Chapter 67
Wei Mingsu sat up.
The tremors that had startled him stopped, and all was quiet all around.
Wei Mingsu frowned and looked around.
A few stars suddenly appeared in the pitch-black night sky, floating like ghosts in the silent darkness.
There were no stars in the sky before he fell asleep.
That's not starlight.
Wei Mingsu shook the old chieftain's son, Yixi, awake.
Almost simultaneously, countless torches suddenly appeared outside the forest, startling the night birds in the woods, who flew out of their nests, cawing and squawking.
A sinister aura surged from all directions toward the sleeping Duosangbu.
The thunderous sound of horses' hooves echoed, shaking the ground beneath them.
Those are warhorses galloping at high speed!
The Xiliang army has caught up!
Yi Xi was dumbfounded.
The entire Dosang tribe awoke and immediately descended into chaos. Without any orders, everyone frantically grabbed their weapons and scrambled onto their horses.
The menacing sound of horses' hooves had already entered the woods. The Xiliang cavalrymen on horseback roared. They were skilled with swords in battle. In the firelight, the snow-white sabers gleamed coldly. Amidst the deafening hoofbeats and shouts of battle, wherever the long swords swept, blood and flesh flew everywhere.
The Duosang tribe was terrified. Faced with the Xiliang people's sneak attack and fierce offensive, they had no time to form ranks and fight. People and horses collided, horses neighed, weapons clashed, shouts and curses rang out, and the torchlight flickered in the forest, creating chaos.
Yi Xi mounted his horse and looked at his clansmen falling under the swords of the Xiliang soldiers in the distance. His heart sank. He drew his scimitar, pointed it in the north, and shouted, "Retreat! Head north!"
After shouting, he immediately turned his horse and galloped north, with his personal guards following closely behind.
The troops of Dosang were thrown into disarray. The soldiers were exhausted and lost their will to fight. Everyone only knew to flee north. No one organized the soldiers to retreat in an orderly manner, and there was no counterattack. The retreat quickly turned into a rout.
The Xiliang army encountered almost no decent resistance, pursuing the Duosang tribe like a herd of cattle and sheep. The cavalry widened the distance, rushed into the forest, and chased the disheveled Duosang soldiers all over the mountains and plains.
The air was thick with the stench of blood.
Yi Xi did not turn back, but gritted his teeth and spurred his horse northward.
Wei Mingsu rode alongside, though he was not skilled in martial arts. He had been with the Duosang tribe for the past few days and carried a curved sword. Together with Yixi, they retreated northward.
The sky gradually turned a pale white, and the sounds of hooves and shouts of battle echoed through the forest.
The warriors of the Dosang tribe galloped wildly on horseback, pursued by a tidal wave of soldiers, their clothes soaked with blood and sweat.
There were no stars last night, and today is a cloudy day. The sun has not risen, and a slightly chilly mist rises from the woods.
The Xiliang army discovered that more and more horse carcasses were appearing on the road.
Soldiers who lost their horses could only run up the hillsides.
The fog is getting thicker and thicker.
A Xiliang army unit was pursuing the Duosang tribe when they suddenly heard a whooshing sound as arrows flew by. Several figures emerged from the mist on the side, roaring as they launched a small charge. The Xiliang soldiers fell off their horses and were hacked to pieces by the curved swords in their hands.
The surrounding Xiliang army rushed to help, but the few Duosang soldiers, having succeeded, did not linger and fled quickly, dragging their swords.
Another group of Xiliang soldiers gave chase.
The Duosang tribe ran too fast, slowing down the one-sided pursuit by the Xiliang army.
It was almost dawn.
Down the hillside, A-Yi, the guard officer who led the main force and vanguard of the Xiliang army to meet up and formulate the ambush plan the day before yesterday, sat on horseback in full armor and glanced around the battlefield. His brows were furrowed. He suddenly realized that while pursuing the scattered Duosang tribe, they had unknowingly left the forest.
Ayi glanced again at the Duosang tribe, which was slowly being surrounded by the Xiliang army, and a cold smile appeared on his face.
