Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 766 Unkind

In just one night, 30% of the prisoners and horses froze to death.

The problem before Xie Xuan and Li Suan was not to hunt down Tuoba Shi Yijian, but to be trapped in this earthen city.

Any pursuit beyond a day's journey would be fatal.

And it's not the coldest time yet.

Xianbei's tents and earthen walls could not withstand the pervasive cold wind. Some people just closed their eyes and took a nap at night and never woke up again.

The soldiers on night watch had their ears and fingers rotten by the cold.

The biggest problem is the food in the city. It is difficult to sustain more than 20,000 Liang troops and more than 13,000 prisoners through this cold winter.

The situation of war horses is even more difficult.

There is limited hay in the city, and it will definitely not be able to feed thirty or forty thousand war horses.

"You can't kill the horse. If you kill the war horse, we will be completely trapped here." A line of white air came out of Li Suan's mouth. He felt that his tongue was numb with cold when he spoke.

The entire earth city was covered with a layer of ice, which was shining brightly.

Outside the city, the white cold air swept down like waves with the north wind.

Xie Xuan pondered for a moment and then said: "The slaves can be ordered to dig ice houses. In the short term, we will not be able to escape."

“It’s no time to delay, otherwise more people will freeze to death tonight.” Li Suan shouted loudly, “Everyone, get up and move, don’t huddle on the ground.”

"After I survived, I understood something." Li Suan opened his eyes and looked at Xie Xuan.

After entering winter, the weather is getting colder day by day.

"A few years ago, I first arrived in Liaodong and became a scout. I explored the terrain of Goguryeo and captured an enemy soldier who was twelve or thirteen years old. I felt soft and let him go." Li Suan suddenly talked about the past.

Although this place is bitter and cold, the products are extremely abundant.

When a hole is opened in the North Sea, fat fish will swim over.

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details." Xie Xuan suddenly had a very bad premonition.

The two were not much different in age, and they quickly became familiar with each other, talking about everything from north to south.

"Your Highness is benevolent and righteous." Xie Xuan raised the wine bag and toasted.

The cold wind outside was like thousands of ghosts howling, but it was very warm inside the igloo, and there were even windows facing each other for ventilation.

There is strength in numbers, so tens of thousands of people were divided into four groups: one to fetch ice, one to cut wood, one to build houses, and one to carry knives and supervise.

Xie Xuan gagged slightly and spit out a piece of fish meat in his mouth, "No wonder His Highness is so brave."

Fortunately, there are forests all over Beihai, and the logging soldiers also hunted some wild animals.

Yesterday I was full of enthusiasm and felt that I could bear it. But today, I can't even move my legs or feet.

The corpses from last night's battle were all frozen to a bluish black color, and their flesh and blood were stuck together.

The ice blocks are piled together, and when the cold wind blows, they freeze together, and a few beams can be used to build a ready-made house.

"Renyi?" Li Suan sneered, "I let him go, but he didn't let me go. He went back to report. Goguryeo sent out 500 cavalry to hunt down 50 of us. In order to protect me, the brothers left behind one by one. There were heavy casualties. The head was cut off and hung on the flagpole. The body was chopped into pieces and fed to the dogs. One brother was captured alive. They chased us all the way, cutting off his meat and feeding the dogs. The brother screamed for three days and three days. Ye just died." Li Suan closed his eyes and chewed the horse meat in his mouth, as if recalling the scene back then, a look of pain flashed across his face.

At night, Li Tuan and Xie Xuan were enjoying themselves in front of the campfire, eating grilled fish and barbecue.

"You must never treat your enemies with a woman's kindness!" Although Li Su was young, he had a ruthless look on his face that made people dare not look at him.

At this moment, bursts of screams and the menacing laughter of the soldiers came from outside the house.

"Your Highness!" Xie Xuan suddenly stood up. Different experiences determined the differences in their concepts. Li Tuan also stood up and stood in front of him, "The food and supplies in the city are not enough to sustain so many prisoners. Their survival is a hidden danger after all, and they will take away the little food. As a general, kindness cannot lead troops." .”

Xie Xuan frowned. It would only be enough if there were two or three thousand people. This is more than thirteen thousand prisoners...

"The products here are abundant, enough to survive the cold winter."

"That's because the heavy snow has not come yet. Once the heavy snow falls, they will be completely trapped in this city. The soldiers will not have time to rest and have no energy to look after them. These people have our blood on their hands."

"Even so, we can let them go and let them make a living on their own. Killing prisoners has been unlucky since ancient times." Xie Xuan was fighting not only to kill prisoners, but also to make Li Tuan, a Yamen general, take matters into his own hands.

If it were anyone else, he would have been engaged in military law long ago.

"If these people escape, there is no guarantee that they will not return to Tuoba Shi Yijian, exposing the true strength of our army. General Xie is from the south and does not know the folk customs of the north. There is no loyalty, filial piety and justice here. In order to survive, he will do whatever it takes. Even if he keeps them, he will take them with him." I won't go back to Daliang." Li Suan's tone was calm and indifferent, as if he was talking about an ordinary thing.

In the past, when he was in Shangwu Hall, he was not like this. Later, he entered Liaodong, fought with tigers and wolves, and associated with barbarians and barbarians. All the things he experienced were gone, and his character gradually changed.

Xie Xuan was so indifferent to his cold words that he didn't know how to refute.

Letting them go and trudging through the ice and snow with only two legs would actually be the same as death.

Those who are lucky enough to survive will definitely seek refuge with Tuoba Shi Yijian, and then the reality of White Wolf City will be exposed.

Xie Xuan sighed, sat down slumped, and drank quietly.

Li Tuan sat down again and flipped the grilled fish. After the fish was browned on both sides, he handed it to Xie Xuan, "General Xie, don't worry too much. Even if this matter is reported to the court, I will bear all the blame alone and it has nothing to do with you."

Xie Xuan still had no appetite, "Hey, I'm afraid this matter will affect His Highness's reputation in the future."

Celebrities naturally care about reputation.

"Hahaha, General Xie is worrying too much. As a general, I have the responsibility to protect the land and the people. Why do I care about these false reputations? If someone likes to chew his tongue, let him chew it."

The cold wind was still howling outside the house, mixed with screams and ferocious laughter, and the sound lasted most of the night.

It wasn't until noon the next day that Xie Xuan and several of his guards walked out of the igloo and looked north. They were all stunned.

I saw a corpse wall of more than 500 steps piled up on the north side, blocking the cold wind, and the whole earth city suddenly became much warmer.

After the killings last night, the soldiers of Liaodong became more energetic and cooked meat soup under the ice wall.

However, the faces of the Confederate generals were not very good, and it was obvious that they had not slept well last night.

"General..." Even a fierce man like Huan Shiqian couldn't stand it.

"The Liaodong Army lives in the west. We will live in the east city. Don't argue with them."

Jiangdong and Liaodong are thousands of miles apart, and their customs and habits are very different.

"Wei!" The generals held their hands.

But Xie Xuan was obviously overly worried.

Li Tuan was already wearing several layers of leather cloaks and was riding on a war horse. He was preparing to leave the city with more than a thousand fine cavalry, each with three horses. The other two war horses were loaded with felt tents, wine, food and other items.

"Where are you going, Your Highness?"

"It won't snow for a while. I'm going to explore the surrounding terrain and find out where Tuoba Shi Yijian is." Li Su wrapped his body tightly in a thick leather cloak.

Without listening to Xie Xuan's words, he raised the reins and left the city...

(End of this chapter)