Chapter 47 Virtuality

"We take looting as our business, plundering our enemies and neighbors.

If no one can plunder, we will plunder our brothers..."

The song full of wild surnames came from afar in the hot desert. More than a dozen Bedouin men wrapped in headscarves and robes rode all the way on camels. The thick camel paws kicked up the sand, forming a smoke behind them. The man on the hunchback waved the steel knife in his hand and chased more than a hundred people behind him from time to time. The Sassanid cavalry's eyes were full of contempt and did not care about the approaching danger.

The Sassan light cavalry chased after them. They were one of the ten hundred-person teams sent by Aldashier to suppress the bandits. They were led by the Bedouin for a few days. This time, they finally caught a group of Bedouin robbers. What made them happier was that the number of Bedouin was not large and not their opponents at all. As soon as they saw them, they twisted. The head runs away, which makes the hungry and thirsty Sassanians' blood boil and their mouths dry.

Aldahir said that if you catch the Bedouin, the property that originally belonged to Sassan is still Sassan. It turns out that the ownerless property is a trophy. Whoever catches them belongs to whom. Everyone knows that the Bedouin are looting experts. They must have a lot of oil and water on their bodies, so it is also a fat man who came out to suppress the bandits. Several generals on board competed with them.

"C catch up and kill these Bedouin people." The centurion waved his sword and hoarsely boosted morale. In fact, morale has been very high, and there is no need for him to encourage it at all. The camel has good endurance, and the short-term outbreak can barely compare with the war horse, but it can't last long. Now it has run out for several miles, and the speed of the camel has obviously dropped. They can already see the bulging package on the hunchback, and their hearts are full of greedy desire. They can't wait to fly up with their wings. It's best to In front of all the companions, there is no need for the centurion to cheer up.

The Bedouin rushed to a sand dune. They stood on the sand dune, turned over the camel, and did not run away. Instead, they made a posture to fight. The Sassanid laughed. It seemed that the Bedouin knew that there was no way to escape and were ready to fight to the death. However, although the courage of the Bedouin people is commendable, now there is a huge difference in the number of people, which is far from being made up by courage. At most, they just die with more dignity. In the eyes of the Sassanians, this kind of stubborn resistance does not have much meaning. It is just to make them spend more time.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. In this expedition, the Sassanids, who had always been invincible, were aggrieved. Prince Alpha died in the first battle and Prince Shapur died in the last battle. For the aggressive Sas, this is simply a great shame. In the face of the Yue people hiding in the high wall, they could not help even if they crushed their fists. But now, they very much hope to wash away their shame through the blood of these Bedouins.

"Kill it!" With a long roar, the sword in his hand waved, the knights under him understood it, divided into three ways in the high-speed Mercedes-Benz, and continued to rush forward all the way, and the other two routes were wrapped up from both sides. As they galloped, they took off the round shield hanging on the saddle and prepared for the Bedoin's shooting.

The Bedouin really began to shoot. Everyone had a bow and more than a dozen arrows flew towards the Sassanians. However, the Sassanids were scattered, and the number of Bedouin people was too small, and the arrow array did not show any power. After seeing the arrows of the Yue people as fierce as rain, the arrows of the Bedouin people are now as worth mentioning as mosquitoes. As long as they protect the key points, it will not hurt even if they are shot by them.

Each Bedouin shot two or three arrows. The Sassanids had rushed in front of them. They shouted loudly, put away their bows, raised their machete, and instigated the camels to rush down to the Sassanians directly opposite. With the slope of the sand dunes, they quickly fought with the Sassanids.

The light of the knife reflected, and the blood splashed and dripped into the yellow sand under his feet.

Smelling the fresh smell of blood, the Sassanids were excited and inexplicably. They roared and waving swords and chopped vigorously. The two sides were divided with one touch. The advantage of Sassanids was fully reflected. Two Bedouins died, three were seriously injured, and more than half were slightly injured, while only one of them died in battle, and several were slightly injured. The victory or defeat was very clear. It is obvious.

