Xiguan Border City.

It's getting dark.

Tai Shou Zhangjun's face was gloomy, and he had already sat quietly in his study all night, during which he only took a short break to sleep.

He was worried about the champion Hou and his soldiers and horses.

Zhang Jun was also in charge of the army in his early years, and he knew how important it was to have good generals in the country.

The champion Hou Mingming's qualifications are extremely high, and the future can be expected, but he is eager to make contributions, and he will go out with three hundred people, maybe he has some hole cards, but as long as he misses the slightest mistake, he will lose the whole game, and the wise man will not do it.

"Zhang Taishou, is there any news?" Zhang Qian didn't sleep soundly, and came in from outside the door early in the morning to ask.

Zhang Jun shook his head: "I have sent many scout teams one after another. There are not many roads to the northwest, and if you can find a clue, you should have news back soon. ”

Zhang Qian sat on the side and sighed comfortingly: "Actually, don't worry too much, I have personally learned the speed of the Champion Hou's march." The two battles he fought against the Huns were also real hard battles, and he couldn't be false. ”

"You're saying he can come back even if the situation is bad?" Zhang Jundao.

Zhang Qian snorted: "The battle when he broke the court of the Huns, and his bravery was rumored in the army. I estimate that even if the situation outside Xiguan is mixed and the enemy is outnumbered, at least it will not be a problem for him to come back. ”

Zhang Jun said: "The champion Hou Bingfeng is fast, I have also heard of it.

But the Xiongnu and Xiqiang also have the art of marching, and the Qiang people can come and go like the wind, which is the reason. If you are encircled, it is not so easy to get out. ”

Zhang Qian said: "Champion Hou Marching is not the ordinary kind of fast. And it's very hidden.

It is not so easy for the opponent to let him fall into the encirclement, I am just worried that there are few others but I am eager to make meritorious contributions and put myself in danger. ”

Zhang Jun shook his head: "The people I sent out, although they haven't found any trace of the champion Hou.

But we have been at war with the Xiongnu all year round, and our closest guard has always been the Xiongnu, so there are scouts, and they have been staring at the Western Xiongnu who are closest to us. The news sent back said that the troops and horses of the Hutu King had also left the camp in the past few days, and their whereabouts had not yet been determined.

At least in three or four thousand troops. I have issued an order to strictly prevent the Xiongnu and Qiang people from rushing through the pass. ”

Zhang Qian was obviously surprised: "You mean that the Xiongnu and the Qiang people want to act together?" ”

In the northwest corner of the Han border, the Xiongnu and Qiang tribes often colluded and divided their troops, intending to disturb the judgment of the Han army and facilitate their actions.

Zhang Jun said in a deep voice: "I thought that my Han had General Wei and the champion Hou was born, and in a few years, the champion Hou really grew up, and the military affairs became more and more proficient, and my Han army had the hope of completely sweeping away the border troubles."

I didn't expect it to be like this, it's better to meet than to be famous...... Champion Hou is not cautious in using soldiers, and sooner or later there will be big problems.

Some problems, maybe just once, will cost you all the previous wins. ”

"You really think highly of him, and when he was young, I knew that he would not be able to achieve much in the future."

Zhang Jun was talking to Zhang Qian when another old voice came from outside the door.

The two looked towards the door and saw a tall thin old man in a brown brocade robe and Hanfu, with a cane in his hand, walking in slowly.

"How did the clan elder come here in person?" Zhang Jun got up and said.

The one who came in was the uncle of the contemporary patriarch of the Li clan in Longxi, Li Yanqing, a great Confucian in the dynasty.

He and the old prime minister Sun Hong, although they did not become officials back then, they were invited to be a teacher for Liu Che, who was still young, and his status was respected.

Later, Liu Che was older, and he taught the children of the clan in Chang'an for a long time.

The reason why the Li family in Longxi is prominent is that its family is scattered, and the invisible influence is everywhere.

