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Zong Ju slowly walked behind his son, sighing deeper across about three meters away.

"Even the king can't do better than Ahao." Following Zong Guang's gaze, Zong Gu looked at the square in the distance: "He is very smart and did not apply the noble body with grease. This is the biggest difference between Ahao and other conquerors."

Zong Guang turned around, looking a little surprised: "Dad, what do you mean?"

"You are still young and have never experienced such a thing." Zong Gu walked forward with steady steps: "Many years ago, when I was as old as you, I followed your grandfather to fight against the Crane clan. At that time, the king was young and strong, with few people in the Crane clan, and only less than 100,000 people. His Majesty destroyed the clan in one battle. We attacked the capital of the Crane clan. It was summer. In order to bring the Crane King's body back to Heijiao City, His Majesty killed 500 prisoners, threw them into a big pot, and boiled a lot of grease."

This kind of scene is terrible just by thinking about it. Zong Guang couldn't help but chill: "Can that kind of oil... work?"

"That is the standard ritual oil." Zong Gu's voice gradually became dull: "This is the winner's right, and life and death are in his own hands. In fact, this ritual is meaningless. Even if the king's body is brought back to Heikko City, the last thing that remains is only a head. The hardest skull can be made into a bone bowl, and the rest are thrown into the fire in front of all the royal members."

Speaking of this, Zong Ju smiled slightly: "Why, do you think that oil is for eating?"

Zong Guang lowered his head and fell into silence.

"The gap between imagination and reality is always very big. What you think you can touch with your hand is actually very far away. Sometimes, no matter how hard or hard you put in, it can be seen like the stars in the sky, but it can never be caught."

Zong Ju pondered for a moment and asked seriously: "A Guang, have you ever thought about why we can win this war?"

Zong Guang raised his head, his eyes full of doubts.

The father and son have discussed this issue more than once, and all the factors should be analyzed, and all the factors were found. Zong Guang knew that this father deliberately cultivated himself and taught him experience.

"...What are you referring to?" Zong Guang asked carefully: "Is there anything else I didn't notice?"

"What I want to say is the last and most important part." Zong Ju drank some wine for dinner today, his voice was a little hoarse, and he deliberately slowed down his speech: "...grain."

"The soldiers in Panshi City are very brave, whether they are the Cattle or the Pig people. Calculate the time, from the coalition to the completion of the first phase of the combat mission, A Hao's army always rushed to the front, and he even had the ability to send some troops to help us attack the adjacent areas. Let's not talk about the distance, look at the pig people unit led by Black Tooth. Each of them is strong and skilled in combat. This shows that they did not lack food when they were in Panshi City, and they could even be said to have eaten very well."

"Only enough nutrition can we ensure combat effectiveness. My son, think about the pig villages that we have captured! Are the pig warriors whose heads were cut off fearing death? In their opinion, we are invaders. When their homeland and relatives are threatened, they are willing to give up everything for it. But what's the use? Food shortage is their biggest problem. If they don't have enough food, they will not have the strength, and children will be underdeveloped when they grow up. Look at the pig captives in Fangya City, and then look at the soldiers under Ahao. Regardless of the advantages of armor and weapons, even if they fight one-on-one, the pig warriors in Panshi City will definitely have the upper hand."

"He simplified the ritual of sacrificing the Pig King, and of course it may also be that because it is winter now, the body is not prone to rot, but no matter what, Ah Hao did not kill people and boil oil to keep those who should have died. This is what a ruler should do."

Zong Guang's eyes were flashing with enlightenment, and he asked anxiously: "Dad, what do you mean..."

Zong Gu raised his hand and blocked his words: "Ahao solved the problem from the root. Now the army of Panshi City is elite. If you have the chance, you should go to Loong Pass. Apart from combat experience, the Panshi City battle group is no different from the warriors who have been stationed at the Pass for many years."

"...I've thought about it. You are still young, and I have to make some decisions for you." Zong Ju said slowly: "The prisoners taken back this time will be given to Ahao's 20,000 people."

