Three Kingdoms

Amidst the flying sand and dust, black broken walls burned to charcoal and corpses scattered one after another have become the themes of this world.

There are three knights in the woods on a hillside to the east of this dilapidated village. They are looking here immediately with solemn expressions.

This is a small village that was massacred by a war. Winter is coming. In order to compete for food and grass, the Qiang people attack this village on horseback. Even though many days have passed, an indescribable smell formed by the original flames and blood is still lingering. It was disgusting to hear in the sky above this village.

Wild dogs were scurrying back and forth between the broken walls, tearing at something. From time to time, scavenging birds flew up, circled, and then fell back down again.

"These damn Qiang dogs... this village is doomed... It's a pity that you didn't listen to advice..." The leading knight took out a piece of wooden tablet from the bag on the horse's side, then took a knife and carved on the wooden tablet. After saying a few words, he put the wooden tablet into his arms and spat towards the side.

A scout at the rear said: "The Qiang dogs are short of food, otherwise they wouldn't have come so far..."

The leading cavalryman was silent for a moment, then turned his horse's head, "Let's go! We have to go around, so be careful!"

The three cavalrymen circled down the slope and ran towards the west.

…………………………

Fei Qian took the latest information, handed it to Pang Tong, and said: "The Ma family boy led the Xianling Qiang and Lingzhong Qiang, as well as some other small Qiang tribes, to Chaotianshui." Xu Shu had just set off for Hanzhong. Soon, before winter came, Fei Qian received news of the invasion led by Ma Chao.

Pang Tong shook his head and said: "Does this guy think he has become more capable? Tianshui has been waiting for a while..." Li Ru had speculated that Ma Chao might come in autumn. It is fertile and there is wheat harvesting in Han Dynasty, so it is the best time.

Fei Qian sighed and said, "I'm just worried that some people are reluctant to leave... After all, they don't have long to harvest autumn wheat..." The warning was issued, but it is inevitable that some people can't let go. This time Ma Chao comes , with a vengeful attitude, basically they don't care about Longyou's life or death at all, and Tianshui must be the hardest hit area.

Tianshui is the hub of Longyou. Whether he continues eastward to Guanzhong or southward to Hanzhong, he must pass through this place, so Ma Chao chose Tianshui as his first goal. If Tianshui is not pulled out, Ma Chao will feel like there is a nail in his back, and he must not rest assured.

To pull out the Tianshui, we must first go to Ji County.

Pang Tong was silent for a moment and said: "There is no way...fate is like this...I hope Jiang Zhongyi can grasp it..." At times like this, if the early warning comes, if you can act faster, you can still save many cities. However, if there is any chance, the fate of death will be unavoidable.

Fei Qian lightly knocked on the table and said, "There is one more thing..."

"Where is Yan Xing and Yan Yanming?" Pang Tong looked at the information and said without raising his head.

"Exactly." Fei Qian nodded. Because the intelligence did not say that Yan Xing's men were seen, they were either hiding themselves from others, or they had some other purpose or reason.

"Are you suspecting Yan Yanming of setting up an ambush?" Pang Tong put down the information and said, "There are many hills and ravines in the north of Tianshui County. If you hide in them, it is really difficult to be detected. However, a large army needs water to camp. If you hide in them, you will eventually be there. Showing off one's flaws..."

Fei Qian nodded and said: "Actually, Ma Meng got up late... Haha, I don't know why... Wen You said that Tianshui should be worry-free, Shi Yuan, what do you think?"

"Since it was Wen You who said it, it should be about the same..." Pang Tong said, "Anyway, isn't Wen He in You Fufeng? Just let him keep an eye on it."

Fei Qian thought for a moment and nodded: "That's it."

…………………………

In Tianshui Ji County, Jiang Ji was jumping to his feet, pointing at Yang Fu and saying: "Why didn't you let people enter the city earlier! Is it worth losing these people for a little Zhuang He? Ah, is it worth it!"

Yang Fu sighed and shook his head silently.

The ancients valued their native land, and even a broken bowl or a broken broom in their home would be good. If they had not clearly known about the Qiang attack this time, no one would have left home unless they had to. Although Yang Fu made people say so , a lot of methods were used, but it was still inevitable that some people were unwilling to leave, so they were poisoned by Ma Chao.

