Chapter 156 Chief Hu returns to the west

Chapter 156 Chief Hu returns to the west

With a flick of the spear, the throat of a barbarian soldier was cut open. The sharp head of the spear was still strong, driving Li Tai and his mount forward nearly ten feet, and then smashed into the throat of a barbarian soldier. on the shoulders.

This Hu soldier was not as decent as his companion who had been fatally struck just now. Half of his face was scratched off by the side of the sword, and his ears were wet against the shoulder where the collarbone was broken.

Because he was busy running for his life, Hu Zu did not feel the pain at the first time. He only felt that his face was suddenly cold and then hot. He fell to the ground and gasped with open mouth. The hot blood poured into his mouth and nose, and he had no time to do anything. In reaction, his chest trembled and he was directly nailed to the ground.

Li Tai pulled the horse back with some difficulty, and several Hu soldiers beside him had already fled left and right. He felt that this horse weapon was really not suitable for hunting these unarmored combat units.

In addition to being heavy and increasing the physical load, the strength is also difficult to control. Attacks such as scratching, picking, and smashing are okay. Once it causes a penetrating wound to the enemy's body, it will inevitably be stuck by the bone structure when it is withdrawn, which increases the physical strength. consumption.

But now everyone is busy chasing Jihu's soldiers who have been completely defeated. He is not worried about leaving the horse directly on the battlefield. He holds the spear in one hand and the knife in the other, driving the horse hard with both legs, harvesting everything he pursues. of human lives.

As Li Tai led his troops to charge out and rush to the battlefield, the fighting spirit of Jihu's troops completely collapsed. They were no longer in the same situation as before. The formations of the troops were directly smashed and exploded, adding a lot of trouble to the pursuit and annihilation. difficulty.

Li Tai finally saw the fighting style of these Jihu tribes, and understood why the previous generals in charge shook their heads and sighed with depressed expressions when talking about Jihu.

Fighting against such an opponent is really not exciting. These Jihu soldiers themselves have taken victory and defeat very lightly, and even if they win, they will still feel unsatisfied.

But it has to be said that Jihu's troops really mastered the essence of cavalry separation and combat. After a battle, their manpower and horsepower were severely depleted.

If the physical strength of these Jihu troops had not been fully consumed before, even if Li Tai had twice as many subordinates, it would be almost impossible to completely annihilate this Jihu team. It would even be difficult to cause effective damage and behead the capital.

After a chase, nearly twenty Jihu soldiers were killed directly by Li Tai's sword, but looking around, there were still many figures of Jihu troops fleeing in the distance.

These guys can really run. Even Li Tai can feel the breathing of the Hexi horse under his crotch gradually becoming rough and rapid, but the remaining figures of the Jihu soldiers who are fleeing are still very energetic.

After chasing like this for more than half an hour, the scope of the pursuit had been greatly expanded, and people from all over the place began to return one after another. After counting all the gains and losses, Fan confessed to the Jihu prisoners, and found that more than a dozen of them escaped.

The good news is that the leader of this Jihu team was captured, but Li Tai, who felt that he had been slapped in the face, was far from happy.

He jumped off his horse and cut off the hamstrings of more than twenty Jihu prisoners. Several Jihu prisoners who were already injured could not bear the severe pain and either fainted or died suddenly.

Li Tai asked himself that he was not a cruel and tyrannical person, but after passing by the dock wall that was burned and washed with blood, he subconsciously stopped treating these thieves as human beings.

Not many of these Jihu prisoners were proficient in Han language. Only the leader could barely communicate. However, due to timidity and pain, he was still unable to answer cross-examination.

The interrogation of the prisoners was left to Li Dao, and Li Tai walked towards the villagers who had been tortured into human form. Seeing that those people were lucky to survive the disaster, they looked at himself and others with fear.

"Are you all from that village in Xiawubi?"

Seeing the villagers nodding in acquiescence, Li Tai added: "The bandit Hu has not been completely wiped out. There are still a few people who have escaped, which may attract their companions back, and the area is no longer safe. Our unit still needs to continue to hunt down the bandit Hu, and we have no time to pay attention. Wait. Do you know where I can find refuge?"

The villagers did not dare to answer hastily, and after a while, a relatively tall villager stepped out, walked up to Li Tai, and knelt down: "Thank you general for the rescue, but the villagers only want privacy to guard against thieves. Even if If there are any villages or towns, outsiders cannot know..."

Seeing the fearful and evasive looks in the villagers' eyes, Li Tai guessed that this answer may not be true. Perhaps these villagers were afraid of causing trouble to their neighbors and did not dare to tell the truth.

He did not pursue the matter further, but simply said: "Our troops will not stay here for a long time. The villagers like you may hide nearby or surrender elsewhere."

After saying this, he ordered people to sort out the dozens of Jihu horses that had been collected on the battlefield, although they were injured but could still be used reluctantly. He also returned the trophies that Jihu had left here to them, and then stopped. Pay attention.

"Master Lang, this band of thieves is the Heishuihu tribe. The leader's surname is Hao. According to what he said, he was ordered by Commander Qu to go west to contact the Diaoyinhu tribe in Luoxi, hoping that Diaoyinhu can use his troops. Let’s work together.”

