Chapter 773: Chance and Necessity

Chapter 773: Chance and Necessity

Chapter 773: Chance and Necessity

The vast mountains are extremely silent and pristine, as if no one has lived there for millions of years.

Liu Ming looked up and saw the mountains on both sides were continuous and undulating.

The mountains are covered with lush vegetation and the forests are deep and dark.

Surrounded by mountains, the Fen River flows quietly southward.

The riverside is full of wild flowers, and the grass is growing taller and taller, full of vitality.

A tiger came down from the forest and stared at the group of people here from afar.

Liu Ming put down the slender and pointed armor-piercing arrow in his hand, replaced it with a relatively flat long arrow, put it on the bowstring, and pointed it at the tiger from a distance.

Tiger stopped and looked at him with an ambiguous look.

Liu Ming had two followers beside him, with bows hanging from their waists and iron spears in their hands. At this moment, their bodies were slightly tense, as if they were fighting.

There was another person behind them, gently soothing the restless warhorse.

The horse was so frightened that its hooves became weak, but it did not dare to neigh, as if it was afraid of being discovered by the tiger.

The air was deathly still.

After the four men and the tiger confronted each other for a long time, the tiger slowly retreated and disappeared into the dense forest.

"This tiger has eaten humans." Liu Ming put down his bow, breathed a sigh of relief and said.

"Captain, aren't you hunting tigers?" the person next to him couldn't help but ask.

"Today we are not hunting tigers, but snipes." Liu Ming got out of the bushes, lay on the post road and listened carefully, and said, "It looks like there really is a snipe coming."

"Caizhi has been running in the mountains for many years. He said he saw Suotou herding horses. It should be true. We can reward him with a few sheep when we go back." said the attendant.

Liu Ming did not answer. When he was about to stand up, he frowned, lay down again, and practiced the ground listening method.

After a moment, he stood up and said, "There are not many people here, only about ten riders."

"They are the ones exploring the way ahead." The attendant added, "We don't know where the large group of people is, let alone where they came from."

Liu Ming glared at him and said, "Kelan is where our Liu family has taken root. I told you to run around more and get familiar with the geography, but you acted so lazy."

The followers lowered their heads and dared not say anything more.

Liu Ming is a member of the Kelan Liu clan, a branch of the Shangdang Liu clan. Although his surname is also Liu, it was given to him by a family slave. How can they be the same?

"The Xianbei must have conquered Jinyang," Liu Ming said. "If Jinyang survives, Xiurong is gone. They robbed cattle, sheep, and food, and then marched north to attack Jingle."

"Why wasn't Yangchang Warehouse breached?" the attendant asked in confusion.

"There is not much food left in the Yangchang Warehouse." Liu Ming shook his head and said, "We went there to transport food last month. It was the last batch and all of it was delivered to the Liang Wang army."

"You didn't make up for it?"

"No, there is nowhere to add them." Liu Ming said, "Prince Liang came here for an inspection and did not plan to stay for long. If he were to stay in the north for a long time, it would be impossible. We have to wait until the summer wheat is harvested."

"The King of Liang came on patrol, and the King of Dai also came on patrol. They started fighting while they were patrolling..." the attendant muttered.

Liu Ming glared at him and was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed and he said, "Here I come."

As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly ran into the grass on the hillside.

The last man came leading a horse.

Liu Ming took a look and actually laughed: "Are you scared by the tiger? Fortunately you have recovered. Don't let your legs go weak later."

The followers ignored his words, checked the equipment one last time, then took the reins, held their breath and waited for orders.

The sound of horse hooves was getting closer.

A moment later, more than a dozen Tuoba Xianbei cavalrymen appeared in sight.

They were not moving very fast and were obviously holding back.

After walking forward thirty steps, a neighing sound was heard, and the two Xianbei cavalrymen in the front fell to the ground with a bang.

The horse rolled over on its side in pain, pressing down on the legs of one of the men, causing him to scream.

It seems that both the man and the horse have broken legs!

"Charge!" Liu Ming jumped on his horse and rushed down the hillside.

As the horse was galloping, he instinctively leaned back, clamped his legs around the horse's belly, and tilted his body slightly. With a "whoosh" sound, the sharp arrow flew out quickly and hit the neck of the third Xianbei cavalryman directly.

The arrow was moving very quickly, and after piercing the neck, it seemed to have brought out something, and blood was gushing out everywhere.

Two followers also rode out on horseback and shot arrows.

One of them missed, while the other hit the enemy's horse.

"Bang! Bang!" The sounds of people falling to the ground occurred one after another.

Before the Xianbei people could react, four of them fell to the ground and lost their combat effectiveness in a short period of time.

There was one last person in the bushes, holding the bow that Liu Ming had just used. He fired three arrows in a short period of time, hitting one person and knocking down a horse.

The Xianbei people were half knocked down in one encounter and were furious.

They took out various long and short weapons and rushed forward fearlessly.

The three men who fell off their horses did not seem to be seriously injured. They also drew out the short weapons they carried with them and rushed over with strange cries.

Liu Ming turned the bow and pinned the fastest runner to the ground.

The two people behind were ferocious and ran fast with bow legs. They did not chase Liu Ming, but ran towards the archers in the bushes.

The archer raised his hand and shot an arrow, knocking down one man, then he gave up the fight, gathered up the reins, jumped on a horse, and galloped north. Several other horses neighed and followed behind him, their manes flying, and they had already run dozens of steps.

The bow-legged man was so angry that he hit the ground with a knife and cursed loudly.

Liu Ming and his two followers no longer wanted to fight, they whistled and turned away.

