Li Siye sat cross-legged on the sheep's felt and asked leisurely: "When I entered the city just now, the person chasing me was Su Kezhai's creditor. Why didn't you tell me in advance? Did you deliberately hide it and make me wait?
The whole army was wiped out at the city gate?"
"It's unfair, captain, Giza has no such intention. Most of the gang leaders and centurions in the city like gambling and drinking, and it is common for them to owe each other. There are many creditors promoted by Su Ke, and I can't tell who is who.
That’s why I couldn’t predict it.”
Li Siye asked again: "Since you knew he had a creditor, why didn't you tell me outside the city?"
"Captain, you didn't ask. Giza really forgot."
Tian Zhen sneered and said, "Forgot? That's so easy to say. Lieutenant Li, I think it's better to kill him with a knife to avoid further trouble."
Li Siye shook his head decisively: "No, we still have to keep him. He still needs to negotiate external matters."
The sound of chattering came from outside. Bai Xiaode drew out his knife alertly, stood at the door and stuck his head out to take a peek. He saw three men walking into the yard side by side, yelling in a loud voice: "Jili gulu, what's the matter?"
Lu Gu Gu."
Bai Xiaode turned around with a smile and said jokingly to Li Siye: "Captain Su Ke, your creditor is here."
Li Siye waved his hand to Tian Zhen, and Tian Zhen had no choice but to put away the knife on Gisa's neck. Li Siye ordered Gisa: "Find a way to drive these people out. Just use the excuse just now, saying that Su Kezhai is outside."
I’m so hungry.”
"The others draw their swords and are ready to take action. If Giza cannot persuade these three people to leave, let them in and kill them first."
They stood close to the wall on the left and right sides of the door, each holding a short knife in their hands. Gisa clasped his hands together and whispered the Buddha's blessing, stretched out his hand to wipe his face, and then walked out in a swaggering manner.
Giza stood in the yard and struggled with these creditors for a long time. The chatter may have been all good things, but these people shouted a few words in vain and turned around and left.
Everyone breathed a long sigh of relief, put their swords back into their sheaths and sat around with Li Siye. The creditor incident was indeed an accident. Who would have thought that the dead Turkic gang leader was actually a gambler, and he was just a gambler from the time he entered the city to now.
Hours later, two accidents almost happened in a row, and there was still a whole day tomorrow. Trying to survive without being discovered would really test your acting skills and IQ.
Li Siye reassured everyone and said: "Don't worry too much tomorrow. General Fumeng will lead his army to the city tonight and start attacking the city early tomorrow morning. The city will definitely be in chaos by then, and no one will doubt or care about us."
He waved to Gisa who was standing at the door looking out, called him over and asked: "If you give me a good overview of our group's interpersonal relationships, besides creditors, are there anyone else we need to guard against?
For example, your boss."
Giza thought for a while, then nodded and said: "Except for the creditors promoted by Su Ke, the only ones left are our centurion Gu Duo and Geli Ajin. Gu Duo is nothing, he just likes to drink, but Ge
Li Aijin needs to be careful. He is fat and responsible for all the fodder, baggage and livestock. He is cruel and unkind by nature. He likes to beat his subordinates and abuse the young herdsmen. The Khan prohibits the city from housing female relatives, but he secretly hid three Kangju girls in the city.
In the tent, enjoy yourself every day."
Li Siye didn't care much about this, and said to the soldiers: "Tomorrow, as long as we try to avoid these two people, we must not be impulsive and act out of loyalty. When tomorrow night, we will open the city gate from inside to outside, and then the whole city will be trampled by us."
Underfoot."
Bai Xiaode leaned on his scimitar and asked eagerly: "What if we are discovered to have been exposed?"
Li Siye's voice was as cold as iron: "If we are discovered, we will take action in advance, rush to the forage field, take out weapons, incite and coerce the herdsmen, and go straight to the east gate of the city. This is the only goal and the only hope, even if we die.
Even the last person left behind must open the city gate."
He looked around at the soldiers, and there was no hesitation or dodge in their eyes. When they made the decision the night before yesterday, they had put life and death aside. Whether it was to serve the country with blood, or to gain merit and wealth in spite of danger, regardless of their motives, they were equally worthy of praise and praise.
"According to the activities of the Tuqi Shiren, if our Tang army fails to attack the city, will we have to escort the young men to cut grass outside the city tomorrow?"
"That's right." Gisa nodded.
"That's it. Let's take a rest at night. Tomorrow morning we will go to the forage field as usual and escort the herdsmen out of the city to cut grass until our army begins to attack the city, and then act accordingly."
