Chapter 159: Fighting for profit

Chapter 159: Fighting for profit

The terrain of Woxiong Ridge is already much higher than the surrounding plains, and last night the flames soared into the sky, clearly visible even from ten miles away.

Although the weather has turned cold now, we can basically rule out the possibility of the Hu people on the plateau setting fire to the mountains and forests to keep warm. Therefore, since last night, there have been many nearby Hu people taking a closer look.

But because the incident happened so suddenly, these people did not dare to get too close, especially the sound of fighting that could be heard vaguely in the night wind, which made people tremble with fear.

At dawn, figures of men and horses descended from the Peiyuan. Some of Jihu's ears and eyes who were too close were spotted and chased by the soldiers who had descended to the plateau in advance. For those who were hiding further away, it was difficult to tell the details, but it was also certain that the stronghold on the plateau had been raided.

Although this kind of situation is not common, it is not unusual at all. The reason why the Hu tribe on the plateau was swept away and killed is just because of their bad luck and lack of caution, which does not make people feel so cold.

In the early morning, a large group of people and horses came down from the plateau and disappeared in the ditch. The surrounding eyes and ears should have been following and investigating, but the cattle and horses that were driven down to the plateau, carrying materials, attracted the attention of these ears and eyes.

"There shouldn't be many murderers on this road, nor are they nearby forces. They can't carry too much supplies, so they abandoned them on the spot..."

Those detectives quickly came to this conclusion, and while trying to carefully collect the cattle and sheep supplies, they sent people back to report the news.

Soon, more and more Hu tribes gathered here. There were more than ten tribes of Hu tribes, large and small. They were extremely jealous looking at the cattle and sheep wandering in the valley, but they were worried that the enemy was not far away, and they were still there. I didn't dare to openly snatch and possess it.

This situation lasted until noon, when another group of hundreds of Jihu warriors came on horseback, led by Qu Shuai, a powerful Hu chief nearby. Because his territory was far away, he arrived late.

After the commander arrived at the scene, after asking about the situation, he loudly said: "Hao Balang used to be my guard. Now that his troops are in trouble, I will definitely avenge him!"

Although he spoke of being ferocious, he did not order his subordinates to pursue the enemy, but ordered the cattle and sheep in the ravine to be gathered together. It didn't matter whether he wanted to take revenge or not. The first priority was to collect the inheritance.

"Isn't it inappropriate for Duhou to do this? After all, it was us pioneers who scared off the thieves. Duhou is already a latecomer, and we haven't visited the plateau yet!"

After looking at the cattle and sheep supplies for a long time, how could they be willing to let others pick them up? Seeing the newcomers like this, several leaders who had arrived earlier spoke up to stop them.

Jihu mostly has the remnant lineage of the Xiongnu, and its internal Qushuai names also have many old Xiongnu customs.

Most of their chiefs often call themselves Chanyu, or King Zuoxian, while the small and large Qu commanders are called the commander of Wanqi and the commander of Qianqi. No one recognizes them anyway. They name themselves according to the scale of their respective forces. The title of Duhou is also based on the Huns. It is a modified honorific title for Duhou, but it has little meaning in itself.

Rebellious Hu chiefs such as Liu Lisheng, who claimed to be emperor, were relatively unconventional. Most Hu chieftains were still accustomed to looking for sources of authority from their clan origins.

The tribes do not have jurisdiction over each other. If there is any subordination relationship, it is that the weak often lead their tribes to serve as the bodyguards of the strong and carry out activities such as hunting and plundering.

Chief Hu felt a little embarrassed when he heard these voices of resistance and questioning. He held up his knife and roared: "This tribe is my old subordinate. If you don't save me when you see danger, you have offended me! The thief is hard to find. I will avenge this tribe." , kill you first!"

The atmosphere became a bit tense for a moment, and at this time, there was the sound of majestic horse hooves coming from the north. Listening to the sound, you can tell that there are many people and horses.

"Could it be that those thieves have returned?"

Hearing this shout, the expressions of everyone present changed. No matter those who arrived first or those who arrived later, they didn't know much about the actual situation of the enemy attacking this place, but if they could kill this enemy without leaving any trace behind, they must have a lot of troops.

