Chapter 31 Chapter 31
Such a large-scale herd of horses reminded Sister Zhao of the scene when the barbarians invaded before. The sound of horse hooves was like thunder at that time. If she had not been alert and ran away with others in advance, their tribe would probably have disappeared by now.
Could it be that the barbarians are attacking Anyuan Prefecture again?
Although it is unlikely that the barbarians will come again after a large-scale attack, Sister Zhao doesn't dare to gamble. What if they come again? If she loses the bet, she will lose her life.
Xiao Jingzhao also became alert. Although he had never faced a barbarian invasion, his inner vigilance still made him think of some not-so-good guesses.
Xiao Jingzhao pulled Jiang Huai out of the tent and looked around, wanting to see where the horse was taken. If there really was an enemy coming, hiding in the tent would be the most unsafe, and escaping on horseback would be safer.
As for what others should do if there really were enemies coming, Xiao Jingzhao didn't care about that.
Jiang Huai wasn't too nervous at first. After all, he had never experienced war before, so he didn't think much about it. But seeing Xiao Jingzhao getting so nervous, Jiang Huai realized something was wrong and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"
"These horse hoof sounds may be the result of a large group of cavalry." Xiao Jingzhao did not hide it from Jiang Huai and explained in a deep voice.
Jiang Huai took a deep breath. Anyuan Prefecture was located on the border. Going a little further from Sister Zhao's tribe was the territory of the barbarians. Such a large group of cavalry rushing over was most likely a barbarian invasion.
After being in Anyuan Prefecture for so many days, Jiang Huai has more or less understood the brutality of the barbarians. Judging from the sound, the barbarian cavalry might pass by the tribe to rest. If the situation is really as he guessed, then they are all in danger.
"Mr. Jiang, judging from the sound, the herd of horses is still some distance away from us. We don't know whether they are friends or foes. You should get on your horse and run away." Sister Zhao made a prompt decision. Although she might be wrong, it was still not too late to run. If she was any later, she would not even have the chance to make fried noodles.
After talking to Jiang Huai, Sister Zhao looked at everyone. Originally, everyone had happy smiles on their faces, but now, they all looked panicked.
"Don't panic. It's almost night. Let's all get on our horses and run for our lives. Whoever can escape must run. Go to..." Sister Zhao paused and still didn't say where to meet. After all, if they were caught, the meeting place would not be safe.
Might as well let others run free.
As for guessing wrong, nothing serious will happen even if we hide outside for a night.
Having made the decision, Sister Zhao no longer hesitated and took everyone to the stable and had them ride horses to escape.
He hugged Luo Yuan tightly and wanted to ride on the same horse with him, but Luo Yuan refused and jumped onto the horse directly.
"Mom, two people riding a horse can't run fast. I'm not a child anymore, I can ride a horse." Luo Yuan's face was stern, urging He to ride alone. He knew very well that if he let his mother ride with him, if they encountered danger, He would definitely want him to escape and disregard her own safety.
Instead of this, it would be better for each of us to ride a horse, so that we have more chances of survival.
He wanted to stop them, but Sister Zhao didn't have the time to waste. After she was sure, she told them to ride away on horseback quickly because time waited for no one.
Xiao Jingzhao put his arm around Jiang Huai and took him on the horse. The horse he chose was the fattest and strongest among all the horses. Sister Zhao took a look and hesitated, but still said nothing. She rode a big horse and fled with the others.
Jiang Huai hugged Xiao Jingzhao's waist tightly. The north wind was so fierce that it caused him to feel a sharp pain.
"Could it really be a barbarian invasion?" Jiang Huai kept thinking about the original plot in his mind.
According to the original records, apart from the incident with the Wei family, Anyuan Prefecture was almost conquered by the barbarians. After that, the barbarians did not gain any advantage in Anyuan Prefecture, and there was no record of the barbarians attacking the city on a large scale. It was impossible that the butterfly effect of his time traveling through time led to this result.
Thinking about what he had done these days, Jiang Huai shook his head, wondering how his actions could possibly cause such a big change.
"Maybe not."
After hearing the answer, Jiang Huai realized that he had actually said what was in his mind. However, Xiao Jingzhao's answer made Jiang Huai even more curious. If it was not a barbarian invasion, then what could it be?
"In addition to the barbarians in the northern border who have such a large-scale cavalry, Anyuan Prefecture also has a cavalry that has been missing for a long time. The direction they disappeared in is the barbarian territory." Xiao Jingzhao whispered.
The battle a few months ago was too brutal, and both the Wei family and Anyuan Prefecture suffered heavy losses. However, in this battle, five thousand cavalry disappeared, and no one knew where Wei Xuan took this cavalry?
Later, the Wei family was exposed for having secret dealings with the barbarians and using the bandits as leverage. Some people suspected that Wei Xuan had defected to the barbarians with his cavalry, or that he was eliminated by the barbarians while having secret dealings with them.
There are all kinds of speculations throughout the Great Zhou, but most people think that Wei Xuan is in a bad situation, otherwise if he is still able to move, he would not be able to sit still after learning about the Wei family's affairs.
