"I'll do it." Xiao Luolan didn't want to trouble Doctor Li, so she spread the thick blanket on the floor, using the soft cushion as a pillow, and the thin blanket covered her body just fine.
The carriage was shaking violently, and the windows were not closed. The afternoon sunlight shone through the gauze on the windows, and the dust particles loomed in the sunlight. The small interior was filled with the unique smell of medicine. It was not pleasant, but it made people feel uncomfortable. Xiao Luolan was very relieved. Young Master He Jin and Miss Zheng were sitting in the back of the carriage. Occasionally, they could hear the sound of the young monk knocking on wooden fish and reciting scriptures.
Xiao Luolan closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.
The plains have always been the best place for cavalry to fight. The man in black clothes hovered high in the sky and chirped from time to time.
When they were moving forward quickly again, black armor was like a tide, like sharp arrows piercing the belly of the grassland. Wherever they were, tribes of all sizes fled further north, leaving behind countless cattle, sheep, and horses. Youzhou The peace that the border and grassland tribes had maintained for several years was once again torn apart.
Mao Ying was tied with his hands behind his back and resting on the bumpy horse. His gray hair fell down and his face was like hair. He could only breathe out but not in. He glanced back with difficulty. He saw his tribe and Gulun House. Most of the people from the ancient tribe were stuffed into carriages, or they were tied to the back of the horse like he was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. Maoying shook his body vigorously, gasping for breath, and his eyesight turned black. He seemed to see something. When I was young, I followed their great Khan and robbed a small village. How happy and comfortable they were at that time.
Their khan followed the Turkic Khan and robbed whatever they encountered. Most of them took action in the autumn, when the Central Plains people's granaries were full. After several plunders, they no longer had to suffer all winter. , rob food, rob salt, rob women, rob men, grab whatever you see, and burn whatever you can’t grab, men can be used as slaves, the women in the Central Plains are better, several times better than the women on their grasslands, occasionally grab them A person with fair skin and good looks would put his hands behind his back on the horse like he is doing now, and go home like an animal carrying cargo.
The old leader laughed twice, and his energy was completely gone. It seemed that a Central Plains woman that he had snatched when he was young appeared in front of him. She was a farmer's daughter. She was not pretty, but she just liked him. Because I like her, she is not shared by the tribe like other women.
He married her in the tribe, and also studied the customs of the Central Plains people and gave her a round fan. On the night of the wedding, he even promised her that if he died, his brother would marry her and would not let her live in the tribe. Bullied.
Successive marriage is very common on the grasslands. Even their great khans take in the concubines of the previous great khan, and the mother-in-law reports to her sister-in-law. If a brother dies, he can also marry his sister-in-law and sister-in-law. This is the case in their grassland tribes. Yes, but in the eyes of the Central Plains people, they are all uneducated barbarians. No matter what their customs are, those Central Plains people look down on them from the bottom of their hearts, despise and ridicule them. Even though she is a farmer's daughter, she is the same.
Mao Ying spit out a mouthful of blood and lost her breath. On the night of the wedding, she bit her tongue and committed suicide. She was so determined and hated him so much that the old leader recalled in a daze that her parents seemed to have been killed by them.
The autumn wind swirled through the group of captives.
Hu Dali rode a horse and lifted up the dead old leader with a long spear. Then he picked through the captives and threw away the dead ones he encountered.
The wolves and bearded vultures on the grassland will eat these people until their bones are left, so that there will be green grass again next year.
Hu Dali bit the dry biscuit. Their cavalry team was located at the rear. Their main duty was to guard the baggage and prisoners. After a round of inspection, he found that no one was dead anymore. Hu Dali looked casually and saw Tuo Dali scattered around the cavalry. Ba Qingqi and Tiele Qingqi took another big bite of dry biscuits.
To be honest, he has no good impression of those foreign cavalry, even if Tuoba Agu is Lord Jiedushi's adopted son, except for Lord Jiedushi who keeps him fed, if he wants to recognize a second master, he must also recognize Jiedushi. The biological son of Lord Du Shi, not the adopted son of a foreign race!
When Hu Dali thought of this, he suddenly felt that he had missed something and slapped his head violently. After being in the military camp for a long time, he almost forgot that Lord Jiedushi had a wife, which meant that they now had an additional mistress.
