Chapter 261: Qi Ren
The Han army launched a multi-pronged attack on the military food road in Mount Tai.
While Xu Huang led his cavalry to annihilate a 20-man Han cavalry, more than ten miles northeast of it, there was also a 50-man Han cavalry lurking in a dense forest.
This Han army team is Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and their ranger team, including some Huqi from the city-side tribes of Youzhou Tuqi.
The so-called Chengbang Huqi, as the name suggests, are tribal Huqi who stationed their camps beside the city. The reason for this is that the Northeast is bitterly cold. Whenever the north wind blows, the weather is freezing and the vast Northeast plain is unblocked. Many cattle, horses and livestock will freeze to death, and even some small tribes will disappear in one winter.
At this time, the open space beside the Han city became a barrier that could protect the barbarian tribes from the wind and snow. Therefore, every winter, many small and medium-sized tribes rushed to request to come to the city for shelter. Moreover, they could also trade livestock such as cattle, sheep, and horses with the Han people for winter supplies. Therefore, the survival rate of the Hu tribes who have the qualifications to be close to the city in winter is greatly improved.
But although the city is good, it is not without cost.
The first one is to pay a blood tax and be recruited by the Han people to fight. The second is that the treatment in the military is extremely low. These Huqi tribes were located on the edge of the Han city. Their life and death were controlled by the Han people, so they were beaten and scolded by the Han military officials. But even so, the Huqi still had to endure it, because their families, old and young, were all at the rear.
Precisely because the Hu cavalry in these cities are capable of fighting and enduring, whenever something happens in the North, the Han generals like to recruit these people without mercy. Anyway, the Northeast is vast and full of such miscellaneous Hus who want to sell their blood for the Han people. There’s never a shortage of rides.
At this time, in an open space in the forest, four or five tents were set up haphazardly. It is surrounded by dense forests and swamps, especially a swamp in the southwest. It is simply a barrier specially set up for this camp. It is blessed by nature. Before, in order to choose this place to station, a Hu Qi fell into the swamp without paying attention and was never rescued.
The flat ground was very wet, so the Hu riders found some dead branches and spread them on the ground in a thick layer. They also built several barbarian-specific sheepskin tents for the Han knights. They are tents made of soil, branches and sheepskins, which are the Hu people's means of survival in the wild.
It was time to eat. In order to prevent the fireworks from being discovered by the Yellow Turban Army, Liu Bei did not allow anyone to light a fire. Therefore, everyone is eating some berries and tubers picked by the foreigners. They are definitely not full. Fortunately, there is dried meat to satisfy their hunger. Although it is difficult to chew, it can be swallowed with water.
Half of Liu Bei's fifty-man team are miscellaneous people from the north. They are either Wuhuan people, Bian people, Yilou people, or a mixture of these people, but most of them don't know their tribe. The genus of miscellaneous beard.
These people are brave and militant, but at their core they are undisciplined. At this time, they are lying on the ground in twos and threes after eating and drinking. But if you think they are just a group of gangsters, you are wrong. Next to them are piles of weapons. As long as there is any trouble, they can pick them up and fight.
Different from the Han army's standard weapons, these miscellaneous weapons are available in various types. Among them are short stone axes, and some large copper-clad sticks, but most of them are made of wrought iron bones. This is their most common weapon for hammering prey.
The horses of these barbarians are also generally short, almost a head shorter than the horses of Youzhou Tuqi. They are more like larger dogs than horses. At this time, these wild horses were scattered on the grassland, chewing water plants, and no one was taking care of them.
But compared to Zahu's laxity, the dozen or so rangers under Liu Bei were meticulous in feeding their companions with beans. Not only do they feed them, but they also use horse brushes to smooth their friends’ manes from time to time.
It seems that not only the lives of the Hu people are not as good as those of the Han people, but also the lives of the horses of the Hu people are not as comfortable as those of the Han people.
