Water Margin people

The deserted village is now in ruins, and the original houses have collapsed due to erosion by wind and rain.

The soldiers quickly took some wood and lit a bonfire.

"This place looks like an ambush point!"

Zhang Qing observed the surrounding environment with the little light left in the sky.

The village is located near an oasis, in a low-lying area surrounded by sand dunes and weathered rock mountains.

"The terrain here is too low! If the enemy cavalry swoops down, we may not be able to stop them even with guns."

A general spoke up and said that the diving cavalry were very fast, and as long as there were enough of them, they could not be stopped by guns at close range.

"General, let's set up camp on that hill over there."

A general pointed to the hill on the other side, which was also a commanding height. As long as they controlled that place, no matter how many enemies came, they would not be enough.

"If we go over there, the enemy won't appear."

Zhang Qing shook his head. This place was so suitable for an ambush. If he didn't fall into the trap, how would the enemy be fooled?

Zhang Qing observed his surroundings carefully. Since he had chosen to be fooled, he decided to use himself as bait to lure out the enemy.

Zhang Qing observed for a long time before stopping near a sand dune.

“This is a great place!”

Zhang Qing used the spear in his hand to test the hardness of the sand dune, and finally said with satisfaction.

"Put explosives at regular intervals on this sand dune! Then set up a few sentry posts on the hill over there and light a bonfire."

Zhang Qing made arrangements.

The slope of this sand dune is relatively gentle, which is the best diving route for cavalry. The explosives can make the sand dunes flow like an avalanche, and the diving cavalry will be swallowed by the quicksand.

The loosened sand would also hinder the cavalry's charge, leaving enough time for them to react.

As for setting up a watchtower and lighting a bonfire on the hill on the other side, it was to prevent the enemy from attacking from there.

After all the external arrangements were completed, Zhang Qing returned to the village. He asked the soldiers to gather all the bricks and stones and build a temporary barrier outside the village.

Night fell quickly, bonfires were lit in the deserted village, and the aroma of barbecue drifted into the valley.

Zhang Qing looked at the sizzling barbecue in front of him and fell into deep thought.

"General, are you thinking about how to deal with the thieves?"

A general looked at Zhang Qing and asked.

"No, they are just thieves. What's so scary about them? I was thinking, we are both in charge of a region, but the Red Sea and the Persian Plateau are quiet, while only here in the Persian Gulf there are undercurrents. Do they think I'm easy to bully?"

Zhang Qing spoke, he seemed to have become a soft persimmon.

"General, let's kill as many people as possible this time to let those Arabs know our strengths and weaknesses."

All the generals were furious after hearing this. They were all Qi’s army, how could they be looked down upon?

After dinner, the soldiers took their positions and the army was divided into three waves to take turns on guard to ensure rest and not be affected by the enemy's fatigue tactics.

midnight.

"It's so quiet!"

Zhang Qing looked at the starry sky and the crescent moon and said, there are wolves in the desert, especially in areas near river valley oases.

Night is the time when wolves go out to hunt for food, and the smell of barbecue has already spread to the village, and there will be a few wolf howls outside.

"kill!"

Suddenly, shouts and screams arose from the direction of the sand dunes, and in an instant the sound of thousands of horses galloping was heard.

The masked bandits holding torches rushed down, shouting and waving machetes.

"Sure enough, it's here!"

Zhang Qing sneered as he watched the enemy swooping down.

"General!" Several generals looked at Zhang Qing, waiting for his order to ignite the explosives.

"Wait, wait until the enemy gets closer!"

Zhang Qing shook his head.

When the enemy was almost in sight, the sound of explosions resounded throughout the sand dunes, the sand was blown away by the huge shock wave of the explosion, and the blast wave caused the diving cavalry to fall off their horses.

The sand dunes, which were originally quite solid, suddenly began to flow slowly. The movement of the sand dunes was very slow at first, but the war horses standing on them could not bear it and fell to the ground and struggled due to discomfort.

The flow of the sand dunes became faster and faster, and soon it was like a stream of water, swallowing up all the cavalry on it.

The following cavalry wanted to dive, but the soft sand dunes made it difficult for them to advance.

At this time, Zhang Qing had already led his army to the flank.

"Kill me!"

Zhang Qing swung the spear in his hand and led his troops to charge towards the enemy's flank.

The bandits were not afraid when they saw the enemy appear, and immediately shouted to organize people to fight back.

But the Qi army would never give them this opportunity. Gunshots rang out, and the charging cavalrymen fired volleys of gunfire, knocking the bandits off their horses one after another.

With guns paving the way, the bandits were helpless, their formation in disarray and they just wanted to escape.

"Want to run!"

Zhang Qing threw a flying stone in his hand, and the two sand bandits fell off their horses with blood on their heads.

The rest of the soldiers also quickly changed their formation, and teams of a hundred began to maneuver, split and surround the enemy.

"Hey! My flying stone skill is almost eliminated!"

Zhang Qing watched the soldiers killing the enemies quickly and sighed helplessly. He looked at the flying stone in his hand and felt that he was no longer as good as an ordinary person with a gun.

"I should learn this too!"

Zhang Qing took a rifle from his waist, raised it and fired, and an enemy soldier who was riding a horse and fleeing with a torch in the distance fell off his horse and died.

“This thing is really interesting.”

Zhang Qing looked at the fallen soldier and laughed. Although he had only learned it for a short time, he had mastered the spear technique very well.

The war was completely one-sided. More than 5,000 sand bandits were quickly defeated and the night was filled with cries of grief.

The war did not end until dawn, and when the sun rose, the yellow sand was already covered with corpses.

"Gather all those who are still breathing."

Zhang Qing gave orders to the soldiers.

Dozens of wounded enemies were brought to Zhang Qing.

"Who are you? Who sent you?"

Zhang Qing looked at those people and asked. After being in the Persian Gulf for so long, he also learned the Arab language.

"Please spare us, sir. We are bandits in the desert. We just want to rob some money."

A bearded cannibal spoke up.

"Hey, cut off one of his arms."

Zhang Qing gave the order directly.

When the soldiers received the order, they immediately swung their swords and chopped off the man's arm. The man rolled on the ground screaming, with blood all over the floor.

"You should use your brains when you lie. If you want to rob money, you should find caravans, villages, and armies to rob? You are so stupid, do you think I am also stupid?"

Zhang Qing said bluntly.

"Sir, we are desert bandits. We have been wandering in the desert since the last war. Saladin recruited us not long ago and asked us to gather the civilians in the villages on the two rivers and attack the patrolling army at the right time."

The others no longer dared to lie and told the whole story. (End of this chapter)