Acton's last words, especially the example of Nurhachi, were decisive for most people, who exchanged heads and whispered conversations, looking sad, but having to accept the reality that only a few were able to show their last revolt by ending their lives in the face of the cruelty of fate. After a few minutes, the crowd began to vote by a show www.biquge.info of hands, and only three of the forty-two men said that they would rather die than accept the fate of being slaves, two of them were going to escape, while the remaining thirty-seven people all expressed their willingness to lay down their arms and surrender, and to everyone's surprise, Naransagai was among the thirty-seven.

In the time that followed, Acton became the temporary commander, giving the two fugitives his weapons and surplus food, while the rest were fed and left in place to await fate. Time passed quickly, and when the sun rose again, the crowd heard the dense and neat sound of horses' hooves from the west, apparently their long-awaited pursuers, Acton rose from the ground with a wry smile, and then, behind the hill, three hurried screams, the three men who had protested with their lives against fate had just committed suicide.

Ah Gui looked at the people in front of him in surprise, they were unkempt, their faces were thin, their expressions were blank, and they knelt on the ground, and they breathed more than the dead. If it weren't for the fact that the remnants of their armor still had the emblem of the white-armored soldiers on them, he couldn't believe that the people in front of him who surrendered without a fight were the white-armored guards who made people shudder in the post-Jin period.

"My lord, three bodies were found behind the hillock, the one that just died, the body is still hot, counting here, there are two people missing!" A scout whispered to Gui that he was the one who had discovered the defeated army yesterday evening, and that after returning to the camp, Gui immediately came to check on him with fifty light horsemen, but he did not want to encounter such a scene.

"Who is the leader among you?" Gui asked sharply, and his big black dog roared as well, cheering on his master's question.

"There is no leader among us." Acton stood up from the ground, "But if you want to ask anything, you can ask me." ”

"Good!" Gui jumped off his horse and walked up to Acton: "My men say that there are forty-two of you, but now there are only thirty-seven and three corpses, and what about the remaining two?" Also How did these three people die? ”

"Tell your lordship, those three are unwilling to commit suicide as prisoners, and the other two have fled to the east!"

"I'd rather die than be a prisoner, what a heroic man!" A look of admiration appeared on Gui's face: "What about you?" Why not run away? And not resist? ”

"We don't have horses, and even if we escape on the steppe, we won't be able to escape far, and it will be a dead end if we are caught by other Mongols." Acton's expression was blank: "As for resistance, you can also see that our people have not eaten for many days, many people have diarrhea, their bodies are very weak, and they don't have many weapons. Even resistance will not change the result, but will provoke you to massacre, it is better to lay down your weapons and everyone save some strength! ”

Hearing Acton's answer, the Chahars burst into laughter, laughter and curses, and the other captives bowed their heads in shame, but Acton remained with his head held high, his expression blank. Ah Gui looked at the man in front of him in surprise: "What's your name?" ”

"My name is Acton, which means 'strong' in Manchu!"

"Acton, you are also a warrior, no less than those who committed suicide, and it is also a kind of courage to dare to face reality. Really, I didn't mean to mock you! Ah Gui looked at the man in front of him, with a look of admiration on his face: "Tell me, what do you hope to get by doing this?" ”

"I hope that my companions and I can be treated better, at least so that we can eat without being killed!"

"I'm just a general, and I can't promise you much, but I can guarantee that all those who voluntarily lay down their arms won't be mistreated on the way back to the camp!"

As it turned out, Agui faithfully fulfilled his promise, and on the way back to the camp, Acton they were not tied, but walked under the watchful eye of two lines of cavalry, and the two who chose to flee were quickly caught, their clothes, shoes and hats were divided among the Mongols, barefoot, bareheaded, with their hands tied, and the other end of the rope tied to the saddle, and had to follow the horse. It was a cruel punishment, and while walking, the spears were constantly pierced in the backs and buttocks of the two men to make them walk faster; When the two fell to the ground, the knight did not stop, on the contrary, he whipped his mount with a leather whip, making the horse run faster and dragging the captives all the way to the ground. Gravel, thorns, and sharp blades of grass cut them all over their bodies, leaving a trail of blood on the ground that anyone could see that the two men would die before they could return to the camp.

