A few dozen miles south of Luoshui lies Aoshan.
This place is only separated by a river from the capital city of Luoyang.
The cloud depths are unknown. The hills in the clouds and mist are clearly out of reach, but they give people the illusion of being right in front of them. The mist in the air was so dense that it almost wet the clothes of pedestrians. Although Yu Gui is the only one traveling in the mountains at this moment.
This trip was very dangerous, so he set off quietly early in the morning and went on the road alone, for fear of letting a few children know about it. From early morning to now, he has been galloping all the way, and in less than two hours he has arrived at Aoshan, which is dozens of miles away. Even if the children find that he is not there, they should have nowhere to look for him.
I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and take a break. Yu Gui got off his horse and wiped his forehead that was wet with mist.
"Ta-ta...ta..." Yu Gui was stunned. He seemed to hear... the sound of horse hooves!
Yu Gui really hoped that he heard it wrong, but the voice was really real. It was passing through the clouds and mist, getting closer and closer to him. Along with the sound of approaching horse hooves, there was a long call: "Master...Father...".
Yu Gui didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he had to turn around and look at the mist that was surged by the impact of the horses and kept approaching him. Not long after, two riders were approaching.
The two children got off their horses and ran to Yu Gui's side. Cao Xi shouted, "Master, you are running so fast. Ah Xuan and I can hardly catch up."
"How did you two know that I was in Aoshan?" Yu Gui was very curious. These two guys just guessed that they were going south, and they were able to chase them all the way to Aoshan. You must know that there is more than one way to go south.
Xia Houxuan smiled slyly: "I saw the letter my father sent to the master from Jingzhou. If the master wants to go to Jiangling to find Grandpa Yu Jin, he must go south. As for how we know that the master is here, then we have to ask, Master's horse, why is it pulling fresh dung all the way..."
Yu Gui was completely speechless.
"Don't worry, Master!" Cao Xi shouted: "We have made it clear to the family. We just said that we were traveling with Master. Hui'er is a girl, so we didn't let her come with us. Everyone in the family can trust Master. …”
Before the child could finish speaking, Yu Gui looked directly at the child and said, "Then you must know that this wandering is not really a wandering!" Yu Gui thought to himself that it would not be a bad thing to let the children experience it. . All things considered, just be careful.
The two children didn't take it seriously. With their master here, what were they afraid of?
The sun gradually melted away the clouds and mist, the road underfoot began to become clear, and the dust stirred up by the horses' hooves gradually disappeared in the distance behind them.
Xinye County.
Yu Gui took his two children and walked south for hundreds of miles along the banks of the Mishui River [Note 1], and finally arrived at this small county town. Yu Gui understood that after passing Xinye, it was the boundary of Jingzhou. [Note 1: Mishui, one of the oldest rivers in China, originates from Dengfeng County, Henan Province. 】
Although the sun is still on the side, it is really burning like a scorching sun, but the green grass on the roadside is standing tenaciously and still full of vitality.
Yu Gui led the horse and walked slowly. The horse followed behind its owner, snoring in heat and dragging its feet as if unwilling to take another step. The two children were still on the horse and refused to get off, but their speed seemed not to be as fast as Yu Gui on foot.
Finally we arrived in front of a tea shop.
Yu Gui tied up the horse and wiped the sweat from his forehead, but the two children seemed to be different people in an instant, and rushed into the tea shop with a cheer.
Although the shop is small, its business is really booming. Yu Gui chose a relatively spacious seat and called both children over.
Yu Gui raised his head and drank another cup of tea. He, who is usually the most particular about drinking tea, was drinking one cup after another like white water. The two children had already drunk enough, and now they started to eat. They were accustomed to seeing delicacies, but now they had long forgotten their identities as little marquis and young general, and they were just like two hungry little beggars. Chewing the most common snacks in Zhongyuan shops.
After driving for two days, even a person would feel tired. Yu Gui drank another bottle before he felt that he was not so thirsty anymore. Only then did he notice that the two tea guests sitting by the door were carrying a large baggage, as if they were about to move.
"Oh, these days, just a few months after the war, the war is going to be chaotic again!"
"This old man," Yu Gui put down the pottery cup in his hand, with a solemn look on his face: "You just said, where is there another war?"
Cao Xi and Xia Houxuan also looked up at the old man curiously, but they did not stop chewing. The snacks in this shop were really delicious.
"Young man, you don't know yet!" The old man was surprised when he heard what Yu Gui asked: "I heard that the Lord of Shu, Liu Bei, has led his troops to Jingzhou. At this time, he is probably almost over the Three Gorges. Yes, I heard that they brought more than 200,000 people with them!"
Yu Gui's heart sank and his brows furrowed. I came to Jingzhou originally to look for my father Yu Jin. It was already very inconvenient to bring two children who were not familiar with the world. But at this time, there were many complications. If something happened...
"Young man," the old man said, interrupting Yu Gui's thoughts: "After this meal, hurry up and head north. You can go as far as you can, and you still have the child with you."
