My Chinese ancestors

Chapter 614: Sweeping across the wilderness like fire
July 21st, afternoon, cloudy.

One-third of the province of Miranter originally belonged to Euphilo, and the rest belonged to the former Principality of Lofa. After the rise of Sakprut and the capture of Euphilo, he also conquered this place, and the Sakprut Empire was established. Later, it was divided into the northern province and eight city-states were established.

To the northeast is a city-state called Pompeii, with a population of 40,000. Two viscounts have fiefdoms here.

Mainly, taxes were collected directly from business travelers from the east without going through Pompeii's finances, and then transferred to the emperor's personal treasury.

On this afternoon, soldiers were still patrolling the ancient city wall as usual. The dignified and thick city wall looked calm and solemn under the not bright sky.

On the various roads outside the city, there are very few merchants driving caravans through here. Only carts loaded with food come and go in and out of the city gate.

In addition, many farmers can be seen busy in the fields.

After the war in the south began, the entire province entered a state of war. Emperor Sakprut personally issued an order, and the Mirantles in the city and even nearby villages were conscripted to harvest crops.

The land here is fertile and wheat crops mature early.

In late July, the wheat fields around Pompei were basically mature. Perhaps due to the soil, the wheat grains were full.

Stretching out from the center of Pompeii, wheat fields, villages, roads, and water veins formed a huge network. Carts filled with wheat were like flowing blood, constantly pulling towards the city.

Occasionally, some is sent to nearby mills to grind the rice grains into powder and make flour.

At this time, about thirty-five miles northeast, the rotating windmill drove the stone mill, crushing the rice grains that the farmers pumped up.

Outside the mill, a group of soldiers guarded the village, and soldiers from Pompeii were also stationed in the village below.

We will secure this place and conduct strict inspections of possible caravans coming from the east. We will also supervise the harvesting of grain here and secretly hide grain with the farmers in the village.

This was the order issued by Hisham Qase, one of the two viscounts of Pompeii. The people performing the supervision and guarding tasks here are Duke, a noble knight under Casse, and a battalion of soldiers.

In the afternoon the weather was terribly gloomy.

Knight Duke sat under the awning, drinking the lightly scented milk tea from the Western Regions, which was given to him by a business trip from the East last year.

He liked the taste very much, but unfortunately he was almost finished drinking it, and caravans from the east were particularly rare this year.

During the three months I was stationed here, I didn't see an Eastern caravan passing through here.

Today was almost over. Duke took a look at the sky outside. The clouds were thick and heavy rain would soon fall.

"Let the farmers in the fields take the wheat in their hands to the waiting cars, and today's work is over."

Duke ordered the soldiers stationed in the village to divide into two teams and go to the farmland outside to urge dozens of villagers.

In the wheat fields in the distance, the soldiers who were supervising and urging did not obey the rules or treat the people more gently. After receiving orders from Duke, a noble knight, they yelled and cursed the farmers in the fields, or went up and slapped the farmers on their backs. , a kick in the butt.

The farmers in the fields dared not speak out. Although they were citizens of Pompeii City, they were just civilians and could not be counted as citizens of the Sakprut Empire.

After being beaten and scolded, they sped up in fear. Looking from the high hill on Duke's side, Tanaka's speed had obviously increased a lot, and there was even a scene of excitement.

In response, he walked back into the shed and smiled at the guards on the left and right: "These untouchables only know leather whips."

As he spoke, the wind gradually began to whistle under the gloomy sky.

He sat back on the chair comfortably and continued to enjoy the warm milk tea. At the same time, located to the north of his high hill, which was the northern pass of the village, figures leading war horses slowly emerged from the forest.

Then, the left and right formations were clearly divided into two different cavalry groups, each with about 500 men.

Each horse's hooves pushed through the low weeds and sank into the soft soil. The advancing cavalry team spread out quietly.

The leading figure was dressed in silver armor and white robes, holding a gun and sitting on the back of a white horse. "Let's attack the barbarians here first. Xia Houlan will reorganize the team!"