The sudden movement of people and horses relaxed the atmosphere. Chief Hu, who arrived later, thought for a moment and then ordered: "Go and see who is coming!"

Li Tai led his troops back and rested for more than an hour before arriving here again. The scouts also discovered various tribes of Hu people stationed in the valley. Although there were not many of them individually, if they gathered together, the number would exceed They were nearly twice as many, with more than two thousand troops.

In other words, there are more than two thousand horses in this area. If they can eat them all, the main task of this trip will be overfulfilled. Of course, the premise is that they can eat them all.

A small team of barbarians rode up to meet them, shouting and questioning them from a distance. They did not flee or fight directly. It seemed that with more people, these barbarians became bolder.

Li Tai thought for a while, then raised his hand to call Li Dao and said, "Tell them that we are Liu Zhenqiang's subordinates, and we are here to investigate the killing of Hu Sao bandits by the army!"

"Is this okay?"

After hearing this order, Li Dao suddenly looked stunned and was a little unable to turn around.

"If we try this, we can also find out how deep Liu Zhenqiang's collusion is with the Hu people here."

Li Tai said with a smile that their group did not belong to the official establishment of the Western Wei army. Although the military robes were relatively well-armed, their identities could not be known at a glance. The armor from previous battles has also been removed and put away, and there is no obvious mark.

During the battle of Shayuan between Wei and Wei, Da Xiwu even rushed into the enemy camp to inquire for information. Jihu's troops are in disarray and do not even have a specific and unified military number system, so it should be easier to fool them.

Li Dao was still dubious, but he still shouted in nonsense words to answer. Although the other party was not convinced, he just ordered them not to move forward, and then turned back to report.

Not long after, a Hu chief actually led his troops to report what happened.

Li Tai then ordered Li Dao to respond in a decent manner, and ordered the Hu chiefs to lead their troops to the plateau. He and his party stayed where they were, and caught a few sheep nearby to have an open-air barbecue.

This attitude of taking things as they come and being confident was more convincing than the previous one-sided remarks. Those Hu chiefs actually believed Li Tai's lies and began to lead their troops to the plateau one after another.

Of course, they did not completely relax their vigilance. They still left hundreds of cavalry in the valley on the left to keep them in check to prevent them from making any changes.

This situation also shows that the Liu Pingfu family still enjoys a lot of prestige and appeal among Jihu, but they cannot directly control and command these Hu tribes, and the relationship between them is not close enough. They don't even know about Liu Pingfu. What is the military strength of the Qiang tribe?

Under this rather strange situation, Li Tai and others rested peacefully on the barbecue on the north side of Piyuan, while the Hu chiefs began to investigate and search for the enemies who were causing massacres here.

Several roasted whole lambs were quickly devoured. Seeing that Ji Hu on the other side gradually relaxed his vigilance, Li Tai sent a dozen people around the plain from time to time, as if searching carefully.

At this time, there were sounds of fighting and swearing on the plateau. Li Tai signaled Li Dao to lead dozens of subordinates to the plateau for inspection. Soon he reported that there was a dispute over uneven distribution of the spoils on the plateau.

There was a fierce battle last night, and Li Tai and others did not stay long. The cattle and sheep could be dispersed, but a lot of supplies were still left behind. These Hu tribes were poor and evil, and the geese had plucked their hair, so they left on the plateau. When you start searching online, you will naturally feel resentful that you have more and I have less.

The Hu soldiers who stayed behind on the plateau couldn't hold back after seeing this, and gradually climbed onto the plateau in batches. But then more Hu soldiers arrived one after another, and the Hu soldiers gathered nearby were about to break through three thousand.

"This situation is a bit uncontrollable!"

Li Tai sighed secretly in his heart. Seeing a team of 100 Hu people transporting supplies on horseback and horseback, attracting the envy and onlookers of some latecomers, he directly ordered: "Attract those Hu people." Come here and ask Liu Zhenqiang to distribute the spoils to them!"

Li was a little distracted at this moment. It was the first time he discovered that he could still play like this. He did not question Li Tai's orders and directly led a hundred people forward to intimidate these Hu people.

