Chapter 157 Snowfield

There were nomads on the snowfields; for a long time, the warhorses of the snowfields had been one of the most important sources of warhorses for the knights of the Three Jins.

Before the two marquises of Great Yan entered Jin, the Jin people always believed that their cavalry was enough to contend with the iron cavalry of Great Yan. A very important reason was that the Jin people did not lack horses.

In the early years, they were plundered through war. Afterwards, as the Yan Kingdom suppressed the barbarians, and the "Silk Road" between the East and the West was opened, everyone was more willing to sit down and do business.

Many settlements of cooked wild men living in the Heavenly 断 Mountains (Tian Duan Mountains) not only sold "pet" demonic beasts from the Heavenly 断 Mountains (Tian Duan Mountains), but also engaged in the warhorse resale trade.

"The wild man king that the Situ family is facing first made his fortune by doing business through the Heavenly 断 Mountains (Tian Duan Mountains). Weapons, armor, etc., all came from transactions with Jin, and craftsmen, doctors, and scholars were all objects of his search.

"Even this king once came to Beifeng County in my Great Yan. According to the post-investigation by the Secret Intelligence Department, it is very likely that he worked as a handyman in the Marquis's mansion and as an auxiliary soldier in the Zhenbei Army for six years."

Auxiliary soldiers were a type of soldier between civilians and regular soldiers. When they were not busy, they had to undertake part of the work of civilians. When a real fight broke out, they had to be ready to go to the front line to fight at any time.

Zheng Fan had stayed in Beifeng County for half a year, and he also knew the atmosphere there. It was no exaggeration to say that it was a melting pot of many ethnic groups. Various ethnic groups lived together in a complex manner, and surrendered barbarians also served as low-ranking officers in the Zhenbei Army, so it was normal for a wild man to work under the command of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion.

"Did he come to steal knowledge?" Zheng Fan asked in surprise.

"It's not certain if it's true, we can only say it's suspected, but it's very likely that it's true.

"Moreover, there are traces showing that he also went to Qian, but he didn't stay in Qian for long before returning to Jin with that caravan."

"It would have been better if he could have stayed in Qian longer," Zheng Fan joked.

No matter what kind of peerless hero you are, if you stay in Qian for a long time, you will become soft.

However, what surprised Zheng Fan was that Yan's Secret Intelligence Department was willing to spend so much energy to find out the former traces of the wild man king.

As Yao Zizhan once said, the Silver Armored Guards had been paying attention to the six adult princes of Great Yan, and the Qian people had been studying the personalities, temperaments, and even... abilities of the Great Yan princes.

This was a kind of importance, and right now, the Yan court obviously attached great importance to this wild man king.

"The current situation of the Situ family is not very good."

"Were they defeated?" Zheng Fan asked in surprise.

Because the wild men in the Heavenly 断 Mountains (Tian Duan Mountains) were really easy to deal with in a fight, even Liang Cheng probably summed up a strategy for attacking wild man settlements.

The wild men on the snowfields should be a little more powerful than the wild men in the mountains, but they shouldn't be so ridiculously strong.

Zheng Fan cut a large piece of meat from the roasted lamb leg in front of him and handed it to the Jingnan Marquis.

Now, they were in a nomad's tent, having spent money to buy a "barbecue" from the nomad.

This nomad should belong to a nearby wild man tribe, taking advantage of the spring to drive their livestock to the outer periphery for grazing.

"When our army pacified the Wenren and Helian families, Situ Lei, the emperor of Cheng, did not deliberately take the main force to the northeast direction because he didn't dare to fight a single battle.

"But the border gate there was in urgent need of help.

"The Situ family's garrison there was attacked by wild men. The commander led his army to take the initiative to attack, but was ambushed and the entire army was wiped out. The wild men took advantage of the situation to march south and successively broke three cities of the Situ family on the snowfield.

"Even after Situ Lei personally led his army there, he quickly launched a war to recapture those three cities. Perhaps, because he had just ascended the throne, he was even more eager for a great victory."

"Did he lose?" Zheng Fan asked curiously.

The Jingnan Marquis nodded,

and said,

"He lost. Situ Lei himself was injured, and the Situ family's army suffered heavy losses. The remaining troops retreated to Xuehai Pass."

Zheng Fan knew the place name Xuehai Pass. The Blind Man had mentioned it before. Xuehai Pass was built by the early Jin pioneers after driving out the wild men, because the northeasternmost part of Jin, because the Heavenly 断 Mountains (Tian Duan Mountains) no longer extended, there was a large open area. Unlike other parts of Jin, it could not directly isolate the Jin people from the snowfields by relying on the Heavenly 断 Mountains (Tian Duan Mountains), so this pass was built.

However, as the Jin people continued to expand outwards over the past hundreds of years, going out to fight wild men when they were in a good mood, and going out to fight wild men to vent their anger when they were in a bad mood;

Xuehai Pass was no longer a substantial control area. The Jin people's sphere of influence had long broken through Xuehai Pass and encompassed a large snowfield.

Therefore, the Situ family's successive defeats were equivalent to spitting out the area that the Jin ancestors had expanded outwards over the past hundred years.

And if Xuehai Pass were to be breached again, the wild man army could spread out directly like locusts finding an opening.

Seeming to see Zheng Fan's face turn serious, Tian Wujing took a bite of lamb and said while chewing:

"The wild men are not that strong, but the Situ family was careless."

Zheng Fan nodded. He believed Tian Wujing's judgment, just like he believed Liang Cheng.