For these captives, this scene in front of them is not unfamiliar, the only difference is that this time the perpetrator and the bearer are reversed. Most of them bowed their heads, as if that would make it seem like nothing didn't exist, but the moans of the battered and the laughter of the Mongols kept creeping into their ears. The thrill made everyone's face pale and filled their hearts with sympathy, fear, and rejoicing.

"Your Excellency!" Acton couldn't take it anymore, and as he walked up to Aguima, the hair on the big black dog's neck immediately stood on end, and a low bark came out of his throat.

"A, stand back!" Probably because he had also been with the Jurchens, Gui had a good impression of Acton, and he drank his dog away and asked Acton, "What's the matter?" ”

"I beg your pardon, it's about my two companions!" Acton gestured to the two captives who were being dragged from the ground.

"What's wrong?" Gui looked at the two captives: "Acton, you want to intercede for those two guys?" I think it's better to forget it, they didn't listen to your advice, tried to escape, and wounded one of my men, and they deserved it! ”

"No!" Acton looked at the two men, who were already in a semi-conscious state and were already unable to moan. He plucked up his courage and said to Gui, "I'm just asking for mercy for them!" ”

"Compassion?" Ah Gui looked at Acton and said with a smile: "It's okay! He pulled out the dagger from his waist and threw it to Acton: "Since it is you who plead, then let you give them this 'mercy' with your own hands!" ”

"Thank you, sir!" Acton stooped down to pick up the dagger and walked over to the two companions. Reluctantly, the Mongols jumped off their horses and untied the cowhide cords on the wrists of the two captives. This stimulated the two unconscious men, one of whom let out a painful moan and opened his eyes. His eyes lost their interpupillary distance and he stared blankly for a few moments before he recognized Acton.

"It's you, Acton! Where are we now? ”

The two people in front of them were miserable, their almost completely naked bodies could not see a single intact piece of skin, there were all kinds of wounds everywhere, their pale lips were full of gaps, and their breathing was rapid and weak, even a blind man could tell that they had only their last breath left. Acton held back the sorrow in his heart and said in a low voice: "It's me, you were captured by the Mongols. ”

"Really?" The man looked left and right with godless eyes, and smiled helplessly: "It seems that you are still right, Acton!" But there is no regret medicine in this world, hehe! ”

"The only thing I can give you now is 'mercy', do you need it?"

"'Compassion'?" The man looked at his body, and then at his companion, who was still unconscious, "Okay, but can you give me a sip of water first?" I'm dying of thirst! ”

"Water?" Acton picked up the half-empty water bladder on his waist and shook it, there was a slight rattling sound inside, he hesitated for a moment, but still pulled out the plug and handed it to the man, who put the water bladder to his mouth and stopped, and said with a wry smile: "Forget it, don't waste water on a dying man, give me mercy quickly!" ”

Acton was stunned for a moment, then he pulled out his dagger and pierced the other man's heart, and the body lying on the ground flashed a convulsion before death, and then his eyes lost the luster of life.

When Acton pulled out the dagger from the second heart, he heard Gui's voice behind him: "Now let's stop and rest for a while, you can take your people and bury these two people!" ”

Thirty-seven living people dug two shallow pits with their hands, wooden sticks and other rudimentary tools, buried the two bodies in them, covered them with a thin layer of soil, and because there were no conditions, only a few stones were placed on them as markers. These people are all samurai who have experienced a hundred battles, and they have already seen a lot of life and death, but at this time, seeing this cold wind, barren grass, and a handful of soil, I can't help but feel a little sorry in my heart.

After burying the two men, Ah Gui and his party set off. Along the way, Acton faintly felt a subtle change in everyone's attitude towards him, even that Naransagai was not like before. Acton felt a little comfort in his heart about all this, but it was only comfort, after all, each of us was just a captive, he said to himself in his heart.

