Three Kingdoms

  Chapter 939 Suffering before the battle

  The clouds and mists in the mountains came just as they said. Although it was only after noon, the valleys suddenly became filled with rain and mist, and the water vapor pressed down low.

   The rain is not heavy, but annoying.

Zhao Yun led more than a hundred riders, and just led the horses along the slippery mountain path soaked in water vapor. The body of the group was gradually soaked by the rain, and their hair stuck to their necks and faces. I don't know if it was sweat. The rain is still flowing down the cheeks, and the yellow mud mountain road makes the soles of the feet sometimes slippery. Fortunately, we are walking through the valley now, otherwise if we are on the towering mountain road, I am afraid that this slippage will kill people.

  Zhao Yun walked in the forefront, walking steadily, looking around in fear.

  The guide followed behind Zhao Yun, and said somewhat out of breath: "Further... a little further, there will be a...bigger valley... you can rest..."

  Zhao Yun nodded slightly and said, "Is there a name for this place?"

  The guide shook his head and said, "I don't know what it's called. It's just... I just walked a lot, so I call this place Laoyukou..."

  Yukou is where the valleys converge.

  Originally, this place might have been an ancient river, but the river has dried up, leaving behind such a road.

  From Sucheng to Pinyang, taking the spacious Baishuigou route is naturally the first choice for marching, but this mountain road has to be guarded. When Xu Shu asked someone to take this route, Zhao Yun stood up.

   But this road is indeed difficult. Even those tribes who used to climb the mountain road in Montenegro are now exhausted.

War horses don't like humidity, and when they meet this kind of weather, they also act very irritable, shaking their heads, snorting heavily, shaking their fur from time to time, and splashing mud on the surrounding people and horses …

   Those who followed Zhao Yun on the mountain road, except for the 20 Heishan tribesmen, were basically Bingzhou troops assigned to Zhao Yun by Fei Qian before Suchenglin's departure, half Han and half Qiang.

These Qiang people are not bad, they are used to the wind, frost and rain, and before the nomadic migration, they are also used to trekking long distances and suffering, so they followed Zhao Yun in silence, but the forty people who were deployed People and state cavalry, but there was a low whine.

Although these Bingzhou cavalry are all here and are not rich kids, but since joining Feiqian, their equipment has improved, even compared to the Qiang people who are traveling with them, they are much better. With the addition of some soft leather armor, the protection is strong, but in this kind of weather, it becomes a great burden.

Leaving aside the iron armor, those leather armors alone are not very useful even if they are wrapped in cloth. The water vapor still penetrates in, and then becomes heavier and more stuffy. In order to maintain the horse's strength, it is not willing to let the horse bear too much , I can only hold it on my own, and move forward step by step.

  When this person is tired, he complains more.

Zhao Yun's background, these Bingzhou soldiers who have followed Fei Qian for a long time also know a little bit. If Ma Yan still has the former Huang Cheng, these Bingzhou veterans will naturally keep their mouths tightly closed, but facing the younger age, Zhao Yun, who is not very senior, has more or less no fear in his heart...

  Furthermore, Zhao Yun's appearance may not be admirable. The stature is not that kind of mighty and burly form, and the appearance is even more unpretentious, which is not surprising. Although a face is usually unsmiling, it does not have much sense of majesty. It just makes people feel a little calm. The most important thing is age. Compared with many old soldiers in Bingzhou, they are all a little younger. Adding these several items together, it is obviously a lie to say that Zhao Yun can coerce all directions with a shock of his body.

   "What a broken road! I have been turning in and out of the mountains for several days, which made my head dizzy!"

   "Damn thief God, you can either have a good time, or don't do it at all, so that you can't go up and down, it's just annoying to death!"

   "How long does it take to go? We are all cavalry, why don't we let those infantry come?"

   "Stop babbling, let's have some strength left... I just want to find a dry place, drink some hot soup, and have a good night's sleep!"

  The voices of these soldiers complaining were neither loud nor low. In addition, there were no people in the surrounding valleys, so it was naturally very quiet, so Zhao Yun, who was walking in front, could naturally hear him. The half-ear behind Zhao Yun listened to the left and right sentences, and was a little annoyed, so he was about to turn around and scold him for rectification, but just as he was about to turn around, Zhao Yun grabbed him.

  Zhao Yun shook his head and continued to move forward without saying anything.

   To convince these old soldiers and elite soldiers, it is not by talking about military law, but by the ability of the generals. Now that Fei Qian has given him his status, whether he can fulfill his lifelong ambitions or not, he can only rely on himself to realize his dreams!

