This military movement in Hebei took more than half a month before it gradually calmed down again, but it left a rather messy scene, of course, this mess is for the Qihu side.

It was originally difficult to conceal the linkage of several southerners, and the military force was used to cross several important towns, but the cooperation of several feints and country bandits to cover up, of course, the most important thing is that Ma Qiu, the main general, was incompetent in dealing with it, and he did not grasp the center of gravity of the southerners at all, so that the response was out of balance, resulting in a global rout!

Ma Qiu's military strength was divided, especially the empty gate of Yecheng was fundamentally shaken, and the feint attack of the southerners turned from virtual to real, as the soldiers of Yecheng collapsed and scattered again, making the originally slightly stable situation around it turn into a muddy soup.

Although the Heavenly King Shihu responded in a timely manner, as soon as he learned that Yecheng had changed, he immediately led the army to the south to rescue and pursue, but in the end it was in vain, and he just watched the fire burning around the ruins of Yecheng for several days. The collapse of the Yecheng soldiers completely covered up the trajectory of the southerners' march, and there was no way to track it at all. And to pursue farther away, this is something that even Shi Hu can't do right now.

Although Ma Qiu made a big mistake, the only consolation was that the military strength under his command was not greatly damaged, especially after Hewu saw that the situation was not good, he immediately withdrew and fled, and did not give the southerners more room to fight and pursue.

In particular, it avoided the southern counterattack of the Jin army on the Yecheng side, and got rid of the most dangerous situation of being attacked by the enemy, so the troops were preserved to the greatest extent, and only less than 2,000 people were scattered.

But this is not something to boast about, especially for Shi Hu's mood at the moment, which shows that no matter when Yecheng was attacked or after the attack, Ma Qiu, the main general who was supposed to sit in Yecheng, has been wandering outside meaninglessly, and he has not even fought any large-scale battles with the invading enemy at all.

So when Ma Qiu led the crowd back to the ruins of Yecheng, Shi Hu, who had already arrived first, was also so hateful that the roots of his teeth itched, and he even felt that the knife in his hand was not enough to vent the resentment in his heart. For this so-called confidant and favorite general, Shi Hu also specially prepared a unique punishment.

He ordered someone to tie Ma Qiu's hands and feet to the horse's back, and then ordered the soldiers to whip the horses and run endlessly, until he was tired of three war horses, and Ma Qiu was also bumped like a gossamer, but a breath remained, but it was a hard fate.

Shi Hu originally planned to tie Ma Qiu directly to the horse's back and die, but he didn't expect Ma Qiu to be so able to survive and survive three war horses before he was angry.

However, this long torture process did make Shi Hu vent his anger a little, and his killing intent gradually decreased, but if he was completely relieved, he couldn't do it. Because this battle was really too embarrassing, and Ma Qiu didn't realize the deep meaning of his placement in Yecheng at all.

Although Ma Qiu did not die, the rest of the breath was also raised for a period of time before it was relieved, and his body was still weak and unbearable, but he also knew that he was guilty of a big crime.

His whole body was naked, from his neck to his ankles, he was tied with thorns covered with dense thorns, and he was carried into the Shihu military tent like this, and before he could speak, the whole person was already trembling, and the blood and water all over his body were flowing all over him, which could be described as extremely miserable.

Seeing Ma Qiu so miserable, Shi Hu didn't bear it, and the reason why he didn't kill Ma Qiu was not an old love, but a deeper consideration.

In fact, this time Yecheng was lost so easily, and it really can't be completely blamed on Ma Qiu, it should be said that the entire country is deeply problematic. Although Shi Hu finally became the master of Xiangguo, it was also the result of peace between many parties, and it cannot be said entirely because of his great talent.

One of the most important points is the strong support of Kui An and other elders to Shi Hu. Otherwise, he would have lost his troops in Huaishang a few years ago and would have returned defeated, and it would have been impossible for him to establish himself in Hebei so quickly and finally defeat Shi Daya, the true heir of Shi Le.

