The eldest prince who returned to Yicheng looked at Tumi'er who was pretending to be awe-inspiring. He couldn't hold it back for a long time and laughed twice: "Good Mi'er, we have been successful for so long, and my father is almost here. Wait for me." Once you take the throne, I swear, you will be the only official concubine, no better than being your father's concubine."
Tumi'er smiled coquettishly and mingled with the eldest prince.
"What do you think Mrs. Xiao, the newly married woman of Zhou Manzi, looks like?" Tumi'er had a look of spring on her face, poked the eldest prince's face with her hand, giggled and said, "I've heard of her on the grassland. She has gained fame, it is said that this mistress of Youzhou has a beautiful appearance, but I don’t know whether it is true or not.”
The eldest prince immediately smiled and said: "In my heart, all beauties are not as good as you, Mi'er."
Tu Mier smiled. Just listen to what this man said in bed. The beautiful maid next to her was fucked a lot by the eldest prince. Seeing that he was still useful, she let him go. Tu Mier Mei Eyes like silk: "Stop being so serious, aren't you curious about Zhou Manzi's women?"
The eldest prince swallowed his saliva and said with a dry smile: "I heard that Mrs. Xiao is already in her thirties. I don't believe what the people of Youzhou are boasting about."
Tu Mier scoffed at this.
Under the attic window, a young man emerged from the flowers. After listening for a while, he found the dog hole and climbed out. He packed his clothes and returned to his room.
"You're back." His wife greeted him.
The young man hummed. His facial lines were softer than those of other prairie people because his biological mother was a Central Plains woman bought by his father. He wiped his sweat, pulled out a box from the room and looked at the black and red letters inside. The Youzi flag has been around for a long time, and there are still small holes burned by the war. This Youzi flag is very big, filling the entire big box. The young man looked at the Youzi flag and clenched it tightly. fist.
His father was getting old, and he actually wanted skin from a tiger, and even completely forgot about the kindness that Master Jiedushi showed them in returning to Yicheng in his early years.
Arilang didn't understand why his father wanted to cooperate with the Turks. It was because the Turks had slowed down in recent years and became stronger. He lost himself in the flattery of the Turkic envoys. Countless beauties had already attracted his father. Corrupted, they forgot that when they were weak back in Yicheng, they were often bullied by the Turks.
Arilang always remembers that when he was five years old, the Turks attacked them. His father sent a letter to the Jiedushi Master asking for help. Qingqi arrived first, carrying only a huge Youzhou flag. When the flag was raised, the Jiedushi Master The adults also arrived with their people, and after a fierce battle, the Turks let them go, and they returned to Yi safe and sound.
Arilang hated them, and he also hated himself as a person with grassland blood. He hated the customs here even more. When his father died, he could marry his father's concubine. When his elder brother died, his younger brother could marry his sister-in-law. When his younger brother died, his elder brother You can marry a younger sister-in-law, but she has no human relations at all and acts like a wild beast. Central Plains people never do this. When he grew up, he would wander away to study. If it hadn't been for the accident in Huiyi this time, he would never have come back.
Arilang hated everything about Huiyi. He remembered that when he was a child, his mother held him in her arms and taught him little by little about the Central Plains culture. He suddenly felt sad and made a decision.
His father and his brother's hearts were broken.
If I had known this, it would have been better to have died more than 20 years ago, rather than doing such a reckless thing now.
Lord Jiedushi might as well not have saved them in the first place.
"It's better not to save him." Xiao Luolan frowned involuntarily after hearing what Sect Master Zhou said about returning to Yicheng. She put down the embroidered sachet in her hand and said to Old King Huiyi that he was so ungrateful. I feel unhappy with this approach, and it is not worth it to the Youzhou Cavalry.
Inside the tent, Zhou Xu kept holding the oil lamp to make the light brighter, with a smile on his face. His wife made him a sachet again, which shows that his love words are still useful. Seeing that his wife was dissatisfied with Hui Yi, his smile widened. In the early years, the Turks were not as easy to talk to as they are now. They were the dominant tyrants in the grassland. They not only robbed the Central Plains, but also robbed other tribes. Especially in the early days of attacking the Central Plains, all their weapons and materials were robbed from other tribes in the grassland. Several tribes united. When he rose up against the Turks, he used their strength to fight against the Turks. When he returned to Yi to ask for help, he needed to win over the hearts of the foreigners. After all, if you want others to help, you have to show some sincerity.
Later, after conquering the Tuoba tribe, Zhou Xu threw away the knife belonging to the small tribe.
However, the gang back then was a real gang and could not be faked, so Zhou Xu would never take Hui Yi's betrayal lightly.
"Have you finished embroidering the orchids?" Zhou Xu leaned over and looked.
