Chapter 4: Drunken Country (Part 4)

As soon as the wool Daxu, which symbolized the authority of Ai Jin, fell, the only remaining bit of morale of the Xi people disappeared without a trace. All the soldiers turned around and fled, ignoring their comrades who were crying under the enemy's horses. Su Si Sier ordered the cavalry to remove the felt pieces tied to the hooves of their mounts, and led the army to chase for more than 40 miles before collecting the troops.

In this battle, the Zhuqi coalition army attacked the enemy with 1,500 men and attacked 5,000 enemy troops, killed and wounded more than 1,700 opponents, captured 1,000 prisoners, captured more than 2,000 horses, and thousands of sheep, beef cattle and other materials used as military rations. The 1,500 brave men who accompanied Su Sixier in the battle only killed more than 120 people, more than 50 were seriously wounded, more than 400 were slightly wounded, and most of the rest of the men and horses were all unscathed.

The soldiers of the coalition army thundered with joy, escorted the prisoners, carried their baggage, and returned to the Su Si Department in a mighty manner. The several tribes who were unwilling to lead the strong men of their headquarters to accompany Su Sixir to send troops saw that the coalition army returned victorious, and each tribe paid very little, but the horses, cattle and sheep they received were a hundred times the amount they paid, and they regretted it greatly. Immediately jumped up like a toad with an inflated stomach, and called on everyone to follow and pursue, and must take advantage of the great victory to completely drive the Suotou Xi tribe from the grassland near the Crescent Lake.

Xu Dayan told everyone dozens of times about the truth of poor Kou Mo Chasing, and his mouth was foaming, but the elders refused to listen to his advice, but instead took out the traditional understanding of war on the grassland, and the big truth that snakes are to be killed. Su Sixier and Xu Dayan said that the elders were not enough, so they had to agree to let a few elders who were shouting to chase after the happiest and allow them to lead the young men of their clan to chase after them. As for the more than 2,000 warriors who had already done the work of harassing and killing the enemy, they remained in the tribe and waited for the spoils to be divided.

"Patriarch Sil, please send three hundred cavalry, led by your right-hand men, to meet the elders on the way. I estimate that in less than five days, Elder Miye should be back! After Na Miye and a few other angry patriarchs led the troops to set off, Xu Dayan whispered to Su Sixier.

At this time, Su Si Xier had already admired Xu Dayan's wisdom to the ground, and immediately ordered 300 people from his tribe, handed them over to his younger brother Su Si to lead, and set off early the next morning along the footprints left by Na Miye and others, so as not to suffer a big loss.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, the captured baggage had just been distributed to the warriors, and before Su Si Sier had time to count the part of the property belonging to his name, Su Si had already led the dejected Na Mi Ye and other elders back to the tribe. The development of the battlefield situation was as Xu Dayan had predicted in advance, and Na Miye and the others took advantage of the great victory to hunt down and kill the remnants of the enemy, and at the beginning of the battle, they won many battles and captured more than 500 Xi herdsmen who had fallen behind. Just when they thought victory beckoned to them, a thousand men and horses left behind in Xi came to meet their own Ejin. The two sides met on the snow, and the offensive and defensive momentum turned immediately. Not only were the previously captured captives taken by the Xi people, but more than 700 warriors led by Na Miye and others were hacked to death, and more than 200 people were missing.

At the beginning, Su Sixier fought with the enemy, and the reason why he was able to win a big victory was because Xu Dayan had no last resort, and more importantly, Xi people walked on the snow for more than two days, and people were sleepy and tired. Su Si's troops defeated the enemy's tired army with an elite division, and naturally there was no reason for failure. And Na Miye and the others chased and killed the remnants of the enemy for two days, and just repeated the mistakes of the other party.

This result was what Xu Dayan and Su Sixier expected, and the two looked at each other and smiled, and did not hold Na Miye and the others responsible for the defeat and loss of the teacher, but set up a banquet to comfort a few elders who had lost the battle. Then Su Si attached himself to the situation and put forward a proposal that the soldiers of all departments should be unified in the future to be dispatched by Xi'er.

There were not many people left in the hands of a few elders who had suffered defeat, and the fallen clansmen were still waiting for Xu Dayan and Su Sixier to find a way to save them, so they had to agree aggrievedly. Seeing that his orders were no longer unbeatable, Su Sixier brought a captured Xi clan elder and ordered him to swear a heavy oath to Changshengtian that he would not lead troops to attack again. Then he was let go back to discuss the exchange of prisoners, the bodies of the war dead, and war compensation for the Xi and Xi tribes.