And Kui An and other elders of the Qiang Hu were not unreserved, believing that he was the Destiny of Heaven who could lead the prosperity of the Karma Hu. The main reason is that there is an irreconcilable contradiction between Cheng Yao and others who control Xiangguo and Kui An, and Shi Daya has completely become a puppet of Cheng Yao and others who control power, in this case, Shi Hu is naturally their only choice.

Therefore, Shi Hu and Kui An and others are more close to equal cooperation, and they cannot fully control these old men who hold the troops in their hands. Therefore, after entering the Xiangguo, Shi Hu rarely did not follow his tyrannical temperament in previous years and killed on a large scale, but only killed some of the leaders of the township sect such as Cheng Yao and others.

This is naturally not because Shi Hu is magnanimous because of his different positions, the Xiangguo regime itself has been maintained for several years, and it is actually quite an organized force. If Shi Hu really asked for a moment of pleasure and went all out to eradicate it, collision and rebellion would be inevitable, and the consumption could only be his own descendant forces.

But Shi Hu returned with heavy losses, and the strength of his own lineage was not too high, and if he continued to fight and consume, he would undoubtedly not have enough strength to balance Kui An and others. And if he doesn't have enough strength, what is the difference between him and Shi Daya, a puppet?

Even Cheng Yao, a slave and maid, can be driven by profit and burst into flames, how naïve is he to think that Kui An and the others will always be respectful and respectful to him?

Therefore, for these forces entrenched in Xiangguo, Shi Hu not only did not kill them all, but selectively accepted and reused. For example, Guo Yin of the Guo family in Taiyuan, soon after Shi Hu entered the Xiangguo, he appointed Guo Yin as a scholar and servant to participate in political affairs.

The power of the Guo clan in Taiyuan itself is not weak, and the location of Xiangguo is only a part, and there are still armed forces of its clan in Bingzhou, including Guanzhong. Even Shi Hu recruited the remnants of Liu Kun through Guo Yin, these people were attached to the Duan Department in the early years, and they were also semi-independent existences, and after the Duan clan was destroyed, some of the clans took refuge in the past, and they were also a small force in Liaoxi.

Shi Hu is a person who has been trapped for a long time, and it is difficult for him to make a luxurious gesture, and retaining a strong sect like the Guo family can also allow them to confront Kui An and others and consume each other. This naturally displeased Kui An and others, and they often talked in private that he was a big defeat and cowardice, and he was no longer as good as the tools of previous years, and he couldn't even eliminate evil.

In this regard, Shi Hu naturally smiled. Of course, he himself is a strong lord, and he is not satisfied with sitting and watching the old ministers fight each other and enjoy it, on the one hand, he supports his cronies and generals such as Ma Qiu and Zhang Jackal, develops and expands the armed forces of his descendants, and on the other hand, he relies on Li Nong and other beggar troops.

However, the land of Xiangguo is intertwined, especially Shi Le's early vigilance against him, which makes him unable to exert it, so he has always insisted on repairing Yecheng as an alternative to moving the capital, just to offset the constraints from all sides and develop his own power in an all-round way.

But this point was naturally resisted by the old ministers, and their reasons were also high-sounding, it was really that Yecheng was too seriously and completely destroyed, and the Zhao State itself was in chaos, so it was really not suitable to build this construction that cost the people and money.

If Shi Hu was a benevolent and cowardly monarch like Shi Daya, he would naturally not dare to make a noise anymore under this restraint, but he also followed the ancestor Shi Le all the way to work hard. At the moment, I have to put up with it because of my lack of strength, but I will never be played with in the palm of my hand.

Therefore, in order to promote the restoration of Yecheng, Shi Hu also took a lot of effort, and even did not hesitate to ask the great monk Buddha Tucheng to give instructions to the spirit. Although it was barely passed, it can be said that it is against people's wishes.

Due to the lack of support from all factions in real power, Yecheng, the original important town of Hebei, is now equivalent to being alone. Ma Qiu relied on this strength, but he had to fight against the various military towns set up by the southern thieves in Hebei, and it was indeed hard work.

