Seeing that the bamboo arrows and stone projectiles were no longer a threat to the enemy clearing the battlefield, Gao Qingshan tested the direction of the wind and then ordered people to light the poisonous smoke bombs mixed with spicy herbs. They threw them out one by one, and the thick smoke quickly filled the entire hillside.
Because there were many caltrops on the hillside, the soldiers in charge of clearing the area had to be careful of the caltrops under their feet, so they moved slowly. At the same time, they had to hold up their shields to block spears, arrows, and flying rocks. After the poisonous smoke was ignited, they wept, sneezed, and coughed incessantly.
Looking at the situation, it would be dark by the time they cleared the hillside and could use it as a battlefield. At that time, who knew how many of them would lose their ability to fight because of the poisonous smoke.
The people in the stronghold had never fought such an easy battle before. Even though the enemy would reach the base of the stronghold sooner or later, the indigenous weapons and methods they used were actually able to cause so much trouble for the enemy without harming a single person on their side. This greatly boosted their confidence.
Right now, they were only using long-range weapons to attack and harass the enemy, but after toiling for a day and a half, they had armed the entire stronghold. When the enemy reached the base of the stronghold, they would let the enemy have a taste of even more powerful toys.
The Ke Man tribesmen who had escaped into the stronghold were settled down, and those who were injured were treated and bandaged. Their chief was a woman in her early forties, and her body was as sturdy as a man in his prime.
Xun Er asked her about what had happened in the Ke Man language, and then said to Yang Fan, "The Wu Man and my Bai Man joined forces to fight against the soldiers. They originally lived in the forest by the river, but because their tribe was too small and adjacent to Yunxuan's tribe, they were worried that they would be attacked. They wanted to take advantage of the night to migrate to a larger tribe, but when they passed by here early in the morning, they happened to bump into the soldiers attacking the stronghold."
The female chief bowed to Yang Fan and mumbled something before taking off a necklace made of pure white animal teeth and looking at Yang Fan with a smile.
Xun Er smiled and said, "She said that she admired your bravery and was even more grateful for your selfless help to their tribe. As the ghost lord of the Ke Man tribe, she gave this wolf tooth necklace to you. The Ke Man of the Thirteen Caves of Yao Province will treat you as their best friend from now on! "
After saying that, Xun Er explained, "Ghost Lord means leader." Yang Fan did not quite understand the significance of this bone and wolf fang necklace, nor did he plan to become a half-savage in the future. He only treated this necklace as an ordinary gift and accepted it with both hands with a smile.
The Dryan tribal chief looked very happy to see him receiving the Xiang Lian. He said a few more words to Xun Er. Xun Er nodded her head and solemnly replied. She then pulled Yang Fan towards the village wall and said to Yang Fan, "She said that although their weapons are simple and crude, their archery skills are very good. Now that she has received our selfless help, she will send all of her soldiers to defend the stronghold with us. I agree. "
The two of them walked up the wall and saw the battered and exhausted appearance of the invading Yaozhou soldiers in the thick smoke. Xun Er beamed with joy and said to Yang Fan, "Hey! I couldn't tell that these methods of yours were so useful! "
Yang Fan stared at the foot of the mountain, but there was no relaxed expression on his face. As he observed the situation of the enemy, he said, "From their weapons and equipment, the invading enemy should be the native soldiers of Yaozhou. Huang Jingrong did not send a messenger to see me, nor did he dare to send reinforcements from Rongzhou and Feng Prefecture. It seems that he has hardened his heart to let me die here. "
"I'll protect you!"
"Hm?"
Yang Fan looked at her in astonishment. Xun Er stuck out her tongue and said with some embarrassment, "I'm saying that after our stronghold was rebuilt under your guidance, it won't be easy for them to attack. As long as we can endure for two days, my father's reinforcements will arrive. They won't be able to do anything to you."
Yang Fan smiled and looked down the mountain again. He muttered, "I hope so."
Xun Er saw the beads of sweat on Yang Fan's temples. Without thinking, she took out a handkerchief from her waist and stood on her tiptoes to gently wipe it away for him. Her movements were incomparably natural. Before Yang Fan's temples were even touched, he could smell a faint fragrance. He seemed to have smelled this scent on Wan 'er and Xiao Man's bodies before. It was the body fragrance of a woman.
Following this, she gently wiped his temples with the handkerchief. Yang Fan looked at her in surprise. Xun Er gave him a bashful smile. Her white and rosy cheeks were as beautiful as a blooming camellia.
The catapults made of bamboo were indeed easily damaged. In just a short while, two had been damaged. However, these things were easy to make. They could be used immediately after pulling out two large stalks of bamboo. Gao Qingshan had just ordered people to replace two catapults when he turned around and happened to see the scene on the stronghold walls.
A stockade guard who was patrolling to the side moved closer and whispered, "Stockade head, I heard from the people who came with Miss Xun Er that the chieftain has already decided to marry Miss Xun Er to the great ghost lord, Zhe Zhu."
