Chapter 162: Cleaning up the smelly smell
Everything becomes familiar twice, and there is still unrest in the castle. Li Tai's tribe has figured out the most important elements in the chaos.
"Damn, what a loss!"
Li Tai looked at the huge horse farm, but there were only four to five hundred horses in the stables, and he cursed bitterly.
He thought he would finally get a big bite of fat meat this time, which would make it sizzling and oily when he chewed it, but he didn't expect that the most important thing about the horse was only this little bit.
This situation was not unforeseen. King Hao Ren brought out two to three thousand Hu soldiers and cavalry. Together with the ones in the stables, they were considered to be in line with the standards of a large tribe.
It's just that Li Tai's expectations were too high and he still had illusions, but reality still slapped him in the face. King Hao Ren was just like that, and the character's savings did not exceed the normal standard.
"Hurry up and gather the scattered horses in the city!"
Li Tai was too generous when he was attacking the city just now, and now Li Tai was like the kind of person who burned money and lit cigarettes only to find that he had no money in his pocket to take the bus home.
Now the horses to them are not just as simple as the grand parade mission, but also related to whether they can survive and successfully escape from this situation.
He was a very empathetic person, and he felt that if he were King Hao Ren, he would never let them off easily. Without enough horses, running would be difficult.
Next to the horse farm, there is another fence. In addition to many cattle and sheep, there are Han and Hu slaves imprisoned in the city.
With such a small number of people, it was not easy for Li Tai to completely control such a large city. He immediately ordered people to split the fences and release the slaves, allowing them to pick up weapons and sticks and fight for their lives.
These slaves were more familiar with the layout of the castle. Soon after Chad was freed, some people volunteered to lead Li Tai and others to attack the key points of the warehouse.
King Hao Ren's troops were not exhausted. There were still five to six hundred Hu soldiers left in the city. In addition to the city gate, the largest number were left near the warehouse. Coupled with the Hu soldiers who had gathered, in this narrow space, A population of two to three thousand people gathered.
At this time, scouts from the rear also entered the city to report. King Hao Ren's troops were quickly returning for reinforcements and would arrive in half an hour at the latest.
Seeing the crowds of people ahead and seeing the sparse population of a hundred or so slaves following them, Li Tai sighed secretly in his heart.
The slave population just released is at least a thousand people. If these people can obey the command, Li Tai still has the confidence to defend them, and even wait until some Hui from Beihua Prefecture comes to help.
However, these slaves were frightened at first. There were still so many Hu tribes in the city who were making trouble and resisting. If they stayed, they would be trapped in a desperate situation.
The situation was critical and he could not think about it any longer, so he simply ordered: "Burn!"
Large jars of ointment were thrown into the crowded barbarians and splashed all over the floor. Rockets were also fired into the crowd, and the flames suddenly burst into flames.
This scene cannot be said to be beautiful, but Li Tai does not think it is cruel. Even if these wild beasts are recalcitrant and have troubled this village for a long time, they will be burned completely, which will not be enough to compensate for the accumulated blood debt.
The fire spread, the barbarians gathered here fled in all directions, and the whole castle became more chaotic. In order to further deplete the vitality of the Hu tribe, Li Tai ordered the fleeing Hu tribe to be driven to the Kuli River on the south side of the castle.
The sound of Hu Riders running could be vaguely heard on the top of the city. After giving up collecting the storage materials, everyone in the city just let go of their hands and feet to collect some scattered light and important materials, and hurried to evacuate the castle before the arrival of the large group of Hu Riders. From the east side The city gate goes around to the north.
"How is it possible? How is it possible..."
When King Hao Ren, who was running, saw the blazing fire of the castle ahead, his eyes widened in shock, his hands and feet were cold, his body suddenly stiffened, and he almost fell off the horse.
The guard hurriedly came forward to help him. King Hao Ren grabbed the guard's wrist and said in a trembling voice with luck: "It's not that the city is broken, it's not that the city is broken... Our city is strong, how can it be possible for a mere few hundred thieves from the West to be like this?" Break through in a short time..."
The guard also wanted to say a few words of comfort, but his throat seemed to be blocked by a foreign object and he couldn't make a sound. Just looking at the ferocity of the fire, it couldn't be that the left-behind tribesmen were having a bonfire party.
"It's broken, Liu Zhenqiang...Liu Shanyu is still in the city. If you find him, you must find him! Ask him to report to the Eastern Dynasty, and ask Prime Minister Gao to send troops to send troops to kill! Kill all these Western thieves! Kill all the ferocious ones. Hannu!"
Although he was shocked and grief-stricken, King Hao Ren thought about this and seemed to grasp the last straw. He beat his mount with all his strength and rushed towards his lair.
After Li Tai and others left the castle, they did not escape too far. They only rode ten miles north and stopped at the mouth of a valley that was transparent from north to south. Shili was already exhausted, and as the horse herd grew stronger, it was really inconvenient to travel at night.
Having just committed a great evil, they did not dare to light a fire to cook, so they drank buttermilk drinks collected from the castle, ate dry and hard grain cakes to satisfy their hunger, and took stock of the results of the battle.
Although a strong Hu tribe city was captured in this battle, because the stay was too short, the harvest was only more than 400 horses and more than 30 strong slaves who were willing to accompany them. The material income was not much, and the only thing that could be said was a small two hundred kilograms of gold cakes and gold utensils. There was actually a gold statue of Master Liu in it.
