Chapter 117
The wind at the border made people's faces hurt. A few eagle cries were heard in the distance. In a flash, the eagle spun a few times in the air and then landed steadily on Xie Chen's shoulder.
"Hou Chang, this eagle is indeed a fine-breed eagle selected by the Qiang people. It is a raptor and it is really majestic." Old Zhang looked at the eagle standing on Xie Chen's shoulder. Its sharp eyes were staring at him. Old Zhang was so scared that he quickly withdrew his hand.
"But how come the Shaoliang tribe ran so fast like rabbits? They disappeared just when they got here." Lao Zhang squatted down and grabbed a piece of grass, cursing inwardly, "What does the map given by Lord Lin say?"
Xie Chen shook his head. The map given by Lin Shuge did mark the residence of the Shaoliang tribe, but because the news leaked out to the Huotu tribe, it had disappeared by the time they arrived.
"Call Hu Zhuo and Hua Wei over." Xie Chen said.
"Okay, okay." Lao Zhang spat out the grass in his mouth and hurried to find the two of them.
Hu Zhuo witnessed the power of Dayan and worked wholeheartedly for Xie Chen along the way. He not only led them to find a tribal garrison of the Shaoliang tribe, but also mediated between Dayan and the Huatu tribe, making thousands of people from the Huatu tribe surrender.
"Captain Hou, they are here." said Lao Zhang.
Hu Zhuo and Hua Wei performed a Qiang salute to Xie Chen, who then asked, "Is this valley the former residence of the Shaoliang tribe?"
Hu Zhuo replied, "Yes, this valley was originally inhabited by Han people. Later, the Shaoliang tribe saw that there was abundant grass and fertile land here, so they drove the Han people out and occupied it themselves. It was not until the great general of the time came to attack that they took it back."
"However, due to the decline of the dynasty, this place was taken back by the Shaoliang tribe." Hua Wei continued.
They were talking about things that happened in the previous dynasty. The previous dynasty had been in conflict with the Shaoliang tribe for a long time. A general had made great contributions and persuaded the tribe to surrender. However, the country was weak in the last years of the dynasty and was unable to farm and garrison here. The Shaoliang tribe then occupied this place again and the people here were killed.
Xie Chen clenched the spear in his hand and looked into the distance, "Everyone, pay attention, there is something going on."
Everyone fell silent and followed his gaze into the distance, only to see a small group of Qiang people riding horses towards them, seemingly not noticing them, and speeding along.
Xie Chen looked at Hu Zhuo and Hua Wei, asking them with his eyes if they knew which tribe they were from.
Hu Zhuo gestured to him, it was the Shaoliang tribe.
"Captain Hou, there's no need for you to do anything. I will bring a few brothers to kill them on the horse." Lao Zhang grinned at him. Xie Chen nodded in agreement. He then ordered two teams of soldiers to go in that direction. Hu Zhuo and Hua Wei also followed.
Xie Chen was hiding in the grass. When he saw Lao Zhang pick up the crossbow and lead the group of Qiang people passing by, he shot them all at once. The Qiang people fell off their horses one by one and were surrounded by Lao Zhang and others.
"Captain Hou, I told you that you don't need to do anything. We've captured him." Lao Zhang was extremely fast and threw the captured prisoner in front of Xie Chen.
The Qiang captives looked at Hu Zhuo and Hua Wei with hatred in their eyes and cursed them loudly.
"Captain Hou, what are they scolding?" Lao Zhang was very curious.
"Scolding them for betraying the Shaoliang tribe."
Old Zhang rolled up his sleeves happily. He must have cursed very dirty, otherwise why would Hu Zhuo look so angry?
"Why are you here in such a hurry? Where are the other people from Shaoliang tribe?" Xie Chen asked in Qiang language.
The Qiang man was still cursing, but he immediately shut up when he heard Xie Chen's words. Hua Wei went up to him and said a few words, and he said, "We are going to spread the news. Lord Feng Mang led 5,000 cavalrymen to rush straight to Pingxiang."