" Turn around on the top of the sand dunes and don't let these robbers run away." The centurion was the first to rush over. As he slowed down, he roared loudly. The subordinates on both sides saw the situation here. He had turned his head, turned around halfway up the mountain, and accelerated to chase the fleeing Bedouins. The flying horseshoe raised waves of sand and dust, like a running yellow dragon.

When the centurion reached the top of the sand dunes, he finally stopped the war horse, dropped the horse's head, and began to accelerate again. After running dozens of steps, he suddenly felt something was wrong. Just now, when he was at the top of the sand dunes, he glanced casually, as if he saw some shadows behind the sand dunes.

Do the Bedouin have an ambush? The centurion turned his head and looked at it, and his scalp suddenly exploded, and the originally passionate invitation turned into a scream.

"Be careful of the back--"

Most of the Sassanids were trying to chase the fleeing Bedouin. All their attention was on the package on the hunchback of the Bedouin. They did not hear the shouting of the centurion at all. Only the two cavalry beside the centurion heard it. They turned their heads and looked back and saw nearly a hundred horses like ghosts from the sand. Qiu came out behind, and they did not shout. They urged the horse to chase down the hillside. One of the fastest horses went straight to the centurion. A young warrior with a black hair almost fell on the back of the horse. It was as fast as the wind. In a blink of an eye, he rushed to the back of the centurion, and the spear in his hand trembled with a cold light. The spearhead hit the sword wielded by the centurion with all his strength like an eye. With a crisp sound, the centurion's blade took off his hand and flew more than ten steps into the yellow sand.

Before the knife entered the ground, the spear in the young man's hand had pierced the centurion's chest. The spear shook and threw the screaming centurion high out. The war horse swept by like a gust of wind and rushed between the two stunned Sassanians. The spear in his hand shook left and right, and the two Sassanids seemed to be pushed hard. After a while, they couldn't sit still anymore. They didn't have time to attack the young warrior. They danced to restore their balance. Before they could sit still, the two knights roared past. The sharp sword gently waved and cut off their heads. The headless body fell down from the horse and rolled down the sand dunes. The blood spewed out of the cavity and spilled all the way.

More than a hundred knights rushed down from the sand dunes and caught the Sassanid off guard. They were skilled in riding and skilled in martial arts. In particular, the spear-wieling warrior was extremely brave. There were no one under his command. The spears were like death, and they took the lives of five Sassanid knights one after another.

Under the attack of the Bedouin and these suddenly rushing warriors, the Sassanians soon couldn't support it. In the end, only a dozen knights rushed out of the encirclement and fled.

The battlefield quickly calmed down. A Bedouin man with a knife on his arm jumped down from his hunchback, strode to the young warrior's horse, and stroked his chest and saluted: "Thank you for the help of the warriors. Otherwise, I'm afraid we will be bad luck today."

The warrior laughed, sat on the horse, bowed a little, and saluted: "We are allies. We should help each other. Is your injury okay?"

"A little injury, it's okay." The Bedouin man said disapprovingly, "I owe you a favor today. If you have something to do in the future, just let me know. I, Abraham, will never hesitate to help even if it is thousands of miles away."

"Hahaha, thank you very much." The warrior smiled, reached out and took a sheepskin bag from the horse's back and threw it to Abraham: "This is Yue people's wine. Pour a little on the wound, and it will get better faster."

Ara Boham took it in his hand, bit the plug with his mouth, sniffed it, and said with a smile, "It's a waste of such good wine to wash the wound. It's better to let me take a few sips. The wound will naturally be fine."

Everyone laughed.

Aldahir, with a yellow face, lay slanting on the march**, looking at the knight with blood on his face. His thick eyebrows were locked. After a while, he waved his hand and motioned to the knight who had escaped from death to go down to rest first. He wrapped himself in his coat and muttered, "How could the Germans appear in Egypt? Is it that the Romans were also there? Here?"

