Fighting a war is not a house, and people always have to die.

Although Xiahou Lan had made sufficient preparations, and tried his best to be calm and command when facing the enemy, and even launched a counterattack to scare the thieves, he could not block all the arrows fired by the thieves into the camp during the chaotic battle.

Therefore, when the battle was over, they still suffered hundreds of casualties, of which 73 soldiers died on the spot, 23 more died during the day, and more than 200 others were injured and did not harm their lives.

After arriving at dawn, Xiahoulan asked the soldiers to clean up the battlefield, and found that most of the thieves who were shot to death were Wuhuan people, a few were Xianbei people, and one of them was a Han hairstyle and clothing, which was the "unlucky guy" who died under Xiahoulan's gun.

Xiahoulan mobilized the wounded men in the camp to run out to collect the arrows fired at night, and carried the dead enemy corpses to the bank of the river and built them into a high pile, and dragged all the dead horses of the enemy into the camp to be skinned and cut for military rations.

By this time, everyone actually knew where the so-called thieves came from. In order to take care of the wounded, and also to prevent the "thieves" from attacking them when moving the camp, Xiahoulan decided to stay where she was, and immediately sent a messenger in the direction of Macheng to ask for help after repelling the thieves.

The long day of waiting was about to pass, and there was not a single shadow to be seen on the other side of the river, as if the attack of the previous night had been carried away by the gurgling waters of the enemy.

Xiahou Lan watched the sunset finally hide behind the mountains in the distance, slowly got up, came to the dead soldiers, and said softly: "Please rest in peace, brothers, if you have a spirit in the sky, watch me in the sky Xia Houlan will one day cut off that person's head with his own hands and sacrifice you with blood!" ”

The four military marquis stood not far away, and they quietly watched Xiahou Lan talking to themselves there, and their hearts were full of admiration for this man who came from Zhending.

Yan Rou, who had quietly rushed from Ning County to the city of Guangning, did not see the truckload of grain transported back from outside the city, nor did he see the henchman whom he relied on very much, but only saw more than 2,000 soldiers who were dejected and even panicked, and fled back at dawn.

Yan Rou tore at a Wuhuan commander fiercely and yelled, "What's wrong with you? What is the bread that you have plundered? Where did that brother of mine go? ”

The commander lowered his head and said in frustration: "The leader of the Han people who held the grain is not a human!" He seemed to have expected that we would cross the river at night and attack the camp, not only built a dam near the river, but also dug many large and small earth pits outside the camp, placed many stones, and placed a three-story car formation at the edge of the camp, so that the sons could not rush into it at all! ”

"These damn Han people, they seem to have an endless supply of arrows, and they even have something to prevent fire! Some of them were shot to death, some fell off their horses and trampled to death by their own people, and some were even stoned to death by stones thrown from the camp! I heard from the brother who walked behind, "My lord, your brother, when he was in the middle of the war, fought with the leader of the Han people, and unfortunately was picked off the horse......"

After Yan Rou listened to the grief and cry of the commander, the black face with a long beard became even more ugly, and it seemed that it would burn in the next moment.

"Send someone out of the city immediately to investigate! Be sure to find out who this person is! I, Yan Rou, must stab this person and avenge my dead brothers! Like a wounded lion, Yan Rou frantically smashed objects in the house.

No wonder Yan Rou was so annoyed, he really couldn't accept that a well-planned night attack turned into a big defeat.

In the afternoon, the sentry sent downstream, returning to report to Yan Rou, claiming to have learned the name of the leader of the Han army from an old man in a coastal village.

"Lord Qiqi, this old man was guiding the way for the team transporting grain the day before yesterday, and overheard the soldiers talking, saying that the commander who led the team was surnamed Xiahou, but as for the name, I don't know."

"Rubbish, idiot! After a long day of inquiry, you brought back such a bit of useful information? The ghost knows where this guy named Xiahou came from! Yan Rou began to smash objects in the house again.

"Enlightenment, enlightenment...... Your Excellency, the team that has also found the opposite side of the grain has not moved today, and seems to be waiting for reinforcements to respond. The spy, who had received the reward a few days ago, said cautiously.

"Get out, get out of here! Do you need to find out more about this? Someone came back in the morning to report the incident, as long as you stand on the edge of the water and take a look, you can see it! ”

The sentry was kicked out after being scolded, and Yan Rou continued to be angry in the house alone.

"No, this must not be stopped! Tonight, I personally led people to attack the camp, I want to see if this guy named Xiahou has three heads and six arms! ”

Just when Yan Rou was furious, far away in the Yanjiawu Fort in Guangyang, the old patriarch of the Yan family was also smashing cups and bowls.

"It's so deceitful! actually surrounded my Yanjia Fort! Doesn't the white-robed young general outside the fort know how powerful Wu'er is? Patriarch Yan slapped the bookcase fiercely, and the fishy spittle splashed everywhere.

Yan Zhi whispered: "I heard that the one surnamed Zhao outside the door once slaughtered Zhaojiabao with the same surname as him in Anci County......

"What? It's actually this Zhao butcher who came! The muscles at the corners of Patriarch Yan's mouth twitched a few times.

