As the last arrow flew out of the string, Zhang Te leaned on the horse again.
Insert the two-stone strong bow into the sheath on the horse's neck, and pull out the ring-headed sword. The hand with the small round shield on the forearm is still protecting the back, preparing for the next close encounter with the Wei army's scouts.
Yes, the pursuers behind him were already within sixty paces, and they were about to face a bloody fight.
As the speed of the injured horse continued to decrease, he was inevitably surrounded and killed.
The only good thing was that the Wei scout's crossbow bolts seemed to be running out, and every time he fired, there were only a few sparse shots, giving him a chance to trade his life for his life.
Who should I choose and die?
The cavalry against the Wei Dynasty, the Southern Huns or the Xianbei Hulu?
Zhang Te looked sideways, his eyes as sharp as eagles, carefully looking at the pursuers behind him.
From this distance, he could clearly make out the difference between the combed hair of the pursuers, the loose felt hats and the crotch heads, as well as the ring-headed knives raised high in their hands or the colorful sunlight reflected by the spear tips.
He looked back and forth with discriminating eyes, and finally landed on the majestic Kuntou Xianbei.
Without him, the Han family, who was born in the border area of Youzhou, would always be unable to restrain his desire to draw his sword whenever he saw Kuntou Xianbei.
"Why slow down!"
When out of the corner of his eye he saw his scouts also slowing down their horses and coming to drive alongside him, Zhang Te couldn't help but frown angrily, "My horse is injured and it is unavoidable. You will return as soon as possible! Don't forget your superiors."
General and I killed more than thirty riders in total, and received the reward and gave it to the fallen man!"
His tone was a little angry, mixed with the howling wind in front of him and the thunderous sound of horse hooves behind him, which made him look helpless.
He knew that the two scouts deliberately slowed down their horses in order to escape alongside him.
However, they were the only two of his subordinates who came out with him.
No matter what, one person must escape.
Not only did he receive a reward to comfort Paoze, but he also wanted to bring back the news that the Wei army's scout team had grown stronger, so that subsequent scouts would go out in groups and not face the helpless situation he faced today when he was outnumbered.
But the two scouts didn't do what he expected.
The cavalryman on the left smiled playfully when he was angrily scolded, grinning his dust-covered lips, and baring his jagged teeth, "Hey, hey," and he didn't know what he was laughing at.
The one on the right has an expressionless face, and you can tell at a glance that he is a man of few words, and the words he speaks are as precious as gold.
"Xiaowei, Sanli, Shan."
Abandon your horse and go up the mountain?
Zhang Te followed his gaze and turned his head.
I saw a broken mountain in Wushaoling ahead. Under the attack of desert wind and sand day and night, the excess soil surface was removed, exposing a lot of coarse sand and gravel, forming a rugged Gobi Desert.
However, what about abandoning the horse on the mountain?
Ni Wei can also go up the mountain to chase and kill them, and they can also divide into several small groups to outflank them based on their large number of people.
Involuntarily, a wry smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Te's mouth.
He could already feel that the war horse under his crotch was running more and more unsteadily, and he didn't know when it would stumble and fall to the ground, wailing. But he could be sure that with the speed of the war horse, even if it could gallop for another three miles, it would still be a long time.
Before reaching the Gobi Desert, he will be overtaken by Wei scouts from behind.
"Woo~~~ho!"
As if to confirm Zhang Te's thoughts, the whistle of the charging troops from behind sounded again.
However, after a brief pause, the chasing distance between the two sides was reduced again, to only about fifty steps.
Alas, that’s all.
Seeing that the two scouts still did not let the war horse speed up, Zhang Te secretly gritted his teeth, with a hint of determination in his eyes, and planned to jump off the war horse.
This was the only way he could think of that wouldn't drag down Pao Ze.
However, the black-faced cavalryman, either as he expected or because of the bond of life and death, reached out and grabbed his leather armor at this moment.
“Ride together!”
It means letting Zhang Te jump on his horse.
"Husband! Let go!"