Hu Dali clasped his hands together, listening to the annoying sound of chanting sutras, and hurriedly said twice in his heart, Mistress, please don't blame me, I didn't forget you on purpose.
In fact, their mistress lives in seclusion. Hu Dali still doesn't know what their mistress looks like. Master Jieduzhi's retainers protect her closely.
However, the military doctor said that his mistress had recently been learning the medical skills of rescuing people on the battlefield, and she was very serious about it. Thinking of this, Hu Dali couldn't help but laugh.
Although they can't see the mistress, they know that she cares about them soldiers and barbarians. All the cavalry in the military camp have a good impression of the mistress.
Xiao Luolan didn't wake up until the evening. There was no one in the carriage, and there were medicine cabinets all around. She sat blankly for a while, and when she woke up, she found that the carriage was still on its way.
The setting sun outside the window is like blood, the flags are fluttering, and the cavalry is killing them.
It gets dark faster in autumn than in summer. Xiao Luolan noticed the change in temperature after a while. She put a thin blanket on herself, looked at the advancing army, and calculated the date. Today is September 15th. I don’t know when we will be able to reach Huiyi, or whether it will be deep winter by the time we return.
Xiao Luolan frowned and thought for a while, feeling that this possibility was unlikely. Autumn was fine, but once winter entered, the horses were thin and the weather was cold, and the team did not bring any warm clothes, so Sect Master Zhou wanted to win quickly!
But she could think of it, and those of the Huiyi Alliance should also think that if they couldn't defeat it, it would definitely take time. It was better to hurry up in this battle.
Xiao Luolan thought for a while and felt that fighting was really difficult.
When Zhou Xu entered the carriage, he saw that his wife Yurong looked slightly sad, as if she was worried about something, and he handed the snow eagle to her.
When Xiao Luolan saw Xue Ying, the corners of her lips suddenly curved.
Zhou Xu saw his wife happily closing the window outside, and then kissed her cheek: "Look what my daughter wrote?"
Xiao Luolan took off the copper pipe from Xue Ying's leg, unfolded the envelope, read it carefully, and said: "She said that Mr. Qingshan came back from Mojun, and brought her many gifts, and made milk drink for her. I gave it to Shenzhi and said that Shenzhi has been very busy recently."
"She also made a good friend who lives in the south of the city. He often invited her to go horse racing."
At the end of the letter, her daughter asked her to pay attention to her health and take good care of herself. Xiao Luolan read it several times before reluctantly looking up and found Sect Master Zhou looking at her with a smile.
"She also asked you to pay attention to safety on the battlefield in the letter." Xiao Luolan's face felt inexplicably hot, and she put the letter away as if to avoid it.
"I will, Madam, please rest assured Qingxue." Zhou Xu replied, he took Madam's hand and kissed it, eager for Madam's occasional tenderness towards him.
The lady wears her temples in clouds, only decorated with pearls in front of her bun. Her hair is like cloud ink and is tied to the back of her head. The hairstyle is rich, and the exposed neck is against the frost and snow, exuding a shining brilliance, noble and elegant.
Such a lady is his wife.
"Did you find anything in the interrogation?" Xiao Luolan took his hand back and became concerned about their side's intelligence. After all, knowing yourself and your enemy, not to mention being victorious in every battle, in a war, it is always good to have more information.
Zhou Xu showed the paper to his wife and said it again.
Xiao Luolan was stunned for a few seconds when he heard the last words of human shield, and then tried to accept it.
"When I came in, I saw Madam frowning slightly, but are you worried?" Zhou Xu held Madam in his arms and asked with concern.
Xiao Luolan thought for a while and expressed her thoughts. This flaw was obvious. Although she didn't know how to fight, she was still a little anxious when she realized this.
Zhou Xu looked at his wife who was obviously concerned and laughed twice.
Xiao Luolan pursed her lips, thinking that her question seemed childish to him.
"Madam, don't be angry." Zhou Xu said with a happy smile: "Before setting off, I had expected that there would be Turkic influence in this war. During the time of Langge, I had already sent a thousand heavy armored cavalry from Mojun. We sneaked to the Kamamu River and prepared to outflank them."
Xiao Luolan was really stunned this time.
Seeing her like this, Zhou Xu felt so much love and pity in his heart that he couldn't help but kiss her.
"Then you arrested those people with great fanfare to attract the attention of the grassland tribes and provide cover for another team of cavalry?" Xiao Luolan's eyes widened slightly.
