Fenghou

Ambush soldiers rushed out from all directions, and the leading general was Liu Qiong.

Liu Qiong galloped on his horse, and killed Li Shaji in an instant. The spear in his hand stabbed at his throat like lightning. Li Shaji was shocked. He had never seen such a fast marksmanship before. null.

Li Shaji secretly thought that something was wrong, but it was too late. He felt a sudden unbearable pain in his chest. He looked down and saw that the spear had pierced his chest. Li Shaji screamed heart-piercingly and fell to his death.

The other horse bandits had nowhere to flee, and they were not allowed to surrender. In the end, they were all annihilated by the Song army. The opponent was killed in less than half an hour, and the very few fish that slipped through the net were also caught by Zhao Xiaoyi's scout army.

This is Chen Qing's consistent strategy. The army spared no room and beheaded them all, while the scout army was responsible for capturing the victims and asking for confessions. The division of labor was clear.

Chen Qing's army was stationed on a grassland. At this time, Liu Qiong led the cavalry and brought thousands of Uighur herdsmen to the Song army's garrison. Chen Qing ordered the soldiers to temporarily arrange them to rest.

Liu Qiong stepped forward and replied, "Report to the capital, we wiped out 870 seven horse bandits, including their chief general, and killed all the horse bandits within our control area, without missing anything."

Chen Qing nodded and said: "Zhao Xiaoyi and the others caught eight people, they are sentinels on the outside, and there should be no fish that slipped through the net."

"Did this battle wipe out all the horse bandits?"

"Most of them have been wiped out. There are still some in Liangzhou, no more than 500 people. Niu Gao and the others may meet them."

At this time, Xu Yuan brought an old man into the big tent, and Xu Yuan introduced: "Emissary Jinglue, this is their chief, Sha Yimu!"

The old man knelt down and paid respects, "Thank you Jinglueshi for saving the lives of our entire clan. We will remember the Jinglueshi's life-saving grace from generation to generation!"

The old man is not exaggerating. The horse bandits are ready to use smoke and fire to attack. This is the most effective weapon against the canyon. Once the horse bandits break through the last line of defense, the fate of this tribe will be very miserable. Except for the young women, the others All will be slaughtered, and even young women will be sold in the end.

The old man was so grateful for Song Jun's timely killing.

Chen Qing asked the soldiers to support him, and asked with a smile, "How many Uighur tribes like yours are there in the Hexi Corridor?"

"There are eleven in total, concentrated in Ganzhou and Liangzhou. We are the third largest tribe. The Xixia people call us sheep slaves, that is, slaves. Seventy percent of the number of sheep raised each year must be handed over free of charge. We only have thirty percent. Being harassed by horse bandits, life is very difficult, this time the army was transferred away, we saw a chance to escape, so we fled with our family, but we didn’t expect to be followed by horse bandits, and we were almost slaughtered.”

Chen Qing nodded, "You guys have a good night's rest. Tomorrow morning, I will send troops to send you to the Yellow-headed Uighur. There will be no more danger. We will not take any of your belongings."

The old man thanked him again and again, and then went down.

……

Early the next morning, Chen Qing ordered Liu Qiong to lead an army of [-] to escort the Uighur herdsmen to the West Sea. He continued to lead the army northward, and at noon he passed through the Dadouba Valley and entered the Ganzhou prairie.

This is the place where the Song Dynasty dreamed of raising horses. Under the blue sky and white clouds, there is an endless grassland. The grassland is so green that people are enchanted, and there are countless swaying flowers. Chen Qing and all the soldiers are very happy. In the beauty of the prairie.

The next afternoon, the army arrived at Zhangye City. They did not find any signs of the army along the way. When they heard that the Song army had arrived, all the Xixia officials in the city fled ahead of time.

At this moment, countless Han people suddenly poured out of the city. They couldn't believe their eyes. An old man stepped forward and asked timidly, "Excuse me, are you the army of Song Dynasty?"

Chen Qing smiled and nodded, "That's right, we are the Western Army of the Great Song Dynasty!"

