Three Kingdoms

night sky.

The stars are shining brightly.

The day is noisy, even the vast and peaceful wilderness is full of the tyranny of the sun, which makes people uncomfortable, but the night is quiet. When the night wind blows and the lone wolf howls, it is like in the desert. Showing a deep and lonely side.

Zhang Liao stood tall with his hands behind his back, blowing the night wind.

"General..." Zhang Liao's close guard hesitated, "I have something I don't know..."

Zhang Liao glanced at it and said, "If you fart, let it go!" 』

The guard laughed twice, and then said, "General, why should we... give all those money and items to those... well, those guys?" Is it because you want them to be guides? 』

Zhang Liao looked back.

There was a somewhat different tent in the camp. Inside that tent were not Zhang Liao's men, but several Qiang people.

"Yes, but also no. Zhang Liao turned around and said, "This matter... was decided by Shijun Jia... Anyway, those money and utensils are a burden for us to carry around, so why not just disperse them..."

"The general is so heroic!" "The guard swallowed, "But there are some brothers in the army...well, that..."

"have opinions? ” asked Zhang Liao.

"Haha..." The guard smiled awkwardly, "Brothers are all short-sighted..."

Zhang Liao glanced at the guard, "What about you?" Are your eyelids shallow? 』

"Well! ” The guard was startled, “I, I am definitely not shallow! If you follow the general, you can't be shallow! 』

Zhang Liao laughed loudly and then patted the guard on the shoulder.

"This trip," Zhang Liao smiled, "It's a little different... Tell me, who did we fight before?" 』

"Xianbei!" Tibet! Well, there are also those guys on the east side..." the guard said with his fingers.

"That's right," Zhang Liao nodded, "Before, we were making trouble outside the courtyard, but now we are inside the courtyard. Do you think... can it be the same?" 』

The guard thought for a moment and nodded in confusion.

"If there is something else that others don't understand, you will know how to tell them then, right?" Zhang Liao raised his head and said, "Also, which scraps of scrap metal are better, or the strokes in the merit book?" Don't lose your future for those junk things! 』

"Understood! "The guard cupped his hands and said, "Of course merit is the most important! 』

Zhang Liao nodded, then glanced at the Qiang man's tent, his eyes moved slightly, and then he quickly withdrew his gaze and turned to the night sky again.

The quiet night sky seems to accommodate everything, whether it is beautiful or ugly.

Although Zhang Liao is from Yanmen, he is no stranger to the Xiqiang rebellion.

The entire Western Qiang rebellion actually revolves around this piece of land, Longdong and Longxi.

When the commotion was very serious, the Xiqiang people marched to Guanzhong, but what is very interesting is that these Xiqiang people only reached Guanzhong, and few were willing to go further east. There are many factors, but very The important point is that after arriving in Guanzhong, these bitter Xiqiang coalition forces suddenly gained a large amount of benefits, and on the issue of benefit distribution, the common problem of the so-called alliance immediately broke out, and the spoils were unevenly distributed.

Then came a crashing collapse, and ultimately a total defeat.

This is a drawback.

So when such ills come to Feiqian, can they be eradicated immediately and in the blink of an eye?

It's obviously impossible.

Although the Han Hussar nominally rules over this area, and there are Hussar soldiers stationed in some big cities, counties and towns, there are still many tribes in the countryside far away from the towns, especially scattered ones. The Qiang tribe is still living the same life as yesterday.

Basically, not much has changed.

Especially for these Qiang tribes who are far away from cities and towns, their lives seem to have undergone some changes, but it seems that they have not. These people sometimes only trade items once or twice a year. They usually spend their time nomadic in various pastures, watching the sun rise and set every day. How many of them feel that something new is happening in the world around them? Variety? What does the changing flag on the city have to do with myself?

For these people, the Han Hussar was too far away, so far away that it was like looking up at the stars in the sky from the ground...

There should be some changes in Longxi.

There wasn't much action before because the time hadn't come yet. Now...

When Zhang Liao came to Longxi for the first time, the entire Longxi had not yet recovered. The cities were dilapidated, the fields were barren, and the villages were abandoned. Most of the people lived around a few Wubao, seemingly lifeless.

At that time, Longxi was almost terminally ill.

For such a disease, if strong medicine is used...

Nowadays, Fei Qian has repaired the central city and guided the refugees to farm, so the population distribution now seems to be relatively balanced. In addition, with the opening up of the Western Region, the number of trade transactions has gradually increased, and some newly built villages can also be seen in the countryside. Working in the fields, production and life have begun to recover.

But this is not enough, because Zhang Liao also discovered that the ordinary people here are farming in an almost disorderly manner, which is different from the planned and organized farming in Guanzhong and north.

Zhang Liao could see this difference at a glance. After all, he had been to and understood the places in Guanzhong and the north.

In areas with relatively well-established systems such as those east and north of the Guanzhong River, there will be some agricultural and engineering bachelors wearing long clothes in the fields from time to time, either patrolling the fields or giving guidance. However, in Longyou, the coverage is still It’s too small, especially in this land of the Qiang tribe, where it’s rare to see anyone coming.

