The boat paddled into the reed marsh, startling a crowd of wild ducks.
Several people on the boat immediately did not dare to move. They all lowered their bodies and looked nervous.
Peng Ling took out a short knife and kept it on guard.
Several other people followed suit and took out their walking bows, ring-headed swords, shields, and held their breath while concentrating.
After a long time, everything inside and outside the reed marsh became calm, and there was nothing strange at all. Only then did a few people breathe a sigh of relief.
Peng Ling put away his dagger and signaled with his eyes, then got off the boat first, wading through knee-deep muddy water, and quietly landed ashore.
A young man of fifteen or sixteen years old followed him, following suit, and walked ashore together.
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Pen Ling felt that the Huns' defense was getting tighter and tighter.
This is Dunqiu, which belongs to Wei County according to the geographical boundaries and was occupied by Shi Le last year.
On the opposite bank, Lingjin was garrisoned with 5,000 troops from the rear camp of the Yanzhou Army. It once thwarted Shi Le's attempt to cross the river, and then there was no movement for three months.
The two sides faced each other across the river without incident.
But if the army doesn't cross the river, the scouts will still cross.
Peng Ling was a member of the rear camp of the Yanzhou Army. He was transferred from Langling's field army and served as the team leader. This time he was ordered to cross the river and go north to support the return of the scouts. This was the first time for him.
However, we have arrived at the agreed upon location, where are the scouts?
There is a small village by the river, with constant noise.
Penngling was a little strange. He also came south from Hebei and knew these villages along the Yellow River very well.
After years of war, there were not many people at all.
I heard that the prefect Lemo had evacuated everyone who could be evacuated. Why was there such a noise?
Suddenly, a familiar smell wafted in the wind.
He sniffed, struggled and hesitated for a while, then quietly walked out of the grass and onto the road.
Sure enough, this is fresh donkey dung.
He walked forward and saw another pile of smooth donkey dung eggs.
Going further, there is still more.
He even saw several large cars parked at the end of the village from a distance.
Some people were sleeping in the car, while others were leaning on the side of the car and chatting.
There are horses tied under several big trees. Looking at the saddle and the bow tips and daggers inserted in the sheaths, they are definitely the mounts of well-made cavalry.
He didn't dare to look, so he quietly retreated into the grass and returned to the starting point.
"Team leader..." the boy shouted.
Peng Ling's fierce look showed and he immediately grabbed the young man's neck.
The young man was scared to death, but under Peng Ling's ferocious gaze, he did not dare to struggle and could only look at him pitifully.
Peng Ling let go of his hand and said softly: "Don't shout loudly. I'll teach you a lesson this time. I'll remember it next time."
The young man nodded repeatedly.
Peng Ling waved his hand and took the young man back to the boat.
After Penngling and his two men left, the villagers came out to count their horses.
After getting on the post road and waiting for the Mercedes-Benz, the leader waved and stopped.
He looked at the wet footprints on the road and in the grass and remained silent for a long time.
After Peng Ling returned to the boat, everyone immediately asked: "How?"
Peng Ling was silent for a while and said: "It's getting late. If you haven't come back yet, you probably won't come back. Let's go, don't wait any longer!"
Some people disagreed: "Many scouts have failed to come back recently. The superiors are very anxious. If we leave after coming but don't receive anyone, how will we explain when we go back?"
"How can a dead person be taken back?" Peng Ling asked coldly.
"This..." The person who asked the question was speechless.
"If it were last year, I would have stabbed you to death." Peng Ling put away the dagger and said firmly: "Let's go!"
Several people responded to the order and began to row the boat and leave the reed swamp.
At this moment, several long arrows shot through the air, startling everyone.
"Shield!" Peng Ling roared.
The young man subconsciously raised a shield to cover the oar hand.
The other man also raised his shield.
The arrows became more and more dense, and there were shouts and the sound of horse hooves from the river bank.
One person on the boat had been hit by an arrow, clutching his stomach and screaming in agony.
Peng Ling's expression remained unchanged, still staring at the reeds that were gradually disappearing.
An arrow flew over his head.
The expression on his face did not change at all, he only lowered his body slightly.
The others followed suit and grabbed hold of the boat and lay down.
The ship gradually drifted away.
The arrows were not strong enough and fell into the water one after another.
After a while, several people emerged from the reeds, wading in waist-deep water, and chased a few steps forward. After seeing that they couldn't reach them, they finally lowered their bows angrily.
"The Huns are transporting grain." Penngling said suddenly.
"They also harvest in autumn?" The young man put down his shield and asked stupidly.
Peng Ling was too lazy to pay attention to him and just looked at the north bank.
Once people have concerns, they will be worried.
Penngling is already married and lives in Juancheng.
When a man dies, the widow takes care of her children, and he dies his wife and children, and over time they get together to live together.
And the widow is pregnant, it's his child.
This made him care a lot, and he was no longer as fierce as before.
At the same time, this also stimulated his fighting spirit.
His life seemed to have a purpose again, and he was no longer confused.
He didn't want Juancheng to suffer another war and make his wife and children frightened, but he knew that this was just a wishful thinking.
