Cheng Jiao and Fan Yuqi led three thousand direct guards, bypassed the rear army, and fled towards the border between Qin and Zhao.
"Master, our army seems to have been defeated." Cheng Jiao said in panic, having recovered somewhat.
"There was a trickster mixed into the army, but I was too careless." Fan Yuqi said, "Fortunately, we left in time, otherwise it would have been dangerous."
"I heard that Wang Bi and Ying Cheng set up an ambush. I don't know where they will be." Cheng Jiao said.
Fan Yuqi looked up and said, "It's better not to take the official road. Let's take the small road and enter Zhao Kingdom through the waterway."
Three thousand men and horses left the official road and entered the path.
The path was not very wide, nor was it smooth, so the marching speed slowed down.
The roar of the main battlefield gradually faded away, and Wang Jian's main army did not seem to be chasing them.
"Master, how far is this from the border of Zhao State?" Cheng Jiao asked.
"About two hundred miles or so." Fan Yuqi said.
"Two hundred miles?" Cheng Jiao was surprised, "At this speed, wouldn't it take three or four days to walk?"
"There should be people sent by Zhao Guo waiting for us in front. They know the route." Fan Yuqi said, "If we take the waterway, we will not only save distance, but also bypass the possible ambush locations."
"Master, where could there be an ambush?" Cheng Jiao asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a whooshing sound, and an arrow hit the neck of the horse riding by the deputy general next to Cheng Xi.
"There is an ambush!" Fan Yuqi said loudly, "Pass here quickly and protect yourself with shields on both sides."
Suddenly, the sound of killing broke out and resounded throughout the sky.
The horse that was shot by the horse turned over, stood up and said: "My lord, go first, we will stop behind."
"I'll leave half of your troops to hold off the pursuers," Fan Yuqi said.
Half of the people behind stopped, picked up their longbows, and drew out their arrow feathers.
These soldiers knew very well that they were using their lives to buy time for Cheng Yu and Fan Yuqi to escape.
Cheng Yu looked back at the soldiers who sacrificed their lives, with mixed feelings in his heart, and tears already welling up in his eyes.
Fan Yuqi, however, didn't even look back and rushed to break out of the encirclement.
The shouts of killing were left behind, and the remaining 1,500 men and horses guarded Cheng Yu and Fan Yuqi and ran for their lives at full speed.
After running for an unknown amount of time, the sky darkened and no one dared to rest, but the speed slowed down.
"The ambush just now should be one of Wang Ben's or Ying Cheng's." Fan Yuqi said to Cheng Jiao, "Presumably the other one will also be ambushing somewhere, not to mention there are pursuers behind, so we should stay up all night Let’s hurry up.”
Cheng Yu nodded, obviously still in panic.
Although they were marching at night, they did not dare to light torches and could only rely on the moonlight to move forward arduously.
It wasn't until midnight that Fan Yuqi chose a forest sheltered from the wind to let the team rest and adjust. At the same time, he sent out multiple sentries and finally waited until dawn.
Continuing to set off, the march speed picked up again.
After walking for a while, two horses appeared in front of them. The people on the horses could not see their faces clearly, but they were waving their arms.
"It must be Zhao Guo's guide here to assist." Fan Yuqi whispered, and then sent a messenger to inquire.
Not long after, the messenger returned to the team with two people.
As expected, these two people were envoys sent by the State of Zhao to meet Fan Yuqi.
"General Fan, several roads leading to Zhao State have been blocked by Wang Ben." One of them said.
Another said: "Zhao Jun can no longer send sergeants to respond. We can only lead General Fan to evacuate through the waterway."
Fan Yuqi looked at the absent-minded Cheng Xi, but he didn't bother to discuss anything anymore, and directly asked Zhao Guo's guide: "How to get to the waterway?"
"You need to enter the mountains from here, take the mountain road, bypass the second mountain range from the valley, follow the river to the mouth of the dividing river, and cross the river to enter the territory of Zhao State." One of the guides said.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was only a sound of arrows, which directly shot the Zhao guide who had just spoken.
Everyone subconsciously bent down and looked warily at the hills on both sides.
