After a lot of harsh words and nonsense, Pu Xianwannu listened with a straight face and made no reply.
Everyone understands that by acting like this, one can say that one has broken with the imperial court. Then why talk about memorialization and impeachment? Is he going to change his tune and side with the imperial court again? As for the Mongols... If Pu Xianwannu was willing to cooperate with the Mongols, when he sent out troops a few days ago, he could have left a few Mongolian households in Xianping Prefecture, and there were warriors from the Great Mongolia stationed there. So what about Xianping Prefecture? What will happen?
After all, Xianping Mansion is the base of Pu Xianwannu, and it is also the residence of all civil and military officials and soldiers. Everyone is very concerned about it.
In this war-torn world, it is really a great blessing to have family members by your side safely. The more you feel this luck, the more you think about the possibility that your family papers will fall into the hands of the enemy, which makes you unavoidably panicked. The military men were a little better. Some of the civilian staff had bloodshot eyes. It seemed like they had not closed their eyes last night.
At this time, it is inevitable that more and more people will think that this time of setting up a rebellion is a bit abrupt, isn't it? Having deceived the Mongols before, were you a bit overconfident to the point of being frivolous? No matter which side, the Jin Dynasty or the Mongols, can be used to their own advantage, wouldn't it be better than having neither side to rely on at this time and sitting at a disadvantage?
Many people think so, even Pu Xianwannu himself thinks so.
Precisely because Pu Xianwannu thought so, as soon as he heard the words of these subordinates, he guessed that they had complaints and dissatisfaction in their hearts.
But he had vented his anger yesterday, and he really didn't have the time to worry about it now.
He even dared to stare into the distance instead of looking directly at his subordinates, lest they see fear and wavering in his eyes.
After a while, he said in a deep voice: "The middle army and the rear army must hurry up and cross the river. The front army will rest for a... no, half an hour!"
The generals received their orders and dispersed one after another.
After all, human physical strength has its limits. After a day and night of forced march, the soldiers were exhausted. After arriving at Hampyeongfu, there will inevitably be a fight. At this time, time must be set aside for the soldiers to rest for a while before they can recover.
In fact, half an hour is definitely too little to rest, and two hours is not too much.
In winter in the northeastern hinterland, the weather is as cold as an ice cave, while in summer it is extremely hot and muggy. There are many mesas and sandy beaches on both sides of the road from Hampyeong Province to Hanju. There are willow bushes along the way, and there are swamps and low-lying land in between.
During the forced march last night, these terrains brought terrible torture to the soldiers. In the night, they didn't know how many times they slipped and fell, so that many of them were covered in mud, and their white military uniforms were condensed into yellow-brown plates.
In order to move forward smoothly, various long weapons such as spears and spears were used as crutches. It was ordinary for someone to eat a lot of dirt, knock out a few teeth, or be stung by wild bees and venomous insects.
The higher-ranking generals knew that this was because Xianping Mansion was lost and they had no choice but to leave. But such a secret could never be spread to the entire army, so most of the soldiers were still kept in the dark at this time. Many soldiers were complaining that they were rushing back and forth without fighting, and they didn't know what was going on above them. What are the generals thinking?
After the former army officers received the order to rest, they almost immediately collapsed on the ground, unable to stand up for a while.
Pu Xianwannu's army is mainly infantry, with less cavalry. After some of the light cavalry were taken back to Xianping Prefecture by Pu Xianbinge and Pu Xian, most of the remaining cavalry were under Pu Xianwannu's tent, and there was also a group of light cavalry. A heavy cavalry armed to the teeth and used as the vanguard of the entire army.
The sophisticated but heavy armor, horse armor and other equipment are the guarantee for soldiers to win in battle, but they become a disgusting burden when trudging through the mud at night. Fully half of the cavalry carrying heavy equipment got separated during last night's march. Only sixty or seventy people remained in front of the entire army. Some even lost their horses and could only walk on foot.
The leader of this cavalry is Pu Suliemeng, a famous and brave cavalry general under Pu Xianwannu.
Pu Sulie's fierce appearance and behavior are more elegant than ordinary Jurchens. He is a Chinese Jurchen and had a Chinese name in his early years. However, since he joined Pu Xianwannu's subordinates and was adopted by Pu Xianbuhui, Pu Xianwannu's adopted son, he has been focusing on being strong and strong, so the Han name is no longer mentioned.
