Royal road

Chapter 336 Heavenly Punishment

From Yanzhou to Yuzhou, Qingqi rides extremely fast.Even if it was his own territory, Shi Le never neglected it. He sent out a hundred scouts, and they made a thorough investigation within a radius of five miles.And never drive at night, and choose a good place to camp every night to avoid people sneaking at night.

It took a long time to go all the way like this, but we got a lot of food and grass from Wubao along the way, which can be regarded as stabilizing the morale of the army.In the direction of Jijun, no pursuers were seen for a long time.Is this giving up interception, or is it going to send troops to encircle after entering Henan County?Shi Le couldn't guess Bingzhou's plan, but they certainly wouldn't allow themselves to help Pingyang easily.

But this time they were all cavalry, and Shi Le was not afraid of the enemy's tricks.As long as there are scouts, it is difficult for infantry to catch up with his army, and cavalry of the same size cannot hide anyway.I am afraid that only after entering the east of the river and the terrain becomes complicated, will there be a risk of being ambush.

"General, the front is Xifengling. Do we want to cross the valley and go straight to Sizhou, or bypass the pipeline?"

Hearing the report from the scouts ahead, Shi Le only hesitated for a moment, then said: "Cross the river valley!"

If you make a detour, you will spend two more days on the road.There is Sizhou ahead, and the army does not have much food and fodder. The longer the time is wasted, the greater the possibility of encountering danger.The valley of Xifengling faces mountains on one side and water on the other.The valley is not very long, and the mountains are high and the water is shallow, so it is not easy to ambush.As long as more scouts are dispatched and there are no ambushes, it will only take about a moment for tens of thousands of riders to cross the valley.

If such a terrain makes him tremble with fear, should he go on the road ahead?

There was an order from the commander, and the soldiers and horses did not stop, and they headed towards the river valley ahead.

It was not past noon, and the sun was so fierce that it also illuminated the valley so brightly that there was not even a place to hide.The scouts came back one after another to report that there were no ambushes in the front, back, left, and rear, so Shi Le felt relieved and ordered the army to pass.

Ten thousand cavalry could almost fill this small river valley.The river bed has long since dried up, and pebbles are everywhere.In order to avoid hurting the horseshoes, most of the horses walked on the flatter river beach near the cliff, not too fast, but definitely not slow.Seeing that An'an had passed most of the time, the tense soldiers gradually relaxed, and some even let their horses lean against the mountain wall, trying to cover their heads from the sun.

The dry ground was filled with dust under the trampling of horseshoes.No one noticed that a little spark was flying forward along the string.The mess of stones blocked all possible sights until the sparks squeaked and were submerged in the cracks at the foot of the mountain.

It seems that he has not been wrongly judged.With Taniguchi right in front of him, Shi Le breathed a sigh of relief.Even if Bingzhou is strong and prosperous, it is impossible to arrange an ambush here.But after entering Sizhou, everything is completely different.We must be more careful this time, and we must not fall into the enemy's tricks again.

Only one victory can he get out of the current predicament.

The horse under his crotch took another step forward, and the horse's hoof stepped on the hard stone, making a crisp sound.This sound is not very noticeable, because thousands of horses are moving forward like this.If you are far away, you can even hear the sound of thunder rolling.This is the unique sensuality of cavalry, which makes people fearful and joyful.

The next moment, the sound of hooves suddenly stopped.No, not stop.But the real thunder sounded!

Suddenly, there was a terrifying loud noise from the mountain wall beside him.With a bang, it overwhelmed all the sounds in the valley, and also reversed the original color of the sky and the earth.Shi Le only felt his ears buzzing, as if he was hit by a heavy hammer.His head shook and his eardrums cracked!But this was not over yet, the beloved horse under him jumped up like crazy, his hooves neighing like crazy!

what happened? !At this moment, Shi Le was not thrown off the horse, it was entirely due to Shi Le's superb riding skills, enduring the dazzle, he firmly grasped the rein, trying to control the startled horse.However, if he can stabilize, others may not.Front, back, left, and right, countless soldiers fell off their horses. In such a dense formation, the docile war horses turned out to be murderous weapons.The horseshoes are galloping, and the blood is flowing!

Control the horse!Let the army calm down!

Shi Le wanted to say something, but he shouted even more heart-piercingly, piercing through the chilling thunder, and reaching everyone's ears: "The landslide! The landslide!"

On their left, a huge cliff collapsed from it, and large rocks fell on the chaotic army formation like rain.This time, the screams became even more one after another.Others were thrown under the rocks without even uttering a scream.

Go out!Shi Le's eyes were swollen, and he shouted loudly: "Go forward! Get out of the river valley!"

