The next morning, contrary to Lou Shiming's expectation, Li Dan's entire battalion was in no hurry to set off. They slowly got up and made breakfast, which made the soldiers here stare straight at them from two miles away.
"Hey, eating so early? It's far from noon. Aren't they afraid of starving themselves on the road?" Long Hui felt strange. This was the first time he saw such an early meal in the army.
"The Green Shirt Team has three meals a day. The first thing they get up every day is the Fire Soldiers. Not only do they make breakfast, but they also prepare lunch and give it to each soldier." Lou Shiming said lightly: "Li Sanlang said: In the morning Doing things on an empty stomach wears out your stomach.”
"Hey, he loves his soldiers as much as his children." Long Hui sneered.
"So his subordinates are fighting for him." Lou Shiming pointed to the opposite side: "The Green Shirt Team is the most united and fiercest team I have ever seen. You'd better not treat him as a sixteen-year-old boy, otherwise he will be killed. Big loss!"
"I don't care about anything else, I just want to know when they will hit the road!"
Lou Shiming laughed silently: "Why, are you anxious? Why don't you send some smart people from the trail to ambush in front of Qigongtan from the trail. Once I leave with the three generals, it will be easier for you to do things."
"It makes sense!" Long Hui cupped his fists and handed over his hands, and immediately went to make arrangements. Lou Shiming looked at his back, turned around and looked at the smoke in the distance again, and shook his head gently.
He believed that Li Dan would never imagine what would happen after handing over the hostages, so how would he respond?
Lou Shiming knew that Long Hui was a fierce general. He secretly hoped that Li Dan could teach this arrogant guy a lesson, but he was also worried that Li Dan would be harmed by him instead of being able to resist Long Hui.
After conflicting for a long time, he turned to his men and said, "Let's eat some solid food. After all, we have to walk a lot today." After that, he left the village gate.
After breakfast, the second company took charge of security, and the whole battalion began to dismantle tents and pack their bags. Those fences were also pulled up, bundled into bundles, and loaded into trucks.
Some of the local civilian husbands who had followed were dismissed. They did not want to leave their homeland and planned to go to Longquan Temple to temporarily avoid the soldiers. There are also some civilians who are on the contrary, actively asking to stay, and there are dozens of them.
Li Dan ordered them to be added to the auxiliary army, so that some qualified auxiliary soldiers could fill the gap of the fallen soldiers.
There was a special group of people, that is, those former prisoners of the Yintuo tribe who did not want to continue to be thieves. Due to their performance, Li Dan assigned them to each company. Mainly, the third and fourth companies each added a platoon. Most of the rest joined the engineering platoon and the projection platoon.
The order of departure was decided last night, with the first company and command company in the front, the auxiliary troops in the middle, then the fourth company, third company and second company.
The prince's carriage, luggage cart and guards were sandwiched in the command company. From today on, its commander is Pei Tianhu, and its deputy commander and temporary governor is Song Qian.
Before setting off, Li Dan came to the carriage again. "I'll take this with you. You might need it if you're on the road." Li Dan handed his foot-long dagger to Wu Ning'er, who had changed into men's clothing and had a ponytail tied behind her head.
She and her sister both changed their clothes today. Xiao Wan'er went to the rich family's house in the village to exchange them for silver ingots. Even the prince changed into ordinary cloth and short shirts. The little guy jumped on the ground and looked at himself in the bronze mirror. He looked like he couldn't stop laughing.
"Don't worry, I know how to use it when necessary!" Wu Ning'er looked at him with red eyes.
"Sister, don't think too much, I hope the person you use it to hurt is a thief, preferably not yourselves!"
Li Dan knew she had misunderstood, so he quickly said, while helping her hang the dagger on the silk ribbon around her waist, Abin next to her looked at this, then that...
"Sir," a staff officer walked not far away and gave a military salute: "Reconnaissance report, there seems to be movement on the enemy's side."
"I know." Li Dan sneered, turned back and told Wu Ning'er: "Close the door of the carriage on the way and don't open the window. If the young man really wants to make a bad idea, then we are not polite and give him some color to see. !
Sisters and sisters should take good care of the prince and themselves. After splitting into lanes, the car may go very fast before meeting with the reinforcements. Please fasten your seat belts after getting in the car. "
It was not until mid-morning that the team started to meander north one by one. Soon, Lou Jun behind him also got up and followed. The two groups of men and horses, one behind the other, hung like this unhurriedly, and they did not stop until noon.
By this time, the forward of Li Dan's team had arrived at the bridge under Bixia Mountain, and the engineering platoon began to move forward to evaluate the strength and load-bearing capacity of the bridge. The rear of the team was just outside Qigongtan.
Seeing that the front had stopped, Lou Shiming said a few words and then went forward with four guards, soldiers and an empty horse. When they were more than a hundred steps away, they formed an array on the opposite side and raised a row of crossbows behind the shield bearer.