Yu Gui heard that the old man's accent was indeed from the Jing people. Bringing his family here at this time was enough to prove that Liu Bei's eastward march was not a rumor. But... there are more than 200,000 people. Although the country of Yizhou in the middle of Shu is rich and the people are rich, a few years ago, Liu Bei entered Sichuan and merged with Liu Zhang. The population of Yizhou has been reduced. In addition, the Hanzhong area still needs to guard against our country Wei. Therefore, he expected that Liu Bei's troops would not exceed 100,000 when he marched eastward [Note 2]. If this is the case, then Soochow may be able to resist for a while longer. [Note 2: "Three Kingdoms Shu Book 2 Biography of the First Lord": "In the beginning, the First Lord was angry at Sun Quan's attack on Guan Yu, so he marched eastwards. In the seventh month of autumn, he led all the troops to attack Wu." According to Professor Li Dongfang, Yi In the Battle of Ling, Liu Bei's military strength would not exceed 100,000. 】
He looked at the two children and asked them to go back now? It's probably more difficult than climbing to the sky, and there's no one to escort them. For this reason, they can only rush to Jiangling at a faster speed. It's best...must arrive before the war between Wu and Shu begins.
Yu Gui raised his head and drank the last sip of tea, threw a few five-baht coins on the table, called for the check, then picked up the two children and walked out.
When Xixuan and the others saw Yu Gui galloping on his horse without looking back, they did not dare to delay and followed closely behind their master. In less than two hours, the three of them entered a forest, and the surrounding area suddenly became cooler. Yu Gui knew that the Han River ferry was not far away. After settling down at a nearby place where horses were temporarily sent, he walked to the ferry with his two children.
After waiting for a long time, I finally saw a small boat sailing quickly from the other side of the river. After a while, it reached the shore.
Xia Houxuan immediately noticed the strange appearance of the boatman. The tawny beard and the dark and thin face looked a bit strange.
Yu Gui casually glanced at the boatman's strange costume and asked with a smile: "Shipman, is the other side of the river the road to Xiangyang?"
The boatman nodded but did not answer. Cao Xi didn't pay too much attention to the appearance of the boatman. After all, in the Jingxiang area, there was a transition between Han and barbarians, so there were all kinds of people, he thought.
After Yu Gui took his two children on the boat, he stood on the bow not far from the boatman. Cao Xi had never experienced this feeling of being in a small boat, crossing the river. At this moment, he was standing at the stern of the boat, looking at the water and cheering. Xia Houxuan kept frowning and staring at this strange old man. Although the old man was thin, his arms were extremely strong. The boat passed the middle of the river at an extremely fast speed and sailed quickly.
Shocked!
Before Yu Gui could stop him, a cold light was pointed at the boatman's throat!
"Xuan'er!" Although Yu Gui stopped shouting, he did not move.
"Who are you?" Xia Houxuan's eyes were like a torch. Although he was not tall, he was full of momentum. He aimed his long sword at the boatman's throat. The distance was just right, not hurting anyone but enough to protect himself. The boatman showed no signs of panic at all. Almost in an instant, a strange laugh was heard, and before anyone could react, the boatman disappeared into the waves. Only Cao Xi, who was extremely shocked, Yu Gui, who was calm as usual, and Xia Houxuan, who was still staring at the water, were left.
"Master" Cao Xi looked puzzled: "What happened just now?"
"You have to ask your cousin!" Yu Gui slowly shook the oar. In fact, he also understood that something was wrong with the boatman, but he wanted to see what Xixuan's two children thought, so he deliberately pretended to be unhappy at this moment. .
"It's very simple." Xia Houxuan seemed confident, and he said slowly: "That boatman is not a real boatman, and he is not of my race!"
"Oh?" Yu Gui smiled slightly: "You might as well talk about it and listen to it."
"First of all, his appearance and behavior are very different from ordinary boatmen." Xia Houxuan continued: "Not only that, we already learned at the teahouse that Liu Bei had sent troops to the Three Gorges, and most of the people had fled to the Three Gorges to avoid the disaster. To the north, or to the east. What kind of business can a boatman do if he stays alone on the Han River?"
Cao Xi nodded thoughtfully. Yu Gui smiled and asked: "Just because of this, you can't rob other people's ships."
"One more thing." Xia Houxuan narrowed his eyes slightly: "It is also the most important point, his clothes."
"I found that he was wearing ivory ornaments on his neck and wrists. In the whole world, only Yizhou Nanzhong and Yangzhou Jiaozhi [Note 3] have such precious ivory. An ordinary boatman, if he has ivory Why do you need to work in the river to make ornaments?" [Note 3: Jiaozhi is part of today's Vietnam. From the Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period, it was Jiaozhi County in China. 】
Yu Gui nodded in agreement. He was slightly surprised by Xia Houxuan's acumen, but at the same time he became more worried. That person was indeed not from the Central Plains, and of course, he did not look like the Wuling barbarians from Jingnan.
Then, he should be the Nanman of Yizhou!
If so... Yu Gui couldn't help but speed up.
