Yuan Xi led everyone for a long time, and they were about to arrive in Rongcheng.
Since he returned to Yecheng, he hasn't ridden a horse for a long time, and he feels a little uncomfortable.
Moreover, he had commanded from the rear during the recent wars, and now he personally led troops on patrol, which made him feel both familiar and unfamiliar.
There are many more people in the scout team, all veterans who survived the battle in Beixin City.
These personal guards are not suitable for serving as government soldiers and working in the fields. They belong to Yuan Xi's private army and are more like soldiers recruited by the Tang Dynasty.
In China's thousands of years of war history, both equipment and military thinking have been gradually improving.
Although the recruitment system of the Tang Dynasty was not perfect, it also had its advantages compared with this world.
The difference lies in military merit.
Soldiers in the Han Dynasty who were paid with food and wages were rewarded with a share of property and goods for winning battles. Unless they made great achievements, they would basically remain soldiers for the rest of their lives. The Han court Yu Linlang who prepared his own food, wages and weapons all came from good families and were promoted and promoted due to their military exploits.
Extremely fast, this is the backbone of mid-level officers.
It is said that the more you give, the more you get, which is different from the starting point.
For example, the ordinary sergeants led by Yuan Xi may run away after defeating the battle, regardless of Yuan Xi, the commander-in-chief.
But private soldiers like Yuan Xi live and die with Yuan Xi and will never abandon him and run away, so the food, pay, weapons and armor they can get are relatively the best.
Yuan Xi saw Sun Li following him seriously, and joked: "Why, does it feel like you have become a different person after becoming a father?"
When Sun Li heard this, he said with a bitter face: "Don't mention it. After I left, my mother scolded me every day, saying that the young master didn't take me away last time because I was too loose and disgusted the young master. She also said that I was the leader of the Sun family.
shame."
"My mother was very happy when she heard that the young master was back. She kicked me out directly and said that I must be with the good young master this time, otherwise she would go back and kill me."
Yuan Xi laughed after hearing this. Just as he was about to speak, his face suddenly changed and he took out a telescope from his arms to observe.
When he saw clearly what was going on in the telescope, he felt relieved. It was Tai Shici who had brought people to greet him.
Yuan Xi suddenly realized that he had fought several big battles. The more he saw life and death on the battlefield, the more he became afraid of death.
This isn’t right. The more wars we fight, the braver we become, right?
After a while, Tai Shici came over with dozens of cavalry troops and met Yuan Xi. The two sides joined forces and headed for Rongcheng together.
On the way, Taishi Ci talked about leading troops to farm, and everything went smoothly. Although Yi Jing was occasionally harassed by cavalry, they all retreated when they saw that Rongcheng was well defended.
Yuan Xi couldn't help but nod his head after hearing Taishi Ci's clear and logical arrangements. Taishi Ci was quite talented, so it was very reassuring to leave the matter to him.
Yuan Xi remembered that he had been on the battlefield more and more, but was increasingly afraid of death, so he told Tai Shi Ci.
He finally said: "I heard that my sworn brother once rode out of the city alone and broke through the siege of Guan Hai's Yellow Turban. Were you not afraid at all at that time?"
Taishi Ci laughed, "How is that possible?"
"What I was most afraid of at that time was that the enemy Liu Ya would shoot my horse to death, and then I would die in the chaos."
"To say that I wasn't afraid, it would be better to say that there was no time for me to be afraid at that time."
"I was surrounded by a heavy siege at that time. I couldn't help but turn my head and look around in all directions to guess the movements of all enemies approaching me."
"There are a few archers, a few approaching me, and a few that can actually pose a threat to me. How to deal with the arrows that are shot at me, I have to predict the enemy plane first and guess it in advance so that I can seize the opportunity to escape.
.”
"Only by doing this can I find a chance of survival."
Yuan Xi was stunned when he heard this. Just hearing this was enough to give him a headache, but in fact he couldn't do it at all!
He couldn't help but said: "I saw countless people die instantly in the Chinese army, and my body would tremble. It seems that it is because I am far inferior to Ziyi."
"Back then I personally led the scouts to kill the horse thieves, but I wasn't so timid."
Taishi Ci shook his head and said, "I don't agree with the young master's idea."
"Young Master is the commander-in-chief of an army. Unlike a general like me who is trapped in battle, a commander-in-chief who protects himself is the greatest protection for his generals and soldiers."
"If the young master is not afraid of death, he may not care about the life and death of his subordinates when commanding. This is not a good thing."
"With all due respect, in the earliest days, the young master was protected by the scouts and killed the horse thief. This was bullying of the weak and did not count as facing death at all."
"Young Master, those few battles in Qingzhou should be the time when you truly become a general."
Yuan Xi sweated profusely, and Tai Shici spoke too straightforwardly, which clearly showed that when he started, he was just a stupid young man who was not afraid of death.
But think about it, only if you know the fear of death can you know the value of life.
Taishi Ci took the opportunity and whispered: "I still think that the young master should not put himself in danger. Then Tian Yu may not be fooled. How can he bring so many people?"
Yuan Xi whispered: "I understand what Brother Ziyi means, but Tian Yu must be dealt with before the battle of Yijing."
If Tian Yu participates in the Battle of Yijing, it is hard to say whether he can survive. Yuan Xi will definitely participate at that critical moment. If he kills Gongsun Zan, it will be difficult to recruit Tian Yu to surrender. The same is true for Yuan Shao in history.
But Tian Yu is very important to Youzhou. He is very good at dealing with Wuhuan and Xianbei. He is one of the few people in the North who is expert in foreign wars.
If it can be used by Yuan Xi, Youzhou will be much safer in the future.
