The rain lessened and the thunder ceased.
The herdsmen did not send the children, let alone put down their weapons, but they retreated, gathered together, and kept retreating.
Mu Hua ran back, and before she could speak, Chu Qing gave the order again.
Half of the old soldiers mounted their horses, formed a circle, and wandered around the outside. Then, Muhua heard the neighing of the war horses.
The herdsmen don't have many horses, more than seventy, all of which are old and thin.
A long crossbow as thick as an arm penetrated the rain curtain and shot at these old horses.
The herdsmen were frightened. Some were panicked, some were furious, and some, although angry, did not rush to fight.
"You are a shameless liar..."
Before the word "子" came out, Chu Qing yelled "Wai".
The so-called "encirclement" does not mean that the old soldiers on horses surround the herdsmen. In fact, these people alone cannot surround them, but they must keep a distance. The current rain will not cause any harm to the war horses. There are too many obstacles, and the only problem is that the road is too slippery, but now they can no longer care about it. The soldiers distanced themselves and prepared to charge. They only waited for Chu Qing's order and used the speed of the horses to rush. The herdsmen rushed in disarray, trying their best to gain an advantage, and then resorted to fighting on foot.
Chu Qing pointed the long knife at Mu Hua, without any emotion in his voice.
"I said, put down your weapons, hand over the children as hostages, take fifty steps back, or kill them. You didn't do it, and they didn't do it either."
"No, they don't have any weapons, don't they have any weapons?"
Chu Qing looked stunned: "There are no weapons."
"You callous liar, they have been driven out of their homes. They have not even had anything to eat for two days and one night. They have no food, no weapons, and no weapons."
Mu Hua was from Liang, so she naturally turned towards her compatriots, so she played tricks. She knew that these herders could not fight at all, so she originally wanted to "scare away" the wolf-catching army, so that everyone could go their own way.
"Unarmed?" Chu Qing was dubious, winked at Wang Tongtong, and ran out quickly.
"You'd better not lie to me. If my men find any herdsman hiding even a nail clipper in his arms, I will kill you!"
There was no fear on Mu Hua's face, just worry and anxiety.
Chu Qing's cold face was filled with suspicion.
Ertong, who had observed them closely, ran back. As Mu Hua said, they had no weapons, were sallow and thin, and listless. Many people were sick. This group of herdsmen were all old and weak, like refugees fleeing from famine.
Chu Qing and Lin Kui both breathed a sigh of relief.
This means that these herders who have been driven out of the pasture have not eaten for two days and one night, and they have no weapons. Even if they fight, they will not have much fighting power.
"No wonder." Chu Qing threw the long knife to Wang Tongtong, looked at Mu Hua and shook his head slightly: "They are your kindred, and the people around me are also my kindred."
Mu Hua just sneered and didn't speak.
"We will leave and let them stay where they are. They are not allowed to move for a quarter of an hour. A quarter of an hour after we leave, they continue on their way. Understand..."
Before he finished speaking, singing came from behind, drowning out the sound of the rain.
Chu Qing couldn't understand, but felt the desolation and tragedy in the singing.
The herdsmen sang songs that no one understood, which was not cheerful, mixed with the sound of rain and crying.
Chu Qing turned around and looked at the herdsmen gathered around the horse corpse, with an inexplicable look on his face.
Mu Hua stood beside Chu Qing and spoke quietly.
"They were driven from their homes, their food, their weapons, their horses, all taken away."
"They thought the Chang people would kill them. You wouldn't do that, would you?"
"Not all Liang people and all herdsmen hate Chang people or you."
"You are a general, a general. You should not exchange the heads of defenseless innocents for military honors to prove your bravery."
"You will fulfill your promise, leave and let them go, right? You will not go back on your word."
Chu Qing nodded: "Yes, we will leave. We are a wolf-catching army. We disdain and don't care about military merit. Let alone the heads of old and weak people, even the heads of elite rangers, we will not cut off, but We will kill anyone if necessary, regardless of whether they cut off their heads or not."
"Okay, I believe you, can you give me a knife?"
"What?"
"Give it to them. Their horses are dead. They were killed by you. They are starving, very hungry, but they don't have a knife. A knife. Just a knife, even a dull knife. Please , give me a knife, give it to them, and let them eat their horses, many of them are sick, they are sick and hungry.”
Chu Qing hummed slightly, and Wang Tongtong took out the short knife from his boots and handed it to Mu Hua.
After Muhua took the dagger, she quickly ran towards the herdsmen.
The rain finally stopped, and Chu Qing took off his cloak, feeling extremely tired.
Although he didn't take action, there were many accidents this night, which made him physically and mentally exhausted.
After twisting the rainwater from his cloak, Chu Qing looked at Lin Hu and asked, "Does this always happen on the grassland?"
Lin Hu shook his head: "Occasionally, they grab territory and annex each other."
Nangong Ping interjected: "Master Chu, I think this student must be related to the four princes of the prairie."
After waking up the dreamer, Chu Qing nodded: "Yes, that's why these small tribes will suffer."
The news that the Fourth Prince of the Prairie was going to "rebellion" had spread. The flag wolf pawns under the Golden Wolf King were chasing the Fourth Prince of the Prairie. In addition to the flag wolf pawns, there were also some people from the Great Prince of the Prairie, including Iron Wolf, who had lost his general. guard.
Whether they want to kill the fourth grassland boy or take him back, the Golden Wolf King and the eldest prince must have spoken out to kill the small tribes who followed the fourth grassland boy.
The grassland has always followed the law of the weak and the strong, so those small tribes who have taken refuge in the grassland will be purged, the young and strong will be killed or become slaves, and the old and weak will be exiled. Their tents, cattle, sheep, horses, and iron tools , everything to eat and drink will be taken away.
The division of power among the tribes in the grassland is very clear. The deeper you go, the more north you go, the more geographical environment, water sources and pastures there are, while the west side is relatively barren, with almost no tribes settling.
These herdsmen who were exiled or escaped could only move westward, trying to find a place to live in no man's land and continue to thrive.
This means that not only the small tribes near the water grass pasture that everyone is going to were massacred and exiled, but many other small tribes also encountered this situation and were expelled by the noble tribes, banner wolf soldiers, iron wolf guards, and other large tribes. Annexation and plunder.
Chu Qing sighed, filled with emotions.
It is really difficult for little people to control their own destiny. Whether it is an individual or a tribe, if you follow the wrong big brother, your family will be ruined.
"Just rest where you are. Since the herdsmen have no weapons and no intention of fighting, there is nothing to be afraid of. Set aside some people to guard them, while the others rest where they are, replenish their physical strength and horsepower, and at the same time count the supplies, and set off again after dawn."
Lin Kui nodded and ran away to explain.
Chu Qing looked at Nangong Ping: "Go and call Mu Hua back and ask her if many small tribes have been purged. Ask her clearly."
"yes."
