Martial Arts World Assassin

Chapter 152 Rescue
The fast horses traveled for several days.

They arrived at the 'Iron Gate Pass' in southern Xinjiang.

This is not a man-made wall, but a natural gap in the middle of a row of high mountains with a river flowing through the gap. From a distance, it looks like a fortress.

Fei Hongjin saw that Huang Sixi had a strange look on his face and was staring at Shanhe curiously.

She smiled and introduced: "This is the famous Peacock River in our southern Xinjiang. If you cross this mountain and walk a few miles along the river, you will reach the territory of the Lobu tribe!"

Passing through Tiemenguan, there is a vast grassland ahead, full of greenery, bright sunshine, and a picturesque scene.

Huang Sixi only felt that the sky was high and the earth was vast, and his mood also became bold.

He and Fei Hongjin rode in front, with the Kazakh riders following behind, and began to gallop across the grassland. After a while, they arrived at the Lobu tribe where tents were everywhere.

The herdsmen saw the red scarf fluttering from afar and immediately came to greet her, shouting happily: "Our Hamaya is home!"

As the shouting spread, more and more herdsmen gathered.

Huang Sixi discovered that the children in the tribe were also chasing and running, constantly shouting Fei Hongjin's name, and they did not look unfamiliar.

Huang Sixi thought about it carefully and understood that although Fei Hongjin had lived in seclusion in Tianshan for more than ten years and had never appeared in public on the grassland during this period, she would not forget her own tribe. Fei Hongjin would regularly return to the Lobu tribe to visit her relatives, and children could often see the female leader of the tribe.

They rode their horses to a large tent where several old men stood with white hair and beards. They looked like elders of the Lobu tribe. They bowed and saluted Fei Hongjin.

Fei Hongjin asked them first: "Where is Uncle Kuka?"

Kuka is the brother of Fei Hongjin's father and the current chief of the Rob tribe.

The elder replied, "He went to the territory of the Kadar tribe. Not long ago, the Qing soldiers robbed the grassland again. I heard that several tribes of the Kazakhs were massacred. Everyone was worried and frightened. Menglu, the chief of the Kadar tribe, invited the chiefs of all tribes to a meeting to discuss countermeasures."

After the elder finished speaking, he looked at the riders behind Fei Hongjin and recognized Ma Gaiti and Man Lingna. These two were elders of the Kazakh tribe. They were now injured, probably because of the battle with the Qing soldiers.

The elder asked Mageti and Manlingna, "How is the situation of your Hasak tribe? It is said that your tribe leader Hu Keji was captured by the Qing soldiers. Is this true?"

During the journey these days, Ma Gaiti was carefully treated by Huang Sixi and had already woken up.

With Manlingna's help, he came to the elders and said, "Our chieftain has indeed fallen into the hands of the Qing soldiers, but we, the Kazakhs, are the tribe with the largest population in the southern Xinjiang grasslands. We can definitely rescue the chieftain!"

After hearing this, the elder sighed slightly, as if he did not agree with Mageti's bold words.

There are dozens of tribes in the entire southern Xinjiang.

The largest ethnic groups are the Kazakhs and the Kadars. This time when the Qing troops invaded the grassland, they first attacked the Kazakhs in order to destroy this main force of the grassland.

At present, the leader of the Kazakh tribe has been captured by the Qing soldiers, and elders such as Mageti and Manlingna have become stray dogs. The collapse of the Kazakh power is imminent. If the Qing soldiers also disintegrate the Kadar tribe, the southern Xinjiang grasslands will fall into the hands of the Qing soldiers.

The current situation is not favorable to the grassland tribes, so it is no wonder that the elders of the Rob tribe are pessimistic.

Seeing the elder frowning, Fei Hongjin comforted him, "The Qing soldiers started to attack southern Xinjiang more than 20 years ago, but they only occupied some large cities in Yizhou and Khotan. The grasslands and pastures are still in our hands. Uncle Kuka has already attended the alliance. As long as we unite, it will not be difficult to repel the Qing soldiers!"

More than a decade ago, Fei Hongjin gathered all the tribal forces from the southern Xinjiang grasslands and fought a decisive battle with the Qing troops, but he failed to win, resulting in heavy losses for the tribes on the grasslands.

But they occupied almost all the pastures in the grassland and could migrate continuously by relying on the geographical advantages. The Qing army did not have the ability to annex them all. The most they could do was to defend the city and then slowly defeat them one by one.

This time the Qing troops are coming back, the result should be the same as before, they will retreat after burning and killing a group of tribes.

Fei Hongjin did not discuss the issue of the Qing soldiers too much. He first asked the elders to make room for the Kazakh riders to rest and recuperate.

By the time all the work was done, it was already dusk.

Fei Hongjin had already prepared a banquet to entertain Huang Sixi, but a burst of crying and shouting spread into the tribe, interrupting all her interest.

She walked out of the tent and saw a warrior covered in blood kneeling in front of her.

She recognized at once that the warrior was the son of her uncle Kuka and her cousin Agai.