The prisoners and enemy corpses in the hands of the Zhuyi coalition army were far more prisoners and corpses than the prisoners and corpses obtained by the Suotou Xi Department in the final counterattack, so Xu Dayan offered a sky-high price, and asked the elder named Wu Yile to bring a message to the Xi people's Da Aijin, and after the two sides exchanged the prisoners and corpses one-on-one, if he was willing to give 10,000 sheep to ransom all the remaining prisoners of war, then the Zhuqi coalition army was willing to return all the corpses of the Xi people to the Xi people for burial. If Xi Bu could not give so many sheep to ransom people, a captured soldier would be worth ten sheep and a carcass would be worth three sheep. The general's ransom rose according to the number of troops he led, and the elder's value increased fivefold.

"We can't take out so many sheep!" Elder Wuyile's face turned pale with anger and protested loudly. If the Xi people had enough sheep in their hands to support the survival of the tribe, they would not brave the wind and snow to attack the Zhuxia Alliance. Moreover, the responsibility for this war is not all in the Xi department, and the tribes of the Xia tribe practice troops every day, so they may not be moved by the intention of sneaking up on the Suotou Xi people.

"If you can't take it out, you can make it up in batches. The deadline is before the grass yellow next fall, after which all captives will be enslaved to us forever! Su Si Sier deliberately pretended to be a fierce and vicious look and said. Before proposing this sky-high price, he, Xu Dayan and others had already estimated the strength of Suotou Xi after this battle, and had long expected that the other party would not be able to pay the full ransom.

The reason why it was a sky-high price was because Xu Dayan told him that the Zhufei Coalition Army still needed time to train. In terms of personal bravery and force, the warriors of the coalition are unparalleled in the world. In terms of tactical coordination and battlefield coordination, coalition soldiers are no match for a regular army.

"Immortal Heaven will curse you profiteers who have broken their hearts!" Uille cursed and turned to walk out of the tent. In the laughter of the tribal warriors, he took the jerky and mare's milk that Su Si Sier "gave" him, rode an old and thin horse, and stumbled out of the camp strongly.

Seeing the embarrassed appearance of the other party, Na Miye and the others thought that if Su Si had not been attached to the halfway answer, it would be themselves who would have left like a lost dog in Suotou Xi at this moment, and they were more convinced of Xu Dayan in their hearts, and together with the gaze that looked at Su Si Xi'er brothers, they were also a little friendly.

Thinking of Su Si's detachment, the elders Huo Ran remembered another young man of the Han family whose name was attached to him. Ever since he returned to the camp after winning the battle that day, the boy has disappeared in front of everyone's eyes. If you talk about the merits in detail, I am afraid that the credit of this person is not under Xu Da's eyes. Especially for the injuries of the Zhubu on the battlefield, if it were not supported by the legend that the holy wolf once blessed the boy, they would not have had a chance to survive after being so badly injured.

Li Xu didn't know that the entire tribe was grateful for his benefits. After the victory in the raid, he quietly returned to his tent. There was no way to vent the depression in his heart, and even the celebration banquet held by Su Sibu that night was excused by a headache.

After finding a corner where no one was hiding and getting drunk, Li Xu suddenly fell into obsession. Every morning, before dawn, he would get up and ride a horse and dance with a knife, and when the sun came out, he would go to Aslan's house to eat to fill his stomach, and then go to Dul's house to visit his sleepy companions, and then start to practice riding and archery.

"If my martial arts are half that of Brother Mao Gong, even if it is a quarter, I won't let the fine and calyx fall to be hacked to death. I won't let Dur lose an arm for me! The boy practiced his archery skills hard and blamed himself at the same time.

On that day, when everyone went out hunting, he was the first to raise his head. ran to the crescent moon lake, also to create a chance for him to wash away his previous shame. The young Li Xu had not experienced any major storms, and suddenly saw his companions around him dying in front of him one by one, and easily carried the responsibility on his shoulders. Xu Dayan tried to persuade many times but had no effect, so he had to slowly understand it by himself.

Xu Dayan believed that Li Xu could free himself by himself, but the girl Tao Kuo was anxious. Seeing Li Xu's demented appearance, he didn't care about calculating with him that day, but brought fresh goat's milk every day to quench his thirst. Seeing that Li Xu's fingers were blistered with blood because of pulling the bow all day long, he specially asked for his father's jade finger sleeve to give to Li Xu to protect his hands.