The barbarians over there were snoring, and Zhang Fei looked at those people with cold and arrogant eyes, full of disdain and contempt, as if he looked at these barbarians like animals.
Some of the Hu people were not sleeping peacefully, and they caught a glimpse of the way the strong man with a leopard head and ring eyes looked at them. There were several young men who had just come from the tribe to apply for the Han army. When they saw Zhang Fei's contemptuous eyes, they were furious. If they didn't know that this man with a leopard head and ring eyes was a Han soldier, they would have exploded on the spot.
But some veterans in the city have long been accustomed to this kind of systematic discrimination, and they calmly comfort these young people.
Liu Bei knew what Zhang Fei was looking at and sighed helplessly:
"Brother, these barbarians are in the same danger as us and eat at the same trough. They are brothers. That look in your eyes is really too much."
Zhang Fei sneered and said to Liu Bei:
"Brother, it's not that I, Zhang Fei, want to discriminate against them, but the things that pigs and dogs do make people look down upon. Brother, I don't know that with this kind of miscellaneous nature, when they are in trouble, they can endure humiliation like wolves and bear heavy burdens like sheep. They will always be submissive and obedient, and their favor to you will be as sweet as honey. But once they gain power, they will show their faces more ferocious than wolves. Previously, there were a group of miscellaneous men under Brother Gongsun who were respectful and hard-working in the army. Later, when we went out to collect food, these pigs and dogs slaughtered a whole village. We Han people were also able to kill these people. Then Brother Gongsun just trampled these people to death."
After saying this, Zhang Fei was still angry and spat towards the group of miscreants.
When Liu Bei saw Zhang Fei still being so angry, he was a little angry and said:
"Those people are those people. Now these barbarians have done nothing. You can't ruin the relationship between Pao Ze. If you want your own back to be at ease, you must have the proper respect for your Pao Ze. I understand. ”
Zhang Fei wanted to speak, but seeing Liu Bei's eyes becoming more and more severe, he finally stopped talking.
Liu Bei reprimanded Zhang Fei for his arrogance. Over there, among the mixed crowd, there was a majestic young man with his eyes closed, surrounded by several warriors. One of them was cursing in Wuhuan dialect:
"Taton, one day I will dig out the eyes of that ring-eyed man, unscrew the head, and feed it to my falcons."
Several people nearby also cursed the Han people with similar words. They were all the second sons of the Wuhuan tribe's handsome man. They had never been so angry in the past, but this time they went south with Taton, and they had been full of bird anger for a lifetime. .
Tadun kept squinting his eyes, and the hair on his head was scattered because it had not been taken care of for a long time. At this time, he heard the complaints from his companions, Tadun opened his eyes and said lightly:
"Let's not talk about this first. Let me ask you first, why do you leave the tribe with me and come to the territory of the Han people?"
The companions choked and did not speak.
Why else? Isn't it just because they are the second sons, who can neither inherit the tribe like the eldest son, nor guard the stove like the youngest son, so they can only rely on the tribe adults to be their relatives.
Taton understood, so he continued:
"So you also know that we actually have nothing. Except for the bows in our hands and the horses on our crotches, we don't have any tribes, cattle or sheep. So don't act like a noble and send it to someone else's tent." , Just be good. This time we came to the territory of the Han people to see what the Han people are like, so don’t cause any trouble to me.”
These companions all believed in Taden. On the one hand, Taton was the subordinate of the tribal master, and more importantly, Taton had won the title of three counties at a young age. They firmly believed that Taton would be a hero like Maodun and lead the Wuhuan people to a larger grassland.
Tadun clicked on the bandang he had just cursed before:
"Bagan, come and tell me, what do you think of the Han world on this journey south?"
