Located in a fort located on a hill near the city father, Liu Di and more than 30 other strong men were confined in a fence made of wooden fences, and there were more than a dozen slave soldiers with swords and guns and nervous expressions outside staring at the guards, which could be described as extremely vigilant.

"Erlang, is that He Laimiao credible? We've been waiting here for almost two days......"

Inside the fence, a villager Ding Zhuang looked slightly uneasy, approached Liu Di and asked in a low voice.

"Cao San, you can rest assured, in previous years in the north, He Laimiao was still taught by the old master. Earlier, he forcibly invited Ah Lang to join the army, and in addition to the old love, he also cherished Ah Lang's ability to be a horse. If he believes, he will come to his rescue. ”

Before Liu Di could speak, there was already a Liu family member who had followed him in the north in the early years and said with a smile.

Seeing that several villagers were still looking at him nervously, Liu Di nodded, but he still couldn't help but sigh in his heart. These villagers are brave and courageous, but after all, they still lack experience and can't be at ease. On the other hand, those selected soldiers of the Huainan Army, who were imprisoned during this time, lived and ate safely, without any abnormalities, and would not frequently ask him suspicious questions. This is the difference between a real soldier and an ordinary soldier.

In fact, although he has a lot of confidence in the old man, of course he will not just crash directly into the slave barracks, and the choice of this fort is also after some selection, this place is not too close to the city father, and the garrison is only a hundred Youyong, even if the old man does not come to meet, they can also fight with the blade.

"All spread out, no whispering!"

The commander of the slave soldiers outside the fence could be said to be extremely cautious, and when he saw them talking to each other, he raised his voice to scold.

At this moment, a series of hurried horses' hooves sounded outside the fort, and before long, more than a dozen people rushed inside. These people are all brightly armoured, and the bows and knives they carry with them are also excellent, and at first glance they are by no means comparable to the simple soldiers in these forts.

The leader of these dozen people is a short, fat and sturdy middle-aged bearded man, with his sleeve armor tightly bound to his body, and he looks a little uncomfortable. This person walked to the fort, pushed away the commander who hurriedly greeted him, and then saw Liu Di standing in the fence, his slightly narrow eyes were already bright, pointing at Liu Di and laughing: "Sure enough, it's Erlang!" The day before yesterday, I was told that these gangsters were cheating me! ”

As he spoke, he had already signaled his entourage to swing a knife to split the fence, walked in and took Liu Di's hand, first looked at it a little, and then turned to the commander with an unkind expression, and said angrily: "It seems that they are not moving outside, these gangsters even dare to detain my He Laimiao's sons and nephews!" Erlang, you said to me, have they ever beaten and insulted? If you are resentful, I will bring back your dignity! ”

"The general is angry, we really can't wait ......"

When the commander heard this, his expression had turned to bitterness.

"Shut up! Jiro said. ”

The Hu man He Laimiao scolded angrily, which can be described as full of ferocity.

"Forget it, they're also the ministry."

Liu Di smiled bitterly and said to He Laimiao: "The countryside has been taken captive, and it is difficult to live in peace. I came to invest in the poor, and the old people did not give up, which is already a great luck. A little tribulation, what is it? ”

"Erlang, what are you talking about, in the early years in the north, we were all wandering spirits who depended on each other. If it weren't for the old lord's care and protection, how could this body live to the present. You also called me brother, and we are brothers for the rest of our lives. Earlier, you were abiding by the old master's last orders, I didn't dare to force you, but if you don't come to the rescue in an emergency, how can you see the old master again after death! ”

He Laimiao said as he pulled Liu Di out of the fence, and saw that some of the more than 30 people behind him knew each other, and some had never seen them, but they were all brave soldiers, so he couldn't help but be a little curious: "These strong men, all of them are Erlang's righteous servants?" ”

After hearing this, Liu Di smiled and nodded: "Brother also knows that I have always been righteous, even if I am in the township, I am good at arbitration, and I have been affectionate for a long time." This time the country was taken captive and there was no way out, so they all fought for a way to survive as I wanted. ”

"Alas, ghosts and monsters are rampant in this world, how can there be a place for good people to live in peace!"

He Laimiao first sighed, and then said: "Erlang, you were born a righteous person, and you will never be vulgar, I believe it from the beginning." This disaster may not be a blessing, so that you can understand that how can we avoid the chaos in this world. You still have to fight for your life in order to live up to this! ”

The two exchanged pleasantries and led the crowd out of the fort, and the soldiers in the fort did not dare to step forward to stop them. It wasn't until he got outside that Liu Di found that there were hundreds of war horses outside, and more than a dozen people were guarding here, and he couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Brother has such a prestige, and he has hundreds ......of people in and out."

"Haha, what am I doing? We were born to eat together, and now Zhao Guo is doing things on a large scale, so it is naturally useful. ”

He Laimiao laughed, signaled his subordinates to distribute the horses to Liu Di and his party, and after getting on the horse, he jumped out of the horse first, and at the same time turned his head to Liu Di and said with a smile: "The old master refused to be used by Zhao Guo back then, I know that he hated and broke his family's hatred." But in fact, who can we who can be used by ourselves? It's just a matter of fate, no matter how you run around and work for two meals and one night, why bother to be used for Liu or Zhao? ”

"I only say these words to Erlang, and you don't have to feel that this vote for me is disobedient to the old master's will. To tell the truth, if Nan can look down and treat us well, what is there to do if he is to the south? ”

Speaking of this, He Laimiao said with a smile: "But recently, the southerners have been quite enterprising, seeing that the northern army is coming, they actually dare to cross the Huaishui to make trouble everywhere, but the town is quite troubled. It is said that the town general of the Nanren in Shouchun is a young man of the Wu Kingdom, and judging by his use of soldiers, he is a sharp general, unlike those empty Chinese old homes. To be honest, I thought that Erlang you had already been sent by Huaitou, but after getting the news, I was a little curious. ”

"I want to Nantou, but unfortunately there is no way to introduce it!"

