Chiwuxing

Chapter [-] - When the situation is poor and the rivers and lakes are at a disadvantage

Fighting fiercely in the mountains and fields for three days in winter, the Podoluo clan was impatient with the enemy's cunning raids, so he simply led his army back to the city camp to discuss strategies.

After the death of Emperor Yan, they avoided the edge and retreated to Yanbei. They originally planned to return to Lejin King's Capital while Huxun was working hard in the southern army.Of course it would be the best if they could win over the remaining small clans. If they were merciless, they would be ready to take the small clans under their knife.After all, it was the Utron king's tribe who first designated them as rebels and drove them out of the Hudi. If there were internal strife among their tribes, they would have to complain about Hexuyi's ineffective leadership, which caused the tribe to fall apart.

But the plan to go back home was suddenly destroyed, and a group of roadblocks were killed halfway.

Santo led the army, at first he didn't recognize where the army came from.Seeing that they were all dressed like ordinary Yan people, with only a single layer of hakama pleats, and the long pole weapons in their hands were weird, so they thought it was Yan people from some town who gathered together to raise righteousness, so they didn't take it to heart.I didn't expect to find something unusual after several hours of fighting. The opponent was clearly prepared, marching and cleaning up, and the formation was orderly.Originally thought that he could easily attack by relying on the advantage of numbers, but found that the opponent was also very alert. He came up and wiped out the barbarians in front of him first, and then retreated after seeing the right time. He didn't dare to take risks, and he was unwilling to let them go easily. Divide a group of people to pursue from the small road, but they fell into the trap of the Yan people, and only a few dozen of the five or six hundred people escaped.

He used the same trick several times in a row, but he still couldn't catch the person, so he directly taught the Hu people to complain, and searched for a way forward for three days, finding many brothers in vain.

"Huh!" Santo threw the wine bag on the table with his left hand, and said angrily, "The emperor's corpse is already dry, and these Yan people are still thinking about dying!... as cunning as ever! They deserve to die!"

The Hu people who followed at the bottom said: "Boss, just now I heard from the brothers who are fighting against each other that some of the Yan people are familiar...should have seen it before."

"Have you seen it?" Santo frowned, "When did you see it? Why don't I have any impression... Those Yan people were from the Red Armored Army of Yan State?"

There were whispers among the crowd below, and one person said: "Looking back at the leader, these Yan people seem to be the group of Yan bandits that I met when I went to Jingzhou to reinforce the brothers in the besieged city. Many of their brothers did not continue to chase after them until they were in a hurry..."

"Let me just say it," Santo said coldly, "it's obvious that you've fought against someone like this before, and now you're thinking of a new way to bluff people... At that time, you should not have done anything, and just killed these Yan people. Kill it all!"

The person next to the seat said: "Santo, I think that since many brothers have been lost along the way... why don't we delay for a while, and force them to take the initiative to attack, so we can fight against them head-on. , looking for its weakness..."

The person who spoke was the leader of a small tribe. Tracing back to the origin, he could not be called a pure-blooded Hu people, but a descendant of another Xi people.

Santo snorted disdainfully, and said to him: "I think you are not waiting for the opportunity, but thinking about how to persuade me to retreat, and dare not go back to Le Guin like those cowards in the Tienal tribe?"

"……that's not what it means."

The man wanted to defend himself, but Santo stopped him, saying, "Impossible! Mu Zang and the others challenged me openly because of the large number of people. Now we are nothing more than having fewer troops. With such a small number of people, they can still teach them all the time." No fun!"

"Santo," Damen, the leader's confidant, who sat on the side, heard his words, "It's not about the number of people. The state crosses the Yishui River and crosses the mountains into Lejin, and the road is surrounded by mountains and passes. When we fought in Yannan, we were able to face the strong attack. When we arrived here, I am afraid it will not be so smooth... When we entered Jingzhou two times The matter has been verified..."

Santo was annoyed when he was contradicted, and said, "According to you! What to do!... After a long time, the country here is destroyed, and the Yan people are still a bunch of moths, and it is his turn to cooperate with Mr. Huxun for any good deeds. pick……"

Someone below muttered privately: "Isn't that the Weinan city that you gave up first..."

"You have the ability! You have the ability to lead your Zuofeng Department to kill all the swallow dogs infected with dirty diseases, so as not to make a mess!" Damen and him had a life-threatening friendship, and he dared not Speak harshly, but there is nothing shy about others here in Santo, "I stopped you from leaving?! We Hulan were not at the forefront of any battle! Which part of your heart are the brothers who have been killed in the past few days? Don’t count the heads?! Heh, we don’t lack your three or 2000 people here!”

