Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 450 Kill the Hu!
Upon hearing this, Fu Gan could not help but nod and said, "I also learned about this strange thing when I was looking up the classics of the Han Dynasty's passage to the Western Regions."

Then he smiled, patted the Western Region Hu man's shoulder, and said soothingly: "This may be a ghost, you don't need to worry, if you encounter any weird things in the future, you don't need to hide it, just tell me first."

"I have ordered my team to carry many powerful crossbows, whose arrowheads can penetrate large shields. We have also brought a lot of kerosene. If any demons from the Western Regions dare to provoke the Han, their chests will be ripped open to show the strength of the Han army."

Fu Gan comforted the Hu guide, turned around and talked to Gan Ning for a few words, and then informed the delegation members of the matter, telling them not to ride horses to check if they heard crying sounds coming from the sand dunes during the day or at night.

He also wanted to lead everyone to make meritorious services for the Han Dynasty and return to Yumen Pass alive, instead of losing their lives because of momentary curiosity.

When everyone heard this, they responded with a loud voice.

After several more hours, the long journey made dozens of people exhausted, so Fu Gan ordered them to rest for a while.

Gan Ning took the bamboo utensils containing wine and sat down in front of the young ranger from Yongzhou. This man was someone he met in Jiuquan. His name was Yang Feng, his courtesy name was Boyang, and his nickname was Aruo.

At that time, Xu Yi, the prefect of Jiuquan, was lured and killed outside the city by Guo Si, who threatened him with the title of King of Donglai, and then he occupied Jiuquan County.

Although Yang Feng was young, he had the spirit of a knight-errant. He infiltrated the Liangzhou bandit army and assassinated Guo Si in the chaos at night when Zhang Gong, the prefect of Dunhuang, was fighting with Guo Si, avenging Xu Yi's family.

When Fu Gan and Gan Ning arrived in Jiuquan, they heard such a heroic story. Gan Ning personally investigated Yang Feng's character, and after discussing with Fu Gan, they decided to recruit such a brave and resourceful official into the delegation.

Unexpectedly, Yang Feng did not agree to Gan Ning's invitation until he encouraged him by saying that a man should travel thousands of miles to be granted a title of nobility, which made the other party slam the table and agree with angry eyes and raised eyebrows.

"How is Boyang? Can you still endure the sandstorm in the Western Regions?" Gan Ning grinned and handed the bamboo wine utensils in his hand to Yang Feng, joking with a smile.

Yang Feng was dizzy from the scorching sun. When he saw Gan Ning handing him a drink, he glanced at him unhappily, then raised the wine glass and drank like a cow, taking several gulps before returning it to him.

If this man had not been extremely cunning and had not provoked him with words, he would not have followed them to the desert to endure the wind and sand. The environment outside Yumen Pass was much worse than that in Jiuquan and Dunhuang.

Fortunately, Gan Ning knew he was in the wrong, so he did not care about the other party's rudeness. Instead, he looked at Yang Feng and said with emotion: "Since I came from Jingzhou to Guanzhong, I have seen countless rangers, but the one I admire most is Jingzhao Bao Chu and Bao Wencai."

"Back then, the two bandits Li and Guo caused chaos in Guanzhong, making it impossible for the people to farm. There was also a severe drought and famine, and people were eating each other. Some bandits did not dare to prey on the young and strong people who clung to each other in the village, so they only targeted the old and the young."

"Bao Chu's mother was kidnapped by them. His brothers were afraid of the bandits and did not dare to rescue them. Bao Chu found out and chased them alone with a shield. He killed dozens of them in succession, which frightened the bandits. He saved his mother. An old woman from the neighborhood was also kidnapped. When she saw Bao Chu had saved her mother, she looked at him from afar and begged for mercy. So Bao Chu returned again to kill the bandits..."

Yang Feng was listening with great interest and could not help but cheer, "What a brave man!"

A ranger with such martial arts skills is definitely not an ordinary person, otherwise he would have been surrounded and killed by bandits long ago.