"Hey, tell you Li Sanlang to come out! Didn't we agree to let him go? Didn't he walk here with this man and keep his word?" A guard stepped forward and waved his arms and shouted loudly.
"Don't be anxious!" Gao Can rode forward and said coldly: "Sir Sir Alex said, we must do our best to be benevolent and righteous. The bridge is being inspected at the front, and the whole team is seizing the time to have lunch.
Your three generals are also eating. They come out naturally after eating. We can't leave you with an excuse to lose weight due to hunger after just a few days here, right? "As he said and waved, a soldier came out carrying a straw basket in each hand.
"Brothers across the way, I have prepared some for you. They are very rough. Sorry, just accept them with a smile!" Gao Can asked the soldiers to put the things next to a small mound.
The guard looked back at Lou Shiming, came up and picked it up with the tip of his spear, took a look, then turned around and carried the straw basket back.
Lou Shiming saw that there was a piece of writing written in unknown ink, with extremely thin lines, and above it were the six words "Roujiamo, please use it with caution".
He thought for a moment and reached out to grab one. The guard behind him gently dissuaded him: "Second General, be careful."
"Hmph, I think the food Li Sanlang invited me to eat is quite reassuring!" After Lou Shiming finished speaking, he took a big bite, and the smell of meat suddenly filled the air. He nodded and ordered everyone: "Eat, eat them all! Send the rest to General Long behind you!"
After lunch, I suddenly saw someone coming from the other side. Lou Shiming finally sighed. He could see clearly from the horse that one of them, with his hair tied back, was his brother Lou Shifan.
The shield hands spread to both sides, and sure enough, Li Dan was riding a horse, and Mao Xiulu led Lou Shifan out from behind. Two soldiers immediately dismounted and came to help Lou Shifan.
"Well, three generals, as the old saying goes: we'll meet again later!" the tall man who followed Lou Shifan said with a sneer.
Lou Shifan let out a heavy cold snort from his nose, and said loudly without looking back: "That's all, I've met you twice. I don't want to see you again in this life. It's best for our two families to stay in harmony with each other from now on."
Everyone laughed. Li Dan took a few steps forward and clasped his hands on the horse: "The third general has been released as promised. Thank you to the second general for sending me off. We can just walk the rest of the way on our own. It must be very safe!"
Lou Shiming also came over: "Li Sanlang kept his promise, I admire him! Then I will be sent here."
"You're going back now, all of you?" Li Dan tilted his head childishly and asked.
"Let's go now, go back to Tongjialing to stay overnight, and return to Shangrao tomorrow. I still have military affairs, so I don't dare to stay for a long time!" He said calmly and let the horse come closer, and whispered: "Be careful, Long Hui He is careless."
After speaking, he made eye contact with Li Dan and clasped his fists: "Then, let's say goodbye!" After saying that, he turned the horse's head and returned. At this time, the soldiers untied themselves, helped Lou Shifan mount his horse, surrounded him and followed Lou Shiming towards his own brigade.
"I'm afraid that Long Hui hasn't given up yet. Everyone, be on guard and be careful of his revenge!" Li Dan told Gao Hanzi and Gao Can as he walked into the queue. "Don't worry, there won't be any good things to eat when he comes! Everyone be on alert!" Gao Hanzi gave the order as he walked.
Before they returned to the command company, the leading company in front had already begun to cross the river. The entire team finished their meal and quickly transitioned to combat marching status. The shield soldiers all took their shields off their carts and moved them to the outside of their bodies for defense.
At the stall where the command platoon and engineering platoon were crossing the river, smoke and dust suddenly rose from behind, and someone shouted: "Enemy attack!" Then various bamboo whistles were blown sharply. The guards immediately came up and formed a protective package to wrap Li Dan inside.
The team was still advancing, and the cavalry chasing behind them had already roared towards them, and arrows continued to shoot at the team with the sound of wind.
The soldiers either hid behind the carriage panels or immediately retreated to the other side of the vehicle, leaving only the shield bearers to protect the horses.
The cavalry under Long Hui were actually still mounted infantry, and not many of them had real cavalry and shooting abilities.
Once they stopped to shoot arrows, or approached the carriage to attack, crossbowmen would immediately attack them. As a result, the attack had little effect, and more than a dozen people were injured by the crossbow arrows of the Qing Shirt team.
Hearing the shouts outside, Abin wanted to open the window, but Wu Ning'er stopped him. They were sitting in the carriage, with the skylight above their heads open, and they could see the dark clouds passing quickly in the sky.
The whole team was speeding across the wooden bridge. They heard an officer shouting outside: "Don't panic, don't be chaotic, cross the bridge in order!" Someone else shouted loudly: "Everyone in the fourth company got off the car and formed a formation! Put the antlers on Bring over the bamboo spear!"
