Chapter 164: Horse bandits in the Hexi Corridor

Shazhou, today's Dunhuang, has more than 4,000 households and a population of nearly 20,000. It is Xiazhou and has two counties under its jurisdiction. One is Dunhuang County, which is the prefecture and the other is Shouchang County. The famous Yumen Pass is here.

In the second year of Yonghui, Shazhou was promoted to the Governor's Office and was under the jurisdiction of the Hexi Jiedu Prefecture. It was one of the eight Governor's Offices under it, and the permanent troops were organized into 4,000 people.

The sky gradually turned white, and the purple morning glow was churning at the end of the long Gobi Desert, half hidden behind the official road of the poplar trees, projecting a colorful light to the awakened earth.

The climate of the Tang Dynasty was warmer and humid than later generations. The Hexi Corridor was full of cattle and sheep, and the products were abundant. The melting snow of the Qilian Mountains brought a lot of water. There were many rivers and lakes. Shazhou had reached the end of the Hexi Corridor. Although it was relatively dry and mostly was a vast Gobi Desert, there were also many lakes and rivers, some of which were more famous, such as Daze Lake, Ganquan Water, Ming Water and Zhangye River. Their existence provided water sources for animals and provided conditions for tree growth. Therefore, large areas of poplar forests can be seen everywhere, and groups of foraging antelope, full of vitality.

A goshawk hovered in the sky, and it sounded a long sound, as if it had discovered something. In the distance, a black line was squirming on the vast earth. The goshawk quickly passed over their heads. This was a team of more than one hundred carriages, nearly two thousand Tang army guards were on their side, and they were vigilantly looking at the surrounding situation. A crossbow arrow shot through the air. The goshawk had long wings and avoided the crossbow arrow. Then he rushed into the sky and turned into a small black dot, and disappeared in the distance in an instant.

This convoy is naturally Li Qing's team. They moved very slowly and stopped and walked. After nearly twenty days of trekking, they finally arrived at their destination. After walking for a night, they were exhausted. This is the official road east of Shazhou. The so-called official road is just a slightly flattering Gobi Desert, but there is no trace of the road.

After walking for more than ten miles, behind the poplar forests was Shouchang County, Shazhou. In the middle of the team, Wu Xingsu shook his arm, which was longer than ordinary people, and put down the steel crossbow with regret.

"Haha! Martial Arts Captain, your arrows are still as fast as eagles!"

The man who spoke was a big red-faced man, nearly forty years old, thick and strong, as if he was half an iron tower. He was the deputy general sent by Huangfu Weiming, the governor of the two prefectures of Longyou, to escort Li Qing, named Chu Zhilian. From Shanzhou, he led 1,500 Tang army guards Li Qing and his party. Although there are no border attacks in Tubo now, there are horse bandits in the Hexi Corridor, who are strong and cruel, and they must be careful.

Wu Xingsu was dissatisfied and said: "The wind here is too fast, and I can't adapt yet, so I'm slightly off-top. If I do it again, I will definitely call this black bird and the winged horse in front of the horse."

"Ha ha!"

Chu Zhilian laughed, "Where is an eagle that will make you shoot twice."

"Why is Brother Chu so happy?"

Li Qing went up from a distance and smiled. After more than twenty days of wind and sun exposure, Li Qing's skin on his face became dark and rough, but his eyes became brighter and sharper, as if it was an extremely sharp spear.

When Chu Zhilian saw Li Qing coming, he bowed and smiled, "It's boring all the way, so I'm looking for some fun, but Shazhou is ahead, and I'm still successful."

Li Qing knew that he was an impatient person. If he was asked to march, he might have arrived in three days. However, the curtain was pregnant, so he walked very slowly, which really made the soldiers and wars feel frustrated. He apologized: "I am pregnant, so I can only walk all the way, which is aggrieved by Brother Chu and my brothers."

"What are you talking about!"

Chu Zhilian was displeased on his face and stepped forward and punched Li Qing gently, "Do you know what sounds are the most pleasant here? Let me tell you that it is not a huqin, a skin drum, or a woman's moaning, but a crying sound when a baby is born, which makes people feel energetic. Seeing hope, forget it, you don't understand what I said now, and you will naturally understand it in the future."

Seeing that he was honest and honest, Li Qing had a very good impression of him, so he patted him on the shoulder and smiled: "Although the scenery along the way, Brother Chu left the most impressive impression on me. Maybe we still have the opportunity to fight side by side in the future. I hope Brother Chu will give me more advice at that time."

