Under the rock, Bai Wang, who was soaked all over, huddled in a corner, shivering in the cold but unable to light a fire to keep warm. The rain on his forehead slid down his cheeks. He stretched out his hand to wipe it and spit. It was pitch black everywhere and he couldn't see his fingers. The rustling sounds indicated that there were many people around.
It had been so many years since he had been in such a mess. Bai Wang couldn't calm down and recall the past carefully. What he was most anxious about right now was to escape the pursuit of the officers and soldiers. All the actions of the little eunuch were beyond his expectation, including the fact that he was so fast during the pursuit in the mountains. So urgent.
Fortunately, the heavy rain made me suffer a lot, but it also brought trouble to the officers and soldiers. It also covered up some traces. Otherwise, I might have been exposed and bitten by the officers and soldiers.
The consecutive disastrous defeats in a few days were fatal to Bai Wang. At this time, he had to hold on with one breath, otherwise he would have collapsed long ago. But in order to survive, in order not to lose people's hearts, he must grit his teeth and persevere, and even encourage those around him. The troops were defeated, but even so, he knew that people's hearts were on the verge of collapse. People escaped from time to time along the way from Shima Mountain to here. Even the blindest people knew that his situation was over, and it would be in vain to follow him and not die.
At this time, everyone should have dispersed, but Bai Wang was worried that the deserters would betray his escape route, so he ordered his soldiers to keep an eye on them and kill anyone who showed signs of escape first.
However, what he couldn't accept was that even his own soldiers had escaped. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to him. It even made him become suspicious and he became less reassured about his confidants, fearing that they would suddenly kill him. Go and get the reward.
Under the double blow of body and mind, he was on the verge of collapse and almost overwhelmed with desire. Fortunately, he still had the last comfort in his heart, Yuan Sanzhong, a general who was loyal to him.
Along the way, Yuan Sanzhong planned an escape route for him and deceived the enemy for him. He worked hard and never complained, which moved Bai Wang greatly. He vowed to live up to him when he came back in the future.
"Commander, let's have something to eat." Yuan Sanzhong emerged from the darkness holding a rain-stained woofou and handed it to Bai Wang. Then he shook the rain off his body, frowned and said, "It's not raining this time." You know how long it will last."
"If it rains for a longer time, maybe we can take the opportunity to escape this disaster." Bai Wang sighed and stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth. Yuan Sanzhong also sighed: "The rain may force the officers and soldiers to retreat, but it will not do anything to our morale. It’s a good thing, right now…”
"It's very bad, isn't it?" Bai Wang slowly put down the Wowotou in his hand. In fact, this question is unnecessary. After the tragic defeat last night, everyone fled into the mountains and had little food and drink. Didn't they keep running over the mountains and ridges to escape? Not to mention that they couldn't hold on any longer physically. In addition, everyone knew that there were tens of thousands of troops chasing behind them at this time. One can imagine the morale of the army under such heavy pressure.
"It's very bad!" Yuan Sanzhong sighed: "A lot of them escaped, but some of them came back."
"Come back?" Bai Wang was startled.
Yuan Sanzhong nodded: "Every half an hour, I will count the number of people. I know how many people are gone and how many are left. Of course, not everyone escaped. It is normal for Zimi to get separated and get lost in the forest today. Very soon, some of the ones that had been separated before came back."
Bai Wang said: "Then you killed them?"
Yuan Sanzhong smiled: "It's better to kill them than to be killed by them."
Bai Wang also laughed.
"Commander, you see they are going to the west. This dog eunuch is very good!" Yuan Sanzhong raised his hand and pointed and saw the flames of Yunguang Temple at the foot of the mountain rising into the sky. One stream of flames snaked up the mountain, and a larger one went west. As it goes, no matter how far away it is due to the north, the flames are slowly coming over for miles around.
"After all, you are superior in skills." Bai Wang smiled bitterly and shook his head.
A few hours ago, Bai Wang was so panicked when he heard that tens of thousands of troops had entered the mountain that he did not bother to ambush Wang Zamao. He left Yuan Sanzhong behind and deceived the enemy. He led his troops to flee into the mountain. They went to the foot of Liufeng Mountain and plundered the Yunguang Temple and captured a few of them. The monk asked about the surrounding terrain and got the same information as Wang Tizhong.
You can avoid pursuing soldiers by going into the mountains, but the rations can only last for three to five days, but the army will definitely surround the mountains for more than three or five days, so Bai Wang's first reaction is to go to the Grand Canyon in the west and walk along the Baiyang River. There are villages along the rivers in the mountains. Moreover, it can travel along the river and cover up its tracks...
Just when he was about to leave with his troops, Yuan Sanzhong from behind arrived and asked about the situation, but advised him to go into the mountains to escape first, because he could think of what the little eunuch at the rear could think of, and it was not suitable to escape in the canyon because it would be easy to be discovered and caught up. There is no way to resist, but it is different in the deep mountains. The mountains are high and the forests are dense and it is easy to hide people. Even if they are discovered, they only need to occupy a dangerous place to defend and confront them. Moreover, although there is insufficient food and grass, there are abundant wild fruits in the mountains at this time. Hunting some game should be able to last for a while, and at the worst, we can get out of the mountains by taking a roundabout way.
The sentence that touched Bai Wang the most was that his men could not escape.
So he went up the mountain and hid in the forest. When he saw the fire soldiers at the bottom of the mountain divided into two groups, Bai Wang took a breath of air. He was glad that he didn't rush to the west on impulse, otherwise he would be overtaken soon.
