Chapter 23: Ma Yi is a Place Where the King's Law Prevails

"I never thought it would be this chaotic here!"

The girl in the red jacket rode a white horse of majestic bone structure, perched on high ground; below her were women holding crossbows, and on the outer ring, three thousand elite Hu Ren cavalry stood ready.

Outside the tribal camp, a large number of howling stragglers circled constantly, probing.

Horse trading in the Northern Frontier was not strictly restricted, but armor, especially horse armor, was strictly controlled and scarce.

These three thousand Hu Ren cavalrymen each wore a suit of rhinoceros armor, each equipped with a horse bow and a curved blade, already considered elite cavalry.

Those stragglers on the periphery could not even gather the most basic equipment.

"Aru, they were supposed to go join Po Po Liuhan Baling, so why are they heading south?"

The elders in the tribe looked completely confused, unable to grasp the situation at all.

The girl named Aru, however, looked as if she saw through the essence of the matter.

"There is no grain in the Northern Frontier; Pingcheng cannot provide it, and they do not have the courage to truly go to Woye Town, so they came south to plunder."

The tribal elder looked helpless.

"What is this? Does the court not care?"

"If the court could care, would Wang Yuanshen still be shrinking inside Pingcheng?"

The girl in the red jacket held no respect for this powerful Guangyang Wang; instead, her tone was disdainful, carrying a hint of mockery.

"Then what should we do?"

"As long as they do not attack, let us just wait them out!"

Aru actually did not want to fight. Fighting these tribes coming south was meaningless; it would only waste the lives of the young men in her tribe for nothing.

But reality did not match her thoughts; the cavalry on the periphery gathered more and more.

She did not know who had spread the news of her tribe's wealth, so now many people were watching her.

"Do they really think I am a woman and can be bullied by anyone?"

Seeing the enemy about to charge in, a flash of determination passed through the eyes of the girl in the red jacket. She immediately raised her hand and waved the riding crop in her hand.

The women in the tribe were rough women, as fierce as men; they immediately drew their crossbow strings, aimed, and prepared to shoot.

Just then, a loud, robust horn sound rang out.

The cavalry surrounding the girl's tribe suddenly fell into chaos.

The people below could not understand the situation, but the girl saw clearly.

A fully armored cavalryman carrying a large flag charged straight into this group of bandits, causing considerable chaos.

The bandits who had just been like tigers and wolves wanting to plunder the girl's tribe saw this man and became as obedient as a rabbit.

This warrior carrying the large flag aimed at the leader among these bandits; without saying a few words, he tied the opponent to his horse and turned to leave this place.

Among ten thousand men, he moved as if in an empty world.

The girl stood on high ground and saw only two characters engraved on that large flag.

"Brother Daye!"

Under the vast sky, amidst the chaotic world, there were still some people and some things that could move the girl.

"Is there still the King's Law? Is there still the law?"

In the city of Ma Yi, on a huge square, a row of captured Hu Ren leaders lay on the ground, being beaten on their buttocks with sticks.

Li Shuang stood at the door, shouting loudly.

"My people were riding in carriages, singing songs, happily transporting goods, and suddenly you robbed them!"

"You robbed them, so be it, but you should have known your goods! You gnawed ginseng like radishes, roasted Haizongqing like roast chicken, and made mink fur into underpants."

"Army Master, please calm your anger!"

Liu Gui stepped forward to advise, but Li Shuang's anger was still not subsiding.

"Beat them! Beat them to death!"

On the square, the air was filled with wails.

Gao Ang rode a horse, carrying a flag, galloped directly from outside the city to the square, and threw the captured Hu Ren leader off his horse.

"My Lord, the man has been captured."

"Was it you, kid, who killed my horse?"

The man captured by Gao Ang did not beg for mercy like the others; instead, he was very tough.

"Yes!"

"Why did you kill my horse?"

"Because I was hungry!"

The man stood up, speaking with righteous indignation, and glanced at Gao Ang, very unconvinced.

"If I hadn't gone two days without eating, do you think he could have caught me?"

Li Shuang clapped his hands, and servants from the residence brought over a large platter of mutton and several Hu cakes from the side.

"Eat your fill!"

The man did not stand on ceremony; he sat down and began to eat heartily.

In a short while, the Hu cakes and mutton on the short table were completely devoured by him.

After he finished, Li Shuang brought him another bowl of mutton soup.

The other party took it and drank it down in one gulp.

"I, She Di Gan, never eat for free. You give me food, and I will work for you. Speak, what do you want to do? Besides Guangyang Wang Wang Yuanshen, there is no one on the Northern Frontier grasslands I dare not kill!"

The man before him was somewhat single-minded, extremely tough and reckless.

Li Shuang smiled.

"You are a general appointed by the court, so how did you fall to such a state that you cannot even get a mouthful of food?"

"Our general titles are all empty; the soldiers under us are our own tribesmen, whom we must support ourselves. What use are the few coins the court gives? Every year we must go to Luoyang for guard duty, which is another huge expense. To speak gloomily, the court gives the Rouran more than it gives us."

"In that case, will you work for me from now on?"

She Di Gan asked.

"Can you make sure everyone in my tribe gets enough to eat?"

"I can!"

"Very well. As long as we can eat, I will wade through mountains of blades and seas of fire for you!"

Li Shuang pulled She Di Gan up, smiling.

"There is no need for so much trouble. We will use our minds, not risk our lives!"

"Leader, bad news."

Hulü Jin sat on the ground, his face as still as water, saying nothing as his subordinate reported:

"The situation in Pingcheng has escalated. Yuan Shen cannot explain it well. He arrested several people, and they all confessed that the Leader ordered them to cause the trouble!"

Hulü Guang shouted in anger:

"Nonsense! My father not only did not join them in causing trouble, but also helped the court calm the crowd. On what grounds do they slander us?"

"The Leader is famous, so he can take the blame!"

Hearing these words, Hulü Jin clenched both fists tightly.

"What did Prince Guangyang say?"

"Yuan Shen said nothing; he simply ordered the confessions to be filed."

"Since he said nothing, there is still a sliver of room."

Hulü Jin spoke slowly. Outside the great tent, a young girl in a red jacket walked in.

"General Hulü, do you still harbor illusions about Pingcheng?"

Hulü Jin was not at all surprised by the girl's arrival; he simply spoke calmly.

"Have you come to speak on behalf of the Buluhan tribe?"

"No. I am here only to tell the General what Yuan Shen will do next!"

Among this tent full of men, the girl showed not a shred of timidity; she carried an aura of authority that pressed everyone into keeping their heads down.

"Now that Li Shuang controls Mashiyi, this treasure trove, and controls the trade routes, with the grain supplies of Sizhou behind him, half of Hengzhou no longer obeys the orders from Pingcheng. A great chaos may erupt. Yuan Shen is not ignoring the General; he is waiting for a suitable opportunity to hand the General over, so he can give an account to the court."

A layer of gloom fell over the young Hulü Guang's heart. He looked at Hulü Jin and asked:

"Will the court really treat us this way?"

Hulü Jin did not answer.

After a long while, he sighed.

"Loyal and righteous people, yet Heaven's will will not allow it!"