The white-robed hunter rode up behind him and nodded to Zhao Yun. A veteran named Xia Houlan held an iron spear and urged the horse to walk on the side of the team, urging the five hundred cavalry to check the equipment.

Here, Zhao Yun tightened the handle of his gun, and the gentian gun hung on the side of the horse. His eyes seemed to see through the sky and saw the Western soldiers and horses stationed in the distance.

"A group of cattle and sheep." He turned his head, his eyes slid to the corner of his eyes and looked in another direction, "Huo Qiaoqi, you are left and I am right, let's see who of us reaches Pompeii City first."

In the peripheral vision, in front of the cavalry on the left, all wearing red tassels and iron helmets, a young general with a face came over on horseback and stood beside Zhao Yun.

The maroon horse that had been with him for many years was breathing heavily. Huo Qubing, who was wearing two levels of armor and a red cloak, reached out and patted its neck to calm it down, and raised his eyes arrogantly.

Beyond the mountain pass in the distance, there was the smell of an army stationed there.

"Haha, Zilong, why don't you admit defeat now." Huo Qubing proudly showed his white teeth on the horse.

Behind him, a Han cavalryman named Zhao Polu was already galloping on his horse, speaking to the five hundred Yulin cavalry: "Get ready-"

While Zhao Polu passed over the well-equipped cavalry, about two thousand white wolf cavalry on the side also stepped forward to form formation amidst Xia Houlan's loud shouts. Zhao Yun turned his horse around, raised his spear high, and slowly urged the horse out, simply , cold words rushed out of his lips: "Kill——"

On the other side, Huo Qubing also urged his horse to run. With a scornful smile, he looked back at Zhao Polu who was following him.

"Follow me and defeat the barbarians again, and the rogues must follow suit!"

"Here!"

The word "Hey" was shouted out from the mouth of the gray-haired Zhao Polu, and a strong murderous aura suddenly appeared.

"Here!"

The five hundred Yulin knights roared in unison, and the war horses beneath them and the white horse Yi Cong on the other side all accelerated at this moment and ran wildly.

A thousand cavalry advanced in dense ups and downs, their churning iron hooves trampling the soil, making a deafening sound of horse hooves.

At that moment, murderous intent filled the field!
Rumbling--

As if thunder came, Knight Duke, who was enjoying afternoon tea in the shed, put down his tea cup when he heard the sound, subconsciously raised his head to look at the sky, and the surrounding servants also raised their heads.

After just this glance, Duke heard the screams and shouts of farmers and his soldiers coming from the fields below the high hill.

The moment he came back to his senses, the rumbling thunder got closer and closer, becoming clearer and clearer.

He stood up in a hurry and walked outside the shed. The farmers in the fields below were in a panic, pushing and shoving with the soldiers and running towards the village.

To the north, cavalry rushed into the distant fields like a torrent.

The running horses, the waving ring-headed swords, and the launched spears all followed the charging thousand cavalry, crushing the fleeing crowd.

The nearest team of Pompeii soldiers to supervise them was overwhelmed by dozens of cavalry who rushed forward before they could step forward.

The white-horse Yi Cong, who was good at shooting, galloped past. Several cavalrymen drew their bows and nocked arrows. Several feathered arrows flew out instantly and shot into the chest of a soldier on a watchtower near the farmland.

At the same time as the corpses fell with arrows, a large number of villagers and soldiers were already rushing towards the village. After all, there was no way to withstand the impact of the cavalry in the wilderness and fields.

Zhao Yun charged at the front with a spear and a leaping horse. The moment he entered the crowd, the shadows of his spear danced wildly, and several fleeing Pompeii soldiers were lifted into the air.

Seeing this scene, the other Pompeii soldiers were so frightened that they turned around and ran away, still shouting.

Yu Lin rode rampantly across the wilderness, his blade lowered, frantically harvesting the lives of the barbarians from behind.

Huo Qubing, who was leading the attack, pointed his sword in his hand. The five hundred cavalry turned around and were level with the white horse. They quickly rushed towards the largest number of barbarian soldiers in the distance.