The sky was slightly bright and the rain was a little light. Chang Yu got up in the cottage by Wutou Lake and went to the yard to relieve himself. When he saw Wuzhong walking in from outside the yard holding a knife, he muttered: "A few blind people can still deliver..." Come to the door." Chang Yu curiously asked him what he meant. Wuzhong said that a secret sentry in the west of the village found several bandit soldiers coming early in the morning. They were sending information from Anqing. They were shot on the spot and one of them was tied up.
"Is there anything useful to ask?" Chang Yu asked while washing up. Wuzhong shook his head: "The traitor army over there, Xi Zuo, can't cross the river at all. He just came to inform Bai Wang of Chizhou on a routine matter, but he didn't know that Chizhou City had been surrendered by us long ago. It’s served.”
Li Muxian raised his head from the house, looked at the sky and stretched his body: "The rain won't stop for a while. We can have a good rest here."
"In that case, Taoist priest, let's have a good rest. I will go first," Yu chuckled. Li Muxian was startled, slightly embarrassed, and hurried to wash up. He told everyone to get up, light a fire, make food, and get ready to go.
The road was extremely muddy, and everyone continued to walk southwest along the Qiupu River in the rain. They talked little along the way but hunted a lot of game. After traveling for more than 30 miles, it was almost noon, and the road ahead suddenly became extremely narrow. Everyone knew that they had reached the bend of the Yangtze River.
With the rolling Yangtze River on one side and rolling hills and lakes and swamps on the other, this road condition is really giving people a headache. No wonder Lu Daqi had previously dragged Chang Yu to tell him to be careful again and again.
However, Chang Yu and his colleagues were brave and skilled. Knowing that there were no large groups of thieves ahead but only sporadic spies, they had no scruples. Dozens of riders rode along the official road in the rain, attracting the attention of pedestrians who hid on the side of the road.
Since there are pedestrians, it means there is a village nearby. As expected, there is news from the front that there is a big town by the river three miles away. Kuang Ren is leading people to search for thieves in the town.
The town is located at the great bend of the Yangtze River. There is a small hill on the riverside called Niutoushan, so the town is called Niutoushan Town. Because it is located at a place where official roads must pass through, the town has teahouses, restaurants and inns. Provide a full range of services.
It's just that after the bandits crossed the border, it was no longer as prosperous as before, and it was even more deserted because of the bandits' intrusion, the close contact, and the lack of harassment. At this time, Chang Yu was sitting in a teahouse to rest. The owner of the store still trembled when he heard that he was an officer and a soldier. After all, the officers and soldiers these days are no better than the bandits.
Kuang Ren entered the town early in the morning and based on the clues provided by the villagers, he directly captured a few thieves and after a brief interrogation, he chopped them up and threw them into the river.
"Governor, more than thirty miles further we will reach the opposite side of Anqing City. There is a big ferry there and it is also a big town..." Kuang Renjian reported to Chang Yu the confession he obtained from the rebels.
Chang Yu's face was expressionless after hearing this. He looked out at the continuous rain and frowned slightly, so he called the shop owner and asked him to prepare some food. The shop owner was a little embarrassed because he couldn't afford to entertain dozens of people.
Chen Ruxin took out ten taels of silver from his pocket and placed it in front of the shopkeeper: "We want to eat well!"
The shop owner swallowed while looking at Yinzi and reached out to take it: "Gentlemen, I will go to other villagers' houses in the town to collect ingredients in a moment."
"What is the Taoist priest thinking about?" Chang Yu saw Li Muchian sitting by the window staring at the river opposite in trance.
Li Muxian turned around and said, "I'm thinking about whether Li Yan broke the city, and whether he captured Bai Wang in the king's body?"
Chang Yu was stunned and walked to the door of the store, stretched out his hand to catch the rain and looked at the river view not far away with a smile on his lips: "I guess... none of them have it!"
"Do you mean that both of these things are difficult?" Li Muchian frowned, Chang Yu shook his head and chuckled, "If Anqing Li Yan had broken the city, if Chizhou had captured Bai Wang, someone would have come to avenge him by now."
Cough, Li Muchian smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I thought the governor had such great ideas."
Li Yan laughed loudly: "I have done my best, and the rest is destiny. Success or failure is within my expectation. Right now, I am more concerned about having a good meal and wearing clean clothes."
As soon as he finished speaking, the guard beside him realized what he was doing. Chen Suole hurriedly walked towards the back door of the store. Chen Wangting knew that he wanted to find some clean clothes for Chang Yu, but he still grabbed him and whispered: "No. "nuisance"
"Uncle, don't worry, I gave you the money," Chen Suole said quickly, and Chen Wangting let go.
Regardless of the dynasty, it is easy to get things done. As long as the money is in place, things are not only done quickly but also very comprehensively. The shopkeeper took ten taels of silver and worked very hard, mobilizing the power of the entire village to serve Chang Yu and the dozens of people, both meat and vegetables. The food comes with soup, and if there is no room to sit in the teahouse, I go to the restaurant next door, even though the restaurant has closed down long ago.
Everyone ate happily, and the shopkeeper brought some dry clothes and hats and raincoats. Of course, these were not given for free. The reason why they were given to him was because Chen Suole had just taken a set of clothes from his family and gave them money. As soon as this was spread, The villagers couldn't sit still and searched for all their clothes in exchange for money.
Chang Yu never takes things from the common people for nothing, and he is an example to those around him who never takes advantage or is stingy, because the personal guards are well paid and have enough money to buy what they need from the villagers. In the blink of an eye, The teahouse here was as lively as a market.
