North of the Jingshui River in Guanzhong, in the mountains and forests near Chiyang County, a gray rabbit cautiously exposed half of its head from the earth hole under the tree, raised its ears, and looked around for a while, but did not notice any danger.
It got out and walked towards the bushes on the side, seemingly preparing to look for food.
At this moment, there was a scream that broke through the air. The gray rabbit subconsciously felt the danger. He was about to kick his hind legs hard to escape, but before he had time, an arrow had already passed through his body and nailed him to the ground.
On the ground.
A strong man stood up from the bushes downwind, strode over, then pulled out the arrow, shook the gray rabbit in his hand, smiled with satisfaction, and walked south with the rabbit in his hand.
On its lower back, there was a dead wild animal with its neck hanging down and its head dangling.
Mountain forests are a dangerous existence for most people. Because there is no compass or locator, it is easy to lose your way after entering the forest. You will not know where you are while walking, and you will never know where you are.
It cannot get out until it becomes nourishment for the animals and plants in the mountain forest.
But the hardcover man looked at the moss on the surrounding trees from time to time, and then looked up at the sun peeking out from among the leaves. He seemed to have effortlessly figured out the direction, and after walking for more than half an hour, he came out of the woods.
The weather has been good these days, with light winds and clear skies.
Under such good weather, and the terrain here is relatively high, the arrow towers on the city wall of Chiyang County in the distance can be clearly seen. Chiyang County is not too big, but it is not too small either. The green walls on the city wall
The bricks were old and looked a little black. However, it seemed that some tiles on the watchtower above the city were broken and had not been repaired in time, revealing a dark hole.
The city gate is half open and the suspension bridge is lowered. There are not many people coming and going outside the city, just a few sparsely. On the edge of a circle of dug ravines around the city, there is a circle of antlers arranged. Overall,
The defense is neither strict nor lax. At this level of city defense, if there is no shortage of food and water, the defenders are still qualified. They can resist three to five times the invading force and hold on for three to five months without much pressure.
The strong man stood on the rock and squinted his eyes, staring at Chiyang City from a distance for a while. Then he jumped off the big rock, turned back, and reached a crazy hill behind it.
In the middle of the mountain, unexpectedly, a simple camp had been built. Some men in leather robes were busy in the camp. Some were looking after the horses, and some were polishing their weapons. Several soldiers saw it.
The strong men all stood up and called out "Pang Duwei"...
In the camp, Ma Chao was also polishing the tip of his own spear on a stone.
There is no way, there is no stainless steel at this time, anything containing iron will rust to some extent, and if these rusty areas are not removed immediately, the rust will expand and even damage the entire weapon.
Ma Chao raised his head and glanced up, then lowered his head and continued polishing carefully, and asked casually: "Ling Ming, are you going hunting?"
Pang De threw the rabbit and yuzhi to the guard beside Ma Chao, laughed twice, and said: "Walking around in the forest, I came across two blind ones, chewing dried meat every day, which is tasteless... Take it and pack it away quickly.
It can be considered as fresh blood food..."
Pang De originally worked in a county, and later followed Ma Teng to attack the rebellious Qiang people. Because of his bravery in fighting, he repeatedly made military exploits and accumulated military merits to the rank of captain in the army.
Normally, after the military camp is set up, private movement is strictly prohibited, but both Ma Teng and Ma Chao have been transformed a lot by barbarians, and they tend to use the barbarian model when managing the army, so Pang De left the camp.
Ma Chao didn't take it seriously when it came to hunting. He just snorted slightly and said: "Seeing the enemy right in front of you, but you can't kill it with your hands... Everything you eat is tasteless..."
After half a month of searching, Ma Chao and others finally found this place near Wugong County. According to numerous signs, Li Jue was probably hiding in Chiyang County...
Li Jue originally granted the title of Marquis of Chiyang, so this county was Li Jue's fiefdom from the beginning. Although the army was defeated and routed, some of the soldiers and generals who had been sent to Chiyang were still more or less Li Jue's confidants.
