The winding river valley is sometimes wide and sometimes narrow, with steep cliffs in many places, just like a passage sandwiched between two high stone walls.

At this time, nearly ten thousand Hu people were crowded in this river valley. Those from the north wanted to go south, and those from the south wanted to block them.

They were originally from the same clan, but they started fighting fiercely here.

The narrow river valley could not accommodate too many people at the same time, so the barbarians were organized into hundreds of troops, holding crude weapons in their hands.

There are rusty iron tools, sharpened wood or bamboo poles, or bone.

Some of them roared, some gritted their teeth, and almost all of them turned red at the same time.

Because there were people watching from behind, forcing them to have no way out.

Those who are physically strong can throw javelins at the opposite crowd from a distance.

After the javelin passed a certain distance in the sky, the sharp tip passed through the thin and tattered clothes and penetrated directly into the body.

The person who was shot staggered back and fell to the ground.

Soon, the two sides began to fight hand to hand.

"kill!"

"Click!"

The end of the wooden stick with a stone tied to it was thrown at the opponent, but unexpectedly, it was blocked by the opponent with a simple wooden shield.

The weapons in someone's hands were broken after the collision. The two of them hugged each other with bare hands, elbowing and biting, just like the most primitive beasts fighting for territory.

Roaring, shouting, moaning...

There are already many corpses floating in Fenshui.

Liu Meng and Liu Bao whipped them hard with their riding whips, but they were unable to drive the exhausted Hu people forward again.

As a last resort, they began to send their own generals to lead the people of their tribe into battle.

It wasn't until night fell that the brutal fighting in the river valley came to an end.

…

The two men, who could not make any progress in the river valley, apologized in front of General Guan with some anxiety:

"General, the villain is incompetent!"

General Guan was not an unreasonable person and did not blame them:

"It doesn't matter. The thieves were prepared in advance and occupied a favorable location. It was difficult to capture for a while. This is human nature."

After Liu Bao and Liu Meng heard this, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"However, when I led the army south, I caught the Wei thieves off guard. If I delay at this mountain pass for too long, I will wait for the thieves from Guanzhong or Hebei to come to support..."

Having said this, General Guan glanced at the two of them meaningfully:

"I'm afraid that's when the real trouble begins. If we can't capture this mountain pass, I can only count it as a defeat and lead the army back to Liangzhou. But where will the two of you go?"

When Liu Bao and Liu Meng heard this, their expressions changed greatly.

Liu Meng was sweating slightly on his forehead. In his haste, he suddenly remembered something and whispered in a low voice:

"General, I think of something. Maybe I can help the general pass this mountain pass."

General Guan's eyes flashed: "Oh? Liu Bushuai, please come."

"General, besides Guanjuejin Valley, there are actually other mountain trails leading to the south in this mountain."

"Um?"

When General Guan heard this, he showed a very interested expression on his face.

When Liu Meng saw it, he felt happy: "General, it's like this. There are salt ponds in the east of the river, and salt has been produced since ancient times..."

General Guan waved his hand and interrupted him: "I know this better than you, let's get to the point."

"Yes, yes." Liu Meng wiped his sweat and continued to explain, "Originally, the salt produced in the salt pond is under the jurisdiction of the government."

"It's just that in recent years, due to wars, the government has inevitably made some mistakes, so many people have secretly taken salt from the salt ponds and transported it to various places for sale."

"The villain's tribe once exchanged a lot of salt from smugglers. In order to avoid the government's investigation, those shady smugglers found another way and bypassed Guanjuejin Valley."

The more Liu Meng spoke, the clearer his thinking became:

"General, although the mountain road traveled by the smugglers is more difficult to walk than Guanjuejin Valley, after walking down it for many years, it has become a mountain path that is barely passable for people and horses."

As he spoke, Liu Meng looked a little excited:

"At that time, I will wait in the north to attract the attention of the thieves. The general will send one or two thousand elite cavalry to sneak around behind and attack from both sides. Why worry about not getting down from the valley entrance?"

