Fufeng Song

The next day, the army set out from camp.

Ding Miao led the scouts in front of the [-] troops who rode lightly, and sent out four outposts in groups of five, alternating turns, as far as eighty miles away.Generals Han Shu and Huang Su each led about [-] troops of the Qing Army, and marched along the ridges on both sides of the army's passage to cover the two wings of the entire army.Liu Kun led the main force of the Chinese army with [-] cavalry and more than [-] infantry, accompanied by a group of subordinates.The general of the guard Linghu Sheng urged the refugees and the rear team to follow and advance.

Lu Yao and Xue Tong were supposed to be with Liu Kun's team, but He Yun was tortured by the Huns for a whole day. He was seriously injured and couldn't ride a horse. Follow him and move forward slowly.The two of them begged Yue Shigong to join the refugees temporarily.

This mountain is very difficult to walk, so the marching speed of the large army is slower than expected.The refugees, like a rabble, are grinding away step by step.If he couldn't make it to Nie County by sunset, he might have to camp in the wild today.Liu Kun and his personal guards rushed to the front to explore the terrain an hour ago, and they haven't turned back yet.

This situation is the most dangerous.Originally, although Liu Kun's subordinates were small, they were very elite, like a fierce and fast beast running across thousands of mountains and ravines.Unless the army of the Huns is dispatched, no one can do anything.But after bringing these refugees with him, the momentum became more and more powerful, but the little beast grew into a big fat pig.In case the Huns drive their troops to fight, the situation will be very bad.

At this moment, the winding procession is marching along the mountain road.Except for a few soldiers who maintain order, this team is almost composed of refugees.Looking around, they are all ragged and weak, and their walking steps are slow and tiring, as if they are just moving step by step based on inertia.

Most of these people are residents of the counties in the southeast of Shangdang.Under the intimidation of the Huns, they first fled to the Huguan area in the north; then the Huns army arrived and killed or plundered most of the refugees, and the rest had to flee into the mountains to survive.It wasn't until the news of Liu Kun's recruitment of refugees spread that they went down the mountain one after another to seek refuge.However, Liu Kun was limited by the extreme shortage of food, fodder and supplies, and failed to provide effective relief.

Apparently, the toss-and-go life in the past had taken a toll on their bodies, making it difficult for them to cope with the physical exertion of the long journey.More than once, Lu Yao saw someone walking, and suddenly fell to the ground, unable to wake up again.There are also people who are tired from walking and sit on the side of the road to rest, but their body suddenly loses strength, so they lean on stones or tree roots and die like that.Perhaps it is the harsh world that makes people completely numb. Their relatives or fellow countrymen hardly mourn the loss of their loved ones. They just take everything available from the dead body and move on.

Several skinny old men surrounded the dilapidated cart and struggled forward. The cart suddenly tipped over with a bang, and a wooden wheel sank into a crack in the ground, creaking and twisting and unable to be pulled out.A half-sleeping child in the car was awakened by the vibration of the car, opened his eyes and looked around blankly, and wiped his nose on the dirty furskin around him.This is the narrow part of the mountain road. Once the cart stopped, the team behind had to stop too.A refugee leader came over to take a look, waved his hand weakly and said, "Some helpers here, push the cart..."

Lu Yao steered his horse to make way for the men who came to push the carts, and he couldn't help sighing as he saw the tired faces passing by.

Xue Tong strode down from a high slope.He landed heavily, causing a lot of gravel to roll down with a clatter.The refugees who passed down the high slope avoided the gravel, and their speed became slower and slower.

"Daoming, have you seen Yue Shigong's subordinates? Xue Tong's expression was a little excited: "These are all police soldiers!The Luoyang Forbidden Army is the world's elite, and its reputation is really well-deserved! "

Lu Yao glanced at Xue Tong.

Xue Tong, as a soldier who has experienced many battles, naturally does not show compassion like Lu Yao, but will concentrate on military affairs.

He climbed to the high place several times, overlooking the actions of the various departments of the Jin army in front of him.Although the distance is a bit far, based on his rich experience, it can be judged that the soldiers Liu Kun brought to Bingzhou are all rare elites just from the details of the marching pace and formation.

