Great Wei Nengchen

43. Chapter 43 The Wolves Go South

In the fifth year of Zhongping, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, in autumn, the court of the Huns in Hetao.Bursts of ox horns resounded throughout the grassland, and all the tribal chiefs and servant chiefs of the Southern Huns led their best cavalry to meet Yu Fuluo, the great Shanyu of the Southern Huns.

Yu Fuluo is over 40 years old this year, and he is in the prime of life. At this time, the great Shanyu is sitting in his palace tent, looking at a rough map made of cowhide with wolf-like eyes. The sound of the horn did not affect his cold gaze at all; a line representing the Great Wall was clearly visible on the map. After ten years of recuperation, I already have more than [-] troops, [-] elite cavalry, scimitars, and iron hooves. Now it's time to break free from this damn chain.

One by one, the nobles of the Xiongnu dressed in wolf skins entered the palace tent one after another, and sat on the carpet without saying a word. Immediately, a female slave brought strong wine. If the Han people love strong wine, then the Huns love it. Spirits are crazy. On the icy and snowy Saibei Grassland, drinking a sip of spirits is not only the greatest enjoyment, but also saves a life at a critical moment. Therefore, since this spirit appeared on the grassland, it was immediately welcomed by all the Huns. A warm welcome!

Now this kind of strong wine has become an indispensable thing for the nobles of the Xiongnu to gather. In order to get a jar of good wine, they would not hesitate to exchange their cattle, sheep and horses, which are their lives, and some poor herdsmen even Carrying his wife on his shoulders, he chased after the caravan, only to exchange for a small jar of good wine. By the way, this kind of wine also has a very wonderful name - Wushou Wine!

While tasting the fine wine in their hands, the old chiefs began to wink at each other and exchange a lot of information with some imperceptible gestures. There are so many gestures and rich content that even the deaf-mute people of later generations may School teachers are going to be overshadowed.Although these Xiongnu nobles were basically illiterate, this did not prevent them from creating their own body language. Under the steel knife of the Great Chanyu, if they mastered one more language, they would have a better chance of survival!And those younger tribal leaders set their eyes more on the throne of Da Shanyu. As long as Yu Fuluo Shanyu sitting on it showed any signs of aging, someone would jump out and challenge him immediately!

When the last young Xiongnu nobleman, Zuoxian King Liu Bao, came in with a bundle, everyone was there.Outside the big tent, tens of thousands of Xiongnu's elite cavalry have already lined up neatly, holding the banners of various tribes, like ferocious prairie wolves, waiting for the howling of the wolf king to start hunting...

Seeing that all the nobles had arrived, Yu Fuluo stood up abruptly. His broad face was typical of the Xiongnu, covered with marks of knife frost, and his thick body was wearing a leather armor made of three layers of bison hide. The thick arms and calloused tiger's mouth all prove that this great chanyu can step on the horse at any time and raise the saber to lead the warriors of the tribe to fight.Under the coercion of the king's breath, many noble leaders lowered their heads, bent down, and touched their foreheads to the ground to express their submission to the wolf king.

"The leaders of the Great Huns!" Yu Fuluo cast his cold eyes on every nobleman in the palace tent, and said in a low voice: "Now is the time to decide the fate of our Great Huns. Last year's heavy snowstorm affected all the tribes. A huge loss, countless people and animals were frozen to death, if we don’t go out to plunder, our tribe will not be able to survive the next cold winter, now I need to hear your opinions!"

There was no sound in the huge palace tent, and everyone understood, "Looting? Looting who? Those tribes in the north suffered even more from the snowstorm, and they couldn't get any oil and water at all. On the contrary, it would be good if these poor neighbors didn't come to rob themselves." , then there is only one target, the neighbor to the south - the wealthy Han Dynasty."

"The great Yufuluo Shanyu!" The 'White Sheep King' stood up with wrinkled face like the dead white bark on the grassland. This old man is the oldest leader among all the Hun nobles, because Due to the harsh living environment, wars, diseases, natural disasters and other reasons, the Huns generally do not live to be 50 years old, but this "Aries King" is 70 years old this year. He has experienced countless snowstorms and seen countless swordsmen .

"The Han Dynasty in the south is our suzerain country. It is because of his protection that we have been able to herd horses and sheep freely on the Hetao Plain for decades. Once we make a rebellious act, I am afraid it will bring big blows to our tribe. The snow disaster is even more terrible revenge, have you all forgotten the "Human Head Jingguan" where the "Champion Hou-Huo Huoqi General" stood at the foot of the wolf at the foot of Xu Mountain?"