It turned out that in order to ensure the safety of the bridgehead, Qin Han had already led the entire company forward and formed a semicircular formation along the bridgehead. "Archers, come here!" someone shouted again.
The car suddenly lifted up, making a loud noise under the wheels and the roar of the river, and then the car sank again. I heard someone shouting: "Car No. 1 has already crossed the bridge, and Car No. 2 is on the bridge and is crossing the bridge!"
"Go right, go right, Car No. 1 goes to the right!"
Suddenly a very loud roar came, and at that time there was thunder in the sky! "Ha, sir, it's going to rain! You see, the elder is right! Buddha bless you!" Someone seemed to be laughing on the roadside.
But all the girls heard was him calling "Sir". Wu Ning'er put her hand on the window panel and stopped again.
"Be obedient and abide by the discipline of the team!" His voice rang in her ears. Ning'er slowly stroked the window panel, but ultimately did not open it.
The iron wheels made a clanging sound, and the carriage continued to move forward.
Suddenly some rain flowers fell to the floor, and the two ladies were startled. "Oops, it's raining!" Wu Ning'er hurriedly unbuckled her seat belt, stood up and reached out to push the skateboard.
The skylight was closed, so she found the fire matchmaker under the table in the dark, pulled out the hijab and blew out the flame, and then lit the candle in the lampshade.
After closing the lampshade and putting the matchmaker back, she looked back at the prince's bright eyes and her sister hugging him, and smiled. Zhao Yuanli also became happy. He found it interesting that there were only two candlelights in this dark carriage.
Hearing the sound of dense raindrops hitting the ceiling outside, I asked this and that, why did Thunder God thunder, why did mica not, what kind of heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals came down to catch whom, and whether they would protect their father and the king, etc.
Wu Ning'er patiently told him the story, and slowly began to tell the story. The two children listened with rapt attention. Later, the prince couldn't hold it anymore, and fell asleep with his little head tilted on Abin's chest.
"Sister, did you get along with Saburo last night?" Abin suddenly asked softly.
"Shh!" Ning'er glared at her sister: "The prince is here, don't talk nonsense!"
"It's okay if you get along with him." Abin smiled evilly: "But if I get along with Saburo in the future, you can't stop me!"
"This damn girl is talking nonsense! I'm so ashamed!"
"Han people are ashamed. I'm not Han." Abin muttered in a low voice. After a while, he raised his big eyes and asked with a twinkle: "Sister, then... Prince or Saburo, who do you like more?"
"Keep your voice down!" Ning'er's face was feverish. She motioned to her sister to hold the prince and get up so that she could arrange the bed board and bedding. Then the two young ladies gently made the prince lie down and covered him with a sheet. .
Wu Ning'er pulled the girl to sit on the seat at the front of the car. She didn't dare to look into the girl's eyes, so she deliberately turned her body away while pouring water.
When he handed the water to the girl's hand, he met her inquiring eyes and shouted with shame and annoyance: "Who has this girl learned to become more and more rude! Go back and write to the prince, asking him to send the water from the West Tower to the girl." It’s better to give everyone a beating!”
"Hey, I was just asking out of curiosity." Abin pouted.
"How can a child be so curious? Anyway, the prince gave you to him, and you will know it yourself in the future."
"That's what Sister A said. Don't be jealous if I want to follow him in the future!" A Bin immediately counterattacked when he got the chance.
"Then you have to grow up, and now you are like this...? Tsk, tsk, I think it's difficult!"
Abing was furious: "You are the one who bullies me, look at my 'Meow Meow Divine Claw'!" As he said this, he reached out to grab the soft flesh of his sister's waist, but Ning'er, who had already known her tricks, dodged.
The two sisters were chatting and making trouble. Suddenly Wu Ning'er made a gesture of silence and said, "Listen, it seems that the rain outside has stopped?"
"That seems to be the case. Why don't you open the skylight and take a look? It's still too stuffy after closing the window." Abin suggested.
"Wow!" The skylight opened, and a cool breeze blew in.
The two young ladies couldn't help but take a deep breath of fresh air, and then they heard someone shouting amidst the rumble of the wheels: "Ahead is Huangchaoling. It is the most dangerous road in this section. Everyone, cheer up and be careful!"
"Huangchaoling, I wonder if it's the Huangchao?" As soon as Abin finished speaking, he heard a "bang" sound, and an arrow flew from above and pierced the frame of the skylight panel. They were so frightened that they both said "ah" The ground screamed.
"Enemy attack! There is an enemy on the left! Protect the No. 1 and No. 2 cars! Brothers from the guard platoon, follow me!" the voice just shouted.
At this time, I heard the sound of "do, doo" coming from outside the left carriage board again, including the neighing of horses and the harsh metal friction sound of weapons clashing.