"Brother Li is so polite."

As soon as he finished speaking, a rapid sound of horse hooves came from the front. Several horses ran towards this side, stirring up dust. When Chu Zhilian heard the sound of horse hooves, his expression immediately became nervous, "No, something must have happened before!"

He turned his head and said anxiously to Li Qing: "This is the brothers I sent to explore the way forward. From the sound of their horse hooves, I know something must have happened."

As he spoke, the galloping horse approached. It was indeed the Tang army scout who was exploring news from the front. A soldier turned over and dismounted and reported urgently: "Report to General, about a thousand horse bandits are besieging Shouchang County. Please rescue me quickly!"

"More than a thousand people?"

Li Qing was stunned. Is this still a bandit? Why didn’t the Shazhou Doulu army go out and let them attack the city?

But the situation was critical and he could not think about it carefully. He immediately made a decision to Chu Zhilian: "There are a thousand horse bandits on the other side, and it is useless to leave at least. It is not advisable to go there. General Chu led the headquarters to rescue the siege first. I will wait here."

Chu Zhilian nodded, "Okay! I will explain something to Governor Li when I come back. Governor Li is here, so don't move forward."

After saying that, he waved his hand and shouted, "Come with me!"

One thousand five hundred cavalrymen came out of the water like a long dragon. The dense horse's hooves stirred up a large area of ​​yellow clouds and quickly followed Chu Zhilian toward the front, frightening the birds in the poplar forest on both sides to flap their wings and fly around.

At this moment, Li Qing was left with only his three hundred cavalry and more than one hundred servants, and he began to feel a little worried. If the siege of horse bandits fled to him, wouldn’t it be dangerous?

"I just arrived, so I gave me a warning!"

Li Qing cursed softly, stood up straight and looked at both sides. From a distance, he saw a shimmering wave in the south, as if it was a big river. On the way, he heard Chu Zhilian say that there was a big river called Ganquanshui near Shazhou, probably it was it. There was a sentry made of earth on the other side of the river, which was quite large, but it seemed to have been abandoned. He waved his hand and called Wu Xingsu and said, "Send two brothers to find a way to cross the river first, and I will come later."

Wu Xingsu agreed and immediately ordered the two brothers to explore the way. As soon as Li Qing turned off his horse's head, he came to the carriage of Lian'er and the others. At this moment, Lian'er and Xiaoyu moved to Li Jingyan's carriage. The carriage was wide and could accommodate seven or eight people. It was comfortable and luxurious inside. The wheels were well-made. Although the road was bumpy, it was not bumpy. The three girls accompanied each other and chatted all the way, and they didn't feel lonely. The road was all night last night. Lian'er and Xiaoyu could no longer hold on to their fatigue and fell asleep. Li Jingyan changed her clothes and wanted to go to bed, but she heard the sound of horse hooves approaching. She couldn't help but feel energetic and immediately opened the curtain.

Although Li Qing and her opened their hearts to each other in Qujiangchi, they didn't have long contact with each other. Unlike Jian'er, Xiaoyu and Li Qing for many years, their relationship naturally matured. So along the way, the two rarely talked. Even if they occasionally talked, they felt unnatural and evasive, just as if Li Jingyan was really here to enjoy the scenery outside the border.

The curtain of the car opened, revealing a pretty face, but it was obviously thinner than when he set out. It was obviously because of the tiring and exhausted all the way. That night she said she wanted to abandon her identity and herself, and she just thought she was just talking about it. Unexpectedly, she really did this. At the moment she left the city gate, she was no longer Li Jingyan, but like Lian'er and Xiaoyu, she was just an ordinary woman, and her father. Li Lin was Zongzheng Temple Minister. He also understood the intention of his daughter's move, but he still agreed to his daughter to follow her. It was really pitiful to the parents in the world! Thinking of this, Li Qing felt that the responsibility on her shoulders was even heavier.

The two of them met, and Li Jingyan's face suddenly turned red, her eyes drooped, and she didn't dare to look at him, so she just whispered: "Sister Lian'er doesn't feel very comfortable and is already asleep."

