On the eighth day of the first month of the lunar month of the Yuanzhao Kingdom, Hu Keduo, the first warrior of the Hu people, led an army of 100,000 to attack the city.

The most tragic 'rebellion of the dead' since the history books of the Yuanzhao State began......

The dark wolf smoke accompanied by the orange firelight fluttered in the night sky, the soldiers defending the city rang the ancient bell on the city tower to ring the alarm, the quiet and peaceful night was cut by the flames of war, everyone in the city was awakened, the sound of dogs barking and the panicked cries of women and children were intertwined into a sad and frightened song, but no one listened to it, and no one sang.

After Lu Xiao knocked down the soldier, he rolled and hid behind the city wall, and the next moment, the arrow rain struck, and the arrows made of cold iron made a jingling sound on the city wall, and the Yuanzhao banner hanging high on the city wall was shot into a hole, and the soldiers who did not have time to dodge were shot by the sharp arrows and screamed in pain.

A moment later, the first wave of arrows stopped, and Lu Xiao stretched out his foot and hooked it, kicking up the halberd that the soldier had just put down and holding it in his hand.

There seemed to be the body temperature of this young life still on the halberd, Lu Xiao twisted his eyebrows, raised his hand to cover his face, and closed his eyes for him.

That arrow was originally supposed to be aimed at Lu Xiao, and it was this soldier who saved Lu Xiao's life by mistake.

Lu Xiao's face was solemn, and he touched the wooden sign on the soldier's waist, on which his name was written: Ren Yu.

Good boy, I'll take you home!

Lu Xiao promised in his heart, put the wooden card into his arms, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone listens to the order, the enemy army will attack at night, they will attack with a rain of arrows first, and then attack the city with a wooden cart, and then they will use the rain of arrows to climb the wall with a wooden ladder, now everyone stay calm and listen to my orders!" ”

His voice was extremely loud and confident, and he didn't panic at all, and all the soldiers who had been caught off guard calmed down.

"Yes!"

The soldiers replied loudly, without any panic, full of momentum.

As the words fell, a second rain of arrows roared, followed by the sound of a wooden ladder clattering against the city wall, mixed with a creaking sound, like a very heavy wooden cart moving slowly on the ground.

Lu Xiao was slightly surprised, and carefully looked out of the city from the corner of the wall brick, and a behemoth came into view.

It was a very large chariot, the front of the chariot was pulled by a dozen yaks, the body was about eight meters wide, more than ten meters long, and it was full of Hu soldiers, all of them holding the escape card, protecting the people behind them, and behind these people, there was a big tree that needed two people to hug together.

The wooden cart was moving very slowly, but it felt invulnerable and indestructible.

The Hu people have always been reckless, and they only know how to fight hard, when will they learn to be clever?

Lu Xiao keenly sensed that something was wrong, but the current situation was too tense, and he didn't have time to think about it, so he said to a soldier who was away from him: "The arrow rain will stop for a while, you take a team of people to the city to bring some wine, the more the better!" ”

"Yes, General!"

As he spoke, Hu people had already climbed up the bamboo ladder to the city tower, Lu Xiao got up decisively, and with a spear, he picked up the entire bamboo ladder.

"Put the stones!"

Lu Xiao ordered, and the soldiers who had been hiding behind the city wall immediately got up and lifted stones and threw them down.

The Hu people who climbed halfway were smashed and fell, and the screams came and went, but the Hu people who tried to climb up were still endless.

Lu Xiao's face sank like water, he took out the big knife on his waist, first cut off the top level of the bamboo ladder, and then inserted a spear to charge a shock, directly cracking the bamboo ladder in half.

The others didn't have the strength of him, Lu Xiao lost his blade, grabbed half of the wood of the broken ladder and lifted it directly.

This kind of arm strength is beyond the reach of no one else, not to mention the soldiers of Yuanzhao, even the Hu people who are attacking the city are shocked and shaken.

Lu Xiao held his breath and swung the wood vigorously, and the five or six meters long wood swept across the city wall, directly sweeping all the wooden ladders and Hu people on the wall to the ground.

