Qu Yi did not answer, but took the telescope from Yuan Xi's hand and looked down the mountain with a solemn expression.
Through the cylinder, he used the moonlight and bonfire to see the Hunnic bandit camp several miles away quite clearly.
Qu Yi thought to himself that although the young master had a strange personality, the things he made were very interesting. Things that were difficult to see clearly in the distance could be magnified several times through this small cylinder. If used well, it could be a powerful weapon on the battlefield.
Qu Yi highly praised this thing called a telescope, saying that it could be used to scout enemy positions, prevent sneak attacks, and even change the course of the battle!
He observed for a full quarter of an hour before handing the cylinder back to Yuan Xi and said, "It seems that the other party has not encountered any battles along the way, and their physical strength is well maintained. Many people still have the strength to dance and wrestle. If we go in to raid the camp tonight, the chances of winning are not great."
"The best way is to harass and exhaust them, making them busy dealing with us and unable to rest properly. Then, tomorrow, we can look for opportunities to strike."
Yuan Xi listened and praised, "Brother, you are right. We will do as you say and only harass them from a distance."
Qu Yi said proudly, "That's natural. I used to fight with the Huns a lot in Liang Province. If it weren't for the fact that the soldiers under the young master have not been trained for long and the number is too small, I would have taken the lead and charged down."
Yuan Xi gave a wry smile and said, "You also know my difficulties. The little food I tricked from my father is barely enough to support dozens of armored soldiers."
He was now just a nominal city guard, equivalent to a county commandant, with only a few hundred shi of salary.
And the monthly salary of an elite soldier in the Han Dynasty was about three shi.
Qu Yi snorted and thought to himself that he had never seen such a stingy aristocratic son, saving food to support soldiers, and all the income was robbed from bandits and outlaws.
In fact, the least risky way was to plunder the people, which almost all the princes had done, but Yuan Xi had always adhered to this bottom line.
Just when he was finally about to start making money, he ran into a tough nut to crack. The Hunnic bandits below were numerous, and there were even dozens of armored cavalrymen among them, which were not easy to deal with!
Therefore, he could only use a blunt knife to slowly cut the flesh and slowly plan.
Qu Yi had some selfish motives. He actually wanted to quickly resolve the battle with a great advantage and defeat Zhao Yun, whom the young master valued so much.
He wanted to prove that although his strength had been greatly reduced, he would not lose to an unknown little general!
Moreover, what was so good about Zhao Yun that he was worth so much attention from the young master?
If he encountered him, he would definitely have a good contest with him!
Yuan Xi saw Qu Yi's expression and probably guessed what he was thinking, and couldn't help but feel a headache.
Qu Yi was an extremely proud person. Gongsun Zan's famous White Horse Cavalry had also been defeated by him, so he would naturally not look down on Zhao Yun, who had not yet made a name for himself.
He said helplessly, "Brother Qu, I won't say anything else. I only hope that when you go into battle tomorrow, you will replace your current armor with your original ring-necked armor."
Qu Yi didn't understand why, but he also knew that most of the things Yuan Xi had said in the past few years had been quite accurate, so he nodded.
That night, the Hunnic bandits camped on the spot. Only the generals and nobles slept in the tents, while the other soldiers took off their armor and used it as pillows, sleeping near the bonfire.
As for the hundreds of women, they huddled together around the fire. Those who were close could feel some warmth, while those who were far away were shivering from the cold.
Many of them wanted to escape, but the dozen or so Hunnic bandits on night watch glared at them fiercely, extinguishing their thoughts.
The moon rose in the middle of the sky, and one of the night watchmen became a little sleepy. He walked back and forth in front of several bonfires, but suddenly heard some unusual movement in the air.
He raised his head and, with the help of the moonlight, saw dozens of small black dots flying rapidly in the night sky!
He hurriedly dodged, but was hit in the shoulder by a wooden arrow and immediately screamed. The wooden arrows fell with a 'poof, poof' sound, hitting several Hunnic soldiers next to the bonfire, and screams rang out for a while.
