Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

In the northern grasslands in autumn, the grass and trees have gradually turned yellow, and the north wind is getting stronger day by day, making people's faces dry and painful.

Gailoufang (surname Gailou, given name Fang), the leader of the Xianbei Gailou tribe, was riding his horses wildly in the cold wind with the dozen or so warriors left in the tribe. Their destination was the large tribe Holka located to the west of Gailou.

Building a building could not believe that what happened yesterday would happen to his own tribe. Although his tribe was not strong, it was not weak either. There were more than a thousand young and strong people, and countless cattle, sheep and horses. The grassland had abundant rainfall this year, and the grass and trees grew particularly lush. The tribe had stored enough grass and fodder. They had made a trip to Yunzhong some time ago and had stored enough food to have a rich winter. Unexpectedly, everything they had turned to ashes overnight.

Yesterday at midnight, a group of Han horse thieves visited his tribe. When he was awakened by screams while building a building, he found that the tribe was full of shouts and sounds of killing. His warriors rushed out in a hurry without even having time to put on their clothes.

When he casually put on leather armor and came out with a bow and spear, he found that there were fires everywhere in the tribe. He didn't know how many horse thieves had come, but he could tell from the screams that these voices came from his tribe.

Gai Loushang hurriedly organized warriors to go everywhere to resist the enemy, but in the chaos not many people heard his orders. Some rushed to the place where the shouting was loudest, and some came from other places to gather. The horse bandits fired rockets one after another, and more and more tents caught fire. Men, women, and children were all screaming and running around.

In the firelight, he saw a strong man in full armor coming towards him with a big knife. The warriors who faced him had no power to fight back. The knife in the strong man's hand was like the scythe of the god of death, reaping the lives of the warriors. The armor on his body was like a solid wall, and no weapon could cause any harm to him.

More and more horse thieves followed the strong man and charged in. Some of them were armed with guns, and some were armed with swords. But no matter which one, the sharpness of their weapons was far beyond his imagination. The sword in the warrior's hand was like cheese in the opponent's hand. It was cut in half with a light stroke, and then there were more frequent screams. The warriors he was proud of were no match for the horse thieves at all, and were killed in a short while.

The tribesmen fled in all directions, and he could only escape with the remaining warriors. However, the bows of these horse thieves were too terrible. Even after they had fled a hundred steps away, many arrows fell and many people around him were hit by arrows.

While fleeing, he looked back and saw that all the cattle, sheep and horses in the tribe had been robbed, and almost all the tents and food had been burned. His tribe was completely destroyed!

Gai Loufang raised the whip and hit the horse's buttocks hard, and the horse ran forward faster and faster.

He would rather give these cattle and sheep to the Holka tribe than let them fall into the hands of the Han people. He wants to kill these Han people and avenge the tribal warriors!

…………

"Commander, Commander, we have gathered a total of 132 stray horses. Together with the horses in the stables, there are 672 horses, and more than 4,000 cattle and sheep."

A soldier in charge of counting livestock trotted over and said excitedly.

He used to eat meat only a few times a year, but in the past six months he ate so much that he felt like vomiting. With so many cattle and sheep brought back, even if they stopped breeding, they would be enough for the village to eat for a year and a half.

"Well, including these, we have robbed about two thousand horses this time, which is almost enough."

As Xu Chu spoke, he saw that the soldiers and Han slaves had already driven the tribe's cattle, sheep, and horses to one place, and had packed up the looted food, firewood, and other items. He ordered, "Go back! If you stay any longer, you'll be surrounded and ambushed."

A team of more than a thousand people drove tens of thousands of cattle, sheep and horses, slowly heading south in the sunshine.

Carrying so many livestock, the team would definitely not be able to move fast. According to Du Fei's idea, all the cattle and sheep should be abandoned, and only the war horses and Han slaves can be taken back. These Han slaves are mostly herdsmen from Yunzhong County and other counties. Their horsemanship is more sophisticated than that of the Golden Eagle Guards. Without the burden of cattle and sheep, they can return to the Han territory quickly.

But the soldiers and Xu Chu disagreed. The soldiers were reluctant, but Xu Chu was fearless. He listened to Du Fei's words and laughed heartily, saying, "It would be even better if the pursuers come. We can kill them!"

As he said this, he asked Du Fei to lead the Han slaves, cattle and sheep ahead, and he would follow behind.

How could Du Fei be at ease? Over the past six months, his hundreds of troops first intercepted and killed the Huns, and then entered the Xianbei tribe to show off their power. Relying on magical weapons and surprise attacks, they have gone through several battles and never been defeated. No matter whether it was Xu Chu or the Golden Eagle Guards, the entire army exuded confidence and arrogance.