"Good!"

"The General's Mighty !!"

The soldiers on the city wall all cheered, Lu Xiao threw the wood and sat down again, with a sharp pain in his lower back, which was caused by the exertion of the old disease and the new injury.

The Hu people's attack came too suddenly, and he had to set an example for these soldiers, so that they could not lose confidence as soon as the battle began, but he had already anticipated the difficulty of this battle.

This battle was different from the one five years ago, although he didn't come to the battlefield five years ago, he knew the details of this battle from Lu Ji's mouth, and the Hu people came prepared this time, not for the supplies in the city.

The envoys were still in Beijing, and even Kutar was there, but the Hu people chose to start a war at this time, which had to make Lu Xiao worry about whether Kyoto was in any predicament now.

Lu Xiao thought about it quickly, but before he could come up with a reason, the voice of the Hu people was already heard downstairs, he used Yuanzhao Chinese, not Hu, but he didn't speak it very well, and his tone was very stiff and awkward.

"I am the first warrior of my clan, Ku Keduo, the people of the city listen, you must open the city gate at dawn and welcome the prince into the city, otherwise you will ......"

Suddenly, the roaring rain of arrows and the Hu people besieging the city also stopped, and the surroundings were quiet, and only the sound of people under the city gasping and screaming in pain could be faintly heard.

Lu Xiao stood up and saw that the chariot of the Hu people who had just attacked had retreated a few meters, leaving a large open space, and there was only one more person in the open space.

Kukdo rode a tall black and brown horse, covered in heavy animal fur, holding a shiny full moon scimitar in his hand, and carrying a bow and crossbow twice as large as ordinary bows and arrows on his back, the feathers of which were vaguely black and white, and the first arrow that had just been shot at the city wall was not surprisingly from his hand.

His tone was very arrogant, even more arrogant than when Kutar first confronted Lu Xiao.

Lu Xiao was just about to open his mouth to refute, and a few meters away began to light a few meters away with dotted torches, as if igniting a dense forest, the firelight spread backwards at an extremely fast speed, and within a moment, a large sea of fire appeared outside the city gate, illuminating everything that the night covered.

Kukedo whistled, and a neat and loud shout came from the sea of fire: "Kill, kill, kill!" ”

Wrapped in the killing and bloodshed that seemed to destroy the world, the beast suddenly pounced on the most marginal town of Yuanzhao, arousing panic all over the city, after this shout, Lu Xiao clearly heard the frightened cries of the women, children and children in the city.

The flames were still spreading backwards, and Lu Xiao was a little speechless, only what he could see with his naked eyes now was that the strength of the Hu people was more than twice that of the troops under him.

The disparity in strength is too great!

The soldiers standing on the city wall were shocked by this scene, and they looked at him unconvinced for a long time: "General...... General, the soldiers and horses of the Hu people are far superior to us! ”

Despite his best efforts, his voice trembled.

In the face of such overwhelming force suppression, morale is simply too vulnerable to a hit.

Lu Xiao didn't turn his head to look at the stunned soldiers, the spear in his hand shook, and threw it straight towards Kukeduo.

Kukodor grabbed the reins of his horse and quickly retreated, and half of the spear was driven into the ground, and the remaining half trembled and hummed.

Lu Xiao said in a cold voice: "Those who dare to offend me will be punished even if they die!" ”

His voice was extremely loud, and he did not have the slightest timidity in the face of an army of 100,000, and justice was awe-inspiring.

The wind and snow were heavier, the dark clouds covered the moon, the faint smoothness was replaced by darkness, and the sea of fire gradually extinguished, like a beast that could destroy everything, hibernated, and did not know when it would rush forward and swallow its prey.

The sound of creaking wheels came again, and the Hu people were ready to attack the city for the second time, and the soldiers who had just been sent to hold the wine ran up panting with the wine jar: "General, we found a wine cellar, is this wine enough?" ”

"Fetch a bow and arrows!" Lu Xiao ordered, and within a moment, a heavy bow and crossbow fell into his hand.

This is what Lu Ji likes to use on weekdays, and it is not inferior to the one that Hu Keduo carries on his back.