"Santo!" Seeing that his words became more and more outrageous, Damen had no choice but to stop him coldly, "You are as good as drunk! Why are you drunk!"

The cheeks above the thick beard of this barbarian were flushed, he didn't know whether he was angry or drunk.

"They're going to find fault with me... you guys... and you're adding fuel and jealousy... I'm so fucking annoying for me!"

"Calm down!" Santo said more and more vigorously, while Damen stopped drinking, he shouted to his side, "Get water!"

The barbarian immediately got out of the tent and hurried back from the icy and snowy weather outside, holding a scoop of cold water freshly scooped from half of the tank's frozen water in his hand, and handed it over.Without further ado, Damen immediately poured the ice water mixed with snow on Santo's head. The man who was originally annoyed first cursed twice, but he really didn't move, and the atmosphere in the tent cooled down.

Damen opened his mouth and said to the leaders and generals of other departments in the tent: "Santo just now was worried about the current problem and was anxious, so he spoke out. I hope that the brothers present here don't have to criticize him, and try to solve it. It’s better to worry about the present.”

Everyone present had different expressions, and Santo, who was present at the table, was speechless.

After a stalemate for a long time, it was finally a barbarian outside the account who specially reported the affairs to break the stalemate.

The Hu people who sent the message also felt the secretive atmosphere in the tent. Since they started massacring the Yan people, all the tribal generals in charge have developed some moody tempers in the blood soaked, and occasionally It made the internal clansmen start to have some strange emotions.He stuttered and talked a lot, probably because Santo wanted the barbarians to beg for convenience on the other side of the Yishui River, but Fu Xuan began to turn his face and deny people at this time, and at most gave a few warships to cross the river, and none of the soldiers Willing to come out.

"...that's about it."

It's not good news, this barbarian tried his best to speak mellowly, after all, Fu Xuan's original words were even more ruthless, but the meaning was clear after all.Their Hulan tribe was the first to raise troops, and the barbarians had repeatedly instigated them secretly. At this time, they suddenly abandoned them. Isn't it just a lowly trick to throw them aside after they are used up?

Hearing this news, it is expected that the rest of the Hu generals, who had just held back because of Santo's incident, could not hold back their anger, and cursed the barbarian's behavior one after another.

Seeing that the situation was difficult to control, Damen knew that it would be counterproductive to forcefully block everyone's emotions. In addition, he was too angry in his heart, so he simply watched and ignored it, allowing the noise to fill the entire tent.

"enough!"

Santo yelled loudly, stood up abruptly, and overturned the table in front of him, together with the bowls and scoops of wine and water on it, to the ground. .

"Now! Send the message to the outside of the customs! Let the Hu soldiers who are staying there rush over!" Santo shouted towards the messenger standing in the center, "I still don't believe it! So many people...how can they still be there? In the hands of the bandits!"

Someone from below asked in a rough voice: "If you don't send troops to watch outside the pass, what if Yi Muzang and the others turn back with the results of the battle?"

"Betrayal?! Who is he going to turn against!" Santo said angrily, "If Tienal wants to go up to please Hexuyu, I will give him those cities for nothing! See you later, we are enemies !"

"Who says he's going to betray you?" Damen said to him from the side, "Don't listen to the wind and rain! Mu Zang and his team have contributed a lot! You can't help but accuse him again at this time..."

Santo's pupils flashed a cold light, and he glanced around at the people seated, all who saw him were startled by his expression.

"And you! Anyone who wants to retreat, go back to the outside of the pass to find their Tienal people! Don't follow!" Santo said, "Those who can't swallow this breath and are not afraid of death, prepare to send troops here! This time, we will not leave any room for retreat, and see who can outsmart whom!"

Santo looked excited, but the truth became clear.The rest of the people probably knew what it meant. Damen thought about it again, but he still didn't say anything to stop him. He was really angry, so he said, "What Santo said is a way to break through quickly. Why don't you all go back and think about it?" stop."

Everyone scattered out of the tent, Damen looked sideways, the cold fruit on Santo's face seemed to melt into ice, he said: "A few days ago I heard that we burned, killed and looted here for a few months, and the barbarians on the other side But nothing. I think they've been wanting to watch us laugh for a long time."

"What's the meaning?"

