Zhu Yunxi's campaign against Japanese pirates in eastern Shanxi went smoothly.
The vicious reputation of Zhang Zhiyuan, the little murderer of the Ming Dynasty, was once again more intuitively presented to everyone.
Reorganize Jindong and regain the city.
The Northern Patrol was going up and down, busy reorganizing the entire Shanxi Road. After capturing Shouyang City and Jingchuan Hou Cao Zhen's "complete annihilation" of Japanese pirates in Shouyang area, the army received news that Pingding Prefecture and Leping County had been recovered.
Zhu Yunxi was busy reorganizing his troops and headed north to Meng County to meet Zhu Di.
And on the other side of Taiyuan Mansion.
There are mountains and mountains and heavy snowfall.
When winter comes, the snow in the north seems to never stop. It keeps falling day and night.
The heavy snow covered the entire earth and hid a lot of things.
But at the same time, it also clearly exposes some things that would otherwise have been less noticeable to people's sight.
The snow buried the pipes.
There were fewer pedestrians, and sometimes the carriages of merchants and government officials from the south or north made two clear ruts on the official road.
The mud splashed up by the wheels marked a large area on both sides of the rut with different colors.
If you stand on a high place and look at the official road, it will be a clear guide.
And outside the pipeline.
Heavy snow piled up on the treetops, and everything was covered with silver as far as the eye could see.
In the wild, several snowshoe hares were jumping up and down from numerous caves in search of food.
Even though these snowshoe rabbits have a lot of down and a thick layer of fleshy pads on their feet, they can still leave footprints on the snow.
In the wilderness of snow.
Three figures led the horses, one foot deep and one foot shallow, walking in the snow.
The north wind brought flying snow, which hit the three of them on their bodies and faces.
Even though they shook their bodies from time to time and shook off the falling snow, there was always a thin layer of snow on the three of them.
"Going further, we will reach Wuzhai Fort. To the west, we can go to Baodezhou, and to the east, we can reach Ningwu Suo. If we continue to the north, we will reach the border passes around Piantou Pass and Laoyingbao Suo."
Among the three people, Tian Mai, who was of medium height, led the horse and looked around, explaining in a deep voice.
While speaking, he silently looked at Zhu Yunwen, who was walking among the three people.
Sun Cheng, who was on the other side, said: "Ning Wu's past is Datong. No matter how hard Liu Zongsheng and the others go, they can't take this road.
The area around Piantou Pass and Laoyingbao was the only area where the Great Wall had not yet been built, but it was guarded by border troops. It was unlikely that Liu Zongsheng and the others would choose to escape from the heavy guard of the border troops. "
After finishing speaking, Sun Cheng looked at Zhu Yunwen silently, just like Tian Mai.
Both of them were a little helpless.
His Highness Taisun personally said that as long as Liu Zongsheng and his gang of rebels were not found, they would never want to go back in this life.
Only by finding Liu Thief and others can they go back.
Since the birthday party of King Jin in Taiyuan City, they left Taiyuan City and have been looking for traces of Liu Thief and others in the snow on Shanxi Road.
However, Zhu Yunwen's arrival surprised Sun Cheng and others who had not known about it beforehand.
After the incident, I felt more admiration for Zhu Yunwen's love and justice.
The three of them were like this, walking together.
Zhu Yunwen raised his head and looked at the snowy field in front of him that seemed to always look the same.
His face was covered with ice crystals and falling snow. The originally elegant young man now had a beard on his face, which looked a little messy because he couldn't take care of it in the wild.
Zhu Yunwen looked more weathered, but also had an indescribable charm.
He twisted his neck, which was stiff from the cold, and glanced at Sun Cheng and Tian Mai. His lips and teeth moved slightly, and his voice also had a sense of vicissitudes of life: "You all think that Liu Thief and others will go west, close to the south of Baoding County. Escape from Shanxi Road?"
Sun Cheng and Tian Mai looked at each other.
Tian Mai said: "This is the best possibility. As long as they pass through Baoding County, the Yellow River has frozen at this time, they can cross the Yellow River on flat ground and enter Shaanxi Road. There is only Fugu County on the opposite side, and they have to go south. There will be a Shenmu County, and there are no cities in the northern area, which is enough for them to trace the Great Wall and escape to the desert."
Zhu Yunwen nodded and looked at Sun Cheng.
Sun Cheng echoed: "For Liu Thief and others, this is the safest route."
Zhu Yun nodded, his eyelids sank, and he fell into deep thought.
After a while, he shook his head and spoke slowly: "I think he will most likely choose to escape from the Piantou Pass area."
Tian Mai and Sun Cheng both had doubts on their faces.
This is the most unsafe and easily discovered route among the three directions for Liu Zongsheng and others.