The Xianbei people carefully avoided the horse traps and their own dead and wounded soldiers and horses. By the time they sped up, the enemy was only a distant figure.

They chased for a while and then stopped. There was no point.

So they turned their horses around, checked their own dead and wounded, and reported to the rear - a few miles behind them, there were more than a hundred riders, and they were also part of the vanguard.

An unavoidable fact was laid before them: despite being extremely careful, they were still discovered.

If you think about it, you will know that it is unlikely that Xiurong sent the message, but Jingle County took the initiative to find out.

Apart from the Jie people, there are only unknown mixed Hu people here. There are many people grazing, hunting, and collecting firewood in the mountains, so it is inevitable to be discovered by them.

In fact, there is no other way, we can only use speed to defeat slowness. But now Jingle County has been prepared, but we don't know what to do, because cavalry can't attack the city.

When Liu Ming and others returned to Jingle County, one of the two gates in this small town, north and south, had been closed.

The herdsmen and farmers who got the news rushed into the city in a panic. For a while, there was chaos and shouting of people and neighing of horses.

Those who lived far away simply did not return to the city, but drove their livestock to hide in the mountains.

Liu Ming waited outside the city for a long time before he was the last to enter the city.

"Bang!" The South Gate closed amid the shepherd's curses.

There was no other way. These people turned pale and packed up their belongings on the spot, taking everything they could take with them and fled to the spring pastures in the mountains.

A group of young men rushed to the top of the city wall.

Some have high noses and deep eyes, some have black eyes and black hair, and there are even a group of people with rope-like hair.

They widened their eyes and looked towards the south with all their strength, trying to judge when the enemy would rush to the city.

Jingle was the nominal seat of Kelan County and the registered residence of the Liu family. Most of the descendants of the Shangdang Liu family settled here and traveled back and forth between Tianchi and Jingle.

Suo Tou is coming and they are also afraid, but now there is no way to retreat.

The Liu clan members were too closely bound to the King of Liang, and their interests and benefits in the Central Plains were too great. Not to mention if Suo Tou came, even if his former brother-in-law Shi Le came, he would have to be captured and presented to his new brother-in-law, the King of Liang.

The sound of drums gathering troops became louder and louder. The young men drew their weapons from the walls, under the beds, and from the firewood piles, and climbed up the walls to take up their posts.

There are not many young and strong people among these people, but there are many old people and teenagers. They may not be able to fight in the field, but relying on the city to defend against a group of cavalry, it will not be a big problem.

When the drums were finally beaten, hundreds of middle-aged women with big faces and thick waists gathered at the foot of the city with shining knives in their hands, ready to be on standby at any time.

Some women even led horses and drew bows with calm faces, and even had the mind to tease the young boys with childish faces. According to the customs of the grassland, men and women can have sex before marriage, and it doesn't matter if they have children. It is not uncommon to get married with children. The atmosphere is relatively open.

"Defending Jingle will be a great achievement." The county magistrate took off his official uniform that was in the way and threw it on the ground. He changed into a luxurious black lambskin coat - one of the emperor's crown robes, also made of black lambskin - and rushed up the city wall with a big axe in hand, shouting at everyone he saw.

After hearing this, the able-bodied men and women all agreed.

Survival in the border areas is extremely cruel and those who dare not fight the enemy will be eliminated.

Because you will be looked down upon and you won’t even be able to marry a woman.

Fighting Suo Tou face to face in the field may be too much to ask, but why are you afraid of defending the city?
When the drums stopped beating, a large cloud of dust rose from the south, and a large group of Tuoba Xianbei troops arrived.

At this time, Shao Xun had been marching south for two days and was only ten miles away from Jingle County.

A vanguard of several hundred Yicong troops also appeared in the distance on the northern horizon.

The defenders on the city wall saw this and shouted loudly.

In Xinxing County, hundreds of miles to the east, herds of cattle and sheep were driven south.

They ate up all the grass, leaves, and young shoots of shrubs near the post road like locusts.

Those who came later couldn’t get any, so they looked further away.

The herdsmen laughed and sang loud pastoral songs. They divided the territory and began to herd cattle, sheep and horses.

Wave after wave of cavalrymen surged southward toward Shiling.

After they left, thousands of infantrymen even appeared on the horizon.

The furnaces in the blacksmith shops around Pingcheng were burning day and night, sending one piece of forged iron armor, swords, and arrows after another to the front line.

Tuoba Yulu's golden tent had passed Yanmen Pass and stopped at the bank of Hutuo River.

The entire army consisted of more than 50,000 infantry and cavalry, along with nobles from various tribes, and they came in a mighty and powerful force.

No one was surprised.

This kind of scene can be seen every year by grassland herdsmen.

Unlike the monarchs of the Central Plains who lived in the imperial palace all year round, the monarchs of the grasslands would tour the four directions every year. They did not do so alone, but brought along officials, generals, concubines, and a tribe of 50,000 to 100,000 men.

The distance is often very far, but the route will be planned in advance, and there are rules for where to graze and where to stay.

This custom continued into the Northern Dynasties.

The emperor traveled around, inspecting the entire country, avoiding frost in spring, escaping the heat in summer, hunting in autumn, and fishing in winter.

Even into the Sui and Tang dynasties, the style of the Northern Dynasties continued. When Emperor Yang of Sui traveled west to destroy Tuyuhun, it snowed in the summer when he passed through the Dadouba Valley and suffered heavy losses, but he still remained true to his original intention.

Shao Xun also liked to lead a large army to intimidate and pacify the people in all directions. He was actually a Han monarch with a very strong Hu style.

His encounter with Tuoba Yulu was both accidental and inevitable.

(End of this chapter)