The old man turned his head with tears and shouted: "Yes, it is our army!"

Thousands of Han people immediately cheered and hugged each other excitedly.

Chapter 511 Brothers

Zhangye is a big city with a long history and the city walls have been repaired. It is currently the largest city in the entire Hexi Corridor. The county is nearly [-] miles in circumference and has a population of about [-] to [-]. However, there are not many Han people in the city, and the majority of Han people are mainly in Liangzhou. It is also because Liangzhou puts more emphasis on farming. There are about five or six hundred Han Chinese households in Ganzhou, and they are mainly concentrated in Zhangye City. They are mainly engaged in handicraft industry, and basically they are engaged in wine making and paper making.

Chen Qing drove slowly in this exotic city on horseback. The city was very quiet and was not affected by the Song army's entry into the city. The shops opened and closed normally. There were still many Xixia shops, and Chen Qing did not intend to dispose of them.

All these were decided to be left to the yellow-headed Uighur, but he was very interested in the official warehouse.

The warehouse is located behind the county government. It consists of five buildings and a high wall is built around it. The warehouse has been controlled by the Song army. Liu Cui is busy with more than a hundred soldiers to count.

"Is there any important strategic material?" Chen Qing stepped forward and asked with a smile.

"Report to Dutong, there is copper!"

Chen Qing's eyes lit up, "How many?"

"I don't know. There are a lot of them. The entire warehouse is full. I estimate that there are several million catties. They are all blister copper. There should be copper mines nearby."

A few million jin sounds like a lot, but in fact it is not much, and the minted money is only about a million guan.

"What else?"

"There is also frozen mutton. There are several large ice cellars here, which are full of mutton and mutton wine. The rest are fodder, grain, and armory."

At this moment, a soldier hurried over and reported: "Refined iron was found in the copper warehouse, and it seems to be a lot!"

Chen Qing's heart moved, and he hurriedly said: "Look!"

Everyone quickly came to a warehouse, which was full of black and red copper ingots, each of which weighed more than a hundred catties.

At this time, the soldiers moved out a large box from a corner inside, which they had just discovered, and the lid of one of the boxes had been pried off.

Chen Qing stepped forward, and saw pieces of black fine iron neatly placed in the box, which were solid and dense, and covered with a kind of light grain. Chen Qing recognized it at a glance, which was similar to his Fang Tian. The painted halberd is made of the same material, wootz steel.

It is normal for Wuzi steel to appear here. After all, Zhangye is the hometown of the Sogdians. A large number of Sogdians live and do business here. They brought this high-quality refined iron from the Western Regions.

"How many?" Chen Qing asked.

A Dutou said: "We roughly counted it. There are 120 boxes in total. Each big box is about 12 catties, so there should be about [-] catties."

Chen Qing nodded, "The copper ingots and refined iron have been put into storage and sealed up, don't take them away for now, wait for my notice!"

Everyone bowed and said: "Follow the order!"

……

Three days later, Liu Qiong sent someone to send news that the chief of the Yellow-headed Uighurs led [-] troops and asked to cross the border to fight for the valley, and Chen Qing immediately agreed to cross the border.

Two days later, Liu Qiong rushed back with more than a hundred cavalry.

"Reporting to Dutong, I escorted the Uighur tribe to the west, and encountered an army of yellow-headed Uighurs on the west bank of the West Sea, about 3 people, and Mr. Xu Hongtu was also there."

"And then?" Chen Qing continued to ask.

"Then I negotiated with them initially, and their chief agreed to bring only [-] troops to the Hexi Corridor, the same strength as ours, and we will negotiate amicably after arriving in Ganzhou."

"Where are they now?"

"It was camped near the exit of Dadouba Valley. If they didn't come over, the humble army was also stationed there."

Chen Qing then ordered Liu Cui to lead [-] soldiers to defend the city, and he personally led [-] cavalry to the mouth of Dadouba Valley.

