In the distance, Chachawu, the old leader of the Tiele people, and his subordinate Batu surrounded them tightly, preventing the Turks from having the slightest possibility of escaping.
Seeing a Turkic cavalry taking advantage of the chaos to rush out, Batu immediately raised his bow and fired an arrow, forcing him to retreat. At the same time, he narrowly avoided an arrow in the dark.
Tuoba Amu's body was lying low in the grass, like a leopard. The Turkic rider who was looking for an arrow suddenly jumped out. The machete in his hand quickly and accurately cut off the horse's front hooves, and his face was splashed. The blood was hot, and the light blue eyes were as cold as cold light. When the horse neighed, he twisted his waist and kicked the Turkic rider's head hard. Then he grabbed his head and cut it off with a machete.
The autumn wind blew, leaving only the smell of blood in the last grassland.
"Count how many heads there are, and check each one so that you don't miss anything." Tuoba Agu sat on the ground, breathed hard for a while, and said to Chachawu.
"Okay." Chachawu went to check it himself. The corpses of the Turkic cavalry were placed in front. After nodding everyone's heads, he returned to Tuoba Agu: "Sixty-four in total."
Tuoba Agu touched the wine bag on his waist and finally didn't drink a sip. Tuoba Amu checked the casualties on his side and the cavalry heads chopped off by the clansmen behind him, sorted them out, and said to brother A: "Clansmen There are thirty-five in total in hand, fifteen of the Tuoba tribe were killed, five were injured, and one was seriously injured."
He glanced at the old leader of the Tiele tribe. There were many deaths on their side. Because the Turks counterattacked very hard in the end, almost thirty people died, not counting other injured. Calculated this way, it was Xiaosheng, because they also paid a lot of lives.
Tuoba Agu touched the scimitar at his waist: "A total of ninety-nine people?"
Generally speaking, a cavalry team consists of hundreds of people.
Isn't it a coincidence that one of them escaped? Tuoba Agu suddenly stood up when he thought of this. Just as he was about to ask them to search again, Zhou Xuan and his men arrived on horseback.
"Zhou Sima." Tuoba Agu and Tuoba Amu bowed their heads in salute, and the rest of the Tiele people also lowered their heads.
"Lord Jiedushi, he has captured a Turk." When fighting outside, Zhou Xuan's expression was very serious. His official position was Marching Sima. Generally, he never called his brother by his name outside, but instead called him by his superiors and subordinates. Lord Jiedushi, he looked into the distant darkness. The smell of blood attracted a wolf wandering nearby, but he knew that there must be wolves hidden in the darkness in the distance, and said: "Feed the remaining corpses to the wolves."
Zhou Xuan smiled coldly. Feeding the corpses of these beasts to wolves was an advantage for them. Turks have always worshiped wolves. Even the totem in the tribe is a wolf. Many Turkic warriors have wolf heads tattooed on their chests. Now that the totem has been eaten into the belly of their faith, it is considered a great blessing for them.
"only."
Everyone put the seriously injured tribesmen on a single frame, and then after repairing it, they immediately threw the Turkic bodies far away, taking only their heads. As soon as they left, the hungry wolves instantly They rushed to the corpse, lowered their heads, smelled it, and started eating.
Tuoba Amu rode back to the camp with the others. He casually glanced at the hillside not far away and paused for a moment.
Tuoba Agu looked back at Adi who was riding to the edge of the team for some reason, then pulled the reins and came to his side.
"Why are you slowing down?"
Tuoba Amu said nothing.
Tuoba Agu had always known his brother's taciturn character. He frowned. He wanted to be like his mistress's daughter, the apple of the eye of the Master Jiedushi. He had a boring personality, was not good at words, and had foreign ancestry among other Central Plains people. It seems that he also belongs to the humble category, he looks like that, and he can't answer three words to a question. How can he catch up with Miss Xiao like this?
Tuoba Agu was worried about his brother.
Although he had told Amu not to have any wishful thinking before, when the elder brother saw that the younger brother had a girl he liked, he still hoped to succeed. After all... that was the biological daughter of Mistress Youzhou. If possible, they would expand The power of the Ba clan will be more stable, but the hope is too slim.
"Don't tell me I'm leaving," Tuoba Agu said.
Tuoba Amua made a sound.
When Tuoba Agu heard this answer, he immediately felt angry. Originally, he saw that Adi was quite brave in fighting this time and wanted to praise him. Now, it would be nice if he didn't scold him.
Tuoba Agu snorted coldly and left.
Tuoba Amu looked up at his brother's back and wiped the sweat from his hands. He knew that his brother was angry, but he was... embarrassed to say it.
When he reached the hillside, Tuoba Amu dismounted while others were not paying attention, and then walked to the top of the hillside.
week .
Tuoba Amu found a small stream behind the hillside. He washed his hands with water first, and then squatted by the river to wash away the sweat and blood stains on his face. He even washed away the dried blood on his armor. The moon is reflected in the creek, and only a little dim light can be seen.