"Those are not the Luoyang Forbidden Army." Lu Yao looked at the groups of refugees passing by in front of him, and his emotions could not be as high as Xue Tong's.He said indifferently: "Although Luoyang Suwei 36th Army, [-]th School and Yamen [-]th Army are famous for being elite, their armaments have been disarmed for a long time. As early as the Taikang period, they were just some soldiers to scare people. Not to mention this In the past few years, the clan kings have attacked each other, and the Forbidden Army has participated in it, causing great losses. The current Forbidden Army is just a rabble formed by the imperial court temporarily recruiting brave men with the acquiescence of the King of the East China Sea. It is impossible to send such a force .”

He thought for a while, and then said: "I guess, these soldiers were originally Yue Shigong's private soldiers, but they just belonged to the state and county soldiers of Bingzhou Governor."

"Private soldiers? So many?" Xue Tong was slightly taken aback.

Lu Yao nodded: "Mr. Yueshi moved to the north and south of Dahe River, and he has his own strength at hand."

Xue Tong hesitated and said: "I remember the military system of the dynasty. There were 500 princes and kings in Shiyi, and the number of kings was only [-]. The military strength of Yue Shigong has already reached the standard of ordinary princes and kingdoms. If Jing Judging from the degree of sharpness, I'm afraid it will be much stronger... Isn't this against the imperial court system?"

"Old Xue, you are familiar with the imperial system." Lu Yao sneered: "But which year's calendar is that? Today's clan kings, who don't have tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of troops? Yue Shigong is brave and good at fighting, yes The king of the East China Sea leans like a member of the Great Wall. He has several private relatives, and even the king of the East China Sea doesn’t mind, so why worry about it? Besides, Lord Yueshi is now the governor of Bingzhou, so these people are not the soldiers of Bingzhou’s county?”

He waved his finger sharply at the refugees who were struggling for their lives, and there was a bit of uncontrollable anxiety in his voice: "Look, the barbarians are rampant, the smell is like this, and the head of Guizhou is suffering so much... You have the intention to plot against Governor Liu Private soldiers!"

Xue Tong glared at Lu Yao, wanting to say something, but finally said "Hey!" and stopped talking.

After a while, Lu Yao said apologetically: "I have seen too much suffering of the soldiers and civilians these days, so that I feel depressed, and my words lose their sense of proportion. I hope my brother is not to blame."

"Daoming, how can I blame you." Xue Tong sighed deeply: "To tell you the truth, my old Xue has been in the army since he was a child, and has been a soldier for nearly 20 years. The more I can't understand it... Sigh, compared with the years of Xianning and Taikang, I always feel that everything is wrong..."

"Yes, yes, I think so too." He Yun lay on the erected door and listened for a while, half understanding, and finally couldn't help interjecting: "In the past few years, there have been more and more corrupt officials, natural disasters There are more and more, even if there is no chaos, the common people will not be able to survive..."

Lu Yao slapped He Yun's face with a whip, startling him: "Hold on, stop talking nonsense."

These are all signs of the end times, Lu Yao sighed in his heart.

He understood Xue Tong and He Yun's feelings very well, but he didn't know how to answer for a while.The Great Jin Dynasty, which dominates the world, is rushing to perish at an unimaginable speed under the concerted efforts of His Majesty the Emperor and all the ministers and officials.Emperor Wu's so-called Taikang rule was actually only 15 years ago, but in the eyes of Xue Tong and He Yun, everything has changed.

Xue Tong was born in the Xue family in Hedong, which could barely be regarded as a noble family in the county, and he was also an officer who commanded thousands of people in the army.The first thing he felt was that the entire dynasty's system was decaying, and there were no more rules to speak of.However, ordinary people like He Yun who applied for the army can understand only one thing: they can't survive.

While he was making calculations, the ground shook with iron hoofs in the distance, and dozens of cavalry in full armor galloped out of the mountain depression, and it was Liu Kun who was in the lead.He was riding a handsome war horse, still wearing a white robe.Under the setting sun, he rode the horse with one hand, his upright figure seemed to be shining brightly, he was really extraordinary!

With his status, experience and judgment, of course he can see farther and clearer than Xue Tong, He Yun and others.However, even in the face of many difficulties, his confidence does not seem to be shaken at all, and he is always in such high spirits that everyone can't help but believe that all difficulties and obstacles will pass.He really deserved to be a hero who could leave his name in history, Lu Yao couldn't help but be heartbroken.