Bagan is a grown-up man. He had cursed Zhang Fei behind his back before, but this time he would be punished. The tall man fell silent, and finally said honestly:
"Taton, I have seen how powerful the Han people are. I don't know if there is any tribe in this world that is more powerful than the Han people. All the cities I saw along the way are more magnificent than our Lord Wuhuan's camp. No, even some of the Han people's powerful barriers are beyond our comparison. Then I saw these Han knights, each with armor and tall horses, charging fearlessly. Moreover, there were too many Han people, and the territory here was too big. No wonder even the Xianbei people, the overlords on the grasslands, dare not face the Han attack."
Tadun's eyes narrowed and he asked:
"Are you scared?"
Bagan didn't speak, but his meaning was clear.
On the contrary, an inconspicuous swarthy young man next to him said unconvinced:
"I'm not afraid? I'm not afraid in Jeddah!"
This young man named Jida said with a tigerish voice:
"What's so great about these Han people? One of us Wuhuan people can beat a hundred of them. No matter how many sheep there are, they will only die under the claws of wolves. And do we fight less with the Han people? In the past, how could we fight with the Xianbei people? In the autumn of next year, we went south to plunder the Han people, and which of those Han county guards didn't give us money, silk, and gifts out of the country? I don't know what Bagan is afraid of. I think Bogen is old and scared."
Bagan was ridiculed by this junior and immediately scolded him back:
"Jeda, if I hadn't saved you in Hebei, your head would have been taken off by those yellow turban Han Chinese. How dare you question me here?"
When Bagan said this, Jida was not convinced and could only remain speechless.
In the end, it was Taton who spoke the truth and told his companions:
"Some of you have seen the strength of the Han people, and some have simply ignored it, but I am the only one who has seen such a scene. There is a giant tree like a pillar in the Xianbei Mountains. Everyone can see this at a glance when they go into the forest. The tree is so dense and ancient that one would take it for granted that this giant tree will exist for thousands of years, but as long as anyone walks in here. If you hit the giant tree a few times with the small ax in your hand, you will find that the inside of the giant tree has long been hollowed out. As soon as you hit it, the giant tree will cry out unbearably, and the same is true for this big man. The big man is rotten and eaten away. It looks majestic, but in fact it won’t survive for many years.”
Then Taton explained to everyone:
"The Han people are fighting among themselves, and one side will always win. But no matter which side wins, the Han people will be severely weakened and will no longer be able to care about us."
All the companions were shaken by Taton's words, especially Bagan, who couldn't help but say:
"Taton, what should we do next?"
Tadun picked up a piece of dead branch from the ground, shook his head and said:
"Should we do nothing? After this battle, we will return to the tribe. No matter what we do next, we must first capture the young people of the tribe."
After saying that, Tadun pushed back the dead branch, his expression full of perseverance and ambition.
Just as the people in Taton were thinking about it, a sudden quarrel interrupted the prospects of these Wuhuan people.
While Zhang Fei was silent after being scolded by Liu Bei, and the Wuhuan people in Tadun endured the humiliation, one of Liu Bei's rangers had a conflict with a Qi man.
The ranger under Liu Bei kicked away a naked man wearing only an old wool and cursed:
"Take your dirty hands away. You are so smelly that you still dare to touch my water vat? Are you tired of living?"
With that said, the ranger kicked the man again. No wonder he was so angry. The man pinched a black handprint on the edge of his water vat, which made him feel sick to his stomach.
The man begged for mercy in stumbling Chinese:
"Thirsty...water...wrong."
Apparently the man couldn't bear his thirst and wanted to take a sip of water from the Han ranger's water jar. But the ranger didn't care about this and continued to kick.
At this time, a younger man rushed out, protected the man behind him, and said in slightly proficient Chinese:
"What kind of hero are you? Do you just bully the weak like this? I have often heard that the arrogance of Han warriors prevents them from bullying the weak. Is this what a warrior should do?" The ranger was stunned by these words and immediately retorted. ：
"What you are saying makes it sound like there are strong men among you idiots? If not, then you must know your fault and come to be beaten, and don't show off your words."