Huo Qubing - a name that all the Huns dare not mention but cannot forget. In the first battle in Mobei, the champion Hou Huo Qubing led his elite cavalry regiment, boldly crossing two thousand miles north, directly hitting the vast sea, beheading seven For more than [-] years, a "Jingguan" made of human heads was built under the Langjuxu Mountain, the holy place where the Huns worshiped heaven. All the tribes on the powerful grassland bowed their heads and worshiped in the direction of Chang'an.

The Xiongnu nobles in the big tent lowered their foreheads even lower. Didn’t the children on the grasslands be in the ballad of “If I lose Qilian Mountain, my animals will not survive; if I lose Yanzhi Mountain, my married woman will be colorless!” grown up...

"Respected chiefs!" Seeing the situation in the palace tent, Liu Bao, the first heir of the Xiongnu royal family, came out. He was just in his 20s this year. To show your bravery on the battlefield, you must also show your wisdom at this kind of noble meeting. In the world of the Huns, big fists are the last word. The title of "heir" is just a joke. A cowardly and incompetent prince will be torn apart and swallowed by others quickly. There will never be a shortage of ambitious people on the grassland.

"Have your bowstrings rotted? Are your sabers curled? The barren grasslands can no longer feed our cattle and sheep. Our subordinates are howling and crying in the cold wind. Now in the rich Han land inside the Great Wall, there are Countless wealth, food, and women are waiting for you to enjoy," Liu Bao said here, throwing out the burden in his hand; and then a gleaming iron pot appeared in front of the Hun chiefs...

If there is anything on the grassland that is most attractive to herdsmen, it is definitely not gold, silver and jewelry, but ironware. The single nomadic lifestyle makes the grassland extremely lack of ironware. The Huns can raise the fattest cattle and sheep, the most A strong horse can't make an iron needle.

Especially in the eyes of the inland people, the iron pot, which is extremely common, is the most scarce daily necessities on the grasslands, because without iron pots, the Huns cannot cook meat, and the grassland peoples are carnivores; Taking the iron pot as a rare commodity...

Everyone, please see, Liu Bao pointed to a striking bull head mark on the iron pot and said: "This iron pot is produced in Yuyang County. There is a big iron workshop there, and it is also a prosperous goods distribution center. It is far away from our Xiongnu. There is only one wall between people's pastures," he tapped his finger on the iron pot, and the crisp sound told all the tribal chiefs that it was a fine iron tool.

Everyone in Yuyang knows that it is very close to the Huns’ residence. If you don’t need to go deep into the interior to grab a large amount of goods, not only will the danger be much smaller, but it will not overly stimulate the sensitive nerves of the Han Dynasty. Thinking of all the Huns here The chief's eyes lit up.

"Also, have you all been drinking the spirits smuggled by those traitorous Chinese businessmen recently?" Liu Bao said loudly, holding up the wine glass in his hand.

Sure enough, as soon as spirits were mentioned, there was a lot of commotion among the chiefs of the various tribes. Everyone began to whisper, and even the eyes of the chief chanyu Yu Fuluo became sparkling...

Looking at the scene in front of him, Liu Bao was very satisfied. Being able to grasp the greedy hearts of the tribal chiefs was the basis for him to reach the pinnacle of power. Only when the wolf king knows what his wolves need most can he command them better .After appreciating the greedy or enthusiastic expressions of the chiefs, he announced loudly, "The production place of that kind of spirit is in Yuyang!"

Like a stone thrown into calm water, it quickly caused countless ripples. All the tribal chiefs stood up, looked at the iron pot with fiery eyes, and looked at the fine wine in their hands; They looked at their wolf king, the Great Chanyu of the Xiongnu.

Yu Fuluo knew, "The greed of the chiefs has been fully aroused by Liu Bao. If he opposes sending troops to plunder at this time, then these wolves who are already hungry and green-eyed will tear themselves apart first. The feeling of control made him very uncomfortable. He glanced at Liu Bao, the virtuous king of Zuo who stood beside him rather complacently. He felt that his right to be the wolf king was being challenged by the young male wolf. That challenger is my son, but right now, I can only push the boat along..."

