Three Kingdoms

More than a dozen cavalrymen wearing old leather and hard armor, three in front and three behind, scattered like marmots leaving the entrance of the hole, looking at the surrounding situation warily, straightening their necks from time to time and looking into the distance.

Near Yangcheng, there is Yangcheng Mountain.

Many people may not be familiar with Yangchengshan, but if we talk about its next-door neighbor, more people should be impressed by it. To the southwest of Yangcheng Mountain, not far away, is Shaoshi Mountain. Of course, there may still be people who don’t understand what Shaoshi Mountain is, so they can only hook up with Du Niang on their own.

Different from the northwest, Sichuan, or Taihang passes where one man can pass ten thousand men and is invincible, the gap between Yangcheng Mountain and Shaoshi Mountain is different. If the Taihang Eight Paths can be regarded as a single non-motorized road, then Yangcheng Mountain and Shaoshi Mountain are The distance between Muroyama is at least twelve lanes...

It was precisely because of this terrain that Dong Zhuo was able to raid Yangcheng.

With such a wide area that needs to be defended, there is no way to build passes such as Hangu Pass, Hu Pass, etc. The only way is to build an outpost mountain stronghold, on the one hand to control the intersection between the two mountains as much as possible, on the other hand It is also for early warning in Yangcheng at the bottom of the channel.

Therefore, the land in this area is basically uninhabited, and those who come and go are either caravans or soldiers. Now the caravan trade no longer takes this route, but instead takes the relatively safer Wuguan and Wancheng lines, so this place becomes more and more desolate and barren.

As for Xiahou Dun, he definitely hopes to connect Yangcheng Mountain and Shaoshi Mountain like building a city wall of thousands of miles, and then close the access channels. It can be used as an important troop garrison point, and it can also directly threaten the Heluo area. But the problem is With such a wide distance, building such a "separation wall" requires investing a lot of wealth and manpower, which Cao Cao cannot provide at this stage, so he can only deal with it reluctantly.

And all the affairs that are barely dealt with will eventually have to pay a corresponding price.

The Yangcheng defense line that Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun managed to deal with now needs to be inspected by the hussar generals.

For Xiahou Dun, the pressure on his shoulders is naturally extremely heavy. This hussar general's behavior was unexpected. He sent troops when he thought he would not send troops. As a result, after capturing Luoyang, he thought he would immediately march into Xu County, Yuzhou, but stopped again. It was like a man who absolutely did not follow the script. Not to mention the feeling of suffocation for actors who come and go.

Coupled with Xia Houyuan's matter...

Although Xiahou Dun didn't say anything on the surface, he might not be holding his breath in his heart. Therefore, Xiahou Dun became more and more cautious. He even mobilized some of the only cavalry he had, increased the intensity and depth of the scout dispatch, and was determined to hit the key points. above...

This team of more than ten scouts was the team that penetrated the furthest into Heluo.

The leader of this Xiahou family's scout team is called Xiahou Peng. Not all people of the Xiahou family are important ministers, just like not all people with the surname Ma in later generations are great? The 28/20 rule was the same in that dynasty. Poor people still had to test their own hands and the meager wealth left by their parents. To fight hard.

However, the surname Xiahou is somewhat preferential, just like the subordinates assigned to Xiahou Peng, they are all relatively elite soldiers, but the so-called elite soldiers also have another name, Lao Laoyouzi.

The closer they get to Luoyang, the more uneasy everyone becomes. This uneasiness surged out of my heart and had nothing to do with the rocks or low shrubs on the mountain. These scenery were no different from before, but the more I looked at them, the more hairy and frightened I became.

But Xia Houpeng still refused to retreat.

Something seemed wrong, but Xia Houpeng didn't know what was wrong.

"Someone saw you!" "After another one or two miles of sentinel inspection, Xia Houpeng stopped his horse, suddenly pulled out his sword, and shouted in a deep voice, "Come out! There's no use hiding it! 』

It was quiet and motionless.

After waiting for a while, Xia Houpeng and his men looked at each other and nodded, "Let's rest here for a while..."

Xia Houpeng dismounted and found a rock to sit on. He took out the water bag and took a shallow sip. After spitting out all the sand and dust in his mouth, he took a big gulp and then drank heavily. Let out a rough breath.

If you want to get ahead, having such a Xiahou surname is of no use. It's like Ma Hou also has the surname of Ma. Can it be like Ma Cha? Xia Houpeng wants to get more, but how can he do it without taking risks? But the problem is that Xia Houpeng wants to stand out, but his subordinates, especially the few veterans assigned to him, don't think so.

"Why don't you go back? What does this lunatic want to do? 』

"His mother will only drive us hard. The benefits are not his, but the sins are ours..."

