"Sir, there are still no survivors!"
On a dirt road leading to a certain village, a knight rode a tall horse, shouting to the other side while running.
"Sir, we don't have any here either!"
"My lord, they are all dead! They are all dead!"
…
Several more knights rushed out of the village one after another, and everyone reported the same result, that there was not a single living person in the village.
Wang Cheng sat on the back of the bloody BMW "Qing Lei" and said expressionlessly: "This should be the fourth village that was massacred, right?"
"Yes! Four villages, more than 2,000 people, not a single person left alive!" Zhu Pengfei gritted his teeth.
Wang Cheng said: "If we don't do this, we won't be able to find traces of them even after chasing them for so long."
"His mother is cruel enough." Zhu Pengfei couldn't help but said.
In order not to reveal their traces, this group of Black Hawks slaughtered every village they passed by, leaving not even a trace behind.
Call it cruel or inhumane, but this is indeed the most effective way to avoid leaking their traces.
Because only the dead will shut their mouths forever!
After all, this group of Black Eagle Army people are from Xia. Even if their language and writing are consistent with Zhou Dynasty, their accent, habits, body odor and other characteristics cannot be completely concealed. The people living in Yinshan County have been dealing with Xia people for generations. How is it possible? Can't recognize it?
"So the only way to avoid leaking their traces is to kill everyone who has seen them."
Wang Cheng looked solemn, and suddenly snorted coldly, saying: "Dead people can't speak, but that doesn't mean they can cover up all the clues."
"oh?"
Zhu Pengfei was startled and quickly asked: "Is it possible that Brother Wang has discovered their traces?"
Wang Cheng stared at the village and said: "The people in this village should not have been dead for more than twenty-four hours. It is now around two o'clock in the afternoon, so this group of people should have taken action last night. To be precise, it should be yesterday." Around eight o’clock in the evening.”
"What twenty-four hours? What eight o'clock last night?" Zhu Pengfei couldn't understand this modern time expression.
After Wang Cheng explained it again, Zhu Pengfei understood, but he was puzzled: "What can be seen from this?"
"We passed four villages, and the people in the four villages were killed at night. In other words, their next action will be tonight." Wang Cheng said.
Zhu Pengfei's eyes lit up and he said, "That's right! There are quite a few wandering dogs in this group. They can easily be discovered when they move during the day, so they can only move at night."
Wang Cheng nodded and continued: "This group of Black Eagle Army is very strong, and the weakest are all Qi and Blood Realm warriors with a lot of food. They raided our great Zhou Dynasty, and the logistics supplies were insufficient, so they could only rob the villagers. , otherwise we can starve them to death alive."
Zhu Pengfei got it right, turned around and said to a young man in his thirties behind him: "Old Gao, bring me the map."
Lao Gao took out a sheepskin map from his arms, spread his hands and held it upright in front of the two of them.
This is a detailed map of Yinshan County. It marks the location of each county and clearly marks the villages and towns under the jurisdiction of Liuyun County. It is very detailed.
Zhu Pengfei pointed to the village with "Erhe Village" written on the map and said: "We are here now. If we go by what Brother Wang said, that group of people is likely to raid this...here...here tonight!"
He named three villages in a row. These three villages were the closest to "Erhe Village". Each one was only about ten miles away from "Erhe Village", and the farthest one was less than twenty miles away.
On earth, the distance between villages may be a bit far, but that was in modern society with dense population. In ancient times, the distance between villages was generally twenty or thirty miles.
After more than ten years of rest and recuperation in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the people have lived and worked in peace and contentment for more than ten years. The population has experienced substantial growth, and another village has appeared within ten miles.
"Brother Wang, which village do you think they are most likely to raid?" Zhu Pengfei turned around and asked Wang Cheng.
Wang Cheng frowned and thought, shook his head and said: "It's hard to say, every village has the possibility of being raided. Your Black Eagle Army is very cunning. We thought he would raid nearby, but he would probably travel long distances to raid further villages. .”
Zhu Pengfei, who was already confident, immediately fell down after hearing this.
At this time, Wang Cheng said again: "However, even if it is a long-distance raid, the distance will not exceed fifty miles. Every time they raid a village, the food they plunder should only be enough for one day, otherwise they would not raid a village every night . If they attack places fifty miles away or even further all night long, they themselves will be exhausted to death."
Just like the large carnivores on the grassland, they generally do not prey on small animals, because the energy consumed by hunting is greater than the energy brought by food, which is a money-losing business.
"Brother Wang means that we need to expand the target range a little more?" Zhu Pengfei asked.
Seeing Wang Cheng nod, Zhu Pengfei focused his eyes on the map again and thought: "In this case, there are not three villages."
He pointed to an area on the map and said: "This entire block of six villages may be within the scope of their raid!"