After waiting for a long time, Gan Ning did not continue speaking.

He couldn't help but bow and said, "Sima Gan, why are you hesitant to speak?"

"Such a story of filial piety and chivalry can make people feel refreshed. I hope that Gan Sima will tell the truth. Did Jingzhao Bao Wen bring my mother and the neighbor woman to fight out of the thieves' den?"

Gan Ning saw that the other party had finally come to talk to him, so he couldn't help but smile and said, "The bandits were terrified and said, 'We have already returned your mother, why don't you stop?' Bao Chu pointed at the old woman and begged her, saying, 'This is my eldest sister-in-law.' Then he rescued the old woman and escaped from the den of bandits."

After the two talked, Yang Feng chose to reconcile with Gan Ning's plan to get him into the delegation, even though the road ahead was uncertain and his life or death was uncertain. But if you say you don't mind, then you don't mind anymore.

The two drank the wine together and looked at each other, and both couldn't help laughing.

After resting and feeding the horses and camels, the delegation continued on their journey.

When they were about to reach Yiwu, several scouts came to report: "There are traces of Xianbei people in a small water source oasis not far away. There are about 300 people and horses. They may have come from Shuyu Valley west of Tianshan Mountain and are now setting up tents in the shallows."

"How far is it from here?" Fu Gan asked anxiously.

"Within five miles, the Xianbei scouts were careless and we shot and killed two of them. We took the opportunity to get closer and found that the Xianbei had set up 37 tents of various sizes."

The scout general then reported the terrain he had discovered one by one.

Fu Gan looked up at the setting sun, and seeing that it was about to turn dusk, he couldn't help but frown and think.

Everyone needs to replenish water in time and set up camp, otherwise it will be difficult to survive the night.

What's more, the scouts had already fought with the Xianbei scouts. Even if the other side did not react for a while, the scouts would return to their tents after a long time and would be discovered after counting the number of people.

In this situation, it seems that a battle with three hundred people is inevitable...

"Captain, I would like to lead thirty men and horses to attack the Xianbei tents at lightning speed while darkness falls. The captain will lead the remaining men and horses to go around behind them and pretend to attack from the front and back with cavalry. The Xianbei will surely be defeated."

"We will continue to pursue and kill them, and defeat the Xianbei in one battle."

Gan Ning also realized the current situation. Only one of them or the Xianbei could spend the night here. Instead of waiting to be discovered passively, it would be better to take the initiative and fight to the death.

"This battle is a matter of life and death. How can we survive without dying?" Gan Ning bowed and asked for battle.

The knights-errant, soldiers, and clerks in the delegation, as well as the monks from Luoyang, all wanted to fight. Even the Hu guide gritted his teeth and said, "Captain Fu, the water we brought is not enough for us to return the same way. If we cannot defeat the Xianbei, we will be captured by them. I hope the captain will make a decision soon!"

The remaining doctors, translators, grooms, cooks and others also had red eyes and begged to kill the enemy in exchange for their lives.

The fact that they dared to go on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions shows that, apart from other aspects, they at least had some martial arts skills. Even if fifty people were fighting against three hundred people, they were not afraid of the Hu people. What's more, the Han army had never lost. Every time they fought with a smaller force, and every time they won, they won.

Facing the endless calls for battle, Fu Gan laughed and said, "Okay! Today we will live and die together. We have not made any achievements since we left the Western Regions. We will use the heads of these 300 Xianbei people to pay tribute to the Han people who died in the desert for hundreds of years and tell them that the Han Dynasty will open up to the Western Regions again!"

"Let's follow Gan Sima's plan. Xingba will lead 30 elite soldiers to charge out from the western ditch in armored uniforms. I will go around to the east and pretend that a large army has arrived. Then we will attack together, which will surely scare the Xianbei to death."

"Everyone, kill the Hu!" Fu Gan drew out his sword with a clang, and shouted with gritted teeth.

"Kill the Hu! Kill the Hu!" Everyone drew their swords, glared and shouted in unison.

(End of this chapter)