Li Xu refused to accept such a valuable gift, and under the pretext of using finger sleeves to affect the flexibility of his fingers, he politely declined Tao Kuo's kindness. Tao Kuo thought that his bloody hands looked distressed, and reminded him that archery would always hurt the bow. When Li Xu heard this, he thanked him loudly and put away his treasure, but he went to the public treasury to borrow five hard bows commonly used by the people of the Fei tribe in riding and archery, and took turns to practice hard day and night.

"Stupid detachment, you keep shooting, no one cares if you're tired!" Tao Kuo's eyes turned red with anger, and he stomped his feet away. walked far, but secretly turned his head and was sad for that stupid boy.

"Their Han people's thinking is different from our men, what to do, you might as well ask Aunt Qing!" Eru saw that her sister was sad and sad, and quietly gave her ideas. The Han people all have a delicate heart, like Brother Xu, who used a trap to break the enemy's army, and quietly borrowed the enemy's hand to sweep away the careful thinking of the opponents of his father, and it is estimated that he will not be able to find the second one after searching the entire grassland. Although he looks more honest than Brother Xu, who can be sure that his wisdom is shallower than that of Crescent Lake? Instead of trying to guess their minds, it is better to find a more attentive Han person to help you think of a way. Besides, Aunt Qing has a very strong relationship with the two sisters, so she shouldn't refuse this little favor.

After listening to his sister's advice, the clouds on his face dissipated. happily took a brush and went into Aunt Qing's tent by asking for advice on painting skills. Two women, one older and one younger, muttered in the tent for more than half an hour, and finally Aunt Qing gave her daughter a very pertinent suggestion as a passer-by: "Man, there are always some hurdles that he needs to overcome by himself." Instead of feeling sorry for him and crying for him, you should push him in the back. After this hurdle, even if his heart is wooden, it will leave your shadow! ”

The girl blinked her big watery eyes and thought for a while, as if she understood or not. How to carve the details of her own shadow in the other party's heart, she doesn't care about it. The question of how to help Li Xu get over his own hurdle is the top priority in the eyes of the girl.

"Aunt Qing, he, he doesn't tell anyone what is in his heart!" The girl pursed her lips aggrievedly, tears rolling around in her eyes. Although Aunt Qing's suggestion was good, Li Xu was stupid about it, he didn't figure it out at all, how could he find a way to help him solve the problem.

"Stupid girl, don't you have elder eyes? When did he start being stupid, and for what? What do you want? Didn't you see it, didn't you hear it? Aunt Qing stretched out her finger and tapped Tao Kuo's brain, and said lovingly.

The daughter of the Haze tribe is this benefit, she can love and hate. Unlike when I was in Jiangnan, I wanted to say a lot of things but didn't dare to say them to anyone, the rules of the family restricted all behaviors, even if I was thinking about it in my heart, I could only hide it tightly until all my memories had turned yellow.

"Him?" Tao Kuo finally got some clues, synthesized the causes and consequences of the battle of Crescent Lake, and came to the conclusion that he was resentful of his own poor sword skills, and his bow and arrows were not accurate. But the girl's own knife skills are even worse, and the archery skills used to be stronger than the attachment, and now it is estimated that it is not as good as the attachment, and the places that can help him are really limited.

"Alas!" Aunt Qing saw the girl's appearance of suffering from gains and losses, and she really loved her heart. Stretched out his hand to take Tao Kuotuosi in his arms, patted her on the back and comforted: "You can't do it yourself, you can ask someone else to teach him." Riding and archery skills, it is estimated that he has already seen the doorway. As for the scimitar, you took him to the coppersmith and told the coppersmith that I asked him to teach him the art of detachment! ”

"Thank you, Aunt Qing!" Tao Kuo broke free from his embrace happily and saluted Aunt Qing again and again.

The coppersmith surnamed Wang in the tribe has unparalleled wrestling skills in the world, and the shepherds who are half younger than him can't move him. It is certainly ten times more effective for him, a Han Chinese, to teach detachment than other people's guidance. If you attach to the coppersmith's sincerity to Aunt Xilin, you will learn half of ....... The girl's white skin slowly turned pink, and her eyes were brighter than the stars in the night sky in an instant.

Aunt Qing's words are absolutely reasonable, and after listening to the girl's suggestion to go to Wang Coppersmith to learn art, Li Xu really stopped "going crazy". The feathered arrow in his hand flew out with a whoosh, and hit the bull's-eye fifty paces away, then packed up his bow and arrows, and walked towards the felt bag of the king coppersmith.

