Chapter 286: Suspicion of the traitor

Chapter 286: Suspicion of the traitor

In the valley, the fighting continues.

In the cold weather, long-term outdoor activities make the limbs of people and horses become numb, so their movements appear a bit comical and exaggerated, and the fighting force is light or heavy, so that the bloody and brutal fighting actually seems a bit unrealistic.

Roar……

A barbarian soldier roared loudly, and with the sword in his hand, he cut a long gash in the back of his opponent's horse, and all kinds of blood and viscera suddenly sprayed out.

The horse whined and stumbled to the ground, seeing that it was dead. The knight on horseback had one leg pinned to the ground by the injured horse. He struggled to pull the leg out, but it was in vain.

"Pity……"

Hu Zu sighed secretly in his heart. His sword was originally intended to pierce his opponent's ribs, but because of the force, it fell on the horse, so he had to waste his energy and make another stab.

Seeing that his opponent was still struggling in vain, slapping the horse corpse on the ground, the soldier smiled ferociously, raised his sword and galloped forward, thinking in his heart that as long as he killed the opponent in front of him again, he would become a member of the team. The person who kills and beheads the most enemies.

Commander Qu had promised before that after Guangwu City was conquered, he would reward the warriors with the most merit, and let the tribal warriors enter the city in order of merit. Those with the greatest merit would enter first, and they would naturally be able to loot as much as they wanted and pick the most and the best. The spoils of war!

First grab a few jars of ointment and smear it on your chapped hands and face to moisturize it. They also had to catch a few horned rams and slaughter them to worship Aye who died of starvation on the way. Replace it with a long knife, and it's best to grab a big spear! If you want to wear leather armor, of course it’s best to wear iron armor...

And women, that’s the most important thing!

This thought suddenly appeared in his mind, Hu Zu couldn't help but licked the corners of his chapped lips, and his whole body became more energetic.

Although he had a beard all over his face, he was still just an unmarried young man. He had already agreed on a marriage within the clan and was planning to get married at the beginning of the year. As a result, his entire family moved away and both his wife and mother died on the way. He did not know who his fiancée was. Life or death, in short, this young Hu Zu still lacks a lot of experience in life.

Boom!

A loud noise seemed to explode in his ears, but it seemed to be an auditory hallucination. Hu Zu felt his head suddenly trembling and dizzy, and the sand and gravel on the ground were getting closer and closer to him. It was not that sand and gravel were flying, but that the soldier was hit hard on the back of the head by the enemy, and his body leaned forward uncontrollably and fell off his horse.

"die!"

The Hu soldier hit the ground heavily, his head and face were punctured by sharp and rough gravel, and he struggled and jumped up with blood on his face. He roared like a fierce ghost in a Han language that he knew little about, and tried to open his eyes wide. Look around for the enemy to knock him down.

However, before the enemy figure could be seen, his back was hit hard again. Hu Zu leaned forward and was about to fall down, but his half-leaning body was hanging in the air.

His muddled thoughts were confused about the situation. He lowered his head and saw a blade protruding from his chest. The blood in his body seemed to be frozen at this moment. The Hu Zu closed his eyes subconsciously, as if he couldn't see anything. real.

However, when he just closed his eyes, his body suddenly trembled again, and the chest blade that penetrated his chest and was stuck on his sternum suddenly shortened by half. Immediately, Hu Zu felt a burning sensation like charcoal fire coming from his chest, and raised his head With bloody hands, he held on to the Feng Feng tightly while whimpering and roaring: "No, don't..."

But the sword was finally pulled out, and Hu Zu's body was thrown to the ground like a ball of rotten meat. Blood gushed out from his chest like spring water, but it quickly solidified under the cold wind. Hu Zu's eyes quickly He was dim and absent-minded, but there was still a bit of a weird smile on his face. Perhaps the hallucination on his deathbed sent him to Guangwu City to break up, and his consciousness was forever stuck in the joyful activities of looting.

"Grand Governor, most of the thieves nearby were killed, but there were still a few who fled too fast and could not be intercepted."

The soldier whose armor was covered in blood rode his horse back to the valley to report. After hearing this, Li Tai nodded and didn't care about the few Hu soldiers who escaped.

Those few soldiers could not get a full view of his army, and they were so frightened that they fled back. All they could convey back was panic, but no valuable information.

"Collect the corpses of the Hu soldiers and horses, return the dead and injured horses to the camp for a meal, and keep the rest for use. As for the corpses of the Hu soldiers, we will build a Jingguan on the top of the plateau."

Li Tai ordered the soldiers to clean up the battlefield quickly. After a brief pause, he then ordered: "Return to the camp and mobilize five hundred light cavalry, and distribute them near the pass on the left. Each one will make fake stoves and light fires to confuse the enemy. If they encounter the enemy, they will alert and gather the crowd to kill them!"

Soldiers never tire of deceit, so since they intend to confuse and intimidate the enemy, of course they have to do it in full.

After receiving the order, the soldiers went about their own work and quickly cleaned up the battlefield. This wave of contact killed more than 200 Hu soldiers, all of whom were elite soldiers who could serve as scouts and ears.

If it were in an open wilderness area or a geographical environment familiar to the bandits, it would be difficult to achieve such results. After all, these scouts can escape if they can't be beaten, and they won't stupidly throw themselves into a trap and be slaughtered.