In fact, Li Jingyan had been a few months old, but she took the initiative to call Lian'er a sister, which was actually telling her that she would never want to steal her position. She was a very smart woman and knew that the weight of Lian'er in Li Qing's heart could not be replaced by anyone. If Li Qing was a person who valued family background, he would have married Cui Liuliu long ago. So although he was a princess, his importance in his heart was probably not even comparable to Xiaoyu.

"Oh! They're all asleep"

Li Qing was absent-minded and said casually: "Then why don't you sleep?"

As soon as he said that, he felt something was wrong, and immediately changed his words and smiled awkwardly: "How did you know I was here? I immediately pulled the curtain."

Li Jingyan also smiled and said, "Young Master is stupid. Can't I take a look through the crack in the window? But I really didn't look. I heard the sound of horse hooves reaching the car window and no one stopped me, so I knew that it was only the young master."

"That's right, otherwise these servants would be useless."

Li Qing's face suddenly changed drastically, and he stared at the car window.

"Young Master, what's wrong with you?" Li Jingyan asked in surprise.

"Not good! I'm fooled." Li Qing slapped his forehead suddenly, then left.

My own large group of people is only ten miles away from Changshou County. How could the group of horse thieves not know that they are still attacking the county town and waiting for the Tang army to kill them? Impossible!

The thoughts in Li Qing's mind were moving quickly. He carried tens of thousands of pounds of money in nearly 200 carriages, as well as food and daily necessities, and these horse bandits made a living by this. How could they not know how to be jealous?

He immediately understood that attacking the county town was just bait, and the purpose was to attract the Tang army's troops. Their real goal must be his own 180 carriages full of money and food, such a cunning horse bandit!

"Martial spirit!"

Li Qing yelled loudly, "Send someone to call General Chu back immediately, and don't want all the items. Everyone crosses the river and hides in the fort, hurry up!"

He rode his horse back and forth in the convoy, "Destroy all the carriages, tear off the oil cloth covering the money, and cut all the ropes that strung the money!"

Li Qing guessed right. As soon as they arrived at Hebian, a large number of birds were shocked in the poplar forest at the other end of the official road. The sound of horse hooves suddenly started. Horse bandits in black rushed out of the woods. More and more people, and in the end, there were seven or eight hundred people, with colorful clothes and mottled horses. They waved various weapons, long swords, swords, spears, and even the swords used by infantry were carrying them on their shoulders, but each expression was the same, greed, fierce and excited to smell feminine.

This is a group of the largest horse bandits in the Hexi Corridor, with about 3,000 people. They are mainly composed of fleeing Tang soldiers, local Qiang people, Hu people in the Western Regions, and fugitives pursued by the government. They were originally in their own formation, but since last year, they gradually formed a group of bands, with uncertainties and extremely cunning, which made the officers and soldiers very troubled.

Because of their existence, it greatly affected the trade on the Silk Road. The big merchants who had to travel together and needed escorts from officers and soldiers. However, the small merchants were not so lucky. Killing and robbing goods often happened. They had set their sights on Li Qing's convoy near Liangzhou. From all signs, they determined that the destination of the convoy was Shazhou. When the convoy was about to arrive in Shazhou, they used a trick to attack the east and west, which made Li Qing fool for a while.

The river was deep and turbulent, at least one zhang deep and ten zhang wide. At this time, soldiers who had previously sent to explore the way came to report to Li Qing: "Governor! There is a bridge five hundred steps ahead."

There was a faint black shadow in front of him. Li Qing looked back and looked around. A small hill blocked his sight, but the dust soaring into the sky, the sound of thunderous horse hooves and sharp shouts almost shocked people's hearts, and the sound was about four hundred steps away.

I have more than 300 soldiers and servants under my command, so I am not afraid of fighting, but there are so many families and children. Since the other party can think of this vicious plan, how could he fight with me? Unfortunately, Li Siye is not there and Nan Jiyun is not there either.

"Wu Xingsu, you will lead two hundred brothers to resist with cold arrows for a while."

Li Qing waved his hand, "Come with me the rest!"

The remaining more than a hundred soldiers and servants guarded more than twenty carriages full of family members and galloped towards the small bridge.

"Young Master, Sister Lian'er fainted!"

Suddenly, Xiaoyu's shouts came from behind. Li Qing tied the reins and rushed towards the carriage. In the window were Xiaoyu and Li Jingyan's anxious eyes. The curtain next to her fainted on the soft couch. Her face was extremely pale and sweaty. Perhaps the carriage was running too fast and the bumps were too fierce, but the speed of the carriage would never slow down at this time.