"I think about the battle in Puyang back then. It was such a miserable fight. Everyone in front of me and behind me was damn dead. No one survived alive. But even if it was like this, what's the use?" The reward money was indeed given out a lot, but things were expensive in the damn market. The reward money earned through hard work could not even buy an acre of his mother's land! 』

"Have you not heard anyone say that the Cao family has bought all this land? If there is less land, the price will naturally be higher... It is said that General Li Feng's son came forward to buy it..."

『凎! There's nothing wrong with eating meat at the top, but if you don't even have any soup left, how can you still live like this? I heard... that, the land was allocated directly! 』

"real or fake? Don't be fooled, right? 』

"That's what I lied to you about!" I heard that they also have military medals. After the battle, it will be calculated according to the medal, whether you want land or money..."

"Then the damn fool wants money, and he must want land!" really! 』

"I think even if you want land, it's definitely not good land. It's probably a corner place..."

"That's better than nothing!" 』

"That's true..."

Xia Houpeng rested for a while, but he listened to the grumbling words of his soldiers. At the end, he couldn't help but roared: "I told you to rest, but you still have so much energy to talk nonsense!" 』

Xia Houpeng roared, and everyone naturally shut up. But Xia Houpeng didn't understand what the purpose of everyone's complaints was. Is it useful to complain about your previous boss? Most people know it’s useless, but why do they say these things? It's nothing more than a way to show that your kid shouldn't be as bad as the last one.

Another point is that the lower the people are, the more they complain and complain. It's not that these people don't know that complaining and complaining are useless, but because these people have no other way to vent other than complaining...

After eating Xia Houpeng and drinking like this, these veterans of Cao's army did not dare to say anything. They all got up listlessly or packed up their horses, loosened their girdle belts to feed some concentrate, or arranged their equipment, preparing to continue to the outpost while the sky was still bright. Explore for a while.

Xia Houpeng was about to hang the water bag back on the horse, but he stopped halfway with his hand raised. The hairs all over his body stood up for an instant, and the most feared and familiar whistle in the wind came to his ears!

Xia Houpeng didn't have time to think about it, so he pounced to the side!

At the next moment, an arrow shot out with strong wind from the slanting thorn, and struck Xia Houpeng's water bag, immediately splashing water all over the sky! If Xia Houpeng didn't dodge, he might have hit him right in the middle!

I don't know when, in the bushes on both sides, three or four soldiers wearing strange clothes and even having grass tied on their heads stood up. They raised strong bows and crossbows and charged at Xia Houpeng's group. Team shoot!

There were also a few soldiers who lifted up the thin boards and loose soil above their heads, emerged from the ground, covered in dust, and pounced with their swords drawn like ferocious beasts!

"It's a hussar scout!" 』

In an instant, three of Xia Houpeng's team who were on guard outside were shot and killed, and two more were surrounded and cut down by hussar soldiers, and they were also in danger...

When did the Hussars actually send scouts to this area? !

This was originally considered to be within the warning range of Cao Jun. If something goes wrong, it means that there must be General Hussars and other troops ahead!

In a hurry, Xia Houpeng made a mistake. "Go two people!" Report to the general! Others, prepare to challenge! 』

If it is a tribe that has been cooperating for a long time, there is no problem with Xia Houpeng's order. But the problem is that Xia Houpeng's team has not been established for a long time, and in the eyes of veteran Youzi, Xia Houpeng also bears the name of Xiahou Clan. A guy with mixed qualifications who landed in the air...

So, those two go back?

Are those others?

The next moment, almost all the veterans who were slightly behind immediately got on their horses in various postures, and even if they were crazy, they urged their horses to run back! On the contrary, Xia Houpeng, who was in the middle, and the two or three soldiers who were following him who were also members of the Xiahou family, were left here!

If it were an ordinary army, the behavior of these veterans would be considered guilty of "betraying the master". But the problem is that Xia Houpeng's team is a scout, and the most important duty of a scout is not to fight, but to pass information back... …

But even so, these escaping veteran Youzi still couldn't escape the intensive care of bows, arrows and crossbows. They were shot by arrows flying out of unknown bushes along the way, and they were killed one by one!

Damn it, I'm trapped! But there are so many cowardly deaths like these escaped veterans, so it’s better to just fight to the death! How about a backrest!

"kill! Xiahou Peng shouted, "There is no one in Xiahou who can bear the sword!" 』

Once upon a time, Xia Houpeng also believed that Cao Jun was an invincible team. When he was fighting Yuan Shu, Xia Houpeng heard the story of how a captain of Cao Jun with three to four hundred men scared Yuan Shu's thousands of troops into scattering! In the process of attacking Jizhou, I also heard that there was no resistance in a huge city. Basically, they surrendered from afar after seeing the banner of Cao Jun! Those Jizhou nobles who once had their noses turned upward would bow down and obey Cao Jun!

But this time, after meeting General Hussars' men, everything seemed to have changed.

First, a group of men and horses ran unscrupulously to the foot of Xu County, and then broke out of the net, seeming to laugh at Cao Jun's incompetence and Xia Hou's stupidity...

