As a tribe, Zhongqiang originated from Zhongcun a hundred years ago, Zhongqiang originally lived in the south of the big and small elm valleys, north of the Xilian Mountain, and rarely entered the Senei, so it rarely clashed with the Han people. After the Qiang Rebellion, the most powerful of the original Qiang people, Xian Lingqiang and Burning Dangqiang, were slaughtered by the Han people one after another, and the remaining small tribes could not confront the Han people, so they had to rely on Zhong Qiang, and Zhong Qiang suddenly rose to become the strongest one among the hundreds of Qiang tribes.

Zhong Dian was therefore ambitious.

Zhong Dian is Zhong Cun's grandson, his mother is from the Yunnan Department, the Yunnan Department once married with the burning Dangqiang, and it was strong for a while, and it has bloomed and scattered leaves so far, and there are countless branches and veins. Most of these people now gathered under Zhong Dian's tent and became his supporters.

It is precisely because of these supporters that Zhong Qiang is less stage frightened in the face of the prestigious Liu Xiu, he is just cautious. He gathered all the men and horses around him, put on a defensive posture, and at the same time ordered the tribes operating in Longxi County and Wuwei County to assemble with him, and sent people to send a letter to the kingdom and Han Sui, you immediately solve the Koji family, and then rush to support, we will use the Han family as bait to kill Liu Xiu in Jincheng.

The kingdom replied to him, we are attacking the Koji family with all our might, we really can't draw manpower, the Jincheng area can now mobilize seventy or eighty thousand Qiang people, and Liu Xiu is only seven or eight thousand at most, with your ability, you will definitely be able to capture and kill Liu Xiu, not worse than our ten thousand people. Let it be given to you this time, I heard that Liu Xiu's equipment is the best among all the Han army, if you defeat him, the spoils are yours, and we don't want any of them.

Zhong Dian was furious, but he didn't think so, the ten-to-one advantage in strength was enough for him to defeat Liu Xiu, since the kingdom was willing to let him take this credit alone, he didn't need to be embarrassed.

Three days later, the men of Longxi and Wuwei arrived and protected Zhong Dian's left and right flanks respectively, Zhong Dian's confidence was greatly increased, and he led the army to challenge Liu Xiu, but he was surprised by the result of the scout's return: Liu Xiu was gone.

Zhong Dian is inexplicable, what does it mean to be missing?

The scout said that Liu Xiu's army was not in Yuzhong, and that he had heard from the local herding Qiang people that he had gone south about two days earlier.

Zhong Dian immediately called Zhong Wu from Longxi County to ask, have you seen Liu Xiu's whereabouts.

Zhong Wu is Zhong Dian's half-brother, his mother is from my tribe, and he also has a deep blood relationship with Burning Dangqiang, so Zhong Wu is also one of the more powerful ones in Zhong Qiang. There is little affection between the Qiang brothers, especially the half-brothers, when their father is not dead, everyone is still a family, and as soon as the father dies, the brothers will be torn apart, each according to its mother's family, and stand on its own. If Zhong Dian wants to continue to lead Zhong Qiang and keep Zhong Qiang strong, he must be especially careful of brothers like Zhong Wu.

Of course, Zhong Wu will also guard against him, as soon as he heard Zhong Dian's questioning, Zhong Wu immediately said, impossible, I didn't see him. Liu Xiu set off from Yuzhong and went south to pass through Di Dao, I came from Di Dao, if I hit him head-on, how could I not see a shadow at all. Besides, if he wants to save the Han family and pacify Jincheng County, he should go west, how can he go south?

Zhong Dian didn't believe it, he felt that Zhong Wu was not honest, that is, you didn't fire a single arrow and let Liu Xiu pass through Longxi, who knows if you and Liu Xiu had any collusion. He sent someone to ask a few of Zhong Wu's subordinates privately, but the news was true, and he really didn't see Liu Xiu's shadow.

At this moment, Zhong Dian was puzzled, there was no in the south, not in the west, and not in the north, could it be that Liu Xiu fled to the east? He immediately sent scouts to investigate in all directions, and found that a large number of horseshoe prints were found in the place where Taoshui entered the river, and they also found a wine jug of the Han army. There are various indications that Liu Xiu passed through the gap between Zhong Dian and Zhong Wu and headed southwest.

Zhong Dian suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

The Qiang people mainly graze and hunt, but the grazing and hunting income is limited, and when the harvest is good, they can only maintain food and clothing, a tribe wants to be strong, it must have a valley that can farm, there is no shortage of water in the upper reaches of the big river, what is lacking is a good valley, as long as you find a good valley, sow seeds in spring, and harvest in autumn. If you can grab a good valley, the tribe will be strong, and if you lose a good valley, a strong tribe may decline.

