Chapter 53: Silencing

  Luo Zheng finally smiled, "Don't worry, you two have followed General Ben from the Central Plains to Hebei, and then from Hebei to the Great Desert. Although we are sworn brothers, in fact, we are like real brothers. General Ben is not a heartless or unrighteous person, how could he possibly kill you two to silence you?"

  The two of them finally let out a sigh of relief and put their hanging hearts back in their stomachs.

  "General, don't worry about it," Wang Fang said with a smile. "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten."

  Li Meng also said: "I have been following the army for six years, and even if I die to kill the enemy, every time there is a discussion of merits and rewards, I am always excluded. Only General treats me with kindness and gives me important tasks. To say something treasonous, even if the general leads his brothers to rebel, I will not frown. I have only one life, what's the harm in dying?"

  "How bold!"

  Lu Zheng angrily said: "I am serving as Chancellor, how can I utter such rebellious and unrighteous words?"

  "Hehe!"

  Both of them saw that he was not really angry and chuckled a few times.

  Luo Zheng's anger turned into joy and he said: "This general is not worried about you two, but rather other people."

  The two of them looked puzzled and somewhat perplexed.

  Luo Zheng said solemnly, "As for the matter that day, although only you two know about it, due to the suddenness of the event, there are many suspicious points. It is inevitable that there will be people in the army who will secretly discuss it. You two can pay attention to this in secret over the next few days. If someone suspects the cause of Hu Mao and Niu Jin's death, you can first guide them with words. If the suspicion is difficult to dispel, don't hesitate to take care of them when the opportunity arises."

  "I will obey orders."

  The two men's faces changed colour in unison and they immediately clasped their hands together in obedience.

  Luo Zheng said again: "There is another matter, regarding the Iron Armor Linked Ring Horse, it must be strictly kept secret and not leaked."

  "I will understand eventually."

  The two of them responded in unison again.

  The next day at dawn, the army set out and continued westward.

  Five days later, more than 3,000 Western Liang iron cavalry finally arrived within the borders of Wuyuan.

  Luo Zheng ordered the army to rest for a night and then led the army through Man Yi Valley, crossing Yin Mountain, heading south to Wuyuan.

  Although it has entered Shanxi Province, Wuyuan is still a border town with vast open fields.

  The autumn wind is rustling, and yellow leaves are falling.

  More than 3,000 cavalrymen galloped southward with great momentum, startling the nearby nomadic tribes who were frightened and uneasy.

  The population of Wuyuan County is complex, with both Han people and Xiongnu, Qiang and Hu people. The customs and habits of the people are vastly different from those of the Central Plains, and the social situation is similar to that of Liangzhou, where the Qiang and Hu people live together.

  Luo Zheng led his army southward, passing through many nomadic tribes, and arrived at Yexiang without incident.

  Only when passing through the Single Temple, thousands of Xiongnu cavalry followed far behind, very unfriendly. Fortunately, the Xiongnu people did not dare to provoke this Western Liang cavalry easily, and only monitored them along the way until they left the Single Temple and headed south to Tongtian Mountain.

  Crossing the Hoda Mountain is the boundary of Hedong.

  Luo Zheng stood at the mountain pass, gazing out at the northern landscape, and couldn't help but feel an endless sense of emotion.

  From Wuguan to Nanyang, they marched south, fighting all the way through Zhongyuan, then turned north into Hebei, and again marched north to Youzhou, going out of the Great Wall, passing through the vast desert from Yingshan into Guanzhong, then marching south to Hedong, taking more than four months, circling a big round, not just a thousand miles.

  Even Xu Chu, a tough guy, had a face full of wind and frost, revealing a tired look.

  As for the other generals, they were even more exhausted and in urgent need of rest.

  "We're back!"

  Luo Zheng tightened his grip on the reins and let out a loud whoop.

  Aaaaah!

  More than three thousand Western Liang cavalrymen all opened their mouths and let out a loud roar, venting the fatigue in their hearts.

  Everyone gazed at the majestic figure standing proudly on horseback on the hill, filled with frenzy and reverence.

  In fact, since they entered Zhongyuan, these old soldiers had never thought that they could come back alive.

  The Central Plains is not Western Liang, where running horses requires a price to be paid.

  In fact, it was indeed the case that not only did Hu Zhi die, but also in the Battle of Lücheng, more than half of their troops were lost.

  However, there were still over 3,000 cavalrymen who returned.

  Although he had gone a long way round, he finally returned safely to Guanzhong.

  All of this was attributed to Luo Zheng by the three thousand soldiers.

  Even Xun Yu, at this moment, looked at Luo Zheng's eyes with a very complicated gaze, with admiration and depression.

  From Yanzhou was captured, all the way to Hedong.

  Running into such things, no one would be happy.

  However, on the night of the surprise attack on Linyuan, Xun Yu personally witnessed Ruo Zheng risking his life to save his young son, and even Ruo Zheng's personal bodyguard paid with his life, staining the streets with blood. The thorn in Xun Yu's heart gradually faded away.

  These days, I have traveled from Youzhou out of the pass and into the mountains, seeing and realizing many things.