Xie Chen's head buzzed, and he walked up to him uncontrollably and grabbed him up, "Are you telling the truth?"
The Qiang man was frightened by his eyes and nodded desperately. Xie Chen frowned deeply and put him down. The Qiang man breathed heavily and secretly raised the corners of his mouth where no one could see.
"Captain Hou, what's wrong with you? What did he say?" Old Zhang saw that Xie Chen had a very ugly expression and asked hurriedly.
"He said that 5,000 cavalrymen from Shaoliang tribe went to Pingxiang." Xie Chen gritted his teeth and made a decision in his mind.
"What? Five thousand?" Old Zhang said in a loud voice, pacing back and forth, "There are only five thousand people in Pingxiang, and none of them are cavalry. What should we do? If we fight the Qiang people head-on, we will definitely not win. Where did this group of barbarians come from?" Old Zhang was so anxious that he was turning around and looking at Xie Chen eagerly, hoping that he could come up with an idea.
If they go back to support now, they have almost chased Shaoliang's tribe to the end of the road. If they give up, all their previous efforts will be wasted. But if they don't go back to support, Pingxiang may not be able to be defended, and their trip will be meaningless. What's more, Pingxiang is under siege and Lord Lin is also... What's going on?
Xie Chen could naturally think of what he could think of. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the Qiang man, "Do you have anything else to say?"
Old Zhang's face was full of surprise. Seeing Xie Chen asking about the Qiang captives again, could there be some hidden secret?
The Qiang man puffed out his chest and said, "I have said what I can say. If you want to kill me, then go ahead."
Seeing that he was fearless, Xie Chen was filled with doubts. His expression was cold and his voice was like ice. "If I'm guessing correctly, you were sent out to spread the news to us, right?"
The Qiang captive remained silent. Xie Chen put the arrow in his hand to his neck and said, "I think you won't cry until you see the coffin. Do you know how Hu Yuan died?"
The Qiang man's face changed, and he rushed towards Xie Chen regardless of the arrow in his neck, "I want you to pay with your life."
Xie Chen kicked him out, and Lao Zhang took the opportunity to ask, "Hou Chang, what's wrong? Is there a trick?"
Xie Chen looked coldly at the Qiang man who was still cursing on the ground, "Deal with him. I guess the Qiang people did send cavalry to Pingxiang, but their purpose is not pure. I think they want to lure us back."
Zhang hesitated a little after hearing this, "Then, Captain Hou, should we go back to help?"
"I will take some soldiers back, and you take the rest to continue chasing. Shaoliang tribe is already a lost dog. I will be back soon." Xie Chen jumped on the horse and said.
"Yes, Lord Hou."
The night breeze was slightly chilly. Xie Chen led his men on horseback and galloped at full speed. The horses' hooves trampled the grass and trees, splashing them. An eagle circled in the air, rising and falling, and suddenly flew straight ahead.
Xie Chen tightened the reins and raised his hand to signal the soldiers behind him to stop. Was something going on?
"Captain Hou, is there any situation?" A soldier rode forward and asked.
Xie Chen said "hmm" and sent a scout to check. After a while, the eagle flew back, and what it was holding under its feet was a piece of green cloth.
Xie Chen wanted to take the thing off its feet, but the eagle held on to the cloth tightly. Xie Chen shouted at it in a low voice, and it let go of the cloth and rubbed his shoulders with its two claws.
Xie Chen picked up the cloth and took a look. It should be the one that the eagle had just pulled down. The material was quite good, with a layer of cloud pattern on it, huh? Isn’t this my brother’s clothes?
Xie Chen's heart was pounding, he would never mistake Lin Shuge's clothes, but why was his brother here?
With a "snap", he flicked the whip and immediately ran in the direction where the eagle had just flown. He was surprised and happy. Could it be that his brother really came?