Agai complained bitterly: "Hamaya, Menglu, the chief of the Kadar tribe, is a traitor. He acted as a lackey of the Qing court. He pretended to invite us to an alliance, but gave us poisoned wine to drink..."

Fei Hongjin stepped forward and grabbed A Gai by the collar, asking anxiously, "Was Uncle Kuka poisoned to death?"

Agai was stunned for a moment and shook his head: "The poisoned wine is a knockout drug. Dad was not poisoned to death, but was captured by that old dog Menglu! And the chiefs of the twenty-four tribes that attended the alliance, including the Tashan, Shache, Samar, and Kancha, were all captured by Menglu. The thousands of cavalrymen we brought were surrounded and almost all died tragically in the territory of the Kadar tribe!"

When he said this, the nearby Lobu herdsmen were immediately filled with indignation and angrily scolded the Kadar people as shameless traitors, and said that Meng Lu was worse than pigs and dogs for plotting against his brothers on the grassland.

"Hamaya, we are willing to ride on our war horses, hold our scimitars, and follow you to settle accounts with the Kadar tribe and chop off Menglu's dog head!"

"But the Kadar tribe is the largest tribe in southern Xinjiang. Their knights are more numerous than the entire population of our Lobu tribe. We can't defeat them!"

"Then contact the warriors of the other twenty-four tribes and send out the troops together!"

"Our twenty-four tribes combined are not much stronger than the Kadar tribe. That old dog Meng Lu dared to rebel, so he must have colluded with the Qing soldiers. If we attack rashly, we might fall into a trap and be ambushed by the Kadar tribe and the Qing soldiers!"

"Hey, if only the Khazak tribe hadn't been defeated by the Qing soldiers, our 24 tribes plus the Khazak warriors would never be afraid of the Kadar tribe joining forces with the Qing soldiers!"

The Lobu herders were talking among themselves and couldn't help looking at the Kazakh riders nearby.

They all thought that the Qing troops attacked the Kazakh tribe first in order to prepare for the rebellion of the Kadar people.

First, defeat the Kazakh forces and then induce the Kadar forces to rebel. Then the two largest tribes in the southern Xinjiang grasslands will be completely subdued.

By the way, let Menglu, the chief of the Kadar tribe, pretend to hold an alliance and arrest the chiefs of the other 24 tribes. Afterwards, he can force these tribes to surrender.

This is a strategy that kills two birds with one stone. It is truly insidious and vicious.

In fact, more than ten years ago, Meng Lu, the chief of the Kadar tribe, was also a staunch anti-Qing warrior. However, as the Qing soldiers continued to plunder the grasslands, the number of Kadar knights became fewer and fewer, and their territory became smaller and smaller. If they continued to fight, they would be wiped out by the Qing soldiers sooner or later.

For the future of the tribe, Meng Lu decided to negotiate with the Qing soldiers. He could negotiate first and get the best treatment. "Hamaya, what should we do?" All the herdsmen present looked at Fei Hongjin.

"We..." For a moment, Fei Hongjin didn't have a good solution.

This time the Qing troops came well prepared, and the Kadar tribe had already surrendered. The next step for the Qing troops would most likely be to use the Kadar knights to launch a sweep of the other twenty-four tribes.

Fei Hongjin felt that the most urgent task was to immediately contact the other twenty-four tribes and gather troops to resist the attacks of the Qing troops and the Kadar people. If the tribes on the grassland could not unite together, they would definitely be divided and defeated, and then the only way left would be to wander and migrate.

But now all the chiefs of the twenty-four tribes have been captured, and the herdsmen of these tribes will not trust outsiders, so it is extremely difficult to summon them to fight.

If Fei Hongjin had not lived in seclusion in Tianshan, she could have relied on her personal prestige to lobby these tribes. However, Fei Hongjin has been in seclusion for more than ten years. Except for the Lobu tribe, who among the other twenty-four tribes would be willing to work for her?

When Fei Hongjin was worried, she heard Huang Sixi ask, "Where is the Kadar tribe? I'm willing to go there, maybe I can rescue Chief Kuka!"

Fei Hongjin's eyes lit up, thinking that Huang Sixi's martial arts were profound, and it would not be difficult for him to enter and exit the Kadar tribe's territory, but she immediately shook her head: "It's useless to save Uncle Kuka alone. It can't stop the Qing soldiers from invading the grassland tribes!"

Huang Sixi asked again: "What if we rescue all the patriarchs of the twenty-four tribes? Will the problem still not be solved?"

Fei Hongjin smiled bitterly: "Master Huang, I know you are a master of martial arts, but the captured people from the twenty-four tribes are not only the tribe leaders, but also the elders and confidants of the tribes, totaling about 100 to 200 people. Once a rescue operation is carried out, it will definitely alert the knights of the Kadar tribe. If they are surrounded by the knights, they will be in danger of death."

Since Huang Sixi volunteered to rescue people, he naturally would not rescue a group of dead people.

He provided Fei Hongjin with two strategies.

One is to sneak into the territory of the Kadar tribe, capture the tribe leader Meng Lu, then use disguise to impersonate Meng Lu, and then release the 24 tribe hostages directly under the pretext of Meng Lu's order.

