Chapter 918: Annoying Things
Xiao Yan led his troops deep into the heart of Beiling, fighting all the way from the north of Fengjiang to the Beiling Imperial City. This battle lasted for more than two months.
Although the Beiling army suffered damage, many of them escaped after being surrounded and attacked. Together with the remaining troops held by Beiling Khan Huyan Min, they fought with the Wei army under Xiao Yan for several days. When they were about to be defeated by the Wei army, they suddenly received several reinforcements and stopped the Wei army's advance.
Those reinforcements were not as good as the elite troops of Beiling, and many of them did not even have armor, but they were extremely brave and had excellent horsemanship. In addition, they were familiar with the terrain and relied on the rapid growth of summer grass to conceal their figures. Some of them came and went without a trace, and they used ambushes and sneak attacks to the utmost. Not only did they block the offensive of the Wei army, but they also caused heavy losses to the Wei army in just a few days.
After being ambushed again and Xiao Yan was injured, the atmosphere in the Wei camp became tense.
After the military doctor bandaged Xiao Yan, Xiao Zheng asked anxiously, "How is your Majesty's injury?"
The military doctor said, "General Xiao, your Majesty's injury is not serious. The arrow did not hit a vital part, but the arrowhead was tampered with."
"The arrowhead contains a poisonous herb unique to Beiling called Snake Branch. While its venom isn't fatal upon contact with the wound, it can paralyze the mind and cause general weakness. Even after the poison is removed, the person will be unable to fight for at least three days."
Hang Li's face turned grim. "I remember that the people of Beiling used this poisonous herb to capture wild horses and livestock. It wouldn't kill them but would weaken them. I didn't expect they would use it against us."
The military doctor bandaged Xiao Yan and left. Xiao Yan leaned on the edge of the couch with a pale face.
Xiao Zheng stepped forward, his eyes reddening as he spoke, "It's all my fault for being too careless. I fell into the trap set by the Beiling people. Your Majesty shouldn't have risked his life to save me. What if this arrow was coated with some other poison?"
Xiao Yan raised his lips and said, "I have avoided the vital points, and before leaving the capital, Madam Qin also prepared something to dispel the poison for me."
That thing was extremely rare and could cure all kinds of poisons. He only had two pills in total. He had used up one pill when he was in Southern Qi, and he always had the remaining pill with him. He knew that it was too risky to fall into the trap of the Beiling people to save Xiao Zheng, but he could never watch Xiao Zheng die.
Hang Li noticed that the atmosphere in the tent was a little bad. Xiao Zheng's eyes were red and his mood was in turmoil. He hurried forward and asked respectfully, "Your Majesty, how are you feeling right now?"
Xiao Yan grimaced and shook his head. "This poison is truly wicked. After being poisoned, both hearing and vision will be weakened, and reflexes and pain sensitivity will become dull. Unless one relies on internal energy to suppress it, an ordinary person would likely lose their fighting ability within three days."
Hang Li and Xiao Zheng both looked unhappy when they heard this.
When fighting on the battlefield, hearing and eyesight are extremely important when confronting others, and the loss of pain sensation and slow reaction are even more terrifying. Not feeling pain will make people unaware of their injuries and will not avoid and stop bleeding in time. Slow reaction will also reduce combat effectiveness.
Although His Majesty said that internal force can suppress the poison, most of the soldiers are ordinary people, and they have no ability to resist this thing. Now in midsummer, the grass and trees are growing wildly, and poisonous grass with snake-like branches can be found everywhere in the northern grasslands. If Beiling really uses this thing to deal with them, it will be quite difficult for them.
Xiao Zheng slammed the table beside him and said angrily, "These Beiling barbarians are simply despicable. Not only do they attack us day and night, but they also run away when they can't defeat us. And this is grassland. Their war horses are far superior to ours. We can't catch up even if we want to."
The horses raised by the Wei Dynasty were far inferior to those of the Beiling. Although a batch of them were captured at Luoyan Pass before, those horses had not been domesticated when they entered Beiling, and they did not have enough tacit understanding with the army, so they could not be used to fight. This also led to them always suffering losses when fighting with the Beiling people on horseback.
Hang Li also said in a deep voice, "Previous news is that Beiling has mobilized all its forces southward, and almost all the elite young men from several major tribes have gone to Luoyan Pass. Logically, Hu Yanmin shouldn't have so many troops at his disposal. A few days ago, he was about to retreat, but then a group of reinforcements appeared out of nowhere, and it was them who injured Your Majesty this time."
Xiao Yan pulled his undergarment over the bandaged wound and said as he tied the belt, "They are the Thirteen scattered tribes, and some small tribes that have not previously submitted to the Beiling Royal Court."
After the clothes were fastened, Jinyun came over and brought the outer robe.
Xiao Yan stretched out his gloves and put them on before continuing, "They don't seem like official Beiling soldiers. They're all unconventional. Also, because they don't follow Hu Yanmin's orders, they attack without any warning. If they can defeat us, they fight hard, and if they can't, they run away. This makes it difficult for us to deal with them."
During this period, those people were divided into more than a dozen groups, setting up ambushes and sneak attacks almost day and night. They did not fight them head-on. If the Wei army was marching, they would launch a sneak attack and then run away. If the Wei army set up camp, they would drive away wolves and set fire in the middle of the night.
The losses on the Wei side were secondary. The key was that they were exhausted by these Beiling people.
Xiao Yan had previously managed to set a trap to capture a group of people, but they were not together in the first place, and after one group died, another group remained. Moreover, after they learned their tricks, those people became more and more cunning, and it was impossible to set a trap to capture them, so they had been staying here for almost ten days.
Not to mention Hang Li and the others, even Xiao Yan felt a headache.
"Report!"
Suddenly, a voice commanding soldiers came from outside the tent.
"Come in."
After the curtain was lifted, someone from outside hurried in and knelt down to report, "Your Majesty, several people have come from outside the camp to ask for an audience. They say they are here on the orders of the Empress."
Xiao Yan was stunned. Tang Ning? "Let them in."
Xiao Zheng was puzzled: "Why would the Queen send someone here? And why did she send someone here?"
Xiao Yan rubbed his fingertips for a moment, then suddenly paused, as if he remembered something and the corners of his mouth curled up. His little Haitang came to help him... The curtain in front of the tent was lifted again, and a smile filled Xiao Yan's eyes when he saw the person coming.
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
Xiao Zheng and the other two stared at the leader with their eyes wide open.
"Master Gu?"
Gu Helian was wearing a cloud-patterned brocade robe and a gold-woven jade belt. Even on the northern grasslands, there was not a single gem missing from her waist, and the golden crown on her head was even more dazzling.
His handsome face showed no signs of age, and he smiled at Xiao Zheng and the others with a cheerful look.
"General Xiao, General Hang, long time no see."
He turned his head again and his eyes fell on Xiao Yan's somewhat pale face.
"I heard that His Majesty was injured, so I hurried over here. But now he doesn't look well. If I had known earlier, I would have walked slowly. I have tired out several of my good horses in vain."
As sarcastic as ever, he started to use sharp tongue as soon as he met me.
Xiao Yan wasn't annoyed: "If you're any later, I'll have Tang Ning complain to my aunt, and Patriarch Gu's marriage proposal will be a distant dream."
Gu Helian: “…”
This disgusting thing!
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