This wait lasted for three days, and during these three days, the few Jinyi guards who came to deliver the letter were so thirsty that their throats were almost on fire. They were asked this and that by Xu Qiyuan and the Wang brothers every day, and asked about the big news. It's no wonder that every battle of the eunuchs happened. They had little information and only knew a superficial knowledge of many things. Now that they caught an outsider and the most well-informed Jin Yiwei, they naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it.
The Jin Yiwei are all Chang Yu's biggest fans. They talk about protecting Taiyuan, guarding Baoding, chasing the Tatars...
It's better than the storyteller in the teahouse.
There is such a natural talent!
As the saying goes, heroes cherish heroes. After hearing about Chang Yu's various achievements, Xu Qiyuan and the Wang brothers were shocked.
Early that morning, Xu Qiyuan told Jin Yiwei that Prime Minister Hui Deng was here.
But Jin Yiwei didn't see Hui Dengxiang's person, and he suddenly realized it later.
It's coming, but it's not here yet.
But it has entered Xunyang's realm, or to be precise, it has entered Xu Qiyuan's sphere of influence.
Xunyang is located deep in the mountains. There are only two roads into the mountains, one is a rugged mountain road with eighteen bends, and the other is a waterway.
But regardless of the waterway or the mountain road, there are both overt and covert sentries from officers and soldiers everywhere. There are also countless informants in the fishing villages and mountain villages along the waterway. It can be said that any disturbance on these two roads will soon reach Xu Qiyuan's ears, otherwise Xun Xun How could Yangcheng remain unbroken for several years!
In the evening, Prime Minister Hui Deng and his 500 cavalry finally arrived at Xunyang City. It took them seven days to rush all the way from Wuchang.
Xu Qiyuan and others were greatly moved by the dusty look on their faces. They wanted to have a feast for the five hundred soldiers, but they were really short of money and had nothing to offer, so they reluctantly killed a pig!
I wanted to let Prime Minister Hui Deng rest for two or three days before leaving, but instead he said to leave at dawn to avoid long nights and dreams. After hearing this, Xu Qiyuan and others murmured in their hearts and asked him if he knew anything.
Hui Dengxiang looked solemn and shook his head slightly. He met Yuan Zongdi on the way here and said that he tried his best to protect him along the way, but it was inevitable that someone would get into trouble, but the faster the border crossing, the less time the other party had to prepare and the smaller the opportunity.
This makes perfect sense.
Early the next morning, Xu Qiyuan and Wang Guangen led 300 cavalry out of Xunyang, leaving Wang Guangtai and Wang Chang to guard the city. They warned them to be cautious.
A group of eight hundred riders rode along the mountain road. Wang Guangen was a talker, and he and Hui Deng were both friends with Zhang Xianzhong. They had many old stories to talk about, so they kept pushing each other along the way. Xu Qiyuan occasionally asked Hui Deng Looking at some of them, seeing his solemn expression, he said, "Is it possible that General Hui is worried about the thieves setting up an ambush in the mountains?"
Prime Minister Huiden looked around with a vigilant expression: "The mountains are steep and we must be on guard."
Xu Qiyuan laughed: "General, you are worrying too much."
Prime Minister Huiden was startled and said, "Please give me some advice, the governor."
At this time, Xu Qiyuan was the censor of Youqian City and the governor of Xunyang. Although military generals generally looked down upon civil servants, powerful people would always be respected. Civil servants like Xu Qiyuan who were good at fighting were rare in this era, so Both civil servants and military generals admired him very much. Although Prime Minister Hui Deng was a rude person, he was always respectful and polite in front of Xu Qiyuan.
"If the thieves are doing evil, how can they do it in the territory of Xunyang?" Xu Qiyuan smiled faintly. Prime Minister Hui Deng was also a smart man. He immediately understood that if someone wanted to stir up trouble, he would definitely do it in Li Zicheng's territory, so as to intensify the conflict between the court and Li Zicheng. .
