Located at the foot of the mountain on the east side of Lingju County, a three-mile-square valley was formerly the training ground for Lingju cavalry. At this time, this land is also very lively. More than 100 horsemen are galloping back and forth among them. The horsemen were dressed in the leather armor of the horsemen, and the knights with bows and swords at their waists rode their horses from time to time to make movements, such as turning, jumping, and making emergency stops.

Lei Rong rode a horse and stood on the edge of the school field, shouting at the riders who were still galloping. When those horsemen heard this, they slowed down their horses, and then gathered in front of Lei Rong to form a sharp triangle formation.

Li Yanzhi rode into the school yard on horseback, and clapped his hands and praised as he walked: "Good, good." Today, I finally saw the appearance of my Qiang man, and I was really shocked. Needless to say, in the future, to clean up Longxi and cleanse the thieves, we can't do without the help of all the kings! ”

Li Yanzhi and Lei Rong exchanged glances, and then asked with a smile: "Lei Rong, these sons are born to ride horses?" So much so skillful. Equestrianism is not far superior to the elite riding I've been training for years. ”

Lei Rong laughed, pointed to the stirrups sticking out on both sides of the saddle under his crotch and said, "As the sons and daughters say, with this thing, I feel that riding a horse has become easier, so I can be so skilled." When we were still in Longxi before, we also saw this thing on the saddle of the thief cavalry, and I didn't know what it was for at the time, but now it seems that this thing is really ...... Wonderful. ”

Since stirrups were manufactured and then put into the saddle, Liangzhou once maintained a brief lead and technological monopoly. However, if anything is all the rage, it will inevitably attract covetousness. Liu Zhao was at a disadvantage most of the time in several battles with the Liangzhou Sentinel Cavalry. Until they obtained samples of this new style of harness from the horses of the Liangzhou cavalry who died in battle, and then vigorously imitated them, and in order to maintain their superiority, they carried out a technical monopoly, only a few workshops were allowed to make them, and they were exclusively supplied to the army, trying to maintain the superb combat power of the Hun cavalry in their headquarters.

Indeed, when the stirrups were equipped, the threshold for the cavalry was much lowered, and it allowed the skilled cavalry to feel more confident and bold to free up their hands to operate their weapons. The Hun cavalry, which had been good at riding and shooting since childhood, became even more sharp. In the previous battle in which Liu Yao ordered Liu Yue to pursue Hugh Tu Wang Shiwu and was defeated, the novelty of stirrups can be regarded as withstanding the test of actual combat.

"Rush in formation!" Lei Rong saw Li Yanzhi nodding to him, and then let go of his voice, shouting loudly to order these newly assigned sons and daughters under his command to attack the many straw man targets at the other end of the school field. With his shouting of orders, the cavalry in a triangular attack formation immediately urged their horses to rush straight to the grass target at the other end of the school field.

These horsemen are all herdsmen in the old department of Lei Rong. Among the Di tribes, which have been agricultural, they still maintain many of the customs they had before farming. Proficiency in equestrianism is one of the strong proofs.

The triangular attack formation in the gallop gradually became a little scattered as the horse's speed increased. Xu is horsepower is good and bad, knights on horseback are also brave and timid, on the road of the charge, the triangular formation gradually becomes a little ugly because of the scattered. Li Yanzhi was still staring at the grass targets lined up in a phalanx at the other end of the school field. Until this somewhat chaotic triangle formation crashed into those poor straw men. The spears and knives raised in the hands of the horsemen stabbed the straw men to pieces in an instant.

Lei Rong seemed to see the shortcomings in this cavalry queue on his own, and he was a little embarrassed when facing Li Yanzhi. However, Li Yanzhi didn't care. He patted Lei Rong, pointed to the grass men who were chopped to pieces, and said to him: "Look at your sons, all of them are like tigers descending from the mountain, and they are daunting!" It's just that this impact formation, when the horse speed is raised, it looks a little scattered. Fortunately on the school field, if on the battlefield, the brave who first hit the front are likely to be tired by the cowards in the rear. Lei Bairen, after this, you have to pay more attention to the drill. ”

When Lei Rong heard this, his face was slightly embarrassed, but he quickly returned to normal, and arched his hand: "The teachings of the long history, Lei remembered it in his heart. After that, it will naturally make these sons diligent in practice. ”

Li Yanzhi smiled and nodded, and then continued to ask: "I just went to the townships to inspect it, how do you feel?" ”

Lei Rong heard Li Yanzhi mention this section, but he was a little embarrassed. He hesitated for a long time before he said: "The reason why I forced Changshi to take me to see the villagers is mostly because I can't rest assured about the current situation of the villagers." Now I see that they are either farming and weaving, or grazing, which is enough to make a living, and the subordinates are also quite grateful for the long history. ”

After saying that, Lei Rong looked into the distance again, and sighed: "Now that I am in the army, I can only do my best, take my soldiers under my command, guard the countryside with Changshi, and resist ......the thieves from afar."

