Chapter 42: Encountering the Enemy in the Rainy Night
On the official road, grain-carrying carts and pack horses formed a long procession, with almost no end in sight.
The guards responsible for escorting the transportation walked on both sides, urging the civilians to drive their pack horses forward.
Su Lu was lying on the front grain truck, looking at the gloomy sky, his brows furrowed into the Chinese character "Chuan".
The grain team is too long. If they encounter bandits, half of the grain trucks will be robbed before they can shrink. I only have four battalions of 800 people. It is really difficult to take care of such a long team.
, we still need to send more scouts.
"Little Mud"
Su Lu shouted.
After a while, a nimble figure looked up from the grain truck behind, stepped on the packhorse and the grain truck, and after several leaps, landed steadily on the grain truck where Su Lu was lying.
"Captain."
Xiao Niba lowered his head and looked at Su Lu.
Su Lu pointed to the official road in front and gave instructions:
"Go, find Su Ping, and ask him to give you twenty good men to explore the way ahead. Whether they are bandits or Thule people, I want you to send a signal ten miles in advance to let me know there is an ambush."
Little Niba was overjoyed. After practicing martial arts for so many days, he finally got a chance to show off. He quickly jumped into the air, got off the car, pulled a guard horse and rode on it, and went to the back of the team to find Su Ping.
Without much effort, Xiao Niba led a group of scouts and rode to the front of Su Lu.
Su Lu took a look at these boys. They were all very capable and not easy to mess with. He threw out four level 2 scout cards and a dozen level 1 scout cards, divided them into teams, and asked them to follow Xiaoniba towards them.
Explore the way forward.
The scouts were out, and Su Lu felt much more at ease. He ordered the food team to continue moving forward, trying to cross Erlong Mountain before dark and set up camp far away from Erlong Mountain.
"Wow"
The sky finally started to rain, and the raindrops instantly wet Su Lu's body.
The peasants took action one after another, taking out oil paper packages and drapes, and covering the pack horses and grain with ponchos.
For a moment, people shouted and horses neighed, and there was a noisy scene in the rain.
Su Lu put on his poncho and bamboo hat, and began to inspect the grain team. He ordered the guards to help the civilians pack up the pack horses and carts, so as not to let the rain wet the grain and grass.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the road under our feet began to become muddy. The large car walking on the road began to leave deep ruts.
The miscellaneous department chief assigned to Su Lu by Magistrate Tang caught up with Su Lu in the mud and shouted to Su Lu:
"Sir, the rain is getting heavier and heavier. We can't go any further. People can bear it, but the pack horses cannot. If the pack horses are damaged, the road ahead will be difficult."
In the team, all the peasants who regarded their pack horses as treasures looked at Su Lu with prayers on their faces.
For them, buying a draft horse will cost them a year's hard-earned money. The draft horse is the largest item in their home, and it is a treasure that must be taken care of.
Seeing the packhorse being soaked in the rain, these peasant husbands felt more distressed than their own sons being soaked in the rain.
Su Lu took out the map and looked at it, his brows almost turned into a mess. This place is not far from Erlong Mountain. If the Erlong Mountain bandits really want to attack, the thousands of people under his command may not be enough to fill the gap between his blood lion's teeth.
of.
But looking at the muddy road, the civilians who were almost soaked, even though they were wrapped in ponchos, were still beaten by the drenched packhorses in Lincheng. Su Lu cursed the rain in his heart.
"Leaving the official road to camp, all civilians should pay attention, unload the food and grass on the pack horses, and use the cart as a support to form a turtle-shell formation."
"profound"
The civilians cheered, drove the pack horses down the official road, set up a shed at the place designated by the guards, drove the pack horses under the shed, unloaded the grain and grass, and began to prepare grain, grass and water for the pack horses.
Su Lu kicked the water ladle out of Su Ping's hand and yelled at him:
"Didn't I say that you should drink cold water and not raw water on the march? You kid turned a deaf ear to my words, right?"