The landslide was only in the middle of the valley, and had not yet spread to them.Only by rushing out of the river valley as soon as possible can we keep a chance of survival.However, under such chaos, how many people can hear his military orders and command the horses to move forward?

Shi Le didn't care too much, he clamped the horse's belly hard, and galloped away.His actions drove the guards, and hundreds of riders accelerated together and rushed forward.Like a ferocious beast trying to rush out of the turbid current, this group of men and horses rammed into the soldiers ahead who had no time to dodge, and an even more terrifying scream sounded.The flesh and blood were trampled into the crevices of the rocks, dyeing the river valley red.

The strong wind blowing on the face could not blow away the biting chill.Shi Le was lying on the horse's back, not even daring to lift his head.Crashing, dodging, trampling, a way of life spread along the blood flow.It wasn't until the front suddenly opened up and the hot sun shone on the face that he slowly pulled the rein of the horse.

Behind him, the collapse has not yet ended, and the ground is trembling slightly.All the people who escaped from death and managed to survive were also trembling.Why is there a thunderous landslide?Why do they encounter such abnormalities?

Shi Le was the first to recover. He suddenly raised his voice: "This must be an ambush set by the enemy! Be careful!"

This voice brought back the minds of many people.Set up an ambush.By the way, maybe it's something weird made by the enemy.After all, they have escaped, as long as they are on guard, they may be able to escape.

However, the ambush Shi Le was talking about never appeared.Until the last rock hit the ground and the dust settled, there was not a single enemy in sight.

A few hundred steps away, the howling still continued, faintly drifting with the wind.By Shi Le's side, a needle can be heard quietly.

Where are the ambushes?And who can put up such a battle just to set up an ambush?

"It's God's punishment..."

A faint sob sounded behind him.Shi Le trembled all over, turned his head and yelled angrily: "Who disturbed our army's morale?!"

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look directly into his eyes.Shi Le only felt his heart sink, who said it, does it matter?This sudden shocking change not only tore apart his army, but also completely defeated the courage of these people.Just when he was about to enter Sizhou, he encountered such an accident.What if he is really an enemy of the Buddha?That is the incarnation of Medicine Buddha.If you offend him, maybe you will enter the nether world after death, and you will be burned by karma!

Shi Le knew what they were thinking, he had heard it from his mother countless times.Even at that moment, he was a little shaken and a little afraid.What if what the Buddha said is not a hoax?Is he unforgivable?

However, as soon as this thought flashed by, he tightened his grip on the reins: "Go back to the long house first!"

He wants to go back to rectify the soldiers and horses.There is still a lot of food stored in Li Shiwu Fort in Changshe County, and it may be possible to increase the source of troops.Whether or not to go to Sizhou in the next step is no longer important.How to regain morale and stabilize their old camp is the top priority.

Hearing Shi Le's order to leave, many people breathed a sigh of relief, and they didn't dare to look at the rock-strewn river valley in the distance, and the group left without dust.

■

"Patriarch, do you really want to act according to Zu Lingyin's words?"

At the same time, in the Li Family Fort, several people hid in the inner room and sat down to discuss.

As early as two months ago, Henan Yin Zuti secretly sent envoys to persuade them to abandon Shi Le and return to the court.Yuzhou is no better than Sizhou, and has experienced too many wars in the past two years.All the masters of Wubao also no longer obeyed the imperial court's order.Even the emperor and the king's city have changed back and forth, who would dare to risk their lives and their entire clan for the sake of loyalty?

Therefore, when Wang Mi came, he surrendered Wang Mi, and when Shi Le came, he surrendered Shi Le.Even if these bandits kill indiscriminately, they will not completely destroy the foundation.As long as they can get a chance to breathe, they can barely hold on and live a little longer in this troubled world.

However, this year is different from the past. The severe drought destroyed many farms that Wubao relied on for survival, and Shi Le opened his mouth again, taking a lot of food.If it continues like this, even if it is surrendered, so what?Maybe we still won't be able to see the sun of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Sizhou, which is close at hand, has become an enviable existence.If what Zu Ti said is true, does he really have the intention to accept them?Would it be better to take refuge in Sizhou than it is now?

But thinking so, no one dared to act rashly.At this moment, Bingzhou sent troops to attack Pingyang.When the news spread, many people became active.If Bingzhou can really win Pingyang and recover Hedong, it means that Duke Liang's strength will be further expanded. Wouldn't it be more and more worthwhile to invest in it?

At the same time, the sad news that Shi Le led the troops to aid also made the castle masters restless.If the thief robbed Wubao again in order to raise military pay, would they still be able to survive?

The balance is already on the verge of falling, and it is only waiting for the last chips to fall.

"Let's just wait and see what happens..." Patriarch Li pondered for a long time before answering, "If the stone bandits are defeated, we can also switch to Sizhou."

