Fast forward to the beginning of February, and Jinshan in early February was still covered with snow, but most of the thick snow had subsided, leaving only a thin layer of cold snow.

The weather is still cold, but the warm and humid smell from the south has caused the young grass on the grassland to sprout.

In a small pasture in the northwest of Jinshan, there are more than 3,000 herdsmen, who are a branch of the Xue tribe.

But two years ago, they were living in a rich pasture in the south of Jinshan, living a rich life without worrying about food and clothing, but their tribal leader Xue Chake led an army to loot Fengzhou, losing more than 15,000 people, so that he was severely punished when he returned, not only was he dismissed from the post of captain, but the best pasture left to him by his father was also confiscated and distributed to other tribes to make up for the loss.

He led more than 3,000 herdsmen from his tribe to the northwest and settled down in this pasture with relatively difficult conditions.

Xue Chake has been waiting for the opportunity to make a comeback, last autumn was an opportunity, the Khan had decided to send 10,000 cavalry to attack Fengzhou, but unfortunately the army of Sijie was overwhelmed, and the Khan had to cancel the sneak attack plan again.

And what about this spring?

This spring is also an opportunity, will the Khan send troops again?

In the past few days, Xue Chake has been restlessly waiting for news from the side of the tooth tent, if the Khan sends troops, he will definitely lead the cavalry of his tribe as the vanguard, sweep through Fengzhou, and wash away the shame of the previous year.

Xue Chake was so distraught in the big tent that he couldn't sit still, so he simply rode around the pasture.

3,000 herdsmen live together, and their pastures are within a radius of dozens of miles around, and spring is coming, and the herdsmen are also very busy, mainly taking care of the ewes who are pregnant and about to give birth to lambs, in addition, all the sheep are in the sheepfold, and they need to be manually fed every day, which is very tedious and tiring.

At this moment, Xue Chake faintly heard the sound of clanging blows, and he immediately turned his horse's head and ran towards the big tent where the sound of striking iron came.

In a small tent, a fire was burning in the stove, and a young man who looked like a Han man was diligently blowing the stove, and in front of the board, a large man at least six feet tall was struggling to strike iron bare-chested.

Six feet six is two meters today, this big man is not only tall, but also strong, like an extremely strong bull, but his eyes are slightly blue, his eyes are deeply sunken, the bridge of his nose is high and straight, and his face is well-defined, which is the appearance of a Western Sogdian.

If Guo Song saw him, he would have been surprised, when he first arrived in Lingzhou, he won the Sogdian Li Ande through a contest, and exchanged the ironwood sword for the freedom of this big man.

That's right, this big man is Kang Bao, the slave of Li Ande back then, and his real name is Ash. Darhan, a nobleman from Kang, was the deputy commander of the Sogdian coalition of 100,000 troops, but his army was defeated by the army of the Black Eaters, and Darhan became a captive and sold into slavery.

The Great Eclipse army conquered Samarkand and plundered, destroying his family and taking his wife and daughter captive to the far west.

After Darhan was freed, he rushed back to Samarkand and searched for his wife and daughter for four years, but found nothing, and his wife and daughter were likely sold into slavery in more distant Egypt or died on the sea.

He couldn't find his wife and daughter, and Durhan was homeless, so he decided to return to Datang to repay his kindness, he couldn't remember the appearance of Engong, but he kept the name of Engong firmly in his heart, called Guo Song, in Lingwu County.

Last November, when he was caught in a snowstorm while passing through the Golden Mountains, he temporarily settled in front of the tribe and relied on his exquisite iron-making skills to obtain a tent and food for the winter.

Xue Chake opened the curtain and walked in and said, "Darhan, can't you leave a few days later?" We also need you to fight another three hundred swords. ”

Darhan was unmoved, and said coldly: "In one winter, I have already helped you fight a thousand swords, isn't it enough?" ”

"It doesn't matter in peacetime, but we will soon go to war with the Tang Army, we are short of weapons and lack of blacksmiths, I hope you can stay for another two months, and I will pay you well."

Darhan raised his eyebrows, and said for a while: "When you say that you are going to war, you are going to attack Lingzhou, right?" ”

When he was in Lingwu County, he also encountered two attacks by Xue Yantuo's army on Lingzhou, and I heard that they would attack Lingzhou every spring.