Lu Xiao took the bow and arrow, and took the bow neatly: "Throw a jar of wine out, throw it up as much as possible, and take another torch!" ”

Hearing this, the soldier immediately understood what he was going to do, and his eyes flashed with excitement: "Yes, General! "The sound was even a little cracked.

A jar of wine was thrown into the air, and then it was pierced by an arrow, and the strong and mellow burning knife wine was sprinkled on the chariot below, and the people above could vaguely be heard talking in surprise, and they couldn't understand why wine and wine jars suddenly fell from the sky, did they want them to be drunk and unable to fight?

Hu Ren was still at a loss for the second monk, and there were a few crisp sounds above his head, and the smell of wine became more and more intense, drifting to the back with the wind, which was enough to make Hu Ke smell more, the corners of his mouth were raised, his face was bound to win, and he smelled the aroma of wine and sniffed deeply, but the next moment his face changed dramatically.

"Come back!"

Hu Keduo shouted in nonsense, but it was too late, the chariot was quite large, on the one hand it was a sharp weapon for siege, and on the other hand, it was so clumsy that it was impossible to move flexibly.

Hearing his voice, the chariot stopped for only a moment, and then a dozen torches were dropped from the walls.

Rumble!

The dark night sky suddenly burst into flames, and the wide and terrifying chariot turned into a flaming monster in an instant.

The snowflakes were fumigated into mist by the firelight before they could fall to the ground, and the soldiers standing on the city wall still kept smashing the wine jar on the chariot, and on the chariot, the man with the escape card was on fire, and ran down from the chariot with a scream, as if echoing the sorrow of fear in the city.

In this firelight, a new Yuanzhao banner was hung on the city wall, blown by the fire waves, Lu Xiao stood beside the flag, the golden armor on his body shone under the light of the firelight, like a god of war falling from the sky, can protect the peace of a country, and never let the Hu people step into Yuanzhao!

The smugness on Ku Keduo's face disappeared cleanly, and a face that was three points similar to Ku Tartar was distorted and hideous, and the bright tongue of fire and the Hu soldiers who were rolling on the ground screaming were reflected in their eyes.

"Hu He! You bastard! I'm going to kill you! ”

Hu Keduo gritted his teeth and roared, this chariot was proposed by Hu He, and it took nearly half of the financial, material and manpower of the Juhu clan to build it for three years, a total of ten, but now that the war has just begun, Lu Xiao gave him a slap in the face, telling him with facts that this chariot is a useless waste!

It was the slave named Huhe who played tricks on him!

This slave is really bold, he must set foot on the land of Yuanzhao, catch this slave and torture him to death, in order to relieve the hatred in his heart today!

The huge chariot burned all night, this night was the beginning of the 'War of the Dead', countless people stayed awake all night, and those who survived later only remember that night on the city wall, there was a general wearing golden armor like a god, guarding the banner of Yuanzhao at all......

"Stop!"

Lu Ji sat up suddenly, and the person next to him was startled, and then breathed a sigh of relief: "General, you finally woke up!" ”

The lingering palpitations left in the chest of the nightmare have not dissipated, Lu Ji rubbed his eyebrows, the person next to him handed over a cup of hot tea, Lu Ji took it and drank it all, his thin underwear was soaked in cold sweat, and it was very cold.

"I fainted?"

"Yes, after seven days and seven nights of driving, the horse died of exhaustion, and you fell off your horse and were in a coma for two days."

For two days, there was a lot of delays.

Lu Ji lifted the quilt and was about to get out of bed, his head was dizzy and he sat back again, and the man hurriedly helped him to sit down: "General, rest until dawn and then leave, your body can't stand it." ”

Lu Ji's body was weak, he only felt that it was very cold, he didn't recklessly, he lay back on the bed again, and looked out the window after a while: "We've arrived in Yuzhou?" ”

"Yes, if you leave early tomorrow morning, day and night, you can arrive at the border in five days at most."

Five days, too long......

Lu Ji thought in his heart, if the tip report given by Gu Ji was not fake, Ku Keduo would have led his troops to attack the city today.

