As the sun set, the camp was set up and the pots were buried to make rice. The aroma of the rice spread in the middle of the camp.
Liu Yujue stood next to Xia Xun, showing a map, comparing it for a while, and said to Xia Xun: "My lord, we are still more than four hundred miles away from Hami. The King of Hami's welcoming team will have to go at least a hundred miles away."
,we……"
As soon as he said this, there was a burst of shouting and cursing outside the tent, accompanied by the sound of some weapons clashing. The sound was not close and should have come from outside the team.
Liu Yujue frowned and said: "As we get closer to Hami, there are more and more horse thieves. They are attacking the camp before it gets dark."
Xia Xun said: "These horse thieves from the Western Regions are really desperadoes. They clearly see our strong soldiers and horses, but groups of them still don't believe in evil and attack us."
Liu Yujue went to open the tent and took a look. He saw a group of about two hundred horse thieves in the southwest corner of the camp, aggressively launching an attack on the camp. Then someone came running to report the news to Xia Xun, and
Commander Said Feng is directing the extermination of the invading enemies. Please ask the Duke not to leave the tent to avoid being hurt by stray arrows.
Feng Lieyan was a veteran who had experienced many battles. He was just a group of horse thieves. His command was enough. Liu Yujue returned to the tent and explained to Xia Xun. The two of them studied the route to Hami and how to reach Hami.
What needs to be done later.
The camp had just been set up, the outer trenches had not been dug, and some measures to defend against an attack on the camp had not yet been constructed. Although the horse thieves' attack on the camp at this time did not have the effect of a surprise attack, they made a mistake and picked up a defensive area.
Weak timing.
However, even when the defense is at its weakest, the team under attack is not a soft persimmon. These three thousand elite cavalry are elite soldiers selected from the best, with extraordinary combat power. Now, these three thousand soldiers have regarded the attack of the horse thieves as a
Daily pastimes and opportunities to make a fortune. Although there are always casualties among officers and soldiers in every battle, who cares about the casualties? As soon as they saw the horse thieves attacking, the soldiers rushed forward with interest.
The battle only lasted for a cup of tea, and the horse thieves changed from offensive to defensive. The leader of the horse thieves whistled, turned his horse and drove away. The horse thieves left behind twenty or thirty corpses and fled. One of the middlemen
The horse thief who shot an arrow from the Ming army fell off his horse, with one foot still hanging in the stirrup, and was dragged along by the horse. Dozens of gold leaves were scattered from his arms. The gold leaves were scattered all the way, and in the sunset
A brilliant light shines down.
"It's developed! Hahaha, I shot him to death, don't take it away!"
An archer happily ran out to recognize his master, and bent down to pick up the gold leaves. Those Ganliangjing cavalry were ready to kill, but these horse thieves ran away. They were unwilling to do so, and saw that these horse thieves were very serious.
There was some useful information, and I couldn't help but feel jealous. Immediately, many soldiers jumped on their horses, whipped their horses, and chased the horse thieves.
Feng Lieyan clasped his hands and shouted loudly: "Don't chase too far!"
"These bastards!" Feng Huiyan cursed with a smile and put away the knife.
Feng Lieyan didn't take the soldiers chasing him seriously. He encountered horse thieves not once or twice along the way. The largest number of horse thieves per unit did not exceed five hundred people. In this area west of Dunhuang,
In the desert, it is impossible to have a large team of horse thieves, because they cannot support themselves, and the horse thieves team must be strong, so with the strength of their soldiers, there is no danger in catching up.
The march along the way was very boring, and the desert was so steep. At first glance, the overwhelming weight and desolation were quite shocking. But after a long time of looking at it, it made people feel like birds. They should just let them adjust their economy.
The mood has improved. Besides, although General Song is fond of Ganliang Jingqi and takes good care of him, the Xiliang soldiers have less oil and water than the Central Plains soldiers. Everyone is miserable. It is rare to make a fortune as a horse thief.
It is up to them to eliminate harm for the people.
This area is a land of rolling sand dunes. About 500 cavalrymen chased the group of horse thieves in circles and then disappeared.
After a meal, no one came back. Feng Chuiyan couldn't help but become suspicious. If the horse thieves deliberately escaped, it would be impossible to catch up and annihilate them all in one meal, but Feng Chuiyan was very sensitive to his soldiers.
I am sure that they will return to the wild, but they have been trained for a long time and will not be obsessed with money. Although they pursue them, they will definitely get along well and there is no possibility of leaving the group.
"Alert now!"
If Yang Xu hadn't been here, Feng Liyan would have gathered his troops to pursue him and investigate. But now that the Duke of Guo is here, his safety is his top priority. After nearly half of the journey, he will be there soon.
Damn it, we can't make any mistakes at this time.
After Feng Liyan ordered the entire army to be on alert, he sent out detective horses to follow the horse's hoof prints to detect the movement, and immediately rushed to Xia Xun's tent and reported the situation to him. After hearing this, Xia Xun also realized that the matter was a bit suspicious.
Feng Chuiyan's Xiliang soldiers were so obsessed with wealth that it didn't matter if they chased too far or even lost their way. But if these five hundred cavalry were eaten by others and not even a single person escaped to report the news, then
What does it mean?
These five hundred cavalry are not ordinary guerrillas, they are Xiliang elite cavalry!
Xia Xun said in a deep voice: "We can no longer send troops abroad! Let's ask Tan Ma to find out the news first. The whole army will be on tight alert!"
Feng Splitting Yan said: "Yes, that's what I mean. The situation is a bit suspicious. We need to find out the situation first."