The tense atmosphere made people breathless, but there was no sound of pursuing soldiers coming from the hills.
----------
In the hill, Ying Cheng asked the herald beside him: "Who shot this arrow?"
The herald shook his head and expressed his ignorance.
"Now that they have been alerted, let us pass on the order and kill all those soldiers." Ying Cheng ordered.
The herald accepted the order, stood up and waved a flag.
In order to capture Cheng Yu and Fan Yuqi alive, Ying Cheng deliberately arranged two groups of ambushes on each route to consume Cheng Yu's guards. When the guards were exhausted, they would then round up them, so as to avoid them as much as possible. The lives of Cheng Cheng and Fan Yuqi were injured.
As for the two Zhao State guides, they had been discovered by secret sentries, so Ying Chengcai personally led his troops to ambush here, but he didn't know who sent a cold arrow, forcing Ying Cheng to attack in advance.
"Let's go!" Fan Yuqi shouted urgently, then protected another Zhao Guo guide and ran towards the mountain road.
In Fan Yuqi's eyes, this Zhao guide was already far more valuable than Cheng Xi.
Before the Guards could move their horses, a round of arrows gnawed at them like locusts.
A shield can block arrows, but it can block arrows from the left but not the right, and it can block people but not horses.
Suddenly another group of people fell on their backs.
But the Guardsmen were not ordinary soldiers after all. After their horses were shot, most of them rolled on the ground, then found a suitable bunker and waited for an opportunity to counterattack.
There were only a hundred or so people left who had not been shot. They urged their horses to move forward quickly, escorting Cheng Yu and Fan Yuqi to rush forward.
On the mountain ridge, Ying Cheng sent an order to strangle all the guards, and then led a hundred soldiers to pursue them.
After running all the way, the remaining Zhao Guo guide pointed to a big stone in front and said: "General Fan, behind that big stone is the mountain road into the mountains. If you keep walking, you can see the river."
As soon as he finished speaking, an arrow flew over and shot through the head of the Zhao guide.
Fan Yuqi stared straight at the body that fell off the horse, and roared in his heart: Who is it again! ?
Without waiting for much thought, Fan Yuqi took Cheng Yu's reins and ran quickly towards the big rock.
The guards at the back did not move, but all drew their swords.
The leader of the sergeant major had a determined look in his eyes and said loudly: "My lord, General Fan, there are still ambushes here, please let us stay and resist in order to escort your lord on his last journey."
Cheng Xi turned back to look at the sergeant major, his eyes extremely complicated.
Fan Yuqi ignored him and continued to pull Cheng Yu forward quickly.
After bypassing the boulder, a mountain road extended up the mountain ridge. Fan Yuqi took Cheng Xi and plunged in.
As they approached the mountainside, the mountain road became steeper and overgrown with weeds. The two abandoned their horses and walked on foot.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, it became dark again, the mountain road became increasingly difficult to walk, and the food I brought with me was almost exhausted.
Cheng Yu couldn't walk any longer and rested against a tree, breathing heavily.
Fan Yuqi also sat on a stone to rest.
"Master, I really can't walk anymore," Cheng Xi said.
"You have to keep walking even if you can't." Fan Yuqi said, "If you persist a little longer, you will be safe when you reach the border of Zhao Kingdom."
"We are at the end of our rope, we have lost our way here, and there are soldiers chasing us. Will we die here?" Cheng Yu murmured.
"Bah!" Fan Yuqi spat, "What's the matter of death? Our fate is at stake."
At this time, there was some noise coming from the front.
Rustling... rustling...
Fan Yuqi instinctively picked up his sword, stood up, and made defensive movements.
Cheng Jiao didn't move much, just looked around.
Whoosh...
An arrow shot from the side, and Fan Yuqi instinctively struck it with his sword.
The arrow was blocked and flew away. At the same time, a black shadow came quickly.
A ray of cold light swept over, and its target was the sword in Fan Yuqi's hand.
Thirty...
The sword in Fan Yuqi's hand was knocked away by a sword, spinning and hitting a nearby tree, and fell to the ground.