Some things are beyond his control.
In this world, useless people occupy high positions and always mess up things, including the one in the palace.
It would be great if I could kill him.
When the boat reached the other shore, it was already dark.
Peng Ling did not delay, and after instructing his men to send the injured to the medical officer's camp, he took the young man with him and went straight to the main barracks.
****
On the land of Hanoi in late autumn, thousands of horses galloped, swallowing thousands of miles.
On the bank of Qinshui River, a huge felt tent was erected.
Young girls came in and out, carrying various food utensils and busy.
Outside the big tent, both sides of the Qinshui River were covered with dense grass.
The girl from the grassland made a sound of wonder.
They were presented by the tribes to serve the powerful Han Dynasty. This was their first time in Hanoi, and it was also their first time to see such tall grass, which was completely different from the short and barren similar species in the sand moraine.
A thin boy came over and gently patted a girl's perky buttocks.
The girl jumped away like a frightened deer, then put one hand on her hips and pointed at the boy with the other and scolded him.
The young man had a delicate appearance and was feminine. Although his face was full of lewdness, he was not good at speaking. After being scolded by the girl a few times, he walked away angrily.
The woman who was milking cows by the river saw him and said quickly: "Don't mess with him. He is the king's favorite male pet."
The girl said "Ah" and then quickly covered her mouth.
The majestic King of Hanoi, what kind of woman is unacceptable? How can he like a man?
"Your Majesty likes 'beauties', regardless of gender." After the woman finished speaking, she lowered her head and continued to milk.
The girl also came over, squatted down and squeezed together.
"I heard that the king is leaving the wild king soon?" the girl asked.
The woman pointed to the sergeant who was herding horses on the other side of the river and said, "Whenever they leave, the king will leave."
"That's a lot of people." The girl stretched out her arms, as if describing "a lot".
The woman smiled and said: "There are so many high-ranking officials here this time, there must be a lot of people."
"Have you never seen so many people?"
"I've never seen it before." The woman shook her head and said, "Your Majesty even gave me a golden tent, and all the leaders came to make an alliance. I haven't seen this scene for many years."
"Are you from the Central Plains?" the girl suddenly asked.
The woman stopped what she was doing, sighed for a long time, then wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said, "My home is in Yecheng, not far from here."
"Oh." The girl didn't know where Yecheng was, but she subconsciously felt it wasn't too far.
After the two of them squeezed a bucket of milk, the girl took it away.
The woman stood up and looked to the east blankly.
In fact, it was far away and she couldn't see anything, but she just wanted to see it.
More than a hundred riders galloped in from the east. The people walking in the front were all distinguished, and they looked like high officials.
General Shan Zheng of Zhenxi, General Liu Ya of Anxi, Jin Zhun of the Central Guard...
All of them are high-ranking officials.
The woman looked away and continued working.
When I was young, I heard my father and brother talking about the Xiongnu. They all shook their heads and sighed, saying that the imperial court only led the Hu people into the Central Plains, but did not regulate the people by making them into households.
The upper and lower organizations must be broken up so that the herdsmen no longer listen to the leaders, but to the officials. Only in this way can we truly unite the people with households.
She had been taken captive by the Huns for several years. Based on observations over the past few years, the Huns have been returning more and more.
One tribe after another was attracted by them.
Every year, several or even a dozen tribes from the northern grasslands go south to enrich the population of the Xiongnu tribes - this kind of thing seems to have happened every year since the beginning of the dynasty.
The new arrivals were ignorant, but their occupations were hunting, nomadic herding, and not farming.
As time went by, the Xiongnu became more and more barbaric.
And their barbarism will inevitably bring huge disasters to the people of the Central Plains.
"Alas." The woman sighed, feeling uncomfortable in her heart, and turned around to continue working.
More than ten noble officials on horseback dismounted from a distance, and then came to the golden tent talking and laughing.
After a while, it became even busier inside and outside the golden tent.
The sheep were pulled over one by one, slaughtered and cooked on the spot.
A cart of wine was also brought, and the herdsmen and slaves moved around and ran around endlessly.
There are falcons flying in the sky, and knights hunting on the ground.
Along the banks of the Qinshui River for hundreds of miles, there are groups of horses everywhere, perhaps more than 100,000 of them, munching on the withering grass.
Hanoi County, which was once rich in Qingcheng rice, has turned into a huge pasture.
Yes, during the Han Dynasty, there were already large-scale pastures here, but by this time, the people who herded them were different.
The falcon flaps its wings and flies south, passing over the Yellow River.
There was tranquility on both sides of the river.
Looking from Henan to Hebei, there is almost nothing unusual about it.
Only the roving horses that appeared from time to time on the north bank reminded people vaguely that the Jin and Han Dynasties were still at war at this time.
"Woo——" A desolate horn sounded, and a huge fleet appeared on the quiet river.
The sound of the trumpet is a command.
A large convoy appeared on the shore.
The spears were guarded, there were many soldiers, and flags and battle flags were flying, just like the high morale of the soldiers.
The boats lined up in neat rows, sailed upstream and entered Luoshui.
Chapter completed!