So even though Li Jue has lost momentum now, he still regards Li Jue as a leader and leader...
The big Han officials in the court may or may not know, but regardless of whether they knew or not, in the previous stage, they did not have much free time to deal with surrounding matters, so Li Jue hid and did not cause trouble, and Guanzhong Changan Dynasty
Most of the officials above the hall would just turn a blind eye and pretend they didn't see it.
The officials in Chang'an pretended not to have seen it, but Ma Chao could not pretend not to have seen it.
Seeing that the personal guards were taking the rabbit and the wild animal to deal with it, Ma Chao didn't say anything. He just sharpened the blade of his gun carefully, as if he was thinking about where to stab Li Jue's body with the blade of the gun.
Said: "Ling Ming, I have been here for two or three days. What do you think of the Chiyang soldiers and horses?"
Pang De also had a straightforward temper, so he had no intention of hiding anything. When Ma Chao asked, he opened his mouth and replied: "It looks okay. Although there are not many patrols around, and they are not far away, but we should do it."
There is nothing missing, and the equipment seems to be good...most of them are veterans, and they should have fought in battle..."
"What do you think about the city's defense?" Ma Chao asked again.
"The defense is pretty normal...but it may not be easy to fight..." Pound said, stroking the beard on his chin.
"Why?" Ma Chao raised his spear and squinted at the gun blade in the air.
Pang De said: "...In other county towns, there are more or less places to escape. During the attack, there must be some people who don't want to die in the city...But Chiyang is just like this. If you want to escape, where can you escape to? So?
Once the fighting starts, we will definitely fight to the death, and we don’t have many manpower..."
Ma Chao held the spear with one hand, waved it in the air a few times, then stuck it beside him with a swipe, and remained silent. Li Jue was actually quite famous in Xiliang. He said he would definitely be able to defeat Li Jue. In fact, Ma Chao
I don’t have much confidence in my heart either.
But now that we’re here, there’s no reason to just turn around and go back!
Ma Chao's tribe, many of whom are Qiang people, were originally outside the territory of China. Since the Qin Dynasty, they have come one after another. The relationship with China has also been good and bad, and has never been the same.
This was determined to last until later generations. China was nothing more than appeasement and counter-rebellion, and the cycle repeated again and again, and there seemed to be no end.
Just like weeds in the wilderness, they grow one after another.
Ma Chao's current troops are actually Han Dynasty soldiers and horses, rather they are mainly composed of tribes. The etiquette is also quite rough, and there is not so much red tape between the top and bottom. But it is precisely because of this that Ma Chao now organizes his troops
At that time, it was quite simple to send orders and orders, and they were extremely flexible in responding to battle. In addition, coupled with the original barbaric and ferocious nature of the Xiliang people and the unique flexible and wind-like tactics of the cavalry, Ma Chao's troops were actually as a whole.
The combat effectiveness is quite strong...
Therefore, although they knew that Chiyang was not easy to attack, no one had any complaints or intention to back down in the past two days. They just waited for Ma Chao to come up with some ideas before taking action.
"Yesterday, Lieutenant Ma led his team out, explored the surrounding countryside, captured a few patrolmen guarding the countryside, and killed them after questioning... However, the small soldiers didn't know much, and they didn't ask anything...
"Ma Chao was also a little troubled and couldn't help but talk to Pang De.
This was Ma Chao's biggest headache. He knew nothing about Chiyang City, how many soldiers there were, how they were deployed, and how the city was defended. He had no idea how to attack Chiyang.
That damn Li Jue! Where is he hiding in Chiyang now? Is he in the Chiyang government office or in the school grounds of Chiyang city? But no matter where he is, as long as he is captured, he must be captured.
Suffer for seven days and seven nights before dying!
…………………………
"Fire! Fire! Fire..."
Zhang Yan screamed hoarsely, feeling like she was falling into a sea of fire. Flames were everywhere, and even the sky and rocks spewed out raging fire!