The 100,000-strong army fought against the 30,000 soldiers at the border pass, and if it dragged on for one more day, I don't know how many people would die.

"Did the doctor come and check my pulse? How so? ”

"The doctor said that the general is too tired from traveling for days, and you are overthinking in your heart, and you are infected with wind and cold, and now you are sick like a mountain, it is better to recuperate for more time."

The man told the truth that he didn't tell Lu Ji that on the day he just fainted, he burned so badly that the doctor didn't dare to treat him at all, and he relied on himself to survive.

How important a healthy body is at the moment of the great enemy, Lu Ji knows better than anyone else, but he has no time!

"Go to the pharmacy at dawn and grab a few more pairs of medicines to put on, and boil them again when you get to the border!" Lu Ji decisively ordered, his body was still very weak, and he forced himself to lie down and rest for a while.

When the first rays of morning light spilled into the room, Lu Ji woke up immediately, his face was rarely a little pale, his lips were also very dry, and his head was still dizzy after sitting up, but he didn't make a sound, sat on the bed and calmed down for a while before getting up and dressing.

Not long after, the man who was guarding him last night picked up a few pairs of medicines and came back, and when he saw that he had gotten up, he opened his mouth, but finally did not dissuade him again.

After a quick breakfast, the group rode their horses again, and rushed out of Yuzhou to a short distance forward, the sky gradually changed, the wind and snow suddenly rose, although they were all wearing hats and wearing robes, but their bodies were inevitably soaked in snow and water, and they were freezing to the bone.

"General Lu, I'm afraid there is a snowstorm ahead of me, so I can't go any further!"

Someone reminded that the sound quickly died out in the wind and snow.

Lu Ji grew up in the border pass, he knows the climate of the border pass better than anyone else, the sky is so heavy, when the wind and snow come, I am afraid that it will blow for several days, even if the snow stops after a few days, the road is thick with snow, and it is impossible to move quickly.

The Hu people are more resistant to cold than the people of Yuanzhao, and the winter days in Hudi are longer than those in Yuanzhao, and they have to hunt prey in the ice and snow, which is very beneficial to them to fight in this season.

After leaving Yuzhou, most of the roads along the road are next door, and if you take the wrong road in the snowstorm, you will be more than lucky.

Lu Ji looked back at the three hundred soldiers who had rushed all the way with him, they were the elite given to him by Chu Lingzhao, but even he couldn't stand it, let alone these three hundred people.

He was going to bring 300 elites to reinforcements, not 300 remnants to send heads to the Hu people.

Thinking about the stakes, Lu Ji said decisively: "Go back to Yuzhou City, and wait for the snow to pass before leaving!" ”

The people behind him all turned their horses' heads and prepared to go back, Lu Ji clutched the reins in his hand, and his heart ached.

It's a lot like it was five years ago.

Five years ago, he was tripped by the rebels, and he couldn't rush back in time, after going back, Ah Li was gone, today, he was blocked by the wind and snow, and he couldn't arrive in time, and then he went after the wind and snow, I don't know what kind of purgatory the border guard city will become!

"General......

Someone shouted at him, his tone was full of worry, Lu Ji retracted his thoughts, gently took off the reins of the horse and turned the horse's head, but as soon as he fell halfway, his throat was fishy, and he spit out a mouthful of blood.

The blood was a little black, and it was steaming, melting the snow on the ground and sinking it.

Others didn't see that he vomited blood, Lu Ji concentrated, wiped it with his sleeve, straightened his back and sandwiched the horse's belly and galloped towards Yuzhou.

At this time, he can't have anything to do, and he can't mess up!

Behind him, a blizzard struck, connecting the heavens and the earth into one color, easily cutting off all ties between Yuanzhao and the border pass.

No one knows what kind of bloody wind is being experienced behind this snowstorm!

At the same time, Su Li took fifty people into Xunbei County.