Saying that, the ranger was about to kick the younger man, but was stopped by an angry shout:
"Liu Yan, who told you to touch Pao Ze? Why don't you back down!"
It was Liu Bei who said this. At this time, his two thick eyebrows were already standing upright, and he was obviously very angry.
The knight named Liu Yan heard Liu Bei's anger, and if he dared not move again, he would retreat honestly.
But the younger man didn't know what was good and what was good. He continued to refute what Liu Yan had just said:
"Who says we Hu people don't have heroes? I'll find one for you right now."
After saying that, Qi Ren pointed his finger at Taton.
But Taton and his companions looked confused and had no idea what was going on.
Then, the man continued:
"You think you are powerful, but this hero of our Hu people is more powerful than you. I personally saw him strangle a bear to death, and even killed dozens of people on the battlefield in Hebei. I don't believe that any of you Han people are more powerful than you." There will be heroes who are more powerful than him. You can try it yourself. If you can defeat him, I will admit that you Han people are heroes. But if no one can defeat him, then you need to give us Hu people respect."
Saying that, the man continued:
"It is the same respect as you Han people. Having good horses, good armor, and good swords can also allow us to sleep with Han women."
After saying this, the young man responded to the cheers of his tribe like a hero.
But Taton wanted to kill this fool. What does it have to do with you, a bastard, whether I am a good man or not? You despicable people also want to use my bed as a knife?
These people have never changed their habits and always feel that everything belongs to them. Now even his bed belongs to them?
But this man didn't know that his words had angered all the Han people including Liu Bei. Especially Zhang Fei, who was already filled with disgust towards these stinky barbarians, and his stomach had already been filled with fire. Now that he was stimulated by the words of this deceitful man, his whole beard and hair jumped straight to the middle.
Zhang Fei shouted loudly, ordered the bed directly, and cursed:
"Hot girl, the pig-dog-like things are also barking. Come out and compete with me. I promise I won't beat you to death."
Taton was very angry. He had been trying hard to avoid conflicts with the Han people. After all, in their army, if they were too provocative, they would easily be killed. But he never expected that he would be involved in an unreasonable disaster by an idiot.
At this time, Zhang Fei pointed at his nose and scolded him, and he was already being held there. They Hu people are a world of strength, and everything follows the law of the jungle. The reason why he can win more support from the tribe's young people than the parent and son of the tribe leader is because he is braver and more powerful.
If he was so humiliated by Zhang Fei and still chose to escape, he would lose everything.
Moreover, Taton could no longer stand this rude man with a leopard head and ringed eyes. In this case, he just wanted to teach this guy a lesson. However, in order to make these Han people look good, Taton also promised not to beat him to death.
Tadun walked out of the queue silently, and just as he was about to put on a show of dignity on the grassland, he saw Zhang Fei pointing at another person, it was the young man just now.
The Bao people were still feeling proud, thinking that they had used the strength of the Wuhuan people to make knives, and at the same time made their Bao people respectable. It could be said that they could turn clouds and rain with their hands.
But suddenly he was clicked, and this guy knew that he had been hit. But he was the one who started it, and he had no reason not to go. But it didn't matter. With that idiot from Wuhuan standing in front of him, it didn't matter what effort he had to make.
So just like this, Zhang Fei fought against two, one was on the couch and the other was a fool.
The duel ended quickly. As soon as Tadun and Zhang Fei hugged each other, his entire arm was broken. As soon as the man was about to run away, Zhang Fa grabbed his neck and beat him to death.
But this time Liu Bei just watched Zhang Fei brutally kill this man without saying a word.
Because after this man said those words, he was already dead in Liu Bei's eyes.
At this time, Tadun was lying on the ground, looking at the sky in confusion. He felt that everything just now was so unreal. What happened? Why is this happening? His physical strength, which could suffocate a bear, was actually broken by the thick man in front of him.
When Taton was dragged back by his companions, he was still in a daze.
Hot girl, is this the warrior of the Han people?