"From what I've heard, there are quite a few Yan soldiers and Yan people who have turned to join the barbarian army," Damen said, "not to mention other people who fled secretly...Fu Xuan's military order is strict, but They specifically asked not to kill the surrendered troops and not to take the people captive, they wanted to take the way of Utron to win over the Yan people."

"Didn't it mean that the Yanman and the barbarians have been fighting for many years, and they hate each other?" Santo sneered, "Why do you show such a slave face when it's time to save your life?"

"The Nanman fought against the Yan State in those years, and they also disturbed the border in the south of Yan. The people in the north rely on the land and the distance. Who would worry about the national hatred all day long, just looking for boredom?" Damen disdainful, "The Yan people are not Usually a hypocritical face, so what kind of national vendetta is at most just the border soldiers often talk about it, ordinary people have not had a good life themselves, so they don't have much heart to think about this..."

Santo also showed disdain: "For such a group of ruthless people to occupy this land for so long, they really deserve their country to perish..."

"Don't lament this. Since the barbarians still have the intention to stay behind, they are sure that the Yan people will not be killed if they want to kill them. They have to use this method of security to temporarily suppress them. In the future, they can also prepare a back-up move... ..."

"Leave them alone," Santo said resolutely, "this is the end of the matter, do you still want to teach me to build graves for those Yan people's corpses one by one, and pay homage to them? We despise the tricks of the barbarians. This method finally trained a group of obedient Yan people, so what is the difference between him and the original Zongzheng Huangmen?"

"Forget it," Damen replied convinced, "Now we really need to fight with all our strength. No matter what Yandi's tactics are, they are still fake tactics."

"Hmph, we are much more tolerant of the cold weather in the north than those pampered Yan people. How could we let them take advantage of this season? It's a joke," Santo sneered, "don't give them some real knives Real guns, they really thought they could kill us with those tricks."

"However, during the two days of battle, the weapons they held in their hands did not seem to be very common. They seemed to be made of some kind of bamboo and wood. The brothers said that the soft branches looked weak, but when it came to chopping with a machete, they were so uncommon. Falling into it, chopping and cutting..."

"Fart!" Santo scolded, "If you take a new thing, you won't be beaten, and if the appendage is hard to break, you won't cut it down? Kongchang has brute force... I think they were called them even in the past two months I am used to doing evil in this city of Yan, and when it is time to send out troops, I will come to this unsuitable and sloppy problem... After a while, I will give the order to throw the treasures and women looted from the camp into the city first, cutting off their retreat Think about it!"

Damen knew that Santo was really annoyed this time.He was involved in the adultery and robbery at first, but at this moment he was willing to make a clean decision, more or less after the fresh energy he had enjoyed in the beginning, he realized that the serious matter was being delayed, and he was willing to rein in the precipice.

"Then you should wake up quickly," Damen urged him, "after the subordinates have made a decision, then leave as soon as possible, and there is no longer any delay."

"..."

In fact, the so-called new weapon that Podoro Santo scorned this time is indeed wrong, and it will be known before it sends troops to test.

"……How to do?"

Chao Er sat on the hill and rocks, the melted snow under his butt was sticky and stained a large area, it was cold and sticky, and there was no heat at all.

As far as the eye can see, there are a pile of moso bamboo poles lying on the ground like rotten wood. Those who don't know what's going on may think that they are branches discarded by farmers who felled indiscriminately.

"It's not entirely the fault of Master Pang." Chao Er still wanted to argue first. "When the 'Wolf Whip' was made, it was in a warm and humid place in Qianchuan, and the local moso bamboo was used. Master Pang stayed in Weinan. It's been a long time, and it's inevitable that I forgot to consider the climate conditions in the north... No one thought that they would dry up and wither like this... Originally, they thought that since they were dead, they shouldn't change anyway It's..."

Fu Chen stood at a corner of the slope with his hands behind his back, his back to him.Looking at the snowy scenery all over the field, it seems to be meditating on something.

Chao Er reflected on his self-blame in the same place, chattering in a low voice.After a long time, I also felt tired from talking, and my throat was dry, so I looked up at the standing figure standing in front of me, and said dryly, "Hey, you can also say something..."

"The matter has come to this point, and it is useless to entangle the reasons."

Fu Chen looked away from a distance, turned around, and his pale curly hair fluttered.

"...Do you have a solution?"

Chao Er stared at his snow-like plain and indifferent face, and suddenly felt that this person had a bit of exile aura at this moment, quite a bit of non-humanity.

