There was no answer from outside the carriage, but the sound of "dong dong" continued to be heard.
Deng Ai touched her head and wanted to speak, but was stopped by Ah Liu. She listened solemnly for a while. When the sound stopped, she clasped her hands behind her back and knocked on the low door of the carriage, making a "dong dong" sound.
The sounds inside and outside the carriage interacted several times before they stopped. Zhuge Liang watched this scene with great interest. Seeing that the sound was no longer in his mind, he slowly said: "Liu'er, is he from Beifu?"
Ah Liu nodded and said, "It's Third Sister. She's on a mission and it's not convenient for her to show up."
Deng Ai looked around curiously, wondering where this inconvenient person was hiding.
Zhuge Liang signaled Ah Liu to continue talking, but Ah Liu said with some distress: "The third sister said that her mission is to kill Sima Yi no matter what, but it is difficult to complete now. I hope we can help her sneak into the pile of carriages just now. "
She looked at Zhuge Liang, a little embarrassed.
They just came from the south. If they followed the team just now, wouldn't they go back again? She wanted to help her third sister from the bottom of her heart, but she was afraid of delaying her husband's affairs.
Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang responded decisively.
"I didn't make any achievements when I arrived in Beifu. Now that I have the opportunity, and I don't violate my two principles, why not go and have a look!"
Ah Liu was overjoyed and immediately went to drive.
But this way, Deng Ai could no longer follow the car. Ah Liu offered him some money, but Deng Ai refused.
Deng Ai bowed deeply to Zhuge Liang and agreed to visit the Beifu mansion if he had the opportunity.
Zhuge Liang and Ah Liu said goodbye to him, and Ah Liu said: "We meet by chance, see you soon!"
These few words were ordinary, but they showed true feelings. Deng Ai was thinking the words "meet by chance" in his heart, and suddenly looked back and said: "Sir, Six...Sixth Sister, since there is...something to do, count Ai as one of them!"
Eleven-year-old Deng Ai had a solemn expression and spoke extremely seriously.
He, Deng Ai, was poor in his family, but he never forgot the etiquette teachings. Even though he had only little ability, he would repay the kindness and encouragement given by him for a ride in the car.
So, a carriage pulled by two horses carried three people, and there was another person on the roof, a total of four people, and chased south.
…
Here, Cao Wu was also bidding farewell to Zhang Liao.
Zhang Liao's face was filled with regret. Yesterday, Cao Wu sacrificed his life and made great achievements. The name of General Beifu was being praised in the military camp.
Including Zhang Liao himself, everyone felt that it was a great honor for the prime minister's brother to fight with him personally.
Unexpectedly, Cao Wu was leaving today.
He was a cheerful person and didn't do much to persuade him to stay. He didn't even notify Zhao Yan and sent him off alone.
Zhang Liao said: "The general is very righteous. Liao does not know how far the general has gone, but I hope that the general will make a living for the world and never put himself in danger again."
These words were both parting advice and a compliment.
Cao Wu heard this and replied: "When he is famous all over the world, don't forget to go to my northern mansion and drink the wine I owe you!"
Zhang Liao laughed loudly: "There is a time to drink, but to become famous all over the world..."
He looked at the rolling river and said: "I, Zhang Wenyuan, have surrendered as a general, and others still call me a slave with the fourth surname. I'm afraid I have little chance."
Cao Wugong bowed his hands and said, "Wen Yuan doesn't have to belittle himself. I'll go and see you later!"
"See you later!"
Zhang Liao watched the two horses leaving for a long time before returning to his own army, and the governor continued to move forward.
On this day, they went from the second to last march to the third to last. In a few days, they would have to be the vanguard. They must always be careful of Gan Ning's surprise attack.
Cao Wu and Cao Wu also marched eastward along the Han River. Without the army to hold them back, the two thousand-mile horses ran like joy in the wilderness.
The two of them rode together and traveled more than 200 miles in just one day. They expected to enter Jiangxia territory tomorrow.
Because the war was approaching, smoke from cooking was rarely seen nearby, and it was unknown whether the people left with Liu Bei or hid.
Since Dong Zhuo's rebellion, the north has been fighting for years. Jingzhou was occupied by Liu Biao early on. There were less wars and many refugees came here. However, two of the nine counties in Jingxiang are still raging at war. One is Xinye where Liu Bei is stationed, and the other is Jiangxia is gone.
At that time, Zhou Yu recommended Lu Su to Sun Quan. On the night when Sun Quan met Lu Su, the two drank wine together and talked happily.
Lu Su analyzed the situation for Sun Quan and put forward the famous couch strategy.
He believed that Jiangdong should go all the way to the west, occupy Jingzhou and Yizhou, and rule across the river with the northern forces, dividing the world into two.
