Chapter 773 Accident and Inevitability
The vast mountains are extremely silent, as primitive as if no one has lived there for millions of years.
Liu Ming looked up and saw that the mountains on both sides were rolling and undulating.
The vegetation on the mountain is lush and green, and the forest is deep and dark.
Amidst the mountains, the Fen River flows quietly, all the way to the south.
The riverside is full of wild flowers, the pastures are growing taller and taller, and it is full of vitality.
A tiger came down from the mountain forest and stared at the group of people here from a distance.
Liu Ming put down the slender and pointed armor-piercing arrow in his hand and replaced it with a relatively flat long arrow. He placed it on the bowstring and pointed it at the tiger from a distance.
The tiger stopped, his eyes unclear.
Liu Ming has two followers beside him, with walking bows hanging on their waists and iron spears in their hands. At this moment, his body is slightly tight, making a fighting posture.
There was another person behind them, softly calming the restless horses.
The horse was very scared and its hooves were a little soft, but it did not dare to neigh, as if it was afraid of being discovered by the tiger.
The air was deathly silent.
After a long confrontation between four people and one tiger, the tiger slowly retreated and disappeared into the dense forest.
“This tiger has eaten people before.” Liu Ming put down his bow and breathed a sigh of relief and said.
"What are you talking about? Why don't you hunt tigers?" The person next to you couldn't help but ask.
"I'm not hunting tigers today, I'm hunting for rope heads." Liu Ming got out of the grass, lay down on the post road, listened carefully, and said, "It looks like there is really a rope head coming."
" Cai Pheasant has been traveling in the mountains for many years. He said he saw Suo Tou herding horses, and it must be true. He will reward him with a few sheep when he returns." The attendant said.
Liu Ming did not answer. Just as he stood up, he frowned, lay down again, and used the method of listening to the ground.
After a while, he stood up and said: "There are not many people coming, just a dozen riders."
"This is the pathfinder from the front." The follower added: "I don't know where the large group of people are, let alone where they got out."
Liu Ming glared at him and said: "Kelan is already mine. Where the Liu family is rooted, I asked you to run around more and become familiar with geography, but you looked lazy."
The attendant lowered his head and did not dare to say anything.
Liu Ming is a member of the Kelan Liu family, a branch of the Liu family of Shangdang. Although his surname is Liu, he was given the same surname by a slave. Can it be the same?
"Xianbei must have defeated Jinyang." Liu Ming said: "If Jinyang is still there by chance, it means that the beauty is gone. They grabbed cattle, sheep and grain, and then marched north to Jingle Come and kill."
"Why isn't the sheep intestine warehouse destroyed?" the follower said in confusion.
"There is no more food in the sheep intestine warehouse." Liu Ming shook his head and said: "We went there last month to transport food, and it was the last batch. They were all sent to King Liang's army."
"Nothing to be done?"
"Nothing to be done, no place to do it." Liu Ming said: "The King of Liang was just here to inspect, and he didn't plan to stay for long. If he stayed in the north for a long time, it would be a disaster. If it doesn’t work, we have to wait until the summer wheat is harvested.”
“The king of Liang is here to patrol, and the king is also here to patrol. If we patrol, there will be a fight...” the entourage muttered.
Liu Ming glared at him and was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed and he said: "Here we come."
As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly ran into the grass on the hillside.
The last person came with a horse.
Liu Ming looked at it and actually had the heart to laugh: "Were you frightened by the tiger? Fortunately, you recovered, don't let your legs weaken for a while."
The followers ignored it After listening to his words, he checked the equipment one last time, then took the reins of the horse and waited with breathless concentration.
The sound of horse hooves is getting closer and closer.
A moment later, more than ten Tuoba Xianbei cavalry appeared in view.
They were not fast and obviously had reservations.
After walking thirty steps forward, the neighing sound of "Xi Lv Lv" was heard, and the two Xianbei cavalry rushing at the front fell to the ground.
The horse lay down on its side in pain, pressing down on the leg of one of them, causing him to scream.
It looked like the legs of both the man and the horse were broken!
“Charge!” Liu Ming got on his horse and rushed down the hillside.
As the horse galloped, he instinctively leaned back, clamped his legs around the horse's belly, and tilted his body slightly. With a "swish" sound, the sharp arrow flew out quickly and directly hit the third Xianbei. Cavalry neck.
The arrow was very fast. After penetrating the neck, it seemed to bring out something, and blood spurted out in a mess.
Two followers also galloped out, both shooting arrows.
One of them missed, and the other shot the enemy's horse.
"Bang! Bang!" The sound of falling to the ground sounded one after another.
Before the Xianbei people could react, four of them fell to the ground and lost their combat effectiveness in a short time.
There was one last person in the grass. He was holding the walking bow that Liu Ming had just used. He fired three arrows in a short period of time, hitting one person and knocking down a horse.
The Xianbei people were furious after being knocked down halfway.
They took out various long and short weapons and rushed over without fear of death.
The three men who fell from their horses and fell to the ground did not seem to be seriously injured. They also drew out the short soldiers they carried with them and rushed over with strange screams.
Liu Ming turned his bow and nailed the fastest runner to the ground.
The two men behind were full of ferocity and ran fast with bow-legged steps. They did not chase Liu Ming, but ran towards the archer in the grass.
The archer raised his hand and fired an arrow, shooting down one person. Then he no longer wanted to fight, gathered the reins of his horse, climbed on top of one, and ran northward. Several other horses neighed and followed behind him, running dozens of steps with their manes flying.
The bow-legged man was so angry that he cut the ground with his knife and cursed loudly.