"Not yet." Xiao Luolan was only halfway through the embroidery. Originally, she wanted to embroider auspicious cloud patterns. Later, when Sect Leader Zhou heard that she wanted to embroider a sachet for him, he followed her and said that she wanted orchids. Xiao Luolan hadn't done it yet. I embroidered orchids, half of them according to the appearance of the orchids in my memories, and then I was fascinated by the Huiyi story told by Zongzong Zhou.
Zhou Xu touched Madam's hand and said, "Let's embroider tomorrow. It's getting late. I'll get Madam hot water to wash her feet. After washing her feet, we'll rest."
After saying that, he put the oil lamp on the table and got out of bed to get some water.
Xiao Luolan looked at the generous and tall back of Clan Master Zhou with mixed emotions. It was a lie to say that she was not afraid of this man's scheming, but Clan Master Zhou's meticulous care for her was also true.
"I'll do it." Xiao Luolan was embarrassed to keep Zhou Zongzhu busy. Although the march was very hard, Zhou Zongzhu loved cleanliness and came back after taking a bath every day. Only a few people in the team could use hot water. Water, she is one, and Cui Shizi, who is in poor health, is another. Miss Zheng and Dr. Li have to boil hot water themselves.
Zhou Xu asked his wife to sit next to the bed: "The hot water in the stove is hot, I'd better go."
Xiao Luolan was sat down, and after a while, Sect Master Zhou brought over a copper basin. The copper basin was filled with warm water, which was steaming white in the cold autumn night.
Xiao Luolan took off her stockings and washed her feet. She had very few activities every day and spent most of her time in the carriage.
The warm water was slightly scalding. Just as Xiao Luolan was about to take his feet up, a rough bronze hand entered the warm water.
Xiao Luolan's heart skipped a beat.
Zhou Xu sat opposite his wife and washed her feet with great seriousness.
In the clear warm water, the exquisite insteps are white, the toes are round and pale pink, and the soft soles are reddish, like silk.
After Zhou Xu finished washing, he wiped off the water drops on his wife's feet with a clean cloth, and suddenly kissed the snow-white instep.
Xiao Luolan's face turned red and she awkwardly pulled her feet back, but failed.
The candle in the oil lamp flickered twice and then went out.
Zhou Xu licked the flowers he had grown in the dark.
If you worship, if you blaspheme.
Chapter 72
The lonely moon hangs in the sky, dotted with stars.
The mountains in the distance are covered in night, the autumn wind is howling, and the long grass is swaying in the wind. In the military camp, the tents of several main tents still have a faint bright color. Zhou Xuan, General Shi, and the leader of the Tiele people looked at the mountains in the distance. , after passing the mountains, we can drive straight back to Yi. Beside the mountains, there is a Ruoye River that winds out from Huiyi City. This river is a branch of the Kamamu River. The end of the Kamamu River is an endless river. Snow Mountain, located in the North Sea.
Eight hundred Tiele cavalry, one thousand and two Tuoba cavalry, as well as two thousand Xuanjia battalion and one thousand logistics. As the distance to Huiyi City got closer, the number of small groups of prairie cavalry increased and began to carry out small operations. The range of harassment delayed the Youzhou Iron Cavalry as much as possible.
The mountain in front of you is a terrain that is very conducive to a sneak attack.
The night is deep, and there is darkness in the distance.
Zhou Xuan and the others couldn't see the scene in the mountain forest, and the thousand-man team that was also ambushing inside couldn't see those Youzhou cavalry, but even if they couldn't see it, the chilling bloody smell coming down the wind still made this thousand-man team be vigilant. At the highest point, this time the team was led by a fierce general under the great Khan of the Gulunwu Ancient Tribe, named Dudagula. He had fought against Zhou Xu more than ten years ago, so he did not dare to be careless and let a thousand people be divided into three. The troops advanced step by step. When the Youzhou cavalry entered the ambush circle, they pushed down the logs and kerosene prepared long ago from a high place. Once they succeeded, they retreated in an orderly manner. The main injuries they suffered were horses. As long as the horses were damaged, It's big enough to hold them for a long time in this mountain.
Perhaps the other party had anticipated their intentions. For three days, these Youzhou cavalry did not enter the mountain.
Dudagula lay on the ground biting grass roots, feeling a little restless.
During the day, he sent out scouts for investigation, but the Tuoba scouts discovered that he had wiped his neck and threw it in front of the mountain in protest. No one took care of the body. This was the case for several days. Of course, the other side's scouts would also be arrested if they entered the mountain. Their people were killed, and their scouts were also selected from their respective tribes. In front of a native who is familiar with the grassland terrain, the other side's scouts are not omnipotent. Now they can only get a large number of them here. The men and horses have not moved, and it is not certain whether they are all in place, and the battle situation is stalemate.
