Zong Gu slowly walked behind his son, and let out a deep sigh from a distance of about three meters.

"Even the Great King can't do better than Ah Hao." Following Zong Guang's line of sight, Zong Gu looked at the square in the distance: "He was very clever and did not smear that noble corpse with grease, this is the biggest difference between Ah Hao and other conquerors. ”

Zong Guang turned around, looking a little surprised: "Daddy, what do you mean by this?" ”

"You're too young to have experienced anything like this." Zong Gu stepped forward with steady steps: "Many years ago, when I was your age, I followed your grandfather to the Crane Clan. At that time, the king was in the prime of life, and the crane tribe had few people, only less than 100,000, and His Majesty wiped out the clan in a war. We attacked the capital of the Crane Clan, and it was summer, and in order to bring the body of the Crane King back to Black Horn, His Majesty killed five hundred captives, threw them into a cauldron, and boiled out a lot of fat. ”

It's a terrifying scene just to think about. Zong Guang couldn't help but shudder: "That kind of oil...... Can it be used too? ”

"That's standard ceremonial oil." Zonggu's voice gradually flattened: "This is the right of the winner, whether you live or die in your own hands." In fact, this kind of ritual is meaningless, even if the body of the king is brought back to Black Horn City, all that is left in the end is a head. Only the hardest skull can be made into a bone bowl, and the rest is thrown into the fire in front of all the royal family members. ”

Speaking of this, Zong Gu smiled slightly: "What, do you think that kind of oil is for eating?" ”

Zong Guang lowered his head and fell silent.

"There's always a big gap between imagination and reality, and what you think you can touch is far away. Sometimes, no matter what hard work and effort is put in, it can be seen like a star in the sky, but it is always uncatchable. ”

Zong Gu pondered for a moment and asked seriously, "Ah Guang, have you ever thought about why we were able to win this war?" ”

Zong Guang raised his head, his eyes full of doubts.

This issue has been discussed more than once by the father and son, and all the factors have been analyzed, and all the factors have been identified. Zongguang knew that this father deliberately cultivated and taught him experience.

“…… What are you referring to? Zong Guang cautiously asked, "Is there anything else I haven't noticed?" ”

"I want to say the last and most important part." Zong Gu drank some wine at dinner today, his voice was a little hoarse, and he deliberately slowed down his speech: "...... Grain. ”

"The warriors of Rock City are very brave, whether they are cattle or pigs. Calculating the time, from the departure of the coalition forces to the completion of the first phase of combat missions, Ah Hao's army always rushed to the front, and he even had the ability to send a part of his troops to help us attack the adjacent area. Not to mention the distance, you look at the pig army led by Black Tooth, each of them is strong and skillful, which shows that they did not lack food when they were in Rock City, and they can even be said to have eaten well. ”

"Combat effectiveness can only be ensured if it is adequately nourished. My son, think of the pig villages that we have conquered! Are the beheaded pig warriors afraid of death? In their opinion, we are aggressors. When their homes and loved ones are threatened, they are willing to give up everything for it. But what's the use of that? Food shortage is their biggest problem, they don't have enough to eat, they don't have the strength, and the children grow up and are stunted. You look at these pig captives in Fangs City, and then look at Ah Hao's soldiers, regardless of the superiority in armor and weapons for the time being, even if they are one-on-one hand-to-hand, the pig warriors in Rock City have the upper hand. ”

"He simplified the ritual of sacrificing the pig king, of course, it may be because it is winter, the corpse is not easy to decay, but no matter what, Ah Hao did not kill people to boil oil, let those pig people who should have died live, this is what a ruler should do."

Zong Guang's eyes flashed with enlightenment, and he asked eagerly: "Daddy, what do you mean......"

Zong Gu raised his hand and blocked the words behind him: "Ah Hao has solved the problem from the root, and now the army in Rock City can be called elite. If you have the chance, you should go to Suolong Pass, except for combat experience, the Rock City Warband is no different from those warriors who have been stationed at the pass all year round. ”

“…… I've thought about it, you're still young, and there are some things I have to decide for you. Zong Gu said slowly: "The prisoners who were brought back this time will be given an additional 20,000 people to Ah Hao. ”

"Why?" Zongguang didn't understand his father's thinking at all.