The Great and Small Elm Valley has always been the best valley in the area of the head of the river, and the Burning Dangqiang, Xianlingqiang, and Mitang Qiang have been strong successively, all because they occupy the Great and Small Elm Valleys. Zhong Qiang now has many tribes, and no one dares to rob him, so Zhong Qiang regards the big and small elm valleys as winter grounds, and all the women, children, old and weak, and the property of the tribe are placed in the elm valley, including Zhong Qiang and their parents.

Liu Xiu went to the southwest, the biggest possibility is Yugu, even if he may not go to Yugu, Zhong Dian does not dare to take risks, once Liu Xiu robs Yugu, it is likely to be a catastrophe.

Zhong Dian did not dare to slack off, and immediately led the elite cavalry to chase wildly. When Zhong Wu heard about it, he was also taken aback, without any hesitation, and also took his subordinates with five thousand elite horsemen and Zhong Dian to chase Liu Xiu. Chasing all the way, Zhong Dian was afraid all the way, Liu Xiu was a cavalryman, and he left two days in advance, whether he could catch up was indeed a big problem. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and hurriedly sent a fast horse to ask the kingdom for help, please stop Liu Xiu immediately, otherwise we will be in trouble.

The kingdom was attacking the Koji family at the moment, and it was relatively close to the Great and Small Elm Valleys, and after receiving Zhong Dian's request, he immediately set off with Beigong Boyu and others to rush to the Elm Valley to intercept Liu Xiu.

Liu Xiu also had a headache at the moment, his guards rode horses on the grassland, these horses have good endurance and strength, and they run very smoothly on the grassland, but they are not suitable for this place full of mountains, and gradually they can't keep up with the Qiang army of the Heavenly Wolf, and the layers of mountains seem to never see the end, one valley after another, turning those Huns who are accustomed to the endless grassland dizzy, running down in two days, the sharp energy is exhausted, and one by one they are depressed on the horseback, Concentrate all your spirit and fight with the road under your feet.

"How far is it?" Liu Xiu grabbed the reins and asked the Heavenly Wolf. Of all the people, the Celestial Wolf and his men were the most energetic at the moment.

"At least half the way there." Sky Wolf pointed to a peak in front of him: "That's Tangshu Mountain, there are many birdmen in it." ”

"What birdman?"

The wolf took off his helmet and scratched his messy hair, "Even those who stay in the caves, they don't see them herding sheep or farming, as if they don't eat or drink, flying about in the mountains like birds. ”

Liu Xiu was speechless, and said in his heart Where is this ghost mountain, it is simply a sacred mountain. He looked at the soldiers in front and behind, and saw that the Huns, who had never regarded horseback riding as a chore, had begun to shake, so he had to order a temporary rest and something to eat. As soon as they heard the order to rest, the Huns immediately slipped off their horses and sat on the ground refusing to move.

Yu Fuluo staggered over, glared at the wolf dissatisfied, and said loudly: "You won't lead the wrong way, right, how can you turn around, it seems to be still this mountain?" ”

The wolf bared his teeth and was happy: "You men on the grassland, don't you understand the situation in the mountains, don't you know that you look at the mountains and run dead horses?" Can you fly over such a high mountain? You're not one of those flying birdmen. You can't fly over, you can only go around, you don't see far on the map, but you have to go around, of course it's far away. ”

Xun You, who was beside Liu Xiu, blushed, raised the kettle to drink water, and at the same time covered his face with his sleeve. Of course, he knew that the mountain road was far from the one drawn on the map, but he never expected that it would be so bad, and it was easy for the cavalry to run on flat ground for a day, a hundred or even a hundred or fifty miles, but when he arrived here, it took him less than a hundred miles to walk in two days, and the soldiers were very tired. At this rate, it will take at least five days to reach their destination, and they set off two days earlier than Zhong Qiang, not knowing if they can rush to Yugu before them.

Liu Xiu asked this question. "If Zhong Qiang sets off now, all cavalry, will they catch up with us before they reach Yugu?"