Xunbei County is located between Xunzhou and Xunzhou, belongs to Xunzhou, is the largest grain-producing county in Xunzhou, here is surrounded by mountains, the climate is very warm, the winter is very short, and it will not be very cold, the perennial rain is abundant, rice can only be planted in one season, here can be planted for three seasons, but due to the mountain range, the traffic here is not developed, so the grain can only be exported by the caravan of Xunzhou and the two major state cities.

The last time I came back from the border with the envoys, Su Li had felt the simple folk customs here, last year's drought, but it was not affected by anything here, it was a good harvest year as usual, as far as the eye could see, Su Li saw the yellow grass piles and dried grain, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

However, as soon as Su Li entered the county seat this time, she obviously felt that the situation here was not right.

In the streets and alleys, all the people looked at them with a vigilant and vigilant gaze, as if they were jackals, tigers and leopards who wanted to eat people.

Su Li pulled the reins of the horse and slowed down, the transportation in Xunbei County was inconvenient, she didn't think about buying grain here, she just wanted to find out about this year's grain prices and the approximate grain reserves in various places, so that she could arrange the purchase later, but she didn't expect that the people here would be the same as the people in Xunzhou City.

However, they do not hate outsiders like the people of Xunzhou City, but are more afraid.

Su Li frowned, turned over and dismounted, wanting to ask something from a small vendor on the side of the road, but before she could get closer, the vendor ran away in fright, and shouted: "Hide, someone is coming again!" ”

In an instant, the people on the street disappeared cleanly.

Those secret guards wanted to chase them, but they were stopped by Su Li: "Don't embarrass them, go directly to the county government to take a look!" ”

A quarter of an hour later, Su Li and a group of secret guards arrived at the county office, the door of the county office was closed, it seemed that no one was there, the two secret guards directly climbed over the wall and opened the gate, Su Li walked in, walked around the lobby and walked a few steps to the inner courtyard, and could vaguely hear the sound of someone sobbing and crying.

Walking over the voice, the voice came from the county official's master bedroom, a fat-headed and big-eared man was lying on the bed with a bruised face, and a fierce-looking woman was giving him medicine, and her mouth couldn't stop complaining: "...... I've been pouring blood mold for eight lifetimes when I marry you, a dead fat man, and others are inexhaustible glory and wealth when they become county wives, and I'm scared all day long with you, what am I trying to do......"

The woman was crying, it was Xunbei County Ling Qian Youwei and his county magistrate's wife.

"What's going on in the county?"

"Mom!" Mrs. County Ling was frightened by the sudden sound, and immediately jumped to the bed, and spilled the medicine and wine on the face of the county order Qian Youwei.

Qian Youwei may be too fat, even if he is frightened, he can't jump, but the fat on his face trembled, and then looked at Su Li.

Su Li took off her hat and revealed her whole face, she personally greeted the envoys before the county order, and after a few days of repayment, she immediately recognized Su Li, and immediately her eyes were hot, and she sobbed and cried: "Why did you come, the lower officials are going to be bullied to death, woo woo woo ......"

“……”

Lord Qian, you are also the order of a county, the official of the imperial court, if you have something to say, let's talk well, don't just know how to cry like a child, okay?

The corners of Su Li's lips twitched, and she covered her lips and coughed lightly: "Lord Qian, what happened?" Please calm down and talk about it first. ”

Su Li asked, Qian Youwei sniffed, barely restrained, and as soon as he opened his mouth, it turned into a cry: "Miss Su, you just left on the front foot, and it didn't take long for a group of mountain bandits to come and snatch away the grain that our county was going to transport to Yuzhou, not only that, but not long after, they also went to the county to search for food from door to door, and whoever didn't give it would kill anyone, and even the lower officials couldn't be spared......

Grab food? Xunbei County is around the two major state cities of Xunzhou and Xuzhou, and I haven't heard of any bandits in recent years, how can there be such a large force to compete with the imperial court?

Su Li was thinking about it, Qian Youwei was already so aggrieved that he couldn't control it, and he sat on the bed and kept smashing the bed: "These bandits are really too hateful, the girl quickly informs Hou Ye and asks Hou Ye to lead the troops to suppress the bandits, it's best to kill them without leaving a piece of armor!" That's 3,000 stone of grain! ”

Three thousand stones, which is the ration of more than 30,000 people in the entire Zhenbei Army for half a month.