  Although he participated in the Battle of Yinshan and made some achievements, not all soldiers knew about these things, so the current situation is naturally normal. Complaining is a soldier's natural right, and it's nothing more than complaining. When I was in Montenegro, didn't the people under my command complain?

  So I could bear it before, why can't I bear it now?

Seeing that Zhao Yun didn't even turn his head, he just walked forward step by step. After a few words from the Bingzhou soldiers, he felt that it was meaningless. Coupled with the exhaustion of physical strength, they gradually closed their mouths and followed silently. forward.

   Unknowingly, we arrived at Laoyukou that the guide said.

   This is a valley shaped like a "Y". In addition to the way Zhao Yun came from, after passing through a relatively wide mountain valley, there are two forks, one facing southwest and the other facing west.

The guide wiped the water from his face and said, "Both of these two roads can reach Pinyang...the one going west can go directly to the north of Pinyang, and the one going southwest is about eight miles east of Pinyang. Out of the mountain..."

   "Which one is closer?" Zhao Yun looked forward as much as possible through the misty rain and fog. The mist soaked Zhao Yun's young face unknowingly, whether it was sweat or rain, it flowed down Zhao Yun's eyebrows and cheeks.

"The one to the west is closer, but it's all mountain roads, and it's a little difficult to walk. You all have horses, this..." The guide made a gesture and said, "...the one to the southwest is a little farther, but after going out of the mountain, it will be flat land... "

Zhao Yun nodded, and silently calculated the time in his heart. His army was only used for early warning and containment. It is somewhat unrealistic to say that such a force of more than a hundred cavalry can take down Pinyang, so naturally it is necessary to fight with Fei Only when the large forces on the other side cooperate with each other can they play their due role.

   "...Let's set up camp first!" Zhao Yun pointed to a sunken flat ground beside the valley.

Above this place is a large slanting rock, which just covers the rain, so the lower part is relatively dry, suitable for camping. Under the rock, there are still some people who walked this road before. Some dry firewood more or less proved that such a valley is indeed a must-pass.

   Hearing that they could set up camp and recuperate, the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately got busy on the large drier open space.

  Zhao Yun still looked at the two forked roads, and didn't know how to choose for a while. The two exits are more than eight miles apart. If you choose one of them, the other one may not be detected...

   Or wait here first?

   Just when Zhao Yun was a little hesitant, Ma Teng, who came to Xinfeng from Wuzhangyuan, was a little happy.

The flags were flying, and there were nearly three thousand light cavalry without armor, and some of them didn't even wear helmets. Just wearing leather robes, at most, they had a little leather armor to protect their confidantes. But the victory lies in the excellent riding skills, just like this, one person and two horses, went straight to Xinfeng!

This is part of the Qiang Qingqi brought out by Ma Teng. In order to equip each of these Qingqi with two horses and rush to Xinfeng as soon as possible, Han Sui and Fan Chou, who fell behind, and even a considerable number of people have changed from cavalry to soldiers. infantry.

Li Li's failure became the last straw that overwhelmed Li Jue and Guo Bang's tough attitude. Under the current harsh situation, turning enemies into friends with Ma Teng and Han Sui, who is also from Xiliang, became the best choice for Li Jue and Guo Bang …

Fan Chou was acquainted with Han Sui before, and after seeing Li Jue and Guo Si's order, he rode straight into the camp alone, and while bringing back the captured Li Li, he reached a verbal agreement with Ma Teng and Han Sui. For the agreement, of course, the specific benefits to be allocated later still need to be discussed later.

  Fan Chou’s behavior was just in line with Ma Teng and Han Sui’s appetite. The opponent’s main generals have all arrived on their own territory. What else can show the sincerity of the alliance?

Therefore, the stalemate in Wuzhangyuan basically came to an end, and in order to repay the favor, Ma Teng rushed to the hinterland of Guanzhong with his troops. Show your own strength.

Although it is considered to be an alliance with Ma Teng and Han Sui now, Fan Chou was originally an outspoken warrior. In addition to staying in Wuzhangyuan, he didn't know much about the changes in Guanzhong. He thought that Li Jue decided to join Ma Teng and Han for Li Li So he compromised, he didn't look good towards Li Li, and even scolded Li Li in front of everyone...

Of course, these have nothing to do with Ma Teng. It's good to be able to form an alliance. If he can't, he doesn't have to be afraid of Li Jue and Guo Bang. General potential, this is the most important thing!