The Teutonics are one of the Germans. They are known for being particularly excited when fighting. They are called "The Wrath of Teutonic". They have always been active in the north of the Mediterranean. Later, some people became part of the Roman Legion as mercenaries, but they rarely come to the south of the Mediterranean. If they go to the south of the Mediterranean, they will Across the Mediterranean Sea or Asia Minor and Syria, because they are ferocious and easy to kill, they are usually poisoned by them wherever they go, so neither the Sassanids nor the Romans will easily let them enter the hinterland. Now that these people have arrived in Egypt, they can't help but be suspicious.

The Romans are still there. They have just solved the crisis of civil strife, and they should not let the Teutonics come. So these people came from Sassanid territory? Or were they simply sent by the Romans to delay his trip? Or even the Romans are here? However, if they want to attack Sassan, they should go to Armenia, or even attack Tesifon directly. Why did they come to Egypt?

Ardahir was puzzled. He knew nothing about Tai Sifeng's situation. During this period, he had not received any news from Tai Sifeng. He was very worried about Tai Xifeng's situation. Now when he heard that the Teutonic people suddenly appeared in Egypt, he was even more nervous. An ominous feeling made him tasteless.

In the Allied barracks, Cui Qian shook his hand and went away. Zhuge saw it and quickly got up and followed him. He took Cui Qian's arm and said, "General Zuo is angry."

"What's the anger?" Cui Qian said angrily, "This is a scholar at all. Does he know how to fight? The good bitter lake didn't stay and insisted on withdrawing to Goodes City (Jerusalem). He just didn't want our sailors to participate in the war. Cui Qian lost his temper and turned to Zhuge Zhi and said, "Jong, I don't care. Anyway, my fleet is still in the Mediterranean Sea, and this is not my battlefield. I just sent someone here, and the king didn't arrange me to fight here. Besides, in such a large place in the Mediterranean Sea, among other things, it will take years to patrol once. I really don't want to spend it here. But Ji Gong, you are a little wronged. Is the task given to you by the king is to transport them here?

Zhuge saw that Cui Qian's words were provocative. Although he felt the same way, he still said earnestly, "General Zuo, General Lu was appointed by the king, not to mention that he was the king's concubine. At least he is now the general representative of our Yue, the Romans and Tianzhu people. It's all here. If we have internal discord, won't it be a joke?

Cui Qian listened to Zhuge Zhi mention Sun Shao, with a hesitant look on his face. He was very dissatisfied with Sun Shao's appointment of Lu Xun as a general this time. He always thought he was the most suitable candidate. He is the first general under Sun Shao, and even the former general Su's thick legs did not fight as much as him. This time, he took the risk of a long voyage to the Mediterranean Sea and killed Maximus in World War I, which can be said to be a great achievement in the war. At this time, he should be the best candidate for the general, and it is not worth it for him to follow Sun Shao so much without regret for the sake of fighting a war. Year. However, Sun Shao actually appointed Lu Xun as a general and let Cui Qian obey Lu Xun's command, which made him very unhappy.

However, he has followed Sun Shao for so many years and watched Sun Shao come to today step by step. He admired Sun Shao's mind very much. He dared not to pay attention to Lu Xun. Now Zhuge straight out of Sun Shao, but he had to think twice.

Zhuge saw that he was relieved and then said, "The king used himself as bait this time to attract the Sass to Aksum for more than half a year and create such a good fighter plane. Now the Sassanids are in a hurry to rush back to the nest. It is a big deal to block here. I don't think the king will make a hasty decision so hastily. Since he let Lu Xun do it. General, there must be his reason. Maybe..." He hesitated for a moment: "It's not sure that he will come in person. If you leave in anger, the king can't see you at that time. What do you think? General Zuo, you are the most important force in the king's hands. You can't let the king down.