Strategically speaking, this is a strategy that is not inferior to that of Longzhong, and since neither Jingzhou Liu Biao nor Yizhou Liu Zhang are good at fighting, it is easy to implement.
But fundamentally, this strategy made Sun Wu only think about dividing the world into two parts from the beginning, and he did not have the enterprising spirit of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains.
Moreover, as soon as the couch policy started to be implemented, it encountered a tough nut.
Huang Zu, a fierce general who had a bloody feud with the Sun family in Jiangdong, took root in Jiangxia for more than ten years and blocked Sun Wu's two divisions of the world.
From Sun Ce to Sun Quan, Jiangdong soldiers and horses went upstream from east to west, fighting in Jiangxia for more than ten years, and finally killed Huang Zu in the 13th year of Jian'an. As a result, what awaited was not the occupation of the entire Jiangxia, but the continuation of Liu Qi and Liu Bei's hold fast.
Therefore, under the rule of Jingzhou, Jiangxia fought continuously and the people suffered from the war every day. The people of Jiangxia suffered the most.
Going further, they were in enemy territory. That night, the two of them found a farmhouse abandoned by the war to rest.
Ada washed the pot and cooked porridge and made a good meal. Cao Wu sat on the threshold and stared at the river in a daze.
Ah Dadao: "Make more food and take it with you today. When we enter Jiangxia tomorrow, it will be difficult to cook."
Cao Wu nodded and asked, "Do you want to pinch your feet today?"
Ada pursed her lips tightly, and then said after a while: "I want..."
In just a few days since they came out of Yecheng, the two of them had traveled hundreds of miles and were exhausted both physically and mentally.
That night, the two of them pinched each other's feet to adjust themselves.
A night of silence.
When we arrived in Jiangxia the next day, it was as clear as expected, with solid walls and clear fields, and no pedestrians could be seen outside.
The war changed everyone's lives.
The two of them did not dare to take the main road and moved along the small road. They walked more than a hundred miles that day and finally arrived at the edge of the Yangtze River in the evening.
Compared with the Yangtze River, Cao Wu was like a child along the Han River.
The Yangtze River is several miles wide at its widest point, extremely wide, and the current is rapid.
The Han River is only three hundred meters wide on average. If you occupy both sides, you can shoot arrows at the ship in the middle. But the Yangtze River cannot. I'm afraid it won't show up even if you lower down a few large ships, and it will only be as big as the five-toothed ship. , can you be a hero on the river.
The two of them were eating pancakes by the river. At night, when there was no sound except the river, Cao Wucai stood up and whistled.
Ah Da also whistled like him, but it took him a long time to do it, and his face was slightly red.
Cao Wu came over and taught him step by step. When his hands were about to touch his jade lips, Ah Dadao said, "Look."
It turned out that two boats were coming from a distance.
Cao Wu secretly said that he was disappointed, but he saw that there were no torches on the two boats. If he hadn't been staring at the river, he wouldn't have noticed them at all.
As they got closer, the people on the boat stood up one after another when they saw Cao Wu on the shore.
There are five people in each boat, ten people in total. The leader is the one-armed slave Zhang Xia who has disappeared for a long time.
There was no communication between the two sides. When the boat docked, Zhang Xia jumped onto the shore and said excitedly: "Finally we have arrived, General!"
Cao Wu patted him on the shoulder and asked, "When did you arrive?"
"Yesterday, there were fast boats patrolling the river, like Guan Yu's men and horses. So they didn't dare to show their faces."
Cao Wu nodded, thinking that Liu Bei's army was indeed very vigilant.
"I also heard that many soldiers, horses and people came out of Xiakou City and were retreating to Fankou in the rear."
Cao Wu reviewed the map in his mind and knew that Fankou was a city further east of Xiakou. It seemed that Liu Bei had made the decision to give up Xiakou and escape if he could not hold it, and would not fight to the death in Xiakou.
I don’t know if it was the reason why Mi Fang took Long Zhong back.
Next, he greeted the rest of the people and took a boat to cross the river.
More than ten people abandoned the boat and came to a dense forest, where Zhang Xia and his horses were hiding.
Ah Da asked: "Have you arranged your wardrobe?"
Only then did Zhang Xia have time to ask: "Ready. Miss, didn't the general say he would do it himself?"
Ah Da Dao: "Go get the outfit."
Zhang Xia was a fool, so he didn't argue and nodded in agreement.
Ah Da took out a package from his arms. Before he put it down, Cao Wu took it and said, "The body temperature is still there."
"It's the last step, be serious!"
Ada glanced at him charmingly.
Zhang Xia came back and brought back more than a dozen sets of clothes and accessories, all different from those in the Central Plains.
Cao Wuze took out a square object from the package, but it was a seal ribbon.
There are four words clearly written on it: "Yizhou Mu Liu".