Li Yanzhi looked at the sky, sighed leisurely, and then asked: "Lei Bairenjiang, do you want to be able to return to your homeland one day, buy dozens of acres of land, raise a herd of cattle and sheep, worry about food and clothing, make a living from farming and weaving, and live a happy and prosperous life." There will be no more wars in the world, and the people and villagers will no longer need to be displaced......"

When Lei Rong heard that Li Yanzhi had such an emotion, he asked in disbelief: "Li Changshi, it seems that this kind of world can only be seen in a dream. Alas, why would I want to leave my hometown and come here to make a living? But the situation is compelled to do something, so I have to ......"

Then, Lei Rong looked hopefully to the south, which was the direction of their hometown of the Qiang refugees. After being stunned for a while, he sighed: "If that day is expected to come, we and other martial artists will donate this body, what are the regrets!" ”

"If everyone is willing to serve the world, how far away is that day?" Li Yanzhi looked at Lei Rong with a smile: "The world is not always chaotic. The chaos lasts for a long time, and people are at peace. And what people want is the meaning of people. Lei Bairen general, my generation of martial artists was born in the world, but I hope that my ability is useless, which is Li's lifelong wish. ”

Lei Rong was confused. He scratched his head and wondered: "Why did Li Changshi say this? When I heard others say that my skills are useless, I always feel full of grief and indignation, and I don't know where to complain. Why is it so peaceful in the long history? ”

Li Yanzhi laughed: "Lei Bairen, my generation of martial artists is useless, isn't it the time when the world is peaceful and the people live in peace?" If at that time, even if we are useless, what regrets will we have in this life? ”

Lei Rong thought about it for a while, and finally realized the deep meaning in Li Yanzhi's words. Immediately, he smiled at Li Yanzhi with relief.

The two of them turned their eyes back to the school field, and Lei Rong saw that the triangular impact formation formed by the cavalry was scattered again, and when he stepped forward, he scolded loudly in nonsense. When the little school who led the team to practice in the school field heard this, he had to turn around and hug his fists in great embarrassment, and then led his subordinates to continue the practice.

Li Yanzhi left Lei Rong to continue training these soldiers, and he turned back to the camp. Judging from the current situation, this cavalry has a good foundation, and with a little practice, it can be put into battle. This is also what makes Li Yanzhi feel a little relieved.

When Li Yanzhi and Qin Dayong stepped into the camp, they saw Cao Jian leading more than 100 cavalry into the camp. Immediately after discussing with Tao Heng, who was about to go, he held the map, and Tao Heng's subordinates left the camp one after another and went to the outside of the city.

The situation is more complicated these days. Only more than 500 people remained in the city under the leadership of Liu Jiwu. The rest of the generals and pawns of the rest of the departments are leading the troops to the fullest. Cao Jian had previously inspected the townships on the south side of the county. However, the only information obtained was the last day of the cavalry. Now the townships are either guarded by the Hao clan according to the fort, or the Wuwei army foot soldiers go to Gongwei. And those small groups of captives, whenever they see a dock fort or Wu Wei army foot guards guarding it, they will immediately lead the crowd away, and never appear nearby again, and their whereabouts are unpredictable.

What makes Li Yanzhi feel a headache is that there are few horsemen at the moment. Now they have sent foot soldiers to build fortifications and block the ferries, but after two or three days of busy work, there is still no trace of the cavalry.

Li Yanzhi beckoned, summoned Cao Jian, who was covered in dust and had not yet had time to rest for a while, and took the map in Cao Jian's hand that marked the patrol area. I saw that the south and west sides of Lingju had been marked with patrols. The outermost part of these patrol areas are the townships that were attacked for the first time after the previous thieves entered the country.