After cleaning up, he returned to the top of the hillside and saw golden sunflowers in a crack in the gravel.
Before he entered the grassland, he was looking for sunflowers. This kind of flower blooms in midsummer. It was already autumn when they entered the grassland. There were originally few flowers, and they were even harder to find after the season. He never expected that he would find them in this nook and corner. This kind of flower.
Tuoba Amu was very surprised. He remembered that Mrs. Xiao liked flowers very much. Every time the mistress sent flowers to her with snow eagles, she would be very happy when she wrote back.
Every time Miss Xiao replied to her mistress, she didn't write many letters to him, only two or three. Although they were just simple greetings and concerns, Tuoba Amu was still very happy.
Tuoba Amu took off his armor, put down the knife in his hand, and then took out a neat and somewhat excessive letter from his arms. On the light yellow paper, Miss Xiao's handwriting was elegant, and she simply asked him to fight. Pay attention to safety at all times. If there is anything going on, you must tell her.
The edge of the paper was already furry. Tuoba Amu looked at it for a while under the dim moonlight and put it away with satisfaction.
He looked at the sunflower in the gravel. It was golden and small, symbolizing bravery, purity and happiness.
It swayed in the cold autumn night, but it was still golden and bright.
Tuoba Amu knelt on one knee and looked at the sunflower that might be the last one on the grassland. He slowly bent down, lowered his head, and kissed the petals of the sunflower tenderly and reverently.
Finally, he received the sunflower into the copper tube he carried with him.
After returning to the camp, Tuoba Amu learned that the mistress's carriage was attacked by a kerosene stick. He immediately rushed to his brother and went with him to see the mistress.
Especially the elder brother, he wanted to see him because he was the mistress's nominal adopted son.
When their mother was attacked, even if she was not harmed, they still had to show due etiquette and show concern. Among them, Tuoba Amu was even more anxious. After all, the mistress was Xiao Madam's mother.
Outside the big cowhide tent.
Tuoba Agu washed away the smell of blood and took his younger brother to see his mother outside the tent.
Xiao Luolan has not yet seen Sect Master Zhou. Although she knew from Dong Xue that the sneak attack team had been wiped out, she was still a little worried. When she heard Dong Xue said that there were two brothers Tuoba outside asking for a meeting, she was stunned. To be honest, since After entering the military camp, except for a few words with Tuoba Amu, she had hardly even seen Tuoba Amu's face.
"Let them in." Xiao Luolan cheered up, thinking about what would happen if they came.
"Wei." Dongxue responded, and then glanced at the mistress, who could not hide her worry but still looked extremely beautiful and plump under the candlelight, and moved the only two screens in the tent to the left and right sides in front of the desk.
Xiao Luolan was confused.
Dong Xue found a thin gauze curtain somewhere and pulled it, her vision immediately blurred in front of her. Sitting behind the desk, she felt that there were so many rules for ancient nobles.
"You two gentlemen, please come in. My mistress is waiting for you." Dongxue lifted the door curtain and bowed with her crotch folded.
"Thank you." Tuoba Agu said, stepping into the tent with his younger brother, and saw his mother sitting upright behind the desk.
Separated by a layer of gauze, neither party could see clearly.
"My son, Tuoba Agu, pays homage to my mother." Tuoba Agu knelt down and nodded.
"Tuoba Amu pays homage to the mistress." Tuoba Amu also knelt down and nodded.
Although Lord Jiedushi told him that he was half his adopted son, he never met him openly, so Tuoba Amu only chose a conservative title.
When Xiao Luolan saw them kneeling and kowtowing, showing extraordinary respect for her, she remembered that they were now her children. The main reason was that the two children did not see each other often, so she actually forgot about this.
"A Gu, A Mu, get up." Xiao Luolan called these two her nominal sons unfamiliarly. Seeing the two of them waiting at one side with their heads bowed, she said, "You guys have something to do here late at night. ?”
Tuoba Agu always lowered his eyes and did not look at his mistress. Their grassland customs have always been shamed by the people of the Central Plains, so he paid special attention to this on weekdays, not to mention that he was an adopted son and had no blood relationship. .
"When I heard that my mother was attacked, I came quickly with my brother. I wanted to know how my mother was doing. Was she injured?" Tuoba Agu said respectfully.
So that’s what happened.
"I'm fine, don't worry." Xiao Luolan replied. Remembering their identities as sons, she asked with concern: "Are you injured?"
Tuoba Agu replied: "To tell my mother, my son has not been injured."
Tuoba Amu also replied: "I haven't replied to my mistress."
"It's good that you're not injured." Xiao Luolan felt relieved after hearing this. She looked at Tuoba Amu and asked softly: "Is Snow Eagle not back recently?"
"As far as I'm concerned, Mistress, no." Tuoba Amu thought about it and added, "It should be soon. Don't worry."
After the Tuoba brothers left, Dongxue removed the gauze and screen, revealing the face of the mistress, who was crowned Youzhou.