"That champion Hou didn't respect his teacher when he was a child, he had a perverse personality, and he didn't learn the ancient law, how could it be true. Can he still be higher than the sages and saints of the past generations? ”

"I received a message from Chang'an, knowing that when Huo Qu was sick in Chang'an, he also included the silk book of my Li family's inheritance into the military mansion, I want to see who gave him the courage to take away my Li family's inheritance."

Li Yanqing knocked on the ground with a cane, and after taking a seat, he said:

"It's also a lesson for him to go out of Xiguan without permission, but it's a pity that the soldiers he took out with, with him, I'm afraid that it will be more than lucky.

When I was teaching in the palace, I once said that this son would suffer a big loss because of arrogance in the future. ”

"He can defeat the Huns twice, and he has a sharp spirit in the whole battle, and he may have some bravery, but when he gets a little cheap, he thinks he is a soldier saint?"

Zhang Qian was a little shocked when he heard it on the side: This old man is so bold, he is the champion of the dynasty, the husband of the princess, and the good general of the country. I don't know how the champion Hou offended this Li family.

Li Yanqing's eyes sharpened slightly: "Master Dong is still too gentle." If it were me, I would reprimand him to his face.

At that time, I only said a few words to him, and he secretly dug a pit at the door of the teaching room, and disguised it on the surface, so that he could hide it from me.

I stumbled defenselessly into the pit...... The hole was dug in exactly the same way as my steps, and it was exactly the same. I sank in with one foot, causing the whole room to laugh and lose face. ”

"He was only six years old at the time, and you say how lawless he was."

Li Yanqing's old but not cloudy eyes narrowed slightly: "With his character, if he encounters a real strong enemy, as long as he loses once, all the pride in the past will be stripped off...... Nothing from now on! ”

"I heard that he came to Xiguan...... I rushed over by car overnight, and I knew that he couldn't bear his temperament and would go out arrogantly. ”

Zhang Jun hurriedly said: "You can't say these things in front of outsiders, and if the champion Hou comes back later, you can't say it......"

Li Yanqing sneered: "I hope he can come back......"

Before he could finish speaking, a soldier hurriedly came in from outside.

Seeing that Zhang Jun was sent out to listen to the news, his heart tightened slightly: "How is the situation?" Do you know where the champion Hou is going? ”

"No, I haven't found any trace of the champion Hou, but the scouts who went out to investigate have come back to a team.

They found that dozens of miles away from Xiguan, on the edge of the area we usually inspected, there were corpses of the ancient Qiang and Hun cavalry, and there were not a few, and there was obviously a battle. ”

Zhang Jun asked: "Is there a corpse of my Han army?" ”

"No Han troops were found, and the Qiang tribe had the largest number of casualties. The scouts carefully identified and found that some of the people wearing the uniforms of our Han army were actually Qiang, not our Han army.

There were at least 1,7800 Qiang people who died, and all of them were in the prime of life, and they should be the elite of a certain tribe.

There were also five or six hundred dead Huns! ”

Zhang Jun, Zhang Qian, and Li Yanqing looked at each other.

"Let's probe and find out the situation as soon as possible."

The scout turned to leave, not wanting a new scout to come in:

"Report: We went northwest to explore for nearly two hundred miles, and did not find the champion Hou, but found that the camp where the Guqiang Department was located was on fire."

"There are scouts who are close to investigate, and not only is the whole village on fire in the ancient Qiang department, but there are also Qiang corpses everywhere.

At present, it has been determined that the ancient Qiang tribe was destroyed by fire, and the people in the middle of the clan were also killed in large numbers. Many of the outer walls of the camp collapsed, as if caused by a strong attack. ”

Zhang Jun and Zhang Qian were stunned.

The Guqiang tribe is one of the most powerful tribes outside Xiguan.

They often partnered with the Xiongnu to commit crimes, and if they wanted to select the Qiang tribe with the deepest hatred and the most hateful hatred against the Han people, the ancient Qiang tribe must be among them.

