After coming out of the West Palace, Long Chen arrived at the backyard of Qiuxing Palace.
Feng He came out of the darkness and said with a smile: "Your Excellency, you are so charming. Before going to war, let's linger in the gentle countryside."
Long Chen ignored his teasing and said, "I'm leaving tonight, you come with me!"
Feng Hebei said: "Yes, leave now!"
Feng He disappeared into the darkness.
Long Chen left the backyard and immediately headed to the south camp.
South camp.
There was a bright moon in the sky, and the frosty moonlight shone on the camp. The sound of fighting came, and the camp was silent.
We will start our journey tomorrow and have a good rest tonight.
Long Chen rode his horse to the camp, and the patrolling cavalry immediately stopped him and asked: "Who!"
Long Chen took out the token and said: "Long Chengen!"
The cavalryman immediately bowed: "See you, general!"
Long Chen entered the camp and arrived at the Chinese army's tent. Zhang Qian, Wu Jian, Dugu Jiali, Wu Chuchu, Wu Xiangyun and Bai Tingting were all there.
"General!"
Everyone stood up and worshiped.
"Sit down."
Long Chen sat down.
"I have worked hard for you during this period. I have left the military training to you, and I have barely interfered with it myself."
Zhang Qian said: "Don't say that. Your Excellency has other things to do, so we can only help with troop training."
Dugu Jiali said: "Yes, we can't help with other things."
Long Chen said: "I won't say anything polite. The army will set off tomorrow. I will take the first step tonight."
Zhang Qian and Bai Tingting said at the same time: "I will go with you!"
Long Chen said: "Bai Tingting will come with me, Zhang Qian will stay here, and I will find another person to be my substitute."
Bai Tingting was overjoyed, but Zhang Qian was disappointed.
Long Chen comforted him: "Don't worry too much. Everyone knows that you and I are inseparable. Only when you are with the substitute will everyone believe it."
Zhang Qian thinks about it. It wouldn't be possible for anyone else.
"I have a marching schedule here. You should proceed at this speed and follow the plan."
Long Chen gave the arrangement to Wu Jian. This picture was drawn according to the habits of the Long family army, and Wu Jian could understand it best.
Wu Jian took it and said, "Sir, be careful!"
Long Chen stood up and bowed his hands: "Please, everyone!"
Everyone stood up and returned the greeting.
Long Chen quietly left the Nanda Camp with Bai Tingting, and instead of returning to the palace, he immediately rushed to Jade Buddha Pass under the moonlight.
Starting from South Camp, Long Chen and Bai Tingting left the capital under the moonlight.
After riding horseback all night, we arrived at Shanyin County when the sun rose.
After one night, people and horses were exhausted, so Long Chen stopped and went into the county town to take a rest.
Long Chen was dressed in civilian clothes, pretending to be a traveler, and Bai Tingting was dressed as a man, pretending to be a ranger.
When I arrived outside the county town, I saw many people carrying a Buddha statue to the mountain to the north. Looking from a distance, I saw a temple there.
"What are they doing?"
Bai Tingting asked puzzledly.
Long Chen shook his head and said, "I don't know either."
An old man nearby bowed and folded his hands to the passing Buddha and said, "You foreigners don't even know the Buddha who saves the world."
Bai Tingting asked: "Old man, why are you carrying a Buddha statue through the streets?"
The old man was dissatisfied and said: "What is parading on the street? This is called carrying the Buddha to eliminate disasters. The eminent monks in the temple are compassionate and willing to let the Savior Buddha come out."
Bai Tingting said disdainfully: "What use can a piece of wood do?"
The old man became anxious and reprimanded: "How dare you, a foreigner, be disrespectful to our Savior Buddha? If it causes disaster, can you afford it?"
Long Chen pulled Bai Tingting away without getting entangled with the old man.
When it comes to religion, people who believe in it are like demons and cannot be persuaded or dissuaded.
