To the southeast of Feiqian, Ma Chao, who was taking a detour with about 800 soldiers, was marching cautiously along the bank of the Western Han River. On one side, the Western Han River was surging down, and on the other side, it was not too high.

It is not a short mountain range, and it is not easy to walk, but it is definitely much better than the Qinling Mountains.

Ma Chao was actually a little worried, mainly because of the alienation issue.

Whether Di Ren cooperated with Zheng Xifei Qian, or to what extent, this is a matter that requires special attention for Ma Chao. He took a detour and could not bring many troops. If Fei Qian

If we really join forces with the Di man Wang Ke from Xia Bian, our own troops will inevitably be somewhat insufficient.

Another reason is that Di people are good at fighting in mountains. If they encounter such a difficult place to move...

Ma Chao held the horse and looked at the mist that shrouded the surroundings. Perhaps it was because the rain and mist soaked the armor and made it feel cold, or for some other reason. Anyway, Ma Chao felt a little chilly.

"Send some more scouts ahead to take a look, and pay attention to the reeds on the hills and banks!" Ma Chao once again sent out scouts to carefully check suspicious locations to avoid being ambushed in this terrain.

The rain gradually decreased, but the weather did not improve immediately. It was like I was still sobbing after crying loudly. The weather was gloomy, as if I was accumulating strength and wanted to do it all over again. I was wearing a soaked jacket.

Wearing robes and heavy battle armor, walking beside the Western Han River is still a thing that has nothing to do with happiness.

Not only Ma Chao, but almost all the soldiers accompanying him were either wet or sweaty, and their clothes and hair were all stuck to their bodies, which was very uncomfortable.

This does not count, because we are marching by the river. Although the loose river bank will not allow soldiers to sink into it like a swamp, every time you step on it, the yellow mud full of moisture will always sink in gently, making a sound.

There was a squeaking sound. Not to mention combat boots, even straw sandals were not allowed to be worn. I could only walk barefoot, with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

A scout ran over, stamping on the ground and splashing mud: "General, we found some enemies ahead!"

Di people?

Ma Chao was startled. Before he could think too much, another scout who was climbing up the side of the mountain for reconnaissance also ran over from the side of the mountain, waving his arms pantingly. Ma Chao's face was as heavy as water, and he waited until the second scout came closer.

, then asked directly: "Could it be that you also saw the Di people?"

The second scout was stunned for a moment, then nodded repeatedly.

Ma Chao immediately frowned and stood still. The guards behind him quickly signaled that the entire army stopped immediately and there was no urgent need to move forward.

Ma Chao pointed to the yellow mud ground and said to the two scouts: "Where are the Di people? Draw it and see."

The two scouts quickly picked up a small branch on the ground and roughly drew a schematic diagram.

Although the graphics drawn by the scouts are neither beautiful nor standard, they are enough for Ma Chao.

Can't get around it.

Since there is no way around it, there is only one way left.

…………………………

In the junction area between Xiabian Qingni River and Xihan River, there are ravines and mountains connecting the wilderness not far away. As part of the loess high slope, the trees and vegetation here cannot be said to be dense, but they are not bare either.

There is nothing, and occasionally one or two streams can be seen flowing down the hillside and flowing into the river.

It was not long after noon, and although the rain had generally stopped, layers of clouds still hung in the sky, like layers of curtains, which made people feel depressed.

The surroundings seemed quiet. There were two or three lean sheep grazing leisurely on the grass slope. Not far away, there was a crop field cultivated on the hillside. Beside the crop field, there were rooms made of rough loess and tree trunks.

In a small house, a man in tattered clothes was squatting by the stream to fetch water. Judging from his habit of bundling his head, he seemed to be a stranger.

Originally, the Di people did not farm, but since the Qin Dynasty, the originally nomadic Di people have fixed their territory and gradually started farming like the Chinese Han people. Of course, the precision of farming is still far behind.

of.

The mountainous area is barren, and there is only one household nearby.

The man has no name, only one title. This place is called Huangnigou by some people, but in fact, in the entire Xiliang, there are not ten places called Huangnigou, but probably eight.

Suddenly some sounds broke the peaceful atmosphere.

The man fetching water glanced to the north. The sound came from there, but there was nothing visible across the grassy slope. Then, there was the faint sound of horse hooves.

The man stood up, holding an old wooden barrel and standing, looking at the grassy slope not far away.

Suddenly, two black felt hats emerged from the top of the grass slope, and then two tattered leather robes...

At a glance, you can tell that they are dressed like Qiang people.

The foreign man was stunned.

The two Qiang cavalry also pulled their horses and stared at the Di man with narrowed eyes.

For a moment, it was as if time and space had frozen.

