The merchants were in a panic and tried to escape from the valley with their camels. Once they dispersed, the bandits were still able to kill them one by one.
Li Siye stepped forward and asked them loudly: "You can see everything around the valley. Can you escape?"
The leader of the caravan was still calm. While trying to reassure everyone not to run away, he replied to Li Siye: "General Li, the sand bandits usually work in groups of dozens. They are ruthless and not afraid of the king's law. They will not be afraid of the general because he is in a high position.
, General, it’s better to think about how to escape first.”
"The best way to escape is to fight head-on. Don't you have any weapons? Please take out your knives. I, the general, will be stationed outside and will definitely protect your safety."
Everyone looked at each other in disbelief. Although they didn't dare to believe it, they still had natural reliance and trust on the Tang army. The leader of the caravan pulled out the sword at his waist and shouted: "Everyone pull out the sword! Surround the camels and goods in the center and form a circular formation.
"
The merchants took out the weapons of different lengths they carried, surrounded the camels in the center, and looked at the sand thieves galloping through the dust, their faces pale and frightened.
Li Siye immediately ordered Teng Mu and Yan Xiaosi: "Teng Mu, Yan Xiaosi, take out your horn bows and prepare to fight."
The Sand Bandits were coming in a menacing manner. From a distance, it looked like there were about forty people, each riding two horses, one for riding and one for carrying stolen goods.
Li Siye took off his horn bow from his body and said to the two of them: "Strike first and shoot down the three of them first."
The galloping horses of the bandits were only a hundred paces away from them. Li Siye drew his horned bow like a full moon and shouted: "Shoot down the one with the bow first!"
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the bow string in his hand vibrated, and the arrow flew out like lightning, hitting a sand bandit in the neck. He fell off the horse and fell into the sand. Yan Xiaosi and Teng Mu also shot and wounded him each.
killed a bandit.
The bandits rushed to a place more than fifty steps away from them, and then several bandits began to draw their bows and shoot arrows. This was not because they were not good at shooting, but because they used wooden bows made of poplar and boxwood.
The strength is far inferior to the horn bows made of Zhe wood and ox horns of the Tang army.
Li Siye leaned sideways on his horse and avoided the arrows coming towards him.
These bandits quickly divided into two groups, one after another, blocking the caravan in the river valley, reining in the horses and holding wooden bows to confront the caravan.
The bandits wore incomplete leather armor and tattered tanned skins, carried large poplar wood bows on their backs, and hung a wide wrought iron plate knife from their waists. They were obviously at a disadvantage in terms of equipment. If it were not for protecting this caravan,
Li Siye and the other three could have completely defeated their fighting spirit by drawing their bows and shooting from a distance.
The bandit leader was half a horse taller than the rest of the group. He had an unshaven face and a thin and dry face. His eyes were sunk in the sockets and were as bright and deep as deep wells.
He squinted his eyes and looked at Li Siye's crotch-less robe, which was crimson in color, with a goldfish bag around his waist and a belt that reached eleven kuai. "There are actually high-ranking officials of the Tang Army? We've encountered a tough idea. Let's retreat!"
He turned around first and was about to leave. There was a fierce-looking man in the team who suddenly raised his hand to stop him and said: "The big cabinet can't be evacuated! We lost three people in this transaction. This is blood."
Compensation, how can we get back the money if we don’t kill them?”
When Li Siye heard this, he immediately took off the long-handled Mo Dao from his horse, removed the scabbard, and held it in his hands so that the sunlight could shine on it. He held the handle and turned it gently, making the surface of the knife reflect light like a mirror.
It flashed across the faces of the bandits one by one.
Among these people, they raised their hands to dodge or narrowed their eyes. Only this strong man showed no fear and shook his horse's reins to move forward. This man should belong to the second cabinet among the bandits, and now he was on par with the big cabinet.
Dashi Nian has become more and more aware of his destiny. He squinted his eyes and couldn't tell what his expression was, but Li Siye guessed that he was probably unhappy in his heart. Why didn't he reprimand the strong man and protect his position as leader? Maybe he just took care of the situation at hand and was worried.
The cracks in the gang were exposed to the caravan. Comparing the strong man's youthful vigour with his old age and strength, this bandit has exposed the problem of the impending replacement of old and new power.
If we use thunderous means to kill this person, frighten the bandits, and give these people an intuitive impression of our combat power, we can probably drive them away.
The strong man gritted his teeth and raised his muscles, his eyes revealed a fierce light, and he turned his head back and spoke to the bandits behind him: "The Tang army is so afraid! The high officials are so afraid! Since we have become bandits, we must fight against the officials.