"Then what if the stone thief wins?" Someone couldn't hold back, and whispered, "Could it be that I will continue to be bullied by this Jie slave?!"

"I think it's about to be defeated. Bingzhou has strong soldiers and horses, and it's such a wild season..." Someone muttered.

"Wait, wait! When will we wait for a good opportunity? It's better to strike first!"

There are different opinions, and everyone's words sound reasonable.Patriarch Li's brows furrowed deeper, his beard meditating.At this moment, a servant hurriedly ran in: "Castle Master! General Shi has returned to the army! Just sent someone to order me to wait for Kaicheng!"

"What?!" Everyone was shocked.Didn't Shi Le just lead the troops to Sizhou?Why did you come back so soon?

Patriarch Li reacted faster and asked, "How many people did he bring back?"

"Less than a thousand rides!"

How come there are only a thousand rides?Is it a division of troops?

"There are only 1000 people. Could it be that they encountered ambushes on the road?!" Someone exclaimed.

Is Shile defeated?Lost so soon?

Patriarch Li pressed the case in front of him, and stood up abruptly: "Go and check again, how is the military appearance of the visitor?"

If Shi Le really lost, and fled back to his own territory, wouldn't it be a god-sent opportunity?They don't have many troops in several forts, but a thousand cavalry is really not in their eyes.

If you can get Shi Le's head and ask Zu Ti for a reward, it will be a great contribution.And with the protection of Sizhou, why should they be afraid of these miscellaneous gangsters?

■

In front is Wubao of the Lee family.He will be able to go to the city to rest soon, but the disturbance in Shi Le's heart has not diminished.

Along the way, more than a dozen miles away, hundreds of people left quietly.Either pretended to be behind, or slipped away, and disappeared without a trace.When we return to Yanzhou, how many of these people can stay?Or try to kill them all so that the hellish landslide cannot spread to Yanzhou?

Countless thoughts were churning in his mind, Shi Le didn't dare to stay for a moment, and galloped towards Uburg ahead.Everything can only be discussed after entering the city.As long as you save your life, there is always a chance to regain your strength.Wasn't it the same with Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty?After repeated battles and repeated defeats, he finally won the world.He has beaten 10 horses from eighteen cavalry, so he can naturally raise a strong army again!

In the distance, the city gate of Wubao has been opened.Shi Le slowed down his horse and, surrounded by his own soldiers, slowly stepped into the city gate.Today, the big castles in Yuzhou are divided into two gates, inside and outside.It's like turning a small urn upside down in the city.Even if bandits invade the outer city, they can close the inner city in time, use the narrow urn to attack the enemy, and hold on to the city.

However, these methods would never dare to be displayed in front of Shi Le.As soon as the army arrives, the gates of the inner city will be opened wide, and even the patriarch of the clan will stand under the city to welcome his arrival.

Today, however, something is different.

As the pioneers entered the Wengcheng, Shi Le suddenly discovered that the small gate of the inner city in front of him was tightly locked and had never been opened at all.

Oops!Counted!

His reaction was extremely fast, and he immediately wanted to order to retreat, but with a bang, the gate of the outer city was closed.On the top of the wall, an unknown number of figures holding bows and crossbows appeared.

They reversed?How dare they rebel? !Shi Le's lips trembled. Does this small city want to stop his elite soldiers? !

However, on the top of the city, someone shouted loudly: "Only kill the stone thief! If you kill the stone thief, you will not die!"

Shouts, one after another, echoed in the small urn city.Shi Le's complexion changed, and those in front of him and behind him also changed their complexion.

Kill him, kill him to live!You can be forgiven by the Buddha!All this bad luck, all disasters, are all because of him!

In the deathly silence, Shi Le laughed wildly: "How dare you, thief!!"

He drew his long knife.The blood-stained blade that had killed countless enemies and ministers blocked the sharp blade.One shot, one cut, blood flying everywhere!

"Get out! Get out for me!" Shi Le's voice was shrill, like a roar, or howling like a beast.The setting sun was dim, and that figure also looked like a mad and trapped beast.

However, this call, this method, did not evoke any response.More and more blades swung towards him.The helmet fell off, blood came to the face, and even the bun fell off.

How can he be willing?To rush out...

"Fire arrows!"

A voice sounded in the distance.Flying arrows are like locusts.

The horse under his crotch fell and crushed his right leg severely.Regardless of the pain in his body, Shi Le struggled to hide behind the horse corpse, but in all directions, there was no place where he could avoid the rain of arrows from the top of the city.

A stray arrow pierced through his neck fiercely, Shi Le shook slightly and fell to the ground.The blood-stained hand, the long knife stretched forward, dug even the fingertips into the mud with force.

A long bloodstain finally stopped halfway.