Yi Xiaodao had just led 25,000 soldiers to climb Tianzhu Mountain. They were all so tired that they were breathing heavily. Wang Xuan, who was the weakest, couldn't climb halfway up. It was entirely because of Qin Xiangqian and his recovery from his injuries. Fan Jun carried him up the mountain.
Fan Jun's leg was injured by the poisoned weapon of the Japanese ninja. Although Xiang Lian'er applied the medicine in time and was later treated by Li Hongying, the owner of Xiufanfang, the leg was still disabled. Now he walks with a limp. Whenever someone asks him about it later, Fan Jun always smiles calmly: "My skills are just inferior to others."
Tianzhu Mountain was packed with people from top to bottom in one day.
"Master Yi... we don't have to... go up the mountain... we can just stay at the foot of the mountain." Although Wang Xuan was carried up, he was still very tired and panting heavily.
"There is a dense forest at the foot of the mountain. No one has set foot on it, and there are few roads. If you are stationed at the foot of the mountain, you will have no way to retreat. Once defeated, it will be difficult for the soldiers and horses to gather in this dense forest. Guard Tianzhu Mountain, and the soldiers and horses are there. I have it in my hands, whether to fight or travel, it's all up to me." Yi Xiaodao is familiar with the terrain here and has wandered here before.
The scouts rushed to the bottom of the mountain. They could not go far, and the horses were difficult to move. The scouts had to dismount and go up the mountain alone. But not long after climbing, he fainted from exhaustion and fell unconscious. Fortunately, Yi Xiaodao was prepared in advance, and there were scouts on the way to help him. He took out the letter from the fainted brother and started climbing the mountain in a relay.
"Report, Mr. Yi, there is a letter." After several relays, the last scout knelt down in front of Yi Xiaodao dizzily and took out the extremely wet letter from his arms.
Yi Xiaodao took the letter and opened it carefully: "The Chu Xiang army has evacuated Qian City and retreated all the way to the west. It has now retreated to Sucheng. There are still retreat ministers and will enter Chu Xiang territory."
"Master Yi, what does the letter say?" Everyone was thirsty and asked Yi Xiaodao with their clothes half open.
Yi Xiaodao was silent, crumpling the letter into a ball in his hand, and a few drops of sweat mixed with many scouts dripped down between Yi Xiaodao's fingers.
"Are there any people from Wancheng among you?" Yi Xiaodao asked, somewhat dumbfounded, changing the subject.
Everyone looked at me, and I looked at you, and finally they all turned their attention to Xiang Lian'er. Everyone knew that only Yi Xiaodao and Xiang Lian'er came from Wancheng. Xiang Lian'er sat leaning against the mountain wall, with Li Dingxing fanning her beside her, sweating like raindrops.
"What are you trying to do? If you have anything to say, please tell me!" Xiang Lian'er didn't know what Yi Xiaodao had in mind. If it was needed, she would naturally do it.
"There are no people from Wancheng...how do you like this scenery? To the west is the Bieshan Mountains, and the scenery is even rarer. Why don't you...come with me and have a look?" Yi Xiaodao looked at the tired crowd, feeling a little guilty. , also a little distressed, and a little funny.
Wang Xuan was the first to react and understood what Yi Xiaodao meant. He was so angry that he almost lost his breath and turned his head to catch his breath.
Li Dingxing was a step slower than Wang Xuan. He was slightly startled. When he reacted, he didn't know where the strength came from. He drew out Xiang Lian'er's "Nianjun" sword and chased Yi Xiaodao around: "You cheat! You are changing your ways. It’s torture, right? Don’t run away! Take my sword!”
After a long time, the fight between the two was separated by everyone. With Li Dingxing's "fury" as a foreshadowing, everyone had a vague premonition in their hearts. When Yi Xiaodao really heard what he said, he could accept it better. They all collected their flags and weapons dejectedly and slowly walked down the mountain.
"It's over, it's over now, morale is gone..." Seeing everyone's listlessness, Yi Xiaodao spread his hands and didn't know what to do.
"Let's stay at the foot of the mountain to rest for a few days. It can be regarded as helping Zhou Ziru look after the rear. With Ge Cifeng's retreat, the two important towns of Taicheng and Sucheng will be empty. Zhou Ziru will definitely take them back, so let him go. "On the mountain road, Li Dingxing suggested.
Yi Xiaodao looked back at Wang Xuan: "What do you think?"
Although Wang Xuan's body was weak and his physical strength was not good, fortunately he did not need help when he went down the mountain. He followed everyone step by step. When he saw Yi Xiaodao asking questions, he said after considering: "Master Yi regained Nanhuai, Donglu two Being in the vassal territory is already an extraordinary feat. The Zhou family is a literary and artistic family, and if their achievements are not as good as those of Lord Yi, they may feel resentful. I foolishly thought that stationing here would be a clever plan!"
"You can rest and recuperate, and you can avoid suspicion... The soldiers will also appreciate Master Yi's virtues, spread the praises to all directions, and win over all the people..." Wang Xuan learned to flatter...
"Okay, okay." Yi Xiaodao couldn't stand it anymore: "Then let's rest here, I'm a little tired too."
Xiang Lian'er silently rolled her eyes at Yi Xiaodao. Not only did he have Feng Guangnian's deep inner strength, but Si Wangnan also passed it on to him. Will he be tired? Even the dogs didn’t believe it.
Among the large army, Xiang Lian'er's internal strength is the best among the three armies, and Yi Xiaodao is even better than her.
At the same time, Zhou Ziru, who was in the imperial military camp, also received news that Ge Cifeng had withdrawn his troops and abandoned the city.