"Because we can't feed so many people." Zong Gu sighed: "Mishui City is not as far away from the sea as Rock City, and the surrounding arable land is limited, even if the cultivation is improved according to the method taught by Ah Hao, it will be difficult to increase the grain output significantly next year." Transforming the captives is not as simple as lip service, you have to keep them fed and willing to stay. Otherwise, if they run out of food, they will still have to flee. ”

Zong Guang thought for a moment and said with a wry smile: "In this way, Rock City will become very powerful. ”

Looking at his somewhat discouraged son, Zong Gu smiled faintly: "If you want to open a little, maybe this is the arrangement of fate." Forcibly taking away what is not our own will only bring us disaster. I thought Ah Hao was a hard stone that I could rely on when I needed it. Now it seems that he should be a high mountain that can shelter us from the wind and rain, and even give us shelter. ”

Zong Guang raised his head, and there was more recognition of these words just now in his eyes: "You mean, follow him?" ”

"Follow him!" Zong Gu replied in the affirmative.

……

To the south, on the road to Fangs, hordes of leonin warriors trotted forward. They had no armor and only weapons on their bodies, which they did to lighten their loads and increase their speed.

According to the custom of the barbarians, only leather armor was worn during the march, and heavy metal armor was loaded on carts and handed over to livestock for hauling. The lightly armed scout squad was far away from the main force, and as soon as they were in danger and signaled, the soldiers immediately ran to the vicinity of the baggage cart and gathered to prepare for battle.

Such accidents rarely occur, at least never in the few battles that Shi Yong led the team on.

He rode on the back of a tall horse. This is a gelding bought from the Tiger Clan at a great price. The Tiger people, who are more cunning than misers, never sell stallions as if they were the most precious treasure in the world.

The cold wind blew on his face like a knife scraping, and Shi Yong held the reins firmly and kept his upper body steady. He pursed his lips, his stiff facial outline mostly shrouded in darkness in the morning light, but he was anxious as he kept clamping his horse's legs, and the heralds around him kept urging the team to speed up.

His Majesty is still so wise, and he can see the importance of the pig clan at a glance. The envoy brought back His Majesty's edict from Roaring City made Shi Yong feel gratified, and the main force of 300,000 was about to set off from Roaring City, which meant that his vanguard had been guaranteed both in terms of strength and logistics. The only question now is whether the Pig King and Fangs will be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive.

"Pick it up, hurry up. The outpost camp must be reached before dark. ”

From the Broken Gold City to the Fangs City, this road has been walked several times. He knew the places he passed along the way, and sent dozens of cavalry and sentry scouts to advance early, on the one hand, for vigilance, and on the other hand, to find and arrange suitable temporary stations for the main force.

It was getting dark, and the lion soldiers who had walked all day were already exhausted. Despite several breaks on the way, they still felt that their feet were sore and their legs were weak, and they just wanted to lie down and rest for a while.

Shi Yong had more questions to consider———— if he couldn't arrive at the scheduled location on time tonight, he wouldn't be able to arrive at Fangfang City before the sun went down tomorrow.

The night march was dangerous, and Shi Yong was unsure if the Niu people besieging Fangfang City had received news of his own troops. The Pig Clan is indeed very important, but if it is to help them put the main force of Broken Gold City in, it will really outweigh the losses.

The sun is getting closer and closer to the horizon, and it is heavy, as if it can fall at any moment. In the vulgar joke of the northern barbarians, "That's an unlucky guy who hasn't for days, and suddenly he feels like he can't take off his pants and solve it on the spot." ”

Twilight was approaching, and more and more blackness dominated the sky, and the shadows of the soldiers running were barely visible on the ground. The anxious Shi Yong's heart was like a fire, he knew that this kind of impatience could not be shown on his face, after all, he was a general of the unified army. He cursed in his heart at the damn time, the damn sun, and the seemingly endless path of the incomparably long road.

