Chapter 781: Raiding the Nest

Chapter 781: Raiding the Nest

Chapter 781: Raiding the Nest (Part )

The exhausted horse mustered up its remaining courage and rushed down a gentle slope carrying the rider.

The dozens of people in the front were wearing silver armor, and after putting on their face curtains, they looked almost like ghosts.

There were panicked shouts everywhere inside and outside the pasture.

The woman hugged the child and did not run to the tent, but went to get the horse.

"Swoosh!" An arrow flew a long distance, broke through the air, and nailed the woman to the ground.

The child stared blankly at his mother with blood oozing from the corner of her mouth, unwilling to believe it for a long time.

The old man grabbed a pitchfork and charged toward the invading riders.

He had a determined look on his face, but also one full of despair.

Most of the able-bodied men and women in the tribe followed the king. The able-bodied men fought for him, while the able-bodied women herded the tribe's livestock, provided supplies for the king's army, and transported grain. Now only a thousand or so old, weak, women and children remained in the pastures. They were finished.

The young man took out his riding bow, but couldn't find his horse for a while, so he stood on the ground and shot arrows.

The Xianbei arrowheads were different from those of the Xiongnu.

The Huns' arrows had a longer range and a slower frequency.

The Xianbei people's arrows had a shorter range, faster flying speed, and were fired more frequently.

This man had some skill in archery. He shot two arrows, and two elite cavalrymen from the Yiyi army fell off their horses.

"Puff!" A horseman passed by the young man from behind. Without swinging hard, the long saber just made a light scratch and created a horrific wound on the young man's back.

After killing the young man, the man rushed a few steps forward and cut off the head of a woman who was holding a wooden spear.

The burning torch was thrown into the tent. The flames crackled and instantly ignited the felt cloth and blanket, and the fire spread rapidly in an instant.

Countless cavalrymen rode forward on horseback, their horses’ raised hooves almost trampling people’s faces.

The sharp spear blade picked up one person after another and threw them into the fire like rag dolls.

More torches were thrown into tents, haystacks and even vehicles. The entire camp was filled with smoke and flames.

The few young men who stayed behind grabbed the horses, rushed out, and then formed a formation in the distance.

They took out horn bows, swords, and spears from under their saddles, with faces full of grief and anger, ready to fight the invaders.

Just at this moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard on the hillside behind him.

Someone turned his head and saw thousands of light cavalrymen galloping out from the tall wormwood, holding horn bows in their hands, and encircling the enemy from the left and right.

This was a part of the Luoyan Army led by Duan Mobo, lying in ambush behind the opposite ridge, waiting for Shao Shen to lead the Yicong Army to charge, and then they would come up from behind and kill them.

These guys are real dogs! They're playing tricks on a bunch of old, weak, and disabled people.

As soon as the Luoyan Army appeared, they immediately dispersed the anger and anger of the young men, and extinguished their courage. Except for a few dozen people who shouted and drew their bows and arrows to meet the Luoyan Army, the other hundred or so people scattered and fled to the distant mountains.

Duan Mobo sent out a part of his men to pursue, and then led his Duan tribe Xianbei knights to fight against these Tuoba vassal tribes.

Horn bow vs horn bow, the competition is about who has the most accurate archery, the highest frequency of shooting, and the largest coverage. There were only a few dozen horses, and after a short battle, they were soon drowned in the dense rain of arrows from the Luoyan Army. Only a few lonely horses were left, and they stopped beside their masters, licking them with their tongues, trying to wake him up.

On the front battlefield, the Yicong army charged left and right, and the camp was littered with corpses.

Blood, fire, and thick smoke form the background here, and the running crowds, panicked faces, and desperate cries become vivid images beyond the background.

This camp is over.

There were thousands of men, women, young and old, and more than four hundred were beheaded. Two or three hundred escaped, and the rest were gathered together, some trembling, some crying, some numb and silent, and some glaring at the enemy.

Not far from them were knights riding high on their horses.

The silver armor was covered in blood and soot.

Behind the veil were a pair of cold eyes that looked at them as if they were animals.

He held a long lance in his hand, blood still dripping slowly from the blade.

The horse pawed its hooves impatiently, as if urging its owner to kill all the captives.

These are war machines, ruthless killing machines.

"Why don't you take action yet?" Duan Mobo rode over and asked.

The Yicong Army cavalry did not react and just looked at Shao Shen.

There were footsteps not far away. They were the palace soldiers who had just withdrawn.

They were not good at cavalry combat, so they dismounted and ambushed at the road entrance to avoid encountering the enemy. After all, they had already picked off two tribes in the past few days, and someone must have escaped and reported the news. Maybe the enemy troops had already started to gather here.

"Kill him." Shao Shen glared at Duan Mobo and gave the order. As soon as he finished speaking, the Hu people who could understand Jin language immediately showed a horrified face and turned around and ran away.

Their actions inspired more people, and in a moment the whole crowd stood up and fled.

The Yicong Army knights rode their horses at a jog, not in a hurry to chase, but followed quietly behind, occasionally using their lances to pick up one person and throw him away.

Duan Mobo waved his hand, and a team of Luoyan Army knights followed, drew their swords, and surrounded them from both sides.

The military clerk sighed but did not stop it.

When they defeated the first two tribes, they captured a total of 2,000 old, weak, women and children. At that time, they had not walked far and the army did not have enough horses, so they assigned a few soldiers to leave the horses behind and escort these people back on foot, intending to sell them as spoils of war for money.