The grain transportation of the imperial court made the transport of vehicles and horses have to be dozens, and ordinary bandits have no such manpower and material resources at all!

It is clear that someone had long anticipated what would happen now and snatched the food first!

Was it Hu He's idea for Kutar, or did Kutar have such a plan when he passed through Xunbei County at that time?

"Where did these bandits go?"

Su Li asked, Qian Youwei cried profusely, rolled up his sleeves and wiped his nose: "Who knows, this group of people is fierce, and there are people left to guard the city!" ”

“……”

What's the use of asking you for this prefectural order?

Su Li slandered, and walked out of the county office with a cold face: "Everyone is scattered, go to the city to investigate, see if anyone knows other clues, if everyone is unified and don't know which direction the bandits are going, pay attention to whether there is any mystery hidden in the city!" ”

"Yes!"

Everyone immediately dispersed, leaving only two people to follow Su Li, they turned their outer robes upside down and wore them, this side of the clothes was similar to ordinary family clothes, and the waistcoat was embroidered with the word 'Su'.

Su Li also turned the cloak over and turned it into a pink cloak embroidered with delicate flowers, looking like a noble lady of the Su family from a distance, who was escorted by the family to go out to play in the mountains and rivers.

There were still no people on the streets of the city, and after walking for a while, Su Li saw a grain store, but the business was withering, and there was no one.

Su Li walked straight over, and before he could say anything, he put a piece of broken silver on the counter.

She didn't put on a cloak and hat, because the cloak turned pink, and she looked like a weak woman from a distance, and the shopkeeper of the grain store did not panic like the people they saw before, but said with a bitter face: "Girl, you have come to the wrong place, this year we have been robbed by bandits here and there is no food, and we don't even have enough food for ourselves, so the shopkeeper asked me to stay here because I want me to find a way to get the store out." ”

"How could it be robbed? I live in Xunzhou City, and I haven't heard of bandits around here all these years, otherwise how can my father rest assured that I will go out alone? ”

Su Li blinked and said innocently, Xiao Er looked at the scar on her face, silently swallowed a sentence 'Because you are ugly', and said with a wry smile: "I haven't heard of it either, Xu is from somewhere else, and his accent doesn't sound like a local." ”

"Not like a local? Where is that guy? ”

Su Li asked, Xiao Er's face immediately changed and he was silent, Su Li hurriedly patted the chest of a secret guard next to him, and said very confidently: "This is the head of my family's nursing home, his martial arts are very good, and he likes to act bravely the most, you might as well tell me, I will write a letter to my father, maybe I can help you get the food back!" ”

"I said girl, you really don't know how to talk big!" Xiao Er's eyes widened in surprise by Su Li's words, pulled Su Li into the store, looked left and right, and saw that no one came to Su Li's ear and whispered: "Our county order once led troops to suppress bandits, but he came back with a blue nose and swollen face, and even the county chaplain he took with him was lost, why do you think it is?" ”

"Why?"

Su Li agreed, her eyes widened cooperatively, curious and a little frightened.

Xiao Er's voice was lowered: "The county order came back and secretly delivered a message to every family, those people are not bandits at all, they are side branches of the An family, and they took the queen mother's token and levied food on Yi's order!" ”

"The An family planned the palace rebellion, and it has been destroyed by His Majesty, even if he holds the token of the Queen Mother, he is a rebel and traitor, why should he be afraid of him?"

"In the end, it is the queen mother's family, since Your Majesty has not killed them all, maybe when you see the queen mother's face, she will be rehabilitated!"

The shopkeeper muttered quietly, and glanced at Su Li, as if to reprimand her for not understanding the world.

Su Li strained her face and thought in her heart, if the Queen Mother really interfered in this matter, then the Imperial City and Yuanzhao would be even more dangerous!

"By the way, before the An family is destroyed, can there be a grain shop branch opened by An Jia in the county?"

Xiao Er's face changed drastically: "What are you asking for?" ”