Then there are these hussar scouts, who are like mountain elves. They are almost integrated with the mountains, rocks, shrubs, etc. They are extremely difficult to detect, and you will suffer a loss if you are not careful. So Xia Houpeng and others later learned the lesson and cheated from time to time. But even so, like now, even though Xia Houpeng pretended to shout before taking a break, he was still attacked.

Normally, when a scout fights a scout, there are actually not many people on both sides. Generally speaking, the fight is very short, and the purpose of the fight is not to purely kill the enemy. One is to capture the enemy alive, and the other is to block the opponent's scout from transmitting information. , so the hussars scouts are just a small team at the moment, and I am also a small team, so I don’t suffer much in terms of numbers, but the problem is that these few soldiers under my command still run away when they see them!

It's not like you're dead if you run away!

This was simply a disgrace to Cao Jun and his dignity as a soldier!

"There is absolutely no one in Xiahou who can bear the sword!" 』

Yes, there is no coward in the Xiahou family! Even those who died on the battlefield were always facing forward, and there were absolutely no escapers who were hacked to death and shot from behind!

Xia Houpeng shouted and slashed at Ling Jie with his sword.

Ling Jie just let out a slight sigh, and then retracted his head and face behind the buckler. Not only did he not slow down, but he kicked his legs violently, like a stone being ejected by a trebuchet, with the steel-clad buckler as a The center was directly facing Xia Houpeng with a shield attack!

Xia Houpeng's sword struck Ling Jie's round shield with a loud clang, and then was bounced away by the reaction force. It was like a knife striking a solid boulder. The joints seemed to be groaning and trembling at this moment, and the arms could not withstand the shock and were raised high, and the middle door was wide open!

Ling Jie's sword came out from under the shield, like a snake. He first shrank behind the shield, and then when he found an opportunity, he lunged forward!

The sharp sword cut across Xia Houpeng's neck. The tip of the knife cut into Xia Houpeng's slightly dark skin, then cut off the blood vessels, trachea and throat, and flew out from the other side with blood foam and bubbles!

『凎! Ling Jie put away the knife and couldn't help but cursed, "It's easy to kill again!" I can’t keep you alive... you guys, please stay alive! 』On the battlefield, one sword kills and one kills. There are very few people who can be beaten for a long time without any injuries. Especially for elite scouts like Ling Jie, it is often the norm to make a decision between life and death. It is really not easy to hold back.

"Chichi...chichi..." Xia Houpeng grabbed his throat, blood and air bubbles spurted out from the wounds and gaps between his fingers. Even so, Xia Houpeng still stared at Ling Jie, as if he was shouting something, It's just that because the trachea and larynx have been cut off, not much sound can be made.

"Xiahou..."

"There is absolutely no one in Xiahou who can bear the sword!" 』

Seeing Xiahou Peng being chopped down, the remaining Xiahou soldiers went crazy and fought back desperately, even injuring one of Ling Jie's men. However, there were strong crossbows and bows outside and elite soldiers and armor inside. They couldn't save much of the situation, and eventually died one after another.

"Boss, this... we can't keep our hands..." A subordinate came over with a bit of flattery, "This... that... or else I can help boss take down this head..."

"Hey... forget it!" Ling Jie stopped his men from coming to behead him and looked at Xia Houpeng, who was already dead. "Leave him alive, he is still a man..." Xia Houpeng died at Ling Jie's hands. Naturally, Ling Jie has the right to deal with it. When he said this, no one objected.

Ling Jie patted the dust on his body, then put away his sword, put two fingers into his mouth, whistled, and then returned with the others.

The mountain mist blew past, bringing up a faint smoke and dust, like a layer of gauze, gently covering Xia Houpeng and the several deceased bodies. One moment these were still living beings who could talk, laugh, curse and feel pain. The next moment they were lying silently in the yellow sand, and no one even remembered their names.

The yellow dust was billowing, following Ling Jie and others' war horses' hooves all the way forward, crossing a hillock, and then as if they had hit layers of steel city walls, they stopped obediently, under the cold spears and shields. Fall down.

Huang Xu, who was tall and round, and looked more and more like a wall. When he saw Ling Jie coming, he tilted his head and gave up half of his body to let Ling Jie step forward.

"General Qi, this should be the last batch of Cao Jun's scouts..." Ling Jie reported the results of the battle one by one, "According to the usual Cao Jun's practice, no new scouts will come for about seven or eight hours... …』

Fei Qian nodded, then turned to Zhang Liao and said, "Wenyuan, even if it's seven hours... I don't know if it's enough?" 』

Zhang Liao cupped his hands and said, "My lord, please wait for the good news!" ” After saying this, Zhang Liao stood up and walked outside. When he got under his own battle flag, he raised his head and looked at the three-color flag flying above his head and his own general’s battle flag. He didn’t say anything, just smiled. , and then rode out!