Chastity Layman

  Chapter 550 Ice and Fire

  The sun rises.

  The grassland around the five-star fortress is full of beautiful Gesang flowers.

  A Bailong River, no more than seven feet wide, meanders through the valley. One river separates two cities. On one side is the small but strong five-star fortress castle, and on the other is the large and defenseless Anhua Tucheng.

  This beautiful but dangerous basin valley is a sacred place in the stories passed down from generation to generation by the Qiang people. They call it the Fairy Valley of Black Tiger Cave.

It is said that a long time ago, the Qiang people discovered a cave in the mountains of this valley. The cave was on a black mountain shaped like a tiger, and the mouth was like a tiger's mouth. Sacrifice and worship.

   Later, people found a stone in the shape of a fairy in the tiger's lair, and the Qiang people respectfully called it the fairy of the tiger's lair.

   It has been passed down from generation to generation that there are fairies in the tiger's den, and the valley of the fairies in the black tiger's den, which often has supernatural powers, has become a holy place respected by the Qiang people.

  The black tiger has also become a totem worshiped by many nearby Qiang people.

  The spring water gushing out of the ground outside the Black Tiger Cave is also the source of the Qiang water that the Qiang people regard as a holy river.

  According to the legend, the ancestors of the Qiang people were rescued by a fairy in the tiger's den and lived in the tiger's den. Later, they shared branches and leaves with a black tiger and reproduced. The descendants lived along the Qiang River and gradually grew stronger.

  Blue sky and white clouds, green grass.

  The black and bare stone mountains around the valley, the green forest at the bottom of the mountain, the uneven valley, and the winding Bailong River.

  Qin Lang looked at the beautiful scene, still so happy.

  Although the altitude of this valley is already a bit high, comparable to that of Lhasa, it was a bit uncomfortable when I first came here, and it was a bit high, but my young and strong body quickly adapted to it.

   Later generations here are called the Little Oriental Switzerland, and the scenery does have an otherworldly temperament.

The sound of ox horns interrupted Qin Lang's thoughts. The Qiang people besieged the city from all sides and got closer. They carried crude ladders, rough wooden shields, and ladder bridges across the moat. foot.

  Standing on the top of the bell and drum watchtower, Qin Lang felt as if he could pick off the stars with his hand, and he seemed to be out of the world.

  The noisy siege Qiang people, the quiet five-star fortress.

   Half sea water, half flame.

  Guo Daifeng is holding a bow, which is a good bow used by his father, General Zuo Xiaowei, Duke of Yangzhai County, and Guo Xiaoke of Shangzhu Kingdom. When he entered Sanwei, his father personally gave it to him. The bow that his father gave him has done him a lot of credit.

  In the last battle, although Guo Daifeng did not have as many meritorious service as his brother Guo Daizhao, he also shot and killed more than ten Qiang bandits with this bow. The military merit book is very beautiful.

Now his elder brother Daizhao can only stay in the city to rest as a ranger, but it is his turn to make meritorious service. A few days ago, his brother Daizhao brought back Li Daoyan, and after that he brought back thousands of soldiers The defeated soldiers also killed hundreds of Qiang chasing soldiers, and added new ones. Waiting for the seal is very envious.

  As the children of the Wagang Sect, they also came from the prince's army, and the relationship between Guo Daifeng and Qin Lang is naturally good. Our fathers are both from Shandong, and they are all from Wagang.

  During the Great War in the Central Plains, it was Guo Xiaoke who proposed the strategy of capturing Dou Jiande. After the war, Li Shimin commented on his merits and said that his merits were above all the generals, and he was specially granted the title of Zhu Kingdom for him.

It’s just that after the Central Plains War, Guo Xiaoke did not continue to be under the command of the King of Qin. He was also a member of Xu Shiji and Shan Xiongxin in Wagang. There were fewer visits to the palace, and Guo Xiaoke also missed the battle of Xuanwu Gate.

Therefore, the Shangzhu Kingdom in those days is still only a county magistrate. Think about Niu Jinda, Li Junxian, Wu Heita and others who were far inferior to him when he voted for the Tang Dynasty. A little depressing.

  He has placed great expectations on his sons. The eldest son will be named by the edict, the second son will be granted the title, and the third son will be named Ping.

  Guo Xiaoke’s family was only a small landlord in his early years. When he was young, he had the same virtues as Liu Bang. But catching up with the troubled times, it just happened to be useful, and he went to Wagang and performed outstandingly.

  Although he missed the great opportunity of Xuanwu Gate, a rogue street slipper, now he is also a dignified General Zuo Xiaowei, Duke of Yangzhai County, and holds the title of Shangzhu Kingdom, so he is still doing well.

  His third sons are somewhat inherited from their father. They all grew up martial and chivalrous and didn't like reading. They didn't read a few words in the book, but they are really good at it.

  The eldest brother Dai Zhao is proficient in riding skills, and he is very good at dancing with a horse.

   "Captain Guo, the thief is nearly two hundred steps away."

  The team deputy came to the side of the waiter and said, "Can the crossbowmen start fighting?"

  Dai Feng shook his head, although he was young, he looked old, with beards, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and hair all over his body. He was obviously a noble son in his twenties, but he looked like an old man in his thirties.