  I worked so hard to risk my life for my family business and fame, isn’t it for my own children? When you know that your child is still capable, can inherit the family business, and even shows signs of going further, no matter who it is, he will feel relieved, and feel that the burden on his shoulders seems to be very light. less?

Therefore, some grievances and dissatisfaction with Li Jue and Guo Si have also faded a lot under such good news. Coupled with the generous promise of Li and Guo to divide the pass, Ma Teng took the nearly three Thousands of cavalry rushed to Guanzhong to join Li Jue...

In the current situation, basically everyone with a discerning eye knows that Li Jue and Guo Si have not yet gained a firm foothold in the Guanzhong area. Guo Si chose to cooperate with Ma Teng and Han Sui, which has a certain foundation. After all, the original conflict was only Ma Teng and Han Sui who felt that the distribution of benefits was a little uneven. Now, since they are unified, they can naturally sit down and talk instead of What kind of knife and gun did you move?

Ma Teng and Han Suiyuan are in Xiliang, and they have been with the Qiang people for a long time. Their thinking and behavior rules are basically similar to those of the Qiang people. It is precisely because of this reason that the relationship between the Qiang tribes is up and down, and there is no way to unify them into a big alliance.

  The nomadic hardships caused these Qiang cavalry to endure hardships and stand hard work, coming and going like the wind.

  Throughout the ages, as long as the farming people on the land of Huaxia did not change their mode, the Hu people's army still had the upper hand in terms of cavalry. Moreover, because of the nomadic nature of the Hu people, they have always admired the spirit of active attack, so it has never been difficult for the Hu cavalry to use the front line to limit death, or to completely eliminate them. As long as there is a little living space, it is like wildfire on the grassland. It is not known when it will make a comeback again.

  Even the stubborn Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty just beat the Northern Huns to the ground and ran away. If you want to say that you completely wiped out all the Hu people in the surrounding area, such a thing may be difficult to achieve.

  In this vast and boundless land of Guanzhong, the cavalry all over the mountains and plains galloped eastward, pulling out roads of dust and smoke.

Ma Teng looked at Qingdai and the distant mountains that seemed to be in the sky, and at the blue sky and green grass in front of him. He felt that he was galloping in the desert of Xiliang Grassland. Standing up halfway on his back, he looked up to the sky and let out a long and unknown whistle.

   Hu Qi, a Qiang man, followed behind Ma Teng, and started yelling in a similar manner. For a while, he even overshadowed the muffled sound of the horse's hooves, and it spread far, far away...

When Ma Teng was rushing to Xinfeng, Li Jue was standing on the head of the city of Xinfeng County, pressing against the crenel of the city, with a gloomy face, and even the guards who surrounded him behind him all had expressions on their faces. There are some dignified colors.

  The matter of Tongguan can be hidden for a while, but it cannot be hidden forever.

  So when these people knew that they were about to face a battle on two fronts, it was naturally impossible for the soldiers who followed Li Jue to say that they did not have any worries and worries.

Although there was a fierce battle under the city of Chang'an before, it was not too tragic, but now the tragic news from Tongguan, the practice of taking people's lives to the top of the city and ignoring the landfill made Li Jue Their views on these Shandong gentry have changed again.

  Whoever Ren is, as long as he is not in a muddle-headed manner, when faced with a group of desperate people rushing up, he will always feel a little nervous, right?

Xiliang soldiers are indeed relatively brave, but it doesn't mean that they can ignore swords and guns, and fight as they like without getting injured or dying. Therefore, when the news of Fei Qian's going south came, they immediately felt that it was difficult .

At the same time, they had to fight against the armies in the east and the north. This situation immediately made Li Jue's soldiers feel that this time it might not be an easy job. This battle might not be as they imagined before, and it could be won in one battle. Certainly…

Li Jue looked at his troops under Xinfeng City. As long as there were thousands of troops, it seemed quite a lot. In addition, Xinfeng was not a big city, so the city couldn't accommodate many soldiers and horses for a while. , can only be based on the city to make a camp first.

The scouts Qingqi who came and went ran to the distance in groups of three or four, bringing the latest information here. Although Li Jue had ordered that the news not be spread, it is inevitable that some people rely on mutual friendship for this kind of thing. Make an inquiry, and then someone must not be able to bear it, and said mysteriously: "I will only tell you one person, you must not tell others..."

   As a result, there is nothing that can be completely kept secret, and news of the surrounding situation has gradually spread among Li Jue's troops...

  (end of this chapter)