"Why?" Zong Guang completely didn't understand his father's thinking.

"Because we can't support so many people." Zong Gu sighed: "Mishui City is not as far away from the sea, and the surrounding arable land is limited. Even if the planting is improved according to the method taught by Ahao, it will be difficult for the grain production to increase significantly next year. Transforming prisoners is not as simple as saying, and they have to eat enough and keep them willingly. Otherwise, once there is shortage of food, they will still have to escape."

Zong Guang thought for a moment and said with a wry smile: "In this way, Panshi City will become very powerful."

Looking at his somewhat discouraged son, Zong Ju smiled faintly: "Think about it, maybe this is the arrangement of fate. Forcibly taking away things that do not belong to him will only bring disaster to us. I thought Ah Hao was a hard stone that could rely on when needed. Now it seems that he should be a mountain that can shelter us from wind and rain, and even provide shelter."

Zong Guang raised his head, and his eyes became more aware of the words just now: "What do you mean, follow him?"

"Follow him!" Zong Ju gave an affirmative answer.

...

In the south, on the road leading to Fang City, groups of lion warriors trotted forward. They were not armed and each of them only carried weapons. The reason for this was of course to reduce the load and increase the speed.

According to the barbarians' habits, they only wore leather armor during the march, and heavy metal armor was put in the car and handed over to the livestock for transportation. The light-equipped scout team was far away from the main force. Once they encountered danger, the soldiers immediately ran to the near the baggage truck to gather and prepare for the battle.

Such accidents rarely occur, at least in several battles led by Shi Yong to fight.

He rode on a tall horse. This was a horse he bought from the tiger tribe for a lot of money. Those tiger tribes who were more cunning than stingy people never sold stallions to the public, as if they were the most precious treasures in the world.

The cold wind blew on his face as if it was a knife. Shi Yong held the reins firmly and kept his upper body stable. He pursed his lips tightly, and his hard facial contour was mostly shrouded in darkness in the morning light. However, it was obvious from his constant clamping of the horse's belly that he was very anxious, and the messengers around him kept urging the team to speed up.

Your Majesty is still so wise that you can see the importance of the Pig tribe at a glance. The edict brought back by the messenger from the Roaring City made Shi Yong feel relieved. The 300,000 main forces are about to set off from the Roaring City, which means that his vanguard has guaranteed both the strength and the logistics. The only question now is whether the Pig King and Fangya City can last until reinforcements arrive?

"Start up, hurry up. You must arrive at the outpost camp before dark."

From Shattered Gold City to Fangya City, the road troops walked several times. He knew the places he passed along and sent dozens of cavalry and provocates to advance first. On the one hand, for the sake of alertness, on the other hand, he searched and arranged suitable temporary garrisons for the main force.

It was almost dark, and the soldiers of the Lion Clan who had been walking all day were already exhausted. Although they had rested several times on the way, they still felt sore feet and weak legs, and they just wanted to lie down and rest for a while.

Shi Yong considered more issues. If he could not arrive at the reserved location on time tonight, he would not be able to arrive at Fangya City before the sun sets tomorrow.

The night march is very dangerous, and Shi Yong is not sure whether the Niu tribe who besieged Fang City has received news of his troops. The Pig tribe is indeed very important, but if it is to help them trap the main force of Shattered Gold City, it will be really not worth the loss.

The sun is getting closer to the horizon, heavy, as if it can fall down at any time. To put it in the vulgar joke of the northern barbarians, "That's just a bad guy who has been holding it in for several days and hasn't pooped. Suddenly, I feel like I can take off my pants and solve it on the spot."

The dusk was approaching, and more and more black occupied the sky, and there was almost no sign of soldiers running on the ground. The anxious Shi Yong felt like a fire was lit in his heart. He knew that this impatience could not be revealed on his face, after all, he was the general of the army. He cursed in his heart that he deserved the damn time, the damn sun, and this extremely long and seemingly endless road.