The cavalry running at high speed crashed into the chaotic crowd from behind. Huo Qubing knocked away a figure. With the momentum in his hand, Huo Qubing used the momentum to slash the back of another barbarian soldier's neck. When the bloody arrow and head flew away, he was already He rode his horse over the corpses on the ground and killed the next barbarian without any pause.

More Pompeii soldiers were overtaken by the cavalry group while running and were swallowed up in the blink of an eye. The cavalry's attack extended, and at the moment when the fence at the entrance of the village was pushed up, the white horse Yi Cong who was rushing in front changed into a repeating crossbow.

Whizzing--

The arrows were densely nailed to the fence and the barbarians behind. After firing, he raised his gun again and used the impact of the horse to knock open the fence that was not completely closed.

A thousand horsemen filed in with iron hooves.

In the village, cries and screams were mixed together. The torrent of iron cavalry had penetrated into the village. Large numbers of people were knocked down and chopped down. Thick plasma splashed under the butcher's knife, and the corpses were like blood. The carpet spreads.

There were still more than 500 soldiers stationed in the village. When the cavalry entered the field, they had already formed a formation under the assembly of the knight Duke. When the Seles cavalry rushed into the village and ravaged it wantonly, they formed a spear. Lin greeted him.

Then, a row of white horse followers were reined in and pointed with a repeating crossbow. The next moment, the gun array without shields was shot to pieces in an instant. The soldiers who were lucky enough to survive left their injured companions behind and rushed He ran for his life in panic.

The only spear formation was broken, and Huo Qubing led Zhao Polu and a hundred Yulin Cavalry towards the high hill where the military flag was erected.

He usually looks like a young general, but at this moment he has more murderous intent than anyone else. Several Pompeii soldiers tried to stop them, but Huo Qubing jumped on his horse among them, wielding the ring-shaped sword in his hand without hesitation and slashing the two swords left and right. A soldier who seemed to be around fifty was hacked to death.

In the blink of an eye, one of the remaining three soldiers was picked off by Zhao Polu, and the other two were crushed directly under the iron hoofs of Yu Linqi.

"The Selis Cavalry, why are there Selis people here!"

Duke stood on the high hill, his eyes were red. He had heard about the battle ahead. Selis's army was extremely powerful. Several legions were maimed and the legion commander was killed.

With his small number of soldiers, it is impossible to resist the opponent.

"Ahhh!!"

What's more, this is still the rear area. If the Salis people kill Pompei, or even further... Thinking of this, Duke shuddered without any solution.

Then, with an almost crazy roar, he led several of his followers to rush forward. Facing the charging horses, he skillfully swung away the two-handed sword in his hand.

The moment the sword edge struck the galloping horse's leg, Huo Qubing above him tightened the reins, and the maroon horseman beneath him stood up and let out a high-pitched cry.

When the big sword with violent winds swept across from under the raised horse's hooves, the young general with his cloak fluttering on the back of the erect horse, holding the horse's belly, slashed fiercely with the ring-headed sword in his hand.

Blood splashed out from Duke's neck, and his strong body threw forward, falling to the ground with a thud.

Yu Linqi and Zhao Polu who rushed up quickly surrounded and killed these knights, and then spread to other parts of the village like chopping melons and vegetables.

In less than half an hour, the entire village, from villagers to soldiers, was killed, and the corpses covered the spacious place in the village.

"Don't light the fire, continue to attack!" Huo Qubing, who was returning from the high hill, galloped past the cavalry. He raised his hands and shouted energetically.

Xia Houlan spat, pulled out his spear, and looked at Zhao Yun, who had already galloped out of the village: "Inform the rear team to charge into the barbarian land!"

A thousand cavalrymen, half-blooded from the killing, moved quickly and poured out of the dead village, following the two generals as they rode wildly across the wilderness.

Everyone has a look of fanaticism in their eyes.

……

Not long after the news spread back, the four armies of Qin, Tang, Youyan, and Yizhou, together with the 10,000-strong Western Region Protectorate and Meng Tuo's Iron Spear Rebel Army, were divided into two groups. After entering from the mountain pass, they followed closely. Following the two cavalrymen, they quickly swept towards the nearest city of Pompeii.