The Golden Horde.

"Mr. Zhao, do you want to have more?" Liu Cheng asked with a grin. On the table before him were oxtail soup, carefully marinated roast lamb chops, roast pheasants, pilaf, fine feta cheese, walnuts, dates, pomegranates and raisins on a shallow porcelain plate, and the servant maid holding a silver bottle encrusted with gems in her hands, and the whole tent was filled with the enticing aroma of food and wine.

"Enough, enough, my lord, where did you get this wine, it tastes good, but it is very strong!" Zhao Wende's face was already flushed, compared to the grain wine he drank on weekdays, he was still a little unaccustomed to Liu Cheng's luscious wine today, and he drank it a little harder, and suddenly the wine was strong, and he was a little dizzy.

"It's wine!" Liu Cheng picked up a piece of cheese, cut it with a knife, stuffed it into his mouth, and said with a smile while chewing: "From Yarkand, Ahmat gave me some, if you like it, I will have someone send a few bottles to you later." ”

"It's still not necessary, alcohol can be messy, it's better for subordinates to drink less!" Zhao Wende smiled bitterly twice. Since returning from Mobei, Liu Cheng seems to have changed as a person, except for his wife and concubine, he has almost completely accepted Tushetu Khan's tents, horses, treasure utensils, and servants, and the level of food and drink has jumped several steps at once, which makes Zhao Wende faintly worried in his heart, especially this Eastern Crusade, the speed of the march is much slower, and he will camp on the endless steppe without walking about twenty miles a day, which is indeed a little slow for an army that has been completely mule and horse.

Just as Zhao Wende was thinking about whether he should find an opportunity to remind Liu Cheng euphemistically, he heard Hao Shaoqi's voice coming from the door of the tent: "My lord, Ah Gui has come back and captured a small shareholder, as if he was defeated by his wife and dispersed." ”

"Oh? Bring it on! Liu Cheng's attention was immediately attracted, although he had learned the news that his wife was okay in the letterhead, but after all, the letter is just a letter, some things can only be known from the mouth of the person concerned, and it is not too much to know about the opponent who is about to fight.

Acton walked into the Golden Horde, looking nervous. Based on the experience of a veteran, he had roughly estimated the number of this large army - no less than ten thousand. And this is not the kind of Xuanda Ming army, which is mostly hungry and cold, and the half-beggar army with incomplete armor, this sudden enemy soldier has sharp armor and strong physique. He even saw a team of familiar figures in the camp next door-Iron Knights, he will never forget these invulnerable demons in his life, obviously, the leader of this army has a very close relationship with that Min Min Beji that night, Acton does not think that such elite Ming countries can be seen everywhere, otherwise the Dajin Kingdom will not be able to enter Shenyang City at all.

"My lord, I brought someone here!" Ah Gui bowed to Liu Cheng, and he pointed to Actun, who was kneeling on the ground: "This Dongyu is very interesting, my sentry was discovered by him, not only did he not flee, but persuaded his companions to lay down their weapons and stay where they were. ”

"Oh?" Liu Cheng looked at Actun who was kneeling on the ground with interest and asked, "Why did you do this?" ”

"My lord, we don't have weapons, we don't have horses, many of us don't even have shoes, and almost everyone has been hungry for a few days, which is already the best choice."

"Then you are not afraid that your family will be implicated?"

"My lord, we have lost the Great Belle, and even if we return alive, our family will be rationed to the armoured people as slaves." Acton smiled bitterly: "Besides, I'm a beggar charming, I'm from Aha, where did I come from." ”

"Begging charming? Aha? Liu Cheng was stunned when he heard this, and Ah Gui, who was familiar with Houjin's internal situation, hurriedly explained, and Liu Cheng's gaze at Acton was a little different: "It turns out that you were captured by the Eight Banners when you were a child, so do you remember where your hometown is?" Do you still know the local language? (To be continued.) )