After Chen Lan, Lei Bo and others withdrew, they found that there were no pursuers. After combining the two, they discovered that there was a fraud and quickly returned to pursue them.
However, when they arrived at the Pihe River this time, they saw that Bai Tu's personal guards were already on the other side, standing with their large shields on the ground as a cover, waiting in full formation!
Ordinary cavalry have to wade across the river, which is even more difficult than the wooden and stone armor. When the opponent reaches a quarter of the way, they will enter the shooting range of the Baitu Guards.
At this time, although Baitu had not made large-scale efforts in armament technology, his personal guards were definitely using the best equipment.
All the bows and arrows on the armor are loaded with two sets. They are all compound bows. The longbow is made of ash wood with a core known for its toughness. The outer part is made of hardwood on the bow arms and tip bends, and the outermost part is wrapped with beef tendon. Even according to each The height of a personal guard, the curvature and length of the bow are specially designed to conform to ergonomics. Although it has the disadvantage of being laborious and expensive, the effective killing distance is astonishingly close to three hundred meters.
The other is a horn composite short bow, which is based on the Mongolian bow. The range is less than 200 meters. It is mainly used for shooting while running. It does not require a long range. It is famous for its fast shooting speed and low effort.
After being loaded into the armor, the range and power will be further improved, and power can be consumed for laser arrows.
Of course, considering the limited physical strength of Warrior Mu Shi, it is usually better to load real arrows.
At this time, the infantry longbow was used to completely overwhelm the opponent in terms of range. Some of the generals in the chaos were already hit by arrows and fell into the water, but the opponent did not even have a chance to draw the bow. Even if he barely drew the bow, the shot to the other side would be weak!
Although the rate of fire is not fast and the number of people is not large, do you expect a group of bandits to charge with human lives?
Dream on!
Ignoring the shouts of Chen Lan and others, the rebel army stopped advancing when they reached the middle of the river. Chen Lan and others did not intend to take the lead, but continued to press and charge.
Until there was a hint that the army would collapse, and some generals even ignored orders and wanted to escape on their own, Chen Lan and several leaders had no choice but to retreat.
However, at this moment, he heard the sound of an engine. It was very familiar to Bai Tu. It was the sound of Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry charging!
Cheng Lian and Cao Xing, who were driven back immediately after the rebels came ashore, led their troops into the river.
Cheng Lian and Cao Xing had no mercy for these deceivers who lured him away and wanted to sneak attack on their lord.
They had not caught up with the rebels before, and when they found out that they had been fooled, they were just puzzled. When they returned, they found that the village had changed drastically. Every household was pulling out the tied villagers from the cellar to untie them. The old man who received them at the beginning was even more confused. After admitting his crime and explaining the situation, he was killed on the knife edge, which frightened Cheng Lian and Cao Xing to the point where they almost went out of their wits!
If there was no time to delay and Bai Tu's usual military discipline, they would really want to massacre these unruly people in the village.
Although they knew in their hearts that they were under coercion, even in Bingzhou, if there were Han people who were coerced by the Xiongnu, killing the whole family would be the lightest option if they plotted against the governor.
Cheng Lian and Cao Xing had no choice but to pray that Bai Tu would be alright while following the traces to chase him.
When I discovered these rebels, I couldn't hold back the anger in my heart. No matter whether they knelt down or abandoned their troops, they were all either shot through the chest or killed with a knife!
This does not count as surrendering troops on the battlefield in violation of military discipline. In previous battles on the battlefield, who was injured and killed when each was his own master, did not affect the treatment of prisoners, and those who killed without permission were dealt with according to military regulations. However, if a rebel soldier attacked the common people and killed one person, it would not affect the treatment of prisoners. There is no point in killing my father and surrendering.
Chen Lan and others wanted to cross the river but were unable to do so. They wanted to return to the shore but were unable to do so. They were held down in the river and killed. Now even if they were desperate and wanted to bite someone, they were no match for Bingzhou Langqi!