Before they could react, dozens more arrows came, and the Hunnic soldiers sleeping next to another bonfire were also hit, and several people died in their sleep in confusion.
Then came the third wave and the fourth wave.
The entire camp exploded at once. This Hunnic army was not a rabble. The shrill horn sounded immediately. Those with armor quickly put it on, and those without armor found cover, picked up their bows and arrows, and shot in the direction of the wooden arrows.
In less than a few dozen breaths, hundreds of Hunnic soldiers had picked up their weapons and rushed up the mountain.
As a result, they searched for a long time, but did not see a single person. The other party had already run away.
At the place where the arrows were shot, there were only a few piles of fresh dung.
In the camp below, the Hunnic chieftain held a wooden arrow stained with blood and urine and cursed loudly, and none of his subordinates dared to speak.
These Han dogs are too despicable!
The wooden arrows were made quite crudely, like those used by mountain hunters. What was even more disgusting was that each one was coated with urine, which was extremely vile.
If one was hit by such an arrow, if they were not treated and recuperated properly, they would get sick at best and die at worst.
These few rounds of wooden arrows killed more than a dozen people on the spot, and more than twenty people were injured. Moreover, these injuries were extremely difficult to treat and could only be cleaned and bandaged hastily.
As for whether the wounds would fester afterwards, it was up to each individual's fate.
He thought of the scout's report during the day about encountering hunters, and angrily threw the arrow on the ground. The folk customs of Youzhou were indeed sturdy, and it was obvious that those hunters had come to take revenge!
Mere civilians dared to provoke even their Hunnic tribe. They were too bold!
But how could there be so many hunters nearby?
The Hunnic chieftain was not worried that the Han Dynasty's official army had come. If that were the case, they would have used iron arrowheads.
They had already smoothed out the relationships along the way, and the route to Bing Province had also been arranged properly.
Now that the Han Dynasty was in chaos, the princes of various states either did not dare to provoke them, could not afford to provoke them, or had secret collusion with them.
Only those ignorant mountain outlaws dared to be so ignorant!
At this time, the soldiers who had gone up the mountain to search had all returned, saying that the other party had already escaped and could not be pursued.
Seeing that his hundreds of subordinates were exhausted after a night of tossing and turning, the Hunnic chieftain had no choice but to order them to rest in place for half a day.
He was furious in his heart. As soon as it dawned, he would search the nearby villages. Once he found them, he would definitely slaughter the entire village!
Getting up in the middle of the night, he and several of his generals were very tired. Seeing the soldiers go up the mountain to guard, he returned to his tent to sleep.
In less than an hour, the Hunnic chieftain was awakened again by a shrill cry. He rushed out of the tent and almost vomited blood.
The opposite side was still attacking with several waves of urine arrows, but the direction of the arrows was the mountain top opposite just now!
This time, he couldn't bear it anymore. He ordered dozens of people to stay behind to guard the captured women, and everyone else rushed up.
The result, of course, was in vain. After a night of tossing and turning, dawn was approaching.
At this time, the Hunnic chieftain saw that his hundreds of subordinates were exhausted after a night of tossing and turning, so he had to order them to rest in place for half a day.
Qu Yi held the cylinder and looked at the Hunnic soldiers who were starting to take turns resting and sleeping in place, and sneered at Yuan Xi: "These Hu dogs are so stupid, it saves us trouble."
"If they had gone up the mountain to seize the high ground and build a camp, it would have been difficult for us to deal with them."
"Before I came last night, I had already let those hundred elite soldiers rest and stand by. I will now quickly return to lead the troops and set up an array at the mouth of the valley!"
"Before that, please trouble the young master to hold them back first."
"I will show the young master the results of my two years of training!"
Several hours later, the sun was high in the sky, and Zhao Yun led a hundred soldiers around Beixin City and headed south. Along the way, he saw hoof prints on the ground, and he was thoughtful.
Why hadn't he seen Yuan Xi's troops yet? Had the other party taken the lead before him?
He suddenly reacted and ordered, "The entire army heads south at full speed!"