He remembered what Ah Mo had told him before he left, "Xu Chu is brave and confident, and he's a bit overconfident because he's read a few military books with me. It's okay if he encounters some setbacks along the way, but if everything goes smoothly, he'll become even more arrogant and fearless. Although you have an unruly personality, you can still be clear-headed at critical moments. Please give him some advice."

"I'm not afraid on the way there, but I'm afraid that carrying too many horses on the return trip will arouse envy. You don't have to go back the same way. Take the Yanmen Pass, which is close to Youzhou. This side is closer to Taihang Mountain. Regardless of whether there are Hu people pursuing us or soldiers intercepting us, you must send someone to ask Zhang Yan for help in advance. The benefits he promises will be determined based on the results of the battle."

At the time, he was surprised. If there were no pursuers, why would he ask Zhang Yan for help? Ah Mo said that if they plundered too many horses, cattle, and sheep, it would surely attract the envy of others. Even Zhang Yan himself might covet the war horses. It would be better to offer him a share of the spoils to gain his protection.

As early as the day he decided to return, Du Fei sent several fast riders to Hutuo River to ask Zhang Feiyan for help. According to the itinerary, the person asking for help might have just arrived in Taihang at this time. Du Fei prayed secretly, hoping that he would not encounter a large group of pursuers.

The sun set in the sky again, and the road was not visible at night. Everyone was eager to return home, but they did not dare to take the risk of traveling too fast. In the evening, the team stopped to set up camp.

The Golden Eagle Guards and Han slaves were divided into four groups and took turns to keep watch.

Xu Chu inspected the place and found nothing amiss, so he went into the tent and lay down in his clothes.

The wind started to blow in the middle of the night, and the whistling sound came from far away and got closer, howling wildly on the open grassland, like the howling of ghosts and wolves, which was creepy.

The top of the tent was rustling in the wind, and the soldiers on guard outside hurriedly moved things to hold it down to prevent it from being overturned. In the second half of the night, the wind suddenly died down, and the sound of something falling was heard again. Xu Chu turned over without paying any attention and continued to snore.

The next morning, the sun did not shine on the grassland as usual. Xu Chu crawled out of the tent and looked at the earth that had turned white overnight. He was stunned.

Looking up, except for the companions around me who were brown and black, the rest was white everywhere. The vast white stretched from under my feet to the distance, merging with the gray sky. Occasionally, there were a few bald trees standing alone on the snowfield, also with a head of white.

Fortunately, we had looked at the direction when we rested yesterday and knew which direction the south was. We packed up our tents and hurried on our way.

After walking for another day, everyone thought that the team was heading south, but when the sun came out the next day, the south they originally thought was turned into the west. The group had to change their route and continue heading south based on the direction determined by the sun.

The weather on the grassland in autumn is changeable. On the third day, it snowed again. Xu Chu called the Han slaves to ask for directions, but no one could explain it clearly after everyone talked about it.

"Haven't you lived on the grasslands for a long time? How come you can't recognize it?"

One of the men replied, "Who would travel far in such a snowy day? Not to mention us, even the Hu people wouldn't dare travel far in the winter snow. Besides, walking in the snow on the grassland for a long time will make your eyes sore and tear up. In severe cases, you won't even be able to open your eyes."

In fact, it snowed the day before yesterday and some people felt eye discomfort, but then the sun came out and some of the snow melted, revealing some grass, so they no longer felt uncomfortable.

But if the snow falls again today, I'm afraid it won't melt. If we go in the wrong direction again, we might really be trapped in the grassland.

With so many livestock, a lot of fodder is consumed every day. Before the snow falls, there is grass for them to eat on the road. Once the snow completely covers the grassland, the livestock will starve to death. Although the team also brought some food and fodder, it is only enough for the war horses to chew.

If the horses cannot be brought back to Taihang, all efforts will be in vain. There is also the most important problem of energy. The Golden Eagle Guards, together with the rescued Han slaves, have a total of more than 1,800 people. A lot of firewood is consumed for cooking every day. Before, they could cut grass, chop trees, and collect cow and horse dung for fuel. If they are trapped in one place for several months, all people, including livestock, will be frozen to death.

Xu Chu was anxious and secretly regretted that he should have gone back earlier. Afraid of taking the wrong road again, he simply stopped the team and sent people to cut grass everywhere to store more fodder, and then set off again after the sun came out.

They waited for two days, and the snow stopped, but more and more people felt eye discomfort, and the sky was still overcast without a trace of sunshine. A Han slave told Xu Chu that such weather would only become more frequent in the future, and they would not be able to go out for the next few months.