After a cry of killing, Cheng Lian and Cao Xing led the men across the river carrying the three bandits led by them. Lei Xu, one of the four bandits, had just been shot to death in the chaos.
As soon as Cheng Lian and Cao Xing reached the other side, they quickly prostrated themselves and said, "My subordinates are late, my lord is frightened!"
Bai Tu glared angrily: "How could a mere thief scare me?"
"My lord is so powerful, I'm not afraid of it." Cao Xing bumped Cheng Lian with his elbow.
"Okay, it's me who asked you to chase the bandits. If you can get back in time, you will have merit and no fault." Bai Tu said.
If it were Gan Ning, Chen Dao, and other generals who each led an army and fell into the trap, it would definitely be their responsibility. If it were the mistress who fell into this trap, Bai Tu would slap him for murdering his own brother now.
But Cheng Lian and Cao Xing, regardless of their abilities or official positions, were just following orders, and it was not their turn to take the blame.
Seeing the uniform cavalry, the general called him "Lord"
Jiao Qing on the side, how could he not recognize Bai Tu's identity? He quickly came to pay his respects, but he just called him "Mr. Bai".
After all, Jiao Qing was recommended as an official by local officials. It was the first time he met Bai Tu, and he had not even "worshipped the mountain". If he were on the other side, he would have directly called him "Lord," but Jiao Qing was still quite deep.
Bai Tu held his arm and said, "Jiao Shuzuo has done a great job today. Don't call him Bai Gong. Instead, call him Lord! Come back to Shucheng with us!"
Jiao Qing naturally has no reason to respond.
Saying this to Chen Dao was a direct act of Bai Tu pulling someone in without being ashamed. Saying this to Jiao Qing, a junior official in the Prefecture's Mansion, was considered a compliment.
While other officials in the Lujiang Mansion were still worried, Jiao Qing, the little secretary, was the first to go ashore.
Although Jiao Qing had been less sophisticated in his tactics before, the fact that he dared to stand up and deceive at that time showed his character and quick wit, and left a good impression on Bai Tu.
On the way, Bai Tu also curiously asked Jiao Qing about why he was traveling all night. Jiao Qing is the secretary of the prefect's mansion, and is now responsible for collecting poll taxes in the countryside. The grain tax in Lujiang has been exempted, but the poll tax is still there.
Generally, farmers use silk cloth to deduct taxes.
Ordinarily, if he is really a subordinate and leads the troops on the road overnight, he is loyal to his duty. But as a clerk who transports silk cloth taxes, can you travel in the middle of the night?
After asking, I found out that this was the chief clerk of the mansion, and the tasks assigned to him were very tight in terms of distance and speed. The reason why the banner was given was for the "performance assigned by the cavalry general."
Of course, Jiao Qing didn't dare to say it so directly, and the description was very obscure. Bai Tu guessed it himself.
"So, the officials in Shucheng must have strong opinions on me now, right?" Bai Tu asked with a slightly condensed expression.
"No, no, no, my lord, you have reduced taxes and provided large-scale disaster relief. We are just moving our legs more," Jiao Qing quickly denied.
"I went to eleven villages to collect taxes. I was only given seven days and had to travel all night. Not to mention other people, did you really have no objections before?" Bai Tu was already very dissatisfied.
Naturally, it was not for Jiao Qing, but for the chief secretary of Nashu City and other subordinate officials of the prefecture. As for Lu Kang, the prefect, he had not actually arrived. Zhou Yu had just arrived and was probably rectifying military affairs.
Bai Tu only thought that someone wanted to use this to express dissatisfaction with his policies.
"This" Jiao Qing hesitated for a while, but finally said: "I dare not deceive the lord. In fact, the main reason is that I have some personal grudges with the chief secretary. He also does not dare to be so harsh on other officials, and it will not damage the lord's reputation."
.”
Jiao Qing didn't want to say this at first, otherwise it would seem too pretentious, and as an official, he had a bad relationship with his superior, and he even jumped to the next level to file a complaint, which was a bit taboo.
Just seeing Bai Tu looking like this, Jiao Qing felt that it would be better not to continue this misunderstanding.