The old man reached out his hand to support himself on the cold orange stalk. His old face was wrinkled like a withered tree, and it was unknown how many sorrows and joys he had accumulated. The old deputy commander said calmly, "Marshal Sima Feng, to tell you the truth, this old man has never been on the battlefield in my entire life. I've never experienced a battle before. I've only seen it a few times from afar many years ago. Ever since I arrived at Hulukou seventeen years ago, I never thought that I would see the Beimang army while I was still alive. People died in battle. This old man has lived for so long. I'm someone who can't wake up at any time. It's not that I'm afraid, but I don't dare to think about the tragedies that happened after the war. Many years ago, before I arrived in Beiliang, I saw two-legged sheep being sold by the side of the road. They were sold by the catty, with butchers and pots of boiling water on the side. Dog meat was five hundred coins per catty, and this sheep meat was only a hundred coins per catty. "
Sima Zhen Ming's face was full of confusion. He didn't know what to say about selling sheep meat and eating sheep meat.
The old man's fingers trembled slightly. He said softly, "Those 'two-legged sheep' are people with only two legs. Women are called 'lambs to be eaten', and weak children are called 'small bones to be eaten'. Some rare scholars, as long as they aren't too thin and sallow, can be sold for a higher price. They are called 'scented sheep to be eaten'. "
Sima Zhen Ming almost vomited, but at the same time, his scalp went numb, this Beacon Marshal narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at this old deputy marshal from Shiliu Commandery in Youzhou, one hand on the cold blade's hilt.
At this time, the deputy commander Guo Xi, who had just finished practicing, came over. He glanced at Sima Zhen Ming and silently walked to the old man's side.
Old man Xue said indifferently, "At this time, in front of the Beimang army, is it important whether you're a Beiliang native or a Spring and Autumn refugee from the Central Plains? Don't worry, this old man isn't a Beimang spy. I can't afford to lose the face of the Xue ancestors. "
Sima Zhen Ming sneered and asked, "Is it really not important?"
The old man suddenly laughed happily and pointed at the silent Deputy Commander Guo Xi. "Commander, your archery skills are on par with his, but in terms of fighting, you're far behind."
Then, this old man, who used to be able to make fun of anyone in Feng Sui, no longer paid any attention to Sima Zhen Ming. His face revealed a deep expression of reminiscence as he said to himself, "Back then, I was in the Xishu Leng Yamen's Secretariat. I only did some shady business like copying scriptures and engraving official seals. My annual salary was not even a hundred stones. I was only a minor seventh rank official. Of course, I didn't have a single hair on my head. Then, I had a way to earn money to support my family. In the palace, during festivals, there were many spring couplets to be put up. It was our turn to take the stage. Before writing the couplets, the eunuchs would bring in cinnabar and gold powder for mixing ink. At this time, I took out a large brush and dipped it into the gold powder. Aiyo, the brush broke. I stuffed it back into my sleeve and replaced it with another brush. Aiyo, it broke again. After I left the palace, I carefully shook off the gold powder. There's at least two taels. Find a bank and melt it down. That's a small gold ingot. "
The old man, who had completely forgotten himself, laughed. "Back then, when I bought books and collected them, I relied on these small gold ingots."
Sima Zhen Ming was dumbfounded. He didn't know how to deal with this Xishu survivor who had been hiding in Beiliang for many years. Did he really have to draw his sword?
Guo Xi said calmly, "Marshal Sima Feng, after the war, if you, me, and Lord Xue can survive, you can report the truth. In the second year of Yonghui, I, Guo Xi, was the assassin who shot six consecutive arrows at the Grand General outside Liangzhou Pass. But if Xue and I both die and you are still alive, I hope you won't bring this up again. I, Guo Xi, have lost all thoughts of revenge since the sixth year of Yong Hui. Of course, it's up to you to believe it or not. "
Suddenly, the young man who was on guard shouted in a panic, "Kou Zhi! More than 120 cavalry! "
Without hesitation, Sima Zhen Ming said, "Prepare for battle!"
— —
Although the vanguard army had flattened the Zaoma Stronghold in one breath and killed more than three thousand enemies, from the commander-in-chief Yang Yuanzan to the several generals, all the officers and officers did not relax in the slightest. Four thousand men had died in battle, so how many were wounded? Fortunately, it wasn't the hot summer season when diseases were most easily spread. Otherwise, with the ruthless style of the nomads in the north, they would have killed all the severely injured on the spot. However, within the vanguard, there was a group of people who were extremely relaxed and comfortable. These people mostly had elite cavalry and retainers protecting them, ranging from twenty to thirty to a few hundred. They were all young, between fifteen to twenty-five years old. If it was said that Sima Zhen Ming regretted that he had missed out on the position of White Horse Commander, then these sons of powerful officials of the Southern Dynasty, or the people of the grasslands who knew their descendants well, were also quite angry that they had not been selected as the Grand Strategist. Of Northern Mang's three battle lines, the most important central line was the southern courtyard's Great King Dong Zhuo, who held great authority and personally presided over military affairs. Apart from the Dong Family's private army, the rest of the troops were mainly elites from the various border towns. Moreover, they were right under Fatty Dong's nose, so it was very difficult for outsiders to interfere. On the West Courtyard, there was Liu Gui and the North Courtyard King Tuoba Bodhisattva. In addition, the 8,000 Qiang cavalry had been completely wiped out before the battle. Only a fool would go there and suffer. Therefore, the East Courtyard Youzhou had a large number of descendants of great nobles who didn't want to take the risk and wanted to earn military merits. General Yang Yuanzan, who had always had a good relationship with various forces, was not unreasonable. He acquiesced to the actions of the various families and allowed them to leave the army and take the initiative to search for the Zaoma Stronghold. If they had the courage and strength to fight to the death with the stronghold, Yang Yuanzan wouldn't stop them.