Among them, one aspect is the problem of manpower, and the other aspect is the problem of local officials...

So, it’s time to treat.

If you are sick, you must treat it, and now is the time.

early morning.

A slight mist, like white gauze, flutters on the ground.

The centaur walked over, laughed softly, and then hugged him softly, leaving a little wet mark.

Suddenly, the rapid sound of horse hooves broke all the softness and tore all the beauty into pieces, "The horse thief... from the northwest... the horse thief is coming..."

With the roar of the outpost scouts, the faint sound of horse hooves swept over, and the smoke gradually became clearer in the field of vision. The morning fog had faded a bit at this time, and some black spots were seen jumping among the billowing smoke. , like a swarm of insects.

"How many people came?" ” Zhang Liao asked.

"Five thousand people!" ” The scout loudly responded, “It won’t exceed eight thousand! 』

To count the number of people, if they are arranged neatly, then of course it is a good number, but if they are scattered at the moment, you can only calculate based on experience.

Zhang Liao narrowed his eyes slightly, then looked back at his men and sneered, "I thought there were so many people coming, but it turned out that there were only five or six thousand people... all of them were ready!" Ready to fight! 』

『? "When they saw the powerful Qiang guides trembling, they subconsciously wanted to run away. They had already grabbed the reins of the horses, and were waiting for Zhang Liao's order to turn around and run away. But when they heard it, what? Ready to fight?

The Qiang people thought they had heard wrongly, but they found that after Zhang Liao gave the order, the other soldiers immediately responded. Some dismounted from their horses and straightened their belts, some adjusted their weapons to a convenient position, and some pulled a piece of meat and put it in their mouths. Biting...

If we say that everyone is relaxed and freehand, just like Zhang Liao, that's not true. It's just that although from the demeanor, it is inevitable that some people show some pre-war nervousness, but overall there is no panic, just like Zhang Liao. Even ordinary soldiers feel that they must be the victorious party.

To be honest, the reason why the hussars have such confidence comes from their equipment and their commander. Most of Zhang Liao's men are equipped with standard cavalry, wearing a mixture of leather and iron armor, which takes into account the defense of key points and appears to be strong and agile. Each of them is equipped with a spear, bow and knife, and there are quivers hanging on both sides of the saddle. and a small axe, as well as a cavalry buckler. Even the war horses are equipped with horse hoods on the front. Some war horses have horse hoods, which are obviously used as front rows to reduce the damage of arrows.

"I can't say...will you really win?" 』

Several Qiang guides exchanged glances with each other, and then their hands holding the reins didn't seem to be shaking so much, and they relaxed somewhat.

The largest range of activities of these Qiang people in their lives may be just a few grasshoppers. A trip to a Han county is the farthest place they can think of...

They didn't recognize the previous Emperor of the Han Dynasty, and they didn't recognize the later Dong Zhuo either. As for the current hussar general Fei Qian, they still didn't know.

The reason why they were willing to follow Zhang Liao and others was not because these Qiang people felt any sense of benevolence and morality or the hope of their family and country. It was just because Zhang Liao distributed the treasures from Wubao to the surrounding tribes and ordinary poor people. Just Han people.

When you take other people's money, you have to do something for them.

It's that simple.

Then Zhang Liao issued an order that made these Qiang people even more incredible...

"The rear team stays!" Zhang Liao waved his spear and said, "Follow me from the front team!" 』

Then these Qiang people saw the Han cavalry and split into two parts. One part followed Zhang Liao and ran forward, while the other part stayed in place like the Qiang people.

What is this doing?

Do these Han people think that just using these manpower is enough?

The Qiang people could barely hide their shocked expression, and the feeling that they might win seemed to be beginning to waver again...

After all, the Qiang people don’t understand what Zhang Babai is...

Regardless of the few Qiang people here and the rear team, the front team led by Zhang Liao quickly came into contact with the incoming horse thieves.

The horse thieves dispersed widely. When they saw Zhang Liao and others coming forward, they shouted and led the people straight towards Zhang Liao and others without hesitation. It was like a big net, and they passed towards Zhang Liao. .

Zhang Liao had already reached the front at this time. When he saw the movements of the horse thieves, he gave a loud order, and his cavalry fired arrows non-stop towards both sides!

The horse thieves who tried to flank him were immediately ahead of a few people, and they were shot so hard that they fell onto their backs and fell into the yellow dust, splashing a little or two of red flowers. But the ones behind them are still surging ahead, and because the horse thieves' skirmisher lines are wide open, the direct damage from arrows is not very great.

This is the characteristic of horse thieves, and it is also the disadvantage of horse thieves.

Horse thieves are horse thieves. Even if they are physically stronger and more ferocious than ordinary people, their training is definitely not as good as that of regular soldiers such as Zhang Liao, especially the hussars, so there is no need to think about riding and shooting, except for some who are good at bows and arrows. Except for the horse thieves, most of the horse thieves can only fight hand-to-hand, so they must be stretched very wide when charging. On the one hand, it is also to create a huge momentum, and on the other hand, it is also to avoid the damage caused by the arrows from the opposite side. .

