The small pasture rests on the edge of a small lake and a small hill in the back. The small village by the lake is densely packed with dozens of small wooden houses, and herdsmen herd sheep on the hillside on horseback.

Large flocks of sheep leisurely search for the last grain and grass of late autumn on the withered yellow meadows, almost blending in with the gloomy sky.

There is also a large area of farmland at the back of the village, near the lake, and a row of barns after the autumn harvest is also full.

There is no sun in the cloudy afternoon, winter is coming, autumn is cool, and it is also full of idyllic scenery of autumn and winter.

After the party people were forced to move away in this place, various second-class vassal ethnic groups in the north who went south with the Khitan army occupied and survived here, because the Tang army on this side was relatively weak, there was basically no incident of crossing the border to fight the grass valley in the past, and it was relatively close to Dongshengzhou, and the horse bandits basically did not come. This small ranch has been quietly and leisurely for more than 20 years so close to the border, and the herders on the ranch have been born and raised here for three generations.

In addition to the second-class vassal peoples who also called themselves Khitans, there were also some people who were used as slaves, mostly Dangxiang people, but also Shatuo and Han Chinese.

A thousand cavalry of the Zhenwu Army suddenly appeared from behind the mountain, and the black-pressed cavalry line was stretched into a whole horizontal line, almost a kilometer wide. The horsemen rose from behind the hill and, without saying a word, rushed down the hillside, a small number of men rounded the lake and continued to run to the opposite shore in pursuit of the horses and sheepmen, while others roared into the village.

Thousands of war horses galloped by, the quiet small pasture suddenly chickens and dogs jumped, people shouted horses neighing, and the new generation of eagles on the grassland who had never seen the grass valley were frightened, and the cry shook the sky.

Half an hour later, the Zhenwu army killed more than a dozen people who tried to escape or dared to resist, and surrounded all the more than 500 people in the ranch on a large lawn.

It was certain that men and women were separated, and women were allowed to take away children who were shorter than the wheels of the chariot, and under the escort of more than 700 Zhenwu cavalry, more than 300 women trembled to load the grain and grass that had just been harvested and sorted onto the car.

More than a hundred men and a dozen boys over the age of ten were surrounded and then questioned one by one.

"Where?"

"Khitan."

"Chop!"

A big hand stretched out next to him, and a snow-bright saber quickly fell, and in the screams before death, the head fell to the ground, and the headless corpse rolled to the side, blood flowing all over the ground.

"Next!"

"I'm a Han Su."

"You have a big mouth when you say anything, and you are still called Han people when you look like you? Chopped! ”

"Wronged!"

I can't help but say, another knife went down, and the body was separated in an instant!

"Next!"

"Master Jun, my party member."

"Where are the ancestors?"

"Lingzhou."

"Lock it up!"

Immediately someone came over, shackled the self-proclaimed party member, and took him aside.

If it is confirmed that he was only captured by the Khitans in the past few years, then he can be released, and if he is a fugitive slave, then he still has to continue to be a slave. There is slavery in this world, and Zhenwujun is not an abolitionist, where will he do things for heaven.

The slaves were fairly mixed in the Zhenwu area, and as long as they served for two years, they could regain their freedom. Of course, if you are a Khitan, then there is no way, break a leg and be a slave for life!

crackling and interrogating, as long as you are a Khitan, no matter who you are, the real Khitan or an accomplice of the vassal nation, you will all be slashed with a knife. The Han Chinese, Dangxiang people, Shatuo people, Uighurs, Tubo people, etc., who had nothing to do with the Khitan, were all locked up and temporarily treated as slaves. As for the women and the children, who are shorter than the wheels, then leave them alone, take them all.

An hour later, the entire ranch was burned to the ground by the Zhenwu army, and the 1,000 Zhenwu army cavalry escorted nearly 400 people, pushing all kinds of carts and small carts, driving large herds of cattle and sheep, and walked in the direction of the ruins of Yongbyon State.

The 2,000 cavalry of the Zhenwu Army, who went out to clear the wilderness, destroyed five pastures or villages in succession in this afternoon, killed more than 700 people, swept away all the grain, grass, cattle and sheep, and took away nearly 3,000 people, including more than 2,500 women.

By evening, the 3,000 cavalry of Zhedelan also left Dongshengju to join up with the 2,000 cavalry who were carrying out the clearing operation, and the 5,000 men returned to the vicinity of the ruins of Yongbyon State when it was dark and camped on the Yellow River.

Some readers with a strong sense of modernity asked, didn't he say that He Daxian had read the world for thousands of years? Why kill some innocent villagers? Is it ethnic cleansing?

Those who ask such words do not understand the social background under the rules of the jungle in the ancient steppe.

In the grasslands of this era, in fact, no one is innocent, and men who can live to the age of thirty are basically stained with other people's blood on their hands, or have enslaved the people and slaves of other nationalities.