  Although everyone in the team is older than him, the archery skills to be sealed have already conquered the whole team.

   "Just those Qiang thieves, how can they use crossbows? Let them go to a hundred paces, and we can shoot with arrows, aim and shoot, don't waste arrows."

   There are a lot of bows and arrows stored in the five-star fortress, but the bows and arrows are also very expensive. It is not easy to supply them now, so we have to save some of them. "We try to shoot as many robbers as possible!" The team deputy boasted.

   Waiting for Feng Xiaoxiao not to mention him, it is naturally impossible to kill one person with one arrow.

   In front of the outermost ditch, there is a bank. The bank is a slope. In the middle of the slope, a row of thick wooden pickets are inserted into the slope, and the spikes point straight ahead.

  The **** is not too high, but it is not so wide with the pickets.

  But the archers on the half-moon fort and the outer triangular fort in front can commandeer and occupy favorable terrain. The entire five-star fortress is rising steadily, and the fortress is raised high, which is more convenient for the archers.

   For Dai Feng and others, there is no such a good battlefield anymore, it is simply tailor-made for their archers.

Guo Daifeng led fifty archers and stationed on a half-moon fort outside. There were two triangular forts beside him, another triangular fort behind him, and a square pier fort in front. Each fort was equipped with crossbows. hand, ballista.

  There are deep trenches between the forts, and they feel like they are on isolated islands, but everyone is not worried, but feels that the isolated islands are safe.

  The Qiang thieves have not yet approached the outer embankment, but they have already fully entered the range of the archers in the front row of the fortress.

  Guo Daifeng was not in a hurry, raised his bow, looked at the arrows, and drew a long arrow.

   This kind of arrow is the lightest and has the longest range, but its armor-piercing effect is mediocre, but it should be enough to deal with those Qiang people.

   Draw the bow and draw the string.

The bow made of the best Zhe wood, the two horns are made of rhinoceros horns, and the bow string is also made of the best beef tendon. This bow is so strong that it is difficult for ordinary people to open it, but Guo Daifeng, who is as strong as an ox, Opening this bow is extremely easy.

  Years of hard training have made him a bow.

  He has long developed a sense of bow that allows him to master extremely high accuracy. This feeling is what archers strive for, and it takes years of training to obtain it.

  Under Guo Daifeng's focus, he locked onto a Qiang man holding a wooden shield who was advancing carefully. As he moved forward, parts of the man's body would be exposed from the shield from time to time.

   smiled slightly.

  Guo Daifeng let go, and the arrow left the string.

  Although the person only showed a small flaw, and the exposed body would quickly go back, but that moment was enough for Guo Daifeng.

  No matter how small the flaw is, in the eyes of this kind of marksman, it will be infinitely magnified.

  The arrow pierced through the air, carrying a sharp whistle.

  The Qiang man was hit by an arrow in response. Just as his head was exposed a little, he was shot just right, and fell to the ground with a muffled grunt.

  The shield hand in the front row fell to the ground, immediately revealing a gap in the shield wall.

   Immediately behind Guo Daifeng, several archers fired arrows one after another. Before the people behind raised their shields to fill the gap, several Qiang people had already been shot and fell to the ground.

   "Guo Tou, come again!" The archers cheered.

  Almost at the same time, the archers on the half-moon fort, square pier, and triangular fort on the outermost layer of the five-star fortress stretched their bows one after another, looking for targets.

  They are condescending, and their arrows are accurate and ruthless.

  Thousands of Qiang people crowded in front of the first embankment of the fortress. The slopes and sharp piles blocked their progress. Although they held rough wooden shields, they were still hard to defend.

  The Qiang people in the front row couldn't get through, and the Qiang people in the back were still squeezing in. The team became more and more dense, which made it easier for Guo Daifeng and the archers to shoot.

  The Qiang people also began to shoot arrows towards the fort, but it was much more difficult for them to shoot from the bottom up, and the shooting range was shortened.

   Fight back against the rain of arrows, but the effect is not ideal.

  The leader of the Qiang people who supervised the battle in the back frowned. It was obvious that there were a lot of them. The archers on the outer fort of the Tang people only added up to a few hundred people.

   "Beat the drum, go!"

   He growled angrily.

  Drums were loud, and a group of Qiang people rushed out from behind the big Qiang shield, holding small leather shields and began to climb the embankment.

   But after all, the speed slowed down, and the dense row of pickets on the half **** forced them to pause.

  The Qiang people raised their shields in one hand to hold their heads and backs, and in the other hand they chopped up wooden piles with an axe, trying to cut a few holes.

  Guo Daifeng snorted coldly, "Get rid of those swordsmen first!"

  He sideways let a flying feather arrow pass, and shot back a Qiang man who was struggling to swing his axe. The Qiang man was hit by the arrow and fell back all the way.

Although the Qiang people also began to shoot arrows intensively under the embankment, but the fortress was so high that most of the arrows could not be shot up, and it was difficult to keep the arrows accurate. stopped, and they were all wearing helmets.

   In a blink of an eye, the two bags of arrows were almost empty, leaving only some armor-piercing arrows, etc. Guo Daifeng yelled, "Arrows!"

   Immediately, an archer bent over and brought two bundles of arrows.

  (end of this chapter)