Thinking of this, Yu Fuluo pulled out his scimitar sharply and shouted loudly: "It is no longer the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The current emperors of the Han Dynasty will only hide in the palace to eat, drink and have fun. The era of our Huns has come. I In the name of the Xiongnu's Da Chanyu, he ordered: "Divide the troops into three groups. Wanqi from the Baiyang King's department will attack Youbeiping, and the Zuoxian King's department will attack Yuyang County. This Dashanyu will lead the rest of the troops to attack Yanmen Pass; Like a pack of brave wolves on the prairie, they crossed the Great Wall, climbed mountains, slaughtered and looted the land of Han! "

"Roar! Roar! Roar... There was a sound like a pack of wolves roaring from the tents of the Huns' palace, especially those young aristocratic chiefs, howling loudly, begging to be the vanguard this time...

Yu Fuluo's order seemed very fair. The Aries King who opposed the southward movement was sent to fight against the farthest place, Youbeiping, and had to face the most elite cavalry of the Han Dynasty, the "White Horse Yicong" of Gongsun Zan, the prefect of Youbeiping. And out of reward to King Zuoxian, the fattest Yuyang County was handed over to him to plunder, but is it really that simple?

As the most cunning wolf king on the grassland, the Hun's great Shan Yu-Yu Fuluo, he knows very well that there are often deep traps hidden under the fattest meat, and he may take the opportunity to beat the young and energetic left. The virtuous king Liu Bao is his real intention...

The Aries King, who bowed his head and said nothing, walked out of the big tent with the chiefs behind him, looked at the huge empire in the south, and sighed deeply. Countless painful lessons made him understand clearly: "Maybe the Han Dynasty lacks Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty now." Such a heroic hero with great talent and boldness, but there is never a shortage of war gods like Huo Qubing among the Han people...

44. Chapter 44 The Northern Man

The Xiongnu invaded the south, and all along the Great Wall in the northern border of the Han Dynasty were lit with billowing smoke. One, two, three, and four beams of smoke rose into the sky, and passed from beacon towers to the distance continuously. The four beams of smoke were the Han army. The highest level of military warning in the system means that there are at least tens of thousands of wolves riding towards the interior of the Central Plains...

For a time, all the cities in the Northland closed their four gates, soldiers from various counties began to set up defenses in the cities, merchants in various markets immediately scattered away, countless civilians either flocked into the big cities, or began to move to the mountains My family, young and old, and a large group of refugees running around, the sound of wailing resounded across the fields...

Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, the military system has been practiced in the northern frontier. The military and the people are united. The people here are civilians in peacetime and soldiers in wartime. Yuyang County is located in the northernmost part of Youzhou. It is in the northernmost part of Yuyang.

The two pavilions of Crouching Tiger and Panlong were originally established as two garrison groups. For hundreds of years, these loyal soldiers defended the frontier while living and multiplying, and gradually formed the two towns now.

Now the billowing smoke from the frontier has re-awakened the sturdy and iron-blooded side of Crouching Tiger Pavilion; in the center of the town, in front of the temple that has never been opened, suddenly there is the sound of war drums as fast as a storm...

The long-lost drum sounded, and in an instant, the peaceful and peaceful town like a puddle of lake immediately turned into a pot of boiling oil. Huge shouts sounded from everywhere, whether they were busy in the fields Farmers, small vendors selling on the street, or old people sitting under trees, as long as they are residents with household registration in Crouching Tiger Pavilion, they all immediately dropped their work and ran home!

Those who ran back were farmers, merchants, and civilians, but those who came out were warriors wearing armor and holding weapons. Men from the Northland, no matter how old or young, everyone could go to battle to kill the enemy in wartime.

Xiao Yi, who was practicing boring by the river, was also dragged towards the square by Daniel and Ma Liu who heard the drumming. Although he was a Taoist priest, his name was actually written on the household registration of Crouching Tiger Pavilion, and There are only two types of men above household registration; one is a fighter, and the other is an underage fighter!

Because they had mounts and carried weapons for practicing martial arts with them, the three of them rushed to the square immediately.On the high platform of the square, Xiao Yi was surprised to see that the usually amiable 'Old Pavilion Chief' was standing there majestically, wearing an old iron armor and holding a gleaming ring-headed knife on his waist. His thinning white hair was combed meticulously today, and his dizzy old eyes were extraordinarily bright at this moment, not at all the drowsy look of the past. A black Han army flag was planted behind him, and then The wind blows up and down!

There is also the old fisherman who usually sends fish to Xiao Yi in the market, at this moment he is beating a huge war drum with all his might, the dense sound of the drum beats makes the heart tremble, it seems that the blood in his bosom begins to boil with the sound of the drum .

