knife

Chapter 205 A Tacitly Understood War
With a loud bang, Hu Kan kicked open the two thin door panels of the house in front of him.

The gate was wide open, but Hu Kan did not rush in. He held his broadsword horizontally in his hand and cautiously scanned the courtyard. Only after confirming that there was nothing amiss did he carefully step inside.

Earlier, some friendly troops rushed in without any hesitation, only to be shot through by a powerful arrow from inside the house.

Although his teammates avenged him by chopping the man who shot him into seven or eight pieces, he could not possibly come back to life.

Hu Kan didn't want his brothers to avenge him.

He wanted to live a good life.

The family's butcher shop is doing better and better now.

As life improved and people had more spare money, they ate meat more often. Before, the shop would slaughter one or two pigs and three to five sheep a day, but before this trip, the number of pigs slaughtered each day had increased to four, doubling.

The price of pork has also risen. People are eating meat much faster than piglets are growing. I heard that local governments are already encouraging farmers to raise more pigs.

The better days are yet to come!

Before leaving this time, the person inside promised him that when he returned, he would find him another child to help the Hu family expand its lineage.

So Hu Kan is very careful!
The family fled in a hurry. The cattle and sheep in the pen were still there, and several piglets were so hungry that they were rooting around the trough. When they heard someone coming in, they started to clench their teeth and bark at the person!

Hu Kan laughed heartily and waved his hand, saying, "Brothers, search carefully, don't miss anything!"

A group of people behind him roared in agreement and rushed into the house.

In the Yuan Dynasty, everyone, regardless of gender, could draw a bow and shoot arrows. If they were not careful, something could easily grow on their bodies.

After searching the area thoroughly and confirming it was safe, everyone started cooking.

As for the ingredients, they were of course sourced locally. Those squealing, immature pigs were transformed into roast suckling pigs on the firewood pile in the blink of an eye. The sheep were also slaughtered, and the only thing left was the cow.

This ox is a draft animal, and no one wants to kill it. After registering it, we'll hand it over to the troops cleaning up the battlefield, and everyone can share the profits later.

While everyone inside enjoyed their meal, Hu Kan stood guard outside with his broadsword. This was a rule established by Li Dachui, and it was later adopted by Protector-General Xiao Changche after the troop merger.

Generally speaking, there are a large number of scouts around the infantry to ensure that no large groups of enemies can sneak in, but small groups of enemy cavalry must also be guarded against.

Unprepared infantrymen are at a real disadvantage against such a small group of enemy cavalry.

He comes and hits you once and then runs away. How can you catch up with four legs on two legs? Sometimes, several brothers die or are injured. It's really frustrating to death.

Upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves, Hu Kan and several squad leaders immediately stood up.

A moment later, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw a small cavalry squad coming through the whirlwind.

own people.

"Cai Hua'er, I didn't expect to run into you here!" Hu Kan laughed loudly.

The cavalry commander was Cai Qi, and they were quite familiar with each other, as they were from the same region. However, the two men were very different in their ways of life. Hu Kan was a very traditional and good family man, while Cai Qi was a bachelor who only cared about himself and sent all the silver he earned from fighting to brothels.

Therefore, Hu Kan gave him a nickname, Cai Hua'er, meaning that this guy was a flower picker.

Cai Qi laughed heartily, dismounted, and looked back at the group of cavalry behind him, saying, "Brothers, this is Uncle Hu, the most generous man imaginable. Meeting him is your good fortune. Can you smell the delicious food? What are you waiting for? Let's eat!"

Upon hearing this, the group of cavalrymen were overjoyed and dismounted to rush into the house. As they passed Hu Kan, they didn't forget to clasp their hands in thanks.

This left Hu Kan with no chance to refuse.

Although the infantry and cavalry belong to two different systems, they are all soldiers under the Anxi Protectorate, so it's not good to be too distant from each other.

"Cai Hua'er, you're really not being polite!" Hu Kan said angrily.

Cai Qi flicked his riding whip in his hand, standing guard outside just like Hu Kan, and said with a smile, "Infantry and cavalry are one family, why distinguish between us? Next time you see us having a meal, you won't be shortchanged!"

"You're all talk!" Hu Kan said. "When you cavalrymen get to eat, how can we infantrymen expect to get a free meal?"

"You can't blame us if you can't find it, can you?" Cai Qi spread his hands, looking quite helpless.

"Enough of this small talk, what's the situation up ahead?" Hu Kan asked. "You scouts are the best at gathering information. Last time we fought the Yuan in Yuan'an, and they were a tough opponent!" "We're about to face a tough battle. This time, our large-scale offensive seems to have caught the Yuan off guard, and they've been dealt a blow. They're now retreating towards Tongquan Fort, and we're closing in there as well!" Cai Qi said. "It looks like we're going to have to launch a direct assault on Tongquan Fort!"

"If we take Tongquan Fort, then only Longgou Fort will remain in front of Qingtongxia. This battle will definitely be difficult. Who is the enemy commander at Tongquan Fort?"

