In a panic, the caravans pulled their camels and fled the valley, and once they dispersed, the bandits were still able to kill them one by one.

Li Siye stepped forward and asked loudly at them, "The valley is surrounded by an unobstructed view, can you escape?" ”

The leader of the caravan was quite calm, and while reassuring everyone not to run away, he replied to Li Siye: "General Li, the sand thieves are generally a group of dozens of people, they are ruthless, they are not afraid of the king's law, they will not be afraid because the general is in a high position, the general should think about the strategy of getting out first." ”

"The best way to get out is to fight head-on, you don't have weapons on you? All of you take out your swords, and General Ben is sitting outside, and he will definitely protect your safety. ”

Everyone looked at each other, although they didn't dare to believe it, but they still had a natural dependence and trust on the Tang army, and the leader of the caravan pulled out the barrier knife on his waist and shouted: "Pull out the sword!" Wrap the camel cargo in the center and form a circle. ”

The merchants drew out the weapons of different lengths they carried, surrounded the camels in the center, and looked at the sand thieves who were rushing in the dust, their faces turned pale and their faces were frightened.

Li Siye immediately ordered Fuji Mu and Yan Xiaosi: "Fuji Mu, Yan Xiaosi, take out the horn bow and prepare for battle." ”

The sand thieves were menacing, and from a distance there were about forty people, each riding two horses, one for riding and one for carrying stolen goods.

Li Siye untied the horn bow from his body and said to the two: "Strike first, shoot down the three first." ”

The galloping hooves of the sand bandits were only more than a hundred steps away from them, and Li Siye pulled the horn bow like a full moon, and said loudly: "Shoot down the one who carries the bow first!" ”

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the bowstring in his hand vibrated and the arrow flew out like lightning, hitting the neck of a sand thief, who fell from his horse and fell into the dust. Yan Xiaosi and Fuji Mu also shot and wounded a sand bandit each.

The sand bandits rushed to a place more than fifty paces away from them, and only then did several bandits start to draw their bows and shoot arrows, not because they were not good at archery, but because they used wooden bows made of poplar and boxwood, and the ejection power was far inferior to the horn bows made of Tang Jun's wood and ox horns.

Li Siye crouched sideways on his horse, dodging the oncoming arrows.

The bandits soon split into two parts, one in front of the other and one in the valley, reining in their horses and holding wooden bows to confront the caravan.

The bandits, dressed in mutilated leather armor and tattered tanned leather, carried poplar bows, and had a wide wrought iron knife hanging from their waists, were clearly at a disadvantage in terms of equipment. If it weren't for the protection of this caravan, Li Siye and the other three could have used the method of letting go of the wind to pull their bows and shoot from a distance to break their fighting spirit.

The leader of the sand bandits was half a horse above the rest of the group, his beard was scruffy and his face was thin, and his two eyes sunken in his sockets were as clear and deep as deep wells.

He squinted his eyes and looked at Li Siye's crotchless robe, which was crimson in color, with a goldfish bag around his waist and a belt of eleven yuan. "There is actually a senior official of the Tang Army? When we encounter a hard idea, we withdraw! ”

He was about to withdraw when he pulled out the horse's head first, but there was a fierce-looking and sturdy man in the team, but he suddenly raised his hand and stopped: "Big cabinet, can't be withdrawn!" We folded three people in this transaction, this is a blood compensation, how can we get back if we don't kill them?"

When Li Siye heard this, he immediately untied the long-handled Mo knife from the horse, removed the scabbard, and held it in his hands so that the sun shone on it, and he held the handle of the knife and turned it gently, so that the knife surface reflected the light, and it shook on the faces of the bandits one by one like a mirror.

These raised their hands to dodge or squinted their eyes, only this strong man was not afraid, shaking the reins of his horse and stepping forward, this person should belong to the second cabinet among the bandits, and now he is on a par with the big cabinet.

The more he knew the destiny of heaven, he couldn't see what kind of expression he was when he squinted his eyes, but Li Siye guessed that he was probably unhappy in his heart. Why didn't he reprimand the strong man and maintain his position as the leader? It may just be that he is concerned about the current situation, and he is worried about exposing the rift in the gang to the caravan. Contrasting the youthfulness of the strong man with his old age, this sand bandit has already exposed the imminent replacement of old and new powers.

If this person is killed by thunder means, the sand bandits will be deterred, so that these people have an intuitive impression of their combat power, and it is estimated that they can be driven back.

The strong man gritted his teeth and stretched his muscles, his eyes showed a fierce light, and he turned his head back and spoke to the bandits behind him: "Tang Jun is very afraid!" The big officials are very afraid! Since we have already become bandits, we have to go against the officials, and the forty people can't get rid of just two or three lonely Tang Army officials? Even if the Tang army comes to retaliate in the future, we will kill all the people in this caravan, and there is no proof of death!"