"It is said that the only one who attacked was Ma Mengqi..." Yang Fu said in silence for a while, "Is it possible that Yan Yanming went around to attack Xinyang?"

"Brother Zhao..." Jiang Ji looked to the east, "Brother Zhao is located in Xinyang, so Xinyang should be kept safe..."

Xinyang City is located in the southeast of Hebei County, along the Weishui River, and is the two central city of Tianshui County. If these two cities fall, it will be equivalent to the Tianshui gate being opened, and Ma Chao will no longer be able to stop Ma Chao's progress.

Originally, Tianshui's relationship with Han Sui, Ma Teng and others was just mutual use, but with the rise of General Zhengxi Fei Qian, Tianshui gradually sided with General Zhengxi.

These days, no one is born a friend or an enemy.

Perhaps it is because there are many Hu Fengs here in Longyou. People here pay more attention to strength. Whoever is stronger will stand by his side.

In Tianshui County, when Ma Teng and Han Sui were in power, there were not a few people who were brothers with these two people, drinking kumiss and eating barbecue together. But now it is obvious that Ma Teng and Han Sui are at a disadvantage, and Guanzhong is booming. The interests of General Zhengxi are obviously greater. If there was still some hesitation before, but now that the Han and Ma families have been beaten twice by Zhengxi, no one will be stupid enough to continue to side with Han and Ma. , so the previous friendship with Han Ma and others turned into a pile of urine with the wine, and there was no trace except for some fishy smell that could prove its existence.

Ma Chao brought the Qiang people here, partly for revenge, and partly to reestablish his prestige in Longyou. Otherwise, Ma Chao would no longer be able to survive in Longyou due to a chain reaction.

This is no longer a matter of one city and one place in Tianshui, but a game between General Zhengxi and Han Ma. Of course, in the eyes of Jiang Ji and Yang Fu, General Zhengxi obviously has a better chance of winning, but the odds come down to odds, and it really needs to be changed. To become a victory, it depends on the subsequent evolution. Historically, it is not impossible that there are many chances of winning, and then they eventually stumble.

"Brother Zhongyi," Yang Fu said after being silent for a moment, "I don't know how long Ma Mengqi will besiege the city... There are too many people in the city, after all, it is embarrassing..."

Jiang Ji turned his head and looked inside the city, listening to the noisy voices in his ears, and said: "There is no other way, this is the only way, otherwise if these people are left outside, 80% of them will be coerced into attacking the city... Although the city is crowded... A few things are always better than dying outside..."

Yang Fu hesitated for a moment, opened his mouth, and finally didn't say anything, just sighed slightly.

Tianshui Ji County was originally a town established for military purposes. As an area where the Han Dynasty and the Western Qiang repeatedly clashed, city defense was naturally the first priority. Although there have been ups and downs of wars and rebellions in the past ten years, there are still many people in the surrounding area. A lot of people are attached, and now that a large number of people have poured into Ji County, the city has suddenly become congested.

Many people had to abandon their homes and had no suitable place to live. They could only hide under the walls or huddle in the corners of the eaves and alleys. If the cold winter entered, they would be without cover and warmth. In this situation, after one night, I don’t know how many people will fall asleep and never wake up again.

Even regardless of the weather problems later, just talking about eating, drinking and eating now, with so many people and crowded conditions, is simply like a nightmare.

People these days really don't have any hygienic habits, let alone men. If the little girl is still a little shy, the married woman can hardly control a lot. People have three urgent needs and can't pay attention to them. In just a few days, Ji County was already filled with stinks.

People living in the city naturally thought that these outsiders were disturbing their normal lives, and for a while, they complained.

Damn mud-legged people, damn country bumpkins, damn outsiders...

If many patrolling soldiers had not been dispatched to maintain order in the city, I am afraid that many conflicts would have occurred by now. The mood of the people has always been chaotic. Even if they knew that the ferocious foreign enemy was outside the city, they would still be in trouble. The shit at my door is still unbearable!

Yang Fu was worried that if things worsened, his suppressed emotions would explode sooner or later...

Once it really breaks out, how long can Ji County hold on under internal and external pressure?