Liu Di laughed dryly on horseback and said quietly.

He Laimiao didn't think deeply, and said: "If you can't go south, it's not necessarily a bad thing. This time, Zhao Guo came to the south in a big way, and the southerners are only afraid that it will be difficult to have good results this time...... What's more, there are many crowns in the south, and we are not necessarily valued just by ourselves. The two countries are fighting poorly, and it has nothing to do with us who are humble, it is nothing more than taking advantage of the chaos to hunt for merit, and don't be inferior to others in the future. ”

As they spoke, the group had rushed down the hill and onto the vast field by the river valley.

The father of the city is located between the Qianpei, the whirlpool and the Zhangshui area pass by, and there are no dangerous mountains and rivers in the realm, the water and grass are abundant, and the terrain is flat, which is a good pastoral place.

Liu Di and the others traveled all the way, and from time to time they saw rangers driving horses out and about. He Laimiao showed off on one side: "This is the largest horse supervision and pasture in Huaishang, Yuxia, in previous years, it could not raise thousands of horsepower, but recently it has to be used as a backup for the army, and the collection of horses has exceeded 10,000." When I went to see you earlier, I was only the head of the prison stable, but now I have been promoted to the third level and appointed as Ma Cheng. Although I don't command the army, I also supervise dozens of stables, and ordinary generals don't dare to be presumptuous when they see me......"

In He Laimiao's chatter, Liu Di also gradually figured out the structure of the pasture here. Because it is located in the county, it is directly led by Shi Cong, who guards the city. But in fact, because all the town generals have to raise funds for the army, so at present, there are some war horses in the counties such as Qian, Pei, Chen, Liang, and even Pengcheng and Lanling.

He Laimiao was appointed as Ma Cheng of Chen County, and he was also a guest, but he was already one of the highest-ranking officials in charge of the horse affairs of this ranch.

"Erlang is new here, and he first served as a stable master under our department. But at the moment, there is no horse to manage, but it also saves labor. ”

The group galloped in the field, and soon arrived at a slope called Longji Ridge outside the city father, which is the pasture that He Laimiao is in charge of, and the land is close to a tributary of the vortex, and the area is also open. If a horse is kept in captivity, even if it is not damaged, it will weaken the horsepower and need to be released from time to time. Therefore, the pattern of the horse camp is much looser than that of the barracks.

In the area where He Laimiao was located, there were three or four fortified camps on the Longji Ridge, with a total of nearly 2,000 guards, of which there was only one battalion of more than 300 Chinese troops.

The so-called Chinese army is the elite soldiers in the country, and its combat effectiveness is far better than that of the stragglers in the local counties. Above the Chinese army, the more elite is the forbidden army, which is led by Lord Zhao, or the important ministers of the clan in the country are commanded by the single number and the military service.

Although He Laimiao, Ma Cheng, is said to be a high-ranking official of the pasture, he is actually just an eight-rank lowly officer, who only cares about horses and people, so he can't control these garrisons near Zuo. This time, I went to meet Liu Di, and I borrowed someone from the fort near the left to set up a score. Fortunately, there is a big war coming soon, and all armies are short of good horses, so he, a horse officer, has some face.

Liu Di's enlistment in the army this time has made He Laimiao's strength surge, and these dozens of soldiers are all good choices in the Chinese army, let alone in the horse camp. In the past, He Laimiao could only manage the hard labor of hundreds of county officials who raised horses in the camp, but now with the help of strong martial arts, it can be said that he is extremely excited.

"Erlang, you also know that I am not a brave fighter. If you can live now, it only depends on the horse business, and if you can live in Ma Cheng, you can still raise horses for the Chinese army. Now with you to help me, we can go to the suburbs to hunt horses in the future, and we don't have to look at other people's faces! ”

With Liu Di's joining, He Laimiao is full of confidence.

"How did Brother know that the Nanren were going to retreat?"

When Liu Di heard this, he asked curiously.

"This is an obvious thing, the day before yesterday, more than 2,000 cattle, horses and animals here were requisitioned to the north to respond, and the front of the army has entered the Langdang Canal, if the waterway is unblocked, it can be reached within ten days."

After hearing this, He Laimiao said with a smile, took off the sleeve armor of the Nale people, and his posture increased horizontally by a few points: "The Chinese army has recently become good with me by the lieutenant, and I hope that I can choose a batch of good horses for his temporary use, so that I can take advantage of the retreat of the southerners and the arrival of the army to attack and grab the merit." ”

"The slave army is going to attack? Where are you going? ”

Liu Di subconsciously asked, and after a while, he felt a slight mark, so he frowned and said: "The four fields of the pasture are open, and it is not easy to defend. If the Southern Army raids here, this place may not be able to be defended! ”

He Laimiao said with a smile: "This is not something you and I should think about, but the Nanren don't have the guts." This place is close to the city, and the waterways are silted, and they may be able to attack it, but it is difficult to withdraw. Besides, no matter who attacks this, we are not soldiers, as long as we still need horses, no one will come to embarrass us, Erlang does not need to worry. ”