Judging from the situation of the Youzhou Iron Cavalry lighting a fire during the day, they seemed to be unscathed, but Dudagula knew that this was impossible. He suspected that this was Zhou Xu's way of confusing them, making them think that the Youzhou Iron Cavalry was a strong one but a strong one. Let them take it lightly.
Dudakula thought for a while.
"Dazi, go and see our sheepskin raft for yourself." Dudagula was still a little worried about the sheepskin raft they had hidden in the Ruoye River.
Dazi is another person in charge of this operation and belongs to the Sijie tribe. After hearing this, he lowered his voice and said: "Why don't we send some people to lure those people in? It's not a problem to wait like this. How about dry food? When they come in, we will run. They are carrying baggage and cannot catch up with us." There are only a few people on their side, so they can only make sneak attacks. However, the dry food each person brings is limited, and now their dry food is in danger.
Dudagula took a deep breath and let the anger subside. Does this idiot know how big the power gap between them is? Is it okay to just be radical? Thinking that this person didn't have much education and didn't know a few Chinese characters, but only relied on his extraordinary bravery to get the attention of the Khan of the Sijie tribe and sent him here, Dudagula felt very angry!
"When you are not hungry enough to drink animal blood and eat wild fruits, please comfort the people in your tribe and tell them that the Khan's order can be delayed as long as possible." Dudagula was angry at the Sijie tribe who came over. Without fighting, if those people don't obey the orders, no matter how brave they are on the battlefield, they will be nothing.
Dazi was a little dissatisfied with Dudagula's words that clearly had a commanding meaning. Their khan and the khan of Gulunwugu were sworn sworn Ada, so why did Dudakula seem to regard him as a subordinate.
When setting off, the Khan of their tribe told him to act according to the situation, and not to let all the five hundred warriors in the tribe be wiped out. It is estimated that the other party also had this idea, and asked their knotted people to go to the river to guard the sheepskin raft. They Gu Lun Most of the people in Yaku hide in the mountains.
Although they hid the sheepskin raft in the hidden bushes, no matter how hidden it was, it was not as safe as in the mountains. Moreover, it was almost autumn, and the temperature in the river was even colder. They did not dare to light a fire, so they endured it and were always vigilant. They wanted to join the tribe. He also contributed a lot to this operation.
Dudagula saw that Dazi didn't seem to hear him, so he could only lower his posture and said in a nice voice: "Although there are many people on the other side, they don't know how many people we have. Two days ago, I asked my subordinates to deliberately create the appearance of many people." The illusion of an ambush, now we are just taking advantage of the terrain, the Youzhou Cavalry does not know our true number, so we can wait patiently, this is also the purpose of our trip, we can delay it as long as we can."
"The sheepskin raft hidden in the Ruoye River is our real escape route. If Zhou Xu leads someone to figure out our sheepskin raft, he will guess how many there are in us. If the sheepskin raft is destroyed by them." Thinking of this, Dudagula sneered: "The heads of a thousand of us cannot be saved."
Dazi's face turned red for a moment when he saw that Dudagula seemed to be condescending but was actually threatening. He angrily left with more than fifty people from the Sijie tribe.
The path was messy and rugged, and the dew on the autumn night was heavy and the wind was howling like a ghost crying or a wolf howling. It took half an hour for Dazi to reach a bank of the Ruoye River, where the water and grass were luxuriant. Sheepskin rafts are not as large as other boats. They are connected together by ropes and drift with the current on the surface of the Roye River.
The current of the Ruoye River was a bit fast tonight, and the water rushed against the shore. Hundreds of sheepskin rafts also merged into the dark night. No one dared to light a fire. There were dozens of people guarding the sheepskin rafts.
Dazi also got on the sheepskin raft and inspected it carefully. Although he was dissatisfied with Dudakula, he calmed down and thought that he had led soldiers before, so he had to hold his nose and obey.
Faintly, Dazi seemed to smell the smell of alcohol. His eyes immediately scanned the tribesmen who were following him, and he lowered his voice and shouted: "Which one of you has been drinking?"
Several members of the Sijie tribe looked at each other, but no one spoke.
Dazi suddenly pulled out the knife from his waist, and the sharp blade was cold: "I think you are desperate, can you drink at this time?"
"But it was too cold on the river. Everyone only drank a sip to keep warm. Dazi really only drank a sip. If you don't believe it, you can check my wine bag. There is still a lot left." One of them said.
Dazi followed the words and saw that it was a familiar tribesman. His hand holding the knife tightened: "You can't drink that either, drinking will cause trouble!"
After saying that, he strode forward. The man was stunned for a moment, then became frightened, and backed away on the sheepskin raft. He couldn't believe it, and quick thoughts came to his mind: "Dazi, you want to kill us?"
As soon as these words came out, several drunk Sijie people suddenly became restless.