"That's how you went?" The girl stomped her feet in protest.

"Oh!" Li Xu woke up like a dream, walked back and untied a horse assigned to him for his exploits from the stake, held it in his hand, and marched towards the direction of the king's coppersmith's house again.

"The Central Plains apprenticeship is to send the apprenticeship. Thank you for the reminder! Li Xu, who would have made the mistake, said smartly as he walked, and he couldn't understand the girl's hard work towards herself.

"Get out!" Tao Kuo scolded angrily, and tears fell from his eyes. Li Xu saw that the girl suddenly turned her face and was scolded in place. I don't know what I've done wrong, and I've made this weird woman in the tribe angry.

The girl burst into tears for a while, and when she saw Li Xu's demented appearance, she smiled angrily. Wiping away his tears, he stepped forward, took the other party's hand and said, "I'll go with you, so that the coppersmith doesn't know you!" ”

Li Xu only felt the coldness and softness in the palm of his hand, and an indescribable taste welled up in his heart. Instinctively wanted to shake off the girl's hand and say "men and women don't kiss", but the palm touched the girl's tears. There was no reason in my heart to soften, so I had to gently, like holding a piece of precious jade, to hold the girl's hand in the palm of my hand.

Tao Kuo thought about it and saw that Li Xu seemed to suddenly open his mind, and he didn't shake his hand away, and a sweet feeling appeared in his heart. Raising his face, he said with a smile: "The coppersmith came to Su Sibu eighteen years ago, and Aunt Xilin had just turned thirteen years old at that time......"

The coppersmith's surname is Wang, and he is a good iron. Almost all of Su's good knives came from his hands, and other fine objects, such as copper and silver bells for decoration on men and women, and copper mirrors for women's dressing, were also made by coppersmiths. No one knows where the coppersmith came from in the Central Plains, and the story in Tao Kuotuosi's mouth is the same as the rumors in the tribe, saying that the coppersmith once traveled all over the grassland, and it was because he fell in love with Xilin, the first beauty in the Susi tribe, that he stopped wandering.

After listening to Tao Kuo's introduction, Li Xu remembered a sentence that Xu Dayan had asked himself before Uncle Jiu left: "A person who walks all over the grassland alone stops for the first time he sees the woman, do you believe this kind of story?" ”

Li Xu remembered his original answer: "Impossible! "The eldest husband stands in the world to do something earth-shattering. Almost every man in the Central Plains has received this kind of education of "self-cultivation, family harmony, governing the country, and leveling the world" since he knew the first word. Two "ambitious" teenagers pushed themselves and others, and decided that the coppersmith did not stay in the wilderness for the sake of a woman.

Then, he must have stayed in the Su Si Department for something else. Xu Dayan's analysis was for Aunt Qing, and Li Xu agreed with his opinion, but reminded his good friend not to pursue other people's secrets too much.

"Well, you've got a good heart!" Xu Dayan sneered a few times, and said disdainfully: "Don't worry, Aunt Qing is not the daughter of the emperor." The Chen family in Jiangnan, when the emperor surrendered, he still thought that the officials given to him by the Great Sui were small. When the princess married Lao Tzu and then married her son, how could anyone have such a conscience and backbone! (Note 1)

In Xu Dayan's mind, since he is a noble family and has eaten many more benefits than the people, he must take a little more responsibility for the country in times of crisis. And the behavior of the Chen family will only make the family feel ashamed, no matter how well his poems are written and how beautiful the music is, it cannot cover up the lowliness of his ability and the weakness of his behavior.

As for Aunt Qing, the people who sent her to the Turks to try to ask for help in a friendly way are now officials of the Great Sui, and everyone must have forgotten the past during the national disaster. Since the parties have chosen to forget, why should outsiders bother to uncover this mystery. The only one who hasn't forgotten his oath is the coppersmith surnamed Wang, who decided to protect a person more than 20 years ago and has been guarding it until now, without regrets.

Note 1: The Sui invaded Nanchen, and the civil and military forces along the river surrendered one after another. After the emperor Chen Shubao of the Southern Dynasty was captured, he suspected that Yang Jian had given him the title of official and asked for an official position many times. Chen Shubao's sister was named Mrs. Xuanhua by Yang Jian, and after Yang Jian's death, she was included in the harem by Yang Guang.