“I heard his name is Shulü Ping!” Cai Qi said. “I also heard he’s a tough one. Our cavalry clashed with them outside, but we didn’t gain any advantage.”

"Neither Protector Xiao nor Protector Li came?" Hu Kan said with some disappointment.

"To defeat Shulü Ping, we need the two Protectors Xiao and Li?" Cai Qi said disdainfully, "Even Lengge isn't worth the two Protectors' help!"

"Either of these two would put people at ease!" Hu Kan said somewhat embarrassedly, "The battles would be easier to fight. Cai Qi, have you forgotten the scene where Protector Xiao single-handedly shot down that bastard Sha Lieqi from the middle of a million-strong army? The Yuan people, who were originally so stubborn, suddenly became weak!"

"Then forget about it. Protectors Xiao and Li must have something more important to do. Anyway, I haven't seen their banners appear!" Cai Qi watched his men come out of the house one by one, their mouths glistening with oil, and then walked into the house. "Come on, let's go eat first."

Tongquan Fort is located on the mountaintop, with several sub-forts extending upwards from the main road at the foot of the mountain, guarding the main road leading to Qingtongxia. The last time Li Dachui's army approached Qingtongxia, he took a detour with all his cavalry, not to conquer the city or seize territory, but to coerce Lengge into not coming to the aid of Shaliewen.

If the Qin army launches a large-scale attack on a strategically vital location like Tongquanbao, it only means one thing: the Qin army's strategic objectives have changed significantly, and they are preparing for a large-scale attack on Qingtongxia, aiming to seize this strategic point on the border between the two countries.

Having lost Tongquan Fort, Longgou Fort alone is unable to hold out, and it may also be attacked from both sides by the Qin Protectorate General of Anxi and the Protectorate General of Andong. The most likely outcome is that it will retreat without a fight.

Once Qingtongxia loses these two supports, how long can it hold out against the massive Qin offensive?

In Shulu Ping's view, Tongquan Fort must be defended at all costs in order to ensure the safety of Qingtongxia.

However, the order from Lenger was to offer only slight resistance and then retreat back to Qingtongxia.

Having experienced the previous incident, Shulu Ping had gained an understanding of the situation in Yandu and learned about the disputes among the princes.

The news that Jebe is likely to replace the Tiele as the commander of the southern border is no secret in Qingtongxia.

Without Tongquanbao and Longgoubao, the isolated Qingtongxia Gorge handed over to Jebe is certainly going to be a tough one for him.

The Second Prince's move was quite ruthless, but seeing the border people who had fled back in panic, Shulu Ping felt very distressed.

Their hard-earned family business, built up over many years, is about to be completely lost this time.

Looking north from Tongquanbao, one sees vast fields and villages, but now, the people are hurriedly preparing to evacuate.

It's a pity that the crops in the field were growing so well.

Shulu Ping sighed.

Unlike Lengge, who was born into a noble family, Shulüping was the son of a shepherd and had risen to his current position through a series of selections.

He knew all too well that he had long been branded as the Second Prince.

Like Lengge, who has the support of his family, I am the support of my entire family. What other choice do I have but to follow in the footsteps of the Second Prince?

But there will always be another battle.

Wild Wolf, Hidden Tiger, and Vermilion Bird—three fierce generals under the Anxi Protectorate—two of them have come this time. It's time to see their skills.

Shulu Ping glanced again at the black banners of the Qin army that appeared and disappeared on the distant horizon, took a deep breath, and turned to descend the city wall.

In Zhenwu City, Linghu Ye looked at the letter of challenge from Chen Liang of Yuntai Wilderness in his hand and said with a smile to Li Guohua and Linghu Zhishu, "Chen Liang can't sit still anymore."

"Uncle, I don't think this guy is reliable. It would be better to bring him back and put him right in front of us!"

Linghu Ye shook his head: "Tigers need to be let out to have a deterrent effect. What we need to do is to keep them on the reins. Chen Liang saw the opportunity and wanted to fight, which is understandable. In fact, I support him this time."

Li Guohua nodded and said, "Anxi's sudden large-scale attack clearly indicates that they have reached some agreement with the Tiele. So, if we seize the opportunity to take Longgou Fort, we will have more leverage to negotiate with them when Jebe arrives."

“Once Jebe arrives, even if he had three heads and six arms, he couldn’t defend the barren Qingtongxia. But if he can take Longgoubao back from us, it will immediately put double pressure on Tongquanbao. So I agree with Chen Liang’s request for this operation. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult to take Longgoubao without losing several thousand men. Now we can take it easily, so why not?”

Linghuye smiled and said, "Then send a letter to Chen Liang and let him choose his own time to act. The last incident made everyone quite unhappy. Although Zhishu went to his house to apologize and he also came to me to apologize, there is still some distance between us. This time is a good opportunity to ease the tension."

“Exactly. Since the establishment of the Anxi Protectorate, Wang De and his ilk have become much more active. Now they even dare to debate with the Commander-in-Chief!” Li Guohua laughed. “We can’t push away a local general like Chen Liang.”

(End of this chapter)