Chapter 50 Fighter

When Xia Hourong was anxious, Aldahir was also restless. He is about to enter the desert, but Xia Hourong has been following him. This is not a good thing. If it's just a Roman mercenary, Ardashier is not worried. Although those barbarian cavalry are brave and good at fighting, they are not familiar with the desert and most of them dare not follow up, but those Bedouin are different. They travel in the desert all year round, and the Pisans are familiar with life in the desert, not to mention them. He is still a plundering expert. Once he enters the desert, there are 10,000 people in the dark, which is not a happy thing.

He wanted to ambush Xia Hourong, but after several competitions, he found that Xia Hourong was not a generalist. With the familiarity with the terrain of the Bedouin people, he could always find and use the Sassanids' intentions, which made the Sasans suffer a little. Although it was not a big setback every time, it was not a blow to morale. Chang Da. If it hadn't just defeated the Romans, Aldahir doubted that he would be furious by the indomitable pursuit of Xiahou Rong.

"Shapur, you..." Aldahir used to shout, and as soon as he said it, he remembered that Shapur had been cut off by Sun Shao in Aksum City. Poor him didn't even have a whole body. Aldahir closed his mouth tightly and raised his hand to block in front of his eyes. Two rows of turbid tears flowed down his thin face, dripping on the hot iron armor.

Aldahir regretted it. He now feels that he has made a big mistake. Maybe it is because he has never suffered in the war with the nobles and Romans, so he has always thought that the biggest enemy is the Yue people who supported the Romans and the nobles. He thought that he had defeated the Yue people and cut off the Romans. With the root of the Guishuang people, he could deal with them calmly in the future, so he launched an expedition, hoping to surround Sun Shao and at least drive him out of Aksum. He never thought that the expedition to Aksum would be such a result. He not only failed to defeat the Yue people, but also drove them out of Aksum, but also broke Shapur. And Alpha's two sons are now jointly attacked by the Romans, the Guishuang people and the Yue people.

How did things turn out like this? Aldahir was puzzled. How could the civil strife of the Romans subside so quickly? With the tens of thousands of new Dings of Gordian, he could defeat Maximus? Is it... Is it the Vietnamese who are going to make trouble in it? Aldahir was suddenly shocked, and a chill surged up, which made his unfree master shiver.

All the way, Ardahir suddenly figured out all the joints, and suddenly his whole body was cold and stunned. He shook his head and instinctively wanted to reject this view, but he thought in this direction uncontrollably. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and his face became very ugly.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Hankos, the high priest of the army, saw that his face was not right, and quickly shouted softly. Ardahir was shocked, looked at him sideways, withdrew his mind, and asked cover-uply, "What's the matter?"

"We are about to pass through the Great Rift Valley." Hankos pointed to the mountain shadow in front of him, "I just prayed to Ahura, and Ahura's reply..." Hankos's voice was very low. Although he didn't say the following words, the expression on his face let Aldahir know that the result must be bad.

"Does Ahura have any inspiration?" Aldahir's heart pounded, and his temples tightened, making him very uncomfortable. This is the first time that the result of his prayer has been unlucky since he fought back to rest.

"No." Hankos looked at the mountain that was shining like gold by the setting sun in the distance, shook his head, and the worry on his face was obvious. He held the holy flame formula with his fingers, closed his eyes and silently recited a passage, and finally opened his eyes in disappointment.

While he was praying, Aldahir kept holding his breath. Seeing that his face was still so depressed, he couldn't help sinking. Neither of them spoke, but they saw each other's thoughts in their respective eyes.

"Don't say that you must be tired. Have a good rest, take a shower, and then pray." Ardahir didn't know whether he was comforting himself or Hankos. He muttered, "Maybe you haven't served Allah well for a long time. He's angry."

Hankos's scalp exploded. Aldahir's words were equivalent to the death sentence. He didn't dare to say more about his ominous foreboding. He hurriedly said and bowed back.