However, Li Tai was still a little unhappy. The Jingguan built with more than 200 corpses was really inconspicuous. When placed on the plateau, it looked like an ordinary little bag of dirt from a distance. It has the effect of shocking and attracting hatred.

"We still have to keep killing!"

Although Li Tai was not cruel by nature, he would never have the slightest pity for these intruding thieves. He climbed onto the mount brought by his own soldiers, went back to the camp to have a meal and rest, and then regained his energy before engaging in further activities. There was no movement, and they continued to trap and kill the thieves.

Li Tai was still complaining that the 200-plus heads of the imperial palace were not eye-catching enough, but the rebel camp was shocked by the huge losses of more than 200 scouts who were almost completely wiped out. Those few who were lucky enough to escape As soon as the scouts arrived outside the camp, they were summoned into the tent by the generals who were anxiously waiting for information.

"The enemy army is too powerful, covering the mountains and plains... Although there are not many soldiers, they are ferocious..."

The few scouts who had narrowly escaped death were already in shock. When faced with the interrogation of many important figures from the tribes in the big tent, they couldn't help but feel even more frightened. They subconsciously exaggerated the enemy's strength in order to reduce their own culpability. Such lies are self-contradictory and inconsistent, making the listener even more confused.

"Come here, drag these cowardly idiots out and chop them down!"

Many powerful chiefs in this big tent come from different disadvantages and have different personalities. After hearing the messy reports from the scouts, even the impatient and cruel Chief Hu shouted impatiently.

However, the tribal leaders to whom these scouts belonged were unwilling to let their soldiers be killed again, so the tent suddenly became noisy and the scene became even more chaotic.

"Shut up, everyone!"

Just as the quarrel among the Hu chiefs became more and more intense, a burly Hu chief above the tent beat the table and shouted angrily. Seeing that everyone was still unhappy, the Hu chief snorted coldly: " I have been ordered by King Zuo Xian to lead the southern expedition. If anyone resists my order again and roars into the tent, I will kill him first to establish his authority!"

As he spoke, he directly drew his sword and slashed it on the case. Everyone saw that his expression did not seem to be hypocritical, and then they all calmed down and did not dare to quarrel anymore.

After frightening everyone in the tent, the Hu chief turned to the person on the left and said in a deep voice: "Cao Wanqi, you have clearly said before that only the three cities of Guangwu in Dongxia Prefecture are considered worthy. It's impressive. As long as Guangwu City is conquered, the vast territory of the state can be freely roamed. Now that the Guangwu defenders are besieged in the city, why are there so many people outside the city? "

Most of the Jihu tribe are descendants of the Xiongnu, so these Hu chiefs often use the old name of the Xiongnu to show their majesty. The named Cao Wanqi stood up quickly and said: "Liu Duhou, please be patient. The Western Army is stationed in Beizhou, and there are indeed only officers and soldiers from Guangwu Town in Dongxia Prefecture. As for the beacon smoke outside the city, , the truth still needs to be carefully investigated..."

"How else to investigate carefully? More than two hundred scouts rarely survive, so we know that the enemy army is huge! It is obviously your Shuofang Department's intelligence that was wrong, which led my tens of thousands of troops to this situation and was in a dilemma..."

After hearing what Chief Hu named Cao said, another Chief Hu couldn't help but said angrily.

After his companion finished scolding him, Marquis Liu Du looked at Cao Wanqi and said, "The enemy situation outside the city must be thoroughly investigated, but Guangwu City cannot be besieged for a long time. The small city to the east is by Your army is responsible. I will give you three more days. If you still cannot capture it after three days, then there is no need to attack Guangwu City anymore. I will lead my troops back north!"

When Cao Wanqi heard this, he looked a little anxious, and couldn't help but said: "The army has already arrived here, how can we retreat easily! Since you and other troops have crossed the river, all the consumption has been borne by our troops. , we must not return without success! What's more, if we don't capture Guangwu City and loot Dongxia Prefecture, do you think your tribe can survive until they return to Hedong?"

These words were quite threatening. After hearing this, all the Lishi Hu chiefs in the tent, starting from Liu Duhou, all became angry. One of the Hu chiefs couldn't help but said angrily: "With you Shuofang tribes To supply cattle and sheep, don’t talk about returning to Lishi, you can go further!”

Seeing that the atmosphere was about to turn bad again, Liu Duhou spoke again: "The tribes in Shuofang are willing to accept our tribes to pass through the border to rest, which is considered righteous. Therefore, we also sweep away the hostile forces in the territory for you. This is a double benefit. The alliance, not to mention that King Zuo Xian will let you participate in the trade routes in Monan in the coming year.

Our tribes are indeed in poverty right now, but we will never let others deceive or bully you. Don’t think that our warriors can be used as you please. If you want to be strong, you still need to work hard on your own! "

"Don't worry, Marquis Liu Du, I will immediately arrange for troops to continue attacking the small city. But the troops outside the city..."

Cao Wanqi didn't want to make the relationship between them too tense, so he spoke in a slower tone.

After hearing this, Marquis Liu Du pondered briefly and said: "We still don't know the actual strength of the people on this road, but since we are close, we must fight. But Guangwu City has not been conquered, and it is difficult for our army to move to him. Use it. The other side doesn’t dare to fight directly. I don’t think it’s strong. Let’s scout and guard first. I’ll prepare an army and conquer Guangwu City first!”