"Can you deceive those people?" Xiao Luolan then thought of another question and murmured. Since coming to ancient times, the more Xiao Luolan got to know the people of this era, the more terrifying they became, and she did not dare to underestimate anyone.
Zhou Xu touched Madam's face and said half-truthfully, "As long as Madam is with me, I can cheat." These are not the deciding factors.
"What does it have to do with me?" Xiao Luolan didn't understand.
"Everyone knows that I love Mrs. Zhong and we are inseparable." Zhou Xu said with a burning heart, "Since my wife is in the army, of course I am too." And he was indeed there.
The commander-in-chief of an army, the governor of Youzhou, and five thousand cavalry, who would have thought that this was a cover, and the heavier the chips, the more credible it was.
After Xiao Luolan listened to Sect Master Zhou's words, she recalled the plan he had made before leaving Langge, and insisted on following her. At this moment, she actually felt a slight chill, as if she was enveloped by an invisible network, and under the shadow, there was no trace Everywhere to go.
Did Sect Master Zhou use her as bait? No, because he himself is the same, and even these five thousand cavalry are.
Seeing that Madam was stunned, Zhou Xu said his love words again: "I love Madam Chong."
"Does Madam know?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the lady got out of the carriage like a frightened butterfly.
Zhou Xu was stunned for a moment and looked at his wife's back. Could it be that she didn't like the love words he said.
Chapter 71
Return to Yicheng.
The old king held the delicate woman in his arms and drank wine. His fat body sat on the throne, his old face was red, his short and fat knuckles were covered with gemstone rings, and he was wearing a golden royal robe and a gemstone belt. His abdomen formed a circle, and the beauty put one slender hand on the belt and gently hooked it, while the other hand gently stroked the old king's chest and drew circles.
When the old king saw that the beauty in his arms was so attached to him, he burst out laughing. Just as he was about to have fun, there was a knock on the palace door.
"Who is it?" the old king asked drunkenly, a little impatient with people who disturbed his good things.
"Your Majesty, it's me."
The old king was a little confused. The dancer sitting on his lap reminded her softly: "Your Majesty, is this your left concubine?"
When the old king heard the word "concubine", he suddenly sobered up. He pushed away the beauty in his arms. The magnificent palace was glittering with gold. He walked through the newly built lotus pond, walked to the main hall and opened the door. Standing outside was his wife. The new concubine.
Although her appearance is not as good-looking as that of the dancer, she is full of wild and untamable beauty. A string of exquisite white wolf teeth necklace hangs around her neck. It is said that the Turkic Khan specially collected it for his beloved daughter. She is also covered with a white wolf tooth necklace. She wore a fur cloak, a silk waistcoat draped over her shoulders, her long hair was braided into several braids, and she wore a jeweled hat on her head. At this moment, she came with her maid and two dancers, and the old king's eyes suddenly changed. She was attracted by the beautiful twin dancers behind her.
But it was not easy to ask for it in front of his concubine. After all, his concubine was also the favorite daughter of the Great Khan of Turks, so he had to give her some face to the outside world.
"My beloved concubine is here, please come in." The old king chuckled and put his hands on his beloved concubine's shoulders and hugged her in.
"Your Majesty, I have something important to ask you." Tumi'er raised a smile and snuggled close to the old king.
"You all should step down." The old king asked all the dancers and maids in the palace to step down. After they left, he sat on the throne with his concubine.
Speaking of which, this was already his third concubine. After the death of the princess, although he did not marry another main concubine, he continued to marry more concubines.
The first concubine is the daughter of the great Khan of the Hun tribe, the second is the youngest daughter of a great leader of the Turkic tribe, and was named the right concubine, and the third is her. The left is respected in the Central Plains. Over the years, they have returned to Yi Also caught up in the customs of the Central Plains, she was named Zuo Fei. Princess Haijia, who was only seventeen years old, was the favorite daughter of the Great Khan of Turks. Although Princess Haijia was a little more domineering, she had the unique charm of young women. She has an innocent and lovely temperament, and the old king usually indulges her very much.
"What does my beloved concubine want from me?" the old king asked with a smile.
"Your Majesty, please know that all the khans of the five tribes who are allied with us have arrived at Huiyi this afternoon and are preparing to meet your Majesty tomorrow." Tu Mier walked around behind the old king, hugged him gently with both arms, and said in a sweet voice: "Listen The Great Khan of Gulunwugu said that a small branch of his tribe had been wiped out by Zhou Manzi’s cavalry, and many small tribes had no time to even take their cattle, sheep and horses and were just trying to escape.”