"We are not Liu Shanyu's subordinates, so we don't have to obey orders!"

After hearing this, the barbarians were naturally unhappy and stared and shouted.

"The dog slave is brave! Even Hao Wanqi has to obey my lord's orders, let alone slaves like you!"

Hearing this, Li Dao looked furious and whipped him with a sense of empathy. He pulled the man's clothes closer and scolded: "Idiot, the captain is trying to rescue you! Later, those thieves will tell you what to do first." First come first served? My captain is intimidating them, so they don't dare to do anything. Afterwards, you all go back to your place, just remember Shan Yu Enyi."

The Hu soldier was shocked and suspicious, but seeing that Zuo Yuan's eyes were indeed evil, he had no time to distinguish whether Li Dao's threats and inducements were true or false, so he obeyed and followed him to the north of Piyuan.

Li Tai was overjoyed when he saw the result, and when the group of barbarians approached, he immediately ordered them all to be captured.

This move naturally attracted the attention of the people around him, so he used Li Dao's human trumpet to shout to everyone: "You and other tribes who came here to rescue the crisis are all full of loyalty, how can you get nothing because you are lagging behind others because of the long distance! Liu! Shan Yu’s fair ruling, everyone has a share, everyone can take it!”

The newcomers were originally doubtful about the origins of their party, but after hearing Li Dao's words, they all clapped and cheered. After their respective people were sent in to collect supplies, their support was even more palpable.

Chief Hu, who was still fighting on the plain, was naturally very upset when he learned that his subordinates had been robbed. He did not bother to collect any more supplies, and directly led the rest of the people to go down to the plain to snatch them back.

But as soon as they got off the plain, the other Hu people on the plain swarmed up and took the leader and the rest of them into custody before Li Tai and others.

When Li Tai saw this, he couldn't help but exclaimed that there are many good people who can help. Ji Huli also has good comrades and the value of united front, so he became more enthusiastic to speak fair words. As long as I, "Liu Duwei" are here, today's bed will be over. There is no place for injustice in Xiong Ling!

But it was so difficult to achieve justice. Soon the Hu chiefs who had reached the plateau first gathered their troops and went down to the plateau to confront each other aggressively.

Li Tai gave the order to kill the hundred and ten Hu soldiers who had just been captured. Li Dao also shouted in Ji Hu language: "In the old days, Liu Shanyu gave orders to powerful men. Do not dare to disobey! Anyone who disobeys the order will suffer the same consequences." Class. Dismount and form a formation. If these greedy soldiers don’t hand over the materials, they will not be allowed to leave!”

"Chanyu! Chanyu!"

This name alone made the people down the slope obsessed with it, not to mention that it was related to their own interests. These barbarians also dismounted their horses noisily and marched forward to block the intersection, preventing the soldiers on the slope from walking down.

Although the troops on the slope were superior, there was an armed force down the slope that was eager for justice. Li Tai enthusiastically led the troops forward to suppress the formation, led the horses of the Hu soldiers down the slope aside, and cleared a battlefield.

As the two sides faced off like this, the smell of gunpowder became stronger and stronger, and the trend gradually escalated from verbal abuse to physical conflict.

Li Tai and others took away hundreds of mounts, and then ordered their subordinates to put on armor and prepare for battle.

However, at this time, another group of dozens of strong and powerful Hu soldiers entered the ravine. They shouted loudly before entering: "Hao Wanqi is approaching with his troops. Come and greet him as soon as possible!"

Li Tai didn't understand Ji's nonsense. After listening to Li Dao's explanation, he secretly thought that something was wrong. There were so many people here and they were so bloody. Naturally, they attracted the attention of the Hu soldiers who were delivering the order. When the other Hu soldiers When he informed them of their identities, the Hu soldiers' commander's face suddenly changed: "Nonsense, Liu Shanyu is basically..."

An arrow was fired towards the enemy, blocking the Hu soldiers' shouting. Li Tai led his troops forward and shot randomly at the Hu soldiers who were still confused about the situation. Then he hit his horse and fled north. We can't run away anymore, the big boss of the damn Jihu is coming!