Due to the difficulty of traveling last night, Pu Sulie rushed back and forth to urge his horse to supervise the march, but he accidentally fell off his horse. Unfortunately, there was a thorn in the spot where he fell. The branches of the thorn cut the inner side of his thigh and tore the skin to pieces.
For an experienced soldier like him, this was just a minor injury. However, when riding a horse, the injury rubbed against the saddle and felt quite painful. On the contrary, walking was more comfortable. So he simply gave up his horse to a subordinate who was injured last night. He held a short spear in his hand and limped forward.
When his subordinates heard the order to rest, they immediately threw away their reins and let the horses graze on their own, using the dry biscuits they brought with them to eat.
Pu Sulie leaned against an old tree and slowly sat down. Seeing his subordinates devouring their food, he sighed and whispered: "Don't eat too much, there may be a fight later."
Some cavalrymen were surprised and kept saying: "How is it possible? After passing through Huanglonggang, we returned to Xianping Mansion. Everyone..."
At this point, the cavalryman's face turned pale: "Is it true?"
Another asked: "What? What's real?"
"There was a rumor in the camp last night that the reason why our envoy led the troops back quickly was because..."
The cavalryman was waiting to explain, and Pu Xianbuhui, the leader of the cavalry at the front, was patrolling by with some soldiers shouting and shouting.
Pu Suliemeng quickly motioned to the two of them to shut up.
He bowed to Pu Xianbuhui and waited until Pu Xianbuhui was far away before he stood up and said: "Anyway, don't eat too much. Keep your armor, stomach and weapons at hand, and don't let the horse go too far." The envoy has given orders to continue marching in half an hour... Until then, you should follow me closely."
Dozens of cavalrymen had some vague idea of what was going on, and began to worry about their relatives and friends. Some of them were still confused, but Pu Sulie said it with force, and everyone said: "As ordered."
Someone took out the dried meat from his arms and stuffed it into Pu Suliemeng's hand, and said calmly: "Muke, you eat...you eat more so that you have strength...then I feel more at ease!"
Pu Sulie chuckled twice, pushed the dried meat away, and turned to look at the terrain ahead.
A gust of wind blew from the ravines and hills to the west, passing over the meadow where everyone was sitting, dispelling the heat a little. He stretched out somewhat deliberately and said to everyone: "I'm just guessing. The road ahead through Huanglonggang is easy to walk. Maybe the rest of the way will be peaceful, and everyone can sleep well in Xianping City at night." It’s time to sleep!”
A cavalryman suddenly stood up and said, "Listen!"
The rest of the people held their breaths and concentrated, then they all heard the rapid sound of horse hooves, approaching along the ravine.
No way? Is there really trouble? The soldiers looked at each other, and many of them began to look miserable.
After a while, several sentry Qingqi beat their horses wildly and galloped out of the ravine. The horses under their crotches were almost all whipped until they were dripping with blood and running until they were frothing at the mouth. As for the knights on the horses, several of them had arrows pierced through their bodies on their backs.
"What's going on!" Pu Sulie asked sternly.
Several cavalry passed through the loose ranks of the front army and went straight to the central army. They only heard a sentinel cavalry shouting: "Khitan people! The Khitan dogs are coming!"
"Khitan!"
Pu Sulie grabbed the short spear and waved to his subordinates.
He wanted to shout loudly to warn everyone, but his voice suddenly became hoarse due to excessive fatigue.
Far away, his adoptive father, Pu Xianbuhui, who was actually two years younger than him, stopped and looked around with some hesitation. However, the soldiers scattered around and resting did not become nervous. Some people watched the sentinels running past. , and even chatted a few words with each other.
Pu Sulie beat his chest hard and coughed up a mouthful of bloody phlegm, which made his throat feel better.
"The Khitans are coming! Get ready to fight!" He shouted wildly in Jurchen language, and then shouted again in Chinese that each tribe could understand.
Amidst the shouting over and over again, in the deep ravines of Huanglonggang in the south, groups of black shadows can be discerned with the naked eye!
That's right, they are Khitans.
After passing through the mountains along the winding road, the Khitan army no longer had a fixed queue, and it seemed that they did not carry golden drums. Looking around, they only saw flags waving wildly, and groups of fierce bald-headed men waving in their hands. The weapons roared loudly and came like a swarm of bees.