He reacted that he was thinking wildly at this moment, shook his head, and said: "If I go back to get weapons at this time, I'm afraid it will be too late...or I will go to Lincheng to grab them, and if I run into barbarians garrisoning them, I will be beaten again. The harm..."

"The barbarians are not meddling in other people's business. If they know that we are waiting to ambush the barbarians, they may not only not intercept them, but rush to make a convenient way on the road." Fu Chen said.

"So..." Chao Er said, "Is this method feasible?"

"It's feasible..." Fu Chen seemed to be worried, and turned around again, facing the snowfield that had dyed the sky a little white, and the dead branches and old trees were only fine lines that were invisible like hair, "It's just that I always Think of a more adventurous way..."

"what?"

Chao Er got up, pulled back the folded hem of his clothes, and walked slowly behind him.The same topographical valley covered by heavy snow is like a layer of clothing, so that others can't easily see the scenery below it.

"But it may not work."

It is rare to see a look of hesitation in the young man's eyes.

"Let's talk about it first."

Fu Chen first asked: "You have lived in Wuling and Linchuan before, but do you know how frozen the river is at this time of year?"

"It depends on the specific situation," Chao Erdao said, "The rivers in Yanbei, such as Zishui and Yishui, are all branches of Jinhe River going north and south, so they are naturally replenished by flowing water at the junction, and the temperature is relatively high. It is high and gradually decreases towards the north. It is still some time before the ice and snow in the deep winter after the year. Hudi, which extends north to Guanghan, is something else... What do you want to do?"

"I think," Fu Chen turned his head, but his originally dull eyes gave out a sense of firmness due to the stillness, without any hint of a joke, "Cutting ice to lead the river."

Chao Er took a deep breath and was about to say something when he saw the young man take out a cloth-covered map from his breast pocket in an instant, turned around and walked to the rock he had just sat on, and spread the map on it.He followed, and saw that the silk cloth was covered with dense short lines, circles and large groups of lead shadows, which was quite different from the map records he had seen before.

Fu Chen pointed to the mountain where they are now buried, slid his fingertips, and then followed the road to the Hu army's garrison, narrowed his eyes and said: "If the Hu people want to go to Lejin, they must have stayed along Yunzhou to Pingchang. A series of passes, and then go to Yizhou to enter the mountains. This road is the most convenient, and it is relatively flat and easy to walk. In the past, the Chijia marched also followed this road."

"This is Yishui."

The young man Su sharpened his fingertips and turned to another place, Chao Er's eyes fell after that, looking at the thick black scribbles, he really didn't see how it looked like a river.

"Yishui River is adjacent to the middle and upper reaches of the Jin River, and they are bound to cross a water-dividing pass, followed by a mountain range with high terrain," Fu Chen said calmly, as if there was a landscape of mountains and rivers in front of him, "Just use this slightly higher terrain to divert water. As long as these passes are blocked, it will be difficult for the horses to move. Either they wrap the horse's hooves with cloth, which greatly slows down the speed, or they abandon the horses. Let's go, so that Hu Qi will become infantry, and the advantage will be reduced by half. Let's wait for them to come over on the opposite side. At that time, we have already borrowed weapons, so they are naturally much stronger than the Hu who broke into an army."

After listening carefully, Chao Er sighed, "You've already thought it through quite well..."

"But this method is also risky," Fu Chen lowered his eyes, "If the timing is not right, it will easily fall short, and in the end, the work will be wasted."

"But it's really worth a try," Chao Er commented, pouted, and looked down at the bad things all over the place. At this time, some emerald colors seemed to reappear. "At least this moso bamboo pole is hard, and it's still enough to sharpen the blade." Sharp, the ice layer of the upper reaches of the Yishui River grabs the skillful force and pries along the cracks, it may not be impossible to achieve the effect you said."

"The decision is up to you," Fu Chen got up, and threw the problem back to him, "We will listen to you on what to do."

Knowing what he meant, Chao Er bit his lower lip, still feeling confused, and said again: "Then tell me the truth, how much chance do you have in mind for the method you told me?"

"Six to seven."

"Then go back to Yancheng to search for weapons from the former Yan army?"

"In terms of this alone, there are eighty-nine points," Fu Chen said, "but there is no conflict between the two. If the former is successful, there will be eighty-nine points, which is the eighty-nine points for killing Hu Jun in one go. And the eighty-nine points of this matter are just to find the weapons, but if you go back and face the strong Huqi from the Hulan tribe, it will still be a bit difficult. After all, the snow is thick and the mountain roads are narrow. The battle is already impossible, so we can only think of some guerrilla methods to erode his intention little by little, and I am afraid it will not be easy to win a complete victory."