The next moment, the sword in the black shadow's hand was already placed on Fan Yuqi's neck.
Maybe he was too tired, maybe he was hungry, but Fan Yuqi, who was extremely skilled in martial arts, was subdued in an instant.
The one holding the sword in his hand was a man in black, none other than Jing Liang, who changed his name to Jing Ke.
"Who is a hero?" Fan Yuqi asked calmly even though he was controlled.
"Who are you?" Jing Ke asked.
"We are soldiers of the Qin State, going to Zhao State to capture the assassins." Fan Yuqi said calmly.
"Assassin?" Jing Ke raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said, "Are you arresting the assassin, or is the assassin arresting you?"
Fan Yuqi looked at Jing Ke coldly and said nothing.
"Barren mountains and wild mountains, judging from the clothes you two are wearing, you are not ordinary sergeants." Jing Ke still said with a smile on his lips, "If I guess correctly, you must be General Fan."
Hearing the other party call him a general, Fan Yuqi suddenly felt confident and said: "Yes, I, Fan Yuqi, dare to ask the knight, is he an enemy or a friend?"
"Hahaha..." Jing Ke laughed and put away his sword, "It is indeed General Fan."
Fan Yuqi was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face: "Does it mean that you know me?"
Jing Ke bowed his hands and said, "I, Jing Ke, like to travel around various countries. A few days ago, I committed a murder in Xianyang, so I wanted to leave the state of Qin. I never wanted to go here, but I encountered a war. After asking around, I learned that It is General Fan and Lord Chang'an who are fighting against the unjust King of Qin, which is really satisfying."
"Alas..." Fan Yuqi sighed, "It's a pity that I couldn't defeat Wang Jian and ended up like this."
Jing Ke looked at Cheng Jiao, who was still leaning against the tree, and asked, "This must be Lord Chang'an."
"Exactly." Fan Yuqi said, "Chang'an Jun is unwilling to lose, so he is a little abnormal. I want to take him to Zhao Kingdom in order to make a comeback."
"Zhao country?" Jing Ke said, "What a coincidence, I am also going to Zhao country."
"Do you know the route to Zhao State?" Fan Yuqi asked.
"Of course, otherwise it would not be a joke if the Qin army captured him." Jing Ke said seriously.
"Then why not go together, okay?" Fan Yuqi said.
"Of course that's good. But..." Jing Ke hesitated.
"But what?" Fan Yuqi asked.
"Your Excellency must agree to the next condition." Jing Ke said.
"What are the conditions?" Fan Yuqi asked.
"This, you will naturally know when the time comes." Jing Ke said with a slight smile.
"As long as I bring you into the Kingdom of Zhao, I will agree to any conditions." Fan Yuqi said.
"Okay!" Jing Ke took out some dry food from his arms, "You must be hungry. Eat some dry food and hit the road tomorrow."
Fan Yuqi swallowed hard.
On the afternoon of the next day, the three people bypassed two mountains and came to a small river. Following the river, they came to the opposite side of a rather wide river.
There is a very small boat on the river, which can only accommodate two people across the river.
"When you take the boat to the other side of the river, you will find the territory of Zhao Kingdom." Jing Ke said, "And what I want to make is that only one of you two can accompany me to Zhao Kingdom."
Fan Yuqi looked shocked, but did not question it because the boat was indeed too small and could only accommodate two people.
Three people came to the boat.
Jing Ke asked: "Have you decided which one to go?"
Fan Yuqi looked at Cheng Jiao, and then said: "Cheng Jiao, you have to wait here until I come back with the troops. I will leave all the dry food for you."
Cheng Jiao looked at Fan Yuqi and said, "Master, go ahead. I'll wait for you here."
Fan Yuqi said calmly: "In that case, I will take the first step."
Said, Fan Yuqi jumped on the boat.
Jing Ke jumped on the boat, looked back at Cheng Yu, and then rowed the boat.
Looking at Fan Yuqi's retreating back, Cheng Jiao sat there blankly, not moving for a long time.
After an unknown amount of time, footsteps sounded behind Cheng Jiao.
The pursuers have arrived.