Wang Cheng nodded, with a look of difficulty on his face.
He turned back to look at his brothers. They had gathered dozens of cavalry to search an area of fifty miles. Can they search before dark?
Zhu Pengfei seemed to see through his mind at a glance and said to Lao Gao: "Lao Gao, you immediately send a message to my father and ask him to send all the cavalry nearby. Kill the summer dog before we talk!"
Lao Gao immediately put away the map, looked happy, and said: "That's my order! Hey! Don't worry, sir, I will make sure those summer dogs stay here forever this time!"
Then he took off the bamboo box from his back, opened it and released a falcon.
The hawk flaps its wings and flies high, like an arrow off the string, disappearing into the sky in an instant.
"Brother Wang, check it out! It's best to find the traces of those summer dogs before my father's cavalry arrives." Zhu Pengfei said.
"Okay! Let's go to Zhonghe Village ten miles away first!"
Wang Cheng immediately led the cavalry under his command and galloped towards the northwest.
Zhonghe Village.
It is located in the middle reaches of a river, and the lower reaches is where Erhe Village is located, so this village is called "Zhonghe".
There are also about a hundred households in the village. When Wang Cheng and his party arrived, the villagers were collecting grain.
Their arrival immediately attracted the attention of the villagers. They saw them riding horses and holding weapons, and they were all nervously waiting for them.
An older man walked out of the field, holding a sickle in his hand. He looked at the crowd and said, "Masters, old Nakagawa Muramasa, I wonder why you are here?"
Wang Cheng jumped off his horse, hugged Muramasa's fists, took out his identity token and handed it over.
The village official was literate, and the three characters "junsima" on his identity token made his hands tremble, and he quickly prepared to kneel down and kowtow.
"No need for that, old man!"
Wang Cheng reached out to help Muramasa up, and then whispered a few words in his ear.
Muramasa's expression kept changing, and he said in horror: "This...are these all true?"
Wang Cheng nodded and said, "Wang and his brothers just passed through those four villages. How can it be false?"
"Then...what do you mean, sir?" The panic on Muramasa's face did not diminish.
"Leave here first! Hide all the food and drink at home, or destroy it directly. You must not leave it to those Xia people!" Wang Cheng said solemnly.
Muramasa's face showed a look of embarrassment. They had worked so hard to save the food. If it was destroyed directly, what would they eat in the future?
"Don't worry, old man! Our army will never let everyone's sacrifices be in vain. If we can kill all those Xia people this time, we should also credit the people of Hecun!"
Seeing that Muramasa was still hesitating, Wang Cheng took out two gold ingots weighing ten taels from his arms and said: "These twenty taels of gold will be used as partial compensation first. Regardless of whether this operation is successful or not, these twenty taels of gold will be paid first." Old man.”
After receiving twenty taels of gold, Muramasa was indeed moved. He nodded solemnly and said: "I am not an ignorant person. My eldest son died in the hands of a summer dog more than ten years ago. What the Lord said I agreed, and I will notify the villagers to relocate now."
"Then please leave it to the old man!"
Wang Cheng saluted the village leader and warned: "It must be as fast as possible! Everyone, don't go to remote places. It is best to take the main road, towards the county seat."
Muramasa knew the importance of the matter. After accepting the gold, he immediately notified the villagers to transfer it.
Initially, the villagers didn't want to leave, but now they heard that four villages had been slaughtered, and Wang Cheng personally promised compensation, they finally agreed to move.
Seeing that all the villagers were moving, Wang Cheng jumped on his horse and said, "Let's go! Let's go to a few other villages!"
Everyone galloped away again.
Just like Shanghe Village, they went to four more villages and finally mobilized the villagers after a lot of talking!
At this time, it was almost evening.
Wang Cheng and a group of brothers came to Shanghe Village, the westernmost village of "Erhe Village".
When everyone arrived near the village, there were fireworks in the village, and every household was lighting a fire to cook.
"Brother Wang, it's already getting so late, and the villagers in Shanghe Village may not be willing to move. Moreover, it's very inconvenient to move around at night, so we might run into those summer dogs." Zhu Pengfei expressed his worries.
"There is no other way! We can only inform them to take precautions first." Wang Cheng said with a solemn expression.
Everyone could only take the trouble to go to the village to persuade him. Fortunately, the villagers in these border areas understood, including the four villages where he had been persuaded before.
Their ancestors have lived here for generations. Ten years ago or even longer ago, wars often broke out here. Every time a war came, they had to move. This was not the first time.
If it were to be in the hinterland of the Zhou Dynasty, even if they kept their mouths open and gave them enough money, they might not be able to move a whole village. The idea of "restoring their land and relocating" had already been implanted in the hearts of Zhou people.
No matter how broken or poor the family is, it is still the place where their ancestors have lived for generations, and their roots are there.
