Section II

The war in the northwest is over, so naturally there is no need to hurry up like before, considering He Yi and his son's body, Wu Ming may not go too fast. Anyway, it was useless to be in a hurry, so he took a family of three, dragged more than a thousand "miscellaneous troops", and walked leisurely.

In the northwest in May, it is a cool and pleasant day, and the whole meadow is green. Along the way, although the eyes were still full of devastation, one or two shepherds could be seen occasionally, and the field was a little more vibrant. Wu Ming pulled Nanwang and looked back at the team behind him. Nearly 2,000 people were on the grassland, forming a long line with no end in sight. As the sun began to set to the west of the grassland, he said in a loud voice, "Give the order to go down, and everyone rest on the spot and prepare to camp." ”

Fengtai is east of Shazhou, and Shacheng is west of Shazhou, according to the speed of ordinary merchants, it is enough to walk for only four or five days, and Wu Ming walked too slowly, and he was still on the road for seven days, but even so, in two more days, it was time to go to Shacheng. Complex geographical conditions and complex ethnic composition make the bandits in the northwest very strict. Since the Northern Han Dynasty's expedition to the west, the people have been struggling to make a living, and more people have joined the sand bandits. They are small in groups, big ones in dozens, hundreds. So much so that during this time, this army of nearly 2,000 people was always watched. Wu Ming thought that they would be as hungry as a wolf, but to this day, there was still no movement, and he also put his heart back into his stomach.

It seems that when the wolf head attacked him at the beginning, most of them were Chu Tianxing's temptation to explore the virtual and the real. With the scale of their own 2,000 people, and they are elite, these sand bandits are not crazy, and they will definitely not do this obvious death-killing job.

Wu Ming ordered, and the soldiers turned over and dismounted, set up camp tents, assigned scouts, buried pots and cooked rice, etc., each performing their duties and appearing orderly. After a few months of running-in, the discipline of this team has improved significantly, although the composition is still very complex. Especially in the Shali Fei Division, except for the outfit, it is still a mess, but it is strictly disciplined, and the order is forbidden, and it already has the appearance of an army.

Of course, there are certainly reasons why Wu Ming vigorously rectified military discipline, and it is also related to Sha Lifei's cooperation.

By the time the team had settled down, night had fallen. Bonfires were lit in front of each tent. Wu Ming is no exception, the husband and wife are gathered around the bonfire, chatting with each other. Wu Siting sat next to He Yi, holding a roast leg of lamb in both hands, and his mouth was full of oil. After capturing Fengtai, the team also had no food shortage, and Jian Feiyang would hunt some strange prey every day to replenish Sha Lifei. Of course, on Wu Ming's side, these prey must definitely be piggybacked. He Yi is a vegetarian, and Wu Ming can't grab food with his son. In the past month or so, the little guy has been very happy, flying in the sky, running on the ground, everything that can be eaten, Jian Feiyang has let him eat it all over. Now not only is his face meaty, but even his body is a little more fat.

It's just that the leg of mutton is too big, and his mouth is too small, and after gnawing for a long time, he still can't get the point, and the leg of mutton is only missing a small gap. Wu Siting couldn't help it, so he raised his head and shouted, "Mother." ”

He Yi turned his head and couldn't help but smile. He took the leg of lamb from his hand, tore off a small piece of meat from it, and fed it to his son's small mouth. His eyes stared at Wu Ming and said, "Don't be too nervous, my father is still very kind, and I shouldn't embarrass you too much." ”

During the bonfire, Wu Ming's face was also a little cloudy: "That's not necessarily, after all, I lost you on my wedding night, and God knows how angry his old man will be." ”

"Then you should think about how to deal with his old man's anger."

He Yi glanced at Wu Ming, turned his head, and concentrated on serving his son. Despite the coquettishness on her lips, her heart was still full of happiness. The husband is so worried, which proves that he cares about himself, otherwise, how could he be so nervous about his father's attitude. It's just that in this matter, she is also a party, so it's really not good to do more beaking.

Wu Ming stood up and walked forward. The grasslands are vast and boundless. The twilight that crept up from the eastern horizon was steel blue at first, then light gray and pitch black. The whole grassland also turned into chaos. He turned his head and watched silently, He Yi was pointing his five fingers like green onions, carefully tearing off pieces of mutton and sending them to his son's mouth. The latter ate his mouth full of oil, smacked his mouth from time to time, looked up at his mother, and his eyes were crooked with a smile. Although it has been almost half a year since the family reunited, this warm scene still warms his heart.

It is always an indisputable fact that I am sorry for their mother and son. Governor He really wants to blame, and he really has nothing to say. It's just a blessing or a curse, it's a disaster that can't be avoided, and no matter how much you think about it now, it's useless. It's better to be open and happy.

The child's appetite is small, Wu Siting shook his head after eating half a leg of mutton: "Mother, I can't eat it." He Yi took out a silk scarf, carefully wiped it on his greasy little mouth, and then wiped his hands clean, before holding him in his arms, looking at Wu Ming and said: "Thanks to General Jian for taking care of Siting's diet during this time, otherwise this child will not know how much he will suffer." ”

After the destruction of Fengtai City, the husband and wife were so busy that they hit the back of their heads, and they really didn't have much time to take care of their son. Seeing that Wu Ming was silent, He Yi thought that she hadn't heard it, and continued: "Since General Yang has already served the Queen Mother, General Jian can be said to be your closest person. In the future, you will get bigger and bigger, and you will need some intimate subordinates. Sometimes, don't be too distant from them, otherwise it will chill the hearts of the soldiers. ”

After the Second Battle of Hanning, Yang Xiong's fame grew. He Yi is an old acquaintance with him, so he will naturally ask, and now he has learned that her husband and him are not embarrassed or embarrassed, so she said so.