"Don't fight Lingzhou, I'm going to fight Fengzhou, to be precise, to take revenge!"

Xue Chake gritted his teeth and said: "Fifteen thousand of us died in Fengzhou, I must kill Guo Song with my own hands and worship the undead with his head." ”

Darkhan's hand shook violently, and the hammer struck crookedly.

Just then, a muffled trumpet sound from outside, 'Woo-woo-' echoed across the prairie.

Xue Chake was overjoyed, this was clearly the call of the Khan to call for war, the Khan finally made up his mind to go to war, he ignored Darkhan, turned around and ran outside the big tent.

Darkhan's heart was confused, he heard it clearly, the other party was talking about Guo Song, that is the name of Engong, is Engong now in Fengzhou?

..........

"Woo-" The horn sounded on the grassland, and a large group of cavalry poured out from various tribes, converging on the Xue Yantuo tooth tent at the foot of the Golden Mountain from all directions.

The great chief of Xue Yantuo proclaimed himself the Khan of Jinshan, called Xue Mantou, about forty years old, not tall, but he was generous and strong, and this time he decided to take revenge on Fengzhou as a last resort, and the fiasco in the autumn of the previous year greatly reduced the status of Xue Yantuo in the grassland, and many of the small tribes of Tiele who were originally attached to them changed their doors and turned to rely on the Sijie Department, which seriously damaged the vital interests of Xue Yantuo.

In order to restore his prestige, Xue Yantuo urgently needs a battle, it is unrealistic to fight the Sijie Division, and if he defeats the Lingzhou Shuofang Army, even if he wins, he will suffer heavy losses, and if he fights the surrounding small tribes, he will only force them more towards the Sijie Division, and the effect will be counterproductive.

After repeated consideration, Xue Mantou still decided to attack Fengzhou, compared to other forces, Fengzhou's strength is weaker, and the effect of the attack will be better.

In the tent, the chiefs of various tribes gathered together, and an old man said angrily: "The spoils of the attack on Fengzhou are nothing more than people, food and property, I think the distribution plan should be determined first, everyone has the bottom of their hearts, and the war will be more hard." ”

The old man's suggestion was unanimously agreed, and another tribal chief stood up and shouted, "More work is more, and I propose to distribute the spoils according to the number of troops sent." ”

"It's not just the number of troops! The final number of casualties is also taken into account. ”

In the midst of the noise, Xue Mantou waved his hand, everyone quieted down, and Xue Mantou said: "The final distribution of loot will consider both the number of troops and the degree of contribution, and it will definitely be dealt with fairly, but now I want to know, who is willing to send troops as the vanguard army and take the first step for the army?" ”

All the eyes of everyone looked at Xue Chake, Xue Chake was helpless, he knew that he couldn't run away, so he had to get up and say: "I am willing to lead two thousand cavalry from my headquarters as the vanguard." ”

Xue Mantou smiled slowly: "As long as you make meritorious service, I will consider returning the ranch to you after the war." ”

Xue Chake suddenly perked up and said in a loud voice: "The humble position will definitely not disappoint the Khan!" ”

.........

The snow had not yet completely melted, and two thousand Xue Yantuo cavalry under the leadership of Xue Chake rushed all the way east, and Durhan was finally persuaded by Xue Chake to follow Xue Yantuo's army to Fengzhou.

Xue Chake promised him that if he captured Fengzhou, he would reward him with 3,000 guan yuan and two young women.

On this morning, 2,000 cavalry arrived on the west bank of the Yellow River, which had begun to thaw, the ice cracked, and large swaths of ice floated on the surface of the river, which was a great test for the army to cross the river.

Xue Yantuo's army was very experienced in crossing the glacier, and their sheepskin raft had wooden rafts at the bottom, and a large sheepskin raft could transport five cavalrymen and horses, even if there was ice floe, it would not affect them much.

Sitting in a sheepskin raft, Darhan looked up at an eagle hovering in the sky, and silently prayed in his heart, "O God Ahuramadaz! Please bring the spirit to this eagle and let it hurry up and send a message to Eun Gong! ”

The eagle circled twice in the sky, and suddenly a long cry: 'Chirp-', it flapped its wings and flew in the direction of Jiuyuan County in the east.