"You don't understand, do you?" Erji smiled: "A good stallion will not have only one mare, how can a hero only have one woman?" Now that Min Min Beji has given birth to two sons for Jinong-sama, the heir of the adult has been determined, and even if there are other women at this time, it will not affect Beji's status. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Lord Jinong's crusade this time, it will take at least a month or two on the road, Min Min Beji can't go with him, and he can't have no woman by his side, so it's better to send this woman over than to have other women. Speaking of this, Erji called two soldiers and instructed: "Find some thick clothes for this woman and put them on her, but don't freeze to death!" ”

Jining Haizi, Liu Cheng's old camp.

In the Jinong tent, more than a dozen arm-thick butter candles illuminated the tent, and Liu Cheng knelt on the carpet with a map in front of him. He looked at the map intently, as if flowers would bloom on the map in front of him, and then Hao Shaoqi's voice came from outside: "My lord, General Erji's messenger is back!" ”

"What's the news?" Liu Cheng asked without raising his head.

"Our army attacked the captives at night and broke the enemy's army, and the captives had been beheaded, with tens of thousands of livestock and more than 1,700 people. It's the remnants of the Asut Ministry! ”

"Asut Ministry?" Liu Cheng frowned, the Asuts are a branch of the Iranians, originally grazing on the edge of the Caspian Sea, brought back to East Asia during the Mongol expedition to the west in the twelfth century, its living habits have long been Mongolianized, but its people often have green eyes and brown hair, it is a nickname for having green eyes to return, Yuan Wuzong became a branch of the guard army, known as the Asu Army, because of the homonym and was called the Asuts, and then became part of the Karaqin Wanhu, after Lin Dan Khan's westward expedition, his troops were scattered, part of them took refuge in the Jurchens, and part of them fled westward, This should be one of them.

"Master Chesan!" Liu Cheng turned around and asked Chesang, who was sitting cross-legged on the side, "What do you think?" ”

"My lord, I thought the left wing should be at least two hundred miles away from here!"

"Oh, why do you say that?"

"Jining Haizi is rich in water and grass, if there is a powerful tribe around, this Asut people should not dare to spend the winter so close to Haizi!"

Liu Cheng nodded, as Chesang said, after the death of Lin Dan Khan, the law of the jungle was already naked on the grassland. In the African savannah, the closer to the water source the more dangerous it is, and only strong overlords such as lions, elephants, and rhinoceros can come to the water source to drink. The main forces of the Asut tribe had long since collapsed, and there were no strong protectors, so how could they dare to spend the winter so close to Jining Haizi if it weren't for the fact that other stronger tribes had already gone east?

"And what do you think I should do next?"

"The army is out of the fortress, do not return in vain, according to my opinion, the lord should immediately brave the snow to set off to the east, with light cavalry as the lead, chase the eastward divisions, and break them, so as to declare the Quartet, raise the prestige of the lord's army!"

Liu Cheng didn't speak, he was silent. Che Sang moved twice, approached Liu Cheng and whispered: "My lord, now the army under your command has a huge number of sources, so you can't stay for a long time!" ”

"Hmm!" Liu Cheng nodded, and Chesang's words hit him in the sore spot. As Chesan said, Liu Cheng's current army is a hodgepodge: the most professional is the infantry corps—there are four battalions in total, except for one battalion that remains in Chaoyi, the other three battalions are here, and the total number is about 9,000 men; followed by Liu Cheng's own personal guard cavalry, Min Min and the Great Khan Abunai's Hanluduo, which added up to about 4,000 cavalry, and the ace 2,000 ironclad cavalry in Liu Cheng's hands was also included; The Chahar Division, the Tumut Division, and other right-wing ministries had a total of about 40,000 accounts, and Liu Cheng divided them into 85 Zasaks according to their pastoral areas, and the leaders of 23 of the 85 Zasaks were originally Liu Cheng's subordinates, and their subordinates were also given by Liu Cheng, and their loyalty was also the highest. According to the ratio of one ding for two accounts, about 20,000 cavalry could have been mobilized, but since Lin Dan Khan's westward expedition, both the Chahar Department and the Mongolian Right Wing Department have basically not stopped, so Liu Cheng did not mobilize according to the maximum limit, but only recruited strong men between the ages of 20 and 30, and this part has a total of about 7,000 cavalry; There were also reinforcements sent by several allies, a total of about four thousand horsemen; The last part of the mercenaries, recruited through trading posts on the way to Central Asia, numbered about 7,000 men, and the composition of this part was the most complex. After the collapse of the Timurid Empire, Central Asia was a paradise for military adventurers until the end of the XVII century, the most prominent representative of which was Babur the Great, who founded the Mughal Empire. At that time, as long as you were willing to pay, even if you were rich enough to come up with a conquest (robbery) goal, there were hordes of mercenaries who brought their own guys willing to die for you. Hearing that the emperor of the East, who produced tea bricks, silk, and porcelain, and was fabulously rich in peach blossom stone (the name given to China in ancient Central Asia), wanted to recruit mercenaries to recruit barbarians, hordes of Persians, Uzbeks, Afghans, Pashtuns, and all kinds of unnamed ethnic militants all ran to the local trading post of the Hongyang, expressing their willingness to serve His Majesty the Venerable Emperor. Even the Russian Stroganov family sent four hundred Cossack cavalry—half arquebus shooters, half hussars—to pay for six thousand Russian pounds of tea and a batch of raw silk for a year's service.

