The border city is not big, there is only one main street that runs through the north and south, and the rest are all small alleys, twisting and turning, each of which is not spacious.

Now the people have moved to the south, and the north is occupied by military camps, which are very well defended, and there are soldiers patrolling every small alley at every moment.

If he wants to get out of the city, he can only go to the south of the city.

The hundred guards Sheng Hong gave him all lived at the inn, but they lived far away from him, because his neighbors to the left and right were officials who came with him.

Li Man was separated from him by a few rooms, and they lived relatively close.

Originally, the guards wanted to stand guard in front of his door, and Sheng Hong's order was to protect his safety no matter what, but he didn't want the door god, so he refused to stand guard at the door of his house on the way here.

After coming to the border city, he refused even more completely.

Next to the post station is the barracks, and the sense of security is really full.

However, the guards did not let their guard down and could not stand guard at his door, so they patrolled the yard of the post station.

He wanted to get out, but he had to avoid the patrolling guards.

Alas...... He wants to kill Hu Ren, but it's really not easy.

That night, he slept only one hour so that he could find out the regularity and time of the Guards' patrols.

An hour's sleep was enough for him, and when he noticed that the official next door was up, he got up too.

I'm going out of the city today.

After a simple breakfast, Chang Wuchang came, yesterday the Hu people did not make trouble, did not attack the border city, and did not want to quietly cross the Great Wall.

Yesterday was calm, then today we have to be vigilant.

Therefore, Chang Wuchang hoped that Li Qiao would go to the Great Wall to inspect first, and not go north to the junction of the Hu people and Dasheng, in case the Hu people suddenly attacked, he was afraid that Li Qiao would be frightened.

Chang Wuchang's proposal, Li Qiao gladly accepted, anyway, he had to inspect everywhere, so let's go to the Great Wall today.

The border city is very close to the Great Wall, and it is a quick ride by horse-drawn carriage.

Qi Shuang saw Li Qiao, his eyes were shining, and his face was full of gratitude.

He ate the vermicelli stew last night, and it was so delicious!

Those soldiers standing guard on the Great Wall, although facing forward and not squinting, knew that it was Li Qiao who came, and their hearts couldn't help but gush with gratitude.

Yesterday's meat was so delicious!

Thank you, Lord Lai, thank you, Holy Lord!

The defense of the Great Wall is very tight, five steps, one post, ten steps and one sentry, and there is enough firewood and grass in the beacon, if there is a Hu attack, the soldiers will quickly light the beacon fire to pass on the news.

Li Qiao stayed on the Great Wall for most of the day and did not return to the city until the afternoon.

The Hu people haven't made trouble yet, Li Qiao took a look at the sky, and proposed to go to the river in front of the border city to have a look.

Chang Wuchang had no opinion, so the group went to the river.

That river is called the gourd river because the shape is somewhat like a gourd.

Many trenches were dug in front of the border city, so on the way to the Hulu River, Li Qiao could only walk, and horses and vehicles could not pass smoothly.

The Hu people are all cavalry, and there have been only a few ways to deal with cavalry throughout the ages, Li Qiao crossed the trench on foot, and when he came to the Hulu River, it was already a little dark.

At this time, the Hulu River was still frozen, and the ice was very thick, and there was no sign of melting.

Relying on this thick layer of ice, the horses of the Hu people were unimpeded.

He narrowed his eyes and looked across the river.

The Hu people didn't act for three days, is this preparing for a big wave?

Chapter 239: Ice Crack

The night is vast, and even if Li Qiao's eyesight is good, his range of vision is limited.

The Hulu River is more than 40 meters wide, and the bank of the river is a soil slope more than 30 meters high.

It's winter, and the grass on the dirt slope is dead.

No, to be exact, there were only a few dead grasses left on the dirt slopes, because there had been so many battles there, and the horses and humans had finished giving the dead grass there.

At the same time, there were soldiers patrolling the nearby river.

Soldiers also patrol the dirt slopes on the banks of the river.

According to Chang Wuchang's words, from east to west, with the border city as the diameter, there are soldiers patrolling for 30 miles.

He glanced at the squad of soldiers not far away, and sighed in his heart, it was really not easy for him to kill a Hu man quietly.

Since it is so difficult to get out of the city, why not use the ice in the gourd river to kill the Hu people......

He walked forward, and soon stepped on the ice of the Hulu River, which was very thick, as if he were stepping on the ground, and he raised his foot and stomped lightly, and the ice did not respond.

Chang Wuchang laughed and said: "Brother Li, this ice is very thick, and your little strength is to tickle the ice." ”

Li Qiao was suddenly a little ashamed: "Then how thick is this ice?" ”

"A few days ago, the brothers in the house came to fish, and it took a lot of effort to chisel the ice, and it was almost two feet thick, and the horses of the Hu people were so happy on it, and the ice was stunned."

Chang Wuchang couldn't laugh anymore, and sighed: "Every time the Hu people attack, I will pray, hoping that the ice of the Hulu River will suddenly crack and serve the Hu people, but it is still frozen Bang Bang hard!" ”

The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became, and he couldn't help but raise his foot and stomp heavily on the ice.