Liu Ming and his two followers no longer wanted to fight, and turned and left with a whistle.
The Xianbei people carefully avoided horse traps and their own dead and wounded troops. When they picked up their horse speed, only a distant figure of the opponent was left.
They chased for a while and then stopped, which was meaningless.
So the horse turned around, inspected the dead and wounded, and reported to the rear - there were more than a hundred riders a few miles behind them, and they were also part of the vanguard.
An unavoidable fact has been placed in front of them: even though they were careful, their whereabouts were still discovered.
Just think about it and you will know. It is unlikely that Xiurong sent the message, but Jingle County took the initiative to find out.
In addition to the Jie people here, there are also unknown miscellaneous people. There are many people grazing, hunting, and woodcutting in the mountains. It is inevitable to be discovered by them.
In fact, there is no other way, I can only use fast to fight slow. But now Jingle County is on guard, but it doesn't know what to do. The cavalry can't attack the city.
When Liu Ming and others returned to Jingle County, this small town with only two gates in the north and south had already closed one.
The herdsmen and farmers who received the news rushed into the city in a chaotic manner. For a while, people screamed and horses neighed, and the chaos was endless.
Those who were far away simply did not return to the city and drove their livestock to hide in the mountains.
Liu Ming waited outside the city for a long time before finally entering the city.
"Boom!" The south gate was closed amidst the shepherd's loud curses.
There was no way, these people looked pale, packed up their belongings on the spot, took everything they could take away, and fled to the spring pastures in the mountains.
A group of young men rushed to the city.
Some have high noses and deep eyes, some have black eyes and black hair, and there are even a number of rope heads.
They opened their eyes wide and looked south, trying to judge when the enemy would rush to the city.
Jingle is the nominal seat of Kelan County, the registered residence of the Liu family. Most of the descendants of the Liu family of Shangdang settled here, traveling between Tianchi and Jingle.
They are also scared when the rope head comes, but now there is no way out.
The Liu family's ties to the King of Liang are too deep. Their interests in the Central Plains are too great, and there are too many benefits. Let alone the rope head, even if the former brother-in-law Shi Le comes, he must be captured. Dedicated to the new brother-in-law, King Liang.
The sound of drums for gathering troops was getting louder and louder. The young men took out their weapons from the wall, under the bed, and from the firewood pile, and went up to the wall to stand guard.
There are not many young and strong among these people, and there are many old and young people. They may not be able to fight in the field, but relying on the city to defend against a group of cavalry is not a big deal.
At the end of the drumming, hundreds of aunts with disheveled faces and bucket waists also gathered under the city with shining knives, ready for action at any time.
Some women even lead horses and wield bows, with calm expressions, and even think about teasing those childish-looking teenagers - it is a prairie custom that men and women can have sex before marriage, and it doesn't matter if they give birth to a child, they can marry with the child's head. It is not uncommon, and the atmosphere is relatively open.
"Keeping Jingle is a great achievement." The county magistrate took off his official uniform and threw it on the ground, and changed into a luxurious black lambskin coat - one of the emperor's crown robes, also made of black lambskin Made of - rush up to the city wall with a big ax in hand and shout at anyone he sees.
The strong men and women listened and all agreed.
In the border area, survival is extremely cruel, and those who dare not fight with the enemy will be eliminated.
Because you will be looked down upon and cannot even marry a woman.
Fighting face to face with Suotou in the field may be too difficult. What are you afraid of when defending the city?
When the drumming stopped, a large plume of smoke and dust rose from the south, and Tuoba Xianbei's large group of troops arrived.
At this time, Shao Xun had been marching south for two days and was only ten miles away from Jingle County.
Hundreds of cavalry from the Yi Congjun, acting as the vanguard, also appeared far away on the northern horizon.
The defenders at the top of the city saw it and shouted.
In Xinxing County, hundreds of miles away to the east, groups of cattle and sheep were driven southward.
Like locusts, they ate up all the grass, leaves, and shrub buds near the post road.
The latecomers couldn't eat it, so they looked further away.
The herdsmen laughed, sang high-pitched pastoral songs, divided the territory, and began to herd cattle, sheep and horses.
Batch after group of cavalry surged southward towards Shiling.
After they left, thousands of infantry even appeared on the horizon.
The blacksmith shops around Pingcheng kept fire day and night, sending iron armor, swords, and arrows one after another to the front line.
Tuoba Yulu's golden tent has passed Yanmen Pass and stopped by the Hutuo River.
The entire army consisted of more than 50,000 infantry and cavalry men, together with nobles from various departments, and they were mighty and powerful.
No one is surprised.
Such a formation can be seen every year by grassland herders.
Unlike the Central Plains monarchs who live in the palace all year round, the prairie monarchs patrol the four directions every year, and they do not do so alone, but with officials, generals, concubines and other officials numbering between 50,000 and 100,000. The tribesmen set out together.
The distance is often very long, but the route will be planned in advance, and there are rules for where to graze and where to stay.
This custom later continued into the Northern Dynasties.
The emperor traveled around, inspecting all parts of the country, cooling off the frost in spring, recuperating from the heat in summer, hunting in autumn, and fishing in winter.
Even until the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the style of the Northern Dynasties still continued. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty patrolled the west to destroy Tuyuhun. During the great battle, it snowed in the summer, causing heavy losses, but he still did not change his original intention.
Shao Xun also likes to bring large armies to intimidate and pacify all directions. In fact, he is also a Han monarch with a strong Hu style.
It was both accidental and inevitable that he bumped into Tuoba Yulu.
(End of this chapter)