"Not necessarily. What they want is to mess up the situation. They can do it anywhere, and it doesn't matter where they do it, but..." Wang Guangen looked around: "If they want to ambush us, they can at least do it. There are more than a few hundred people. If it is said that there are dozens of people entering the country, we may be able to hide it, but hundreds of people..."
The meaning is very clear. If there are fewer people, it means they are here to kill people. If there are too many people, it cannot be hidden.
Prime Minister Huiden nodded, thinking that these two people were indeed extraordinary. They cooperated tacitly on offense and defense. No wonder they were able to block Li Chuang again and again.
After two days of urgent travel, we finally left the mountain.
Going east along the Han River to the border of Gucheng County, the horsemen in front came to report that there were hundreds of horses riding ten miles away. No one dared to carelessly order the troops and horses to prepare for battle.
Before he could reach it, dozens of riders came running towards him. Huiden looked at Xiang Xiang from a distance and breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Qiyuan looked at his expression, raised his brows and stared at the galloping riders: "Brother Yuan?"
Prime Minister Hui Deng nodded and smiled slightly: "We have been fighting for two years, this is the first time we meet."
Wang Guangen laughed and said, "Governor Xu, you can have a good chat with that Yuan Zongdi. Maybe he will follow us to Wuchang."
Xu Qiyuan's expression was not so relaxed. He knew the meaning behind Wang Guangen's words. He had recruited Wang Guangen to surrender in the first place, but he also knew that it was impossible to recruit Yuan Zongdi. He was a big fan of Li Chuang, but he said: "They are now Now he is with us."
"Governor Xu, General Wang." Yuan Zongdi, who was far away, jumped off his horse and saluted with his hands in his hands: "I have heard about the famous name for a long time, but today I saw that he is really charming."
Xu Qiyuan looked at the burly man in front of him, and secretly sighed in his heart. What a great man, but he didn't have the aura of a thief. How could such a man be willing to be a thief?
Then he cupped his hands and said, "General Yuan, I've been troubled a lot by crossing the road today. I'm very grateful for this kind farewell."
This title was very useful to Yuan Zongdi. A few months ago, he was appointed as the Chief Military Officer of Xiangyang by the imperial court, a serious official of the imperial court.
"It should be so, it should be so!" Yuan Zongdi repeatedly handed over his hands, showing great respect for this hard nut that had allowed them to lose troops and generals for two years. This behavior also made Xu Qiyuan deeply moved in his heart: "When I come back, I hope to have the opportunity to sit with Yuan Zongbing. Let’s have some tea.”
"It's better to choose a day than to hit it. Mr. Yuan is waiting for you at any time." Yuan Zongdi hurriedly and kindly invited Xu Qiyuan and his party to Xiangyang as guests, but Xu Qiyuan declined politely. He only said that military affairs were important and would wait until he came back. There was certainly a lot of fear and worry in this.
Of course, Zongdi Yuan couldn't force him. If he thought about it from his perspective, he would have a lot of scruples if Xu Qiyuan invited him to Xunyang as a guest, so he agreed to meet again in the future. Then he got on his horse and led his troops to escort Xu Qiyuan and his party east. Of course, there were all kinds of casual chats on the way that were actually testing. chat.
"I used to be a thief, and you are also a thief. Now you are the commander-in-chief, and I am also the commander-in-chief. It would be great for us to be upright officials of the court." Wang Guangen, a talkative man, sometimes likes to say things that seem to be nonsense.
Yuan Zongdi smiled and nodded, no!
The boundary of Xiangyang is flat, and a fast horse can cross it in one day. Xu Qiyuan and his party did not go to Wuchang along the river, which would be too many twists and turns, but just passed directly through Xiangyang and then entered the mountains and passed Suizhou.
Suizhou in the mountains is also Li Zicheng's territory. It can even be said that the first political power in Suizhou was established by Li Zicheng, in the tenth year of Chongzhen.
However, beyond the mountain is the area controlled by the imperial court, and going from Suizhou to Wuchang also has to pass through Xiaogan territory.
True to his word, Yuan Zongdi personally led his troops into the mountains to send Xu Qiyuan out of Suizhou. If someone wanted to do it, Suizhou, deep in the mountains, would be the first choice.
