Yan Rou looked at the cavalry guards who had arrived one step ahead of time on the west bank of the water, and the last glimmer of hope was finally shattered.

Although the soldiers blocking the road were Wuhuan people, they were wearing the standard military uniforms of the Xiao Cavalry Guards, and it was obvious that they would not be in a formation to welcome his arrival.

Yan Rou threw away the weapon in her hand, turned over from the horse, and then sat down among the green weeds, spreading her whole body on the field, and waited quietly for the arrival of her old enemy Xia Houlan. The dozens of diehards who had fled to the back of Yan Rou also stopped, and sat down one after another around the place where Yan Rou was lying, seemingly unconcerned about the impending death.

Knowing that it was difficult to escape, it was not in line with Yan Rou's identity and character to fight the trapped beast at this time, he wanted to talk to Xiahou Lan to see if he could exchange his life.

The Tuchi Tiger on the bank of the Weishui River watched indifferently as Yan Rou and his guards sat down not far away, and several first-level leaders around him wanted to urge the horse to step forward and capture them, but they were stopped by the Tuan Chihu.

Lu Chihu said to everyone in fluent Chinese: "Don't rob, I have written down the credit for capturing Yan Rou alive for you, now just stop this person on the west bank of the water, this person is the enemy of General Xiahou, and the rest of the matter will be dealt with after General Xiahou arrives." ”

When several Xianbei leaders who were eager for meritorious service heard this, they immediately stopped their movements and just stared at Yan Rou and the dozens of guards.

Half an hour later, Xia Houlan led hundreds of horsemen to arrive.

Yan Rou got up and walked towards the place where Xiahou Lan was stationed, and dozens of guards were stopped behind him.

"General Xiahou, this official has been waiting here for a long time!" Yan Rou is currently the Sima of the Wuhuan Captain's Mansion, and claiming to be an official is also in line with his identity.

Xiahou Lan looked indifferent: "Hehe, if I hadn't asked the Duwei to wait by the river in advance, I'm afraid that Yan Sima would have crossed the river and fled into the territory of the Xianbei people in Liaoxi at this time, right?" ”

Yan Rou was unimpressed by Xiahou Lan's ridicule, and said lightly: "This official still hasn't figured out what happened to General Xiahou leading the army to the north of Baishan this time?" Why do you want to launch a brutal massacre against dozens of tribes in my territory who support Youzhou? ”

Xiahou Lan sneered: "Why did Yan Sima ask knowingly? If you don't have a ghost hidden in your heart, why was the army led by you to the tens of thousands of troops you personally led and commanded on the third day when the general led his army north of the White Mountain? As for saying that a brutal massacre was launched against dozens of Hu tribes who supported Youzhou, it is even more nonsense! Along the way, the general only killed the enemy who came to besiege our army. No one has ever been killed by the unarmed tribesmen! ”

Yan Rou was speechless for a while, paused for a moment, and said to Xiahou Lan with some difficulty: "General Xiahou, if I say that I don't know anything about Guangyang, my father did it behind my back, do you believe it?" ”

"What about faith? What if you don't believe it! Since your Yan family doesn't cherish your hard-won wealth, what's the use of regretting it now? Xia Houlan put his left hand on the hilt of the sword, and his face became more and more cold.

Yan Rou looked at the aggressive Xiahou Lan, and cold sweat began to break out on her forehead, and he didn't care about wiping it. Hurriedly said: "General Xiahou, even if I had some misunderstandings with you before, but it has been a few years, and this official has done a lot of things for Youzhou north of Baishan over the years, and you can't use force against me casually now!" I will return to Youzhou with you, go to see the eldest prince in person, and explain some things clearly in person! ”

"Explain what? Explain why you wanted to give up Ningcheng in the first place, and let Kebi enter Youzhou? Explain that you had your soldiers pretend to be Kebineng's subordinates to launch two consecutive attacks on the grain convoy in Jicheng in the Bitter Water? Or do you want to explain why your Yan clan secretly colluded with the big families in Zhuo County in an attempt to put the eldest prince to death? ”

Xia Houlan asked Yan Rou loudly. Speaking of the back, because he couldn't suppress the resentment that had been deposited in his heart for a long time, he suddenly pulled out the long sword at his waist and pointed at Yan Rou from a distance of more than a dozen steps.

The dozens of guards behind Yan Rou saw Xiahou Lan draw their swords. So they all picked up their weapons and moved closer to Yan Rou. The hundreds of knights behind Xia Houlan pulled their bows and wound them at the same time, aiming their arrows at these dozens of people.

Yan Rou shook her head and smiled bitterly, looked at Xiahou Lan's sword blade and said, "General Xiahou, do you have to take Yan's head on the bank of the Weishui River today?" ”

"If only you could give a reason not to kill you. I will leave you alive for the time being, and send you to Jicheng to wait for the eldest prince to fall! ”

At this moment, as long as Xia Houlan gave an order or a look. Standing behind Yan Rou, the Lu Chi Hu would lead the soldiers around him to rush forward and tear Yan Rou and his remaining dozens of guards to pieces. Similarly, the hundreds of elite knights guarding Xia Houlan's back could also shoot Yan Rou and the guards behind him into "hedgehogs" full of arrows in a single breath.