"Xingyan, Xiaoyu, you can hold the curtain in your arms to slow down the bumps."

When the two women heard the order, they hurriedly hugged the curtain in their arms and covered her with a mattress. Suddenly, screams came from behind. Wu Xingsu's first round of arrows had already succeeded. It seemed that these horse bandits were not only cunning, but also quite well-organized. The money they used to lure the enemy did not interfere with their pursuit. They first rob people and then gain money.

Only one hundred steps away from the small bridge. The intercepted Tang soldiers had already fought with the horse bandits and fought into a group, but the horse bandits were not stopped. They immediately divided the troops into three groups, fighting with the Tang army, and the other two groups surrounded them from left to right. The recent ones were less than three hundred steps. The Tang army, who was armed with martial arts, was entangled and could not return to the rescue at all.

Four or five hundred horse bandits rushed from Li Qing and the others, and could see their fierce gaze like wild wolfs, and their distorted faces due to excessive excitement, which scared the children to cry.

The sweat had already flowed down Li Qing's forehead. At this deadly moment, the carriage suddenly stopped.

"What's going on!" Li Qing yelled and rushed up. He saw that the carriage in front had reached the bridge. The coachman seemed to be frightened and was desperately pulling the carriage on the bridge.

"Bastard!" Li Qing cursed and whipped him hard. With a 'bang!', a blood mark immediately appeared on his back.

"Get out! Get out of the car and run across the bridge."

The bridge was immediately in chaos, with more than 200 elderly people, women and children jumping out of the carriage, some of whom were so scared that they collapsed on the ground, and were carried by the servants, shouting and crying. A group of maids and maids carrying soft couches were mixed in the crowd. The dignified Tang princess Li Jingyan was also like ordinary people, guarding the curtains on the soft couches while running with everyone.

The horse bandits who saw the women became even more violent, and the fishy smell emitted from their bodies drifted in the wind.

"Bow and arrow shot!"

The remaining 100 soldiers set their bows and arrows to shoot at the horse bandits. The dozens of horse bandits in the front were shot to the ground, and the war horses behind were unable to avoid them. Several of them were tripped over and rushed to the sides. Some horse bandits with bows and arrows followed and shot back, flying around, and more than a dozen horse bandits in the carriage were shot, arousing their wildness and rushing forward with empty carriages.

The attack of the horse bandits was blocked and won time for the women and children to escape. In just a moment, all the women and children, the elderly, rushed to the bridge to the other side, and Li Qing's heart was slightly calmed down.

"Leave twenty brothers to tear down the bridge, and the rest of the bows and arrows cover."

The small bridge is old and almost no need to be demolished with manpower. The war horses galloped past. The resonance caused by the roaring iron hooves made the small bridge sway violently. Seeing that the situation was not good, the twenty Tang soldiers behind were so scared that they rolled back and fled. "Boom!" A loud bang, mixed with the neighing of the war horses, the wooden bridge collapsed and fell into the river, and was immediately swallowed by the turbulent river water.

The horse bandits were blocked by the abandoned carriage and were slightly slower. More than a dozen horse bandits who had already stepped on the bridge urgently tied the reins and almost fell into the river with the broken bridge. However, they were shot by the fierce crossbow of the Tang army on the other side. The war horses neighed, and more than a dozen horse bandits were shot down with their people and horses, either falling into the river or falling on the bridge. The horse bandits did not bring shields and retreated one after another and hid behind the carriage.

At this time, a loud trumpet sounded in the distance, like the first ray of sunshine breaking through the dark clouds, washing away all the darkness and blood. More than a thousand cavalry of the Tang Dynasty rushed to help along the Ganquan water, like the wind and lightning, and the black armor shone brightly in the sun.

Seeing that the Tang army had arrived, the bandits whistled a long time, threw down the two hundred Tang troops who were besieged, and turned back to Li Qing's convoy. They could not grab the money, but the money could not be left behind. The bandits flew past the carriage containing money, like leaning over to catch a fat sheep. One person caught more than ten chunks of money and left the horse. Unexpectedly, most of the ropes that strung the money had been cut off, and the money was scattered all over the ground. It was too late to get off the horse and take off his pants and tie the knots. The pursuers had arrived. In the end, the bandits had to flee in a panic with ropes.
Chapter completed!