If you really go this way, it will be no less than throwing yourself into a trap.
Zhu Yunwen explained: "The most dangerous place is the safest place. Thief Liu is the most suspicious and capricious by nature.
Based on his nature, he would most likely choose to escape in the direction of the main pass.
And...didn't you notice anything unusual along the road these past two days? "
"abnormal?"
Sun Cheng and Tian Mai spoke at the same time, their faces full of confusion.
The northwest area of Shanxi is covered with mountains.
Even in the past, when outsiders came in, they would sometimes go the wrong way. In addition, at this time of year, there is nothing but snow.
Zhu Yunwen shook his head: "Quiet! It's too quiet. Have we met anyone along the way in the past few days? In addition to the merchants going north, there are also sporadic government servants, but we can't see them all day long. people."
Tian Mai had already frowned.
Sun Chengze was still confused and said: "At this time, the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, and the snow blocks the roads. It is normal for there to be fewer people."
Zhu Yunwen said, "But have we seen anyone going south?"
Sun Cheng was stunned for a moment.
Tian Mai said in a deep voice: "Not one."
"Yes! There isn't even one." A sneer appeared on Zhu Yunwen's face: "If I guessed correctly, something must have happened in the north."
Sun Cheng and Tian Mai stopped.
The wind and snow among the mountains in the wilderness became more urgent.
Zhu Yunwen stretched out his hand to press the velvet hat on his head and said in a low voice: "When the Liu thieves and others were discussing the uprising in Taiyuan, they mentioned that they would induce the Japanese workers sent by the imperial court to mine coal mines in Shaanxi Road to participate in the rebellion.
In this way, with Taiyuan City as the center and Japanese workers in eastern and western Shanxi as supplements, the entire Shanxi Road would be in chaos.
Once Liu Thieves and the others take over Taiyuan City, they can take over various parts of Shanxi Province that are in turmoil one by one.
Originally, I thought that if Taiyuan City was sealed off by Lao Er and the rebels were eliminated overnight, this incident might never happen again.
But now it seems that Liu Thief and the others have already planned the launch time. Even if they were defeated in Taiyuan, Japanese workers from various places outside would rebel against the imperial court. "
His face was a little solemn.
The rebellion of Japanese workers is not a serious matter.
With Lao Er taking command in Taiyuan, the imperial army could rush to the rebel areas in no time. Using the elites of the imperial court to suppress the unarmed Japanese workers was just a matter of chance.
But what worried him was that the local area was in chaos and the border areas were also affected.
So, can the border army officers and soldiers who are supposed to guard the border still be able to fully perform their original duties?
Once a loophole appears, it will be an opportunity for people like Liu Zongsheng to escape from the Central Plains and hide in the vast desert snowfield.
Tian Mai's face changed a little: "So now, only if there is a rebellion in the area of Piantou Pass and Laoyingbao, it is possible that there will be people who have not been seen going south all day.
If there is chaos in northwestern Shanxi, local officers and soldiers and border officers will definitely be involved in countering the rebellion.
The border at this time may have become useless. If this was what Liu Zongsheng and other thieves had planned a long time ago, they would most likely have fled into the desert grassland in the direction of Piantou Pass. "
"So we went to Piantou Pass."
In the wind and snow, Zhu Yunwen's eyes were dim.
No matter how strong the wind and snow outside were, and even if his body was frozen stiff, his heart was still hot.
Probably, only the blood of Liu Thief and others can calm the fire in his heart.
Sun Cheng and Tian Mai looked at each other.
Ever since the two of them met Zhu Yunwen who was catching up, all the decisions along the way were made by Zhu Yunwen.
They knew very well that His Highness Taisun could allow Zhu Yunwen to be alone, which to a certain extent explained a lot of problems.
Perhaps, this was His Highness Taisun's complete disarming of Zhu Yunwen.
"In the area of Piantou Pass and Laoyingbao, Liu Zongsheng and others are most likely to go near Piantou Pass to find loopholes in the border and sneak out of the Great Wall."
At this time, Tian Mai had already taken out a copy of Shanxi Dao Kanyu from his arms and pointed it at the location of Piantou Pass.
In the entire northwestern Shanxi area, no Great Wall was built on the east and west sides of the Piantou Pass.
The Laoying Fort is located at the junction of Taiyuan Prefecture and Datong Prefecture. There are many border garrison forts. You can imagine how difficult it is to cross the Great Wall from here.
Sun Cheng looked at Kan Yu, nodded and affirmed: "There is only one line at Piantou Pass. When the Yellow River thaws, you can directly cross it into the Hetao area, continue northward, cross the Yellow River again, and completely enter the grassland. At that time, Liu Zongsheng and other absconding rebels will Thieves, it’s really as if the sky is high and the birds can fly.”
