It's early spring. In the valley road from Shiling Pass to Xinzhou, there are lush grass and trees, there is snow and murmuring, and there are more mountain flowers, which bloom all over the two banks of the mountain stream.

But the beautiful and quiet scenery, one team after another of cavalry turned a blind eye. The sound of horses' hooves shattered the tranquility of the mountains, and the aura of murder filled the valley.

This section of the valley road is not narrow, it can even be said to be wide. It is true that the mountains are high in the west, but the gentle slopes are wide in the east. A little further on, there was a market town at the widest point of the valley for merchant travelers from the north to the south. Moreover, the location is already behind Shiling Pass, according to common sense, it is naturally impossible for an enemy army to ambush in this area.

But this team of three or four hundred people, more than a thousand Liao cavalry, when marching, there are still many people looking around left and right, nervous and even the war horses under their crotch are shaking their ears uneasily.

This caution is not in vain. When a few cold, short, string sounds suddenly sounded from the steep slope on the west side, the group of cavalrymen who were waiting left and right on horseback reacted in time.

It's the Divine Arm Bow!!

Leaning over, shrinking the head, clipping. The tight arms protect the vital points of the lower ribs. The movements of the Khitan cavalry can be described as uniform, much stricter than their ranks.

In an instant, a crossbow bolt slashed across the back of the leading officer and landed on the other side of the road. If the officer didn't move, the arrow might have hit the vital point of the neck, but unfortunately it was still one step short.

But the other two arrows that fell were not aimed at anyone, but aimed at the horses without cavalry on their backs, and sank into the bodies of the two horses in the team without any deviation.

The two horses neighed miserably, jumping wildly and disrupting the middle of the procession.

Several Khitan cavalrymen stopped, opened their bows and arrows, and fired back in the direction where the crossbow flew from. The other two were very quick to pull the wounded war horse down the official road and avoided it far away. The rest of the Liao army ignored it, and with some effort, calmed the frightened horses, and then continued to drive the horses forward with their heads down.

"Phew!" I saw two Khitans from a distance, raising their swords and giving the two war horses a good time, and a short man spit out a mouthful of phlegm in the bushes, and put down the divine arm bow in his hand, "The straight lady thief has learned to be obedient." ”

"Then do it again." Next to the short and stout man, a more muscular man sat on the ground, with the iron ring at the front of the Divine Arm Bow on his feet, ready to rewind the Divine Arm Bow in his hand, "I would like to spare a few more war horses." ”

"Forget it, I don't need it." Qin Wan bit the grass stem and grinned. When he escorted Han Xin south, he had not yet received news of the Liao army's defeat and retreat to Taigu, but he found a large number of Liao troops heading north on the way. Before he could wait for an order from the Commander of the Establishment Mission, he got the latest military information directly from the captives. From that moment on, morale was high one by one.

Qin Wan had already put away the Divine Arm Bow that had been launched at this time: "I have already delayed this Liao thief for a moment and a half, it is not in vain, it is better to go back earlier." ”

"This is just a while?!" The stocky man complained, but got up anyway.

The three of them were all dressed in cloth, and they were not at all conspicuous in the grassy mountains and forests. After getting up, they galloped through the mountains, and soon came to the place where they were tied their horses. After getting on the horse, he detoured on a narrow path. Without alarming anyone, it quietly disappeared into the depths of the mountain forest.

It's just a cold arrow to shoot the enemy, which is the tactic advocated by Qin Wan during this period of time. He and Han Xin led the Daizhou soldiers who abandoned the darkness and turned to the light to an inconspicuous abandoned village in the mountains on the west side of Xinzhou, and only selected three hundred elites with martial arts and courage from among them, and let them wear tawny robes in groups of two or three and shuttle through the mountains.

Originally, it was inconvenient to carry iron armor, so I had to make up for it with a coat, but after diving into the mountains and forests, it blended with the plants and trees that had not yet fully sprouted and grown. Although one or two cold arrows are inconspicuous, they can always delay the speed of the Liao army's march for a moment.

This group of people lurked in the shadows, and every cold stab made the Liao people from Xinzhou to Shiling Pass, and even from Shiling Pass to Baijing Village, day and night.

After a period of time, this Song army, which was only capable of harassment, dared to sneak near the camp of the Liao army to shoot. Either a rocket tied with an oilcloth or a rattling arrow with a sound of a hammer, either to burn grain hoards and haystacks, or to startle military camps and horse pens.

The Liao army's response was very weak, and the long and rugged valley made it impossible for them to catch up and hold on. Although there are still people who plan to light a fire according to the direction of the wind and burn the mountain to save trouble. Unfortunately, spring has arrived, and although the intermittent and dripping rain of the previous few days has not affected the trip, it has also made it more difficult for the vegetation on the mountain to ignite than wet firewood.

Speaking of which, the losses of the Liao army were not very large. The supply was all by plunder, and there was not much need to transport grain and grass from the rear, and he had never worried about the safety of the Shiling Pass Road before, so he did not transport grain and grass through the road at all. But the torture of being unable to sleep day and night is still consuming the little energy of the Khitan soldiers and even the war horses.

