The weather is still very cold, and even though the snow has stopped for a few days, the ground is still covered in silver. It's just that the snow that used to be soft has now become as hard as ice.

Wuwei County was originally a desert with a flat river, and trees were extremely rare. Under the cover of heavy snow, it is a white expanse as far as the eye can see.

If there is no sunlight and stars in the sky, it is easy to lose your way and lose your way.

The Xiliang army retreated from Yuanwei and crossed Lushui to the west, and the exhausted army set up camp in Xiutu.

This Xiu Tu is a small county town in Wuwei County, not too far from Zhangye County, not the aforementioned Xiu Tu Ze.

After the Xiliang army stayed away from the siege, the army's morale slowly stabilized. Han Sui Ma Teng boosted morale on the one hand, and sent people to the east to inquire about the movements of the Guanzhong soldiers.

It didn't take long for a scout to report: "The Guanzhong army has withdrawn!" ”

Han Sui and Ma Teng suddenly heard the news, and they were both happy and worried.

Happily, the war came to an end, and finally got rid of the nightmare of the Guanzhong Army; The worry is that Chen Xu did not rush forward lightly, and when he had the absolute upper hand, he did not hesitate to lead his troops to retreat.

The three armies cannot take away their commanders, and the horsemen cannot take away their will. The importance of a commander in chief for a large army. However, Chen Xu, the commander of the Guanzhong soldiers, is also too calm and intimidating.

From the 'Killing Order', the two of them could feel Chen Xu's determination and ability to pacify Liangzhou. Even if he leads his troops to retreat for a while, he will come back again one day.

Now that they have lost the richest six counties in the east of Liangzhou, Han Sui and Ma Teng can only retreat to the barren four counties of Longxi.

Can they and those Qiang people who were greatly injured by the 'Qiang Killing Order' be able to survive in the face of the next conquest of the Guanzhong Army?

Therefore, now Han Sui and Ma Teng's thoughts are extremely heavy.

Ma Chao is still a young man after all, and he is sharp, he said excitedly: "If there is chaos today, and the princes rise together, Chen Wenzhao will fight with the Kwantung princes sooner or later." ”

"At that time, he will definitely not be able to look west to Liangzhou, and we can also take advantage of the situation to avenge today's revenge."

Ma Chao's words made many Liangzhou generals feel uplifted again. It was only at this time that they remembered that the Qiang people in history and the Liangzhou rebels had not been defeated by the imperial court.

However, the long and narrow map of Liangzhou and the difficult environment are destined to completely exterminate the Qiang people and the rebels, which will be extremely difficult.

It must be known that the Han Empire, which had accumulated several generations, was also depleted because of several expeditions to attack the Xiongnu outside the country.

If Chen Xu wanted to expedition to the four counties of Longxi, the money and food he needed to consume would not necessarily be much worse than when he attacked the Xiongnu.

Because, the four counties of Longxi originally belonged to the territory of the Xiongnu in the past, and the city of Hutu where the Xiliang army is now stationed is the place where the court of the Xiongnu was located in the past.

If the Guanzhong soldiers wanted to pacify the four counties of Longxi, they not only had to go deep into the desert to occupy the entire Wuwei County, but also had to go west again to nearly a thousand miles in order to completely occupy the entire Liangzhou.

When the army set out to go to the desert, the enemy had to face was not only the Qiang people, but also the Liangzhou rebels of Han Sui and Ma Teng. An even more formidable enemy is the power of nature, the boundless desert.

The labor division is on an expedition, and the slightest carelessness may wipe out the entire army. The legend of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing is not easy to write.

In history, Cao Cao's northern expedition to Wuhuan was also a desperate gamble, resulting in Guo Jia, a top strategist, dying of illness because of unaccustomed water and soil. As for the history books, there is not much record of Cao Cao's great achievements, but focuses on competing with him and the princes for hegemony.

Perhaps in the eyes of the Han people at that time, Wuhuan and the foreign tribes were barbarians after all, and there was nothing to boast about defeating them.

Whether it is the concept of interests or the social atmosphere at that time, it is destined that the pacification of Liangzhou by the Guanzhong soldiers will be a protracted and very uncost-effective thing.

Chen Xu knew this, and Han Sui and Ma Teng also knew this.

The generals of Xiliang discussed for a while, and Ma Teng suddenly said: "In the past, we were friendly with the Qiang people and were friends with each other. The appearance of the 'Qiang Killing Order' this time made the Qiang people too busy to take care of themselves. ”

"Now that the Qiang people are at war with the Di people, should we help them?"

Han Sui pondered for a long time and said: "Brother's words are good, we will retreat to Longxi after defeat, the foundation is unstable, and the weight of grain and grass is unsustainable. If you help the Qiang people, you can get a foothold in this place. ”

The two discussed for a while, and then decided on a strategy to help the Qiang people attack the Di people.

Just as they had finished their discussion, a report suddenly came from left and right: "General Pound is back!" ”

"What?" Ma Teng stood up abruptly and asked incredulously, "Ling Ming is not dead?" ”

After speaking, he hurried outside to meet Pound. I have to say that Ma Teng still attaches great importance to the brave and resourceful Pound.