"We are half a day behind Liu Zongsheng and others. When we arrive at the Piantou Pass, will we lend troops to pursue them together?"
Tian Mai muttered in a low voice and glanced at Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Yunwen's eyes swayed, and he couldn't help but think of the gold medal he placed close to his body and the document stamped with the seal of the great grandson of the Ming Emperor.
It was something Brother Xiu gave to him when he was leaving from Taiyuan City. He still clearly remembered the scene at that time, Brother Hei's face was full of solemnity.
He believes that he does not need to worry too much about his own safety when he is acting within the boundaries of Shanxi Province. But once he leaves the border and enters the grassland, and Liu Zongsheng must be surrounded by White Lotus Sect guards, the risks he will face alone will double.
And with that gold medal and document, he could mobilize border troops of less than a thousand people at any border to accompany him north to the grassland.
only.
He was unwilling to use Brother Xi's power to avenge himself.
Zhu Yun hummed: "Let's act according to the circumstances. Since the incident happened in Taiyuan Mansion, this matter should be settled in Taiyuan Mansion."
Sun Cheng took down a package from his horse.
He took out a few pieces of dried meat and handed the kettle to Zhu Yunwen first.
"Drink some water first, and then eat something. Next, we have to rush to Wuzhaibao and have a hot meal, and then we have to rush all the way to Piantou Pass."
Time was tight and they did not allow them to take too much rest.
Zhu Yunwen and Tian Mai didn't say much. They silently took the dried meat handed out by Sun Cheng, drank two bottles of water, and chewed the tasteless dried meat silently and hard.
A few moments.
In the increasingly heavy wind and snow, Zhu Yunwen and the others mounted their horses silently.
Due to the heavy wind and snow, the war horses did not move very fast, but they were able to save the physical strength of the three of them in turn.
Zhu Yunwen and the others, who were already near Wuzhai Fort, were only about 150 miles away from Piantou Pass. In the past, if you let go of your speed, it would only take about two days to arrive.
It's just that in this windy and snowy weather, the official road is blocked by snow.
The three of them walked through the rolling hills of northwest Shanxi for nearly four days before arriving at the Piantou Pass just after noon.
Along the way, what the three of them saw was just as they expected that day.
The entire northwestern Shanxi was in chaos.
The Ming army stationed in northwest Shanxi went crazy in the heavy snow to hunt down and eliminate the rebellious Japanese bandits.
Some forts were occupied by Japanese pirates, and some were recaptured by the Ming army.
You have to make a detour at the previous stop, but you may also be able to get supplies at the next stop.
Zhu Yunwen, who originally did not want to use the gold medal and documents in his arms, faced the current situation in northwest Shanxi and had to make it public.
"Sir, the detention center is ahead. It's been very chaotic these days. Everyone here is holding their breath, as if they can't finish killing the Japanese bandits.
The detention center is safe, and there is food and drink. The subordinates dare not ask anything about the young master and the others, but they should be careful if the young master and the others want to cross the river. The outside is more closed than the inside, and you never know when you will encounter some hungry wolf cubs with green eyes. "
The patrolmen wandering out of the Piantou Pass found Zhu Yunwen and the other three. After checking their identities, they led the three of them to the front of the pass, not forgetting to give a reminder before leaving.
Zhu Yunwen nodded.
The hungry wolf cub with green eyes was not talking about the wolves wandering on the grassland, but the Tatars.
"Good work."
Zhu Yunwen replied.
Sun Cheng, who was beside him, rolled his eyes, took out a piece of silver from his arms as usual, and threw it to the officers and soldiers over there.
The officers and soldiers borrowed the money with both hands, and their faces showed a hint of joy.
"Then I wish the young master that everything can be settled smoothly. When the young master comes back from outside, the young master will warm the wine for the young master at the lockup."
After saying that, the officer and soldier rode south and disappeared into the wind and snow.
After the officers and soldiers left, Zhu Yunwen turned back and looked at the Biantou Pass in front of him, which was very characteristic of the border pass.
The entire Piantou Pass is located on a rare mountain stream and flat land among the Zongheng Mountains in northwest Shanxi.
It is only twenty miles away from the Yellow River.
At this time, the three of them drove their horses to the front of the pass, which naturally attracted the attention of the defenders on the wall of the pass.
soon.
Then a group of border troops rode out from behind the city gate and began to spread out from a distance, surrounding Zhu Yunwen and the other three.
Sun Cheng and Tian Mai both turned to look at Zhu Yunwen, their meaning was obvious.
Zhu Yunwen sighed helplessly.
Put your hands into your arms.
………………
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