Yan Rou swallowed a mouthful of saliva, moistened his already dry and unbearable throat, carefully considered it for a moment, and then raised his head and said to Xiahou Lan who was riding on the horse: "If the general leaves me alive today, I am willing to lead the way in the future when the eldest prince wields Mobei." When I was taken captive to the north by the Xianbei people, in order to escape back to Youzhou, I traveled almost everywhere in Mobei, so I am very familiar with the terrain there. ”

Xia Houlan closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming down the irrepressible anger in her heart, and then nodded and said to Yan Rou: "I will believe your words today, but you remember to Ben General, if what you say is half a lie, even if you chase you to the ends of the earth in the future, I will swear to cut you under the sword!" ”

After saying these words, Xia Houlan turned around and said to the soldiers around him: "All disarm and take them away, if there is resistance, you will be killed!" ”

After saying this, Xia Houlan rode away a little lonely. Lu Chihu, who was guarding the river, immediately led his soldiers to follow.

Coming to Xiahou Lan's side, Lu Chihu reported: "General, I am fortunate to be worthy of my life, and I have subdued all the Wuhuan tribes that passed along the road, and a few smaller Xianbei tribes are also willing to take refuge here, and the others have been easily eliminated by me." Now I have 2,000 brothers scattered under my command, and I will take these tribes and Yan Rou's troops to the south near the White Mountain, and wait for the general to come and inspect! ”

Xiahou Lan nodded, and said to Lu Chihu: "You did a good job this time, first you took the opportunity to divide and disintegrate the reserve forces left by Yan Rou in the camp, and then rushed ahead of Yan Rou to transfer all the tribes where he passed, and stopped him on the shore of the water. I will report your achievements to the Jicheng Command, and I believe that the eldest prince will like it after seeing it. ”

"There is a little credit for the humble function, and it is all due to the command of the general. Now that the war is over, what do we do next? "Chi Chi Hu asked Xia Houlan.

Xia Houlan frowned and said, "Defeating Yan Rou is only the first step, there are still many things we need to do next. Although this area is rich in water and grass, there is no barrier on three sides, and the Xianbei people in the north and the Xianbei people in western Liaoning may come over at any time, so the top priority is to establish a strong stronghold and gather the Wuhuan tribes and the Xianbei tribes who have taken refuge, so that they will not be taken captive by the Xianbei people to become slaves. ”

Lu Chihu said: "General, there is a suggestion for the humble position. If the general sends the women with status in these tribes to the south of Baishan for resettlement, it is equivalent to controlling the various tribes, which can save a lot of troops, and they are not afraid of rebellion in the future! ”

Listening to this suggestion of the Chi Hu, Xia Hou Lan's eyes lit up, and she thought that the strategy of "using Yi to control the raze" formulated by the original son was really clever, this Lu Chi Hu came from the Wuhuan tribe, and he was very clear about the weakness of the Wuhuan people, and he made a good suggestion.

"You go and give me an order, let the soldiers of the two lines pursuing the deserters escort the prisoners of war to the central position north of the White Mountain, and at the same time let the team in charge of escorting the grain and grass to the west arrive within two days and join me."

"Humble command!"

Lu Chihu only led a hundred soldiers to urge the horses away, while Xiahou Lan led more than a thousand cavalry to escort Yan Rou and hundreds of surrendered soldiers who were captured along the road to the predetermined assembly place.

At ten o'clock in the evening, Xia Houlan led his team to arrive at the area where more than a dozen Wuhuan tribes had temporarily gathered. The soldiers of the Wuhuan Guard, who were in charge of guarding these Wuhuan people, stepped forward to salute Xiahou Lan respectfully, without any disrespect.

Xiahou Lan asked the patriarchs of these large and small tribes to be invited to his tent, explained to them the reason for this expedition, and by the way, publicized the Hu tribe subjugation policy formulated by the eldest prince again, and then asked them to appease the tribe after returning to the tribe, and not to worry about not being able to live in the future.

These tribal chiefs had already learned the truth of the matter from the soldiers of the Wuhuan nationality of the Xiaocai Guard, and now after listening to Xiahou Lan's explanation in person, the only remaining sympathy and support for Yan Rou suddenly disappeared completely, and they all expressed their willingness to return to Youzhou and live a good life like the Nalou tribe in Juyong County.

Over the next two days, the knights, who had gone in pursuit of the deserters, returned in groups, and naturally there were many dejected captives in their ranks.

On the evening of the third day, the troops carrying the grain and grass arrived and immediately filled the entire camp. The grain and grass carried by the baggage team this time was enough to support the cavalry guards to hold out in the north for a month, and now less than ten days have passed, so there is a large amount of materials left, just for Xiahou Lan to take out some and distribute some to the tribes, which can not only appease people's hearts, but also exchange for a large number of horses, cattle and sheep.

Seeing that the overall situation north of Baishan had been decided, Xiahou Lan sent a force of 3,000 men to escort Yan Rou and more than 5,000 prisoners, and traveled from the mountain road that Kebineng had taken when he fled back to the north, so that he could reach the city of Guangning as soon as possible.

The 10,000-strong team responsible for transporting grain, grass and baggage unloaded all kinds of supplies, and then drove herds of horses, cattle and sheep to follow the escort of the prisoners, and happily returned to Youzhou together. (To be continued......)