The people of Anyuan Prefecture trust the Wei family the most. Even though Wei Xuan has not appeared for several months, they still believe that the Wei family has not betrayed the Great Zhou. However, they are becoming more and more pessimistic about Wei Xuan's situation, thinking that something must have happened to Wei Xuan.
But Xiao Jingzhao didn't believe that his uncle would get into trouble like this, and he kept investigating.
Xiao Jingzhao's words instantly reminded Jiang Huai. He remembered that the original text mentioned that Wei Xuan was not only fine, but he quickly cleared the Wei family's grievances after returning and even took full control of the military power of Anyuan Prefecture. It can be said that the reason why the deposed prince was able to succeed in the original text was inseparable from the ability of this uncle.
The reason why Wei Xuan was able to clear the Wei family of the grievances was because he returned with a great victory. Although Anyuan Prefecture seemed to have been badly beaten by the barbarians, Wei Xuan's military exploits in the barbarian heartland were even more dazzling. He fought for thousands of miles, broke through several cities in succession, and captured countless captives and cattle and sheep, which made the barbarians unable to recover for several years.
But what did Wei Xuan come back with?
Jiang Huai pondered over it, but unfortunately the original text was not written in such detail. However, Jiang Huai felt that it was very likely that this cavalry was led by Wei Xuan. After all, according to the original records, the barbarians had been beaten badly by Wei Xuan at this time, and it was almost impossible for them to organize troops to continue attacking Anyuan Prefecture.
Even though Anyuan Prefecture had just suffered a great defeat, the barbarians were not very good at attacking cities. If Wei Xuan came from behind again and was attacked from both sides, the foundation accumulated by the barbarians over the years would probably be wiped out. Jiang Huai did not think that the barbarians would be so impulsive.
If they were not barbarians, would they not have to run like this?
Jiang Huai thought so, and Xiao Jingzhao also had some guesses, but there were too many cavalrymen behind him, and no one dared to take the risk.
Suddenly, a long whining sound came from afar. Xiao Jingzhao tightened the reins abruptly and turned his head to look behind him. The sunlight was dim, and Jiang Huai could not make out the expression on Xiao Jingzhao's face.
Xiao Jingzhao stopped, and the three people who had been following him also stopped.
The others who were running elsewhere also stopped one after another to listen to the music, their faces filled with excitement.
"What's that sound?" Jiang Huai asked.
"Sir, this is the music played when the Wei family returned victoriously." He replied with a look of relief on her face. Afraid that Jiang Huai didn't understand, He explained it again.
It turned out that when the Wei family led their troops to war, they were very quiet, but whenever they returned victorious, they would play sufficiently clear music when passing through the territories under the jurisdiction of the Great Zhou to show that they had won again and to appease the people.
Because the music was so distinct, no one dared to impersonate it, so as soon as people nearby heard the music, they knew that the Wei family had won again and Anyuan Prefecture was safe again.
They hadn't heard this kind of music in the past few months and thought they would never hear it again, but they didn't expect to hear it here.
Seeing He and Luo Yuan's admiration for the Wei family, Jiang Huai couldn't help but think of the importance the people in Anyuan Prefecture attached to the Wei family. He began to understand why the emperor wanted to eradicate the Wei family before deposing the crown prince. Without eradicating the Wei family, the crown prince's position could not be shaken at all.
Although he understood it, the emperor was really foolish for doing this. It was no wonder that the deposed prince rebelled and fought back, causing the emperor to die of fright.
It’s a tit for tat!
Jiang Huai felt a little emotional, but he didn't think too much about it. After all, he didn't think he could get involved in royal affairs in his situation. He just waited peacefully for the prince to ascend the throne, and then he would return to Beijing after being successfully rehabilitated.
However, if Wei Xuan returned to Anyuan Prefecture, given the relationship between the Jiang and Wei families, Jiang Huai felt that his life would be better as long as Wei Xuan knew of his existence.
Jiang Huai was just thinking when he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves from behind. The group became nervous and saw several cavalrymen wearing the battle robes of the Great Zhou coming from behind. They looked like advance scouts, and behind them were Sister Zhao and her group. It was obvious that they were encountered by the scouts first, and hurried back after knowing the other party's identity.
A few scouts glanced at the few people, their eyes fell on the three people at the back, paused for a moment, then looked at Xiao Jingzhao and Jiang Huai in the front, turned around and asked Sister Zhao behind him. After confirming the identities of the few people, their expressions relaxed a little, but they also hoped that they could return to the tribe and not stay outside.
When saying this, Jiang Huai noticed that the scout's face still had a look of resentment, and seemed to be angry.
Although they were the army of the Great Zhou, the scout's words didn't seem like a negotiation. Jiang Huai thought about it and decided to go back to the tribe with Xiao Jingzhao. Given the current situation, it would be easy for something to get into trouble if they insisted on running away.
The group quickly returned to the tribe. Jiang Huai looked at the scene in front of him in shock. "Thousands of troops and horses" had always been just an adjective. It was not until today that he knew what the scene of "thousands of troops and horses" really was.
In the end, it was Xiao Jingzhao's tightening hand that brought Jiang Huai back to his senses. Jiang Huai then realized that Xiao Jingzhao seemed a little nervous for some reason.
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