Fu Chen raised his eyes and looked at him quietly.His gaze may be warmed by the cold and snowy outside world, and it doesn't urge him to make an immediate decision.

Getting along with each other these days, Chao Er has gradually become more temperamental. He said six or seven points, there must be seven points, and he said eight or nine points, there must be eight points.

"If you follow your drainage method, the time is too tight..."

According to the personality of the Hu people, they took a short break and had to set off again in the near future.But how many days they have to rest is related to the time difference.If he fails to catch up, let alone fetching water from the bamboo basket, I am afraid that he will have to follow him in the attack and fall into a passive position.If they find helpers in Le Guin and turn around and surround them in the mountains, it will really be a waste of all previous efforts.

"So the decision is up to you." Fu Chen repeated softly.

Chao Er gave a wry smile: "At the beginning you swore to persuade me to come here, I thought you were so sure..."

"All kinds of factors are mixed on the battlefield, and what is considered is machine changes, not plans. Any pre-conceived assumptions may be broken, so it's good to trust your own judgment," Fu Chen followed with a faint smile, "At least until now , We have killed many Hu troops from the Hulan tribe, and we have not lost the wind."

Chao Er stood up straight and paced back and forth.Then he squatted down and looked at the silk map carefully, the black shadows looked like some kind of magical totem, he couldn't help but said: "Where did you get this map...why can't I understand it?"

"I drew this hand-painted along the way when I rushed to Qianchuan," Fu Chen said, "It was just for myself to see, I think you have lived in Yanbei, so you should be more familiar with the terrain here than I am. "

"You..." Hearing the words, Chao Er suddenly thought of something unusual, "Your eyes...are they..."

"I'm not blind," Fu Chen reassured, "I can still see some shadows in daylight."

It's no wonder that there are mostly large black shadows in the picture, but in the eyes of young people, it may become a continuous gully landscape.

Chao Er turned his eyes away from the picture, and tried his best to show a normal look: "No wonder you don't want the wolf's stick for you. It is said that your own saber is comfortable to use... This is also your... foresight?"

Fu Chen was amused by his jerky humor, stepped forward and said, "...you reminded me."

As he spoke, he hung the bayonet around his waist on his body.

"What are you doing!" Chao Er pushed him to stop him, "No need!"

"No need for anything?" Fu Chen raised his head and glanced at him with a smile, then fastened his belt, "Anyway, you don't need a knife right now, you are the leader, and you still don't pay attention to your own safety?"

"Then you don't need to give it to me," Chao Er said strangely, "Could it be that if I change the weapon, I still can't defeat the barbarians... Besides, I have time to go to Yancheng in the past two days, why do I still lack weapons? ..."

"Don't be childish!" Fu Chen thumped him, "Why are you being hypocritical, knowing that you are capable and capable, it's not enough for everyone to admit it... If you do something wrong again, I'll beat you up!"

Chao Er was choked up, and his head was swollen, but he also acquiesced that his own strength was slightly behind.

"...Sooner or later, I will overthrow you!" He snorted coldly.

"Waiting for you," Fu Chen said with a smile, "How about it, have you made a decision?"

"Just do as you say," Chao Er's anxiety eased a lot at this time, "If there is a mistake, it will be mine."

"Don't rush to catch him," Fu Chen patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Today, the brothers who are temporary teachers take a rest for half a day, and the whole army will set off at dawn tomorrow."

"There's no need to wait," Chao Er said in a deep voice, "except for flesh and blood injuries, the brothers have not suffered serious injuries. I will go down the mountain to inform them about the matter. It would be great if I can reach Yizhou before nightfall today. It snows every day in Yanbei winter. When it snows, we have to delay our work. According to what you said, it will take time to freeze the water after water diversion, and we can’t afford to delay it for half an hour.”

"Let's go down the mountain now." The young bandit leader pursed his lips and repeated as if he had made a decision, his voice lowered a little, as if he was speaking specifically for the people around him.I saw that when he went down the steps, he quietly grasped the handle of the knife on his waist, and walked away without looking back.

Fu Chen's smile disappeared, and he returned to the solemnity he had when he was worrying just now.He rubbed his eyes where they were, and stepped up to keep up with the blindfolded eye sockets.