Aldahir immediately called the people who inquired about the news to inquire, focusing on the whereabouts of Lu Xun's troops. He learned that Lu Xun was still on his way to Gudes two days ago. At their speed, it was impossible to get here in two days. Although the soldiers in the front valley had not come back, the news half a day ago said It's very calm there, so there should be no problem.

Aldahir thought nervously for a long time, and finally positioned the biggest threat on Xia Hourong behind him. He immediately ordered the army to rush forward and strive to cross the valley. No matter how bad it was, he would spend the night in the eastern half of the valley. With the cover of the valley, even if Xia Hourong wants to launch an attack, he can only start from the rear, and he can concentrate on defense.

With an order, the army accelerated and quickly entered the valley. The sunset gradually fell on the horizon, and the towering valley quickly darkened, like a giant beast opening its mouth and swallowing the Sassanid army, and the sky and earth quickly fell into darkness.

Xia Hourong watched the Sassan army disappear into the valley from afar, but he could only sigh. He didn't dare to enter the valley easily. With Aldahir's caution, it was impossible for him not to leave a backhand. Maybe he would send someone to wait for him in the valley.

"It seems that I can only chase into the desert." Xia Hourong sighed for a long time. He tried his best, but finally failed to catch Aldahir and watched him leave. This kind of loss was simply a heart-pouring pain for Xia Hourong, who had always been smooth.

But he is rational enough to know that he can't take the initiative at this time, otherwise the only thing waiting for him is to die.

It doesn't matter. Anyway, the Sassanians have suffered in this battle, and there is still a battle to fight later. At worst, they will arrest him under the lockdown of Taixi. Xia Hourong said to the leaders who were also disappointed behind him. Although the leaders really wanted to catch up into the valley, they were also worried about an ambush. Besides, Xia Hourong's command ability along the way was obvious to all. They escaped from the ambush circle of the Sassanids several times, which in turn benefited with a little advantage of the Sassanids. It was all because of Xia Hourong's vigilance that they were already right and wrong with this young Han. I often admire it.

Xia Hourong set up a camp 20 miles outside the valley. He put the scouts all the way to the entrance of the valley. For the sake of safety, he not only arranged the open whistle, but also the dark whistle. He even arranged the soldiers to hold thousands of miles of eyes to look around all the time in the camp. This is a flat ground and there is no danger to guard. If the Sassanids rush out, they will be in danger.

Contrary to the sizzly hot day, the desert night is cold, the moonlight sprinkles on the endless beach, and the night wind blows unobstructed, making people cold all over. Xia Hourong was depressed and couldn't sleep. There was a fire outside the tent. He sat on the ground with a group of barbarian leaders, drank and chatted, and inquired about their folk customs by the way.

These barbarian leaders admire Xia Hourong very much. They are all proud of being able to drink with Xia Hourong. Everyone talks about the war in the past few days and praises Xia Hourong's military ability in the best language. Some praise him as Apollo, and some say Odin, and they compare him to the god of war of their own race. There was a Greek who compared it to Athena. As soon as he said his words, everyone laughed. Xia Hourong raised his glass and said to the Greeks, "How dare I compare with the goddess Athena? In fact, I am also an ordinary person. I can have a little insignificant achievements this time. It is all thanks to you. It's my honor for you to fight side by side.

The more modest he is, the happier everyone is. It is difficult for these people to have the opportunity to be with the nobles. Even if they are together, those nobles will not talk to them so politely. As a general of the Han Empire, Xia Hourong is the son-in-law of Princess Sheba. Now he is still their commander. Originally, he had knowledge and fighting. It's awesome, but it's too embarrassing for them to sit and chat with them. Although the barbarians don't know too much etiquette, they have their own measures. They are not disgusted with nobles like Xia Hourong. On the contrary, they have a sense of intimacy.

"Yes, you have a young centurion who looks very brave and good at fighting, but his hair is black. Isn't he your Teutonic?" Xia Hourong said to Styllico, the leader of the Teutonic tribe, with a smile.