Sirius blinked, "Possibly. There are many people in Zhongqiang's tribe who originally burned Dangqiang or Xianlingqiang, and they are very familiar with the terrain here, and may know some roads that we don't know very well. In winter, the water is shallow, and some rivers will dry up and will be passable, but I don't know very well. If they cut corners, they might get ahead of us. ”

Liu Xiu had a headache, none of them had experience in mountain warfare, and the estimation of the difficulty of this surprise attack was seriously insufficient. He tilted his head, looked at the towering cliffs beside the road, looked at Tangshu Mountain in the distance, and thought of a map of this area in his mind, and suddenly a place name popped up. He sat up suddenly and beckoned to Pound: "Quickly bring the map." ”

Pang De was very energetic, and he didn't look tired at all, as soon as he heard Liu Xiu's order, he immediately took off the cowhide map from the saddle, spread it in front of Liu Xiu, and handed Liu Xiu's wine jug over easily. He knew that Liu Xiu had a habit of drinking when he was looking at the map, and drinking was not the goal, he just wanted to borrow wine to relax his nervousness.

Liu Xiu held the wine jug in one hand, slowly slid on the map with the other, and quickly found the location of Tang Shushan, his fingers stopped at Tang Shushan and did not move, but his eyes roamed around, and soon found the two cities of Poqiang and Anyi.

"Is there a way from here to Poqiang, and how far is it?"

Heavenly Wolf nodded again and again: "Yes, from the place not far ahead, to the north, over a hill called Liugu, along the Liugu water, go forward less than fifty miles, you can reach Poqiang." He hesitated, "But that road is very difficult, except for the sheep herders in the mountains, they have never walked that road." In fact...... There is no road. ”

"Fifty miles, no matter how difficult it is, it's easier to walk than four or five hundred miles." Liu Xiu smiled, looked at Xun You, and asked what he meant. Fu Xie also came around, asked the wolf a few more words, and agreed with Liu Xiu's suggestion to change the way, but this opinion was originally put forward by Xun You, and now of course Xun You should be vetoed first.

Xun You was very simple, and said without a little hesitation: "It's good to go to Poqiang." Zhong Qiang must have thought that we went to Yugu, and he didn't think that we would go to Poqiang, and we could easily sweep through Jincheng County. ”

Liu Xiu smiled and thought for a moment: "That's it, Heavenly Wolf They are used to taking this kind of mountain road, if it weren't for us, they should be able to reach Yugu faster than Zhong Qiang and get to Yugu first." We went north, to break the Qiang, as long as we got out of the mountain, our 3,000 people were enough to stir up the chaos in Jincheng. ”

Fu Xie praised: "The general's soldiers are well divided, the Qiang people can give full play to the advantages of adapting to the mountain road, and we can give full play to the ability to move quickly on the flat land, and show our strengths, which will definitely make the kingdom unexpected." ”

The wolf couldn't understand what they were saying, he stared at whoever spoke.

Liu Xiu, Xun You, and Fu Xie discussed the details again, and decided to divide the troops, Fu Xie and the Heavenly Wolf acted together, and led the Heavenly Wolf Battalion to continue to march towards Yugu, if they could reach Yugu in front of Zhong Qiang, then don't be polite, kill them by surprise. Although there are only more than 3,000 people in the Sky Wolf Battalion, what kind of elite are these burned, plus some equipment of the Han army, the combat effectiveness is not only not worse than that of 20,000 people acting together, but it is a little stronger. With Fu Xie's assistance, it is even more powerful.

"Capture the Great and Small Elm Valleys, you will take seventy percent of the loot, and the remaining thirty percent will be my hard work." Liu Xiu raised his finger and said to the Heavenly Wolf.

When the wolf saw Liu Xiu raise his fingers, he knew that it was a spoil, but he thought that he had to get thirty percent, and the rest was given to Liu Xiu, when he heard Pang De's translation, he was startled and couldn't believe his ears: "Me? Seventy percent? ”

"Yes, you are seventy percent, and I am thirty percent." Liu Xiu raised three fingers, pointed to his chest, and made a seven-hand gesture and pointed to the chest of the heavenly wolf. This time, without Pound's translation, the wolf will understand. He nodded again and again in ecstasy, and his chest was pounding: "Master, don't worry, I will definitely snatch all of Zhong Liang's wives for you." ”

Liu Xiu couldn't cry or laugh, and said in his heart What do I want Zhong Liang's wife to do, Zhong Liang's son Zhong Dian is in his forties, and his wife is still a wife.

