C74

Watch the mountain and kill the horse!" From a distance, they could see the entrance of the Heaven Realm Valley. The main reason for this was that, in the past, a large number of years would have been enough for a large number of mounted soldiers to pass through. For the team, there was no road at all.

Because he had Zhang Zhou's promise, Tie He was in a good mood and personally acted as a guide for them, informing them that although there were some twists and turns in the entrance to the Heaven Realm Valley, after many renovations, the road was still relatively smooth. There were no problems with the carriages, and it would only take an hour for them to cross.

Unlike the Tang Dynasty, there was only one place where humans could live on a large scale, so the vast majority of the population lived together. The main city, Walther City, and the surrounding villages and towns were almost united into one, with one country being one city and one city being one country. The population was similar to a Hezhou, with a population of close to a million! The density of the residences here far surpassed any place in the Great Tang.

As for the tribes near the Heaven Realm Mountain, Tie He's understanding was more detailed. Most of the tribes had their origins in the Western Tribes. Some had taken refuge, some had fled for their lives, and some had been born and bred. Especially in the past twenty years after the Great Tang and Western Tribes left the region, these tribes had developed at a rapid pace. They formed the current situation, and roughly twenty to thirty tribes lived here. They were divided into several factions, those close to the Western Tribes, those close to the grasslands, and those self-reliant. However, the environment was limited, and the tribes were not very big. The biggest ones were only five or six hundred people, while the smallest ones were only two hundred people. On the surface, the Western Tribes had already withdrawn from the defense of the Heaven Realm Mountain, but on the surface, they had handed over the territory of the Heaven Realm Mountain to the tribes that were close to the Western Tribes to look after.

These tribes were limited in power and had no way of controlling the entire region. This created a situation where the territories between the tribes were clearly separated from each other. There were conflicts between them, and there were also cooperation between them. It was difficult to sort out the relationships between them.

This time, Tie He's group could safely reach the Tang Dynasty's territory, and was inextricably linked to the help of these tribes. They let Tie He's group pass through, but they didn't let down their guard as they should. After all, there were very few people from the Western Tribes who wanted to enter the Tang Dynasty, so they sent people to follow them. When Tie He and the others arrived at the capital, they found out who Tie He was, and it was too late for them to regret it.

There were a few travelling riders that appeared in the valley. According to Tie He's description, from the looks of their clothes, they should belong to the Heaven Realm Mountain Tribe. Judging from the situation of the Heaven Realm Mountain Tribe, they shouldn't be a threat to such a large group of people who sent off their wives! Thus, he didn't panic too much.

Since it was almost dusk, he might as well camp for the night. He would enter the valley tomorrow morning.

That night, several scouting incidents occurred around the campsite, causing Zhang Zhou to be alarmed! He had already guessed at a few possibilities, and these possibilities would pose quite a threat and hidden danger to the escort team! For example, many tribes were united for the sake of benefits! The Sima Family's secret help and so on …

Zhang Zhou immediately had Huo Xiaoyun send out his scout horse to investigate and secretly send out Ma Heizi and more than twenty Yaksha members as well!

Zhang Zhou had never come into contact with ancient wars, but he knew the significance of canyons to attacks! The advantage of a dangerous location was that it would not lose to tens of thousands of soldiers! He weighed the thousands of people and didn't dare to act recklessly! He had to make sure that the team could safely pass through the canyon tomorrow!

It was already dawn. Huo Xiaoyun's scouts had returned, but they did not discover any enemy. They also confirmed the situation. The steep terrain of the Heaven Realm Mountain was only for the tunnels in the valley. The two sides of the mountain wasn't an unclimbable existence. According to Zhang Zhou's understanding, this valley should have undergone a huge earthquake and the tallest mountains in the mountain range were torn apart from the middle to form a natural hand. The value of building the mountain pass wasn't great, but it was very beneficial for setting up an ambush within the valley. With the yaksha led by Ma Heizi still not returning, Zhang Zhou was very uneasy!