"He is indeed not our Teutonic. As for where he is, I don't know where he is. I only know that he is a country in the East." Stylike smiled proudly and said, "However, it is true that he is a warrior. Not long after he came to our tribe, he met the warriors selected by our tribe and asked to participate in the selection. At first, everyone was not very optimistic about him. I laughed at him at that time. I didn't expect that he almost defeated all the warriors of our tribe. He not only won the right to participate in the expedition, but also won mine. Daughter."

"Hahaha..." Everyone laughed. Many people were impressed by the black-haired warrior. Especially when he was besieged by the Sassanian heavy cavalry, he magically retreated. It was really incredible. Now when it comes to him, everyone becomes excited and shout that they want to call him to have a look. Compare with him. Wu. Stilico held his braided beard and said with a smile on his face, "It's a coincidence that he can't be idle. He took his subordinates to the front to inquire about the military situation. He may be outside the valley now."

Xia Hourong nodded with some disappointment.

"General, don't worry, I'll let him come to see the general as soon as he comes back." Stilico said respectfully, "I can tell from his usual words that he respects the general very much. The day before yesterday, he said to me that the general must be able to take us to defeat the Sassanids, so I followed him. Otherwise, hahaha..."

Stilico laughed and didn't say any more. This time, he followed Xia Hourong to chase the Sassanids. Although he did not suffer losses, his income was limited. He really felt that it was not worth it. However, he was talking about his most proud subordinates in front of everyone. He was embarrassed to say that he was wrong.

Xia Hourong saw his regret, and he also had such a regret in his heart. Not only did not take advantage of it, but Sun Shao's big plan finally came to nothing. Lu Xun was far away in Goodes, and there must be no way to stop the Sassanians. If he wanted to achieve further results, he could only catch up with Tai Xifeng. Let the Sassanid army return to Teixifeng in this way, and the plan to weaken the Sassanids was considered a failure.

"It's a pity." Xia Hourong shook his head: "I really failed his high expectations. I can only take you here."

Everyone was a little gloomy, but they were not as sad as Xia Hourong. Soon they became happy. Halfway through the wine, they stood up and danced around the fire. Xia Hourong was not in a good mood. It was just to see the dance of the barbarians to relieve boredom, which was meaningless.

After drinking and singing, everyone fell asleep. Xia Hourong returned to his tent, but he couldn't sleep for a long time. He never thought that he would leave home thousands of miles and take a foreigner to fight against the Sassanians he had never even heard of. This war involved all four great empires in the world. The allied forces of the Han Empire even went on an expedition for thousands of miles. With the help of Vietnam's strong maritime transportation ability, they not only occupied the initiative of the battlefield, but also led the war, mobilizing Guishuang and Rome to besiege Sassan.

Only Sun Shao has such strength and such a strategy. Unfortunately, God didn't have long eyes and actually wasted the fighters created by Sun Shao's painstakingly. All this was to blame the Romans. It was they who missed the fighters and let the Sassanids go for nothing.

"Alas, the powerful Rome is no longer powerful." Xia Hourong remembered Sun Shao's words again and couldn't help sighing. He knew that Sun Shao had a deep study of the Romans, and Funan College had scholars specializing in Rome. He learned about the history of Rome from the materials collected by those scholars. It was also because he learned the history of Rome that he thought more deeply and farther. From Rome from a city-state to a powerful empire, to today's stormy scenery, to the possible situation in Rome in the future, he thought a lot. Xia Hourong knew that Sun Shao had the idea of competing with Rome, but he also knew that Sun Shao's study of Rome was not only to compete with Rome, but also to attract experience from the rise and fall of Rome to avoid repeating the same mistakes. From this point of view, Sun Shao wanted to use the stone of his mountain to attack the jade of the mountain.

Xia Hourong's thoughts came one after another. It took a long time before he fell asleep in a daze. Shortly after he fell asleep, he suddenly heard a shout and immediately jumped up again. He subconsciously put on his armor and shouted, "What happened?"

"The Teutonic people want to see you." The guard strode into the tent and replied.