When Dazi saw it, he said angrily: "Don't make loud noises. Drinking alcohol is a serious sin. Now if we don't deal with it, what will happen if others follow suit?"
Turbulent waves splashed on the sheepskin raft. The wind and waves tonight were really strong and the sky was really dark. The sheepskin raft was undulating on the river like waves. Dazi's cowhide boots were soaked in the river water, and it was biting cold. He stepped on the sheepskin raft with his feet. At that time, the sheepskin raft was shaking unsteadily and seemed a little soft. He was worried that this would cause a big problem, so he suddenly pounced on him, then the white knife went in and the red knife came out, stabbing him dozens of times before stopping. The dark river water looked like There was no blood, but Dazi could smell the strong and rich smell of blood.
Dazi wiped off the blood that was spattered on his face, and suddenly felt something strange. He twitched his nose. Under the rapid impact of the water flow, the smell of blood didn't dissipate, but became stronger and stronger?
Dazi's eyes suddenly widened, and he only saw a silvery moon passing in front of him, and then his neck felt cold. Dazi gasped for air, blood spurted out like spring water, and the knife in his hand fell on the soft sheepskin raft. On top, the huge body knelt heavily on it, splashing water.
Tuoba Amu spat out the reed in his mouth. The scimitar on his waist was like the god of death, harvesting the lives of others. Behind him, in front of him, and to his left and right, there were elite cavalry diving down, lurking in the air. Under the freezing cold water, late at night, he used the knife he carried to cut open the sheepskin raft, and then quietly killed them at the right moment.
On nights without open fires, their movements were masked by the roar of the waves.
Sijie people on the shore saw that Dazi, who was leading the team, had not moved for a long time, and his back was in a strange posture, and they couldn't help but become suspicious.
A sharp arrow shot out of the water, and blood exploded.
Then there was a flurry of crossbows, and dozens of Sijie people fell to the ground instantly.
Zhou Xu walked from the cold river to the shore. All the clothes on his body were completely wet. He exhaled and wrung out the water. Then he looked at the water. Tuoba Agu was beside him, and the exquisite crossbow on his arm was still there. There was only one left, and the rest of the people who came ashore began to check whether there were any missing ones.
Above the water, the sheepskin raft has sunk to the bottom, and the cowhide bags containing dry food on it have also been destroyed. There are hundreds of corpses floating on the water, some of which are floating down the river. More cavalrymen emerge from the water, with strong physiques. Brave, some even topless.
After confirming that there were no survivors, Zhou Xu returned with his people.
Cui Shizi coughed lightly when he saw his lord came back safe and sound, and the medicine servant put another layer of fox fur on him.
"This plan of crossing the river with reeds is indeed a good one." Zhou Xu said with a smile: "Those who stayed by the river are already dead."
"I understand, my lord, please go back to the camp and drink some ginger soup." Cui Shizi was coughed by the autumn night wind, and his face turned pale. In fact, his plan also has many risks. The water of the Ruoye River has always been fast. It was night again. If you want to complete this plan, you must not only be strong but also calm and composed. Nuo Da's army only selected 200 good players.
Fortunately, there was no near miss and it was successful.
There are their people guarding both sides of the strait, and tomorrow we will come to catch turtles in an urn.
Xiao Luolan's face was reddish from the fire, and she was dripping with sweat. She waited until the messenger came to say that her lord had come back safe and sound, and then she started to cook the ginger soup. The ginger soup was so strong that they didn't dare to cook it until their team came back. First, I was worried that the smell of the ginger soup would be blown to the other side by the wind, and second, it was useless to cook it too early.
In a simple kitchen, Xiao Luolan and several military doctors were busy.
The big iron pot was brought in by a soldier named Hu Dali. The firewood was lit with hay. The fire burned brightly and the water in the iron pot boiled quickly.
There are ten large iron pots in the kitchen, and Xiao Luolan is in charge of one of them. The ginger in the logistics is a little dry and black. In fact, fresh ginger is better, but there is nothing I can do. I remove the black part of the ginger and scrape it off. Wash a shallow layer of skin, then put it into water, add green onion, oil and salt and cook it. The brown ginger soup rolls, and the spicy taste comes out.
Not long after, Zhou Xu brought people back. The two hundred people who were dripping wet were placed in dozens of tents. There were stoves and dry clothes in the tents. Then the military doctor brought ginger soup.
Everyone drank, including Zhou Xu.
After drinking, he discussed with General Shi, Li Xun, and Zhou Xuan the arrangements for besieging the foreigners in the mountains, and then returned to his tent late at night.
Except when the war is really about to be fought, the marching period is always boring. Zhou Xu is always worried that his wife will be depressed, so he is quite happy to see her learning some bandaging techniques from Li Fan. Having something to do can always distract some of his wife's attention. force.