The wilderness was vast and boundless, and the night was cold, dyeing the earth white. Lin Shuge pulled at his sleeves that were torn by an eagle and sighed inwardly, "Where did the eagle come from?" Fortunately, it only grabbed his clothes, otherwise, there would be blood under its sharp claws.
He Xin had not stopped the black eagle just now, and said with some regret: "Fortunately, the lord was not injured, but why does this eagle seem to understand human nature? Could it be raised by humans?"
Lin Shuge was alert and shook his head, saying, "We didn't run into Zhongxuan or the Qiang people on the way here. Let's hurry up and meet up with Zhongxuan and the others as soon as possible."
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came to their ears, and everyone's heart tightened. Lin Shuge hurriedly said, "Pay attention to martial law." He looked stern, and ready the crossbow in his hand, but saw a big "Yan" word written on the flag in the distance under the moonlight.
"It's Zhongxuan." Lin Shuge said excitedly.
The person who came was indeed Xie Chen. He was leading the way, dressed in military uniform and with an outstanding posture. He held the reins in one hand and swung the whip in the other. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and looked very heroic. After seeing Lin Shuge, he was obviously smiling, which diluted the murderous aura on the battlefield a lot.
Lin Shuge was dazzled by him. In a moment, Xie Chen came to him like a gust of wind, and said in a clear voice, "Brother." Lin Shuge was about to speak when he was pulled onto his horse. Lin Shuge was startled and exclaimed, "Zhongxuan, what are you doing?" He was responded by laughter coming from above his head.
When He Xin and others saw this scene, they immediately took a few steps back.
"Zhongxuan, are you okay?"
"Brother, are you okay?"
The two spoke at the same time, and Xie Chen chuckled, "I got the news that the Shaoliang tribe sent troops to attack Pingxiang, and I am going back to support them."
Lin Shuge also smiled and said, "The siege of Pingxiang has been lifted, but the army has not received any news from you. We thought you were in danger and came to support you."
Just as Xie Chen was about to speak, He Xin saw that they were behaving normally and heard that they were talking about business, so he immediately said, "Hou Chang, we brought gunpowder. The victory in the Battle of Pingxiang was all thanks to gunpowder. Also, Hou Chang, when he heard that you had no news, Lord Lin immediately wanted to follow."
Lin Shuge gave him a cold look and said to Xie Chen, "How is the battle going? Has Shao Liang's army caught up with us?"
"Because of the Pingxiang incident, we split into two groups. Lao Zhang led his men to pursue them, and it is a good opportunity for us to go back now." Xie Chen hugged him with one hand and rode his horse forward. He Xin and his soldiers followed behind.
The sound of horses' hooves and wind rustled in his ears. Suddenly, an eagle swooped down from the sky and landed on Xie Chen's shoulder again. It stood on Xie Chen's shoulder and tilted its head to look at Lin Shuge, "Ah, it's it. It just scratched my sleeve."
"It was given by the Huatu tribe. I learned falcon training from my grandfather when I was young. It is very spiritual and smart. But brother, does this count as another loss of a friend?" Xie Chen asked jokingly.
Lin Shuge glared at him and said, "Your eagle scratched it. As the master, you go back and fix it for me."
"I don't know how to do that, but brother, how about I go back and give you eight or ten pieces of clothing as compensation?" Xie Chen coaxed.
"If you can't even do this, be careful that others will look down on you in the future." The evening breeze was cool, and Lin Shuge's voice was soft, mixed in the wind. If Xie Chen hadn't been very close to him, it would have been almost impossible to hear it.
Xie Chen hugged him tighter, "It's okay, brother won't mind that I can't mend clothes."
"I'm disgusting. You can't even mend clothes or cook. What do you think I need you for?"
"Of course it's because of my goodness," he turned around and saw that everyone was far away, leaned over, lifted Lin Shuge's chin, and kissed him.
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