ebookland Chapter 284 Return to Bicheng
Chapter 284 Return to Bicheng
After walking for a day and a half, they arrived at the official road from Bicheng to the Dongzhong Army Camp. This official road went eastwards, and after passing the Dongzhong Army Camp, they could reach Yingdan's hometown, Yutuo City. "I heard that after a person suffers great pain or setbacks, he always likes to go home. Adou is like this. Did Yingdan also go back to Yutuo City?" Chu Xiaomu thought to himself.
When they reached the official road, they turned west. Along the way, they encountered many herdsmen, vagrants, and vagrants coming and going. Some rode horses, drove carts, and drove large herds of cattle and sheep. They were probably no different from ordinary people. There were also some impetuous Bicheng soldiers who galloped beside Chu Xiaomu and his group. When they saw that most of the horses in the herd were wild horses, they couldn't help but cast curious glances at everyone. It was probably because the military situation was urgent and there was no time to dismount and ask.
Li Ji suffered a lot on the way. If he said something wrong, Zhou Weide, Zhang Hou and others would whip him with horse whips, which made him grimacing and bleeding. However, the tendons and bones at the joints of his limbs were broken, and his whole body was tied up. He had no room to fight back and could only endure it. Later, he became honest and no longer spoke in a rough voice. He no longer dared to say anything disrespectful to the people of Bicheng, so as not to suffer more physical pain. Zhou Weide scolded: "They say that you monsters from Chisha Country are not afraid of death, but I think you have not been beaten enough!"
After walking for nearly another day, they arrived at the east gate of Bicheng.
There were colorful flags above and below the East Gate, red, green, yellow, blue, purple... all kinds of colors were available; there were also many styles, some were triangular cone-shaped, some were double-breasted swallowtail-shaped, and some were manifold dragon tail-shaped, embroidered with images of galloping horses, divine eagles, celestial bows and the like... the scene was lively, joyous and festive.
Everyone knew that Bicheng had won a victory, which was why the seven-colored flags were erected in the city. They were all very excited and wanted to rush in immediately to eat cakes and meat, play rock-paper-scissors and drink with everyone else.
A soldier saw from afar a few dirty men leading a large group of horses to stop in front of the city gate. Standing on the tower, he shouted, "Where are you from? Why are you bringing so many horses into the city? Do you have permission to pass?"
Chu Xiaomu replied loudly, "We are the horse herders of the Nanding Army. We cannot return to the Nanding camp without a general's order, so we have returned to Bicheng. Please inform the general or Zhou Bo's army and tell them that Chu Xiaomu, the horse herder, is leading the team back to report."
When the soldier saw the large group of horses below, he did not dare to be negligent and turned around and left.
After a long time, the city gate was finally opened, and a soldier who looked like a battalion officer led a dozen people on horseback to greet them. It was Wang Gu, the battalion officer of the Nanqian Camp, who had greeted everyone outside the camp when they followed Zhou Bo to the Nanding Army camp.
Wang Gu smiled and said, "Brothers from the Herdsmen Team, it's been a long time since we last met. Come on, follow me to see Zhou Zhongjun. When he heard that you guys are back, he was so happy that he almost jumped out of bed."
After a few polite words, they followed Wang Gu and his party into the city.
Chu Xiaomu couldn't help but ask, "Officer Wang, has the Claw Tribe's camp been breached?"
Wang Gu said: "Of course. With Deputy Commander Xiao leading the attack and Commander Yang Luoyang guarding the rear, the camp of only a few thousand Claw people is bound to be broken." His tone was quite proud.
Chu Xiaomu said happily, "That's good." After a pause, he asked, "Where are the Claw tribe members heading east?"
Wang Gu said, "I'm not sure about that, but it's only a matter of time before we catch them. I estimate that there will be good news back in the city in two days."
……
After a few minutes of chatting, they arrived at the temporary camp of the Nanding Army.
The Nanding Army camp near Humu Pass had been destroyed by the Claw Tribe. Except for those who died in battle, most of the soldiers returned to Bicheng. Although Bicheng did not have abundant supplies, the land was very spacious. Although the Nanding Army had thousands of soldiers and horses, they could still accommodate them. However, they could not find too many tents for the time being. More than 4,500 soldiers could only squeeze into more than 300 tents, with more than ten people living in each tent.
Wang Gu ordered his men to make a tent for Chu Xiaomu and his nine companions to stay. He also asked the soldiers to send the horse officer to settle the horses they brought back. When the horse officer heard that Chu Xiaomu brought back more than 1,700 horses, he thought he had heard wrongly and asked again: "How many...how many horses?"
Chu Xiaomu said: "About 1,720 horses, but we don't know the exact number. We haven't counted them one by one."
The horse officer was so shocked that his mouth opened wide. He said, "I handed over a total of 166 military horses to you. How come you brought back more than 1,700? Even if these horses are fertile, they can't reproduce ten times in a few months."
Chu Xiaomu wanted to explain again, but Wang Gu became a little impatient and said, "If you don't believe me, why don't you go out and count? The commander ordered me to take Xiaomu and the other brothers to his tent to report quickly, but I don't have time to explain and argue with you here."
The horse official still looked as if he didn't believe it at all, and he took a few big steps and left.
Zhang Hou and Wang Gang grabbed the leader of the Claw Clan, Li Ji, and threw him to the ground. Not only were Li Ji's limbs broken and his body tied up, but he was also starved by Chu Xiaomu and the other cruel guys for several days without eating anything. He was so weak that he didn't even have the strength to scream when he was thrown to the ground.
Wang Gu was even more surprised to see that this seemingly incompetent boy from the Horse Herding Team actually captured a Claw Clan assassin alive. He asked, "What's going on? Who is this Claw Clan member?"
Zhang Hou said, "Captain Wang, don't worry about who this man is. I guarantee that after seeing this guy, Zhou Zhongjun's injuries will be almost healed immediately." He had heard Chu Xiaomu say that Zhou Bo was injured by Li Ji.
Wang Gu said, "Most of the Claw Tribe assassins are not afraid of death. They would rather commit suicide than be captured. It's rare that you can capture one alive. Good! Let's take this guy with us to see the central army." He then ordered the four soldiers behind him to carry the Claw Tribe man and follow everyone to Zhou Bo's central army tent.
Zhou Bo had a house in Bicheng. After he was injured and returned to the city, he stayed at home for a few days. When his injury got better, he insisted on moving back to the temporary camp of Nanding Army to live and eat with other soldiers. Even his wife, daughter and deputy commander Xiao Zhenrong tried their best to persuade him but he refused to change his mind and had to live in the camp as he wished.
Therefore, Wang Gu led Chu Xiaomu and his men to the place not long after. A soldier went into the tent to report, and then came out to invite everyone in.
Chu Xiaomu followed Wang Gu into the central army tent and saw Zhou Bo and Xiao Zhenrong were both there, both of them had happy looks on their faces.