As the sky brightened, the team set off once again! Getting up early and resting early was the iron law of a march. Zhang Zhou specially walked at the front of the group today, arriving at the entrance of the Heaven Realm Valley. He signaled the team to stop and went up to stop his horses to take a look. The cliffs on both sides of the valley were extremely steep, almost standing upright.

Huo Xiaoyun, who was behind him, said in a low voice, "Master Hou, you've come and gone from the valley with four waves of scouts! He didn't find anything out of the ordinary! "If we delay it too long, I'm afraid the team won't be able to finish by nightfall!"

How could Zhang Zhou not know of this? He turned around and saw more and more carriages gathered at the entrance of the valley, waiting for the order to enter! But Zhang Zhou's heart was still restless! However, this was a difficult reason to not enter the valley! Just as he was hesitating, he saw a horse running out from the forest beside the mountain. The horse was dressed in ordinary clothes, but because of the dazzling red tassel on his shoulder, it was very obvious!

Zhang Zhou shouted, "No one is allowed to enter the valley! General Huo, tell the Imperial Guard to be on alert! "

Without even bothering to explain to Huo Xiaoyun, he galloped over to welcome them!

That red tassel on his shoulder was the special signal he had prepared for Ma Hei Zi and the rest. He had agreed that he would not use it when it was safe. He would only use it when he discovered dangerous enemies! It was all for the sake of informing him of the situation earlier! Red Tasseled, this meant that the situation was dangerous. How could Zhang Zhou dare to let his troops into the valley?

That person was one of the Yaksha team members that had travelled to the capital together with him, Old Crow! The old crow's clothes had been torn to shreds. It was obvious that he had gone through a lot of hard work. He did not say anything unnecessary and directly explained the situation to Zhang Zhou.

According to Zhang Zhou's request, they had a clear goal, which was to investigate the situation of the mountains on both sides of the valley. The Imperial Guards also had their scouts scout out out the mountains on both sides of the valley, but Ma Heizi's group had to go deeper in to find a team of hundreds of people climbing the mountain on the west side of the valley while it was still dark. They caught a lone captive and interrogated him. The captive told them that they were from a tribe in the mountain of Heaven Realm. As a result, almost all of the young and strong tribes were gathered together and sent into action. They set up an ambush on the mountain in the middle of the night! Other details are not clear.

The target of the other party was obvious at a glance. Ma Heizi immediately ordered Crow to come back and report! The others stayed behind to keep an eye on him. They had to hurry back because the mountain road was too hard to walk on!

Zhang Zhou felt his head buzzing! Worry about what comes next! If there was an ambush on the mountain, then there would definitely be sniping and hunting from both sides of the canyon! At this time, Ping Wang and Huo Xiaoyun also rushed over. Zhang Zhou sent Crow back to the arrest squad, while he himself welcomed Zhao Qisheng. He briefly explained what happened, then explained his thoughts and said, "Your Highness, we definitely cannot enter the valley today! I'm afraid the enemy will come! We should have made preparations in advance! "

When there were outsiders, Zhang Zhou would address Zhao Qizhi as' Your Highness'. After all his experiences on the road to Lianzhou, Zhao Qisheng was much more mature and calm. He said to Zhang Zhou, "It's all thanks to you this time!"

Zhang Zhou said with a serious expression, "Last night, I felt restless and worried that something might happen, so I sent someone to extend the area, and that's why I made this unexpected discovery."

Ping Wang habitually asked Zhang Zhou: "What should we do next? Should we wait here and wait for reinforcements? "

"Of course not. We only brought water and food for a dozen days. If we were to really guard it, we would be trapped to death in a few days."

Go back to Great Yan Mountain Pass and ask for reinforcements? Who could guarantee Sima Guangye's loyalty was trustworthy? The enemy's blade could be dodged, but how could the enemy's blade be dodged? Both of them had long since come to a consensus on this matter, and it was also the main reason why they had refused Sima Guangye sending troops to escort them! They didn't dare to take this risk! Therefore, he didn't dare to hope for reinforcements to come to the Great Yan Mountain Pass!