Overnight, the Guqiang Department was actually destroyed?

"But any other news?"

"The scout stood on the high ground where the Guqiang Department was located, and found that there were other fires in the northwest direction.

The scouts explored along the road and learned that each fire point was a Qiang tribe, extending all the way to the northwest, and so far four large and small Qiang tribes have been found, which have been burned clean by fire and the tribes have been completely destroyed......"

The scout had a happy face when he first spoke, and he couldn't wait to laugh out loud, but his voice became a little muffled.

He had been a scout in Xiguan for three years.

In the past three years, I can't remember how many times I have encountered the Xiongnu and Qiang people at the border, and how many of the same team of robes around me died in battles with the Qiang people and the Xiongnu soldiers, and they are gradually blurred in their memories and dare not think about it.

Only the hatred with these foreign races is deep-seated!

…… When he said a few words, the faces that had fought side by side in his mind resurfaced in a trance, vividly in his mind, and he was already depressed.

Zhang Jun and Zhang Qian thought about it in unison.

The Qiang people's stockade was burned, apparently due to external forces.

Where did the external force come from so fiercely that it burned down the company camp overnight and destroyed many Qiang villages?

Champion Hou?

But he only brought a few hundred soldiers, even if he had hidden means, he could even break the ancient Qiang and other departments that had been a disaster for many years?

There are nearly 10,000 warriors in the ancient Qiang tribe, not to mention that other tribes were also burned, plus the Xiongnu......

Zhang Jun and Zhang Qian were silent.

Li Yanqing also frowned deeply, trying to analyze the news brought back by the scout.

It wasn't until that afternoon that they received further confirmation.

Because more than 100 people from the border army who followed Huo Quai's expedition came back under the leadership of Captain Xu Jia.

Zhang Jun immediately ordered Xu Jia to come and see him.

A quarter of an hour later, Xu Jia came to the mansion where Zhang Jun was.

Zhang Jun saw Xu Jia from a distance and had a feeling that Xu Jia seemed to be a little different from before, and he couldn't say where it was.

"I've seen Taishou, I've seen Bowanghou."

Xu Jia glanced at Li Yanqing, he didn't know him, and when he saw his big horn sitting there, he didn't dare to call him arbitrarily.

"Where is the champion?"

"What did Champion Hou do last night?"

"What about the champion Hou? Why did you come back first? ”

"Is it the champion Hou who set fire to the Qiang camp?"

Several people in the room asked questions continuously.

Xu Jia's eyes suddenly bloomed with a strange brilliance, and said: "Champion Hou is still in command of the army outside and has not returned, I obeyed Champion Hou's order, and came back to deliver the gains captured last night, there are a lot of things, I really can't carry it."

In addition, I have to bring Master Hou's words to Taishou! ”

As Xu Jia spoke, he took out a leather scroll from his body, then spread it out, and placed it on the low seat in front of Zhang Jun.

"It's ......"

Zhang Jun and Zhang Qian, including Li Yanqing on the side, also looked over: "This is a marching map?" ”

"Not exactly."

Xu Jia's expression was faintly excited: "This is the combat route drawn by Hou Ye before the war, the pre-war deduction, and the combat method. Master Hou asked me to bring it back to Taishou to see, saying that Taishou would know his intentions when he saw it! ”

In the afternoon, the sun shines in through the window, and the light inside the house is just right.

Zhang Jun looked intently, but saw that the map was depicted on the terrain around Xiguan.

The map is densely marked, if it is not a marching person, I am afraid that I will be dizzy when I look at it, and I don't understand the meaning at all.

Zhang Jun looked at it for a moment, but his expression became solemn, and he stretched out his hand and pointed to a red line extending from Xiguan: "This is your marching route last night, and the first stop to leave Xiguan is a dangerous pass one hundred and fifty miles away, Huangkouyi?" ”

(End of chapter)