Xu Kui panted heavily and climbed up another big rock.
He found that the road became easier to walk as he went to the top of the mountain, and there were more and more traces of people's activities near the mountain stream.
Looking back, he saw that Li Xia was still behind him, but his clothes had been torn several times.
Further away, some river patrolmen were already being distanced.
"Xu Kui, send a message to the front. We are almost reaching the top of the mountain. Find an open place to stop and wait for the people behind."
"Yes." Xu Kui agreed and passed on the message.
Everyone climbed up for a while, and when they almost reached the top of the mountain, the place suddenly opened up.
You can see a small village in front, with lots of people inside.
The barbarian thieves seemed unprepared to face the situation of the officers and soldiers climbing up. They seemed a little panicked, and howls were heard from time to time.
Both sides prepared for battle. After a while, all the river patrolmen had climbed to the top of the mountain.
Xu Kui held the knife and felt a little nervous, and his throat felt very dry.
He suddenly remembered what Li Xia asked last time.
"Have you ever killed anyone?"
~~
Li Xia looked at the top of the mountain and was no longer thinking about how to break into this small village.
He was thinking about what Wu Tong said about business.
He felt that it was necessary to show his strength to Wu Tong, or to show to the merchants behind Wu Tong that he, Li Xia, could also guarantee the safety of this business road...
Of course, today is just a small test, the more purpose is to show the blood of his soldiers.
"Bao San, you take charge."
"Yes!" Bao San shouted: "Everyone, listen, the county captain ordered me to take command. Huhu, you lead fifty people to go around the back, be careful not to get too close..."
Actually, there is nothing easy to command when attacking a small village with only twenty people.
After the arrangements were made, the river patrolmen used bows and arrows to suppress the bandits in the village. Bao San gave the order and took the lead himself, charging forward with his sword raised.
~~
Xu Kui followed Jiang Fan and stared at Jiang Fan closely.
At this moment, he forgot many things during his usual training, and all he felt was the ferocity.
Both sides are fierce.
The barbarians in the village were yelling, and the river patrolmen were also shouting. Bao San, Jiang Fan, and other veterans and wounded soldiers were particularly tough.
At the sight of blood, everyone became excited.
Xu Kui had never been in such a situation before and was extremely flustered.
"Bang!"
There was a loud noise, and the village door was finally knocked open.
Xu Kui followed Jiang Fan and rushed in. He faced a barbarian and slashed him with his sword.
River patrolmen from both sides rushed forward.
Xu Kui suddenly lost his consciousness and looked again, only to see Jiang Fan holding a knife in his left hand to block, and the hook on his right prosthetic limb had been inserted into the thief's neck.
Blood splashed all over Jiang Fan and Xu Kui's face, it was fishy and hot.
"Ah! Ah!"
The screams were terrible.
At the same time, there were more screams and screams all around, making the mixture look even more terrifying.
Jiang Fan stepped heavily on the hand of the fallen barbarian. He was about to swing the knife with his left hand when he suddenly stopped.
He pulled Xu Kui behind him and shouted: "Come here and kill him!"
Xu Kui was still in a daze, but he was excited again when he heard this.
He looked down and saw the wounded on the ground rolling and screaming, their eyes full of pain and despair, blood spurting out from their necks, the scene was horrifying.
"kill him!"
Xu Kui didn't move, he was completely frightened.
He couldn't understand what the other party was shouting, but he could feel the desire to survive.
He felt that everything around him was still cruel, as if he had returned to the time when Lizhou was captured by the Mongolian army...
"Don't look in his eyes! Kill him!" Jiang Fan yelled: "Don't you want to avenge your dead brother?! Weren't you the first to shout?!"
Xu Kui's hands were shaking violently.
Suddenly, a new soldier rushed up from behind and stabbed the wounded man on the ground into the heart.
"good!"
Jiang Fan shouted at the new soldier, ignored Xu Kui, and led the people forward.
Xu Kui felt the blood on his face was sticky. He looked down and saw that the man on the ground had stopped moving.
He turned his head, and the fighting around him flashed past his eyes. From a distance, he saw Li Xia standing there with his sword in hand, calm and resolute.
Xu Kui felt a little guilty, but deep down in his heart, he realized that he was not willing to kill someone just to feel guilty.
He wiped the blood on his face, rushed forward, and continued to protect Jiang Fan. He was no longer as panicked as before...
~~
Xiong Shan stood next to Li Xia.
He was a guide and did not participate in the fighting.
Such a mountain road is not difficult to climb for Xiong Shan, and it is not unusual in his eyes for officers and soldiers to suppress a small village of twenty or thirty people.
What Xiong Shan cares about is Li Xia.
He remembered that it was on the Double Ninth Festival in September that he met Li Xia for the first time in Xuzhou. At that time, he just thought he was a personable yamen.