At this time, Sai Hazhi also rushed over after hearing the news. Xia Xun ordered: "Old Sai, ask your people to add more people to the outside. I'm afraid there will be trouble. Be careful!"
"Don't worry, my lord, Lao Sai will take the lead!" Sai Hazhi assured Xia Xun, patting his chest and hurried out of the tent. Feng Suiyan was worried and said goodbye to Xia Xun with fists in his arms, and hurried out to arrange the arrangements.
Xia Xun frowned slightly and said to Liu Yujue: "It shouldn't be..." At this time, except King Hami, who else can send out a force that can kill five hundred people of Ganliangjing without a sound?
Arms to be eliminated?”
Liu Yujue changed his expression slightly and said: "My lord, could it be that King Hami has taken refuge with Timur, so..."
Xia Xun shook his head: "Impossible! King Hami has been a hostage in our Ming Dynasty since he was a child. Now he has returned to his country to succeed, all relying on the support of our Ming Dynasty and his bloodline. If he leaves the Ming Dynasty, he will not be able to hold this position! If it was bribed by Timur.
Without him, it would be impossible for him to have the courage to make a complete break with the Ming Dynasty in such a short period of time, before Timur's army arrived at the city. Furthermore, if it were him, why bother?
, wouldn’t it be better if we just surrender ourselves?”
This last one is the most critical. The suspicion of Tutuo, King of Hami, was immediately cleared, but if it wasn't Tutuo, it's really unimaginable who else could be there. The two of them were suspicious for a long time, but ignored it.
To get a clue, we can only wait until the detective horse finds out the situation.
The scouting horses sent by Fengliyan also knew that the situation was serious, so naturally they would not rush in like a swarm like the brothers who had just chased them out. They used the method of chaining horses, sending one scout a stone's throw away and advancing one by one to search for the enemy.
Make sure that as soon as there is a warning, it can be sent back quickly to avoid being interrupted again.
As a result, the news came back that the whereabouts of 500 people were unknown. The scouts found a site where a fierce battle had taken place. It was in a sand pit and valley. There were messy horse hooves all over the ground, and there were also horses that had been trampled into the sand but were vaguely distinguishable.
Bloodstains.
This explains why all the five hundred cavalrymen disappeared and no one escaped. They must have been chasing the horse thieves and chased them into a death valley with high gorges on three sides that the horses could not climb. Only then did they plan to kill them in one fell swoop.
Quanshu's idea turned out that there must be ambushes behind the sand valleys on both sides. After they entered Death Valley, they sealed the exit and carried out a massacre.
Feng Suiyan is very familiar with the combat effectiveness of his soldiers and horses. Even if the opponent takes advantage of the location, seals the exit, and shoots powerful arrows from the high ground on three sides, he will kill all five hundred people in the pit without a single person.
To break through the encirclement, the force must be at least 4,000 men. Except for King Hami, this kind of force could only be possible if a swarm of Barça troops were dispatched.
However, Barcelona are horse thieves. Horse thieves kill people and are killed at the same time. Instead of fighting to gain personal morale, they will go out in full force and abandon all their foundations to fight Xia Xun and avenge his brother? This reason is a bit far-fetched, and
Horse thieves can never be so well-trained. What is even more puzzling is that they clean the battlefield so clean. What is their purpose? Is it to create a suspicious formation?
Feng Lieyan, Saihazhi, and Xia Xun discussed over and over again, and they were puzzled. It was impossible to continue to divide their troops to pursue the enemy. It was already dark, and Xia Xun ordered the entire army to be on tight alert, and everyone was waiting.
Dan, including himself, Xilin, Jeanne and Tang Saier, were also neatly dressed and ready to break out at any time.
However, after waiting all night, he was not disturbed at all. When dawn came, everyone was tired and sleepy. Xia Xun discussed with Feng Liyan and Sai Hazhi and decisively decided to give up tracing the whereabouts of the five hundred soldiers and set off on the road.
Xia Xun has never been in such an embarrassing situation. He knew that there was a dangerous enemy watching him secretly, like an insidious wolf, waiting for him to relax at any time and pounce on him to bite him hard. But he
We are unable to march quickly. We have been very tired after a night of tossing. If we continue to rush forward, when we are exhausted, no matter how elite the army is, how much combat power is left? But we know that the danger is right in front of us, but we still have to calm down and keep pace.
As we move forward, we must be ten times more careful than usual. This kind of psychological and spiritual torture makes people even more exhausted.
The day's march ended without any accidents.
When setting up camp, Xia Xun gave the order in a difficult tone to stay on alert and be on tight alert.
He is already very clear about the enemy's purpose. This enemy who has not known the details so far is like a cunning wolf and a patient hunter. He is spying on him in the dark. He obviously has much more troops than himself, but he is always patient.
It stalked and tortured him, trying to torture him from his will to his body until he was exhausted. Only then did he stretch out his fangs and open his bow and arrow.
However, you clearly know his purpose, but you have to do it according to his intention:
Marching too fast is a waste of physical strength; marching too slowly is a torture of one's will;
If you do not take all kinds of precautions while marching, you may be taken advantage of by the enemy; if you take various precautions, it will be a double drain on physical strength and spirit;
When you are stationed, you are faced with an enemy that may be twice as powerful as you. How can you take rest in batches? Everyone must be prepared for emergencies at any time. Otherwise, if someone surprises you and enters the camp, you will not be able to react in time.
It's a nightmare to destroy the camp, but this invisible enemy can rest peacefully.
This is a terrible enemy. Xia Xun knows that he will come, but he doesn't know when he will come.