Cui Qian's heart moved and he was immediately shocked. Yes, now that Aksum City has been relieved, there is no need for Sun Shao to stay in Aksum anymore. Maybe he is on his way here. Lu Xun is just a temporary commander. If Sun Shao arrives and Cui Qian returns to the Mediterranean, won't Sun Shao be very angry? Thinking of this, Cui Qian smiled and said gratefully, "Mr. Ji, thank you for reminding me that my surname is Ziye. If it hadn't been for your words, I would have missed the big deal."

Zhuge Zhi smiled faintly and said, "The general knows more about the king than I do. Even if I don't say it, the general understands it. I just don't want outsiders to see jokes, so I dare to persuade the general. If there is anything wrong, please forgive me.

Cui Qian laughed and pointed at Zhuge Zhi with his finger and said, "Mr. Ji, you have remained unchanged for more than ten years, and you still have that tepid surname, which is very similar to your brother. Let's go for a drink!"

"So, I'm going to disturb the general's wine again." Zhuge laughed straight, and the two walked side by side.

In the big tent, Goldian and his son were a little embarrassed, but Xia Hourong arched his hand quietly and said, "General Lu, the Sassanids are getting closer and closer, and our casualties are increasing every day. Roman mercenaries fighting can alleviate our predicament, but if there are too many people, I'm afraid it will be counterproductive and cause Aldahir's suspicion. In my opinion, this is probably the only way. If the general decides to intercept the Sassanians in Goodes City, we will leave as soon as possible and make some preparations when we get there. If we decide to do it here, then we should not be half-hearted and enter the position immediately to avoid delaying the fighters.

Lu Xun nodded with a smile: "General Xiahou's words are reasonable. We should have prepared early. However, before withdrawing to Jerusalem, I have to fight with Ardahir here.

Xia Hourong was stunned for a moment and thought for a moment, but he nodded with understanding and asked no more questions. When Lu Xun saw it, he secretly praised himself. Xia Hourong was worthy of the name of a prodigy. His thinking was so fast that he was really within reach. He just showed his mouth, and he understood the intention. No wonder Sun Shao had always praised him very much. He would rather give such a large part of Arabia to him to run than hope that he would return to the State of Wei. For your own opponent.

Xia Hourong and Lu Xun spoke Chinese. Goldian and his son couldn't understand. Seeing that although they didn't speak much, they seemed to have a deep meaning, they couldn't help looking at each other and were suspicious. Lu Xun looked at it and smiled faintly: "Two generals, let me tell my father and son first. If you have any ideas about father and son, you might as well bring them up in person. Let's discuss it together. Do you think it's okay?"

Goldian listened to the translation and nodded repeatedly. They were also very puzzled by Lu Xun's just saying that he would go to Goodes to intercept Ardahir. Although Goodes City has a city to defend and the terrain is good, if you really fight there to intercept the Sassanids, why do you come here again? Besides, the interception here is not bad. Between the two big lakes, you can fight with Aldahir and frustrate his sharpness. Maybe it is possible to defeat Aldahir here. You should know that their total strength has exceeded that of Aldahir, and they have been resting for more than half a month, but Aldahir is on a long-distance march and their morale is very low.

"General, please speak." Although Goldian was full of doubts, he still said politely.

Lu Xun smiled gently: "The reason why I decided to intercept Ardahir in Goodes is that after Goodes, it is the vast desert. Before entering the desert, Ardahir must be full of supplies and prepared. Gooders is his most ideal place, so it is expected to plunder Goodes.