But it was only October 16th, and Li Xia had already led his men to the village on the edge of Wuchi Road.
In just over a month, this young man has become completely different.
Xiong Shan thought again about Li Xia's remarks yesterday that he did not regard himself as a county captain but as a Shu commander. He suddenly felt that after returning home, he should let his father meet the new county captain of Qingfu County...
~~
On October 16th, Ashu had marched to Lishan Valley.
Ah Shu was only twenty-two years old at the time, but he had already made many military exploits.
He is the grandson of the famous Mongolian general Subotai and the son of Wuliang Hetai. He has joined the army with his father since he was a child.
When the Mongolian army destroyed Dali, he led his elite troops as waiting cavalry and served as a pioneer, and repeatedly performed extraordinary feats.
In this attack on Shu, Ah Shu still used his best tactics, "sneaking through the detour and going around behind", intending to go out of Shimen Road and go straight to Xuzhou, catch the Song army by surprise, and then join forces with Wu Liang.
Join forces in Xuzhou.
After passing Shimen Pass, the mountain path at the foot is only five feet wide.
The mountain road is rugged and steep. Most people walking on this mountain road can only lead their horses and walk slowly for fear of falling off the cliff, but Ashu still rode his horse.
Not only was he riding his horse, he didn't need anyone to hold him in front.
I didn't see how he controlled the horse. He got off the horse and walked honestly along the mountain road.
Not only him, but most of the people in the Mongolian army can do it.
In this regard, Ah Shu only said one thing.
"The road to Shu is difficult. I have already walked the road to Tubo. This is nothing!"
…
After bypassing Lishan Valley, there is a lot of open space ahead, and finally there is another stretch of road where we can rest.
Ah Shu frowned and called over a centurion.
"We are halfway through the journey, and we may encounter the Song Army ahead. Duke, lead your people to explore the road first, and pull out anything that the Song Army can pull out. If you encounter an ambush, come back at any time to report the news."
Although Ashu has a hot temper, he is very good at marching and fighting. Having said this, he also ordered: "When you encounter high mountains with a view of the terrain along the way, send someone up to look at them. When I arrive, report back to me whether there is any ambush."
Du Ke agreed, and led more than 80 of his men, and more than 40 Dali soldiers, and rushed forward first.
They only brought five days of food and grass, so they were much lighter and faster.
The Wuchi Road winds northward, and occasionally encounters small groups of natives in the mountains and forests. The Mongolian army shoots them with arrows, causing them to flee in panic.
Two days later, Du Ke went to Guanhe Canyon...
~~
Li Xia rested in Yanfanggou Village for two days to ensure that the wounded could go on their way, and prepared to return early that morning.
He was satisfied with the results of this trip and believed that he had barely achieved the purpose of training troops.
I didn't find many things in the village, but there were some Buddha statues and other objects that were stolen by some barbaric thieves. I don't know if they are worth anything.
"County Lieutenant, I saw it clearly yesterday. Go down the mountain from there. Look..."
Luhu raised his hand and pointed, then turned his head and suddenly stopped.
He turned around and looked southward with squinted eyes.
"County Lieutenant..."
Li Xia followed his gaze and saw several black spots coming out from behind the distant mountain peaks. They followed one after another, and there seemed to be more than a hundred people.
"That's... the Mongolian Army?"
"What a Mongolian army!"
"The Mongolian army? They came so fast." Bao San strode over.
"Is there any beacon fire that can be lit in the village?"
"Let's go pile firewood."
Li Xia nodded, still looking at the black spot in the distance with thoughtful eyes.
After a while, the firewood was piled up.
Bao San took out the fire folding piece and moved swiftly.
Li Xia suddenly turned his head and said, "Don't click it yet."
"County Lieutenant, what's wrong?"
Li Xia pondered: "There are only more than a hundred of them, and there is no smoke nearby..."
"The county captain is saying... they haven't discovered us yet?"
"More than a hundred people, with this terrain, can they be eaten?"
Bao San looked into the distance again, then turned back and glanced at the river patrolmen, his single eye shining brightly.
"If you are a veteran, you may be sure, but we are all new recruits."
Bao San said, and then added: "The villain has fought with the Mongolian army before. They have rich experience in battle and are very sharp. They are afraid of being ambushed."
~~
Duke suddenly reined in the reins.
He looked around and could see many high mountains in front of him.
He remembered Ashu's instructions, recruited a few soldiers, and ordered: "Climb up the mountain and watch. If you find someone ambushing, sound the news at any time..."
~~
Li Xia squinted his eyes and saw those black spots stopping in the distance, but he couldn't see clearly how they were moving.
Bao San said again: "County Lieutenant, I'm really not sure about the new recruits."
Li Xia thought about it for a long time.
There were countless thoughts in his mind, and finally, he seemed to see the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty, and a fierce look suddenly flashed in his eyes.
"You are not a new recruit after fighting this first battle..."