The Huns didn't take it too seriously. The Han Chinese set up a county here, but they still considered it to be the territory of the Xiongnu. They can come when they want to, and they can leave when they want, even if there are a large number of Han riders, they can't do anything with them.

The people who can be scouts are all warriors with high martial arts, and if they can't beat them, they can always run away, so they are not nervous. Seeing Guo Wu and the others speeding up, they kicked their horses away, and at the same time did not forget to draw their bows and arrows, preparing to tease the Han army by the way, so that they could know who was the real cavalry and the real cavalry.

They didn't take the big car in the distance seriously. Five hundred steps was too far away, and they couldn't see what those big carts were, and they habitually regarded them as the baggage carts commonly used by the Han people. By the time someone heard the sound of an arrow breaking through the air, it was already too late.

Nearly two feet long iron arrows flew in, like a swarm of flying locusts, enveloping the Huns.

There were two Huns who were lucky, with multiple arrows in their bodies, or were directly hit by the vital point, and they died with a whimper. But his eyes were wide and full of horror and doubt, and he did not bat at all; Others were not so lucky, and some were shot by arrows and fell from their horses, clutching bloody wounds and screaming in panic. Some people were not shot, but the larger horses did not escape their fate, or fell down, or galloped away.

Guo Wu and the others followed closely, with five horsemen as a team, staring at a Hun cavalry, chasing after them.

The Huns were wounded, especially the war horses, with a large amount of blood loss, their physical strength quickly exhausted, and they were successively caught up by the knights of the Han army, knocked off their horses, tied up with flowers, and brought them back to Guo Wu.

Guo Wu didn't chase him, he was at the place where the Huns were hit by arrows, and dismounted to inspect.

Dozens of iron arrows were scattered on the grassland within a radius of thirty paces, some hitting the target, some missing, deep into the land. Without Guo Wu's orders, the knights searched around, collected all the iron arrows, and handed them over to Guo Wu. Guo Wu counted them one by one, showing a satisfied smile, and the knights were also relaxed, talking and laughing, as if they were hunting in the wild, and the harvest was not bad.

After a meal, the pursuing knight returned, bringing back a batch of iron arrows. Some iron arrows penetrated deep into the bodies of the Huns and war horses, and they also cut them with knives, took out each iron arrow, and wiped them clean.

Of the 150 iron arrows, 68 hit the target, with a hit rate of more than 40%.

Of the ten Hun knights, only three were not hit, and the twenty larger horses were all injured, without exception.

Guo Wu counted the results and asked them to report to Deng Guobin, and he interrogated the prisoners on the spot. After the interrogation, all the Huns cut off their necks and threw them on the grassland to feed the wolves, and were slightly injured, and all the war horses were dragged back.

Deng Guobin listened to the report and was very satisfied. Guo Wenbin had been listening to the side, shocked in his heart, but he didn't say anything. He knew that this was a military secret, but he was still curious, five powerful crossbows, five hundred paces away to shoot so many targets at the same time, how did this do, what was that black thing?

Seeing that Guo Wenbin wanted to ask but was embarrassed to ask, Deng Guobin smiled. "In fact, it's very simple, the previous crossbow could only shoot one big arrow at a time, and now I use cluster arrows, thirty arrows at a time, as long as the center point is aimed in place, the error will not exceed ten steps, even if only one percent of the arrows hit are three, of course, the hit rate is greatly improved."

Guo Wenbin suddenly realized.

"The main role of this cluster arrow is to snipe the opponent's generals." Deng Guobin stroked the short beard under his chin, triumphant. "Five hundred steps, one shot of thirty arrows, if you use several crossbows to shoot at the same time, there is basically no possibility of escape within a radius of thirty or fifty paces. Isn't it shocking that the enemy may have been shot before they could figure out what was going on? ”

Guo Wenbin laughed. Liang Xiao said that he was still a little worried about letting Deng Guobin help him to trap Wudan's evil old department in Xingxing Gorge, but now with Deng Guobin and these strong crossbows, he is completely relieved. He is only worried about one thing now, what if the Huns don't come?

Gotta find a way to lure them over. Guo Wenbin used his brain.

"Can you help me build a few more of these crossbows?"

"What do you think I rushed to Dunhuang for?" Deng Guobin asked rhetorically.

――

Chang'an, Jiaofang Palace.

Liu Ling took Liang Yu and walked briskly up the steps. Queen Chen Ajiao greeted her early, looked at Liu Ling with a smile, and stretched out her hand from afar. "You're here. It's not easy to invite you to the palace now. ”

"It's too hot in the city, it's cooler outside the city." Liu Ling said: "Changmen Garden is very quiet, the queen is free, you might as well go out of the city to relax." ”

Empress Chen looked at Liang Yu who was following her. "With Wen Ji, a talented woman sitting in Changmen Garden, I finally don't let you be good at beauty alone, do you regret it?"