When he heard that Pound had died on the battlefield, he didn't know how many times he sighed secretly. Now that he suddenly heard that Pang De was not dead, Ma Teng was naturally very excited in his heart.

Ma Chao also looked happy and ran outside. For Pound's life-saving grace, Ma Chao has always been unforgettable. If it weren't for Pang De leading the troops to kill him in time and resolutely breaking the queen for him, I'm afraid Ma Chao would have died on the battlefield long ago.

Only Han Sui, when he heard the news of Pound's return, his face sank slightly.

"Ling Ming, Ling Ming, you're okay, it's great!"

Ma Teng was majestic and heroic, and when he saw Pound standing outside, he was overjoyed, and stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder.

Pang De rode alone to follow the footsteps of the Xiliang Army, and it was not easy to find this place. At this time, when I saw Ma Teng, I was also very happy in my heart: "De has seen the lord!" ”

At this time, Ma Chao also came to Pang De's side, and said with excitement on his face: "Ling Ming, you're fine, it's good!" ”

Pang De looked at Ma Chao, who was obviously much more mature, and said, "Thank you for the young general's concern, the last general will be fine." ”

Pound returned, and the Xiliang army was naturally jubilant, and Ma Teng held a feast to wash the dust for this fierce general. After three rounds of drinking, Han Sui suddenly asked about Pound's experience in the past few months.

Pound was open in his heart, so he naturally told his experience truthfully.

However, although Pound is open-minded, his experience is also a little too bizarre. When he finished, everyone was silent.

After all, a defeated general, Chen Xu didn't kill him, but it is reasonable, and in the end, he even returned his weapons, armor, and war horses and let him back, but it made people feel a little unbelievable.

After being silent for a long time, Ma Teng asked, "Ling Ming has been in the Guanzhong military camp for so long, but he has heard the news of Ah Dai?" ”

Pang De said: "I only heard that the little general was imprisoned, but I don't know the specific situation. ”

Being imprisoned means that there is no fear for your life for the time being. When Ma Teng heard this, he breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart.

Han Sui suddenly asked, "Since Chen Wenzhao did not restrict your personal freedom, Ling Ming has been in the enemy camp for so long, has he ever heard some enemy information?" ”

Pang De said: "The general is bold and righteous, he treats me with sincerity, and naturally he will not deliberately listen to the truth of the soldiers in Guanzhong because of the general's favor." ”

However, even if he didn't deliberately listen, he also knew that the soldiers in Guanzhong were disciplined and brave and good at fighting. The generals in Guanzhong are all brave and abnormal, and they are the tiger generals of the world. ”

Pound's words are true, but these words have changed a little in the mouths of others. Ma Teng's face also slowly sank.

After all, praising the enemy coach in front of his own lord made Ma Teng feel a hot feeling on his face.

More importantly, everyone did not believe it at all, and Pang De had been in the Guanzhong military camp for several months, and he had only heard such inconsequential information.

For a while, many people looked at Pound's eyes and had some suspicions.

However, Pound's words are true and he has a clear conscience. Naturally, he would not feel weak because of the suspicious eyes of others.

Ma Teng knew Pound's personality, and when he saw his calm and fearless face, even though he had some doubts in his heart, he still didn't say anything.

In the second half of this banquet, the atmosphere was a little awkward.

That night, after returning to the camp, Pang De took out the letter that Fan Chou handed him, and sighed a little melancholy: "It seems that the lord is still wary of me." ”

"However, entrusted by men, loyal to others. Since he promised others, he would definitely hand over this letter to Han Sui. ”

"Just to prevent my lord from misunderstanding me again, this letter can't be handed over blatantly."

With this in mind, Pound turned off the lights and began to rest.

For several days in a row, Pang De was in the Xiliang military camp, as usual and decent, without the slightest suspicion.

Ma Teng observed for a while, and finally completely relieved himself. He greatly appreciates and trusts Pound, and naturally he doesn't want to see this love betray him.

As a generation of famous generals, Pound has extraordinary insight. He could clearly feel the slow change in Ma Teng's attitude towards himself.

"My lord still trusts me."

With a slight sigh of relief, Pound felt a lot better. Touching the letter on his body, Pang De finally decided to hand it over to Han Sui as soon as possible.

At the same time, Ma Dai fled to the camp of the Xiliang Army with great difficulty, but there was no publicity, and he was quietly led in by Ma Teng's cronies.

"The child has seen his uncle, he has seen his brother!"

At this time, Ma Dai was unkempt and haggard.

After all, he was not like Pound, who was given a war horse, weapons and armor. Even the war horse he snatched back when he ran away was used as bait and let go.

Fortunately, Ma Dai's own martial arts are extraordinary, and when he encountered a horse thief robbing him, he robbed them of one of their war horses. Otherwise, he might not have been able to reach Hutu so quickly.

Ma Teng stepped forward, hugged Ma Dai's body tightly, and cried with joy: "It's great that you can come back alive!" ”

The uncle and nephew hugged their heads and cried, and Ma Chao stood aside and sighed.

After a long time, Ma Dai wiped away his tears and said, "During my imprisonment, I heard that General Pang De had demoted the Guanzhong soldiers. Later, he rushed west alone, and I wonder if my uncle had ever seen him. ”

When Ma Teng and Ma Chao heard this, their faces changed.