When I entered the county town, I found that there were quite a few Buddhists in the town, and some monks were begging for alms and spreading the Dharma.
The empress explicitly banned Buddhism, but there were so many people who believed in it that it couldn't be stopped.
The west is close to Xixia, and Buddhism is even more powerful.
After finding an inn, Long Chen stayed, and asked the waiter to feed the horse. The two of them asked for a single room to stay.
During the day, I slept in the store and had enough food.
In the evening, Long Chen paid the bill, took the horse, and continued to the Jade Buddha Pass.
The journey from the capital to the Jade Buddha Pass normally takes three days by horseback. Long Chen stays day and night, so it takes even longer.
There were few stars at night. Long Chen and Bai Tingting rode two horses in the cold wind. From time to time, the two mountains made sounds of owls and apes, which sounded a bit scary.
Long Chen was in front, and Bai Tingting was following behind. Looking at Long Chen's back, she felt an inexplicable sense of security in her heart.
In the morning, when the sun rose, the frost on the roadside dropped slightly, and a cockcrow came from the distance. Bai Tingting looked into the distance on her horse and saw a house.
"Sir, that is an inn, we can go and stay there."
Bai Tingting was very happy. After traveling all night, she was exhausted and wanted to take a rest.
Long Chen looked around and saw an ancient tree. He rode over and looked around the ancient tree for a while.
"What are you looking at?"
Bai Tingting came on horseback.
Long Chen pulled out the dagger from his waist and scraped off a mark on the bark of the tree.
"No, that inn is run by a secret guard, we have to avoid it."
This mark was left by Feng He.
"Secret guards? Didn't you kill all the secret guards?"
Long Chen said: "The secret guards in the capital and other important towns were killed in great numbers. The secret guards here were sent from Jade Buddha Pass."
"I stay up day and night just because I don't want the secret guards to know I'm coming. Let's take a detour to avoid it and find a place to stay."
The two left the main road, bypassed the roadside inn, and found a hut left by a hunter on the mountain.
The two of them stayed in the hut. When Long Chen set out, he bought beans and let the horse eat the beans and some grass outside.
At night, Long Chen continued to advance by the moonlight.
Finally, Long Chen arrived at Xifeng Town outside Jade Buddha Pass.
It is 10 miles away from Jade Buddha Pass and is the westernmost market town for the people of the Zhou Dynasty.
Although it is said to be a town, it is actually larger than the average county town. Business travelers from Dazhou and Xixia gather here to pass customs.
Arriving at the entrance of the town, Bai Tingting said worriedly: "Sir, this place is close to the Jade Buddha Pass. I'm afraid there are more secret guards and we will be discovered if we go in."
The inns and towns along the way all have secret guards' spies, not to mention this Xifeng Town, which must be full of secret guards.
Long Chen said: "Follow me!"
The two rode horses to an inn, where there was an endless stream of goods, horse-drawn carriages, donkey carts and business travelers, making it as lively as a big market.
When Long Chen arrived outside the store, the waiter came out and greeted him warmly: "Two of you, do you want to be a top-notch person or stay in the hotel?"
Long Chen didn't waste any time, took out a token from his arms and said, "I want to see your shopkeeper."
When the waiter saw the token, he solemnly said: "Please come with me!"
After entering the backyard, the waiter immediately went to find the shopkeeper.
Not long after, a man in black cloth, about fifty years old, came out and said, "Are you Master Long?"
Long Chen replied: "Exactly!"
The shopkeeper bowed: "The letter from the original poster has arrived, please come with me!"
The shopkeeper immediately arranged a house in the backyard for Long Chen and Bai Tingting. It was very quiet here and there were no outsiders.
Long Chen went to Sifanglou before setting off, just to ask Hong Qi to provide him with a place to stay in Xifeng Town to avoid detection by secret guards.
This matter was not difficult, so Hong Qi agreed.