"Master, you don't know, we Qiang people regard our mother as very noble." Sky Wolf wiped his saliva with his sleeve, and the corners of his mouth twitched with excitement. "Robbed his mother, he just refused to surrender, and he had to spend a lot of money to ransom him. I don't dare to say more, at least it must be as heavy as his mother. If it were less, I would have cut off a piece of his mother's flesh of the same weight. ”

Liu Xiu was stunned, and this custom? He looked at Fu Xie, and Fu Xie nodded, affirming what the Heavenly Wolf said. Liu Xiu laughed, patted the Sky Wolf on the shoulder and said, "Okay, I'll leave it to you, this is the first battle of the Sky Wolf Battalion, don't embarrass Lao Tzu." ”

"That's a must." The wolf patted his chest, "I am the number one god general under the master's account, how can I lose the master's face." ”

When everyone saw the appearance of the sky wolf, they couldn't help laughing, and even Guan Yu, who had never looked at the sky wolf in his eyes, couldn't help but shake his head. The heavenly wolf didn't care what they were laughing at, called several of his commanders in front of him, and conveyed Liu Xiu's order, and when those people heard that they could get seventy percent of Zhong Qiang's loot, their eyes were as red as rabbits, and they were so excited that they screamed, and they were full of energy. After a short time, the Sky Wolf Camp was like a pack of hungry wolves, rushing along the mountain road.

"Zhong Qiang is going to be miserable." Zhang Fei sighed, "Once these more than 3,000 wolves are gone, no matter how many people they are, they will be torn to pieces." ”

Yu Fuluo touched his nose, shook his head and sighed: "The general is too ruthless, isn't this about Zhong Qiang's life." ”

Xun You walked up to Liu Xiu and said embarrassedly: "General, the plan is short, and the general is affected." ”

Liu Xiu glanced at him while tightening the horse belt: "Gongda, what are you talking about, it is true that you are out of it, but it is not in me, not in you." I decided to use it, and the responsibility is mine. Besides, mistakes are inevitable when marching and fighting, not to mention that we have never fought in such a place. Experience is always accumulated slowly, so you don't have to pay too much attention. ”

Xun You is grateful.

Liu Xiu and the others followed the guide left by the Heavenly Wolf, crossed the Liugu Mountain to the north, and walked north along the course of the Liugu River. As the wolf said, the water in the six valleys is not deep, most of the time it is through the rocks, it is winter, the river is frozen, if you are not careful, you will slip, once you slip, you will be cut by the rocks. It was impossible to walk on horseback, so everyone dismounted and walked, carefully leading the horses and moving forward step by step. Some places are too narrow for the horses to cross, so they have to find other ways nearby, or simply pile up a path with stones and slowly climb over.

After walking for a day, the peak of Liugu Mountain was still not far behind, and Liu Xiu estimated that the straight-line distance would not exceed five miles. He ordered the scout battalion to find a sheltered valley to rest in, and at the same time set out a guard post. It's inaccessible, and it is estimated that there will be no enemies, just for safety. Li Yifeng ordered a few agile scouts to climb to the nearby hillside and overlook from afar. There are ravines here, and the army naturally can't escape the eyes of these scouts, but it is easy for one or two people to mix over, Li Yifeng is afraid of accidents, and he sent secret sentinels in all directions.

"It would be nice to bring a few dogs." Pang De said while lighting a fire for Liu Xiu. It was minus twenty-three degrees at night in the valley, and it would definitely not work without a fire, Liu Xiu might be able to hold on, but Xun You would probably freeze to death. Fortunately, there are few enemies here, there is no danger of exposure, and making a fire, boiling some hot water, and eating some hot food will be very good for relieving fatigue.

"Military dogs?" Liu Xiu was stunned for a moment, are there any military dogs this year?

Pang De was also stunned for a moment, and he didn't quickly understand what Liu Xiu meant, he smiled: "It can't be said that it is completely used to fight, but only for warning." Most of the Qiang people live by grazing, and if they have more sheep and can't manage them, they will raise some dogs to help. Dogs are more alert than humans, and they can hear any movement, so when the Qiang people march, they often bring some shepherd dogs to sentry. There are well-tamed dogs that can also help their owners fight, but there are not many. ”

"Will you?" Liu Xiu asked with interest. He heard Duan Cheng say it, and he also saw it in Mozi's city defense record, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, some people used dogs to help fight wars, but most of them used dogs' hearing to be more sensitive than people to help defend the city, but there were not many dogs used in marching and fighting, and some were only pet dogs brought by a few people.

"A little, but not fine." Pound flicked the firewood, burned it vigorously, set up a marching kettle on it, knocked a few ice edges from the cliff next to it and threw it into the kettle. "My brother Pang Rou is good at taming dogs, and he is good at this comparison."

"Then when you return to Hanyang, you invite him over." Liu Xiu said with a smile, "Dog training is very useful for war. ”

"Really?" Pound was very happy, "Okay, when I return to Hanyang, I will let him go to meet the adults." He thought for a moment and then smiled: "My lord, there is actually another animal that is helpful in war. ”

"What else?" Liu Xiu asked with great interest.

