At dawn, the sun seeps through the clouds, and its movements are not gentle, as if it wants to crush the cloud girl into pieces in exchange for brightness all over the world.
Outside Dingbeiguan, the sandy wind that had been howling all night had just subsided. The defenders who had guarded the city gate all night began to change their defenses. The leading general, holding his sword, was about to walk under the city wall.
Only suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I looked forward and realized that I didn't know when. In front of Dingbeiguan, there were about ten figures, crying and howling, staggering towards the city gate.
"General, is it not for the sake of the people?"
The general of Dingzhou did not take action immediately. In Dingbeiguan, the barbarians and horse bandits used all kinds of tricks. If it was a spy pretending to be a spy, this would be a big deal.
"General!"
Not long after, a city gate captain came up in a hurry.
"General, there are about a dozen common people outside. They say that wild dogs are chasing after them and want to enter Dingbeiguan. General, you should be responsible for the people..."
"Don't be anxious. Send fifty cavalry out of the city first to bring the people back. If anyone comes, report it to General Lu immediately."
In and outside Dingbeiguan, all matters, big or small, related to the Hu people must be reported to Lu Xiu according to the rules.
After receiving the order, the fifty-horse Dingzhou Army who left the city had already galloped their horses and whipped up their whips, rolling up clouds of dust and smoke to greet the dozens of people who were getting closer and closer.
…
"General Lu."
"General!"
Lu Xiu waved his hand and walked to the top of the city to watch silently. Outside Dingbei Pass, due to the closure of the mutual market, the Jiren people who should have fled have already fled. If there are those who cannot escape, they are likely to become horse slaves of the barbarians.
"General Lu, Hugou is here!"
Following the general's voice, Lu Xiu looked around and saw a large group of barbarian cavalry suddenly running out from behind a dozen people.
"No, this is a poisonous trick!"
At first glance, a large group of Hu cavalry numbered at least two hundred. In an instant, everyone was riding on their horses, raising their bows and shooting.
Seven or eight of the people who were running for their lives fell down in an instant.
The fifty-horse Dingzhou Army who left the city marched forward bravely, risking their lives and firing their guns to protect the two common people who were running wildly at the front.
"Bang the drum!" Lu Xiu said in a cold voice.
The drums for marching out quickly began to beat. Hearing the sound of drums and seeing two hundred barbarian horse bandits too close to Dingbeiguan, they fired another wave of flying arrows, turned their horses' heads quickly, and ran towards the depths of the wilderness.
After the barbarians completely disappeared, Lu Xiu frowned and walked towards the city wall.
"General Lu, one person died."
One of the two people he brought back was killed by an arrow. The remaining one was holding his head and kneeling on the ground shivering.
"Don't be afraid, this is Dingzhou, the land of the Central Plains."
Lu Xiu asked someone to bring him food and called the military doctor. After about half a stick of incense had passed, the people who had fled back raised their heads tremblingly. When they saw the soldiers, they cried bitterly without opening a word.
"General, this villain was originally a fur trader from Baiya Town outside Dingbei Pass. Seven years ago, the barbarians were unjust and their army attacked the town..."
Outside Dingbeiguan, there were scattered mutual markets before. Therefore, some merchants would move around between Ji and Hu people, risking their lives to seek wealth. But later, the barbarians suddenly went crazy and wiped out all the towns inhabited outside. Many people from the Central Plains were kidnapped and made into slaves.
"In the Hu tribe, hundreds of horse slaves rebelled the day before yesterday, and the barbarians became angry. Since yesterday, they have been dragging me and other horse slaves to the Wild Wolf Valley, beheading and feeding them Wolf. I waited for these dozen people and took advantage of the lax defense to escape temporarily. "
"General, I heard those barbarians say that in the Wild Wolf Valley, blood has attracted thousands of sand wolves. The blood of my people has dyed the entire valley red."
"Today, there are still five to six hundred Ji people and horse slaves who were sent to the Wild Wolf Valley. I heard that the general is a great hero in Dingzhou and is the most powerful at killing barbarians. Please save them!"
The speaker knelt on the ground and cried bitterly.
Lu Xiu did not speak immediately. He had stayed in Dingzhou for a long time and had seen too many barbarian methods.
"General, it must be a lie."
"I think so too." Lu Xiu nodded calmly. There was something wrong, and moreover, although there was a cause for this incident, no matter what, it always felt too unexpected. Moreover, it was at this moment.
"General, General Lu, I remember. I heard that there are still half a battalion of soldiers who were sent to Wild Wolf Valley!"
The person kneeling on the ground suddenly thought of something.
"It seems to be called Pei Ziying."
Lu Xiu's body suddenly froze. Pei Ziying was previously a soldier in Dingzhou. Two years ago, he was captured by the Hu people in order to break up the Dingzhou army.
Lu Xiu thought that his brothers had already died for their country.
"The people in Pei Ziying were all good men before, but I occasionally saw that those people were so thin from hunger, whipped every day, and their bodies were covered with septic wounds."
Lu Xiu closed his eyes for a long time before suddenly drawing out his sword. When he walked in front of the kneeling man, he just waited for the sword light to flash. Most of the kneeling man's linen robe was torn into pieces, and several layers of animal skins wrapped around his body were suddenly exposed.
Animal skin is naturally a shield against arrows.
"You're a spy! I was wondering why you were the only one who didn't die!" Beside Lu Xiu, a fiery general kicked him over with his foot.
Before he could explain, the man's neck was cut with a knife.
"General Lu, I told you before, this is a scam."
"No matter what, send a few cavalry to spy out of the city and make sure to find out. This time the barbarians are trying to trick me, I'm afraid it's not that simple. They should be trying to lure me out of the city."
In the Hu people's tribe, there was always a big reward. No matter who could kill Lu Xiu, he would be made a duke and rewarded with 500 horses and 30 beautiful slaves.
…
"Mr. Taishu, the Tiger of Dingzhou is not a fool. He can see such a simple strategy." In the hiding place of the wilderness, the barbarian Wang Gaigong said with a smile.
"Of course he can tell. If it was a simple trick and he was lured out of the city, I would be a little disappointed." Taishu Wang was not disappointed, his voice remained calm.
"What do you mean, Mr. Taishu?"
"It's impossible to prevent a chain plan. The news of the previous sale is just the first plan. Just wait and see, Lu Xiu will definitely send people out of the city to investigate."
"I heard that this Tiger of Dingzhou was deeply trusted by Xu Buyi. As soon as he came to surrender, he was directly appointed as the general of Zhenzhou in the second state. In this case, my uncle Wang lured and killed Lu in front of Dingbeiguan. Hugh, cut off Xu Buyi’s arm!"
"Although he is good at fighting, don't forget that he is a general, and intrigues are not his strong point."
"I'm very confident."
"Kill the tiger of Dingzhou and you can enter the inner city!" Gongsun Qi, who was nearby, also spoke harshly.
Uncle Wang smiled. His lord is still as silly and cute as ever. Taking control of Changyang is not his real purpose.
Without looking at Gongsun Qi, Taishuwang raised his head seriously and looked at Gaigong, the barbarian king in front of him.
"Your Majesty, be prepared."
Gai Gong narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Of course, I am waiting for Mr. Taishu's series of clever tricks. Just like Mr. said, trap and kill the tiger of Dingzhou and conquer Dingbeiguan in one fell swoop!"
"If this plan succeeds, the morale of the defenders at Dingbeiguan will definitely collapse. When our vast army attacks, they will be like wolves among sheep, unmatched!"