Xia Hourong looked at the sky outside and smiled bitterly. He thought to me that I wanted to see the black-haired warrior, but you don't have to be in such a hurry. You can come before dawn today, and don't let people rest. Although he didn't want to, he still dressed well and welcomed the Teutonic people in. To his surprise, it was not the black-haired warrior who came in, but Stiliko. As soon as Stilico entered the account, he gasped and shouted, "General, the opportunity has come."

"Opportunity? What's the chance?" Xia Hourong is inexplicable.

"In the valley... There is a fight in the valley. The Sassanids seem to have been ambushed by someone. It's lively. We... Shall we go there and have a look?" Before Stilico finished speaking, several mercenary leaders rushed in and looked at Xia Hourong with warm eyes.

When Xia Hourong heard this, his heart was shocked. He strode out of the tent, jumped on a war horse, raised his eyes for thousands of miles and looked into the distance. There was a faint firelight in the valley in the distance. He listened again. When the barbarian leaders saw it, they all held their breath for fear of interfering with Xia Hourong's judgment.

Ye Feng sent a shout of killing. Although it was very ethereal, he could still hear it carefully. Xia Hourong suppressed the impulse in his heart, jumped off the horse and looked around for a week. His face had been calm, and only his eyes were shining.

"Have we come back?" Xia Hourong turned around and asked his personal guard general. It was a Bedouin man who belonged to the Sheba royal family. It was sent by King Sheba to protect Xia Hourong's safety. He shook his head: "Not yet, but something so big has happened. They should be able to come back soon."

"Who knew the news first?" Xia Hourong asked the mercenary generals again.

Everyone turned their eyes to Stilico.

Stilico bowed and said, "It was my subordinates who found it. He sent people back to say that they heard the sound of fierce fighting in the valley, as if the Sassanids had been ambushed. He was not sure that he had taken people into the valley to inquire. He sent someone back to report first and asked me to inform the general to be ready. If it is true that the Sassanids are ambushed, then we can rush up and rob. If not, we should also be prepared.

Xia Hourong nodded and became more interested in the black-haired warrior. He was brave and resourceful to make such a judgment in a hurry and ventured himself to dig deep into the valley. He suddenly had an impulse to see this dark-haired warrior immediately.

"Very good." Xia Hourong praised and explained, "It's night now, and the situation is unknown. Everyone is ready just in case, and wait until more accurate news comes. If someone really ambushed the Sassanids, of course we can't miss this opportunity, but we also have to prevent the Sassanid from deliberately making a trap to lure us. In that case, once we enter the valley, I'm afraid we won't have many chances to come out.

After listening to Xia Hourong's analysis, everyone nodded and said yes. They just couldn't make up their minds, so they came together to listen to Xia Hourong's arrangement. They are both nervous and expectant. Anyway, the troops have gathered, and it is impossible to sleep again. They just wait for the latest news of the Teutonic people together.

Soon, the scouts arranged by Xia Hourong rushed out of the night one by one and returned to the camp, confirming the news of changes in the valley, but they did not know what had happened in the valley. Xia Hourong was a little anxious, although his face was still calm. But his hand involuntarily tapped gently on the case.

Time seemed to be frozen, and the ready-to-dep camp was full of silent restlessness. The knights stopped one by one and stood beside their horses, ready to jump on the horse to escape or start to charge. None of them spoke, but their nervous eyes showed up. From time to time, they looked up at the valley in the distance.

There are constant scouts rushing back to report the news, but Xia Hourong has not issued the latest order, and more than 10,000 knights are waiting anxiously. The war horse sprayed his nose uneasily, and his iron hooves shaved the sand on the ground, shaking his mane from time to time.

In everyone's expectations, the Teutonic scouts finally appeared. Everyone watched Stilko rush into Xiahou Rong's tent with the panting scouts. After a short time, Xia Hourong's personal guards rushed out of the tent, raised their horns, raised their cheeks, and blew the horns of attack. Immediately after that, the heavily armed Xia Hourong rushed out of the tent, jumped on the horse, and took the lead in rushing out of the camp under the support of the guards.

Behind him, more than 10,000 knights came out and soon disappeared into the night.

(to be continued)