Traveling through ancient times: daily life on the run

Chapter 381 Discovering Enemy Troops

The next morning, Qin Bingrui led his Flying Tigers onto the city wall of the northwest gate.

Looking around, there was an endless desert with no grass growing. I guess the grass that did grow had been flattened by horse hooves.

Not far away, one can see discarded weapons and dead horses on the wasteland. A group of carrion vultures are circling low in the sky. Under their shadows are corpses that have been eaten until only the skeletons are left. It is impossible to tell whether they are human or horse.

General Yan Li stood on the city wall and prepared for full defense. When he saw Qin Bingrui leading his strange army of middle-aged and elderly people, he was very disdainful.

Seeing that he ignored him, Qin Bingrui shamelessly went to talk to him: "General Yan, no, it should be Brother Yan."

Yan Li lived up to his name, and his tone was even colder: "I'm not your elder brother. Don't call each other brothers on the battlefield."

"Oh, Brother Yan, your personality is really different from Yan Xuan's! But we will be a family from now on, so don't be so formal."

"I said……"

Qin Bingrui didn't bother to listen to him anymore. He saw several crossbows made from his drawings and said excitedly, "I didn't expect that the crossbows I drew would be recommended to you by Mr. Lin?"

After hearing this, Yan Li paused in his tracks.

"You said this is the crossbow you designed?"

Qin Bingrui raised a crossbow and aimed it at the flock of vultures coiled in mid-air, muttering, "I wonder if I can shoot that far?"

Yan Li was about to say that this thing was good, but few people who used it could hit targets too far away, so it was probably just good-looking but not very useful.

Just as the words were on the tip of his tongue, Qin Bingrui saw an arrow shoot down a circling vulture. The vulture screamed shrilly as it fell. He had thought the other vultures would be frightened and scatter, but unexpectedly, this group of creatures slid down quickly to grab the vulture that had just been shot down.

Qin Bingrui cursed: "Damn it, these things are disgusting! They should all be roasted and fed to the wolves. I wonder if the wolf cubs like them?"

The deputy general and a row of soldiers beside Yan Li almost popped their eyes when they heard a string of classic quotes coming out of a girl's mouth.

After a while, Xia Liang led her wild wolf team to the city wall, and Yan Xuan followed all the way.

When he saw Yan Li, Yan Xuan called out weakly, "Brother."

Yan Li glanced at him and just nodded without responding.

Xia Liang saw Qin Bingrui holding a crossbow and said with a smile: "Are you shooting arrows? Let me try it too."

Yan Li glanced at Xia Liang, his eyes still very cold. It seemed that he didn't like this woman.

Xia Liang dodged the crossbow in Qin Bingrui's hand and shot an arrow. A vulture fell to the ground, and the other vultures seemed to be frightened and flew away. The most important thing was to escape. In just a moment, there was no living thing on that wasteland.

The smile on Qin Bingrui's face was very stiff. Fortunately, the old emperor was already unconscious. If he were alive and heard a few old ministers say that a demon had descended into the world, wouldn't he and Sister Luo Hong be implicated and burned to death?

Yan Li knew that Miss Xia's ability was real, but when he saw the real scene again, he still couldn't believe it.

"Although this crossbow has a long range, it's too expensive and unsuitable for such a large battlefield. I think it's not as good as Sister Luo's improved version of the Zhuge Crossbow."

Xia Liang said casually, and Yan Xuan nodded repeatedly: "Grandfather also made a lot of improved versions of Zhuge Liannu, and we have some in our barracks."

When Yan Li heard this, he realized that the "Zhuge Crossbow" they were using for defense was also made by another girl. This group of women should not be underestimated.

His expression gradually improved.

Qin Bingrui then asked when Yan Li’s nomadic tribe’s army would attack again?

"It's hard to say. The leader of the last attack was called Wuer. He led 50,000 cavalry and attacked us for more than ten days."

"Then why did you evacuate?"

"I heard that the house was robbed."

"..."

Didn't we agree to be united? It seems the ancients were right. These small tribes and countries can't develop because they are too cunning and lack moral integrity.

Qin Bingrui chuckled. It seemed that the enemy would be able to unite and attack soon. Their team arrived at the right time.

"That's true, but our spies have already learned that several major tribal leaders have been unified by force under the leadership of a strong man named Shaobu. They now have an army of over 200,000 men marching directly towards our territory."

Qin Bingrui sighed: "They unified it quite quickly."

"As soon as their leader is killed by another leader, the tribe members will transfer to work under the new leader. As the saying goes, the winner takes it all. After all, we are all fighting for a piece of the grassland, just like everyone else."

Xia Liang muttered, "Unlike our Rong Dynasty, where we have to go through a lot of formalities, comply with etiquette and rules, and then pretend to inherit the throne."

Yan Xuan was too late to cover her mouth.

Yan Li snorted coldly: "You know a lot for a girl like you."

Xia Liang imitated him and snorted coldly.

Grabbing Yan Xuan's arm and leaning against him, he said with a slightly provocative look: "Of course, otherwise how could I talk to Yan Xuan? He and I have the same ideas."

Yan Xuan's mouth twitched, and he wanted to smile but couldn't.

Yan Li glared at his younger brother calmly. He had grown up, but he didn't even take his elder brother seriously for the sake of a woman. In the past, if his elder brother said something, he would not dare to refute him.

Qin Bingrui observed the brothers' behavior and sneered, "Two grown men, why are you so awkward? General Yan Li, sooner or later your second brother will grow up and break free from the protection of their parents and eldest brother. He will grow up to be a man of his own and protect his wife and children. You have to get used to it sooner rather than later."

Yan Li did not refute anything. These girls spoke like elders in their seventies or eighties, but they gave people the impression of being casual and frivolous. He really couldn't understand it.

His Royal Highness Prince Ning is willing to get along with them, which must mean that they are useful to some extent.

Qin Bingrui took out a modified telescope and handed it to Yan Li.

"This telescope can clearly see any enemy operation. Try it. If you think it's good, I'll give it to you as a dowry for my Xia Liang."

"..."

Yan Xuan wants to get married and have children, so of course it is not his turn as his brother to make the decision. However, the dowry is really a hot topic to handle.

"Take a look first. If you really don't want to use your dowry, you can exchange it for silver." Qin Bingrui smiled cunningly, "About 500,000 taels of silver will be enough."

The telescope was forced into Yan Li's hands, and Yan Xuan immediately taught his brother how to use the telescope. It would have been fine if he hadn't looked at it, but when he took a look, he found a dense group of people on horseback coming a few kilometers ahead.

"The entire army is ready for combat defense."

After a while, the war drums sounded continuously, and all the soldiers perked up and were ready to go.

When Yan Li put down the telescope and looked with his naked eyes, he didn't see any shadow. He wondered how far he could see.

Qin Bingrui looked through the telescope. Wow, it was a clear autumn day, and the grassland was very flat. He could see the scene at least 20 kilometers away.

If the enemy were riding fast on horseback, they could reach the battlefield in half an hour.