Zhang Liao shouted loudly, pointed his spear, and led his soldiers into a sharp formation, charging forward into the loose formation of the horse thieves!

There was also a gap in training on the armor, which made the horse thieves almost powerless to parry from the very beginning. Amidst a burst of rapid whistles, they all avoided Zhang Liao's sharp edge or moved to both sides. , or turned around and ran directly into the diagonal thrust. Almost in the blink of an eye, Zhang Liao and others dug a huge hole in the skirmisher line of the horse thieves.

Seeing Zhang Liao's invincibility on the battlefield in the distance, the horse thieves fled in panic. The hussars in the rear group who stayed behind also cheered loudly. Even the few Qiang people who were originally uneasy couldn't help but cheered along with joy!

Damn horse thieves!

Also today!

In this wild desert, horse thieves have always been a pain for the Qiang people.

Especially the small tribe of Qiang people. Because the Qiang tribes are scattered and have never had a relatively large leader, and after several rebellions, the original large tribes were scattered and injured. The Huns are no longer here, and the Xianbei people don't care. area, so these horse thieves took advantage of this loophole and became the actual rulers and tax collectors of this area.

Every year, these Qiang tribes who are unable to resist must obediently hand over part of their cattle, sheep and horses, which are treated as taxes to these horse thieves, and then exchanged for a flag with a logo, which can be hung on the top of the tent or hung On the flagpole of the marching queue, there will naturally be no other horse thieves coming to harass them. If it's okay not to hand over, then don't go on the road... Well, don't meet these horse thieves on the grassland, otherwise it will be tragic...

Of course, none of the taxes collected by the horse thieves will reach the hands of the generals. The current large group of horse thieves also shows how much these guys have gained from this piece of land over the years. How many benefits...

Zhang Liao and his troops were already fighting against the horse thieves.

The difference in the armor is fully revealed in the direct collision. Take the spears and spears of the horse thieves, for example. They are ordinary hard wooden poles. There is no problem in using them under normal circumstances. They are also very powerful when they are stabbed into the body. However, if they block each other, the force will be staggered. At that time, there were some problems with the spears and spears of these horse thieves. To put it simply, they were not elastic enough and broke too easily...

The lances and spears under the Hussars are all specially made with composite gun handles. They are usually made of three or four wooden poles soaked in tung oil, dried in the shade and glued together in one place. Not only do they have sufficient hardness, It also has good toughness and is good in everything. The only disadvantage is of course that it is expensive.

After being equipped with a high bridge saddle and double stirrups, such a gun shaft can not only be used as a spear or spear, but can even be used as a stick and whip at certain times!

The two sides fought together and bumped into each other fiercely. Amidst the sounds of people shouting and horses neighing, they saw the horse thieves falling off their horses one by one like dumplings...

Zhang Liao rushed to kill at the front. With the spear dancing, no matter whether the horse thieves touched or touched him, the weapon would either be thrown away or blood would be splashed!

Although the horse thieves had a numerical advantage in the current battle, it was Zhang Liao and others who had the upper hand during the battle! Zhang Liao led his men in the formation of horse thieves, cutting out wounds and cutting off pieces of flesh and blood like a steel knife cutting flesh!

After all, the horse thief couldn't bear Zhang Liao's insult and ran away cursing.

Amidst the cheers, the cavalry formation that had stayed behind moved forward to join together. Without Tebi's orders, they automatically took on the responsibility of cruising around and being vigilant, and sent out scouts to continue to detect the surrounding situation. The people in the front team slowly gathered their ranks and began to clean the battlefield.

The orderliness of professional soldiers was a kind of strange beauty, full of infinite charm, which made the Qiang people who were watching the battle from beginning to end couldn't help but tremble.

Zhang Liao jumped off his horse and took a water bag from the corpse of a horse thief, using it to clean the blood on his horse, armor and weapons.

Soldiers, armor and weapons are good, but they also need to be maintained. Moreover, by doing this, you can also find some small wounds on yourself or your horse caused by fighting on the battlefield, and deal with them in time. Otherwise, the war horse can't speak. At first glance, it thought it was someone else's blood, but after a long time, it was discovered that it was the blood of one's own war horse. Wouldn't it be embarrassing?

After looking around, he didn't find any special problems, so Zhang Liao poured the remaining water in the water bag into a helmet and brought it to the mouth of the war horse.

The war horse gurgled and drank some water, then snorted and shook its neck happily.

"General!" "The scouts sent out to follow the horse thieves came back, "Those horse thieves are heading northeast! 』

"Northeast?" ” Zhang Liao frowned.

The scout said: "That's right!" These guys first ran north for about five miles, and then looked at the horse hoof prints and ran northeast..."

"Get the map!" ” Zhang Liao ordered.

The guard quickly stepped forward, took out the map from the leather bag, and found a relatively flat and clean ground to unfold it.

"We are now..." Zhang Liao followed the map and moved his finger, "Here... Then these horse thieves first fled north, and then changed to the northeast... Hmm... That's not right...

According to previous intelligence information, the horse thief's lair should be in the northwest, but now the horse thief has turned to the northeast, which means that the two are in completely different directions.

So now, should we go to the lair first, or chase the horse thief first?