Liu Bei looked at the fear in the eyes of those bastards with satisfaction. It was exactly like this, not only kindness, but also authority. This is the way to train dogs.
After this small conflict, a person quickly entered the camp, and it was Liu Bei's companion who acted as a guide. Qianzhao was clever, so Liu Bei ordered him to investigate the situation of Taishan Army's transport team.
He came back this time, obviously having gained something.
As soon as Qianzhao came over, he whispered to Liu Bei:
"Brother, it's time to set off, those people are coming."
Liu Bei nodded and inspected everyone's situation first. Seeing that the morale of the knights under his command was high, the eyes of the barbarians were full of fear, but they were also prepared.
Finally he saw the couch and said coldly:
"Can you still ride a horse? If you can ride, just keep up. If you can't, just stay here."
Tadun nodded quickly. He injured his arm bone, which had just been bandaged by his companions. Although he didn't need any weapons, riding a horse was still fine. He understood that he must keep up with the team at this time. The injured wolf abandoned by the wolf pack has only one ending, and that is to be swallowed up by the forest.
And his military fortune in Taton has not yet begun, how can he stop here.
Soon, Liu Bei's forty-nine cavalry team packed up and gathered around Liu Bei. Looking at these sturdy subordinates, Liu Bei couldn't restrain his ambition. He said nothing more, but took the lead in holding his own black horse, leading the way, and then led everyone out of the forest one after another.
When they walked out of the forest, what stood in front of them was a shallow stream. Liu Bei once again took the lead in leading the horse to wade into the water. Everyone followed him across the river. No one wanted to wring out the soaked hakama and continued to follow. Liu Bei moved forward.
After yesterday's autumn rain, today's autumn tiger still arrived as scheduled. The scorching sun was baking these Han cavalrymen with soaked hakama feet, and the smoke was rising, giving these people an indescribable atmosphere.
After crossing the creek, Liu Bei saw a continuous official road and an abandoned dock wall near the official road. The walls of this dock have traces of being burned by fire, and everywhere you look you can see ruins and overgrown weeds. Then several hares and foxes that had been disturbed by Liu Bei and others sprang out from the weeds. It was obvious that this dock wall had become their home.
Liu Bei took one look and knew that the abandoned dock wall needed to be occupied, so he ordered Zhang Fei to take fifteen cavalry and hide in the dock wall first.
Then Liu Bei asked Qianzhao:
"Approximately how long is the Taishan Army's baggage train from here?"
Qianzhao calculated it silently and said with certainty:
"There are still two miles to go."
Liu Bei nodded, he believed in the ability of pulling moves, because his teacher was Le Yin, and Le Yin's teacher was Shi Bi, the former governor of Hedong, who was famous for his magic skills. Therefore, Liu Bei trusted the results of the conspiracy.
Liu Bei looked at the sun again. The sun was pointing to the west, probably around the end of the day.
Liu Bei observed the terrain again. In addition to a small stream behind him, there was an official road to the right, an abandoned dock wall not far to the left, and several small slopes to the southeast, which should have been good ambush points. But it's obviously too late to rush over now.
So Liu Bei had no choice but to take the remaining thirty-four riders behind the wall of the dock and hide in the shadows.
Then everyone gathered their hats and horses, and waited quietly for the arrival of the Taishan Army's baggage convoy.
Everyone didn't wait long before bursts of the sound of wheels and the master's trumpeting came from the official road.
Liu Bei lay on the ground with his lead, observing the prey. This is a quite large convoy, with at least fifty vehicles at least. Calculated at twenty-five dan per vehicle, this convoy has at least 1,250 dan, which is worth their money.
Liu Bei looked at the convoy repeatedly and saw that there was no problem, so he immediately played the horn. Suddenly, the horse hooves flew behind him and the earth trembled.
In this way, the forty-nine riders straightened their horses and launched a surprise attack on the unprepared Taishan Army's baggage team.
(End of chapter)