However, Li Tai and others were not without losses. They were injured or broken during the siege, and those who escaped in the city could not be recovered. They lost a total of more than 200 horses. But the most heartbreaking thing was the loss of 60 to 70 people, most of whom died in the battle at Li Yantou.
Although Ci did not control soldiers, Li Tai still couldn't bear to look at the corpses of the soldiers carried on horseback.
He can recognize the facts, have no illusions, and show no mercy to his enemies, but he still feels a sense of guilt for the tribesmen who lost their lives because of his decisions. It is true that the lives of barbarians are also lives, but even animals have the awareness of closeness and distance. After all, life and life are different.
But now was not the time to feel sad and regretful. He just forced himself not to think about it.
"Master Lang, this is the person Yan Tou captured in the city."
Li Dao came forward and handed a bloody head and a jade box to Li Tai: "This animal is none other than Liu Zhenqiang, the son of Liu Pingfu. There are talismans and a confession from the Eastern Dynasty in the box to prove his identity." identity of!"
Li Tai pretended to be Liu Zhenqiang's subordinate several times, but he did not expect that they would meet under such circumstances.
Although holding a bloody human head on this cold night in the wilderness was a bit overwhelming, Li Tai couldn't help but leaned over and took a closer look. He didn't see anything strange or special, so he took a brief look at the talisman. keep it.
Li Dao saw that Li Tai was not too concerned, so he explained: "The thief is cunning, Master Lang should have seen it. Even ordinary thieves are not easy to hunt down in the plains. If you want to capture the leader of the thieves, it will be even more difficult." Difficulty. Therefore, the imperial court did not count the beheading of the thief chiefs. In the past years, all the troops came out, but many of the thief chiefs escaped, so our troops were able to capture and kill Liu Zhenqiang, and there was an order from the East Thieves. As a result, it is already a rare achievement in the north!"
It's not that Li Tai doesn't take it seriously, he's just in a bad mood. After hearing this, he couldn't help but lament that the rampant violence in the north was probably related to the imperial court's attitude towards rewards.
For the Western Wei Dynasty, the first priority was survival, followed by fighting with the Eastern Wei Dynasty. The importance of this area in northern Shaanxi was much lower, and the attitude of the border towns was not positive enough.
For example, in the previous attack by Shuhui, although the results were rich, it was not said that he received any substantial rewards. It should be because he did not capture and kill any famous Hu chieftain.
"From this point of view, Liu Shanyu deserves to be taken seriously."
Li Tai asked for a piece of linen cloth, wiped off the blood on the face of the head, wrapped it up layer by layer, and threw it to Li Yantou, who was lying on the ground groaning with a knife in his back. He laughed and cursed: "Foolish people have stupid blessings. , you kid is going to make a difference!"
"Where can I go? I'm not as scheming as Qu Ji. As long as I follow Alang in and out, I feel at ease!"
Li Yan said a few silly words with his head, and took a few breaths of cold air due to the touch of the wound.
That night, King Hao Ren was probably busy cleaning up the mess in his lair and did not lead his troops to catch up. Li Tai and others also took a rare breath and regained their strength.
At dawn, he and his men dug a hole in a remote place in the wilderness and buried all those who died in the battle with his own hands. He murmured to himself: "The glory and splendor are not shared, and the bones are buried in a foreign land. I owe you. Let's keep this for now. , I will return to Honor Burial in the future. You heroes are not far away, so watch as I continue to sweep away the evil spirits in this area!"
After doing these things, the group continued on their way.
Because the accidental killing of Liu Zhenqiang in King Hao Ren's lair can be regarded as eliminating a possible military disaster caused by Hu Su, which can make up for their lack of horse preparation for the general parade of the Water Administration Department, and they can take a detour to return.
But Li Tai felt that things had to start and end, and there was still plenty of time. It took a lot of time to get here, but he was in no hurry to return.
In the past, they were making nonsense, and some Hu soldiers were half-doubtful about their identities. Now, they have obtained the seal of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, which conferred Liu Zhenqiang as the governor of Xiazhou and the leader of the people. With the news that he is dead, of course he has to do something else to see if this tiger skin works well.
After several successful attacks, everyone was in a wild mood now. After hearing Li Tai's plan, they were all very happy.
So they then walked straight into the wilderness, and the scouts spread out to look for traces of the Hu tribe. Soon they located another Hu tribe in the north, with a size of more than 2,000 people. When he saw the Liu Zhenqiang seal token displayed by Li Dao, he was convinced and entertained him with wine and food.
The more respectful these people were, the more Li Tai felt that their prospects in the Western Wei Dynasty were really worrying, so after eating and drinking in the tribe, he asked the chief to gather all the strong men in the tribe to see if they were qualified to join him. matter.
A few hours later, King Hao Ren, with bloodshot eyes and a haggard and ferocious face, finally led his troops to catch up to this area. He saw that the tribe was in a mess inside and outside, with cattle and sheep running around, and a pile of corpses of barbarians in the center of the tribe. There was also a sheepskin placed on the pile of corpses, with the words "Murderer Liu Zhenqiang" written in blood on the sheepskin.
"The dog thieves are rampant, damn it, damn it! I will kill them!"
After being informed of the content of the blood letter by his subordinates, King Hao Ren felt a rush of blood rushing to his head. His figure was shaking and his teeth were bitten to pieces. He clenched his fists and roared angrily: "Tell all the subordinates that Liu Shanyu has already I was killed by the Western bandits. If the tribesmen are afraid that they will not be able to protect themselves when the Eastern army comes, they will follow me to surround and kill the murderers and avenge Liu Shanyu!"