Li Dao stepped forward and reported to Li Tai in a low voice the information obtained from the interrogation: "According to the leader, Liu Ping's Fuzi Liu Zhenqiang, who had fled across the river to the east, was harassed by Shilouhu in Xihe River and had no choice but to sneak back. He returned to Dongxia Prefecture this summer and has been instigating riots, hoping to regain his support in Shangjun. "

"Liu Zhenqiang? Is he very powerful?"

Li Tai frowned and asked after hearing this.

"Liu Pingfu was originally the chief of Shangjun. When he was at his peak, he had tens of thousands of people and controlled more than ten thousand people. However, after he was suppressed in the seventh year of Datong, many of his troops were scattered. After moving from east to west, how much power is still left? It’s hard to judge.”

After Li Dao heard this, he shook his head and said: "But his clan has been strong in this territory for generations, and the remaining power in this territory still exists. Many of the fleeing tribes were also accepted by the nearby Hu chiefs. If they can be reunited, the power should not be tolerated. underestimated.”

Although Jihu's internal organization is not high, it still has a basic ethical order. Liu Pingfu was able to be named the governor of a state by the Western Wei Dynasty before, and the rebellion caused the Western Wei Dynasty to exert such great counter-insurgency efforts, which shows that Liu Pingfu is powerful.

A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. After Li Tai pondered for a while, he also felt that he should not be greedy for success. There were only five or six hundred people in his group, and it was really not easy to be unscrupulous.

So he raised his hand and summoned his subordinate officer Lu Yan, told him the information he had just learned, and ordered: "I will give you ten subordinates to report the military situation here immediately, and inform some of the envoys in North China to organize the army to prepare for danger. Incorporated into the Daxingtai, I will continue to conduct investigations in the country, and the date of return has not yet been determined. "

Lu Yan was a little unhappy after hearing this. He had just killed a Jihu soldier in pursuit. He was so excited that he shook his head and said: "You can still fight in a humble position. It is better to repatriate the wounded..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw Li Tai's eyes widen, and he quickly lowered his head and responded with some grievance.

At this time, the strong man from the country also came up, took a hateful look at the Jihu prisoners lying on the ground and wailed, then knelt down to Li Tai and sobbed: "These thieves are killing my fellow villagers and destroying my home. I implore the general to send them to the villagers for revenge..."

"Lend them some knives."

Li Tai gave a casual order, and then ordered that the leader of the Jihu and the two less injured Hu soldiers be taken aside to serve as guides for the follow-up operations. It was useless to leave the others behind.

Seeing Li Tai agree, the remaining villagers didn't even have time to pick up the knives, and rushed directly to the murderers to bite and vent their anger. The scene suddenly became extremely bloody, and even Li Tai, who was killing people without batting an eye just now, turned around. Don't look at your head.

Soon, all the Jihu soldiers died tragically on the spot. Although they received their due retribution, the villagers they killed and the manor they burned could never be restored to their original state.

After the hatred in their hearts was vented, the villagers wailed towards their homes with blood and tears on their faces.

The strong countryman who negotiated with Li Tai came back, knelt down in front of Li Tai again and kowtowed heavily: "General, I have been so kind to you. I have nothing to repay you. I only have this life left. I beg the general to take it in. As long as As long as I have one breath, I will serve the general!"

Li Tai thought for a while and then asked: "Are you familiar with the terrain near Kulichuan?"

"The country slave used to join the army to guard the river. After the country regiment was defeated, he went to the countryside to hide. His wife and children died in the previous disaster. The remaining life is not only to serve and repay his kindness, but also to kill Hu and avenge him. He will serve as the general's lackeys' eyes and ears, and clear out the den of thieves! "

Li Taiben thought that this strong man's speech and demeanor were not like those of ordinary villagers. After asking carefully, he found out that he had served as a garrison leader in this area as early as the early years of the reign of Emperor Tatong. It was only because of Heishui Hu's several disturbances that he wiped out the power of the nearby township regiment. , and then returned to his hometown, but in the end he still could not escape the disaster.

"Give him a bow and sword."

Li Tai really needed someone familiar with the local conditions and terrain, so he took in this country scholar named Lu Chuan.

Lu Chuan took the bow and sword and practiced for a while in front of Li Tai. His skills and methods were impressive, even among Li Tai's games he was ranked in the middle of the pack. Considering that he was in trouble during the new period and was tortured by Ji Hu for a long time, his condition is not at its peak. If he can be nursed back to health, he will definitely be a brave soldier!

After a battle, although it was not fierce, the strength of the men and horses was exhausted. Zhu Jihu's body was thrown in the wild, and Li Tai led his troops to move.

After this battle, in addition to rescuing the villagers, nearly seventy horses were confiscated. Although most of them were in poor condition, it was still a good start.

The surviving villagers took the donated horses and returned belongings and threw themselves elsewhere. Li Tai led his troops to escort them for a few miles, and asked people to clean up the traces of their journey. Then he led the troops to turn north and pass through a patch of reeds. When night falls, choose a nearby sheltered camp to camp out.

Early the next morning, Lu Chuan, with bloodshot eyes, handed Li Tai a rough-looking but clearly drawn sketch, which marked some of the nearby beard positions in his memory.

Although the Jihu tribe often migrates and is nomadic, they are also dependent on the geographical environment to a certain extent. Even if the sketch provided by Lu Chuan is not in line with the current Hu situation, it is better than Li Tai and his group running around like headless flies. Be good.

He was in a hurry to kill Hu and seize the horse. After getting the preliminary guidance, and as the strength of the men and horses recovered, Li Tai immediately ordered to find another target.