"Drive!"

Li Siye knocked the horse's buttocks with the handle of the knife, and the black and fat hooves ran out, accelerated and ran with a 100-meter sprint, and pounced on the sand thieves with lightning speed.

"We are not the only sand bandits in this area, as long as we hide, the Tang Army may not be able to..."

He came in an instant, brandished the Mo knife and slashed horizontally between the lightning and flint, and then picked it up, and the strong man's neck was like a fountain of hot blood, and the bloody head flew back with the blade, and was grabbed by Li Siye by the hair and dragged in his hand, and the knife was slapped back and back.

The little eyes of the leader of the sand bandits widened, and the dirty blood of the second cabinet splashed half of his face and half of his chest, and the purple-red blood plasma scorched and stinged. The rest of the bandits gasped in unison, and even the horses under them kicked the sand and retreated in shock.

Li Siye dragged the horse's head back to the caravan and threw the human head in his hand on the ground. He raised the Mo knife in his hand and said loudly to the bandits: "This is a horse sword, which is used to cut you bandits, and it can be regarded as a cattle knife for killing chickens." Whoever wants to avenge him, just come forward!"

With that, he raised the Mo knife above his head again and slashed it down at an oval pebble on the riverbed. The blade was like silver shining on the ground, and the pebble was split in two from the middle, and the ground was split in half in unison.

The leader of the sand bandits tightened the reins of his horse and said in a low voice from his throat: "There are profits and losses in trading, and the goods that cannot be eaten cannot be forced, we will withdraw!"

He was the first to beat his horse and turn around, and the bandits followed him and whipped the horse's rump, and the horse's hooves trampled on the sand and gravel along the riverbed, and the two teams in front and behind stepped out two clouds of smoke and dust, like a rolling mud flow mixed together, and the dense clattering horses' hooves gradually disappeared at the end of the horizon.

Li Siye felt that the leader of the sand bandits should be grateful to him in his heart, and helped him eradicate the unstable factors within the team that tried to rise to the top.

During the period between the appearance of the sand thieves and their interception, the vendors were petrified into sculpture dead wood, and they did not even dare to make a sound. They were trying to reduce their sense of presence as much as possible and not to cause trouble for the Tang Army.

When the sand thieves completely disappeared, half of the turbid breath that everyone was holding in their stomachs slowly spit out, and they climbed off their camels one after another, supported each other and moved to kneel in front of Li Siye, and thanked him in a low voice: "If it weren't for the general here today, we would have already become the meat of the sand bandits, please ask General Li to accept my worship."

His heart was very tight, and he hurriedly turned over and dismounted, supported the leaders and traders kneeling in the front row one by one, and said: "Everyone, please hurry up, it is the duty of my Anxi Army to protect the territory and the people, if you can't even protect you in front of the bandits, what qualifications do you have to accept the court."

The leader of the caravan clenched his hands, stretched out his thumb and cocked it, and said gratefully: "The general has a great heart and does not care about the retribution, but I can't wait for it."

"Yes, yes, that's right, the general's life-saving grace, our strength is shallow, and we can't repay it, so we can only bow down and bow down to thank the general."

Everyone bowed on the ground three times in a row, and then the leader stood up with the support of Li Siye, and he waved his hand and said to everyone: "Everyone, there is still a long way to go to the next stop of Kancheng to defend the road, we should rush to rest as soon as possible."

The businessmen said yes again and again, and followed Li Siye along the edge of the desert, and the leader rode a camel to follow Li Siye's side, taking the initiative to act as a tour guide and a supporter, telling him about the customs and customs of this place.

Compared with the mountains at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, surrounded by forests, gurgling streams, and lush pastures, the end of this yellow endless desert really has the soul characteristics of the Western Regions, and the west has countless ancient legends, the once prosperous and rich Loulan, and the strange and mysterious ancient country. Oh, the daughter country that Tang Xuanzang encountered in Journey to the West does exist, but it is called Subi Kingdom, which is a matriarchal society ruled by the queen, and has now been annexed by Tibet.

Li Siye nodded his head in response to the harmony, while thinking about the plan in his heart, an idea came to him by chance, and he turned his head and asked the caravan leader: "Are you going to the Western Regions to do business all year round?"

(ps: There was a bug before, the six classics of the Tang Dynasty recorded that every thirty miles in the country is a post, eighty post stations are two thousand four hundred miles, and the middle section of the Silk Road is not so long in Khotan, so it was revised to thirty-two stations.) ）