Regardless, the Dosan tribe has collapsed, and today is the day of death for the old chieftain and his sons! He will take their heads back to Governor Uller.
Today marks the end of the Dosan tribe.
Others must be allowed
What happens when tribes betray Xiliang?
All adult men were to be killed, while women and children could be taken back as rewards for soldiers and other tribes.
A-Yi waved.
The soldiers blew the horn, and A-Yi's personal guards rode to the front of the battle, demanding that the old chieftain come out and surrender. The soldiers shouted with him, and the shouts echoed throughout the entire battlefield.
The old chief did not appear.
The soldier continued shouting, mocking him for being less courageous than a rat, and laughed sarcastically.
Laughter echoed in the morning light.
There was still no response from the Dosan branch.
A gust of cold wind blew across the hillside, dispersing some of the pervasive mist.
On the hillside, the routed soldiers of the Dosang tribe piled up the dead horse carcasses and hid behind them.
A-Yi stared at the swaying figure behind the horse carcass, pondered for a moment, and then his face suddenly darkened.
"Is this all the men left in the Dosang tribe? Where is the vanguard commander?"
The vanguard commander quickly arrived, his face pale as he rolled off his horse and knelt on the ground.
Ayi's face turned ashen: "Didn't you say this team was the main force of the Duosang tribe? A tribe of ten thousand people, scattered by us overnight? The old chieftain ran away?"
The vanguard commander broke out in a cold sweat, his face turning pale with fright: "General... the Dosang tribe is too cunning!"
The commander still hasn't figured out what happened.
He stayed close behind the main force of the Duosang tribe. Although the Duosang tribe decisively divided its forces, they did not deceive him. He confirmed that he had found the old chieftain's trail and was waiting for the Xiliang army to arrive so that they could encircle the Duosang tribe together.
He couldn't help but feel secretly pleased after the defeat of the Dosang tribe last night.
But just now he discovered that the leader of this Dosan tribe soldier was not the old chief! This Dosan tribe force probably only numbered a few hundred, and last night's great defeat was a deliberate attempt to mislead them.
The old chief could not abandon his tribe.
They had actually been tricked by the Dosan tribe.
Ayi's good mood vanished. Thinking of Governor Uller's order, his face darkened, and he suppressed his anger, coldly saying, "You stay here. The rest of you, assemble the troops and come with me to pursue the Dosang tribe!"
After saying that, he did not hesitate and turned his horse away from the hillside.
Since this team used me as bait to lure them north, then the Dosang tribe must have run south!
His target was the more than 10,000 men of the Dosan tribe and the head of the old chieftain; the remaining troops on the hillside were already dead in his eyes.
...
The Xiliang army stopped trying to persuade them to surrender and launched an attack directly.
Yi Xi stood behind the horse carcass, covered in blood, holding a curved sword.
A Xiliang soldier rushed forward, slashing the soldier in two with his sword. Blood gushed out, and he stood on the corpse, laughing loudly. He raised his curved sword, pointed at the commander's flag in the distance, and turned to Wei Mingsu, saying, "Governor Wei, General Ayi has seen through our plan."
Like Yi Xi, Wei Mingsu's face was covered in blood, and he was holding a curved knife with a nick on the blade.
He gazed at Ayi, who was leaving in a fit of rage, and said calmly, "The old chieftain and the others should have already reached Wuni City. The Xiliang people can't catch up with them."
Yi Xi laughed loudly: "Governor Wei, I really admire you."
In terms of martial arts and horsemanship, Yi Xi considered himself one of the best warriors in the Duosang tribe, and Wei Mingsu was no match for him.
However, when it comes to methods, he would never dare to compete with Wei Mingsu in cunning.
After the first division of forces by the Duosang tribe, they still could not shake off the Xiliang army behind them. The situation was critical. Wei Mingsu came up with a plan, and the old chieftain agreed to it.
Wei Mingsu and Yi Xi led 500 men away from the Duosang tribe. After a brief clash with the vanguard of the Xiliang army, they immediately fled to rejoin the main force, and then separated again the next day.