Secondly, if Menglu is restricted within the Kadar tribe and his orders are ineffective, then all the elders and leaders who hold power in the Kadar tribe should be arrested and then used to exchange hostages.

After hearing this, Fei Hongjin's mind suddenly opened up.

She gave Huang Sixi a thumbs up and praised him, "Smart tactics are better than brute force. What Mr. Huang said is the best strategy, but how good is your disguise? Can you really disguise yourself as Meng Lu and make him look real?"

If there is a flaw in the disguise, then you will end up losing more than you gain.

Huang Sixi gave her a demonstration on the spot.

After she confirmed Huang Sixi's magical skills in changing his appearance, she immediately suggested: "We need to set off tonight without delay. If we delay, Meng Lu will use hostages to force Zhuluo's troops to surrender. Even if we rescue the hostages, it will not help the situation at all."

Huang Sixi did not object.

He and Fei Hongjin traveled lightly, each with several fast horses, and headed to the Kadar territory at night.

The two arrived at the place at noon the next day.

As a result, I heard extremely unfavorable news.

In order to prevent any further complications, Meng Lu personally escorted more than a hundred hostages to Yizhou City yesterday.

When Fei Hongjin learned of this, he looked worried: "Yizhou City is the military center of the Qing court's attack on the grassland tribes. The commander is the Qing general Nalan Xiuji, who is in charge of tens of thousands of Qing cavalry stationed in southern Xinjiang. Once the hostages are taken to Yizhou City, they can never be rescued!"

"That's not necessarily the case!"

Huang Sixi was very calm. He signaled Fei Hongjin, "You lead the way. Let's go to Yizhou City immediately!"

"Master Huang, the defense of Yizhou City is strict, with many soldiers and generals, and there are martial arts masters guarding it. Do you really want to go?"

Fei Hongjin felt that Yizhou City was the most dangerous den of dragons and tigers in the world, and the risk of losing one's life was too great if one rashly entered the city.

"We have come this far, so we can't give up easily."

Huang Sixi saw Fei Hongjin's worried expression and said, "Just lead the way for me. When we get to Yizhou City, you wait outside the city. I will go into the city alone!"

"Ah, Mr. Huang, please don't misunderstand me. I am not afraid of anything. I dare to brave mountains of swords and seas of fire!"

Fei Hongjin quickly explained: "That day at the foot of Tianshan Mountain, Mr. Huang, you have already helped us once! I just don't want Mr. Huang to take risks. You are from the Central Plains, and you don't need to risk your life for us, the people of Southern Xinjiang!"

Huang Sixi looked at her and said seriously, "It's true that I am from the Central Plains, but there is no difference between the Central Plains and Southern Xinjiang now. We are all suffering from the war of the Tartars. We can only have peace by supporting each other. So you don't need to feel guilty because of my help. I will bear the risks myself, and I will take my own life and death!"

Fei Hongjin was deeply moved, and she suddenly felt very proud: "I will accompany Mr. Huang to Yizhou. We will live and die together. This is the happiest thing in life!"

Huang Sixi smiled slightly: "You think Yizhou City is a den of dragons and tigers, but in my eyes it is very ordinary. There may be some dangers, but it will definitely not kill me or you! Whip up and hurry up!"

Seeing him so relaxed, Fei Hongjin no longer felt nervous and laughed loudly with Huang Sixi. He whipped his horse and rushed towards Yizhou City.

On the way, Huang Sixi asked her, "Who is the Yizhou general Nalan Xiuji whom you just mentioned?"

Fei Hongjin said, "Nalan Xiuji is a Manchu bannerman. His ancestors were nobles in the Qing court. He used to be a general in Hangzhou, but was later assassinated by the Golden Snake Hero. He was worried that his life would be in danger if he continued to serve in the Central Plains, so he asked to be transferred to Southern Xinjiang."

When Huang Sixi heard the word "Golden Snake", he felt as if he was in a dream: "Who is the Golden Snake Hero?"

Fei Hongjin did not answer first, but asked: "How long have you been away from the Central Plains, Mr. Huang? The Golden Snake Hero has been a powerful figure in the Central Plains for thirty years, and you have never heard of his name?"

It has been exactly ten years since Huang Sixi left "Blood and Sword".

But after breaking the wall, "Blooded Rivers and Lakes" had obviously changed. Only ten years had passed since he left, but "Blooded Rivers and Lakes" had changed rapidly in time and space, and more than twenty years had passed.

Huang Sixi pondered for a moment and replied, "I am actually a remnant of the barbarians. When I left the Central Plains, the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was still in power."

"The Golden Snake Hero became famous during the Chongzhen period. His name is Yuan Chengzhi!"

Fei Hongjin's eyes were filled with admiration as he introduced the identity of the Golden Snake Hero: "His father Yuan Chonghuan is even more famous. He used to be the governor of Liaodong during the Ming Dynasty. It is rumored that Nurhaci, the first emperor of Manchuria, was killed by Governor Yuan using a red cannon!"

(End of this chapter)