"The general's elite cavalry is rare in the world. No matter how many thieves there are, I'm afraid they will all surrender!"

General Guan had a strange smile on his face:

"But it's thirty miles east of Guanjuejin Valley?"

Liu Meng was shocked: "How did the general know?"

General Guan smiled and did not answer, but said:

"I have already sent Liu Hun to lead three thousand fine cavalry there."

Liu Meng was even more horrified when he heard this.

Looking at General Guan's calm and indifferent expression, Liu Bao and Liu Meng both thought to themselves:

Yes, this general sent his troops to advance all the way south. How could he not be prepared for such dangerous places as Guanjuejin Valley?

Thinking of this, the two of them couldn't help but admire and awe at the same time.

General Guan's seemingly unintentional words and deeds shocked the two commanders, and they only heard her say slowly:

"The fact that Liu Hun led the army to leave is still a secret in the military. This matter should not be told to you two."

"But one of you is his brother and the other is his uncle. I think I can trust you."

Liu Bao and Liu Meng quickly lowered their heads and answered:

"How can a villain harm my brother (nephew)? I promise the general that I will never let out a word."

General Guan nodded with satisfaction, and then sighed again:

"Actually, the reason why I forced you and the two of you to attack the valley without sparing any effort is because I wanted you to attract the attention of the thieves on the opposite side and cover Liu Hun's partial army."

"Therefore, you must not slack off at all tomorrow. This mountain pass is the last obstacle."

General Guan's tone began to become lower, and it actually sounded like he was bewitched:

"As long as the army enters Hedong, Guanzhong will be at your fingertips. As long as the Han Dynasty captures Guanzhong, you will be the heroes of the Han Dynasty."

"At that time, your children and your heroes will all benefit from this. The rise and fall of your tribe for hundreds of years can be determined by your thoughts."

Liu Bao and Liu Meng swallowed, thinking of the Huqi under General Guan.

Not to mention the naturalized Hu Qi in the Liangzhou army, even those Hu Qi who were righteous followers were enough to make people jealous.

Although there are only eight words in "Food and clothing, and no worries about food and clothing", it is the biggest dream of most people in this world.

For hundreds of years, the Huns licked their faces and said that they were the sons-in-law of the Han family, guarded the frontiers for the Han emperor, and followed the Han emperor's orders to fight everywhere.

What is the picture?

The Huns at the lower level were fighting for the share of rations promised by the emperor of the Tuhan family.

The middle-level boss may want to buy more good-looking fabrics, more exquisite clothes, etc.

As for the Xiongnu nobles, they also wanted to have enough food and clothing, but it was a higher level of food and clothing, preferably one that would benefit their descendants.

On the other hand, if you patronize and force people to work hard, there will be no benefits.

Not to mention the emperor of the Han family, but also the Chanyu of his own family. If you should rebel, you must rebel!

Fifty years ago, the rebellion within the Xiongnu that even killed the Chanyu was due to the fact that the emperor of the Han Dynasty frequently conscripted the Huns but could not pay them food and wages?

People must have enough food and clothing to live. The world view of prairie men is so simple, upright and single-minded.

Unlike some aristocratic families of the Han people who despise the smell of copper and claim to be gentlemen on the surface, secretly they want to boil the oil out of human bones.

Pooh!

hypocritical!

I don’t know if the promise made by General Guan in front of me can be fulfilled in the future.

But the meeting gift given to the two of them was really thick and thick.

These days, Liangzhou's army, regardless of whether they are Hu people or Han people, are privately willing to exchange the spoils of war for the money in their hands.

When his brother Liu Hun couldn't help but said that he could use the weapons captured from the Wei thieves in exchange for notes, Liu Meng regretted it.

This ticket is really worth his mother's money!

A few days ago, I accidentally swapped young and old with someone else, and it makes me heartbroken when I think about it.

What a big loss!
To be continued...