"Yan Ying." Pound said with a smile a little excitedly: "Yan Ying and horses are the most beloved treasures of men who like to hunt. ”

Liu Xiu suddenly remembered a cultural relic that was famous all over the country in later generations, in a Han tomb in Wuwei, a copper galloping horse was unearthed, and a bird was stepped on under the horse's hooves. There are many kinds of speculation among experts, and the most famous statement is, of course, the swallow that Guo said, and the copper galloping horse was named Horse Stepping Feiyan, but later some experts said that this should be a kind of eagle that is very similar to the shape of a swallow, or a owl.

The swallow eagle that Pound said may be the original form of the bird.

"Seeing that you like it so much, you must be able to play it too?"

"I won't." Pound touched his head embarrassedly, "It's much more difficult to boil an eagle than to train a horse, I haven't learned it yet." ”

"Hahaha......" Liu Xiu couldn't help laughing: "Okay, when I catch a Qiang person who can play with eagles, I'll ask them to boil a swallow eagle for you to play with." ”

Just when Liu Xiu and Pang De were chatting to relieve their boredom, about a hundred miles west of him, Wang Guo and Beigong Boyu were sitting face to face, Beigong Boyu was biting a piece of beef hard, his cheeks were bulging, and the wine flowed out of the corners of his mouth, spilling on his chest. The kingdom saw it in his eyes, quite disgusted, but his face did not show a single bit, and kept a gentle smile unchanged.

"Sir, why do you say that this Liu Xiu is so insidious in fighting, how can he think of fighting Yugu?"

Wang Kingdom glanced at him, thought for a moment, put the flask away, and chuckled, "What do you think?" ”

Beigong Boyu couldn't help but be a little surprised when he heard that Wang Chinese was not right, raised his head to look at the kingdom, and saw him smiling calmly, as if Liu Xiu's move was expected by him. Thinking of the kingdom's inability to attack the Koji Jiawu Fort, but as soon as he received Zhong Dian's alarm, he acted immediately, as if he realized something, and said with admiration: "Sir Gaoming, you must have expected it a long time ago." ”

Wang Guo smiled faintly, "Gao Ming can't talk about it, but anyone with a little brain can think of this." Facing Zhong Qiang, who is ten times his size, what other good way can he do except to sneak attack Yugu? Go back? If he retreats, he will not lose his prestige. ”

Beigong Boyu listened respectfully, subconsciously lowered the sound of chewing, and even his back was a little arched, as if he was bowing to the kingdom for advice.

"Zhong Dian is a cautious person, he should have thought of this, and the reason why he was exploited by Liu Xiu is nothing more than two reasons." Wang Guo raised a white and chubby finger, "First, it is a long way from Yuzhong to the Great and Small Yugu Valley, and the road is difficult to walk, he feels that Liu Xiu has never been to Liangzhou, and he is not familiar with the terrain, so he should not dare to go." But he forgot that the Han people chased and killed the Qiang people, and fought countless battles in the Great and Small Elm Valleys, and Duan Cheng himself had been there more than once, so how could they not have a map in hand? Although Zhong Dian is strong, he always regards the Han people as ignorant as him, how can he not miscalculate. ”

Beigong Boyu nodded again and again.

The kingdom lifted up another finger. "Second, Zhong Wu is in Longxi, following Liu Xiu all the way, how can he let Liu Xiu run between him and Zhong Dian without realizing it? The reason is very simple, their brothers do not trust each other, and they do not communicate with each other until necessary. This is a battle, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, that is, the scouts are weaving, and there are places that cannot be taken care of, and they, as the same species, are so indifferent, how can they not leak it? Thanks to Liu Xiu's lack of troops, otherwise, I don't know that they would not be broken by Liu Xiu. 100,000 Zhong Qiang? Another 100,000, if you don't know unity, you will definitely lose. ”

Beigong Boyu pondered for a moment, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the kingdom made sense and admired it. "Sure enough, Mr. is still smart, and he can see through Zhong Qiang's shortcomings at a glance, whether he is a person who has read a book, or he is different from us rough people."

"Boyu, is this just Zhong Qiang's shortcoming?" The kingdom leaned forward slightly, staring into Beigong Boyu's eyes. Beigong Boyu was stunned for a moment, and blinked blankly. Wang Kingdom shook his head regretfully: "Do you know why the Qiang people can't be as powerful as the Xiongnu and Xianbei people? It is because you do not have a monarch who does not know how to concentrate your power. You're just a plate of loose sand. ”

(To be continued)