The situation of this last part of the army is the most complicated, and in terms of individual ability, the soldiers of this army may be the strongest of the various armies under Liu Cheng's command. Unlike the Ming Dynasty, Central Asia has spent almost all of the last two hundred years in continuous wars. These mercenaries and their fathers, grandparents, and even great-grandparents spent their entire lives in war, and war has become a way of life for them. Constant warfare is the best catalyst for tactics and warfare technology, and the Persians, Afghans, and Mughals are all able to combine arquebuses, artillery, cavalry, and war elephants. These fierce warriors were skilled in the use of arquebuses, bows and arrows, spears, scimitars, hammers, and war sticks, and could use hot and cold weapons on horseback and on foot, and had a wealth of experience in warfare, many of whom had already lived in the army when they were children, and were able to endure hunger, thirst, fatigue, and all kinds of pain in war. But from another point of view, these mercenaries are also the worst army, they are more robbers than soldiers, they are like hungry cheetahs, if they do not have the flesh and blood of their prey to satisfy their insatiable appetites, they will turn against their masters.

"You're right, no matter what the weather, we'll leave tomorrow!" Liu Cheng glanced at Qiesang and said with a smile: "Master, I'm going to bother you again this time!" ”

"It's okay!" Chesan smiled: "I am willing to serve the adults!" ”

"What about Minmin?"

"Begi better stay!" Chesang said in a deep voice: "The outcome of this trip is unpredictable, the rear must be guarded, it is best to set up an old battalion here, leave a part of the infantry team to guard, even if the battle situation is unfavorable, there is a chance to make a comeback!" ”

"Hmm!" Liu Cheng nodded, anything can happen in a war, if the situation is unfavorable, retreating in heavy snow, hunger and cold will kill many more people than the enemy's weapons, and it is also possible that some people will defect, trying to use Liu Cheng's head as a step to the new owner. If you could leave an old camp here, the situation would be different. The soldiers all know that once they fall behind, there is only one way to die, and as long as they escape to the old camp, they can survive, and those who have hope will naturally be more loyal.

"I'll talk to Min Min right away!" Liu Cheng stood up: "Master, you also go back and prepare, after I finish talking with Minmin, I will convene all the generals to discuss and leave tomorrow!" ”

"Yes, sir!"

Liu Cheng was about to send Chesang out, when he suddenly heard several gunshots outside, Liu Cheng hurriedly pulled Chesang behind him, and shouted: "Wave the flag, go and find out where the gunshots came from!" ”

"Yes, sir!" Hao Shaoqi's angry voice came from outside the tent, and then Liu Cheng heard the sound of hurried footsteps and horses' hooves. Seeing that Liu Cheng's face was very ugly, Qiesang said with a smile: "Your Excellency doesn't need to care, it shouldn't be a left-wing traitor!" ”

"Hmm!" Liu Cheng nodded: "I understand, I'm afraid that my sentinels will encounter the strikers of the East Capture and shoot to warn." ”

"It's unlikely that such a big snow will come from the east, right?" Chesan was stunned for a moment, looking incredulous.