After hearing this, Taishi Ci said no more.
In the following days, Yuan Xi took his scouts out of the city to hunt every day, while Taishi Ci seemed to have disappeared.
In Yijing City, in a certain hut, two people were sitting opposite each other, drinking.
Tian Kai, Tian Yu.
They are both Yuyang Yongnu people, so they are considered distant relatives of the same clan.
Tian Yu said in a deep voice: "The news returned by the spies has confirmed that the person who goes out hunting every day in Rongcheng is indeed Yuan Xi."
"Wait for me to get the white horse to avenge Qingzhou for you."
Tian Kai shook his head and said: "That is the fierce tiger of the Yuan family. Please don't act rashly."
"This man is not only good at planning, but he is also said to be extremely formidable with force. Even Liu, Guan, and Zhang were defeated by him."
Tian Yu shook his head, "It is precisely because this person is such a threat that we need to get rid of him as soon as possible."
"The three battles in Qingzhou were all planned by this person. If he followed the army to attack Yi Jing, wouldn't it be even more dangerous?"
Tian Kai was silent, hesitated, and said: "A person like him would not come to Rongcheng for no reason, he must have some agenda.
"It's even possible that he came here just for the country."
Tian Yu raised his head, drank all the wine in the wine glass in front of him, and said in a deep voice: "I also understand that the other party may be trying to lure me out."
"But the opponent is a member of the Yuan family and uses his body as bait. If I don't fight, won't I lose face to the Tian family?"
"I will find the right opportunity to trade my life for my life."
"As for Yi Jing, leave it to my brother!"
After hearing this, Tian Kai lowered his head and said nothing. After a long time, he raised his head and said, "Guorang, don't wade into this muddy water. Jihou (Gongsun Zan) is no longer the master of the Ming Dynasty. There is no need for you to accompany him to death."
After hearing this, Tian Yu stared at Tian Kai and said, "What about brother?"
Tian Kai sighed: "Jihou has been kind to me..."
Tian Yu said: "Isn't it the same for me?"
The two of them were speechless. They both understood that with Gongsun Zan's condition, Yi Jing would be captured sooner or later.
And their fate has already been determined.
Tian Kai hesitated for a moment, but in the end he still didn't say anything about going with Tian Yu.
His personal strength is very average, and even if he follows him, it will only hold him back.
He raised his glass and said: "Then I wish the country success."
Tian Yu laughed and said, "I accept my brother's auspicious words. Whether it comes true or not, I will bring a pot of wine to my grave next year."
He had no intention of coming back.
Tian Kai sighed in his heart. News came from Yecheng that the army was about to be mobilized. How could they wait until next year?
He also smiled and said: "Whoever can survive between the two of us will visit the other's grave!"
The two of them drank all the wine in their glasses and looked out the window at the same time. At the towering watchtower in the distance, Gongsun Zan should still be inside.
An idea came to both of them at the same time.
Damn it, how could Gongsun Zan become like this!
With a whooshing sound, Yuan Xi shot out an arrow. The rabbit in the distance was hit by the arrow, rolled a few times on the ground, and then stopped moving.
Sun Li cheered, rode over to the horse, clasped the saddle with one hand, tilted his body sideways, stretched out his other hand, and already picked up the rabbit on the ground.
He swayed and sat back on the saddle.
This move was extremely beautiful and attracted cheers from the scouts.
Sun Li proudly carried the rabbit in a big circle before returning.
But Yuan Xi was not very happy. It had been seven or eight days since he came out. Why was there still no movement from Yi Jing, dozens of miles away? Did he do something too obvious?
He couldn't afford to delay things like this. He couldn't keep wasting time here. There were many things waiting for him in Beixin City when he returned.
He and others shot several more rabbits and pheasants to death. Seeing that the day was about to go by again, he had no choice but to lead his people to Rongcheng.
When they were still some distance away from the city wall of Rongcheng, they met soldiers who were stationed in the fields.
Now that spring plowing has ended, these soldiers are digging ditches to divert water from nearby rivers into the farmland.
When the soldiers saw Yuan Xi coming, they straightened up quickly. Yuan Xi jumped off his horse and signaled them not to worry about him.
When the soldiers saw it, they waved their tools and dug up the soil.
The digging tools at that time were not the shovels and pickaxes of later generations, but a plug-in digging tool called a shovel, also written as a hoe.
"Shi Ming" "忿" means "insert", "insert" into the ground and raise the earth.
The earliest hoe was a wooden hoe, which was similar to a hoe. In other words, it was a hoe. A metal sleeve was added to the wooden edge of the hoe to become a hoe, which could reduce wear and enhance the digging ability.
The hoe was a new agricultural tool that appeared in the Shang Dynasty. It was developed in the Warring States Period and became popular in the Han Dynasty. It was still used after the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It mainly has two types: straight-shaped and concave-shaped. It played a great role in constructing water conservancy projects and acquiring soil, so it has the meaning of "moving to the cloud".
, the ballad of "breaking the canal to make rain" - "Hanshu Guouzhi".
Yuan Xi picked up a shovel and dug up the soil with the soldiers.
A few miles away, Tian Yu was lying in the weeds in the forest, staring closely at Yuan Xi, reaching out to grab the bow at his side, and then letting go of his hand.
For several days, he had not found a suitable opportunity, so he could only wait.
But as long as he finds an opportunity, he is 50% sure to send the arrow into Yuan Xi's body.
Yuan Xi's reputation as a ferocious tiger was so great that Tian Yu did not have the confidence to kill the opponent alone, and the opponent would not give him the opportunity.
He also didn't want to bring too many people out. The goal would be too big and many people would die in vain.