"This guy surnamed Zhao surrounded our Wuwu fort, just asked you to accompany him to Macheng?"

"That's what he said when he shouted outside the fort, and it didn't seem to have much malice."

"Hmph, you erection, what do you know! He wants to take you to blackmail your big brother who is far away in Ningcheng! ”

"Our Yan family is also a well-known family in Youzhou, this surnamed Zhao is not afraid of causing dissatisfaction among the big clans in the state if he acts like this?"

"If he does this in normal times, he will naturally be attacked by the big clans in the state. But now that the Xianbei people are coming to attack Youzhou, your eldest brother has an awkward quarrel with Liu Bo'an, and the surnamed Zhao has come to kidnap you to Macheng, but it is to influence your eldest brother, even if the other big clans know the Tao, they will pretend not to know. ”

"So, do I have to go?" Yan Zhi asked with some anxiety.

"Wait a minute, when the old man goes out of the fort, he will meet this surnamed Zhao for a while!"

After a short time, Old Patriarch Yan walked out of the fort gate and came to Zhao Yun's horse.

"Little Lao'er didn't know that Zhao Duwei came to the fort to welcome the late, and I hope to forgive my sins!" Old man Yan is old and refined, and he knows the truth of "reaching out and not hitting a smiling person", so he greeted Zhao Yun with a smile on his face.

Zhao Yun sat on the horse, and did not mean to get off the horse and enter the castle, but just bowed his head to greet the old man Yan, and then said undoubtedly: "What should be said, the captain of this capital has already said it very clearly, and I also ask the old Yan family to let Ling Lang go out of the castle with me!" I hereby solemnly promise that as long as Ling Lang goes to Macheng with me, the safety of Yanjiabao will be taken care of by Captain Bendu to the end, and I will never let anyone hurt anyone in Guibao! ”

Old man Yan found that the guy surnamed Zhao was a guy who didn't eat oil and salt, so he immediately lowered his face and said in a deep voice: "Is Duwei Zhao threatening Xiao Lao'er?" ”

Zhao Yun looked at the incense stick inserted on the ground in the distance with an expressionless face, and said to himself: "This pillar of incense has been burned for seven points, is it possible that Captain Bendu is going to repeat what he did in Zhaojiabao today?" ”

"You...... Don't deceive people too much! Old Patriarch Yan was so angry that his beard trembled, and he stretched out his right hand to point at Zhao Yun on the horse, but he didn't know what to say again.

Zhao Yun continued to look at the pillar of incense planted on the ground not far away, and said coldly: "Old Patriarch Yan, instead of roaring here, why don't you go back to the castle and teach Ling Lang to let go to Macheng with me, or prepare yourself for the aftermath." ”

Old Patriarch Yan was completely angry by Zhao Yun's words of preparing for the future, he forcibly suppressed the hot blood that was constantly surging in his chest, and said in a trembling voice: "Captain Zhao, why do you have to be so resolute? If you treat me like this today, you treat Yanjiabao like this, and he will not be afraid that my son will meet you in the future! ”

Zhao Yun was really a little annoyed, and said lightly: "Even if Yan Rou doesn't come to me in the future, I still want to find him to have a good theory!" I want to ask him why when he led his army south to Jizhou, he sat back and watched his corporal and soldiers scourge the people of Zhending! ”

In the face of the world's first-class determined fierce man, all the methods of the old patriarch Yan seemed a little pale and powerless, and he was finally helped into the castle tremblingly.

Seeing that the incense was exhausted, Zhao Yun shouted at the closed fortress gate: "Brothers, listen to the order and prepare to attack the fort!" ”

After Zhao Yun burst into a shout, before the soldiers could make a move, the gate of Yanjiawu Fort creaked and was opened again from the inside, and Yan Rou's brother Yan Zhi walked out with an unwilling face.

"Give the second son of the Yan family a good horse, and the brothers will set off with me!"

Zhao Yun reined in the reins and turned to leave.

The night was getting deeper, and the howling river wind in winter was raging to the fullest, blowing a biting cold on both sides of the river.

There was still no light in the camp where Xia Houlan was staying, and the soldiers and civilians hid back to back between the thick blankets to keep each other warm.

Although some people are injured and some people die, those who survive still have to live. The soldier in charge of the guard carried a large piece of roasted horse meat in his arms, looked around vigilantly, and felt tired and sleepy, so he took out the horse meat and bit it fiercely.

Although horse meat is not as good as beef and mutton, it is still meat, and it is much better than coarse millet and wheat.

Long, cold nights that seem to have no end in sight. When many worried men and soldiers gradually fell asleep, the spies scattered downstream of the river bank suddenly flew to report that they had found a brigade of soldiers and horses crossing the river five miles downstream!

Xia Houlan, who had never fallen asleep, had a slight sneer on her face after hearing this.

"Hmph, yesterday it came from the upstream, and today it came from the downstream, is it really that there is no one in our army?"

"A few of you immediately go west along the river, even if you climb to Macheng, you must bring this human head to Master Taifu!"

The human head that Xia Houlan was holding in his hand was cut from the only Han corpse.