The Qiang man's fingers moved, and then he touched the sword at his waist...

The enemy man roared fiercely, and then ran towards the cabin. At the door of the cabin, a dirty child crawled out of the door babbling...

Several more Qiang cavalry emerged from the grassy slope. Some of them followed the two previous men and chased the man, while the others seemed to be more interested in the thin sheep.

The Qiang cavalry came faster and faster, and the Di people were already running hard, but compared with the four-legged horses, they were still slower.

"Whoosh!"

The Di man seemed to have stepped on a small hole in the ground and staggered, but he escaped an arrow fired by a Qiang cavalry.

The arrow passed over the body of the foreign man and stuck on the ground, shaking.

Then a Qiang cavalryman said something unknown, which immediately caused a burst of laughter.

The Qiang cavalryman who was holding his bow muttered something, then he accelerated his horse and rushed towards the Di man, turned slightly, and slashed with his sword!

When he noticed that the war horse was approaching, the man cried out and jumped with all his strength, his body rolled on the grass with several bangs, and he let out a scream...

The Di man's back had been slashed, but it was not a fatal injury. The blood dyed the grass and yellow mud red, adding an ominous color to this world.

The ignorant child at the door of the room seemed to have noticed something, grinned, and burst into tears.

The Di Ren man struggled to stand up when he heard the sound of rapid horse hooves coming from beside him again...

This time he couldn't escape.

The sharp sword cut through the skin on his neck, cutting through his almost non-existent thin layer of subcutaneous fat, and then the muscles and tendons cracked and snapped under the blade, and then the blade hit the bones of the cervical vertebrae.

There was a slight pause, and as the impact and cutting force increased, the blade slid into the gap in the cervical spine...

"call……"

The Di man's head flew up into the air, and in his last flip of sight, he saw the heads of the lean sheep in his house also falling to the ground; he saw several Qiang people jumping in front of the door.

He dismounted and rushed in; he saw a Qiang man stretching out his bloody palm towards his child who was sitting on the ground crying...

The foreign man wanted to shout, scream, and stop everything in front of him, but he didn't make a sound. What greeted him was only endless darkness...

…………………………

Debate.

In the Di people's village.

Di Ren Wang was so furious that he jumped up and down. He had already overturned the table, kicked down the shelf, and even smashed a jar and three earthen jars. However, when the surrounding area was in a mess, Di Ren Wang

But he did not vent his anger on the stable throne behind him.

"Who did it? Did that guy do it!?" Di Ren Wang Ke roared, foaming at the mouth.

"..." The Lord of the Five Clan in Di Rennei was silent.

"Speak quickly!" Di man Wang Yu stood in front of the leader of the Neiwu clan and sprayed his saliva on the top of his head.

"Our son-in-law found a lot of horse hoof marks and some Qiang bone arrows..." the leader of the fifth clan in Di Rennei said with his head lowered.

"Qiang people?" Wang Hu, a Di person, shouted, "Which tribe can do anything?"

"..." The Lord of the Fifth Clan in Di Rennei was silent for a moment and said, "I don't know yet..."

The Di people once again sprayed saliva on the leader of the Neiwu clan, "I don't know?! If you don't know, why don't you go and find it for me! Are we, the Di people, easy to bully?! We must punish him!"

eye for eye!"

…………………………

Li store.

There is a mountain that looks like a horse's spine.

Therefore, it is called Maji Mountain. There are beams on the mountain and a mountain village on the beam.

No one knows when this cottage was built or who built it, but one thing is certain, this cottage is very old, so old that the iron wood used as the gate of the cottage is somewhat decayed.

Therefore, people in the village need to go out to repair the village wall and gate from time to time.

Especially after a rain, some areas soaked by rain are prone to decay and require timely repairs. If not treated, they may easily become the next source of collapse.

"Aweng! Xiaozi!" A young man squatting on the wall of the village who was doing maintenance shouted to the bottom.

"You melon boy, you don't even have a piece of rice mill, why are you trying to repair it!" A voice shouted from below, and then a stone rice mill was thrown up with a "buzz" sound.

The young man stretched out one hand and grabbed the handle of the rice mill, and then slowly drew an arc in the air to offset the momentum of the rice mill. Just as he was raising it to knock on the wooden board, he suddenly seemed to notice something and turned his head.

Looking around, a group of cavalry appeared on the slope in the distance, heading towards the mountain stronghold.

"Ah Weng! Ah Weng! Someone is coming!"

After a while, the cavalry queue arrived at the bottom of the mountain stronghold. Gan Feng raised his head and shouted: "I am here to visit the descendants of the Meng family on the order of Lao Qin!"
To be continued...