Su Lu chuckled: "I was exhausted when I was driving the packhorse to unload the cart, and smoke was almost coming out of my throat, so I couldn't help but take a sip."
Su Lu untied his water hyacinth and handed it to Su Ping: "If you don't want your soldiers to lie on the cart tomorrow, just keep it under my watch. Don't drink boiled water. Use a towel to dry your clothes and armor. Keep it close to your body before resting."
Clothes must be dried.”
Su Ping agreed with a sad face: "I know, I know, I know all these contents, and I will take care of them."
"Second brother, why do you need to dry your underwear? Are the people from Erlongshan coming to sneak attack? Do we have to fight at night?"
When it came to fighting, Su Ping suddenly became excited and looked impatient.
Su Lu didn't want to talk to this guy anymore, and asked him to check the uniforms and the loss of food and fodder in Camp B, while he went to the side to check the guards' tents and the conditions of the civilians.
"Sir, there are some pack horses that don't drink water or eat fodder. The peasants don't know what to do and are about to cry. You go and have a look."
A guard came over and reported.
Su Lu felt a chill in his heart. The fallen packhorses appeared so quickly. They had only walked less than half the distance. If this continued, these packhorses would be useless.
When they arrived, the carts had already formed a circle in the center. Under the erected shed, several peasants looked at the packhorse lying on the ground with a sad expression. The fodder and water placed in front of the packhorse were in good condition, and the packhorse did not move at all.
Seeing Su Lu coming, several guards moved out of the way. When the civilians looked at Su Lu, their faces were full of hope, hoping that Su Lu could save these pack horses.
Su Lu looked at the packhorse's appearance. It looked dull and it seemed that he was overtired.
"Sir, please save my draft horse. Our whole family depends on it for food."
"Sir, my packhorse suddenly became like this. Is it okay if I don't leave on this mission? If the packhorse is gone, my family will be ruined."
The civilian husband's face, covered with dirt and wrinkles, was full of anxiety. He rubbed his hands and looked at Su Lu expectantly.
Su Lu had no choice. I'm not a veterinarian. I don't know how to treat animals. I don't even know how to comfort them. I'm afraid that I might say the wrong thing and make the husband even more sad.
I looked up at the rain curtain. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and I was afraid it might not stop for a while.
Several peasants gathered around and discussed for a long time with their heads lowered. Finally, the peasant with a black face and a yellow face spoke:
"Sir, we want to give up this transportation. We don't have any money. If the packhorse is gone, we really have nothing at all.
"Even if you don't leave, the pack horses won't get better. There is no village in front of us and no store in the back. Your pack horses will be dragged to death sooner or later. You'd better follow the team. At least they won't starve to death."
The head of the miscellaneous department came over and tried to persuade everyone.
"If the pack horse is really exhausted, I will make the decision and return to the county to compensate you. I will give you half of the official price for the pack horse."
Several peasants lowered their heads and discussed for a long time. They all felt that what the general manager said was correct. Then they gave up their thoughts of leaving and fed the pack horses with peace of mind.
Su Lu glanced at the head of the miscellaneous department with admiration. This man was steady in his work and had some skills. He was a useful talent. Just as he was about to praise him, a scout came in the rain.
The horse's hooves kicked up large clumps of water droplets covered with plaster. When they arrived at the shed, they rolled over and dismounted from the saddle, then rushed into the shed covered in rain and cold air:
"Report, sir, there are traces of bandits ahead, the number is unknown."
Looking at the rain outside, Su Lu felt unhappy. These bandits were also crazy. What were they doing out on such a rainy day?
Even horses can't walk on the muddy road, let alone fight. These bandits must be out of their minds.
Under the curtain of rain, another scout came from behind. The horse's hooves broke through the mud, and muddy water splashed everywhere. The guards who rolled their saddles and dismounted were soaked from head to toe, and reported tremblingly:
"Report, sir, there is news from behind that a group of bandits have been found, and their target is directly at us."
Su Lu couldn't help but cursed: "These bandits are really crazy when they rob the road on a rainy day."