Hanhou

The sound of horseshoes shook the ground, and the beacon towers ignited one after another, and the black smoke column shot straight into the sky, which was still clearly visible several miles away.

The Xiongnu came fiercely, from Daijun, Yanmen, Dingxiang to Yunzhong, and the frontier counties were full of smoke.

The frontier army beat drums and gongs, and the frontier residents quickly retreated to the city and nearby villages.If you really can't get away, just a few people go together, use the bows, arrows and short knives as weapons to fight against the Huns who came first, try to delay the speed of the cavalry, and buy time for others.

"Killing one is one!"

A few young men threw away Leisi, opened their bows that never left their bodies, and shot a wave of arrows against the charge of the cavalry.

The Xiongnu cavalry skillfully hung sideways on the horse, or leaned forward, and all the flying arrows fell through the air.

A war horse was shot in the neck and neighed rhythmically.The Xiongnu cavalrymen showed ferocious faces, clamped their legs tightly to the horse's belly, avoided the second wave of arrows, drove their horses to speed up, and slammed into the young and strong in front.

With a few bangs, Qing Zhuang flew out backwards.When landing, the acquaintance's sternum is sunken.Those with minor injuries had no time to get up, and were instantly submerged under the iron hooves.

The Xiongnu cavalry was getting closer and closer, and some border residents had already been swept by the blade and fell into a pool of blood.

Hearing the screams, young and strong stopped one after another, turned around and rushed towards the Huns.However, there were too many Xiongnu on the opposite side. The counterattack of the frontier residents was like waves hitting a boulder, and a short knife cut the horse's leg.

A team of scouts rushed out from the slanting stab, holding a curved bow, and pulled the bowstring again and again to cover the retreat of the border people.The quiver was shot in the air, and it was still firmly blocked between the Xiongnu and the border people until it was surrounded by enemies several times its own.

Facing the ferocious bandit, Shichang threw away his bow, drew out his short knife, and shouted sharply: "The thief slaughtered the people on the border, and if he dies, he will take one of them, let me kill you!"

"kill!"

As the blades criss-crossed, more than a dozen scouts fell off their horses.Blood splattered, staining the green grassland red.

In February of the first year of Emperor Jingdi, the Xiongnu went south in a large scale, and border counties were in emergency one after another, including Yunzhong County.

Seeing the rising smoke, Wei Shang and the others quickly mounted their horses and galloped towards Yunzhong City.

Before leaving, Wei Yue grabbed Zhao Jia's arm and said, "Go back to the village, don't keep anyone in the livestock farm!"

Zhao Jia didn't have time to speak, Wei Yue had already let go of him, flew on the horse, and followed Wei Shang.

Shaling County is in the southwest of Yunzhong City, some distance from the county fortress.The Xiongnu wanted to rush here unless they broke through the defense of the frontier army or came around from Wuyuan County.

Judging from past experience, both possibilities are unlikely.However, caution is the first priority in everything, Zhao Jia didn't want to take any risks, and decided to follow Wei Yue's suggestion and withdraw all the people to the Zhao's village.

"Uncle Xiong, Uncle Hu, gather the young and strong to set up carts, take away the cattle and sheep that can be taken away, and keep the ones that cannot be taken away!"

"Mrs. Sun, organize people to bring the children, don't worry about the others!"

Zhao Jiayue got on his horse, raised his voice, and ordered one after another.

The smoke in the distance lingered for a long time, and although no shouts of killing were heard, one could clearly sense the urgency of the situation.

"Lang Jun, we can guard the livestock farm, just like before!" You Qingzhuang said.

"Do as I say!" Zhao Jia said harshly, "All go back to the village, no one will be left here!"

"Lang Jun, Tiandi..."

"Do not care!"

Under Zhao Jia's strict order, everyone acted quickly.

Uncle Xiong and Uncle Hu, who were young and strong, quickly set up the carts, loaded lambs, calves, and foals into the carts, and took back a lot of plows.Aunt Sun and the women spread out the linen and animal skins, tied the children on their backs, grabbed their bows and arrows, and jumped on their horses neatly.

