiang people to the water's edge.
Brother Zilong, dressed in white robe, white armor, white horse, and silver spear, half of his body was stained with blood, and he rushed to the front line. The supporters behind him were also very brave, trying to protect Zilong's side and back. In the distance, the captain on the left and the Xiliang Han Ma family on the right were protecting their sons and fighting forward.
I pulled out all the arrows. Although I felt some pain in my front, I felt much more relaxed. I leaned over to check Hei. There were a few scratches, but they didn't seem serious. I stood up from Hei's body with the stirrups (because stirrups were first unearthed in Jin Dynasty tombs, and similar shapes appeared in Han Dynasty tomb murals, so I think they should have appeared in the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, at least in their prototypes, author's note) and looked around. Only around Chencang were there a large number of Qiang soldiers gathered. The Qiang camps under my feet and all the way to the western horizon were a little chaotic, with people riding horses and running around, but there was still no movement in Chencang.
I turned my horse's head and looked at everyone. "Go straight to the north bank to besiege the Qiang people in Chencang, help Chencang open the city gate and send troops, and help Zilong cross the Wei River. Along the way, shout loudly: The heavenly army is coming! Those who abandon their troops and return home will not be punished, and those who resist stubbornly will be killed!"
Some people suggested using Qiang language, and some people know how to use it, but I don’t think it’s necessary, as it’s too late. Chinese is better.
Someone suggested that we continue to step from east to west and turn the place upside down, but I couldn't do that, because otherwise there would be no point in asking everyone to let go.
After he finished speaking, he waved his spear forward and immediately rode his horse from the earthen platform towards Chencang.
It is better to use the more familiar Chinese than the half-baked Qiang language. The voice is louder and they can't understand it. They can ask each other and discuss what to do. If I can slow them down, I can arrive faster. And I have been to Qin before. The Qiang people basically have no written language. At least most of the Qiang people don't know whether they have written language. After living with me, the Han people, most of them will use our Chinese characters, and naturally they will learn some daily words earlier.
I am not trying to be a hero or pretending to be a "righteous army". I just don't want to make the hatred between the Han and Qiang people even deeper. We are both naturalized citizens of the Han Dynasty, so why do we have to divide the Han and Qiang people and fight to the death? And I slaughtered the Qiang people along the way. People in the future will read the history and think that the eight hundred heroes behind me have become butchers. In the afterlife, when I meet my Chinese ancestors, I will feel ashamed.
Of course, more directly, I want to "invite" the people in Chencang to come out and help me, and make sure that the Qiang people besieging the city cannot escape to help their allies who are fighting hard on the Wei River.
In short, make up your mind. I'm going to attack your elite troops and I'm going to pin you down and prevent you from moving.
Fighting a war does require a burst of energy.
Everyone was shouting as I instructed, but I just seemed to be there without making any sound.
With the pain in my front, thinking about the folks I failed to save yesterday, a surge of resentment welled up in my heart. When I was close enough to see the people on the other side waiting for us with bows and arrows drawn, I finally shouted out.
"Sa..." I shouted desperately, whether to give myself courage, to scare the Qiang people, or to boost morale. I had no other ideas and just wanted to get among them.
When the people behind me heard me shouting, they also rushed out, especially Brother Yide's roar was so loud that I even felt that the Qiang people's line was a little loosened after hearing the loud noise.
We roared without any fear. Imagine hundreds of people rushing down from the high ground in the valley, facing tens of thousands of people with bows and arrows, roaring wantonly without fear. What a heroic and courageous thing it is.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of wind and arrows raining down. I lay on my horse, and it seemed that Hei had lowered his body. I heard screams and the sound of people falling off horses. I gritted my teeth and clamped Hei with my legs. Before the second volley, Hei had already jumped in with a neigh.
The moment I plunged into the Qiang group, I swung the gun with one hand, just like the Tianlang. I really like weapons like the Tianlang, especially on the battlefield. No need to aim, just swing in the general direction, and if you don't die, you will be dead, but the gun is much worse. I can only pull out the sword with my other hand and cut down the Qiang people who are approaching at any time to avoid the gun. I heard the clanging sound of swords being drawn, and as the heroes rushed into the enemy camp one by one, the eyes were full of bright sword lights and bloody shadows, and the screams in my ears never stopped.
A red sun appeared on the treetops at some point, casting a blood-red glow across the sky.
Chencang City was so close that it blocked my view of the south bank, so I didn't know what was going on there. The suspension bridge didn't move, and even no one was seen on the top of the city. I suddenly felt a chill in my heart, but I couldn't stop. Fortunately, they didn't seem to have any long weapons, mostly short scimitars, and because of the siege, they didn't ride horses. But the Qiang people guarding the north gate of Chencang had the most troops, and our charge didn't break them up as I wished. It was like a huge rock falling into the Wei River, which stirred up a sky full of water, but eventually calmed down. The black stopped moving forward and began to hesitate in fear. As the forward momentum stagnated, I felt that the Qiang people around me were getting more and more, and the surrounding circle was getting bigger and bigger. I knew that I was separated from the large group of people and horses, and they should be able to see that I was a leader. This made me extremely dangerous for a long time, and I felt that I was about to meet my Xie ancestors at any time. It was just relying on the strength of the spear that could block it for a while.
But I no longer doubt that I was wrong.
Because of the unexpected joining of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect, I finally felt for the first time that we would definitely win, and today.
But I really need more and more help from the city. Hei began to become a little panicked, and kept jumping around in circles. If I wasn't really strong and kept swinging my spear, forcing the Qiang people to not dare to approach, I'm afraid I would have been torn into pieces by now.
From time to time, a group of Qiang cavalry joined the battle from the west or north, approaching us quickly, and our team was gradually divided into several groups. A sense of anxiety surged in my heart. If Chencang did not send troops, my place would be even more dangerous.
Suddenly, there was a drum sound, the suspension bridge was lowered, and the north gate opened. Even dozens of archers ran out, and together with the archers on the city, they fired a round of crossbow arrows into the Qiang formation. I only saw that the Qiang encirclement near the city was immediately sparse. The Qiang people quickly divided several hundred people and rushed in along the suspension bridge with shields, and the archers who came out immediately turned and ran in. Seeing the Qiang people rushing across the suspension bridge and rushing into the city gate, more Qiang people rushed across the suspension bridge and were about to rush into the city gate. Suddenly, a large amount of firewood was thrown from Chencang City, and oil was poured at the same time. Another bundle of burning firewood fell, and then dozens of Qiang people near the entire city gate were burned! The sharp cries and howls that resounded throughout the valley came from in front of the city gate, and disappeared as the firemen rolling on the snow stopped moving.
Although I have never been to this Chencang, I can clearly feel that there is a urn behind this gate. This is a plan by Lord Zhong or Captain Zhang to lure the enemy. This calculation of luring the enemy is a clever plan, and it deceives the enemy into going deep into the city. But the current scene also shows that I will definitely not be able to enter the city before the fire is burned out.
But the heroes were inspired by this capture of the enemy and shouted together, encouraging each other as they rushed towards the suspension bridge.
The fire burned on the snow. The Qiang people who failed to enter the city did not dare to stay under the city and quickly retreated from the suspension bridge. However, hundreds of bodies were left near the moat in front of and behind the suspension bridge. Someone wanted to cut the iron rope of the suspension bridge, but was also shot and hung on the suspension bridge rope. And was pulled up along with the suspension bridge!
Chencang successfully lured the enemy, but our last route of retreat was cut off!