Zhang Zhou thought for a while and asked Huo Xiaoyun, "What do you think, General Huo?"

Huo Xiaoyun was, after all, the leader of the Imperial Guards. Huo Xiaoyun said thoughtfully, "We can't just sit there and wait for death! Then take the initiative! Sow the stallion first! As long as the other party is not a regular army, I am confident that I can win! "

Zhang Zhou added, "You have to be prepared in other areas as well!"

Huo Xiaoyun said calmly, "Master Hou can assign some men to leave the remaining Imperial Guards for me to use!"

Although Sima Guangye had looked down on the Imperial Guards in the Great Yan Mountain Pass, Huo Xiaoyun was extremely confident in the fighting capabilities of the two thousand men. These two thousand men were definitely the most outstanding amongst the Imperial Guards. Because the scouts had failed, he had almost made a huge mistake. He also needed a victory to prove himself.

Zhao Qishui's trust in Zhang Zhou went without saying. In order to dispel his misgivings, he said, "Zhang Zhou, just make the arrangements!"

Zhang Zhou nodded. After some thought, he gave his thoughts and arrangements to Huo Xiaoyun, who agreed. He no longer hesitated and said, "Then we'll do as Zhang Zhou says. We'll act immediately!"

Each of them moved separately. Two hundred archers from the forbidden army, led by Crow to besiege the enemy at the top of the mountain, which, according to Crow's information, was difficult to climb the mountain and even harder to descend the mountain. Two hundred archers could trap the enemy at the top of the mountain as long as they occupied the terrain, and this scourge could not be allowed to remain; Yunan Seven assisted Liu Manzhou, leading the Black Tiger Battalion to surround a makeshift camp with a large carriage, in case the enemy charged into the group, causing unpredictable losses and making final defenses; five hundred of them to defend the mouth of the valley with a dozen large carriages, forming a wall on both sides of the mountain, and the narrow valley entrance was more than enough to stop one or two thousand men. He had taken the initiative to leave 300 people behind to assist the torture camp in the defense of the convoy, and had only led a thousand cavalrymen, ready to face the enemy head on!

A large number of scouts were dispatched to lock in their targets. Soon, both sides made contact in the southwest. They shot a few arrows at each other, but no casualties were reported! After a few rounds of contact, the enemy's main force finally appeared. They estimated the size of 2000 people, all dressed in a messy way. It should be the troops of the Heaven Realm Mountain Tribe!

Huo Xiaoyun decided to just wait and watch. The location chosen for the battle was not far from the defensive zone. It was only about three miles away! Zhao Qisheng and Zhang Zhou could clearly see them from where they were riding on a small hill.

Huo Xiaoyun was in no hurry to charge. He was waiting for his opponent to get close. The best range for a cavalry charge was not long. From the start to the end of a horse charge, 500 to 600 feet was ideal! Especially in a place like this where the ground was soft, a long-distance surprise attack would have very miserable consequences!

In addition, Huo Xiaoyun wasn't sure if the opponent had any follow-up powers. Self-confidence didn't mean that he could blindly squander them. He had to win the battle and completely defeat the enemy!

The other party, on the other hand, did not hesitate. They quickly spread out their formation as they emitted an excited whistling sound from their mouths. They shook all kinds of weapons in their hands and started jogging towards Huo Xiaoyun's array!

Huo Xiaoyun lined up in five rows and immediately stood in front of the formation. With the sound of the enemy's hooves approaching, Huo Xiaoyun raised his hand and all of them nocked their bows as if they were shooting arrows.

Ordinary citizens could do it but to be able to be an archer in the army was not simple at all. It required strict consideration. Moreover, the production of archers was not easy. So in the normal army, they could only be equipped with a certain proportion of archers. Huo Xiaoyun's two thousand Imperial Cavalry were all equipped with bows. Firstly, it meant that his equipment was extremely good. Secondly, it meant that his selection and training were in place. Secondly, it meant that he was an excellent division of the Imperial Guards.

When he saw the face of the first enemy, Huo Xiaoyun waved his hand and shouted, "Release!"