  Ancient people once said, "Reading ten thousand volumes is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."

  As he traveled along, what he saw and heard made Xun Yu have a deeper understanding of the situation in Eastern Han.

  On a small hill.

  Luo Zhenhui dismissed the crowd and left only Li Meng and Wang Fang, asking: "How did things go?"

  Li Meng replied: "General, rest assured, twelve people have been executed, and there should be no discrepancy."

  Luo Zheng nodded and said: "Alright then, let's go back to Luoyang!"

  He finished speaking and led Xu Chu in a gallop down the small hill.

  Li Meng and Wang Fang hurriedly followed up, and the army set off again soon, rolling southward.

  At noon, An Yi went to the official road of Shan County. A horse-drawn carriage was moving slowly, and the coachman was an old servant in his fifties. There were more than a dozen family guards around the carriage, and it was obvious that they were from a wealthy family.

  The weather is too hot, walking home on foot, wiping sweat all the way.

  The horse cart moved forward, with the wooden wheels making a creaking sound, swaying from side to side on the very uneven road.

  Just then, a shout came from the side of the road, and dozens of refugees in tattered clothes with vegetable-colored faces rushed out, surrounding the horse-drawn carriage, each holding a stick and greedily staring at the horses pulling the carriage.

  The faces of the family members changed immediately, and they hastily drew their swords, shielding the carriage in the middle.

  "Get off, get off quickly."

  The refugees shouted loudly and threatened fiercely, but did not directly rush forward to fight.

  The family members understood at a glance that the emotions were a group of mountain bandits, but judging from their appearance, this group of robbers probably had no experience and not enough courage, otherwise they would have rushed up early, which made them slightly relieved.

  In the carriage, two women also changed their faces.

  The woman sitting in the middle was as beautiful as a flower, about seventeen or eighteen years old, and at first glance, she was the mistress.

  The girl sitting next to him was about fourteen years old and had a pretty good appearance, looking like a maid.

  "Miss, something's wrong! There are bandits blocking our way."

  The little maid lifted the curtain of the carriage and took a quick glance outside, then quickly withdrew her gaze. Her pretty face turned pale as she spoke to the young lady in a frightened tone, looking like she was about to faint.

  The young lady frowned and said, "Don't worry, let's take a look first."

  Xiao Bi said in a panic: "But, but Xiao Bi has heard that mountain bandits are all extremely evil and cruel, if there is a woman who is captured, she will be raped by the mountain bandits, and her fate will be very miserable, what can be done about this?"

  The young lady was still very calm, but when she heard what the little maid said, her heart immediately became anxious.

  Upon hearing those mountain bandits' shouts and curses again, his complexion gradually changed.

  On the official road, dozens of men and women were present, with old and young people all accounted for. The mountain bandits were still at a standoff with the Jia family.

  Both sides have their own considerations and neither of them dares to take the initiative.

  Just then, a low rumbling sound came from the north side of the official road, as if thunder was rolling in.

  There were mountain bandits who turned their heads to look back and saw that in the north, dust was rising, somewhat like a sandstorm.

  But soon everyone's face changed.

  Thousands of black cavalrymen suddenly appeared in sight, swirling like a whirlwind across the mountains and fields.

  "Oh no, run quickly!"

  Dozens of mountain bandits shouted "Bandit!" and without saying another word, they threw down their clubs and ran away.

  More than a dozen masters also changed their faces, although they wanted to run away, but how could they outrun the cavalry? They had no choice but to hurry up and drive their carriages down the official road, giving way to this group of suddenly appearing cavalry, hoping to escape disaster.

  Soon, thousands of cavalrymen arrived nearby.

  Suddenly, two hundred cavalrymen rushed out of the rapidly advancing cavalry and chased back all those fleeing mountain bandits, re-gathering them around the horse-drawn carriage. One by one, they were so frightened that their faces turned pale, their bodies trembling like sieves, almost collapsing to the ground.

  More than a dozen masters also had sweat on their foreheads, and their hands holding knives were slightly trembling.

  Thousands of cavalry surrounded the carriage and made no further moves, which slightly reassured the hearts of the various generals.

  The little maid in the carriage took another stealthy glance outside and said to the young lady, "Miss, it's a cavalryman of the Great Han."

  The young lady said lightly: "It's the Western Xia cavalry."

  Xiao Bi uttered a soft "oh" and asked in puzzlement: "What's the difference?"

  Miss said: "No distinction, but the Great Han cavalry is numerous, and there are cavalry in various places in Youzhou and Bingzhou, which can be called the Great Han cavalry. However, the Xiliang cavalry is the army of Dong Chengxiang."

  Xiao Bi understood.

  The little girl's eyes widened in surprise, and she secretly measured him up with a sideways glance.

  The cavalry formation parted, and a young general rode out on horseback, arriving in front of the carriage.

  Xiao Bi's eyes lit up and she hastily said to her mistress: "Mistress, take a look, this general is really handsome and still so young."

  The young lady said irritably: "At this time, you still have the mood to comment on men."

  The little maid spat out her tongue and hastily pulled down the carriage curtain.