Gongsun Ao helped the young and strong to open the fence, and several big dogs in the livestock farm followed him, barking constantly, and drove the lonely cattle and sheep back to the team.

Wei Qing was originally with Gongsun Ao, but because he is not tall, he could easily be left behind in the chaos.

Zhao Jia rode by and saw Wei Qing who was holding a pony, and called out directly, "Ah Qing, come here!"

Wei Qing turned around, Zhao Jia was already on the side of the horse, his legs clamped around the horse's belly, one hand held the rein tightly, and the other hand picked up Wei Qing, and put it directly in front of him.

"pay close attention!"

Zhao Jia let out a breath, and said to Hu Bo behind him: "Don't worry about the fence and wooden house, let's go!"

"promise!"

Zhao Jia opened the way in front, carts and women walked in the middle, and young and strong guarded on the left and right.Ji Bao led a few skilled men at the end to guard against the appearance of the Xiongnu cavalry.

Sitting on the horseback, Wei Qing grabbed Zhao Jia's lapel with his small hands, and almost hit Zhao Jia's chin when he raised his head.

The chariots and horses rumbled forward and soon arrived at Zhao's village.

The gate of the gate has been closed, wooden boards have been raised around the earthen wall, and the tall archery tower has been rolled out. Qing Zhuang hides behind the crossbar. Looking north, he saw Zhao Jia and his party returning.

"It's Mr. Lang!"

"Zhao Langjun is back!"

"Open the gate!"

When the gatekeeper pulled the rope, a short man was reluctant and murmured in a low voice that these people should be locked out, and if the Huns really came, they could still stop them.

"your humble servant!"

The mumbling was heard by the one-armed gatekeeper, who kicked him down without saying a word.People around looked at him coldly, and even the woman who brought hot water spat at him.

"A gutless mouse!"

Seeing the resentment on his face, the one-armed gatekeeper didn't talk nonsense, as soon as he raised his hand, a young man immediately stepped forward and tied him tightly.

"What's wrong with me?" The little man struggled, "Once the gate is closed, it should not be opened again. This is the rule, and he, Zhao Jia, is no exception! Do you know how many Huns have come? Why don't you shut him out and take him away?" There is food in his house, and when we are full, we will be able to guard it until the Xiongnu retreat!"

"Little man!"

Not only did these remarks fail to resonate, but they were even more cast aside.

It's not that the little man is too stupid to keep his mouth open, but that he has recently joined relatives, and not long after he arrived in Zhao's village, he only knows that Zhao Jia is rich, but he doesn't know much about others, and he has only heard about his handling of thieves.

In his opinion, how could such a mere child have such abilities, it must be the work of the old servants around him.

This is not the first time that the little man has taken advantage of the chaos to seize other people's property.The previous few times went well, but I didn't expect it to hit a snag in Zhao's village.

The clansman who took him in flushed with anger and shame.They regret letting this person live in their home. If they had known such a character, they should have driven him away!

"Lock it up and wait for the gentleman to deal with it." The one-armed gatekeeper said humanely.He didn't want to waste his time with such a bastard at all.

"It's better to kill!" A young and strong man grabbed the short man with one hand, and pointed the sharp short knife to the opponent's neck. "If you spare his life, there is no guarantee that he will not vote for the Huns!"

"How could I vote for the Huns!" The little man protested loudly, but unfortunately no one paid attention to him.

Being in the border county, facing threats from bad neighbors all the year round, anything can happen.As narrow-minded as a short man, in order to save his life, he might really vote for the Huns.

Zhao Jia galloped into the gate, understood what happened, frowned, he didn't take the man's life, but ordered someone to lock him up.

"Let people watch carefully. After the Huns retreat, send him to Yunzhong City."

"promise!"

This time the Xiongnu plundered the border, the border fortress must be destroyed, and labor is urgently needed to rebuild it.Send him to build the city wall, lock him up with Chengdan, let alone escape, it is a miracle that he can leave the construction site for half a step!