Ten miles away from the camp, the horn blew, and a cavalry of hundreds of people rushed towards this side. The leader was a strong man about 30 years old, wearing a wide hat and a gray cloth robe. He looks very ordinary in clothes, but has an extraordinary temperament, and his pair of eyes are particularly sharp.

Beside him was Xu Hongtu, who personally went to the Yellow Head Uighur to communicate with Chen Qing.

The man smiled brightly and spoke fluent Chinese, "I'm Cao Changchun, I've heard about the classics for a long time, and I'm famous!"

Chen Qing also laughed and said, "Each! Each other!"

The two laughed and stepped forward for a hug. Cao Changchun held Chen Qing's wrist, pointed at the subordinates behind him and smiled, "The Song army is well-equipped, which is enviable. Although my army is not well-equipped, the soldiers are all good at fighting. It's a prairie eagle."

Chen Qing saw that hundreds of people were extremely majestic, and all of them looked like bears. He said sincerely: "Eagles live on cliffs and can spread their wings for thousands of miles. You live in the harsh plateau. Although the conditions are harsh, you can still fly." Sharpen your will and physique, and become true grassland warriors."

Cao Changchun was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Since we intend to join forces to deal with Xixia, is the envoy willing to sworn brotherhood with me?"

Cao Changchun's suggestion was somewhat beyond Chen Qing's expectations, but Chen Qing knew that the other party, as the leader of the Yellow-headed Uighur, would never be over-the-top, and they were all deliberate. Only sworn brothers can eliminate each other's defenses and live in harmony. It must be Xu Hongtu's suggestion.

Chen Qing glanced at Xu Hongtu quickly, Xu Hongtu nodded to him with a smile, Chen Qing laughed and said: "I, Chen Qing, have no brother, no brother, no father and no mother, it is my honor to have an elder brother like Chief Cao." Fortunately!"

The two got off their horses, put on three sticks of incense, and took heaven and earth as witnesses, and became brothers with different surnames. Cao Changchun was five years older than Chen Qing, and was the elder brother.

Cao Changchun took out his golden dagger and gave it to Chen Qing, and Chen Qing took out the Condor Shooting Bow in return.

Cao Changchun said happily in his heart: "Tonight, our two armies will drink and eat meat together, and we will never stop getting drunk!"

That night, Cao Changchun ordered the slaughter of [-] fat sheep and took out thousands of bags of milk wine. The two armies sat around dozens of bonfires, gorging on meat and drinking to their heart's content.

A group of young and pretty women danced in front of the bonfire. Chen Qing looked at the stars in the sky and asked with a smile, "Why is your eldest brother named Cao? I don't quite understand."

Cao Changchun smiled slightly and said, "Do you think Cao has a Han surname?"

"I always thought it was a Han surname. It wasn't until I met Cao Baozong, the son of Cao Jie, the former prime minister of Xixia, that I realized that someone in Xixia also had the surname Cao."

"The Cao surname of Xixia actually comes from the same line as my surname, both from the Cao family in Shazhou."

Chen Qing was taken aback, "Could it be that elder brother is not only Uyghur, but also of Han blood?"

"There must be. We originated from the Uighurs in Shazhou. We fought against Tubo with the Guiyi Army. The Han and Uighurs lived together. From the late Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, nearly 200 years of blood fusion, no one dared to say that they are pure Uighurs, pure Han Chinese."

"Why does my brother have Han blood?" Chen Qing asked again with great interest.

Cao Changchun was also very interested. He looked at the starry sky and said slowly: "In the fourth year of Qianhua in the Later Liang Dynasty, after Cao Yijin replaced Zhang as the leader of the Guiyi Army, in order to gain the support of the Ganzhou Uighurs, he betrothed his daughter to the Ganzhou Uighurs Khan Ba ​​Yasu, and later she gave birth to a son, and Khan let the son follow his mother's surname. This is my ancestor, and his descendants have always been named Cao. There are five major tribes in Ganzhou Uighurs, and the tribe surnamed Cao is one of them. "

At this time, more than a dozen Uighur generals lined up to toast Chen Qing, each of them holding a two-three-jin earthenware bowl.