They blew out the oil lamps on the wall and took turns sleeping in accordance with the rules. Two of them stood holding knives while the others lay down side by side on the sheep felt. Although they were highly nervous in the enemy camp, they soon snored out of exhaustion.
.
The situation that Duan Xiushi and the others encountered was much more severe. It was dark tonight and they were wearing pointed hats made of straw with their heads hidden inside. But if they go out to work in such attire tomorrow morning, they would definitely be recognized by the Tuqishi people.
Although the appearance cannot be changed, the hairstyle can still be changed. The biggest difference between the Tang people and the Turks and Sogdians is that one wears a bun with tied hair, while the other braids the hair with a straw rope. As Turkic dependants, they inherited the Turkic tradition.
The long hair is tied in multiple braids hanging down the back of the head.
In the dark den, Duan Xiushi and others took off their crotches and tied them around their waists. They took off the long hair tied around their heads and began to weave braids. The herdsmen around them also helped them in braiding.
At dawn, several veterans who were drunk in the wine shop staggered back to the forage yard. After they looked up at the sky, they took out the key and went down to the den, unlocked the chain and opened the wooden gate.
"You guys! Stop being lazy and get up quickly to cut grass and fetch water. There are still tens of thousands of livestock waiting to eat and drink today!"
The herdsmen filed out of their dens with their heads lowered. The veterans simply counted the number of people, not caring whether there were any unfamiliar faces among them, just like the shepherds never paid attention to what their sheep looked like.
At this moment, the sky was just a little drunk, so Duan Xiushi and others came to the west end of the forage yard and began to divide the work to fetch water and cut grass. Then, holding the chopped grass, they filled the ten-foot-long forage trough and filled the troughs one by one.
When daylight dawned, Li Siye and others were still sleeping. Herdsmen were already driving yaks and sheep to feed them, and herdsmen who had been forced into slavery were leading officers' horses. After a while, many black riders came.
The Shi people and soldiers led their horses to feed. At this time, the entire forage field seemed busier than the market, and the young herdsmen also entered into the most intense work. Dozens of people took turns to cut grass, using guillotines to move up and down.
Opening and closing, the body is sweating profusely, feeding these beasts with big appetites can literally tire a person to death.
The fodder farm is the meanest and worst place for local herdsmen who have become military slaves. The herdsmen who raise cattle and sheep only need to take care of the livestock, shear the sheep, and slaughter them to be sent to the black Tuqi Shijun men. The horse breeders
The herdsmen only need to wash the horse's mane and take good care of the horse for the owner. However, they, who provide feed, have to squeeze out their physical strength.
Duan Xiushi's head was steaming, his back was bare, and his arms were numb and sore. He could not imagine how the herdsmen had survived these days.
Speaking of which, the Tang army was also one of the authors of the tragic experiences of the herdsmen. If they had not launched a large-scale attack on the black surname, Erwei Khan would not have collected all the nearby livestock and enclosed them in the city, let alone prolonging the hold.
, and drove away all the businessmen, old, weak, young, old, and young.
…
Li Siye and others had already woken up, rubbing their groggy cheeks, and began to put on their clothes, silently waiting for time, and estimating when the Tang army would begin to attack the city. The army had many siege equipment, so the noise caused should not be small.
Time could not be delayed, so they had to use various methods to cover their faces with stains, then went out with their knives and led their horses towards the hayfield.
The feed trough at the west end of the forage field was still crowded, and all kinds of livestock were crowded together to occupy the field. The black soldiers yelled and cursed, used riding whips to open the herdsmen, and led their horses forward. However, they saw another humble herdsman blocking the way.
In front, when he was about to wave his riding whip, he found that the Mu Nu was holding a certain Ejin's horse, so he had to stop his hand and followed obediently. Although the Mu Nu was of low status, he followed his master with status.
, and don’t take sin easily.
The soldiers looked at this fat horse with envy. It had fat buttocks and brown-red hair. It must be a rare breed. The horse's head was thrust into the trough to eat the grass. If other horses dared to reach in, it would turn its head and bite it.
they.
Suddenly, the horse snorted continuously, raised its head, and white foam poured out of its mouth. Then it turned over and fell to the side, and its body began to twitch.
The shepherd slave was immediately frightened and fell to his knees with a thud, holding the horse's neck and crying bitterly.
The surrounding herdsmen led their animals out of the feed trough, fearing that they would be contaminated and cause disaster.
"Ha," the black soldier rejoiced in his misfortune and finally found a reason to whip him. He swung his riding whip and slapped the herdsman on his body, and shouted loudly: "You bitch, you actually fed Griet to death."
Horse! Go and inform Aijin! Someone has fed his horse to death, go now!"