Tumi'er said worriedly: "Your Majesty, Zhou Manzi has always been cruel to our grassland tribes. Your Majesty just got some defensive bows/crossbows from the Wang family. Besides, it was the Wang family who found the king first to make this deal. Zhou Barbarian came over with his cavalry without even saying hello."
"I heard from my father that the Youzhou cavalry are always fierce. They are coming, and my heart has never been stable. I worry about you, the king, every night."
The old king touched his beloved concubine's smooth hand: "My dear, don't worry. From the countless cattle and sheep that Zhou Manzi slaughtered along the way, you can know that he did not bring food and grass. Think about it, what month is it now? When the day comes, When the weather gets cold, the grass turns yellow and the horses eat whatever they want. The most important thing for a cavalryman is the horse."
"Our base camp is here, we have food and grass, but Zhou Manzi and the others have been running around for months, and they are exhausted. The advantage is still on our side."
"Besides, Zhou Manzi has cavalry, and so do we. When the war begins, your father has already sent cavalry to assist us. Coupled with the reinforcements from our five major tribes, we can gather a total of 20,000!"
The old king stretched out his hand and made a gesture. On his two short and fat fingers, the gems sparkled.
"What we have to do now is to delay as much time as possible, and we must delay it until the weather is cold. By then, Zhou Manzi and the others will have penetrated deeply into the grassland and will not be able to retreat. We will stick to Yicheng and wait for them."
When Tumi'er heard what the old king said, she smiled sweetly and said: "You are still smart, but who will you send to delay Zhou Manzi's cavalry?"
"Then let's discuss it with them tomorrow." The old king was still smiling: "I don't keep the hundreds of bows/crossbows that the Wang family gave me. The five major tribes in the alliance have a share. They also know that Zhou Manzi knows this. Things are non-negotiable. Now we are all grasshoppers in the same boat. If the boat capsizes, Zhou Manzi will not show mercy to us according to his character."
"Only when they become one and there is no way out will the tribes be united."
"Your Majesty, you are so powerful." Tumi'er poured a glass of wine to the King and praised him softly.
The old king looked at Zuo Zuo's concubine admiring him, and felt very happy. He laughed twice. Once upon a time, Turks were so majestic and arrogant. But now, Turks have to rely on themselves. The Great Khan of Turks His daughter is his concubine, and there are a total of 20,000 cavalry around him! The warehouse is fully equipped! There is also a powerful weapon. Huiyi City is built on a high mountain, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Such an excellent terrain, as long as it is defended, the old king is confident that he can defeat the Youzhou Iron Cavalry!
There were no supplies and the weather was freezing. He wanted to see how long the Youzhou cavalry could last. The old king's cloudy eyes, which were always full of lust, burst into light. He patted his beloved concubine on the shoulder and said: "This battle is crucial. Importantly, I also ask my beloved concubine to send a message to my father-in-law, so that his pagoda riders can arrive at Huiyi as soon as possible."
"Brother has already set off with three thousand pagoda riders. Don't worry, Your Majesty, he will definitely arrive before Zhou Manzi."
When the old king heard this, his cheekbones turned abnormally red, and he was unspeakably excited. If they had the strength they had before, they could have reached Jiangnan in the Central Plains.
The most important obstacle now is the obstructive and eye-catching Zhou Manzi. If, if he can be defeated... thinking of this, the old king tightly grasped the gem handle of the throne and breathed heavily. He might as well try to aspire to the Central Plains!
It would be great if the barrier of Youzhou was broken. The rich hinterland of the Central Plains, the soft and lovely Central Plains women, the inexhaustible supply of salt and iron, the women were all his! his!
Tumi'er looked at the old king's faintly crazy look, winked, and asked the dancer behind him to step forward to serve him. Soon, the lustful old king was messing around with the two dancers.
Tumier walked out of the palace, closed the door, listened to the sounds inside, and patted her shoulders as if there was something dirty on them. She walked with the maid in the harem, stopped in front of a side hall, and asked The maid cleared the place and left.
A big hand eagerly grabbed Tumi'er and brought her into the side hall.
Tumi'er scolded: "Eldest Prince, I am your concubine, and the King is not dead yet."