"Prime Minister Zhou, be careful, Ge Cifeng is full of tricks, be careful of fraud!" Tang Xingchang reminded him immediately.
Zhou Ziru sighed: "Even if there is fraud, I can't avoid such a conspiracy, so I have to go. Your Majesty sent me here to recover the lost territory and suppress the rebels. If Ge Cifeng retreats Chu Xiang, I am still here in Anhui City. After returning to Beijing, how can I stand in court again?"
"Prime Minister Zhou thought that this... must be a fraud?" Tang Xingchang just instinctively felt that the matter was not simple and did not consider the long term.
Zhou Ziru nodded: "The terrain of Wancheng is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Our army of 300,000 troops stationed outside the city is difficult to move away, not to mention he still has 200,000 troops. Now that we retreat, we are just looking for suitable terrain. There might even be ambushes hiding in Taicheng and Sucheng...just wait for me to go..."
"The last general is willing to be the vanguard. He only needs three thousand soldiers and horses to take the lead for Prime Minister Zhou's army to test the reality!" Tang Xingchang clasped his fists and asked for orders.
Zhou Ziru put his hand on Tang Xingchang's fist, pressed down his hands gently, and said with a smile: "He is the deputy commander of the army after all. If he is sent to be a vanguard, wouldn't he be using his talents to the underestimation? If you don't have to do anything, I will do it myself." There’s a plan.”
"Prime Minister Zhou, what's the plan?" Tang Xingchang was honest and asked directly.
"Be careful, walls have ears." Zhou Ziru looked at Tang Xingchang thoughtfully, waved his hand and said, "Commander Tang, go and prepare first, and order the soldiers to be ready to break camp at any time."
Tang Xingchang was stunned for a moment, thinking that Zhou Ziru was worried that there were spies from Chu and Xiang in the army, so he didn't ask any more questions, and honestly withdrew from the commander's tent and went to make arrangements.
Zhou Ziru looked at Tang Xingchang's back and lamented the decline of talents in the court: Tang Xingchang was only loyal but not talented. Although he has the intention to make meritorious deeds, he has no ability to build a career.
"When no one is available, Tang Xingchang can be used; for pioneering and enterprising things, never use it. Your Majesty really has the ability to recognize people." Zhou Ziru sighed.
A figure quietly appeared in the corner without alerting anyone, including Zhou Ziru.
"Master." The figure shouted, reminding Zhou Ziru. When Zhou Ziru heard the call, he reacted and waved: "Come here and talk."
"Have you brought anyone?"
"Bring it here, something is really wrong with 'Yu'. When we arrived, she even wanted to fight with us. Seeing that the three of us were there, she obediently allowed us to take the others."
"What's the reason?" Zhou Ziru asked with a frown.
The figure said awkwardly: "Maybe... it has something to do with He Yue'er."
"Where is she?"
"...We applied the medicine, and He Yue'er fell asleep, just outside the military camp. 'Yu'... disappeared without a trace." The figure didn't know which one Zhou Ziru was asking about, so he simply explained the situation of both of them.
Zhou Ziru was slightly surprised, then regained his calm expression and said: "Find a way to get it back, don't let me go to the capital to call the four of them again. Take He Yue'er to Qiancheng, Taicheng, and Sucheng, and show off for three days respectively. , the kind that everyone knows.”
The figure nodded slightly, stepped aside, and somehow disappeared.
"He Yue'er... An ordinary peasant girl can actually make so many people risk their lives for her... In this case, I have to stay away from you. Hmph!"
The rainy season is approaching in the south, and the weather is gloomy all day, with no sun during the day and no moon at night.
Tonight is no exception, there is no moon.
Outside Wancheng, there was silence and darkness. Only occasionally some villages would have a little light, but the light was weak and flickering like a will-o'-the-wisp in the dark, which was scary to see.
A figure walked past, but the outline could not be seen clearly. Only the slight breathing could tell that it was a woman. In such a deserted wilderness, where you can't even see your fingers, there is a woman walking alone? This sounds scary.
The woman is Jian Liuyun, and she is the "rain" in Zhou Ziru's mouth.
"Yue'er, I will definitely find a way to rescue you." Jian Liuyun had always been resolute, and it was rare for him to look so angry. When she realized it, she couldn't help but feel a little funny. Why did she become a little like her?
Recalling the time they spent together, Jian Liuyun realized that a woman could be like her: she could cry and laugh, vent her resentment, and hide her joy. Disgust for Ge Cifeng and guilt for Yi Xiaodao, even a blind and deaf person around her can feel the changes in her emotions.
"Reality!" Such a word came to Jian Liuyun's mind, and he was shocked: It turns out that this is reality, and there are really people who live such a real life in the world...
A small wooden stake on the ground tripped Jian Liuyun. Jian Liuyun stumbled, but she quickly regained her footing due to her good agility.
"We can't be distracted. The top priority is to rescue He Yue'er." Jian Liuyun took a deep breath, concentrated on it, and quickened his pace. There were more dead branches in front of the wooden piles, but Jian Liuyun never tripped again and walked as fast as the wind...
Soon, not long after walking, I saw three figures, one of whom was carrying a woman on his shoulders, also heading northwest at night.
"Put her down!" Even though it was dark night, Jianliu Yun, with his excellent eyesight, still recognized the person being carried as He Yue'er at a glance, and shouted loudly without hiding.
When the three of them heard the call behind them, their movements froze at the same time. The one who resisted He Yue'er gently put He Yue'er down and leaned against a tree. The other two people jumped up at the same time and jumped behind Jian Liuyun, and the three of them surrounded Jian Liuyun.
No one spoke, and the war was about to break out.