You think you can pretend to be innocent if you are unarmed and wide-eyed?

Moreover, the situation of ethnic mixing in this region is very common, whether it is a happy relationship or a offspring born with a robbed woman, where is there any pure blood! If you want to find pure-blooded Han people, it is estimated that there are no ones north of the Yellow River, and if you want to find pure-blooded Khitans, then you can only go to the Xilamulun River to find them.

What nationality you belong to is not determined by blood relationship at all, but what race you consider yourself to be.

Killing those who call themselves Khitan is a matter of position and political leaning.

If you dare to say that you are a Khitan, no matter what ethnicity you look like, then kill! You're welcome at all!

Every time the Zhenwu army captures a prisoner and grabs meat, it will interrogate several times, pick out those people with Khitan status, and kill them all!

This is already very civilized, if you change to the Khitan army and rush over, where will you interrogate, you will be killed directly! Enough killed, killed to a few people, the rest are slaves!

Of course, why didn't you kill a birdman like Han Kuangsi? Uh, this kind of detail, you can ask He Daxian yourself.

In the evening, the 5,000 Zhenwu Northern Expeditionary Army set up camp next to the ruins of Yongbyon State.

There were bonfires everywhere, and the excited Zhenwu soldiers gathered around the bonfire, eating roast mutton in a big gulp, while giggling and forcing the Khitan women who were picked out of the women's pile to dance for them.

Folding from Yuanmu looked at the chaotic camp expressionlessly, turned back to the big tent and continued to look at the map.

The military discipline of the Zhenwu Army is very strict, but the looseness and strictness of the implementation also depends on the time.

This is the first time in 20 years that the Tang army in the Hetao area has taken the initiative to invade the Khitan country to fight the grass valley, killing people, setting fire to and looting the population.

Tomorrow, a thousand Shuozhou soldiers will come over and escort these prisoners and grain and grass back to Zhenwu New City. The 5,000 soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army will rest here for a day, and the day after tomorrow will continue to go to Dongshengzhou to loot.

The mission of looting the Khitan has just begun, and now the real test has not yet come.

After all, Dongshengzhou, Yunnei Prefecture and Fengzhou combined, the total population is nearly 400,000, and the Zhenwu army has looted more than 3,000 people, which is actually a very small part. According to the general practice of guarding against grass valleys for the passage of various countries on the borders of various countries in this era, the defenders would generally retreat into the city without the certainty of victory, so as to prevent the invaders from breaking through the city and causing greater damage.

However, with the expansion of the intensity and scope of looting activities in the future, these Khitan soldiers would sooner or later leave the city to seek an opportunity to eliminate the Northern Expeditionary Army. There are 3,000 Khitan soldiers in Dongshengzhou, 5,000 Khitan soldiers in Yunnei Prefecture, and 20,000 troops in Fengzhou. The situation of the Northern Expeditionary Army is actually not so optimistic, and now it depends on whether the northward expansion force of Yin Hui in Yingzhou can hold back the 20,000 Khitan troops in Fengzhou.

At the same time that night, Linzhou, on the banks of the Kuye River.

Zhao Ping arrived at the Linzhou front in the afternoon of the Zhenwu Army, and the integration of the two teams was naturally handled by Zhao Sang.

At this moment, in the dead of night, in a farmhouse by the river far from the military camp, Zhao Ping was drinking tea and waiting for guests.

Only 20 cavalry Zhenwu soldiers were defending the outside of the farmhouse, and a party member who had been in the farmhouse had been driven into a small room and locked up. In the spacious lobby of the farmhouse, more than 20 oil lamps were lit, and only the maid and little cicada were accompanying Lord Zhao.

The sound of horses' hooves sounded outside, and after a few low-voiced greetings, the Zhenwu Army soldiers guarding the door pushed open the door, and two handsome men wearing armor and wearing the uniforms of the Dingyan Army walked in.

It was the defense of Yinzhou in the Dingyan Army, Li Yimin, General Li Da and his personal bodyguard.

Seeing Zhao Ping sitting on the edge of the table with a comfortable expression in a scholarly robe, without armor or weapons, and only a maid by his side, Li Yimin also relaxed and walked to the opposite side of the table and sat down.

Cicada stepped forward and poured a cup of tea for General Li, and General Li's personal guard took a sip of it, then put down the teacup and stood upright behind General Li.

After a few minutes, it seemed that nothing was wrong, Li Yimin waved away the personal guard, and Zhao Ping also drove the little cicada away, closed the door and started a secret meeting between the two people.

No one knows what the two bigwigs talked about that night and what dirty deals they reached.

Early the next morning, Zhao Ping, the envoy of the Zhenwu Army, took 20 cavalry soldiers and a little maid to Linzhou City, handed over the name post, and visited Yang Hongxin, the assassin of Linzhou. (To be continued.) )