Liu Ling asked rhetorically: "The queen's sister gave birth to the prince, do you regret it?" ”

Chen Ajiao was stunned, and then slapped Liu Ling lightly. "You, you just don't want to spare people, do you have to poke me in the heart? My own sisters, if you have any regrets, aren't they all for Your Majesty to continue the bloodline. However, when it comes to literary style, Wen Ji's articles are more popular than yours. ”

"We all have our own strengths. Actually, I'm not worried about Wen Ji, but the queen. You are the mother of the world, if you move Yaxing, no matter how bad the writing is, you can scare many people. Neither Wen Ji nor I am your opponent. ”

"Don't worry, I can't write articles, and I'm not interested in competing with you." Empress Chen leaned back with a smile, and said, "You have an opinion about Your Majesty, and you are embarrassed to mention it, but you deliberately say strange things in front of me, right?" ”

"Could it be that the queen is in a hurry to invite me here, isn't it because Your Majesty is embarrassed to say something and wants to ask the queen to convey it?"

Empress Chen raised her hand and stroked her forehead, feigning distress. "Okay, I can't hide anything from you, the female Zhang Liang, so I'll just say it. Champion Hou has been to the Western Regions for so long, except for a good news two months ago, why has there been no movement. What is he planning? ”

Liu Ling was very curious and asked rhetorically, "How do you fight in summer?" ”

Empress Chen stared at Liu Ling. "Just because of that?"

"What other reason could there be?"

Empress Chen's eyes flickered and she didn't speak, but she obviously didn't accept Liu Ling's statement. Liu Ling shook his head and sighed lightly: "Empress, I don't know much about war, but I know that there is no suspicion in employing people, and there is no need for suspicious people." If Your Majesty is worried about my husband, you might as well issue an edict to let him return to Beijing immediately, so as not to let my husband and wife be thousands of miles apart. ”

Empress Chen was embarrassed.

Liu Ling paused for a moment and asked again, "Empress, can I talk to you about myself?" ”

Empress Chen thought for a moment and nodded, "Of course you can." ”

"Does Your Majesty have anyone you can really trust in your heart?"

Empress Chen bit her lip and turned her head. Seeing this, Liu Ling shook Empress Chen's arm and smiled. "Well, just because I didn't ask. If Your Majesty asks, you will say to Your Majesty, "Autumn harvest and winter storage, since autumn has arrived, there should be good news soon." ”

Empress Chen breathed a sigh of relief and smiled a little reluctantly. "That's very good."

――

Liang Xiao stood on the slope of the mountain, quietly looking at the Qiang and Han people who were busy under the hillside, his eyes were calm.

After staying here for a few months, he never took the initiative to go west, let alone challenge Wudan. Most of his energy was devoted to training cavalry. The Western Regions has limited arable land and a limited population, and its economic affordability cannot be compared with that of the Central Plains. If he wants to outnumbered and control the Western Regions, he needs a real elite, one that is not only well-equipped, but also well-trained, not a rabble.

He used this summer to train a thousand elite cavalry, a thousand cavalry trained according to his philosophy, and a thousand cavalry that not only had strong combat effectiveness, but also a cavalry whose fighting will far exceeded that of ordinary cavalry.

Now, even if Udan came with an army of 10,000, he was confident of a face-to-face decisive battle.

Although he won't be so stupid.

Practicing thousands of pounds of strength, four or two dialing thousands of pounds, has always been his principle of doing things. He has the strength to go head-to-head with his opponent, but it doesn't mean that he has to go head-to-head with his opponent. If there was a better way, he would not be reckless.

Now, he's digging a hole for Udan.

Armed with the maps that Marjon had painstakingly drawn over the course of several months, and having personally examined some important terrain, he finally chose a valley called the White Horse Valley as the preset position. This was originally the winter pasture of Baimaqiang, not far to the south is the big snow mountain, and more than 80 miles to the east can enter the middle road of Qiang.

Strictly speaking, this is not the ideal terrain for ambushes. The entrance on the west side is large, and the exit on the east side is small. It is easy to get in and out from the west side, but it is more difficult to get in and out from the east side. The enemy is pursuing from the west, and once the situation is found to be wrong, it can quickly retreat, while the pursued people can easily block the exit because of crowding, and it is not easy to escape.

Liang Xiao's choice of this place as the location for ambushing Wudan was almost unanimously suspected by the Qiang leaders. If it weren't for Liang Xiao's previous impressive record, the reputation he had saved, and the ruthlessness he had shown in the past few months, it is estimated that someone would accuse him of not understanding war in person.