A narrow valley appeared directly in front of him, and seeing the trumpet-shaped valley mouth that was expanding outwardly not far away, Shi Yong's tight heart finally slowly loosened, he exhaled a long breath, because of the nervousness, his eyes that had been looking around for a long time also had a sour feeling, he subconsciously raised the back of his hand and wiped the corners of his eyes, and gave an order to the guards around him in a gentle tone: "Speed up and pass through this valley." ”

Although they are both "speed up", the meaning of the two commands is completely different.

This valley is not long, about a mile. At the end of this passage is the outpost camp.

The sun that could not support the suspension finally fell below the horizon, and it was dark all around, and the leon soldiers slowed down their march significantly after entering the valley———— not because they didn't want to be fast, but because the snow was full of rubble and bushes, especially the snow melted more slowly than other places in this semi-enclosed environment, and when you stepped on it, you couldn't even see the surface of your feet.

Shi Yong rode on a horse and was surrounded by soldiers and walked in the middle of the ranks.

For some reason, he suddenly had an unspeakable omen of danger.

Torches were lit in front of and behind the procession, and there were not many of them, dozens of people shared one, and the distance between the two torches in front and back was more than 30 meters. Looking at the faint light that had gone far ahead, swaying and flickering in the cold wind like stars, Shi Yong suddenly understood where the strange feeling in his heart came from.

He grabbed the reins so hard that a herald was called from the front, and asked anxiously, "When was the last time you received news from the sentinel ahead?" ”

The herald remembered this very well, and hurriedly replied, "Lord Qiqi, it's this afternoon." ”

Shi Yong needed a more precise answer: "How long has it been now?" ”

"About five hours." The herald pondered for a moment before answering.

"So long?" Shi Yong's face changed drastically in the dark, and he hurriedly asked with some unwillingness: "They haven't heard from them since?" ”

"Yes." The herald's reaction was very fast, and his thoughts overlapped with Shi Yong's at this moment, and his face was shocked: "My lord, what do you mean......"

"Deliver my order, everyone turn back and leave this valley at once!" Shi Yong almost roared and gave the order.

It is difficult to pass orders in a dark environment, and it is necessary to start from the starting point and follow the heads of people back and forth, shouting in turn for people in the distance to hear. Shi Yong turned his horse's head, he was not worried about the front team that had already penetrated into the valley, there were not many soldiers in that part, at best there were only a few thousand, what really mattered was the rear team, the speed of the command was slow, and it took a lot of time to complete the entire turning action. It's like being stuck in traffic on a highway in civilized times, waiting until the last car at the end of the line gets the news and starts making a U-turn, which is enough to make the driver at the front who desperately wants to get out of this damn highway wear all their patience and wait until they doubt their lives.

Ten minutes passed.

The queue that was waiting still still couldn't move. Everyone was looking forward to their own way, and Shi Yong couldn't help no matter how anxious he was. He regretted it a little, he knew that he shouldn't have entered the valley, and he should have sent someone to get in touch with the outpost camp first. Of course, it may be that I have thought too much, after all, nothing has happened until now. Maybe it's because I'm suspicious, and there's no so-called danger at all.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the distance.

It was a noisy sound, like the slight sound of countless insects crawling over the surface of the sand, their feet touching the gravel. They are densely numerous, and tiny sounds form scales, gradually amplified into a variety of terrible trills.

There were cries for help, shouts to kill, screams, and countless crashes from footsteps stomping on the ground.

The light of the fire in the distance was chaotic, and many torches moved indiscriminately in the darkness, out of order, and completely out of order.

"What's going on? What happened? ”

"I don't know, it seems to be messing up in the back."

"It's our people outside the valley, what's wrong with them?"

The soldiers gathered around Shi Yong whispered, their faces surprised and they took their weapons one after another.

Shi Yong was on a horse, his position was high, and he could see farther than the others.

His muscular countenance was distorted with horror.

"Everybody in a team, defensive formation...... No, rush out, everybody rush out, we can't stay here! ”

The rear team was ambushed.

Someone sneaked up at night.

After thousands of calculations, I never dreamed that the other party would choose this time to start. They didn't even wait for the lion army to enter the valley before attacking.

All the soldiers rushed to the entrance of the valley in a hurry, and the already congested road was instantly blocked.

Shi Yong's heart sank suddenly.