The short man's mouth was gagged, his hands were tied behind his back and he was pulled down.

The gate was closed again, the door bolt was hung, and a heavy wooden frame that required two strong men to lift was placed behind the door to ensure that it would not be easily knocked open.

There is an open space on the east side of the village, which originally belonged to Zhao Jia, and a group of houses will be built after the spring plowing.The land has been leveled out, just right for the carts and cattle and sheep brought back.

"Put up the fence first."

Part of the young and strong men were assigned to go to the watchtower, and Uncle Hu and Uncle Xiong led the rest to build the corrals.If the wood is not enough, large carts are used to pile it around to form an independent space to ensure that the cattle and sheep will not run out.

Lambs, calves, and foals require tender care.Some lambs are really timid and are held in the arms of women.The foal and calf were relatively happy, and they walked around the new corral to get familiar with the environment, and soon found their mothers, ready to fill their stomachs.

Everyone was busy, and Zhao Jia was not idle either. He rolled up his sleeves and personally lifted the wooden bucket to fill the troughs with feed for the cattle and sheep.

"I don't know when the Xiongnu will retreat. Do all the families have enough food?"

"Save some food, it can last for a while." Hubo walked beside Zhao Jia, and said in a low voice, "But the Xiongnu may miss the spring plowing if they come at this time. If it takes a month or two, I'm afraid we won't be able to harvest this year." How much millet."

Zhao Jia nodded, knowing that what Hu Bo said was true.

"If the farming season is really missed, we need to find another way to pay this year's tax."

The snowstorm in winter resulted in the failure of grain harvest.Not long after the spring plowing began, the border residents just had some hope, when the Xiongnu went south to plunder, really wanting to keep people alive.

According to common sense, the Huns should not have come at this time.

To put it bluntly, in the lean months, horses can be run in the warehouses of the border counties, and the people's homes don't have much food, and some people can even starve to death.At this time, there may not be any gains. When encountering angry border soldiers and residents, thousands of people may be killed or injured.

Wei Qing followed Zhao Jia, holding bundled grass in his arms.Listening to the conversation between Zhao Jia and Hu Bo, the previous belief became more and more firm: the Huns are not good things, and they must be removed like weeds in the field!

After feeding the cattle and sheep, Zhao Jia clapped his hands, and when he saw Wei Qing following him, he simply bent down and picked up the child.

"Lang Jun..." Hu Bo frowned.

Even if this child is not Tian Tong, this is not appropriate.

Zhao Jia grinned, the future Great General Sima, no one else could hug him if he wanted to!

Walking in the village, there are children around one after another.The older ones held lambs in their arms.A few reed chickens flew by, flapping their wings, as if they wanted to peck the lamb in the child's arms.The children hugged the lamb with one hand, waved their small hands twice, and slapped the reed chicken on the head accurately, easily driving away the attackers.

Zhao Jia was amused, put Wei Qing on the ground, untied the cloth bag around his waist, poured out the dried meat and caramel inside, and distributed it to the surrounding children.

Many children did not eat the caramel by themselves after being distributed, but bit it open with their teeth and distributed it to other companions.The same is true for jerky, all torn into thin strips, and everyone can only taste the taste.

"Thank you sir!"

"No, let's go play." Zhao Jia wanted to pick up Wei Qing again, but the child avoided him and insisted on walking by himself.

When the children present heard what he said, they all shook their heads in disapproval.

"Lang Jun, the Huns are here, where can I play!"

"Your Majesty, don't underestimate these Huns!"

"Kill them to save Su Shu!"

Children, you talk to each other, indicating that the situation is serious, and you still want to play at this time, your thinking is very dangerous, and the problem is very serious!

Seeing Douding's serious looks, Zhao Jia wanted to laugh, but felt it was inappropriate.They could only forcefully lower the corners of their mouths, expressing solemnly that they were right.