No. 40 can't kill just two or three high-ranking officials of the Tang Army who are alone? Even if the Tang Army comes to retaliate in the future, we will kill everyone in this caravan without evidence!"
"drive!"
Li Siye struck the horse's butt with the handle of his sword, and the fat black hooves ran out, sprinting for a hundred meters, and pounced on the sand bandit with lightning speed.
"We are not the only bandits in this area. As long as we hide, Tang Jun may not be able to..."
He arrived in an instant, wielding the Mo Dao and slashing across the flints with lightning, and then raised it upwards. Hot blood burst out from the strong man's neck like a fountain, and the bloody head flew back with the blade. Li Siye grabbed the hair and pulled it in his hand.
The sword slapped the horse and returned.
The little eyes of the bandit leader were wide open. Two cabinets of dirty blood splashed on half of his face and half of his chest. The purple-red plasma was burning and stinging. The other bandits all took a breath of cold air, and their bodies were covered with blood.
The horses were so frightened that they kicked the sand and backed away.
Li Siye dragged the horse's head back to the caravan and threw the human head in his hand on the ground. He raised the Mo Dao in his hand and faced the bandits and said loudly: "This is a horse-killing sword, used to kill you bandits.
It can be regarded as overkill. If anyone wants to avenge him, feel free to come forward!"
After saying that, he raised the Mo Dao above his head again, and slashed it at an oval pebble on the river bed. Boom! The blade of the blade was like silver light leaking to the ground, and the pebble was split in two from the middle, splitting into two halves.
The bandit leader tightened his horse's reins and spoke in a low voice: "There are profits and losses in the business. Don't force the goods that you can't eat. We will withdraw!"
He hit the horse first and turned around, and the bandits followed him and slapped the horse's buttocks. The horses' hoofs stepped on the sand and stones along the river bed. The two teams in front and behind stepped out two lines of smoke, which mixed together like a rolling mud flow. The dense pattering of horse's hooves gradually
Disappear at the end of the horizon.
Li Siye felt that the bandit leader wanted to be grateful to him for helping him eliminate the unstable factors within the team that were trying to gain power.
During the period from the appearance of the sand bandits to the interception, the vendors were all petrified into sculptures and dead wood, and they did not even dare to make a sound. They planned to reduce their presence as much as possible so as not to cause trouble to the Tang army.
When the sand pirates completely disappeared, everyone slowly let out the half-mouthed breath they had held in their stomachs. They all climbed off the camels, supported each other, and knelt down in front of Li Siye, crossing their hands and thanking each other in high and low voices: "If it weren't for the general here today.
Now, we people have already become the prey of the bandits, General Li, please accept my respect."
He felt very comfortable in his heart. He quickly turned over and dismounted, helped the leaders and traders kneeling in the front row one by one, and said: "Everyone, please get up quickly. It is the responsibility of our Anxi Army to protect the country and the people. If we are in front of the bandits,
If you can't even protect me, what qualifications do you have to receive a salary from the imperial court?"
The leader of the caravan clenched his hands tightly, raised his thumbs, and said with tears of gratitude: "The general has a great heart and does not care about repayment, but I feel very sorry."
"Yes, yes, you are right. I have little ability to repay the general for saving his life. I can only kowtow and bow down to express my gratitude to the general."
Everyone bowed on the ground three times in a row, and then the leader stood up with the support of Li Siye. He waved his hands and said to everyone: "Everyone, we are still far away from the next stop, Cancheng, so we should rush there as soon as possible to get some rest.
"
The merchants repeatedly said so and followed Li Siye and the others along the edge of the desert. The leader followed Li Siye on a camel and took the initiative to act as a tour guide and a compliment, telling him about the customs and customs of this place.
Compared with the mountains at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, surrounded by forests, gurgling streams, and lush pastures, the end of this endless yellow desert truly possesses the soul of the Western Regions. The West has countless ancient legends, the once prosperous Loulan, and the weird and mysterious spirit.
The Juegu Kingdom. Well, the Daughter Kingdom that Tang Xuanzang encountered in Journey to the West did exist, but it was called Subi Kingdom. It was a matrilineal society ruled by a queen, and has now been annexed by Tubo.
Li Siye nodded in agreement while thinking about the plan in his heart. Suddenly an idea came to his mind and he turned to ask the leader of the caravan: "Are you doing business in the Western Regions all year round?"
(ps: There was another bug before. The Six Codes of the Tang Dynasty recorded that every thirty miles is a post in the country, and eighty posts are 2,400 miles. The Khotan Road in the middle section of the Silk Road is not that long, so it was revised to thirty-two posts.