The enemy is stationed in us. Although only this one of the four articles on the Imperial Guard's preparation was done the best, it also made the Liao thief suffer enough. Presumably, when the army of the Han Privy Counsellor goes north, he will be able to win smoothly.

Qin Wan thought with a little excitement and pride.

Previously, Qin Wan and Han Xince rebelled against the Daizhou army of the Liao people and fled with them into the mountains west of Xinzhou. After that, he joined up with some of the scattered officers and soldiers, and some of the Xiangyong who were destroyed by the Liao, with a total of nearly 5,000. Their deeds can almost be called rogues, and they are basically united by Han Xin as a confidant of the Privy Council.

Qin Wan and Han Xin did not intend to use this rabble, except for the elites selected, the role of the remaining soldiers and horses was only a deterrent, as long as they could stay in the mountains safely until the moment when the official army went north, it would definitely be of greatest help to the recovery of Daizhou.

Half a day later, Qin Wan returned to the abandoned village where he was temporarily staying.

Entering from the gate of the wall, Qin Wan rode directly to the front of the main court. Turning over and dismounting, he stepped into the hall, but he saw a young man less than thirty sitting at the top of the main hall in a big way, and several commanders were sitting around like stars holding the moon.

Qin Wan's expression changed, his hand pressed on the handle of the knife on his waist, and he personally sent Han Xin to go south to see Han Gang bypassing Shiling Pass, and it was only four or five days after leaving here, but unexpectedly, someone would occupy the magpie's nest.

"Who are you?!" He snapped.

The young man sat still. looked Qin Wan up and down: "I'm sixteen." You are Qin Er's son? ”

Hearing that it was the Zhi Keren of the Fuzhou Folding Family, Qin Wan's momentum suddenly weakened, but he immediately straightened his back and said in a deep voice: "Is it the Sixteenth General of the Folding Family?" ”

"It's Zhe Keren." Zhe Keren is mainly anti-guest, and he is still sitting quietly. Just pointing to the seat near the head, several commanders hurriedly gave up this position to Qin Wan.

Qin Wan hesitated for a moment, but still sat down. Fold Sixteen is already an ambassador of the eighth grade, and his status is high, and he is not comparable to this unpopular product. Especially behind Zhi Keren, there is also the Lin Mansion Zhi family, which represents reinforcements, and there is no need to fight with the will at this time. What's more, Han Xin has already gone back safely, and he is not afraid that the folded family will dare to swallow up his credit.

"You are resting in this broken village, and there is not even a lookout post on the hill next to you. I, an outsider, can come in and take a seat by reporting my identity. What if I'm a spy of the Liao thieves?! And this Qin Er's son actually let him enter the camp like this, without even a notice. He asked with a mean smile, "Hey, how did you survive until now?!" ”

The faces of several commanders all changed, and before Qin Wan came in, although Zhi Keren was extremely cold, he had never said such mean words.

Is it to fight for merit and power?!

At the thought of this, they shrank up. This must not be mixed in. Needless to say, Zhe Keren, the descendant of the Zhe family, is already very famous in the Hedong Army, but Qin Wan is also good friends with Han Gang's cronies, and it is not easy to mess with anyone.

"The Sixteenth General came from the west, so I didn't see the lookout. From here to the east, there are three camps, all of which are on the verge of an important place, each with hundreds of men guarding it. If the thief comes, I will be rewarded first. Qin Wan took off his boots and sat cross-legged, "As for no one to report, it was Qin Wan who came in in a hurry." ”

It's just an excuse to hold up the scene, especially the latter point. The snake can't do without a head, and there is no backbone in the camp, of course, there are loopholes everywhere. But this was also deliberately arranged by Qin Wan and Han Xin, otherwise there was one more leader, what if there was something wrong? It is better to let these commanders contain each other. Anyway, in this case, even if the Liao army came to attack, it would only be lost and fled all over the mountains, and it was no different from now.

"Since there are already four camps and thousands of soldiers and horses here, why do you sit back and watch the Liao thieves besiege Xinzhou in the Qin Ya?"

"At least Qin Wan hasn't gone crazy here, although there are five thousand people in total, it seems to be all over the mountains, occupying four military villages. But when you really go into battle, you can only be cut by the Liao people as a melon and vegetable. But it's not like nothing. When the Liao thieves come too much, they will run, and when they come less, they will attack, and when they are not allowed to have a safe life, everything will be done according to Han Shumi's orders. ”

"That's right. Mosquitoes and flies are small, but they are very disturbing. Even if you have the courage to preach it, it is difficult to get them. Zhi Keren said something unpleasant, and his eyes were as cold as ice.

Qin Wan was suspicious in his heart. If you want to fight for merit and power, you should not talk like this in front of a few commanders. Not only did he not give himself face, but he also did not give face to those commanders. Could it be that Zhe Keren knew that these people all surrendered to the thieves first, and then they surrendered back?! So it doesn't give face at all. It's just that Qin Wan couldn't figure out where Zhe Keren heard about it and why he did it.