When Wang Ding led his cavalry two miles closer to the Qiang tribe, they were finally discovered.
Even though the horse's hooves are wrapped in thick cotton, the sound is very small.
However, thousands of war horses are charging forward, and the trembling on the ground cannot be changed unless everyone dismounts and walks.
The Qiang people live in the grasslands all year round and are very familiar with the movements of war horses.
Even in a deep sleep, you can feel the slight vibration of the ground.
"Get up, everyone, get up, there are enemies."
The Qiang tribe, which had fallen into silence, suddenly became lively, and torches were quickly lit.
This Qiang tribe had more people than the ones Wang Ding killed a few days ago.
There are more than a thousand people, but apart from the old, weak, women and children, there are only five or six hundred people who can mount war horses and fight.
However, women and children among the Qiang people are not necessarily powerless. If they are really in a desperate situation, these women and children can still pick up swords and mount war horses to kill the enemy.
After two miles, at the speed of the cavalry, in less than half a cup of tea, they had reached the front of the Qiang tribe's camp.
"They are Han Chinese."
"The Han people are coming to kill."
"Run away."
The moonlight was bright, but it was not possible to see clearly how many Han people were coming.
But these Qiang people can roughly judge the number of people by the sounds and movements made by the cavalry when they run.
Facing thousands of Han troops, and all of them were cavalry, these Qiang people knew that it was difficult to resist them.
Moreover, the leader of the tribe did not have the courage to fight the Han army.
Facing these Qiang tribes, as long as they did not join forces and as long as they were not a tribe with tens of thousands of people, Wang Ding would not worry that he would not be able to defeat them.
This night attack was also intended to be a surprise. There were still four tribes to attack later. Wang Ding did not want the news to spread too quickly this time and make the other tribes prepare.
"Kill!"
Wang Ding rode a bay-red horse to kill the Qiang people.
The Qiang people are good at riding, but the cavalry under Wang Ding are now equipped with stirrups and saddles. They are really not afraid of these Qiang people when fighting on horseback.
This battle took a little longer than the last time, but it was over in less than a quarter of an hour.
The corpses of the Qiang people fell to the ground, and the ownerless horses were gathered up.
Wang Ding held a torch and entered the camp. In the tribe's camp, only a small number of old people who had not had time to escape were left.
But soon, Zhang Liao, who had already gone behind to wait, came back with a group of prisoners.
In addition, Zhang Liao divided five hundred people into a team of fifty, with the Qiang tribe as the center, to search the surrounding areas and capture those Qiang people who escaped alone.
This time, Wang Ding guarded the prisoners very strictly. Anyone who dared to escape would be killed on the spot.
Wang Ding did not hesitate.
Although he was still a little uncomfortable in his heart, Wang Ding knew that Jia Xu's words were correct.
It is difficult to subdue the Qiang people and the barbarians. Even Ma Chao, who will have a high prestige among the Qiang people in the future, cannot convince all the Qiang people.
There are still some Qiang people who will oppose Ma Chao and are unwilling to follow him.
If there is a leader among the Qiang and Hu people who has absolute prestige, and the king is determined to subdue him without hesitation, it is not impossible to imitate Zhuge Liang and capture and control him seven times at once.
But now, he can only kill to frighten the Qiang and Hu tribes.
Leaving some people to clean up the battlefield, Wang Ding has already led a large force to attack the next target.
It's more than fifty miles away from here.
In less than an hour, the cavalry led by Wang Ding appeared in the camp of the second tribe like a forest.
After a fight, Qiang corpses were once again left all over the ground.
After just repairing for an hour, Wang Ding continued to attack the next target.
One night, in the grassland, three tribes were expelled.
After the third tribe was destroyed by Wang Ding, it finally dawned.
"Brothers, can you still fight?"
"Okay."
No one felt tired. Fighting in three places and annihilating three tribes in one night only made their blood boil.
They never thought that one day they would have such a record, which would be enough for them to brag about for the rest of their lives.
Decades later, they can hug their grandsons and talk about how they followed Wang Ding and fought three hundred miles in one night, killing hundreds of thousands of Qiang people.
"Okay." Wang Ding waved the Mo Dao in his hand and shouted loudly: "Brothers, follow me and kill."
Two thousand cavalry, closely following Wang Ding, set off again towards the next target.
Proud of Xu Huang's exploration and drawing of a map, Wang Ding was able to avoid detours and attack the Qiang tribe that had already been discovered.
Moreover, Xu Huang also found out the scale of these tribes.
In the three battles last night, all Qiang tribes with a thousand members were wiped out. Now there are still two small tribes left, with a population of only three to five hundred people.
Wang Ding also saw that everyone was very tired, and the expressions on their faces could not be fake.
But Wang Ding could also feel the boiling blood in the bodies of the two thousand cavalrymen.
After one vigorous effort, he failed again, and his first effort was not over yet.
The cotton cloth wrapped around the horse's hoof has long been torn and I don't know where it was thrown.
Two thousand iron hooves, deafening, marched towards the next target, running wildly on the grassland, the green grass was weighed down by the strong wind.
Even if some of the three tribes that were wiped out last night escaped, their speed could not be compared to Wang Ding.
Absolutely no one would have thought that Wang Ding would actually fight all night and march 200 miles in one night.
Those Qiang people who managed to escape were probably still hiding in a corner of the grassland shivering last night, and they did not dare to come out until dawn.
It was no surprise that the two small tribes lost their will to fight when they saw the appearance of two thousand Han cavalry.
No one even noticed that the Han troops who came to attack them had exhaustion written on their faces. They were supported by their own will.
Facing the Qiang people who did not dare to fight, they won easily.
But if they really encounter a Qiang tribe that is fighting against the odds, with the current state of these two thousand cavalry, they really may not be able to win.
It took a day to repair, clean up the battlefield, and collect their loot.
Hundreds of sheep were slaughtered, some were stewed, and some were barbecued.
After eating and drinking enough, Wang Ding had the energy to take care of the harvest.
The five tribes harvested more than 1,000 horses, 3,000 cattle and sheep, and captured 1,000 people.
Mainly because of the continuous fighting last night, many war horses ran away and could not be recovered.
Moreover, not everyone in a tribe has a war horse. Most tribal residents are actually very poor, and may only have one or two sheep at home.
The true wealth of the tribe is gathered in the hands of the tribe's leader.
The herds of cattle and sheep are the property of the tribal leaders, and the tribal residents just depend on them and live a difficult life.
Life is very difficult, but there is a tribe to rely on, and occasionally you can get rewards from the tribe.
If we really want to leave the tribe, it's okay if it's spring and summer, but if it's winter, not many people can survive.