Li Yanzhi looked at the map intently, thinking and meditating for a long time. He pointed to an area on the map, and then he felt uncertain. He looked up at Cao Jian and asked, "Where does Cao Du think the enemy cavalry will hide?" ”

Cao Jian bowed and said: "My subordinates feel that if I am the general of this enemy cavalry, I will inevitably lead the army to use the mountainous area at the junction of Lingju and Guangwu as a hiding place. ”

Li Yanzhi shook his head when he heard this, and said with a smile: "I will empathize, not bad." But why did the enemy cavalry choose to hide here, is there a reason? ”

Cao Jian pointed to the mountainous area bordering Guangwu in the northeast of Lingju on the map, and said: "This place is inaccessible, and it is in the place where our county borders the county and the county. Even if the county cavalry and the county cavalry make routine inspections, they rarely go deep into this place. Because of the small number of people, it is easy to hide and difficult to expose, so it is the first choice for captives to hide. ”

Li Yanzhi bowed slightly, and then asked, "Besides, is there any other place to hide?" ”

Cao Jian nodded, and pointed to the area west of the reverse water on the map: "If you want to hide, this vast mountainous area should be the best alternative." Because of its gentle terrain and vastness. If the captives are hiding here, we may not be able to search for them. ”

"In that case, Cao Du thinks that where is the captive horse most likely to hide?" Li Yanzhi listened to what Cao Jian said, which was no different from his own judgment, so he asked.

"The subordinates thought that if the captives chose a place to hide, it would be better to take the mountainous area on the northeast side of the county! In the long history, the countryside on the west and south sides has been swept away by thieves. If it is hidden in the mountains on the west side, although the terrain is vast, there are not many fighters nearby! And if it is hidden in the mountains on the northeast side, in the border between the two places, and the thoroughfare on all sides, it can not only go north to Guangwu to raid and harass, but also come south to raid and harass the surrounding townships of our county......"

Li Yanzhi immediately nodded and agreed: "In the outer townships on the west side, almost all of them have been swept away by captives. If they plan to continue the assault now, this is the first place to go. Otherwise, in the mountains on the west side, it is extremely inconvenient to go back and forth. ”

"Now that the general direction has been determined, it is necessary to send the sentry cavalry to reconnoitre. If the enemy's position is determined, then mobilize troops and attack in one fell swoop. Governor Cao, I will write a letter later, and report this matter to the prince of the same house, and I will ask you to send a cavalry to deliver the letter to the county government. If this captive cavalry is encircled and suppressed here, our troops may not be enough, but please thank the master for mobilizing a large army, and the movement is too great. It is only feasible to ask the county government to send a small force of cavalry to the left side of this mountain and assemble secretly according to the scale of routine inspection. ”

Cao Jian bowed slightly, and walked towards the house where Li Yanzhi lived, and after a while, Cao Jian took a wooden tube sealed with fire paint, came out of the house, called a horseman, and left the camp with the wooden tube on his back to the direction of the county government.

Half a day later, Tao Heng, who led his troops to patrol outside, received a message from Li Yanzhi, ordering him to go to the mountainous area where the suspected thief was hiding to scout and reconnoitre. Tao Heng immediately divided the more than 100 cavalry soldiers he led into several teams, separated by several miles, and marched to the northeast one after another.

Tao Heng himself was also a cavalry pawn and set off first. Along the way, there are no people in the villages. After learning that the captives had come to the state to wantonly slaughter the villagers and destroy the farmland, the officials of the various li made preparations in advance, found the strongest houses in the township, and with the assistance of the infantry of the Wuwei army who came to garrison, they set up defensive facilities such as horse watchtowers and waited for them.

The cycle of villagers working in the fields also changed to starting early in the morning and ending at midnight, and lasted until about midnight, when the villagers who worked in the fields were called back to the courtyard where they were temporarily stationed.

Along the way, there was no trace between the villages, and only occasionally you could see the black banner of the Wuwei Army fluttering high in the dock fort or courtyard guarded by the villagers and soldiers. After receiving the message sent by Li Yanzhi, Tao Heng rushed to the predetermined area non-stop, and finally arrived at the mountainous area marked on the map before dusk.

Tao Heng unfolded the map and carefully observed the location of this mountainous area on the map. When he had confirmed that everything was correct, he ordered them all to dismount and switch to another healthy horse of better physical strength, and then ordered one of his horsemen to rush to the nearest township where he was to be properly protected by the soldiers stationed there. Immediately, Tao Heng led the rest of the soldiers to enter from the valley.

Tao Heng sat upright and observed the appearance of the surrounding peaks, while trying to engrave the appearance of these mountains in his mind. If they were to be attacked by the enemy later, they would be able to turn their horses back immediately. Keep in mind the topography of the peaks so as not to get lost. This special skill after training, it can be said that most of the grassroots generals of today's Wuwei Army have mastered it.

Walking only three miles away, Tao Heng suddenly turned over from the horse, he walked quickly to a big rock in the side of the road, squatted down and observed it carefully for a while, and then picked up an inconspicuous bright green sphere on the big stone, and then crushed it, and put the crumbs under his nose to smell it.

The horsemen behind him gathered around him, each looking at him. Tao Heng held the crushed spherical residue in one hand, and showed it to the rest of the horsemen behind him, and said with great certainty: "Horse manure!" ”