The flow of people continued to gather on the square, and finally they were divided into three groups. One group was the same as the old pavilion chief, gray-haired veterans. They were all veterans who had fought on the battlefield back then, each wearing old armor. , most of the weapons in their hands are simple and incomplete. Although they are old, they all look calm and undisturbed. There is even a trace of excitement in their eyes, like an old war horse in the fire of life. When it is about to go out, the excitement of getting another chance to charge on the battlefield, maybe this kind of battle drum has never calmed down in their hearts!

The second batch is the masters and apprentices in the blacksmith's shop who followed the blacksmith and cobbler. These are the strong and strong men in the Crouching Tiger Pavilion. The knives, spears, pokers, and hammers were obviously copied from the blacksmith's shop.

The last group were the worry-free guys standing behind Xiao Yi, all of them were teenagers, and they were the most numerous. Bench legs... At this time, the young faces showed both nervousness and excitement.

In the end, even the old Taoist 'Chuchenzi', who was wearing the robe of Yin-Yang Water and Fire, appeared in the queue in front of the temple with his 'Ziwei Zhenwu Tai Chi Yin-Yang Peach Wood Sword' on his back!

So far, Xiao Yi has completely understood what it is--men from the Northland can carry swords!

When the fierce and high-pitched war drums suddenly stopped, the whole square was already full of people, even the women and children were standing silently not far away. The old pavilion chief shouted in a low and old voice: "Open the temple gate and sacrifice to the heroic spirits." !"

As the ancient gate of the temple slowly opened, countless spiritual tablets appeared in the eyes of everyone. The names of the dead in Crouching Tiger Pavilion were engraved on the densely packed spiritual tablets. Crying softly, what is buried here are their ancestors, relatives, flesh and blood...

"Why is the gate of the temple never opened? Why are the crouching tiger pavilions full of old and weak women and children? It turns out that all the young and strong are here!" Seeing the epic scene in front of him, Xiao Yi's heart was also full of enthusiasm, imitating those old soldiers. He beat his chest with his right hand, and extended the most noble military salute to these heroic spirits who died in battle!

Crouching Tiger Pavilion used to have a population of about 400 households, but after years of wars, the imperial court transferred a large number of young and middle-aged people from "Crouching Tiger Pavilion" to join the army. Coupled with military disasters, droughts, and plagues, the population of the town fell to less than 300 households. And most of them were old and weak, women and children, and just now Xiao Yi counted, there were probably more than [-] men standing in the square, almost one man per household, these should be all the men left in Crouching Tiger Pavilion.

Looking at the solemn old pavilion chief on the high platform, Daniel told him quietly, "The Crouching Tiger Pavilion belongs to the military station, and the army and the people are united. The old pavilion chief is also the 'Diannong Captain'. General Dou Gu sent his troops out of Mobei and fought a bloody battle against the Xiongnu."

As the drums stopped, the head of the old pavilion announced loudly in a loud voice: "The wolf smoke is calling the police, the Xiongnu invaded, and the Crouching Tiger Pavilion will resume the wartime system from today. Those who are greedy for life and afraid of death, kill! Those who run away without permission, kill! Those who disobey the military order will be killed!!"

The crowd below was silent. Although many teenagers looked nervous, no one was timid. At this time, the Han people were extremely proud. In their eyes, whether it was the Huns or the Karasumas, they were all second-class. Citizen; under the sky, there are only big men!The Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty brought them too much glory and confidence. Maybe you can kill them on the battlefield, but don't want them to fear or admit defeat.

Looking at the crowd with high morale, the old pavilion chief nodded with satisfaction and began to assign tasks, "Blacksmith Niu Hong, you are responsible for leading all the apprentices to forge weapons in the starry night, so there must be no mistakes!"

"No!" Blacksmith Niu stepped forward to salute, and then retreated to his team.

"Cobbler Zhang Ji!" You are in charge of leading some people, preparing leather armor, and repairing bows and arrows for use in battle. "

The cobbler still looked gloomy, said nothing, and saluted with fists in his hands.

"Where is Xiao Yi?" The old pavilion chief finally cast his eyes on the young people in Wushouju: "You are responsible for gathering the horses, arranging manpower, and patrolling around. Once you find any traces of the Huns, immediately set off fireworks as a warning!"

"No!..." Xiao Yi stepped out of the queue without hesitation. As the boss of Wushouju, the leader of the teenagers, and a member of Crouching Tiger Pavilion, he should shoulder his responsibilities.

"The rest of the people hurry up to repair and raise the town wall, and all the women rush to make dry food, so there must be no mistakes!" The old pavilion chief finally ordered.