A narrow valley appeared in front of him. Seeing the trumpet-shaped valley entrance not far away, Shi Yong's tense heart finally slowly relaxed. He let out a long sigh. Because of the tension, the eyes that had been looking around for a long time also felt a sour. He subconsciously raised the back of his hand and wiped the corners of his eyes, and gave an order to the guards beside him in a gentle tone: "Get faster and pass through this valley."

Although both are “speed-up”, the meanings represented by the first and second commands are completely different.

This valley is not long, about one mile. At the end of this passage is the outpost camp.

The sun, which could not support the suspended state, finally set below the horizon, and was dark all around. The soldiers of the lion clan obviously slowed down after entering the valley. It was not that they didn't want to be fast, but that the ground was covered with gravel and bushes, especially the snow melted slowly in this semi-enclosed environment than in other places. If you step on it, you can't even see your feet.

Shi Yong rode on his horse and was surrounded by soldiers and walked in the middle of the team.

For some reason, he suddenly had an indescribable sign of danger.

The team lit torches in front and behind, and there were not many. Dozens of people used one together, and the distance between the two torches in front and back was more than thirty meters away. Looking at the faint lights that had already walked far ahead and were swaying and flashing in the cold wind like stars, Shi Yong suddenly understood where the strange feeling in his heart came from.

He strangled the reins hard, and asked a messenger from the front, and asked anxiously: "When was the last time you received a message from the sentry in front?"

The messenger remembered this clearly and quickly replied: "Sir, it's this afternoon."

Shi Yong needs a more accurate answer: "How long has it been since now?"

"About five hours." The messenger thought for a moment and answered.

"So long?" Shi Yong's face suddenly changed drastically in the darkness. He asked quickly with some reluctance: "Since then, there has been no news about them?"

"Yes." The messenger's reaction was quick. His thinking overlapped with Shi Yong at this moment, and he looked shocked: "Sir, what do you mean..."

"Tell me my order, everyone will turn back and leave this valley immediately!" Shi Yong almost roared and gave the order.

It is difficult to pass commands in a dark environment. It needs to start from the starting point, follow the heads, and shout in turn to let people in the distance hear it. Shi Yong turned his horse's head. He was not worried about the front team that had already penetrated the valley. There were not many soldiers, at best, only a few thousand people. What is really important is the back team. The transmission speed is slow, and it takes a lot of time to complete the entire steering action. This feeling is like encountering traffic jams on the highway in the civilized era. When the last car at the end of the team got the news and began to turn around, it was enough to make the driver in front who was eager to leave this damn highway to waste all his patience and wait until he doubted his life.

Ten minutes have passed.

The waiting team still couldn't move. Everyone was looking forward to their own way, and Shi Yong couldn't help it. He regretted it. He had known that he shouldn't have entered the valley, so he should have sent someone to contact the outpost camp first. Of course, it might be because he was thinking too much, after all, there hasn't been any situation until now. Maybe he was suspicious and there was no so-called danger at all.

Suddenly, there were waves of riots coming from afar.

It was a noisy sound, like the slight sound of countless bugs crawling through the surface of the sand, and the foot limbs touching the gravel. They were dense, and the tiny sounds formed a scale, gradually amplifying into various terrible vibratoes.

Some ask for help, some shouts of killing, some screams, and countless steps trampling on the ground.

The fires in the distance were chaotic, and many torches moved randomly in the dark, without any rules, and completely lost order.

"What's going on? What happened?"

"I don't know, it seems to be in chaos behind."

"It's us outside the valley, what's wrong with them?"

The soldiers surrounded Shi Yong whispered, and they looked surprised and took their respective weapons one after another.

Shi Yong rode on the horse, and his position was high and he could see further than others.

His strong face was distorted by horror.

"Everyone is in a team, defending the formation... no, rush out, everyone is rushing out, we can't stay here!"

The back team was ambushed.

Someone attacked at night.

It was a long way to do it, but I never dreamed that the other party would choose to start at this time. They even launched an attack before all the lion troops entered the valley.

All the soldiers rushed to the entrance of the valley in chaos, and the already crowded road was instantly blocked.
Chapter completed!