At the moment when Qian Xianmin was burying his head in tears, he was also wiping away tears. There was also Ye Heli, a horse bandit leader from Xiyiyi who was far away outside Zhengwei Town in the northwest.
The precipitous and vast Guanli Gorge was littered with corpses. The already dim blood was soaked in the thick frost and snow, forming a long red dry river.
Ye Heli hugged the body of his younger brother Ye Hechen and roared, the more he cried, the more sad he became.
The men searched it over and hurried back: "Boss, I don't know which way it went. Nothing was left. The heavy snow covered all the horse's hoof prints."
"Damn it!" Ye He shouted loudly, "Damn it!!"
As soon as he heard that his brother was ambushed, he rushed over with his troops as soon as possible, but it was still too late.
None of the three hundred people who came out with Hechen survived.
The men were dead, the weapons were taken away, and not a single horse was left.
Damn, hateful!
"Boss, we don't have enough manpower," the subordinate said, "We have to go back and gather more manpower."
Ye Heli said nothing, his eyes were red with blood, but he raised his hand and made a gesture to express his agreement.
At the end of the Han Chinese New Year, every household is rich. Even the poorest people have food to eat at this time. Rich families will be polite and generous with alms and gifts in order to hope for good fortune in the coming year.
Therefore, every time at this time, horse bandits from all walks of life would go to the pass to hunt down a fat horse.
Especially in the past ten years, Daqian's border defense troops have concentrated on Qiyue Road and Pingyang Road. When horse bandits come to these major states and provinces, it is as easy and convenient as if they came to their own home.
However, the intersection going south from Baigu Mountain is too far, so you have to rush in advance every time. Fortunately, now there is a road to Bufu Township in Zhengwei Town, so you don’t have to bypass Baigu Mountain, which is hundreds of miles long, and you can directly cross it.
, hit the critical point of Pan Yu in the northwest.
This news suddenly spread two months ago, and it has spread all over the country.
Feixue landed in a blur, and Ye Heli kept holding his younger brother Ye Hechen, while his men were sorting out the bodies of his companions.
Calculating based on the distance, it would take at least half an hour to go back and gather people and rush back.
Once everyone gathered together, Ye Heli immediately went to find someone to take revenge.
Most of these horse bandits outside the customs, especially those targeting Pan Yu and Ning Si, are "old acquaintances" of some years.
Normally, they would not embarrass each other. The "opponents" were Pan Yu and Ning Si who were so big and had enough fat to eat, so they didn't need to cause trouble for themselves outside the customs.
But now, his biological brother has been killed. If Ye Heli finds out who it is, he will cut him into pieces.
Ahead, a fast horse came galloping through the snow.
Hearing the movement, everyone looked up.
The person who arrived was covered in blood, and his hair was hanging down in a braid, the style of the Wanrong tribe.
Ye Heli's men immediately stopped him.
"Where are you going!"
"Where are you coming from?"
"Why are you covered in blood!!"
Ye Heli's subordinates roared.
There are too many nomadic peoples outside the customs, and their languages are divided into dozens of systems. In order to facilitate robbery, many horse bandits will learn Chinese, but it is very blunt and often distorted and ambiguous.
This little horse thief from the Wanrong tribe looked very panicked. After he was stopped, everyone found that his hands were shaking violently and he could hardly hold the reins.
He pointed behind him, his eyes fearful, and he muttered.
The Wanrong people belong to the northern language system, and the powerful Xiyiwang belongs to the Hechuan language system. One has a strong accent and the other has a floating accent.
After half a day of difficult exchanges, one of his subordinates quickly ran towards Ye Heli: "Boss, they were attacked! The attacker is ten miles away! It is very likely that they are the same group of people who attacked the second master!"
"You're going to eat right away too?" Ye He asked sharply.
"He said he couldn't see clearly. If he hadn't run so fast and the snow and fog were heavy, he might have died. The other party was frantically chasing the escapee."
"It should be them!" Ye Heli put down Ye Hechen's body, stood up and said, "Our men and horses are almost here. When we are all together, we will kill these bastards!"
·
The last horse bandit was beheaded, and everyone cheered.
In addition to the Dayan army who came with Shen Lie, the dissatisfied villagers also joined the fight.
Dozens of people counting the corpses quickly counted them. Zhao Jixiang, who was in charge of the summary, ran over happily: "General, general! There are three hundred and twenty-one corpses, and the same is true for the captured horses!"
If this continues, the entire army will have horses, and there will even be extra mounts for backup in case of unexpected events.
"Retract the team." Shen Lie said in a deep voice.
"Um!"
Two consecutive waves of bandit suppression resulted in a complete victory, and the joyful atmosphere in the countryside was even more lively than on New Year's Eve.
Rural roads and village roads are decorated with lights and colorful decorations inside and outside, and they are full of busy people.
The soldiers were all invited to the large ancestral hall in the village, and neighbors from nearby villages came to express their gratitude.
Liang Jun and Cheng Jieshi stepped in to deal with these enthusiastic fellow villagers on Shen Lie's behalf. Although Dayan Jun was "strictly disciplined" these days, he was still grumpy and arrogant. Now he could hardly withstand the enthusiasm of the fellow villagers.
Shen Lie was in the Liuneng Village next door, in a large northwest house specially designed to house the wounded.
All the wounded were here, the most serious one had his entire arm cut off.
The horse bandit's saber was as sharp as clay, and an entire arm was cut off in an instant. If he came any closer, his head might fly away.
Excluding minor injuries, there were a total of twenty-seven casualties.
Twenty-seven people were exchanged for a total of 500 casualties in the two waves of battles. This was a great victory worthy of celebration.
Dai Yu came out of the house and saw Shen Lie standing outside the courtyard, tall and slender, silent. Dai Yu stepped forward lightly: "Master."
"Yes." Shen Lie responded without turning around, his deep eyes always staring at the southeastern sky.
It hasn't snowed for the time being, but it's still a snowy day. The vast, chaotic and gloomy sky is covered with layers of thick sea of clouds, making it impossible to see and penetrate the sky.
A fast horse suddenly came running from a distance.
Shen Lie looked at him, his heart moved.
"It's Yu Ang!" Dai Yu said happily, "It's really him, young master, I believe him!"
Afraid that the man in the distance would go in the wrong direction, Dai Yu raised his hand and shouted at him: "This way, this way!"
The messenger tightened the reins, then shook again: "Drive!"
The horses galloped forward and crossed the uninhabited village road to reach them.
"Master!" Yu Ang got off the horse and gasped for air, "Something happened."
Shen Lie frowned slightly: "What's the matter?"
Dai Yu stared at his hands, but saw that his hands were empty and he didn't make any move to take out the letter for a long time.
"Don't believe it?" Dai Yu couldn't help but ask.
"Both the Huishui Road and the Surabaya Road are not easy to live with," Yu Ang gasped. "After leaving Ningsi, we encountered large armies several times. In the end, we had to choose a remote mountain road, but this would take at least ten days longer than before. Time. After discussion, we decided that Liu Yi will continue to deliver the letter, and I will come back and report to the young master first."
"Which army?" Shen Lie asked.
"They are Tian Dayao's soldiers and horses. It is said that they are going to attack Panzhou. They have controlled many passes along the way."