Liu Cheng smiled: "It's unlikely, but anything can happen in the war, and the Asuts who were wiped out in the valley by Erji also feel that the snow is safe, but what is the result?" ”

Chesan smiled: "That's what the adults said! ”

This is the curtain was lifted, and a tall man in iron armor came in with a cold wind, it was Hao Shaoqi, and he saluted Liu Cheng and Qiesang with his crossed hands: "My lord, master, it has been found out, it is two groups of mercenaries who have clashed!" ”

"Two groups of mercenaries clashed?" Liu Cheng's eyes widened in surprise: "Have you gotten shot?" For what? Woman? Wine? Gambling or something else? Didn't I already order a ban on alcohol and gambling in the army, and no women were allowed to take women without permission? ”

"Neither!" Hao Shaoqi shook his head: "Their language is very strange, and the interpreter doesn't understand it very well, it seems that these two groups of mercenaries originally had a grudge, and they met again here, and as soon as the words clashed, they fought!" ”

"Hatred? If you have a grudge, you can fight privately in the barracks? Liu Cheng was furious when he heard this, and Huo stood up suddenly: "Where are all the people?" ”

"The men on both sides have been disarmed, and the leaders have been taken out of the tent!"

"Bring them all in!" Liu Cheng returned to the seat in anger and sat down, since the plug, his nerves have been in a tense state, because Liu Cheng knows very well that he is engaged in a big gamble, all the chips he has earned since the crossing have been placed on the table, if he loses, he will not only lose his army, wealth, power and even his own life, he would rather die than lose.

Walking into the tent were two strangely dressed bearded men, one of them was tall and burly, with his hair wrapped in layers of black cloth, and he looked like a big mushroom, at least one hundred and ninety centimeters tall, with a thick beard, a high nose and deep eyes, and an armbangle on his arm, which should be iron-colored, and his expression was majestic and haughty; The other person was also of Central Asian origin, shorter in stature, wearing a dirty leather coat of unknown color, and was looking at the previous man viciously.

"Is this a Sikh?" Liu Cheng suppressed the surprise in his heart: "Aren't they in Punjab in southern India?" How did you get here? ”

"Hurry up and salute Lord Jinong!" Seeing that the two of them were standing there, Hao Shaoqi did not bow down to Liu Cheng, and shouted in a deep voice, and at the same time his right hand had already held the saber on his waist to demonstrate intimidation. The interpreter behind him hurriedly translated it into Turkic, a very popular language in Central Asia, which almost all the mercenaries could understand. The shorter mercenary leader hurriedly bowed down to Liu Cheng and recited a eulogy; The other tall man with a black cloth head just bowed to Liu Cheng and straightened up. Hao Shaoqi, who was standing beside Liu Cheng, was furious when he saw this, pulled out his saber and shouted to the interpreter: "You tell him that if you don't bow down to Lord Jinong, you will die!" ”

The interpreter hurriedly translated Hao Shaoqi's translation, and the man kneeling on the ground saw that his enemy had angered Hao Shaoqi, and his heart was overjoyed, and he shouted a few words loudly. Liu Cheng frowned and asked the interpreter, "What did this person say?" ”

"Tell Lord Jinong!" The interpreter hurriedly replied, "He said that this man is a dog who does not believe in God, please cut off his head, and throw his body in the wilderness to feed the wolves, and the gods will surely bless your expedition!" ”

Liu Cheng's brows immediately furrowed: "If you don't believe in God, you should be killed?" Ridiculous! Then I don't believe in the gods, so why don't I have to cut off my head and throw my body into the wilderness to feed the wolves? ”

The man kneeling on the ground heard the answer, his expression changed greatly, and he hurriedly kowtowed while saying something in a loud voice, and the interpreter hurriedly said: "Lord Jinong, this person said please forgive him for his recklessness, he just said that this person is a wicked person, you are the right hand of the Venerable Peach Blossom Stone Emperor, and the gods will definitely bless you!" ”

"Whether this person is good or evil, I will tell!" Liu Cheng sneered: "You have said a lot, now you shut up, I want to hear what he has to say!" ”

The tall man with his head wrapped in a black cloth stood aside, his original expression was cold and arrogant, but after he heard Liu Cheng's conversation with the enemy on the ground, his face changed slightly, and before Liu Cheng could ask him a question, he turned around and bowed slightly to Liu Cheng, and said a few words: "Honorable lord, my name is Adur. Singh. It is not like this man said, I also have a god of faith, but my god has taught me to regard men as brothers and women as sisters, to protect the weak, to resist oppression, to bow only to the truth, and not to the kings of the world! Please forgive me for being rude! (To be continued.) )