During this period of time, groups of cavalry of varying numbers were constantly rushing in and out of the camp. There were even many small groups of cavalry that had been left outside the mouth of the calabash who had rushed over after hearing the news and joined the hunting game. It was like a bloody feast that was slowly unfolding.
It was said that the second young master of the Xie Family from Dragonwaist Province returned with 80 cavalrymen at dusk yesterday with 16 bloody heads of the Youzhou Beacons hanging on both sides of the horses' backs. There were also two warhorses that deliberately dragged the corpses of two Beacon Commanders into the camp. The two corpses were dragged all the way across the yellow sand, their flesh and blood badly mangled. One could even see the white bones on their backs.
In the latter half of the night, another group of grassland Rong soldiers returned. It was a group of over 400 cavalrymen gathered from three tribes. They directly broke through a Wu Castle in a valley at the edge of Crouching Bow City. These blood-soaked Rong soldiers waved their sabers as they entered the camp. The sabers that were clearly different from the Rong's scimitars were all the famous Beiliang sabers of the Xu family! A few young leaders of the Rong soldiers even threw down a few crumpled things as they rode into the camp. When someone picked them up, they realized that they were actually the "Xu" flags!
The battle of the Zaoma Stronghold had shaken the morale of the vanguard army, but their morale had been greatly shaken.
At dawn this morning, another seven or eight groups of cavalry rushed out of the camp.
With the arrival of a large number of siege weapons, the attack on Crouching Bow City was imminent.
A tall man with a full beard whose age couldn't be determined was casually walking in the military camp. Beside him was a maidservant who was countless times more eye-catching than him. The young woman had an exquisitely embroidered brocade pouch hanging from her waist. Unfortunately, that bit of fragrance had long been covered up by the stinky smell of the military camp, leaving not even the slightest bit of it remaining. When these two people walked past, the Beimang soldiers sleeping on their horses all looked at them as if they wanted to eat them alive. In the early years of Northern Mang, there had never been a rule of bringing women into battle. Wasn't it all because those officials of the Southern Dynasty had led them astray? As long as one's family background was sufficient, even the military supervisors who came from the royal court could only turn a blind eye to it. Of Northern Mang's ten first-rank A surnames, there were seven in Northern Mang and only three in Southern Mang. However, when it came to the number of B surnames, the influential families of the Southern Dynasty held a slight advantage. On the eastern front of Youzhou right now, there were plenty of descendants of the Dragon-Waisted Clans. They weren't people that these soldiers who couldn't even afford to live in tents could afford to offend.
The man who was accompanied by a woman walked and stopped along the way. From time to time, he would look up at the towering Crouching Bow City. Finally, when he passed by a large pile of tents, he was spotted by a sharp-eyed young master wearing a mink coat. The latter hurriedly ran up to the man and whispered with a flattering expression, "Big Brother Zhong, what a coincidence."
The man stroked his beard and glanced at the scene behind the young master. He smiled and said, "It looks like you've been hung by the horse's head all night. What? You can't hold it in anymore and want to go and get some firecrackers?"
The young man chuckled and said, "I've made an agreement with a few brothers. We're going to get some firecrackers to warm up our hands before the siege. We're going to work together to take down a big stronghold before the siege. When we go back, our elders at home will be proud of us, lest they say that we're useless."
The man whose surname was a little strange compared to the Southern court's big clans nodded and didn't comment. He looked past the head of the third generation of Gusai Province and saw four or five young men wearing brocade clothes and mink coats standing together. Obviously, they didn't recognize him. Their arrogant eyes were a little unfriendly. The man glanced at the horses behind them. They were all warhorses that were ranked high on the grassland. Most importantly, good horses were easy to train. Beimang had the custom of hanging the horse's head. Once the horse was hung well, not only would the warhorse's pace be the same when charging, but even the height of the horse's head would be the same. There wouldn't be a scene of uneven horses. When they were running, they would look like a row of eagles soaring on the ground. In Beimang, not only must a man be skilled in riding and archery, but the skill of hanging the horse was also very important. It was probably like the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting of the scholars of the Central Plains.
The man withdrew his gaze and smiled at the young man from the second generation of Gusai Province. "Be careful. There will be a lot of big battles in the next few years."
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