Goldian was stunned for a moment and immediately realized something. Aldahir was all about going to Goodes to replenish his supplies, but when he arrived at Gooders and found that there were heavy troops, what should he do? Don't attack Goodes and leave? That thousand-mile desert is not a joke. He can get in and may not get out. The only way is to attack Goodes and take Goodes before leaving. In this case, Lu Xun doesn't have to worry about the whereabouts of the opponent's cavalry. He doesn't even have to fight with his opponent. The opponent will take the initiative to come to fight with him. The advantage of the cavalry has turned into a disadvantage - the cavalry is good at field warfare, but not good at attacking the city, which has been verified under the city of Aksum. If you intercept Aldahir here, a big problem is how to determine the marching route of Aldahir. Once they are careless and found ambush by Aldahir, it is completely possible for him not to pass at another location at the speed of the cavalry. The coalition is mainly infantry, and they can't keep up with Aldahir. The pace could only watch Ardahir run away.

When a place was changed, the initiative was transferred from Ardahir's side to the other side, forcing Ardahir to give up his strengths to attack the city, which was wonderful.

Goldian nodded repeatedly, with an admiring smile on his face. This elegant-looking Han man was indeed a master soldier.

"So... why are you fighting against Aldahir here again?" Little Gordian is still a little puzzled.

"The purpose of fighting here is to reassure Ardahir and make him think that we are here, not in Goodes." Lu Xun explained patiently, "Aldahir is a very shrewd person. If we let him return to Taisifeng safely all the way, can he believe it? He will move forward cautiously all the way, and it is possible to replenish the water here. You are familiar with the situation in the desert, and you know that water is more important than food in the desert. It is about 2,000 miles from Gusde to Taisifeng. At their speed, it can be reached in about half a month. You can save some food. If you really can't do it, you can kill horses and camels, but what about water? It can't be supported by drinking the blood of livestock alone.

Little Goldian's eyes lit up and grabbed the words and said, "So, if we intercept him here, whether it is successful or not, he will rest assured, and then rush directly to Goodes. When he arrives at Goodes and wants to replenish water, he has to attack Goodes City. Otherwise, he will either walk into the desert with an empty water bag. Or walk another three or four hundred miles and come back here to replenish water.

Lu Xun nodded quickly and praised with a smile, "The general is really experienced, and he suddenly guessed the intention."

Little Gordian smiled with a little complacency, but after taking a look at Laozi's gloomy face, he came back. He didn't understand the strategy he had come up with until now that he was not smart, and he was still complacent. It was simply a shame. He blushed, sat aside and lowered his head.

"General's clever plan, but since we are going to fight here, how can we have time to get to Goodes City to prepare?" Goldian said quietly, "They have four legs, but we have two legs."

"So, we can't all be here. We have to leave some people here to intercept, and the others rush to Goodes to defend the city." Lu Xun said sincerely: "The people who intercept here should be good at defense in the field, while those who rush to Goodes should be good at guarding the city. If the wrong candidate is arranged, they may have all their previous achievements. The old general has rich experience in fighting, and also has rich experience in fighting with the Sassanians. He must understand the truth.

Goldian was stunned. Only then did he find that Lu Xun's original idea was to let the Romans intercept the Sassanids here, but the Han people ran to Goodes to defend the city. The reason is also simple, because he sent mercenaries to help the Bedouin rob. Aldahir may have guessed the appearance of the Romans, but the Han people did not go out from beginning to end. Aldahir could not have guessed that there were 50,000 or 60,000 Han troops waiting for him in Goodes. He would probably think that there were only Bedouin and Luo here. Horseman. If the Han people intercepted here, the strength of the coalition would be exposed to Ardahir.

Goldian was very unhappy, and Lu Xun counted him in. You go to Goodes City safely, but let us ride hard in the wild and the dominant number of Sassan? If you want to use Sassanid knives to weaken our strength, you can't do it so obviously.

Lu Xun saw the change in Goldian's expression, and he inadvertently glanced at Xia Hourong. Xia Hourong stood up, picked up a cup of tea and walked to Goldian. He arched his hand and said, "Ten thousand Bedouin people in the Sheba countries are willing to obey the command of the general. The general is resourceful. The Roman infantry phalanx is famous all over the world. It is my honor for Xia Hourong to fight side by side with the general."

(to be continued)