A thousand arrows shot out like rain into the enemy's front lines! A large number of people had their horses turned upside down, and countless blood blossomed! The attack came to a halt!

Huo Xiaoyun took out his saber and waved it in the air. He shouted, "Charge!" He took the lead with a thousand elite soldiers of the Imperial Guard behind him. Then, he charged into the formation! A few dozen feet later, just before the two armies were about to collide, the cavalry had already forcefully raised their horses' speed to its fastest. Huo Xiaoyun, who was leading them, shouted, "Kill!" with his deep voice, followed by a thousand men shouting "Kill!" like thunder and fierce like tigers! A thousand elite riders tore apart the enemy's chaotic battle formation with ease. All the enemies they encountered were immediately destroyed, and in an extremely short period of time, countless enemies had died under this kind of assault. However, the enemy did not escape as expected, and after Huo Xiaoyun's charge slowed down, he quickly recovered and rushed over!

Zhang Zhou was unable to see the details, but in his initial charge, he could feel the ferocity of the battle. The blood in his body began to boil! He held onto the handle of his saber without saying a word! He did not doubt Huo Xiaoyun's victory in this battle! In his opinion, they were equal in numbers. If they fought head on, those with strict discipline would definitely win! However, he soon discovered that Huo Xiaoyun had lost the opportunity to launch another powerful charge when the enemies quickly closed in on her. After a moment of thought, he sent Yang Xiaolang to issue an order: Have the three hundred Imperial Guards responsible for the defense of the caravan gather together and prepare for battle.

He explained to Zhao Qizhen that even if Huo Xiaoyun won, many people would be harmed in this conflict! If he was prepared to lead some people to help, not only would he be able to injure the enemies a little faster, he could also reduce the losses!

Zhao Qieshen did not agree with Zhang Zhou's decision at all. Instead, a field officer led the charge of the second tier!

The reason why Zhang Zhou dared to make such arrangements was because Chen Chaoying had brought over 200 coachmen with him. More than half of them were extremely skilled men. Even if a few enemies were to barge in, they could easily deal with them! At first, he didn't want to expose these things, but the moment Huo Xiaoyun led her men to kill, he felt ashamed of his own selfishness.

Only after the second group rushed out did Zhang Zhou realize that You Nan and the other two had also followed them out! It was too late to stop him!

With the addition of the second tier, the situation on the battlefield quickly changed. The enemies finally gave up their desire to fight and began to disperse. Only a few hundred enemies were able to escape.

With blood all over his body, there was a hint of fear and cowardice in You Nan, who was afraid of Zhang Zhou's scolding. He slowly walked to Zhang Zhou, who was driving his horse forward. Although he did not have any personal experience, he could clearly see the corpses strewn across the field. He could hear the shouts! He could smell the blood in the air! Looking at the casualties being carried away by their comrades, the sight was indescribably heavy! In the end, he only whispered, "It's good that you're fine!"

The seven of them were unharmed. They were praised by Huo Xiaoyun for his bravery in battle, but no one was excited. After checking the locations, the results of the battle were quickly reported. This battle had killed more than 1,300 people, while their side had suffered nearly 400 casualties! In such a short period of time, nearly two thousand people had died on the battlefield!

Huo Xiaoyun saw the pained expression on Zhang Zhou's face and thought to herself. Every time a war broke out, those officials would first consider how much contribution it would make. Who would care about those ice-cold casualty figures?

"Since you've become a soldier, life and death will be indifferent to you. Your Lordship need not grieve for you!"

After a long silence, Huo Xiaoyun continued, "This time, it really surprised this general. In fact, when people fought on the battlefield and fought together like this, it was very rare for them to let go of each other. Besides, large-scale casualties usually occurred when one side fled, and other than enmity or confrontation, it was very rare for them to go all out like this!"

Zhang Zhou was startled. He turned around and stared at Huo Xiaoyun. Who knew what he was thinking about? When Huo Xiaoyun didn't know what was going on, Zhang Zhou galloped away and shouted, "General Huo, quickly follow me to meet the Ping Wang! There might be a big problem! "