Cao Changchun chuckled, "I'll teach my virtuous brother a trick. If you show your skills, they can't compare, so you have to drink the wine yourself."

"Okay! I'll give it a try!"

Chen Qing ordered people to fetch a few bundles of standard short spears, and smiled at everyone: "These spears are all the same, I will give you a question, if someone breaks it, I will drink twice as much, if it can't be broken, drink the wine yourself ,how?"

Chapter 512 Liangzhou

All the generals were aggressive Uighur warriors, they were eager to try and compete with Chen Qing when they heard the words, they all agreed and were willing to take up the question.

Chen Qing smiled slightly, picked up a spear casually, ran two steps, and threw it hard into the distance, only to see the spear flew eighty steps, and it was precisely inserted on the flagpole of the Song Army.

Everyone exclaimed, and even Cao Changchun's eyes widened. He knew that he would not be able to do it if he needed not only superhuman strength, but also extremely high riding and archery skills.

"Everyone, this is my question. If it is the same as mine, I will admit defeat."

Although this spear was a bit shocking, but how could everyone be convinced, they picked up their spears and threw them on the grass. After throwing more than a dozen spears in a row, the farthest general only threw more than [-] steps, let alone stabbed A flagpole with a medium-bowl mouth.

Convinced, everyone raised their big bowls and drank it all in one gulp. Chen Qing also raised a bowl of wine, and accompanied them to sip to the top.

Cao Changchun clapped his hands, got up and praised: "Your brother is indeed worthy of being the number one general of the Western Army. It really opened my eyes. These rough people have lost. According to our rules, it is not only as simple as drinking, but also showing off the prize." of."

He shouted to more than a dozen generals: "Take out the best things in yourself, and then give them all back!"

Everyone was ashamed, and they each took something out of their pockets and put it in front of Chen Qing.

Chen Qing said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, I'll give each of you a saber later. It's made by the best craftsmen in our army, and it's extremely sharp."

Everyone was overjoyed, and left with fists in their hands.

At this moment, Cao Changchun beckoned the most beautiful among the dancers, and said to Chen Qing with a smile, "This is my concubine, and I will give it to my younger brother as a lottery."

Chen Qing was startled, and quickly waved his hands, "Other things can be accepted, but women are not allowed, brother, please forgive me!"

"It's true, you Han patriarchal ethics are too strong, then let her serve you all night, and let brothers taste her beauty."

Chen Qing still shook his head, smiled wryly and said, "Brother, don't embarrass me."

Cao Changchun laughed, "You don't want it yourself, it's not that I don't show my brother's friendship!"

"Brother's kindness, I'm in the mood!"

Cao Changchun patted him on the shoulder, "Let's continue drinking!"

……

Chen Qing got drunk and was carried back to the big tent by his own soldiers.

In the middle of the night, he felt that there was a delicate and soft body beside him, hugging his neck, but he couldn't open his eyes, he just thought he was having a dream.

When he woke up the next day, Chen Qing knew something bad had happened. Last night was not a dream, but real. Although the woman had disappeared, Chen Qing knew that she had really existed, and all traces were still there.

Chen Qing put on his clothes, walked out of the big tent, angrily scolded the two soldiers: "Why did you let that woman into the tent last night?"

The two guards on duty looked at each other, and one of them said aggrievedly, "Tu Tong brought her back and led her into the account. We refused to agree, and Du Tong got angry."

Chen Qing's eyes widened suddenly, is his wine so bad?I don't know what I did when I was drunk.

"Really?"

The two soldiers nodded.

"Who else knows besides you?"

"There will be no more for the time being. Everyone has too much to drink, so we two are on duty."

"Each of you will be rewarded with ten taels of silver. You are not allowed to tell anyone about the women's affairs last night, especially Madam, for this secret money, do you understand?"

"Understandable!"

"Go and rest! Get someone else."

After the two soldiers left, Chen Qing collapsed on the blanket, recalling the erotic dream last night, which really made him a little fascinated.

"Hey! After tasting the taste of a woman, it is indeed difficult to keep the barrier of desire."

……