After the children dispersed, Zhao Jia handed Wei Qing over to Gongsun Ao who had come to find him, mounted his horse alone, and patrolled along the wall.After asking the vigilant young man, he confirmed that there was no sign of the Huns roaming around, and then rode back home.

At the same time, the gates of Wei's village were also tightly closed, and the young and old took turns climbing up the archery tower, to be wary of wandering horses that might appear at any time.

The old people pay close attention to counting the grain and livestock, the women pay close attention to the children, and the idlers who do not work on weekdays are also driven to climb up the earthen wall, so they are not allowed to be lazy at this time.

When the smoke rose, A Tao and A Shi were still grazing sheep near the livestock farm.Get the warning and drive the flock back immediately.Thanks to the help of the young and healthy women from the livestock farm, the sheep were not lost, and the children who herded the sheep returned to the village safely.

The healthy woman who came to see him off specially went to see Wei Qing'e and conveyed Zhao Jia's words.

"Lang Jun said that if the situation is critical, the girl can go to Zhao's village."

"I know. Go back and tell brother that I'm fine here, and he needs to be careful. If you're in danger, don't force yourself, and enter Cloud City with the wooden guest card."

"promise!"

The healthy woman exited the room and rode away with the young man.

Wei Qingmo walked out of the room, put the back of her hand on her forehead, looked at the blue sky, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

The healthy servant stood guard in the courtyard with a bow and arrow on his back and a short knife in his hand, and Wei Xia followed behind Wei Qing'e like a shadow.

There was also a young girl sitting squatting next to Wei Qing's legs, with a beautiful appearance and a cloth strip tied on her left arm.Her arm was broken by the wicked, and the ability of the doctor was limited. Although the bones were connected, her arm could not exert strength at all, and she was almost half disabled.Knowing her situation, even the tribe refused to take her in.Wei Xia told her that the girl was willing to take her in, and the girl couldn't believe it. She didn't believe that she was not dreaming until she was face to face with Wei Qing'e.

"From today on, your name is Wei Qiu."

Wei Qiu.

This is her new name.

The girl raised her head, met Wei Xia's eyes, then turned her eyes away, looked at Wei Qingmo standing in the corridor, stroked the wooden hairpin on her head with one hand, bent her full red lips, and smiled into her eyes.

"Aqiu, why are you laughing?" Wei Qing'er asked curiously.

"Qiu thinks the girl is very beautiful."

Wei Qingmo was amused.

"My color is not as good as that of Hoduo, how can I say that I am beautiful?" Her appearance followed her father's, with more than heroic spirit, but not enough delicateness, it is really not beautiful.

"Girl, don't let Zhao Langjun hear this." An elderly maid came from under the kitchen, holding a clay pot in her hand.

"Woman, what is this?" Wei Qing'er asked curiously.

"Tofu. Mr. Zhao delivered it yesterday. It is boiled in Pouti sauce and mutton soup, with bean sprouts and shallots added."

"Very good!"

Wei Qing'e turned around and walked into the room, and said to Wei Xia and Wei Qiu: "You are very good at cooking, you all come and try."

"promise!"

The arrival of the Huns broke the tranquility of the frontier fortress, and a vanguard of 5000 cavalry rushed into Yunzhong County.The prefect Wei Shang personally mobilized troops and horses to deploy defenses on the border.

Seeing the banners played by the Huns, the county officials and soldiers at the top of the city were a little surprised.

"Not Subaru."

As an old opponent, it is natural to recognize each other at a glance.The cavalry in front of him was very strange, their weapons were tattered, and they only wore leather robes, which they had never seen before.What made Wei Shang frown even more was that these invading cavalrymen had yellow beards and hair, and strange-colored pupils. They didn't look like the Huns at all.

"Ah Weng, they should be barbarian cavalry from another tribe of the Huns." Wei Yue stood beside Wei Shang in armor.He just took people out of the city to investigate and brought back five or six heads.He was interrogated before the killing and knew the identity of the cavalry.