Zhang Te was so angry that he even cursed and smacked his hands fiercely. The saliva that flew around when he roared turned a little bit colorful under the scorching sun.
It seems that among the colors, the red flag of the Han Dynasty is the most colorful.
The black-faced cavalryman let go of his hand as he wished, but he also let go of the horse's reins.
After sheathing the ring-shou sword, he supported the horse's back with his hands and looked at Zhang Te with a stubborn look in his eyes - he actually planned to jump on the horse and fight together!
Seeing this, Zhang Te was slightly startled.
Then he yelled, "If I come back alive, you will be punished for not respecting the general's order and I will be punished twenty times with a stick!"
After scolding, he pushed his hands on the horse's back, letting his body fly into the air; then he kicked the horse hard with both feet, and landed on the back of the black-faced cavalry like a big bird.
"Xi Yu Yu~~~"
The sudden weight of an extra person caused the war horse to scream, its galloping hooves staggering, and it almost lost its balance and fell to the ground.
Fortunately, the scouts' horses are the most majestic in the army.
Even if the two of them were riding together, the horse would only pause slightly before moving forward smoothly again.
But such a delay allowed the pursuers behind him to shorten the distance by more than ten steps again, and Zhang Te could clearly see the ferocious smile of the Wei army scout.
Therefore, he also took out the dagger tied to the outside of his leg.
It is planned to tie up the war horse when approaching the Gobi Desert ahead, so that it can speed up and run for a long time when it is suddenly injured.
There are still two miles to go, and the pursuers are still thirty paces away.
For one mile, the pursuers were less than twenty steps away.
Zhang Te raised the hand holding the dagger and was about to stab it hard, but suddenly stopped.
Suddenly, there was a crisp yet sharp chirping sound on the north side that dominated the sky. After a few breaths, there was another one on the west side that went straight up into the sky.
Intermittently, there were five or six chiming horns sounding far and near in different directions.
This place is very close to the inspection and warning range of Sima Liu Zhu, the cavalry guard of the Qiang camp. The Wei army scouts will not enter without authorization, let alone five or six teams of scouts announcing that they are approaching at the same time.
Are you saved?
Zhang Te, who had long given up any hope of survival, suddenly had mixed feelings.
Indeed, they survived.
When the Wei scouts heard the sound of the thunder ringing through the desert, they all drove their horses halfway around the circle and headed back.
After chasing all the way, the horsepower of their horses has reached the limit and their arrows and crossbows have been exhausted. If they don't return, they may be outflanked by five or six Han army scout teams and shot to death. Anyway, there are only three Han soldiers left.
There is no difference between riding and killing, and there is no need to put yourself in danger again.
But what they didn't expect was that the Han army scouts who came to help were only 20 riders away from Tang Mang's team!
It turned out that this horse thief who used to roam the Hexi Corridor was very quick-thinking. When he saw Zhang Te and others being chased, he thought that he could not save the enemy with only twenty horses and it was too late to send people back to ask Liu Zhu for help, so he dispersed his men.
He fired shots from all directions and made a bluff.
The lives of Zhang Te and the others should not be cut off.
The whole journey back to Puchuang was speechless.
After Liu Zhu recorded Zhang Te's description of the enemy's situation and apology in a book and sent it to Guzang County, for some unknown reason, Jiang Wei came over overnight.
By then, it was already the third watch of the night.
But he did not come to question Zhang Te and his subordinates about their crimes of greed for power and rash advancement. Instead, they sought out Zhang Te and asked him about the whole story of the war in detail.
For example, in a team of Wei army scouts, the approximate number of Wei soldiers compared with the Southern Xiongnu and Xianbei Tuoba tribe; for example, the approximate location of the two groups of Wei army scouts Zhang Te encountered; and how elite the Wei army's scouts were, etc.
After everything became clear, he thought for a while and ordered Liu Zhu to send out ten teams of scouts the next day to go east to Puchuang County to spy on the military situation, and the team would still be composed of twenty cavalry!
It also made Zhang Te speechless.
He couldn't understand why Jiang Wei made such an arrangement. How is this any different from ordering a scout to die?!