Gao Qingshan glared at him fiercely and reprimanded, "Are you the only one with eyes? Are you the only one with ears? I think you have nothing better to do. Go do something! "
… …
In the forest, countless people and horses were hidden by the lush trees. The forest was so vast that it was hard to tell how big it was. For these barbarian warriors who had lived on this land for generations, there were many places in the depths of the forest that they were completely unfamiliar with. They had never set foot in before. This was the first time they had entered such a place.
Snakes, insects, ants, and rats lurked in the forest. Even if they applied the most effective medicine, they could not completely avoid their bites. The local people would use all kinds of methods to protect themselves. In addition, they had been bitten by the mosquitoes and insects on this land since they were young and had long gotten used to their venom. That was why they could still live in this forest.
If it was the soldiers sent by the imperial court, they would only need to stay in this forest for two days before a large number of non-combat casualties would occur and they would collapse without a fight. This was the best protection that the heavens had given to humans living in the forest.
However, even if they could survive here, it was easy to imagine the hardships of life. There was too little food to feed so many people. The chieftains and headmen also found it difficult to adapt to the vile environment here.
In the depths of the forest, there was an open space where cow dung, horse dung, and mosquito repellent herbs were constantly being burned. The smell of smoke was used to drive away the snakes, rats, mosquitoes, and flies. The smell was not very good, but at least it made the environment much cleaner.
Under a tent that emitted a faint stench of smoke, the two chieftains, Fenqi and Meng Zhe Zhu, as well as seven or eight headmen, quietly sat there. The atmosphere in the tent was somewhat oppressive. After listening to the report of the situation from the person who had rushed over from the White River Stronghold, Fenqi silently waved his hand and had him withdraw.
Fenqi let out a long sigh of relief and placed his hands on his knees. He looked at the somewhat downcast headmen and then cast an inquiring glance at Meng Zhe Zhu. He said, "Wenhao has gone to attack the White River Stronghold. It seems that he has borrowed the help of the imperial court's soldiers. He will not be satisfied until he completely occupies our territory and our people."
Meng Zhe Zhu's expression was somewhat gloomy. He slightly narrowed his eyes and said, "We cannot delay in the forest for too long. Everyone has eaten wild vegetables, plucked wild fruits, hunted wild beasts, and even eaten all the rats. If we continue to waste time, we will collapse without a fight. However, even if we return to the stronghold, there is not a single stronghold that can support so many soldiers. The only way is if we scatter, but if we do that, we will definitely be defeated one by one. "
A big-headed man angrily said, "Originally, we were unwilling to return to the stronghold because our greatest concern was that we would give them an excuse to attack our stronghold and harm our families. Now, it seems that our worries were completely unnecessary. Wenhao has already steeled his heart to annex our stronghold."
Another big-headed man said, "The worst thing is that our soldiers are all the strong laborers of the stronghold. If we fight for too long, it will affect the autumn harvest and livestock. Our people will not be able to live, and at that time, the morale of the army will definitely fall. Now that they are closing in on us step by step, we have nowhere to retreat to. "
The big-headed man at the side hesitated for a moment and said hesitantly, "Perhaps … we can ask them for peace? If we hand over all the refugees that Huang Jingrong wants, he will have no excuse to act against us. There is no need for us to throw away the lives of our entire clansmen for the sake of those refugees. "
Another headman was also somewhat moved and quietly agreed, "That's right, isn't there an imperial envoy in the White River Stronghold? Perhaps through him, we can have a good discussion with the imperial court. "
Xunqi's second housekeeper, Long Fei, immediately glared at them fiercely and said, "That imperial envoy is all alone and even he himself is trapped on the mountain. What's the use of discussing with him!"
Long Fei's daughter-in-law was a refugee. She was already pregnant and was about to give birth to a good grandson for him. Asking him to hand over the people? He would rather die than do it.
Xunqi seemed to not have heard this suggestion. He continued to stare at Meng Zhe Zhu and said in a deep voice, "Since our two clans have formed an alliance, this old man wants to know what Chieftain Zhe Zhu plans on doing?"
Meng Zhe Zhu said, "I really thought that the imperial court's army of a hundred thousand had already reached Yaozhou. Our army was scattered and would be easily annihilated, so we could only retreat in panic and gather our troops. However, I didn't expect Huang Jingrong to be bluffing. The Great Zhou army that came as reinforcements only has a total of ten thousand people, while we have seventy thousand warriors, which is more than enough to deal with them.
However, the imperial court will definitely send reinforcements. If we want to fight, we must finish it quickly. I think that we should attack back and besiege Yaozhou City again! However, we cannot annihilate the imperial court's reinforcements. That will completely anger the imperial court, and there will be no room for maneuver. Yaozhou City needs to be surrounded and forced to retreat. Then, we can directly attack Wen Hao's nest.
Only by killing Wen Hao and Yun Xuan until they have no power to retaliate can Yaozhou be at peace. Only then will there be a possibility of negotiation! As for Wen Hao and Yun Xuan's people, the imperial court will not care no matter how many we kill. I'm afraid that they will be looking forward to us killing each other, hmph! Wen Hao and Yun Xuan, those two idiots, are pulling the tiger's tail and acting as our saviors! "
Xunqi said in a deep voice, "Then what about the White River Stronghold? My daughter, your bride, is still there! "
… …
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