"Don't ride wildly?"

"King Youtuqi of the Huns conquered a barbarian tribe and took it as another tribe."

To put it bluntly, it is another ministry, but to put it bluntly, it is the slave of King Youxian.

For the Xiongnu, slaves outside the headquarters, especially these barbarians with unusual looks, are the best cannon fodder and can be discarded at any time.They were sent to attack Yunzhong County, but they couldn't beat it normally, and King Youxian didn't care if they were all dead.If you win the game by luck, and you encounter a stubborn stubble like Wei Shang in the future, you can adopt the tactics of crowds and send all the slaves!

In fact, the Xiongnu did not want to go south at this time. According to the strategy set by the Bank of China, autumn ripening is the best time to plunder.

However, due to the snowstorm last year, many cattle and sheep were frozen to death in the grassland, and the food plundered last time was not enough to support all the tribes.With Shan Yu's order, all the ministries were dismantled into pieces, and barely lasted until the beginning of spring.However, with the outbreak of an epidemic, a large number of cattle and sheep that had not grown fat suddenly died. The Xiongnu nobles wanted to feed the tribe, and even began to rob other tribes of cattle and sheep.

Both Shan Yu and Zuo Xian Wang knew that if this situation continued, there would definitely be troubles.

When there was nothing to do, Shan Yu's mastermind came up with an idea and simply gathered all the ministries to go south.It is good to grab food, but if you can't, you can also use the Han army to consume slaves from other tribes, receive cattle and sheep from other tribes, and preserve the strength of the Xiongnu headquarters.

The smarter other tribes, such as Ding Ling, Di, and Qiang, can more or less guess Wang Ting's plan.It's just that due to the strength of the Huns, they had to act according to the orders of the other party.The only brains that can be used is to keep some reservations in the attack, so as not to hurt the muscles and bones, and the entire tribe will be annexed.

Those who have no brains, such as attacking the barbarian tribe in Yunzhong County, rush forward with one mind, and their end can only be to send heads to the Han army, and the cattle and sheep left behind will be taken over by the headquarters.

"Fire arrows!"

As the charging team got closer and closer, the drums sounded, and the archers lay down one after another, erecting their strong bows with their legs.

The bowstring was stretched, and the arrow as thick as two fingers gleamed coldly.Accompanied by another drumbeat, arrows flew out like rain, crossed the sky, and slammed into the charging cavalry.

In an instant, the horse neighed and roared, and dozens of cavalrymen fell off their horses, and were trampled into pulp by their charging companions.

The news of the attack on Bianjun was still on the way, and a team carrying imperial edicts and rewards had already set off from Chang'an, traveling day and night, heading straight for Yunzhong County.

The method of taming the cattle has been verified, and the eunuch was lucky, he was fined with salary, but did not lose his official position.It's just that after this time, the possibility of continuing to be promoted like his predecessor Liu She is very slim.

Not long after the award and reward were issued, Emperor Jing went to Changle Palace, hoping that Empress Dowager Dou would choose a concubine for the prince.

Empress Dowager Dou responded to this matter, and by the way proposed to Emperor Jing that she should give the queen's elder brother Wang Enfenghou.In order to persuade Emperor Jing, he even mentioned the deceased Dou Changjun.

"My brother was not sealed when he was alive, and I am deeply hurt. Empress Xian, don't feel my pain, his brother can be sealed."

Emperor Jing did not agree on the spot, but said that he would discuss with the prime minister.

Empress Dowager Dou did not object. After Emperor Jing left, she asked Chen Jiao to continue reading the "Tao Te Ching", and at the same time asked the eunuch to send a message to Guantao not to come to pay her respects in the near future, and she would not see her when she came.

Not long after Emperor Jing left Changle Palace, news about Wang Enfenghou spread like wildfire in the palace.

In the Jiaofang Palace, Queen Wang listened to the eunuch's report and knew that the news came from Changle Palace. She only felt chills all over her body, and she felt like falling into an ice cellar instantly.