But now that we have penetrated so far into enemy territory, it is obviously impossible to do so.

The brutal killing was soon over.

Duan Mobo led his men away and deployed defenses at the road entrance and the mountain ridge.

Yi Congjun dismounted and took a rest.

The palace soldiers stepped forward and picked up the usable supplies one by one.

"It would be great if we could take so many cattle and sheep home." Feng Bachi said regretfully as he looked at the pen full of sheep.

The fire we set just now to create chaos ended up burning a lot of sheep to death. It's such a pity.

The people in the Central Plains are crazy about buying livestock, but there are so many on the grassland. What a pity! It would be great to do business. Why fight and kill?

"Without auxiliary soldiers, life is not comfortable at all." Someone nearby was leading a sheep out of the pen, preparing to kill it.

As a soldier in the palace, he usually only needs to train and go into battle. When would he have to kill sheep and cook?

But there was no other way. There were no auxiliary troops in this expedition, and the cavalry were more "master" than them, so they could only let the infantrymen who rode on horseback do odd jobs.

"Eat more later, and get more smoked meat jerky." Feng Bachi walked into a tent that was badly burned, picked with a knife, and actually found a few pieces of cheese. After dusting off the ashes, he carefully put them away.

Another soldier actually found some dried fish and laughed so hard that he couldn't stop: "There are fish in Zhongling River?"

"I heard that the Xianbei people value fish, and their king likes to watch fish." Feng Bachi continued to pick and said casually, "Those lakes on the grassland, as long as they are not salt water, have fish. When the chiefs go hunting, they like to camp around the lakes. They catch fish in the lakes and yellow sheep in the grass. These are all top-quality fish."

"Sima, how do you know?" asked the palace soldier.

Feng Bashi grinned, patted him on the shoulder, and went to clean up another tent.

The soldier was puzzled. He and I both couldn't read a single word, so why was he so much better than me? Finally, he realized that his wife couldn't read, but Feng Sima's wife was different.

She spoke softly and gently, had a fair complexion, could write poetry and compose essays, and managed the household business. Among all the women in the Longxiang Mansion in Pingqiu, she truly stood out from the crowd, and countless people secretly drooled over her.

I want to grab one too!
On the ridge outside the camp, Shao Shen, Duan Mobo and Chen Tonggen (former Shogunate attendant), the governor of the Fubingbu, were observing the terrain.

"It's been seven or eight days. The Tuoba clan must have realized something was wrong and are sending people to encircle and suppress us." Duan Mobo's eyes were deep and his brows were furrowed. He pointed at Zhongling River and said, "According to the map, if we go north along this river, we can reach Hanshanwu Ancient City. Is that true?"

The most frightening thing about rushing is getting lost.

Once you encounter something like this, you don’t know if you can go back.

"That's what the guide said." Chen Tonggen said, "The Zhongling River flows northwest, passing the west of the ancient city of Shanwu, which is the old site of Yanmen County in the Han Dynasty. It flows northwest again and meets a river on the right, which the Xianbei called the 'Tuwen River'. Further north, there are the ancient city of Woyang and Chanhe Xing. There is a lake nearby, called the 'Chanhe Pond'."

"Are we really going there?" Chen Tonggen's face was not very good, and he quickly added: "I heard that the Tuoba clan rebuilt the old city of Woyang a few years ago and stationed troops to guard it. It is one of the fences near the northern capital."

Shao Shen looked at the map carefully, feeling undecided.

Indeed, the further they went in that direction, the more dangerous it would be, and the more likely they would encounter large enemy troops, or even the elite cavalry guarding the Northern Capital, which would very likely lead to their annihilation - even if they were not annihilated, there would be serious casualties, making it difficult for them to continue the raid.

The Tuoba Xianbei were not a nomadic tribe that moved wherever there was water and grass.

Many military towns and cities have been built near the northern capital Shengle, each with hundreds to thousands of soldiers. Even if a lot of people are withdrawn now, there are still many left, which are not something they can capture.

Unless they are like the Huns, who have only one royal court and can migrate at any time, then you can try burning the royal court.

Duan Mobo also sighed and said, "Let's not go there. After the Tuoba clan gained control of Yanmen, they built the southern capital Pingcheng and renovated the post roads between the two capitals. If that area is occupied by outsiders, it will easily threaten the post roads between the two capitals. Even though it is the vassal tribes that are grazing now, in a few years, I think these tribes will have to leave and be replaced by people that the Tuoba clan can trust."

Shao Shen was a little unhappy when both of them said that. He thought for a moment and said, "Go north first and take a look around Shanwugu City. If there is a chance, we will kill him. If there is no chance, we will turn around and rush east. Anyway, we have some horses now and can run."

Chen Tonggen looked at Shao Shen with a complicated and incomprehensible look, as if to ask, "Why are you so anxious to make achievements? You are the nephew of King Liang. Even if your achievements are not obvious, you don't have to worry about not being promoted."

Duan Mobo continued to sigh.

He likes merit, but he cherishes his life more. If it was a tribe on the grassland, he would not be so afraid, and he would follow you for thousands of miles, but this is a country with cities, standing troops, and a garrison system in the capital, so it is too risky.

However, Shao Shen obviously wanted to take a gamble. The other party was the main general, so what could he do?

"Rest for a day and set off at dawn tomorrow. Go north along Zhonglingchuan and head straight to Shanwu." Shao Shen made the decision.

(End of this chapter)