Wu Ming shook his head, he was alienated from Jian Feiyang, but Jian Feiyang was deliberately distancing himself from him. It's just that there are many truths in it, and he can't finish it for a while, and he doesn't want to explain more. Then he smiled slightly, and changed the topic: "Well, Captain Sha and General Jian, they will definitely be a pair in the future, and this will be handed over to you to take the Madame route." ”

Her son is He Yi's heart, and she was also grateful for Jian Feiyang's kindness just now, so she casually said it to her husband. Hearing this, he didn't dwell on it anymore, but just smiled: "It's so stinky and beautiful that you ......."

Speaking of Sha Lifei, Wu Ming's heart moved, and he suddenly said: "By the way, didn't Captain Sha tell you her real name last time?" What her name is, it's a mystery. ”

He Yimei smiled bently, and his big eyes narrowed: "She, her name is Sha Yangfei, do you say that she has a relationship with General Jian?" ”

Wu Ming was stunned, Sha Yangfei was unrelenting to Jian Feiyang, I'm afraid this name is also a big reason. Thinking of Jian Feiyang's suffocation all the way to eat, he couldn't help but laugh a little: "I see, that's really fate......" Before the words were finished, He Yi suddenly turned his head and retched violently. Wu Ming was startled, stepped forward in a few steps, and said with his shoulder as if she was slashed, "What's wrong?" Are you uncomfortable there? ”

He Yi spit out tears in his eyes, and only relieved himself after a while: "It's nothing, it may be that I was too busy some time ago, and I have suffered a little cold recently, and I have been bumpy all the way and caught a cold." Take a little rest and you'll be fine. ”

Wu Ming looked at her pretty face like jade, and said with some concern: "Is that so, you have to pay attention to your body." ”

The husband and wife were whispering to each other, and in the silent grassland, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly sounded. Wu Ming was shocked, and couldn't help but stand up, could something have happened?

Something must have happened, and the knight on the horse was Zhou Ji. He ran very quickly, and before he could rush in front of Wu Ming, he rolled off the saddle.

"My lord, five miles ahead, I found a gang of sand bandits looting the caravan, should we send troops to help?"

"Is there such a thing?" Wu Ming thought for a while and said, "What is the scale of the sand bandits?" ”

"About a hundred people."

"Where's the caravan?"

"The caravan is not very large, there are about forty people in total, and I have observed that the number of combatants should be about twenty."

Some wealthy businessmen have enough force on their own, or their face is big enough, they eat both black and white, and sometimes even their female dependents are carried, plus the horsemen who transport them, servants, etc., there are many idlers. Therefore, a caravan cannot be all armed warriors. The combatants mentioned by Zhou Ji naturally refer to the guards of the caravan. Wu Ming thought about it again before he said loudly: "Li Yu! ”

Li Yu, who was patrolling the periphery with a few people, immediately flashed in and saluted, "My lord." ”

Wu Ming said: "You go and inform General Jian now and let him put the whole army on alert." Li Yu responded, "Yes." He turned and trotted away. Wu Ming turned his head and said to Zhou Ji: "Immediately select two hundred elites and go with me to see what is going on." ”

There are so many bandits in this area that it may be thankless to really vigorously clean them up. The He family has been entrenched in the northwest for many years, and its elite lineage is the camel elite horseman, and this army did not exceed 50,000 at its peak. With this amount of troops, it seems a little incredible for a governor of one side. But if you understand the current situation in the Northwest, you will not be surprised. There are many deserts in the northwest, the Gobi, the land is barren, not to mention, and the bandits are strict. Banditry is an important factor restricting the military strength and economic growth of the northwest. During the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, He Xiaotian had made great efforts to suppress bandits, and for this reason, he also asked Kyoto to transfer troops to help suppress them, but with little success.

The reason for this is that it is adjacent to the West, not only the terrain is complex, the ethnicity is complex, but also the beliefs are complex, so how easy is it to truly integrate the Northwest?

This may be a big reason why He Xiaotian secretly supported his daughter to establish the Bailing Sect.

Now that the war has just ended, there are even more bandits, and they are like weeds on the grassland, cutting a batch and growing another batch in the wind. Wu Ming is in a hurry to rush to the sandbank now, and he doesn't have the heart to interfere with these guys, but if he robs the merchants under his nose, this is no matter what, and he has to take care of it.

Not long after the order was issued, Jian Feiyang rushed over with a large group of soldiers from outside the camp. Wu Ming didn't say much, and ordered Li Yu to order the pro-Wei Shi, a group of about 200 people, followed Zhou Ji at a gallop, and hurried towards the place of the incident.

The five-mile journey, under the gallop of the horse, is only a matter of a short time. Before reaching the destination, the sound of swords clashing was heard from afar. Turning over a raised hillock, you can see a qiē in the distance. At this time, the moon rises in the bright moon, like a round of jade plate hanging in the night sky in the east, and the clear light as water shines on the grassland, soft and shining with silver-white light. Outside of Yorish, there were several double-wheeled carts, and more than a hundred sand bandits were surrounding the carts, fighting with dozens of guards.