…………………………

Fifty miles outside Ji County.

The mighty Ma Chao army arrived here excitedly.

Gathered from Jincheng, they passed through Yuzhong, crossed Didao, climbed over Gaocheng Ridge, climbed over Shouyang Mountain, and crossed Luomen River before arriving at Ji County. Countless people were already exhausted.

This time, more people were involved in going south than Ma Chao had expected. Many Qiang people from as far away as Zhangye and even Jiuquan, after hearing the news, also raised their troops to go south and met with Ma Chao. This almost gave Ma Chao The feeling of destiny.

Otherwise, how could thousands of troops come to meet each other with a wave of flags and a shot of arrows?

Ma Chao was very excited at first, and these Qiang people were even more excited.

These Qiang people will never forget that when Sanfu was swept away, they felt like a mouse falling into a rice vat. Happiness overwhelmed their heads and made them tremble. There was food and drink everywhere. There is something for everyone. After eating, one family will take another, and after killing one wave, they will kill another wave. Everything is good, even the earthen pots are bigger and more beautiful than theirs.

The happiness of those years is something these Qiang people will never forget and pass it on word of mouth.

Although Tianshui is not as big as Sanfu, it is still a larger area where Han people gather. Therefore, when these Qiang people came, almost all of them were full of longing and hope.

God seems to be loving them too. It has been a refreshing autumn weather all the way. Although there is some wind, there is no rain.

But the closer they get to Tianshui, the farther away they seem to be from their dreams...

Although it was far from being deserted for thousands of miles, there were some small villages at first, but the closer we got to Ji County, the less and less people we saw. The food and items in those small villages were not enough at all. On the contrary, it was like a person who had been hungry and thirsty for a long time. Just after eating a mouthful of rice and drinking a mouthful of water, his withered stomach woke up and cried for more. More food and more water scratched their hearts and minds, making each of these Qiang people look like hungry wolves, with red eyes and bared teeth.

But this energy has been suppressed all the way down to Ji County!

Although there are villages around Ji County, they are no longer inhabited. They smash open the doors of uninhabited courtyards and pry open the cellars. In addition to finding some scurrying rats and wild dogs, basically there is no food at all. turn up.

In a village, a granary was found. There were still some traces of grain in it, but most of it had been burned to ashes. It must have been too late to transport it away, so a fire was set, but I don't know if it was because of the burning. Not completely, it was probably because it rained during the burning process, but anyway, it was preserved in this dilapidated warehouse.

As a result, this small amount of food and grass almost caused the Qiang people from the two tribes who arrived first to draw their swords at each other. If Ma Chao hadn't arrived and discussed the distribution with several leaders of the large Qiang tribes, maybe the two Qiang people would be there now. The Qiang tribe has a human head shaped like a dog.

The Qiang people like Han people's rice grains and ground wheat flour. In the minds of the Qiang people, these are high-end foods, many times better than their hard and throat-cut buckwheat highland barley. On weekdays, the Qiang people like them. Only the leader could eat some.

The Qiang people like Han clothes. Even ordinary linen clothes or Ge clothes are more comfortable than their leather robes. Especially when summer comes, wearing a piece of Han clothes will make you live like a god. Otherwise, even they themselves would not be able to bear the sour smell of the thick leather robes under the scorching sun.

Simply put, the Qiang people like everything about the Han people, including the physical body.

Along this way, for the convenience of marching, except for the necessary war horses and livestock, the Qiang people traveled lightly, just like a group of beggars, swarming in. If Tianshui is the same as in the past, there will be smoke and houses everywhere. , these Qiang people can naturally sing and dance, and sing a song of national integration, but now, even this pile of burned grain and grass has caused disputes and even almost caused bloodshed.

The further they went toward Tianshui, the more the Qiang people became disheartened. It turned out that they thought it was just the Han people who had discovered their traces and escaped in advance. This naturally did not matter, because they all had six legs. As long as they speeded up, they could naturally catch up and surround them. They were blocked, but they had already reached Fifty Miles in Hebei County, and they realized that they had not caught up with anyone...

Where are people?

Where's the food?

What about Han Chinese clothes and various utensils?

The Qiang people stared at each other, with one sentence in their hearts...