Under Wei Mingsu's command and direction, their 500-man force moved at varying speeds and inconsistencies, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, using feints and real attacks to draw the vanguard of the Xiliang army and thus tie down the main force behind them.
The Xiliang people thought they were the main force of the Duosang tribe and relentlessly pursued them, but in fact, the Duosang tribe had already...
Led by the old chieftain, they fled to the city of Uni!
Last night, they stayed up all night again.
People of Xiliang now
Discovering they numbered only a few hundred, they turned back to pursue the Dosang tribe, but it was too late.
Curses came from the other side; the Xiliang people were about to charge again.
Yi Xi turned around and glanced behind him.
Everyone was wounded, and everyone's quiver was empty. Their defeat last night was feigned, but they were indeed exhausted. Their comrades were falling one by one, and soon it would be their turn to be the survivors.
Yi Xi took a deep breath and said, "The people of Xiliang are cruel and greedy. They treat us like lambs, like livestock to be slaughtered at their mercy. For the future of our tribe, we must abandon darkness and embrace light, and submit to the Great Zhou."
He looked at his people.
"We have delayed the Xiliang army and preserved the future of our tribe. Our mothers, wives, and children must have reached a safe place and joined the reinforcements. They will receive fertile land and pastures. Our sacrifice was worthwhile! The tribe will remember us heroes, our names will be passed down from generation to generation, and our descendants will be proud of us!"
"This is where we will be buried. For the sake of our people, we have no regrets in dying. The eagles will carry our souls back to our homeland."
The wounded soldiers wore relieved smiles as they bid their final farewells to their comrades.
Yi Xi turned around and patted Wei Mingsu on the shoulder.
“Governor Wei, although you are a scholar, you are as brave as the men of our Duosang tribe. I admire you. You are a Han Chinese from the Central Plains, and your hometown is in a very far place. It is a pity that you will die with us in this desolate wilderness.”
Wei Mingsu's face was pale, his robe was stained with blood, and his hands were covered in blood.
His face was covered in blood. He raised his eyes and looked eastward, saying, "I used to have a home in Xizhou. This place is very close to Xizhou."
Those were the happiest days of his life.
He was an orphan, and his memories of his hometown were only of poverty and hunger. He didn't need to return to his roots after death; he preferred to die somewhere close to Xizhou.
Yi Xi wiped the blood from his face: "Governor Wei, the men of the Duosang tribe are willing to die for them. What about you? Are you after wealth and glory?"
Wei Mingsu continued to look eastward, calmly saying, "The Western Regions are stable, the borders are peaceful, and the people live in peace."
May peace prevail in this peaceful era, and may the people be greatly sheltered.
Do what you can.
The sounds of battle cries rang in their ears once more.
The Xiliang people charged forward, brandishing their sabers.
Both Yi Xi and Wei Mingsu raised their swords.
Their horses were all dead, and their bodies were covered in countless wounds, all of which were bleeding.
The Xiliang people surrounded them, their overlapping sabers obscuring their vision, each blade gleaming with murderous intent.
Wei Mingsu is exhausted.
With a loud crash, the curved knife in his hand fell to the ground, and he collapsed to the ground as well.
A saber came crashing down on him.
The saber slashed at him and pressed down on his shoulder, but he felt no pain.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of horses' hooves pounding the ground.
A fast horse galloped from the other side of the battlefield. The rider was dressed in a Hu robe and held a pair of long and narrow eagle-head sabers. He charged straight into the crowd, raised his right hand, and a cold light flew out, cutting through the enemy like a whirlwind.
The saber on his shoulder fell to the ground with a thud.
The Xiliang soldier only saw a flash before his eyes before his sword was knocked away, and he was stunned for a moment.
A man dragging a saber walked up to him and cursed him in the Xiliang language. The Xiliang soldier picked up his own sword, turned around, and walked away.
Wei Mingsu looked up at the knife so close to him.
The newcomer leaned down, his voice trembling slightly: "Wood."
Philippians.
A slow smile appeared on Wei Mingsu's blood-stained face.
He thinks he sees her.
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