In the next second, an extremely faint click sounded, the sound was very small, and it was almost swallowed up by the whirring cold wind.

But because at this time, Li Qian and Chang Wuchang did not speak, and Li Man and Chang Wuchang's personal soldiers were standing more than ten meters away and were silent, so this faint sound still reached Chang Wuchang's ears.

His bull's eyes opened instantly, and he looked at Li Qiao with an incredulous expression, and asked in a whisper with a bit of disbelief: "Brother Li, did you hear any sound just now?" ”

Li Qian also made a surprised look, and said with a little uncertainty: "It seems that I heard the sound of ice cracking, but I can't hear it clearly." You have a lot of strength, why don't you stomp your feet again? ”

"Okay!"

As soon as he heard Li Qiao, he also heard the clicking sound, and Chang Wuchang almost grinned at the back of his ear, he didn't have auditory hallucinations just now!

He quickly smiled, his ears pricked up, and he poured his strength into his legs, and stomped down three times, and the click sounded again, and it was much clearer than before.

Chang Wuchang was excited at this moment, and under his ecstasy, he subconsciously reached out to grab Li Qiao's shoulder.

But halfway through his hand, he suddenly remembered his great strength, and hurriedly took his hand back.

His face turned into a smile: "This ice is really cracking!" Although I have a lot of strength, I definitely can't compare to the tens of thousands of iron horsemen of the Hu people, and when the time comes, the Hu people will cross the river again, then ......"

At this point, the smile on his face froze, and his words stopped.

He raised his hand and slapped his head violently: "I'm happy early, now the ice is showing signs of melting, but when it comes to night, it will definitely freeze again!" ”

The border city was quite cold at night, enough to refreeze the crack just now.

“…… Also. Li Qiao also turned from excitement to frowning, but soon he said: "The coldest period has passed, and the temperature will only continue to rise in the future, and the ice of this gourd river will not last long." ”

But impermanence is not optimistic.

The temperature in the border city has been quite low in recent years, and even after the Lantern Festival, there is a possibility of heavy snowfall.

Before that, the Hu people crossed the river as if they were walking on flat ground, and Dasheng's soldiers were not sure how many more dead and wounded.

"That's it, let's go back first, and we'll see how thick this freeze is tomorrow."

"Okay."

Li Qiao can only respond.

So the two left the Hulu River and returned to the city.

In front of the border city were all trenches, and the trenches smelled of blood, but they were cleaned very cleanly, and the arrows, blades, stones, including the ladders and horses left behind by the Hu people, were always picked up by Chang Impermanence.

The war is a war of attrition, the Hu people are not skilled in iron smelting, iron ore is scarce, it is difficult for the Hu people to supply after consuming these materials, and if it goes on for a long time, the overall strength will definitely weaken.

Compared with Dasheng, the Hu people could not afford to fight a protracted war.

It was already dark by this time, the torches had been blown out several times, and every few meters there was a trench, and on the way back, Li Qiao's shoes were already full of mud.

Back at the inn, he had a brief dinner, then washed and went to sleep.

Tomorrow he will go out of town early in the morning.

He woke up when the first wave of soldiers in the barracks was running for training.

It was only five o'clock in the morning, and he got up quickly, and then went straight to the barracks with Li Man and fifty members of the guards.

Breakfast was a big pot of rice in the barracks, sweet potato millet porridge, multigrain cakes, and small pickles.

After breakfast, before dawn, he and Chang Wuchang went out of the city.

Chang Wuchang's heart is quite worried, it's quite cold at this time, the ice should be frozen again, right?

Coming to the river, he deliberately walked to the same position he had taken last night.

But Li Qiao's ears moved, and her eyes looked at the bank of the river.

Soon, Chang Wuchang came to the position where he stood last night, he first stomped lightly on the surface of the river twice with his foot, and then looked sad: "It must be frozen, this ice has no reaction at all." ”

"Try it first."

Li Qiao retracted her gaze and suppressed the joy in her heart.

At the same time, ten droplets of water the size of a grain of rice rolled silently along the ice in the east and west directions in the night.

"Done." Chang Wuchang raised his right foot as he spoke, ready to stomp on it a few times, but before his foot fell, Li Qiao suddenly pulled his sleeve: "My lord! There is a bonfire on the shore! ”

Well?

Chang Wuchang's heart sank, and he no longer bothered to check the thickness of the ice, he hurriedly raised his eyes to look at the shore.

Under the dirt slope of the bank, a small bonfire has just been lit, and the light of the fire is not large, but it is enough to see it by the river.

His face changed in an instant, this is Hu Ren coming!

He suddenly pulled out the saber on his waist, and then vigorously pushed Li Qiao to go back: "Brother Li! Go back to the city, go back to the city! Let your guards carry you on your back, hurry! ”

"I don't need to carry the guards, I can walk on my own."

Li Qiao walked back quickly.