The soldiers standing on the ridge all seemed to be made of flames. They were shouting and cheering, holding up a variety of weapons made of flames, and harvesting the weapons of the men around them.
life……
The shirt on his body has been set on fire, and the armor on his body has been licked hot by the tongues of fire. The exposed beard and hair have been completely scorched! The black smoke is like a giant python, rolling in the valley, choking everyone.
I was so angry that I felt like I was breathing fire with every breath I took.
"...The Commander-in-Chief! The Commander-in-Chief!"
Sounds sounded far and near, like a bright light in the sky, shattering the surrounding scene. Zhang Yan opened her eyes and became more or less awake, but her expression was still full of fear.
"Commander, it's okay, it's okay... Come, drink some water..."
In the dim thatched house, one person carefully lifted up Zhang Yan's body, trying not to touch the bloody areas burned by the flames. He held a bowl of water and placed it next to Zhang Yan's pale lips.
Zhang Yan was drowsy, managed to drink a bowl of water, and then lay down weakly.
The people in the thatched house were silent for a moment, then quietly left.
This is a thatched house built in a small mountain col. Because it was built in a hurry, it is very crude. If it hadn't rained recently, I'm afraid it might not even be able to completely block the rain.
At the far entrance of the small mountain col, some felled tree trunks were used to barely build a fence. A few people were on duty there, and these people were Zhang Yan's only remaining personnel...
"...The Commander-in-Chief is so injured..." After leaving the thatched house for a while, a man with a charred face and curly hair, who seemed to be of some barbaric origin, whispered, "...I have searched for all the herbs around, but...
It’s not getting better… I’ve been sleeping more and more these past two days… I’m afraid…”
"You bastard!" Another burly man said angrily, "What are you talking about, bastard! Commander... Commander will definitely get better!"
"You're the one who said the bastard words!" The man from before said angrily, "Get well, who the hell doesn't want the commander-in-chief to get better! But now we have to find a way, and it's not just the motherfucker who says it.
Some words that are not painful or itchy!"
"What do you mean it's not painful or itchy! I said the general will be fine, how can this mean it's not painful or itchy!"
A strong man came over, frowned and scolded: "Shut up! Stop making noise! If you have this strength, you might as well do more serious work! Curly, how many herbs are left?"
The curly-haired man shook his head and said: "Commander Baique... there isn't much left. I applied it today and it's almost gone. I'm going to have a look at the top of the mountain over there later, hoping to find it again."
some……"
"Okay, this mountain is steep, so be more careful..." The strong man patted Curly's shoulder and said, "Everyone is impatient and speaks too hastily. Don't take it seriously... Right now, we are the only ones left.
These brothers, we should all work together, Blackbeard, don’t you think so?”
The burly man lowered his head and was silent for a while, then he cupped his hands towards Curly Hair and said, "I'm talking nonsense, Brother Curly Hair, don't pay attention... I'm going to search in the woods later to see what condoms I put in the past two days."
, maybe I can bring some blood food back to replenish the commander..."
While he was talking, suddenly a man was extremely anxious. However, because the mountain road was difficult to walk, he ran a little staggeringly. When he got closer, he said out of breath: "...No...it's not good! Mountain...outside the mountain
...A group of people came from outside the mountain..."
"Where are they from?" Commander Baique asked quickly.
"... It's... the man who conquered the West... I saw the three-color flag..."
Everyone's expressions changed drastically, and they were at a loss for a moment.
"Get the weapons!" Bai Que yelled, as if speaking to other people, and also as if cheering himself up, "Since there is no way to survive, then let's fight one by one!"
Everyone also shouted, and then they rushed to the crude fence at the entrance of the valley with their swords and guns raised...
"...You! It's you!" Baique rushed to the entrance of the valley, but saw a familiar face in the queue on the opposite side. He couldn't help but raise his sword angrily and slashed it on the wooden stake in front of him, "Fuyun! You!
Shameless villain! You betrayed the commander-in-chief! You still have the nerve to come here! I will kill you!"
Zhao Yun immediately raised his gun, and under the three-color flag, he looked at his former colleagues roaring at the mouth of the valley and was speechless for a moment...