In particular, he relied on the luck of ghosts and gods, and said that Yecheng was the foundation of the revival of karma, and it was inconvenient to choose a place to rebuild the city. And the southern thieves are absolutely vicious, and the destruction of Yecheng is too thorough, which makes the distance between the military camp and the city, which also lays a direct bane for the southerners to sneak attack Yecheng!

But Shi Hu himself is not a benevolent lord, and he is not accustomed to using his own mistakes to judge the incompetence of his courtiers, no matter in his opinion, Ma Qiu has been humiliated again and again, and he has been defeated by Yecheng, it is really not a pity to die. But if he killed Ma Qiu like this, it would be tantamount to completely repudiating his earlier plan to build Yedu.

Seeing Ma Qiu's miserable entry, Shi Hu couldn't control his anger and sneered: "General Ma is flying away, traveling thousands of miles, galloping for a few days, can you still have fun?" ”

Ma Qiu heard the Heavenly King's cold ridicule, and couldn't help but tremble with fright, although he survived three war horses, but the process of punishment was a painful torture that he didn't want to recall every moment, and even when he was recuperating from his injuries, every time he heard the neighing of horses outside the tent, he was terrified and nightmarish!

"What is the pity of your life, my camp plan has been frustrated because of you, how do you say that the way to die is worthy of this great sin?"

Shi Hu's tone was still cold, but Ma Qiu's heartstrings were loosened, he had been under Shi Hu's door for a long time, and he was naturally familiar with the temperament of the Heavenly King, if he really had killing intent towards him, he wouldn't talk too much nonsense with him.

But this does not mean that he can turn the danger into safety, just the previous kind of punishment is enough to make him worse than death, although his limbs are still weak and sore, but he still can't help but struggle to turn up, choked and said: "The sin slave knows that although he has committed a crime with a thousand knives, it is not enough to pay for the crime, if there is still one or two shames, he should have been cut off in the suburbs a long time ago, how dare he be reborn and worship in front of the Lord to provoke him." But he was worried about the Lord's troubles and the lack of loyalty and goodness, so he ......"

"Phew! An incompetent slave like you, who has repeatedly damaged my prestige and ruined my plans, is also worthy of being loyal and good? ”

Shi Hu was even more furious when he was broken, and he suddenly became irritable and scolded, and even stepped on the thorns on Ma Qiu's back, making the thorns penetrate the flesh even more, and Ma Qiu wailed in pain.

"How dare a slave of sin and sin dare to be loyal and self-standard, just a pure loyal and inferior slave, before the old affection of the master showed the use of the sin slave, and it is a capital crime to be unworthy, but once he dies, how can he repay the affection of the master...... For the rest of his life, I would like to be a slave and a beast, and I only want to be able to serve the Lord for one or two......"

"You must also remember that I will not kill you, all because of the old things. But are you worthy to live on men, slave of sin? I will spare your life, but your ministry will be taken over later, and you will lead him as a slave in the future. ”

Hearing Shi Hu's arrangement, Ma Qiu was already heartbroken, but he also knew that it was not a pity to die if he had made a mistake, and it was a great luck to be able to save his life, let alone find fault with this humiliating punishment. However, he also knew Shi Hu's intentions after all, and this arrangement was actually not to let him watch Zhang Jackal.

After being silent for a long time, Ma Qiucai said in a low voice: "The sin slave was defeated this time, and there is really no way to get rid of it...... However, there is one thing that has to be stated to the Lord, Yecheng has failed this time, in addition to the sin slave is stupid, how can it not be supported alone...... On the other hand, the southern thieves are coordinated by all departments......"

"Get down!"

When Shi Hu heard this, he couldn't help but be even more embarrassed, and raised a foot and kicked at the corner of Ma Qiu's mouth. Seeing this, Ma Qiu naturally didn't dare to say much, so he was naked and carrying the thorns, and rolled all the way out of the big tent, leaving a shocking blood mark on the felt of the big tent.