There were still many fields that had not been swept by the cavalry. The civilians of Pompeii stopped working and looked at the roads and fields from east to west with confusion, and they were all full of galloping war horses.

Then, what I saw was a huge army that bulldozed everything and started a crazy massacre east of Pompeii.

On the other side, the two viscounts in the city learned the news and quickly gathered the soldiers in the city. At first, the news they received was only two thousand Selis cavalry.

Just when they organized more than 4,000 people to go out of the city to meet the enemy, a second, more detailed news finally came.

The main force of Selis, more than 100,000 strong, has penetrated the east side of Pompeii City, and there are escaping soldiers and civilians everywhere running towards this place.

He was later hunted and killed in the wilderness by the cavalry who caught up.

Looking out from the city wall, we can see the fields, fields and roads in the distance. Many people died under the butcher's knives and iron hoofs.

Hisham Qase and another viscount Alon Serra hurriedly called back the troops who had left the city.

However, the messengers who rushed out of the city were still a step too late, and the two legions with murderous intent swept towards them.

A mere 4,000 people, in front of a huge army of over 100,000 people, could not hold on to even half a stick of incense, and were all killed.

Only a dozen people who escaped before the battle came back, patting the city gate and crying for them to return to the city.

Hisham and Alon were already frightened when they heard the battle report. When they rushed to the top of the city, the Selis army outside was already assembling siege equipment.

July 22nd.

There was light rain in the sky, and under the watchful eyes of a thousand soldiers on the city, the Selis army that suddenly arrived launched a siege on the city.

Due east, the crash car was covered by dense shields and approached the city gate.

"Barbarians!"

At the front of the siege team, Li Yuanba, who had been holding back his anger for a long time, held up a huge black hammer and shouted excitedly from the top of the city: "I'm coming in!"

Under the rain of arrows, the knocking wood slammed on the city gate, and the huge drum, urn, and golden hammer smashed open the dilapidated door leaf.

The soldiers of the Yizhou Army's Tiger Step Battalion waiting under the shield rushed into the Pompei soldiers guarding the city the moment the door opened.

These infantrymen wearing thick armor wielded their blades and pushed in inch by inch. The sticky blood waves rolled in both directions. After a while, the Pompey soldiers guarding the city gate were killed and collapsed.

The two Viscounts Hisham and Aron looked at the Selis army that was rushing into the city like a tide, and they murmured: "A group of monsters..."

In the field of vision, General Selis, who looked like a giant, was holding two hammers and excitedly rushed to the top of the city.

Soon after, the heads of Viscount Hisham and Aron were impaled on wooden stakes.

The front spread, and the two armies that entered the barbarian territory had no intention of stopping and continued to sweep towards the next city.

On July 25th, the city of Gubal, which was sixty-three miles away from Pompei, heard the news and sent two thousand soldiers there. On the way, they encountered the army commanded by Li Jing who was sweeping south. Soldiers and horses.

On July 26th, the ancient city of Bal was destroyed and massacred!
On July 28th, Bai Qi's troops were divided into the east route, and they made a devastating and rapid advance. A large number of Sakpruts were wiped out, and the Maggia city-state organized 10,000 troops to defend the city.

On the twenty-nine, the city of Maggia was surrounded.

On the thirtieth day, the entire city of Maggia, with a population of 50,000, was massacred.

……

At this time, the entire Mirantel had already known the news. While the nobles of each city sent fast horses to the Central Asian Plateau to notify Emperor Sakprut, they frantically recruited troops and launched a bloody road ahead of the two Seris armies. To intercept.

For a time, there were beacon fires lit everywhere, scouts delivering news, broken troops who were killed, and the shrinking front line.

However, the two armies that entered Mirantre had already unleashed astonishing destructive power, killing crazily across the entire province.

By the time the news reached the Central Asian Plateau and fell into the hands of Sakprut and Hannibal, it was already the fifth day of August.

The Sakprut army, which was advancing smoothly, was shocked by the news!
(End of this chapter)