The carriage seemed to veer around something, and then slowed down significantly. Someone shouted: "Don't stop, don't stop, the carriage should move quickly!"
The shouts of killing outside were getting louder and louder, and people kept shouting: "Stop this car!" and "You will be rewarded five hundred taels for killing Li Sanlang!" The two young ladies were stunned. Did they think Li Sanlang was in this car? So you desperately want to intercept it?
Fortunately, the driver of this car had extremely high driving skills and kept rushing forward without stopping. The mountain road was ups and downs, and the driver and coachman were outside shouting at the top of their lungs: "Drive, drive! Run!".
Suddenly there was a "dong, dong" sound from the outer compartment, and then a loud "bang" like a firecracker was heard, and someone yelled.
Wu Ning'er hugged the screaming girl, and suddenly saw the prince sitting on the bed with his eyes wide open, and hurriedly pushed the girl: "Abin, Abin, your highness! Go and hug your highness!"
Abin tried his best to get up and walk towards the back of the car with a face full of panic. As soon as he took two steps, he felt that the car was sinking and there was a loud noise from the back.
Abin stumbled and fell in the shock. "Sister, close the skylight quickly!" she suddenly shouted.
This reminded Wu Ning'er that she was the only one who could reach the height of the ceiling. She hurriedly jumped over and pushed the handle, but the arrow just now was still stuck on it. She reached out and drew out her dagger!
"Shua la", the skylight was opened instead, and an ugly face appeared there. "Haha! It's a beautiful little girl!" the thief shouted.
But he couldn't be happy for the second time. Wu Ning'er swung his sword without hesitation, and the sharp blade passed by, cutting off two fingers.
"Ah!" The thief's face flashed in fear and pain, and disappeared through the sky window. Then he heard the sound of a riding whip, the pressure above the carriage relaxed, and then there was a loud "bang" on the ground behind him.
The two young ladies knew in their hearts that the thief had probably fallen. Wu Ning'er swung his sword again to cut off the arrow, pushed up the skylight with force, and stuck it with the pin below. The two ladies breathed a sigh of relief.
The carriage seemed to go up and down the bridge again.
Suddenly the wheels made a screeching sound, and the car drove crookedly for a while and then stopped. There were shouts and curses from all around, the impact of weapons, and the sound of horse hooves trampling across the carriage board. Occasionally, someone was hurt. The screams from time to time.
The two sisters' hearts were lifted. Abin hugged the prince and whispered comforting words in his ear. Wu Ning'er bit her lower lip, holding a sword in one hand and looking nervously at the car doors on both sides.
Something kept bumping up, sometimes like weapons, sometimes like people. Then a familiar voice shouted: "Take them away, Xiao Wan'er, get back to the car and don't leave!"
The car body moved, and then a young man's voice shouted: "Commander Pei, the coachman is injured!" Then he asked urgently:
"Who are you, coachman? What about him? Driver? Can you drive? Then let's go, go quickly, quickly!" Soon the car moved forward again, and someone from behind shouted: "Stop it, stop the car!" But it still ran forward.
After a while, probably farther away from the battlefield and no longer hearing the shouting and fighting, the carriage gradually slowed down. Finally it stopped. Someone knocked on the front window, and the boy called out: "You two girls, are everything okay inside?"
"We're fine!" Wu Ning'er replied loudly, and then asked: "How is it outside?"
"You bastard, I sent a hundred people to catch up. Fortunately, Fourth Master Pei fought to the death. We suffered a lot of casualties. I didn't know the road and I didn't have a map. I was afraid of going wrong, so I stopped and waited for the people behind me.
In our two cars, the driver was dead and the other was injured. Now the driver is driving. Suddenly he shouted: "Tietou, here, here!" "
Soon, a horse caught up with him. The man called Tietou said with a gruff voice: "Why did you stop?"
"I don't know the way!"
"Nonsense, who of us knows? We're just looking at the pictures." Tietou said with a pale face, "Then we can't stop here. The terrain here is so high and conspicuous that if there are enemies around, they will notice it at a glance!"
"What should we do? Why don't we go down and walk along the river? I see that the road to the north goes into the mountains again. I wonder if there are any ambushes?"
"Wait, someone is here." Tietou became happy for a moment: "It's Coach Song, now it's better!"
After a while, I heard a small group of riders catching up, and someone shouted: "Why did the car stop?"
"Don't know which way to go? Sir!"
"Go south, go south, along the river, your lordship has arranged for someone to pick us up!"
"Okay, let's go! Let's go! I'll go ahead and explore the way!" Tietou said, and the horse walked away first, and then the wheels started turning again.
Wu Ning'er slowly sat down with her hand on her chest. She must be safe with her own people around, and now she felt as weak as if she was exhausted.
Some people died, but not completely...