"The wild men, no matter what, can't compare to the barbarians," Tian Wujing said.

Even if the barbarians were now plucked phoenixes inferior to chickens, it was only because the royal court had declined and could not be integrated together. Their own combat power was still extremely terrifying. There were many barbarian soldiers in Zheng Fan's team, and they were very useful.

On the other hand, Zheng Fan had not yet incorporated the wild men into the army. He only used them as laborers. Even if he conscripted the wild men who surrendered to him to fight in the future, they would only be auxiliary soldiers.

"However, the most difficult thing for the Situ family now is that although the previous two defeats caused heavy losses, they have not really shaken the Situ family's foundation. However, the loss of cities has led to the wild men obtaining more armor, weapons, and supplies of craftsmen and population. The strength and morale of the wild men are now at their peak.

"The Situ family's army was temporarily blocked in the Xuehai Pass area. Several tentative attempts to expand outwards were beaten back."

"So, what we have to do is to lead a surprise force north from Shengle City, exit the Heavenly 断 Mountains (Tian Duan Mountains), enter the snowfield, and then rush eastward to attack the rear of the wild men, alleviating the pressure on the Situ family's frontal battlefield?"

The Jingnan Marquis shook his head.

"Please enlighten me, Marquis, this humble general is foolish."

Tian Wujing raised his head slightly,

and said slowly:

"Not a surprise force, nor to help the Situ family alleviate the frontal pressure."

"Then what is it?"

"Defeat them."

"........." Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan suddenly felt that he was like a nameless character he used to draw in comics for the sake of the plot. His role was to have a dialogue with Tian Wujing and then elicit Tian Wujing's final pretense.

Alright,

you are not only good at fighting, but you are even better at leading troops. If you say blow them up, then blow them up. You are awesome, applause.

Just then, a series of footsteps came from outside the tent.

This nomad family only had an old couple and a young son. The son was not yet married. Judging from the strength of these footsteps, it was obviously several adult males.

Tian Wujing threw the lamb bones in his hand on the ground, took out a woolen blanket, and wiped his hands while saying:

"It seems that what you said earlier about them being warm and hospitable doesn't count."

"Marquis, I was just reminding you, I used a rhetorical question."

At that time, Zheng Fan's suggestion was to simply kill the entire nomad family.

After all, the two of them were dressed too conspicuously, and because of the Yan-Jin war before the new year, the trade route had not yet recovered, so it was too suspicious for the two of them to appear here.

The tent curtain was lifted, and three adult men walked in. The adult son of the nomad old couple looked inside from outside the tent.

Of the three who came in, one wore leather armor, and the other two only wore robes.

The man in armor had a scar on the left side of his face, which looked like a new wound.

"Incite Guwalia!!"

The armored man roared, pointing the knife at Zheng Fan and Tian Wujing.

Zheng Fan said to the armored man:

"Wakashiwa Kuoduo Imimasu!"

"........." The armored man.

Tian Wujing looked at Zheng Fan with interest and said:

"You can speak wild man language?"

Zheng Fan said modestly:

"He's asking if we are spies."

"Oh." Tian Wujing nodded, "City Lord Zheng is really knowledgeable."

Just as Zheng Fan was about to be modest a few more times,

Tian Wujing turned to look at the armored man and said a string of words that Zheng Fan couldn't understand.

The armored man and the other wild men's expressions suddenly changed, obviously, they could understand!

"............" Zheng Fan.

How embarrassing!

Tian Wujing added: "The wild men in the Heavenly 断 Mountains (Tian Duan Mountains) have complex components and different dialects, but the wild men on the snowfields use a very ancient language. When the Emperor of Great Xia sent the Yu clan to develop the land of the Three Jins, this language was circulating in the land of the Three Jins. It is a kind of ancient language."

"Marquis, you are the knowledgeable one, I, I admire you, I admire you."

"You translated it well, the meaning is correct."

"Lucky, lucky..."

At this time, the armored man and the other two wild men raised their weapons and rushed over.

The next moment, Zheng Fan drew his saber, and his blood surged. He directly slashed at the armored man.

However, at the same time, a powerful wave of air exploded directly. Before Zheng Fan's saber could fall, the three wild men, along with the tent they were in, flew out together.

City Lord Zheng's saber struck emptiness.

And those wild men, along with the nomad family, also fell heavily to the ground, covering their chests, looking very uncomfortable and painful.

"Finish them off."

Tian Wujing said.

"Yes."

Zheng Fan walked over and killed all the seriously injured and fallen wild men, one by one, like chopping wood, leaving no one alive.

Tian Wujing slowly walked over, pointed to the body of the armored man, and said:

"He is a subordinate of the wild man king, or it can be said, a follower. The influence of that wild man king has actually spread to this area."

"Is it because of the scar on his face?"

"Yes, because the wild man king also has a scar in this position on his face, so his followers believe that this is a symbol of bravery, and they have all followed suit."

"I see."

"Have you met the princess of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion?"

"I have."

"What do you think?"

"Dignified and elegant, a lady of a noble family, immeasurably noble."

After all, the princess will be someone's nephew's wife in the future, so he had to say good things.

"More than ten years ago, when the princess was still a girl, she whipped a horse groom because her beloved horse had a problem while being taken care of. When the matter reached the ears of the old lady, the princess was reprimanded and confined for a month to reflect on her mistakes."

"Could it be?"

Tian Wujing bent down, reached out, and stroked the scar on the corpse's face,

nodded and said:

"The scar they thought symbolized bravery was just drawn out by a whip from that willful little girl back then."