Her dark eyebrows are furrowed with a sad look, and her peony eyes are bright with spring water.
The snow is crisp and the moon is bright, and the willow waist is moving even without a smile.
"Dongxue, you will send some medicine to A Gu and the others later." Xiao Luolan said.
Dongxue was puzzled: "Madam, both Tuoba Langjun said they were not injured, why did you give them medicine?"
Xiao Luolan stood up and put on a brown crane cloak to go to the military doctor. She likes to wear this stain-resistant color these days, which is very convenient for work.
She fastened her crane cloak and tie.
"They all said that he was not injured, but I don't know whether it is true or not. If he was injured, they would not tell me. Just send him here as a precaution."
Moreover, judging from Xiao Luolan's observations these days, the Tuoba and Tiele tribes are often together. The Youzhou cavalry led by Li Xun usually don't have much dealings with them. This time they are leading the attack on the two tribes, and the casualties are certain. Yes, if there are no injuries, Brother Tuoba can just distribute those medicines to the people below.
After all, they are her nominal children.
Chapter 78 (Plot)
In the military tent, a simple box was filled with gold earrings. Each gold earring was more or less stained with dirty blood. They were piled into a pile, and their rough shape was vaguely visible.
Zhou Xu and the people in the tent looked at the map of Kanwai hanging in the middle of the military tent. A long Kamamu River winds down from the distant Tianshan Mountains, nourishing generations of grassland people. Its branch rivers are like meridians. It flows on the earth and nourishes everything. There are several obvious mountains undulating in it. Yanzhi Mountain near the county town belongs to one of them.
Zhou Xu's rough hands touched the wide area in front of Yanzhi Mountain.
It is a fertile land of endless water and grass.
This area once belonged to the Turks, but now it belongs to him. Not only Yanzhi Mountain, but also any land with rich water and grass outside the Great Wall in the north belongs to him. The living space of those grassland people is being squeezed inward by him step by step. The only place where they can buy and sell their daily necessities is the ancient city of Chang. The other six cities all have military towns stationed for a long time, so no one dares to invade.
Only Gu Chang.
This was a place where Zhou Xu left them a chance to breathe. After all, it would not be good if they forced the people of the grassland tribes too hard. At least people had to eat salt. Every year, the transaction of necessities such as salt cloth in Gu Chang reached a new high.
Now it seems that his kindness is unnecessary.
Several tribes jointly returned to Yicheng, together with the Turks... and the imperial court, and secretly made small moves for him on the border.
Cui Shizi coughed. He was wearing a thick cotton coat and a wolf fur cloak. He was sitting on a chair with a blanket on his knees. He was holding a warm hand stove in his hand. The snow-white long-haired young man He was as gentle as jade, with a hint of tiredness on his perennially sickly pale face, but his eyes were sober and cold. He took a sip of hot tea to moisten his throat.
General Shi observed the terrain for a while and said: "My lord, those Turks must have arrived at Huiyi a few days ago. Huiyi City is located on a high mountain. The city wall is strong and easy to defend but difficult to attack. Now there are Turkic pagodas and cavalry. The cavalry from the alien tribesmen on the grassland are supporting us behind the scenes, no wonder the old king is so arrogant and he is not afraid of dying from overeating."
Li Xun said: "After we capture the city and return to Yi City, we can capture the old king and light the sky lanterns to scare the border countries."
Outside the vast Great Wall, there is not only a small country like Huiyi, but there are several others behind it, but they are far away from them. Hu merchants and border merchants opened up a small road to travel between ancient Chang, and gradually formed Through trade, rare objects from distant places were brought to the Central Plains, and silk, salt and porcelain from the Central Plains were also brought to these small countries, and ancient Chang became increasingly prosperous.
Due to the war, all the merchants had long since disappeared, and even some of the flow points that relied on trade to survive had disappeared without a trace.
Cui Shizi gathered his cloak. As the cold autumn arrived, his health became worse and worse.
He was the youngest child of the Cui family in Hengnan. His parents, Lao Beng, had him. Because he was sick at birth, he was also the youngest child, so he was loved and loved. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, and his father died on the battlefield at an early age. , his mother also left with him. In the anger of the Holy Emperor, the whole family was expelled and exiled. His brothers were attacked and killed by bandits on the way to exile. At that time, Youzhou was a barbaric and cold land outside the Great Wall in the eyes of the southern gentry, and it was close to those The aliens on the grassland are often plundered and are considered a place of death in everyone's eyes.
Cui Shizi was precocious since he was a child. He watched his brothers die one after another, but he, the medicine jar, survived because his brothers protected him. At that time, he wanted to die.
But he couldn't die. His sister was much older than him. She was like a mother and treated him very well. Before the decree was issued, the eldest sister had a well-matched marriage, but the engagement was annulled. According to the decree, When Chong entered the music studio, his sister suffered there. To put it nicely, it was a music studio, but what was the difference between it and those places.
Things are hot and cold, but that's all.