Now, although the leaders of the Qiang people were puzzled, they still arranged a large number of people in the valley as bait according to his request.

Although there is Xu Le's contribution to persuasion and education, the main reason is because of Liang Xiao's ruthless methods. Before, the scalper tribe took in captives of unknown origin, fought for arable land with the eagle tribe, and got into trouble in front of Liang Xiao. Liang Xiao not only beheaded all the more than 100 captives, but also took away half of the assets of the scalper tribe. The scalper tribe has suddenly changed from a medium-sized tribe to a small tribe that everyone can bully, and can only honestly rely on the Han people and Liang Xiao.

No one wants to follow in the footsteps of the scalper tribe.

Of course, many people are waiting to see Liang Xiao's jokes. Since his majesty is based on force, when he loses it, the reward for what he imposes on others will naturally be doubled.

Liang Xiao didn't take these wolf-like eyes seriously at all. He never expected to conquer the Western Regions by preaching, he was only concerned with one thing, how to go from one victory to another. If he is defeated, even if these Qiang people do not deal with him, the Son of Heaven of Chang'an will not let him go.

The sound of horses' hooves sounded in the distance, and Liang Xiao turned his head and looked at the horizon in the distance.

A horse came galloping, waving a small red pennant in his hand.

The corners of Liang Xiao's eyes twitched. He knew that Wudan was coming, and after waiting for several months, he finally couldn't hold back and took the initiative to attack.

This is exactly what he expected.

There is a cloud in the art of war: to cause people but not to others, waiting does not mean passivity, and attacking does not mean initiative, just like the current situation of him and Wudan. In one fell swoop, he killed Wudan's general Yiur, recaptured Aliusu's head and bow, and broke Wudan's control over the countries of Nanshan. He was like a thorn in Udan's flesh. As long as he lives for one day, Udan will not be able to sleep peacefully.

Therefore, he doesn't need to go to Wudan, Wudan will come to him as well.

The scout rushed to Liang Xiao, jumped down without waiting for the war horse to stop, and ran in front of Liang Xiao. He was a Qiang boy, about seventeen or eighteen years old, of medium height, not very strong, but his eyes were very clear and clever. He was a teenager selected by Xu Le, worked as a scorekeeper for two months, and is now a scout. After a few months of hard study, he already spoke Chinese very well.

"General, the Nanshan coalition army is here, and the advance has reached fifty miles away, about four thousand people. According to the scouts we captured, the total number of troops was about 20,000, and it was claimed that there were 100,000. ”

The corners of Xu Le's eyes jumped slightly, and he couldn't help but glance at Liang Xiao. Liang Xiao smiled and disagreed. "See the wolf's banner?"

"Not yet, a brother is rushing over to investigate, and it is estimated that he will be sent back later."

"Alright, you go and rest."

"Whoa." The Qiang boy answered, but did not leave. He licked his thick lips, grinned, and didn't speak. Seeing this, Liang Xiao laughed silently. "Want to go into battle?"

"Uh-huh."

"Not this time." Liang Xiao shook his horsewhip. "However, the loot will not be less yours, so don't worry."

"General, I'm not for the spoils. The general's salary is enough for me and my grandmother to live. I want to make meritorious contributions, I want to follow the general to fight, and I will have the opportunity to take my grandmother and follow the general to Chang'an in the future. ”

"There are many opportunities to make meritorious contributions. The Sirius is too weak, you have to go into battle, and those warriors who are older than you will have an opinion. In another two years, when you have done the crown salute, I will take you to fight the Huns on the steppe. ”

The Qiang boy touched his head, a little frustrated. "Okay, then I'll wait." After saying that, he turned over his horse and galloped away.

When the Qiang boy walked away, Xu Lecai said: "General, there is a huge disparity between the enemy and me, and I can't be careless." ”

"I've never been careless." Liang Xiao turned his head to look at Xu Le. "However, just because you have more troops doesn't mean you're strong. The Nanshan countries have such a population, and the more troops the Heavenly Wolf recruits, the greater the complaints of the Nanshan countries, and the more we can take this opportunity to severely damage the countries. When the wolf is defeated and they belong to my big man, we can't kill people casually. What will be the reward for these tribes that are following us now? ”

"I can understand what the general means. However, five times the strength of the army is not so easy to deal with, and the general had better be careful. ”

"Prison Army, when this battle is over, you won't say that." Liang Xiao crooked the corners of his mouth, revealing a smug smile. "This time, I'm going to give the Heavenly Wolf a double heaven of ice and fire, first roast him, and then turn him into an ice sculpture, so that the people of the Western Regions will tremble in their legs when they think of him." ――

(To be continued.) )